Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Yeah... It's been two weeks...

Many apologies that it's been two weeks since writing. 

We have this cat that enjoys chewing on IMPORTANT cords, like the cord to charge our laptop, the cord to charge our phones, the cord to charge PS3 controller.... you get the picture.

So my computer has been dead for two weeks, hence the zero postings. 

BUT! Dean fixed the cord, so we're back on track!

So... what's happened in two weeks?

Well, Dean fixed the pond since the last post. Blue lights are gone he rearranged the top tier where the turtle sits so it looks like it was meant to be this way, etc. I'd take a picture and post it, but its thunder storming, and I don't think I should be out in the lighting with a camera snapping away pictures.

My baby shower was this past Sunday. That was super fun. Lots of people came and showed their love for us, everyone enjoyed themselves; it was a good time. We somehow managed to fit all the gifts in the car to get them home. And then of course once we got home I got a second wind and started playing with the stuff we got. 

Monday, we put everything away, I did all the laundry and, well, the nursery is completely set until my next shower down here with the girls I work with! 

It's crazy to think that tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant. Even though these last few weeks are dragging, this pregnancy has flown by. I've enjoyed every minute of it too. Feeling him move and kick and hiccup... it's amazing to me. Dean says I'm too dramatic sometimes when he moves or gets in a certain position that "hurts" me. I told him he'll never understand how much it hurts depending on where the baby shoves a foot or arm, and it's a beautiful miracle to know that a living human being is growing inside me. Every time he moves it reminds me he's there. I mean, it's not like I could forget, my stomach enters a room 10 minutes before I do, but every time there is movement I feel like he's saying, "Hey Mom!" and that just gives me the giggles. 

There's really not much else going on. I told work my last day would be April 9, so I'm stoked for that day to get here. I love the people I work with, but it's just SO exhausting, especially when we're busy and I physically cannot sit down AT.ALL. 

Ok. So now I promise to update more since I have a working computer.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

We have a pond. Be jealous.

Sunday was Dean and I's 'get the house clean/yardwork/chore' day.

Dean did yardwork, while I made laundry detergent, and cleaned, and played on the computer. 

When I say yardwork, I mean he layed grass seed and worked on our pond in the back yard. Pond work has continued through today, and I have a feeling will continue probably through all summer. 

Here's how the pond looked when the people before us lived here and put it in.


It probably looked better at one point too. But this is the best old picture I could find. 

So then, the house sat empty for three years and the pond became overtaken by leaves. We worked on it last year, and had it looking pretty good, but once again, leaves overtook the entire property, including said pond. 

This is what our house looks like in the fall:
  
Yeahhhh.....

So Dean cleaned it all out, hooked up the massive filter we got from the dude with the turtle, and after some brilliant discussion, added blue rope lights. This is what it looks like today:


Now I'd like to point out how Ghetto our pond currently looks, in hopes of some suggestions of how to fix it. Dean and I are somewhat at a loss...


See what I mean? Pretty ghetto looking. I want it to be beautiful and people be like,
"Gee... I wonder how that works! How do they have such a beautiful pond and such awesome lights just hanging out there?!"

Yeah. So we need help people. 

Oh. This is what the pond looks like at night. 




It looks awesome at night! Because all the ghetto parts are hidden and the lights reflect in the water and it's pretty pretty.

Ok. So any and all suggestions are welcome. 

Please and thank you. 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

What do Rita's, a turtle, a bum, and Ruby Tuesday all have in common?

Why, they're all apart of my Saturday of course!

I wake up, get dressed, and get ready to make an hour and a half drive to MD to get a turtle. 

Only consolation? I was able to talk Dean into first stopping at Rita's to get me a Gelati. 

I'm still pissed at the drunk bitch that kept me from getting one the other night, so I made sure I got a large today.


YEAH BUDDY.

This made the first half hour of the drive TOTALLY worth it. 

Don't question why it took me a half hour to eat that. I like to savor and enjoy my Rita's. Will probably be asking for that once I give birth. 

Actually... 
Yes. Write it down. You come to visit me, you bring me a Gelati from Rita's, or you don't get to hold my kid.  Trust me, I won't forget.

So then we get the turtle. 

I'd like to point out that this is the twelfth turtle to join our family.
TWEL-UH-VE

It's gotten a little ridiculous. 

BUT. Dean's wanted a map turtle for a very long time, and this turtle is a map turtle and a rare one at that, and all the shit we got with it made the whole thing an offer I couldn't allow him to pass up.

Just give me the wife of the year medal right now, and everyone will be satisfied.

So meet Keiko (pronounced KEE-CO). Or however the dude spelled it. He named it. Not us.
And in honor of that dude, we're keeping it the same.

It was kind of sad actually. The guy was really nice, said he and his wife have two kids and are expecting their third soon, so he had to part with this turtle. He told Dean and I how he wanted a turtle for a long time, and got this guy as a gift, but now had to part with it for reason of third child, so he wanted to make sure it went to a good home that would take care of it (it did).

Not just did we get the turtle though. 

