Baby Shower #2

Okay, here are some pics from my 2nd baby shower (April 19) - it was so much fun & oh so lovely  :)  Amy, Andrea, and Cathy did an awesome job decorating, planning, prepping, etc etc - I am very grateful for a wonderful shower!

Amy showing off the lovely letters she & Ben created for us!

Andrea nonchalantly hanging up some cute baby clothing :)

Who invited the freak????

Cathy eagerly cleaning the countertop!

AGH!!! THE BEST CAKE-MAKERS EVER!!!

Beautiful cake made JUST for Elise!

Sister, Sarah, and adorable niece, Rori!

Opening the cutest assortment of stuff from Sarah

The hostesses with the mostestes?

(Alternate caption: Andrea, Cathy, me, Amy)  :)

Amy, me, and THE PUNCH LADY! (Amy's mom, Candee, did more than make the best punch ever - she worked so hard to help the shower turn out perfectly)

Sarah and me with our high school Spanish teacher, Jo Jones!  Doesn't she look good, Jenna?!

Baby Shower #1

A few party-attendees...

Aunt Gretchen - the party-thrower!

Polka dot themed cupcakes my Momma & Lauri made!

Adorable diaper cake with polka dot themed ribbon

Dear Jessica,

Congratulations!!!  I'm so excited to know you'll be having another baby (probably named either Peter Marcus or Elizabeth Ann - I'll maybe allow you to have a say on a different middle name if you choose.....).  I will give you 5 more weeks of "sick leave" until you must resume to a normal, more predictable blogging schedule.  You may thank me for my generosity later  :)

In other news, I did a few loads of laundry this week that included all of Elise's new baby clothes from the 2 baby showers given on her behalf.  Let me just say, if adult socks can be lost in the washing/drying process so easily, I am DOOMED with all these tiny little baby socks, washcloths, and other accoutrements.  So far everything is accounted for, but it's simply a matter of time before something goes missing.  Perhaps I'll make a quilt of all the orphans one of these days.

I will post some pictures now of random and not-so-random events for your viewing pleasure  :)

34 week appointment

Okay so today was my 34 week appointment (even though, like last time, I'm just 2 days in to the 34th week, but who cares right?)....  I thought my appointment was at 11:20am, as that was my appt time 2 weeks ago and the appt coming up in 2 weeks.  But no, my appointment was at 3:00pm.  So I was definitely a little early.  

Anyway, that was basically the only semi-interesting part of the day.  I saw one of the other doctors in the practice (Dr. Asdell) who was very nice, but I definitely missed seeing my own doctor who knows my history - especially this far along in the game.  It would've been fine to meet other doctors at 20 weeks when nothing is happening, but now that I'm nearing the end, I want to see my doctor as much as possible so she can put all the pieces together & determine what's best for me & the baby.  That probably sounds anal, but it's my first pregnancy and you're supposed to be anal.  She measured my belly at 35cm (same as two weeks ago), so I'm still measuring 2 weeks big, but that's not out of the ordinary.  So who knows if I'll get to have an ultrasound in a couple weeks or not  :(  I was hoping I'd be like 50 cm (just kidding) so I could a) have an ultrasound and b) have this baby early!  I am sooooo aiming for a May baby.  Please oh please oh please.

I went to set up the remainder of my appointments, and lo & behold, two of my upcoming appointments are not with my doctor either!  Argh!!!  (One is with the 3rd doc in the practice, and the other is with a nurse practioner I haven't yet met - so that one will be good.)  At least I get to see Dr. Boyer next week (for the nitty gritty 36 week check-up).

Wow I really am a boring blogger.  

