I'm Going to get a Little Political

I've decided a long time ago to put politics in the back burner. I've realized over the years that it only brings hate. Candidates rarely make things better, but usually let things go. Anyway, I have to take issue with certain things. Newt Gingrich must have said the stupidest comment I have heard a candidate say thus far. He made a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women about bilingual education. His stance is that it should be abolished. Alright, some people don't agree with bilingual education. They feel it undermines the English language and the country.

Let me quote you exactly what he said:

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

Since when does having another native language is the "language of living in a ghetto?" Are you kidding me? How many people who speak the "language of prosperity" live in a ghetto? I only knew Spanish when I started school. I'm American, meaning I was born here. I never took bilingual education because my parents never thought I would need to. I was also 4 when I started school (my birthday is in September) and learned English just fine. But let's say I would not have been born in the United States and gotten here when I was older, I would have needed bilingual education.

Should everyone learn English? Absolutely. There's no question about it. The problem is that people who come from other countries are usually poor and need to work more than the regular 40 hour work week to support his/her family. If minimum wage was viable, than they would have the time to learn English. Children who do not speak English are not stupid. They just need a little help with the language. Remember that some of these kids have never heard English until they have stepped into a school. How would you feel if you didn't understand what your teaching is saying?

Has Newt Gingrich lost his mind saying what he said? There are millions of people who speak other languages and are not ghetto or living in a ghetto. Has Gingrich not stepped into the prominent neighborhoods of Miami where everyone speaks Spanish? Or in other neighborhoods throughout the country that speak only Korean and are not in ghettos?

I'm furious with his tone of hate and how he's insulted what makes this country work. All throughout American History there have been immigrants that speak other languages and make this country strong. There are countless children of immigrants that have sacrificed their lives for American wars. How many Puerto Rican men who did not speak English have been whisked away to war without even knowing why they were fighting to begin with? How dare he insult us?

So in my anger, I decided to google Gingrich and came across his website: newt.org. Guess what I found on his site? A Spanish tab! Why? This is what he said on that same speech: "Citizenship requires passing a test on American history in English. If that's true, then we do not have to create ballots in any language except English," he said. The three Spanish tabs available are his biography, frequent questions, and op-ed. In frequent questions, the first question is how to obtain an autographed picture of Newt Gingrich himself. Yup, that's exactly what I want after learning about his speech. Get the Spanish tab out of your website! There is no point of it according to your speech. Do not cater to the Spanish community if you're going to insult us. You are a disgrace and none of us appreciate your hateful speech.

So Much for Feeling Better...

I'm either sick or have severe allergies. I haven't figured it out yet, but one thing is for sure: this sucks! The only thing that has me leaning toward being sick is that my right gland feels somewhat swollen. If I press on it, there's a slight pain. Maybe it's a combination of both. I have no idea, but it needs to stop. I am so miserable. Sneezing has also become a fiasco where it hurts my entire insides when it happens. I'm walking around with a mega toilet roll as my tissue box. Please make this stop!

Eating and Feeling Better

I was finally able to eat some real food, yesterday (although I did have a bit of Chinese for dinner). My stomach was going crazy with food in it, but it worked with me. My aches and pains have gone away except for the one on the side of neck. Unfortunately, it seems that I may have some kind of throat thing going on. My nose is very stuffy, which makes breathing a pain.

Since I hadn't eaten much in the past few days, I've lost some more weight. A friend of mine told me that she had lost 20 lbs. when she first got pregnant, but gained it later on. I'm sure at one point I'll start gaining the weight. I just hope it's something manageable. If I continue with my current appetite, I don't anticipate much weight gain, but what's necessary for the baby.

As for my belly, it's getting a little bigger! I've been bad and haven't been taking weekly pictures. My coworkers are beginning to comment on my belly, though. You might confuse me for being overweight, but I'm proudly strutting my stuff. I've also never been much to care what others think in the first place. Well, that's it for now!

Being Pregnant and Sick

Is horrible! I, again, have some type of stomach virus or flu. The two times I attempted to eat breakfast yesterday resulted in me violently throwing it up. My food choices: white rice, mashed potatoes (no milk or butter), and gatorade. On top of the vomiting, my body ached as if I were getting a fever. Luckily, I am able to take Tylenol, which helped me in that department.

The worst thing that did happen to me last night was taking my prenatal vitamin. I hadn't thrown up since breakfast and figured that I was safe. Boy, was I wrong. I take my vitamins right before I go to sleep to avoid any discomfort (vitamins have always messed me up). As I'm laying in bed about thirty minutes after taking them, I got this burning feeling from my stomach all the way to my neck. I got up and ran to the bathroom and the rest is history. That vomiting burned my throat. It's still sore this morning and my voice is raspy. Can you believe that?

I feel better this morning and just had some non-saltines with a little bit of butter. I need to eat! Hopefully, that will stay in my stomach. The worst feeling is not being able to eat. I get so light headed and feel guilty about not feeding the baby. He/she didn't get any vitamins last night either! I'm sure it will be fine, but I still feel guilty.

