Author Archives: jilladler PCSkiGal

37 weeks….three more to go!!

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Whoa! Where does the time go? All of a sudden, my doctor (Stef Singer) is telling me I’m 60 percent effaced and ready to pop. I still haven’t swollen up or gotten any of the usual pregnant chick symptoms. Just lots of peeing. I find that the occasional Ambien (as prescribed!) will get me a good night’s sleep without running to the toilet at 4 a.m. I highly recommend keeping a small stash on hand if you are thinking of getting knocked up. When I get to that point where I am sooo tired I’m beyond able to fall asleep, out comes my little blue friend.

But I’m told that no matter how icky I feel now, once I give birth I will wish I could put her back inside.
My mom predicts the Big Day to occur between Aug. 15 – 20 (instead of the Aug.22 due date). If only Sage can forestall her entry into this world until after the Outdoor Retailer Show next week. I have people to see and places to go! Tis not the time for hospital visits.

It’s getting progressively more unbearable to work. All I want to do is lie down and take the pressure off my belly. It doesn’t help to have 100-degree heat for the past two weeks. Thankfully, we have rain and 70 degrees this week.

Hats off to you women out there who put on 30 to 60 pounds during a pregnancy. I’ve gained 19 and feel like a Thanksgiving Turkey 24-7. Only during the first few moments of waking in the morning do I forget I’m pregnant. I wake up, lie still and it’s as if it were all a dream…until I swing my feet over the mattress edge and scamper for the toilet. Another tip: when you urinate, lift your belly up to make sure you totally empty your bladder. I liken it to that extra shake guys do just as they’re finishing up.

Sage doesn’t move much and when she does it’s only a soft rolling feel, she’s adjusting her position? There’s just no room for her in there. She gets the hiccups a ton and that can be annoying but just like when you get them, as soon as you ignore them, they go away. They feel like someone flicking your belly from the inside with an index finger – a rhythmic thumping. She had them tonight during the movie. I went to a screening of The Descent – a horror film about a group of girls who go caving and find themselves stuck in a cavern with these subhuman naked dudes that feast on them one by one. The tension from their trapped situation alone was enough to get my heartrate up. What a ride. I screamed my head off. I’m sure that’s not something most babies hear in utero. If you’ve ever wondered whether horror films can bring on labor, I’ll let you know.

Ryan is home this week visting his family and has asked me to wait until he gets back to have my baby. Uh, sure, Babe. My mother and father were here last week and then Ryan’s mom will be in town as soon as the baby’s born. Nothing like a pregnancy to get everyone involved I guess. But I welcome the attention. I’m completely at a loss and expect to feel overwhelmed shortly. All I know about babies is from what I’ve read recently. I never had to raise any kids; and babysitting was just a way to make some extra bucks on weeknights when I was 13.

My mom has surprised me. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but she has gone from pretending I’m not pregnant and telling me “this is your thing, you’ll have to do it alone”, to flying out here, taking me shopping for baby stuff and going to the doctor with me. I tried so hard not to let her aloofness bother me that I had no idea how much I really needed and wanted her love and support through this experience. It was incredible having them here. They got to see my growing belly in the flesh and not just here on my blog. Better late than never!

I think the house is just about in order. Tenaya’s been groomed, the baby clothes washed and organized, an overnight bag packed for the hospital, my friend Deb (the coolest B&B owner in Park City- Old Town Guest House) on standby for the ride to St. Mark’s Hospital and soon I’ll set up the bassinet in my room. Thank you again for your gifts and hand-me-downs. I couldn’t have stocked up like this on my own. No way. So a zillion hugs, kisses and good karma to you.

I have another doctor’s appt. on Wednesday. Check back this weekend as I’ll let you know what Stef says.

