Sometimes you just have to go

Not as in the bathroom as you'd expect a pregnant woman to say but get away.  Get away from it all!  Vacation baby!!  A nice unplanned vacation.  Where?  Who knows?  Just get in the car and go.

We did that this past weekend.  It was a blast.  It's funny because before having a child I would have been the first one to run away on some unplanned, no hotel, no itinerary vacation in a heartbeat.  This weekend it wasn't me who suggested it but my husband.  Wait, what??  Mr. "let's have a plan" said let's go?  Yup and I was the one who was like, "um, should we?  Maybe we should plan something for next weekend?"  I'm so glad that I didn't listen to myself and talk us down from it.

 

MoneyPenny maxin' and relaxin' on the road.  Jinx was feeling a little camera shy.

We made some quick plans for our pooches to be taken care of at a wonderful family members' home, packed the car and headed out.  Where?  We didn't know, we just knew what direction.  West.

We went west about 3 hours and ended up in a cute little town on the coast.  We tried to get a hotel there but they were totally booked up except for the one that was more than $200 a night and we'd only be there to sleep really.  No big deal, we decided to hang in the town until the end of the night any way.

She insisted upon wearing this hat while we rolled around town

It was a cute little town.  We ended up seeing part of an old movie in the park and playing at one of the best splash pads we'd seen in quite some time.  At first I thought that my daughter wouldn't like it because she isn't always into water in her face but after the first mist of water she was hooked.  We ran and ran all through the fountains.  I did kind of giggle because one of the thoughts I had was, "great day to wear a pink bra under your white tank top.  Smooth.  Real smooth."  In my defense, I had another shirt over when I got dressed that morning but knowing we were going to run through these fountains and probably get wet, I took it off so that I could wrap my daughter in something when we were done.

It was so cool

After had our fun in the fountains we grabbed some ice cream and headed back to the car.  The nearest hotel we could find within reason was about 45 minutes away and it was getting really late.  We knew as soon as we got in the car someone would fall out immediately.  I'm not sure we even made it onto the freeway before she passed out.  It was well worth the squishy shoes and damp clothes to see her have so much fun in the water.

Look at the sheer joy in her face!

The next morning we woke up and headed out to grab some breakfast and find a new destination to head off too.  We decided on a town about an hour from our hotel.  Once we got there we decided to hit one of the smaller beaches to hang out and chill for a little while.  I decided that aside from the beautiful houses that there wasn't much there and we headed off to another town further north about 30 minutes.  I'm glad we did because for that afternoon until the next day we had a blast.

We didn't get to the beach again that day to swim but we did get to the beach.  My Mini loved playing in the sand and even just getting her feet wet in the water.  We walked the boardwalk and the pier a bit.  Later that night we watched part of a musical fountain show.  It was really kind of neat the way they coordinated the music with the water and lights.

The next day we packed the car and headed off to the beach.  The whole trip, I really just wanted to go to the beach to hang out.  I love the water.  I have a love/hate relationship with sand.  I love sand just not when it sticks to you... and everything else.  We played in the water and the sand and had a great time.  It was so great to get away with no plans, no worries and no rush.

New beach, more sand...

We did pack up that afternoon and head home.  The three hour drive was a breeze and nice timing as we'd tired out Mini at the beach.  She slept almost the entire ride home.  She was so good in the car and didn't complain.  We did have quite a few movies ready for her but we really only needed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Man she loves that show.

I can probably recite most of this DVD by heart.  Ugh...

It was definitely different going on an unplanned vacation with a little one but it was definitely well worth it.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to be more spontaneous and to stop getting caught up in everyday responsibilities.

Fruit, Flowers or Appliances

This past week we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.  The traditional gifts are fruit or flowers.  The modern gifts are appliances.  I decided that my husband would probably not be super excited over fruit, which is something I buy every week at the grocery store, or flowers because well because they're flowers.  So I opted for the modern gift of appliances.

When I think about what we want in the appliance department, it's usually me who wants something.  Well, let's be real, when don't I want something??  I long for the days that I will have a kitchen with a dishwasher.  One with all the bells and whistles. Like this pretty baby with all the adjustable racks, high heat wash, and hidden control panel...  I'm drooling...

Oh my goodness look at how beautiful this stainless steel darling is

Or, other beautiful convenience appliances such as this Dyson Absolute cordless vacuum

I mean carpets and non-carpet floors with no cord to hold me back?? It would be Heaven...

