This one is all about Patrick (stolen from his sisters blogs).
What is his name? Patrick Russell Thaden
How long have you been together? Let's see from first date on March 6, 2003 to now....four years, seven months, and eleven days. Four years of which married.
How long did you date? Four months and ten days before he proposed and then an almost exactly three month engagement. (July 16th-Oct. 17th)
How old is he? 31...but he'll be 32 in January...he's old, poor guy. ;)
Who eats more? At a given mealtime I'd say he does, but over the course of a day I do as I'm home with the food and he's not.
Who said I love you first? He did. I was about to go in and confront my psycho roommates after telling them that I was moving out and he told me not to worry about them because he "thought he was falling in love with me." This made my sardonic brain go,'you THINK? what's that supposed to mean?' especially since he said it in a sing song, shy voice. But I didn't say that out loud....I think I just kissed him or something. I didn't say I love you back for a couple of days because I didn't want him to think I just said it because he did. But I distinctly remember looking at him and thinking "I love you" in April....though he didn't say it until June 16th.
Who is taller? He is by barely two inches....unless he's in boots and I'm barefoot, then it's like 4 which is fun. ;)
Who sings better? I'd say me only because I can actually carry a tune while the song is not playing. He can sing pretty well if it's a song he knows and it's playing at the time, but he would never sing alone...believe me I've tried to make him.
Who is smarter? When it comes to technical and business stuff...and "real world" type stuff he is. But when it comes to writing papers and jumping through hoops to get A's I am.
Who does the laundry? I do. We used to just do it whenever, but now that I'm home all the time this made me feel bad since he ALWAYS needs clothes before I do, so now I do it every Monday.
Who does the dishes? During the day I do, but Patrick tends to do the dinner dishes.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? From the laying in bed perspective I do.
Who pays the bills? I do. If they were left to Patrick they'd only get paid when the companies started calling and threatening to shut off or cancel our stuff.
Who mows the lawn? Patrick does...he's worried that since I'm so allergic to everything, grass included, I'll break out in a rash from the flying debris. Which is probably true. ;)
Who cooks dinner? I think I'm slightly more likely to cook dinner than Patrick, especially lately, but it's been a toss up in the past.
Who drives when you're together? He does. I've driven a couple of times when I'm dropping him off somewhere, but that's it. Which is funny because he ALWAYS says when we go on vacation that he's going to have me help drive because it's easier to switch off. This has never happened.
Who is more stubborn? I think it depends on the situation, but generally I'd say me. I'm unreasonably stubborn at times.
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Patrick. I tend to go to a place in my head where I hold whole conversations about the issue, but never voice them....making myself more upset. Patrick is always the one to give in first and talk things out, including admitting when he was wrong.
Who kissed who first? Patrick kissed me first. I would never kiss a boy first, I would always assume that if he hasn't shown any inclination to kissing me then he wouldn't welcome me kissing him. But after Patrick kissed me first, the door was open and I kissed him just as often as he kissed me. ;)
Who asked who out? Patrick asked me out to dinner and the museum....supposedly to ensure I wasn't crazy before we went on our road trip to New Orleans. I would never ask a boy out first....see reasons above.
Who proposed? Patrick at a restaurant in Flower Mound. He said he wasn't planning to do it there, but the waiter knew he was going to ask and kept walking by looking at my hand, so he felt pressured. Consequently there was no build up, no flowery speech, no getting down on one knee....he just said; "So, I have a question...." and when I looked he had the ring out (in his hand, not the box) "will you marry me?" Later when I explained what I wanted, he proposed many, many more times. My favorite being in the ruins of a castle in Germany in the rain. He said that's the proposal he would have liked to have given. It was very nice...
Who is more sensitive? In general I'd say me, but when it comes to hurting each others feelings it's a toss up.
Who has more friends? Hmm...depends on how you classify friends. If it's people they've known and been in touch with for years, then him. People you actually hang out with and do stuff, me. People you interact with on a daily basis, him.
Who has more siblings? Him. He as six sisters (total of seven kids). I have one sister and three brothers (total of five).
Who wears the pants in the family? I'd say we're pretty equal. Although I generally acknowledge that he has final say in many big things. This is comforting to me to have a big strong manly type as head of the household since my mom was in charge at ours growing up. I hate being in charge....although I'm sure Patrick would say different.
Okay that's it. Maybe more people will comment on this than they did on the food quiz. *hint hint* :)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Food Quiz
My sister-in-law Heidi tagged me to do this food quiz. The Thadens seem to have an easy time of it, but I really had to stretch to think of some of these. :)
1) How do you like your eggs?
Hmm....I don't really like eggs...they tend to make me nauseous. But when I do have them I guess it's scrambled with ketchup on top.
2)How do you take your coffee/tea?
Don't drink coffee or tea. I hate walking down that aisle at the grocery store too, 'cuz I think it stinks.
3) Favorite breakfast foods? Like the eggs in #1, most breakfast foods tend to make me nauseous, including sausage, eggs, bacon, hot chocolate, ham, oatmeal, etc... I do like cold cereal though...and pancakes sometimes.
4) Peanut Butter: Crunchy or Creamy? It was crunchy for several years, but the last year or two I've been wanting creamy...probably an overload of crunchy or something.
5) What kind of dressing do you like on your salad? Depends on the day. Mostly I like Ranch, Thousand Island or French.....although I like Ceasar on Ceasar salad.
6) Coke or Pepsi? Yuck! I HATE cola!!! (and I think they both taste the same)
7) You're feeling lazy, what do you make? For a snack or dinner? For dinner I'd make pasta, it's really easy, especially when you buy the sauce in a bottle like we do.
8) You're feeling REALLY lazy, what pizza do you order? Chicken and pineapple...with mushrooms and tomatoes if we're splurging.
9) You feel like cooking, what do you make? Hmmm...I guess it would depend on what kind of food I was in the mood for. Maybe homemade chicken pot pie, that's really good....or lasagna, that's good too. I'm way more likely to bake something though....like brownies, apple/peach crisp, or pies.
10) Do any food bring back good memories? Yes, my mom's candy cane shaped bread with crushed candy cane frosting make me think of Christmas at home. Turkey and stuffing = Thanksgiving, Candy corn = Halloween, Pumpkin pie = Home, White chocolate raspberry cheesecake - dates with Patrick back when we ordered dessert. My dad's bbq pork ribs with fried potatoes with bacon makes me think of fall evenings at home around the dinner table.
11) Do any foods bring back bad memories? Lemon bars- remind me of when I bit into an eggshell in one. Special K with strawberries - getting sick the day before I had Isabelle and throwing up a whole bowl full a few minutes after I ate it. I can't think of anything else...I have a tendency to block bad memories, which makes them hard to recall if the food or whatever isn't actually there.
12) Do any foods remind you of someone? Umm..yes? Let's see...uh...corned beef and cabbage reminds me of my friend Eden as I had that at her house once. She was shocked that I was Irish and had never had it before (they eat it every St. Patrick's day). Those candy cane bread things make me think of my mom. Chicken florentine makes me think of Patrick as he orders that every single time we go to Bari's.
13) Is there any food you refuse to eat? I agree with Heidi and Christine about the faces thing....I don't like to be able to identify the animal I'm eating just by looking at it. I had fried calamari once....it was whole mini squid just fried. They tasted okay, but I kept gagging 'cuz I was ripping apart it's body with my teeth....same thing with shrimp....excluding small breaded 'popcorn' shrimp. Though I won't "refuse" to eat it, I really, really don't like oatmeal as it looks and feels like a big bowl of mucus.
14) What was your favorite food as a child? My mom's homemade pizza....I hated store/restaurant pizza, but loved hers.
15) Is there any food you hated as a child, but like now? Cheesecake. I don't know how I ever disliked that....and the pizza thing, I'll eat most any pizza now.
16) Is there a food you liked as a child, but hate now? Lemon bars, see #11.
17) Favorite fruit and vegetable? Hmm....grapes, strawberries, pineapple, oranges, bananas, corn, broccoli, yellow squash, green beans, spinach, tomatoes.
18) Favorite junk food? Depends on the day....brownies, ice cream, coffee cake, almond joys, cheesecake....
19) Favorite in between meal snack? Popsicles, made with real juice, cheese and crackers, grapes, pancakes with chocolate chips and marshmallows on top, yogurt (yoplait strawberry).
20) Do you have any wierd food habits? Hmm...I don't think so...if anyone has noticed any, feel free to tell me.
21) You're on a diet, what do you fill up on? Carrot sticks and applesauce....and special k cereal bars.
22) You're off your diet, now what would you eat? Umm...real food? Sandwiches, taquitos, cereal, crackers, etc...
23) How spicy to you order your Indian/Thai? Not intentionally, but I notice most of the stuff I order from these menus have the spicy sign next to them....whatever that means.
24) Can I get you a drink? Water, lemonade or cranapple please.
25) Favorite dessert? Brownies, cheesecake, ice cream.
Okay...that seemed to go on forever....I guess I'm not as intimately aquainted with food as some of the Thadens, but that's okay. Now I tag Tearese and Margie.
1) How do you like your eggs?
Hmm....I don't really like eggs...they tend to make me nauseous. But when I do have them I guess it's scrambled with ketchup on top.
2)How do you take your coffee/tea?
Don't drink coffee or tea. I hate walking down that aisle at the grocery store too, 'cuz I think it stinks.
3) Favorite breakfast foods? Like the eggs in #1, most breakfast foods tend to make me nauseous, including sausage, eggs, bacon, hot chocolate, ham, oatmeal, etc... I do like cold cereal though...and pancakes sometimes.
4) Peanut Butter: Crunchy or Creamy? It was crunchy for several years, but the last year or two I've been wanting creamy...probably an overload of crunchy or something.
5) What kind of dressing do you like on your salad? Depends on the day. Mostly I like Ranch, Thousand Island or French.....although I like Ceasar on Ceasar salad.
6) Coke or Pepsi? Yuck! I HATE cola!!! (and I think they both taste the same)
7) You're feeling lazy, what do you make? For a snack or dinner? For dinner I'd make pasta, it's really easy, especially when you buy the sauce in a bottle like we do.
8) You're feeling REALLY lazy, what pizza do you order? Chicken and pineapple...with mushrooms and tomatoes if we're splurging.
9) You feel like cooking, what do you make? Hmmm...I guess it would depend on what kind of food I was in the mood for. Maybe homemade chicken pot pie, that's really good....or lasagna, that's good too. I'm way more likely to bake something though....like brownies, apple/peach crisp, or pies.
10) Do any food bring back good memories? Yes, my mom's candy cane shaped bread with crushed candy cane frosting make me think of Christmas at home. Turkey and stuffing = Thanksgiving, Candy corn = Halloween, Pumpkin pie = Home, White chocolate raspberry cheesecake - dates with Patrick back when we ordered dessert. My dad's bbq pork ribs with fried potatoes with bacon makes me think of fall evenings at home around the dinner table.
11) Do any foods bring back bad memories? Lemon bars- remind me of when I bit into an eggshell in one. Special K with strawberries - getting sick the day before I had Isabelle and throwing up a whole bowl full a few minutes after I ate it. I can't think of anything else...I have a tendency to block bad memories, which makes them hard to recall if the food or whatever isn't actually there.
12) Do any foods remind you of someone? Umm..yes? Let's see...uh...corned beef and cabbage reminds me of my friend Eden as I had that at her house once. She was shocked that I was Irish and had never had it before (they eat it every St. Patrick's day). Those candy cane bread things make me think of my mom. Chicken florentine makes me think of Patrick as he orders that every single time we go to Bari's.
