Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Predictions...

This is really premature but I just checked the weather for Hurst and there is a Thunderstorm predicted for Oct 6!!! Maybe then I will have my 7 lb 12 oz , 22 inch baby. Anyway that's what I'm predicting Oct 6, during the T-storm I will go into labor. Maybe he will come on Laura's birthday depending on how long the labor lasts... Come on lucky Laura...

Monday, September 29, 2008

Kickboxer is breaking my bones

I'm trying to concentrate on other things besides the kickboxer. Sometimes I think that I could last 3 more weeks, other times I think that 3 more minutes is unbearable. There is no news. No signs that he is on his way. So hopefully I'll start having the feeling that I can last 3 more weeks instead of not 3 more minutes.

Abby is doing very well with potty training. We are not perfect but I am washing more dry panties than wet or dirty! The biggest difference in her having an accident vs not is how well she sleeps the night before. If she is well rested, we are good. If she is not then I already know to be on the defensive. I am just happy to be at a point where there is something I can pinpoint that makes a difference! I do not know what will happen when kickboxer makes his debut. We may be right back in diapers. I hope not.

Abby is in preschool. She is doing very well. She can't really write but she practices making circles a lot. Sometimes she will draw lines but I guess they are not as fun. I was looking at a drawing of hers that I saved from 10/30/07. It was just scribbles. Now she is drawing faces, limbs, and hands. She begs me to help her draw houses with grass and princesses holding pigs and flowers in their hands. Very cute. Very fun.

She has discovered play dough. So far it hasn't been too messy. Much easier to sweep up some play dough than to put the entire house back together. She loves it. A lot. I got her a bag that had 4 cans of dough and a couple of little tools. She loves them. But what she loves most is making a garden. She shapes her playdough into a great big lump and puts her crayons, paper, whatever she can in it. This is her playdough garden.

Working out is getting wimpier. I still do 30 minutes of cardio. No more running. I dream of running, but I just can't make myself do it. So after my 30 minutes of wimpy cardio on one of the machines I do a few weight machines. I'm down to about 3. Then I go. That's it. That's all. That's what my work-out has become. One fun thing about being this pregnant and working out is combating the comments I get from the old man that mans the front desk. He always asks me if I am going to have the baby while I'm working out. I never say no. I just always say that I think we might be in for an adventure. One of these days the mean streak is going to win out and I am going to pour some water in between my legs and double over with a very loud scream. As if giving birth could happen that fast for me. But he doesn't know that.

Sleeping isn't much better. I count it a good night if I can only remember waking up 3 times or less. I know that with a newborn that would be an incredible night of sleep. But at the same time I hope that I have better quality of sleep when I do sleep after having the baby. Right now I feel awake with hip and back pain and restless dreams. The air conditioning (yes, we live in TX and we still have the AC on) wakes me up. Rolling over requires a small forklift. Then there is Abby who has been waking up early in the morning swearing that the upstairs is infested with monsters and ghosts. And not going back to sleep. Sunday morning she got up at about 6 am and sat there for an hour trying to pick the monsters off of me. I clipped her finger nails later that day.

So that is how things are going for now. Hopefully my next post will be more exciting and less whiny.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Grouchy and ready to loose weight

I keep going back and forth about being induced. It is so tempting to give this little guy an eviction notice. On the other hand all of the complications strike a very deep fear with me. My worst fear, next to death, is a c-section. Not because of any natural cord or a need to do it all on my own. This is a two part fear. #1 Surgery is scary and I really dislike the idea of somebody pulling out and then putting back my intestines. I hear that they never quite go back to how they were before, you know. #2 It seems like a c-section would be the most expensive way to have a baby. Inducing is also more expensive than just letting the kid come out. And there are all sorts of complications, a handful of which I have experienced already. But I also really want this kid out. If I let him induce me then I will push out a smaller baby. He might be here sooner. I can plan for a babysitter for Abby. I can make sure that all of my laundry is done and that everything upstairs is how I want it when I come home...So far all that I have decided is to ask Dr Wai to strip my membranes as soon as possible.
Dr Wai keeps filling my head with fairytales that second births are easier. I don't know. Maybe in general, but my body doesn't operate according to norms. It kind of has its own ideas. I fully expect this birth to be hard and brutal. I think that everytime I give birth I will feel like I am risking my life. I also expect to fight, really fight, to loose every pound I have gained. For some reason my body clings onto things like the "weight of the placenta" and the "weight of the extra blood" even the "weight of the baby" like it is really "weight of the extra jiggly fat that takes multiple physical workouts that rivals an a-bomb to remove 1/2 lb". At least I am prepared to make that battle. Last time I waited six months for the miracle of breast feeding to set in. Ha ha.
So also I am very grouchy. Everyday I feel like my period is going to start but it doesn't. Everyday I feel swollen and crampy and moody. I feel like subjecting people to my mood is probably torture. I have very little cheeriness to expend. Right now I am saving it all up to teach preschool tomorrow.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Ask Your Mom Before you Click on this Link...

I don't know how everyone would feel about this clip for their children, and I watched it late at night. So watch it first before letting your kids watch it. It is an SNL clip with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Senator Clinton. They are giving a joint press conference about feminism. It is pretty funny. http://www.hulu.com/watch/34465/saturday-night-live-palin--hillary-open#s-p1-st-i1

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Menu Plan Monday...

Menu Plan Monday!!!

