Life After Childbirth

Where do I begin? I think I'm starting to finally feel the need to get out do things, and having an infant that you have to lug around everywhere you go does put a damper on your style. I felt pretty independent and free before becoming a mother and now, not so much, but still, at the same time, I do love my daughter and I love being a mom.

One of the strange things about the whole event, I felt through most of my twenties I couldn't figure out what I wanted to be and now I know. I'm going to school part time, my bachelor's degree is actually accessable for the first time in, well, ever! Going into education and teaching, which I just keep going back too, my other educational endeavours were just going nowhere but now I feel like i might just get something accomplished. It feels good.

Animalwise, I had three chickens and twelve chicks april of last year, every one of those chickens is deceased. It actually makes me kind of sad to think about that I lost all of my chickens, because you grow rather fond of them. I started with fifteen chicks now, though one of those chicks didn't make it. A little adaptation to my chicken coop should keep the predators out. Also we have a haveahart trap to catch anything that might want to munch on chicken flesh. Already got a raccoon with it, and a friend is making a coonskin cap out of its carcus. I love the rural life though. Getting to and from town however, not so much. I also had one of my beloved barn cats disappear. This made me a little sad, so I adopted a couple 'feral' cats that are sweet as can be to replace him.  It's kind of sad that I have to consider my barn cats expendable, because we do have a coyote issue.  The next task, getting my dog an invisible fence so she can help keep the pests away, and hopefully add to the lifespan of my other animals. 

I'm down to two horses, one being Breezy and the other being a pony that is a work in progress.  It should be fun putting miles on him, but I don't know if I'm going to keep  him, otherwise I might try to trade him for a pony that is a little more tame.  He's got some spunk, and it looks like it will be a while before my daughter can use him. 

Working out is a work in progress. We had sun a few weeks ago and I went running for the first time in, well, over a year. I am out of shape. We also started P90X and lasted a whole two weeks.   But weather has been very bipolar, yesterday was glorious son, today is wet and snow.  Bleh.  Husband's work schedule and my life being dictated by an infant has a lot to do with that. That also goes for having time to clean and upkeep house. Not to mention blogging. You mean I have a blog that at one time was semi-successful? Whodathunkit?

There is often issues I want to comment on, but it's just getting to a point where I wonder what my priorities are, and right now, my priorities belong to my daughter.  Having only one child and living out in the boonies makes doing anything kind of difficult, but we'll manage I think.  Just keep an eye on the blog, I facebook much more and when i do blog, I tend to comment on my facebook about it.

Still Living Life

My poor neglected blog. Facebook has really done a number on you hasn't it? I guess it's because Facebook is just so dang convenient. And addicting. Yikes!

So the latest? Well, still pregnant. In fact, pregnancy does take a number on you when you just want to rest all of the time and a quick jot on Facebook to keep people updated on your thoughts and life is all you really have time for.

So, I guess this is my status update:
- Animal Stats: I currently possess two horses (plus one boarded horse that pays for the other two), two barn cats, five hens, two roosters, two rabbits, and a dog. The dog is a recent acquisition. I recently had to rehome one of my horses, the old mare. She no longer became a kids horse. That story is infuriating to me.

- I had a preterm labor scare, if you didn't know, I am trying to go for natural childbirth, meaning no interventions, and letting the wee one come when she may. The first scare came about two weeks ago, at 35 weeks along, when she undeniably dropped. Last week, I had to cancel my baby shower because I was having back labor and a few other labor signs. We were pretty sure her arrival was imminent, and my midwife checked me out, told me I'm dialated at 1cm and my cervix is effaced at 90%. Basically I just need to dialate to 10 and my water break and she's entering into the world. Because my husband frequently works out of town, to calm my mother's nerves, she had me stay with her until he came back.

-I'm at 37 weeks, which is about three weeks shy of my due date (wee!), however apparently I had elevated levels in my glucose testing, which tests me for gestational diabetes. Well, apparently somebody missed something, so I had an ultrasound today to see where baby is at. Apparently, she is weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, give or take a pound (which is quite a spread actually). I just got to cut back on my carbs these last few weeks and watch what I eat. And I get to check my blood sugar levels as I'm at a heightened risk for gestational diabetes. Nice.

- So munchkin is arriving at any time, but since I'm not working at present (love my husband) and just doing odd things to help with the income, I've been taking online classes. The army pays for them so while I'm still in the army I need to take full advantage of that. I was going for a business major, thinking it was more marketable, but decided after my first business class that I shouldn't torture myself and went into Education instead. I keep going back to education. My first class specifically geared toward my new major? Child and Adolescent Development. Very relevent to my life at present.

