Dilated to 2!

This morning I went to see my midwife for my weekly appointment. She checked me and I'm already dilated to 2 cm, 40% effaced and the baby is in station -1. Yay!  Avery was this "far along" a few weeks ahead of schedule, so this doesn't mean I will have the baby anytime soon necessarily; it's just that much less work I have to do once I'm in labor, so I'm all for that :)

What I Learned: I am dilated to 2 cm already.

The Muppets

Today, Avery and I watched the new Muppet movie, The Muppets. He LOVED it, and I quite enjoyed it myself.  I am glad we both liked it as now we have something else to watch besides Sesame Street.  Not that I don't like Sesame Street, but I have seriously seen every single episode several times and am up for something new.  Watching the movie made me want to see The Muppet Show as I don't think I've ever actually seen any episodes.  I also think that would be nice to watch with Avery because I would enjoy it better and Avery loves anything with people and Muppets (he has never liked any cartoons). I looked online and I can get all the seasons from the library. Yay!

What I Learned: Avery liked the Muppet Movie and I can get The Muppet Show from the library.

Little Henrietta

Today in church I found out that an acquaintance of mine (and a friend of Neal and Blake) gave birth to her baby prematurely.  There were a lot of medical complications that indicated that the baby would not make it and doctors had previously recommended that she terminate the pregnancy; she didn't.  The baby lived for only a short time and was able to be baptized before she was taken to heaven.  It's simultaneously a very sad and very happy story.  What a blessing for the parents to be able to hold their little girl and baptize her, even if only for such a short time.

What I Learned: Henrietta was born alive and was baptized, thanks to the grace of God, before she was taken to forever home in heaven :)

Old Friend

This morning, Jared, Avery and I went to McCarty Park to play on the playground. Upon arrival, I realized that there was a Lutherans for Life Walk/Run going on in the park so of course I immediately started looking to see if I knew anyone there.  I unfortunately didn't recognize anyone. After the race had begun, I saw a pregnant woman arrive at the playground with two kids and realized it was my friend Meg, whom I haven't seen probably since right after Avery was born!  I had heard that she was pregnant but didn't know when she was due.  After talking to her, I found out that she is having a boy and is due on July 10th.  Her two older kids (I think they are 4 and 6), were huge since the last time I saw them (obviously 2 and 4 is a lot different than a 4 and 6 year old!).  It's crazy how fast time flies when you haven't seen someone.  The ironic thing is that they live about 6 blocks away...we've gone on several walks in that direction and always stop at their house but they just have never been home, and next thing we know, it's been a year and a half!

What I Learned: My friend Meg is having a boy in July.

I Am a Pole and So Can You

This afternoon I was watching the Colbert Report from last night and found out that the children's book that Stephen Colbert jokingly (I thought) said he wrote and was trying to get published is now going to be available on May 8th!  You can preorder it on amazon.com for $8.49.  It is now on my wishlist for my birthday and if I don't get it, I guess I'll just have to buy it...for Avery of course...since it's a children's book.

What I Learned: Stephen Colbert's children's book got published.

New Blogger.com Website

Apparently in the past two weeks (when I haven't posted any blogs on time), they changed the entire blog website. Everything looks completely different! I suppose this would come as just as much of a surprise if I had been doing things promptly as no matter what, one day it would all be changed. So the fact that I am finding this out now probably makes no difference.  Regardless, I am now learning how to use and access everything on this website all over again. Usually I wouldn't mind, but I am having a hard time finding enough time to just write a post, let alone learning how to find everything on a website again!

What I Learned: How to use/find everything on the new blogger website.

Aleutian Islands

Tonight I was doing a puzzle book and came across the clue "Aleutian Isle." All I knew about the possible answer was that it was four letters long and had two syllables.  All I knew about the Aleutian Islands is that they are by Alaska.  So of course I went to wikipedia to find out more.  Here are some interesting facts about the Aleutian Islands:

-The chain includes 14 volcanic islands and 55 smaller islands
-The islands extend about 1200 miles west from the Alaskan peninsula
-The islands have 57 volcanoes total
-The largest islands are Attu (which is the furthest from the mainland), Unalaska, Umnak and Akun.

Map of the Aleutian Islands

The answer to the question in the puzzle book was Attu.

What I learned: I learned about the Aleutian Islands.

Masada

After church today, we had our monthly meeting for the Grace Book Club.  I mentioned in a previous post that we read The Dovekeepers this month, which was an amazing book.  Angela came prepared, as always, with pictures on her tablet of Masada that included scale models of Herod's temple as well as actual photographs of what Masada looks like today.  Apparently there is a museum at the site that opened in 2007 and the author visited it and was able to be more accurate in her telling of the story since she was actually there and saw the ruins.  She was able to know exactly where the dovecote was in relation to other buildings for example.

In reading about Masada, I also found out this interesting fact:


"The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Moshe Dayan, initiated the practice of holding the swearing-in ceremony of soldiers who have completed their Tironut (IDF basic training) on top of Masada. The ceremony ends with the declaration: "Masada shall not fall again." The soldiers climb the Snake Path at night and are sworn in with torches lighting the background."

And lastly, I always thought that it was a confirmed fact that the Jews committed mass suicide to avoid being slaughtered by the Romans who had seiged Masada.  However, only 30 skeletons have been found at the site and there is no evidence of a mass burial.  This is odd since apparently there were 960 inhabitants at the time of the mass suicide.  I doubt that the Romans moved all the bodies off of Masada.  So it remains a mystery as to whether it was all a myth or did in fact happen.

What I Learned: It is not an historical fact that the Jews committed mass suicide at Masada.  Also, the Israeli Army uses Masada for their swearing-in ceremony.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Today I did a portfolio photo shoot for Sarah (with Fresh Frame Photography).  This basically meant that Sarah will use the photo shoot for her portfolio, so she got to try a few things to see how they turned out so she knows what works and what doesn't work for future photo shoots.  The photo shoot was really involved, with multiple locations and outfit changes.  The surprising part was that I really enjoyed it, despite it being 40 degrees outside and having to wear dresses, go barefoot, and lay on the beach, pretending it was summer.  I was shocked because I usually a)don't like getting my picture taken, b)feel really uncomfortable trying different things that I might possibly look weird doing or that passersby can plainly see.  I can honestly say that I mostly have Sarah to thank for making me feel really comfortable and relaxed but I also just think that being pregnant (and possibly just being older) makes me feel way less self-conscious about what other people think and I find that I really like that.  I hate to say it, but I used to be more self-conscious about things than I ever should have been and am glad to see that I am not like that anymore.  I guess I never really realized that I changed until I had to pose in front of a  camera and think summery thoughts instead of worrying about what the other people on the beach might be thinking about how crazy I was to lie on the beach!

What I learned: I am less self-conscious than I used to be, which allowed me to participate in an amazing photo shoot with wonderful results (thanks Sarah!).

Wasabi for Two

Tonight I went to game night at the Sonnenberg's which was wonderful because I feel like I haven't gone in over a month.  Unfortunately, it was just me, Karen and Gary, but we were able to play 4 games.  I didn't learn any new ones but the last game we played was Wasabi, one of my new favorites.  I have only ever played this game with three or four people but tonight, just Gary and I played it. I can't decide if I liked it with two players or not. On the one hand, it was way easier to complete all of your recipes without anyone messing you up or completely ruining your game plan. On the other hand, it almost seemed too easy to complete all your recipes because there was almost no challenge. It's not that I wouldn't play with two players again, but I think I prefer playing with a bit more of a challenge (or maybe Gary and I were just way too nice to each other!).  I won, so maybe playing with two isn't so bad!

What I Learned: Playing Wasabi with two players is not as fun or challenging as with three or four players. On the other hand, it is nice to play with two if you aren't in the mood to be frustrated at other players for screwing you up!

Dick Clark

I found out today that Dick Clark died yesterday.  The last time I "saw" him was on NYE with Ryan Seacrest and he didn't look very good then.  He died on April 18th of a massive heart attack that he suffered following a surgery to fix an enlarged prostrate. He was 82. I also learned that his real name was Richard Wagstaff Clark.  Obviously I assumed his real first name was Richard, but Wagstaff? What a weird middle name.

What I Learned: Dick Clark died.

VACATION!!!!

For the sake of time (and for fear of boring you), I will try to summarize this as quickly as possible.

Jared, Blake and my dad planned to go to Michigan on a fishing trip the first weekend of May to Jared's family's cabin. I wanted to come along with Avery initially but seeing as it will be two weeks from my due date and after the whole Georgia "vacation" debacle, I decided it would be more trouble than it was worth for me to go. My in-laws have been trying to convince me to come along so they can see me and Avery at the cabin while the men are fishing. Then today, Charmaine emailed me with some wonderful ideas and this is what was decided:

We are leaving on Thursday to drive to MI. I will be dropped off in Lansing at my best friend Mollie's house while Ken, Blake, Jared and Avery continue on to Flint. On Friday, they will all drive up to the cabin while I stay at Mollie's. On Sunday morning, Mollie, Matt, Lucy and I will head up to the cabin to join everyone else and stay until Monday evening. Then Mollie's family will head back to Lansing and we will head back to Flint, eventually heading for home on Tuesday. This means that a)I get to see Mollie, b)I get two days to RELAX FOR REAL while Avery is up at the cabin with everyone else and c)I still get to go to the cabin (because I do really like going).

