.... And a Little Mustard for the Ketchup....

...yes, playing catch-up again!
(that's for you honey.... he puts mustard on EVERYTHING!)

I’ve not forgotten blogland, it's just these past few weeks have been busy, busy- and I’m trying to just managing eating and working let alone keeping this updated. The good news is that life is finally slowing down this week and I am looking forward to a little break!!!!




We had a regularly scheduled OB appointment on the 15th and it was cancelled- but we didn’t find out until after we go there! Ugh- talk about frustrating! Furthermore, they didn’t seem very concerned once I talked to the triage nurse that the next appointment wouldn’t be until I hit 36weeks! Needless to say, I was concerned and managed to book another appointment (although w/ a diff OB) for the 17th . I’ve been having serious Braxton-Hicks since early last week due to the heat and impending anxiety. One contraction had my baby belly tight for nearly 40 minutes- not so comfy! Jason couldn’t go (thank goodness, I actually had to have an “exam” done for the first time since very early on and I’m trying to maintain a shred of ladylike dignity in front of dear hubby- yes, I know that will fly out the window half-way through labor, but give me a few more weeks!). The good news? No dilation. Bad news? She is a big baby already- about 18” long and 6# already and she has about another five weeks to grow. Holy 9# toddler! So, all is well- so far!




After the appointment, I had a girls’ afternoon planned with my friend Kindle who flew in from Georgia (y’all) for the baby shower. We had a leisurely lunch, got pedis (my polka dot toes kinda look like cartoon mushrooms- and not because they are swollen!!!!) and went shopping- fun! Now how mean is this- she and her parents placed bets on how long I would last for the afternoon; and I was wiped out at 5:30! Nothin’ like hauling around a big ol’ preggers belly to end a fun day out! ( :






Kindle and I









and 'smurf mushroom' pedicure!





























Not to mention I had to rest up for the big baby shower the next day (the 18th) at Dad & Stepmomsters hosted by her and BFF Leah!






Jason and I have been on the hunt for a glider/ rocker for the nursery- GrammaH did give us $$ to spend, but I wanted to try to save a little green (the environment- by recycling and money by not buying retail!) and get one from either a yard sale or craigslist. So we got up early (pre-baby shower) on Saturday to hit a few yard sales off of Craigslist that listed gliders…. Needless to say I am in love with craigslist! Unfortunately we didn’t find what I wanted and the few C/L ads that I’ve inquired about have already sold. Oh, and I discovered a petpeeve- people that say they are having yard sales- and don’t- it almost ranks right up there with them NOT taking down their signs! LOL.




The shower was very fun- I feel so honored that all of my friends and family have been so generous and caring during my pregnancy journey! It was all one big blur, actually! I am working on a complete baby shower post hopefully that will be up by the end of the week! That’s another reason that I’ve been a bad blogger- trying to finish the nursery and find a home for all of the baby schwag had been an adventure! ( :

(some of the Baby Shower Schwag taking over dining room)

<---- note: Jenxie Cat liking the bassinet!! LOL- he's been sleeping in the bottom shelf of it!

We were also busy visiting with friends and family over the weekend, finishing up classes for our Baby Degree as well as Jason’s “jail time” (he he- community service in lieu of paying $$ for a ticket) and maternity pictures throughout the week. I’m not sure if our classes have earned us a Master’s degree, but I definitely feel like we’ve just graduated from baby college. The week was wrapped up with the Keith Urban concert/ girls night out with Nanette and Erika- those Shirley Temples made it almost impossible to drive home! Phew- I’m EXHAUSTED just reliving the whole week! Time for a nap…..

One of our maternity pictures....

