my pop punk life

As was foretold by the prophecy (okay by me), you would know I had given birth when I didn't write a blog post. Well, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on August 16, and you'll note my last blog post was on August 11. You'll also notice, I'm sure, that I gave birth one day before I was due, and thank HEAVENS for that. To be honest, I don't really know where to start with this. I suppose I might as well go in the order of events, but these past three weeks have been so eventful, and my writing opportunities few and far between (it's difficult to type while holding a baby). But I shall endeavor to go on, so here is the story of how my first pregnancy ended and baby Diana was born.  ~ It was the evening of Monday, August 15, and I had made a really yummy kielbasa and tomato sauce pasta for dinner. Isaiah got home from work in a normal amount of time, and we were eating dinner before heading out to the grocery store for this week's groceries. I w...

During the last few weeks of pregnancy, it's typical for your doctor to switch from seeing you about once a month to every week. Usually it's to check that everything is still going well with the baby, also to see that everything is going well with you, and whether or not you're starting to show signs of delivering soon.  Now, for those who don't know (and there are a surprising number of people who don't know?), labor and delivery is not a process that happens within a 40-minute TV episode. It doesn't tend to come on suddenly (although it can), and labor tends to last long enough that we don't get to see the baby at the end of the episode (but there are always exceptions).  This is especially true if it's your first pregnancy.  But before labor even starts, there are things your body will do to let you know that labor is coming up soon. You might start having more Braxton-Hicks contractions (not real contractions, but if your cervix has alrea...

Two weeks ago I made a joke that if I missed a week and didn't write a blog post that it would probably be because I was having the baby and therefore not going to be writing a blog post. I had forgotten when I made that joke that I would be going on vacation the next week and wouldn't be writing a blog post then either. So, for anyone who thought that I had the baby already, I'm very sorry, but she's still in my uterus. I am still very pregnant. I've reached the point in pregnancy where I get to see my doctor every week now. He assures me that everything is still "disgustingly normal." We're right on track for the baby to be born... whenever she gets around to that. Mom tells me my great-grandmother used to say that the only reason human pregnancies last for nine months is so that by the end, we're willing and eager to undergo labor to get the baby out. It seems to strange to be in August already. I've been counting and preparing for n...

Okay, so the baby's lease isn't really  up yet, but I'm not going to keep her security deposit if she decides to leave the womb now. Although, to be honest, I would like her to stay inside for another few weeks. I'm feeling both very much ready to not be pregnant anymore, while also distinctly not-ready for baby girl to be here. (side note: I will never be ready, I'm pretty sure most moms feel something similar to this, and this is probably why in general the baby decides when to be born.) That's me! I know I haven't posted a lot of baby bump pictures on this blog (or in general) but I looked cute yesterday and that end of the baby's room also isn't a giant mess and I'M SO PREGNANT IT DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE A BABY I'M GOING TO BIRTH A WATERMELON. Also, my fingers are swollen so no more ring wearing at all :(, my heartburn now shows up during the late afternoon instead of the evening, getting in and out of bed has become a prec...

Okay, so maybe pregnancy brain isn't destroying your home as we speak, but I couldn't think of something witty to put there, and if I haven't thought of anything witty by the time I post this, it'll stay there. Pregnancy Brain. Some of you are asking, what is it? Why is it so terrible? Pregnancy brain is a phenomenon that people commonly attribute to pregnant women, although the effects can reportedly last for years and years after giving birth. Basically, you become forgetful, even of basic things. It varies in intensity from woman to woman, and usually can be solved by writing things down/making a detailed calendar/to-do lists, and all those things your mom did to remember all the things she had to do each day. It can also manifest itself in other ways, like forgetting the names of commonly used objects. Once I could not remember the word for spatula to save my life, and spent a good several minutes describing the "flippy kitchen thing" to my husband. ...

Isaiah's alarm goes off. I ignore it, but I can hear him roll over in bed to turn it off. Part of me wishes I didn't have to listen to his three alarms each morning, because now I can feel the ache in my hips starting to reach my nerve endings. But, it's what gets him through his morning routine in a timely manner, and it helps me to wake up before he heads off to work. And today, I need to wake up before he goes to work. I forgot to write a note reminding him to take out the trash this morning, so if I don't tell him, the trash won't get taken out until this afternoon when he comes back for lunch. I roll over. Time to let my other hip feel some pain. He's half dozing, going through his phone. He notices me and lifts his arm so I can snuggle into his chest/shoulder. I stretch out my legs. It doesn't really do much to help my hips, but it wakes up the baby, who begins to move around. Isaiah can feel it too. I fall back asleep, trying not to drool on my husb...

