Monday, December 29, 2008

Down Time? Nah!

Christmas goes by fast, but this week is kinda a different week. We get off early today and Wednesday and then off completely on Thursday at work.

Our weekend was super busy (again). I am not sure when things will slow down, but it is good and we are enjoying our time. After work on Friday, we pet sitted and went to my grandma's for dinner. It was like Christmas Part 2, or maybe a redo from the day before. This time was much better. No arguing or crying! Oh wait...... I did cry, but that was before we went to my grandma's. My bro-in-law sent us a stuffed animal for the baby and a Pooh Bear scrapbook. It was so sweet and I cried lots. Good cries of course. We are just so excited to meet our little precious baby. To see 1sts of everything (first tooth, first time finding toes, first solid food and on and on). To think we are bringing a little baby into the world to teach him/her everything, to have something so innocent and curious and ready to explore. A clean slate. It is just amazing and a HUGE responsibility. I just want to be the best parents that we can be and love our little one with all that we have. OK, might cry again, moving on.

Saturday we had an appointment with our financial advisor to go over our investments, our money in general, college funds, savings accounts for baby, how to best manage our money, etc, etc. Sean got some stock in Verizon, Progress Energy and Intel, which he is pretty excited about and will be probably be watching daily from work on various web sites. I went the more convservative route and got some stocks in GE and some other company that is highly recognizable, but I can't remember who it is. All-in-all, the meeting went well. We hope to start our college fund and savings account in May for baby. Then we went to the PO to mail our Christmas presents off to family (a little late!). More pet sitting, then the Humane Society. Got a mani/pedi after that, ordered pizza, more pet-sitting, yada, yada and then home! OH and Sean's assistant manager came by and picked up the bed in our spare bedroom. YAY! Now, we can start putting our nursery together. Sean has already started taking everything out of the box for the crib. He is so cute and ready to build it and so excited. He couldn't even sleep last night because he so badly wanted to build it. I know it helps him feel more a part of baby, so that is good.

Yesterday we went to church. We had a summary of our year of sermon series and then a pep talk for 2009. We went to lunch after that and watched our football games. Both of our teams are done for the season. Wah! Then we went to Kohl's and I got a maternity shirt, Staples to get a 2009 planner, Walmart to use our $50 giftcard on Disney DVDs (starting our collection for baby), Target to try to return pants without receipt (doesn't work, will be there again), more pet sitting.

WOOH! What a weekend. All this typing has made me hungry. And baby is letting me know, as well, with lots of kicks! C-YA!

Friday, December 26, 2008

The Meaning Of Christmas

Welp, it's back to work today, but then it's the weekend! Like it.

We went over to my grandparents for Christmas yesterday. It was not so great. I don't think I feel like elaborating too much, but I will just say that a BIG fight broke out. It was pretty upsetting for everyone and kinda (well, really) put a damper on the holiday spirit. I hate that it happened, as I know we all felt that way. Things did calm down and we were able to eat and talk and spend time together and open presents. It saddens my heart and I need to pray lots. After we left, Sean and I went to a house that had over 10,ooo lights. Their front, back, sides and other houses were all decorated. They even had a snow machine. It was pretty impressive. They had a huge nativity scene that I could have stared at forever. Above it, it said something along the lines of "What Christmas is truly about". WOW, isn't that true. Even though sadly we don't all act this way. We get so stressed about money, gifts, wrapping, shopping, decorating, traveling, etc, etc, that we lose the whole meaning. It is about Christ's birthday and family and friends. That's it. Period. We gave a donation to the man who went all out with his decorating. The charity is a pregancy center that supports life.

Sean went to do more pet sitting after that (we have a total of 4 clients right now - 3 houses that we visit and 1 dog that is staying with us) so that is keeping us busy.

We were pretty beat after that.

I hope Christmas was joyous for you.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas! Busy season it has been. I had Christmas Eve off. Sean had to work until 1. Our crib and our changing table were delivered. Now, we have to start moving stuff out of the guest room and start making it a nursery. I got all of our wrapping done yesterday (took hours). We made potato salad, which was tasty, but the potatoes were a little hard so we will know to cook them a bit more next time. Fought the crazy grumpy people at Publix and the Dollar Store as they tried to run me over with the carts. Tiffany (my bestest friend) came over with lunch. She is in town from NYC. She came with the cutest gifts for baby and our new home. I missed her so. She is here until the 7th! YAY! She loved seeing the belly. :o)

We went to our pet sitting places to check on the cats. Then down to Dave and Michelle's for Christmas Eve dinner. It was yummy and their house looked great and everyone was having fun. Aunt Melinda lost a lot of weight. She looks fab. Grandma was somewhat mobile since her surgery, which was good. I was not able to do prenatal Yoga with Aunt Michelle yesterday morning. She wanted to come over and do the DVD with me, but I just did not have enough time. We even missed our church service because we ran out of time.

It was just a great Christmas Eve, EXCEPT for one thing. We pretty much know who has been pooping our house. We were trying to move our cars yesterday when our neighbors next door (in their 60s, and probably Russian) came pulling up and blocked us in. I was inside at the moment, but all the sudden I hear Sean and the neighbors arguing, so I go outside. Lemme back up for a moment. Our parking situation in this neighborhood is horrendous and it effects everyone who lives here. We park Sean's car in the garage and my car in the driveway. In the mornings, Sean moves my car to the street and leaves. Then I leave to go to work a bit later. Any way, apparently when my car is on the street in the mornings, it causes a problem for our neighbors because the garbage man can't get their garbage. SO they have been pissed about this. But instead of asking us nicely to fix the situation, they have probably been pooping our house and then act childish by blocking our car in when we were trying to leave. Any way, I come outside and the whole situation got the best of me. I yelled a lot and was very angry. I have since asked God for forgiveness. I am not like that usually, but I have been so furious over the poop thing, that I just unleashed. Any way, we never knew the garbage man couldn't get their garbage. The situation did not end well with the confrontation, so who knows.

