Friday, November 29, 2013

34 Weeks, Thanksgiving and Christmas

I hit the 34 week mark this past Wednesday.  8 1/2 months down, hopefully less than 6 weeks to go! 

This year's 34-week belly is flatter and more saggy-bottomed than the one below.
34 weeks from the first time around!  It was early July in this pic - definitely not the end of November and cold.

The baby is SUPER active, kicking and punching and rolling and thumping up a storm.  I'm surprised that I haven't peed myself yet, as much as this baby likes to punch my bladder.  But I am pretty certain that I have a bruised rib or two from either little feet or a bony butt.  I looked at my journal entry from being 34 weeks the first time around to compare the then and now.......then I said that the baby was super active, exhaustion was starting to really kick in, I had developed "permacankle", my fingers were starting to swell and sleeping was getting harder as it was getting harder to get comfortable.  This time around the exhaustion started LONG ago, I don't have swollen feet AT ALL and my fingers have only swollen twice that I've noticed.  I can agree with my old self that sleeping has been getting more difficult the past week or so.  Sometimes when I wake up my right hip will be SCREAMING where I've been sleeping on it, so I'll roll over.  Then later I'll wake up and my rib cage will be SCREAMING where I've been sleeping on my left side.  It's kind of a no win when it comes to sleeping.  But that's okay.  It was expected and I'm still getting enough sleep here and there to last through the days!

I would REALLY like to have this baby by the end of the year.  If I make it at least 3 more weeks, I'll be out of the woods of having a preemie.  And a healthy baby who decides to make his/her appearance in 3 weeks would be FINE by me.  It would be awesome to have the little nugget home for Christmas!  But 4 more weeks would actually be pretty perfect, because it would give Baby #2 one more week of development and put having him/her right between Christmas and New Years.  The only person it would suck for would be the baby.  He/She would never get to celebrate their birthday at school, their friends would often be out of town or busy with family for the holidays so birthday parties would always be more a "miss" than a "hit", and the focus of the entire month of December by everybody on the planet would always be Christmas.  So if we DO end up having a holiday baby, we're going to have to figure out ways to always make the day a big deal instead of making it feel like it's on the back burner to Christmas.




Of course it is an extremely high possibility that this baby won't show up until after the NewYear, since he/she isn't due until the 8th anyway.  Of course I know that this is actually the best thing for the baby, but a bummer for me for more selfish reasons, like the currently paid insurance deductible that would start over after the 1st and the several thousand dollar tax break that I'd miss out on.  Along with me being pregnant for longer in general!



We spent Thanksgiving this year in Nashville (still here through Sunday), and it was a success as always!  Lucas fried the turkey (which was an organic one that I pre-ordered), I made an apple-cranberry side dish that was super simple and turned out delicious, and Lucas's mom made sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, broccoli casserole and pumpkin cheesecake.  We had the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on all morning, and then we (well, me and Janice, at least) watched a cheesy made-for-TV Christmas movie called "Holiday In Handcuffs" followed by "Love Actually" (one of my faves). 

My most favorite couple in the movie.  This marriage proposal makes me cry every time!
And of course, one of my most favorite lines ever.  Also makes me cry every time.  Now let's go kill some zombies.

Today Janice, Henry, Delano and I are just hanging out and relaxing (no Black Friday shopping for us) while Lucas and his dad work on his garage roof (BRRRRRR!!!).  Then this evening we'll be going out for Mexican and celebrating a family friend's birthday, which was yesterday.  I might bundle Delano up and take him for a stroll around the neighborhood this afternoon, but that just depends on the weather.  The high today is around 50 degrees, which is fine as long as the wind isn't blowing!

So Christmas is right around the corner.  Four weeks minus two days, to be exact.  And December is going to fly by, because my calendar is already full of happenings.  I do love the Christmas season, though.  Bring it on!

Frankfurt, Germany during Christmastime.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Singing at Dinner and Car Seat #2!

Well I'm sure glad THAT'S over.

