New Mom To Be

It's official.  I'm going to have a baby!

Much to my surprise, on March 26th, I was informed that I was pregnant.  It was a surprise, as Husband and I had decided to put the actual baby making on hold for a couple of months while I had a couple of foot surgeries.  But I guess when the Lord wants you to have a baby, you will have one.

I was actually at a follow up after my second foot surgery when the nurse practitioner said, "Did you know you are pregnant?"

Wait.  What?

Yep.  Apparently the test 4 days before the surgery and the day of the surgery missed the fact that I was expecting.  It wasn't until after the surgery that my condition became apparent.

It's alright though as I needed the surgery and come to find out from my doctor, that the painkillers I took at that time were not harmful for my baby.

So we are having a baby!  Hooray!  Our little bundle of joy is due on November 27th.  Fingers crossed the baby will come in November!  I don't wish a December birthday on any of my babies.  =)

We told our families and friends about the baby on Sunday, May 13th (Mother's Day) and have been enjoying the well wishes, doctors appointments and new baby excitement since.

This is all so new to me.  And a little scary.  It has been fun because I feel like I'm being welcomed into a new club that I was forbidden to join until I became pregnant or a mom.  It will be such a new experience and life changing event, I am excited but terrified at the same time.  There are so many successful parents out there that I know everything will be okay.  It's like when I was graduating from high school.  What came next was exciting and new, but my whole life was about to change so I was scared of the uncertainty and newness of it all.  And having a baby is even more anxiety ridden.  I will have a little person that I am completely responsible for, not just myself.

Don't get me wrong.  I know this will be a great blessing and will teach me so much that I don't know.  I know that we have to step into the unknown to truly understand faith and trust in the Lord.  And only in becoming a parent can I truly understand the full extent of unconditional love and selflessness.

This will be a difficult but wonderful journey.  And I am so excited to embark upon it with Husband.  He is a great man and will be a wonderful support.  I cannot wait to share this with him.  He will be a great father!

Wish me luck!

Blessing in Disguise

In my last post I told everyone how I sadly deleted my boards on Pinterest. Since that time Pinterest's terms and conditions have been updated. Here is a brief overview as to what has been changed:
"- Original Terms stated that by posting content to Pinterest you grant Pinterest the right for to sell your content. Selling content was never our intention and we removed this from our updated Terms.
- We updated our Acceptable Use Policy and we will not allow pins that explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse.
- We released simpler tools for anyone to report alleged copyright or trademark infringements.
- Finally, we added language that will pave the way for new features such as a Pinterest API and Private Pinboards."

Note: To read the terms in their entirety go here.

I believe these changes now protect pinners so that we won't be sued if Pinterest uses our pins, so it is probably safe to go back to pinning (though this is my very non legal advice and just a personal opinion).

However, since deleting my boards, I probably only peruse Pinterest one time a week, if that. And while Pinterest does have some great ideas that I value greatly, I am thankful to have broken away from that addictive website.

And although I am not a mother yet, this article helped me realize it is better for me, and my future family, to stay not-addicted to that website.

Deleted

Tonight I deleted all of my boards on Pinterest.

It makes my heart hurt.

If you read my previous post, you will see that I am technically not addicted to Pinterest, but I do love it.

One day I came across an image linked to this site. It talks about the shady terms Pinterest has you agree to when you sign up. These terms make you responsible if anyone attempts to sue Pinterest for their work being pinned on Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest would then pass that suit onto you.

I wondered if this was real so I checked with two lawyers I know. I passed this article onto them which also elaborates about Pinterest's terms (and a link to their terms themselves).

Both lawyers advised that Pinterest created those terms to protect themselves, and they can (and will) allow you to be the guilty party in a lawsuit. And they pretty much advised me to delete my boards - anything I pinned - on Pinterest.

So I did.

And I suggest you do too.

Not Addicted...Maybe

I am not addicted to Pinterest.

Maybe.

Let's see. I peruse Pinterest at least once a day. And whilst perusing I pretty much just see what has been pinned by those I'm following then I'm done. So not addicted.

But maybe on the days that I look deeper into the sea of pins are the days I'm addicted. Those days are few and far between as I do not have the time to spend doing so every day, I'm a busy woman for crying out loud!

But if I am addicted. It will be my secret vice. Shhh! Keep my secret, will you?

The New Niece!

The phone rang around 4:00 am on Saturday, December 17th. "This is your wake up call!" Wha!?! Oh! Tami was in labor! My new niece was arriving! And I was going to be able to be there for her entrance into this world!

My mom and I quickly got dressed and headed out the door to the Riverton Hospital.

After conquering a few obstacles - not having the correct security code and getting past the controlling "labor and delivery" access nurse - we made it to the delivery room. The epidural was taking effect, the contractions were coming on strong and the doctor had arrived!

I'll spare you the bir-thing details - but I will say that it is amazing!

I cried.

During the birth and as they whisked my niece to the exam table, I took in all of what I had just experienced.

"Does it make you more excited to have babies?" Tami asked.

YES! It definitely does.

Contrary to everything I have seen on television or in movies, the birth is not loud or full of screaming, blaming or contention - much better than the distorted view the media has given me.

Back to the baby.


They cleaned the little girl off, weighed and measured her, then handed her to her beaming father, my brother, Tom. He then took her to Tami and they announced her name:

Sophie Adair.

She is beautiful!

She looks like her brother with lots of blonde hair and just beautiful!

Barefoot and I were talking yesterday and we decided that being present at the birth bonds you even greater to the niece or nephew than you would otherwise. I hadn't really thought about it until our conversation, but its so true. I feel very close to Sophie already.

I am the very proud Auntie. I couldn't wait to hold her and talk to her.
And I can't wait to do so again.

Another One Completed

Oh hooray! Yet another semester completed! I love the satisfaction of taking your last test or turning in your last assignment for the semester. Now I just have to wait for my grades.

I just can't wait until I take the last test or write my last paper for my bachelor's degree...HA! THAT is going to be awhile.

I was thinking I only had three classes left at SLCC before I could move on up to the University of Utah to take my final teaching courses...and I got excited because it looked as though the end was in sight...
But then I reviewed my course requirements. Bad idea. Now I'm depressed - err - discouraged as I found that I still have, are you ready for this?, TWELVE classes to take before I'm done with SLCC. TWELVE! At the rate I'm going of 2 classes per semester (because I am also working full time) - that will take me six more semesters! SIX! That is THREE LONG YEARS (or two if I take summer classes). Something has got to change. I could take the same classes at the U, but then they will be more expensive and probably harder, so I might as well take them at SLCC.

My advice for all of you just starting college, high school and younger folks out there - Take as many classes per semester as you can! Don't stop (unless its for something good like a mission). Going to school for many years beyond the normal time frame is ridiculous and discouraging! Don't put yourself in my same situation!

Okay, deep breaths...I'm okay now.

I will say that I do recognize that it has taken me this long to complete school due to the following factors: 1) I didn't want to go into debt for school so I started off taking only the classes I could pay for myself 2) I've worked full time the entire time I have been in school, averaging 2-3 classes a semester 3) I served a mission to Brazil for 18 months: from June 2004 - December 2005 (so easily missed 4 semesters of school there) 4) I took a much deserved semester break after completing my Associate of Science degree 5) That one semester break turned into 3 as I got engaged and married (taking up 2 more semesters).

Regardless of how frustrating my discover today can be, I will continue to go to school (its good for me, right?). I want to complete at least a Bachelor degree, if not Masters (aargh). And maybe eventually (like when I'm 50) go on to get a PhD. That would be cool. Ahh, wishful thinking.

Firecat

Me. The Firecat.