Tuesday, September 30, 2008

October... My FAVORITE Month!!!

Why you ask??? I will tell you! (In no particular order... cept for the last one. It's the best part for me this year!)


1) The tangible feeling in the air that fall is here. Everything smells and almost sounds different. It's when the temperature finally drops in Arizona. Ahhh sweet relief... Time to go outside and remember why we love to live in a place where you can fry an egg on the asphalt in the summer!


2) The food!!! First the pumpkin ice cream comes out (it's only available from September to December). Then the Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist comes out (available from September to January). Pomegranates! Who doesn't love that tangy winter fruit??? Then there's all the candy that people hand out all month and if you have younger siblings that still trick-or-treat you get to raid their bags when their not looking for everything covered in chocolate! October also means that November and December are soon to follow with all their yummy goodness too!


3) I love walking into the grocery store and having my eyes blinded by all the bright orange, green and purple. Halloween decorations are my second favorite ever! Christmas is always the best!!! Have you ever noticed the strange coincidence that occurs every year where complete strangers become so much friendlier when the first decorations go up that signify the beginning of the holidays? Oh they turn nasty by the week before Christmas when they realize they procrastinated their shopping too long AGAIN, but until then everyone grins at everyone else.


4) The prospect of seeing my family again in the coming months! Family parties on all 5 to 10 sides of the hedge (depending on the dates and times of said parties, and if we feel like driving all over Arizona for them).


5) Costumes and dressing up. Even if I don't want to dress up I love to go and see the extravagance of some peoples get ups. It's also a good excuse to find the most gaudy colors of makeup, the longest fake eyelashes and the weirdest wigs; then to see how much of the stuff you can attach to your head; and finally wear it out in public without feeling the need to be embarrassed or to go hide. Though I have to say it drives me nuts when people push the line as close as they can to being naked...


6) My baby is going to be here soon!!! I have my fingers crossed for October 22nd because that is when I am officially full term. But my due date is just 12 short (more than likely ridiculously long for me) days after October ends. Though with my luck I'll be induced the day before Thanksgiving... Oh and I have my first childbirthing class on the 1st! Woo-hoo! Preston gets to learn how to give me a back massage!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Toes in my ribcage and a butt in my side...

My little Parker/Chloe has found a new favorite pastime... Making me as uncomfortable as possible! He/She will shift him/herself into an odd oblique position where I end up with a prominently large lump (which can only be a butt) sticking out my right side, while my left side collapses ever so slightly. The result is funny to look at but uncomfortable to live. At least it's not painful I guess. The other new favorite toy he/she has found is my bottom right rib. I'm just waiting for it to dislocate or something one day. I'm noticing how very agile his/her little feet and toes are. Toes go in between and push it down, then toes go underneath and push it up. Back down, back up... All I can do is try to tickle the feet away. I love that he/she seems to be developing a cute little personality. I can't wait to meet him/her!!!

At my last doctors appointment on Wednesday the 24th we were told everything is wonderful! Still head down (I think it's stuck) and a strong heartbeat averaging 150. I've put on a bit more weight but I'm still within the healthy limit. I was also told that we wont be trying to find out what it is just because it's getting so cramped in there that it would be very hard to get a good look any more. I'll have to settle for a surprise... Poo... But there you go, I said in this blog when I first found out we were pregnant not to expect any big announcements of "It's a Boy!", or "It's a Girl!" But that was of course before we changed our minds (mostly Preston) in favor of getting more stuff at baby showers. Cheap? I know...

The nice thing is because I move into my next week of pregnancy on Wednesdays, it's making time feel a little faster. At least as long as I am occupied enough on the weekends. Though I have to say, it's official that when I lay down on my back I can't breathe! That's always fun right?

Oh and a few weeks ago I bought my first pair of maternity pants! I know you're thinking "How did she swing waiting till the middle of the seventh month to get around to that?" I'm just amazing like that! Actually, I wasn't exactly a skinny person when I got pregnant in the first place and then I lost about 5 pounds right away. On top of that my waist shape changed and my pants seemed looser for a long time. So far I've been very lucky in that the last month or so is when I started to REALLY look pregnant and now there's a belly there that doesn't quite fit into my pants anymore so... That's why I'm amazing and all that! The only problem with the pants is that they forgot that short people get pregnant too! So they were like 5 inches too long. I get them hemmed and now they are perfect. Preston told me that he wants to borrow them for Thanksgiving since I will have had the baby by then and be finished with them. I love that guy but sometimes there is a overwhelming need to roll my eyes at him and sigh deeply before reminding him and myself that I love him too much for his own good!

On a non baby note, I have a funny story to tell but it requires a bit of a prelude so bear with me k?

I spent the weekend of the 13th and 14th in San Simon, AZ with some of my extended family. I know that extended family for me could be a lot of random people, given that I don't have a family tree but a family hedge, so I will elaborate...


