Cimino Home

2008-11-11T23:08:00.001-08:00

So what if it's been over five months since I've blogged anything..... I've been busy.

John and I have been fortunate enough to have his sister come over every Tuesday and help with the housework. We have been doing a lot of organizing and evaluating. John and I we both raised in families where at least one of our parents were "pack rats" and apparently it's something we "inherited" from them. Lucky us. So after a couple of weeks Gina and I have actually been making some progress. I'm truly blessed to have someone in the family who really knows how to organize and oddly enough seems to enjoy doing it. She drives all the way from Aloah, Oregon which is about a 40-45 minute drive each way.

It had been about three weeks since I have completed the laundry. Don't get me wrong. I would wash and dry it but folding it was not usually done. So yesterday I spent most of the day washing last weeks laundry and folding all of the already clean and the freshly washed clothes.

We are hosting our families in our home this year for Thanksgiving and Gina and I have been planning it for a few weeks. If everyone we invite comes we will have over 25 people here. Big production, lots of food and activities for the kids to keep them busy so the adults can have a little time to talk... I'm very excited .

Christian is already 4 moths old and is growing so fast. He rolled over for the first time on Halloween. He is always smiling and in a good mood, well unless he has gas or Brandon takes his binkie or decides to poke him in the eye. Christian, like Brandon, was born with dark hair, at around 4 months Brandon started to loose his. I was looking at Christian's hair today and I think I saw a few blonde hairs where his dark hair has started to fall out. I can't picture Christian with blonde hair but I thought that with Brandon too and now I can't imagine Brandon with brown hair. Well it's late in the day and I'll probably be up in a few hours with Christian.

2008-06-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

So I know it's been quite a while since I've written. I have been knee deep in my knitting and yarn obsession lately I haven't had a spare thought in my brain to actually write something.

I'm doing alright. I gained 10 lbs in 4 weeks mostly from water retention. I can press down on my shin and an indentation stays. It's kinda gross. I had an appointment yesterday and I'm measuring 4 weeks ahead (I'm only 34 weeks but I'm measuring as someone who is 38 weeks along) which is a little nerve wracking. We will schedule the c-section for 7/7/08 which is three days earlier than I thought, 8 days before the due date. He mentioned to me that he is the on call doc for the fourth of July weekend... Making me a little nervous. I really would prefer not to go into labor but at the same time I don't want to have a huge baby. I don't know what I could have done differently, I ate much better with this baby and was more active. I have gained up to now a little more than half of what I did with Brandon so I think I am just destined to have big babies. As long as the baby is healthy and I'm healthy that's all I really care about. I don't think I'm ready to spend another 6 days in the hospital. Most of that was on bed rest so you can imagine how horrible it was... If this baby is healthy and I don't develope anything we should be discharged on that Thursday.

My mind is spinning over all the things I NEED to get done.
Put in cabinets and book shelves in the family room

Move old book shelves into my craft room for yarn/ knitting and paper storage
Knit a million things for the baby, but blue or pink???? Maybe I'll just stick with ivory or white
Pack for the hospital
Move a love seat to our bedroom
Buy changing pad, nightlight for our room
Lower our bed so I'll be able to get into it better. right now it has to be 3 1/2 feet up
Make out a schedule for whoever is watching Brandon
Set up the guest bedroom for the people who will be staying to watch Brandon
Make food to freeze so we'll have something to eat when we get home
And last but not least, we have to tell John's mom that she cannot smoke at all while she watches Brandon and that we will no longer be visiting over to their house so long as she does so. Brandon's health and the health of the baby isn't worth it. Hopefully this will give her the reason to quit.

Will there be enough time??? For some reason having the surgery date move up just those few days and realizing that I may have this baby a lot sooner than any one thought if I go into labor is making me panic. I got up two hours early because I can't sleep. Just keep me in your prayers. Pray for my sanity, mine and the baby's health, John and my stress level, Brandon's behavior and acceptance of the new baby, friends and family that will help with all the chaos and pray that John's mom will be understanding and realize the importance of our decision...

I'm not sure

2008-04-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I've posted so I'll give everyone an update. I had my glucose test on Tuesday and was expecting a phone call on Friday with the results, but after 4:00 and no call, I decided to call them. I get the message that the office is closed. Apparently they close at 12:30 on Fridays. I'll just assume that if I have gestational diabetes then I would have gotten a call. Either way I have an appointment on Tuesday and will know for sure then. I have a sinus infection with a sore throat and congestion, headaches, I swear the whole left side of my head is just one big pain.

I had to take Brandon to the doctor on Wednesday. He has had this horrible cough for a while now and it seemed to be getting worse. We think that he has asthma so we're trying out an asthma medication. It has stopped his wheezy breathing but his cough and runny nose haven't improved. So we are to avoid cats, especially long haired cats, cigarette smoke, even the smell on someones clothes can irritate his lungs, and heavy exercise which isn't really a problem yet.

We have a mouse. John's dad came over yesterday and set some traps. This morning when I got up and checked we had one under the sink. The trap that was under the counter was triggered but no mouse, the peanut butter was all gone though. We'll have to set them up again. So in a way I'm glad that it worked so soon. I was thinking it would take a couple of days. Now we just have to seal up the holes and figure out where they are coming in from.

John and I bought some meat from a guy who just butchered a cow so we shouldn't be wanting for a steak or roast for quite a while. 9 chuck roasts, 1 tri tip, 1 Flank, 8 Ribeyes, 3 packages of stew meat, 2 sirloin tip roasts, 7 t-bones, 3 short ribs, 3 tenderloins, 2 rump roasts, 13 round steaks, 9 top sirloin, and about 50 or so 8 oz. packages of hamburger...

Well I need to get going. Brandon is finding things to eat. This morning while I was getting ready to head out he took a nice bite of John's deoderant. I swear this boy...

2008-04-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

Crappy doctor's appointment. First, they were really backed up and it took a while to be seen, which was fine, i was knitting and Brandon was having a good time looking at all the people waiting. Then I have my blood tested for the glucose screening test and I didn't pass. No good. So then I have to make an appointment to have the three hour test done. And for the three days prior I have to eat a specific diet and gosh, no smoking... ;-) So I am not looking forward to that, My blood pressure is great, but my weight was so so. It seems like when ever I "brag" about how little weight I've gained it'll go up and then I'm embarrassed. The doctor told me I was measuring at 29 weeks.... I'm only 25 weeks. So either we were way off on the dates or like he said around 28 weeks I'll start to measure more accurately. Or maybe I just have a gigantic baby inside me. After all my uterus is the size of a soccer ball right now... The scars on my face that are darkening are what the medical professionals like to call melasma. It has to do with the pigment in my skin darkening... I asked him what pigment.... I have none. Apparently there is nothing you can do about it yeah for me.

Well that is all I have to report for right now. I'm really tired and want to nap. Do you think I'll get one? Brandon is asleep in the car, maybe I'll nap for 30 minutes until I hear him cry to come and get him

2008-03-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

Our deck is nearly done. We just need a week of dry weather so we can stain it and it'll be ready to go! We had a bench made for it and are debating on what type of table to have made also. You can't imagine how handy having friends who know how to do things like that has come in handy. We plan on getting a fire pit too to make the nights last longer. I can't wait for the summer, I'll be out there all the time. Oh, and I'll have a new baby! I bought some flowers today. Light pink carnations, some tulips and another flower that I can't remember how to say or spell, but they are really fragrant and Alyssa had some purple flowers like them on the table at Easter. But mine are white and pink.

Brandon is going through what I hope is just a phase. Separation anxiety at night and during the day for his naps. It's worse at night. It took nearly two hours for him to fall asleep. We are trying to just let him cry then to check on him every once in a while but when we leave or won't pick him up it seems to make him more mad then if we had never come in. John can't bare to hear him cry. He thinks I'm cruel. But I would rather go through this now when he won't remember it than in a couple years when he can crawl out of his bed and walk to our room... I just want this to be nipped in the bud before the baby comes. I can hardly deal with this when I'm actually getting a decent amount of sleep, I'm sure I wouldn't be a nice person to be around if I were sleep deprived. It's been nice being able to experiment with food and seeing what he will and won't eat. He's pretty brave and eats things that John or I won't. He likes seaweed with rice that John won't touch and raw tomatoes that I can't stand. He loves scrambled eggs, multi grain cheerios, green peas, peaches, teddy grahams and oyster crackers. he is getting the hang of eating long noodles and prefers them to smaller pasta. Of course it's more of a mess for mom to clean up!

I was at Ross today buying a lamp and I ran across a dumpling maker that makes 5 different sizes. One is really small and would be good for ravioli's (tomorrow nights dinner, who's coming over???) and a larger one that is about the right size for a personal sized calzone. Can't wait to try them all out!

John's mom came home last Monday from Vegas and came over on Saturday to visit a while with us and to see how much Brandon has grown. She had been gone for 3 months and I'm sure he has changed a lot to someone who hasn't seen him for that long. She is deciding what to do. If she's going to go back or stay here and work. She wasn't able to use her vacation and family medical leave at the same time and keep her health insurance so she just might have to work a while then take some vacation and go back. Grandma still has 8 or 9 more chemo treatments and she is doing really well. Especially considering her age and the kind of cancer it is.

I am officially 24 weeks pregnant today with only about 15 more weeks to go (39 total). I have gained 12 pounds and I am thrilled about that. If I can just keep the pace of weight gain to what it has been I should only gain about another 8 to 10 pounds. Let's just hope I do and have an easier sized baby. At my next appointment I have my glucose screening test and going by the weight I have gained I am confident I don't have gestational diabetes. My blood pressure has been good and with any luck I'll be able to keep it under control and not have to go on medication like before. I want to find out how much I weighed with Brandon by this time in pregnancy. This time I did start out 20 pounds heavier but I also gained over 70 with Brandon. So let's hope I have gained less this by this time than last time.

Well I should get going. With any luck John will be coming home within a few minutes. That and Brandon is starting to destroy the kitchen.... it's his little way of telling me he wants some attention!!! Oh but he's just so darn cute!

2008-03-13T13:30:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just found this and I thought I would share it with you. I laughed so hard, I was crying. Too funny, I hope you enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/2ad7f8/

2008-03-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

So I have been looking for new ways to be more involved at church. John and I go to Good Shepherd and while it's a wonderful place to go, the mass amounts of people who do go is amazing and can be hard at times to connect with the others who go. John started going when he was in high school so it's been, I'd say, 14 years for him and just about three years for me. He went before the new building was built, he knows a lot of people who go and just over all is a more out going person. So for me who tends to be extremely shy in large crowds and in new situations try to avoid doing anything that needs me to be social.

We started attending one of Good Shepherds Mini Churches which is what you might consider a Sunday School. It's called Young Families and I have really enjoyed getting to know a few of the women (and their husbands) through that. From that stemmed a book club that I have been to once and will go to another meeting for a different book (which I haven't even begun to read) this next Sunday. One of the ladies that go to church and the book club was in the birthing class John and I took last year and we have gotten to talking. She asked me if I had been to such and such activities, that I didn't even know existed. Of course I had not. There is a wide variety of things to do for especially the stay at home mom. Today I went to a Mom to Mom event where Author and fellow Good Shepherd member Randy Alcorn spoke. The topic was "Answering your tough questions" and it was awesome! Everyone was invited to write questions they wanted answered, some of them were very personal: husbands who've had affairs to kid related questions about sex and being an example to them. Randy brought along a table full of books that we were able to choose one from. I picked 50 days of Heaven. We already had the book Heaven which John has read but this was the same book written more like a devotional style, the original book condensed into what he thought were the most important things to know and in a format that "busy moms will have time to read".

When I first showed up I had no idea that so many women would be attending, about 100, so I was kinda at a loss. But as I was dropping Brandon off in the nursery Alyssa's friend Anne Dunlop walked in and I was able to tag along with her and she helped me navigate where to go. She doesn't go to GS but has friends that do and had been to these Mom to Mom events before. We sat together and talked about her chickens. It was a really fun time. I couldn't believe all the babies and other pregnant women who where there, there had to have been about 10 babies all about 4 months or younger and like 6 other pregnant women.

Before the meeting started Kristin Coppom (Formerly of Gateway Baptist) came to the table and my bravery shone through and I asked her, only because I was positive I was right, if she used to go to Gateway. She said she had and I told her I recognized her and remembered her husband used to do worship there like he does at GS. I think the only reason that I even remembered her was I thought she looked vaguely like my mom's cousin Diane. I think it's her mouth.

One of our good friends goes to the Gresham Mom's Club and I have been going to their play groups. It's been fun watching Brandon interact with kids closer to his age and it's fun to talk to other moms. They have a lot of activities planned each month but they usually conflict with something I'm already doing. Between my doctors appointments and running around getting things done between nap time and being completely exhausted, sometimes I feel like I have no free time...

Brandon's birthday was great. We drove down to JC Penny and had his picture taken. Too many cute pictures to choose from, I don't know how I'll narrow it down. Then we came home and shared some chicken nuggets and fries (bad mom) and he just played all afternoon. He never took a nap until later that night around 5:30. I couldn't keep him up, he just laid himself on some pillows and fell asleep. I woke him up just after 7 and played until John came home. Had a late dinner and put him to bed and enjoyed each others company until we just both couldn't stay awake any longer. Saturday is his party and I don't know how it's going to go. It's the first time we are going to have a formal party besides at Christmas so we'll just have to go with the flow. We have no deck still and I don't know how long it's going to take to get it in. Looking forward to having a garden and spending more time outside when the weather gets nice. Hopefully it isn't too far off. I am getting tired of the rain... But in a few months, after the baby is here, I'll probably be saying I wish it would rain. Thank goodness this house has air conditioning!!!

2008-03-09T09:41:00.001-07:00

Why I hate daylight savings.

Who has a baby that is on a schedule? Well of course he didn't want to go to bed last night and all night he was up crying and whining. I went in and gave him some ora gel for his gums and he went right back to sleep. For about 4o minutes. So then John goes in and tries to calm him down again and with no luck decides to bring Brandon in our room which is completely fine at 4 in the morning. Brandon doesn't want to sleep. Brandon wants to kick mommy in the tummy and make her miserable. He went to sleep for a while, but I was awake for hours it seemed. Sleeping about two feet away from the headboard and like a cat right up to the edge of the matress. I was paranoid that I would fall off and land on the stool I use to help me in bed. John would occasionally say "Lay down Brandon" when ever he would lift his head off his chest. Up and down they went attempting to let everyone get some sleep. I think they fell asleep in the recliner in Brandon's room for a while. Either that or I fell asleep for a little while. I finally gave up around "8:30" and got up and took a shower with him. He's wide awake. Last night we gave him his first cup of whole milk. He seemed to like it but I know he realizes it isn't formula. Even though officially he isn't a year until Wednesday I thought it would be alright if he started milk anyway. We had just run out of formula and I couldn't justify spending $14 more dollars on something that wasn't necessary.

Well Brandon and I are finishing our breakfast. Cheerios and milk I'm having tea and he had some apple juice. I need to go wake John up so he can shower and drive us to church!

2008-02-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

This morning went as expected. Brandon woke up at 7 and John brought him in so we could get a tad bit more rest. About 35 minutes! Then John got up, turned on the shower and I put Brandon on the floor and laid in bed for a few more minutes. Then Brandon pushes the bathroom doors open and is headed for the shower, I figured since he had one with me and one with John yesterday, he wasn't due for another one until later tonight at the earliest. But who knows, he may just explode in his diaper or something and it's easier to just rinse him off then to waste 20 wipes and get a sore bottom... So I picked him up and changed his diaper then headed downstairs to get some breakfast. I noticed a couple of guys walking through our backyard, that seems to be a weekly occurrence around here. Last week a couple walked through checking for drainage issues. And the week or so before the neighboring house had a fence installed and some landscaping done. Last night with out me knowing it we had some sod delivered and it was sitting in our driveway. John came home and said we had our lawn laying in our driveway. So this morning we are getting a backyard. I hope Brandon can go out and play in our new backyard he hasn't been on grass for a long time so this, I hope will be nice. I asked dad what types of plants would be good for our backyard as it doesn't get too much light. It faces the east but there is a fence there and it casts a shadow when the sun is hitting that side of the house. I would love a hydrangea, he suggested climbing roses for the fence and some irises, fox glove that he is going to donate to my worthy cause. I would love to have a little garden but until the fence goes up on the other side of our house I don't want to plant anything too close to the property line. So we'll just see, we are also planning on expanding our deck. It's an okay size for right now, if we don't plan on having company, but if we want to have room for more people and John's barbeques then it'll need to at least twice the size. John wants to have it run the length of the house, but I don't want it to take up too much of the yard. So we are just going to need to plan it out and see how much space we'll need for both.

Brandon is going to be babysat for the second time in his life today. While I'm at the dentist mom or dad is going to be over here watching him. I'm glad that he does well with other adults. When we first started taking him the the nursery at church I was a little worried that he would miss us. But there are so many things to distract him there like other babies and nice ladies with crackers. He is walking now, but crawls mostly, it's faster and he won't fall down when he does it. But every once in a while I'll catch him risking it and walking to the couch or at least somewhere soft to land like to pillows on the floor. I keep trying to move farther back so he will walk more, but if he feels like he can't do it then he'll just get down and crawl to me.

I had my ultrasound last Thursday. The technician said the baby looks great, I think I saw boy parts, she asked us if she was supposed to be looking for something and we told her no. John said he didn't see anything. But I'm pretty certain he didn't know where we were looking. I have gained about 7 pounds at 20 weeks this pregnancy but I am also 20 pounds heavier to start out with. I am happy with the weight gain. I keep forgetting that it's supposed to happen and not to get upset. I would like to gain no more than 25 pounds. The doctor seems to be happy so I'm not going to worry. This pregnancy I have been a lot more constipated and that is annoying. I'm sure you'll agree that if you go a day with out "going" then you don't feel normal, especially seeing that I used to "go" at least twice a day. People think it's my prenatal vitamin, but I'm not so sure. I have been taking one everyday for two years straight so you would think that it wouldn't all of the sudden have an impact, but pregnancy does strange things to your body. So after this bottle of pills is finished I'm thinking of switching brands to one that has a stool softener in it. Sorry for all the info... this is just what I'm dealing with right now.

So I should get going. I need a shower and the dishwasher needs emptying.

