Day Twelve is assigned to be a post about what I believe and because it doesn't get any more specific than that I'm sure I could go on and on, but I will try to keep things simplistic.
I believe in God, and that Jesus was sent to Earth to die for our sins. I don't believe that there is a 'right' way to be religious or spiritual, meaning that I don't think that those who don't go to church, or someone who calls God a different name, or people who don't take communion are all destined to hell. I think being a good person is much more important that what religion you consider yourself.
I believe that my husband is the most fundamentally good person I have ever met. He will always do the right thing, even when no one is looking and when no one will know that he did it.
I believe that common courtesy is vastly underrated and underutilized (or maybe not even known anymore). A few weeks ago a woman at the grocery store rammed right into my huge belly with her cart, looked at me, and kept walking. Rudeness like this happens more and more frequently to me lately, so I try to appreciate the words, "Excuse me," and things like thank you notes, kind words, and apologies even more than before.
I believe that Sprocket will be the Peanut's guardian angel.
I believe that my parents will spoil the Peanut to within an inch of turning her into a rotten Princess. I will, however, put peas under her mattress just to keep her balanced.
I believe that we each have a responsibility to leave the world a better place every day. That sounds prophetic, but it can be something as simple as a smile given to a stranger or a door held open for a frantic mother. Along these lines, Christmas makes me even more aware of this and my next post will be about the amazing time we had over the past two weeks doing our annual Christmas giving.
And I believe that 99% of what my mother told me growing up was accurate. Prior to age 20 I believed that about 10% of it was legit, so I also believe that the Peanut will bring me my karmic retribution and not listen to anything I say.
As for Thanksgiving, it was stressful but lovely. We hosted for the first time and my Dad decided to barbecue the turkey although he really had no game plan as to how to go about doing so. My mom donned her superwoman cape and swept in, taking over or helping with everything and Corey drove around town all night Wednesday trying to find a stone fire pit so that we could sit out in the backyard and enjoy the (cold) weather.
I wish I had taken a picture of our table because it was the first time we have taken out our antique wedding china, crystal and gold flatware all at the same time and it really was breathtaking. Not only that, not a single item was broken!
And speaking of pictures, I will try to post some pretty ones over the next few weeks as I attempt to learn the ropes on our new Canon Rebel. My parents gave us the early Christmas present so that we could figure it out prior to the baby making her big appearance, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't horribly overwhelmed. Different lenses, flash settings, auto optimization and even an integrated self-cleaning system - whew!
And we may need the camera sooner rather than later as my contractions have kicked up a notch in the past few days. Nothing that I'm running to the hospital for yet, but they're definitely getting stronger and more often, so we will find out on Friday if there's any progress or if we really still have in the neighborhood of 33 days before the princess emerges.
Until then my husband has put me on his own version of modified bed rest which is comprised of yelling at me when I so much as roll over, so if there's anything we can do to keep her cooking for another little while I'm sure we will do it.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
P.S. Thanks for your opinions but...
you can keep them to yourself.
Seriously, I am proud and thankful to have friends and acquaintances who have such strongly held beliefs that they feel they need to preach about them. But, the bottom line is that we will be cloth diapering, breastfeeding, vaccinating, and giving birth in a hospital.
I get that you want/had a homebirth, don't take your kids to doctors, think cloth diapering is a pain in the butt, and grew up on formula and turned out absolutely fine (so did I), but I don't care.
Please rest assured that I have spent the past eight plus months doing research on each of these options (and many, many more) and we are very comfortable with our decisions. A Ricky Lake documentary is not going to change my mind, and neither is your eye-rolling. And, if you tell me again that I'll wish I'd listened to you once I have the baby I will delete you from my facebook, ignore your text messages, and stop sending you our glorious and glittery Christmas cards.
That is all.
Seriously, I am proud and thankful to have friends and acquaintances who have such strongly held beliefs that they feel they need to preach about them. But, the bottom line is that we will be cloth diapering, breastfeeding, vaccinating, and giving birth in a hospital.
I get that you want/had a homebirth, don't take your kids to doctors, think cloth diapering is a pain in the butt, and grew up on formula and turned out absolutely fine (so did I), but I don't care.
