Bump Watch - 16 Weeks

The shadow makes it a little hard to see, but I'm getting a belly! It's just little and cute right now. I'm really trying not to overeat just because I'm pregnant so my total weight gain so far is 2 pounds. I have an appointment with my OB on Thursday.

In other news, I have bid off on another job. I'm not too excited about it because I'll be working with cranky customers face to face. After talking to Russ about it, I decided I couldn't pass it up. My boss mentioned it to me and said that her boss had asked her if I would be interested. She also said, in a nutshell, that it was mine if I wanted it. I will be getting a .50 raise immediately and then another $1.00 raise 6 months after that. $1.50 raise within 6 months. I think I would be crazy not to take it. I hope it isn't going to be as stressful as I think it is. I have a hard time with disconnecting my work life and my personal life. I also have a hard time not taking things personally. We'll just have to see and I'll just have to work on my personality a bit. All in all, I'm excited about getting out of the basement and away from the drama that is created there....and also about the money.

That's it for now, folks! Have a great Halloween!

A Little Bit of Politics For My Blog

My brother put this on his blog and I agree fully with what it says. I'm not trying to start a debate, but I do hope those that read this will really think about what it says. Also, when we all go to the polls on Tuesday, please understand fully what you are voting for. The fate of this country stands in our hands.

[The following article was written for the last Presidential Election, but is relevant to the upcoming election as well. It was taken from The Chapman Challenger, October 27, 2008 -J]

Do Christians Really Have a Choice in Casting Their Vote?
Todd Clippard

On November 4, the citizens of our great nation will elect a president, U.S. senators, congressmen, and other officials. Tragically, some professed Christians try to separate their “politics” from their responsibility to do what is morally right. I find it unconscionable how many “Christians” openly align themselves with candidates who support homosexuality, abortion, and other positions opposed to Bible doctrine. Despite claims that these are “political issues,” they were moral issues first. When politicians turn moral issues into political issues, the faithful Christian must support that which is biblically right. Christians have the responsibility to support candidates whose views are most closely in accord with God’s word.

Christians are to be good stewards (1Corinthians 4:2). To whom much is entrusted, much will be required (Luke 12:48). How then can a Christian support a candidate who openly supports an ideology destructive to righteousness and holiness? Sadly, I am convinced that no matter the amount of warning or scriptural pleas, many Christians will vote for candidates who will use their office to promote a godless agenda.

God ordained civil government (Romans 13:1-7). Christians are to obey the laws of the land and conduct themselves in an orderly and godly fashion (1Peter 2:13-17). We are expected to pay taxes and to pray for the leaders of the land (Matthew 22:17-21; 1Timothy 2:1-3). But no citizen is forced to vote; it is a right and privilege. However, our rights as U.S. citizens are superseded by our moral stances as compared to the law of Christ (Philippians 1:20; Hebrews 11:16). Support should be given to men and women of high integrity and moral fiber who will make decisions to help steer our country back toward God’s word. Too often, Christians vote based upon their family history or supporting a particular party or the perceived economic advantages of supporting a particular party. Such reasoning is faulty and shallow for one who claims to be a child of God.

When the subject of voting and morality arises, some turn defensive and say, “How I vote is nobody’s business but my own!” (In the 13 years I’ve been preaching, every person who chastised me for “preaching politics” supported candidates who promoted abortion, homosexuality, the lottery, etcetera). However, when one enters the voting booth, the only parties truly involved are not the voter and his political party, but the voter and God. We will stand before God one day and give an account for our actions (2Corinthians 5:10); this includes how we vote. Christians who vote for candidates who promote ungodliness are part of the problem and not part of the solution of getting our country back on the right track. How can one pray for the good of our country when he supports candidates whose agenda undermines the very foundation of our nation?

In this year’s national elections, two issues at the forefront of the political debate are homosexuality and abortion. One presidential candidate opposes abortion and expanded rights for homosexuals, the other supports all forms of abortion and favors homosexual marriage. In light of this, do Christians really have a choice in how to vote? May we elect our leaders in such a way as to invoke God’s blessing. “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Can I Ask You A Question?

