bad bad blogger

I am a bad blogger! However, I do have 2 small children and a full-time job, so give me a freaking break people!
So many exciting and interesting things have happened in the world that I have not blogged about. Michael Jackson kicked it the same day Farrah Fawcett did. North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons and their leader is probably demented. Sarah Palin "resigned" her governorship and made no sense when she had her press conference announcing this. Obama and co are trying to get a reasonable and affordable health care system put together. Al Franken was FINALLY sworn in as Senator from Minnesota (yay for MN!). Jon and Kate filed for divorce (I saw that one coming, didn't you?) yet are still making their tv show, stupid people. The economy is still in the toilet, our house market value went down for the first time in several years (boo!). I have divorced myself from my alma mater for the time being. Jonah is smiling up a storm, laughing and is a chunky monkey. Jude is hilarious and clever in every way. I am back at work, bringing home some bacon and frying it up in the pan.

funny Jude quote

From a conversation earlier this week while waiting in the car:

Jude "I told Seda you are my mommy."
Me "Yes, I am your mommy. Seda has a mommy, who is her mommy?"
Jude "Erin."
Me "I am, however, also Jonah's mommy."
Jude "No, you not Jonah's mommy."
Me "Well, who is Jonah's mommy then?"
Jude "Daddy."

Mommy wars and unsolicted advice

I am currently on maternity leave, but am seriously contemplating sending my older child to daycare 2 to 3 days a week once my spouse returns to work in a few weeks; mostly for the sake of my own sanity and so I can get enough rest. My spouse is supportive of this, and I know of several other people who see no issue with it either, however some seem to think I am being silly. Well, try living in my house for awhile, you know? I had a freaking c-section 3 weeks ago, a newborn, and a smart and busy toddler; not to forget the 2 dogs and 2 cats that also reside here. While I feel pretty good following the c-section, I also have been reminded by my doctor that it was "major surgery" and I should really take it slowly and easily during my maternity leave; which is hard to do when one has an older child. Anyway, dear hubby's advice is to ignore the naysayers, and while I agree, this is easier said than done.
This brings me to the topic heading "Mommy Wars." Why the hell are women so hard on each other? I know I am guilty of this at times too, but I know I do not sit and tell women who choose to stay home what a foolish financial choice they are making; or say to them "what if something happened to your spouse/partner, how would your family survive financially?" I think that the choice that best suits the family and parent is the best choice. For me, I enjoy being a parent who works. Is it easy? No. Do I feel guilty from time to time? Sure. Am I glad I bring home close to half of the household income, enabling us to save for things that are important to our family, such as college educations? Yes. Am I glad I have the outlet work provides me creatively and intellectually? Yes. But, I also know I am lucky, I have a spouse who is very hands on as a parent. I have met many women, including one the other day, who seem to think it is odd that I would leave my children home with my husband, for any reason. Are these women married to idiots or serial killers or something?
On to unsolicted advice. I am a pretty damn assertive person. I had to bite my tongue often during my last pregnancy as to not say stuff that would get me fired, but generally I am able to communicate directly and appropriately with others. I am so damn sick of unsolicited advice. Particularly from people I think are idiots. Or at the very least delusional. That is all I am saying about that for now, must go find an ice cube to soothe the tongue I keep needing to bite.

recent dr visit

Learned I have lost 25 lbs as of Monday! WTF! Can I lose 25 more, just breastfeeding?

double stroller world

Yep, we got one. It is the semi of stollers, but it handles really nice. Jude thinks it is cool. Jonah doesn't really have an opinion yet.

d&*( modem!

Our modem of almost 2 years kicked the bucket last Thursday about 3 in the AM. I just got the new one today and am finally back online. I was having severe withdrawals, but survived. Dear hubby's ipod also seems to be terminal, don't know if the 2 are related, it gave him a sad frowny face and said to contact ipod support. Boo!
Having a 3 year old is hard, especially when recovering from surgery and caring for a newborn. Most of the time he is an absolute delight, but when he throws a fit: watch. out. world. He also made the cover of the Waitsburg Times, as he caught the eye of their photographer last weekend while at the Junior Show with his Nana Cracker. Will have to go and purchase multiple copies to distribute to random relatives. Maybe I can find a way to incorporate into next years Xmas letter, which will probably never get sent, as we are terrible at doing that kind of thing.

