The Run Around (also known as how to waste half your life trying to get a question answered from an insurance company)

So, Rachel is going to be receiving Synagis once a month.
About a month ago I got the precert letter from the insurance company - YAY!
A week before her 4 month well baby visit I called the pediatricians office to let them know so they could be ready for it. Nope! Turns out it needs to be administered by a visiting nurse at home. They should contact me - no problem. Riiiiiiight
Then the pharmacy calls last night to tell me they are having it delivered to us today! I call the peds again - they refer me to my insurance company. Thus begins the tale:
I called Anthem. I couldn't figure out who I needed to speak to so I chose pre-certification since Rachel was "pre-certified" for the vaccine. They show no record of it which is odd considering that I have received a letter from them as has the doctor AND the pharmacy that delivers the vaccine (which is being delivered today). The first person I spoke to put me on hold and the next thing I knew I was on the line with the pharmacy who knows nothing about administering it.
Now they are saying that our doctor needs to administer it (which we were told they do not administer it in office at in the Rochester area - either at home or in the pulmonology department of Strong). I was put through to Customer Service to get a phone number for IRIS (or is it Iris' phone number?), they give me the number but guess what? Disconnected number!!!
I call the insurance company back and get the right number only to find out that you need to know the exact person you are calling or else it disconnects you! GREAT!
I call the pediatrician one more time who gives me the visiting nurse number. Okay, but they can't find Rachel in their records. Oh that is because they have her as Baby Girl nolastname! Once we get her name thing squared away they tell me they need a Synagis form from the doctor. Another call to the doctor who has no idea what they are talking about! Call the nursing service back, and the women has the nerve to be annoyed with me about but faxes the form to the doctor! UGH! WHY??? Why all this hassle for someone to stab my poor baby girl in the meaty little thigh????

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

I will try again to post some pictures!!!

This is Rachel at 4 days old. She had just been taken off the CPAP and put on the nasal canulas. The CPAP squished her head and I thought she looked like a Klingon! Thankfully that went away :)

Here is Rachel at a month old. She looks like an actual newborn now!!!

Rachel at 2 months! Thanks to Walmart she had quite the preemie wardrobe


Rachel at 3 months - getting bigger every day!!

Rachel last week!!! Isn't she a precious flower?!?!?

The first picture of the kids! Ryan didn't get to see Rachel in the hospital so their first introduction was in the car on the way home!! Good thing we live close to the hospital - he was so excited that there was a baby next to him that he talked about it all the way home! He loves her so much. She is the last person he "tisses" before he goes to bed and the first person he looks for in the morning. I am hopeful that stays that way, but I am sure the love will be lost when she steals a toy from him!!!

Yes, we are all still alive....

I guess my lack of posting boils down to this: I can not finish writing about Rachel's NICU stay. She spent 10 days there. I KNOW there are people who spend months there and I truly feel for them. What a terrible, terrible place to be for so long. We were fortunate. I will never forget that. However, I would like to temporarily forget the whole ordeal. 'kay?
Anyway, in an effort to attempt to bring you all current in our lives I will be doing a list:

• Rachel is doing very well! She is 4 months old and at her last visit she was 12 pounds 4 ounces and 23 inches (up from 4 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches on her NICU discharge. She received 4 vaccines on Wednesday and was kind of uncomfortable but manageable afterwards.
• Working backwards here -- Rachel is totally breastfed. Well, I pump and she receives bottles twice a day 5 days a week as I am now back to work (9/11 was my first day back). It is really surprising to me that I have been able to make this work. She got a super slow start. Nothing for 3 days and then bottles exclusively as she had a "weight gain" protocol to meet. So every feeding after she came home we would try to nurse for a few minutes and then she would take the bottle. Slowly she began nursing more and take less from the bottle and by her due date she was breast feeding exclusively. Right now my goal is to get her to 9 months on BM - through the cold and flu season. If we make it that long than maybe to her birthday but I am not making any promises!!!
• Rachel will be receiving Synagis - the RSV vaccine. We are incredibly grateful that our insurance saw fit to give it to her and pay for it ($500 a month). I hope we can keep her healthy this year!
• Ryan is 2!!! How in the hell did that happen??!? He is a typical 2 year old, but still speaking like a much older child. I will post the latest Ryanisms soon - there are too many cute ones and they deserve their own post!!!
• October 1 - we baptized Rachel! She was so beautiful but so incredibly unhappy about the whole ordeal! Her Aunt Kara (my best friend) did a wonderful job with her though
• Developmentally I was really concerned about Rachel for a while. She seemed to be more than a month behind (where she should have been) but in typical preemie fashion she suddenly caught up! She is doing everything she should for her adjusted age and some of the stuff for her actual age!
• Rob and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! Has it really only been a year? It has been a hell of a year....

I guess those are the keys for now. And what you have all been waiting for....

PICTURES!

yea, I can't seem to get the pictures to load! GRRRR! I promise once I figure out what the heck is wrong I will get them up! They are worth it! Rachel is babylicious!

Stop this crazy ride - I want off!!!!