1. Monday: anadian Bacon Pizza Loaf http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Canadian-Bacon-Pizza-Loaf
2. Tuesday: Bacon and Eggs
3. Wednesday: Made over Chicken Tetrazzini http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/made-over-chicken-tetrazzini-91364.aspx
4. Thursday: Hamburgers
5. Friday: Macaroni and Cheese/ Leftovers
6. Saturday: Cheese Tortellini w/ spaghetti sauce
7. Sunday: up to mom, biffy, becca or whoever is willing to cook

Friday, September 19, 2008

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY AND KATHERINE'S BIRTHDAY

TODAY IS TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY AND KATHERINE'S BIRTHDAY!!! Ahoy matey, Katherine, Happy Birrrrthdayyy! arrrggg.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

HE'S HUGE

Today I went in for a routine ultrasound and first weekly check-up at the doctors office. Abby and I went to the ultrasound and saw baby brother, or batman. He is head down (yay!). Apparently he is also quite hairy. I got a couple of cute pictures of him. His stomach is literally as big as his head. Literally. Which is why they think that at 36 weeks he is already 6lb 15 oz. My friend Heather had the same doctor. He estimated that her baby was 1 1/2 lbs smaller than what he actually ended up being. Dr Wai said that if I go full term that I would have an 8+ baby. I don't think I can get that out without surgical intervention. So ofcourse he brought up inducing. I am very scared to have a big baby. I am also very scared to have pitocin again. My simple request here is that you all start praying that I'll have my baby. Like next week. Next week would be good. I am truly terrified of giving birth again.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Menu Plan Monday...

1. Monday: Italian Chicken (never got around to it)
2. Tuesday: Shrimp Scampi (from Taste of Home Magazine pg 19 fall 2005)
3. Wednesday: Bacon, Cheese, Tomato Crescents http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/bacon-cheese-tomato-crescents-109523.aspx
4. Thursday: Tacos
5. Friday: French Toast
6. Saturday: Whatever Grandma, Kristy, and Biffy decide (Sandwiches or take-out)
7. Sunday: Whatever Grandma, Becca, and Biffy decide

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Just Between Friends

http://jbfsale.com/?fuseaction=home.subsites&siteid=2003110422051614 - This is a link to find just between friends in your area. Here is one for my area: http://nrichlandhills.jbfsale.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showevent&eventid=2005062713401432&siteid=2004011014333494

Sarah Palin throws me for a loop

I'm not entirely sure how to feel about Sarah Palin. I've read a few biographies from different sources and heard parts of her speech at the Republican convention. I've heard A lot of bias commentary trying to interpret her and I've seen her on all the tabloids that are usually filled with starving actresses and their babies. I've seen compelling pictures of her dressed up beautifully and pictures of her in her sweats. I've seen her with her oldest son, who is in the armed forces, and her youngest son who still lays in her arms.
All this and so far nothing about her "tough" politics. How much will her inexperience benefit Washington? How much will it cost? Who will she try and fire for corruption? How will Congress respond to her? Will she be able to negotiate and get along well enough with 'Washington' to pass legislation? How will she affect foreign policy? Will she have enough international respect to be an effective leader? Will she have enough respect in Washington to be an effective leader? She's tough when she is speaking in front of a crowd, but how will she respond on a more personal level behind closed doors? I have a lot of questions. I guess I need to search it out more. In the meantime I'm kind of thrown out there. I just don't know.

Menu Plan Monday...

I think I will start doing this. Here is what we have done so far and will do for the rest of the week...

1. Monday: Failed pork chops- turned into cold cereal night
2. Tuesday: Kraft http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/tater-topped-casserole-111257.aspx Tator-topped casserole
3. Wednesday: Left overs (choose from tator-topped casserole or spinach/mushroom lasagna)
4. Thursday: Steaks on the BBQ
5. Friday: Soup and sandwiches
6. Saturday: Italian-marinated Chicken
7. Sunday: Whatever Becca and I decide

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Back Country of Austin

After the baby shower things did not slow down. Adam and I had a dinner date with our good friends, Ben and Stephanie Harvey. They were able to sell their house so it was a celebration of sorts. It was really fun and I hope we get to do it again.
After dinner Adam and I rushed home, packed, and headed for Austin to visit Larry and Teresa. They actually live outside of Austin in the country. They have a beautiful ranch that they built a nice house on. We got there at 2 am! What a day. Most of the time, it seems, we spent relaxing at the ranch. They have 2 dogs, Pete the pitbull and Darla the puppy. They have several cats. Abby's favorite was Bob, a yellow calico looking cat. It was really nice to go and be spoiled for a weekend. I helped with dishes once! Thank you so much Teresa, that was such a nice break! We went shopping in the historic area of a small town near where they lived and ate lunch on a river restaurant. Then we headed to the "Lake House", took a nap, watched football and had some dinner. By Sunday we were all pretty sacked so we went to church with Larry (Teresa was sick) and stayed at the house for the rest of the day. I have to say that one of my most favorite times was taking a Sunday evening walk around the ranch. I have some really gorgeous pictures that I will post later. It was fantastic weather and comfortable all around. On Monday we headed out to Austin to visit the capitol. Again we have pictures to post. It was really fun to go and see Texas's capitol. I think that daddy would like it a lot. Then we headed out for lunch at a very nice restaurant where we said our goodbye's to Larry, Teresa, and crew. It was a great visit.

Last Thursday

Last Thursday Adam's office held a baby shower for me. It was so wonderful! I had always understood that you are only supposed to have one baby shower for your first child unless there are unusual circumstances (twins, big spaces between children, having a 4 or 5th child...) so it was really unexpected. It seemed like everyone was there. Yordi and Terry held the shower for me and it was really posh. They had a HUGE cake, brisket, fruit and vegetables, crackers and cheese, cookies... Tons of different things to drink. It was really well done. I really appreciated their efforts in putting it together and for everyone who participated.