Me and my girls

Us, channeling American Gothic

The best picture we got.

Taken tonight.  Large and in charge!

My Timbuk2 bag

Mojo's new shoes

A new outfit

Love this little coat

Tiny Peacoat!

Sweater with elbow patches

Newborn sweater!

Baby Juli.

Sweatshirt!

Aquamarine earrings!

Christmas and catch up.

I'll start with recent first, and work my way back.

Today I got home from work, and let the girls out to pee.  After I let them out, I noticed two accidents in the garage.  This is not unusual.  Well, two are, but an accident is not out of the ordinary.  One was poo, the other was pee, with blood in it.  So then I went into freak out mode.  With four fur kids, it makes it hard to track down who did what.  My guess was it was Yoie, but I wasn't sure.  So I checked out the other guys.  Then I took Yoie out on lead, with a bowl, to try to get a urine sample.  She only did a few drops, but they were red.  I called the vet, and they were able to see her right away.  (I'm really glad our vet is open til 7, otherwise the emergency vet is so expensive).  So Yoie and I dashed off.  I felt bad about leaving Zelda, the girls usually go everywhere together.

The vet looked at her, and the few drops of pee I brought in.  He said there are four possibilities: Uti, crystals in the urine (from diet), some badness from the kidneys, or trauma to the bladder.  I think it's a UTI, I know she's not feeling well.  And having had plenty of UTIs in my time, she's got the symptoms.  Frequent trips to the bathroom, trying to pee more than she needs to, and just not feeling herself.  The vet gave her two injections of antibiotics, and she'll start Amox tomorrow.  Aaron or I need to bring in a urine sample tomorrow.

I feel so bad, I know she's not feeling well, and there's nothing I can do for her.  I've been giving her extra snuggles, but my poor puppy.  Plus with my hormones the way they are, it's hard to deal.  Not to mention having to get up and down to let her out every 20 minutes.  (Hopefully Aaron will be home soon).

Now that I'm 28 weeks pregnant, by the last due date, I have to start doing my kick counting.  Every night after dinner, I count kicks to see how long it takes to kick ten times.  So far it only takes him 10 minutes.  Aaron and I have been taking turns reading Mojo a book every night.  He kicks a lot most of the time.  I'm liking it.  We have a name that we'll likely name Mojo.  We've told our families, so far only my sister and Aaron's bio-mom like the name.  My mom said she could live with it.  My dad didn't say how he felt.

My dad's sister and her husband were out to visit.  He cousin and her husband also came to visit (all four live on the East coast).  The plan was to spent 4 days in Las Vegas (over Christmas).  But my dad was still feeling  pretty weak, and even worse his cousin and her husband got the flu!  Like the real lasts a week or longer flu.  Neither had gotten the vaccine, and my dad, his sister and brother in law all had the shot.  No one else in the house got sick.  So the two sickies stayed at the house all week, and the other three went and did some day trips.  And my MiL was able to accommodate them for Christmas dinner.

On Christmas Eve we went to services with Aaron's mom and that side of the family.  When we came home, we stayed up for a while, and then it was after midnight, so we opened our gifts.  I got Aaron a few medium sized gifts, he got me three big gifts, and a couple little ones.  Also, my stocking was filled with stockings (socks and tights).  He got me a Timbuk2 messenger bag (I've been coveting his for almost 5 years), a fitbit flex, and a set of emerald cut aquamarine earrings.  Aquamarine will be Mojo's birth stone (unless he's a premie).  On the box it said "To Mommy, From (name we chose)".  So cute!  I got Aaron some new Pumas, a painting set, the Jeeves and Wooster Dvd box set, some stuff for his airbrush etc.  We got some really cute baby clothes, a new pots and pans set.  Some gift cards and I got some new maternity clothes.  Aaron's folks bought us a leather recliner for the baby's room, and a few other things.  So it was a really nice Christmas.

Dinner was delicious, and it was nice to spend time with family.  We also did a gift card exchange, I got a $25 Amazon gift card.

I used some of my Christmas money to buy clearance maternity and nursing clothes from Old Navy and Walmart.

Sophie sent out my baby shower invitations.  They're really cute, and I'm super excited for it.

I'll post some pictures next time.

Last few days.

Holy fiduciary problems Batman!  Really, more issues than problems.

First off, Student Loans.  Aaron is on an income based repayment plan.  When we were making $35k our payments were about $100 a month.  We had to turn in the documents for next year.  We had discussed filling our taxes separately, so that way only his income is counted.  But it was going to cost about $4000 to do that!  So we said no, and filed jointly.  Aaron talked to his financial adviser about next year's payments, and since we filed jointly (and since we're making grown up money), we'll be paying $600 a month!  Holy Hell!  There is some sort of flex thing you can do to leave your payment the same, and tack the interest on to the end.  So we'll keep paying $100 for Jan and Feb, then we'll be able to change again since I'll be on maternity leave.  After that we'll see what happens.  We can afford it, but that was a huge (unpleasant) surprise.  

Last night I got a phone call saying that my debit card had been compromised.  I went online to check my account, and everything looked fine, so I was worried that the call was a phishing scam.  I called the credit union (fortunately they take calls til 9pm).  I had to be on hold a little bit, but I got to talk to a real person.  And yes, my card had been compromise.  Target had a huge information breach between Thanksgiving and last week.  Someone had tried to make two purchases (at Target) in Merced (or was it Modesto?).  One got blocked, and didn't go through.  The second was for $220, and it was pending.  The credit union fraud department caught it right away.  They cancelled the card.  (I'll have to do in on Monday and get a new one).  Fortunately, we can deal with $220 and it won't break the bank.  Since the charge was pending, the rep said I needed to wait for it to clear (which would probably be Monday), then fill out a fraud form,  I could see the pending change last night.  But when I checked it this morning, it was gone.  So I'm not sure if it got taken care of, but I'll keep an eye on it.

I think I need to start making more cash transactions.  Since credit cards have fraud protection, but someone could clean out the debit account pretty quick.  Anyway, I'm really happy with Star One.  I've had them since I was 17, and they've always treated me great!  Another point for them.

We have about $1000 left on the loan for my car.  I cannot wait to pay it off!  I'm going to try to have it gone before Mojo is born.  I should be able to do it.  Then our only debt is the student loan.  Yay!

Today has been significantly less stressful.  I slept in until 9.  Mojo has been moving a lot lately.  I love watching my belly wiggle and shake as he does his thing.  Aaron and I bummed around a bit.  Now he's out doing some last minute shopping.  I worked on my giant quilt a little.  I was doing hand stitching, but I need to set up the machine, and work on more of the squares.  Once that is done, I'm going to start on Mojo's quilt.  His will be baby sized, so it should be quicker.  And I can have Aaron help, since he's pretty good at artsy craftsy stuff.

Speaking of Mojo, our next appt for him is on Monday after work.  Hopefully I haven't gained too much weight.  I'm not stressing about it too much, since there's nothing that can be done at this point.  And I'm ok with working hard.  We'll either walk a lot, with baby in the snuggle pack, or jogger.  Or maybe we can do a little hiking.  Plus I'll be breastfeeding, or pumping.

