7 Quick Takes Friday - August 26, 2011

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. 24 weeks today! Hello, viability! Not that I'm worried about an extremely premature birth, but it's nice to know that Baby's chances of surviving and thriving outside the womb, should something happen, are improving day by day.

2. Not to turn this into yet another ranty Quick Takes, but I'm peeved about two bits of news I got at my appointment on Tuesday. my next appointment at 27 weeks and change is the glucose test. They've changed the test so that now it's a TWO-hour wait instead of one hour, and I have to fast from midnight on. I'm not a very happy camper about that; it just seems so contrived. I had to schedule the appointment for 1pm due to my work schedule, so how is fasting for twelve hours and then drinking a super-sugary drink an accurate reflection of how my body processes glucose? Wouldn't it be more accurate for me to eat normally and then wolf down a couple Twix bars (yum), and THEN test my glucose level? I don't get it.

3. I also have to go in the following week (the week after my glucose test) to get the RhoGam shot. They can't do it at the same appointment as my glucose test, apparently, because my OB has a new policy that all patients have to have their blood drawn and sent to the (out-of-office) lab for confirmation of Rh- type before getting it. Which, for new patients, I understand. However, I was this same doctor's patient while pregnant with Violet (he delivered her, AND ordered both of the RhoGam shots I had during and after my pregnancy with her), and I really doubt that my blood type has changed from O- to something else in the last two years. It just seems like a waste of everyone's time and my insurance company's money.

4. Anyway, I know in the grand scheme of things there are a lot worse problems to have, but still. It's annoying. In other news, I finally took my first belly shot for this pregnancy a few days ago:

Here's hoping that I don't get mistaken for Shamu while at Sea World (ba dum bum ching!).

5. Babies "R" Us is having a trade-in sale! I'm thrilled because we hung on to Violet's old infant car seat hoping that they'd have one of these promotions eventually. Now we can get rid of her old one and buy a new car seat for the baby, with a decent discount attached. I'm thinking of maybe trading in the stroller too and just getting a whole new travel system... the stroller still works fine but it is getting kind of old and beat up (we've had it since 2004). I'll have to see what Collin wants to do, though.

6. We leave for our summer vacation one week from today! Woohoo! I'm ready for a break.

7. I can't think of anything else to write, so I'm going to post a commercial from YouTube that both Collin and I thoroughly enjoyed:

7 Quick Takes Friday - August 19, 2011 - the Cranky edition

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

As you may be able to tell from the above image (credit where credit is due), this will not be the cheeriest of Quick Takes.

1. I had a fairly bizarre e-mail conversation with Mike Gendron, a fallen-away Catholic who now leads an anti-Catholic organization called "Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries" (the website is www.pro-gospel.org, but I don't recommend visiting... the less hits that guy gets, the better; instead, visit John Martignoni's Bible Christian Society to get a good idea of the false information he [Gendron] disseminates).

At any rate, I posted my exchange with him at the Catholic Answers Forums if anyone's interested in reading (it spans several posts so be sure to read all of the thread to see the whole thing). Notice how he refuses to answer any direct questions and changes topic whenever cornered with something he can't answer?

This guy is truly deluded and could use some serious prayers.

2. Then, on Jill Stanek's blog, I replied to her post regarding that awful story in the New York Times about the woman who aborted one of her twins because she apparently didn't feel like having two babies (ugh). A rabid pro-IVF supporter named "Maria" and I had a back-and-forth conversation in which she made this accusation:

And to Joanna, you have been pregnant six times, that you know about, because you got a positive pregnancy test, because the embryo implanted. You actually intentionally caused the death of many more embryos if you had unprotected sex more than 6 times. You can sugercoat [sic] it and call it a miscarriage if it makes you sleep better at night, but by your logic, the simple fact that you deliberately took that chance of having unprotected sex more than the 6 times you were pregnant makes you a baby killer like me.

Yeah, that's right. Apparently, if I have ever conceived a child that did not implant, it was my fault that the baby died because... I should have contracepted so that s/he didn't get conceived in the first place? The whole conversation is just one long ride on the crazy-train.

3. Here's a gem from a pro-abortion advocate at Leila's blog, during a discussion about the humanity of the unborn: "But that zygote that I started out as wasn't me."

"The illogic, it burns us, precious!"

4. Oh, hey, did you know that "the National Organization of Marriage (NOM) [...] has prepared a campaign pledge that calls for Republican candidates to promise to 'investigate' gay Americans if elected president?" So says this "news" site.

