Yesterday, Saturday, I was doing something slightly vain. I was trying on a new swim suit, which did not fit by the way. FYI target juniors sizing is not at all equivalent or even near the women's sizing and I am a woman, not a junior. Anyways, I happened to take a quick look through the egress window and noticed something moving in the leaves. I walked over to take a closer look and it was a BABY BUNNY!!!!! Cottontail to be exact. I have always enjoyed bunnies. There are soft and even cuddly. They are friendly and personable and can be litter trained.
We have gone to "Hoppy Hour" at the humane society several times to watch them play with each other. Andy likes bunnies too.
This one gnawed on his shorts and it was funny!
We have had previous experience with small, wild bunnies. A few years back we found one because Abby was playing with it (she was not trying to kill it).
I was ready to keep it. How can you NOT feel that way? They are so precious!
We didn't know what to do so we brought the bunny back to where Abby found it and left it there. This is not at all what you should do. This one was a little larger and very mobile but probably still needed it's mother. Well.... sadly, a few days later and really early in the morning we heard noise coming outside our window. Andy got up and ran outside to chase a fox away. He saw that it had taken with it, a baby bunny. :( RIP little bun bun.
This time, I was CONVINCED I would do RIGHT by this baby. I call the The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota after we rescued it from the egress window. The said to locate the nest. No big deal, I can try that. Come to find the nest is RIGHT next to the egress window!! Wildlife FAIL. Why is this mother bunny doing this to me! The instructions were as follows: dig a nest close to the old nest and use mama's nesting material to bury the bunny (as they do). Mama bunny comes twice a day at dusk and dawn to place a big threaded X over the nest where the bunny is. If the X is moved, mama came back. If not, mama did not. Check to see if baby is still there.
Bad nesting spot mother bunny.
New nesting spot complete with buried baby.
Immediately in the morning I run out to check and mama has not come back. It had rained all night but the nesting material kept little Foxy (named in memory of baby bun bun) dry and warm! I refuse to give this one up to the foxes. So, we rush baby Foxy over to The Wildlife Rehab Center.
And off baby Foxy is to veterinarian care AND bottles of bunny milk.
It was sad to leave the little bugger because my gosh aren't they cute! I involved Evan in the entire process though and even applied to volunteer there. Who wouldn't want to bottle feed baby animals right?! We hopefully saved little Foxy's life and now we know that a small fence around the sides of the egress window is necessary since mama bunny had a major lapse in nesting judgement!
Taking a toddler out of the house is a challenge, at least my toddler anyways. If you don't have kids here's a trusted tutorial on what life is like: Parenting Illustrated by Crappy Pictures. Last fall we planned on attending my second cousins wedding the weekend after Christmas. We had to abruptly change our plans due to unforeseen circumstances so I picked Orlando! I planned Evan's second trip to SeaWorld!
The flight down was a total nightmare. I "thought" Evan would nap on the plane. He has napped in his car seat before. I was wrong. So very wrong. He screamed for at least an hour. My head was in my hands, silently questioning what I was doing and sort of wishing we were still home. I was trying to keep myself together.
Once the nightmare was over, we were able to get him to his happy place right away: the pool. The following day we were up early and on our way to Discovery Cove.
THIS was our view!!!!
We were ecstatic and Evan was enthralled watching the dolphins! He spent the first part of the morning playing in the warm water. Once I got in, I spent my time with CJ, a bottle nose/common dolphin who was quite the chatterbox! Swimming with him made me feel as though I was flying! At the end, they let Evan join us in the water. I'll let the picture do the talking:
His little mouth couldn't have been opened any wider! We were all in love and I was so thankful that Evan was able to touch them!
Childhood dream to scuba dive-actual scuba license+Discovery Cove SeaVenture= PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
At the end of the day and almost time for the park to close, I didn't want to leave. Before we left, a little moment happened between a dolphin toddler named Finn and a human toddler named Evan:
This day could not have ended on a better note! The animals are so well taken care of and so happy. We all left with smiles on our faces and all I could think of is how I cannot wait to bring Evan back here!
Our second vacation day was spent at SeaWorld. We spent the first part of the morning with the dolphins and that was a little rough for Evan as he's a plan maker, not a plan follower. As a mom, I usually anticipate the worst and hope for the best. He was interested in the dolphins again however he had his own agenda in mind. We took a break to regroup and I was a bit nervous that our penguin encounter would be rough.
Prior to this, we tried practicing with stuffed penguins.
Not too bad but we discussed the whole "don't grab the beak" concept prior to the real deal. Finally, it was time to meet Skippy and Sherlock!
And yes... he did try to ride Skippy. But most importantly, his little heart has now found a love for yet another species. We all fell in love with them! None of us had ever discussed penguins at least not nearly as much as we discuss orca's and dolphins. My entire family couldn't stop talking about them! Andy and I even raced back to SeaWorld (thank you mom for watching Evan's monitor), one hour prior to park close, ran all the way from the entrance to the Antarctica ride and spent the last moment of our day watching the penguins!!
After the penguins we decided to walk over to see if we could see any orca's as we knew Evan's nap time clock was ticking! As luck would have it, we stumbled across a technical rehearsal for One Ocean that quite literally started right at the moment we arrived! Evan has been watching this on DVD for the past year. He was THRILLED! He spent the entire time jumping up and down on Andy's lap! He was over the moon with excitement and promptly crashed for his nap before we even left the gates!
