Big Surprise!!!

No, I didn't have my baby.  I am in Vegas right now so that would be a very bad thing. 

However, I have another big surprise.

While I have been happily blogging over here, I have actually been working behind the scenes are re-doing my Maple and Mud blog.  Yup, remember that other blog that I own and have neglected?  I really wanted to update things and to create a blog that really expressed what I was blogging about and what I plan on blogging about in the future.

So, I worked with the amazing Emily White Designs and she created a beautiful blog for me!  And I LOVE it!!!  What does this mean?  Well, I decided that I would have Maple and Mud be my main blog and from there create pages for Spots of Happiness and running (I haven't created those pages yet but they are in the works) and baby stuff and things like that.  I spent some time thinking about the design and what I wanted and I hope you love it as much as I do. 

I really wanted to combine all my blogs into one but that was a bit out of my price range right now so my other blog entries are staying put, but I'll be blogging over a Maple and Mud from now on.  I'm sorry to keep switching back and forth!  I promise this is the last of that.  On the new blog I have an RSS feed which mean you can sign up and receive my blog entries in your email.  And if you are a follower on this blog and still read my blog, you can easily become a following on the other blog (if you aren't all ready).

So, stop on by and let me know what you think about the new design!  I hope you love it as much as I do!!!

Home Sweet Home

And just like that, the move is over.  What a feeling of relief.  Until I look around the place and see 900 boxes and realize that I have to find some place to put everything.  Some of it's easy - like the kitchen.  So, I organized the kitchen first.  It's pretty simple because in the kitchen there is a place for everything.  I started the bedroom next - that's pretty simple too.  At least the clothes are - they go in a closet or a dresser.  Not too hard to figure out.  Actually the first thing that was done was the bathroom.  Hang up some shower curtains, put a few bathroom rugs down, and you've got a nice looking bathroom.

Unless the bathroom exhaust fan cover falls on top of you.  Then you have a mess everywhere (because who ever cleans the bathroom exhaust fan?????).  And then you end up running to Lowes to buy a new fan motor and cover and your husband figures out how to remove the motor and install a new one.  And cleans all the crap that has probably been sitting in there for decades.  Gross.  And then while you're at Lowes you decide you want a new shower head (the fun fancy kind that feels like rain) and some towel racks.

You also want some new medicine cabinets and a new sink because the ones in the apartment are rusty, dirty, and over 20 years old.  However you can't install those, so you leave them there.  You also don't buy the really nice stove to replace the crappy (and very uncleaned) one still in the house.

Ok, so maybe the bathroom isn't the easiest thing in the world.  But for the most part it's almost done.  The rest of the junk is piled between the living room and dining room.

The pile of stuff that is hard to put away!

But notice the dining room furniture!  We finally got it from my friend's house.  About three years ago a friend of mine was moving and didn't need her dining room table and chairs.  She said we could have it but I was living with my sister at the time so I didn't have any place to put it.  My friend Sarah didn't have a dining room table so we just stored it at her place.  When we moved into our apartment last year we planned on getting it but she was out of town that day so we couldn't run over with the truck and pick it up.  We kept meaning to get it but an entire year passed and we never did.  But, during this move, we made a point to run over there and pick it up.  So now we have a place to eat!  And the best thing???  You can't see the TV from the dining room!!!  Now all I have to do is break my husband from the habit of watching television while we're eating dinner.  Since he's had two years to build the habit, it could be tough.

Last night my sister and her family came over to see the place.  They had *conveniently* been at the beach during our moving weekend and hadn't seen the new place.  All my nieces wanted to do was tackle hubs. 

Hubs actually loves to be tackled!

And then there was some crazy hair going on.

It's all about our hair.

So that was the move.  The new apartment has a lot more space than the old one did, but it's not in as great of condition (hence the bathroom exhaust fan falling from the ceiling).  Plus, it wasn't as cleaned as it should have been, especially since I left my old apartment spotless.  I mean, there were dirty dishes in the sink!  How can you say you thoroughly cleaned the place if there were dirty dishes in the sink????  And razor hair in the medicine cabinet?  Umm, yeah.  But I am excited about making the place our own.  And I am really hoping to not move again for a bit.

And eventually I have to get to the grocery store so I don't have to eat sandwich butts!

I love a good butt!

When was the last time you moved??

What part of moving do you hate the most - packing, moving the boxes, or unpacking?

