Sushi Dinner Antics and Christmas

In our last ditch efforts to enjoy time before we become parents, Nate and I treated our selves to a sushi dinner date last night. If you worry that 'Oh no Julia ate the horrible, awful sushi that she is not supposed to eat while pregnant' please refer to my earlier blog about eating certain foods while pregnant here. I did have the California roll and the yellow-belly, which is just imitation crab and a chicken roll, and they were damn good! This sushi restaurant is delicious and not exactly kid friendly which is why we went there. It seats only about 25 people at one time and has a complete sushi bar for individuals or small groups to sit at. I do not consider it kid friendly since it is so tiny and kids tend to be well...loud and unruly. Just a disclaimer, not all kids are this way. I have seen plenty of kids who are well behaved in restaurants, but I do believe it to be about 60 to 40 with 60 percent being the naughty ones in my experience.

Ironically, the couple next to us did decide to bring their two year old daughter to the restaurant (bad idea at 8:30 at night) though and I was fairly impressed with the way they handled things with her until right towards the end. The kid did look tired when the couple arrived, but dang it these parents wanted their sushi at a sit down restaurant at 8:30! The kid did fine up until she decided she wanted to leave because surprise! she was tired. (Could of seen that one coming.) The daughter immediately stood up in her high chair and by I mean stood up, took both legs out of the holes and stood on the seat so she was about 5 feet tall and said,"I don't want to be here!" The dad then immediately told her to sit down and she of course did not oblige him. He then pulled out the threats, "Either you sit down or we are going to leave and you will not get dessert. Is that what you want?" I was impressed with his tone and he sounded like he meant business! I was fooled however because the little girl immediately said, "FINE! WE GO HOME!" The dad looked shocked and defeated, but they still decided to stay and deal with their unruly child in this small ass restaurant. So much for open threats and meaning business. Obviously this is what she wanted from the beginning, which is fine because its now almost 9:00 and the 2 year old is tired! Get home! In fact you shouldn't even attempted to go to a nice sit down restaurant with a tired kid. I guess lesson learned for them and for us! The lord wanted me to see this for what ever reason and I thank him.

Now see, I would of immediately taken Lincoln out to the car while Nate politely asked for our food to go now and he could wait inside for the food. No wait, then again its 8:30. His ass would of been in bed and we would of already ate dinner or ordered pizza that night if it was a late night for whatever reason.

Here are some photos of the night. We forgot to take pictures of our meal but we did take pictures of our empty plates and chop sticks!

30 weeks and looking large but cute!
Sheila got in  the photo again!

Just about to leave.

We did work on our sushi!

Tonight we are going to go grocery shopping for our Christmas decorating extravaganza we're doing this weekend. We will be decorating the house and making our selves some delicious Christmas brunch for dinner! It's going to be so fun and delicious!

Have a great weekend,
Julia


 

Exercise and Impromptu Lunch Date

One of the things that I have tried to maintain during my whole pregnancy is working out. As soon as I got pregnant with Lincoln though I took a break from exercising because I was afraid I would miscarriage, again. This advice was given to me by one of my good friends who had issues with miscarrying when she was trying to get pregnant and this is what her doctor had told her to do, so I took the same advice to heart. I know that miscarrying is much more common than we know about and women really don't talk about it, but I wasn't going to do anything to risk Lincoln's life since I was so quick to get pregnant again! Which was a complete blessing!

Once I hit my second trimester the brakes came off and I began walking frequently again. I walked 4-5 days a week for about 30-40 minutes. This routine worked perfectly because I could walk the dog and get my exercise in. I think that this small amount of walking helped me maintain my weight and kept my weight gain at bay. I did notice my ass getting fatter but who cares if I have to lose only 10 pounds after I give birth to Lincoln, so what! I also didn't swell as much and I could see my ankles again in the second trimester after walking. This was the perfect amount of walking and it challenged me, but didn't cause my heart rate to increase too much.

My third trimester is a totally different story. I have been able to maintain 30-40 minute walks and was under the delusion that 'heck I could walk even more!' So today I decided to take Sheila and decided we were going to go for a long ass walk. Now remember where Nate and I live there are hills and some of them are fairly large, but this only led to my delusion more that it would be good for me and a challenge.