I'm terribly sorry I didn't get out a blog post last week, but just as a quick update: everything is going "disgustingly normal" according to my OB-GYN, I'm tired all the time and the baby has taken to placing her feet underneath my ribcage, where I know they definitely DO NOT belong. Two more months left!  So I don't know if all of you have seen that Facebook post going around where a husband has written down a list of things that his wife cries about, and it's cute and kind of funny ("She remembered dogs exist") or those listicles of "Reasons My Toddler Is Crying," but this is continuing in the same gist and feelings. I cry basically always even when I'm not pregnant, so this should be fun. Note: I also had my husband look at this list to see if I'd forgotten something I'd cried over, and he got into it and even wrote down some comments about them, which I will be including. Without further ado: Things I Have Cried A...

Aloha friends! Sorry I haven't been updating the blog these past few weeks - in between packing and getting ready for a trip and then actually being on a trip I've been kind of busy. But, I got in a few interesting experiences while I was gone, so hooray for blog fodder! 1) I got the distinct privilege of flying on an airplane while pregnant. Alone. *gasp* Carina, where was your stalwart husband???????????? Well, he was working and part of the reason for this trip was for me to spend time with the older batch of siblings while they looked at colleges in Utah and Idaho. So no, he didn't get to come with me (but I'm never flying or going on a trip by myself ever AGAIN after this). Also, Carina, don't you hate flying? Yes. I hate it so much. And flying while pregnant wasn't exactly the pinnacle of fun either. I got patted down both times I went through security (and before you protest, saying but a pregnant woman surely wouldn't be threatening to an airli...

So as I mentioned in my last blog post, I got the pleasure of taking the glucose screening test earlier this week. It's a routine test during pregnancy, to check and make sure the pregnant woman hasn't developed gestational diabetes. It's also the most talked/complained/dreaded test among pregnant women and mothers. The process is pretty simple. The test usually takes place in the morning. From midnight the night before to the end of the test, I couldn't eat or drink anything. Once I arrived at the doctor's office, I had a small bottle of concentrated glucose to drink within a five minute period. I apparently was lucky, they had two flavors for me to choose from! I could choose orange or fruit punch. I chose fruit punch (and was later told by my OB that I chose wisely, as that's supposed to be the "best" flavor). It didn't taste like fruit punch? It tasted like gross cough medicine but it was also cold, which made drinking it easy. (Also, it ...

My birthday was this past week! It was wonderful and lots of fun. I got to eat key lime pie, and go visit the Newport Aquarium, and spend time with my husband. It was excellent.   these pictures are from the shark ray bay, which was one of the best parts. this is a shark ray! (not an actual shark) that is a shark Also this week, my baby has started hiccuping? Which is normal, and actually a-okay, but the first time I realized she was hiccuping was when I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. With a baby hiccuping inside me, I wasn't doing a very good job of succeeding at falling asleep. (Of course, Isaiah would mention that even without the hiccuping, I don't do a very good job at falling asleep with a baby inside me.) Also, I'm very round now????? Look at me! I can't even see my whole belly button anymore without bending precariously over. Also, my mommy made me that dress, and it's beautiful and comfy and you should all applaud her magnificen...

So, before we get on to the talking-about-Marvel's-Civil-War part of my blog post, I do have baby updates: The baby is now big enough that if you're lucky and the timing is right, you can actually see her moving and kicking around inside of me. Also, she's developed a habit of just stretching out her arm or her foot, and leaving it there. Just hanging out, trying to rip a hole in my body (I already possess a hole in my body that enables you to leave, my dear child, you don't need to make another one). Also, a fun way to pass time: just lie down and put something on top of your pregnant belly, and watch as it moves every time the baby hits it (I used my cell phone, but I'm sure other small household objects would work just as well). Oh! And I can't miss a chance to brag on my husband, but he gave me a very nice Mother's Day this year. Next year should be even more fun, because we'll actually have a child at that point. But before Mother's Day ...

So, this past week has mostly been pretty chill. Nothing major happened (at least not that I can currently recall) and baby girl has been continuing to do just fine - the normal circumstances of kicking/punching/parkouring inside of me are continuing. You can actually, if you're lucky and paying attention, see the movement when she gets me particularly well. As is common in the second trimester, nesting has started, spurred on by the generous donations of several friends. Mostly it just involves me wiping furniture clean and making pretty little piles of clothes and other baby things until Isaiah and I get rid of/move all of the other stuff that we'd put in the baby's room. But, as slow as progress goes, it is going, and there's no rush for the baby to get here. look, it's me and baby standing next to a crib! We've been very blessed to have generous friends and family who are willing to help us prepare for our baby's arrival. It's given us a l...

