Life in Slow Motion.

11/13/09

2009-11-13T20:39:00.002-05:00

Two things.

1) I finally met the new neighbors. (Well they've been here quite a few months now, I guess technically they aren't exactly new anymore. But they aren't the old neighbors, so they are new.)

Downside: I haven't showered in eternity, I look like I have a huge beer belly, and I was wearing glasses and no makeup. Oh and I have horrifying pimples. The neighbor is around my age, which makes it a bit more embarrassing.

Upside: He is extremely friendly. He thinks the chickens are funny and said not to worry if they hop into his yard. Told him about the anonymous complainer and he said it definitely is not them and they think the chickens are interesting and like them. His dog is named Rosie. And he volunteers at the local animal shelter and loves all kinds of animals, he's especially passionate about rescuing dogs. He asked me a lot of questions about my rescued dogs! He is the type of person I would click with and spend time chatting and hanging out with.

So this made my day.

Now thing #2.

Ultrasound is tomorrow morning. I have butterflies of nerves and excitement! I'm not going to be able to sleep.

The ultrasound is at 11 in the morning. Rosie and Tyler are going.

I can't announce the sex of the baby though, because Tyler wants to wait until Thanksgiving to tell his relatives. We'll see if we can make it to Thanksgiving without it slipping out. I'll announce it on my blog after Thanksgiving.

I'm telling my family right away.

Can you believe it's TOMORROW.

Surreal, I keep telling you.

Not only is it a real live baby, but it has a beating heart. And now it kicks. Next thing you know it's going to have sex organs. Then it will have a name, and a personality, and and and...

It will be REAL.

Wow.

I'm going to lay in bed and watch Food Inc. It finally came from Netflix yesterday, I'm excited to see it. Hopefully it will be distracting.

Mhm.

2009-11-12T22:16:00.001-05:00

I'm so thrilling lately. I have nothing of interest to write about, but at the same time I like to write just for myself so that when I look back a few years from now I can remember how I was feeling and what was going on. Even though right now nothing seems significant, you never know how it will all piece together and turn out in the end.

Mhm.

I made major progress on the trashed house front today. Don't get me wrong--it's still a disaster. But I organized the mountain of dirty laundry! That took a long time. I now have blue jeans, bright colors/Rosie's clothes, solid white things that I am going to bleach to death because Tyler has stained them with mud (dog feet) and god knows what else...have to resort to bleach because I can't afford to throw them away and just buy new ones. Sorry environment...? And I also have a pile of dark clothes. This totals about 943 million loads. Today I folded and put away two huge loads and there are clothes in the wash right now and clothes in the dryer.

I also cleaned out Rosie's room and our bedroom. It's horrifying how trash can collect when I am not picking it up everyday. I've been sick for almost four months now.

Then I vacuumed, because well...the Feline Pine cat litter did not work out as planned. It's like saw dust. Saw dust that sticks to cat fur. My ENTIRE house (all hardwood) has been coated in pine shavings.

*sigh*

I got a great measure of satisfaction sucking that all up with the vacuum cleaner hose.

(See how thrilling my life is? I told you.)

Tomorrow my goals are to take a shower, do more laundry, and call the OB's office and request a copy of my records so that I can go over them with the (homebirth) midwife on the 18th. I also need to get my hospital records and Rosie's hospital records from her birth. I keep forgetting to call and ask them!

I am having major chicken issues. They have all taught each other how to climb the fence.

So frustrated.

Very, very, very pregnant hormonally angry and frustrated.

Tyler is refusing to help me fix their pen or their coop, or help me clip their wings. Of course.

I am considering hiring someone to build a walk in pen with a roof. I'm not sure how much it would cost, but I know it wouldn't be hard to build. Tyler could build it if he really wanted to help me. I might consider trying it myself (we have the tools!) but I can see about 10,000 ways that I would injure my pregnant body constructing a frame of 6.5 foot tall wooden posts using a circular saw and a nail gun and a staple gun.

Let's be honest here. I am accident prone on a good day. I've come to terms with it.

I'm thinking of how wonderful a walk-in pen would be..basically like a gigantic screened in rectangle with a screen door and their coops inside of it. They could never escape. Hawks could never swoop down and eat them. My stupid dogs would stop sneaking in and eating the chicken poop and their feed and then getting horrifying diarrhea. (I'm sure you didn't want to know that, but it has been a real problem recently. Pregnant+gagging+liquid dog poo randomly shooting out of a 65 pound dog on your kitchen floor=bad, bad start to the morning. Trust me.)

I've seen walk-in pens at farms we've visited, but they were on a smaller scale. Mine would need to be something like 20x30 feet in perimeter and 6.5 feet tall. I might call a handy man tomorrow and see if he can do something like that for fairly cheap. I think the wood will be what costs the most...why is wood so expensive?? There are some scrap lumber yards around here but I need it to look decent and not like a piece of shit gigantic cage randomly erected in my yard. Hah. If I lived in the country I wouldn't care and would be using all the scrap wood I could get, but since I have neighbors....yeah.

This is what I have in mind, only a bit larger as it would need to contain two 4x4 foot coops and all of their roaming space...I hope this is logical.

I think a handy man could build that fairly easily, don't you? To be larger it might need support posts in the middle or something, or possibly I could just use light weight nylon screen across the top...but maybe that would sag...and this is why I am not building it myself....

You know, if it is high enough for the birds to not fly out of it maybe it doesn't need a top. The hawks can still swoop but that's no different from how it is now and we're surviving ok.

Yeah.

So I'm going to eat some cookie dough and go to bed.

Oh by the way, something crazy happened.

Remember, I just took the picture on the left a few days ago. The one on the right is from tonight.

I'm telling you all, this is a difference of what, like five days? I need to go back and look at the date from the picture on the left.

No wonder my belly muscles are throbbing!

(PS: Please to ignore hysterically over tired child on the right.)

Almost 17 Weeks Belly.

2009-11-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

Almost 17 weeks!

I look like a fat kid who ate too much cake. Except I can feel my "cake" kicking around in there every time I lay down.

Nine days until the big SNEAK PEEK!

2009-11-05T11:45:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I just like to make tickers.

I scheduled the ultrasound! A friend pointed out that we could just go to one of those 3d/4d ultrasound places and get it done on the weekend or after hours.

Why didn't I think of that?

I just scheduled a regular 2d ultrasound for Saturday November 14th at 11 in the morning.

Squeeeeee!

I decided to do 2d because it's only $99, which is similar to what we would pay with co-pay and insurance at the OB's office.

Babies look kind of scary in 3d/4d at 17 weeks. Google some pictures....creepy. I don't really want to see my baby without the chubby fat. You can't tell anything besides bones in the 2d ultrasound, for the most part.

I'll only be 17.5 weeks. Hopefully that is far along enough! They said to schedule it any time after 16 weeks and they have 99% accuracy.

I googled 17 weeks gender ultrasound photos and they look clear to me. Every penis I saw looked big enough to be obvious, and the vagina shows as 3 lines by 17 weeks...

I'm so nervous and excited! I'll be shocked if this baby is a girl, but I will be thrilled for Rosie to have a girl sibling close in age to play girlie games with.

