Sorry, I haven't really had any cohesive dreams and my stomach has desired me eating through lunch break instead of writing. Who knew?
Sixteen weeks tomorrow. My heartburn is finally at a point where I'm not miserable all the time and can just occasionally take a Tums. And I had a couple Braxton Hicks contractions yesterday. At least I think that's what they were. Don't know what else they could be.
—2—
I couldn't find the original link for the article, but I saw an article on Facebook about progesterone being used during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage. *all gasp* Such a novel idea! Why haven't we done this before?
Oh, wait. The Pope Paul VI Institute has been doing this for years. Europe is barely starting to catch on. And my OB told me that I didn't need to be on progesterone (even though when I was five weeks along, my progesterone levels were 5-10 points lower than it should be) and it was silly and why would we try to support my first pregnancy? They only think about trying to support pregnancies after at least three miscarriages. Three. Miscarriages.
Sorry, I'd much rather take a pill that has a strong chance of helping my babies than let them die. (I'm still annoyed with the doctor, can you tell?)
—3—
I love Dick Van Dyke.
—4—
This blog post is a good reminder, even if my current parenting "philosophy" is making sure the child doesn't completely deplete every source of nutrients in my body. If I'm going to be a parent, rather than a friend, I have to hold to "no". Even when they're tiny.
—5—
My husband now wants to grill using lava.
I still think that this is likely to end up with someone in the hospital. I'll stick to charcoal, thanks.
—6—
I want to go to Spain so I can buy secret cookies baked by nuns. This is why. (It helps that they go through with pictures and everything, showing you exactly how to get to the baked goodness.)
—7—
Shane and I finally finished Season 2 of Doctor Who.
And I kinda want an excuse to run around with old 3D glasses on.
It's kind of sad — I personally enjoyed Rose as the Companion, but it will be interesting to see how the show moves on. (Yes, we started initially watching the Doctor in February. We don't watch more than three episodes a week normally. So hush.)
Someday my quick takes will actually have some kind of organization. For now...um, you have these? And you can read the rest of them at This Ain't the Lyceum.
I'm still watching the kitten cam when I can. They are adorable and getting bigger and you should totally watch them.
—2—
We started apartment hunting. We're looking to move out of our tiny apartment into a place with enough room for a baby. It's interesting so far. All of the places that have shown up within our budget are currently about a two-hour commute in for me, and I'll still have to work for at least a couple of months. So that will be interesting to see the final result.
—3—
I'm starting to work on making a backlog of posts so that I can at least have two or three things a week. They're mostly wonky dreams so far (upcoming you can expect a lobster-sea monster and walruses joining a swimming team off the coast of Florida, just for a couple). Some days I don't have enough time to write things down, so I'm remembering as best I can. (Also, it seems that most of my dreams involve dinosaurs, big cats, and/or water.)
—4—
I discovered this song and I am completely in love.
—5—
I'm 15 weeks tomorrow and can still wear...um, about two of my old shirts. I'm getting more, bit by bit, but it's kind of a nuisance. Why exactly are maternity clothes so expensive when they just have a little bit of extra fabric? (I get my stuff at a thrift store, but still.)
I'm really tired of heartburn making my life interesting. I miss tomatoes, and lemon, and acidic things. But they make my stomach hate me, so I avoid them. Also, this over-strong gag reflex nonsense is making aforementioned heartburn even more interesting when I have to take pills. I've had several days this week when I wasn't actually able to get pills down because I was avoiding my gag reflex and tossing them all back out.
—6—
Has anyone else ever heard multiple Marian songs at Mass for the Ascension? It was remarkably confusing. There are lots of songs about Christ, why are we singing about Mary? (Not that I don't like her, it was just odd.)
—7—
It got cold this week. I'm quite ready for warmth to stop running away from Massachusetts and just stay here already. At least it was only 60 instead of 40-50 like it has been when we get cold spells.
Sorry. I had a boring week. It should start getting more interesting as we look at more apartments and start doing more things on the weekend. This one should include the chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries that I've been wanting.
Some evil witch decided to turn my husband into a betta fish. Then she released him into a muddy pond, far away. So I'm frantically running through a forest, trying to figure out where she dumped him, when I come across some lions. (Yes, I know lions don't live in forests. Take it up with my subconscious.)
