I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I'll post more about that later, but right now I'm having a pity party. Anyone want to come? My cousin is getting married tonight in Maine and I'm obviously not going to be there. My mom just called me with all sorts of details - what the tables look like (Meg's doing pink and brown, so you KNOW I'm loving the decorations!) and the centerpieces. Who is helping to decorate, and what every little thing looks like. She's a great sport to try to make me feel like I'm not really missing it. I'm reminded of the Little House On The Prairie books when Mary gets Scarlett Fever and goes blind and Laura has to be her sister's eyes when they go on their first train ride. She describes everything for her sister so that Mary will experience all the scenery that Laura does. I hope Mom isn't wearing one of those bonnets right now, though...
But I can hear my aunts and uncles in the background cutting up and laughing (no matter what Uncle Brian says, I DON'T think it's raining and I DON'T think they are having a miserable time. But nice try. So because I'm jealous that everyone is there having fun and will get to experience the blessed union of my sweet cousin and her precious husband to be, I'm having a pity party. No RSVP is needed. My party colors will NOT be pink and brown. I think I'll go for an orange and purple theme. Matching cups and plates, and some fabulous big chocolate cake. Who wants to come? Any takers?
I'll just sit here at my desk at work in 187 degree weather and tell myself that I'm having just as much fun.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Cloth Diapers and Other "Notions"
OK, so Jeff and I are planning on doing cloth diapers. Whatever, you think I'm weird, or crazy, or just plain insane. That's fine. I'm not offended. I happen to like the concept of saving money and those diapers are so cute! Plus with everything I'm reading regarding diaper rash and other things associated with disposables I'm willing to try it.
OK, that small soapbox aside, I want to clarify that I am not one of those typical tree hugging cloth diapering mommies. I suppose I should include some sort of disclaimer that reads if you are one of the mommies I will discuss below, I am sure you are a great person, I, however, disagree with some of your views. Now, one of the things I knew going into cloth diapering was that TYPICALLY those who use cloth tend to favor home births. And midwives. And doulas. (which I had never even heard of until I went to my college roommate's baby shower. I came home with a new vocabulary and was also exposed to the benefits of cloth diapering.) I, for one, want an epidural and plenty of it. My sister in law has instructed her brother that his main job at the hospital (other than getting me take out so I don't have to east hospital food) is to make sure that my epidural doesn't wear off. Easy enough. But back to my story. So along with home births, nursing until the child is in high school (OK, so not really that old, but you get it) is also a big push with these women. Hey, I think if the child can come up and ask for a drink, THAT'S TOO OLD!! I'm all for nursing and plan to do it but you will not see me at kindergarten graduation giving my child a drink. Just my humble opinion.
So knowing these two "lifestyles" that tend to go along with cloth diapering, I enlisted the help of my mother to go with me to a cloth diapering store here in Houston. That was an event all in itself and full of the above mentioned women. - Just a funny side note - one woman there who was very nice and was very excited to pass along the name of her midwife and lactation consultant (Is that like Creative Memories or Close To My Heart consultants??) showed us her diapering techniques. It was very helpful. We also noticed that she only spoke to her baby in French. hmmm. Then when I told her I was giving birth at Women's (obviously not the preapproved "home birth in a bath tub") she launched into this diatribe about how she was so sorry and that Women's gives everyone C-Sections and how horrible that is and yadda yadda yadda. When Mamma and I got back in the car we had to take a moment and debrief each other as to what had transpired. Where was Rod Serling???
