want strangers to talk to you?? get pregnant

i've noticed (again) that a complete and total stranger has a hard time resisting the urge to talk to you about your protuding stomach. this urge takes hold of them in all public areas, especially the grocery store. they are usually very polite and interested. they sometimes like to give you advice on topics such as breastfeeding (even if they happen to be male) or wish you well. i find these gestures curious. on occasion, these strangers also feel it totally appropriate to touch your stomach, rub it, as they talk to you. pregnancy is nothing new. it hasn't recently become a trend and everyone is doing it....much like the early days of plastic surgery. when women started having their breasts and lips done, i can see how people would feel it necessary to ask them questions such as "when did you have that done?" "what made you decide to do this to yourself?" "how much did it cost and where can i have mine done at?" it is possible that this new fashion gave way to the acceptance of people asking you as you wait in line at the store "how much weight have you gained?" "do you have cravings?" "how many other kids do you have?" "are you going to have anymore after this one?" i will give them all the benefit of the doubt. i see people out in public too and begin to wonder about their appearance. i see other pregnant people and wonder how far along they are, access the number of tag along kids they already have, and wonder how much weight they've packed on. i don't come right out and ask them these questions of course. also, what about the person you see (and you hear about these encounters) when you are sure they are about 8 months pregnant, maybe even sporting a maternity looking top, only to be mortified when you find out they aren't pregnant, only overweight. or, would be okay for me to walk up to joe somebody at walmart with the beer belly and ask him "so how many cases of beer would i have to drink to look like you?" i also don't go up to the blondie at the gym and with a 100% certainty feel her up and say "you should have gone with the full C implants instead of the D, you're going to have back problems". i know that these situations don't seem the same as being a little weirded out over people taking full advantage to speak to me about my expecting arrival, but still, the point is that it is weird and i'm just blown away that today, a woman about 60 years old said to me at walmart after a brief conversation "you make sure to apply lots of lotion to yourself if you're going to breastfeed dear...you don't want to be picking your sagging parts up off the floor when you're older like me". in shock, i listened to her tell me about the 5 kids she "raised right" by breastfeeding. she was so genuine and really wanted to let me know how wonderful it was for babies.....i didn't have the heart to tell her that i hated it with landon and am dreading it with dylan.
i do appreciate most of the polite, helpful conversations i have with strangers about this pumpkin shoved under my tank top, i really do.....sometimes though, you just get those people who have no tact or really just want to add to a miserable day by saying something crappy to you like "good luck (saracastically) with two boys" or "you must be sweating like a pig in this heat carrying that baby around". thanks a million. to the woman at babies r us that told me which diaper rash creme was the best to use on sensitive skin, i do apprecaite you.....just don't rub my tummy :)

fourth of july

i hope that everyone had a good fourth of july. i know we did. we went to to spend the day with our friends, RD, Jenna, Sumner, and SaraJane for the fourth but also, it was SaraJane's first birthday! i can't believe she is one already. time goes by so fast and she is growing up to be a such a sweetheart. our friend the Perry's were there and Landon was so excited. he loves to hang out with Kade and Sumner. he chases them around and pretends to be a big kid. he even wanted to play wii with them (his remote wasn't plugged in but he thought he was playing) it was a good day. we had some bbq food and cake and cupcakes and just enjoyed spending time together. the fireworks came later at night and although we didn't have a really good view, from what we saw, the kids really liked them. landon was so excited when RD lit some small fireworks in the yard. then, the boys got to the poppers in the driveway and landon thought that was the greatest thing.
at the party, Kami, Jenna, and their friend all were talking about the things they get to do with their daughters. they all had matching red, white, and blue headbands to match their adorable fourth of july outfits. they were talking about dresses and girly stuff and i just sat back and listened. a small part of me is a little sad that we aren't having a girl this time.....and i think about how much trouble i would get into shopping if we were having a girl lol we haven't really bought anything for dylan yet because we have stuff still from landon and my two friends Kami and Jenna are throwing me a shower this week. yet, everytime i walk through the infant section at the store, i see those little dresses and the little shoes, and the pink blankets.....sigh. maybe next time, if there will be a next time. i always said i wanted three kids but my body sucks at being pregnant, especially this time. i don't know if i could do this again and keep my sanity. it will be exciting to have another boy because i know that dylan and landon will be the best of friends.

here is a picasa link to a few pictures of our fourth.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dunnboy10/4thOfJuly09#

surviving the summer somehow

with the temperature climbing in the 1oo's, i find that entertaining a toddler is harder than i imagined. being on limited activity and bedrest certainly doesn't help. we can't do a lot of the fun things that parents and kids get to do, like go the zoo and the parks around here. i can, however, sit by and watch him have fun. today, trina and i took landon to the glendale splash park. i figured, it's a small space, easy to keep track of him, it's hot and the water was cold and he'd have fun. plus, he's been going crazy cooped up in the house with me the last couple of weeks, especially because he wasn't able to swim or do anything with water for awhile after having his surgery. so we went and sat in the shade as landon ran around and played in the sprinklers and the jets and the puddles. One kid at the park had to leave in an ambulance after colliding with another kid. he was knocked unconscious after samcking his head on the concrete. landon had a little run in too where he was knocked over, but there was at his breaking point anyway. after that, he was ready to go home. so were we. even though we were sitting on the sidelines, trina and i somehow got sprayed and soaked right as we were getting ready to leave. at home later in the afternoon, i heard a strange noise and went to look. i thought the downstairs bathroom toilet had overflowed or something, but turns out it was a freak desert monsoon, our first of the season. trina was amazed how warm the rain was and went running out into the driveway. naturally, landon followed and they both got soaking wet!! landon loved it! the rain only lasted about ten minutes but it dumped down enough rain to the drown the street in front of the house. i sat back and taped them because i had already had my share of being soaking wet for the day, plus, i was wearing a white tshirt and we all know that rain and white tshirts don't mix.

i hope it doesn't rain tomorrow for the Fourth of July. i used to hate it in Washington when you'd wait all day to the fireworks and then it would rain and ruin it. we will be enjoying the day with our friends, the Perry's and the Burninghams. SaraJane turns 1 year old tomorrow! crazy!!

Baby Dylan update.....we made it to 32 weeks, which i've been told is a milestone because the baby's organs (except for the lungs) are pretty much all developed and he wouldn't be as high risk if he came now. i thought i was going to have him yesterday. i accidentally slipped on some water that was in the hallway and biffed it. after that (and even today), i was having a lot of contractions and have been in a bit of pain in my back and hip. we see the doctor again on monday and we'll see what he has to say about it. also, we'll see what he has to say about going back to work, or at least getting off this prison sentence.

Have a good weekend! i know we will!