General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[DobbyForever]

Winter, I feel you on the chicken cage! Anything in that line of bedding and changing it is too much for me. I don’t mind shoveling poop, but ugh. I don’t want to replace bedding even on a small scale like a rabbit. I helped my ex (first proposal actually) completely change the bedding in his parents’ chicken coop as a surprise thank you for letting us stay at their house for a week. I got so sick after! I also don’t know if it’s connected, but I came down with mono not too long later. Love the eggs though. I’m with you. I feel like in theory I’d say I could kill them for food, but I think I’d chicken out last minute. And awww I have a coworker who only adopts dachshunds. I wanted one for a long time growing up, but now I’m a big dog only kind of person lol.

That’s amazing (hahaha) that AR is still going! Good, wholesome fun.

I def watched GoT because it was definitely a bit much at times. Especially that first season. So much unnecessary nudity. But then you’re committed to the story and have to see it play out haha. I have HBO I don’t use.

I need to talk to my cable company. My bill is $220! Like I need y’all to bring that down, I have one tv! Wtf. I’m also paying my mom’s cable to fake my address LOL so I can always just stream what few things I watch online through her account.

Gigs haha well you have to wait for both male and female flowers to bloom. I used a small paintbrush, and you basically swish the paintbrush on the male flower to get the pollen on it then put that into the female flower and swish it around. It’s like artificial insemination but with plants I just felt dirty doing it sometimes. Like I know they’re just flowers but still haha. Ending up only growing one decent cucumber and making one delicious jar of pickles. But I can’t get anything to stay alive. Not sure if it’s me or this zone I’m in or my planter/soil. But all in all, I’d rather just buy a jar of vlassic and call it a day. That’s great though that hubs can do it. Good team!

Um physically I’m feeling good. No more cramping or back pain. Finally got a chat about my feelings. It still hurts, and I don’t particularly want to go to work. But I’m anticipating a s* show. The union has already said a bunch of teachers are reporting positive an on quarantine. We already have a massive sub shortage. Emotionally, better. It feels good to cry. Kind of a "What is grief, if not love persevering?" thing. Was in the store and "Lose Somebody" came on. I felt so detached when I was pregnant, it's nice to feel love for her again. It's hard. I know she would have had a hard life, but when I see newborns it hurts.

Re the lines. Yeah I haven't brought it up to my doctor. I know I have a phone appointment next week to go over everything and then see if I need any further testing or a scan. The first line made sense because it was so light. Made sense. I did feel a bit relieved. I just don't understand why the line is getting darker.

My mom’s school has no admin right now. The principal and both teachers in charge tested positive last week. They have three additional teachers out as well with covid. My friend’s school actually shut down today and tomorrow because they have 7,000 students out district wide and 500 staff out. Some school’s hav half of the staff out. So they just said forget it and are using two of their allotted smoke days to full on cancel school today and tomorrow. There’s a part of me that hopes my pcr test tomorrow comes back positive. I don’t want to go to work. But I also can’t call out now for personal leave knowing there won’t be a sub. We do have 4 prep teachers to cover unfilled absences, but who knows how many people will be out.

 

[DobbyForever]

I emailed my ob to see what her thoughts are. I'm sure it's nothing though. I know my hcg levels were really high for 6w, so hopefully it's just a reverse hook effect situation.

 

[WinterBub]

Glad you contacted them. It's probably all fine, but one of those things that it is definitely preferable to check in about.

We cut our cable 5ish years ago. It was completely absurd. We also cancelled our home phone contract. We liked having it for emergencies, but that was also way too expensive for what it was. We just stream now- you should have a look at sling, hulutv, YouTube tv etc. Not sure what would be available in your area. But that saved us big-time every single month. I was surprised too- I called the cable company to cancel and expected to be offered a deal, but they were just like "fine, see ya!"

Oh yeah, the tomatoes! I think I used a spoon handle to do it. They sell a special tool shaped like a bee, but I didn't have that. I didn't realize at first that you needed to do anything, but luckily caught on and it seemed to work out. Pretty much like Dobby said, just poke around in the all the flowers and you end up bringing pollen from one to another. It is really odd I actually didn't realize that is how fruits like that grow! this is why homesteading isn't for me- not outdoorsy enough! Your eggs sound amazing, giggle.