But I was doing some research today on the Internet for cloth diapers and have stumbled upon yet more "lifestyle" choices that seem to go hand in hand with cloth diapering. I am becoming afraid. Apparently women who tend to make these choices also tend to favor home schooling, the entire family sleeping in the same bed, not giving children vaccines, no spanking "hands are not for hitting", not circumcising babies, and nursing in the "family bed". I have to be honest with you. I'm a little freaked out by these things. Not all of them, mind you (obviously I'm on board with the cloth and I do know several people who home school and while I don't think I could do it - that's their business. Just don't judge me for planning on going the *gasp* public school route. I figure I'm already paying for it, right?), but all of them combined are a little too "Earth Mamma" for me. I'm treading lightly as I do not want to offend anyone, but I'm a little concerned that the Nursing Nazis and the other women will swarm me if and when I travel out to the cloth diaper store. Perhaps I will keep my diapering purchases to Internet sites. That is definitely a thought.
Just for fun, these are some of the icons I found while visiting a message board, and, thus, the inspiration for the blog. I had to edit a few of them so they would be more appropriate. :-)
I'm realizing they are a bit small, so I will try to clarify.
The first is a house that says "Home Birth". eeww. As I mentioned to one of my sister in laws at my shower, WHO CLEANS UP??
Then we have the co sleeping icon. I guess you should all sleep together - mommy, daddy, brother, sister, etc. Yeah, no. I like my space. Even with a king sized bed, I need my space.
Yeah, the next was edited for content. It's the "Pro Nursing In The Family Bed" icon. *shakes head*
Then we have the pro sling icon. I actually registered for one of these and am curious to try it out. But little Emma will not be strapped to me 24-7. A girl's gotta have her space, ya know?
OK, then it's the i heart home school icon, the pro breastfeeding icon, No Vaccines or Circumcisions, yay for cloth diapers, oh and an animated one that is a hand with a heart in the center of the palm. That quickly gives way to the message, "hands are not for hitting". We then have yet another breastfeeding icon (again, edited for content) and the last one. I have to tell you, even though it is "animated" it was still a bit disturbing. The mom sits there while a child runs up, lifts her shirt, gets a snack, puts the shirt down, and runs away. I am disturbed not only by most of these practices, but that someone has taken the time to create icons for each of these. Here's the deal people. Do your thing. Do it proudly even. Just don't shove it down my throat and "make" me try to follow your beliefs. And we'll just politely do our things and just not talk about it.
OK, that small soapbox aside, I want to clarify that I am not one of those typical tree hugging cloth diapering mommies. I suppose I should include some sort of disclaimer that reads if you are one of the mommies I will discuss below, I am sure you are a great person, I, however, disagree with some of your views. Now, one of the things I knew going into cloth diapering was that TYPICALLY those who use cloth tend to favor home births. And midwives. And doulas. (which I had never even heard of until I went to my college roommate's baby shower. I came home with a new vocabulary and was also exposed to the benefits of cloth diapering.) I, for one, want an epidural and plenty of it. My sister in law has instructed her brother that his main job at the hospital (other than getting me take out so I don't have to east hospital food) is to make sure that my epidural doesn't wear off. Easy enough. But back to my story. So along with home births, nursing until the child is in high school (OK, so not really that old, but you get it) is also a big push with these women. Hey, I think if the child can come up and ask for a drink, THAT'S TOO OLD!! I'm all for nursing and plan to do it but you will not see me at kindergarten graduation giving my child a drink. Just my humble opinion.
So knowing these two "lifestyles" that tend to go along with cloth diapering, I enlisted the help of my mother to go with me to a cloth diapering store here in Houston. That was an event all in itself and full of the above mentioned women. - Just a funny side note - one woman there who was very nice and was very excited to pass along the name of her midwife and lactation consultant (Is that like Creative Memories or Close To My Heart consultants??) showed us her diapering techniques. It was very helpful. We also noticed that she only spoke to her baby in French. hmmm. Then when I told her I was giving birth at Women's (obviously not the preapproved "home birth in a bath tub") she launched into this diatribe about how she was so sorry and that Women's gives everyone C-Sections and how horrible that is and yadda yadda yadda. When Mamma and I got back in the car we had to take a moment and debrief each other as to what had transpired. Where was Rod Serling???
