Political Post

Disclaimer: I do not normally feel the need to share my opinions on a public stage, such as this blog. But I am pretty passionate about the following issue and needed to get it out there - the whole reason for having a blog. This is my platform, and is not intended to be a dialogue or induce debate. That is why I am disabling comments on this post. If you feel the need to express your opinions, please feel free to do so in your own space. I respect your right to your own opinion just like I appreciate you respecting my right to mine.

Last night was a pretty powerful night in the Texas legislature. A night of chaos, lack of control on both parties' part, and, in my opinion, a breakdown in how the creators of our government years ago envisioned politics.

In case you've been hiding under a rock, last night decided the fate of Senate Bill 5. The one regarding abortion clinic regulations.

This bill stirred up quite the controversy - only after making it all the way to the final voting stages. While it has received much attention since being introduced, it kind of blows my mind that last night the world really decided to pay attention. Doesn't this show that we should be more aware of what's going on?

For work, since we have introduced a few bills this session, I have been monitoring the state legislation website and have gotten familiar with how to research a bill, read it, and interpret the status. Honestly, I had not looked into it until yesterday morning after word of Wendy Davis's filibuster hit news waves. Much like the rest of the nation, I was aware it was in there somewhere, but didn't realize last night at midnight was the night to make a decision. To decide the fate. Make or break moment.

I have a vested interest in women's and reproductive health. My goal is to be in that field some day - teaching, practicing, or whatever life happens to throw my way. It's my passion. My interest. And therefore, this hits the bull's eye of my radar. I've read the bill myself, made my own opinions about it, and ignored the politics. I formed my view based solely on how I feel about health.

I consider myself pro-life, but also realize that may not be everyone's opinion. I pride myself in being objective in many areas of health and hearing others' opinions rather than forcing my own on them. This is a basic rule of being a health educator - to realize that you might not always agree with the client/patient, but your job is to improve their health status with regard to their personal health goals. I will not ever work for a biased life/choice organization - either way. I feel strongly about this because no person should ever been coerced into making decisions based on others' opinions. Health Education 101 people!

So here is my breakdown of the arguments. I try to be objective but my opinion does come out loud and clear. Again, this is my opinion and in no way should influence yours (see previous paragraph).

Opposing Argument: The bill calls for abortion procedures not to occur after the developing baby is 20 gestational weeks old.
My Rebuttal: This is true, and probably the most valid point from opposers. But two things struck me as fair in this bill in regards to this argument. One, it clearly states that medical exceptions exist. If there is danger to the mother and/or baby, a post-20-weeks abortion can occur. Therefore, the 20 weeks rule applies only to elective abortions. Two, I feel that if it has taken a mother more than 20 weeks to decide if she wants to abort, we have bigger issues. In my opinion, if you are at 20 weeks without making a decision, you are not capable of making a sound judgment call on the life of an unborn child. This is all regardless of if the baby can feel pain or not and regardless of your opinions on abortion.

Opposing Argument: The bill would close 37 of the 42 clinics in the state.
My Rebuttal: Yes. This is also true. But hello!!! Do you know why that many clinics would shut down? Did you read the bill?? It's because 37 out of the 42 clinics would not be able to pass current medical/surgical facility regulations. I'm sorry, but no clinic should be able to operate if they cannot pass basic regulations intended to keep us safe from infections, malpractice, and more. I feel like every person has the right to a safe medical procedure, the right to adequate post-care, the right to have a doctor who is held accountable, and the right to know that your clinic is regulated. This is regardless of the facility's purpose. I feel very strongly about this point, especially for those saying this bill is anti-womens-health. This is the strongest part of the bill that would improve health all over the state. Besides, did you not read the part where these clinics have until September 1, 2014 to comply!? It's not like these clinics will suddenly shut their doors the day after the bill passes.

Opposing Argument: The bill violates women's rights.
My Rebuttal: Again, this piggy backs on my previous rebuttal. I feel like this positively affects women's rights to quality health care. The fact that this bill has turned into some larger political venture is embarrassing for us women who believe in access to quality care and women's rights. Does the end justify the means? Is it worth it to take this bill and use it as a platform? Remember where this bill came from - the crazy lunatic in Pennsylvania. There is not a person in this world who was not appalled by that case, and yet, we are turning on our own legislators who are attempting to avoid that situation in this state.