I feel ok getting it done at only 17 weeks because I might be getting another ultrasound later and that could confirm the sex. I have to make one appointment to see my midwife's backup doctor and they might do an anatomy scan there. If it's too far along for a full anatomy scan, then just one to check placental location and all that. I'm going to schedule backup doctor appointment for closer to the middle of 20 weeks, or maybe for around 30 weeks. I haven't thought that far ahead yet really.

So in 9 days I'll know that a) the baby is alive and normal looking, and b) if it's a boy or a girl!!

I can't believe it.

I still feel like this pregnancy is a dream, like it's unreal.

The only things that makes it real are the baby kicks I feel when I'm laying in bed. That, and the overall sick that I am *still* suffering from. I can't believe that hasn't disappeared yet.

Not this weekend, but the next weekend...only one week to wait until the ultrasound!

Aaaaah!

Baby, I hope you are being immodest! If not, they let you come back again for free and check another day...but I don't want to keep frying my poor baby with multiple ultrasound and doppler waves.

Anyway.

Only nine days!!!!!

Heartbeat!

2009-11-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

These are videos from early last week...sorry these are super crappy cell phone videos.

Baby's heartbeat!

And this is the heartbeat, but in the middle of the video you can hear the baby kicking.

Rosie has decided it's no longer a baby brother.

Then she wanted to sing the ABC's for me.

11/3/09

2009-11-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I have made it to 16 weeks. The weeks are going by a little faster now.

I still have the constant fear of miscarriage though. I can't seem to make it stop.

The baby is getting stronger because now I feel very distinct kicks at least a couple times a day! I'm still feeling a lot of pressure too. Today I've just been laying in bed with Rosie, but there is so much pressure on my bladder and I'm having a lot of bh contractions. I don't like the pressure at all. The bh contractions are strange. Some days I have lots of them and other days I have none, or the ones I do have don't seem to squeeze as hard. I'm just hoping it's all normal. I'm staying well hydrated and everything, so there's nothing I'm doing to cause them to happen. I haven't even started drinking red raspberry leaf tea yet...

My uterus grew over night last night. Not my belly so much as just my uterus. I can easily feel where it is and it's so much closer to my belly button all of a sudden!

I had a belly ache and diarrhea yesterday. I think I ate too much Halloween candy the day before. My digestive system is so hateful. This pregnancy has come with way more gas and intestinal cramps than I have ever had in my entire life. Especially the gas and bloating, it's insane. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or don't eat, and gas-x does nothing to help. Ugh. I keep hoping it will go away, like maybe it's just one of those miserable first trimester symptoms. But I'm out of the first trimester now...and it's still as miserable as ever.

Oh well.

I'm just thankful that I am pregnant with a wiggling, growing baby.

Very, very, very, VERY thankful.

The freaky body changes this pregnancy is causing continue. I think I'm going to shave my legs for the first time in like three years. Seriously. They have had fine red/blond hairs on them up until now that I wasn't going to waste time shaving. (Plus shaving really irritates the skin on my legs. Ouch.) Suddenly the hairs are so long, and darkening. It's disturbing!

What is the baby doing to me?? The fine blond hairs on my chest are also growing and darkening. This is not an exciting development. Rosie asked me why I have fur on her milks now. Wonderful. Soon I'm not going to let anyone (aka Tyler) see me naked...I've never been a hairy person before.

And my nipples...omg. They look like they belong to a cartoon version of a tribal lady on the cover of National Geographic.

By that I mean I woke up a few days ago and they were huge.

HUGE.

I've been breastfeeding for more than three years and they have not grown. They were normal and pink and nice.

Suddenly they decide to rapidly expand?

What kind of creature am I growing in my belly that would need nipples the size of dimes?

Is this normal!?!

What happened to my normal sized nipples??? At this rate they will be bigger than a newborn's mouth.

Ahem.

Anyway...

I'm still unsure what to do about the 20 week ultrasound.

At first I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby, I wanted it to be a surprise. Tyler badly wanted to find out, and so I said we could and got myself all excited about it.

The plan was/is to go to the OB's office for the first trimester and into the second trimester up until the 20 week scan. Then (assuming all is well on the ultrasound) I won't need to go back there. I very much dislike their office...the long wait times and the baby factory feeling it gives me. I'll just see my homebirth midwife for the rest of my care.

So I missed my last appointment with the OB's office and I have to reschedule it for sometime in the next couple of weeks. At that appointment I'll be able to schedule the ultrasound.

The problem is that Tyler can't go to the ultrasound because the office is only open during his work hours and he can't take off work for 60 days since he's new.

I was going to have my mom go with me, but I'm sad that Tyler can't be there and so is he. The plan was to go right before Thanksgiving so we could tell family members at Thanksgiving Dinner. I'll be 18-19 weeks pregnant then.

Then we realized that Tyler will get paid vacation for the Christmas holiday. He'll be off between Christmas and New Year's Day. The office should be open during that week, so he could go to an ultrasound then.

But I'll have to wait an entire month! I'll be 23-24 weeks pregnant at that point.

That will mean that the baby's face will be a lot more developed on the 3d/4d part of the ultrasound, which I mentioned before I have mixed feelings about. I want to see it, yet at the same time I want the face to remain a surprise.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to wait until after Christmas. I got all excited about finding out. At the same time I don't want to go without Tyler.

I am also sort of desperate to know that the baby is actually developing normally and doesn't have some sort of life ending defect.

Yes, I know, all my faith and trust is completely gone. Oh well.

The other downside about waiting is that I'll have to go to another waste of time and money appointment with the OB's office....a regular monthly December appointment...before I can have an ultrasound in December. But if I have the ultrasound in November I won't ever have to go back. I'm so ready to be done with them.

There is no good answer here. I wish Tyler could just go to the appointment in November. If they are open the day after Thanksgiving he can go, but I don't know if they are or not. I'm guessing probably not. As soon as I find my phone I'm going to call and ask. If they are open that day, Tyler will be off of work (another paid holiday!!) and that will solve the whole problem.

Halloween 2009.

2009-11-01T12:35:00.000-05:00

Rosie says she was Velma (from Scooby Doo) who was dressed as Snow White.

We went trick or treating up and down the street and she had so much fun. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

She also loved handing out candy at our door.

Now she's eaten too much candy and she's incredibly grumpy. Go figure.

This is why I say no thank you to vaccines.

2009-10-31T12:26:00.004-04:00

Tara just shared this bit of information:

According to the FDA safe levels for aluminum in vaccines are 20 micrograms. Yet here are the current levels of aluminum per shot of the following vaccines, as listed on each vaccine's packaging: DTaP (for Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis): 170-625 mcg, depending on manufacturer Hepatitis A: 250 mcg; Hepatitis B: 250 mcg HIB (for meningitis; PedVaxHib brand only): 225 mcg HPV: 225 mcg

So. I was thinking...if one vaccine contains a level of aluminum considered unsafe by the FDA, and a child gets more than one vaccine at once, the child will be getting a high concentration of aluminum. Correct?

The purpose of aluminum in vaccines is to cause a strong immune system reaction so that the body will create an immunity to the disease(s) being vaccinated for.

(The aluminum is call the adjuvant, in case you want to google further.)

If a child gets a high dose of immune system stimulating aluminum injected into their body from one vaccine, or worse multiple vaccines, then what happens in response?

