O. Baby!

Fat suit

2008-07-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

So today I relented and wore maternity clothes. Yesterday I wore regular pants and the belly band thing I've been wearing to cheat for quite a while now. But I was really uncomfortable so I sucked it up and wore maternity clothes for the first time to work. I've been wearing some on the weekend because I have some really comfy casual clothes. But I have managed to avoid wearing any to work. I have to say I was much, much more comfortable today. I'll probably be in between still for a while, as many of my clothes are still way too big. But this is the beginning of the transition, that's for sure.

I'm also rediscovering my appetite. Thank goodness, I guess? I imagine I will start to gain weight soon as I am eating much more. I have to say that I'm eating fairly healthy though, or at least not terribly badly. For lunch today (which was a two-parter, almost 2 hours between), I had a cup of yogurt, a package of celery and peanut butter, a juice spritzer drink, a grilled cheese sandwich, a bottle of water and a peanut butter cookie. Hee hee. Oh, and a bunch of All Fruit Bars Ends & Pieces from Trader Joes. For breakfast I had a toasted asiago cheese bagel with garlic and herb schmear (my current addiction) and orange juice. And water. We'll just have to wait and see what dinner brings!!!

2008-07-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

So it was an interesting weekend. Compared to the fourth of July weekend 6 years ago when I found out I was pregnant with your sister, maybe not quite as eventful... But close! Thursday was nice and relaxing. Friday was busy - Arcadia Fourth of July parade, then a party at Daddy's step-mother's relatives house, then fireworks. Well, the fireworks were kind of a bust because of a storm coming in. They tried setting them off an hour early, then stopped 15 minutes in because of high winds. But what we saw was pretty.

Saturday, the family and Grandma Laurie and I went to lunch at a new restaurant (well, new to me). While waiting for our food, I had a slight heartburn attack. I'd left my pills in the bag from the fireworks outing, so I asked Grandma for one. She gave me one and it looked different - probably a different dosage than mine. I asked her if she was sure it was the right pill and she said yes, and I swallowed it. As soon as I did she realized it was the wrong one and told me not to swallow it. But it was too late! I'd swallowed blood pressure medicine! I ran to the bathroom and tried in vain to throw it up. Believe me, I tried. But it was not coming out. Panicked, we ran next door to CVS (a drug store) and asked the pharmacist for syrup of ipecac. That's what they give kids to make them throw up. Unfortunately they don't sell it anymore. I went to the bathroom to try again while Grandma and the pharmacist called Poison Control for advice.

Fortunately, it turns out this drug is not dangerous to pregnant women. The biggest danger is plummeting blood pressure and fortunately again, mine did not drop that low. I watched it and it was low, which is a little scary because mine is already low in pregnancy. But thankfully nothing else happened and other then a little dizziness here and there, you would never have known. I did call the OB on-call nurse, and they were really nice too. Everyone called to check on me again later and I was doing fine.

So that's our drama. I'd actually really like to see you again in there, and I contemplated making a quick appointment to make sure you're okay. But I believe in my heart everything is fine, so I will not be a worry wart and I will wait patiently for our next appointment on the 22nd. Stay safe in there and sorry for the drama.

Fourteen Weeks

2008-07-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

So here we are. I've thought myself in the second trimester for a while now, but a lot of pregnancy books etc., don't consider you there until the end of the 13th week. I've never really understood that, but whatever! I'm here and you're here and all is well. I slept terribly last night - just couldn't get comfortable and felt kind of crampy. The cramps are gone today, but I feel terrible from the lack of sleep. And I'm really starting to feel "fat" the last 2 or 3 days. Clothes are uncomfortable but technically still fit, so I'm really not into maternity clothes. I just have been wearing what I have and by the end of the day I'm miserable and anxious to change into pajama pants at home. But if the fat days are any inclination, I expect to need those maternity clothes fairly soon. They are all washed and hanging in the closet so I'm ready to go when the time comes. I shouldn't need to buy many additional clothes, thank goodness. I do need a pair or two of shorts, though I'm happy to live in capris most of the time. I have a handful of nicer work clothes, and generally a lot of stuff overall so I think I'm okay there.