Please rest assured that I have spent the past eight plus months doing research on each of these options (and many, many more) and we are very comfortable with our decisions. A Ricky Lake documentary is not going to change my mind, and neither is your eye-rolling. And, if you tell me again that I'll wish I'd listened to you once I have the baby I will delete you from my facebook, ignore your text messages, and stop sending you our glorious and glittery Christmas cards.
That is all.
Day Eleven and Thanksgiving Eve
Today's blog challenge asks me to list my favorite TV shows, and that's a bit of a tough one. I have the TV or radio on a lot at home because I love ambient noise, but I really don't care much what is on. Generally it's the Food Network or the Cooking Channel, but when the boy is home he throws a fit over that stuff so it changes to whatever is on HBO. I do love Jeopardy and am convinced that Peanut will be smarter because we watch it, and I also love CNBC shows about money because it baffles me how people can be so stupid economically. We also watch Boardwalk Empire and the funny shows on Wednesday night - Modern Family, The Middle, and Cougartown.
As for Thanksgiving - it has already been dramatic and hasn't' even happened yet. My parents had planned on coming down to our place, which NEVER happens because they hate travelling during holidays. We hate it too, so this year we jumped on the chance to use my ginormous belly to our advantage and say that the holidays were here. Unfortunately, my Dad had some work emergencies come up this week and it didn't look like they were going to be able to make it after all, but last word at publishing time said that they were coming so we will see.
I'm struggling quite a bit, as I'm sure all pregnant women do, with balancing getting everything done and taking it easy for the little girl. I get a lot more contractions when I'm super busy so I know that's my cue to rest, but there is so much on my to-do list it is ridiculous. Especially with company coming there are beds to be made, food to cook, china to wash, and copious amounts of grocery shopping to be done and really all I want to do is lay in bed and watch the aforementioned programming.
I hope that when she gets here it becomes easier for me to ignore the messy kitchen and the spring cleaning and the meal planning because otherwise I'm going to be a walking zombie.
Apparently this motherhood thing doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to others.
My entire family wishes you and yours and fantastic Thanksgiving, and I hope you find time to think about what you're thankful for!
As for Thanksgiving - it has already been dramatic and hasn't' even happened yet. My parents had planned on coming down to our place, which NEVER happens because they hate travelling during holidays. We hate it too, so this year we jumped on the chance to use my ginormous belly to our advantage and say that the holidays were here. Unfortunately, my Dad had some work emergencies come up this week and it didn't look like they were going to be able to make it after all, but last word at publishing time said that they were coming so we will see.
I'm struggling quite a bit, as I'm sure all pregnant women do, with balancing getting everything done and taking it easy for the little girl. I get a lot more contractions when I'm super busy so I know that's my cue to rest, but there is so much on my to-do list it is ridiculous. Especially with company coming there are beds to be made, food to cook, china to wash, and copious amounts of grocery shopping to be done and really all I want to do is lay in bed and watch the aforementioned programming.
I hope that when she gets here it becomes easier for me to ignore the messy kitchen and the spring cleaning and the meal planning because otherwise I'm going to be a walking zombie.
Apparently this motherhood thing doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to others.
My entire family wishes you and yours and fantastic Thanksgiving, and I hope you find time to think about what you're thankful for!
Friday, November 19, 2010
34 week baby update
How far along? 34 weeks
Total Weight Gain? 23 pounds. I went down a pound this week which was welcome news, especially since we found out that she's quite the little chubster in there. As long as she's a good healthy weight I wouldn't mind losing ten more!
Maternity Clothes? They still suck. So does stretching out your normal clothes though, so many days I give in.
Stretch Marks? Nothing within my realm of visibility.
Sleep? Getting worse. I may actually sleep MORE once she gets here.
Best Moment This Week? Seeing her chubby little cheeks on the 3D/4D (what the hell is 4D?) ultrasound
Movement? She's completely out of room and readied herself for the great escape. As long as she doesn't scoot herself out of position we should be good to go.
Food Cravings? Food is gross. So is Thanksgiving.
Gender? Still has a vagina. I know because I saw it in 3D. We are pretty confident at this point that she is, in fact, a she.
Labor signs? Nope. Just a few Braxton Hicks here and there.
Belly Button? Still an innie. I'm watching it carefully though.