Do you remember the survey my Dad filled out about me? There was a question that I said I would have to blog about because the story is funny. Well, here's the story!

When my Mom, sis, and I did the Memory Walk for alzheimer's, my Mom and sis were really on me about keeping hydrated. I felt like I was, but they didn't think I was drinking enough water. I had drank a whole bottle during the walk which was three miles and needed to go to the restroom. It wasn't bad, but it would have been if I downed another bottle of water. They wouldn't let up so I finally drank a second bottle of water. By the time we left, my bladder was about to explode! We decided to go get some lunch at El Chico. We were in a part of town that I'm not too familiar with and I was driving. By the way, the seat belt did nothing to help my full bladder. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and we ended up going west when I needed to be going east. So I decided to turn around. Mom pointed out a gas station that was just a little ways ahead and said that I could use the restroom there. Great! So I drove into the parking lot and parked beside a car that had one door open and there was an African American man sitting in the passenger seat. I jump out of the car, in a total hurry to get in and the guy stops me. This dude was creepy. He had dred locks and he looked like he hadn't showered in a while. Yes, I'm judging. Sue me. He stops me and says, "Hey lady, can I ask you a question?" My mind wasn't working real well at that point. All I could think about was emptying my bladder so I said "NO!" and ran inside. As I was going inside I heard my car's doors locking. Uh oh. What did I do? I didn't have time to look back to see what was going on because I was a few seconds away from bursting. I go to the restroom (which took about 20 minutes and I just needed to pee) and I come back out and creepy guy is gone. Sigh. I got back in the car and Mom and Chelley just looked at me. What? "Lisa, what did you say to that guy???" "I told him he couldn't ask me a question." Apparently, the dude was completely bewildered at my rudeness (let's just call it what it was). Maybe I should have handled that situation a little differently, but we sure get some good laughs at the story!

Huh?

There was a post the other day on one of the pregnancy boards on WebMD from a husband of a pregnant woman. He said that his wife had had a very bad day and went out and smoked all evening. He wanted to know if the one night of smoking would hurt their baby or not.

I'm not going to say all the things that went through my head about this couple. Most of you know how I feel about this topic and I don't need to type it just to show how opinionated I am. But, this post did get me thinking about other people that I have known who have smoked while they were pregnant and the consequences they eventually reaped or didn't reap because of it.

I once worked with a woman who gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. She was a smoker, but she had quite when she found out she was pregnant with this child. She had two other boys before him who were all in okay health. There was some asthma problems, but other than that, they were healthy.

7 months later, the lady (I can't even remember her name) went to her doctor just to find out that she was 7 months pregnant with another child. Once she had had her son, she promptly went back to smoking and who knows what else so she had smoked throughout her pregnancy.

She didn't quit when she found out that she was 7 months pregnant. She just kept on doing exactly what she had been and didn't have the slightest regard to her baby's health. She also was devestated that she was pregnant. She didn't want another child and she would talk about how much she didn't want to be pregnant on a daily basis.

When this beautiful baby girl was born, she had a hole in her heart and she died 15 minutes after birth. The woman was devestated after the death of her child. She was depressed and she didn't cope well at all. It was hard to feel sorry for the lady. There is no doubt in my mind that her smoking caused her baby to die. Do you think she quit after that? Nope. She just went on her way crying, smoking and crying some more. I felt bad for the baby that didn't have a chance because of the choices her mother made. I didn't feel bad for the mother who hated her baby before she was born, but was quickly devestated after she died.

I know that this isn't always the case. There were two other women that I worked with at the same place who smoked during their pregnancies and their children are alive and healthy. But, is the risk worth it? I'm not one that subscribes to all the things the internet and books say you have to stay away from. I eat hot dogs and lunch meat. I use my face wash on a daily basis. But, it is hard to find hard evidence against doing those things. They haven't been researched fully and we can't believe every single little thing people say. Smoking and drinking during pregnancy have been researched and it is proven that they both can have adverse effects on a baby during gestation. It's not the case every time but, it's the case enough times that women should know better.