- I really need to do a post on hypnobirthing, but I think I'm going to save it for when I have the baby. So I can give all the little details and how it worked (or didn't, but we'll try to stay positive and focus on it working) after baby arrives.

- I think very little in my life is not centered around the squirt in my belly. But I guess in regards to current events, I really don't get the occupy wall street movement. Due to trying to remain positive, I will leave it at that.

- Trying to get into the coupon clipping madness, in an attempt to save money seeing we are a one income household at present (and whatever side dollars I bring in on my spare time). It can be maddening.

- Had a debate with somebody on facebook in regards to professional photography (I do it for fun, with a little income on the side, but not enough to require a business license) and it was kind of amusing. Eventually I would love to be able to do it full time (not the wedding side, I think that would cause me to shoot myself), but I was basically told that I should not do it in that regard, even for friends, as I'm doing them a diservice by not referring them to a professional. Actually, I think my pictures are pretty decent. I've been building a portfolio for the last year or so with random people here and there. Lot's of trial and error, that's why I say I'm doing it for fun. Big debate to be had though.

I guess I'll leave it at that for now.

Adventures In Dog Sitting

One of my husband's coworkers is out of town for the week, and kind of a last minute thing they needed to find somebody to watch their dog. Gus can't blame me for accepting, since he asked me if I wanted to do it and I said sure. She's cute and all, and I like dogs, but my adventures in watching a young Golden Retriever has me contemplating getting a dog of my own, something I've been considering for the last few months, if we can find the right dog.

Abby, the dog, is an adorable little snot that loves attention. She also likes to be outside and enjoys running around on five acres of property while I go about my errands of feeding the horses, where she harasses the chickens and hasn't quite figured out that the cats do not like her. I'm waiting for her to get that lesson down, but to save her face from being mauled, I try to intervene. Of course, I also intervene when she decides to take a dump in the hay barn, NOT the place for her to do her duty.

So, we go to the trials of dog sitting, and the reason I'm kind of mum on the idea of getting a dog. See, she's young, still a puppy, and it turns out, not entirely housebroke. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't poop in the house, but when she gets excited, like when she meets a new person, she starts wagging her tail and piddling on the floor. That gets annoying. She could have just peed outside and she will still piddle on the floor if she gets super excited. I don't know if that's something that will go away in time or if she's just a nervous dog with an uncontrollable bladder.

Then there is the play bites, which I think I'm getting into her head is not ok. She tries to jump on the couch with me and I push her off, she thinks its a game and she puts my arm in her mouth. Not breaking the skin, but I have had to work with her that no body part goes into a dog's mouth, ever (unless somebody is breaking an entering with the intention of harm, then go right on ahead!) But the most disgusting thing I have seen her do is eat horse manure. It almost made me vomit the last time she did it. Dang dog.

But she is cute, in her I'm not quite a puppy anymore but I'm not a full grown dog sort of way. Still, it has made me realize with the constant craving of attention (thankfully we have a kennel for her at night) that I really am a Cat Person at heart.

As long as the Cat is halfway sane and not a murderous fiend of course. Anyway, I think I'll let a future kidling try to talk us into getting a dog when I actually look at getting one. I'm glad petsitting is only a week.

Projects and Hobbies Keep Time Occupied

I keep getting myself set up on little projects. This week it appears that I just want to focus on getting my info on my harddrives organized. Last week I was ripping a bunch of old VHS home videos to digital and of course in December I was transferring my CDs to MP3s so I can listen to them on my iPod and my Zune.

Don't ask me why I bought a Zune, other then it was a great deal and I liked a digital player that I could watch movies on. My iPod is old and doesn't have that option.

I've also got a few projects artwise going on as well. I signed up for a few art exchanges to play around with, just to give myself a feel for doing it again.

Of course, I ran into a lot of old pictuers I hadn't seen in forever, including looking at a few off my recovered hard drive that I initially thought I had lost. Like this pic of my nephew Cody with Blaine.



I really miss having Ferrets, but I have to get my own place before I can get them again, and I have to be able to maintain them a little better, so I have to have my house more organized.

Which means I'll probably never own Ferrets again :( My house is a mess.

I think I just need something fuzzy and cute, like a dog or something.

In March we're planning a road trip down to Utah to see friends and family. It's been long overdue.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty confident on where I will be at the end of this year, and it will include me having a real job that I can focus on, and not a retail gig that doesn't like employees confronting shoplifters. Next week I'm probably going to go to a temp agency and look for temp work just to get by for now until I know more about my deployment or if it's even going to happen.

My Cause for the Week

So, a friend of mine rescues reptiles, however recently she acquired a sick cat.



