7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 33)

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On this Veterans Day, I am so grateful for all the men and women that have sacrificed so much to protect our safety and liberty.  I am also thankful for the families of our service men and women who have to endure the absence of their loved ones.  Your service and dedication do not go unnoticed!

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I’ll be 38 weeks on Sunday!  Baby will be here anytime in the next month.  Living in a society where everything seems to be scheduled and timed to the second, it is so strange to have absolutely no idea (or control over) when the baby will be born.  But I think the surprise just adds to the excitement!

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Speaking of surprises, I am so glad we decided not to find out the sex.  It was really fun going through the baby’s dresser, picking out the outfits to bring with us to the birth center.  Most of the clothes we have is neutral, but David and I chose a pink and a blue outfit and I can’t wait to see which one our little one will come home in!

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David and I went on a date out to dinner tonight at the midwife’s order.  With the baby coming at any time, it was nice to have one last night just the two of us before we become a family of three.  David referred to our meal tonight as our “last supper” - I’m not exactly sure what he means by that…

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I’ve received several kind comments and emails in response to my post the other day about deciding to stop attending a mother’s group due to the other mothers’ negativity.  Thank you so much!  The kindness shown to me over the internet by people who don’t know me and don’t have any personal stake in my well-being never fails to surprise and amaze me.  

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The past few weeks, I’ve been planning my grocery shopping very carefully.  I’ve looked at blogs for the best deals at my local grocery stores (my favorite blog for this is Southern Savers), matched up sales with coupons, and made detailed shopping lists.  I’ve saved a ton!  Yesterday, between sales and coupons, I saved $38 and spent $40 at the grocery store - almost 50% savings!  To be fair, I got lucky and several of the items I needed that I expected to pay full price for were on sale (or even clearance!).  I wouldn’t call myself an extreme couponer, but I definitely feel like I’ve learned a few tricks that will help bring our grocery budget down - and believe me, it really needs to be lowered.  

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Source: blogs.babble.com via Mandi on Pinterest

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this Nutella pudding recipe.  It’s very easy and one of the best puddings I’ve ever had - my husband especially loved it.  I tweeted about it and Kendra of The Nerdy Wife made it as well and her husband loved it too!  I’m telling you, you have to try this recipe!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Different Attitude

I’ve been attending a group for pregnant women and new mothers for a few months now.  I’ve really wanted to like this group, but after today’s meeting, I think that I finally will give up and stop going.  It’s not that I haven’t learned some helpful insights about pregnancy, birth or caring for newborns, because I have.  And it was those tidbits of helpful information that have made me go to the group week after week.  However, each time I go, I am finding that I just don’t quite fit in with the other mothers. 

It’s not the fact that I am at least six or seven years younger than the next youngest mother, nor is it that I clearly am on a much lower rung of the economic ladder than most of them.  Despite these differences, we certainly do have many things in common, especially since many of them have the same natural childbirth and parenting views that I have (many of them – though certainly not all – had/are planning unmedicated births, and cloth diaper, baby wear, breastfeed, etc.).  From all outside appearances, it seems that these women would provide the support that I so desperately crave as a new mother, especially as I enter motherhood in a new city far from my family and friends.  It is not lifestyle that separates me from these women, rather it’s attitude.

You see, despite being what some might call “poor” (or perhaps because of it), my husband and I are incredibly thankful for all we have.  While we might not be able to afford clothes from anywhere other than Goodwill or the $2.99 sale rack at a department store (and to be honest, sometimes those small purchases don’t even fit into our monthly budget), we are grateful to have clean, presentable clothing.  While we would love to be able to own a house or even move into a larger apartment, we are so thankful that not only do we have a roof over our heads, we have a two bedroom apartment.  I know many people who live in a one bedroom apartment with a baby or young child, so in comparison we feel like we are living like royalty.  I may have to clip coupons and shop sales to buy groceries, but we’ve never gone hungry.  Most of the baby clothing and other items we have came from garage sales, but our baby will want for nothing – in fact, the dresser drawers in the baby’s room are overflowing with used clothing that my mom scoured garage sales to find.  And on top of this all, we have our health and family who loves and supports us (albeit from a distance).  All our needs are provided for, what could we possibly complain about?

The mothers at the group I attend are always complaining.  They only had family stay with them six weeks to help them with the baby.  They only had four weeks’ worth of food brought to them.  Their mothers-in-law bought the baby ugly clothing or the wrong swing.  I understand that they use the meeting as a time to vent their frustrations to other mothers.  I know that they are tired and overwhelmed.  But I also know that they have so much to be grateful for and it frustrates me to see them take the kindness of others for granted.  My mother can only come for one week or so to help with the baby and she is the only relative that will be here to help.  We are new here and don’t know many people, so I don’t know that anybody will bring us food or offer to help around the house after the baby is born.  But that’s fine with me.  If one person brings us a meal, I will be happy and very grateful.  I would love more help, but instead of complaining that no one else is flying out, I will be overjoyed that my mother can be here for a week.  And you know what, even without the extra help, I know that my husband and I will survive.  As long as my little one is here and is healthy, and as long we can take care of his/her basic needs, that’s all that really matters. 

I think that the pessimistic attitudes of these women are putting unnecessary negativity in my life and perhaps it’s time to step away from it.  I am going to miss aspects of the group, especially the ability to ask questions to someone who is currently going through the same motherhood experiences, but recently I’ve felt that I am losing more than I am gaining by going.

