Tuesday, June 26, 2012

weekend inventory

Do you want to know what's hard?  Registering for a baby shower.  It seemed to slip my mind last week, when I was super excited to register, that my adoring husband is particularly AWFUL in a registry situation and putting us both in a baby store filled with items that are completely foreign to us is a recipe for disaster.  Who knew there were so many decisions to be made???



We started off really pumped and in a good state of mind.  We walked in to Buy Buy Baby and stood in the gigantic registry area directly at the front of the store and a woman called for another employee to come to the front for a "brand new registry".  The very young girl walked up to us and asked, "What are you guys here for today?"  Ummmm, "to register?"  I silently screamed, "Duh!" in my head but I think the girl could hear it anyway.  I was instantly on edge.  (remember the hormones?)  We got started shortly after and almost immediately knew we were out of our element.  It took us forever to decide on anything and DJ kept insisting we call our moms to help.  (no)  We were going to figure this out on our own and I was determined.  By the time we got to the back of the store and DJ started trying to convince me that we needed to change the nursery theme I was on the verge of losing my last ounce of patience and just at that moment a man-child walked up to us and cheerily asked how we were doing.  Well since he was within ten feet of us I am certain he was aware that he was approaching a hormonal pregnant woman and her husband bickering over, well, just about everything, so the answer is, not good sonny.  I shut down that very second, turned my back and just listened as the man-child began to tell my husband that "when things get like this it's probably best to just take a break..."  I didn't listen to the rest because I was in the process of walking away before the pen I was carrying around found itself to the man-child's eye socket.  DJ was embarrassed and walked up to me a few minutes later to tell me how rude I had just been.  I instantly burst into tears and told him we were not leaving and to give me the scanner and walk away from me for exactly 5 minutes.  Not. A.Word for 5 whole minutes.  After that it was smooth sailing.  We scanned the crap out of that store and decided whatever we chose was what was best and if it isn't then we will figure it out on our own, just like everything else. 

The hardest part of being pregnant for me is all the unknowns.  Everyone reassures DJ and I by saying that your instincts will kick in and I do have faith in that.  I've just always been the kind of person to need to know before hand how things will be, how things will change.  Having a baby though is just not something that babysitting can prepare you for.



Anyway, after that we got lunch and layed out by the pool at my mother-in-laws and cooled off.  We laughed at ourselves (mostly me) and I felt all the worry melt away.  I went home later and asked some mommy friends for advice edited some of our registry and went to Target to bang out our registry there.  We didn't get the painting of the nursery done but that's OK.  There is still time.  We went downtown that night to the river front, listened to some music and stopped on the way home for a cherry Slurpee.

We did make it off the couch for a McDonalds sundae though. MMMMM!

Sunday was extra lazy.  We layed out for a few and then headed back home to watch the first season of "House".  We didn't even make it to the fireworks.  The couch just seemed too comfortable to leave.  :)

Friday, June 22, 2012

white girl problems

I've taken a break from all of the mommy-to-be books and picked up a really good summer read on the recomendation of my bff.  In the summer I can't be bogged down with heavy or sad novels, I can only read short, easy and funny novels that are not meant to be taken too seriously.  Yesterday I started "White Girl Problems" and I'm already halfway through. 



Babe Walker is a trip and if you want to get a sample of what you're in for you can read her tweets or her blog.  She is hilarious and will keep you seriously laughing.  Although, Babe Walker is unfortunatly a fictional character, the author behind "White Girl Problems",  Lara Schoenhals is a very funny chick that created Babe Walker, a wealthy, diet obsessed, California girl that has many unconventional ways of dealing with her "problems". 

I literally die laughing everytime I read the following paragraph:

"Everyone Mabinty invited to the Cartervention agreed to attend.  You'd have to be a real dick to blow off an invite to an intervention, but I won't say I've never done it.  I mean my cousin was addicted to gum.  Not my problem."