Do you ever eat the butts of the bread or do you throw them out?

How many nieces or nephews do you have?

Friday Smiles!

Ok, so I haven't had time to post since last week.  Yikes!  I wanted to make sure I posted today to keep up my "new" series though.  Sure would hate for it to last only a week!  Things have been pretty hectic these days though because we are moving tomorrow. 

I hate moving.

I don't know why I said that.  I don't know a single person who likes moving, so it's kind of stupid to have to mention that I, along with the other 7 billion people in the world, hate moving.  But I wanted to share anyway.

But, even with this big move looming over my head I have found a few things to smile about.
 

  Friday Smiles!

Source: french-knot.tumblr.com via Celeste on Pinterest

* Walking with my good TNT friend, who is also preggers and going to give birth really soon (we hope)!

If I stand next to people who are about to give birth, I don't
look so big!  This is me at 29 weeks...and my friend at 38 weeks.  And we just
finished a 5 mile walk!

* Doing a walk-through of our new apartment and seeing that it was cleaned and the dirty, gross, boy-men who lived there before did not ruin it forever.  I'm excited about having a two-bedroom apartment, even if the apartment is older and more worn-out than our last.  Beggars can't be choosers and we are beggars.  The location is good and I have high hopes for our new life there.

* Having amazing friends who are willing to come over and help me pack, organize my junk, come back over for more packing, and still willing to help me move and clean the apartment.  Seriously, everyone needs a friend this amazing.

Sarah and me getting our nails done for my wedding.

 * Winning the battle with MVA!  I can't believe I won.  Ok, so it wasn't really a battle.  I sent an email that stated what I said in my blog post - basically saying I wanted proof that hubs was ineligible for another permit until his new residency card came.  So, they transferred my case to some other office (an office where COMPETENT people work) and they told me to fax all his paperwork over and they would look at it.  Twenty minutes after faxing the paperwork someone called me and said he was eligible and they would send a letter to the MVA/DMV office we go to saying that he is able to sit for the test.  Yay!!!  And even better news - they said that on 1 Oct. they are changing the law to say that if you are over 25 years old you don't need your permit for 9 months, you only need it for 45 days!  Wowzers!  GREAT NEWS!!!  That means hubs can actually get his license in October.  How exciting!!!  I asked if they were getting rid of the driver's ed requirement but she said no.  Too bad.  

However, I am so happy that I didn't settle for the answer that the MVA/DMV person gave me.  I usually never argue with people and almost never push back.  For some reason, this time I fought back and it turned out that I was right.  I will have to seriously think about this lesson in the future and start "pushing back" a little more often.

* The passing of the health care bill.  I try not to be too political on this blog, even though I have pretty strong political beliefs.  However, I was so happy that the health care bill passed.  It's not the best solution but it sure helps some people out.  I, personally, find it super scary to think that I could lose my job and my health care benefits that go with it.  I am lucky because we have awesome health care coverage at my work and I don't pay much for it (seriously, my entire maternity care is free - all prenatal visits, tests, lab work, delivery of baby, and postpartum visits don't even cost me a co-pay).  But I am a lucky one because so many people have crappy or no insurance and it can be so stressful.  I am thinking about quitting work one day and going back to school full-time and the idea of having to settle for horrible university insurance terrifies me.  This should not be.  People have a right to be healthy and not have to fight tooth and nail for a mammagram or go bankrupt paying for cancer treatments.  It's not fair.  So, I have faith that one day good, quality health care will not be attached to social-economic status.

Alright, I will get off my pedestal now.

************************************

What are your Friday smiles?

Are you a pusher-back or a push-over like me??

Is there anyone out there that actually enjoys moving?

Friday Smiles

Source: beyondbeyond.co.uk via Kattrina on Pinterest

So, although this blog started about happiness, I have kind of fallen off the spots of happiness bandwagon.  And I've totally jumped onto the baby bandwagon.  And I realize that not everyone cares about pregnancy and baby - but I can't help it.  It's the most interesting thing in my life right now!

Anyway, I digress.  I thought I'd start doing a weekly series called Friday Smiles.  The name reminds me of Savannah Smiles, the movie. 

Ok - so this movie cover makes the movie look so boring
(and old), but it was so good!

