Alien is now 25 weeks alongand continues to be nameless. This makes it easy to not slip when people ask the name. If anyone wants to throw some names out there that aren't super popular feel free! He is about a pound and a half these days (the size of a rutebaga according to my emailed updates) and is already over a foot long. Hard to believe he is so big but that he'll probably be in the 9 pound range in just over 3.5 months or so!
I did do the second phase of the study yesterday. Alien continues to not want us to get a good shot of his face, but his spine, heart, and little feet are looking good! My fluid is measuring great, his heart beat is fine, and he actually took a nap most of the time during the study which meant that he was quite cooperative. This is probably because he most enjoys doing somersaults from dinnertime through about 11 pm as I am trying to wind down and get to bed. It is always nice to feel him moving so much though, especially since we aren't quite to the painful kick part of the pregnancy!
I am feeling pretty good. Exhausted and worn down, and my legs/ankles have been hurting, but I attribute that more to the fact that my summer programs have started and I've been working 60+ hour weeks and wore heels on Sunday for work than anything with Alien. We have our next midwife appointment next Wednesday and then I head in for my glucose test soon after that. I think we hit the appointment every two week mark soon as well so things are really moving along!
In other news, our basement guest area is coming along. Bryan finished the floor tiling and lighting in the bathroom over the weekend while I worked (Noelle was obviously quite the little helper!) and we have the vanity ready to go once the replacement backsplash gets to us (it had a crack). The carpet is ordered and will hopefully be installed the end of July and we'd hope to finish the ceiling and insulation before then. So hopefully the room will be ready by the end of August which will be great as then we can move Noelle out of the toddler bed and transform that back to a crib and get both of their rooms situated.
We are also planning on taking advantage of the long weekend to work on some potty training this weekend. We are currently strategizing how to protect our couches for this adventure and will report in over the weekend with how things are going!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Excited to Be A Big Sister
Noelle is finally on board with her upcoming big sisterhood! She is excited for the baby "in her belly" to come in October, as seen in her joy in the picture below...
24 Weeks! Less than 4 Months To Go!
I am thankfully (knock on wood) feeling really good these days. Since the back incident I have been pretty careful about picking things up, although Noelle is pretty cute and hard to resist! I have even been so tired from work lately that I have slept through the night a few times without even waking up for a bathroom break. For a mommy-to-be 24 weeks along that is practically a miracle! Here is to hoping the next 16 weeks or so go smoothly!
24 Weeks! Less than 4 Months To Go!
I am thankfully (knock on wood) feeling really good these days. Since the back incident I have been pretty careful about picking things up, although Noelle is pretty cute and hard to resist! I have even been so tired from work lately that I have slept through the night a few times without even waking up for a bathroom break. For a mommy-to-be 24 weeks along that is practically a miracle! Here is to hoping the next 16 weeks or so go smoothly!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to my dad and to my awesome husband, Bryan! Unfortunately I won't see my dad today as my summer camps start tomorrow, but we are going to grill a special dinner for Bryan and are trying to make sure he has an awesome day, starting with sleeping in a bit! Here are some of my favorite pictures of the dads in my life!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
There's No Place Like Home
Bryan and I have been in our "new house" over a year and we've had a few getting the house together pains. We got a great deal on the house which was necessary since we paid a little bit of money to get out of our town house, but our new home had some work that needed/needs to be done. We spent weekends in the fall staining the decks, only to find this spring that all the work was for naught since we realized most of the stain had already fallen victim to the elements. And this year, we started the destruction of the guest bedroom/bathroom over the holidays and are still only about half way through the restoration. We are about to also replace the fixtures and paint the half bath on the first floor. And of course we have a list of projects a mile long for the one day we aren't paying for daycare, student loans, etc. But everyday we come home and breathe a sigh of relief that we are away from the old house and the inconsiderate neighbors that came with it!
I am addicted to real estate listings. I peruse them almost daily and pretty much have been doing that for years. Today I was appalled to find a 3 bedroom end unit townhouse in our old neighborhood is on sale for 15K less than we sold our interior unit 2 bedroom townhouse for last year. Yes, we may have had to pay a small bit to get out of our house then but thank goodness we didn't wait to sell as we could never have afforded a new house down payment after taking that kind of hit. And Alien would be but a far off thought if we were trying to save that kind of money to move out. So we are so thankful that everything worked out for us the way that it did. That we are happier each day. That no one can hear Noelle's tantrums but us on those days she has decided she is firmly rooted herself in her terrible two's. And that we got out of our townhouse situation when we did. It was definitely worth every penny and we wouldn't change a thing!
Real estate can be so depressing. It is one of those things that can really change with the seasons, and it definitely makes us sad to see our current house value go down instead of up. But it is an investment. And we feel our lives are better for having our house. And since we plan on staying put for years, staying in the game was a good move for us. So here's to hoping that in ten years when we go to do some work on the house or to buy a new home, the market will be in our favor!
