So I thought for sure this thing was growing. I have popped. I look pregnant (well, I think I look pregnant but no strangers are asking me about due dates or anything and I feel like I need a shirt that says "Pregnant not just fat"). For sures bubs has caught up on that growth business.
Maybe? The midwife couldn't really feel the fundus (top of ute), but thought it was still back by my navel, or in other words, exactly where it was 4 weeks ago. But she admitted she couldn't really tell where it was (and to be honest, I have looked for it and haven't been able to find it either, and I could always find it before 20 weeks).
But there is still a strong heartbeat, my urine is clean, my blood pressure is marching back down (had been getting high for me), and everything else seems good. I am still getting good kicks (just took a good one to the fupa, actually). But what the hell, ute?? I hope you are just buried beneath some flub and that damned hernia (yeah, had forgotten about that until I over indulged in potato soup a few weeks ago, and spent the rest of the night trying to hold the damn thing in...I have finally learned portion control anyway).
And I have an ultrasound in a few hours to get a better idea of what is going on in there. I'll post an update when I get home from that. Wonder if I need to pull the Moose out of work to come with.
We didn't talk too much about the birth plan (ha, right, plan!) since much depends on this ultrasound. If bubs measures small, it is specialist time. And that will mean 3.5 hour road trip to the hospital when it comes time to birth (as opposed to 30 minute drive to the birthing center). In the winter, probably in the middle of the night, in 8 feet of snow uphill both ways no doubt (ok...probably not 8 feet of snow, since we don't get that at lower elevations, but 3 inches will suffice to shut down traffic and provide the fun experience of giving birth in a car stuck in the snow) (as a former Minnesotan, it figures).
And so far this pregnancy had been so damned easy! Damn you, hubris!
Gotta run to the store and pay 2 overdue bills that had gotten lost in the shuffle of shit that accumulates on the coffee table, and then devote the remaining time to freaking myself out about IUGR and SGA babies on google. I think I can work myself up good in the hour and change I should have before I have to leave for the ultrasound. And hopefully it will all be for nothing. Fingers crossed the midwife just didn't have a magic touch today.
**Update
She is just small so far. Her head circumference and abdominal circumference are growing at the same rate, and that rate is consistent with normal growth. She is just small. Hopefully I am not yet turfed to a specialist (I don't think I will be yet), but I should hear from the midwife later today.
And...
I had my first pregnancy puke. At 24 weeks. I started to feel nauseous part way through the ultrasound, and it just got worse. I figured it was just nerves, and lately I have been feeling a bit queasy again (not so bad as first trimester though). I thought I would make it. By the end of it I was quickly wiping off the lube and trying to sit up as I felt so shitty. The ultrasound tech gave me a bowl, and within a minute I was puking my guts out (guts consisting only of bile and a handful of lollies eaten an hour or two before...maybe I should have had lunch...). Apparently any future scans will be done with me mostly on my side!
Monday, 30 March 2015
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Sisterhood of the World
Sisterhood of the World
The Rules:
- Link to the person who nominated you.
- Add the award logo.
- Answer the questions your nominator asked.
- Nominate 7 other blogs.
- Ask your nominees 10 questions.
I also couldn't decide which set to answer, and am currently avoiding housework, so I will answer both!!
Adi's questions:
- What’s one thing you love about yourself? Only one?? Just kidding! Um...it is a bit hard to explain now that I think on it, but I love that I have a rather cold, detached analytical side (emotions of a rock, seriously). I can look at how I am feeling, figure out why I am feeling that way, and control how I act/react accordingly. I seldom act on impulse (shopping aside) and never get myself involved in other people's dramas. I am not hot-tempered, I have reasonable expectations, and seldom get really offended, and I think it is all due to this analytical thing. As a result, my life is pretty happy and cruise-y!
- What makes you and your partner suited to one another? We have a lot of similarities in that we are laid-back, introverted, etc, but I think we work so well together because our relationship is based on respect and trust, and we both have a playful sense of humour.
- What’s a perfect day you’ve had? I don't think of any days as perfect or wholly shitty. Most days are just days, and mostly they are good. But the most recent perfect moment was coming home last night after two days away to my Moose and the pusses (Toffee even greeted me at the door, though Cleo was too sleepy to get out of bed and I had to go to her).
- What’s “your spot” in your home? The ugly two seater sofa that I have been allowing the cats to shred. It is the only comfy place to sit, and now that the Moose allows me to put my feet up on the coffee table (or Toffee table, as we call it), it is perfect. It is also right in front of the fire. But I hope to have a gliding recliner chair in the next few months, and a new favorite spot.
- What would you love to do this weekend? Get stuff done around the house. With harvest on now, we won't have many weekends until May, and somehow we have this weekend. A golden opportunity I am currently wasting. A to do list and productivity will follow though.
- Tell me a story of you as a kid. Any age! When I was about 5 or 6 years old I walked about a mile home on a frozen lake in a snowstorm, towing a sled full of fish. Dad and the uncles, who I had been ice fishing with, got in a bit of trouble for letting me go, but it was probably my first real bit of independence. Oh, I was also climbing out of my crib before 9 months, and I once took my walker down a flight of stairs (got stuck wedged between some 2x4s), and my trike down a hill (wiped out and had heaps of bruises just in time for a doc visit). I was very adventurous. Not so much now.
- What’s on your nightstand? It is an L-shaped bookshelf thing, but closest to the bed are the following: alarm clock, lamp, two different flavours (?) of cocoa butter (lime and mango, yum) (...I don't eat it), Pre-seed (yup, love it), a pen, my kindle, some sarongs, a container with pins (used for removing work-related splinters), a ceramic sake bottle and cups (never used), some sarongs, shoes, bbt thermometer, a thing to hang over a door from Japan, other odds and ends from Japan...god knows what else. I need to clean it out, but that will be a job for when I am too big to clean anything else!
