I’ll zest YOUR lemon!

Don’t ask. I was recently following a recipe that required lemon zest and I love it when anything requires zest. It makes me happy - it’s the little things, right?

Yesterday, I was 37 weeks and it was by far the worst day of the pregnancy thus far. I had to go run some errands and let’s just say nothing really went as planned. Let’s see, where to start. I shall make a list of complaints. Ha!

1. Target didn’t have any of the wedding gifts that I was looking for, so I got frustrated and left. Completely forgot to purchase the items that I really needed, which means I’ve got to go back today. Is it sad that I’m legit thinking about ordering body wash online so that I don’t have to go to a store anymore?
2. When I got to the parking lot to leave Target, some a-hole SUV had parked so close to me that it was nearly impossible for me to get into my car. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but I’m the size of a mammoth these days. I squeezed in somehow, but it was not pretty. I searched my car for a piece of paper, because I wanted to leave them a note...couldn’t find one though.
3. Leaving Target, some clown was blocking in/out traffic and refused to look in the direction of the people that he was blocking. I started flipping out, blowing my horn, and screaming (pretty positive, screaming was fruitless...no one could hear me). Made me feel slightly better though.
4. Got to BB&B and stepped in gum.
5. Steve called to tell me about an awful accident that occurred on the ONE road that leads to my house, so I decided to stop and get ice cream to kill time. Started crying in line because my sciatic hurt so bad. Wasted about an hour there.
6. Waited in dead stopped traffic for 45 minutes before turning around and going to base to hang out with Steve, kill time, and more importantly, pee. (Accident was not cleaned up yet)
7. After three hours, the accident still hadn’t been fully cleaned up, so had to sit in traffic a second time.
8. Stubbed my toe before bed and started crying. Not about the stubbed toe, but I had just had too much for the day. Poor Steve. He’s so supportive and understanding. He gave me lots of hugs and made every thing better.

And that my friends, was my horrible, no good, rotten day. I truly try not to complain too terribly much, but yesterday I had enough. Today, however, will be an awesome day! I refuse to have another repeat and I WILL have a great day, dammit!

On a brighter, sunnier note, every thing is all ready to go for Chase’s entrance into the world. We’ve got all of our supplies together (I think/hope) and now we’re just waiting. Suzy gave us her bag of goodies to bring home with us and go through as we please and we still need to take a look at all of it. I’ve just been doing a lot of cooking (freezing meals for later) and cleaning lately.

I’ll post a pic of my giant belly later. It’s really no different than the last one. I don’t think I can get much bigger, there is no more room! Chase doesn’t even really kick anymore, he shoves and pushes. I keep telling him that it’s not nice to push, but I don’t think he cares. :-)

Chase’s room thus far. Nothing much else will probably happen to it, other than a little lamp going next to the piggy bank. I just have to find one that I like.

I’m sitting here, sipping on my red raspberry leaf tea, hoping that it helps put me to sleep. I took a nap much later in the day and while it felt glorious at the time, it is definitely not conducive to getting to bed at a reasonable hour AKA now.

I’m 35 weeks today, bitches! And I’m over it. Well, not exactly. I’m over using the bathroom every 10 seconds. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t complain too much. However comma I can NOT handle rolling myself out of bed every hour or two to go to the bathroom any longer. But what can you do? SUCK IT UP!

I went to the chiro today and that was fantastic. I think I’m going to go once a week until Chase decides to come hang out and hopefully that will help with my sciatic issues - which when it flares up, I look absolutely redic. Picture me holding my left leg-butt, (Steve and I agreed that leg-butt was much more official sounding than butt-leg) and doing this weird reverse squat/lunge, kick-back thing. Yeah, that’s what I looked like in the middle of Old Navy a few weeks ago.

We’re back in sunny Florida (thank goodness) and I could’t be happier about that. We are finally able to make all meals at home and roam around our house, that now seems massive compared to the tiny hotel room we’ve been staying in. We have an appointment with Suzy we start our Bradley classes back up tomorrow.

Chase has been a busy little boy, doing who knows what in there. We got most of his stuff out of the boxes (from the showers), set up, and ready to rock. Steve said he was kind of disappointed at how easy it was to put everything together, to which I responded that if he would have been deployed during this and I was putting everything together myself...I would probably cry. A lot.

So! Here’s some pics for your viewing pleasure.
34 WEEKS. Gotta love my stank face!

35 WEEKS (Taken tonight)

Steve making things happen. He’s working on the swing here.

