Gavin has been waking up super grumpy the last couple of days from his afternoon nap. And I do mean super. We (I) have to change the scenery to snap him out of it. Yesterday we picked up Ryan from work and the grumpiness lasted the whole ride to pick Ryan up from work and lasted well into the ride home. Ryan turned around in the car to talk to Gavin and the little G just sat there with a little scowl on his cute little scowly face.
Today was no different. The end of nap time ushered in a period of weeping and wailing. He didn't want to be put down but he didn't want to be held - that doesn't leave a lot of options. Except to load up the car and head to Costco. Of course, before you can do that you have to change him into clothes and change the diaper which was no small feat.
Costco worked. We got lots of fruit and a chicken for dinner and Gavin lost his grumpiness. I gained my sanity.
When I turned the corner to our street on the way home I saw three large pitbulls across the street from my house surrounding something - probably some crumbs or trash that blew in from a busy street nearby. After I parked the car I looked around to see if they were alone when I saw a guy further up the street. I got out the car and asked him if the dogs belonged to him. He said yes so I told him that in the city of Seattle dogs have to be on a leash. He shrugged and said, "they are friendly dogs."
BS
I don't care how much anyone loves pitbulls but you can't deny that they can turn. Hell, any dog can turn. If my super lovely dovey yellow lab gets worked up and starts running around like a mad dog I don't trust her. And she's a yellow lab - the large version of a little itty bitty lap dog.
I got out the car and quickly got Gavin and rushed up to the house and rang the doorbell like an obnoxious mailman until Ryan answered the door - he was a bit annoyed with the bell ringing until I told him there were 3 free roaming pit bulls across the street. I handed him Gavin and went to unload the car - you know, groceries that included a hot fresh roasted chicken.
The irresponsible and rude dog owner was now talking to a friend who looked over in my direction and laughed. Oooh. Jerks. What's to laugh about? Walking 3 very dangerous dogs off leash in front of a building that houses a day care center? Not funny. Little kids run and become instant prey.
So I sent out a notice to my neighborhood listserv and contacted the police (via their website) to ask them who I should contact the next time I see the dogs off leash again.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Stupid Swine
Bathing suit? Check.
Sunblock? Check.
Sunglasses? Check.
Airline tickets? Check.
Car rental? Check.
Hotel room? Check.
Swine flu? Check.
We had grand plans to go to sunny Mexico to do a lot of nothing on the beach in the sleepy town of San Jose just outside of Cabo San Lucas. We've been to this place before. I've caught myself daydreaming about sitting in a chair by the pool right next to the beach listening to the waves gently lapping up on the shore of the warm sandy beach while gazing at the azure blue ocean.
But that dream will have to wait another year. As the first reports of swine flu came in I took note that they were concentrated in Mexico City, far from the Baja peninsula. Ryan's mom and sister were urging us to make other arrangements for our vacation. We said, no, we're going to be far away from it. Then another day went by and the reports seemed like they were growing and then another day and *boom* its a pandemic. I called my doctor this morning to ask her if we should consider changing our plans and she said that she, herself, would not go to Mexico. She urged us to cancel our trip but said if we did go to wear masks in crowded places and to always wash our hands.
I'm really upset at the pigs right now. Normally when you are unhappy with something or someone you boycott their service or product but I'm thinking, "How do I get back at the pigs for ruining my Mexico vacation?"
Eat more pork! That'll show 'em.
Sunblock? Check.
Sunglasses? Check.
Airline tickets? Check.
Car rental? Check.
Hotel room? Check.
Swine flu? Check.
We had grand plans to go to sunny Mexico to do a lot of nothing on the beach in the sleepy town of San Jose just outside of Cabo San Lucas. We've been to this place before. I've caught myself daydreaming about sitting in a chair by the pool right next to the beach listening to the waves gently lapping up on the shore of the warm sandy beach while gazing at the azure blue ocean.
But that dream will have to wait another year. As the first reports of swine flu came in I took note that they were concentrated in Mexico City, far from the Baja peninsula. Ryan's mom and sister were urging us to make other arrangements for our vacation. We said, no, we're going to be far away from it. Then another day went by and the reports seemed like they were growing and then another day and *boom* its a pandemic. I called my doctor this morning to ask her if we should consider changing our plans and she said that she, herself, would not go to Mexico. She urged us to cancel our trip but said if we did go to wear masks in crowded places and to always wash our hands.