Year End Survey

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
Got pregnant!  Learned to change a colostomy bag

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I think I wanted to have a baby this year, so that worked out.  I don't have anything in mind for 2014 right now.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No one in my immediate circle

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Grandpa, and Aaron's uncle Dennis, our kitty Diamond Jim

5. What countries did you visit?
none, still.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
A more active life style.

7. What days from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day I took the pregnancy test, for obvious reasons.  The day my dad had his colectomy.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Can I used pregnancy for all the answers?  I did well at work.  Stayed sane through my dad's illness

9. What was your biggest failure?
Gaining a lot of weight in the beginning of the pregnancy.  Oops.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nausea, back pain

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Smart Phones.  We never had them before.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Lots of people.  Aaron for being awesome.  My sister for growing into an awesome adult. People at church for sometimes saying (unknowingly) what I needed to hear.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A lot of Republicans, other people at church.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Being pregnant.  Aaron coming home from camp.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Blurred Lines, because it was on constantly, and I hate that song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? WAY fatter  :-P
iii. richer or poorer? Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Read, I barely read anything this year.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating junk.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With Aaron's family

22. Did you fall in love in 2013?
With a fetus.

23. How many one-night stands?
none, duh.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Amazing race, Project runway, Big Bang Theory

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, I try not to waste time on hate.

26. What was the best book you read?
The Art of Racing in the Rain.

27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
Queen, Book of Mormon musical soundtrack

28. What did you want and get?
To be healthy, to get pregnant, to be stable

29. What did you want and not get?
A baby girl, or twins.  Maybe next time.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I really liked Despicable Me 2

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We went to Vegas!  I turned 30.  And got knocked up!  Good birthday.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not much, it was a really satisfying year.  I'll say a less barky Fiona.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Jeans and tees.  Then panel pants

34. What kept you sane?
Aaron, naps, animal snuggles, music

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Joseph Gordon Levitt, Adam Scott, Danny Pudi (I like'em geeky)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Universal Health Care, Gay Marriage

37. Who did you miss?
Brianon, my sister, my mom

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I don't meet a lot of new people

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:
Look for blessings, not bad things.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
??

Pictures

I put the pictures up for my Marmie, since she doesn't have facebook.

Today was bath day for animals.  I bathed Moss and Yoie, and had Aaron do Zelda, since I can't lift her anymore.

I feel like the fatigue has come back again, but I guess that's to be expected.

We got to park in the driveway today.  And, we can fit both cars side by side!  Yay!  Now we can fit 4 cars in the driveway.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year.  I think I did pretty well at buying gifts this year.

I've been training MJ at work this week, she'll be taking over most of my billing stuff while I'm on leave.  She's the most senior girl at the front desk.  She's a quick learner, and I think she'll do a great job.  But training is hard, and I don't feel like I'm a very good teacher.  But we're making progress.

Pregnancy survey

How far along? 27 weeks, 2 days
Total weight loss/gain: 28 lbs total at my last prenatal visit.  Oops.

Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively.  I have a few pjs I can still wear, some normal shirts and some of my looser sweaters.  But all normal (read: not yoga) pants are maternity
Sleep: Pretty good, surprisingly.  I'm usually really tired by bedtime.  (I've had to take Benedryl some nights for itchiness), I get up 2-4 times during the night to pee, but I fall back to sleep quickly.  The only time I have issues is when I have bad indigestion. 

Best moment this week: Nothing really stands out.  Maybe Aaron finishing his charity quilt, but nothing momentous pregnancy related.

Movement: I love feeling him move!  I feel really connected when he moves.  Aaron's felt him move a few times too.

Food cravings: Sweets.  Mexican food, Spicy food.
Food aversions: Not much.  I want to eat most everything I see.
Gender: He's still a boy!
Labor Signs: Nothing, thank goodness.  Not Braxton Hicks, either.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but it is starting to get a little more shallow.  (I have a really deep belly button).  No linea negra yet either, maybe I won't get one, since I've pretty fair.
What I miss: Getting off the floor(bending, getting off of the couch, etc) without struggling.  Not weighing almost 190lbs!  (Eek!)

What I am looking forward to:  My shower, getting Mojo's room set up, meeting him.
Milestones: I'm past the point of viability, which makes me feel a little better, since I'm a worrier.

Bullets

• The boy scout quilt that Aaron made sold at the charity auction for $195!!!
• We're supposed to stop being in the freezing range tomorrow.  (I'm so ready!)
• I had prenatal yoga tonight.  I'm still pretty flexible, but my belly is noticeably starting to get in the way.
• I think we're going to try to make a registry for Mojo this week.  Maybe tomorrow, if Aaron doesn't have to work.  We're going to register at Target.
• I keep trying to watch Survivor, and I keep hating it.
• I've been getting pretty well caught up at work.
• We still don't have a tree set up, and Christmas is two weeks away.  :-/
• I was too tired today (and a little lightheaded) so I only took a short walk at lunch, and took a 40 minute nap.
• I only got in 6500 steps.  :-(
• 9pm, that means I need to get ready for bed.

Grumble, grumble

I woke up at my usual 5:30, and stayed snuggled in bed for a while.  I got up to turn on the heat (we set it for 60 overnight).  The thermostat said it was 56!  So I played with it a little, and nothing happened.  Aaron played with it, and managed to make cold air come out.  Aaron said he'd talk to his folks when it was a little later.  After getting dressed in the freezing cold house, I walked to the kitchen, and stepped in a huge puddle of pee, in my sock feet.  ...  I then had to change my socks, and pants (again in the freezing house).  Aaron cleaned up the pee for me, while I went off on a swearing jag.

I went to leave for work, and my windshield was completely iced over.  (It was 27 degrees out then).  I sat in the car, and waited for it to defrost enough for me to drive.  I don't have an ice scrapper anymore, I threw that away when we moved out of Utah.  (Also, I realize it's much colder in other parts of the country, but I live in California for goodness sake!)

Work was fine (and warm).

Aaron got a space heater from his folks, and put both dogs in their sweaters, an closed them in the back to let them warm up.  Apparently, the heat guy came sometime around mid day, and left to get a part (he left his ladder here).  But that was well over 4 hours ago, and it's currently 53 and dropping.  I have the little space heater going, but it's not helping.

I'm just sitting on the couch with Zelda on one side, Moss on the other, and Yoie barking her head off in the other room.  I'm still completely bundled up, but cold.  Aaron was supposed to be home around 5, but isn't.  I'm too hormonal to deal with this right now.

What I did today.