I am addicted to real estate listings. I peruse them almost daily and pretty much have been doing that for years. Today I was appalled to find a 3 bedroom end unit townhouse in our old neighborhood is on sale for 15K less than we sold our interior unit 2 bedroom townhouse for last year. Yes, we may have had to pay a small bit to get out of our house then but thank goodness we didn't wait to sell as we could never have afforded a new house down payment after taking that kind of hit. And Alien would be but a far off thought if we were trying to save that kind of money to move out. So we are so thankful that everything worked out for us the way that it did. That we are happier each day. That no one can hear Noelle's tantrums but us on those days she has decided she is firmly rooted herself in her terrible two's. And that we got out of our townhouse situation when we did. It was definitely worth every penny and we wouldn't change a thing!
Real estate can be so depressing. It is one of those things that can really change with the seasons, and it definitely makes us sad to see our current house value go down instead of up. But it is an investment. And we feel our lives are better for having our house. And since we plan on staying put for years, staying in the game was a good move for us. So here's to hoping that in ten years when we go to do some work on the house or to buy a new home, the market will be in our favor!
Monday, June 13, 2011
A B C, ZZzzz!
Last Friday Noelle and I had a busy day. We were supposed to meet up with friends at JumpZone, a bouncy fun-house sort of place in Columbia for their open play time. We rolled in a few minutes before start time to find a line of sweltering hot looking mommies and little ones who had clearly been standing in place for 30 or so minutes. Um, I'm sorry. I don't even wait that long at Disney World. So we moved on to plan B, playtime and lunch at the mall with friends. We had a great time and when we were done, Noelle took a short nap in my car as we drove to my work.
After I worked for about an hour and a half or so (and Noelle practiced being super well behaved) we headed home where Noelle again took a short power nap in the car. When we got home, Noelle woke up feeling pretty refreshed despite only having napped about 45 minutes total. So we played and watched a bit of Dora, and then were pleasantly surprised to see Bryan roll home around 3:30 pm. What a great Friday treat! We played and read for a bit, and then around 6 when we were starting to get dinner figured out for the night Noelle laid down on our arm chair, sang some twinkle twinkle little stars, made it half way through the ABC's and started snoring. Mid song. It was pretty much the funniest thing we have ever seen her do. At 7, Bryan carried her upstairs, changed her diaper, put her in her pajamas, and placed her in bed. And she didn't open her eyes at all. We were worried we'd see our little angel around 4 am but she didn't awake until after 7, a full 13 hours of sleep later. It definitely was the most relaxing part of the weekend for everyone!
After I worked for about an hour and a half or so (and Noelle practiced being super well behaved) we headed home where Noelle again took a short power nap in the car. When we got home, Noelle woke up feeling pretty refreshed despite only having napped about 45 minutes total. So we played and watched a bit of Dora, and then were pleasantly surprised to see Bryan roll home around 3:30 pm. What a great Friday treat! We played and read for a bit, and then around 6 when we were starting to get dinner figured out for the night Noelle laid down on our arm chair, sang some twinkle twinkle little stars, made it half way through the ABC's and started snoring. Mid song. It was pretty much the funniest thing we have ever seen her do. At 7, Bryan carried her upstairs, changed her diaper, put her in her pajamas, and placed her in bed. And she didn't open her eyes at all. We were worried we'd see our little angel around 4 am but she didn't awake until after 7, a full 13 hours of sleep later. It definitely was the most relaxing part of the weekend for everyone!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
CSA Oh How I Love Thee
Tomorrow is our first CSA pick-up of the season and I can't wait. For those of you not in the know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Bascially what happens is you pre-pay for your vegetables (and a little fruit in our case) during the winter season when the local farms have the costs associated with getting their planting done, and then each week during growing season you get a portion of the crops that have ripened that week. We split a share with another family and for 24 weeks we get a total of 8 ripened things (a thing could be a head of lettuce, a pint of tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, etc.) that have just been pulled out of the soil! It is pretty awesome!
You never know exactly what you are going to get, but obviously growing seasons have a pattern so this week we should be getting our strawberries and lots of leafy greens. As Alien and I love strawberries and greens, this should work out just great! As the season gets further along we will start getting tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, melons, eggplant, onions, and other root vegetables mixed in with the different leafy greens. But before we get all of that we get what is probably my very favorite thing in the share - garlic scapes! It is hard to describe garlic scapes but they are the best thing ever and I love them lots. They are a little less pungent than garlic, kind of like a green onion in flavor, and they are awesome with almost everything. Here is a picture of my CSA item of choice:
So here's hoping I get some garlic scapes tomorrow! Even if I don't, I know I will be eating well, and a bit more healthy, for the next 18 weeks!
You never know exactly what you are going to get, but obviously growing seasons have a pattern so this week we should be getting our strawberries and lots of leafy greens. As Alien and I love strawberries and greens, this should work out just great! As the season gets further along we will start getting tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, melons, eggplant, onions, and other root vegetables mixed in with the different leafy greens. But before we get all of that we get what is probably my very favorite thing in the share - garlic scapes! It is hard to describe garlic scapes but they are the best thing ever and I love them lots. They are a little less pungent than garlic, kind of like a green onion in flavor, and they are awesome with almost everything. Here is a picture of my CSA item of choice:
So here's hoping I get some garlic scapes tomorrow! Even if I don't, I know I will be eating well, and a bit more healthy, for the next 18 weeks!