I know this blog is getting long, but there is one other thing I want to bring up. This woman was 7 months pregnant before she knew. How does that happen? There are many things that have changed with my body. I think I would have to be a complete idiot to not know something was up. There was another girl at this same workplace whose mother didn't know until she was 6 months pregnant. She had been having her periods every month like normal so she never thought about it (so she says). The thing that tipped her off was that she went to the beach one day and was sun bathing. She turned over on her tummy and felt a huge lump. She convinced herself that it was cancer. She went to the doctor and came out 6 months pregnant.

How is it possible that women don't know they are pregnant. I tend to think that they lie to themselves for months because they don't want to be pregnant. I can understand it more with the girl who had just had the baby. Your body is going through a transition afterwards that could mess cycles up and make you feel odd. She would have had to have gotten pregnant less than a month after the birth of her son. As for the one who just didn't know because her cycles were normal? I have the weirdest aches, twinges, and pains all the time. I am growing a belly even though I'm not gaining weight. I am hormonal all of the time. My breasts ache and are engorged. I don't have morning sickness and never did so I can see that not being a sign. Maybe I'm just more intune with my body because of the infertility and having to understand my body and analyzing every ache and pain. I just don't understand how they couldn't know there was SOMETHING up with their bodies. If the belly didn't clue them in, something else should have tipped them off to go to the doctor. By the way, the woman with the baby looked 7 months pregnant. I remember thinking that she was and wasn't telling anyone.

Okay, that's enough for now. Sorry I wrote a book. That topic has been weighing heavily on my mind all evening and morning so I wanted to type it out and get some comments about it. What do you all think? Am I wrong in thinking that their pregnancies should have been obvious?

Fun Survey

My sis sent me a survey, but instead of filling it out about yourself, you were supposed to send a blank on to all of your friends and then fill out the survey with information about the person who sent it to you. Well, I sent the survey to my Dad and laughed so much at his answers that I had to post it! The questions are in white, his answers are in yellow, my comments are in pink.

Where did we meet? At your birth. Really before, when I rubbed your momma’s belly.

Take a stab at my middle name? Your real middle name is Janelle. But you have several aliases such as Lou, Toot, and Tootie. I finally got my Dad to quit calling me toot since it's considered slang for prostitute now days.

Do I speak a second language? Ya, Klingon. You know how I used to have a Star Trek addiction? This was, unfortunately, a side effect. I can't remember much of it anymore, though.

Am I a cat lover or dog lover? Any furry and cuddly.

Color of my eyes?: It depends whether you are angry or not. Normally, hazel, but if angry, they turn to fire. It's true, but I get it from him.

Do I have any siblings? Yes, two brothers and a sister, but you would like to be an only child. This one isn't so true...though I wouldn't mind trading in my oldest sibling...

What's one of my favorite things to do? Shop and influence your Mother to spend money on card making stuff. Chelley had a part in corrupting mother, too!!! At least it's a fairly inexpensive hobby.

What's my favorite type of music?: Love songs to Russy. I'm a sap. What can I say?

Am I taller than you? Nope, but not by much.

Am I shy or outgoing? Depends. When there is a “scary man” in the car next to you who asks you a question, you are blunt and outgoing. However, there are times (seldom) when you are shy. I will definitely be blogging this story since I get teased about it a lot!

Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules? REBEL! (At least to your Dad.)

What is my birth month? You were born? I don’t remember that. Dad claims that I was hatched...I think it has something to do with the fact that he calls us girls hens.

Do I want to see a woman or man as next president? Man

I am a member of which political party? Neither Democrat or Republican. (You do have some sense.)

Am I Liberal? Moderate? or Conservative? Conservative. In fact, you are so conservative that you squeak when you walk. I squeak, but again, I get that from him.

