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

[DobbyForever]

Yall making me hungry

 

[autumnal]

@gigglebox That sounds like such a natural and lovely way to educate them! I'm sure it's difficult at times (a lot of the time?!) but must be very well worth it! I'm very lucky where I live in Canada there's a Catholic school board that is free like public school, and they're quite good and don't care that we are not Catholic lol

 

[gigglebox]

*salivating* MANGO STICKY RICE!?! You have superb taste @gigglebox !

LOL why thank you!! I just finished it and omg I want more.
And another pumpkin cupcake.

Sorry Dobs

Autumnal -- that is fortunate for sure! My first went to a catholic montessori-style preschool before they shut down without warning. They had funding issues that the director of the school kept to herself and didn't tell anyone, for whatever reason. We were all so upset because if the parents knew, we would have rallied and raised funds, but they didn't give us enough time to even try. We did our best and begged for them to keep it open, but they didn't. I've been homeschooling since (that was in 2019). It actually worked out with timing because they waived requirements for "proof of progress" (end of school testing) due to the pandemic, so I didn't feel as much pressure to preform. We're pretty lax with our school but it works for us and they are doing great with their annual assessments

 

[autumnal]

@gigglebox That's so wonderful you are able to be lax with it. I have always thought as long as you are taught the "three RS" you can pursue anything that interests you!

We "dtd" yesterday but I'm only cd12 and usually ovulate late but having some cramps so fingers crossed

 

[gigglebox]

..."three RS"?
oooh fingers crossed! do you track with opk's or anything?

 

[DobbyForever]

Gigs the home/school you set up for your fam is top notch. I was just talking to my kiddos about how much better everything is when you can see it/touch it/breathe is versus just read about it or look at some photos. I want to put my protein in my coffee but I never end up finishing my coffee hahahah. The combo is new. Schools try to avoid it because it’s honestly sucks for the kids and the sole purpose is to save money and not hire another teacher. It’s just the one class: 15 fourth graders and 13 fifth graders. Oooo speaking of eggs I saw this cute video where this woman had her chickens peck out jack o lanterns for her. I was dying. You did not go overboard! You treated yourself and I’m so jealous!


Autumnal oooo that’s so cool that y’all make your own pasta! A eats like half a box a day lol it’s one of his safe foods. So glad he’s doing better with a new teacher! School is rough. We expect so much out of such tiny people. I have to remind myself they’re like 8 and I need to be nicer to them and I’m supposedly the nice teacher that’s great about the Catholic school though!

HalfricanMa, nice! I hear you. An attachment would be much easier but it’s such a great bonding/life lessons to your kid help make it with you. Love that! So my protein is entirely flavorless hahah. It’s literally straight protein. A blend of whey and casein I think with some green tea extract. I switched from nonfat milk to 2% milk so that’s helped. It’s not that I can’t stomach it. I just get such little pleasure in life right now that given the option between my protein and a snickers bar LOL or like we can’t have fridges in our rooms so I have to keep my milk in the staff fridge and it’s such a long walk and morning recess is so short that if I forget either getting my shaker or milk it’s not worth walking back.

Pho is great but omg I’m so here for ramen right now.

I do need to figure out a game plan for post early dinner though. I'm definitely still a bit hungry and it's like I have 200-300 calories left. She says with a bunch of bananas in front of her, a honeycrisp apple, two mini watermelons, and some mama rice noodles...

 

[gigglebox]

omg all this food talk *drool* I am very much craving sweet things. I will be on a mission for something that tastes literally anything like the pumpkin cupcake from yesterday while I'm in the city tomorrow. Yeah, city...because...first ultrasound is tomorrow! I have been insanely nervous but for whatever reason I am total zen about it in this moment. Omg I love this calm mind, it's a rarity. I hope I can hang onto this until the appointment.

Anyway dobs sounds like you have a sweet tooth yourself, or maybe just fruit...? you know i Have a half watermelon sitting in the fridge that I need to break into before it rots. It's from our garden -- the watermelons were so good this year!! Too many seed though but I guess that's the trade off.