Our last park was Aquatica. I knew this would be a hit as Evan loves the water. It was a great way to cap off our time at SeaWorld. Evan played his heart away in the water while Andy and I randomly snuck away for some adult time.... WATER SLIDES!!!! Evan even stalked out a mallard who quickly left the scene.
At the end of the day another little special thing happened! Evan started trying to walk like a penguin. I KNEW that this experience would stay with him just like the last one and he had expanded his love of animals to include penguins!
The toddler penguin waddle:
SeaWorld has done such a tremendous amount for animals and conservation! The employees take their job seriously, the animals seriously and most of all, SHARING these animals with all of us very seriously! A few people who read my first blog The Real SeaWorld Experience asked me if I'd seen Blackfish. Yes, I did. If your child has an ear infection, who would you talk to? A pediatrician of course. If you need legal advice, who would you speak to? A lawyer. If you want to learn about orca's, dolphins, penguins, sea turtles, sharks and all other sea dwelling creatures, who would you ask? SeaWorld. A $10 movie will not buy you a cheap education and you should question everything! You should do your OWN research and not let someone else do it for you. I guarantee anyone affiliated with SeaWorld parks will answer your questions.
Below is a photo montage of our trip. It is viewable on mobile device via this blog or computer on my youtube station, just not via youtube from a mobile device. FYI :)
You may ask yourself, as I often do, how can I help the ocean when I don't live anywhere near it? First off, visit your local zoo and ask! Most zoo's are more then willing to tell you how you can help and many have volunteer opportunities: Association of Zoo's and Aquariums.
All of these are ideas you can do as a family! We have a zoo membership and visit all the time. The more interactions children have with animals, the more they love them and want to care for the world we all live in. Yes SeaWorld parks also has fun things like games and rides because kids need to expense energy. But at the end of the day, it's all about fostering the relationships between animals and people to secure the future of our planet. Let me take you with us on our SeaWorld parks adventure and I hope you too will fall in love with the animals as we did!
By the way, Evan did not cry one single tear on the flight home. We truly did leave our vacation on top of the world!
Everyone has that one place growing up that makes them the happiest, a secret garden, if you will. A place where there are no bullies or homework or sadness or sickness. My secret garden was the condo in Breezy Point, MN. I call it Brainerd, BRD, Peqout Lakes (home of the famous bobber water tower)!
I was raised going up north almost every weekend in the summer. My father worked at the airport so he brought my mom and I with. I am an only child. My parents purchased a condo right next to Breezy Point Resort. We Minnesotans go up north ALL summer, almost every weekend. It's a way to get away from the busy city life and not have to get on a plane, because that's expensive and why do that once a year when you can go up north EVERY WEEKEND!!!!! We deserve it too. Our winters are tough.
Being "up north" I could be anything I wanted and do anything I wanted to do.. I could pretend to be a marine biologist! I tried to save all the minnows from certain death only to use them as fish bait later. I snorkeled for clams and brought them back to the condo where they spent the weekend surviving in a blow up tank full of lake water. Dad always made me throw them back. I jumped in and out of the pool a million times! I screamed "MARCO...... POLO" at the top of my lungs while playing with my up north friends. I went fishing when dad left me at the condo for a few hours and said "don't fish while I'm gone, you'll catch a bull head." I caught that bullhead and had to wait for a kind fisherman to take it off for me..... Minnesota Nice!!!! I spent many weekends at Paul Bunyan Land and was there for the last weekend that it was open. I brought and still bring my close friends up north.
At 20 years old I found myself getting married and divorced in the span of 3 months. At 21 I decided to work on my night moves, thank you Bob Seger. I met some boys (summer flings) because of my awesome night moves. I made a lot of friends. I introduced Andy to the wonders of Northern Minnesota (his family has a place in northern WI, tisk tisk!!). We spent 7 years dating and going up north. We got married up at Maddens. It was on of the BEST DAYS of my life!! I love it up north. Whenever I think of moving away from Minnesota, I just can't do it. I'd sell my childhood home but I'd never stop going up north. Ever.
So, here is my life. These are the moments that make me the happiest. Growing up and going up north!
Side Bar: NOT free of sickness. In 1993 my family and I were devastatingly ill from Wild Rice Soup at Norway Ridge. We all thought we were going to just die. We didn't and have since been back although it took 15 years to go back to that restaurant again......
In the wake of Blackfish and all the extremists (both for and against SeaWorld), I feel compelled to write about SeaWorld and how it affected me, a normal person.
In 1990, my parents brought me to San Diego and we went to SeaWorld.
For a 9 year old, I was BLOWN AWAY and immediately in love. I fell in love with ANIMALS, almost all of them. I didn't touch the dolphins at the touch pool because I was afraid that I'd scratch them. I spent 10 years regretting it and wishing I would have touched one.
I went home and my room was filled with animals (birds, hamsters, fish). I adopted a humpback whale. I spent hours researching and reading books to understand how to take care of my animals with the best food, living conditions and enrichment. I was nine years old and learning how to research, getting excited about books and loving animals in the best way a 9 year old could.
