The Baby Story

2003-05-08T18:59:00.000-04:00

Today was Ethan's 2 week doctor's appointment - and he is doing fabulous! His first doctor's appointment was at 5 days, and he weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. In the first week or so newborns lose weight.... so he had lost 4.5 ounces at that point. The only way the doctor can tell if he is getting enough to eat, since I am breastfeeding, is to weigh him. Today Ethan weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 14 ounces!! He is definitely eating!! He also gained a half inch in length. When the nurse put him on the scale (he is weighed sans clothes and diaper) he peed all over the scale - it was pretty classic. So we brought him back into the exam room after that, and Tom was getting ready to put a new diaper on him when he peed again (not even 2 minutes later!!) all over the table and the wall then he immediately pooped on the table too! It was hilarious! The beginnning of our doctor's appointment entailed so much cleaning!!

Before the appointment this afternoon, Tom and I took Ethan to our offices so that everyone could oooh and aaahhh over him. It was fun to show him off. And he was a perfect angel at both offices - just sleeping the whole time, despite all of the noise. (I have so VERY noisy co-workers!)

Alright, time to go for a walk with the hubby, the kid and the pooch. I need to start shedding some more pounds! So far I have lost 28 pounds in 2 weeks - not too shabby... I have 16 more pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight (which was also my Body-For-Life weight).

Have a great day!!

2003-04-28T16:46:00.000-04:00

So are you ready for the real baby story now???? I'm very sorry I haven't gotten online to do this. But the combination of the lack of sleep, still being quite sore (laying down feels MUCH better than sitting), and the fact that I would rather stare at Ethan than the computer have prevented me from updating my blog until now.

Here it is:
On Thursday morning we went to the hospital at 6:30 for our appointment to be induced. For the first 3 hours nothing really happened - they just strapped 2 monitors to my stomach - 1 to measure my contractions and another to watch Ethan's heartbeat. They also checked me and I was dialated to 4, which meant I could get my epidural whenever I said it was unbearable. At 9:30 a.m. they began the Pictocin - increasing the dosage every 20 minutes. For the first 3 hours I couldn't feel most of the contractions because they were so mild - even though the monitor said they were 4-5 minutes apart. Around 1:00 I could really start feeling the contractions... and I was dialated to 5. The resident who checked me suddenly wondered if Ethan was breech - because she said either he was bald or she could feel his butt. Not good, because if he was breech then I would have had to have headed off for a C-section right then. So they wheeled in an ultrasound machine and did a quick ultrasound and saw that, thankfully, he was in the correct position. This created lots of jokes about Ethan being bald and taking after his dad. :) (Side note: he wasn't bald - she had felt his forehead) A little later the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I asked for the epidural, thinking I would get it right away. Well, I had to wait another half hour for the anesthesiologist to come out of surgery... and in the meantime the contractions were getting more painful. Finally, though, he showed up and we got ready to do the epidural.

First of all, getting an epidural is not fun. He gave me 2 shots of local anesthetic in my back so that he could administer the epidural - which is essentially a little catheder (sp?) that goes into your spinal column and continuously gives pain medication. Getting the local shots hurt SO BAD!!! But then I couldn't feel him putting in the epidural, so that was good. Long story short, an hour later I had no pain relief - the epidural had gone into a blood vessel so it was not working - and in the meantime the contractions were getting worse. So, the guy (reluctantly) did another epidural - which meant enduring the 2 shots again, because he dropped one vertebrae lower on my spine. I think that he was pretty much positive it had been in the right spot the first time, and that I was in the 5% that an epidural does not work for. About 5 minutes after this second one was administered, I began to feel my toes tingle and going numb. Thank the Lord - the epidural was working!! Within probably 15 minutes I could no longer feel my contractions - which the moniter said were 1 1/2 to 2 minutes apart. Since I was now feeling perfectly fine, I got REALLY hungry! But I couldn't eat anything except ice chips. All I had that day was some toast at 5:00 a.m.

Now that the epidural was for sure working and I really couldn't feel anything, they broke my water. At this point I was dialated to 6. They were waiting until the epidural began working because it usually kicks labor into a much higher gear. They stuck this thing in me that looked like a crochet needle to break the water bag. I couldn't feel a thing... not even the water coming out... quite bizarre. So then they let me hang out for a little bit (I was chatting with my mom and Tom), then they came and checked me again (which was when I kicked my mom out for good).... and I was dialated to 8. At 5:30 when they checked me again I was dialated to 10... which meant it was time to start pushing. One thing about getting an epidural though, is that women are usually ineffective at pushing because they don't feel the "urge" to push. So generally they turn of the epidural once you are dialated to 10. I, however, promised the nurse I would be the best pusher in the world, so as not to feel what I assumed was probably the most painful part of the whole process. So, from 5:30 to 7:30, I was pushing at most every contraction. It's super hard work - and you have to push while holding your breath. But after 2 hours of pushing I was completely wiped out and he wasn't moving, so I told the doctor to go ahead and use the forceps. It was apparent that Ethan's head was much bigger than anyone expected. They got the room all "baby ready" and got out these metal things that looked like giant silver salad tongs. What I thought would be my biggest fear happened, but it was completely fine at the time. The doctor had to cut me to get the baby out. It completely creeps me out, but I was more than ready to not be in labor anymore. At 7:55 Ethan was born after being "guided" (as the doctor said.... though Tom said he was really pulling hard) out with forceps during a contraction while I was pushing. Although it wasn't "painful" because I had the epidural the entire time, there was an indescribable amount of pressure at the end. The doctor said afterwards that in 2 more contractions he was going to have to do a C-section since Ethan wasn't moving.... because the forceps didn't work the first few times. So, the kid was huge. 8 pounds, 15.5 ounces (the nurse joked that if he hadn't peed all over right away that he probably would have been an even 9 pounds!!), and 22 inches long. Everyone, even the doctors, thought I would have a 7 to 7.5 pound baby because I hadn't gotten that big.... yeah, whatever!!

After all that, our parents were all waiting outside, but it was another hour till they could come in because I still had to get stitched up and they had to clean the room. They were all VERY ansy!!!

Once the epidural wore off that night, the nurse helped me to the bathroom and tried to make me pee. Didn't happen. Let me tell you though - it was like having the period from hell (at least for the first night)!!! They literally don't give you a pad in the beginning for the blood - they use a diaper!!! It's insane!! So, a couple more times the nurse helped me to the bathroom and I still couldn't pee even though I felt like my bladder was going to explode. So they used a cathater (sp?) like they use when you have an epidural to drain my bladder... I was SO thankful!! By morning I could pee on my own, but VERY little.

At 2 in the morning that first night, they moved us into a postpardum room because they were so busy.... we got the last bed available in the postpardum rooms, and, lucky us, it was shared with another couple and their baby (one of only 2 semi-private rooms in the maternity ward - the rest are private). We had the nurses take Ethan so that we could get some sleep for a couple of hours because by 4 am I still had not slept (which meant I had been up for 23 hours). As soon as they took Ethan, the other couple's baby started crying... and he cried for the whole 2 hours that Ethan was gone. Lovely. So, I ended up only getting an hour and half of sleep by breakfast time, and no more the rest of the morning either.

Visiting hours at the maternity ward were from 1:30 pm - 8 pm. And we literally had visitors the ENTIRE time - except for 15 minutes around 6:00. At 7:30 we had 8 people visiting in our room... and all I could do was count the minutes till 8:00. Once everyone left I just started crying from complete exhaustion. That night I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep. Then the following day we headed home.

Now that you have the birth story, I need to lay down. I will update again soon with how things have been going since.... He's been a really great baby so far... not very fussy. :) Also, thanks to everyone for your cards - it's really meant a lot!

2003-04-23T09:14:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking it's pretty much a safe bet that Ethan's brithday will be tomorrow, April 24. I woke up feeling just the same this morning.... bummer. Except, I was looking at my stomach this morning and noticed new stretch marks.... bigger bummer. I think he must be growing like crazy for me to have gotten new stretch marks overnight - not a good sign for giving birth!!

Speaking of stretch marks, I couldn't find that creme on the avon site, so I had to email my cousin. I hope it exists!!! I am so excited for my stomach to start the shrinking process very shortly! Then, once I know what my stomach will look like, I can pick out a new bathing suit. I have to wait and see what happens with the fat and stretch marks and work around that. :)

I'll let you all know what is happening.... Time to watch Regis and Kelly (yes, I have a TV routine now that I am home!).

2003-04-22T18:14:00.000-04:00

It's almost time.... not that I am having contractions right now or anything, but I will definitely be in the hospital 36 hours from now - whether I am waiting for the pictocin to begin the contractions, or if I've already had the baby!!

Today my mom and I went walking at the mall. My mom is so funny.... I haven't been wearing my wedding rings the last couple of weeks because of the warmer temps my hands have been a little swolen. She brought a ring with her to the mall that had some cut crystals and made me try it on my ring finger. She's all concerned that I look like an unwed mother - though I think she is probably more concerned with her own image... I refused to wear it. I seriously do not care one bit what people think. It bugged her, but she got over it. After the mall we went out to lunch (after I bought what will be my last bottle of Afrin nose spray!!!). It's been really nice hanging out with her, but I am just getting really anxious now.... and bored. I kind of wish I was still working, though I wouldn't want my water to break there!!

Well, I need to get going. I have to order some Re-Fine creme from my cousin that sells Avon (it gets rid of stretch marks!!).

Take care!!

2003-04-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the absence.... I don't want anyone thinking that I had the baby yet!!!

Did you all have a nice Easter? We headed over to Tom's aunt's house for dinner. It's quite possibly the only time in my life I would not take offense to hearing, "I prayed in church today that you wouldn't be here for dinner and that you'd be in the hospital." Taken out of the context of my life at this time, it would be a nasty thing to say to someone.... but with where my life is at right now, it make complete and perfect sense!!

This morning I had another doctor's appointment. I am dialated to 3!!!! Now he said that if I start getting contractions at all, that I am supposed to go to the hospital - I don't have to wait until they are 5 minutes apart!! The doctor said he guesses I will have him in the next day or two... and if I don't, I will for sure be going in on Thursday for induction anyways... I told Tom that I hoped that going from 3 to 10 is just as easy as 0 to 3... Yeah Right!!!!!

Well, that's enough for today... I'm outta here.

2003-04-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

Hi there... Within one week I will be a mom. How insane is that?!

I went to the doctor today and she checked to see if I was dialated yet... Nope. Assuming I don't go into labor before, I have another appointment Monday morning. Then, if I don't go into labor by Thursday of next week, they are going to induce me. My team of doctors doesn't like to let people go past 41 weeks. If it comes down to Thursday, we have to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning that day, and that's when they'll start the pictocin (the drug that begins and enhances labor/dialation). Pretty crazy to think about it, really.

After my appointment, Tom and I (he has the day off) walked at the mall for a little bit.... it didn't start labor though (obviously!). Now Tom is playing golf with Kevin. I have a chiropractor appointment in an hour. My chiropractor wanted to see me one last time before labor, in case I go in this weekend.

Other than that, we're just laying low for the weekend.... just waiting.... that's what it feels like I've been doing a lot of lately. Oh well... time to take a nap.... which is something I won't have the luxury of doing at anytime very soon!!

No throwing up today... that's such a treat after the past couple of days!!

2003-04-17T19:35:00.000-04:00

Did I mention that I have a cold/flu right now? I absolutely feel like crap. I've thrown up 3 times since yesterday morning. It totally sucks. I have a runny nose, sore throat, and a horrible cough. My mom said my cough is so bad she's surprised Ethan isn't trying to get out to get away from it!! I have no appetite right now - Tom wanted Jersey Giant for dinner (for those of you not from the area, they are the absolute BEST subs!!) and then we drove around a little bit looking for something that sounded good to me, but nothing does. Even now, a couple hours later, I am not hungry.

This morning I made some blueberry coffee cake... I was hopeful that I was having the tell-tale burst of energy the immediately preceeds labor... no such luck. After making it and eating it I slept for a couple of hours. Tom's still hopeful that I go into labor tonight. He has tomorrow off, so it would fit best in his schedule, as he's already informed me. :)

This afternoon my mom came over and we went for a walk with the dog... labor didn't start though. :(
Then I ran some errands with her, and picked up some dog treats and bones for the dog. We were at The Better Health Food Store and I found some "real" raspberry tea, but didn't buy it - it was like $5, and I didn't think it would work anyways.
Tom has tomorrow off, so if I haven't gone into labor yet we're going to go walk at the mall.... we'll see if we can get something started.

I also have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. In an ideal world he'll say "Oh my gosh, you're dialated to 5, haven't you noticed any contractions?!" And then I'll say, "No, I haven't been in pain." And then he'll say, "Let's get you to the hospital... you're one of the rare people who doesn't feel their contractions!!! Amazing!!!"

But, in reality, they'll probably just say, "Lookin' good - come to the hospital if your water breaks or your contractions are 5 minutes apart...." I'll let you know!
Cheers!!

2003-04-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

I am honestly doing a search online right at this very moment on how to start labor! I am absolutely positive that there is no sure fire way, otherwise doctors would tell you.... but what if I combine all of the ways on the night with the storm and full moon???? It's pretty funny, really...

Get ready for this.... Here are things people claim on the internet that work:
- having sex
- 2-3 deep knee bends every hour throughout the day
- drink castor/mineral oil
- go for a walk
- eating hot buffalo wings
- "real" raspberry tea
- nipple stimulation
- eating Mexican food
- eating a salad with balsamic vinegar
- accupressure

Only thing is, is that I threw up this morning, so eating spicy food doesn't sound good at all. Actually, eating doesn't sound good at all.

Today my mom came over and helped me clean the house. I wanted to get everything cleaned up since we will be having visitors soon. It looks really nice around here - I only hope that we have Ethan soon enough that the house doesn't have time to get dirty again! I will be SO disappointed if I make it thru the whole weekend without having him!! Tom just hope that if I go into labor tonight that it's after he gets home from playing in his basketball game. :)

Let's hope something works! I am going to check the Beaner's website and see if they have "real" raspberry tea. :)

2003-04-15T13:13:00.000-04:00

I think that Ethan is trying to get out... but he's not sure how. He is pushing and kicking in every direction, hitting all of my organs - including my bladder!! My mom is convinced that I will have him tomorrow because "statistically" more babies are born when there is a full moon or a storm, and tomorrow we're supposed to have both. (insert ominous, creepy music here...) We'll see...

Tonight we are eating dinner at my parents' house with our cousins Tim and Heather. Heather is pregnant too, but not due until the beginning of Sept. Very exciting for them... I believe they find out the sex next week. Yay!!

Since it's 80 degrees today and I don't have shorts - because I had a winter pregnancy and I am not about to buy any at this point - I am wearing a pair of Tom's shorts... which is much better than being super hot, like I was yesterday.

Well, I need to take a shower. Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather!! Especially since it's going to get bad tomorrow.

2003-04-14T15:54:00.000-04:00

You know what is cool? The fact that this whole time I am home, over the course of the next 6-8 weeks, I wil be getting full pay checks. So today for "work" I made Tom breakfast before he left, took about 2 hours to get ready while watching TV, went to Target and to Sally's Beauty Supply, went out to lunch with my mom and my cousin at Vinegrette's (this is the place with the BEST salad: greens, blueberries, raspberries, chicken, cashews.... mmmmm..... My mom said she'd bring me one once I was home with the baby too.) The I stopped back home before going to get a pedicure and an adjustment at the chiropractor. Now I am home and I'll probably watcha little TV, sew some more of the Precious Moments alphabet (yes, that is still happening.... I think I have 12 letters done and framed), then fix dinner for us. Ahhh... the life of leisure.... (yeah, it's all leisure till the labor pains begin!!)

So, a little bit ago I mentioned that Tom installed a new garage door opener. Our old one was ancient and didn't have those sensors on it that stop the door from coming down if there is something in it's way... this one does though... and minor problem: in the late afternoon the sun shines on the front of our house and onto the little laser sensors... so when that happens the sensors can't "sense" the other sensor accross the door opening and it won't let us close the door.... we don't know yet what we're going to do about this.

Oh yay!!! Karen and Kevin are home from Florida - they just pulled in... time to go!!!

2003-04-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

Ugh.... I feel so big!!! (By the way, now that I am home my typing will be worse because I can't type on a regular keyboard anymore... only ergonomic.... I've already backspaced about 17 times in these 2 sentences...)

So, yeah, no baby yet. On friday the doctor said he would guess that Ethan's about 7.5 pounds right now - that' enough for me!!! So now I am definitely ready to have him! It would be OK with me though if I waited until tomorrow because then Karen and Kevin would be back from Florida and they can take care of Chloe. For the last hour or so I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions. They don't hurt, they just make my stomach all tight. I can't beleive that I am 39 weeks along now!! It's so bizarre how fast this has all gone. All of my plans now are so tentative... like lunch tomorrow with my mom and cousin, dinner on Tuesday with my parents and cousins, etc.

I am checking my etrade account right now - which is something I haven't done since shorty after we invested. We're not in it for quick $$, nor is this the time to even think about making quick $$ in the stock market. Yeah, pretty depressing, my stocks are both selling at half of what I bought them for. Oh well, maybe after the war I can actually make some money. Good thing it isn't Ethan's college fund or anything like that. It's just some money we are playing around with, with the ultimate goal of coming out at least $1 ahead of where we started. Of course more would be nice, but it looks like it will be a while....

