Teatopia

Pray for Me

Have you seen my countdown to work ticker? Today is my last day, and my heart is breaking. It's not that I'm not excited and ready for this next phase of my life, because I am. But, with this new phase comes many unknowns and new experiences for me: less of an income, less adult interaction during the day, and not seeing the students that I love. And let's not forget, not only am I ending a career, I am beginning a new job soon: MOM. It's hard to imagine being a SAHM when I don't even have a baby yet.

Say a prayer for me when I walk out these doors at 4:00.

My (lack of) news

I had a check-up today. Absolutely no change since 10 days ago, although I suspected this could be the case. My doctor informed me that he will be out of town all next week, to which I wanted to cry and plead "you can't leave me!" but I know I am being left in capable hands. The woman on call for him is supposed to be really great. Besides, it seems unlikely that I will need him next week anyway. I asked him today if the fact that I have been partially dilated, effaced, and dropped for a couple weeks meant that I wouldn't be late at least and he looked at me, one eyebrow up, and said "no, you could still be late." *boo hoo*

I see his nurse next week for a check-up on Tuesday morning, then the following Monday, I'll see him IF (and I emphasize IF) I'm still pregnant, and we'll talk about inducing me. I really don't want to be induced. In fact, like GFF, I thought about asking him to strip my membranes, but I kind of want it to happen on it's own and I am a week behind GFF, so I can wait I guess. I'm sure in another week, I'll let him do whatever he wants! He said that unless I was against it, he wasn't going to have me go past my due date. However, in spite of all the options to get things moving, and in spite of the fact that pretty soon my stretch marks are going to extend to my neck, I kind of want it to happen naturally (remind me that I said this in a week).

I told him about the HORRIBLE bladder spasms I've been having, and he explained that they probably won't get better until her head is gone. Currently, she has turned my poor bladder into a pillow. Glad one of us is at least comfortable.

However, I feel some hope after hearing some news from my sister today. Her friend, who is due the week after me, had her water break today in the middle of class and now is in labor. Can you please send some vibes my way?

Closure

I don't have long to write because I am super tired and have much on my mind. I wanted to share something special that happened to me today. All day, I was so stressed because I had like 4 meetings to go to and I just didn't feel well (had lots of pain/contractions last night and threw up this morning), but everyone was so insistent that I come to these meetings. I bitched and bitched all day to my team that James was coming to move stuff out of my room and I didn't have time to meet. Well, James didn't show, so I went up to my meeting and found that all my students had planned a huge show to honor me with the help of my friend R. I immediately started to cry when I saw all my kids there (150 of them) and all my friends at work. Even the chorus and band performed. R chose my favorite students to perform various skits about me having the baby and I just sat and cried. One of the funniest things was the retired Marine math teacher on our team impersonating me! He had a blonde wig, HUGE tummy and a leopard skin moo-moo! It was hilarious! James and my mom were already there waiting for me to arrive and James recorded the whole thing with our camcorder. I wish I could post pictures, but for the sake of privacy, I know I can't. :-( I felt like today there was closure at work, even though it will be harder than ever to leave. It all made me so emotional.

I feel so loved and truly blessed. It was what I needed to welcome baby girl into the world. I am still scared, but ready. I really thought that maybe this morning was it. I had the worst chemical nausea (which can be the on-set of labor because of the increased hormones) but so far, I haven't had a pain in hours. I guess I'm still going to work until Friday, but at least I won't have to dread having an emotional Friday saying goodbye. I think I went through enough today. Only the truest friend would've worked as hard as R did with these students. She wrote scripts, paid for all the costumes and props and spent hours working with the kids outside of school. I know that even though I won't be there next year, she will remain one of my closest and treasured friends.

Big belly, pregnant dreams, and a lemon berry tart

James took this picture tonight, at 37.5 weeks. Can you believe I have gained less than 20 pounds? I am all baby, baby! For some reason, I look extra big in this picture, but I know I have grown since last week when I took the last one.

I think I am really stressing about labor and how much my life is going to change. Last night I dreamed that:

-- my baby came out looking about 4 years old and I didn't want to nurse her because it seemed gross to nurse a child that old.

-- I forgot to change her diaper for 3 days

-- she had 3 legs. In the dream, I obsessively went over the ultrasound pictures, trying to figure out how the doctor missed that.

Yep, definitely stressing out.

