The Unadventures of Tracie

You've for sure seen this, but not like this. (And you haven't seen it (go to the link if you haven't seen it first) you should.) Makes me laugh every dang time.

So thought I'd update and let everyone know I'm mostly doing better. I've just been having a rough time adjusting to parenthood. I don't handle lack of sleep well. And trying to balance work and taking care of a baby (and rarely seeing Austin) has been difficult. Not to mention my health, nursing, and loneliness issues. One thing that's helped is I now have my friend Wendy and Charity's husband James's cousin Charlotte (say that ten time fast) helping me watch Moby for a few hours a couple times a week. It helps me make my phone calls I need to make and focus on my work. It also gives me some MUCH-NEEDED company. Sometimes I can feel a little isolated and trapped in my own house. Okay, change that to almost always. Anyway, I might post some day on my new passion: birth. I've become obsessed with learning everything about it.

Why do you enjoy being a mom? Let me know. I'd like to know. And when, pray tell, is it supposed to "get better"? Sincerely, A person slowly going insane P.S. I feel like something is fundamentally wrong with me.

So I meant to post this eons ago. Here are pictures from Austin and me's trip to Arizona for our Spring Break Vacation. We went to a butterfly garden, went to Egee's, played minigolf, watched Seth play baseball, and traveled to Mesa. We visited Heather and Heidi.

So I've been a mom for two whole months now. Eight weeks ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy...and my entire life changed forever. I can definitely say it hasn't been easy. It's the most challenging thing I've ever done. Sometimes it's so difficult I wonder if it was a such a good idea. Do I love being a mom? Not entirely. Not yet. But I think I eventually will. Once I start sleeping on a more regular basis and I adjust to changing every single thing I do. You know the things you take for granted before you have a kid? You know, like the little things. Taking a shower, going to the bathroom, eating, sleeping, basically the every day tasks that you don't even think about before. They are all about a million times more difficult with an infant. And those are just your basic living tasks. That doesn't take into account cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, working, exercising, getting dressed and ready, or having a social life. (Not to mention having ju...

Remember how Austin posted on his blog about us buying a condo? Well, it's almost here. We close next week (if we get our Aflac money on time, if not we'll have to delay closing a few days). So we will be moving to our new place very, very soon. I can't believe we are doing this. I'm freaking out a little bit. Buying a house is such a huge step. I really hope we're not going to be in over our heads. It was just such a good time to buy right now so we had to act while opportunity was knocking. Anyway, it's late and I'm tired so I'll write more later about our place. For now, here are some pics: Main Bath Bedroom (There are 2 bedrooms besides the Master Bedroom. They both look about the same.) Tub & Shower in Master Bath Master Bath Master Bedroom Kitchen Dining Area in Kitchen Deck (wish this was always going to be our view but they're building a town home right there) Living Room Laundry Room (sans washer and dryer)

For our anniversary this year Austin and I went out to dinner while his mom watched Morgan. We were gone about an hour. It was good to have some time to ourselves. I can't believe it's been three years already. This year of marriage will be very different from the rest as we start this year as a larger family. Husband & Wife First New Family Photo I'm so happy to be married to Austin. He's always been a wonderful husband and now he's a wonderful father as well. I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend. He really is my perfect match. I'm looking forward to spending this year learning how to be parents together. I'm so grateful to have Austin as my partner in our new life together. Happy Anniversary sweetheart!

Morgan Danger Being a new mom is difficult and time consuming. I've been meaning to write this for a while now, but I've been having trouble finding the time to do so. For those that haven't heard my birth story, here it is: My last few weeks of pregnancy I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions on and off. My due date came and went with still no real sign of going into labor. Because things didn't go exactly as we planned with the condo we were trying to buy, Austin and I decided we needed to have a backup plan. So on Tuesday June 16th we went with Justin, our agent and brother-in-law, to look at other condos. While we were out with him, I started having contractions. Nothing regular or serious but definitely different from the Braxton-Hicks contractions. I called my mom and my doula when we got home from house hunting (which was around 8pm) to let them know I was in early labor. My mom predicted I'd have the baby by the next morning. If only. It was ar...