The only bad thing is that I have never been away from Avery that long and hope that he is okay (and that I'm okay!) with being away from me for two days. But, if I'm ever going to take a break (and the clock's ticking so I don't have much time left before baby #2 arrives and I will be without a break for awhile again), what better situation to leave him in than in the care of three of his grandparents, both of his godparents and his father at a cabin, especially when Avery's favorite thing on earth right now is to play outside?

Thanks Charmaine for thinking of such a wonderful idea :)

What I Learned: Avery and I are going to go to MI after all and I will get a real break for two days!

Bug Killer

Today while I was at work, Jared sprayed the entire house inside and outside with the bug spray stuff we bought since we can't afford real pest control. :(  In the past four days alone, there have been 9 centipedes and 4 spiders in our stairwell and kitchen.  Today, I saw none.  I hope to God that this spray works as it was only $5 for the entire bottle and it was enough for the entire house.  I am so tired of seeing gross centipedes in my house and it's only been three days.  It seems like it's working so far...

What I Learned: In spending $5.00 on bug spray, there seems to be a significant decrease in centipede activity in our house already.

Blood Meal

This morning I met with my friend Sarah to make plans for our garden this year.  Sarah loves to garden but has no place to do it as she lives in a condo on the Eastside.  I however have a garden and am an amateur and need some help...so we are doing it together this year and I am so excited to see how much better the results are.  While we were talking, Sarah asked if we used anything to fertilize the garden and I told her that we didn't buy fertilizer but that we kind of have been using it as a compost area, so that should help (for example, Jared puts his spent grains from brewing in the garden).  She suggested that we use blood meal as it's really good for the soil.  I've never heard of this so I asked her what it was and she said that it was dried blood.  Literally, you buy a bag of dried blood (in powdery form) and put it in your garden. Gross!  I mean, I looked it up and it's totally legit and real and Sarah said that her mom uses it and her mom is an avid gardener, so I trust her; it just seems like the last thing I would think of to put in my garden.  But we are going to do it!

What I Learned: People use dried blood, popularly known as blood meal, to fertilizer their gardens.

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Today, the choir that I am in, the Lutheran Acappella Choir of Milwaukee, sang at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago for their Sunday service.  The experience was really wonderful as I had never sung in a venue of that size and stature before.  However, the service itself was quite weird.  While the church is technically an Episcopal church, the church has an interreligious center and prides itself on its openness to all religions.  While that in and of itself is perfectly fine and wonderful, it doesn't really make sense that the church is Episcopal as it really seemed to mean nothing.  Besides that, the guest "preacher" was a theology professor at the college who basically just read his dissertation about Christian witnessing, or more appropriately, what he called Christian witnessing.  It was so hard to follow and was very scholarly and had no place as a sermon in a church service.  If anyone had come to that church to learn about Christianity, they would never come back.  To make the service even more weird, the service followed a very traditional layout with liturgy, scripture readings and hymns.  It was an odd mix of a very traditional Christian service with a much more secular sermon (if you can call it that) and communion practices.

Despite the oddities of the church service, we had a really good time and I really enjoyed walking around the church with Jared and noting all the cool architectural features and engravings.  The church was the size of cathedrals in Europe, so of course I loved it!

What I Learned: While the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel says it is an Episcopal Church, it only is so in name.

Gary's Gallop

This morning, Afton, Neal and Blake all ran in Gary's Gallop, which is an annual 5k race held at Greenfield Park.  Now I don't remember the exact numbers, but Neal and Blake finished 4th and 5th I think (don't know which one was which).  Afton, who to my knowledge has never run a race before, finished in the middle of the pack.  I am so jealous of the fitness of my siblings!  Go Millers!

I, on the other hand, will never be able to physically run a 5k (due to actual medical issues with my lungs where I can't run more than 20 feet without feeling like I'm going to die).  At least I was athletic in high school, right...?

What I Learned: My siblings did very well at Gary's Gallop.

Pest Control

Today, I saw the first centipede (of probably MANY more to come) in the house.  Last year, we had them   all summer along with these blond spiders in our kitchen.  I keep my house so ridiculously clean, but apparently that doesn't matter and they still are crawling around on my walls!  For some reason, I just assumed that pest control didn't cover centipedes and spiders as I always thought of them as covering ants, roaches and bees (which is what people use them for in Georgia).  I decided to call a few places just to see what was covered and to find out how much it cost.  Turns out that all pest control places (the four I called at least) cover centipedes and spiders!  On top of that, it was a lot cheaper than I thought to get them to come out year round to spray your house.  The cheapest I found was $378 for the entire year.  This company would come every quarter to spray but if you had a problem in between treatments, they would come out and treat again.  I was so excited about this and just thought that of course we would get this because why would we live with centipedes in our house when we could get rid of them?

Apparently, I forgot that money doesn't grow on trees, and when you live on a tight budget with no disposable income, coming up with $378 is literally impossible.  So alas, we are not getting pest control.  However, I am bound and determined to find a way to get rid of these damned centipedes!

What I Learned: Pest control can get rid of centipedes...if you can afford it.

Ichabod

As I was reading my daily Bible reading tonight in 1 Samuel, I discovered that there is someone in the Bible named Ichabod.  I had no idea that Ichabod was a Biblical name.  Did you?

1 Samuel 4:21- She named the boy Ichabod,^[b] saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

To read it in context, click here.

What I Learned: Ichabod is a Biblical name.

Jeans

Today my dad babysat Avery for a few hours at my house and when I got home, Ken was watching this show about how jeans were made.  Now this is one of those things that I have never sat down to think about how they are actually made, so of course I was intrigued.  Without recapping the entire hour-long show, I will give you a few highlights.

-At this one factory in Mexico, they make 400,000 pairs of jeans a day.
-They dye the thread yellow first because the blue dye doesn't stay as well; something about dying the thread yellow first helps the blue dye hold, although as most of us know, new jeans still bleed blue a little because it is really hard for the blue dye to stay on cotton.
-For every three blue threads, there is one white thread

There was a lot of information on the show and it really made me want to watch more of this show.  Fortunately, I can't even remember the channel or the name of the show, which is good because I have too many things to watch anyway.

What I Learned: How jeans are made.

My smart cousin

Tonight I had practice for LAC and remembered that this coming Sunday is when we are going to Chicago to sing at the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago for their Sunday morning worship service. When I first found out about this performance, I called my cousin Laura who goes to school there to see if she could come for the service. She didn't know at the time if she would be able to come because it was a few months in advance. Well I just remembered that I hadn't talked to her about it since, and now it's in a few days! So I called her on the way home from choir and found out that of course, her department is having a conference this weekend that she's presenting at and won't be around at all :( It's funny that we finally are making it down to Chicago and of course Laura is busy being smart and awesome :) Oh well. Now we just have another reason to go to Chicago this summer to visit her!

What I Learned: Laura can't come to my choir performance on Sunday because she's presenting at a conference for her department.

Yogee

Today, Blake played "yogee" in Words with Friends. As I did a few days ago, I looked up this "word" in the dictionary but it wasn't in there! So I asked Blake what it meant and he said it was in the urban dictionary and he thinks its a term for a white guy who raps. According to urbandictionary.com, the definition of yogee is: "White kids who act like they are black gangster rappers. Less offense form of wigger." Hahaha. I guess I need to start using the urban dictionary or more slang words in Words with Friends...either that or Blake can start using real words!


My next question is, how on earth does Blake know that term?


What I Learned: I learned what "yogee" means, as well as the fact that Blake apparently has a wide vocabulary of slang words that are accepted in Words with Friends.

Fried Turkey

Happy Easter!

Today, everyone came over to our house for Easter. Ken recently purchased a turkey fryer for the dual purpose of frying turkeys and using the equipment for brewing with Jared. He decided to fry his first turkey for Easter. So he got an 18 pound turkey. The oil took about an hour to heat up to the right temperature, but once the oil was heated up, the turkey only took one hour to cook! Amazing. On top of that, we used the oil afterwards to fry potatoes to make some homemade fries. Hmmm.  The turkey was really good, especially all the really crispy bits. Next time though, Ken's going to try to put a rub on the turkey for added flavor, and we need to cook the potatoes for longer (we were hungry and got tired of waiting). I can't wait!

What I Learned: It only takes one hour to fry a turkey.

Fer

Today in Words with Friends, Blake played the word "fer." I had never heard of this word before and was wondering what it meant, so I looked it up, only to find out that it's just the slang/informal term for "for." What?! Here I thought Blake was using a word I didn't know and lo and behold, it's just another word that's been added to the dictionary due to improper pronunciation by enough people. Lame.

What I Learned: "Fer" is apparently an accepted form of the word "for" now.

Cantaloupe

I looked ahead on babycenter to see what my baby weighs now (since technically every Friday is when I start a new week of my pregnancy; they just send you the email the following monday). It said that the baby at 34 weeks weighs about 4.75 pounds, about the weight of a cantaloupe. Now I never would have thought that a cantaloupe weighed more, almost a pound more on average, than a pineapple. But sure enough, I picked up a cantaloupe and it does weigh more than a pineapple, I guess because it is more dense. It's just not something I ever would have guessed.