- Name something off your “bucket list” or just something you hope to someday do. I want to go to Rome. I love Roman history, and I would love to see Rome, and many other places that were once a part of the republic and empire. I would also love to see other ancient sites in the middle east, but that won't be happening. I love my history (mostly ancient history), and have been lucky enough to visit Mayan ruins, Angkor Wat, very old temples in Japan and China...there is so much more to see.
- What’s your favorite outfit? The outfit of the week. Pretty much I wear one thing all week (outside of work), and that tends to be the favorite. Right now it is the maternity jeans, a striped maternity top over a tank top, and when I get cold, this giant cowl necked maternity sweater. But I can often be found in flower printed pajama bottoms, a polka dot nightgown, with a plaid flannel top over it, and a cashmere wrap over that, and a blanket over the lot of it. I am well known for mixing patterns at home (not in public though...at least not yet...maybe one day...)
- Say something nice about a fellow blogger! All the ladies I follow are awesome, amazing, and absolutely inspirational. I have been lucky in getting pregnant with a sticky one just as I got my referral to the RE. I haven't been through what so many others have, and I recognize my good luck in that. I also am very appreciative to have been accepted by at least a few of this community, and especially by tortuil and Mrs. Agony. I am sure there are some out there who would say I don't belong, and maybe I don't (though I don't belong in the fertile myrtle club either), but these ladies have supported me, and I really appreciate them!
Now, Lauren's questions:
- What is something you are really good at? Reading. And I can be quite good at writing when I make an effort to plan and edit. This blog is more just random thoughts, but sometimes I think about taking it in a different direction (and then I get distracted...oh, look! Cat videos!)
- What do you wish you were better at? Sports. I am embarrassingly bad at anything involving hand eye co-ordination. I would love to play something though.
- What has your loss / infertility journey taught you about life? Up until we started trying to conceive, my life was pretty easy (seriously) and I was under the impression that anything I wanted I could have immediately or with very little effort. I don't think I have ever worked hard towards anything in my life before this. And with the miscarriages, well...I have never really experienced much in terms of close loss. I know people who have lost best friends, parents, siblings, other loved ones, but I haven't. The pregnancies I lost were really early, and I think had I lost them further along it would have been much harder, but still...that first one was the hardest. The second one was just frustrating. Realizing that I had probably had a third about a year before freaked me out. I guess it made me realize that life won't always be rosy. There will be dark days, even if I haven't had many before. But also that I will survive, because what else is there? Time moves on, you put one foot in front of the next...
- Paper diary or digital calendar? I have a paper one, for work. I have digital ones but never use them. I just scrawl on the wall calendar, but I don't have a lot of engagements. Introvert.
- Where did you meet your other half? At work in 2008 when I came to New Zealand as a backpacker.
- What are you wearing right now? This question sounds kinda pervy...but maternity jeans, striped top, slippers...what I will probably wear all week.
- When did you discover you could write? It was a short jump from spending all day in la-la land to writing down said la-la land adventures, but I started when I was about 12. Maybe a little younger. Still working on writing that novel that I will probably never finish...keep changing it...still thinking about it...haven't written since pregnancy because...yawn...so tired...
- What is your favourite time of day, and why? I like mornings, but mostly when I don't have to get up at a specific time and chose to wake up early. I like the quietness of the morning, the fresh smell of the air, that first cup of coffee and sitting down to read or write or whatever. But I don't really like the mornings where I am rushing around getting ready for work. That kind of ruins it.
- What piece of wisdom would you give your ten-year-old self? Tiggy, you know that period you just got?? Start bugging doctors about the pain of it sooner, and don't just stop when they put you on the pill. Get that shit sorted, because you are in for a long, painful time of it. And...congrats, that acne will be gone by the time all the other girls get it. And for god's sake try to learn some sports or get into some healthy habits before those body issues hit in a few years and you bugger up your body!! You might stay skinny by not eating, but the fainting spells and eventual kidney stone will not be pleasant, and you will just pack on the pounds after you start university anyway.
- What’s the farthest from home you’ve travelled? I live about as far from home as I can get. But I have traveled around the world. I've lived in Japan, Australia, and now New Zealand. I have been to Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Russia, and Belgium. I am sure I will add more to that list.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Because I can't follow directions...or give them, apparently.
I am in the bustling metropolis (note: sarcasm) that is Invercargill for a training course for work for two days.
Upon checking into the hotel, I promptly turn the heater on (after a suitable amount of time spent trying to figure out how to turn it on...like seriously 5 minutes staring at a dial with temperatures and having nothing happen when I move it, searching for a switch, instructions, anything...oh, hey, turn on the switch at the power outlet, duh). During my search, I noticed a sign asking to turn off all lights, switch, and the heater before leaving the room to conserve power. Naturally I forget to turn the heater off when I leave to search out some Indian takeaway.
And then the tv. Instructions say to leave the tv remote on channel one, and use the sky (satellite company) remote to switch channels...we have sky at home, we have the same remote. Which remote do I use to change the channel?? <smacks head> Ten minutes later, after pressing every button I can find, it occurs to me to use the tv remote and start pressing buttons on that. Two seconds later, the evening news.
So...I am away from the Moose and the pusses. Not overly happy about it, but it will be easier to bang out this training course before bubs comes along than it will be to do it next year. But that means the Moose has to express Toffee's bladder (the vet used to take her for boarding, but they have stopped that service now). I have been trying to teach him the past few days. So far, no good. He can't get much pee out of her. I drew him a rather hilarious diagram before I left (should have taken a picture of it), paying special attention to drawing sharp claws and a pissed off face, in addition to where to put pressure, etc, but so far he has had no luck. He may have to take her to the vets tomorrow after work. Poor Toffs. At least she can leak out some pee so there is no danger of bladder explosion. Hopefully this happens outside (I am thinking now of all the things I should have covered...down blanket on spare bed, cot mattress...). My bladder feels sympathy for hers anyway.
