Run for the Zoo?

I've been thinking about the awesome cottage cheese that has materialized on my thighs, and trying to think of something I can do to motivate me to remove said cheese. After perusing the interweb for local events coming up this spring and summer, I found the Albuquerque Biopark is holding a "Run for the Zoo" fundraising event this May.

I'm thinking about signing up for the 5K, and definitely getting off my bootie and doing some running to prepare for it. I know it's only three miles, but I'd only have a couple months post-baby to prepare for it, and I haven't actually really run since I left the military way back when. I am SERIOUSLY out of shape. Pete's been complaining that he's getting chunky in the middle (more to love, I say!) so I think he'll be down to participate as well. I may even form a team of friends to do it with me. I know a few ladies who would probably be interested.

I wouldn't really worry about the extra butt if I was 25 and pregnant, because I'm pretty much built like my Mom and hers just disappeared. Until she turned 30, that is! She warned me that once the Hutchins ladies hit the big 3-0 our butts gain about that much weight. In an effort to avoid the impending badonk-a-donk, I think it's important that I at least put some effort towards making good choices for my health (not to mention my figure). I'm pretty flakey, though, so we'll see how long that lasts! Haha!

Bwahahahaha!

The Final Ultrasound

I just got back from my last ultrasound before Maya is born. She was being a little stubborn poop again and wouldn't quit sucking her hand, so we didn't get any good face shots. I really, really wanted to see her little face, but I guess I'll just have to wait until she's born.

They did all the measurements, and she's a week ahead of the other kids in size. She weighs six-and-a-half pounds. There is no doubt in my mind that she's got those big-ol' Ristig feet. Her feet measured bigger than her femur! They are already three inches long. Poor girl is going to be buying her shoes online. I also had them check one more time to make sure she's a girl. She is!

Sorry, no pictures. I didn't get them on disc this time, and the three pictures I did get printed out weren't very good. It's hard to even tell what you're seeing. Believe me, you're not missing anything. :(

Earlier today, I made the trek over to Other Mother's to trade in a bunch of clothes that my friend Rachel gave me. She meant well, but most of the stuff her daughter grew out of was just not what I considered cute, and a lot of it was boys stuff. I also got rid of a bunch of maternity clothes that I don't wear, and don't plan to wear in the future because it's uncomfortable or not long enough. I thought I might get 15 or 20 bucks because there wasn't very much good stuff in my bag. I totally scored and got $53 in trade! I bought a cute mobile for Maya's crib, a pair of little Converse All Star's and a pair of red Mary Jane's with flowers on them, and some more clothes for when she's older. I also got some sheets because I've been warned that I can never have enough of those with a baby! Yikes! I'm still glowing from my shopping score.

Panhandlers 'R Us

During the winter months there seem to be a lot of panhandlers and homeless people along the freeway exits looking scruffy and holding signs asking for money or food. I'm always reluctant to give these people money because not only does it just keep them out there because they know they can get money off me, but it most likely goes to feed an addiction.

When Ciera was living with us, and even still now when we see her on weekends, she always wanted to give them money. She had a period back in the day when her dad was in jail and she and her mom and brothers were homeless and living in a shelter. Ciera's mom is mentally ill, and though I'm sure there are programs out there for her, she didn't know about them. She and the kids lived in a homeless shelter downtown until her dad was released from prison. That lasted about 6 months.

Anyways, her yucky story of homelessness combined with my cousin Molly's suggestion of giving out single-serve packets of food made me come up with a lovely idea. I bought some single-serve organic honey peanut butter packets in bulk online, some organic granola bars, and a bunch of bottled water to make the perfect snack to pass out at freeway exits. If these people really are hungry, they'll take it and be grateful. If they're looking for drug money, they're probably not spending any money on food and are hungry, so they will also take it and be grateful.

Just to not be a total cheapskate, I'm throwing a dollar into the mix. One dollar won't buy a whole heck of a lot of drugs, but it will buy you a Wendy's Jr. bacon cheeseburger!

I bundled up my bottled water, peanut butter, granola bar, and dollar into a nice little packet for convenient distribution, and will be keeping a small box in my back seat for just such an occasion. I feel a lot better about myself for not ignoring these people, and I think Ciera will LOVE handing them out this weekend!

Eight Month Photo Shoot

My good friend Megan is quite a talented photographer, so I asked her if she'd be so kind as to take some photos of Pete and myself before the baby comes. I wanted to get some pictures of my belly and a few shots of Pete and me together. She obliged, and I got some really good photos. Sharing time!

Adventures in Acupressure

I had an appointment with my midwife on Tuesday, and after feeling around my abdomen and listening to the heartbeat on the little doppler wand thingie, she told me that Maya was head down and was already sliding down into my pelvis. She also said she's pretty big, and asked if she came today if I'd be ready. "HECK YES" I told her. Now I'm all excited (not that I wasn't before) and expecting her to arrive early. I have an ultrasound on the 20th, and I cannot wait to see her again. My last one was in September. It's been forever, and I bet she doesn't look nearly as creepy as she did. She looked like Skeletor last time.

Pete and I are taking a six week birthing class, and this week we went over positions and breathing and massage. The instructor warned us to steer clear of hand and ankle massages as there were pressure points there that could start early labor. I'd heard before of women getting acupuncture to induce labor, but didn't really think about acupressure. Well, of course after I went home I went online to find out exactly where these points are! I found the one in my hand, and just for fun decided to see what would happen, or if it would even work on me. Holy-moly about ten seconds after I squeezed, my entire abdomen and back clenched. I freaked out! I sat back and tried to relax meanwhile shaking out my hands. After about 20 seconds it went away and didn't come back. Crisis averted!

