Monday, December 1, 2014

A month of Learning

You know that moment when you graduate, finish College, walk out with that degree and think, "Yes, I finally finished learning, now onto life." Yeah, I just rolled my eyes over that statement too. Funny how I thought that at the time though.

I feel like I am now earning three Master degrees: California Survival, Pregnancy and Mother Studies, and What to do with Life and its curve-balls. Throw in minors in Nannying, Marriage, Cars, etc.

We have enjoyed living in California for the most part. It is very new and different for us, which always takes awhile to get used to. There are a lot of pros and a lot of cons, the cons just happen to be more prominent.

One con is driving in California. People aren't joking about traffic. We do not go out driving for 4-5 hours of the day. Not just avoid, but we DO NOT go into the craziness. There are a lot of really really bad and aggressive drivers here and when the two mix it can be pretty scary.

We broke our rule of not going out during traffic two weeks ago when we took a friend to the airport. On our way home, traffic was as thick as frozen molasses. Our lane suddenly slowed down and we complied, talking back and forth about random things. Then Brent looks up and says, "Please don't hit us, don't hit us, don't hit us!" I had a second to tense before we were slammed into. Out tumbled our radio system and glass shattered all over the backseat.

The car that hit us made its way over to the side. We tried. A horrible grinding sound resulted and we barely managed to make the car move the two-lanes over to the shoulder (all while cars were zooming past, not letting us switch lanes to get over. I wasn't joking when I said California drivers are crazy and mean!) I got out of the car and forced myself to look at the damage on our only car. We exchanged information with the lady as the State Tow service showed up to haul us off the freeway. Our car wouldn't drive, and we had to figure out how to get an expensive tow truck to take us the 1 mile left to our apartment. Heavenly Father was watching out for us that night in more ways then making sure we weren't injured. The nice tow-man explained to us that he could get fired and in a lot of trouble if he hauled us home (his job was just to drop us off the freeway) but if we waited ten minutes his shift would be over and he'd take us home for free.

It was a small but huge blessing for us. We spent the next few days in a whirlwind talking to insurance companies, me freaking out over baby's health, and figuring out what to do without a car. The lady's insurance covered a rental thank heavens and so I was able to go to doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, and work!

Brent has spent the last week slaving over the computer looking at used cars for us to buy. After a lot of stress and hard work Brent found us a car! We were able to buy it, and I hope that it turns out to be a good car for us.

Pregnancy has been good so far. Brent and I joke that I could get a job as a surrogate mother after this because I have such easy pregnancies. I may not get sick, but I'm definitely feeling uncomfortable now. My belly has expanded like crazy and my belly button now has a mind of its own. I constantly find myself looking down and saying, "Well, huh, hmm, what's going on here?"

 This is a very accurate picture of what I look like when trying to get out of bed. 

And this is how my days and nights go (why??? it's 3am...why??)

All in all I'm loving being a 'mom' but am feeling very unprepared for all the things I should know. Books anyone? Currently I can only tell you how I will be feeding my child and how I can emotionally prepare myself for labor. There are a lot of gaps to fill.