We were out there walking for 1 hour and the last 10 minutes we're painful.  I couldn't breath, my ankles and hands were so swollen, and my stomach started to hurt because of all the extra weight.

LESSON LEARNED. Don't try a new walking/exercise regimen at 30 weeks pregnant. Keep with what you know. I then got home and went on fit pregnancy and looked up walking regimen for pregnancy. Found out that walking for more than 50 minutes with most of at an incline probably not a good idea at 30 weeks. Now I'm exhausted, and good thing the next three days are going to be stormy, so I have an excuse to stay home and do nothing.

Where I found Sheila about an hour after our walk.
She really needed her Jesus blanket.
I think she way praying for me to never do that to her again.

Here is the best walking/exercise regimen that I have been following and I love it. They also break it down into beginner, intermediate and advanced:

http://www.fitpregnancy.com/workouts/prenatal-workouts/walk-way

Yesterday, Nate and I also went on our first impromptu lunch date. We're taking this thing seriously! Nate decided he wanted Chipotle and I decided I wanted french fries. So after some discussion, we settled on Chipotle. Nate then said, "Dang it your pregnant and if you really want french fries we're gonna get you some french fries. Why can't we do both?"  I didn't have reason to say no to that! It was so nice to be able to just go get lunch together with nothing to worry about, and sit in the car and just enjoy each others company. (We had to eat in the car because I brought Sheila and it started to rain.) We know that once Lincoln comes just getting up and going to have lunch with Nathan at work will be a bit more of a struggle, so we're enjoying it now.

Me, burrito bowl, french fries and a 1 dollar coke.
(Nathan shared the fries with me)

I know that this is not the most nutritious lunch but Nate doesn't get to have a full hour for lunch very often, so it was worth the splurge! At least I put brown rice in my burrito bowl! Ha!

~Julia

Instead of a Mid-life Crisis....

I can't believe that Lincoln is going to be in our arms in less than 10 weeks! I know that the next month is going to zoom by with Christmas, and all of the great things that come along with it. It seems like this time of year just goes so quickly and I'm feeling a bit desperate to hold on to the time that Nate and I have left together as a couple. I think that this change is going to be amazing and we are totally ready for it, but I have been with Nathan since I was 15! We got married when I was 19, and it has always been just us. The thought of having children was not even in the picture at the time we got married, and literally up until we starting trying to get pregnant in February of 2012, it wasn't even on the radar. That's almost 10 years of just us people! This is going to be an adjustment, an amazing adjustment that is totally worth it, but an adjustment none-the-less.

We have decided that Nate and I are going to spend the next weeks until Lincoln's delivery doing all the stuff we won't get to do a whole lot of during Lincoln's first years. This includes watching movies, going on dates on a whim, spending time just relaxing, and doing absolutely nothing. We have already set aside one Sunday where the goal is to do as little as possible, just watch as much T.V. and football as possible, and eat a ton of junk! I have already started skimming the movie channels and recording movies that we have wanted to see but haven't had the time to in anticipation of this. We have already mapped out some newer restaurants that we have been meaning to try, and a lot of these are not kid friendly. We're going to try to get to them before we have to hire a babysitter to get out and try them. The only downside is I won't be able to order the special liquor drinks, but I will make Nate order some so that I can at least taste test them! :)

We think its important that Nate and I take this time together since our lives will be changed forever in a few weeks! I also have planned most of this in December because I think by the time mid-January rolls around I'm not going to be in a place where I want to do a lot of traveling or leaving the house since I will be at full term and Lincoln can come at anytime. We did plan another movie marathon in mid-January though so hopefully Lincoln will let us get through that. If not though, I don't mind because I'm positive that having him is better than watching movies all day.

I know that this sounds like a mid-life crisis but in a way it is a new born/much more responsibility crisis! Ha!
It really is just for fun and gives us something to do instead of counting down the days until he gets here.

I will document our last ditch effort to maintain our only 'us' status and they will pop up on this blog frequently.


One bonus is that my expanding stomach makes eating things a lot easier though! This will make movie weekends much more fun!

Yes, that's a bowl of soup resting perfectly on my stomach.

These next few weeks are going to be fun!

Julia

Election Blues

Nathan and I are so seriously blessed to have the life we have! Not only are we blessed, but we have worked dang hard for it too. 

