I Guess I Took a Hiatus

Hubby texted me a rainbow one crappy morning.

Life feels like it is moving at warp speed.

I may have already typed that once or twice before ... I will type it again in future posts, I am sure.

Time as a measurement is completely different now than it has ever been in my life. 

I am running the domestic marathon, now afterall!

So let us play catch-up.

It is rainy season and there have been some crappy days, but we get so many rainbows it is hard to stay a grouch! However I have spent much of these soggy days over the last twelve weeks worried. I have worried about my mother, my friends, and the goals of my little family. Instead of really doing much of anything productive about my worries, I have spent my evenings (that weren't related to the holidays) sipping winter brews, speeding through whole seasons of TV shows thanks to online streaming (Hello, Downton Abbey!) and ....oh wait. That's it. Drinking beer and watching TV. ;-) 

Well, since I last wrote about my mother, much has happened and her health issues are finally getting resolved. I didn't feel a need to write about it on this blog because I was sending emails to my closest friends to keep them updated and then my sister was keeping a journal on the Caring Bridge site. Ultimately, cirrhosis and other severe things like cancer were ruled out but the local specialists and medical community were taking SO GOSH DARN LONG to get anything done and in the meantime her ascites was increasingly threatening her quality of life. Finally, my sister and she went to The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the doctors there were able to act quickly and decisively. They gave her a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. (Say that three times fast! LOL.) This tube, placed between her portal and hepatic viens, will be there indefinitely to improve the flow of blood in and around her liver and stop the accumulation of fluid. (Here is a picture from U of Washinton.) She is in rest and recuperation mode now, doing physical therapy and slowly letting her body adjust to no longer having the fluid (and the toxins that came with it.) We will most likely never know what caused her ascites, but at least it has finally been treated! THANK THE HEAVENS FOR THE MAYO CLINIC.

I saw the same rainbow that Dan saw that morning.

As for my friends I have been worrying about, they are all doing fine but there were some health scares and some extremely unfortunate news for my lovelies who were in the process of adopting internationally. My heart has been especially heavy for them.

In light of those somber developments as well as our local mall shooting as well as the shooting that followed in Connecticut, I feel a little silly to worry about my own family and situation. We are doing fine. There are just changes in the making and some of those changes are taking longer than we thought. I'm trying not to be discouraged. I'm trying to be optimistic. I'm trying to throw my optimism out into the universe as much as possible!

My rainbow of optimism in the middle of all the worries is these two guys...

Photo text from hubby at the vet. Raine snoozed through the whole appointment.

Magnet fun.

Park time.

Photo text from hubby.

Another photo text from hubby. Good reminder.

8 Years of Newlywedness. Hurray!

 

From hubby...Only letterpress for his lady! Lark Press, PDX.

Dinner at our favorite local restaurant, Sawatdee.

Baby Rocco watches TV with us.

Picking up El Cranko Cranky Babe (but still super cute!) from Matt & Gayle's.

Starflowers from hubby & my card to him ~ Encanto Press, PDX.

On tap.

Happy Friday!

Hubby's First Father's Day

Starbucks Unicorn

Buddies

Matching Shirts

Art of Pizza!

I hope hubby's first Father's Day was as special as I felt my first Mother's Day was. I couldn't top the iPad, but I think I did OK in the gift category. I had Tshirts made for him and his little buddy with the logo of his favorite pizza place in Chicago, Art of Pizza. While I was at the store, I found out they have golf towels, and he just lost his Deschutes towel, so I had a Ninkasi one made! He spent Saturday golfing and on Sunday we  went out to eat for lunch and then hung out at home, played with the babe, and watch the US Open.

When asked what he liked most about his first Father's Day, he said "Just hanging out with my son." It's as simple as that! ;) See more photos from our day here.

Blasty Bomb Belly Photos!

All photos by my wonderful and talented best friend, Amy! (Amy Mulder Photography) I can't wait for her to do his portrait after he is born! :) She is AWESOME.

Taken in Grandma and Grandpa Hodel's back yard on May 23, 2011 (I was about 26 weeks along).

Sympathy Pregnancy

How Far Along? 25 weeks

Baby's Size and Development? 24 oz (...of Widmer Nelson Imperial IPA)

Changes in Me? Gassy. Stopped going to the gym. I've gained 2 lbs. and lost muscle mass.