Would the immune system not be going crazy from extreme over stimulation as a result of all the stimulation from the aluminum?

How many people in our population are suffering from autoimmune related disorders? Allergies, anyone? There's an entire list of autoimmune disorders that are common if you google search it. I know people who have one or more of these disorders on the list. This is a good link.

Diabetes is autoimmune related, did you know that? Alzheimer's has been linked to aluminum...a lot of interesting articles if you google that.

This is how Google Health defines autoimmune problems:

Normally the immune system's army of white blood cells helps protect the body from harmful substances, called antigens. Examples of antigens include bacteria, viruses, toxins, cancer cells, and blood or tissues from another person or species. The immune system produces antibodies that destroy these harmful substances.

But in patients with an autoimmune disorder, the immune system can't tell the difference between healthy body tissue and antigens. The result is an immune response that destroys normal body tissues. This response is a hypersensitivity reaction similar to the response in allergies.

In allergies, the immune system reacts to an external substance that it normally would ignore. With autoimmune disorders, the immune system reacts to normal body tissues.

Basically, an autoimmune condition is a result of your immune system being hypersensitive and...going crazy. Attacking itself.

What could possibly cause this to happen? Researchers say the cause is unknown.

Recently...

2009-10-29T10:52:00.001-04:00

I really need to get everything together. This pregnancy has caused a major disaster, in every category of home life.

Rosie does nothing but pick at junk food and watch TV or play computer games.

My house looks like several large bombs went off...it's not clean and it's not organized.

We have zero clean dishes. I ate my cereal this morning out of a pyrex measuring bowl with a baby spoon.

I lost my home organization binder. That in itself is a horrible crisis, it had all my recipes in it. It has to be here somewhere.

Half of our stuff is packed and in storage where we were planning on moving, so we're missing a lot of stuff that we need on a daily basis.

I'm bored to tears sitting in the same spot on the couch day after day after day feeling like complete crap.

Rosie has no winter clothes because I haven't gone to the store and bought them. She has no tennis shoes or socks!

I saved $100 to buy her winter stuff, which should be nearly enough considering she will probably get some clothes for Christmas.

I have to get her:

-a coat (last year's coats fit but are getting tight and really worn)

-tennis shoes

-a package or two of socks because we always loose them.

-long sleeve shirts

-long stretchy cotton pants

-a couple sweatshirts and maybe a fleece thing

-a few pairs of cotton pajamas and I promised her she could pick out a night gown.

-If there is any money left over I'll get a package of 5t panties, because the 4t's are getting really worn and some are too small

-I'll look at boots too, if any are on sale.

I need to hit up the hateful Walmart. I dislike that store with a passion, everything from the parking lot to the way the employees act, how dirty it is, and what the company stands for. However, I can buy very affordable and durable winter clothing there. Target also has some cute shoes and polar fleece thingies on sale I think. I've noticed Target clothes cost a little more and get holes in them easier. Walmart kid clothes are super cheap and have never ripped!

Before I go clothes shopping I have to do some laundry. We have mounds of laundry. Everywhere. It's terrible what feeling sick for 4 months can do to your household.

I need to box up everything in Rosie's drawers from summer. She is at this strange in between size right now...some 4t things are too small, a lot of 5t is too big. I'm hoping some of her slightly large summer things will fit perfectly next spring. Who knows though, you can't really predict how fast or slow kids will grow. I'm not sure what size to buy for this winter. I'll probably just get a mix of 4t and 5t things...by the time the clothes shrink in the wash and Rosie grows, the 5t stuff will probably fit.

I just realized I have no clue what size shoes she wears! She's been wearing flip flops all spring and summer. I forgot what size we got.

I really need to get up and do something, obviously. But I really just want to lay here. I just feel so...yuck. All over.

Oh by the way, tomorrow I have an OB appointment and I should get to schedule the 20 week ultrasound!!!!

I'm sad because Tyler can't go. He will have to work. His work hours and commute time take up all of the open hours of the office, and he can't miss any work for the first 60 days or it's automatic termination. If we were to wait until the 60 days are up so he can take off, we might as well wait until birth to find out. Tyler is the one who really wanted me to have an ultrasound to find out the sex too, and he can't even be there for it! I'm hoping they can either record it on DVD with their machine (not sure?) or I will get my mom and/or my sister to go and record it with the video camera for him.

If I am able to make the appointment for 18 weeks instead of 20 weeks, then I can find out before Thanksgiving so we can tell family then. That's only a few weeks away!

I'm debating a little. I want to find out before Thanksgiving, but the baby will only be 18-19 weeks grown. The ultrasound will do a 3d/4d picture of the face...it will look more baby-like the farther along I am and less scary alien-like. But at the same time, I almost feel like it's cheating to get to see the face. It's one thing to know the sex, but I remember with Rosie how I waited and guessed and dreamed what her face would look like for months and months. It was so exciting to find out what (who) she looked like, you know?

But at the same time I do want a sneak peak of baby's face...

There are more important things to agonize over, like what if the baby has major birth defects!?! I am so worried about that.

I'm still paranoid about miscarriage too. I had nightmares all night last night that I was bleeding and going into labor. In one dream I had the baby already and it was a boy, tiny and perfect, but I didn't seem to realize that I wasn't pregnant anymore and I was freaking out that I was bleeding, even though it was just the post-birth bleeding.

Ok I'm going to get up and do something...starting with some laundry. I'll keep going until gagging makes me lay down. I can't believe I still feel so crappy. I felt great at this point in Rosie's pregnancy...

And in the morning...we can make WAFFLES!

2009-10-27T14:00:00.002-04:00

Rosie and I made waffles for lunch today.

We wore our pajamas and watched The Pink Panther cartoon while making them.

They were so delicious! I wish I could fit more in my stomach.

I realized after I made them that I used all local ingredients. Fresh local milk (that I actually buy at Whole Foods--from cow to store shelf in 12-48 hours!), Amish sweet cream butter from the Amish settlement about an hour and a half south of here, flour milled at a mill 30 minutes away near my grandparents' house, and eggs from my hens. Of course the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar just came from the grocery...I don't think you can buy those things local anyway? And the syrup was from somewhere up north, but at least it was real maple syrup...

This is the waffle recipe I always use.

I put a lot of cinnamon in the batter and I use sucanat instead of white sugar. Instead of buttermilk I just use regular milk, it's the kind that's not homogenized. It just comes straight out of the cow. I shake the cream into it before pouring. (I can't wait until the day when I can own a cow!)

Important note: If you don't use room temperature eggs and room temperature milk then your batter will make terrible, horrible lumps.

The best part about these waffles is that it makes enough (especially if you do a double batch) to have lots of leftovers. I wrap each waffle in foil, then put them all in a big ziplock bag and toss them in the freezer. To re-heat I either break them in half and toast them, or pop them in the oven for a little while. Instant homemade breakfasts!

Those waffles were so good. Aaah.

Now I need a nap, I'm stuffed full.

Too bad I should probably clean my house instead.

Totally off the subject of waffles, and not the least bit appetizing...

Rosie has learned to wipe her own bum!!! I am so proud.

Now if she could just quit forgetting to go to the potty until the last second and dribbling pee in her panties, we would be all set...

