Martha Metzler.com

I’ve learned a lot in these past few weeks moving to a new place on my own. I’ve learned I can do a lot of things that I didn’t think I could (i.e. actually organize everything, eat an entire bag of Twizzlers without getting sick, and entertain myself for weeks at a time). But one thing I’m still getting used to is DATING. Don’t panic, my heart still belongs to my husband,  the man of my dreams. But when I’m out trying to meet friends, I feel like I’m dating again.

Let me explain.

I no longer go anywhere without my eyes peeled for young women who look like someone I could get along with. With this new habit of staring, I feel the need to use my left hand demonstratively in order to relieve them of any fear I may be barking up the wrong tree if you know what I’m sayin’.

I was at the dog park the other day and saw a cute girl that looked my age. I decided to suck it up and go talk to her. I forgot how awkward small talk can be with a stranger.

“Oh I see you have a Brittany Spaniel. My parents have one. I like your hair. Will you be my friend?”

I clearly am rusty at this because while all of those statements weren’t strung together… they were definitely all said at some point in the conversation. Somehow, she wasn’t freaked out and we even talked for awhile, exchanged numbers, and met for frozen yogurt later… best first friend date EVER! I went to church with her and her husband last Sunday and we’ve texted a few times since then.

Then…

I had my first shut down yesterday. I was walking the trails at the park and passed a young couple and the girl looked like she was due at the same time as me. So, I passed them a few times as we were both making laps (all the while in my head having full conversations with her…totally normal right?).

I passed her for a third time and decided to say something. *Brace yourself… this isn’t pretty.

Me: “Oh hi! When are you due?”

Scared Preggo Stranger: “June 26.”

Me: “No way! I’m due June 24. I thought you looked like we were due around the same time.”

SPS: “Mmhmmm.”

Me: “Have you been feeling good? You look great!”

SPS: “Yep.”

Me: “So crazy we have almost the same due date. I feel like we should belly bump or something.”

SPS: “Um…”

Me: “No? Too soon? Ok then, good luck with everything. I should find my dog… and my dignity. Both must be around here somewhere.”

So in conclusion, I’m 50/50 at this point for making new friends but I have developed a new sympathy for my male single friends who have to go through this all the time when they ask girls on dates. I’m hoping to improve my percentage but if I don’t, you’ll find me still looking for my dignity… it must be around here somewhere!

First of all, I’m completely humbled by all the calls, texts, and emails that I got from yall last night and this morning. They really blessed me and encouraged me and thanks for letting me be honest. I don’t just want yall to see the “highlight reel” on here, I want to be honest with you! Thanks for not letting me feel alone in this, I seriously can’t thank you enough. The sun is out today and things are looking good! Roy and I are going to get out and explore and GUESS WHAT?!?!? I pick my hubbs up from the airport ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!! Hollerrrrrr!!!

Can't wait to see more "I married a crazy woman" looks from you in one month!

In other news:

I had my first appointment with our doula on Thursday night! It was great and we talked about my ideal birth plan. She was incredibly supportive and I felt empowered by the research and knowledge I had acquired over the past several months. There are things I’m certain of for my birth plan like not having the hospital staff offer drugs to me unless I bring it up, I’ll have a “code word” for an epidural so my doula and Sam know I’m serious, I’d like to use midwifery care, delayed cord clamping, and I’d like to nurse immediately. I’ll post more on some research I’ve done in case you’re interested but I was so encouraged by my meeting with my doula, Sarah.

It’s starting to become more and more real that our wild man will be joining us in (hopefully) 5+ weeks! Bring it on!

It’s about to get real up in here yall.

Today was hard for me for some reason. I think the newness of everything has worn off so I’m no longer in shock that I’m in Washington by myself almost 35 weeks pregnant. I could tell my spirits were sinking a bit last night as I dreamed that Sam was in the bed with me telling me that I couldn’t be late to my doctor’s appointment and it felt so real. But when I woke up I was just staring my body pillow in the face instead of my stud of a husband.  I mumbled something about how my husband was filled with my beefy muscles instead of a pillow and rolled over. I shook it off and praised the Lord for giving me an amazing husband to miss and a healthy pregnancy.

Then I went for a walk with my neighbor and her kids. The four year old kept asking me why Daughtry’s daddy wasn’t here and where he was. I tried to explain but it went about as well as when I tried to explain why Roy was barking. Let’s just say he is in the “why?” phase.