13) Is there any food you refuse to eat? I agree with Heidi and Christine about the faces thing....I don't like to be able to identify the animal I'm eating just by looking at it. I had fried calamari once....it was whole mini squid just fried. They tasted okay, but I kept gagging 'cuz I was ripping apart it's body with my teeth....same thing with shrimp....excluding small breaded 'popcorn' shrimp. Though I won't "refuse" to eat it, I really, really don't like oatmeal as it looks and feels like a big bowl of mucus.
14) What was your favorite food as a child? My mom's homemade pizza....I hated store/restaurant pizza, but loved hers.
15) Is there any food you hated as a child, but like now? Cheesecake. I don't know how I ever disliked that....and the pizza thing, I'll eat most any pizza now.
16) Is there a food you liked as a child, but hate now? Lemon bars, see #11.
17) Favorite fruit and vegetable? Hmm....grapes, strawberries, pineapple, oranges, bananas, corn, broccoli, yellow squash, green beans, spinach, tomatoes.
18) Favorite junk food? Depends on the day....brownies, ice cream, coffee cake, almond joys, cheesecake....
19) Favorite in between meal snack? Popsicles, made with real juice, cheese and crackers, grapes, pancakes with chocolate chips and marshmallows on top, yogurt (yoplait strawberry).
20) Do you have any wierd food habits? Hmm...I don't think so...if anyone has noticed any, feel free to tell me.
21) You're on a diet, what do you fill up on? Carrot sticks and applesauce....and special k cereal bars.
22) You're off your diet, now what would you eat? Umm...real food? Sandwiches, taquitos, cereal, crackers, etc...
23) How spicy to you order your Indian/Thai? Not intentionally, but I notice most of the stuff I order from these menus have the spicy sign next to them....whatever that means.
24) Can I get you a drink? Water, lemonade or cranapple please.
25) Favorite dessert? Brownies, cheesecake, ice cream.
Okay...that seemed to go on forever....I guess I'm not as intimately aquainted with food as some of the Thadens, but that's okay. Now I tag Tearese and Margie.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
21 wks and counting...
I'm sure those of you who read my blog already know this, but we just found out we're having a boy!
I was sure it was a girl, so we had a bunch of girl names ready. Now I'm not sure what we'll name it. Right now we like William or James (middle name Patrick is a given), but I've been known to change my mind. Any suggestions from the peanut gallery?
Tomorrow (Oct 3rd) I'll be 21 weeks along. For those of you keeping track of my expanding waistline, here's a new picture:
People at church have finally started asking, and the RS is putting me in the newsletter for this month so soon everyone will know. I'm fine with that. I think it's totally obvious, but people that find out are shocked. They say things like; "But you're so little!! There's no way you could be that far along!" I don't know if they're serious or just being nice because I am way bigger than I was last time at this point. I'm also much more uncomfortable than I was last time. I don't remember feeling huge and awkward until the last trimester last time but I already feel gargantuan. I'm not sure if that's a boy/girl thing or a second pregnancy thing. I'm thinking the latter.
The state of my pregancy wardrobe is sad. I have two t-shirts, and two sweater type shirts that are too hot to wear yet. I have plenty of pants and skirts, but the shirts are seriously lacking. I have asked a few people where they bought their cute pregnancy clothes and have lots of suggestions that I'm ready to use as soon as we have money. Unfortunately this probably won't be until after I've had the baby. Luckily my mom took pity on me and bought be a shirt or two (I think...they're in the mail). Hopefully they fit and aren't too off from my own taste. But even if they aren't anything I'd buy, I'll still wear them 'cuz it's better than nothing.
The solo thing I did went well, except for the fact that my guitar was out of tune (oops!). Luckily the way the mic's were set up it didn't pick up my guitar as much as it should have so maybe no one noticed?
What else...hmm...I went through all of my baby clothes today in search of non gender specific clothes for the new baby. I was happily surprised to find that I had alot more boyish clothes than I thought I did. I got alot from Patrick's sister Tammy that were yellow/green that I made Isabelle wear, but used to belong to Tammy's boys. They're still in mostly good condition, so I'm not so worried about not having any boy things for the baby. I also found like 6 bags worth of stuff for Jenny that I probably wouldn't have kept even if the baby was a girl, but it's nice to share. I know I really appreciated it when we got so many clothes donations from people. Now we just need new crib stuff...the bumper, skirt, and sheets we have are all girly with flowers and such. Again, hopefully we'll have money sometime before the baby comes to get some new boyish stuff. Okay, I think that's a long enough post.
Oh, Tearese/Christine; how do you get the map thing to stay on your page? Mine just came up as a post.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
5 Things Meme
Okay so my sister Tearese tagged me with this and I really like these sorts of things so here we go.
5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Getting my hair layered for the first time. This has since become my staple hair cut that I always revert to when trying new things doesn't work out.
2. Alternately hoping/dreading that my friend David would ask me out. He was the first male friend I had and I fluctuated between just liking him and "liking" him.
3. I was in my Junior year at Cedar High School...the first year following the split with the newly built Canyon View High School.
4. Playing first clarinet in the Symphonic Band.
5. Looking into and touring various college campuses in anticipation of my graduation the following year.
5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry - this is the only household chore I do consistently every week.
2. Allergy shots - another weekly task that happens to fall on Monday.
3. Clean the living room - this I only do sometimes, but my feet have started crunching things into the carpet so I decided it's probably time to vacuum.
4. Go walking with Margie and Josh
5. Put gas in the car.
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Strawberry Cheesecake - I guess that's more of a dessert then a snack, but if we have it I'll sure snack on it!
2. Crackers and Cheese - and grapes/apples if we have them....or bread if there's no crackers...
3. Brownies
4. Toast with raspberry jam
5. Strawberry yogurt - Yoplait is the best
5 songs I know the lyrics to:
1. Most any U2 song
2. American Pie - Don McLean
3. Most Disney movie songs
4. Most Oldies because my dad worked at an oldies station and made tapes for our vacations.
5. Sweet Child of Mine - Guns 'n Roses
5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire:
1. Pay off all of our debt
2. Buy my mom a house
3. Invest/hire someone to help me know what to invest in so we'd never have to work again.
4. Buy a new house or 'fix'(ie. completely rebuild from the ground up) ours
5. Buy Patrick a new shop
5 Bad Habits:
1. Not spending enough time playing with my child(ren)
2. Not cleaning the house on a regular basis
3. Spending money on frivolous things like books or ice cream when we should be paying our bills.
4. Taking naps when Isabelle does instead of getting things done.
5. Complaining about our big ward
5 things I'd never wear again:
1. Off the shoulder sweatshirts...for one thing they'd look pretty funny with my big 'ol mormon underwear.
2. Short skirts - see above
3. Those little hoops to tie up one corner of a long t-shirt into a knot.
4. Midriff baring shirts - even w/o my underwear issue, I don't think anyone really wants to see my stretch marks.
5. Bright pink boots with black fur trim.
5 Favorite Toys:
1. Blair, my stuffed dragon
2. My "Birthday Bear" (carebear) I got when I was four.
3. My E.T. doll
4. My stuffed dog named "Whitepaw" my dad got me for my birthday one year.
5. The purple "pound puppy" my mom made me.
Okay I guess that's it. I'm tagging Margie, Christine, and Emily if they want to do this....and assuming they're still reading my blog to know they've been tagged. ;)
5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Getting my hair layered for the first time. This has since become my staple hair cut that I always revert to when trying new things doesn't work out.
2. Alternately hoping/dreading that my friend David would ask me out. He was the first male friend I had and I fluctuated between just liking him and "liking" him.
3. I was in my Junior year at Cedar High School...the first year following the split with the newly built Canyon View High School.
4. Playing first clarinet in the Symphonic Band.
5. Looking into and touring various college campuses in anticipation of my graduation the following year.
5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry - this is the only household chore I do consistently every week.
2. Allergy shots - another weekly task that happens to fall on Monday.
3. Clean the living room - this I only do sometimes, but my feet have started crunching things into the carpet so I decided it's probably time to vacuum.
4. Go walking with Margie and Josh
5. Put gas in the car.
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Strawberry Cheesecake - I guess that's more of a dessert then a snack, but if we have it I'll sure snack on it!
2. Crackers and Cheese - and grapes/apples if we have them....or bread if there's no crackers...
3. Brownies
4. Toast with raspberry jam
5. Strawberry yogurt - Yoplait is the best
5 songs I know the lyrics to:
1. Most any U2 song
2. American Pie - Don McLean
3. Most Disney movie songs
4. Most Oldies because my dad worked at an oldies station and made tapes for our vacations.
5. Sweet Child of Mine - Guns 'n Roses
5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire:
1. Pay off all of our debt
2. Buy my mom a house
3. Invest/hire someone to help me know what to invest in so we'd never have to work again.
4. Buy a new house or 'fix'(ie. completely rebuild from the ground up) ours
5. Buy Patrick a new shop
5 Bad Habits:
1. Not spending enough time playing with my child(ren)
2. Not cleaning the house on a regular basis
3. Spending money on frivolous things like books or ice cream when we should be paying our bills.
4. Taking naps when Isabelle does instead of getting things done.
5. Complaining about our big ward
5 things I'd never wear again:
1. Off the shoulder sweatshirts...for one thing they'd look pretty funny with my big 'ol mormon underwear.
2. Short skirts - see above
3. Those little hoops to tie up one corner of a long t-shirt into a knot.
4. Midriff baring shirts - even w/o my underwear issue, I don't think anyone really wants to see my stretch marks.
5. Bright pink boots with black fur trim.
5 Favorite Toys:
1. Blair, my stuffed dragon
2. My "Birthday Bear" (carebear) I got when I was four.
3. My E.T. doll
4. My stuffed dog named "Whitepaw" my dad got me for my birthday one year.
5. The purple "pound puppy" my mom made me.
Okay I guess that's it. I'm tagging Margie, Christine, and Emily if they want to do this....and assuming they're still reading my blog to know they've been tagged. ;)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Pregnancy, church, babies, etc...
That is a very descriptive and eye catching title don't you think? Yeah me neither. I just thought I should update before I lose the interest of all of my hoardes of new readers. ;) Let's see...pregnancy: Yesterday we went to my doctors appt. While we were waiting to see her, which seems to take forever now that they're at their new and improved office building, Isabelle was playing with a cute chubby baby. He was 11 months old and one of the fatest babies I've seen...not grotesque or anything just really, really chunky...or what my sister and I would call a 'chubalub'. He was cute. Anyway Isabelle kept going over and saying hi to him. His family (both parents were there) finally moved over closer to us...whether to be closer to Isabelle or the door I don't know. Anyway, they were very nice to let Isabelle play with the babies toys and such. After the mom went in to her appt, she left the dad with what looked like a bottle of straight apple juice for their kid (maybe why he's so big?). The baby soon lost interest and was playing with magazines. Here's the point of the story; Isabelle goes over to the baby and puts his pacifier in his mouth. She's delighted that he seems to like this and proceeds to take it out and put it back into his mouth repeatedly. (I tried to stop her from touching the sucking part, but the dad said it was okay so I left her alone) After doing this for a bit, she noticed the abandoned juice bottle over by their chairs. She went and got it and then proceeded to feed the baby. It was so funny 'cuz the baby was really enjoying it. She was so proud of herself. The dad asked me if she had any little brothers or sisters and I said no, apparently she just knows what to do. So that was cute. Other pregnancy things....