 

[DobbyForever]

I just have a child who insists on buying all these fruits and then refuses to eat them

I love that you’re at peace today!! I can’t believe it’s almost ultrasound day

 

[MrsKatie]

3 Rs- reading, writing, ‘rithmetic haha
We are starting classical conversations this year since I need some outside guidance with homeschooling. I’m just too overwhelmed constantly with trying to make sure I’m doing “enough” especially with my oldest, who is almost 13.
The food talk, oh. Omg. I’m dying for sticky rice. I can’t do grains or sugar whatsoever with my blood sugar issues so I live vicariously through those of you who can.
Ok done thread crashing, do carry on.

 

[gigglebox]

Crash away! And I don’t know that I’m the beat resource but I’m happy to answer any homeschool questions

I have to leave for the ultrasound in 10 minutes. Typing while having a nervous dooo, because that’s how my body does. How very rude. At least it’s (hopefully) striking here rather than at the office.

 

[shaescott]

Mango sticky rice is soooooo good. One of the very few “ethnic” food options we have here in middle of nowhere Vermont is pho, and there’s a great pho place 15 minutes from us! It’s one thing we miss about living in a small New England city (aka not a real city, more like well developed suburbs), all the food options! Here we’ve just got Indian and pho, and one crazy expensive sushi place we can’t afford to go to. There’s a single Mexican counter serve place and it is… not good. Went to a well rated local burrito place 20+ minutes away and the guac was just the store bought crap, and they didn’t even have salsas with heat levels? Just a pico and a cup of hot sauce? Chipotle can do better than that and they get 3.5 stars.

I’m really hoping to be able to homeschool my future children. It’ll depend entirely on finances. That said, there’s no way I’m teaching high school, I am not going to re-learn calculus, and analyzing Charles Dickens and Shakespeare is not on my list of to-dos, for my own sanity. They’ll have to do online courses, or if I’m lucky enough to be in an area with a homeschooling co-op I would do that.

Gigs hoping that your ultrasound was all good and that you’ll have some good photos to share!

 

[gigglebox]

Oh totes mcgoats to online classes. I am probably going to look into that for History very soon as it’s the one class I really struggle with. Honestly I don’t think the younger kids need it too much; we more focus on geography and some world culture things, but the “real” lessons, in my opinion, are best taught later when they will actually retain it. We did US history for MONTHS and my oldest barely recalls it. I’m a little intimidated by finding an online class though because that course in particular can be biased in what/how it’s taught. This is why I like math. Math is like logic puzzles and there’s only one answer (usually). My fave subject ^_^

Anyway…ultrasound went well! Save for the start where the tech couldn’t find anything. She went with the probe first, and it took her a couple minutes to find the faintest ghosty shadow bean with the faintest flicker of a heartbeat. During that time I was very calm actually; I was just like, “oh, there’s no baby…huh…well that explains why this doesn’t feel real.” Anyway she switched to an abdominal ultrasound and there s/he was, clear as day! Well, clear-ish. It is an ultrasound afterall.

The meeting with the ob afterward went fine. Looks like I’m at the age where I’m going to run into younger and younger doctors, certainly younger than me! She had to have been late 20’s, maayyyybe early 30’s but that would surprise me. She was very nice though. I won’t get a plan for delivery until the anatomy scan (ie a c section date). We have a game plan to watch my platelets (they were low in my last pregnancy), which makes me nervous but it is what it is…and my NIPT test is next Friday O_O that seems soon soon! But I’m just hoping and praying all goes well with that. Honestly I am in no rush to learn the sex at this point, I guess because I am still wrapping my head around everything. It’s just an enormous change I was not at all prepared for so it’s been hard…but I know I’ll come around. I’m having more and more moments of excitement; I can’t wait for that to be the dominating emotion.