But I was doing some research today on the Internet for cloth diapers and have stumbled upon yet more "lifestyle" choices that seem to go hand in hand with cloth diapering. I am becoming afraid. Apparently women who tend to make these choices also tend to favor home schooling, the entire family sleeping in the same bed, not giving children vaccines, no spanking "hands are not for hitting", not circumcising babies, and nursing in the "family bed". I have to be honest with you. I'm a little freaked out by these things. Not all of them, mind you (obviously I'm on board with the cloth and I do know several people who home school and while I don't think I could do it - that's their business. Just don't judge me for planning on going the *gasp* public school route. I figure I'm already paying for it, right?), but all of them combined are a little too "Earth Mamma" for me. I'm treading lightly as I do not want to offend anyone, but I'm a little concerned that the Nursing Nazis and the other women will swarm me if and when I travel out to the cloth diaper store. Perhaps I will keep my diapering purchases to Internet sites. That is definitely a thought.
Just for fun, these are some of the icons I found while visiting a message board, and, thus, the inspiration for the blog. I had to edit a few of them so they would be more appropriate. :-)
I'm realizing they are a bit small, so I will try to clarify.
The first is a house that says "Home Birth". eeww. As I mentioned to one of my sister in laws at my shower, WHO CLEANS UP??
Then we have the co sleeping icon. I guess you should all sleep together - mommy, daddy, brother, sister, etc. Yeah, no. I like my space. Even with a king sized bed, I need my space.
Yeah, the next was edited for content. It's the "Pro Nursing In The Family Bed" icon. *shakes head*
Then we have the pro sling icon. I actually registered for one of these and am curious to try it out. But little Emma will not be strapped to me 24-7. A girl's gotta have her space, ya know?
OK, then it's the i heart home school icon, the pro breastfeeding icon, No Vaccines or Circumcisions, yay for cloth diapers, oh and an animated one that is a hand with a heart in the center of the palm. That quickly gives way to the message, "hands are not for hitting". We then have yet another breastfeeding icon (again, edited for content) and the last one. I have to tell you, even though it is "animated" it was still a bit disturbing. The mom sits there while a child runs up, lifts her shirt, gets a snack, puts the shirt down, and runs away. I am disturbed not only by most of these practices, but that someone has taken the time to create icons for each of these. Here's the deal people. Do your thing. Do it proudly even. Just don't shove it down my throat and "make" me try to follow your beliefs. And we'll just politely do our things and just not talk about it.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Mo's Little Secret
After looking through pictures to post of my sweet "snugglers" I found a series of pictures of Miss Kylie Mo that warranted sharing. Let me start over by saying that Kylie would prefer to be on the bed at all times. And when I say on the bed, I mean smack dab in the middle of all of the pillows on the bed. I was taught that my bed was a safe place, a place of rest, and that it should be of the utmost comfort. I probably took that to the next level. I have unashamedly spared no expense on down comforters, feather beds, down pillows, yummy sheets, and lots and lots of throw pillows. I love my bed. (When we got married Jeff was amazed at all that went into bed making after years of not even having a mattress pad on his bed. WHAT??) But back to Kylie Mo.
I have apparently raised a princess in that sweet Kylie loves the bed as well. She slept with me for years - all through college and well after - but has in recent years been moved to the floor. Well, actually the ottoman from our big chair which Jeff pushes next to my side of the bed for her to be as close to me as possible, but either way, she doesn't sleep on the bed. (OK, unless there is a thunderstorm because she is afraid of thunder and needs comfort from me when it crashes and booms) She does however, boycott the idea that she is not allowed on the bed by making herself quite at home in the middle of all of the pillows if we forget to shut the bedroom door when we leave. The funny thing is if she is caught (which, Jeff has occasionally forgotten to shut the bedroom door) she doesn't even pick her head up when she is "found". She just looks as if to say, "Why are you surprised that I would position myself upon these lovely layers of soft comfort?" Because, again, just to BE on the bed is not enough for my sweet dog. The pillows are MUCH more comfortable for Her Highness to lay upon.