2008-02-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhogs Day! Does anyone know if Phil saw his shadow or not? If he were here in Gresham I doubt he would. It has been snowing pretty good for about 3 hours and has just started to stick. I just came home from the dentist and he said my wisdom tooth that has been working it's way down was just barely sticking out and the other one he couldn't even see. He also gave me a complement of saying that since my mouth was so clean he wasn't worried about getting an infection on the tooth! I think that's a compliment right? I mean It's been at least 6 years since I've been to the dentist. I mentioned that I wanted to get the retainer taken out because it was causing a lot of plaque buildup and I didn't want to get tooth decay, gingavitis or anything nasty like that. He told me that we could probably take it out and make me a small plastic retainer that I would only have to wear for about 20 minutes a day. Wonderful! Where were those 20 minute retainers 14 years ago when I had my braces taken off??? I am truly thankful for my dad who was so active keeping our teeth clean. I would hear stories of how he would brush our teeth when we were babies and first got them and how much I liked going to the dentist. Hearing him tell us that it is easier to maintain good teeth than to fix teeth that are bad. Kind of like having a car, if you get it checked every three months it's easier to fix any problems before they get worse and more expensive. To this day I don't know how many of the four kids have cavities. I know I have one and it was so minor that Dr. Norton didn't even have to drill or numb my mouth.

On to another subject, I have been very fortunate, like my older sister and mother, to have a room that I can keep and work on different projects, like sewing, scrapbooking and crafts. John went this morning and bought me three cabinets with drawers to use as a base for my work station. We are later on today going to get a countertop for it so I can actually use the room. I asked him last night, on a lark, if I could get a scrapbooking tool, and without question to what it was or how much it was he said yes. I have been looking at getting a Cricut for a while and though they are expensive, I think in the long run they will be worth the investment. He told me that he likes seeing me have hobbies and doing things that I like to do. Dad is the same way with mom, I don't know how many sewing machines she has had in the last 10 years but he seems to know how much she really enjoys it and that, I think, in return makes him happy. Plus, think of all the things that mom can embroider Jeeps onto!!! Now I just have to decide which one I want and where to get it. I can go really basic and get the one that is $184 at Wal-mart, or go slightly more than that and spend $250 and get the same machine plus a bunch of extras that I would eventually need to have anyway. There is another machine that just came out and it's around $500 and the only difference that I really noticed is it will cut longer pieces of paper, it says there are a few more shortcuts on it, but for just starting out I don't think I'll need anything quite that fancy. It would be like for my first sewing machine. Instead of buying the refurbished one I bought for $300, getting something like mom has that hooks up to her computer and embroiders and has all the bells and whistles for over a thousand. So what I am saying is I am so excited to finally be getting a room that I can do my own thing in and be creative.

In other news, my dear friend Lesa was due on the 25th of January with her third and last child. She has two boys and is finally having a little girl. Well as far as I know as of yesterday she still hasn't had her baby yet. I don't know what I would do with myself if I were that overdue. Please think about her in your prayers. Oh, and a bunch of you probably went to school with either her cousins or brothers, she's a Caudle.

Hmmm What else? Brandon has slept through the night all the way for the last two nights. and that is such a switch from the week before where he would wake up at least 4 times and need something. He is supposed to be taking a nap but I can hear him talking to something. Probably the talking Napolean Dynomite doll Toni bought for me as a birthday present a few years ago. He thinks it's fascinating!!! Well I should go. I have a pork shoulder that I need to make and need to find a recipe for it. I've never made a whole pork shoulder before, ribs and loin yes, but this weighs 5 pounds. I'm thinking about just making a bunch of pulled pork, but haven't quite decided... I guess you'll just have to wait to find out!

2008-01-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Hello to Everyone. I just had my second Prenatal appointment and everything so far looks good. I was able to hear the heartbeat, the little one didn't like to stay in one place so it took a while for it to be found. And that is always a little nerve wracking. In those few seconds the worst of thoughts race through your mind... But the baby has a healthy heart rate of 166 bpm. My blood pressure is at 120/78 and that's pretty good. During Christmas week I had been so sick with morning sickness, not being able to taste anything let alone keep it down for very long, I ended up loosing 5 lbs since my last appointment 4 weeks ago. Now if I weren't pregnant it would be a good thing but it can be bad if I loose too much weight. But I think the morning sickness has finally stopped. It's been a week since I've felt nauseous, well except for tonight.... Someone was passing gas and I just about tossed my cookies. Sorry if that's too much info. And just so everyone knows it wasn't me, Brandon or John... So don't get any ideas.

I have had loads of help getting the house into livable order from friends and family who have come over. I am trying to think of how I want it decorated and just how much more money I have to spend on different projects. I keep going back between something really elegant and something more country/old fashioned. I'm sure when I see something I like I'll know it. I looked through the Pottery Barn catalog and drooling over some furniture and drapes... Oh well. I suppose I'd have a better time if was able to decorate over time and relax then to get frustrated because I felt like I had to get it done in a certain amount of time. Alyssa has graciously offered her assistance in helping me. We have similar tastes in most things so that is going to be a big help. Now if we could just find the time when we could get together...

John's mom flew down to Las Vegas and his dad and oldest sister left today and are driving down. Please keep them in your prayers. Apparently Grandma Shirley will be having Chemo-therapy for 5 months and John's mom is going to try to stay down there for the whole time so she can take care of her. We aren't quite clear as to why she can't move up here and get treatment. Her doctor just has advised against this. I would like to go and see her sometime before the baby gets here but many airlines won't let pregnant women fly if they are past a certain month so we would need to do this within the next 4 months or so. We'll see. Well I hear Peanut crying upstairs so I should go make sure he's okay.

2008-01-03T13:44:00.001-08:00

Well I suppose I should update everyone on what has been going on. We are mostly unpacked. All the important things are but there are boxes of miscellaneous things that we just don't quite know what to do with yet. We had a really great Christmas with my side of the family over. We had a bunch of goodies, it seemed like everyone brought at least three things to munch on before we sat down to eat. I had been snacking off and on all day so by the time dinner was here I didn't even finish my plate. But I have also been sick with congestion and so not being able to taste very well has made my appetite pretty small.

The weather has been pretty interesting. Last week we had snow just about everyday. We even got enough snow to cover the ground to say we had a white Christmas. Well at least for a couple hours. This week it has seemed to rain everyday. I am trying to figure out when it will be dry enough to take down the outdoor decorations but according to the weather report it will be raining until sometime next week.

John's Grandma who lives in Las Vegas usually comes to town during the holidays and stays for a few months, but she has been having some health issues involving her liver so she was not able to come this time. John's mom flew down yesterday to be with her and to help take care of things. His dad is planning on driving down on Sunday. Please pray that she can stay comfortable and the doctors can give her some answers.

On a lighter note, I'm not sure how many of you have heard but John and I are expecting our second child in July. The baby is due on the 15th but my doctor would like to schedule the c-section for the week before which just so happens to be our third wedding anniversary. I told the doctor thanks but no thanks. Brandon was born 5 days before his due date so I think 5 days for this one would be good too, which will put the date for the 10th, 2 days after... But that is if I don't go into labor first. And I really don't want to. Now that I know I won't be delivering naturally it would make me panic. I am anxious for the delivery though. I hope it goes better than with Brandon. Now I know what can happen, I have a lot longer to think about it... and that can be bad. I feel more prepared and I know what to expect and what should bring to the hospital and what to forget at home. But I still have these flashbacks of how horrible I felt emotionally and physically, I just wanna cry. And I do, but then I feel better and I know that God is holding my hand and giving it a squeeze. He was there with us last time and will be with us with the next one. I can remember watching all the baby programs that are on in the afternoon when I was pregnant with Brandon but after he was born I had no desire to. And just like the first time I am drawn to watch. There is something comforting about them I guess.

Well, Brandon is more likely going to wake up soon so I should get going and get some dishes or laundry done.

2007-12-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we officially close on the house. John would like to start moving in after work but I'm not sure that's practical. Maybe if we could get everything loaded early enough. I just don't want to be moving furniture at 10 and I want to keep a semi normal schedule for Brandon. I bet we could do it but how tired do I want to be??? Anyway, we are both very excited and so are our families. I imagine going grocery shopping and not having to make trips back and forth from the parking lot in the rain to unload my car and having to hope Brandon doesn't get into anything. I'll now be able to pull into our garage and unload from the safety of the indoors! And to have space for our furniture will be so nice too. A big enough area to have more than two people over at a time!!! What an idea! I love the hope of not having our neighbors flick their cigarette butts on our deck and our yard, and having the smell of kitty litter above my head every time I come home or leave. We don't have a cat!
We drove to the house today and they had the "SOLD" sign up and it was such a good feeling. We walked through to make sure that everything that we had asked them to take care of was, most things were, some were not. So hopefully they will get their act together today and get it fixed. Slightly overwhelmed, I have a lot of last minute packing to do. Brandon will spend most of the day in his play pen to keep him out of the way and so I know where he is. He started to attempt to crawl up the stairs at the house so I know he is looking forward to getting to do that soon.

Tonight I get to have dinner with my folks and Toni and Chuckie to celebrate dad's birthday. We're going to this good italian place called Giuseppe's. Decent food and prices. Plenty of food for everyone. Hopefully we'll have enough leftovers so I won't have to worry about dinner tomorrow night. I don't know if we'll still be in the apartment or in the new house. Either way nothing will be unpacked enough for me to cook. Maybe we'll just have pizza delivered. Anyway, Brandon is down for his nap and I should try to get something to eat and more packed before he wakes up. Wish me luck!

2007-11-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I forgot to tell you the password is cimino

2007-11-13T11:47:00.001-08:00

Well we finally were able to get our house photos online. Go to http://newciminohouse.shutterfly.com
and you can see them there! Move in date is December 10th but I hope we can close earlier.
A little about the house...
It's a brand new house out in Gresham off Powell Valley Road, 2618 sqft, 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, two fireplaces, one in the master!!! Formal dining and a huge family room that's open to the kitchen. Plenty of rooms for John and I to each have one for hobbies and a spare room for when his grandma comes to town.
It's going to be interesting to see how packing goes with a baby who is getting into everything. He is getting his first teeth on the bottom and is pulling himself up on everything. The dishwasher door, the window sill, coffee table, couches, even the entertainment center! He needs some type of walker so he can move around but he won't be able to fall backwards.... maybe I'll even get some things done while he is occupied. It's a bit nerve wracking watching Brandon trying to be a big boy but I think he is more hurt from realizing that he's no longer standing then from the act of falling down. I'm sure he'll be walking in a few months. Mom keeps reminding me of how talented or early developed her kids were, like she is bragging. Aaron could walk at ten months. Alyssa was saying "hi" at three and I got my first tooth at three months.
Well I have a pile of laundry that needs to get folded and if I want lunch before Brandon wakes up from his nap I need to get going. Hope everyone is doing well. Love Andrea

2007-10-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Good, the bad and the Ugly....

First the bad news, we aren't going to move in to the house we have been looking at. The least of the problems that we discovered on the inspection today was lead paint on the walls. They have a rusty furnace, asbestos on their pipes, the house has LP siding which if you don't know sucks and apparently there was a huge lawsuit in which money was paid to those who had it. Apparently they didn't feel like they needed to replace it with the money they received... and the roof tiles were put on incorrectly... The inspector said he would not buy the house and it would cost over $100,000 to fix everything. No thanks.

The good news is we are looking at another house tomorrow and have been e-mailed over 100 houses to look at in both the Gresham and Clackamas areas. Please keep praying for us in our search. When God closes a door he has to open a window!

And now for the ugly. Brandon got his first two teeth finally but they didn't come in the bottom, they are on the top and look terrible. Here is a picture of them.

2007-10-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought your house doesn't look too bad until you have someone stop by unplanned??? I have been dealing with "the larengitis" since about Wednesday night last week and haven't felt so great. And the housework has suffered. Last night John was at the shop installing a hose reel and I was at home sorting out our closet for clothes that I've never seen him wear and that have been on the hanger so long it left dents on the shirt. I took out all the size 10 pants and dresses that I wore before I was pregnant in hopes that they would fit me now... but alas, they do not. I figure by the time they do fit I'll be 61 like mom. Hey maybe by then they'll be back in style!!! Ha ha ha
All the cute nighties that I got for presents before I was married and the fab bra's that I don't fit anymore are in a bag waiting for a Goodwill drop off. I do have some clothes that I don't think I can bear to give away so I'll either donate them to Tami our skinny sister in law, try buffalo exchange or e-bay to get some money out from them.
I am excited and interested to see how this move goes. We have many more things now than we had when we first moved here almost two and a half years ago. John hopes we will be able to move everything with the help of friends and their vehicles... I just want to rent a U-haul and get everything in one trip. Afterall it's 20 minutes or more from here and it would take a week to move everything that slowly. If anyone has boxes or wants to help us when we do move let us know and we'll put you to work. We will have a pizza party after the last load has been delivered, if that motivates any of you!!! I will hope to keep everyone updated as to what is going on until our move. Thank you all for you prayers and words of encouragement throughout this whole ordeal. John, Brandon and I are truely grateful!!!

2007-09-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's been ages since I have written in my blog. I have been busy pursuing the art of sewing. I recently discoverd a website dedicated to period clothing and I have been addicted to it for weeks. Mom and I went to JoAnn a few weeks ago and bought some patterns and so far have made two skirts and am finishing a third, it just needs hemming. I am also in the process of sewing a nightgown made of flannel for the up comming winter and hopefully it'll be done by then. I have bougth material for making a regency style dress and hope to have that started by the beginning of next month.
Brandon is moving all over the place.
He isn't crawling yet but he rolls everywhere and still gets into stuff. Everything goes in his mouth so I have been extra careful as to not let him get into the sewing area of the apartment. I don't want him accidentally swallowing fabric scraps or pins...
John and I are in the process of buying a house out in Gresham. You can look at it here and hopefully within the next month or so in person when we finally get to move in. http://obeo.com/Public/Viewer/default.aspx?ID=382027
This is us inside the kitchen when we went to look at it...
It's super great and I can't wait to leave the apartments. I hope to be all moved in by Thanksgiving. It would be so great to have Brandon's first Thanksgiving and Christmas in a house. I can see it now....
And now it's time for more pictures of Brandon!!!

2007-07-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Guess who is teething???

Brandon seems to be shoving anything he can get his hands on into his mouth. Luckily he isn't crawling yet... He's not too cranky in the morning. but as the afternoon comes and goes he gets more irritated and I feel helpless to help him. He likes to put anything cloth in his mouth too, I think it's because it's something easier to hold on to and fits in his mouth really well. Daddy's fingers work well and Brandon is getting better at keeping his pacifier in his mouth, even after he takes it out!

I spent a day out with Brandon. We went to Toni and Chuckie's house and then out to eat for Pho. Mmmm so good, I could eat that every day! After that we headed to the Fubon store and I bought edemame and some chicken marinade Toni said was delicious. Then to Jo Ann fabric and craft where I didn't buy a single thing!!! And that is a rarity for me. I love that store! Then we headed to Wal-mart to pick up Chuckie who didn't want to go to the craft store. I tried to feed Brandon while Toni went to get Chuckie but he wasn't having it. So we decided to head back to their house and try again.

I left a couple hours later and when I got home I found these flowers on our back porch. Right next to the bag of dirty diapers that needed to get to the garbage. John still brings me flowers to brighten my day.

John came home a little bit later and he heated up some leftover pot roast. We started feeding Brandon rice cereal before bed and I'll be sure to get some pictures posted as soon as we get the hang of feeding him.

Toni is bugging me to make Spinach Pie. Anyone who grew up in the Roush household is very fond of Mom's Spinach Pie. Sooo good! Well I need to get going but I'll post some more pictures of Brandon before I do. These are from Gateway's annual church camp out. This year it was at Nehalem Bay.

John "shares" his beer with Brandon. He likes to have a beer before bed.... We ONLY let him when were camping! :-)

The next morning Brandon helps John wake up by wriggling around.

I can't believe that he fell asleep like that.

Taking a quick snooze while I eat some soggy dinner. It started to rain at the potluck and my plate got all wet before we made it back to the camp and out of the rain.

Nothing like an afternoon nap. John and Brandon loved to sleep on our big blow up mattress

Brandon at 4 months old... Sooo cute

John and Brandon at a restaurant near Mt. Hood we ate at the day before our 2nd anniversary. Luckily we were able to do something then, the next day on our way to the coast we ended up with a flat tire and stuck for hours in the heat just out side of Salem.

2007-06-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'll take a quick minute to share what I have been doing all week long. I'm not sure what it was. I think after John told me he let his friend borrow his truck and that he had been walking back and forth to work that made me take pity on him. Not only was he working about 12 hours a day 5 days a week, and doing research and buying things for the shop on the weekend, but he was walking before and after work. So Monday he took my car and I stayed home. I got to thinking about how much he does for me that I never notice. All the long hours that he works, in the freezing cold and the blistering heat. Granted I stayed home with Brandon but that is a joy (most of the time) and I love it. But the house had started to slip back to getting disorganized. I want John to be able to come home and be glad he is not wondering what I had been doing all day long. So I planned to work on one area of the house per day this week and by the time the week was over it would be back in order. Monday I folded all the laundry sitting in the laundry basket and finished washing and folding all the clothes. Here is Brandon helping me with the laundry by sleeping...
I changed the bedding and rearranged the furniture in the bedroom so now Brandon's craddle is against the wall instead of my side of the bed. He is getting really good about his pacifier and he isn't waking up as much in the middle of the night for it so I figure it would be safe. John was so happy when he got home! I was beeming inside! It looks great! I just wish I had a before picture to show you but here is an after
Our bedroom is so small and has no where near the amount of storage space that I would like to have.
Tuesday I cleaned the living room and kitchen and dining area. That wasn't too hard. Everything that was out had a place to go. But keeping Brandon content was a challenge. I spent just as much time doing that as I did cleaning.
Wednesday I spend most of the time keeping Brandon happy. I was cleaning the bathrooms and throwing away over 3 years worth of stockpiled Mary Kay products, Victoria's Secret lotions and sprays, most of which had lost their smells. Shampoo and conditioners, hair products, old rasors etc. Here is what I had been hording under my sink for 2 years.
I am embarassed to admit that I hadn't used most of these things in the 2 years that I have lived here. The phrase "Out of sight out of mind" seems to apply here. And here is what my bathroom looks like now!