With that said, I do worry about the future of our country and what it will look for Lincoln. I just hope and pray that the next four years will not completely destroy America and what it used to stand for. This election has shocked me, and honestly I do not feel hopeful for our country politically and economically. Let me just say, that Lincoln will not grow up in a house where he thinks that he is entitled to anything. He will be taught that he needs to work and prosper no matter what obstacles come before him. In our case, our biggest obstacle in the next four years will be paying the gross amount of taxes we will owe because of the administration tax policies and praying that my parents, who are hourly workers, will not lose their jobs like those people who just did this morning through Hostess. 

If you are not aware what is going on please check out the story below:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/hostess-brands-says-it-will-liquidate/?hp

This is what is going to happen to a lot of companies if people continue to think that they are entitled to anything...and that is exactly what Obamacare has done. 

Just check out what this franchise owner is doing to make up the difference:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/florida-restaurateur-to-impose-surcharge-for-obamacare.html

Nice work congress, senate and President Obama administration! 

Remember folks nothing is ever, ever free and it always comes with a price/consequence. This includes health care and all entitlement programs. 

What half of Americans do not realize, is that in the end the people who ultimate pay the price are the low-income workers, like my parents, and millions of other Americans around the country. The people who own Hostess are going to come out of this ahead because they will just liquefy their assets. The people who suffer are those who lost their jobs and those that the union represented. The fact that we have now created a culture where it is easier for a business to make more money by closing their doors, than staying open is scary indeed. 

Just remember, less jobs equals less tax revenue which equals more taxes for people who have jobs.

If you can't see the road that we're headed down as a country than I just feel pity for you. 

Nathan and I in the mean time will make it work like we have always done because I did my part and did not vote for the guy who got four more years. We will prosper regardless because that is just what Nate and I have always done as a couple. Any major life decisions we have made such as buying a house, car, starting a family, graduating college, where to live and other daily decisions we have always made together. We have always been supportive of each other and have never fought over these decisions. Yes I'm being completely honest, the biggest decisions we have made as a couple have never been fights, which is why I know we will be great parents. We fight over stupid stuff though, like how to connect the gutter system in our back yard or building a crib, but its all in good fun and we don't take it personal which is exactly why we will be good parents!

If this is progress than I don't want anything to do with it. 

Forward we go into another great depression.

Sorry for the bummer entry that is really not pregnancy related but it needs to be talked about!

Have a great weekend,

Julia

Rumblings and Showers

This weekend I got blessed with a small, but cute baby shower thrown for me by the JV and varsity girls water polo teams that I have had the honor to coach the last two years. The girls were so sweet, endearing and generous that I seriously cried when I opened up one of the gifts. We also played the usual games, had great conversation, and ate some wonderful lunch and dessert provided by one of the parents and her daughter. As a coach, it makes me feel that I must be doing something right by these girls and their families since they felt the need to throw Lincoln and I a shower.

One of the best gifts we got was a blue, aqua and fish blanket that one of the players mom actually made for Lincoln! He also got this enormous puppy dog that I would say is probably 4 feet big, which is awesome since Lincoln has an enormous 10' x 20' room and it filled one of the floor spaces perfectly! He is going to love climbing and taking naps on that sucker!

Thank you so much girls and their families!

Puppy Love number 2!

All the awesome swag that Lincoln got.

The quilt that was made for Lincoln.

I have entered the beginning of week 28, which is the start of my third trimester! I feel great! 
Well, there are two new symptoms. The first involves heart burn and a lot of heart burn. I had never really suffered from heart burn before I was pregnant, and now if I eat a meal no matter what it is, I have to take a Gaviscon or Tums. With Thanksgiving next week, I am going to eat!! I will be taking a whole roll of Tums with me because no heartburn is going to stop my grubbin' on some turkey!

Another not so friendly symptom, is the amount of gas that pregnant ladies get. HOLY MOLY! This is a recent development as well, but I just blame Lincoln because he's a boy and that is what boys like to do.
My sister was cracking up this weekend when we were staying at our parents house and we had to share a room. Well,  I guess in my sleep Lincoln likes to make me make some music. How thrilling....
The next morning I woke up and she told me all about it, and she thought it was the funniest thing. I found it not as amusing....

As of right now, I have gained only 15 pounds which = awesomeness!! I feel as if I am mostly belly weight with the exception of my ass getting bigger. If I could choose any two parts of my body to get larger it would be my boobs and my ass, so I'll take it! (Plus, I know Nate doesn't mind that!)  