The Bird Station:
The Fish Station:
Fast forward a really long time (2011) and my husband and I take a trip to Alaska. Obviously, the only thing on my mind was this:
SPEACHLESS!!!!! DREAMS CAME TRUE! 9 Hours on the ocean watching birds (there was a bird watching group on the boat) and all other animals. I fell while running to the front of the boat in Seward to see them. I wanted to shout I LOVE YOU and freak out because they just let us watch them.
BEST. DAY. EVER….. Or so I thought.
Fast forward again (2013) and now I have a 7 month old human being that I am responsible for rearing to be an intelligent, respectful, kind person. We find ourselves at Sea World Orlando.
This activity is safe and he's loving it. Loving it as in, going to jump in with the rays if we let him.
We graduate to a bigger activity. All is well. We are following rules!
This activity is keeping me on my toes slightly…. I'm nervous.
I'm thinking "let's take a photo of him before he freaks out at the cetaceans flying through the air and such." He's 7 months old, that's what I fully expected.
So far so good… Not flipping out. Oh yea, there's a show going on. Hopefully he hasn't pooped or isn't hungry but I'm ready for those things like a thoroughbred at the gate.
The end of the show came and this happened:
HE'S WAVING TO THE ORCA'S!!!! He has never waved at anything in his life! I cried. I cried because it was touching and I realized that my role/job is to ensure that he respects animals and the environment. He doesn't need to love them like I do, but he needs to respect them.
We came home and I thought he'd forget about the orca's but I was wrong.
At 20 months old, he walks over to the DVD player, picks out One Ocean and brings it back to me. He jumps into my lap and we sit and watch the entire thing.
Evan is turning two in May and we are taking him back to Orlando in April and back to SeaWorld. This is what SeaWorld does along with everything else that they do. They promote the love and respect for animals in generations of human beings. They remind us that we don't need to be orca trainers to make a difference. Pick up that lost dog on the street and help find it's owner. Plant a plant that's good for the environment and maybe even something that bares food for you (I tried it last year, it was actually fun said the plant killer). Teach your kids how they can positively affect their environment and how to CARE for it. That's what SeaWorld taught me and what I can pass on to my child.
Side Bar: If someone made a movie of my life and all the things I've done wrong, it would be absolutely horrifying. It's so easy to point out what people, institutions and organizations have done wrong as opposed to celebrating what they do RIGHT and how far we've all come.
Second Side Bar: I'm absolutely shocked staring at the stats at how many people are reading this. I wanted to put my experience in one place for a few reasons. 1-To remind myself how I'm going to explain the importance of SeaWorld to my son when he gets older. 2- So that others can know that it's OK not to side with main stream media. SeaWorld isn't paying me.
The comments below are a safe place for people to share positive feelings for the parks and their conservation/education efforts free of criticism and negativity!
Andy leaves me for one night for work. Just one easy night right? Evan has been waking up only once lately so should be a giant N B D!!!! NOT SO! Not in this house. At this point I am convinced that Andy's grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, has left her body and is hanging out around my house causing chaos and insanity. Let me paint a picture.
To begin with the damn squirrels are EATING our pumpkin. NO ONE else in our neighborhood has this problem. On top of that, I have saved 3 random dogs from killing themselves because their owners couldn't keep them in their respective yards. WTF animal kingdom?!
9PM: ALL living things are in bed.
935PM: Abby the dog decides to go for a random stroll around the house. She NEVER does this EVER. I get up and get her back to bed.
945PM: Evan wakes up crying. He just ate an hour ago but he's hungry again. SOMEHOW a level 3 nipple ends up on his bottle so he is FREAKING out. I have checked all of his bottles so I have NO CLUE how this happened.
1030PM: He has eaten his entire middle of the night bottle so put him to bed, go get water ready for a formula bottle
1040PM: ALL living things in bed and bottles are ready
12AM: Evan is up and hungry again! Give him 3 ounces of his medicine bottle and he chows it down
1230AM: ALL living things back in bed
330AM: Evan is UP again and hungry (yes I did give him two meals with solids the day prior) I actually have to shake formula so he is FREAKING out because he doesn't want to wait. The dog now has NEEDS so let her out potty, feed her and clean off used bottles so I don't have to do it in a few hours
4AM: ALL living things back in bed
5AM: Evan's fussing but not for any real reason
6AM: Fussing picks up again for a brief period of time
7AM: GOOD MORNING WORLD!!!!!!
Meanwhile I look like the swamp thing had a baby with Elvira and the baby spent the entire time in the womb without sleep. I hate mornings alone too because I don't have anyone to play with Evan while I'm assembling bottles, medicine, vitamins and trying to pump out my engorged boobs. Oh and when I am pumping, I have to entertain him but the only thing he really wants to do is grab the tubing which then causes the suction to misplace and well... that just hurts.
I can't believe my rolly polly crazy monster is 5 months old!!! I love him more then anything! I am so thankful that Andy and I went out of our comfort zone in life and had this big bundle of joy! I love being at home with him! Our house is slowly coming together. The leaves are beautiful and I'm still figuring out how to properly dress Evan... LOL!!!! T shirt onesies were so much easier! I have also come to conclude that I think I will have trouble stopping pumping because it is so DAMN rewarding to know I'm sustaining Evans life! Oh and I'm still doing Avon! I love it! Too bad I still have a rough time getting customers lol!