I haven't really been feeling you. I still truly believe I did feel you a few times back in the 12th week, but not much since. Would be nice to connect with you that way, but I know we have plenty of time for that. Anyway - stay cozy and safe in there. I'll try not to drink so much juice - I have been craving it like crazy and I imagine it's giving you quite the sugar high. Sorry about that.

Sneak Peeks

2008-06-26T13:35:00.001-07:00

Hi baby!

2008-06-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi there little one. We did get to see you on Tuesday. That was such a great visit. Daddy did come with me, Ceili did not. It actually worked out perfectly. We got to see you for a good long time and we took home a dozen pictures. I saw my favorite nurse - Mary, who helped me conceive Ceili and I've been seeing her for years. She was so excited for us. She is extremely experienced and took a wild stab at your gender even though it's really early. She said GIRL and she seemed pretty confident about it. We won't know for absolute sure until 8/5 when the official gender scan u/s will take place. But it kind of goes along with my instinct, so I believe it. Plus your heartbeat has consistently been between 165 and 168 every single time, which tends to point to girl as well.

So that was really fun. I'm still not really showing and my clothes are still mostly fitting okay. I was down another pound at the appointment, so down about 3 or 4 overall now. I went back to look at my journal with Ceili and I think I was still down 2 pounds by 16 weeks. I'm oddly not worried about it, but it is still admittedly puzzling.

I asked the nurse about some of my more annoying symptoms right now. I still get dizzy a LOT which she was able to explain well. I also have been getting almost daily splitting headaches, which she also was able to explain well. And even this weird heart/breathing problem I randomly get - she was able to explain in detail and give me things to do about it. I was really pleased with how it all went. Next appointment is 7/22. Hurrah!

Summer fun

2008-06-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

Actually so far this summer hasn't been much fun, for me anyway. Ceili is having fun with swimming lessons and ballet, and daddy is making much progress on projects around the house, including your room (a/k/a the Office). But for me it's just hot and exhausting! I spent about 4 hours on Sunday trying to get a loaner laptop computer from Fry's electronics and it completely wore me out.

Interestingly, I'm comparing how I feel to how I felt when I was pregnant with Ceili and I do see a lot of similarities. I remember feeling really faint at church with Ceili, and I feel really faint a lot of the time with you. Especially when I stand quickly. I have to be really careful with that, and in the shower where the heat makes me really dizzy.

I should get to see you tomorrow, I HOPE! I have a Dr.'s appointment and I still haven't decided if I'm bringing Daddy and Ceili. I suppose we should decide soon. Hang tight in there.

Friday

2008-06-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for Fridays. This has been a really difficult week. It's a lot different at work being pregnant this time than it was with Ceili. With her, I was in a different job position and a little more able to slide by on the rough days. With you, I've had two promotions and now 16 people report directly to me. I don't get to have easy days, and I don't get to slide by on any of them. Too bad, because I could really use it - especially today. I've been feeling pretty good, but today I'm not feeling well at all. I seem to be kind of on the cusp of things. I'm 12w2d, and some days I feel great, and I'm starting to see a flash of energy creeping back in. But then other days, like the last 3 days, I've been tired, moody and just generally icky-feeling. I've gone to bed before 8:30 for the last 3 nights!

Oh well. All of that does nothing to temper my happiness about you. I'm pretty sure I've been feeling you in there, but I'm afraid to say that to too many people because it really seems too early. But I've seen you on ultrasound 4 times now, and I can say you are categorically a wiggly baby!!! So it certainly seems possible. But I've also been a little gassy (sorry TMI) so who knows which it is? Either way, I'm happy that you're in there and doing well.