the amazing lactating woman

I think I pumped over 30 ounces of breast milk today. WTF. I am a cow. I could feed the octuplets. Well maybe not 8 babies. Its all good, Jonah has gained 4 ounces since Friday, should be at birth weight by this coming Friday. He is doing really well. Did not spend the day weeping, beyond the time I was beginning to watch a birth story on TLC, which was about a lady with a heart condition that was having twins, 1 of which died prior to delivery. I decided I best not watch that episode. Way. Too. Sad.
Lance and I went out to lunch, I ate like a trucker. Applebee's Chicken Fried Chicken. Yum.... Lance tasted it and wished he had ordered the same. Then went to store and bought an obscene amount of food, but we are sticking close to home these days and need stuff to eat. Lactation brain led me to buy Mickey Mouse shaped pasta, which Jude better eat darnit. He likes noodles, fortunately.
Went and bought craft supplies for Jude, which should be fun. I found adorable glittery whales and other sea life for Jonah's room. Yeah, Jonah and the whale. Original, I know. Heck, I also named my kids with same first initial, which I planned to not do, but ended up doing anyway. No one is perfect.

week 1

I hate the post pregnancy hormones. Well, the kind that lead to weepiness. Hopefully this will last a only a few more days, at least that is what Google said when I googled "postpartum hormones."
Jonah is doing great, he is eating a lot, albeit in smaller portions and more frequently than I would like whilst trying to sleep at night. But he sleeps well and is pretty mellow most of the time. Jude is still adjusting, but is doing very well and is excited to be a big brother.
I am losing weight at a nice clip. My stomach is significantly flatter than I thought it would be at this point, although it is still pretty jelly like. Breastfeeding is a good way to melt off the weight gained in pregnancy. I could eat like a trucker most of the time, but am trying not to give into the temptation of eating cookies everyday or cookie dough like I did after Jude was born. Helps that I cannot drive yet, I cannot go to the store and buy crap as easily. I do eat what ever I can, when I can which makes for interesting meal choices at times.

world's 2 cutest kids

A rather busy week.

A lot has happened since my last post. Sunday morning, around 9:30, as I was getting off the couch to head out to do the grocery shopping, my water broke. This time was much less panic, and more "okay, Jonah is coming today." So, I was able to pack stuff and make calls, we had to wait for Lance's mom to come and get Jude to take to her house anyway. We got to the hospital around 10:30 and by 11:45 I was in the operating room and Jonah was born at 12:15 pm. He came out screaming and looked big. My doctor was not on call, and missed the delivery by "a couple hours" but I had the other doc in their practice that everyone loves and it went really well. Jonah's APGAR scores were 8 and 9 right off the bat, which was awesome! He spent a couple days in their special care nursery, but never had apnea or bradychardia, just some slightly lowered oxygen levels at times. He is little, but doing great. Such a different experience than last time. Way less anxiety, although this may be in part due to having some experience as parents this time around. Now we are working on getting him to breast feed, which will take some time. He is little and poops out pretty quickly.

week 36, 3 days (well, yesterday)

Had a check up today. Dr. K had a line of laboring mom's at the hospital, but still managed to handle my minor freak out. I am effacing, but not dilating yet. Good news. Probably only lost "part" of the mucous plug. Okay. Went to check heart beat and could only find mine. So he went to get the ultrasound, to see where to best check for heartbeat on my ginormous abdomen and I burst into tears. Just a little freaked. Anyway, ultrasound showed Jonah is head down, heart was beating very nicely and was doing just fine. I got to see his little face, and he seems to have the same nice jawline Jude and Lance have, which is cool. He did ask if I wanted a non-stress test, and I said "okay." I think it was to reassure me that everything was going well, which was nice. Nurse then told me that I was pretty easy to work with, "you would not believe some of the calls we get." I can only imagine. I tend not to panic until I know the facts, but I am sleep-deprived, hormonal, and had a scary first pregnancy; so it was understandable that I got upset. Fortunately, everything was fine. The non-stress test showed that his heart rate and activity was 'normal." Phew. Oh, and I gained 4 lbs. Boo. But I also had sausage fingers, so increasing water and watching salt intake, ie reading labels.
And as of today, only 2 more weeks of work. Hooray! Cause there are days I could fall asleep at my desk, not because I am bored, I am just that tired.