Today is a very special Father's Day. Today my husband celebrates Father's Day for the first time as an actual father. It's only been three days and already Austin is such an amazing father. Morgan loves being held by his daddy and sucking on his finger. I am just so impressed with how Austin loves his son. I married a wonderful man, and he's going to be such a wonderful father. I'd like to make a shoutout to my own father. Fahja has been such a great dad to me. I'll always be my daddy's little girl no matter how old I get. He's been supportive over the years and always ready with a hug. I know I can always count on my dad. He's never let me down, and I know he never will. I didn't get to see him this year on Father's Day as I was at home with my brand new baby. So since I didn't get to say it before, I'll say it now: Happy Fahja's Day!

Well, I did it. I made it through my first pregnancy. I still feel like I'm dreaming a bit. All the waiting is finally over. I'm a mommy. I'm SO glad to not be pregnant anymore, but a bit sad too surprisingly. Things I will miss about being pregnant: 1. Feeling my baby move around inside of me - from the first little flips, to the kicks, to the rolling from side to side 2. Feeling more feminine and more of a woman than I've ever felt before 3. Playing the pregnant card (of course now I can play the "I just had a baby" card.) 4. Not trying to lose weight or worrying too much about weight in general 5. Relating to all the other pregnant women out there 6. Having people ask me how I'm feeling Things I will NOT miss about being pregnant: 1. Morning sickness, nausea, vomiting 2. Not being able to eat certain foods 3. Charlie horses, leg cramps, back cramps 4. headaches, bloating, heartburn 5. Going pee every hour or more 6. Not being able to get out...

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. You'll be happy to know that I'm feeling MUCH better today. The combination of a good night's sleep, seeing my mom, getting the house cleaned (thanks Mom), seeing my doula, and receiving calls and comments of encouragement has made all the difference. From everyone I've talked to, it's pretty normal to be wavering between two extremes at this point. (My extremes being "totally ready" and "freaking out.") So D-day is today. And I'm not surprised that Morgan's not here yet. I really didn't think he was coming early. I'm thinking he may make his appearance sometime later this week. If not, I'm willing to bet he won't be any later than the end of next week. We'll see if "mother's intuition" pays off this time. I'm enjoying my leave from work. I'm still home most of the time, but it's nice to not feel like there's something I'm "supposed...

With one day to go till my estimated due date, I'm currently a nervous wreck. The last several days my mood and feelings have been all over the place. One minute I feel confident and prepared. The next I feel totally intimidated and scared out of my mind. Yesterday was good. I felt ready to go. Last night I couldn't sleep and now I'm tired and feeling totally overwhelmed. I hate this not knowing when. The whole "this could happen any second" IS not good for my relaxation. I'm so worried that I'm going to go into labor tired and unprepared. And with my whole goal to have a natural birth, I'm worried that if I'm not in optimum condition, my goal will go down the toilet. And that will depress me. I've spent MONTHS preparing for this upcoming day. And it's all one big question mark. Can I really do this? Really? Part of me is SO ready to have this all over but the other part is petrified about the unknown, even with my months of preparation...

So I'm pregnant. And my feet are huge and swollen. And shoes are uncomfortable. So I decided to buy my first pair of Crocs (or at least imitation brand of them). I've shunned these shoes for several years now. Everyone had told me they were comfortable, but let's face it, they're not the cutest footwear. They used to be everywhere and on everyone. So now that I had finally decided to get a pair, they are NOWHERE to be found. Seriously. I have now looked at Walmart, Target, and Payless. I can find some for men and tons for kids, but NONE for women. I somehow missed the craze. So now that I NEED these shoes, I can't find a single pair. I don't know if the search is worth since I only have a few weeks till the baby anyway; however, I have heard that your feet can swell postpartum as well. So can anyone tell me where I can find a pair of these shoes?

