Life Update!

Well, we are officially at Week 29, almost to 30 weeks, which means we have just a little over 10.5 weeks until I get to meet by baby girl!  It's such an incredible feeling!!!  Although, there are a few things that I dislike about pregnancy, I am sure we will be having more than one (providing the birth goes well!) My main frustration right now is that I have a huge urge to nest but an even bigger to do list and I'm slightly overwhelmed by all my options and not sure where to start or what to do.  And I'm exhausted, so it's hard to motivate myself to do anything yet I feel soo good when it's done.  My best friend is due in just 4 short weeks and I still have a few baby gifts that I need to finish up for her.  I really really really need to get going and do that!  Oh man!!  Anyway, here's a peek at my belly during week 29!!

Can we have it all?

I'm taking my MCAT on Saturday.  I'm suppose to be studying right now.  I'm very proud of the amount of time I actually have spent studying for this test. It has far exceeded the amount of time I have ever put toward anything else I've done in my life.  While I know that a medical field career is something I really want to do and have always wanted to do, I can't help but think of the time commitment and everything else that I will have to sacrifice to do this.  I came across an interesting article called "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" written by Anne-Marie Slaughter.  She highlights many important aspects as to how difficult it truly is to have a high powered job and raise a family the way she wants to. She mentions one of the prevailing reasons for this is the standards that our society has set for men and women in the workplace and how much harder women truly have to work to be considered equal. I've read the article and have a few specific quotes that I found very important to share....

"Yet the decision to step down from a position of power—to value family over professional advancement, even for a time—is directly at odds with the prevailing social pressures on career professionals in the United States."

"...mentioning the top professional women she knew, all of whom essentially relied on round-the-clock nannies. Both were very clear that they did not want that life, but could not figure out how to combine professional success and satisfaction with a real commitment to family."

"Only when women wield power in sufficient numbers will we create a society that genuinely works for all women. That will be a society that works for everyone."

So, what do you think?  Can women 'have it all'?  Or is having it all merely a compromise and a balancing act where we have to choose our priorities and basically end up choosing one over the other, but nonetheless  being happy with our choice?