Holly’s Life

Can we just move to a big house in the country and make gourmet baby food?

3 questions:

1. How do working moms do it?
2. How do stay-at-home moms do it?
3. How do parents do it?

As exciting as this time is, I wish I could just have a tiny sneak peek a year into the future; we’ll have a 6 month old, I will have been back to work for a few months. Everything will be ok, right?

Random thoughts: When will my desire to cook ANYTHING come back, eating out does not bode well for saving money. Is it normal to have only put on 5 pounds by 15 weeks? I keep telling myself the weight I put on before I was pregnant factors into baby weight - right? heh. Why did we spend twice as much on a twin guest bed than I thought we would? I blame Chris, he liked the more expensive one better Can I really paint if we get low or 0 VOC paint? A little over 3 weeks before we hopefully find out what we’re having (eeee!!) But most importantly, the u/s will show that everything is coming along nicely, just like it should, right? All tests will come back with good results? Will the vintage theme I’m going for in the nursery end up just looking hodge podge? We switched bedrooms this weekend, why does it feel more strange to sleep in a different bedroom in your house than it does to stay in a hotel?

That is all for now. Well, not really, but it’s a good place to stop.

Yes, we have decided to boldy go where billions and billions have gone before us - parenthood!

We are feeling all the things that first-time parents feel: stunned, excited, scared, happy, nervous, hopeful, and much more.

I’m copying a style other gals I know have used when blogging about pregnancy (thanks!); a little Q&A

- When am I due?

March 6. A WINTER baby, how fitting for us!

- Before we wanted to wait longer, what made us change our minds?

May as well put my child-birthing hips to use, right?
Really though, it kind of became a “why not?” scenario. We knew we wanted to have a family but were feeling too selfish with our time and doing what we wanted on a whim. But we have a home, we both have great jobs, things seem stable (knock on wood), and we only have a certain window we can do this. Started thinking that if we waited another 2 years Chris would be 35-36 (depending on when baby came) and we thought about the age we’d be when kids graduate high school and go to college, etc. No offense to older parents of course, we just felt that now was as good a time as any. Plus we didn’t know how long this would take, so, as Chris so eloquently put it when we talked about it “What the hell, let’s go for it.”
ALSO, one of the reasons I had felt hesitant about having kids was because I didn’t feel quite ready for the intense, all-consuming love that parents have for their children. But what I’ve felt for nieces and nephews has been pretty powerful already, so since those little stinkers already put me there, it was too late, so no more excuses

- Did I “know?”

I joked that if you’re doing something as major as creating life inside you that your body should turn blue for a couple hours after conception just so you know what’s going on

But, the answer is yes (kind of), then no, then yes again.
The first time I thought “hmmm, maybe I’m pregnant” was when we were in Chicago in mid-June. We were at the Field Museum where they have the huge T-Rex dinosaur skeleton and a little 25 minute 3D movie you can watch about how they found it, etc. There were parts that were in cartoon to show how it might have looked, with a lot of the dino coming out of the screen and roaring at you. In the 25 minute movie about a DINOSAUR, I got choked up three times. The only rational explanation for that was crazy hormones!
So I thought I might be.

But then we got home from Chicago and I tested on my birthday (June 23, only a couple days before I was due to start my cycle) and it was negative. I knew I shouldn’t have b/c if it was negative I was going to have disappointed feelings on my birthday, but I did it anyway. So I was bummed. But, hey, I could drink for my 30th, right? (oops) Then it seemed like I started my cycle.
Only two days later it still wasn’t really my cycle. Then I was hot a lot and then cold a lot and then I took 3 naps in one day (dad’s birthday). So those were enough to convince me to test again. And then…

- How did I tell Chris?

I took another test and it took a long time to develop, which I thought was weird compared to others I’d tested with. So, we needed to shave our cat. Yes, shave our cat. She had some mats that needed some shaving attention. So we shaved her back. After that was done (covered in fur) I grabbed the test and I didn’t look at it enough to see the result, but I thought I saw two separate words (as in, “not pregnant”) and decided to have Chris look at it before me to really see what it said. He smiled really big and looked kinda dumbstruck and said something like “it’s good.” We were both confused and here’s why: He thought I had already seen it and was confused whyI wasn’t reacting, I was confused b/c Chris ALWAYS fakes me out about things so I thought he was being a shit and faking me out about this. Even though, looking back, he would never do that about something so serious. So I whipped it back and read it and did a little freak out, cry session with him. Took a couple pictures and called my sisters.