This is an interesting day for me. This is the first time that I can kind of celebrate Mother's Day. Morgan's still in my tummy, but to me, he's my baby already. I love my baby, and I'm sure I'll love being a mom once he finally gets here. I wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my life. I have to first and foremost thank my own mother who brought me into this world. I am so lucky to have such an awesome mom. She loves me, and I love her. What more could you ask for from a mom? I am so grateful for my mom. I can't imagine anyone else who would've been better. She's such an amazing example to me. I'm appreciative of everything she has done for me. I wouldn't be the person I am today without my mom. I'm so glad to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. I'm so lucky to have married a man who had such a great mother and did such a great job raising him. I always wanted to marry into a family in which I could feel a part ...

30 weeks So when I did my pregnancy post I forgot to mention a few things. One is I have now joined the Belly Stretch Mark Club. About a week ago I had just got out of the shower and looked in the mirror, and lo and behold, there it was. That purple little devil. I know it shouldn’t really matter. I’m already covered in stretch marks all over the rest of my body due to my constant fluctuating sizes growing up. But my belly was the ONE place I didn’t have any. But that has now changed. I have since gotten another one since then and I will probably get much more. I guess I should be more vigilant about applying my cocoa butter cream. Other “fun” pregnancy changes: My stomach is now hairy and dry. I’ve never been a very hairy person, but I have dark, ugly hairs residing on my belly now, as well as itchy, dry skin that likes to flake off every once in a while. My breasts are getting bigger and saggier by the minute. (Austin doesn’t mind the size change, but I do.) I really can’t imagine th...

On February 24, 2009, I learned what it felt like to be a Beatles fan on April 10, 1970. This is the day that I learned that Steven Page was leaving the Barenaked Ladies to go solo. The news devastated me. BNL has been my favorite band for about five or so years now. Of course I heard their hit singles during the nineties while growing up. I was familiar with “One Week,” “Pinch Me,” and “If I had a Million Dollars.” I didn’t realize at the time that they were all the same band. It was Heidi who first led me to realize I loved this band. She made me a few mix CDs with various BNL songs on them. When I realized I loved the songs and they were all the same band, I decided to buy their Greatest Hits album. I loved that so much that I bought their first album, Gordon . After that, it was all history as they say. Subsequently I bought and loved the rest of their albums. In 2003 when they released a new album ( Everything to Everyone ) I listened to it obsessively. Then I heard they were comi...

For those who haven't been following the news or the viral video, Susan Boyle is a 47-year-old woman from a teeny town in Scotland. She is one of this year's contestants on Britain's Got Talent. I discovered the viral video via a news article online. I watched it and discovered why, only a few days later, the video has reached 21 million views. The video introduces us to Susan, a plump, unattractive, poorly dressed woman who admits she sings to her cat and has never been kissed. She walks out on stage and within seconds the audience, and the judges, have already made up their mind about her. They cynically wait for her to make a fool of herself. But Susan refuses to be shaken. With her witty remarks and refusal to let others get to her, Susan displays great self-confidence and what can only be called moxie. They may judge her, but she believes in herself. And then Susan begins to sing....and out comes one of the most beautiful voices I've heard in a long time. A...

Watch this video. If you don't feel something, you're dead inside... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY Absolutely amazing! (I've watched it three times now. Gets better every time.)

Though I've talked about being pregnant a lot, I haven't really blogged that much about it. With only 60 days till my due date, I wanted to do a post about my experiences being pregnant thus far. If you don't want to read about it, feel free to skip this post. 6 weeks First Trimester I've already written about how I found out I was pregnant and how we initially told everyone. In the beginning I was excited and nervous and couldn't really believe I was actually pregnant. I felt pretty good in the first few weeks, besides the sore breasts. Around 8 weeks or so, morning sickness hit. It felt worse than any nausea I had heretofore experienced. I learned quickly to not get up too fast and eat frequently. I ate crackers and sucked ginger mints. (By the way, I hate crackers now.) I did not throw up very much. Mostly because I will do ANYTHING to avoid throwing up. I'm not one of those people who will throw up and get it over with. I'll try to make it go away. I fou...