33 Weeks and Ready Rentals Takes Advantage of Pregnant Woman

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I must have brought Utah’s weather to New York. Yesterday was surprisingly cool- I almost needed a sweater. Today the report calls for 80 degrees, sunny and DRY. Talk about lucky. This visit is my last ‘hurrah’ for a while because despite being too small to notice, my doc has grounded me after this jaunt to New York. On the agenda for the past three years, it was time to see old friends and try to drum up new business with some of the magazines here. Plus, I had a hell of a week. First, the seller of this rental house I wanted in West Valley decides not to repair a roof he knows is rotten and I waste the inspector money as the sale falls through and then I have some sort of brain aurism and hire this lame company called Ready Rentals Cleaning Services to scour my home before the baby comes.
The quote came AFTER they visited my home. $300. I DID think the quote was high- how many people do you know that make $300/day, especially a cleaning lady? I was willing to do it- this once. I believed that I would be getting my money’s worth. That’s what they told me! You see, I wanted every particle of dust, dirt, dog hair, etc. removed; a hospital-like clean, like one of those you get just before you sell a house; like what Ready Rentals advertises! And there motto is “Cleaning Homes Not pockets.” Riiiight. I believed the price was so high because they were going to do that kind of job. What I got was a $70 cleaning job. A woman and her two teenage daughters arrived at 4 p.m. (instead of 3 as agreed) and I was worried that they would have to return the next day because any other time I have had a cleaning crew of even two people it would take five hours and I really didn’t expect someone to be cleaning at 9 p.m. on a Friday night. For $300, you should be getting a crew of 9 people if they think they’re going to finish (doing a great job) before nightfall.
Donita worked hard, I’ll give her that, but every time I peered around a corner or walked into a room I caught a kid sitting around, leaning against a wall or casually stroking a baseboard with a sponge or dancing a slow waltz with the duster. At about 8 p.m., Donita annouced she was almost done. I walked into what would be the baby’s room and nothing had been touched, not the floor vaccuumed or the window sill wiped among everything else. Then I went into the kitchen, put my hand on top of my overhead microwave and felt the tackiness of old grease (main things you do when ‘deep cleaning’ or even regular cleaning for that matter). She said, ‘oh yeah. we forgot. We’ll get to that.” I knew now I was in trouble. At 9 p.m. everyone left the house to get something to eat. I got back at 10:30 p.m. and they were there cleaning; one person essentially, 6.5 hours. Had I been paying $60 I would have felt bad and let them leave. For $300, it wasn’t nearly enough. That’s why again, I acccepted the estimate. I wanted my house germ-free for baby and to get what I paid for. Up to this point I hadn’t said anything because I did believe that they would come back if they had to or stay all night to finish the job they promised to do.
Then I get a call from her husband asking where she is. I explained that she showed up at 4 and that’s when he told me that it usually only takes them 2-3 hours to clean a place (for $300??? That’s insane!). I told him that she had a lot of work to do and was surprised that any of them thought they could get done in three hours ( I have a 2100 sq foot house, three bathrooms). He sounded frustrated and angry. I told Donita about the call and she grunted and raised her brow like I should know better than to keep her here this long. At this point, I felt I had been taken but was determined to make them clean as promised so that the experience would end this way.