 

[shaescott]

Gigs I couldn’t kill them myself either, I feel a little bad when I kill a spider (not enough not to kill it though), a chicken is not gonna happen, let alone a larger animal. I can’t just take care of them and raise them and then go “haha just kidding” and kill them, I know they’re dumb but what if they understand the betrayal? Ugh this is reminding me that idk if I’d even be able to send off chickens to be “processed”. SO would definitely have to send them off, but I’d have to be warned in advance so they aren’t just gone one day when I come back from work, I’d need to say goodbye. Agh I’m too emotional a human.

Dobs hm that’s odd about the hcg. I’d agree that it’s most likely the hook effect.

SO is having a hard time post-maybe baby incident, poor guy. I didn’t realize at first that he was taking it kinda hard until he told me. He thinks it’s more likely that it was just a bad test but part of him still thinks maybe I was (so, just like me) and while he’s mostly relieved, there was a part of him that was excited he said, so now there’s a part of him that’s sad and grieving that loss.

Currently trying to make sourdough bread. Last time my dough wouldn’t rise. First time it worked perfectly. Tried with a different recipe but it’s not rising and it called for less starter so I added a crap ton of starter that I’d left on my counter that was bubbly, plus some flour. Take 2, waiting another 2 hours to see if it does anything.

 

[gigglebox]

Shae do you need special equipment for sourdough bread? If not please share any good recipes you find! We love it here.

i have to be honest, this c/p (or whatever it was) sounds like it may have been the best thing that could have happened for your relationship. It’s got the ball rolling on engagement and has moved SO closer to being on the same page with TTC. I know the outcome was disappointing but this is certainly a huge silver lining. And one month away will be Valentines Day……do you think he’d be the type to propose on Valentines?

honestly with the animals, the key is to have enough you don’t get attached. That’s the problem with the ducks — my son has them all named. They all look too different and can be told apart. So no way we could eat them! The ones we had processed were 4 pekin ducks. I feel horribly guilty about those ones. They were so lean from free ranging, they ended up not being meaty at all — we couldn’t really eat them. They were basically processed for nothing, and that has always bothered me. But we didn’t know…a learning experience I guess. There are many to be had homesteading/farming!

 

[gigglebox]

Oh shae the raising the pigs thing made me think of handmades tale. That was such a sad/disturbing scene! I have my hulu currently cancelled buy will sign back up for next season

we also don’t have cable, just youtube and prime now. There’s nothing good on tv anymore

 

[DobbyForever]

It's such a pain to cancel. You can't do it online. Then you gotta argue with the rep on the phone who is trying not to get you to downgrade. Like you are not hearing me when I say I literally don't use my cable service or landline service, so even if you get me some amazing plan deal I'm then paying like $50 in extra taxes and fees and rentals that I don't want to pay. Ugh. Like just give me my internet and move on. Eyeroll. It's funny because I always get these drawn out please don't drop any services conversations when I'm set on what I want but then when I try to lower my bill just to get it lowered they're always like bye Felicia!

Winter, right?! Like I mean I knew but I also didn't know! Or even that there were different sex flowers. I thought it was like all in one flower or something. Idk. This is why I'm not a science teacher lol.

Shae awww that's sweet. That would kind of suck to come home and them just be gone. Even if you knew that's what they were raised for. I think I'd only care if it was one I was attached to. If I came home to a chicken being gone, pft. Cool. A cow though, man. I didn't realize how smart/dog like calves are. So that would bother me. Good luck with the sourdough! Hope it works out this time around.

I'm glad SO opened up about his feelings. And I knows it's sad, but it is nice in a way that it's helped him to really see that he wants to start moving more quickly towards building a family with you. Like yes, you've been building your lives together but that building the family part is an exciting step. Sorry he's having a rough time

Gigs my mind always went to V-Day hehe

And seriously. I'm the one footing the bill for all the streaming apps. I just re-signed up for Hulu for a month so I can watch the Yashahime as they roll out. Comparing everything to Starbucks/movies I no longer watch in theaters haha. So rn I have Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus. I still think the price of internet is bull. My bill will be $140/month after taxes. Like back in college, I was paying $120 for two tvs with DVR and I was gaming hardcore. But my current bill is $220. He was like I can keep all your current junk and get you down to $190. I was like looooook don't get me wrong, $140 for internet makes me cringe but I'm more comfortable with $140 than $220. Eyeroll.

