Just the hits

Pregnancy

• Bending is getting really hard.  Sometimes I have to walk the dogs by myself, which is hard because they pull a lot.  But harder because I really have to bend to pick up after them.  Mojo is still kicking around a lot.  My bladder has shrunk.  I can feel like I'm bursting, and I get to the bathroom, and just an average amount of pee comes out.  Plus it's really fun when he uses my bladder as a trampoline.

Insurance

• Related to pregnancy: I'm trying to get all the insurance stuff sorted out.  It's a little overwhelming, which is saying something, since insurance is what I do.  I know I want to stay with Kaiser.  And I know I was Mojo to be with Kaiser at least through year 1, if not beyond.  But it's really difficult because all the plans are based on income, and I have no clue whether (or how much) I'll be going back to work.  The other issue to when (or if) to switch off my work plan and onto either an individual plan (or Covered CA plan).  I tried to call Covered CA, but their phones are too busy, so I filled out the online form, hopefully they'll call back soon.  I'm going to call Kaiser in the next couple of days and see what info I can get from them.

Fitness

• I've been using my Fitbit.  I try to get to 10000 steps most days.  I don't always make it, but I try.  I'm also watching what I eat.  Hopefully I won't gain too much weight before the next appointment.  The Fitbit also monitors my sleep, which has been not great.  I do ok on the weekends, but during the week, I usually get 6hrs 15 min.  My lunch walks are getting more difficult.  I'm starting to get achy, and I still have sciatica off and on.  I'm not meant to weigh 190-some pounds.  

Play

• We  saw The Book of Mormon in San Francisco on Tuesday.  It was so good, and we had a lot of fun.  We don't really go out and do stuff much, and it'll be even less in a couple of months.  It was a little last hurrah.  I had previously thought about a babymoon, but I don't think it's going to happen.

Pregnancy, Yoie, Cleaning...

I'm still feeling pretty well, physically.  I'm still sleeping pretty well.  I'm peeing a lot, more during the day than at night.  Baby is kicking a lot, it's neat to watch my belly thump around.  My mood has been getting a lot worse in the last couple weeks.  I sent an email to my shrink tonight, to keep him in the loop and see if he has any suggestions.  I feel bad for Aaron, I know it's been really hard on him to deal with me. I've had a couple crying/sobbing jags in the last week. In the last couple days, my sciatica is really starting to bother me.  I think I need to start doing more yoga, or stretches.  My shower is in 3 weeks!  Yay!

Aaron Yoie back to the vet a couple days ago.  She had high levels of protein in her blood, and some crystals in her urine.  (My FiL likes to feed her cat treats, so that has to stop).  The vet did x-rays to make sure there were no kidney stones.  Fortunately, there weren't, because then she'd need surgery.  She has special food to eat for the next three weeks, and finish her amox, then she should be good.  She seem like she's feeling better.  More like her old self.

I had a huge list of chores that I wanted to get done this weekend.  I actually did pretty well, all the big still got done.  We got the Christmas stuff put away, cleaned out the fridge, went grocery shopping, did laundry, swept, put miscellaneous stuff away, and Aaron did major cleaning in the bathrooms.  Plus I got most of the junk put away from the guest room, to get it ready for my mom's visit.  We need to get Mojo's room more ready. Lots to do in there.

We did a mini date night tonight.  We went to Chipotle for dinner, then across the street to Yogurtland for dessert.  Then we put gas in the car, and ran to Target for a couple things.   

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.