I'm really upset at the pigs right now. Normally when you are unhappy with something or someone you boycott their service or product but I'm thinking, "How do I get back at the pigs for ruining my Mexico vacation?"
Eat more pork! That'll show 'em.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Closer to Done
Today was a great day and it had nothing to do with the weather. Lately in order for a day to be great the sun must be shining and if I need a nap I get one but if I don't then I get to spend a little time outside soaking up said sunshine. That's all I really need to make a day great. In the rest of the year there is so much soggy gray that it really doesn't take much to make me happy. Fall and Winter (and sometimes Spring and Summer since its all a big crapshoot when it comes to the weather) a great day can mean being toasty warm inside the house with a fire in the fireplace and a good cup of coffee or hot cocoa and buttered toast. Or better yet, a tasty latte from Verite Coffee or Galaxie Espresso.
This morning I headed up to UPC (University Presbyterian Church) to pick up our two college students we hired for one of their workday weekends. The college kids have workdays in the Spring to raise money for their summer mission trips. We got Grace and Chase; two great kids.
Grace sanded then painted the front railings that I'm always afraid are going to give Gavin paint splinters or tetanus. They both helped me move mountains of junk from the back covered area to the front of the house where we displayed our wares that were free for the taking. I posted all items on craigslist and people started showing up 10 minutes after the first item was published.
A dude came from Mercer Island for our old trellis pieces that we had no use for. Some other dude took 3 tiki torches left over from the previous owner. A woman took our scrap granite pieces, our neighbor took some of our old 1927 windows - the leaded ones that probably have some value but I DON"T CARE - they are GONE!!!
Someone drove down from Camano Island to get the rest of the windows. I asked him what his plans were for them as I myself had grand plans but with a toddler and baby on the way I didn't want them and their flaking lead paint chips around. Their plans sound cool in theory but get this... the husband is building the wife a green house (aw, how sweet) out of old windows (pretty cool looking) BUT it sounded like they are going to use the windows as is! Seriously, people. The paint chips off in tiny itty bitty pieces and in big chunks. They are going to have lead floating around their green house.
Other people took the sashes (counterbalance weights) that each weigh several pounds and were horribly rusted. Some took the old splintering garden tools with rusted heads that would probably break with proper use.
I am SO happy that all of that garbage is gone. We are one step closer to creating a lovely outdoor living space that we can just hang out and visit in on nice warm days.
The bulk of the work that the kids and Ryan did was on the side yard. They pulled up all of the grass and layed down a weed blocking cloth then large stepping stones and Irish Moss. I helped for about an hour this evening planting more Irish Moss - our hope is to make an area that gets taken over by ground cover that we don't have to mow. It's going to be a low maintenance area with yellow daisy like flowers against the house and two Daphne shrubs that are going to produce the most fragrant flowers.
The college kids made me feel old. Grace was impressed by our forks. It was kind of cute. Apparently they don't have the best eating utensils at Udub. And Grace hadn't had barbecued food in 3 years. Chase seemed to really like the burger, chicken burger and sausage. Watching him eat made me nervous about our food bill in a few years with Gavin. Gavin eats like a horse now so I can only imagine how much he's going to eat when he's a teenager. Then during lunch we ended up talking about the swine flu going around in Mexico City. Ryan said it wasn't affecting the young or old but middle age people when Chase piped up and said, "Sucks to be you." Ha.
We aren't middle age! I'm not going to die when I'm 64 and Ryan had better not check out when he's 68. When you double our ages it puts Ryan much closer to middle age than me. But still. Doesn't Chase know how young we are? Didn't the car/SUV with the car seat in the back and the kiddie sippy cup in the cup holder and me with my diaper bag let him know how young we are? Or the piles of bills on the kitchen table and the kids toys strewn all over the living room? We are a young happenin' couple.
Last night I visited with some girlfriends when one of them responded to a comment I made. "April, you think you look like them but they don't think you look like them." True. I see myself younger than I am. If anyone guesses my age within 5 years I get really uptight. I don't want people to think I'm older than ... well, 26, so they can't be within 6 years. I'm becoming more obsessive about the skincare products I use. I will spend 10 minutes agonizing over which moisturizer to buy. The anti-wrinkle with SPF 30 or the age-defying with SPF 15 or the skin brightening or the eternal youth serum...
