Adventures of a pregnant woman
So it’s the start of week 15 and our baby is the size of a grapefruit. I swear I have a bump but my hubby says he doesn’t see one. I am about to have a serious conversation with our little grapefruit though because I am getting absolutely no sleep and I’m pretty sure the deal is that happens after you have the baby. Nauseousness? check. Lack of appetite? check. Pants that still fit but are somehow uncomfortable? check check check. So I wake up without fail at 3:30 in the morning every morning and lay in bed or sit in the bathtub and talk to the baby (grapefruit) trying to come to some kind of compromise. I lost 4 lbs last week which I think is ridiculous because I eat every 30 seconds. Seriously my lunch consisted of two almond butter and jelly sandwiches, 2 apples, a strawberry kashi breakfast bar, pretzels, yogurt and granola. The receptionist laughed and said the baby must be starving. Also, (I am preparing myself for a chorus of boos) I stopped taking my prenantal vitamin because it made me throw up and I figured I’m throwing up this important vitamin and all the food I have put so much time and energy into scarfing down. Now I understand the importance of this incredible vitamin but I think regular food has vitamins right? Is everyone operating under the assumption that all pregnant women only eat hostess cupcakes and hot wings? My superfood juice smoothie has 27 blueberries, 3 blackberries,3 1/4 apples, 1 banana, and vitamins B3, B12, C, B5, Fiber and vitamin E. Take that Hostess Cupcakes. I am still going to the doctor on Thursday and asking if there’s prenatal vitamins that aren’t pink horse pills. And as of this morning I am one lb less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I kinda wish I was showing so people could say oh hey she’s not lazy and lethargic, she’s pregnant. Also- did you know that it wasn’t until after the fall in the garden of Eden that women had pain in childbirth? I remember learning all about it in class at seminary but that one fact is really hitting home today. All of this is to say I am by no means not a ridiculously happy pregnant woman. I am ecstatic. Just really sleepy.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)On the wagon, off the wagon budgeting
I think at this point everyone has come to the conclusion that there are ways to cut back spending or at least glanced at their monthly expenses or weekly Starbucks cup and thought “do I have to have this?” The recession hasn’t affected chocolate or lipstick or movies as well as encouraged a huge baby boom (I jumped right on that one) so I think there is a wide spectrum of what we allow ourselves to keep us sane or comfortable or not completely destitute. I have read every budgeting article I could get my hands on, started a huge coupon stash, celebrated finding JCrew pants at Goodwill and so on. The month after we fasted I was almost giddy about how we didn’t eat out for over a month and tried to find healthier recipes and buy only organic. The truth is, apart from our organic milk in the fridge, none of that really stuck. I could make fairly good cases for why it happened, I got pregnant and couldn’t stand to be in the kitchen to cook dinner for my first trimester, school and church and work caught up to me and I had zero days off ectetera but the point is nothing stuck because my motivation wasn’t tied to anything that seriously mattered to me. Like when you go to the gym for a week and say this is it I’m getting back in shape and then you sleep in late one day or wake up too sore to move and it becomes well next week I’ll keep doing this. You were motivated to a point and then life interfered and you crawled back in bed. This has been my recurring experience with most new positive changes and I doubt that I’m alone. Well this confessional post is to come clean and to lay groundwork for something that really does matter deeply to me. We are going to be parents soon and we are starting to look at getting a house. It will definetely be a fixer-upper and in order to make it happen we have to get serious. No more eating out. Period. My nauseousness doesn”t outweigh the fact that I don’t want to walk up three flights of stairs through my entire pregnancy or with a baby carrier. No more meeting friends for lunch. No more driving to go see far away friends. No more weekends just to get out of the house and burn gas and money. No more not knowing what we’re going to have for dinner. And no more loose budgeting. I’m actually excited to get this serious about it. I am a huge fan of being thrown out of my comfort zone- God helps me do it often. I want to be able to look back and say I was unafraid of making sacrifices for what was really important. So it begins.
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Yea! I am officially on the church website. Somehow I feel more legitimate.
Preparation
It all started with a harmless recommendation to put up a poster of a bunch of fish with a tagline of “we’re fishing for 100 kids” as a way to advertise upcoming vacation bible school. But why put fish on a poster when you can hang them from the ceiling. And while you’re at it hang a gator up there to and have him be the one fishing. And post how many kids have signed up… Well this is what happens when you meet another like minded person with amazing carpentry skills and a great heart. Jim, thank you. It couldn’t have happened without you. The look I was going for was “hey there’s a new children’s minister in town and this VBS will be unlike any other.” And we jumped from 15 kids to 30 as of today. I love my job.
Good Morning
As I write this it is 6:37 am. I think our baby is going to be an early riser. They already wake me around 5 AM. I love this time of day because it is filled with so much promise. For now as I type this the possibilities of today seem endless. How has baby changed things so far? 1. I bought a Roxy diaper bag. Well I don’t think it’s actually a diaper bag but it has enough pockets andzippers and space to be one. I did this for two reasons. 1. Mike is actually a really good surfer (he has a long board and everything sitting in the garage) and we plan on spending lots of time at the beach. 2. Most diaper bags are hideous, plastic, pink monstrosities. I also started a journal to the baby. I have a deep relationship with words and want to be able to share this time with them when they’re 19 or 20 years old. I haven’t gained any weight yet (12 weeks) but definetely asked Mike to bring home pineapple pizza, wings and connamon sticks. Yum. Let the cravings begin. Actually I pretty much had cravings before I was pregnant. So I’m sure my food proclivities will become even more fun. I spent all of yesterday stringing fish to the sanctuary ceiling. Anyone who tells you being a children’s minister isn’t a great job is lying. Today I might try working out again. I have attempted to do so once since I found out I was pregnant and had to sit on the side of the treadmill and breathe deep and focus on not passing out. I don’t think I ate anything before I tried my fabulous workout plan. And maybe I can find a pregnancy DVD workout. It is very easy to convince yourself that all exercise is probably not safe. I hope everyone has a wonderful fulfilling day!
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Let’s change everything
We’re having a baby!!! One of the most incredible and humbling experiences I have ever had is participating in a 21 day fast. During that time Mike and I wrote down everything we were asking God and believeing Him for. One of those things was to start a family in 2009. It feels so amazing to know all the prayers that already go before the little one growing inside me. I pray for health, for strength and that they have a heart that is unceasing in seeking after God. Mike’s going to be a great dad. I am three months pregnant as of monday. I also eat more pickles than any other pregnant women has. I once wrote in one of my seminary papers how there are some identities that we grasp tightly with our soul. When I hear minister I feel like for a second I see clearer, my heart beats faster, it’s impossible not to smile. This is true of “dad” for my husband. It was like he was created to hold onto that word with both hands, and the joy in his eyes and the anticipation in his heart blesses me everyday. And last week we heard the heartbeat. Incredible.
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