Have you ever heard me sing? Ya, at least that is what you call it, but I’m really not sure anyone else will call it that. Thanks....

How many children do I have? Only one in the oven baking. I used to think it was a little rude to say this about someone, but now that people are saying it about me, I'm all of the sudden okay with it!

Have we taken photographs together? More than I could count. My dad told me that I was going to turn out like my Aunt Cindy (she's the picture queen of our family) and I said that would be just fine. At least I'll have my memories!

When is the last time you saw me? Yesterday.

When will I see you again? Lord willing this evening.

Have we ever had a falling out? Chuckle!!! (pun intended) Could we count them all? We have had some rocky times to say the least, but it has gotten much better since I got married and moved out.

If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring? grief Hee hee. This is so true...

Am I right handed or left handed? Right handed and maybe even a little under handed.

What type of work do I do? You work!?! Oh yah, you do have a job. I think it must have something to do with putting up with your co-worker. You probably have other responsibilities, but that is the one you speak of mostly.

15 Weeks And Counting!

I am 15 weeks today! Wooo hoooo!!!! That means 5 more weeks until the halfway point and 9 more weeks until viability (which also happens to be Christmas). I have to say that everything is flying by so fast. Though, on the other hand, I feel like I haven't seen a doctor in forever! When part of your weekly life is going to the doctor at least once for 6 months in a row, it gets odd when you don't go for a while...and I still have two more weeks until my next appointment. What to do, what to do.

Pregnancy symptom: EMOTIONAL! At least I'm going to blame this on the pregnancy. I can do that now, you know. I have been having insurance woes. I thought my insurance was finally starting to cover me, but when I went back and looked at that explanation of benefits, it was Russ'. I don't know how I got them mixed up. We don't carry the same insurance so I should have realized the format was different. So I recieved an EOB last week saying my first pregnancy-related ultrasound and consult were denied. I called the insurance company and they said it was because the clinic had coded it under infertility. I then called the clinic and the billing/insurance lady just had surgery and was out for 6 weeks but was calling people from home so I left my name and number and asked her to call me. Then the waiting began. Sigh. So on Wednesday evening, after bible class, I get home to another statement saying more services had been denied. I have recieved EOB's for all of my infertility services. I should be covered from this point on. Thursday morning I called my clinic back and told them what was going on. One of the front desk lady's told me that she would have the billing lady call me and that she had given her the message. I get that the billing lady just had surgery and is probably cranked out on pain pills, but I was still just a tad annoyed that this wasn't on their list of priorities. Ok, I also know that I'm not the only patient and this probably isn't a huge deal for them. A few minutes later, the receptionist calls back and says that the billing lady thinks it must be a Global Fee. A what? What are you even talking about? The receptionist doesn't know enough about it to explain it to me so I said that I would just call my insurance company and talk to someone there which I proceeded to do. I reached someone and they said that my claims have been denied because they requested clinic charts to prove that I'm pregnant and these services weren't for infertility. What? I thought everything was coded wrong. No, the billing lady denied any wrong coding. I had to call the receptionist back. She sent the information over a week ago. At this point, I'm completely overwhelmed and I have no idea why. This wasn't a huge deal. I had only been on the phone for an hour. That's not bad when you are dealing with insurance. But, I started crying. At work. I went to the bathroom and had to sit in there and sob for a few minutes. This was a stupid thing to cry about. I have no idea what was going on with me! This is the part I'm blaming on the hormones because I knew when I was crying that it was stupid, but I couldn't stop. It was like I had no control over the tears streaming down my face. At least it wasn't the racking, gut-wrenching sobs that I get when Russ and I have a particularly bad fight. I finally composed myself and called my insurance company back. I got the same girl I had talked to before and told her that the receptionist at my fertility clinic had sent all the information. She looks on her computer and says "Oops. There it is. I just didn't see it." followed by a chuckle. Luckily the headquarters for the company is out of state and I couldn't bash her head in with my telephone.

