Did I Tell You About My Weekend? April 29, 2008

It included a DATE!

Two, in fact.  With my husband, of course.  My in-laws came and watched Anja on Friday night and part of Saturday so that Husband and I could get out and remember what it is like to hold hands (when one pair isn’t always pushing a stroller).  It was fantastic!

We went to America’s largest indoor water park on Friday night, where I laid waste to this thing that shoots water up (it’s supposed to resemble surfing).  All the little 10-year-olds in front of me made it look hard, but if you’ve ever been tubing (pulled behind a speedboat on an innertube across a lake), this was a cakewalk.  A cakewalk on water.

Saturday we had a nice brunch with the relatives, and then I took Husband on a date of surprises.  First surprise - a stop at the Mall of America where robots (which people built) were fighting.  We only got to see two fights before one robot exploded into flames and they had to take a break to clean up.  Sad.

Then I took him to three places for lunch.  Yes, three.  Place number one was the wrong place; they directed us to place #2, which was too expensive, so we went to P.F. Chang’s.  Husband had never been there before anyway, and he loved it.  We shared Mu Shu Pork and some kind of lamb–yummy!

Lastly, I took him to the iMax theater at the Minnesota Zoo and we saw a 3-D movie about the Okavango Delta (in the Kalahari desert).  My goodness has 3-D technology improved since I last saw one (circa 1995)!  I could almost feel the weeds brushing across my face and reach out and touch the cracks in the elephant’s tusk.  It was 45 minutes of African fantasy!  And I had coupons for everything but lunch.

Husband liked it all, so: SUCCESS!  And I had a good time, too.  We decided we need to “date” more often.

———–

How about you people?  What do you do for fun (cheap) dates?

Q & A, Part III April 27, 2008

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Some more questions answered below…

Lulu (who should get a blog, right everyone?) asked, “In the spirit of Earth Day, what are your favorite ways to be green in your everyday life?”

I actually didn’t celebrate Earth Day in any special way, but I’ve been an avid reducer/reuser/recycler since I was little.

“What are your tips for a fit and healthy pregnancy? Mr. Right and I have what we call a ‘five year plan’ for wedding, house buying, and first baby, but I say it’s never too early to start getting pointers!”

It’s never too early to start building for a healthy pregnancy. The healthier you are when you get pregnant, the healthier you’ll be when you are pregnant. As a general rule, I tried to eat at least 5-6 servings of fruits and veggies a day in addition to taking my Juice Plus+. I worked out at the gym 3 nights a week and walked or ran outside 20-30 minutes on the off days. Even in the winter, Husband and I would suit up and go out for a walk. I continued this patter when I was pregnant, and worked out (lifting weights and everything) up until the day before I went into labor. You might get detractors (“Don’t you think you’re hurting the baby?”), but as long as you keep your heart rate at a safe level and don’t exercise to the point of exhaustion, you’re probably doing your body a favor. Another helpful thing to me was joining an online forum. The one I used was called “Babyfit” and it was helpful to have other experienced and first-time mothers to answer my questions.

“What’s your typical Starbucks order?”

You know, I’m not much of a coffee drinker (water, now that’s my bag), but when I do order something, it’s usually whatever the current seasonal beverage is.

Jamie asked, “What is your favorite book?”

When I was a child, it was probably a toss-up between Matilda by Roald Dahl or The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Now? I’ve been reading nothing but non-fiction for so long…it’s hard to say. I read the Bible most regularly, so I’ll go with that.

“How did you and your husband meet?”

This is a rather odd and long story. To make it short, he was coming to the same college as me, and my aunt said, “There’s this boy from my church coming to your college. I want him to get in with ‘good people’ so you should invite him to Campus Crusade.” I did just that at the beginning of the year, and dusted off my hands, duty done. I didn’t speak to him again until Christmas break, when we were assigned to the same discussion group at CC’s Christmas Conference. Our group really hit it off and hung out a lot back at school, and we became good friends. Then during May (finals week) he asked me out.

“What do you like most/least about being a mom?”

Most: I can be having the worst day ever, and just a smile from my baby girl brightens it incredibly. She really is a delight.

Least: I don’t deal well with lack of sleep, and her schedule and mine…they don’t always run parallel tracks.

“How many pairs of shoes do you own?”

This is going to sound terrible, but keep in mind that I have shoes that date back to my high school years and probably 10 pair are $1.99 flip-flops from Wal-Mart…I have 40 pairs.