What I Learned: A cantaloupe weighs more than a pineapple.

Continuous Distribution

Today at the Maundy Thursday service at Grace, they did continuous distribution for Holy Communion. I found this rather strange seeing as to me, continuous distribution takes away some of the significance of communion in the first place, and then they decide to do this on the one day of the church year where we are celebrating the institution of the Lord's Supper? And it's not like there were way more people there than on Sunday and they needed to get through everyone quickly. I just don't understand why they would use this practice at all. I really didn't like it and am glad that they only use this method of distribution during the early service at Grace. Let's hope it stays that way.

What I Learned: I do not like continuous distribution for Holy Communion.

Ugly Name List

Back in 2009, before I was even pregnant, my mom sent me an email with a list of all the names she doesn't like, you know, just so I knew. So today, Jared and I were going over our name list and I have a folder with lists of names in it that we made when I was pregnant with Avery. In the same folder, I put mom's list. I was looking over it again since I haven't looked at it since 2009 and I noticed that Avery was on the list! Oh no! Sorry mom, I didn't consult the list first :) I brought this up to her and she said (which she told me before, but I didn't realize it was on her all-time ugly name list because of this) that she just associated the name with this comedian named Avery Schreiber that she found annoying. But as soon as we named her first grandchild Avery, the association moved to thinking of our Avery instead and she likes the name now. This just proves that maybe I should use the list to name all of my children in order to move some good names off of that list!

What I Learned: Mom used to think Avery was an ugly name.

33-Week Appointment

Today I had my 33-week appointment with my midwife. I found out that based on my last ultrasound, the baby is in the 46th percentile for growth. I also found out that I've gained 21 pounds total this pregnancy, which is a little ahead of the pace I gained with Avery, but I also started out about 15 pounds lighter this time around, so I guess I needed to put on a little bit more weight for the fat and water :) The appointment went well and I continue to have a normal and boring pregnancy. Yay!

What I Learned: Baby #2 is growing just as he/she should; I've gained 21 pounds so far.

I'm carrying a pineapple

According to my babycenter.com email today, my baby weighs about 4 pounds and is 17 inches long. The baby weighs about as much as a pineapple. Yikes! I looked ahead to see what the last one was, and at 40 weeks, I will be carrying a small pumpkin. Geez. When you look at it like that, it seems so much heavier! And, that's not including all the other extra weight you carry due to a significant increase in blood, the placenta, your giant uterus, etc.

What I Learned: The baby weighs the same as a pineapple.

Mandrake

For book club this month, we are reading The Dovekeepers. I am really enjoying this book. Today, I read a part that talked about the mandrake plant and its supposed magical properties. Now, I have heard of the mandrake plant thanks to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I guess I just assumed that the mandrake was a made-up plant for the book. With J.K. Rowling, it's so hard to tell what's real and what's made up because all of it seems so real! Anyway, the mandrake is a real plant. I kind of feel stupid that I never knew this before. Interestingly enough, J.K. Rowling got the idea about mandrakes screaming and their magical properties from actual legend and magic books. In The Dovekeepers, it is used in a magical ritual as well.

So the mandrake, or mandragora (as Hermione points out), is real and poisonous and the root actually does resemble a small human (hence the myths surrounding the plant). The mandrake is also in the Bible in two places although it looks like there is some speculation about the translation of this and it could possibly really be ginseng since ginseng is known to help with fertility and the plant is mentioned in the story of Rachel and Leah when Rachel is trying to conceive with Jacob.

What I Learned: The mandrake is a real plant.

7 Day Loan

Today I started reading The Dovekeepers, the next selection for the book club I'm in. I got it from the library yesterday but didn't notice until today that, since the book is classified as "New Fiction," the book is due in 7 days! Usually you get three weeks for a book (or maybe four?). So now, even though I'm still in the middle of reading two other books, I had to start this new book so that way I can finish it in a week. Luckily, the book is pretty fast reading and is really good so far, so it shouldn't be a problem. The book however is 500 pages and I am finding it increasingly difficult to find time to read, and when I do, it is hard to stay awake as I'm becoming more and more exhausted. Let's hope I can finish in a week!

What I Learned: I only have one week to finish the book for book club.

Volunteer Data Entry

A few years ago I signed up to volunteer at Grace for data entry but the positions were always full. Then last week I got a call saying that there was a position open on the Evangelism Data Entry team, so I accepted. It's only for an hour or two a month and you can do your hour of service whenever you are available during your assigned week. That's great because then I can come on my own time.

Tonight I went to church before choir for training. The basic duties are entering visitors from the Friendship Registers into a database and printing off and mailing some mailers for visitors. It was pretty easy and basic to do. The problem is that there is a five-week rotating schedule, so you almost have to relearn how to do everything each time you go in because you never do it often enough!

What I Learned: How to enter visitor information into the database at Grace.

Avery is Awesome

Today Avery had his 18-month check up. He had to get one vaccine and then get his blood drawn to check his iron levels so that we can see if he has restless leg syndrome (see earlier post). I was not looking forward to the appointment, anticipating that Avery would, for obvious reasons, be very upset during and after the appointment.  During the appointment, I found out that Avery is somehow in the 75th percentile for height (which I'm sure will even out soon as both Jared and I are clearly not tall people) and in the 50th percentile for weight. After the basic check up was done, the doctor suggested we give Avery Zyrtec before bed to see if it helps with his RLS.

Then it was time for the vaccine. Now every time Avery has gotten a vaccine, he literally has not said a word, except when he got the MMR, but that one burns and apparently adults complain about how much it hurts, so that's understandable. For some reason, I just thought that because he was older, he would cry this time, but nope; he gave one little yelp of protest and that was it. The nurse was so shocked. Avery's a man! Haha. Then we went over to the lab for the blood draw where he was given a bag of animal crackers to distract him. He certainly protested and even cried during the blood draw but about 30 seconds after it was done, he was perfectly fine and eating his crackers.

There are so many things that Avery is awesome at (eating, getting shots, bath time, entertaining himself, etc). I just wish that sleep was one of them. Let's hope this Zyrtec works!

What I Learned: Avery is tall for his age; Avery is a trooper when it comes to getting shots and blood drawn.

LAC at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

The choir that I'm in, The Lutheran Acappella Choir of Milwaukee, is performing in Chicago on April 15th at the University of Chicago's Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Apparently, the church puts out a brochure every season detailing all the performances that they have, so we made it into the brochure (we are listed on page 2 and 8).

http://rockefeller.uchicago.edu/pdf/Arts%20Rock%20Spring%202012%20Web.pdf

It's pretty cool because as you can see from the brochure, they have some pretty impressive performances there. If I lived close to the church, I would go to so many of those concerts!

What I Learned: LAC is in the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel brochure.

House

This morning I received a call from my brother. He informed me that he, my dad, and sister were on their way to look at the house that my dad is putting an offer on. If I wanted to see it, I should meet them there. So I met Neal, Afton and Ken at  the house, which is on 94th,  a block south of Schlinger Ave in West Allis. The house is a 3-bedroom ranch with a full, mostly finished basement. The house overlooks Lafollette Park and is on a really quiet street. While there are certainly things that can be updated, the house is move-in ready. It even has an awesome sun-room that was built off the back of the house and a fenced in backyard, which will make it easier for Avery to play in :)

I really liked the house and hope that my dad gets it. The thing is, it's a foreclosed home and the bank is just taking offers until the 30th and will then just take the best offer, so it's all just a guessing game as my dad won't know how many people are putting in a bid or what they are bidding. Pray that he gets the house!

What I Learned: What the house looks like that my dad is trying to buy.

Restless Legs

As you might already know from reading this blog, Avery is not the best sleeper. He never has been.  He is super restless when we put him to sleep for the night, wakes up often, and seems uncomfortable all the time, which makes him wake up more, etc. We are having a hard time getting him to stay asleep and to sleep on his own.  I have thought a few times that maybe he has Restless Leg Syndrome as I have it, and toss and turn all night like Avery does. My mom mentioned tonight that she thought he might have it as well, so we decided to do some more research to see if babies/children can actually have it.

After looking online, I am pretty certain that Avery has RLS, which would explain his sleep problems. He has all the signs and symptoms, especially the fact that when he's tired and trying to sleep, he scratches himself a lot, to the point of bleeding sometimes (which kids with RLS can do because they feel like they have things crawling on their skin). According to one Mayo Clinic study, 72% of children that have RLS have a mother who has it. Avery's 18-month appointment is coming up soon, so I plan on talking to his doctor about this and I hope to God that we can remedy this problem and help him to sleep better (especially before the baby comes). It seems like the number one way to treat it in kids is to give them iron supplements but I doubt Avery has low iron levels as he eats meat at about a 3:1 ratio of all other foods. I hope there is something he can take or something we can do to solve the problem so we can all sleep better (and I will finally know why he's had so many problems sleeping!).

What I Learned: Kids can have Restless Leg Syndrome, and it's possible that Avery has it.