At the end, I got it worked out and they are reviewing my claims. I should get an EOB saying they will cover everything they have denied (pregnancy related). In other news, I'm signing up for my lamaze and breastfeeding classes today. I'm excited about that and I can't wait! That's all for now folks.

NTT Results

I recieved my nuchal translucency test results this afternoon. There is not an increased risk for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18 or Spina Bifida. Wooo Hooo!!! There is a second part, a blood draw, that I have to do to complete the test, but the first part is finished!

Weekend Fun

I haven't been on at all since Thursday. That has got to be a record for me. Three whole days...well, almost. I have had a great weekend. My sis came to hang out with my Mom and I and we had a blast.

First, though, I didn't post my Bump Watch picture for 14 weeks. Sorry about being a slacker. Here it is. Isn't it amazing how much difference two weeks made? I actually have a bump now!

On Friday we went on a day trip to an area museum.

After going on our day trip we made a shoebox for Soldiers. If you haven't heard of it, google it because it's a great way to say thanks to our soldiers. You just get a box and fill it with items, drop it off at a specified location and they will send it to the soldiers for Christmas.
On Saturday, we had a scrapbooking party. I still have two pictures to scrap to be caught up in my pregnancy book, but I did get most of it done for now.

I wanted to scrap this because it was such a huge part of the process. I didn't feel right leaving it out.

Have a good week Blogger Buddies!

First Baby Gift

I received this baby gift tonight from a thoughtful woman that I go to church services with. I hope the eventual occupant will love it as much as I do.

George was kind enough to model the shirt for us.

Candy Quiz

This quiz was passed out today at work and I loved it so much that I thought I would share. Guess the name of the candy from the description below. I'll post the answers as a comment.

1. Greasy Digit
2. Sarcastic Laughs
3. A Long Run
4. A Planet
5. Overweight
6. A Big Mass Of Stars
7. What A Worker Looks Forward To
8. Small Hills
9. A Famous Trio Of Men
10. Definition Of Object You Can't ID
11. A Body Builder
12. The Elite Street In New York
13. A Brand Name Of Bread
14. Pooh's Favorite
15. Nutty Happiness
16. What Elmer Fudd Calls Pranks
17. Mini Sultan Of Swing
18. Charlie Brown's Girlfriend
19. Opposite Of Bad & Few
20. Little Laughs
21. A Lazy Cowboy
22. A Dry Cow
23. Not Sour, Not Clubs, Spades Or Diamonds
24. Happy To Round Up The Horses
25. 20 Years
26. Beethoven Wrote One
27. A Tavern Stepped On By Goliath
28. 2 Words Combined Together That Have To Do With Girls
29. Pillsbury Product & A Dustin Hoffman Movie
30. Sticky "Gentle Bens"

Good Luck Blogger Buddies!

Shopping Spree

I went shopping tonight and just had to share the cutie-patootie t-shirts I bought! If you can't read them, the black one says "Baby Got Bump." The blue one says "Baby It's Cold Outside" and the gray one just says "Baby" four times. Too stinking cute!

Recurring Dream

I've had basically the same dream now for three nights in a row. I can't remember what happens at the beginning assuming my memory isn't just picking up at this one spot. It always starts with Dream Lisa wanting a beer. Now, as a side note, I don't drink. I've never had a beer in my life so I don't know why Dream Lisa is wanting a beer, but be that as it may. Dream Lisa then proceeds to go home and she opens the refridgerator. Guess what is in our frigde....beer! I've never had beer in my fridge. We don't drink. Then Dream Lisa, who by the way is pregnant, proceeds to grab a beer and drink it. WHAT?!?!? After downing the beer (dream beer tastes like cream soda), Dream Lisa freaks out because she is pregnant. She freaks out so much that it stresses me out and I wake up. Weird? Yes. Plus, during Part 2 Sunday night, Dream Lisa also took Ecstasy for "energy." I tell you what, I'm going to have to have a long talk with Dream Lisa. Last nights dream was so real that it took me a couple minutes to realize that I was not drinking beer and that I don't do drugs. I have to say, though, the nights are always entertaining.

