Moms Helping Moms...

It wasn't my intention for this blog to become a forum to vent necessarily, but right now, it's the only thing I want to do, so here it goes!

Since becoming pregnant, I have experienced some of the best and the worst in people. Just like with my wedding, it seems that big life events really shine a light on the people in your life, and you either love them for it or want to scream at them for it.

Recently, I've been really disappointed. I had 2 people in my life offer me things for the baby that they would no longer use, as they are done having children, and once I accepted, they asked for money. I also had someone offer us a lot of things only to turn around and donate it to charity out from under us.

I understand the need as newish parents to want to earn back some of the enormous amounts of money you spend on a new baby, but to offer a pregnant couple something and then ask for money astounds me. You see, I'm a firm believer in karma. I believe that you get back from the world what you put in, and you get back from your friends what you put in. I believe that when you do something good, you will get goodness back. But I'm disappointed in a lot of people and their outright lack of compassion for our situation. We got married last year, purchased our first home, and made a baby - all in the span of 6 months. It's been a whirlwind, but as we soar through our 30's, it was time to do it. It was my sincere hope that the people around us, whether directly or indirectly, would support us in whatever way they could.

I will remember this feeling when it's our turn. I will offer what I can offer to the people who matter and deserve it. In fact, I've offered up things I had left over from my wedding to 2 people I know getting married in 2014 because I can... because I want to! I believe, with everything in my being, that if you can help out a couple with a young child, you should. We hired a mechanic who works from home because he has a new daughter and a new home - he needed the money and we needed the service. We could have saved some money and went somewhere else, but he needed our business for his family's well-being.

My rambling is useless really but I needed to vent. I feel like we have always offered help to our family and friends, and rarely ask for help in return. I feel like it's our turn to receive some kindness, and I feel like people are taking advantage of the situation, and I'm stuck on where to go from here.

Dr. Suess-Themed Shower Extravaganza!

On Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of hosting my BFF's baby shower. I've been planning it in my head for years, and on paper since pretty much the second that she told me they were expecting! I knew right away that I wanted to do a children's book themed shower, and then I settled on Dr. Seuss. I had so many ideas in my head about what I wanted to do, and I'm so happy that a lot of my vision became reality!

 



 

 Green Eggs - No ham: avocado deviled eggs!

 

Cupcake tower: red velvet and raspberry white chocolate cupcakes. I made the signs, the tower, and the cupcakes from scratch. I even found red and white striped cupcake liners and napkins to go with the theme.

Truffula Trees: themed after the Lorax, I dipped marshmellows in white chocolate and then covered them with different sprinkles and placed them in blue mason jars filled with sugar.

The food table: I themed all the food around Dr. Seuss. I made everything from scratch including the hashbrown casserole, spinach dip, salsa, sandwiches, pitas, veggie platter, and pasta salad.

I fell in love with this diaper cake and made it the centerpiece of the food table. I topped it with a cat in the hat bobble head.

The Drink Station: The very first thing I found when I started purchasing for the shower were these red and white striped paper straws that I knew I wanted to put inside mason jars for the drinks. I made a Raspberry Sorbet punch and a Pineapple Ginger punch.

I made these red and white tissue poms. They didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but they fit the theme and made a big impact!

The game and favor table was cute and fit the theme as well. The favors were boxes filled with homemade chocolate drizzled popcorn that Aaron helped me make that morning. They were "Hop on Pop-corn".

 Early in planning, Aaron and I found red and blue gummy fish to go with the guessing game and fit into the one fish, two fish theme of Dr. Seuss!

 



 The Baby Shower sign wasn't in my red and white and blue theme, but was still cute and made a nice focal point for where everyone gathered to eat and open gifts.

 



This was Mama's chair... I got her the Cat in the Hat onesie so Piglet remembers her shower too! :)

Jay and Chad got quite a stash of gifts! They got so many cute outfits for their daughter, and it was a sea of pink and purple. I tried not to do too many "girlie" things, but I couldn't help getting her a few!

Mama and Best Friend - I love this girl. We've been through everything together, and now this journey together as well!

