Stressed?

So.  For my regular followers - please feel free to skip this slightly ranting blog post.  To make up for it in advance...here's a cute puppy picture:

Cassie at 8 weeks old.

In the past couple of days, I've had two different online guy friends tell me some version of "stop stressing over things that shouldn't be stressed about" and "typical of new parents" or some other such nonsense.  After much thought last night after the second message, it's time to admit that I found both comments more than a little insulting.  To me - both comments came across as "stop being an idiot".


In case I have given the wrong impression to anyone in general - let me state unequivocally.  I. Am. Not. Stressed. 


I'm not stressed in general and I'm not stressed about the baby.  At my Doctor's appointment this week my blood pressure was 116/58.   Not high in the slightest!  LOL!


I'm sure I'm about to jinx myself - but I don't really have things to be stressed about.  I'm not working - by choice.  Other than the low iron and not-so-enjoyable-yet-NORMAL pregnancy symptoms, my pregnancy has proceeded as planned and with no complications.  The nursery is practically already done because both Mark and I are type A planners.  :D  I typically spend my days alternating between working out at the gym, watching TV, playing with the dog and doing various things around the house.  The other day - to pass the time, I spent a lot of time coming up with a list of things to do to pull my own weight around the house that I'm allowed to do while pregnant.  Oh - my other favorite pass time?  Planning races and/or mountain climbs I will train for post-baby.  LOL.  I was much more stressed when I was still in school.  :)


The only thing even remotely stressful in my life right now - is the amount of money we're spending on a master bathroom partial remodel that was supposed to start over a month ago...but hasn't yet started.  


Or maybe someone could say that I was "a little stressed" about how much I was sleeping with the low-iron thing instead of contributing to the household.  IDK.


Oh wait - I know.  I'm stressed because I've acquired a creeper.  HAHAHA.

Perhaps it was the fact that my Facebook status mentioned that I had trouble sleeping the other night.  My "insomnia" had nothing to do with becoming a new parent.  First, I had a decent sized fully caffeinated Diet Coke with dinner before my birth class.  When you have little to no caffeine for 8 months, even a Diet Coke can be a lot of caffeine.  LOL!  


Second, the gal hosting my baby shower was getting frustrated with me over a couple of guest list issues...and I realized I'd accidentally left one of my favorite people off the list.  I felt terrible for the mistake!   


Pregnant or not - I would have had trouble sleeping after doing that to a friend until I heard from him or her.   That's just the way I am.  Once I was awake for those things - I was thinking about all the different aspects of the bathroom remodel and the other things we've unexpectedly had to spend money on this month.  Once I composed some emails and got some of the caffeine out my system - I slept fine other than the typical pregnant-woman-needs-to-get-up-and-pee-every-two-hours nonsense.  :D


Okay.  I'm done.  


Soooooo - what stresses you out?  What are your favorite ways to deal with stress? LOL.




UPDATE:   After posting this, my weekly pregnancy email arrived. Apparently, I can expect to be moody and easily irritated again at this point in pregnancy.  Oops.  So it's highly likely that I was a bit touchier than I should have been with these comments....and that can be added to the lovely list of pregnancy quirks!  :D

I want to climb a mountain!

So, last week, several members of my family flew to Washington state to attempt to climb to the summit of Mt. Ranier.


Originally, the group was going to be my brother Kevin, my stepbrother Ken, his friends Sean and Danley, and my Dad.   A couple of months ago though, after training for 6 months, my Dad broke his collar bone at Margarita Tennis night.   Yes, margaritas and tennis are two things that probably shouldn't be paired together with my competitive family.  LOL.


So, late in the training schedule, my stepmom Janette decided to train and take my Dad's already paid for spot.


They flew in to Seattle and checked in on Monday June 20th.  Tuesday was mountaineering school where they learned some techniques they would need on the mountain.  On Wednesday they started the first part of the climb.  

The gang before the climb started.

The goal of Wednesday was to reach Camp Muir at an elevation of 10,000 feet.  My brother Kevin did not make it to Camp Muir.  I'm not yet sure the exact reasons why, but I know that he was not doing the same level of training for the climb as the rest of the group.

