the last few days

Friday: Martha receives confirmation that she has gestational diabetes (GD). Martha and Daniel read up on GD. Martha feels down about that and her work. For once, Daniel is the ray of sunshine in the house. Eve too, blissfully unaware as she sucks up all the sugars in Martha's body. We begin a diet for Martha to keep her blood sugar even during the rest of her pregnancy. Tarheels win vs UC-Santa Barbara -- Daniel is pleased.

Saturday: We see Madame Butterfly (the opera) in Detroit. Martha feels a bit better. Eve dances during the opera. We are still struck by the desolation in downtown Detroit. You have to figure it will probably get worse with the latest problems in the car industry.

Sunday: Our friend Heather Royer visits. Martha is feeling better, but nervous about her presentation on Monday.

Monday: Martha's presentation apparently goes well. But Martha is ticked that she has to attend a 3 hour class on GD on Tuesday. Tarheels win again -- Daniel is still pleased.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Turn around little girl

We had our regularly scheduled appointment with a nurse midwife yesterday, and she did a quick ultrasound to confirm Martha's belief that Eve is in the breached position. Breachness confirmed. Turn around little girl, so your mom doesn't have to undergo a C-section!

Martha and Eve give a talk

Today Martha gave an excellent talk on her latest work about the effects of family planning programs during the 1960s and 1970s. Her preliminary results suggest that these programs were successful in reducing birth rates and improving maternal and infant health. I think this project is looking like Martha's next golden egg, which could put her in prime position for becoming the first hen to be promoted with tenure in her department. But we won't count those chickens yet -- you never know what might hatch in the fowl, unpredictable world of academics.

Nobody in the audience commented on the humor of a pregnant woman giving this talk, but you know everybody was laughing inside. In a good way, of course. Martha is an engaging and articulate speaker, though she is rarely willing to believe that.

Eve contributed by kicking mother chick violently right before the talk. What a turkey.

What happened to our Indian summer? That's OK, the snow makes Martha giddy about the holidays. And Tory, Eve, and I are happy to play along.

Where's Eve?

Ah, there she is! (And Martha's looking good too...)

Did you know that pregnancy gives Martha the magical ability to stand sideways? (p.s. anyone know an easy way to rotate a video clip?). On the other hand, pregnancy does not affect Martha's superhuman interest in Christmas paraphernalia.