But, lesson learned, don’t test early. Just so it’s off my mind, here’s what I did when I didn’t know I was pregnant: drank (a few times), took allergy and cold medicine a few times, drank quite a bit of caffeine, and sat in a couple hot tubs. I know, I know “women who don’t know they’re pregnant do all that all the time and everything’s fine,” but, still, I felt bad.

- How did we tell family/friends?

A small amount of people knew we were trying so they weren’t surprised, but were very happy I called my sisters that night and for the rest of family and friends we told them in person. Chris, naturally, made a “pregnancy test” out of Lego to be used as a prop to tell family members

- How am I feeling?
TIRED but good. I’ve also generally been turned off by all food, but I still eat of course. No major sickness until about week 10 (I thought I made it without morning sickness!) but that only lasted about a week. Other than that, a few things here and there that laid me up for some days; but nothing really constant.

- Will we find out what we’re having?
YES. I’m impatient and like to plan.

So there we have it! Looking forward to this journey together with a healthy baby in March 2012! Much more to come!

Amy, Eric, and the kids came up for the weekend, which, amazingly enough, wasn’t planned until the Monday previous and we were all able to work it out!
Friday night everyone was at our place for my veggie chili and cornbread (my favorite veg. meal I’ve made so far). Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Our house gets really small in a hurry with more than 4 people in it. Good thing the basement is “guest worthy” now though!

Where’s Anna?

There she is!

Took a little field trip to see Breezin’ all spiffed up.

Freckly Lilly

Tub ‘o love, Turbo

Mulch is insta-entertainment

Cutie-pie Eli (that rhymes) playing on the tire

Dad’s pottery wheel and tools

This is Katelynn’s response after seeing me these days about 75% of the time:

Who are you?

Oh, you’re not one of my moms

Please leave

I’m trying my hardest not to be offended

Sarah (did I mention she’s Iowa’s 2010 PGA Teacher of the Year yet!?) giving Eli a lesson

The Hettinger/Bidney/Clarkson boys at the range. I hit a few and it wasn’t pretty…

Forget hitting balls, it’s MUCH more fun to throw them or use a ball as a hammer and pound a tee in the ground!

I’M IN A SUN DRESS! (That’s what she’s saying, I could tell)

Ready for our walk now!

Much like everyone else in the state, I’m sure, we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the weather and being together (that rhymes). After a tremendous time with family, mucho vitamin D, and driving Cocoa enough to use 3/4 of a tank, I was ready to face Monday head-on.

After a brief love affair with a stud muffin model, I started having thoughts about our relationship. What did I want out of it? How long could this really last? Even though he was a bit flashy, what would I have to pay for his health as he got older?

Ok, enough of that. We made the decision to trade in my Cayenne for a Toyota Venza. When I first started seeing them on the street a couple years ago I definitely had “oooo, what is that!?” feelings. We test drove one this weekend and liked it a lot. Our original plan for Saturday afternoon was to test drive and run other errands…two hours later I was trying to stop drooling and was filling out loan paperwork (much to Chris’ chagrin) After some back and forth phone calls we went for it and will pick it up tomorrow.
So, very practical yet nice, and I’m not above loving it b/c it’s chocolate brown.

Not quite a male model, but newer with fewer miles and more bells and whistles and buttons for me to push. And most importantly, much more “me.”

It’s considered a crossover though a friend’s brother said “So you’re wagon people” Maybe we are! I like wagons, but I think it looks less wagon-y in person.

What should I name it? No poop comments We’re thinking Cocoa is a good one.
PS - No that’s not my Pepper in the first pic (as evident by the palm trees) but it’s pretty much the same.

After having skipped last year’s trip, we were muy anxious to get back to Winter Park! It was much like other trips out there - fun, tiring, relaxing, with some intimidating runs (hey, blues can be scary).

The days kind of run together as you’re doing the same thing everyday (breakfast, skiing, lunch, skiing, dinner, hot tub, sleep, repeat) so no need to itemize the days. Mostly just pics to share.

On the lift up. I should always remember that wearing goggles and smiling don’t work out.

Outside of Sunspot, our favorite mountain-top break spot.