On the way to Camp Muir

Camp Muir at 10,000 feet - not exactly luxury accomodations

The group inside Camp Muir

Janette stopped at Camp Muir.  Again, I don't know the exact reasons why at this point....but considering her age and late entry into the training scheme - I'm so incredibly proud of her for making it to Camp Muir!


Ken, Sean and Danley made it to the Summit.  

Danley, Ken and Sean at the Summit!

All three said that it was the hardest thing they have ever done.  (And Ken has run a marathon!). They also said that all of them had at least a couple moments where they wanted to quit.  Without friends to encourage them, they probably wouldn't have made it.


Their pictures from the summit are absolutely stunning.

Can I just say that I want to do this now????  Is that completely and utterly crazy to say?  My Dad is talking about training for a summit attempt next summer when his collar bone has healed.  I kind of want to do it with him.  I would prefer to talk him into waiting one more year to make sure I'm fully recovered from child birth, etc....but the whole experience sounds amazing.


So - what do you think?   Would any of you consider climbing a mountain?  How about one like Mt. Rainer where at least half of those who attempt a summit each year....don't make it to the summit. 

Lazy Gym Folk and other Randomness

Ok.  So, I'm 29 weeks pregnant.  Generally, in every day stuff, I don't expect people to do anything special for me because I'm pregnant...such as open the doors, etc.   Perhaps, though, my awesome running buddies have spoiled me.  They're always doing nice things to make things easier for my larger self.  (Offering me chairs, offering to carry my bag, etc., etc.).  I always jokingly tell them - "I'm pregnant, not disabled."  Of course though, their kindness, in general, is super appreciated and admired.


That being said, what I definitely do NOT expect is what happened this morning at the gym.  I'm walking up to the gym doors and another women is standing inside the first set of doors waiting to walk in to the second set of doors....She obviously and blatantly waits for me to come in so that I can open the door - for her!   Why?  Because ONE hand was in use to hold the handle of her rolling gym bag.  Yes, her gym bag is on wheels and required one hand to pull.   As a result, she waits for the pregnant woman to come open the door for her.  Seriously?????   


I completely understand someone waiting for a helping hand when their hands are full, etc.  And normally, for just about anyone, if I beat them to the door, I hold it open for them.  But - she had ONE hand on ONE handle and WAITED for the blatantly pregnant woman to open the door for her.  So much so, that when I pulled open the door she actually started forward.


I admit - for the first time in my life - I was annoyed enough that I did NOT hold the door for her and wait for her to go in.   In the locker room, that earned me a rather dirty look.


Am I crazy to be annoyed by this?  LOL.


Anywhoodle - in other randomness, my stepmom Janette and my brothers Kevin and Ken started climbing Mt. Ranier yesterday...and if everything went well and the weather cooperated...they should have reached the summit this morning.  

How amazing is that?  Some day, I'd love to be in the kind of shape to do something like that.  Totally different kind of training than for a half marathon.


Other randomness - I was totally excited when I finally found a box of mini-cliff bars at the grocery store.  They are the perfect size for my random pregnant hunger attacks.  I know, sad that is all it takes to make me happy for days.  I get all happy again each time I eat one too.  It's the little things.


Last bit of randomness - I permanently added a list of future races I intend to train for and complete post-baby birth to my blog on the right-hand side!   I'm definitely ready to get back to training!  My cardio shape is way below sucking at the moment.  I'm sure the fact that my uterus is now the size of a basketball and pressing against my diaphragm has nothing to do with it.  :)

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

I thought it might be fun to do one of those put everything in one blog postie thingees.   A series of good, bad and uglies from the past week.


The Good:  Cheering Amy on in the Wendy's International Triathlon!  She did awesome and was so inspiring!   Then we had an awesome breakfast at Jennifer's afterwards!
The Bad:  The 2nd and 3rd helping of breakfast that I opted for.
The Ugly:  The fact that I actually had to throw away my plate to not get a 4th helping.


The Good:  We Mark painted the nursery room this weekend and it looks fabulous!  Exactly as I envisioned!
The Bad:  The name of the color is celery ice.
The Ugly:  Mark used the fact that we painted the baby's room celery ice as an excuse to walk around the house singing Ice, Ice Baby.