By the way (shameless plug), if anyone needs any Pampered Chef stuff, let me know asap because I am submitting my last pre-baby order at the beginnning of this week.

We went to Home Depot this morning - a place we have only twice escaped under $100 - and today was no exception. We went to buy the first 2 steps of our lawn treatment program, as well as a small bag of grass seed (to fil in where Tom cut my garden in half). Spur of the moment purchases were all mine this time: a new birdfeeder (last year the wasps infested our old one.... this one is this cute little house with a copper roof "It's the birdfeeder squirrels hate!"), 40 lbs of bird seed (I know, it's ton....), and a strawberry pot. I am so excited for my strawberry pot so I can grow strawberries on our deck - the year I did them in the garden it didn't work out... probably because I have a really bad habit of not watering my garden for 2-3 weeks at a time!! This year I am going to plant asparagus and tomatoes for sure. I have the asparagus ready to go.... that's one of the few crops that will come back every year. Only thing is that this year I can't harvest any while it's settling in.

Well, my back is aching, I need to lay down. I'll keep you all updated!!!

2003-04-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

Only a few more minutes of work!! I am just going to work till 3 today then I am outta here till sometime in June!!! That is so crazy to think of!

I had a doctor's appointment today. He said it could be anytime, that the baby is ready and very low. He said if my water breaks that I should go to the hospital immediately, even if I don't have contractions. It's REALLY close now!!!!!

Well, I don't have much time... so I am going to wander around work and say bye to people! The coolest thing about this whole deal is that I am still going to be pulling in pay checks!!!

TTFN!

2003-04-09T08:35:00.000-04:00

Just because I didn't post yesterday doesn't mean that I'm in labor!! I just worked the whole day and I was busy. Surprising, because in general at work now I feel that people have pretty much written me off as already gone!

Oo! I just checked my email and I had forgotten that this month with Pampered Chef is "kit enhancement" month - which means I can order more stuff for me at 40% off, as opposed to my normal discount of 20%. I just made a list of the things I don't have.... Fun! Fun! I also have earned $70 Pampered Chef dollars to use on this purchase too. On a side note, I also need to submit a leave of absence request to PC so I don't go inactive. To stay active you only need to sell $200 worth of products every other month, so it's not hard to stay active at all (which is how I can do it so half-ass and still be making $$).

I can't believe that my due date is only 10 days away!!! The time has gone so fast!! Last night I put all of the bottles and the pacifiers in the dishwasher so that they'll be all ready to go too. Since we have no where to keep the bottles/sippy cups, etc., I need to clear out this one small cabinet in the kitchen. Right now we just have stuff like our cappucino maker, the waffle maker, the george foreman and the mixer in there. So I am going to put those small appliance things downstairs and this will be the baby's cabinet.

Well, I am going to get some water and wander around the office a bit. Ciao!

2003-04-07T08:56:00.000-04:00

So, you know I've been complaining for months about being stuffed up, right? This site I was reading today was saying why pregnant women tend to be stuffed up:

"Increased levels of pregnancy hormones like progesterone are thought to cause swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and may even cause you to make more mucous. They're also responsible for boosting your blood volume by 40 percent, causing blood vessels to expand to accommodate all that extra fluid. Expanded blood vessels can also lead to swollen membranes and that means narrower nasal passages. That said, a stuffy nose may just mean what it usually means — that you have a cold or allergies. Pregnancy weakens your immune system and leaves you more vulnerable to viral infections."

See? It's not just a weird thing that's happening only to me!!

This is my last week of work!!! How excited am I?!?! Seriously, after this week I won't be working full time until like December!!! That is so exciting!!! I will probably only work a half day today because I already don't feel well.

How crazy is this weather?? I work 10 minutes from my house. When I got in my car this morning there were about 4 snowflakes in the sky. By the time I was half way to work, a mere 5 minutes later, we were in a full-blown blizzard!! And it's supposed to continue all day and night! Too bad for all of the kiddies off on spring break this week who are sticking around MI!!

I had the Platte baby shower this weekend. It was very small, but fun. I got a lot of clothes for him again. Baby clothes are SO cute!! That's why we've gotten a zillion outfits! Out of all of the clothes that we've received though, we have only gotten one duplicate outfit!! I am so surprised by that! (Wow, sorry for the excessive exclamation points today.... I am really not as excited as it looks)

Also this weekend Tom's grandparents came home from South Carolina, where they have spent the past 6 months. They were excited to see my belly, and also very excited to see Tom's cousin's new baby (born in January), Caleb. I am really glad that they're home now, so that they can see Ethan when he's born.

Well, I need to blow my nose and do some reading. Things around the office are pretty boring when you've given away 95% of your responsibilities in case you go into labor at any moment!!

Happy Monday!!

2003-04-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Same ol' same ol' at the doctor's office today. They didn't even check to see if I was dialated. I didn't gain any weight again this week and the doctor asked me if I was eating - Tom laughed SO hard!! I am still basically eating like a cow (actually, it'd be a more accurate assessment to say I was eating more like a typical American) so I guess Ethan is just helping me burn lots of calories!!

Tomorrow my step-dad's family is throwing me a baby shower. At the shower we'll also be picking up the antique bassinet that we'll be borrowing. That will be fun and cute. Tomorrow is also the beginning of my 38th week!!

I talked to my boss about taking time off - like doing half days - and he was super cool with it. I am going to come back after lunch today, because I'm not feeling so bad today (like I did yesterday... I went home early yesterday because of my back and I slept the entire afternoon!). We'll see if I last all day today though....

2003-04-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

I was SO uncomfortable for about 2 hours last night after dinner!! Ethan was moving non stop - I'll bet I peed 18 times!! I think he was beating up all of my organs all around him!! It hurt, but I am sure it's nothing like contractions. When Tom came home from his basketball league I told him about it (because it had stopped about 10 minutes before he got home) and he was hoping I was in labor.... no such luck....

I am at work right now and I really don't know what to do. I only have a few random things left to accomplish. I have no idea what I'll do next week.... I am wondering if I should just take next week off. I am going to be bored out of my mind. I wish that I could come here and work on my cross-stitch letters!! I sent my boss an email this morning about just working 1/2 days from now until the end of next week (assuming that I haven't had the baby by then)... so we'll see what he says...

Oh, I thought of the only other thing we NEED for the baby - another matress pad for the crib. We only have one right now - and that won't be enough for a leaking diaper/throwing up. Once my shower on Saturday is over though, I'll be making my last trip to Target to do returns (I only have a few things from Tom's office shower), and we can pick one up.

Tonight Tom is going to install the car seat in his truck so that we'll be all set with that for when we come back from the hospital. One less thing to think about....

If I didn't tell you, please send emails to our home account now (thomasandandrea@hotmail.com), and not my work email. Thanks!! I am not going to check my work account while I am off of work.

2003-04-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Damn blogger... I kept trying to fix it yesterday so that my post from yesterday actually showed up. But it didn't show up till I posted this one today.

Anyways, in the last few days I've gotten the dreaded stretch marks. They are a couple of inches below my belly button. There are actually quite a few of them, and I think it's because Ethan has "dropped". Tom told me they were there, but I had to get a mirror to see them because I can't see the underside of my belly!! I guess I'll live with stretch marks.... or hopefully they'll go away!!

Other than the stretch marks, I don't really have a lot to talk about today. Oh, one more random thought that I had this morning in the shower. I was under the impression from other women that at some point I wouldn't be able to shave my legs... that hasn't been the case at all... I don't even see how that wouldn't be possible... Maybe it wouldn't be possible for people who gain weight all over, or for people who weren't working out before they got pregnant... I have no idea.

I need to add a couple more things to my hospital bag - so I may do that tonight. Sorry for the boring blog today....
Toodles!

2003-04-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last night Tom and I went on our tour of the birthing center at the hospital (since we skipped out on the childbirth class!). It is SO nice there! The labor rooms are huge and look like a hotel! Everything is done in wood, not metal cabinets with white walls. The labor room is where you stay the whole time (unless you have a C-section). All of the medical equipment is hidden behind the gigantic headboard. All of the rooms have a TV/VCR and a jacuzzi tub. Even the crib is wooden. They have some cool features at the hospital. For instance, Tom and I will both have on a wristband that matches the wrist and ankle bands on the baby. If we are out of the room and the nurse brings the baby in, and say my mom is in there, they will not give the baby to my mom, since she doesn't have a wristband. They'll only give him to me and Tom. The baby also wears a secruity wrist band. If you take the baby near the exit doors of the maternity ward the doors automatically lock - no one can enter or exit. If someone is holding the door open and you try and take the baby through, then all of these alarms go off. I thought it was pretty cool. Oh, they also do a hearing test on the baby the day it's born. They put little patches on the front and back of their heads while they are sleeping. Then they put these headphones on them (which are probably so tiny and cute!). The headphones produce a clicking sound which, in a healthy baby, will produce brainwaves indicating that they heard the sounds. That way they don't have to look for a physical response from the baby, and a hearing problem can be diagnosed the first day of life.... which they said, when addressed early, will leave your child with the same vocabulary as a normal hearing kid once they begin school. In the past, hearing problems were not diagnosed until the kids were about 2, so they were much farther behind in school. Interesting.... Last night there was only one baby in the nursery - they encourage you to have the baby with you in the room as much as you want. So everyone else had their babies in their rooms. The baby that we saw in the nursery was huge, and the nurse said he had just been delivered by C-section. Surprisingly, with all of the babies in the rooms, none of the babies were crying!

Well, I need to work again. I got a lot done yesterday... so I am thinking maybe half days will work out next week. I think my boss would probably go for it since his wife is a labor and delivery nurse. (Which, on a side note, is really weird because she works at the hospital I am delivering at... that would be just too weird to have my boss' wife being my nurse.... too much information!!!)
TTFN!

2003-03-31T08:29:00.000-05:00

Has it crossed your mind that if I don't write in my blog that I may be in labor?? It's a true possibility at this point - though I am not right now... and I am still pregnant. I can't believe I'm in my 37th week! If I were to have the baby at this point it would be officially considered full term, and not a premie. Next week is my last week of work. Do you know how tempting it is to not go to work next week?? Or this week for that matter.... Everytime Ethan moves, I brace myself in case it is my first contraction. I also stopped using our down comforter in case my water breaks in the middle of the night (though this was quite an easy transition to make considering Tom steals the covers every night anyways!!). Let me tell you, though, when I have to pee and I am walking, that is some pressure!! It actually hurts my bladder!! Then I get to a bathroom and pee about a teaspoon.... Lovely... Thought you all would enjoy that detail. :)

I have my last baby shower this coming Saturday - hope I can make it and I am not in the hospital or something!!

This weekend we basically just watched basketball. Plus Tom and my dad installed our new garage door opener - which made me feel quite spoiled this morning. I am so happy that it's installed now!

Well, I need to do some work - just in case today is my last day!!

2003-03-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

Yup, had my doctor's appointment today. It went just as expected. Nothing to report - just got the name of a pediatrician, who I am apparently supposed to contact prior to Ethan being born. Kind of weird - we can't establish a bank account in his and our names yet since he "doesn't exist" in the sense that he doesn't have a social security number or date of birth. But I can have a pediatrician lined up, and she will be called when Ethan is born so she can check him out. Odd. I would have thought you'd need a kid before you could have a pediatrician for the kid.

I am so ready to be outta here (work) today. My co-worker and I just developed an investigatory questionnaire for a student assistant in our office that we are planning on firing. Fun stuff. It drained my brain. Plus, I am SO hot right now, so it's making me sleepy! I think I need to get some candy. :) I don't have much longer to eat whatever I want. Speaking of which, I was reading this thing about breastfeeding in What to Expect When You're Expecting... They have the "ideal" pregnancy diet in there... but in the section about breastfeeding, they say that your breastfeeding diet is similar to your pregnancy diet, with a couple of exceptions (increase protein and calcium intake, etc.) It also said something about congratulations on abstaining from desserts for the last nine months of pregnancy, and that during breastfeeding you could indulge once in a great while.... Ummm, excuse me?? I don't know any pregnant woman who has ever followed a strict diet and not indulged whenever she wanted during her 9 months!! That book can be quite unrealistic!!

Happy Friday!! We're having people over tonight to watch the State game... I'm so excited (please feel free to read that with an incredible amount of sarcasm...)

2003-03-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note today.... I have a meeting in a few minutes, then I'll be back in the office briefly before lunch. After lunch I am on the road to Kalamazoo for another meeting. It's my last work road trip before going off on my leave!! Too bad it's not someplace better... :( I would rather be traveling to Ypsi-ticky today so that I could pick up some Stucchi's for a snack - or some other A2 fantasitc fare. Not that there aren't good retaurants in Kalamazoo, I am just not familiar with them at all. But, I'll only be in K-zoo for about an hour before heading back to Lansing.

Last night when I fell asleep (which was something the occurred nearly instantaneously) I remember Tom's hand being on my stomach because he was feeling Ethan move. I only remember this happening for about 10 seconds (literally!) before passing out. This morning he said Ethan was really active for about an hour and he just kept his hand on my stomach that whole time. I am really glad for him, because he loves to feel him move, but doesn't often get the chance; whereas, I feel him move all the time. A lot of times I'll say, "Tom, hurray, he's kicking like crazy!" Then Tom comes over and Ethan stops. So I am really glad that he got to feel him moving for so long last night. Tomorrow is my next doctor's appointment. I wonder what it'll be like.... pee in a cup, take my blood pressure, weigh in, etc. Actually, I am wondering if they will check to see if I am dialated at all.

Yesterday at lunch I went to Tom's office for a baby shower. We got a lot more things (including the grasshopper step stool that we wanted.... essential, I know) and had a good time. We ate DeLuca's pizza...mmmmmm..... and opened gifts. I let Tom open all of the gifts since he hasn't been able to open any because it's always just women at the showers. I took for granted that he understood "how" to open shower gifts. Here are things he didn't know:
-When you open the card, you have to say who the gift is from.... even if 17 people signed the card for 1 gift.
-You need to pick up each gift that you open and show the crowd. People love to ooooh and aahhhh over baby clothes.
-Once again, you need to pick up EACH gift that you open and show the crowd. I thought after 3 gifts he understood, but then he didn't show everyone this pacifier, people were saying "What was that? What was that? We didn't see it, hold it up Tom!"

He figured it all out after about 4 or 5 gifts.

Well, off to my meeting! Happy Almost-Friday!!

2003-03-25T16:22:00.000-05:00

Tom was such an awesome husband yesterday. After work it was whatever-I-wanted-to-do-day. So I made dinner, and he did the dishes. Then he even went to Target with me without even a sqeak of a whine. We returned some of my office's shower gifts (duplicates) as well as the roman shade I had bought for Ethan's room (bought it on a whim and didn't know the size of the window - I was WAY off!!) So we bought the correctly sized roman shade, a couple of hooded towels for Ethan, and Tom just had to have this little bathrobe for Ethan too. It is very cute!!

So, did anyone watch Married by America last night???? Yes, I am mad that I got completely sucked into that show after saying I was not going to watch such a trashy Fox show. Yeah, whatever. Since they premiered it during the Boston Public slot, I was sucked in, and now I am a faithful viewer. It's actually way better than I thought it would be.

I went to the dentist today for a cleaning. No cavaties, of course. The only time I've ever had one is during freshman year at U-M when I was drinking lots of Coke. But it made my gums bleed more than usual when they were scraping the teeth, and that's because of being pregnant. Among all of the other crazy things that happen when you're pregnant (besides the obvious massive belly expansion!!), your gums can get really sensitive. Isn't that odd?!

Well, I need to get out of here. I hope today is whatever-I-want-to-do-day again when I get home.... we'll see! Toodles.

2003-03-24T15:56:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention earlier... I got my haircut on Friday. She cut all of the highlights out. I had been growing it out because I wanted to have all undamaged hair (for what reason, I am not sure, it just sounded like a fun goal). She also cut it much shorter this time too because it will be a while until I can go back for another cut (and my hair grows fast being on these prenatal vitamins). Want to know what my haircut looks like? I look like (according to her and Tom) Paige on Trading Spaces.

So, Friday my hair was SO dark - I felt like a goth - because it was completely natural. (Not to mention the 15 or so grey hairs that I have) My hair lady kept saying I'd get used to it. I gave it 2 days. Yesterday I broke down and colored it at home. I just did a brown to lighten it up a little bit. So much for undamaged hair!! But I couldn't stand my natural color - how weird is that?! In the last 2 years my hair colors have been so widely varied (orange, red wine, thick blonde highlights that made me basically blonde, etc.), and each time I was used to it right away.... but now here comes my natural color and it freaks me out.

Hasta manana.

2003-03-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

How awesome was my work shower?! I could hardly believe how much stuff I got. I must have received 20 outfits! Finally, Ethan has some clothes!! I washed baby load of laundry yesterday so he's all set to be stylin' now. Plus my co-workers bought me a few packs of diapers too. Yay! It was very obvious that people LOVE to buy baby things. Seriously, if you were to add up the value of everything we've received so far from 4 baby showers, I would guess it would be at least $3,000 worth. There is no way we'd be spending all of that if we had to do this by ourselves!! Wednesday at lunch is Tom's office baby shower. I'll be taking off a little time from work to be at that one. The only thing I can think of that we still NEED would be those little baby towels for after a bath that have the little hood. Plus, of course, more diapers - but different sizes.