Bananagrams

Tonight, I learned how to play Bananagrams. My in-laws just gave it to us for Easter, so we decided to try it out. It is so much fun! Jared thought he would suck at it but he was surprisingly amazing and we were just in a race to keep up with him the whole time. I like that you can play with any number of people (we've only done it with three, but Jared and I could easily play together or we could play with 6, etc) and that it involves both speed and skill. It is definitely a fun game.

What I learned: How to play Bananagrams.

Jicama

This week, according to Babycenter.com, my baby is roughly the size and weight of a jicama. I have never heard of a jicama or seen one. So of course I looked it up.

A jicama is also called a Mexican Turnip or a Mexican Yam. The jicama is actually the name of the vine, but people most commonly call the edible root of the vine a jicama. Jicamas resemble potatoes and the starchy inside is most like an apple. It is most commonly eaten raw with salt, lemon or lime juice and chili powder. It is also used in soups.

What I Learned: What a jicama is.

No Office :(

Every Thursday I get home from choir and am all excited to watch The Office and Parks and Recreation. Then last week I learned that Parks and Rec is taking a 5 week hiatus so that Community can come back on. I really like Community as well, so while I was really sad about Parks and Rec (mostly about not seeing Ben Wyatt for five weeks...), at least I got a substitute in Community. Then tonight, I get home from choir and turn on the DVR, and there's no Office! No Office OR Parks and Rec! :( Just Community was on. I was so sad.

What I Learned: The Office was not on tonight for some reason.

Toilet

Our toilet sucks. There are so many minor things "wrong" with it, but not enough wrong with it that it's broken; it still somehow functions. While complaining to my dad about this, he decided that he was going to buy us a new one for our birthdays (is it lame that I'm excited to get a toilet for my birthday?). So we went and got a new toilet that has a flush power of 10 (I'm guessing ours was a 2 at best), two flush settings, and is high efficiency. I am so excited about our new toilet, you have no idea. No more jiggling the handle, flushing multiple times, wiping up water from all over the floor due to ridiculous amounts of condensation, or waiting what seemed like 2 full minutes to make sure the toilet actually stopped running after you flushed. Who knew I could get so excited about a toilet?

What I learned: Ken bought us a toilet for our birthdays and I am so excited about it!

Ultrasound

Today I had another appointment with my midwife and after much deliberation, I decided to tell her that I am starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that I don't feel this baby move much at all. It's not that it's just less than what Avery moved. It's that it's rare that I feel the baby move at all. So we decided that it was best that I get another ultrasound, more to calm my fears than anything else, but since there was a slight chance that there could be something wrong, it was better to check to make sure that everything was okay.

So I went back in at 2:15 to get it and of course, the baby was moving for the entirety of the ultrasound. It was probably the longest I've ever felt the baby move! The ultrasound showed that the baby was perfectly healthy and normal, growing just as it should be with a normal heart rate. I am glad that I was worried for nothing and that everything is okay, but felt silly that the baby made me look like a liar to the ultrasound tech! Silly baby.

What I Learned: The baby is doing perfectly okay, despite its lack of movement. I am hoping this means that the baby is as docile outside of the womb as it is inside :) A calm, quiet baby that sleeps well would be wonderful! Haha.

Shower Curtain

Every month or so I take our shower curtain liner and soak it in bleach and then wash it as it accumulates mold and other shower residue. I have done this so many times and for some reason was under the impression that when I washed it in the past, I put the washing machine setting to "heavy duty" for the wash cycle to make sure it gets clean. Well, apparently I was wrong because this time I did that and it tore the shower curtain! Luckily, the tears are small enough that it is still usable and functioning but I'm sure I will have to replace it sooner now than I was originally planning. I guess pregnancy fog not only makes you forget things but makes you remember things incorrectly. That's my excuse at least...

What I learned: Don't wash the shower curtain on heavy duty mode because it will tear.

Feeling Faint

This morning in church, I couldn't sing for choir because I started to feel so faint that I had to go lie down in the nursery. This happened a few times when I was pregnant with Avery and this is the second or third time this has happened with this pregnancy. It's odd that it always happens at church but I realized it's most likely because a) I'm constantly standing up and sitting down (which makes it even more difficult than it already is for my blood to circulate throughout my body) and b) I guess I'm getting out of breath when I sing because I'm not taking deep enough breaths. Luckily, I was able to make it through the late service and sing. I hope this stops happening though because Easter is just around the corner and I don't want to miss out!

What I Learned: I feel faint in church easily when I'm pregnant.

Pregnant!

Ok so this is a lame post because I can't really say much other than the fact that I found out today that one of my friends is pregnant! I can't reveal anything else at the moment but I am really excited for her. Sorry for the suspense and lack of information, but there it is.

What I Learned: My friend is pregnant :)

Shangri-La and Don Quixote

Tonight Jared and I went to the Sonnenbergs to play games. It was just the four of us and we were able to learn two new games. The first one was called Don Quixote and was basically a tile laying game where each person had the exact same tiles and they had to be placed on your own boards. I was really good at this game and apparently got one of the highest scores ever on my first game. Gary then challenged us to a rematch since he did so poorly the first time. The second time, the scores were a lot more even but I still prevailed. The great thing about this game is that it was quick to learn and to play as well as involving skill. I really want this game now.

The second game we learned was called Shangri-la. This also was a tile placement game but was slightly more complicated and involved more strategy, but since none of us had played it before, none of us really knew the strategy yet. This game was also fun and with four, still didn't take very long (about an hour). One of the best things about the game was probably the names of some of the tiles. My favorite one: The Yeti Whisperer.

What I Learned: How to play Don Quixote and Shangri-La

Office Space

When I got into work today at Sarah's I found out that she officially rented an office space for Fresh Frame Photography! It's in Shorewood and only about four miles from her place. It has two rooms and a bathroom and is really nice. We move in on April 1st.

What I learned: Fresh Frame Photography now has an office!

Waffle House Void!

Last night we stayed in Smith's Grove, KY. Since I was only able to eat at Waffle House once on the entire trip, I announced that we would eat at Waffle House this morning for breakfast. After looking at both Ken's Waffle House App and Google Maps, we discovered that the closest Waffle House was an hour north in Elizabethtown, KY! WHAT?!? We're still in the south people. Why is there no waffle house in this hour-long stretch of freeway? Needless to say, we drove for an hour and then stopped for breakfast :)

What I learned: There are no Waffle Houses between Smith's Grove and Elizabethtown, KY.

Eating Out is Gross

Today is our last day in Georgia and I am seriously tired of eating out. We had originally planned to buy groceries so that we would be able to make all our meals, not only to save money, but also so that we wouldn't have to eat fast food every day. But when we got here, the fridge was already unplugged and the entire kitchen was packed up in boxes, so there was nothing with which to make food and nothing to store the food in. So we have literally eaten every single meal "out." I feel so gross. I can't wait to be able to make some food at home!

What I Learned: Eating fast food for 5 days is gross.

Five Guys

Tonight, Bill decided to take us all out for dinner so we went to Five Guys. I have never been there but have heard my dad rave about it. While we were waiting in line, Ken was saying how you have to be careful with the fries, because once you start eating them, you can't stop. I didn't really believe him because I'm not much of a fries person, but sure enough, one fry, and I couldn't stop. They were the best fries I've ever had.

What I learned: Five Guys has the best fries I've ever had.

Marching Band Nostalgia

This afternoon, Avery and I were able to get out of the house again and go to my friend Brice's house to hang out with him, his wife Sarah and 10-month-old son Jack. Then two of my best friends from high school, Justin and Whit, came over to hang out as well. As usual, the conversation between Whit and me veered towards marching band and we spent some time reminiscing. It made me realize that I will be sad that Avery will not have the same marching band experience that I had in high school. Even though he could have the opportunity to be in marching band here, it won't be the same. In Georgia, marching band is almost as intense as high school football. The competitions are intense and the marching band is very involved in every football game, both at home and away. Maybe it won't even matter because Avery might not play an instrument and want to be in marching band. But seeing as I have already predicted that he is going to be a drummer and march with the Scouts or Cavaliers, I doubt he will play nothing. Alas. The one good thing about living in Georgia growing up was marching band. I guess I'll take that and be happy with the fact that my children get to grow up in Wisconsin instead :)

What I Learned: I will be sad if my kids aren't in marching band, or if they are, that they won't have the same experience that I had.

Muscle Memory

Since yesterday was such a nightmare for me and Avery, I decided to call my cousin to see if we could come over for a few hours just so I could get out of the house. I didn't want to drive to Snellville at all, but realized that the drive would afford me 2 less hours at the house, as well as the hours I would spend at Mandy's. Thankfully, Mandy and Brandon were available, so we headed over. I stopped and got Chick-fil-A for lunch first and then spent a few hours there playing Euro games. Avery had fun playing with a giant bin filled with old Happy Meal toys and watching Sesame Street. It was awesome.

I realized when I left Bill's that I hadn't been to GA in a little over two years, and even that time, I flew in, so I didn't do any driving. I wondered if I would need to look at a map to remember the best way to get to my cousin's house. But I soon realized that driving in Atlanta is kind of like muscle memory. As soon as I started, I knew which way to go and remembered as I went along. This may sound silly to those of you who are not from Atlanta, but Atlanta is not laid out in any way that makes sense, and it's about 10 times the size of any city in Wisconsin, so you really have to know your way around to get anywhere and none of the roads go north-south or east-west. There are many winding roads with many turns everywhere; there is never a straightforward way of getting to any one place.