However, several weeks ago, I could not find her. I looked upstairs on the guest bed and in the window of the nursery - all of her favorite places to be. I didn't call her name because sometimes it is fun to find her when she's "hiding". I went into our bedroom to check the bathroom floor (the rug in front of the tub is another good spot) and still I couldn't find her. She was 75 pounds of hidden black lab. I walked around the bed to my side thinking she may be in front of the window in our room. No Kylie. Until I turned around.
There was a little black tail peeking out from UNDER the bed. Apparently, she had found a fun hiding spot under the bed. Before I woke her up and she moved, I ran for the camera to catch her in action. Or lack thereof. So then I went around to Jeff's side of the bed, pulled the dust ruffle up, and got another shot of her, visibly disturbed that I had awakened her. 
This would be what la princessa sleeps on. Jeff likes to push her from the livingroom into the bedroom atop her throne. Really. He enjoys this. She looks like she was born to rule, huh?
I have apparently raised a princess in that sweet Kylie loves the bed as well. She slept with me for years - all through college and well after - but has in recent years been moved to the floor. Well, actually the ottoman from our big chair which Jeff pushes next to my side of the bed for her to be as close to me as possible, but either way, she doesn't sleep on the bed. (OK, unless there is a thunderstorm because she is afraid of thunder and needs comfort from me when it crashes and booms) She does however, boycott the idea that she is not allowed on the bed by making herself quite at home in the middle of all of the pillows if we forget to shut the bedroom door when we leave. The funny thing is if she is caught (which, Jeff has occasionally forgotten to shut the bedroom door) she doesn't even pick her head up when she is "found". She just looks as if to say, "Why are you surprised that I would position myself upon these lovely layers of soft comfort?" Because, again, just to BE on the bed is not enough for my sweet dog. The pillows are MUCH more comfortable for Her Highness to lay upon.
However, several weeks ago, I could not find her. I looked upstairs on the guest bed and in the window of the nursery - all of her favorite places to be. I didn't call her name because sometimes it is fun to find her when she's "hiding". I went into our bedroom to check the bathroom floor (the rug in front of the tub is another good spot) and still I couldn't find her. She was 75 pounds of hidden black lab. I walked around the bed to my side thinking she may be in front of the window in our room. No Kylie. Until I turned around.
There was a little black tail peeking out from UNDER the bed. Apparently, she had found a fun hiding spot under the bed. Before I woke her up and she moved, I ran for the camera to catch her in action. Or lack thereof. So then I went around to Jeff's side of the bed, pulled the dust ruffle up, and got another shot of her, visibly disturbed that I had awakened her. 
This would be what la princessa sleeps on. Jeff likes to push her from the livingroom into the bedroom atop her throne. Really. He enjoys this. She looks like she was born to rule, huh?
The Comforting Laugh of Your Doctor and More Glucose Tests
Well I had yet another doctor's appointment yesterday. My next one is in 2 weeks and then I start going every week. Until D Day. Yikes!!
Our OB deposit was due but I went to a different office yesterday so I wasn't sure if I could pay it at the office where I was going. But I took my checkbook just in case as we had agreed on the last visit we'd pony up the deposit yesterday. Fun. So they call my name and I go up there to divest myself of the ridiculous amount of money (that, by the way, was for services NOT YET RENDERED). I flip open my checkbook to discover that all I have left in the checkbook is deposit slips. So I offer one to the receptionist and ask her if she'd like to deposit money into my account instead. I don't think she thought that was very funny. So I offer my debit card but only want to give her 3/4 of the money as it was coming from my debit account. She had to call the main location to see if that was OK with them. Seriously? This baby is still inside me - what delivery services have as of yet been provided? I really thought the whole thing was a bit silly. I was offering them 3/4 of the total with the balance on my next visit so I didn't have to make a separate trip out there. I suppose they were finally accepting of that. I told Jeff it's not like we're overdue on paying them for something they've already done!
