- What’s up this week?  My blood pressure (hahahaha oh I slay me).  I’m now being monitored weekly from here until D-Day ever since, two weeks ago, it was found my blood pressure was on the rise.  My blood pressure has always been smack dab on FREAKING PERFECT at 110/70 all my life and really, most of my pregnancy as well.  Now it’s at 136/89 and I am not pleased.  The doctor is not worried yet as I have no other signs of  pre-eclampsia, but I tend to worry about most things.  I am (crazy as this sounds) looking forward to labor and I really don’t want this interfering with my plans… I don’t want a C-section above all else!

-Due to the above, I may need to go on maternity leave earlier than expected.  Currently, I am scheduled to leave work June 15th.  I hate the idea of spending some of my leave (39 weeks paid) before the baby is born, but I would rather do that then blow a vein in my head over stress.

- This month marks 7 months since sending my visa application off.  I still have nothing back, our passports (yep, Mark’s included) are effectively held hostage by the Home Office.  Today we posted a letter of formal complaint about the timeframes, especially given that the indefinite leave processing time is 14 weeks.  Failing this, we will go to the local MP about it.

-I am proud to say I am 2/5 of the way finished with the final course assignment, due June 3rd.  Out of the 5 sections, I’ve completed Biology and Geosciences… leaving Chemistry, Quantum Physics, and a section on the universe to go.  Once this course is completed, I will have roughly 1/7 of my required credit hours for my bachelors.

-Everything is proceeding with the property sale and we should be looking to move in mid June. I wonder if we will actually pack this time or wing it as we did last time ie. arm-fulls and car loads. The idea of packing and unpacking is so unappealing, not to mention exhausting.  I am hoping we will have time to paint the walls in the new place and add our touches before Little Doodle dominates our lives.  The nursery will be the very first thing getting done, and I have ordered some very cute things that fit in with the jungle theme we are going with.  I cannot wait to get in there and get everything perfect for when Little Doodle is born. Yeah, I’ve become one of THOSE women.

-My birthday is at the end of the month (May 25)  and I will be 25 years old.  I am not a big celebrator of my own birthday, not due to some inherent belief that my chronological age has any real impact on my life, merely because I don’t really enjoy being the center of attention.  The one thought that has occurred to me this year is I never thought I would be having my first baby so young, but I certainly have no regrets.

- Last scan on May 28th…. last chance for Little Doodle to show us the goods!

-60 more days!!!

My first year with the OU is about to come to an end.  Overall, I have really enjoyed this year’s course as the changing subject matter has kept me constantly engaged.  We’ve covered everything from global warming and climate, to the history of the Earth, to physics, to chemistry, to biology, to geology, to quantum physics and now wrapping up the course is life in the universe.  Even though I will continue with science as a biology major, I have thoroughly enjoyed both the geosciences and quantum physics I have gotten to learn about this year.

I am really impressed with the Open University as well.  The support is always there when I need it, the materials are provided, and everything is laid out in a very clear and concise manner.  I will say one thing though:  the speed and difficulty of the course, even for a year one course, is more than anything I had experienced in the American university system.  When I attended McNeese State University, I would show up for class, take notes, study a few days before the exams, and get an A or B.  Typically, three exams per class per semester, and I continually made the Dean’s list for my grades.  Here, the grading scheme is significantly harder, with tests as well as tutor marked assignments at the end of each unit, the average time spent per assignment being 20-25 hours.  I probably invested an average 15 hours a week in reading and comprehending the material in line with the syllabus, with the tutor marked assignments occurring once a month.

And now we’ve come to the big finale: the end of course assignment.  This baby is 17 pages of questions regarding the entire scope of the course.  I started today, with a hot cup of tea for assistance, and dove into what I am sure will take me the entire month to do.  I’ve got until June 3rd to complete it.

I feel really empowered by the experience of this year back in academia.  After all, I completed this huge amount of work for this course all the while working a full time job and being pregnant.  It hasn’t always been manageable either, as I was left with no choice but to turn in the second tutor assignment half completed due to feeling so unwell with my first trimester that I couldn’t find the time to complete it back in December.  But overall, I’ve gotten really good grades on my assignments and tests once I learned the ropes and hit the steep learning curve regarding what was expected of me.  Oddly, my best grade still stands as the chemistry unit… and I really don’t like chemistry!

Once I settle into my new life as a mother to Little Doodle, I will be enrolling in the next course starting for October or November. From here on out everything will be biology-centric and I am looking forward to some of the fun and interesting classes I will be taking.  Mark’s math course is about to wrap up here in June as well, he has also done very well for himself.  One day, I hope we can inspire the same love for learning in Little Doodle.