Now for something mouth-watering. Here is the yummy lemon berry tart I had on Saturday when my mom took me for tea. I have cut back on sweets, so I really enjoyed this!

Nope, no baby! and other stuff

Some of you were worried that I'd had the baby-- nope, not yet! In fact, as much as I'm ready for her to come, I am kind of hoping she'll wait until next week because we are having another baby shower on Monday! This Friday is my last day of work (hard to believe) and next week is Spring Break, so I'm off anyway. Then, I guess I won't be going back. On Monday, my husband's kind co-workers are hosting a lunch for us at a restaurant and giving us gifts. I guess I need to add some more stuff to our registry because it's on the invitation. I'm not sure what else I still need! I have so much already, but I guess we can always stock up on things like diapers, wipes, toiletries, etc.

A co-worker of mine had to go to court today, and he said that the lady who hit me was there. Because I didn't go, they dropped most of the charges. Now I am re-thinking my decision not to go. The truth is, because I am tied up in a legal dispute with her insurance company, I didn't want to deal with anything else. I am also due to have a baby any day and really didn't feel like having to go to court. But damn, I wish she had been charged with everything, especially after lying and trying to fault me. *sigh* See? Now I'm worked up about this whole accident again. Maybe it is better I didn't go.

I still have nursery pictures to post, no, I haven't forgotten. I've just become a lazy pregnant woman who doesn't feel like doing a whole lot. I actually have been quite busy at home though-- finding stuff to do in the nursery (even when there's nothing left to do!) and cleaning around the house. Also, this has been a busy week at work! After Friday, this is it!

Weekend re-cap so far

So far this weekend, I have accomplished some of the things I need to do, plus some others. I am officially nesting (although I've already nested off and on during the pregnancy).

On Friday night, a friend of James' from work told us to come by and look at all her old baby clothes. She had a big yardsale yesterday morning, but said we could get an early look. She gave us 50% off what they were priced and I went nuts. I spent $72, but considering how cheap they were, that's a lot of clothing for baby girl! I got some gorgeous Classic Pooh stuff, some Christmas outfits, dresses, feety pajamas, a few 2 piece outfits, a coat, Guess jeans, Tommy Hilfiger jeans, an Osh Kosh B'Gosh jumper, and more. Everything is in great shape. The great thing is, her daughter was born in April, so the sizes match the seasons we need perfectly. I already had tons of stuff for up to about 6/9 months, but not much for a year old or beyond, so now we are in better shape. Today, I plan to wash all the clothes and put them in her drawers/closet-- if I can find room that is. I may just need to pack them up!

Yesterday, my mom took me for tea at our usual spot about 45 minutes north. We had a great time and we talked a lot about baby girl's arrival. She is so excited to meet her first grandchild! I have a picture of the fabulous lemon curd and berry tart I had, but I'll post it with the rest of the pictures later. I have updated nursery pics (it looks great), but I am waiting until we get the last pictures on the wall today before I finish taking pictures. Remember this picture idea? Well, we went with it and it turned out great!

When I got home from lunch with mom, I decided to clean off the entire China cabinet/display thingy. I washed every single teacup and teapot, crystal bowl, etc in warm soapy water and dried it off. It took me almost 2 hours because some are so old and fragile. Now, everything is shining. :-) James and I also dusted and cleaned the living room and he is cleaning the office/guest room as I type.

Tonight we are going to my parents for dinner as usual, and I making a berry cobbler-- maybe my last big culinary undertaking before baby arrives???

Angels in Our Midst

I truly believe that God places angels around us for various reasons: to help us, comfort us, and sometimes, maybe even to test us. Yesterday, I got my hair cut after work. Three employees of the big salon I used to go to left and opened a small salon, and I've been going there for almost a year. I got into an interesting discussion with 2 girls that work there. They were telling me about the homeless man that lives by the salon and how they give him money and food. The girls were telling me that the other salon owner, a guy, says that it's important to help people like him-- that he could even be Jesus. (Remember the bum in Bruce Almighty?) Now, these 3 aren't particularly religious, but we got into an interesting discussion about how God might test us with different people and situations. It made sense to me. I can recall times where someone asked for help and I didn't give it them, and then I felt uneasy and guily later. Growing up in the D.C. area, I was always approached by bums and often ignored them, mostly because I was scared. Anyway, after the discussion, we went on to talk about many other things-- my baby, being gay (the guy owner is), Scientology, etc. and I forgot all about the angel/Jesus conversation. Well, as I was leaving the salon, a woman knocked on the passenger window of my car. She wasn't homeless, but she was in trouble and it was clear she needed help. I gave her what money I had and felt really good about it. I don't think I've had someone approach me in years (except in South Africa), and it was interesting that it happened last night after a really deep conversation about God's tests.