What I Miss? Taking a deep breath.
What I Am Looking Forward To? Getting her swing in.
Weekly Wisdom? Do everything early. You will run out of time and by then your hormones will not let you handle it like a rational being.
Milestones? We got the Miracle Blanket, the bouncer, the Ergo, the Boppy, the nursery vinyl and the coming home outfit all in. Just 50 or so things to buy and we're ready for her to get here!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Day Ten
Today's post is supposed to be about something I'm afraid of. It could be the longest post in the history of blogging.
When I was younger - let's say anywhere from age five to age twenty-five, I wasn't scared of a whole lot. Okay, yes I was afraid that my porceline dolls would come to life and murder me (thanks Twilight Zone) and that aliens would beam me up, but that was about it. I enjoyed earthquakes when I lived in California. I collected bugs for a school science project. I jumped off of a bridge and out of a plane. I was tough.
Fast-forward a few years and I'm scared of everything. Traffic on the freeway - those people drive like maniacs - scorpions, ghosts, Corey dying on the way to work, bedbugs, asteroids colliding with Earth... I couldn't sleep a wink after we visited Tulum this year and listened to one old Mayan tell us how the world was in fact going to end in 2013.
A bigger challenge to me is going to be NOT passing these fears automatically down to the Peanut. If I scream every time I see a spider she's going to learn to be afraid of spiders and damned if I'm going to give her my neurosis without letting her develop her own (or in addition to her own).
So, the saying is, "If you can't make it, fake it," right? Well, I'll be faking tough for the next eighteen years or so.
When I was younger - let's say anywhere from age five to age twenty-five, I wasn't scared of a whole lot. Okay, yes I was afraid that my porceline dolls would come to life and murder me (thanks Twilight Zone) and that aliens would beam me up, but that was about it. I enjoyed earthquakes when I lived in California. I collected bugs for a school science project. I jumped off of a bridge and out of a plane. I was tough.
Fast-forward a few years and I'm scared of everything. Traffic on the freeway - those people drive like maniacs - scorpions, ghosts, Corey dying on the way to work, bedbugs, asteroids colliding with Earth... I couldn't sleep a wink after we visited Tulum this year and listened to one old Mayan tell us how the world was in fact going to end in 2013.
A bigger challenge to me is going to be NOT passing these fears automatically down to the Peanut. If I scream every time I see a spider she's going to learn to be afraid of spiders and damned if I'm going to give her my neurosis without letting her develop her own (or in addition to her own).
So, the saying is, "If you can't make it, fake it," right? Well, I'll be faking tough for the next eighteen years or so.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Day Nine
Yes, I'm behind on this, but I will finish eventually. This one stumped me for a while because when we bought a new laptop I never transferred old files over to it from previous computers. That means that there are virtually no pictures of friends on this hard drive.
But, I do have one set of pictures from my best friend's graduation last year so at least it's something. I've been friends with Lex since 6th grade when I moved to the middle of nowhere. That makes it something like 17 years (which is insane!). She's running things out in the middle of the ocean right now as a Navy officer - we're all very proud of her and baby girl Park can't wait to meet her Auntie Lexi when she comes back!
But, I do have one set of pictures from my best friend's graduation last year so at least it's something. I've been friends with Lex since 6th grade when I moved to the middle of nowhere. That makes it something like 17 years (which is insane!). She's running things out in the middle of the ocean right now as a Navy officer - we're all very proud of her and baby girl Park can't wait to meet her Auntie Lexi when she comes back!
Friday, November 5, 2010
32 week baby update
How far along? 32 weeks
Total Weight Gain? 24 pounds - This is getting ridiculous! I'm blaming the four pound gain on the fact that this appointment was in the afternoon and all of my others are in the morning before I've had anything to eat or drink. That must be it!
Maternity Clothes? My feelings for these haven't changed, but I did buy my first ever pair of leggings last week. Not as bad as I thought.
Stretch Marks? Not that I know of. Of course, if she continues to gain two pounds a week I'll look like a zebra before this thing is over.
Sleep? Nunca, nil, zero, zilch.
Best Moment This Week? Finishing the artwork for her nursery. I can't show it to you because it has her name on it, and her name is TOP SECRET.
