The Year in Review: 2008

The Lord has blessed me!

January 26
Having Caleb's birthday party at our house and seeing his reaction to the Batman cake I made for him.


March 22
Surprising my Mom like she's never been surprised before by throwing her a 50th birthday party!


March 27-30
Having Caleb come stay with us all by himself for a whole weekend! So much fun!


May 2-6
Chicago trip in May to see great friends and some family, too!


July 23-26
Oregon coast trip in July with my parents, sisters, their husbands, my sweet nephew, my grandparents, and my aunt and her kids


August 19-23
Vegas trip with my sisters and their husbands. Vegas was eh, but we had a great time together!

September 6
Pickling with my sweet mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Mmmmm!


October 14
Celebrating 2 years of marriage with my wonderful husband at The Melting Pot.


October 21
Hands-down the best moment of 2008 - finding out that my amazing husband is going to be an amazing dad. Baby Baldwin due July 2, 2009!


October 30
Telling my husband's parents that they're going to be grandparents for the first time and telling his sister and brother-in-law that they're going to be aunt and uncle!


October 31
Telling my parents that they're going to have another grandchild. My mom's reaction of "Are you serious?" then covering her face with her hands and sobbing will forever be tattooed on my brain.
Some of my other top moments of 2008 were when my sisters both announced their pregnancies. Since I couldn't remember the exact dates, I'm just going to mention it here. So exciting that we're all pregnant at the same time. My mom called the weekend that we told them we were pregnant "emotionally exhausting" (in a good way!)...they'll now have a grandchild born in April, another in May, and another in July. The only picture I have is of Caleb in his Darth Vader costume...


November 14
Seeing our baby for the first time and hearing that heart beat at 141bpm


November 18
Carrie and Chris are having a GIRL!

November 27
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Baldwin family and the Dawsons.
This is where the pictures get a little dicey. For some reason neither D nor I have felt the motivation to pick up the camera at family events lately. I think we're just soaking it in too much to have a lense in front of our face :)

December 17
Lindsay and Craig are having a GIRL!

December 20
"Arctic Blast" hits the Seattle area. D put out bird seed after seeing so many birds in the trees and they definitely appreciated it. They kept coming back. You can kind of see their little prints in the snow... There are two birds in this picture, but many are out of my camera's view under the window where D put the container of seed.


December 22
We got to see our baby again...this time he/she was looking a lot more human. Cute, even! Heart beating strong at 162bpm.


December 23-28
We had a really wonderful time with my family for Christmas. My parents gave us, among other things, a Blu Ray player per couple. We opened those gifts then gave Dad his gift from all of us - the exact same Blu Ray player! In the time we were in Oregon, we ate (a lot!), played games, and went to see 2 movies: "Bolt" and "Marley & Me". If you go see Marley & Me, take tissues. If you go see Marley & Me and you've ever had a dog you loved dearly, take 2 boxes of tissues. If you go see Marley & Me and you're the spouse of a pregnant woman who has owned a dog, make sure she has 2 boxes of tissues then give her your 2 boxes, too.

Today at work is relatively quiet. Many people are out today. Tomorrow we'll be going to D's parents' house for a belated Christmas. I'm really looking forward to it! Tonight we have a New Year's Eve party to attend after a singing at church and hopefully I don't have to play the pregnancy card at the party so I can get home and in bed.

I realize I've probably missed many things in my review of 2008...if I remember some things then I'll definitely come back and add them.

Ultrasound 12w4d

There are a lot of things I could post about. The 7"+ of snow we have at our house, the drive down to Oregon, the birds. But, today we were able to see our baby again and that takes precedence.

Healthy baby, measuring exactly where he/she should measure. 162bpm was the heart rate. D and I are completely and totally elated. The baby was literally jumping around in there and waving and kicking up a storm. It was so neat to see our own child moving around like that. I had orange juice at breakfast (was craving it like crazy) so maybe that's what did it.

The ultrasound technician gave us at least 10-12 photos of our baby, but for the sake of keeping my readers, I'm only sharing a few. The ultrasound technician did give us a guess on what gender she thought we were having, but for the sake of not driving ourselves crazy we're only sharing that information with immediate family. Once we know for sure then you will know!

This is the baby, head to rump. The tech told us that a black blob on the baby was the stomach and the baby was well-nourished. She could tell that the baby was full!


This is, obviously, the baby's open hand (a good sign). I just love this picture.


A closeup of the baby's profile - isn't that the sweetest nose you've ever seen!? There's also a foot thrown in the mix, too!


Well, D & I spent 4+ hours on the road today so we're exhausted. I'm going to head to bed. I'm really excited about spending this week down in Oregon and tomorrow we'll build a snowman with my nephew, Caleb. Fun, fun! My mom has already made 3 different kinds of treats with plans to make more. It's very festive with all the snow we've gotten the last week - and Portland got at least 10-12"!

Isn't family wonderful? I'm so blessed to have two wonderful families whom I love SO much!

Ok, enough for now. Maybe more later! :)

Snow Day!

Sorry for my delay in posting. We've been pretty busy.

First, my little sister, Lindsay, is having a baby girl! We're so excited. Now both of my sisters are having girls! My mom predicts that we'll all three have girls. Guess we'll know around late January/early February!

Tuesday night we went to the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle and saw...

The guy in the green could really kick! It was great - I loved it. The dancing was incredible and they did a pretty good job with the original songs even though they didn't sing the "June Bride" song. Of course, I grew up watching the musical at least once a year if not more so my expectations were high! I'd love to own the musical someday (hint, hint, Santa!). Anyway, I couldn't take pictures of the show but I snuck a few pictures of the theater. It's a really awesome place. D & I are going to make going to the theater an annual tradition around Christmas time. We love going - we have such a good time together. Last year we went and saw "Jersey Boys" at the Fifth Avenue Theater.
The first picture is of the stage. The second is the ceiling of the theater.


Today, my husband and I are on our laptops on the couch, sipping hot chocolate in front of the fire. Snow started falling early this morning and didn't let up. There's not much on the ground, maybe an inch, but the freeway by our house is impassible. That's how we roll in Seattle. The littlest amount of snow and the whole city shuts down. Then there are those who try to get out and they stop in the middle of the freeway to put chains on their tires. Or, better yet, those who just stop in the middle of the freeway and abandon their vehicles. Smmaarrrrt.

My sweet husband saw some birds flying around the trees in our front yard so he put out some luke warm water for them and defrosted our bird feeder so they could eat. Isn't he sweet?
The first picture is the view off our back deck. The second picture is of my sweet husband putting the water out for the birds.


In other news, I'm 12 weeks pregnant today! Baby is the size of a plum! My next ultrasound is on Monday and I'm really excited. I can't wait to see him/her again!

Snow is still coming down. It would be nice if we could get a 4 day weekend out of this! Actually, I'm working from home but I'd rather be working at home rather than working at work! :)

Have a good Thursday!

Weekend Happenings

I know I've been away too long.

I spent all day Saturday on my feet in the kitchen preparing food for our holiday party that evening. D has hosted this holiday party for the last 7 years so it's become a tradition. Although, as the years pass we invite fewer and fewer people. Only about 9 of us there this year, but I still wanted it to be special. I made homemade York Peppermint patties, fudge, and sugar cookies with chocolate frosting.

