Stormy Night

I've found several of my frogs that I've collected over the years that I think would go really well in the baby's nursery.  I'd have to put them up where he's sure not to reach them though.  They're all glass and collectables.  I've got an all white bookshelf that I'd like to paint some kind of stencile on.  I'm thinking lily pads or frogs, something of that nature to go with the room.  Right now I feel more excited about doing the room than the baby itself.  That won't really feel real to me until I'm in labor I think.  It's hard to imagine something that you've never had any experience with whatsoever. 

We had some t-storms last night.  The first ones of the year.  I love the smell outside during and after a storm.  A lot of people say it smells like worms or dead fish but I think it smells like fresh air personally.  Everyone thinks I'm terrified of storms but it's not the storms that I have such a fear of, it's the tornadoes that can occasionally come with the storms.  My two biggest fears (disaster type fears) are tornadoes and fires.  It's more because I probably couldn't save all of my animals in the event that those two things occured.  It would be a miracle to save every one of them.  I'd have a better chance with a tornado than a fire though and I have been known to take all the cats and shove them in the basement if I thought the weather was getting too bad.  It's usually chaos.

Pregnancy Hormones = Crazy Person

Poor Shawn must think I've lost my mind.  A few months ago, we bought all our nursery bedding.  It's patchwork stars.  Well, very suddenly I've decided that I HATE the bedding and don't want it anymore.  (keep in mind I picked it out to begin with) Now I want to do it in frogs.  Kind of like a frog prince theme.  Sooo to shut me up, Shawn has agreed to return the previous bedding and buy the new stuff.  If I can't get the frogs then I want to do it in Mutt n' Jeff.  It's blue and green bedding with a dog and little bird on it.  I'm sure he's definitely wondering what he got himself into by now.  haha

We'll be picking Paul up from the bus station today.  Shawn has decided that he's taking the car in for an alignment tomorrow so there's no reason for me to pick Paul up.  I'll probably go with him anyways, otherwise I'll just be sitting here waiting for them to get back.  Later on in the day I'll have to take Shawn back up to the shop to pick up the car.  I just hope we make it there because Shawn is almost sure that the truck is on it's last legs. 

Long Weekend

I've been scolded for not using large enough font sizes so I'm working on changing my ways.  *grin* Our computer (for whatever stupid reason, I don't think the proper fonts were downloaded to the computer when it was set up last year) doesn't show much of a difference despite what font I use so I have no idea HOW small it can sometimes be so I'll use size 12 from now on and if anyone has trouble reading, please let me know.  I don't want you to all go blind just trying to read it.  lol

This weekend wasn't very much fun at all.  I was very emotional all weekend and just felt crappy.  BOTH of our vehicles decided they wanted to try and die at once on the SAME day.  The pontiac had a spring snap but it didn't hurt the strut, unfortunately, due to the holiday weekend, we weren't able to get a new spring till today AND then NO ONE has the stupid tool that you need to take the spring on and off the strut.  Eventually, Shawn called a mechanic and he's going to take the old spring off and put the new one on so that we can put it back on the car.  He's going to do it for ten bucks.  (he's a good mechanic, doesn't screw you over for stupid stuff and even helps you fix it yourself, he's loaned us tools before and everything) The truck is having some oil pressure "issues."  We haven't decided whether the engine is going to blow (and if it's going to, there's nothing we can do because it'd be piston rings) or if the gauge is just messed up.  One second we have normal pressure and the next it's past the high mark and then back down.  Everything else seems normal with it, no funny sounds or new oil leaks or anything.  Keep your fingers crossed that it's just the stupid gauge. 

Shawn is supposed to pick Paul up at the Greyhound bus station on Wednesday at noon.  Because he works nights, I've offered to do it but for whatever reason he says he'll just do it even though I KNOW I'll be awake.  He's so stubborn sometimes.  He plans on picking Paul up and then coming home and going to sleep.  I'm sure Paul has other plans though.  He likes to talk... and talk so even if Shawn says, hey I've gotta sleep for work and what not,he'll still keep talking.  It'd just be so much easier if I picked him up. 