36 weeks, 2 days at 3:30AM

I could not sleep last night. Not such a novelty cause I have been having good and bad nights for sleeping for weeks; what with the waking to pee every hour or so, etc. This AM I got up and decided, darn it if I can't sleep, I can catch up on shows waiting on our DVR. Well, the bigger event was the passing of the old mucous plug. A glob of gelatinous goo. I googled it to make sure it was what I thought it was; it was indeed. Almost kept it to show Dr. K, but decided it was probably not necessary. I did not panic, I actually felt pretty calm. I told Lance when he woke up and told him I would call the Dr. after the office opened, as I has not had any contractions or broken water. I have an appointment tomorrow anyway, and unless something big happens over night, he can check to see if I am beginning to dilate then. Since losing the MP is a sign of impending labor, either fairly quickly or a couple weeks from now, I have begun packing my hospital bag, which I was going to do anyway this weekend. I may end up having Jonah a little earlier than planned, but maybe not.

36 weeks

If learned today, from the internet of course, that Jonah could be born later this week and have little to no complications. Given how uncomfortable I feel, I am tempted to ask him to show up sooner than later.

almost 36 weeks

I now understanding why women who get to this point in their pregnancies just want to be done. I am freaking uncomfortable, have constant heartburn, fart a lot, feel like a bowling ball is sitting in my pelvis and have to pee all the time. I also had no sleep last night, which was extremely frustrating. If I had seen my doctor over the weekend, I would have begged him to deliver this kid. Well, maybe not so much begged as joked about it. But, I am also really close to the end and am happy that this pregnancy is much less dramatic. I can deal a little longer.

utter meltdown

So, I had a complete meltdown today. Not entirely sure exactly what was the trigger. one minute dear hubby was talking about Jude being "cowboy" or something like that, the next I am yelling at him to take me back home "right now" and to "just be quiet and leave me alone" while blubbering like a spoiled child. I am completely blaming preggo hormones. That has to be it. I am normally not such a total bitch. So, he took Jude and went to visit his mom for a few hours, i slept. Mood did improve over course of the day, and I feel almost like myself at this point in time. Also watched Hamlet 2, which was freaking hilarious. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

less than 3 weeks!

And I will be done working for a few months. I am looking forward to it, mostly because I am tired. Super duper tired. As such, client are driving me nuts. If I had enough energy yesterday, I would have told one of them to shut up, well a parent of a client. But, fortunately I did not. I went home and took a nap. Now, if I could just sleep all weekend.

Turkens!

Here is a pic of what our chickens should look like. Ugly as sin, I know, but they are supposed to be hardy and good layers. We will have 2 or 3, am trying to think of some names. Fried, Roasted, and Grilled?

week 35

I am getting huge. Well, since I have never been this preggo before, I have no idea how huge I would have been with Jude, but am shocked how big I am seeming to get each day. I have heartburn again too, no matter what I eat and am increasingly flatulant (sp?). Oh well. It is not much longer. What is especially strange in the shin splints I have off and on through out the day. I was always told I would have them really badly because I run on my toes, and I am certainly not doing any running these day, and I never did while running, but do when I am knocked up. Strange. I am not even walking on my toes at this point. I also noticed I can get out of my car with relative grace from the driver's side, but can barely hoist myself out of the car when on the passenger side. Equally strange.

