Last of the Summer Days

Got the new haircut and love it. It's short and not a bob and was what I needed.

Pictures from July. I knew our family would be expanding this year so I wanted to capture some special moments of our family of 3. Our friend Bronwyn took them for us.

We're planning a second homebirth and this week marks our first appointment with our beloved midwives. I know they can't take away my nausea, but what they do provide is love and support and the extras, like doppler and listening to the baby.

At 12 weeks, one day I feel the same (sick with nausea), the next day I don't feel so bad (like today!). I hope this is a good sign that the end is near. I tried nausea medication but it seemed to work one day and not the next. So far with this pregnancy, I've felt pretty darn tired, have less patience for things on some days, and feel great adversions to food and much of the good stuff in life :-) It's been quite a teaching experience. Those teaching moments seem to come during the dark times.

With heading into the 2nd trimester, I'm looking forward to getting my diet/nutrition back on track and getting a little exercise. I think tonight hubby lucks out for once in a blue moon and dinner will be made!

C'est la vie

My mind goes to the negative these days with feeling cruddy and that is why there is a lack of blogging. It's a hard period for me to get through. I will document a few things that have stood out to me though about how weird my 2nd pregnancy has been so far:

1. For a meal, I am likely to sit and watch my family eat while a little bit nauseous, then slowly make my way to the kitchen to stare into the refrigerator and force myself to eat something. The other night it was watermelon for dinner. Because of the afternoon nap I took with Maggie that day, I stayed up way past my bedtime and watched cable TV and ate too many sour patch kids. This is when I do a little re-evaluation of my life and think "what have things come to?"

2. Usually, every year, even though I like where I live and grew up in the area so I have a particular fondness for it and have my family surrounding me, when I'm feeling down and driving around town, especially during the hottest month of the year, I see the dry grass and hide from the almost 100 degree temps and think I've got to move or go travel somewhere...FAST.

3. Just when I think I can eat a little more in my diet without my stomach making a fuss, I happily down a bag of popcorn at the theater on a far-and-few-between date with hubby and realize as it's almost gone that I haven't really offered him any. Oops! Or, the opposite - I get confident that I can eat spaghetti and a small salad and it quickly has me running to the bathroom. TMI?

I'm going for a new haircut today, that always cheers me up. Can I dye my hair too? Already got the pedicure.

Maggie is potty trained and wearing panties like a big girl. This presents a problem though but hopefully it's one that will resolve itself soon. She's still a crib girl/never trying to hop out like I hear with some kids. The fact that she uses the toilet now and wakes up at night to go has us running in to deal with it. So, changing her room around. Moving out baby furniture, mattress going on floor until we get the big girl bed, etc. I hoping for a smooth transition.

Family pics to come soon, taken over the 4th of July weekend. We got some goodies.

+ thoughts

Suprise if you haven't heard but I'm preggers with a kidney bean. Unfortuntately I'm experiencing a yucky first trimester where I'm nauseous all day, every day, can't eat normally, and doing what I need to do to get by with the help of others. Would love to fast forward a few weeks so that I hopefully come out of this and enjoy food again and have my energy back. I experienced the same yuckiness with Maggie but it seemed to start earlier this time and I must have blocked out how how horrible it felt to be nauseous all day because I remember a really nice pregnancy with her.

We got a nice camping trip in the weekend after I got the + test. I was just starting to gag at smells or things people said that were gross. After that, the "morning sickness" settled in and my weeks have been a blur. I was coerced to go on a second camping trip of the summer to Big Sur with my co-workers. I did it but not without feeling like crud sometimes. Driving adds to my stomach pains but the distractions of camping and doing fun things helped take my mind off things. It was our first time to Big Sur. I wish I'd seen more beach and the lighthouse but the weather was on the chillier side so just driving along the coast was fine. I was suprised to see how busy Big Sur was, it reminded me of Yosemite village. Big Sur is pretty, and don't quote me on this because of how I'm feeling, but it's not my favorite. We took the afternoon to visit Limekiln State Park, about 30 miles south, and that was really beautiful. Supposedly this little park is on the list to be shut down next year. 

Group campsite

Michael hiked up to this gorge on the Big Sur River with Maggie precariously balanced in the backpack. I caught a few glimpes of him on the way up and it scared the crap out of me. She was a trooper.