Friday night the 6th graders were over for a sleepover. I only stuck around for about a half hour. They were loud!! I stayed at my mom's. It was SO quiet!!! Not even the sound of the dog walking around. I got a great night's sleep!! Tom, however, did not. I stopped and got doughnuts for the kids on my way home. I got back home around 8:30 in the morning and they swarmed the doughnuts like flies on fat. When I went downstairs, where the "party" was, they were all so wired. Three of them stayed up the entire night. The rest of them each got an hour or so of sleep here and there. Tom got 2 hours of sleep. He was pretty grumpy with them the last hour before their parents came and picked them up. About a half hour before pick up time they were asking if they could go outside and play basketball (which, apparently Tom let them do around midnight in the hopes that they would get tired). I heard Tom tell them no because it was raining. But, given 5 more seconds of thought, he told them all to go play basketball - they weren't in the house and he could just sit in the quiet.

Saturday we went to Tom's cousins' Terry and Cassie for some good Mexican eats and March Madness. Still can't believe that the Zags couldn't pull off a win over Arizona - that would have been great!!

Last night was NOT a good night. It seems like little things make me really frustrated lately... and most of them have to do with being pregnant. Like not being able to reach the top shelf in the kitchen to put a dish away - that seriously makes me really irritated these days. Last night I was about to fall asleep, but I needed a drink of water (I am always thirsty since being pregnant!) so I reached over to my nightstand for my water glass. Ooops - knocked it over. Water was on all of my stuff - my pillow, my lamp, my books, my kleenex, the floor, and into my alarm clock - which completely screwed it up. You would not have believed how upset I was over it!! After I got it cleaned up (Tom was gone, otherwise he would have helped) I was SO frustrated because all of my muscles in my legs, arms, feet and hands just felt like I had growing pains. I was a wreck for about an hour there.... then I finally got to sleep.

Well, I am back at work.... so I'd better do some work. They only have 3 weeks (theoretically) of productivity left from me!!

2003-03-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

I had my doctor's appointment this morning. Good news all around - I don't have Group B Strep, which they tested for last week. Also, Ethan's in the correct position - not breeched, but he's head down and getting ready!! Today they gave me my forms to fill out to pre-register for the hospital. Plus I dropped my medical forms for work off to them to have filled out. It's really getting close now!!

I packed some more stuff for the hospital last night. I keep doing a little bit at a time. I packed 2 outfits for Ethan to come home in. One is a real outfit, and the other is pajamas, I figure we'll just play it by ear on which one he wears home.

Today at lunch is my office baby shower. :) Yay! It's going to be so fun! Plus, all of the people I have worked with over the last 3 and a half years were invited, and it sounds like a lot of them are coming.
so that will be really great to see them.

Tonight is the big sleepover for Tom's basketball team. I am going to stay the night at my mom's. Nine 6th graders would just be too much when I am already up every 2 hours. Plus their voices haven't changed yet - so when they are all yelling (because that's how they communicate) it's pretty high-pitched!

Tomorrow is the beginning of Week 36 - isn't that crazy?!?! I sure think it is!!

Well, I need to get a snack. Have a great weekend!!

2003-03-19T07:54:00.000-05:00

I had some meetings yesterday, so I never got a chance to update my blog. There is a training session going on in the State right now, which is 4 days long, on presenting arbitration cases. At the end of the training, on Thursday, the participants have to present a mock arbitration to a real arbitrator. I am a "witness" in the mock arb, so one of my meetings yesterday was the "management team" interviewing me and "preparing me" to be a witness for their case.

Last night I think I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions. It was the first time I had noticed anything like this - like for about 30 seconds my whole stomach would get hard, like all of the muscles were gently wrapping around the baby. The website says they can be brought on also by light physical activity - and I had cleaned the house for about an hour and a half before relaxing and noticing it. Of course, after noticing it, I dreamt about labor and delivery. Until this week I hadn't done that - even though I have been totally expecting to have some crazy dreams about the baby this whole time.

I have every single file in my office labeled with what the next step is, just in case I don't make it back "tomorrow". It's so weird!!

Yesterday I went to Target and bought 3 more outfits for 0-3 months, since we only have a couple of them for Ethan to wear. I don't want to be overloaded with teeny clothes or anything, but he needs something to wear those first few weeks!

Did I mention that I am SO ready to be off of work????
Adios!

2003-03-17T08:29:00.000-05:00

The weekend went by fast! I'm only planning on working 4 more weeks (including this week) - and I can't wait!! This week at my doctor's appointment on Friday I will be bringing my FMLA and leave of absence forms with me for him to sign. That makes this whole thing even more real. Yesterday I started gathering stuff for my bags for the hospital too. I did a load of laundry of just baby stuff, since everything needs to be washed before he can wear it or lay on it (crib sheets). Let me tell you, those socks are about the cutest things in the world!! They are so teeny!! We also picked out the outfit that we're going to bring him home from the hospital in - it's so cute. It's light blue Pooh - a shirt, with fuzzy fleece overalls and a fuzzy little hat. I also packed him a teeny pair of socks. You know those adult athletic socks that are white, but have grey heels and toes - to add reinforcement? Well, Ethan has a pair of those!! Even though it's not like he's putting any stress on any part of the sock while he's sleeping, eating, or pooping!!

Saturday night I broke down to Tom. I was so frustrated with being pregnant! This whole deal with being stuffed up was making me absolutely miserable!! I couldn't ever breathe through my nose the entire day Saturday, and it always gets worse at night. So I was crying because I just knew I was going to have a horrible night's sleep - and even though Tom was awesome and comforted me, I still had a horrible night's sleep. (It's really not a comfort to hear that I only have one more month - since it's gotten proegressively worse) So yesterday he went out and bought me a humidifier for the bedroom. I was thinking this might help because it's not like I am stuffed up with a runny nose - I am just stuffed up and my nose is completely dry - which is why I have a nosebleed everyday. Last night I used the humidifier and I think it helped! I actually slept for three hours straight being able to breathe completely normally!! Tom also bought me a really awesome card and a plant. He's great. He's also being a good husband because he knows he won't be for the next few weekends (Thursday-Sunday) because of March Madness. I'm not making that up - he told me he wouldn't be much of a husband. Although, next weekend (March 29) is our childbirth class, so we'll see how he copes with that and March Madness at the same time! We have to be at the hospital for that class from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day.

Tonight I have a Pampered Chef meeting - which I am not really looking forward to - but I signed up to bring a recipe, so I have to go. Since I will be on a leave of absence from Pampered Chef soon too, I am not too inspired to go to a meeting to get ideas about boosting my sales. That's alright though.... it's my last meeting for a while, since the next one is after my due date.

Well, I need to find a recipe to bring, and I need to do the work that they pay me to do.

Cheers!

2003-03-14T14:05:00.000-05:00

Last night was the best night's sleep I had in a while! I only had to get up once to clear my sinuses and pee!! I could hardly believe it. I almost had to get up twice, but when I looked to see what time it was the second time, I only had 15 minutes till my alarm went off, so I wasn't about to get out of bed.

Today at my doctor's appointment they did a culture for Group B Strep, which I mentioned last week. It was quite similar to going to the OB1. Tom was there, he was creeped out. He said he was glad that he was a guy. It wasn't nearly as bad as a yearly exam though, because they didn't have to use that cold metal thing (what's it called... a specula? or something like that.... ladies, you know what I'm talking about!) They also, of course, tested my sugar again, which they do every appointment, but they were payijng special attention to today because it was so high last week (remember, I ate Fruit Loops before my appointment). It's normal now though, so it was just the Fruit Loops. :) Oops. She also checked to see if I had started dialating yet, but I haven't. I think I'm pretty happy about that. She said my cervix was "thinning" - which is a good thing. I believe that's what happens before I start dialating... but I have to do some internet research to find out for sure. Tomorrow is the beginning of week 35. Isn't that ridiculous? That's so close to the end.... "the end" being anytime now!!

My back aches at work now from all of the sitting. I keep getting up and walking around, but it's not helping. It only helps when I lay down. This weekend's goal: pack my bags for the hospital - since doc says they won't stop contractions anymore!!

Have a great Friday!!

2003-03-13T15:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at work we moved our offices so my computer was out of commission for a while. So was my phone - but that was nice to not get phone calls for a while. Although when the phone guys changed the phone number over to my new office and plugged in my phone the message light was blinking like crazy! My new office is pretty pimp. It's the biggest office I have ever had - and it's bigger than anyone else's office in Human Resources. :) But that's because I needed room for 2!! That's what I keep telling jealous people.

Last night was one crappy night's sleep! I was awake from 2-5 a.m. But... I found this interesting (the only thing I found interesting in that 3 hour stretch): My neighbor who snow blows our sidewalk was clearing our sidewalk at 4:15 this morning!! Isn't that crazy?! I couldn't sleep though because I couldn't breathe from being so stuffed up. Then when I finally COULD breathe the dog decided to gnaw on her bone for an hour of so, right next to my bed! It was SO loud!!

Today at lunch I registered for more stuff at Target, because people were complaining that they didn't know what else to buy me because almost the whole list is gone! I still have my work shower, Tom's work shower and the Platte shower!!! (By the way, when my cousin Carolyn called me last night about the Platte shower she mentioned that she had her kid 5 1/2 weeks early - that would be like me giving birth today!!! So much for the first baby "always" being late.... Everyone in the world who has had a first baby early has shared their story with me.... )

I'm off - I need some more water because I am boiling!!

2003-03-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow is moving day at our office. Not sure when the computer people will be here to move my computer - so I not sure if I'll be blogging tomorrow. The big move is certainly not helping the State's budget crisis any.... It is completely wasteful for us to be moving. I am literally moving down the hall - same floor, same side of the hall, everything is the same, except I will be about 8 offices down. Everyone in HR is moving, or I should say shuffling, tomorrow. It's not just inefficient because no one will be working tomorrow except on packing/unpacking, but it cost $75 to move a phone number. Yes, for each phone. Costs like that are just ridiculous when the good ol' Gov. Granholm is talking about cutting our 3% pay raise this year (which is really just a cost of living increase). Nice. So, for the rest of my career here, I will be behind the rate of inflation because that 3% will never be made up. It's not for sure that that's how she's going to help rectify the $1+billion budget shortfall... but we'll see... that's what I think it will come to.

Enough about work... my back has been aching lately because of all of this extra weight I am carrying around. Sitting all day at work makes my mid-back so uncomfortable.

Tonight my parents are coming over.... dad to help Tom install a new garbage disposal, and mom to visit me and look at all of the stuff we have for the baby. Chloe will be so happy!! She loves company!

I don't have many coherent thoughts today beyond missing out on my 3% automatic raise.... Just my usual complaint - that I'm stuffed up.
TTFN!

2003-03-10T08:06:00.000-05:00

I had a good weekend. On Saturday (my birthday) I had the Italian baby shower - and that was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe how much stuff I got. It didn't all fit in my Aztec! We put everything together on Saturday and Sunday (the strollers, the Megasaucer, the bouncy chair, the walker...) I can't even imagine having to buy all of that stuff ourselves! It would cost a fortune! Yesterday we went to Target to return a couple of duplicate gifts and to use up our gift cards we received. Our total ended up being $170, and it didn't even seem like that much stuff. We got him some onsies (since he doesn't have many clothes), some pants, a hat, a breast pump, the changing table pad and some covers for it, another crib sheet (we now have 4... but I have no idea if that will be enough), his ear thermometer.... After using up the gift cards and the $$ from the returns, we ended up spending $30 - so that was nice.

Oh, so I forgot to mention a significant thing from my doctor's appointment. My doctor said once I hit 35 weeks (which is in 5 days) that they wouldn't stop my contractions if I went into labor!! It made it all seem really real!! So I guess this weekend I should pack my bag for the hospital, even though I may not need it for 2 months! I need to find a website, though, that will tell me what to pack for the hospital - I have NO idea!

Time to make hot chocolate and do some work!
Ciao!

2003-03-07T09:59:00.000-05:00

I just got breakfast from our work cafeteria - it sucked. I am highly disappointed - the restaurant changed ownership and it wasn't for the better!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. Now I start going once a week (which means it's really getting close now!). Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks along - hard to believe! As always, I had to pee in a cup and they test my sugar levels, and to see if there is any protein in it (which is a bad thing). Today my sugar level was elevated, and they asked me what I had for breakfast... hee hee.... Fruit Loops. Next week I am not going to eat sugary cereal before my appointment! He said if it's still elevated next week they'll draw some blood to do a more accuarate sugar test. Next week they'll also be testing for Group B Strep. It's an infection that can be life-threatenting to newborns. Typically, they get something like pneumonia or menigitis. One out of every 4 or 5 mothers is a carrier of the disease, so they test everyone so they can take preventative measures and know about it in advance.

Well, back to work for me. The day will probably fly by because I came in late.

Cheers!!

2003-03-05T14:46:00.000-05:00

I was on the road yesterday all day for work. I had to go to Ypsi-tucky, which meant swinging by A2 for some fine food fare. I had a Zingermans sandwich.... mmmmm..... Unfortunately, I was to full to have Stucchi's as well.

Last night I worked on our taxes. It took me 3 hours (because of Pampered Chef), but I finally finished our Federal taxes. I don't like it one bit though. I calculated that we owe $1500 - what a bunch of crap! Last year we got back $600 from the Feds.... So tonight I am going to have my dad go over it and see if I still have to pay that much money!

Other than that, things are just cruising right along. I have another baby shower this weekend (Saturday) which will be a lot of fun. We'll also be installing a new garbage disposal this weekend. Oh joy! (Not like I will actually be doing any of it, but it still grosses me out)

I believe that the sleepover for the basketball team will be on the 21st.... I am sure I'll have a lot to write after that!!

That's all for today.... TTFN.

2003-03-03T10:10:00.000-05:00

And I'm back!!!

When I picked up my prenatal vitamins on Friday at the Meijer Pharmacy, the pharmacist-chic asked me how far along I was, and once again, I heard, "Really? You are so little!! I was huge when I was that far along!" I am not sure if I really AM small-ish, or if everyone just has a distorted memory of how big they really were - because I do feel huge.

I survived the last of my Dilbert training! Hip-hip-horray!!! It was absolute torture, but I am really glad it's over. I really don't have any comment beyond that, that I didn't voice in my previous training sessions.

On Thursday night Tom's 6th graders played in the semi-final game against the other team from our church. After being down by 14 points, they came back to win it by 1!! His kids were so excited. Yesterday they played in the Championship at Lansing Catholic Central against a team that they lost to in the regular season (Tom's team was 2nd in the league, and this team was 1st during the regular season). They really didn't play well at all yesterday, and ended up losing. After much begging during the regular season, Tom told the kids they could have a sleepover at our house if they won the regular season or the tournament. So yesterday, I was waiting outside of the locker room for Tom to come out. The door opens and he's smiling, as are all of the kids who are all looking at me with gigantic, Disney-like, eager, mischeivious, 6th grade eyes and big smiles. Tom comes up to me with all of the kids standing behind him. He says, "Honey, the team wants to know if they can come over for a sleepover." I looked at the team (and I believe everyone of them was holding his breath waiting for my answer). So I look at all of them and say, "I thought the deal was that they had to win a championship." One of them starting begging so I acted like I was reluctant, then, of course, agreed. Which was met with the cheers of boys whose voices are changing.

Once we were in the truck, Tom tells me I could have said no. I told him he was ridiculous for thinking that because they were all standing behind him with eager little looks on all of their faces. He told me that in the locker room they were begging him to have a sleepover and so he said, "I will check with my wife and let you know." And they said, "We'll come with you when you ask her, Coach." That's how all of that got started. The 2 assistant coaches will also be over that night too - but that's more for Tom's sanity. I may be sleeping elsewhere that night. Tom also said that in the locker room after the game they were asking Tom if they could have their banquet at Hooters. Those kids totally crack me up!

Pregnancy is going well. I ate spaghetti the other night and didn't puke! I am so happy! I am 33 weeks along now. Hard to believe!! I am getting leg cramps at night, mostly in my calves. Plus I feel like I have growing pains in my thighs during the night. Not to comfortable. Other than that though, it's all going well. I am still super stuffed up, which sucks. This weekend (Saturday) I have a baby shower with the Italians. That will be good fun!!

Other than basketball and Dilbert training, not much has been happening. I thought about updating my blog this weekend but I hate typing at home on a regular keyboard when I am so used to the ergonomic one here at work. Not to worry though, I still plan on updating after the baby is born.

Oh, I finished one more letter of the Precious Moments cross-stitched alphabet - the N. That's 10 done.... 16 to go (yeah right!). Toodles.

2003-02-25T12:54:00.000-05:00

How fun it is to be pregnant and eat whatever I want for the first time in my life without any guilt! I am eating, at this very moment, one of those ice cream filled chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. It is delic!! I don't even feel the least bit bad about it either. In fact, the woman at the cash register said, "Wow, you look really great for being 7 months along!" So, comments like those really keep me eating bad (though overall I haven't eaten that bad....).