Interestingly enough, if you read the actual text of the one-page, six-paragraph pledge, it doesn't say that at all! Rather, the candidate promises to "establish a presidential commission on religious liberty to investigate and document reports of Americans who have been harassed or threatened for exercising key civil rights to organize, to speak, to donate or to vote for marriage and to propose new protections, if needed."

Can someone please explain to me how investigating harassment and civil rights abuses equates to "investigating gays"? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Somehow I don't think the MSM will be very quick to expose the lies of this so-called news source.

5. Apparently, Ron Paul has suddenly ceased to exist. In an eerie Sixth Sense-like plot development, Jon Stewart is the only one who can see him:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

I'm not a rabid Ron Paul supporter, but for crying out loud, the guy deserves to be treated as a viable candidate given his poll numbers.

6. And don't even get me started on this guy who claims that pro-lifers aren't morally consistent unless we start killing abortionists to save babies (because not doing so means we don't care about saving babies, apparently). Sigh.

7. To end my depressing Quick Takes, a Dilbert cartoon that further serves to convince me that Scott Adams has hidden cameras at my place of employment:

It all makes sense now.

If you'll excuse me, I think I need to go spend time with my two favorite men, Ben & Jerry (in lieu of a big glass of wine...).

7 Quick Takes Friday - August 12, 2011

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. I posted yesterday about the fall 2011 40 Days for Life campaign here in AZ. There are six locations this year (I think there were only four last year), and one is quite near to where I work, so I think I may alternate between that location and the one I was praying at last year.

There's also a link in my post to where non-Arizonans can find vigil locations in other states, so be sure to check it out!

2. Speaking of AZ pro-life issues, the Arizona Court of Appeals voted 3-0 to uphold abortion restrictions in AZ, including a ban on nurse practitioners performing surgical abortions (more info here). I read some of the decision and found a claim from Planned Parenthood of AZ (PPAZ) that made my jaw drop:

¶39 PPAZ challenges the requirement that “[a]n individual who is not a physician shall not perform a surgical abortion.” A.R.S. § 36-2153(C). PPAZ argues that because registered nurse practitioners (RNPs) have a comparable safety record when performing some surgical abortions, the requirement does not further the state’s interest in ensuring that abortions are performed safely.

What? In what other medical context is it permissible for an RNP to perform surgery?

Currently, I'm regularly seeing a nurse practitioner in my OB's office for my prenatal care, and I'd actually love for her to actually deliver the baby, but there's no way in heck she'd be allowed to do so. Even most MIDWIVES around here can't deliver babies (assuming an uncomplicated vaginal birth) in hospitals -- and that's not even surgery! CNMs can't do D&Cs to my knowledge, either -- I was seeing a CNM in a hospital setting during my second pregnancy; when my missed miscarriage was diagnosed, an OB performed the D&C, NOT my CNM or an RNP.

It just baffles me how PPAZ could possibly claim to be a proponent of "safe" abortion practices when they object to having licensed physicians perform SURGERY.

Anyway.

3. I'm having a weird pregnancy craving today - Pop Tarts! I haven't had any in ages, but I think I'll make a grocery store run on my lunch break and grab some.

4. We're still loving our new Keurig. Even the kids love it -- Collin showed Elanor how to make hot chocolate all by herself (and she can do it, too -- that's how easy it is to use!), so that's become her favored drink with supper. When I registered the brewer, Keurig.com sent me a coupon for two free boxes of pods (22ct-24ct) with the purchase of two, so we took advantage of that this week and ordered four more boxes. Shipping was free, so with the coupon we ended up getting four boxes of coffee pods (about $15 each) for less than $30 total.

5. Speaking of Elanor, her first week of school has gone extremely well. She's had no issues with going to/from school (we had trouble with that last year) and her teacher reports that every day has been a great day for her. Homework starts next week so we'll see if that continues...

6. Collin felt the baby kick on Tuesday evening! We were watching a movie and he had his hand on my abdomen; sure enough, baby kicked several times hard enough for him to feel. :) I haven't had any luck getting the kids to feel yet -- Baby seems to quiet down whenever his/her siblings are around -- but I'm sure that'll come soon enough.

7. It's been a long workweek. I feel like hanging this on my door and going home:

Ah, well, at least Collin and I will have both Saturday AND Sunday together this weekend. I'm so happy he has both weekend days off again! Maybe I can make it to Confession on Saturday (LONG overdue...)