I messed up the peppermint patties pretty badly. Instead of 6 cups of confectioners sugar, I added 6 cups of regular sugar. Grainy, grainy mess. Into the garbage it went and my amazing husband was kind enough to run to the store and grab me another sweetened condensed milk so I could start over. He also went to 2 different stores for marshmallow creme because apparently Safeway was completely cleaned out of marshmallow creme. Seriously. The fudge was very tasty, though. It was firm yet creamy.

I didn't take a picture of the food. None of it. Didn't take any pictures at the party, didn't take any pictures of the Christmas decorations that I finally got around to putting up on Thursday night. I'll tell you why. It's because my heels hurt. My back hurt. And, some funky nerve in my lower back has been killing me for a couple of weeks and that hurt, too. When I could sit down and do absolutely nothing, I did. Even taking pictures was too much of a comittment for me by the end of the afternoon on Saturday.

During our party it began to snow. By the end of our party we probably had about an inch on the ground, and then after everyone left we kept accumulating. D got out his tape measure and measured 1 3/4" of snow. The trip to church on Sunday morning was interesting. We live on a hill and there's no way to get off the hill other than driving down the hill (makes sense, right?). The roads were icy but D managed to manuver like a pro and we arrived safely at worship. Evening service was cancelled and it's probably best - the temperature didn't reach above freezing the entire day so the icy roads just got icier and by Sunday night our cul de sac was a solid sheet of ice. Fortunately for us a sand truck came and sanded our cul de sac and road to our neighborhood.

This morning on my way to work, my car temperature gauge said 18°. Seriously - 18°. In Seattle. Right now the sun is shining and there are only a spattering of clouds in the sky. We are forecasted for more snow on Wednesday.

Tomorrow night, D and I are going to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. I'm SO excited. I grew up loving the musical and it thrills me to be able to see it live on stage. D, of course, is not as thrilled...but he loves me and because he loves me he is going with me!

Whitney at Glamorous Life of a Housewife has a giveaway today - go check it out.

And now... Recipes

Homemade York Peppermint Patties

1 (14−ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
Green or red food coloring, optional
6 cups confectioners' sugar
Additional confectioners' sugar
1 − 16 oz. bag semi−sweet chocolate chips

In large mixer bowl, combine Eagle Brand, extract and food coloring if desired. Add 6 cups sugar; beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with confectioners sugar. Knead lightly to form smooth ball.

Tear off enough of the mixture to make 1" balls and knead in hand until the consistency of bubble gum. Roll into 1" balls and place 2 inches apart on wax paper−lined baking sheets. Flatten each ball into a 1 ½−inch patty immediately after placing each one on the wax paper. Let dry 1 hour or longer; turn over and let dry at least 1 hour.

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave set on high for 2 minutes. Stir halfway through the heating time. Melt thoroughly, but do not overheat. Melting the chocolate chips can also be done using a double−boiler over low heat. With fork, dip each patty into warm chocolate (draw fork lightly across rim of pan to remove excess coating). Invert onto wax paper−lined baking sheets; let stand until firm. Store covered at room temperature or in refrigerator.

Note from Jamie: I dipped a few, but it was a MESS. I ended up just using a butter knife to coat the top of the mint with chocolate and I left the bottom untouched.

Carolynn's Sugar Cookies
(Carolynn is my mom!)

1 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar
1 egg
3 T heavy cream or whole milk
1 t vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Cream butter & sugar in a large bowl. Beat in egg, cream, and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Chill dough while oven is preheating. Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out dough 1/3 at a time. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake 5-10 minutes.

Fudge

1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

I love the holidays. I can't wait for a week from now when D & I head down to Oregon for my family's week-long holiday tradition extravaganza. Always something happening around the holidays with my family. I think every day and night that we're down there is filled with something to do - never a dull moment!

I'll try to update again if we get snow on Wednesday. This is one of those weeks that I'll be taking my laptop home from work every night just in case it's too dangerous to get out on the roads the next day.

Happy Monday!

Spontaneity

Last night was a good night.

My husband is a planner and I really love that about him. We balance each other out pretty well. What I forget, he remembers; what he forgets, I usually remember. Although, since I like to be honest, I'll tell you that it's almost always me doing the forgetting and him doing the reminding. But, as I said, his need for organization and planning and "doing things right away" in general have worked very well for us. He has a Treo that he writes everything in...grocery lists, instructions from my doctor's visits, books people recommend, general "to dos" around the house, reminders to send emails to certain people. Really, I don't know how our little family would function without D's list-making. However, sometimes it gets a little frustrating when D needs to ask me 10 questions before we go out on a date night. In his defense, he's just trying to make sure I get what I want, but, being a woman, sometimes I just want him to guess! :) Spontaneity is something that requires stretching outside his comfort zone, but hey, if that's the only thing he might be a little lacking on, I'll take it!

I guess lately I've been more vocal in my need for a little spontaneity in our relationship...probably to the point where if D hears the word "spontaneous" again he'll go running and screaming in the other direction.

Which leads me to, once again, say that last night was a good night. Right before I left work, my wonderful husband called me and told me not to make dinner when I got home. I asked him why not and he said "I'm trying to be more spontaneous". When he got home from work, he was ready to go. When I asked him where he was taking me, he said "I was thinking of that Chinese place that we haven't been to". I have been craving Chinese food, and here he was guessing that I wanted to eat Chinese! So, we ate at this place down the hill called Stir. It was actually pretty good! We both agreed that we'll be going back there often. THe prices were great and the atmosphere was really nice. D was able to order Thai food and I ordered my Chinese dish. They also served sushi which made me think that my dad would enjoy Stir, too.

After dinner we went to Target for some random items. The company I work for is adopting a family for the holidays so I wanted to pick up some things for the kids. The family is a single mother with 5 children ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old. All they asked for is tennis shoes, but of course we will provide them with more than that. I have heard one person complain about giving to a family where the parent "obviously" keeps popping out kids without being able to provide financially for them. This person outright said that she judged this family from the get-go and was hesitant to donate. I told her that we are doing this for the kids and, since the kids can't help how many siblings they have, they shouldn't be judged. I'm sad that some people feel this way. Wouldn't it be fun to be a fly on the wall when those kids receive the gifts?

There's a new shopping center by us with a new movie theater and outdoor area and it's really nice. The Target is new as well as a few other chain retailers who have opened their doors in the last 6 months or so. There's a Ross over there, too. I'm not usually a Ross shopper, but I figured since it's new it probably was pretty clean and organized. WRONG. I don't think it matters how new a Ross store is, they will always be completely trashed. I won't go in to why I think that's the case, but I will say I'm sorry for the Ross employees...seems like a lot of work.

Christmas decorating and everything involved with that is going slowly this year. After we got home last night I was exhausted. I just wanted to go to bed, so I did. I have probably 25 Christmas cards ready to be mailed - some missing addresses that I need to look up - and at least 30 more cards to write. It's those cards as well as the 8+ boxes of Christmas decorations that make me wish I was Mary Poppins and could just snap my fingers and have the decorations magicially adorn themselves around the room. I wouldn't even bother this year if it weren't for a Christmas party we are having at our house this weekend for some of our close friends.

I think I've rambled enough. Have a happy Wednesday!