I'll post some pics soon from my awesome baby showers that took place over the weekend - one was hosted by my aunt & the other by Andrea, Amy, & Cat.  They were both soooo much fun (and soooo tiring!)...  Pictures (a la Kathi) to come soon  :)

33 weeks

Today I am 33 weeks along in this seemingly 10-year long pregnancy (it really has felt like forever).  I know I will look back when this is all over and think it just FLEW by, but that's simply not the case right now.  Right now, I'm being impatient!!!!  And the bad part is, I'm not impatient because I can't wait to be up all night feeding our new baby, dealing with inexplicable crying, and learning how to be a mom...  I'm impatient because I feel like crap!  :)  So it's selfish impatience that has me ready to be done with this pregnancy - not the anticipation of Elise's arrival.  Sounds pretty bad, right?  haha!  I'm already a bad mom, and the kid hasn't even arrived yet!  Sweet.

Don't mistake my impatience for not having enjoyed being pregnant.... I have enjoyed being pregnant in many ways.   And I'm also very thankful that my pregnancy hasn't been replete with feeling sick all the time, needing to be on bedrest, or any other horror story many women unfortunately deal with.  It's just the normal things that have grown to be irritating:  heartburn, many many many sleepless nights, twisting my feet into awkward positions just so I can reach down to tie my shoes, needing a forklift to extract me from my bed, feeling exhausted, back aches, and most of all - carrying 30 extra pounds that my body just isn't used to hauling around.

It's really pretty pathetic that I even took the time to write those down!  It's the typical list that every pregnant woman compiles when venting about her discomfort.... And who am I to think I deserve any pity for it?  That's just silly.  What I'm trying to learn (although late in the game) is that I'm no one special in this pregnancy experience, and the things that plague me have also plagued everyone else who's ever been pregnant.  I shouldn't feel entitled to complain about a single thing!  I will publicly apologize now to Peter for whining and complaining about my discomfort and impatience every single day...  I am sorry!  :)   Pregnancy is a BLESSING, and children are certainly a blessing.  So the fact that I still managed to arrive at a point of complaining about the process is embarrassing!  Bottom line:  I will make a point to be 100% positive about the remainder of my pregnancy.  

Anyway - all that to say that today I am 33 weeks pregnant.  If I'm this verbose now, can you even imagine reading my posts when I have an actual BABY to talk about?!  You'd better delete this blog from your list before your index finger begins to spasm uncontrollably from the constant scrolling down on my page......

Administrative Note

So I had no idea what the settings were on my blog until a friend said they were not able to comment on one of my posts (sorry, Heidi!)...  I realized it was set up only to allow registered blog users.  It's now able to take comments from anyone.  I know you all are THRILLED at this incredulous news.

"That is all."

Happy Birthday....

Bryan and Callie!!!

Today is my brother-in-law's 30th birthday and Miss Callie Davis's 3rd birthday - a couple of big milestones!  (Okay, I don't know that turning 3 is a milestone, but having read the tribute to Callie earlier this morning on her mother's blog, I'll just pretend that it is a VERY important birthday.)   :)  So here's hoping the two birthday people have a fun day despite all this disgusting rain.  

In other news, I've been having tons and tons of Braxton Hicks contractions - mostly in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping.  Can't figure out why they always happen when I'm sleeping if BH contractions are supposed to be sporadic.  I've read that dehydration can play a part, but throughout the night alone I drink a good 24 oz. of water (during my potty breaks)!  What can I say - it's a slow news day.  So this kind of boring junk is all I have to talk about.

I feel like these 2-week appointments take longer to arrive than the monthly appointments I was having before.  I guess the growing anticipation of going to the doctor just makes time go by so slowlyyyyyy.  My next appointment is a week from today, at which point I'll be 33 1/2 weeks.  I'm just so curious to know how big I'll be measuring then and if I will, in fact, get to schedule an ultrasound to establish how big Elise is.  I feel like everything's riding on my belly's size right now...  simply because I wonder if the doctor will a) want to induce early so I don't deliver a 20-lb. baby or b) talk about the possibility of a C-section if I go full term and end up not being able to get this baby out!!!  I know I'm wayyyy over-braining this.  It's just exciting to think I could have a baby in 5, 6, 7 weeks....   Agh!!!  And then the curiosity begins of who she'll look like (hopefully Peter)!