A random Keith Urban pic- great show- comfy seats in a luxury box too! ( :

Ketchup... Catsup... Catch-up! ( :

I feel like I have been whipped through a tornado these past 10 days. And it’s going to keep going….. there is so much to do before BabyW comes and joins us, and most have to do with her, but some don’t but unfortunately, I can’t just be pregnant and do nothing else. Life is still happening around me, whether I want it to or not! ( :




We had our “Late Pregnancy & Hospital Tour” class on the 30th. (Yes, ANOTHER class!) Of course, they make you sit through all of the educational crap prior to the tour at the end (smart people, I do the same when I have my training classes!). Actually the info wasn’t as boring as the “Early Pregnancy” class, but I could have done without the video (think it was filmed in the early 80’s…) on delivery and recovery. (No, not the labor and delivering the baby- that’s online and I don’t even want to go there!) All I remember is that I will likely be sitting on ice packs and mattress pad-sized ‘sanitary’ napkins for weeks after BabyW hatches. Sexy. And apparently my bladder is much smaller than the other pregnant ladies attending! So, the hospital rocks! We will have our own Labor & Delivery suite complete with a DVD player and sports-free TV (lol honey!)- it even has a private bathroom with a shower and sleeping couch. They have 24-hour visitor access even. My only weird thing is that there is a mirror so the mommy-to-be (that’s me!) can watch the delivery- no thanks- I’d actually prefer if they could just knock my arse out and wake me up with she’s here! Even recovery still has private rooms…. Well this remains to be seen if that will be the case in late August! There really isn’t a ‘nursery’ because the babies room in with their parents so we only go to see one newborn- a little boy- as we were waiting to access one of the areas (everything is under very high security). The entire group was totally quiet. Me too- I’m thinking, “Holy crap, one of those has to come out of me, and it looked much bigger than the opening currently is!” Our next class will be “Newborn Care” next week- I’m looking forward to learning how to interact with my infant because at this point, I’m not sure what to expect. (I secretly pulled out one to the teeny tiny diapers and tried to put it on Mickey Mouse- umm…. The stickie tabs were stuck to it’s fur and the diaper was still dangling. That was an inanimate object, I can only imagine how it will be on BabyW when she is moving and crying…. Maybe I should practice on Jenxie- here kitty, kitty…)





We also drove to my mom’s the weekend over the 4th- that is the one time of year that I get totally and completely homesick for my Podunk town I grew up in. It’s 328 miles away- a nearly 7 hour drive and a bit uncomfortable while preggers. Luckily our rental was spacious and great for a road trip and the anti-lock breaks came in so handy when a deer decided to try to cross the highway in front of us. (My DH definitely did not get his license out of a Cracker Jack box!) That was a bit scary and we had to stop for a short break after all the adrenaline woke up BabyW and I had a mild bout of Braxton-Hicks.
I got to see all of my cousins on my mom’s side of the family, eat and hang out and party at my baby shower. (The 4th just isn’t so without jello shots!) It was also very exhausting, and we are done with road trips- I’m not supposed to travel very far from Sacramento after 32 weeks.




Last week was spent recuperating from the road trip, the ‘office’ baby shower, family time and trying to get my head around the impending arrival of BabyW. It’s approaching fast- September 6th seems like awhile away, but 6-8 weeks doesn’t! ( :

All's Well in BabyW Land!

Today’s OB appointment was without incident- despite my fear of the scale! This one was with my OB (every other appointment is with a Nurse Practitioner)- both of which I love. I have to admit that I was not so pleased with his lack of concern of our fertility issues, but he’s a ‘by the book’ kind of doc; however with our last and thank goodness, final miscarriage, he went out and talked to Jason and personally called to check on me the next day. I was impressed by that. Other than his insistence that I was to not gain any weight with the pregnancy, we like his personality and bedside manner very much.




Because everything is progressing smoothly, I’m relieved to have avoided the dreaded stirrups or lab tests this visit! I will have to go and do a glucose test in a few weeks and hope that my sugar levels are still good.
The fear of the scale was moot- doc even added that I’ve lost about four pounds since my last visit. That was a shock since I’ve nearly single-handedly polished off a whole lemon meringue pie within the last week, and dinner last night was very diet friendly (ha!) Mizithra Cheese and Butter from the Spaghetti Factory. Well, how can we resist their 40% off anniversary prices on Tuesday’s???




