Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Pregnancy Thus Far
At 15 weeks now I have been blessed with a fairly easy pregnancy.
Like most women I dreaded the morning sickness the most.
I really really hate feeling nauseous, throwing up certainly isn't pleasant, but being nauseous is worse.
Thankfully I was only nauseous for about a week or so.
At which point, with a box of crackers hugged to my chest, I said "Crackers, your not just a cracker...your my...friend."
(Probably 2 people got that joke reference but I thought it was hilarious when I said it)
I also threw up twice, pretty recently actually but that can now be easily avoided by not taking my prenatals with breakfast.
The first trimester I was tired a lot.
Which made me very thankful I am a homemaker and can take a nap anytime I want.
I don't know how working women do it!
Growing a baby is exhausting work :o)
Being pregnant makes me feel productive all the time.
Sitting watching tv....I'm not "doing nothing", I'm growing a baby!
I'm not wasting time on pinterest...I'm growing a baby!
The hormones haven't made me too crazy, except for one incident.
Stephen had done something that upset me but it wasn't a big deal.
But then he came up to me in the kitchen and apologized and hugged me.
I suddenly started sobbing and he asked "why are you crying?"
And I said "I don't know!"
Then I started laughing hysterically and sobbing at the same time.
Stephen got so freaked out that he literally ran out of the room.
Meanwhile I stood in the kitchen unable to catch my breath I was laughed and sobbing so hard.
I pulled myself together in a few seconds but it was kinda freaky to have no control of your emotions.
After the fact it's pretty funny, though Stephen may have some PTSD from the experience.
The worst pregnancy symptom I have is that my left ear is clogged for a couple hours every morning.
This isn't a common symptom but I have scar tissue in my left ear from having lots of earaches as a child.
But overall it's been a really easy pregnancy and I sure hope it stays that way.
My biggest complaint now is my lack of a baby bump.
I was REALLY looking forward to having a bump and it just makes me sad not to have one.
(Or at least not enough of one to make me look pregnant and not just chubby, or like Stephen told his grandma on the phone the other day "She looks like she ate too many potato chips, but soon she'll look like she ate too many hamburgers.")
It's hard to feel pregnant when you don't look pregnant.
The reason I am not showing is because I have a tilted uterus.
Most women's uterus are straight up and down or tilted forward, mine is tilted back toward my spine.
Hopefully with the baby getting bigger it should come forward and I'll have a bump.
I just have a slight fear I will be one of those women who never really look pregnant.
But as I always tell myself, I'm healthy, the baby's healthy, that's all that matters.
I am getting my prenatal care from a home birth midwife (for those of you who don't know, I am really into home birth and wrote a long post about it back in February 2010)
She comes to my house every 4 weeks for my prenatal appointment.
She is very nice and knowledgable, though a little overly talkative for my taste.
I will of course have a different midwife when we move and she will be the one at the birth.
At one of my appointments my midwife said "I'm sorry if I seem a bit rushed today, I have 24 chicks in my car."
Apparently her payment at her last prenatal appointment was a bunch a chicks.
She also said that she was once given a horse to pay for her services.
I thought that was pretty awesome.
She also works with a lot of Amish people.
She used to work at the on post hospital so she knows the OB/GYN staff there really well.
It makes it easy for me to do my tests and ultrasounds at the hospital when I need to.
This connection was really handy when we had a scare at my 12 week appointment.
She came over on a Monday and she brought her doppler to listen for the heartbeat but she couldn't find it.
She said it was no big deal and that she would just stop by later in the week to try again.
Thankfully I was able to keep calm all week and not freak out (totally a God thing since I am such a "freak out" kind of person)
She come over Friday afternoon and was trying to hear the heartbeat and it was taking a long time.
I was getting more and more nervous.
Then she asked "when is your husband going to be home?"
I really started to freak out then and said he wouldn't be home for another couple hours.
She said she would call the OB clinic to see if she could just bring me in and do an ultrasound to make sure everything is all ok.
So me and her jumped in her car and headed to the hospital.
I was really freaking out at this point and was so scared that I was going to get bad news and Stephen wouldn't even be there with me. (he was in class)
But we got there and she was able to find the baby right away with the ultrasound and then finally got the heartbeat on the doppler.
It was such a relief to hear that little thump-thump.
I guess our baby is just an introvert like its parents :o)
So yeah, that is basically it for now.
I will do another belly picture at 16 weeks and hopefully will be at least a little bigger.