Not much new with the baby.  I get more uncomfortable everyday.  A part of me can't wait till he's born just so I can get rid of the baby weight.  I don't expect to get back to what I was but I want to be damn close.  I've been whining quite a bit lately about stretch marks and weight gain.  I hadn't realized I'd gained any weight in my face till we took those pictures the other day and not I'm upset about it.  I know it's supposed to happen and everything but I'm not used to looking that way.  I don't have many stretch marks on my belly (they're just starting) but my chest is awful.  I went up almost three cup sizes in three months so it's to be expected that I'd have some stretching.  I don't know how to "fix" those after he's born short of surgery.  (which I wouldn't do until I was completely done having kids, if I did it at all)  Well, I'm going to get ready for bed now.  I've only been sleeping for a few hours at a time lately.  It's weird.  I'm exhausted all the time but wake up four hundred times a night for no reason other than to roll over. 

Mscl. Pictures

The pictures I took of the horses are the last few.  I ran out and got them developed today.  There's also some awful pregnancy pictures in there.  The one of my belly was taken a few weeks ago but the rest of the pictures of me and Shawn were taken today.  Another reason why the horse photos didn't come out great, I had a horse trying to take the camera out of my hands the entire time.  Silly Danni girl.

Picture

I just got the coolest pictures!  I woke up and had to pee.  I thought I should check on the horses so I glanced out the window.  Belle, the goat was sleeping on the back of Rizzo, one of our horses.  ON HER BACK.  Now I got a nice fancy smancy camera for xmas from Shawn and thought, what better time than now to use it.  I figured by the time I got out there, she would've jumped down or something.  Nope!  I was able to get seven pictures before they moved.  I took half from the front pasture and the other half from the front gate.  I just had to tell someone, Shawn's sleeping and I don't think he'd appreciate it if I woke him up right now.  Although I'd love to wake him up and say TAKE ME TO WALMART.  LOL  I've never seen her lay on one of the horses before.  I've seen OTHER goats do it but not Belle.  I just had to tell someone!  Now let's see if I can fall back to sleep.

Quick Hello

Yesterday I was barely online.  I felt horrible.  The left side of my stomach kept getting sharp pains.  After a couple of hours they stopped and I was able to go to sleep.  I was told they were ligament pains.  I was just glad when they were over.  I can't believe that I'll be 29 weeks tomorrow.  I could give birth in ten weeks and he wouldn't be considered a premie.  TEN WEEKS!  Up till now it was just a thing moving around in my stomach, he wasn't REAL.  Now he's almost here so I'm getting a little nervous.  I try to think about it as little as possible, otherwise I'm bound to freak out about it.  Well, I'm a little sleepy so I'm going to go to bed.  I've only been getting between 5 and 6 hours a night which is nothing when you're seven months pregnant.

More bird and baby stuff

First things first, my doctor's appointment went fine.  I'm measuring normal and the baby's heartbeat was 156.  I also found out that they try to avoid episiotomy's as little as possible.  That made me happy because I know when it comes right down to it, it's the doctor's choice at the time and I would prefer to avoid it at all costs.  We were once again cleared for our trip in the beginning of April.  I have an appointment a few days before we leave so if we have any other concerns, we can voice them then.

This weekend will be a four day weekend for my mom and Shawn.  We're going to do a little to the babies room and get some cleaning done.  Shawn's going to take me to get some supplies for the bird crafts I want to do.  I also decided after last night that I want to start making my own toys.  All my birds love popsicle sticks so I'm going to start there.  I have a lot of bird friends and they've given me some ideas about how to add color and flavor to the sticks.  (regular jello)  We're going to get different sized sticks and some that are shapes.  That should keep me busy for a few days at least.  Right now, when I'm bored I spend a lot of time coloring.  I bought a cheap coloring book at walmart a few weeks ago (it was designed for little kids) and have been coloring in it and adding my own things to the pages.  It's very relaxing. 