Rosie's Special Day.

2009-10-25T18:55:00.002-04:00

Today was randomly designated Rosie's special day, for no reason other than simply because we love her.

It started out with chocolate donuts from the bakery that daddy went and got as soon as Rosie woke up. Those are her favorite!

Then she had a cheese stick and a bowl of yogurt because she said she needed something else to go with her sweets...

After that we had to wash her hair, which took an hour of hysteria...not a special part to the day. She hates anything to do with her hair.

Then we went to see Elmo Live! We had floor seats. My in-laws took us to see it.

Unfortunately they wouldn't let me bring in my camera because it was a professional camera. The arena said no professional cameras with zoom lenses, so I brought my camera with a wide angle lens...specifically not a zoom lens. However, the security people didn't seem to grasp the difference. I had to put three thousand dollars of camera and lens into the car, alone, for two hours, downtown. Be still my beating heart.

So no pictures during the show. :-(

I think the loud vibrations from the speaker system must have jolted the baby because though I couldn't feel specific kicks, I could feel pressure from him/her rolling all around in my belly. The baby kept pushing on my bladder, making me almost pee on myself, then I would stand up to go to the bathroom and suddenly not have to pee anymore.

Very funny baby!

Yes, I know it will only get worse as the baby grows larger. *sigh*

At the show Rosie got to pick a t-shirt, a stuffed animal, and something to eat. She got a pink Abby Cadabby t-shirt, a Zoe doll, and popcorn. Tyler also bought her a ridiculously expensive balloon of Elmo's head, which is now lurking all over our house.

Rosie was excited to see Elmo, but after a little while the super loud sound and flashing lights overstimulated her and she just wanted to go home, so we left early.

I took a few pictures on the way home. The wide angle lens has a funny distorted effect because I was about 5 inches from Rosie's face, next to her in the back seat.

Did I mention she was a bit overstimulated by everything?

After the Elmo show my MIL gave Rosie a tutu to match Abby Cadabby and Zoe.

Rosie insisted on wearing it with her pants off, even though it's 55 degrees outside.

Rosie loved it. Just a little...

Rosie is the perfect combination...she loves girly things and she also loves mud, bugs, and animals.

She wanted to pose with our pumpkin, which I swear looks cool in the dark. Not so much in the day light.

Tyler carved it yesterday.

While I kept Rosie distracted from the sharp electric knife...

And if your retinas are not seared to shreds after viewing so many photos, here are three "last times" as Rosie would say.

Almost-15-weeks belly.

To end her special day Rosie is eating one of her favorites for supper: scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits with jam, and some applesauce with cinnamon.

I think she had a good day!

Almost 14 Weeks Belly Photo & Orchard Photos.

2009-10-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

On the left is my belly at 17 weeks with Rosie. In the middle is 19 weeks with Rosie. On the far right is my belly today, one day before 14 weeks.

It's growing a bit faster this pregnancy.

Eeep!

Since last week, my belly has only grown a little BUT it now looks like the above 14 weeks picture right when I wake up in the morning. That's not my belly after eating!

It looks like a baby belly 24/7 instead of looking larger in the evening than it did in the morning. Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows what I mean...

The food baby thing.

I'm in an awkward stage where my regular pants won't button and are uncomfortable, and my shirts make me look like I'm fat, like I have a big floppy gut.

Yet maternity clothes are still a little too big and look stupid.

Which is why I am permanently wearing pajama pants at my house, and in every belly picture.

Something strange that just happened in the past week...my blond body hair is thickening and darkening...especially on my belly.

The hairs on my arms are growing longer too, but thankfully not too dark.

Why is this happening?? It never happened in my other pregnancies.

I am not appreciating the darkening, thickening belly hair.

I googled it, and it's normal, but still...I miss my nice blond/red peach fuzz for body hair.

I hope it doesn't continue darkening through the pregnancy, I'll look like a scary man.

Yesterday we went to the orchard and the pumpkin patch.

It was unbelievably cold and windy! We nearly froze to death.

You can tell in the pictures...Rosie kept loudly asking me why I didn't bring any gloves.

It was so overcast and dim outside, not good photo taking weather.

I told you....COLD WIND!

She was not amused with my photo attempts. She said it was too cold for pictures.

We didn't stay very long, we didn't even pick any apples. We just got pumpkins, gourds, fried apple pies, and fresh apple cider.

Then we came home and piled under blankets.

Rosie didn't even want to take her coat off when we walked in!

The orchard is about 15-20 minutes down a back road, pretty close to our house, so we might go back on a warmer day and let Rosie ride the little train they have.

She was so disappointed that it was too cold to ride on it! But she even agreed she didn't want to ride it yesterday in the icy wind...

Surreal.

2009-10-16T13:51:00.004-04:00

Rosie is wearing me out.

This picture is Rosie yesterday chastising me at the back gate because I didn't want to come run through the mud with her. It was when the water was off, so I couldn't wash the ice cream off of her face!

She's always talking, always hungry--especially for chocolate ice cream, always into something, always moving at top speed these days while I am beached on the couch growing a belly.

I still absolutely can't believe I am actually pregnant. I'm afraid I won't end up with a live baby because it all seems so surreal. I can't imagine what this baby will be like, or what it will be like to have it and hold it and care for it along side Rosie.

Every time I read or hear of someone I know getting pregnant or giving birth I'm still jealous. I *still* feel as if I am endlessly trying to conceive. Why is it taking so long to get out of this mindset? I think of quite a few friends I have online who have been trying to get pregnant (and stay pregnant) for so long now, and in my brain I am also TTC. Then I go to think about when my last period was and I suddenly remember that I am already pregnant.

I'm almost 14 weeks and I'm not bleeding. But I'm still holding my breath. Every time I go to the bathroom my heart beats a little faster and I take a good long look at the toilet paper, just to be sure there is no sign of spotting.

I lay in bed and remember that I am pregnant, then I can easily convince myself that maybe the baby has died or it's all in my head. I can never tell if it's actually real, or if I am just dreaming.

Even though I have read things about dopplers being unsafe, I am so glad that I have one. I use it all the time. Maybe I'm frying the baby, hopefully not. The doppler is the single greatest reassurance that I am indeed pregnant, that my baby is alive for yet another day. I love that doppler.

This morning I ate a banana and then an hour later I got out the doppler. I can find the heartbeat right away most of the time now, because though I can't feel it constantly I can somehow sense where the baby is in there. It's a strange unconscious sensation that's hard to explain. I put the doppler on my belly and there was the heartbeat, loud and clear instantly. The heartbeat was so fast this morning! It was 178. The baby was moving all over--I could hear it swimming and rolling, and it kept kicking and popping against the doppler. It was going crazy! I wonder if the banana gave it a sugar high or something. Of course I'm instantly paranoid that the baby is in distress or something is wrong, but most likely that is not the case.

The old wives tale about girls having a higher heartbeat isn't true though--I know that much. Rosie's heartbeat was usually in the 140's and even sometimes as low as the 130's! She is very much a girl.

I keep trying to think of what I need to do over the next months to prepare for the baby, and I can't think of anything at all.

So strange, and this makes it even more surreal.