Like most women I dreaded the morning sickness the most.
I really really hate feeling nauseous, throwing up certainly isn't pleasant, but being nauseous is worse.
Thankfully I was only nauseous for about a week or so.
At which point, with a box of crackers hugged to my chest, I said "Crackers, your not just a cracker...your my...friend."
(Probably 2 people got that joke reference but I thought it was hilarious when I said it)
I also threw up twice, pretty recently actually but that can now be easily avoided by not taking my prenatals with breakfast.
The first trimester I was tired a lot.
Which made me very thankful I am a homemaker and can take a nap anytime I want.
I don't know how working women do it!
Growing a baby is exhausting work :o)
Being pregnant makes me feel productive all the time.
Sitting watching tv....I'm not "doing nothing", I'm growing a baby!
I'm not wasting time on pinterest...I'm growing a baby!
The hormones haven't made me too crazy, except for one incident.
Stephen had done something that upset me but it wasn't a big deal.
But then he came up to me in the kitchen and apologized and hugged me.
I suddenly started sobbing and he asked "why are you crying?"
And I said "I don't know!"
Then I started laughing hysterically and sobbing at the same time.
Stephen got so freaked out that he literally ran out of the room.
Meanwhile I stood in the kitchen unable to catch my breath I was laughed and sobbing so hard.
I pulled myself together in a few seconds but it was kinda freaky to have no control of your emotions.
After the fact it's pretty funny, though Stephen may have some PTSD from the experience.
The worst pregnancy symptom I have is that my left ear is clogged for a couple hours every morning.
This isn't a common symptom but I have scar tissue in my left ear from having lots of earaches as a child.
But overall it's been a really easy pregnancy and I sure hope it stays that way.
My biggest complaint now is my lack of a baby bump.
I was REALLY looking forward to having a bump and it just makes me sad not to have one.
(Or at least not enough of one to make me look pregnant and not just chubby, or like Stephen told his grandma on the phone the other day "She looks like she ate too many potato chips, but soon she'll look like she ate too many hamburgers.")
It's hard to feel pregnant when you don't look pregnant.
The reason I am not showing is because I have a tilted uterus.
Most women's uterus are straight up and down or tilted forward, mine is tilted back toward my spine.
Hopefully with the baby getting bigger it should come forward and I'll have a bump.
I just have a slight fear I will be one of those women who never really look pregnant.
But as I always tell myself, I'm healthy, the baby's healthy, that's all that matters.
I am getting my prenatal care from a home birth midwife (for those of you who don't know, I am really into home birth and wrote a long post about it back in February 2010)
She comes to my house every 4 weeks for my prenatal appointment.
She is very nice and knowledgable, though a little overly talkative for my taste.
I will of course have a different midwife when we move and she will be the one at the birth.
At one of my appointments my midwife said "I'm sorry if I seem a bit rushed today, I have 24 chicks in my car."
Apparently her payment at her last prenatal appointment was a bunch a chicks.
She also said that she was once given a horse to pay for her services.
I thought that was pretty awesome.
She also works with a lot of Amish people.
She used to work at the on post hospital so she knows the OB/GYN staff there really well.
It makes it easy for me to do my tests and ultrasounds at the hospital when I need to.
This connection was really handy when we had a scare at my 12 week appointment.
She came over on a Monday and she brought her doppler to listen for the heartbeat but she couldn't find it.
She said it was no big deal and that she would just stop by later in the week to try again.
Thankfully I was able to keep calm all week and not freak out (totally a God thing since I am such a "freak out" kind of person)
She come over Friday afternoon and was trying to hear the heartbeat and it was taking a long time.
I was getting more and more nervous.
Then she asked "when is your husband going to be home?"
I really started to freak out then and said he wouldn't be home for another couple hours.
She said she would call the OB clinic to see if she could just bring me in and do an ultrasound to make sure everything is all ok.
So me and her jumped in her car and headed to the hospital.
I was really freaking out at this point and was so scared that I was going to get bad news and Stephen wouldn't even be there with me. (he was in class)
But we got there and she was able to find the baby right away with the ultrasound and then finally got the heartbeat on the doppler.
It was such a relief to hear that little thump-thump.
I guess our baby is just an introvert like its parents :o)
So yeah, that is basically it for now.
I will do another belly picture at 16 weeks and hopefully will be at least a little bigger.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Guess What?
Before I answer this question I am going to give a little history.
