Our New Baby!

No, sorry, that one's still in the belly. But we have ANOTHER baby, thanks to our ludicrous tax return! Observe:

Ah, isn't it lovely?

Maybe I should elaborate.

We used part of our tax return to get a REAL media center. First picture is the small computer designed specifically to hook up to the TV, and be run from a remote. Second picture is the two terabyte (that's 2,000 gigabytes for the less tech savvy) network hard drive holding and streaming all of our more than three hundred [legally obtained and ripped for backup] movies. FINALLY in one usable, watchable place. And making the deal even sweeter is a program Brit found that organizes and catalogs all our movies and TV shows, as well as searching internet sites like Hulu for shows we don't have hard copies of. I think the coolest part is probably how it displays our movies.

It searches the IMDB database or something to display our movies by DVD cover art, with summaries and categories. And the ability to search by name or genre.

I'm in love.

Anyone wanna come over and watch a movie? We probably have it.

Whining about Whiners

My husband says everything irritates me. That's probably true. And he's sick of hearing why I hate this and that... and it's too long to post on facebook... and I can't exactly rant on a forum about why the people on the forum bug me... So I turn to blogging.

The only forum I read is for pregnant moms due in June, so a vast majority of people on this forum are in the Baby Shower Stage. And holy CRIPES you should hear the whining!! Every time I go on I see another post about how annoyed someone is that her shower is only a week away, and her registry only has three things fulfilled! ZOMGTRAGEDY!!! What is with the sense of entitlement lately? Many, many, many people don't even get a shower. And most people who do, that I've seen anyway, take whatever people give them (usually clothes they didn't register for, from stores they've never been to) with a smile. I only registered in the first place to have a place to look and see everything I would need and how much it would cost me to stock up for baby. And (I just thought of this) aren't registries usually considered a favor to the guests? Like, "here's a list of things you know I'll appreciate if you need guidance in your gift-buying." At least that's what I was told when I was doing my wedding registry.

Just today, a girl was complaining about her mother saying the crib set she wanted was too expensive, and she was all torn up about whether she should just buy it herself even though they couldn't afford it. WHY are people dead set on things they can't afford, anyway? Shouldn't you be using YOUR budget when you decide on what you want? Is there a trend I somehow missed that $400 baby shower gifts are the norm, and you have a right to be offended if nobody will buy it for you?

Ugh. People.

In happy news, my baby shower was awesome, and I will post pics from that later. I went out today and finished stocking up, so now we're totally ready to bring a baby home. Now I just get to sit around for 6 more weeks wishing I was done being pregnant.

Blessed

I browse pregnancy forums every once in a while. It's a good time waster. But all their vents really make me count my blessings, because I can hardly relate to any of them. And they are shockingly frequent. I just keep looking at all these vents going "Wow, that kinda sucks for you."

Things I am so grateful for right now:

~Absolutely #1 is my patient and supportive husband. I have my gripes with him, but seeing some of the issues these other ladies are going through.... wow. Brit is pretty much amazing.

~People at work... well, everyone all around me really... who never comments on how big my belly is, how I look like I'm about to pop, or any such nonsense. It's always "Look how cute you are!" Darn right I am.

~Along the same lines, everyone around me who never offers unsolicited pregnancy advice or old wives tales. I don't even think it would bother me all that much, but for how common this gripe is, I see it in my own life..... well, never.

~My in-laws. Oh, my in-laws. To read the message boards, you would think everybody in the world has psychotic, selfish, frustrating in-laws. In my life, my husband's family is like my second family. Or family version 1.5, because "second" would be too far removed. I love that they live so close, I love that they're so supportive of us... they are just amazing. I love visiting them as often as possible, and love it when they visit out here.

~My job... is getting hard, but that's to be expected at this point. In general, though, I have a great schedule, understanding coworkers, and confidence in my job security.

That's all I can think of just off the top of my head, but I think that's pretty good. Yay for a relatively easy pregnancy and people who love me!

Sleep

Ok, so I'm a little confused. I thought most of the exhaustion associated with pregnancy came when I was doing the hard work of building a body from scratch. That even SOUNDS hard. At this point, I'm basically done building, and he's just working on growing and getting nice and chubby..... WHY am I still exhausted all the time? Yesterday, I took a 3 hour nap, and went to bed at about midnight. Didn't wake up until 1 PM today. At which point I ate a bowl of cereal, and went back to bed from 2-5. That's 16 hours, if you're counting. And I'm still sleepy, and would bet money I start crashing at 3-4 AM like I do every night I work. What is up with this?

I count myself infinitely lucky to have an amazing bed that I can still get comfortable sleep (thanks to Grandy), a billion pillows to support said sleep, no kids or others in the house keeping me awake, and a husband who is so incredibly patient with me STILL sleeping my life away. I don't think I'll ever have another pregnancy this easy.

Meal planning: week 1

Success!

I decided while I was visiting my parents that I needed to try meal planning again, and take it seriously. I've tried and failed several times before, and I don't know what's gone wrong. But now that I have a baby on the way, I want to make a real effort to get in the habit of eating things other than hot dogs and macaroni & cheese. And a few days into my successful meal plan, I discovered another reason to eat a more balanced diet: apparently in this month of pregnancy, the fetus starts "tasting" what I eat, and what I eat now and while breastfeeding can affect what he'll be willing to eat in the future. So guess who's gonna be eating more vegetables now?

I know it's only been one week, but I think I've discovered the key to success. I plan with more detail, while leaving more wiggle room. I set aside a day once every two weeks to do plan the next two weeks of meals, noting which nights I work and planning around that. On nights I work, Brit cooks. On nights I'm free, I cook. And on nights AFTER I work, I plan on something super easy, or a crock pot meal that can cook while I sleep. And I leave one or two days each week open for "whatever" meals, and wiggle room if meals get pushed around. And then I look at what ingredients I need that I don't have, what's most immediately perishable, and plan shopping trips accordingly as well.

I've gotten through one week so far. Things got pushed around a little, when I canceled a meal or two and got sick of too much beef too many days in a row, but it WORKED. It's pretty stressful to have to sit down and plan out two weeks of meals... it's definitely an all-day adventure, and I need to get over my aversion to repeating meals... but it is SO NICE to not be having the 15 minute "conversation" every night about what's for dinner, and having something green only on special occassions. Or when Brit has gummy bears.

Hopefully this will last. I'm still in the process of planning for the next couple of weeks... feel free to make suggestions!

Humor

Comedy is a mysterious thing. Why do people find some things funny, and others not? What makes something inherently funny? And why do so many people find disgusting things hilarious? When I was young, I remember seeing a shift from good cartoons to stuff that just grossed me out... and made everyone else laugh. Ren & Stimpy, anyone? And it's always baffled me. What is so amusing about dipping a live bunny into molten chocolate and eating the screaming remains before it dies? I don't know, but my facebook friends loved it.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the Year of the Dead Baby Jokes. I banned anyone from telling me those. Hate them. So much.