I realize that it has been a full two months since my last post. I apologize for that. The first half of my absence was due to nothing new to write about. The second half? Well, it has been crazy.
Here is the cliff note version: routine doctor appointment, hospital stay, premature birth, NICU stay, crazy toddler.
Want the rest? Well, sit back and relax - here it is (at least part of it - I am, it seems, very lazy while on matenrity leave and can't bring msyelf to finish this post, but I will later AND I ahve added a picture for extra cuteness!!!)....
May 1- June 21
I honestly had nothing to write about. Ryan was being the picture perfect toddler. He was sick over Memorial Day weekend and then I was sick after that, but nothing earth shattering. Just a cold (and an ear infection in the little one). Father's Day weekend I really started to complain about being pregnant! Everything was so different! The good thing? I was carrying much smaller than I did with Ryan so I remained comforatble. The bad? WEll, every time the baby moved it HURT! Really hurt to the point of bringing me to tears at times. She had also slowed down considerably but was still moving enough to satisfy me. Plus I had an appointment on the 22nd. I intended to mention all this to the midwife then.
June 21
Woke up feeling miserable. Tired and sore, but strangely energetic (like I wanted to clean the whole house). The phone rang shortly before 7:30 and Rob had to go to work so I decided to stay home with Ryan. I cleaned the enitre house before my 3:00 midwife appointment and ultrasound.
The ultrasound was first. It was to check the location of the placenta since it had been too low for a vaginal birth at 30 weeks. So at 35 weeks and 1 day it had moved! YAY! However, the tech was considered about the fluid level being really low. She left me to get dressed (yup, it was a dildo cam one) and Rob asked what that meant. I was so nonchalant about it. I said I was probably going to have to drink more water, and stay home until my due date!
We went upstairs and I should have known there was something wrong when I saw my midwife, the ultrasound tech, and two doctors conferring.
Routine stuff. Blood pressure was great and I had lost 2 pounds. Caroline (midwife) came in and told me that the fluid level was very low and they were admitting me to the hospital to be rehydrated (who even knew it was possible). She said it usually works and that I should be able to go home the next day and that I would be on bedrest, etc. So we were a little nervous, but not scared yet. Honestly, getting Ryan taken care of was my main concern.
So we got the hospital. A non-stress test showed Little Miss boggying away and as happy as a clam. I was hooked up to an IV and force fed 24 ounces of water every 3 hours all night long. As fun as it sounds! Oh the midwife performed my group B strep test "just in case".
June 22
Discharged at 9am. Ultrasound at the midwife office at 9:15. Readmitted at 9:30. So the rehydrating didn't work and I was going to be induced! At 35 weeks and 2 days - YIKES!
I met the OB who would be taking care of me now and was told that 98% of 35 week babies do just fine and go home in a few days. An ultrasound showed LM to be around 5 pounds which is a nice healthy weight for her gestational age.
Spent all day being monitored and waiting. It wasn't until 7:00 that night that someone FINALLY got things started. A staff midwife inserted the cervadil and a very nice nurse (who we would get to know very well) finally gave me a real room! WEll, sort of a real room. I needed to deliver in the high risk unit - steps away from the OR and the NICU.
June 23 - The Birth Story
The Cervadil didn't do a thing - no surprise considering that I went 10 days past term with Ryan. The mnonitors showed such a healthy baby that another ultrasound was ordered. ITv was performed by a resident who decided that there was plenty of fluid and told me I could probably go home! YAY! I called Rob who had gone home to shower and take care of the dog. WEll then my doctor came in and showed the resident how to check if the pockets are fluid or cord and guess what? Yup, they were all cord! At this point I was told that there were 2-4 cm of fluid when there should be around20-25cm. YIKES!
They broke my water (strange I know, but they were trying to start labor naturally) and 2 hours later started the Pitocin.
The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully and around 7 my contractions started to feel real and painful.
At 9pm the doctor came to talk to me about pain control. I was confident that I was at LEAST 6 cm, but a quick check showed me at 2. Barely. DARN IT!
I was so afraid to get an epidural as the last time around it didn't take, so they started with the Nubain. I spent the next hour like a drunk girl at a frat party. I kept passing out after each contraction and was answering questions no one asked!
Around then I sent my mom and Kara home since it looked like a long night ahead. My sister stayed though.
At 10:45 or so another exam showed that I was only at 4 cm. Fearing a long night ahead and a long pushing time I asked to see the anesthesologist. HE was wonderful! He looked at my crooked back and where my last epidural had been and decided it was up to high and that is why I never got relief from it.
So he got started. It was in place and working by 11 which is good since my contractions were literally non-stop at that point. The baby's heart rate beagn to drop while Rob was out getting my sister (they only allowed one person in the room during the epidural) so the nurse decided to "tickle" the baby's scalp. You can imagine how that is done! So there we are - the nurse with her hand in a very intimate spot when she gets this really panicky look on her face. She calmly reaches for the phone and pages my doctor. Apparently I was 8 centimeters!
My sister quickly called my parents (who thankfully live about 10 minutes away) and the nurse informed us that the doctor was finishing up a c section and would be right in.
When they checked me again 10 minutes later, the nurse had Rob hand her the phone and she called the doctor again to let her know that she was actually holding the baby's head in her hand! 4 quick pushes later and at 12:05am Rachel Louise was here!!!
She was screaming loudly right away and got a 7 and 8 on her Apagars. She weighed 5 lbs 13 oz and was 19 inches long. I was allowed to hold her briefly but she was grunting and they wanted to get her to the NICU for monitoring.
So, I was cleaned up and stitched (I tore slightly where I had been cut the last time) and taken to a real room - with a window. Here I'll say this: this was definitely an easier delivery than Ryan's. With him I pushed for 4 hours and then was sewen back together for another 2 hours. This peanut just popped out! 3 pounds really makes a difference!
We went and saw Rachel and she looked great! Her nurse said she was doing really well and that they would give her a bath when she warmed up a little and that she most likely would go home in 3 days.
Since it was now 3am, I went to sleep and Rob went home.
A few hours later I decided to go check on my little princess.
June 24
What a difference a few hours makes. When I got down to the NICU, Rachel was in a bubble. Really no other way to describe it. It was a plastic thing over her head that delivered oxygen to her in a mist form. Apparently it is the lowest form of oxygen they give. She was also on an IV for anitbiotics since the cause of the low fluid was unknown and infection hadn't been ruled out, as well as for fluids. We had missed rounds that day so I got all my info second hand from the nurses. They still thought Rachel was doing well enough to go home in a few days, but I thought she looked smaller and weaker than she had a few hours earlier.
Later that day I began my relationship with the breast pump. I was on the fence over breast feeding. I wanted to try, but Ryan did so well on formula that I wasn't planning on trying to hard. When it became clear that we were going to have a preemie I decided I needed to give her breast milk. That was an easy decision.
June 25
In the early morning hours there was a knock on my door and it was the NICU resident. Being hormonal, I started to cry before she even said anything! Turns out Rachel had gone into severe respitory distress while they had her off the oxygen and were taking chest x rays. They ended up putting her on CPAP. She looked so uncomfortable (just a note: we have no pictures of her on the CPAP - it is something we decided we never wanted to see again).
Later that morning we met with the neonatologist who showed us the xrays and explained why he was so concerned about Rachel. It seems that she had not yet begun to produce surfactant which is neccesary to breath. There was talk of transferring her to another hospital and giving her the surfactant. She would need more monitoring than our hospital could handle and the risks were very high. WE were waiting on her blood work before he decided what to do.
Fortunately they decided to wait it out and by that night she was doing much better.
June 26 - June 28
Rachel remained on the CPAP and received nothing but IV nutrients. They attempted to wean her off it a few times, but were not successful.
I left the hospital on the 25th. I missed Ryan and figured that since there was nothing I could do for Rachel - I couldn't even hold her - I should try to get home and finish getting ready for her. We went to the hospital 4-5 times a day, but it was hard. I felt guilty when I wasn't there, but when I was all I could do was stare at her.