Freaking out about wrinkles and lost skin turgor had nothing to do with our great day. Gavin took another long nap, I got a nap and the exterior of the house is finally catching up with the interior. Whew.
Now I can move on to worrying about getting the basement in shape before Gavin's baptism. I started adding more things to my to do list today. Wash the baseboards, wash the windows, clean all nooks and crannies in the kitchen with a toothbrush, wash the bathroom walls... the list grows and grows.
This morning I headed up to UPC (University Presbyterian Church) to pick up our two college students we hired for one of their workday weekends. The college kids have workdays in the Spring to raise money for their summer mission trips. We got Grace and Chase; two great kids.
Grace sanded then painted the front railings that I'm always afraid are going to give Gavin paint splinters or tetanus. They both helped me move mountains of junk from the back covered area to the front of the house where we displayed our wares that were free for the taking. I posted all items on craigslist and people started showing up 10 minutes after the first item was published.
A dude came from Mercer Island for our old trellis pieces that we had no use for. Some other dude took 3 tiki torches left over from the previous owner. A woman took our scrap granite pieces, our neighbor took some of our old 1927 windows - the leaded ones that probably have some value but I DON"T CARE - they are GONE!!!
Someone drove down from Camano Island to get the rest of the windows. I asked him what his plans were for them as I myself had grand plans but with a toddler and baby on the way I didn't want them and their flaking lead paint chips around. Their plans sound cool in theory but get this... the husband is building the wife a green house (aw, how sweet) out of old windows (pretty cool looking) BUT it sounded like they are going to use the windows as is! Seriously, people. The paint chips off in tiny itty bitty pieces and in big chunks. They are going to have lead floating around their green house.
Other people took the sashes (counterbalance weights) that each weigh several pounds and were horribly rusted. Some took the old splintering garden tools with rusted heads that would probably break with proper use.
I am SO happy that all of that garbage is gone. We are one step closer to creating a lovely outdoor living space that we can just hang out and visit in on nice warm days.
The bulk of the work that the kids and Ryan did was on the side yard. They pulled up all of the grass and layed down a weed blocking cloth then large stepping stones and Irish Moss. I helped for about an hour this evening planting more Irish Moss - our hope is to make an area that gets taken over by ground cover that we don't have to mow. It's going to be a low maintenance area with yellow daisy like flowers against the house and two Daphne shrubs that are going to produce the most fragrant flowers.
The college kids made me feel old. Grace was impressed by our forks. It was kind of cute. Apparently they don't have the best eating utensils at Udub. And Grace hadn't had barbecued food in 3 years. Chase seemed to really like the burger, chicken burger and sausage. Watching him eat made me nervous about our food bill in a few years with Gavin. Gavin eats like a horse now so I can only imagine how much he's going to eat when he's a teenager. Then during lunch we ended up talking about the swine flu going around in Mexico City. Ryan said it wasn't affecting the young or old but middle age people when Chase piped up and said, "Sucks to be you." Ha.
We aren't middle age! I'm not going to die when I'm 64 and Ryan had better not check out when he's 68. When you double our ages it puts Ryan much closer to middle age than me. But still. Doesn't Chase know how young we are? Didn't the car/SUV with the car seat in the back and the kiddie sippy cup in the cup holder and me with my diaper bag let him know how young we are? Or the piles of bills on the kitchen table and the kids toys strewn all over the living room? We are a young happenin' couple.
Last night I visited with some girlfriends when one of them responded to a comment I made. "April, you think you look like them but they don't think you look like them." True. I see myself younger than I am. If anyone guesses my age within 5 years I get really uptight. I don't want people to think I'm older than ... well, 26, so they can't be within 6 years. I'm becoming more obsessive about the skincare products I use. I will spend 10 minutes agonizing over which moisturizer to buy. The anti-wrinkle with SPF 30 or the age-defying with SPF 15 or the skin brightening or the eternal youth serum...
Freaking out about wrinkles and lost skin turgor had nothing to do with our great day. Gavin took another long nap, I got a nap and the exterior of the house is finally catching up with the interior. Whew.