The Good:  Bringing guacamole - which I am obsessed with - to the first book club meeting.
The Bad:  Forgetting the guacamole and having to turn around to go get it.
The Ugly:  Realizing that I actually forgot the guacamole TWICE and having to turn around AGAIN to go get it.  Yes.  Twice.  Don't laugh.


The Good:  Lucking out and getting a free Moses basket for the baby.
The Bad:  It was free because no one else wanted the hassle of cleaning the bedding that was covered in spit up stains.  (which I washed out).
The Ugly:  Jellybean decided that would be a good place to use as a litter box when he was having a bladder problem....after I'd cleaned it.  (the basket was actually ruined in this process.)


The Good:   I got to hear my daughter's heartbeat again on Monday at my prenatal appointment.
The Bad:  I also got to do the gestational diabetes test and drink this nasty sugary drink that made me nauseous within 30 minutes.
The Ugly:   Dr. said I'd gained too much weight the past month.  I blame my increased appetite combined with the removal of running from my daily life.  :( He gave me diet suggestions and I felt so fat.


The Good:  I'm not crazy - all my "I'm so tired" feelings have a reason!
The Bad:  The reason is that my hemoglobin is low - got that part of my blood test results back this morning.  
The Ugly:  I'm supposed to add an additional Iron Supplement to my day - there is already iron in the prenatal vitamins.  Can we say constipation?  I may have to adopt Deb's Dad's Poop Report!  HA!


The Good:  Spending time with my husband focusing on us and the pregnancy - we had our 2nd labor class this week.
The Bad:  The nurse's annoying "cleansing breath" phrase.  By the end of the class - Mark was well aware that he would be punched if he said cleansing breath during my labor.  I don't know why it drives me nuts - maybe it's because....
The Ugly:  She says it while we're practicing contractions.  Maybe I just suck at visualization - but how in the world do you visualize/pretend to have a contraction when we're all first time moms?  My favorite part was when for some strange reason she had the moms practice comforting techniques on the dads first.  We (the moms) were massaging the dads...and then she told us to practice a contraction.  I think I hurt Mark's ribs (from laughing) when I asked him - wait, who's having the contraction, you?  In case it needs saying, one thing I can guarantee about my future labor - I will NOT be massaging Mark to get me through a contraction.  HA!


The Good:   The weather in Ohio has finally been super nice the last two days!!!!
The Bad:  I'm ending this post now so that I can go spend some time in it.  HA!
The Ugly:  My lame humorous ending to this blog post.  :D

Cops and Robbers

Today was supposed to be an uneventful Monday.  I'd intended to clean out the spare room and make a Costco trip.  After the Costco trip, I was tired, as I tend to get a little too easily lately, and crashed on the couch with the TV remote.


About 1:45ish, someone bangs on my door hard.  So hard, that I'm briefly annoyed - thinking why is the delivery guy or whoever hitting my door so dang hard?  The dog goes nuts.  And before I even get up off the couch, the person bangs on my door again.  I open the door and there is a Sheriff standing on my porch.  He tells me that I have to lock my door and get out of my house and move to the end of the street.  I ask if I should bring my dog and he says that I should just lock the door and go.


I'm 6 months pregnant.  It doesn't take much to get the tear ducts to work a little bit.  I grab my purse, lock my door and start heading where they told me to go.  I ask what's going on - and he tells me that they'll tell me in a minute, right now I just need to get to the location he indicated.


By now - I'm outside - I can see about 10 Sheriff's cars along my street - my driveway is completely blocked and I can tell SOMETHING is going on.  I call my husband to tell him the story and start crying.  I'm so embarrassed.  I explain to all my neighbors when they ask if I'm okay - that I'm fine, just pregnant and that I cry too easily. :)


We're standing outside in the sun at the end of the cul-de-sac.  (It is NOT cool today - about 90 degrees).  My neighbor Kip tells me what happened.  I guess back when we were out of town, his house was broken into.  Today he came home for lunch and saw someone jump the fence into his immediate neighbors backyard.  (the house directly across the street from me).  He called 911.  The Sheriffs responded immediately.  They chased down one of the robbers immediately while the other one fled into the house directly across the street from me.  The owner told the Sheriff's office that he had a large gun collection that the robbers now probably had access to.  Thus, the Sheriffs were being extra cautious and evacuating anyone in the houses too close.