Weekend Update

What a great, but tiring, weekend we had!!!
Friday after work Ryan and I went shopping to spend the $20 his Aunt Renee gave him for Easter. We gought all kinds of cool toys for outside including golf clubs! I would love to show you a picture of Ryan "golfing" but I have no idea where the camera is and I keep forgetting to ask Rob where it is!
After Ryan was in bed I went and did some shopping. I got some great deals on summer clothes for Ryan at Kohl's. I also bought him his summer sandals, but they are still too big!! I am torn - should I buy the smaller size and hope his feet don't grow at all this summer? Or should I stick with the bigger ones and let him trip around in them for a few months and hope he grows into them? The difficulties of a slow growing child :)
Saturday morning we went to the zoo with my friend Pam and her 8 month old son, Tyler! Everyone had lots of fun! Ryan showed off all his animal names and noises and just had a great time over all! I walked myself into some serious back pain though!!!!
Saturday night we celebrated my father-in-laws birthday. It was a typical family gathering and I could write an entire post about it, but really what's the point? No amount of complaining will ever make any of them change and I am tired of trying. For the most part I try to let grandparents be grandparents, but my 2 biggest pet peeves came into play Saturday.
1. Ryan suddenly has very little interest in sitting at the table and enjoying a meal with his family. This makes me very sad as I used to lvoe our meal times together, but as soon as he starts to misbehave we clean him up and let him down. He is slowly learning that it is no fun to be away from the table while everyone else is eating! There is no one to play with! Unless we are at my in-laws. Then my FIL jumps right up and starts playing with him! UGH! No wonder my nephew was 5 before he was able to sit through a meal!
2. Ryan loves to ask for snacks! I know I have mentioned this before. So there we are just about ready to leave. Ryan is all ready for bed and has already brushed his teeth and he asks for raisins. My MIL then asks if he can have them, to which I said no. Come on! Not only does he NOT need the snack, but he doesn't need something sticky after he has brushed his teeth! He will fall asleep on the way home and then sleep with sticky sweet raisins on his teeth! Her response to Ryan? "your mommy said 'no'. Grandma would let you have them!" UGH!
I can't win....
Sunday was boring. Grocery store, naps (yes I took one too!), and the playground....
I really need to post some pictures soon, but again, that would require me finding the camera!!!

Long over due update....

Ryan
Ryan had his 18 month well baby visit on Monday. He is 32 inches tall and 22.3 pounds. According to the NP this is the 60th percentile for height and 10th for weight. Now honestly, Ryan is much, MUCH shorter than most children his age (not just 40% of them) and he is even shorter than most babies 6 months younger than him. This leads me to believe that the ever so accurate method of measuring a wiggling child is not so accurate!
Nothing else to report from the visit. He is healthy, happy, and smart. We had no issues for them and they saw nothing out of the ordinary. 2 shots and we are done until he is 4 - YAY!
Last night we went shopping and I actually bought Ryan clothes this time. Of course, I bought him 2 pairs of 18 month shorts from Children's Place and brought them home for him to try on. Yeah, they are capri pants on him! And way to big in the waist! I guess I should have gotten the 12 months! I also got him 2 onesie t shirts for $2.49 each!!!! And I had a 15% off coupon! YAY ME!
Little Miss
L.M. is not so little anymore! This child has apparently grown massively in the last week because I went from looking a little pregnant at Easter to "OH MY GOD YOU'RE HUGE" pregnant this week!!! Her tiny fluttery movements have become more along the lines of Kung Fu movements and are now visible from the outside.
Up until this week I was eating terribly. Well, I was eating well. Too well actually! And too much! Now my appetite has gone down a little and I am starting to crave healthier foods! Ryan and I went grocery shopping Sunday and I think we spent $50 on fresh produce! YUM! We bought grapes, apples, strawberries, avocados, black berries, canteloupe....
No news is good news I am guessing! I have not heard from the midwives regarding my 1 hour glucose test so I assume I passed it! YAY! I did take it pretty early (24 weeks) since I had failed with Ryan, so there is a chance that I may have to take it again (like if I ever spill sugar into my urine). Next appointment is May 8th and comes with an ultrasound! L.M.'s Fairy Godmother, Kara, will be joining us to get a sneek peek at her soon to be Goddaughter! I am very excited, but (and this is warning, Kara) SHE HAD BETTER NOT CRY OR I WILL CRY AND ROB WILL DIE OF EMBARASSMENT!!!
Misc.
The construction on L.M.'s room is completed! One set of blinds are hung. The other needs to be cut since the window is not straight and the blind doesn't fit on the inside by less than 1/8 of an inch! Seriously! The mattress arrived yesterday and the rest of the furniture should be in this weekend. I can't wait to start putting the room together!
Left to do:
Get a rug
paint the strawberries and butterflies on the walls
get rocking chair (this will my Mother's day gift from my mom)
find a mobile (Ryan is not willing to part with his aquarium yet)
Paint the heart table to look like a strawberry
get lamps
I think that is it.....
Just as the room was being finished we developed a leak in our small downstairs bathroom. It leaked all over the place and under the linoleum and made a major mess. We are in the process of getting that fixed. The sink & toilet are in the basement right now. The floor has been removed, and new TILE has been purchased. The contractor was supposed to do it this week, but we have not seen him yet (this is what happens when friends hire friends. You don't pay much, but we are bathroomless for almost 2 weeks now!)
I am getting the bug to do some landscaping and I have a friend of my sister's coming tomorrow to give me an estimate.....
YIKES this is really long!
I should get back to work now!

I'm becoming a widow...

A hockey widow...
The Buffalo Sabres have made the play offs - whoppee! Can you sense my excitement??!
My huband actually moved our "date night" this weekend to accomodate the play off schedule! The first evening out we have been able to have alone and he moves it so he can watch hockey?!?! UGH!
Have I ever mentioned how much Ryan LOVES to watch "OCKEY!!!"? It's almost obsessive - and I was actually wondering where it came from! HA!

HOLY CRAP!!!

I only have 99 days until my due date!
YIKES!

45 down and 35 to go, 18 months, 25 weeks

So what is the proper ettiquette on wedding thank yous? A year right? Oh wait that is for giving a gift. Apparently I should have had the thank you card written by Christmas. Well, I have had a stack of them written and sitting on my desk at work since November, but I decided this week that I REALLY need to finish writing them! So I am back to writing 10 a day! I will have them done by Monday and in the mail! YAY for me! I have written 45, well really Rob wrote like 5 of them, and have 35 left to write. I feel like such a slacker and they are hard to write now. What do I say?
"Thanks for the money - we have already spent it like 2 drunken sailors on leave" That just doesn't sound right! And in our defense, yes, most of it is gone, but we got a new furnace, central air, a new couch, and the remodeling of Little Miss' room.
18 months
Ryan turned a year and a half this past Saturday!! We celebrated the date by going to an Easter Egg hunt at a local library. He had such a great time! We got to decorate a foam egg, color, hear stories (which Ryan bypassed and chose to keep coloring), and then hunt for eggs. Each kid could take 2 eggs. After showing Ryan what he was looking for, he managed to find 5 eggs!!! What a smarty!
He is getting very bossy with other kids and the dog and actually received a time out for making a baby cry this weekend. His favorite activities are going outside, climbing on anything he can find, going outside and climbing, riding in his wagon outside, trying to put the dog in the wagon - this does not go over well, and spending time with mommy!
Verbally he is well into 2 word sentances and some would be 3 if he only remembered the please at the end of it! He makes decisions - milk or juice (which, by the way is water, but he thinks he is drinking juice!), what to wear - I let him pick out his jammies every night, which stories to hear before bed, etc. The funniest thing this month is his use of "um"!
Typical conversation:
Me: "Ryan, what do you want to drink"
Him: "ummm, milk. No No No Juice!"
It is so cute, but it really makes me notice how often Rob and I say um and it is much higher than I ever thought. I, of course, blame my use of it on pregnancy brain - I can never remember what I was about to say!
25 weeks
Or as my midwife pointed out to me on Monday, Little Miss could be here in as little as 12 weeks! YIKES!
My most recent appointment went well. I am measuring on target, have gained 12 pounds - which they don't think is a lot, but seems a little high to me. That would put me at less than where I was with Ryan at this point though!
Next appointment - May 8th with an ultrasound to check the placental location and then we are going to do every 3 weeks instead of every 2 unless there seems to be a problem of some sort (lets hope there isn't).
I really need to sign up for the breastfeeding class soon - I think there is one in May I should go to since June will be so busy with my mom's surgery and rehab.
That is another story for another day....
Oh, we found a new babysitter - Ryan starts May 1st with her. It was hard to do since we are so happy with our current sitter, but her new house is just to far from us and from my office to make sense for us to stay with her....