John came home last night real early, before 7 complainging of a sinus headache. He made a coment about "he must have blown out a gallon of snot today". Hmmm what a mental image! I made dinner and soon after he ate he fell asleep on the couch. Around 8:30 it was still light and warm enough outside and since Brandon was being cranky I decided to take him for a walk.I left John a note in case he woke up before we came back. Alyssa, I love the Bjorn you gave us!!! It's so great! When we usually take a walk we go and see John at the shop so this time we went and walked south east instead of just east. There we heard frogs near a small creek and kids playing in the field at the school. We walked through the little forrested area into the neighboorhood on the other side. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Lots of the houses have beautiful flowers and gardens. There wasn't a soul insight. I did see a couple of kids playing batmiton and someone watering thier lawn, but that's it. Brandon loves it when I take him for walks, it's a sure way of calming him down fast. We walked as far in a straight line as we could and soon we came to a T in the road and i decided to head back. It was a nice 25 minutes. I decided to feed Brandon and get him to bed. After that I got online and went to the FlyLady website. For any of you who have a hard time keeping things tidy it's a good website to give you ideas and inspiration. I started making a rough draft of my control journal. I am hoping tomorrow to get to store to buy something to keep it all oranized. John still is using the car so I have been stuck here all week.
Today I cleaned Brandon's room. I finally went through all his clothes and got them organized and put away. toys and books on the shelf, scrapbooking paper and embellishments all sorted and put away. I'm almost done in there. I am on my hour lunch break. Brandon is taking a little nap so I am able to sit down and have something to eat!

2007-06-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, does this baby look just like the picture of me when I was a baby. And we are just about the same age.

Brandon is three months old today.
I got pregnant this time last year. It's unreal that he is already here and that a year has gone by since he was first thought of. I am having fun with my new camera. John had to get his own. So instead of just having the Canon s3 we now have a Nikon D80. But at least he got it for about $400 less than it's worth.
I have been on a mad search for patio funiture so until I find it I'm using our camping chairs and a fold up t.v. tray. That might even be good enough until we get a house and a real backyard.

2007-05-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Dad and I have joined the peertrain.com website so we can help motivate each other in loosing weight. I invited Alyssa and Toni also but unfortunately the site only allows 4 people per group. I hope that this will keep me on track as I really need the accountibility of other people. We are also following the same weightloss guidelines from the fat smash diet. Look it up. But I was thinking that if anyone else wanted to join that website and add me to their group then we could still help keep each other accountable. or just post comments on the blog. Whatever. Brandon has been sleeping for a while and we need to get to the store.

2007-05-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

What is happening to my body? Being pregnant was interesting. Not being pregnant and still looking pregnant is getting on my nerves. I have the body odor of a 12 year old who doesn't realize that they stink, (remember that?) deodorant doesn't seem to work as well as it did before. Apparently it's those dang hormones again! I have a bladder infection and I have started my period. I didn't think I could THIS early if I was still breastfeeding. I knew I would most likely get it while I was, I just didn't think it would be so soon. NO BUENO! So it's been interesting the couple of times that I was nursing and had the sudden urge to pee. Sometimes I can hold it and most times I just barely make it. And only having to go acouple tablespoons at a time is driving me nuts!

Brandon has been doing a good job of tricking us into thinking that he sleeps through the night. He seems to have a pattern he follows. One night he'll sleep about 8 hours straight, maybe I'll have to put his Binky back in his mouth but no nursing. The next two nights he wakes up starving around 3:30am to about 4:00, sometimes I fall asleep in the recliner and make it back to bed around 5:00. Then he's up around 7:30am and eats again, gets his diaper changed and back to bed. This time not as sleepy as mommy or daddy he makes happy noises for a while but then realizes something is missing and wants his Binky, but he just hasn't learned the trick of how to keep it in his mouth or how to put it back in once it's out! I can't wait for that day!!!He slept for most of the day yesterday and I know that's why he was so fussy last night.

But I did get a lot of cleaning done. I realized yesterday while I was talking to Toni that I have been using the pregnancy and new mother excuses too much. When I was pregnant I thought to myself, "This is the only time in my life when I can eat what I want! So I'm going to." In the end I had a huge baby, gained crazy weight and had high blood pressure too!

Lesson #1 learned. Take care of yourself when pregnant or you will look pregnant for months after, you put you and the baby's health at risk.

New mother excuse: "No one will expect your house to be clean." Not that I never do the dishes or laundry, I did let them pile up so it takes hours instead of minutes to take care of them. And I'm not usually overly tired, I just use my down time while he's napping or content to watch TV. If anything I should be napping too. So yesterday I cleaned the kitchen, put out the trash... all the way to the compacter, I made three trips. Vacuumed the entire apartment, swept the floor, cleaned off the kitchen table and finally shredded all the papers, recycled about 10-15 pounds of paper, cleaned off the side table and coffee table, did three loads of laundry and two loads of dishes, washed all the pots and pans. I did manage to get a couple egg salad sandwiches in me too. I made a nice Asian style dinner with yakasoba noodle stir fry with chicken and some pot stickers. I started to make some fresh rolls too but we didn't need any more to our meal we had plenty.

Lesson #2 learned, do chores everyday when they are small and they won't pile up and take all day long like you think they will now. Seriously, how long does it take to empty the dishwasher? 5 minutes? Just think of how fortunate we are that we have all the modern conveniences, 50 years ago they weren't as lucky. Not that they were slapping their clothes on rocks in the river (or maybe they were!) but things have improved tremendously.

Dinner was the most challenging. Normally I set Brandon in his car seat on a chair in the "dinning room" and he watches me cook or whatever and I can keep an eye on him and replace his Binky when it falls out. He was not having that. Touching raw chicken and sausage and having a crying baby is not fun. Someone might try to convince you that it is but they're lying! So I had to turn off the stove and pause dinner for about 20 minutes. John walks though the door and I tell him diner is on hold till he's finished eating. John takes a shower and I finish feeding Brandon. Burp him and right back to the car seat... Cranky baby! John gets out of the shower and comes help comfort Peanut so I can finish cooking. John and I haven't been able to eat dinner together at the same time for weeks. One of us is soothing him and the other eats. He does really well when we go out to eat because he usually falls asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant! So after dinner John crashes on the couch and I feed the baby again... I guess he didn't get all he could eat, after all I am a 24 hours a day all you can eat buffet with only one thing on the menu. Which seems to be okay by him.

2007-05-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today Brandon had his 2 month check up and Dr. Davis says he looks great! He is in the 95 percentile for his weight 85th for his height and 75th - 80th for his head size... He is one big boy, Doc says he must love to eat! And boy does he. He is on somewhat of a schedule. Asleep by 11pm most nights and up around 7:30am to eat, and if I'm lucky I get a quick nap after that. He usually naps around 1 for a couple hours and then again around 7 or 8. And if he goes anywhere with me he usually falls asleep in his car seat. He had to get 4 shots today and his pku tested. Poor guy. By the time I got him calmed down from all the shots he had to get his heel pricked again and he was not a happy camper. He didn't stop crying until I was carrying him out to the car where I think exhaustion took over and he conked out till I made it home a bit later. Then he woke up in pain and hunger so I fed him and he fell asleep again. I tried to clip his fingernails because every time I nursed him he tried to grab me and scratches the heck out of my chest and arms. So then he woke up again. I wrapped him up in a blanket and let him fall asleep for longer and was finally able to get them trimmed. Then off to bed where he slept for about 2 hours straight. I am supposed to monitor his temperature and make sure that his legs don't turn red. Let's hope not.
We got a bill in the mail for his hospital stay for over $12,000. I called the insurance co and the hospital and the Dr.s office as there was also a problem with the Dr visits... Long story short, even thought he napped for 2 hours, I was on hold or calling someone for almost the whole time. So all I got done was putting the dirty dishes in the washer. I did get a chance to eat lunch though. Normally he wakes up or gets cranky so I have to hold him. Hmmm what a day. I may need to take a nap. For some reason I just haven't felt like I have rested enough lately. Maybe the lack of sleep is catching up to me.

John's dad's sister died on Monday from complications of rheumatoid arthritis she has had for many years. I'm sad that Brandon will never get to meet her but she was in so much pain she is in a better place now. And for that I am happy. This is the second family member of John's to pass since we have been together. His grandpa died the end of January the first year we dated. He was 92 I believe and had advanced Parkinson's disease. But John's aunt wasn't even 60 yet. It's strange to hear of mom and dad's friends their age who have had illnesses and have passed away. Scary to hear your dad has cancer. Seeing John's dad start to struggle with the affects of Parkinson's gives me a glimpse into what I may be helping John cope with years down the road.

2007-05-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

My son is addicted to Mylicon.... I think I have it figured out. Last night he slept from about 11:30pm to 7:15 this morning... Thank the Lord!!! Although it was a much quieter sleep last night I was of course still parinoid that he wasn't breathing so I would wake up just to be sure... and to go to the bathroom. He has a hard time settling down at night, around 9:30, about an hour before I start getting him ready for bed he gets so fussy and I can't figure out what is wrong. It took an hour of rocking, shhhing, feeding and holding to get him to fall asleep. So I give him some Mylicon and he likes that a lot, I put a drop or two on a pacifier and stick that in his mouth and that usually keeps him content for a while. So for the past couple of days I have been giving him, after each feeding while I change his diaper, a couple drops of it and he is happy as a clam. In fact, he is on the couch taking a good Saturday nap with daddy. He has been smiling much more and I even got him to laugh when I tickled him, which unto this point didn't know how to respond. He looked more confused than anything. He loves the Baby Einstein play mat that was given to him at the shower on Thursday. And the blanket that Toni crocheted for him is one of his new favorites too. We now have enough clothes for him to wear something different everyday for the whole 3-6 month period! All of the gifts were so great! And now to find the thank you cards I bought...
Tonight we are going to a friends fundraiser. She and her dad are going to Italy on a mission trip; this summer I think. Sounds tough huh? I would love to go to Italy, but I don't know, if I had to go for a mission I might be too distracted by everything that I want to see. I have wanted to go to Italy for years, or just Euope in general. I have never been. Maybe when the kids that I have yet to have are old enough we can all go as a big happy family.

2007-05-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

Celebrity Fit Club

I know most of you don't watch VH1 but there is a show on there late Sunday that I have been watching called Celebrity Fit Club. The contestants are celebrities that aren't in the lime light that much anymore and are there trying to loose weight... I hope that explains a lot. Well the majority of the people on there are fun to watch and get inspired by but one of them. I know most of you remember Screetch from Saved by the Bell. Well he is on there and is a jerk. I want to throw things at the t.v. when ever he is on and saying nasty things about everyone else. And he is very hypocrittical.... But luckily he decides to leave the show next week and I won't have to listed to him be nasty and negative. The diet coach on there has written a book and I am thinking about picking a copy up for me to read. I know I'm not supposed to diet while nursing Brandon but changing the way I eat is definately okay. Here are some great tips (100)from a book the show's nutritionist wrote:

1. Add just one fruit or veggie serving daily. Get comfortable with that, then add an extra serving until you reach 8 to 10 a day.

2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.

3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions--unless you want to supersize your clothes.

4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.

5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.

6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.

7. Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.

8. When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.

9. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.

10. See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.

11. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.

12. Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lb in a year.

13. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.

14. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.

15. Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.

16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."

17. Use mustard instead of mayo.

18. Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but low-cal.

19. Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.

20. Take your lunch to work.

21. Sit when you eat.

22. Dilute juice with water.

23. Have mostly veggies for lunch.

24. Eat at home.

25. Limit alcohol to weekends.

26. Have a V8 or tomato juice instead of a Diet Coke at 3 pm.

27. Doctor your veggies to make them delicious: Dribble maple syrup over carrots, and sprinkle chopped nuts on green beans.

28. Mix three different cans of beans and some diet Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.

29. Don't forget that vegetable soup counts as a vegetable.

30. Rediscover the sweet potato.

31. Use prebagged baby spinach everywhere: as "lettuce" in sandwiches, heated in soups, wilted in hot pasta, and added to salads.

32. Spend the extra few dollars to buy vegetables that are already washed and cut up.

33. Really hate veggies? Relax. If you love fruits, eat plenty of them; they are just as healthy (especially colorful ones such as oranges, mangoes, and melons).

34. Keep seven bags of your favorite frozen vegetables on hand. Mix any combination, microwave, and top with your favorite low-fat dressing. Enjoy 3 to 4 cups a day. Makes a great quick dinner.

35. "The best portion of high-calorie foods is the smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the largest one. Period."

36. "I'll ride the wave. My cravings will disappear after 10 minutes if I turn my attention elsewhere."

37. "I want to be around to see my grandchildren, so I can forgo a cookie now."

38. "I am a work in progress."

39. "It's more stressful to continue being fat than to stop overeating."

40. Skipping meals. Many healthy eaters "diet by day and binge by night."

41. Don't "graze" yourself fat. You can easily munch 600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing it.

42. Eating pasta like crazy. A serving of pasta is 1 cup, but some people routinely eat 4 cups.

43. Eating supersize bagels of 400 to 500 calories for snacks.

44. Ignoring "Serving Size" on the Nutrition Facts panel.

45. Snacking on bowls of nuts. Nuts are healthy but dense with calories. Put those bowls away, and use nuts as a garnish instead of a snack.

46. Thinking all energy bars and fruit smoothies are low-cal.

47. A smoothie made with fat-free milk, frozen fruit, and wheat germ.

48. The smallest fast-food burger (with mustard and ketchup, not mayo) and a no-cal beverage. Then at home, have an apple or baby carrots.

49. A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of 1 percent milk and an apple.

50. Precooked chicken strips and microwaved frozen broccoli topped with Parmesan cheese.

51. A healthy frozen entree with a salad and a glass of 1 percent milk.

52. Scramble eggs in a nonstick skillet. Pop some asparagus in the microwave, and add whole wheat toast. If your cholesterol levels are normal, you can have seven eggs a week!

53. A bag of frozen vegetables heated in the microwave, topped with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of chopped nuts.

54. Prebagged salad topped with canned tuna, grape tomatoes, shredded reduced-fat cheese, and low-cal Italian dressing.

55. Keep lean sandwich fixings on hand: whole wheat bread, sliced turkey, reduced-fat cheese, tomatoes, mustard with horseradish.

56. Heat up a can of good soup.

57. Cereal, fruit, and fat-free milk makes a good meal anytime.

58. Try a veggie sandwich from Subway.

59. Precut fruit for a salad and add yogurt.

60. Don't tell yourself, "It's okay, it's the holidays." That opens the door to 6 weeks of splurging.

61. Remember, EAT before you meet. Have this small meal before you go to any parties: a hardboiled Egg, Apple, and a Thirst quencher (water, seltzer, diet soda, tea).

62. As obvious as it sounds, don't stand near the food at parties. Make the effort, and you'll find you eat less.

63. At a buffet? Eating a little of everything guarantees high calories. Decide on three or four things, only one of which is high in calories. Save that for last so there's less chance of overeating.

64. For the duration of the holidays, wear your snuggest clothes that don't allow much room for expansion. Wearing sweats is out until January.

65. Give it away! After company leaves, give away leftover food to neighbors, doormen, or delivery people, or take it to work the next day.

66. Walk around the mall three times before you start shopping.

67. Make exercise a nonnegotiable priority.

68. Dance to music with your family in your home. One dietitian reported that when she asks her patients to do this, initially they just smile, but once they've done it, they say it is one of the easiest ways to involve the whole family in exercise.

69. Once in a while, have a lean, mean salad for lunch or dinner, and save the meal's calories for a full dessert.

70. Are you the kind of person who does better if you make up your mind to do without sweets and just not have them around? Or are you going to do better if you have a limited amount of sweets every day? One RD reported that most of her clients pick the latter and find they can avoid bingeing after a few days.

71. If your family thinks they need a very sweet treat every night, try to strike a balance between offering healthy choices but allowing them some "free will." Compromise with low-fat ice cream and fruit, or sometimes just fruit with a dollop of whipped cream.

72. Try 2 weeks without sweets. It's amazing how your cravings vanish.

73. Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in his diet doesn't have a raging sweet tooth.

74. Eat your sweets, just eat them smart! Carve out about 150 calories per day for your favorite sweet. That amounts to about an ounce of chocolate, half a modest slice of cake, or 1/2 cup of regular ice cream.

75. Try these smart little sweets: sugar-free hot cocoa, frozen red grapes, fudgsicles, sugar-free gum, Nutri-Grain chocolate fudge twists, Tootsie Rolls, and hard candy.

76. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The large majority of people who struggle with night eating are those who skip meals or don't eat balanced meals during the day. This is a major setup for overeating at night.

77. Eat your evening meal in the kitchen or dining room, sitting down at the table.

78. Drink cold unsweetened raspberry tea. It tastes great and keeps your mouth busy.

79. Change your nighttime schedule. It will take effort, but it will pay off. You need something that will occupy your mind and hands.

80. If you're eating at night due to emotions, you need to focus on getting in touch with what's going on and taking care of yourself in a way that really works. Find a nonfood method of coping with your stress.

81. Put a sign on the kitchen and refrigerator doors: "Closed after Dinner."

82. Brush your teeth right after dinner to remind you: No more food.

83. Eat without engaging in any other simultaneous activity. No reading, watching TV, or sitting at the computer.

84. Eating late at night won't itself cause weight gain. It's how many calories--not when you eat them--that counts.

85. Fat-free isn't always your best bet. Research has found that none of the lycopene or alpha- or beta-carotene that fight cancer and heart disease is absorbed from salads with fat-free dressing. Only slightly more is absorbed with reduced-fat dressing; the most is absorbed with full-fat dressing. But remember, use your dressing in moderate amounts.

86. Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning. To fill up healthfully and tastefully, try this sweet, fruity breakfast full of antioxidants. In a blender, process 1 c nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt, 1 1/3 c frozen strawberries (no added sugar), 1 peeled kiwi, and 1 peeled banana. Pulse until mixture is milkshake consistency. Makes one 2-cup serving; 348 calories and 1.5 fat grams.

87. If you're famished by 4 p.m. and have no alternative but an office vending machine, reach for the nuts--. The same goes if your only choices are what's available in the hotel minibar.

88. Next time you're feeling wiped out in late afternoon, forgo that cup of coffee and reach for a cup of yogurt instead. The combination of protein, carbohydrate, and fat in an 8-ounce serving of low-fat yogurt will give you a sense of fullness and well-being that coffee can't match, as well as some vital nutrients. If you haven't eaten in 3 to 4 hours, your blood glucose levels are probably dropping, so eating a small amount of nutrient-rich food will give your brain and your body a boost.