Jenni asked, “Bein’ as how you’re from Minnesota, do you have any Scandinavian blood coursing through your veins? You look blond and blue-eyed, but that could be German as well…”

You’re correct. I’m mostly Swedish, but I also have bits and pieces of these:

English
Irish
Scottish
Norwegian
French-Canadian-Indian
German
Ukrainian

How’s that for a mutt?

Thanks everyone, this was fun, and not as intimidating as I thought. Once again, if you asked a question, consider yourself “tagged” to do the same thing on your own blog, if you so choose.

No FS Today, Just more Q & A April 25, 2008

Can I just start by saying that I’m so excited to meet you new peoples who have been stopping by? Makes my day!

Now for round 2.

Happy Mommy asked, “Ok, last week you asked us to pray about daycare or babysitter for Anja, are you going to work?”

I’ve actually been working 2 10-hour days since November and doing my photography on the side. I’d love to be home, but unfortunately, the feasibility is nil, unless someone volunteers to give us an extra couple thousand bucks a month. J I enjoy my job, so it’s not as terrible as it all seems…I just hate missing out on bits of Anja’s life. An update: had an interview with a provider very near our home this morning and it went well. I’m going next week to get an in-person look at her daycare.

“How long did you know your husband before you got married?”

I met him briefly at the beginning of my Jr. year of college, so I “knew” him for about 2 years 9 months.

Both Happy Mommy and Miz Booshay asked:

“How many children would you like to have?”

Back in the day, I always said 3 or 4. Husband, after having the first, said he’s fine with two (apparently pregnancy and childbirth was even harder on him than on me!). Now, I don’t really have a set or planned number in mind.

“And how old are you?”

For shame! Isn’t that supposed to be some rule—never ask a woman her age? Well, since I don’t abide by all the rules, I’m 28.

Johanna asked, “What’s your favorite thing to do when you have a moment to yourself?”

Umm…do mommies have that? Just kidding. Currently, when Anja is taking naps, I blog, read blogs, or read about photography. So I guess reading and writing are right up there!

Miz Booshay asked, “What would Anja’s name have been if she was a boy?”

We only had it narrowed down to two names when we went to the hospital, but our favorite was Beckett (Beck for short). Since then, my cousin named her little boy Beckett, so we’ll have to come up with a new one for next time around.

Q & A - Part One April 23, 2008

Aw, you guys are so nice. I have so many questions I’m going to have to break this into sections…

Paula asked, “What do you want to do when the active mothering is done — when you’re kid(s) are launched and on their own?”

Wellp…that’s a good question. Haven’t thought that far ahead, actually. I have a lot of things that I’m mediocre at, but I’m still figuring out what I’m good at. When I figure it out, I’ll probably do that. J

Erica asked, “Your writing is really good. Was there ever a time that you considered writing for a living?”

Thank you for the compliment. Have I mentioned that I just love you guys? It’s one of those things that I still consider myself to be mediocre at. I wrote and illustrated children’s books when I was a child, but they are nothing I would consider publishing now that I’m beyond age eleven. Dear Husband encourages me in my writing frequently. A couple of years ago he bought me the most beautiful journal (with refills), some neat pens and a writing exercise book. He’s also the one who suggested I start a blog, though he probably didn’t anticipate the amount of time I would spend reading other people’s blogs…

Anyway, it’s something I’ll probably still keep in the back of my mind, should I ever be inspired.

“I love Anja’s name. What’s the origin of her name?”

It’s actually the Swedish version of the name Anna. Here’s a post about it from when I first started blogging.

“I liked your religion question on my blog, so what is your religion and why?”

My religion is Christian. I grew up in the Covenant Church (similar to Evangelical Free in its style and doctrines). When Husband and I moved to the Twin Cities, we tried quite a few different churches, but none could rival the Biblical teaching (this answers the “why” part of the question) at Bethlehem Baptist, which is part of the Baptist General Conference. I have friends that range from Catholic to Methodist to AG to Lutheran, and I’ve learned things about Christ from all of them.

“With Ron Paul pretty much out of the game, who will earn your vote in November?”

You know, I’m not yet sure. At this point, Ron still has my vote. Many people reason that the only way to “make your vote count” is to vote for the front-runner in one of the two major parties, but I disagree. If the Republican party keeps getting the message from voters that it can become more and more liberal and we’ll keep voting for whatever candidates they put before us, there will become less and less of a divide between the two parties. John McCain is a liberal in many areas, and to cast my vote for him would go against many things I believe in. I am not only accountable to my country, I am accountable before God. By casting my vote, I say, “This is the person I would trust to run our country. This is the person I believe will stick to the constitution our forefathers wrote.” Ron Paul is the only guy who I think will do that.