Now I can move on to worrying about getting the basement in shape before Gavin's baptism. I started adding more things to my to do list today. Wash the baseboards, wash the windows, clean all nooks and crannies in the kitchen with a toothbrush, wash the bathroom walls... the list grows and grows.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
How
How is it possible to cram so much cuteness into one little person? Really. If you don't believe me that there is a super abundance of cuteness take a look for yourself.
Saying hi to the neighbor girl.
Gavin is happy to have a pint size chair to sit in.
Mom and Dad are happy he's not trying to drag his potty out to use as a chair anymore
Dude, there's a peacock behind you!
It's still there! Hurry! Look!
There! Now his tail is down but still...
Pardon the red eye but check out that belly! It's so yummy!
Speaking of yummy. Someone had fun unrolling toilet paper. Check out the t.p. in the background.
Monkey hug
'sup?
Checking out Rylan (Rylan is checking out his mittens - bundled up
for a walk in the chilly, chilly April air)
Saying hi to the neighbor girl.
This is obviously not a picture of Gavin but it shows blue sky and our rockery coming to life. Ah, to have blue, sunny skies and flowers is unbeatable.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Weaned
Last night I was expecting to cry a little after I nursed Gavin and put him down in his crib. I had built up the moment in my head to be something more than it was. Maybe I will cry tonight when Ryan puts him to bed while I'm hiding well out of sight in the basement. See, last night was the end of nursing for me and Gavin. From his first day in this world I fed him through thick and thin, in sickness and in health. I nursed him through the intense pain that came after the breast biopsy went so horribly wrong even though the surgeons told me if I wanted to heal I would have to quit nursing. I nursed him at midnight, 2, 4 and 6 am for a long, long, long time. I think those nights having Ryan mix up a bottle was the most tempting.
Over the last couple of months I gently put a stop to nursing on demand. Once Gavin knew the sign for milk he would do walk by "milkings". With a toy in hand he would toddle over to me and say, "Uh, huh, uh" while pumping his hand in the milk sign. After a quick swig he break the latch and continue playing. I started to feel like a drive through milk machine. I set up a little schedule and he had 4 nursings a day. After the first month of that I cut out one each week and the last two weeks he has only been getting my milk before bedtime.
The last two weeks have been very special for me as I knew our special time together was soon coming to an end. The last couple of weeks his evening nursing was in our bedroom as I wanted to separate his room for nursing in his head. Now his room is for playing in the day and sleeping at night. I really enjoyed our time together lying in my bed. There I could smell his sweet baby head and say bedtime prayers. But as each day passed he became pickier and pickier about nursing. He still wanted to nurse but I think two things started to happen. My milk is changing since I'm pregnant and I think that has affected the taste. Gavin did not like this change. After nursing on one side for a fraction of the time he normally would he would pull off and say, "Nee!" (translation: "no") and push me away if I tried to put him back on the same side. So the last couple of weeks that is how nursing has been going, left, right, left, right, left. Actually, it was more like, left, Nee!, right, Nee! left, Nee! right, Nee! Until last night he nursed each side twice for maybe a grand total of 90 seconds. Then it was Nee to both boobs and he started to wiggle and flipped over on his tummy so he could stand up.
He was done and I was done. Now he has roughly six months to forget that he ever had such a strong attachment to nursing. I expect there will be some jealousy on his part when his brother or sister arrives and we don't need jealousy over the boob to be an extra thorn in his side. Besides, he's 18 months. That's as long as I ever said I wanted to go.
I have a friend who said she wanted at least a year of having her body back to herself before she got pregnant with a second child. I can see how that would be nice. My body has not been my own for 2 and 1/4 years (pregnancy + Gavin's age) and it won't be mine for at least another 1 1/2 to 2 years. That will be a 4 years of being pregnant &/or nursing. Who knows, if (WHEN) we have a third child it could tack on another 2 years.
At least I'm enjoying this window in this pregnancy. Nausea is over and fatigue has waned and swelling has not yet started. My belly is starting to pop out a little - I start to feel more connected to the baby when I can see such an obvious sign. I don't know how much longer I can wear my regular pants. I noticed in church today that my pants kept sliding below my protruding tummy. Time to get out the Bella Band.