Anyway, so I get to go sit back down and then I see it. There is another girl in the waiting room and she has just been given a Styrofoam cup with the dreaded glucose filled red drink. The receptionist tells her to drink in within a few minutes and let her know when the last gulp was ingested. She calmly walks back to her chair, opens a magazine, and calmly flips through the magazine. The cup is sitting untouched on the table next to her. I'm thinking, "Should I tell her she has 5 minutes? Gulp it down lady!" But I just sit across from her and watch as she casually sips from the cup as she reads. Then, before I know it, she's done. She tosses the cup (I really think there were a few drops left!) and tells the receptionist she is done. Now I'm called again to go inside to a room and I'm thinking, "Well, she handled that much better than I would have. Her drink was probably warm!" But she didn't have those Nazi women glaring at her; I think I'd rather have a cold drink and Nazis then a warm glucosey drink and lovely nurses.
So now I'm in the waiting room. Waiting. Jeff had a meeting so he couldn't go with me, so there I sit. Alone. Dang it, I forgot a magazine! And this office doesn't have all the lovely baby pictures all over the walls because I think several doctors in OGA rotate using these offices once a week. The nurse comes in and takes my blood pressure which is normal (I was concerned it might not be since my feet have been swollen) and the baby's heart rate is 140. Which I was told is normal. Sure, OK. Just tell me everything is fine - those numbers don't really mean anything to me. But I do love listening to the heartbeat!! They could do that for hours.
The nurse leaves and finally Dr Irwin comes in. He's all smiles and goes to measure my belly and just shakes his head, smiling. "Gosh you are big" is what he says while chuckling. So I asked him if it was remotely possible that I was just creating a nice big home for her and that maybe just maybe she wasn't going to be that big. He did say it was possible. But I don't think judging by his face that he thinks it probable! So we'll see. I'm glad he thinks this is humorous! :-)
I'm up 4 more pounds and could lay my head right down and go to sleep at my desk. I fell asleep about 40 minutes into a movie last night, Jeff moved me into the bedroom, and I didn't wake up again until this morning. When I realized I was being spooned by a big black dog and a little fluffy dog. Apparently Kylie and Bear missed me since I fell asleep so early last night and wanted to love on me. Well, that's what Jeff says anyway. I think he secretly calls them up to the bed so they can snuggle with me, but he'll never admit it!
My Snugglers
Our OB deposit was due but I went to a different office yesterday so I wasn't sure if I could pay it at the office where I was going. But I took my checkbook just in case as we had agreed on the last visit we'd pony up the deposit yesterday. Fun. So they call my name and I go up there to divest myself of the ridiculous amount of money (that, by the way, was for services NOT YET RENDERED). I flip open my checkbook to discover that all I have left in the checkbook is deposit slips. So I offer one to the receptionist and ask her if she'd like to deposit money into my account instead. I don't think she thought that was very funny. So I offer my debit card but only want to give her 3/4 of the money as it was coming from my debit account. She had to call the main location to see if that was OK with them. Seriously? This baby is still inside me - what delivery services have as of yet been provided? I really thought the whole thing was a bit silly. I was offering them 3/4 of the total with the balance on my next visit so I didn't have to make a separate trip out there. I suppose they were finally accepting of that. I told Jeff it's not like we're overdue on paying them for something they've already done!
Anyway, so I get to go sit back down and then I see it. There is another girl in the waiting room and she has just been given a Styrofoam cup with the dreaded glucose filled red drink. The receptionist tells her to drink in within a few minutes and let her know when the last gulp was ingested. She calmly walks back to her chair, opens a magazine, and calmly flips through the magazine. The cup is sitting untouched on the table next to her. I'm thinking, "Should I tell her she has 5 minutes? Gulp it down lady!" But I just sit across from her and watch as she casually sips from the cup as she reads. Then, before I know it, she's done. She tosses the cup (I really think there were a few drops left!) and tells the receptionist she is done. Now I'm called again to go inside to a room and I'm thinking, "Well, she handled that much better than I would have. Her drink was probably warm!" But she didn't have those Nazi women glaring at her; I think I'd rather have a cold drink and Nazis then a warm glucosey drink and lovely nurses.
