so snow stuck

I’m not sure I’ll be complaining about cabin fever for a bit after last night. In an effort to get out of the house we joined Justin’s parents for lunch about an hour south of us. We’d recently had a few days of sunshine tease us so we were a little disheartened when a light snow dusted the ground the day before, but since it hadn’t snowed all day yesterday we thought nothing of loading up the babies and making the trip. (cue disaster music)

About halfway through the drive on the way there the snow picked up and the travel slowed down. I’m not sure if it’s because I grew up a Colorado resident or I’ve been hit by two semi trucks and feel invincible, but it really didn’t seem like the roads were that bad so I was incredibly aggravated how slow things were moving. I wasn’t driving though so I had to sit passively in the passenger seat as Justin obeyed all traffic laws and was a courteous driver abiding by the 10 mph speed limit the drivers in front of us set. We made it eventually and enjoyed a nice couple hours with his parents and then started the drive back, knowing it would take longer than the hour it was supposed to, but never ever imagining what was in store for us:

It took us 45 minutes to go about 12 miles but spirits were lifted when we reached the highway and assumed we would actually be able to start moving, albeit at a slow pace, we wouldn’t be dealing with the stop and go of a small town in love with stop signs. When we got on the on-ramp J had to brake immediately to get out of the way of a van reversing back on to the road and we saw two semi-trucks chillin on the side of the ramp. We looked ahead and traffic was moving (again, slowly but still moving) so we figured we’d go ahead and continue on the highway. (turn up disaster music)

We made it about two miles before coming to a complete stop for the next FIVE hours. Apparently there were a lot of accidents at one time so the frickin county decided to simply close the highway so they could clear some of the accidents… it would’ve make sense if they also permitted people from entering the highway, but they didn’t, so we literally drove on to a closed highway and it was just a matter of time until we caught up with the location that was halted. It would also make sense to close the if they planned on sending plowing or salting the roads to make it safer for drivers after they were opened again, but they didn’t do that either.

So, for five hours we sat in Justin’s five-passenger car with the babies slipping in and out of meltdowns. At one point Justin’s dismay was obvious when he looked over and Bella, Austin and I were all crying at the same time. haha! It only lasted a minute (my crying – theirs was much more impressive) but I was losing my mind. Luckily we had brought our portable DVD player so Bella alternated between a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Christmas episode and listening to Beauty and the Beast on disc. She made it through both about 12 times. (this only aided to me turning into a crazy person).

Poor Austin wasn’t feeling well and quickly got a fever and was restless and pretty inconsolable unless he was laying on my chest sleeping. The extra weight right on my pregnant bladder did wonders… so at hour 4.5 I finally broke down and told Justin we had to figure something out. We were looking through the car and didn’t see any viable options, plus all the cars around us still had their headlights on so running to the side of the road wasn’t an option either. It wasn’t until I saw the beautiful red gleam from a Dr Pepper can I had put out of Austin’s reach on Justin’s side door that I had hope! Justin pushed as much of the top into the can as he could and I made him turn his head as I made use of my superior skill from peeing in so many cups at the doctor’s offices and filled the can to. the. brim. Didn’t spill a drop, I was pretty proud.

Justin had an easier time figuring out how to relieve himself (so unfair how much easier it is for guys!) and as he simply opened his car door and was beginning to breathe a little easier, someone appears out of nowhere one car in front of us and starts waving a flashlight at us. My heart stopped, I heard Justin catch his breath when we realized it was a police officer. Luckily he had no idea the shenanigans going on from our car and was instead waving us on to try to drive up the hill in front of us.

PRAISE THE LORD! Seriously, I did because I knew my good friend from home, Babette, had been praying for us and we turned out to be one of about 10 cars they let go. Justin was a rock star and got us to the top without much trouble, but some of the cars around us weren’t so lucky so they closed the road again and J’s sister who was about a mile behind us had to wait an additional two hours! So, six hours later and the needle now pointing much closer to E than when we’d started we were finally moving and on the way home.