Needless to say, I made it there easily after years of being away. I definitely prefer driving in Wisconsin and don't miss Atlanta at all still. I also realized that I have no desire to ever go to Snellville  again (except to visit my cousin of course!). I have no nostalgia for that place. I am so glad I left.

What I Learned: Driving in Atlanta is like muscle memory for me.

Bill's House

We arrived safely in GA this afternoon to find Bill's house all in shambles with stuff everywhere. Mostly there are just boxes all over the place, but while his house was not anywhere close to being baby-proofed before we arrived, it is certainly worse now with the move going on. On top of that, Avery remembered that he loves swimming in pools and so the sight of Bill's pool keeps making him super excited, only to be brought to tears when we have to keep him inside, far away from it. He doesn't understand why he can't go in the pool and he certainly doesn't understand why he can't go exploring all over this new house he's in. It's actually kind of a nightmare trying to be here with Avery. I hope that tomorrow there is some alternative to me staying in the house with Avery or it's going to be a long few days.

What I learned: Keeping Avery confined in Bill's house, in one room, is not only difficult for Avery to understand, but difficult for me to endure. Traveling with a very mobile and curious toddler is turning out to be the opposite of a vacation.

Unpredictable

Tonight, Jared, Ken, Avery and I left for GA around 8pm. We anticipated that Avery would fall asleep as soon as he got in the car because he usually goes to bed between 7:00-7:30. This he did. We also thought that he would sleep for 4-5 hours and then wake up for milk like he usually does. This he also did. But upon waking up, he couldn't fall back asleep because he was very uncomfortable, having been in a car seat for five hours. This was completely understandable. So we decided to just stop at a hotel so that we could all at least get some sleep and so Avery could fall back asleep comfortably. I thought that surely stopping at a hotel would give us all more sleep than continuing to sit in the car with a crabby baby.

But of course, when we got to the hotel (by this point it was 2am), Avery thought it was play time and stayed up until 5am and was wide awake. He finally fell asleep around 5:00, so our plans to leave around 7am were thwarted because Avery of course was so tired that he was sleeping. Jared only slept for two hours while I got about three (Thankfully, Ken slept through it all and got in a solid 6 hours of sleep, plus the few hours he slept in the car, so at least he was capable of driving). We finally left the hotel around 9:00. So what was supposed to be a more restful night because we broke down and got a hotel turned out to be even more tiring. I just hate that I can't predict when Avery is going to sleep and cooperate and when he's going to suddenly be wide awake and not sleep. Grr.

What I learned: Never assume what Avery is going to do when it comes to sleeping. I will be wrong.

Noah

I was doing my daily Bible reading tonight in Numbers and found something curious. Numbers 26:33 states:

"And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah."

Is Noah the first gender neutral name? It is in the Bible as both a male and female name! It's curious that nowadays it is more a boy's name because I did some research and apparently the name Noah is very popular as a girl's name in Arab cultures and not used as a boy's name. It is also odd because so many boy's names are used for girls (like Avery...) but not very often is a girl's name used for a boy. It seems that the original form of the name Noah is feminine and the male Noah in the Bible is actually pronounced No -ACH, which is a different name.  Any Bible scholars want to weigh in on this one?

What I learned: Noah is a girl's name in the Bible.

Super Tuesday

Today was Super Tuesday. Here is a short summary of the results.

Mitt Romney won 6 states.
Newt Gingrich won 1 state.
Rick Santorum won 3 states.
Ron Paul didn't win any states.

What I Learned: The results of Super Tuesday (and it still scares me that Rick Santorum is winning anything at all).

Appalling Statistics

I was reading an article in Time today and learned some frightening statistics. In the U.S. 41% of all children are now born out of wedlock and the number raises to 53% if you are a woman under 30. So over half of all children born to mothers under 30 are out of wedlock. Seriously, this is a problem. I guess I am now a minority.

What I learned: More babies are born out of wedlock to women under 30 than our born to married couples.

Stan and Jan

Today I saw that Jan Berenstain (of Stan and Jan Berenstain and the Berenstain Bears fame) died. I really always thought that their last name was Berenstein, pronounced as "steen" at the end. I don't know how I always thought this seeing as they are famous for writing books and therefore I obviously saw their name on the books, as well as that of the bears, but I still thought it was Berensteen.

What I Learned: The classic storybooks of Stan and Jan are the BerenSTAIN Bears.

Charming Charlie

To end my Day of Solitude (which really was like 30 hours of solitude over the course of two days), this morning I checked out of my hotel after a free breakfast buffet and drove to Bayshore to check out the store Charming Charlie. My sister and Angela have both raved about this store and so I decided I needed to check it out. The entire store contains any and all accessories you could possibly imagine with the added benefit of the store being arranged by color. I was in there for one and a half hours trying to decide what to get. I ended up getting a boring gray purse because it was the cheapest one in the store and I needed one after the entire lining in mine ripped out. I really wanted jewelry but figured I should get something more practical if I was going to get anything at all. This store is amazing and if I had disposable income, I would buy things here way more often.

What I Learned: Charming Charlie is my new favorite store.

Haircut

This morning I began my Day of Solitude with a free 30 minute massage at Elements Spa in Elm Grove. I then ate some lunch and checked into my hotel. Around 2:00, I got the hotel shuttle to bring me to Bayshore to the Vici Beauty School to get my hair cut. I got it ALL chopped off. I have never had my hair this short before and I really like it. I was so afraid that it would look bad and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but I have to say, it looks good and I feel like it makes me look older (and by that I mean, I now think I look my actual age). And since I donated the hair to Locks for Love, my haircut was free! I didn't know that beforehand, so that was a nice surprise.

What I learned: If you donate your hair to Locks for Love, your haircut is free and I look good with short hair :)

Possible Road Trip

My dad called me today to let me know that he is most likely driving down to Georgia next Thursday and wanted to know if Avery and I were interested in coming along. He is going to help his best friend Bill and my brother Sam move. Now I obviously can't help move really but it would be a great opportunity for me to go and see my friends before baby #2 arrives as the next time I can go to Georgia will most likely be more than a year and a half from now. I haven't been in two years so I want to go and see my friends but am dreading the idea of 15 hours or more in the car with Avery. I think I convinced Jared to take off work to come along as it will make it easier for me and it will be a nice break for us together, assuming we don't have to help move 24-7 while we're down there. We shall see.

What I learned: I have an opportunity to go to Georgia next week.

Eye Doctor

I had my yearly eye appointment this morning and when I arrived, they asked me if my insurance was the same. While our insurance provider is still technically the same, Wells Fargo changed the plan they offer to employees, so our yearly eye exam is now covered under a separate vision plan instead of under our medical plan like it used to be. So I showed her the new card and they don't take the new vision plan! I have been going to this eye doctor since I moved to Wisconsin and am completely pissed off about this. I called the new insurance company to see if they possibly reimburse you for out-of-network providers. Ironically, the hold message kept repeating how this vision plan is the number one accepted plan amongst eye doctors in the nation. The lady told me that they reimburse you up to $55 for out of network exams. So I asked my eye doctor how much an eye exam cost and they said $170! WHAT?!?! Yeah, so now I have to find a new eye doctor and I am really pissed off about it.

America, I hate your stupid healthcare system.

What I learned: My eye doctor does not accept my "new" insurance.

Jewish Baptism

Today I learned something both interesting, disturbing and weird. Apparently, the Mormon church has a  practice where they baptize posthumously. More specifically, they are adamant about performing them for Jewish Holocaust victims. They have apparently baptized Anne Frank 9 times. Well known Jewish author Elie Wiesel found out that he was on a list of living Jews whom the Mormon church planned on baptizing once they died. Elie Wiesel, rightly revolted and astonished at this practice, has called on Mitt Romney, being a notable Mormon now in the public eye, to condemn this practice. I did a little bit of research and found that Jews (and others) have been fighting the Mormon church about this for decades. Obviously it is reemerging because of the campaign, but also apparently because as much as the Mormon church claims it is taking Holocaust victims out of their genealogical database to be baptized, it was found this month that the parents of Simon Wiesenthal, a Jewish rights activist and Holocaust survivor, were added to the database. This is also when it was discovered that Anne Frank had been baptized for the ninth time by the church.

What I learned: Mormons practice Baptism for the Dead.

Dentist

Today Jared and I went to the dentist. Ever since I turned 23, I have had cavities at every visit (of course, this coincided with me graduating from college and starting to eat really well instead of eating like crap and drinking mountain dew all the time, so it completely makes sense...). Jared on the other hand has never had a cavity his entire life. So I expected today to be told I had a few more, but by some miracle, I don't! No cavities! Jared didn't have any either. Yay.

What I learned: For the first time in 6 years, I don't have a single cavity.

