I Can See Clearly Now

Here's a video we made for my Mom on her birthday this past February.  Its my Mom & I's song, and it always cheers us up.  We did only learn this song in a few hours & then recorded it, so it could use a little more practice...

Love is all you need!

As much as I'm trying to focus on that motto, its becoming harder to ignore what my brain is telling me.  I know I'm just hormonal & my motherly protection instincts are coming on full force.  I want to give our Lil Roo everything he'll need, not all this fancy stuff with bells & whistles, but just the basics.  However, these basics are pretty expensive, especially when you are trying to do the right thing & buy organic, cruelty free things.  I'm worrying more & more about not having a larger space, like a house with yard and an organic garden.  Since one of us has bad credit & owes a lot in taxes, it'll be more challenging to buy a house if they need income & credit history from two people.  I never thought this kind of stuff would be important to me, as I've always wanted to just buy a piece of land with a community of people & build a cob structured home out of dirt & straw.  I try to just go with the flow & trust that everything will work out.  I do have faith, and believe in the laws of attraction, but part of my logical mind tells me I need to go get these things rather than wait for them to come to me.  Not to mention, needing a car that actually works in case we need to take Lil Roo to the doctors or what have you.  I know we could take public transit & eventually ride my bike with a trailer & Lil Roo in tow, but for emergencies I'd like to have a reliable car as well as when we take him out to nature & go on hikes. The timing of being laid off couldn't have been worse, I was not expecting to be jobless after working about 4 years with such an amazing group of people who had never led me to believe I was going to be let go of.  It was very shocking, as I'm just now, 2 months later able to think about it without crying.  Well, almost.  I just wish I could have worked a few more months to save up some money for our Lil Roo.  Change & transition is never easy, as I know from experience, but this extra hormonal time in my life has made the challenge of accepting, letting go & moving on a little bit harder.  Andy being self-employed is wonderful as he'll be around a lot more than someone who works a full time job, but also has its downfalls, like never knowing if or when money will come in.  That is something I'm not used to, as I've had a job since I was 15, with steady paychecks coming in every 2 weeks.  I know I'm learning a lot of about life right now, in various ways, and this is a growing opportunity for me that I can appreciate.  I am so fortunate for all that I do have, a caring partner whom I'll be raising a child with for the rest of our lives, a family who gives me unconditional love & support always, and a new family that I'm excited to be a part of & get to know better.  I'm also blessed to have clean water, air, & trees all around me, and a healthy body & baby growing inside me.  There are so many people & animals suffering all around the world, I feel selfish complaining about what I "don't" have, when really I have everything I need to be happy.  LOVE!  
P.S. Sorry for a downer type post, but I wanted to share my thoughts & feeling that I've been having honestly, rather than keep them to myself or sugar coat them when I'm talking to loved ones on the phone which is often easier to do.  As I've said before, the hardest thing so far about this whole pregnancy has been dealing with all the emotions & feelings that you go through.  Everything else has been a walk in the park, kinda.

Our Babies' 1st Party is this Sunday, Spring Equinox!

I'm getting so excited for Lil Roo's party this Sunday.  It'll be nice being in a room full of feminine energies honoring our lil baby on the 1st day day of Spring!  It means a lot to me for those who will be at our special event, but also for those who will be skyping with us from other cities.  If you haven't responded already to the evite, please do so, even if you can't make it or will try to skype so I know how many to look for on skype.  I'm hoping to get a count since there will be special lil somethings given to all the guests.  Also post if you are planning on making something vegan for the potluck, its not required or anything, but will gladly be eaten ;)  In case you don't know of any good vegan recipes, one of my favorite websites for recipes is http://vegweb.com/ you will be amazed at all the yummy vegan foods you'll find on there, or foods that can be made vegan.  On another note, I hope that friends will still come if they can't afford a gift or don' t have time to make one, its more important to me that you presence is there, not your presents!

Mama Slowin' Down

My heart goes out to all the people of Japan, their families & friends, as well as to all the animals, who have been killed or injured in the latest earthquake & tsunami.  Another reminder of how powerful Mother Nature is & why we all need to respect this earth & fight for her preservation & help stop the destruction.