Opposing Argument: The bill favors the pro-life demographic.
My Rebuttal: In my opinion, this has nothing to do with that debate. In fact, several times this bill mentions what abortion is, that is it is legal, and says that in no way is this a stand-alone bill, but an extension of the right to abortion. This bill simply tries to regulate it a little more to protect patients who may not understand they are receiving ill advice and/or bad care.

Opposing Argument: The bill was created by and for the caucasian demographic, when most abortions occur in the minority population.
My Rebuttal: I'd like to see what research you have to back this up. Multiple articles would have to prove that minorities are more likely to consider an abortion, that more minorities conceive an unplanned child, and that Texas demographics play no role in skewing the data. Even if that last part of the argument is valid, then isn't this even more reason to pass regulations? This argument infers that minority populations need more abortions, and therefore lack quality health education (again, more research needs to be cited). If that is the case, then shouldn't the state step in to regulate these facilities for them so they do not need to fully understand what their rights as patients are - overcoming language, cultural, educational and other barriers? This would actually make a fantastic doctoral research project. But I doubt the person/people making this argument think that way.



Also as a side note, last night I was very aggravated by the use of the collective "we" when referring to women and Texans. Not all Texans and not all women can be grouped like that, especially in regards to opinions on hotly debated topics.

I was also quite annoyed with the fact that we elected the people voting - I did not vote for Wendy Davis, fyi. We elected them to speak for us and vote for us on important issues. And yet, we cheer when a filibuster prevents the voting process from happening. And we cheer because a woman was leading the fight. And we cheer because after going through the full judicial process, we have killed a bill no one cared about until the final hours. Not to mention, the other bills that would have been considered - even ones we all agree on - that died with this one.

Ok, rant is over. Thank you for holding on, if you did. Above all, I am passionate about patient rights and women's/reproductive health. Luckily, this bill will not affect me personally since I will never consider an elective abortion. But it doesn't hurt to be in-the-know, especially when it directly pertains to your career field.

My Favorite Parenting Resources (Pre-Baby Edition)

In today's internet age, it's easy to be overloaded with information about parenting and babies and kids and so much more. Some of it is useful, some scary, and some downright hilarious/ridiculous. Here is my first edition of resources I am loving right now, for various reasons...

CDC Customizable Immunization Schedule
- You can input your child's birthday, and this tool will generate a personalized immunization schedule with dates/deadlines specific to them. You can even get their name typed on the top for multiple children.

Diaper Stockpiling Guide
- In case you were wondering how we are getting our guidelines for stockpiling diapers, here is the helpful blog entry I came across a few months ago.
- Diapers needed by size and good prices given.

Babyproofing Your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone
- This book is hilarious and a must-read for anyone who has kids or are planning on having kids. It tackles a lot of general marriage advice and tailors the advice to parents when children compound major issues.
- I especially love the advice on "keeping score" and treating your husband like a partner instead of a subordinate.

Babysavers.com and Coupons.com and TheFrugalGirls.com
- Great resources for finding great deal on all of the essentials like diapers, wipes, and other items you never knew you needed.
- On coupons.com, you have to instal their printing program, but after that, they'll print instantly!
- If you didn't know a little secret about couponing (for us newbies), manufacturer coupons (ie ones produced by Proctor and Gamble, Dove, Pampers, etc.) can be combined with store offers to compound savings.

Amazon Warehouse
- Ok this is actually a general resource I love and didn't even know about until Babysavers introduced me to it!
- Amazon has a Warehouse site where they sell all of their "outlet-like" items - damaged boxes, returned items in great condition that can no longer be labeled "new", etc. Diapers and wipes have never been opened but might be in semi-damaged boxes and/or in overstock-like boxes without the common box designs you see in the stores.
- All items are sold by Amazon and not by members or other stores.
- The trick is, you cannot simply go to Amazon and find their deals. You have to google "Amazon Warehouse" and click on the link that pops up in the results. Tricky, huh? It's like they know it's a great deal and don't want patrons to find out about it!

Pinterest and Etsy
- What kind of person would I be if I didn't mention my two favorite craft websites!? I love both of them for giving me craft ideas galore - for baby and more!
- Pinterest shows me what I can create by myself.
- Etsy is a site that sells homemade items in an online' antique mall' format.
- Etsy allows me to buy any of the Pinterest-like items that I don't feel like I can create and/or would rather pay someone to make for me.

Fearless Formula Feeder and Bottle Babies
- For those of us who are/will bottle feed out of necessity or choice. It's nice to find a community that supports us without judgement and provides resources since there practically aren't any resources out there for us.