34 weeks, 4 days

We have an insane amount of baby clothes. I went through them today, sorting out and putting away all the newborn and 0-3 mth stuff. 2 drawers of onsies. Hopefully Jonah really will be a boy, and the ultrasound pic was not tricking us, cause we are set with clothing. Lance reminded me that "we had to change Jude's clothes at least 2 times a day" and he wasn't even a puker. He was a messy pooper, but I think we were just bad diaper changers. Oh, and infant boys love to pee when their diaper is off, so we had to change a lot of clothes for that reason alone.
I had a prenatal appointment this week with my "OB-Gynie," to quote a lady from the Discovery Health show, "Deliver Me." Sounded like a Star Wars name for an OB GYN. Anyway, all is going well. Weight good, blood pressure good, heart rate good. I go again in 2 weeks, and then weekly until d-day. I am glad to still be preggo. I a couple weeks, if the baby decided to come, the only people that would really freak out would be work, as they seem to be in denial (no I know they are because they tell me often) that I will be leaving. Maybe that is why I survived a round of layoffs? Hmmmm.... Anyway, while I am achy, tired, and have swollen feet, I am glad to still be gestating. I also had my pre-admit appointment in the Women's Center at the hospital, something I did not get to do last time, and it went well. I got the shpiel on what will happen on 4/6/09 in regard to schedule, etc. We are getting really excited. I am not looking forward to having major abdominal surgery, but I am looking forward to meeting Jonah. Jude is pretty excited as well, even though it means I am not just his mommy.
Speaking of curious Jude, we went garden shopping today; hitting Home Depot and then Northwest Farm Supply. We were really cool parents today. First, "tractors" at the Depot, well really riding lawn mowers. Lance and Jude had a good time on those. Then, baby chickens at Farm Supply. Jude was enthralled. We are getting some chickens for the first time this year. Figure we could use the eggs and , eventually, the meat. They will be arriving at our urban farm later this spring. We can have up to 3 in the city, as long as none are a rooster. Fine with me. I hope that they survive to lay us some free range eggs, and maybe end up being roasted in the fall and winter with the veggies we grow. Right now we plan to have lettuces, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, pole beans, corn, watermelon, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, broccoli, brussell sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, sweet onions, garlic, and whatever else we decide to grow. All organic, of course. We also have strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, with plans to plan more of each. Jude will be getting to start a pumpkin, watermelon, and sunflower plant all his own. He also has a new junior wheel barrow, which I need to get a picture him with and post it. I read that if kids help grow the veggies, they are more likely to eat them. Plus, we get to practice what we hope to be doing on a larger scale in a few years.

knocked up with a cold...

I am coming up on 34 weeks and am gladly still preggo. I am tired and uncomfortable, but also giddy when I get through another week! It is weird to think that in little over a month I will have 2 kids. Lance looked at me this morning and said something to that same effect with a mixture of astonishment, excitement, and terror on his face.
Jude had another cold this week, his second in a month. He did not get croupy this time, but spent all, and I mean all, Wednesday night coughing throughout the night. He then woke at 4:30 crying. Dear hubby got up with him, and then came in a short while later and said "I think I should call a sub." Goddess bless him. He stayed home with a cranky toddler all day, and said cranky toddler's cough was much improved by that afternoon. Then I got it. It's really not that bad a cold, I have had worse. But a pregnancy complicates what one can take to alleviate the symptoms. Basically, sleep, fluids, and Tylenol. I miss my Alka Seltzer cold, the orange fizzy kind. Oh well. I am looking forward to breathing through my nose again and not drooling when I sleep. Ugh....

week 33

Still knocked up, and despite being tired, achy and feeling really fat, I am happy to still be so. Lance was in a wedding over the weekend in Richland, so I went and shopped during all the pre-wedding pics and stuff. Had fun, although it was exhausting, because I never really got to do pre-baby shopping with Jude. Fortunately, we don't need a lot, but I picked up a few things I wanted for this time around.
I can no longer reliably trim my own toenails, but heck that means I can go get a pedicure! I also am in a suprisingly good mood, although dear hubby would likely tell you I can be a royal jerk at times, but I am not all maudlin and weepy this time around. Jude is very excited to have a "baby brother Jonah" but doesn't think that it is okay to share Mommy with him; he has been telling me "you are my mommy" and when I tell him "yes, and I will be Jonah's mommy too" he replies "no, my mommy!" Sigh... he will eventually adjust and I think he will be a great big brother, he likes babies and is very gentle with those he has been around. I am anticipating some impressive meltdowns, but I imagine that is par for the course.
I should get a pic of my bump this time, but wish I had the ability to photoshop my moonface, large rear and everything else that has expanded. I know, all part of the process.

week 32

I am officially 32 weeks pregnant today. Glad to still be pregnant, even though I am tired, and getting bigger by the day. Shooting for April 6th, which is the expected delivery date, but anything after week 37 will have me feeling much less stressed than last time. I gained another 3 lbs which is apparently fine, my blood pressure was "fine," and I measured "big" on first measurement, but apparently not enough to be alarming when Dr. K measure again. Heart rate in the 140's. Jude asked me this morning "what is Jonah doing?" I told him "growing." Anything from here on out is something I have yet to experience in pregnancy; increased discomfort, increased fatigue, increased hugemongousness. The doc told me today to "enjoy these next 2 months" and when I looked at him like he was crazy, he reminded me that this was my last pregnancy, as I was "having a tubal ligation." Hell, yeah I am having tubal. I will be happy and satisfied with 2 healthy kids. Pregnancy is not the super terrific happy time some women purport it to be. Oh, and the hospital I am delivering at had to "approve" my tubal ligation, which apparently went through with no problems. I found thing crazy and bizarre, even when Dr. K reminded me that the hospital was a Catholic sponsored institution. I still had a hard time wrapping my brain around it. This is the 21st century, right? Thanks goodness, I was deemed worthy of having an elective surgery; one that will keep me from popping out babies until my uterus fell out, or having to take a pill everyday until menopause. I'm just saying....