89. Making just a few changes to your pantry shelves can get you a lot closer to your weight loss goals. Here's what to do: If you use corn and peanut oil, replace it with olive oil. Same goes for breads--go for whole wheat. Trade in those fatty cold cuts like salami and bologna and replace them canned tuna, sliced turkey breast, and lean roast beef. Change from drinking whole milk to fat-free milk or low-fat soy milk. This is hard for a lot of people so try transitioning down to 2 percent and then 1 percent before you go fat-free.

90. Nothing's less appetizing than a crisper drawer full of mushy vegetables. Frozen vegetables store much better, plus they may have greater nutritional value than fresh. Food suppliers typically freeze veggies just a few hours after harvest, locking in the nutrients. Fresh veggies, on the other hand, often spend days in the back of a truck before they reach your supermarket.

91. Worried about the trans-fat content in your peanut butter? Good news: In a test done on Skippy, JIF, Peter Pan, and a supermarket brand, the levels of trans fats per 2-tablespoon serving were far lower than 0.5 gram--low enough that under proposed laws, the brands can legally claim zero trans fats on the label. They also contained only 1 gram more sugar than natural brands--not a significant difference.

92. Overeating is not the result of exercise. Vigorous exercise won't stimulate you to overeat. It's just the opposite. Exercise at any level helps curb your appetite immediately following the workout.

93. When you're exercising, you shouldn't wait for thirst to strike before you take a drink. By the time you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Try this: Drink at least 16 ounces of water, sports drinks, or juices two hours before you exercise. Then drink 8 ounces an hour before and another 4 to 8 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. Finish with at least 16 ounces after you're done exercising.

94. Tune in to an audio book while you walk. It'll keep you going longer and looking forward to the next walk--and the next chapter! Check your local library for a great selection. Look for a whodunit; you might walk so far you'll need to take a cab home!

95. Think yoga's too serene to burn calories? Think again. You can burn 250 to 350 calories during an hour-long class (that's as much as you'd burn from an hour of walking)! Plus, you'll improve muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance.

96. Drinking too few can hamper your weight loss efforts. That's because dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3 percent, or about 45 fewer calories burned a day, which in a year could mean weighing 5 pounds more. The key to water isn't how much you drink, it's how frequently you drink it. Small amounts sipped often work better than 8 ounces gulped down at once.

97. A registered dietitian (RD) can help you find healthy ways to manage your weight with food. To find one in your area who consults with private clients call (800) 366-1655.

98. The best place to drop pounds may be your own house of worship. Researchers set up healthy eating and exercise programs in 16 Baltimore churches. More than 500 women participated and after a year the most successful lost an average of 20 lb. Weight loss programs based on faith are so successful because there's a built-in community component that people can feel comfortable with.

99. Here's another reason to keep level-headed all the time: Pennsylvania State University research has found that women less able to cope with stress--shown by blood pressure and heart rate elevations--ate twice as many fatty snacks as stress-resistant women did, even after the stress stopped (in this case, 25 minutes of periodic jackhammer-level noise and an unsolvable maze).

100. Sitting at a computer may help you slim down. When researchers at Brown University School of Medicine put 92 people on online weight loss programs for a year, those who received weekly e-mail counseling shed 5 1/2 more pounds than those who got none. Counselors provided weekly feedback on diet and exercise logs, answered questions, and cheered them on. Most major online diet programs offer many of these features.

Copyright Rodale 2007

2007-04-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!!! For the first time in 4 weeks I actually got more than 4 hours of sleep!!! By the time I put Brandon down for the night it was 1:30am and he didn't wake up until 4:45 and I was back in bed just after 5 and I had to wake him up at 8 to feed him again. It was so nice to only have to wake up once last night to nurse him. Normally he fusses because his pacifier will fall out and wake him up or he is wide awake making all sorts of racket! I just hope there are more nights like that coming my way. But he did have a busy day yesterday. We were gone almost the whole day. We went to an Easter picnic that ended up not being a picnic cause of the rain, but an indoor luncheon instead.
From there we drove to Alyssa and Dan's house for the Roush Family Easter. We had Alyssa's tortellini Alfredo and zucchini bake and Mom brought KFC and I brought Trader Joe's orange chicken. It had to have been the most unhealthy meal I have eaten in a long time. There wasn't anything that wasn't fried or covered in cheese. It was tasty though... and for dessert Tami made a double threat chocolate cake with chocolate icing and Bavarian cream filling... After dinner the women and Dan with Hayden took a walk to the end of the street, about two miles round trip. I was surprised at how hard it was to keep up with everyone. But I did just have major surgery 4 weeks ago and I haven't had that much exercise for months. It was great to get out and see the area. I have never been to the end of the road and apparently the view there is beautiful. But by the time we made it, it was too dark to see anything. And by the time we arrived back at the house it was too dark to see the road. John and Aaron were taking advantage of the Xbox and playing some sort of "kill the other guy before he kills you" game. The kids were running around. We gathered everyone in the family room and played "Disney's Scene it" and surprisingly Aaron I think got most of the answers right. More than I thought he would. Mom handed out the Easter Baskets that she put together for the grandkids. Apparently she didn't think that Brandon needed to have any toys or candy like his older cousins.
Well I have to get to making some cookies to bring over to John's sister Gina's house this afternoon. John is still sleeping so I am gonna sneak in and take a shower while there is still hot water and Brandon is still asleep. Oops... Spoke too soon.

2007-04-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

Before lunch

Burping

After lunch

I can't believe that Brandon will be a month old in 6 days! Crazy crazy. Woah! Milk just shot out of his nose... Is that supposed to happen?

John and I bought a Land Rover on Sunday and he has been cleaning and repairing it since. I got to switch from the jeep to it today and I am very excited. It drives nice from what I have experienced. I have only driven it from the shop to the apartment so far and that is only about half a mile. It's a lot bigger/ wider than the jeep but its such a step up that I don't mind.

I have spent most of my morning (in between feedings) uploading and taking pictures of Brandon. I have figured out the way to use the camcorder as a camera. The digital camera that I have for some reason isn't recognized by the printer when I put the memory card in. And the pilot that we have is good but it's slow to take pictures, by the time you press the button it takes a picture a few seconds later. So I have been using the camcorder and soon I'm going to learn how to put video online too.

So Easter is this weekend and John and I are going to make the big drive to Aloah where his sister Gina and her family live. The food is always good and plentiful and I can't wait to have some family time with them. The only family on John's side that have seen Brandon are his parents and his niece Koren. So it'll be fun to have him meet everyone. Tomorrow Yvonne and Len (John's parent's best friends and neighbors) are having an Easter picnic and we are invited. Their nephew Jacob and his family are flying out from Pennsylvania so it will be nice to catch up with them too. Even though Jacob was just here a week ago, he was by himself.

Well, I should get going. I have a sink full of dishes and I need to make cookies for Easter dinner. I hope to get more time to blog so everyone can see how much Brandon has grown and so I can update you on what we are learning.

2007-03-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Weight loss... I have for most of my life been overweight. There was a time in my early 20's that I lost quite a bit of weight and became cute. But then I started to work in a restaurant. Not that the restaurant is to blame. I just have little self control when it comes to food. Food makes me feel happy, gives me something to do. I have always liked cooking and baking. During pregnancy, oh so long ago at 13 days, I felt that I could eat what I wanted, after all, I am sure there was someone out there who had eaten worse than me, so I shouldn't feel bad. I was pregnant and entitled to eat what I wanted. I lived on processed food. Macaroni and cheese and Ramen noodles were a staple in my pantry. Oreo's, Cheetos, and peanut buttercups. French fries and ice cream.

My weight went up to 235lbs. big surprise right. I had gained over 60 pounds. And especially since I was overweight to begin with, (I was 168 at my first prenatal appointment) that number should have been quite lower. Last week a couple of days after my delivery, I was down to 218 having a 10 pound baby guaranteed I lost at least that much... The next day I had gone up to 222. Now tell me how that happens? I had been stuck at the hospital eating their food, following their guidelines for water intake and activity. I was stuck in bed except for going to the nursery to nurse Brandon and going to the bathroom. But I still gained 4 pounds. My legs and feet were so swollen. My hands and face seemed to go down and I didn't look so puffy. People who came to visit would tell me I looked better. I don't understand.
I was then put on blood pressure medication Thursday and it started to stabilize things and I eventually started to have some progress. I checked my b.p. on Monday at one of those machines you find in pharmacies and I can't quite remember but the numbers fit in the high normal range.

But 10 days later after delivery I am happy to say that I currently weigh 200.5 lbs. I can see the the bones in my feet and ankles again! I still have a long way to go. My goal is to be 100lbs lighter than my pre-delivery weight to about 135. I'm giving myself 9 months to a year to get it off. The saying goes, "It took 9 months to gain the weight, expect it to take just as long to take it off."
When I lost weight before it didn't take nearly that long. But I wasn't as heavy as I am now. I looked really heavy, I weighed 180 at my highest. I have a picture of me the summer before I took off all the weight from Aaron and Tami's wedding in 1998. Don't you find it strange to look at photos of yourself and not remembering being that big. It wasn't until I took off all the weight that I could see that I was so overweight. Now that I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was at my heaviest point and I don't feel like I look that heavy. Well, wish me luck. I will try to keep everyone posted on Brandon health and achievements and my weight loss.

2007-03-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

We were able to come home yesterday and it had been so great! Now I really feel like a Mommy. I didn't have anyone here to call me to come and feed Brandon. It was so nice. As soon as we came home I took him to his room and nursed. I just sat there and felt such a great peace. My family was home. I started to cry because I feel so lucky to have him. I know I am still hormonal but these were genuine tears of Joy! John unloaded the car, it took about 4 trips to get all the great gifts that were given to us while we were there. Thanks to everyone who came down and brought food and company! It is truly comforting feeling that loved. After he was done eating I came into the living room and let him try out is bouncer. He seemed to like it. I sat on the couch catching up on e-mail and the like while John went to the store so he could cook dinner. Spaghetti! I didn't have much to eat that day, a couple bites of an old cinnamon roll and some popcorn. It was after 5 and I just didn't have the energy to keep my eyes open. John is a master spaghetti maker, it was so tasty. But just as I had gotten a few bites in me Brandon decided he needed to eat again. So John finished the plate he made me while I fed Brandon. It's so nice not having a room full of people that I don't know grabbing my breast and showing me how to hold him and to get him to latch on properly. Don't get me wrong, they were truly an asset to have but to know that I can do it on my own now makes me feel so good.
When he finished I handed him to John so he could be burped and so I could get something to eat. A bit later Toni text my phone and asked what we were doing. I responded and two minutes later she and Chuckie were at the door. They were just down the road and stopped by to visit shortly. They were here for about half and hour to an hour and left for home. We introduced Brandon to 007 last night and watched the latest James Bond movie. It was pretty good, strange beginning but good in the end. After a changed diaper and into a sleeper I put Brandon to bed around 8:30 and started to get ready for bed myself. I looked at the kitchen and knew I shouldn't start cleaning it up, I think the "nesting" part of pregnancy had been a little delayed and kicked in when I came home. I crawled into bed around 9 and just melted. I missed sleeping in my bed so much. To my surprise Brandon fell asleep with out much fuss. John crawled into bed around 11 after he finished watching another movie. Brandon needed a changed diaper and another feeding. Soon I was back in my warm bed with my two favorite guys. It was a great day!

2007-03-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is the extremely short version of the birth and up to today. I keep remembering details. It's a lot easier for me to say it than to remember it and type it out. Monday and Tuesday are such a blur... I don't remember much after the delivery.

To give a little background, this little stinker was a breach baby, we tried doing a version but it didn't work. So we scheduled a c-section for Monday the 12th.

First, it took 2 nurses and 4 attempts to get the i.v. in and started. Then I was wheeled into the o.r. to get the spinal and after 2 attempts that didn't work, I had to be put under... Not a good start. So what seemed like 2 minutes later I was waking up in the post op room and all I really remember is the staff running around and asking me questions. It was so weird, I didn't know what I had yet (surprise baby) but I wasn't pregnant and I didn't have the baby with me... They soon rolled me into my room and someone mentioned that my mom was waiting for me and I just start bawling. I was so emotional. I didn't know what was going on. As soon as I got in the room my husband came in and said that we had a beautiful baby boy!!! I was so happy! I started crying some more. I get told a little about the birth, he was 9lbs 15.5 oz and 19 1⁄4 inches long. Such a big boy! no wonder he didn't turn! it turns out that he had his cord around his neck and it also had a knot in it. So even if I were to deliver vaginally he would have most likely died. The Lord works in mysterious ways. He was so blue it took a bit of time to turn pink. He had quite a bit of fluid in his lungs and was taken to the level II nursery so he could have round the clock supervision. He was having trouble breathing and would continue to turn blue. We had tons of tests done and not to drag this out any further it turns out that he just needed a little more practice with the whole breathing thing. I ended up getting put on Magnesium and had extreemly high blood pressure. So I didn't get discharged until Friday but I'm staying in the hospital so I can be close to him and breastfeed. He ended up getting jaundice, so on the third day he was put under the billi lights and has been having treatments ever since but he is getting off them today and if he goes through today with out any problems then we get to take him home tomorrow. He has been doing really well the last couple of days with no problems what so ever. He looks just like his daddy, and just the most precious thing I have ever known. Good Luck to all the other March Mommies and to everyone else.

2007-03-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the big day and it probably will be a while before I have a chance to write again... I mean if I have this much trouble before I have a baby on my hip 24/7... how much time will I have after? I will try to write as much as possible. We might take the laptop to the hospital but I doubt we will have an internet connection there. But who knows. John and I spent the day yesterday apart. He was at the shop until about 9 and I was home by myself hoping he was on his way... But he just wanted to be as caught up as possible before this week. He's taking monday and tuesday off and will be in and out of the shop the rest of the week, just to make sure everything is going smoothly. So he'll be doing a lot of driving back and forth... I hope that I'll be released from the hospital by thursday. I can't wait to meet Peanut. My emotions are like a rollercoaster. I was thinking today that by this time tomorrow I won't be pregnant anymore and I got a little sad. I kinda liked having the baby all to myself. But I have to realize that John wants some Peanut time too and I'm sure so does everyone else.... I don't think there is much more room inside either. Last night John and I woke up around the same time. I had to pee and couldn't get back to sleep. I heard him grab his water so I knew he was awake and we talked a little while. We both had been tossing and turning for a while. I was starving and even though it was 5 in the morning I decided to get up and get a bowl of chereos. I don't like eating at night but lately I'll get so hungry at night that I'll just get restless and not be able to fall asleep again. And just like magic, as soon as I get back in bed I'm out like a light. Well, John and I plan on getting to bed around 8 tonight so when we wake up at 4:30 we will hopefully have gotten enough sleep to help us through the day.
I hope everyone will be praying for us and I will try to keep everyone caught up on what's going on. Good night!

2007-03-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

Well to update everyone on how the version went I will tell you what happend. John and I arrived at the hospital at 7am and the nuses thought were supposed to be there at 8 so we sat in the waiting room for about 20 minutes and we were then sent to our room for the day. I filled out some paperwork and changed into the lovely hospital gown. Dr. Drake came in and felt around my abdomen to make sure the baby was still head up. The nurse that was assigned to me, Beth, was great! She hooked me up to the fetal monitor and the contraction monitor. At first we couldn't find the heartbeat where we had found it the day before, up above my bellybutton, but today it was where it should have been... below. So we brought in the sonogram machine and it was pretty ancient but it did the job. the head was definately down. Durring my stay, waiting for the proceedure to start Dr. Drake came in and let us know that it will be a bit longer, there was a woman who was only 33 weeks along but 6cm dialated. And as you can imagine had priority over me. I could not imagine what she must be going through. So we got started when the doctor came back. He checked by ultrasound where the baby was, my placenta, which was the baby was facing. Dr. Drake then said a quick prayer for us and the baby and we got started. He put a lot of that ky type gel on my stomach and started to push the baby's bottom out of my pelvis. That didn't feel too horrible. But when he started to pull the baby's head down, it was excruciating. Beth held one hand and John held the other and she kept reminding me to breathe. He was able to move the baby a little bit one way but didn't want to risk hurting the baby or me more. So he went the other way and the baby moved more the other direction but not nearly enough to make the baby "head down". I was able to tollerate the pain a lot better than I thought, I'm just wondering how close pain wise was what that felt like to contractions. I did pretty welll, it was terrible and I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to do that for more than an hour... without drugs.
So the only other alternative to getting this baby out is a c-section. The hospital won't deliver breach babies naturally beacuse of the risks... especially for first time mom's. So the date is set for me to have the c-section on Monday the 12th 7:45 am. I was required to stay a couple more hours hooked up to the monitors. I kept having contractions and it took quite a while for the baby's heartrate to get back to where it should be. Baby didn't like all that pushing and pulling. After the baby was doing well they fed me. John fell asleep watching a hockey game so I was stuck eating my hospital lunch and watching the redwings and colorado not score any goals. The nuse came in checked the baby and said that we could leave at 11:00am.
It felt good to get up after, I had to go to the bathroom so bad. We waited for the wheelchair to be brought up and escort us to the car. We stopped off and got something for John to eat at Panda express and were on our way home. I woke up quite a bit after I was able to move around a bit. My stomach was really tender and it hurt to do much. We came home and just crashed on the couch. We finished watching one of the movies we rented. Around 2:00 we headed for bed and took a nice nap, I slept with out waking up for 2 1/2 hours. I haven't slept that long for months. And probably won't for a few more...

2007-03-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Well I had my 38 week appointment today and since my appoiontment last Monday the baby decided to be a brat and flip. The doctor was doing his routine heartbeat check and when he couldn't' find it he moved the Doppler near the top of my abdomen and there it was. I knew what that meant. I just read about breech babies the night before... isn't that ironic. Last Monday baby was head down. I would have assumed that I would have felt the baby flipping... But like Clifford says you know what happens when you assume... You make an ass out of u and me. So now instead of being head down it is now head up feet up in the "Frank breech" position... So Sunday morning at 7 we will check into the Labor & delivery ward of Portland Adventist and try to turn the baby by External Cephalic Version. If it is successful then we will be okay, but there are risks involved and I may be having this baby on Sunday or scheduling a cesarean section. Just pray that if I do, and there is a very very small chance that I will, need a c-section then everything will turn out okay and the baby is healthy.