Over the last couple of months I gently put a stop to nursing on demand. Once Gavin knew the sign for milk he would do walk by "milkings". With a toy in hand he would toddle over to me and say, "Uh, huh, uh" while pumping his hand in the milk sign. After a quick swig he break the latch and continue playing. I started to feel like a drive through milk machine. I set up a little schedule and he had 4 nursings a day. After the first month of that I cut out one each week and the last two weeks he has only been getting my milk before bedtime.
The last two weeks have been very special for me as I knew our special time together was soon coming to an end. The last couple of weeks his evening nursing was in our bedroom as I wanted to separate his room for nursing in his head. Now his room is for playing in the day and sleeping at night. I really enjoyed our time together lying in my bed. There I could smell his sweet baby head and say bedtime prayers. But as each day passed he became pickier and pickier about nursing. He still wanted to nurse but I think two things started to happen. My milk is changing since I'm pregnant and I think that has affected the taste. Gavin did not like this change. After nursing on one side for a fraction of the time he normally would he would pull off and say, "Nee!" (translation: "no") and push me away if I tried to put him back on the same side. So the last couple of weeks that is how nursing has been going, left, right, left, right, left. Actually, it was more like, left, Nee!, right, Nee! left, Nee! right, Nee! Until last night he nursed each side twice for maybe a grand total of 90 seconds. Then it was Nee to both boobs and he started to wiggle and flipped over on his tummy so he could stand up.
He was done and I was done. Now he has roughly six months to forget that he ever had such a strong attachment to nursing. I expect there will be some jealousy on his part when his brother or sister arrives and we don't need jealousy over the boob to be an extra thorn in his side. Besides, he's 18 months. That's as long as I ever said I wanted to go.
I have a friend who said she wanted at least a year of having her body back to herself before she got pregnant with a second child. I can see how that would be nice. My body has not been my own for 2 and 1/4 years (pregnancy + Gavin's age) and it won't be mine for at least another 1 1/2 to 2 years. That will be a 4 years of being pregnant &/or nursing. Who knows, if (WHEN) we have a third child it could tack on another 2 years.
At least I'm enjoying this window in this pregnancy. Nausea is over and fatigue has waned and swelling has not yet started. My belly is starting to pop out a little - I start to feel more connected to the baby when I can see such an obvious sign. I don't know how much longer I can wear my regular pants. I noticed in church today that my pants kept sliding below my protruding tummy. Time to get out the Bella Band.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Hunger
My friend Wendy used to say, "I'm starving as I know it." She probably still says that from time to time and I feel it is the perfect way for an affluent person (defined by me as someone who has never given food a second thought, as in, "will I have food to eat tomorrow) to describe their own intense hunger pains. If I were to say, "I'm starving," I feel like it diminishes the plight of real people suffering from starvation.
All of that to say, I have been sooo hungry this evening, or, if you will, starving as I know it. And it's not for lack of food. For dinner we had cod and snapper (both were on sale and I couldn't decide between the two) and corn on the cob. I ate two fillets of cod and an ear of corn then started Gavin's bedtime routine. I changed his diaper, put on his jammies, brushed his teeth then brought him into bed for his only nursing of the day. After he was done nursing (and by done I mean he kept switching sides after 15 seconds) I called Ryan in to take Gavin off to bed kicking and screaming. Ah, finally. Time to sleep. It was only 8 pm but it felt like midnight. I rolled over and tried to nod off but the deep gnawing pit in my stomach refused to go away.
I fought the hunger for a half hour before getting out of bed. Fine. If the stomach wants to be fed it shall be fed. In an attempt to fill the void I downed another ear of corn then joined Ryan on the couch to watch the American Idol results show all the while waiting for the hunger to subside.
The corn didn't do it. Next up I ate a big bowl of hot tomato soup. Yum. It's been 20 minutes since I finished the soup and I'm STILL hungry! What's going on? I believe I'm going about this the right way, eat and wait, eat and wait. What am I going to have to eat to send the "enough already" signal to my brain? Is the baby going through a growth spurt and is using every last bit of energy as I consume it? C'mon, already. I like to eat and I'm tired of eating. Maybe I wouldn't say that if there was leftover pizza in the house. We do have brownies that my in-laws brought over yesterday but I'm craving mostly nutritious foods right now which I know is a good thing since the first trimester my cravings revolved around candy.