Which brings up another valid point I will have to be considering in the not too terribly distant future: who is going to empty Toff's when my loins are being split asunder? I might have to send the Moose to do it, and do some labouring alone...provided he can figure out how to get the pees out. The worst case scenario would be having to go to Dunedin to birth this bubs...that is over a 3 hour drive, and will happen if there is even a hint of any complication. Actually, the worst would be hospital bed rest. Poor Toffs would suffer, and I doubt they would let me bring an incontinent cat into a sterile hospital environment ("I swear, she is a therapy animal!! What do you mean she mauled 3 children and a nurse? 67 stitches? Oh...") I think I need to make some vet friends. Ones who haven't met Toffs yet.
Upon checking into the hotel, I promptly turn the heater on (after a suitable amount of time spent trying to figure out how to turn it on...like seriously 5 minutes staring at a dial with temperatures and having nothing happen when I move it, searching for a switch, instructions, anything...oh, hey, turn on the switch at the power outlet, duh). During my search, I noticed a sign asking to turn off all lights, switch, and the heater before leaving the room to conserve power. Naturally I forget to turn the heater off when I leave to search out some Indian takeaway.
And then the tv. Instructions say to leave the tv remote on channel one, and use the sky (satellite company) remote to switch channels...we have sky at home, we have the same remote. Which remote do I use to change the channel?? <smacks head> Ten minutes later, after pressing every button I can find, it occurs to me to use the tv remote and start pressing buttons on that. Two seconds later, the evening news.
So...I am away from the Moose and the pusses. Not overly happy about it, but it will be easier to bang out this training course before bubs comes along than it will be to do it next year. But that means the Moose has to express Toffee's bladder (the vet used to take her for boarding, but they have stopped that service now). I have been trying to teach him the past few days. So far, no good. He can't get much pee out of her. I drew him a rather hilarious diagram before I left (should have taken a picture of it), paying special attention to drawing sharp claws and a pissed off face, in addition to where to put pressure, etc, but so far he has had no luck. He may have to take her to the vets tomorrow after work. Poor Toffs. At least she can leak out some pee so there is no danger of bladder explosion. Hopefully this happens outside (I am thinking now of all the things I should have covered...down blanket on spare bed, cot mattress...). My bladder feels sympathy for hers anyway.
Which brings up another valid point I will have to be considering in the not too terribly distant future: who is going to empty Toff's when my loins are being split asunder? I might have to send the Moose to do it, and do some labouring alone...provided he can figure out how to get the pees out. The worst case scenario would be having to go to Dunedin to birth this bubs...that is over a 3 hour drive, and will happen if there is even a hint of any complication. Actually, the worst would be hospital bed rest. Poor Toffs would suffer, and I doubt they would let me bring an incontinent cat into a sterile hospital environment ("I swear, she is a therapy animal!! What do you mean she mauled 3 children and a nurse? 67 stitches? Oh...") I think I need to make some vet friends. Ones who haven't met Toffs yet.
Monday, 23 March 2015
F-ing Facebook
If you have ever had one pregnant woman friend on facebook, then you have no doubt seen the post of the boob beanie. If you have no idea what I am talking about, I am guessing you aren't on facebook or somehow have avoided pregnant women on facebook (which must be some sort of miracle...or you are smart enough to block all posts from said preggo minutes after the announcement). I have seen the boob beanie a few times. I admit, I do think it is funny. I laughed the first time I saw it, and have chuckled quietly to myself every time since.
But my mom obviously had missed it, and posted it up for me, asking if I wanted her to start knitting on for Abigail (we haven't actually picked a name yet, but my mom likes to choose one each day and try it on...I think it was Penelope last week). But my mom doesn't know much about how to tag people, so she didn't tag me. But one of my aunts did. And the wife of my cousin (who I have met only once and who just had a baby girl within the past year). Asking if we had found out we were having a girl and why no one had told them, if we had chosen to name her Abigail, etc. My mom and aunt got into a playful argument of "why didn't you tell us" and "stop yelling at me" and something about "favorite youngest sister-in-law" (she is the youngest on that side and points it out an awful lot). All that would be cute and funny, had we not been keeping it a secret.
The Moose's idea. Maybe I posted about this before? Because I sort of stepped in it and told one other person before I knew I was supposed to keep it hushed. Apparently it is a common thing here to keep it to yourself and surprise people after the birth. Which I am fine with. I have no problem keeping it a secret, and have sort of enjoyed pissing off a few of the women at work when I refused to tell them. But I probably should have told my mom we were keeping it under wraps. I just wasn't expecting her to out me on facebook! She nagged me to announce the pregnancy on facebook so she could officially tell people (she was already unofficially telling them), and only posted one pregnancy related thing to me until today. I totally thought we were safe.
My mom is the queen of passive-aggressive*, so I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, and when she asked for my help against the aunt, I replied that I wouldn't be helping her, that we had been keeping it a secret as per the Moose's wishes, and that I didn't expect to get outed on facebook as we had only told my parents, my sister, and the Moose's mum (I think I will refer to her from now on as Mother Moose). Was that response a bit nasty and hormonal?? The Moose didn't want me to respond at all, but I just couldn't help it. There will be an "oops, sorry" and I will get less annoyed over it later, but really, the only person to blame is myself. I should have told her we weren't going to tell people.
So I guess the cat is out of the bag...wonder how long it will be until my facebook "friends" (aka people I can't unfriend because I work with them but never should have accepted as friends in the first place) latch on. I bet by the end of the week, everyone knows. Probably by the end of tomorrow. I have already apologized to the Moose. He is taking it well at least.