Belly, Baking Disaster, Seattle Underground

First, because it's been requested, here is a picture of me at 10 weeks, 1 day. Yeah, not much there besides the "fluff" I already had in plenty supply. And yes, I sucked in for the photo. Between the fluff and the bloat, I figured sucking in was the best chance I had at actually showing a baby belly. Still nothing much to see. Next photo at 15 weeks and in 5 week increments after that. Carrie said she never took belly pictures with her first kid and now wishes she had...so here I am.
We went to a gift exchange on Friday night and were asked to bring a potluck item. Yes, I chose a dessert. I found a recipe for a peppermint cake and I already had the ingredients so I made it when I got home from work on Friday. I was in a hurry, but I let the bundt cake cool down for about 8 minutes before placing the designated Christmas-themed paper plate on top of it and turning it over. I was too close to the edge of the countertop so when I turned over the cake, it started to fall off the edge of the counter. I tried to catch it. This is the result of when an oven mitt meets a warm bundt cake while trying to save its life...
I still took the cake to the party and people ate it so I guess the note I wrote that I attached to the plate worked. The note just explained that a dog didn't get to the cake - just an oven mitt.

Did you know that Seattle has an underground? Such an interesting story. On Saturday morning, D and I went to brunch at the Library Bistro downtown with some friends and then afterward went on the Seattle Underground tour. Oddly enough, most of the people with us had grown up in Seattle yet none of us had ever been on the tour. You can read more about it here, but here's the scoop in general:

In 1889, there was a Seattle fire which leveled most of the buildings in the city.

The city was already a stinky mess because of tides and sewage and other problems, so the mayor decided to use the fire as an opportunity to "start over" and even out the terrain.

The people who had come to Seattle to start businesses didn't want to wait 8-10 years (while the terrain was being leveled) to make money so they built their businesses anyway (now out of stone and brick instead of flamable wood).

Thick stone walls were built around the buildings making "alleys" where the streets would be.

The hillsides surrounding Seattle were blasted with water and the erosion of the land forced the terrain into the "alleys" in the city below, effectively making the streets 2nd story to the buildings.

The picture to the right is an original "Crapper" toilet used back in the late 1800s in underground Seattle. In Seattle, because of the tide, these used to flush backwards...sometimes 4 to 6 feet high. Yuck!

At first, pedestrians climbed ladders from the businesses to the streets above. Some of the walls that pedestrians were climbing were up to 32' high! No one died in the Seattle fire, but 17 people died by falling from street level to the "sidewalk" below. They finally decided to build a sidewalk on the 2nd story level, making the 1st story of the businesses "underground".

The underground portion of Seattle was a den of drugs, gambling, and prostitution after it was condemned in 1907.

The picture to the left is of the Seattle Underground. We are walking on what used to be the first level sidewalk. You see the stone wall to the left then to the right you would see the actual building's first floor. Above us is the street sidewalk and above the stone wall is the street!

Today, the Underground is used as a tour. When you're walking around downtown Seattle around Pioneer Square, just remember that if you're on a sidewalk, chances are there are people taking a tour right underneath you! They have glass skylights original to when they first paved in the sidewalks to the 2nd story of buildings. So fascinating how the glass is now purple instead of clear because of age.

What a fun tour! I highly recommend taking the Seattle Underground Tour if you come to Seattle (which you should!).

Yesterday we placed membership with the church in Kent where D's family attend. We had a great meeting with the elders and I'm already signed up to substitute teach the 4-5 year olds and D is signed up to substitute teach the 7th graders. D also volunteered to help record the sermons and anything technical. We feel at home - it's a great group.

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday afternoon. I've been a big advocate of fake Christmas trees, especially since the critters that crawl out of the live ones really don't appeal to me. And all the cleaning up pine needles is for the birds! However, I've realized once again this year that separating the branches of fake trees isn't all that fun. I guess either way there are advantages and disadvantages! Do you do a fake or a real tree?

Tonight my Christmas decorations go up. I'll be glad when it's done!

Have a good Monday.

Happy Birthday, Tess!

Today our long-haired chihuahua, Tess, turns 7 years old!

We love her so much and I think she's going to be in for a rude awakening when the baby arrives and she's not the center of D's attention anymore. She's such a good girl. She never barks unless she hears or sees something out of the ordinary outside and she's super cuddly - you can hold her like a baby and rub her belly or just hold her normally and she'll nuzzle your neck.

She's getting old - she can't jump up on our bed anymore unassisted and that makes me sad. I hope she lives for a long, long time!

Hello, Sensodyne

I literally ate pickles and ice cream for dinner a couple of nights ago. Thinking about it right now doesn't do great things for my appetite. Last night I made Poppyseed Chicken for dinner which was my first attempt at making a "real" meal for David since I've been pregnant. Sad, I know. I ended up eating a bowl of cereal instead of the chicken last night, but I got bonus wife points for making my husband green peas even though I despise green peas with a fiery passion.

I went to the dentist yesterday afternoon. Never a fun experience, but especially awful when you're pregnant and your gums are extra sensitive and extra likely to bleed. Apparently I have "pregnancy gingivitis" and one of my roots is exposed on my teeth which is probably why it hurts to brush. Either way, the dentist is not a fun place to go even though the staff are all very friendly. However, I did want to rip the floss out of the hygenist's hands when she was flossing my teeth. She had just told me that I had "pregnancy gingivitis" and here she was digging the floss as far into my gums as humanly possible. I don't have to go back to the dentist until late July after the baby is born, but I can still smell the dentist's office. You know - the scent of flouride and latex. Gag.

In more positive news, I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow! Only a couple of more weeks until I am done with the first trimester. I'm ready!

I never made the Maple Scones. Sad.

Off to attempt to find something appetizing to eat. :)

Turkey Day run-down

I hope you all had a really great Thanksgiving! I did. As I expected, I wasn't up for much eating, but I did manage to shovel down some of my father-in-law's amazing fried turkey (I had a pile of it on my plate that I should have been ashamed of, but I wasn't) and some yummy stuffing made by my mother-in-law, and a really, really good roll. No pie for me this year.

The cheesecake I made (from Pioneer Woman's website) had a good flavor, but the crust was hard as a rock and difficult to chew. Gross. My dad liked the flavor, though, so hopefully he'll polish off the rest of it since I left it at their house.

My husband decided to tell me about my Christmas gift early this year because he wanted my input on the specifics of what to get. Here's what he bought for me on Friday and before you say it, I will: I'm spoiled.
KitchenAid 5-Quart 475-watt Professional Stand Mixer

Mine is silver to match the stainless steel appliances in our kitchen. It came with the 4 mixing bowls and the KitchenAid timer. I'm going to have SO much fun making holiday treats with this mixer! Thanks, D! He really knows what I like!

D & I drove down to Oregon on Thursday night after Thanksgiving with his parents. No traffic - we got there around 11:45pm. The next morning my sisters picked me up at 5:15 and we headed to Kohl's. Carrie was able to get a couple of Christmas gifts bought, whereas I just bought a few baby outfits and a Christmas cookie stand for myself. The three of us bought 'Baby's 1st Thanksgiving' outfits that match but that aren't exactly the same...I can't wait to see all the babies in their outfits next year!

After that, the guys and my parents met us at a local restaurants for our annual "Black Friday" breakfast. I've been craving ham, so I had ham and toast then got fruit instead of hashbrowns. I can't wait until Christmas dinner when my mom will serve a HoneyBaked Ham...I'm salivating just thinking about it. Mom, if it's not HoneyBaked that's okay, too - any ham will do! My mom isn't a big ham person - she wanted to do hamburgers or steak. But, when 3 pregnant daughters simultaneously gagged at the thought of beef, she caved. What a nice mom!