• Got up "early" (as opposed to sleeping in) at 7, to go to the flea market.  I think it was about 40 degrees when we got there.
• We wandered around for about 90 minutes.  It was emptier than usual, due to the cold weather, and that it'd rained last night.  I found a couple books for Mojo, but that was all we got.
• On the way home we got gas, and donuts.  
• We laid down for a few minutes when we got home.  Actually Aaron laid down for a few minutes, I ended up napping for 2.5 hours.  He left to go to a memorial while I was asleep.
• When I got up, I found that Fiona had made a line of poop from the kitchen into the living room.  I cleaned that up, and decided that it was about time to deep clean the kitchen.
• They finished taking out the tree while all that was going on.  The giant camphor tree is no more.  The stump got all the way ground, hopefully we'll have a driveway again soon.
• In the kitchen, I put everything away, did all the dishes, scrubbed the counters, and stove top.  I took the recycling and garbage out, and shredded all our papers.  I swept the floor. Then I got a bucket and Lysol and proceeded to scrub the floor on my hands and knees (I did the baseboards too).  Aaron came home while I was scrubbing, so he helped too.  I also ran the laundry while doing all the cleaning.
• After that we worked on Aaron's quilt.  We'll he did most of it, I assisted when necessary.  The top was sewn together.   He added the patches he wanted (it's a scouting quilt).  Then we pin basted it on the (newly cleaned) kitchen floor.  We went back and forth on whether to tie the quilt, or stitch in the ditch.  Tying is a lot easier, but doesn't look as nice.  Stitch in the ditch is a lot more difficult, but looks a lot nicer.  We ended up using the stitch in the ditch.  We needed to go to ask grandma for some advice on how to minimize pulls on the back of the quilt.  There were a few small mishaps, but it looks really great!  All that's left is the binding, and it's all done.
• While we were doing that, Julius peed in the dog bed, which was about 5 feet away from us.  I guess Aaron had gotten a little behind in cleaning the boxes, but man, that cat is a jerk.  
• I've walked 15,100 steps today.  :-D
• We watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Now we're watching Star Trek Into Darkness.
• I wanted to change the bed linens, and put the laundry away, but I think those things will have to wait til tomorrow.

A few pictures

Piecing his squares

Sewing rows

Julius helping

Aaron's quilt top is done!

The scouts are having a silent auction on Wednesday, so he's been working on it for a while.  Those are all the shirts and patches from this counsel's events for the year.  He did a great job!

Basting it all together.

Aaron got to play Santa at church yesterday.

All dressed!

 With a sack of candy.

A little blah blah

I had a dream about baby Mojo last night.  He was born now, but was somehow full term.  He was a beautiful little baby with a head full of light hair (now Aaron and I have both dreamed that Mojo has light hair(we, of course, both have dark hair, so it's not too likely)).  He was a good baby too, he was quiet, and a really good nurser.  And I had lots of milk!  He spat up a lot.  And I was totally inept.  I had no clue what I was doing, but he was so good, and lovable.  Exciting.

Aaron has been sick since Sunday.  He got in to see the doctor today.  I guess he has something akin to bronchitis.  So he gets some antibiotics, and is probably not contagious anymore.  (Yay!)

Because he's been sick, I've been sleeping in our room, and he's in the guest bed.  Zelda sleeps with me (in her bed, on the floor), and Yoie starts with Aaron and ends up with me.  Aaron usually takes care of Zelda in the night.  In the winter, Zelda has to be tucked in.  And when she moves around and becomes uncovered she wakes up and starts whining.  Tuesday night she woke me up four times!  Plus waking up to have to pee, it was a restless night.  Last night, I got one of the king sized comforters, and covered her and tucked it in.  She only woke up twice.  So I got a better night's sleep.

We got two packages today, both were for me.  I had to peak in one, since I'm ordering stuff from different places too.  (Sorry Mom!  But I didn't open it).

It was so cold today!  My windshield was frozen for the second day in a row.  I'm not sure we got to 50 here (which is very cold for us).  When I went on my lunch walk (at 1:15) there were frozen edges on some puddles.  Crazy.

I had a couple work meetings today.  Everything went well, so I'm feeling a little less stressed.  And we did a little more planning for my maternity leave, and return.

They started removal of our neighbour's giant camphor tree today.  I'm glad this is happening.  It's been a big annoyance.  It drops leaves all year long (which clog our gutters).  It ruined our driveway, and would eventually mess up the foundation of our house.  The big stump is still there, it's going to be worked on tomorrow.

I really hate toilet paper commercials, especially the ones with the bears.  Eww, I don't need to hear about how strong your toilet paper is!  I mean, really.  How hard are you wiping your ass?  Yuck.

Bits

• I teach Relief Society (ladies Sunday School) once a month, and I always bring a treat.  I've been bringing a gluten-free option lately, because a lot of people are doing that.  I have two packs of GF flour at home: soy and buckwheat.  Today I made a half batch of M&M cookies with the soy flour.  Ugh, they were awful!  (If you know me, you know what a sweet tooth I have, and I've never met a cookie I didn't like).  They looked bad, super flat, and limp.  And they tasted terrible.  I usually like the flavour of soy, but it was like the soy had gone bad or something.  I didn't even bake all the dough.
• I stopped by and saw Sophie after work to talk about baby shower stuff.  Poor Kaylee has terrible diaper rash.  Sophie and I ended up just talking a lot of baby and pregnancy stuff.  It was nice.
• I organized my cloth diapers yesterday, I think we're pretty well set, so that's exciting.
• I realized today that I still have room to do the Humira shot on my belly.  :cue the hallelujah chorus:
• Aaron is sick.  I think this is day three.  He has a cold of some sort, so he feels bad.  He came home from work early and had to get someone else to cover his meeting today.  That means he must feel bad.  I made up the guest bed, in the front room, for him.  (He said he'd sleep in there tonight).  Poor kid.  He bought me flowers on his way home to apologize in advance for his whiney-ness.  
• Aaron told me he had a dream about Mojo last night.  This is very rare, he usually doesn't remember his dreams.  He said Mojo had a lot of light coloured hair.  :swoon:
• Mojo has been really wiggly today, which is fun.  And according to the baby app, his testicles are descending this week.  And he's taking little practice breaths of amniotic fluid.

Thanksgiving and beyond.

It's been a great weekend so far.

