Fun Pix

Adam's and my friend Leroy sent these pix to me from last year. The first one is of Adam back in Iraq; the other is after Adam's re-enlistment ceremony at Pt. Hueneme, California. I think that I'll use that second pic as inspiration for getting my figure back after baby arrives!


Peekaboo Adam



Inspiration pic

The Final Countdown

Does anyone remember that dreadful song from the 1980s? It was from some one-hit wonder of a band, and it was about going to war or something. It probably could have been a real kick-ass song, but the lead singer's nasal wail just ruined it for me. My favorite 80's-era war song is "19". "...the average age of an American soldier serving in the Vietman War was nineteen." The monotone, documentary-esque narrator was super creepy, but also persuasive; I got sucked into that "song" everytime MTV or VH-1 played it on their "Totally 80s" show.

But I digress. All I really wanted to mention is that today starts the countdown to Adam's return. I pulled out the calendar and we've got 60 days left, starting tomorrow. I can handle 60 days. I've handled worse, right?

I have a girlfriend who once told me she wished that life was set to music, like on tv and in the movies. At the time, I thought she was hilarious; now, in my old(er) age, I think she's right-on. I'd totally have "Ain't no sunshine when (he's) gone" and "Unchained Melody" playing whenever I get sad for Adam. Or, tapping into the "Totally 80s" vault, maybe I'd go for the fan favorite "Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong." Can't you see Adam hoisting me up into his arms, carrying me out of my factory job, while I take his military cover off his head and don it myself, while my factory worker girlfriends are cheering me on in the process? A girl can dream, can't she? Okay, anyone who can tell me what movie I'm referring to gets a virtual brownie today.

Whose Quilt Is It, Anyway?

My friend Emily surprised me this weekend with a secret project she'd been working (slaving?) on for Baby Mittman--a beautiful quilt with a puppy theme. I absolutely love it!
Evidently, so does her cat Cooper, because he didn't seem too keen on giving it up for Baby. Guess this one will come to blows--Kitty v. newborn!