 

[DobbyForever]

My ob was like well duh you probably just have a persistent hcg in your system still. Let us know if your next period is hella heavy or hella delayed or you get hella cramps.

In other news, can’t make this s* up A’s daycare room is down again for a week. Smfh I’m a little annoyed that like they brought the kid knowing she had been exposed and were waiting on her pcr tests. Like my kid was only there for a day and a half. Come on now. And then it’s like well if I he just had covid then are we immune? Can we go to Disneyland? Lol

 

[gigglebox]

good grief dobs you just can't win! if you can't call out, and A can't go to daycare, what do you do?

oh disney + i totally forgot we definitely have that too. Did anyone see Encanto? it was visually amazing but I thought the story was pretty meh. I didn't like the music much at all.

 

[DobbyForever]

I have to call out. Nobody in my fam can help out. And if there’s no sub, tough s*. I joked that they can just set me up on a Zoom call with my class he did not appreciate that LOL. But seriously I asked his doctor if he’s immune/contagious cuz I’m about to just go on vacation rn if he’s immune and not contagious

no! It looks like something that will make me cry lol. My friend said she cried because one of the characters reminded her of me. But she was also drunk af so idk how accurate that is

 

[DobbyForever]

Shae though I’m also just saying if we’re tossing out planting subliminal Feb proposal dates just consider that February 22nd this year is TUESday 2/22/22. Just saying

 

[gigglebox]

Honestly it wasn’t sad EXCEPT the part where they go over the old woman’s backstory, which is tragic af and made me bawl. I hate crying in movies.

i mean I would totes go do something fun if it were me. Not his fault things are closed again!

also pollinating plants sounds tedious and not fun. I still wanna try it though.

Y’all I’m having the whole repeated glancing at my test hoping a line appeared thing going on :sigh: I don’t know why suddenly this month things are hitting me. Maybe it’s just the kids aging and my deadline on babies fast approaching. Actually next month was basically the latest I ever wanted to get pregnant.

oh well. Sorry to keep rehashing the same thing, just trying to sort it out in my mind!

 

[MrsKatie]

Hey ladies, I posted here once upon a time years ago and i follow along sometimes.

I just want to respond especially to @DobbyForever and say I am so, so sorry you lost your baby girl. That heartache is hideous and unrelenting. My loss was weeks earlier than yours and I was steamrolled by grief. One thing that has startled and scared me with loss also is the rage. So whatever you’re feeling… you’re not alone.
I also wanted to post because I spent over a decade in active alcoholism and addiction and I know where you are right now. A stint in rehab in 2007 cleaned me up but then I moved in with a man I met in rehab (oh how they warned us… but WE were DIFFERENT… ugh) who relapsed hard and I followed suit. He has since died from his addiction and that haunts me every day.
Anyway, I just want to say you can recover. I thought I was hopeless and I’ve been sober almost 12 years. And I was in deep. I can’t recommend Smart Recovery enough. There’s a forum and the approach is so empowering.
There is nothing wrong with you and you aren’t broken or stupid or a failure. You are hardwired to seek what’s familiar- we all are. To seek the same relationships, to keep the same habits, even the ones that hurt us. If they are familiar, our mind thinks they’re safe. We are all wired this way. Not very long ago, leaving our tribe meant certain death. The familiar was our only hope for survival. Drinking is familiar. You can start saying to yourself: “I am making sobriety familiar.” It will work. I’m telling you it’s not only second-nature not to drink/use, it’s PREFERABLE and what I actually want. I don’t even think about it anymore. You will get there too.
I’m also from Oakland so give the Bay Area some love from me. I’m one of the many who threw up my hands and moved to the Pacific Northwest… sure miss that sunshine.

@WinterBub fwiw they have recently changed the guidelines and sushi is officially ok’d during pregnancy as long as you get it from a good spot. Yoshi’s, not 7-11. I craved sushi desperately every time and basically cried tears of joy during this last pregnancy when my midwife told me the guidelines had changed.