A small part of me is kind of hoping, even though it will mean a trip to the store to return some of the pink baby clothes (I do hate pink, but I do love clearance prices), and a total mental readjustment, that the ultrasound next week shows that little Abigail has grown a pair.
* My immediate family is reasonably well adjusted and drama-free. When she is acting all passive-aggressive, my mother is well aware of what she is about and is only trying to manipulate us into doing something we should probably be doing anyway. The "<Sigh> I'll just do these dishes all by myself even though I have been cooking all day and my head hurts" kind of passive-aggressive. Totally harmless but ultimately annoying.
But my mom obviously had missed it, and posted it up for me, asking if I wanted her to start knitting on for Abigail (we haven't actually picked a name yet, but my mom likes to choose one each day and try it on...I think it was Penelope last week). But my mom doesn't know much about how to tag people, so she didn't tag me. But one of my aunts did. And the wife of my cousin (who I have met only once and who just had a baby girl within the past year). Asking if we had found out we were having a girl and why no one had told them, if we had chosen to name her Abigail, etc. My mom and aunt got into a playful argument of "why didn't you tell us" and "stop yelling at me" and something about "favorite youngest sister-in-law" (she is the youngest on that side and points it out an awful lot). All that would be cute and funny, had we not been keeping it a secret.
The Moose's idea. Maybe I posted about this before? Because I sort of stepped in it and told one other person before I knew I was supposed to keep it hushed. Apparently it is a common thing here to keep it to yourself and surprise people after the birth. Which I am fine with. I have no problem keeping it a secret, and have sort of enjoyed pissing off a few of the women at work when I refused to tell them. But I probably should have told my mom we were keeping it under wraps. I just wasn't expecting her to out me on facebook! She nagged me to announce the pregnancy on facebook so she could officially tell people (she was already unofficially telling them), and only posted one pregnancy related thing to me until today. I totally thought we were safe.
My mom is the queen of passive-aggressive*, so I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, and when she asked for my help against the aunt, I replied that I wouldn't be helping her, that we had been keeping it a secret as per the Moose's wishes, and that I didn't expect to get outed on facebook as we had only told my parents, my sister, and the Moose's mum (I think I will refer to her from now on as Mother Moose). Was that response a bit nasty and hormonal?? The Moose didn't want me to respond at all, but I just couldn't help it. There will be an "oops, sorry" and I will get less annoyed over it later, but really, the only person to blame is myself. I should have told her we weren't going to tell people.
So I guess the cat is out of the bag...wonder how long it will be until my facebook "friends" (aka people I can't unfriend because I work with them but never should have accepted as friends in the first place) latch on. I bet by the end of the week, everyone knows. Probably by the end of tomorrow. I have already apologized to the Moose. He is taking it well at least.
A small part of me is kind of hoping, even though it will mean a trip to the store to return some of the pink baby clothes (I do hate pink, but I do love clearance prices), and a total mental readjustment, that the ultrasound next week shows that little Abigail has grown a pair.
* My immediate family is reasonably well adjusted and drama-free. When she is acting all passive-aggressive, my mother is well aware of what she is about and is only trying to manipulate us into doing something we should probably be doing anyway. The "<Sigh> I'll just do these dishes all by myself even though I have been cooking all day and my head hurts" kind of passive-aggressive. Totally harmless but ultimately annoying.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Oh technology, thou art a heartless and cruel bitch
I have a confession to make.
I don't read warranty cards. I don't usually (...ever) fill them out. It is a miracle if I keep them at all, really. I have never had anything fixed under warranty. In my head, I would just take the computer back to the shop, hand it over, and they would deal with it. That is how I thought it all works. I don't know how I have managed to survive in this crazy world for 33.5 years.
The Moose suggested I read the warranty card (clever Moose, he keeps every warranty card and even fills them out and registers them), and so I hauled my ass up the stairs to the office. At least I knew I had these papers- they had crossed my path while organizing and cleaning a couple of weeks ago. So I hop onto the Moose's laptop, thinking I need to register my warranty (the Moose meanwhile telling me I should have done that last August when we bought the computer). A quick look in my little pink book of passwords for shit I don't use on a daily basis revealed I had a user id and password for this, and lo and behold, I did register the bugger!! Score.
But the service is mail in only. I need to contact the computer company (Monday through Friday, business hours), who will apparently arrange for a courier service to take it away to where the techno-witchcraft happens. And five days or so later, it will be returned fixed. So naturally I decide to just get a wireless mouse and deal with this whole computer business after harvest. Can't be bothered now. Harvest time is crazy time working in vineyards. As in 60+ hours a week and all spare time is spent doing laundry and trying to get the steering wheel of the car less sticky.
All this I wish I would have discovered before turning the computer on. Because I had to turn it off. I should have just left it on for the day. It would have been waiting for me and the brand new wireless mouse. But no, I had to try to turn it off, resulting in opening every program except the thingy with the power off button, and ARG. After ten minutes (but probably more like 5) of growing ever more frustrated, I decide "eh, bugger it" and just hit the power button. Hard shutdown. Or something like that. BAD IDEA. The computer freaked out a bit, but shut down.
I went out with the Moose, bought the wireless mouse, and spent the afternoon shopping (for baby clothes) in town and walking about the botanic gardens and sitting on nearly every bench I could find while the Moose played bowls.
Then out to dinner and finally home...
...and then I tried to turn on the computer. And got a blank screen and a cursor. AND NOTHING ELSE. Naturally I proceeded to systematically press every combo of key imaginable on the laptop, managed to shut it down and start it up and NOTHING but that damn blank screen and cursor!! Figuring I was boned and had probably lost my work files (oops...some of those are found only on my computer...) since I haven't done a proper back up in awhile, I decided to plug in the wireless mouse, and hey! It worked. I could now move the cursor around on my blank screen with ease and precision. So I whipped out the kindle and started googling all combinations of what I thought my problem might be...