Thursday night Tom has his next tournament basketball game. If the team wins, they'll play Sunday in the championship game, and if they lose they'll play Saturday in the battle for 3rd place. Thursday's game is against the other team from St. Gerards - who Tom beat last time by 1 point at the buzzer... so it should be a really good game!

I watched the very last of Joe Millionaire last night. Glad it's over so I can have my Monday nights back. :) Last night's episode was pretty good - I enjoyed the segment on Paul the Butler and seeing the other girls watching the last episode.

Other than that, not much happening. Granholm put a hiring freeze on at the State yesterday. Not a big surprie though, we were all waiting for it.

Off to do work. I may be MIa from blogging for a few days - I have the last 3 consecutive days of Dilbert training starting tomorrow. It will be absolute torture, just like last time, but at least this is the last installment. That's why I am really working to get as much done as possible today. By the way, I am 32 weeks along now - which means Ethan is about 16 inches long! That seems so big to me. He weighs just under 4 pounds though.

2003-02-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

A few things I want to cover today -

Let's go from broad to narrow in scope today....

Issue #1 - International News: Peace protestors from all different countries are making themselves "human shields" in Iraq at key places we would strike in a war (water plant, power plants, factories, etc.) How ridiculous is that? Hello, suicide wishes... Of course Sadaam is letting them into Iraq - he kills his own people, what does he care about the people from other countries? He doesn't! By the way, despite the slant the media has on the Iraq situation, 2/3 of Americans support war against Iraq. OK, that's my war rant for today - no more of that today.... I don't want to lose any readers with my Republican opinions. :)

Issue #2 - National News: Another aspect, like the 2/3 of Americans cited above, that is not reported in the mainstream news. The girl who received the wrong heart and lung transplant at Duke, who then recently received the correct blood-type heart and lung, but didn't survive, and ended up dying on Saturday. The story is tragic - no one can deny that. However, did you hear that the family refused to donate any of her organs for other people's transplants??? I find that so absurd after they received 2 major donations. They wanted all of her body to cremate!!! I completely disagree with that, though I readily admit I am not in the situation, so I cannot truely say how I would react.... However, I do think I would want to donate organs to possibly help someone else.

Issue #3 - Baby Shower: I had a great baby shower this weekend at my step-mom's house. It was great fun and great food. (The sushi rice salad was amazing!! So was the banana cake!) I got so many wonderful gifts! My dad and step-mom gave us our car seats at the shower - so now Ethan will be safe. :) We also received some cute outfits, the diaper bag, books, toys... all sorts of great stuff. It was so fun. Sunday Tom and I took a bunch of stuff out of the boxes it came in. We filled our trash bin with boxes and packaging material. We also put together the highchair that we received at the previous shower. It's so cute. :)

Issue #4 - Preganancy: So, in the last week or so, I have thrown up 3 times. I hate throwing up! The only correlation I can see between the 3 times is that I ate spaghetti sauce. I don't get sick right away though - it's much later, but before I eat again. The first time (last weekend), I had cooked homemade spaghetti sauce and we ate a late dinner. Shortly afterwards I went to bed. In the morning when I got up I got sick. (That sentence just reminded me of a high school English teacher - we couldn't use the word "got" or "get" in any sentence ever in her class. So I really should have written "In the morning when I awoke I threw up" or something like that....) Then on Friday night we ate a late dinner (like 9:00)at Carabas and I had spaghetti sauce... same thing: sick in the morning on Saturday. Then yesterday I ate some of my leftovers for lunch, and about 5 hours later I was sick. It's really weird because I am not getting sick right after I eat it, but it's always before I've eaten anything else. Maybe it's too acidic? I have no idea. This boy better like spaghetti - afterall, he'll be 1/4 Italian and he's got to eat something at Grandma's Sunday spaghetti dinner!

Back to work.... Cheers!

2003-02-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

I really don't feel like writing much today. I had another doctor's appointment today, but it was very routine (weight, pee in a cup, listen to the heartbeat, measure my ginormous stomach). I was only at the doctor's office for 25 minutes!! I love being the first appointment of the day.

I have been working a ton today at work, so that's why I am not too excited about catching up my blog today. Tomorrow I have a baby shower for the Holoweiko side at my dad and step-mom's house. That should be good fun! I am really excited about it. :)

Well, I need to start wrapping things up here at work... Happy Friday!!!

2003-02-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

WE SOLD THE COUGAR!!!!! HIP-HIP-HOORAY!!!!

We now officially only have 2 car payments. What we'll be saving on this car payment, we'll probably soon be paying in diapers!!

2003-02-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Cougar is all fixed and it looks better than ever. The guy is coming over tonight to check out the repair job and to confirm that he still wants to buy it. I am confident that he will.... and if he doesn't I have 3 more leads since writing my blog yesterday of people who are interested. For those of you reading this.... the lesson to learn is to sell your car on autotrader!!!! It works!

Other than that, not a lot happening. Yesterday flew by - and I didn't feel at all productive at work. Next week I have another 3 days of Dilbert training that will again prove to be absolute torture, I'm sure. It's the last of it though, so if I can survive it, I will have conquered it!! After this week, I am only planning on working 7 more weeks (unless Ethan shows up early). I can't wait to be off of work! In the meantime though, I have a ton to do so that my transition out of here is smooth for my co-workers.

Off to a meeting w/ my new boss. Happy Hump Day!

2003-02-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

Great news - this couple from East Lansing wants to buy the Cougar for their daughter's 18th birthday!! They test drove it on Saturday, and said they would confirm with us Sunday if they wanted to buy it. We were overjoyed!! Here's the kicker though. A few hours after they left on Saturday, Tom left to go pick up our pizza. When he backed out of the driveway HE HIT THE COUGAR!!!!! There is a hole the size of a basketball in the rear bumper!!! So on Sunday, when I answered the phone, the buyer-guy said, "Well, if we're still all set, we'd like to buy the car." I said, "Funny story, John, my husband wants to tell you all about it." So, Tom told him, and the guy came over at 8 a.m. yesterday (I had the day off) to check out the damage before I brought it to the body shop to get repaired. He said he still wants it if it looks as good as new when it's done. Yay!!! In the meantime though, we've been flooded with calls about it since I put it on autotrader.com. Wow, I should have done that 6 months ago!! (Yes, it's been 6 months since I've had the Aztec) The new part comes in today, and they'll have it done by tomorrow evening - so he's going to come back over on Wednesday evening to check it out. If he approves, I'm thinking he'll return to buy it on Friday. I seriously could not believe Tom hit it!! It's been sitting in our driveway for 6 months and he doesn't hit it until the day someone wants to buy it!!!

Other than that, I caught the last 20 minutes of Joe Millionaire last night after I got back from my Pampered Chef meeting. That was a quality series. How did that tabloid that I saw at least a month ago have a picture of Evan in a tux and Zora in a wedding dress? I suppose they're probably on the Today Show, Regis and Kelly, Leno, Letterman, etc today talking about it. Do you think they really got married? Pretty crazy with that Sara chick and the whole bondage thing. :)

Pregnancy is A-OK. I have my next doctor's appointment on Friday. I feel huge. (In fact my mom, when she saw the damage to the Cougar, said, "Looks like you ran into it with your stomach!" Thanks, mom.) Last night when I was, of course, up in the middle of the night to pee and blow my nose because I can never breathe, Ethan was kicking the crap out of me. He was totally nailing me in the ribs at 3:30 in the monring!! Thanks, kid.

Well, I'm off. I got a new boss today. I am pretty excited, because I soon will not be so incredibly busy (and then a little bit after that I will be off on maternity leave!!). He's my "temporary" boss - though he could be here for years - he is replacing my boss who had the brain anuerysm. If that boss actually ever comes back, there is still no guarantee that he would be able to perform the same job - so this guy will probably be here as long as he wants.

Ciao.

2003-02-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

In Wednesday's blog, you'll recall, I was discussing (with myself, of course) the current war/terrorism situation, and having a child born into that world. Thanks to Anne (my step-mom) for this article which speaks right to that. Hope you all enjoy the read - I did!

Also, I forgot to post the link to the 31 week site before. Tomorrow will be 31 weeks!!! That's so crazy!!!! I don't know how many of you actually link to that, but I'll put it out there for my awesome bio-dork friend, Amy, :)

2003-02-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

This baby is kicking like crazy right now!!! Those 2 graham crackers that I just ate got him really fired up!!!

2003-02-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So Tom and I agreed not to buy each other gifts for Valentine's day - just cards. But when I woke up this morning there was a gift for me on the kitchen counter. I collect Precious Moments figurines, and he found a pregnant one!! It's so cute!! So it was OK that he broke the No-Gift Rule. :) I was really excited to get it. He and my mom had both looked for one at Christmas and couldn't find one.

I got him a couple of cards - I gave him the sentimental one this morning, and I'll give him the funny one tonight. After he gets out of basketball practice we're going to dinner at Paizzano's, which is this semi-dumpy bar/Italian restaurant - we're regulars there. Their sign, though, says that they'll have lobster tails and prime rib tonight - so I figured we might as well go there. Anywhere else we go will be absolutely insane. I didn't even want to go out to dinner tonight originally because EVERYONE will be out to dinner - especially at nice restaurants. But once I saw we could go to good ol' Paizzano's I changed my tune! Maybe while he's at practice I'll make a heart shaped rice krispie treat for him - I could add red food coloring to the marshmallows.... that would be cute.

Tomorrow we get out new stove! I am so excited!!

Also tomorrow this guy from East Lansing is going to come out and test drive the cougar. He is looking for a car for his daughter. Yay!! So this afternoon I have to run to the Secretary of State and get a new temporary license plate. Another $10....

Well, I need to get going. Hey, I actually watched Survivor last night for the first time ever. I am so sick of Friends. I liked Survivor (big surprise, it's not like I dislike any reality shows!!) - so I guess that will be added into my mix of regular shows. I was kind of hoping I didn't like it, so it didn't rope me in and tie me down to another show... oh well... I'm a sucker for reality TV.

Have a happy day filled with LOVE!! And if you're bitter about Valentine's Day, go out to the bar and hook up with a hottie!

2003-02-12T13:03:00.000-05:00

This whole Bin Laden/Sadaam thing really was freaking me out yesterday. It made me really sad to think I may not be able to see my baby be born if I die in a terrorist attack first. It's so horrible.... listening to excerpts on the news of the new Bin Laden tape. He hates Americans so much, it just blows my mind. I can't imagine, as hard as I try, what it would be like to grow up and live in a culture that absolutely dispises another people so much that they would want to destroy them. Also, even harder to imagine, are people like Sadaam, who are so insane that he's killed his own people in the past and tried to blame it on Americans. How insane is that?! I agree with Lisa that people are going to look back on these times and wonder how we all coped with everything. There is so much war and instability in the world - which Americans, for the most part, seem oblivious to, until it reaches across our own borders. Like all of the fighting in Isreal and all other parts of the world where it's just "the norm". Is this just how it's going to be now? What happened to the days of June Cleaver? Is Ethan going to grow up in a world where we, as Americans, are always on high alert for terrorist attacks? Can terrorism ever really be eliminated?? That's enough for today on the world situation crap - it's depressing to focus on.

On another subject - the weather. It's so freaking cold out there!!! As if you didn't know (well, at least those of you who read this that live in MI - and for those of you that are living in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina: I don't want to hear about your weather).

I am still feeling well - almost over my cold - I have a really annoying cough leftover from it though. Last night I actually fell asleep on the couch at like 8:30! I am back to sleeping like a rock again, like I was in my first trimester. Hey, in a week I will officially be 7 months along! Wow - this has gone by really fast!

BTW - I did cook last night - I whole meal - chicken with mushroom sauce over egg noodles, brocolli, and lemon pudding cake for dessert. I was pretty proud to have pulled something together considering we still need groceries. But, I feel that I have exhausted my cooking creativity - so that means another dinner like cornbread again tonight.

I was home at lunch and everyone on the block has already shoveled last night's snow except us! Even our bachelor next door, who rarely shovels! The old police chief that lives a couple of doors down snowblowed (snowblew?) our sidewalk early this morning, so that was really nice of him. He didn't however, do our driveway - but he did Karen and Kevin's!! Where do we rate?! I am going to make him banana bread this weekend. :) It couldn't hurt.

Alright, I'm outta here. I need to work.
Cheers.

2003-02-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

I really don't have much to say today. I only watched part of Joe Millioniare last night - it was so boring that I fell asleep. Nothing happened on it either. Next week will be the good (and last) episode. My co-worker said it's going to be a 2 hour finale - which basically means they're going to recap EVERYTHING all over again! It'll probably only be good the last 15 minutes of next week's episode. I think the whole show is genius - but since it's on Fox there's a lot more fluff to it than there needs to be.

I was just super exhausted last night so I guess that's why I feel like I don't have much to say. That's why I only made cornbread for dinner!! It's the only thing that sounded good... poor Tom! So tonight I am actually going to cook. I have more time because he has basketball practice right after work.... I need to come up with something. It doesn't help that we need to go grocery shopping SO bad!

Hey, I actually got 2 emails about my cougar from my autotrader ad!! I am so surprised!! I feel really free this week because I was supposed to have jury duty all week. :) It makes me so happy that I don't have to be there.

Over and out.

2003-02-10T08:33:00.000-05:00

Friday I came into work after my doctor's appointment - and I actually made it through the whole rest of the day - even without having much of a voice. I felt like crap, but I knew it would make this morning much easier to bear.

When I woke up Saturday I could actually talk! I still felt pretty horrible, but besides having my voice back, I was also hungry for the first time in days! 2 good signs. Saturday morning was the last game of Tom's regular season - they were playing for the league championship (and 1st seed in the upcoming tournament), but they lost by 8 points. They played a great game, except for missing 15, yes 15, freethrows! Then the rest of the day Saturday I just stayed at home recovering.

Tom finished painting the changing table and the dresser yesterday. So then we put the crib together. Let me tell you, it's really looking like a baby is going to be here soon now!! It's pretty crazy to think that too! I am 30 weeks along now - which completely blows my mind. Next week I will in a single digit week-by-week count down!!!! Next week, also, I will be slightly depressed because it's the week our cruise was scheduled for (to Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Costa Maya, Mexico).... the food, the royal treatment.... I'll miss it as we sit in the house looking out the window at the snow, but we will cruise again!!!

Yesterday was my first baby shower at Tom's aunt's house. It was a blast (even though I am still sick). It was so cool to be opening presents that said "Ethan" on the card! We got all sorts of things - highchair, monitor, stuffed animals, Pooh goodies, outfits, rattles, bottles, pacifiers, photo album, bathtub, wipe warmer, etc. It was so cool. We got everything into the room yesterday - and we put the bedding on the crib (we still have to take it back off and wash it but for now it looks cool) so it really looks likea baby's room now!!

Yesterday after the shower Tom and I went to Home Depot and bought a new stove/oven. Pretty exciting! They'll be delivering it Saturday - I can't wait to have a fully functioning stove and oven!!

Well, I need to do some work. So far, in my first hour here I haven't gotten anything done yet - I've checked my email, updated my blog, posted my stupid Cougar on AutoTrader.com, and eaten oatmeal. Whew, I'm exhausted! :)

2003-02-06T06:22:00.000-05:00

I know, I've been MIA for a couple of days. Sorry! I am really sick though - I have a cold that has totally wiped me out. I didn't go into work on Tuesday, and yesterday I worked just half a day (in the morning only) simply because I had a meeting out of town that I wasn't willing to reschedule. I am not going to go in today either. I am supposed to go to the dentist this morning, but I don't see how that's going to be possible. I woke up this morning and my voice is completely gone, in addition to still feeling like crap. Tomorrow I have my next doctor's appointment. Then after that I go every 2 weeks until I am 4 weeks away from my due date (then I go every week).

I did make it to Tom's game last night though, but I couldn't cheer because even then I didn't have much of a voice. The won again (they're 9-1) in overtime by 2 points. A very exciting game. Their last regular season game is this Saturday against a team from St. Johns that is also 9-1, so this game will be for the league championship. Tom's pretty geeked about that. Then in 2 weeks the tournament begins (and that lasts for 2 weeks).

I am pretty excited that I have my first baby shower this weekend! It's on Sunday and it's a brunch. It should be a lot of fun! I have sanded the changing table and the dresser for Tom to paint - he's probably going to do that tomorrow night. We picked out our crib, but I went to buy it yesterday on my way home from work and it was a big waste of time, and I didn't end up getting one at all. I thought I would just walk in and say, "I'll take that one." Not so easy. The 2 that we liked were both out of stock, so they were going to give us the floor models, but then they both ended up being damaged. The stupid sales lady kept trying to get me to special order one, even though it takes 10-12 weeks to come in. I repeatedly told her that I didn't have that much time. It just didn't sink in. So, I really don't know what to do.... I may go to this one store in Okemos today with my mom. One store is my tolerance right now for how I feel.

Also yesterday I was going to buy a toy box, but that was a bust as well. Looks like it was going to be a total rip off. (By the way, did you know that crib matresses are $60-$120?!?!) I think I am just going to go to World Market and buy a giant basket for his toys.

Well, I need to get going. I am about to cough up a lung. Hope you have a great day!

