Another misc. Post

- Last night Chad and I were talking about how to celebrate Christmas with kids and the whole Santa thing. Then this morning I check out Amie's blog and there is a post regarding this exact issue:

http://amleko.blogspot.com/2005/11/ok-so-were-little-counter-cultural.html#comments


It was nice to see some other people comment on how they handle it with kids. Chad and I started talking because of a little magazine we picked up at a church that has ideas on how to bring the real reason of Christmas into your traditions. It was produced by Alternatives Simple Living. I haven't had a chance to explore the website fully but here is a link to the Christmas stuff:


http://www.simpleliving.org/~simpleli/osCommerce/catalog/index.php?cPath=49&osCsid=a90c0c0bbc3f05ae0d050da89603dbf1


-Chad did get two button bucks....congratulations Chado! It was his first bucks....but they were anterless and very young, so not the big buck yet. He and his dad had a good time hunting together. It was the 2nd year they went and I hope they are more to come. I didn't really grow up with hunting but I am glad this tradition is taking off with Chad. Of course now we are in the market for a freezer, Sears had a decent deal on a small one that we will probably get.

-Someone at Chad's office was getting rid of a small toybox with two matching chairs. There was also some toys and books. He brought them home last night and we were looking at everything. Belle kept looking at the toys (mostly big leggos), with a kind of sad look. We told her those were the baby's toys. I am sure if she is like her cousin Jack they will eventually end up in her mouth anyways;-) Actually I don't think Belle was sad about the toys, she just was generally feeling guilty after playing with Chad's buck knives:-)

sinus problems

For the past few years I think my sinuses have been getting worse. Someone I work with has said that their doctor said it is bound to happen if you live in Michigan. A few years ago I would get vertigo seemingly for no apparent reason. Then my doctor said it was probably a sinus infection. Of course since then I hadn't had any incident. Last night I got home from work, I was planning on walking the dog, when all of a sudden I felt really weird and had to throw up. I was really shaky after that. I went to lay down (Belle want to check my mouth to see what was wrong but I would let her;-). I felt a little better by the time Chad came home. It took me a while to realize it was a very slight case of vertigo (that was the "weird" feeling....not exactly dizzy, but suddenly groggy). I have been taking tylenol sinus in hopes it will help (this is what my doctor recommended before). I do not want to get a worse case of vertigo while pregnant. I usually can't eat much (Thanksgiving tomorrow!) and basically can't do much of anything.
I am lucky though. I know several people who get vertigo and are constantly throwing up. It is actually rare when I get that sick from it.
Chad is planning on going back up north (it is the "thumb" so it is really not that far "up north") for another try at hunting. He already has a gleam in his eye thinking about when he can take his "boy" out in the field with him:-)

Registered

Ok, we finally registered.....well we started at least. Last night we went into Babies R Us to start a registry up. Boy did the lady there talk alot. She had this whole prepared speech with jokes and everything in it. But she was kind of dry in the presentation, so the jokes sounded really odd. Anyways she went on and on. The problem with that is I tend to stop listening to people when a) They repeat themselves after the first minute of talking or b) They are giving some kind of sales-like pitch.
This lady definitely fell into group B. Instead of actually listening to them I just start to hear in my head (blah blah blah....blah blah blah)....which makes me want to giggle. I thought we would just fill out a form be given a pricing gun and go on our way....but NOOOOO, she kept going and going.
I was tired by the time we were let loose that we didn't spend a whole lot of time picking things out. We just selected some fun stuff:-)
Oh and I had my first "emotional" moment of this pregnancy. Chad found a little game thing that played "Monkeys jumping on the bed" it is supposed to help with counting. When I hear that song I think of when my mom and I would sing that while making beds when my brother and sister went to school. I thought that was the funniest song. I didn't burst out into tears, but I did go "awwww.....you put that on there right?" Chad already did of course:-)

My two bellys

So I am definitely showing now....however I am able to still wear many of my "before" pants. Since my belly isn't flat to begin with I actually look like I have two bellies now. The problem is, my "real" belly (where my stomach and intestines are) is the upper belly and is still bigger than where the baby is. Of course when people go to touch my pregnant belly....they always go for my "real" belly. I always figured I would hate anyone touching my belly....but mostly I am just confused. You see they go to touch my "real" belly, and I explain....'no that is where my stomach is, the baby is lower'. I get the most amused looks. Then there are those PKIA ladies.....you know "pregnant know it alls". Well they try to explain to me that no.....the baby is where their hand is....the movement I feel lower MUST be something else. OK, I get that it is my first time being pregnant, so that means I am dumber than a rock and always will be....whatever. I KNOW WHERE THE BABY IS! I feel the movement, the OB measures me where I feel the movement and the ultrasound techs take pictures where I feel the movement. So do the PKIA ladies really think they know more than 4 OBS, 3 ultrasound techs, myself and my husband (who has also....sorta felt movement)?
I try not to let it get to me, but I needed to vent that out. It is more funny than anything.