It kind of looks like my neighbor's cat. Except we hate that cat.

The story behind this cat is rather sad however. Somebody starved it and threw it in a bag off to the side of a major highway in her town. She is in the process of rehabilitating it. More posted about the cat here

So anyway, being a rescue type person, she took the cat to the vet and yeah, its pretty sick. Another friend has agreed to adopt it, but in the meantime, it is wracking up some hefty vet bills.

The poor thing tugged at my sensitive animal loving heart strings. Although in conditions such as this I may have euthanized the animal (but then again, I will spend upwards to $600 trying to remove an earplug from the stomach of an overly curious ferret so. . .) I went ahead and forwarded her a few bucks to help with the costs.

In case you like cats, and your heartstrings are torn too, here's more information on helping out a sick cat.

It can be frustrating in regards to the sick world we live in sometimes. I saw a YouTube video of somebody torturing a ferret and it made me go snuggle Blaine and Abby.

Ferrets got Out

A few nights ago, my ferrets got out. And I didn't realize they were out until it was close to midnight.

Its one thing when the ferrets are just out of their cage, scampering about the house and leaving presents for you to clean up in the corners, but this was something entirely different.

They got outside. Yikes.

Anybody who has ever owned a ferret knows that these little furballs are not like cats and dogs. They are strictly an indoor animal with good reason. They have no concept of self preservation, that and coupled with the fact that they average about 20 hours of sleep a day and have most of their hunting instincts bred out of them, well, they wouldn't survive perhaps more then three days outside on their own. I don't know where they went or what they were doing, but I just know the two little dookers found themselves outside.

I had to be at work at 7 the next morning and had to get some sleep, but I couldn't just leave them outside so I went about looking for them. No such luck. I got a little bell and tried to call them, but they remained hidden.

My next option was to find something soft and cuddly and familiar and try to draw them back to the house with that. I have this little bed I got for them that I sat near the door on the flower bed, hoping they would find themselves back with that. I then left and went to the back, looking for them and calling them again. Then I went back to the front after a couple of minutes and sure enough, Blaine was in the bed, staring at me and wondering how it got there.

I picked him up, nuzzled him and put him back in the cage, hoping that Abby wouldn't be to far behind. However, Abby still hadn't come home.

I put the carrier in the backyard with a familiar blanket in it and searched around the house some more. Still no sign of Abby, and now it was nearing 130 and I had to get to bed. So I left the door slightly ajar and fell to sleep next to the couch, hoping she would find her way home during the night and nuzzle me with her cold wet nose like she's prone to doing.

I woke myself up at 430 with the thought that I needed to check on Abby. The sun was just starting to rise, but there was still no sign of her. I checked the back and didn't see her there either. If she wasn't coming home, I didn't know what was expected of me so I went ahead and closed the door and started to fall asleep on the couch.

The scratching on the door got my attention, and not five minutes after I closed it, Abby had found her way home.

Stinky ferrets. I don't know what kind of adventures they had that night, but Abby was outside for six hours. I can only imagine that she found some place soft and cuddly and fell asleep.

I'll be sure they don't get out unsupervised again.

Abby and Blaine

I've learned that its kind of hard to take pictures of Ferrets. They really don't stand still long enough for you to grab that kodak moment.

I've been researching getting a ferret for the last few months, and I finally got my area ferret proofed enough to go get a couple. I thought it would be a good idea to get a couple of ferrets because that way they always have each other.

Even with all my research, I may have been a little over my head with these little guys.

I don't know if I'll rename them or not, but in case I don't, this is Abby and Blaine. They have been together for a while and since I wanted to get a pair, I decided it would be better if I got ones that have been together for a while. They look a lot alike, especially in pictures. Their coloring is almost identical. Just Blaine is bigger then Abby.

I'll work on trying to get a couple pictures where I don't feel like I have to crop myself out because I look like a freakin' idiot.


This is Abby. She's a sweet girl, but I have to pay particular close attention to her because she can get to places Blaine can't go.


And Blaine. Like I mentioned before, he's bigger then Abby. And a bit fatter. But he still has that Ferret Boing Factor.

Kiki off of Sluggy Freelance. Yep. That's exactly how Ferrets act.

Dogs and Ferrets

I went to the shelter today looking at dogs. It sort of came down to three.

This is Bo. Bo almost came home with me today. I had it all set out to adopt him and take him with me until it was pointed out that any dog I adopted would be an outdoor dog only, they wouldn't let me adopt this specific dog. He is really sweet however, he does need a good brush, and right now his bark is gone but overall he seemed like a good companion. Unfortunately, he is a German Shephard mix, and my mother has an aversion to German Shephards (on account of getting attacked by one) so that did make me kind of leary of him, but he did not appear in the least bit aggressive.