@tdog hi

will respond more soon but just wanted to say those things

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Hey all. Sorry for this selfish post, but I took a rapid Covid test today cuz I had a sore throat and achy legs for the last day or so and it came back positive.

 

[tdog]

@MrsKatie love so glad you got sober what an amazing story I no some people some I've known for years won't go into rehab and I'm waiting on phone calls every day, one very dear man who was like a father to me died of being a alcoholic I was broken after that I had lost my dad 6-7 months earlier of prostate cancer, he sort of stepped in like a father figure then he died at that point I thought there was something wrong with me everyone kept leaving I was 12-13 at the time, but being that age I learned to just carry on with life xx

@PrettyInInk42 oh no not selfshish at all hope you feel better soon xx

 

[gigglebox]

Hi Katie! Welcome again Wish I had more to say but I, thank God, have yet to run in with that close of a tie to someone with alcoholism. Now my Dad’s best friend who is like an uncle to me lost his wife to it, but I was younger, and honestly I didn’t know her nearly as well as my “uncle” because she would avoid parties. My Mom thought she didn’t like to come because she couldn’t say no to the alcohol, but I am now wondering if she was drinking alone instead…? We’ll never know. But it was quite tragic, she had kept herself in a different room sometimes (I think she was also depressed) and one day, when she hadn’t left it in a bit, my “uncle” went to check on her and she was gone, drank herself to death. I can’t even imagine. I am so sorry for anyone who loses people to it.

pink oh no, I hope you feel better soon! I’m sure you will be fine, and you’re giving that sweet baby antibodies rest up hun! Hopefully SO can help with the other kiddos while you’re down.

 

[DobbyForever]

Pretty oh no! I hope you’re not feeling too awful from it. I agree, hopefully SO can help out with the boys and that they’re also feeling alright. Hoping it passes quickly.

Gigs big hugs. I think that’s totally natural! Honestly, that’s part of why I was more lackadaisical than I should have been the last few cycles. That realization that I will be 33 next year, and I had planned to have my second and last child at 32 as I didn’t want to be over 50 when they go to college. My stepdad was 50 when the twins were born, but both my mom and dad’s sides had kids super young so my stepdad is the age of my grandparents. Never really sat well with me. And it’s definitely what Flueks said about the idea of officially saying your family is complete. It’s a huge shift in how you look at your life. Lots of emotions to process. All completely valid. And big hugs. I’m sorry to hear about your aunt

Hi Katie! Definitely recall seeing you around. Hope things are going well. Thank you for sharing your story. I know it’s not easy, and I appreciate it. Oakland is def a hop, skip, and a jump from where I am. Go Warriors! It's definitely a struggle, and for a long time I refused to believe I had a problem because I am so functional. But something clicked a few years ago that if you have this inner voice telling you to drink in situations where it's not warranted/a bad idea or you're like physically in pain refusing a drink, then you have got yourself a problem. Bit funny because my parents called me an alcoholic for years, but the second I owned it and said yeah you're right they were like no you're not. I just don’t like to be needlessly casual about it in front of A. I really believe it’s best when parents can model a healthy relationship with alcohol, but it’s so much more complicated when there’s a parent who has struggled and a family history of addictive behavior. I am so sorry for your losses, and I am so happy to hear that you’re in a good place individually. We’ll destroy our lives to a certain degree, but I can’t say I’ve lost anybody to it. Usually it manifests as food, love/relationship, and video game issues vs proper substances. The sunshine is nice, but you can’t beat the orcas and prices and (depending what state) lack of property taxes in the Pac NW! Not that I have the balls to leave the bay.

I just feel like I spent so much time in therapy after I left my ex, and I got really good about no longer ignoring the red flags and not settling. But Virginia. Oh man, the red flag radar went off day one but I still want him. And if it wasn’t for A, I would ride that horse all the way to Kentucky. Just makes me feel like I’m never going to break that cycle because I’m just attracted to douche. Fishing boat, backwards hat, sunglasses, I know I’m hot smile, tall, frat boy douche who enjoys a bit of choking during fun times. Everyone has their theories on why but that’s me. I just don’t think I’ll get a handle on that any time soon.

Tdog sending love. So sorry. That’s really hard when you’re wondering if the people you love are ok.