I did get the results of the first trimester scan and the NT scan on Wednesday, and everything looks good. Your numbers were all within the normal range, and you had the right number of everything (i.e. legs, arms, etc.). So that is all very reassuring. The ultrasound I got in conjunction with all that testing was really cool, and very extensive. I even got in a short 4D scan which was my first one of those. I couldn't see you that well on that, but it was still interesting. I have another appointment next Tuesday and I'm not sure if I will get an u/s at that or not. We really can't wait to find out your gender, and I'm still trying to decide if I should bring Ceili and your daddy to this appointment just in case, or if it's more likely to be the next one in July. We shall see!

I'm baaack!

2008-06-03T11:19:00.001-07:00

So is it super cheesy to use the same blog for Baby #2 that I used for Baby #1? Oh well, so be it. Baby #1 is not such a baby anymore. Ceili is 5 and sassy and quite the independent individual. She loves ballet and cuddling and hates mean people. She talks back when she's tired and is terrible at cleaning her room. She tells jokes and lives to ride roller coasters - the bigger the better!

But now I have at last come to be pregnant with her sibling. It has taken years to get to this point, and a whole lot of financial and physical cost. I am still, at almost 10 weeks, afraid to believe it will really happen. I want to be excited and carefree, but there's always the nagging "what if?" in the back of my mind. It doesn't help that I spotted/bled between 6w3d and 9w5d. The good news is that I've had 3 good ultrasounds, saw the heartbeat at all three (including the first early one at 6w2d!), and heard it once. My fertility doctor has released me and I've already had my first "real" OB appointment. So here I am!

I'm going to revert in future posts to my old habit of talking "to" the baby in my posts. I liked that with Ceili when I read back on my posts months and years later. And someday when she's old enough to read and appreciate them, I hope she will enjoy that I really was talking to her. So this blog will resume it's prior format and style, but directed to a new audience: Baby O. part deux. I hope s/he will find it interesting someday.

Still there?

2008-03-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

I confess it's pretty depressing to read my last posts and see that not much has changed in the last year and a half from a TTC perspective. That last cycle I was chronicalling actually was a successful one. I managed to get knocked up and stay that way for a shaky 2 weeks. But then my HCG plateaued and dropped, and the blood started. Miscarriage, hurrah. Anyway - we went on to do 2 more with Dr. Edge, then took up acupuncture for the spring and summer, found a new Dr. we'll call Dr. Cute (trust me on this), did 2 more IUI's, had a hysteroscopy to remove a uterine polyp and just finished an unsuccessful first IVF. We did have a whopping 7 frozen embryos so I assume we're headed to Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) next. My appointment with Dr. Cute is at 2:30 tomorrow so I'll learn for sure.

You, my lovely daughter are officially FIVE YEARS OLD. This reality both excites and depresses me terribly. I've always thought as 5 as a pivotal year. You start to really learn stuff, and remember things long into adulthood. You start to "get it." And boy are you doing that. You are an incredible person and I genuinely feel blessed to get to share my life with you. But the depressing part is that what I want to give you more than anything in the entire world is a sibling. And now, even if the FET works, you will be six when the baby comes. SIX! I don't even want to think about that. It literally is the most painful part of this process, that you keep aging while I keep trying.

I don't think we'll try for much longer though. I am sure we'll use up these snowbabies and do 2 or 3 FET's, then decide whether to try one last IVF or not. I'll wait to make that decision until we know what happens through these FET's. I really am emotionally worn out so we'll see.

OW!

2006-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know I'm not very stoic. I don't want to say I'm sick of hurting, because I asked for every bit of it. But the truth is, I am ready to be done with this phase.

Yesterday was the IUI. Daddy was able to do his part, and I went in to do mine. Now I'm bloated and uncomfortable, and oh yeah I still have to give myself two shots a day EXACTLY 12 hours apart. No problem. And those shots? They bruise like a mofo, and I'll have to do them until I'm 20 weeks pregnant. Do you know how long 20 weeks is? Ugh.

