I'm Pregnant!

(if you haven't already heard, or guessed, as I'm sure some of you have...)

and that my friends is why I quit my job. 

My job required me getting up at 530 am to take care of Kaleo, drop Adam off at his shuttle, and then drive to work and arrive there by 7:30am, where I stayed until 4:30, sometimes later. For 9 hours I would watch 2 boys, ages 3 and 2, who both were slow in their development. This meant I couldn't understand a word the 3 year old was saying, and the 2 year old wasn't even talking. Then I would pick Adam up, and we wouldn't get home until almost 530pm. By then we'd both be so tired we ended up eating frozen pizza on paper plates most nights.

I was getting paid such a tiny amount in comparison to Adam, for such a long day and so much work, that it just wasn't even worth it anymore. What was I doing it for anyway? Something to do during the day? A way to feel like I was contributing? Yes...but it really wasn't the best way for me to go about it. 

Then, I got pregnant.

Yes, on purpose.

Walking into someone else's house, with their strange smells and strange food, and changing someone else's kids' diapers, with their strange poop that I wouldn't just be cleaning off their bums but also their walls and themselves and their carpets....

yeah....I couldn't handle it. 

I started trying to bring my own lunches to their house everyday because I could no longer stomach their food. But I was not only constantly nauseous, but also constantly starving. So when I would run out of my own food (which I always. always did.) I'd be worse off than when I started. 

But I could only handle so much of that, too.

I gave it an honest try.

I stayed for 3 solid weeks before I told them I needed to quit as soon as possible.

It was not fair to anyone that I spend my days on their couch, curled up in a ball, or in the bathroom for far too long, or sitting on their kitchen floor with my knees pulled up to my chest while the boys watched through the baby gates. 

These boys deserved - and needed - better care than that.

 The next week was my last, and by October 1st I was a free woman.

In comparison to those 3 weeks, the last 5 have been much more tolerable.

Puking in the comfort of my own home,

not cooking when I just. can't. handle. it.

Spending all day in my PJs watching movies and reading books.

Sleeping (or some form of sleeping that involves me tossing and turning and going to the bathroom and drinking more water every half hour) for 12 hours every night.

It's just what I needed.

We found out the weekend of our 2nd anniversary, so it was such a sweet surprise. We celebrated by buying our baby's first outfit - one of each, cuz you never know what you're gonna get.

(Though Adam swears he knows its a boy. Go figure.)

We loved seeing the Ultrasound a few days ago. It is absolutely insane to watch this little BaHa (Baby Harrison) doing jumping jacks and sporadic kicks and punches and karate chops and not feel a thing. 

On stomach

This profile took awhile to get. Baby kept facing away from the camera and was being stubborn, but with the nurse's prodding and my laughing, we finally got him to turn over for a bit.

Cute little nose.

 This was taken two weeks ago, at 11 weeks.

Today I am either 13 or 14 weeks, depending on which due date we listen to - the LMP or the ultrasound. I like to just settle somewhere between the two.

So now I'm 13 1/2 weeks, which makes baby's arrival date somewhere between May 3 and May 10th.

We are so excited. And can I just say it feels SO good to get it out??? 

I hated hiding out over here. Not that I've felt much like blogging the last 8 weeks (notice?)....

And we've been trying to get Kaleo excited that he won't be the only child anymore in just 6 short months

...but he just won't hear any of it

So. I quit my job.

Like, a month ago. And maybe one day I'll tell you that story. But for now, I'll just tell you what I've been up to with all this free time on my hands!

-I've been keeping up with the latest episodes of The Office. Though I'm just never satisfied with it these days, now that Michael is gone. My favorite one so far? The Incentive. If you haven't already, watch it. Even if you don't follow the show. It's hilarious and heart-warming all in one. All the others so far this season have been meh, so-so, but this one reminded me why I fell in love with this show to begin with.

-I've started a new episode-watching-trend with New Girl. Pretty cute, mostly. Though I probably shouldn't be proud that I've added another tv show to my list of things to do.

-This is my new thing. Window painting.

-And we went to a Halloween party. Though what we really wanted to wear was this:

We actually went dressed like this:

Can you guess what we are?? .....

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!! We were singing "It's peanut butta jelly time!" all night.

-My aunt visited us a few weekends ago and we picked out some pumpkins to carve from the local Papa John's farm. She decided to carve the least amount possible, making slits for eyes and a mouth - so I did the opposite. Wide eyes and a huge gaping mouth. Sadly, this technique meant that he didn't last too long, and our little friend is no longer with us, but his memory lives on.

-I've committed to NaNoWriMo. Though I don't think I've fully grasped yet what all that will entail. And I probably won't until I'm staring at a blank computer screen for 9 hours on November 1st, and I realize I only have 29 days left to write a novel (less if you remember the fact that my mother is visiting for 10 days over Thanksgiving break).

-We went to New York City (see post below)

-I finished a photography class with the local community college. It was sometimes boring, but there were a few new tricks I learned that will be helpful in the future. Plus, a kid gave me a macro coupler (which is like a magnifying lens cover) for free. Not exactly as nice as a macro lens, but still awesome.