I have no clue how I made those two pictures side by side as I just spend way too much time trying to figure out how to get the other ones the same. Whatever. Keep it real! And please ignore any grammar errors. It’s late, I’m tired, and I’m not proof-reading.

Crazy Dreams

About two weeks ago, I started having the most insane, vivid dreams EVER. I wish that I would have kept track of them, because some of them were quite interesting. I do remember a few, so I thought I would share...because sharing is caring!

The eco-friendly murderer
I’m dead. I’m not sure what happened to cause my death, but Steve did it and I’m dead. In order to get rid of my body, Steve wants to cut me up into pieces and go from there. However, when a dead body is cut up, it releases chemical toxins into the environment and Steve must apply for a permit from the county in order to cut me up. So, he’s standing in line, waiting to fill out the proper documents to dispose of his dead wife. That he murdered. AWAKE!

Dessert buffet
My friends take me to a buffet and I’m flipping out, because I can.not.stand.buffets. However, they promise that this one is different and I’ll love it. We arrive and it’s a giant warehouse full of every kind of dessert you could ever imagine. I grab a cupcake with the most beautiful cream cheese icing and begin walking back to my seat. I DROPPED THE CUPCAKE! Any other time, I probably would have cried, but the cupcake falls onto the floor, which isn’t a floor at all. It falls into a pit of rainbow chocolate chip morsels and I’m even more excited now. AWAKE!

You people are supposed to be jolly!
I pull up to a supercenterish kind of store and get out of my car and start walking to the entrance. All of a sudden an old giant banana boat Lincoln pulls up in front of me, parks, and three very large people get out. We all walk to the entrance and they immediately go to the cart section to get their electric wheelchair thingie. The lady working at the front insists that I get one as well, because I am “soooooooo pregnant” and it must be difficult to walk around. After attempting to argue with her, I decide to take the damned chair to shut her up. There aren’t any chairs left! I have to share one with one of the obese chics - this chair was somehow double seated - and we had to follow each other around the store to be able to get our individual items. This idea did not please obese girl and she used the ejection button to flip me out of the seat. AWAKE!

PT Gear
I’m deployed, but I’m not sure where I’m at. It’s time to go outside and do PT, so I throw on my PT clothes and look out the window. I see that everyone is in civilian clothes and for some reason this makes me really angry. I want to be in civilian clothes too! AWAKE!
This last dream was lame, but what was really interesting were the people who were in the dream. They were all people that I had met through out my time in the AF. There were people that I met when I was in Korea, deployments, and San Antonio and from all different career fields. Every one out front, doing jumping jacks. Also, Serena and Blair from Gossip Girl were there...but they were doing yoga. Weird.

That’s about that. I’m 34 weeks this week and things are going smoothly. Steve graduates from SOS on Friday morning and we leave to head back to Florida immediately afterward. I’m so excited about getting home, it’s ridiculous. My sciatic nerve has been killing me the past few weeks, so I’ve already set myself up an appointment with my chiro. I miss him. LOL! I’m excited to get back and put Chase’s things away from the showers and to organize/clean before he arrives.

And my bff, Wendy, is coming to visit on the 8th!!! WOOOOOO!!! I’m so excited about my life right now!

Pants are stupid. Cupcakes are not.

I should start by saying that I could really use a giant glass of milk and a piece of chocolate something. Also that I’m 31 weeks today! Crazy, crazy times are upon us.

We went back to Florida over the weekend to go have a check up with Suzy and every thing seems to be going swimmingly. My blood pressure is awesome and Chase is already settling into position…leaving me with a lack of a bladder and a serious need to use the facilities every 30 seconds. I also just found my first stretch marks this morning. I bragged too much about not getting them, so that’s what I get. They’re not on my tummy, so I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out where my new friends have laid claim on my precious body. At least it’s minimal and will (hopefully) go away at some point in the future. Or not. I don’t know. Let me have this dream!

THE gut

I also learned that the doula I originally had will no longer be my doula and I now have a different one. I’m a little on edge about this, I don’t know this chic and she doesn’t seem to be very…aggressive? Comforting? I’m not sure what word I’m looking for here. I just know I need someone who will bitch slap me if need be in the middle of me freaking out and my previous doula was awesome in making me feel like every thing was/is going to be a-ok. Luckily, Steve gave me a pep talk afterward, ensured me every thing was going to be peachy, and made me feel much better about the situation.

Other than that little glitch, all is well in the Benson neighborhood. Chase is crazy active and pokes around all day. Steve and I read to him almost every day and I talk to him constantly. He’s going to be so tired of hearing me talk, plus all of the Indie and girlie music I subject him to. Poor little guy.

