Pets or Plants??

I used to like pets… all pets.. and I would want to buy every type of pet on impulse. At least that is how the pet purchases always ended up.

For some reason, everything has changed.. I don’t want pets.. especially cats and dogs. Sam is allergic to cats and we are both anti-dog these days. I read an article on how great it is for kids to grow up with animals. They are smarter, more obedient, have fewer allergies, and have a healthier mental outlook on life (less depression and anxiety)… etc. etc. etc.

Ever since I read that article I have been feeling guilty.. like we have to get a pet for the kids to grow up with. We have thought most seriously about a mini horse.. a goat and a pig. We thought we could build a mini stall in the yard and feed the animal everyday and it wouldn’t be one of those “lifestyle” pets… that we have to take with us everywhere we go. We certainly wouldn’t keep it in the house… which means no accidents on the carpet.. less cleaning and paranoia for me. I’ve also thought that maybe those weren’t the most loving pets… and possibly our child wouldn’t have a strong bond with them... therefore, some of the positive outcomes for raising children with pets wouldn’t come to fruition. I thought that maybe a bird would be our next best thing.. caged but still bondable and small enough for the house. (Anyone who knows my pet history.. knows that I would let my birds wings grow out and let it fly all over the house. I feel so bad when they don't have real wings. Sam would start finding bird poops in his underwear drawer.. and that could be a real problem for everyone.)

I am not sure about this pet dilemma… Maybe I will figure it out before Londyn’s first birthday. The one thing I am sure of.. is plants are sooo much better than pets.

(I do know for a fact though, if I could afford A $5,000 mini pig... I would go buy it tomorrow!!)

I started growing herbs and they make me soo much happier than my pets ever did! I check them every day and I am more excited when they grow than I ever could’ve imagined. I also get really sad when they die.. or get bugs in them.. or don’t grow.

For now I will just grow my herbs and maybe my kids will be little gardners and learn the same life lessons from plants as the other children learn from their pets.

April 7th I planted cilantro, rosemary and basil

the basil and cilantro sprouted right away!

May 19th

I waited forrrever for the rosemary to sprout. You can see it looks like the tiny four-leaf clover. The other plants are doing much better! I can't wait to eat that basil. yummmy.

strollers, trucks and helicopters

I will be 26 weeks this Sunday! Crazy how fast pregnancy flies by. Londyn is finally starting to take up more tummy space. I can feel her up near my ribs now... and my ribs ACHE at night when I am trying to sleep! We have lots of baby items and we got the car seat and stroller we ordered. I am soo excited because it is a baby jogger travel system. We have already taken the stroller out on a test run. It has three big tires.. perfect for off-roading.. she's going to need a lot of good off-roading in her life.

Sam out at the flight line

Sam was born to be a pilot! He comes home floating on air everyday because he is flying so well (and because he has an awesome wife)! :) He also got a new truck.. we love love it! It's a four door so there is plenty of space for the baby. Sam asked me the other day if he could put her car seat in the truck already! Cute anxious daddy.

This is the helicopter Sam is learning to fly right now. Still really complicated but a little simpler than the advanced aircraft he will learn. Which will hopefully be one of these bad boys...

I leave next Monday, May 24th for Utah.. and I will be in Arizona, Idaho and mostly Utah until June 23rd. Excited? Yes, but a little sad to leave my really cute and great husband for that long. Not to mention Sam might not recognize me when I get home because I will be so HUGE! ah!

24 1/2 weeks

(I am fully aware that my butt is as big.. maybe even bigger than my tummy.. I might as well be growing two babies.. eek)

Vantage Point. Perspective.

The other night… we had JUST turned out the lights and crawled into our cozy King bed. I got settled with my four pillows (which are all required for the comfort and support of my large belly) and realized I had to pee. I was happy because I would rather get up when I am already awake then have to get up 30 mins. after I fall into a deep slumber (most of us know by now that deep slumbers don’t really happen when you are pregnant.. but you get my point). And so, I got up.. and made my way to the bathroom… but I couldn’t see a thing. For a minute I got worried. I wake up.. sometimes 8 or 9 times a night (no exaggeration)… to PEE. (Here we go again with the non-blog appropriate topic: pee)… and I can always see very well. I quickly realized that normally I get up after I have been in bed for a while… the lights have been off, and my eyes have adjusted. I can see perfectly with the moonlight streaming in through the blinds in our bedroom and the street lamp sneaking it’s light in through our bathroom window.

As I made my way back into bed… shuffling my feet, knocking walls, foot boards and furniture as I went.. I realized what a HUGE difference perspective makes. What a huge difference just our own eyes, ears and minds have on what takes place in our brains.. and even to us physically. Now I realize this is more of physical phenomenon then a huge mental adjustment.. but nevertheless… it opened my eyes and taught me a lesson. Our perspective, the way we look at things and even just the angle at which we perceive can change our lives.

We see it everyday. We see people with the same level/type of problems, or going through the same process.. attack life with different ideas and levels of optimism. We are more successful at life when we look at things through a positive frame. Let’s just think of it as putting on our optimistic glasses… these glasses have a broader and clearer frame which allow us to see what’s most important… and think in a more long-term, futuristic (eternal, perhaps?!) way. I am going to go find my optimistic glasses and be-dazzle them before I put them on. xo

(I just might look something like this... only maybe a little happier.)