Mom, Carrie, Lindsay and I hit a local craft store then the mall after breakfast. JC Penny had a really great deal on men's dress slacks. Normally $60 each, they were marked down to $23 with the "early bird" discount on top of the sale price. I also found a pair of nice khaki-colored maternity pants and a red maternity sweater at JC Penny. I'm currently wearing both because they're so comfortable. I love that the pants don't fall down, but I can tell that they'll grow with me. Right about the time we were done at JC Penny, we were kind of done shopping, too. But, we stopped in Motherhood Maternity and my lovely mother bought me a nice assortment of maternity clothes. Thanks, Mom (& Dad)!

On Saturday I helped Mom put up her Christmas decorations then later we all met for family pictures at a local photography studio. That night, it was decorating the tree and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" while the men in the family played cards.

Yesterday after church we ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant. I always hate leaving Oregon - it's always hard to come back home. I know I'm blessed to have family that I love to be around (on both sides!).

Tonight, I start on Christmas cards.

Gobble, gobble.

First Prenatal Appointment & Frito Pie

I know - 2 posts in 2 days...what is the world coming to? :)

We got to see the baby again last night...he/she was beautiful! We got to see the flickering heart beat again which was just amazing. I will never get tired of seeing my baby's heart beating. I am a little spoiled because I was able to see the baby at my last u/s with a really high resolution u/s machine. This machine was just the portable one so it wasn't clear at all. I might post the picture of the baby later, but I don't have it on me here at work.

D and I waited almost 20 minutes after my appointment was scheduled (we got there about 10 minutes before my appointment - so 30 min total waiting time) before I was called back. It's nice to have afternoon appointments, but usually they're pretty backed up by then so you have to wait. Anyway, I was weighed (lost some, but I have it to lose), made a liquid contribution, then went back and waited for the doctor. She came in, introduced herself, then started a rundown of my history. She was very personable and knowledgable. She told us right away that she was on call and that there's a woman in labor right now about to give birth to her 5th child, so if she gets called out then she apologizes but that's why. So, sure enough about 10 minutes into our talk she was called out. The nurse came in and told us it could be 45 min to 1 hour and we could either reschedule or we could wait in that room. D and I chose to wait. I figured since it's her 5th child she probably won't push for very long, and the hospital was literally a couple of blocks away. I was right - the doctor came back after 42 minutes (D happened to look at the time) and we proceeded. The doctor told us that I'm actually due on July 2nd, not the 3rd. I need to change my ticker.

We had Frito Pie for dinner. Beans of some sort sounded good and Fritos sounded REALLY good, so that's what we ate. If you don't know what a Frito Pie is, it's Fritos, then you put chili on top of the Fritos (we use the Nalley "hot" chili), then you can put jalepenos and cheese on top of that, and then once that's all melted and hot (microwave) my Dad taught me to put mustard on it. It sounds gross, but it's SO GOOD. I even got D hooked! I can't remember the last time I made a good, rounded meal. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it's true. I'm very blessed to have an easy-going husband.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we have a lot to be thankful for.

Sidenote:
David's credit card number was stolen and used in the amount of $1200 at Kaplan College. The good news is that the bank is taking care of the charge. The bad news is that they put a stop on the credit card and we won't have a new one for 7-10 business days which means we can't rack up miles by charging our BLack Friday purchases. Bummer.

A non-post

I'm sorry I've been such a slacker at the blogging thing - both posting and commenting. Literally all I feel like doing these days is sleep, rest, and sleep. Last night I didn't get to bed until after 10:30pm. In my defense, I was ready for bed by a little after 10, but D & I like to go to bed at the same time if at all possible and he was still up and about getting things done. I woke up around 5am and debated on whether to get up and use the restroom or to stay in bed and sleep for another half hour when my alarm would wake me up anyway. I opted for the latter. It's not very easy to find a position in bed that's comfortable with a full bladder.

This afternoon is my first prenatal appointment. I'm hoping beyond hope that they give me another ultrasound, but somehow I doubt it. I'm excited to meet my doctor and I'm glad that D will be with me.

Tomorrow I'll make Pioneer Woman's Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake to refrigerate overnight in preparation for Thanksgiving. When I think of eating a gingersnap plain I want to vomit, but I'm hoping that it will serve well as the crust with other yummy sweetners and butter added.

We're spending Thanksgiving Day at D's parents house along with his sister, brother-in-law, and his brother-in-law's family.

I'm going to interrupt my own post to say that I think I should end it here. I'm so tired that I'm having a hard time staying awake while typing. As a matter of fact, I walked into the lunchroom a minute ago and thought I was going to fall asleep while walking. I don't even like Red Bull, but if I were allowed that much caffeine right now I'd have a hard time turning it down were it offered to me.

Ok, off to toast a bagel. Sorry for the boring non-update, but I feel boring today.

Just another baby blog

I'm sure you'll be sick and tired of hearing about my pregnancy by the time these next 8 months are done. But, until I get a pregnancy journal (which is likely to be never), I will be chronicling the in-utero life of my baby here.

People ask us if we have names picked out yet.

No.

Boy names are hard. Girls names are relatively easy but D nixes 90% of the names I suggest. There's one name in particular that I've been trying to warm him up to ever since we've been married, practically.

D, if you're reading this, please reconsider.

He wants to be able to call our potential daughter by a shortened version of the name I love and I'm just not a fan. This makes it sound like I have it all figured out that we're having a girl. I don't. Just sayin'. Anyway, we've decided not to start considering names until we find out what we're having. Lord willing, that will be late January or early February. D has also said that he doesn't want to name our child until we've seen his or her face. That might change when he has to address baby in my tummy as "Girl baby" or "Boy baby". I support either way. I'd love to keep any potential names a secret, but I'm a horrible secret-keeper so if I cave easily on that, just want you to know ahead of time that "I told you so".

What are you contributing to Thanksgiving dinner?

I'm contributing a green bean casserole, Waldorf salad, and a pumpkin cake.

I'm a little concerned for my cooking/baking abilities right now. There's a good chance that I could lose my lunch at any given time while making food from scratch. I have faith that I will be able to pull off making said dishes.

At this point I do not make dinner at home - I went out and bought a lot of macaroni & cheese, Spaghetti-Os (yes, my 30-year-old husband still enjoys a bowl of Spaghetti-Os with meatballs), frozen pizza, and hot dogs. I'm such a lucky girl to have a husband who is so low-maintenance. I find that I can eat hot meals as long as someone else prepares them. Hey D, Mexican sounds good - when's our next date night?

My family always eats breakfast out on Black Friday then we hit the sales. This year we're hitting the mall first. Pray for us. I'm seriously considering breaking out some elbow pads for the occasion and using them to push my way through the crowds. I'm one for great bargains but not one for crowds. Maybe I'll get one of those motorized scooters. Or, maybe I'll leave those for the older people. I'll get through it - I always do. It never fails to feel funny to get home around 10:30am and marvel at how much of the day is actually left.

Question of the day: Milk, dark, or white chocolate?

Happy Veteran's Day (late)

Oh, by the way, my twin sister is having a girl! We're so excited!

I wanted to do this post on Veteran's Day or on the Marine Corps Birthday (the day before Veteran's Day) but I didn't have this information at the time.