Last night I sang two songs - "Breath of Heaven" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You" - at the annual neighborhood dinner, and it went okay.  And when I say it went okay, that's not me fishing for compliments.....it really went just okay.  It wasn't bad at all, but it definitely could have been a whole lot better.  Everybody clapped, several people told me I did a great job and we ate a good dinner.  And my overtired child actually behaved the entire time, which I was thankful for.  The end.  Now I don't have to worry about it anymore!  Next up is the neighborhood caroling on December 16th, but that's no biggie.  It's not solo singing on a stage, that's for sure!
So I bought (another) new car seat yesterday!  I was leaving my piano rehearsal yesterday morning when a friend of mine told me they had the car seat base I was originally looking for at Bargain Hunt. 


I had never been in Bargain Hunt before, so I stopped by there on the way back to my mom's house.  I'm not really sure how to explain Bargain Hunt.  It's kind of like a thrift store, except that everything is new.  Some of the boxes are beat up and some things are missing their original boxes (and therefore might be a little scuffed), which is why they're there.  And there's a discount system in play at all times, depending on the date stamp on the sale sticker.  They have all sorts of stuff, including loads of baby stuff from strollers to diapers.  And they did indeed have the car seat base I was looking for.  They actually had three of them for $25 each, and one of them was even 20% off due to its sticker date.


But they also had car seats, so I decided to browse the car seat selection before committing to buying the base.  My current car seat is a Graco SnugRide 22, which means that its max capacity is a child that either weighs 22 pounds or is 29 inches long.  So it's one of the smaller-sized car seats (which is fine), BUT it's going to be expired with Baby #2 in it, which has been my concern.  For those of you who don't know, car seats have an expiration date, and you're not supposed to use them past that date due to the extended stress placed on the plastic (along with plastic breakdown) that could break in a car accident and therefore not function properly.  Even if you're in a little fender bender, it is highly recommended that you replace any car seats in the car - and insurance should actually cover it.

Anyways, I've been debating buying a new infant car seat instead of squeezing out another year in the one I have, since I have recently become a wealth of knowledge about car seats thanks to the Car Seats For The Littles Facebook page.  Bargain Hunt had a Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 for $85 (retails $140), which has a 35 pound and 31 inch baby carrying capacity.  The seat was brand spanking new, manufactured this past July, tags still attached and not a scratch on it.....it was just missing its original box.  And even though some of the car seat technicians out there would NEVER approve of purchasing a car seat without it coming out of a sealed box (due to the fact that you have no idea if it has been banged around before you bought it), I took the risk and bought it anyway.  I felt fine about it because of the attached tags, manufacture date and because it didn't even have so much as a finger smudge on it.

The car seat I bought!

P.S.  Just because someone is a certified car seat technician, it doesn't mean that what they do or tell you is correct.  For a lot of car seat technicians out there, car seat safety is a passion.  But for others, being a certified car seat technician is just a job, or it was a required certification in a certain field of work (like for maybe a fireman).  It's pretty common to be given some bad advice (or get a bad installation) from someone you're supposed to trust with your child's safety.  So if you're ever not sure about some information someone told you (or how your car seat was installed), then get another opinion.  The Facebook page linked above is one of those places for information from passionate people!

I DO still need to buy an extra base for the car seat I just bought, but it's not an urgent matter.  I won't really need it until I start taking bartending shifts again at the Hunter Museum after Baby #2 gets here, so that gives me plenty of time to shop around and find one for the best deal possible.  For now, though, we are SET on car seats.  We've got a convertible car seat in each car for Delano (which will come in handy for Daddy when I work my Hunter shifts in December) and a brand new infant car seat ready to go into the van for the new baby. 

I hear Delano waking up from his nap, so I guess I should go get him and start dinner and all that jazz.  If I don't murder the dog who has been DRIVING ME INSANE while leaping against the kitchen door first, that is.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

33 Weeks Pregnant and I HEART DISNEYWORLD!!!

I know I just posted yesterday about being 32 weeks pregnant, but that was because I was a slacker last week.  I really did take my 32 weeks picture a week ago, so here is the new 33 weeks pic from today:

33 weeks!
And here's the 33 weeks pic from last time:

It's like looking in a mirror!  Oh wait........

I had another 4D ultrasound today, because my doctor and my ultrasound tech love me and I got lucky like that.  The baby was still turned into my pelvis with an arm up by its face, but he/she gave us a relatively decent profile:

Check out those chubby little cheeks!  And those lips!  That's part of an arm smooshed up against his/her chin and cheek.
Another pretty clear side shot.

