Intruder-us in the Uterus

(Try to imagine the "OK Go" song, Here it Goes Again while you read this.)

So what's been going on with us?

Taken 11/29

Taken Monday

Geez, finally I get to tell people.  Those 12 weeks took forever.  Do you know how difficult it is to float through the holidays in your first trimester of pregnancy?  With all the food around, the questioning relatives and abundance of activities/events/obligations, my advice: wait until New Years to get pregnant.  There are lots of September babies because of that.  Sidney is one of them.  But I digress.  

But yes, we are taking the plunge again.

This time around the early nausea was significant but more of the feeling like you're "on a boat all the time" variety.  It subsided pretty much at week 10.  But the fatigue.  Oh the relentless fatigue.  I know I had a bit of it the first time but I sat behind a computer for 8 hours a day and then could go home and collapse after work. Nowadays, I don't get the choice and have to be functional and attentive to an active 2-year-old.  In the last few weeks, there have been desperate times when I have sprawled out on the couch watching her pull all her toys out into the living room while both of us are still dressed in PJs at 11am and the kitchen is a mess and I'm fighting to keep my eyes open.  I don't want to jinx it but I am starting to feel a tad bit more energy returning.  Though, I find myself not utilizing her nap times to get stuff done but more to take naps myself.

We've told Sidney that she is going to be a big sister and she understands the concept because she has seen a few friends go through this already.  Most notably in our PEPS group.  She loves babies and loves to help so I am hoping that sustains her when she is not getting as much attention or energy from us.  I remember what it was like going from the "main event" to "having a sidekick" and it was a hard transition for me.  One thing that my parents told me (which I will not be telling Sidney at this point) is that this younger sibling would be a playmate.  With no concept of time, I expected my little brother to pop out and immediately be able to play dolls or Legos with me.  Clearly that was not the case and I was so disappointed that I had to wait 2-3 years before that was even feasible.  I know my folks meant "eventually" he will be a playmate but I was put out.  

We will find out which gender the baby is this time because I need to know if I need to keep all the girl stuff or not.  Also while the first one being a surprise was cool, I am a planner and we are already going to have such a problem with naming so I'd rather eliminate one more thing we have to have options for.  

I'm already showing much more than I was at this stage last time.  That's totally normal and I've begun to feel some movement and after what we saw on the ultrasound I believe it.  The kid has moves like Jagger and was bouncing around like crazy.  I hope that doesn't have anything to do with the small amounts of coffee I consumed early in pregnancy.   Had to be done.

So yeah, in early August we'll be welcoming this new member.  The due date is very close to my 20th HS Reunion so I'm hoping I get clearance to go.  They do have hospitals last time I checked in Vancouver but Sidney was born at 37 weeks and the reunion falls exactly when I would be 37 weeks.  So it'll be a nail biter.  

I'll definitely be writing more about the pregnancy and making lists of things as pregnant women are prone to do.  But so far so good.

Blog-bourne empathy

Back in 2003/2004, my boss at the time Mark Donovan of ComScore fame, started a blog.  He was one of the few people I knew who had one at the time and on it he had links to other blogs that he liked.  One of them was Dooce.com run by the now-famous mommy blogger Heather Armstrong.  Heather who was notorious for getting fired from a job because of what she said on her blog went on to Internet fame and notoriety for her design prowess and watchable/readable hijinks with her kids, dog and husband in Salt Lake City as a recovering Mormon in a still-Mormon extended family.  And her writing always packed a punch--especially her missives to her eldest daughter.  Heather was my inspiration to finally start this very blog you are reading.
After getting caught up on all her archived stuff, I began following her life in real time via her blog.  I felt like I knew her and yet it also felt like a show I was watching.  I bore witness to it all: her struggles with depression, her successes for turning a blog into a full-time job that supported her family, her miscarriage, her pregnancy and birth of her second daughter that coincided with Sidney's birth, the featuring on HGTV and interviews on major morning television shows, her campaign for moms in Bangladesh, her amazing marathoning experience and now... the separation from the man who has always been a part of this whirlwind life of hers, her husband.  I don't know why this is such a shock or why it seems so personal to me--I don't even know these people.  But I guess it has to do with the investment and the admiration for making this life she writes about so vividly work.  I think especially as a married person, I don't like to see what appear to be good marriages fail.  And therein lies the rub because no one outside a given marriage can know what makes it good, bad, functional, dysfunctional or otherwise.   And maybe that is what is so disappointing.