Alas, Bo did not come home with me.

This is Cosmo, another sweet dog that looked like I could bond with. One of the reasons why I chose Bo over Cosmo is because Cosmo does Bark. And Chew. And dig. But according to his paperwork, that was likely something I could work with. He is pretty cute, and really sweet. However, he didn't really like being left alone. And being a pure outdoor dog, I don't want him to get depressed and bark a lot.

Poonsa has been at the shelter for over a year, and when I looked at her, she seemed really mellow and low key. However my concern (as I'm going to be using this dog as a running buddy) that she seemed a little stiff when she walked. The poor thing is ready to come home with somebody, and I thought she was quite cute. She appears to be part rottweiler, and despite their reputation, I've known rottweilers that were practically lap dogs where the only threat of them is if they lick you to death.

There are two other animal shelters that I'll likely take a look at, as well as a Basset Rescue. We love bassets, and would make an exception for the outdoor only rule if I managed to talk my brother into adopting one with me (they're indoor dogs). He's always wanted to get a Basset and name it Rigamortis (don't ask).

Meanwhile, coming home without Bo with me did make me double think about the whole 'owning a dog' thing, as I'm not sure how long I'll be living here and I don't know what my living arrangements will be in the not to distant future, and I would hate to adopt a dog only to find myself having to give 'em up when I was forced back into the whole apartment spiel one day.

I would still love to get a Ferret. Maybe two. The brother is actually open to this suggestion, however I couldn't take it running with me. I have read up on Ferrets, did some research and I think I could handle a ferret if I chose to get one or two. If I had a choice in the ferret I adopted, I would either get a traditional female ferret with a mask and name her Kiki, or get an albino male and name him Draco. After Harry Potter. For some reason, I also thought Maximillion would make a good Ferret name.

Maximillion would make a good dog name too. If I got a new dog, chances are I'd rename him Max. Unless it was a she of course.

Almost Moved

So, I've been a wee bit quiet over the last couple of weeks.

Not for any particular reason, other then I finally moved off the cot in my parent's basement to a couch in my brother's house. Sorting through this massload of crap I own trying to find a place to stick it is getting a wee bit taxing, but today should be the last day I make a trek over to the parent's to get the last of my stuff. This would include my surviving fish Clark.

In other areas, I've been working at getting into school, dealing with paying for it, and budgeting out my life for the next three years, I've just been really distracted from blogging.

So, the latest news in my life. . .

Pig Out in the Park has been going on for the last six days, today is the last day it's running and I think some of my family is going to get together and take advantage of it on its final day. At least, that's the plan. I've already gone by there twice this last week.

I'm looking at adopting a dog. Yes, pet angst. My specifics is one that's not too yippy, about medium sized, calm but willing to run with me as I'm going to be using it for a running buddy. They've got about three centers here where I can go check out dogs, I've also been checking out Petfinders, I think I might use them as a source. Not sure when I'm going to get the dog, hopefully soon. First I need to get settled in however.

So, Captain Falcon survived the day, and the world is still here.

The fish theory worked!

I stand corrected. Captain Falcon did die, sometime last night, so the fish theory didn't work.

Or something like that.

I'm out of gold fishies.

Down to One Little Fishie

Captain Falcon is all that remains. Link had a fitting eulogy at the toilet yesterday before I flushed him and now I'm down to the last gold fish, which is ironic because I was sure this one was going to be one of the first to go. But he's doing pretty well. I need to change his water, but now I can't find the stuff to do it.

Bleh. . .

Clark is still going strong, but he needs a water change as well.

Meanwhile, two days until the end of the world. I'm counting on CPT Falcon to die then.

Do you have your emergency kit???

All the Little Fishies

Status on fishes. . .

Tiger and Marlin have joined the ranks of Pedro, Mario, Fettacini and Nemo in that sewer in the sky.

Fortunately, status on my next residence has opened up to pretty soon (like in the next couple of days) I can start moving in. I'm thinking of getting a freshwater aquarium, which I haven't had in a few years. I used to have a Jack Dempsey Cichlid I named Dempsey (I originally had a second I dubbed Jack, but eventually Dempsey killed him) that would eat anything that entered its tank. Which meant I had a lot of dead fish whenever I tried to make an actual aquarium. I had Dempsey for a couple of years, he'd eat frogs, milworms, and grasshoppers, not to mention other fish. He'd also nibble on your fingers if you put them in there, quite a personality for a fish. However, plantlife didn't survive for long. So for a thing of beauty, it was something of an eyesore.