2003-02-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

Friday night I measured and taped off all of the room so that on Saturday Tom and Karen could paint the pale green stripes on the wall. It's all finished now (except for the white on the baseboard at the back of the closet) and it looks great. Tom is also still going to paint dragon flies on the one big green wall.

We got our dresser this weekend. While it's currently sitting in our kitchen, we're going to move it into the nursery tonight. It's painted off-white, but we're going to see if we want to paint it the same color white that we've used in the bedroom. I think we're also going to pick up our crib tonight - which may also need to be painted, depending on the color of white that it already is. (My Uncle Nick built the changing table for Mike and Rene to use for their kids.)

Early this week we'll also be heading back to the store to buy the crib. We looked at cribs (and stoves) all day yesterday. We for sure got our crib narrowed down to the one we want. When we go back to buy that, we're also going to buy a toy box. As far as stoves go, we have one in mind, but first Karen is going to check Consumer Reports to see if it's any good. Then once we have that picked out, we'll go buy that too! What an expensive week!!

Well, I need to get back to work. I only have 10 more weeks of work (assuming he doesn't come early!!)!!

Cheers.

2003-01-31T08:26:00.000-05:00

I am tired today too (story of my life these days, huh?). We (Karen, Kevin, Tom and I) were in Livonia last night for a seminar we are in. We get back a little after 11. And my bed was SO comfy last night!

Tonight I am going to calculate how the stripes on the walls should be painted for Ethan's room. Then I will tape them off so Karen and Tom can paint tomorrow. Isn't she the greatest?! Offering to help paint since I can't!!

My depressing thought for the day yesterday was that had I not been pregnant, we (Karen, Kevin, Tom and I) would have had 2 more weeks of work before our next cruise!! I am so bummed!! I also can't believe how fast the last year went, because we booked that cruise while on our last cruise, to be taken exactly one year later. So, in the meantime, I just applied for the Norwegian Cruise Line credit card so we can do things like earn room upgrades, etc. We have been religiously using our GM card for absolutely everything, but with us having a 2001 and a 2002 vehicle, it's kind of silly to keep accruing $$ on our GM card since we're not planning on buying anything anytime soon.

Well, I have lots to do at work today - so I am outta here. Tomorrow I will be 29 weeks along, which is really hard to believe! Toodles.

2003-01-30T14:35:00.000-05:00

I'm getting SO sleepy..... We had a luncheon at work because we have a couple of people leaving. I didn't even eat that much, I think more of it has to do with the fact that I am really warm because the sun in shining into my office right now.

Last night Tom's kids lost their first game of the season. It was a pretty crappy game. They lost by 7 points (not that bad though after being down 18 points at the beginning of the 4th quarter - which is an astronomical deficit for 6th grade basketball!). So they're 8-1 now, with 2 games left in the regular season.

Well, Ethan is kicking like crazy right now since I just ate lunch. He loves food! Just like his mom and dad!!

Oh, by the way, my former, annoying, retired co-worker showed up the good-bye luncheon today. I am so happy not to have to work with him anymore. Those 45 minutes with him were enough for the next 45 years!

Cheers!

2003-01-29T14:03:00.000-05:00

Wow!!! I found out today that our friends Josh and Keri Peterson are having twins!!! She's not due until August (I'd bet she'll have them earlier than her due date though...). I can't even imagine TWINS! It's a regularly occuring thing in Keri's family to have twins. But still, whew, it exhuasts me just thinking about it. Suddenly their kid-raising expenses just doubled!

Not much is happening with me today. Just lots of kicking from Ethan. Tonight Tom has a game which will be a lot of fun to go to.

By the way, don't eat or drink foods with aspartame!!
Read this web page if you really want to be informed about what it does to you!!

2003-01-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

So I had this realization last night. Before I got pregnant I felt like it would be fine to get pregnant, but I would rather have a kid who's like 6 or 8 months old, and not an infant. Having an infant just seemed to freaky. But, last night I was thinking about it, and at this point I would much rather have an infant. I am not even sure why - but it just seems like a better gig right now than having a 6 month old. Maybe it's the whole idea of easing into it... I feel like my feelings about having an infant now are completely nature's way.

Interesting.... aside from that, Tom is going to do a little painting tonight after basketball practice. I may do my pilates video tonight as well.

Joe Millionaire was good last night, for those of you who caught it.... If you missed it, you missed some quality Fox TV. We also watched Fear Factor - whenever I think that show can't get any more gross it always does!! They had to eat Fear Factor pizza - it was a crust made with cow bile, the sauce was coagulated blood paste, the cheese was rotten and moldy and the toppings were live red worms and fish eyeballs. It was absolutely disgusting.... glad I could share that with all of you.

Cheers!

2003-01-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

I am at work, but I am so exhausted! I hit snooze for 40 minutes this morning and I am so wiped out. I have yawned about a million times so far at work and I have only been here for 45 minutes.

How was your weekend? Mine was chock full of sports. Sunday morning I was up at 5 a.m. - I couldn't sleep because I was so stuffed up! We ended up going to church at 7:30 a.m. since I was up anyways. Later in the day I went to Tom's basketball game - they won again! They pulled off a 2 point victory (22-20), and their record is now 8-0. They have a big game this Wed vs. St. Therese that is purely personal for Tom - his cousin is an assistant coach, and his son and another cousin are on the team. Tom's been trash-talkin' for weeks now. St. Therese has a good team, even though they've lost a couple of games to some good kids.

We, of course, also watched the MSU/UofM game. For the first time in 9 years the Wolverines were victorious!!! 13 games in a row?! That's completely insane, especially considering that while I was at UofM there was seriously a classified ad in the Michigan Daily for basketball tryouts!

Following the UofM game and Tom's game, we had some people over to watch the Superbowl. I made some wonderful Pampered Chef fare (Savory Sandwich Ring, Chocolate Cherry Cake, Mini Ham Puffs, PB Cookies, Taffy Apple Pizza, Touchdown Taco Dip w/ tortilla chips, and veggies and dip and cheese and crackers). Plus, one guy brought over meatballs. Good stuff! Tom won $125 on some squares for the Superbowl - he's buying new basketball shoes with the $$.

Friday night we ended up going to the Waverly High School basketball game. I think since I graduated I had been at 2 other games - and those we just to see Marcus Taylor play (what a disappointment that whole thing is now with him leaving MSU early just to play CBA ball?! Well, I have a feeling Magic Johnson will take care of him and make him a Laker in the next few years...) Waverly was playing Grand Ledge (who is ranked #3 in the State) and lost in overtime. Good game though. I went home after the game and Tom went out to the bar - it completely didn't appeal to me to go.... I don't like being in super smokey bars now - I feel like Ethan can smell it and he hates it. :)

Saturday Tom got part of Ethan's room painted - he is almost done painting all of the white - there is one part of one wall that he had to repair with lots of putty stuff, so that still has to be painted. Yesterday at Home Depot we bought a new light fixture for that room as well. (We also looked at ovens too because ours is OLD and not happy. The top element of the oven is broken, and with the only big burner that we have, you have to jam it in a few times to get it to heat up, which often causes it to spark and a couple of times has created a little blue flame - flames from the burners are not a good thing when you're not cooking with a gas stove!! So that will be our next major purchase...) He has one big wall to paint green now (pale green), as well as one teeny wall (only about a foot wide). As for my part, I need to measure off the other 3 walls so that I can calculate how big the vertical stripes should be. Then, Karen and I are going to tape that area off so that she and Tom can whip those stripes on the wall - hopefully this coming weekend.

As a side note to the pregnancy, I am now 28 weeks along. That seems SO far along to me! Especially since I, theoretically, have 12 weeks to go! Though I am definitely not at the point where I am saying, "Get this baby out of me!" Plus, my first baby shower is only 13 days away!! How exciting!! Before then, I am hoping to pick up the changing table we are borrowing, and well as the antique bassinet (from the 1800's!!). Plus, we are hoping to buy the crib very soon, but we really want to get the rest of the furniture in there first to see what would look the best. I finally finished another letter in my Precious Moments alphabet project. So, that makes the letters E, I, L, T, X, Y, Z complete. I am almost done with the letter S, but I ran out of thread and no one in this city has the color I need.... I am waiting for my online order of the color. I will probably work on it again tonight while watching some quality TV like Joe Millionaire. (By the way, for the JM fans, I was at Meijer this week and on the front of the tabloid they have a picture of Joe Millionaire in a tux with Zora in a wedding gown!)

Alright, I was feeling wordy today, but I need to do work. Hope you all have a terrific week! :)

2003-01-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

So I have been really busy at work this week. Plus, they told us to clean our desks before Friday because our new director of the Department of Community Health is visiting us all on Friday. She was recently appointed by Granholm, so she's brand spankin' new.

There is no news to report with the pregnancy gig - it's all just rolling along like normal. I'm 27 weeks and 5 days along now. It's really flying by!

We have Ethan's room cleared out, and Tom is planning on beginning painting it this Saturday.

Hey, has anyone else noticed that the U of M basketball team has now won 12 games in a row?!?! Hell has definitley frozen over!! Many people around me are looking forward to this weekend's match up with UofM and MSU. For the first time in a few years, it looks like it will actually be a great match. Then Sunday we're watching the Superbowl, of course. Not really looking forward to it - hope there are some good ads worth paying attention to!

Well, I need to get back to work. Tom's basketball team has another game tonight at St. Thomas. So far his St. Gerard team is undefeated (6-0), so we'll see how that all goes tonight!!

Ciao!

2003-01-18T08:24:00.000-05:00

There is good reason that I have been out of communication - I was at Dilbert training for 3 full days (Wed-Fri). It was so horible and I got nothing out of it for my job, and the kicker is that I have 3 more days of it in February! (We already had 3 days of it in November, I was only at the first day before I got sick) But.... I am not going to sit here and complain about it, because I am mostly just happy that it's over!

Sorry for any spelling errors, etc. - I am at home typing on a regular keyboard which is so hard since I have an ergo one at work.

Ethan is kicking all the time now, and it's so fun! We almost have everything out of his room and Tom and I actually agree on the colors and and how we're going to paint the room! After he wakes up we're going to go and buy the paint (and groceries!) because it's half off right now. Hopefully I will figure out how to post pictures on here one day... then I could post pics of the room and more importantly of Ethan once he's born.

Well, I need to take a shower and get ready. I don't have that much to say - I've just been trapped in training for 3 days, which makes life pretty uneventful, but I am positive that gonig back to the office on Tuesday (we have Monday off) will be insane!

Cheers!

2003-01-13T13:09:00.000-05:00

So I am pretty swamped at work right now - this is probably going to be one short blog!

This weekend we finally started working on the house. Yesterday we moved all of the furniture out of Ethan's room (a twin bed, a dresser, Tom's clothes), and moved it into the office - which now contains the dresser, the bed, the computer w/ its desk, and another desk and Tom's clothes. We had a couch and trunk that was in the office, but is now downstairs. I am in the process of going through everything in the house to see what we can recycle/throw away/donate... the rest we keep. And I mean everything - I am going to do that in every room. I got through a lot of stuff last night. There is still a pile in the office that I need to go through. In the end, I think we'll have a ton of stuff for Salvation Army.

Today at lunch I ran to Home Depot and picked up some paint samples. We are so clueless about what to do in that room!!! We'll probably talk more about it tonight.... I'll keep you updated.

Tom's cousins, Scott and Traci, are also going to have a baby - except for she's now a week overdue! They have another appointment today.... we'll see....

Toodles!

2003-01-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Had me doctor's appointment today and everything is wonderful. Last month when we were there, following the ultrasound, the ultrasound report said "suspicion of a cyst on brain, only seen in some views." We didn't want to tell anyone about it so that no one had to worry, since there wasn't actually anything wrong, at that point. So, I did some internet research on brain cysts in babies, and I found that quite a common thing (1 in 40 pregnancies) is a finding on the 20 week ultrasound of a choroid plexus cyst. These cysts, which cause absolutely no damage develop sometimes because the brain is developing so rapidly. In almost every case it disappears by 24 weeks. So, they scheduled us for an ultrasound this week - which we had on Tuesday. They even sent us out to MSU to have it done, because of their high quality equipment. The chic doing the ultrasound couldn't see anything, but we had to wait for the doctors to see the pictures to confirm this. We were at the doctor's this morning and he confirmed that there is no cyst. Yay!!!!! We are so thankful today! One of the cool things about the second ultrasound was that we were able to get even better pictures - Ethan's face doesn't look like an alien anymore! We could actually make out eyes, nose and mouth in a ultrasound picture! On Tuesday they said he weighs 1 pound, 14 ounces. They said that the ultrasound due date is April 16 - and my calendar one is April 19 - which the doctor, today, said was basically the same date since you don't really know when you're going to have your baby.

Also at my appointment I had to have my glucose test done to check for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a cup of this stuff, then an hour later they took my blood. The stuff I had to drink tasted like McDonalds orange drink, only completely UNdiluted!! It was pretty gross and super sugary and I had to drink it in one minute. They only took 2 viles of blood, so that wasn't bad at all. I assume that if I have gestational diabetes they will let me know before my next appointment, which is 4 weeks from today. After that appointment I will be going every other week for a checkup.

Tomorrow I will 26 weeks along - I can hardly believe it! Oh, also in my ultrasound on Tuesday, he was breech (so his head was up, instead of his feet). But this is really normal at this point in pregnancy. One third of all babies are breech at this point in pregnancy. Besides, he changes position all the time at this point. Sometimes he is laying with his head down, and other times he isn't. With how much he moves it really seems that he has a lot of room at this point - I know that will change as we approach April.

Well, I need to get back to work. I didn't get a lot done this morning because I came in at 9 after my doctor's appointment, then at 9:05 we had to shut out computers down because they were afraid that the water main that broke in our basement would cause the power to shut down. So we all sat around for a little while not doing anything, and just hoping to go home, because, of course, the water was off too. The basement looked like a river!!! But, alas, I am still here - at least for another hour before I have a meeting and then am headed home.

Have a great weekend!

2003-01-09T08:50:00.000-05:00

My next doctor's appointment is tomorrow morning. I think it's going to be longer than normal though because, if I recall, they will be doing blood work again, and I think a gestational diabetes test as well. I think they do it around 25 weeks - which is where I'm at right now.

So did I mention in my blog that people totally can tell that I am pregnant now? People ask just about everyday! I must look really pregnant! I also hear from people a lot though that say you are all baby, you're still skinny and just carrying out in front. Yay!!! A dream come true!! Although, I know for a fact my thighs are bigger. It's probably because I feel I can eat with reckless abandon. Though I still can't eat a lot at one time.... I have had ice cream more in the last 5 months than I have in the last 10 years! It kind of grosses me out though, all that food. I am, actually, really excited to do Body For Life again. I think I will do a modified version of it once I am physically able to after the baby's born. I think, though, that I will have to add an extra portion of carbs to my first 3 or so meals per day (that's out of a total of 6 meals for those of you not familiar w/ BFL - though, if you're not, I highly recommend at least reading the book )

I did my Pilates for Pregnancy video the other night. That was fun. I hadn't done it since my first trimester when it bored me to tears. That's because I still had ab muscles though. Now that those have stretched into a big stomach it was more a challenge. I think it will be even more challeging though as I progress into my last trimester in 11 days!! It felt really good to get some stretching it. I didn't do any exercise last night because I went to Tom's game. The kiddies pulled off an overtime win at the buzzer. Very, very cute.

Back to work.... hope everyone's having a great day!

2003-01-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

So did you all watch Joe Millionaire last night? I sure did!! I wouldn't have missed it for anything! It was good - I couldn't believe that out of the 20 girls they already cut 8 of them! Then on the preview for next week they cut 7 more!! So, doesn't this show last a whole season? Can he really tell that he wants to eliminate 8 girls on the first day when he hardly talked to them?! I was excited to see that the first Trading Spaces host was the host of Joe Millionaire. Any link to Trading Spaces and I'm hooked. :) Speaking of, Karen and Kevin need to measure their basement so that we can find out if it's big enough to qualify for Trading Spaces - we want to swap basements. Tom also wants me to apply for While You Were Out to have the basement re-done.

So update on the baby: Ethan is kicking like crazy all the time now. It always makes me laugh. I feel like all of my co-workers are ripped off from that fun when he's kicking during work. Always about 10 minutes after I eat too, that's when he's really active. I've also noticed that around 9:00 p.m. he is too.

Well, I have a ton to do at work.... better get to it.

Have a great Tuesday!

2003-01-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

How was your New Year's Eve? Ours was LAID BACK (wit' my mind on my money and my money on my mind.... Sorry.) We had over Karen and Kevin and Jason. It was absolutely perfect. One more person and I wouldn't have liked it. I could totally chill out, eat chocolate fondue and cheesy potatoes and be asleep by 1:00 a.m. I actually was at work yesterday - all day!! - and I am back today... I really like the pattern of 5 days off, work 1.5 days, 2 days off, work 1 day, 2 days off, work 2 days, 2 days off. Unfortunately, it's not much of a pattern since it all ends next week when I have to work ALL 5 DAYS!!!! Sounds like torture at this point. I have a couple of doctors' appointments next week though as well... though I scheduled them to use up the least amount of time away from work as possible (I don't know what I was thinking.... oh yeah, now I remember, save my time for when I'm off on maternity leave so that I am still bringing in a phat pay check).

