Parents afterall

Closing this one out

2006-07-23T22:09:00.000-04:00

So, I started this blog to track my pregnancy with Daniel. He is 5 months old now and has his own blog started. I am moving on and closing this out. I am really glad I kept this going, so much has happend in the past year. Please visit our new blogs and make yourselves comfortable:-)

If life were only as simple as a database.....

The Adventures of Daniel and his dog

2006-07-19T08:55:00.000-04:00

Chad can't wait for Daniel to be old enough to mow the lawn.

Daniel can't wait make his paws green like Belle when daddy mows the lawn.

Chad and Daniel on a hike with friends. The trail guide we had said this hike was easy, and even novice for dirt biking. I am not to sure if the trail guide author even saw the trail. There were plenty of steep hills, brooks

with nothing but tree limbs to cross, and narrow sections. It was fun, but that was becase I wasn't carrying Daniel the whole time. However Chad seemed to enjoy it just as well, and Daniel slept during a lot of it.

This is fairly early on in the hike, after the first steep hill. We have been trying to get more pictures of us together. Last year we started to realize we don't have much record of us together from our first 6 years of marriage:-)

So to explain this picture......the almuminum foil roll got all untangled, and it was impossible to roll up. So Chad decided everyone should just make foil hats. For the record, Joanna did have a foil hat on, but she gave hers to Belle. Later that night I heard the people at the campsite next to us making fun of our foil hats. However, which is sadder.....wearing a foil hat, or having nothing else to talk about other than the next campsite wearing foil hats?

Ready to move

2006-07-18T12:18:00.000-04:00

Well...we are more than likely going to move, soon. No we have not got an offer on the house. However when Chad looked at how much we are spending on gas, daycare, a storage unit and some other miscellaneous things, he realized all those "extra" payments were equal to another whole mortgage. After talking with a mortgage person we found out that it would cost a lot less to have a loan on 2 houses. Not a bridge loan...just a really really large loan amount. So we are going to take some time to look and not rush it. However it’s weird to think we might be deciding soon on the house. Its hard because I know I won't find my "dream house"....well because my dream house would be:
-Large...but homey
-older... historic would even be better, but with the layout of a modern house
-On a Lake, but in a neighborhood
- A walk out basement
-Enough land to have a large garden....and a small orchard, but close enough to neighbors to be
neighborly possibly in a quaint little older neighborhood.
-Enough room to entertain and allow guests to spend the night...but no unused rooms.
-3-4 bathrooms.....but I only want to have to clean 2 and one of them has to be in the master bedroom...oh and I would like that one to be large (find that in a "older historic" home!)
-A large kitchen WITH A SILVERWARE DRAWER! we haven't had one in while
-A master suite
-Hardwood flooring, lots of natural light, a fireplace, and a hall closet to put coats in.
-A nice sized garage for Chad
- All this in a nice diverse little community
Most of what I want contradicts something else. So the best we can do is pick the priorities and go from there. Even if there was something out there that was close to all of the above, there is no way we can afford it, and if I could I would just feel guilty living in such a big house when people are starving in the world. But anyway we want to be in the next house for a while so we are really being picky.

We went camping 2 weeks ago with friends and I have some great pictures from that weekend. We had such great time, and we brought both Belle and Daniel. However blogger is taking ForEVER in posting pictures so I will put those up after I get this posted.

I am actually closer to starting a blog for Daniel. So hopefully those changes will come before moving:-)

Belle: "Daniel this is how you roll over, like this, see Daniel"

(edited to change anyways to anyway....since that is the grammatically correct term;-)

Sweet Freedom

2006-07-05T09:53:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday America!

(edited) Also happy anniversary to me! I started my blog a year ago today. Kind of weird that I thought to check and see when I started....and it just happens to be today. Well not to weird considering I started this blog to track my pregnancy with Daniel and we figured out last year afer the 4th that I was pregnant. So I really do need to change the layout soon:-)

This holiday seems to always sneak up on us. Lately it also seems to end just as the holiday begins....guess that is what happens when it falls on a Tuesday.
This year we got to cram much into the holiday....camping, bocce, swimming, hiking, fireworks, movies, and hotdogs. No parade though.

Daniel had his first camping trip. It was only one night, but it was a good practice for when we go camping for real this weekend. I have a feeling I got off real easy because we camped with a Grandma, Grandpa, Great Aunt, and a couple of female cousins...ha I barely saw him! Daniel got to go swimming in a pond.
Then we went to my mom's and relaxed up there. There Daniel got to swim in Lake Huron. He did ok for being 4 months old. It wasn't really swimming...actually he got held while in the water...but it was fun none the less. His pediatrician said it was fine to put sun block on him even though all the "experts" say not to put it on him until he is 6 months old. It was nice to be given the go ahead since I was going to break that "rule" anyways;-)
What really surprised us this weekend was that Belle swam...of her own free will. You would think she would love the water, since she is a spaniel type dog (Brittneys are not technically spaniels...even though they used to be called brittney spaniels, the spaniel part was taken off a while ago). Well no our little web-pawed little dog does not like to swim (or did not). She avoided me near water because I would try and make her swim. However on Daniel's first "swim" I stood there jaw dropped because my little doggie was doing what I always expected her to do SWIM! She would always wade in the water, but once it got to deep she would jump out. However she just swam and swam and swam some more. I just can't wait until Daniel is old enough to go swimming with his doggie. I used to have a blast with my dog Bandit growing up swimming with him, the two of us could be in the water all day.
Chad and I are both really lucky to have come from families that embrace teaching children to swim young (also teaching water safety). Water has always been a big part of my life, which is one reason why I look forward to our move so much. I just feel so peaceful being near water. I loved living in the Soo. Just even seeing a large body of water on a daily basis keeps me calm.

Monday night Chad and I got to see a movie. We saw Cars, while my mom watched Daniel. It was our first time to a movie theater since Daniel was born. I love Pixar movies. They are so creative. One of my favorite movies of all time is Monsters Inc., however Cars just might have beaten it out. I will definitely get the DVD. I can't wait to see the special features on it.

Last night we tried to take Daniel on his first Geocache. However we went before a fireworks show and it got late before we could find it, also Daniel was crying the whole time on the hike in. I got him calmed down and he really enjoyed the hike out. I forget that he needs a few minutes to absorb new surroundings. If I would have taken the time before we headed out we might have been successful....but it was a nice hike anyways. We then moved the truck to get a better view of the fireworks. It is a huge park, so we could sit where it wasn't so loud. Daniel actually noticed the fireworks, it was nice to sit down and enjoy a traditional Independence Day event.
Now I am back here at work, however our new software tools have been launched, our client is gone for a week, so things are dead around here. I love being in the office this week, it’s so quiet and so easy to get into work. I hope much of the stress our team has been experiencing for the past 6 months will subside...Of course thanks to Daniel I did not get to experience all 6 months of it....lol....GOOD BOY!
Hopefully I will have time this week to finally make the changes to the blog.

Well happy Independence Day everyone.....Remember those who fought for our Freedom, those who continue to stand for our freedom, and the families of those who stand for our freedom.

Still posting

2006-06-30T08:14:00.000-04:00

Well I am still attempting to post when I can. Work again has gotten Uber busy and I just don't feel like going onto the computer when I get home. I also would really like to change the format but I just don't have time to make the effort to figure out how to do it.
Last Friday was my bithday, I had a great day I stayed off the computer and really relaxed for the first time in a long time. I got my license renewed (Daniel cried off and on the whole time there.....but my picture looked like it turned out nice). Then it was off to Daniel's 4 month check up.
We were given the go ahead to start rice. We have, but he just doesn't seem ready.

One of the daycare workers said Daniel snorted when he was laughing once.

He is now pulling my hair (I knew this day would come).
(alert begining rant)
I must get it cut.....but I have NO idea what to do with it. That is why my hair is always long, I just don't know any better....I would love to be pulled off the street to be given a makeover....well really a hair over. My hair just frustrates me to no end. And YES I get it layered. For some reason people always tell "You should get it layered"....and I look at them and say "Its layered now.....and you can't tell....so what is it going to do?"

OH but the cute thing is Daniel is pulling it now and attempting to put it in his mouth.

I can't think of anymore Daniel updates, other than I still have not witnessed a roll over on his own, but he does it more and more. It is really funny we sit there with him and say "Ok, now roll the rest of the way over". He gets to his side puts his hand in his mouth and I swear HE SHRUGS HIS SHOULDERS!
"Nah I am comfortable like this"
When we look away, he is over. What a silly baby

OK, I now really have to get back to work......

Fathers day (really really late)

2006-06-22T15:37:00.000-04:00

Happy belated Father's day to my wonderful husband! He is such a good daddy to Daniel and the girls (dog and cat). A wonderful helper to me, and leader for the family. Many woman complain how their husbands can't fix things and just break it or make it worse. Not Chad he can learn to fix just about anything. I can't wait to watch him as he teaches Daniel what he knows so someday Daniel can grow up and being a great daddy just like his.

We spent most of last Friday night and Saturday working on getting the house ready for an open house on Sunday. Then Sunday morning Chad got his Father's day cards and his present. We were going to take Daniel on his first GeoCache. I went and found some caches near his parents house. However we were so tired by the time we got there we put off doign it, then it rained.

Father's day is still difficult for me since my dad died. I wasn't to sure on how to recognize him, I put flowers on the grave on Memorial day and I wanted to do something else on Father's day. However on Saturday I received such a wonderful gift. We went stopped by my brother's hosue and my sister-in-law Colleen said she had something for me and had to give it to me NOW. So she ran off and returned with a little onsie. It was from Perdue (where my dad went to College). I was actually there when he bought it for my yet-to be born nephew. It didn't take much to talk him into buying it. It was funny to see him kind of giddy about having a grandchild (the only one of 4 he met). I forgot all about it until Colleen showed it to me. So that is how we recognized my dad on Sunday, Daniel wore the onsie his grandpa G bought.
Later that day we had more encouraging news about the house. One couple came through and they seemed to really like it, but still had to get approved for a mortgage. We had a showing on Monday and one on Wednesday. The one on Wednesday also looked promising.
Right now we just keep working on new projects to keep us busy. When we are busy we tend not to mess up the house as much (oddly enough). It also keeps our spirits up.

Well I have the camera here today but for some reason I can't post pictures onto blogger so I will put some up later.

etc...etc...etc

2006-06-15T12:48:00.000-04:00

(Edit on Friday Morning)Keep Ashley and her family in your prayers today:-)

Quick post before I get back to work.

Daniel has rolled over....I think only once and we weren't watching. We were outside and just finished dinner. Daniel was happily playing on the mat, I went to go put the corn cobs in the compost bin, and Chad was playing with Belle. I came back up to Daniel and he was on his belly, and Chad had left him on his back. So we brought him back in, got the camera and tried to get him to do it again....Belle even showed him how to roll over (we did not even prompt her to do this). She kept nudging him with her nose and then rolling on her back...we have pictures, but I keep forgetting to bring in the camera.

Oh I got a raise...not much, but it’s something. I may also be getting a laptop soon, and I am about 80% clear to work from home permantely when we finally move...whenever that is. I talked with my boss on Monday and I just need to submitt a proposal. But it is looking positive

Chad (with some of my help) refinished the front deck so it looks a little better in hopes of drawing more people to look at the house. It looks great, although at first Chad didn't think it looked much different....but Chad is color blind so...