So now I'm in the waiting room. Waiting. Jeff had a meeting so he couldn't go with me, so there I sit. Alone. Dang it, I forgot a magazine! And this office doesn't have all the lovely baby pictures all over the walls because I think several doctors in OGA rotate using these offices once a week. The nurse comes in and takes my blood pressure which is normal (I was concerned it might not be since my feet have been swollen) and the baby's heart rate is 140. Which I was told is normal. Sure, OK. Just tell me everything is fine - those numbers don't really mean anything to me. But I do love listening to the heartbeat!! They could do that for hours.
The nurse leaves and finally Dr Irwin comes in. He's all smiles and goes to measure my belly and just shakes his head, smiling. "Gosh you are big" is what he says while chuckling. So I asked him if it was remotely possible that I was just creating a nice big home for her and that maybe just maybe she wasn't going to be that big. He did say it was possible. But I don't think judging by his face that he thinks it probable! So we'll see. I'm glad he thinks this is humorous! :-)
I'm up 4 more pounds and could lay my head right down and go to sleep at my desk. I fell asleep about 40 minutes into a movie last night, Jeff moved me into the bedroom, and I didn't wake up again until this morning. When I realized I was being spooned by a big black dog and a little fluffy dog. Apparently Kylie and Bear missed me since I fell asleep so early last night and wanted to love on me. Well, that's what Jeff says anyway. I think he secretly calls them up to the bed so they can snuggle with me, but he'll never admit it!
My Snugglers
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Swollen Feet and Other Fun Stuff
I'm sitting here with my feet propped up on a box under my desk. My feet have definitely been more attractive during my life time. My toes are all pedicured and pretty, but that's where it stops. The tops of my feet are so swollen that yesterday I could barely get out of the office with my shoes on. I typically kick my shoes off when I get to the office, so that's nothing new, but when I went to put my shoes back on, those cute little sandals were not going over my toes. I managed to get out to my truck where I kicked them off again and went barefoot into the house when I got home. So I'm in flip flops today. Those have plenty of room for my toes! But the situation progresses. This malady has spread to more than my toes. I am officially without my wedding ring. I noticed that my fingers looked bigger so before my precious rings had to be cut off, I decided to take them off. Easier said than done. I slathered some lotion on my finger and wiggled and wiggled that ring until I managed to get it off. Now I'm just worried I'll lose it before I get home!! I should probably tell you where I've stashed it so when I get home and realize it's missing, someone can call me and tell me where I've hid it for safe keeping!
...I'm laughing at what my little finger looks like in that picture. Unfortunately, it's not THAT swollen. I just have the little fingers of a 5 year old. I think those two digits forgot to grow along with the rest of me. Random factoid you now know about me.
...I'm laughing at what my little finger looks like in that picture. Unfortunately, it's not THAT swollen. I just have the little fingers of a 5 year old. I think those two digits forgot to grow along with the rest of me. Random factoid you now know about me.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Relaxation, Sunburns, and Fun In the Sun...not in that order!
Well Jeff and I decided to drive down to Galveston this weekend to relax, enjoy each other's company and play in the sun. We drove down Saturday morning and saw the biggest waves I've ever seen down there! There were so many surfers everywhere we looked...I've never seen so many people come to surf the colossal waves of Galveston, Texas. In fact, we also saw two beach rescues take place. Twice as we were driving down the seawall, we had to stop to allow ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and yes even the news trucks to get into position. It was crazy! To see two rescues in one day was unheard of for both of us.
We sat on the beach for a little while and then the clouds started rolling in. Our tummies were rumbling as well, so we headed to get a bite to eat. While we were eating, we enjoyed watching the birds dive into the surf! That was pretty cool. They would fly up very high and then plummet into the water.