I asked my Grandad about his service in the Marines and he wrote a really great letter for me. I want to share it with you. The photo is of my Grandad - isn't he handsome?

Here is the letter - I know it's lengthy but it's worth a read.
-------------------------------------------
Hi Sweet Girl,

Hey, what prompted this? Did you notice that last Monday (11/10) was the Marine Corps Birthday? Most Marines are very "Gung Ho" and don't fail to remind anyone within reach of the auspicious occasion of the founding of the USMC on November 10, 1775 in Tun's Tavern in Philadelphia!

You are kind to ask -- I'll be glad to give you a brief (I sometimes redefine that word!) summary of my time in the Corps.
- - - - -
I finished high school in Delta, Colorado the same month I turned 17, May of 1953. I worked all that summer, (as I had the previous summer), in wheat harvest, starting in Texas and working our way to Montana. A rancher we worked for near Boulder, Colorado was killed by a train, and his widow offered me room and board in Boulder in exchange for ranch work, if I wanted to attend the university there, (she had a son about my age, and an older daughter).
So, I started college at the University of Colorado that fall, and worked as a cowboy for the Johnson ranch. My folks had no money to help with
college, and financial aid was practically nonexistent then. My brother Max was in the Army. We hatched a "plan" for him to send me money during my college years -- and then I would send him money when he got out of the Army and went to college. It turned out that he was having a lot of fun in Germany, and never got around to sending any money. I started to drop out at the end of the first semester for (almost total) lack of cash. But the coach at CU persuaded me to stay. He got me a full scholarship in football and wrestling, including housing in the "Jock" dorm, and even a job as a soda jerk in the student union for a little cash, (85 cents an hour!). But I didn't have many hours to work, and still had very little money. I confess that I wasn't a serious student either. So, in March of 1954 I quit college and joined the Marines. I figured I would do my military service, and then have the GI Bill for college, (and perhaps be a more serious student).

I was still 17 at the time, so my folks had to sign for me to join. Then I was off to boot camp in San Diego, (recruits from the western US go to San Diego; those from the east go to Camp LeJeune, NC). My starting pay was $78/month.

Marine boot camp is everything you’ve heard, and more. (Of course everyone says it was rougher in “their” days, but it actually was at that time. It still is now, but some things happened over the years that made them ease up just a bit.) It was only 12 weeks, but extremely tough. Absolutely NO liberty, not even on-base liberty (to go to a movie, the exchange – not even to a candy machine or a walk around a block). We were blasted out our bunks at 4:30 and driven non-stop until evening; then we might have an hour or so at our barracks to do our laundry (by hand), and shine our boots and brass. We even marched in formation to meals at the mess hall, and returned to formation to stand at ease until everyone was present. If the DI felt generous we might get to have a smoke in formation while waiting for the rest to get there. We were only allowed to smoke a few times a day; and you never “sat” unless you were in class learning something such as rapidly disassembling, cleaning, and assembling various weapons. The training was purely military. Of course marching, drilling, and military rules, etc., was part of it; but much of it concerned fighting and the use of various weapons, (rifles; bayonets; grenades; etc.; etc.). Two of the 12 weeks are spent at the weapons range in the hills 20 miles from San Diego, (of course you get there by marching with a full pack and weapons). The Marine DI stresses that you’re not there to learn how to die for your country – you’re there to learn how to help the other poor bastard die for his county. And, of paramount importance for Marines –
DISCIPLINE! You can’t imagine the discipline. One of the interesting things you get to do with your buddies is to take off your gas mask in a chamber full of tear gas, and all sing the entire Marine Corps Hymn.

After boot camp, if you did well, you advance in rank from Private to Private First Class, (PFC). ALL Marines go to another base, most to Camp Pendleton in California, for advanced infantry training. Regardless of what your specialty may be later, and the particular training for it, – everyone gets complete training in infantry combat. If I remember correctly, that was another 6-8 weeks at that time.

I did not go on to Camp Pendleton with my class immediately after boot camp. I had scored high on the General Classification Test, (essentially an IQ test), during boot camp; and was screened for officer programs. The one I opted for was NavCad, which is pilots training at Pensacola, Florida. This is also where graduates of the US Naval Academy, if selected, go for pilots training to become Navy or Marine pilots. It sounded like fun to me! However, in addition to the GCT score required, you also had to have a 4-year college degree. I didn’t, of course, but USAFI (US Armed Forces Institute), did offer equivalency exams for various levels of education, (high school and college). I took the 4-year college equivalency exam, and had to wait in San Diego for the results after boot camp, (and also while they did extensive background checks). To my surprise, I passed all 4 sections of the exam, (I had “coasted’ through high school – especially through the 11th grade in Geary, Oklahoma, without taking much serious coursework). So, next they sent me to a Marine Corps Air Station in El Torro, California for a flight physical, (pretty demanding; they even fixed every slightest tooth cavity, etc.). During the extensive vision tests, they discovered a astigmatism on one eye – something I was not even aware of. But they said it would go away within a few months. So they returned the now thick folder of stuff to my file, and told me to tell my commanding officer, (C.O.), wherever I might be in a few months to re-do the flight physical and send me to Pensacola.

I went to Camp Pendleton for advanced infantry training, and then was shipped to Korea in the fall of 1954.

The trip to Korea was something else. We were on a modest-sized troop transport ship; it crried 2,000 Marines and the ship’s crew. It was slow compared to many larger ships. It took us 21 days to go from San Diego to Kobe, Japan, where we stopped for one evening’s liberty before going on to Inchon, Korea. That was 3 weeks seeing nothing but ocean in every direction. Most of the Marines had never been aboard a ship. Many were getting seasick the first night, and we were still tied up at the San Diego dock! And regrettably we had rough weather for the first 10 days at sea. I thought I must have been practically the only Marine on board who wasn’t seasick, (but of course there were probably a few others). It was so bad that they would send us all below-decks FIVE times a day to hose off the decks, (you can’t believe how bad it smelled – to say nothing of the slippery hazard). We would try to lean over the rail as far forward as possible to breathe fresh air – but some sucker would run to the rail even farther forward and fill the blowing air with barf to fly back onto you. Our “racks,” (bunks), were pipe-like frames with canvas flats which folded down from the bulkheads (walls). Bulkheads were only 5-6 feet apart, with racks stacked 5 high on each side and a foot or two of passageway between the stacks. Happily I had grabbed a top rack when we boarded. Guess what happened at night in the rough seas? The ship would rock, and many of the guys on the upper racks would hang over the edge of their rack to barf into the passageway. However, while the ship was tilted, that stuff would just go into the racks of the guys below, (and the first night or two, many guys didn’t know better than to leave their boots in the passageway between the racks – guess what they would stick their foot into the next morning?). Plus, the ship rocked so badly those first days that we even had to stand to eat in the mess hall, (the benches folded under the tables). And while you tried to eat, (terrible food, by the way – these were merchant ships, not Navy), a tray would come sliding down the table and stop in front of you – and it would have more “stuff” (barf, of course) on it than had been loaded at the chow line. As I said, the really bad weather only lasted about 10 days, and they troops mostly had their sea legs by then as well. So the rest of the trip wasn’t too bad – but it was really boring. Paperback books were like gold – even if some clown had torn off the last several pages!