Evan is almost 5 months old now! Wow! I have been exclusively pumping for him for that same amount of time. Pumping is HARD! FYI this is a low morale is low. I have documented my "station" and what Evan does when I'm pumping. Yes he gets the good stuff and I'm happy about that! I just really look forward to not doing this anymore! He's also sleeping like shit lately which makes for a tired, cranky mom.
I have learned a lot about pumping though! I can unclog a milk duct the old fashioned way! I can feed Evan and pump at the same time! I am not good at traveling and pumping so my life revolves around my pumping times. It's a major sacrifice but its worth it!
I learned they Evan won't breast feed because he has a lip tie which NO ONE told me! Two lactation consultants and nurses galore never even mentioned it...
I learned that I can pump 4 times a day and still have a decent supply.
I learned that Gatorade is my best drinking buddy.
I learned that I have the capacity to clean my equipment once a day so I bought 4 sets!
I don't need lanolin! Lol!!!
Evan is doing really well and I'm hoping that taking domperidone will increase the boob juice supply.
I DID it! I lived through the half way point of this pregnancy to tell the tale! And I got an awesome baby photo too! NO, we do not know the sex. Although, I'm very vocal that I think it's a boy. I'm ok with whatever as long as IT is healthy!
Food: I CRAVE donuts and pastries and Kraft Mac and Cheese since Andy won't let me have any...
Weight: I've gained about 11-13 lbs depending on the day. Not too shabby!
Nose: Some days are good and some are bad and that's OK with me! It's not baby's fault that my body is so lame. I also found out that doing things that involve adrenaline like get laser hair removal help clear my nose out. Now I know that when I go into labor, my nose may be good and clear up!
Boobs: Still feel like 2 bruised sand bags. Yup, it's like pushing on a bruised sandbag. Nothing sexy about that!
Ultrasound: My doctor was on leave so we saw another doctor. Have you seen Father of the Bride Part II and the scene where the young girl walks in and Steve Martin flips out because the doctor is young. The doctor we saw for my 20 week was young and I thought... boy my dad would flip OUT if she delivered me. LOL!! Just like Steve Martin. I'd probably be in a state of laughter hysteria! Anyways, she was really nice and had nothing to report which was good!
We also found out that I should be doing child birth classes in January however the hospital doesn't offer them and the clinic isn't sure why they haven't posted a January class.... I guess we'll be waiting patiently for that one too.... :)
Privileges: When your nose produces this every day (75% of a box of tissue/day):
Then you do things like take advantage of this little privilege: Expectant Mothers Parking at work!! Yup, I SO did park in this space with permission. Don't judge me... There are few times in life when you can take advantage of the "little things" and I feel that this is one of those times. That and to be honest, they don't always salt the parking ramp very well so I would rather not fall on my ass.
Baby: Doing AWESOME! Baby was breach at the time of the ultrasound but they move so much that I'm not worried. Even if baby stays that way, it's ok by me. I am VERY well aware that the only control I have is getting myself to the hospital when it's time to deliver. Without further blabber, I present our little baby!
Notice how baby is making SURE we know who is #1 and waving with the other hand! Ugh, I wish I could just take this ultrasound machine home! This photo looks a little alien but the baby actually doesn't look as alien as I thought he/she would! Yay, I'm SOOO excited!!!! There were several times when the ultrasound tech would say "this is the ...., do you see it?" Andy and I would look at each other and say "no..." and start laughing! We even thought the stomach was the head at one point. I always knew I'd be like Rachel on the Friends episode when she doesn't see the baby and flips out. I just laughed instead of flipping out though! Thank the LORD for 3D! Sure helps people like us. During the ultrasound baby was grabbing his/her feet and of course I said immediately that "it" has Andy's monkey feet. I don't see that it has my crooked nose so that's good! Check out this picture too. This REALLY looks like Baby is LOOKING at us! It's probably just a reflection but it's pretty cool!
I'm going to warn you... this is not going to be a very joyful blog!
Congestion: My congestion has been horrible. Let me rephrase. I have requested MANY times to be placed in a coma until the baby is ready to pop out. Because of my HORRIBLE nose, I am getting roughly 5 hours of sleep per night and this includes anywhere from 1-4 interruptions! Honestly, I have never been more miserable in my entire life!!!! This doesn't even compare to just feeling sick all of the time. At LEAST I could still sleep and eat some food when I felt sick. I really have no clue how I will make it through the next 4.5 months like this. And YES I am thankful for being pregnant and whatnot but step into my shoes for 24 hours and see just how happy and chipper you'd feel! My face hurts, my nose hurts and I generally cannot breathe. My days and nights are consumed by the act of TRYING to breathe!!!! I hate it. If this doesn't change, then I probably won't have any more kids. I cannot imagine doing this again, let alone having another kid running around the house that I'm chasing after. So I'm going to give the Neti Pot one LAST try tonight.
This is really all I have to blog about.... I can't think of anything else. The acne is still bad but my need to breathe has far surpassed this issue. As far as I'm concerned, look away if you don't like to look at me! I don't really like to look at me either but oh well. I think that this baby will be a on a pedestal for a LONG time. Not only because it's mine but because it's birth will give me the ability to breathe again!