Mmmm, candy. I could really go for some SweetTarts right about now. Or Bottlecaps, or Nerds. Or Skittles. Yum.
OK, I'm off to feed the hunger. Hopefully an orange or grapefruit will do the trick. If that doesn't work I may have to make paste out of flour and water and fill my stomach up with glue.
All of that to say, I have been sooo hungry this evening, or, if you will, starving as I know it. And it's not for lack of food. For dinner we had cod and snapper (both were on sale and I couldn't decide between the two) and corn on the cob. I ate two fillets of cod and an ear of corn then started Gavin's bedtime routine. I changed his diaper, put on his jammies, brushed his teeth then brought him into bed for his only nursing of the day. After he was done nursing (and by done I mean he kept switching sides after 15 seconds) I called Ryan in to take Gavin off to bed kicking and screaming. Ah, finally. Time to sleep. It was only 8 pm but it felt like midnight. I rolled over and tried to nod off but the deep gnawing pit in my stomach refused to go away.
I fought the hunger for a half hour before getting out of bed. Fine. If the stomach wants to be fed it shall be fed. In an attempt to fill the void I downed another ear of corn then joined Ryan on the couch to watch the American Idol results show all the while waiting for the hunger to subside.
The corn didn't do it. Next up I ate a big bowl of hot tomato soup. Yum. It's been 20 minutes since I finished the soup and I'm STILL hungry! What's going on? I believe I'm going about this the right way, eat and wait, eat and wait. What am I going to have to eat to send the "enough already" signal to my brain? Is the baby going through a growth spurt and is using every last bit of energy as I consume it? C'mon, already. I like to eat and I'm tired of eating. Maybe I wouldn't say that if there was leftover pizza in the house. We do have brownies that my in-laws brought over yesterday but I'm craving mostly nutritious foods right now which I know is a good thing since the first trimester my cravings revolved around candy.
Mmmm, candy. I could really go for some SweetTarts right about now. Or Bottlecaps, or Nerds. Or Skittles. Yum.
OK, I'm off to feed the hunger. Hopefully an orange or grapefruit will do the trick. If that doesn't work I may have to make paste out of flour and water and fill my stomach up with glue.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Grumpfest
As I wrote the title of this post a Rolling Stones song popped in my head, "Here it Comes". At least I think that is the title. "Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes. Here comes her 19th million breakdown." I'm mostly thinking, "here come the grumpies," but don't really know a song that really speaks to pregnancy induced grumpiness.
It hit me while standing in line to get into the zoo today that I may be a tad grumpier than usual. The line was at a stand still and I was craning my neck to see what bozo was holding up the line - the members only line. Really. Have your i.d. in hand along with your membership card and presto! the membership line is like the 10 items or less lane at the grocery store (until someone decides to pay with coins and slowly fishes at the bottom of her purse to find that extra one penny to make exact change). Aha! The woman holding up the line was the person who had 20 items and decided to write a check and enter the amount in her register before moving out of the way. Grr. I think she was buying a membership but had to mull over the options before purchasing. That is when you can step aside and read the brochure to see what membership would best suit you.
While the bozo was deciding what kind of member to be I was nervously eyeing Gavin as he was strapped in his stroller - not his favorite place to be if we are going to remain stationary. He likes a good stroller ride but the key to a good stroller ride is motion. Standing in lines was never a favorite activity of mine but now with a toddler who has ants in his pants lines are torture for both of us. I can set him down for all of 2 seconds. He will paw at my legs before realizing he's free then he'll start venturing out. Depending on where I am I may let him venture a bit but not at the zoo today. It was busy and he would have been out of my sight in no time at all.
The bozo finally made her epic purchase and the line was able to move forward. When I arrived at the admissions hut I presented my photo id and the back of my membership card that has the members name displayed. The admissions employee said, "Thank you!" with a tone that said, "finally! Someone came prepared."
Take that you lollygaggers! Idly chatting in line for 10 minutes and acting stunned when you get to the hut and fumbling around in your purse for your id and membership card is just not cool.
It was the above inner grumblings that made me stop and say, "Oh!" It dawned on me that what is normally irritating behavior to me was near intolerable because I'm preggo. Seriously. I'm a nice person but when I'm pregnant, watch out! I think the exhaustion and difficulty breathing and lack of sleep really can really wear on a persons good nature.