I was assigned to Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion of the 1st Marine Division, about 40 miles northeast of Seoul, South Korea. The Korean War truce had been signed in 1953, so the “hot” war had ended. However, things were still very tense, the country was an unbelievably devastated shambles, and a fair amount of guerrilla warfare was still going on. We lived in 6-man tents, which weren’t too bad, (although that 1-ply canvas wall didn’t keep winter cold out well, and we weren’t allowed to keep little pot-bellied stoves on at night). We each had a cot to lay our sleeping bag on. We had no running water at all, and would march to shower tents once every 2 weeks. We wore only combat uniforms, and were always fully armed. We didn’t even take any “dress” uniforms to the base there. All towns and cities, (even Seoul), were simply piles of debris; so there was no conventional liberty. Some of us did get to visit some burial grounds with some interesting tombs near our compound. If we left the base for any reason we were armed and never alone. Even the base wasn’t safe. For example, one morning all 6 men in a nearby tent had their throats cut. It was unpleasant to watch even an enemy guerrilla soldier lying at your feet dying of a bullet wound. And sometimes it would be simply a poor hungry South Korean who crept into our area at night to steal food – but failed to stop when we saw him and yelled “Siga!” (stop). The plight and poverty of those people was more terrible than most Americans would imagine.

In December of 1954 my brother-in-law, Harvey Haigler, (Nancy’s husband), was killed. He was an Air Force pilot, and flew jet fighter-bombers out of Japan. Harvey was a great guy. He and I had really bonded the Christmas before in Colorado doing some mountain climbing in the snow above my parents’ home in Cedaredge. Nancy was devastated, of course. Their only child, Kay, was less than a year old. It was a great shock to the family; we had been fortunate to have had very few early deaths in the family. It was to affect my own plans to become a pilot, because my mother became absolutely terrified of the idea.

During that winter in Korea, I remembered the flight surgeon’s instructions about my flight physical. I checked with my C.O. and he sent me to Marine Air Group in South Korea. The flight surgeon verified that my eye problem was in fact gone, so I was technically ready to go to flight school. However, my C.O. said he was not going to cut orders to send one person from Korea to Florida. He said he would put the folder back into my file, and I should notify my C.O. when I got back to the states, and I would be sent to the next class in Pensacola.

The entire 1st Marine Division was returned to the United States in the spring of 1955. I was assigned to MCTU #1, (Marine Corps Test Unit #1), at Camp Pendleton, California. Our function was to test new equipment and tactics for the entire Marine Corps. For example, we spent a lot of time testing of the use of helicopters to land Marines in various assault situations – this was to largely replace the use of landing craft to “storm” the beaches.

I was putting off my decision to go to Pensacola for the Naval Cadet flight program, hoping with time my mother would get over her significant fear of it. It is hard to express my love, admiration, and appreciation of my mother. She did not have an easy life, and loved and served her family more deeply than I can describe. I did not at all want to cause her pain and worry just to satisfy a personal ambition, although I really wanted to go. I think it was in 1956 that my C.O. called me in and said I needed to make a decision. Mother never pressured me about not going – she was not at all selfish, but she could not conceal her terror of the idea. So I decided to decline the program.

Some other factors made it not too tough to pass it up. By this time I had been made a Corporal, (rank is not fast in the Marines), and received some advanced NCO, (Non-Commissioned Officer), leadership training. So, I had it fairly soft. Also, there was this sweet young thing I had met while visiting my older brother in the Los Angeles area on liberty, and we were having a great time falling in love. Plus, I now had only about a year or less to complete my 3-year
enlistment. If I had gone into the NavCad program, I would have been required to start a new 4-year obligation, (1-1/2 years of training, then commission as an officer, then 2-1/2 years of additional service).

So I finished my enlistment, and was honorably discharged in March of 1957. I had been aarded these medals: Expert Marksman; National Defense; Korean Expeditionary Force; and Good Conduct. I am currently a Life Member of the Marine Corps League; and a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

It does not even compare with my love and loyalty to God, and then to my family, but I will be a dedicated Marine all my life. I believe it is clearly the finest military organization in the world, and a great fraternity. Indeed: The Few, The Proud, The Marines! Semper Fidelis!

What a day!

I had my identity stolen yesterday. VISA alerted me that someone charged almost $500 on my Visa at a 7-11 store. How do you charge $500 at a convenient store unless you're an employee or you're friends with an employee? Thankfully I have an awesome credit union who will take care of everything. One thing they don't take care of is reporting it to the police so D and I will do that alone. The thief also spent money at a restaurant and a high school which leads me to believe it's a high school kid doing this. All charges were in Tacoma - D and I don't go to Tacoma!

Oh, and yesterday morning my car battery died. I park on one side of our 2 car garage and the other side has misc items in it and is used as D's shop. Unfortunately my car has a safety feature that doesn't allow the car to be put in Neutral when the car isn't on, so D and I had to move the stuff out of the other side of the garage and he pulled his car in to jump my car.

Then last night I was up late waiting for D to get home from a city meeting and when he got home he threw a pair of workout shorts in the doorway of our bedroom. He never throws his clothes on the floor and my subconscience said "Don't step on the shorts" and at the same moment I was walking into our room I was turning around to ask D something and I hit the last three toes on my door post hard. The second to last toe on my right foot hurt so badly last night that I didn't sleep well. Today it's turning blue (bruised) and it's swollen. I can't even put weight on my heel because the pain to my toe is too much. I think it might be broken. D says I should go to the doctor but I don't think they can do anything for a broken toe and I cringe at the thought of anyone touching it!

Top those stories off with me burning my finger on the oven when I was roasting pumpkin seeds and I'd say that yesterday was an eventful day!

Today my twin sister finds out if she's having a boy or a girl! :)

Giving Back

Go to Raising Peanuts to enter to win an awesome nursing cover!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how little I "give back" to society. We donate clothes and other items to Goodwill and to the blind, but those acts are pretty passive.

This year I'm going to bake some cookies and give them to some of the elderly people at the nursing home where D's grandma lives. Since some may be diabetic, I might just do gingerbread cookies and pipe on smiley faces.

Every year we have a holiday party for D's friends. Usually they bring a white elephant gift and we laugh at the ridiculous junk that people bring to exchange. This year, I told David I'd like to have everyone also bring canned food & non-perishable items that we can take to Northwest Harvest, a local food bank.

I want to be in the practice of doing charitable things so that when the baby comes, we just naturally teach the child to be charitable also. I already invision going through my child's room full of the toys he/she will inevitibly have and boxing up things he/she doesn't use anymore to give to children who aren't as fortunate. I also think visiting a children's hospital and sitting with a sick child will be beneficial to both children, right?

We should set aside money (other than contribution money) for those on missions in other countries that our local congregation supports. Right? I mean, yes the congregation supports them but why stop there? I'm sure $20 means more to them than it does to us.

What do you do to give back?

If you have children, how do you teach them to "give back"?

Ultrasound Day!

I'm not going to write much just because right now I feel like my eyelids are made of steel, but I wanted to share with you how our ultrasound went today.

God is SO good! We got to see our baby and got to see his/her little heartbeat beating away! 141 bpm! On the top picture you can see the heartbeat rhythm at the bottom of the picture and you can see two lines on Baby where the Tech marked the heart!

When we first saw our baby, I giggled and the tech said "Oh, no giggling - when you move, the baby moves even this early". So I couldn't giggle but I could cry! It was really fascinating...I'm now hooked and would like an ultrasound to see my baby every single day, please!