I now start going to the doctor every two weeks!  The end is near!!

Out of curiosity, I measured my belly to see how big around I am.  I am currently 41" around, which is only TWO INCHES smaller than a friend who is currently 32 weeks pregnant with twins.  And I'm carrying approximately 3 pounds less baby!  That's crazy. 


Tomorrow night is our annual neighborhood dinner, AND I AM THE SINGING ENTERTAINMENT.  I've been asked to sing two songs, and I'm completely terrified that it's going to be a minor train wreck.  I've been practicing with the pianist once a week for the past month, but we're still a bit rocky.  I'm a decent singer and she's a great pianist, so we've been focusing on our groove.  The accompaniment for "Breath of Heaven" is different than what I'm used to, and this is her first-ever go at "All I Want For Christmas Is You".  Tomorrow morning is our final practice, so I'm REALLY hoping I feel good about the whole thing by the time I leave her house.  Otherwise, oh well!!!

Possibly.....

So let me just say that I love Disneyworld.  It's a happy place, and it does, indeed, make me very happy.  Especially at Christmas.

DISNEY!!!

My brothers and their wife/girlfriend are going to Disneyworld the week before Christmas.  Lucas and I (and Delano) were invited, but WE CAN'T GO!!!  Ahhhhhh!!!  I'm super bummed!!!  But since I'll be 37 weeks pregnant, it's absolutely out of the question.  Did I mention that I'm bummed???

Two years ago, I ran in the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon, which was loads of fun.  It was a night run that started at 10:00 pm, and it was during the Disney Food and Wine Festival, which was closed to the public after 10:00 but open to the runners and their guests that night until 3:00 am (4:00 am this year!).  Lucas really liked the Food and Wine Festival part of it and actually said that I should do that run again so that he'd have an excuse to go (even though he's mostly anti-Disney).  I didn't do it last year because I had just had a baby, and I didn't do it this year because of Baby #2.  But for 2014, it may be a trip to consider!  Our family has been talking about doing a Disney trip altogether for YEARS, but we have had yet to make it happen.  One day we will.  Just now it will be with kiddos in tow.  :)

SO FUN.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that Delano might have another tooth push through by today, and I was right!  Tooth #3 up top has broken through the skin.  So now we just wait for tooth #4, which shouldn't be too terribly far behind!

Grilled cheeses and PB&Js are a new big hit around here.  :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Eight Months Pregnant and 15 Months Old

Tomorrow I will be 33 weeks pregnant, but I completely skipped over posting anything about hitting the 8-month mark at 32 weeks pregnant, so here's my 32 week belly pic:

32 weeks last Wednesday!
And here is 32 weeks from the first go around:

32 weeks with Delano.

If my pants were pulled up a little higher in the front in the second pic, I think the bellies would look pretty identical.

I've been SO EXHAUSTED lately.  As in I start breathing hard over Every. Little. Thing.  Walking up the stairs?  Let me catch my breath.  Toting around Delano?  Sorry Punkin', Mama's gotta put you down after a minute.  Changing clothes?  Good grief I need to sit down and rest.  Blow drying my hair?  If I have to flip my head over one more time I think my legs are going to give out.  The crazy exhaustion has been brutal.  So yesterday I started to wonder what my moans and groans were the first time around, and if I was really as physically exhausted then as I am now.  So I pulled up my journal, and here are the ailments I took note of at 31 weeks pregnant:

* Hot feet - my feet would get hot and I'd have to prop them up in order to get them to cool down
* Heartburn - had horrible heartburn, but pretty much all at night
* Heat rash - had a super itchy heat rash on my belly and thighs for about a week
* "Almost" leg cramps - calves tensing up when I'd stretch like they were about to get a major cramp
* Sleeping - couldn't sleep on my left side due to the baby being on the left and my ribcage being sore
* Leaky boobs - the ability to squeeze colostrum out of my boobs happened at some point
* Numb skin - top of my stomach was numb with no feeling at all

This time around I haven't dealt with hot feet, a heat rash or numb skin at all.  I've definitely dealt with heartburn more than the first time (though it tends to be hit or miss), I get the "almost" leg cramps (I had forgotten that those were a thing), I still can't sleep on my left side (Baby #2 apparently likes to be pocketed in the left side as well) and I can squeeze colostrum out of one boob for sure (because everybody needs to know that).  In a previous journal entry at 29 weeks pregnant, I also mentioned how much I DESPISED bras of every kind, even if they were supposed to be the softest, lightest bra in the world.  They drove me crazy and I only wore them if I left the house.  That's another issue I haven't dealt with this time around.  I'm completely comfortable in all of my maternity bras, and even wear an underwire bra (GASP!) when I bartend.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that my skin isn't numb?  I'm not sure. 

