Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day

Today is Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day.

I have lost 3 early-term pregnancies in the past 2yrs with a probable 4th. It doesn't make me sad. It doesn't mean you have to skirt your own pregnancy news around me. It just means that now is not the right time for one to stay.

That time my never come but I have 2 of the most wonderful/horrible children that anyone could ask for so I have come to terms with my losses. ♥

I cried the first time. It was right after I turned 21 and Jason was still really little. But then I took a breath, stepped outside myself, and started to believe that THAT PARTICULAR baby was meant for someone else and not me. The body is just a shell. It's what's in it that counts.

That soft, soul-filled nougat center. xD

I think it would take considerably longer for me to cope if it'd been after the first 10wks. After the doctor agrees it's viable. I could never imagine the way it feels to have a stillborn child. Those women that can move on are stronger than I am.

All of mine were after Jason. I had this ridiculously-strong drive to get pregnant directly after he was born and I was so scared it was because my body was nearing the end of it's time for babies.

The longest I've held a pregnancy in the... last 2yrs was about 7.5wks (wasn't completely certain). I've gotten a positive test 3x in the past 2yrs. All failed. It's exceedingly hard for me to even get pregnant. We've been "trying" for a year now.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Stop. Turn off the TV. Step away from the kitchen. Put the sock down. Randomly start singing "Old MacDonald" (Or any cultural rhyme of your choice). Are your kids old enough to sing back? Old enough to at least crack a smile/coo/kick their feet when they hear it? ARE THEY?

If the answer is anything but yes, you need to unplug your TV, put your phone down, get off the damn internet, and teach it to your kids. Seriously.


The thought came to me randomly while I was getting spaghetti made for dinner. I turned away for a minute, looked at the kids, and started singing. To my utter relief AND delight, they both started singing back. Even Jason (23mo) was singing along, even if it WAS simply "I-O-I-O-OOOO!"

Why did I do this? Because I realise I had spent the majority of my time on my phone as opposed to talking to the kids like I usually do. And I'm sure I spend entirely more time plugged in than I should. I think we all do. But that's just the world we live in.

We might as well start genetically-engineering humans with a smart phone built into their palms because that's basically how things are going. We live in a world so full of technology that people like the Amish seem like cavemen. Books are on the out. Your car insurance drops if you go paper-less. Banks are dropping free-checking with the rise of online banking. How much longer before our food is being replicated?

Hell, if you weren't plugged in so fully you wouldn't be reading this now via computer, phone, or PADD. And I wouldn't be writing it if I weren't!

My 23mo can work my old phone (now expensive toy!) well enough to pull up his favorite APP: Baby Flash Cards. Yeah. And I'm sure of you have little ones that can work Tablets like a pro. In fact, there's even baby products on the market to help keep your tech toys safe from tiny hands WHILE tiny hands are using them!

There's nothing wrong with giving your kids a head start. In fact, schools are dropping cursive writing courses and replacing them with keyboarding classes. I learned both in grade school but I was taking Reading Counts! surveys on 5" floppy discs. A floppy disc is an old-school flash drive for those of you out there younger than 20.

My 4.5yo is at a disadvantage technologically. She doesn't know how to work the computer and only has a basic knowledge of working my phone. But on the other side of that coin, she's been reading for the better part of the last 6 months and can not only write a fair amount of things but can also phonetically spell things. And, for the most part, these were self-taught on her own part.

It may seem a little silly at some points but nursery rhymes are one of those things that get stored in their brains for 20-some years until they have children of their own. And, suddenly, everything comes out again and they smile and silently thank you for teaching them those silly songs.

I AM THE KINGS OF JCP!

Okay, so.

Went to the mall today armed with a "$10 off $25+ purchase" coupon for JCP, a "Buy One Pretzel Nuggets, Get a FREE 21oz Soda or Lemonade!" coupon for Auntie Anne's, and a "Get a FREE signature body care item (up to $13) with any $10 purchase" at Bath & Body Works.

We went to JCP first. I figured I'd peruse the "60-80% off!!" racks, grab a new outfit for each kid, and spend about $20 on everything (after coupon). No. NOOOO. Not even close. JCP had a bunch of racks of baby/kids things for 97¢ as well as racks of adult things for $2.97. Maybe getting to $25 was going to be harder than I thought!

We spent about 45 minutes in there alone trying to find things. But find things we did! Long story, short, here's the breakdown for JCP.

Items bought: 15
Money spent: $18
Money saved: $303.32
Items free: None

Yes, you read that correctly. I saved $303.32 off the full retail of all items. My biggest save was a silk panel Charlie Sheen-esque shirt for my husband originally priced $50 bought for $1.81. It's a size larger than what he wears but IT WAS $1.81! He'll live. lol


Then we ate pretzels. Medium lemonade and pretzel nuggets.

Items bought: 2
Money spent: $3.50
Money saved: $2.50
Items free: 21oz lemonade

Then we went to Bath & Body Works.

Items bought: 5
Money spent: $12
Money saved: $17
Items free: 3.7oz can of men's body spray.

Now for the total numbers for the day! (All approximate, of course. I don't know if the retail for the lemonade is correct or not)

Items bought: 22Money spent: $33.50
Money saved: $322.83
Items free: 21oz lemonade and body spray


Yup.

Stupid jerks

Stupid jerks around here broke into my van and stole the kids' portable DVD player they've had for 2wks. I've decided it was someone IN the neighborhood. Housing isn't doing anything about it but having security patrol the street my car is parked on because it's now a "problem area." Awesome. But if they'd been patroling my area to begin with, my shit wouldn't have gotten stolen!

This is military housing. We pay entirely too much to live here. There should be cameras on each street. This is the ONLY place we've had issues in housing. This place is bullshit and I let the housing lady know about this. Apparently they can't "prevent" incidents like this from happening.

Yeah. You go home where you don't go to bed everynight afraid of EXACTLY what happened or worse. You really must not care that there's crime in your housing area. Why should you? YOU don't live here.

Lincoln Military Housing is bullshit. Do not EVER live in Portsmouth, VA.