What is in a Name?

As you know we aren't sharring Roo's name till he is here. Our reasoning behind this is simple 1) I don't want to hear everyone's opinion. 2) I think it will be fun for R to have something exciting to share with family once he is born.

But I also want to put his name up on the wall. I have a spot picked out that is perfect and while I really fell in love with letters from Etsy, at 20 dollars each that was kinda a budget breaker, think over 100 dollars. So I am doing it myself.

I got the steps from a fellow blogger and got to work. The project was fairly easy and the total cost was 20 dollars. Obviously I can't share the whole finished project yet but here is a single letter through the proccess.








And a funny story just to show how wierd people can get about not sharring his name:


I was at Joann's picking out letters to go on the wall which would make up Roo's name, when a lady comes up to me and starts asking me how far along I am and such. I have two different types of letters spelling out his name on the floor since I am trying to decide which font to use. She continues to talk to me about her children (she is about my mom's age) and then asks if we have a name picked out. I told her "Yes but we aren't sharing, however I think it is a obvious" and I nod toward the floor. I figured she would look down and see his name and that would be the end of it. Instead I got a ten minute lecture about how I should share the name with her because it isn't as though she is going to tell anyone. I told her again to look down at the ground, but she wouldn't, she just kept getting more irate with me. She finally walked away having never looked down, its funny how pissed she got about it.

Politics

With the election getting so close I have begun to feel the tension in our house rise to a point where you can cut it with a knife. Last night we went out for dinner with family and when politics arose I could feel R shifting his weight, getting uncomfortable in his skin, to be honest so was I. Living in a mixed household is a lot easier than discussing it out in public. We took turns changing the subject. It bothers me that R will actually go into attack mode rather than just try and change the subject sometimes. Thankfully last night we were able to keep the other side bashing to a minimum.

A few nights ago the news came on after a show I was watching. They were being very optimistic about Obama winning. I could feel my heart in my throat, my lungs getting squished as I remembered sitting in front of the TV four years ago hearing a similar report about Kerry. I asked R to turn off the TV telling him I couldn't watch it. He responded with "Why? Your guy is winning, aren't you happy?" in a tone that expressed all to clearly his disgust. As I wobbled (yes I wobble in the evenings now) out of the room I told him no, I hate that people are counting the chickens before they hatch. It reminds me to much of four years ago, and how I felt like the world would end, when Bush was re-elected. I remember everyone, including me being so sure Kerry would win, after all how could we as a nation re-elect Bush, and yet he was re-elected. I want Obama to win but these days I find myself trying more and more to be okay with the idea that he might not. Because I can't go through the shock of another loss like 04. Don't get me wrong if Obama loses I will wear black. I will probably cry too but it won't end my world because at least it isn't four more years of Bush.

In a completly seperate coversation R asked me if I thought I could ever live in a swing state, we aren't actually thinking about moving this was just one of those "what If" conversations couples have. I have often said I would love to live in a state where my vote really "counted" and could make a big difference but when I think about it, maybe not. Even here in CA I am considered a leftie liberal, so the in the rest of the nation my ideas and politics are considered extreme. While I love the idea of living somewhere where my vote could actually be the difference of my guy winning or the other guy, the years between national elections would be torchier. I love my friends who disagree with my politics, but I can't imagine living in a place where the majority of people were significantly less extreme than me. I love my green party friends, my friends who vote purely with the democratic party; no I don't include myself in this group being pro-death penalty, and simi anti gun-control. In short it would be to hard to hold my tongue all the time, and if I lived anywhere else I might have to. I like being part of the majority in CA. I like being able to voice my political opinion in a room of strangers and know that it is likely the majority is with me. So no, we will not be moving out of state any time soon.

Show and Tell Sunday

Today I am particapaiting in my very first show and tell Sunday! I hope there are many more to come.

Today I was suposed to spend the day with a friend in the city but alis she got sick and had to cancel. R had a thing with friends planned but apon hearing how I had nothing to do he cancled his plans for a Date Day. Date Days are common in my household but lately have become rare endagered days, brinking on exstinction. I was thrilled R wanted to do everything possable to make sure they didn't become exstenct.

R planned on of our favorite Date Days a outing to Mount D.! We live fairly close but it still takes us about 30 minutes to get from our house to the base of the mountain, and then another 45 minutes to get to the top. It is a wonderful place, full of wildlife. We got to have an up close look at some today when a racoon visited a campsite we were at.







We spent time at the top looking down at our towns. It is funny what you can see from 3,900 feet. We could both make out the hyws that form our area but neither of us could tell exactly where our house was.








We took some pics of us using the timmer feature on my camera. I think this one came out nice:






And also some belly pics:











A wonderful time was had by both of us and it was just what we needed to re-connect.

30 WEEKS! 3/4 of the way there!

This is a very exciting milestone for us. We are 30 weeks today and thus 3/4 of the way done. I am very happy to have made it thus far.

This week I started having regular braxton hicks contractions. They aren't much fun to be honest. My belly feels like a basket ball and you could bounce quarters off of it if you tried. R likes to feel my tummy when I have them because you can tell quite easily where Roo is. Roo doesn't seem to mind the BH to much but he does snuggle as high up and he can when I get them, making me more unconformable.

I officially have to many stretch marks to count. They itch, and I don't like them but at the same time am happy to get them. They are a small price to pay for the joy of motherhood and pregnancy.