Did you ever see that movie?  I LOVED it.  And I actually wanted to name my baby girl Savannah for as long as I can remember.  In the end, if we were having a girl we wouldn't have gone with Savannah because the way it's pronounced in Spanish means "sheet", like a bed sheet.  Hubs was not all about it.

So, back to the series.

I decided that I needed to bring more happiness to this blog in the same way I did when I started it.  Especially these days because grumpy/sad/depressed seems to be my middle name.  I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones, the fact that I'm moving in a week and I HATE moving, the big, stressful conference I have coming up at work, the depression of slowly moving toward poverty, or the many other things going on in my life.  No matter what the deal is, I need to realign myself with happy and find something to celebrate (not that I'm not celebrating the baby, but I mean on a day-to-day basis).

So, here are my  
Friday Smiles!

* Feeling the baby move constantly.  Ok, ok, the first smile is baby related, but I can't help it!  However, Baby M is so active these days.  He just loves to move all over the place and I love it.

* The fact that summer is here!  I love summer and I love the heat.  And we are having some serious heat here in DC - but every time I walk outside I feel like I'm being wrapped in a blanket of warmth, and it feels grand.

* Getting a ride home all week from Bus Friend Dave.  My bus friend and I have become spoiled because this guy Dave (no worries - he's not sketchy) started driving to work and he picks us up every afternoon if he gets out around the same time as we're waiting for the bus.  This week I got a ride home Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday!  Woo-hoo!  It takes almost as long in the car as the bus but it's way more comfortable.

* Reading good books - now that school is over for the summer I have time to read something besides anatomy.  And it's great!  I am currently reading three regular books and one pregnancy book.  I will review them soon.  They are all good in their own way.

* Bagels, lemon bars, and donuts at work.  I don't know what has gotten into my co-workers but they are bringing in treats left and right.  I was on a webinar at work yesterday and the message went out that there were lemon squares in the kitchen and I couldn't get there.  I was sad because I knew that by the time the webinar was over all the yummy lemon bars would be gone.  However, I didn't factor into the equation that my amazing co-worker would think of me and save one for me.  During the webinar I got a nice email from her saying she had brought me one and it was in my office.  I work with some amazing people.  And the lemon bar was yum-a-licious.

* Maternity/Paternity leave.  I am so thankful that my job has a generous-ish maternity leave.  Yeah, it's not as great as T. Rowe Price or anything (12 weeks paid maternity) but I do get some paid weeks off along with short term disability.  Plus, my husband gets to use his sick time for paternity leave so he is going to take some time off after I go back and while my sister is awaiting the evacuation of her baby.  So glad about this.  My husband's boss's favorite phrase is "Don't worry" and "Family comes first" so I am hoping he is serious.  Hubs doesn't get paid much but his boss seems to be really good about family stuff.  And I think it will be great for hubs to spend some quality time with Baby M while I'm at work.  He'll learn a lot about taking care of baby and learn how to handle things on his own.  Or both him and Baby M will be completely traumatized.

What Friday Smiles do you have? 

Did you ever want to name you first born after a movie/TV show you watched as a kid?

What book are you reading right now??

Immigration Woes

Yay - I have a visa!!!

Hubs and I are in the throes of what I hope to be one of our last immigration battles for a long time.  Yes, we still have to battle with immigration, even after all this time.  Bringing hubs over from Honduras was not an easy feat - and NOT a cheap feat either.  It took forever, resulted in the death of many trees, and emptied my bank account (again and again and again).  Here is what we have accomplished so far:

1. Filed for a K-1 Fiance Visa (took six months and cost almost $500).
2. Had an interview at the Honduran embassy (cost $136 for the interview plus my airfare to and from Honduras and a hotel).
3. Received the visa.
4. Flew to the U.S. and had another interview at Customs at the airport (this was free minus the airfare).
5. Got married (this was great, not free, but costs cannot be blamed on immigration).
6. Adjusted hubs's status from Fiance visa to Permanent Resident with Conditions (this cost over $1000 and took 3 months and required fingerprints).
7. Removed Conditions from Residency (cost $600, required fingerprints again, may require an interview, and seems to be taking FOREVER) <-- This is where we are now...waiting for his new residency card which should be good for ten years.

So, as you can see it's been a long and expensive process (and we still aren't finished).  Of course I love my hubs and would do it all over again if need be, but I want to complain right now. 

