Having a baby? Let me tell you how!

I have discovered another facet of human nature that I find fascinating. It seems as though once people find out you (or your partner) is pregnant, the flood gates open and they feel the need to bestow upon you all of their pregnancy and child-rearing intelligence.

I'm not talking things like "Make sure you get a Boppy! They're great!" or "Prenatal yoga sure helped me" - I'm talking about the comments like "You're crazy if you think you're having anything but pizza deliveries for dinner for the first year" once you've told them about your meal preparation plans or "I give it 2 weeks" when you mention plans for a cloth diaper service. The comments are usually accompanied by a sneer, eye roll, or some other charming and attractive facial expression. Everything from judgement calls about what sort of provider you choose for your birth to how you want to give birth to how you manage your day afterwards. We have choices in these matters for a reason.

Granted, not everybody does this, and I have yet to personally receive these comments (my husband and various friends have been the lucky ones). I just find it interesting and peculiar how free people feel to dictate to expectant parents exactly how their pregnancies and lives are going to turn out. Just because one person couldn't manage meals without delivery doesn't mean we can't. And if we find something we can't manage without shortcuts or choose a different option for, it wouldn't make me turn around and assume that the next expectant parent I know should or would do the exact same thing I did (or didn't do).

So what is it that makes people so openly opinionated when it comes to babies? These aren't comments that are made out of concern for health or safety. They're comments that are made out of a I-know-better-than-you, scoffing mentality. You don't normally hear this kind of stuff regarding marriage, job choices, housing choices, etc., so what makes babies fair game?

I don't mean to sound too negative - just honestly curious. I've just never experienced such free-flowing commentary about a subject when people should really just be saying "good for you!" most of the time, unless you're actually asking for advice. People are interesting.

More MacGruber!

Once again, the internet proves to be awesome. On my one other MacGruber post, I mentioned how hard it is to find MacGruber lyrics. The lack of MacGruber lyrics seems to continue to plague the internet....

Enter Swamp Thing. This kind blogger left a comment on the aforementioned MacGruber post with some lyrics to one of the theme songs. I keep thinking one of these days I should just watch a few episodes just to take down the theme song lyrics. At least then all the googlers would finally have some payoff!

Olympics Likes and Dislikes

This is just off the top of my head type stuff, avoiding any political discussion.... I figured I've been watching so much of the Olympics, I might as well add my 2 cents!

Likes

Power Walking - The only thing I could find about this on the NBC Olympics site was this article. Watching power walking is the most amused I've been during the Olympics. As my husband said, they can walk faster than I can run. But it's still funny to watch. :D

Nastia Liukin - I know Shawn Johnson is the sweetheart, but I really like Nastia's style. She was also very classy about the whole uneven bars tiebreak.

Funky Sports - I love seeing all the sports that you don't commonly see on TV, or even realize people compete in, such as Trampoline, Individual Pursuit, or Handball (which is totally different from what I thought).

Bela Karolyi - His commentary is always entertaining and GOOD!

Dislikes

NBC's coverage - They could be showing more events live, or at least on the same day that they're contested. And I could stand to see a few less seconds of their flashy graphics every 5 minutes. We could easily fast forward through that garbage, by why make me do all the work? :/

Rowdy Gaines (I can't bring myself to link to his ACTUAL page) - His commentary during the swimming was so annoying. He spent half the time congratulating himself anytime he made a correct prediction and the other half talking about how Dara Torres was the fastest swimmer in the pool...even after she didn't win. I like her, but I think it just takes away from what she has accomplished by trying to make her something she's not.

NBC again - How many videos are they going to sell of the opening ceremony and Michael Phelps? Who buys that stuff? After hearing some of the backstory to the opening ceremony, I was a little less enchanted by it. I suppose Phelps won't be hurting even if he doesn't see any of the money NBC will be making off him.

Not seeing many medal ceremonies - This is probably more of a dislike to my husband who hasn't been able to hear Australia's national anthem played. I just think we should see more medal ceremonies and fewer shots of Bob Costas and NBC graphics.