Once I hit my 38 week mark I am SO going to get this thing started!

Fun With Photo Booth!

Pete and I were goofing around with the Photo Booth Application on our computer. Here are some of the dorky pictures we took.

33 Weeks Down.....

Maya is due on February 22nd, and just for fun I decided to list her current stats for those of you who are curious. Here we go.....

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 6 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Ah, the joys of the internet. I don't know what pregnant ladies did before the good ol' world wide web!

Happy Frickin' New Year!

Pete and I were going to go do something for new year's eve, but decided in the end to just hang out at the house. I fell asleep at around 10:30, so it was for the best! Last year, we both made our very first new year's resolutions. We resolved not to drink soda for a year, and then after the year was up to only drink soda on special occasions like a trip to the movies or something. I cheated a couple times, but Pete stuck it out. Today we went to Burger King for lunch and I enjoyed a sweet, bubbly Sprite. It was so goooooood. Pete didn't even get a soda! What a nerd.

This year I decided that my resolution would be to not say the F word anymore. It's a really unnecessary and bad habit I picked up in the military years ago. I'm pretty good at filtering my language in front of certain people, but when the filter is off I'm pretty bad. Giving up ALL cussing may be a little too hard, especially while driving, so I decided to just give up the nastiest of the words I use. Here are a few substitutions I've considered:

Frick/frickin' (Elliot from Scrubs)
Freakin'
Flippin'
Fudge
Tartar Sauce! (Spongebob Squarepants)
Frak (Battlestar Galactica)
Mother Father, Sister, Brother! (in substitution of the other mother f-er)

Here are some classic "alternatives to the F word" moments....





Pete likes frak, but it's still a bit harsh. I really love Dr. Elliot from Scrubs. Frick is a good one!

Let me know if you have any other alternatives you'd like to share!

Holiday Festivities and Such....

The holidays were, as usual, completely crazy but awesome. Unfortunately, I was awful and forgot to take very many pictures. I did manage to sneak in a few, though.

First, Pete's sister Vicki and her family drove down from Minnesota (brave souls) and stopped in Albuquerque to visit the weekend before Christmas. It was fun to finally meet the whole family, and we went to the zoo and aquarium. I didn't really understand the extent to which Barry's back was hurting him, and now I feel like we should've done something that required less walking. Sorry, Barry! It was pretty fun nonetheless, though I've never seen the zoo so empty in all my life. The best part of the zoo trip was getting to watch the polar bears get fed. They were CRAZY! The zookeeper kept tossing fish into different places in the enclosure, and one of the polar bears was jumping off this huge rock and diving after the fish like he was starving.



A couple days later we hopped in the car to make the 7 hour trek to Phoenix/Prescott for the holidays. Unfortunately it was pouring snow and the roads were iced along I-40, but the good news was we got to go through Tucson instead and got to visit Katie! We spent the night in her swanky, modern loft, and went out to breakfast the next morning with Kate and a couple of Pete's friends who live there as well, Mat and Tavish.


Back on the road, we headed to Phoenix where we immediately went to IKEA. I LOVE that place! We stocked up on the glasses we love that we got from there, and I ogled all the lovely things that I want. It was Christmas Eve, so we went over to Dad and Terea's annual awesome Christmas party. I look forward to that party the most at Christmas. We scored a monkey candle holder at the white elephant gift exchange, and won steak knives, a cutting board, and a RAD doggie sweater with an owl on it and a sheepie dog toy that baaa's at the trivia auction. We also scored some more clothes for Maya. Just as the auction was winding down, who knocked at the door? Why it was Santa Claus, of course! Peanut got her picture taken sitting on Santa's lap. She actually really enjoyed herself.



We spent Christmas morning at Melanie's, and then drove over to Pete's sister Dorothy's house for Christmas lunch. I wish I'd taken pictures of the spread, because it was amazing! All the family was there for the first time in years. Pete was more than happy to help in the kitchen. He loves cooking.

We figured since all the siblings and nieces and nephews were there, we'd better take advantage of the situation and take some pictures.


Next, we left early (sorry guys....more Christmases to attend!) and headed to Prescott for Christmas at Grammy's! I was a big dork and only took one picture while I was there! Erica and her family were there. Ella was loving Peanut, and Peanut was such a good girl and just sat there letting Ella poke and prod at her! It was pretty cute. Most the cousins were there, but Justin and Shannon just had their first baby girl on Christmas Eve, so they couldn't make it, and Uncle Mark and Aunt Debbie went to Utah to see their newest grandchild.

We spent the night at Grammy's and the next day went out to lunch at Oliva's so I could get my yummy Pollo Fundito! Pete's parents met us there along with my mom and step-dad, and my uncle Bill and a couple of his friends. After Oliva's we swung by Hanna's house to pick up Pete's niece Meghan for her birthday. We took her out to pizza and a movie. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, bedtime stories was really cute, and it's only rated PG. It was very kid appropriate, but funny for adults, too.

The next morning we piled back into the car for the ride home. It went nice and smooth, and we were grateful to be able to just rest before the next week began. It had been an action-packed and sleep-free week for sure!