For less than $100, we got:

Turtle (typically $200 from pet store)
Tank (30 gal breeder tank... AKA not cheap)
Basking light and bulb (Also, NOT cheap)
Super Filter (New is like $300)
Parts for filter (NOT cheap either)
Extra accessories for in tank (Cheap, but they add up quickly)
Turtle Food (Cheap?)
And probably some other little things I'm forgetting

Basically, Dean just about wet himself of orgasmic turtle pleasure when we left the dude's house because of everything we got, and the price we got it for. 

So we leave the guy's house, and Dean apparently has to pee more than I do (told you he about wet himself...) and I'm hungry because it's been more than 15 minutes since I last ate, so we stop in at McDonalds. 

Dean and I race in to the bathroom, do our business and get down to ordering some delicious burgers and fries.

Best part?

As I was getting my coke for the day, a very tall, skinny, scary man approached Dean and asked for $1

Sorry dude, we don't carry cash.

He THEN proceeds to ask Dean to buy him a McDouble. Dean again apologizes and says we've already ordered and are about to leave. (LIE) 

So the bum left us alone and went to beg from another family. 

Needless to say when we got our food, we did sort of a walk/run to our car in case the bum followed us. (He didn't). But we're nervous little West Virginian white folk that get scared easily by harmless people.

My day concluded with an 8 hour shift at Good ole Ruby Tuesday.

Not much to say here. 
People ordered food and drinks.
I brought it to them.
They paid me.
They left.


I wish everyone looked this happy at my Ruby's...

Typically it looks more like this:


Except without Obama.

And more of a depressed/pissed off look.



Oh shit! I almost forgot! We turn clocks up tonight. So technically it's like 4am right now, but my clock says it's like 3 am. 

BS I tell you. BS!!!


Ok. Hope you enjoyed the recap of my Saturday! 
I'm sure you didn't


And don't forget. Rita's Gelati when I give birth.
I'm serious.



7 weeks, 4 days to go people. 7 weeks, 4 days...

Friday, March 9, 2012

CAUTION: ENTERING CRAZY CAT LADY STATUS

So Lamaze class last night was cancelled.

Bummer.

Not much happened today. So, I'm going there.

Crazy cat lady status. 

Why?

BECAUSE I CAN


We eat Tuna.


We enjoy watching the wind blow...


Leo takes naps. Awkwardly. 

But it's cute.


Leo gives Bella a bath.



Ok. Enough of that.

Bet you're excited for me to have the kid so you can see adorable pictures of him instead of my cats.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Cats, Birds, a Nurse and 32 weeks Pregnant

My evening looked like this:


Just a girl, some laundry and her cats. They get annoyed with me when Dean's at work because they're all I have to talk to, so this is their way of not being rude. Sleeping, so I don't talk, but still being with me so I'm not lonely. 

Moving on and away from crazy cat lady status.

Have you ever wanted to reach out your window and shoot innocent birds?

I have.

I wasn't able to fall asleep last night until around 3 am, so when I had a pair of birds chirping back and forth to each other right outside my window at 6 am, I was not a happy camper. I was seriously debating getting the BB gun.

But I didn't.

Because I'm a good person.


We had our doctor appointment this morning, or Baby Check-Up as I like to call them.

It started as normal, pee in a cup, get weighed, get my blood pressure taken, Nurse asks me some questions... only I think she got woken up by rude birds this morning too. Our conversation kind of went like this (keep in mind it was 9 am) :

Nurse: You feel him moving?

Me: Well, not so much today yet. 

N: *Heavy sigh* Have you eaten?

M: No, not yet...

N:*Heavier sigh* When's the last time you ate?

M: 3 am... I had a glass of pink lemonade when I got up though

N: *In a sort of yelling at me scolding way* That's a long time to go without eating. You need to eat, or drink a glass of orange juice or something sugary, get the baby up and moving. You're at the point in pregnancy now that we worry if you don't feel him moving constantly. 

So in the back of my head, I'm thinking "3am to 9am is 6 hours and that's a long time to go without eating?"
Bitch no wonder you could stand to lose a few pounds.  

But of course I didn't say that. 

I smiled my happy pregnant girl smiled and said okay! and she left. 

Good. I didn't like you anyway. 


Then the midwife came in and we found out I gained 2 pounds in two weeks (Still only up 22 lbs for my entire pregnancy thus far!)
and I'm measuring 36 weeks pregnant, when I should only be measuring 32 weeks. Not quite sure what this means. 

Before even asking, the midwife told me she was going to determine his position, just by feeling me.
After about two minutes of poking and prodding and squeezing she looked pretty confused and said she was going to send me for an ultrasound because she wasn't exactly sure which way he was positioned.

So now I'm thinking my kid has like a head on each end or something, because usually they can tell these things easily, but they can't with me.

BUT! That means I get an ultrasound in two weeks!! and I'll get to see my little man, how big he is, what position he's in and I'm going to ask the tech to see his fingers and toes, and make sure he's healthy.

Because Moms do stuff like that.