Lunar Eclipse Right Now (Except for North America)

A lunar eclipse will be visible today from all continents except North America. From spaceweather.com:

At maximum, around 2110 UT (5:10 pm EDT) on Saturday, Aug. 16th, more than 81% of the Moon will be inside Earth's shadow, producing a vivid red orb visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities.

More info at SpaceWeather.com.

Garden Update with Photos

How's that for a catchy title? I should have had the hubby take photos, but here are some anyway!









As you can see, the beans are doing a little too well. One mental note I'm making is that I probably don't need to plant as many, as much as I love beans. The green onion and carrots (bottom left) seem to be coming along nicely. The watermelon has a few melons on it. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well. I've got 1 lonely cucumber. Haven't seen any cantaloupe yet (unless they're hiding). Some pics....













Isn't that the cutest little watermelon?? I planted Sugar Baby, and I can't wait to see how the melons turn out.













My lonely cucumber - it's a pretty good size though!













Chili peppers










Bell peppers are also kind of cute when they're small. Maybe I just have baby on the brain.










I will enjoy consuming these beans.










Willamette tomatoes













Roma tomatoes


One funny thing about me - I don't like tomatoes (neither does the husband - these will be used in cooking or salsas or something), but I LOVE the smell of a tomato plant.

I think things are coming along nicely for our first garden. It certainly wouldn't have done as well if my husband didn't water it almost every day for me. What would I do without him?

I think next time I will do a little rearranging. I'll probably also do 1 bell pepper plant instead of 2. Lettuce will be somewhere else (probably a planter) just so I have more room. (Side note: the lettuce did really well - Red Leaf lettuce is mighty tasty!) I may choose 1 variety of tomato as well.

Hope all your gardens are doing well!

Must Be Patient for Doctor Who

Well it looks like the fifth season of Doctor Who won't arrive until 2010 while David Tennant does a few shows in a little-known play called Hamlet. I've read from various sources that there will be a few Doctor Who specials with David Tennant in the meantime, but I have no idea how soon the US might get them after they air in the UK.

But who cares about all that! How awesome was this last season??

***STOP READING if you watch this show and haven't seen the end of Season 4.***

Catherine Tate was a great companion. I really liked the pair of them because there were no doe eyes or doting or any of that. She was snarky and hilarious. I was almost sad at the end of the finale because I really wanted her to be the companion again...I wonder if they'll get around it somehow or if he'll have a new companion. I liked Rose a lot better too since she was a little more serious and a little less trashy and obnoxious. :/ I thought the ending with Rose was weird but perfect I guess. She gets her "Doctor" without breaking any of their rules of parallel universes.

I also loved how the different characters from Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures came together for the finale(s). It was a bit cheesy, I know, but that's pretty much Doctor Who for you. I loved the flirtation with Donna and Captain Jack! I think Captain Jack finally met someone he might not have been able to handle. ;)

I think the show did a good job of wrapping things up, yet still leaving me excited for the next season. There was no major cliffhanger, but I'm still eager to see what direction the show goes next. If only we didn't have to wait so long!

Take a Deep Cleansing Breath

One of my favorite phrases lately is "deep cleansing breath". It's funny how the phrase itself can almost be as calming as the action it describes. I was speaking to my friend Persephone's Gate about the subject recently, and we had an interesting discussion about easy it is to NOT breathe deeply. She pointed out that many of us probably breathe very shallow through most of the day. Just think of how much better we'd all feel if we breathed more fully each day.

Taking deep cleansing breaths has also been an important part of my yoga practice, especially since becoming pregnant. As my yoga instructor says, deep breaths are going to be an important factor throughout pregnancy, birth, and being a parent. Focused breathing is helpful in becoming more relaxed, and I'm hoping that by starting my practice now, it will be second nature to me to focus on deep breathing when labor comes.

In everyday life, taking a few moments to breathe deeply can do wonders for your attitude. It's relaxing, yet it also recharges your brain and blood with fresh oxygen, making you more alert. Taking deep cleansing breaths is an easy way to bring a little calm into your life.