Back to happy stuff. It's Christmas! We got baby stuff (receiving blankets, onesies, hats, clothes)! We also got a good amount of money, which will help a ton. We got a ton of other great gifts (mom and Mike got us a really cool picture that we will hang in the nursery and Sean got me a neck massager), but too much to name, but all equally great. We have had a wonderful Christmas morning opening up all of our gifts and just being together. Sean got me maternity clothes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY! Allie had fun with her stocking and treats and new toy. Now, she has a friend over (we are pet sitting a Rot/Lab mix for 5 days over here).

OK enough blogging. It's Christmas!

Monday, December 22, 2008

The Weekly Monday Weekend Update

I am sleepy and low on energy today and nauseous and ready to have a day in bed relaxing doing nothing, but it's Monday. At least I don't have to be in to work until 10, home hopefully by 7:30 tonight.

Friday we went to Sam's, Walgreen's and Chik-Fil-A.

Saturday I graduated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome and an amazing first time feeling. I had a lot of support there - hubby, dad, granddad, Uncle Dave and Aunt Michelle and Uncle Steve and cousins Dan and Emily. After the ceremony, we went to lunch at the Olive Garden. Dad took Sean and I to Babies-R-Us to pick out our Christmas presents. We got a changing table, pad, cover, decorative bins and a diaper caddy. The colors are greens and yellows (neutral!) The table matches our crib that was just ordered and is on its way. My in-laws bought this for us. Both are espresso colored. The crib is a sleigh bed and is convertible (changes to toddler and then full bed). We are excited to get started on the nursery. We just gotta figure out where to put our furniture that is in there - right now it is a guest bedroom. Then we went to try on maternity clothes. Old Navy and Marshall's do not carry maternity wear, but on our third stop we found some - Kohl's. I was very apprehensive to try clothes on. Didn't know sizes and how it would look and the pants look pretty funny with the extra "belly warmer", but oh my gosh let me tell you how comfy the pants and shirts were. I felt so much better than my too tight, too small current wardrobe. Hopefully, I got some clothes from Sean for Christmas because we just tried on and didn't purchase anything. Then we did our pet sitting duties at 2 different houses - all cats.

Yesterday we made lasagna and got a lot done around the house all morning. We skipped church because yesterday was shopping day. We got a free pizza from a coupon we had and ate lunch by the water. It was a gorgeous day. Then we did all of our Christmas shopping at Target. Sean left after we were done buying for family and friends and got my presents and I stayed at Target and bought his. Then we came home to find poop on our doorstep again - Friday it was smooshed on front doorstep. Yesterday we had a bag of poop hanging from our front door. Apparently, we have a neighbor that doesn't like us for some reason. We are both pretty mad over the whole situation. We clean up after Allie, we aren't bad or noisy neighbors and are good people, so I don't know what the issue is. Any way, after taking some time to talk and pray about it and calm down, we went to church for a volunteer appreciation dinner (we volunteer in the nursery). It was very nice to fellowship and the food was yummy and we got Christmas presents and an award for our work.

After this long, busy weekend, it was then home to go night-night! And that is why I am tired today!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Pics

Me walking across the stage getting my diploma
fellow grads
pres at SPC
me
happy dad at his work Christmas party at Tampa Yacht Club (so cute!)
tree at Tampa Yacht Club
our tree
Charlie Brown?

Baby - 20 weeks

Friday, December 19, 2008

Our Little Blessing From God

We had our anatomy ultrasound yesterday and it went fabulously!!! We got to see the brain hemispheres, eyes, nose, mouth (no cleft lip), spinal cord (no spina bifida), femur, legs and arms (kicking and moving), liver (normal), stomach (measured normal), diaphragm, heart (all 4 chambers), baby drinking amniotic fluid, right size (almost a pound). Baby is completely healthy!!!! It was so awesome to see all this. Heartbeat was 145 and normal and my cervix and placenta were normal and healthy. Saw the umbilical cord too. I am 19 weeks and 6 days so a little farther than we thought. Due date is now May 9th. Baby is breach right now (so head is upwards on my tummy and legs are near my pelvis), but no reason for C section concern because baby can move around a lot and does not need to be the other way until labor begins. We got lots of pics - 6 of them. Will post those later. We could have found out the sex, but of course didn't. She didn't even go down there. We are just so excited, grateful and thankful for the wonderful news the Lord has given us. We love our little one so much, words are indescribable.