And I want to complain even more because in February hubs finally went and got his driver's permit (since he had never had a real license he has to have a permit for nine months, take driver's ed, and then pass his driving test).  Well, MVA/DMV (whatever your state calls it) made his permit expire on the day his residency card expired which was in June.  So, he only had his permit for four months.  And now they insist that he can't have another permit until his new card comes in the mail.

Well, immigration already sent a letter extending his residency card for a year because it takes SO LONG for them to process the new cards and for some reason MVA/DMV won't accept the letter.  So his permit is in limbo.  And when I looked at the immigration website they say they are just now processing applications from AUGUST 2011!!!  Umm, hello, that is almost a year.  This could take forever....

And, HELLO, he is suppose to drive me to the hospital when I go into labor in September!!!

So, I have decided to take action and request to see the law that states he can't get a new permit and then write to my trusty congress person.

I'm sure I will lose, but I'll feel better.

And I'll feel even better when his card comes in and we don't have to deal with immigration for another ten years!!!


P.S. When I look back at photos of my husband he looks SO YOUNG and SO SKINNY!  I sure have fattened that boy up (and he sure has fattened me up too :-)).  I must have been younger back then too because he didn't look so young to me then...although I feel like I look the same.  Funny stuff!

Bump Shots: Week 26 and 27

Body scans and body comments…
      
I can’t believe I’m already into my third trimester, according to some doctors/midwives/websites at least.  Time sure flies when you’re pregnant.  Actually, it seems to go fast and slow at the same time.  A weird sensation.  I guess I don’t normally count my weeks – maybe if I counted weeks it would seem like time went faster.

Body Scans Anyone?
This past week I flew to Atlanta for some work meetings.  I can never decide whether I should go through the body scanners or not.  I don’t normally care about them – however, I can’t figure out whether they are safe for baby or not.  No one seems to know and as many people say they are safe as say they are unsafe…so who knows.  I didn’t even think twice about it when I went to Guatemala and New Orleans but this time for some reason I was a bit nervous.  On the way to Atlanta I didn’t have to go through, I just went through a regular metal detector.  However, on the way back I had to make a decision.  So, I decided to ask for a pat down instead of the machine.  I was surprised because no one really made a big deal about it.  They just had me go to a different line and then did a pat down, no questions asked.  And the pat down wasn’t a big deal.  The woman was perfectly professional and I didn’t feel like I was being groped or anything.  So, I think I will do that from now on (while I’m pregnant – after baby comes out I have no problem with the body scan).  I just have one more trip to Vegas coming up and then I should be trip-free until after baby.

Yay!!

Not that I’m not looking forward to Vegas, because I am.  It is a work trip and a stressful one at that, but I’m hoping for some time to see at least one show and eat lots of yummy food.  I haven’t been to Vegas since I was about 17 years old, when I went to visit my grandparents.

Body Comments…
Another thing that I am slowly realizing is that no comment on the size of my body/belly/etc. is really appreciated.  I realize I bring this up on practically every post, but I guess it’s the biggest challenge that I deal with…and what people comment about the most.  I know that people mean no harm but I’m actually surprised by how many comments I receive about how “large” I’m getting.  One person actually told me I was going to be HUGE when I delivered because I was already HUGE at 6 months.  Umm, is that suppose to be a compliment???  It made me feel really self conscious and like I was doing something wrong.

Then I went to Atlanta and someone commented on how I looked like I had lost weight since the last time they had seen me (we had been in New Orleans together).  Now, at first one would think that that was a comment that would make me happy, since I just complained about people saying I was getting huge.  However, it actually made me really worried.  Had I lost weight?  Was the baby not growing?  Was I not feeding my body enough?  So, then I was worried.  Like I don’t worry enough as it is!

So, I have decided that comments on being too big or too small are hurtful and stressful, no matter which way they go.  There is an older gentleman at the bus stop who has it right.  When he sees me, all he says is, “You look great!  Pregnancy really agrees with you.  You definitely have a glow to you and you just look so happy.”  That’s all he says and it always makes me feel good (minus the fact that he borders on the sketchy-stalker side).  And in reality, no one knows what size I should be anyway – big or small, pregnancy looks different on everyone.  I’m trying to eat healthy and I’m still walking 2-5 miles a day and I’m drinking my milk and eating lots of protein and citrus – so who cares what size I am.  I am the right size.

So that’s my pregnancy update.

