How can that be? dogs vs. kids

Ever since we adopted Princess, I notice really interesting facts about life.

Primarily the facts comparing children and dogs when it comes to vaccinations and health records.

For example, in order to take Princess to puppy school I had to provide proof of vaccinations. I couldn't even sign up for the class until I emailed in a copy of her records (which was hard because I was waiting for the nonprofit to mail them to me). We ended up going to Kudos 2 Canines, a company that partners with our nonprofit and let us signup under the condition that we bring the record to the first class two weeks later.

When I register new kids at school, they need to provide a shot record. However, they can register if they have an exemption form from the State Health Department.

Theoretically, as a heavily pregnant woman, I am safer around a pack of dogs in the Petsmart grooming center than at my own school (because I do have anti-vaxxers attending various grades). Normally stuff like this only annoys me slightly, but today it became a full-blown irritation.

We took Princess to get her nails ground at our usual Petsmart. Since her last visit, she's gotten a rabies shot from the Vetco clinic and Distemper/Parvo shots from the Humane Society. Because their system said she was overdue for her shots, they would't take her. I was annoyed, but we went home and retrieved her shot record. Sam took her back, and then called me to say that her rabies tag wasn't valid without the vaccination information (to which I did not have a hard copy of anything, nor could I access it because of the Vetco link being expired).

So frustrating.

We were able to get the company to email us the info that we needed and get it to the groomers, but it took FOREVER.

After Sam called the company and complained, they sent me the info right away, but if we hadn't called it would have taken several days for the company to pull and email me the records.

On the one hand, I was angry that it took so much work to get this taken care of. On the other hand, at least I knew that every dog being serviced in that small space was up-to-date on shots. I have to keep reminding myself that at least I know for sure that my pup is safe from nasty stuff.

But seriously though, why is it easier to send your unvaccinated child to school than it is to take your dog to the groomers?

*I strongly recommend the Humane Society Clinic if you need to vaccinate your pets. They are fantastic!*

Hitting 37 weeks

This week was my 37th week milestone.

My doctor told me that Charlie could come anytime now and my pregnancy would be considered to term. I'm torn between wanting to let him cook as long as possible and being ready to not be pregnant anymore.

As our remaining days pre-baby continue to dwindle, we suddenly are trying to make the most of our date nights. We were given tickets to see AIDA at the new Hale Center Theatre in Sandy, so that's how we kicked off our week on Monday. I love the music and was beyond excited to see the stage production. The new theatre is amazing, and the show itself was definitely leaning towards the professional side rather than the community theatre side of the fine arts spectrum.

Today I began preparing our post-baby freezer meals and baking treats for the Thanksgiving festivities. I enjoyed cooking while the window guys came to install the last window in the basement bathroom. After they left, I headed to my prenatal massage appointment for some much needed muscular relief.

It was such a fantastic massage! If any of my expecting pals are in need of a prenatal massage, go to Fetal Foto & Maternity Massage on 5200 S and State Street. Janis the masseuse is the absolute best.

After my massage I headed to Bluffdale for pie baking and cousin time with the Boston's at Kelsey's townhouse.

Later this week we have Black Friday Shopping to get some last minute deals.

I can't believe that today we have less than three weeks to go!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I've heard many stories from my mother about when she was expecting me. I was very much planned, and my arrival was long awaited. In fact, it was such that my mom ended up being induced 2.5 weeks early due to doctor vacation conflicts. Regardless of how I got here, I arrived on December 8 and became her first born.

I'm often told that she watched Full House, wondering if she would have a little girl. Of course this was back before you could tell the gender on an ultrasound, so she spent the majority of her pregnancy thinking that she was having a boy (don't ask me why).

Like my mother, I've spent the majority of my pregnancy wrapped up in the lives of the Tanner daughters, only I've been watching Fuller House on Netflix and dreaming of the little boy growing in my belly. In another beautiful twist of fate, my due date is within a week of my own birthday in December.

How neat that I get to have the same kind of experience as my mother, but in my own special way. Who'd of thought that it would be the case?

Like mother, like daughter!

When You Panic Attack in Target

Anxiety-wise, I've been pretty good during my pregnancy. There have only been two or three occasions where my anxiety escalated to full-blown meltdown. I'm also pretty sure it happened once during each trimester, so at least it wasn't all in the same week.

Moving on.

Once I had finished the basement projects, I knew it was time to do full on baby preparations. My baby showers were over, and I knew what I still needed to get before Charlie arrived. I had clothes, diapers, and blankets for days, but I still needed a crib mattress. We finally went to Target to get the mattress, in addition to one or two more sheet sets. My friend Amy had gotten us some super cute owl sheets, but one set wouldn't be enough.