We have an open house this Sunday, I hope I can have the house ready in time. Our last open house had one couple come through who were looking for a house with a basement. I was ecstatic about having even that one couple.

We have taken another tactic in selling our house. We have been praying, and at one point I even put buried one of those Saint Joseph statues in our front yard. However we dug him up and now have decided to pray for the people who are going to buy our house. There is someone out there who will buy it someday and for whatever reason they have not looked at our place yet. So we just keep asking God to help get them to that point.

My mom broke another bone. For some reason she thought it was wise to play T-ball in sandals with heels.....silly mommy. So now she has to go through the summer with a cast on her foot....again.

I really have some more thoughts to post but I really want to change my blog around a bit. Some time soon I will have my own blog and this one will be for Daniel, Belle and Tess.

I believe that is all for now:-)

Congrats and Prayers

2006-06-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

Congrats to: Abby

and

Please pray for Wesley today.

That is all for now:-)

Thanks!

2006-06-05T07:40:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Amie, Mandy, Jason, Kendra Lynn, and Genivieve you the anniversary wishes!
I can't believe I haven't posted in a while. We have been really busy at work so I can't post there much, and at home we have also been busy with house stuff. To celebrate our anniversary we went downtown to have dinner, then to a Casino....where I did good, but Chad did bad. We spent only the money we said we would (actaully I think less). We were going to go to the movies, but I am a sucker for the big Tub O'popcorn. Since we are still in that weight loss competition we spent the money we would at the movie theater on tickets popcorn and drinks at the casino. The cool thing was to walk around downtown Detroit. We walked past Comerica where the Tigers were winning, to Campus Martius and to Greektown. We parked near the RenCen and walked around there, but since I work there not exactly a highlight. However Chad did get to see Daniel's daycare (from the outside). Oh yeah Daniel, want news on him?
Well this blog was started originally to track my pregnancy. However since that is over I kind of want to close this one and start another. It will be pretty much the same I just want to keep the pregnancy as a seperate record.
So when I have some time I will be (or I will make Chad) design a new blog. Daniel has been talking with Belle and Tess about starting their own blog. You would think a 3 year old puppy, a 15 year old kitty, and a 3 month wouldn't have much to say....however Daniel does plan to take over the world, Tess NEVER shuts up, and Belle well she has lots of adventures.

OK now for some pictures:

"Why did the Pistons have to lose Daddy?"
"Oh Daniel thats just the way it goes in this town, get used to your sports teams disapointing you...there is always next year at least they make it into the playoffs"
"But I'm so sad"
"Well son, if this makes you sad, don't even think about the Lions"

I have been sorting through some of Daniel's clothes to get pack away small ones so it is easier to find things. I found overalls I have not put on him yet (plus a few other outfits that he may no longer fit in). So since this may be the only time he wears this I had to get a picture of him in it. This was one of the last pictures I took before he spit up. It looks like he was getting sick of all the picture taking.

Happy Anniversary!

2006-05-24T12:40:00.000-04:00

Ok so yesterday was the actualy Anniversary, but we both got busy at work and I started a blog entry, but could never finish it, and quite honestly it is still incomplete but it is a long awaited rough draft. So below is what was supposed to appear yesterday:

I just want to say happy Anniversary to the best husband in the world! We only have been married for 7 years but we have 13 years of memories….now as a gift to you….I am going to start to write out our story, its a first draft, but its a start.

May 23 1999 .... a love story

Her name was Denise, she liked to read and write stories and loved animals especially her cat and dog. She lived south of 12 mile and went to Edmonson. She was happy to go to middle school, but Denise would miss saying hi to the doggies that lived next to her elementary school. Sometimes the owner would come out and yell at the dogs, but Denise would lie to the owner and say “no the doggies stayed in the yard”.
His name was Chad, he loved the Red Wings, he had 3 cats and a dog. He lived north of 12 mile and went to Simonds, his parents grew up south of 12 mile. His grandfather lived next door to Edmonson elementary, he had dogs. Denise lied to his grandfather.
In 6th grade he had Sage class (homeroom) with Mr. Gedda, she had Sage in the class next door with Mrs. Malone.

There wasn’t much interaction between the two until 11th grade. The first time either remembers talking with each other was one night at an all night float building party. They shared a lawn chair, and avoided working on the float, and had a great time.
Then senior year came and they had Physics, Statistics, and Government. In 2nd hour they both would be in the library. Chad was the ever faithful library assistant. Denise avoiding work by taking “Independent Study Creative Writing” she never actual wrote anything. They talked a lot, they liked each other but were kind of shy.

Enter Jason

Jason was one of Chad’s best friends. Jason and Denise knew each other since kindergarten and lived around the block from each other.
Jason in need of a date for Prom began this awkward moment (in the middle of statistics class):
“So Chad and Denise…what are you doing for Prom?”
To which Chad replied “Uh I don’t know Jason isn’t that like 2 months away?”
“Well yeah, but people are getting dates pretty fast, well you two are going together right?”
Denise “huh?”
Chad “wha??”
“Well if you two go, then maybe Georgia and I can go and we can double”
Denise “huh?”
Chad “wha?”
“Well you like him right?” said Jason looking at Denise and pointing at Chad
“Um ok I guess I do”
“And you like her right?” said Jason looking at Chad and pointing to Denise
“ok”
“So you are going to go to Prom together”
“uh ok” said Chad and Denise in unison….not quite sure what was going on
“Great now that is settled Denise can you see if Georgia would want to go to Prom with me”
“uhhh oookk” said Denise

Jason and Georgia did not last (both are very happily married other wonderful people).

Denise and Chad continued to talk. Sometimes they would hang out as a group going to movies and National Coney Island. The word “Prom” was not spoken to each other for a few weeks. Chad showed Denise this thing called “e-mail” and the “World Wide Web”. The talked on AOL Instant Messenger. Eventually they went on a first date. This was asked in an unusual manor as well:

The phone rings, Denise picks it up:
“Hi Denise…this is Chad”
“oh hi Chad”
“So I have these tickets to the Red Wings, and none of the guys could go, do you want to go”
“Ok”
“I will pick you up on Saturday my dad will let me use the Jeep”
“Ok”

Afterwards they went to National Coney Island. The next day they went to clean up Metro Beach with other “Earth Smart” members (the environmental club Denise started and was president of).

Prom was great, they slow danced to Boys II Men.

After graduation they went to graduation parties together, Chad let Denise wear his Red Wing Jersey.

The summer was great, they were inseparable. But college was nearing. The day before Chad left for Ferris State they went to Cedar Point. They had a great time. Before they parted Denise asked what would happen and Chad gave her a necklace. They were going to try and make it work. Denise cried. They told each other “I love you”.

Onto College

Denise went to Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. There she made many friends one one of whom lead her to be involved in His House Christian Fellowship. They e-mailed everyday (before e-mail was even that common), sent lots of letters and cards and talked on the phone quite often.
At school Denise fell in love again, this time with Jesus. Then Denise prayed for Chad, she wanted to marry Chad, but didn’t want to unless he was a Christian. She never told Chad this, but continued to pray. Chad transferred to Michigan State University, where he hung out with the Carmody clan. He loved it there but still missed Denise. He would attend the His House fellowship there from time to time. They would both attend retreats so they could see each other. Then one day Chad was having a rough day, he decided to look to Jesus for help.
Later that week Chad and Denise saw each other at the retreat. Chad was really excited, he wanted to tell Denise he understood, he had decided to follow Jesus as well. Denise cried.

It took another couple of years but Chad was finally able to propose to Denise in her junior year of college. Chad had some time left at MSU, but they decided Denise would move to Lansing and they would be married while he finished college. Because Chad was born on April 23, and Denise June 23 they were married on May 23 1999.
It wasn’t long before the first “little one” came along. Her name was Tess, she was brought home from Chad’s parents’ house in a George Forman grill box. She was a cat, and eventually forgave them for the box.
The next 3 years were full of moves and job changes. Finally they could buy a house, and a year later they got a dog they named her Belle. Belle was a handful as a puppy. Neither remembered dogs being so hard to take care of. Denise cried.
But a couple more years passed, and Belle wasn’t so bad even Tess liked her.
The couple had already been through so much. The deaths of Denise’s grandma and father months apart had been rough, but Chad had been so strong for her. They worked hard in their careers, still had many job changes but eventually enjoyed what they did. They went on many adventures camping trips, canoe trips, traveling to France. They were really happy.

Then a gas pump fell on Denise…..she actually wasn’t hurt bad at all. However somehow it was made clear to them that there was more for them to do. So God blessed Chad and Denise with a baby, he was supposed to be born on March 4th 2006. He decided to come instead on February 21st…..he was trying to make it on the 23rd. A very special boy Chad knew was named Daniel and Chad’s dad was named Daniel, and Denise’s middle name is Danielle and they also just really liked the name Daniel. John was Denise’s dad’s named, and she still missed him. So they named their baby boy Daniel John. Denise cried.

And their story will continue…..
And Denise will probably cry some more.

Love you Chad……

Mother's Day

2006-05-17T12:54:00.000-04:00

I had a good Mother's day...got exactly what I wanted plus some.

On Thursday when I picked Daniel up from daycare he had a present for me. His very first craft project. He worked very hard on it. His handprints ar on it and it says "Happy Mother's Day I Love you"....where 'love' is actually a heart. OH and the flowers are really pens....he is such a creative little guy.

This is what my desk looks like now with the new pictures (well part of my desk...the part I never use). Yes that is an "easy" button from Staples on my desk..it is REALLY loud. A coworker gave that to me before I went on leave.....guess he figured I needed it then;-) That dictionary and thesaurus set on my desk.....that is what I won at our senior all night party (whoo hoo). I also have a framed autographed picuture of the Piston's mascot Hooper on the other side of my desk.

So we left on Friday evening to spend the weekend at my mom's. I was going to be packed and ready to go. I started work at 6 am.....however one of the downfalls of working from home. Its hard to "leave" the office. I was finishing up some stuff and coworkers kept asking for help. So at 5:30 pm I was still working! The weekend was fun, and we saw Chad's mom on Sunday and also got some shopping done while Daniel hung with the "G-Rents". Monday I had a docs appointment in the morning and Chad had Lasik done in the afternoon. Monday night I was exhuasted.....so Tuesday I was um....sick, yep. I actually have proof:

Well at least the dog and cat believed me:-) Chad was actually taking pictures of me while I was napping. Silly husband.

So happy belated mother's day to all the moms out there.

Big Loser!

2006-05-10T08:08:00.000-04:00

That is what I plan on being, yep a big loser....oh wait I mean Biggest Loser! Chad and I are joining his family in a fierce weight loss competition. There are 7 of us competing to see who will lose the most percentage of their weight by August 1st. We started May 1st (after binging on pizza). Chad and I are doing good with making healthier dinners. Both of us have tried to eat better and have done well before, however it has been at different times or using different methods. This is the first time we are basically doing the same thing. Plus we are trying to walk every night. It has been good so far and Belle loves the walks. I have been using my sling much more lately with all the walking and being back to work. It is funny the reactions I get from it. There is The 'confused' "I could never do that, it is too complicated to put on" ...it’s like putting on a purse. The 'no ways' "That doesn't look safe and he has to be uncomfortable" ...He sleeps in it, sometimes I put him in it when he is fussy. The 'I didn't have that when' (when said in disgust) "Well...WE didn't have that when I had kids".....many cultures have used the sling to carry babies for centuries so it is really NOT new. However I do get compliments on it as well, just the other reactions are more funny to post about. I hear the "we didn't have that when...." with other things too. I don't really think too much of it, until that "tone" is invoked and their face looks like they just smelled poo. Do some people honestly think inventions won't come along everyday or that inventions are bad? Maybe it’s the way they say it and I read into their body language and vocal tone too much...but geez get over it people. I am starting to see the "my way is/was the best way" philosophy of raising kids. I really never want to be like that. We are willing to try different things and what works with Daniel we keep doing it, if it doesn't work we stop. Who knows with the next kid....maybe I will actually read a book about babies by then;-)

Anyways its kind of fun walking with Daniel in the sling going from the building to my car. He seems to enjoy it as well especially the elevator rides:-)
This is us a few weeks ago after a walk with Belle and daddy.