...really long and boring story short, closing the lid and opening it again worked and got things running. Witchcraft, I am sure. But I have a usable computer again. But for the record I hate windows 8.
In other news, I had a bit of a freak out earlier in the week. Bubs went from giving me a few good wallops a day to nothing really noticeable. I chose to be in denial, but there was this growing sense of dread and a near crying fit. That doesn't happen often. There are two songs that can bring me to tears, and probably sad movies which I refuse to watch, otherwise I have about the emotional capacity of a rock. I thought about calling the midwife, but work got crazy and I have an appointment coming up in just over a week, and anyway, I haven't reached viability yet so what can they do? But I chose denial instead, and hey, it worked for me. For the past few days now I am getting those hard kicks again. Crisis averted. Panic over.
I've also had a bit of a return of random nausea and crankiness. I was soooo angry at work the other day. In fact, I am really put out to lose my three day weekend to bloody harvest (damn you harvest). Irrationally cranky. I tweaked something in my back at work on Friday and spent the day hobbling around in pain (the shooting down the leg sciatica type pain too) and getting angry with my boss for no real good reason other than I wanted to stab him in the face for irritating me. But sleeping on the other side all night last night helped, and I have walked a ton today with no pain! So I should handle going to work and harvesting tomorrow, even though I am really not happy about it.
...I just noticed something. My touchpad is working fine. WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE??? Seriously, witchcraft? I just don't...how...<head explodes>.
I don't read warranty cards. I don't usually (...ever) fill them out. It is a miracle if I keep them at all, really. I have never had anything fixed under warranty. In my head, I would just take the computer back to the shop, hand it over, and they would deal with it. That is how I thought it all works. I don't know how I have managed to survive in this crazy world for 33.5 years.
The Moose suggested I read the warranty card (clever Moose, he keeps every warranty card and even fills them out and registers them), and so I hauled my ass up the stairs to the office. At least I knew I had these papers- they had crossed my path while organizing and cleaning a couple of weeks ago. So I hop onto the Moose's laptop, thinking I need to register my warranty (the Moose meanwhile telling me I should have done that last August when we bought the computer). A quick look in my little pink book of passwords for shit I don't use on a daily basis revealed I had a user id and password for this, and lo and behold, I did register the bugger!! Score.
But the service is mail in only. I need to contact the computer company (Monday through Friday, business hours), who will apparently arrange for a courier service to take it away to where the techno-witchcraft happens. And five days or so later, it will be returned fixed. So naturally I decide to just get a wireless mouse and deal with this whole computer business after harvest. Can't be bothered now. Harvest time is crazy time working in vineyards. As in 60+ hours a week and all spare time is spent doing laundry and trying to get the steering wheel of the car less sticky.
All this I wish I would have discovered before turning the computer on. Because I had to turn it off. I should have just left it on for the day. It would have been waiting for me and the brand new wireless mouse. But no, I had to try to turn it off, resulting in opening every program except the thingy with the power off button, and ARG. After ten minutes (but probably more like 5) of growing ever more frustrated, I decide "eh, bugger it" and just hit the power button. Hard shutdown. Or something like that. BAD IDEA. The computer freaked out a bit, but shut down.
I went out with the Moose, bought the wireless mouse, and spent the afternoon shopping (for baby clothes) in town and walking about the botanic gardens and sitting on nearly every bench I could find while the Moose played bowls.
View from one of the many benches I sat on, and bump! I haven't taken many pics of it. It is starting to get impressive. Can't believe I managed to get the shot past the boobs!! They truly are impressive!!
Then out to dinner and finally home...
...and then I tried to turn on the computer. And got a blank screen and a cursor. AND NOTHING ELSE. Naturally I proceeded to systematically press every combo of key imaginable on the laptop, managed to shut it down and start it up and NOTHING but that damn blank screen and cursor!! Figuring I was boned and had probably lost my work files (oops...some of those are found only on my computer...) since I haven't done a proper back up in awhile, I decided to plug in the wireless mouse, and hey! It worked. I could now move the cursor around on my blank screen with ease and precision. So I whipped out the kindle and started googling all combinations of what I thought my problem might be...
...really long and boring story short, closing the lid and opening it again worked and got things running. Witchcraft, I am sure. But I have a usable computer again. But for the record I hate windows 8.
In other news, I had a bit of a freak out earlier in the week. Bubs went from giving me a few good wallops a day to nothing really noticeable. I chose to be in denial, but there was this growing sense of dread and a near crying fit. That doesn't happen often. There are two songs that can bring me to tears, and probably sad movies which I refuse to watch, otherwise I have about the emotional capacity of a rock. I thought about calling the midwife, but work got crazy and I have an appointment coming up in just over a week, and anyway, I haven't reached viability yet so what can they do? But I chose denial instead, and hey, it worked for me. For the past few days now I am getting those hard kicks again. Crisis averted. Panic over.
I've also had a bit of a return of random nausea and crankiness. I was soooo angry at work the other day. In fact, I am really put out to lose my three day weekend to bloody harvest (damn you harvest). Irrationally cranky. I tweaked something in my back at work on Friday and spent the day hobbling around in pain (the shooting down the leg sciatica type pain too) and getting angry with my boss for no real good reason other than I wanted to stab him in the face for irritating me. But sleeping on the other side all night last night helped, and I have walked a ton today with no pain! So I should handle going to work and harvesting tomorrow, even though I am really not happy about it.
...I just noticed something. My touchpad is working fine. WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE??? Seriously, witchcraft? I just don't...how...<head explodes>.