There are also people who say, “Just like Reagan needed a Carter, the next Republican in office needs a Hillary or an Obama to make a royal mess of things.” I see the value in that line of thinking, but another part of me thinks that a person in such a powerful position can do a WHOLE lot of damage in four years time that would then need undoing.

That’s enough for today—I’ll answer more tomorrow, Lord-willing. Oh, and if you wrote in a question, consider yourself tagged to do the same on your blog (if you want to).

Weekend Update April 15, 2008

On Tuesday evening, no less!

We had a fabulous time visiting family and friends, meeting new babies and babies-to-be, eating yummy (but not so nutritious) food prepared by my mother, and…going through old junk of mine.

See, my mom’s remodeling and she has this crazy idea in her head that she doesn’t want to store my belongings from high school for eternity. What’s her problem, I say. Just kidding. If I were her, all that stuff would have been kicked to the curb with my daughter when she turned eighteen. I’m not really that harsh. Just playin’.

Wow, it’s late. The reason I haven’t posted is I’ve been desperately trying to catch up on emails and YOUR blogs. That’s no small task when you subscribe to six billion blogs, let me tell you.

Oh, and I finally watched a movie. The Bourne Ultimatum. Anyone seen it? I loved the first two, and Husband rented this one a week and a half ago, and we finally made time to watch it tonight. Even though I’m not a conspiracy theorist (another fine movie), I love movies like this that make me think and that make me wary of Big Brother. Because Big Brother doesn’t always have our best interest at heart. And if our government could pull it together as well as they seem to in movies like the Bourne trilogy, I’d probably be kicking back and sending them my hard-earned money. They wouldn’t even have to steal it.

Anja’s Birth Story April 8, 2008

This is an excerpt from a book I wrote to Anja about my pregnancy and her birth. I’ve been inspired by Jenni sharing her eleven birth stories (yes, 11, and she has #12 on the way any day now) the past few weeks, and thought I would post mine. Again, it is written TO Anja, which explains the strange voice.

——————

My dear Anja,

Here is the amazing story of your BIRTH! It all started Sunday, August 26At Bible study that evening, Marianne prayed that my labor would start on the way home. While it didn’t, I had my first contraction within minutes of arriving home, about 9:30 p.m., while I was on the phone with Uncle. I had my second about 7 minutes later while on the phone with Grandma.

Daddy and I went for a 20-minute walk and returned home, the contractions still coming about 7-10 minutes apart. This continued until about 2:30 a.m., when they started getting closer and closer together. (Side note: your daddy, ever computer-wise, made an Excel spreadsheet for me to time contractions so I just had to press a “start” button and a “stop” button.)

The next morning I was having them about a minute long and every 3-4 minutes, so we went to my midwife appointment a little early. Called Grandma and told her to come, and she was upset with me, saying she probably wouldn’t make it in time. Linda (my midwife) checked my cervix, which had FINALLY effaced and was dilated to between 3 and 4 cm. She said I’d probably be more comfortable laboring at home, so Daddy and I drove back, where the contractions continued to become more intense as the day rolled on.

Grandma arrived mid-afternoon, and by 6:00 the contractions were almost on top of one another, and Daddy was worn out from pushing on my back (you were turned a bit sideways, so I had back labor). So after waiting and waiting for a call back from the hospital to “see if they had room” (Mom was pretty ticked and said, “They BETTER have room! I am having this baby!”), we just packed up and left. Again.

I was admitted and shown to a room. The nurse checked my cervix again and I was only at 5 cm. I was pretty depressed about all that work for one centimeter, but the nurse reassured me that it’s often the hardest and longest work to get to 5 cm. So…Daddy and I worked together for a few more hours to get to 8 cm. I labored in the tub off and on. The position that seemed to help the best were me standing bent over with Daddy either pressing down on my lower back or squeezing my hips together.

Once I was dilated to an 8, they moved me to the waterbirth suite. Being in that big tub sure helped me relax. In fact, I relaxed a bit too much! My contractions were farther apart, and even though I had the urge to push, it was pretty weak. Also, being in the warm water (even though it was only about 98 or 99 degrees) made me feel a bit woozy and weak.

After pushing a while in the water, we decided to forgo the waterbirth we had planned and do the rest of the pushing in a bed. Daddy and Grandma each held one of my legs while I worked with my weak contractions to push you out. I ended up doing quite a bit of pushing without any contractions for help. It was the HARDEST thing I’ve ever endured physically. With each push I felt weaker and weaker. Eventually I started blacking out and they had to put me on oxygen. I started getting scared for you when I could hear the nurses muttering things like, “Her heart rate is dropping…” I remember getting teary (not wanting an episiotomy) and asking, “You’re not going to cut me, are you?” They assured me they wouldn’t do anything without my permission. Soon afterward (at 1:30 a.m.), you came out.