After a long Saturday of cleaning the church, grocery shopping, bathing, laundry, a baptism, a temple trip, and visiting Grandpa, we set out on our mission to Target.

We needed a mattress, sheets, and under the crib storage containers.

Sam was tasked with combining the gift cards while I set out for our items. I found the mattress, but it wasn't the exact one I had wanted. Still, it would work perfectly for what we needed (infant/toddler support) and it was a few bucks cheaper. I walked over to find the sheets, and could feel the anxiety rise in my chest as I walked past car seats, strollers, pumps, and monitors. By the time I got to the sheet section of the aisle, I just wanted to get in and out so I could catch my breath.

I saw the sheets and grabbed a set that had little mountains on it (the nursery theme is a forrest), but then I got hung up on choosing a third set. Did I want hedgehogs or stars?

I have no idea why that set me off, but Sam picked the hedgehog sheets and steered me over toward the under the bed storage section. It took me a good few minutes to finally get over the panic attack, but by the time we got home I was all right.

Still, trying to understand the root of my anxiety has been a challenge lately. I think I've been able to pinpoint my fear of the pain that will accompany labor. There are so many unknown factors and a total lack of predictability, which is probably what my thoughts keep landing on to fixate.

I'm scared.

Motherhood does not scare me.

The pain of birthing my son is what scares me.

I'm so used to exercising a certain kind of strength, and the idea that I might not have it when I need to perform the hardest physical task in my life is scary.

How do moms do it?

Hindsight is probably 20/20, but I still have four weeks to go (potentially five) before I can say that.

Maybe it's time to find a different kind of strength.

Expecting A Miracle, Part 12

• Write a list of maternity symptoms you have experienced.

Tiredness has got to be at the top of this list. Not having enough energy to walk for as long as I want to really gets me down at time. Walking around the block at the wrong time of day is a nightmare, especially when the dog is being a stinker. Sometimes the trek to the restroom at school makes me feel like I'm going to fall over. Although, recently I've felt better most of the time, I think it's because he dropped a bit. 

• What kinds of foods are you craving?

Potatoes have been a constant craving for me. My doctor says it's because I want the iron and the potassium, so we've gotten pretty creative with how to use potatoes as ingredients in various dishes. Our go-to choices are baked potatoes, hash browns, and mashed potato pancakes.

Oatmeal has been my breakfast of choice during my pregnancy. I've tried different variations of instant oatmeal, homemade oats, and overnight oats. I've determined that I like them hot, but I'm super glad that I've mastered a few overnight oat recipes that will probably come in handy after Charlie is born and I'm in need of a quick and healthy breakfast or snack.

Milk is also something I've been consuming frequently, which on it's own isn't a weird thing, but considering that I really wasn't drinking much milk beforehand, it is. But Charlie needs the calcium, so I'm doing my best to keep my calcium and iron storages up so that he has what he needs to keep growing and developing.

• What is the hardest thing about being pregnant?

Right now, it's trying to be flexible in regard to labor and delivery. Sam and I spend a lot of time speculating just when labor will actually happen and when our bay will be born. Physically, the hardest part has been my right side sciatica, which is where Charlie seems to have nestled in. I'm really hoping that when he finishes dropping that he will move off of that nerve and I'll have a bit of relief.

Another challenge is just being slower; I can't walk as quickly at various times throughout the day, yet other times I'm just fine. I lose my breath easily, and I cannot sleep through the night because I'm trying to get comfortable.

Seriously though, I'm incredibly grateful I've had such a great pregnancy experience. I feel like having another baby in a few years won't be as hard because I know what to expect. The only thing I wish I had done differently was practice more yoga, especially at the beginning. Right now I really wish I could just lie in Child's Pose, but my belly is just too big. I can't wait to resume my practice postpartum, it's probably what I most look forward to besides being able to sleep on my back again.

Family Baby Shower

My cousins threw me a baby shower at Market Street Grill this past weekend. It was the same place they had my family bridal shower two and a half years ago. It's such a great space, full of windows and natural light, and of course all the cousins on my mom's side of the family.

Showers are by far my favorite family tradition, mostly because we usually don't get together very often. My Bubby was usually at the heart of planning showers like this while she was alive. I still can't believe that her first great-grandchild is about to be born. I'm psyched beyond all reason that I'm the grandchild bestowing this honor on our family. I really wish that she was still here to see all the great things that are happening.

The large and lovely table.

My mom and sweet sister-in-law

My awesome family of cousins. These women are the epitome of having it all: education, career, family, and success. I'm so lucky to be part of such a great legacy!

"Nesting"

We've been working on a major project lately: the basement.