On a non-baby related note, I’ve actually been enjoying Montgomery more so than I thought I would. I’ve met a few girls that I like and getting out of the room to explore is always a fun time. Shout out to Chelsea for keeping me entertained! :-)
A few of the spouses of SOS. I’m the really large one on the left.


Annnnnd I just set up a massage for Wednesday. Yah!! If only I could make it to my chiro, life would be splendid. Oh well, next month I’ll pay him a visit or two.

I leave you all with words of wisdom/something that I have learned during this pregnancy. Milk is awesome for heartburn. I should have known that (acid/base, duh!), but sometimes it takes me a while to figure things out.

Keep it real, all day ‘er day.

Milk is good

And not the stuff that you get from the store...the good ‘ole non-homogenized, non-pasturized, gotta shake it to drink it stuff. No raw milk for me while in Montgomery, but I did find a place (EarthFare) that carries non-homogenized and that is just as good IMO.

Moving on.

There comes a time when you have to stop caring about what others think of you and just do whatever the hell you feel like doing. Granted, there is a fine line between doing what YOU want to do and being rude/mean/selfish and I will probably teeter back and forth over said line, but there is a line. What is my point in saying this? It seems like every time someone talks to me about MY baby (none of my personal friends, just people who want to talk to me because I’m obviously pregnant) I find myself avoiding answering questions. Or at a minimum avoiding my personal reasons/decisions to the answer of the questions that are asked. One of the biggest issues, is the unmedicated birth. Not even home birth. Just simple unmedicated, NO DRUGS, birth. While I know that this particular aspect of labor is not for everyone and would never push my personal believes or views on anyone else, it is still a hot topic. People say things to me like, “Why would you do that?!” “OH NO, I WANT MY EPI!” “What’s the point, you get a baby either way.” And my all time favorite, “I WANT a C-Section.”
Now, all of these comments are fine and well, but why do I find myself under attack for my decisions and yet refusing to go into depth about the WHY’s of said decisions because I feel bad and don’t want to feel like I’m attacking your view points and beliefs. If that made any sense whatsoever. I all comes down to my response being, “Just because I feel it’s right for me,” so that I don’t feel like I’m bashing your decisions...even though they're bashing mine. Here’s some fun facts for ya about myself:
1. I want a natural birth. Not to be a hero, but because I truly believe that it is better for my baby. I don’t even care about myself, but I feel that it’s better for me too. Chase won’t be getting a VitK shot, eye goop, or any of that other new born stuff. His baby cheese will get rubbed in and he will not get a bath for a while. As in days.
2. Yes, we’re going to cloth diaper. No, it is not as difficult as you think it is and while there are still diapers out there like the ones from the 80’s, there are other options now. Yet again, I feel like this is better for Chase and it makes sense financially.
3. We will be doing an alternate vaccination schedule and will not vaccinate according to the CDC schedule. This particular blog is already way too long, so I will not go into this in detail.
4. I will be extremely picky about what products touch Chase’s skin. No J&J for my boy. My theory behind that is that I’m picky about what I use on myself, why would I not be picky about what I use on Chase. Check out the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database to find out what kind of products you’re using:
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
I’m sure there’s more, but I’ve gone on and on enough. Now, onto a light note...

I’m 29 weeks now and we’re plugging right along. It’s been really difficult to maintain any sort of healthy lifestyle being stuck in a tiny hotel room with only a microwave and mini fridge, but we're making do. I’m determined to stay on track, stay healthy, and minimize risking out for a home birth. Steve yells at me to not over do “it” - whatever “it” is - and tells me to do all of my exercises. I’ve also been going to yoga at the gym on base that is conviently located next door to our building. I’m going to NC on Thursday until Monday for a baby shower that my mom is begrudgingly hosting, so that should be a good time (read atomic meltdown). Overall, I feel awesome still and things are running smoothly.

And that, my little lovelies, is all for now.
XOXO

Ranting, if to no one but myself.

When I’m bored or trying to kill time I have an addiction to message boards that have anything to do with pregnancy, babies, parenting, feminism, eco-living…you get the point. Through all of my Internet gallivanting, my favorite is BabyCenter.com’s monthly birth board. Since I am due in April 2012, I am a part of the April 2012 message board. I do NOT like this board because it is informational or anything like that. I like it purely because majority of the people who post things provide endless entertainment - and not in a good way.