Don't worry, you will probably figure out the answer really soon.
April 2010: Stephen and I decided we wanted to start our family so I went off birth control.
October 2010: After 6 months of no period and no ovulation, I went to the doctor to find out what is going on.
October 2010 - December 2010: Had lots of not so fun tests to figure out what was wrong. One of them including a balloon and iodine ink...enough said.
January 2011: I was told that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and that my right fallopian tube is blocked.
PCOS is basically a hormone imbalance that has kept me from having a period or ovulating.
I was then admitted into the hospital's infertility program. This was a real blessing because most military hospitals don't have an infertility program and the military health insurance doesn't cover infertility unless its treated at a military hospital.
January 2011 - November 2011: Went through 5 rounds of a hormone treatment called Clomid.
I always felt very sorry for people going though infertility problems because (I thought) I knew how emotionally painful it was. I had no idea it was as painful as it turned out to be. The disappointments are heartbreaking, and you go through it over and over again. And you try to not think about it but that becomes impossible when there are babies and pregnant women everywhere. You are constantly reminded of what you want and what you don't have. I never could have made it though without the support of Stephen and my faith in God. I had to rely so much on God to get me though it all. It was such a comfort to be able to trust that things would happen according to His will and that no matter the outcome, I could be sure that it was good, even if I didn't like it or didn't understand it.
Also, Clomid gives you terrible hot flashes. I can now truly sympathize with women going through menopause.
December 2011: I started my 6th and last cycle of Clomid.
Studies have shown that most women who get pregnant on Clomid get pregnant in the first 3 cycles. This meant my chances at the 6th cycle were pretty low. After this cycle you move on to injectable hormone treatments. These treatments are not covered by our health care and cost $1000-$3000 a month. Also because they are much stronger, the risk of multiples is much higher. (Example: Kate from Jon and Kate + 8 has PCOS and got pregnant with her sextuplets while on injectable hormones). We were still trying to decide if we were going to go on with this treatment or just start the adoption process.
January 2, 2012: I had been 2 weeks since I ovulated and could now take a pregnancy test. I had spent the last 2 weeks convincing myself that it didn't work and that I was not pregnant. (I had figured out a while back that getting your hopes up was a bad idea.) I also felt like I was about to start my period so I was sure I was right. First thing in the morning, I got out of bed and went and took the pregnancy test. I came back to bed and waited the 3 minutes until you could read the results. I always make Stephen go read the results because it is easier for me to hear the bad news from him. So he got up and went to check the test. As he was walking back down the hallway to our bedroom he said "uh...babe.." and I knew instantly that something was different than the many other times. He walked into the room with the test in his hand and a goofy/surprised smile on his face and said "It's positive." My mouth fell open, I covered it with both hands and cried. After so many disappointments, it was hard to believe that what we had hoped and prayed for for so long was actually happening. Stephen got back in bed with me and hugged me and said "Let's pray." We thanked God for this wonderful blessing and prayed for the health of the baby. Then of course there was much cuddling and belly kisses and "I can't believe this is really happening"
The next 4 weeks were very nerve wracking. We were so excited but yet so nervous about miscarriage. Some studies have found that women with PCOS have a 60% miscarriage rate so we had good reason to worry. Everyday I went to bed thanking God for another day as a mom knowing that it might be my last.
At 8 weeks we got to do an ultrasound. I was very nervous that we would find out that something was wrong or that I was having quintuplets or something crazy like that. Thankfully we saw this:
A perfect healthy baby (just one) with a strong heartbeat. We were so happy and felt much less worried about miscarriage from then on.
I am now almost 13 weeks and going into the 2nd trimester so we can finally make the official announcement.
We're having a baby!
It's due September 9th 2012.
Stephen is certain its a girl. He calls the baby a she all the time.
I have no guess as to what it is, but just to be contrary I say it's a boy.
I of course have been taking belly pictures, or maybe for now lack-of-belly pictures.
We are so thankful and so blessed to have this miracle baby. God has been so good to us.
Many times over the past 2 years I would read the story in 1 Samuel chapter 1 about a woman named Hannah who was barren and year after year prayed, pouring her heart out to God, that He would bless her with a child. Then the Lord, in his goodness, gives her a child. I would read this story, not as a promise that if I prayed enough God would give me a child, but to remind me that if it is in God's plan for us to have a child then we will.
I have thought many times since I have been pregnant of this verse from 1 Samuel 1:27 where Hannah says;
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."
Praise be to the Lord.