On Thursday we slept in, and then got up and watched the parade.  Well, I watched, Aaron sort of watched/ played computer games.  I also read through the ads.  We took the dogos for a walk around 11, it was nice to walk during the day.  After the walk, we sat around again for a while and had a little lunch.
Around 1 we went down to Aaron's folks house to get stuff prepped for frying the turkey.  Our two-year old nephew was there already, watching Jake the Pirate?  Or something like that.  It makes Aaron and I realize how much we hate kids shows.  We hope to be able to not have tv watching, but we'll see how it actually goes.
Aaron did the actual frying, I helped him set up a bit, but then went inside.  Big deep fat fryer+ propane tank= more anxiety for Rachel.  Aaron called me back out to test the temp.  I asked where to stick it, he said he didn't care.  So I used a few different locations, they all tested cooked, so we brought it in.  They let it rest, and did some other prep.  I ate hors d'vors and chatted.  Aaron and his mom went to carve the turkey, and found a lot of raw spots.  D'oh.  But they were able to microwave it, and everything was ok.  It was still really moist.  Food was really good.  My dad came, he's feeling pretty good.
We went home around 6, and I started working on my quilt.  I had previously pin basted it, so I started machine quilting, using stitch in the ditch.  I did most of my vertical lines.  Around 10:30, I convinced Aaron to take me Grey Thursday shopping.  We went to Target to get dvds, and found a few other thing.  Target was really easy, it was a quicker check out than normal.  Then we went to Kohls, because they had a blanket I wanted.  Kohls was another story.  The line went around the store, and was really slow.  I got my blanket and stood in line while Aaron looked at stuff.  Then I had him stand in line while I looked for maternity clothes (there weren't any).  The line took a long time, and Aaron got grouchy.  After that we went home.
Slept in a little on Friday, then we went to JoAnns.  Aaron needed stuff for his quilt.  (He's making a boy scout t-shirt quilt for a charity auction.)  I pulled a number first (we got number 72, and they were on 30).  So we spent some time shopping around.  Aaroun found his fleece, interfacing, and patch glue.  I found some flannel to make a blanket for Mojo.  It was a while longer there.  So I sent Aaron to the store next door, to not have a repeat of last night.  We had some coupons and got some great deals.  After that we got lunch and then went to OSH and got a dog bed that was on sale.
Then we came home and worked on quilts and watched our new dvds.  In the evening we tried to take the dogs for a walk, but after a couple blocks Yoie didn't want to walk, so I zipped her into my coat, which worked ok, except she's heavy for me now.
Slept in again this morning, and then went to do my Glucose Screen.  That was ok, the drink made me feel a little sick.  I ate lunch and took a nap.
It's been a nice weekend.  I'm enjoying the time off.

Crummy day.

Mood swings and back pain and weight gain.  Oh my!

I had a 24 week prenatal visit this morning.  I found out I've gained about 28 lbs so far!  I always told myself I would not be one of those ladies who let themselves go.  I wouldn't give into craving, and I'd exercise.  Well, I didn't give into a lot of cravings, but I've certainly been eating.  I haven't been exercising nearly enough.  But I can't believe I'm only a little more than half way there, and I've gained all the weight I'm supposed to gain.  Grr.  Plus I'm worried about gestational diabetes.

My back has been bothering me since about 14 or 15 weeks.  Today it's been killing me.  Nothing seems to help much, except contorting myself into odd positions, but I can't stay in them forever.

On the way home, I went to the grocery store to get some healthier food.  I bought two dozen eggs, because I planned to make some hard-boiled eggs to have to breakfast/snacks.  I got some fruit and veg and yogurt.  I got home and took some eggs out to boil.  The first one was broken.  The next one was also broken.  In fast, all but 2 of the eggs were broken.  (They looked fine from the top, but were all broken on the bottom).  The other dozen was completely fine.  So I boiled those, and left the broken dozen on the counter for Aaron to take back.

Then I started to prep the Tofurky.  We were eating dinner at Aaron's folks house, but I wanted to have lunch for tomorrow.  So I chopped up all the vegetables and got everything ready.  Then I had to get the Tofurky out of it's plastic wrapper, and managed to slice my thumb, because I was holding the knife backwards! Ugh.

Then I had a huge sobbing breakdown.  Somehow Aaron convinced me to calm down and he took the eggs back and exchanged them.

I'm still feeling grouchy and sad (and in pain), but I'm not falling apart.

I should count my blessings.  I have a healthy baby, who's growing well.  A nice home, a soft bed, and a great hubby.

Not too much.

I only went to the first hour of church today.  I decided I could only handle one hour of church today, which was just as well, my back was really bothering me this morning.  After I came home I read the paper, and took a three hour nap!  Holy moly.  I could have slept longer too, but when I woke up at 2, I decided I should get up.

Aaron made me some eggs, and then I sat around more.  I meant to work on the quilt, but I've just felt kind of listless lately.  Or, I don't know.  Maybe I'm still depressed.  I just don't feel like doing anything.

I talked to my mom for an hour today.  That was nice.  I miss her, I'm really glad she'll be out here in January and again when Mojo is born.  I was telling her I don't know what she'd do when she's here for 3 weeks after Mojo's birth.  She said I'll do thinks so you can take care of the baby.  Sigh, what a relief.  Someone to make us food, and make the house look less exploded.  I love my mom.

Mojo has been doing flips and barrel rolls lately.  That's pretty fun.

We've chosen a name we think we'll use for Mojo.  But we're not sure, and we don't want to say it, because Aaron's mom is really vocal about names she doesn't like; which are most names.  I think she likes things like Nathan and Matthew etc.  We don't like names like that.  We're in to more old tyme names, and Irish, Celtic names.

I'm really glad it's Thanksgiving week.  I'm excited for a 3-day week.  Lots of rest time, maybe a little shopping (not sure about that yet), lots of family time.

Today

Or: I have plenty of first world problems.

I got up at 5:40.  It's so hard to get out of bed so early.  Especially since it's so cold now.  I laid in bed, and played with my phone for a few minutes before forcing myself out of bed.  I had gotten my stuff ready the night before, so I didn't have much to do and headed out the door at 6:04.

There was no traffic, which was nice.  I got on 85N, and was going somewhere between 65 and 70 the whole way.  A couple miles in, (I was driving in the middle lane) a motorcycle flew by me before I even had time to register what it was.  He must have been doing at least 90!  (It was still dark out!)  Yikes.

I got to work a few minutes early, only to find I left the heat off all weekend, so it was 53 in my office.  Brr.

I started working and ate my breakfast.  I've gotten to the point in my pregnancy where everything tastes really good.  After breakfast, despite not being hungry, I thought it would be a good idea to eat all my snacks.  That was good, until I had terrible indigestion the rest of the day.  I'm a glutton.

Also, I've been achy.  My back hurts off and on.  My ribs on the right side hurt pretty often.  And lately, my left knee has been hurting.  Plus, Mojo starting doing this weird thing lately.  It's like he's stretching, or something.  It's kind of pinchy.  But Aaron felt him move for the first time yesterday!  That was exciting.  (He moves mostly in the morning, so far).

Aaron called after he drove my dad to and from his follow up appointment with Dr Youn (the surgeon).  He got his staples out, and everything looks good.  The doctor wants my dad to drink more (since the colon absorbs most of the water).  My dad got the ok to eat a regular diet again, so he wanted lots of fatty snacks.  He lost about 20 lbs.  (He's right around 140 right now).  Aaron had a lot of running around to do later in the day, so he passed the request on to me. (Dad still isn't good to drive, not til he stops getting light-headed).

Blue Cross was having system problems all morning.  It was really annoying because they'd said call back in an hour, then I would, and they'd say call back in 30 minutes.  Grr.  Your one job is to have the system working.  (This happens about once a month).

(The Big Lots near my house had a grand re-opening.  They put in cold cases, and milk and ice cream and stuff like that.  The ads I'd heard made it sound like all the stores would have that).  At lunch I went to the Big Lots by work to get my dad some cookies, candy, chips, and ice cream.  That Big Lots had signs that said "grand re opening" too.  The stuff inside was all rearranged, but there were no cold cases!  The aisles were a lot closer together, which made it really hard to navigate.  That was annoying.

So I ran over to Target after that to buy frozen stuff. There was a bunch of sister missionaries hanging out in the parking lot.  8 or 10 of them!  I don't think I've ever seen so many sisters hanging out together before.  Weird.