They happened to be visiting a cheetah family (hush ye, realist-types). The lions and cheetahs happily welcomed me into their gathering and asked why I was in the forest. When I said I was looking for a fish, one of the cheetah cubs immediately jumped up and ran off. The adults apologized and chased the cub. (Apparently he likes eating fish.) The lions waited to hear the rest of the story, and said they knew where the witch took Shane, so the cubs could lead me there.
So we find ourselves in a muddy ditch, looking for a bright blue fish that's frantically trying to avoid getting eaten by an overenthusiastic cheetah cub. When I find him, the cub finally realizes that he shouldn't eat the fish and runs off to get something I can carry him in. When I finally get Shane into the container and out of the pond, the sky rumbles menacingly (even though it's perfectly clear).
A brontosaurus came up to us and offered a ride. (Yes, the brontosaurus is officially a dinosaur.) So the lion cubs, cheetah cub, and I all climbed on the dinosaur, carefully balancing the container full of water with my husband. As the brontosaurus started to run...
I woke up.
14 weeks. Apparently orange juice is high on the "if you imbibe this, your heartburn will be so much worse you don't want to think about it" list. So I'm not...comfortable, exactly. Other than that I'm doing fine. I can no longer wear any of my pre-pregnancy shirts. Some dresses are OK, as are some of my knit and elastic-waistband skirts. Jeans don't fit. My sweatpants don't fit. I really need to just go through my closet and pull out all of the stuff that doesn't fit, but I don't have anywhere to put it. Sorry about missing the quick takes on Friday, but I actually ended up spending most of my lunch hour (read: writing time) trying to get a lunch.
Somehow, my husband and I got sucked into a video game. At first, it wasn't so bad — it was mostly a puzzle game, so we were just doing it by running around instead of tapping controls. So, for example, in one of them we had to line up diamonds within a certain time limit — only they were floating just above a pool of water, out of reach, so the only way to get them up there was by going to the bottom (probably between 10 and 15 feet deep) and SHOOTING up to get the blasted things where they needed to go. And since I'm the one who swims like a fish, I was doing it. (On the plus side, I didn't seem to need to breathe or pop my ears.)
But, of course, nothing stays that simple (if you can call that simple). We then ended up in a game where we had to get dinosaurs into specific areas. In the game, you just used the joystick to drag the bait (did I mention they're all carnivorous dinosaurs? Velociraptors, tyrannosaurus rexes...you get the idea). But in the dream? In the dream... we were the bait.
Not quite, but you get the general idea.
So we were running frantically, trying to get the dinosaurs into the right area, where they just kinda stop and suddenly don't want to eat us anymore. A tantalizing prospect, to be sure, but we have to make sure we don't get eaten by anything. For reasons unknown (cruel fate?) the "game" reset a couple times, which of course required yet more running. Eventually, we got all of the dinosaurs into their "areas" and collapsed...
In a kitchen. Not just any kitchen — the kitchen of the house I grew up in.
I miss this kitchen. SO MUCH SPACE!
At which point my husband decides to make peanut butter raisin pound cake with strawberries and sugar on top. I tell him not to be silly, I want chocolate chip waffles with the strawberries. Just as he's telling me we can make both, I woke up. Still wanting chocolate chip waffles with strawberries and sugar on top.
Still 13 weeks. Got yet another one of my biweekly blood draws today. I've started calling it "Dracula's Lab" because they like my blood so much. (Monitoring progesterone levels since mine are low without supplementation. The biweekly bit is so that we make sure that the levels stay where they should and to adjust my supplement as necessary.) My veins hurt. I've had blood drawn at least once every other week (and often more frequently, with the obstetrician needing blood for other things) for...8 weeks, I think. No end in sight. Oh well, it's worth a healthy baby!
So, my mom, Shane, and I were all on a road trip. We were going...somewhere, not really sure where. We were travelling along a narrow dirt road through heavy forest through mountains. Suddenly, the trees opened up and we had a gorgeous view.
Something like that, only the church was even bigger. Think the size of St. Peter's Basilica, only in that tiny little village.
We were totally confused. We had no idea where we were - including what country we were in. So we drove down and started wandering around. Eventually we found out that we were in a village just off the Mediterranean Sea - in Spain. We were very confused because we were originally driving in Massachusetts. (Don't ask silly questions.)