Maternity Clothes? If by "maternity clothes" you mean the same clothes I've been wearing since high school, then yes.

Sleep? No problems here. Zzzzzz. The king size bed has definitely helped with my slumber.

Best Moment This Past Week? Practicing soothing a baby with 3 month old Nathan at Jason and April's.

Movement? Did I mention I was gassy?

Symptoms? Gassy, lower back pain, fatigue, loss of flexibility.

What I Miss? The days when a placenta wasn't involved in our sex life.

What Am I Looking Forward To? Did I mention the placenta? When is it going to move? Ha ha.

Emotions? Glee when I feel Blasty moving (not the TV show).

Hubby's Birthday Weekend

Saturday was Dan's 34th birthday and I tried to make it extra special ... Because he is so stinkin' awesome and he deserves extra specialness. :)

Friday morning, he had a surprise at his desk at work from Blasty: a big happy birthday balloon, a large mocha chocolate chip frappuccino, and the Strokes' new album, Angles. (Blasty has great taste in music!) Dan is obsessed with track #2 and probably has listened to it a hundred times already. The lucky birthday boy enjoyed a random super sunny day by getting off work early and playing golf with his coworkers. I didn't plan anything that evening because I had a reading to attend at Marylhurst, but he was more than happy to relax on the couch all night with Rocco, watching TV with pizza and beer.



Then came more pizza. :) A LOT more pizza. After another game of golf on Saturday, we met up with Carmen and Lorri and their friends, Chris and Jodi with their 7 month old boy, Ashton, at Apizza Scholls, the BEST pizza restaurant in Portland.


We stuffed our faces full of three pies: 1.) A plain pie with house made sausage and "Mama Lil's goathorn peppers" 2.) The Bacon Bianca, with mozzarella, pecorino romano, fresh garlic and herbs, black pepper and sea salt, olive oil, and house cured bacon 3.) Apizza Amore, a margherita pie with hot capicollo (cured pork shoulder).


After dinner, we went next door to JaCiva's for dessert. Lorri special ordered birthday cakes for Dan and Carmen (his birthday is today). She thoughtfully ordered their favorites: Carmie got chocolate raspberry and Dan got carrot cake.


I made a point to give Dan the WHOLE weekend free of household projects, cleaning, or running a zillion errands. So Sunday morning we got up early and did our grocery shopping quickly so that we were back in time to watch the Masters. In addition to the Strokes album, Dan also scored some other really cool gifts. He got Home Depot and Lowes gift cards from family, a blender from Carmen and Lorri, his favorite Little Debbie Easter Basket Cakes from Hobbes, a splatter shield for his frying pans from Rocco, and a gift card from Wifey to Golfsmith, to help get a new driver! ;)

And although it isn't a birthday present, it was perfect timing when his diaper bag arrived today, a gift from Grampy Jim and Granny Char. It's the Scout bag by Petunia Pickle Bottom, and boy, is it super cool. We sold them at Henny Penny and Dan always thought they were totally cool but he was always thinking more along the lines of a fishing bag. :) It's true. A bottle holder? That'll hold a beer can. The wipes case? Fishing weights and hooks. Hee hee. Because of this, I added it to our registry despite the fact that I always made fun of people who bought PPB diaper bags. Everyone I sold them to seemed a little obnoxious because they were buying it for the "brand," and let's be clear: it's an expensive brand. So, it was kind of ironic that once I registered for Dan's bag, I decided to get myself one, too. I couldn't resist looking at the new designs for women. Since I worked at HP, they came up with four new styles, and I quickly fell in love with the "Sashay Satchel" which kind of reminds me of a bowling bag, but you can adjust it and wear it like a backpack. I picked the Tranquil Tulip pattern. Blasty's mom and pop are going to be carrying around his dirty clothes and diapers in style! Ha ha. :)

Dan's bag came with a changing pad, wipes case, stroller clips, and a dirty clothes bag. It is built to last, so Gramps and Granny can be sure it will see many, many years of fishing. As they wrote in their note, "Dad pick[ed] this out so you could use it as a diaper bag and then keep it forever and fish with Bud (Blasty Under Development) for years to come." ;-)

Some Reasons Why I Have the Greatest Hubby Ever

It has been a long time (seriously...I really long time) since we have had company in our home. After Terrah moved out in May, Gayle has stopped by once or twice to watch a football game or have a drink, Andy came down from Ft. Lewis for a weekend, and Carmen stopped by to help us get our TV up and running. Other than that, nada.