But I did burn the bread. I have now become my mother's daughter. My whole life growing up my mom has been pretty much incapable of NOT burning garlic bread, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. We've always, good-naturedly, teased her for this. About a month ago Austin was craving garlic bread. I make excellent garlic bread. Butter, real garlic, spices, and crispy crust. We were both looking forward to the bread. However, due to my pregnant scatterbrainedness, I promptly forgot about the bread. I jumped up when I smelled smoke coming from the oven. To our despair, I had burned the bread almost beyond edibility. But I didn't let this stop me. Wanting to salvage the bread, I scooped out the middle of the pieces and savored what precious little there was to eat. Mom, I will no longer tease you for burning the bread.

Yep, I know I've been horrible at blogging lately. Fear not. I have like 6 posts or so in the works that will hopefully come soon. For now, I'll do this tag to give you something to read. 8 Item Tag...You're it now! Here are the rules: 1) Post rules on your blog 2) Answer the six '8' items 3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment. 8 favorite TV shows: 1. LOST 2. American Idol (my guilty pleasure) 3. Lois & Clark 4. Friends 5. Scrubs 6. Psych 7. The Office 8. Arrested Development 8 Things I did yesterday: 1. Worked 2. Went to my first birth class 3. cleaned the kitchen 4. watched The Office 5. finished reading Interview with the Vampire 6. and that's it 8 Things I'm looking forward to: 1. Conference weekend 2. blogging 3. Austin and I's birthdays 4. Morgan 5. possibly buying a condo 6. finishing a freelance project I've been working on 7. not being pregnant anymore 8. Austin being done with school (still awh...

This is a brief shout-out to Charity, who recently turned 25! Happy Birthday! Here we are at lunch: (Not the best picture of us by any means. But, hey, it was self-taken since we couldn't flag someone down to take it.) And here is her birthday party: (the picture of her blowing out candles unfortunately did not turn out.) (There were other people there as well but we didn't take any other pictures.)

I love popcorn. It is one of the best treats ever invented. I am perfectly capable of devouring enormous quantities of popcorn single-handedly. I blame my mom. She is also a popcorn fiend. But this isn't about her. This is about fluffy, buttery popcorn and all of its marvelous wonderousness. My life has been forever changed. So I'm not a complete idiot. I was perfectly aware that not all popcorn comes from little paper bags cooked via "the popcorn button" in the microwave. I mean, I had heard of air poppers. What I didn't know is that it was entirely possible to cook popcorn YOURSELF...ON THE STOVE. Thanks goes to Charity who shared this little piece of wisdom with me. A few weeks ago Austin and I went over to Charity and James' to watch a French postapocalyptic film about cannibals called Delicatessen . (Verdict: Weird, but interesting. And the French are weird.) Anyway, being the good host that she is, Charity had made some homemade popcorn th...

Lots of food for me to eat What, you say? This was a month ago? Well, poppycocks. Deal with it. Austin and I had a fun Superbowl Sunday. We went over to Tyler's where we each made our own individual pizzas. (Ty, your white sauce rocked. Send me the recipe and the pizza dough recipe STAT.) To show you how important the game was to me, I cannot now remember who even played. I do remember that it was a pretty exciting game to watch. One of the best in a while. Though I still don't really care for sports all that much. I enjoyed Bruce Springsteen's Halftime show and the super-cool-3D-commercial-product-promoting commercial break. (Lol, actually it was fun watching stuff in 3D at home.) Before the game was over we headed over to Jan Beckstrom's (Austin's first cousin once removed) house and visited with Justin (his second cousin slash best friend). A good time was had by all. And here are pics to prove these things happened: (Except the second part. I have no pictures of...