As I was telling John today, while he was flushing a transmission, he didn't seem concerned about not being able to sleep in on Sunday but when I told him that we might have the baby this Sunday he got a little excited. "This Sunday!?!?!?" Well we only have two left before the baby is officially due so there aren't too many left. He has been making comments about how much he wants to hold the baby. It must be hard for someone to love something so much and now be able to have physical contact with them. I told him that he can hold the baby as much as he wants after s/he's born. We have everything ready as far as what we'll need for the first couple of weeks. Lots of blankets and enough clothes to last us until we can make it out and buy something pink or blue. During the ultrasound today i thought I may have seen a "hot dog" but it could have been anything. I couldn't really see the screen and he was moving the detector thing around so much i couldn't see anything for long.

So that is what is going on. I was thinking it might be nice to go into labor tomorrow as it is a full moon but, now that the idea that I may actually have this baby this weekend, it's freaking me out! I will call Shannon and let her know what is going on and she can tell everyone else whether or not Peanut is here. But don't expect a personal phone call from me... I have no idea what my emotions will be like until later and if they are anything like they have been today I'll be crying... then happy and then hungry, then angry until i get something to eat in me. Wish me and Peanut luck!

2007-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Still cookin'

The final product

Oh my goodness. Does this turkey look good or what?!?! I am so excited! I followed this recipe and so far so good. It doesn't say anything about basting it but I just did hoping that it isn't ruined... It would be funny though if my first turkey turned out to be a National Lampoon Christmas Vacation turkey... I will let everyone know how wonderful it is later... I made some mashed potatoes, stuffing and a little gravy... It's a little dark looking. Not sure why.

I saw a picture of a baby that was due the day before "Peanut" that was born yesterday and it he was so cute and big! It's really hiting me now that labor and delivery are just around the corner. I can't believe that the due date is so soon. 15 more days and a couple hours left to go!!! My next appointment is on Friday and hopefully the doctor will be able to tell me some good news about my blood pressure and that the baby is doing okay. Well, it's time to eat. John just got home and out of the shower so I will say goodnight!

2007-02-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

hmmm, I think I have an idea to whom you mean.... But I will also let her remain nameless... at the doctor appt. yesterday my blood preassure was up again. high. 140/80... and i gained 6 pounds in a week!!! how does that happen. there's no room for food anymore so where did it come from? Dr says that to gain that much weight in a short time means that I most likely am reataining that much water, my left foot gets really swollen and my hands and forearms tend to get this tight feeling in them as the day goes on... He had me go to the lab to get more blood drawn and said he would call me by 8 last night if there was a problem. He didn't so I am glad to not hear that. I might have pregnancy induced hypertension... which is basicly high blood pressure caused by the pregnancy. I have read a little bit about that and the only "cure" is to have the baby. To get induced when the baby's is 37 weeks wich is Saturday. Amber jokingly said I couldn't have the baby until saturday and that ya'll would go to the hospital and finish the shower there if I went into labor!!! I thought that would be funny! The doctor also estimated that I will have a big baby. He said atleast 8.5lbs +. So if that's the case I want to have this baby before it get's any bigger! Can you imagine? How big was Carson? John seems to not think it's a big deal. Yeah, that's cause it isn't getting pushed out of him! Dr said that if it were up to men that they would have one baby and be done with it! I can feel the baby moving almost all day long. most of my clothes don't fit anymore and I hate going out. Running out of breath and being hot all the time. Last night I actually was cold though. Probably cause it was raining so much and we have the heat off at the apartment. So i turned it on and sat on the couch letting it warm me up. and our bedroom is cold too. we never turn the heat on in there, so John's cold feet were on my warm legs, trying to regulate the tempurature under the sheets! I went pee 7 times from the time i went to bed until the time I got up, I swear i need an extra hour of sleep from all the waking up I do at night. I lost some or all of my mucus plug and have been having bloody show for almost a week now... I am 1 cm dialated and I could have sworn he said 50% effaced but I could be dreaming about that last part. I go in on Monday again for my normal appointment unless I go into labor. I have't had any real contractions yet. I get crampy, but I don't know how to time them and they aren't offen enought that I need to. Peanut has the hiccups right now and my fingers are getting sore from typing. So I'm going to rest and think of hostess gifts for the ladies that are planning the shower this weekend. What would be a great gift. I have to buy something for 4 people. two have been doing most of the work. I have no idea what to do.

2007-02-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's. That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States.Here are this year's winners:

5th Place (tie): Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

5th Place (tie): 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

5th Place (tie): Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.

4th Place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.

3rd Place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

2nd Place: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.

1st Place: This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game). Having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

2007-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

At yesterdays appointment my blood presure was still on the high side so I was sent to the lab afterward to have blood drawn to test for pregnancy induced hypertension. Everything else at the appointment was fine, baby is doing well, hearbeat was at 164bpm. 45 days to go!!! Part of my mucus plug came out last night... apparently it will regenerate itself, I don't think I'm close to going into labor yet. And apparently it can take anywhere from three weeks till delivery for it all to come out and even then that isn't an absolute that I'll be going into labor... Peanut has the hiccups again!!! Sometimes I'll just be standing or walking and it feels like the baby is trying to push a foot through my cervix and it gets pretty uncomfortable.
I am training the new hostess who will be taking my place when I leave and it's been a good experience so far. She's smart and doesn't seem shy about jumping in and learning. Which makes my job a lot easier! It's very strange to think about not going to work anymore. I'm glad but I think after the second week of being home alone all day I'll start to miss it...

On Sunday we were supposed to go to our birthing class but John's shoulder has been bothering him and thought it would be better if we sat this week out so he could rest. So I spent the evening finishing cleaning out the baby's room and I even rearranged the "furnitre". I moved the craddle back into the room and moved the spare bed against the other wall, then set the craddle next to it. I'm not too sure how I want it to be set up yet. We might even keep the computer in the room if we can find a smaller desk. The one we have now takes up too much space. Then I moved the printer hutch thing into the closet and John wheeled the cabenet into the hall closet and I'll put my books on that. It's strange having this much room in here now. But it will be filled with baby stuff in a matter of weeks.

Toni and Alyssa are throwing me a shower in a little less than three weeks and then the next weekend Shannon and Lauren from work are giving me a shower. Then Peanut will be due in three weeks after that! I need to get going. My new favorite show is going to be on in a few minutes... Oh and John is going to get a phone hooked up finally for our apartment. I'll be sure to give ya'll my number when we have it.

2007-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I was going to breeze through this pregnancy with out any stretch marks.... Yesterday they reared their ugly head. I have been keeping an eye out for them. I have had stretch marks since 7th grade other places so I was surprised that I hadn't gotten any considering my belly was getting as big as it is. I would check my belly out every day, different lighting, checking under my bellybutton cause I can't really see it any more on my own. And lo and behold I discovered a couple on the right side and one or two on my left. I don't really notice them if I look in the mirror, I have to tilt the hand mirror underneath and let the light hit just right for them to be seen. Which is a good thing.... My left foot has decided to get swollen. I remember Alyssa and her swollen feet. But it was summer time and the heat makes mama's more susceptible to that. I was working on the baby's room all day yesterday. I washed all the gender neutral clothing and all the baby blankets that I have received from John's grandma and others. I went through all the boxes that were on the bed, and John is going take them out to the trash and Goodwill. Right now I have a serious case of heartburn but we are out of milk so I might be forced to take a tums. I have heard that the calcium in tums won't always break down and can cause stones... So I try to think of other methods to tame my burning throat. Milk is what does it for me and we have been out since yesterday morning after my cereal. I was supposed to go shopping but I hate having to bring in all the bags myself, and John didn't get home until after 6 last night so I just decided not to go...I still have a huge thing of laundry detergent in the back of my jeep that I bought last week on Tuesday. I suppose I could bring it in but I don't wanna.

Hmmm what else?

This is the last week that I'll be at work. And it couldn't come soon enough. Not that I won't miss it, but really, I would much rather not sit in traffic for 40 minutes everyday and then be uncomfortable at work for more than 6 hours. And then to drive home late and John being to tired to have a conversation with me. When I get out of the car my body is so achy from work that I hobble down the pathway and feel like collapsing.

Well, John and I are going to be moving the computer into the bedroom and cleaning out the baby's room. Maybe we can order the crib and get all the baby furniture taken care of my first week off. To get a changing table or not? I would like one that doubles as a dresser, John's folks have one they bought and repaired for us but it's stained a dark cherry so I think I'll move the white dresser I have been using into the baby's room and attach a changing pad to that... And use the dark one in our room. I don't know how I'll get all my clothes in that one though, it's a lot smaller.

Hmmm we'll see how that works!

2007-01-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the TV is so delightful, and since we've got work to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

For the first time in my 5 1/2 years working at the hotel and every year having so battle through the wintry storms I decided with much convincing from Toni and my mom that due to my pregnancy and the fact that it took 4 hours for me to get to work last year in these conditions, I decided to call off from work. It was really hard for me to do. I know how hectic the restaurant gets with grumpy travelers who can't catch their flights or get to their destination in Portland once they land. And of course there is no other option for food either. They can't get out and we can't get staff in. It's just terrible for 6-7 hours. A couple years ago I ended up staying in the hotel for 4 days straight working the breakfast and dinner shifts. I ended up talking to many local folks who had come home to the terrible weather conditions. One couple lived in Gresham but the roads were so bad and no one could come and get them, they were stuck in the hotel for a few unexpected nights. John was busy pulling out stranded people with his blazer that he had then and had fun running all over on the icy abandoned streets. He finally came to visit me in the hotel and we had a good time catching up over lunch. But I needed to go to bed so I would be productive during the dinner shift and he needed to pick his dad up from work at the airport. So we said our good byes and continued on with our day. The next year he took me to work and picked me up. But back then we both lived a lot closer to the hotel and wasn't a big deal. This year, John is going to still take me to work and pick me up, it just might take a little longer than before. Depending on traffic, most days it takes me 30-40 minutes, but with the weather it may take more time. But I am thinking there won't be nearly as many cars as usual.

And luckily for some citezens of Clackamas County John willingly took out his duce and was able to pull people out of ditches and such for a good part of yesterday. He didn't even charge people for it. Well one he did but he had to pull the same car out twice.

Apparently he even got rearended but didn't feel it. But did it do a number to the other man's car. He was mad and accusing John of not having break lights, so John showed him. He was driving so close to John that he couldn't see him. Talk about idiots. Who in their right mind drives up close to other cars when the roads are so slick. John got him to calm down and they went on their way. He even made a stop off at Wendy's for a bite to eat for lunch. I think, no, I'm sure that if I let him we would make that our family vehicle. Not a chance!

I had an appointment to see the doctor this morning at 10:30 but I called in and cancelled. I will be seeing the doctor on Monday anyway to follow up my UTI and don't think a few more days would make a difference. Surprisingly the office was open today. I hope the staff didn't have to stay the night in one of the hospital rooms... I wonder what they do to keep staff there. I work in a hotel so it isn't unusual for staff to stay the night in these conditions, but do they stay at the hospital??? A question that I will have to ask on Monday.

Our child birthing class went well on Sunday. My assignment is to bring a focal point for the delivery. Something larger than my fist. I'm thinking about taking one of the baby's ultrasound pictures. The one of the profile. I can't think of a better thing to concentrate on than the baby, and at that point I'm sure I'll be more motivated to push 'em out so I can hold my little Peanut. I am in the process of thinking about what I need to pack for me and the baby for the hospital. I have read several lists but have heard from women that half the stuff is provided by the hospital and not to worry about forgetting something.

2007-01-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

Well I bought a memory card for the digital camera and took a belly shot so I could post it and show those I haven't seen since Christmas how big I am getting. But, for some reason the printer is having difficulties reading the card. And not just mine but the other cards we have, I had to check just to be sure. And yes, I am getting huge.

(Notice the hand in front of the face. This is my morning after waking up so no makeup and definate bed head, but, also notice I haven't gotten any stretch marks, knock on wood, so that is one positive about this picture)

I am due in 59 days. And that seems a bit unreal to me yet. I know it's coming but being busy with work and the reconstruction of our living room I haven't really had the time to fix up the back room. We have a lot more floor room than before and I'm almost wondering if we should use the closet for the baby at all. Not that baby's clothes will take up a lot of room but everything else that goes with baby does. John's folks and his grandma purchases a little dresser that will be perfect for the baby, not too big but big enough. I have boxes of books and stuff from who knows where that I need to go through and that will be my big project to finish after I am done working. I have just under three weeks left. I am happy and a little sad. I had a dream the other night that I was yelling at John because I was so bored being home all day long by myself... It made me realize that I may get bored but to enjoy the alone time that I have left. Reading Alyssa's blog opened my eyes and helped me remember all the times that I snuck into mom and dad's room when I had a nightmare. I would sleep on mom's side or in the middle. I even remember needing to wake mom up so she could stand by the door at night so I could go to the bathroom. I had a horrible feeling that I would either be eaten by a monster or a burglar. So the sleepless nights don't end when your child is sleeping through the night... Drats!
It's snowing outside and if I take pictures of it I will post them on here once I figure out how to get the card read. Well I need to get ready for the day. Toni invited me over for chicken enchiladas and even though it is snowing I will drive over for those, she has assured me that they taste good... I also need to get a bra with no wire in it. It's either rubbing my belly or poking me in the armpit and it's driving me nuts. But on the bright side I don't have any stretch marks and my feet haven't swollen too bad. I think the cold weather is helping in that department.

2007-01-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday was a very eventful day. I had been spotting a tiny amount of blood and it looked old and the doctor said on Wednesday that it was most likely from intercourse.... So I didn't think anything of it. I went to mom and dad's house after my appointment because I hate being home alone. I was a little crampy and my sides were achy... But I thought that it was just growing pains, I kept feeling Peanut moving around and knew that the baby was fine. After all I just came from the doctor. The achy and crampyness continued through the night and the next morning I woke up to go to the bathroom and there was bright pink blood on the tissue. I knew that something wasn't right, Dr. Drake told me to call him if anything changed. I called the office and they told me to go to the hospital's labor and delivery unit... I (secretly) started to panic ... John offerd to take me but I didn't want him to worry. The drive there was agonizing. I hadn't felt the baby move all morning so I was getting freaked out!
I got to the hospital with no problem. Finding the L&D was a whole other story. when I did find it I was placed in an exam room and asked to pee in a cup. then I was hooked up to a fetal heart monitor and contraction monitor. The doctor came in and asked me standard questions. As soon as I was strapped in Peanut started to wake up and bounce all around. It's kinda funny but peanut does that at the doctor's office when we're checking the heartbeat. It made me feel so much better seeing all the movement. I was on the monitor for a little more than an hour and had one contraction durring that time. They tested my urine and it turns out I have a Urinary Tract infection which is very comon in pregnancy. That is most likely where the blood came from and the cramping. It didn't and hasn't hurt to pee so I didn't think that was possible. But I have been put on pelvic rest until Monday and told to drink plenty of water... not my favorite beverage and to take a huge horse pill twice a day. I have a follow up appointment on Monday to make sure I'm improving. Apparently UTI's can cause kidney problems and lead to premature labor... John was thrilled that this was all that was wrong and so was I. I would rather be uncomfortable for a week (or 40) than have something wrong with the baby.
Today we are getting a new dishwasher put in and I can't wait. They just came to inspect the wall where all the water damage had been and I showed them the spot of new mildew from the upstairs neighbors pipes. They told me that our pipes were connected and they will be checking for leaks in the upstairs apartment too. I just hope all this chaos is over intime for us to "nest". we have to get rid of a love seat and make room for the computer desk. I am debating whether or not I want to have the baby in our room or just to have shim in the next room the whole time. I suppose that's something we'll have to decide when the baby gets here. Ten weeks as of today! It still seems unreal to me that I have a baby inside me. I guess it won't seem real until I'm holding our baby in my arms and try to see what parts look like me and John.

2006-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

~*~Trimester Month Week Countdown~*

~FIRST TRIMESTERMonth One (1-4): COMPLETE!!

Month Two (5-8): COMPLETE!!

Month Three (9-13): COMPLETE!!

SECOND TRIMESTER

Month Four (14-17): COMPLETE!!

Month Five (18-21): COMPLETE!!

Month Six (22-26): COMPLETE!!

THIRD TRIMESTER

Month Seven (27-30):IN PROGRESS!!

Month Eight (31-35): SOON TO COME!!

Month Nine (36-40): SOON TO COME!!

I can't believe that I'm this close...12 more weeks until my due date... I just hope Peanut decides to come ontime...

YEAH!!! they are done installing our carpet... it looks so pretty now. John and Erik came over and I decided since we have a clean slate to reaarange it differently... There seems to be a bit more room now and it's more open. I would take pictures but I have no idea where our camera is. I will have John take some belly shots of me... Goodness. I have a definate belly now... there is no denying my abs of steel. only problem is that instead of a 6 pack I have a pony keg....

2006-12-20T12:02:00.000-08:00

Friday, December 22, 2006

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet... I have just been not able to get my thoughts together... On Sunday John discovered that we had a leak in the kitchen... So Monday came and Tuesday came and finally on Wednesday the plumber came to fix our sink at 8 in the morning... And as you know, John and I are not morning people. How can you be when I don't get home till midnight from work??? Then around 11:30 the drywall guy came and patched up the hole in the wall... Thursday came and I had to be at work for a meeting and the painter was supposed to come sometime between 9-4. Well I wasn't about to wait all day for him to get here so I left early and hung out at mom and dad's house. When I got home from scrambling to find lift tickets for John to go skiing on Meadows (no luck) we had a note on our door reminding us that we needed to have all our furniture moved out of our living and dining areas so they can quickly replace our carpet.... Well It's now 11:30 and they aren't even here yet. I can't get ready for work. My uniform is in the wash and if I had a camera I would show you how accessible that is. the couches are standing up on end, my bathroom has that gigantic cross and our coffee table and misc boxes in it, Our kitchen has our pantry shelves, table and chairs and all the groceries and tins that I didn't get put away... I haven't had anything to eat since before 8 last night and I'm ravishing... I might just walk to McDonald's. I can't get to my bathroom, or the kitchen, I can take a shower in the master bath but to get ready to go anywhere is impossible. This is just getting a bit ridiculous!!!