The Artist

Tonight was the annual Hohenstein Oscar Party. This is always fun because we get to see a lot of friends, eat great food, play the ballot game and of course, watch the Oscars. Jared and I were only able to go to part of the party since we had to be home before Avery woke up (yes, he still wakes up a few times every night...), but we found out later at home who won Best Picture. While I had only seen three of the nine nominated films (The Help, The Descendants and Moneyball), I picked The Help to win best picture, but The Artist won. I really want to see this movie and now I want to see it even more.

What I learned: The Artist won Best Picture.

Hawaii

I have never been the type of person who enjoys hot weather. This is due to the fact that I lived in Georgia for 18 years, being sticky and gross and uncomfortable for most of the time. I hate it. So when it comes to going on vacations, I have also never been the type of person who would ever want to go someplace warm or tropical. For our honeymoon, Jared and I went on a cruise in the Mediterranean in November when most people would have gone to the Caribbean for a cruise to get away from the Wisconsin winters.

However, after reading Moloka'i (see earlier post) and then watching The Descendants tonight, both of which take place in Hawaii, I really want to go there. Now I have always wanted to go to all 50 states (I think I've been to 35-40 of them) so in that sense, it's not that I didn't want to go to Hawaii. But now I want to plan a vacation there. I mean, I really really want to go. Maybe Jared and I can go there for our 5 year wedding anniversary next year...but probably not. Too bad flights are ridiculously expensive these days. :(

What I learned: I actually want to go on a vacation to Hawaii.

Moloka'i

Today I finished reading Moloka'i. I had maybe 150 pages left to read and even though I had a few more days to finish before book club, I couldn't put it down. The book was just so well written and was very intriguing. It's one of my favorite books that I've read in a long time.

What I Learned: Moloka'i is one of my new favorite books.

Ryan Braun

I, like most of Milwaukee, has been following Ryan Braun's story closely. I think most people in Milwaukee believe Ryan Braun about his steroid test and have been praying that his appeal goes through so that he won't be suspended for 50 games (plus, that would completely suck for the Brewers as we already lost Prince Fielder this year!). Today it was announced that he won his appeal and will not be suspended! Apparently, MLB is pissed off about this and completely disagrees with the decision, but Milwaukee is rejoicing. Go Brew Crew!

What I learned: Ryan Braun won his appeal.

Hertz

Today's Google logo was in honor of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz' birthday (2/22/1857). Everyone's heard of the hertz as a unit of measurement for frequency but that's about all I knew about him. So I did some research and found out that he was responsible for clarifying the electromagnetic theory of light. He also proved the existence of electromagnetic waves by making instruments that could transmit radio pulses. I also learned that a hertz technically stands for cycles per second.

What I Learned: What exactly Heinrich Hertz accomplished as a scientist, as well as what a Hertz more specifically stands for.

Leprosy

This month, for the book club I'm in, we are reading Moloka'i which is a novel about the leper colony in Hawaii. It is a really good book and I realized while reading it that I don't really know that much about leprosy other than what's in the Bible. Upon further research, I found out that what is called leprosy today is not actually what leprosy was in the Bible. However, since it was translated as leprosy in the Bible, this created the idea that leprosy nowadays is super contagious, requiring people diagnosed with it to be sent to leper colonies. People still consider leprosy to be a really contagious disease.

The book, which takes place in the late 1800s and early 1900s, relates how scientists were trying to figure out the disease-both how it was spread and how to cure it. In my own research I found that scientists still aren't exactly sure how it's spread, but one thing is certain-it is not as contagious as people think. About 95% of people are naturally immune to it first of all. The disease is not spread by contact of the lesions as was once thought, but possibly by respiratory droplets. So you basically would get it much like you would catch a cold, except it's not that easy to catch and like I said, most people are naturally immune and can never get it. With all this information, I think it's even sadder that all these people were ripped from their families, some when they were just 7 years old, and sent to live in leper colonies in Hawaii. It was all so unnecessary!

What I learned: Leprosy is not very contagious and is a completely different disease than what is called leprosy in the Bible.

Lapsit Storytime

This morning, Jared and I took Avery to the library for lapsit storytime. One would assume from the name of the event that it would involve your child sitting on your lap and listening to a story. However, that was not the case. It was more like a Kindermusic class. The librarian led the kids and parents in some songs with actions (that were clearly meant for older children so it was just the parents participating really). Then she passed out bells to the kids to shake along with more songs. She also had a puppet that she walked around with as well as a teddy bear that she later demonstrated could get dressed "all on his own" by putting all his clothes on correctly (what 1 year old can understand that?). Then she brought out toys for all the kids to play with on the mat, and that was the end of lapsit storytime. Avery still enjoyed it, but the library seriously needs to consider renaming their events.

What I learned: Lapsit Storytime at the library does not involve reading stories.

The Odd Pains of Pregnancy

When I was pregnant with Avery, around the third trimester, I would occasionally get these weird sensations/pains in my butt (sorry if this is tmi...). It would feel like a nerve was being pinched combined with the need to pop or crack my hip. It is more uncomfortable than painful and has sharper pains when walking or if I move a certain way. Well I just started getting this again and it just seems so odd. I have never read anything about this specific kind of sensation. Well today in my weekly email from babycenter.com, it actually talked about it! It said this was called posterior pelvic pain:

Then there's what's known as posterior pelvic pain, which you may feel deep inside your buttocks (on one side or both) or in the back of your thighs. This pain can be triggered by activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in or out of a low chair, twisting, and lifting. Positions in which your hips are bent — such as when you're sitting in a chair and leaning forward — may make posterior pelvic pain worse.


 It's good to know this is a real thing as it's kinda hard to describe.

What I learned: The sensation I'm feeling in my butt is called posterior pelvic pain and is normal during pregnancy.

Tahitian Dancers

Tonight, Jared and I went to the Volunteer Recognition Night at our church. It was luau themed so they had great decorations and yummy food that corresponded to this. While we were eating, they also had a dance group perform to a few songs (Who knew that Milwaukee had a Polynesian dance troupe?). Before one of the dances, the group's leader informed us that in Tahiti, the dancers only dance to drums. The music never has any singing or other musical instruments. They proceeded to dance wildly with their hips (I'm sure you all have seen this kind of dancing before on TV) which was really impressive because most of the people I would say were over age 50. They also danced some traditional Hawaiian dances as well. Overall it was really cool and I am still surprised this dance troupe exists in Milwaukee!

What I learned: Traditional Tahitian dancers dance only to drums.

Blue Moon City

Tonight I went over to the Sonnenberg's for game night and learned another new game: Blue Moon City. This game involves dragons and crystals, and has really cool illustrated cards. The game was really easy to learn and had a straightforward concept, as well as being really fun to play. I really like finding games that don't take an hour to teach and multiple hours to play. While there are plenty of games like that that I really love (Agricola, for example), there's just something nice about being able to play a fun game that only lasts an hour and that can really easily be taught.

What I learned: How to play Blue Moon City.

Jury Duty

I failed to mention yesterday that I was at jury duty all day. I have always wanted to do jury duty, and after having to postpone it three times, I finally was able to go in this week. I really wanted to get on a case. Yesterday afternoon around 3:30, my name was finally called for a jury panel. I was so excited. About 30 other potential jurors and I went into the courtroom and underwent about an hour and 20 minutes of questioning. I was sure after all of this that I would be picked for the case. It was 4:58 and the prosecutor and the defense lawyer were still deciding on their jury when the judge said that there was no time left for them to finish. By law, we all had to be out by 5:00 because court was closed, so they couldn't read out the list of names anytime after 5:00 as it had to officially be on the record and be before 5:00. This meant that we all had to come back in the morning just for them to read the jury list to us to know if we made it on the case!

So this morning we all headed back into the courtroom and were read the final list of names. I was not chosen :( I was confused by this until I remembered that one of the last questions they asked was if anyone had a college degree. Those who did had to say what their degree was in and where they went to college.  I don't think a single person who said they went to college got put on the jury. The case was a battery and domestic violence case so maybe they thought educated people would be more biased or judgmental? I'm not sure, but I am sad I wasn't chosen. Now I won't get called back for at least 4 more years, even though I wasn't even on a jury. Boo.

What I learned: I did not get picked for a trial at jury duty.

Priceline

I have never used Priceline.com before, specifically the "name your own price" feature. This is mostly due to the fact that I am leery of paying for something before I know exactly what I'm paying for. However, I know a few people who have used it before and have never heard any complaints. So when it came time for me to book a hotel in Milwaukee (I am getting a Day of Solitude, courtesy of my wonderful husband, where I will be leaving on Friday morning, 2 March and not returning home until the following afternoon. I have never left Avery for this long or overnight and think it will be hard, but I also haven't slept for more than 3-4 hours in a row in almost 2 years, so I need a break before baby #2 arrives! And I digress...) I decided to try it out. I only wanted to spend $40 at a hotel but wanted to stay in the Glendale area. Thinking that this would never happen, I filled out all the required information, gave them my credit card info, clicked "submit" and waited, assuming that it would come back saying that no hotel took my offer (I also said I required at least a 2 star hotel). But to my surprise, it came back with a 3 star hotel that took my offer! The Northshore Radisson Inn in Glendale had accepted my offer. I went to their website and pretended to buy the same room on the same night and it cost $130. And I got it for $40! What an awesome deal! I think I'll be using Priceline again.