That's it for now! Until my next edition, of course. ;)

My Life: In Pictures

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, since creating my last post, I saw pictures that all of you need to see! It's pretty much a summary of my life lately...

Stocking up on diapers! We have stopped until after our showers to see if we get any as gifts. I know it looks like a lot, but we still need tons more. The empty box is size 3 diapers. Definitely haven't started shopping for those yet...

Remember that Mixie bottle I won!? Finally got it in the mail and it truly is everything the website boasted and more! So excited to use it and hopefully we'll be able to splurge on a couple more.

Enough said.

Experimenting with mocktails lately has made me really happy.

More cravings.

My niece kitty Jayde playing time.

Elayne's first soccer ball - regulation and everything.

Another cute one of Jayde.

Random, but stuff to fill you in.

New House Pictures! Finally!

If you've followed my blog from way back in the beginning and/or you know me really well, then it doesn't come to a surprise that this post has been nearly 2 months in the making. I kept coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't post pictures - we didn't have this shelf put up, or the maids were going to come in a week so I'd wait until then, or the laundry just had to be finished first... the list goes on and on. So after the maids came last week, I snapped some pictures.

Here are a few of our new home sweet home!

Kitchen before we moved in. The picture I took the other day was blurry, so you get the original one - sans appliances. Yes, that's a huge island. And yes, it's still that clean!

A sneak peak of Elayne's room. Once we finish the pink paint and more details, I'll let you in on more. And of course, once it's all finished, I'll be blogging about it. But don't you just LOVE the colors!?

Guest bathroom.

Our small backyard with Murphy's run. Phillip did such a great job building that deck and Murphy loves that dog house! There is some more to the yard, but it's still a bit smaller than we would prefer.

The beautiful living room. While the furniture and accessories have stayed the same throughout our moves, I still love it. And those two huge windows!

Our bedroom. Smaller than the old house, but I think we'll actually be able to decorate it since it isn't as intimidating and we don't need any new furniture.

Our master bath with soaking tub and walk-in closet and shower. Plus, this one has a closed off toilet area - a major plus I'm not sure we'll ever be able to live without now.

I know it's a little dark, but this is our breakfast area. It's very similar to our old house, but the window seat is more functional. The laundry room is that door off to the right there.

And Phillip's room. Yes, this room was meant to be the formal living/dining area and it is right off the front door, but it's perfect for Phillip - and forces him to keep it neat and tidy. Plus, it's a pretty cool statement room to walk into. He has some really cool stuff!

My office is the largest of the three extra bedrooms (sorry Elayne!) but I need the space. It is my office and also serves as a crafting room for all of my junk stuff.

No pictures of the guest room because frankly, it's pretty empty. The only things in there are things that will be moved elsewhere once we have enough energy to tackle the space. It will be complete before guests come to stay with us after Elayne is born. But for now, it sits relatively empty with Murphy's cage inside. That's why there isn't a picture.

I love our house!!

28 Weeks Photo

Hello belly!

3D/4D Update

Head on over to our CaringBridge website to see the pictures from our 3D/4D ultrasound this morning!

Elayne is still as perfect as can be. AND she smiled for us today. Plus, she likes to put her toes in her mouth.

Doctor loves my minimal weight gain, says everything is just "perfect," and won't make me take the gestational diabetes test again! Plus, she gave me more information on Cord Blood Registry and pediatricians. And now I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks.

This is getting real.

She's really going to be coming into our lives.

I'm already in love.

Elayne the Eggplant at 28 Weeks (7 MONTHS!)

This weekend we were traveling machines! We drove down to New Braunfels to stay the night with the Harkins. Saturday was Jake's graduation party in LaVernia, and yesterday we drove back.

Oh and Happy Fathers Day!

Today, I finally received one of my wishes! We have a maid service cleaning the house as we speak! Too exciting! It is really hard for me to bend over and clean tubs/showers, vacuum the whole house, and so much more. Therefore, enter maid service until after Elayne is born. So exciting!

Tomorrow we have our 3D/4D ultrasound and I can't wait. We get to see our baby girl AGAIN on the big screen and this time we'll actually be able to tell more about what she looks like. I'm hoping we'll even get a smile out of her. Plus we get a full video and DVD of pictures to show everyone. Watch the Caring Bridge page for her glamour shots. ;)

Baby Elayne

Size: Eggplant. That's 2 1/4 pounds, and 15 1/2 inches long. Holy moley she is getting big! Though, with my height, I'm pretty skeptical about her length. ;)

Important Developments: Pretty much, her lungs and immune systems are forming more and she's filling out to look more like a chubby newborn instead of scraggly alien.

