life with a new baby
Jen and Paul
25 Random Facts About Me
Sep 15th
1. I have a morbidly vivid imagination, which works quite well for me in my field of work (graphic design.)
2. When I’m anxious, I bite my fingernails and leave pieces laying around for my husband to see, just so he knows how stressed out I am.
3. I randomly broke my foot over a decade ago while walking to the bus-stop one day while I was in high school. And old lady with white, beehive hair almost ran over me with her giant blue Buick, so I dodged my imminent death by jumping into a ditch, breaking my foot in the process. It is the only bone I have ever broken.
4. I was a smoker for 12 years. I kicked the habit cold-turkey July 1, 2008, and I will never smoke another cigarette. I had a serious love/hate relationship with cigarettes. Quitting was quite easily the hardest thing I have ever done.
5. I use my son as an excuse when I’m caught talking to myself.
6. I love animals and am especially fond of cats. We have four fur babies who are like humans. However, I am severely allergic to my cats so I have to dust and vacuum all the time.
7. Speaking of which, my record amount of sneezes due to cat-allergies is 17 in a row.
8. I am terrified of bees. I know I can crush them with my mighty strength and awesome mind power, but their stingers pack a sting of terror.
9. I’ve only been stung once in my entire life, when I was 7. Ever since then, I run for my life (literally) and always manage to thwart their evil plans to kill me. People say, “Don’t run, they’ll sting you!” Well, it’s been working for 21 years… I opt to continue looking like a deranged fool over going to the hospital any day.
10. I hear voices and see dead people.
11. Ok, I don’t really hear voices and see dead people, I just wanted you to be scared of me.
12. I am very easily entertained.
13. I recently reorganized the entire house from top to bottom, and now I can’t remember where I put everything. My husband is quite irritated that I misplaced most of his stuff. I can conveniently remember where most of my things are.
14. My husband loves me despite my compulsive need to rearrange things.
15. I am very, very anal about keeping the bathroom clean. Water spots on the sink have been banished. Along with any specks of spittle that tend to magically appear on the mirror. And my husband’s whiskers.
16. I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
17. My favorite color is pink.
18. Sometimes I laugh when someone falls down. But only if it looks really, really funny. I’m not THAT evil.
19. I really hate when people stare. REALLLLLLY hate it. It makes my butt twitch.
20. I like to make people think my butt twitches.
21. I’ve learned no one can ever out-fart a pregnant woman, EVER.
22. I like really cute and unique socks, and I never care if they actually match my outfit, as long as they match each other. I am especially fond of the ones with toes. (My feet stay cold.)
23. Try as I might, I can’t cook. I think I am cooking-disabled. Thank goodness I married someone who cooks like a champ!
24. My grandfather on my dad’s side is 100% Finnish. I like my heritage… the only drawback is that it is impossible for me to tan. I burn, peel, and freckle, so I just stay out of the sun.
25. I’ve learned over the years not to take things for granted, even the talking chipmunks.
OCD Malfunction
Sep 12th
Everything in our house has it’s place. Certain utensils go in specific drawers, certain foods go in certain cabinets, you get the idea. Even though I thrive on having everything organized, not only can I not seem to remember where I have put things, but I can’t remember exactly where quite a few items are supposed to go.
I’m blaming sleepless nights.
It all works out, though. When my husband leaves piles of clutter laying around, all I have to say to get him to pick up after himself is, “Do you really want me to put that away?” Because he never knows where it’ll end up, or even if it will ever be found again.
My Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder has malfunctioned.
Fighting the Cigarette Demons
Sep 5th
I quit smoking cold turkey shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Nathan, and I promised myself and my son that for both of our sakes, I would never smoke another cigarette again. It’s not worth the risk to my health, and more importantly, it’s not worth the risk to Nathan’s health. Terrifying new studies have recently surfaced about Third Hand Smoke, which is an even more toxic and dangerous killer than the more well-known Second Hand Smoke.
Until recently, no one knew about the dangers of Third Hand Smoke.
Third Hand Smoke is considered especially deadly for infants and small children because their developing brain is uniquely susceptible to extremely low levels of toxins… and third-hand smoke is layers of toxins that have been deposited on furniture, toys, carpets, clothing, and hair by cigarette smoke, which the baby then ingests by touching or crawling on those surfaces.
Even hugging a baby with smoke-laden clothes could be as hazardous as smoking in the same room with the child. All the more reason for me to kick the habit… for good. The Surgeon General states that there is no risk-free level of tobacco exposure… There are 250 poisonous toxins found in cigarette smoke and even tiny levels of exposure are associated with diminished IQ. Nathan’s life is more important to me than those cigarettes will ever be, and I am proving it daily by sheer willpower.
I’m not going to lie, quitting smoking was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Since I was pregnant when I decided to quit, I couldn’t take any stop smoking aids, and I had to deal with the physical and emotional withdrawals. Physically, it felt like ants were gnawing away at my muscles, having little picnic with razor sharp teeth. I had cold sweats, tremors, nausea, and felt like the withdrawals were wreaking havoc on my body.
Those symptoms lasted nearly a week.
Emotionally, I thought about smoking a cigarette every 2.35 seconds… the urge to give up and give in was overwhelming. It consumed every waking thought. Paul was a wonderful and essential support person for me; if it weren’t for him, I don’t know if I could have beat it…
It was a war of pure will power. I won.
For more information about Third Hand Smoke, here’s some additional links:
Third Hand Smoke- The Dangers Smoke Residue Poses to Small Children
What is third hand smoke? Is it hazardous?
Third-Hand Smoke – The Dust Finally Settles – ABC News
If It Fits, It Fits
Aug 25th
Last night, I decided to don a cute shirt that I hadn’t been able to squeeze into since my pre-pregnancy days. It fit, and I was pretty stoked. After dinner, my husband Paul was lovingly rubbing my back. I was enjoying the moment, feeling cute again, when he said, “Honey, does this shirt fit?”
“What do you mean, does it fit?” I asked. “Of course it fits. I have it on, don’t I?” I said with a touch of indignation creeping into my voice.
A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “What I mean is, didn’t you wear this shirt before you were pregnant?”
“Yes, I did. It was too small a few months ago, but now it fits.”
“So, your definition of fit means you are able to get it on.”
“Correct. What else could it mean?”
He just smiled at me, but because we’re soul mates, I knew exactly what he was thinking. “Baby, you look good in anything you wear,” he said instead. What a smart man. What a very smart man.
Recent Comments
Aww thanks, Tina, it was good to see you too! I wish I could have talked to you more... I ...
I'm sorry you all had a rough go yesterday, but it was good to see you both :) I have ...
Thank you, I appreciate that. It's so cool to hear people say that we look alike... I've been told there ...
Awww... what really nice photos! You two look so alike, especially with the way you smile.