I went to a retreat over the weekend and it was fun. When I got home Sunday Belle would not leave me alone. I gave her some attention, then later I was resting on the couch with Tess (the cat). Of course this made Belle want to get back on my lap.....making Tess take off. Belle was never jealous much before, but now we are getting a little worried about her. I am sure once he is eating solid food Belle will see the advantage of having a little person around. It was kind of cute though, I was lying on the bed one day and Belle ran into the room. Her collar was jingling a bit and the baby moved. I doubt he could have heard it, but still. Also Tess was laying over him purring and he moved quite a bit...I wonder if she could feel the kicks?

Still here

Wow it has been over a week already since my last post? Geez....no big news either. So I will just update the small stuff.
I just haven't been on the computer (for fun) a whole lot. Last Friday after a few e-mails back and forth with my boss, I ended up with an unexpected 4 day weekend. You see GM likes to give weird days off to their employees (technically not me). When all GM people are gone, less contract workers are needed around, so our team is reduced to 2 people for the day, 1 Content Designer and 1 Editor (I fall into the "editor" category aint that funny?). Anyways I had a floating holiday left, and my boss let me use it on Monday and the other "editor" worked on Tuesday so I got that off too! I couldn't really go anywhere since we had a "birthing" class on Saturday and a doc appointment on Monday. But that gave me a chance to hang around the house, get some cleaning done and whatnot. I will also be off next Monday....I forgot what excuse GM says they have it off for, but the real reason is for the opening day of deer hunting, geez I feel like I am up North again.

The fetal echo went great (found absolutely nothing) and I actually got some 3-D pics.....I swear I will have all the ultrasound pics up soon (one of my things on my to-do list from Monday and Tuesday). The 3-D pics still look kind of freakish to me, but I have accepted that. Although the tech did get a funny shot of the feet. He has really long toes, and the second toe is definitely bigger than the big toe.

I had my regular monthly appointment Wednesday. I got to meet another doc in the office, which I have liked them all so far. This guy was really laid back, talked slower, and paused alot. I told Chad and we were laughing about if he was the one to deliver the baby
"Ok......now, you are going to need to....push......"
We really like the first doc we met, but I think that is just because we met him first. But he just seems really silly like us. I actually wish my primary doctor was more like an OB. They just seem more interested in you. I have heard other people claim the same thing before and didn't believe them until now.

The birthing classes are ok. The nurse who does them gets on a soapbox about patient right to know issues and it gets repetitive. I like the book they gave us. It is better than that "what to expect when you are expecting book". I guess I like it because it gives info more bluntly and has some visual analogies.

Ohhhhh I have had a theme for the baby's room for a while now. Just about everyone knows I love dogs and cats. So I want to do a room in puppies, kittens, dogs and cats. I want to put up pictures of all the pets in the family on the walls with a neutral color background. I will still have to pick bedding, so if I can't find generic puppy 0r kitty bedding I will probably go with Clifford.

The lease is up on the truck and we almost turned it in for an HHR. But at the last minute we decided we were not ready to give up the truck. We like our truck, you can get a car seat in the back and put an amazing amount of stuff in the bed. We would probably use the prizm more for everyday stuff but we would still like a 4 door truck for trips and camping. So we are going to look into getting a used truck and replace the prizm in the future.

UPDATES

DANG STUPID BLOGGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got this post all done already talking about the change of luck and this stupid program funks out on me and deletes the whole post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok breathing breathing....not smashing computer.....breathing.....ok now for the updates:

-I got the job with IBM. As of Jan 1 2006 I will be an IBM employee, with all benefits using my SITEL start date. Which means I get all the benefits a 1 year employee would get. Same pay. A really good 401K plan, discounts on IBM merchandise (and stock), great health benefits, and a really good short term disability plan (where maternity leave falls...I think)

-Chad has a job.....sorta....he begins tomorrow. For right now it is full time for 2 months, after that if they have more work he will be a "real" employee. Plus he might be doing some work for his old company in the evenings.

-MY FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM WON A GAME!!!!!!!!!!! It only took 8 tries......you may not want to know what I am more excited about....with all this luck I should go hit the casino;-)

-Name game: Just to get it out there, there will be no official baby name decision until the baby is born. From observation we believe this is the best route. I have heard to many stories of names being ruined by well meaning people...even nice comments can ruin a name "My uncle Leroy's middle name was Lester....he always smelled like popcorn". Also what happens if the name just doesn't fit the baby when he is born? "She is definitely NOT a Lester". So that is the rule, if you ask us we will tell you a silly name....why not make it fun for all?

-Started our class at the hospital.....and please parents out there LISTEN....this IS NOT Lamaze...they do get into breathing exercises and what not, but I think the term "Lamaze class" went out in the 80s or something, so stop asking "how was LAMAZE".....its so out;-) (the above was meant to be in humor, not personal and insulting:-)

-Next Monday we have a fetal echo, and next Wednesday is our normal OB checkup. The fetal echo because of genetic issues and nothing more.

-Please feel free to ask me questions or ask for updates. I forget who I tell what and when and don't really know what anyone is interested in knowing:-)

Thank You all for your prayers, we are very blessed to have so many people supporting us. We couldn't have done it without our family, church or friends.