Ready to head down

Base

Teeheehee

Pretty

We lucked out and sat across from a really nice couple (Shelley and Nate) on the bus. We always had a lot to chat about and we met up to ski, hot tub, have dinner over the trip.
Before we headed out to ski together

Snowy last day

Bus entertainment

So the ride out was uneventful….the ride home, not so much.

Our driver was late picking us up because she had to put chains on the tires. Once we get out of the mountains it was time to take the chains off.
Chris helping out

Well, in the process one of the tire’s valves was ripped out, causing a flat. It was an inside tire so we could drive to Denver to get it fixed. We stopped at a truck stop for a little over an hour waiting for the tire to be fixed and eating dinner. This was the same truckstop we stayed at for over 8 hours a few years ago when I-70 was closed leading into the mountains. What can we say, the TA truckstop outside Denver is our home away from home
The entire trip home we were in a big snowstorm with the worst road conditions I’ve ever seen. Lots of white outs caused by speeding semis, drifts over the roads, ice, and just general “Please God, let us make it home alive” type conditions. Our 12 hour trip turned into 20! We wanted to get home but we didn’t want to chance the trip (after pressing our luck on the bus trip!) and drive on ice to Des Moines. We stayed at mom’s place overnight so we got to spend time with Amy and the kiddos and mom, not a bad deal!

This past weekend we were in Sioux City for the Hettinger Family Christmas. It was too quick of a trip, but it was great to see everyone again, open presents, eat great food, and play a lot of games. Chris brought his Lego London Tower Bridge, which became a fun thing for everyone to stop by and put a few pieces on. And with that our holidays are officially done; we like to stretch them out as much as possible

Christmas was a couple days ago and I’m already missing it. I’ll be 30 next year and I love it as much as I did when I was a kid, though I suppose that’s a good thing! Anyway, time for a recap. Christmas day was Chris and my mom.

Again, when you’re almost 30 there’s not many times when you can still wear braided pigtails; Christmas morning is one of those times.

Mom in her awesome owl pjs and the heated throw we got her

Chris got a bunch of things Lego-related of course. Both from me and from “Santa.” The great thing about Lego is there are a bunch of things that are very collectible, so for gift-giving occassions I like to focus on the collectible items. This is a Lego Maquette of Boba Fett. One of 1,500 made.

Had to get this one in there too. Evolution of Lego

A much-needed new ski coat! Very ready for our trip now!

After gift opening I snuck in a nap and started in on lunch - veggie lasagna, scalloped potatoes, and green bean casserole. In my awesome pjs I got from my in-laws and the tablecloth I got from my in-laws a couple years ago!

We got all dolled up and headed to Plymouth for Katelynn’s baptism. Amy, Eric, Eli, and Anna came earlier in the day and were with our dad and step-mom, so we all met up for the baptism.

Adorable little miss in her baptism gear with momma Stephanie

Anna loving my necklace. I’m SO excited as she’s a natural red-head! I have no idea where that red came from as both her parents have brown hair. I’m jealous

Eli praying

Lady, I was just fine until you poured cold water on my head

Entertaining the kids in the back

She moved on from enjoying my necklace to my hair

Our family and Steph’s family

After the baptism we did Christmas #2 with mom, Amy, and Eric and fam.

Chris and Eli putting together a Lego Christmas tree

Amy said Eli has been big on boardgames so we got him Memory. When he opened it he looked at it and said “Can I open the next one?” HA!!!

Eli covering up his eyes for his BIG gift - a SPIDERMAN bike!

Eric helping Eli with his BUZZ snuggie

Christmas #3 was the day after Christmas with dad and Roberta at the Hill.

Aunt Amy and cousin Eli time

Last year’s gift proudly displayed

This requires a backstory. About 5-6 years ago I was at a work Christmas party. One of my dad’s employees restores old cars. He came up to me at the party and said he had a dream where I came to his office, pointed at a carbeurator (sp?) and asked if I was named after it (it was a 1969 Holley 2-barrel carbeurator). This got me thinking and I asked my dad if, in fact, I was named after a Holley carbeurator (w/o the ‘e’). He got this giant smile on his face so I knew it was true! I was amazed that I didn’t know this for 23 years and thought it was so random. If this guy never had that dream, would I have ever known this!? So, yes, he had this 1969 Holley carbeurator that he loved so much that when they sold their Beetle, he swapped that carbeurator out and kept it and dragged it around with him over the years and through every move. He finally gave it to this guy to use in one of his restored cars. I gave dad a hard time for giving away my namesake! So here we are, 5-6 years later and I go to open this gift. He had gotten the carbeurator back, mounted it on a wood stand, and had a plaque engraved that says “The “Holly” two-barrel carbeurator. Est 1981″
I CRACKED up and even got a little choked up! Definitely one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. It is now displayed in our home