Have a great weekend!

40 Days for Life Fall 2011 Campaign

The next 40 Days for Life campaign will be September 28 to November 6.

There are SIX (!) locations in Arizona this year:

Chandler

Flagstaff

Glendale

Goodyear

Phoenix

Tucson

I usually pray at the Glendale location, but I may pray at the Phoenix location this year as well, given that it's fairly close to where I work. We need prayerful witness in front of abortion clinics, so please consider signing up!

To find a list of locations near you, visit http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm

We Interrupt this Blog for a Commercial Advertisement

"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised."
Captain Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager

I was going to put this in my Quick Takes yesterday, but I decided it really deserves a post of its own.

Our old coffee maker has been on its last legs for some time, so we finally broke down and purchased a new one last weekend. Rather than buying another $30 Mr. Coffee, we decided to upgrade a bit and bought one of these:

It's a Keurig Signature Brewer, and we found a fantastic deal at Sam's Club - the brewer itself (normally $149.95), THREE boxes of coffee pods (normally $11.99 each), a water filter (normally $17.95), AND a "K-Cup" filter (for using ground coffee instead of the pods - normally $14.99), all for $129.98 plus tax! That's a savings of $88.88 (which more than pays for our yearly membership fee!). We also bought a 1-year replacement plan from Sam's Club ($9.99), just in case.

We've used it for a week now, and we absolutely LOVE it. It's so much easier for both of us to grab a quick cup of coffee before work; we don't have to wait 30 minutes or more for it to brew, and we don't have to smack its side if it stops brewing mid-cycle (that's what our old coffee maker was doing, despite being cleaned out with vinegar twice -- like I said, last legs), nor are we pouring cold, unused coffee down the sink if we made too much.

Whenever one of us needs a quick hit of caffeine (well, Collin more than me, as I try to limit myself to a cup a day while pregnant), we can make a hot, perfect cup in about a minute. No fuss, no muss, and no old, yucky, messy coffee grounds to throw away. (Have I ever mentioned the time Violet fished an old coffee filter out of the garbage and threw it on the floor, and wet coffee grounds got EVERYWHERE?)

We also bought some hot chocolate and chai latte pods so we don't OD on too much caffeine in the evenings.

It's been a fantastic investment so far. I love taking good coffee to work in the morning (as opposed to the mediocre stuff in the breakroom).

So, yes. Here ends my commercial pitch, and I promise that I'm not getting any kickbacks from Keurig or Sam's Club. :)

7 Quick Takes Friday - August 5, 2011

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. Please say a prayer for Cam today.

2. We met Elanor's new teacher, "Mrs. E.," last night. She is a lovely woman and has been a teacher for 20 years. She and Elanor hit it off well, and I'm glad I mentioned Elanor's diagnosis of autism last year and IEP because her teacher had no idea Elanor would be receiving special ed services! Anyway, I think the beginning of this school year should go a lot more smoothly than last year. We're going to buy her school supplies this weekend so she'll be all ready for her first day on Monday.

3. William is having a lot of fun at T-ball, especially since uncle Chaun (who's been taking him every Saturday) and Grandpa Keith teamed up and bought him his very own glove, bat, baseball hat, and his own T-ball stand! God bless generous relatives. :)

4. Violet is 17 months old today! I feel remiss because I haven't documented any of her words yet. (With Elanor, I kept a spreadsheet of them! Ah, the anal-retentiveness of first-time moms...) Anyway, here are some (but not all, as I'm sure I'll forget a few) of the words Violet loves to say: Mama, Daddy, Grandpa, NO!, yah (yes), shoe, book, hug ("UG! UG!"), cereal, cup, I'm done, get down, let go (from the last three phrases, can you tell she's hit that independent toddler phase??).

5. Phoenix's Institute of Catholic Theology has a GREAT lineup of classes this fall! If you're in the Phoenix area, check it out!

6. I wish I could take one of the classes above, but effective next week Collin's work schedule is changing to Monday-Thursday, with Friday-Sunday off. It's GREAT that we'll have both weekend days together again, but that means I won't be able to take an ICT class, as his schedule probably won't change until December or so. Bummer. Maybe in the spring...

7. I felt baby's kicks from outside for the first time this morning (exactly 21 weeks today!). S/he is a feisty one!