I'm still pregnant, so that's good. ;) I'm about a month bigger than I was at this point last time. I've started wearing my pregnancy clothes to church, which to me is an open invitation to come up to me and ask if I'm pregnant. No one has. This makes me a little annoyed after trying so hard to hide it forever and now that I'm finally open and announcing it to the world as it were, no one says anything. I got myself all worked up about it until I decided that maybe since I'm not really close to anyone in the ward no one wants to just come up and ask me on the off chance that I'm just fat. So I guess that's okay...but I came out and told a few church ladies I saw this week, so maybe they'll spread the word. Last time I didn't have to tell anyone they just asked, but I guess I knew those people better as I had callings with them. I've been in this ward for 9 months now and still haven't had a calling...not that I'm complaining too much....if I did I'm sure they'd put me in nursery or cub scouts, the two callings I DO NOT want to do. But without one I don't really talk to anyone but my VT companion and the sisters we see...and I've already posted about that.
Speaking of church, our ward is too big. They split the wards at the beginning of this year, so you'd think that all of the new wards would be in nice manageable sizes. Nope. Our ward fills up half the gym every single week. Most of the ward is from Sanger and since they have to drive 15 + minutes to get to church they all get there very early. So those of us who live in town and are used to coming ten minutes before the meeting starts (or leaving our house then anyway) never get a seat. Although after actually getting a bench once or twice I've decided it's better in the back with the soft folding chairs as they try to cram as many people as they possibly can onto the pews. If we had a few more kids we could probably stake out a whole side row for ourselves, but since we've just the one the self-appointed ushers think they can squish 4-5 more people onto the bench with us. I was also annoyed when we first came to this ward as relief society was really really full....enrichment (the one I went to) had over 60 sisters there...just from our ward. Anyway I had since gotten over this, but then they moved us into the chapel instead of the RS room...to accomodate all of us I'm sure. I don't like this at all. First of all I hate being in the same room for all three hours, but more I hate not being 'forced' to mingle with the other sisters as you find a seat, wait for the door to open and make small talk with whoever is next to you. In the chapel you get up, move to a different part of the bench and still don't sit by or talk to anyone. (Yes I know I could go and purposely sit by and talk to someone, but I don't want to bother people if they're actually waiting for their friends...or talk to someone that will latch onto me forever after that and be annoying...man I sound like a jerk...anyway...) I'm also annoyed 'cuz the sister teaching next week asked me to play my guitar and sing for her lesson. This in itself is not a big deal, but would be so much easier in the RS room where all I'd need was a chair at the front. In the chapel I need to either move the chalk board so I can sit up by the choir seats where people could see me, or sit in front where none but the first two rows can, I also need a microphone either my own on stand, which I'd then have to arrange and hope it picks up both my voice and the guitar, or the teachers' clip on mic that I'd worry would get too much guitar or get banged into or something...and I don't want to be in charge of all that. In my head I think I counted more problems with singing in the chapel, but I can't think of them now.
What else....we get to find out what the baby is (human or otherwise) in two weeks (oct 1). Isabelle thinks we'll have a girl (probably because she can say girl and not boy), but if you ask her she'd much rather we have a doggy. ;) Okay I was going to write more about clothes and hospitals, but I think I'll save that for next time. :)
I'm still pregnant, so that's good. ;) I'm about a month bigger than I was at this point last time. I've started wearing my pregnancy clothes to church, which to me is an open invitation to come up to me and ask if I'm pregnant. No one has. This makes me a little annoyed after trying so hard to hide it forever and now that I'm finally open and announcing it to the world as it were, no one says anything. I got myself all worked up about it until I decided that maybe since I'm not really close to anyone in the ward no one wants to just come up and ask me on the off chance that I'm just fat. So I guess that's okay...but I came out and told a few church ladies I saw this week, so maybe they'll spread the word. Last time I didn't have to tell anyone they just asked, but I guess I knew those people better as I had callings with them. I've been in this ward for 9 months now and still haven't had a calling...not that I'm complaining too much....if I did I'm sure they'd put me in nursery or cub scouts, the two callings I DO NOT want to do. But without one I don't really talk to anyone but my VT companion and the sisters we see...and I've already posted about that.
Speaking of church, our ward is too big. They split the wards at the beginning of this year, so you'd think that all of the new wards would be in nice manageable sizes. Nope. Our ward fills up half the gym every single week. Most of the ward is from Sanger and since they have to drive 15 + minutes to get to church they all get there very early. So those of us who live in town and are used to coming ten minutes before the meeting starts (or leaving our house then anyway) never get a seat. Although after actually getting a bench once or twice I've decided it's better in the back with the soft folding chairs as they try to cram as many people as they possibly can onto the pews. If we had a few more kids we could probably stake out a whole side row for ourselves, but since we've just the one the self-appointed ushers think they can squish 4-5 more people onto the bench with us. I was also annoyed when we first came to this ward as relief society was really really full....enrichment (the one I went to) had over 60 sisters there...just from our ward. Anyway I had since gotten over this, but then they moved us into the chapel instead of the RS room...to accomodate all of us I'm sure. I don't like this at all. First of all I hate being in the same room for all three hours, but more I hate not being 'forced' to mingle with the other sisters as you find a seat, wait for the door to open and make small talk with whoever is next to you. In the chapel you get up, move to a different part of the bench and still don't sit by or talk to anyone. (Yes I know I could go and purposely sit by and talk to someone, but I don't want to bother people if they're actually waiting for their friends...or talk to someone that will latch onto me forever after that and be annoying...man I sound like a jerk...anyway...) I'm also annoyed 'cuz the sister teaching next week asked me to play my guitar and sing for her lesson. This in itself is not a big deal, but would be so much easier in the RS room where all I'd need was a chair at the front. In the chapel I need to either move the chalk board so I can sit up by the choir seats where people could see me, or sit in front where none but the first two rows can, I also need a microphone either my own on stand, which I'd then have to arrange and hope it picks up both my voice and the guitar, or the teachers' clip on mic that I'd worry would get too much guitar or get banged into or something...and I don't want to be in charge of all that. In my head I think I counted more problems with singing in the chapel, but I can't think of them now.
What else....we get to find out what the baby is (human or otherwise) in two weeks (oct 1). Isabelle thinks we'll have a girl (probably because she can say girl and not boy), but if you ask her she'd much rather we have a doggy. ;) Okay I was going to write more about clothes and hospitals, but I think I'll save that for next time. :)
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Not so disgruntled ramblings....
So I feel really bad about my last post now that more of Patricks sisters have blogs and seem to be reading mine. I'm not really that negative in real life. Like I said, I just tend to blog when I'm in a bad mood and my writing style tends towards depicting more 'extreme' emotions than I'm actually meaning to convey. So that said, I'm now going to try and write a more positive and interesting blog. We'll see how it goes. ;)
As you all know I'm pregnant...about 16.5 weeks now. A lady at church last week asked if I was expecting and I told her that yes I was, but to please not tell anyone for at least another week. This is because our Relief Society prints the names, due dates, and baby gender of all the expectant mothers in the ward. Now personally I really like this feature of the newsletter because I'm very nosy about other peoples reproductive habits, but not social enough to try and befriend these people to ask them about it. So it's nice for me to be able to just peruse the monthly newsletter and see who is expecting. However, as a pregnant person myself, I have made it my goal to go as long as possible without letting people at church know we're expecting and thus see how long I can go before they put me in the newsletter. I know I won't make it past October, but I'm hoping I'll at least miss the cut off for the September issue...thus the waiting one more week before telling anyone. Don't ask me why I do this, I don't really know. I think it might have started with my first pregnancy when we thought it would be funny to see how long we could go with no one noticing. Our ultimate and, quite admitedly, unrealistic goal being we would just show up in church one day with a baby and no one would have noticed I was pregnant...which actually did happen with one girl, but she was really wrapped up in her own newborn at the time and thus oblivious to what was going on around her as there was no mistaking my pregnancy towards the end...but it was still funny...anyway.. So I wanted to go as long as I could with no one noticing and as I had several sizes up of 'normal' clothes left over from my heavier days I thus was able to pull off looking not pregnant for longer than I might have otherwise. I made it until a little after 20 wks before someone (the same lady as this time curiously enough) asked if I was expecting...very hesitantly too, which was nice. When I admitted that I was and told her (and others in the following weeks) how far along I was they were all very impressed that I had made it so far without 'really' showing. I thought it was great fun from that point on to compare myself sizewise to other pregnant women in the ward. Now I know it's not good to compare yourself to others, but growing up I was always one of the bigger girls in any situation so to find myself as one of the smallest was a great novelty that I thoroughly enjoyed. This time around does not appear to be the case. I heard that you 'pop' sooner with your second and subsequent babies, and I suppose weighing ten lbs more starting out than I did last time doesn't help, but I really didn't think I'd get big so soon. Not that I"m huge or anything, but I'm already as big at 16 wks as I was at 22'ish weeks last time. So I guess that's what I get for comparing myself with others. As long as it all comes off after the baby though, I guess it's okay.
We got Isabelle a potty training book the other day. I'm not going to try and start her going until after her birthday and probably not until the baby comes, since I heard children often revert after a new baby, but I thought it would be good to familiarize her with the whole process beforehand so that she's prepared. It's really funny though because the last page of the book has the little girl smiling and pointing to herself with her thumbs saying "I'm so proud of me!" Ever since we read that page Isabelle has been going around the house saying ME! It's really cute. Also the same day (I think) we watched Finding Nemo and I showed Isabelle how to say "Mine! Mine! Mine!" like the seagulls. It's pretty funny, though I'm sure I'll regret it once she realizes what that really means. But until then it's fun to get her going with both of us saying "mine, mine, mine". She thinks it's funny too, so that's good.
I've been really wierd about dinner lately. I'm usually pretty good about making dinner for the family when Patrick comes home and being inventive when our food supply is running short and we can't go to the store just yet. But the past two days I've had a craving for pizza. We don't have the stuff to make pizza or the money to buy it so we've had to have something else for dinner. But the problem is I can't get myself to work up the enthusiasm for anything else. Everything we have sounds nasty to me and not worth the effort. Consequently we've been eating much later then usual as I can't decide on anything and Patrick finally has to just make whatever he wants. He has been nice enough to make me whatever I eventually, and very grudgingly, concede might be edible enough for me to stomach (I don't say it like that, in case you think I'm rude), but I know it annoys him. I feel bad, but still when dinner time rolls around I find myself in the same funk. I really should plan menus for the week or something so that there's no decision to be made...so maybe I'll do that sometime. ;)
We're going to try and go see Pirates of the Carribean 3 tonight at the dollar theater. We're taking Isabelle with us as I'd feel bad leaving her with anyone for three and a half hours during dinner time (for us) and bedtime for their kids. I really wanted to see this movie at the theater for the first time rather than on video. This is because the last one wasn't very good, but the effect of watching it on a big screen with surround sound made it better than it would have been otherwise. So just in case this one is kinda sucky too I wanted to at least get the full effect before judging it.