This is what I wear to work.  Just kidding.  P.S. That's a La Perla bra.  AKA extremely expensive, you know, for all the coverage and comfort you get.

My 29 week or 31 week journal entries didn't mention a single thing about extreme physical exhaustion, so I guess I hadn't hit that point yet back then.  Lucky me.

Delano had his 15-month doctor appointment yesterday.  Our big boy is 31 inches tall and tops the scale at 24 pounds, 10 ounces.  He's considered average in weight but a little short in height.  But he IS part Wallace, and we're all a little short in height.  ;)  Time will tell if he gets the Wallace height or the Simington height!  He also got 3 shots yesterday, poor guy.  It's always heartbreaking when he gets shots, because that is the HARDEST he ever cries.  But it's always the same.....get the shot, scream and cry, then sniffle and cuddle, and then pass out asleep.  He's been a little clingy today, but he's also been biting his lip all day long.....I think another top tooth is about to push through the gum.  So we may have another tooth by morning!

I bought him a harness because he TAKES OFF RUNNING the second you let him go!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Excitement Over Car Seats and Twin Beds

In my last post, I could not remember to save my life what kind of car Lucas drives......he drives a Monte Carlo.  It looks like this one:


Just FYI.  :)

So I bought a new convertible car seat Saturday!  I went with the Graco MySize 70, as it was in the right price range and highly recommended after all the research I did.  But even better?  I got it even cheaper than what I thought I would! 

The seat currently retails for $179.99.  Babies R Us had the Odyssey (green & black color scheme) on sale for $149.99, which I was already thrilled about.  I knew that I might have tossed a 20% off store coupon into the recycle bin, and I was curious if I would also be able to use that if I found it.  So I called Babies R Us on Friday to find out how long the sale would last and if I'd also be able to use a coupon.  The manager who answered the phone told me that the sale on that seat would be going on for quite a while, but that the coupon did not apply to hot deal sale items.  BUT she said that if I opened an "R Us" credit card account, I'd save 15% on that day's purchase, AND on Saturdays between now and Christmas I'd save an extra 10% when using the card.  AND she said I could stack coupons on top of that if they applied.  I'm not real keen on opening store credit cards (high interest rates and credit baggage, for starters), but figured I could always pay the first bill in full to avoid any accrued interest and then call and close it out.


So Friday morning, after my phone call with the Babies R Us manager and while Delano was napping, I found myself unloading the recycle bin onto the driveway searching for Babies R Us fliers and coupons to see if I had anything I could use.  I found the 20% off coupon I originally inquired about (which did indeed say "20% off one FULL PRICE item" as well as the recent sale flier that had a coupon in it for baby gear (also applying only to full priced items).  I grabbed them anyway, and when Delano woke up, we headed to store.

When I arrived at the store, I automatically put the seat on sale (the Odyssey) into my cart.  But then I started to calculate my savings.  With the Odyssey, which was $149.99, I could get 15% off plus an extra 10% off, taking the seat down to about $115.  An awesome deal.  But with the Thunder Fashion (the blue/white/gray color style NOT on sale), which was $179.99, I could get 15% off plus an extra 10% off PLUS toss in the 20% coupon (which was actually deducted first), taking the seat down to $110.  Woohoo!!  So needless to say, I switched out the seats in my cart and went with the Thunder Fashion.

Thar she blows.  Still in my living room floor.

I also looked into a second car seat base for our Graco infant seat, since I traded in the second base we used to have for the car seat that Delano is currently using.  Babies R Us doesn't stock the base we need anymore, but I can order it from the Toys R Us/Babies R Us website and get it shipped to the store for free.  So that's on my to-do list.  And I wonder if I order it on a Saturday and use my card if I'll get 10% off? Hmm....I need to look into that!