We went to my dad's Christmas party at the Tampa Yacht Club. The food and dessert tent - delish. We got to dress up and hob nob with the rich for a couple of hours. We had a lot of fun. Paying for it today though. Very sleepy and did not sleep well last night. Coughing lots and got a Charlie horse. Maybe a nap before work?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

I Heart My Job

WOW! We got paid yesterday and we all got really nice Christmas bonuses. Dr. Supow did so much for us. Gave us all year memberships to the gym, bonuses, dinner at the Melting Pot and we just got quarterly bonuses not too long ago. I feel very grateful and thankful. Merry Christmas to me!!!!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Passing Grade

I got a 91 on my final and a 93 for the class. Let the vacation begin! Now, if I could just get rid of this sore throat I have had since Friday! Stinker Sean got me sick.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Kickn' It

Sean felt baby kick last night like 3 times. He was so excited and all smiles! Opp, as I was typing this, baby kicked. So cool! OK that's all!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Ghetto Livin'

Oh ya and yesterday I woke up to find my car had been rummaged through. We had accidentally left it unlocked and someone went through my glove box and my center console. They did not steal Sean's cell or my ipod or cell charger. They didn't steal anything. This is the second time this has happened in our neighborhood. First time was Sean's car, which they didn't steal anything that time either. I have had my car broken into 2 other times in ATL. Once they broke my window and stole my stereo. The second time they stole my stereo. I was very mad yesterday and felt very violated and concerned for our safety. Also, makes me feel like we live in the ghetto or something even though we don't. Sean is calling the police department today and our HOA.

Weims, Christmas, Melting Pot and Kicks

We had an awesome weekend as usual. Friday we went over to our old neighbors house and sat outside by a fire. The smoke bothered me a bit too much though so we didn't stay too long. It was following me every time I would move and my throat started to hurt.

Saturday we went to Ft. DeSoto for the Weim party. We had a lot of fun. Allie is too shy, scared, submissive to really play with the other Weims, but she had a ton of fun getting lots of attention from the people. She still really enjoyed herself. She would even help the owners round up their dogs. She is funny. We went to lunch down there after that. Then to Target to buy Dr. Supow a gift. We went to the Melting Pot for my Christmas party. There were about 22 of us. It was a lot of fun, too. The food was not at good as I expected it to be, except for the dessert, which was delicious. I think I was a little too worried with being pregnant and having to really watch all the exotic cheeses and sauces and the raw meat and making sure I fully cooked it. The service was awesome though and we did really enjoy ourselves.

Yesterday we worked in the church nursery. Watched my football game, which was no good. Got some of our Christmas cards done. Got our tree and decorated it and the house. I love our tree!

I felt baby move twice last night on the outside instead of the normal flutters I feel. It was amazing! Yay!

Today I have a half day at work and then I have to drive to Pinellas Park to take my final. After today, I will be off school for a month. Nice. Nice to have a half day at work too!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Weim Christmas party at Ft. DeSoto - Tampa Weimaraner Group

On the beach. Most of them were swimming, but not our Allie. She hates the water!
Weim with an undocked tail

I Heart Weims!
Allie is not very photogenic.

Our baby.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Busy Bees

We now have Fios, which is so nice. Since we moved here both the laptop and PC have been on a wireless network, which worked well with the laptop (and still does), but not so much with the PC. It would lose connection every few minutes and kick me off. VERY annoying, let me tell you. Now we have Fios and I am back on a modem so it is actually pleasurable to get on line again.

The week has been busy. Work of course. Tuesday we met dad and granddad for dinner and then visited granny in rehab and my coworker in the hospital. She got bit by a cat and it got really infected. Like to the point where she was in the hospital from Saturday until Wednesday. She even had to have a MRI.

Yesterday (my day off) I did some data entry for the Humane Society's microchip clinic. I had like 42 to do and only got 20 done. It was a little slow going at first, but once I learned it, it was pretty easy. I guess the other half will have to wait until next Thursday.

I finally got all of our falls clothes out of storage boxes and hung them in the closet. It was kinda like getting new clothes all over again because I forgot what I even had.

I went to school yesterday and was fitted for my cap and gown! I graduate next weekend. I am excited and a little nervous! My first graduation!

It is pretty chilly here and we have had some storms coming through and tornado watches and stuff. My kind of weather.

Oh and we signed up for Upromise. It saves money for baby's college. All you do is eat at participating restaurants, shop on participating web sites and go to Publix and grocery shop (we are there all the time) and spend money and a percentage will be put into an acocunt for us and we don't have to spend a dime!

We watched Juno last night. It was a pretty good movie. I of course cried. I am not sure that was a movie to cry to, but I did of course!

Happy Happy Happy Friday!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Where did the weekend go?

We had a really good weekend and it just ends too quickly! Friday night we went over to my coworker Amy's house and played games. There were like 9 of us (all people I work with and their spouses). We ate pizza and played Cranium. She has a hairless cat; I want one!

Saturday we went to the Long Center and worked out. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and thought for sure I would be sore, but I wasn't. We did our usual cat cuddling at HSP and then to Publix to grocery shop. We bought 2 toys for 2 tots (the Marine Corps toy drive). We also picked a boy and girl from the Christmas Wish Tree at church so we had fun shopping for them (kids in need). It feels really good to be able to do stuff like that. We came home and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which Sean had never seen.

Yesterday started out great, until I had to get dressed. Really none of my pants are fitting anymore. I started crying lots. Not because I am gaining weight, but because I feel so uncomfortable. I am trying to hold out as long as possible because I know I am just gonna get bigger. I guess I will try the maternity extenders, but it just feels like the pants won't fit either way. Most days I am in scrubs so it's no big deal, but the few days that I wear civilian clothes, I just really dread finding something to wear and getting dressed. I am proud of the weight gain, but hate feeling so uncomfortable. Any way, we went to church and then to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat lunch and watch Sean's football game. Again, I go to the bathroom and have a big ol' cry, for really absolutely no reason. Then I feel bad for crying because I don't want baby to know I am upset, which in turn only makes me cry more. I have no idea why I was crying in the first place. I got it all out though and felt much better. Sean was a big help, too. After the game we came and picked up Allie and took her to the park. It was gorgeous! Then home to watch Cloverfield and get some good sleep.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Baby and uninformed doctors and nurses