The Wonderful World of PVC

I decided to start a little project today.  I've been letting my senegal parrot out quite a bit lately but the only play stand she has is very small.  It's made out of PVC piping so I started drawing up some diagrams of other stands that I could make.  Everyone that I've come up with will be under ten dollars.  There are some out there that are much bigger than the ones I'm thinking of making but I'd rather start out with a smaller one.  The one that I have now (which is called a t-stand) was made for me by a friend who also owns parrots.  One of the larger ones that I'd be interested in making eventually is between four and six feet tall.  (I don't yet have the exact sizing of it)  The most expensive part about making any of these PVC stands is the vetwrap.  The PVC is very slippery and all parrots would easily fall off of them so I coat mine in vetwrap.  Some people sand or scratch up the piping but that's just too much work for me.  I don't use glue or cement with mine though.  Some people take that chance with their parrots but I just feel more at ease having everything clean of chemicals.  Plus, it makes the stands very easy to take apart and clean.  (dishwasher compatible too!)  Too bad they haven't been creative enough to make things like this for cats.  LOL

I have the last of my one month doctor appointments today.  After this one, I go to every two week appointments.  I'm sure I'll get scolded today because I never went in for my glucose testing.  With everything that was going on the last month or so, I lost track of time and missed the deadline before I even remembered the test.  (I was given the paper for it MONTHS ago even though there were only certain weeks that I could have the testing done)  I'm not worried about it, less than 2% of pregnant women get GD.  I'll get to pee in a cup today, be measured, have my weight taken and listen to the baby's heartbeat.  (basically the same appointment I've had for months)

Resolution

Our "issue" with our friend has been resolved.  He'll be taking a greyhound bus down to Louisville.  In the end, it was better for everyone, especially him.  If we had taken him, he would've only gotten to spend a few hours with his grandpa, this way he gets to spend a little more than a day with him.  Plus, he's decided to take a bus next weekend as well as long as everything is still ok with his grandpa.  I guess he seemed a little disappointed (probably just doesn't want to sit on the bus for over six hours by himself) but eventually he'll realize it was for the best. 

We have a bird fair to go to on Saturday.  I figure we'll pick up some toys for the senegal parrot, parakeets and Charlie the cockatiel.  Bird toys are ALWAYS cheaper at bird fairs.  Plus, they have raffles that benefit bird research and things of that nature.  (research for different diseases and how to prevent them) Today, we'll be driving Paul to the bus station and probably getting started on the baby's room.  Other than that, it'll be a pretty boring weekend for us.