Blog filler...

Because I would rather NOT be working this beautiful Monday morning....
Five Movies You Can Watch Over and Over:
1. A League of Their Own
2. Mermaids
3. My Cousin Vinnie
4. Donnie Brasco
5. Bring It On

Five embarrassing Songs that You Know All the Words To:
1. Copa - Barry Manilow
2. Dancing Queen - ABBA
3. I've Got Friends In Low Places - Garth
4. La-La-La- La - Bert & Ernie
5. Mnay stupid holiday songs from Elementary school that my sister and I sing evrey year to annoy my mom (especially on Thanksgiving)

Five Memorable Halloween Costumes:
1. A bunch of grapes (6th grade)
2. Dorothy - My mom made this costume for me when I was 23 and I wore it for 5 years! I was a cute Dorothy, but I left red glitter everywhere I went!
3. "A homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else" See movie quotes below - to explain my lack of costume
4. A Queen Bee (and I dressed my then BF's dog as a bee to go with it!)
5. Ryan's mommy - I've worn this one 2 years in a row now!

Five Celebrities You Believe May Secretly be Alien:
1. The Olsen twins
2. Michael Jackson
3. Tom Cruise
4. Liza Minelli
5. Leonardo Di Caprio

Five Occupations that You Know You Could Never Do:
1. An accountant - I can't even balance my own checkbook
2. Dental Hygenist
3. Military - I could never be that active that early in the day
4. Nurse - God bless them all!!! I know I lack what it takes
5. Nail Tech - I think feet are gross! I don't know how my sister does it - she has even gotten ringworm from a client!!!

Five Books You’ve Recently Read Outside of Schoolwork:
1. The Going to Bed Book
2. Moo, Baa, Lalala
3. Fallen Leaves
4. Memoirs of a Geisha (again)
5. Your Pregnancy Week by Week

Five Ways to Perfectly Spend an Afternoon:
1. The zoo, ice cream and a long nap
2. A productive shopping trip
3. Napping while watching Lifetime movies
4. a clean, quiet house, a good book, and a blanket
5. Not at work!

Five Lines You Blatantly Stole From a Movie, TV, a Commercial, or Song:
1. "I'm a homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else" Addam's Family
2. "There's no crying in baseball" A League of Their Own
3. "It looks like 2 pigs fighting under a blanket" to describe too tight pants - Steel Magnolisa
4. "I AM your mother" said in my best Darth Vader voice
5. "Did you ever know that you're my hero" but meant very sarcastically! Usually to my sister! Oh, from "Wind Beneath My Wings"

Not Your 5 Favorite Foods, But the 5 You’re Most Likely Eating:
1. uh, anything that is not moving???
2. Peanut Butter sandwich
3. Grapefruit soda
4. apples - like 3 a day!
5. Robin eggs - I LOVE Easter candy and the fact that it has been available for a month now!

Five People Who Must Immediately Respond:
Anyone who wants to! let me know so I can check your answers out!

To work or not to work....

That's not really the question though....
I had always thought that I wouldn't return to work after my children were born. Then Ryan came, before the wedding, and the expenses were massive and, sadly, my salary was needed. After going back I realized that, as much as I love being home with my child, I always like being in the workforce. ***I should note here that I am not one to criticize ANYONE's decision. I know SAHM who love it and I know working moms who wouldn't have it any other way! This is just me trying to figure out what I should do and where I belong!
Okay, back on track...
After the wedding I decided that I wanted to work a shortened week - 32 hours (Monday - Thursday) and spend Fridays at home. Really how much money could I lose by cutting 8 hours out of my week? Sadly, more than I thought! Like $300 a month after taxes! Anyway, I back burnered the whole issue and continued to come to work every day and pretend I wanted to be here.
I can't do this any longer. My new plan? To cut my hours to 32 a week until the end of the year. Then cut to 24 hours a week in January. I need to stay at at least 32 hours to keep our health insurance until the next open enrollment in the fall where we can switch to Rob's company plan.
ANyway, this is the plan, but I am not sure I can do it for a few reasons:
1. Do we need my full time salary
2. with all the changes going on around work, will they even let me????
I'll probably blog about this more in the future, but I am just getting ideas off my chest right now....

I just saved a bunch of money....

By doing our own meter reads and not relying on the gas companies "estimate". I saved almost $150!!! WOO HOO!!!

Has it really been 2 weeks???

2 weeks since I last posted????
Sorry about that - march is a crazy busy month for us! We have so many birthdays to celebrate - Rob's, my sister, my sister's dog ( yes, she throws him a party every year - don't ask!). Plus construction has begun on Little Miss's room leaving my enitre upstairs and attic in a disaster state!
Pregnancy
I am 22 weeks as of today and FINALLY not throwing up anymore - YAY!!! I have been vomit free for 2 whole weeks, with the exception of this morning, but I think that was just from swigging OJ out of the carton after brushing my teeth - yuck!
Things are going well. I had a midwife appointment last week. I ended up having to bring Ryan with me and can I just say that is NEVER going to happen again!!! What a terror! He was fine in the waiting room where there were people and toys but the 15 minutes we were stuck in an exam room alone where pure torture!
Anyway, baby is doing well and I am measuring exactly on target for my due date. We reviewed the ultrasound report and other than the low laying palcenta everything looks perfect. The doctor who reviewed the report was even able to tell us that Little Miss has exactly 10 fingers and toes - cool, huh? I need to take my glucose test in 2 weeks since I barely passed the hour one with Ryan. I have gained 9-10 pounds so far which surprises me given how sick I was for so long, but I guess my new eating habits are to blame. Last night I couldn't decide if I wanted cake or ice cream, so I had cake. Little Miss had ice cream :)
As of the ultrasound she was still laying in the breech position. I can now report that she has flipped and her rear end is right at the top of my uterus. Her favorite movement is to slowly rub her feet along me. It is a very weird feeling for me because I don't think Ryan ever did that!
Rob has yet to feel her wiggle, but I can feel her from the outside now.
I think it was about 24 weeks that he was able to feel Ryan.
RYAN
Ryan is, well, a toddler! A text book toddler. Why is it that no one ever informs you that toddlers are all bipolar??? Seriously! One minute he is the sweetest thing - giving random hugs and kisses, gently petting the dog, and the next? Let's just say I have thought about calling the church and seeing about an exorcism! He is doing great though! Constantly getting into mischief, but usually telling himself no while he does it. Some of his current favorite activities include: brushing my hair, pretending to put my make up on (yes, he watches me get dressed every day), coloring, playing with his fridge phonics - a savior while I am making dinner!, and picking up picture frames from around the house and showing us who is in them! he also does this with our wedding album. He will sit on the floor and look at it for a good 10 minutes at a time!
That is enough for one post, but I have more to come! A preview: Our babysitter is moving - let the saga begin! My mom's upcoming knee surgery (and my subsequent trip to the loony bin)! More details on Little Miss's room and pictures as it is finishing up!