OB app was great yesterday, except for Sean was not able to go because of work. :O( My weight went up, blood pressure was good, fundus height was 15 cm (belly measurement), fetal heart rate 140. Of course, I got to hear the heartbeat again. Never gets old! I freaked out for a second because the first monitor was broken so no sound was coming from it when he placed it on my belly so I thought something was wrong, but it was just the monitor and not baby. Second monitor picked up heartbeat immediately. So wish Sean didn't miss that. I had some complaints with my OB's office. The nurse that called me back asked if I was pregnant! Well, she has seen me many times and she had my chart in her hand! The OB also asked questions about why I have already had 2 ultrasounds and I say because of my history of LEEPs (there is a big green paper, ALL CAPS note on my chart about this that I could read from across the room. I think they should be a little more prepared! And I asked a question and got a smart answer back from the OB. Oh, well. I am just happy all went well with me and baby's health. I feel lots more flutters now that I know are baby. Love it!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Yoga and Eat-Donald's

I am sitting here this morning, enjoying my day off, eating a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and hash brown from McDonald's (healthy I know) and excited for my OB-GYN appointment today. We woke up this morning and did a 50 minute prenatal Yoga DVD that mama just bought me and I LOVE it! I feel great! While Sean was showering, I snuck off to Mickey D's to surprise him with B-fast. Yah doesn't make much sense to be all healthy with Yoga and then blow it with fast food!

Sean made turkey soup from our T-Day leftover turkey and yum it is delicious!

Grandma had her surgery (another laminectomy) on Monday and we visited her Tuesday. She is doing well and will probably be in rehab for 3 weeks. The family has really come together to take care of granddad since he is home alone right now.

Overall, I am feeling very at peace, relaxed and satisfied. Prenatal yoga rocks! (or maybe it was the MD biscuit!) :O)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Pets

This weekend was interesting, both good and bad. Friday after work we pet sitted at 4 different places. We stopped at Checker's after that and I finally got my fried chicken sandwich with cheese and fries. I had been craving it for months.

Saturday we went over to one of the pet sitting places and found one of the dogs in very bad shape. Sapp is a Golden (5 years old) who has lymphoma that is managed with medications. Well, when we got there he was unable to get up and he had defecated all over himself. He had labored breathing, edema and barely a blood pressure. After talking to their owners, we rushed him to my clinic and unfortunately had to have him euthanized. It was so sad. We were both shaken up and ended up taking it out on each other. We took a long walk and talked it out and enjoyed the fall colors and weather. After volunteering at the Humane Society we did more pet sitting and them home to eat and sleep again.

Yesterday was the last of our pet sitting, church, football and a lot of relaxing. We laid around all day. It was very nice and something we don't do very often. We also watched House of 1000 Corpses, which I do not recommend.

Prayers for Sapp and his family. :O(

Friday, November 28, 2008

Thankful

I hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as ours. Sean, Allie and I enjoyed our morning and afternoon relaxing and being together. We took care of the Yorkies we are pet sitting for. Then it was back here to make homemade pumpkin pies from our uncarved Halloween pumpkin, gravy, the turkey (Senor Tomas), Red Lobster cheese biscuits and stuffing. The family came over around 3, armed with more food. We had such a great time here. There were 9 of us. Everyone left around 7:30. It was just a really good Thanksgiving!

Side note: Not a wise idea to run the self- clean option on the oven while trying to sleep. Sean set it for 1 or 2 this morning and the smell was herrendous for about 2 or 3 hours and it still stinks in here. It woke me up and kept me up most of the night. It did not seem to bother Sean's sniffer, so it must be my preggo sense of smell. It was awful, but the oven is clean!

I am four months along, as of yesterday. People are starting to touch the belly, without asking and just grabbing for it, but it has been family so that is fine! I will have to put my foot down if it becomes strangers that grab for the bump!

Off to work.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Weekend

Friday was of course a Capogna's night.

Saturday Sean and I both worked. After work, we called everyone to give them their turkey assignments and then we went grocery shopping. We went to Aldi and it was a success this time! Then to our new Publix. We are having T Day at our house this year with the family coming, there will be 9 of us in all.

Yesterday we went to church and to Old Chicago to eat lunch and watch the games. Nicole the Dalmatian left. What a crazy dog! What with the growling and attacking Allie, nipping at me, then being lovey, not eating and urinating in our house. Poor thing! We even had to feed her chicken and rice just so she would have something in her tummy. She refused to eat her dog food.

We have 4 clients for pet sitting this week. One starts today and lasts till Friday; 2 Yorkies and a cat. Then we have another customer that we will visit twice that has two cats. We are also watching my coworkers 2 cats this week. And then Friday till Sunday we will be watching a Golden and a Daschund. We are going to be busy! Extra cash though and we love our little furry friends.

We went to Babies R Us to look for cribs. My in- laws want to get us a crib for Christmas. So nice of them! It was so much fun to walk around and look at all the baby stuff, but it was also a little overwhelming! We need a lot of stuff! We found some really nice cribs.

Back to work today.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Ultrasound

I can't stop thinking about the awesomeness of our ultrasound yesterday. What a blessing and a gift God has given us. It was amazing to see little legs kicking, arms moving and scratching head and heart beating and not just a little speck, but a little baby. We are so excited! It is the best. Thank you Lord!

I went to a financial meeting and a tea and meal yesterday. We have investments and I was invited by our financial adviser. It was actually very informative, I had fun and the tea and treats were delicious.

