How can you NOT love Hippos!

Home Stretch

Finally we are in the 9th month!  I am soo ready to NOT be pregnant anymore.  Tenley is already getting up ever 3-4 hours and waking me up so she might as well be here so that when I can sleep I can lay on my stomach or side and not have to prop up my belly.  Also, acid reflux...you can leave whenever you want to.  I just keep telling myself that I have had a super easy pregnancy comparatively and I am happy all these things are just happening now.  However, it's a bit of a shocker when everything has been going so well and now I have like 300 of the 311 pregnancy symptoms.  Oh well...POWER THROUGH!


I have my first WEEKLY appointment tomorrow and I am hoping they say "WOW I think you'll go early"  although I am pretty confident I will be late...a girl can dream right :)


I can't find the cord to hook up my camera to get the most recent picture on here...so I'll keep looking.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!


Got my camera cord :0)

Me and Duke - 35 weeks

36 weeks

Travelling

Jared and I are self-proclaimed Travel-aholics.  We love to travel, it's what we do.  It's our hobby our passion - a bit expensive one, but it's ours none-the-less.  My lifetime goal is to visit every country in the world...Lofty I know, but what are goals if not lofty!   Once Jared and I were together, it became his goal too.  At first we had some disputes as to what constitutes "BEING" in a country...Jared thought if you were in the airport long enough it counted...NO. There is no way being in an airport or train station or whatever is being in a country.  You need to experience it for longer then a few hours...at least get outside!   Once we had that settled we were ok.  


I made us each a list of all the countries in the world and whenever we go to one we highlight it and are slowly watching our lists get brighter.  I was beating Jared by a LOT when we got married, but with his work trips and me doubling back on a few, he has gotten pretty close.  

What annoys me is when Jared and I are talking or we say things like "UGH we haven't traveled in so long", or "WE NEED A TRIP" and people say things to us like "didn't you just go to  ________ last year"  or "I haven't been on a trip in 3 years"  or anything like that.  To those people I say, maybe you like travelling, maybe you don't.  But I guarantee you are not a travel-aholic and I guarantee travelling is not your HOBBY, PASSION, or THE THING that you love to do with your significant other.    Maybe you go out to eat a lot, go to the bar, buy nice clothes, drive a new car, I am sure you have something that you spend your money on.  Jared and I don't spend much money on other things, we get the things we need, but we go out to eat at an actual restaurant probably 1 time in 3 months - and usually it's because we have a gift card.  We never go out to the bar, and if we do we will get like 1 drink.  We never go to the movie...much to Jared's dismay, we just don't cause we would rather save our money and TRAVEL.  Also, when we travel we find deals, we stay in cheap places, use points from our credit card, and we don't go out to nice places to eat when we travel either.  Many people when they travel eating is a big part of it for them, and to that I say, good for you.  Jared and I would rather eat cheap and stay an extra day or go DO something then eat at a nice restaurant. - To each their own.

Everyone has their THING they do, what they would want to do above just about anything else.  I feel so blessed that Jared and I have the same thing, cause it would be hard to budget and be married in general if we felt differently about such a big thing in both of our lives.  

Right now Jared and I are very much struggling with our lack of travel due to my current condition.  We have already started planning for next year, but that seems so far away.  Don't get me wrong, I am sure Tenley will be worth every sacrifice we have to make, but we are still severely missing something that we love to do.

Tenley better be a good traveler is all I have to say, cause she has places to go! :)


OH we also take self-portraits everywhere we go...I'm working on making it into a fun book for us :0)

What to do?!? I need Rules and Guidelines!

OK so I am not one of those people who RUSH to see something...unless it's a hippo, flash mob, or dog.  When people are sick, or just get home, or HAVE A BABY, or anything like that where many people try to go see the person ASAP, I usually just hang back.  I like to wait till the commotion is done and then casually go.   I think that this is partly because I don't like being rushed with people, partly because I don't like crowds, and mostly because I don't want to overwhelm people.


In these situations I never know if people like having company, if they wish people would leave them alone, but they don't want to be rude, or what.  I know that when I am sick, just get home, or when I have a baby I am thinking I am going to be tired and just want my space.  


I think that my actions in those moments can come off that I don't care, that I'm not as in to it as other people, but really I am just trying not to overwhelm people cause I think that's what I would want. 


I LOVE being helpful and doing whatever people want me to do.  If someone wants me to go get something from the store... NO PROBLEM. If you want me to do your laundry to help out...NO PROBLEM.  If you want me to sit with you and do nothing...NO PROBLEM. If you want me to stay away...NO PROBLEM.  My only problem is when there is no direction.  I am not good like that - I think people respond do situations in different ways so I just never know what to do.