Well that's about all the boredom I can come up with for now.  Be sure to check back in later if you need lulled to sleep or are in need of some mindless bathroom reading on your Blackberry.....

Puke, Poop, and Oxi-Clean

Warning:  If you can't deal with the words "puke" or "poop" then read no further.  If you are a mom and can't deal with these words, you need help.

Most of you probably think I am still a mom-in-training & therefore don't deal with puke or poop in the middle of the night.  Quite the contrary:  poor Brie apparently got sick at some point overnight.... hence the apt title for this post  :)

We let the puppies sleep in bed with us last night, as they had just gotten baths two days ago and were so clean and cuddly  :)  But this morning, I woke up hearing her pre-puking noises and unfortunately was just a few seconds too late in grabbing a towel for her to puke on... so instead, she just puked in our bed.  It's certainly not the first time we've dealt with dog puke - sometimes it's in the middle of the night, sometimes during the day, eh - it's just dog puke.  Yeah it's gross & slimy, but we have puke once or twice a week due to sensitive puppy tummies.  So I grab the oxi-clean and treat the spot before throwing our flat sheet & blanket into the washer.  As I'm spraying, I look over toward our bathroom and, in the great haze of morning vision, see a dark area near the wall.  Poop!  Yummy.  I thought I had smelled something weird in the middle of the night, but I AM married to Peter after all, so I just ignored it.  (That was rude.  But it was too funny to remove from the post)  :)

Anyway, as I was walking to the washer to throw in the sheet & blanket (haha!  The word "sheet" just made me laugh since I was just talking about Brie's poop)...  Okay seriously, ANYWAY, I was walking to the washer and, now wearing my glasses, could clearly see another "pile" in the entryway.  I use the word "pile" extremely LOOSELY, as that's just what the pile was: very very "loose" - I believe it was the aftermath from pile #1.  But really, no big deal... We've had poop issues around here for well over a year (now I'm not talking about Peter - just the dogs), so cleaning it up is old hat.

So I first dealt with the pile on the carpet in our bedroom.  I removed said pile with an inordinate wad of toilet paper that would put most potty training 3-year-olds to shame, and as I turn to walk toward the toilet, I step in PEE!  Sweet!  I dumped the evidence, cleaned off my foot, refrained from cursing (I honestly wasn't even mad at the poor dog - she really just had gotten sick in the middle of the night :(  Poor Brie), and then went to the hardwood entryway to remove that "pile."*  Although it's typically easier to clean up this sort of mess on hardwood, the smearing effect amplified a smell that no one should have to inhale this early in the morning.  

Okay the sheets are in the washer, the piles have been removed, now it's scrub time...  I mixed up some oxi-clean (I'm talking the powder here, people - not the spray stuff I used on the sheets).  I dumped an entire bottle of oxi-clean all over the poop and pee areas in the bedroom and scrubbed them down with a brush.  I felt like Cinderella (only no awesome dress to wear at the end of it all, not that I'd even fit into one if I had the opportunity.....).  I got out my mom's carpet shampooer, not to shampoo the carpets, but just to serve as a wet vac that I could use to suck up all the water/oxi-clean.  Cleaning that carpet shampooer almost removes all desire to ever use it again, but I cleaned it anyway and am currently waiting for the carpet to dry (now if that isn't exciting, I don't know what is).  

All the while, Peter took the dogs out to poop & pee some more in their pre-approved grassy areas.  I was more than happy to clean up said messes since he was dealing with the dogs in the rain - I HATE rain.  And now both puppies have crawled into the cage and fallen back asleep.  Brie must REALLY be feeling bad if she's not bounding from couch to couch right now.  We can get up at 5am and she's ready to play.  Perhaps this mean there will be more puke & poop stories to come later in the day.  Be prepared, all you queasy ones............ 

The End.

*Grammar tip of the day:  Periods and commas almost always go inside the quotation mark at the end of a sentence!

http://grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html  

Big Baby???