Sunday 5 - Gratitude (vol. 3)

This week, I’ve been thinking about the many prayers we’ve had answered this year.  I rarely said the rosary before I married my husband, but he was raised in a family where the rosary was prayed every night.  Now that we have been praying it together every night, I have seen the power of the rosary to answer our prayers.  Here are five of our rosary prayer intentions that I am so grateful have been answered this year:

1. My husband’s cousin and her children were reunited with their husband/father when he was granted a green card to return to the United States after over three years of separation.

2. Another of my husband’s cousins and his wife recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy after suffering years of infertility and miscarriage, as well as a complication-filled pregnancy.

3. My brother-in-law recently got engaged to a wonderful young Catholic woman.

4. My grandfather’s cancer is gone and he can look forward to a future playing with his two great grandchildren on the way.

5. My pregnancy has been very healthy and complication free.

I'm linking up to the Sunday 5 - Gratitude at Letters from Momma.

Babies and Miracles (Babies are Miracles)

Earlier this week, my family learned that my grandfather’s cancer is gone!  He’s had two rounds of chemotherapy in the past year.  Chemo is difficult at any age, but at 80 years old, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand much more treatment.  In fact, earlier this year, when he was first diagnosed as “cancer-free” after his first round of chemo, he had decided that he would not do another round of chemo if the cancer returned.  He told my mother and grandmother that he had lived a long, happy 80 years and felt at peace having just converted to Catholicism.

So what changed his mind?  Why did he undergo chemo again when his cancer reappeared?  The answer is simple: only a few days before he was told the cancer was back, I called to tell him that I was pregnant.  And he was determined to be here to enjoy his first great-grandchild.  A few months later, we found out that my cousin’s girlfriend is expecting as well, so he has double the great-grandchildren to look forward to.  Not only were these babies the reason that he decided to continue to fight, they have also been a constant motivation to him throughout the difficulties of the last several months.  When he was too dizzy to stand up, too nauseous to eat, too tired to get out of bed, the thought of two chubby little babies on his lap cheered him up and gave him the strength to go on. 

To me, this is an ultimate example of trusting God’s timing.  As I’ve written about before, my husband and I entered marriage with the plan to postpone pregnancy until after he had finished grad school and had a “real” job.  But shortly after marriage, we began to feel an overwhelming desire to have a baby and we subsequently became much more open to life.  I cannot believe that it was purely a coincidence that I found out about my pregnancy and told my family about it only days before my grandpa would have to make tough decisions of how to approach the return of his cancer.  In a way, this child saved my grandfather’s life by giving him the will to live. 

I am reticent to make statements like, “My child is a miracle,” or “My child caused a miracle.”  I don’t want to be that mother who is always bragging about how wonderful and special and unique her child is.  But that’s not my point anyway.   It’s not about this child, it’s about all children  - all children are miracles, all children cause miracles, often in ways you may neither expect nor ever learn about.  Babies not only bring incredible joy to people around them, they also simply remind people that life is precious, that life itself is a miracle.  

7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 32)

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November is such a beautiful month.  It starts with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, ends with the beginning of Advent.  What a glorious time to be Catholic!

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If you didn’t see the pictures I posted earlier this week of my Halloween costume, I wore this Jack O’Lantern belly band.  Isn’t it adorable?  I came into it due to the kindness of a woman at a garage sale a few months ago.  I was looking at the maternity clothes she was selling when she asked my due date.  When I said late November, she got really excited, ran inside the house and come out with this.  She said she’d been hoping to pass it on to a pregnant woman who would have a big belly on Halloween.  So she just gave it to me.  People at garage sales are just so nice.

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Have you ever wondered what it smells like when a twist tie accidentally gets into the microwave and starts to spark on fire?  Strangely enough, it smells like incense.  I just discovered that this morning (thank goodness my husband was in the kitchen at the time, because my first instinct when I smelled incense was not to look in the microwave to see if something was on fire).  

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I’ve slowly been buying Christmas presents and am going to start wrapping them today.  Is it weird that I plan to pull out Christmas CDs to listen to as I wrap?  Even though it’s just barely November?  Normally, I don’t turn my focus to Christmas until after Thanksgiving (truth be told, I am slightly sickened to see Christmas displays in stores so early), but I am trying to get as much done as possible before the baby is here.  The past couple years, I’ve tended to purchase a large share of gifts online, so I should be fine even if I don’t get it all done before.

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On Sunday, I’ll be 37 weeks which means close enough to full term that if I go into labor, baby isn’t going to be stopped from arriving.  I know that it is more likely that the baby will come after the due date than before since it’s my first pregnancy, but I should probably make sure we’re ready.  Really, there isn’t much more we need to do, except to put the car seat in the car. 

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Being mentally prepared for the baby is a different story.  Is it strange that even with my large belly, a nursery full of baby items, and constantly feeling the baby’s movements, I still can’t fathom that I will have a baby sometime in the next month or so?  I try to imagine our family with a little baby in it, but I just can’t visualize what it will be like.

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I am very excited about breastfeeding.  Does that make me odd?  I feel like so many women seem to be nervous or hesitant about breastfeeding, but I’ve been excited for months.  We took a breastfeeding class last night and although I had already read most of the information, it was really great to see visuals.  Most of the women in the class had experience with friends or family breastfeeding, but since this will be the first baby in the family in almost 20 years and I’m the first of my friends to have children, I have zero experience around nursing mothers.  Thank goodness the birth center and pediatrician both have lactation consultants to answer that many questions I’m sure I’ll have.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!