We have a Dalmatian named Nicole staying with us. She came on Wednesday and leaves on Sunday. She is a sweetheart to us and very cute, but she is not too fond of Allie. She usually just growls at Allie, but this morning she attacked Allie. Allie is OK, but was definitely scared and shaking and shook up. They are now separated. Allie has rule of the upstairs and Nicole of the downstairs.

I officially have health insurnce (including pregnancy) through work! YAY for that.

Oh, and everything looked great and normal. Heartbeat normal at 155 and cervix measured 3.6, which is normal.

Have a blessed Friday!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Baby



I can't figure out how to rotate the darn pic or make it bigger and I am giving up because I have a financial meeting to go to. So it is not so great, but maybe you can get the picture (literally!) :)

Mom's Wedding Day

Mom and step-dad and uncle and aunt
new step-brother






communion





So cute!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Our Lovely Weekend

OK, here we go.

Friday night we met the family at Capogna's for a family meeting and of course for some yummy grub. My grandma is having another laminectomy and will be in rehab for three weeks. My grandpa has Alzheimer's and is not able to be alone so we are trying to work out a grandpa sitting schedule.

We also got to see the shuttle take off from the Capogna's parking lot. It was pretty cool. There were a ton of people out there cheering with their car radios on (reporting the take-off). It is nice to see people still get excited about that sort of thing. It was not as good as when we saw it at Cape Canaveral, but I still got goosey bumps!

I was supposed to work on Saturday, but Carly wanted my shift and I happily obliged since my hubby had the day off. We bummed around morning time. Then we went to the Long Center to check it out. I got the year membership from my boss for Christmas. It is sort of like a YMCA. We want to get involved in some classes and also use their gym. We will have to purchase Sean's membership, but that's OK, at least mine was free. There are a lot of baby, mom/baby, and kid programs too!

After that we went to the Humane Society. Then to the movies and Taco Bell! Yum! We saw the new Bond movie. It was good. Embarrassing moment for me: We get home and I am changing for bed and popcorn fell out of my belly button, which Sean saw of course! What a piggy I am. I guess my belly is getting a little bigger since it now able to trap falling popcorn that misses my mouth!

Yesterday we went to Fort DeSoto. It is gorgeous there. We went to a vet tech student BBQ. It was nice to meet some people since I am an online student. We had a lot of fun, enjoying the park, eating and playing cards (we learned how to play Yuker (sp?)). Good times. Then off to Linens and Things. They are going out of business. We bought some candles. Tried to find some prenatal Yoga DVDs, but no luck. We have looked EVERYWHERE! So frustrating. Then we went to Sam's Club and finally home to eat and watch a movie. Whew what a great weekend. Now I am missing my hubby. :(

It is 40 degrees this morning and will be cool/cold all week - 40s in the morning and 60s during the day.

Oh and lastly, sad news. My aunt's sister died suddenly this weekend. So thoughts and prayers for her family during this very difficult time. :(

Friday, November 14, 2008

A Little Pukey Feeling

I enjoyed my day off. I was quite busy. I had a mile long list of stuff that I had to get done around the house. I even finally got my mom and Mike's wedding gift done and it is in the mail to them. I am excited for them to get it and I hope they love it!

As of yesterday, I have officially entered my 2nd trimester! I am 14 weeks! Not so fast on thinking I am going to feel great! Granted, I have been feeling better. Not as much nausea and not as tired. Still exhausted by 7 PM, but that is better than all day exhaustion. Still nauseous at times, but not all day. BUT wait, this morning I had my worst episode yet! I was in the shower brushing my teeth. I gagged twice, but I gag any way so no biggie. Then I started to feel faint, shaky and like I was going to vomit. I barely got through my shower, came out dripping wet and went to the other bathroom. Sean was like "Are you OK?" I barely mumbled "I am not feeling so well." I rested my head on the toilet (funny how that actually feels comfortable when you are about to puke). I started to feel better, went potty and wah-la back to normal! Baby wants to keep me on my toes......... or shall I say my head in the toilet. However you want to look at it.

I have begun feeling baby flutters. They are awesome! Sean is a little upset that he can't feel them. Poor guy! I have been getting them throughout the day. I had never heard of them before last week when the nurse asked me about it at my doc's office.

yay! It's Friday. Off to work I go. Hi-ho!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

A lIst of why I am fabulous!



1. I am a good wife, daughter, friend, family member and soon to be mom!
2. I am a hard worker.
3. I love God.
4. I am caring.
5. I am a good listener, except for when my ADD kicks in.
6. I am creative.
7. I am smart.
8. I love animals.
9. I love to travel and see the world.
10. I am curious and love to learn.
11. I am a good cook.
12. I am open to trying new things.
13. I can keep a secret.
14. I am honest.
15. I am reliable.
16. I love to laugh.
17. I love to have fun.
18. I love to exercise.
19. I get excited all the time about little things.
20. I am me!

Becca and Hilary. Your turn. I was tagged by a fellow blogger, so now I am tagging you. You must post a list of why you are fabulous on your blog and c&p the sticker too. Now go do it because you are fabulous and I love ya!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Actualy this is the link for last quiz

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/are-you-a-jackie-or-a-marilyn-or-someone-else-mad-menera-female-icon-quiz

Quiz

You Are a Marilyn!

mm.marilyn_.jpg

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me
  • * Be direct and clear
  • * Listen to me carefully
  • * Don't judge me for my anxiety
  • * Work things through with me
  • * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
  • * Laugh and make jokes with me
  • * Gently push me toward new experiences
  • * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn
  • * being committed and faithful to family and friends
  • * being responsible and hardworking
  • * being compassionate toward others
  • * having intellect and wit
  • * being a nonconformist
  • * confronting danger bravely
  • * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn
  • * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
  • * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
  • * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
  • * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
  • * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
  • * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often
  • * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
  • * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
  • * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
  • * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
  • * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents
  • * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
  • * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
  • * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
  • * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries
http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/are-you-a-jackie-or-a-marilyn-or-someone-else-mad

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Definitely Not My Idea of a Fun Friday Night!