The weather cleared up within about half an hour so we headed back to find a spot on the beach again. Jeff called our spot "Pregnant Beach" because there were two other ladies on the beach who were also pregnant. Although one was walking by us clutching her cigarettes and lighter in her left hand. Nice. You ever think some people shouldn't breed??
We alternated getting in and lying on the beach which was nice. I made sure to get almost completely in so I could say Emma had been swimming. It was pretty weird to be almost laid out flat in the water. The current was pretty strong and I'm a lot more awkward now with this big belly, so it was hard for me to control where I was going. I tried to quickly put my feet down and got Jeff to help me up before the timid ha haa haaaa laugh turned into a scream of primal fear. It was weird how quickly I got scared in that water. It's laughable now to think fear tried to grip me in 2 feet of water but the water was just strong enough and I was just out of control enough to freak me out. Hmmm...perhaps that was why earlier there were two rescues necessary!
We had a great time until I started to realize my legs were just a bit sore. I have never ever gotten burned on my legs before. In fact, Jeff and I went down to Galveston once when we were first dating and we had pulled the top off of his jeep. He laughed at me because within 15 minutes of that top being off, I had a tan line on my legs where my shorts had been. Not so the case this weekend. I sprayed sunscreen on my shoulders and back just in case I needed it but my legs are in bad shape. When I say red, people, I mean RED. Borderline purple. It's bad. I couldn't walk yesterday so I had to miss church. I had about 900 things to do and it was all I could do to get to the bathroom. It's like my skin tightened up and so it hurts to extend my legs to walk. I'm a mess. I wasn't sure I would be able to make it into work today but I'm making it. Somehow I'm making it.
And now I have a date with my husband for lunch, so I'm venturing out into the wet dreary day to hobble out to the parking lot to meet him for lunch. The things I'd do for that man! :-)
Friday, May 2, 2008
The Dreaded Glucose Test
So yesterday I had another doctor's appointment. Two weeks ago was my glucose test which I had worried and worried about for 7 months. Everyone I talked with failed. And everyone said how horrible the second test was. I do not drink questionable liquids well to begin with and the thought of giving blood every 20 minutes or whatever the second test is was scary to me. Mamma went with me to the last doctor's visit because Jeff had been at the airport for two days and needed to be back at his desk working. I knew I needed the moral support. My grandma told me to take a straw and that would help get it down quicker. So I thought I was being oh so clever and brought not only a straw, but a cup of ice to ice down the red drink with. I thought if it's colder, it won't taste so icky. That was apparently a mistake. Let me first say one of the girls who draws blood at the lab is kind, gentle, and is very good at distracting me so I do not see the blood or even think about it while she works. She engages me in conversation about the baby or something else to draw my mind away from the fact that I am letting perfectly good blood that my body made (if I didn't need it, why did my body make it??) flow out of me. Then there is another girl. We shall call her the Blood Nazi. She is NOT as gentle and she is NOT nearly as kind or understanding of the fact that not everyone wants to watch her work or even talk about it. The "good" blood girl was not there when I went in to get my bottle of gag juice. Before I was given the bottle, they asked what was in my cup. I said ice and before I could explain myself, she said, "You cannot drink that nor can you pour our drink over the ice." I was allowed the straw. And five minutes. Five minutes to down something that looked like a bottle of red punch. I was not a fan. So I bravely stuck my straw in and started to drink. Not horrible. Not chocolate milk or anything like that, but doable. Until I got about 3 sucks of the straw into it. It was like Hawaiian Punch but with a bigger punch. It was almost sharp if that makes any sense. Sharp Hawaiian Punch. We're going to go with that description. I am running low on time and so Mom starts chanting at me to finish and that I can do it and I think I should probably get this down before she breaks out in a cheer. My mom rocks. No one else could have made me finish that drink. She's the BEST! So fast forward to it's been exactly one hour - the blood Nazi was VERY clear that I must be back in ONE HOUR or I would have to do the test over. I was back in 53 minutes because she made me wait 7 minutes. They take this test very seriously I guess. So as I approach the desk, we see the girl I like! Mom starts praying that I get her instead of the other girl. There is someone else who is taking the same test as I am and we are waiting to see whose time is up first...and I get the good one!! She takes what she needs from me and I'm done. Unless I fail.