We began the work on the Monday after UEA break (don't ask me why), and have been chipping away at it nonstop since then.

It took me a week and a half to paint the basement by myself, mostly because I needed multiple coats to cover the dark brown that was there. Then I started to doubt my color choice once I got about halfway into the project, which wasn't helping my confidence. When I finally finished painting the walls, I had to touch up the floor boards and put the outlet covers back on. We removed a large vent cover so I could paint the last wall in the office area, and found that it was jerry-rigged in a way that made me feel like it was a potential fire hazard, so we replaced it.

Our new energy-efficient basement windows were also installed during this time, and they go really well with the new roller blonds that we bought over the summer. Once these tasks were all complete, we finished cleaning the carpets. We did about half the house during UEA, and did the rest when painting was done. It took awhile for the carpets to dry because it's getting colder outside, but as soon as they did we moved the furniture back to where we wanted it. It gave me the opportunity to rearrange the office layout a bit, and now the basement feels even bigger!

Our new basement windows, courtesy of Champion. This company really did a good job. Our old windows were just the worst, and I can already see the huge difference between them and the beautiful new energy-efficient windows. I'm psyched that I have screens, but I really love how you can tell we took the time to get the good stuff to make our house more modern.

Funny story, I talked to one of our neighbors about the windows and they told me that they'd replaced all their windows except the basement not to long ago. The reasoning was, why? But our first winter in our house showed us that the heat escapes out of crappy windows, and the furnace works that much harder and the utility bill will keep going up. I'm eager to see how our utilities will differ this winter from last year.

Here are some shots of the basement. Keep in mind that I'm 35 weeks pregnant, and not everything is perfectly put away. But you can see the walls and the pop of yellow!

The new vent register!

Our couch that we bought after we moved in compliments the color perfectly, and my pink lamp and matching footstool from college actually goes well with the color too.

The bannister that started it all.

Sam thinks our basement is like the beach now, without the water. Our carpet looks very sandy, and the walls are very sunny. I joked that we could move the blue curtains from the kitchen to the basement and then it really would be like the beach.

So far the basement has a cheery effect when we're down there, a very different atmosphere from beforehand. But hey, old windows circa 1970 and dark brown walls are not exactly inviting. We still need to texturize the ceiling in the office section of the basement, but that's a project that can wait for awhile longer.

We were tired after organizing the basement. I'm feeling on the larger side as of late, and Princess has been super cuddly. I can't tell if she is just not feeling well, or if the weather change is getting her down, or if she can just sense that everything is about to change. I know each of those three things is weighing on me right now, and I'm the one that has to deliver the baby.

At least we can cross this major project off of our list of baby-prepping tasks.

Expecting A Miracle, Part 11

• What do you most look forward to when you meet your baby?

Holding him, looking at his face, and being ridiculously overwhelmed by how much love I can have for a child. I wish I could be more detailed here, but that would warrant me serious emotional pondering that I'm just not ready to express just yet ;)

• Make a list of activities you can’t wait to do with your baby in the future.

Long walks for sure top this list. I want him to appreciate the beauty of getting outside and disconnecting from the fast-paced world we live in.

Swimming. Next summer, I plan on doing mommy and baby swimming lessons, mostly because I never really learned and I want to make sure he knows his stuff.

Playing with our doggie. I want this baby and my dog to be best buddies, so we will definitely be having lots of quality family time.

Yoga. If this kid is anything like me, he'll need a healthy coping mechanism for stress the minute he's old enough to recognize that he's suffering from it. The sooner he knows what stress is, the sooner I can help him understand the best ways to deal with it and not let it consume him.

• What do you think your baby will look like? Make a list of which facial features/ hair colour/eye colour/skin colour that you are imagining they will have before you meet them.

As narcissistic as this sounds, I really want my son to look like me. I know he will eventually become Daddy's best friend, so I feel slightly entitled to have him resemble me physically. How cute would that be if he had my blonde curly hair? He'd look like a little lion! I already know he has my mouth, which means he will most likely be a talker, and quite possibly a flirt (although he could just as easily get the flirt traits from Sam's Grandpa Barlow in addition to myself). I know that he has Sam's jaw, which means his facial features will be strongly defined. I personally don't have a defined jaw line and therefore my face always looks fuller, so I'm psyched that Charlie got this one.

It's so much fun to speculate his looks and his personality. 

I already feel such a strong connection to him, which makes me believe that we will be a lot alike, and that in turn means that he will end up being a lot like my dad. I can't wait to see my dad as a grandfather. I'm positive that he and Charlie will just be instant buddies. Since I'm not one to go off of feelings rather than facts, the fact that I have these feelings is a neat way of speculating my hopes.