This weekend will be pretty relaxing as well - which I am glad about since I am so over Christmas/New Year's parties!! Tonight Tom has basketball practice, then tomorrrow morning the kiddies have a basketball game. I will probably go to it if it's not too early. Their team is 2-0 so far - and so cute! 6th grade boys are hilarious - some are 2 feet tall, and others are 5 feet tall. When I went to the last game one of the kids Tom coached last year walked by me and he's taller than me now - I seriously think he grew a foot in the last year!

Last night we (Karen and Kevin and I) attempted to go to Livonia for a seminar - we didn't make it. And... at the rate we were driving it was going to take more than double the amount of time to get there than normal. Plus, we had way less snow towards the center of the state than they did in SE Michigan - so we figured it was only going to get worse. The seminar is from 7-9:30, and our calculations led us to believe we wouldn't get there till around 8:30, and we'd have to turn around and drive in it all again an hour later - don't think so! We only made it as far as Okemos. So the 3 of us went out to dinner at this cute little new restaurant. It was yummy!!!

Well, I'd better be doing work now - that's what your tax dollars are paying me for.

BTW - I just finished the book The 25th Hour because I saw the movie preview for it recently - it's starring Edward Norton. It was decent - I think it will make a good movie. Now I am only reading 2 books - Jane Eyre and A Fine Balance (an Oprah book). I haven't had a lot of time for reading because I have been sewing my project for Ethan's room so much - I am almost done with the letter T... at lunch today I am going to run to the fabric store to buy more thread - the color that is used for every letter of the alphabet. It's going to be adorable.

Cheers!

2002-12-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

I was writing such an eloquent blog this morning, but I lost it when I was looking for a link to post on it. Sometimes I love modern techonolgy!

Last Friday I only worked part of the day because of a cold. I hate it that I keep getting sick! You would think I could have managed to work for 2 full days last week... apparently not. Friday night we had a surprise 50th birthday party to go to for one of my cousins. After that we went to my other cousin's to hang out for a bit. It was fun but I was sick so that was a damper on the funness. On Saturday we had the Holoweiko Christmas party, then on Sunday the Platte Christmas party. It's no wonder I got sick, after all, I was around a zillion people giving hugs, etc. I am glad that all of the Christmas parties are over with now. I came to work today, even though I still feel like crap, because I have tomorrow and Wednesday off. Tomorrow we're probably just going to have a couple of people over for New Year's Eve. I am definitely not up to the shananigans we put on last year at out New Year's Eve party - which was filled with total chaos and drunken insanity - a fun time overall, just exhausting. This year we'll be laying low, and we won't even have to steam clean the carpets afterwards!!

Well, I am 24 weeks along now - so Ethan apparently opens and shuts his eyes a lot now. How cute. :)

20 minutes till lunch. I can't wait. I need to run home and do something about the fact that I can completely not breathe through my nose!

I need to do some work again - I hate typing my blog twice - I wish it would have saved everything I wrote last time!

2002-12-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's been AGES since I've updated my blog! I haven't worked since last Friday - the 5 days off have been the best. Christmas was great - we saw a lot of people and it was great to visit with everyone. We got a couple of fun baby gifts: a Pooh lamp, a couple of stuffed animals, a sterling silver rattle, a blanket and crib sheet, a Michigan outfit (from my Spartan loving father-in-law!!), a toy plane, etc. It was really fun to get gifts for him. Also, my brother and sister-in-law gave us a TON of stuff from my nephew, Levi, who is now 4 years old. We have to sort through all of that now. We are tossing around some ideas for decorating the baby's room now. We are going to start once New Year's is past. Probably this week I will run to the paint store and pick up some samples. Then we'll take them back to Target and see what matches our stuff, then we'll take them to the room and see what actually looks good in that light. I am usually the one that paints the different rooms in our house, but I can't now, being pregnant - so that's a lot of work for Tom that I can't really help with. All I can do is tape things off. I will be excited once we get the painting done, then we'll have all of Tom's stuff moved out of there and we can buy and assemble the crib and changing table. And start putting things away. That will be so much fun!!

The baby is moving like crazy consistently now. That's been a lot of fun. Tom even got to SEE my stomach move!! That was pretty freaky the first time I saw that happen! I am 23 weeks along now. Actually, only a couple of days away from being 24 weeks...

Well, I need to get some work done around my office now. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

2002-12-19T08:05:00.000-05:00

Had my doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon. The appointments are SO short! They basically just check the baby's heartbeat (which was 156 again) and then see if you have any questions. Oh, they also make you pee in a cup every time and get weighed. I actually weigh over 150 pounds now!!! My freshmen year at U of M I was pretty chunky, gaining that freshmen 15, getting up to 140 pounds!! I hadn't been up that high since. At least this is healthy weight - it's not beer, pizza and french fry weight.

I have been really tired this week. It is the hardest thing in the world to wake up each morning this week. I just have to make it through today and tomorrow though, then I have a 5 day weekend. I can do it, I can do it.... Then I am only working Thursday and Friday next week. I may have another 5 day weekend the following weekend - I haven't decided yet. I am trying to save up my time though for when I am off of work with the baby. I think by then I'll probably have 10 weeks of time saved up, which will be really nice. I found out that when I have the baby, my doctor will write a note to have me off of work for 6-8 weeks. (6 for a normal delivery, 8 for a C-section). Then, for the remaining 4-6 weeks I have of FMLA time, I could work part time. After FMLA, I have up to a 6 month parental leave. Since we are understaffed, I think I will use that as a bargaining chip. I'll tell them I'm either going to take my 6 months off, or they can let me work part time for those 6 months. It will be really cool to have like 7 and a half months at part time. Then after that I can see if I still want to work here. In the meantime, I will be building my Pampered Chef business too. I am scheduling shows through March right now. I can take a leave of absence from Pampered Chef too, but I am hoping that for a couple months (April and May) I can just get some catalog shows lined up so I at least have a little money coming in during that time (I will still be getting my full State of Michigan paycheck at that time though too).

Well, back to the piles on my desk. I think I'll go down to the cafeteria before I get started and get some wonderful hot cocoa - that stuff's amazing!! Cheers!

2002-12-16T08:42:00.000-05:00

We had a really nice weekend - it was just so short! We went out to dinner on Friday with Karen and Kevin. It's so cool to order french fries and not care!!

Saturday I did some Christmas shopping after Tom's basketball game (which the kiddies won). Then Sunday Tom and I finished up our Christmas shopping, plus we registered for the baby at Target! That was fun! I bet to buy our entire registry would cost $4000. It's insane how much that stuff is! Our swing is $100! Our baby gate is $50! That's because we wanted one that mounts to the wall with hardware so he can't just push it over and fall down the stairs. It was fun though, and much easier than registering for our wedding. We didn't really register for outfits, I am hoping that people just buy those anyways.

Hope all is well with y'all! Toodles!

2002-12-13T09:12:00.000-05:00

OK, so I am catching some flack for not updating my blog for an entire week (ahem... Amber). So sorry, but you know I usually don't update on the weekends, and then I was sick with the flu.

So, yes, we are very excited to know it's a boy. We are, at this point, planning on the name Ethan Quay Anderson. As my mom said, "Sounds like a movie star..." I am so excited not to have to be dressing this kid in pink and ruffles! This weekend as we finish up our Christmas shopping together, Tom and I are planning on starting to register for baby stuff. That'll be so much fun! We haven't got to register for about 3 whole years - since our wedding - I know, we're spoiled! But we figured, if anyone wanted to get us anything that would give them some guidance. We are registering at Target - I like their registry and process a whole lot more than Toys R Us, even though TRU has a huge selection.

Last Saturday we had the Auto Owners Chistmas Party at our house. It was fine... I was pretty tired by the time it started because I did a Pampered Chef show that afternoon, but I just had to cash in on the Christmas spending! Evidently, someone at the party made a bunch of us sick, because Tom said there were a bunch of people out of the office the same days I was w/ the flu too. Wonderful hostess gift, wasn't it?

Then last Sunday we got our Christmas tree. That was good fun. We took Chloe out to the tree farm as well. She had a blast playing with their dog and looking at the owner's pigs, goat, horse and chickens. Our tree is beautiful and all decorated now. There are a few gifts under it, but we have a lot of buying left to do this weekend.

I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment today, but I got there and the only doctor in today was delivering a baby. Now, I'm not upset about the fact that a woman was in labor during my appointment, but what sucks is that the receptionists don't call and let you know. You have haul all the way out there, then they tell you when you check in at the desk. Gee, thanks. So, it is rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Tomorrow I will be 22 weeks along. I can hardly believe it! That's 5 months!! Only 4 to go!!!

Well, since I was out of the office for a couple of days, I should really get going. Not like anything exciting happened while I was sick anyways - I watched Price is Right, Family Feud, and the Dating Story each day, but that's pretty lame. Ciao!

2002-12-06T16:31:00.000-05:00

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2002-12-02T13:03:00.000-05:00

I know, I've been gone for SO long!! The long weekend was absolutely wonderful!!

On Wednesday we had dinner with my uncle and his family - they were here from Virginia. It was great to see all of them again - and my cousin Keith and I exchanged Christmas presents - my first of the year!! Later that night we went to Reno's West for the unofficial WHS reunion. Saw some people and had a good time - even though I couldn't drink.

Thursday, we had a good Turkey Day - celebrating with dinner at my mom's and then afterwards to Tom's aunt and uncle's house for visiting and some pool on their new pool table (which puts our to shame!!). After that we rented Death to Smoochy and Panic Room. Both good, and very different from one another.

On Friday I saw my old college roommates - Amy, Lisa and Sarah. Such good people. I love seeing them and I wish it was something we did more often. We went out to dinner in Troy - recalling the old times - especially each of our embarassing moments.

Saturday we had a big family dinner at my parents' house. It was a feast of El Azteco and Fazoli's - what could be better?! Then we went to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which could have easily been about an Italian family. Tom said he was thinking of my family the whole time. :)

Yesterday we worked on the house. Saturday we are having about 30 people over from Tom's work for a Christmas party, so we are trying to get all those little odds and ends done. An example? Tom painted our "new" front door. We've had it for a few months, but this is the first time we've been motivated to get it done - and that's probably because he had to paint it. I usually do the painting, but couldn't because of being pregnant.

In just 4 days we go for the unltrasound to find out if this is a boy or a girl!!! I can't wait!! I am 20 weeks along now - halfway through - can you believe it??? I can't!!

Sorry for all of the "-'s" today - that's how my brain is working. I feel like it's going to read very choppy because - every random - thought - has a "-" in between - like I am - against puncuation - today.

I'm all out of PB Cap'n Crunch... what sad times...

2002-11-26T09:39:00.000-05:00

Mark me down for eating one more bowl of PB Cap'n Crunch this morning. That stuff is fabulous!!

It's so quiet around this office today!! I just remembered that we usually do Secret Santa in our office, so I organized that this morning. I love Secret Santa time. I usually receive crappier gifts than I give, but somehow, I still find it fun.

Tonight is my last Self-Expression and Leadership class that I am coaching. I am so excited!! These last 3 1/2 months have cruised by!

The ol' baby gig is going fine. I am 19 weeks along now and I feel like I am getting huge, though I know that I have lots more room to grow!! My maternity clothes are still hanging off me, so that is a pretty good indicator that there is still plenty of time for me to fill them in!!

2002-11-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

So, I may have officially had my first craving. It's hard to say though because before I was pregnant I always "craved" food - and I don't see this as much different. So, what was I "craving" you ask? Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch!! I have had the box for 24 hours now (Tom finally went and got me some yesterday morning after I had wanted it for 3 days) and I've already consumed 5 bowls!!! It is seriously so wonderful!! I have no idea how I thought of it either - I haven't had Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch for about 8 years. Bizarre!

The update on my boss is that he underwent 4 hours of surgery on Saturday, and they only removed one anuerysm. There was too much bleeding for them to do more. So, once he recovers a little bit, they will be scheduling another surgery. That's all we know... we don't know the extent of the brain damage at this time.

This weekend my dad and Tom put up a ceiling fan in our living room. It really looks great! They had to do everything - cut a hole in the ceiling, wire it, etc. It's really pretty. We bought it about a year ago and it's just been one of those things we were going to do "one day." We didn't even know when we bought it that the lights were on a dimmer and it's operated by remote control. Too cool!!

So, have you seen the movie The Ring? You HAVE to see it. It was so good. It was a scary movie that was actually scary!! I actually think it would be more scary to watch at home than in the theater. It was great. I am sure we'll go to another movie or 2 over this long weekend. Now that we don't spend a bunch of time at the bar/clubs on the weekends, movies are our new thing. It's cheaper than both of us going out and drinking all night, that's for sure! We also want to see 8 Mile, Die Another Day, and Harry Potter. I don't know what comes out this week, but I am sure there is something that we'd want to see in the new releases too.

Speaking of the bars... we are going out to the bar (Reno's West) on Wednesday night for the infamous Waverly High School informal all-class reunion. It is very funny, but every year we go and catch up with everyone and their brother. It's a good time and once a year is plenty to see those people. It's a good time, and offers lots of laughs for weeks to come! That should be a lot of fun!

Well, I need to go to the library and Beaner's.... (I know, your tax dollars are hard at work!!)...
Cheers!

2002-11-22T07:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I haven't written more this week - it's been a pretty crazy week here at work, and that is where I usually post from. On Wednesday morning my boss had a brain anuerysm! It is really sad and scary. He is still alive... but, obviously, in the hospital. They discovered he actually had three anuerysms. Right now he is not verbally communicating, but they tested his reflexes and he does flinch, etc. Looks like they are going to do surgery tomorrow on him. I was talking to this other guy last night and they discovered an anuerysm in his sister-in-law's brain (the family had been checked because a couple of people had them) and so they did surgery to remove it - it 12 hours!! I can't imagine how long it will take to remove 3!!

So, here at work, it's been busy covering for his job and my own.

This weekend looks like it will be very relaxing. Tom and I are going to see a move tonight... not sure which one yet. I was supposed to have an arbitration at work today, but the Union withdrew the case because we were right. :) So that's very nice, I could wear jeans today for casual Friday AND I didn't have to go to Kalamazoo.

Tom finally finished cleaning out our garage from all of the summer projects. Now we get to park in it again!!! Yay!!! I feel completely spoiled again! I love it! My Cougar is still in the driveway though as well. I STILL haven't cleaned it up and put a For Sale sign in the window. How lame is that?! Yesterday I got my Aztec fixed. It was making the whistling sound a few weeks ago and I took it in - they had to order the part from Mexico and it finally came in. It was something for the rear drive shaft. No more whistlin' dixie with the Aztec now!

Hope all is going well with all of you!! Toodles!!

2002-11-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

The other day I alluded the baby name poll that many of you participated in... well, here are the results. There is also a spot on the poll results page where you can add your comments, so feel free to do so!!

Today at work I have a headache. It's bumming me out. I don't want to leave work though because I have quite a bit to do, especially having only a three day week next week. I have an arbitration case to present this Friday as well. I do wish, however, that I was just working part time. I am probably going to request it for after the baby comes, but I don't think that it will get approved (unless it's medically neccesary).

Today at work, as promised, was Treat Day once again. I have eaten healthy today though, so that's good.

I can't wait - just 2 and a half weeks until we find out if we're having a boy or a girl!! The assistant at the chiropractor was telling us yesterday that they found out she was having a girl from the ultrasound, but out popped a boy!! Can you imagine?! All of that stuff that people will buy based on whether it's a boy or a girl!!! Craziness...

Well, people, we are in the midst of week 18 of the pregnancy here... Cute picture on this 18 week website of an unltrasound where the baby is sucking its thumb.

Well, I need to get back to work. What I really need is a nap, but it doesn't look like that will happen till about 10:30 tonight.

2002-11-18T15:38:00.000-05:00

So, at my doctor's appointment on Friday we listened to the heartbeat again, which was 156 beats/minutes - just like last time. We also scheduled my next doctor's appointment for 12/13/02. But, more importantly, we scheduled the ultrasound appointment for 12/6/02!!! That's the day we get to find out what we're having!!! How exciting!!

We had a wedding this weekend which was fun. Tom's sister was here from Georgia, and Tom's brother-in-law and 2 kids from South Carolina. It was great to see them again. Good time except for dinner at the reception made me sick. I can't eat a somewhat big meal without feeling sick now. I have to eat all day, continuously... I DO take breaks!!

Tomorrow is a treat day at our office again! Hip-hip-horray! I am going to make a no-bake cheesecake - which is much different from my traditional Pampered Chef fare... but I have a Pampered Chef meeting tonight... which I making food for... so work must suffer. With all of the other food, they'll get over it.

Well, need to get things done around here before leaving for the day. Cheers.

2002-11-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

I'm off to get a haircut today. You may be thinking, "Big Deal.." But I love getting my haircut! Whenever I go in, I just tell them to do whatever they want. I always end up liking it!

OMG - did anyone else watch Ed last night? Besides when Ed and Carol kissed, that was the best episode ever! I am SO glad that Dennis Martino is off the show!

Tomorrow is my doctor's appointment - it's at lunch time, so don't expect a blog till after lunch. :)

That's about all I have to say today - I am excited to be taking a couple of hours off. Oh, and how cool is this?? My Mom made me creme brulee, which I am going to indulge in after my haircut. I know what you're thinking, "Could Andrea's day get ANY better???" I don't think so.