Happy Birthdays!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!!
And Happy 17 months to my wonderful son!
Ryan at 17 months
There is some truth to the terrible twos starting early. I can think of a few other blogging Mommies who would agree that 17 months is pretty hellish in toddler world!
For the most part, Ryan is a happy, easy going little guy, but the slightest things can and do set him off! Fortunately, his tantrums are short - as soon as he realizes he isn't getting any attention from it he usually stops. Of course, he throws them in the worst possible places - Barnes and Noble and our driveway being his 2 favorites (how does ashphalt taste little man?).
The most common sources for tantrums are:
- being told NO to another snack. Seriosuly, now that he acn open the cabinet where the food is (and not just at our house, but at his grandparents as well) he thinks it's all snacks all the time!
- not being allowed to run free in the driveway and being forced to hold mommy's hand. I know, I must have girl cooties now !
- being told that Elmo is just not on right now. Either because he isn't or because mommy can't handle another round of songs to the tune of Jingle Bells. I did, however, impress my in laws by knowing the jumping song in it's entirety. No one ever said they were brilliant!
Other than the tantrums, it has been a good month.
Oh, and the new idea that all green vegetables must die. That is not fun either! Actually, in the last 2 weeks it has become any tyoe of veggie, regardless of color. We don't discriminate in our house!
I am only slightly concerned about his reluctance to eat veggies. He eats plenty of fruit and gets tomatoes in the form of sauce at least twice a week. I am getting frustrated with throwing out veggies every night. I guess we will just keep offering them and hope he starts eating them again!
He also will only eat ground beef. Doesn't matter how it is cooked - meatballs, meatloaf, burgers - he eats them all. No chicken, fish, or pork though....
Developmentally he is doing GREAT! Another language explosion this month has him learning 2-3 new words a day! I love it! This week's big words have been:
Apple - which he says perfectly
Snow (shnow)
Hot Dog (hot dod)
Hide
Mushroom (mushim - which he loves oddly enough)
and most exciting - he has begun to put 2 words together! It is not a consistent behavior, but we are getting there! He is such a little chatter box!
Sleep is good. Ryan now sleeps well at nap time and at night - thank the Lord, I have no idea how I would handle a newborn and a poor sleeping toddler!
Ryan still enjoys playing with all his Little People, but now he actually makes them do things and doesn't just walk around with them. He also enjoys coloring - for about 2 minutes at a time! He is pretty content to sit in the corner and "read" his books for a solid 15 minutes some days. He is a very independant player, which surprises me since he has a steady supply of playmates at the sitter's.
What else?
Oh we have moved the potty seat into the bathroom. Not in an attempt to begin training him, but because I want him to get used to it AND because he has started to tell us when he has gone, or occasionally right before he goes. Ryan loves to sit on it fully clothed, but not naked yet :)
He did figure out this morning that he can make it play the royal fanfare by sticking his foot in the bowl! Not gross yet, since he hasn't used it yet, but that could get pretty yucky!
So all in all, 17 months is fun! Tantrums and all! Ohm and he has been (knock on wood) VERY healthy! One little cold so far since Christmas - I really can't complain!

36, 20, 17...

No these are not some magic cursed numbers a la LOST! They are:
36: how old Rob will be on Wednesday. Getting older doesn't bother him, but I still love to tease him for it. Since we both have to work the day of his birthday, we will be going out to dinner - his choice- after work. He decided he wants to spend the evening with Ryan and me. I'll get a yummy dessert for us to share at home later if I decide not to make the restaurant sing to him.
Oh, he has chosen Red Lobster for his birthday dinner!!! In his defense it IS lobster fest and we do get a discount there (thanks to OG being owned by the same company).
We will be celebrating with the families on Sunday. I am cooking. No idea what yet as he has not decided. You know, Rob lucks out on my birthday. Since it is the middle of the summer I always want something grilled, salt potaoes, and corn on the cob! Easy-peasy! For his birthday? I am always stuck slaving away inside....
He is worth it though!
I bought him a SONY camcorder for his birthday! It's the most expensive thing I have ever purchased as a gift! Again, he is worth it, and we need one!
20: the number of weeks pregnant I am tomorrow! I can't believe I am at the half way point already! It is a bitter sweet time for me! One the one hand I am excited that I will get to meet our little girl (I am still not used to that!) in 5 months or so. But I am also sad that this experience is almost half over. This is most likely my last pregnancy and I want to relish every minute of it.
I feel like I am finally showing enough to post a belly picture, but I need to have it taken first! It is a very different belly than the last time. I was a total basketball with Ryan and this time I look more like I swallowed a watermelon! Little Miss seems to be nestled much deeper down than her big brother was at this point. I am curious to see how huge I end up!
I have gained almost 10 pounds already!!! I guess this is okay as my total weight gain was around 30 with Ryan. I am still on track for that again.
17: the number of months Ryan has been alive as of Wednesday! His current behavior is a post all it's own right now! I will fill you in on his monthly update later this week!

Oh, to answer Rachael's question about a name for Little Miss: We had settled on a girl name before we knew what we were having. Thankfully she is a girl because we couldn't find a boy name that we liked. Anyway, her name will be Rachel Louise G (ironic that you asked, Rachael!!!). I thik I got Rachel from some fellow bloggers and message boarders and it just kind of started to stand out in my mind. It is an easily recognized name, not overly popular right now, and it sounds very nice with Ryan. Louise was my grandma's name. It is also Rob's mom's middle name, and his grandpa is Louis. So everyone is happy with the middle name choice. So far no one has had anything negative to say about the first name either.
We will continue to call her Little Miss until birth as I am to superstitious to use her name before she is in my arms!

It's a.....