Pimp My Cube Contest

This post brought to you by Contest Factory. All opinions are 100% mine.

Before I was a stay-at-home-momma-ninja, I went to a hi-tech job and for a few years, sat in a cubicle--a work space construct that provides the simultaneous sensation of isolation with no privacy.  Some of my fellow co-workers and I tried to personalize or improve our cubicle real estate.  Toys, decorations, pictures, fountains, plants, swag--anything to liven it up.  But some of my co-workers (many of them engineers) just didn't even try.  

I think a lot of people can relate with office space being so tight and efficiency being a big focus.  But there is something to be said for beautifying your working space.  Contest Factory is looking for the worst cube out there.  If you think you have a pretty dreary cubicle/workspace, check out the Pimp My Cube Contest.  They are asking for people to submit videos of their cubicles/workspaces  explaining why they are in need of some serious "pimping" or improving.   Then vote and encourage friends to vote for your cubicle.  The funnier the video the better.  Contest closes 1/31/2012.

You could win one of three prize packages valued at $1200:

 

• Technology Package: new computer system with LCD monitor, stereo speakers and web cam.
• Furniture Package: new desk, ergonomic chair, painting or artwork and plants.
• Entertainment Package: New sound system, Espresso Machine, Mini-fridge and Personal Water dispenser, etc.

There will also be a random user chosen to receive a $200 Amazon gift card so even if you don't have a cubicle to pimp, you can win too.  Not bad, eh?

Here's a sample video:

New Years Eve: Parent Edition

Thank the Universe for our friends Sarah and Mika who do not let parenthood get in the way of having parties and gatherings to celebrate festive holidays.  New Years Eve is typically not a big holiday for us not only because we are parents but because it seems to be the most overrated holiday on the calendar.  (But last year's wedding celebration on NYE for Marcos & Jessica was a big fat exception.)

So we joined a handful of friends (mostly parents also) for a low key but Waller-iffically unique New Years Eve.  One thing I had never seen or heard about before was a Finnish tradition of casting tin.  Basically you melt these special (lead?) horseshoes on a ladle then once molten, pour it into a bucket of cold water.  The resulting shape is then examined by holding it up to the light and looking at the resulting shadow.  Based on certain shapes, it can tell what your future holds for the year.  Where this broke down is the interpretation and it struck me as so subjective that depending on how much Salmiakki Koskenkorva (Vodka with licorice) one has been drinking you could say anything.  Behold.



Since there were many little ones who would not stay awake until Midnight, we celebrated at 7 pm Pacific Time with noisemakers and the traditional Auld Lang Syne song played by Mika on the ukulele, Ken on the flute and Paul on the beat box.



It was a lovely time and made us feel like we got to take part in the celebration with friends, the rest of the world and our daughter, while learning about other cultural traditions.

Happy New Year to everyone and may 2012 be a good one for all of us.

Christmas Currency: Cookies

We're back from the distant lands of Portland/Vancouver and all the holiday hubbub.  While it was a wonderful time away on many fronts, being back here at home is sort of a relief--especially in regards to sweets.   It became apparent to me after observing my family and attending a few gatherings that Christmas cookies & sweets really are the "Currency of Christmas".  (Tisk, tisk that you would ever enter another's home without bearing some currency.)

Apparently in normal households, multiple kinds of these baked goods are made and then placed in tins or on festive paper plates.  These are given to people who you like enough to want to give them something but not enough to make it non-perishable and of course cookies/sweets are mandatory at ALL holiday gatherings.   There are many different kinds of sweets--some awesomely good, some "who-actually-eats-these?" not--but always more than you ever could (ever should) eat so invariably these cookies/sweets get rolled onto another plate or tin that is then given to someone else or taken to another gathering.  And the cycle continues.

Some cookie receivers feel obligated to eat the sweets just because they are around and then disgustedly let it be known that they gained 3 pounds after weighing themselves at the gym.  (Right, Dad?)  But sometimes these "gifts" expire without garnering true appreciation in some one's belly and it really is a shame when you stop to think about the effort that went into it.  But at a certain point you hit a sugar wall and hide them under the pile of Christmas cards and letters you received (the other official currency of Christmas).  The left over cookies become something one must "wait out" until they can in good conscience throw them away.