What a Friday night! I felt a headache coming on at work towards the end of the day, but by the time I got home I had a full on migraine. I felt so horrible. And nauseous. And the chills. I could barely move. I laid on the couch while the hubby made us dinner. Then I went to bed while he cleaned the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher, fed and walked the dogs and brought me a compress for my aching head. I went to bed around 7! I am feeling much better today. It was no fun. And I didn't take any medicine, not even Tylenol, which I know I can take, but I would rather not. Now, I have ammo when child is doing bad things - "Do you know that your mother suffered through migraine headaches and didn't take Tylenol and all for your health and safety! " Just kidding! I will not be THAT kind of mama! :O)

Friday, November 7, 2008

Heartbeat!!!!!!!

Has this ever happened to you? You go to the grocery store and find you have to pay 25 cents for your cart, you also have to pay for your bags to carry your groceries out and you can only use debit or cash or check, but not a credit card!? Yep, that's what happened to me. I decided to try Aldi, our new discounted grocery store that is from the Midwest. I was lucky in finding an unlocked cart that still had a quarter in it so that was OK (I never carry cash, let alone change). I then spend about 45 minutes there grocery shopping, and wait in a long line to checkout. It finally becomes my turn, the cashier rings up all my groceries and my bags and then tells me the total. I pull out my handy Discover card and she is like "what's that?". Um, a credit card. "Oh, we don't take those here". So, I walked out since we don't have a debit card. Well, we do, but I don't know my pin. I don't carry cash as I said and I don't carry my checkbook. So I went to old reliable - Publix. By this time, I was hungry, grumpy and had to pee. It was not a good situation.

We have a Golden here for the weekend. She is not to fond of Allie and is missing her mama, but hopefully she will get a little more adjusted. We are not used to tails. She keeps knocking things over!

We had an appointment with the midwife yesterday. We got to hear the heartbeat! It was amazing. What a miracle. I can't even describe the feelings. Absolutely awesome. We asked our midwife if we could take the Doppler home so we could listen all the time. She said no. I gained 2 pounds, which is right on track. They said everything looked good. All my lab work came back good, except for that urine test. They took another one yesterday and tested in the office and it came up negative, but they are still going to send it off just to make sure I don't still have a UTI. I have a little passport that is a record of all tests done and weight, BP, baby's HR, etc. One thing bothers me. It is checked yes under high risk. I know because of my history of LEEPS and my history of depression, but I still don't like it. Can I white it out and check no instead?

YAY! It's Friday!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Miss you Mom

We are home. Sad face. I am missing mama a lot today and my hubby. I don't like coming back from vacay and especially such a short one. It is depressing. I wanna go back to mama's house. Our visit was just not long enough.

Mom and Mike's wedding was beautiful and I will post some pics some time soon. After the wedding and reception, Sean and I went to Sierra Vista for a couple of hours to look at our future home. We didn't really do anything else since we had to wake up at 4 a.m. to leave Bisbee. We went to bed around 7:30!

Yesterday started out really good. Got to the airport in time, turned in the rental car, got our seats changed so we could sit together and was on time to Dallas. It went downhill from there. We had an hour layover, ate lunch and then boarded. And then we sat there for 2 hours on the plane while maintenance fixed two faulty parts on the plane. This plane had just come from the hangar and so I guess they had to make sure it was OK to fly, but I don't understand why they didn't do that before bringing it from the hangar. Oh well, I would rather be safe than sorry....literally! So we got home 2 hours later than scheduled arrival. I felt like crap most of the end of the trip and when we got home. And now it's Monday and I am just sad.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Here Comes The Bride

We had a very good flight to Ara-zone-ey and arrived safely. We went to dinner last night. My uncle and aunt are also here and I haven't seen them in almost 2 years. They live in TN. Mom and Mike are doing well and are very excited and happy. We are just having a very good time. Today is the big day!

I found out yesterday from dad that Ms. Griffin (the graduation appeals lady) FINALLY called and left a message at dad's house and guess what???????????? my appeal went through and I will be able to graduate on Dec 20th! Ceremonies are at Tropicana Field where the Rays play. I am so excited to finally have a degree!

My doctor called on Thursday and said she had been trying to reach me for the past month, which is incorrect because there were no missed calls from her. She said all my labs came back good, except I had/have a urinary tract infection. Well, they wanted to put me on antibiotics, but since it was a month ago that I was tested I am not even sure if I still have the UTI so I have an appointment next Thursday any way so they are just going to retest me. I was a little upset by the fact that I find out a month later!!!!! We are going to have a little chat with them when we go in next week.

I can't wait to move here!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Catching Up

No news on whether my graduation appeal has gone through or not. I call the lady once a week and she never calls me back. Sean called twice yesterday to no avail even after the receptionist said both times that she would call back in 5 minutes. Nope, didn't happen. It is very frustrating. I just want an answer, as the ceremony is Dec. 20th.

On the sunnier side of things, Sean brought me beautiful pink flowers to work yesterday. What I sweetheart. How I love him so.

I have today off. Actually, I am off until Monday. Woo-hoo. I have a busy day ahead of me, getting ready for our trip to AZ for mama's wedding. We leave tomorrow, back on Sunday. Too short, but we are so excited to see them and our other family and for the big day.

