the giraffe life

I don't have time to blog like I used to. But I do have time to ask you to  please vote  (imagine that in sparkly letters) if you live in the US. 😎  This year, I was planning to start the tradition of taking my daughter with me to vote (she'll be 5 by then!) but COVID derailed that plan. Instead, she gets to watch me fill out my ballot at the kitchen table, haha. Regardless of where I vote, we're reading a lot about voting. Here are some of our favorites if you're interested. Amazon links are affiliate, the rest are not.   Vote for Our Future - Elementary school students helping their community get out and vote!  Amazon | Goodreads | Youtube Lillian's Right to Vote - I checked this out at the library just based on the title. Sometimes that works out well, and this was one of those times.  Amazon | Goodreads | Youtube Delivering Justice - The story of W.W. Law, and how he fought for Civil Rights in Savannah, Georgia and helped Black Americans re...

Hey there! It's been a while! Mr. G and I are enjoying a few extra days off work for the 4th of July (Independence Day) and there's nothing as sweet as extra family time at home these days.  I figured I'd do a baby update and then you guys can leave me questions in the comments section if there's something else you'd like to hear about :) Not sure how the comments section is behaving these days - comments should show up immediately (otherwise, they've been lost forever). You can always email me instead thegiraffelife AT gmail DOT com if that happens.  So anyway! Baby stuff!  I mishmashed this format from a bunch of other blogs that do monthly updates on their kids, like Kelsey , Amber , and Becky . My yoga assistant Growth:         weight  - 18 pounds, 11 ounces (8.5 kg) last week       height - 26 inches (66 cm) at 6 months       wearing - size 4 diapers and 12 month clothes       teeth ...

Time for a goals update! Financial   •  Save $300 per pay  - Yes! Easiest goal ever because this was automatically deducted from my paychecks! Personal   •  Attend more than 67 yoga classes  - Nope! I stopped attending yoga classes in June because I was modifying so many of the poses to accommodate my growing belly that it seemed silly to pay to take a class that I wasn't fully participating in. I couldn't find any local prenatal classes so I switched to DVDs from the library until the very end when just cooking dinner felt like a work out. How do pregnant women who already have children do it?? •  Read 52 books  - Yep, a total of 70 . It was a banner year for reading actually, considering almost all those books were read before September. Now baby girl and I listen to audiobooks (electronically downloaded from the library to my cell phone) during some daytime nursing sessions when I want to read something. Plus I read a kids book to...

Our family expanded earlier this week! Ahh still in shock that I have a baby! She is happy and healthy though and I'm recovering fine :) I chose to have her at a birth center and it was perfect. A relatively short labor and then I delivered her in a giant bathtub. I would definitely have a water birth again! Pushing was the hardest part and crowning was painful for me (though I'd already forgotten how bad it hurt when they put her on my chest) but I'm glad I did it drug free because I could feel everything and giving birth is an incredible feeling. Plus I was super proud of myself afterwards, haha! We love her so much. Just soaking in every minute.   I'm not sure I want to post her name and have it searchable on the blog, so check out  this list - her name is number 8 .  And to think, last November we thought we couldn't have children. Feeling sooo grateful! :) Oh and please excuse my absence around the web these past few weeks . . honestly, I probabl...

Just a quick update (prompts stolen from Olives n Wine ) . . feel free to ask me questions in the comments! Due Date: November 1st How far along? I hit 36 weeks yesterday! Full term at the end of this week :) Maternity clothes:  Yes, I've had to wear them for quite a while now. Looking forward to wearing regular things soon though! Stretch marks:  None yet. Sleep: I sleep soundly from 8pm to my first bathroom break (around midnight or 1am), then I toss and turn til about 5 when it's time to get up. My hips get sore so I have to switch sides every hour or so. Best moment this week: Going to the doctor's and hearing the baby's heartbeat. Always amazing! Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach and bending over. I have to squat when I drop things on the floor, haha.  Movement: Lots of movement! This baby loves to dance around after I eat and when I'm laying in bed at night. Sometimes it will just push on the sides of my belly and stay there, like a...

Sunrise on Sunday Mr. G and I decided to go on one last little trip before the baby arrives (called a babymoon around here) so we drove to the beach on Saturday morning, stayed the night, and then came home Sunday evening. It was the perfect short break from work and getting things ready around the house. We spent a lot of time walking and talking, and of course ate way too much like we always do on vacation, haha!  The weather was perfect, sunny and in the 70s (about 22-24° C). The ocean was chilly but it felt good to my hot pregnant body (I've never been a warm person until this pregnancy) and I was happy to get another wear out of my maternity swim suit!  A little less than 6 weeks til my due date! Crazy to think that on our next beach trip we'll have a baby in tow! Are babymoons common where you live?