AFM well they’re letting the kids who weren’t in this week go to school next week as the teachers who work that room are fully vexed and boostered, so they’re not required to quarantine according to the new guidelines. So I am kicking myself for taking him, but I really was on the verge of losing my s*. Just sucks as still no sub, and the district basically said there’s no chance in Hades that we’d go to distance learning unless the state essentially forces us to. A’s school said kids who test negative Wednesday can come back Friday. Everyone else can come back Monday. So I asked what about A because we can’t test right now, and his doctor got back to me and said it’s her professional opinion that he’s immune and doesn’t need to isolate because he literally just had it a week ago. The director said she has to ask corporate. I told them obviously nbd if the answer is no. Part of why I picked a corporate daycare is because I like the idea that they have strict rules to abide by. I did love her email though. Like you could tell she was trying to be professional, but she was clearly annoyed because she never emails the whole school. She was like JUST FYI we shut down three rooms today. So for the 5th time let me remind you of the rules about staying home. P.S. If you are testing your kid and awaiting results, your kid should not be at school until the results are in. Like this girl was in all week, including yesterday morning. She was literally at school, and her parents phoned in to be like BTW her results are in as positive. We’ll be in as soon as we can to pick her up. Again, I’ve taken my sick kid to school so no judgement. But still judgement. Only because you know covid is more than a common cold and that they have to shut the room down. I still do not have a sub. But even if it’s just Friday vs the whole week off, then that would be helpful. I really did consider Disney but I don’t want to drive. We could maybe fly and get a Disney hotel that shuttles to and from airport/ walking distance to the park. I just think it’ll still be too overstimulating for him and I’m scared to go alone. And the whole I’m broke lol. So we’ll probably just hit the zoos and aquarium. I took a rapid this morning, still neg. I have my pcr today so a lot of what we do depends on how that comes back. My symptoms come and go.

 

[gigglebox]

Dang Dobs taking the kid while still waiting on results, that’s bold. Ugh I always hated emails like that though at work, the giant group ones that passive aggressively call you out lol. I want to get the kids to the aquarium if we can sometime soon. I’m not sure #3 will be old enough to really remember it but I think the other two would super dig it. If not maybe just the zoo, about half the distance.

hubs had to go into work today so I was able to take one more test, the wally cheapie. Tooootally negative so definitely out. I’m going to really try and get over things and focus more on working out and on the kiddos. We’ll be starting #2 in kindergarten this year! I can’t believe it. I mean he’ll be homeschooled but crazy that he’s officially of school age this year. Depending on #3’s interest, I may just him too. He’s one smart cookie and absolutely adores and admires #2, wants to do everything he does anyway so maybe I can take advantage of it

 

[WinterBub]

Will write more later: just coming in with a for you, Pretty. I'm sorry- I'm sure it's stressful and worrying being pregnant. Someone on here had a thread about being pregnant with covid, which I thought was helpful. Will see if I can find it... She was put on blood thinners, but not sure if that's standard for all pregnancies or just her exact timing etc of when she tested positive. In any case- maybe set up a telemed with your family Dr/OB to see if they would suggest anything?

Hope you're feeling fine, and that is passes for you quickly.


Thread:
Covid in 3rd Trimester (vaccinated)

 

[Flueky88]

Pretty so sorry. I hope you feel better soon.

Dobby that's crazy that they still took kids to daycare with pending results.

Thanks for the suggestion. If we went to the beach we would probably go to the gulf, FL, or along the east coast. I want to Disney World sometime but currently waiting to see if FIL books a Disney vacation. He uses his points and we just pay for tickets and food. So much cheaper to go but perks of being at a Disney resort. We probably won't go if mask mandates are in place which may be never. The thought of being in humid heat in FL with masks just sounds miserable to me.


Hi Katie.

Winter how have you been feeling?

Gigs that sounds like a good plan to focus your energy elsewhere. Also I think it's amazing that you are homeschooling. I'm also a little sad thinking V will start school this year. Trying to prepare her as she doesn't go to preK or daycare.

I can't remember who mentioned it but I cringed at the toxic relationship in Bridgerton. I don't understand romanticizing toxic relationships either.

AFM not much going on for me. Fixing chili for supper on this cold day and being a bit lazy today.