Women's Leadership Development

My goal to blog on a daily basis forces me to seek moments of beauty and significance in an otherwise very structured, routine day. Lately my life consists of blocks of times spent working, commuting, and home-bound evening activities. I don't want to say that my life is boring, but it sure isn't exciting in any particular way. Today was such a day. So I challenged myself to find something that made an impact on me today. And luckily, I found it.

My dear friend Ginny invited me to a free session of her Women's Leadership Development Program that she is starting in Des Moines. There I met an exhuberant 71-year old that just knocked my socks off. Barbara Lukavsky is a very successful business owner, consultant and speaker who has served on the board of directors of my company for more than two decades. She gave us some leadership tips and then told us about her remarkable life and read excerpts from her book, "The Road Home - Finding My Way" which is about her personal journey through life's extremes.

We all received a copy, and Barbara even signed it for me. Let's just say that within 6 months she lost her only son and her husband, went to South Africa where she took on a much younger lover and then got shot. And that's just her personal life. She also excelled professionally during a time women had two career options: to be nurses or school teachers. And what a presence! I was definitely blown away. Can't wait to read her amazing story.

Color frenzy

The appointment today went well. I heard baby's heartbeat and couldn't help but smile. In a month, we are going to do an ultrasound and will find out gender of our little babe. Now all I have to do is wait. And for a person who is not very patient, knitting helps. Here are some projects I've been working on.

Featherweight cardigan

Baktus scarf

Hunter's baby vest

Wiggle wrap

Maybe I'll get a few done before the baby is here. :)

16 weeks

Sweet baby,

16 weeks - about 38-40% done. Wow! Tomorrow we have a doctor's appointment, and I'm anxious to hear your heart beat. That's the only affirmation for me that you are real.  So I can't wait to feel you kick. It should start to happen sometime in the next month, and I'm so eager for you to make your presence known.

Mama's nausea is not completely gone yet, but it has gotten better. I've lost some weight (but gained a bigger bump), and the maternity clothes are still a little loose. Overall, everything seems to be going well so far. Hope the doctor's appointment confirms that.

This past weekend your pa painted your room a prairie willow green. It's very soothing. We decided to go with a forest nursery theme, with trees, birds, deer, foxes, critter, owls, etc. Both your parents love the outdoors and nature. Your mama spent a great part of her childhood in her home country playing in the forest. It's a magical place full of wonder. We hope you like it.

Dad doing some touchups

We also filled a few pages of your baby book together. It was fun recording some of the information in there, including some facts about your parents. Somehow, the limited lines and words felt kind of hollow - they couldn't capture all you should know, including the stories and emotions associated with each entry. But I hope this will be a fun small momento for you.

This weekend we also decided to start thinking about names. We bought a baby name book at a book sale, your dad split it in half, we took two different-colored highlighters, and marked the names we liked. Then we exchanged the book halves and hoped we would end up marking at least some of the same names. And we did. There are plenty of great options to start out with, but we won't finalize our decision until you are here. The name should fit you, and we can't quite commit to something until we can try some on for size. It was both fun and stressful, and we also got some great inputs from family and friends. But it's such a major and final decision, baby! We don't want you to hate your name, we don't want anyone to make fun of it, and we also don't want the name to be difficult to prounouce in either one of your cultures. This has been one of the most challenging tasks yet.

Can't wait to hear your reply in the form of a kick.
Until then, lots of love for you, child.

Your mama

Friday fun

So, on Friday, I got to see one of my favorite comedians at Hoyt Sherman Place.

 

 

This is Demitri Martin

I also had the best company - my lovely sisters. They are big fans.

No flash photography

Yay!

Craft corner

Since I had to give up my craft room for our dear baby, my thoughtful, handy, and creative husband built me my own little craft corner in the office closet. I absolutely love it, and I love him!

So colorful and quaint

My own little sanctuary corner, built by my love

Hi baby!

Dear baby,

Up to this point I was afraid to speak of you or to you, afraid that this is all just a dream. Your mama is ridden with anxiety, so afraid of losing you or causing you any kind of pain. For a long time, you were an incredible little secret, guarded by a few people who love you so much - your grateful parents, amazing grandparents and lovely aunties. By now, the news of your pending arrival have been greeted by kind and loving words by friends and acquaintances, and I can finally let go of the thought that keeping you a secret would keep you safe.

You should know that your parents are doing everything to learn how to properly care for you. Your mom and dad are studious folks who read books and attend prenatal classes so we can give you the best care in the world. You should see how well your daddy swaddles a baby!

You should also know how lucky you are to have the father you have. What a wonderful, caring, nurturing, funny dad. We both lucked out! I am looking forward to watching you interact. What shananigans you will pull on your poor mother! Although your dad will make sure you have a ton of fun, don't let that fool you. He wants to keep you safe and healthy. And he means business. He has also already picked out a very special school for you.

What you'll find out, little baby, is that education is very important in your family. You can rest assured that you will get the best education we are able to provide, and we will sacrifice everything to give you a chance to learn and grow and see the world. But most of all, we want you to be happy. We will do everything in our power to help you in your pursuits, no matter what your interests are (given that these interests are legal and safe, of course).

I can't even express what wonderful extended family you have. I could write books describing your family members' virtues. Instead, I will let you discover on your own these people who will surround you in your life. These are some amazing, hardworking, loving people, and I'm beyond happy they get to be a part of your life. You will have so much love and support.

I also want you to know that your mama will love you no matter who you are and what you become. You are perfect in my eyes - you can't do no wrong. Your happiness is my sole purpose in life. I can't wait to hold you, baby. I'm counting down the days.

Your baby book

Love, always and forever,

Your mama

Thank you! And more good news!

Dear friends,

Thank you for your nice wishes and kind words. Sharing these news for the first time can be a little nerve-wrecking, but you made it all good. :)

We also have some other great news - hubby has passed the bar exam and is now officially a lawyer. I'm really proud of him. We have grown up a lot together in the past 10 years, and are ready for the next exciting chapter in our lives.