This fact, combined with my pregnant status and Dan's sympathy pregnancy status, means that we are very lazy and haven't really cleaned house much at all for a long time. Don't get me wrong: we take care of the necessities; the garbage goes out, the dishes get done, laundry somehow finds a way through the washer and dryer. It may not get folded for two weeks, or ever put away, but it gets clean. :)

The messiness of the house seems to have been growing in direct proportion to my loneliness. I have always struggled with feelings of loneliness, but they have struck an entirely new chord now that I am pregnant. Now I am not just lonely, I am lonely and pregnant. Waah waah. One particular evening I couldn't seem to shake the blues, so I asked Dan to clean our bedroom with me. I'm sure it was not on the top of his list of things to do after a long day at work, but he agreed. BECAUSE HE IS AWESOME. And while I started in the bedroom, HE TACKLED THE MASTER BATHROOM. I HATE cleaning bathrooms! So we spent a good hour dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, and wiping away all the dirt and grime that had accumulated the past ....many months. And I have to tell you IT FELT SO GOOD. Lol!

This Sunday Gayle and Abbie were coming over to watch the Oscars with us, so we finally tackled the great mess in the rest of the house. Dan started cleaning the bathroom (AGAIN! THE BATHROOM!) and I began trying to find proper homes for piles of junk in the living room. Something took me to the nursery and it dawned on me that Gayle and Abbie might want to see it. I got SO excited at the prospect of sharing everything with them! I started tidying up the room and organizing the piles of clothing, blankets, and books that I have unpacked. By the time I was done (sometimes you just have to stop and marvel at how cute things are or the tiny sizes!) Dan had pretty much finished everything else.

About an hour later, he told me they had to cancel. I was so disappointed. Later that night, I ended up telling Dan that I was sad to not get to show the nursery to them. I don't remember if I cried, but it is entirely possible that I did. :) Because he is THE MOST SWEETEST MAN IN THE WORLD, he asked, "Do you want to show it to me?" So we went to the room and he pretended to see everything for the first time and share in my joy over each and every little thing: The little booties, board books, burp clothes, and stuffed animals... The blankets my mom sent us that were made by my grandmothers, Rachel and Ethel... The art Dan and I picked out together and framed. Our funky rocking chair, fabric swatches, and paint colors. I talked over ideas about how to arrange the room. He was more than a good sport about the whole thing. :)

He also pointed out that while I don't have my family and close friends here to share things with, I do have this blog. So I hope you don't mind if I keep showing these things and talking about them because it makes me happy to share.

...And did I mention his chocolate milkshakes? Oh yeah. Well, it's worth another mention. He uses Tillamook ice cream, only the best brand on the planet.

happy thanksgiving!

dan’s turkey. i made one too, and we sent them to the nef and his lil’ sis. we had fun making them! :)

hubby's autumnal return to his happy place:

saturday kicked off his salmon fishing season. i have a hard time joining him when he leaves at five in the morning (to get to the coastal rivers, where he prefers to fish) but his buddy greg went with him and took this pic. i don’t know why he looks pregnant, but in case you were wondering, he’s not. greg caught some trout and dan hooked two salmmies (not to be confused with sammies, my slang for sandwiches) but they were stinky smart little bastards and got away. in a surprise turn of events, hubby was hooked by a tick. that’s what he gets for wearing pants with a giant gaping hole! at eleven o’clock at night we were googling how to remove a tick and i had to run to the grocery store to buy tweezers. who doesn’t have tweezers in their bathroom? the couple with perfect eyebrows. that’s us.

the number after five but before seven:

6

still best friends. still like kissin. still think we are so stinkin funny.

So How Do You Make a Baby Again?????