Moral Debate

I'm having kind of a moral debat with myself right now.  One of our friend's (Shawn's best friend), Paul has a grandfather in Kentucky that is very sick.  They don't think he has much longer to live and Paul would like to go down and see him before that happens.  He doesn't have a license and has a warrant in Kentucky for tickets so he doesn't want to drive down there.  In other words, he wants US to take him.  This would be the third time that we will have taken him down to see his grandpa.  I feel like it's not MY or Shawn's responsibility to take him down there once again.  BUT at the same time, if his grandpa dies and he doesn't get to see him before then, I'll feel horrible.  It wouldn't be such a big deal if we didn't have SOOOOO much going on right now and the fact that I'm seven months pregnant.   (I don't have to tell you that I don't want to sit in a car for six plus hours)  I would have to stay with strangers (ok so not that huge of an inconvience for me).  We have a ton of stuff to get done before the baby is born.  We have an entire room to BUILD yet.  In order to build the room, we have to clean up another VERY messy room.  Then once we actually get the walls up and everything, it has to be painted.  The crib has to be put together, as does every other baby related item that needs assembly.  We should really go visit my dad and Shawn's mom before the baby is born.  I believe the car needs new brakes.  My mom's car needs new brakes and rotars.  AND we still have to measure the walls for the new room AND buy the materials for the room.  Again, it wouldn't be nearly all that impossible since we have three months BUT with Shawn on third shift, it's impossible to get ANYTHING done during the week.  There's just no time.  He's awake for two hours before he has to go to work.  (he's working ten hours a day)  And then we have our trip in the beginning of April that we need to get ready for.  The list just goes on and on.  I just feel like a terrible person if I say no, you're going to have to find another way.  Then of course, I've got Shawn guilt tripping me about how Paul would do it for us if the roles were reversed but Paul doesn't have a seven month pregnant fiance.  If the baby was already born, this wouldn't even be an issue.  It'd be a big fat no, we have a kid and responsibility.  Also, we have our dogs to worry about while we're gone.  With how much fighting has been going on, I can just see some getting seriously injured.  If Shawn goes without me, I'll spend the weekend being pissed off and then I'll have a grudge of sorts against Paul for the next several months.  I just don't know what to do.  I want to kick and scream and say it's not fair but then again, it' s not fair that Paul's grandpa is sick and that he'll probably be going to his funeral very soon.  I'm going to try and not think about it for the rest of the night/day.  I just needed to bitch to someone I suppose.

Still Boring

I was going to call the doctor today.  I seemed to have been losing weight for a few weeks but now my scale says that I've gained five.  I think the scale might be a little broken is all.  I was really starting to get a little worried.  I have an appointment this Monday so if I feel fine, I'll just wait until then to say anything to him.  I've went through almost this whole pregnancy without worrying too much.  Now that I'm almost in my last trimester I worry about every thing.  If he moves too much or too little, weight gain, etc.  At least I waited till the third trimester to get paranoid.  Shawn's best friend has bought us a lot of baby clothes in the last few months. (for a guy anyways) I don't know if I should think it's weird or not.  In general, he's just a weird kind of guy.  He's pierced from head to toe but likes musicals, chess, played the cello in high school, basically doesn't act how you'd expect a pierced and tattooed guy to act.  He's really nice but he just seems to be going above and beyond.  I asked Shawn what he thought and he said he didn't put much thought into it because it's this guy and he's been a really good friend to both of us for a while and is just excited about the baby.  I figure I won't get too freaked out till he starts calling it his or something.  haha

Me and Shawn started our lamaze video this weekend.  We did two classes out of six.  We've already learned quite a bit.  I thought I knew everything I needed to from reading books but it turns out you can always learn more.  Well, I've got a lot of stuff to do yet before I go to bed so I'd better get to it.

