Oh My Aching Back

If you know me, then you also know my philosophy on being pregnant. I think it is a wonderful, normal, natural, God-designed part of being a woman. I think society and too many woman treat it like an illness where you need to lie around and do nothing for 9 months. Oh contraire! At the end of 40 weeks, you’ve got the biggest work out of your life! Would you lie around and not stay in shape for a marathon? I think not! I think pregnancy should not stop you from being active, staying in shape, doing what you love and living life!

Soooo, when J and I took our little chairlift ride up the mountain and the little disclaimer said, “Only those who are physically unable to walk down the mountain should ride the lift back down.” I thought: Physically unable? Me? What because I’m 7 months pregnant? NONSENSE! There shall be no riding down for this little mama. And so we hoofed it. Several people commented on my rotund belly that I was carrying down the mountain and little pride welled up inside of me as we passed them with speed.

Well, I’ll admit, pregnancy does change a few things. Like, apparently the extra weight in front puts a lot of extra strain on the back. Because after we got down and relaxed a little, the old back muscles had a chance to cool down and tighten up. When I went to move around again I was in some pretty intense pain. I took a hot shower, had J rub my back and got up and moving around again but nothing really touched it. That night I got hardly any sleep, the car ride home was torture, and I’ve been in pretty much constant contact with a heating pad ever since.

But would I do it again? You betcha! I’m THAT stubborn! :)

5th Anniversary

It was wonderful! True to my word, the day we got there, I entered the hotel room and did not leave it for the rest of the evening. We just rested and vegged out, got our fill of cable TV for the year, and ordered take out to eat in our room.

The second day we slept in to our hearts content, ate donuts for breakfast that we bought along the way, and then took our time browsing a huge arts and crafts show. In the afternoon we took a ride up the super-quad and walked down the mountain! The weather was amazing and the views were glorious. We got lunch from my fave place on the Mt., D’Ellies and had a little picnic outdoors. More vegging followed and then we capped the night off with dinner out.

On Monday, we slept in to our hearts content once again and then headed home on rejuvenated and reconnected!

Oh, and I'm not even kidding...As we were packing to leave, Jason bent over to zip his suitcase and when he stood up he hit his head so hard on an overhanging shelf that it knocked him backwards, he swore and it split his head open. After applying much pressure and checking it out, we decided it did not warrant stitches. But it was close people!

Belated Anniversary

Since our actual anniversary involved one big 'ol fight, stuffing the last of our belongings in our car as we moved out of our home and many tears on my part as I said goodbye to the house I love, we decided to celebrate our anniversary a little belated.

We knew that Jason would have a three day weekend, that we would be moved into our new place and that we would desperately need a weekend to relax, reconnect and regroup before we bring a child into this world. Boy were we right!

So this weekend, we shall be enjoying the fall foliage and each other at the Sugarloaf Inn. Can't wait!

My Husband Likes to Hurt Himself

I don't know if I've blogged about past incidents, but my husband gets all weepy eyed if he stays away from the ER too long, so he likes create situations in which he needs to go get stitches.

There was the time he went to jump over a baby gate and smacked the top of his head so hard on the door jam that it knocked him right back on his keister and required six stitches.

Then there was the time that his chain saw was still winding down as he took a step forward into it and gashed his knee (because he WASN'T wearing chaps) and that required about 8 stitches.

And then there was Wednesday night. I get a message at work that goes like this, "Hi Sarah, this is Wendy. I'm driving your husband to the ER so could you meet him over there?" (Thanks for the mild heart attack there chica!)

Come to find out, this time my husband was alone in the woods in his tree stand sawing down a few branches so he could get a better view. He was sawing with his left hand (Yes, he's right handed, don't ask...I don't know!) and he had his right hand directly under the branch he was cutting (genious!) Well you guessed it, when the saw cut through the branch it continued straight on down through his hand. So he scampered down the tree, ran to the house and only had someone drive him to the ER because he couldn't drive a standard. At the ER he got 10 stitches and the doctor said like 100 times how lucky he was that he didn't cut the vein or the tendons that you could clearly see through the gaping wound. (Yes I looked, it was cool.)

The only thing he could think about was bow hunting and fly fishing. He must have tried to get the doctor to say it was okay to do these things like a million times and every time the doctor was like, "Ummm, no." "Did you hear me? No." "The answer is still NO!"

I so look forward to whatever brilliant mishap he gets himself into next and if the pattern continues we can look forward to 12 stitches!

Notes From Work

I work with adults with mental illnesses and I swear they touch my life more every day than I think I might ever touch theirs. So here’s a little glimpse and a little reflection. (PS: I know my grammar but I’m going to use “they” in place of a singular pronoun because I think using he/she through the whole thing will kill it!)

This person that I work with is probably the person who you tense up around when you meet them in public. This person could easily be that one that your stare lingers on a little longer than normal because they often look unkempt or unruly or are hard to understand because of the mumbling or rambling way they speak. This person is probably even the person that strikes a little fear inside of you because they are talking to themselves or yelling at the voices that are tormenting them. Yup, that all accurately describes many of the kind souls that I work with.

Because you see, if you were me, you’d also get to see that this is the same person who has a sharper wit and funnier sense of humor than anyone I know. This is the same person who cracks me up every time I turn around. This is the same person who is more musically talented than I could ever dream of being. This is the same person that asks how my unborn baby and me are doing every day and refers to me as “you two”. This is the same person who encourages me to take it easy and looks out for my wellbeing. This is the same person who, when they learned I was having a little girl and that babies can hear people outside the womb, started talking to Ella in the most tender voice you’ve ever hear, using her name and calling her “little one”.

So that’s a glimpse in what I get to see, and what I get to experience. I think I am so fortunate and I think I have an awesome job! So next time you see that person out in public... I beg you, try to see, or at least imagine more than just the obvious that everyone else is staring at.

There's a skunk in the house!

Okay, so I may have gotten a little carried a way with the paint. What can I say, I was on a roll and I just couldn’t stop myself! If y’all call SPCA on me we will have some serious problems, because believe me, this cat loved it and he is in no distress whatsoever. He kept head butting the paint brush and walking under the roller and rubbing his back on it as I held it for him. He practically painted himself!

The Little Things

It is so satisfying to be getting back to normal. Sure our weekends and all my days off up until this point have been filled with unpacking and house projects. But this week we set Sunday aside. After church we went apple picking, visited with some friends and then went out on a date and came home and snuggled up to watch a movie. Oh, how I’ve missed that quality time.

And I also feel like I have the time and energy to do the little things again. I was just SO happy last night as I packed Jason a lunch for the next day and slipped in a cute little note written on his napkin. Can he make his own lunch? Sure he can. But Jason’s love language is acts of service. And the fact that he won’t have to make that lunch because I spent a measly ten minutes making sure he eats well will cause him to feel so loved and cared for that it will bring a tenfold return in our relationship. Now that’s a good investment!