Okay so that's about it for this post. Hopefully it was a little more uplifting than the last one. If not, then blame my writing style which tends to inadvertantly offend people. :)
As you all know I'm pregnant...about 16.5 weeks now. A lady at church last week asked if I was expecting and I told her that yes I was, but to please not tell anyone for at least another week. This is because our Relief Society prints the names, due dates, and baby gender of all the expectant mothers in the ward. Now personally I really like this feature of the newsletter because I'm very nosy about other peoples reproductive habits, but not social enough to try and befriend these people to ask them about it. So it's nice for me to be able to just peruse the monthly newsletter and see who is expecting. However, as a pregnant person myself, I have made it my goal to go as long as possible without letting people at church know we're expecting and thus see how long I can go before they put me in the newsletter. I know I won't make it past October, but I'm hoping I'll at least miss the cut off for the September issue...thus the waiting one more week before telling anyone. Don't ask me why I do this, I don't really know. I think it might have started with my first pregnancy when we thought it would be funny to see how long we could go with no one noticing. Our ultimate and, quite admitedly, unrealistic goal being we would just show up in church one day with a baby and no one would have noticed I was pregnant...which actually did happen with one girl, but she was really wrapped up in her own newborn at the time and thus oblivious to what was going on around her as there was no mistaking my pregnancy towards the end...but it was still funny...anyway.. So I wanted to go as long as I could with no one noticing and as I had several sizes up of 'normal' clothes left over from my heavier days I thus was able to pull off looking not pregnant for longer than I might have otherwise. I made it until a little after 20 wks before someone (the same lady as this time curiously enough) asked if I was expecting...very hesitantly too, which was nice. When I admitted that I was and told her (and others in the following weeks) how far along I was they were all very impressed that I had made it so far without 'really' showing. I thought it was great fun from that point on to compare myself sizewise to other pregnant women in the ward. Now I know it's not good to compare yourself to others, but growing up I was always one of the bigger girls in any situation so to find myself as one of the smallest was a great novelty that I thoroughly enjoyed. This time around does not appear to be the case. I heard that you 'pop' sooner with your second and subsequent babies, and I suppose weighing ten lbs more starting out than I did last time doesn't help, but I really didn't think I'd get big so soon. Not that I"m huge or anything, but I'm already as big at 16 wks as I was at 22'ish weeks last time. So I guess that's what I get for comparing myself with others. As long as it all comes off after the baby though, I guess it's okay.
We got Isabelle a potty training book the other day. I'm not going to try and start her going until after her birthday and probably not until the baby comes, since I heard children often revert after a new baby, but I thought it would be good to familiarize her with the whole process beforehand so that she's prepared. It's really funny though because the last page of the book has the little girl smiling and pointing to herself with her thumbs saying "I'm so proud of me!" Ever since we read that page Isabelle has been going around the house saying ME! It's really cute. Also the same day (I think) we watched Finding Nemo and I showed Isabelle how to say "Mine! Mine! Mine!" like the seagulls. It's pretty funny, though I'm sure I'll regret it once she realizes what that really means. But until then it's fun to get her going with both of us saying "mine, mine, mine". She thinks it's funny too, so that's good.
I've been really wierd about dinner lately. I'm usually pretty good about making dinner for the family when Patrick comes home and being inventive when our food supply is running short and we can't go to the store just yet. But the past two days I've had a craving for pizza. We don't have the stuff to make pizza or the money to buy it so we've had to have something else for dinner. But the problem is I can't get myself to work up the enthusiasm for anything else. Everything we have sounds nasty to me and not worth the effort. Consequently we've been eating much later then usual as I can't decide on anything and Patrick finally has to just make whatever he wants. He has been nice enough to make me whatever I eventually, and very grudgingly, concede might be edible enough for me to stomach (I don't say it like that, in case you think I'm rude), but I know it annoys him. I feel bad, but still when dinner time rolls around I find myself in the same funk. I really should plan menus for the week or something so that there's no decision to be made...so maybe I'll do that sometime. ;)
We're going to try and go see Pirates of the Carribean 3 tonight at the dollar theater. We're taking Isabelle with us as I'd feel bad leaving her with anyone for three and a half hours during dinner time (for us) and bedtime for their kids. I really wanted to see this movie at the theater for the first time rather than on video. This is because the last one wasn't very good, but the effect of watching it on a big screen with surround sound made it better than it would have been otherwise. So just in case this one is kinda sucky too I wanted to at least get the full effect before judging it.
Okay so that's about it for this post. Hopefully it was a little more uplifting than the last one. If not, then blame my writing style which tends to inadvertantly offend people. :)
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Disgruntled ramblings...
So having babies sucks. They cry, they whine, they make a mess, they always want you to hold them, you have to change their diapers, feed them even when they don't want to eat, pay attention to them when you would much rather be doing anything else, etc.., etc..
Isabelle has been frustrating today, if you can't tell. It's not like she was doing anything out of the ordinary...other than being a little more fussy than usual. But I've come to the realization (as I have many times in the past) that having babies sucks. They demand all of your time and attention and they are really freaking annoying. Patrick and I never get to go anywhere or do anything anymore because we can't take Isabelle with us....or taking her makes the event such a big ordeal that it is no longer worth it. We also don't have any money(...and Patrick works until nearly 10pm six nights a week and promptly falls asleep on the couch as soon as we've eaten...) But even if we did, it's not like we can go anywhere. We haven't been on vacation in forever and probably won't for the forseeable future. Patrick is settling in to his new business location and I'm getting more depressed at the prospect of living here FOREVER. I mean don't get me wrong, I like Texas most days, but it's so stinking hot in the summer....and there are no real trees or mountains anywhere. The "beautiful" scenery is mainly pasture land with a light sprinkling of scrubby looking trees. I don't really like being able to see from horizon to horizon...it's ugly. I want some variation. My sister is moving this week from Everett, WA to Logan, UT. Not that I want to live in Utah, but its depressing because all of my family is pretty centrally located there. I have one aunt in California and one in Minneapolis and then us in Texas. Everyone else is within 8 hours of each other. We're 22 hours away from my parents house. My parents also live in a somewhat isolated town that only has one plane that comes in twice a day. As they are the only airline flying into Cedar they can charge whatever they want...and they do. So flying in to visit is most generally not an option...especially now that we'll have to be buying Isabelle her own seat soon. Driving in to visit wasn't so bad, but now with Isabelle it suddenly becomes much more of an ordeal...we have to stop, we have to get a hotel, etc... So that sucks.
Oh yeah so babies....then right when they start to get old enough that you think maybe they'll be okay and actually enjoy it if you left them with someone, boom, out pops another one...and your available funds drop by that much more...it's a seemingly endless cycle...and since we plan on having 4-5 kids I honestly don't see us getting out to do anything for the next several years. I'm stuck at home watching them (when there is a 'them' right now it's just a 'her') bored out of my mind. I can't get a job because any money I made would just go to pay for daycare and having someone else raise my kids. I don't like that idea as there are a bunch of messed up people with screwy ideas about what a child needs...plus then she/they probably wouldn't get the one on one time they need to develop. But it's not like I spend all of my time devoted to playing with my baby and teaching her things. I mostly try to ignore her unless she gets in my way or screams to the point of distraction. Anyway, she's sleeping now, so this is my "free" time. Two hours out of every day...but there's nothing on tv, nothing on the internet, no movie worth watching or book worth reading so I'm left with twiddling my thumbs or taking a nap. Guess which one I choose.
Isabelle has been frustrating today, if you can't tell. It's not like she was doing anything out of the ordinary...other than being a little more fussy than usual. But I've come to the realization (as I have many times in the past) that having babies sucks. They demand all of your time and attention and they are really freaking annoying. Patrick and I never get to go anywhere or do anything anymore because we can't take Isabelle with us....or taking her makes the event such a big ordeal that it is no longer worth it. We also don't have any money(...and Patrick works until nearly 10pm six nights a week and promptly falls asleep on the couch as soon as we've eaten...) But even if we did, it's not like we can go anywhere. We haven't been on vacation in forever and probably won't for the forseeable future. Patrick is settling in to his new business location and I'm getting more depressed at the prospect of living here FOREVER. I mean don't get me wrong, I like Texas most days, but it's so stinking hot in the summer....and there are no real trees or mountains anywhere. The "beautiful" scenery is mainly pasture land with a light sprinkling of scrubby looking trees. I don't really like being able to see from horizon to horizon...it's ugly. I want some variation. My sister is moving this week from Everett, WA to Logan, UT. Not that I want to live in Utah, but its depressing because all of my family is pretty centrally located there. I have one aunt in California and one in Minneapolis and then us in Texas. Everyone else is within 8 hours of each other. We're 22 hours away from my parents house. My parents also live in a somewhat isolated town that only has one plane that comes in twice a day. As they are the only airline flying into Cedar they can charge whatever they want...and they do. So flying in to visit is most generally not an option...especially now that we'll have to be buying Isabelle her own seat soon. Driving in to visit wasn't so bad, but now with Isabelle it suddenly becomes much more of an ordeal...we have to stop, we have to get a hotel, etc... So that sucks.
Oh yeah so babies....then right when they start to get old enough that you think maybe they'll be okay and actually enjoy it if you left them with someone, boom, out pops another one...and your available funds drop by that much more...it's a seemingly endless cycle...and since we plan on having 4-5 kids I honestly don't see us getting out to do anything for the next several years. I'm stuck at home watching them (when there is a 'them' right now it's just a 'her') bored out of my mind. I can't get a job because any money I made would just go to pay for daycare and having someone else raise my kids. I don't like that idea as there are a bunch of messed up people with screwy ideas about what a child needs...plus then she/they probably wouldn't get the one on one time they need to develop. But it's not like I spend all of my time devoted to playing with my baby and teaching her things. I mostly try to ignore her unless she gets in my way or screams to the point of distraction. Anyway, she's sleeping now, so this is my "free" time. Two hours out of every day...but there's nothing on tv, nothing on the internet, no movie worth watching or book worth reading so I'm left with twiddling my thumbs or taking a nap. Guess which one I choose.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Boredom with blogging runs rampant...
So apparently nearly every single person whose blog I attempt to read on a regular basis has become bored with blogging. How do I know this? People who used to update nearly everyday, or at least twice a week, have suddenly stopped. No pictures, no news, no updates on their daily lives, nothing. So everyday I go to their pages in the hopes that something will have changed, but alas nothing has. I myself have of course fallen victim to this problem long ago. As you can see by scrolling down, my last update was over three months ago. But I rationalize it by saying; well it's not like anyone reads my blog anyway. Or; what do I have to write about? My life is so boring no one will want to read it. But that is no excuse for anyone else! ;) Your loyal readers need you! How else are we to live vicariously through you?
For those of you who wish to live vicariously through me, (haha) here's a snippet of my daily routine....what you're missing. Everyday (unless I have to be somewhere or my visiting teachers are coming) I sleep in until approximately 11/11:30 or sometimes later. I then go into the living room, turn on the ceiling fan, the standing fan and the window unit and open the blinds. I sit at the computer and search my standard blogs in vain for updates....I also check my email and such. I then get Isabelle out of bed as she is usually yelling at me from her room at this point (hey! hey! hey!), change her and plop her in her highchair. For the next twenty + minutes I try to feed her. This used to take maybe five, but she has recently developed an aversion to the babyfood rice/oatmeal I usually feed her. So I either take thirty/forty minutes trying to get her to eat it (with much screaming and head turning) or I try to feed her real cereal or something...which also seems to take like thirty minutes as she is a very slow chewer. We then head into the bedroom where we arrange ourselves on the bed with some of her toys, her sippy cup, and the remote controls. We watch "Between the Lions" (sometimes, depending on how long it took to do everything else), "Jay Jay the Jet Plane", and Magnum P.I.. During this time, well when Magnum started anyway (1pm), I used to walk on my treadmill and do various floor exercises. I have stopped this in recent weeks as I can't seem to work up the motivation...or I'm feeling nauseous from the new baby, and because last week I started working out three days a week with my friends, which of course gives me an excuse in my head not to work out anywhere/time else. Anyway, we used to follow this up by watching an hour of "A Different World", but the show has now cycled through twice and I've seen every episode, and can't seem to get myself excited to watch it for the third time. During this Isabelle will usually play on the bed for the first 30-45 minutes, after which she alternately plays around the room and pushes buttons she's not supposed to on the VCR, which gets her put back on the bed. When we're done I eat something (or this has become the habit as I have to eat every couple of hours to avoid feeling sick), and take a shower....assuming I've exercised that is. We then have an hour to kill before I have to feed Isabelle again. This is quite often the longest hour in the day. I sometimes watch the Cosby Show, sometimes get online again, go check the mail, try to play with Isabelle, call my mom, my sister, my husband, anyone I can think of to talk to...When 4 o'clock rolls around I take Isabelle into the kitchen where we repeat our search for food she will eat quickly...By 4:30/5, I clean her up and put her down for a nap. I then have two hours with which to do whatever I want...recently I've spent them reading and napping. I never used to nap as I thought I slept in enough, but I've started to recently...whether that's the result of being pregnant and tired or bored with nothing better to do I don't know. By 6:30/7 (depending on when she went down), I get Isabelle and plunk myself down on the couch for the next three hours or so. Sometimes there are shows on I actually want to watch, but generally I flip channels. Sometimes I put in a movie that I think Isabelle might like...By 9:30/10 Patrick usually comes home. I make dinner and we eat sometime between 10 and 11pm. I then watch tv some more while Patrick gets on the computer to do business stuff. Every once in a while we both sit down and can watch a Buffy ep or something. By 11:30 it's time for Isabelle to sleep. I change her, brush her teeth, we say goodnight to daddy and I put her to bed. When I come out I clean up her toys and we watch tv....Patrick usually falls asleep at any point during this process...including when he's on the computer in the middle of typing an email. I leave him asleep on the couch while I watch Craig, the news, Will and Grace, sometimes Frasier, or if it's the weekend CSI:Miami and Without a Trace. He eventually gets up and hobbles to bed, I watch/record "The Nanny" at 1am and am usually in bed about 2am.