What I learned: You can get awesome deals on Priceline.com.

Brussels Sprouts

My mom and I were taking turns reading each other trivia from her new Trivial Pursuit book that she got for her birthday from Blake. The answer to one of the questions was Brussels sprouts (something like, what vegetable is named after the capital of Belgium, a no-brainer). My mom told me that until recently she never realized that the real term was BrusselS sprouts, not brussel sprouts. Well, until that very moment, I didn't know that either. Most people don't really think about it since when anyone says it, no one pronounces two separate "s" sounds. And I suppose I've seen it written out before but never actually paid enough attention to realize that there is an "s" at the end of brussel since it is named after Brussels. I wonder how many other words are like this.

What I learned: Brussels sprouts is the correct spelling of the vegetable.

English Hothouse Cucumber

I am currently helping Sarah out with a photo project by posing in pictures that include me holding produce that corresponds to the size of my baby in utero. Every week I get an email from babycenter.com that details the length and weight of my baby and compares it to a fruit or vegetable. Sometimes they choose a fruit or vegetable based on length and sometimes on weight. This past week, it stated that my baby was approximately the length of an English hothouse cucumber (14 inches) (see picture here). But what really is an English hothouse cucumber and how is it different than a regular cucumber? Wikipedia for one doesn't even have a page for it! But according to this website, a hothouse cucumber is longer and has less seeds. Okay, that's really not that much different.

What I learned: A hothouse cucumber, often just called an English Cucumber, is longer and has less seeds than a regular cucumber.

Moneyball

Tonight, Neal, Blake, their friend Jake, my mom, Jared and I all watched Moneyball. I knew the basic gist of the story since my mom had already read the book and told me about it, so I knew that the Athletics used Sabermetrics to assemble a baseball team to try to combat the unfairness of ball clubs that had less revenue to work with, and that they ended up not going to the World Series that year (although they were close). I also knew that most people in baseball tried to dismiss this method and criticized Billy Beane for using it, citing the fact that the Athletics didn't even go to the World Series that year. I did not know that regardless of that fact, the Athletics set an American League record that season, winning 20 consecutive games, and they finished first in their division with a record of 103-59.

The other thing I learned is this: I knew the Red Sox broke their curse in 2004, winning the World Series, but what I didn't know is that they did it using Sabermetrics (they actually offered Billy Beane $12.5 million to be their GM but he declined the offer in order to stay with the Athletics. They hired Bill James, the "creator" of Sabermetrics, as a consultant instead, and promptly won the World Series).

What I learned: The A's hold the American League record for most consecutive wins and had a record season using Sabermetrics to build their team. This method also helped the Red Sox break their curse in 2004.

Whitney Houston

Tonight right before we were going to bed, Jared saw online that Whitney Houston had died. I didn't believe him at first because it seemed like a really random announcement, but yes, she had indeed died. I can only imagine that this is going to be another long investigation culminating in various rumors about the cause of death until the truth emerges and by that time, everyone will have forgotten what was rumor and what was fact. I'm not shocked, surprised, or particularly saddened by this news, but find it to be another sad story of a celebrity dying too young.

What I learned: Whitney Houston is dead at age 48.

Sublime

Tonight we were playing a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit for my mom's birthday and the question was thus: What happens to a solid when it sublimes?

I have never heard this term before. I mean, I have heard of the word sublime, of course, but always as a noun or adjective, but not in this context (as a verb). So I was surprised to hear the answer: that it turns into a gas. Upon further research I found that the exact definition states that not only does the solid turn to gas upon heating without ever liquefying, but it also implies that it then turns back into a solid upon cooling. How have I never heard this before? Then I remember who I had for a chemistry teacher in 10th grade and am no longer surprised.

What I learned: When a solid sublimes, it turns into a gas when heated and turns back into a solid when cooled.

Ephod

I was doing my daily Bible reading today (in Exodus) and I came across the term ephod a number of times. I don't know if it's because I was tired or not reading carefully, but I couldn't grasp from the reading what exactly an ephod was or what it looked like, other than the fact that it was an article of clothing worn by the priests. So I looked it up here. It most likely looked something like this:

What I learned: That an ephod is like a priestly apron.

Military Honors

Today I attended my Uncle Harold's funeral. It was a really nice service and afterwards some of the family headed to the cemetery in the funeral procession. At the cemetery, we were met by two military men so that they could perform military honors. According to my grandparents, you have to call and request that this be done and you have several options. You can have someone play taps, have a gun salute, fold and present the flag, etc. They decided to just have the flag presented to my grandpa (Harold was his brother). But there was already an American flag folded on his coffin at the church. I was confused by this because I thought that the flag would be folded by the military men at the cemetery. When the ceremony began at the cemetery, the soldiers took the flag off the coffin and ceremoniously unfolded it, then refolded it, then presented it to my grandpa. I'm not sure if this is normal practice (that's not what they show in the movies!), but I  got the impression that it was. I guess I just assumed that they would arrive with an unfolded flag and just fold it upon arrival. I guess this looked better and was more formal anyway.

What I learned: You can request what specific form of military honors you have performed at a veteran's funeral; also the ceremony of folding the flag also consists of unfolding it first.

Lady Gaga

This morning, my mom, Afton, Avery and I drove to MN to attend my great-uncle's funeral (which is tomorrow). In the car, we listened to a variety of music that we could all agree on. One of the last CDs we listened to was a burned CD of Afton's that had various current pop songs on it, including songs from Kelly Clarkston, Adele, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Afton was about to skip a song stating that Mom wouldn't like it, so I asked what it was-it was Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory. I told her that we should listen to it anyway and see if Mom would like it, because how would we know since she had never heard it before? And surprisingly, she really liked it! Who would have ever guessed that Mom would not just tolerate, but enjoy Lady Gaga?

What I learned: Mom likes Lady Gaga (well, at least the two songs she heard!).

The Nutritional Merits of Jell-O?

Recently, my mom and I have had several conversations about the nutritional value of Jell-O. My mom thinks it's healthy for you (I think her exact quote was, "It's filled with protein!") and I do not. Now, this isn't to say that I don't like Jell-O or think it's terrible for you or don't eat it myself, because I really like Jell-O. I just think that we have very different ideas of what "healthy" means in this case, so I decided to do some research and this is what I found.

Daily recommended intake of protein:
women-46 grams
infants-10 grams

Daily recommended intake of sugar:
women-20 grams
children-12 grams
(these numbers are confusing because on the same website it said that your daily intake of added sugars should be 40 grams or less, and then it says that the American Heart Association states that you should only have 20 grams of sugar a day, so I'm not sure which numbers to go with).

Jell-O has 2 grams of protein and 19 grams of sugar per serving. I think it's fair to say that the amount of sugar contained in Jell-O overrides the fact that it has 2 grams of protein in it. Again, there are WAY worse things for you to eat, and I am not advocating not eating Jell-O. I just think that choosing to give Avery meat for his protein intake instead of offering him Jell-O is probably the way to go :) Sorry, Mom!

What I learned: Jell-O has a LOT of sugar in it and not much else.

Burned Cheese

We are at my dad's house today to hang out and watch the Superbowl. I brought over some tortilla chips and shredded cheese to make nachos in the oven. At home, we have a gas oven and when I make these at home, I use the broiler and I wait about 3-4 minutes, check on it, and usually keep it in for another minute or so before it's done. Well, my dad has an electric oven and I put them in on the broiler, waited three minutes and when I walked into the kitchen, smoke was billowing out of the oven. I opened up the oven and was engulfed in smoke. The entire pan was black and burned and the kitchen and the entire downstairs of the house filled with smoke. After THREE minutes. Geez. I hate electric ovens!

What I learned: Apparently electric ovens broil things at a much faster rate than gas ovens do. Either that or my dad's oven is super powered and mine is crappy.

Cream Cheese Pillows

Today I made some cookies to bring with to MN for my Uncle Harold's funeral as the family will be providing dessert after the funeral. I first made some no-bake cookies, a family favorite. I then decided to make something I have never made before. I looked in various cookie cookbooks that I have and settled on making Cream Cheese Pillows. This recipe has dough made out of butter, cream cheese and flour which is rolled into a ball and then refrigerated for four hours. Then you roll the dough very thinly and cut it into 2.5 inch circles. In each circle you put 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry jam, then fold it over and press the ends together with fork tines. While the process was easy, it was really time consuming, especially rolling out the dough, which took me about 45 minutes. After the mini pastries bake for 10 minutes, you dip them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. While these "cookies" took a long time to make, they turned out to be delicious.

What I learned: How to make cream cheese pillows.

Uncle Haircut

This morning I found out that my Great-Uncle Harold passed away. He had suffered from Alzheimer's for a few years and had come down with pneumonia again, so his passing wasn't unexpected. While a great-uncle might seem like a distant relation, we were closer to him since we saw him as often as we saw our grandparents growing up. My mom grew up calling him Uncle Haircut, a name we continued to call him as children. While he was no longer himself at the end, I will still always remember him in his immaculately kept garden in St Paul. You will be missed, Uncle Harold, but we know you are finally at home in heaven.

What I learned: My Uncle Harold passed away this morning.