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Out of Touch
I broke the touchpad on my laptop. Have you ever tried to use a laptop when you are cross-eyed drunk with oven mitts on? Well, I am stone cold sober (and have been for months of course) with perfectly adroit digits, and the result is the same. I try to bring the pointer here, it overshoots. I try to click on something, nothing happens. I try to scroll down and end up highlighting an entire page. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
I leaned too hard on the massively wide space next to the touchpad. Honestly, if you aren't meant to lean on it they shouldn't have made it so wide! Probably doesn't help that my laptop position is to sit on the couch with the computer against my knees (feet on coffee table...finally got the Moose to stop yelling at me for it, because preggos need to put their feet up and in that case he needs to buy me an ottoman or footstool), the front of the computer against my bump, and my hands weighting it down so it doesn't tip or fall off. Oh well. It is still under warranty, so I can get it fixed, I just don't feel like driving 40 minutes to the shop to sort it out today. Maybe next weekend. In the meantime, it will drive me bat shit crazy! Not that I can't use the interwebs on my phone or on my kindle...but I love my laptop. It is so much easier to use!!
I could go get a wireless mouse, but that would involve the drive I don't want to take today. The mouse on our old desktop won't hook up to any sort of newish computer, so that is out of the question. And shit...my space bar feels a bit funny now too...like there is something under it. Might be time to get off the computer before I break it beyond repair.
I leaned too hard on the massively wide space next to the touchpad. Honestly, if you aren't meant to lean on it they shouldn't have made it so wide! Probably doesn't help that my laptop position is to sit on the couch with the computer against my knees (feet on coffee table...finally got the Moose to stop yelling at me for it, because preggos need to put their feet up and in that case he needs to buy me an ottoman or footstool), the front of the computer against my bump, and my hands weighting it down so it doesn't tip or fall off. Oh well. It is still under warranty, so I can get it fixed, I just don't feel like driving 40 minutes to the shop to sort it out today. Maybe next weekend. In the meantime, it will drive me bat shit crazy! Not that I can't use the interwebs on my phone or on my kindle...but I love my laptop. It is so much easier to use!!
I could go get a wireless mouse, but that would involve the drive I don't want to take today. The mouse on our old desktop won't hook up to any sort of newish computer, so that is out of the question. And shit...my space bar feels a bit funny now too...like there is something under it. Might be time to get off the computer before I break it beyond repair.
Thursday, 12 March 2015
No use crying over spilled milk when you can get angry and throw a roll of paper towels
So the Moose is currently suffering from the worst sort of pregnancy brain. Can't that happen? Some sort of sympathy-thing, where they get the symptoms too? Anyway, he has become dangerously dumb as of late. Worse than me. I stand up to get something and forget what it was, but he is taking it to a whole new level!
Case in point 1: A few weeks ago, I needed to leave for work about five minutes before he needed to leave. I asked him if he would move his car out of the way so I could get mine out, but he was too busy running around the kitchen trying to get his lunch ready (which is what an extra five minutes in bed gets you), so I told him I would move it and I would see him later. I left. When I got home, he accused me of not shutting and locking the front door. To which I politely reminded him without laughing at him at all not even the tiniest bit that I had actually left the house before him.
Case in point 2: Reading an article in the paper about a driver who stopped a tourist driver and took away the car keys (who had parked their car in the middle of a rather scary road to take photos and hold up 8 other cars), I pointed out to the Moose that the NZ driver actually didn't have a valid driver's license (his having expired some years before). The Moose wasn't sure when his expired, so pulled it out and exclaimed "You won't believe this, mine expired yesterday!". And he would have been right, had this year actually been 2016. Which he didn't find out until he went to renew it the other day. But at least he brought me chocolate.
Case in point 3: With five minutes to go before we needed to be out the door to get to work, I asked the Moose to pass me the milk and a tin of fruit (both used only by the Moose) so I could put them away. I dropped the milk, but tragedy may have been avoided HAD THE CAP BEEN SCREWED ON. So guess who had to quickly clean up half a liter of milk from mostly under the fridge in record speed? The Moose got a lecture and the empty roll of paper towels chucked in his general direction (for the record I could have hit him if I had wanted to). Toffs and Cleo thought Christmas had come early and proceeded to scuffle over who would get to it first, but my mop and I won.
There are a few other things, like consistently climbing into our 2 door car first even though I need to sit in the seat behind him (we carpool and the other back seat is folded up), and forgetting that his mum is coming up this weekend, or that the car registration was due last month. It is kind of hilarious. Poor Moose.
Case in point 1: A few weeks ago, I needed to leave for work about five minutes before he needed to leave. I asked him if he would move his car out of the way so I could get mine out, but he was too busy running around the kitchen trying to get his lunch ready (which is what an extra five minutes in bed gets you), so I told him I would move it and I would see him later. I left. When I got home, he accused me of not shutting and locking the front door. To which I politely reminded him without laughing at him at all not even the tiniest bit that I had actually left the house before him.
Case in point 2: Reading an article in the paper about a driver who stopped a tourist driver and took away the car keys (who had parked their car in the middle of a rather scary road to take photos and hold up 8 other cars), I pointed out to the Moose that the NZ driver actually didn't have a valid driver's license (his having expired some years before). The Moose wasn't sure when his expired, so pulled it out and exclaimed "You won't believe this, mine expired yesterday!". And he would have been right, had this year actually been 2016. Which he didn't find out until he went to renew it the other day. But at least he brought me chocolate.
Case in point 3: With five minutes to go before we needed to be out the door to get to work, I asked the Moose to pass me the milk and a tin of fruit (both used only by the Moose) so I could put them away. I dropped the milk, but tragedy may have been avoided HAD THE CAP BEEN SCREWED ON. So guess who had to quickly clean up half a liter of milk from mostly under the fridge in record speed? The Moose got a lecture and the empty roll of paper towels chucked in his general direction (for the record I could have hit him if I had wanted to). Toffs and Cleo thought Christmas had come early and proceeded to scuffle over who would get to it first, but my mop and I won.