I think it's important to always do what you can, as long as you feel safe, and let God judge the other person. I tried to do what I thought God would want, and if the woman was scamming me, then that's for God to decide, not me.

Do you think God tests us? Does he place people and various situations in our paths to see how faithful we are? It's something to consider . . .

Can you believe I wrote an entire post without mentioning pregnancy/babies/leaky boobs/dilation/etc?

Things that are frustrating me

-- I haven't packed my hospital bag yet and just don't feel like doing it. Besides, half the stuff I need to pack I'm still using

-- having to pee every 20 minutes

-- the ever-spreading stretch marks

-- my long-term sub plans are not done yet

-- I haven't finished my thank you notes (I had like 50 to write!)

-- I am in charge on the literary magazine for 6th grade and it's not finished (almost, though) and I'm scared it won't be done before I leave

-- my last day is a week from tomorrow and I am worried I'll cry. I don't want to cry at school in front of my kids

-- my room at school needs to be cleaned out asap

-- Gracie (our rat terrier) has another ear infection-- a bad one! She has horrible chronic allergies and she keeps scratching in her ear and making it infected. She gets rashes too. :-(

-- I've had more meetings than ever at school and I haven't had time to get anything done. There's no use staying until 6:00 because I am too tired and am supposed to be resting in the afternoons. Yeah, right.

Knowing is worse

I almost wish I didn't know that I was dilated, effaced, and dropped. It gives me a false sense of hope, and after seeing that GFF is still waiting, and hearing from numerous co-workers that my progress is an indication of nothing, I am more impatient. It's not so much that I want her to come now-- I'm not even quite 37 weeks-- it's more than I am obsessing over when it'll happen. Will I make it at work until the 31st as planned? Will it start at work? Will I be late? Should I keep teaching until it does happen? Ugh, the questions!

Hope this isn't too much info, but-- tonight I had some mucous tinged with blood. Not sure if this means anything. I did afterall have an exam yesterday, but I thought I'd see the blood sooner if it was from that. My guess is that he disrupted some stuff yesterday when he checked me and now the mucous plug is breaking apart. My book says that labor can be close, but other sources say it could still be a month.

The truth is, I am getting terrified. I officially told my principal that I would not be back after the 31st, so after next week, I am unemployed. I know I'll be happy to be home with baby girl, but since I haven't seen her yet and can't imagine being a SAHM mom, I simply feel lost. And I am scared sh!tless about labor. I feel like one, big bundle of nerves. Even now, my heart is pounding. My life is about to change in a big way and I am not prepared!

Someone say something to make me feel better, please.

Progress . . . WAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!!!

Well, I got the news I wanted today. After a horribly painful exam, I would've been mad if he didn't have anything to tell me! :-)

OK, so I am officially in the 1st stage of labor because I am:
-- 80% effaced
-- 1.5 centimeters dilated, and
-- baby girl's head has started to descend into the birth canal (-1 station)

However, this stage can last for a few weeks, but this is definitely something. Anyone want to venture a guess as to how long I have? I am assuming it's unlikely that I'd be late since I am progressing???

36 Weeks

Here is my belly at 36 weeks, stretch marks and all. Hey folks, I'm keeping it real. I had some on my sides from my growth spurt in middle school, but they had faded to nothing. Well, now they're back plus tons more below my belly button. I hope I don't grow anymore!

I have an OBGYN appointment tomorrow and I am hoping for some news. Even if I don't have her for a few weeks, I want to at least hear that I am progressing in some way.