After work I drove to my dad's to give him his snacks.  It took a long time to get on the freeway, for some reason, even though the freeway was fine.  I didn't stay long, since I still wasn't feeling great.

When I got home, I saw that the dogs did something bad.  One of us, mistakenly, left the pet food cabinet unlocked (the cats can open it).  Strewn all around the house were bits of packaging.  The dogs had pulled out all the treats (both dog and cat), tore the bags open and ate the contents.  Fiona is having some IBS issues, and is supposed to be on a very controlled diet.  So they ate pretty much all the treats and some packaging. Arg.

Aaron just came home a little before 9.  Fortunately, this is his only night meeting this week (I think).

Bending and getting up off the floor are starting to get hard.

I was going to see my dad after work today, but he said he was feeling well, and I could just rest.  But he requested I bring him a couple things when I come visit tomorrow.  Namely, baby food.  I went to my normal stores: Sprouts and Grocery Outlet.  Turns out, I don't really know where one buys baby food.  Sprouts had a few varieties, which were all organic, but pretty expensive.  I didn't mind that too much.  But My dad wanted meat baby food, and Sprouts only had two kinds.  I got a few of each of those.  I wasn't sure if Grocery Outlet would have any baby food.  They didn't have any, but I got a couple little pasta cups.  I may look at Target tomorrow, if I have time.  I assume they'll have baby food, but as it turns out, I really don't know.  Maybe you have to buy it at a special store?

We've been letting Zelda hop up and sit on the couch lately.  But now she's been inviting herself up, which isn't good.  So we've been keeping her off the couch, and she is unhappy about that.  And expresses it by whining, and sad looks.

The driveway got removed.  But now there is a huge pile of dirt in it, so we can't park there.  The tree is supposed come out some time between 11/20 and 12/5, and then the new driveway goes in shortly after that.  The end is supposedly in sight.

We think we've decided on a name for baby Mojo.  But we're not telling anyone, because when we had previously mentioned names we liked, we got a lot of negative reaction (mostly from Aaron's mom).  So we won't be telling anyone, until he's born.

I've been having crazy mood swings this week.  I'm not sure why the mood always swings to bad.  Why can't you be feeling ok, and all of a sudden be super happy?

Too much has happened.

If you read my Crohns blog, you'll be update with all the stuff that's been going on with my dad.  He went into the hospital for bleeding a little over a week ago, and ended up having a complete colectomey (ending with a colostomy bag) on Friday.  He was originally supposed to stay for a week following the surgery, but it looks like he may only need 5 days. So things are looking up.

Aaron and I have spent a lot of time at the hospital, or driving to and fro.

Mojo has been moving around a lot.  Especially after I eat in the morning.  I'm still feeling pretty good, my back hurts at the end of some days, and I pee a lot.  I noticed today that I can feel Mojo kicking from the outside.  So now I just need to get Aaron to catch him moving.

Tomorrow our driveway will be ripped out.  The giant, annoying camphor tree will be going (hopefully) soon after that.  I'm looking forward to the tree being gone, and having a flat, non-broken driveway, but it seems like it's going to be an annoyingly long process.

Hopefully we'll be able to go to the temple in the next couple weeks.  It's been over a year since we've been, and I was practically inactive.  But now I've got myself sorted out, and I'd like to go once or twice before Mojo comes along, and runs our lives.

I start my yoga class this week.  I also get my hair done on Friday.

All Mojo, all the time.

Last night was full of dreams; all of them about Mojo.  I only remember three, but none too specifically.  In one Mojo was a girl.  In one Mojo was a boy.  In one Mojo had non-functioning kidneys and wasn't going to make it.  Ugh.  It was a rough night.

The appointment went fine.  It started half an hour late, but that was the only snag.  Everything looked great.  Kidneys and heart were functioning perfectly.  All the bones were where they should be.  He was moving all around.  And liked having his hands in front of his face.  A lot.  And he's a he; no doubt.  We were both (sort of) secretly hoping for a girl, but I am ecstatic to be having a healthy baby.  I am having a baby!  Aaron and I made him, it's so weird.

He's so tiny.  His head is 4cm in diameter, his little foot in about an inch long. Heart was beating at 144 bpm.  He weighs about 10 oz.  He's measuring 19.5 weeks.   I'm wondering how and when I feel him poking me.  I couldn't feel him moving during the ultrasound, but I can feel him from time to time.

Now we need to think of names we both like.  We have several girls' names we both love.  We have a lot of boys' names we like, but so far, nothing is jumping out at us.  We also won't be sharing the name beforehand.

I'm also trying to gather information about circumcision.  My inclination is to say "no," I don't feel like a tiny baby needs a (mainly) cosmetic surgery.  My dad said he would say no.  And if he and my mom had had boys, he wouldn't have circumcised, and he's Jewish.  I know my mom is for it, because she says it's cleaner.  The American Academy of Pediatrics is for it, which holds a lot of weight.  So I need to research more.

Misc

Tomorrow is the big ultrasound!  I'm nervous and excited.  Hopefully Mojo will cooperate.

Here are some miscellaneous things I've been thinking about:

• I've been driving for 16 years (that sounds like a long time!)  In that time, I've only had three cars: Rudiger (1978 Toyota Corolla), Wiggles (1998 Ford Escort) and Homer (2007 Ford Focus).  Aaron's had a few more than me.  He had a grey car, from the 80s when we first met, but that got totaled shortly there after, then he had Punchy the 1995 Ford Escort, then Fadonalor (1999 VW Passat), Topolino the 1970 Fiat 500, then he drove Wiggles for a few years, now he has Nonna (1995 small Ford truck).
• I've known Aaron for a little more than a third of my life.  Cool beans.
• I've been doing pretty well with my walking. I get at least 10,000 most days.  Sunday is the exception, I don't get 10,000 on Sundays.
• On Saturday, we got Mojo a dresser from Ikea.  It's bare wood, we're going to paint it a dark grey.  We built it on Saturday, that was a longer process than I anticipated.  But we didn't kill each other, so it was good.  We'll paint it this weekend.
• I've been feeling some movement from Mojo.  Little pokes and prods.  It's really neat.
• I've been feeling really good lately.  My back isn't hurting much, I'm not too tired, I'm not sick.  It's nice.
• Zelda is sitting half in my lap right now.  She has pointy elbows.  But she sure is nice.

A pretty good day.

Last night was the first night I slept with a pillow between my knees for the first time.  My back has started hurting a little.  (Mid back, not lower, which is kind of surprising).  I read that the pillow would help.  When I woke up this morning, no back pain!  Yay.  I slept from 10:30 to 8:30, which was fantastic.

For breakfast I made the Pilsbury cinnamon rolls that have the orange icing.  They were really good.  We started some house chores, and then took my car to the shop.  It was time for an oil change and a 90k mile check up.  We came back home, and did a couple more thing, and then we drove Nonna (the truck) over the hill to Santa Cruz.  Aaron's bio-mom had a post about Stagnaro's earlier this week, on Facebook.  That made me want to go there.  And I somehow convinced Aaron that it would be a good idea.  (He is not a seafood fan, except clam chowder and calamari).  The drive over was easy, and no traffic.