is there such thing as a non-ugly recliner?

dear hubby and I are on a search for a recliner, as we expect to be up a lot with new kiddo and realized that last time we went through this, a recliner would have been very handy in catching some zzz's between feedings. However, I am a bit of a style snob and do not want an ugly, overstuffed recliner in my house, comfy or not. Dear hubby is more interested in comfort, but does have great taste for a straight man, so he does sympathize with my not wanting a hugemongous, upholstered monstrosity gracing our family room. We think we have found one, but I am hesistant to spend a chunk of change of something big when I may not have a job in a few months. We may just bit the bullet anyway. I was shocked to see that there was only on attractive recliner out of the 50+ we have looked at, seriously. It is mission style, with faux leather (which at this point is not a detraction) and would look nice with out mission style rocker. Plus it is on sale. Hmmmm.... save or spend?

the economy and my job.

I guess I enjoy living in a bit of denial. I know the state budget is bad, and that there has and will be more cuts on the horizon. I know that there is a real possibility there may be no job for me to go back to after maternity leave ends in late June, and little prospects of finding another job for awhile. (Living in a community with an MSW program and gazillion MSW's does not help this issue.) However, I think I was really in denial about the reality of it until I was listening to NPR last night on the way home; and learned the proposed budget deficeit was going to be possibly 2 billion dollars more than most recently projected. Someone they interview said "there are going to have to be even deeper cuts, even in k-12 education. There will be whole branches of government that will no longer exist." Well, that was depressing to hear; did not make for a calm and enjoyable evening. Congressional democrats are wanting to proposed raising taxes. Now, I know that this would be pretty darn unpopular with many Washingtonians, particularly on the dry side of the mountains; however we will likely be getting a federal tax break through the economic stimulus package. If they have jobs, people make in less than 70k as a single or 140k as a couple will see some cash back in their pay check through a reduction in with holdings. I, for one, would be willing to pay a higher sales tax, or car license tax or whatever, if it meant that we did not have to have 10's of thousands of people lose their jobs, homes, sanity.... I would be willing to make some sacrifices for the greater good, I hope others would be too. I am not to optimistic, particularly regarding some individuals who are particularly conservative, however I would argue to that keeping people off unemployment, reducing the number of people who would be seeking food stamp and welfare assistance due to job loss, keeping people able to pay their mortgages, have income to buy things to keep businesses going; would be worth paying higher taxes for the time being. We need to keep funding education, infastructure, human services, corrections for the benefit of our society. This is not time to go running scared and hiding under a rock; it is time to pull together, to sacrifice, to help each other, to collaborate to resolve this mess we are in. It is not going to just go away because we don't want to think about it, we need to take action now.

week 31

Hungry, tired, uncomfortable, sleeping badly, moody, heartburn, and easily annoyed by dear hubby. Sounds like I am knocked up. Feeling pretty good actually, although did tear up thinking about the morning my water broke with Jude. I figure this is normal, as I am almost at 32 weeks and I am going to think about that, all the while hoping it does not happen again.
Finally decided, well we think we have, on a full name for the baby: Jonah Aaron Longmire. For an agnostic, I sure have a prediliction for bible names. Hey, they are classic and classy.
Anyway, was feeling really good about the name Jonah and then read that crazy octuplet mommy named one of her 14 kids Jonah. I do not to appear to be copying crazy octuplet mommy. While I was initially somewhat obsessed with the fact that these octuplets made it to 31 weeks gestation and seemingly are all doing well, I have sense grown increasingly disturbed and annoyed by the whole story. What the hell kind of doctor would implant 6 embryos, which became 8, into one person. We are not made to have litters. The risks with multiples multiplies exponentially, and as a mother of a singleton preemie, I find it very upsetting that someone would put the lives of several infants at risk, not to mention their mother. It is not like she did not already have children. There are people who would be happy to have 1 healthy child. I guess I am just too much of a pragmatist to be supportive of people having oodles of children. We live in an increasingly crowded world. We have limited and dwindling resources. The world economy is in the shitter. No one person could possibly give adequate attention and care to 14 children under the age of 7, no one. That is my soap-box-of-the-moment.
So, the calendar is counting down to D-day for baby Jonah, hopefully April the 6th will actually find me still knocked up and ready to deliver.