I know I normally give you all a rundown of baby stuff, things that happened to me this week, etc... but something more important has occurred, and obviously that is much more important than the further development of my first-born child. she'll read this when she's a teenager and get really upset her mother thought squirrels were more important to blog about than her Of course, what happened to me this week was not a random happenstance, but has been building up to this, the climax, for... probably several years now. One could almost say this all started when I first moved to Hawaii almost five years ago. There are many different flora and fauna-related idiosyncrasies about Hawaii. One that I particularly loved, for instance, is that there are no wild snakes on the islands. Snakes aren't indigenous to the area, and they are very careful about making sure that people don't bring in plants or animals that they aren't supposed to, so I imagine the only sna...

At week 22, my baby is about the size of a spaghetti squash. Which is great, because she's getting bigger, but it's also terrible, because of the recent food trends of people replacing real, actual pasta with this vegetable wolf in sheep's clothing. (I will never trick you this way, baby girl. I will always be honest about what I'm telling you to stick in your mouth and digest. Of course, depending on how picky you are, I might make you wait till you've finished eating it before I tell you. But I won't lie.) There have also been several accomplishments this week: Culinary Successes: I've had two major culinary successes this past week. One, I cooked pork chops without drying them out. Chalk it up to luck and timing, and they were also delicious! Two, I made this Frosty Peanut Butter Pie.  It was delicious, and satisfied my need for pie along with my need to not turn my apartment into an oven. I'm sharing the recipe with you all because I love yo...

Week 21! I'm moving into the second half of my pregnancy now. Baby girl is approximately the size of a carrot and still weighs less than several stock kitchen ingredients. She also has eyebrows now, although I hope she has her dad's prettily shaped eyebrows instead of her mother's monsters that require constant upkeep. Oh, she has eyelids as well too, which means she's probably an expert at crying already, if she's anything like me. I, however, am feeling betrayed, because I was under the impression that the second trimester of pregnancy would give me glowing skin and beautiful hair and nails. I had an acne breakout along my jawline, and I'm very upset. (It would probably be fine, you just need to wash your face more, Carina.) I cannot BELIEVE my skin isn't perfect and LITERALLY glowing, I want a refund. Anyway, there have been some more exciting developments this week, and so without further ado: Baby Movement:  This will probably be a recurring seg...

We all know that a watched pot never boils, but does a blogged pregnancy come to term? I really really hope so, because I'm gonna blog about it (it's a surprisingly handy way to keep friends and family updated on the little details of pregnancy, and I get to write!). So, let us get started! I am currently 21 weeks pregnant, but I thought (and my mother suggested) that I write a weekly post describing the events of the past week, so... Week Twenty Of My Pregnancy, here we go! Fun facts: during Week 20, the baby is about the size of a banana (in length). She's also starting to stretch out and take up some room where previously she was curled up. This is both excellent and slightly distressing. Also, we had our ultrasound, and she's a very healthy girl! We're excited and thrilled. But, on to the events of the week: April Fool's Day happened! It wasn't even that terrible. I have excellent friends who don't believe in crushing their loved one's ...

I realize that this post isn't necessary to write. Obviously, I could just go on in my social media life posting about things that aren't politics and I doubt anyone would really notice. I'm a pregnant woman with friends who just got married and I'm pretty happy with everything right now, and my Facebook tends to reflect that. But gosh and golly sometimes I just get my dander up. I saw this post on my newsfeed that was basically like, "Oh, you don't like my political posts? I'm sorry I thought talking about the future of our country was important, you just go ahead and keep posting pictures of your meal." Two of the five pictures I posted on Instagram in the past three weeks have been meals. Two more are selfies (showing off my beautiful hair), and the last one is a flower bouquet my husband got me. Anyway, I haven't posted about politics on Facebook (as far as I can remember) this election season. And I don't really intend on doing s...

(It's kind of cute, how I'm writing this like my morning sickness experience is over and I'm fondly reflecting on the horrors I've endured over the past almost three months. That's a lie. I threw up just this morning, so who knows when it will actually end.)  This post is dedicated to all the friends I have getting married in the next month or so or who recently got married and are looking forward to the joys of pregnancy one day themselves. Here is a definitive ranking of the worst times to throw up, starting with the "best". 9 - Right before bed Now, you might be thinking, why right before bed? Well, it's easy. You just throw up, and then you can just lie on your bed and fall asleep and get up the next day. Also, I find that throwing up tends to wear me out, which makes it easier to fall asleep (as strange as that sounds). 8 - Between breakfast and lunch This is where I currently am - it's a nice regular pattern. I wake up, eat breakfas...