The most recent attraction was a post about breastfeeding (BF’ing). I try to not let these posts or fake people (Yes, I know that they are real people, but if I can’t see them, they don’t exists) bother me, but sometimes these crazies really get my blood ah boiling. The post was focused on BF’ing in public and it got pretty ridiculous. Most people were in the school of thinking that breasts are sexual and should be treated as such. A. You’re an idiot if you think that. B. You’re an idiot if you think that. I’m sorry if that offends any of my close friends, I really do apologize…But I’m sure my close friends would never think that. Moving on. The next huge issue within the post was whether you should have to cover yourself in public or not. I am totally on board with those girls who wish to cover themselves for whatever their reason. You do what makes you and your kid comfortable and happy. However, with that being said, do NOT judge other people’s decisions to NOT cover. Do I plan to cover myself? Nope. There are a few exceptions, but that is solely based on my personal comfort level. If my dad or FIL (father-in-law) are around, I would probably opt to go to another room to feed Mr. Chase…if that’s not an option, then I would probably cover. Once again, that’s just my own personal hang-up.

With all of that being said, here is my rebuttal for a few of the arguments that were going on.
1. You should cover yourself to BF, no one wants to see your breast.
A. If a baby is latched on, you’re not going to see much. You need to get over yourself.
B. You cover your head to eat and let me know how you feel. Or go to a bathroom to eat.
2. I don’t want my six-year-old seeing breasts.
A. Maybe you should use that as an opportunity to open a discussion with your six-year-old
about the actual function of a breast. Maybe they will learn to see them differently as
they grow up…America over sexualizes everything.
3. I don’t want my husband seeing another woman’s breast. (That was a real comment! I can’t make
this stuff up!)
A. I really don’t feel like I have to say much in regard to this. Really??
4. You should stay/go home to feed your baby.
A. Am I supposed to never leave my house?!

I think I should probably stop there. I realize that my viewpoints could change as I haven’t even spit this little guy out yet, but as of now, this is where I stand. I could probably go on, but that’s probably not very productive for me or any one. Plus, I’m really hungry.

Pictures to come soon. :-)
I’ve been looking for a funny cartoon or something to lighten the mood of this post, but I’m getting annoyed and even more hungry. I’m about to eat my arm off soon if I don’t do something about this...fare thee well!

Well hello all you lovely boys and girls and welcome to the New Year! I hope that this year has began just as fabulous as mine. We haven’t really done much but hang out, but who cares? I have Steve and Chase and that’s the beginning of a good year to me.

I’m 26 weeks today and that’s pretty rad. I feel amazing, but I have noticed that I have to slow down a bit - especially toward the end of the day if I’ve been running around all day. I gots things to do though, yo! LOL! Chase is a laid back kicker thus far, only kicking the crap out of me a handful of times...but he’s definitely kicking all the time. He loves to kick and kick and when I raise my shirt so that Steve and I can see, he quits. I guess he gets cold or shy. Shy would be interesting considering I am far from it.

We’ve started preparing for an eight week stint in Montgomery, AL starting on Sunday. When we get back in March, I’ll be 35 weeks! Holy macaroni and cheese! I’m starting to get a little nervous, but nothing too out of control. Steve will be a great coach and Suzy and Trina are great. I also read a lot of natural birth boards to hear positive messages versus the negativity that comes with wanting a home birth/natural. Which is beyond strange to me, since I’m not the one doping my kid up with all sorts of junk and doing unnecessary interventions. I’m all about informed consent and if you are informed and still chose to do things differently, more power to you. I just ask that everyone inform themselves about your choices and what you DO have a choice in. Ok, that was my spill. I probably should have left that alone, but for the people who truly know me - they know that I can’t ever really leave anything alone. I love everyone! Puppy dogs and rainbows to all!!! :-)

On a lighter note, I’m attaching some pics of what we’ve got put together for the babester thus far. Not too much going on in the way of that, just wanted to share.

26 Weeks, yo!


The yellow blanket was Steve’s when he was little! The multi-colored was made by my bro-in-law’s umm...friend that’s a girl and the green one was made by a mom of one of my students. Super sweet!

Thanks Adam and Ally!! Chase has a cute game day outfit AND a possible Halloween costume! Too cute!!!!

Cloth diaper stash: We only have 13 so far, working on getting more. Tiffany (Bradley instructor) is going to give us a dozen pre-folds with some covers, so we’re pretty excited about that.

And that’s all folks! I swear I tried to make this shorter as far as getting the pics next to each other versus below, but I can’t figure out what I did last time. Who really knows. It’s about my bed time. Until next time...