I’m more than a little nervous for the drive to Nashville I’m going to attempt on Thursday because I think both babies are pretty fed up of the car, but refuse to be defeated before trying… so fingers crossed! Lesson learned though, there will be a box in the back of my car with blankets, food, water and most importantly, better entertainment.

you've got a friend in me... please.

I'm entirely aware of the necessity of finding other moms in the area to network with. As it stands I'm sincerely happy with the decision I've made to stay at home with the babies but if I'm not speaking in baby-talk I'm alone in my thoughts all. day. long. Turns out I'm not entirely all that interesting and I'm bored with myself. SO I've started mommy-dating.

I kind of thought it wouldn't be all that hard to meet other moms since I'm relatively outgoing and am willing to start a conversation with a stranger even if the thought that they wouldn't like me, or will be a teacher-sweater, still makes me want to throw up. Knowing I needed to be on the prowl and meet some mamas, I took advantage of an opportunity when I was at Starbucks a couple months ago and there was a woman who commented a few times on how cute Bella and Austin are (please know you can absolutely buy my love) and she mentioned she had a son about Austin's age at home. On a closer nonchalant look I saw she was doing a bible study and my gaze drifted to her side to notice, to my delight, she had a really cute purse... this, I thought, could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Justin and I have been together for over nine years (we dated for four years before we got married five years ago) so it's been awhile since I've been in the dating game so I was ridic nervous when, as I was leaving, I stopped by and gave her my phone number. and then I peed myself. so nervous. With good reason beause a week passed and nothing. I reminded myself it was the week before Thanksgiving - who calls a newbie in the midst of holiday fun? Then, the week after Thanksgiving my phone rang with a call from my new maybe-friend to meet for coffee and a play date at the mall. It was as awkward as a first date is supposed to be, but we did manage to have good conversation, she was really nice and by all accounts she seems to be a relatable mom. Thumbs up!

Until I never saw her again. I think it was my turn to call to initiate another play date but the days got away from me and a couple weeks after coffee it was Christmas, then New Years, then no legitimate excuse other than it had been too long and I was embarrassed and feeling sheepish for not calling. On my drive home from the gym today I saw the church she mentioned she attends so I figured that was a good enough reason for a random text to say that I think I saw where she attends since it took nearly five minutes of our conversation at coffee explaining where it was. I didn't say we should get together again, there was something about leaving the ball in the other person's court rattling around in my head. When she wrote back she was consistantly nice and equally noncommital about making plans soon... frickin ball in my court! ...I think I'm supposed to wait 24 hours before texting back. I don't want to appear over-eager and scare her off. Dating is harder than I remember!

There was one other mom I hoped had promise that I met at Gymboree Play and Learn with Bella... her hair was styled and cute, they were dressed cute - sans poms or appliqued animal shapes - and our girls naturally played together so I thought maybe something. Until I saw her put her Uggs on (not knockin' Uggs, love 'em!) but when she slipped the baby Uggs on her daughter I figured we were on the verge of snooty and I wouldn't be able to keep up. The baby Uggs were enough to keep from talking after class, the nerd alert was ringing from high school, and I figured I'd wait until after the next class to see how it went. She never came back so that pretty well settled it.

Oh Lili!

a text from Andrea today: "Lili just ate something she wasn't supposed to and she blamed it on Austin! I told her that's not going to work until he's at least in the same state..."

I love, love, love that girl!

Lovely Liliana

my three-year old niece Liliana is one of the funniest people I know... she's easily the funniest kid I know, but I can't promise she'll keep that crown once Bella starts talking, I can only imagine ((sorry Andrea, you can have volleyball and sports and superstardom, but I have the humor! or will at least continue telling myself that...)) My favorite last year was when she thanked Andrea for "finally changing my frickin' diaper" and now this:

Andrea was at Starbucks with Lil and asked what kind of milk she wanted - "Mommy, I would like some chocolate milk because brown is my favorite color because I'm ALL brown!"