My appointment at the hospital wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It was a group orientation/intake. So no examinations, no personal questions, etc. But I did get my first official appointment for next Monday. I was warned that the midwives were really busy and may not be able to take any more patients but I took a deep breath and informed them that unless they wanted me running the halls making a scene and throwing Twizzlers at laboring mothers, I’d be seeing the midwives for my care. They quickly obliged.

I came back home and was eating some lunch perusing some twitter accounts and saw one that for some odd reason totally did me in. It was from a friend who is due any day now and tweeted that she had just enjoyed a cookout with her friends and was sitting on the couch sipping tea with her husband. Well holy hormonal response, I lost it. I’m sure it was just a weak moment that I hadn’t really grieved that there wouldn’t be any cookouts with friends until I meet some new ones and no sitting on the couch with hubbs until June 17. I don’t want to complain because I have it so great. I have so many blessings it’s ridiculous and I never want to take that for granted.

So I put on my big girl panties (literally… my bum is getting bigger and bigger) opened the Bible and immediately turned to Luke 8:22-25. It’s one of my favorite stories in Scripture and it was exactly what I needed to hear today. We may have storms going on in our lives. I felt like I was in the middle of the storm today and crying to the Lord in the fear that I might drown. But I felt His words so clearly as he calmed the storm and felt like he was asking me, “Where is your faith?”

I have faith that His promises are real, He is present, He is all I need, and He will not leave me. Even the winds and the waves obey Him… I can never forget the grandeur of my God.

It’s that time again!

Time I’ve been gestating: 34 weeks

Weight Gain: 15 pounds… probably from the box of Skinny Cow drumsticks I went through this weekend

Memorable Moments: I met with our doula on Thursday night and went over our birth plan. She was so supportive… more on that later. I have my first appointment at the hospital tomorrow so I can’t wait to get checked out since it’s been awhile (because of the move) and to meet the midwives. I have been slowly but surely getting settled in the new house. I’ve finished the master and guest bedrooms and baths. Of course I’m not bothering hanging anything on the walls until my mom gets here on the 23rd because lets be honest; 1. she’s better at it and 2. she’ll change it all (for the better I may add). Roy and I have had a few sunny days here in Washington so far so we’ve escaped to go for some trail walks which has been lovely. We’re definitely ready for hubbs to come home though… it’s almost one month away until I pick him up from the airport… hopefully still pregnant!

Preggo Thoughts: Our boy is almost 5 pounds and still moving around. I’m trying to hydrate as much as possible and eat well because I could tell the first week I was here I wasn’t taking care of myself the way I should have been. My feet and back have gotten a bit sore by the end of the day from unpacking/aka lots of bending and squatting so I’m thinking about spoiling myself to a prenatal massage in a week or two.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Here are some pictures I found to throw us back:

This is our first year of marriage... I was a brunette!

2nd year of marriage... check out the beard!

Dating! We can't wait to take Daughtry to get ice cream at Maple View, it's one of our favorite places

I hope that our son gets to love like this one day.

P.S. Can you tell I miss the hubbs?? I’m going to eat my 2nd Dole Popsicle of the day. Have a great weekend!

Roy and I have a little morning routine nowadays. It’s very strange for me to not set an alarm and immediately go to work. So I’ve been waking up around 7:30 and heading downstairs with Roy. We make our fake coffee (decaf) and watch the news. Roy is not allowed on the couch so he puts his front 2 paws up there because I don’t have the heart to tell him that still counts. Then he lays his lead on the belly. Yep. He thinks the belly is his personal pillow.

I snapped a shot with my laptop (no camera yet) this morning for proof. I also snapped proof that his back paws were still on the ground so that I wouldn’t be in the doghouse with Sam.

My “get out of jail” Card:

There have been a lot of adjustments here in Washington.

1. I finally have closet space.

2. It rains… a lot. But yesterday was GORGEOUS!!! It was sunny and Roy and I went to the park and walked some trails. The sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. So wonderful!

3. There are gorgeous views outside of my door including the Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier.

4. Roy barks. At everything.

Normally, we praise him for being protective of me and barking at the noises outside. I’m home alone a lot and Sam and I have both praised him when he barks. But because of the new environment, Roy has been barking at every sound. This conversation happened the other day with a neighborhood kid:

4 year old next door: “Why does your dog bark so much?”