Yeah, I cried

Cute buns after a nasty diaper

This year’s wine collection, mmmmm

This is also pretty awesome, an air-zooka. Shoots a puff of air at people; we had a great time shooting everyone the rest of the day, hehe

Dad and Roberta with their coordinates doormat we got them and drinking glasses with their boat’s name on them. Weltevreden II

Hi cousin!

This is wear pants go, right?

Eli and Anna next to the Buddha symbol statue I got (means knowledge, agreement, understanding). It will go in our beautimus basement once it’s finished!

That’s it for pictures. We love our little camera, but we’re definitely missing our heftier one. The shutter on it gave out after Chris took a million photos on it We’ll be replacing it soon. My good friend Megan is visiting from NY so we saw a movie with her and her parents last night and caught up a bit last night. Today we’ll check out the Da Vinci exhibit at the Science Center - really looking forward to that!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

SO since it’s been 4 months and 2010 is coming to a close, I thought I better finally blog again! It has been a wonderful year for us Hettingers and families. Even though this should “technically” be done at Thanksgiving, I wanted to list what I’m thankful for in this past year

- The birth of not one but TWO nieces, Anna and Katelynn. Now that both my sisters have children there’s probably a little more internal tugging for a family, but those moments are few and far between Maybe if kids came out covered in fur we’d be more likely to want them sooner than later - I’d go for a long-haired variety

- A husband I’m crazy about. He’s a constant source of laughs, but also strength when I’m not feeling so strong. “Love you so much, forever.”

- Wonderful family on both the Hettinger and Bidney side; always supportive and caring

- Fabulous friends and girls’ nights

- Our furry kids who give the type of companionship only a pet can give. Not ashamed in the least about the insane amount of love I have for them.

- A job I really like and where I feel like a contributing member (even if getting up in the morning isn’t all that fun). Great managers and co-workers make the work environment wonderful to be in. Very thankful for two promotions in two years.

- Our townhouse which is becoming more and more us all the time (oh and thanks to the husband who keeps “letting us” do a project, only to start another one once completed)

- Des Moines Community Orchestra; for being a musical outlet. SO happy that Des Moines has an orchestra for non-professionals who just want to keep playing. Esctatic to be bowing away on a wooden box with strings since I was 5.

- This should probably be farther up on the list, but our health. Besides the occassional bug we’ve been very healthy. Jogging has become rather routine for us (well, not so much with the holidays, but besides that!); love that we do 5Ks together, hope we increase to a 10K in 2011.

- My pescetarian food-life since last March. Whether it’s b/c I’m a Bidney, or a girl (or both) there aren’t too many things about myself that I feel truly proud about, but this is one of them. Not eating anything with fur or feathers puts me at ease. They say that 1 vegetarian “saves” 90 animals a year by not eating meat. Trying new recipes and veggies I’ve never eaten before has been a constant thrill and I’ve been continually amazed at how realistic meat substitutes are (though, yes, they are processed). I’m excited for the 1-year mark and have been trying to think of how to celebrate. Also makes me even crazier about the husband - he’s very supportive and will eat every sans-meat thing I make. “Butternut squash with cous cous!? Mmmmmmmm” he says
It’s been a challenge and there’s still the occassional craving (less and less); I’m not perfect (use leather items) but I’ve enjoyed this learning process more than I could imagine.

- Good wine, good movies, and good books

I was a little ansy last night. But it was the kind of bored-ansy where nothing really sounded fun to do. So, left to my own devices (Chris was in class) I shot random pics at home - enjoy! Some aren’t in 100% focus, but I avoid the flash when I can…

Wall-E and Eve (or is it Eva?)

New plant. The framed pic is from dad. When hefound out I was going veggie he lovingly gave me a framed picture of “A Cheeseburger in Paradise” On a recent sailing trip they visited the island where Jimmy Buffet wrote that song after eating a cheeseburger when he was trying to be vegetarian.

One of Chris’ new co-workers has a pet peacock and he brings in its molted feathers to give away.