She said that I looked to be about 7 weeks along which is closer to what I expected, so my due date is now July 3rd!

We went to Cheesecake Factory after the ultrasound for celebratory appetizers and cheesecake!

Have a wonderful weekend - I know we will! Praise God, He is amazing.

God is Good

It might be the hormones, or it might just be that I'm a lunatic, but I took a walk around the building just now so that I could avoid listening to the guy across the aisle from me chomp, chomp, chomping on his chips. I really have a hard time understanding why it's not common sense to actually close your mouth before you start chewing. But, I digress.

I guess there's a storm here now. Many people say that Seattle is only sunny July through September, but as I've told many people, October really is a beautiful month. Last month had some really amazing autumnesque days. Now begins the rainy season in Seattle. That's not to say we never get a sunny day from now until June - we get quite a few. But, most days are rainy. These are the days I wish I could ditch the 40+ minute commute and stay home. Especially now that I'm tired all of the time. Oh, to sleep in until 8am, or even 7am!

I have to show you this ultrasound picture that my younger sister, Lindsay, just sent. She's only 13 weeks, 6 days but the baby is measuring 14 weeks, 4 days because he/she is so tall! She sent several pictures (all of which made me cry like an idiot at work) but this one is my favorite. Doesn't it look like Baby is waving? That's my sweet niece or nephew!


This whole "being pregnant at the same time as my sisters" thing is so emotional! You're emotional enough when you're pregnant (see above paragraph about the guy chewing chips), but then when your sisters have their ultrasounds and stuff, it just puts you over the top. It does me, anyway. I can't believe that we'll be able to see our baby that well in just about 7 more weeks!

I shouldn't be listening to Staind, Creed, Embrace, and especially "The Riddle" by Five For Fighting (on Pandora) when I'm this crazy emotional. Have you heard "The Riddle" by Five For Fighting? It won't let me embed the video, but please watch the video here. It's such a sweet song. I don't understand the lyrics completely so I can't say I believe in the message of the song.

7 weeks today! Actually, according to me, I'm only 6 weeks, 4 days pregnant. Did you know that my chart says I'm actually due on the 4th of July? Patriotic Baby!

I feel yucky every morning. I'm dead tired no matter how much sleep I get and I'm a little queasy until I eat but nothing sounds good so it takes me a long time to get motivated to eat something. But, usually when I do I feel better until the next time I need to eat and then I feel queasy again. Like right now I don't feel great but it's because I haven't eaten in a couple of hours. I'm trying to eat an apple a day because they say it's really good for Baby.

I've rambled enough!

Starbucks cards, good friends, and baby's first picture

I wish I was (were?) one of those people that (who?) carried their camera around with them everywhere. Oh, wait, I am. Because D is still a Boy Scout at heart, his motto truly is "Always Be Prepared". Unfortunately, that means my purse usually weighs somewhere around 8-10 pounds. I wish I was joking.

I won't blame it entirely on my husband - it's my fault that I feel the need to carry around my collection of Starbucks gift cards. I really do have a collection. Before I knew I was a collector, when my balance on my gift card would run out I would always let the barista throw away my card. Now, I keep it. I love getting a new one and I'm always excited to see what design they will have available when the seasons change.

Here's a picture to prove my insanity (including a picture of a gift card I received from a friend who lived in Hawaii for a couple of years. Never mind that it had a $0 balance on it when he gave it to me!) :
See? These pictures are courtesy of my camera that I keep in my purse at all times. I brought up the weight of my purse because, when I can, I leave my purse in the car. Because of this, I wasn't able to capture our two fun-filled evenings with friends on camera.

Wait a minute, I just realized I carried my purse into your house, Melissa, but I set it by the couch and forgot about it until we left. I'm out of excuses. If I would have remembered that my camera was with me, I would have taken a photo of the really yummy food (and, of course, the super sweet couples that shared the meal with us!).

I'm still dreaming about that broccoli salad.

Saturday night we went to a birthday party for one of our friends who turned 30. D and I played some pool and ate a lot of Mexican food. We got home around 10;30, at which point I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.

Seahawks and Huskies lost this weekend. It's a sad year for Seattle sports, let me tell ya.

Baby's first picture is on Friday and I'm so excited (and a little nervous!). D talked to my belly last night even though I'm sure he's aware that our kid doesn't have ears yet. I still thought it was really sweet. We're going to get one of those baby books after our u/s on Friday. And I think after the ultrasound we're going to head over to The Cheesecake Factory to use the gift card D's parents gave us for our anniversary! Some pre-dinner cheesecake! Mmmm!

What I brought for lunch doesn't really sound appealing but I'm sure once I start stuffing my face I'll be fine.

Ode to Husband

If I were at all poetic, I would write my wonderful husband a poem. My grandad is an excellent poet - he even wrote a very sweet poem that he read on our wedding day. We just asked him to pick something to read and left it up to him what he was going to say. We had no idea until after the wedding that he had penned the beautiful words he had spoken! He's always told us that he's going to write a book - I hope he does because he definitely has a way with words! He's also a Marine veteran. Semper Fi, Grandad!

On to my husband. I have to brag on him for a minute. So, I get up and start my day around 5:30am. Generally speaking, D gets up around 5:05 or 5:15. I get home between 4:30 and 5:00 and D usually walks in the door around 5:15. Our schedules are pretty similar, although it takes me a lot longer to get to work so he is actually at work longer than I am. He gets every other Friday off as part of a "Flex Day" program. I don't know why I'm going off on a tangent about his schedule since I'm sure you have better things to do than to read about the logistics of our day. My point is this: Yesterday, after getting home at 5pm, I crashed on the couch and virtually didn't move. I've been tired. Real tired. D went to Microsoft after work for a Playtest study and didn't get home until after 10pm. He "tucked me in", then went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of things I thought would come in handy over the next couple of weeks. Things like ginger snaps, hard cheese, chicken soup, saltines, grapes, apples, green olives (oh I've been craving these!), etc. I was asleep before he returned home.

I had planned to go to the store that evening while he was away, but after I got home and started a fire in the fireplace and plopped myself on the couch, I just didn't. It was raining hard outside and I drifted in and out of sleep. I just wanted to say that I think I have the best husband and that what he did for me by running to the store last night really meant a lot.

I'm going to go enjoy a Gala apple purchased by my loving husband last night.

On a side note, someone commented on my Facebook page telling me that D and I would be great parents and that our baby is going to be "SO cute" and I cried. These hormones are really something.

Cravings Already?

When are cravings supposed to start? Because at this point I'm pretty sure it's just my excuse to eat what I want and blame it on my pregnancy.

I currently have at least 3 apples sitting in my fruit bowl at home that are mushy and need to be thrown out. That is why we don't buy much fresh fruit...it goes bad before I can eat it. However, today, if those apples were still crunchy and good, I would have eaten all of them in one sitting. Tonight I'm going to the store so I can buy healthy snacks that will help me fulfill the dreadful 5 or more servings a day requirement for fruits and veggies. I don't even know where to begin to get 5 servings of vegetables short of drinking two V8s a day. I've never tried V8 - anyone want to tell me what it tastes like before I dive in?

Here's another reason I can tell that I'm pregnant and have food preferences:

I chose fruit flavored candy.