I will preface this post with the facts:  I am 31 +2 days pregnant & went to my "32 week" check-up today...

I arrived at 11:20 for an 11:20 appointment time (I felt bad showing up RIGHT on time - I prefer to be 5ish minutes early, but it just didn't happen).  I signed in, hit the restroom, and sat down in the waiting room expecting the typical 10-15 minute wait.  I read (not skimmed, READ) an entire FitPregnancy magazine all while noticing that everyone in the waiting room had circulated through their own office visits and were leaving.  I finally decided to ask the front desk what was going on - Had they forgotten about me?  Was I here on the wrong day?  After a few moments of checking their computer, it turns out the lady who had crossed off my name from the sign-in list didn't bother to actually put me in the computer and let the nurses/doctor know I was there.  Awesome.  (I will indent now so you don't get lost in my disarray of wordiness....)

So at 12:10 I was finally called back by my least favorite nurse (she's just an airhead, that's all) who took my blood pressure & told me I would be having a strep test done.  She also handed me some info on early labor, postpartum guidelines, etc.  Sounded good to me.  The doctor came in and we chatted for a few moments - then she got the blood pressure cuff to take my blood pressure.  I asked why it was being taken again & she said the nurse had forgotten to write it down on my chart (imagine that).  No big deal.  Then she measured me and said "You're measuring perfectly!  35cm!"  I told her I thought that sounded kind of big for only being 31 weeks pregnant... She said "Hmmm - Oh, the  nurse has this down as your 35 week check-up.   So we won't be doing the strep test for a few more weeks & it looks like you're just measuring big."  Airhead nurse had a case of the Mondays I guess.

Anyway, the positive note from this whole messed up experience was that I will probably get an ultrasound in a few weeks to check on the size of our fat baby!  (I don't really believe she's fat - I just think it's cute that she's going to have lots of those cute baby skin folds & will most likely be healthy and strong due to her weight).  I had inquired at my last check-up about how much an elective ultrasound would cost, but then I opted not to investigate further since I really had no business spending money to get one.  So I'm excited at the possibility of having a doctor-ordered ultrasound soon!  

I weighed 10 lbs 1 1/2 oz at birth (sorry, Momma) and Peter was 5 1/2 lbs having been born 4 weeks early (so he would've been at least 7 1/2 - 8 lbs full term).  I've just come to expect a big ol' baby.  We shall see!

April 1

Happy April everyone!  I don't have any good April Fool's stories to tell...  the only thing I could think of doing was telling my sister I was having contractions.  She said "really?!" and I immediately told her I was kidding.  It was funny for like half a second.  That's all I could think of.  Pretty lame.

Bible study was sooooo great this morning...  It wasn't our typical format of 1 hour of group lesson followed by 1 hour of lecture.  Instead, it was 2 full hours of group time where we brought in breakfast, stuffed our faces, and talked.  The "homework" had been to think of how Jesus has shown he lovingly cares for each one of us with the intention of sharing it with the group this morning.  I found that to be a pretty loaded question & one way too easy to answer, just because there are countless ways Jesus cares for me each and every day.  So I decided just to tell the group how he has blessed me with Peter as a husband, and how he worked out the details of bringing the two of us together so perfectly.  It sounds like a dumb story, or one that so many other people could claim for their own lives too, but that doesn't mean it wasn't exceptionally woven together especially for me.  I am just so thankful that the Lord protected me from making so many foolish decisions & instead put EVERY single specific detail in order so that I could end up with the most loving, Christ-centered husband in the world!  (Okay, at least he's the most loving & Christ-centered husband in the world I live in)  :)   Oh, and of course, I started crying while telling the story so I only got out like one sentence.  My Bible study group probably has no idea what I was even trying to say - guess they should read my blog!

Anyway, just thought I'd share how great our God is that he can make even the simplest things come together in miraculous ways (not that getting married is simple, but we often take it for granted).

So on that serious note, any good April fool's pranks you want to share?!?