Movement? Less actually - her sleep cycles are very long. She goes crazy twice a day, and otherwise just chills in there.
Food Cravings? Still hate food. Nothing new.
Gender? We didn't verify this week, but she still feels like a girl to me.
Labor signs? Braxton Hicks, but nothing crazy.
Belly Button? Still an innie. I guess it's a good thing I had a deep belly button to start with.
What I Miss? Breathing through my nose.
What I Am Looking Forward To? Our birth and labor class tomorrow.
Weekly Wisdom? I no longer have any wisdom. The baby ate my last brain cell.
Milestones? Every day is a milestone. She has a 95% chance of survival if she came today - that's good news!
Total Weight Gain? 24 pounds - This is getting ridiculous! I'm blaming the four pound gain on the fact that this appointment was in the afternoon and all of my others are in the morning before I've had anything to eat or drink. That must be it!
Maternity Clothes? My feelings for these haven't changed, but I did buy my first ever pair of leggings last week. Not as bad as I thought.
Stretch Marks? Not that I know of. Of course, if she continues to gain two pounds a week I'll look like a zebra before this thing is over.
Sleep? Nunca, nil, zero, zilch.
Best Moment This Week? Finishing the artwork for her nursery. I can't show it to you because it has her name on it, and her name is TOP SECRET.
Movement? Less actually - her sleep cycles are very long. She goes crazy twice a day, and otherwise just chills in there.
Food Cravings? Still hate food. Nothing new.
Gender? We didn't verify this week, but she still feels like a girl to me.
Labor signs? Braxton Hicks, but nothing crazy.
Belly Button? Still an innie. I guess it's a good thing I had a deep belly button to start with.
What I Miss? Breathing through my nose.
What I Am Looking Forward To? Our birth and labor class tomorrow.
Weekly Wisdom? I no longer have any wisdom. The baby ate my last brain cell.
Milestones? Every day is a milestone. She has a 95% chance of survival if she came today - that's good news!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Day Eight - A place you've travelled to
I've been very lucky to have travelled to some very cool places, so I decided to narrow this down to a place we have travelled to this year.
Looking back at my old posts, I did a horrible job covering the lovely places we visited while on our cruise in April. To be completely fair, I was right in the beginning throes of morning sickness, but it's really no excuse because we stopped in four of the most amazing cities/countries.
If I had to pick one favorite (and the boy agrees with me) it would be Isla Roatan, Honduras.
When we arrived it was almost impossible to see land from the ship because the humidity was as thick as pea soup. I think it was only 90 degrees, but with 98% humidity it was a little warm to say the least. We trudged down the road and out of the 'safe' area that the cruise ship had roped off so that you would spend your tourist money with them. I'm sure that cruise lines have the safety of their guests in mind, but we were not at all interested in seeing the tourist trap spots that they deemed acceptable, so we hired a private tour guide to take us around the island.
This was one of the best decisions we made on this trip, and if any of you are ever in Roatan please get the name of our guide from me because he was fantastic!
One of the drawbacks of finding out I was pregnant two days before leaving was that we had to rearrange some of our more dangerous plans, like scuba diving and zip-lining. Roatan is famous for jungle ziplines and I was excited for months to be speeding down the 300+ foot cables towering over the trees. The boy was not quite as disappointed that our plans got canceled though (I have my doubts about whether he could have launched himself off of the platform anyway).
We did a little research before leaving and found the information for an orphanage on the island and were able to talk to the directors before leaving so we had an idea of what the children were in need of. We made a little extra space in our luggage so we stuffed in toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and Uno cards for the kids, and then we had our fantastic guide take us to a local grocery store to pick up some food.
It was so much fun filling up the cart with food that we knew the kids needed, and then we went over to the orphanage and got to meet some of them. A mixed bag of tragic and moving, we met some of the fourteen children that lived at the orphanage - better housing than they would have had otherwise for sure, but so sad to know that life isn't anywhere near fair and by no fault of their own these kids are sharing one big room and fighting over card games instead of playing Wii on their flat screen like so many children in the U.S. are doing right now.