I'm dedicating this blog to all of the really funny things that have been happening to me. Ok fine, some of them haven't been very funny but God put me on this earth to find humor in everything! (If I ever doubted it, I went to my podcast of Joel Osteen and it went immediately to The Healing Power of Laughter.... told you so)
Where's the Parking???
Before I became pregnant, I always noticed the "Expectant Mother's Parking." Have you seen those? Those are the ones you always try to park in at the mall because they don't have a "handicap" symbol on the cement yet when you think you've victoriously found a close spot where you KNOW you can get in the mall without getting robbed or mugged and you look up and there's a little stork with a sign that says "Expectant Mother's Parking."See image below:
Well, these little parking miracles are suddenly no where to be found. I'm sure this is God's way of saying "get off your ass and walk... lazy" (as I grab for my coffee loaded with creamer). I haven't seen these and I've even gone looking for them. Sad that I actually admitted that, but I have. Have YOU ever parked at the Mall of America??? It SUCKS! OK, I'm VERY aware that I'm 15.5 weeks pregnant, barely showing and definitely capable of walking even running anywhere I need to go. My justification: my nose runs all the time.. shouldn't I get SOME benefit! Yes I should and it's called: PREGNANCY SAFE MEDICATION dumbass. I'm sure if I even tried to park in one of those coveted spots, I'd get screamed at by someone who is visibly pregnant. I should probably be thankful that I haven't done that to myself yet.
I can't breathe....
This doesn't sound funny but to me, it is. If you saw my trash cans (FILLED with tissue) you'd probably laugh or say "can't you fix yourself" or feel bad for me. The dog is in heaven. Imagine if the best part of your day was getting in the trash.... You'd be in total dog heaven too. Well, can you believe that I have found humor in it??? Some people at "work," who shall not be named, cannot stand my nose blowing. I can tell because whenever I do it, they clear their throat. Well, if someone blowing their nose is an irritant to you... boy I hope they don't have any real problems!! haha!! So, I secretly chuckle to myself and thank God I don't get so irritated by silly things or people in general. By the way, if you are in Edina and need some allergy medication that's pregnancy safe.... I think my house now qualifies to be a pharmacy!
What should/can I wear???
One of the best laughs I've had is trying on "future" large stomach clothing. It almost looks like your anticipating a bear belly. I spent about 30 extra minutes trying on clothes I KNEW wouldn't fit in the store. That or some shirts look like a big nap sack! Try putting on both! I'm at this goofy stage where I just started showing and my middle is getting thicker. Sometimes I'll put things on "BB" (before baby) that I think I can still wear. Boy do I get a rude awakening! I can't even be mad or sad! My pajamas are starting to get tight too! It's just funny. Maybe sometime I'll show you...
Sometimes you do get what you wish for!
For MONTHS I've been praying for a little boost in body temperature. Well, yesterday, my prayers were answered! I put on the normal amount of clothing I usually do, went out shopping with Andy and almost asked for an ice cream cone. Our last stop was the fish store. If you've ever been to A World of Fish, it's VERY hot in the store. I walked in and just started stripping down to a t-shirt. Luckily, no one was around to see. We were in sears and there were so many people I couldn't bring myself to take even my jacket off but I unzipped everything! I even came home and noticed I didn't need a long sleeve T AND a sweatshirt. However this DOES make the clothing issues a tad more difficult... Andy's still adjusting too. He always turns the heat up high and I'm how turning it down. He's probably in HUSBAND heaven!
I have BUSY week ahead so probably won't be blogging again for a week or so.
Food:
Food still sucks but on a very positive note, I'm always up for eating eggs and eggs are the BEST for baby's so I'm eating them in the morning and then again for lunch with a salad. Eggs are my BFF!!!!! Burger meat can take a giant hike though. I hate it. The thought of eating burger meat makes me want to vomit on myself several times. SIGH.... One very crazy thing for me is milk! I have been lactose intolerant my entire life. Well, not anymore! I'm completely able to drink milk! I even crave it. It's totally insane. I would also do ANYTHING for a potato. I love potatos in any format!
Elephants still make me cry:
Last Sunday Andy and I were watching TV and came across this story. A stray dog had befriended an elephant at a local sanctuary. They were the BEST of friends. The dog got sick, had to have surgery and and the elphant wouldn't LEAVE where ther dog was. They even brought the dog out to see the elephant right after it's surgery. Well.... weeks later the dog was attacked by coyotes and killed. The elephant CARRIED the dog a mile back to the home...... I BAWLED SO HARD!!!!!!!! I think I just WANT an elephant now! Needless to say, the babies room theme will probably be elephants...
Maternity Shopping for DUMMIES:
I went maternity shopping for the first time... It was terrifying. I discovered the hard way that Targets belly band SUCKS and you should just drop the cash on the one from Motherhood Maternity. I also discovered how EXPENSIVE maternity clothing is! YUCK! So I discovered Bellies to Babies in Richfield. VERY affordable and cute clothes too! I found that the most comfortable pants are the ones with the giant strap that goes over your belly. I bought 3 pairs! Many things are marked at $11 and $7! Great prices!
Cold and Allergies... no friend of mine:
Last week I got a cold and I was MISERABLE. I even had to take 6 hours of precious sick leave. I had ONE day of feeling normal and then BAM, allergies sprung on me like a bat out of hell! SO unfair! I've been trying everything and so far, little luck. I look like Rudolph because of all the snot blowing I've been doing. It seems though that the colder temps are helping so BRING on the SNOW!
