I'd forgotten what it feels like

Well, patient blog readers, I'm back.  Many apologies for the hiatus.  I had vague memories of being nauseous with Rowen's 1st trimester, but either hormones and time had erased some of the misery, or something about my 45-55 hour work week makes it worse.  Probably (as with most things) a combination of both.
I'll spare you the gory details, but to say I've been sick and exhausted for most of the past 2 months, would not be an understatement.
But! We are moving past that stage of pregnancy and roaring into the second trimester with a healthy appetite, high energy levels and aching joints. :-D
Dave and I settled on a midwife for care.  We interviewed a home-birthing midwife, but she was based in the next state over, battling anti-midwifery there and in Iowa, and was very very Christian.  I'm fine with my care providers having personal views I don't agree with.  But, after a discussion about all the things she can't legally do during a homebirth, (stitching my tears, anything with IV's, antibiotics or anti-hemorraging meds) it makes me very uncomfortable to hear talk of "praying for guidance and leaving things in god's hands."  I knew I wouldn't have the trust in her that I would need to have to birth at home.  The midwife Dave and I finally clicked with is based out of the hospital in the town I work in. (20 miles north of where we live)  She has been delivering babies for a long time, has an excellent relationship with the Obstetricians in the hospital and they in turn give her tons of freedom to birth babies how she wants. Which all translates into freedom for ME to birth how I need to, but with the safety net of a hospital ready if needed.  She has no requirements for positions during labor, is very much a non-intervention believer, and even Rowen liked her better.  Care is already night and day different from that horrible group Ob/Gyn practice that I ended up with when I was on Medicare with Rowen.  She talks to me, and listens to me, and doesn't give me lectures about the decisions I make regarding my body.
Baby and I are healthy and happy and growing at a nice pace.  I'm more excited than scared for the delivery, and really looking forward to the 2nd trimester.

In other news, Dave has been culling the spotty apples out of our storage box this week, and is currently making a big batch of tasty applesauce.  This is an important step with stored apples, as the old saying is true, one bad apple will spoil the lot.  Spotty apples make a great applesauce, or cider and will keep much longer in that form, simultaneously sparing the good apples that rotten fate.

I've harvested those little cabbage heads, and dried the last big bunch of chard. All the beds are cozy in their leafy covers, and we're as ready as we can be for the harsh winter ahead.

No time to mourn the end of this year's season, I got my Seed Savers catalog in the mail yesterday, and I'm researching sweet potato production and slip providers in Iowa.  My favorite local farmer is not going to be growing sweet potatoes next year, so if I don't grow them, I'll have to travel 30 minutes south to the big city to find local ones.

I'll be recapping my 2011 goals soon, and making new ones for 2012, should be fun.  Yule and X-mas celebrations are happening at our house this year, which is a first. It'll be a bit of a challenge, but as always, I think we're up for it. I've got Iowa caucuses coming up right after the holidays, so politics aren't far from my mind either.

Y'all stay warm, finish up that turkey, and settle in.