2nd Trimester

13 weeks and 2 days marks the end of 1st trimester so I am officially in my 2nd tri! YAY! I'm a third of the way to seeing my baby. Total weight gain for 1st tri is.....drumroll please.....0 pounds. I'm sure I'll make up for that in the 2nd and 3rd tri's.

Weekend Plans

This coming weekend my Marmie, Sis and I are all going to go for a day trip on Friday. I'm so excited about it! Then on Saturday, we are all going to have a scrapbook day! YAY! It's been a while since I scraped anything so I'm really behind. I did go to Hobby Lobby and Joann's yesterday with my Marmie and bought some supplies so I'm ready to start my pregnancy scrapbook. I can't wait. I got a picture printed from each set of ultra sound pictures and printed my bump watch pictures so I'm all set for that. Here are the supplies I bought yesterday. I just love it all!

Ultra Sound #8

I went back in for my second NT test this morning. I really can't believe how much bigger he is from just Tuesday. It really is amazing how fast they grow. I'm going to miss seeing him every week, but once I get the bills for the 8 ultra sounds I've had I'm sure I will get over it really fast. He did cooperate this morning. It took him a while, but he finally let her get a few measurements. I'm fairly certain I felt the little guy during the ultra sound. The tech was pushing on my abdomen pretty hard and I had a sensation like someone had poked me in the gut at the same time he flipped over on the screen. It could have been my imagination, but I would be surprised. I haven't felt anything other than that. It's still really early to be feeling kicks. I got more pictures so I'll post those sometime.

I will get the results of this first part of the NT test in about a week. They did the measurements and pricked my finger to get some blood. Then in a month I have to go to my doctor for the second part which is a blood draw and I'll get the final results about a week after that. Hopefully everything is just fine, but if it isn't then we'll know sooner rather than later. The NT test checks for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 18, Spina Bifida (which my neice has and the main reason I wanted this test), and a few other chromosomal abnormalities.

My next doctor appointment is on November 6th and I'm hoping for smooth sailing from here on out. No more bleeding, please. I still feel great. No morning sickness to speak of. I've had a few bouts of nausea here and there, but nothing that lingers. I am getting a small tummy. I have lost a pound over all, but I'm definitely pooching. My pants are getting tighter. I finally went last night and bought two pairs of maternity pants. The salesgirl asked me if I needed any help and I had said no, but I had no clue what I was doing. She came back up to me and asked me if this was my first. Am I that transparent? She helped me out and picked a couple pairs of work pants that I should be able to wear the whole pregnancy. I'm not wearing them today, but it's going to happen within the next week or two if I keep growing like I am right now.

Last night Russ mentioned how much happier I have been lately. During our battle with infertility, I did some major soul searching trying to figure out if the only thing making me depressed was my need for a child or if there was something else that made me unhappy. I kept second guessing myself about it. I shouldn't have let infertility run my life, but when all your extra finances are basically going to pay for treatment, it's really hard. I still have financial things I'm trying to work out and I still have some other stresses in my life, but I really am genuinely happy with everything as a whole right now. I feel like the battle to get to this point brought Russ and I closer together in the long run. It didn't seem like it at some points during, but now I am closer to him than I ever have been before. I'm happy and I'm content and I can't wait to meet our baby that we made out of love, even if it wasn't the traditional way. It felt good that Russ has noticed the change.

This became a long post again. I have had so much to say this week. I'll keep updating about our life and I'll hopefully have something else to blog about during the next month. I know my blog has been overrun with baby stuff lately. We have a hayride to go to tomorrow so I'll post those pictures sometime.

See Ya Blogger Buddies!

Flower Garden

These were in my sisters flower garden. I thought they were beautiful and wanted to share.

Ultra sound pictures, NTT, and Misc

I have had a lot to blog about the last couple of days. I'm sure you guys are getting bored with the weekly ultra sound pictures, but I just love being able to pull them up at work and looking at them. It makes me happy. Here are the two from yesterday.