Last thing is hubby got a little misty eyed when I showed him the pictures Also the kids are pretty excited. I’m not sure my 5 year old really “gets” it but he will as I get bigger! Also he’s always been the one fascinated by babies so I’m sure he’ll be excited when baby is actually here.

Eta—baby measured 8+1-+2 ish, but they’re calling me 8 weeks exactly as that’s what I guessed at for my LMP (I actually wasn’t sure, just went back 2 weeks from my best guess at when I ovulated).
Ok, here’s a picture!

 

[shaescott]

Gigs yeah that makes sense re: history online concerns. I think there are a good number of options for online classes now, so hopefully you can find one from a company that matches your values. That’s definitely a concern for me, and really the main reason for wanting to homeschool. I don’t want strangers teaching my (future) kids moral values that go directly against what I believe. As for math… I like math through algebra one. After that, it’s more stressful than fun to me I think. I liked it most of the time in high school, but I really feel like my brain just can’t do what it could back then. The fact that I got 4s on AP Calculus and Statistics exams back then is wild to me. I do not want to look at a question involving a radian ever again, I didn’t fully understand them then and I definitely won’t understand them now.

AHHHHHHH LITTLE BEAN!!!! I’m so glad he or she is looking healthy in there!

 

[gigglebox]

I never took calculus actually, despite loving math. I ended up going into "discreet math & statistics", then from there too some AP courses for college credits. wtf is a radian?

Thank you!! I put it on my fridge and honestly I'm uncomfortable looking it at lol; but I figure I better get comfortable with it!
Also forgot to mention in the scan the tech was even asking me if I experienced any bleeding (obviously even she was thinking I might not actually be pregnant). This baby is already just full of surprises...!

Today's impulsive food purchase: general tso's from wegman's. I can't eat it all at once so I've been nibbling on it over the past coupe hours.
Also I went to starbucks -- they have a "pumpkin cream cheese muffin" or something that sounded close to the cupcake, so I ordered it...not until I stood around waiting for a couple minutes did they tell me it was sold out I know I saw them in the case so I think they prioritized them to the drive through customers. The did however upgrade me to a tasty sandwich. It was no cupcake but it was still good and I felt like I was about to pass out from hunger so the timing was also good.

 

[autumnal]

Aw what a sweet little bean! I can't believe you were able to stay so calm while they searched for him or her! That sounds rather nerve wracking..

I'm not using opks or anything yet. We are just taking it casually for now. But I used to use them and temp so I have a pretty good idea of my typical O date. Of course, when you start actually thinking about TTC you start noticing every cramp!

 

[shaescott]

Gigs all I know about a radian is that it was the bane of my existence in AP calculus, because I had no idea how to use/calculate it no matter what I tried, anything involving radians I always got wrong. I think it’s something to do with circles? Maybe trigonometry? Idk. I remember doing complex equations in calculus, but I can’t remember what they were called. Differentials maybe? Idk. That might be totally wrong lol.

Oh geez I would’ve been so stressed out with the tech not finding it for a while. That’s too bad about the muffin. I think I’ve had that one in past years. But I rarely ever go to Starbucks, because with the price I’d rather spend my money at an independent cafe. If I’m gonna get chain coffee, it’s gonna be Dunkin. I grew up in MA, so it’s kinda engrained in me lol. My high school football field was sponsored by Dunkin, no joke.

AFM, DH will be taking that exam for that job in the next week. He was going to take it today, but they send out a study guide with the test link and give you 7 days from then to take it, and he saw some stuff on the study guide he wasn’t familiar with, so he’s going to spend the weekend studying with his friend who already knows all this stuff. If he passes and gets through the initial training period, he’ll get a placement with a company. If that happens, as soon as he starts with a company, he said TTC is a go. It’s a really hard test so I’m nervous for him.

 

[gigglebox]

Median + radius = radians?