I have diapers in all sizes. I have every kind of sling and wrap that I could ever need. I have a pack n' play, a crib, and a swing in storage that we never used once with Rosie, but when the baby is born, should this baby be an oddball and not want to be worn/held all the time, I can get those things out as needed. I don't need bottles, but I might get one or two glass ones for emergencies if I have to be away...like in the hospital or something drastic like that. I own a nice pump in case I am engorged, I will probably pump and freeze some milk in the first few weeks if I have terrible oversupply again. With Rosie I had milk squirting in all directions for months and my boobs were the size of watermelons.

The only thing left to buy is clothing, and I will wait on that until we find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl. If it's a girl then I have loads of clothes because everything of Rosie's is folded and packed away in boxes, sorted by sizes and seasons. If it's a boy, there is a huge consignment sale scheduled for March, a month before the baby is due. I will just pick up some clothes there.

I do have to buy the homebirth kit, but it's just one big package you order at like 36 weeks. Nothing very exciting about a box with chux pads in it.

There is nothing at all to do to prepare for baby except to sit here and wait for my body to grow the babe, and to hope and pray all is well...

I can't explain the way it's so surreal. I feel so strangely relaxed about everything and I don't know why. I'm terrified of miscarriage, even still, but otherwise it seems as if the baby will just make an appearance in our lives and things will move on smoothly as life should. Not like when Rosie was born and it was an earth shattering, life altering experience. Are second babies supposed to be like this? Just not as big of a deal? Or maybe it's just me?

While I'm not gagging or suffering from horrifying gas pains, I'm going to go make chocolate chip cookies with Rosie! More sugar high for baby, I suppose.

Zzzz.

2009-10-15T14:11:00.000-04:00

Today has not been a good day so far.

I woke up with a headache and sore muscles from feeling sick to my stomach all night and not sleeping well.

It's cold and rainy outside again.

My house was so cold this morning.

My yard is a pit of mud from all the rain.

My muck boots got left outside and were filled to the brim with rain water.

The mud sucked off my flip flops.

When I came back in, I hobbled across my freshly mopped white kitchen floor to grab a rag and get some water to wipe off my muddy feet.

Turned on the faucet, nothing came out.

At all.

We don't have any running water!?!?????

Tried to wash my feet with germ-x.

Failed.

Rosie screamed because she refused to eat anything for lunch.

She wanted a cheese stick. I went to get one, but she ate the last one yesterday.

She wanted some applesauce. I went to get that, but she ate the last of it yesterday too apparently.

She said she would eat yogurt. Got that out, but it expired a few days ago and looked suspicious.

She refused to eat her bagel pizza or her banana or her raisins.

She's crying because she hasn't eaten and she doesn't feel good. Yet she won't eat.

*head desk*

Considered washing my face, putting on makeup, brushing my teeth, and going to the store. Takes a lot of energy when you're still suffering from first trimester blahs.

Went to brush my teeth and remembered...we have no running water.

Called the water company. They said the water was cut off due to non-payment.

We have automatic bill pay set up.

They wouldn't discuss my account with me because only Tyler's name is on the account.

Tyler is at work and can't use the phone.

Found the last bill we got. Noticed it said at the top that we had a balance of $10 carried over from last month, in addition to this month's bill which is not due yet.

Automatic bill pay didn't pay the full amount last month for some reason and we didn't realize. Apparently you should never assume automatic bill pay is really paying your bills?

So our water was cut off over one month's $10 balance. How stupid is that?

My feet are still muddy. Now it's dried mud.

While I was on the phone with the water company, a cat pooped in the litter box and didn't cover it.

Stinky cat shit.

Rosie thought she would help me by getting the pack of matches my oblivious husband left on the bookshelf and using them to light the incense.

She told me, "Momma this good smell will cover up the kitty poopy so the baby in your belly doesn't make you gag. When daddy comes home I will tell him to scoop that kitty poopy for you."

Thanks, but I think I would do worse than gag when you burn down the house, child!

Hid the matches where she can't reach them.

Sat down on the couch to breathe for a second, and try not to gag from the cat poop smell.

While I was sitting on the couch with my shirt over my nose, Rosie accidentally let the dogs in the back door and they ran wild all over the house with their gigantic paws.

Globs of gummy mud flying everywhere!

I need some water to clean it up.

I still have no water.

I'm thirsty. I drank an Ale8one (a Kentucky soda type drink) but it just made me more thirsty.

On the positive side, when I sat down just now to write this I started feeling the baby moving for the first time in a day or so.

Must be from the caffeine in that Ale8.

Also, I just realized I moved up another square on my pregnancy ticker!

Still can't believe I am actually pregnant with a real live baby.

Rosie just ate four pieces of Muenster cheese. I hope that perks her up a little bit.

Four slices, yes. I'm not going to question it. Muenster is some quality cheese, my absolute favorite.

It's only 2 pm and I'm exhausted. I wish we still had nap time around here.

There's a rogue chicken pecking at my back door.

Must go satisfy it with kitchen scrap treats...

13 Weeks Belly and Rosie Art.

2009-10-14T15:14:00.000-04:00

11.5 weeks on the left, 13 weeks on the right!

Hmm. Looks like it might have grown just a bit!

My poor belly button. It was a nice innie belly button for my entire life, until my pregnancy with Rosie. Then it stretched way out...so badly that the skin around it got tight and shiny then peeled off! It never fully went back in neatly like it was pre-pregnancy. Then when I got pregnant last November with Baby J, it popped out very fast. This time it's already poking way out, you can see it very well in the 13 weeks picture!

Now for a total mom thing...Rosie art!

Rosie loves to draw. She carries a pen and a notebook or binder full of notebook paper around with her at all times.

This morning, drawing with her bed head and pj's on our fugly hand-me-down couch:

(Her little fingernails are always dirty, even though I scrub her hands and keep her nails cut short. She is always out playing in the dirt!)

The next two pictures are kitties:

This is a bird flying.

This is a chicken.

A baby monster!

Now back to people...

This person is holding a balloon, which is not pictured.

(Note the belly button!)

Dad and Rosie.

"Angry mom who is sick with a baby in her belly."

There are a million more cute Rosie art pictures that I still need to upload...this is the only way I can think of to save them forever!

10/9/2009

2009-10-09T10:25:00.000-04:00

These are some quotes I've come across lately that stuck out to me.

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” – from Mother Teresa’s wall

"Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces."
-Og Mandino

"The biggest disease this world suffers from is people feeling unloved."

Lady Diana Frances Spencer,
Princess of Wales

"In the end, the secret to learning is so simple: forget about it. Think only about whatever you love. Follow it, do it, dream about it. One day, you will glance up at your collection of Japanese literature, or trip over the solar oven you built, and it will hit you: learning was there all the time, happening by itself."

Grace Llewellyn,
The Teenage Liberation Handbook

The little things? The little moments? They aren't little.

~Jon Kabat-Zinn

“Every moment is unique and therefore precious. The sunset on this day will never be duplicated. The caress of a friend, the laugh of a child will never be precisely repeated or felt again. The moment we are experiencing can never be recaptured. To be present is the only way we can appreciate life to the fullest and be touched by the wonder of each moment.”
-Jack Kornfield

"Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person excactly the way he or she is, right here and now."
-Mr. Fred Rogers

Just because...