So I'm trying to stay positive and hopeful. I had today off thankfully so I can regroup, get some stuff done and still have a restful weekend. Lucky me!

Hiatus

2006-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

Time to take a break, sorry. This journal has meant so much to me, but right now I'm not comfortable with it being online. I hope you understand. Please feel free to email me anytime if you want updates. We are doing well, just looking for a little less transparency for now. We wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!

No more monkeys jumping on the bed

2005-11-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

So, yeah. I suck. Things have been, um, a bit busy of late. In addition to very busy times at work (I'll post more on the main blog about that), you have been keeping us busy as well, and so has the lovely challenge of TTC.

I can't possibly sum up all of the things we've done and the neat things you're doing now, so I will try to capture some highlights. They may be out of order, so forgive me.

Christmas lights are the big thing right now. And Christmas ornaments. And Christmas presents. And Santa Claus. Really, you're into all things Christmas. You like to redecorate the tree, moving ornaments around. I haven't wrapped the presents yet to put under the tree, but you know where they are and you ask me about them frequently. Everywhere we go, you exclaim "Christmas, mommy!" when you see a lit tree or wreath. It's really cute.

You are tall and thin. Most of your clothes that actually fit are 3T or 4T. You've outgrown a number of 3T's, never in the waist but always in the length. Now that we're into some COLD temperatures, I really need to buy you more pants.

**BTW, family and friends who might be considering gifts for Ceili, pants are a good thing! :)**

Your current amusing traits involve singing silly rhymes and songs and talking to inanimate objects. The silly rhyme of choice at the moment goes like this:

One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma call the doctor, and doctor said:
NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!
(the last line must be shouted, complete with reproving finger shaking)

You don't say the beginning of the rhyme, which I've only just managed to research and find.

The inanimate object conversations too are really amusing. Last night on the couch, you said "Uh oh." That's never a good sound, so I asked, "What happened?" and you answered, "No, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my cup." Oh. Okay then. You did the same thing to Daddy later, when you were sitting with him. You were talking very softly, and he asked you what you were saying. You told him, "No, not you, Daddy. I'm talking to the couch." Just so we're clear.

Thanksgiving was nice; we spent time with Grandma and Uncles Chris and Mason. Last weekend we went to visit Ember and her family, which was really fun.

Challenges still surround daycare/school and sleeping. Some mornings you throw monster tantrums when I drop you off at school. We're working on some strategies right now to minimize those, and the last two days have been much less painful. Nighttime was going so well for a few months, but we have backpedalled a bit. You've decided you're not fond of falling asleep in your bed. That's not good. The good news is you're falling asleep much sooner now that it's getting dark earlier. In fact, I would say you're getting more sleep than you have in a long time. You're usually asleep on the couch by 7:30, then I carry you to bed. Have I mentioned how BIG you've gotten? Some nights you don't wake up at all, some nights you wake up nearly a dozen times. Usually you wake up between 1 and 3 times. The trick is trying to get you to go back to bed. Potty breaks often do the trick.

Yes, the potty. *sigh* Two steps forward, one step back. That seems to be our mantra. You've gone a couple of whole days, from waking up to going to bed for the night with a dry diaper. And you've gone more than a couple of days without using the potty once. It just depends on your mood. And you will. not. poop. in the potty. Period. No amount of cajoling, gentle and subtle hints or bribery work. It's admittedly a bit frustrating. All we can do is keep trying.

We've been pretty lucky health-wise. You had a couple of weeks of a little cough, so I took you in. The backup Dr. who saw you is a bit concerned that you might be developing asthma and Grandma is firmly convinced. I'm not so convinced, and in fact the cough has almost completely gone away. But I will absolutely continue to watch you for it. Your keratosis pilaris is getting worse, but that's normal for you in the winter.

You definitely seem ready to be a big sister. I wish I could help you have that title, but so far, no good. I'm working on it, really I am.