You all can be the judge of my expanding body:

Sheila just had to sneak in! 28 weeks!

Julia

Breast is Best? Right? Maybe?

Nathan and I have a fun night planned that involves pottery barn kids and registering for Lincoln. I don't plan on having anybody buy from this registry but if we register through them, we automatically get 10 percent off from now until six months after Lincoln is born.  I'm going to take that free 10 percent, yes sir!

This blog entry took me a lot of time to produce and write because I was really ticked off about what happened to me, and two I wanted to make sure that I have a clear head when I write this so I don't come off as ignorant.

Since day one, and I mean since I knew breast feeding existed, I have been solely against it for myself and my children. That does not mean those who do breastfeed are less or better, I just know that it is not my cup of tea and it will not work for me or my family. I think I'm entitled to that opinion and that choice but my doctors and the popular opinion in America does not think so. Don't believe me?

Check these articles out:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/health/time-bloomberg-breast-feeding/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/health/hospitals-ditch-formula-samples-to-promote-breast-feeding.html?pagewanted=all

This is just a sampling of what is going on in America and their 'opinions' on breastfeeding. I think its horrible that a women's right to choose something so personal has become an all out attack on mothers who choose not to breast feed for various reasons. Yes, I understand that breastfeeding is ideal but just because its ideal doesn't always make it right. It is certainly not the correct choice for me or my family and I'm sticking to that.

Two weeks ago at my doctors appointment I was asked my by R.N. if I was going to breast feed or not. I then told her, "No I will not be."

That's when I got my first 'terrible mother' talk from another condescending adult. She acted like I had just told her that I would be feeding Lincoln a bottle of Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola instead of infant formula.
She then proceeded to ask why not. I told her my reasons, which should be good enough, but alas they were not.

I then just kept saying over and over, "I understand but I am still not going to breastfeed."

That's when she got pissed at me because I was not backing down.

She then proceed to tell me, "Well, you're not going to have WIC  (women, infant, children program) so its really expensive."
This fucking pissed me off.
I then replied, "Well money is not an issue and I wouldn't of made the choice to have a child if we couldn't afford it."

In my head I wanted to say, so what only poor people bottle feed? So, because I'm not getting government assistance I should breastfeed? WTF was she getting at? Like I hadn't thought about the extra cost?

She then realized this was going no where and said, "Well you should at least try it."
I then said, "It's not like test driving a car." I then got my stuff and left, almost in tears.

I felt completely and utterly angry that somebody especially a health professional would say such things! I am an educated person. I think she was just shocked that somebody who is educated on the issue would make the 'horrible' decision to not breastfeed.

I have now decided that next time I am asked I will say directly to the doctor/nurses,
"It's none of your business."
If they push the issue I will stick to the
"It's none of your business."

At the hospital, I have heard, is where you really get the once over if you make the decision to not breastfeed. So, Nathan and I will be bringing our own formula, bottles and sterile water. That way when they ask, I will politely say no. If they continue to press, I will then ask my husband, or who ever else is in the room with me, to make me a bottle right in front of them. HA! HA! Suck on that! Literally!! :)

So next time doctors, I will be prepared for your disgusting manners. Muahahaha!

Also if you still don't believe me about the serious push to force mothers to breast feed check out the American Pediatrics take on it. I like the section about how doctors should encourage breastfeeding at all costs basically.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/2/496.full


I have found these websites helpful for those of you not sure yet what decision to make.
They seem the least biased and put all the facts out there about breastfeeding and bottle feeding:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/breastfeedingandbottle.html

http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/pregnancy-newborns/caring-for-newborns/breastfeeding-formula/breastfeeding-vs-bottle-feeding-deciding-whats-right-for-you-and-your-baby.html

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/wellbeing/health/breastfeeding-vs-bottle-feeding-is-there-a-right-way-to-feed-your-child.php


There is so much information out there it can be daunting, but if you take the time to read through the crap, you can make the decision that's best for you and your family.

Also, if you really want to get into the freak side of breastfeeding just google: "Dad's take on breastfeeding"
You will read and see some interesting shit like this:

Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me?
And people are getting mad at me for bottle-feeding?

Have a nice weekend with that image!

~Julia