A Daddy for My Baby

A couple of days ago, we had spring picture day at school. On planning, my friend R and I were up in the library checking out materials while the kids were getting their pictures taken. R was majorly eyeing the hottie who was posing the kids and taking the pictures. We noticed he had a ring on, but couldn't tell if it was a wedding ring or not. A few of our students were standing with us, watching us eye this guy (we are the COOL teachers!) and daring R to go up and ask him out. Finally, one of our students said she'd ask him if he was married. Thinking this might not be a good idea, I went up with her and asked him myself. He took one look at my belly and turned white. The look on this poor man's face told me that he thought I was asking for me! He probably thought I wanted a baby for my daddy! LOL! Anyway, I quickly said, "Oh no! Not for me! I'm married-- it's for my friend over there!" and he looked so relieved. In a way I felt stupid and unattractive, and in another way, especially after the conversation with the cashier, I was totally amused. :-)

It turned out he wasn't, but he had a girlfriend. Oh well, at least I tried, though it was at the expense of my pride!

More on the Feet and Diaper Question

Thank you for all your well wishes about my feetloaves! They are still puffy, but my sweet hubby has spent hours (literally) rubbing them and the swelling has subsided a bit. They are still sore though. I am also drinking tons of water and watching my sodium a bit. I called the doctor yesterday, and according to his nurse, they could get worse. She put me on evening rest. I have to lay on my left side when I get home from work. I see the OBGYN Monday and they said they will look at them then. My blood pressure isn't high (I took it at the pharmacy) and I haven't been having headaches-- a sign of the onset of pre-eclampsia.

Ok, now for some advice. I need to buy some diapers for when baby girl gets home (my mom assures me I can buy these later, but I want to have everything ready). What brand/type do you prefer? I know this is a personal preference, but I'm sure some brands are absolute no-no's. I'll start out with newborn sized ones and then buy bigger ones when I need them I guess. I never realized there were so many decisions to make!

Strange Ass-umption and More About Feet

Despite the generous out-pouring of gifts betwen my two showers, there were a few things I still needed, some of which I purposely did not register for because I wanted to pick them out myself: a diaper bag, diaper stacker, mobile, etc. As I was paying for the remaining items I'll need, an odd conversation began between me and the cashier-- a sad one really because it showed where some people come from:

Me: "owwwwww" as she tells me my total of $150. (can it be that I'm spending this much after 2 showers???)

Cashier: "You oughtta be making the baby's daddy pay for that!"

Me: "Huh?" (have I heard her correctly?)

Cashier: "I said, you oughtta be making the daddy pay for that! That's his responsibility!" (yes, I've heard her correctly unfortunately)

Me: "He is paying for it. He's my husband." (Was this the right thing to say? It's the truth. I wasn't about to pretend to be an unwed mother who couldn't find the daddy)

Cashier: "I'm real hungry. Know any good places to eat?" (I mean, what else could she say?)

BTW, I have my wedding rings on. She could've at least looked. I was writing a check right in front of her face.

And now for a feet update. I was late for work this morning because I couldn't fit my feet into even the largest slip-ons. And this is after almost 8 hours in bed, off of them. I feel like my co-workers need me to wrap things up and disregard any of my complaints. I am not a whiner, but when I said I was going to have to call my OBGYN at the beginning of a meeting today because there is no other opportunity (I am with kids ALL DAY), one of them said, "oh yeah, I had that. It's normal and I still wore pretty shoes." Well, thank you for that, but I can barely walk with these watermelons. It might NOT be normal. To have ankles 6 inches wide after being off of them for almost 8 hours? Is this normal? I really don't know . . .

Feetloaf

I think this picture deserves an entry of its own. I no longer have feet. I have featloaves. My normally size 8.5 very narrow feet are ginormous and uncomfy. They look like giant meatloaves. I have been trying to keep them elevated, but I have stuff to and so it's not so easy. I am nesting folks! I've also been having BH contractions, but nothing major. I keep looking for a mucus plug or some sign, but I think it's just too early. I need to be patient. I may be stuck with these humungus things for a while!

Showers, Nursery Progress, Spa Day, and Other Stuff

The 2nd shower:

My shower on Friday was wonderful! We got so many incredible gifts. Rather than getting a bunch of smaller things, people went in on some big items! We got the pack 'n play we really wanted, the matching high chair, and my mom brought the matching swing to the shower. Also, we got clothes, a bottle set, monitors, a bathtub, blankets, burp cloths, toys, products, and more. The food was wonderful too! My friend Rebecca made her awesome Cajun dip (she's from 'Nawlins), and there was spinach/artichoke dip, an amazing cake, and other goodies. Everyone's kindness made me more sad to leave in 3 weeks. :-( I will post pictures of shower #2 later.