Oh, and my dreams are getting weirder.  I’ll share my strangest one with you soon – crazy stuff!

And my feet are starting to swell a bit, but I’m trying my best to walk the swelling out.  Supposedly walking gets the blood flowing and can help reduce the swelling.  And my husband gave me a twenty minute foot massage last night so that was GREAT!!!

If he gets nothing from the Bradley Method class except the importance of massages – it will be worth all the money we paid!!!

Baby Bump: Week 25

Every week another week passes.  It’s obvious, but it’s also a bit more crazy when you’re counting weeks.  It makes the weeks seem to fly by.  Just about the time I’m used to saying that I’m 24 week along, all of a sudden I’m 25 week.  Soon I’ll be 26 weeks.  Yes, I know that this is the way things work, but it is still crazy how fast it all goes.

       

As you can see, I am a tad bit bigger.  I feel like my belly hasn’t grown much but when I look back at pictures I realize that I am quite mistaken.  The belly is a growin’!

Preggo Positives

Here are a few things that I am still enjoying about pregnancy!  Yay for positives!

• Feeling the baby kick – best feeling ever.
• Strangers being extra nice to me – stopping for me at crosswalks, helping me with my luggage, talking to me for no reason, smiling at me on the streets, etc.  Some people are really nice and seem to love pregnant people and I am soaking it up.
• Husby kissing my belling and talking to the baby all the time – actually, he talks to the baby more than he talks to me sometimes!
• Waddle/walks Saturday mornings with the other TNT preggos (well, one preggo had her baby already so we walked with the baby and she did less waddling).
• Having a completely new wardrobe full of comfy clothes.

I’m still feeling pretty good with only minimal swelling of my feet in the evening and heartburn if I eat tomatoes for dinner.  Other than that, not too much to complain about.

Preggo Negatives

Here are a few things about pregnancy that are driving me crazy!  Boo for negatives…

• People are obsessed with my size.  It’s amazing really.  People seem to think that when you’re pregnant it’s totally ok to ask how much weight you’ve put on, comment on how big you’re getting, tell you how hard it’s gonna be to lose the baby weight, etc.  I find it a bit rude when people ask how much weight I’ve put on.  It’s really none of their business.  I don’t mind when it’s fellow preggo women who want to know for reference, but strangers or friends/family/coworkers wanting to know how much weight I’ve gained – not cool.  I actually have no idea because I asked the midwife to not tell me how much weight I’ve gained.  So she weighs me and writes it in my file but she doesn’t tell me.  She said she’d tell me if I gained too much or not enough and the health of the baby was in danger, but other than that she’d keep her mouth shut.  This was a great choice to make – I just eat when I’m hungry and pay no attention to numbers.  I don’t own a scale so I just trust my body to know what to do.
• People giving me “advice”.  I know that people want to share their thoughts and knowledge with me, but it can be exhausting.  Plus, I have been reading books and researching things for myself so I am trying to do what is best for me and my baby.  That may be different from you or your cousin or your mother – but it is still probably ok.  If I want to drink a coffee or eat a piece of deli meat – it is not a crime.  I am trying my best.  I am eating only organic produce, I’m eating lots of veggies, I’m exercising, etc.  If I want to eat a Wendy’s hamburger once in a while, that is ok.  In my opinion.  I am not snorting coke or drinking ten beers a night.
• Weird dreams.  I don’t dream to much so it’s a bit uncanny to have dreams and remember them.  And I dream weird stuff.  Last night I dreamed I was going on vacation with my sister and she was yelling at me to pack faster.  And then she left without me.  And then I found a dead body in the house.  Hmm, not sure what that means.  The dead body I can explain – I had watched 5 minutes of NCIS and there was a dead body (I changed the channel because I read that it’s better to watch happy shows because my emotions can be transmitted to the baby – may be a lie but sounded good).  I’m not sure what the being late and having my sister yelling at me was all about.  First, my sister never yells at me and second, if anyone is late it’s her.  She has two kids under the age of 4.  It’s impossible to arrive on time anywhere.  Very strange.

That’s pretty much it.  I am really still liking being pregnant.  However, I have a few weeks before the dreaded third trimester when things may go downhill.  We shall see!  I am also trying to do my getting-ready-for-labor-exercises so I can work the right muscles.  It’s hard to get them all in, but anything is better than nothing, right.

Are you tired of my pregnancy posts yet????