This is the base I need.

So once I have that second base, Lucas and I will be set on car seats for about the next year!  Once the new baby outgrows the infant seat we'll need one more convertible seat for Lucas's car, but we'll worry about that when the time comes.

To change the subject, I now have three cereal box magazine holders in use!  I just need one more for my "house" magazines (HGTV and Better Homes & Garden).

Who's crafty?!  I know you're impressed.  I can tell.

And while I was bartending last weekend, Lucas got started on clearing the office out to start transforming it into the guest bedroom.  He started by pulling everything "baby" out of the office closet and putting it into the baby's closet, and vice versa.

Boxes and boxes of clothes!
Definitely a FULL closet of stuff for two kiddos, and it looks messy, but it's actually pretty organized.

Next up in the baby's room will be breaking down the full bed to make room for the twin bed going in.  It will give Delano (and the future kiddo) more floor room, plus the twin bed will become Delano's bed when he graduates from the crib.

The full bed in Delano's room now.  The twin bed will go against the wall between the windows.  The end tables will have to find a new home in the house.
The floor space as of now.  There's enough to play in, but about to be more!

The computer room/guest bedroom is slowly coming together!  It's not going to be anything fancy and pretty - at least not for now - but it will be functional for the in-laws, since Delano won't be able to give up his room for house guests once the new baby gets here.  Saturday Lucas moved and organized his desks and pretty soon we'll have the glass ordered for the China cabinet shelves, which means we'll be able to unpack the dishes taking up space in that room. 

I just realized that I really want to repaint the office.  I like the mango-ish color that's in there now, but with all the bulky dark furniture (the dark bed frame, 2 desks and a piano), I think the color just "accentuates" the darkness.  So it looks like I'll be picking out a lighter color for that room in the near future!  Hmmm......what color to go with??

My big 15-month-old.  :)

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Beach Vacations and Convertible Car Seats

Quick question.....does anybody NOT like the new brown background?  I chose it because it seemed "fall festive", but I can't decide if the white lettering on the brown background is difficult to read or not.

Moving on.....I think I may have decided on the beach ceremony location AND afterparty location already!  I need to run it by Lucas (along with some other options), but if we go with "Option A" we won't have to drive anywhere.  We can walk from the house to the ceremony, the ceremony to the restaurant and the restaurant back to the house.  Sounds like a plan to me!

Ok so that's definitely not the potential location....I believe this is in another country altogether.  But how gorgeous is that??

I'm not on the hunt for fancy - I'm on the hunt for good food and fun times.  I like casual.  With a beach view.

Ok so maybe not THAT casual.  I'm not an early 20s drunk college student anymore.  They can HAVE that.

So I had a realization the other night.....I realized that Lucas and I don't have enough car seats!  We have an infant car seat for the new baby and a convertible car seat for Delano in the van of course, but we aren't prepared for Lucas to have both kiddos in his car yet.  Though it's not often that Delano rides in Daddy's car, it is an occasional occurrence.  And now there are about to be TWO kiddos in need of protective gear in both vehicles. 

We need to trade in the infant seat in Lucas's car because we shouldn't really be using it to begin with.  What we need to do is buy a second base to put in his car for the other (better) infant seat we have.  So that would take care of that.  But we also need to invest in a second convertible seat.  I've been shopping around online and reading opinions about car seats on the Car Seats for the Littles Facebook page.  There are some really good options out there.....which often translates to REALLY expensive.  There are also some cheaper options out there in the $40 range.  But the cheaper seats don't last as long growth-wise (weight or height), so I'd likely have to buy another (larger) seat eventually, which makes no sense.  Especially since I want my kids to remain rear-facing as long as possible.  What I want is a seat that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, has a rear-facing weight capacity up to 40 pounds and a forward-facing weight capacity of at least 65 pounds.  And I think I've narrowed it down to a few Graco options.  Now I just need to look at them in person.