With any luck, my last two gold fish, Link and Captain Falcon will last a few more months and I can be reassured that if I do put some money into an aquarium, I'm not going to get a bunch of dead fish within a couple of weeks.

I'll give Link and Captain Falcon a couple weeks to survive. Then I'll see about getting a freshwater aquarium.

Meanwhile, Clark's pretty chipper, if the gold fish don't make it, maybe I'll still have my Betta.

Fish Names

Having 9 nieces and nephews that come through the house on a regular basis can be hazardous to a fish's health. Especially when they all want to take a turn feeding him. On the same day. And don't bother to ask you if they can.

Pedro lasted just under two weeks, and then I gave him a small eulogy for being with us before sending him to the sewer in the sky.

I went out and bought another fish as soon as I discovered Pedro to be dead. He's got similar coloring, but a little more red. I named him Clark.

Yes, Pedro and Clark are weird names for Betta Fish. Actually, they are both named after horses from Roosevelt in Yellowstone. Pedro was this bay paint with only a couple paint markings. Every time we handed Pedro to the lucky person who got to ride him, we would start quoting Napoleon Dynamite. Clark was the oldest horse in the operation. He had been at Roosevelt since 1985, and hence he's probably close to 30 years old. Another interesting fact about Clark is he's a Mustang, in fact he used to be a wild Mustang and still has the government brand on his neck. In his day it took a talented wrangler to handle that horse. Nowadays, being old and all, he suffers from arthritus and we had to put kids on him. He was the brokest horse in the operation. He's tall too, tall for a kids horse.

Clark and Pedro stuck with me for some reason, Pedro for no reason other then his name, and but Clark had a history behind him. When I first got Pedro the fish, I decided to name him after one of the dude horses at Roosevelt, and it was a choice between Pedro and Clark. I guess its because, well, who names a horse Pedro or Clark? Pedro won out for Fish #1. Fish #2, however, well, I guess he's clark now.

I kind of got on a fish frenzy and decided to buy some Gold Fish as well. The little feeder gold fish that is, because they are so cheap, like 10cents a fish. I went ahead and purchased a fish bowl for them and got five. As I brought them home and dumped them in their new home, I let my nieces and nephews have a look at them, and then I offered them the opportunity to name them.

Kelsey found the most colorful one and named it Nemo. Cody latched onto a Silver one and called it The Silver One. Later I think he settled on the name Fettacini. Brian, fresh off of playing Super Smash Brothers Melee, took the honor of naming the remaining three Mario, Captain Falcon and Link.

Mario died, so when I bought Clark, I bought two more gold fish (as well as some tank accessories to brighten their homes up a bit) Kelsey came with me, helped me choose Clark, and then I let her pick out the two new gold fish. They are now Marlin and Tiger.

So currently, I have seven pet fish. Six Gold Fish and One Betta Fish. Funny how you stare at fish and you can just watch them.

But now come to think about it, Fish are actually not all that interesting. . .

Hmm. . .

Pets

I've been suffering from lack of pet angst.

So I went out and bought a Beta. Otherwise known as a Siamese (or in some circles Chinese) Fighting Fish.

I named him Pedro. Pictures to come.

Clutter

Well, it took me long enough, but I finally got my computer into the shop. They say I'll get it back in 45 days, but maybe as soon as 2 to 3 weeks. I'm ok with that, got everything backed up and now I have to depend on Pyro, my old Desk top that is on its last leg. But I think it will be ok. I just have to go easy on the old thing. Like I need to go easy on those USB ports on my laptop.

Currently, I have a goal in mind. Just one goal I'm working on accomplishing, outside the going back to school. This is kind of a short term goal, but in accomplishing this goal, I have to make a few steps to get there. And its the journey to the goal that is important.

That goal? I'm going to get a Ferret.

You may look at this and say to yourself, 'huh?' Well, I want a ferret. But a ferret is a high maintenance pet. You have to be prepared to take care of them or they are apt to stink up your place. I don't want my ferret getting all stinky.

What's more, while currenly living with the parents once more, they have told me that I cannot own an animal while I'm here (and expect it to live here at least). Which gives me an incentive to get out of here. But even if I do get out of here, I've got this enormous clutter problem I need to deal with. See, being an artistic type, I tend to hang onto a lot of things. Like clutter. Anything really. I've got an enourmous amount of crap.

Ferrets don't do well with clutter. In fact, they tend to make it worse. Which gives me an incentive to get organized.

Whether or not I ever end up owning a ferret is the big question. I might not. But my goal is to try to get to a point where I can own one with no problems.

Now the question is can I get there?