Adventures of a crazy vegan

I decided to move my blog for a bit to this site:  http://crazyvegan.blogspot.com/  I am having issues uploading photos here and don’t have time to deal with it.  So…hope to see you over there.

Love Patty

Well, I am in the home stretch.  I have around 5 weeks left.  Sometimes I wonder how I am going to handle another 5 weeks of this, but I guess I have felt this way through my entire pregnancy. 

Since I last wrote, there have been some sad times and some fun times.  I lost my cat that had been very sick with cancer for sometime and my favorite rat passed away from an infection in her head (probably due to her teeth issues).  It was very sad to loose my little furry friends.  I think I am going to wait awhile before I add some new additions to our family.  I still need to train my dog to be more ”decent and respectable,” so that will keep me busy for awhile in addition to the little one.   

I also had my baby shower on March 1st and it was the best baby shower ever.  Around 30 of my friends and some family (the ones that I can stand) were there.  We had a great vegan spread (including some awesome desserts) and played some goofy games…..like match the celebrity baby and animal baby, create a baby name from assigned alphabet cookies, and catapult baby.  Of course, I got a ton of great gifts and I appreciate the thoughtfulness.  I think this baby is set now for awhile.  Of course, I had to buy my little one some gifts too.  Now…she is all set with her newborn stash of cloth diapers and the moby wrap for carrying her around. 

A terrible thing happened in the town where I live, to the school that I graduated from.  A disturbed man entered a geology lecture at Northern Illinois University and killed 5 students, injuring many others.  He used a shotgun and two handguns to do this terrible thing. 

I was at home at the time making my husband a Valentine’s Day cake.  I heard many emergency vehicles racing down the road behind my house (I live right off campus) and then I heard something in the air.   I looked out the window and saw four helicopters hovering over my house.  I then called a neighbor and she told me to turn on the news because there was a shooting at the university.

Today, I went to the campus with a friend who works at the law school.  She invited me to come and view the memorial and to lay out some flowers.  It was so eerie to visit the school that I have spent my undergraduate and graduate education at.  The place that is supposed to inspire us to live to our potential and prepare us for exciting adventures in life.  As we walked to the building where the shooting took place, emptiness came over me that has been hard to shake.  And…to see the crosses….these kids were really too young….they will never get a chance to live out their adventures. 

My heart goes out to their families.  My heart also goes out to those students that were injuried or witnessed this horrible thing.  It is just such a horrible feeling for something so tragic to happen in our own town, at your own school. 

You can read more about this story here.

Well, so much for keeping my promise about writing regularly.  I think I will just have to commit to occassionally. 

Anyhow, things have been a bit crazy around here lately.  I have had some major things happening with some of my four-legged friends.  First off, my cat that has cancer is still hanging on, but he is getting more emaciated.  It is so sad to see your little friend get this way and know that death is near.  I feel so bad for my husband and LOVES this little kitty.  He doesn’t appear in pain or anything, he just sleeps a lot and likes to cuddle. 

Also, my two rats have been keeping me busy with frequent visits to the exotic vet an hour away.  It all started with a lice infestation from who knows where.  Then, the one was treated for some sort of respiratory thing (we now think that maybe it has to do with the low humidity in the house, so we got her a humidifier).  Lastly, my other rat has screwed up her top teeth somehow and they are growing out of alignment.  I have been feeding her baby food and I have to take her on Thursday for another exam. 

The really major emergency happened on Friday, when we had to take our dog Jack to the vet because his stomach twisted 180 degrees.  He started vomitting Thursday evening after dinner and by Friday morning, his stomach was very bloated.  They untwisted his stomach and attached it to the abdominal wall.  They also removed his spleen because it was damaged.  He is actually doing pretty good now with recovery.  I guess dogs with low-lying chests and hyperactivity are more inclined to have this happen.  To help avoid this, we should not let them gorge themselves and they should take it easy and not run around after eating and drinking. 

Aside from all this drama, things are going good on the baby front.  My friend and I are planning an eco-friendly baby shower and it looks like we are going to have a decent turnout.  I also picked my pediatrician that seems to be a little more forward in her thinking.  I also met with a doula yesterday that I definitely want to hire.  So…things are progressing nicely for a change.  The baby is moving around like crazy and likes to hang out in my ribs, which can be pretty painful.  I can’t believe that I have 10 more weeks left.

Being pregnant comes with all sorts of fun times.  For instance, you may spend the first few month puking your brains out.  Then, you start looking like a water buffalo and feel like a melon is inside your belly, pushing everything aside.  Your clothes don’t fit and you start getting creative with fabrics….anything to avoid the “moo moo.”  Then, you start feeling movement and you think “THIS IS COOL.”  However, this is starting to wear on me a little bit over the last couple of days.  I love feeling her move inside me.  Actually, sometimes I think there is a snake and something else in there, playing out the laws of nature.  But, the last couple of night have been very restless for me.  I woke up once from a dream in which she was moving and she was really on the move.  Aside from having to change positions and go to the bathroom every hour, feeling movement all night long isn’t helping in the sleep department.  I do have the luxury of being on a extended maternity break (I haven’t had a full-time job for awhile and I can take a break from my part-time gigs).  So…I have been trying to catch up on some sleep today.  Well, that isn’t working very well though.  Instead, I have managed to almost finish the entire “Color Purple” book and only grow more tired from lounging around.  I know that I just need to pop in those exercise and yoga tapes and get to them, but I feel so S-L-U-G-G-I-S-H.