Once I realized how sour my attitude was I took a deep breath and counted my blessings. I not only am so blessed that I get to stay at home with my baby but I also get to do fun stuff like buy a zoo membership and go have lunch with friends. And as a super bonus today the sun was out, the mountains were out, the windows were rolled down in the car, sweaters and coats were stuffed in the basket of the stroller and we bared our pasty white arms to the world.
Gavin didn't take a marathon nap today like he has been (3+ hours) so I "only" got a 45-60 minute nap but once I pulled myself out of my zombie state I realized it was not even 3 pm and we were both awake and the sun was still out. It took me a few minutes but I managed to find a pair of shorts and sandals for me and for Gavin but we were ready for the heat (all 70 degrees of it). We were able to go to the backyard since Ryan put up a fence this weekend and I don't have to worry about Gavin falling off the backyard (in the back our lot is about 4 feet above street level). I swept the patio area and moved the earthworms that made a home for themselves under the doormat by the back door.
When Ryan got home he mowed the jungle we call our front yard and pulled out the barbecue from the storage area. It feels like Spring is here after all! There is hope! The sunshine feeds my soggy Seattle soul and kills whatever moss is growing inside and I think it may even clear mental cobwebs. I tell ya, we are crazy to live in Puget Sound.
Until the sun comes out, anyway.
Then you are crazy to not be in the Puget Sound. We have the Cascade Mountain range to the East and the Olympic Mountain range to the West both piercing the blue sky with the jagged peaks and Mount Rainier looming large over Seattle to the Southeast. And of course in between the mountain ranges we have the deepest blue waters of Elliot Bay, Puget Sound and Lake Washington sparkling like its surface is covered in diamonds.
I'm looking forward to a few more days of this euphoria inducing sunshine before we are plunged back into the wet, the cold and the gray.
It hit me while standing in line to get into the zoo today that I may be a tad grumpier than usual. The line was at a stand still and I was craning my neck to see what bozo was holding up the line - the members only line. Really. Have your i.d. in hand along with your membership card and presto! the membership line is like the 10 items or less lane at the grocery store (until someone decides to pay with coins and slowly fishes at the bottom of her purse to find that extra one penny to make exact change). Aha! The woman holding up the line was the person who had 20 items and decided to write a check and enter the amount in her register before moving out of the way. Grr. I think she was buying a membership but had to mull over the options before purchasing. That is when you can step aside and read the brochure to see what membership would best suit you.
While the bozo was deciding what kind of member to be I was nervously eyeing Gavin as he was strapped in his stroller - not his favorite place to be if we are going to remain stationary. He likes a good stroller ride but the key to a good stroller ride is motion. Standing in lines was never a favorite activity of mine but now with a toddler who has ants in his pants lines are torture for both of us. I can set him down for all of 2 seconds. He will paw at my legs before realizing he's free then he'll start venturing out. Depending on where I am I may let him venture a bit but not at the zoo today. It was busy and he would have been out of my sight in no time at all.
The bozo finally made her epic purchase and the line was able to move forward. When I arrived at the admissions hut I presented my photo id and the back of my membership card that has the members name displayed. The admissions employee said, "Thank you!" with a tone that said, "finally! Someone came prepared."
Take that you lollygaggers! Idly chatting in line for 10 minutes and acting stunned when you get to the hut and fumbling around in your purse for your id and membership card is just not cool.
It was the above inner grumblings that made me stop and say, "Oh!" It dawned on me that what is normally irritating behavior to me was near intolerable because I'm preggo. Seriously. I'm a nice person but when I'm pregnant, watch out! I think the exhaustion and difficulty breathing and lack of sleep really can really wear on a persons good nature.
Once I realized how sour my attitude was I took a deep breath and counted my blessings. I not only am so blessed that I get to stay at home with my baby but I also get to do fun stuff like buy a zoo membership and go have lunch with friends. And as a super bonus today the sun was out, the mountains were out, the windows were rolled down in the car, sweaters and coats were stuffed in the basket of the stroller and we bared our pasty white arms to the world.