Home projects = OVERWHELMED:
So, my bright idea was to go from a very large fish tank to a much smaller one. Well, this project is turning into a giant disaster as the fish store took a week to tell us that they didn't have the stand we needed. We got the stand and it's missing screws. Now we need to WAIT for the screws but at least they are for the door so we may be able to press on without them. Regardless I just want nothing more than to have this stupid tank up and to be able to shut down the other tank, clean it out and have the new owner pick it up! This is not even mentioning the basement. That's a whole other animal in and of itself! Still very stressful though. Nothing worse than looking into the babys room and it's SO full of crap that will be going in the basement that you can't open the door all the way! YUCK!
It's Saturday 11/05/11 and I'm 12.5 weeks pregnant. MANY more weeks to go. I finally popped out the past few weeks and I can definitely see why people wait no longer than 12 weeks to let others knows. You just flat out can't hide it anymore. I've decided that I'm going to post a funny Katieism every blog. I make myself laugh ALL the time. But before doing that I'm going to tell you about my weekend. Andy and I are breaking down his fish tank as we just won't have room for it with the baby on the way. This is the ONE thing I have been dreading because it's HUGE. Not only that but I mess up my back when I lift anything heavy so my ability to help a whole lot is limited beyond driving a vehicle. As we speak, there are some people here buying some of the live rock so that will be SO nice to have a little less to have to bring back to the store! So, that's our monumental task for the weekend (NOT including the basement).
Pause for Katieism: I went to the chiropractor on Friday. There's an intern there who is 6 months pregnant. I thought.. OH FUN! wrong. They give you a mini massage beforehand and she's saying how beautiful her hair has been and her skin and how she never got sick and hasn't gained that much weight and eats all organic and blah blah blah. Have you seen the scene from Bridesmaids when Kristen Wiig is driving home and she's making fun of Ellen, her friends beautiful friend who seems to be taking her place as Maid of Honor? Well THAT was me driving home. Picture a bloated, relaxed, zitty pregnant girl waving her head around saying "OH I'M THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PREGNANT PRINCESS IN THE WORLD (mocking her of course)" I was so into it I don't even know if anyone was watching and I'm sure they were.
End of Pause..
So, other than my energy slowly coming back to me and my stomach popping out and the bevy of chores that we are doing, I would say all is going well. We got to hear the heart beat for the 3rd time on Wednesday! And below is a picture of the little gummy bear at 8 weeks!
One thing I'm starting to see is that there's this baby making underworld... Sort of like a a kinky underground club but for mothers or mothers to be. It's called the "What's your birth plan Club." Some women feel a sense of power being able to push a baby out with out any medication or a C-Section. And when you say the words "Epidural" to them, they turn their nose up and look at you like you are some kind of cocaine drug addict. Some of these women have never given birth at all. I've experienced this underground club a LOT lately. And I am NOT talking about people who are pro natural birth. I'm talking about people who think YOU are a disgust if you do not agree with them. There's a BIG difference here!!
My opinion: TO EACH THEIR OWN! You simply cannot tell someone what's right for them and you should NEVER make anyone feel like less of a person because they don't do things a certain way. I freely say my birth plan is to have an epidural and I don't care what anyone says about it. I know my body better than anyone else and that's what I believe will work for me. You should NEVER feel bad about your birth plan. Sometimes you don't even have a choice. My mother certainly did not and I'm sure she would have rather not had a C-Section but I was practically sideways so there was no other way. Women just do not know each others situations enough and should be supportive regardless. Any birth of a healthy baby is a success in my eyes. Of course none of these underground club members will read this but I like venting it.
Well, I have now gone public with my pregnancy. I'm due 05/14/12 and things have been quit entertaining and new thus far!
Getting Pregnant:
I'm not going to make up some story and pretend I'm perfect. I'm impatient actually... So... After a few months a trying and have 0 success I went out and bought myself a few "Can I Get Pregnant Dipsticks." I was quit elated when they said "Yes Katie, your body works" Little did I know what I was getting myself in to. I figured after the first month of using dipsticks I could just blame Andy! Not so much..... Several weeks later I noticed something in life that was missing and on "LABOR DAY" found that indeed not only was something missing but something was changing. That was the first pregnancy test followed by 3 more.... Just to be sure... So that was that! Now what.... Now we call the doctor friend who says come down to the office for an early ultrasound.
6 Weeks... So Katie says:
I knew the exact day this whole thing went down. The fellow working the machine was skeptical but I thought... we'll see about that!!! So we did an ultrasound and sure enough there was the little heart beat thumping away at 122 bmp! COOL! Then he says "lets check to see if there are more." WHAT! I about fell out of the chair. But no... no more than one for me! Thank the Lord for me because I know nothing about kids as it is! Our doctor friend had also said to expect to start feeling sick. I hadn't felt sick yet so I thought, I'm SO golden on this one!
Never Safe from Morning Sickness:
Of course approximately 3 days later I feel like I could just DIE at any moment. I can't vomit but I'm not 100%. It's a cruel in between and it lasts ALL DAY for me! I'd go to work, chew on saltines, go home, eat and then in bed by 7pm. I thought for sure I'd die and then for sure that I'd never want to go through it again. In the midst of this if you were to ask how many kids I'd like to have the answer would be ONE and ONE dog that I don't have to give birth to! So the term Morning Sickness is a bunch of shit. I did get a little lucky in that the actual sick feeling only lasted 2 weeks.