So last night was John's 30th birthday and some friends took us out for dinner. We came home and started destroying the apartment.... Trying to squeeze as much as i could in as little space I was scooting the bookshelf closer to the bathroom and my shelf that Alyssa gave me years ago that had all my precious wedding keepsakes on it fell to the ground and broke... And this is after John accidentally laid the couch leg against the wall crushing a porcelain cross Toni bought for our wedding.... I lost it. This is the tip of the ice burg for me.... All the crap that happened last summer with the bugs and the painting and the upstairs neighbors bathtub leaking through the ceiling.... And now this, the week before Christmas. Andrea, Have you been able to make cookies yet?? NO, I haven't been able to use the kitchen for most of the week. Have you had time to get the baby's room ready. No, I haven't had time, I was too busy mopping up the gallons of water that spilled out of our sink and washing the towels to do that on a daily basis..... ARG!!!

Well the carpet installers just showed up and quoted an hour and a half. If everything turns out okay then John and Eric can move the furniture back and I might be able to eat something before I go to work!!! And then I read last night that if we are planning on installing new carpet for the nursery don't do it while I'm home because of the new carpet fumes.... well Sherlock... Where shall I go? There are carpet installers blocking our doorways with padding and old carpet and they must be glueing something, It smells like a hot glue gun.... Prisoner in my own home. Well, I am gonna stop complaining and read about how big peanut is and what miseries are in store for me this week. Getting my shoes on is a challenge, going to the bathroom is getting very interesting.... I am starving all the time and Peanut is kicking the crap out of my cervix.... And they wonder why pregnant women have mood swings so often.

2006-12-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Andrea!!! When can we get together and celebrate your birthday?

2006-11-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

23 week pictures (notice the pink bra and underwear???)

15 weeks
I didn't realize I was holding my boob in both pictures until they were already on here... compare it to my 15 week belly shot. I think I have a little more pigment in that picture too... But I'm sure that it's the lighting and not the fact that I lack pigment...
Well, I have 119 more days until my due date. Apparently only 5-10% of women deliver on their due dates... And labor tends to be about 3 times longer for first time moms than for moms who have deliverd before... So instead of a "short" 7 hour labor, I'm looking at somwhere between 20-24 hours!!! But as many of you have already been through this I am sure that's it will be well worth it. John is still trying to convince me that we are going to have ten kids. He is seriously delusional. Thanksgiving is coming up next week and John will be taking off a couple days next week. I just called work and I have it off so that will be great!
Last night I attemped for the third time to make Petit Fours. They turned out as expected. The Poured fondant was made from the Decorette Shops dry fondant mix, but I have read about making it yourself which might be just as easy and if not atleast more affordable. I was curious of people's oppinions on them, when you bite into them is the "covering" crunchy or is it a little softer??? I can't seem to remeber. All the times I have made them it's crunchy. But I seem to remember having one at work comercially made and it was a quite a bit softer. Kinda like the coating on a Hoho or Little Debbie snack cake. Wilton has a couple recipies for covering them and in one they use the candy melts and vegetable oil. That to me sounds like it would be creamier and a little softer. Others have suggested the melts and cream or half n half. I'm just desperate enough to try all of them. I don't really mind that they take forever. I think they are so cute that's they're worth it. I bought different colors for Christmas and with any luck we will be able to have some by Thanksgiving. I would love to bring some, only if they turn out though. I might just get so fed up with little cakes that I'll go crazy. Well the time is now 3:21 and I have to leave for work in 40 minutes. I'll see everyone at Becca's birthday tomorrow!

2006-11-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share the ulrasound pictures of "Peanut" that we had taken at our last appointment. It's hard to tell but s/he's really cute!!!

2006-11-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

~*~Trimester Month Week Countdown~*~
FIRST TRIMESTER
Month One (1-4): COMPLETE!!
Month Two (5-8): COMPLETE!!
Month Three (9-13): COMPLETE!!
SECOND TRIMESTER
Month Four (14-17): COMPLETE!!
Month Five (18-21): COMPLETE!!
Month Six (22-26): IN PROGRESS!!
THIRD TRIMESTER
Month Seven (27-30):SOON TO COME!!
Month Eight (31-35): SOON TO COME!!
Month Nine (36-40): SOON TO COME!!

"To understand your parents' love, you must raise children yourself." ~ Chinese Proverb

Where has the time gone. It seems like I was just finding out we were pregnant and now I'm almost 2/3 done!!! John and I are going to the "Weekend to Remember" conference this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing him. You know for more than 5 minutes a day. I have to figure out a way that I can have one weekend day off. This is driving me crazy. On a happier note, I will only be working for about 3 more months, maybe less if I can get all my Paid Time Off. I have over 110 hours that I have to use before I leave or I'm afraid I'll loose them. That's almost 4 weeks in three months. Amber will be thrilled!!! NOT!

2006-11-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Mama Cimino's out for the count!!!

I woke up this morning just before 3 and my stomach decided to vacate my body. With out getting too graphic, I lost over 4 pounds... use your imagination if it helps.

So today was the big ultrasound... and It's a BABY!!! whoo hoooo. For a while there it felt like a tiny bucking bronco, so i wasn't sure! Glad we checked on that before Peanut was born. That would have been a supprise! It was amazing seeing Peanut moving around and kicking, the tech said that s/he is very active and kicking a lot. We saw tiny feet, and arms and hands that waved to us. Peanut was even sucking his/her thumb in a few shots. As soon as I can I will scan the pictures in and show everyone. Normally I would be on the way to mom and dad's house to update them, but seeing as I think I have now what Dad and all the babies had, I think I'll keep this "Diet" to myself. Unfortunately we were not able to video tape it like I wanted. The tech explained that it's to do with malpractce and people useing it to sue. For whatever reason.... Yadda yadda yadda.
So I might wander to Albertsons and pick up some jello and more broth, I only have the "seasoning" packets from some ramen to use as broth and it's realy not that good unless there's noodles and some sirachi in it. I will try to post more when I get better and I will get the pictures up soon.

2006-11-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

I am so bad at this blogging thing. At first I was really excited but then I just get caught up in all the other things that I do online and this seems to be the last thing I think of. I bought an antena for our tv and we get a couple channels. Right now there isn't anything on but football. Not that that's bad, I just don't have time to sit and watch the whole game. Alyssa is finally having her Oktoberfest today and I am really ready for some good food. At work we had a german feast for our Halloween Rally, I watched someone choke on a piece of meat (at the buffet line, which she wasn't supposed to be eating, but that's what you get when you hire a temp). It was pretty scarry at the time but Lauren and I had fun of making fun of Steven who was calmly freaking out... all in good fun. And by the way our pumpkin won first place... The restaurant's that is. Even though Lauren, Dani and I were the only people who worked on it, everyone got the prize which is dinner served in the restaurant by Mr. Dodson, Ralph and cooked my the exc. chef. One problem.... How is the restaurant staff going to eat dinner durrning the dinner shift? seems like we have a problem on our hands. So anyway. I have to get John up. He was at the shop working on someone's car until after 1 this morning. I have no idea as to why he HAD to stay... but I'll ask him when he is a little more awake.

2006-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well week 20 is here and I am finally half way through. John has been feeling sick all week long so hopefully this weekend he'll get the rest he needs to get better. I remember dad's infamous saying of "You can be just as sick at school as you can at home". John and dad are a lot alike in that respect, 'cept John will come home before his 12 hours of work are up... and that is a good thing. I finally bought some shoes for work and they should last until I leave sometime this next winter... I can't believe that it's coming up so soon. I think I will leave at the begining of February or so. Three more months!!! My dr appointment went really well, he said my uterus was measuring high but is sure that is from my short torso... there isn't anywhere for the little peanut to go but up and out. I have my ultrasound in a week and a half and am so excited for it.

I finished knitting a scarf late Wednesday night. I was determined to finish it. John came home just before 7pm that day, he took a shower and we ate dinner, watched about an hour of "The Matrix Reloaded" and he passed out on the couch. So we both got up and headed for bed. It was 8:30. I was no where near being tired enough to fall asleep, so with the bathroom light on I sat in bed next to John and finished knitting my scarf. It's really warm and John likes it too. Maybe I'll make him one for work. It's getting so cold out and being in the shop all day with no heat is so miserable. I'm sure that helped him get sick.

Yesterday I spent the whole day with Toni. We haven't had a day off together for months so it was nice to catch up a little bit. We went to Chang's Mongolian Grill and had lunch, we spent an hour and a half there just talking, then we went to mom and dad's house and they had a bunch of "treasures" for us to take home. Then we drove to the German Bakery on Sandy Blvd and looked all around. I hadn't been in there since they remodeled and expanded. They now have a deli and all sorts of treats. We each bought some Pffefenuse and a pastry, Toni had an eclair and I bought a Marzipan Torte. It was delicious, Almond and Apricot. From there we went to K-mart so she could look at a computer desk and from there we went to Babies r Us and I showed her all the things that I have registerd for. She doesn't like the crib but I love it. Then to Baby Depot and we looked there for a bit too. After that I drove to Wal-mart so she could pick up the computer that they had on layaway. The clerk at the checkout lane was on crack or something. She told him atleast 4 times that I heard that the computer was paid for and she was just getting the desk. Well he tried to ring it in anyway. It even had a large pink sticker with all the layaway info on it. While she was checking out I went to my car to make room for all her big boxes. That was a challenge. She came out just as I was calling John to see when he would be home. Someone from the store helped load everything in and we were off to Toni's house. Toni wouldn't let me lift anything. But I carried in her printer... She scooted the desk all the way to the door and pushed it on the carpet to the spot that they were going to set it up. Then we left again, Chuckie met us at the Taco Bell near Winco so I could grocery shop. I ran into Adam Pinkston there (Taco Bell) and we chatted for a bit. He was on his way to an elders meeting. Toni and Chuckie left and I went shopping. By the time I was done I was so sleepy, I had another 25 minutes before I would be home. Then as everyone knows who's lived in an apartment loading everything to your kitchen is a chore. I had to make 4 trips back and forth to the parking lot. I bought a mop and bathtub cleaner and other cleaning supplies and I suddenly got a surge of energy, I started yet another load of laundry and began with the toilets. They have rust or something that just won't come off... Then I scrubbed the bath tub... Imagine if you will: months of grease and goo from the shop in layers on my bathtub and shower walls. It took about 20 min of hard scrubbing to get that off. Man, My arms were about to fall off by the time I was done. I should have done before and after pictures to show you. John was very pleased to have a clean tub to shower in... He was in such a good mood when he got home. Must have been all the fumes :-)

In Honnor of the cancelled Oktoberfest we had Brawts and kraut. Well I had kraut. We watched the first half of "Pearl Harbor" and called it a night, Well half of the first half. I don't think we have finished watching a whole movie in months. Pear Harbor was a good date movie for us. We would watch it in John's room at his folks house before we got married. He had a dvd player hooked up to a projector and we would watch it on the wall. "Big screen". Even then we fell asleep before it was over... Well the afternoon is upon me and I have to get ready for work. Another day another dollar, Right???

2006-10-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I love "Saturdays". It's a chance to see how much cleaning and house work that needs to be done and then I roll over and fall back asleep. Partially true though. I have been doing laundry for what seems like forever and the dishes never seem to end... The junk mail to sort through... We tend to get a lot of mail for John's dad seeing as they have the same same save their middle name. but how offen do you get mail addressed to your full name unless it's a bill and other unwanted mail??? and it's usually just your initial anyway.

I have been putting off buying new shoes for work. I have needed them for months now but I loath shoe shopping. I don't like spending money on things that are just for work. but they are a tax write off. I am loving the jeans that alyssa lent to me.... and the stretchy pants from tami. i have noticed while putting on my shoes a minute ago that there is a lot of pressure when i bend over... I have been feeling peanut move a lot lately and it has been a comfort to have that. My next doctor appointment is on Monday and then in two weeks from that is our big ultrasound. I don't know why it's refered as that.... maybe because it's when you can find out the sex of the baby... Which John and I are not. Shirley brought some baby outfits over to the shop along with some diapers... They are too cute, one for a girl and one for a boy. Now just to narrow that down from all the other cute outfits that I have and will be getting.

Well I have to get off the computer, if I don't know then I never will...

Oh, This is what John does while I'm at work

2006-10-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

~*~Trimester Month Week Countdown~*~

FIRST TRIMESTER

Month One (1-4): COMPLETE!!

Month Two (5-8): COMPLETE!!

Month Three (9-13): COMPLETE!!

SECOND TRIMESTER

Month Four (14-17): IN PROGRESS!!

Month Five (18-21): SOON TO COME!!

Month Six (22-26): SOON TO COME!!

THIRD TRIMESTER

Month Seven (27-30):SOON TO COME!!

Month Eight (31-35): SOON TO COME!!

Month Nine (36-40): SOON TO COME!!

At work last night I was informed that I am not allowed to have a stool to sit on durring my shift... Being very hormonal and upset I called my boss an asshole (not to their face), not Amber the rest. manager but the GM for the hotel. Last time I read anything about standing for long periods of time while pregnant can cause serious complications. Low birth weight, early delivery, and vericose veins just to get started. I'm not talking about standing for two or three hours, my shift is 7 hours on my feet. 6.75 if i get a break and for the 2 times I need to use the restroom... Why is it the peole who 1) have a chair in their office that they're in most of the day think it "unprofessional" to be sitting down durring your shift. And 2) have never been pregnant and don't understand what it's like.... Give me a break. If a man ever had to go through the process of carrying a child and work a full time job things would be so different. I'm thinking about having my dr. fax a note advising him to allow me the stool. It's not like I'm up there slouching or reading a magazine. I should also copy off all the resources that I have to back up my claim.

I have also been given tips by uninformed MALES about my weight. One co-worker said to me
"be careful not to gain too much weight" Really, I thought I was supposed to eat everything in sight and gain 100 pounds. Good Lord. What plannet are these apes from. What women enjoys gaining weight??? I have yet to find one. I know he was trying to be helpful cause he looked akward when he said it as to be sure not to offend. I told him the next day that my uterus is the size of a cantalope or larger.... Where would he hide one if there was one in him....

Then last night another guy asked if the baby was due soon. Folks, I can still bend over and touch my toes, I can see my feet and shave my legs in the shower standing on one leg. I don't know too many non pregnant women who can do that.

I AM NOT THAT BIG!!!

I wonder what they are thinking. Have none of these people been around a woman who was pregnant and to term... we'll talk about huge then. I can't wait until Christmas time and early next year in the third trimester.... I love all the unwanted advice I have been getting.... And I know it's only going to get worse. Women who have had children or are in fact pregnant at that moment can comment.... but guys (unless a certified ob-gyn), honnestly, be quiet because you have no idea what you are talking about

Nough said

2006-10-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I was searching on MSN to get some more information on the newest "don't eat the vegetables cause it can kill you" news and I came across the trailer for a movie coming out on dad's birthday Dec. 1st.

It's called the Nativity Story and from what I can tell it will be well worth the money to go and see it. The web page is http://www.thenativitystory.com and I have included a trailer of the movie incase you want to see it now.

It is very dramatic and I don't know if it's the hormones or not but I couldn't help but sob. I think this is why I enjoy Christmas so much. It reminds us that Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby, and even though he deserved a palace he was born in a humble stable. He deserved to eat at banquet every night but grew up eating what a poor carpenter could afford. Please take a minute to truly appreciate what this season really is about and thank the Lord for it.

At work we have been having a group of mostly ladies staying at out hotel. They are with Art and Soul and have been invading our restaurant since last Tuesday night. Again we find our water glasses with residue from their paints and glitter, glue on the tables and notes written on our menus to write an essay. I think that the majority of them will be gone today and that's good. I haven't gotten off work on time for the whole week coming home at midnight is a stretch. And I just realized that I have 20 minutes to get ready for work....

2006-10-05T11:18:00.001-07:00

So I am sitting here on the computer all morning reading about what to expect in my 17th week of pregnancy and "peanut" decided to start tapping at my tummy. It's such a great feeling. Last night during dinner I was leaning over, elbows on my knees and it felt like a fish squirming around in there... The first trimester your afraid because miscarriage is more common, second trimester most of your pregnancy symptoms have gone away 'cept for not being able to fit into your pants. And you start to feel the baby tap and move a little, and when you don't feel anything you're paranoid that the baby died and is just in there. But then the tapping and squishy fishy movements start again and I find myself overjoyed and sit here crying in my happiness. I have been one of the lucky ones and have been recognizing movements and tapping for a couple weeks now, which is considered really early, I guess I can tell the difference between baby and gas. Some women don't feel anything until the 20th week. That would drive me crazy. To be huge with baby and know it's there and growing but to not feel it move. It does at times make me just amazed at the human body. I have another human being inside. A little person that God decided to give to us. I really do feel fortunate. John is under the impression that we are going to be "popping" them out one after the other. 6 under 6. I don't think so. Unless there's like a set of twins or two. He thinks ten is a good number. That has to be a joke.

If any of you have been to Fred Meyer, target, Michael's or anywhere to shop you have noticed that the Christmas decoration frenzy has begun. I can't help but be excited, I have always loved this time of year. Maybe it's because my birthday is right around the corner, the early hopes for snow and hoping to get what I asked for. I remember looking through the JC Penny catalog and circling all the toys I wanted, still haven't gotten that electric keyboard, but that's okay. I remember getting matching everything with Toni. Either a doll that was the same but with different hair color or clothes and pj's that matched. Indeed. I remember spending all the birthday money that I received as presents from my grandparents and using that to buy my family their Christmas presents. I would usually need to "borrow" some money from mom to help pay for things. And it seems to me that we were always one of the shoppers who would be out the day before franticly trying to find something for someone. I have always been a planner, a list person. But I am also lazy and a procrastinator. What type personality is that? I love to plan things and think about how I want them but I truly lack motivation. Like this blog, I have a hard time sitting down doing the same thing until it's finished. Maybe that's why I have a half finished quilt, unraveled yarn and books half read. I get bored and move onto something else.

Well, speaking of needing to move onto something else, I think it's just about time.

2006-09-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Lunch today folks is turkey chili and rice with a bowl of grapes... Mmmmm. Anyone want to come over and share? What's for dinner... Alyssa apparently isn't making homemade Macaroni and Cheese... I'll just suffer at work and have some fruit and Salmon chowder. Which isn't usually bad. Especially when I'm hungry. Last night I went shopping with Toni at Wal-mart and got some fall leaves cookie cutters. I saw an idea from a magazine to use clay and the cutters to make napkin rings and some fall decorations. Then I went to Michael's for half an hour and just walked around feeling yarn and imagining us in a house by Christmas and how I want to decorate it. I didn't buy a single thing.