It's A Sh*tty Day For An Auction

Saturday I finally made the trek out to Ionia, Michigan (roughly an hour west of where I live) to my trusted and favorite veterinarian. This woman treated Shabbi through cancer scares, the onset of dementia, seizures, incontinence and was the person Adam and I called from California the day we had to say good-bye to our girl. We love our vet.
Greg House's self-inflicted injuries have gotten worse, and so has my house. The constant gnawing, licking, and scratching has caused the open wounds to grow in size and ooze blood and serous fluid. Not only does he manage to rip open any bandage I put over them, but the lack of air to the wound causes them to stink and border on infection. So, I've started leaving the wounds open, but have put an Elizabethan collar around House's neck to immobilize his head, making him unable to access the wounds. However, he's still able to smear the blood and gore from his wounds onto my couch, clothes, and walls...
So, Saturday. All of southern Michigan was expecting yet another winter storm, with snowfall amounts estimated at 3-6". For those of you non-Michiganders, the further west into the state you go, chances are the higher the snowfall totals will be. So, I was hoping to get an early start on my trip, get through the exam and head back to Lansing before the brunt of the storm hit.
All was going well--Kika and a kennel-bound Greg House were warm and snuggled in the passenger seat of the car, and the snowfall was heavy but not brutal--until about 45 minutes into the trip. I had just taken the exit ramp off I-96 toward Ionia when I noticed that my car was no longer accelerating. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but as I tried to accelerate to the stop sign at the end of the ramp, I realized my car was failing me. I coasted to the sign, managed to pull off to the side, and the car shuddered, then heaved a big, heavy sigh before dying. I tried to turn the engine, and while the motor cranked, it wouldn't catch. Great. Cars and semis were flying past me on the highway I had just entered and I was grateful I had managed to coast out of traffic before my car stalled. I attempted to turn the engine a few more times with no luck, then decided to stop trying to start it, in case I burned out the motor. So, I followed the normal course of action: I called Adam.
Luckily, he was awake already. After determining my location, the weather conditions and the car situation, he was about to tell me what to do, when a big tow truck pulled onto the shoulder ahead of me. I hurriedly hung up with Adam while the tow driver got out to ask me if I was okay. When I told him I had stalled, he asked if I wanted a tow somewhere. I didn't know of any local garages, and I really didn't want my car stuck 45 minutes away from home, either. I declined his help, remembering that Adam had renewed our AAA membership before leaving. Just as the tow truck pulled away, I noticed that the car was starting to feel cold. I searched for my AAA membership card and dialed the number. The ever-chipper customer service agent apologized for my misfortune and assured me that she'd help me. But then, she couldn't find Adam's name in the system. I knew he had paid for the membership before he left, so I wasn't sure what the problem was. When she took my name, she found our joint account. I breathed a sigh of relief. The car was getting colder, Kika and Greg House were getting a little restless, and Baby Mittman must have picked up on my stress, because s/he started wiggling and kicking me to the point of nausea. During my call with AAA, several cars stopped to make sure I was okay, and I thankfully assured them that I was. Sometimes being in a state like Michigan is really good, I have to admit.
I started to get weepy when I realized that there was no way I was going to get Greg House to the vet that morning. We had waited so long to get him there, and now this. And the AAA lady was just so nice, I could hardly hold back the floodgates. I thanked her for kindness, and then told her that I was pregnant and had animals in the car with me. I felt like one of those On-Star commercials, where you hear the weepy woman on the recording thanking the On-Star agent for getting her out of a jam. I was embarassed for breaking down, but the AAA agent was graciuos and worried and caring, all the things I needed her to be at that moment. She assured me that a tow truck would be on its way shortly, and she called me back just a few minutes later to let me know it was just a couple miles from arriving at my location.
When the tow arrives, a youngish burly guy with a beard got out and started hooking my car up to the truck. He instructed me to put my car in neutral, and before I knew it, I was going up onto the back of the tow truck with my car. I wondered how I was going to get out of the car for the ride back to Lansing. After the car was locked in position, he opened the door and told me to hold his hand coming down. I told him Kika and House were in the car; he instructed me to leave them there, that they'd be okay. I was flustered; my car was already getting cold, how could I leave them in there by themselves for another 45 minutes? I had draped a blanket over them but still. But with the snow getting even heavier and the tow truck ready to go, I relented and got into the passenger seat of the truck. As we drove away toward the entrance ramp to I-96 to Lansing, the driver exclaimed, "It's a sh*tty day for an auction!"
I looked at him, trying to figure out what that had to do with me. He pointed to a fairgrounds area in the distance, going on to say that there was a bank foreclosure auction for farming equipment occurring that day. I nodded, then started to feel incredibly hot. He had the heat on full-blast, and with my winter coat on, I was starting to overheat and get sweaty. I started to think how fortunate it was that I'd left the kids in the car; better too cool than too hot. I kept looking at the driver to see if the heat was making him uncomfortable; after all, he was a pretty big guy. But he was in the midst of asking me about where I was from and which vet I used in Ionia. We chatted amiably for the duration of the ride, with the occasional interruption from the driver as he yelled at sports cars that were travelling too fast for the road conditions. "That's right, buddy! You wanna go in a ditch, 'cause you're just asking for it!" He then went on to recount various times he correctly predicted a careless driver ended up wrecked during icy conditions.
He towed me to the garage that's located at the end of our street. After getting Kika and Greg House out and walking home, I flopped on the couch and didn't get up for the rest of the day. I was depressed--Greg House had to wait yet another week to see the vet, I had no transportation, and it was snowing buckets out. I called Adam and he was equally unhappy being on base for the weekend. We commiserated over the phone and kept each other company, calling each other back and forth for most of the day. I ate a large bowl of cookies and cream ice cream.
It might have been a sh*tty day for an auction, but it was the perfect day to stuff my face with ice cream.

Kickin' It Up A Notch

Literally and figuratively. Literally, in that this baby is kicking me so consistently and frequently that I imagine my uterus must have bruise marks on the inside. Don't get me wrong--I'm grateful for the constant reminder that the baby is alive and well inside me; in fact, I think that I even said that not feeling the baby move was the hardest part of the first trimester for me. I need proof, evidence, verification about things in order to feel certain about them. Well, I guess I got more than I bargained for in this little one, who is providing me with that proof, evidence, verification every single day (hell, every single minute it seems sometimes!) that s/he is still there with me, along for the ride.

Figuratively, in that things are definitely progressing along even faster than I had suspected at this point. I had my monthly visit to the birth center yesterday, and boy have things changed in the last month! Baby was kicking me on the drive to the center, and the entire time I was sitting in the waiting area. As soon as I moved into the examination room with the midwives, however, s/he stopped moving about. I find the ambience of the center incredibly soothing and nurturing, and the midwives are so caring and warm; I tend to think that Baby feels this, too, and settles down for awhile.

So, now, the updates:

My belly measured in at 25 1/2 centimeters, right on schedule for being 26 weeks along (roughly one cm per week!). I can't believe my belly has grown 3 1/2 cm since the last visit. I know that I've definitely enjoyed the maternity pants way more than I thought that I would, since they are the only pants that fit, but I guess I didn't quite realize the amount of outward growth that my belly has been doing.

Baby Mitt is positioned (for now) in the right manner--head down in the pelvic region. Audra, the Jorja Fox look-alike, guided my fingers just above my pelvic bone to feel the round crown of the baby's head. That was exciting and creepy all at the same time. I was afraid to do too much pushing for fear I'd smush the little tyke, but it's crazy to think that you can have interaction with the kid while it's still in utero. I love it!