-We moved apartments, and now have an extra den for only $10 more a month. This was 4 weeks ago, and my back has still not recovered. I am momentarily paralyzed every time I sneeze, and I've concluded I need a cane for my middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. I do believe I may have a serious problem that should probably be checked out. Soon....now....

-Reading! I've begun the Harry Potter quest all over again. I have never. never. never. read them all, one through seven, right in a row. In fact, I've only read #'s 5, 6, and 7 once. It's been fun going all the way back to the beginning, and forcing myself to pretend like it's my very first exposure to the wizarding world and the three amigos.

-I've been trying tons of new recipes out. When I was working, I barely had time to put a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. But now, I can spend as much - or as little - time on making a freshly made, homecooked meal. It makes such a difference. When we are eating junky, quick, easy, cheap, crummy food, both Adam and I feel just like that: junky and crummy. And we say, "Ugh....nothing sounds good..." all the time. Now, we enjoy a variety of meats and veggies and dinners every night and Adam can take leftovers for lunch rather than eating out, and everyone is just happier all around. Here are some of the meals I've tried so far:
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Wraps w/ Malibu Dipping Sauce
Sweet Pork Burritos
Meatloaf (not a new recipe)
Butternut Squash Pasta (unfortunately I didn't write down the recipe to this, as it was kinda made up. But, neither of us really liked it too much, so not much of a loss there....)
Pork Chile Verde

-I've joined pinterest (pinterest.com/mrose0905) It started as a great way to organize all the fun recipes I wanted to try out, but since has grown into an everything organizer. Now when I check magazines out from the library, I mark every article that I think had something interesting or useful in it, I look up that article on the magazine's website, and then I pin it. I can then return my magazine to the library, while keeping a virtual copy of my favorite articles. It's great. I'm also determined not to become a poser pinner - if I'm gonna pin it, I've got to do it....

-With that being said, here is the beginnings of the apron I'm working on. I have never owned a cute apron before. And the only apron I once owned was so ugly my dog thought it appropriate to rip it to shreds. Sigh.

Those frills are ridiculous to deal with, by the way...

So! This makes me feel better, at least. Seeing a nice long list of the productive things I've been doing, because sometimes it feels like I just lounge around in my pajamas all day......oh yeah. I do that too.

Changes!

(It is significant to me that this post happens to be the 100th!)

Just call me Nanny McMeg!

This Wednesday I will be starting a full-time job as a nanny. 

I will be working more hours than Adam.

I will be spending my days with 2 boys: 18 months and 30 months.

I will be getting up at 5am.

5.A.M.

Is that clear? 

I need to be held accountable.

Why 5am when my job doesn't start until 7:30?

Because I need time to stretch, meditate, read scriptures, write.

But mostly because I have a puppy who needs lots of exercise before he can be left alone for the whole day.

I've been walking him for 30-60 mins in the mornings. And today, my walk somehow, unbeknown (I love that word) to me, slipped into a jog. 

And it felt so good. So good that I'm going to continue running in the mornings, dragging Kaleo behind me the whole way. And heck, I might even start looking for small races (like, 5k .... or less) to motivate me.

I realize this is much easier said than done.

We all know that Google has all the answers. So when I typed in

How to get up at 5am everyday

I actually got some good answers, ideas, and inspiration.

And I'm potentially excited for this new venture of mine.

Along with running, I also want to start writing again, but my creativity is pretty much shot.

So I was excited when I stumbled upon
this article on recovering my creativity; 

I plan on following its advice as well
 (morning pages and the artist date)

This is a big deal. 

That's why I'm telling you.

So you can be excited with me!

The In-Between Life

For awhile there I felt like I was living 

The Graduated Life.

You know, sleeping in past 10, reading each and every book I ever wanted to in the past 2 1/2 years that I didn't have time for, swimming in the ocean that's been calling my name for the past 2 1/2 years as well,

spending time with family, eating candy and not caring (though I pretty much do that all the time anyway), starting to plan for my trip to Europe, etc, etc, etc.

But now...

it's feels only like the waiting period. For whatever's next. Hoping and praying its a job!

Back of my head-ing it's more living with in-laws. 

However, on the plus side,

Adam started a temporary job working construction for a good friend of the family,

and since the construction site was  1 hr + from Adam's dad's house,

he offered to let us stay in their studio apartment to the side of their house.

It's been a blessing to have a place of our own again, one that's a bit more light and airy and roomy.

Unfortunately, the moldiness of it all is making us both sick.

So I'm working on that one today.

While Adam works all day,

I have recently begun to volunteer at the Humane Society.

I love it so far - I get all the cuddle time I could ever want 

(short of nighttime cuddles, which will come...oh, it's coming. And until then I still have Adam :)

Perhaps I'm still enjoying it because I haven't yet come to the day where I show up and one of them is gone -

and I"m not allowed to ask if he was adopted or not.

Sigh. It comes with the territory, I suppose.

But yesterday I played with 2 puppies and got 6 big scratches

Walked 3 dogs and watched the last one get reunited with its lost and found owner

and snuggled 8 kitties and witnessed one of them get adopted.

At least I'm staying busy!

Also, reading John Green. 

In-Between or not, we are still enjoying the journey.