BabyW was in a feisty mood today; especially active after the doctor’s appointment- showoff! Her heartbeat was 149- good and normal and her average for each time we’ve gotten to hear it. They gave me a card to start recording her movements beginning at 28 weeks. I think that we could start that now! I’m happy to say (knock on wood!) that the pregnancy is so far uneventful and healthy- the only downside to that is we won’t get to see anymore ‘medically necessary’ pictures of BabyW. We are going to do the 3D ultrasound after 28 weeks (mid-June) so don’t fret, she will still make at least one more appearance before her arrival in early September!
The next regular appointment is another 3 weeks, and then we have classes. Oh, do we have classes! We had to take a few to get pregnant during fertility; and then an early pregnancy class; and at least three more before the end of July. I have to take more classes to have this little baby girl than I did to get my degree! I like to make the best of every situation, so they will probably be interesting; and they’re mostly free. Actually most of the prenatal appointments have been (thank you health insurance!) free….




We rounded out the evening by finishing the registry at Target (more free schwag at Target- an itty bitty diaper; samples and such. Love FREE(, book shopping- I love book stores; and starting to put a dent in the pile ‘o stuff that is in my former ‘walk-in closet” now the baby’s room! Oh, yes, this is where we got to try out SpaceBags- and the jury is still out. If they have still not expanded in the a.m., I’ll be satisfied…..




I’ll sign off with updated information about Shyner dog- she had a visit to the vet yesterday (and got a bit spoiled with a picnic in the park with mom and dad!) and was given a clean bill of health. As clean as our little old and stinky girl can get! She will remain on medicine for the rest of her little life; but if not for the coughing and wheezing that brought her into the vet, she wouldn’t have the medicine to help her stay healthy for whatever time she’ll be here! Your positive thoughts worked! ( :

Like I Really Have Time for All This???

So, the DH (dear hubby) and I went to what looks like the first of many 'preggers peoples' classes. It was a two-hour class basically on how to be pregnant through 20 weeks- what to eat/ not eat (um, I don't eat fish; and I can't really still stand the thought of eating much anyways!), what the baby looks like as it's developing, nutrition (nutrition?, I'm lucky to still eat anything- too much protein makes me gag right now!) and other classes they want you to sleep, um, I mean sit through.
Well, since I am at 14 weeks, I can say that #1) this information would have been more helpful much, much earlier in the pregnancy, and #2) I didn't learn anything that I haven't already read in a book or on-line. So, there were 120 precious minutes that I will never get back. The one cool thing was seeing the actual sizes of the embyo at 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30 weeks- the growth was amazing! I would have preferred to hear about ways to alleviate common pregnancy-related symptoms (like morning sickness, headaches, etc.) and when I might start feeling better! Next time, do a podcast so I can just listen and actually multi-task (very difficult with a preggo brain, by the way!) Also, it reaffirmed that the litter box is a no-no due to toxoplasmosis, but all the talk about cats made me get all emotional over BooBoo (still, again, ugh!). The other good news is that we had a nice dinner out (yes, I had an appetite- those breadsticks are the best!) at Olive Garden, and I met a possible new recruit for PC! ( ;
My health organization recommends that we also attend a 'late' pregnancy class after 20 weeks- that should be 'fun'- except we do get to tour "Club Med Labor & Delivery," which will be the only good reason to take it. This amongst the 12 hours of the labor and delivery class, the numerous doctors appointments, lab tests, etc. (Pile this on top of all of the time we spent just to go through the fertility part, and we're looking at hundres of hours spent at a hospital or clinic.) Yes, I know, it will continue once Baby W joins us, but at least I'll get to touch, feel, and kiss the reason for it... right now, all I can think of are the hours that I'm missing precious preggers sleep! Just within the next three weeks, I have three appointments- but those are always fun to get a little peek at the baby!
By now, you are saying what's the big deal? Well, there probably really isn't but since I'm pregnant, everything matters! ( : and no, I am not overreacting! I think I'll go take a nap now............