Our crazy curly haired girl





Finishing up the smore a co-worker made for her - she was in heaven

I simply cannot wait to feel good again and by then, I know I will be really starting to show. I don't think I ever lost a little bit of tummy after Maggie and as of last week, I couldn't hold the tummy in any longer. What's with that? I know things look different to everyone on the outside, but on the inside I'm still coming to grips with being pregnant even though we were trying! It's a big committment and with working, feeling sick, taking care of a toddler and our home, it's no joke.

To all my friends out there who have done this multiple times, my hat is off to you. We very well may be a happy family of four.

Other things to note:

-threw together fun date in a matter of hours and saw Sugarland last week!

-Maggie is almost potty trained!

Cheers :-)

Snapdragon

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

This is What Kind Of Flower You Are: Snapdragon

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Take the quiz

Caught on Camera

Parents In Rocklin Boycott Park Playground Over Potential Dangers

This was a goofy interview that happened a few weeks ago. My mom came to visit me at work with Maggie and we suddenly had the local news in our face as we entered the new playground down the street. What I said to the newscaster was kind of skewed in the story. I barely got a chance to check out the new playground before being asked what I thought of it and I think they capitalized on the fact that I was normal looking and had a 2-year old by my side.

How do I see it? Every parent should try their best to watch their kid at all times, no matter where you are, even if you think you are in a safe atmosphere. This park was built really tall and a local daycare had complained that it was too big/dangerous for little kids. I get it, because it was, and parents want a safe place for their kids to play and have fun, but the bigger kids were having a blast on the play structure. Just goes to show that you can't please everyone. Especially with the bad economy in California and very little funds for cities, towns, and counties to improve areas like this for the public, I think we need to be thankful for what they are able to do. A lot goes into making these things happen, much more than most people think (finding funds for parks, getting bids for a quality playground, permits, etc.) I see it behind the scenes at work - there is a lot involved.

I probably won't take Maggie back to this playground for awhile (not in my neighborhood and yes, it's scary high for a 2-year old). As the story suggests (minus the drama!), if the city is able to, hopefully they can add a few other areas for little ones in the future. Folsom did it and it seems to be working out well.

Good things

The garden is starting to produce. I've been sharing a veggi "bag" at work and it comes from one of my co-worker's very productive garden. I get a bag every two weeks and tomatoes are finally here-woo hoo. I can't wait to make a batch of gazpacho. My tomatoes aren't quite ready yet so I'm thinking the upside to that is I'll probably have tomatoes late into fall.

Last week I helped a friend take care of the animals on her property and I turned it into a couple fun outings for Maggie (and cousin Eden). There were goats next door and Maggie told me she saw a pony with them. I scanned in the sunlight and didn't see a pony. Two days later we're back and I see what she most likely saw...a llama! Maggie harvested eggs from the chicken coop and scattered some food around for them, picked berries, and we took dips in the pool. Maggie graduated from her first swim class as a frog where she learned some good water skills including how to "scoop". She now has a little donut she swims around in. "Mommy, I swimming!" Total happiness on her face.

Our 4th of July holiday was a blast. This holiday might just be my favorite. It felt long and full of good things. I often think about how crazy life can get and how fun that craziness makes our life in the end. I don't like feeling overloaded but a certain amount of on-the-go-ness makes life so fun, especially when we're surrounded by good family and friends. We saw two firework shows, bought new outfits and had family photos taken, ate classic summer food, rode a train along the river with Maggie falling asleep in my arms (that never happens and I loved it), and we swam our hearts out. After an exhausting 2 days, we were going to lay low on the 4th but instead went to a party with friends and it was the perfect end to the weekend. What a beautiful plantation-style/southern home in the middle of Sac! with wrap around porches and outdoor fans, beer on tap, badmitton, and ice cream cones while watching a crazy firework display. I kind of felt like we were add-ins in a movie with soft lighting, like in a Nicholas Sparks film.

It must be the hot weather coming late but I am really liking the heat this year. Usually I wilt, get tired, lazy, etc. but somehow I'm holding up :-) Last week I was told by softball buddies that they thought I was under 30. "25? 26? 27?" Ha! That made me laugh. Good to know I don't look as old as I sometimes feel.

Today is my best bud's 32nd birthday in Hawaii! Happy birthday Patria! Beautiful model-esque pics of Pat Mark!