Things that go “smack” in the night

The other night, while I was feeding Livi, I heard an intense SMACK into one of our living room windows.

“Wake up! I heard a noise!”

I went into the bedroom and shook the Pilot, who sleeps with earplugs in (thank goodness he didn’t have to fly in the morning), and he woke up, grabbed the gun and immediately started creeping around upstairs, trying to see what could have caused the sound. After checking all of the windows downstairs and peering about, he came back to say that he couldn’t see what could have caused the noise. I tried to explain to him that it sounded like a hand smacking against the windows, and it was weird because I heard it so clearly and our bedroom is upstairs.

That’s because it happened to one of our tall windows…

living room

My nana was over the next day to hang out with Livi while I went to training and said “A bird hit your window!”

And sure enough, on one of the windows is a distinct bird print.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes, the print is amazing, but makes me sad to think a dead bird might be outside.”

The Pilot couldn’t believe it when I showed him the bird print and looked around outside for the evidence… no dead bird. Weird, huh??

 bird2

I hope he lived…

On a happier note, here’s a picture from yesterday’s morning snuggle sesh.

me and liv

Sweet girl <3

We had a great day yesterday, and she finally got to meet her Aunt Michele, who’s here from Valdosta. Her family is from Tucson, too 🙂

image 

I got to meet her little guy.. and kiss his cheeks.

Dinner was one of the classic combos we enjoy over here, cooked by the Pilot aka the man who defends the house… from birds 😉

 salmon3

Salmon, veg and baked sweet potato.

You can’t go wrong 🙂

This morning, Liv and I are off to check out the mommy gym on base –you can take your babies or kids in with you, and there’s a play area and TV- and run some errands before Tom’s fam gets here tomorrow.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Gina

Something to read:

7 vegan pasta recipes

At-home skincare

5 fun Zumba sneakers

Something to do: The February Schweaty Workout! It’s quick, and a DOOZY 🙂

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83 Comments

  1. T on February 23, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Not just sweet girl, sweet mama too. 🙂

  2. Stephanie @ Legally Blinde on February 23, 2012 at 10:31 am

    My parents’ house (where I grew up) has tons and tons of windows, and some are really large and high up like yours are (about 30 feet) and birds fly into them a lot ;( The same thing happens at my school. When I first visited I thought they had really tacky bird decals on the windows for decoration, but then I found out that they’re supposed to deter real birds from flying into the windows. (I don’t think it works, though, because lots of birds still do fly into them.) It’s strange that a bird flew into your window at night, though – I thought they would only get confused when it was light outside and they couldn’t see the glass!

    I love the picture of you and Liv snuggling, and you look radiant 🙂 Those mushrooms and asparagus are making my mouth water – and I still need to try nut butter on a baked sweet potato, that looks so gooey and delicious! How did you/ the Pilot prepare the mushrooms?

  3. Liz @ Southern Charm on February 23, 2012 at 10:33 am

    That’s is crazy!! I hope the bird is ok!!

  4. Sana on February 23, 2012 at 10:34 am

    I always get super sad when birds hit the windows at my house, but they are usually fine right after. So no worries

  5. Amelia on February 23, 2012 at 10:36 am

    That noise would have scared the crap out of me too! Birds fly into our big window that overlooks the water all day long. Thank goodness it’s daytime and all but 1 have lived.

    Dinner looks delish. We have been eating a lot of salmon and asparagus on this end lately.

    Your sweet Liv is adorable. I love her cheeks. 🙂

  6. Emma on February 23, 2012 at 10:38 am

    That photo of you and Livi is absolutely adorable! That’s sad about the bird, one flew into our window once and died and I was so upset about it 🙁

  7. Anon on February 23, 2012 at 10:44 am

    Random question – how do you feel about the Pilot keeping a gun in the house? This isn’t a judgmental question at all – it’s something I’m seriously pondering, as my SO just purchased one for sporting purposes and neither of us really knows whether it should be stored in the home.

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 11:06 am

      At first it freaked me out because I’d never been around them, but he took me shooting when we had been dating for a while and it wasn’t so weird anymore. I’m totally comfortable having guns in the house, especially since they’re locked up.

      • Brittany on February 23, 2012 at 11:58 am

        I had to read that a few times. I was shocked at first to know that you have guns in the house. Then I remembered he is in the air force and it is probably normal to keep a gun in the house. This will be a really strange question but what kind of gun do you guys have?

        • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 1:29 pm

          Yeah it’s pretty common among military guys. The pilots dad collects guns, so ww have some different types

    • Coco on February 23, 2012 at 3:57 pm

      Thanks Anon for saying something about that. I was REALLY freaked out to read that a gun was out around the baby in any capacity over one sound. I mean its not like they HEARD lots of noise or crashing of glass (things anyone would think HOME INVASION). Then again anything gun makes me touchy. So dangerous.

      • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 4:27 pm

        They’re not dangerous if they’re locked up and you know how to use it properly- Tom has been around guns his entire life. It was new to me for a while but I feel safe having them

        • Sara on February 23, 2012 at 6:00 pm

          I grew up on a farm and there were lots of rifles around. I mean.. you need them to, well, scare off wild pigs and put injured animals out of their misery. The rule was ‘always assume it’s loaded’. Now we live near the city and my neighbour has a gun, which is locked in a metal safe. I didn’t find this weird, but my man couldn’t stop talking about it. It’s not usual at all to have a gun around here. I think Jase has been looking sideways at the neighbour ever since.
          I don’t think that’s a bird print. I think it’s a FAIRY. Or a very small angel.

          • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 8:57 pm

            ooooh i like the way you think 🙂



      • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 9:00 pm

        i thought for sure that someone/thing was trying to break the window- scary stuff!
        and it’s not like the pilot is some wild vigilante. he’s a responsible man, with lots of training and experience with guns 🙂

        • Brittany on February 23, 2012 at 11:08 pm

          If you know how to use them then guns can be perfectly safe. I’m sure you guys have them for safety. With a baby and in this world you need protection sometimes. Good for you guys to e prepared. I’m curious, do you know how to use it in case you needed to and the pilot was deployed?

          • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 11:51 pm

            yep, he’s taken me shooting quite a few times 🙂



  8. Sarah on February 23, 2012 at 10:44 am

    The house I grew up in had tall windows like that… one summer we had a bird that would fly into the same window over and over all day everyday. He would sit on the deck railing, fly into the window, hit the ground, and start all over again. At first I felt sorry for the bird, I got over that quickly when he woke me up every morning on my summer vacation!!!

  9. MMiller on February 23, 2012 at 10:46 am

    When my parents had a house with huge high windows, my mom put clings on the windows so that the birds would realize there was glass there! She had had a few birds hit before she put them up! She actually put flying bird shaped clings on the windows!! Worked like a charm!

  10. Jess@pinkchilli on February 23, 2012 at 10:47 am

    🙁 Poor bird, hope he is ok. A pigeon hit my window about a week ago and was really injured. I scooped him up and took him to our vet. They tried to help him but he died. RIP Pigeon xx

  11. Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat on February 23, 2012 at 10:47 am

    That would totally freak me out too, especially in the middle of the night! I’m always very attentive to sounds in my house during the night if I’m alone, and once I hear one, I hear EVERYTHING! Although it wasn’t such a great night for the bird, I’m glad it wasn’t something more serious!

  12. Claire @ Live and Love to Eat on February 23, 2012 at 10:49 am

    That’s amazing the bird lived!

  13. Ashley on February 23, 2012 at 10:51 am

    We ALWAYS had birds flying into our windows at our old house – at least once or twice a week. We tried everything, they flew into them even when the blinds were down. Sometimes we would find the poor bird, sometimes they would fly away. So sad 🙁

  14. Danielle on February 23, 2012 at 10:53 am

    First, that picture of you and Olivia is beautiful.

    Second, the Pilot “woke up, grabbed the gun” part made me laugh. I can’t imagine having a gun in the house in case of intruders. When I hear a noise in the night I grab a pair of scissors or something and go investigate, haha. I guess it’s probably more of an American (and military) thing! It was just funny read you saying it so nonchalantly when for me that was the most shocking part of the story! 🙂

    • erin on February 23, 2012 at 10:59 am

      i was going to comment on the “grabbed the gun part”… not to stereotype/be negative, but i too most definitely laughed and thought “ohhh, america…” hahah!

      • Lana on February 23, 2012 at 3:47 pm

        It shocked me too. I had to read it over probably 5 times!

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 11:07 am

      Scissors- I love it! Yes definitely more of a military thing

    • A on February 24, 2012 at 9:14 am

      I don’t get why that’s shocking. My entire family has guns in the house, mainly because the guys hunt.

  15. natalie @ southern fit foodie on February 23, 2012 at 10:58 am

    That picture of you and Livi is precious! I’m glad you are safe from birds. 🙂

  16. Lisa @ Fresh Spinach on February 23, 2012 at 11:01 am

    My parent’s house frequently is has birds smack into the windows. It’s very sad. On more than one occasion my father has asked for my help to nurse a bird back to health.

  17. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga on February 23, 2012 at 11:01 am

    Yikes I bet that gave your heart a few extra beats…hearing noises in the middle of the night, makes me JUMP! Glad it was “just” a bird (poor bird) but glad everyone’s okay.

    That is such an adorable picture of you and Livi!