Jealous of the "evil us"

2006-05-03T10:56:00.000-04:00

Yes....I was jealous of another set of parents....I felt inferior and became envious....ok well I am being a little dramatic, and it only lasted for like a minute.
OK to explain at our church there is this other couple. We refer to them as "evil us" or "bizzaro us" (Superman reference). Now they don't look a thing like us, and they are really a nice couple and really shouldn't be called evil or bizzare. I think the only reason we started to call them this was because they went to U of M. Actually we like them just fine, we started to call them that because we could remember their names at first. We knew that "bizzaro Denise" went to MSU at first then transferred to U of M.
I didn't go to MSU, but my husband did, and I lived in Lansing for a year, so we both have a hate for anything U of M. I didn't really care before I lived there, but after....grrr...must be the water.
Anyhoo......go figure when we announced we were pregnant.....so were they. Actually we were due the same week (the "bizzaro us" name was temporarily dropped just befor this, then we realized it still fit). They had a girl we had a boy.

So the other day "bizzaro Chad" said that their baby slept from 8 until about 6 (or something like that) straight through the night. She ate about every 2 hours during the day but was sleeping through the night. I brushed this off at first because the thought of having to feed every 2 hours still sounded horrible. Then after Sunday night I kind of wished Daniel would do that, since in the morning he eats every 21/2 - 3 hours anyways.
Then came the e-mail......we are having a meeting tonight, and guess what? They can't make it because they have to get her to sleep on time. Heck Daniel will probably be sleeping but we can go, he has learned to sleep anywhere. So...I am no longer jealous, and I am quite proud of myself for being happy with what I got (ok NOW I am happy but whatever). However, I shouldn't gloat because they are doing it their way and that is best for them. However the "bizarro us" title still applies...again they are actually very nice....other than the U of M thing:-)

OH and yes.....we are weird...Oh and no....no one else we know has a secret "nickname"

not that I would tell you;-)

Week 2 Here is Daniel's "office"

2006-04-27T16:04:00.000-04:00

Well I am closing in on week 2 of being "back to work". I work from home tomorrow and Monday. So far it is working out, but it is taking a while to get back into the swing of things. Sadly not many issues that were around when I left have been resolved. We are having the same conversations now that we had before I left (typical I guess). In some ways it is not to hard to get back into my "work" mode. The exciting thing is I will soon have a new tool to play with that does reports for me. Yippeee! for me;-)

To the left is Daniel's "office".

Although usually when I go down to visit with him I find him in a bouncer or a swing.

I am also finally posting a picture of Daniel and his cousin Maura that was taken a couple of weeks ago. I told my mom I would do this a while ago. Maura was born in October so she has around 4 months on my little guy.

I really can't think of anything more to post. I should also get back to work. By the way I may not be able to post much after May 9. I will be moving to a new desk....in a cube right in the front by some managers I believe. I won't know what it is like until then. So I will try to keep up but we will see:-)

sleeping through chaos

2006-04-18T14:24:00.000-04:00

I just went down for an afternoon visit with Daniel. It was feeding time for several babies, and the caregivers we scurrying to get their bottles all ready. There was quite a bit of screaming going on, and what was Daniel doing? Sleeping through it. I didn't want to wake him and get him started as well. So my visit was quick. I went down ealier and rocked him to sleep and put him down for a nap, that was a nice visit. I leave in 2 hours so I am trying to decide if I want to go down in another hour....or just wait until I leave. On one hand I want to reassure him, on the other hand....I really don't think he notices much.....however I REALLY can't stand going through all these e-mails right now and have become bugged eyed from work. If only I could take a nap with Daniel:-)

Here I am again

2006-04-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

Well I am back at work now.....I didn't post last week because I was trying to enjoy my last week at home with Daniel. I plan on working from home Mondays and Fridays, and I will be in the office Tuesday - Thursday. There is a daycare in our building, well a different tower but same complex, I can go down anytime I want.
I have been good so far and have put off visiting. I need to get through the 200 or so e-mails that came for me while I was gone. Luckily I can delete most of them.
However my big issue right now is my e-mail is not working at home, so I would like to get that resolved by Thursday so I can work at home.
I came in for a visit last week and got some good news from a coworker (Jeff). Apparently he has been pushing to get me and him laptops and trying to get my boss to open up to the idea of me working remotely once I move to Port Huron. It is more likely now, and it would be so nice to have that second income. I mentioned it to him before I left that I would like to work from home, but I just didn't think they would go for it. So while I have been gone he has been pushing it for me. Isn't that nice?
I think I mentioned before that I like the people I work with, however I still don't have the bond that I did with my old coworkers. I really still miss all of them, they really were like family to me. However it felt really nice that Jeff was thinking of me while I was gone. I really don't contribute a whole lot to our team still, most of them don't really know what to ask me for (I basically can figure out how to get them any report they want from their data). However Jeff is one of the few that know what I can do. I guess I shouldn't complain to much though, part of my job description is to create my job description so lack of work...kind of falls on me.....

Well enough about work.....the little guy has been smiling up a storm lately....well "a storm" may be pushing it. You have to get him in the right mood, and not hold a camera up in his face. Although we have been getting good pictures of it. I will post those later. He is still a serious baby, pondering all the time.
I should have gotten a picture of him this morning I dressed him up in an outfit that he hasn't worn yet (I was surprised he still had those around). It was like his first day of school I am sure it will be changed before we get home. Geez now that I talk about him I want to run downstairs to see him:-)

Anyways I would really appreciate it if you all could keep us in your prayers for selling our house, my being able to work from home in Port Huron, and e-mail working at home(....that Simpsons episode the other day where Homer was in India, and Apu's brother was answering the help desk for a certain computer company...totally true....so I put off calling the help desk as much as possible...unlike the episode they DON'T change their accent and they aren't that helpful.)

Serious Baby

2006-04-05T14:04:00.000-04:00

It is fun to see some of a personality develop in Daniel. So far he is kind of a serious baby. He is always thinking and furrows his brows alot. He moves his hands around and his mouth in a way that makes you think he is going to start saying something. Not just anything, something earth shatering....like how to reverse global warming or something like that. Lately however he has just been crying alot.
We also have been having a problem with him not eating all he should at once, then an hour later getting hungry again. Finally yesterday I had to turn the volume up on his piano shut his door, turn the tv up loud, go into the computer room and wait for an hour. Then I fed him his whole bottle. After that I could rock him to sleep and he finally took a nap (after being awake the whole morning and crying for most of it). Chad and I had discussed this before that the crying and eractic eating probably were linked. So we are now trying to get him back on more of a schedule. I understand right now we can't force him onto a schedule, but what was happening was getting out of hand.
Today I got to see a baby who was content just sitting in his chair watching me clean up the kitchen. He is still having trouble taking naps when he is obviously tired, but it is much better today than the past week has been.

I've been blogsurfing....just not blogging

2006-03-27T15:04:00.000-05:00

What a busy weekend, and it didn't involve house stuff. We had a family birthday dinner on Saturday, and I went to a baby shower on Sunday. The baby shower was really nice....but it also made me feel guilty for not getting thank you notes out from mine. We just got birth announcements on Saturday, now we just need to get them out. Chad stayed home with Daniel while I went to the shower, when I got home this is what he said (while folding laundry).

"He was kind of fussy, I fed him at 1, then at 3 he was really hungry again, then just spit half of it up. I was going to do some work outside but he kept crying when I put him down".

My response
"yep"

I finally order a sling from someone online. I kind of sew, but I don't trust myself to well. I wanted to see one in person before I attempted it. It just seemed like it would be an ordeal to get the sewing machine out of the garage and attempt this if I wasn't going to make it right. Then I found someone who sells some for under $20. I figured I would go ahead an order one and I could always make one on my own later. When I got it on Saturday I felt kind of silly because it was exactly how I imagined it and I probably could have done it.
However it has been wonderful to use. I can get so much more done around here and Daniel is happy in it. This is where I ordered from:
http://www.sleepingbaby.net/
We also have 2 carriers, but it is hard to use those now when he doesn't have head control. I think Chad will like to use a carrier more than a sling anyways.
OK now for some pictures, we gave him his first bath a while ago. He was pretty good, I think he liked being naked in a clean dry towel the best though.

Well hopefully I will remember to post again soon. I have actually been on the computer quite a bit today. I had a report for work to finish (my boss was being "hounded" for it), I started my sister's taxes, and now I have actually posted....I get a gold star:-)

naps suck

2006-03-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

It is hard for me to post. Before Daniel was born I don't think I ever posted at home. I usually post at work, while avoiding said work. However now when I am on the computer I really don't feel like posting, or replying to e-mails, actually I kind of like avoiding the computer.....I am started to dislike the TV and the food network as well. I need to get back in the habit of at least communicating with the outside world. Right now I am avoiding looking at houses in Port Huron so posting sounds fun. Chad's mom convinced us to paint the living room hallway and kitchen. We had painted in the last two years, but it was a yellowy orange color that doesn't entice buyers so much. So last Friday night and Saturday morning we painted with her help. We would have never got it all done without her! We had a showing on Saturday afternoon, and were done just in time (they came early.....don't do that to people who have a dog and a newborn to get out of the house;-). Anyways here is our listing (they came Sunday to take pictures):