So that's it for now. I'm sure there is a LOT I'm missing, but I'll try to post again soon!

Dragons

2005-10-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Your life has lots of dragons and monsters in it at the moment. Not sure why, other than an admitted proclivity to be exposed to these things during Halloween.

Anyway, we got your costume and you are a purple dragon. You LOVE it. It goes to bed with you, watches cartoons with you and just generally keeps you company. It's positively adorable. This is it. Very cute. I'm looking forward to you getting to wear it. We might even go to a party though I'm not very jazzed about getting dressed up myself. We'll see.

We went to the Arizona State Fair last Sunday. That was LOTS of fun, and you slept for 3.5 hours beginning with the moment you got back in the car. There was a dragon roller coaster for kids that you wanted to ride. But by that time, we were out of ride tickets and you were essentially sleepwalking. We'll be going back with Grandma and will ride it then. In the meantime, you ask about it daily.

Your school pictures are done and they are ADORABLE! I posted them on Flickr, but they're private. So if you want to see them, please either email me with your user name on Flickr so I can add you as a friend, or I can email the pictures directly to you. I've left one public for now, but I may change my mind about that.

I've been in quite a funk lately. You haven't been, thankfully. You're growing and learning more all the time. I just wish I could give you a sibling. I'm thinking about starting another blog on that particular topic, but I'm superstitious. Like if I start it, I'm dooming myself to an even longer and harder road. How's that for cheery? :)

Monday

2005-10-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Back to school today. It was a strange weekend. Eventful and uneventful all at once. Friday night we got to drive around taking care of Max, Tom and Talmar's kitty. He was rescued from their house fire and had to be shuttled from one ER vet to another. Poor guy. He seems to be doing really well though, thank goodness. And you were pretty good throughout the whole ordeal.

I'm hoping you are not catching my nasty cold. You were fairly clingy and cranky, and you woke up three times last night complaining of monsters. Interestingly, Daddy and I both had nightmares last night. And both of us dreamed of creepy ghosts. Weird.

I'm also hoping we get the proofs back for your school pictures last week. We found out that Ashtin's mommy wanted to get pictures with both of you. What a great idea! They're going to make sure that we get to see them too.

We missed Alyssa's birthday party on Saturday. I tried to not make a big deal of it, and as it turns out you took your nap right through the time when it would have been anyway. But I am still bummed we missed it.

No pregnancy yet. But Tom and Talmar will be having a baby in late April! Yay!

Two and a half

2005-09-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in ages because I've been so busy at work it doesn't leave me much time to blog. I hope things slow down just a little soon. It's really taking a toll on me.

You are doing great as always. Your language skills are incredible and you know many creative ways to express yourself. You have WAY too much energy, but that's pretty normal. A few weeks ago you were babysat by a teenager for the first time - YIKES! It was good though. You were actually asleep before she came over, so there wasn't much to do.

Today is picture day. You went to school with ponytails and ribbons. I can't wait to see how they come out.

And that's all. More later. I just finished taking my first five day dose of clomid. I'm between clomid and ovulation, so who knows what the next few weeks might bring. :)

Long weekend

2005-09-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

It was a nice long weekend; it's hard to come back to work today. You had a fun weekend. We went to a baseball game for Auntie Missy's birthday on Friday, then to a party at her house Saturday night. That involved swimming and lots of attention, which are always good things. Sunday we had a pretty lazy day, but you had your favorite lunch (Wendy's chicken nuggets with mandarin oranges and chocolate milk). And yesterday, you got to visit with Grandpa Dan, Grandma Carol, your Great-Grandmother and Great-Grandfather (different families), Uncle Danny and Aunt Kimberly. Uncle Danny left this morning for basic training in the Army, so it was a kind of farewell party. We're very worried about him but think if he can stay safe this will be a good opportunity for him.

