Pretending it's Spring at the Tulip Festival

For the past four or five years I've wanted to check out the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point and for some reason or other have never made it. I figured this year was my last opportunity, 'cause they don't have tulips or gorgeous gardens or anything in NYC.

Just kidding.

But I really wanted to make sure I caught it this year (especially since Pete's parents have a pass and could get us in for free) so we made a date and we went. Amelia was much more delighted to be with her grandparents and cousin Paisley than she was about the flowers. In fact I didn't get a single photo of her interacting with the flowers because every time she paid any attention to them at all she beheaded a pansy.

Did I mention I had to get a new camera? My trusty old DMC-TZ3 ended his sojourn in this life a week before Pete graduated--an event I intended to document. I was forced to buy a new camera, and since neither timing nor finances allowed for the purchase of the DSLR that I have been lusting after for months and months, I got another point and shoot. I decided the Tulip Fest was a great time and place to break it in.

Here we are at what Thanksgiving Point has named "Monet's Pond"--though having been to visit Monet's home in France and seen his pond, this one isn't quite as impressive.





After looking at my photos, I think we (the camera and I) need to get to know one another a bit better. The camera is a touchscreen model with all the settings hidden somewhere in it's digital insides, so I couldn't control the images as much as I wanted to. It's going to take some practice, (and possibly even reading the owner's manual) to get the photos I want.

I'm having trouble cropping images without losing clarity and I just don't feel that the pics are as sharp as they should be. Anyway, we had a great time and I'm learning to use my new camera.

And it's finally spring. Took long enough this year . . .

Only one of the biggest, best, most exciting days in our ENTIRE lives, that's all!

My man.

Is done.

With school.

Hoorayhoorayhoorayhoorayhoorayhoorayhooray.

Pete graduated from BYU on Friday with a degree in Advertising. He has a job waiting for him in NYC working in marketing (not modeling) for L'Oreal USA.

A good job.

A job that means that although we will not be living in a penthouse apartment in Midtown, we will also no longer be students.

I'm pretty stoked about this.

Here are some pics of the day:

Is it Possible to be a Bombshell and a Hippie at the Same Time?

Alright, so the deal is this:

I'm seriously considering hyponobirthing/waterbirth this time around.



I know. I seem more like the type to schedule an induction (a week early) and demand the drugs at the first sign of labor-related discomfort. That's pretty much what I did with my first child.

But.

Although the birth experience itself last time went okay (really, I had nothing to compare it to other than the horror stories I had heard of 75 hour labors and emergency c-sections, and my birth was nothing like that) I had a really hard time coming home.

A really hard time.

I felt emotionally numb and physically shattered for three or four days after my baby was born, and when I finally started feeling something at all, I cried for about two weeks straight.

Part of my emotional wreckage postpartum may have been due to the fact that I was alone. Pete of course had to go back to work and school after a couple of days, and my mother, who had taken time off work to be with me, promptly developed appendicitis and spent her leave time in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy.

Part of the problem may have been the fact that it was gloomy winter and I was stuck in a basement apartment with very little natural light and unable to get out much for exercise.

Regardless of what the problem was I did not, as such, transition well into motherhood.

I want this next experience to be different.

Very different.

Which is why I'm looking into different birthing options in the hopes that a more conscientious birth will lead to a smoother postpartum and bonding experience. I'm already established with a midwife instead of an OB/GYN and I think I've decided on a birthing center instead of a hospital birth--which means a natural, drug free birth rather than having the practically irresistible option of an epidural only feet away.

Of course, choosing a natural birth means looking into alternative pain management options, and thus far, hypnobirthing and waterbirth are the most appealing to me. I know for certain I at least want to labor in water, that sounds much more relaxing than being strapped flat on my back being held down by beeping monitors and IV tubes.

Also, I'd like to try prenatal yoga.



Anyone have any experience with prenatal yoga? I found a place in Mapleton that sounds pretty good, but I'd rather not travel that far if I don't have to.

Please share your (educated) thoughts and experiences. With the added challenge of moving to NYC and being far from home and family, I really need this birth and newborn phase to go as smoothly as possible, and I'm trying to plan for the best experience I can early on to facilitate that goal.