Me: “Well, he’s new here so he’s just trying to get used to everything. But he’s not being mean, barking is his way of  talking.”

4 year old: “I don’t talk that loud.”

Me: “Oh. Well, I could teach you how to talk louder.”

4 year old: “You should make him stop.”

Me: “Yes sir. Please don’t ground me. I’ll mow your lawn tomorrow.”

So that the 4 year old going on 16 year old won’t egg my house, I’m trying to get Roy to stop. But I like it when he’s protecting me. I also realized there will soon be a napping newborn in the house and a vocal dog might put a kink in my eating bons-bons while he naps. Oh the dilemma!

Any suggestions on getting Roy to stop yapping his little head off?

While I’ll actually be 34 weeks pregnant on Thursday of this week, I am just getting around to posting my 33 week post. Get over it 😉

Time preggo: 33 weeks

Weight Gain: 13 pounds

Memorable moments: Well, it’s been your typical, uneventful week of moving across the country, trying to set up new OB care, buying a car, and setting up a new house. I am definitely having to force myself to take it easy in between setting up each room. My energy level is still good but by the end of the day, my legs feel like they are made of cement and if I could fall on the couch face first… I would. But if I tried to do that now, I’d bounce off the couch like it was a Bouncy House or maybe just spin around like a top because my belly button is sticking so far out. I will say Daughtry’s movements are nuts. The other night I was laying on the couch and I swear he was trying to break out of my belly through my belly button. His punches and kicks were so forceful I almost grounded him right there.

Aversions: Apparently I’m on supper strike. I don’t know if it’s exhaustion or my body is still on east coast time but when supper time comes, I have no appetite. Don’t freak out people, I’m forcing myself to eat a protein-rich meal but I’m definitely forcing myself. I’m sure once I get tuned into this time zone it’ll be better and I’m definitely making up for it during the day.

P.S. They were not joking when they say it rains everyday. And… I miss my mom’s cooking and her pantry. The end.

Without further ado, here is our new home. This house will be so special to us as we bring our first son home and teach him all kinds of really important life lessons like how to throw cold water over the shower curtain while Daddy is taking a nice hot shower or how to hide rubber snakes under Daddy’s pillow. You know, the things they won’t teach you on Sesame Street.

Well, I have finally sat down long enough to put something on the blog. Let me do a quick recap of my life since Wednesday:

Wednesday: travel across country with Dad from NC to WA by plane, put Roy on the plane with tears overflowing from my crazy overprotective eyes, land in my new state, try to fit a dog crate/dog/guitar/baggage/2 adults in the rental car, arrive at our new home and do a walk-through with our realtor, head to shop for washers and dryers at a few locations, buy washer and dryer while pulling every discount/pity card we could  (pregnancy, military, you name it – we pulled it), snuck Roy into the hotel and watched Roy (aka Judas) choose to snuggle with Dad instead of me.

Roy's hard life of sunbathing before I shoved him into a crate to fly to WA

Thursday: Get some staples at grocery store, meet movers at house at 8:30am and begin the unloading and unpacking extravaganza. Dad went mattress shopping for us while I unpacked the kitchen and scheduled the delivery.

My view until the movers come back to pick up the boxes

Friday: Drove to Seattle and saw a few cars, went to bank, went to Target to get hubbs a little surprise gift, went to pet store to get Roy some food and toys because I felt guilty about moving him across the country. Then came back to the house and unpacked some more. Then we went back to Seattle that night to buy the car we wanted, drove away with a car, and ate supper in Greenlake.

My new ride!

Saturday: Stared at my car in amazement that we actually bought it, unpacked some more, drove to Seattle to tour around Pike Place and enjoy the fact that we actually accomplished everything on our list. Then we came back to the house and met the mattress guys who delivered them and unpacked for a few hours and finally ate supper.

Dad and me at Pikes Place Fish Market

Sunday: Woke up early and cried like a baby as Dad had to leave, unpacked some, had the washer and dryer delivered, had cable/phone/internet installed, bought car insurance, walked Roy, and collapsed on the couch which I refuse to leave for a few hours.

Tomorrow I’ll be registering my car, getting registered on base, getting cleaning supplies and staples for the house, and hopefully getting set up at the hospital with my new midwives. I’m going to go snuggle with my dog and eat Sweettarts. Night night.