week 30 update

Blood pressure normal, passed glucose tolerance screening, heart rate (baby) in the 150's, lbs gained: 3, and a cervix like fort knox! Here is hoping that I won't have a major freak out in a week and a half when I hit 32 weeks.

week 30

I am officially 30 weeks preggo. Only 2 weeks to go before I get to the point that I delivered Jude. I am wondering if I will panic around that time, or at least become very hypochondriacal (yes, i think i just made that up.) Everything is seemingly normal so far, I have an appointment this week with Dr. K, so I will know for sure if my assessment in accurate or not. I am feeling fat, although not really gaining excessive amounts of weight. I am tired. I am bitchy. I am having difficulty sleeping. I am also dreaming a lot about a fat, content, baby boy. One that doesn't freak out his parents by arriving early and spending a month in the hospital. One that doesn't have a hydrocephelus scare at 6 months. One that arrives when he is supposed to. However, if he can have a charming personality like his brother, a sweet disposition (most of the time), an engaging smile, a twinkle in his eye like his bro and daddy; we will also be very happy. I am still looking forward to maternity leave; like I am going to be able to rest or something.... I must have pregnancy induced delusional thoughts...

dear rush limbaugh

shut up already. you are an irrelevant, hate spewing, drug addled, whiny, narcissistic little man. well, maybe not so little, but the rest is pretty darn accurate. if the gop wants to be relevant in america again, they should stay far, far away from rush... and fox news while they are at it. oh, and sarah palin.

the interesting start to my day

I was sitting in the drive thru at Starbucks before work, behind a mercedes sedan. In said sedan was a man and his very lively yellow lab. As he was pulling up to the window, his dog leapt out the car window. Now, at this point I am wondering if he even noticed, as he stayed in his car and all, but realized when he tried to pull away before picking up his coffee, that he did notice and was trying to get out of the way to go and get the dog. Meanwhile, I get the dogs attention from my car, trying to keep him out of the way of vehicles. Dog was very friendly, so friendly that he leapt through my open car window and into my car. Owner was horrified. He ran over and bought my drink and retrieved dog. It was a great start to a day. Hey I like dogs, and this one was nice. Fun was had by all.

possible future SAHM?

SAHM: Stay at home mom. Well, it may be a reality sooner than later, although possibly only temporarily. Due to budget cuts (as previously blogged) I may not have a job to return to after maternity leave. I hope I do, I am even willing to take a cut in pay to keep the benefits and ability to pay our bills and save money for future. Dear hubby and I have talked about all the different scenarios, now it is just a waiting game. We are supposed to know absolutely by June, when the next biennial budget begins. May know sooner, depending on what is approved by the state legislature. If I have no work, I told dear hubby he will need to get a summer job, which he was not too happy about. I would stay home... with 2 kids. Actually, while it would be adjustment, they would be my children and probably not nearly as challenging as some of the cases I have had. But, it would be a big change and difficult financially. I know there are many, many more people in truely dire straits due to the crappy economy, so I know that we can put it in perspective and cut out luxuries and a bunch of other unnecessary stuff. Now it is just the waiting game...

my impact on the economy

So, Monday I made a vow to stop going to Starbucks to save money, as there is a real possibility I may not have a job in a few months. Today... Starbucks announces another set of layoffs and store closures. Coincidence? You be the judge.....

A great day

No, I did not win the lottery. I also did not call in sick, as I was tempted to do, so I could watch the inaguration. I did come home at lunch and watch it, I love my DVR. I was not disappointed. President Obama gave a truly amazing address; inspiring, intelligent, direct, and full of hope. I am excited that he will be the first president my son will remember.

Obama mama!