Noticeable Symptoms: This short torso of mine is not serving me well. Elayne likes to hang out in my ribs now, though fortunately she hasn't started kicking them - yet. I am having a hard time getting hungry. I even lost another pound last week. I'll see what my doctor says about it.

Total Weight Gain: Still at 9 pounds. I'm thinking that is good, but we'll see tomorrow.

Re: Butterflies

With our second anniversary being TODAY, I'm in that love-my-husband giddy state I get in from time to time. I mean I feel that way all the time, but it particularly comes to the surface in times like these. Combine that with these pregnancy feelings and you get an over-the-top Ashley.

And naturally, I'm going to write a blog post about it.

They say that every once in a while, someone comes along that gives you butterflies. A person that will always give you butterflies. And it is our job to act on those butterflies to make sure that person sticks around for the long haul - if not forever. Well I grabbed that person and am so happy I get to spend the rest of my life experiencing these butterflies.

I remember when we first started spending time with each other, how different we were. We were nervous and scared and wanting to make the best impressions. There was hesitation in expressing true feelings for fear of the other not reciprocating.

But now we are so open with each other. Free to love and show as many feelings as possible. Completely ourselves. It is magical.

I can't believe it's already been two years. Where has the time gone? And next year, we'll have a little one celebrating with us. It's crazy how fast life moves - and how much it doesn't slow down, even if you beg it to.

It may not be the lengthy anniversaries my family is currently celebrating, but two years is defined as success for me. Two happy years.

27 Weeks!

A little late on the post guys. Sorry. This is further proving how bad I am at updating pregnancy happenings on a schedule.

But here goes!

Elayne Ruth

Size: Cauliflower! She is 2 pounds now, and over 14 inches long! Crazy how much she is starting to grow. Pretty soon she'll be growing up to 3/4 a pound per week. The big 2 pound milestone has been reached!

Important Developments: Her eyes are opening and closing, and she has a definite sleep schedule.

Noticeable Symptoms: Still having back pains and muscle pains. Legs are starting to cramp a little, and sleeping through the night is nearly impossible.

Cheers! To 37 Years!

Happiest of happy anniversaries to my wonderful parents! They are celebrating 37 years together today and I could not be prouder of them.

They have endured so much together. They laugh together. Solves problems together. Work together. Love together. And so much more.

We had the option to share our wedding anniversary with them - we could have gotten married on June 4, 2011. But we decided not to. We wanted them to have their own day to celebrate. A day they didn't have to think about anyone else but themselves. Because you know, they're pretty special. :)

We are so fortunate to have many examples of love surrounding us. So many marriages that have lasted throughout the years. We have a lot of great advice from so many great people and we cherish every word. And I am so excited Elayne gets to grow up with these examples too.

26 Weeks

That's 6 1/2 months along everyone! CRAZY!

This week we put even more finishing touches on the house - it's really looking great. I'd say the inside is almost completely finished and the outside is coming along gradually. I even planted flowers this week. :)

Elayne has been moving like crazy lately. Everyone can see and feel now - if you are looking/feeling at the right time. She goes in moving spurts, but still not constant or consistent. I feel like she's all of a sudden "popped out" this week too. I woke up Thursday morning and suddenly felt like my belly had shifted.I think she was growing up, and now she's growing out. This is another sign I'm nearing the end of the second trimester. Can you believe I'm almost in the third trimester!?

It's time to start nesting! Last night I made a big to-do list and to-buy list for nesting. I also organized and divided all of the diapers/wipes/formula we have so far - and we bought more. Phillip still needs to finish painting the top of the pink wall in Elayne's room, and then I'm ready for furniture!

Baby Elayne Ruth

Size: Head of Lettuce (also English Hothouse Cucumber...whatever that is)

Important Developments: Her cute little ears are developing even more. Plus, her lungs and immune system are maturing more and more every day - further proof she needs to stay in there for a few months longer.

Noticeable Symptoms: Moving. Kicking. Punching. I am also finding it harder to sleep through the entire night, which is bound to get worse from here on out in preparation for her arrival.

Less than 100 days to go!!!