I wish we had a decent indie shop for coffee nearby. We surely don't. I know of a couple downtown but...ewww, downtown. I used to prefer dunkin but then I discovered vanilla cold brews from starbucks, so there went that. I haven't found my new drink of choice yet though (you know, with less/no caffeine) but I'm certainly open to suggestions.

Oh yea definitely I should have probably been quietly panicking about the inability to find anything, but since I've been rather indifferent at times, I was in that moment. I was just in the headspace of "whatever happens, happens." To be completely blatantly honest, I would be at peace with there having been nothing (well, minus freaking out as to why I am testing positive and my period stopped). I am very anxious about having another baby...obviously I will have time to adjust to the idea, and it's different now actually seeing a fetus and not just lines on something I peed on. Also part of me was truly wondering if I might be in a twin situation because I tick a lot of the "risk" boxes (age, multiple kids, something else I can't remember), and also that I can very much feel my uterus already when laying down...so I was a little distracted with my thoughts. But I mean this is the 4th pregnancy (not counting the 5 week m/c), so I presume my uterus is like, "Oh, this again. Ok." Anyway I guess better I have that situation than an overly anxious patient. The tech was like, "something different every day...!" lol

OMG Shae it's happeninnnnnng!!!! I'm sure he'll do fine!!! ALL the positive juju towards your hubby right now!

 

[shaescott]

Gigs I rarely go out for coffee anymore, it’s expensive and we are poor lmao. Coffee is free for employees at the hospital I work at, so I drink 2 large cups usually at work (probably a solid 500 ml each). They always have regular and decaf, and on weekdays they have a flavored option, which is often really good. If I have time, I’ll also make a coffee before work in the keurig and chug it before I leave. But when I do go out to coffee, I go to my aunt’s coffee shop “downtown” which is quaint Vermont town downtown, not large town/small city downtown. It’s also the next exit from us and about a 15 minute drive.

Considering the headspace you’ve been in, your lack of panic makes sense. I’m glad seeing the baby on the ultrasound helped make it feel a little more real. Also your uterus definitely said “oh this again, okay” I didn’t realize your oldest was 12 btw, that’s so crazy! I’m 5.5 years older than my sister, and I was sooo excited for her to be born. I waited in the birth center watching blues clues in my footie pajamas with my godmother while my mom labored. I was given the option to be present during the labor, and I was until my mom started yelling in transition haha, though she calmly warned me immediately before starting to yell hahaha. I thought it was sooo cool that I got to be right in the other room ready to meet the baby as soon as she was born. Middle school was a little rough for us as siblings because of hormones (for me, she was pretty good in middle school), but after that all was well again, and we’re great friends as adults now.

As for the job, I’m trying not to get too excited. It’s a really hard test and a really hard training. I absolutely believe he’s capable of doing it, but he’s been struggling. So I don’t want to allow myself to get excited at this point. If he passes the test, I’ll let myself get kinda excited haha

 

[shaescott]

For anyone on here who is not younger Gen Z and up to date with the lingo (aka everyone here because I am older Gen Z and not up to date):

TIL (thanks to my 19 year old sister) that the young ladies have decided to reclaim the c word. Yes, that c word. Apparently, it is now a good thing to be described as c*nty, or to be told that you are “serving c*nt”. It is basically synonymous with iconic. Elle Woods would be described as c*nty. If Regina George wasn’t actually a c*nt, she would be described as c*nty (but she’s actually mean, so she doesn’t qualify). Usually used for a very confident feminine aesthetic, usually in a blonde bimbo sl*tty way, though being smart is not at all a disqualifier. I am told that if someone calls you a c*nt, it is still bad, they have to add the y or preface it with “serving” for it to be good. I hope this TED Talk on the latest Gen Z lingo has been helpful.

 

[HalfricanMa]

@shaescott I never would’ve been able to guess that Gen Z lingo! Glad you’re cautiously excited. I’m sure he’ll do great; He sounds studious.
@gigglebox yay for feeling more optimistic having seen the ultrasound. I bet down the road you’ll wonder how you ever felt complete without this little baby. Haha!