To say I am really excited about tomorrow's historic inaguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America would be an understatement. I wish I could call is sick to stay home and watch it happen, but alas that would be frowned upon and I would be being untruthful and that would make me feel bad and would take all the joy out of it.
I have been an Obama supporter since he spoke at the 04 Democratic convention. I have read "Dreams of My Father," which I recommend. I found myself relating to his challenged relationship with his father, as I have one with my own. His political philosophy, and the experience he has actually working with real people to bring about change is a breath of fresh air. I am excited for the direction our country has the chance to move toward. I have been increasingly cynical and frustrated with American life over the past 8 years. I think we have a chance to rebuild relationships with others in the world, and perhaps also remember that we are all connected as human beings, regardless of national origin. Oh, and end this damned war and bring home our troops and reunite them with their families and not forget the sacrifices many made over the past 6 years.
My pipe dreams would include universal healthcare, funding equity in education, progressive social programs focused on prevention and adequate funding to keep programs that are working going. A culture shift that truly does support families, not just giving lip service to "family values." Marriage equality for all. A serious reduction in child abuse and neglect. Policies that allow mothers and father have more time off to spend with their children, and not have it negatively impact their careers. The beginning of the healing of the earth. A year ago I would have been called an idealist to want these things, but I am hopeful that maybe I will be considered a realist in the not too distant future.

almost 28 weeks

Tomorrow I will be 28 weeks preggo; 4 weeks ahead of the time Jude decided to make his shocking, early appearance. Everything appears to be right on track so far, but it did last time too. I am hoping to not become increasingly anxious as we approach that 32 week mark a month from now, but I probably will be some. Dr. K is being vigilant, which helps me feel like I need to be less so myself; you know control freak tendencies rear up at times like these. I look as pregnant now as I did when I delivered Jude, which means I will be gigantic 11 weeks from now when this baby is (hopefully) delivered. Heck, at least I look pregnant, not just fat.
Jude is very excited to be a big brother, and frequently tells me that he also has a baby "in my tummy." I will be living in a house of boys come April; there is probably something very ironic about that fact. I am up for the challenge, particularly once I am not knocked up anymore. I am not one of those women who love being pregnant, I will be glad to be done with pregnancy and c-sections after 2, thank you very much.

life in america

Like many Americans, I am thrilled and excited about the election of Barack Obama. I am a little miffed that I will be in the middle of a meeting at work during the inaguration, but I have a DVR and will watch and weep over his speech during my lunch hour.
We keep hearing we are in in the middle of very difficult times, and we are. I learned yesterday that state budget cuts may have a very negative impact on programs at work, and have already begun to impact people through out the state. I am, of course, not wanting to lose my job any more than anyone else, but I am more concerned over the impact these budget cuts will have on the most vulnerable in our state. We are looking at cuts in Medicaid programs, people who are struggling with addiction may not have much help available at to them at all, and psychiatric facilities are having to cut beds and move people out. Locally, many people just hired to work at the state penitentiary have been fired, due to deep cuts in the DOC budget. The local DMV office will be closing this summer. Its sucks for a lot of people right now....
While I understand the need to not go into dramatic amounts of debt; dear hubby and I have been talking about how maybe we just need to realize that we need to go into some debt as a state to keep vital programs going. Maybe we need to be willing to suck it in some more in other ways. Reduction and, in some cases, removal of our social safety net should not be the main way we try to balance our budget.
I wish I had an easy solution. I don't. And I don't envy the people who are having to make these difficult decisions. Lets hope we can weather the storm and begin to recover soon.

Things I just do not understand...

1. How the tv really works
2. Why people still think Sarah Palin is wonderful.
3. Why high fructose corn syrup is in EVERYTHING
4. Why any decent human being thinks that 800 Palestinian to 13 Israeli casualties is a sign of "God's" blessing on Israel, and therefore, okay.
5. Why George W. Bush still thinks that what he says is relevant or believable.
6. Why we have to work on Inaguration Day, particularly this year.
7. Just where is the money that used to be in the economy and now is MIA?
8. Why some women think pregnancy is glorious and wonderful.... ugh.
9. Why people think that all the snow we have had so far this winter is a sign that global warming is a myth. I think 3 feet in 10 days is an example of extreme weather.
10. Why we don't support universal health care.
11. Why what Jesus would really do doesn't seem to be relevant to most people who purport to believe and follow his teachings.
12. Why many men are obsessed with football... and boobs.