GIRL!!!
I tried to scan the pictures when I got to work but can't figure out our new printer / scanner!
The tech said she is 98% certain of the gender which is good enough for me!
More importantly, she is perfect! Everything measured right on target and is working perfectly which is really all I care about!
We will get to see her again in 2 months when they check the placenta location again. It was sitting pretty low, but that must just be where palcentas attach on me since it seems to be in the exact same spot as it was with Ryan. It moved that time so I am optimistic that it will move this time as well!
The pictures aren't very good since Little Miss was clearly done being photographed by the time the tech got to our pictures. The midwife is getting some great ones though :) WE also didn't get a very good gender shot as she kept crossing her legs at the end. The tech said something along the lines of her not being a very good girl for us and my dear husband jumps in with "I think she is being a VERY good girl keeping those legs crossed!"
I think I freaked Rob out last night when I told him we better start saving for a wedding now!!!

FEED ME!!!

It appears that my appetite is back in full force!
All I have done today is eat!
Here is the breakdown:
8am - a slice of cold pizza, a baggie of Kix cereal, and a cut out cookie
9:30 - another cookie
12:00 - a turkey and cheese sandwich, a side of pasta, a cookie, and an apple
3:00 - a tangerine and a pumperknickel bagel

All that I have moved from my desk maybe 5 times....
I need to slow down!

Old Wives Tales

Since our big gender revealing ultrasound is a week from today, I have decided to play into the old wives tales for a little fun!
Here goes... I will highlight boy/girl with blue/pink font!

Morning Sickness? Heck Yea!!! But I also had it with Ryan, just not as bad
Extra Weight In your belly
Carrying Low
Cravings Sweets, juice and fruit (I am averaging 3-4 tangerines a day!!!)
Belly Shape Basketball
You look Worse than normal (my skin is all broken out and I have terrible bags under my eyes)
Hair on your legs Grows slower or same as normal
Dad-to-be
Doesn't gain weight with you (note: SO FAR!)
You hang a wedding ring over your belly It moves in circles
Your urine color is - ewwww, I have no idea, but I was told that I am well hydrated at my last appointment!
Your pillow faces North or South - ummm, West?
So that is 6 for girl, and 3 for boy. 2 for a puppy I guess!!!
Oh and the fetal heartbeat is in the 160s which I guess is girl. However, Ryan was always high too.
Honestly, gender makes no difference to us, but we really want to know so we can stop referring to the creature as an it!
I was asked in a comment if I was planning a homebirth. I am not. While I can see the appeal of it, it is just not for me. I am being cared for by a small group of Certified Nurse Midwives with a back up OB/Gyn practice. I met the one midwife while I was in labor with Ryan and found her presence in the room to be a calming one and she was more attentive than my own OB at the time. Since I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth (give or take) I figured this was the rout for me this time.
The midwives remain with mom throughout labor (once you are admitted) and then stay for a while after and help establish the first latch. They also make house calls for nursing / post partum issues (and only charge a co-pay!). I feel that my labor was rushed (and sped up unneccessarily) so that the doctor could take care of his other patients and go home. I have been assured that pitocin will only be used when absolutely neccessary and that while pain relivers are available, the midwife likes to exhaust her bag of tricks before giving them. This sounds good to me! Now it sounds good to me -- ask me at 6 centimeters when I am begging for drugs!
I also found out during my initial consultation with the chiropractor that I should NEVER have an epidural given the nature and placement of the curve in my spine. I was treated for Scoliosis in junior high, but it never completely corrected itself. This would explain why my entire epidural ended up on one side of my body and why my toes on that foot were numb for almost a year after I had it!!!

17 weeks

I had a midwife appointment on Monday. I got to meet my midwife's partner. She is very nice and I am comfortable with either of them at this point so I guess that is a good thing. I finally gained a little weight - so my total weight gain so far is a half a pound. She did say she would like to see me gain a few pounds by my next appoitnment - I don't think that will be a problem :)
Everything else was good. We had a difficult time finding the heartbeat again - they think the placenta is partially in the front of my uterus, but probably wrapping around the side since I am feeling significant baby movements on one side and nothing on the other!
I declined all genetic testing. Our reasoning is that there is no history of genetic disorders in either family and I am only 31 so I guess my odds are about 1 in 500. If someone told me I had a 1 in 500 chance of winning a drawing I would assume that I wouldn't win. That being said we have scheduled a level II ultrasound for February 27th! I can't wait to see the little one!!!
Only other thing from the appointment is that she would like me to start seeing a chiropractor since I am having quite a bit of siatic back pain. I got a referral and just need to call and set up an appointment!

16 months (and 16 weeks)

Today Ryan turns 16 months old and I hit the 16th week of pregnancy. What a neat coincidence, huh?
So, Ryan is 16 months going on 3 years old! He looks like a 12 month old though! As of less than a month ago he was 21 pounds 7 ounces (10th percentile) and 31 inches (40th percentile). He's just a little kid, but what do you expect from a 4'11 mommy and a 5'5 daddy?
Being as milestone obessive as I am, I check every month to see where he is at, and I am very proud to report that he has surpassed all the 18 month milestones and a few of the 24 month ones! My little genius!
Verbal
I have stopped counting how many words the kid knows, but at last count it was over 2 dozen! In the past week he seems to learn and retain a new word (or 2) every day! Yesterday's words were bear (Breakfast with Bear was on) and grapes (when I asked him if he wanted an orange or grapes for snack). He is pretty good about communicating his needs and the whining has subsided drastically (thankfully). We are still working on a consistent "please" and "thank you" but I would say that he says them unprompted about 30% of the time and 100% when he wants something he can't have!
Body
As of last Friday, Ryan can identify his head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, belly, feet, and toes. I think this is in part due to some games we play at swim lessons, and the fact that we review body parts while getting dressed and undressed (that makes me sound like a pushy mom doesn't it?!?! Really we have fun with it!!).
Ryan will also tell us now when he has a poopy diaper and needs to be changed. At the sitter's he actually will hand her a new diaper - he can't reach them at home. He has, however, developed a fear of wipes. I am beginning to wonder if a wipe warmer is not such a bad idea?
I recently switched from my beloved Pampers to White Cloud diapers and they are not bad, but I think he knows more now when he is wet than with the Pampers. We are not even thinking about potty training, but he seems receptive to getting changed now and that is a good thing!
Motor skills
The kid used a fork at 11 months and suddenly stopped around 14 months. I am proud to report that he again will use a fork (sometimes) and equally well with both hands! We have also started coloring and playing with Play-Do which he really likes. Ryan can stack up to 6 blocks and, again, uses both hands for it. Walking and running are down pat. Climbing is fun apparently as is wedging himself in spaces way to small for him and hiding in corners. He can take his clothes off, but can't put them back on yet. This is not a problem for him though as he thoroughly enjoys being naked!

All in all the last month has been so enjoyable!!! The tantrums have returned, but they are easy enough to handle by ignoring them. I have relaxed on the television viewing. Ryan watches maybe 3 hours a week now. Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, Wiggles, and Little Einsteins are about all I will allow, although he seems to dig the Doodlebops!
He is sleeping fairly well, and goes down with a kiss and 2 stories each night.
His favorite toys are books, and the Little People horses - they are never far from him. Oh he also loves his stuffed kitty that lives in Mommy's car. We dance in the kitchen while I am making dinner and he helps me clean up after by putting things in the dishwasher! I am preparing him to be the perfect husband -- any takers?!?!