Spa Time:

My spa package was un-freakin-believable. The massage was amazing (my first ever!) and the manicure and pedicure were great too, except that the poor girl who did the pedicure couldn't even get cotton calls inbetween my huge, swollen toes. This is a lovely new symptom that started in the last 36 hours. I will post pictures of my feet later, but they might be too big to fit on your screen.

Other Baby Stuff:

We ordered our rocking chair this weekend. It's a gorgeous light green gingham chair with a matching ottoman and it matches our nusery so well. My parents were kind enough to pay for it for us. :-) I'll post pictures when it comes in in a week or so. I made some light green and pink stripey pillows to put on it.

I packed the diaper bag last night. I bought an adorable
light green Winnie the Pooh bag and my mom bought James a smaller Eddie Bauer bag, which he loves. The poor guy had to have something that wasn't cute or girly. :-) So far I packed diapers, wipes, clothes for the hospital for the baby (socks, those little hats, onesies, a few warmer outfits, diaper rash cream, and changing pads). What else should I have in there?

I haven't received the pictures of the 1st shower yet, but here's one I took of the gifts. It was the only one I had without faces in it.

Not What I Thought

As my last day of work approaches, I am plagued with mixed emotions. I thought I'd be thrilled to leave this job that so often stresses me out. What could be better than staying home with my precious daughter and having my husband come home for lunch every day, except of course, getting paid for it? :-) I feel like God has opened my eyes to the many wonderful things about my job. Is He trying to tell me something? I always planned to stay home with my children for a while, and now I don't feel as good about it as I thought I would. Tomorrow I have my second shower and all I can think about are the wonderful people who care about me and who have worked so hard to plan this wonderful celebration. And I'm leaving them. There's a part of me that is relieved to go, but not as much a part of me as I thought. I also don't really know who to talk to about it. My husband is worried about finances with me most likely quitting and my co-workers all want me to stay. My mom thinks I should stay home since James makes a decent living as an electronics engineer (still, 2 incomes are much better than one). *sigh*

If you could choose between staying home with your child and living comfortably or staying at work with people you really like and having more money, what would you choose? (I forgot to mention that I will get paid through August since they take part of your pay throughout the year for the summer-- yippee!)

This may all be a moot point when I see that precious child's face. It'll be a done deal then-- I'll probably never leave her for anything, but for now, this is hard.

Edited to add: living comfortably to me means hving enough money for bills and some extras. It will not, however, allow us to go out and spend money the way we are used to. Gone are the exotic vacations (not that we could take them now anyway) and the purchasing of the latest electronics, but we won't be poor. Heck James makes a bit more now than he did when I was a full-time student, so things can't be all that bad if we made it then, right?

Birthing Plan Help

After posting about birthing plans, some of you expressed an interest in what I decided.

I found this site online tonight. All you do is click what you want, fill in some info and it creates it for you. Easy!

A Better Week

After a crazy busy week last week, I am enjoying a quieter one this week. My Tuesday night gifted certification class was cancelled last night and I finished my Wednesday night classroom mgt course last week, so I am breathing easier. We have our last birthing class this Friday, but I always look forward to those, and also to our traditional stop for ice cream afterwards. :-) This Friday we are going over our birthing plans, so I have been working on mine. Not sure what kinds of things people include in them, so I have been doing a little research. Anything I should definitely include? I'm not sure what is routine/obvious and what actually has to be stated.

I am still having some Braxton Hicks contractions, but I know I'm weeks away from our daughter's arrival. I still have a lot to do before she comes. We have another baby shower this Friday after work. It's being hosted by 6 co-workers and they said they are expected a large turn-out. I tend not to like being the center of attention, so instead of being really excited, I am feeling nervous and a little uncomfortable. Weird, I know.

I am finishing this week off in a great way! After a nice Friday night, I am heading to the spa at 9:00 am on Saturday morning. My mom gave me a gift certificate for a pregnancy package at a spa for Christmas, and I waited to use it until I was very uncomfortable, which I am now. I am having a one-hour massage (never had one before) and an hour long pedicure followed by a manicure. They are also serving me lunch. :-) I should be out by 1:00 and then my mom and I are driving to metro Atlanta to buy a rocking chair and foot rest for the nursery. I'll probably eat again up there. :-)

Baby Shower #1 and Other Weekend Highlights

My shower was fabulous! Everyone was so generous with their gifts! I got some of the most gorgeous clothes. I didn't take too many pictures because I didn't get the chance, but my friend Lisa did and she's going to upload them into a Kodak album for me. I will post them then. I can tell you that baby girl is going to be one stylish chick! I have all these visions of our trip to the beach this summer with baby girl in her pink stroller, wearing a gorgeous sun dress with a matching hat!