Burning Calories

Today I was reading an article on babycenter.com and they had a list of common household activities and how many calories each one burns. Everyone has seen these lists before showing how many calories you burn by vacuuming or doing laundry, but this list had something I found interesting and don't remember ever seeing before. It stated that you burn 216 calories per hour playing with a toddler, which means that I burn probably 1000 calories a day (an estimate...)! So now everyday when I feel bad that I don't spend any time exercising, I can remember that I actually exercised for hours by just playing with my son. How awesome is that?

What I learned: Playing with Avery burns over 200 calories per hour.

Nutria

Tonight I was playing Trivia Pursuit with my mom and the answer to a question was the nutria. I have never even heard of this animal before, so I looked it up. It's a semi-aquatic rodent that lives mostly in South America. It's weird to think of a rodent as aquatic. What's weirder is that they are very similar to otters and yesterday I learned something new about otters.

What I learned: The nutria is a semi-aquatic rodent.

This is my 100th post! Woohoo!

Otter

I was reading an article in Time today about Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. Some scientists consider this area to be the most biodiverse spot on the planet. What I found the most amazing is that the park is home to 28 threatened or near threatened vertebrate species. One of these species is the giant river otter which can grow to nearly 7 feet. Wait, what? SEVEN FEET?! Holy crap, that's huge. Can you imagine seeing an otter that's 7 feet?

What I learned: The giant river otter can grow up to 7 feet long.

Avery is sick AGAIN!

Avery slept much better last night, however when he woke up, his breathing was really a lot worse. I didn't want to end up going to the ER again tonight so we decided to take him to the doctor right away this morning. Turns out, he has bronchiolitis...again, which is basically baby bronchitis. He was given a steroid, an antibiotic and an inhaler so that we could give him breathing treatments from home. The inhaler seems to help a lot and I'm glad we have one at home now to use in case he gets sick again. He is breathing almost normally already after just one treatment. I can't wait for him to stop getting sick all the time.

What I learned: Avery has bronchiolitis again.

No Sleep

Last night, Avery had a really bad night. I think he is coming down with something as he was having problems breathing. This resulted in Jared and I not getting any sleep whatsoever. We were supposed to go to church and sing for choir as well as have practice for motet choir but we were zombies. Thankfully, my wonderful mother said she would watch Avery so Jared and I could go back to bed and actually sleep (who on earth knows how Avery was awake and functioning!). We each slept about 3.5 hours and then got up. It made me remember back to my college days when I could easily pull all-nighters and function completely normally. Now I am not only ridiculously tired if I don't get enough sleep (which actually is almost every night anyway) but I seriously am incapable of functioning, thinking straight, etc. I felt so old that I could no longer just pull it together. Thank God my mom could watch Avery so we could at least get some sleep, otherwise, I'm sure my son would have been in danger if I had to watch him! I'm hoping this doesn't happen tonight again...

Trifle

Tonight I went to my friend Angela's house to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II in Maximum Movie Mode on Blu-ray. We all decided to make something Harry Potter related for the party. I borrowed The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook from my other friend Christine and quickly decided on making homemade Raspberry Trifle. This involved making homemade yellow cake and homemade custard. While the recipe called for strawberries and strawberry jam, I had homemade raspberry jam from Jared's parents as well as raspberries from their garden, so I used those instead. The outcome was delicious and satisfying. I wish I had taken a picture.

What I learned: How to make homemade trifle.

Burt's Bees

I really like Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment so when I finally ran out of everything I had received from my baby shower (yes, it all lasted for 16 months), I went to Target to buy more. Of course, they were out. On top of that, it was about $10 for a 2oz tube of it! Granted, I know it lasts a long time, especially because Avery isn't prone to getting diaper rashes, but still, it's way more expensive than other brands (but still worth it in my opinion). Then I looked at Walmart and they don't even carry it. My next idea was to look online since I was buying a bath net for him online anyway (as I couldn't find one of those in the store either.). Well good thing Target was out because I found a 3oz tube online for $9.78 with free shipping!

What I learned: Burt's Bees diaper ointment is cheaper online.

More babies!

This morning Avery and I went to playgroup. We haven't been in awhile because a)there hasn't been one lately and b)Avery missed the last two because he was ill. This playgroup had the biggest turn out of any playgroup we've ever had. There were 19 kids there I think! I met some new moms as well as meeting some new babies. One of my friends who was due to have her baby sometime in January showed up with her baby and I had no idea she had had him yet! I felt completely out of the loop but it's my own fault because I haven't been on facebook for weeks and that's the only way I would have found out anyway. It made me realize that as dumb as it might sound, I really need to keep up with facebook more as it's how I remain in contact with so many people and how I find out news, like people having babies!

What I learned: My friend had her baby a few weeks ago (and I completely missed it!).

Sam's Club

Jared and I buy a lot of organic food, especially produce. Awhile ago, my dad bought a family membership at Sam's Club, giving us the second card, so we could save some money. We were only there for a little bit and I didn't see anything organic there, and since Pick n' Save is just two blocks from our house, we usually just go there to grocery shop since they have a wide selection of organic food (in fact, Roundy's brand often is the only organic option available, which is great because it's generic so the organic is oftentimes cheaper than the regular brand name option).

Yesterday we went to my dad's house for the day and he had these giant containers of salad from Sam's club that were organic. This is the exact kind of salad we usually buy at Pick n' Save. Apparently they do have organic food there, I just didn't see it. So since we need to go grocery shopping anyway, Jared and I are going to go to Sam's Club tomorrow to see what else they have. It would be great if we could save more money on food!

What I learned: Sam's Club sells organic food.

Pregnancy Fog

So I have mentioned this before, but I take notes in my phone every day to keep track of the things I learn and then when I have time, I catch up on this blog, writing a few at a time. It started out that I would write on this blog every three or four days and slowly, it has turned into waiting a week or ten days between writing. This is getting very difficult for me because even though I take notes as to what I learned, I find that I'm not able to remember what my notes mean sometimes! Or I write down something simple that I learned but I don't remember where or how I learned it. I really need to get better at writing more often so that I don't have to remember things from 10 days ago. I have to remember that the memory fog of pregnancy is real and that I suffer greatly from this!

What I learned: The longer I wait to write posts, the harder it is to remember what I actually learned each day.

Sushi!

Today, Jared and I were so graciously invited to go out to lunch for Sushi with our friends, the Jacobson's. We went to Fujiyama in Brookfield. It was delicious. I LOVE sushi. Apparently, the sushi menus we got are special lunch prices for Mondays and Tuesdays, and you can get a roll anywhere from $3.75-$8.00 instead of $8.00-$16.00 that they usually cost! They also have a Maki Lunch Deal where you can choose any three rolls of sushi for $11.75 and it comes with soup and salad as well. What a great deal for sushi! Once Jared and I have disposable income (so...when we're 65...), I think we will plan to go there more often. If you love sushi, you can't pass up this deal!

What I learned: Fujiyama has great lunch deals on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Super Bowl Rematch

Today the two football games were played to decide who was going to the Super Bowl. I find myself extremely apathetic this year for some reason. And now the outcome of the two games-with the Patriots and Giants being the winners-seems boring to me. These two teams just played each other 4 years ago in 2008. According to some websites, the 2008 Super Bowl was one of the most entertaining Super Bowls ever played. Really? I don't really remember.

What I learned: Super Bowl XLVI will be played by the Patriots and the Giants.

Newt Gingrich Wins SC

To the surprise and amazement of everyone, Newt Gingrich not only won South Carolina, but he got 40% of the vote. A lot of political commentators are saying his surge there was due to his performance in the debate where he demeaned the debate moderator by berating him for starting a presidential debate by asking him a question about his ex-wife (whom days earlier, in an interview, said that Newt asked her to enter into an open marriage so that he could continue his 6 year affair with Calista, his now third wife). While his point about the media demonizing politicians and digging up crap on them is valid, it is also valid to point out that someone who is running on the sanctity of marriage is a complete hypocrite. I especially enjoyed Newt's comment about how he could think of nothing more despicable than starting a presidential debate with something so tawdry incredibly funny. Um Newt, I can think of something more despicable-how about leaving your first wife who's dying of cancer for your mistress, then leaving that one after she was diagnosed with MS for your second mistress...and then on top of that, claiming that you want to uphold the sanctity of marriage. I'm pretty sure that you sir, have done some pretty despicable things in your past. What surprises me is that the conservative base seems to either not care or have forgotten this and instead are steadfast supporters of him as a great moral conservative. Hmm.

What I learned: Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary.

Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries

Tonight I got to go to Game Night while Jared stayed home with Avery (we decided to try switching off going for awhile so at least one of us can play games uninterrupted for an entire night!). While there were only three of us there (Karen, Gary and me), I had a lot of fun. We played 5 games, including one new one I hadn't played before-Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries. The rules are basically the same as Ticket to Ride with just a few variations. The game can only be played with 2 or 3 people. I really liked this version because it was different enough from the first one to present challenges (like people blocking your routes; trying to find your cities on the new map) and the routes were shorter which meant you went for a lot more routes throughout the game. There were also tunnels and ferries in some of the routes, which required different cards to complete. And the best thing was, I won! I actually won 3 of the games we played, which is amazing for me.

What I learned: How to play Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries.