my dear, what a big dork you are

Yes, I am. (music aside) I have always loved this video. I don't know what possessed me to look it up today, but now you get to see it too. These guys found the lion for sale in a cramped cage, raised him, then set him free where he transitioned successfully. A year later, they went back to see him.



Christian the Lion Full Video Great Quality - Click here for the most popular videos

It has been forever since I have had the time to write a good long blog. Unfortunately, I still don’t have a lot of time. I am off in an hour to my exams for this semester. I haven’t registered for the next one, but I think I am only going to go half time this once. I am starting to get burnt out and haven’t had a break from school since Miles first got back from Iraq. I have had three 15+ pg assignments in the past two weeks, and I am just plain tired. I can’t work while Lea is awake like I used to. Not only dies she get into a lot of trouble on her own now, but she is such a busy little thing that I feel like a rat when I am not hanging out with her.

Speaking of Ms Lea, she’s in the middle of a growth spurt and WHEW! She’s getting tall. I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s grown a few inches in the past couple of weeks. The hair is still everywhere. Miles won’t let me cut her some bangs because he wants them to grow out, but her hair is always in her face and she won’t keep it clipped back. She’s my wild haired child. The best I can usually do is slap on a hat and tuck her hair into it. It is a pretty color, though. Blonde-brown-red, and I think it’s gong to stay that way.

As far as I can tell the pregnancy is going well, too. I am officially in my second trimester this week and have been playing the gender guessing game, but Miles is staying well out of it. He doesn’t want to talk names or gear until we know, and of course, I am all about finding out. I am thinking that it’s a boy, but then again, I thought Lea was a boy. It doesn’t matter either way, but I think it’s fun to speculate. We were in church yesterday and I felt a faint little flutter just above my pelvic bone. It was the first time that I was positive that I felt the baby. There has been nothing since, but I feel blessed to have felt what I did in my 15th week. He or she must have been thrashing!

I have to go get ready since it’s almost test time and I am still in my jammies ☺

I have been horrible about adding photos of Lea. I have certainly been taking them, but my sim card isn't working well with my computer right now. . . correction, my computer is about toasted and it isn't working well with anything. The darn thing is a year old, too :(. We are getting a Mac next. Anyways, here are a couple from the zoo the other day. She was a sleepy thing, but she still loved it. She was so cute with the monkeys and actually said "I see a bird!" clear as day. She pops up with a few longish complete sentences every day, and it never ceases to amaze me because they are always in context. This morning my mother in law went to get her out of her crib. I was in the next room and heard "I wanna see Mom". Oh, and she calls me Mom. No Mommy, which kind of breaks my heart. Mommy was nice. Oh well.

Doctor's visit /baby talk

I went to the doctor's visit yesterday and was surprised and delighted when a midwife opened the door as opposed to the rude, calloused woman (MD) who I had previously seen. I had requested one after my last visit, but was told that they were in short supply at the Army hospital. Backpedaling a bit, I have to first say that when I was pregnant with Lea, I had doctors pushing and pushing for me to gain weight (even though I gained the standard 3 lbs in the 1st trimester and on the high end from there on out). Pre-pregnancy, I ran several miles a day and participated in normal Army physical training. By the end of my pregnancy, I had gained between 50 and 60 lbs and could barely huff through walking a single mile because I was on restriction (like a partial bed rest)for 15+ weeks. I was miserable and Lea was STILL a 7lb baby. . . so this led to months of me struggling to get my metabolism back up and the painful weight off. I am still pretty sensitive about the experience because I know that if I had simply eaten healthy food when hungry, I would have gained properly and wouldn't have felt so horrible afterwards. Every woman is different, but 60 lbs was not a healthy amount for me to gain.

I have read book after book on proper nutrition. I don't eat fat free maltodextrin-packed garbage and though I firmly believe that "C is for cookie", I moderate my sugar intake. I am all for healthy fats and I eat 3 squares along with snacks every day.

So when I walked into the doctor's office in my first appointment and the MD tells me that my low body fat indicated that I should see a nutritionist, I just about lost it on her. I was totally relieved when, at about 12 weeks, I walked into the midwife's office and she said that I was doing great with food intake and that nursing is okay while pregnant. She is willing to work on a birth plan with me and gave me a few tips on combating head and muscle aches without the use of Tylenol and such (I am not into pills). It was so relieving to be seen by a human being as opposed to a medical textbook.

Because of a couple of iffy signs (which just ceased last week), I had an ultrasound. And there the baby was, bouncing and shifting away! The heartbeat was clear and visible. It was great!