We didn't know that today was the 100th anniversary of the Pier.  So the city was having some event about it with music and a bunch of classic cars.  Some were from 1914; super ornate.  We got into Stagnaro's pretty quickly.  I texted my dad to see if he wanted any food he asked me to bring back cioppino, salad and bread.  I got calamari and chowder, Aaron got a burger and chowder.  (For a seafood place, that was a really good burger)!  After lunch, we stopped at the candy store and got a couple things before heading back over the hill.

We went to my dad's house on the way back, to check in on him, and bring him his food.  His prednisone has been working, and he's been eating a lot.  That's good because he's 6' and was down to 147 lbs. He's mostly been feeling ok, but it still spiking fevers at night.  But he's feeling and looking more peppy.  We ended up staying there for a couple hours.  We always get to chatting.

On the way home, we were going to go to Trader Joes for chili fixins, but decided to go home instead.  I took a nap for a bit.  After that I asked Aaron to drive me to Target.  So we browsed there for a while, and got some stuff.  Then it was time to get my car.

It was about $450, I got an oil change, new engine mount, breaks redone, and the spark plugs etc.  So not too bad.  We stopped by Yogurtland on the way home.  Then took the dogs for a walk.

Now, I'm snuggled on the couch with Julius on my right and Zelda on my left.  They're both snoozing.

Life is good.

Random things

• I hate bedspreads.  I think they're useless.
• Pregnancy has made me lazier than ever.  But now that I'm not sick (and quite as tired) I'm making an effort to exercise.  I'm a little scared that I'll gain a lot of weight, and not be able to loose it.
• I want to stock up on more books for Mojo.  Books are really important.
• Fiona used to be my baby.  But she's been way more into Aaron lately.  She's his snuggle puppy now.
• I'm still trying to figure out a Halloween costume.
• Sometimes I inadvertently lead the dog parade around the house.  It's kind of cute.

Thursday is almost Friday.

It's been a long week.

I got to work early on Monday, 5:50am, instead of 6:30am.  I had a doctor appointment for the baby.  At 6:30 I got a call from my dad, asking if I could drive him to the hospital.  (He also has Crohns, and had been spiking fevers and bleeding for a week).  I told him I was already at work, but I'd call Aaron.  Fortunately, Aaron had brought his phone to bed the night before.  (I'd started bringing mine to bed with me while Aaron was gone all Summer, now it's a habit).  Aaron sprung into action, and took my dad to Good Sam.  Another good thing is Aaron is on salary, and many days does not have a set schedule.  He stayed with my dad in the ER til he was made comfortable, and was all checked in.  Then he did a little running around, and met me at Kaiser for my appt.

My visit was boring.  Except that we got to hear the heartbeat.  That was neat.

After that I went back to work.  Aaron went back to Good Sam to see my dad.  He'd been admitted and was in a room.  He's been there since.  He got blood and plasma yesterday, and blood again today.  Plus they started him on Prednisone again.  The bleeding and fevers have stopped.  They're still working on getting his H and H up.  He was at 9 and 27 today, still too low, but still improving

We've been visiting him everyday.  Today he was asleep, so I didn't stay long.  They think he'll be able to leave tomorrow.

So with all that, I've been especially exhausted this week.  I'm just drained.  Emotionally, and physically.  Stuff at home has been sliding, and I don't have the energy to do it.  I'm glad it's almost the weekend.

Goals for tomorrow

(Assuming my head doesn't implode from this cold!)

• Get a really good donut and/or a huge bowl of Pho Ga.
• Figure out what treats to buy for my lesson on Sunday.  (I usually bake, but there are too many germs in the house right now).
• Laundry
• Dishes
• Walk the dogos

And if I'm feeling better:

• Clean off the back patio
• mow the lawns
• wash my car

=========================================

I think Aaron is working all day tomorrow.  If I remember correctly: Shooting clays fundraiser morning to afternoon, and a court of honour in the evening.  He's working right now.

To add to the things we don't support: Barilla.  Aaron was pretty bummed about this one, but it has to be done.  You don't like the gays?  We'll find a different brand we like.  So the list now looks like this: Walmart, Chikfila, Barilla, Papa Johns.  

But I will spend extra money to buy name brand Cherrios.  

Blog # 100!

Things are bumping along here.  Nothing new to report really.

I've been rather enjoying eating meat.  I made a yummy dinner of free range organic drumsticks, marinated and glazed in a sweet and spicy sauce.  Aaron actually liked it, which is a big win for me!  I'm not a very good cook, and when Aaron wants seconds I did well.  We had been buying whole free range organic chickens, but they're really expensive, $12-15 each.  And we often throw a lot away of the carcass.  The pack of 5 drumsticks were only $2.85.  We've been having some ground beef too.  We always buy the organic free range stuff.  I do sometimes get fast food, but if I'm buying it to cook, we'll get the good stuff.  I can't find any "good" bacon.  I think I'll need to try whole foods for that.

I'll be 16 weeks tomorrow.  I still don't think I look pregnant, just fat.  I want that cute roundness.  I just have a fat jiggly belly.  :-P  I still can't believe I've pregnant!  It's crazy!  I thought it would never happen.  I'm still worried something is going to happen.  But I try not to stress about it, since it's very unlikely at this point.  I have my next appointment in a week.

Not much else to report.  I've been stocking up on cloth diaper and baby clothes.  Savers (a discount/ goodwill type store) has a great selection of baby clothes and maternity stuff.

Weirdness

I really want to complain about how frustrated I am.  But I won't.  There's nothing major going on, I'm just irritable.

Instead I'll write about pregnancy weirdness.

• I feel like I hiccup and burp a lot.  
• My face has been extra oily.  My hair is also really oily.  I used to be able to wash my hair twice a week.  But now if I don't do it every other day, it gets gross.
• I don't have to pee all the time during the day, but for some reason, I'm up about 4 times during the night.
• I don't recognize my boobs anymore.  I've always been pretty small chested.  (The only one in my family, everyone else is chesty).   My sister is always congratulating me on finally becoming a woman.  I think I'm almost as big as her.  :-P
• I'm hot all the time.  And sweaty.  And more smelly than before.  
• I've been feeling better now that I'm in the second trimester.  But I'm still having food aversions. I still can't eat tofu, soy, or TVP based foods.  
• I'm really fortunate in my job.  Mojo will be able to come to work with me, and I may have the option to work from home too.  

Pregnancy is a weird thing

Yesterday was the first "real" ultrasound.  I've had 3 before; two(internal) in the office and one in radiology.  But all of those were early on, 8 and 9 weeks.  Mojo looked like a bean.  Though seeing the heart was really amazing.

Anyway, back to yesterday.  We did a 13 week NT ultrasound as part of a screening for downs, trisomy 18, and some other stuff.  This is the first appointment Aaron could attend.  I was worried about him being late, but he was on time.