You're doing very well with your potty time. I'd say you're using the potty almost 1/2 the time now. Yesterday was the only bad day, and you only used it once I think. The prior days you did really well, even using it twice at Missy's house. And last night you were getting fussy and whiny and when I offered to let you go to bed in your own bed, you took it without hesitation. As long as I left the light on and the door open, you were happy. The funniest part came after I tucked you in. I have this trick if you will when you wake up in the middle of the night. I come in and soothe you, and then whisper "Mommy's going to go pee-pee [babytalk; sorry!], I'll be right back." So last night when I tucked you in, awake and with the light on, you said to me "Okay, Mommy. Go pee-pee now." Ha!

Speaking of funny sleep stories... Sunday you never took a nap and it made for one LONG evening. You'd fallen asleep in the car, but woke up 10 minutes later when I tried to carry you in. So on Monday when you fell asleep in the car, I didn't take chances. Daddy and I drove around for over an hour. With these gas prices! You eventually woke up, and in your groggy still-half-asleep voice said, "Where are the monsters? Daddy, where did they go?" After giggling, we asked you some more questions and it turns out that you were clearly dreaming about monsters and apparently you were chasing and EATING them! I was happy you didn't seem scared, but when it came time for bed that night, the reason the lights were left on is because you were afraid of monsters. I guess you are at that age.

So, back to school today. This weekend we'll be taking a trip to Flagstaff with Auntie Chelle. It will be fun to get away a bit and relax. Daddy will doubtlessly enjoy the quiet break.

FIVE!

2005-09-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

That's how many times you went peepee in the potty at home in the last 24 hours. Oh yes, dear readers, FIVE! You seem to have turned a corner, flicked the switch, seen the light, whatever analogy you want to use. I came home from the dentist last night and Daddy proudly pronounced that you had gone in the potty. Sure enough, you went three more times last night, then once again this morning. It's different now. I can see you're ready. When you focus on it, pay attention to what you're doing, you can control the release. They were saying at school that you're holding it a long time so I know you're getting good at that. The trigger would be when you learned how to release at will. Now I think you've got it.

So, you proudly wore four stickers to school this morning (one sadly was removed and de-stickified). I really do hope this is the beginning of your potty days. You're 30.5 months, so it really is time.

Hooray for potty pee!

God is great, God is good...

2005-08-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, this morning you entertained me with an unexpected prayer. One I didn't teach you. That was very cute, and very interesting. Fortunately, you'll learn lots of prayers in our house. That might not have been an okay development for all families. You do not attend a Christian daycare and I was not aware that they were teaching this. I am going to ask for more info about how this came to be to satisfy my own curiousity.

Anyway, I know I've been bad about posting. You are changing so much all the time, it's really a shame I've not been keeping this blog up. Bottom line is that I'm far too busy at work, and they really do pay me to work and not to blog. When I'm home, I try not to spend much time on the internet, so this is out.

Today is a big day. Yesterday we went to the State Board of Education meeting up north and Daddy got the rubber stamp we were praying for. Today he began the first day of the rest of his professional life. He stepped on campus as a full teacher, and started classes of his very own. He's teaching Algebra 2, Geometry and AP Statistics, and I'm so proud of him I could burst.

We've decided our evenings need a bit of a makeover. Now that the house is in good shape, we can relax a little on it. We're going to try to get in a routine that centers around an earlier dinner, baths for you every night, and hopefully nights with no TV. Daddy needs to do lots for school, including a lot of reading. He doesn't want to spend every night locked up in the office so he will read in the living room with the TV off. Those nights you and I will read too, or play. But no TV. I am very happy with this idea, and think not only will I get more done around the house but I'll be more consistent with what I do with you.

That's about it. Still trying to get pregnant, but there's no news on that front. Yet.

Shrooms

2005-08-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, there are MUSHROOMS growing in my backyard. Great, big, plate-sized mushrooms. What's particularly odd about that is - in case you forgot - I live in the DESERT. And it's August. And they're growing right smack in the middle of the backyard where there is no shade. Joe's plucked a half-dozen and this morning we woke up to two bright shining new ones. We must be getting some good soaking rains lately.