Probably a little too much thinking

Do you ever wonder how well you truly KNOW the people around you?  I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately.  (probably because of the rather strange book I've been reading)  My mom always used to tell me when I was little that it takes a long time to TRULY know someone but now that I'm older I don't think you ever really know a person.  Sure, you can finish your husbands sentences, know exactly what he'll order before he knows and things like that but do you know what he thinks when he sees an attractive young woman walk down the street?  Is it just a casual flicker of attraction or does he spend the day thinking about her?  And I'm not just talking about the significant others in your life, you never really know your family either.  Someone always hides a little piece of themselves.  You may reveal parts of your psyche in front of friends that you wouldn't in front of relatives.  While uncle Oscar thinks you're the sweetest kid around, you could actually be the worst influence in your group of friends.  I feel if you think about this too in depth for too long, it would probably drive  you crazy wondering if people weren't what they seemed.  I lived with someone that wasn't ANYTHING like he said he was for most of my life.  The people around him still thinks he's a great person, there are only a few that know the truth.  I KNOW he's a pervert, smokes pot, snorts coke and god only knows what other drugs but to most people he looks like he could NEVER do any of those things, probably for the simple fact that he doesn't drink.  That's just the things he does though, not the person he is.  People can still be good deep down and do drugs, not my dad though.  He is so sweet and charming to people that it can make me want to vomit or hit him because he turns around and either talks about how much he can't stand them (or their morals, he's the LAST person that should be lecturing anyone about morals) or he'll tell outlandish lies about them just so he can hear himself talk.  He could probably talk his way into an operating room to preform heart surgery and it wouldn't be until the patient died on the table that the rest of the team would realize how full of shit he actually was.  I think he's the reason it makes it so hard for me to take people at face value.  It's also made me have almost like an extra sense about me though.  I can see things about them that they don't reveal by speaking or even by their body language.  I just KNOW things.  Shawn can have me meet one of his friends from work and I can tell him RIGHT then whether or not he'll be friends with that person six months down the road.  I can see through really thick bull shit I suppose.  Even though I know what the outcome of most of his friendships will be, I still play nice and get along with them.  No reason to make everyone's life hell until that day comes at least.  He still probably won't admit that I'm always right about his friends.  Then again, he's a man and he NEVER likes to admit when he's wrong about something.  I wonder if our kids will learn to be the cynic that I am.  In ways I hope they have some of it.  I don't want them to be taken advantage of at every opportunity but at the same time it would be nice for them to be able to trust people without constantly second guessing that trust.  I feel like I'm going to have to be very careful what I say for awhile until I realize what I'd like for my kids to hear and what I'd like them to be innocent to until they're at the very least, older.  I spend most days wondering how I'm going to teach this boy the morals that I want him to have without cramming it all down his throat at once.  It's best to teach them life long lessons while they're young but how far exactly should you go with that?  Do I teach him to respect women at the same time I teach him not to pick on/make fun of people who are different than him?  I'm sure I'm worrying too much about it but I'd rather worry too much and have him be taught SOME morals, rather than be like some parents and never think about it and have my kid grow up to be an idiot.  Well, I've done enough in depth thinking for the night.  I have to go juggle dogs now.  It's a big ordeal to get the husky outside in the morning without her getting attacked.  I have to lock August up in a room, put a leash around Takoda (the husky), keep all the other dogs away from the backdoor and convince her to walk out.  Then let some of the dogs inside, and August out of where ever she's been stuck, cross my fingers and hope she doesn't attack anyone. 

The Usual

Well, I went ahead and bought a lamaze video.  I looked at a ton of reviews and finally settled on Great Expectations; Laugh And Learn About Childbirth.  It should be here in a week or two.  I'm sure it will be better than not having any idea as to what I'm going into.  What's more is it will give Shawn an idea of what's going to happen.  He watched parts of Birth Day Live with me but only a little bit. 

August and April got into a dog fight yesterday.  Usually it's whomever August is attacking that I have to worry about getting hurt, UNLESS it's April.  They've fought only twice and both times, August has come out with many wounds.  Yesterday was the worst one so far for Auggie.  She has a puncture on her face, back, top of her head, foot and back leg.  April is only bruised.  She doesn't have so much as a scratch on her.  She will be sleeping in a crate tonight so that I don't wake up to any dog fights.  Trust me, that's not a fun way to start your day.  Aside from being woken up by someone telling you that someone is injured or dead, it's one of the worst ways to wake up.  For now, August is on some mild pain relievers.  Mostly to keep her from getting grouchy and attacking anyone. 

Lamaze Video Classes

I'm currently in a quest for at home lamaze type classes in video or DVD.  Because of Shawn's hours at work, we can't attend the lamaze classes that I had planned on going to so I thought I'd buy a video and do it at home.  I've only found two and they're both 50 bucks.  While the class itself would've cost more than that, I feel I would've been paying for the group experience and the ability to ask the instructor quesitons.  I'll pay the money for the dvd as long as I get told it's worth it.  I think you can never be too well educated, especially when it comes to childbirth.  The videos are "Laugh and Learn about Childbirth; Lamaze and Beyond" (4 1/2 hour tape, the lady that is on the tape was on the Today show) and "We're having a baby! A complete Lamaze prepared childbirth class" (2 hours long and what came up most often in my searches) Maybe Kas can be of some assistance.  Do you think it's worth it or should I just bring you to Indiana for a day so you can teach me 'bout birthin' babies?  haha

Need Info On Parrot Fish??