This is the kind of book I hope they make into a movie.  If you have any good summer reads send them my way please.  I'm flying through this and will need a replacement by Monday.  Tonight is the calm before the storm.  Tomorrow we are registering finally for Baby Bloom and starting to paint the nursery.  The plan is to get breakfast and then really get down to business at Buy Buy Baby followed by Hobby Lobby, Target, Ikea and Home Depot.  Whew!  I'm over-the-moon excited for this weekend!  We also have plans to meet with friends in downtown Detroit for River Days on Saturday night and then fireworks on Sunday night!  I love summer weekends!  Happy weekending to you summer lovers!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

summa summa summa time

Happy 1st day of summer!  Whoa hot outside.  It certainly feels like the first day of summer in Michigan today.  Upper 90's mean that I will only be found in one of two places.  In my house in the air conditioning or in my mother-in-laws pool.  DJ had the day off today and was just leaving to soak up some sun with my brother-in-law when I came home for lunch.  Such a tease.  (He did actually clean the entire house for me though which I was so grateful to see I nearly burst into tears)





To make up for being lucky enough to have this gorgeously hot day off, husband grilled some cheese hot dogs for me (love) and while I considered eating on the patio I just couldn't deal with the heat.  Baby bloom already makes me run a little hotter than normal, no reason to sweat myself to death.  Am I right?!  After dinner we strolled downtown and made our way to get some frozen yogurt.





Hope you're keeping cool today :)



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

weekend inventory

Remember in the last post how I talked about my wicked hormones?  Let me tell ya, I really let the hormone flag fly this weekend.  I was a roller coaster of emotions. 




I was weirdly pleasant on Friday night despite working extremely late and DJ treated me to some new clothes and took me out to dinner.  We even bought the baby the most adorable little shoes.  Dude, baby shoes are painfully cute.

Little brother is officially a licensed driver...look out / freshly cut hair is so lovely
Saturday was hot hot hot and we spent the evening with the in-laws.  They took us out to eat after little sister's derby bout and we actually discovered that the baby has DJ's taste buds.  I ordered a hot turkey sandwich??!  Way out of my normal taste, but it is one of DJ's favorites.  This is where I tell you how crazy my pregnancy hormones are making me.  So, DJ asked if I would drive because he was planning on having a few cocktails.  I was perfectly fine with the driving part but apparently I am annoyed that he is allowed to drink and I'm not.  Up until recently I have not so much as even thought about alcohol really.  Everyone keeps asking me if I miss it, but in all honestly I haven't cared in the least.  However, as soon as I could see even the slightest tell of Drunk DJ, I was all fired up.  I told him that it was taking every single ounce of effort in me to not tell him that I think he's been drinking too much lately.  Um, what??  Where was I even coming up with this stuff?  DJ is not a big drinker.  He enjoys his booze but by no means have I ever even considered that he was drinking too much.  Anyway, this comment just made him laugh, which made me nearly Hulk out by the time we got home and his drunk had fully sunk in.  Ugh I feel so silly for that one.


She is such a heart breaker!


Don't mess with the hormonal pregnant chick
Sunday though I woke up with more love for my husband than I could even stand, it was all rainbows and butterflies over here.  It was father's day and he is the father to my son, my best friend, husband and lover.  Being a father is such an important job and I know he is going to be so great at it.  The best even.  All my hormones had gone from one end of the spectrum to the other.  I wanted to make him breakfast in bed (after I let him sleep in of course), hold his hand, take him out to lunch and a movie, make out with him, then make him the most amazing father's day dinner.  It was really quite obnoxious.  I was feeling incredibly lucky and I wanted to make sure he knew how grateful I was (am) and mostly I wanted him to quickly forget that I was such a lunatic the night before.  In true David James form he woke up, read his card and still wanted to make me happy above all else.  He's such a show off. ;)


This weekend we're finally registering for baby stuff!!  SO EXCITED!!  Is it really only Tuesday??

Friday, June 15, 2012

being pregnant with baby bloom so far

My six month of pregnancy is fully underway and I have experienced so much at this point.  Each month brings new adventures in baby making and everything changes daily. 