Shane and I went took pictures and went inside the church while my mom contacted my dad and told him where we were. Next thing I knew, all four of my sisters and my dad were also there with us. We toured the church, then we decided to walk to Norway.
Upon arriving in Norway, we met up with Alton Brown and ended up at a cake tasting contest. Some guy challenged me to a frosting-making contest. Just as we were about to be judged (by AB, of course)...I woke up.
Around 13 and a half weeks. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I either haven't been remembering dreams well enough to write them down or been having ones that would be amusing to read. Still dealing with heartburn, still lethargic in the mornings, but for the most part I feel fine. We heard the baby's heartbeat at our appointment on Monday, but it was actually really anticlimactic. It's much more fun to see the baby. Next ultrasound is in about six weeks.
I found myself back in high school, at a youth group event at a bowling alley/movie theater. (The screen was above the lanes, lest you think it's somewhat normal.) Many of the other kids went to St. Teresa High School and we're talking about the deplorable condition of their team. (The actual high school has an excellent football team and the rivalry between them and my hometown was THE THING growing up. At the games, everyone from both schools would be there.)
My middle sister (who was 16 even though when I was 18 she was 13) said sure, I'll help out. And so she did. I was still being my normal swimming and avoiding-contact-sports self (I lack hand-eye coordination), when one Sunday after Mass, somehow she got into trouble and the team needed someone to fill in.
And my parents, ignoring pleas about such trivial things like work schedules, classes, and homework, made me do it.
Not the school where the team was, but it was where we played. In the gymnasium.
So there I am. Stuck playing tackle football in a tiny community where football is practically a second religion. For the enemy. And did I mention the fact that we played inside a normal gymnasium?
And when some of the team members (rightly) started to make fun of my (all-too real and terrible) lack of ability, the coach kicked them off the team. And that left us with seven players. Total.
Somehow we got to State, and I'm of course freaking out because I'm missing classes and not making enough to go to college and I'm TERRIBLE and they won't let me quit. We walked onto the (still inside a gymnasium) field...
And I woke up.
13 weeks today! Yay for the second trimester! I'm getting a weird lethargy in the mornings - I just can't drag myself out of bed in a coordinated fashion until I've been awake at least a half hour. And I keep getting hiccups today. Maybe because the baby is rearranging my innards again?
So that this blog isn't just all my wacky subconscious and pregnancy whining/bragging, I'm going to be joining Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary for 7 quick takes on Fridays! That way I can pretend to be kinda normal-ish. (I mean, it's a facade that disappears as soon as you actually talk to me or read my stuff, but I like to pretend so I don't scare people away in the first 10 minutes.)
—1—
BABY!
These were taken at a 12 week birth-defect screening. (For those who are curious, everything came back normal. One more blood test at 16 weeks to just verify, but it looks like we have a healthy baby who will have plenty of other issues growing up with such a strange mother.) They had a bit of trouble, because while the baby was in the right position, the silly child kept moving around. (I can't imagine where he/she could POSSIBLY have gotten it...) During the 15 minute ultrasound, the baby waved, clapped, sucked its thumb, did barrel rolls, kicked the walls of the uterus (I think that's when this picture was taken), and...
LOOKED AT US! Isn't the baby so cute????
(Sorry, I know this was going to be a normal-ish zone, but how can you resist that?)
—2—
I'm an animal lover. I grew up with cats, birds, dogs...I even had rabbits at one point. (Remind me to tell you someday how buying one rabbit had me end up with seven. It's an amusing story.) At the moment, the current animals in my home...are two fish and a snail. Two bettas (and two tanks), and the bigger tank (and fish, strangely enough) has the snail. The blue betta and snail are Sherlock and Holmes, and the other fish (who was the replacement for a friend whose first fish I may have accidentally killed while fish sitting) is Puzzles the White. (Because his predecessor was Puzzles. Get it?)
Anyway, I am in dire straits because I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FURRY. (I tried petting a fish. Sherlock spazzed out (completely normal behavior, he's a weird fish) and Puzzles went where I couldn't reach.) I would get into a similar position during college, and my roommate thought I was crazy because my solution...was to watch kitten cams.
Day old kittens in birth order!