But those items would me me happy... not my husband.  So, I had to think of things that he would want or like so I ventured down the road of speakers.  I may regret this in the near future.  He likes to listen to podcasts and other various things while he's showering, shaving, cleaning or mowing the lawn.  So, I figured that is something that he would like.  

I did a little research and ended up with two different speakers.  One that is ready for steamy places like the bathroom and one that would be good basically anywhere else.  The first one I decided to buy was the Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II and the second was the Photive Rain WaterProof Portable Bluetooth Shower Speaker.

I think I'll end up using this bad boy too... I hope it's as good as the reviews say it is.

This little bad boy is for the bathroom or wherever

I definitely did more research about the Bose speaker than the little waterproof one but hey, there was quite a price difference between the two.  I hope that he likes them both.  If not, I bought some really high tech paper weights.

It's funny to think back to four years ago.  We we got married.  Married...

Here's the part where I get mushy so prepare yourself...

I'm so lucky to be with someone who I love so much.  I married a man who I always knew would be a great father and has not disappointed me or my daughter.  He is incredibly compassionate and caring, not only to me but to so many others.  It makes me crazy that you can't say no sometimes but I love that it's within your nature to be as caring as you are which makes it hard for you to say no (somebody has to be the nice one and I'm not there yet).  Because of him, I have learned to be a calmer person because of the person that he is.  I've learned so much about myself and worked to be a better version of myself because I care so much for him.  I may have a long road ahead of me but at least I'm going the right direction.  There are so many other things that I could say about him and what we have become together but I think that my point has been made.

Four years ago on a mildly humid Wednesday in August we were getting geared up for the next umteeth years of our lives looking like this:

Something blue 

 Yup, that's everyone :-)

Something old and Something borrowed

 Cheers! To many more years!!

I'm having a baby...

Elephant!!

Yup, a soft plush little baby elephant...

Just kidding, that was mean.  I'm having a baby people.  I real live human.  That's what's been brewing this whole time.  No, I don't know the gender of the baby yet.  I'm pretty sure that it isn't going to change.  It's pretty determined by the time the seed has been planted.

I've read some posts lately where people are getting offended because people have asked what they are having.  This is the second time that we haven't found out what the baby was going to be.  I think it is natural for people to be curious and to ask.  I don't think that you should be offended that someone has asked you about it.

Side note: Yes, I called the baby an it.  My doctor laughed at me yesterday because at 27 weeks, I'm still calling the baby an "it".  Haha!  I mean they don't really look like one gender or another until they're much older.  Usually the only way to tell is by what they're wearing or asking.  Look at this face, if I didn't tell you this was a girl would you really know?  What if this were a little boy?  He'd be just as cute.

To me it also seems unfair to be mad if people ask you if you want the other gender.  I have a daughter.  I love her with every ounce of my being.  If I'd had a son instead would I feel different?  No, absolutely not.  I would still love every bit of him even if I didn't like every mess they made or tantrum he threw.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of people who were dead set on having one gender over the other but at the end of the day, I'm sure a good majority of those people can't imaging having the other because they've been so fulfilled in other ways.  Really you get what you get.  It's ok to want one gender or another.

But really, I just want a healthy baby...

No one in their right mind thinks, I want to have the sickest baby with the most problems.  I mean really, I think it should go without saying that you want to have a healthy, strong baby that grows into a healthy, decent adult that won't have to be put through traumatic experiences, ever.  I would think that you automatically wanted the best for the life you've been growing.

Boy??? Girl???

Of course I want a healthy baby but don't judge me if I say that I want a boy.  I already have a wonderful daughter and no I wouldn't be mad if I had a little girl again. I would be over the moon.  Plus if I have another girl, I wouldn't have to buy A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G because they're being born around the same time of the year and everything.  Judge me if you want, but I would love to have a son as well.  Is that going to change the love I have for my unborn child, no.  Be real.  I'm going to love this kid just as much as my daughter.

Dinner

I used to be really good at planning dinner and knowing what I wanted to eat.  Since I've been pregnant with this baby I have been struggling.  I thought last week that I'd gotten my flow back but today the library is closed.  I want nothing that I have in my arsenal of recipes.  