My Grandma's (Nanny) brother-in-law Ed died in the beginning of this month and I went with my mom and sister Selena to the funeral. Ed was married to Aunt Opal (Nanny’s sister) and they lived in San Simon. Two of Nanny’s other sisters were there too: Aunt Em and Aunt Lynetta. As well as Aunt Lynetta's husband Ronnie and her daughter Rhonda.

Some of the "Sisters" Aunt Em, Aunt Opal, Nanny, and Aunt Lynetta


Though it was a sad occasion that we all got together it was the most fun I've had in a while. Nanny’s sisters are a barrel of laughs!!! We sat in the kitchen most of the time and listened to stories about Uncle Ed and 'the sisters'. Every time Nanny and her sisters would go to visit Aunt Opal, Uncle Ed would play practical jokes on them, and they would play jokes on him to get him back. I swear I spent more time laughing than anything else that weekend!


Nanny told us how once Ed was sitting in the kitchen talking to her while right in front of him she was sitting with a needle and thread sewing up the toes on his socks. Another story was how one of the sisters filled his boots with salt. The best story by far was told at the funeral itself. The last big prank he played on them. Ed left a big cardboard box with some fresh cut roses on top of it in the laundry room with a note that said "For my wonderful sisters". When the sisters came in and found it they opened the box and it was apparently empty. A few minutes later the unfortunate sister that was still in the room found herself cornered by a very large snake (not a poisonous one) the rest heard her shriek and the rest of them came running in to see what happened.

All together they managed to herd it outside, recover and plan retaliation. That afternoon Ed called the house and asked "Did you get my present?"
The sister on the phone replied, "Why yes! Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers! We love them!"
Confused he called again an hour later, "Any surprises?"
"No, what do you mean?"
"Nothing."

Before he came home the sisters put a hole in a corner of the box to make it look like the snake had chewed its way out. That night they found him in the hallway, on his hands and knees, with a flashlight, looking under furniture. One of them snuck up behind him and while making a funny sound effect, pinched him on the butt! He jumped and whacked his head on the table he was under and ended up with a nice bump. The sisters felt this was their best retaliation and believe it was the reason the major pranks stopped from then on.

But that's not the story I meant to tell... lol!

After hearing the stories once again Aunt Em and Rhonda decided it was necessary to pull a few pranks in honor of his memory... So they brought out the "Indian guy". The "Indian guy" is a life sized dummy of a Native American dressed up as a cowboy. He's been around as long as I can remember and then some. This poor guy has been the brunt of lots of abuse and the base for many practical jokes.


My sister Selena has black hair and it happened to be the came color as the "Indian guy's". The sleeping arrangements were that she was sleeping in the queen sized bed with Nanny. So the night of the funeral Selena came into the kitchen and told Nanny that she was going to bed early, kissed her goodnight and left the room. Before she did that we had stuffed the poor guy into the bed on Selena's side and covered him with the blankets leaving only a little of his hair showing.

Selena waited patiently in the basement for 3 hours before Nanny finally went to bed. Nanny and I said goodnight in the hallway and she went in to bed. Selena came out of the basement and we waited just outside the door with Aunt Lynetta waiting for the scream that was sure to come any second. The lights went off and still nothing. Out in the hallway I mouthed to Lynetta "Did she get into the bed???" I could almost hear the silent fits of laughter from the others that were sleeping in the room with them, as everyone was in on the joke by this time.

Lynetta then went into the room and asked Nanny to give 'Selena' a goodnight kiss for her because she 'forgot' to. Nanny told her to just wait till morning because she didn't want to wake her up.

Finally as a last resort we sent Selena in. She walked right up to Nanny and said hello! It didn't take long for Nanny to register something was off, especially when we all started laughing hysterically. We realized she would have slept with the guy all night and might not have even noticed when she woke up the next morning.

Ok now that this post is like 10 miles long I'm going to stop now k? If you made it this far you either must really like me or I am as entertaining as I hope I am! Ha ha!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Adventures of the very early morning...

Preston and I made our first trip to the hospital this morning. I woke up at 4:30ish this morning feeling like I had lost control of my bladder. I ran to the bathroom and after I was done it kept coming and I couldn't stop it. So... what would you think was happening??? I woke up Preston and told him I was pretty sure my water had just broken. He got up and I panicked for a minute or two before I called Lora Linn, his mom. I described what had happened to her and she said she thought I should to go to the hospital. I then called my mom and then I called my step mom, mostly just to let them know what was going on and they both said a trip to the hospital was a good idea. Not that I wasn't going to go anyways but I had three mothers all telling me the same thing.

So I found my list of stuff I was planning to take to the hospital in 7 weeks and gathered what I could together. Preston and I got dressed and headed to the hospital. (Ironic side note: The last place we had been last night was the very same hospital. Preston's dad had a mini-stroke yesterday and we were there with Lora Linn and Meredith spending some time with him. He's doing great by the way. The doctors are doing some tests and being cautious.)