We worked on the nursery a lot this week. R STILL needs to paint, a subject that is getting really old in our house. We have the 0 VOC paint, the supplies and I cleaned off the porch but no pained accessories yet. I am crossing my fingers and toes it is done this weekend. R is great about somethings but he works much better with deadlines, so my mom told him if he didn't get them painted she would net week. R hates being shown up by others so hopefully this is the motivation he needs.

Some of you may have noticed my profile now reads that I write TWO blogs; this one and Roo's World. Roo's World will be up and running shortly. It will be the place for all pics of Roo and possibly a naked belly pic or two. It will be invite only though because I don't want random people with pics of my son. If you want a invitation leave your email address, I plan on giving an invite to all regular readers, so don't be afraid to ask. Once I get you added I will delete your comment so that your email isn't floating around in the blogisphere.

If things were switched around?

Of you have been reading my blog for any length of time you will know politics are close to my heart, and that I lean LEFT, very very left in fact. Today I came across something about race and this election, race and racism is something I strugle with. I am not color blind and find that I occasionally will make an assumption about a person based on the color of their skin. I am NOT proud of this, but I do admit itand think a lot more people do this than admit it. It is something I am trying to change within me. When that happens I try to be aware of why I have made such an assumption and then disregard that assumption, being aware of my behavior. At all times I try to never let an assumption direct my behavior. I am really only two generations removed from direct racism. My father's parents are Greek (thus have very dark skin) and faced racism growing up in the South including being called the N word and my grandmother couldn't be friends with a girl in her class because she was "whiter" than her. This is nothing compared to the racism, both individual and systematic, that face our youth of color today but it does make me more aware of racism in general. All of that being said I want to share the following:

What if things were switched around -- Obama v McCain
Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child? You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.



Educational Background:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cume Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism


Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the e world. You make the call.


There has to be a reason that, in spite of the above, we are where we are today.
Of course, there is a generous dosage of country-wide stupidity too.

I would love to know how this makes you feel. Please feel free to leave a comment on either side of the issue. I do ask that you be respectful of me and that this is MY blog not yours, so if you want to do name calling, or be disrespectful do it on your own blog.

So those are pg emotions...

You know the rumors that pg ladies are overly emotional, well they are somewhat true. I got my first dose of them last week, when R didn't paint the accent pieces of furniture on the day he had set aside for it. It wasn't one of those wimpy cries either. I am talking full on hysterics, mascara running, not breathing well cries that lasts for at least 5 minutes if not longer. The kind where just when you think it is done, you start right back up again.

Since then I have actually though R was having an affair! Those who know R will laugh because they know that even though we haven't been intimate in a long time, R would never ever do something like that. He isn't having an affair but he also wasn't where he was supposed to be, or answering his phone. He did leave me a message on my phone that his plans had changed and he was at a movie and thus wasn't avalible via phone, BUT I had left my phone at home and thus didn't get the message until after my freak out. I am sure pre-pg this would have bothered me to not know where he was but not quite as badly as it did that day. I thought for sure he would come home smelling of some other girl. And of course in this hormonal state I blamed the alleged affair on me because who wouldn't cheat on his pg wife who refuses sex?

The list goes on and on of emotional break downs, these are the two worst ones. I don't think it is depression, since I feel fine after I cry. I am getting out of bed laughing and enjoying life still so that is great. It does however have me worried, and R too. We both agreed to be sure and talk about any signs of depression we might see in me. If you see it you will say something too, right?

29 and 1/2 week update

Sorry I haven't updated you all in a while. For the most part things are good. Time is flying in some regards and in others it is standing still. With the economy the way it is our house is a little scared as I am sure all single income families are just like us and feeling the pinch.

Roo is excellent! I feel a lot less rolls now and more kicks, pinches and little movements, we are particularly active from 4-5am, 9-9:30am and 4-6pm and 9-10pm. If I do kick counts during any of those above times Roo passes in under 20 minutes easy and under 10 50% of the time. Sometimes we pass in under 5 minutes! We haven't had an u/s but at last appt we were measuring just fine, so I am not worried. He weighs a little over 2 and a 1/2 pounds maybe as much as 3 pounds now. My family has "big" babies 7.5-8.5 pounders and I would guess that if Roo shows up anytime after X-mas he will be about 8 pounds. My Dr says that is right on track and well within the norm. She sees me having no problem giving birth to even a 9 or 10 pound baby, but I would rather not have to push out a 10 pound bowling ball! I am however happy to hear all of this because R's family keeps commenting on how "big" the baby is. I hate hearing this because their idea of BIG is more than 6 pounds at birth. No offense to mom's with 6 pound babies but that seems SMALL to me, I know it isn't small but it does seem small to me.

As for my health, I am doing well. I want to talk about my emotions in a different post but physically I am doing great. My Dr, R and I are all VERY happy about my weight gain. I have yet to hit the 10 pound mark! WOOO HOOO! I couldn't be prouder of myself about this. I am still walking a lot, but have missed yoga for a while. I NEED to get back on track. I do have heart burn now and need TUMS quite often. My back pain is manageable, which might be the best news of all. I know keeping the weight off is really helping with my back. R also gives me a massage every night and that helps too.

We still have a lot to do before baby gets here. Our nursery accent pieces need to be painted (R's job), hang the shelving and pictures, organize clothing, find out what last minute things we will need. We are also still missing some of the "big" stuff too, like our stroller! R's parents both have said they will get this for us but neither has. In fact neither of them has bought the baby anything, which I must say I find weird and annoying given how generous others have been. I am sure they will eventually but it would be nice to feel a little special since I am giving both of them their first biological grandchild!

That is it for now. I promise to be a better blogger this week.