My furry friends are also driving me crazy.  The two pictured above, Jake and Jack, are the two males of the house (aside from my husband).  Jack, the dog, is quite a handful.  I have mentioned him before on how I rescued him from a shelter in Nebraska.  Well…he is like a child that has ADD.  He is all over the place and lacks concentration.  He remembers things for about one minute and then he is up to his old tricks again.  He honestly exhausts me.  I am just hoping that it is just his age and he will outgrow this naughtiness.  My cat, Jake, is very sick and is dying of cancer (and isn’t so sassy…but I figure I would talk about him too).  He is my husband’s favorite and for years I barely saw this cat.  Now, he wants all sort of lovin’ and needs lots of special attention.  It is just so sad when our little friends are sick, even if they are pains in the butt.   

Edited on January 15th - I now know why I am so cranky and feeling miserable……I just got a cold and I have been hanging out in bed all day reading. 

Happy 2008!  One of my New Year’s resolutions is to blog more.  So…I promise you will be hearing more from me. 

So many things have happened since the time I posted last.  The major tramatic event was when I lost one of the fetuses, because it had a genetic disorder.  It was a very sad time for me, but now the other fetus is doing really good and is kicking around like crazy.  I am 6 1/2 months pregnant now, and I might actually have a baby soon.  I have been trying to get items together for the nursery.  I have also been trying to get items selected for my registries.  I really hate baby showers, but mine is going to be eco-friendly and fun.  I have also been having quite the time trying to figure out what type of cloth diapers to buy/register for.  Who knew cloth diapers could be so complicated. 

I have actually been trying to have some fun in my life too.  My husband and I also had a chance to get away for a long weekend in November and travel to Seattle, Washington.  The weather really sucked, but it is such a fun area.  We stayed in the San Juan Islands (pictured above) one night and another night in Olympic National Park.  The other two nights be stayed in Seattle.  We found some really good veggie restaurants in Seattle, but starved a little outside of the city.  I definitely would like to go back and spend more time in this area….maybe someday.

Sorry it has been awhile since my last point.  It has been a very trying couple of months. 

First off, I have been SO SICK with ”morning sickness,” constipation, headaches, ligament stretching, exhaustion, you-name-it.  Pregnancy SUCKS.  And…to add to this misery, I have had to prepare for my two biology classes that I am teaching and try to accomplish something with my other job.  Needless to say, I just barely get the required work completed.  I have had to put EVERYTHING else on the back burner, but hopefully I will be able to get back into things soon.

And yes, I found out yesterday that I am having twin girls.  I had a CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling) test done last Wednesday to make sure that there is no chromosome problems.  The procedure was SO PAINFUL.  It felt like they stabbed me with two screwdrivers in my stomach and started digging around in there.  The good part of this test is that you get the results a lot quicker than with the amniocentesis.  I am waiting on a few more tests, but I also had a lot of these tests done during the PGD (pre-genetic) testing portion of the IVF.  I am just so thankful that my future girls will not have the same genetic disorder as me.  I don’t want my kids to have to go through what I had to go through, if I can help it. 

Eating has been a huge challenge for me, because I have thrown-up basically everyday for the last month and a half.  But hopefully soon, I can start eating all those wonderful tasting food that I can’t seem to stomach right now. 

Today, Anita Roddick passed away at 64 from a massive brain haemorrhage.  Anita founded the Body Shop and ran a business like none other.  She ran campaigns to help people in need and the environment, when other business people thought that it was too risky, too “in your face.”  I particularly loved how she went to poor communities around the world and bought raw ingredients at a fair price.  This in turn, encouraged the communities to work together and market things that were native in their environments in a sustainable way.  She will be missed by many…..

I am almost two months now (on Friday) and things appear to be going well.  I got an ultrasound on Tuesday and I got to see the little “manatees” and their beating heart (not pictured on this ultrasound photo).  They are about the same size and have the same heartrate.  Now…I have been released to see a regular OB and I am nervous about that.  I don’t really trust doctors and it bothers me to put my life in their hands.  The people at the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago were awesome and I will miss them.  I have scheduled a CVS test to be done in the beginning of October with them, so we will see how that goes.  Apparently, the risk of miscarriage is greater in twins with the CVS, but the benefits from knowing sooner are sort of outweighing this risk.  Plus, the doctor who is doing the CVS is the best in the country and he has done thousands of them. 

Aside from vomitting everyday (sometimes multiple times a day), I am still busy teaching and doing all my other little projects.  I have been trying to take the dogs for a walk everyday.  Eating has been more difficult.  When you are sick, finding food you like to really hard.  I have broken down a couple times and had dairy (mainly cheese).  I think I am craving the salt and fat in these products.  Of course, I might be temporarily satified, but I usually feel sick from eating this food and my digestive tract doesn’t work right (if you know what I mean). 

On a more exciting note, I WON A BOOK from Half Pint Pixie.  Check out her site here.  Thank you again, Olivia

Things have been going really well and my life has taken a weird turn.  First off, I have been work at two jobs.  This keeps me constantly busy.  One of the positions is teaching Intro to Biology at a community college.  I was a bit freaked out about it, but so far I like it. 

My dog Jake is getting better.  He is still a big baby and needs lots of training.  I am still happy that I have him though, even though he really pisses me off sometimes

And…..the last bit of news is that I am pregnant with TWINS.  I am very freaked out about this.