When we got there just after 5 AM, Lora Linn and Meredith were waiting for us at the OB entrance. We got signed in and I was given a hospital gown and put in a bed. I was the only one in there so I got a lot of fast attention. They put a fetal monitor on my belly, asked a lot of questions and did a test to see if I was really leaking amniotic fluid. We waited a few minutes and they came back with the results of my test. It wasn't amniotic fluid (Thank Goodness!!!). The nurse said it was just a lot of liquid discharge and that everything was fine. They gave me instructions on what to look for so I would know the difference in the future and I was discharged a few minutes later.

I had been so terrified that the baby would come too early and be stuck in an incubator for a month or more so I had been crying off and on throughout the whole ordeal. Having never gotten my daily nap yesterday I was exhausted by the time we left the hospital at 6 AM. I was the lucky one who got to come home and sleep and poor Preston had to head out to work an hour and a half later.

He was such a good sport the whole time, just staying clam and that helped me not freak out more than I was already. Though he said it was just because he was half asleep still.

When I called my dad to tell him everything was OK, he had already started driving down from Heber and was 20 minutes from Payson. That made me feel special and it was kinda funny too. (Though he told me that if I had waited an hour and a half longer to call him I would have had a can of his peach salsa.)

In the end all that's changed is that I am preregistered at the hospital now and we know exactly what we need to be prepared for the real thing. Everything I had procrastinated became crystal clear and a subject of panic. We're just gonna call this a practice run because that's what it felt like.

I'm all rested now and the baby is still where it belongs with its toes in my ribcage and kicking just as much as ever. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday so we will have more assurances that everything is as it should be. I don’t know if they will do another ultrasound or not so we shall see if we know WHAT it is by then as well. I mean it's a 50/50 chance either way but it's kinda hard to prepare for something like that ya know?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

9 weeks to go! And I'm going nuts!

I need to rant for a minute!

I have 3 or 4 friends that just had their babies and I'm going nuts! I want mine. I can feel feet and legs now when I feel my belly. It's so surreal to me that there is a tiny little person inside of me and I don't know what it is and I can't hold it and I can't see it. In essence it's making me crazy and very tired.

Preston's getting to be a better sport about the whole thing as he watches me get bigger and reads more of his daddy books. That helps a ton! It seems like as I lose patience and sanity he gains what I've lost.

It's getting more difficult to bend over, breathe, sleep and look in the mirror. Will it ever end? It's a little reminiscent of elementary school days when you had three weeks left till summer and just when you thought the clock couldn't move any slower it starts to go backwards (or at least it looks like it does)! I know it will end soon and I will get to hold my baby and everything will have been worth it but right now 9 weeks sounds like 9 months!

*deep breath*
*sigh*

Thanks for listening...

P.S. I actually really really really love being pregnant! I'm just having a make-it-go-faster moment that I will regret in about 3 years and wish I could rewind back to and live it again. You know?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

A quick update...

We still don't know what it is. We didn't do an ultrasound this time but the baby is healthy and was head down when the doctor checked. It's little heart sounded really strong so everything is good! I am under the impression lately that it's a girl. A few days ago I ate some chocolate and about 10 minutes later the baby went nuts kicking and squirming around. That's about how I react to chocolate so... ha ha! But we'll just have to wait and see...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

30 Weeks... 10 to go!

I have a doctors appointment today and no hope that we will find out what the baby is. Cause if I say I think we will find out or hopefully we will find out or anything of that sort then I just jinks myself. (Knocking on wood, just in case!) If we do then expect another blog today or tomorrow... k?
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Preston's new job is going stupendous!!! In case anyone was wondering. His only complaint right now is that he can't keep his scrub pants from falling down. He has a very straight waist with cute little love handles and scrubs don't accommodate belts so... He makes me laugh! Otherwise he loves driving all over the valley (and when we say all over we mean ALL OVER!). He sends me pictures of houses he thinks are cool and comes home with stories about some of the really nice people he meets. My only complaint about the whole thing is the way his hands smell after wearing the rubber gloves they provide. It smells like rotten-way-too-sweet-pancake-syrup, and of course I'm the only one that notices the smell cause of my bloodhound-pregnancy-sniffer.
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I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend. Preston got to enjoy his first holiday other then Thanksgiving or Christmas off in 3 YEARS!!! It was wonderful! From Saturday morning to Monday evening we did absolutely nothing but enjoys each others company. We talked, watched some Star Trek, played with Charlie, watched videos on you tube, cuddled, felt the baby kick, watched a movie, cuddled some more, and the best part? We built a fort! It was awesome! Can you believe Preston had never built a fort before???
If I can't call it nothing then I would call it improving our relationship. Come to find out we still love each other more than last time we checked!!! I am a very lucky woman to have been blessed with such a caring, loving, sensitive, amazing husband. I mean, you know you've got a great catch when you're 6 1/2 months pregnant and you say "I feel so fat," and his response is "you're not fat, you're pregnant". Even though he just got done watching you eat 3 helpings of whatever you had for dinner and you are now waddling because of it.
On fits and giggles note... I came across a blog called cake wrecks and nearly peed my pants because of it. For example...
Oh and I took some pretty pictures in the last couple days, and now I have to share!

Chloe getting bigger by the month...