Friday, June 3, 2011
A Long Night and Day
Despite knowing (or perhaps because of it) that I have to work tonight until at least 9 and then return to work tomorrow for a 12 hour day and Sunday for about 9 hours, I have been up since 2:50 am. Super fun. Thankfully, my back is feeling a lot better. Not perfect, but I can move again so things are definitely looking up. Despite that, I couldn't get back to sleep after my middle of the night bathroom break. I blame stink bugs, the cat next door, and Bryan. Have you experienced stink bugs? They are ugly little brown flying things. Quite stupid really - you just put water underneath them and they drop in and drown, but they make annoying sounds and smell yucky and last year killed all my plants. This year we seem to have less (knock on wood) but an occasional one is getting in the house. And when I turned off the light to go to bed, I could have sworn I heard one, and I was convinced based on a sound I heard that it landed in my water glass. I was tired and didn't care to really investigate at the time, but when I got up for my bathroom break and was thirsty, I turned on a light to make sure my water glass was stink bug free before taking a sip. And it was. But the damage from the light was done. (Unrelated side note, it seems weird that during the night when pregnant you have to go to the bathroom all the time and drink tons of water. Seems counter productive. Oh well!)
Then the cat next door decided to do some especially loud meowing. I have seriously never heard this cat make more than a short purr so I'm not sure what was up with it. That and the fact that Bryan K Saxton decided he needed to breathe extra loud while sleeping sealed the deal (at least without nose breath - see the related post from earlier this pregnancy) and I was up for the count. Thankfully for B he has been extra sweet this week helping with some tasks I normally do around the house due to my back issues so I can't be too mad at him!
On the good side, today we had another midwife appointment and it was actually the first time Bryan has been able to come with me this pregnancy. Schedules are a lot harder to arrange when you have to worry about two work schedules and Noelle being picked up from daycare on time so we have prioritized ultrasounds over regular appointments and Bryan has been to those instead. But it was nice to have him there, especially since I've had a few Braxton Hicks contractions and felt a little different in the past few weeks then I felt anytime before labor with Noelle. Besides Bryan and Jean ganging up on me not to do anything else to hurt my back, everything went well. Alien's heartbeat is 144, he is a wiggly guy, and I am measuring well and have only gained 2 pounds in the last 4 weeks which is great since I started gaining a little earlier with this pregnancy. No swelling in my feet/ankles which is great since it was close to 100 earlier this week!
So here's to hoping I survive the weekend and can sleep better tonight!
Then the cat next door decided to do some especially loud meowing. I have seriously never heard this cat make more than a short purr so I'm not sure what was up with it. That and the fact that Bryan K Saxton decided he needed to breathe extra loud while sleeping sealed the deal (at least without nose breath - see the related post from earlier this pregnancy) and I was up for the count. Thankfully for B he has been extra sweet this week helping with some tasks I normally do around the house due to my back issues so I can't be too mad at him!
On the good side, today we had another midwife appointment and it was actually the first time Bryan has been able to come with me this pregnancy. Schedules are a lot harder to arrange when you have to worry about two work schedules and Noelle being picked up from daycare on time so we have prioritized ultrasounds over regular appointments and Bryan has been to those instead. But it was nice to have him there, especially since I've had a few Braxton Hicks contractions and felt a little different in the past few weeks then I felt anytime before labor with Noelle. Besides Bryan and Jean ganging up on me not to do anything else to hurt my back, everything went well. Alien's heartbeat is 144, he is a wiggly guy, and I am measuring well and have only gained 2 pounds in the last 4 weeks which is great since I started gaining a little earlier with this pregnancy. No swelling in my feet/ankles which is great since it was close to 100 earlier this week!
So here's to hoping I survive the weekend and can sleep better tonight!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
OK, that might be getting a bit dramatic, but I always loved those commercials. Because of Memorial Day and needing to work all weekend, I am working a regular schedule this week so while Bryan catches up with work in the office I am doing Noelle morning duty. Yesterday things were going great. Until I pulled her on my lap to help her put her sandals on. When I went to get up, I seriously didn't think I was going to be able to stand. Well I did, and I made it to work, but not without a lot of lower back pain. And the combination of sitting for long bouts of time and then suddenly needing to get up wasn't working well for me. Nor was sleeping last night (unless it was in one particular position on my side with the body pillow). Moving positions, needing to sit up, or bending over are quite tough right now. So here I am, working from home on getting my plans for my staff orientation finalized, sitting on the couch with my heating pad. I told Bryan last night that I'd rather be in labor (clearly not right now) then have the back pain, so at least my body is preparing itself for October! Here's to hoping a day of heat and rest is all I need. Hey, maybe I can just sit outside in the sauna that is our current weather to get the heat part going on!
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