When I used to buy books, I felt obligated to read them even if they were dreadful to get my money's worth. But checking out books from the library has removed that feeling, as has getting older and receiving encouragement from others to just let go of books that I'm not enjoying. That's not to say I stop reading books willy-nilly but it's nice to have that guilt-free option in the back of my mind if I'm struggling to finish something.  This month in particular has been rough for actually finishing books (or maybe I've just been too picky) so I thought I'd share the books I didn't complete rather than the ones I did. (Though if you're interested in what I did read, you can always check out my goodreads page.) Links take you to the book's page on goodreads A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - Pretty hard to read a romance novel when you hate the supposed love interest (in this case, a super bossy vampire named Matthew). The final...

Usually my meal planning is fairly laid back. I look over the sale ads, pick out 2-3 meals I feel like making this week, and try to do as much of the cooking as possible on Sunday so we can ride out the work week on leftovers. But this does sometimes lead to dinner ruts or accidentally making two very similar meals super close to each other (tacos and enchiladas a few days apart).  I figured keeping track of what we're eating for longer periods would alleviate the dinner ruts and help us remember some of those recipes we just haven't made for a while.  I saw this idea on pinterest and liked it immediately, but it's taken me seemingly forever to just DO IT. I gave up on making it pretty like the original and that made all the difference.  Completely fictional menu plan to give an idea of how it will look - I don't cook nearly this much, considering there are only two of us to consume all the food. And don't mind Monkey's tail, the turkey sketch, or that I f...

Most of my maternity wardrobe One thing I've really struggled with this pregnancy is getting dressed! Sounds silly, right? It's tough to find blog posts about how much maternity clothing you'll actually need because it's so personal. What one person considers appropriate work attire or "enough" doesn't always match your situation. So I figured I'd throw my experience out there :)  Here's what I've bought and my thoughts!  Oh, and I linked to something similar when I could. Links are not  affiliate - these companies don't even know I exist!   Work Appropriate - 19 items for $298 1 pre-maternity cardigan 2  tank tops - $20 (worn with pre-maternity cardigan) 6 short sleeve  blouses - $70 (1 from a yard sale, 1 from a thrift shop, the others buy 3, get 1 free) 4 long sleeve shirts - $25 (1 from a yard sale, 1 from a thrift shop, 2 from Pink Blush end of season clearance) 1 formal dress  - $88 (worn with  pre-maternity  ...

It's common knowledge that you can borrow books for free at the library, but look what I got to take home with me (forever!) from my library:  a new bookcase/bookshelf display-type item! It used to hold children's books but a bigger, two-sided shelf replaced it. So it was outside with a free sign on it! I couldn't believe my good fortune - I think it will be perfect in the baby's room. My plan is to give it a good scrub to try to remove those adhesive marks and then fill it with books! Thankfully my parents saved some of my books from when I was younger and I've received a few as gifts so I'm excited and ready to get set up! Acquired anything for free lately?

Mr. G and I aren't finding out early if our baby is a boy or a girl - we're happy to wait until the baby is born. Of course I've heard a lot of predictions (adamant predictions!) so I thought I'd go through some old wives' tales for fun. Morning sickness - nausea = girl, little/no nausea = boy For me:  on/off nausea depending on the day = girl Chinese Gender Chart - a chart matching your age and month of conception For me:   girl Mayan Gender Prediction - add the year of conception and the mother's age. Even number = girl, odd number = boy For me:   girl Baby's heart rate   - over 140 bpm = girl, under 140 bpm = boy For me:  the baby's had a range of heartbeats, so inconclusive ! Besides, our midwife said the heartbeat gradually slows down over the course of the pregnancy anyway. Season of conception - winter = girl, summer = boy, spring and fall = equal chance For me:  conceived in the winter = girl Cravings - craving s...

We've returned from our trip to St. Michaels!  The weather was a warm, comfortable temperature for the whole visit, but there were some wild thunderstorms and a little flooding. To be expected this close to the water, I suppose? Many of the roads had ditches cut beside them to hold excess water and runoff so the sidewalks and roads were in good shape again pretty quick.  Most of our time in St. Michaels was spent walking around town. There are a ton of cute shops (we saw one with handmade three-dimensional wooden maps of various coastlines around the world) and lots of places to eat. I was impressed that one of the restaurants, Ava's Pizzeria , even offered a vegan cheese and veggie pizza! We spent a lot of time in the water too, since our B & B had a great pool. They also upgraded our room to a suite with a soaker tub next to the bed. It was awesome! I've never used one, but my pregnant self loved all the space and how light I felt. Super relaxing! ...

