Blog Share!

As I lay in bed...ten out of the last twelve hours, I read through all of my regular blogs.  I need more.  Please share your blog links here!  Maybe someone else is also in need of some new reading material :) 

My weekend was spent living it up with my favorite brother and his lovely bride-to-be, and now this Prego is beat.  My size 11's are even more ginormous than usual.

TMI Overload

A visibly pregnant belly is like an open invitation to strangers to share way way way too much information. Personal information, specifically about their body and its functions.  I kid you not, some woman today showed me a picture on her iphone of her mucus plug.  No joke.  No warning.  Which naturally begs the question, "Why did she take a picture of it?" I threw up a little in my mouth.
I am modest by nature.  After three years of dorm living, I not once exposed myself while showering or dressing, not even to my roommates.  I have perfected the art of the discrete undress and dress.  I only share personal information with close friends.  And even with my husband of eight years, we're a bathroom-door-closed kind of family.

This over sharing by complete strangers is mind-boggling.  It is as if there is some secret sisterhood of child-birthing that women are dying to initiate every other woman into.  It seems a bit exclusive to me, and could be quite off-putting, even hurtful, to those women who chose not to become mothers, cannot conceive a child naturally, or simply became mothers by a different means, such as adoption.  I am adopted, and so the barrage of birthing stories, hemorrhoids, mucus plugs (blech), and the like, was foreign to me.  My mother never talked of these things, as she had no personal experience.  And you know what?  That is perfectly fine with me.

So let this be my official announcement.

Dear Strangers,

Unless I know you, keep your:

1. Things my husband and I tried to induce labor
2. How much weight I gained
3. Tearing Horror Stories
4.  Bloody Show
5. Stretch Marks
6. Hemorrhoid

...stories to yourself.

Please don't ask me personal questions about my body that you would not normally ask a stranger without a protruding baby belly.  And lastly, hands off people.  I still don't know you, and I certainly don't want you to touch me or my unborn child.

Thank you, that is all.

Sincerely,
Michaela

I have noticed that the stories and all the touching are much less frequent when I have my other two children with me.  It's like I've proven that I don't need advice or stories, because I've lived it before.  Note to self:  for the next three weeks or so, never leave home without my children.

ABC's

Just a sneak peak into a project for The Boy's room... I can't wait to see how it turns out!  This has been on my "Nesting To-Do List", so I'm sure to have it done by next week.  I'll share some final pictures and how-to's then!

Why.

I was just sitting here thinking of a few reasons why September, only halfway through, is already pretty awesome.

1.  80 degrees instead of {THIS}, enough said right?  And while this was only the temperature at 9am, still better.  And for the record, I will be burning a fall candle and wearing a sweater on October 1st, regardless of the temperature outside.  Because it will be autumn, and I will celebrate it.  If you are a fellow desert dweller, you understand this frustration.

2.  Pumpkin Spice Frappucino.  That is all.  I curse the day my brother got me hooked.

3.  I saw a woman wearing a fanny pack this morning.  A humongous fanny pack.  I don't have a picture, but it was spectacular.

4.  I get three mornings of uninterrupted Sweetpea time.  Look at that face.  I love her.

5.  We scored this load of free coffee grounds from Starbucks for our garden.  This is only 1/5 of the haul.  And on a related FYI, coffee grounds are a great, natural and safe cat deterrent.  Sprinkle it around your yard to deter neighborhood cats from defecating and spraying their heinous pee in your yard.

6.  Some of the new plants for Krull Farm.  We'll be hauling in herbs of all sorts, blackberries, peppers, tomatoes, and more.  My mom got a ton of plants for us at a "Horticulturist Club" sale at the community college she teaches at for super cheap.  Yay nerds!

7.  This bump is almost ready.  We are so excited!  The gender mystery is becoming almost too much to bear!  Approximately 34 days to go!

The Whimsy Journal Project

I am so excited to be participating in The Whimsy Journal project started by Christy over at Skinned Knees.  The concept is this... a journal travels from person to person, when you receive the journal, you add a page of your artwork (painting, drawing, collage, writing, etc.), then send it on to the next journalist.  With that said... I am no artist.  Crafy, yes.  Fine arts?  No.  But I still enjoy it!

Our journal is call The Whimsy Journal and will be traveling between nine women.  We will each add to the journal a total of two times.  I am so excited to see what nine women, from different backgrounds, will add to this special book.  I'm only number two on the list, so it will be great to see what is in the book the next time I get it for round two! 

Here's my first "journal" entry :) 

Here is Christy's first entry

Here's a list of the other participants if you'd like to follow the progress of the journal!

Jhen {From Here to Eternity}

Faith {Simplicity}

Christy {Skinned Knees}

Beth {A Writer's Journey}

Lo {The Secret Life of Invites}

Christa {Fearlessly Infertile}

Debra {Since That Moment}

Tanya {Ignite Your}

Pam {An Unconventional Librarian}

It's on its way to you Jhen!