Says Who?

Throughout my pregnancy I've heard the same thing from everyone.  "During pregnancy your hair will become thick and shiny and you won't lose any of it until after the baby is born!"  Really???  When does this start?  I'm 23 weeks in and my hair is nowhere near thick and shiny.  I'm also losing the same amount of hair that I did before I was pregnant.  Maybe it's just something people say so you have something to look forward to as your body changes over the course of 9 months.  Or maybe it's just an urban legend.  Regardless, this is not happening to me.    

Garage Space...and a tribute to previous loves

Amanda is starting to make her nest and that means making room for new things - that includes the garage.  To give a little background, about two years ago I sold the first car I owned; a Jeep Wrangler.  It was custom painted "midnight blue", had a three inch lift with big tires and waterproof speakers.  I had a soft top that never went on in the 16 years I owned it.  I can tell you from experience that this is the best car a 16 year old could ever imagine driving.  I have many great memories from owning this car.  It was my first of three Jeeps I would eventually own.  Well, this past weekend I sold my second love; a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  I bought this car in 97' and put over 140K miles on it in 13 years.  I made many trips with this car including driving out to live with one of my good friends in Boulder, CO.  Many a camping trip I remember this car taking us on.  This truck also survived a car-jacking and was lost to me for eight days - that was six years ago.  But it was time to move on since I'm now driving my third Jeep, which was handed down to me from my dad with 225K miles on the odometer.  There can be many things said about the Jeep.  I guess one reason I love it so much it that I think of myself a little:  adaptable, rough around the edges but acceptable, and American.  Will I own another Jeep after this one?  Someday, but it looks like the nesting from my wife may take us down another path.  Something that has a third row seat, which Jeep doesn't offer.  I would like to own another.  I will miss my Jeeps.  Maybe our son will be as lucky as I was and have a Jeep to ride in when he's 16...God willing

Finally!!!

We felt it.  I shouldn't say it, I should say him.  We felt him.  This is the first week of being pregnant that Jay and I are sure we felt the baby move.  Maybe he was dancing or just saying hello but we definitely know it was him and not some random bubbles in my tummy.  It was crazy and makes the whole process a little more real.  So cool!

Mom

My best friend's grandmother passed away this summer.  When I checked her blog she mentioned that she couldn't write about the death of her family's matriarch.  I can understand.  How do you write about someone who has had such an influence on your life and is now gone?  And even if you could write about it, would you be able to share those feelings and memories with those reading it?  I am in a similar situation. Last month, I lost a mom.  Not a birth mom, not a mom by marriage, not a mother-in-law.  I lost a women who had the title of mom without being part of the Yeary, Schuler, or Starr clan.  She was my other best friend's mom who became a stand-in-mother when I needed her.  I called her mom and it seemed to be the only appropriate name to use.

In high school and after college my life was a little crazy.  There was a lot going on during those times and although I had my own family, I needed some extra support from mom.  She was different from my family.  Jewish (at least by birth), Liberal (although she did once vote for Reagan), and definitely Eccentric (in the best way possible).  Although she was nothing like my family, she seemed to understand me and was always able to put me at ease.  I could talk to her for hours.  It helped that I was able to live with her and my friend's family.  Not once but twice.  She was always able to make me feel like I belonged.  I think this was an amazing quality as I am the opposite of her.  Christian, Republican (or at least conservative), and Reserved.  She never judged me and was always encouraging me to do what I wanted to do instead of what I felt I should do.  She also understood and never made me feel bad when I chose the responsible route instead of the one I might have wanted more.  I always felt better after our talks.

She passed away from lung cancer.  It wasn't a quick death.  In the end, I was praying that her body would let her go so she could be in peace.  The woman deserved it.  She had a brilliant mind and the least her decrepit body could do was give her some peace. 

I miss her.  I miss our talks.  I'm fortunate that she was in my life.  Even if only for 16 years.  She helped influence my life and without question, she made it better. 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?n=judith-k-lentini&pid=144357619      

The "Garden"

We've talked about starting a garden.  To be honest we've talked about starting a lot of things with our new house.  As Jay says, "All in good time".  Apparently, this doesn't apply to a garden.  Okay, so it's not a garden but it is a miniature pumpkin patch and it's growing in the corner of our backyard.  It's a wild pumpkin patch.  It's wild, not because it's slowly taking over the back corner of the yard, but because we didn't plant anything back there.  Right now there are four pumpkins.  We had another one but it disappeared.  Probably an animal (not Lady) who was looking for an early Halloween snack.  I'm hoping that the animals are generous and leave us few to carve this fall.  I'm also hopeful that next year we'll have some other items in the garden.  Items that we plant and care for that the animals leave alone.  It's probably wishful thinking.  But as the pumpkin patch has taught me, it doesn't hurt to wish.  You never know what might happen!

Baby Bulge

My wife is a little bigger these days as you can see.  It's fun to watch.  What's weird is how much her belly seems to fluctuate.  She went out of town several weekends in the last month and every time she came back in town the baby appeared to grow exponentially - and if there's not a baby in there then she's got one heckuva beer belly.  She's 20 weeks along now which is the half way mark.  We go get one more ultrasound next week to see if everything is on track and to verify the sex of the baby for the second time.  I say verify for the second time, because we were already told at 12 and 17 weeks that it's a boy.  I guess I still have my doubts, so this time should clear up any uncertainty.  We're happy and it's really starting to set in now.  Of course it probably won't hit me until I see it in person.  I hear that's the way it is with a lot of dads.  5 months to go - crazy