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1056201215

The walls are ...well off-white. I think it still came out closer to white than we anticipated (we wanted an "oatmeal" color), but that is fine. You can see in the background of my last posting (the picture of me and Daniel) the color it used to be. The color before never really turned out how I wanted it, I was happy with it, but always wanted to redo it. Maybe the next house I will try again. It is kind of weird because it no longer seems like my house, however if we are going to move anyways it will help make the break easier.
Daniel is doing good. He has a 1 month checkup on Tuesday. We try to take him out so I am not a hermit...however I actually don't mind staying in the house (hey its not so bad when its clean;-). Last Saturday while the house was being shown we went to Logan's Steakhouse to eat (then to our first puppy store visit....picture day so it was CRAZY!). Anyways the manager there commented that we were "very brave" for having our newborn out so early. He said he had a one year old and they never took her out so young.
I guess when my mom was here we got used to taking him out without thinking to much about it. She pretty much got us out of the house every day (we did have 2 doctor visits). When it is just me and him I don't always want to go out because I really don't have anywhere to go. Also I would just spend money and buy stuff...that we will just have to move anyways. By the time I think I need to go do something, I also feel like napping. However I am finding it difficult to nap for the first time in my life. My mom mentioned that having to get up in the middle of the night gets to you, and only taking naps catches up after a while. I thought..."but they are naps...I love naps more than bedtime" Well yesterday after waking up very grumpy I realized only taking naps does suck. Right now I do most of the night feedings because Chad is working and I stay home and can take naps. However around Wednesday I started having trouble napping. It wasn't like I had anything to do, or that Daniel was up or hungry...he was napping fine.
Last night Chad took the night feedings and I am feeling much better this morning. I woke up perky again. So I think we need to re-think this whole....'mommy does night feeding thing'....or else we will have one grumpy family.
I have also allowed myself one snippy comment a day (and they can carry over to the next day if I don't use them). We have recently hit a slight snag in the house selling department. It involves me using big realtor words that I don't fully understand myself and dealing with city taxes and whatnot. In the end it might be good for us because I think we are do some city taxes back. Anyways I had to go to city hall to explain using the big words I don't understand to a city clerk what the problem was. She then had to go explain this to another clerk
"This lady bought the house in '87...." My response
"I did not buy the house in '87 I was in elementary school then!".....on the way home I realized I didn't need to make the comment and it was said in a very snotty manner, and very unnecessary to act that way. But it was funny and I decided I should be allowed 1 a day. Actually I felt much better after that and decided my new tactic in this whole matter is to play up the whole postpartum thing.
"I just had a baby, my husband works far away, we are trying to sell our house, and I don't understand all these big words....can you please help me?"
It works, its the truth and if you are really friendly otherwise people are really willing to help. I did that with someone else and I think she is really helping me.
Oh and I didn't make a snippy comment yesterday I can have 2 today....although I was grumpy with Chad in the morning yesterday so maybe I have to deduct one....nah;-)

Making myself rest

2006-03-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had finished cleanup of the laundry room.....technically I am not supposed to do much housework...but since the house is on the market, there is a lot to do, and I feel like I can do it, its hard not to. Its really hard not to do some things...like not lifting anything heavier than Daniel (so I can lift Daniel and the cat....that's it?). So I haven't been to good on the taking it easy thing. Last week I got a bladder infection, so Thursday and Friday I did slow down. Last night I started to feel sore and run down. So today I decided to take it easy....Chad also told me as he left for work to make sure I napped today (isn’t that a nice thing to hear:-). So there I was taking it easy, hanging out with my boy. I heard car doors shut (it sounded like a van). Then people talking....and they started to come closer...Belle started to bark (oh no, is someone here to look at the house and they forgot to tell me?). No they were at the neighbor’s house (which also happens to be up for sale...since NOVEMBER!). I peeked out the window....and they were looking at our house as they were going into the one next door. I went to take a shower, and after I got out Daniel was hungry so I got a bottle ready. Sat down to feed, then the phone rings (its nice that I taught Belle how to pick up things I drop, now I need to teach her to get the phone when its ringing). It was the realtor...guess what, the people looking at the house next door wanted to see our house right now. I told her, that it wouldn't be a good time but tomorrow would be fine, and that we had a newborn and it was hard to get out. I didn't mention that the house needed to be vacuumed, the litter box cleaned, and clothes be put away. She didn't call back to make an appointment. Oh well. Daniel displayed his displeasure with a very loud poop and a gassy smile. It made me laugh....typical boy. And now for some pictures:

The bib says it all!
I found these two catching up on some much needed reading.

His room.... about a week (maybe less) before he was born.

His room the night before he was born, his crib wasn't even there yet.

Back to life

2006-02-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

Phew it has been a long week. We came home on Friday, but had a doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning. We used the past 2 days to just be together as a family (dog and cat included). It was really nice, and much needed. In the hospital we were just getting stressed by amount of people that would come in at once.....ALWAYS at once. We would go hours not see a soul. Then all of a sudden 5 people were in the room all asking questions, Daniel would cry...all 5 people would fuss.
Belle and Tess have been adjusting fine. Tess was actually more upset that her litter box needed to be changed. Belle still wants to kiss and nose Daniel, but she has calmed down a lot and she checks on us when we are feeding at night.

Pictures....Chad set up a website, but he didn't remember my log in and password for the blog so it didn't get posted here. So for the first set of pictures go to: http://www.msu.edu/~kubikcha/Daniel/

We have many more (of course) but for now I will share his birth story for those who don't know it.
He was originally due on March 4. However a few months ago they saw he was breech. I had a fibroid tumor next to his head. Because of the fibroid and being my first pregnancy they didn't want to try and reposition him and had me schedule a C-Section. That was scheduled for February 27th. I had the choice of Friday the 24th or Monday the 27th. I figured well Chad starts his new job on the 21st so......lets go for the next week. Last weekend (18th and 19th). We took a load of stuff to Port Huron to store. Our house is going to be listed on March 1st so Chad spent a week trying to "unclutter" the house. We looked around the area to get a better idea of where we might want to live. I didn't do to much of the lifting myself, but all the running around did make me tired. We took it easy on Sunday, and proceeded to finish up some things in the nursery. On Monday I still was feeling generally tired and sore, so I worked from home. I also needed to finish up some work things before I left on leave. It was just less distracting to do that at home. By the end of the day I was feeling much better and Chad had the nursery all complete (well except for the crib), and the office was getting its attention in the "unclutter" department. So for Tuesday I had planned on going in to work, Chad had planned on driving an hour away to start a new job. However Daniel planned to make his debut.
When we went through birthing classes the instructor mentioned that we should talk with our mothers about their labor experience, because mothers and daughters tend to have similar ones. Of course this was no guarantee....but anyways. My mom told me her water NEVER broke on all three of us. I was aware that I still could go into labor before the scheduled C-section. However I was going in a week early, I was feeling fine, I should be ok. I was a little nervous about Chad starting a new job 1 hour away 2 weeks before the baby was due....but....what could we do. So at 4:30 in the morning and Chad's first day of work (the day I was going to go into work and finish up a LOT of stuff).....my water broke. I woke up to change positions, and felt funny....a little wetness....but.....oh geez
"Chad....get up we have to go to the hospital....my water just broke"
"What.....are you joking.....uh.....yeah it looks like it did"
Chad then very calmly got us packed up (yeah hadn't done that yet), helped get me dressed, and called the hospital. He did do this very calmly....but we were both still nervous. The hospital we delivered at is about 20 minutes away (on average). Luckily it was by then 4:45 and there was no traffic. So pretty smooth drive.
After getting to the hospital everything is kind of a blur. I remember there being a resident who looked really sleepy who checked me out and confirmed that we still needed a C-Section. I remember watching news clips about closing the zoo and still being upset by it. Actually Monday night I was yelling at the TV because of the Detroit City Council decision. We were joking that's why I went into labor, I was mad about the zoo. Anyways at the time it seemed like a long time to get into the operating room. However looking back it went by quick. I had a great surgical nurse with me who was really good at keeping me informed at what was going on. I didn't like doing the spinal tap, Chad came in and I felt much better. I was asked if I wanted to see the baby I said yes, so the pulled a mirror over. Then I freaked and couldn't look until the pulled him out. Then he finally came out and he cried and I felt so much better. They asked for a name, and we gave it to them. I tried to explain to the nurse why we named him Daniel John. That it is our fathers first names, and we both have always liked the name Daniel, and how my dad died a few years ago... but it was hard to explain when I started to talk because of thinking of my dad, and how I miss him. And thinking of Chad's dad and how it is going to be so nice to have him around.
After that it is another blur. When you are numbed from the chest down, you don’t' feel any pain, but you do feel touching, and moving. The pressure at one point was horrible, not painful, but it made me so uncomfortable and sick. I got sick, but couldn't move to much so I had to move my head to the side and Chad had to hold a container while the nurse suctioned.
I think it was after that I finally got to see my baby boy. I remember being wheeled back into the room holding Daniel. Then.....the next 6 hours were horrible because I could hold him every once in a while but I still couldn't move, I had to lay down, I couldn't feel my legs and feet. I and Daniel were checked for the next hour. I kept trying to make my legs move, because someone said I could sit up once my legs were moving. My left leg and foot got feeling back before my right. In the afternoon I was able to sit up and hold him, but I still was hooked up to an IV and hadn't gotten out of bed. I finally had the IV removed the next day and that was such a relief because I could hold him better without tubes getting in the way.
The hospital was great however, it just seemed like we would get staff and visitors all at the same time. This is also when they would bring in meals. By the time the staff stopped probing us and left they would come to get the food that I hadn't had a chance to touch. I was so happy to go home on Saturday, however we had to wait for another billirubin test to come back, since Daniel looked a little jaundice. Once we got home, Tess looked completely different to me. Her fur was all puffed up, and didn't feel as soft. However she took on look at Daniel and didn't seem bothered. In fact within an hour or two she licked his toes and head butted him. She was just happy we were home and strangers weren't in her house. Then Chad's parents brought Belle home and she looked completely different too! I was worried that it was me, I was seeing them different...but then Chad noticed her waist was larger (he usually can get his hands around it). She pigged out at Grandma and Grandpa's on Sunny's food. Her fur was messed up from wrestling with Sunny. She has adjusted well, she still gets a little rough around me (with the c-section she has to be careful). However she seems to like her baby brother.

He's here

2006-02-21T18:25:00.000-05:00

My water broke at 4:30 this morning, Daniel John was born at 8:31 am, 8lbs 4oz, 20.75 in long. More detailss to come.

Perceptions are funny

2006-02-09T08:12:00.000-05:00

Its funny what people say to you when you are pregnant. Everyone seems to have different take on what has "changed" about you. Now granted people who know you well will be able to judge. But sometimes I think people are just grasping at something to say. For instance my hair and nails have always grown at a crazy rate. In elementary I was teased because my nails were so long. I would cut them, but they would quickly grow back. Also every fall in high school I was on the swim team. After a few weeks of practice I would have dried out hair that was impossible to put all up into a swim cap. So I would cut it to shoulder length. By the early summer my hair would already be to my mid-back.
Anyways people tell me "Wow since you've been pregnant your hair/nails have grown so much". I try to explain that, no you probably just didn't notice before....but no one really believes me.
So this weekend I got my hair cut. It was to my mid-back and now it is just below the shoulders. No one here at work has noticed except this morning. One of my managers said it looked cute (she did notice the cut). Then another coworker who I haven't seen since last week said
"Man you hair is growing like a weed"

She hasn't seen me since before my hair was cut. I just checked.....and yep hair is still just below the shoulders:-)

soon there will be a real baby and.....