In a moment of clarity during my holiday glucose haze, I wondered why does this happen?  There is such an abundance of treats already this time of year that it's compounded by all this compulsory baking.  Why do people do this?  Is it obligation or guilt or desiring to squeeze one more thing in during a very stressful time period?  Or is it some insatiable nostalgia bent that says, 'If I just baked the perfect cookie, this Christmas will turn out to be everything I'd ever dreamed of and more?'  Those who say they just do it for the 'love' baking, I don't believe it.

However full disclosure, yes, I'm guilty of contributing to this phenomenon but to a lesser extent.  I personally make only one type of cookie called pizzelles which are a traditional Italian waffle cone-like cookie with anise (black licorice) flavoring.  It's an acquired taste but truly Italian.  I make a small batch and send a few tins to my husband's family on the East Coast and keep some for ourselves.  And that's it.  They are actually good in any season and, from what I hear, can survive over a year in an air tight container.  So a cookie for all seasons.

But what I found the most amusing this year when the cookie/sweet population was at it's peak, was that my husband decided that he was going off sugar...in December. This meant that any candy/cookie-like item that entered this house was my responsibility.  And it meant that our journey south would be ripe with temptation. And it meant that he would eventually break this vow and feel bad about it.  See all the trouble these things cause...

Holiday night out

Last night was our one holiday party so we made it count.  Good times for dinner at Japonessa (preparations & flavors are amazing) and then partying at EMP.  I really wanted to bust loose some of my B- moves on the dance floor but the DJ wouldn't let any song play for longer than 30 seconds before the next song mixed in.  I couldn't find my groove.  Muy mal.

Here is Sidney seeing us off for the evening.  I love the hand in mouth pose.

This is us later at the party in a photo booth.  I think I look like a muppet or something.

In other poop news: the cat

Poop is the big topic around the house these days.  And why should it stop with our daughter when there is another creature who is notable for his waste.  Our cat, Oliver, has been having the driest poops I've ever seen.  It's like they crumble into dust.  There is no moisture whatsoever contained in them.  Given that his preferred water source is the toilet, despite having a nice, new metal water dish, I just shake my head and leave the toilet seat up.  But that should give you an idea that we're not dealing with a rational animal.  Anyway his poop is weird and he needed a well-pet check up so I took him in to the vet earlier this week.

He's 11 years old and back in the day he was known to be FEISTY at the vet.  Like don't go near this animal, you will lose a digit.  Oliver has mellowed in his old age and I do wonder if the energy it takes to fend off an amorous toddler on a daily basis zaps what he'd normally reserve for a vet visit.  He was "chill" initially and even during the vet's physical exam.  She felt his gut and said he was constipated.  She also said sometimes older animals have problems with their anal glands which do something (she explained but I forgot) toward the end of the digestive journey.  Sometimes these glands get clogged and have to be "expressed" or "massaged" or "dealt with" to keep things flowing.

As soon as the vet said "anal glands" and "massaged", I though, 'F-no, I am not dealing with that.  There is enough disgusting bodily fluid and excrement around here...'  I knew about this condition due to some posts my girl Dooce wrote about her dog and they were not fun.  Luckily, the vet staff said they would handle it but for an additional fee.  Whatever--it's well worth it.  They took him away and were going to do this very joyous procedure in another room where I assume there was a sink and they could secure his claws of fury.  Sidney and I waited in the exam room.  A few minutes go by and then loud, unhappy meows bellow down the hall.  Oh man.  But it had to be done.  Then the vet came back in the room after 5-10 minutes and said they now felt he really needed an enema too.

"And you guys are going to do it, right?" I asked.
"Oh yes, right now," she said.
"Well, he's already angry at the world..." I said.

Poor cat.

We were told to come back an hour later after they had done the procedure and cleaned him up.  Evidently he "produced" quite a bit and he was in the most foul mood imaginable.  They warned me not to uncage him near Sidney that evening.  So we gave him a lot of space once we got home but not too long after he was back to normal.

Now he seems like a happier cat these past few days.  They suggested we try to give him some wet food with pumpkin, which helps digestion.  Problem is, this cat is pickier than his mistress and his toddler-sister.  I have 5 different brands of fancy, gluten free, organic cat food with one of the ingredients being pumpkin.  I'm on the 3rd one to see if he'll even take a bite of it.  He doesn't know how lucky he is...the little toilet taster.