  18. Jessica J on February 23, 2012 at 11:05 am

    I think I would have my husband up prowling with the gun if that happened to me too! And that salmon with the asparagus and mushrooms is making my heart pitter patter! Must! Have! Now!

  19. Catalina @ Cake with Love on February 23, 2012 at 11:07 am

    You and Livi look adorable together!!! You both are very, very beautiful!

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 9:07 pm

      aww thanks, girl <3

  20. Joss on February 23, 2012 at 11:16 am

    I totally would have been freaked out if I heard a loud smack in the middle of the night too!!
    poor bird though…hope its ok 🙁

    sweet baby pictures today!

  21. Natalie on February 23, 2012 at 11:33 am

    This post made me laugh. 🙂 I can totally see the whole ordeal and the Pilot springing into action. So sweet!

    BTW, I live in the Midwest, so the gun issue didn’t even register until I saw the comments. It seems totally normal to me. I am totally comfortable with having firearms in the house, but I am very interested in seeing how people approach teaching gun safety to their children.

    • Karen on February 23, 2012 at 12:43 pm

      I’m from L.A. (born and raised), and grew up in a house with many guns, as my father is a single action shooter as a hobby. All the guns are in a huge safe with a combo lock, and he would take my brother and I out for target practice when we were kids. I think b/c he was always Captain Safety, and we got to use them, there was no mystique or allure for us as kids. I just recently got back into it (I always preferred archery), but more as a way to bond with my dad 🙂

      I do understand how firearms are startling to people who did not grow up around them, and who don’t know how to use them. They are powerful machines!

      It is easy to fooled by day-to-day life into believing that we are safe. But it just takes that one time of not being safe to alter your reality.

      And to the commenter who said she usually just grabs a pair of scissors, while I totally know what you mean, think about it…you may as well be grabbing thin air for the good it will do you. If you are not comfortable learning to use a gun and having one for defense, then you should enroll in a good self defense class, and attend it every few months. Heck, we all should, gun or no gun!

      • Karen on February 23, 2012 at 12:47 pm

        I also want to say that I am probably the last person you would think would have this as a hobby- I am an acupuncturist, herbalist, 90% vegetarian, yoga lover, astrologist…peace and light, love one another …pretty granola, lol!

  22. Ali on February 23, 2012 at 11:39 am

    I wonder if it was a bat, not a bird, since it was the middle of the night? Either way, definitely scary!

  23. Kristen on February 23, 2012 at 11:46 am

    I watched a bird slam into the window at Panera Bread the other day. It took a few seconds but it flew away unharmed…although I’m sure it had a major headache.

    P.S. Its very obvious that Miss Livi has your Mexican genes in her…GORGEOUS!

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 9:07 pm

      thank you <3

  24. Anna @ The Guiltless Life on February 23, 2012 at 11:47 am

    Haha the gun part stood out the most to me too. I was like, huh?? But I see that perhaps that’s just a part of being with a military man. My ex was in the infantry in the army (Canada) and his gun was in the house but it was an old rifle and was totally dismantled and locked away so it wasn’t for use in case of intruders or anything. And I still couldn’t sleep having a firearm so close by! But then he once took me to a firearm store and I looked so pale he thought I’d pass out. So clearly I wasn’t built for such things ;).

  25. Sonia the Mexigarian on February 23, 2012 at 11:53 am

    When I lived in apartment in collge, I slept with a knife under my pillow or matress. Easily accessible and good for defense 🙂 . I still sleep with one under my matress, especially when Hubby is away on business. Our pup Lando is such a scaredy cat.

  26. Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed on February 23, 2012 at 12:09 pm

    Aw poor birdie 🙁 Hope it’s ok… glad that was the extent of your scare. I hate things that go bump in the night… definitely love a strong man to look into these things hehe.

  27. Kaila @healthyhelperblog! on February 23, 2012 at 12:11 pm

    Liv looks like she is starting to change so much! I can see so much of you and tom more distinctly now in her! Its amazing how fast babies grow!!!

  28. mary on February 23, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    That’s so loud when it happens. I can’t believe it was flying at night. And left that mark! Bizarre. I’d like to say it must be alive if it’s not on the ground but I bet there are lots of predators there to grab a hurt or dead bird. It’s the circle of life. It’s sadder when your dogs find it nearly dead. Blech.

  29. Natasha on February 23, 2012 at 12:26 pm

    That would freak me out too! Especially because I never see birds flying around at night! They do that?!!
    For 3 summers we constantly had little birds flying into our back patio doors.(Up to 3x a day, luckily none of them ever died.) I couldn’t figure out why. I realized that the tree in our backyard was reflecting in the glass. Two summers ago we changed out the door to french doors with the blinds built into the glass. Problem solved! Now they can see the white of the blinds and not just a tree!!