As for us, we're all doing great!  Andrew is back from tour, which he had a good time, and got his music out to the peoples.  The Pink Snowflakes also played 2 fun shows, 2 days in a row, right when they got back.  Had a blast dancing the night away to Morning Teleportation, who they opened for at the Doug Fir.  Lil roo has been moving around & dancing a bunch!  Feeling & seeing his movements is so neat.  We had a prenatal appt a couple days ago, and everything is good, all my levels are good, & my test results are negative for Gestational Diabetes.  The most exciting thing since being able to hear his heartbeat, is that Andy got to feel his head!  He said it was about the size of an orange.  Not to worry, our midwife said squeezing his head gently feels like a scalp massage for him.  Lil Roo is breached for now, which means hanging out upright in his home.  His head is right under my ribs, which explains the slight discomfort I've been feeling near my ribs.  My tummy is 30 inches, right on schedule for my 30 weeks.  In about 5 weeks we'll have our 1st ultrasound to make sure he's not breached still, & also have the opportunity to find out his gender, if we decide to.  But we've waited 7 months already, so whats another 2?  

As for mama here, the 3rd trimester has started to wear on me now.  I'm finding the days to feel shorter, as I'm tired by 5pm, but still manage to stay active till late into the evenings.  There's still so much to do! in addition to my already busy schedule.  I didn't think my schedule would be as packed as it is having been laid off/unemployed for 2 months now.  I'm trying to take advantage of this time before Lil Roo arrives & all my energy & attention goes to him.  This body of mine has been aching more, my ankles swollen, and its not as easy bending up & down, or going from sitting to standing.  Sleeping on my side hurts my hips from time to time, but using pillows has helped a lot.  As well as elevating my feet when I can, & taking calcium & magnesium supplements.  If only I could get massages on a regular basis like I used to.  I still think this pregnancy has been a breeze, despite a few complaints here & there.  

The Radical Cheerleaders for Animal Rights & I had an amazing turnout at our benefit for The Out to Pasture Farm Sanctuary & Ananda Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.  We raised about $350 for each farm, after the venue was paid, by selling arts & crafts, yummy vegan food & treats (made by each of us), as well as the 3 bands performing & movie viewing.  It was a success & the farms were very grateful for our contribution.  Our new cheer, I love animals ( in the tune of Joan Jett's I love rock n roll) was a hit!   We've all had the lyrics stuck in our heads for months now, its pretty catchy.  I'm very grateful that I was able to help organize & be at practice, staying active & a part of the squad still, for the past 7 months.  I was even able to go out to the farm with the squad for a work party the weekend before the benefit.  Shoveling/raking manure isn't that bad when you're hanging out with some fun peeps.  I've been apart of this group for over 6 years and I'm very proud of us & our commitment to the animals & those who help them.  

Also, I've been adding photos to the slideshow on the right hand side of the blog, so check them out. You can click on the photo itself & it will open it up so you can see them larger.    Also, I've taken off the setting that makes you unable to comment unless you have a blog, so please feel free to leave comments after my postings.  I'd love to hear from you!  <3

3rd Trimester!

We made it to the last trimester already!  Less than 12 weeks to go, oh my! Time went by so fast, still there are so many things to be done to prepare for the arrival of our cute lil bundle of joy.  I had a dream last night that I met him & he was so beautiful. It felt so nice to hold him in my arms & shower him with love.  
I'm feeling a little emotional this week, as my love has left for his tour down the west coast, and will be gone for a week.  Andrew is an amazing, dedicated partner & helps me out in so many ways, I couldn't do this without him!  I love that man so much.  <tears of joy> I'm thankful that he'll only be gone a week, and this time will be good for me & Lil Roo to get somethings done.  Top of the list, using the gift certificate that my friend (& my chiropractor) got for me at Zenana Spa, who specializes in prenatal massage! My growing body has been yelping at me to get a massage in such subtle ways like electrifying leg spasms that attack my knees, a swollen ankle (just one) who magically appeared this week right when I hit 28 weeks, along with some swollen fingers so I can't wear my promise ring Andy got for me, and the usual chronic neck & jaw pain that I've had for years still showing me they need some attention.  I also want to take Lil Roo swimming in a salt water pool, which will help my aching joints.  We may even try to Prenatal Swim class, we'll see...
Not to complain too much though, as I think this pregnancy has been pretty darn easy.  Much easier than some of the pregnancies I've read about for sure.  I believe I have my vegan diet  to thank for that.  I'd also like to thank my daily walks, yoga & meditation, support from my lovely mother whom I talk to everyday, my friends who check in on me, all the animals in my life who give me endless affection, and my strong connection to mother earth & her magnificent ways of showing me what true beauty is.