2009-10-08T12:30:00.000-04:00

1. When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?
The living room, which opens into the dining area.

2. Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes we do, though you have to practically wash the dishes before you put them in it in order for them to come out clean, which is annoying.

3. Is your loungeroom carpeted or does it have floorboards?
Our entire house is all hardwood. I'm not sure what a loungeroom is, haha.

4. Do you keep your kitchen knives on the bench or in a drawer?
We don't have any nice knives, but the crappy ones we do have are in a drawer.

5. House, apartment or unit?
House!

6. How many bedrooms is it?
Three tiny little bedrooms.

7. Gas stove or electric?
It's electric.

8. Do you have a yard?
Yes and it's fairly good sized for a subdivision yard. I just wish it had a privacy fence instead of chain link!

9. What size TV is in the loungeroom?
Um...I think it's 40 or 45 inches? Don't know.

10. Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?
No the plates are in their own cabinet.

11. Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen bench?
We have an espresso maker on the counter, does that count? We also have a coffee maker but it's not sitting out because we don't use it that much anymore, not now that we make steamed drinks with the espresso maker!!

12. What size is your bed?
King sized, but we somehow all end up sleeping in one lump anyway.

13. What room is your computer in?
Right now it's on the kitchen table because the computer desk broke suddenly. Before that incident it was in our 3rd bedroom/the back room.

14. Are there pictures hanging in your loungeroom?
There are five black and white pictures of our family.

15. Are there any themes found in your home?
No because I don't like this house and have never had it organized enough or enough money to decorate. The kitchen is grass green though!

16. What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
All Free and Clear, usually.

17. Do you use dryer sheets?
I hate dryer sheets. Tyler thinks his clothes need to be chemical scented to smell clean, so he sometimes uses them. I want to buy essential oil scented felted wool dryer balls soon to replace the dryer sheets for Tyler! I'm just waiting to have enough money to buy them. They are even supposed to cut down on the time it takes for clothes to dry...

18. Do you have any curtains in your home?
Nope, just blinds!

19. What colour is your fridge?
It's white.

20. Is your house clean?
Usually yes. Right now, because of pregnancy, no. No, not clean at all...I find this very upsetting actually.

21. What room is the most neglected?
Oh the back room (3rd bedroom) is a disaster right now. There is a broken computer desk, 2 big dog crates, the lizard, and a few baby chicks caged. The chicks have to be kicked outside soon because they are making dust horribly. Chickens in the house...nasty. Do not recommend. We keep the door closed to that room at all times.

22. Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
Dishwasher: clean. Sink: dirty.

23. How long have you lived in your home?
I think for three years. Though I don't really consider it a home per say, it's just an uncomfortable tiny house with a psycho neighbor.

24. Where did you live before?
Unfortunately with my in-laws. Their house is 5 or 6,000 square feet and our space there was considerably larger than this house now! But so not worth living with them, trust me.

25. Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
Nope. It used to have a regular cover on it until Rosie somehow ripped the elastic when she was a baby. Now it won't stay on and I probably threw it away, never bothered to buy another.

26. Do you have a scale anywhere in your home?
Don't own one.

27. How many mirrors are in your house?
One, in the bathroom. We used to have a tall mirror on the back of the door but...Rosie broke it. Haha.

28. Look up. What do you see?
The ceiling fan, I'm laying in bed with Rosie.

29. Do you have a garage?
Yes, it's detached and made of cement blocks, painted white. It's long enough for two cars but we don't park in it. It has a tool bench, freezer, shelves, etc.

30. How many people live in your house?

Two adults, one kid, 3.5 cats, two 60-70 pound dogs, a lizard, four dusty chicks...one cat and the dogs spend a lot of time outside.

Belly Time Line.

2009-10-07T15:15:00.001-04:00

Belly time line.

Not too huge of growth, but growing all the same.

4 weeks, 7 weeks

8 weeks, 10 weeks, 11 weeks

Note how I totally ditched the jeans for the pajama pants for the last three pictures. Jeans aren't buttoning so well these days.

Also, my mirror has the same spot on it in the last two pictures. I should go clean that off, haha.

I haven't done a picture yet for 12 weeks.

This morning when I woke up I had that lina nigra going down my belly. It's faint but visible enough that Tyler could see it.

Funny, because it wasn't there yesterday!

I've never had that before during pregnancy.

Chicken Saga Reprise.

2009-10-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

The friend of anon. neighbor posted on our Cheapcycle group again.

First of all I don't understand why these posts are allowed on Cheapcycle because only posts selling things are allowed.

Second of all, this post is even more ridiculous than the others...

I've been leaving my chickens in their crowded coops until 3 or 4 every afternoon, then letting them out into the pen when my DD and I can stay outside and keep an eye on them until dusk when they go back to bed. It sucks for my poor chickies, but I want to be absolutely 100% sure they aren't escaping and no one is harming them, you know? As soon as we can get the privacy fence I'll stop worrying so much...

With that in mind, check out her latest Cheapcycle post. Copied and pasted exactly.

Well it seems the lady with the chickens in the pen till code enforcement is closed for the day...then she lets them out. This is soo nasty she has over 50 chickens right here in fayette county in the city, can anyone help? They are going in other peoples yards, tearing up and destroying other peoples property, and all the chicken poop, you can smell it over in my friends yard.

How funny, first I had over 30 chickens. Now they've multiplied to over 50. And when I'm being very careful about letting them out and watching them, 100% sure none have gotten out of the yard, they are still destroying other people's property. And...they don't stink. I lime regularly.

I don't know what else to do, so I emailed the owner of the Cheapcycle group. This is what I sent her...

Hi,

I am having a serious issue with a neighbor--they are harassing me. A friend of this neighbor uses Cheapcycle and has now posted three times about the situation. She isn't selling anything, but her posts still go through and appear on the group.

Her user name is divorced_mom2002 .

She continues to post untrue things about the pet chickens I have in my yard and asks for help from Cheapcycle members, then I guess members are emailing her believing the posts and giving her further ideas for harassment.

She has called code enforcement no less than 8 times, and they have approved my chickens and closed the case. They no longer take her false complaints seriously. She also called the health department twice and they came out and also approved my set up with no problem. I'm doing nothing wrong and not only do I not have nearly as many chickens as she posts, they also do not escape from my yard, destroy any property, or chase small children.

Yet this person continues to exaggerate and post on Cheapcycle! She is giving out my name and address to people who respond to her post, also.

Considering that her posts do not have anything to do with the purpose of this group, can you please moderate her and remove all of her posts concerning chickens?

Please get back to me as soon as possible and let me know.

Thanks,

Amy

This anonymous neighbor is really starting to make me angry. Irrationally, hormonal pregnant lady angry.

I am two.

2009-10-03T17:25:00.000-04:00

I am so thrilled that there is a real live baby inside of me.

That the baby is growing, and God willing, it will actually be born alive and healthy in April...

I felt a bunch of its little kicks earlier today after eating ice cream! The kicks are still so tiny that they could easily be mistaken for gas bubbles that are stuck in one spot.

I can't wait until I'm complaining about being socked in the ribs or kicked in the bladder.

Look at this...

In the ultrasound picture you can see the little yolk sac on the far left, it looks like a bubble.

It's neat to think of what it actually looks like inside of there!