Don't worry, you will probably figure out the answer really soon.
April 2010: Stephen and I decided we wanted to start our family so I went off birth control.
October 2010: After 6 months of no period and no ovulation, I went to the doctor to find out what is going on.
October 2010 - December 2010: Had lots of not so fun tests to figure out what was wrong. One of them including a balloon and iodine ink...enough said.
January 2011: I was told that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and that my right fallopian tube is blocked.
PCOS is basically a hormone imbalance that has kept me from having a period or ovulating.
I was then admitted into the hospital's infertility program. This was a real blessing because most military hospitals don't have an infertility program and the military health insurance doesn't cover infertility unless its treated at a military hospital.
January 2011 - November 2011: Went through 5 rounds of a hormone treatment called Clomid.
I always felt very sorry for people going though infertility problems because (I thought) I knew how emotionally painful it was. I had no idea it was as painful as it turned out to be. The disappointments are heartbreaking, and you go through it over and over again. And you try to not think about it but that becomes impossible when there are babies and pregnant women everywhere. You are constantly reminded of what you want and what you don't have. I never could have made it though without the support of Stephen and my faith in God. I had to rely so much on God to get me though it all. It was such a comfort to be able to trust that things would happen according to His will and that no matter the outcome, I could be sure that it was good, even if I didn't like it or didn't understand it.
Also, Clomid gives you terrible hot flashes. I can now truly sympathize with women going through menopause.
December 2011: I started my 6th and last cycle of Clomid.
Studies have shown that most women who get pregnant on Clomid get pregnant in the first 3 cycles. This meant my chances at the 6th cycle were pretty low. After this cycle you move on to injectable hormone treatments. These treatments are not covered by our health care and cost $1000-$3000 a month. Also because they are much stronger, the risk of multiples is much higher. (Example: Kate from Jon and Kate + 8 has PCOS and got pregnant with her sextuplets while on injectable hormones). We were still trying to decide if we were going to go on with this treatment or just start the adoption process.
January 2, 2012: I had been 2 weeks since I ovulated and could now take a pregnancy test. I had spent the last 2 weeks convincing myself that it didn't work and that I was not pregnant. (I had figured out a while back that getting your hopes up was a bad idea.) I also felt like I was about to start my period so I was sure I was right. First thing in the morning, I got out of bed and went and took the pregnancy test. I came back to bed and waited the 3 minutes until you could read the results. I always make Stephen go read the results because it is easier for me to hear the bad news from him. So he got up and went to check the test. As he was walking back down the hallway to our bedroom he said "uh...babe.." and I knew instantly that something was different than the many other times. He walked into the room with the test in his hand and a goofy/surprised smile on his face and said "It's positive." My mouth fell open, I covered it with both hands and cried. After so many disappointments, it was hard to believe that what we had hoped and prayed for for so long was actually happening. Stephen got back in bed with me and hugged me and said "Let's pray." We thanked God for this wonderful blessing and prayed for the health of the baby. Then of course there was much cuddling and belly kisses and "I can't believe this is really happening"
The next 4 weeks were very nerve wracking. We were so excited but yet so nervous about miscarriage. Some studies have found that women with PCOS have a 60% miscarriage rate so we had good reason to worry. Everyday I went to bed thanking God for another day as a mom knowing that it might be my last.
At 8 weeks we got to do an ultrasound. I was very nervous that we would find out that something was wrong or that I was having quintuplets or something crazy like that. Thankfully we saw this:
A perfect healthy baby (just one) with a strong heartbeat. We were so happy and felt much less worried about miscarriage from then on.
I am now almost 13 weeks and going into the 2nd trimester so we can finally make the official announcement.
We're having a baby!
It's due September 9th 2012.
Stephen is certain its a girl. He calls the baby a she all the time.
I have no guess as to what it is, but just to be contrary I say it's a boy.
I of course have been taking belly pictures, or maybe for now lack-of-belly pictures.
We are so thankful and so blessed to have this miracle baby. God has been so good to us.
Many times over the past 2 years I would read the story in 1 Samuel chapter 1 about a woman named Hannah who was barren and year after year prayed, pouring her heart out to God, that He would bless her with a child. Then the Lord, in his goodness, gives her a child. I would read this story, not as a promise that if I prayed enough God would give me a child, but to remind me that if it is in God's plan for us to have a child then we will.
I have thought many times since I have been pregnant of this verse from 1 Samuel 1:27 where Hannah says;
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."