  • My cravings have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other.  Corn dogs in the beginning, McDonalds french fries next, fruit dip and fruit, peanut butter and apples...Basically the cravings make it so that I eat that particular food morning, noon and night. 
  • Feeling a combination of exhausted and restless.  How is it possible to feel so utterly exhausted and then find myself tossing and turning all night long?  The issue is never that I can't fall asleep initially.  Oh no, I can fall asleep practically sitting up these days when it's time to go to bed.  No, the issue is staying asleep.  I have to *cough* pee *cough* often through out the night and once I lay my head back down it takes a good 30-40 minutes to fall back asleep.
  • Braxton Hicks contractions.  These suckers are pretty recent but they make your tummy feel strange and uncomfortable, plus it gets so tight and hard (that's what she said, ha).  I know it's normal but it's not the best part about being pregnant.
  • Another not-so-great experience I have had is the um blockage issues.  Consti...is no joke when you're pregnant.  I'm talking 8 days no relief at one point!
  • Baby kicks.  Belly time after work or right when I wake up in the morning is my absolute favorite.  I lay on the couch and just watch in amazement as I see Baby Bloom move and groove in my stomach.
  • Hormones!  I can be a real preggasaurus some days.  Some days I feel so bad for DJ.  I bite his head off for simply even asking too many questions in a certain time frame.  Besides my short fuse I also cry or sob rather at everything.  I read a blog yesterday about how someone announced to their family that they were pregnant in the form of a game of charades and about cried myself right out of my desk at work.
  • Debilitating foot cramps.  I read about the threat of leg cramps but mine are focused solely on my soles.  (see what I did there?) I cry and whine in agony while my toes curve wildly every minute that I don't hold my toes back towards the sky.  It's complete and utter torture.  The worst part is that the cramp takes so long to go away! Gah!
  • Great skin.  I really mean it.  The glow can be no joke.  I don't even need concealer for under my eyes.  It's a super plus.
  • Heart burn.  That line in "Juno" where she talks about having heartburn that radiates in her knee caps?  Hello, I'm Laura and my heartburn radiates in my knee caps.
I think that list seems like more bad than good, but I swear I have never been in a better place.  Pregnancy is lovely. 

Special thank you to my mama bear for treating me to a hair cut, manicure and pedicure yesterday.  This preggita really needed it! xoxx



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

body confidence? or lack there of?

In my life I have never been someone that can just eat anything and everything and not suffer the consequences.  Even when I was dancing in high school five or more hours a day five days a week I was still not "naturally" skinny.  That being said I think it's safe to say that I have always been cursed with body image issues.  I have dealt with my fair share of ups and downs in weight and along with that came issues with food including not eating, eating too much or not keeping food down. 

That being said being pregnant is a whole new challenge in body image.  I feel very conflicted with my ever changing shape right now.  On one hand, I absolutely love my new body.  It's a funny thing how sexy you can feel with these added lady bumps, not to mention the thicker, shinier hair, longer, stronger nails and luckily I have had the clearest skin I have ever had in my life.  So, for the most part I can embrace my new body, however on the other hand, I do find there are days that I just feel uncomfortable in my own skin.  My waist has almost completely disappeared, my boobs are too big (cleavage in a hoodie kind of big), my belly gets in the way,  I'm starting to gain weight...everywhere. (pregnancy face, arms, thighs, anyone?)  I even went to Target last weekend and found the cutest pair of leopard print jeans on sale for $6!!  They were two sizes too big for me and I was so sure that two sizes up would be plenty (maybe even a little loose) for my baby bump.  Boy, was I wrong.  So, so wrong.  It was such an eye opening moment for me.  I have not just gained a little weight I am touting around a cantaloupe sized human that has shown no mercy for my abs or hips. 



The other side of body image that pregnancy has brought on is the fear that I will not return to my former size.  My former self.  My hips have clearly widened and that has taken six months to happen.  What if it takes six months to get them back?  What if they never go back?  What if the exercise I'm doing now and the breast feeding that all these celebrities swear by does not get me back to my pre-baby body fast enough, if ever?  It's a lot of the unknown that I most find myself concerned with. 

Luckily I have an amazing husband that constantly compliments me and tells me how beautiful I am pregnant.  He tells me almost daily how he thinks I have never looked as healthy and sexy as I do now, carrying his baby.  He's too good to me.  I also have so many family and friends that tell me that I look great and that is a sure-fire to make any pregnant chick feel good.  The bottom line is that it's out of my control.  I can only do what's right for myself and my baby.  As long and I am keeping us both happy and healthy, in the long run it will all work out the way it's supposed to.  A happy healthy baby boy is the most important body that I care about right now.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

(wear) maternity

As my waist continues to expand my wardrobe gets more and more creative.  I am really grossed out by the selections in the tiny maternity area of stores.  I mean two racks does not make a section people it makes a display.  To make matters worse there are never any smalls! 

I have bought a few actual maternity purchases.  A pair of black work pants, a pair of jeans and two enormous bras.  The black work pants are slightly too big and I keep telling myself that soon my bump will have expanded enough to keep them from sliding down so much.  The jeans aren't bad except that they are flare-ish and I haven't worn flared jeans in years.  The bras, oh the bras are a necessary evil. 