I also didn't share this ultrasound picture yesterday...It's the baby's profile but he/she has the hand up at the nose and mouth.

If you look closely you can see all of the leg. The baby actually has knees that bend and long legs! In the 3d/4d pictures they look like stubs, but from another angle we could see the knees bending and the legs stretching out and kicking me!!

In other news, Tyler was supposed to hear from Toyota this week about when he would start work and what shift, but they never called.

It makes me kind of concerned since we really REALLY need the money as soon as possible.

He talked to my FIL's friend this morning, who is the assistant manager in HR for the Toyota plant. He said that he put Tyler's name down for a specific job (didn't say what) that was a good position and he has no idea why they didn't call this week. I hope something isn't going to fall through. There's no reason Tyler shouldn't have passed the drug tests (urine and hair) or the physical.

I can't wait until Monday. FIL's friend said he would check up on it for Tyler first thing the morning, and Tyler is going to call the hiring agency Toyota uses and ask them what's up.

The HR friend told Tyler that it probably just means they don't want him to start this Monday.

Blah.

Pray he gets to start soon before we end up with a huge credit card bill full of groceries and gas. Since I've been pregnant and feeling miserable, Tyler has been doing the grocery shopping. Good bye budgeting. He buys all kinds of crap I would normally never let in our house, like poptarts and other expensive prepackaged crap. We've also been eating more take out than we would ever eat regularly because I've been feeling too sick to cook.

Ah well. It will all work out somehow, as long as he gets that job and starts soon.

A Great Sneak Peek!

2009-10-02T18:05:00.001-04:00

Baby is alive and well!!

The midwives were the only ones in the office, aside from the nurses, so they gladly let me have an ultrasound.

The two of them did the ultrasound themselves because the tech had already gone home for the day...I think they were enjoying being in charge of the ultrasound machine.

On the left is the baby three weeks ago, measuring 8 weeks 5 days.

And on the right is the baby today. He/she was measuring 11 weeks, 4 days. One day ahead!

(For some reason they wrote 11 weeks, 2 days on the ultrasound. That's based on the due date they assigned me and not the measurements of the baby.)

Then, just for fun they turned on the 4d feature!

Do you see the ear? The baby's hand is by its face on the top side, and the umbilical cord is up there too.

Different angle...

The baby was moving around some. It got the hiccups and kicked and it was waving its arms up and down. Then it started rolling from side to side.

I've been feeling something in my lower abdomen for a few days now and unsure of what it was. It feels like a tiny gas bubble but it never pops or moves down and out. It's definitely the baby's tiny feet kicking because I felt it several times while we saw it kicking on the ultrasound! I hesitate to tell anyone I can feel the baby already, because I'm only 11 weeks, but I can feel those tiny kicks for sure. It happens a lot when I've just started eating, or right after I eat.

I feel so relieved knowing the baby is growing normally!! Now if only I could stop feeling so sick and miserable so that I can get back to cleaning my house and enjoying life...

Eeep!

2009-10-01T19:57:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling like exceptional crap today.

I had two whole pieces of pizza for lunch and ever since my belly has felt so incredibly full, like stuffed up to my throat. It's so uncomfortable. I have no idea why it feels this way from two little pieces of pizza. I ate at noon...it's now almost 8 pm. Still, so full feeling.

It feels so gross.

I wonder if maybe my uterus had a growth spurt today or something, and that's pressing on my organs and making me feel bloated? Is that possible? I hope it stops soon so I can eat something.

I have a regular OB check up tomorrow. Trying not to think about it so I don't get nervous. Nervous for what, no idea. They are just going to have me pee in a cup and then check for the heartbeat with the doppler. I know the baby has a heartbeat...

I'm so terrified that the baby has stopped growing. I desperately want another ultrasound just to find out. I will feel so relieved if the baby is still growing the right size for dates, at this point.

Unfortunately this lame OB practice is terrible about ultrasounds. I can beg the CNM tomorrow to let me schedule one, and she might let me. But there's very little chance they'll give me one tomorrow unless the ultrasound tech isn't busy at all. Usually I make the appointments in the morning and the office is packed full, but I made this one in the afternoon. Maybe I'll get lucky and they won't be that busy, and I can get a quick ultrasound.

Nervous. Can't think about that. Aaah.

In other news, The Pioneer Woman used one of my photos on her blog in a post of her top choices from the Flickr group.

I love her blog(s) and I am so excited she liked one of MY pictures!!!

And in the comments quite a few people wrote that my picture was one of their favorites!

Eeep!

This is the picture...Rosie chasing (the original) Jasmine chicken last fall.

Sadly, we're on Jasmine Chicken III now. Hah. The first Jasmine was rehomed with my diseased flock. Jasmine II recently died of pneumonia out of the blue. And Jasmine III is the daughter of Jasmine II. Jasmine III is healthy and fluffy, so far...

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, the subject of the Pioneer Woman's Flickr assignment was fall bokeh. I created the bokeh with my 85mm lens with the f-stop at 1.8, no flash was fired.

Oh no! The anonymous complaints aren't working!

2009-09-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

Random email from person who posted on Cheapcycle about the chickens...haven't heard from her in a few days. Maybe a week? I don't remember. (If you're lost, just look back several entries. It's all posted there.)

Her email:

Isn't that ironic...her name is Amy as well...Are you her, if so please do something about keeping your chickens and rossters in your yard...

Several reasons this is humorous...

1) She emailed me days after our last contact. Is it a coincidence that she contacted me after things were settled with the code enforcers? I wonder if anon. neighbor tried to file another false complaint yesterday and they wouldn't accept it. Hmm.

2) She knows my name. I don't think new neighbor lady would know my name, considering she never comes out of her house or talks to anyone. I suspect this might be the neighbors who live on the other side of new neighbor, for a laundry list of reasons. Mainly the spelling errors and the type of friends this person (the friend of anon. neighbor) has on Facebook compared to the type of people that are always visiting in hoards at this neighbor's house. And yes I checked to see if I recognized anyone on the friend list of the person who is emailing me and claiming to be a friend of anon. neighbor. I didn't recognize anyone on her friends list as living on my street...but she does have the same type of friends and is in the same age group as the new suspect neighbor.

For example this neighbor is frequently seen smoking in the baby's face, dragging the toddler across the lawn by the arm while she wails, etc. They just seem like the type of people who would write "rossters" instead of roosters, know what I mean? Though they have been friendly to us before, and we've had casual conversations in passing.

And their yard is very difficult to see into from my yard. There are trees between the fence along new neighbor's yard, and then on the other side of her yard there is another treeline along the fence to suspect neighbor's yard. I doubt they can see much in my yard without quite a bit of effort. The chicken pen is on the opposite side of the yard from new neighbor's fence line, partially blocked by Rosie's swing set, making it even more difficult to see from far away.

Gut feeling says it's not new neighbor doing the complaining, since this person emailing me is in her 30's and named Lacreasha, and new neighbor is probably in her 50's or more, new neighbor just moved to the state, and the two do not seem like people who would be friends at all. New neighbor at least looks like she understands basic grammar and is able to spell "roosters" correctly. She looks very prim.