Of course I could just pick something up, but I don't want to.  I feel like when you order food from restaurants it's all about the meat and the starch.  Where are the vegetables people???  I actually like vegetables and don't tell me something silly like potatoes are a vegetable.  Yes, technically it is a nightshade vegetable, however when planning meals, I consider it a starch.

Sometimes when I have days like this I have to text my friends and see what they are having.  The first response I got was, "Fish in lemon aioli, rice and baked cauliflower."  It didn't take but 2 seconds for the response to come back.  Ugh!  That sounds good but I don't have fish out or aioli...  sounds great but I'm not making that tonight.  Second text back was, "chicken and broccoli lasagna."  What?? Is that a real thing??  Well, I guess it is because the recipe shot back to me in record time.  Ok, but I'm not feeling that either...

What to do...

I wish that my husband had more of an opinion about what he wanted to eat.  I'd say the same about my daughter but she'd probably want to eat oatmeal or pizza for dinner every day.  Cooking is something that I love to do and enjoy while doing it but sometimes I just can't think of what to cook.

Hours later as I finish this post, something finally clicked and I got dinner under control.  We ended up having bison burgers, beef burgers with bacon and cheddar, hot dogs, bbq chicken, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, baked beans all on the grill and cole slaw made with napa cabbage.  Everything turned out pretty good but clearly I wasn't really sure what I wanted because I cooked everything!  We also had fresh strawberries and nectarines on the side.  

Yup, I blew it, I don't think I took a picture of the food as I cooked or even after.  Whoops!

If you would have stopped by my house you would have thought I was having a real cookout, not just dinner. It's funny how that happens sometimes.  It took me getting to the grocery store and wondering around for an hour to gather everything I needed to make it happen.  

I really hope that my brain starts getting back to where it needs to be for dinner.  I used to be creative and good at it but now I feel more like I'm slapping things together hoping that my family doesn't think that it, "tastes like wood."  <-- If you are old enough you will get the song reference... if not well... damn I just aged myself.

A week of Mondays

This has been one of those weeks where everyday has felt like Monday so far.  I'm trying to figure out how I pissed off my karma keeper.  Three of the four days this week were not Monday and they have felt just like what you would imagine a Monday should be like...

Monday was well Monday.  There were two things that happened at work that could have been corrected after the fact but it was one of those things that could have been bad if someone hadn't caught it for me.  I was super thankful that they were caught before it was an issue.  I probably should have seen it earlier but I didn't.  Of course no one wants to mess up at work but it always concerns me when it happens; all I can think is how could I have caught that?  I should have caught that.  Oh well, it was caught and it was fixed.

Tuesday was even more fun than Monday.  I arrived to work about an hour and 15 minutes later than I normally because I couldn't get my car started.  I had to start another one of our vehicles that we don't drive often to give myself a jump.  I dropped my daughter off at her great grandparents (who normally watch her) and headed off to work.  After I got to work, I turned off my car and just tried to restart it before I when in.  *click* Nothing.  At least I made it to work.  After work I tried to start it again and again, nothing.

It did actually end up starting without a jump after I had already called someone to help me.  I felt a little silly for having asked for help but oh well.

Yup, see that battery buried under all those nifty safety brackets

Once I got the car home I wanted to see if my battery was bad or if there were a bigger issue.  After 7 bolts and a few bruises on my arm because of the way the battery is in the engine compartment I got it out.  Whew.  I did have to go to the auto parts store to see if I had a bad battery or not.  Since my husband was at work, I drove the truck that I used earlier in the day to jump myself to the store... mind you it has no current plates or driving insurance.  Whoops.  Well, the choice was either use the unplated vehicle or walk... I wasn't going to walk with that heavy battery to the store.  It's close but not that close.  Luckily for me it was a bad battery...

Wednesday was another day of fun work corrections to do.  I got in and found that I had made a similar error to the one we caught on Monday.  I could not have been more frustrated with myself.  Again, I had to apologize to my boss and tell her that I would definitely be more careful.  I know we all make mistakes but I get so frustrated with myself when I make the same mistake.  Oh well, she understood and I made some changes to try to ensure that it won't happen again.

Thursday, hasn't been bad but today has been so slow.  I mean I feel like every time I look at the clock it's only moved one minute.  I really just want this work week to get done...

It definitely wasn't the worst week ever but man has it felt super long... super long...

I'm glad it's Friday and it no longer feels like a Monday.  Whew!