Praise be to the Lord.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tiger Lily
I have a confession to make.
I have been keeping a secret from you.
I haven't told you something for fear of you thinking we are totally nuts.
But I am going to tell you now because I think I have gathered enough evidence to win you over to our craziness.
In the end of December..
we got...
a kitten.
I know, as if two dogs and two cats weren't enough.
Keep in mind though that at the time we were sure that we would soon be moving to a house with 10 acres and what is one more cat when you have 10 acres?
And you really can't start too early on your barn cat collection, right?
Also, our cat Bagheera spends all his time outside and Giselle spends all her time inside.
Giselle seemed to be getting really lonely.
So we got her this:
Meet Tiger Lily
AKA T. Lily, Tiger Smack, Squeaks, Trouble, Tiny and many more
The name of course is continuing our Disney theme. (Tiger Lily from Peter Pan)
And here are some reasons why we love her and you should too.
She and Giselle are friends.
Giselle cleans and cuddles her all the time.
They kind of blend together, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Then they play/fight.
Here is Giselle holding on to Tiger Lily while they sleep.
She totally had both arms around Tiger Lily.
Tiger Lily loves Lilo
She is always rubbing up against her and wanting to cuddle with her.
Lilo usually lays there and growls but doesn't do anything.
She still isn't too happy about sharing her water bowl with her.
But she puts up with it.
Tiger Lily plays fetch.
She LOVES paper balls.
If she hears paper crumpling she comes running.
If you throw it for her she will take death defying leaps to get it.
Then she will bring it back.
She is a great lap cat, she is currently on my lap now.
When we first got her she would wake us up by nibbling on our faces, thankfully we trained that out of her.
Her and Giselle sleep on our bed at night, usually curled up together.
So hopefully her cuteness is enough to forgive our craziness.
I claim temporary insanity caused by cute fluffy cuddliness.
I have been keeping a secret from you.
I haven't told you something for fear of you thinking we are totally nuts.
But I am going to tell you now because I think I have gathered enough evidence to win you over to our craziness.
In the end of December..
we got...
a kitten.
I know, as if two dogs and two cats weren't enough.
Keep in mind though that at the time we were sure that we would soon be moving to a house with 10 acres and what is one more cat when you have 10 acres?
And you really can't start too early on your barn cat collection, right?
Also, our cat Bagheera spends all his time outside and Giselle spends all her time inside.
Giselle seemed to be getting really lonely.
So we got her this:
Meet Tiger Lily
AKA T. Lily, Tiger Smack, Squeaks, Trouble, Tiny and many more
The name of course is continuing our Disney theme. (Tiger Lily from Peter Pan)
And here are some reasons why we love her and you should too.
She and Giselle are friends.
Giselle cleans and cuddles her all the time.
They kind of blend together, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Then they play/fight.
Here is Giselle holding on to Tiger Lily while they sleep.
She totally had both arms around Tiger Lily.
Tiger Lily loves Lilo
She is always rubbing up against her and wanting to cuddle with her.
Lilo usually lays there and growls but doesn't do anything.
She still isn't too happy about sharing her water bowl with her.
But she puts up with it.
Tiger Lily plays fetch.
She LOVES paper balls.
If she hears paper crumpling she comes running.
If you throw it for her she will take death defying leaps to get it.
Then she will bring it back.
She is a great lap cat, she is currently on my lap now.
When we first got her she would wake us up by nibbling on our faces, thankfully we trained that out of her.
Her and Giselle sleep on our bed at night, usually curled up together.
So hopefully her cuteness is enough to forgive our craziness.
I claim temporary insanity caused by cute fluffy cuddliness.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Snow
Monday I woke up to this:
One of my favorite things about snow is how its always something you wake up too.
There is something so magical about waking up in the morning and looking out the window and seeing everything covered in white.
Especially when you have no reason to leave the house that day.
Snow is still kind of a novelty to me.
Growing up in California I rarely saw snow.
It never snowed where I lived.
Once it hailed and it was slushy and covered the deck so we shoveled some up and put it in the bathtub and made a tiny snowman.
I know, Californians right.
A couple times we drove up to the mountains for a day trip to go sledding but that is nothing like living in a place where it snows.
My first winter in New Jersey during Grad school was quite an experience.
There are so many little things about snow that I love.
At the time, I worked at Starbucks at 4:30 am every morning.
So when I would get up it would be completely silent outside and the snow completely undisturbed.