As you can probably tell, these aren't the best ultra sound pictures I've ever gotten. That's fine, though. I got some more today that are with a better machine. He was measuring 12 weeks and 4 days yesterday which put him a day ahead of what he is. It looks like he finally caught up with his gestational age. They didn't measure the heart rate or if they did, they didn't tell me what it was and I didn't ask. My OB said that he could see it beating, but I couldn't hardly see anything so I just had to take his word for it.

I went in for my nuchal translucency test today. If you don't know what that is there is information about it here. It's basically designed to check for risks of Down's Syndrome by measuring the nuchal folds of a babies neck. The ultra sound machine was the same one that WandBoy uses. It has to be high resolution in order to get accurate measurements. When I got to the office, I was the only one in the waiting room. They called me back within five minutes and started the scan. I finally got to have an abdominal scan. YAY! Logan was dancing in my uterus. You could see so much more than what you could even last week. I got a bunch of pictures of him and will post those sometime this week. He was moving his little arm and it looked like he was waving at me. I could see his little fingers and everything. So exciting. Unfortunately, Logan has decided that he doesn't want to be photographed any more. He wouldn't stay in the right position to measure his nuchal folds so I have to go back on Friday. I can't blame the little guy. This was the seventh ultra sound in less than nine weeks. At least I get more pictures on Friday.

I picked out a crib bedding set that I love. You can see it here. Russ' parents have a crib that they are going to give us. His neice used it when she was a baby. It's mint green so we are going to paint it white. We also want to buy a changing table/dresser for Logan. We'll need some kind of storage and we don't have a lot of room so I thought this was the most practical for our situation.

Russ took me to Kohl's tonight after a wonderful dinner at Olive Garden (thanks Debbie and Tony for the gift card!). I wanted to get the new Kohl's Cares for Kids books and stuffed animals. I have a collection of them and I just couldn't wait to get the new ones. This quarter is Curious George. How cute are they???

I sent Obi-Wan Kenobi a cookie boquet to thank him for everything he did for us. I know that we paid him, but I still wanted to do something for him. Here is a picture of it. The cookie in the middle is going to say Thank You instead of Be Happy.

That's it for now. Two long posts in one day is quite enough wouldn't you say?

Stay cool Blogger Buddies!

Shout Out

I forgot to mention in my post about this weekend that my brother-in-law, Chris was there also. Thanks Chris for letting us stay in your house! It was great to see you!

My New Doctor

I went to meet my new doctor yesterday. The place is huge. The building has a ton of different specialties in it. I'm not used to that since the fertility clinic is the only thing in their part of the building. Anyway, my appointment was at 1:15 p.m. and I wasn't called back until 2:00 p.m. Russ was using his lunch hour for the appointment and he had to leave about 10 minutes after we got into the exam room. So, we get back there and the first thing they made me do was pee in a cup. So after I got done peeing all over my hand (I always have trouble hitting those tiny cups, anyone else have this problem? I guess I should get used to getting pee'd on), I had to answer a bunch of family history questions. Blah blah blah. BTW, this is all with the nurse. She then gave me a really nice canvas bag full of magazines and books and a binder of information for the pregnancy. This wasn't one of those cheap things like the Alzheimers Association gave to Chelle (which she promptly gave away because of its quality). This bag is really nice. I'm sure I'm paying for it some way. I had to get a couple of cervical swabs to check for STD's and all that fun stuff and a blood draw to screen for HIV. If I had known I was going to be undressed, I would have shaved my legs and painted my toe nails. So the nurse leaves and the OB comes in. Does anyone else think it's really funny that the first time you meet an OB/GYN doctor, you are undressed from the waist down? I find this amusing. So he walks in and the first thing he said was "I hear you're a product of [insert name of fertility doctor here]." To which I answered "Yes, yes I am." Then he said "I really like that guy. He keeps sending me his patients." Cracked me up and I knew I would like him. After the exam, he did an ultra sound. WandBoy had told me that when I left there, I would be getting away from the tran vag ultra sounds. Nope. Yesterday marked my 20th. Go me! I was really disappointed with the quality of their machine. It was horrible. I wouldn't have been able to tell what the head was and what the body was if he hadn't pointed them out. He did give me a couple pictures, but they're not anything to get excited about. I'll probably go ahead and post them sometime. All in all the appointment went well. I'm not going to change doctors so I'm relieved about that. I have my Down's Syndrome test this afternoon. I was offered a cystic fibrosis screening, but declined that one. All they can check for it whether the mother is a carrier of the gene or not. They can't check the baby so I figured that we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it. I did find out that one of the girls I go to worship services with also uses the same doctor. She doesn't like him, though. She wants him to stay and chat a while whereas I'm just fine with them getting me in and out. I'm busy. Plus, if I have a pressing question, I'll stop the doctor from leaving. That is their job after all. I have one more week of first tri left. I'm so excited to get into second tri! Plus, I started to pop this weekend. I still haven't gained any weight, but I definitely have a small belly. Others can't tell unless I point it out, but Russ and I definitely see a difference. That is super exciting!