Daddy said he could see about an inch of the top of your head, then there was this big squishing noise and you came out all at once. You were on my chest crying and being rubbed by nurses before anyone could even look what gender you were. So I held you up for Daddy and he said, “It’s a girl!”

I started crying with excitement and relief (that I didn’t have to have any emergency procedures). You laid on me for awhile, then they wrapped you in blankets and gave you to Daddy. They gave you a checkup later and things looked good: no jaundice, not much head molding, good muscle tone. Unfortunately, because of your like for having your arms up by your face, one of your arms came out with your head and made me tear. I waited quite awhile for the surgeon to get there, and then he stitched me up for an hour and 45 minutes. It hurt quite a bit sitting on my tailbone for that long, and my blood pressure was quite low, as well.

They brought us all back to the room around 4:00. I didn’t sleep and didn’t sleep, even though you and Daddy dropped off right away. I had the nurse go get Grandma and she came as the midwife was talking to me about my low blood pressure (51/30 at one point). Grandma got woozy thinking that HER baby (me) was in trouble and had to climb in bed with me. Ha! She stroked my head for a bit (I still didn’t sleep, though) to help me calm down. They had to catheterize me later that morning because I was too weak to get to the bathroom. But around 9 or 10 a.m. I was able to make it to the tub for a soak. They gave me ice packs and drugs and witch hazel pads for all the pain. You had just a few visitors while we were in the hospital (thankfully—Mom didn’t feel or look her best), and we took you home on Thursday, August 30.

Betcha Bite a Chip April 6, 2008

I met my husband coming down the hallway with a drink in his hand and a cookie in his mouth last night. I was carrying my laptop, but I drew toward him and tried to take a bit of the cookie. He stretched his neck out so I couldn’t reach him. I backed him completely against the wall and said, “I want you,” and started licking his neck like a dog. He was laughing/crying at this point, so I was able to snatch a bite of the cookie.

He scampered off, whimpering, and said, “You raped my cookie!”

April Fools gone Awry April 1, 2008

Every year I try to pull off a really good April fool on someone.  This year it was the work folks.  See, I get into work a couple hours before everyone else, so I had some time.

Fool #1: Unplug the receiver from everyone’s phone

Fool #2: Rename a folder on a computer drive (one everyone uses on a daily basis) so that no one can find it

All was going well until a co-worker came and exploded at us (me and two other women who perform the same duties) because one of us (me) “corrupted all the files.”

Me: “I did it.  April fool’s!  Can’t I just change the name back and they’ll be fine?”

Co-worker: “No.  Nothing will link right and R’s having to fix it.”

Me: “I’m sorry.  Very sorry.  I’m going to go call her and apologize.”

She was snotty on the phone, too.  “I hope everyone’s estimates will work.”

I apologized again and again, hung up, and proceeded to get emotional.  After about 45 minutes of tearing up, fighting it off, and tearing up again, I’d had it.

I was down using the personal room (nursing moms who work can pump in there) and called my husband.  “They completely overreacted,” he said.  “All you could have done by renaming a file is screw up the mapping, which takes like 1 minute to fix.  Tell them they’re d-bags.”

While I didn’t do that, I felt a little better.  And I got reassuring emails from a couple of nice co-workers (including the one who blew up–he apologized) telling me that they thought I played good jokes.

Nevertheless, I think I’ll stick to fooling Husband next year.

Husband the Famous February 27, 2008

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Subscribe to National Geographic Magazine at a 30% discount!

The Demise of Fries February 26, 2008

Husband and I were going to pick up our car from an oil change the other day and we passed McDonald’s.

“Look at all the people in the drive-through!” I exclaimed, pointing. “It’s Sunday morning at 9:30. What are they doing?”

Husband looked at me and said, “Weird, isn’t it? I forget McDonald’s exists.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I said. “Since we never go there, it’s as if it died long ago.” Turning back to face the store, I murmured, “McDonald’s, you are dead to me.”

Even with all their attempts at luring people in with “healthy” food (Apples with the skin cut off soaked in preservatives and put in a bag are not healthy, FYI. Do NOT feed them to your children. Though they might be a slightly better choice than potatoes with the skin cut off deep fried in grease…), I am not tempted. Burger King, Hardee’s (do they even exist any more?), Taco Bell…you’re all in the same place. Restaurant oblivion.