I came home and instantly remembered that I needed to get 9 volt batteries. Our smoke alarm has been beeping all week and I never remember to get them until I'm home and hear it remind me. So I had John pick some up on the way home. He brought me a bouquet of flowers!!! So sweet. He hopped in the shower and I attempted to replace the battery. Being barely 5'3 makes things hard even with a chair so he had to come to my rescue and finish the job. I didn't help that the alarm only had one screw when there should be 4 and all the fasteners but one were broken off... But we finally got to sleep in a house with no beeping. We have three alarms and they are all within 5 feet of each other. Not one if them is in the kitchen where it should be. We have yet to get our ceiling painted since our leak back in the spring. Not so much on top of things are they... Shannon and I get to have lunch together and that will be great! I haven't seen her for months. Next weekend is the Greek festival and I am really excited to go. Even though we had Gyros again for dinner. I was too tired to be creative and we already had most of the ingredients. I just hope the weather holds out, the last couple of years it has been great! I don't even know if Tom knows I'm pregnant. not that you can really tell unless I'm wearing a maternity shirt. What a supprise. Now we just have to figure out where we put those tokens from last year!

2006-09-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently these are the celebrities that I look most like.... What do you think? I did a picture of John and he apparently looks most like Vince Vaughn, not so much to me, more like Ben Afleck or something... Anyhooo. The site is pretty cool, you can look up your geneology and make family trees and the like.

My left leg has been achy lately. When I sit down at the computer it's worse. But I can't seem to pull myself away from it. I spent most of the morning researching baby stuff to register for. I have been having a hard time sleeping, I don't see how I will be able to sleep on my left side all night long. Thinking about investing in one of those pregnancy body pillows. $40 is cheap if it'll allow me to sleep through the night. I already wake up parched and needing to pee at minimum three times a night. I hope John is used to it, I know it took me a long time to sleep through when he would get up in the night. I didn't think he did until I would find cereal bowls in the living room or empty ice cream containers.... Not in the garbage. But that's a seperate issue all together. He has been doing really well at the shop and is proud to tell me how much we have been making. He is upset as I am about the raise in our rent. Probably to pay for all the "upgrades" they did this summer. Rip off. So we either deal with the rent hike or find another place to live and move with in two months. Wish us luck. Good Greif.

2006-09-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

I read in a book somewhere that I should be going to the bathroom less now in my second trimester than before... The book is lying. Monday I thought I was going to have another ultrasound but that didn't happen. After waiting half an hour in the waiting room with mom I was finally called in, the nurse said I had gained 4 pounds since my last appointment and that it was a good amount. Alyssa, I feel your pain. But I have been overweight my whole life so gaining weight for the baby is the only good reason I have had so far. Then we waited in the exam room for about another 20 minutes. Dr Drake found the heartbeat in about 10 seconds and it was so great to hear. I have heard the sound before but never with me. It all still seems like a movie to me. Or it's an elaborate joke someone is playing on me. I think I have felt the baby move. Pretty sure, but nothing will compare to when John and I will feel it kick and somersault in my belly. We scheduled my next appointment and my "Big Ultrasound" two weeks after that. 8:30 in the morning. I don't know how I am going to do it.
I have been waking up early lately and not been able to get back to sleep. I usually hop on the computer or read some more about my pregnancy or what's the best baby gear to get. And after about an hour I get sleepy again and get back in to the warm bed with John. Hopefully not to wake him up before he goes in the shower for 20 minutes. Not leaving me with any hot water. So a shower before 10am is not usual. Well Monday it had to be and it was the coldest shower I have ever had to take. I just washed my hair. I couldn't bare the cold any more.
We just got a notice from our manangement about our lease running out. We have 2 more months. IF we renew a 6 month lease will be $750 a month (35 more than we're paying now) 12 month lease is $720 and month to month is $775!!! Ridiculous. I hope this motivates John more to look for a house. Apparently the prices are only for the valued members of the community! Don't I feel special now!!!
I was thinking about getting one of these t-shirts to wear when I'm out in public... But I'll probably make my own, $23 for a t-shirt ? No thanks! And then embellish it with other answers to popular questions like breastfeeding and what diapers we are using and so on. What fun! Well I just got the mail and want to look at the cool catalogues I just got.

2006-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

15 weeks

My sad attempt to take a belly shot. The real difference between this and before I was pregnant is now my tummy is hard... Or getting there. I think its the baby pushing up all my organs that used to be down there. Everything is more condensed and compact. Still squishy in some spots. But I am in no way huge yet.... I am very anxious for my next appointment. According to "Your pregnancy week to week" I am supposed to start sleeping on my side. Not for medical reasons now but just so I'll be used to it by the time I'll need to. Laying in bed last night I always spoon being John, but I got a little paranoid... Was his body heat and mine raising the baby's temperature??? I didn't feel like I was overheating but I couldn't help but get worried. I got up to turn on the fan and slept on my other side. The book also said that "Peanut" is about 4 1/2 inches and about 1.75 oz. The size of a softball.... Hmmm Funny, I had ovarian cysts that big once... Not as comfortable as I am now. But in the end it's apparently the same kind of pain. Yippee!!!

My weekend is over and that makes me sad. I have however been asked by two friends of mine separately to have lunch with them later on this week. Michelle just got married in August and we are meeting at Olive Garden after my ultrasound and Shannon, whom I work with but haven't seen in two months cause of schedules, and I are going out next Saturday... Don't know where too though, I went to Gustav's last sat with John and nearly ate myself sick their food is so good!!! And Olive Garden with Toni and now Michelle. Maybe we'll hit the Old Spagg and have spumoni (sp?) Ice cream... Speaking of restaurants in Clackamas I hear they are building a macaroni Grille. I have only been to one once and I thought the food was really good, I had lasagna and I can't remember what John had, something with noodles though. Duh!!!

Well my lovely family and friends, I must find something to eat before work. Goodness knows when I'll be able to eat again... Especially with my co-workers.

P.S. Shannon, Indir is the Neanderthal that told me to watch what I ate. You know he dips everything he puts in his mouth in remoulade right. Fat bastard....

2006-09-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Where do the weeks go? It's been almost that long since I've written anything. Not that I don't have the time but the only thing interesting that has been happening to me is my pregnancy and I don't want to bore ya'll with that all the time. Interesting evening, I had my first real Bitchy pregnancy moment. I guess not helping me finish folding the laundry before getting into bed with the clothes on it, not helping me "turn off the house" and not helping me clean up after dinner is a big deal to me, And of course telling me when to go to bed. it started out fine, but everything that John did last night was irritating me and I finally just snapped. And of course he doesn't understand. Why should he when I don't half the time. Tell me this will stop. I will be easy going and loving again and not want to punch him in the gut. Why do some of my pregnancy symptoms make him happy while I have to suffer through them? Not to get into detail but I think you can use your imagination.

I have another doctor appointment on Monday and we will be doing another ultra sound. I'm really excited to see the baby again and see the heartbeat. Toni will hopefully be going with me as John has to work. One of these days he'll get out for an hour or so I just have to schedule the appointments earlier in the morning. Which will be hard for both of us. I want him to meet the doctor before I go into labor at least once.

I went online to Old Navy last week and bought some maternity shirts. they came two days ago but the UPS guy didn't leave a note on our door. Let alone knock. I was here all day and certainly up by 11 when they said he came by. Anyway. I haven't found any cute pants that I must buy, the pants that have been donated to my cause are still too big in the belly... Which is good. I would shoot myself if I fit into the same size as their 8 month belly. Speaking of. What is with people telling me indiscreetly I need to watch my weight. The other day one of the servers said out loud "everyone here is loosing weight except for one" and he looks right at me... then on Monday that same server said to me as I was searching for a snack to calm my ragingly hungry stomach only for him to say "be careful, not too eat too much. " Okay Jerk. I haven't eaten anything since 2:30 and it was now after 8. any normal human would have been hungry by then... But apparently I should have been able to wait. I told him that he was really irritating me. If he says one more thing I'm going to HR. I am trying to not let comments irritate me. One of the front desk ladies calls me pudgy. WTF! Sorry for the language but I have always been overweight and just because I'm pregnant doesn't give them an excuse.... Most of the time I get comments like how many more months ("Oh, I thought you were farther along than that!") and when do you find out if it's a boy or girl. and then when I say not till march they don't quite get it. then they get upset and think I'm dumb or being selfish.

"How are you going to plan your nursery?" "how are you going to choose a name?" "Well the gift I want to give you is gender specific and I need to know in order to get it for you." People get a grip! I loath the day when strangers realize that i'm pregnant and feel the need to give me advice.

How am I going to get through this???

I am going to stop complaining. I need to get a new bra. Oh what fun that should be

2006-09-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's official. I am on to my second trimester... For a while it felt as though I would never get here. I had a couple of nice days off. Mom and I went to Rossi Farms and picked up some sweet corn and I'll be making some to take to work tonight. We also went to Bed Bath & Beyond and I bought a new duvet cover for our bed. The one we have been using has been tearing and looking really shabby. Went grocery shopping and made gyros for dinner... no feta though. 1) I couldn't find it at the store, 2) I'm not sure if feta is pasturized, if not that's a big no no... The Greek Festival is coming in the begining of October. John and I have a friend that works it and who is the most greek person I know, not that I know many. A couple years ago he gave us a bunch of token that buy food and drinks for free and we have been using them for a couple years atleast. And Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel is also here... this weekend. But I have to work and if I can't drink Beer then why go??? I have been trying to get organized and so far it isn't as easy as I thought. We don't have the room not to be though and it's a struggle to do anything. In order to get it "organized" I have to make everything a mess. by the time that happens i'm too tired to finish and it looks worse than before I started!!! I need a magic wand. I mean, I still have my wedding dress hanging up in my closet, out of the bag.... I don't know where it is.... it needs to go to the cleaners... Well I need to get going. not a very productive day, I need a nap

2006-09-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who might sympathize with me I thought I would tell you I just threw up breakfast... Banana bread and hot tea isn't that bad coming up. I'm just glad it was something soft. unlike cereal. I have been one of the lucky women who has only gotten sick a few times. Three to be exact. and it seems to be worse the farther along I am. I will be at 14 weeks on Friday and officially out of the first trimester. Now the banana bread that I haven't finished is sitting here on my desk mocking me saying "you know you want to eat me, I taste so yummy!" But of course that is the last thing I want to eat. My throat hurts and I am hungry again... but the thought of eating anything right now is not tempting... Now I really need that shower...

2006-09-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

A correction.

The listing 60776996 is incorrect. It should have been 6077697. Thanks dad for looking at them. I couldn't figure out why the house you didn't like was one I didn't even pick... And it was in McMinville too!!! Anyway, thanks for looking at them. The one you like the best has a nice kitchen... Well so far as the picture is telling the truth. Not too fond of the red white and green tiles but maybe I can really put John's heritage into decorating the house... All I need is a giant Italian flag, some leather boots and some Pinot Grisio. The one that should have been listed yesterday is nice too...it's been updated a lot. John is going to be meeting/talking with Greeg Goosetree today about looking at more houses coming up soon. He is the guy who played guitar durring the worship time for our ceremony. He sells houses and he can sing too... today is my Friday and I am hopefully going to go and get some Maternity blouses for work. They have to be white, long sleve and "professional" looking... So I'm guessing obnoxious cleavage is out... Dang! I need to get going or I'll end up staying on the computer all day till I have to drive to work.

2006-09-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today I was laying in bed asleep when mom knocked on my door. I opened it to hear news that would change everyone's lives forever. "a plane has crashed into the twin towers s in New York City.... " It took me a while for me to understand what that meant. I kept thinking how horrible... how could that have happend? We went down stairs where we watched the the video from a tourist camers as he captured this horrible event. We watched as the second plane crashed into the other building. It was unreal. It felt like I was watching someone get murderd right infront of me and I felt sick to my stomach as the tears came. I felt as though I was there. As the week went on we learned that terrorists hyjacked the planes and intended to crash into the buildings in New York, Washington D.C.

It took me months and months to be able to look at the footage and not cry all day long. I would think about it and all the families that had lost someone they loved and it would bring me to tears. People wore the pins and hung out flags decorated their cars to show support for our country. Everyone seemed to come together and unite.

What a difference 5 years can make...

On a lighter note John and I have begun to look at houses. I hate to dissapoint Alyssa but the Coach house we looked at was horrible. Too cute in the pictures though. It was tiny, the building was a reproduction of an 1800's house and it looked like it was authentic. For being 20 years old it was in horrible shape. And it was also being used as a rental home and it was trashed. They are asking about 50k-75k too much for that small and run down of a house in my opinion. We also went to go look at another house that I have been eyeing on Craigslist. It would have been perfect, the bedrooms were nice and big, updated kitchen, deck, air conditioning, hardwood flooring etc. but it was on a semi busy street and the noise from the cars was a bit louder than we like. So if anyone can think of a way to cut the noise let us know. The property srtetches out to the street with no sidewalk so we would also have to put up a fence so the little one won't wander on to the road... One of John's friend's works for Haskins Reality and there are about 4 more homes on their website that I would like to look at. 60776996, 6070431, 6059803, and 6030697 are the MLS #'s if anyone is interested in looking at them and giving your thoughts.

Work last night was kind of a blur. We did 75 covers with two servers. Very hectic. Not my favorite kind of evening. I did however make about $136 last night and since I have cut down my serving shifts it was nice to get some cash. I didn't get a chance to eat anything last night until I came home at about 11:45. The last thing I did have was a Zesty Chicken Bowl from taco bell around 2pm right before we went house touring... Peanut was not happy, I need to figure out something to snack on when we get busy like that... and honnestly, I was running most of the night, so there really wasn't much time to eat anyway. It's not fair on my body to be that busy and I pray that it won't affect the baby at all. We have another hectic weekend next and I hope to be a little more prepared. Well I am needing a shower. I'm headed over to Toni's house to look at some brochures.

2006-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at all the pregnancy recourses that are online... Still none of them can agree on what the size of my baby is. At thirteen weeks though they have all agreed that I am out of the danger zone and are free to tell my family, friends and co-workers... Well I can understand why someone might not want to tell people before their first trimester is over... But if no one knows you're pregnant then how are you going to cope if you do have a loss. I have only had experience (luckily) with one person very close to me with a miscarriage. If I hadn't known that Toni was pregnant in the first place how much of a hardship for her to go through that with no one knowing and then to announce that they were pregnant and then to say they lost the baby??? I never understood why so many people keep their lives a closed book. Especially to family. I agree that under certain circumstances that it's necessary, but the average family is disfunctional. At least in my experience and what I have been told from friends about their family. I wish that everyone would live with an open mind to sharing. How are we best to grow together as a family if we are all keeping secrets, or have unresolved issues??? I am glad to have the family that I have. It was hard at times while I was growing up. I could not see the wonderful plan that God has laid out for me. Talking to my mom last night helped me realize that we all wish that we could change our past. But as I look back now giggling, I can definitely say the the good outweighs the bad. I have many more fond memories growing up in that house on Shaver Street than I have of memories I wish to forget. Each one has or will teach me something. I hope to someday share them with my children.

Natalie always the curious asks everyone to "tell me a story about when you were little" It's hard to think of one that I think she'll understand or be amused with. How can you tell your niece a store of when you were little when it's strange to think that you are "grown up"? Even Alyssa who has three children I can still see as a teenager playing her Michael Jackson Thriller or Cindy Lauper record in her bedroom. She would let us (Toni and I) come in her room and we would dance in front of the big mirrors in front of her closet. Plastic bangles and ratted hair... Bop magazine pictures plasterd on her wall... Oh how cute Cory haim was and how cute cory feldman wasn't... Watching "Three Amigos" over and over and singing "My Little Buttercup" during that part in the movie. "who are these monkeys??" I still say that all the time and no one gets it 'cept my family. And that's what I love about it. Our spouses are starting to transform into Roush's but it will take a long time yet, Mom still is adapting to how strange we are... I think we came out that way.

2006-09-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

You Are Likely a Third Born

At your darkest moments, you feel vulnerable.

At work and school, you do best when you're comparing things.

When you love someone, you tend to like to please them.

In friendship, you are loyal to one person.

Your ideal careers are: sales, police officer, newspaper reporter, inventor, poet, and animal trainer.

You will leave your mark on the world with inventions, poetry, and inspiration.

The Birth Order Predictor

Sometimes I guess these things are right!!! I wonder what John would get... He's also a third born but the baby of the family and after his younger sister was 8.
I am attempting to make potroast again for dinner tomorrow and have invited mom and dad over. John won't be home till it's time for them to leave... I wish he would come home at a decent hour on the nights that I have off. It would be so nice.

Well, I bought my first pair of maternity pants today. The pants I have for work are getting tighter and tighter each week. These pants are so comfortable... I should have tried on more styles. But as we are saving for a house I didn't feel like was at liberty to buy more. I have a box full of clothes from Alyssa and Tami that I will be able to wear soon. Most of them won't fit until I am truly showing but I can wear sweatpants till then I suppose. First trimester is almost done. I am excited. Apparently it's the most comfortable I'll be until this baby is deliverd. I'll look forward to less nausia and being so sleepy all day long. It will be fun to feel the baby move for the first time and to have John see and feel all the kicks. It must be hard for a man to miss out on all the exciting things that happen. I am glad that he wants to be involved in the labor and delivery part.... just if he would get more enthusiastic about everything that happens before.

It's been nice to be at home and not have neighboor kids running around my porch and making all kinds of noises. I can handle a few in the pool but when there are 20 of them and the are all yelling, it gets old real quick.

Time to make dinner, we are having chicken and dumplings... One of my favorites.

2006-09-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Labor day is for shopping....

Toni and I ventured out yesterday to Jo-Ann's fabric and craft store and what a sale they were having. Everything I bought was onsale and ontop of that there was a 10% off your entire purchase coupon... Lots of fun. Gonna get my sewing machine out tomorrow and try to finish a few things. I bought a "boppy" form and it came with a pattern to make your own covers, I bought some fleece with stamped letters and numbers on it for $2.50 a yard. What a steal!! They had fall table cloths and all sorts of decor... Since I was there earlier that week I decided not to go overboard. We had fun looking at all the clothing patterns and the victorian and regency era costume patterns. Just if I had the skill money and time I would be the most out of date person you had ever met... and well this "bun in the oven" is making it hard to decide what size i am anyway... I bought a vouge pattern for maternity wear in the size i think i am. the measurements were strange though. It gave measurements for someone who isn't pregnant on it. When was the last time you saw someone pregnant and had a smaller tummy than their breasts or hips??? so I juts bought the pattern size that would fit my bust area... Hopefully that works.