Smiles.

2002-11-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

In 2 days I have another doctor's appointment. I think it's to listen to the heartbeat again. But most importantly at that appointment, we schedule the ultrasound appointment so we can find out if it's a boy or a girl!!!!!! Yay!!!! Won't that be SO exciting?!

Speaking of boy or girl... I'd like to thank all of you who voted in the baby name poll. The results were close.... The girl name that we are leaning towards today is Savannah Joy. But we'll see. That's subject to change in five minutes. The boy name is a little tougher. We have discussed a few, all with the middle name Quay (like Tom). We're considering Ethan, Chase and Chandler... so far. But, we haven't gotten too far into the alphabet in the baby name books to really say for sure. (obviously, since we're at E and C names!!)

I got to see my old roommate Lisa last night. That was too cool. It seems like forever ago that I was living in the Forvm in A2.... good times. :)

Sorry for my sporadic entries in the blog. Work has actually been pretty busy lately!! It's been nice.

Toodles.

2002-11-07T07:55:00.000-05:00

I really thought I posted an entry yesterday... I was going to try and post everyday to mke up for me never posting. But, oh well, I hope I haven't let anyone down.

Yesterday at work I wore a shirt that I probably could wear out to the bar - it was a little inappropriate for work, but I didn't much care. It was one of those shirts (peasant shirts?? can't remember what they're called) that is form fitting at the top, then below the chest it flares out. Plus it has these huge flared out sleeves. It was very cute, and not maternity - even though it kinda looked like it. I can probably wear it for another month or so. It really made me look more pregnant yesterday though. So many people came up to me and sqealed with delight, "Ohh!!! You're showing!!"

Today I have a meeting with the mayor of Lansing and his director of special events. That should be fun. I have an idea for a fundraiser, but I would really like his office to take the lead on it. It would, I believe, get more support coming from his office. It would be a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders.

I am very excited that proposal 3 did not pass. That is terrific for my job!! Thanks to all of you who voted no on that issue!!

Gotta start cranking out the work...

2002-11-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

Did you all get out and vote today??? I sure hope so!! I was out at the polls 5 minutes after they opened.

I am leaving work a half hour early today so that I can go home and let the dog out before heading to Livonia for the evening.

My cold is getting better now, thank God!! I am just stuffed up, but generally feel much better.

I think tomorrow my mom and grandma and I are going to this Greek Orthodox Church for lunch. My mom said she went last year and that it was a huge, fabulous greek meal. Sounds good to me! Plus, with mom and grandma arguing over who gets to pay for mine, I'm golden.

Today at work I am trying to get through some of the junk that my co-worker who retired last week left behind. Granted, he ditched a lot, but I was going through stuff today and that man was a pack rat!! I am just trying to get whatever I actually need to do his job into my office.

Oh, cool news. Well, to me anyways. I was supposed to run this 3 hour Dilbert training session tomorrow morning, but I got out of it! Yay for me! I got some other people to run it! It's the most ridiculous training that I have ever been a part of... and it will just create more questions than answers. And, the questions it will generate will not be questions that we even will answer. Cool for me!

Well, I need to start wrapping up some other stuff around here. Did I tell you (the collective you, as in faithful blog readers) that my favorite co-worker is leaving? She's our secretary, Amber, and she does such an awesome job around here - plus she's my friend. It'll be so weird next week coming in and not catching up with her everyday!!

Cheers! Go vote!!!! And if you don't vote, then I don't EVER want to hear you complain about politics!!!
Hey, want a good laugh? Check out this ballot proposal today in Berkeley CA - where they will jail vendors of brewed coffee whose coffee beans are not certified organic, shade grown, or fair trade. Too funny. It's America!!! Shouldn't we have a choice if we want to drink unorganic coffee or not?!?!

2002-11-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

Wow!! I'm back. I know, I know, I have been MIA for a week now. I have been completely wiped out with a cold since Wednesday. The same cold that Tom had the week before. What really sucks about having a cold now is that I can't take any medicines that actually help ease the symptoms because of the baby. I am back at work today though, after taking off Thursday and Friday, still sniffling though.

Well, I am 16 weeks along now. These weeks are going by pretty fast. Now that my crazy co-worker is retired, I can start wearing more of my maternity clothes - though, it now seems I have no choice.

So did anyone watch that Michigan scrimage on Saturday. :) Pretty boring overall, but that should shut-up the State fans for a little while. Yeah, yeah, we know, Smoker's in trouble, so's the rest of the team, blah blah blah. I am glad that, for once, it's not U-M athletics at the source of the controversy!

This weekend, besides recovering on the couch, (and watching many episodes of Trading Spaces) we went to my parents for dinner yesterday to celebrate my grandma's birthday. Nice dinner, but I couldn't breathe, so that cut down on my enjoyment. Today at work I have so much catch up work to do after being out. (Plus on Wed. I was out of the office for a training session all day) So... better get back to it.. Plus I have to call my doctor's office and let them know that my cold is better. I had called them on Friday in tears after feeling absolutely miserable to see what medicine I could take. They gave me the on-call doc's number for the weekend in case I was short of breath or feverish. That surprised me. No one usually much cares when someone has a cold. So, they told me I had to call and check in on Monday to see how I was doing.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!
Toodles.

2002-10-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello! I had a fast weekend! I am v. disappointed that the Wolverines lost. They completely got spanked! I think this baby is going to be a Maize and Blue fan (shhhh! don't tell Tom!).

I am 15 weeks along now - so, officially 3 and a half months.

I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say even though I haven't written lately. Yesterday was relaxing and Tom and I both laid around a lot. He is sick with a cold right now, so he is at work but feeling like crap. He didn't want to use up any sick time because he wants to have some saved up for when I have the baby. So when he takes a leave that he'll actually get paid.

1 hour of work left today. Yay! Then I have coaching calls with my participants in the Self-Expression and Leadership Program tonight. But those are a lot of fun. I am so tempted to order us a pizza tonight for dinner. I am really trying to talk myself into cooking. Yesterday I cooked dinner so now I'm not much in the mood to cook - even though I have to bring in something tomorrow for our big retirement party. I'll probably bring in my infamous breakfast casserole.

Well, back to the daily grind... :)

2002-10-25T15:28:00.000-04:00

Hi there. Sorry I have been neglecting my precious blog this week. I have been on the road with work and generally booked in the evenings... so, alas, the blog got set aside.

Now, we all know about J's comments earlier about me constantly discussing how my pants don't fit, but I do just have to comment on it one last time (well, it really won't be my last time...). Last night I put on the jeans I had been wearing in my first trimester. I hadn't worn them for a couple of weeks because I have just been wearing my giganto-non-maternity-jeans. Last night I pulled them up just fine, but the button was about 2 inches from meeting! Geesh!

Wednesday night we took Tom's grandparents out for dinner because they left to go down south (Myrtle Beach) for the next 6 months. A good time was had by all.

Last night I finally got my Aztec back from the dealership. It's "not fixed but safe to drive" they said. They have some part ordered from Mexico (why did I care about getting an "American made" car?) - I believe it's the (I have no idea what this means) the drive shaft for the rear wheels..

I will definitely not being updating the good ol' blog tomorrow, as I will be in Livonia all day.
Back to eating pretzals! Happy Friday!

2002-10-22T08:49:00.000-04:00

I am so cold this morning - which is something I rarely feel anymore. Ever since I got pregnant I have been so hot! Every time I walk in the house I swear Tom has turned the heat up more. I am drinking some chamomile tea right now to try and warm me up. The only problem is that I associate chamomile tea with sleep because whenever I was sick when I was little my mom always made me a teapot of chamomile tea. I would drink it then I would try and sleep of being sick. So chamomile tea is one of the coziest food/drinks I can imagine.

Today I am wearing what used to be my favorite charcol wool Gap pants. I used to have to wear a belt because they would literally fall off. Today I barely got them buttoned! But they're my favorites!! I want to wear them everyday this week because I have a feeling they may not fit next week! Yesterday I had a rubber band (Tom's sugestion) through the button hole of my balck pants to give me another inch. I may have to do that with these wool pants next week. So today I am wearing my first maternity shirt!! If I were much farther along it would be tight, or shall I say, form fitting. It's a striped sweater and it basically looks like I am wearing a sweater that's too big for me, but without the tent-effect of normal maternity shirts. I like it - it's cozy with my chamomile.

Tonight I go to Livonia for our Self-Expression and Leadership class. Then tomorrow night we are taking Tom's grandparents out to dinner before they go down south for the winter. Should be a good time. Last night at our Pampered Chef meeting I ate way too much - the baby probably didn't even have room to move.

Have I commented on the blog yet about people touching my stomach. The whole phenomenon of stomach touching is odd, but I do realize that it will happen - it's inevitable. So far one woman at work has felt my stomach. That was just wierd. Who does that at work?? Right now I don't look any different that I did before (except my outfits are recycling much more frequently because nothing fits) but she still felt the urge to feel my stomach. I suppressed my own urge to say, "Why the hell are you rubbing my stomach?! We're at work!!!" Really, wouldn't that be odd to start doing that to your co-workers?? My mom and grandma wouldn't stop touching my stomach on Sunday, but, while still odd, it was slightly more comfortable than my co-worker!!

I have a phone call so I gotta jet. Have a happy Tuesday!!

2002-10-21T10:49:00.000-04:00

This weekend went by so fast, and we only got half of the house cleaned. Very cool though that Tom and a couple men from my family put up our last gutter back on the house. It had just been laying in the backyard like the classy white trash that we are. The whole delay with putting it back up was because it was too big (it was the entire length of our house) for just 2 guys to do. Plus Tom also put our deck back together yesterday, since it had also been missing some pieces because of the siding project.

The whole gutter shindig happened while I was at a baby shower for Tom's cousin, Traci. Traci, interestingly enough, happened to mention that I am always "next". At her bridal shower I was engaged, so my shower would be next. Now at her baby shower I'm pregnant. I told her I better be the first to know when she gets pregnant againII I need to know what I'm in for. The baby shower was fun though. I am really excited to find out what we are having so then we can start looking at things for real. It's going to be so much fun to register!!! Traci got so much cool stuff.

One of my faithful readers, J, called yesterday. While we chatted about some random stuff he also mentioned he reads my blog everyday. Flattering, really. But I also feel bad that I don't update everyday as well. I need to be more consistent with that, I think. But, J also admitted that there are only so many times I can talk about my pants not fitting. So true.

The ol' pregnancy is at 14 weeks now. Supposedly, people who have had a baby before can start to feel their baby move at about this time... I guess because they're all stretched out already. No, really, I have no idea why that is. One cool thing I learned on this week's pregnancy link is that amniotic fluid completely regenerates itself every 3 hours. Isn't that amazing? It's a good thing it happens though because now that baby is peeing in the amniotic fluid. Lovely.

Saturday we went to the cider mill with Kevin and Karen. I really ended up wishing that I had brought Chloe to play in the pumpkin patch, she would have had a blast! So while we were in the pumpkin patch I said I was going to bring her next year... then I remembered we would have a kid, so I thought it would still be a good idea to bring Chloe and leave the kid with my parents. Karen said no way. She said we were definitely bringing the kid for tradition's sake. We'll see. I will probably feel differently next year at this time. After donuts and cider we went to El Az for the best Mexcian food this side of the border!! For those of you Lansing-ites who know what I am talking about, I am sure that your mouths are watering right now at the thought of their outstanding chips and salsa.

It's so funny to tell people that the baby's hearbeat was 156 beats/minute. Most people have said, "156? Oh, wonderful, you're having a boy!!" There are a few others who have said, "156? Oh, terrific, you're having a girl!!" The lesson I have learned from this is that no one can tell. My cousin did an informal study on Saturday for me (subjects included her, two friends, and one friends' sister) and she informed me that it indicated I was having a boy. I have looked at lots of those little tests (chinese calendar, some other wierd calendar, the necklace test...) they all say boy. And for that reason alone I think it's likely to be a girl. Only a couple more months till we all know for sure!!

Well, your tax dollars have paid me long enough to write this blog. I gotta get working. BTW, my soccer mom Axtec is in the shop this morning for some lovely squealing. They gave me a "rental car" - and I use that term loosely. It's a '99 Cavalier that smells like stale smoke and someone definitely spilled a Coke inside of.

Vote no on Proposal 3! (Shameless political plug!) Later!!

2002-10-19T08:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my doctor's appointment!! Tom came with me, and I am so glad that he did. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat! That was too cool. It sounded like if you were underwater in an above-ground pool and someone was kicking the side of it really fast. The baby's heartbeat was going 156 beats/minute!! Isn't that crazy?? But they said it's normal. Next appointment - a month from now - will be the same thing, listening to the heartbeat. Then in December we get to find out what we're having - just in time for Christmas!! Since we'll be finding out before Christmas, I don't think tom and I will receive any gifts for us - just for the boy/girl.

I have to get to Meijer - Tom is already tailgating, can you believe that? I have lots that I want to get done today, plus I have the energy to do it!! I slept from 8:30 to 7:30. I feel really great this morning!!

Toodles!!

2002-10-16T12:53:00.000-04:00

I had so much energy this morning... now it's after lunch and it's a whole different story! I am heating up a Lean Cuisine right now though, so maybe that will help (even though it doesn't sound good).

OK, so getting dressed this morning wasn't very fun. Today I am actually wearing maternity pants!! I haven't been to the store yet to get pants that are bigger (but not maternity). I have these pants on today that just make me laugh everytime I look at them. They look fine with what I am wearing, but if I lift up my shirt you can see how big and baggy they are in the stomach. So, in an effort to have them literally not fall down, I have them rolled at the waist a couple of times.

Tonight I am going to take the dog for a walk before plopping in front of the TV for 2 hours to watch Ed and West Wing.

OK, I just took a short break and ate my Lean Cuisine. I just finished it and I am still tired. Maybe it will take a little bit to kick in as good energy.

Tonight after work I am going to the chiropractor again (I was there on Monday). Before getting pregnant I just didn't get headaches. Probably in the year before I got pregnant I had a total of 3 headaches. Now, I am getting at least one a week. I think it has to do with the hormone levels changing. I am 13 weeks along now. Actually, 13 weeks and 4 days... but who's counting?

My next doctor's appointment is in 2 days! Yay! Tom is going to come to the appointment with me too. At this appointment we should be able to hear the heartbeat. That will be very exciting!! I will keep you updated!!

2002-10-15T08:03:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, I know that I have been out of communication... I feel like I haven't had much to write... but now I feel better about it....

Yesterday to work I wore my black pants that I wear all the time because they still fit me.... I think this may be the last week that I can wear them. They were pretty tight yesterday. Today I am wearing my big, cozy sweater-skirt from Old Navy that I love so much.

Today for lunch my mom and I are going to get mid-east food. Which brings me to an interesting inquiry... If I eat a whole bunch of diverse food during my pregnancy will that mean that my baby will like those things too? Basically, I am hoping this kid doesn't end up as picky as Tom! :)

This weekend I got a lot of sleep, which was a beautiful thing. Plus, last night I was asleep by 10! Tonight after work I have a meeting in Livonia from 6-9, so I will still get a decent amount of sleep tonight as well. On Saturday my mom and Karen and I went to Horrocks for Octoberfest. This is thei annual event with a ton of free food - it was great! Karen is doing Body for Life and Saturday was her free day so she probably enjoyed it more than anyone else there! There was so much food: soup, ice cream, cake, tamales, chips and salsa, hot dogs (yuck), cheesecake, pie, bagels, cheese and crackers, donuts, etc. The baby loved it!!!

Yesterday I had a headache again... I have only had them since getting pregnant, and it's no fun. It really puts a damper on my day. I am hoping that I don't have another one today because I am out of Tylenol now. I went to the chiropractor yesterday though, and that helped too.

Well, I need to get to work. My new co-worker started yesterday (she's great!) but she totally has nothing to do yet... I feel bad for her. She doesn't have her network password yet either so she can't even email!! Toodles. :)

2002-10-10T12:57:00.000-04:00

Sloooowwww day today. I have gotten a lot of work done at the office in preparation for my new co-worker who is starting on Monday. I have a subtle but annoying headache today as well.

Yesterday I wasn't hungry for dinner until 8:00 after our mid-east-feast. And, at 8 I wasn't in the mood for anything but my stomach was growling. That's what happens when you usually eat 5-6 small, healthy meals each day. So, I made Tom and I some pasta. OMG, I only had a small bowl and I got half way through it and was sweating and about to throw up! It was so crazy. I had to take a break from it for about an hour before I could go back to it. I was telling Marisa about it and she said maybe I am getting gestational diabetes. I looked it up online (where I learn all baby-related information) and "they say" only 4% of women get it, and that it usually doesn't happen until month 5 or 6.... Hmmm.... so I am not sure what my deal was. I felt like total crap though. Last night was very relaxing... Tom and I just watched TV and it was great.

Then this morning I got up late (too many times hitting snooze) and so I brought my breakfast food with me to work. I was so queasy by the time I got in I could hardly stand it. So I forced myself to eat some protein oatmeal and I definitely felt a lot better after that. (The oatmeal didn't sound good at all, but once I was eating it, it wasn't bad. It made me remember that protein oatmeal was my favorite Body For Life food.)