We went right back, and there was a big monitor so I could see what she was looking at.  There was Mojo, big, right on the screen.  It was really amazing.  We could see the heart, the finger tips, legs, toes.  I loved the profile, I think it has the Patino nose (to be explained later).  Aaron thought it was so neat.  They also thought they saw a penis.  After she said that, Aaron said "oh, I think I wanted a girl".  (That was a surprise to me).  But the tech said it's still early, so she couldn't be sure.  The baby was moving a lot, when the tech would push on my belly.

They also changed the date from 3/11/14 to 3/22/14.  Which would make me 12 weeks, instead of 13.5.  But I don't think it's accurate.  Because if that were true, then my first ultrasound would have been measuring really big.  I would have been 6 weeks, instead of 8 weeks.  I don't think it would measure super big, then small.  So I'm not sure, but I'll go with the 13.5 weeks.  Also, I stopped feeling sick thins week, which work coincide more with being further along.  Baby Mojo is about 3 inches long.  He/it kept curling up.

All our results came back good.  Baby is healthy, hrt was 170, nice and fast.  Everything looked great.  We told the world yesterday.  Nanny was so excited she screamed.

I don't feel pregnant.  I don't think I look pregnant, though Aaron said he thought I was starting to show.  My belly is sticking out, but I think I just look fat.  But during the ultrasound the wand up right under my belly button, and there was Mojo.  So I guess there is some baby under the fat.  My boobs are getting big though.  I measured a couple weeks ago, because none of my bras fit.  I measured at a 38d.  Yeesh.  I've always been a b.  And not 38 either...  So my other symptoms are all clearing up.  Nausea is all but gone, unless I wait too long to eat.  I'm not quite as tired, I don't need desk naps most days.  I do still gag on my toothbrush most morning.  Headaches are pretty common, and I have a little acne.

Our baby is so lucky.  He (I think I'll call it a he for now, since that seems likely.) has so many grandparents!  Aaron's mom and dad, my mom, her long time bf Glenn, my dad, probably his gf Ginny (they've been together 4ish years, I think), Aaron's grandma, and Aaron's bio-mom, Trish and her hubby Rob.  Aaron was adopted at birth.  His bio-mom sent him a letter when he was 21, and he held onto it for a couple years.  He got in contact and we met her 7 years ago.  She lives in Minnesota, but still has family here, so she visits a few times a year.  That's where the Patino nose comes in.  I love it, I love a unique nose.  Slightly big, with a bit of a shelf.  I love it.

The baby blogs

8/6/13

I'm pregnant.  I'm pregnant! 9 weeks today.

It all started last Friday.  I'd been sick with a virus for a week, with no end in sight.  I'd just had my period the previous week.  But I'd noticed that I felt a little worse upon waking.  And a little better after eating.  So, I decided I'd burn another pregnancy test.  I went pee, and prattled around and then grabbed the test to look.  My hands started shaking and tears instantly sprung to my eyes.  I think I said "oh my God" about 5 times.  Aaron was still at camp, and I wanted to tell him in person.  I called my sister (who was at work).

"What? I'm at work you know."
"I just took a pregnancy test and it's positive" (I was breathless, and crying)

"What?!"

"I'm pregnant.  The test says I'm pregnant."

She started crying.  And my mom happened to be there dropping something off, so she had to tell her.  

After that I called Kaiser, since I had no clue how far along I was.  My last real period was April 8th.  Then I had bleeding, which I thought was a light period on July 23rd.  (My periods have been really light since coming off of Depo).  I had taken the day off of work to get over my virus.  I was planning to leave at noon to drive up and see Aaron.  My regular ObGyn (NP Medlicott) didn't have an appointment til 2:30, so I saw a different one (NP Elemen) at 10:15.  

Everyone at Kaiser seemed confused by my dates.  Either that I was just barely pregnant, or that I was very pregnant.  I kept telling them my periods were not normal.  Bev (the NP) went over my history, and then got the ultrasound machine.  An internal ultrasound is like a robot penis, not really comfortable.  I saw my little blob (who I've since named Mojo).  She said I was about 7 weeks along.  Bev said she couldn't see something she was looking for, and refered me to radiology for a more in depth ultrasound. She said she was cautiosly optimistic.  She sent me to the lab, and my new ultrasound was scheduled for 1:30.  I got my blood drawn, and barely made it to the car before breaking down.  Something I'd wanted for so long, and now I had it, and it might gone already.  

I got home and sobbed and sobbed.  I wanted my mommy to be able to hold my hand.  Or for Aaron to be there and tell me it would all be ok.

I drank a ton of water, as instructed, and went back for my ultrasound.  The tech started with an external one.  I couldn't see the screen, and she wouldn't tell me what she was looking at.  An external ultrasound with a full bladder is just as you'd expect.  Then she told me to pee, and she'd do another internal.  That was more uncomfortable than the first one.  She was not super gentle, and had to maneuver it a bunch of different ways.  

Then I walked back across the street to the ObGyn office to get the ultrasound read.  And I waited, and waited and waited.  And was practically teared my fingers off.  I'd emailed Aaron to let him know I wouldn't be in camp til late.  I told him something came up, he asked if everything was ok.  I said I wasn't sure.  I still wanted to tell him face to face.  Then I waited some more.  Eventually (after about an hour) I got back into a room.  Bev came and appologized and said that ultrasound reports are supposed to be ready in under an hour (at that point we were nearing an hour and a half).  But the ultrasound pictures (and film) was ready, so we looked at it.  She showed me little Mojo's beating heart, the one thing she couldn't find previously.  She called later with the full report.  Everything looked perfect, and I was 8w3d along.  I'm due March 10th 2014.

When I got to camp, Aaron asked my what was going on.  I said I had a picture to show him, which was the positive pregnancy test.  He said he thought that was what was going on. He was really excited.

I've been feeling the same so far.  Barfy and tired.  I haven't actually thrown up, just gagged a few times.  I've discovered I can't eat garlic, or dark green salads.  Nothing big in the cravings department yet.

Smells are really getting to me.  I had to change to unscented deodorant and soap.  

Cheerios are tasting really delicious.

8 weeks, 2 days.  I found out late.  

9 weeks 1 day

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8/26/13

I worked a half day and then came home.  Mojo was making me feel worse than usual.  I was dizzy, which was new, queasy, headache, tired, the usual.  I came home to rest and sleep, but I couldn't sleep. Tomorrow is 12 weeks.  And Aaron's birthday.

I'm hot all the time.  I'm having night sweats.  I bought some maternity pants.  My jeans are all too tight, except one pair of denim shorts (my fat shorts).  I ordered some maternity stuff online, and then went to Savers, and found some great deals.  (I got 3 pairs of maternity jeans, a bunch of cute onesies, and a baby name book for under $35).  

I can't remember if I mentioned my desk naps previously.  But during my breaks at work, I've been napping under my desk.  

We've told a few people.  Our family, my direct boss at work, Aaron told a few people at work, a few of our friends.  I have an ultrasound in 2 weeks, once we have that, assuming everything is ok, then we'll spread the word.