I'd gotten out of the habit after I was home and when my roommate had cats, but I've been without access to furry creatures since September. I was getting desperate. When, lo and behold, I saw something on Facebook about Eve going into labor. (Eve is mama cat in that picture.) That was Tuesday. Pretty much ever since I have the cam going in the background. It's arranged so that I can glance at it from time to time without it interfering with work, and I occasionally get to hear kitten squeaks. THEY ARE SO CUTE. You can watch the Livestream here.
(Also, I hope that my labor is as easy as Eve's. Five kittens in four hours and she never screamed, just purred the entire time.)
(Although I am VERY glad I only will have one and not five children. They all seem to like the same three spots, and fights (adorable ones!) ensue.)
—3—
My husband and I watched Mr. Bean's Holiday on Wednesday night. Oh my goodness! It was so funny! I'd never really encountered Mr. Bean before I met Shane, but it is definitely worth taking a look. Family friendly fun, and it's mostly slapstick-style humor. At the end, though, I have just one word...
Oysters.
—4—
Also, just because this scene is a riot. He's stranded in this French city. His passport and wallet ended up left on a train platform. So this is his idea to acquire enough money to get to his destination.
—5—
This is turning remarkably video-heavy, but...oh well. Shane discovered this channel recently and promptly watched most of their videos. They're technically Lutheran, but this particular one is just really funny. Partially because it reminds me of a lot of our friends, who will spend quite a while debating different heresies.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you don't look at a thing for a month or two. (Or when you have a tendency to just binge-read mommy bloggers instead of being a normal person and checking on a regular basis.)
I debated just changing the whole thing, and I opted not to for a handful of reasons. (Yay for lists inside lists!)
This is still a remarkably new blog, and it seems fitting that I make flubs. If I fix my flubs before anyone sees them, where's the fun? Also, it will help me learn humility. And theoretically from making the same mistake again. (That last bit is questionable.)
My mom actually knows Jen. She's come for the Behold conference in Peoria (which unfortunately looks like it doesn't exist anymore), and my mom met her then. My mother has a great deal of respect for Jen, and her story, and it just seems fitting.
Also, I actually saw Jen speak at a Behold conference when I was...younger. I can't remember if it was when I was 18 or 19, but it's somewhere in there. She was the keynote speaker that year. (Whenever it was.)
It's May! Mary's month! Also, there's a bunch of saints whose feast days are today. I kinda wish that we didn't already have names picked out for our little munchkin, but I can always save them for future children! (For those who are reading and interested, "Caiaphas" is still off the list and will never be ON the list.) (For those who don't understand that...I can explain if you'd like. Just tell me so.)
Also, it's the end of the CCD year. Shane is (in addition to working in a high school) is a director of faith formation at a parish and I teach the ninth grade Confirmation class. (It's what happens when you marry the person in charge of CCD and they're short teachers. Also, Confirmation is a two-year class in this parish.) Anyway, their end-of-year retreat is on Sunday, and prayers for these kids would be great.
That sounds like it should be in some kind of weird sci-fi or fantasy novel. Or Game of Thrones. But it's what happened!
So we were on our way to a wedding. Because we are economical people, we were flying instead of taking a car. Not by plane, by dragon of course. As in I was riding my husband.
If you're trying to picture what my husband looked like as a dragon, it was something sort of like this:
Only minus the terrified hobbit and piles of gold and general evil nature. He just looked like that. And sounded kinda like that too. (I'm sure this fact actually thrills my husband, he thinks Smaug is awesome.)
Anyway, so we were going to a wedding with other dragons. In my dream (and in this YA book series, if you're curious. It's actually pretty good, although Seraphinais easily and by far my favorite over Shadow Scale) dragons can take human form. (How else do you think I managed being married to a dragon? Especially one that BIG?)
Anyway, most other dragons don't actually associate with humans, so they're not very good at their human forms. Think that they kind of mold themselves into a different shape. Those who have lots of practice — like Shane — are pretty good, but those who don't do it often aren't so good.
So on the way, we meet a dragon in trouble. He's just escaped from dragon prison and needed to hide as a human. His human form kind of looked like Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, only with a super long chin and nose, a la most old-fashioned witches.
We took him to a remote tropical island where he could figure out how to act human, and while we were there, he fell in love with one of the mermaids from this dream. We were just getting ready to go to their wedding when my alarm went off.
13 weeks tomorrow! I've mostly got the heartburn back under control. The key is to not eat anything spicier than garlic. I miss tomatoes. But tomorrow we're out of the main danger zone, which is really nice.