Honduras does not grant international adoptions as a rule, so the only hope these children have is being adopted by a family member or a community member. Because of the extreme poverty on the island, realistically the best they can do is hope that the orphanage is able to consistently fund their bilingual education so that they can get a job in tourism and be able to take care of themselves when they reach their late teens.
After the orphanage our guide took us on a full tour of the island, from coast to coast. We felt like we were on the island of "LOST" and could rarely believe the contrast between the shack housing and the raw beauty of the land around it. And, as it usually is in places such as this, the class distinction was amazing. Normal houses:
Mayor's house:
We also went to a private 'petting zoo' that had lemurs, monkeys, and anteaters that you got to play with. The boy narrowly missed a poo incident with a lemur but the monkeys were amazing to play with - they especially liked my water bottle. I often think of my beagador as a little monkey and these guys did little to dispel that thought.
I wish we could have spent an entire week here, and maybe someday we will. Roatan has some of the best reef diving in the world so there are many diving resorts on the island. We often think about going back for a week, and drooled over the photos on their website just yesterday. I think it will be a little while before the peanut is travel-ready, but as soon as she is we can't wait to show her the world starting with beautiful, raw places like Roatan.
Looking back at my old posts, I did a horrible job covering the lovely places we visited while on our cruise in April. To be completely fair, I was right in the beginning throes of morning sickness, but it's really no excuse because we stopped in four of the most amazing cities/countries.
If I had to pick one favorite (and the boy agrees with me) it would be Isla Roatan, Honduras.
When we arrived it was almost impossible to see land from the ship because the humidity was as thick as pea soup. I think it was only 90 degrees, but with 98% humidity it was a little warm to say the least. We trudged down the road and out of the 'safe' area that the cruise ship had roped off so that you would spend your tourist money with them. I'm sure that cruise lines have the safety of their guests in mind, but we were not at all interested in seeing the tourist trap spots that they deemed acceptable, so we hired a private tour guide to take us around the island.
This was one of the best decisions we made on this trip, and if any of you are ever in Roatan please get the name of our guide from me because he was fantastic!
One of the drawbacks of finding out I was pregnant two days before leaving was that we had to rearrange some of our more dangerous plans, like scuba diving and zip-lining. Roatan is famous for jungle ziplines and I was excited for months to be speeding down the 300+ foot cables towering over the trees. The boy was not quite as disappointed that our plans got canceled though (I have my doubts about whether he could have launched himself off of the platform anyway).
We did a little research before leaving and found the information for an orphanage on the island and were able to talk to the directors before leaving so we had an idea of what the children were in need of. We made a little extra space in our luggage so we stuffed in toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and Uno cards for the kids, and then we had our fantastic guide take us to a local grocery store to pick up some food.
It was so much fun filling up the cart with food that we knew the kids needed, and then we went over to the orphanage and got to meet some of them. A mixed bag of tragic and moving, we met some of the fourteen children that lived at the orphanage - better housing than they would have had otherwise for sure, but so sad to know that life isn't anywhere near fair and by no fault of their own these kids are sharing one big room and fighting over card games instead of playing Wii on their flat screen like so many children in the U.S. are doing right now.
Honduras does not grant international adoptions as a rule, so the only hope these children have is being adopted by a family member or a community member. Because of the extreme poverty on the island, realistically the best they can do is hope that the orphanage is able to consistently fund their bilingual education so that they can get a job in tourism and be able to take care of themselves when they reach their late teens.
After the orphanage our guide took us on a full tour of the island, from coast to coast. We felt like we were on the island of "LOST" and could rarely believe the contrast between the shack housing and the raw beauty of the land around it. And, as it usually is in places such as this, the class distinction was amazing. Normal houses:
Mayor's house:
We also went to a private 'petting zoo' that had lemurs, monkeys, and anteaters that you got to play with. The boy narrowly missed a poo incident with a lemur but the monkeys were amazing to play with - they especially liked my water bottle. I often think of my beagador as a little monkey and these guys did little to dispel that thought.
I wish we could have spent an entire week here, and maybe someday we will. Roatan has some of the best reef diving in the world so there are many diving resorts on the island. We often think about going back for a week, and drooled over the photos on their website just yesterday. I think it will be a little while before the peanut is travel-ready, but as soon as she is we can't wait to show her the world starting with beautiful, raw places like Roatan.
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