You put the guy's thingy in the girl's thingy, and presto: Instant little human!!! Movies and TV make it seem that easy, but I don't think it is. On this blog there are baby clothes, a crib, and baby toys, so one might ask, "Is Leah pregnant?!!?!" Well...the answer is NO for those inquiring minds.

However, we HAVE been doing some research.

One of the only truly heated discussions Leah and I have had during our almost 3 years of marriage, was the issue of adoption. I am not against adoption at all, but my basic stance was: if we couldn't have children the old fashioned way, I would consider adoption because at the root of it all....I want to be a father. Those of you that have known Leah, or read about her on her various blogs, you know by now that she has some pretty big health issues--fibromyalgia being a tough one. She does not (or did not) think that her body could handle the rigors of being pregnant. (Of all the research I have done, I have found that for 99% of the female population, being preggers ain't a Sunday afternoon stroll.) I have to give my wife so much credit because she has decided with me to give it a try the "old fashioned way."

Now comes the hard part.....

(By the way, this is going to be long, so please feel free to excuse yourself and grab your favorite snack item.)

Enter more research and health class information.

So here is the deal. The best time to conceive a child is when the woman is ovulating: Leah's got an egg and it is waiting to hook up with one of my little fellows. Most women ovulate 10 or so days after their period has ended. Hence first issue. Leah is on her period anywhere from 24-35 days. RED FLAG. THAT AIN'T NORMAL! She went to visit the "lady doctor" to be like, "ummm got some problems goin on down there," and it turns out she has Polysystic Ovarian Syndrome. So she produces an egg, but then it multiplies into cysts (preventing her from being fertilized by one of my playa's) and then she bleeds forever! Now there are 2 options for this syndrome: 1) Take birth control to regulate hormones (baby makin not an option) or 2) Take another type of pill to regulate the period and start ovulation. Which door did they choose Alex??? We went with #2. Again, mad props to my wifey, because one of the side effects is nausea and for the first month she was not feeling in the best of sorts. Her bleeding has stopped, but she has not had a period yet. Who knew there was so much going on down there that could go wrong!? I mean, with guys it is easy. Hmmmm, its purple....see doctor.....hurts when I pee.....see doctor....can't find it......probably see doctor. Anyway, the point is that Leah is undergoing "under the hood maintenance" so we can try for futurebaby.

(Why don't I use the correct scientific terms for this process? People, this is entertainment. Plus, I know my Mom reads this.)

Speaking of my mom. Leah was wondering why I have not told my mother all of these things? She has told friends and family that we are in fact T.R.Y.I.N.G. I don't have a good answer for that. I guess that I am a big fan of surprises, so I wanted to be on the phone one Sunday and say, "Hey mom, by the way, Leah and I are pregnant!" I love surprises! I also think part of it is that I have always been a reserved person who does not talk to people about feelings, and things, in my life, you know......Typical male traits (I also drink beer and obsess about football.) I have always wanted to know about other people, listen to other people, and make other people happy, and I think part of me doesn't want to talk about this because I don't want to let people in, and also I think making other people happier means more (perhaps I should see a psychologist about this stuff?) I also think part of me doesn't think it will be easy, something will go wrong--maybe drastically wrong. It may be a deep-seeded pessimism I have with many things, but I don't want to imagine some of the hardships that my parents went through. Did my parents survive? Yes, they have two healthy, tall, and incredibly good looking sons (heh heh). I guess I would rather tell my parents once I knew everything was going OK, healthy, and running smooth. Now the cat is out of the bag, and we are "trying" officially (because I have typed this). To my mother who I know is reading this, "You know I have always been better with writing words than saying them, so I hope you understand. I love you, and ELBOWS to dad."

So, the best part.....getting to try to make a baby!! As everyone knows, being the male in conceiving is pretty easy and awesome. I am all for practicing as much as we can and as often as we can. When you think about your parents it always comes down to the same equation...."Honeymoon + Child #1 + Child #2 + repeat for the # of children = # of times parents have had sex." I know that isn't true, but I think most kids like to think so. I have told Leah we can practice as much as she would like, because I am committed to do my part. Which I alluded to above was easy and fun :)

So I am sure now that the secret is out that Leah will be filling everyone else in on the specifics and the everyday life of a married couple trying to start a family.

But the best part is......

Starting a family with....