After smearing the transluscent jelly on my lower abdomen, Audra used the doppler and found that the baby's heartbeat is starting to slow down a bit (this is normal), from 160 beats per minute the last few visits to 150 bpm this time. S/he was still throwing lots of kicks and punches in just to let us know that while the heart rate might be slowing down, Baby Mitt isn't!

I asked the ladies whether the baby's very high activity level in utero would be a good indication that s/he will be diagnosed with ADHD later in life. They firmly said no, that while there's a good chance the kid will be active, that's not the same thing as ADHD. She said Adam and I will just have to learn to run the kids around the house a few times before dinner every night. If we're still in Michigan, I'll have the kid shovel snow. That'll take it outta him/her.

Audra took out the Wonder Pillow, a long pillow twice the size of a body pillow, and showed me different ways to wrap it around my body so I have a more comfortable (pain-free) night of sleep. It was nice. But I still have the body pillow that Ads got me for Xmas/Channukah this year and that has served me very well, too.

So, I guess the biggest surprise was at the end of the visit, when I followed Audra to the front desk to schedule my next appointment. Now that I'm at 26 weeks, I start going in every 2 weeks instead of every month. I guess I didn't realize that I was far enough along to need that yet! It was exciting and a little sobering, too, because I'm starting to realize that this is really going to happen...and soon! Please just wait till Adam gets home, little baby. I do not want to have to go through labor and delivery without him there. I know he'd be pretty devastated if he missed it.

So, I guess that's it for now. Baby is kicking, the pregnancy is kicking along and so am I. I got home from the appointment last night to find that Greg House had puked all over my futon. I was stressed a bit, but really in too good a mood from the appointment to really let it bother me. Guess I'm getting ready for spit-up and dirty diapers.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

Well, maybe an early consolation prize to my lost case is the fact that I had one of those dreams last night. I didn't quite fall out of my bed over it, but I definitely woke up happy and relaxed. I'll keep the details to myself, but let's just say celebrities (plural) were involved. *smirk*

Mmmmmmmm...gratitude.

Justice Served?

I lost my case. I'm actually really disappointed, even though it was just a measly $25 ticket. It's the principle of the matter, not the money (much like the whole Goodwill affair). I honestly still think I'm right, and it bothers me that that was not validated by the court system.

The other part that stinks was that I actually showed up prepared for my case. There were two girls ahead of me who had both incurred parking citations for parking in areas that were designated for special times or reserved for certain people. Both of their excuses were "So, uh, well, so I didn't knooooooooow...."

Heck, even I know ignorance of the law is not a valid reason for not obeying. The judge summarily dismissed them by saying, "I find you responsible for the violation. You can pay downstairs."

The guy before me had a better case. He had a leased space at the university, and incurred a ticket one day when he was forced to park a rental car in his space because his personal car was in the shop. Unlike the other two girls, he didn't dispute the ticket at all; instead, he just offered evidence--car repair receipts and rental car agreements--that showed his story to be true. The judge acknowledged the ticket to be valid based upon the evidence at the time it was issued, but found in favor of the defendant, based upon the new evidence he provided.

I was excited. I had come to court with my own evidence--a series of photographs about the parking space in question, as well as a written statement about the whole affair. At least I had a leg to stand on. The judge called me to the defendant's chair and I was sworn in along with the plaintiff. That's another thing that irked me--the plaintiff was some pimply-faced undergrad who works for parking services. He was dressed in baggy jeans and a hoody, and was slouched down in his chair as if he'd rather be anywhere but there. I tried my best to present a different demeanor to the judge. I was dressed respectably in black slacks and a button down blouse and sat tall, and answered the judge in "yes, your Honor, and no, Sirs."

In any case, the judge had all of the black and white photos that I'd sent with my appeal, so we were able to talk about the case based on the photographic evidence I'd supplied. However, things started to go downhill for me when the judge stated that a nearby no parking sign (which clearly is referring to another area) is likely referring to the parking space in question, even if I had interpreted it differently. (That really boiled my blood!) When I tried to finish my argument, I ended up speaking over the judge, which of course, never goes over very well. I had to apologize for that and wait for the judge to finish his statement. Afterwards, I asked if I could speak; I then articulated that the no parking sign in question was found throughout the rest of the parking lot and only refers to areas where traffic passes through. It never refers to a parking space. Well, the judge didn't agree, and thought that the parking space was not really a parking space, despite the fact that I had demonstrated that a) people park there all the time, thinking it is a parking space, b) there is no signage directly in front of the space indicating it is illegal to park there, or c) even parking services does not always issue violations to people who park there, suggesting that different officers interpret that space different ways.

I thanked the judge on my way out anyway, and went downstairs to pay my $25. So I'm no Perry Mason, but I had my day in court after all.