With the very limited selections of maternity clothing that I actually like I find myself wearing a lot of leggings and yoga pants, maxi dresses and skirts, and so far my normal shirts are doing the job, albeit increasingly short.  I hope that I can make my current wardrobe last through the next few months.  Elastic waist bands are my friend. 

I did find a few maternity clothes that I will be adding to the wardrobe.  ASOS is kind of the only place that I could find that doesn't want pregnant women to look like they hate fashion.


 

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Monday, June 11, 2012

weekend inventory

So I didn't really plan to not post anything for the whole time I was off, but the time off was nice I just couldn't bare to sit at my computer for any amount of time. 

The time off felt so nice.  I spent the first day cleaning and finally emptied the nursery completely.  It felt so good to have that out of the way.  The rest of the weekend seemed to mostly revolve around sun and food.  Good food to be exact. 

:)
yum.
Snoozer
Cara and Rob's baby shower

Short walk on Sunday before dinner.


And a BIG congratulations to my friend Pamela on her engagement this weekend!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

weekend inventory

We wore our lazy pants this weekend and did almost nothing.  I had zero motivation to speak of and DJ hurt his back again but still refuses to go to the doctor.  I can not shake this cold/allergies/clogged ears/sinus congestion/fever issue.  Blah.

Friday night we finished watching the mini series Hatfields & McCoys.  It was good!  Saturday after we both got out of work we watched little sister Natalow at her roller derby bout at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor.  She is such a little doll.  Afterwards we went home, made pizza and watched the Stanley Cup Finals.  While I layed on the couch the baby was punching, kicking and doing somersaults all across my stomach.  It was so crazy to see how much he was moving around.  DJ and I both kept trying to record it with our cameras and as soon as we would turn it on, he would stop moving.  As soon as we would stop recording, he would start right back up.  Such a little stinker.  Now we're just stuck with a ton of videos of my boring old stomach.  Sunday we woke up very late, cleaned a little and then went to get our grocery shop on.  That was it for the whole weekend!  Nothing else happened!

Blooms/Oh I injured my toe this weekend too/my newest craving
 I took some time off starting on Thursday and I swear I am going to finish emptying that soon-to-be nursery.  Hope your weekend was far more exciting than mine, but sometimes you just need to do nothing.

Friday, June 1, 2012

regrets

I've never been one to agree with living life with no regrets.  I know that I am against the majority on this one but I truly believe that the regrets that I have are worth regretting.  I don't deny that I wish I made different choices when it comes to certain situations.  At the same time I don't wish my life to change in any way.  Most of my regrets are not the things that would necessarily change the outcome of my life but rather have saved me some tears, time and energy. 

I regret things like hair cuts, lying to people I care about, wasting time on "friends" that I should have known were not worth my trust,  allowing ugly people to get under my skin, stressing and worrying about things that don't actually matter.  I regret these things, not the decisions I made because of these things.



I started thinking about this because I was watching The Conversation and she always asks people at the end of the chat, what they would like to tell their 14 year old selves.  It took me a few weeks but I think I would want to tell my 14 year old self to stop worrying.  Oh my, if I could had spent less time  worrying about things that just don't matter in the end I could have lifted an enormous amount of pressure from myself.  The pressures of being a teenage girl are bad enough without adding the worry of what so-and-so is going to say about me when my mom won't let me stay out past 11pm.  (just kidding I think at 14 she still insisted I come home at TEN) 

Just before I met my husband I dated casually and just before that I had been in a long term relationship that ended some what badly.  We had spent most of high school together and I nearly thought my world was ending when we broke up.  Today I am able to wish him all the happiness in the world because I remember one night after we had broken up, sitting at my aunt's kitchen table and she told me that I should stop being sad and be grateful that he showed me exactly what I didn't want in a relationship.  I remember that moment changing everything.  I had such a strong sense of myself from that moment.  I knew what I wanted, what I could tolerate and what I just couldn't compromise on.  I met my husband about a year or so later.  I slipped a few times during that year and since but I always kept my aunt's advice in the back of my mind.



My husband helped me grow to the woman I am now.  I am someone that can be sensitive, bitchy, caring, cynical and incredibly aware of myself and I have been that way for a long time now.  I've never thought of myself as someone that needed to be saved.  DJ didn't save  me, he encouraged me to be the woman I wanted to be.  I don't regret the mistakes I made in getting to this point I regret the times I cried over those mistakes.  Those tears are wasted tears and I will never get them back.  Now I cry tears of joy.  Joy for the man I married and for the boy that we made together.