I love the sound of the snow falling.
That wonderful crunch sound when you step in it.
The beauty of a pure white landscape and the snow "highlighting" the tree limbs.
It was magical.
That being said, I hate how cold it is when it snows, I hate the gross dirty snow on the side of the road and I hate trying to get the ice and snow off my car.
I have decided I want to live in a place where there is one good snow a year.
Not a place where you get snowed in.
Or there is snow on the ground from November to March.
Just one good snow.
Because someday I want to see Stephen play with our kids like he does with the dogs.
Well maybe not the exact same way...
Stephen throws snow in Lilo's face and she tries to catch it by biting at it.
Then there is this fun sequence:
Stephen holding on to Willow about to toss snow all over her.
If you look closely at this picture (if you click on it you can see it bigger), there is a pleading look in her eyes that say "Please, have mercy! I'm a Hawaii dog and I don't do cold and snow!"
Then she runs to me for protection.
Lilo, on the other hand, was made for the snow.
This picture makes me laugh, it looks like Stephen's about to tackle her and wrestle her to the ground.
Snow or no snow, Willow loves to run.
One of my favorite things about snow is how its always something you wake up too.
There is something so magical about waking up in the morning and looking out the window and seeing everything covered in white.
Especially when you have no reason to leave the house that day.
Snow is still kind of a novelty to me.
Growing up in California I rarely saw snow.
It never snowed where I lived.
Once it hailed and it was slushy and covered the deck so we shoveled some up and put it in the bathtub and made a tiny snowman.
I know, Californians right.
A couple times we drove up to the mountains for a day trip to go sledding but that is nothing like living in a place where it snows.
My first winter in New Jersey during Grad school was quite an experience.
There are so many little things about snow that I love.
At the time, I worked at Starbucks at 4:30 am every morning.
So when I would get up it would be completely silent outside and the snow completely undisturbed.
I love the sound of the snow falling.
That wonderful crunch sound when you step in it.
The beauty of a pure white landscape and the snow "highlighting" the tree limbs.
It was magical.
That being said, I hate how cold it is when it snows, I hate the gross dirty snow on the side of the road and I hate trying to get the ice and snow off my car.
I have decided I want to live in a place where there is one good snow a year.
Not a place where you get snowed in.
Or there is snow on the ground from November to March.
Just one good snow.
Because someday I want to see Stephen play with our kids like he does with the dogs.
Well maybe not the exact same way...
Stephen throws snow in Lilo's face and she tries to catch it by biting at it.
Then there is this fun sequence:
Stephen holding on to Willow about to toss snow all over her.
If you look closely at this picture (if you click on it you can see it bigger), there is a pleading look in her eyes that say "Please, have mercy! I'm a Hawaii dog and I don't do cold and snow!"
Then she runs to me for protection.
Lilo, on the other hand, was made for the snow.
This picture makes me laugh, it looks like Stephen's about to tackle her and wrestle her to the ground.
Snow or no snow, Willow loves to run.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Weekend Getaway
This past weekend we had our first vacation/getaway in over 3 years.
Some of you may be thinking "What do you call living in Hawaii for 3 years?"
I get your point but we still had work and a house to keep up, animals to take care of and dishes to do.
We really wanted to just get away, the two of us with nothing to clean, no computers to distract us, no animals to annoy us.
So Friday after Stephen was done with his classes we drove up to St. Louis.
Lilo we left in the backyard with a big bowl of food and water and a bark collar on.
Stephen's dog house is built so she would have somewhere to get out of the cold, which is good since it got down to 7 degrees during the weekend. (don't feel bad for her, she has a serious fur coat and the dog house is very well insulated)
We were hoping to leave Willow in the backyard too but a couple days before we left I noticed she had started digging under the fence, so we had to have her boarded.
When we got to St Louis (a 2 and a half hour drive) we went to a jazz club and had dinner and heard some good jazz music.
That was nice since there was no good jazz in Hawaii.
Then we checked into the Hyatt where we had a very small but nice room.
This was the view from our window.
(That is the Arch, in case you couldn't tell)
Saturday we went to a place called Roosters for breakfast.
I had some amazing french toast with caramelized bananas and nuts.
I have a thing for good restaurant breakfasts.
Then we went to the Missouri Museum of Art.
Stephen, who now has a license to conceal and carry a gun (I'm so proud), decided to bring his gun to carry this weekend for the first time.