There are a few other things, like consistently climbing into our 2 door car first even though I need to sit in the seat behind him (we carpool and the other back seat is folded up), and forgetting that his mum is coming up this weekend, or that the car registration was due last month. It is kind of hilarious. Poor Moose.
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
The midwife cometh
...cameth.
Last night I got a call about 6pm. The midwife was just down the road (back from birthing two babies) and wondered if she could come by. Of course I said yes, and the appointment took place.
She isn't worried at all about the bubs measuring small, but since I was worried, she is going to arrange for me to have a scan in 4 weeks (for my "peace of mind" which made me feel like a paranoid crazy lady for a few minutes until I thought, hey, free scan). The heartbeat was strong and the Moose got to hear it, and the bubs was moving around. She is happy with my weight gain, so obviously I need to settle down about that and stop panicking when the scale seems stuck. It will go up sometime.
Probably sometime very soon.
Today was a rough day at work. There are two things in the vineyard that I have to do this time of year. One of those is supervising people dropping fruit that won't ripen in time, which is boring but reasonably slow paced and easy. Mostly I just walk up and down checking work and snipping off whatever they miss. BORING. Especially with my boss's check every vine policy. The other thing is weighing bunches of fruit to get an estimate for harvest yield. That is a bit harder. It involves a lot of walking with a bucket in hand that grows heavier and heavier (but honestly, not heavier than 2.5kg, it is a small bucket and I only carry up to 25 bunches at a time). A lot of walking. Constant walking. It doesn't take much time to stop and cut a bunch off. Up hills, down hills, along flats on uneven ground. By lunch today my bump hurt. HURT. Getting in and out of the car was awkward and a little painful (I use the car as a bench to do the weighing, because it is much better than getting up and down from the ground, but it means I have to move the car along as I go or carry a heavy bucket farther and farther). I have to do the same thing again tomorrow, but then that should be it. Bunch weights will be done for the year. And in a few weeks harvest will start, and life will be full on until it is over.
Last night I got a call about 6pm. The midwife was just down the road (back from birthing two babies) and wondered if she could come by. Of course I said yes, and the appointment took place.
She isn't worried at all about the bubs measuring small, but since I was worried, she is going to arrange for me to have a scan in 4 weeks (for my "peace of mind" which made me feel like a paranoid crazy lady for a few minutes until I thought, hey, free scan). The heartbeat was strong and the Moose got to hear it, and the bubs was moving around. She is happy with my weight gain, so obviously I need to settle down about that and stop panicking when the scale seems stuck. It will go up sometime.
Probably sometime very soon.
Today was a rough day at work. There are two things in the vineyard that I have to do this time of year. One of those is supervising people dropping fruit that won't ripen in time, which is boring but reasonably slow paced and easy. Mostly I just walk up and down checking work and snipping off whatever they miss. BORING. Especially with my boss's check every vine policy. The other thing is weighing bunches of fruit to get an estimate for harvest yield. That is a bit harder. It involves a lot of walking with a bucket in hand that grows heavier and heavier (but honestly, not heavier than 2.5kg, it is a small bucket and I only carry up to 25 bunches at a time). A lot of walking. Constant walking. It doesn't take much time to stop and cut a bunch off. Up hills, down hills, along flats on uneven ground. By lunch today my bump hurt. HURT. Getting in and out of the car was awkward and a little painful (I use the car as a bench to do the weighing, because it is much better than getting up and down from the ground, but it means I have to move the car along as I go or carry a heavy bucket farther and farther). I have to do the same thing again tomorrow, but then that should be it. Bunch weights will be done for the year. And in a few weeks harvest will start, and life will be full on until it is over.
Monday, 2 March 2015
20 Weeks!!!!
Halfway there!!
I was supposed to have a midwife appointment today, but some inconsiderate lady decided to go into labor, so now I have to reschedule. Sheesh. Rude. Eh, I was looking forward to this appointment because I want to talk small babies and if my weight gain is too little and to blame for small baby, and also is this normal weird pregnancy discharge or am I leaking fluids? Pretty sure it is bladder leakage, and it is time to commit to some serious kegels before a sneeze exposes the problem to the world.
And I don't want to go to work. I didn't sleep well last night. It was so hot, and I drank a shit ton of water, so of course what I couldn't sweat out I had to pee out, which meant hourly trips to the loo. And hourly cuddles with Cleo, who now gets somehow tangled in my feet and snoogle and makes getting up that much harder, and getting back into bed even worse. So I am exhausted. I have a few things I need to do for work before I actually go into work, so that will kill some time (as will writing this post now while I wait for the post office to open), and it is supposed to rain this afternoon, so I may not be at work for long.
Shopping in Dunedin was a success. We have a stroller, a capsule, and all the fun accessories that go with each, plus a few other little odds and ends. No where near everything, but it is a big part of the big purchases. Thankfully my grandmother gave all her grandkids a generous Christmas present (cash), and therefore we can splurge on these things. We went to lunch with the Moose's mum, who had what was probably a TIA as we were about to leave the restaurant, which scared the crap out of us. She reckons she has had a few "turns" but couldn't recall when the last one was and insists it doesn't happen often. We talked to the nurse at the rest home and they will tell her doctor and keep on eye on her. They weren't aware of it, but in her records it says she has had them before. But we are looking at transferring her to a rest home closer to us, so we can visit her more often and she can see her granddaughter more too. She is 85 years old and probably hasn't got that many years left, so we want to be sure that her time is well spent in a manner that will make her happy. She is open to the idea at least.