  30. Jessica on February 23, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    Olivia is beautiful! It looks like she has your eyes!

  31. mallory on February 23, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    liv’s features are so dainty and cute!

  32. Erin on February 23, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    OMG this happened to us about a week ago!! It was SO LOUD and I bolted out of bed and my husband said it must have been a bird, but it was almost midnight?!?! The next morning I looked around but didn’t see a dead bird?!

  33. Cerissa on February 23, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    Kind of a random question here, but I keep seeing you post sweet potatoes with almond butter. Is that good? I kind of want to try it, but I’m not sure how to do it 🙂 Do you just bake a potato and glob a couple TB on? Is almond butter used for a reason or could you use peanut butter? It just seems so odd… yet kind of good…. 😉

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 9:05 pm

      i think you could definitely use peanut butter! it’s a great sweet/savory combo

  34. Kirsten on February 23, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    It might have been at Bat (most birds don’t fly at night).
    We’ve once heard a loud bang, on our Kitchen window one evening. We went out to look on the ground but nothing was there. My hubby and I went to bed. The next morning we saw a distinct Bat print on the window ( even with small earprints) . But no Bat. It’s a tough little creature 😉

    Great pics of y’all 😉

  35. Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie on February 23, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    Omg those mushrooms look amazing! I have been craving some like crazy. Sorry to hear about the bird. 🙁 We have that happen on the windows in the kitchen all the time in the summer. I think we need to put a reflective decal on our windows or something!

  36. Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin on February 23, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    That happened to me when I a little girl! I was devastated, so my parents and I held a bird funeral in our yard. 😛

  37. Teri on February 23, 2012 at 3:19 pm

    A bird hit the window at my old job and left a very clear print on the window. Crazy!

  38. sneakers2sandals on February 23, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    What’s on the sweet potato?? I never know what to put on mine!

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 4:28 pm

      Almond butter 🙂

  39. Dawn on February 23, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    If this happened at night, maybe it was a bat that flew into your window! We have lots of bats around here, and we always see them come out at dusk. Livi is just adorable, those cheeks are so sweet!!!! 🙂

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 9:01 pm

      i thought maybe it was a bat, too, but there are feathers on the print. so weird!
      and yes, i kiss those perfect cheeks all the livelong day 🙂

  40. Pam on February 23, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    Hi Gina, congratulations on Livi! She’s so cute! I think it’s a bat print- birds don’t usually fly at night because it’s too dark. If it was still a bit light out, the bat might have been using vision rather than echolocation, and not seen your window. Eek!

  41. Julie S on February 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    That’s funny that you got so freaked out. As soon as you described the noise in your 1st sentence, I thought, “Oh, it was a bird.” It happens here all the time. You must have really clean windows! 😛

  42. Ali on February 23, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    Oh man! In our old house, we had a big garage that had big windows. Our next door neighbours had a tree that had berries that caused the birds who ate them to get drunk. So we had several incidence of birds flying straight into the windows, getting knocked out cold for a while, and then waking up and flying away! That was if my cat didn’t get them first! I am glad you had the big strong pilot to defend you!

  43. Chelsa on February 23, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    too funny I hope the bird is okay

  44. Steph on February 23, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    Oh my gosh! The same thing happened to me last week. I came home to a poor little birdie on my front porch. I think he crashed into our big picture window while I was at work. Stella was all worked up about it, poor girl. I hope your birdie was okay!

    The picture of you and Livi snuggling is so precious!

    Steph

  45. Kerry @ Totes My Oats on February 23, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    Such a sweet picture of you and Livi! Don’t you hate when birds fly into windows? Poor thing!

  46. Melissa @TryingtoHeal on February 23, 2012 at 7:03 pm

    If you want to prevent it from happening again stick some decals on the windows, I know that keeps them from thinking it’s something else they can land on. Poor birdy…but glad to hear it wasn’t there dead the next day!

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 8:56 pm

      hat’s a good idea- we have those at work and they seem to do the trick

  47. Leslie Wingate on February 23, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    If I could have one meal for the rest of my life, it would be that meal with a small mixed green, bleu cheese, pear and walnut salad.
    Snuggle session is beautiful!

  48. Kelly @ Vegolosophy on February 23, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    mmmm I really need to try a sweet potato with almond butter, yours always looks so good! YUM!

  49. Elizabeth @ Desirderata on February 23, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    You two ladies look so sweet together! Love reading about Miss Livi <3

    • Fitnessista on February 23, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      thank you! she’s amazing 🙂

  50. Laura Jane @ Recovering Chocoholic on February 23, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    Oh wow, the noise would have totally freaked me out! It’s awful when you know you heard something but you just can’t tell what it was. Glad you figured it out later and glad your husband was there to protect you all!

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