Some of our baby's first gifts! Sarah commented that she wondered about weird stuff during pregnancy, so here are some of my experiences, as of 20 weeks . .  Food  - I am so HUNGRY. My ramped up appetite was actually one of my first symptoms that made me think,  maybe this isn't just killer PMS . From about week 6 to 13, I felt off (dizzy or weak) much of the time unless I'd JUST eaten. My food aversions were simple: anything sweet (including fruit, candy, and chocolate - very difficult to explain at Easter parties when it was too early to reveal our good news) and Chinese food.  In fact, I mostly lived on carbs and cheese (plus eggs, as long as someone else was preparing them). Vegetables had to be cooked just right but then I could stomach a small portion. By about 14-15 weeks, I could handle most foods (Chinese is still out) and I've learned to eat immediately if I feel hunger coming on. Nosebleeds - I usually get a minor nosebleed or two every winter...

Back in February, I mentioned that Mr. G and I had started considering locations for our anniversary trip in June. In years past, we've vacationed in Daytona Beach and California .  After finding out I was pregnant though, we decided to pick somewhere within driving distance. Not only will it be cheaper, but it's good for peace of mind because the thought of flying makes me a little uneasy. (I had to take a ferry ride for work a few weeks ago and it couldn't end fast enough.)  Coincidently, one of my friends at work was raving about her vacation last year and how she can't wait to go back this year. Of course my ears pricked up and I asked her a million questions, then brought home her suggestion to Mr. G, who loved it. We've booked our stay in June to  St. Michaels, Maryland  - a small town on the bay.  We're excited! They have walking trails along the water, lots of seafood for Mr. G, museums, kayaking tours, and the place we're staying has a pool...

Yes, it's crazy - I'm pregnant. Ahhh! I was feeling off the last week of February. Mr. G and I agreed I'd take a pregnancy test on Saturday morning (our work schedules don't mesh any more so we're only both home and awake at the same time on weekends). I saw that second pink line and immediately sank to floor, head in my heads. It was such a shock! Mr. G was surprised (and I think a little overwhelmed too though he'd never admit it) - he drove to the store for another brand of test, and all told I took 5 that morning. Ha!  We just stared at all those positive tests and each other. Then we moved on to elation + surprise. :) a bump! I still kind of can't believe it. It's hard to wrap your head around! I've toyed with the idea that perhaps our infertility diagnosis was inaccurate but it doesn't really matter. Sometime this fall, we'll have a baby! (I'm officially due November 1st, but not holding my breath.) The first trimeste...

Mr. G and I are amused by our cats all the time. And sometimes, we just look at each other and shake our heads because their antics make that much sense. But Monkey in particular seems to copy every strange thing she sees another cat doing. This spring's been a blustery one (the word blustery always reminds me of Winnie the Pooh) and after our front mat was blown into the bushes two days in a row, we brought it inside to wait for calmer weather.  Dottie was immediately drawn to it and happily scratched it and lounged on it for a bit.  When she was done, Monkey had to follow with an inspection of her own. Dottie loves bags - so does Monkey. Oh, Capone likes to sleep on the back of this couch ? Monkey'll do the same. Dottie loves to relax on my yoga mat. Monkey gave it whirl too. Here's one of her original ideas. Play with the bathmat by putting both paws underneath! Hmm. Do your pets copy each other? 

When we got our tax refund last March, we put my portion toward our mortgage debt and my husband's portion toward our California vacation . Both money well spent. This year we're spending all of it (plus a little more) on new floors for our upstairs.  In less trafficked places the carpet still looks decent. But the hallway and our bedroom look particularly worn - and of course the corners, which Monkey tore up her first two months here rather than one of the scratching posts.  We really love the hardwood floors we have downstairs so that was our first thought for upstairs. It would be cheaper to replace the carpet (about half the price) but the tax refund made us more willing to pay the extra. Plus the hardwood should last much longer than carpet ever would and I think it's easier to keep clean (especially for our family members with allergies).  The installation should be an interesting process with three cats in the mix! We're very excited f...

This is a long one. Thanks, winter! Tons of good books on this list, though - I have end-of-year best book lists to thank for that.  A Moment Comes - This book takes places during the partition of India in 1947, which I knew nothing about prior to reading. I really appreciated the book's messages about acceptance, tolerance, and patience. Definitely not your typical YA romance (I assumed it would be based on the description).  Though just to be clear, I don't have any problems with typical YA romance. You'll find several further down this list ;) Spousonomics - Looking at common marriage issues (like sharing chores) as an economist. Some parts were fascinating, others not so much. About Alice - A husband's tribute to his late wife. I listened to this on audio based on Jessica's recommendation and ended up teary eyed in a grocery store parking lot finishing it. Super sweet.   Open Road Summer - A throughly enjoyable YA romance. Of course it takes ...