Watching the Sheriffs load up with shotguns and riot shields is an experience I may never forget.  They were also waiting for SWAT.  About 30 minutes pass and the robber decided to surrender.  I guess he didn't like the look of all the shotguns either.  They loaded him up in cuffs and after a bit, they let us know it was safe to return home.


Then - they proceeded with wrapping up the scene and evidence collection.


To add to it all???  I got back to the house - and discovered that my keys weren't in my purse.  I'd locked myself out.  I had to call Mark and have him come home to let me back in.  One of my neighbors insisted I come inside their house for some apple juice and to sit down while I waited.  


And now?  I'm thinking nothing else is really getting done today.  I'm quite comfortable relaxing on the couch in the air conditioning for the rest of the afternoon!  The amazing thing is that I actually live in a REALLY low crime area.  I guess it just goes to show that things can happen anywhere!


OH! Forgot to add - I'm glad I have such "nosy" and vigilant neighbors.  People on my street notice right away when someone is out of place.  Thus, the robbers were noticed and the Sheriff called right away.  Thank goodness!  Still kind of scary!


Until next time...

Proof that I'm a Runner

Yes, I'm about 6 months pregnant.  And yes, I cannot really run the distances that I enjoy running...right now.


But, I'm still a runner.


Why?   The first software that I loaded onto my new hard drive???  The Garmin Training Center.  To top it off - I literally squealed with joy when I saw that all my runs since last July were still on my Garmin and transferred into the training center on my new hard drive.  In other words - I didn't lose the Garmin data from my first half marathon last October.  Squealed. With. Joy.


Today was MIT and the Columbus Marathon's National Runners Day Celebration.  I was also suffering from group withdrawals.  So, I got up at 7am so that Cassie and I could be there before they left for the morning run.   It was so AWESOME seeing so many of my running buddies and feeling the thrill of the group atmosphere pre-training run.  I'VE MISSED THAT!


Cassie was a big hit with the group and SUPER excited to be there for her first MIT session.  We ran out of the track with the group and then Cassie wanted a potty break.  Probably a good thing, because I was caught up in being happy to be there and might have kept running with the group longer than I should have.  I have issues.  LOL!   Then Cassie and I did a nice walk to Antrim Park and back.  When we got back we socialized with the MIT gang and ate the free cupcakes and drank the free chocolate milk.  (OK - I had a free cupcake and free chocolate milk, Cassie got water).


I finally remembered to ask Judi where she'd gotten her super cool 13.1 cap.  So, after stopping at a baby/maternity garage sale expo, I came back home and ordered myself a cap....and a shirt from One More Mile running apparel.  I simply could not resist the running short sleeve shirt that said "Running is a mental sport - and we are all insane."  I'll have to post pictures of the shirt and cap when they arrive.


Then I watched supervised Mark assembling his new Weber grill.  It looks awesome.  I'll have to host a cook out soon!


A great day so far - and it's only 2pm!


Until next time...

Pregnancy Brain

So, it's a big joke with my husband and some of my friends - whenever I do something stupid or forget something I would normally never forget....we all say "pregnancy brain" and have a little laugh.


Today?  I whole-heartedly believe in the phenomenon known as pregnancy brain.


Mark and I want to slightly remodel our master bathroom.  When we bought the house - it had carpet in the master bathroom - can you see EW!  So, we're trying to get quotes to have tile put in before the baby arrives.  I was making an appointment with a contractor for a consultation today and he asks for my address.  I start rattling off numbers...and then pause.  Wait.  That's not my address.  Silence on the other end.  I literally cannot remember what the numbers are for my street address - I know it starts with 8.  I start rambling and apologize, explaining that I'm pregnant.  HAHAHA.   I open up my front door and go outside to look at my house for the actual numbers.


Later - I tell the story to a friend - and again - can't remember my house number.  How funny/sad is that?  LOL!


THEN - to top the day off?  I go out to lunch with a friend who's in town for the day.  I look at the check and say - I've got this.  Dig in my purse for my wallet.  Yup, you guessed it.  I left my wallet at home.  I'm so incredibly embarrassed. My friend is so nice that she laughs and pulls out her card - I did give her cash when we got back to my house and the missing wallet.


Anyone else have days like this???  Where you can't remember your shirt if you're not wearing it?