2006-02-08T14:25:00.000-05:00

I hate days like this. I have much to do both here at work and at home. However none of it is appealing right now and I just have that "But I'm BORED" feeling. No celebrity pictures this week either:-( We talked to our realtor last night and we will probably get the house listed sometime next week. Chad is going to take next week off (read: quit crazy stripper office) and start packing. The funny thing is, if he would have organized the garage while he was laid off it would make things easier on him now....I put it on his list in the fall. Boys! We are trying not to get stressed about all the work and changes ahead of us but sometimes stress is good...it gets you motivated. I have doctor appointments weekly now. I have been meeting with just one of the doctors and I really like him. He is detailed in his answers to questions. Not that I would mind the other doctors. I generally don't feel comfortable around doctors but the ones at this office I have always felt comfortable around. I think that is a OB thing...if its something different they are taught....can't they teach that same manner to other doctors? Our shower is this weekend. It should be fun and nice to take a moment to spend just on the baby, which is something we don't do enough:-)

Well my 2 furbabies are in for some adjustment as well. I keep asking Belle what is she going to do when she isn't the baby anymore? I realize that she has no clue what I am saying, but her facial expression are fun anyways. However I think she might be more upset by a move. She is a mommy to baby bunnies afterall;-)

Also she always has the cat to snuggle with. With the cat its a toss up by what she will be more upset about. A crying infant and no place to hide in her own home.....or....having to move out of her house and go for an hour car ride to a place she has never been before. Well they are good buddies now, so they can comfort each other. Hopefully they will be willing to let a baby into their "circle of trust":-)

Just hanging in there

2006-02-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

Nothing new to really report. I have a doctors appointment this afternoon, so I will be leaving early. Making it my last day of Superbowl madness. I have been doing so much walking lately and its all catching up with me. I hope to rest this weekend. I did talk to my boss about my leave and it seems like I should be able to work from home the last week up to my due date. A coworker has figured out a way to get connected from home and he is going to help me out with that. I will also be able to work out some kind of schedule for afterwards. We will figure that out towards the end of my leave. He also knows about us moving. So do several coworkers. Its nice to get that out. Well we are going to go for another NFL adventure.

shhh we have a secret

2006-01-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

It is looking very likely that we will be moving to Port Huron. Chad is 90% in for a job in the St. Clair School district. It is pending a drug test and board approval. Of course to make this transition we need to (not in any particular order): sell our house, have a baby, get approved for a new mortgage, and find a new house..... plus probably a million other things I am not including. If he does start working out there he can commute for a while until housing is all straightend out. I guess we should have put off painting the baby's room....OH well.
Speaking of the baby's room I now officially HATE Babies R Us. We put most of our stuff on our registry no more than a month ago. Every day we hear from someone who had trouble finding things that we put on our registry. Within a month they put the bedding we picked out on clearance, discontinued the crib, and the playard is out of stock at every single metro Detroit area Babies R Us......how does this happen in one month? I thought we registered late. What would have happend if we registered earlier? Would NONE of our stuff be available there? Target isn't much better, but considering when we registered just about everything in the baby section was on clearance we expected that.
The problem is everyone is trying to be nice and pick out the stuff we wanted. Some things it took us 20 minutes to decide what to put down. But it wasn't because we didn't like anything else it was trying to figure out what the difference was. So many choices came down to "well this has fishes that has dinasours so go with the fishes"......seriously random reasons for picking one over another and in the end we really didn't care all that much.
I have updated my other blog (http://ontheelevator.blogspot.com/) and changed the title for the "Big Game". I work in the media center for Super Bowl XL, so there is ALOT of activity here. I have a digital camera (2 acutally) and I will be updated my other blog. It has temporarly been changed to a Super Bowl centric blog. Check it out, I hope to get some pictures up tonight.

Pictures

2006-01-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

This is from Mid-October, you can see the bones in his hands and arms....plus the head? I am terrible at figuring these out and I am looking at the scanned images so bear with me:-)

Another from Mid-October showing the whole body and head.

This is from November. Since his daddy has a minor heart defect, we had to do a fetal echogram at the hospital to check his heart. Everything turned out fine and we actually got pictures mommy could understand;-)

3D images still freak me out a bit. It is worse on screen because the colors they use aren't natural human colors so the babies always look alien to me. In black and white it isn't so bad. This one it looks like he is sucking

.
Ironically enough, my favorite picture is a 3D picture. This is a picture of his foot which is attached to his long toes. His daddy has long toes...mommy no...so he definitely has his daddy's feet. Although my brother does where size 13 I don't think his toes make up for half of the length of his foot like this little guy.

This is the latest one from early January. He needs to use two screens to get a picture. I think he gets his picture taken more often than other babies because he shares space with a fibroid tumor. The tumor is out of the way on top but they keep on eye on it anyways.

We have a lot more pics....I have some from July, but I only had access to the ones Chad has put up on the baby pool site. There are some more there as well. Hope everyone has a good week. there is a nasty nasty cold going around. Just about everyone in my office has gotten it. I've had it since Tuesday of last week. However I really feel today I am almost rid of it.

Baby Pool

2006-01-19T16:24:00.000-05:00

Ok Chad has set up a baby pool to guess the day and time of the birth. Go to: http://kubik.babypool.com

It is $1 to sign up for a block of time (1 hour). You can sign up for as many blocks as you want but only one person per block. Payments are accepted through Paypal or can be given (or mailed) directly to Chad. The winner is the one closest to the day and time without going over. The prize money will be divided up 50/50 between the winner and the baby's college fund. Have fun if you want to participate:-)

If you want to participate without the "gaming" aspect, feel free to leave your guess for free here. You won't win any money, but you may still be a winner:-)

nesting....I guess

2006-01-17T12:11:00.000-05:00

Well the baby's room is all painted (just in time for Chad to have two interviews for jobs which would require a move....its all in the timing;-). I am very happy about the way it turned out...here is how the conversation with my mom went:

Me
"so we finished painting the baby's room, well Chad actually was the one painting and I supervised. It is a light sage..mossy green...but we did a texture finish like in the living room. This time we used a different brush and I really like how it came out, just the way I was thinking"

Mom
"So now you want to redo the living room"

Me
"Kind of....but since Chad hates to paint I won't make him...but next time...."

What can I say my mom knows me:-)

Last week someone came over midweek to work on some video things with Chad. Well we still had Christmas decorations up, so before that visit we took those down. This created a mess in the office. So Saturday I spent the morning organizing that room more. Of course painting caused some mess to migrate to the living room on Sunday, the next project is to get that room and the baby's room straightend.
As I explained to Chad's mom "it isn't so much about making things perfect for the baby..in a nesting sort of way, its more realizing....once the baby is born....its just going to get worse....so I might as well organize everything I possibly can because this is my last chance"

I guess anyway you look at it, its nesting.

Yesterday was MLK day, and while I don't get a holiday, the company that I am contracted to gets one. This makes things very quiet and slow around the office (more fun). So I spent some time trying to fix the blog (more nesting I guess). Ok....I spent some time, couldn't figure it out and had Chad fix it for me. Husbands with web skills are great huh? I hope to actually have ultrasound pictures up soon.....really....the office desk is cleared up and I can now see the scanner so it is possible:-)

I have an appointment this week. I hope this goes better than the last one where they asked if I had anything to eat or drink in the last 6 to 8 hours. I guess the test they ran looked like I was starving myself. I took it a little personally, and was grumpy the rest of the day. However later they called to say I had a bacterial infection. I took some medicine so hopefully I am good now:-)

Edited to add:
At home with a bad cold:-( However I did find this odd little thing....I guess my blog is being traded on a Fantasy Stock Market site.....weird: http://blogshares.com/blogs.php?blog=http%3A%2F%2Fparentsafterall.blogspot.com%2F

cute things

2006-01-09T10:01:00.000-05:00

Just a list of cute things revolving around the pregnancy"

********************************************
A guy I work with asked me one day
"I have a little girl, but I never got to feel her kicking when she was in her mamma's belly, so if you don't mind can I feel it sometime when your baby kicks"
...seriously how can you resist that?

Chad claims he is having sympathy cravings for spicier food.....I think I finally broke him of his "no spice" requests;-)

While bowling Chad's mom and I were talking about how Belle and Tess would be with the baby around, and ways to get them adjusted beforehand and she had a cute story. When she brought Kelly home, Chad was fine with it, but after a while he asked
"Mom when is that baby going back home?"
************************************************

We finished up our registry...however remember we are first time parents so don’t laugh to hard at us:-) We left of some of the clothing items the registry suggested; I didn't want to dictate style to much to other people. Diapers and wipes we picked the generic Target brands. I can't decide if I will like a certain brand until I use them. It seems like everyone has their own opinion on those things as well. Also as far as bottles go, we only put some starter packs on (I think).
From the research I have done it seems like every baby is different when it comes to bottles. So I didn't want to pick on brand of bottles and find they aren't liked as much.
We also did some more clean up on the nursery, which consisted of removing the last of the "office" boxes out of there. I am so glad most of our bills are electronic, there is a crazy amount of paper we would collect in one year from paper bills.

Settling in and New Years resolutions

2006-01-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

So, still some chaos at work. However most of it revolves around not having the right tools loaded onto our computers so not a lot of work that we can do...although there is work we can catch up on.
I'm not big on making New Years Resolutions however Chad and I both want to make a conscious effort to be more thankful everyday. However......I am excluding myself when it comes to those pesky "pregnancy" ills...that's not cheating right? So here is my current list of "laments":

1. My digestion system simply does not work right anymore. This morning I swear the ham sandwich I had for dinner at 5:30 last night was still in my stomach. At 11:30 today I got hungry and had to eat something....even though there is NO room in my body for more food. If I eat to much I am in lots of pain and feel like I will literally explode.

2. I itch all over

3. I am tired

4. I have a cold (which when I take Tylenol cold I don't feel as tired or as itchy....so its all one big mess I guess)

5. We are starting to get behind on "baby preparations"

Ahh feel better just getting those out of my system. Of course Chad hears them all the time, it doesn't hurt to share more right;-)

Oh....and last week I was in the hospital for dehydration. From what the doctors could figure I had the flu. I was not able to keep much food down (plus I couldn't eat or drink a whole lot to begin with). I was working from home on Tuesday and was getting sharp pains in my abdomen. Thankfully we weren't busy and I was able to nap during the day. However at about 4:00 the pain got worse and I called Chad who wanted me to call my doctor. The doctor figured it was probably the flu but wanted to check out the pain I was having at the hospital. So we went and apparently I was having contractions (hey like I would know what that feels like), but they were the Braxton Hicks kind. I got some saline and something to calm my stomach. I kept hydrated and slept most of the week. It also helps to have a cat who is a nurse (seriously she is one good nurse too).
It was also our first visit with the labor and delivery staff, we had toured the floor before though. It was almost like a trial run and other than me being in pain it was a positive experience. Chad later said he felt bad because he just sat and watched the Pistons game. But I didn't care because:
1. I wasn't actually in labor
2. I really just wanted to curl up into a ball and not be touched
3. He should at least get one payback for when he was in the hospital with kidney stones and I just sat there and played a game on his palm pilot.

I didn't get much done last week and I had a lot of projects planned. However on New Years Eve we did make it to 8 stores in less than 4 hours for returns, exchanges, adjustments, and purchases. We were quite proud of ourselves. We also found some yummy non-alcoholic champagne. I don't always like the sparkling juice, but was leery of trying this stuff. It tasted like champagne. I only had 1 glass, but I was surprised.

I still need to work out details with maternity leave, and child care afterwards. It is nice to have a really good health care plan now, thanks IBM:-)

I'm Here

2006-01-03T13:07:00.000-05:00

I was off work for a week and in that time was sick and just didn't feel like updating. I am back at work (in a new company and yet ANOTHER health plan, a good one this time). However there is still chaos with all the changes here that I don't have much time to post. I hope to get back in later in the week.

Accck Christmas is when????

