1.17.2015

Christie: An Ode in Three Parts

Together in Prague Christmas 2005
Not actually an ode in the elaborately structured poem sense, but three things I just absolutely love about my cousin Christie, my almost sister:
Stylish in Vegas 
1. She's a guaranteed good time
Not in the Jenny- 'for a good time, call' sense, but that you can count the fact that you do anything with Christie and know it will be enjoyable. We pretty much giggled across Prague and London when we went there almost a decade ago, and she was fresh off a broken engagement - well within her rights to be miserable.

Heading into or Girl's Trip I'm pretty sure I was 25% excited to see Justin Timberlake and 70% excited to just hang out with Christie and feed off her energy for life (that leaves 5% for just being excited to go anywhere, a traveler's reserve). Whether cajoling our 'too-old' concert neighbors into getting up and dancing or selling me on some seriously awesome lightning-shaped dollar store earrings, she's just plain fun.
Rockin in London 2005
Ready for Justin Timberlake

2. She's real
Check her Facebook for proof: there's no sugar coating her moments of parental angst. Talk to her on the phone and she'll be honest about the good and bad in her life (no taming excitement on the good, no downplaying the bad for the sake of being tough).

One of the things I often lament in my moments of hating on the world is how easy it is to have superficial connections with people. I'm pretty great at maintaining acquaintances, but it takes real energy to truly connect with someone in a meaningful way. Christie is an inspiration in being genuine. A couple years ago she called me in a flurry because she had met a woman in the WalMart parking lot who she wanted to help. She had offered to watch this woman's kids so she could go to work and wanted to brainstorm long-term solutions for people like her. Not in a patronizing save-the-world kind of way (the way I'm prone to and self-conscious of) but in the way that she had connected with this random woman literally on the side of the road and wanted to improve her life to the same degree that she wants happiness for her closest friends and family.

After a long day playing

3. She's got depth
Sometimes I pick my brainiest, nerdiest, most conundrummy questions and save them up for Christie because I know she can take it. There's no pretense of knowing all the answers, but there's also no question too big or faux pas she's not willing to stew on or opine. She's well-read, actively feeds her brain, is thoughtful and careful about her spiritual and political convictions- treading the fine balance of believing something with enough fervor that it means something and questioning it enough that it's not all-consuming.


I keep trying to convince her and her husband to move right next door to me so I can see her every day, but it hasn't worked yet. Boo.


And an adorable babe to boot, right?

1.05.2015

2 of 3 Trimesters - DONE


I'm 28 weeks pregnant - that's about 7 months for normal people out there who don't count everything weeks. That's right into the third trimester, which from a Dr's POV (and that of a retired neo-natal NICU nurse Mother-in-law), is considered the 'if your baby comes now, not only will it not die, it is not likely to have any serious lifelong medical impairments' marker. Read: Great news for just in case I don't make it another 12 weeks.

Porter and I have been late bloomers in most regards when it comes to talking about the pregnancy/baby. People keep saying I should be talking about it more, or announcing it, or something, but I am very much at a loss for what that even means. I've never been great at announcements. We didn't take a pregnancy test until I'm pretty sure I was almost 2 months pregnant (8 weeks in pregnant-speak). Didn't tell anyone until 11 or so, not because of the dreaded 12 week 'you probably won't miscarry' marker, it just didn't seem to come up. It felt like conversation hijacking or something. We finally told family at 18 weeks, my work at something like 20, Facebook at 24 weeks and now the blog at 28. Yay for full disclosure in, on, and around the internet!

What not telling people did to me is it made all sorts of thoughts I had along the way have no context. I couldn't say them out loud without announcing I was pregnant. I couldn't announce I'm pregnant without some sort of mandatory mini-celebration. No need to go into the discomfort I have celebrating my fertility with acquaintances (and even friends), fact is, now it's out. So here's some of the thought I've had, as I've had them, some time in the last 7 months, in semi-chronological order, as I remembered to write it in my 'Thoughts I've had' notepad on my cell phone:
  • No way is it possible to pee in a cup without peeing on myself, or at least the container
  • The Time Traveler's Wife movie trailer should not make me cry
  • Damn everybody and their opinions. Everyone thinks they did it right. Their way or the highway. LAME!
  • Why won't everyone give me their advice? It's so vague!
  • Was that a kick? Feels like an eye twitch.
  • Round ligements are the worst ligaments
  • I am starving
  • Work is overrated. No way I'm coming back after.
  • I love my job! I Will learn to juggle. Imma gonna be SUPERMOM!
  • What if I can't handle the pain? What if labor is really truly the worst thing ever?
  • Porter is WAY more excited about this than me
  • Why doesn't Porter care about what stroller we use? 
  • Gender, no gender. Gender, no gender. That is the question
  • I hope it's a boy. He will be just like his dad.
  • I hope it's not a boy. Baby penises are gross
  • I am starving!!!!
  • I am getting fat! I have never been fat before. I hate that I hate that I feel fat!
  • Maternity tops are cute!
  • Helllooo ThredUP Maternity!
  • I am definitely not on top of life enough to be in charge of anything/anyone
  • Pregnancy is going to be fundraising gold!
  • Please no crazy acne. Please no gross acne.
  • My boobs are huge. 
  • I need to find a baby to hold. Anyone will do. Who has a baby? Surely someone I know has a baby.
  • My friends are such good moms.
  • My sister and sisters in law are such good moms
  • Awww a dad with a papoose and bottle!
  • What if my child is AWFUL.
  • Turns out sports bras DO have a purpose...
  • I don't crave fast food more but the satisfaction I get from it is expontially higher
  • I could die without ever hearing the phrase 'you just wait' ever again
  • There is so. Much. Stuff. To. Buy. Scratch that. There is so much stuff to choose from.
  • God bless hand-me-downs
  • I need to unsubscribe from this email list. It's giving me anxiety.
  • Holding my nephew, I just can't wait for my own baby to fall into me like he does his mom
  • At the Women of Influence Awards, women kick BUTT!
  • There is really NO WAY to not pee all over yourself when leaving a urine sample.
  • Food. I need food. Food food food food
And plenty more