I know like 5000 people having kids right now and I seriously don't know what to do.  So if you are having a kid please tell me what you would like me to do and don't take me not beating down your door at the hospital as a sign of not caring...I CARE! :0)


Practicing what I preach Jared and I made a few guidelines for when Tenley is born:
1. we are only having family come to the hospital and only for short visits - and you will not be bursting down the door as soon as she's out..it'll probably be a little bit...sorry.  I know everyone is excited to meet her, but I feel I want to spend as much of her first little while with just me and Jared...plus as I said, people overwhlem me sometimes and I feel I will want space, sleep, and to just be with Jared & Tenley in that time.
2.  The first few days we are home - we probably won't take many visitors either.  Jared only gets a few days off work and we just want some time to settle in and be at home with Tenley and Duke.
3.  So we are making everyone be like we are ... no rushing in. :0)
4.  We also figure it's easier to say "no one come for a while" and then change our mind and say COME ON OVER! then to say COME ON OVER and then change our mind and say "Stay away".
5.  So when Tenley is born and we are ready for visitors I will post something on here and FB so that people know.  PLEASE don't think that this doesn't mean you can't call or text me... I'll answer if/when I can, and I am sure will love it!


I have found that protecting my space and time is very important to me.  I love to be around people and i love my friends & family- so CLEARLY I want to see all of you and show off the new addition...but having never done this before I want to make sure Jared and I get to hang out with her as much as we can before "real life" comes back: aka Jared is back to work every day.


I hope you all understand.  If anyone would like to pass their rules/guidelines on to me that would be great!  I LOVE THEM, hence why we make them.  If you love cookies - you make cookies.  I like to know what to expect and what people want ... so I am telling you what we are doing.


LOVE YOU ALL...Still trying to figure out what I am supposed to do for other preggo people - I can't make you a meal - you wouldn't want it..... 

7 weeks and counting!

That's right people 7 weeks - give or take 1 or 2 and Jared and I will be in charge of a human! Poor girl!

I am reading a great book called Bringing Up BeBe - it's awesome and I have decided that I have more the mindset of a French pregnant person then an American one...at least according to the book which in general terms I agree with so far. It talks about how American women worry so much about what to eat, what they can do, and read What to Expect When Your Expecting and freak out about all the things in there that can go wrong. It also says, "American women typically demonstrate our commitment by worrying and by showing how much we're willing to sacrifice, even while pregnant; whereas Frenchwomen signal their commitment by projecting calm and flaunting the fact that they haven't renounced pleasure".

It also talks about how Frenchwomen eat what they want - coldcuts, fish, cheese of all kinds..."it's not that anything goes. It's that women should be calm and sensible... distinguishing between the things that are almost definitely damaging and those that are dangerous only if they're contaminated" "The French press doesn't dwell on unlikely worst-case scenarios...it suggests what mothers-to-be need most is serenity...9 months of spa". This really has been my theory since the beginning - relax and make myself comfy. I sleep A LOT and I don't feel bad about it, I eat pretty much what I want to, and do pretty much what I want too. I feel blessed that I am not a "worry" person, and frankly I feel bad for people who are cause that's not helping anything...to me there is no point in worrying.

Yes, I do read a bunch of books, but it's more because I really like psychology and sociology stuff. I read books about relationships, marriage, personality types, and I have also read TONS of books on dog psychology. I just think it is fascinating to think and learn about why people & animals do what they do. I don't read them to diagnose my problems or worry about what will happen if I do something wrong, or how many things can go wrong. I read them purely for information and I read more about the psychology stuff then the medical what can go wrong-ness.

So yeah. Those are my thoughts for the day. I am ready to stop being pregnant and start having Tenley around. Like I said before, I'm not one of those people who loves being pregnant...so let's get on with the show.

Oh in other news, Jared and I have finished out our registries and feel well prepared for her arrival. Thank you to all of you who have sent gifts, prayers, and words of encouragement!

Blue Dolphin Anyone?

I do not understand the deal with having something hang from your rear-view mirror in general, however, what I don't get even more are the BLUE DOLPHINS hanging there. Does that mean something that I am missing? Why a blue dolphin?

Dolphins aren't that blue, they don't hang in the air, and why are so many people obsessed with the same thing? Who was the first person to think "I'm gonna take a blue dolphin and hang it in the rear-view mirror of my car! It will probably look like it is swimming around while I drive swinging from side to side being a TOTAL distraction....AWESOME I MUST HAVE IT!" Then who was the next person who said "That's AWESOME I need one too!"? These are the things I think about every time I see one of these dolphins and that would be quite often cause they are everywhere! I am sure that this is one of life's many mysteries that I will not solve, but oh well...I can live with things unsolved.