This woman was here thinking she could get away with a few hours of wiping here and there then walk with $300 of my very hard-earned dollars. That’s a month’s rent! Anyway, this was when I took a closer look around the house. I ran my hand along THE TOP of my kitchen counter and my living room coffee table and felt the bumps (and saw the spots) where there were still dried food particles- the kind where you simply lick a finger and they rub off. I ran my hand on the kitchen floor and felt rough patches and stickiness- stuff any housecleaner would get if they were doing their job. I looked in the corners behind my plant in the kitchen and the floorboard was filthy and dust and doghair still piled there. They didn’t move a single book, plant or box to sweep, vaccum or dust. What cleaner do you know gets away with that? and defintely not one you’re paying $300. The handles on my kitchen fridge had not been wiped down, the plate in the micro untouched, dead flies below the kitchen window and on my living room window sill proved they hadn’t been attentive in the least.
I pointed all this out and asked for it to be done and that is when she fought me, claiming that they did these things. Was I blind? I went to my bedroom, ran my hand between the carpet and baseboard near the side of my bed, and pulled a baseball-sized wad of dog hair from the area. That took me two seconds. SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS WHILE SHE WAS CLEANING. I showed her this. You can’t sell a house unless that’s gone. In my opinion and my two roommates who were here as they left, this job was done half-assed.
She argued with me that they had cleaned. I couldn’t believe this. I’ll admit that my house was dirty but it didn’t get that way between her visit for the estimate and a week later when she showed up to clean. She looked around and saw what was needed. I paid her to do the job – a DEEP clean fit for a newborn- and she should have offered to come back or reduce the price if I was unsatisfied.
In fact, her service order stated 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed.
I said I was not satisfied, not happy, at all with her ‘job’. She said they were done and wanted their money. It was midnight, I was tired, frustrated and frazzled, and a little scared. These people know where I live now.
In hindsight, I should have written a check I could cancel the next day but I couldn’t find it at that hour. I gave them cash, actually expecting her in good faith to hand me some of it back since I had the good faith to attempt to pay and voice my dissatisfaction. They ran off, never cleaning the entryway tile or front door (another thing every cleaner does and which they said they would get on the way out). In the morning, my roommate spent an hour cleaning his own bathroom. When you pay someone to clean your home, you don’t expect to have to clean again in the morning. For one thing, there was urine underneath the toilet ring and the toilet handle still dirty. I looked around in the daylight, even more dismayed.
I called Donita and asked for $100 of the $200 back- which, though was not fair in my mind it would at least put me at ease. She argued with me that when they clean, they clean empty homes and that they never spend as much time cleaning as they did at my house so I wasn’t getting any return. “We don’t move furniture,” she said. Yeah, but what about just the stuff you can see? The stuff every other cleaning person gets? I told her then she shouldn’t have quoted me or promised to do the job I wanted if they couldn’t provide it. At $300 I couldn’t ask for too much, you know? Even $200 is more that she deserved but at least I wouldn’t feel robbed. Which is exactly how I felt when they refused to honor their guarantee. And now I must add a small claims case to my list of things to do next week. You can’t “guarantee” money back for dissatisfaction and then not give it. I feel like these people are sharks. Yes I was a fool to ever agree to pay that much, to let this woman in my house without references and to pay with cash. Maybe it was my hormones not letting me think straight. I learned a very expensive lesson and can only hope to prevent the next person from experiencing my frustration and financial pain. There are plenty of cleaners out there that won’t take you to the cleaners. Why even bother with one you’re not sure of?
This NY break has been amazing for my soul. Quite restful comparatively. Carol Ann’s cute, little one-bedroom has a daybed and A/C. It’s in the midtown/Flatiron area and with the subway, I can get anywhere. Today, we’ll check out the Bodies exhibition. Toodles.
blogher;pregnant