I have been having some intense Braxton Hicks contractions, but only one or two a day. Some are painful, others I'm not even sure are definitely contractions. I had a dream that last night I lost my mucus plug. I think I am getting more and more eager to meet my precious daughter. James and I spent a lot of time in the nursery this weekend. We put up letters spelling her name, washed and put away clothes, hung other pictures, and just organized stuff. I love going in her room and looking around. We also bought ourselves some new bedding. The other set we had was expensive and nice, but it's dry-clean only. There are a few stains on it (some from me shaving, cutting myself, and sitting on the bed to comb my hair) that wouldn't come out at the dry-cleaners, so we figured it just wasn't practical anymore. I'm sure baby girl will spit up, poop, pee, or something on there!

I'd have to say that the real highlight of my weekend was getting puked on at Olive Garden on Saturday night! Some little kid projectile vomited on my shoes and purse. And although James says it didn't hit my pants, I am absolutely sure it splattered all over them (they were black at least). Maybe God was preparing me for things to come? I'm sure there's a lot more coming my way soon! The main thing that pissed me off was that throughout the endless stream of vomit coming from this kid's mouth, her idiot mom just stood there and let the kid puke in my direction. I was sitting on a couch and couldn't get myself up fast enough to get out of the way-- I'm not too quick at moving these days. How totally rude. She didn't even apologize! Sh%t happens, and so does puke, but for goodness' sake, MOVE AND SAY YOU'RE SORRY!

It's Finally Here!

After a wonderful birthing class last night and a tour of the hospital (we saw new babies!), today is my first shower at 2:00! I am so excited. I am still having those moments where I think, "this is really happening!" It's still so hard to believe. I have thought about being a mommy my whole life. I remember stuffing blankets in my tummy when I was little, and even as a teenager to see what I'd look like someday.

I'll post pictures of the shower later. I am so excited. The next one is next Friday.

Un-Sexy

Last night, my husband did something he's never done before. He went to sleep in the guestroom because his pregnant wife was snoring like a pig. I've never been a snorer, at least I wasn't before I got pregnant. As I laid there in my nursing bra (gotta protect those leaky nipples) and huge maternity underwear, I realized something: this is it. My sexy days are over.

*My husband swears I still am, but he's just a bit biased.

Are you anonymous in the blogging realm?

When I first started my blog, I told everyone and anyone about it. I was so excited. I thought these babies were the best thing since sliced bread-- still do. My family started to read it and many of my friends too. Back then, I never knew what to write, so I usually ended up choosing impersonal topics about stuff like food, weekend plans, etc. Now that I'm settled into having a blog, it is has become my oulet. I have gotten much more bold in my writing and sometimes it'd be nice to be just plain anonymous. I write about the horrors I sometimes face at my job, my feelings about people. Just the other day I wanted to write something about my boobs, but I worried someone I knew might be reading. My family has commented on things I have written, so I know they read occasionally. Sometimes I feel like saying a bad word (oops) but wonder if I should (I probably shouldn't anyway). I'm not smart enough to check to see where people live who are reading, just to know if any co-workers have discovered my little secret. I open my blog at work, so you never know . . .

One person I know who doesn't often read is my hubby. He knows I tell him about anything worth writing on my blog, so I guess he figures he isn't missing much. In fact, I am thoroughly convinced that I could've been writing about a passionate affair for the last 6 months and he'd be none the wiser. I knew this one girl whose husband didn't even know she had a blog, so when she suddenly stopped writing and disappeared, no one was able to post as to where she had gone. I still worry because she had some health problems. Some of you may know to whom I am referring.

Some of you I know in real life (or have met you), others have become dear friends through the blogging world and we communicate often. Some of you, well, I don't even know your real names, but I love ya anyway!

I am curious, how anonymous are you in the blog world? Do you share your name (first and last)? Do you just go by a screen name? Does your spouse or family know about your blog?

This should be fun to answer!