We had our first baby class at Kaiser.  It was mostly just paperwork.  Originally, we'd decided against genetic testing.  But during the class, we decided to do integrated screening, which consists of blood work, the ultrasound, and blood work again.  Really the main reason is that we get a 13 week ultrasound, instead of having to wait til the end of September for the 16 week.  But since we only know half of Aaron's genetic info, it seemed like it might be a good idea.  I do the first blood draw this Friday and the ultrasound next Friday.  

I finally stopped spotting, which is a big relief.  I still haven't barfed, just some gagging. 

-----------------------------------------

8/30/13

My first real case of baby brain.

Tomorrow is my niece's first birthday party.  (Not really my niece, Aaron's cousin's daughter, but I'm an official Aunt).  They're having a pool party.  I never miss an opportunity to swim.  Plus it's been so warm, and I'm hot all the time.  But I don't have any swimsuits that fit me.  I'm too roundy, gelatinous and lumpy.  I went to Target after work in the hopes of finding a maternity swimsuit on clearance.  I didn't find any maternity suits (they had a bunch online, but not in the store).  I did find a bunch of clearance tankikis.  So I went to try on two tops, 3 bottoms and a pair of shorts; six items total.  I went in the fitting room and started trying stuff.  They actually fit ok, which was a surprise.  Then I got tangled up in one of the tops.  In the process of trying to get out of it, I punched myself in the nose, which sent my tiny nose stud flying into the abyss.  I started looking around frantically, because the piercing is only a few months old, I didn't want it to close up.  I was frantically searching around, but I gave up, and bunched up all the bathing suits and took them back out.  I didn't bother to put them on hangers, because I liked them, and needed to decided which I liked.  The attendant wanted to count them, so I handed her the ball of swimsuits.  She only counted five.  I was flustered, but I tried to figure out where the missing one was.  Then I thought, maybe...  I pull out the waistband of my pants, and there it was.  Geez.  I'm sure the attendant thought I was trying to steal it.  I still can't believe I did that.

I then dug through my purse in search of an earring to use in my nose til I got home.  After 5 minutes, I finally found one.  It looked funny, but it did the job.

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We had an NT ultrasound today to check for genetic defects.  Everything looks good so far.  They changed my due date again, because Mojo is measuring small.  I was originally 3/12/14, now it's 3/22/14.  So now I'm measuring 11w6d.  But I think I'll stick with 13w3d.  I guess we'll see as time goes on.  It's still early, but the tech is thinking it's a boy.  If you look at the 3d scan, it looks like you can see a penis.

Blah Blah

Not too much to talk about right now.

We're both just chugging along.

This weekend will be busy.  Aaron's working all day on Saturday.  I'm hanging out with my favourite baby, Kaylee.  We're going to go to the De Anza flea market.  Then I'll probably take her to grandma.  Aaron's doing the Shooting Clays event for work, he usually likes working this fundraiser.  But it's supposed to be pretty hot this weekend.  I'll have to make sure me baby and I stay hydrated in the sun.

Aaron did a lot of yard work last weekend.  He tore out a couple dead plants, bought new ones, and one for the porch.  They look nice.  We're not green thumbs, so it's difficult to keep plants alive.

I've been watching a lot of SVU on Netflix.  I also watched all of Orange is the New Black.  That was good, I'm excited for the new season, whenever that starts.

I've been gauging my ears little.  I'm up to 12g in my lobes, I'm going to stop at 10.  That way, they won't be stretched out forever.

In Response

http://rationalfaiths.com/so-when-you-gonna-have-kids/

I saw the above blog post and wanted to write a response.  Or maybe a similar blog.

Most people know my story, but I'll do a quick recap, just in case.  My husband and I got married 8 years ago.  We were 23 and 22, respectively.  At that point, we were no where near ready to start a family.  We were both still students, living in one of the most expensive areas of the country, and both working part time.

After a year of marriage, we moved to Utah, so my husband could pursue his Master's degree.  While living there, we could have afforded kids, even with him still being in school.  But we weren't ready yet.  After that, my husband enrolled in law school in San Francisco.  We moved back to one of the most expensive parts of the country.  My husband commuted 2+ hours every day. We lived on my income and his student loans.  And even with reduced rent (living in a house owned by his parents) we were barely scrapping by.  (Note, we didn't have a lot of luxuries, no cable, slower internet, no smart phones etc).

In the middle of his 2nd year of law school, we decided it would be a good time to start trying to have a baby.  We figured that by the time I got pregnant, and then gave birth he'd be just about done with school.
Then Crohns happened.  I was diagnosed after a major flare up that caused me to loose 20+ lbs in 3 months.  At this time we were told to stop trying until the Crohns was under control.

A lot of time passed, with no Crohns remission.  At that point we started looking into adoption.  We had both always wanted to adopt, but that process was much more daunting than we'd ever imagined.  LDS Family Services was more expensive, and less responsive than I'd anticipated.  Regular private adoption was MUCH more expensive than either of us thought ($15,000 on the low end).  So we put all baby plans on hold.  At this point we both had good jobs, and were living comfortably.  But we couldn't afford $15k, especially since it is all due up front.

Towards the end of 2012 (we'd been married 7.5 years at this point), I got the "Okay" to start trying again.  We were/are in a bit of a hurry to get me pregnant.  Who knows how long my Crohns will be under control?    It's been about 9 months at this point.

So now to my thoughts on the article:
It's really nice to know there are others in the same boat.  I'm hoping some people from "the other side" read it as well.  Aka, the breeders, the people who never had any problems getting pregnant, and were able to have as many kids as they saw fit.  Because the people who have been in my shoes, the author's shoes, many of my friend's shoes, know better than to ask the stupid questions, or say idiotic things.

Here are some of my "favourites" from over the years (these are all things I heard either at church, or from LDS members):

• Multiple testimonies from pregnant women (or new moms) about how grateful they were that God trusted them enough to bless them with children
• From the pulpit that God doesn't give kids to people who aren't ready (which explains all the teen moms, right?)
• From two different people that said we lacked faith by not trying to start a family from day one
• In a Sunday School lesson that a woman doesn't know true love until a newborn baby is placed on her belly.  
• That a family without kids is incomplete
• That a woman can't fulfill her eternal calling without having kids.

And of course the usual when are you going to have kids? and what are you waiting for?

When we were ready, but not able, I did something that I guess is unheard of.  I came out.  I teach in Relief Society (ladies' sunday school) once a month.  And I took the opportunity to tell everyone that we wanted kids, but weren't able to make them.  We would love to adopt, but couldn't afford it.  I'm generally an open person, I don't have secrets.  So it wasn't a big deal for me to "come out."  The main reason I did that was for self preservation.  I didn't want to hear the question anymore.  I didn't want to have to explain my pain on a weekly basis.  After coming out, I got a lot of comments about how brave I was, how other people couldn't do that.  I got several personal stories sent to my facebook inbox.  And suddenly I was less alone.  No one wants to talk about it, but once someone mentions it, everyone feels safe to talk.  

I had people who were more sensitive to what they said.  I had people asking if there was anything I needed (I always said, "be on the lookout for knock up teens whose baby needs a good home").

That's all I can think of on this now.