5 Things Friday

It's been awhile since I did a 5 things Friday kind of post! Here are 5 things on my mind these days!

1. I took Paul on his first outing to the zoo last weekend.  I figured we'd try a free zoo before spending money on the larger Minnesota Zoo that's in a SE suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul. We went with another friend and her 2 boys. He really enjoyed it! It was quite crowded even though we went at opening time (10am - wish it opened earlier!) but we still had a great time. His favorite exhibits were the fish and the primate building. Now that I know he enjoyed the zoo, I think we'll ask for a zoo pass for his birthday or Christmas if any family members ask us for ideas - or even for my birthday! I'm all about experience gifts!

2. I had to get 2 steroid injections on Monday. I've had a flare that's been bothering me for a long time - like since February or maybe before that. I've been taking oral steroids to manage the pain and swelling but my rheumatologist said it's time to stop using oral steroids as they aren't great for long-term use. As soon as I started to taper off them, the flare got worse, necessitating injections. I thought I'd need just one in my pointer finger but the PA suggested I treat the flares in my pointer finger and thumb. I ended up taking the day off as my hand was pretty useless. The upside was getting to do some extra reading.

3. I've been in a purging mood again and have sold quite a few things on Facebook marketplace, like my pumping purse (stopped using it when I bought a 2nd pump for work), some baby stuff we didn't use, wine glasses, and my wedding veil. It feels good to sell things and it's nice the generate some extra cash in the process.

4. The next thing I am going to get rid of is... my wedding dress. I know this may be a controversial decision to some but it's been hanging in my closet (unwashed) since I got married. I absolutely adored my dress but I do not feel like I need to hold onto it as I have the pictures and memories from our wedding day. I could get it preserved but then down the road, someone else - like Paul - will have to decide what to do with it. So I figured it's best to make the decision myself. My mom preserved her wedding dress but it never crossed my mind to use it for my wedding (it was beautiful, but she was much smaller than me and had a winter wedding). So even if I have a daughter some day, I really doubt she would want to wear my dress. After researching my options, I have decided to donate it to the Sewn With Love Project. They turn donated wedding dresses (and other formal gowns) into burial garments for infant deaths. That way the family does not need to deal with finding a burial gown - so it's one less thing for them to have to deal with. Sadly, I've gone to 3 infant funerals so I have watched families go through the loss of a child, and this feels like the right thing to do with my dress.  I'll be dropping it off next week. One silver lining to donating it to a non-profit is that we'll get a tax deduction. Bottom line, I guess I am just not super sentimental about things and don't feel the need to hold onto this dress, even though it's from one of the most beautiful days of my life!

5. Whew, after that more serious update, we need something lighter! Here's a picture of our proud little walker. He has gotten steadier and steadier on his feet since taking those first steps 2 weeks ago. He's so proud of himself and he really loves being able to carry things around, like books he wants us to read to him! And yes, he is pants-free much of the time when we are home. Ha!

What's on your mind today? Do you think I am crazy to be getting rid of my wedding dress? I polled a group of friends and it turned out almost all of them were trying to decide what to do with theirs so I wasn't an outlier in wanting to find a new home for it.