These are my best friends. Emily was missing, but I was so glad that all of us could be together to help celebrate Jay and this huge life moment. A year ago this week the 5 of us were celebrating my stagette, and now one of them has a 2 week old at home, one is due next month, and I'm half-way to baby already!

 

It was an amazing day filled with so much love for Jay and her daughter. I can't wait until she gives birth in late October, and hopefully graces us with her presence before Halloween. She got an adorable First Halloween onesie from Lisa, and I hope she can wear it. I was so happy that I was able to throw her this shower and so excited that she had a great day! Now hurry up and get here, Piglet!

Thursday Confession

Forgive me, father, for I have a confession to make, and it's a doozy! I fully raise my right hand and announce, "My name is Tara and I'm addicted to Real Housewives!" Yes, friends, it is true. I'm addicted to Real Housewives, their drama, their feuds, their break-ups and make-ups, their ridiculous lifestyles, their fancy dresses and over-the-top jewels, their outrageous antics and quick trips around the world. It is all fascinating.

 

My favorite by far is the original, the one that started it all, The Real Housewives of Orange County. Vicki is the only one of the original cast still standing, albeit with a new face and a new man. I love the addition of some new cast members in the last 2 seasons, and I can't get enough of their antics.

I also love Beverly Hills, Atlanta, and New Jersey. I never got into Miami and lost interest in New York when Bethany left. There is something about these strong, powerful, often successful and business-minded women acting like high school rivals that keeps me coming back for more year in and year out. They drive me insane and sometimes I want to throw my cup of tea at the television screen, but at the same time, they are like a car wreck that I continue to stop and watch.

Vancouver had a franchise as well, but has been put on hold. I'm a Canadian girl through and through and didn't have high hopes for this series. However, I think that it held it's own next to its American counter-parts. However, I was embarrassed every single episode watching the way these ladies portrayed themselves and how mean and malicious they were towards Mary. It was cowardly and cruel and I couldn't believe these women lived in my city!

Anyways, that's my Thursday rambling about one of my many vices... I'm officially addicted to the drama of these spoiled, fake, hypocritical, self-centered women, and can't wait until Beverly Hills returns! :)

I think I can...

I sat down last night to write in my pregnancy journal, given to me by Ms. Jay. I love reading about the pregnancy progression as it happens because Peanut is growing so fast in such a short amount of time.

Each week gives you a topic on what to write about, and the topic this time was "How do you feel about having a boy or girl?" In complete honesty, I want a girl really badly. But I won't be disappointed in the least if I have a boy. There are things that are engrained in your head that are just hard to knock loose, and I always just thought I'd have a girl and then a boy, just like in my family with me and my cousins.

Through my journaling I started thinking about this beautiful baby growing inside me and what she/he might become. I realized that even though I want a girl, it could be a boy. Even though Aaron wants a boy, it could be a girl. But that doesn't mean that we have to push traditional roles on them. I want this baby to be whatever it decides to be, whoever it decides to be. She can become a plumber. He can become a seamstress. She can play professional hockey. He can dance in the ballet. She can gut a fish. He can bake a cake. We are not going to allow societal norms dictate who our child will become in life. We want to allow her/him to form opinions, explore life, test the waters, create a path through the world that is unique and individual and full of wonder. We want to be the kinds of parents who give their children wings through support and understanding, allowing them to fly while staying grounded.

Whatever gender is developing inside my body, we will love it through and through from the second it takes its first breath. After all, I've loved it since the doctor said "you're pregnant".

I.C. Pain

I touched briefly before about living with Interstitial Cystitis. I wasn't sure how dealing with it during pregnancy was going to go - I don't know anyone personally who has what I have, let alone gone through pregnancy with it. 

I've done a little reading, and basically, women who suffer from IC can either have it worsen or almost disappear while carrying a child. It is not passed on to the children, from what they can gather, and it doesn't affect reproduction or the living fetus. However, many of the medications prescribed haven't been tested on women who are pregnant either. Luckily for me, I don't take medication. It's not for lack of wanting to, but more that I took so many incorrect pills during the period of time that I went undiagnosed that I developed an immunity to the majority of drugs for that type of pain. I now just choose to go without.