HA, lesson learned! I can only imagine what kind of albino cow will make the milk that will be Bella's favorite. Oh Little Liliana, you make me laugh!

Preach on Sister Friend!

We were watching Scrubs tonight (even with the spin off and not as good as the original... it's still the most underrated show in the universe) and JD was trying to have a little "happy" with Elliot while she's pregnant - without looking up from her Chinese takeout she cuts him off with

"Lets just avoid the breast region, they’re big but they are not for touching, too sore. And lets avoid the thighs, they sort of are like memory foam, they leave a hand print, and I have the elbows of a 75 year-old man."

...and while that's too much information land for most, I find it hilarious! I was laughing so hard and just absolutely have to share! Love this show. seriously.

yep, got it.

I had this little lovely from Justin awating me in my inbox at work when I got back from a meeting this afternoon:

"Don’t want to alarm you but I just realized that we are having another baby in 2.5 months… AAHHHH!"

Thanks babe, I'm already reminded with each precious little jab into my ribs, the seven trips per hour to the bathroom, gasps from strangers about how huge I am and a constant stress that I have no idea what to do with the nursery that B2's arrival is in fact right around the corner... not. overwhelmed. at. all.

Molls, this one's for you

as soon as I opened the dip and J brought down the bag of chips, she swooped in, took one in each hand and walked away refusing to share. she's gonna fit in just fine... haha!

...and no juding, as soon as we could get a picture, we took the chips away. she only got one. or two.

Gold Digger

I walked into the room to find Bella going through J's wallet as soon as he'd left to go take a shower! You better get used to it Justin...

she left quite the paper trail...

My Road Runner

I figure the best way to move past the gray cloud hovering over my head that made Eeoyre's look tame is to get back into the swing of things with story time! The good news is now that work's slower during the summer I can catch up on updates and pictures... employee of the month here I come!

Anyway.... a couple days before I was leaving for a conference in Colorado Springs (Jenn, was Courtney down there? I swear I saw her...) Bella and I were shopping for some sandals for her at Payless - the only place I can find open toed shoes that fit her since they sell baby shoes in wide and she has such little club feet with stubbies for toes - and the bright red sale signs around Gymboree caught my eye. She and I mosied over just to look, since she really doesn't "need" anything. Until I saw this ridiculously cute dress for cheap that she simply had to have. obviously. I decided to get a matching one for her soon-to-be cousin (J's brother is expecting a girl in the next few weeks!) so we can get some cute pictures for his mom. I remember a magazine article I recently read encourages moms to talk to their kids while they're shopping so after about a minute of rifling through the sale rack trying to find the same dress in another size, I turn to ask Bella if she likes it and...

Her stroller is EMPTY! Immediately I stop breathing and my chest must have shrunk because I was literally in physical pain fear struck. It's incredibly how quickly a room can shrink and your mind can go a thousand different places. It didn't take long to remember I'd forgotten to fasten her lap belt after I was trying shoes on her at the other store and had put her back in the stroller. She's tried to wiggle out of the stroller before, but she got stuck and we obviously saved the day when we heard her crying.

I look down the aisle in the direction the stroller was pointing - nothing. I do a scan around the area I'm shopping - nothing. I get on my tip toes, like that would even help - nothing. On my way sprinting to the sales desk to call a red orange amber alert - whatever - I see the front and my little toddler is waddling of the store!! I finally took my first breath since I realized she was missing and by the time I got to her in what I can only imagine would be an Olympic qualifying time and had her in my arms we were no longer in the store.