So that is an exciting day in the life of me. Aren't you so glad I shared? Don't you just feel uplifted that you were able to share this experience with me? Have you felt yourselves gain 20lbs just by reading this tale of sloth?
A "funny" thing that you all already know about. We got a sonogram the other day and I sent pics to all my family, both on Patricks side and mine. Several people interpretted my email as saying we were having a girl...even though I was only 11 weeks along and you couldn't tell that early. I then had to send an email explaining the joke I was attempting to make and assure everyone that we still didn't know what we were having...so that was mildly embarassing. Oh well.
I have to go visiting teaching tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it. My partner/visiting teachees and I have nothing in common. Inevitably she (my partner) spends the whole time (which ends up being at least an hour per) talking about stuff I have absolutley NOTHING to add to (ie sports, having too much money, sending the kids to stay with the parents, going on cruises, etc..). I end up feeling not included and bored/irritated. No one ever asks anything about me, which could be another conversation....when I attempt to relate they don't hear me, it's just like highschool or something. Also most of our people are in Sanger which is way far away (to little 'ol non-Texan me that is) to drive to and it sucks....and she always wants to go at like 11 am. I usually am not ready for the day until like 3. Granted this is a totally not normal schedule and I shouldn't expect people to cater to me, but it still annoys me to throw off both mine and Isabelles day. Okay I'm done now. I hope you enjoyed this update and that it inspires you to update your own blog with what I'm sure are far more interesting tales. :)
For those of you who wish to live vicariously through me, (haha) here's a snippet of my daily routine....what you're missing. Everyday (unless I have to be somewhere or my visiting teachers are coming) I sleep in until approximately 11/11:30 or sometimes later. I then go into the living room, turn on the ceiling fan, the standing fan and the window unit and open the blinds. I sit at the computer and search my standard blogs in vain for updates....I also check my email and such. I then get Isabelle out of bed as she is usually yelling at me from her room at this point (hey! hey! hey!), change her and plop her in her highchair. For the next twenty + minutes I try to feed her. This used to take maybe five, but she has recently developed an aversion to the babyfood rice/oatmeal I usually feed her. So I either take thirty/forty minutes trying to get her to eat it (with much screaming and head turning) or I try to feed her real cereal or something...which also seems to take like thirty minutes as she is a very slow chewer. We then head into the bedroom where we arrange ourselves on the bed with some of her toys, her sippy cup, and the remote controls. We watch "Between the Lions" (sometimes, depending on how long it took to do everything else), "Jay Jay the Jet Plane", and Magnum P.I.. During this time, well when Magnum started anyway (1pm), I used to walk on my treadmill and do various floor exercises. I have stopped this in recent weeks as I can't seem to work up the motivation...or I'm feeling nauseous from the new baby, and because last week I started working out three days a week with my friends, which of course gives me an excuse in my head not to work out anywhere/time else. Anyway, we used to follow this up by watching an hour of "A Different World", but the show has now cycled through twice and I've seen every episode, and can't seem to get myself excited to watch it for the third time. During this Isabelle will usually play on the bed for the first 30-45 minutes, after which she alternately plays around the room and pushes buttons she's not supposed to on the VCR, which gets her put back on the bed. When we're done I eat something (or this has become the habit as I have to eat every couple of hours to avoid feeling sick), and take a shower....assuming I've exercised that is. We then have an hour to kill before I have to feed Isabelle again. This is quite often the longest hour in the day. I sometimes watch the Cosby Show, sometimes get online again, go check the mail, try to play with Isabelle, call my mom, my sister, my husband, anyone I can think of to talk to...When 4 o'clock rolls around I take Isabelle into the kitchen where we repeat our search for food she will eat quickly...By 4:30/5, I clean her up and put her down for a nap. I then have two hours with which to do whatever I want...recently I've spent them reading and napping. I never used to nap as I thought I slept in enough, but I've started to recently...whether that's the result of being pregnant and tired or bored with nothing better to do I don't know. By 6:30/7 (depending on when she went down), I get Isabelle and plunk myself down on the couch for the next three hours or so. Sometimes there are shows on I actually want to watch, but generally I flip channels. Sometimes I put in a movie that I think Isabelle might like...By 9:30/10 Patrick usually comes home. I make dinner and we eat sometime between 10 and 11pm. I then watch tv some more while Patrick gets on the computer to do business stuff. Every once in a while we both sit down and can watch a Buffy ep or something. By 11:30 it's time for Isabelle to sleep. I change her, brush her teeth, we say goodnight to daddy and I put her to bed. When I come out I clean up her toys and we watch tv....Patrick usually falls asleep at any point during this process...including when he's on the computer in the middle of typing an email. I leave him asleep on the couch while I watch Craig, the news, Will and Grace, sometimes Frasier, or if it's the weekend CSI:Miami and Without a Trace. He eventually gets up and hobbles to bed, I watch/record "The Nanny" at 1am and am usually in bed about 2am.
So that is an exciting day in the life of me. Aren't you so glad I shared? Don't you just feel uplifted that you were able to share this experience with me? Have you felt yourselves gain 20lbs just by reading this tale of sloth?
A "funny" thing that you all already know about. We got a sonogram the other day and I sent pics to all my family, both on Patricks side and mine. Several people interpretted my email as saying we were having a girl...even though I was only 11 weeks along and you couldn't tell that early. I then had to send an email explaining the joke I was attempting to make and assure everyone that we still didn't know what we were having...so that was mildly embarassing. Oh well.
I have to go visiting teaching tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it. My partner/visiting teachees and I have nothing in common. Inevitably she (my partner) spends the whole time (which ends up being at least an hour per) talking about stuff I have absolutley NOTHING to add to (ie sports, having too much money, sending the kids to stay with the parents, going on cruises, etc..). I end up feeling not included and bored/irritated. No one ever asks anything about me, which could be another conversation....when I attempt to relate they don't hear me, it's just like highschool or something. Also most of our people are in Sanger which is way far away (to little 'ol non-Texan me that is) to drive to and it sucks....and she always wants to go at like 11 am. I usually am not ready for the day until like 3. Granted this is a totally not normal schedule and I shouldn't expect people to cater to me, but it still annoys me to throw off both mine and Isabelles day. Okay I'm done now. I hope you enjoyed this update and that it inspires you to update your own blog with what I'm sure are far more interesting tales. :)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
March 7 - Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, patron saint of married women
So I guess you're supposed to tag people to do this, so Margie and Josh you're it!.
Three historical events that occurred on March 7:
1.In the year 161 Roman Emperor Antonius Pilus dies and is succeeded by co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucious Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire.
2. In the year 1876 Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the "telephone." (pantent #174,464)
3. In the year 1911 Revolution broke out in Mexico.
Besides me, three people who were born on March 7:
1. 1687 Jean LeBeuf - French Historian
2. 1946 Peter Woolfe - American Musician
3. 1971 Rachel Wiesz - British Actress
Two significant deaths on March 7:
1. 322 B.C. Aristotle
2. 1274 Thomas Aquinus
Two March 7 holidays or observances:
In Albania, "Teachers Day"
In San Fransisco, unofficially "Metallica Day"
*All information obtained from answers.com
Three historical events that occurred on March 7:
1.In the year 161 Roman Emperor Antonius Pilus dies and is succeeded by co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucious Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire.
2. In the year 1876 Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the "telephone." (pantent #174,464)
3. In the year 1911 Revolution broke out in Mexico.
Besides me, three people who were born on March 7:
1. 1687 Jean LeBeuf - French Historian
2. 1946 Peter Woolfe - American Musician
3. 1971 Rachel Wiesz - British Actress
Two significant deaths on March 7:
1. 322 B.C. Aristotle
2. 1274 Thomas Aquinus
Two March 7 holidays or observances:
In Albania, "Teachers Day"
In San Fransisco, unofficially "Metallica Day"
*All information obtained from answers.com
Monday, March 12, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
Dreamers often lie....
So I guess I've been tagged. I would have known sooner, but apparently I've been reading the wrong blogs. ;) Okay, so I'm supposed to tell five interesting things about myself. Four being true and one being a mere figment of my imagination. Let me see if you can guess:
1. When I was about three my older sister pushed me off the side of our stairs in the basement six feet down onto a concrete floor. I broke my foot and had to get a caste.
2. About three days after getting said caste I shoved a hairclip (in the shape of a white poodle) down the side and couldn't get it out again. The doctor then had to remove the caste and put on a new one. My mother was not pleased.
3. In all of our travels my husband and I have been to: Ireland, France, Scotland, Germany, and Turkey.
4. I'm secretly a fan of the 80's show Magnum P.I.. After you get past the amazing amount of short shorts he wears, Tom Selleck is kinda hot.
5. Once when I was riding my bike home from my Grandpa's house I hit a rock, locking up the wheel and causing the bike to flip up and forward. Luckily I landed on my head. ;)
Okay, which is the lie? Also Tearese you have been tagged. :)
1. When I was about three my older sister pushed me off the side of our stairs in the basement six feet down onto a concrete floor. I broke my foot and had to get a caste.
2. About three days after getting said caste I shoved a hairclip (in the shape of a white poodle) down the side and couldn't get it out again. The doctor then had to remove the caste and put on a new one. My mother was not pleased.
3. In all of our travels my husband and I have been to: Ireland, France, Scotland, Germany, and Turkey.
4. I'm secretly a fan of the 80's show Magnum P.I.. After you get past the amazing amount of short shorts he wears, Tom Selleck is kinda hot.
5. Once when I was riding my bike home from my Grandpa's house I hit a rock, locking up the wheel and causing the bike to flip up and forward. Luckily I landed on my head. ;)
Okay, which is the lie? Also Tearese you have been tagged. :)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Another quiz...
I think I might have actually done this particular quiz before, but hey at least I'm updating right!?
Do you snore?
I don't think so...maybe when I'm sick
Are you a lover or a fighter?
I'm a little of both I think...now does that make me a fover or a lighter?
What's you worst fear?
Evil dead/demon children
As a kid, were you a Lego maniac?
Uh...no
What do you think of reality TV?
Most of the time I think it's a waste of programing..although I will admit that I"ve now become addicted to America's Next Top Model. *hangs head in shame*
Do you chew on your straws?
No.
Were you a cute baby?
Yes. I was adorable. I think I was was quite possibly the cutest baby in my family. (I'm not conceited I swear!) My baby is of course just as cute or even cuter than I was. ;)
Is the single life for you?
