Author Archives: Kara

19 Weeks and Keeping it Under Wraps

Posted in Baby #1, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Update by

Baby names: They can be a touchy subject.

Sometimes, family members want you to keep a tradition going, like using a certain name as a middle name. Other times, family members don’t care what you name the kid.

Luckily for Kyle and I, our family hasn’t given us much input as to what they’d like to see us name their future grandchild. The only mention was of “passing the family name down”, which will obviously happen if we have a boy. Not that there’s a legacy attached to it or anything like that. There is a quasi-tradition of making the middle name of the first-born son the first name of his grandpa (so Kyle’s dad). This is not happening. Also not happening: Giving any child the first name of another family member. No, there will be no “Jr’s” in our household!

But – The topic of discussion isn’t actually whether or not we’re naming our child after anyone. It’s about keeping our list of baby names to ourselves. You see, friends of ours had a baby girl a couple Octobers ago, and they let it slip what they would’ve named their baby if they had a boy. Last September, mutual friends had a boy and used the same name. Not cool.

Since Kyle and I have decided to find out what we’re having (which, will *hopefully* be Thursday at my ultrasound appointment!), we have been slamming our heads off the walls trying to come up with baby names. Girl names, to be more specific. Our boy name is pretty rock solid.  Regardless, we’re not telling anyone what the opposite gender’s name pick is because we do plan on having at least one more child (maybe two!) and we don’t want our names snatched up by greedy friends, especially since I know a few people also having kids this year (due after me to boot).

I don’t even know how keen I am on telling family the names we have picked out because some of them are easy to let news slip accidentally. The only thing we’re willing to tell people for now is if we’re having a boy or a girl.

I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or not, but I don’t think it’s an absolutely ridiculous idea.

Anyway – Here’s this week’s pregnancy update!

How far along? 19 weeks

How big is baby? He or she is about 6″ long from crown to bum, and weighs about 9 oz., according to BabyCenter.ca!

Total weight gain/loss: 

Maternity Clothes? Nothing new, actual clothing-wise. I did, however, get a Bella Band from a girl in town for dirt cheap ($5!!!) because it was “used.” It was a screamin’ deal considering a brand-new one is $28 USD plus shipping, which I would’ve had to send to my grandparents who are snow-birding in Palm Springs and then have them ship it to Canada for me. (They don’t ship to Canada). Anyway – It’s seriously the BEST thing ever. If you’re too lazy to click the link, it looks like a tube top that you wear around your waist to hide your unbuttoned pants to make things more comfortable in your pre-pregnancy clothing. Since I’m too cheap to go on a maternity wear shopping spree just yet, it’s the best! I highly recommend it to any expectant mom!

Stretch marks? Still none!

Sleep: I can’t seem to get comfortable. It’s horrible, because I toss and turn, which wakes Kyle up, and then we’re both grumpy in the morning.

Movement: I feel more and more movement every day, it’s amazing! I can now actually feel it when I put my hand on my tummy! Kyle even got to feel a couple pokes the other night, which just warms my heart.

Food cravings: I finally satisfied my intense craving for ice cream and Chinese food all in the same night. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but my dreams weren’t too weird! I actually dreamed that we had a girl, lol.

What I miss: Taking sinus pain killers. I get THE WORST sinus headaches and not being able to take my Advil Cold & Sinus is slowly killing me, I swear. Saline nasal spray just doesn’t cut it.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully finding out what we’re having on Thursday! We’re both soooo excited for my ultrasound – I hope baby cooperates so we can see what it is!

Milestones: Definitely Kyle feeling the baby move. It put such a huge smile on both our faces :)

Photo: 

Questions:
Do you plan on keeping your baby’s name a secret until he or she is born?
What about the names you like but didn’t use?

Friday Bullets

Posted in Lists, Random by

Ah, Friday. Thank goodness you’re here. Today, you get a list. Because I’m feeling fairly lazy, but not so lazy where I can’t blog.

  • I got fitted for contact lenses yesterday. It turns out, my left eye (the one that’s obviously bad to me) is still bad. No biggy. However, I also learned that my right eye has astigmatism. What? So, now I have a special contact for my right eye, and a not-so-special contact for my left eye. That should be fun if I mix the two up!
  • Also eyeball related: Contacts are going to take a hella-while to get used to. Hella.
  • Kyle and I are going to a play tonight. How cultured are we?! We’re going to see Lorne Cardinal (A.K.A. Officer Davis in “Corner Gas” – if you’re Canadian and don’t know what I’m referring to, we can’t be friends) act in “For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again” because we’re fans of his. I’m looking forward to it!
  • The company that did our taxes last year f-ed up and now we owe the stinkin’ government $200. Bastards. They’re lucky we’re using an actual accountant this year, because there’s no way I’m going back to them after that. Jerks.
  • I’m ridiculously excited for my ultrasound next Thursday. Like, seriously cannot-wait-for-that-day-to-get-here excited. Eeeee!
  • I finally picked up the Book of Negroes from the library and I can’t put it down!
  • There were three police cars and an ambulance at a house down the street from me and I wished I was at work so I could hear on the dispatch scanner why they were there. I’m going to be one of those little old ladies who sits by the scanner for all the going-ons in town.
  • Kyle’s mom and her BF are hosting a game night tomorrow evening and I’m super stoked for it. There’s prizes and everything! I’m making stuffed mushroom caps and I may just hoard them all for myself. I’m pregnant, so I’m allowed.

What are your weekend plans?

 

 

What I’m Reading: Room

Posted in Book Review, What I'm Reading by

What I'm Reading

Synopsis, from Goodreads.com:
To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world… It’s where he was born, it’s where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack’s curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating–a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

 —

Room was one of the two books I picked up from my local library. I had seen in stores but whenever I read the book jacket I was apprehensive to actually buy it. I put it on hold at the library and a few days later it was available to pick up!

The story of Jack and his mom (Ma) is told through Jack’s eyes, a sheltered 5-year old who has lived in “Room” all his life. His mom was kidnapped by “Old Nick” when she was 19 and is kept in a garden shed-turned-makeshift house/shack.

To be honest, it took me a while to catch onto Jack’s unique language. Because he’s only ever lived in Room with just his mom, he has no sense of the “real” world. To him, Room and the things in it are the only thing that’s real. Once I got used to the way he describes things, it was a lot easier to follow along.

I don’t know if I loved the book, but I didn’t hate it either. It was definitely a lot different than books I normally read, and it had quite a few shocking and “REALLY?” moments. Really, I kept reading to see what happens in the end because the story of Jack and his mom and what they go through together is pretty amazing.

If I were to rate the book, I’d give it Three out of Five. It was good, but it wasn’t amazing.

Have you read Room? What did you think of it?
Do you plan to read it?