Never in my life have I experienced a more terrifying moment than when I stared at an empty stroller my daughter was supposed to be filling. Lesson learned!! (and I never thought I'd be one of those moms with the backpack leash for my kids, but now I'm not so sure. I can't go through that again - I won't live to see 30!)

some guard dog!

sometimes I'm surprised our neighbors haven't ever talked to us about how annoying our dog Rocky can be... everytime he sees another dog he starts barking (no matter how many times we try to "socialize" him by letting him play with dogs on walks and taking him to the dog park) and even though he never crosses the line on the invisible fence, we have a corner lot and he will walk/run/chase/bark/follow every single person/car/biker from one end of our yard all the way around the coner to the other end. he insists on escorting everyone, and he's kind of a celebrity in the neighborhood - I can guarantee that 95% of the people in our big neighborhood couldn't give you our names, but seriously everyone seems to know our dog. One time I heard this young boy on a walk with his mom get excited when he saw our dog and exclaim "see mom, this is Rocky, the dog I was telling you about!" I have no idea at all how people know his name, other than remembering it from when Justin or I yell at him to come in or stop barking. -or on our walks we certainly over use his name trying to remind him how to simply walk beside us.

I was up in Bella's room today finally trying to clean it (so much harder to maintain the house now that I'm working full time again) when I saw a mom and her little boy walking and she had to pick him up because even though Rocky was actually behaving *shock* and not barking or running, the little boy was afraid. I brought pup in the house to give them a chance to get out of sight so he wouldn't be tempted to follow along the property. I let him back out as soon as I didn't see anyone along the sidewalk. I guess they decided to cut through our backyard back to their house - which wasn't a big deal, I didn't care - but I think the fact that they were on our property made me laugh instead of get mad when I saw Rocky get excited and run toward them. This kid just screamed, threw his head back (not even kidding his chin was pointed straight to the sky) and ran across our yard and the next. It happened so quick his mom couldn't even react, she just stood there and I was laughing from the kitchen. Not sure if this is a sign I'm going to be a bad mom - but it was frickin hilarious!

if you give a mouse a cookie

If my forte for comedy of errors had to follow me at work...
Did I have to drop my water down the stairs?
Did they have to be glass stairs that absorb nothing?
Did it have to be a gallon bucket instead of an unassuming glass?
Did it have to run all the way down to the very last step?
Did it have to defy gravity and splatter on the wall as well?
Did it have to go between the steps leaving puddles on the walkway below?
Did it have to be THAT loud?
Did it have to be on a Monday?
And finally, did it have to at noon when everyone was nearby having their lunch and ran to see what happened?
Seriously?!

Definitely Unexpected!

I should be writing thank yous right now, but after writing so many I kind of go into auto-pilot and I don't want there to be any insincerity in them... so a blogger break! I didn't mention in my last post that I had some surprise guests at my Ohio shower -

Justin and I were at a Cavs game last Thursday with my aunt who flew out from California for the shower and some of her friends that live in the area. It was nice to just relax and cheer like a crazy person with my aunt, a much needed break and distraction from the week! During the game J gets this bizarre text message from his friend that he needs to be picked up from the bar - it wouldn't have been that bizarre if it wasn't only 9:00p. I'm the biggest lightweight there is and even I was generally able to make it past 9:00! I knew his friend was having a hard time with his girlfriend so I didn't think too much about it and even agreed with Justin when he said he was going to swing by and make sure everything was golden. I was talking (gossiping) with a mutual friend after Justin left when we got home, and she said how it was weird that he texted he needed a ride because her husband had just spoken with him and said he seemed totally fine.

At this point, crazy hormonal unreasonable pregnant Dana emerged and my sincere immediate thought: Justin is cheating on me!! His friend obviously had some girl at his house and J went over and cheated on his pregnant wife! I start frantically sending him these completely absurd text messages - and he only responds with general "I don't know what you're talking about" and doesn't say when he'll be home so at this point I'm convinced he was cheating. (I know I know, my husband Justin, cheating?! Trust me, I was shocked too...) I'm in bed and when I hear him pull up I'm ready to start grilling him just glaring at the door waiting for him to emerge.