Sadly when we got to the door of the museum it said "Weapons prohibited" so he had to go back and put it in the car.
But he did get to carry it the rest of the weekend.
It's a silly sign since the kind of person who would respect it is not the kind of person who is a threat.
It's not like a guy coming to shoot up the museum would see the sign and say "Dang it! Guess I better go home."
It just means that when a guy like that comes to the museum there wont be anyone there to protect people.
Anyways, back to the museum.
It is hard to be satisfied with museums after going to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, that place is amazing.
But still it was nice to see some beautiful paintings.
I particularly liked this one:
Stephen liked this one of a civil war period school house.
Whenever we get to the modern art we can't help but talk about how stupid it is.
A canvas painted solid black is somehow considered art...just don't get it.
It shouldn't be allowed in the same building as the genus of Monet and Van Gogh.
We were unfortunately limited on what we could do because it was very cold outside.
I really wanted to go to the zoo but that will have to wait till another trip.
After the museum we went to a big used book store, that was sadly overpriced so we didn't get anything.
Then we went to a brewery and had lunch and tried a few different beers.
Then we went back to the hotel to take a nap to prepare for the late evening.
Back in September of last year we looked up the St Louis Symphony.
We had wanted to go to the symphony for a long time (neither of us had ever been) but sadly the Hawaii symphony ran out of money and shut down.
So we were excited that once we got to Missouri we could go to the symphony.
So we looked at the schedule and saw this:
That's right, the symphony doing Disney music, pure awesomeness.
We bought the tickets right there and then.
So we had been looking forward to this for a long time.
Sadly we were disappointed.
Instead of it being the symphony playing the awesome music of Disney in its pure beautiful arrangements, they had 4 broadway singers singing most of the songs.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy broadway and the singers were very talented but if I wanted to go to a broadway show, I would have gone to a broadway show.
Their over the top singing and acting completely took away from the symphony.
The few songs the symphony did without the singers were amazing and gave me goosebumps.
The singers just ruined it.
So that was sad but we still had a good time.
After the show we went to dinner at a really nice restaurant called Sidney Street Cafe.
At this point it was about 9:30 at night, which is past our usual bedtime, it was a good thing we took a nap.
Dinner was amazing and we had a really good time.
I had some amazing short ribs (which are one of my favorite foods ever and one of the reasons I could never be a true vegetarian).
It was one of those sad situations though after appetizers and bread and salad I wasn't able to finish the short ribs.
I really tried but it just couldn't be done, and there wasn't enough left to box (without looking silly that is).
So I had to say "darn you!" to my small stomach and say goodbye to the last few bites of juicy, melt in your mouth, beefiness.
Yes, I am still a little sad thinking about it.
We were the last ones to leave the restaurant at around 11.
The next morning we packed up and checked out.
We went to Roosters again for breakfast.
Then we went to this beautiful church Stephen found online.
I love cathedrals.
I have always thought it was sad that more protestants don't have cathedrals.
They invoke such a sense of awe and reverence that is so appropriate when entering a place where a community of believers gather to worship the holy God.
This church was a Presbyterian church (the conservative kind of course) and it had a beautiful building.
We really enjoyed it.
Then we went to lunch at a tasty pizza place called Pi.
Then we went to a chocolate shop called Kakao because it wouldn't be Valentine's Day with out some amazing chocolate.
I got this tasty box of truffles.
I got a little distracted by eating the truffles before I thought to take a picture.
Then we headed to the mall so I could walk around Anthropologie and drool.
Stephen really loved that part of the weekend ;o)
Then we went to Whole Foods to get things that can't be found at the grocery stores near Ft. Leonard Wood.
Then we headed back home and listed to War of the Worlds on audiobook.
All the animals survived our absence, that was a relief.
Overall it was a good but too short weekend.
Some of you may be thinking "What do you call living in Hawaii for 3 years?"
I get your point but we still had work and a house to keep up, animals to take care of and dishes to do.
We really wanted to just get away, the two of us with nothing to clean, no computers to distract us, no animals to annoy us.
So Friday after Stephen was done with his classes we drove up to St. Louis.
Lilo we left in the backyard with a big bowl of food and water and a bark collar on.
Stephen's dog house is built so she would have somewhere to get out of the cold, which is good since it got down to 7 degrees during the weekend. (don't feel bad for her, she has a serious fur coat and the dog house is very well insulated)
We were hoping to leave Willow in the backyard too but a couple days before we left I noticed she had started digging under the fence, so we had to have her boarded.