But I digress.

You're doing very well, growing leaps and bounds yourself. You're officially tall enough to go into IKEA's play area but you have to be potty-trained. We're not having a lot of luck on that front, mostly because I'm still not really pushing it. You ask to use it on occasion but nothing happens. Oh well. As long as you're done by Kindergarten I'm fine. I'm still stunned by how tall you're getting, though.

You still have a love affair going on with Ashtin. He greeted you this morning with a squeal and a smile. It's amazingly cute.

The floors are done. Praise God. It's been a long time coming, but we're finally able to start putting things away and really having our house back. There are still plenty of little things to be done (i.e. new baseboards, new interior doors, etc.), but that's all manageable. We also have all the furniture replaced that needed it except the dining room table. That will be our next quest. There's one at Pruitt's I really like, but we'll need to get serious about measuring it and seeing if it will fit. Handily it is a long oval so there are no sharp corners to bang into when you are chasing Princess around the house.

TTC'ing continues. My body remembered how to do it's girlie thing albeit a couple of weeks delinquent. So I'm hopeful that last month jogged it into remembering how to do the rest of the job. We'll see. Pregnancy now would result in an early May due date. That would be fine. Much later and I am looking at Arizona heat misery in my last month. Not so sure about that part.

Daddy's meeting with the principal of his school today to review the details of his job. He's going to be teaching Algebra 2, Geometry and AP Statistics. He is going to see his new classroom today and start sorting out the finer points of his coming career. I am so very excited for him. It's been a long time coming and while it's not completely set in stone and won't be until the final board meeting on 8/22, at least it's right around the corner. He's going to be such an incredible teacher. We decided to carpool too, which means we'll both be there to drop you off and pick you up each day. I see a rut in our future and I am looking forward to it!

So, that's pretty much it. I'm swamped still at work and with people leaving unexpectedly I don't see it getting better anytime soon. But it's almost autumn and that alone has me pretty happy. Better weather always improves my mood.

Birfdays!

2005-07-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today has been kind of a crappy day, but that's okay. I really had my birthday over the weekend, with a fabulous birthday party and great times with friends and family. It was great, you were great and I can't really complain a bit.

Plus I got an iPod Mini! I had asked everyone for one, but told them I didn't really expect anyone to pay for it. Sure enough, Daddy wanted me to have it and surprised me with one. I used it at the gym yesterday and it was great.

You went to the gym with me yesterday and I guess you had fun too, because you asked me this morning if we could go back!

So, things overall are good. Just in a weird funk today. I think it's improving though; only 1.5 more hours of work left. :)

Love Story

2005-07-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's a sweet story but I just can't imagine 74 years of marriage. Hell, I can't imagine being 105 years old. But it sure would be interesting!

Developing

2005-07-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

I should post more often on your development. Not sure why I don't do that. I suppose part of it is because the changes are so gradual. But I really do think to myself every day how lucky we are to be your parents.

Right now you're really pushing your independence. You can sometimes dress yourself, top and bottom. You can get socks onto your feet and sandals, too. Tennis shoes are a little trickier, but you try. You LOVE lotion, washing your hands, using toilet paper, and even cleaning/picking up. Yes, that's nice I must admit. You sing the Barney clean up song and happily pick things up. If your milk spills, you try to find a towel or napkin to clean it up. If something falls over in another room or the dog makes a mess of some sort, you will come to get one of us to drag back and show it. When I give you a cheese slice or stick, or banana, you will eat the food and take the wrapper or peel to the trash can by yourself. It really is wonderful.