Graco MySize vs the Graco MyRide

I was thinking I wanted the Graco MyRide 70 (on the right), but now I'm thinking I should go with the Graco MySize 70 (on the left).  It's quite a bit slimmer and the headrest (which slides up and down to accommodate infants to youngsters) obviously has a higher height limit.  The overall consensus among moms out there is that the majority of the time, kids outgrow the height limit of a car seat way before they make it to the weight limit, so I like the adjustable height of the MySize.  I'm going to go look at seats in person this afternoon to get a better idea.  We don't need a second seat right this second, but we will need it here within the next few months.

My future.  Except there's a lot more pink in this car.  :)

Another thought I brought up with Lucas the other night, when I realized he'd soon have two rear-facing car seats in his car, was HIS CAR.  Lucas loves his car (I forget what it is....an Impala?  My preggo brain is drawing a blank.), and I like it fine - I just don't ever drive it because I feel like I'm driving a boat out of water.  It's very Lucas.  The thing is, it's a 2-door and Lucas is quite tall so his driver's seat is pushed pretty much all the way back for leg room.  I'm not sure how he's going to be able to put a rear-facing car seat behind his driver's seat without sacrificing his leg room.  But suggesting that he maybe look at other car options went over about as well as a turd in the punch bowl.  So I'm guessing that the infant seat base will go behind his driver's seat for now, and that he'll just have to move his seat up for the ride home on those rare occasions that there's a baby behind him!  And in about a year when Baby #2 graduates to a convertible seat, we'll just have to play it by ear.

This isn't Lucas's car, but this is the exact car my brother has!  Too bad it didn't come with Dean Winchester.
One of these, please.
This one's for Shanleigh.  :)

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Beach Wedding Plans Are Coming Together!

We've picked out a beach wedding package and are THIS close to making the reservation!!!  YAY!!!  WE'RE GETTIN' MARRIED!!!


Ok so just kidding, since we're already married.  But last time we did it alone at the courthouse and I just wore one of my summer dresses from my closet.  This time we'll be on a beautiful beach at sunset with family and friends, and I'll be in a wedding gown.  So even though it's still going to be low key, I'm pretty darn excited.  And I wouldn't change the fact that we eloped for anything in the world.  That weekend full of surprises was the BEST EVER and completely unforgettable.  I wish I had more surprises like that to toss around, because that was super fun!!

So back to the wedding package.....I Googled "Destin beach weddings" and clicked on every company website link for beach weddings.  I then wrote down each company one by one along with their different package prices and what they included.  Then I narrowed it down to my two favorites and asked Lucas which he liked better (or if he even liked either of them), and then went with the winner! 

The tropical aisle was the big selling point!

I've been emailing back and forth with the wedding company asking questions about the package details and specific beach locations (and forwarded the info to my mom), so we're pretty close to making the final decision.  :)

After this part of the day is booked, it will be time to look into where we want to have the afterparty!  So my next search will be for a restaurant with awesome food and a great space for our small crowd.  The wedding company has links on their page for a bunch of options, so I'm hoping the perfect location is just a click away. 

Since I'll have a 20-month-old and a 4-month-old next May, this will not be me.  But I know a few brides who spent their wedding night a lot like this!

And really, that's all that's involved in this wedding planning!  Of course I'll need to find my dress, but that shopping won't even begin until after Baby #2 gets here.  And even then, nothing is going to fit quite right for a couple of months.  So I'll very likely be looking at dresses knowing the one I pick will have to be altered (with fingers crossed!) as the date approaches.  The husband and the kiddos will need to be suited up for the occasion as well, but other than that, I think that's it.

Oh wait....I need to invest in Save the Date magnets for the extended family to serve as a constant visual reminder that if they're thinking about coming, they need to plan their trip.  Add that to the list.



Since it's supposed to be pretty darn cold tomorrow (49 degrees and windy compared to the sunny 70 degree weather we've been having lately), I may spend the day in some warm PJs researching restaurants and Save the Dates during Delano's naps.

It's supposed to be even colder on Wednesday.  Boo.  Though I guess I can't really complain.  It IS November after all, and we definitely don't typically have 70 degree weather in mid-November around here.  I've just been so spoiled by it that I don't want it to end!!  So I guess I'll be getting around to some of things on my to-do list this week to avoid the 40 degree temps, like vacuuming the bedrooms and mopping the rest of the floors and sorting through the stuff on the dust collector computer desk downstairs (which has been waiting on me for MONTHS).