...and my MOM walks through the door! I can't even explain the confusion and shock when I saw her that I literally screamed and hid under my covers - what sense does that make?! I'm under the covers trying to make sense of everything and I started panicking because I know she was flying out for Baby Girl's delivery, so crazy hormonal ridiculous Dana now decides that somehow my mom knew I was in labor, and I had no idea! I'm trying to figure out why I couldn't feel any contractions when I was interrupted by another voice. I peered out from under the covers and my sister Andrea was doubled over next to Mom laughing at the absurdity of my reaction. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite weekends I can remember in a long time! One of the things I know I'm missing most by living in Ohio so far from my family is the girl time with my mom and sisters. It was so refreshing and I feel like it brought me back, and I've missed that girl.

Mom and Sissy - I love you, thank you!

Chubby Bunny

As promised… the “freak out” story: at our last OB appointment I asked our doctor how big Baby Girl Bail was because the technician didn’t really give us more than “it’s a girl!” and “everything looks good”. The rest of our time was spent explaining what each organ was she kept looking at and trying to reassure me that indeed everyone has one of those (anatomy wasn’t my strongest class to say the least!). So our OB looks it up and tells us 1 lb 2 oz. alright, that means nothing to me, but I can write it in my pregnancy journal if I decide to update it ever.

The remainder of the appointment we discussed what to expect now and she kept asking if I’m doing well emotionally unstable, but fine! physically this has been easier than I expected, I’m blessed and mentally… that’s when I finally divulged my struggle with the weight gain. I’ve been much more shallow than I anticipated because I don’t like seeing the increasing number on the scale or the stretch marks I recently discovered that weren’t on my stomach AUGH! I totally know that the end result will be well worth it and the only reason I’m putting on the pounds is because I have a baby inside, I get that—I don’t get why I’m getting bigger EVERYWHERE when my belly is where she’s actually growing, but whatever. (not whatever actually, I think it’s the most irritating thing in the world that my hips, thighs and badonky donk have to grow too…) anyway, the doctor’s response was a very encouraging “you should expect to gain 1-2 lbs a week for the remainder of your pregnancy.” I’m sorry?! I still have 18 weeks left! When I asked if she thinks I’m ridiculous for being concerned about it she laughed like it was a joke but definitely didn’t say no. awesome.

Later that night I was talking to my childhood friend Melissa who’s also pregnant and due just a few days after me and she just found out they’re having a girl too (which if you knew our story it’s really only fitting, but another promised post another day). Her doctors were concerned that her baby wasn’t quite 1 lb yet and I got concerned that at 22 weeks her baby wasn’t even 1 lb, but at 19 weeks my baby was a couple ounces over a pound! So I jump online and unfortunately learned that the average fetus is 8.5 oz at 19 weeks. First reaction was to panic, but I did the math quick and since there’s 12 oz in a pound and she was a pound and two ounces she was only 14 ounces, which is bigger but I convinced myself it wasn’t terrible… then Justin politely reminded me that my math skills leave much to be desired and there’s actually 16 oz in a pound so she was 18 oz at 19 weeks. How is that “fine”?! Sounds to me like something to be at least a teeny frickin’ little bit concerned about when a baby is DOUBLE the average size!

At this point I called my mom completely panicked and freaking out because not only is there no way that can be healthy, but I was picturing giving birth to a front-cover National Enquirer size baby! J and I were both just under 9 lbs when we were born so Baby being twice that at 18 lbs they’re going to need the Jaws of Life to get her out of me! A C-Section would have to basically cut me in half so she could say hello. And then I was frustrated that she wasn’t going to be the small baby we pictured her being compared to her cousins that were both big babies that didn’t stay little long. She was going to be on pace, it was the plan. I was actually mad, how terrible! I’m already a bad mother because I’m irritated about something so superficial and the right Sunday school answer is as long as she’s healthy, right?! I was a wreck, crying on the phone to my mom who couldn’t even understand everything I was saying because it was so incoherent…