You are also old enough now to make up your mind. Unless you're tired you almost never do the random contrary statements. When you say you do want to do something, I can trust you mean it. You think before answering me when I give you choices, and you won't hesitate to tell me if you want a choice I haven't given you. You also won't hesitate to tell me that you're unhappy I won't relent to it becoming one of your choices. But usually choices involve milk or water, cartoons or movie, this outfit or that one, stroller or walking. The latter, incidentally is hardly a choice anymore. You definitely are not interested in sitting in the stroller. And a cart? Fuhgettaboutit. Unless it's one of those newfangled carts that doubles as a race car, it's just not going to happen. Our grocery store of choice just got these, but you can't take them out of the store. How annoying is that?!?! But I digress.

Honestly, you amaze me more all the time. Whether you're chasing daddy around the house while he vaccuums and you're pushing your popcorn popper toy to imitate him, or talking to Grandma on the phone, I find you very entertaining.

Entirely too hot

2005-07-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

I still don't know what's up with my body. It's not the big P, I'm sure, just... weird.

Of course, part of it might be because it's 57,000 degrees outside. Okay, more like 116 but seriously, how long can a person survive in 116 degrees? It's been weeks at over 111, and a good solid week over 114. Nobody is normal in heat like that. Our ancient air conditioner is fighting hard to keep the house below 80. That made the flooring experience this weekend lots of fun.

Fortunately, we got it done and your bedroom looks GREAT! We dismantled the crib (sniff) and put it neatly under your bed. We moved the bed to the other side of the room and reorganized everything. It leaves you with an incredible amount of room. We were even able to put most of your toys in your room for the first time ever! Maybe we'll be able to use our living room as a living room again and not a toy box. Mostly I hope you'll want to play in there more often, though I think I need to get you a rug. I'll post photos here soon.

Work will be very busy this week, and then Saturday is my birthday party. I don't kno what there is to celebrate. I'll be 30 next Tuesday. Maybe that's why my body is acting up: Protest! It all makes sense now.

Interesting

2005-07-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

So I turned in your application to the Montessori school of our choosing. Of course, it would be $750/month, so I also picked up the financial assistance package. I don't know what to think. In an ideal it would be perfect, and it's worth a shot. But there are drawbacks too. Not the least of which is that your (hopefully) future brother or sister would be $1,150/month as an infant. Yeah, no. That's more than our mortgage payment. So either we'd have to get that basically knocked off, which might happen if they looked at those two in relation to our income. OR the future child would have to go elsewhere, probably where you're going now. It's about 1/2 block away, so it's not really inconvenient.

Aaaaanyway, while we're on the subject of the future child... We were, weren't we? Yes, well. Man, I'm a bad prego wannabe. I'm not used to be a la natural, sans pregnancy-preventing hormones. So a lot of the weird crap my body's been doing in the last couple of weeks and really the last couple of days do nothing to help. What is all this stuff? My body's blissfully happy with The Pill. Well not blissful but relatively uneventful. Now I have all of these hormones. I have mood swings, hot flashes, boob sweating (WTF is up with that?!) and general pregnancy-type feelings that only come full force right before you get your period. Sorry, TMI. I'm sure my lovely Aunt Flo is around the corner, but in the meantime her impending visit leaves me with Attitude. And how! My coworkers are lucky to share in the joy that is me right now.

Of course, there's always the chance it's not a test. No, shut up you. Go away now. I am not in danger of forgetting that when you're TTC'ing, every twinge, flash, flicker and blip of a body change signals your mind to say "Oooh, oooh! That's what you feel when you're pregnant, right? I must be pregnant!" Then your evil Mr. Hyde reminds you that you're a bloody fool.

Yeah, so I'm having some fun at present. Stay tuned. I am pretty sure I'm losing my mind.

P.S. No, I'm not drunk. I'm at work. More like punch-drunk with exhaustion.
P.P.S. You, yes you - Don't snap at me for not telling you anything first. There's nothing to tell you. Didn't you read above? If I pee on a stick and it says anything, I will call you. But I won't be peeing on a stick anytime soon. As Chez Miscarriage says, "Go away, evil eye."

Finally!

2005-07-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know how my blog got so messed up, but I finally fixed it with a happy little float:left command. Phew.