My friend Rachel called me a few days ago to ask if I had gotten my results yet. She was one of the unfortunate ones who failed her test and had tried to prepare me for the horrors of the second test. I told her that if I failed, they needed to call me - no way was I calling them to get bad news.
So yesterday, Jeff and I go again to see the doctor. I lost one pound, Emma is head down right where she needs to be, and Dr Irwin pointed out where her head is, her back is, and where her little bottom is. Note to potential dads out there. If you find out where your baby's bottom is do not attempt to "spank" her in utero. This does nothing to the baby but may potentially irritate your wife no matter how lightly you tap her tummy. I'm just saying.
And the best news of the day? I PASSED MY GLUCOSE TEST!!!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Nesting
So I heard all about "nesting" and how when one gets pregnant, anything and everything looks like it needs to be rearranged, cleaned, reorganized, whatever. Since I enjoy doing all of that anyway (yes I know I am twisted!) it's been fun to change things. Starting with our closet. I am not easily able to purge clothes, shoes, handbags, etc. But after looking at our closet and realizing that first of all, Jeff had no room, and secondly, what room he had was severely underutilized, I got inspired. I had him knock out the built in shelf on his side (it was nailed in but had been painted over so many times I figured it was easier for him to attack it with a hammer!) and I got started sorting the clothes. What fits, what do I really like, etc. Before I knew it, there were piles on the side of the tub and a box of shoes (I know - hard to believe!) and even some purses. But I couldn't stop there. I narrowed it down even further and went through my dresser and the cedar chest at the foot of our bed. When I started to get maternity clothes, I had to put some stuff in the chest to make room and not all of it needed to come back. I put some shelving in on the left side for Jeff's jeans and shoes (can you believe it - he only has 3 pair! Tennis shoes, work shoes, and flip flops. How do men do it??) and we put the dry cleaning basket up top. I had some canvas hanging shelves full of my t-shirts which I removed and added more shelving. I've reduced the amount of hanging space for my clothes which seemed more fair to Jeff, and with reducing what I'm putting back in, I've managed to get everything that needs to hang back in the closet. Now I do have to still go through the closet upstairs in my scrapbook room which is also full of clothes, but I am surprising myself at how fun it is to put things in the give away pile. But now before I go to bed and when I wake up, I am excited to go look at the closet and see how far we've come. Jeff's excited to finally have his own hanging rod and there is room for everything he has plus room to grow. We can see his suits now! Everything looks so much better and I'm excited to get home tonight and tackle the closet upstairs. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to condense everything I own into one closet! Wouldn't that be amazing? I'll take some pictures once I'm completely finished so you can see how proud I am. Unfortunately I didn't take any before pictures of our closet, and I may be too embarrassed to take before shots of the scraproom closet, but we'll see.
It seems that the scraproom closet has turned into the closet where all things go to die. It started out being very organized and full of extra scrap supplies, things I was organizing to actually scrap, etc. However, when people would come over, we started shoving things in there just to get the room clean and once you start down that path of ridiculousness, there's no turning back. So it will be nice to be able to access my scrap stuff again and, lets be honest, just walking in there again would be nice!
It seems that the scraproom closet has turned into the closet where all things go to die. It started out being very organized and full of extra scrap supplies, things I was organizing to actually scrap, etc. However, when people would come over, we started shoving things in there just to get the room clean and once you start down that path of ridiculousness, there's no turning back. So it will be nice to be able to access my scrap stuff again and, lets be honest, just walking in there again would be nice!
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