Winona

Winona is where we stopped for the night. It's a super cute little town. Don't think we'll be moving there. I love the accent up here! So cute!

Headed to the mall of America today. About 1.5hr I believe from Winona. Er follow the river the whole way which freaks me out. For those that don't know I have a huge fear of being trapped in a car underwater. Not a good fear to have, like any are, when you're driving along water.

I sneezed and got sneeze gunk all over mikes car. Win.

I think this place doesn't have...

Meat. I thought it was going to be the end of the world for our meat loving family, especially the males. *ahem* dad. He chose the place. Which made it really funny that it was vegan/vegetarian.

If you're ever in wisconsin stop at exit 92 on i90 and head toward the BP gas station. On your right you'll see a bed and breakfast style building which proclaims that they make home made food. Tey have an excellent grilled cheese sandwhich as well as many other options. The grilled cheese is one of Rachel Ray's top 4 in the country!

Our first gas stop

Stopped for gas and because this momma has a tiny bladder.

Also got some super weird chips that mike says are more sour than hazardously sour candies. Weird

Also, huge windmill farm.

On the road again....

Left Connersville at 9am. Hit up a gas station and weigh station to weigh te car and holy hell that thing his heavy! It's near bottoming out!

Stopped for lunch at steak n shake and I got a Frisco melt. No steak n shakes in Washington that I know of :(

Apparently as co pilot of this while it's my mission to blog every stupid little detail of this trip. Mike had a full sugar red bull so for whatever reason thinks this is a good idea. It'll bore you to tears so I'm sorry in advance.

Sometimes...

I came across an old acquaintance's blog earlier today and it got my head spinning. I can't believe that a woman, a mother at that, would criticize someone's choices so harshly. I think we all have opinions and none of us are innocent of judgement. I think opinions are great and I love that we all have differing views on everything. 

There are very few things that I think are non-negotiables as far as parenting, birth, etc go. Of course, those "non-negotiables" are also my opinions.

Yes, this is one of those posts. 

The basic gist of said acquaintance's post was that she's better than the moms that were in the hospital on her delivery night. She's better because she doesn't moan, growl, scream or apparently vocalize in anyway while she's in labor. This is really uncommon. Most women, even those with epidurals, moan, grunt, etc. As far as I know this can be a beneficial thing, even my doula was speaking of how if you "ahhh" during pushing you're less likely to tear. She criticized a woman for puking. Yes puking, another very common occurrence during transition. Stated "We were like oh there goes another woman that doesn't know what to do. She of course took the wheelchair upstairs." Huh? Apparently, it's also not okay to take a wheelchair anywhere. I didn't realize that puking meant you didn't know what to do...seeing as women in labor puke a lot apparently not many people know what they're doing? That's good to know. 

The blog I'm speaking about makes me really sad. Sad for the mothers she's criticizing especially. Who are we to judge someone because they want an epidural. Yes, you all know that I believe the majority of women can do it without it but that doesn't mean every woman wants to. I think it shows the power and amazement of the woman's body. You want an epidural, drugs, birthing on your back, baby cleaned off before you hold him or her? Go for it, I'm not going to stop it. I KNOW that giving birth without an epidural is hard work. Don't have to convince me! I think she also fails to realize that some people have had very traumatic experiences in their lives and are fearful of giving birth or of pain. Not every situation is as easy as her deliveries seem to be. 

I also realize that I come across very strongly about a lot of my opinions. If i've EVER made you feel badly about a decision, come across this way please let me know. I'm very sorry if i've ever come across this way. (I'll argue with you to the death on some things if I can PROVE it's better..but that doesn't mean it's not your choice still.) 

Figuring it out

The year starts with a boat load of questions. How will we get it all done? Can we handle two kids this close together? Will we be ran ragged at home with no time to just sit and do nothing on our "vacation"? Will we like Washington? How can we be better? Will this pregnancy be as great as the first? Will we be healthy? CAN we become healthier? What kind of gear do we need for the new baby? What will his or her name be? I know these may seem silly but i have questions like this constantly and i have SERIOUS anxiety over most of them. More than anything I want our move to go smoothly and this pregnancy to be healthy.

I ate poorly with Rosalie and gained 40lb. I was lucky to be able to lose it all quickly but my body just isn't the same. YES, i know that it probably won't ever have everything in the spot that it once was but dang, it sucks. I doubt many people see it but me. I'm hoping to not gain as much with this lil bean as I did  with Rose. How can I do that? What should I and shouldn't I be eating? HELP!!! I don't even know where to begin! I don't want a radical change, something I can't stick to. I just need something...better, something easy. I realllly don't enjoy cooking at all...especially if it's "hard" stuff. I can bake and i enjoy it, maybe that's my problem. I desperately need to drink more water. A friend came up with using a timer...each time the timer goes of she has to drink a bottle of water....maybe i'll use that idea. How many ounces though? I drank SO much milk with rosalie i didn't have room for anything else! In fact, that's how Mike knew I was pregnant! I'm sure my mother-in-law thought it was weird that i was drinking milk with my pizza (that's what she drinks with pizza normally and i think it's weird)....pregnancy explains that.

I'm struggling with getting this house in order to get the heck outta here. I'm overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. Perhaps I should start in one room and work my way out....I have stuff to sell but it's SUCH a hassle, I don't want to bother. I'd rather just sit everything outside and tell people to come and get it.

Too many questions, not enough answers. Not enough time. Not enough motivation.

As We Count Down...

As we count down this last hour of 2011 I can't help but to think that it's going to be hard to top. It's been a crazy ride this year.

We started out the year celebrating with friends, expecting a baby girl, celebrating one last New Year's Eve as just the two of us.

April brought us the joy of becoming parents. An amazing, obviously life-altering experience. I'm not sure we even knew we could love someone as much as we do our sweet Rosalie. Seeing Mike hold her for the first time, bathe her, feed her and all the playtime they have together makes me wonder why he was so nervous in the first place! He's such an amazing, devoted, FUN father. I think his favorite part of Rosalie's life is giving her a bath...or as he says "daddy-baby fun time". He's the sweetest daddy ever.  He was gone quite a bit this summer and never fails to come home and jump right back into everyday life which I'm extremely grateful for.

Rosalie grows, learns and explores more everyday. She's such a happy baby, I'm not sure what will happen if our future babies are fussy! I can't wait to see her first tooth (yes, she's 8 months old with no teeth!), see her realllly crawl (hey, it's hard work slipping and sliding on these hardwood floors!), pull up and walk. I can't wait for her to FINALLY meet her loving family at home. She's blessed to have many aunts and uncles. Our family may not consist solely of blood relatives but it's so strong! We're lucky to have amazing friends that are always there to support, love and miss us just as much as we miss them.

April 26, 2011

December 2011

We end this year with an exciting announcement! We found out yesterday that we're expecting again! I'm a horrible secret keeper with my own news when I'm SO excited to share it! We're due sometime in September so it's still very early. We ask that our loving friends and family pray for a healthy pregnancy, delivery and healthy pregnancy. 

Happy New Year! Have a fantastic 2012!!