I am currently working my way through a massive de-clutter of our house. When we moved the Moose's mum into the rest home, we didn't have time to sort through a lot of her things, so we took a lot of them up here, and just sort of left them in closets and corners. Our house is a 3 bedroom A-frame house, with two bedrooms on the main floor and a smaller one upstairs with a small loft. Our bedroom is on the main floor, as is the nursery, which used to be the room we kept as a spare room for the Moose's mum (if she lives up here she won't have to spend the night and I can move that bed out and actually have room for baby stuff, which at the moment...well...I don't). The upstairs bedroom has a bed, but is mostly storage. So I have massive plans for a major move about to make the house bubs ready, and to clear out all the stuff we don't want/don't use (which is a lot of the Moose's mum's stuff...thankfully she doesn't care about it so I can donate most of it). I suppose this is nesting. I would much rather stay home and do this instead of going to work today.
Ugh. Guess I had best wrap this up and move my duff. Ok, for my pregnancy update (sort of following what other people do):
How far along: 20 weeks
Weight gain: 2.5kg
The baby is: a girl.
The baby is the size of: a banana, or rather, a little smaller.
Bump: more like a pregnant bump or else the most amazing beer belly EVER. Still got an innie.
Maternity clothes: not necessary, but comfortable. Wedding ring is still on too.
Movement: occasional, getting stronger and more noticeable, but still maybe only once a day.
Mood: mostly focused on nesting and not wanting to go to work.
Cravings: Apple oatmeal, Campbell's vegetable soup, garlic bread.
Foods I miss: Beer, hummus, cold cuts on a sandwich.
Best moment of the week: Getting some big purchases out of the way and getting into the great house clean out.
No real issues or annoying symptoms apart from the constant peeing. My back aches a bit more, and round ligament pain has entered my life, and my feet are sore at the end of the day if I have been walking a lot, but honestly, this has been pretty easy. I have been lucky so far.
I am sure there are other things people update on but I can't really be bothered looking into what those are. And I have to pee again. And I should probably go to work at some point.
I was supposed to have a midwife appointment today, but some inconsiderate lady decided to go into labor, so now I have to reschedule. Sheesh. Rude. Eh, I was looking forward to this appointment because I want to talk small babies and if my weight gain is too little and to blame for small baby, and also is this normal weird pregnancy discharge or am I leaking fluids? Pretty sure it is bladder leakage, and it is time to commit to some serious kegels before a sneeze exposes the problem to the world.
And I don't want to go to work. I didn't sleep well last night. It was so hot, and I drank a shit ton of water, so of course what I couldn't sweat out I had to pee out, which meant hourly trips to the loo. And hourly cuddles with Cleo, who now gets somehow tangled in my feet and snoogle and makes getting up that much harder, and getting back into bed even worse. So I am exhausted. I have a few things I need to do for work before I actually go into work, so that will kill some time (as will writing this post now while I wait for the post office to open), and it is supposed to rain this afternoon, so I may not be at work for long.
Shopping in Dunedin was a success. We have a stroller, a capsule, and all the fun accessories that go with each, plus a few other little odds and ends. No where near everything, but it is a big part of the big purchases. Thankfully my grandmother gave all her grandkids a generous Christmas present (cash), and therefore we can splurge on these things. We went to lunch with the Moose's mum, who had what was probably a TIA as we were about to leave the restaurant, which scared the crap out of us. She reckons she has had a few "turns" but couldn't recall when the last one was and insists it doesn't happen often. We talked to the nurse at the rest home and they will tell her doctor and keep on eye on her. They weren't aware of it, but in her records it says she has had them before. But we are looking at transferring her to a rest home closer to us, so we can visit her more often and she can see her granddaughter more too. She is 85 years old and probably hasn't got that many years left, so we want to be sure that her time is well spent in a manner that will make her happy. She is open to the idea at least.
I am currently working my way through a massive de-clutter of our house. When we moved the Moose's mum into the rest home, we didn't have time to sort through a lot of her things, so we took a lot of them up here, and just sort of left them in closets and corners. Our house is a 3 bedroom A-frame house, with two bedrooms on the main floor and a smaller one upstairs with a small loft. Our bedroom is on the main floor, as is the nursery, which used to be the room we kept as a spare room for the Moose's mum (if she lives up here she won't have to spend the night and I can move that bed out and actually have room for baby stuff, which at the moment...well...I don't). The upstairs bedroom has a bed, but is mostly storage. So I have massive plans for a major move about to make the house bubs ready, and to clear out all the stuff we don't want/don't use (which is a lot of the Moose's mum's stuff...thankfully she doesn't care about it so I can donate most of it). I suppose this is nesting. I would much rather stay home and do this instead of going to work today.
Ugh. Guess I had best wrap this up and move my duff. Ok, for my pregnancy update (sort of following what other people do):
How far along: 20 weeks
Weight gain: 2.5kg
The baby is: a girl.
The baby is the size of: a banana, or rather, a little smaller.
Bump: more like a pregnant bump or else the most amazing beer belly EVER. Still got an innie.
Maternity clothes: not necessary, but comfortable. Wedding ring is still on too.
Movement: occasional, getting stronger and more noticeable, but still maybe only once a day.
Mood: mostly focused on nesting and not wanting to go to work.
Cravings: Apple oatmeal, Campbell's vegetable soup, garlic bread.
Foods I miss: Beer, hummus, cold cuts on a sandwich.
Best moment of the week: Getting some big purchases out of the way and getting into the great house clean out.
No real issues or annoying symptoms apart from the constant peeing. My back aches a bit more, and round ligament pain has entered my life, and my feet are sore at the end of the day if I have been walking a lot, but honestly, this has been pretty easy. I have been lucky so far.
I am sure there are other things people update on but I can't really be bothered looking into what those are. And I have to pee again. And I should probably go to work at some point.
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