Sunday afternoon I had my second episode of morning sickness.... and felt like crap for most of the night at work. Today is my friday and I am looking forward to getting things done around the apartment tomorrow. Well, I think I'll take a nap before I have to go to work. It was a late night for me yesterday and it's going to be the same tonight...

2006-09-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Can anyone give me ideas on how to bring in the fall this year??? I brought out all the decorations I had fun making last year and put them up. I need some new ideas on how i can make it a little more festive. I'll take picture later, John took the better camera to work today. I love this time of year, before you know it I'll be putting up a Christmas Tree and getting that decorated too. Yea for fall!!! P.S. my birthday is in 3 months and 3 days.....

2006-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Smell this....

So here is actual proof that I did make Banana Bread today. And let me tell you, if it tastes as good as it smells then we are all in for a treat!!! Mmmm

Easy to follow directions for Banana Bread:
You put this

into here , then

put these into

this for 50 minutes at 350 degrees

Then you poke it with a toothpick to be sure it's done.... and it should look like this

Good Luck!!! Hope this helps!

2006-08-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I am learning how to knit and have been able figure it out thanks to mom and a couple books and websites information. Unfortunately, my first attempt I started out making 22 knits per row and about 12 rows later have 36 knits... That's bad. Calling mom to urgently figure out what I can do to fix my problem and the advice to me broke my heart. "Rip it out and start over". Loving words only someone who has known how to knit since the age of five could only say. Dad just said "knit one pearl two." well I'm not pearling yet so unfortunately being married to an expert doesn't make you one in dad's case... Very disappointed. John will be wondering what I did today and I won't have anything to show for it.... 'cept a pile of yarn that was to be my beautiful scarf.

I am proud that I was able to get it that far without noticing any problems. I have also attempted to crochet and I'll leave that to Tami.... Besides, It's more fun to receive booties that someone else made than to give them to yourself.... Right??? I'm thinking it took about three hours to get as far as I did... well I was watching Anne of Avonlea too. How the heck to people have the patience to make afgans and sweaters?? I mean honnestly, it must take hundreds of hours!!!

We are having pork ribs in the slow cooker tonight and our house has smelled like bbq sauce since noon... I just hope they turn out alright. It's always nerve racking making dinner in the crock pot. For Mom's 60th birthday I made potroast and was parrinoid i was going to overcook it... well apparently when you cook it in the crockpot the longer the better. So everyone was nice and said it tasted good... Liars... What family won't do to hurt your feelings. I had some and I know what it tasted like.... The vegetables, potatoes and gravy were all good. Luckily I made extra gravy for my tough roast. But since we were feeding 10 adults there were't any left overs and didn't have to think of a way to use it for another meal at our house.

Oh the joys of being newly married. I instantly wanted (want) to be the queen of everything domestic. I sometimes feel like Alyssa and I are in a (friendly) competition for who can be the most like Martha Stewart... aside from that whole scandal and jail thing.... and I fear that if we were to count points now she would have me beat ten fold. I haven't even had a party here yet. She is able to plan a million things at once and still pull of everything beautifully. There is no better complement than for her to ask me how to do something. and not just because she is my older sister but because for forever she has "known everything". But I do hope some of her skills rub off on me. I have no idea how Mom, Alyssa and Tami have been able to have kids and run a household... I have of course seen each house out of sorts but I have no kids, just a lame job and a wonderful husband and I am still in last place, well Toni and I tie for last... I am certain that having kids won't give me the energy to keep up a household... so what is it that keeps them ontop of things??? I can't even go grocery shopping without forgetting something. Speaking of, I didn't make banana bread yesterday and they are at the end of their rope. Nice and black... But before they are unsalvageable I should go and do that now before John get's home and wants dinner....

2006-08-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, another day another dollar. They are finished painting the outside of my building but they aren't done with the whole complex yet so i still wake up too early for my own good. For some reason there has been a group of boys in the swimming pool way too early in the morning his week... like 8:30... it's not even warm yet and the pool is not heated yet they are having "swimming" competitions to see who is best i guess. Lot's of yelling "That's not fair!!!" and "You have to say GO!!!" so early rise again... Oh well, school starts next week and I will get to sleep in for a while then. I am planning on making banana bread. Some folks at work have been complaining that I haven't been bringing anything in. Well sorry if I don't have the energy to and don't feel like heating my kitchen up durring the day in the summmer... I'll gladly do it when the weather cools down.

John and I are planning on going to the Family Life Weekend to Remember marriage confrence in November. I highly recomend it for anyone who is married, regardless of how old you are.... mom and dad!!! We went to it just before we got engaged and had a great time. They hold them nationally so regardless to where you live there is most likely one near you... We are going to stay in the hotel this time. It's all the way in Janzen Beach and since we wern't married last time it wasn't appropriate for us to do so, so we woke up at 6 in the morning each day to get there by 8... It'll be nice to get a way for a while. Even if it's not too far away!

John has purchased an exhaust bender for his shop and is going to be able to do that now instead of sending his customers to another shop and not make any money off of it. There is another shop in the area that does it and he has been having him do all the work so instead of John making any money off it he barely scrapes by. So now that he has one he is able to service his clients better. "Everything is for the future Princess...." Which is true, but I know he is having fun learning a new skill too...

That's about it from this side of things. I'll see if my darling husband would like to contribute anything later tonight.

2006-08-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Andrea!Your IQ score is 126

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Word Warrior. This means you have exceptional verbal skills. You can easily make sense of complex issues and take an unusually creative approach to solving problems. Your strengths also make you a visionary. Even without trying you're able to come up with lots of new and creative ideas

2006-08-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Too early...

So our apartments are in the process of being painted... There was someone outside of our bedroom window at 7:15 this morning... John get's up and closes the window so the paint doesn't get in and make it smelly. I tossed and turned until 8 and decided to get up. Too early... not being a morning person as I haven't gotten off work earlier than 11:00pm for a long time I have never been able to get up, and now my pregnancy has made me more sleepy and i feel a greater need for rest. I might take a nap after lunch though.

I had my second dr.'s appointment today and it went okay, pee in a cup, weigh in EEEKKK!!! not that i was skinny before but I have gained more than I thought(4 lbs). maybe that's why my pants are a little snug!! blood presure i think was 120 over 72??? i could be way off but i think that's what she said. Dr. Drake lubbed up my abdomen and slid the dopler around on it and tried to find the heartbeat. no luck but because i have a tilted uterus and i'm just 11.5 weeks it makes it harder to hear. three weeks ago i did see the hb on an ultrasound and Dr. Drake said he'll do another ultrasound in 4 weeks at my next appointment. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. I am excited to get another chance to see how big my peanut (My friend Lauren's endering tearm refering to my baby) is getting. I am a bit confused. I have read atleast 6 different books/websites and most of them don't agree on how big "peanut" really is, as small as a fig and a large lime to a small apple or a softball... that's quite a difference. All the organs are formed and working, as far as I know, and the next six months are just for letting the little Peanut grow. John and I have decided not to find out the sex of the baby. At first I really wanted to but I have realized that the supprise is worth the wait.

John and I have differing ideas as far as labor and delivery go. He does not want me to get an epidural... I being an optomist of course would like to have an all natural birth. There are pros and cons to both sides but I will feel especially proud if i can manage without. But I am not saying for certain that I will not. When I was 17 i had an ovarian cyst and the pain was so great, I threw up from it. Mom said that it is relitive to child birthing pains. Hmmmm no good. I have thought about taking the Bradely method birthing class with John. It seems to be what we are planning on attemping to do. John also wants to deliver the baby. In a hospital with the Dr.'s help, but as he puts it he wants to catch the baby like it's going to shoot out of me like a rocket!!! I have been watching several births online Half of the women are completely nakes and so it's a little weird but it give a good idea to what actually happens. Like all you moms and dad's don't already know(please don't look at the very grafic videos, it is about a 21 week gestation birth and it will tear your heart out) I am confident that he will be able to pull the baby out and lay him on my tummy. With the dr.'s help as long as everything is normal.But all the sucking of the nose and mouth and making sure I don't tear etc. I will leave to my doctor.
Well if I'm going to get my nap I must get off the computer. I think the painters are done with my building for right now, it seems to have quieted down.

2006-08-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Gypsies are coming!!! The Gypsies are coming!!!!

Well I have aprox. One week before all hell breaks loose at work and Banquet season officially begins... And what a way to kick it all off with a big old fashioned Gypsy wedding... As of this moment I wish I was put on bed rest and not required to come back for about a month and a half. After the "beloved" gypsies are gone we have another group well known for rudeness and complaints and unstoppable hunger... They are called the Northwest Marketers Association... About 300 or more vendors and their staff invade our hotel for 3 days and nights and make the staff at the hotel near suicide... I have dealt with this group for 5 years now and seeing that they come 2 times a year makes me no novice to their dramas and problems. And soon after they leave we have the very strange and eccentric tea drinking art and soul ladies who try to entrap you with their tarrot card reading spirituality... Yes, their crafts are quite lovely... But they (most of them) have the manners and etiquette of someone raised in a barn. Very rude and impatient. And all of these groups will be taking place in one month!!! I hope I don't have an episode.... Or maybe I do.

John and I are trying to get out and start to look at homes. The small two bedroom apartment barely fits the two of us and with not much more room to fit a crib let alone the million of other things that come with having a baby. Our lease is up at the end of November so I would of course like to find something before then, I won't be too big, hopefully, then and will be able to do lots of packing and moving things around. I would of course like time to set up a nursery and start nesting after we move instead of before... I have found quite a few on craigslist and I was wondering if anyone could take a quick look to see if any of them stick out. We are looking in Clackamas county, Milwaukee, Clackamas, happy valley Damascus but not too far out in Estacada or Corbett or Molalla... Price range 250-375k. 3 bed 2 bath. Preferably not a manufactured home and with a decent yard... Thanks

Well I must off to work... I hope the few of you who went on the church campout this year had a good time... Talk to you later. Love Andrea

2006-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Why are pregnancy dreams so wild??? I have had the widest range of dreams in the last couple weeks. Half of them were about whether John and I should get married or our actual day and no part of the dream actually happened in real life... Last night we were getting married again in something that reminded me of Gateway Baptist Church, an airport and my old high school buildings. My food and bev. Director at work was giving me away and we were in the back of the church sitting down on the pews and the procession starts but before we can leave the highschool dance team gets up on the stage in white costumes and does a "wedding themed" recital. I get fed up with this nonsense and decide to go find John since he didn't seem to be at the church. I was running in my gown from building to building and people kept stepping on my dress... So I carried it. I had my 4th grade "boyfriend" ask me for my number and I told him plainly that I was married, he apparently didn't notice I was in a wedding gown... Then I am following a really tall man and it turns out to be John's dad. Then I turn around and John is there and he and I are going to some meeting with one of the pastors from Good Shepherd. I am now in the bathroom and we (john and I) are doing my hair and he says he wants me to wear something pink. I have the hair from hell and it's wild and untameable. I try to set it in hot rollers but for the first time in my life I had too much to deal with... Then I wake up, it's 9 am afterall and I have to pee....

John was still asleep but he got up shortly after I crawled back into bed, he's at the shop right now for some reason....

Last night at work was good, we were busy but the kitchen was ontop of things and we were able to turn tables easily. There was a couple in there that were arguing and swearing... I couldn't hear it from where I was standing but reports from two servers said they were. It was supposedly their anniversary... So another group of people come up to be seated and as I'm on my way back to the cashier stand I hear him say $#!* and since no one was around I didn't say anything about it... A half an hour later a family comes up and the only table that is set up was too close to them so I go place the menus on the table and another word vomit somes out of his mouth and I look at him and say "sir!!! You cannot talk like that in here!!! It is completely inappropriate and you'll have to leave." Mind you they have been done with their dinner for about an hour or more and they said "fine, let's just go to the bar... " Yeah... That's just what you need alcohol and a new set of witnesses to your drama. The server that was waiting on them came up to me and we got to talking about it and I said something about never ever belittle your partner, in private or in public.... I don't know what I would do if I was ever treated in such a fashion!!! I came home last night and kissed my darling Husband and told him that I was so glad I married him... I told him of the couple and what else I had to deal with that night.

Well I must get ready, we have a BBQ to go to in half an hour and I haven't even showered yet...

2006-08-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 08, 2006
Andrea's pregnant!!!! Current mood: excited
So for all my pals who actually talk to me and know what's been going on in my life I would just like to fill you in on the latest news.... As you can tell by the heading I found out yesterday morning that John and I are pregnant! The baby is estimated to be due on March 16 or sometime around then. I feel fine, no morning sickness and my bbs aren't overly sore... Yet. I have slight cramping and my back has been sore all week but this is just a prelude to everything else that will be happening the next 8 months. We are celebrating our one year anniversary today and this news couldn't have been a better present for either of us... I hope all of you (Lesa) who have been through this will be able to give me loads of advice.... But mainly just pray for all three of us that we will have a healthy pregnancy and the transition to parenthood won't be traumatic. Love ya'll, Andrea

2006-08-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just to add more to your reading pleasure... I'll add some of my old myspace blogs here...

Peanut update and work issues Current mood: Stinky
Okay now I'm 10 weeks and 4 days along... things are starting to pick up.... I haven't had more than one episode of morning sickness but i tend to get naucious often, I don't know which is worse. I seemd to have felt better after I threw up... I have been so tired lately though, If i don't get atleast 10 hours of sleep then i nearly crash before 7 and if I'm at work it's worse. For some reason they don't allow naps while your on the clock... Dumb!!! I have my next Dr.'s appointment on Monday and Hopefully will be able to hear the heartbeat. Last time i was in I was just 8 1/2 weeks and we saw the heartbeat but she didn't use the dopler to listen for it.
John's back has been killing him lately and does he go to the dr??? no. he just complains about it and has me rub it.... I would kill for a massage, back pain... he has no idea. Why the heck am I paying $300 a month for insurance for the both of us if he hasn't gone to the dr.s once since we've been married??? It's less than $100 for just me...that's $2,400 we could have saved. Hmm
The assistant manager to the restaurant and lounge either got fired or he quit, no one seems to want to talk about it. Amber had me "fill in" for two days.... I have a horrible feeling she'll want me to do it full time, until i leave permanately in Feb. and if that's the case, i'm ready for her.... I already have my demands as far as salary and hours worked.... just incase. I did that job for over three years and under terrible terms, I was just anxcious to learn anything and was naive to ask for why i actually earned and deserved. After three and a half years, I went from $8.00 an hour to $8.75. Infact, my first raise was for $.03. that's right, I made not even a nickle more... that should have been a sign there. I had to wear a uniform which was terrible, they never gave me what i needed to do my job properly, and my hours were terrible. After John and I got engaged I quit so I could pay for the wedding and began serving, I made almost double in that year than the previous as an assistant!!! makes sense right!!!
Well ladies... (I'm assuming no man is going to read about my pregnancy) I have to get going. I have B.O. and need to shower... Talk to you soon, Love Andrea

2006-08-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Well since everyone else is coming over here and creating their own blog I feel I must join you. I don't want to get left out like when I refused to join Alyssa and Aaron in their "clapping club".... Yea, that one was stupid anyway and it wasn't even a club, just another way for them to torture me cause I'm so much cuter than they are and they're jealous . Okay so now is the part where I tell everyone what I have been up to and what is going to be happening Right??? I am nearing the end of my first trimester with our first baby. And it seems to be going fabulously. I'm currently just under 11 weeks and I seem to be having all the symptoms, peeing three times a night, 3-6-9 almost like clockwork, I can tell what time it is just by remembering which pee of the night it is. Amazing. Morning sickness is just great. I love hovering over the toilet in hopes that something will produce but alas I am just left with a sore throat and lots of spit in the toilet!!! I haven't had any weird cravings, lots of carbs... Honeynut cherrios are Heaven sent. I have an aversion to fruit. I buy it at the store so it's available but John usually eats it because I just can't bring myself to... So I eat sugar free apple sauce so I don't feel so guilty about it. I feel if I don't get at least 10 hours of sleep I am a zombie after 7pm and when your at work and don't get off until 11:30 and home just before midnight it can be really difficult. I get hungry every 3-4 hours and I get cranky if I am and don't have a chance to get anything in me. I usually have a bowl of "Heaven" at night around 6 or 7 whenever I'm done peein' but just like many of you who have gone through this, until I actually feel this miracle move inside me I scarcely believe it's true.
I have one pair of jeans that still fit and my work pants (not to be worn outside of work for lack of attractiveness), Thank goodness it's still warm enough and I don't need to wear pants too often, and some drawstring shorts from last summer that still fit. If it's not stretchy or too big for me in the first place, all my shirts no longer fit. I had a wedding to go to last Saturday and the only nicer top that fit was a sweater tank.... And it was not in the greatest condition, I even attempted to wear some of the nicer maternity blouses Alyssa lent to me and my boobs just don't want to cooperate. I'm not even half way there yet and already I am having clothing issues. NO BUENO!!! I am tempet to go to Motherhood Maternity and look at their sales racks but it's weird being in there when I really don't have much of a belly yet, bloating yes and that pooch thing that I got after puberty....What's that about???
So besides this pregnancy there isn't that much else soo exciting to report. John and I are trying to decide where we should spend our vacation this year. Sometime in October, and cheap.... Dad suggested Victoria, B.C. I have never been to Canada and would love to go. Never thought I would go there, I was more thinking about P.E.I. on the East Coast where L.M. Montgomery was inspired to write her Anne of Green Gables books. I have always been a fan and hope to one day make it up there to see it. But anywhere but here would be nice. A week at the coast would be great too. Something different. But not too far away.
I get to go grocery shopping today and make banana bread... I love that smell... I might go to Michael's craftstore to see if any of their Holiday decor is finally on sale. They do that on purpose you know, all of us crafters and decorators who drool in the ribbon and paint aisle; can't wait to start this years decorating projects and it seems forever for the store to put them on sale. I know that they will, but it's like Christmas presents, You see one with your name on it and want to open it. You know you'll be able to on Christmas morning but you are still tempted to shake it right.
Romans 15:5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other - each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.
Well I think I have rambled on long enough. This was fun and I hope to have something to write everyday... I hope everyone is doing wonderful and is staying healthy and out of trouble. I hope you enjoyed reading about me and my life right now. Maybe I can convince John to get into this too and you'll have two contributors to the Cimino Home. Take care and GodBlesss, Love Andrea