Running mates

A ways to go yet in our change jug

My very first pair of Chucks

Reading

Chris’ books

A favorite pillow

A favorite lamp

Need to practice

Viv

Spunky’s pm shot

New orchid

Punks

So You Think You Can Dance

Still lovin’ this floor

Cleaning is fun with a brush like this

One of dad’s beautiful pieces

Temptation (I resisted)

The mistress in the basement

China

Which I need to figure out where to put it (need the perfect antique/shabby chic display case ), because for now it sits like this

All-time favorite movie

Had another whirlwind weekend of family and friend events down in KC! I nicely told Chris that he could probably stay home for the weekend since I’d be busy most of the time doing girlie stuff That worked out perfectly because his parents + Kalli and David stopped through our place Friday night on their way to MN.
Anyway - Friday was April’s bachelorette party! We ate at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner (yummy). Little did we know that Friday was “National Cheesecake Day” so all cheesecake was 1/2 off, which was awesome for price, but not awesome as far as a super-crowded restaurant. Some ladies found this out early and called ahead and sat at the restaurant for a while so we were able to get in close to the original time we planned. After dinner we headed back to A&A’s house and chatted for a couple hours before watching the classic Troop Beverly Hills. I only got one picture that night for some reason and it’s not a good one so I’m not posting it! heh

On Saturday a couple gals and I went out shopping to get all the supplies we needed for A&A’s couples shower that evening. We had a BBQ and everyone brought side dishes. It was hot as hell but still a great time!

Gotta get a picture of a cat in here! Fatty loving my purse (she also loved my shoes)

Jillian placing the perfect little cupcakes perfectly

Sarah and her daughter Greta

Sarah & Steph

The grub (and Mel with son Ben)

Cheers! (I notice that I wear this shirt a lot, should probably change it up a bit more hehe)

Alisha with one of her besties, Crystal (planned April’s bach party too!)

Carolyn and Kelly

Greta with some cute blonde boy I didn’t meet “We’re smiling REALLY big”

Jillian did a superb job planning a couple games. So besides those it was a bunch of catching up and eating!

We were all on Hanthorne House (sorry for the ladies we missed who had left) at Graceland so we had to get a Hanthorne pic!

And doing what we do best, grabbing boobs. April had plenty for us all to share.

After the shower I headed to Independence to be with family because Sunday was my niece Anna’s shower! Loved spending time witih the fam of course. Eli has always been a smarty-pants but his speech has really taken off in the last couple months since I’ve seen him! We had fun around the house - enjoyed splitting time between a fun three year old and a cuddly two month old! People came over for the sip ‘n’ see open house in the afternoon.

Steph getting practice

Eli already a pro at ipod touch games - he’s really good!

Bathing lesson for Steph!

The set-up

Lovins

Sisters

Chillin

Holly, please take this off immediately

Da and her youngest (of 3 girls) Vivienne

That’d be about it! I’ll have another weekend like it in a few weeks with a wedding rehearsal, wedding, and then Eli’s 3rd birthday party! By then it will almost be September. I am SO ready for September/October and beyond to get here to cool off a bit. I’m a little run down and sick, but we’ve managed to go for a couple jogs this week. The plan is to get started on a 10K training schedule….eek!

I was trying to think back how many years we’ve been going down to Penny and Tom’s in KS for the 4th. 6? I think that’s right. Anyway, it was a great time just like this time, this time, this time, this time, and in 2009 too Not sure why there’s not an entry for that one.

The Hardenbrooks came down this year again as well. Not a whole lot to say other than the usual BBQ, games, fireworks, puppies, kittens, conversations, etc. were great!

Cute little miss Danica in Penny’s work boots

Working on making malts (yes, in a mixer)

Dad, Dani, and Kalli

Hardenbrook clan

Storm rolling in. Like a lot of other places, we were rained out (in) some of the weekend

Looks like we weren’t much of shutterbugs this weekend!

So we’re back to work and working out again which makes me VERY sore, but that’s exactly what I wanted. Been looking up more new-to-me veggie meals and planning a trip to the store soon. Chris has been cooking up more ideas for LEGO stuff and has the next couple weeks off of class which means he just might finally tackle the Millenium Falcon. It’s a good thing we have a LEGO room in the basement where we can keep the giant mother once it’s done. Considered the bedroom, though, since an alternate spelling for Millenium Falcon is R-O-M-A-N-T-I-C, but I still think it’ll be relegated to the basement.