Oh what a night....

I have been MIA from everything in life lately and not just this blog. I feel bad about it. My head is full of good intentions, but my body says "NO!!! Lay on the couch and eat kettle chips. That's what we need!". Sadly, the body wins out every time....
Ryan has been battling a slight cold for the last few days - nothing major, just enough to make him cranky. Lst night his little cold hit me HARD! HARD as in the way only a pregnant women can gte sick. I feel like death, but yet I am at work as I only get 5 sick days a year...
This morning I think Ryan felt as lousy as I did, and decided that 3:30 was time to be awake. He would NOT go back to sleep. He would sit quietly on my lap, but would he lay in bed with me? NOOOOO. Would he lay in his own bed? NOOOOO. Finally after Rob left for work at the ungodly hour of 4:45am I just let Ryan play. I shut all the doors except his and mine, and gated the stairs and let him go to town. After about an hour he climbed into bed with me and finally passed out in the pile of toys he brought to me. I attempted to take a picture, but couldn't find the camera and when I went back upstairs he was wandering around in a sleepy haze.
God I love toasty, sleepy babies in jammies. I could cuddle them all day.....
In other news this week, I am officially in maternity wear full time now! Scary, huh? Most of my shirts are to big, but my regular shirts are much to short. I am more confortable and definitely starting to look more pregnant! I love watching people at work check me out with the "is she or isn't she" looks! My friends and immediate co-workers know already but I am still getting some strange looks.
Oh, and I FINALLY downloaded pictures!
So, without further ado.....
PICTURES!

This is where I found Ryan after my shower one morning

Ryan with his Christmas loot!

Ryan always lays down and pretends to sleep when Baby Tad says "it's one minute to night-night"

The big boy hair cut!

An post about nothing...

I realized that I have not posted pictures in quite some time. Would you like to know why? Because I have not downloaded any off our camera since before Christmas. December 8th was the last time I downloaded pictures! What a slacker I have become!
Expect picture heavy posts later this week as my goal tonight is to get them all downloaded!
Bon Jovi
The concert was great! Our seats were great! So worth the $80 a piece we paid (hey it was our wedding present, sort of, well, we used wedding money for them). Those guys amaze me -- they are all over 40 and they can rock for over 2 straight hours and then turn around and do it again the next night! I, personally, would be dead after one show!
Anyway, Jon is still as good looking as ever, and they sounded great. My only disappointment was their weak encore. I like a strong, old style rock out encore and their's was more new music and slow, ut still great!
The rest of the weekend
Rob and I were Ryan free until 5:00pm Saturday. Unfortunately, I spent most of this time in bed trying not to throw up (again). I felt so terrible all day Saturday and then again on Sunday that I was beginning to wonder if I was getting sick or if it was just the morning sickness still.
Ryan's world
The boy wonder is still trying to figure out which nap he would like to keep and which he is done with. I wish he would hurry up and decide since it seems we are never home when he wants to sleep and he never wants to sleep when I try to put him down! It looks like he is leaning towards after lunch and that is great! I just wish he would get there soon!
He has also been waking up before 7:00 most days. I wonder if this is in direct relation to the nap schedule change? We have tried later bedtimes, but he gets up earlier, earlier bedtimes, gets up at the same time.....
Any ideas?
Yesterday marked the first time Ryan has ever asked for a snack! He usually gets one when he get home from work to tide him over until dinner, but I forgot yesterday. He went to the drawer full of plastics, grabbed a small dish (that we use for snacks), held it out to me and said "nack". I was shocked! I asked him what he wanted and he went to the pantry, got some pretzels and handed those to me! It's crazy how big he is getting! He even sat on a chair at the dining room table and ate his snack while I finished dinner!
This afternoon is his 15 month well baby check up and the first time he will receive the MMR and Chicken Pox vaccination! My poor baby! I hope he handles them okay....

CURSED!

So I never should have bragged about not being sick in a whole week.
This morning - BAM! Could be that I thought I was in the clear enough to forgo the Unisom, but I guess that was foolish. I am going to keep taking for at least a week, and try and stop at 14 weeks. I just hate medicating for anything, but I also hate loosing my whole morning over the toilet (or into the river - more on that below)
My new strange puke place
This morning, while walking to a meeting the wind whipped my (way too long) hair into my mouth and caused an instant wave of nasuea. Followed immediately by the need to hurl. The only thing I could think to do was to lean over the bridge and hurl into the mighty Genessee. If you've ever seen this river before (or smelled) you can imagine I am not the first person to do so! I just hope there was nobody below.....
Bizzare pregnancy dreams
In the entire 41 weeks I was pregnant with Ryan I never once had a vivid sex dream. Not so much the case this time around! Last night was full of them! Normally I would enjoy this, but I feel so guilty. Not a single one was about my husband! NOPE, they were all about this guy!
Now it could be because we are going to see him LIVE this Friday night and I am very excited about it, but honestly? I was more than a little embarrassed to face Rob this morning.
Oh, and in my dream he drove a tan Ford Escort! Such a rock star car, huh?

Houston, we have a heartbeat!

A nice strong one! YAY!
However, it took what felt like an hour (but I am sure was only a minute) to find it! The little bugger is hiding waaaaay over on the right side of my uterus and behind the placenta - or so we think since it was so difficult to find.
I was pretty nervous to begin with - you know, it is so reassuring to know that there is actually a baby in there, but the longer it took the more upset I got and by the time she actually found the heartbeat I was in total tears!
Everything else seems good. I have lost a total of 3 pounds, but I am pretty sure that will be re-gained quickly enough now that I have my appetite back. Actually I feel like I have the appetite of a sumo wrestler right now!
And, not to curse myself, I have not thrown up in a whole week!!! I am still not feeling 100%, but no actually puking - WOOHOO! And yesterday, a holiday for our company, I did not nap with Ryan! Honestly! I cleaned and showered instead! It was my personal victory for the day!

Ryan v. Sleep

There is no clear winner here! Rob has been off the last 2 days so Ryan has been home with him and has decided that naps are optional. Hmmmm, not really, little one. Of course, Rob doesn't really plan his days around the naps and called me from the car wash at 2:00 when Ryan should have been sleeping. It will probably take me all weekend to get him back on schedule - lucky me!
Anyway, Ryan got a big boy hair cut yesterday. It looks cute, but I hate it! He looks so.....
grown up I guess :( I guess I miss his little baby fringe in his eyes, but seriously he was starting to look like he belonged in a Beatles cover band! I tried to get a pictrue last night to share, but he was a little tornado of action and wanted nothing to do with pictures. I will try again tonight!

Nothing to say, other than the weeks is half over!