The last 2 days have brought temps in the 40s. Oh how I love it. What a nice change.

Our group insurance policy is in the works at work so yay for that. That means pregnancy will be totally covered. God seems to be answering our million prayers on this one. I should know for sure by Nov 1st or so.

I am 11 weeks now, 12 weeks on Sunday. I guess I am supposed to magically have energy and a stronger stomach by 12 weeks. We will see. :) At 11 weeks, the embryo became a fetus so that is pretty exciting for our little BABW!

I got 102 on my midterm.

And last but not least, I cannot wait for Nov 4th. I am so ready to vote - both to stop hearing about the campaigns and politics, but also so we know who our next president will be.

Happy (early) Halloween!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Party Pooper

After work yesterday, I got a Halloween scrub top and pumpkin socks to wear this week. Sean and I took Allie to Yappy Hour in Safety Harbor. There was a live band, booths, many dogs in Halloween costumes, pet parade, prizes, contests, the Humane Society was there and it was hosted by a restaurant that had delicious food. I had a PPP (personal pita pizza). It was very good. Allie had a lot of fun and got free gifts and many treats. one of our friends took her on the pet parade because we were eating dinner and she was leading the parade, but she halted the whole parade because she had to poo. Any way, now she is dubbed the "party pooper". That's our Allie. We went to Verizon after that and got new cell phones. We have the new every 2 plan so they are basically free. Today we woke up to cooler temps (for FL any way) so we went for a nice long walk.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Mrs. On The Go Has Halted

Today has been fabulous. I, yes I, did a lot of relaxing today. I had my decaf coffee in bed. I was on the lap top in bed and in the lazy boy cozy chair. I talked on the phone in bed. I took Allie for a very long walk through neighborhoods I haven't ventured through yet. And Sean and I have been trying to train her to walk correctly on a leash and not spaz out when she sees other people or animals, but it has not been working, which will not be good for me with being pregnant; nor will it be good when I have a stroller with baby. Any hoo, I pulled out the backup and it worked wonders! It is one of those halties that goes around te muzzle. She hates it, but she behaves. We walked past people and animals and she couldn't do a thing. She could not leap in the air like a Mexican jumping bean and rip my arms out of their sockets. Any way, back to the point. I got to relax so much on my day off. I did do some cleaning and laundry and I am about to leave to run a couple of errands and then home to start coooking in the kitchen, but I did so much lying around and I even got a little nap.

Yesterday I got a quarterly bonus, which was N.I.C.E. And Dr. Supow is giving us each year memberships to the gym. Double Nice.

Off to get my car detailed and to Publix.


Monday, October 20, 2008

Go Rays!

The Rays won and are going to the World Series!!!!!!!!!! And the Bucs won their Sunday night game. What a sports day for Tampa Bay! And I rhyme.

We wrapped up the weekend with church, Sam's Club (which seems to be our weekend go to store) and Norton's to watch football and eat lunch.

People are starting to notice a baby bump and are getting pretty excited over it. Yay!

Now it's Monday. I am tired and nauseous. And I gained a pound. And I am tired. And it's Monday.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Title?

Checking in to update our weekend.

Friday we went down to 3rd Friday in Safety Harbor. They had a lot of vendors, food and music and the shops were open late. There were a ton of people there. Yesterday we made jalapeño bread for the first time and took it to a cookout at Wall Springs Park. Keller Williams had a family picnic and our Realtor invited us to come. It was very nice. The springs there are really cool and there were boardwalks and an observation tower and fishing piers. It was really quite gorgeous and the weather was nice. Off to the Humane Society after that. Then we went to the movies and saw Nights in Rodanthe. It was so good and sad. I was balling. I think it was more sad than The Notebook. Nicholas Sparks is awesome! He really knows how to write a love story.

The Rays lost last night so on to game 7 tonight to see if they make it to the World Series.

Allie and I woke up to a real bright green circle of glowing light and loud noises around 5 this morning. It was pretty scary. I could see it through the closed blinds in the sky and the power went out. Don't know exactly what it is, but when we took Allie for a walk this morning Progress Energy was out by our front entrance fixing the power lines. Pretty crazy that I could see it from where we live and that it woke me up.

It is 63 degrees this a.m. I am so ready for cooler weather. I love FL, but I can't wait to move to a place where we have all 4 seasons. I miss that a lot! Even though I am a wimp when it comes to cold, I still want to see the leaves change, some snow and spring time blooming; not 10 months of heat and humidity.

Happy Sunday!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Little Gifts

I am feeling very loved today. I have such a wonderful husband. He had yesterday off. He spent the day organizing the garage and doing touch ups around the house from where we banged things against the walls when moving our furniture in and he hooked up cable to our kitchen TV. So our house is now officially officially done and it looks great! When I got home from work last night he had a candlelit dinner prepared for me and he also had a card and gift for me. The card alone was so sweet and made me cry. He made it himself and the words he wrote were amazingly loving and touching. The gift was a Willowtree figurine (we collect them). It is called Cherish - Awaiting a Miracle. It is a little pregnant woman. It is hard to explain, but so beautiful. I love you baby!

I also got a book from my coworker/friend LeAnn. She gave me "The Newly Non-Drinking Girls Guide To Pregnancy".

I have such wonderful people in my life and no it does not take gifts to realize this...it just helps! :O)

Monday, October 13, 2008

Monday, Monday

Welp, it's that day again......Monday! Definitely not my favorite day of the week, but there is an upside. I don't go into work until 10 on Mondays. And after today we are that much closer to the weekend!