2005-12-19T15:24:00.000-05:00

Wow, time has been flying by. I wish I had something meaningful to post, but I don't.
I had my 3 hour glucose test last Tuesday. I didn't feel horrible after it like I did for my 1 hour one. I figured I passed, but I didn't hear anything so I called to double check on Friday and I was fine. Yay!
I don't feel like I am getting as close as I am to delivery. Pregnancy so far has been kind of boring. Maybe that because the other things that are going on are just more fun to talk about (Chad’s new job....apparently they like to hire strippers for entertainment....bizarre story). Anyways other than the heartburn, or the movement I feel, I don't always "feel" pregnant....which is absolutely fine with me.
I keep forgetting to sit down and update the registry...currently we have no set date for a shower, so it isn't a big deal.
Right now the baby's room is a storehouse for Christmas presents. We did very well yesterday afternoon and crossed 4 people off our list in about 90 minutes. That is a record for us.
My next appointment is the first week of January and that starts the twice a month visits...I think. However we will have an insurance change yet again. I got in an argument last week with someone because our old insurance keeps getting billed for my current visits. The insurance company blames the doctors, the doctors blame the insurance company. The stupid thing is, the old insurance and current insurance are the SAME COMPANY just different policy numbers. Argg its best not to even think about it:-)
My car is fixed, and the place we took it to this time was awesome. King Brothers Collision in Redford, MI. Very nice, and quick. My insurance paid for everything, but the price looked nice as well. We brought the car in on Tuesday afternoon and it was ready by Friday afternoon. Just wanted to mention them in case they are ever googled. This is the 3rd time the Prizm has had repair work...the first time we were hit by a tour bus while stopped at a Michigan left, then the gas pump, then this last accident. Considering I was only behind the wheel in one of those....maybe my car has the bad luck...hmmm.
I bowled my last game for a while last night. In the spring we signed up to be on the bowling league and still decided to go ahead with it in September. I haven't had to much trouble with bowling while pregnant. However since we bowl every other week and with the holidays won't bowl again until January I will stop for the remainder of the season. I am pleased that I have made it this long. My average even went up. Now we can bring in our ringer (lol!) Chad's mom. It should be fun to just watch though. Maybe I will make up a few cheers;-)
That's all for now.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

2005-12-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

Please please please, help out Ellen's blog by voting for it in the Weblog awards. I personally enjoy the conversations that arise from her entries. It also has some cute cartoons and some funny stories. It is also a great design. To vote go to:
http://weblogawards.org/2005/12/best_of_the_top_35015000_blogs.php

and vote for "The Reign of Ellen"

Some more votes can push her to 1st. Rember you can vote once a day per computer:-)

3rd Trimester

2005-12-14T11:43:00.001-05:00

Comment from Amie:
"Your in your 3rd trimester! Yay! This is the trimester where you will learn if your one of those "I love being pregnant" women, or one of those "get this kid outta me!" women ;) "

I second the Yay! Thanks for the smile for the day. Currently I think I am still on the fence at what kind of pregnant woman I am. I still think woman who "love being pregnant" are a little bizarre (no offense). However I don’t hate it, and I am not quite at that stage where I am "get this kid outta me!" (to much to do yet). I do speculate that at some point every pregnant woman is ready to be "done" being pregnant.
So far its not been a horrible experience. I guess I have been to influenced by the horror stories some people tell of being sick all the time, tired all the time, moody all the time, and craving things all the time.
I don't think I will ever be one of those people who "love being pregnant" because I hate being restricted in anything I want to do. I don't like being the center of attention. I don’t' find the whole development process "fascinating" and feel the need to constantly talk about it. It's nothing against people who do feel this way, which is cool for them. However why do some of the people who feel this way always say "Oh you will see...once you feel a kick you will just Looooove it". Everyone is different and everyone is entitled to be different. But I will say I am excited to be far along, and it is nice to have the first 2 trimesters behind me:-)

Counting Blesings

2005-12-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

Well...I think I am "over" my accident. My insurance company is waiving the deductible, and I am taking Tuesday off for a glucose test (I failed the first!). So we can get the car in and hopefully get it all fixed soon. I was not hurt, and we fully own our car and the damages are relatively minor (compared to a gas pump falling on it ha ha ha:-). The weekend honestly did not get much better.....well other than going to Greenfield Villages Holiday Nights with Chad's family....that was the best part of the weekend. I could go into all the drama that went on, but I would rather leave it out of this blog for the most part. Since:
1) It is intended to be a blog about this wonderful pregnancy
2) It involves alot of my sister's own personal struggle which I don't should be broadcast across the general internet.
3) Chad and I have recently been talking about how we might appear to others to be "drama queens". We don't intend to do that it is just really odd things happen to us and we find humor in them that helps us heal.
4) Because of point 3, I have decided to just count my blessings...coincidently our friend Jason appears to be trying to take on this same attitude. So below are what I have counted so far:

Denise's Blessings 12-12-05

1) I have a wonderful husband, when I wanted to just have a "day off" yesterday. Not only did he still run up to church to drop off a friend's video camera...he also:
a) bought some cookies in the bake sale to bring home to me
b) updated the pastor about the recent family issues we were having and asked him to pray for those issues
c) stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items we could use for lunch so we wouldn't need to leave the house.....including a great deal on cream cheese for which he also used a coupon (boo ya!)
d) picked up Bagels from our favorite local bagel place.
e) got a paper so we could cut some more coupons
f) got a venison roast out of the freezer to defrost for dinner
2) Although I don't always notice the baby is moving often
3) On Saturday I got the house cleaned up, including organizing our gloves, hats and scarves
4) I got to giggle at myself this morning when I realized that although I had a pair of off-white gloves on, they aren't actually a matching pair. I love to giggle at myself.
5) On Saturday the flight Chad was supposed to take from Chicago was actually scheduled for Sunday....he was able to get on an earlier flight Saturday anyways
6) For the glucose testing I have a special diet I am supposed to eat for 3 days, however it:
a) doesn't exclude anything, it just requires me to at least eat certain amounts of certain food.
b) I started it on the weekend which is easier for me than trying uphold it during the workweek
c) I actually am now starting to feel better overall, which makes me think I may not have been eating enough to begin with
7) My sister's car is going to be parked at our house for a while, but we now will have a car to borrow while the Prizm is being repaired
8) The cat has been extra cuddly lately I think her allergy problem has subsided and she is happier.
9) The dog has been really good lately and was a very good guard dog while Chad was gone
10)We had a wonderful time at Greenfield Village's Holiday Nights fest despite the cold.
11) At work the other "editor" should be back sometime this week, so I won't have to do 2 jobs anymore
12) Finally watched the Simpson's Halloween special, now we can fully use that video tape for recording other shows
13) We have only bought 1 Christmas present for someone on our list....we figured out what to get a few others
14) The laundry is done it just needs to be put away
15) We have lots of food in the house
16) There is money in the bank
17) We found our Christmas address list, Chad claims it just wouldn't Christmas if we didn't have to search for it. I just wish he would remember to copy it over after he reformats the computer!

I could go on and on, but I think that will be enough for now. We are doing well and just anticipating our next adventure. At least with every bump in the road you learn something new:-)

My luck continues

2005-12-09T19:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, so many of you out there know I have had several accidents in the past year. All involving cars, pretty much none of them my fault. There was a few rear end hits, with no damage. The infamous gas pump falling on me incident. Even when I was taking the bus, I was in an accident with Chad.
This morning, again, another accident. I had to drop off my wonderful husband at his work early this morning so he could attend the mandatory Christmas part in Chicago. The roads here were horrible due to the snow storm. I was fine until about 1 mile from the freeway. I hit a bad patch of snow and skidded into the curb. No problem right....it was obvious whoever was behind me would see and go around...right????? WRONG! Instead I was hit from behind. This sent me further up the curb turned my car a few more degrees so I was perpendicular to the road. I hit a bus stop sign with my sideview mirror. I was fine, the car.....well the right rear fender was cracked a bit, and the drivers side mirror is gone. I was a little shaken up. I got mad when the lady who hit me claimed ignorance at what happend. PAY attention people! So I still can't get a hold of Chad to talk to him for any decent amount of time. I have started to file a claim with my insurance. Ugg!

Yesterday's appointment

2005-12-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

I did the glucose test yesterday. I think they will only let me know if the results aren't good. I hope I won't have to do the longer one, because yes, the drink tasted kind of like Orange Crush, however....I don't generally like orange drinks. It could have been worse....grape...yuck!
Anyways I had the "slow" doctor again, I talked about him before. This time I liked him much better, I guess he just has a quiet personality which is fine. It was kind of funny because he said I was showing a few weeks further than I was. Then he said:
"But it may be because of the fibroids....one of those was pretty large."
He said this very flat and with not a whole lot of emotion, but the eye movement he did when talking about the "large" fibroid was funny. His facial expression just didn't match his voice tone. They will do another ultrasound at the next appointment, to measure the size of the baby and the fibroid (or fibroids as they now refer to them). Just to see why I appear to be further along.
Nothing else new to report. We are trying to get ready for Christmas, however with Chad being gone practically every weekend now it makes things difficult. This weekend he has to go to the "mandatory" "Christmas party" in Chicago. Sure making a company Christmas party mandatory sure makes Jesus happy! Anyways he is going to be flown in on Saturday evening, I will go pick him up and then we will be having his family over to go to the Holiday Nights event at Greenfield Village. I love going there and we really want his family to go, but until we are actually there it is going to be a slight hassle. Oh well....he almost got fired over it so it could have been worse.

That is all the updates for now. We will be getting Christmas cards out soon, and I will have to set up a time to talk to my Cha Cha diva Yolanda! I never thought I would miss working in Ypsi as much as I do, but the people I worked with were so fun. To bad we all had to go;-)

adding some links

2005-12-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

I have added the links to some sites I visit.

The first one is for an interesting family I stumbled across on the web. They have chosen to live "plain". Although they still use electricity and some modern conviences (like web use). They were plain clothes, and run a farm. They have just a ton of information about themselves and their farm on their website. One of the daughters gives family updates once a week or so.

The second is Television Without Pity (TWOP). This site publishes recaps of many hour long drama shows. The actual recap comes out just under a week after the show airs. But it is helpful to keep up on some shows. Heck I sometimes read the recaps even if I have seen the show.

The third link I put up is for my daily Sudoku puzzle. I am addicted to these puzzles and I get better each week.

Another misc. Post

2005-11-29T08:10:00.000-05:00

- 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

2005-11-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-22T08:19:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-16T12:26:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

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.

Thursday

2005-10-14T10:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday went well. I had my interview first things, and I feel better about being able to keep my job (and have insurance and food for when the baby comes!). We got the news yesterday that it is a boy. We were not at all surprised. First, because we kind of wanted the firstborn to be a girl, and with the way things have been going the past few months we knew that plant wouldn't happen;-) Second, most of the firstborns in both our families are boys. I doubt that has anything to do with genetics, but patterns seem to stick in some families. I am the tech was very confident boy because its easier to buy things without that nagging feeling about "what if they are wrong". She still could be wrong, but its not so bad for a girl to wear boy things as it is for a boy to wear girl things:-) Keep praying for Chad, it will be nice to have at least one guaranteed employed parent come January, also it means we can actually start to buy things. We haven't bought one thing yet because we don't want to spend anything unless it is necessary and at this point we would rather wait until after Christmas and shower(s?). However I do see other moms to be saying "oh we got this this and this....and I couldn't resist this!" and I am like "uh...yeah...husband laid off....not practical and whatnot".
He has had a few interviews but they really aren't the right fit....not like he is turning anything down though..
As of yesterday I didn't have a headache (a strong one) for about 2 weeks. I have been doing coffee in the morning. However this morning a headache decided to wake me up, so I am feeling pretty crummy right now. I took two faux-tylenol and I am drinking coffee and water so I am hoping it will go away soon.