Since I've recently celebrated my third wedding anniversary and don't plan on getting divorced ever I'm going to say no probably not.
What color is your keyboard?
gray
Do you sing in the shower?
Only sometimes...then I remember that the neighbors can probably hear me.
Have you ever bungee jumped?
No
Any secret talents?
uh...if I tell you it wouldn't be a secret now would it?
What is your ideal vacation spot?
Somewhere cool...like Europe or Disneyland. ;)
Can you swim?
Yes, though I've never learned any particular techniques (you know like the breast stroke or the butterfly or whatever0
Have you seen the movie Donnie Darko?
Yes. I didn't like it.
Do you give a damn about the ozone?
Yeah, but not enough to do anything about it.
How many licks does it take to get the center of a Tootsie Pop?
I don't know...429?
Can you sing the alphabet backwards?
I wasn't sure since I've never tried before, but apparently I can...who knew?
Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners?
Manual...electric gets the point too sharp
What's your stand on hunting?
If you kill it eat it, otherwise leave it alone.
Is marriage in your future?
Probably not, unless Patrick dies and I remarry
Do you like your handwriting?
No it seems sloppy to me. Although in fourth grade the other kids thought it looked like grown up writing and thus had me forge their parents signatures on stuff.
What are you allergic to?
What aren't I allergic to?
When was the last time you said "I love you"?
Uh...a few hours ago when I was talking to Patrick.
Do you cry at weddings?
Yes. I never thought I'd be the type, but I've cried at every wedding I've been to.
How do you like your eggs?
I dont' like eggs, they make me nauseous.
Are blondes dumb?
I'm sure some of them are.
Where does the other sock end up?
The dryer vent....it somehow disintegrates and squeezes through the little filter holes. Once in the vent it reassembles itself and stops the vent from suctioning properly, thus thwarting all future laundry endeavors.
What time is it?
6:41pm
Do you have a nickname?
No...sometimes Patrick calls me 'wife' or 'woman' but I don't think that counts.
Is McDonalds disgusting?
Sometimes...their breakfast stuff usually makes me ill.
When was the last time you were in a car?
Yesterday afternoon when I went to get my allergy shots.
Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers...baths take too long.
Is Santa Claus real?
What are you stupid? Of course he's real! ;)
Do you like to have your neck kissed?
Yes, unless you're not my husband, in which case that's a little wierd.
Are you afraid of the dark?
Not usually.
What are you addicted to?
Chocolate, Veronica Mars
Crunchy or creamy peanut butter
Crunchy
Can you crack your neck?
No, and it freaks me out when other people do.
Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No, I've never done anything fun. :(
Is drug free the way to be?
Unless those drugs are keeping you alive and/or healthy.
Are you a heavy sleeper?
Usually.
What color are your eyes?
Brown
Do you like your life?
Eh..it's okay
Are you psychic?
Nope
Have you read Catcher in the Rye?
Yes.
Do you play any instruments?
Yes, the guitar and the piano...I still "know" how to play the clarinet, but have discovered that my mouth muscles can't seem to form the notes anymore...but I can do all the fingerings!
Have you ever stolen money?
Yes, but only change from my dad's drawer.
Can you snowboard?
No
Do you like camping?
I like the idea of camping, but the reality tends to be cold, windy and dirty.
Do you snort when you laugh?
Sometimes.
Do you believe in magic?
in a young girls heart? sure!
Are dogs a man's best friend?
No dogs are of the devil. ;)
Do you believe in divorce?
Yes I believe that divorce exists.
Can you do the moonwalk?
No, but my sister can kinda..
Do you make a lot of mistakes?
Yes
Is it cold outside today?
It's more chilly than cold.
What was the last thing you ate?
A chocolate chip pancake...it was good.
Do you wear nail polish?
I wear toe nail polish...is that the same thing?
How many people do you like right now?
Uh...I don't know
What's the most annoying TV commercial?
The one with that cowboy guy advertising for some car dealership by Dallas...you know the one in chaps saying; "I don't care how you git heer, jist git heer!"
Do you shop at American Eagle?
No, they're expensive.
Favorite song at the moment?
Theme song from Veronica Mars. "...come on now sugar!! Bring it on, bring it on yeah!.."
Do you snore?
I don't think so...maybe when I'm sick
Are you a lover or a fighter?
I'm a little of both I think...now does that make me a fover or a lighter?
What's you worst fear?
Evil dead/demon children
As a kid, were you a Lego maniac?
Uh...no
What do you think of reality TV?
Most of the time I think it's a waste of programing..although I will admit that I"ve now become addicted to America's Next Top Model. *hangs head in shame*
Do you chew on your straws?
No.
Were you a cute baby?
Yes. I was adorable. I think I was was quite possibly the cutest baby in my family. (I'm not conceited I swear!) My baby is of course just as cute or even cuter than I was. ;)
Is the single life for you?
Since I've recently celebrated my third wedding anniversary and don't plan on getting divorced ever I'm going to say no probably not.
What color is your keyboard?
gray
Do you sing in the shower?
Only sometimes...then I remember that the neighbors can probably hear me.
Have you ever bungee jumped?
No
Any secret talents?
uh...if I tell you it wouldn't be a secret now would it?
What is your ideal vacation spot?
Somewhere cool...like Europe or Disneyland. ;)
Can you swim?
Yes, though I've never learned any particular techniques (you know like the breast stroke or the butterfly or whatever0
Have you seen the movie Donnie Darko?
Yes. I didn't like it.
Do you give a damn about the ozone?
Yeah, but not enough to do anything about it.
How many licks does it take to get the center of a Tootsie Pop?
I don't know...429?
Can you sing the alphabet backwards?
I wasn't sure since I've never tried before, but apparently I can...who knew?
Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners?
Manual...electric gets the point too sharp
What's your stand on hunting?
If you kill it eat it, otherwise leave it alone.
Is marriage in your future?
Probably not, unless Patrick dies and I remarry
Do you like your handwriting?
No it seems sloppy to me. Although in fourth grade the other kids thought it looked like grown up writing and thus had me forge their parents signatures on stuff.
What are you allergic to?
What aren't I allergic to?
When was the last time you said "I love you"?
Uh...a few hours ago when I was talking to Patrick.
Do you cry at weddings?
Yes. I never thought I'd be the type, but I've cried at every wedding I've been to.
How do you like your eggs?
I dont' like eggs, they make me nauseous.
Are blondes dumb?
I'm sure some of them are.
Where does the other sock end up?
The dryer vent....it somehow disintegrates and squeezes through the little filter holes. Once in the vent it reassembles itself and stops the vent from suctioning properly, thus thwarting all future laundry endeavors.
What time is it?
6:41pm
Do you have a nickname?
No...sometimes Patrick calls me 'wife' or 'woman' but I don't think that counts.
Is McDonalds disgusting?
Sometimes...their breakfast stuff usually makes me ill.
When was the last time you were in a car?
Yesterday afternoon when I went to get my allergy shots.
Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers...baths take too long.
Is Santa Claus real?
What are you stupid? Of course he's real! ;)
Do you like to have your neck kissed?
Yes, unless you're not my husband, in which case that's a little wierd.
Are you afraid of the dark?
Not usually.
What are you addicted to?
Chocolate, Veronica Mars
Crunchy or creamy peanut butter
Crunchy
Can you crack your neck?
No, and it freaks me out when other people do.
Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No, I've never done anything fun. :(
Is drug free the way to be?
Unless those drugs are keeping you alive and/or healthy.
Are you a heavy sleeper?
Usually.
What color are your eyes?
Brown
Do you like your life?
Eh..it's okay
Are you psychic?
Nope
Have you read Catcher in the Rye?
Yes.
Do you play any instruments?
Yes, the guitar and the piano...I still "know" how to play the clarinet, but have discovered that my mouth muscles can't seem to form the notes anymore...but I can do all the fingerings!
Have you ever stolen money?
Yes, but only change from my dad's drawer.
Can you snowboard?
No
Do you like camping?
I like the idea of camping, but the reality tends to be cold, windy and dirty.
Do you snort when you laugh?
Sometimes.
Do you believe in magic?
in a young girls heart? sure!
Are dogs a man's best friend?
No dogs are of the devil. ;)
Do you believe in divorce?
Yes I believe that divorce exists.
Can you do the moonwalk?
No, but my sister can kinda..
Do you make a lot of mistakes?
Yes
Is it cold outside today?
It's more chilly than cold.
What was the last thing you ate?
A chocolate chip pancake...it was good.
Do you wear nail polish?
I wear toe nail polish...is that the same thing?
How many people do you like right now?
Uh...I don't know
What's the most annoying TV commercial?
The one with that cowboy guy advertising for some car dealership by Dallas...you know the one in chaps saying; "I don't care how you git heer, jist git heer!"
Do you shop at American Eagle?
No, they're expensive.
Favorite song at the moment?
Theme song from Veronica Mars. "...come on now sugar!! Bring it on, bring it on yeah!.."
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Minnesota Adventures
We recently took a trip to Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri to see Patrick's parents and grandparents. Isabelle was very excited to go.
She took a liking to her Grandpa right away. This was his first time meeting her as he was shipped off to Iraq two days before she was born.
Soon she was showing off her "jumping off the chair" trick to everyone that would watch..
At times this didn't work out too well...
Patrick and I had fun playing with his dad's guns
Russ, Patrick's dad, soon joined in and we all had fun aiming at targets and shooting into the cornfields
Not one to be left out, Isabelle decided to come and join the party.
Of course shooting is a lot of work, so Isabelle was sure to keep up her strength by eating lots of veges...
It was colder up north then it is here in Texas, but Isabelle stood tall in the face of old man winter and refused to shiver...
Isabelle had a great time renewing her bonds with her great grandparents as well...especially great grandpa's hair.
When it was time to leave, Isabelle decided to take a chance and cement her title as champion bullrider of Minnesota...
She took a liking to her Grandpa right away. This was his first time meeting her as he was shipped off to Iraq two days before she was born.
Soon she was showing off her "jumping off the chair" trick to everyone that would watch..
At times this didn't work out too well...
Patrick and I had fun playing with his dad's guns
Russ, Patrick's dad, soon joined in and we all had fun aiming at targets and shooting into the cornfields
Not one to be left out, Isabelle decided to come and join the party.
Of course shooting is a lot of work, so Isabelle was sure to keep up her strength by eating lots of veges...
It was colder up north then it is here in Texas, but Isabelle stood tall in the face of old man winter and refused to shiver...
Isabelle had a great time renewing her bonds with her great grandparents as well...especially great grandpa's hair.
When it was time to leave, Isabelle decided to take a chance and cement her title as champion bullrider of Minnesota...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Seven Things....
I stole this from other peoples blogs...sorry if it isn't very original. ;)
7 Things I want to do before I die:
- Visit Machu Pichu
- Write a novel
- Own my own bookstore/work in a bookstore
- Be debt free
- Join/Start a band
- Live in another country
- Master a skill
7 Things I cannot Do:
- Play with dogs w/o getting sick
- Have a job doing manual labor
- Be happy doing nothing for the rest of my life
- Speak up for myself in a group I'm unfamiliar with
- Accept a calling as nursery leader
- Tell people what I really think
- Not scratch when I have an itch
7 Things that attracted me to my spouse:
- His hair/stubble/muscles
- His confidence
- Owns his own business
- World Traveler
- Unique profession
- He seemed to genuinely like me
- His faith
7 Things I say often:
- whatever
- heck yeah!
- you dork
- if I'm good and eat all my vegetables can I ...