Shrek's Wife:
I thought to myself, this is so GRAND. I'm going to start glowing like most women do. Oh no.... wrong again Katie! The zits started popping up and they haven't stopped since. In fact, I still feel like a disgusting ogre! But none of my friends had this issue or I don't remember them having it... why me! So unfair.... But, I keep telling myself that I have a healthy baby in there so there's nothing to complain about. Even though I could pass for Shrek's wife...
Emotions and baby Elephants:
I tend to laugh more than cry so feeling on the verge of tears on a frequent basis was nothing I was looking forward to. Ever. Well... I could tell things were getting worse but my Best Buy trip was when I knew that I've crossed the emotional threshold of insanity. I stared at 30 TV's all showing the same thing. The worlds cutest baby elephant. I about died right there. But then something occurred to me... Why would they be showing an adorable baby elephant laying down? This was going to end in disaster and I KNEW it!! The tears started welling up and I looked at Andy and said "If something happens to that baby elephant, I'm going to start bawling and I don't CARE who see's it!" We immediately left to divert a tears disaster.
Food. Friend or Foe?
I knew about Morning Sickness but I didn't really understand how other foods affected you while you are pregnant. Once I didn't feel sick anymore I thought to myself "WONDERFUL! Back to normal!" Boy was that another facade. First you have to obey all these rules which REALLY suck when all you want is SHRIMP ALL THE TIME! Luckily the OB gives you a handy fish chart but still..... I made meatloaf one evening from grass fed beef and a recipe I knew would be good. I got two bites away from finishing it and it all tried to make it's way back OUT!! I was very upset at the loss as I couldn't even touch it after that. I call it the sneak attack because for all you know, everything is going well! No problems and then BAM, the gag reflex hit's like a truck!
Sleep, never enough!
One thing that I knew but again wasn't entirely prepared for is the desperate need to sleep! For several weeks I was in bed by 7pm, teeth unbrushed and face unwashed because I had 0 energy to handle the task (which didn't particularly help with zits...). Even as I round out the 1st trimester, I'd rather be in bed then typing on my desktop. Sometimes I'd get half way through a meal and almost fall asleep. It is as if my body can't decide if it wants food or sleep. Both very desirable things to have but no decision can be made as to which is better. Sort of like sleep/eat purgatory.
Conclusion: First trimester down, basement is coming along, i'm staying healthy, fish tank will be gone very soon and most importantly, baby is healthy too!
Either I'm extremely forgetful or completely insensitive.. Or heartless.. I can't exactly be sure.. I do know that as a woman without kids, that I tend to forget about... other people's kids. Not just other people's, but my friends! Here's the heartless part. I'll admit it straight away. I'm one of those "I prefer my own child/dogs/animal" types of people. I think kids are fun and other peoples animals are fun, but I prefer my own. I'm pretty sure that this... I-prefer-my-own type of feeling has translated into complete forgetfulness of my friends kids. I forget to get them birthday gifts. So, this is just me admitting freely that I forget and I'm going to make a MUCH better effort in my remembering my friends AND their babies...
Why would I start a blog with that stupidass title. Well, sometimes I just don't know! Lately I've been hating going to work. People have been crabby, the work load is out of control and things beyond my control are changing. You know how when you do something for a LONG time that has no internal value beyond a paycheck, your heart just feels empty????? I feel like I'm re-fueling my heart when I'm home hanging out with my puppy and Andy. I just have a hard time believing that that it's physically healthy to not feel fullfilled. I'm going to say something slightly shocking... I don't think a baby will fix this problem. Yes, a baby is a fast way to get out of work (for many people). But, you shouldn't have a baby because you want to run away from something! You should have a baby because you are ready to no longer be selfish and you feel like you have a lot to give to a baby. Although I say semi-frequently that I want to be a stay at home mom, I'm sometimes very unsure of it. I'm not sure that I'm REALLY ready. I don't want to be running away from something or be confused about not be fullfilled on a daily basis. So... do I want a baby... I. Just. Don't. Know..... But I DO know that I don't want to do it as a way to run from something. I need to find fullfillment FIRST. This wasn't exactly my most inspiring blog, but that's just whats on my mind :)
I think about wedding planning alot... Yes I'm married (twice actually). It just seems that once you hit the age of 21, the weddings just don't stop. Yours, your friends, your family, yours again (whoops!!!) and on and on. I feel like I've learned a lot in the course of being a bride twice and watching other people go through it and just being through so many. Not to mention the drama and the insanity. So here's what a girl with a BA in Psychology thinks one should do to get the most out of the experience, avoid the drama and keep the attention on themselves! Expenses Those who contribute to the weddings (parents) naturally feel compelled to give their opinions on well... everything! Why? Umm.. well if you were dropping 10K on anything wouldn't you feel compelled to get in your two cents?????? I sure as hell would! Hell, anything above 1K and my nose is in the situation if it's coming from my bank account. Make an agreement prior to the wedding with you parents. Ask them what means the most to them and allow them to be part of that specific part. Maybe they LURVE cake, let them make a few cake choices. It won't kill you and they are donating to the day long expensive event. If the mom likes the dress portion, let her come shopping but make sure she agrees that if you cry or feel like a million bucks and she doesn't like it, then she should keep it to