Another long headache story

2005-09-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

Pretty much the only thing I have to complain about with this pregnancy is headaches. I have them alot. I typically have headache regularly, but normally I would fend them off with extra strength migraine whatever. The non-aspirin doesn't quite work. Anyways at the last Doctor appointment he told me to have a little caffeine everyday and that should help prevent it. It had worked for a little over a week. HOwever Monday, it didn't. I started to get a small headache at about 3. I drank some water, a little more tea and took two non-aspirin before leaving for the bus. The bus I take is horribly stuffy. I figured it was just me who had a problem (being pregnant and all) also I was wearing a heavy top that day that would keep me more warm. However while waiting on the bus for it to leave a bunch of other ladies were complaining too. I guess the air on the bus broke down over the summer so it was worse then. However it was working now, and they didn't understand why the driver never kept it on. There are other buses that go to different locations for GM, they complain of it being to cold because the air is on...OK anyways. I felt better knowing it wasn't just me (of course later on one of the women complained of menopause....so it might still be a "woman" thing;-). So we were about to go when a younger woman went up to the bus driver whispered something then got off. We had to wait for her to come back. So 10 minutes later she comes back (while we were getting warmer), walking not running as the bus driver pointed out. Then a guy from the back shouted "Turn the air on".(....so not a woman thing?). This put us in more traffic and slowed us down. Being on a bus in Detroit construction traffic is not fun. But mostly I just wanted to get home to rest and get rid of the small headache that was turning into a larger one. We finally got back....home free right. NOpe I was about half way home from the bus stop when, BANG I got a very sudden migraine. I have never had one turn so fast. THen I smelled a car fume and it was over. When I have a migraine and don't take something or lie down immediately, but body tries to cure it self by vomiting. I don't get nauseous or any kind of forewarning. I was able to pull into a parking lot to get most of it out of the car. Chad helped when I got home. He seems to have the same thing with headaches, but I think he is able to contain the reflex more than I can. I slept off and on the rest of the evening, but I stayed home from work yesterday to make sure it was completely gone.
The bus ride this morning was great. I sat in the second row and could feel a draft, I think the driver gets his own personal air. So he seems to be unaware of the condition on the rest of the bus. I would have napped if I wasn't a morning person:-)
Chad has been to good of a replacement for making dinners. Last week he came up with a dish all on his own with no recipe and it tasted good. He has learned how to do many different meals that I normally do. I think he has pretty much figured that most of the meals I do are 15 minute meals. So, eventually when I go back to making dinner he probably won't be as impressed....I still keep up with the budget though, he may be able to replace me in food prep and laundry, but so far I am the budget Queen;-)

Just checking in

2005-09-22T07:44:00.000-04:00

Nothing really new to report. We had a doctors appointment last week. The great thing about Chad being laid off he can go to them so I have someone to entertain me while I wait. We find endless things to make fun of while we are there. The last time we were making jokes about the posters that were in the room. They have pictures of where all the womanly parts and pieces are. We kept joking that OBGYNs have a smaller one laminated in their wallets that way in case of emergency they have a roadmap. Yes very silly I know, but Chad and I have a very strange sense of humor where we imagine these really strange things that would never happen, but it entertains us greatly. Anyways we were laughing when the doctor came in. He asked us what was so funny, but we didn't want to tell him that we thought he would have a laminated picture of a uterus in his wallet so we had to cover. One of those you had to be there moments I guess.
Anyways its nice that Chad and I are so similar in personality because when I gripe about something he understands where I am coments from. Like I get annoyed with the question "So are you excited?" Yes it is a normal question, but it is said with such squeal and vigor that I am no used to or enjoy. Also its no that we AREN'T excited....we are just practical planning people. We overanalyze and discuss. Not that we are worried or anything. We just take everything one day at a time. Other things come up in a day that are not baby related. So if you ask me day to day "ARE you EXCIIIIIITEEEED?!?!?!" IN my head I say "no"....but if I say that to the squeal jumpy person I might look cold hearted, but in all honesty its kind of the truth. I am looking forward to it....yes, I like planning for it yes (Chad and I are planners generally so we like to plan...follow through is a whole nother thing;-)....but excited...not really the word I would use. This is where the "overanalyzing" aspect of our personalities come in. Chad and I discussed this at length the other night (seriously...we are the most boring people you will meet). I think we are hung up on the word. On our wedding I wouldn't say I was "excited"....I wasn't nervous or scared, or anxious in anyway. I wanted to get the show on the road....not get it over with, I wanted to enjoy it. I remember getting up to Chad and asking him and Brad our minister (is anyone nervous? Cause I'm not, is there something wrong?) we kind of laughed because we talked about it before. We planned, and knew everything would go off ok and if it didn't go as planed that would be fine to. We were just ready to lay back and enjoy the show.
Of course with this, we can't lay back and enjoy the show, but.....Hopefully you get my jist.
Another example is how Chad is building this game that consists of two boards that have a hole in the middle, you stand some ways away from it and toss a beanbag into it. Well making the beanbags are my department. Now they would be done by now, if Chad and I didn't get so nitpicky about the filling for these beanbags. I want them to be able to withstand getting we without sprouting, rotting or getting rusty. We also want to be within the standard weight and size. Long story short, we are OBSESSING about finding the right kind of filling.
So I guess after Chad and I talked and I have thought about it more, the best answer to tell people when the squeal "Are you EXCIIIIITEEED" (with the clapping and jumping) is to smile and say "yes"....it would be easier than having to explain about beanbags. I am sure Chad is the only one who fully who understand that answer.
I am getting annoyed with two people at work. They are nice women, but EVERYDAY I hear "YOU'LL SEE denise ____" THe blank is usually filled with the same few lines "you won't sleep" "you're car is going to be a mess".....Honestly nothing that is new. I mean I have been around kids and mothers before. Its just annoying, and its all unwanted and its is ALL THEY EVER TALK TO ME ABOUT! So I have been avoiding them. I have found a great outlet though. I just vent on the webmd message board. I get it all out, I get sympathy from other people and I move on. I also vent to Chad, who likes to tease me when I get home "oh honey be careful carrying that water bottle you shouldn't strain yourself"
So this week I have been grateful to be married to someone with such a compatible personality to mine. I can get home and not talk constantly about "baby", do my own thing, and not have to answer stupid questions. And when I say "no I'm not excited" he understands what I mean.

bowling bowling bowling

2005-09-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

We had our first night of bowling on our league last night. I feel like I or my ball is cursed (or maybe the shoes....bowling bag, spare socks in the shoes) I just went bowling with my co-workers 2 weeks ago. Everytime I went up to bowl the lane would do something screwy. Once it just reset automatically and gave me a 0, then it just froze up and we had to move lanes. Well anyway last night the same kind of weird things would happen, however it wasn't to me it was to a teammate. I can only assume this curse is like the flu and has moved on to the other team.
However this time as I was bowling I noticed that my approach requires a lot of hip and bending action. It should be funny in a few weeks to see how I compensate throwing one bowling ball, while I carry another around my abdomen! I don't plan on bowling the whole season, somewhere down the line Chad's mom will come in and replace me.
Chad is in week 2 of his official lay-off break. He said he would do laundry today, somehow I don't mind being replaced:-)

Chad....a stay at home dad?

2005-09-09T14:39:00.000-04:00

Well not yet, but who knows. Well he had a feeling that he would be laid off soon, or there would be a company move, or something. Well I guess men have some intuition as well. He even told his bosses about me being pregnant just to possibly lay a guilt trip on them. It didn't work. This is his first official week of unemployment. Although his salary and benefits continue through this month, which is nice. He is going to put some effort into getting a home business started doing oral histories. Of course he is applying for jobs like mad. I am very confident something will come up. When I was laid off it actually turned out better for us in the end, so we are working off a good experience, have a very good attitude, and great support from family and friends.
I have somehow neglected to inform everyone of our good news yet. We have told family, and all of Chad's friends. My boss knows....but not my coworkers, and friends I keep in touch with mainly by e-mail don't know. We had our reunion a couple of weeks ago, so long lost classmates know that we are expecting in March. Why haven't I said anything? I am going to chalk it up to laziness....and I blame the pregnancy......yeah.....that must be why;-) Hey got to use this for all its worth, huh?
Oh so over labor day weekend we moved the computer stuff into the spare/kitty room. We have a 3 bedroom house. One room was our bedroom, one was the computer room (we rarely said office, cause...well it didn't look like one), and finally the spare room. Although we usually called the spare room "Tess's room" or "The kitty's room". I kept my craft and sewing stuff in there, and Tess kept her food and litter pan in there. I never used the room much since I am busy and didn't work on sewing and crafts that much (not because of laziness....remember me being lazzy is because I am pregnant....I wasn't lazzy before;-)
Anyways the cat was in there more than any of us, thus it was called "Tess's room".

Well we realized that Tess's room actually the best space to fit the spare bed, computer, desk, filling cabinet, bookcase, and litter box. And well a baby, doesn't need a big room yet. This lead to our decision to move everything around. Chad wanted to do it over the weekend before he began his employment search to get him motivated. Tess's room got emptied out (not a happy cat about that her litter box got moved to the hall!), and we decided to paint it a dusty blue. By Sunday the painting was done, and the bed and computer stuff was moved back in. Then we spent all morning Monday undoing the mess we made in the rest of the house (from the room emptying) so we could have Chad's family over for Labor day.

Now the baby's room is cleared out enough to paint when I finally decide on a color. Since we might move soon I don't want a typical nusery color. I am thinking of doing something more plain, and putting up picture of family pets, and going with a general dog/cat theme. But I have a while to think of that.

Telling others

2005-08-24T08:55:00.000-04:00

OK so the secret is out. All reactions have been good as expected. I think the funniest response we got was from my nephew
My sister-in-law:
"Connor, Aunt Denise and Uncle Chad are going to have a baby?"
Connor:
"A REAL baby?"

I guess everyone accepts that we think of Belle as our kid so much that it does get confusing for a 5 year old to know when a baby is a real baby! My fellow Stephen Ministers even suggest that I buy a shirt for Belle that says "I'm the big sister". She would look cute in that:-)

I have yet to say anything at work. I like having 8 hours where I don't talk about it. We have our reunion this weekend so we put we are expecting in March in our bios.
For some reason I never thought it would be awkward to tell people we are expecting. I always thought there was going to be that perfect lull in the conversation to announce it to others, or you would have everything planned out. Each time we have had the same problems. We are on the way to see people and try to figure it out in the car but when we get to the destination there is always something going on. With my mom, we didn't think about discussing it until we were pulling into her sub. I wasn't in the mood to talk about it because I had to go to the bathroom really bad. Then when we get there she isn't even there, we didn't have a key. So we had to break into her house through my sister's bedroom while a neighbor was watching! When they got home we kept telling them....."oh the cops will be here any second now....really I know that neighbor was watching us". So we didn't say anything that night. The next day we waited until we were alone with mom in the van on the way to the Cheeseburger festival. We mostly wanted to just tell her first so had to wait until then.
So after that mom did all the announcing.
Now we originally wanted to tell Chad's parents that Sunday on the way home from my moms. However their dog was going to have hip surgery on Tuesday. We had Belle with us and we have been keeping them separate so not to make the condition worse. So we decided to just go home. However they needed a ramp built so we went on Tuesday and left Belle at home. On the way over we tried to map it out, but we wanted to get the ramp built first. However we had to make stops before hand and get something to eat so we got there late. Then he went to work. When he was finally done, and everything was cleaned up and everyone was seated he finally announced it.
So then with the Stephen Ministers I wanted to wait until the end of our meeting.....and actually that was the least awkward of the announcements.
Then with our friends camping, we waited until we were around the campfire, but everyone kept getting up and moving and we were all talking about so much. Finally Chad announced it.