- get over it
- umm...ok
- freak'n
7 Books I am currently reading/are on the reading list:
- Thunderbird Falls; C.E. Murphy
- Kitty goes to Washington; Carrie Vaughn
- A Fistful of Charms; Kim Harrison
- Delectable Mountains; Earlene Fowler
- Twelve Sharp; Janet Evanovich
- Broken; Kelley Armstrong
- The Hippopotamus Pool; Elizabeth Peters
7 Movies I could watch over and over:
- Labrynth
- Goonies
- Beauty and the Beast
- Family Camp movies
- Indiana Jones (any of the three)
- Willow
- The Princess Bride
7 People I'd like to See do a list like this:
- Margie
- Josh
- Dave
- Tearese (yes I know you did one)
- Mom
- Dain
- Patrick
So I know that was kind of a cop-out post, but at least I've updated! :)
7 Things I want to do before I die:
- Visit Machu Pichu
- Write a novel
- Own my own bookstore/work in a bookstore
- Be debt free
- Join/Start a band
- Live in another country
- Master a skill
7 Things I cannot Do:
- Play with dogs w/o getting sick
- Have a job doing manual labor
- Be happy doing nothing for the rest of my life
- Speak up for myself in a group I'm unfamiliar with
- Accept a calling as nursery leader
- Tell people what I really think
- Not scratch when I have an itch
7 Things that attracted me to my spouse:
- His hair/stubble/muscles
- His confidence
- Owns his own business
- World Traveler
- Unique profession
- He seemed to genuinely like me
- His faith
7 Things I say often:
- whatever
- heck yeah!
- you dork
- if I'm good and eat all my vegetables can I ...
- get over it
- umm...ok
- freak'n
7 Books I am currently reading/are on the reading list:
- Thunderbird Falls; C.E. Murphy
- Kitty goes to Washington; Carrie Vaughn
- A Fistful of Charms; Kim Harrison
- Delectable Mountains; Earlene Fowler
- Twelve Sharp; Janet Evanovich
- Broken; Kelley Armstrong
- The Hippopotamus Pool; Elizabeth Peters
7 Movies I could watch over and over:
- Labrynth
- Goonies
- Beauty and the Beast
- Family Camp movies
- Indiana Jones (any of the three)
- Willow
- The Princess Bride
7 People I'd like to See do a list like this:
- Margie
- Josh
- Dave
- Tearese (yes I know you did one)
- Mom
- Dain
- Patrick
So I know that was kind of a cop-out post, but at least I've updated! :)
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Swami Baby...
My sister suggested I post baby pics if nothing else...Well the baby is pretty cute, but everyone that reads my blog has already seen all the pictures I could post. However, I'll see if one more will work:
So this is us the other day when we went to go pick mulberries with daddy...here Isabelle is blowing bubbles and sticking out her tongue...which she does now alot.
and here are the four + gallons of mulberries we picked:
it was way too hot to be doing anything outside, but we did it anyway since Patrick seems to think we need to harvest everything edible that grows....we're going to try and make jam out of them, but after two days of cleaning and de-stemming we still have two gallons left and haven't even started the jam-making part of the process, so we'll see how that goes.
Tomorrow is Easter. Isabelle will wear a cute Easter dress...maybe something like this:
but then again maybe not. Maybe she'll end up as Easter dinner for some starving family and we'll have to stage a daring rescue...
We'll then have to clean her off...
and take her to the doctor just in case,
either way it will be a big day for baby and she'll likely be all tuckered out by the time it's over...
which is why we're going to start her training now, so she'll be in good shape and able to handle the event.
The End
So this is us the other day when we went to go pick mulberries with daddy...here Isabelle is blowing bubbles and sticking out her tongue...which she does now alot.
and here are the four + gallons of mulberries we picked:
it was way too hot to be doing anything outside, but we did it anyway since Patrick seems to think we need to harvest everything edible that grows....we're going to try and make jam out of them, but after two days of cleaning and de-stemming we still have two gallons left and haven't even started the jam-making part of the process, so we'll see how that goes.
Tomorrow is Easter. Isabelle will wear a cute Easter dress...maybe something like this:
but then again maybe not. Maybe she'll end up as Easter dinner for some starving family and we'll have to stage a daring rescue...
We'll then have to clean her off...
and take her to the doctor just in case,
either way it will be a big day for baby and she'll likely be all tuckered out by the time it's over...
which is why we're going to start her training now, so she'll be in good shape and able to handle the event.
The End
Friday, February 24, 2006
New Post, but nothing new
Hello, I thought I'd post again...only I don't really have anything to say. I don't do anything all day but watch t.v. and feed the baby intermittently...I think maybe I should get a job or do something productive. So here's some pics: me with straight hair and Patrick and the baby. She's already bigger then she was when she was born (imagine that). Okay that's all. :)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Isabelle Rose
Aren't they cute? Labor and delivery was way easier than I thought it would be. With the epidural I didn't feel a thing...even when I was pushing. It was a little disconcerting to hear the woman in the next room screaming a few minutes later as the doctor was sewing me up and made me even more grateful that God invented drugs. If you look at this objectively, I was technically in labor for three days. I don't think I could have managed to push the baby out after that much pain, which is why the last twelve hours were spent in a hospital bed on drugs. Anyway, so we're both home now and fine....Isabelle is four days old and I've managed to fit back into my size 16 pants today (I couldn't Sunday) with room to spare...at this rate I'll be back in my tens by next week. I've already lost all but three pounds of baby weight and now that my milk has come in I think I look totally disproportioned and a little like Pamela Anderson. This is not as exciting as you would think since I look totally wonky to me and not at all like myself....and they are rock hard and painful, which kind of takes away from the novelty of big boobs. Okay, well I can't think of anything else so I'll leave you with another picture.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Adventures in Childbirth...or not
Monday night I decided that Patrick and I should go to a movie. The past few times we've done this I've started having contractions that have lasted for hours at a time. So we packed up the car and took off to see the late showing of Narnia at the new Denton Movie Tavern (see movies, and eat at the same time what a concept!). All was going well when, sure enough, I felt my first contractions. I had at least three contractions during the movie but, to my dismay they stopped. However I was encouraged by the fact that I woke up three times that night with my back hurting knowing that could be a sign of labor. Throughout Tuesday morning and afternoon my back continued to ache with varying intensity. This along with some not so story-worthy developments in the bathroom led me to believe that yes, I just might possibly be in labor. That night around ten I began to have contractions. Nothing too serious, one every 15 minutes or so....then every ten...by the time I went to bed at two am I was having very painful contractions every 7 minutes on the dot. Patrick and I went to bed convinced that the next day would see us in the hospital with a new baby.
Sleeping through these contractions proved to be a pursuit in futility, so the most sleep I got was during the four and six o'clock hours of the night when I managed to dose lightly between contractions, start dreaming only to be awakened by wrenching, muscle pulling, agony in my back. Seven am roles around and the contractions are now only five minutes apart and lasting approximately 50-60 seconds in length. We decide to go to the hospital. There are no problems checking in, as I had worried from my sister's experience. They showed us to a room straight away even before taking down my name and asking who my doctor was. Once this was accomplished and I was in a gown I was subjected to one of the most painful vaginal exams it has ever been my displeasure to experience. Apparently my cervix is naturally back pretty far...so far that the doctor has had to apply some serious pressure in order to reach it in the past. The nurse attending me was short and chubby with fingers to match. Her thicker than usual appendages along with their short length and what I swear was a pointy fingernail (as well as fighting contractions every few minutes) made this very unpleasant. Once she was done she asked me if I had been dilated at all during my previous visit. I reported that the doctor said it was at a fingertip and the nurse then told me I had widened to 2 centimeters. So I was making progress, but nothing near what I thought I must surely be after that sleepless night. She then hooked me up to a fetal monitor and blood pressure cuff and said that they would chart my progress for the next hour or so and see what was happening. She then left me strapped to this machine on a very uncomfortable bed.
My nights forays had already proven to me how painful contractions were if forced to lie in a bed and I was very disappointed that I wouldn't be able to walk. I consoled myself with the idea that they were just setting up my rhythm or whatever and would probably let me loose later. So I lay there suffering, when the mid-wife from my clinic came in (differnent one than I have mentioned previously). She informed me that Dr. Reaves (my OB) was off today and she would be the one attending me should I deliver. I was fine with this and after reporting that I seemed to be doing well, but that my contractions were still pretty far apart, she wanted me to drink some ice water and walk around uninhibited for the next thirty minutes to see if that would help speed things along. I was uplugged (still with the itchy and now sliding belts around my waist), given a thing of water and left to my own devices. I walked around and around the enormous room in nothing but two hospital gowns and my husbands coat (it was freezing in there) peeing frequently until they returned. To my dismay I noticed the contractions coming less regularly and not lasting as long and braced myself to be sent home.
Once I was hooked back up I was again left for twenty minutes of monitoring. Sadly the machine seemed to be noting the decrease in frequency and intensity as well, but I was still subjected to yet another exam by short fingers who declared that, while I did appear to be in early labor; my contractions coming at regular 5-6 minute intervals (quoting from a sheet she later gave me) and lasting 50-60 seconds, and even though she could see that they were painful, they weren't accomplishing anything and she and the midwife felt I would be more comfortable spending the day at home. However they were concerned that I didn't get any sleep the night before and gave me to Ambien pills that would "cut out the annoying contractions that weren't accomplishing anything, but let the more painful ones that actually were doing their job to stay(annoying? as opposed to the painful ones? they were ALL painful!) so that I could get some rest without halting my progress completely." She thought that after laboring/sleeping all day I'd probably be back in this evening around dark. She told me to only come in when the contractions were three minutes apart and so painful that I had to stop walking, lean on something and pant during them. I responded with; "yeah, 'cuz I haven't been doing that already." Anyway, so I took the pills she offered and listened as she explained the discharge procedure and gave me a paper indicating signs of "active labor" (which aside from the dilating part were EXACTLY the signs I was experiencing). So I got dressed and Patrick and I left the room.
Down the hall at the business managers office, we had to wait for her to finish with another lady so we could sign out. As we leaned against the wall I had another contractions and suddenly lights were flashing and doors all along the hallway were closing. The hospital was experiencing a lock down drill in which apparently each nurse at the station is responsible for observing specific exits while another checks patients or something. Seeing we were going to be there a few more minutes, Patrick suggested we sit in the waiting area. Just then the drugs kicked in.
I turned to acknowledge this idea only to have the whole room turn with me, somehow my equilibrium was completely screwed up and I could no longer stand up straight, nor walk in a straight line on my own. Patrick helped me to a chair and I found I could not hold myself up. I asked him to sit next to me and collapased on his shoulder. I had been holding the papers we needed signed and apparently dropped them when I became distracted by the pink and golden stuffed monkeys that appeared to be dancing around the room (seriously). Some time later (?) Patrick helped me up and was taking me to the elevator to leave (he had gotten the signature). I was having extreme trouble putting one foot in front of the other and wondered if this was what it was like to be drunk. The nurses at the station asked if I would like a wheelchair and I responded with "no, I can do it!' to which Patrick was forced to go along with. He held me upright in the elevator and assured me that the children getting on as we left did not have flaming pinwheels in their hands. I rested against a counter feet from the door as another contraction took me. Only this time, instead of grimly staring at my watch waiting for it to pass and mentally judging how long I had until the next one I was more like; "la, la, la.. ow! ow! ow! why am I hurting?! ow!...la, la" The nurse at the check-in counter asked if I would like a wheel chair and I again assured her that "no! I can do it!" Patrick helped me slowly cross the parking lot where I had way too much trouble navigating curbs and settled me in the passenger seat. I had the fleating thought that the seat was more comfortable then the hospital bed before I was day dreaming again....I don't know about what....I surfaced 2-3 times on the trip home to look at the harsh colors and sharp buildings passing by my window in bemusement. I wondered where we were and what we were doing. At home Patrick tried to get me up to bed, but I insisted that I wanted to eat first. I slowly navigated my way through some cereal (who knew spooning up food and getting it in your mouth could be so hard?) before Patrick half supported, half carried me up the stairs, which seemed much longer than they actually were. In the bedroom I lay down sideways on the bed and seemed to think Patricks idea of righting myself so that I rested on the pillows was stupid as this was obviously the most comfortable position to be in. He asked if he could get me anything just as I realized I was going to throw up....he hurriedly grabbed a bucket and got it to me just in time to catch my just finished breakfast. I then lay down and knew nothing until sometime later when I woke up to use the bathroom.