Yesterday was a pretty good day. We took care of 8 babies in the church nursery. Then off to Beef o Brady's for food and football. Bucs won! Bears did not. We went to Sam's Club after that. We got our pumpkin to carve and some groceries and my eyeglasses fixed. We also bought Halloween candy even though we will not be at home to handout candy b/c we will be flying to AZ on Oct 31st. SO I guess you could say the chocolate was for us! We ran into my uncle and aunt at Sam's too. We came home and ate ice cream cones for dinner. Healthy I know. I had gorged myself at lunch, determined to eat my whole chicken taco salad and munch on some of Sean's curly Q fries, so suffice it to say I really didn't get hungry again, well except for a cone.

I am officially 9 weeks and 1 day now. I have not gained any weight yet, well except for the initial 5 pounds before I was even preggers! So, I guess now starts the weight gain. No fun that it is supposed to be healthy stuff and not oh I dunno Taco Bell, fries and ice cream.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I Heart Weekends

It has been a good weekend, well besides not feeling so great, but that is the norm these days and I'm actually OK with it. Means things are probably going the way they should. Friday night we got Taco Bell and met some of my coworkers at Pioneer Park in downtown Dunedin to do movies in the park. They showed The Invisible Man. It is a free thing they are doing once a week right now and you just bring blankets and food and cop a squat in the grass. It was fun. I also decided that a once weekly munching at Taco Bell would be great, but Sean disagrees. I guess if I have to I will gorge alone on tacos and burritos. Yesterday Sean had to work. I did a lot around the house and also decorated for Halloween. I have to say it looks good and spooky of course! There are a lot of spiders, and Sean hates spiders. Poor guy. I went back to the spa and got a facial, microdermabrasion and an eyebrow wax. The facial and wax were each 50% off so that was cool. Sean and I went to Oktoberfest in Dunedin last night. We forgot cash so that was a real hassle at first to call Wachovia and have funds transferred so we could use the ATM there, but in the end it all worked out and we ate yummy brats and sauerkraut and German potato salad. There were a bunch of fair rides and games and food and we walked around. We got home and finally watched the rest of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which we had started about a month ago. Then it was off to dream land!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

To Know One's Self

http://www.keirsey.com/


I am an idealist.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Us

Quick updates:

1. Everything is good with us. Sean has been a little stressed at work, but I know he will get through it! Love you baby!
2. Work has been good for me. Had yesterday off. I found my old hairdresser who has just moved back from Orlando so I went to her spa and got my hair cut and colored. We went crazy with my hair and did blond with black! I like it, not totally used to it, but I do like it and I definitely was ready for a change. I got a massage after that.
3. Still trying to figure out pregnancy insurance. Applied for Medicaid yesterday, but probably won't qualify. Talked to a discount program called Maternity Advantage, but still not sure about that. On Wednesday, I will find out if going through my work to get insurance will be the best. I am optimistic that it will and we can get this all settled.
4. There was a $100 charge on our credit card that wasn't ours that we have to dispute now.


Well, that's it. Gotta be at work at 8. Have a great day!

Monday, October 6, 2008

I'm so emo!

Besides being totally emotional and moody and crying over everything and anything and just being horrible to be around, we had a good weekend! Wow, my hormones are all crazy! My poor, poor husband!

Any way, so Friday was Capogna's with the family night of course. Saturday we slept in until 7. That's good for us. Did the usual things around the house. We went to the lab to have my blood drawn (4 tubes!), per midwife's orders to test for a whole bunch of stuff. We are pet sitting so we went by the pups house 3 times. We volunteered at the Humane Society. Then we drove down to Oldsmar to eat and to see the movie Fireproof. That was the movie we were supposed to see last week with church, but missed out cuz Sean had to work late. Well, our tickets that we had already purchased were still good. And let me just tell you how awesome of a movie it was! It was life changing for me and I recommend it to everyone. Yesterday, again did stuff around the house and took care of our pet sitting stuff 3 times. We went to church. The message was really good yesterday and the theme is Fireproofing our marriage (obviously goes along with the movie). We went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Bears and eat lunch, did a little grocery shopping and came home and watched the Bucs lose ;(.

So, I need to work really hard on my emotional (in) stability! I am also feeling pretty nauseous today and tired. Good thing I don't go in until 10, I think that gives me time for a nap! Happy Monday!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Baby


Me and baby are healthy! Baby is 3 sonometers and heart rate is 155 bpm. I am 7 weeks and 4 days! All of my female stuff looks good, normal size and just good. I will require extra ultrasounds because of my GYN history (LEEP procedures) because it could cause my cervix to shrink too much, but hopefully with monitoring and being proactive about it, all will be fine. We were there for 2 hours today! Got a ton of info, had the ultrasound of course and got a ton of stuff in a goody bag to bring home. We took one of the extra pics to grandma and grand-dad. They were thrilled!

It has been a great day! I had today off too so that was nice. Did a lot around the house and some scrap booking. YAY for baby!

Last Ones


Our so comfy BIG bed
Another view of our room
Our bathroom and walk- in closet in the background
jacuzzi tub
our bathroom again

Some more home pics


Upstairs hallway
Laundry room
Upstairs full guest bath
3rd bedroom
2nd bedroom, but soon to be nursery and will be changed

Home Pics


Downstairs 1/2 bath

Entryway
Garage
Our stairs
Upstairs hallway
Living room
Dining/living room
Love the kitchen
Kitchen
Downstairs hallway

Very happy brand new homeowners
The front

A Florida sunset
Back deck with Allie-Gator
Living room