I guess I just imagined it all differently in my head, but I guess I am going off what I see on TV and in the movies. The couple arrives and everyone stops talking and says hello, then there is a quiet moment where no one is talking and the couple uses that chance to announce it (because everyone is already there and in rapt attention). But geez when does that ever actually happen?
We went to the doctor last Thursday. The doctor was going to listen for the heartbeat, but he couldn't find it. I know you can't always hear it at the 12th week so I wasn't to worried. Then he sent me in for an ultrasound. I kind of knew something was up when the tech kept measuring stuff. I had an ultrasound a year ago and the tech started to do the same clicky click thing and got the same look in her eyes. After the tech located the baby and the heartbeat she went to find the doctor to see "if he was done with us yet" The doctor already said bye. I started to explain to Chad that this is kind of what happened last year when they found I had "enlarged Ovaries". Well the doctor came in quickly and looked and explained that I have a fibroid tumor and a cyst. The Cyst should go away but the tumor could cause complications. I explained that I had an ultrasound a year ago. He wanted to the report sent to his office. So I had that sent Friday. As far as I know I should be fine. He did say I was showing more than 12 weeks, but he didn't see to concerned. Other than that I am good.

Getting ready to tell others

2005-08-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

So we think we are going to start to tell others this weekend. We are not passed the 1st trimester yet, but are close enough. The timing would work better. I have enjoyed having this secret time but each day it gets harder to not let things slip. Still have been feeling sick from time to time. We are slowly getting the house ready. It will be easier to enlist help once people know why we are trying to dejunk. We are off to Cheeseburger in Caseville this weekend. We were planning on going to Cedar Pointe with friends. However I refuse to pay to get into a park just to be tortured. I love roller Coasters and spending a day in a park when I can't go on them would be miserable. Of course this has caused a slight falling out with some friends because we couldn't tell them the "real" reason we aren't going. Oh well what can you do? Anyways Cheeseburger weekend is always fun, and there will be lots to eat and it will be fun just to hang out.
On the job front, I don't think I got the job I interviewed for in my last post. It was just as well, I didn't want to deal with the whole maternity leave issue. I have a recruiter who keeps contacting me about a position, but at least now I think I will be upfront and ask if they would even offer maternity leave before I even would consider it.
That is all for now.

Nothing new to report

2005-08-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

Appetite is still all funky. Although my appetite always gets funky when it gets hot in the summer. I had a job interview on Monday I will find out by the end of the week if I get it or not. Of course the problem is, I would really like to get this job. It would be closer to home, but since I would need to go on maternity leave in March I am at a dilemma on what to tell them. If I get offered the job, do I tell them then, or do I still wait and work for them a little bit. It is against the law to discriminate and not hire me because I am pregnant. But at the same time I would like to be honest, and know upfront if I would qualify for a paid maternity leave. If I were to stay in my current position I would get 12 weeks at 60% pay I believe. I may not qualify for anything other than the mandatory leave dictated by law (unpaid). So I will wait until I hear back from them.

No appetite, good appetite, no appetite

2005-07-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

Well last Thursday I got my appetite back, and food didn't seem so awful. I was good until Sunday night. Then I had issues again. Sometimes food just won't go down. It's not even like I have nausea, Food just won't go down. Today I feel better. I have so far lost weight, but I am not too worried about that. It is just weird because it's not like I am not eating, I actually don't get sick all that often. I am trying to keep up with walking. Of course a few months ago (before I was pregnant) I was watching what I ate exercising everyday, drinking 8 glasses of water and never lost weight. I gained some but never really lost. Now I am not trying at all to lose, still trying to eat healthy and I am losing a little everyday. Oh well I am sure it will all catch up to me eventually:-)Chad has been doing good with getting his own meals together on nights I am not that hungry and don't want to cook. Maybe by the end of this he will be quite the gourmet:-)

Back at work

2005-07-19T10:35:00.000-04:00

Man it is hard to be back at work after a nice long vacation. However usually when I get back from somewhere I don't have something to look forward to, so I just do work. About a week before I leave I am thinking about the vacation, making last minute plans, checking out everything and not thinking about work. When I am on vacation I don't think about work at all. So a week vacation is more like 2. Of course this time I do have something bigger to think about.
I have been trying to do some research on what I can and shouldn't drink. I do like a cup of coffee every once in a while, and that is fine. However I was wondering if tea would be more beneficial. Of course if you read any kind of authoritative guide it will tell you a cup or two of coffee a day is fine. However since no decent study has been done on any kind of tea stay away from it at all costs. I think those guides are just trying to cover their butts. So I have doing some more research I suspect there have been decent studies done but since they weren't funded by Lipton or some other big company that can pay for a big press release.
I have found a few bits of information that says raspberry leaf tea is good to drink throughout your pregnancy....1 cup a day the first trimester, 2 cups during the second, and 3 the third(?). Then there are warnings that this tea isn't good for you at all. The reasoning all basically contradicts each other.
I started this search because I have mint tea at my desk and wanted to know if it is ok. Most "authoritative guides" say don't make tea from ANY herb in your backyard unless you are SURE it is ok. Well I have mint in my backyard, which is a common backyard tea herb. So I went looking and it turns out, mint tea appears to be fine and good for calming your stomach. Which is good because so far all I have found for calming a stomach is ginger which has made my stomach turn at the thought of it since I babysat a couple of kids a long time ago, and all they had in their house to eat was ginersnap cookies. I was so ill the next day I have never wanted ginger again.
So the verdict for now, Mint Tea = OK, Lipton decaffeinated tea = GREAT, Coffee = Under 3 cups perfectly fine, Any other kind of tea= evil!!!!!!!! So I will do some more research for now, I will break this chockhold Lipton has on woman everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!

Back from the Doctor

2005-07-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

Well it is officially official. We got to see an ultrasound and saw a little heartbear in a wee little thing inside of me. We both feel just more relieved. There was just something about having it confirmed by a doctor. Everything looks healthy and normal so far. Chad was there. Afterwards we drove to the hospital to see where it was. It is kind of far for us, but with our health care plan we only have so many choices, and I wanted to go to a birthing center. And the due date is March 4.

Back from vacation

2005-07-16T15:49:00.000-04:00

We just got back from an amazing vacation all over Nothern Michigan. We did a canoe trip in the UP, went to Sault Ste. Marie and LSSU. Did lots of geocaching. Belle had a great time too. We are all very tired. We rested most of the day yesterday (Which was Friday we got home on Thursday night). Right now we are trying to get a start on organizing the computer room and spare room. We will eventually have to move the computer stuff into the spare room so the computer room can be a nursery. We will need to get rid of a lot of stuff that we don't need and Chad will have to do some work in the crawl space to get the cable all hooked up. The doctors appointment is on Monday!

Morning sickness? Yeah all day sickness

2005-07-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

I don't know if I experience morning sickness, nerves, or just regular sickness...maybe a combination of all of the above. Anyways I came home from work on Tuesday with a headache. It was small, but at home it started to get worse. I made dinner and ate. My head started to hurt worse after dinner. I had a Stephen's Ministry meeting to go to, so I went to take a 20 minute nap. Just as I started to relax Chad and Belle came in to wake me up in time for my meeting. I hesitated going, but it was just a headache....right? Well I forgot but with my really bad headache I get nauseous. Since I don't know what I can take for a headache I took nothing. I debated going to the meeting, but decided to go. During the meeting the headache got worse and worse, and so did the nausea. I finally got home (after a quick trip to CVS for prenatal vitamins) and before I could even get close to the bathroom I began to throw up. I was all over me....the bathroom....everywhere. I put my clothes in the washer right away, clean the bathroom, and went to bed. I throw up again that night. Yesterday morning I didn't feel any better. I tried to eat a little bit of cantaloupe and nope.....that came up too. I stayed home all day, working from home, and trying to sleep the headache away. The headache finally started to go away after dinner time I made plain white rice and was able to keep it down. I had another meeting to go to last night, it only lasted for an hour or so. I started to feel better.
Later Chad and I went shopping to get some items for our canoe trip next week. We also made a stop at Borders to get some baby books. Of course at Borders we had to do a quick check to make sure no one we knew was there, since we are still trying to keep everything a secret. We got two books "what to expect when you are expecting" and a book for Chad for expectant fathers (don't remember the title). We must have looked so silly holding those books and looking around and just being silly. Also it took us a while to find the section they are in.....and we didn't dare ask anyone!
By the time we were done spending way to much money for the night, I was actually feeling hungry and headache free. So I suggested ice cream. It stayed down!
Today my head is fine, I am trying to stay hydrated. I even had a chicken sandwich from Burger King for lunch.
Maybe tonight I will actually start to read the book!

We are expecting

2005-07-05T11:57:00.000-04:00

So Chad and I have been married now for 6 years. When we were first married Chad was still in college, so one bugged us much about having kids. Of course around the 4th year that is about all people would ask us. Like nothing else matters unless you procreate. It wasn't "how is your job?" "Do you like your new house?".....it was "so when are you going to have kids?". Our answer was generally the same "We will start thinking about it at 5 years".....of course no one ever seemed to hear that answer. After 5 years we changed the answer to "We don't want to discuss it".....no one ever seemed to hear that answer as well. Actually that answer seem to make things worse because it sounded like we were anti-kids....It wasn't that at all, we just don't discuss that. I cringe when I hear people announce "We're trying".....I honestly don't care, do they want me to respond "ohhh how often are you trying what positions?" I don't care about other peoples lives in the bedroom, and I also don't discuss mine with others. So that is what we were trying to avoid. However no matter how hard we tried to explain that, it appears no one actually listened to us.
Anyhoo, the next hurdle we know we have to cross is the wait to tell people. We both want to wait until after the first trimester to begin to tell everyone. This helps us get used to the idea and ready to answer all of your questions, and just to make sure everything is good. Of course waiting until you are 3 months along could upset some people. But that is why I have created this blog. It will cover that time so you can read what happened before you knew. It will be a way to still share what you might have missed:-)
So how did we find out we were expecting? Well it was actually kind of simple. I missed a period, we had to do some shopping at Meijer. So we bought a test kit there. Of course we looked around to make sure no one we knew was nearby. Can't you just imagine it deep in discussion about which one to get an you turn to see someone from church? I've run into my sister-in at that Meijer before....although I am sure she would keep our secret;-) I did the test why Chad put away groceries, and tada it was positive.
I have since found an OBGYN, my first appointment is on the 18th of July. I was fortunate to be able to stay home a little later than normal, because it should be a slow week (GM is off), and no one was expecting me in early as usual.
I figured I would go to my primary doctor first than pick a OBGYN, well my primary doctor refused to take me (well refuse it a little harsh but still kind of weird) they recommended that I go to an OBGYN in Dearborn. This was to far and I had seen him before and disliked him and the office immensely so I said I would find one on my own. Then I called an office located in Livonia, the woman making the appointment was soooo nice which for me is a good sign of a nice office. What I neglect to mention is that I was having issues with both places in regards to the phone. Each time I called the first time they couldn't hear me. So I would have to call back and say "Please tell me you can hear me". But I got the appointment and headed off to work. So now I am here starting this blog.....which won't be made public until......well I guess you will know when.