The weekend

We had a wonderful weekend Friday night we all went out for a friends birthday, the benefit to being pregnant is that I am the best darn DD in the world. Sober now for 8 months...kind of feel like I should get a chip like you do in AA.

Joe and I had a newborn class on Saturday morning...to which I was the only person that had never changed a diaper. Guess who got to work with the little dolly?! Learned how to swaddle, how to rock, how to burp them. All the moms reading this are chuckling right now but I'll bet you that at least one person reading it doesn't know what swaddling even is. Which is about where I am. The class got a good laugh out of my ignorance but I don't mind, I find that if I show that vulnerable side of myself it allows others to do the same. So sure enough before long we were all asking the "obvious" questions. Well that is of course after I scared everyone half to death. You may ask, how could I have done that? Just be the nearly 9 month pregnant lady who falls down the stairs. And I totally knew better...had my purse in one hand and my water bottle in the other, no hand on the rail...dummy. I am so clumsy right now I have to sit most times to put on my pants, so why on earth I thought I could gracefully walk down stairs was anybody's guess. But yep scared the hell out of the rest of the pregnant women and of course the doula hosting it. Me, I just kind of sat on my butt looking around like whelp this is a good place to sit and so much easier than getting up. :-)

Easter was good, we got about 8 inches of snow so it was a little more like Christmas. And then went over to my Dad's house to celebrate his 75th birthday. Birthdays are always odd in my family, we don't really celebrate them (especially not on my Dad's side) but we try and at least point out that someone is a year older. Well and it gave them all ample time to call me fat...they're kind people. ;-) Luckily I have been dealing with it for so long that I can shrug it off pretty easily.

Goodbye Jeep...hello carpet?!?!

Speaking of being real life adults...we just sold the Jeep to pay for carpet. There was a time in my life that would have made me sick and while I am still emotional, I have after all owned the Jeep for almost 10 years I also know that I have put less than 2000 miles on it in 5 years. It's not fair to a vehicle that nice to sit in the dirt.

Product of society

It's no secret that I don't believe in throwing away kids. Yesterday I was confronted with a true product of society. I went to school with a boy who was heavily bullied and at the age of 12 snapped and stabbed another kid in the back with a knife. While the wound was no more than superficial (only needing a band aid) the incident occurred just at the start of when schools were starting to see real violence in them. So as an example they put him in a men's medium security prison for 6 years. You can't even speak to him now, he won't make eye contact, wouldn't shake my hand...he is effectively a shell of the person I knew. Some of the same facial features but the eyes are gone, the sparkle that kids have...completely wiped out. He is now an adult who spends his days paranoid and angry, as in so many cases this anger comes from being scared but isn't it always easier to be tough and angry rather than lonely. I am not saying by any means that he should not have been punished, violence needs to be eliminated from schools. But can we not just look at the crime to make sure the punishment is appropriate but that the outcome after the punishment is what we want.

Real Life Adults

My friends Dad passed away this weekend. It's the first time a parent of someone I have known has passed away from natural causes. I remember thinking to myself a while back as my Dad gets older and more worse off that it is becoming my turn to be a real life adult. Joe Rogan does a stand up routine about being real life adults just realizing one day in the grocery store line that you are the one that the bagger should call ma'am or sir really shakes you to your core. Not just because you know how much older you are, but because you are absolutely positive that you still don't know what's going on but are being left in charge. Funerals are always sad not just because someone you know has passed away but that nothing puts your own life in perspective faster. So my thoughts for the day...Mom buy the boat, J I'll still visit you in London, promise.

On a more cheery note, there was just a special on the Today Show about hugging and how they are coining it the new hand shake. I love this, because I love hugs. However they were showing the different types of hugs and of course the A Frame and one armed hug were in there, boy do those hugs drive me crazy. I think it's a good way to tell someone I am hugging you out of obligation but would rather not touch you. So let me get this straight you are choosing to hug me and make me feel awkward all at the same time...gee thanks.

Go Heels!

First and foremost I have to send a giant good luck (not that they will need it) to the North Carolina Tarheels. For those of you that don't follow basketball they will be playing Michigan State tonight for the NCAA title.

I had a wonderful weekend filled with what I can still do, which is basically eat. I had lunch with J and Kelley on Saturday and then lunch with my family on Sunday. Oh and I "helped" Joe out on Friday with some of his projects around the house, I have to put helped in quotes because I drive him absolutely crazy. Imagine someone who is super eager, won't ask for help, and cries if you correct her strategy. Yep, it was a long Friday for Joe. Did you realize that the average women speaks 10,000 words a day which is why my lunches with either my family or friends always last hours. So while I am not able to participate in a lot of the activities I would like to, I am at least getting in my daily words.

I read this quote the other day "You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." If you have not seen the new movie Seven Pounds but enjoy this quote I would suggest watching it. Speaking of movies Joe and I watched Slumdog Millionaire last night which was also a fabulous movie. I have to admit that I still cannot grasp true poverty, I just can't imagine seeing the neighborhoods featured in that show in person.

And the belly....

Well here's the belly, notice the kissey face I am giving the wall. And that my posture is getting so much worse with my belly pulling on my back that I think I am shorter now.

TGIF!

I haven't posted in a while so let's see what's been going on...

My belly is growing everyday and I have always heard that stretch marks were hereditary but there were certain things you could do to help prevent them. So I have tried everything I drink 2 gallons of water a day, I have gained weight slow (put on about 20 pounds now and I used to be able to put on a good 10 pounds in one Mexico trip), still go to the gym all the time and continue to do hundreds of crunches and sit ups. Not to mention all the vitamin E, neosporin, aquaphor, belly butter and lotions. And as fate would have it my first two stretch marks started this week, I try to stay positive but it's hard. Joe calls them love bites to make me feel better but it doesn't help. And then I feel guilty for being so vain, after all I am growing a little girl in there and if she needs more room then by all means stretch my skin.

Speaking of the seven deadly sins Joe and some friends went snowboarding last weekend. I thought I was getting better at accepting the things I can't participate in, but again I spent the night pouting. Just being selfish on my part I am sure.

So coupled with the selfishness and vanity I had a good solid dose of guilt. But at least it has been leading to me getting more things done around the house and at work, I tend to not be able to sit still when I feel guilty.

The house is coming along wonderfully, and Joe is doing an amazing job. We ordered the new stair railings and carpet yesterday. With every update we do to the house Joe gets more and more set in the fact that he never wants to move, but I am sure he will change his mind someday.