We have our second of five prenatal birthing classes tonight (or lamaze classes as I like to call them), so that should be two hours of fun. 

A Baby Story is on again. I think I'll allow myself to watch.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Worry Wart

Today I made the mistake of watching A Baby Story

Why is it a mistake you may ask?

Not because a woman laid on a table thriving in pain for hours, asked for an epidural, and it was too late to get one before having to push her 9 pound baby out with no drugs whatsoever...

No. That doesn't scare me.
Much. 

What made it a mistake was that the last episode that was on for the day was about a husband and wife having their second child, only this child would "surprise everyone".
Once the baby was born and on the little table that they throw babies on to do quick exams, the father noticed something wrong with the baby's left hand.  

This baby was born with no fingers on his left hand.

The ultrasounds hadn't picked up on this, so in the moments that should be nothing but joyful for parents, they were shocked and scared that their new baby was born with only one functional hand. 

I honestly can't imagine being in that moment. You're so happy to have your baby, safe and in your arms, but at the same time you start to think about the struggles they're going to have in their life.

They determined that the baby was born this way because of his position in the uterus. Apparently his hand was up against the uterine wall, and wasn't given the space to develop fingers in that hand.

I haven't stopped trying to get Baby to move/somersault/roll ever since.

So on top of that, we had our first lamaze class a week ago, (the second one is tomorrow night) and in the class we talked about the position of the placenta and if it's covering the cervix, there is no possible way to have a natural child birth...

Needless to say, I'm a worried Momma right now and the doctor is not going to like me very much tomorrow morning.

I've already been told that we won't get another ultrasound. But now I want to know:
 How do we know if our baby is growing correctly? 
How do we know his size?
Do we know the position of the placenta? (Because if it's not in the right place, I want to know ahead of time that I'm going to have to get cut open)
Can the doctor tell his position just by feeling me? 
What does he look like?!

At our 20 week ultrasound he was facing my spine, so the only picture we got was what they were able to pull through his head... or something like that. 


yeah. that's it. I cherish this picture SO much, but is it too much to ask to get another one?!

You all probably think I'm crazy or a terrible person now. 
Oh well.

I've procrastinated folding laundry long enough now. 

I'll update again tomorrow after our appointment. 

Hope I didn't bore you too much.


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Dinner, Dance Moms, and Simple Living

So I got home, sat down with my dinner, and Dance Moms on TV, and decided right now would be a good time for another blog.

Yes. That IS my dinner. Don't judge me. I'm 8 months pregnant, and had a crazy drunk lady at work not held me back from leaving to tell me her life's story, that would be a big fat Gelati from Rita's instead. 
Crazy drunk bitch. Don't get between a pregnant girl and her Rita's.

And YES I am eating in bed.
 Say something.

And don't judge me for watching Dance Moms either. It's addicting and a serious guilty pleasure. 

So as I sit here, eating my cheese filled pretzel watching Dance Moms, I begin to think about something that strikes me as interesting and always has (I noticed it a good bit at work tonight, so I figured it to be a good topic to write about).

Why is it that we, as a human race, find it necessary to constantly compare our situation to others and always, ALWAYS believe we have it worse? 
Do we WANT to have it worse off than others, or do we devalue the good in our lives that much that it's never enough to overcome the "shitty" parts. 

And I'm not innocent to it, I'll say that much. 

If you're confused, I'm talking about times when someone is talking about how bad their day was or how horrible of a tip they just got, and we automatically feel the need to jump in and tell that person how our day was worse or how we got a worse tip...

Is it to make them feel better about themselves? OR Is it to point out that WE have it worse?

And if it is to make them feel better, why don't we just say, "I'm really sorry that happened. What can I do to make you feel better?"

Why can't we just be happy with what's been given to us? Why must we always yearn for more?

Why can't we just live...

 simplistically?

Monday, March 5, 2012

31 Weeks

Look at me setting up a blog months and months ago and then not posting ANYTHING.

Failure.

I recently ran across a blog that is written by a woman that is a wife, mother, all-around crafty lady, and former teacher. And it inspired me to start writing again.

So now, I'm  31 weeks 4 days in my pregnancy and it's getting a tad overwhelming.

Our shower is coming up in a few weeks, and I'm not shy about saying how excited we both are. Right now, Dean and I are "stuck"in not being able to do anything to prepare for our little guy to make his way into the world. Once our shower comes and goes, we'll have things to wash, put away, and know what is left to buy. We'll be able to set up the nursery, pack hospital bags, and our "plan" will be set.

All the books, websites and updates have been telling us for weeks now to work on a "birthing plan." Well here's mine: Get my baby out of me as safely as possible, as quickly as possible and as painlessly as possible.
Pretty simple, don't ya think?

But I don't think I really need that birthing plan. I'm not ready to talk about the "birthing" part.
"Baby, just stay put for a bit, ok? Because Mommy is NOT ready for you yet.
And I'm sure Daddy isn't either."

Ok. I promise to blog more now. Not just once every 4 months.

Promise.