When I woke up it seemed I was tied inside a large hoop by many small threads that someone was pulling on intermittently. Me and various parts of my body (who all had separate personalities) were very cunning in our escape and made it to the bathroom undetected. After relieving myself (with a near-fall as I overbalanced trying to lower myself to the seat) I reassured the scabs on my leg that we could sneak them out as well...I then made my way back downstairs where I opened all the blinds and attempted to research Ambien on the internet. This didn't turn out so well and I went back to bed. Later when I woke up for real Patrick informed me that he had found that hallucinating was one of the possible side effects of this drug and that I should discontinue use should this occurr.
Since then I've had a few sporadic contractions, nothing near as painful as the ones I had all night and this morning and have all but resigned myself to checking in tomorrow night to be induced. As I was leaving and the nurse was telling me that I'd probably be back tonight she said it looked like it would be a long labor. :( One other thing. After the pain of these "mild" contractions of ealy labor I have decided to screw this "natural" childbirth crap and get drugs. It was taking over a minute after contractions had stopped to get my back to stop spasming and I could only imagine that absolute hell it must be to only have a thirty second respite between 90 second contractions and then be expected to keep your head enough to push during that....so epidural here I come!
Sleeping through these contractions proved to be a pursuit in futility, so the most sleep I got was during the four and six o'clock hours of the night when I managed to dose lightly between contractions, start dreaming only to be awakened by wrenching, muscle pulling, agony in my back. Seven am roles around and the contractions are now only five minutes apart and lasting approximately 50-60 seconds in length. We decide to go to the hospital. There are no problems checking in, as I had worried from my sister's experience. They showed us to a room straight away even before taking down my name and asking who my doctor was. Once this was accomplished and I was in a gown I was subjected to one of the most painful vaginal exams it has ever been my displeasure to experience. Apparently my cervix is naturally back pretty far...so far that the doctor has had to apply some serious pressure in order to reach it in the past. The nurse attending me was short and chubby with fingers to match. Her thicker than usual appendages along with their short length and what I swear was a pointy fingernail (as well as fighting contractions every few minutes) made this very unpleasant. Once she was done she asked me if I had been dilated at all during my previous visit. I reported that the doctor said it was at a fingertip and the nurse then told me I had widened to 2 centimeters. So I was making progress, but nothing near what I thought I must surely be after that sleepless night. She then hooked me up to a fetal monitor and blood pressure cuff and said that they would chart my progress for the next hour or so and see what was happening. She then left me strapped to this machine on a very uncomfortable bed.
My nights forays had already proven to me how painful contractions were if forced to lie in a bed and I was very disappointed that I wouldn't be able to walk. I consoled myself with the idea that they were just setting up my rhythm or whatever and would probably let me loose later. So I lay there suffering, when the mid-wife from my clinic came in (differnent one than I have mentioned previously). She informed me that Dr. Reaves (my OB) was off today and she would be the one attending me should I deliver. I was fine with this and after reporting that I seemed to be doing well, but that my contractions were still pretty far apart, she wanted me to drink some ice water and walk around uninhibited for the next thirty minutes to see if that would help speed things along. I was uplugged (still with the itchy and now sliding belts around my waist), given a thing of water and left to my own devices. I walked around and around the enormous room in nothing but two hospital gowns and my husbands coat (it was freezing in there) peeing frequently until they returned. To my dismay I noticed the contractions coming less regularly and not lasting as long and braced myself to be sent home.
Once I was hooked back up I was again left for twenty minutes of monitoring. Sadly the machine seemed to be noting the decrease in frequency and intensity as well, but I was still subjected to yet another exam by short fingers who declared that, while I did appear to be in early labor; my contractions coming at regular 5-6 minute intervals (quoting from a sheet she later gave me) and lasting 50-60 seconds, and even though she could see that they were painful, they weren't accomplishing anything and she and the midwife felt I would be more comfortable spending the day at home. However they were concerned that I didn't get any sleep the night before and gave me to Ambien pills that would "cut out the annoying contractions that weren't accomplishing anything, but let the more painful ones that actually were doing their job to stay(annoying? as opposed to the painful ones? they were ALL painful!) so that I could get some rest without halting my progress completely." She thought that after laboring/sleeping all day I'd probably be back in this evening around dark. She told me to only come in when the contractions were three minutes apart and so painful that I had to stop walking, lean on something and pant during them. I responded with; "yeah, 'cuz I haven't been doing that already." Anyway, so I took the pills she offered and listened as she explained the discharge procedure and gave me a paper indicating signs of "active labor" (which aside from the dilating part were EXACTLY the signs I was experiencing). So I got dressed and Patrick and I left the room.
Down the hall at the business managers office, we had to wait for her to finish with another lady so we could sign out. As we leaned against the wall I had another contractions and suddenly lights were flashing and doors all along the hallway were closing. The hospital was experiencing a lock down drill in which apparently each nurse at the station is responsible for observing specific exits while another checks patients or something. Seeing we were going to be there a few more minutes, Patrick suggested we sit in the waiting area. Just then the drugs kicked in.
I turned to acknowledge this idea only to have the whole room turn with me, somehow my equilibrium was completely screwed up and I could no longer stand up straight, nor walk in a straight line on my own. Patrick helped me to a chair and I found I could not hold myself up. I asked him to sit next to me and collapased on his shoulder. I had been holding the papers we needed signed and apparently dropped them when I became distracted by the pink and golden stuffed monkeys that appeared to be dancing around the room (seriously). Some time later (?) Patrick helped me up and was taking me to the elevator to leave (he had gotten the signature). I was having extreme trouble putting one foot in front of the other and wondered if this was what it was like to be drunk. The nurses at the station asked if I would like a wheelchair and I responded with "no, I can do it!' to which Patrick was forced to go along with. He held me upright in the elevator and assured me that the children getting on as we left did not have flaming pinwheels in their hands. I rested against a counter feet from the door as another contraction took me. Only this time, instead of grimly staring at my watch waiting for it to pass and mentally judging how long I had until the next one I was more like; "la, la, la.. ow! ow! ow! why am I hurting?! ow!...la, la" The nurse at the check-in counter asked if I would like a wheel chair and I again assured her that "no! I can do it!" Patrick helped me slowly cross the parking lot where I had way too much trouble navigating curbs and settled me in the passenger seat. I had the fleating thought that the seat was more comfortable then the hospital bed before I was day dreaming again....I don't know about what....I surfaced 2-3 times on the trip home to look at the harsh colors and sharp buildings passing by my window in bemusement. I wondered where we were and what we were doing. At home Patrick tried to get me up to bed, but I insisted that I wanted to eat first. I slowly navigated my way through some cereal (who knew spooning up food and getting it in your mouth could be so hard?) before Patrick half supported, half carried me up the stairs, which seemed much longer than they actually were. In the bedroom I lay down sideways on the bed and seemed to think Patricks idea of righting myself so that I rested on the pillows was stupid as this was obviously the most comfortable position to be in. He asked if he could get me anything just as I realized I was going to throw up....he hurriedly grabbed a bucket and got it to me just in time to catch my just finished breakfast. I then lay down and knew nothing until sometime later when I woke up to use the bathroom.
When I woke up it seemed I was tied inside a large hoop by many small threads that someone was pulling on intermittently. Me and various parts of my body (who all had separate personalities) were very cunning in our escape and made it to the bathroom undetected. After relieving myself (with a near-fall as I overbalanced trying to lower myself to the seat) I reassured the scabs on my leg that we could sneak them out as well...I then made my way back downstairs where I opened all the blinds and attempted to research Ambien on the internet. This didn't turn out so well and I went back to bed. Later when I woke up for real Patrick informed me that he had found that hallucinating was one of the possible side effects of this drug and that I should discontinue use should this occurr.
Since then I've had a few sporadic contractions, nothing near as painful as the ones I had all night and this morning and have all but resigned myself to checking in tomorrow night to be induced. As I was leaving and the nurse was telling me that I'd probably be back tonight she said it looked like it would be a long labor. :( One other thing. After the pain of these "mild" contractions of ealy labor I have decided to screw this "natural" childbirth crap and get drugs. It was taking over a minute after contractions had stopped to get my back to stop spasming and I could only imagine that absolute hell it must be to only have a thirty second respite between 90 second contractions and then be expected to keep your head enough to push during that....so epidural here I come!
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Waiting
So I was due to have this baby two days ago now. This is a little disconcerting since I had up to this point convinced myself that not only would I have the baby on time, but it would probably come a week or two early. This dream was slowly shattered as week after week the doctor informed me that I was not dilated or effaced and any contractions I've bothered to keep track of have stopped after an hour or two.
So Thursday (my due date) when I go in they hook me up to a fetal monitor for what was supposed to be 5-7 minutes but due to technical difficulties turned into thirty. This monitored the baby's heartbeat and I was supposed to click a button to indicate everytime the baby moved. By the end of the thirty minutes the baby had moved more than 35 times and I was beginning to literally see sparkles on the edge of my vision (from lying on my back too long??). So the doctor comes in and says that the baby looks healthy and I shouldn't worry. She checks me and after some pressure and probing on her part informs me that she can "get a finger in" this week where she hasn't been able to before...which is good (and not very comfortable I might add).
So now the doctor gives me this spiel about how she really doesn't want to let me go past 41 weeks as the chances of stillbirth greatly increase after that point. After consulting with the internet and other people who've had babies they all say it's 42 weeks, but when I saw the midwife a few weeks ago she indicated that with my rash, it may be a good idea to get induced early (at that point I was only 38 wks), so maybe this is why the doctor said this. Anyway... so up to a few weeks ago I've been totally gung ho about getting an epidural and such. Recently I have changed my mind and decided that I would rather try and have the baby on my own. I heard from various sources that recovery time decreases dramatically without drugs and after figuring that our bodies were designed to do this and it's only in the past century that women have had the option of drugs I thought this sounded good and I could probably handle it. So, now that I've convinced myself that I can do this without drugs, the doctor makes an appointment to induce me.
Next Thursday (19th) night I'm supposed to check in to labor and delivery where they will hook me up to an I.V. with pitocin or some such so that by Friday, when my doctor is on-call, I will hopefully be into active labor. I've heard from numerous sources that being induced hurts much, much more than having the baby on your own and that it really isn't worth it to skip the epidural. I've also heard that sometimes the pitocin doesn't work and you end up having to have a c-section. This really sucks. So if I don't have the baby by Thursday night I'm going to be induced, get an epidural, and probably end up having a c-section which will quadrupal my recovery time and make me a sick invalid unable to do anything for the next three to six weeks. That totally sucks.
I thought maybe I'd go into labor last night when I started to have actual "painful" contractions, but no. As soon as I paid them any attention they stopped...as has been the case up to this point. (Stupid uterus) So I'm hoping that tonight the full moon will work in my favor and I'll have the baby. If not then by next week the situation will become desperate and I may start trying all sorts of crazy things to make myself go into labor before the Thursday night deadline. So I guess we'll all wait and see how this plays out. I'll keep you informed (probably not via this blog) of course. If you have any labor-inducing suggestions that aren't too crazy let me know. :)
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