When we got to St Louis (a 2 and a half hour drive) we went to a jazz club and had dinner and heard some good jazz music.
That was nice since there was no good jazz in Hawaii.
Then we checked into the Hyatt where we had a very small but nice room.
This was the view from our window.
(That is the Arch, in case you couldn't tell)
Saturday we went to a place called Roosters for breakfast.
I had some amazing french toast with caramelized bananas and nuts.
I have a thing for good restaurant breakfasts.
Then we went to the Missouri Museum of Art.
Stephen, who now has a license to conceal and carry a gun (I'm so proud), decided to bring his gun to carry this weekend for the first time.
Sadly when we got to the door of the museum it said "Weapons prohibited" so he had to go back and put it in the car.
But he did get to carry it the rest of the weekend.
It's a silly sign since the kind of person who would respect it is not the kind of person who is a threat.
It's not like a guy coming to shoot up the museum would see the sign and say "Dang it! Guess I better go home."
It just means that when a guy like that comes to the museum there wont be anyone there to protect people.
Anyways, back to the museum.
It is hard to be satisfied with museums after going to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, that place is amazing.
But still it was nice to see some beautiful paintings.
I particularly liked this one:
Stephen liked this one of a civil war period school house.
Whenever we get to the modern art we can't help but talk about how stupid it is.
A canvas painted solid black is somehow considered art...just don't get it.
It shouldn't be allowed in the same building as the genus of Monet and Van Gogh.
We were unfortunately limited on what we could do because it was very cold outside.
I really wanted to go to the zoo but that will have to wait till another trip.
After the museum we went to a big used book store, that was sadly overpriced so we didn't get anything.
Then we went to a brewery and had lunch and tried a few different beers.
Then we went back to the hotel to take a nap to prepare for the late evening.
Back in September of last year we looked up the St Louis Symphony.
We had wanted to go to the symphony for a long time (neither of us had ever been) but sadly the Hawaii symphony ran out of money and shut down.
So we were excited that once we got to Missouri we could go to the symphony.
So we looked at the schedule and saw this:
That's right, the symphony doing Disney music, pure awesomeness.
We bought the tickets right there and then.
So we had been looking forward to this for a long time.
Sadly we were disappointed.
Instead of it being the symphony playing the awesome music of Disney in its pure beautiful arrangements, they had 4 broadway singers singing most of the songs.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy broadway and the singers were very talented but if I wanted to go to a broadway show, I would have gone to a broadway show.
Their over the top singing and acting completely took away from the symphony.
The few songs the symphony did without the singers were amazing and gave me goosebumps.
The singers just ruined it.
So that was sad but we still had a good time.
After the show we went to dinner at a really nice restaurant called Sidney Street Cafe.
At this point it was about 9:30 at night, which is past our usual bedtime, it was a good thing we took a nap.
Dinner was amazing and we had a really good time.
I had some amazing short ribs (which are one of my favorite foods ever and one of the reasons I could never be a true vegetarian).
It was one of those sad situations though after appetizers and bread and salad I wasn't able to finish the short ribs.
I really tried but it just couldn't be done, and there wasn't enough left to box (without looking silly that is).
So I had to say "darn you!" to my small stomach and say goodbye to the last few bites of juicy, melt in your mouth, beefiness.
Yes, I am still a little sad thinking about it.
We were the last ones to leave the restaurant at around 11.
The next morning we packed up and checked out.
We went to Roosters again for breakfast.
Then we went to this beautiful church Stephen found online.
I love cathedrals.
I have always thought it was sad that more protestants don't have cathedrals.
They invoke such a sense of awe and reverence that is so appropriate when entering a place where a community of believers gather to worship the holy God.
This church was a Presbyterian church (the conservative kind of course) and it had a beautiful building.
We really enjoyed it.
Then we went to lunch at a tasty pizza place called Pi.
Then we went to a chocolate shop called Kakao because it wouldn't be Valentine's Day with out some amazing chocolate.
I got this tasty box of truffles.
I got a little distracted by eating the truffles before I thought to take a picture.
Then we headed to the mall so I could walk around Anthropologie and drool.
Stephen really loved that part of the weekend ;o)
Then we went to Whole Foods to get things that can't be found at the grocery stores near Ft. Leonard Wood.
Then we headed back home and listed to War of the Worlds on audiobook.
All the animals survived our absence, that was a relief.
Overall it was a good but too short weekend.
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