Thursday, July 30, 2009

Getting closer..

Well, we're getting there. Closer and closer to having a child that is. Only a few more days and I'll be offically considered "term" although he probably wont be making an appearance until a bit closer to his due date.

I don't think I'll be mentioning his name on this blog. Mainly I assume only family and friends will be reading but since I have to keep it open for all of those family and friends to access it, anyone can really find it. So, for protective reasons I'll be coming up with some nickname for him on the blog. Not sure yet what that will be...since I'll always be calling him that, I want it to be good. I'll have to think about it a bit. I'll get back to you on that.

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In other news class is still going on. I only have three weeks left though so that's nice. Today I had to go watch a Preschool Story Time at one of the local libraries. I had to "observe" and now I get to write a 2-page paper on it. Not really that difficult of an assignment and it allowed me to get out of the house today. Since I'm really the only person I know that has the summer off I don't have anyone to do anything with. I'm so grateful to have all this time to relax and rest before he shows up, but it would be nice if I had a friend to go do some stuff with. Oh well, I'll survive...I just feel like I need to get out of the house more.

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Also, I've written another article on ehow:

How to take a great summer lake trip in Oklahoma - http://www.ehow.com/how_5240079_great-summer-lake-trip-oklahoma.html


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

random

Ugh, I really need to find something more interesting in my life to blog about. Not that my pregnancy isn't interesting, but after a dozen posts on the same topic? Well, now come on. Even I'm getting bored writing about it. Until this little guy decides to make his appearance I can't imagine the next couple weeks will be very interesting on that front.

I did stay home from class yesterday...I just couldn't do the hour drive both ways. It stresses me out too much. I really wish we lived closer to campus. I just hope I don't have this kid early and regret already missing a class. My teacher will understand, but it still isn't very studious of me.

So, like I've mentioned Caleb is going to be staying home with the baby during the week once I have to head back to work. He'll be working at the pub on weekends still and he'll continue to pursue his actual career interests in the evenings. Right now he's working on a webseries with some guys from work as well as a comic book. They've just finished writing the first story arc of this comic book and I got to read through issues 1-4 last night. It was pretty good and I promise I'm not just being biased. (Remember, I don't actually read comics despite how much my husband has attempted to get me into them. I just have issues with the format, not the story lines. I can't read all those little bubbles without getting confused over which one to read first. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous to the avid comic reader, but for me it makes sense. I hate reading graphic novels for the very same reason.)

Anyway, I think the comic book could be promising. I'm not sure what hoops you have to jump through to get a publisher to look at it, but I think it would be pretty neat if they were able to get the thing published. We'll see how it goes I guess. Caleb is going to the Chicago Comic-Con in next weekend..he goes simply to see the panels he says. Apparently they give things away about certain stories, or at least hint at them. Yeah..the only way I'd go is if David Tennant was there. So, if we lived in the San Diego area I would have gone to that one last week...gotta love the Doctor!

Okay, just some random babbling. Off to do something else non-productive. Maybe I'll actually work on some homework today...that would actually be productive for once.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Good morning everyone! I've written another ehow article:

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In other news, Stellan (see the icon on the left side of my page) isn't doing well this morning. If you read MckMama's blog (www.mycharmingkids.net) you can see what the little guy has gone through in his short life.

It is looking very bad though, here is her latest Twitter: It's bad. Our parents and families are on their way. I don't know what's happening. Stellan is in my arms.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

$ for my knowledge...

I recently found this great website (ehow.com) that you join for free, write articles on things you know how to do and then get paid for them. The more people that read the articles and click on the ads associated with them, the more you make. I'm hoping this can really help us out in the money department. I'm not sure I can make more than $200 a month, but if I can even make that it should be pretty great for us! You can write articles on anything you know. So far I've written three:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5216526_make-turkey-spice-rub-holidays.html



Check them out if you have time! I like making articles on recipes since I have a few of those that will work well. Once I exhaust those however, I'm not really sure what else to write about. I'll have to do some thinking.

Friday, July 24, 2009

One more month

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday =)

Tomorrow I will be officially one month out from my due date. That seems to be all I can talk about on this blog these days. How quickly this is all going. Oh well, you'll get over it. If anyone is actually reading that is.

UPDATE: We did finally find a car seat that fits correctly in my car. The Combi Coccoro (which I posted about a couple posts ago) fits in the middle seat without touching the seats in front and without making it impossible to sit in the front. I love it. I can't wait until he gets here so we can try it out.

I mentioned a while ago that it looks like we wont be putting the baby in daycare anymore. Well, this is because...Caleb is going to stay home with him! I'm very excited and a little jealous about this. I want to be a stay at home mom so badly, but it just can't happen right now. Not only does my job pay the rent but I'm in the middle of getting my masters which actually applies to my current job. It would be stupid to quit even if my paycheck wasn't vital.

Things will be tight without Caleb working during the week, but we think daycare will end up costing more. Plus, he should be able to pick up weekend hours. Since I get off work early and am home by 3:45 then he can get his much needed break from "daddy time" and I know I'll be more than happy to take over watching the baby. So, it should be good - I'll keep you updated.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

35 weeks...satan is trying to move in...


Here I am at 35 weeks and I'm starting to feel as nervous as I did in the first trimester. Most of the time my thoughts are centered around the amazing idea that I will be a mommy in a month's time but sometimes those darker thoughts associated with our previous loss creep their way in.

Mainly those thoughts revolve around the idea of something going wrong at the last minute. Cord accidents, low fluid, anything that the world could do to keep me from having this baby. Like everything is too good to be true.