I hear the kiddo waking up from his nap, and I need to go restart the dryer (since a full load of cloth diapers usually takes 2 cycles to dry).  Luckily I don't have to bother with cooking dinner tonight, since we'll be having the last of the soup that Lucas made last week along with sandwiches.  That's always an added bonus to my evenings.  And tomorrow's dinner is going in the crockpot for the day, so that's an added bonus to the anticipated day of coldness.  :)

Another added bonus for tonight?  Having last night's episode waiting for me on DVR!


Friday, November 8, 2013

TV Shows, Tattoos and Blue Hair

Lucas and I DVR a lot of shows.  And I mean A LOT.  Some of them are consistent throughout the year, some of them are in their current series and in the "must watch" category, and some of them are "filler" shows for when there's nothing else to watch.  Some of the shows we watch together (when they're on) include:

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
The Soup
Bones
Supernatural
The Walking Dead
New Girl
Last Man Standing
The Crazy Ones
Two and a Half MenReal Husbands of Hollywood
Dracula
Franklin & Bash


Some of the ones I watch when Lucas isn't around (because he has ZERO interest in my guilty pleasures) include:

Revolution
Grey's Anatomy
Drop Dead Diva
Top Chef
Fashion Police
Giuliana & Bill
Tia & Tamara
Million Dollar Listing
Say Yes to the Dress
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
19 Kids and Counting
The Bachelor/Bachelorette
So You Think You Can Dance


And some of the "filler" shows we both like but tend to get pushed to the bottom of the watch list include:

South Park
Family Guy
The Simpsons
Futurama


During the fall season, we get behind on Jimmy Fallon, since so many of our shows start up in the fall.  So the episodes of Jimmy Fallon tend to stack up throughout the fall and early spring, and then we end up having Jimmy Fallon marathons every night in the late spring and summer when everything else is out of season.

So the whole point of that TV conversation was to get to this......last night Lucas and I watched an episode of Jimmy Fallon (from early October - we're currently about 20 shows behind), and at the start of our recording we always catch the last couple of minutes of Jay Leno, typically partway through the musical performance.  On "last night's" show, those last few minutes were of Demi Lovato.  WITH BLUE HAIR.  And I must say, I totally dug it.


I like it A LOT.  I think it's pretty badass.  Especially because she's a brunette like me and bright colors are so much harder to pull off on dark hair.  I personally have always wanted pink hair.  I don't mean like super-fuchsia punk rock pink hair...I mean like a blend-in of pink hair, almost like my hair was "supposed" to be pink.

I would go insane for this hair.  But this would never happen for me, as I am not a blonde.

Granted, I'm not 21 years old (or even close to my twenties anymore), I'm not a rock star and I don't have loads of money to shell out for a stylist to keep my locks looking luscious and colorful.  I'm in my mid-30s and a stay-at-home mom of soon-to-be two kids.  My personal spending income (for indulgences like pricey hair appointments) has dramatically decreased.

But I can still be funky and cool if I want to, can't I?

I've got quite a few tattoos, and one of my goals for the first part of next year is to finish the tattoo sleeve I started many years ago.  This is going to be a challenge, as tattoo appointments are not cheap, but I'm determined to make it happen.  HOPEFULLY by May.  Another goal is to get back into the running game and into the shape that I was in pre-Baby #1 (that's definitely no secret to anybody who reads my blog).  So I think if I get myself skinny again and have a gorgeous FINISHED tattoo sleeve, I should definitely top it off with some funky hair.  Don't you?  I just have to be careful that I don't end up looking like a pile of redneck white trash.

Ignoring the cheesy fact that these are cell phone selfies that I took after a tattoo appointment, here is a pic from early 2009 showing off the start of my sleeve.  I'm much farther along on it now, but still have a ways to go.
View of the back.  The sleeve (which is a tree with a "Mother Earth" type of symbolism on the top) and the unicorn will all tie in together once it's completed.

I just realized that "early 2009" was almost 4 years ago.  Holy cow.

We'll just have to see, I guess.  There ARE other things in life that are more of a priority than my tattoos and hair.  I just wish I could have it all!  I keep telling myself I should play the lottery.  Maybe now is a good time to start.  :)