We recently bought two new fish from Walmart.  It was an impulse buy and we usually don't buy any animals from Walmart because they take horrible care of them.  The fish are called (at least at the store) Parrot Fish.  When I do a search on them all I find is saltwater fish and another fish Blood Red Parrot fish and are clearly not the fish I bought.  The fish in my tank are completely white with a slight pink tint.   I think they're somehow related to the cichlid family just because of the way they are shaped.  The larger of the two is extremely mean and if I wouldn't feel horrible about it, I would've flushed him by now.  Damn animal loving upbringing.  He/She has killed a tetra that I'd had for three years and is now working on the other parrot fish and a cat fish.  I REALLY don't want to set up a whole other tank just for this one fish but I also don't want him to kill everything in this tank.  I just wish I could find something about them.  So if anyone has had a fish like this or seen them before and knows anything about them, could you let me know?  Kas, you rescue mean fish?  LOL

Don't Let it Snow

I can't wait till it warms up a little.  I've been feeling like I have cabin fever!  Just when you think this whole winter thing will be over, it comes roaring back.  I keep thinking the snow will stop but we just keep getting more and more lake effect snow.  (for those of you people in warm places, lake effect is when cold air blows over lake michigan and creates snow) I just want to go sit on my porch and watch the horses and the goat.  Basically I just want to be able to relax in NATURE and not in this damn house.  The other part of me wants it to stay winter forever because as soon as it gets warm out, there will be a baby here.  It's funny when you think about it, right now I can't imagine life WITH a baby and in a few months, I'm sure I won't be able to imagine life WITHOUT him.    I've decided my goal is to be back in a size three jeans by September.  I think I'm probably around a seven or nine.  I can still fit into a five if I suffocate the little monster.  haha  I've pretty much been wearing yoga pants for the last three weeks or pj's.  The maternity pants just slip off my stomach and then I have what my brother calls a "teacher's butt."  I want to go find some pants that actually fit this weekend.  Preferably some really comfortable ones that are still cute.  I'll have to make a stop at Target and make the boys wait while I try on clothes.  I figure I have to deal with them acting like children, they can deal with an hour or two of me finding a couple pairs of pants... and maybe some shoes too.  haha

Good Credit

I'm so excited right now!  It's over one of the strangest things though.  I just checked my credit report online.  I have NOTHING bad on my credit report!  Granted, I've only got one thing good but hey that's one good to zero bad!  I thought for sure some of the bills I'd had in the past from medical stuff would've been on there.  It's such a relief to see that.  Plus, I had thought someone was trying to steal my identity a while back so I'm glad to see that wasn't the case. 

We chose a name for the baby yesterday.  We're still not telling anyone the baby's name until it's born though.  That way no one can try and "talk" us out of the name we chose.  You can never please everyone and someone is bound to say something stupid about it.  At any rate, I got to thinking about it last night, as I was trying to decide which would be the best way to spell the name, that I may be a bit controling.  I'm going to ask Shawn about it later.  My mom says I definitely am.  I can't help it though.  If someone else is planning something that in anyway involves me, I want to be in control of what's going on.  If we go on a trip, I do most of the planning, we get pregnant, I do most of the planning.  The other day I was complaining to Shawn because he hasn't helped me figure out what we need for the baby at all and I've done everything.  Then I realized, if he tried to take over, in even the smallest of ways, I'd probably be over his shoulder the entire time telling him that he was doing it wrong.  I'm not completely sure I want to change this behavior though.  I feel like if I'm not in control things will go horribly wrong.  Whereas if I am in control, I know it may still go wrong but I will be the one to blame.  I don't know exactly how to explain.  Dr. Phil would have a field day with that one.