32 weeks, er, 8 months pregnant

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This week’s ultrasound checked out fine. No, better than that. Turns out though my belly is small, the baby is exactly the size she’s supposed to be for 32 weeks. I’m just wall-to-wall baby; with her head tucked under my left hip bone and her butt under my right ribs. So that was the pinch that keeps nagging me just under my ribs. My stomach organ is actually under my sternum now. No wonder I never feel hungry. The scary thought is that with eight more weeks to go, where’s she going to grow into?? I’m beginning to have nightmares that a foot will protrude from my throat and a hand will jet out from between my legs long before her due date (Aug. 22 for the memory impaired 😉 ). Here are the ultrasound photos that Millcreek Imaging took. I love that place. I had one ultrasound done at HealthSouth in Park City and they were awful- the customer service I mean. It’s tough to describe but at Millcreek they answered all of your questions and concerns, described the procedure as like a football play-by-play and acted happy to have you there. At HealthSouth no one even said goodbye to me as I left. And they take better photos :). See for yourself.

30 Weeks

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Greetings from Lake Charles, Louisiana! It’s cloudy, rainy and grey this morning but what do I really care when I’m inside a hotel all day?
BTW, flying a puddle jumper, standby, to anywhere longer than 30 minutes away when you’re pregnant is extremely discouraged. Trust me and I’m not huge. The woman next to me had a comparable belly at 20 weeks where I am 30.
Still, my back, butt, tummy all cramped. Those Skywest seats were made for Eva Gabor’s dogs not humans. Hot and hungry- I forgot to feed us much more than a couple of Fig Newtons before take off and all that is offered in flight now are biscotti and raisins. Of course, it would have been much worse had I not even gotten on the flight and had to wait it out at the airport until night for the next available seat. Talk about a sore ass. I got lucky. The return includes first class so I’m looking forward to that.
I’m home next Wed.. Some of you might think I’m silly to travel to the sweltering, bug infested, humid SE state in July in my third trimester but I plan to stay indoors or by the pool, sleep often and show off my new clothes from Prana. (The capris and tops will be worn long after the baby pops as they are stretchable, comfortable, sporty, stylish and way cool. I’ll try to include a flashy pic from the conference). The reason I’m really here is to attend the annual outdoor writers conference. I missed last year’s event and because it’s always so inspirational and motivational I had to come this year. I get to meeting new writers and suddenly my brain’s a tilt-a-whirl with new story ideas and ways to market myself. Plus, the conference paid my way since I’m one of their featured speakers. How could I resist? I guess the mommy card will now be a part of my writing forever so I need to hunt for new ideas. And that’s ok. I want to share what I learn.
My belly’s growing and the doc is a little less anxious. She ordered another ultrasound for me on June 27 just to make sure Sage still has 10 fingers and 10 toes. But the heartbeat’s strong and she moves when she should.
Aside from a glitch the other night, Ryan’s been a doll. I got up to pee at about 2:30 a.m. backed up to the seat and dropped in! I screamed, “God Dammit, Ryan! You left the toilet seat up.” and he woke up cracking up. It was everything I could do to maintain my anger and not laugh too. Although it was funny, I was pissed. He doesn’t wipe the rim down and it was sooooo gross. Why can’t men understand that when we use the toilet 70 percent more than they, we get the say?? Plus, it’s late, it’s dark, I’m tired and I back into the thing. It’s not like I KNOW that the seat ain’t down. Ugh. At first, argued with me and put up quite the fight but the next night the seat was down. That’s all that matters. 🙂

The Baby Shower

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Eleven weeks left and counting. The most incredible part about being pregnant(aside from having an alien grow within you)is that you learn so much about an entirely foreign topic. Like someone about to depart for South America for three months, I’ve delved into every kind of research possible including networking, magazines, TV shows, books, classes and even prenatal yoga. And I’m not a Yoga person; but stretching seems like a good idea at this time.
I walked into class and the teacher asked me if I was pregnant! I had to lift up my shirt to show her my little tummy and prove I wasn’t making it up. I’m small for 7 months but Stef says it’ll be ok. Hell, I’m psyched I won’t be birthing a 12 pounder. Apparently because I’m fit, I tend toward the small side.
Rest easy. I am beginning to show. Especially when I wear tight tops. But it’s all in the stomach. No round face or arms. And the baby’s kicking up a storm lately. At the baby shower, girls teased that I was just pretending to be pregnant to cover up for my boob job. No, I’m really pregnant. The cleavage is just a welcome side effect.
Speaking of the shower- Thanks, everyone for creating such a diverse, unique afternoon of fun. The guests ate, drank (a lot) and were pampered with products from Mountain Body in Park City, massage therapists and Lucy the manicurist. They purchased toys from Polly, the Passion Party consultant, listened to an off-beat woman talk about self-healing and angel spirits and were treated to the acoustic sounds of the Masturbating Hearts. David Baker provided the icing on the cake by appearing in nothing but a shiny green thong. The gifts were great. I went home with five Hefty bags of kids clothes. I’m still in need of bigger items but Park City yardsaling has proven quite effective.

Healthwise, I am doing well. Spent two days last week at Solitude Resort as a featured skier in Cold Snap – a Sci Fi Channel movie about giant spiders that attack a ski area. I’m down to only one pair of ski pants that still fit me. Sigh. But, again, unless I flash bare belly, no one notices. Hiked yesterday in Summit Park and did my stair stepper this evening. Tomorrow, I’ll try to climb. I just got a full-body harness from Petzel to keep the pressure off my tummy.

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