Last night, D & I stopped at Target after Wednesday night Bible study to get him some more cough medicine (Target "tussin" was less than $2 for a HUGE bottle! Score!) and to get me some eyeliner. Remember the wicked sideburns from the Halloween photos? Oh, I never showed them to you? Let me remedy that, courtesty of my "espresso" eyeliner...

If you don't recognize the guy next to D, that's Mugatu from "Zoolander". D's friend, Oliver, made the costume himself, completing it by cutting a patch of hair from the wig and glueing it to his chin!

Anyway, so we were at Target in our quest for eyeliner and cough medicine. By the way, if you ever need Mucinex, be sure to have your ID on you because they're required to card you. Sad state this country is in! So D walked up to me as I threw a 2 pack of Burt's Bees chapstick into the cart and asked if I cared about their Halloween Clearance items. I still wonder why he felt like he needed to ask! So we walked back and there's not much left in the way of decorations but wow there was a LOT of candy left over! We also got a really funny costume for Tess next year, but don't tell her or she'll be mad at us.

Huge, unhuman size bags of candy. I'm a chocolate girl. I love chocolate and usually need at least a small piece after dinner to "balance the flavors". Last night I chose two bags of fruit-flavored candy. Fruit-flavored. In an aisle full of chocolate!

My sister tells me that it's totally normal to crave fruit in the beginning. I think it must be your body's way of saying "Hey! I'm not getting what I need so feed me some of the good-for-you stuff!"

Right now I'm reading The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy on recommendation. The biggest peeve I have with this book is that not once does the author mention God. She says "nature this" and "nature that" but not once does she say "God" in place of "nature". Drives me to Tuesday. If it weren't for the helpful information I would put that book down right now.

Note to baby:
Hi baby! This week you're the size of a grain of rice, although another website told me you were the size of a Sweet Pea - you're 6 weeks old. Your dad kisses my belly at night and I always remember to tell you goodnight. We pray for you every day and can't wait to meet you. A week from tomorrow we get to hear your heartbeat and hopefully get a picture of you! You're going to have cousins very close in age - you might get a taste of what it was like for your mom to be a twin! You are so loved already. Grow healthy and strong and I'll see you in July! Love, Mom

First Award!

Thank you for all your insightful comments on yesterday's post. I know it was heavy - but rest assured that today's post is very non-heavy!

Liz over at Mainly A Midwife gave me this award!

Thank you, Liz! Liz is pregnant, too, and turns out she's due just a few days before I am! It's going to be a really fun 2009 with all the babies!

I was pretty happy to receive my first award. Mainly because I don't write as often as some people do, but I'm thinking that's changing now that I've got a baby cooking. Nothing much is happening right now that I can tell. I really don't feel pregnant! I keep thinking that I'm going to go for my first ultrasound appointment and they're going to look at me and say "There's nothing in there".

Here are a few reasons I actually feel pregnant:

1. I was in bed by 9pm last night
2. I have been having the most horrific, very realistic dreams
3. I'm bloated (one woman even said to me yesterday "Oh, you look like you're showing a little bit already!" to which I replied, "Nope, I'm just fat")
4. I'm tired all of the time.
5. The only thing that has really sounded good lately is Ramen (although last night I would have walked to Dairy Queen barefoot in the rain to get their chicken strips basket)

I don't feel sick yet which I'm thankful for, but I realize it could still hit at any moment.

Okay, along with the award there are rules. So, to those I give this award to, you can follow the rules or not, but here they are!

1. Name 5 things that you love.

2. Pass along the award to the blogs you love.

3. Please link back to my blog.

I love: My Savior, my husband, my family (both sides!), my freedom, and my pup.

I'm going to give this award to:

Becky over at Smile, It's Becky. Her posts are always so funny and I just love to read her "Not Me Mondays" and her experiences as a little person teacher!

Brie over at My Home, My Life. She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, and she was so patient with me while I created a header for her cute blog. Especially now that neither one of us can figure out how to get that crummy border to stop messing with the header!

Bev over at A Baby? Maybe... because she makes me laugh. She's a really great writer and although I wish she would post more often, I really can't complain since she's busy preparing for her baby girl!

Whitney over at My Journey Toward: The Glamorous Life of a Housewife. I have to give her one - she posts almost every day and they're all equally entertaining. Plus, she's a preggo too and right now I have a soft spot for Mamas-to-be. Especially preggos in their first trimester - it's so nerve-racking.

So, there you have it. Happy Award Day!

Sidenote from a non-political person: I'm saddened by the results of the election, but I trust God's will has been done and I will submit to the leadership as the Scriptures instruct me to do.

It's Election Day.

First, please take a minute to read Brie's post today. I have to warn you that it's pretty graphic, but it's a must-read!

Sometimes I get discouraged and feel alone in my beliefs and principles especially here at work. I work in Seattle where people feel free to bash conservatives and put Obama on a pedestal because they assume that everyone supports him. I do not. Brie's post today is one of the primary reasons why I do not support Obama, although there are other issues as well.

I'm not a very political person - I find that I have enough opinions on many other things and if I got into understanding the ins and outs of politics I would never shut up. However, there are moral issues that are very, very close to my heart.

I have a child growing inside of me right now that is only 6 weeks gestation. I am doing what I can to drink a lot of water, eat right, take my vitamins, and hopefully give this baby everything it needs to thrive because it's my responsibility and this child is completely reliant on me. I can't wait to hear its heartbeat (which started around 4 weeks), to see it move, and later to feel it roll and kick. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that someone would be so heartless, so selfish as to murder a child at any point in the gestation process. How do you do that! How do you justify causing so much pain and agony to your own child?!

There are so many couples who would give everything they have to welcome a child into their home. Couples who, for whatever reason, are not able to conceive children of their own. Why would you murder a child if you have the choice to put them in a loving home?

I just can't support a man who said that he doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby" if they accidentally get pregnant. If your daughters are old enough to decide to have sex, they should be old enough to be responsible for the consequences of having sex. An unborn child should not have to pay for irresponsibility and utter selfishness. Shame on you, Obama.

I don't want to hear "Pro Choice". Talk all you want about the mother's choice, but there's a baby who can't speak for itself who does NOT want to die. I'm for the choice of the baby.

I am NOT for Obama.

Darth

This was the first year we've been able to see Caleb in his Halloween costume on Halloween and it was really fun. He was Darth Vader, complete with a device that, when a button was pushed, simulated Darth's breathing. Here's a video if you'd like to watch him in action.

No, I'll never learn not to turn the camera sideways for a long shot. I'll never learn that you can't flip the video the correct way before posting it on YouTube.


And now for some still shots:



In case you're wondering how Tess reacted to the baby news, this picture should tell you:


She's not going to be the baby anymore!

Bev's shower was really fun - it was neat to see a few girls from high school, too. Little Lucy should be here within the next couple of months!

I'm feeling fine if not a little tired. A lot tired. But who isn't on a Monday morning? Sometimes I feel like this pregnancy thing is a fluke because I really don't feel much yet. Like when I go in for my ultrasound the tech will just look at me and say "You're not really pregnant...what made you think you were?" To which I'll say "The home pregnancy tests and the blood tests that this office did!" and she'll say "Oh, well, those are almost always wrong."

I've already had nightmares about it. But, God is in charge. We pray every day that He gives us a healthy baby. David is already so excited. He's sent an email out to his friends, both sides of his family, and his coworkers. :)

That's about all I've got today. I'll be posting more now that I don't have to keep a secret!