I'm not going to respond to the email. I would like to, but really how do you reason with someone who seems to be hallucinating chickens in their yard when there are none?? Obviously these people aren't exactly the most intelligent of neighbors...I have nothing to say to them except maybe fuck off. I still don't understand why they wouldn't just knock on my door and let me know a chicken escaped and to make sure it didn't get on their property again. I would have apologized and not been the least bit offended. I have a hunch they never knocked on my door because it never happened. A chicken would have to escape the pen, climb the fence into new neighbor's yard, then climb that fence into suspect neighbor's yard. I seriously doubt any of my birds would go through that much trouble. They like to stick close to home, where the treats are. Also, I check on them often and I would have noticed if the roosters or multiple hens were missing. Anyone who knows anything about chickens knows that they travel in groups. I know a group of chickens with clipped wings would not climb that many fences!

I am a little concerned that the anon. neighbor will take it a step further and do something like poison my birds. Don't forget when the emailing friend of anon. neighbor sent me this...

"i am about to take action myself, it is sooo nasty and annoying."

I imagine they are pretty pissed now that code enforcement and the health department have failed to stop my invisible chickens from getting into their yard.

I guess I'll just keep a close eye out, there isn't much else I can do, right?

I'm anxiously awaiting the privacy fence Tyler has promised me! He just has to get started at his new job so we know we'll be able to pay for it somehow.

End.

2009-09-29T13:59:00.000-04:00

The chicken confusion has ended.

Tyler talked to the supervisor over the "have your husband call me" enforcer guy.

Thankfully the supervisor not only has brains inside his skull, he also has a soul and manners.

He said he will cancel the re-inspection. The chickens do not have to be in cages.

We just have to be sure they are contained on our property, which of course they are as long as their wings are clipped and stupid fencing climbing bird is locked in the 8 ft. run. When we get a privacy fence, hopefully in the next month or so, I won't have to keep locking fence climber in the run because she won't be able to climb a tall wooden fence.

Now the only remaining issue is hateful anon. neighbor. Tyler told the supervisor that we wouldn't allow his code enforcers on our property unless they had a search warrant or they called him first to schedule a time to visit and discuss future complaints. Supervisor said that was fine and I think he made a note of it in our file.

He also combined all of our complaint files into one. The issue was, the first two complaints anon. neighbor made, she gave the wrong address. She gave 57 instead of 47. I guess she figured out her mistake, because the second two or three complaints were the exact same complaints only with the correct address. So we had two files--one with 57 and one with 47. I guess that makes sense. The supervisor apologized and said that mistake was his fault.

I'm not sure where things will go with anon. neighbor, but at least next time something happens we can discuss it rationally with the supervisor. That makes me feel much better knowing he is not only on our side but also considerably more intelligent than the code enforcers that keep showing up at our house. I bet he even knows the difference between ducks and swans!

I feel so relieved.

I'm still a little concerned about the mysterious anon. neighbor though. I feel like I am being watched, I just don't know who is doing the watching. It's unnerving.

Do you think she'll strike again with more anonymous complaints?

I guess time will tell.

And...The Battle Rages On.

2009-09-28T18:11:00.003-04:00

Tyler got in touch today with the code enforcer who mailed us the letter saying that chickens need to be caged. It ended in Tyler yelling at him.

The guy still insists that they should be caged and he will be here to investigate for compliance on Friday, the 2nd.

(This is the same guy who thought my ducks were swans and told me to have my husband call him if I had any questions. Oh and he completely lied to Tyler and told him that I said it would be simple to cage the chickens. WTF?)

The battle continues.

We discovered one major problem--every time anon. neighbor files a complaint, the city sends out a random code enforcement officer. Then that code enforcement officer starts a new case file for each separate complaint. Sometimes there have been complaints as often as two times a week.

So we have a handful of open case files right now with different code enforcers. This is causing a lot of the confusion--they don't communicate with each other! And since anon. neighbor won't quit making up complaints, the files just keep multiplying. Why they would not have one file with our address, I don't know. It makes absolutely no sense.

Then again, it's the government. What else would you expect other than a huge waste of paper, time, and resources?

Mhm.

Anyway, I am formulating a plan of battle.

First things first, there was a chicken that got out. Acknowledged that. Fixed the problem. That should have fixed everything, but no. They can't seem to leave it at that--partly because anon. neighbor keeps making up new things to continue this, and partly because the code enforcers are dicks. "Have your husband call me" code enforcer keeps mentioning that he has a picture of one of my chickens out of my yard from the beginning of September.

OMFG, yes you do. Thanks.

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IT HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE THEN BECAUSE I IMMEDIATELY FIXED THE PROBLEM?

Seriously. It should not be this difficult. Every time I talk to a code enforcement officer I feel like I'm talking to someone who is mentally challenged.

It's ridiculous.

So.

Tomorrow Tyler will call the supervisor of code enforcement. I talked to this guy once on the phone, but he talked in circles also and didn't make any sense. He didn't even know the local ordinances, and that's his job!

My plan includes the following:

Tyler calls Jim Hume, the supervisor tomorrow. He tells good ol' Jim that before we allow any more code enforcement officers on our property we will require a court ordered search warrant or written documentation of the following:

The city ordinance we are violating.
The legal definition of "at large" as written in Kentucky state law pertaining to livestock.
Specifically where the ordinance or definition of "at large" states that chickens must be caged.

For each future complaint our lawyer will need to know the name and address of the person filing the complaint because from this point on we are considering this entire situation harassment on the part of city officials and the anon. neighbor. Our lawyer will also need video or photo documentation of the alleged free roaming chickens, the damage the chickens caused/are causing to flower gardens, and the roosters chasing small children.

(We don't have a lawyer. I want one though. Tyler has a friend whose dad is a lawyer and he's asking if he might give us advice or write a letter to the city officials to get them to leave us alone.)

If they continue to allow the false anonymous complaints, then it's the city's fault for continuing the harassment. If the neighbor continues to make complaints but the city insists on taking her identifying information, then she is the harassing party.

Makes sense, right?

I am also going to get the legal definition of "at large" from Kentucky state law tomorrow for myself. All I have to do is get it from the University's law library. It's in the Kentucky Acts of 1950 volume, chapter 20, sections 1 through 4. If I give that to the reference librarian hopefully it will be simple enough to get a copy of it. I'm very curious to know what it says.

I will cry if it says something about livestock or fowl being fully caged. I doubt it does, though.

Also, I would like to prosecute the particular code enforcement officer who is randomly making up codes and abusing his power. Just because he is a code enforcer (they are actually building inspectors, technically) doesn't mean he can write his own codes. Plus he acts like a complete ass and treats us with zero respect. But I'm not sure where to start with this one, other than filing a complaint somewhere...still thinking about this angle. Someone should tell him he is not God of code enforcement. I so hope I get to be the person behind that revelation for him.

I'm not enjoying all this extra stress. I had spotting last night and I'm so worried that something bad will happen, as I approach the 12 week mark and the point where the blood started gushing in my lost pregnancy.

Also, just to make a note of it, Tyler got hired at the Toyota car factory today. It pays great. First shift pays $14 an hour, second shift pays $15 an hour, and third shift pays $16 an hour. He'll start working in two weeks and he'll find out then which shift they assign him to. They also offer benefits that are supposed to be excellent even though the job is temp to start for 6 months.