Gavin didn't take a marathon nap today like he has been (3+ hours) so I "only" got a 45-60 minute nap but once I pulled myself out of my zombie state I realized it was not even 3 pm and we were both awake and the sun was still out. It took me a few minutes but I managed to find a pair of shorts and sandals for me and for Gavin but we were ready for the heat (all 70 degrees of it). We were able to go to the backyard since Ryan put up a fence this weekend and I don't have to worry about Gavin falling off the backyard (in the back our lot is about 4 feet above street level). I swept the patio area and moved the earthworms that made a home for themselves under the doormat by the back door.
When Ryan got home he mowed the jungle we call our front yard and pulled out the barbecue from the storage area. It feels like Spring is here after all! There is hope! The sunshine feeds my soggy Seattle soul and kills whatever moss is growing inside and I think it may even clear mental cobwebs. I tell ya, we are crazy to live in Puget Sound.
Until the sun comes out, anyway.
Then you are crazy to not be in the Puget Sound. We have the Cascade Mountain range to the East and the Olympic Mountain range to the West both piercing the blue sky with the jagged peaks and Mount Rainier looming large over Seattle to the Southeast. And of course in between the mountain ranges we have the deepest blue waters of Elliot Bay, Puget Sound and Lake Washington sparkling like its surface is covered in diamonds.
I'm looking forward to a few more days of this euphoria inducing sunshine before we are plunged back into the wet, the cold and the gray.
Slugfest
Am I the only one whose pillow changes firmness from day to day or even from hour to hour? Sometimes when I lay me down to sleep my head sinks into my pillow as if it was stuffed with marshmallows and puppy dog ears. My head melts into the pillow and I say, "mmm," before drifting off to sweet, sweet sleep. Then there are times like I've been experiencing recently. It is late and I'm plenty tired so I get ready for bed and look forward to resting my weary head on some marshmallows and puppy dog ears but when my head hits the pillow it hits a brick instead. Some sneaky pillow elf took the marshmallows and puppy dog ears out and replaced it with a thousand layers compacted layers of thick denim. Not so comfy.
Then I lay there on my rigid pillow wondering why it is so hard at night but come 6 in the morning it will turn back into fluff. Those last two hours (Gavin permitting) are the best two hours of sleep I get all night. Why can't all eight hours of sleep be as good as the last two? Why? Why?
Now there is an extra kink in the sleep factor - pregnancy. At 12 weeks the baby is getting bigger and bigger and with a bigger baby comes a bigger uterus and with a bigger uterus comes a squished bladder. Of course a smaller bladder in and of itself is not that bad but when you substantially increase your blood volume it means to do so you are constantly thirsty and drinking water like you just walked through the Sahara Desert.
Last night I was up every two hours to pee and guzzle more water. *&^%$(* That doesn't make for a very restful night. Ryan, who also had a bad night of sleep, was very nice and took Gavin when he woke up and got him ready for church. To get ready for church I got dressed, washed my face and threw on a cute hat. Done.
When we got home from church Gavin and I went back to bed - I slept 3 hours and Gavin slept 3.5 hours. If it weren't for my bladder I could have slept longer. The first really nice day and I slept through most of it. I wanted to be outside but the baby is taking all of my energy to grow so I have little choice but to sleep when I can (when Gavin does and when Ryan's home).
Then I lay there on my rigid pillow wondering why it is so hard at night but come 6 in the morning it will turn back into fluff. Those last two hours (Gavin permitting) are the best two hours of sleep I get all night. Why can't all eight hours of sleep be as good as the last two? Why? Why?
Now there is an extra kink in the sleep factor - pregnancy. At 12 weeks the baby is getting bigger and bigger and with a bigger baby comes a bigger uterus and with a bigger uterus comes a squished bladder. Of course a smaller bladder in and of itself is not that bad but when you substantially increase your blood volume it means to do so you are constantly thirsty and drinking water like you just walked through the Sahara Desert.
Last night I was up every two hours to pee and guzzle more water. *&^%$(* That doesn't make for a very restful night. Ryan, who also had a bad night of sleep, was very nice and took Gavin when he woke up and got him ready for church. To get ready for church I got dressed, washed my face and threw on a cute hat. Done.
When we got home from church Gavin and I went back to bed - I slept 3 hours and Gavin slept 3.5 hours. If it weren't for my bladder I could have slept longer. The first really nice day and I slept through most of it. I wanted to be outside but the baby is taking all of my energy to grow so I have little choice but to sleep when I can (when Gavin does and when Ryan's home).
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
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