herself. ( HAHAHAHAHA Train's Marry me just came one the radio! So appropriate!) If you can keep them involved then they will most likely be less pushy. People get pushy when they want something and aren't getting it in life. If you are paying for it... START SAVING and make friends in high places! That and start cutting your list down to bare minimums! It's one day and if you don't speak with someone on a regular basis, they don't need to be there. Bridal Party one's for the girls. Chose your bridesmaids wisely. You don't need 15. That will just be WAY too much drama. Pick no more than 5 girls that you can't live without. People that would take a bullet for you. If you have more than one sister, here's the criteria for picking the best one. Pick the sister who a) knows you the most and will plan it the way you want b) is the most financially capable and c) has the most time. If you do not have sisters, the rule still applies. If you can't find anyone that fits the bill completely, stick with the girl that falls under category A!!! She can tell the financially capable ones what to do. :) LET the girls pick out their dresses. It's a lot to ask people to pay so much money on a dress they will wear once so let them have a choice. They will be very happy and feel good on your big day too. ALWAYS give your bridal party good gifts in their gift bag. Think of things that they might need on the big day and fill their gift bags with them. That way they won't incur additional wedding day expenses and they'll feel very well thought of. NEVER let anyone dictate what YOU want to do for your shower/bachelorette party! Make sure your MO knows that and plans accordingly. Invitations Bottom line, they end up in the trash so think about your financial bottom line. Before you even think about a printing company, drive your ass to Target or Party City and buy the cutest ones you can find. One thing to think of, the less shit in the envelope, the less you pay in postage. The only thing guests need is the invite, rsvp card and envelope and a map. Number your invites so you can keep track of who didn't respond and USE theknot.com's database. It'll be your BEST friend. If your friends offer to help you assemble them, then accept the help. Never make anyone feel obligated. But if you do ask, entice with treats or wine! People don't like to think that they're hard work will go unappreciated! Cake Don't ever pay a company that normally does wedding cakes, 500 for a stupid cake. It's such a waste of money. SPEND time looking around and talking to people. You can find someone who will do it for under 200. And here's another tip! If you put the cakes in the center of each table you don't need to pay for spendy shit that no one looks at in the center of the table. If your crafty or know crafty people, your center pieces are covered. If you want a small cake, just get a small cake and have the rest be sheet cakes. Guests don't know the difference and you save a lot more. THE DRESS Never invite more then 5 people to go wedding dress shopping with you. ONLY invite people who know you. They will KNOW when it's the right dress. You're face will light up and you may even cry. And at that point EVERYONE should be supporting you. If there's someone that you think for a minute would be too jealous or opinionated or would not appreciate the moment, then don't even bother inviting them. That includes family members. People can get really jealous when the spotlight isn't on them so just remember that. Less opinions on dress shopping day equals more satisfaction and if you don't believe me, watch an episode of Say Yes to The Dress on TLC. Odds and Ends Never spend a lot of money on flowers unless you can get a massive discount. They die. Always get a second opinion on spending money. Go see places and get your feet dirty. It's good to know where every dollar is going. It's also good to to minimize drama. Many guests, family and friends will think "it's not my day!" but if you have an attitude of gratitude then people will be more likely to help and want to experience it with you!
So maybe I got a little off track at times but hopefully this could be useful for someone, someday!
Pushing Papers... Popping Pills... I never thought I'd EVER combine these words into one statement... For the past few weeks I've noticed a little anomoly creeping into my life. This anomoly begins on Monday's and ends on Friday's. Let me explain further. Evenings begin like this:
Andy and Abby are jumping around like excited little lizards bouncing around and it's about 9pm. I'm laying in bed trying to wind down. Notice how these two things don't particularily go with each other.
11pm.... It's ELEVEN P...M... and I can't sleep. So I walk over to the kitchen, pop a Waladryl and then shortly after, begin sleeping.
This is a typical weekday occurence. Last night I opted to change it up a bit and do the whole "shower at night" thing. Morning began like this:
I have a massive headache!!!!! I slept like a baby so I don't understand why this is happening to me. I walk over to a co-workers desk and pop 2 advill. I'm fine now.. But the question remains.... WHY CAN'T I STOP POPPING PILLS JUST TO PUSH PAPERS!!!!!!!!
What's wrong with me???? When did I sign up for this? Being an adult sucks! Send me to Disney World! I'd like to pass on adulthood and return back to my youth please....
Let me just begin with saying why this is DIY Hell. First of all, I'm unable to do anything because I do not know how to do it. At this stage DIY is hell for me because I can't do anything!!!!! PAINFUL!!! To top that off, my husband and his father have been lazily tackling this project while I'm upstairs biting the skin off my hands and asking them constantly what I can do to just finish it! Two households on one floor is very annoying. So I thought I would share my misery!
Exhibit A: Entrance into the pit of hell. I HATE going down here. Especially seeing those plumbing motes. Exhibit B: This will one day be the bedroom... With a big bed and a nice walk0in closet! Exhibit C: The bathroom... in theory..... Exhibit D: A Hopeful second living room. ANYONE have any advice on how to motivate two men to get the plumbing done short of just getting pregnant??????