I think I'm going back to sleep. Last night, I slept with the pillows propped up and didn't rest enough. Even though I just got up, I can't keep my eyes open. So, back to bed it is.

Spring Teaser

The temperature climbed to 70 degrees this week, but spring is still far away. Our week is ending with a snowstorm. I was excited about the warmer weather. On Tuesday, I met Dan for lunch and walked around Manhattan for about an hour or so (I quickly realized how badly I need to condition my body to walking; I got tired fast). On Wednesday, I went out and did a little shopping. I was loving these days!

Thursday came around promising to be just as nice temperature wise. It was suppose to rain, which is not really a big deal. The temperature reached around 67 degrees. By early evening, it was in the 30s and it was snowing/raining. The snow hasn't stopped! What happened to my delicious weather? What a tease!

I know the weather will get warmer eventually, but this snowstorm has really put a damper on my spirits. Spring hurry up!!

Bye-Bye First Trimester!

Today is the last day of my first trimester! How fast time is going! The next thing I know, I'm giving birth. My nausea has subsided and hopefully does not come back. My belly is getting harder, which is a little weird. As soon as my belly button pops out, I'll start looking pregnant instead of fat. Other than that, things are moving right along!

I still need to work on my energy levels. Now, I'm having a bit of a hard time sleeping and it has nothing to do with my comfortable new bed. I don't think I'm resting enough. If I'm home, I end up taking a nap. On days like yesterday that I was out all day, I couldn't take how tired I was. I went to bed around 11pm. Unfortunately, I woke up a few times throughout the night. My dreams have also been very anxiety driven. I guess I need to meditate for longer periods of time.

Well, that's it! Bye first trimester!

Big Day Yesterday

So I had my two doctors' appointments and they went very well. Dan came along with me to make sure everything was fine. I can't really describe how I felt seeing my little munchkin bouncing around all over the place. As the technician put it, "This baby is rockin' and rolling." It was just amazing.

I could have laid there all day looking at this little baby. By now, the baby measures 2.3 inches and his/her heart rate is at 163 bpm. We were able to see the tiny hands! He/She had his/her hands over the face. It looked like he/she was sucking his/her thumb. How precious! I really can't wait until we meet the little one. Babies are wonderful.

If you take a look at the pictures above, you could see the difference in size since last month. In four weeks, the baby should measure 4 inches. They really grow fast. Oh, I love this little one!

The test went fine. I'm waiting on blood work to come in to be 100% sure. Everything is growing the way it should and I'm happy with that. My morning sickness has subsided and next week I enter my second trimester. This is suppose to be the better part of my pregnancy and I plan to enjoy it as much as I can. Once the weather gets warmer, taking long walks will be a priority. Walking is an exercise that is easy and fun to do. Please let it get warm soon!! I can't stand walking on a treadmill (it's so boring).

Well, that's all I have for now. I can't tell you how excited I am. Now, it's time for me to lay back down in bed.

A Little Bit of Everything...

This week has been good so far with morning sickness. The last time I threw up was Friday. I've also noticed that my appetite has grown. I wonder if the lack of morning sickness has anything to do with my increased appetite. I'm not complaining! Last week, I spent eating ham and cheese sandwiches. Now, I'm eating other stuff. Although, I have to say that last night's dinner kind of bothered me. I'm not sure if me being extremely hot had anything to do with it, but I thought I was going to hurl. I didn't! What I did do was pass out on the couch for a few hours, which ruined my night. I couldn't fall back to sleep.

One thing I can't live without now that I'm pregnant is ice cold water. It's insane. I drink more water now than I ever had. If it isn't ice cold, than I don't want it. Weird. Occasionally, I drink soda, but I just don't like it. Water makes my stomach feel better. Not a bad thing to be hooked on. I drive Dan crazy with this ice water thing. At least he now knows not to give me water without ice.

I've always had vivid dreams. In fact, I still remember dreams from when I was young enough to still be in a crib. Although, there is one particular dream I thought was real. I remember being awake and seeing King Kong out my window. I called for my mom and of course she didn't believe me. That vision has always stayed with me. Anyway, I digress. I don't think my dreams have been more vivid lately, but I remember them more clearly. A lot goes on in these dreams. I enjoy them.

Next Wednesday I have to see two different doctors. The first one is for the first trimester screening, which determines if the child has down syndrome. That's a big one. I haven't thought about it much, but it does linger in the back of my mind. The second one is my monthly check up. I'll probably get another sonogram. This doctor I go to has the machine right in the office. I'm eager to see how much the baby has grown. Genitalia drops at twelve weeks. I may be able to get a peak. Chances are I won't see anything, but it would be cool if I did.

So that's all that's been going on with me. I'm feeling better each day as I reach the end of the first trimester. We're getting a new bed delivered this weekend, which I hope improves my sleep. Other than that, I'm good. As long as I don't throw up anymore, I think I'll be fine. Chat with you soon!!