10 more fingers, 10 more toes

There truly must be something in the U.S. water supply!!!!!! Well, chalk me up with the rest of the momma crew that's expecting again, 'cause Josh and I just found out that we're going to have our third baby!!!!!!!! [cue shrilling freak out scream] Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Yep, that's right folks. Dear Jolie, the girl who, just LAST WEEK (two days before testing +) told someone that my baby factory was gonna have to be closed down for a while until we both finish school. My, my, how life (aka, Heavenly Father!) throws you some curve balls sometimes. This is the way it always goes with me, though. If I were a more superstitious person, I'd knock on wood after making comments like that. HA!

We are actually SUPER excited, and WAY more relaxed and calm about this than I'd originally imagined. I mean, most people will tell you that it's having that 3rd child that really throws things off kilter because now the children outnumber the adults in the house!!! But I know we'll adjust. I'm already looking forward to having s'more teenie fingers and toes to tickle!!! (Incidentally, baby toes are probably my favorite feature on those little things. They're so cute!!)

**This part is for Shara: Do you remember when I called you in a teary panic when I found out that I was pg with Jaclyn?! Josh was at work and I needed someone to talk to before I, like, passed out. I was SO shocked that we were having baby #2 so soon! Joanna was only 6 months old at the time. But you helped me so much and calmed me right down. Ah, I was just reminiscing about that whole experience and it made me laugh.**

My 1st doc appt. isn't for another 3 weeks, so I'll have to wait to tell ya'll what our official due date is. I would have a better "guesstimate" of my own, but my cycles have never been regular, so I really don't know how far along I am. (Sorry if that was TMI for you. I used to care about sharing that kind of stuff but after being in the Ramsey family for 4.5 years, I'm open to pretty much any subject of discussion!!) But judging from my last two pregnancies and when I started "feeling" pregnant with them, I'm guessing that I'm currently 5 weeks along, which would make the baby due in September...right around Joanna's 3rd birthday. (Her b-day is the 10th) And OH BOY am I startin' to feel it!! Ug. The good ol' nausea and fatigue thing is beginning to hit. Hurray for the 1st trimester!! BARF. It's a good thing that it's all worth it in the end, right?!

For anybody who's interested to know, I met with my advisor today to tweak my academic plan to compensate for the new baby's arrival. I can still graduate on time (this coming fall '08 quarter) as long as I take one extra class next quarter (spring) and two summer classes. Then this fall (yes, as in a few weeks after I deliver) I will only have to take one class and my senior exit interview crap-ola class. I figure, I can handle one class and a few interviews with the new baby. PLUS, my sweet mother-in-law has offered to come up here and stay for a few weeks to help out with everything, so that will be a huge, huge weight off my shoulders. And Josh will also be completely done in the fall, so it looks like we will have much to celebrate later this year!!

See, so in the end, everything will work out and at the end of the day I can breathe a cleansing breath of relief and say, "God is in complete control." I know that He is. This is His little child and He wants him/her to come now.

So, let's see here. I now join the ranks of so many of you who are expecting right now!!! There's Anjuli, Tasha, Beth, Shara, Ruth, Janae, Stephanie, and Lacey. I hope I'm not excluding anybody. (Well, unless, of course, you're glad to not be on this sort of list right now!! haha)

Healthy pregnancies to all, and to all a good night!!!

Professor Corihor update

Thanks everyone for your comments and concern. I have decided to stick it out and stay in the class...for now. It's a three-hour class that meets once a week, so I've only attended that one meeting. I figure I'll give it another chance and see how it goes. (Besides, I've been told that taking this course from him is a cinch, and that the other professor who teaches it really piles the work on. So part of me really wants to stay the course!!)

I have not had a chance to make it over to the Dean of the Psych. dept., but I certainly will pursue it if it comes down to that. What I have done in the mean time is spoken candidly about this matter with another professor I have this quarter. I did not tell her who the prof. was, but I guess through process of elimination she figured it out! (oops) Anyway, she was appalled to hear that he would act like that in the classroom, as they have taught together for years. (I thought about that Carl Rogers quote and about the different masks he must wear to hide who he really is.)

She insisted that I have rights as a student and that he can in no way give me a poor grade based upon my religious beliefs or upon what I said to him. She advised me to keep close track of my grades on tests, papers, quizzes, etc. and make sure that everything adds up correctly at the end of the quarter. She also advised me to question any grade I receive on those assignments if I feel that they merited a higher grade.

So, there ya go. I guess that's where I'm at, for today. Man, as if life couldn't get any more stressful going to school full-time as I (attempt to) stay afloat on the homefront with laundry, dishes...and, oh yeah, CARING FOR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN?!?!?!?! Oi veh.