That's it for now.

Keep reading Blogger Buddies!

Baby Name

You know how I said the name of the baby is a secret? HA! I can't keep my own secrets. You all should know that by now. All I needed was a little prodding. And a sister who guessed it on her second try. I figure since the people whose opinions I care about most know, then I'll just go ahead and let it out so we don't have to keep called the little guy Mahershalalhashbaz Ashkenaz. His name is.....


Logan Russell

Weekend Fun

This weekend my Dad, Mom and I went down to visit my sister. My Mom and I went with Chelley to the Ladies Day the church she attends was hosting. The theme was "Breaking the Bread of Life."

This is a picture of Me, Mom and Chelley at the ladies day.
Welcome table and registration.
Mom was the speaker of the event. She did a great job!
These are the cakes. I thought they were very pretty.
On Sunday we went to a church for a "Friends and Family Day" that my Dad spoke at. We had a fantastic weekend!

Remember the Creepy Things List?

Add this one to it: MSNBC

Bump Watch - 12 Weeks

Here is my 12 week belly picture. The only changes I have noticed are that the girls are enormous and that my tummy is getting harder than usual. I have a nice pudge roll under my belly button and I used to be able to push it in quite a bit, but not anymore. It doesn't hardly move now. Plus, the area underneath my pudge and above my pelvis is getting rounder. But, I'm still not showing and am still fitting into my regular pants so that's great for my pocket book so far. I haven't bought one baby thing or maternity item yet. Hopefully I can hold off for a little longer.Stay cool Blogger Buddies!

Dream Drama

I had the worst dream last night. I woke up with my body completely numb and my mouth was open like I was screaming. I can't remember a whole lot about the first part of the dream, but the last part is very clear in my mind. Bruce Willis was in my dream (like the part he played on Die Hard). We were fighting what I can only assume were bad guys. That part is a little fuzzzy. He was all bloody and we were running for a long time. We stopped in an alley with high rise apartment buildings all around. Red brick going as far up as the eye could see in the dead of night. There was a ladder on one of the walls with blood all over it. Bruce was by the ladder and he started looking at it and there were notes attached to it. Every other rung had a note with a few words on it. In all it said "Sara, (I have no idea who Sara is) I'm like the walking Night of the Living Dead." We both started screaming and I woke up. I have no clue what that even means, but it sounds scary.

Also, last week I had the same dream twice that I was bleeding and when I woke up I ran to the bathroom to see if it was true. I didn't dream that dream Friday night, but I did wake up with bleeding on Saturday. Weird. I hope the Bruce Willis dream doesn't come true.

Mii Play Wii

Russ bought a new toy this weekend. And just to show you all how much of a nerd I really am: yes, that is a Dumbledore's Army t-shirt paired with pajama pants. I DO NOT wear this outfit in public...I only post it on the web for the whole world to see!