Tonight the big plans are to go for a walk with the dog and then watch Friends and Will & Grace. I should probably make some Pampered Chef phone calls too. Well, I am off to accomplish more.... although I need a nap so bad... I feel like I could sleep this headache off. I wish I could take something stronger to knock the headache out!!

2002-10-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

Feeling a little tired today. Last night I was in Livonia and got back close to midnight. Even if I wasn't pregnant I would tired. Tonight I am looking forward to a v. relaxing evening. I am planning on walking the dog and then watching Ed and West Wing. Ahhhh.... I can't wait. But between now and then, I still have an hour of work to do before lunch. For lunch Amber and I are going to Byblos to eat mid-east food!! Mmmm!!! In just under an hour I will be enjoying chicken schwarma, rice, hummus, pita and lebanese salad. The baby will be so happy!!

I pressed snooze for 50 minutes this morning! I could not get out of bed. But, of course, once I did I had to hustle big-time to make it work by 7:30. I had some toast a pear for breakfast, but a few minutes ago I was starving! I had a little bit of Chex Mix - which I also shared with Amber.... gladly donating to her all of the bagel chips. That's my least favorite part of Chex Mix. My favorite are the wavy little stick things.

Next week (Friday) is my next doctor's appointment again! These few weeks have gone by fast considering my appointments were scheduled a month apart. Tom is taking time off work to come to the appointment too. :) We should be able to hear the heartbeat at this appointment. (Hopefully we'll only hear 1!!!)

Back to work.... smooches! :)

2002-10-08T08:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, was I hungry yesterday! And cold! All morning in the office it was freezing! I had a semi-productive day at work yesterday - yay for me.

You know, I have been trying to keep me blog pregnancy/baby oriented... it's pretty hard though. I usually don't have that much to say about being pregnant (which is a word that I always mis-type) since it hasn't seemed like too big of a deal. This morning when I was getting ready for work I tried on these new black maternity pants to see if I could wear them yet... No way! They had a lot of extra fabric in the stomach, go figure. I was looking for something different to wear because I am wearing my black pants again, that I wear every week. They are more comfortable than any of my other dress pants. I feel like I have been wearing them everyday.

Yesterday I was chatting with Tom's cousin Paula who is one of my sushi buddies. We, of course, chatted about sushi. I am SO in the mood to eat a ton of sushi! But I can't eat raw fish, so I have to order cooked sushi. Do you understand what a bummer that is? There are seriously like 75 choices of raw sushi at my favorite sushi restaurant.... I think there are 5 choices of cooked sushi. It is so boring!!

My co-worker is taking pictures of our employees right now. He's going to retire on Oct. 31 and he has big-time separation anxiety, though he would never admit it. He seriously going to make a scrapbook of us in Human Resources to keep during retirement. He's so insane. You probably think I am just saying that, but if you sat by him, you would understand.

Time to pluck my eyebrows..... (the light is really good in my office)

2002-10-06T08:23:00.000-04:00

Hello to all of the faithful readers! (Although, I am still surprised that I have any at all!!) Yesterday was really nice. Tom and I had lunch at Fazoli's and he actually came to Meijer with me to do grocery shopping. I love when he comes with me, and it usually only ends up costing an additional $10 in junk food when he's there.

We had a wedding to go to last night. The food was pretty good and made the baby happy. :) We danced a little bit, but my lower back was hurting really bad last night. I went to the chiropractor on Friday, but it wasn't my normal doctor, so I don't feel like I got as good of an djustment as I could have. I have another appointment on Monday, and I think that will really help. Last night when we got home I did the ice/heat thing on my back before going to bed. I think that helped some too.

I got in a 45 minute walk yesterday with the dog. Today I am going to buy a pregnancy yoga tape. I asked teh doctor if I could keep doing regular yoga since I don't have a stomach yet, but he wants me to do the pregnancy yoga instead.

I have a Pampered Chef show today too. That should be good, profitable fun.

Tom needs to get online now to do his fantasy football picks for the weekend. Hope you all have voted in the Baby Name Poll!!
Cheers!

2002-10-04T08:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was SO tired! I felt like such a bum at work yesterday afternoon. My attention span was limited as I tried to stay awake. I got home from work and heated up leftovers from lunch for Tom and me. Then I laid on the couch from 5:30 - 8:30 to watch TV. Since we couldn't watch Ed and West Wing on Wednesday night I caught up on those. Then I watched Friends. I tried to walk around and make myself wake up a bit (since I was planning on taking the dog for a walk) by rinsing the 3 dinner dishes, but it didn't work. At 8:30 I got ready for bed. By 9:00 I was in bed to watch Wil and Grace, then I went to sleep. I couldn't believe I was that tired after sleeping in yesterday!

Today at work should go by pretty fast. I have quite a bit to do to keep me busy. After work we are meeting grandma and grandpa Holoweiko for dinner, so that will be really nice. We'll probably end up playing cards with them afterwards too. Saturday we have a wedding for one of Tom's friends/co-workers. That will be our sixth wedding of the year, with only one more to go - but that's not till November!

Tomorrow I will officially be 12 weeks along. Is it going fast for you? :) My jeans are getting tight so today I am wearing some bigger jeans that I bought. I usually wear a size 6 or 8, so I bought some 13's! I am swimming in them now, but they are more comfortable than my normal jeans. I am sure they won't be this loose for too long anyways!

Have a great Friday!!

2002-10-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

My mom and I ate pizza at DeLuca's for lunch today. It was fabulous!! I slept in today because I was up till midnight both last night and the night before. I just can't function on that little sleep anymore. I feel like such an old fart - but it's just been like this since getting pregnant. Then the baby wanted a Twix bar... so... alas, I had to comply...

Before I came into the office today I stopped at Target because some of their maternity clothes were on sale. I bought a gray pinstripe maternity pants suit for $25! It is so cute. Plus I bought a pair of boot cut kahkis and black so-whore-rity girl pants. I can't imagine that I am going to fill these pants up! I also bought a sweater. Everything was pretty cheap - like 12 or 15 dollars a piece. Good stuff.

Wow... the work day sure goes fast when you only work half a day... I love it!!

Oh, last night I found out that one of my best friends, Karen (avid blog readers have seen her name) is now taking prenatal vitamins in case she gets pregnant. She and Kevin are doing the "not preventing, not trying" gig that Tom and I were up to. How excited am I??? Way excited!!! It would be so cool to have our kids be close in age and grow up across the street from one another!

That Twix bar is making me so sleepy...... zzzzzzz.......

2002-10-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Another day, another dollar....

I just got yesterday's post published to the site. There were some blog problems yesterday for a few of us lucky ones!

Whew! I am tired! got to bed around midnight last night. I pressed snooze 5 times this morning! It makes my morning so unpleasant when I do that.... I don't know why I keep on doing it. Once I actually get up then I am rushing around so much that I always forget to do something and I can't spend enough time on my hair. :)

Since I was so hot all day yesterday I decided to ditch the sweaters and wear a tank top, skirt and sandals today at work. Guess what? I am still hot too! So glad I am not wearing a suit. Speaking of clothes, I need to do a little shopping this weekend for some more work clothes. The pants are getting a little tight. Our shopping last weekend consisted of shoe shopping. That's when I got the cute sandals I am wearing now, as well as these awesome black and cream clogs that look like bowling shoes! Those weren't exactly a pregnancy neccesity.... While surrounded by all of those shoes, I completely forgot that my pants were getting tight. Oh well.

I have lots to do at the office this morning, so it's back to work for me!!
Toodles!

2002-10-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

Guess what??? Treat Day again today!! Today is my boss' last day and this other woman's 50th birthday. Donuts are abundant. I brought in donuts as well because I didn't have time to make anything last night since I was cleaning the house with a headache this big!! It was so bad it was making me feel like I was going to throw up!

I had a nice weekend. On Saturday night we went out for a fantabulous Italian dinner with our neighbors, Kevin and Karen, at the new Bravo restaurant. OMG!!! It was awesome!! The baby and I had shrimp and penne in a spicy tomato cream sauce. It was one of the best dinners I have ever had. Plus, of course, we had bread in dipping oil. And for dessert...... creme brulee!!!!!!! Yum!!!! And a cappucino to top it off. Too bad I couldn't have enjoyed a glass of wine with such a fine dinner... but oh well. The creme brulee by far made up for it!!

So... let me tell you how emotional I am - I watched the re-run of the finale of sorority life on MTV (and I am SO not a so-whore-rity girl...) and I started crying!! About 2 minutes ago we just presented my boss' retirement gift to him and I was trying SO hard not to cry!! Oh, then yesterday when I was on the road for work I heard that Tim McGraw song "Don't Take the Girl" and it made me cry!! It's so funny to want to cry about these things!

Today I think I am so hot! I must have that proverbial 'glow'. I am wearing a sweater and now I just want to strip! Sorry for all of the exclamation points today... reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld.....

Well, I need to get to work. I have a lot of stuff on my desk. Tonight I am in Livonia for my Self-Expression and Leadership class.... which means less sleep tonight. But it's all good....

2002-09-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

My arms are about to fall off!! Today is Treat Day at the office once again.... I carried in a crockpot filled to the brim with Taco Soup. It smells delicious! We are having "deli lunch" today. People are bringing in soups, salads, and sandwiches (and, of course, desserts!!). This day will be great for the baby! I am actually really excited about this Treat Day because people are bringing in some healthy dishes (which is unusual!). The veggies will abound!!

On Wednesday I left work a couple of hours early - I was so sick to my stomach! I was sitting in a training session flucuating between sweating and freezing every five minutes. I was miserable, so I went home and slept it off.

I felt better yesterday, but not 100%. It seems that after lunch I get queasy. I haven't been going out to lunch or anything, it's just been my own food. Yesterday, for instance, for lunch I had natural PB and natural jelly on wheat bread - and that made me feel sick!

Last night I had a pampered chef show and it went really well. When I came home my plan was to cook the food that I was bringing in for Treat Day. I was so wiped out though, I couldn't. I had to relax, watch Will & Grace, and go to bed. So today I got up at 5:30 and made homemade cornbread and Taco Soup -which is cooking in the crockpot in my office right now and only smells like onions... :(

Well, I seriously need to get some work done in the office today... I cannot figure out what I did yesterday all day, but nothing is off my desk! Toodles!

2002-09-25T09:40:00.000-04:00

take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!

Thanks, Lisa, for posting this on your blog!

2002-09-25T09:29:00.000-04:00

Wow!! I haven't been here for days!! So sorry! I have been out of town at a conference for a couple of days after a busy weekend. (Remember the weekend? U-M won and the Spartans lost.... )

I officially got in my first car accident with my soccer mom SUV. I am fine, and the car is perfectly fine. I put a little dent in this other guy's Honda though. It was totally my fault I changed lanes (and thought I had enough room) but I clipped his front bumper with my back bumper. Oh well.

I am going to call my doctor in a couple minutes to see if I can take Sudafed. I can't take my regular allergy medicine (Allegra), but my allergies are SO bad today. I feel like a snot-nosed 1st grader (I am sure you can relate, Sarah.)

As far as how I am feeling, I feel just like I did before I was out-of-touch with you. Right now I am eating a Pop-Tart (baby asked for it).

Will write again soon - I promise!!!!!

2002-09-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

Since I was SO tired yesterday, I ended up going to sleep at 9:00 with a headache that just kept persisting! My mom came over last night after dinner and brought me some tylenol - since I can't take any of the pain relievers that we have in the house. Evidently, I am still tired today because a fair number of people have come up to me today and said in a sypathetic voice, "Gee, you look tired..." And I feel more alert this afternoon than I did yesterday afternoon! Maybe it's because I am wearing beige today, and my backdrop at work is a window where it's raining. With everyone telling me that I look really tired, I think it has actually made me MORE tired. Everytime I hear that, I say to myself, "Self, I think you ARE getting sleepy." Plus this afternoon I can feel that headache coming back. I think I need to go to the chiropractor, but my appointment isn't until Monday, and I don't see anytime where I could fit it in before then.

Tonight after work and tomorrow morning I have some coaching calls with my participants in the Self-Expression and Leadership course. Tonight for dinner we are going to have homemade macaroni and cheese - besides fried rice, that's the food that sounds the best right now.

Oh, last night at dinner at my grandma Dionise's - she is SO funny! She always cooks about 5 times as much food as is needed for whoever is coming for dinner. Let me remid you that there were only 5 of us eating... So after pulling out the roast, gravy, potatoes, cooked carrots, homemade bread, salad, cantelope, and this other weird veggie that I don't eat, she pulls out this fresh squash that she had cooked. She says to me, "I thought I would make this for you in case you were having a craving for it." What? Who craves squash?? It was one of the weirdest/funniest things I had ever heard her say. I said, "Were YOU having a craving for it???"

Gotta do some work - it's what I get paid for after all...

2002-09-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

I am SO exhausted right now! I am struggling through the afternoon at work, and I am just on the verge of a headache.

Tonight we are going to dinner at my grandma Dionise's house - she is also having over my parents who are on their way back into town right now from their 10 day road trip. I seriously can only think about going to bed right now though. The last hour at work has been torture... and I still have an hour and half to go. I don't want to leave though because I just got a new boss and I had time off on Monday and Tuesday for doctor's appointments, I was out of the office yesterday when I was on the road, and then tomorrow I am taking an extra hour at lunch. I don't want to look like that much of slacker that I can't even stay in the office for a whole day!

Because of being so utterly wiped out, I don't feel too chatty today. I had a couple of things I was going to write about, but I don't remember what they were. I was at Target today at lunch to pick up a wedding gift, and I can't wait to register for baby stuff there! That's going to be a blast! Also, yesterday I was looking on amazon.com at cribs - my parents are giving us money for a crib and changing table - and saw lots of neat ones. I think we are going to go with natural wood colored furniture. I already have a dresser though, and that's white, but I don't care. I don't want everything in white. Once we know if it's a boy or a girl (and yes, we are finding out!) then we can decorate the room - once we do that, I am going to change the knobs on the dresser so they're something cute (like flowers for a girl, or baseballs and basketballs for a boy). In a way I feel really weird about gender-typing this kid - like having pink and dolls if it's a girl, and trucks and baseballs if it's a boy. Have you ever thought about that? What if we have a boy, and he's gay, then will he have spent his childhood growing up with toys that he's less than satisfied with because he would have rather had an E-Z Bake Oven than a Transformer??

Things that make you go hmmm....

2002-09-18T15:18:00.000-04:00

Seriously, people, almost 300 hits on this site??? Who's reading this??

2002-09-18T15:17:00.000-04:00

I drove to Mt. Pleasant today for work. Since I was heading up 27 North, and because I'm going to gain a zillion pounds, I stopped at good ol' Uncle John's Cider Mill for a pumpkin donut and a cup of hot cider. Mmmm... It was fabulous! Only problem was that the donuts weren't hot, since I was only one of two people there.... Usually we go on a Saturday before Halloween and have to wait in line for an hour (literally), but it's SO worth it because the donuts are hot! I also bought Tom a loaf of apple bread while I was there... he is going to be so excited when he gets home!

I still feel great, though I am working out less than I was. I may have time tonight - maybe I'll take the dog for a run, she seems kind of bored lately.

So, here I sit at work, chatting on the phone about Pampered Chef... :) Thank you for your tax dollars which keep up my blog and run my business!!

Cheers!

2002-09-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

Today's doctor's appointment was rather anticlimatic. It was more like a regular OB appointment. First I had to pee in a cup. Then they did my weight - even though they had just done it yesterday as well. Then the doctor did a pelvic exam and a pap smear. Fairly uneventful. I am in my 9th week now. I found out though, that I can't go on the cruise we had planned for mid-February. That would be in my 31st week, and he didn't want me to do that. Plus, he said I should check with the cruise line and see what their policy is. So I just did that, and their policy is that if you enter your 24th (or later) week before the end of the cruise then you're not allowed to be on the cruise. My 24th week begins the week of Christmas. So, I just talked with Karen (of Kevin and Karen - the couple we cruise with), and we are just going to get our deposit back. We'll schedule a cruise for after the baby's born, once I see how life is. Because we don't want to do the cruise this year still. So, that bummed me out, but I am also really glad that I know now instead of right before the cruise. And also we get 100% of our deposit back.

My next doctor's appointment is Oct. 18 - so stay tuned!! At that appointment we'll be listenting for the heart beat. Then, the month after that is when they'll do an ultrasound to try and determine if it's a boy or a girl!! Yay!!

After my appointment this morning I went home and slept - it was so hard to come back to work after such a great nap!

Yesterday I ran into old navy to see if there was anything in size large on clearance that I could wear in my second trimester. I found this comfy grey long skirt. I tried it on this morning, and since it has a drawstring, I can keep it up, and it feels like I am wrapped in a blanket, so I wore it to work today. It's so cozy! When I was at the checkout there was a sign that said to check out oldnavy.com for their sale on maternity clothes. So this morning I got online and ordered $200 worth of stuff! I basically ordered stuff that will be great for the third trimester and later in the second. I ordered some boot cut jeans, dark grey trousers, a couple of blouses, some sweaters, a black trench coat (mid thigh length), and some shirts. I am pretty excited. This stuff is going to look so huge when it gets shipped!!