I think these thoughts reflect back on those lighter thoughts of amazement because if it didn't seem so surreal that I was about to have a child, would I be as inclined to worry that it wont happen? Everyday my son assures me he's doing fine. His movement patterns stay the same for the most part (although this didn't keep me from calling the doctor last Friday because he slept an hour longer than usual...of course, right after I called he started jumping around) and his heartbeat is always nice and strong. Plus, he's even head down - so no worries there.

In my heart I know it will be fine, God has blessed us with this little man. He is our "Gift from God" which is the whole reason I love his name so much. (I love names with a great deeper meaning.) Yet, satan creeps in periodically and seems to be gaining a little more ground as I get closer to the end. My current challenge is not to let him and rely on faith to guide me these last few weeks.

My doctor's know what they are doing. I will have constant fetal monitoring...this baby will be perfect and he will grow big and strong. He will look like his father and he will be the son I've always dreamed of.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Mission Impossible

We are on a mission. A mission to find a car seat that will fit properly in the backseat of a 2001 VW Golf.

The Babytrend seat we got with our travel system is too small (as I mentioned a few posts ago) so we did a little research and heard that the Graco Snugride would fit...yeah that was a big lie. Apparently these people who keep saying these seats fit are installing them incorrectly. At least as far as I've been informed.

You aren't supposed to allow the car seat to touch the seats in front, right? If that's wrong and it can touch them, then we don't have a problem...but according to my friend as well as the instruction booklet, the car seat is not supposed to touch the seats in front in an accident...much less all the time.

We're going to head over to BabiesRus after church on Sunday to see if we can find anything. I'm tempted to just spend $200 and get a convertible seat since he'll need one eventually anyway.

Some that say they're "compact" for smaller vehicles:









Britax Diplomat














Britax Roundabout














and my favorite...the Combi Coccoro


Of course the Combi seat is only sold online so there isn't really a way to test it out. I might just buy it from BabiesRus so we can return it to the store if need be...



Monday, July 13, 2009

Not Me! Monday!


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

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So it is my first attempt at a Not Me! Monday! post. Since I don't have kiddos quite yet it probably wont be nearly as entertaining...but here we go!

I did not refuse to fill our cats food bowls until they ate what they'd already knocked out onto the floor...I'm not that lazy!

I did not totally forget to RSVP to my best friend's wedding shower...Not me! I'm always on top of things.

I did take a shower yesterday...yup, everyday I'm clean and dressed. I never hang out all day in my pjs.

I'm definitely not wishing this baby would come early despite knowing that it would create major issues with my maternity leave if he does...

And lastly, I did not ignore almost all of my homework this weekend. Nope, not me! I'm way on top of it and spent the entire weekend getting ahead. Right.


Saturday, July 11, 2009

bullet points..

- We had our hospital tour today and it made this whole impending labor thing very real.

- I'm only weeks away from checking into labor and delivery.

- I'm excited about my stay at this hospital, it's a nice place.

- Our cat Anubis cracks me up b/c he enjoys "sunning" himself under our desk lamp.

- I'll be 34 weeks on Tuesday so I've decided to slowly start drinking my Red Raspberry Leaf tea. I'm supposed to drink 3-4 cups a day, but since it causes braxton hicks I'm going to wait a few more weeks until I get up to that many.

- We're currently watching Harry Potter 3 which happens to be my favorite of the 7 books.

- I really need to read the sixth book again, after seeing the previews for the movie I'm realizing I don't remember much at all!

- We got a tuition reimbursement check from my work today and it was truly a blessing from God. He provided for us when we needed it most. Thank you Lord!

- Next Saturday is Sarah's bridal shower ... I still need to go shopping for her!

- Had to buy another car seat today, the one that goes w/ our travel system doesn't fit in my car. We've put it in Caleb's and are hoping this new one will fit mine. If not I'll be returning it to Amazon ... wishing we could afford a bigger car!

- Probably had too much caffeine today ... hopefully it'll be okay.

- Played Wii Sports by myself last night b/c I was feeling very lazy ... my arms are sore now.

- I'm excited b/c we may not be putting the baby into daycare ... I wouldn't mind putting him in when he's older (2 or so) but it's been weighing on me that we would have to put him in daycare right away (Not only that aspect, but the $ as well! Daycare is NOT cheap in Chicago). Now it looks like we wont have to!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Reflections @ 33 weeks...


Well, I will be 33 weeks on Tuesday (for some reason the "what to expect" ticker above always puts me ahead by a few days) which means I only have 7 weeks before my due date and 4 weeks before he COULD make an appearence (however unlikely)!

I can't believe how quickly this has gone by. I also can't believe that in a month and half I will have a child. A real, live child that belongs to me. My life will be changed forever in a moment and it still feels so unreal. I hope every parent feels this way. I'm not completely out of it, I am thinking ahead to Christmas and next summer, factoring Nathan in. Knowing that he'll be this old, or that old when we go do this, etc.

However, it just doesn't seem like these are really my last few weeks of true "youth". My last few weeks before my heart is running around outside of my body (I heard having a child explained like this once and I really liked it...I thought it made a lot of sense.) This is my last Fourth of July without children and I just celebrated my last birthday without children. It is such a surreal feeling. I KNOW my life is going to change...I just don't FEEL like my life is going to change...at least I guess that's a way to describe it.

I'm just glad my pregnancy has been fairly pleasent. He's sitting nice and low so I hardly ever have a hard time breathing. I'm still getting decent sleep at night and am just thankful he doesn't kick too hard yet (minus trying to stretch out my side). Thank goodness I haven't had much heartburn (milk does the body good!) since I love eating spicy, heartburn inducing foods...

Another weird thing about when he's born will be not feeling him move anymore. I've gotten so used to the kicks, pokes and rolls over the last 4-5 months that it will be so strange to no longer have him there. I'm extremely excited to see him, but it will be weird.

Anyway, those are my random thoughts for the day. Before I know it he'll be here. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Happy Fireworks!