Jeremiah was a Stretch Mark

Well, I was going to treat everyone to some videos of my daughter... However, her dad vetoed that plan. If you would like to lodge a formal complaint you can flood his comments on his blog at www.grapebeans.blogspot.com . Maybe a passive aggressive protest will help him change his mind :)

As I was doing my usual after bath post mortem in the mirror, I realized what I needed to talk about today. In all my years of sex ed and health education I was never told all the unpleasent things that occur from being pregnant. No one ever told me that there was a strong possibility that I'd end up with stretch marks all the way around my belly. I wasn't informed that my days of wearing a bikini would be over before I was even able to legally vote. Young girls who are more educated about all aspects of pregnancy would probably be more likely to either not have sex or at least be more careful. Teachers tended to focus on the horrifyingly gross side effects of STDs and STIs which is all well and good and it does encourage condom usage but not birth control usage. Condoms are very effective when used properly but a vast number of people (young and old) don't know the proper way to use a condom (surprisingly). Condoms aren't 100% effective even when used completely right and can break as well. I think more girls need to be informed about all the birth control options and use both birth control and condoms if they decide to actually have sex. When I was in middle school and high school there was no way I was ever going to broach the subject about birth control with my mother because she'd automatically assume I was having sex and I really wasn't. (at least not until well into high school) Hell, my mom and I never even talked about sex. When I was in either fifth or sixth grade she gave me 2 books on puberty and that was it. One of those books covered sex but I can't remember if it even talked about birth control and it surely was not a substitute for actually talking to an informed human being. A lot girls in America have a similar situation with their moms. We love them, it's just really hard to talk to them about some things with out it seeming like we're actually doing them instead of just wanting to be educated. Not to harp on stretch marks, but if my books or anyone had told me about them I probably would have been even more vigilant. I already have scars on my back and one on my knee that I'll most likely have for the rest of my life. Now I have a Freddy Krueger stomach to match and a scar from Violet being born. We hear stories and see on TV where they talk about how you'll poop yourself during labor but what I never notice anyone talking about is how during the crowning, you'll likely get tearing and some doctors even preform an episiotomy which is where they make a surgical incision on the lower vaginal area. After birth they stitch you up. I think that'd do a pretty good job of scaring most teenage girls away from having sex until they're ready to have a baby. We should show Ricki Lake's birthing video or the video of the women giving birth in the Black Sea. Any birthing video would do though. I would show mine around, but too many people would probably find it hilarious since I say "I just need to poop" at least ten times and you can't see anything since we only had enough people to hold my legs and feed me ice and not enough for someone to hold the camera. Remember to flood www.grapebeans.blogspot.com with comments so you can watch gems like that. :)

Thoughts of an Insomniac

So last night, when I was not sleeping yet again, I started reflecting back on my life thus far. Violet is turning two in July and so I'm a bit nostalgiac and all my friends are out of school for the summer and traversing across the globe. On one hand, yes, I am a little jealous that I can't just take off for Italy or England for a semester but on the other hand I like where my life is right now. I spend my days with Violet since she's no longer in daycare ( a rant for another day) and we just pretty much stay at home. If I wasn't me, I think it'd be really really lonely for people because I really don't see people other than family and that's not that often either. There are no moms in the area that are my age and while the older moms are nice, it's like talking one of my mom's friends or their kids. My friends, while i love them, also can't relate to my life. They're in college, they go drinking and partying, and I can't go out unless john's home early and usually I'm done for the night around 10 or 11. I wasn't the party going type before I got pregnant so I'm not sure why I feel like I'm missing out sometimes. I wouldn't be going regardless but it's like being told you can never have ice cream and you've never tried it. Everyone told you it's great but you never got around to it and now you never will. I do plan on living it up on my 21st though. John and Violet can go stay at his moms house because I plan on partying all night long and I don't want to wake them when I come stumbling in at 4 in the morning. Violet will be 3 and I don't think she wants to see her mom drunk off her ass at that age. More teen moms need to get out the message to girls and boys in highschool that once they have a kid, the partying is over. Your life becomes 100% about your child and there's not a lot of time for yourself anymore. Between housework, cooking, and taking care of your child there will be just enough time to sleep and maybe get a shower. If you're a yetti like me, shaving has to wait until Violet is in bed for the night and I'm not exhausted. On top of that, many teen parents are single which means they also have to have a job so good luck finding the time or money to go out. This fall I really want to go to some of the local high schools and just tell them that unless they want to feel 30 before they even turn 20, they should abstain from sex or at least use proper birth control (the more the better). TV isn't helping either with their unrealistic views of teen parenting. If I see one more show use teen pregnancy as a go to plot line I'm gonna lose my shit. The same goes for TV movies. Somebody's getting drop kicked from whatever network crosses me.