A ridiculously long story short: I talked to the nurse the next day and she told me to take deep breaths and everything indeed looks fine, at 19 weeks Baby was 10 oz. I assured her that the doctor said 1 lb 2 oz and the nurse guessed she was speculating how big Baby was at the appointment that day. That’s not what I asked! Needless to say, I’m considering looking for a new OB just because she thinks I’m shallow and stupid instead of normal with stupid questions (which is completely different) and that’s not something I want tainting this experience. That, and every time we go we have to wait, no exaggeration, at least 30 minutes for her see us. They take us into the room almost immediately, but then we have to sit there and wait for her. It’s not like it’s a nice room either, the only décor is a poster with a giant vagina diagram. awkward to say the least…

Will You Accept This Rose?

I'm not sure if anyone is a Bachelor fan, I get turned on and off by season, but this year some of the friends and girlfriends at work got sick of their friends and boyfriends being completely obsessed with fantasy football that we created our own fantasy league--Fantasy Bachelor. You could earn points based on if your girl advanced to the next round, kissed him, confessed love to him, was talked about, didn't wear make up, etc. etc. I know it sounds ridiculous but it made it really fun! -plus I got back at Justin and made him watch with me claiming compromise since I watched football and (mostly) supported his fantasy game. Anyway, my girl was one of the two in the finale, and depending how tonight went I could win the pool, so I was stoked! It'd be like winning free Christmas money for presents and everything!

If you haven't watched the finale yet, quit reading! If you couldn't care less, read on: the finale was tonight and I DVRd it so I could watch through it quickly without commercials later. Anyway, I saw the girls meet his family and I saw their last individual dates and they both confess their love to him and he says nothing in return to either (they never do) but goes on and on about how much he appreciates it blah blah blah. Then as the first girl is about to get out of the limo, our DVR freezes and skips and goes straight to the end where he's just chilling there holding the ring in his hand looking lost as ever. Then it shows a preview for the "after the rose" episode and both girls are pissed at him... he didn't choose either! Who does that?! I was strung along for an entire season--what a tease! haha! The ending only made it more fitting for how ridiculous the show is, and consequently we were, but it was fun to meet with the girls on Tuesday to recap and argue for points. (okay, I was the only one arguing for more points, but those of you that know me, that shouldn't surprise you. haha!)

Silver Lining of the evening: my husband is completely hilarious. He makes me laugh daily and I'm so blessed for it. Our conversation during a commercial break:

J: I would have chosen you out of seven million girls
me: (rolls my eyes at the fake flattery)
J: but I would have been true to myself, and I would have made out with all of them...

not a case of his and hers

Justin and I were discussing whether we want to find out the sex of the baby last night over his birthday dinner... I didn't want to know and today I still want it to be a surprise. Justin really wants to know, which is bizarre because he's usually indifferent towards things like this. I'm not sure if it's because I've been doing PR for a few years but I feel like I was doing a good job of pitching why we should wait to find out and thought I was really getting through and might get my way on this one. Then Justin, reaching so far to make a point, starts bringing up things we won't be able to get done before the baby is born:

Justin: You won't be able to buy all the clothes you'd want
Dana: I know, it would be annoying
Justin: It will be harder for you to figure out which nursery you'd want
Dana: I know
Justin: We wouldn't be able to stock up on diapers...
Dana: *silence*
Justin: We'd have to go get them after the baby is born
Dana: What are you talking about?
Justin: *silence*
Dana: OH MY GOSH you think baby boys and girls wear different diapers?!
Justin: (laughing and clearly embarrassed) They don't?!
Dana: (can't actually say anything because I doubled over laughing)

our poor child, it probably doesn't stand much of a chance. I'm going to look for a Daddy Bootcamp immediately--and make sure he takes notes because I know more than Justin, but barely and I'm way too proud to go to a class to teach me things my motherly instinct should eventually let me know...