Also luckily for me, I have an amazing surgeon who relieves my pain through surgery every year and a half or so. This time however, when the symptoms came back and I was able to go in for a referral, I found out I was pregnant. I was overjoyed at the news, and slightly concerned at what was in store for me.

Sorry for being long-winded here, but I'm getting to my point. I'm in pain. I'm in a lot of pain. Compounded with my exhaustion and achy body is now a severe pain caused by my IC. On top of having IC, I have Hunner's which is ulcers that develop on my bladder that makes everything so much worse. There are many people who have it worse than me. Through online support groups, I've heard that some people are unable to work or have stable relationships. I'm thankful that I can live a full life while living with this condition. But I have to say it again... I'm in a LOT of pain. I try not to bore family, friends, and my husband with my belly-aching about it because I dealt with it for 7 or 8 years before I knew what I really had, much of the time complaining about how awful I felt. I wouldn't want to hear about it anymore, so why would they? But I have to say that this is harder than I imagined it would be. The weight of my growing insides are pushing on my bladder, intensifying all the pain I'd normally have. The uncomfortable throbbing inside me is making me crazy. It's taking a toll on my emotional well-being because in addition to feeling beyond tired and cranky, I now have to have a constant reminder in my pelvic area that I'm different. I'm suffering silently.

I'm going to go home, put on my pajamas, and try to lay down with a hot water bottle. I'm going to try to not be miserable. I'm going to try to not be angry at my body and at the world. I'm going to kiss my husband and thank him yet again for putting up with me.

Good night!

Cravings of a Pregnant Lady...

Did you have any strange or overwhelming cravings when you were pregnant? Did you want something so badly that you'd stop at nothing to get it?

 

I haven't so much yet, but I have had a few minor ones:

 

1. Watermelon - for the first entire trimester, I think we went through 4 whole large watermelons. I wanted it all the time!

 

2. Fried Pickles - I searched all over the tri-cities for fried pickles, and found them. I still want them all the time (delish!) but it's an indulgence that I keep to a minimum.

 

3. Sweets - cookies, cookies, cookies! Pie, cheesecake, tarts, etc.

 

4. Summer rolls - these are those delicious rice paper wraps filled with vermicelli noodles and usually shrimp and veggies. You dip them in creamy peanut sauce and stuff your face! Yum!

 

5. Salsa - there's a post coming up about this. Good salsa reminds me now of our beautiful honeymoon!

 

6. Pho - I can't eat pho because it's always made with meaty broth, but I have made it at home before. I may have to try it again. 

 

7. Meat - I've been a vegetarian for 16 years. I started consuming seafood about 9 years ago, but lately I've been turned off by seafood and craving ribs, bacon, and steak. I'm not sure what to do about that. It makes me think that the baby needs it!

8. Thai food - pretty much any curry really, but Thai curry in particular. I can't get enough.

9. Disgusting neon orange chili cheese sauce - self-explanatory.

10. Ice Cream - any and all frozen products from ice cream to popsicles to slushies to milkshakes.

None of these have been the kind of craving that wakes me up at night or that I send Aaron to the store for at 4am. None of them have affected my well-being, but I am pretty sure that it may get worse before it gets better! :)

A New Addition...

Emily and Andrei officially became parents at 9am on August 29th to a beautiful son named Daniel. He was a pretty long little guy and weighed in around 7lbs, 2oz.

Aaron and I got the chance to go visit him Friday after work, and he was already a wonderful addition to their beautiful family. He's feeding well, sleeping for about 2 hours after meals, and giving his mom and dad all sorts of love they've never known.

Emily and Andrei are two of the most insanely wonderful people we've ever known. They are so generous, helpful, kind, and thoughtful. Emily has a strong will and a great laugh, the mouth of a trucker and a heart of gold that she shares with the people she loves. She will tell it like it is, never hold back, and give you the shirt off her back if it meant that you'd be warm. This beautiful child couldn't have happened to a better couple.

This was us at lunch on Sunday, and then on Thursday she was a mom!

I hope that we have a girl so they can get married someday! Andrei was already planning our family vacations with our grandchildren! :)

Welcome to the world, Daniel!!! We love you already!