MY strong self, real self

Okay, this post relates to the previous post; the one with the quote from Carl Rogers. So first, read the quote, then come back and read this little story I have to tell. It's a true story. *Names have been changed to protect the innocent.* ;-)

Winter quarter classes just began, and among the courses I am taking is a Relationships and Personal Development class. Since I am (now) a Family Studies major, I am taking this class because it pertains to intimacy, relationships, marriage, self-exploration, etc. You know, FAMILY STUDIES and PSYCHOLOGY type stuff. My professor is an older gentleman. He began the hour by going over the syllabus, explaining course objectives...all the usual things. Okay. Then the professor began telling us a little about himself. He shared some background about his upbringing and education. So I'm still thinking to myself, typical first-day stuff, right?!

Now here's where it got interesting. After a few minutes or so he mentions the fact that he grew up in southern Utah and went to the University of Utah. So I'm thinking, okay, maybe the guy is LDS. Well sure enough, he begins a 45-minute schpeel (I timed him!) about the "Mormon" church, making sure to include everything from polygamy, the "restrictions" of the Word of Wisdom, and a handful of anti-Mormon beliefs. His voice and mannerisms were snide, sarcastic, and cynical, and it seemed like he took great pleasure in getting a rouse out of my fellow students. Students laughed at many comments he made and I heard many sighs of disbelief as he shared a story about his great-grandfather who practiced polygamy and had two wives that hated each other.

It also seemed like he had a bone to pick with the church because he said that he never married, and he chose not to do so, to intentionally defy the LDS culture's philosophy that everyone should marry and have large families. (Of course, the church does teach that families are important, but the way he described it made our doctrine sound completely twisted and confounding.) He even explained that when he lived in SLC years and years ago, his bishop tried to set him up on blind dates and would periodically call him into his office to tell him that he was going to hell if he didn't get married.

By this point my blood was boiling and I had the feeling that my heart was pounding hard and would jump out of my chest at any moment!! I had raised my hand a couple times in attempts to interrupt his rant, but he didn't see me. When he was finally done indoctrinating the class about our beloved faith, he called a 10-minute break, so I seized the opportunity to give him a piece of MY mind!!!

Here's the gist of what I told him...
*Professor Corihor*, I want to tell you that I am an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I did not appreciate anything you said regarding our church. What you just shared was false and misleading, and none of it pertained one bit to this course's description!! This isn't a religion or philosophy class. If you harbor ill feelings toward the church for whatever reason, that's YOUR business. You have the right to express those feelings with your family and friends. But using your classroom as a forum to share your anti-Mormon beliefs is NOT appropriate, tasteful, or respectful to students such as myself who hold high esteem for the church.

Then *Corihor* rebuttled saying that he didn't think that he was being cynical or rude at all!!!!! He felt that everything he said pertained perfectly to the course and that it needed to be shared in order to understand his background and beliefs on family. (Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

So then I told him that if he felt it was necessary to explain his Mormon upbringing, he should not have included ANY false remarks which attack the church, its doctrine, its culture, or its people. I told him that he was way out of line and that he should apologize to me and to the other students. He just looked at me and said nothing.

Well, the break ended, I returned to my seat, and he resumed class. But he didn't offer one word of apology.

...okay, so now I pose a question to ya'll who've actually read this entire thing. Do you feel that I should speak with the Dean of the dept. about this? I mean, if this is what the man did yesterday, I'm sure he's done it in previous classes, and I'm sure he'll continue to spread anti-Mormon sentiments in the future. (Which, of course, have NOTHING to do with the course material.) I know that I am in the right, and that in today's world students have rights about these sorts of attacks on their spiritual beliefs. I'm also concerned now about my grade in the class!! What if he black lists me and gives me a bad grade because of what I said to him?? Should I even stay in the class or drop it?

Most of all, I've been thinking about him all day. I can't help but wonder what could have happened to him that made him so incredibly bitter and angry about the church. I can only imagine that it had something to do with the whole never-getting-married thing. (He also told the class that he moved to Washington to "escape" the pressures he faced in Utah.) I want to reach out to him and help him, but I just don't know if it's my place. I've been trying to think about what I could say. If you have any advice, I'm open to it!! Please share your insights about the situation and about what you might say to him that could console him in any way.

Oh, one more thing. I find it ironic that he shared the Carl Rogers quote with us. What I observed from yesterday's proceedings is that *Prof. Corihor* still wears his mask every day. He hasn't been able to forgive the people who have insulted or hurt him, which makes him very vulnerable. Oh, and did I mention that he used to be a Marriage Counselor?!?!

Strong Self, Real Self

Carl Rogers on "Being Real"

There is basically nothing to be afraid of when I present myself as I am.
When I can come forth non-defensively, without armor, just me, when I can accept the fact that I have many deficiencies, many faults, make lots of mistakes, am often ignorant when I should be knowledgeable, often prejudiced when I should be open minded, often have feelings that are not justified by the circumstances--then I can be much more real.

And when I can come out wearing no armor, making no effort to be different from what I am, I learn so much more, even from criticism and hostility, and I am so much more relaxed, and I get so much closer to people.

My willingness to be vulnerable brings forth so much more real feeling from other people. I enjoy life much more when I am not defensive, not hiding behind a facade, just trying to be and express the real me.

~Rogers, Freedom to Learn, p. 229