YAY! Wednesday means I am closer to 13 weeks and that, hopefully, I will not be sick much longer! WOOHOO!
Monday we will get to hear our littlest one and I can't wait! I think that is the second exciting part of pregnancy (after seeing the double line of course, and before seeing the bean on ultrasound).
I am pretty sure I have not gained any weight yet as my belly is bigger but I am still wearing all my normal clothes. Last time I checked I had lost 4 pounds, but I don't know how accurate my dad's scale is. I guess we will find out Monday.
I am listening to XM Radio on line right now and it is the song from the movie Single White Female. I loved that movie! Shortly after it came out I started college and, I swear, the first person I became friends with at school had the same short cool hair cut as Bridget Fonda. Sadly, she was almost as wacky as the other girl -- who was that??? Jennifer Jason Leigh? Yup - I just checked it out. Oh well, I met a lot of very cool people through her. Actually I am only still in touch with is Kara. Anyway.
I have absolutely no direction in this post - sorry!
Tonight Ryan goes swimming again and I am going to hit the treadmill for the 45 minutes he is in class (Rob will take him). I need some form of excercise as I am a total slug these days.
After swimming is LOST! I can't wait - it has been entirely to long since we have seen a new episode!!!!
Okay, back to work now!
HEY -- as I gather from everyone else's blog it is De-Lurk week! So come out come out where ever you are! If you read and I don't know you, introduce yourself! I won't bite! I promise!
Also, a few people have signed the guest book on Ryan's babiesonline site. If you found it from here let me know! I am just nosy!

Baby dreams

I have had a few dreams during this pregnancy about the new baby. Most I can't remember after I wake up and one was so terrible I wish I could forget it. Last night I had the most vivid dream to date.
I dreamt I was giving myself an ultrasound - it seems a friend's aunt had an ultrasound machine at her house that we were using - don't ask. And there HE was - the most perfect little baby boy ever (outside of Ryan of course), just swimming and kicking and blinking his little alien eyes. And he was a boy. Which is interesting considering my gut has been saying girl since I knew I was pregnant and I generally put a lot of stock in that since I KNEW Ryan was a boy and I believe I even said "I told you so" to Rob during the ultrasound.
This is going to make the next 6 weeks so hard! This little bugger had better cooperate and let us see what he or she is!!!
Did anyone else know before your ultrasound or birth what you were having?

15 months

Ryan will be 15 months on Sunday! Ask him and he thinks he is 2 going on 3! Really he is such a bog kid in a little body, but he has always been like this!
His new thing is to try and go down the stairs the correct way. Hey, he even tries to hold on to the railing. Alas, mean mommy still makes him go down backwards as it is the safest way to get down for him.
What else is new in Ryan's life?
He started swim lessons on Wednesday and the little dolphin LOVES them! I'll have to get some pictures! He splashes, kicks, laughs and claps. He also has no fear about jumping off the edge and into the water. I think my heart skipped a beat but he LOVED it! The class he is in is for 6 months to 3 years, but I can see him getting bored so we are probably just going to take advantage of open swim after this session and then sign him up for class again next winter. By then the new one can join in!
He is such an easy going kid these days! He still fights some naps, but sometimes he even requests them by going up stairs and trying to climb into his crib! What more could we ask for?
Still on a 2 nap a day schedule. One is usually an hour and one closer to 2. If he misses one of these look out! He becomes trouble central! Mostly splashing in Nico's water and throwing dog food around the kitchen.
Ryan has a 6th sense for when dinner is almost ready and will try to climb into his high chair about 10 minutes before we sit down! Last night he had a mini-meltdown and sat under the chair and cried until we gave in a fed him! Hey I am not about to starve the boy!
Reading
Finally, Ryan will let us read to him again! YAY!!! Actually he will now bring me a book, and plop down on my lap and let me read the whole thing. Sometimes twice! Because of this, and his instantance at bringing the same books over and over, I can now proudly say I can read 3 Sandra Boynton books from memory!
FOOD
Back to eating almost anything! We had pasta primavera Wednesday night and Ryan spit out his zuchinni. I reminded him that he ate it all summer long and he handed it to me and said "no no no, Mommy". I guess he told me! Carrots are a staple veggie, and Ryan will now try to pick out his own snacks from the cupboard. Since I try to keep junk food out of the house, or at least out of his reach, I will generally let him have whatever he picks. Except for the day he tried to get me to let him have dog treats for a snack. I draw the line there!
Words
It seems that every day is a language explosion in our house! We are now trying to get Ryan to say please when he demands something "this!" or "up!". So far the only use of please is when he wants a snack and we have said no. he will then hang off the cabinet and whine PEAS over and over. Last week I gave him a bag of frozen peas. He asked for it! That really angered the munchkin!
He doesn't combine 2 words yet and he still insists on calling Nico DOGGIE and not by his name. No matter how hard we try! Funny, if you ask Ryan to say Nico he will say doggie every time. He is right, Nico is a dog (don't tell him that!), but he also has a name and I hope Ryan will some day use it!
I could go on all day about my sweet, genius child, but I really need to get some work done now!!!

A posting about Puke

In the past 24 hours I have thrown up 5 times. Three of those have been at work - oh the joy of that, one at home in the guest bathroom (much cleaner than the main bathroom), and once in the shower.
I have thrown up crackers (triscuits - really bad!), lunch (again with the poppy seed dressing, that did me in while I was pregnant with Ryan too!), and a nice warm mug of lemon tea -- surprisingly tasty the second time around!!!
I am tired of being sick.
I am tired of being tired.
I am tired of whining about both....
I want a nap, a calm stomach, and a clean house.....

A funny Rob story....

So I took yesterday off to finally take down all our Christmas decorations. We got the tree undecorated (which I find so sad) and then Rob proceeds to yank the tree through the living room doorway the wrong way. You know what I mean, the way that makes the horribly dry needles ping all over the house? YUP!
I will most likely be sweeping needles up for the next 3 months.
I love him, but he does everything the hard way!

11 weeks

Here is my pregnancy update:
As my first trimester approaches a close I am anxiously awaiting the end of the horrible morning sickness! When I was pregnant with Ryan it wasn't gone until closer to 16 weeks so I am being optimistic that it will disappear faster this time (think positive thoughts with me here!).
I have tried the Unisom with a B6 vitamin and it works - sometimes. It is hit or miss. I have been trying to figure out what I am doing differently on the days when I don't wake up throwing up and I have come up with nothing. I have not lost or gained any weight since my initial 2 pound loss so that is good, but I am really worried that G2 is not getting enough vitamins from me. I am unable to take my prenatals. The children's vitamins the midwife told me to take are not sitting so well most days so I skip them. This amkes me feel so bad! I never would ahve considered skipping a vitamin when I was pregnant with Ryan, what makes it different this time around? My diet is atrocious! I am making a more concious effort to eat better since I feel like this little one deserves the same healthy foods I fed the fetus Ryan.
I think this week may be the last week I can wear my regular pants! I can't wear my normal jeans any more, but my cotton work pants have still been fitting. I have noticed they are getting a little snug and I usually end up with them unbuttoned by the end of the day. My shirts are all short now because of my chest being a FULL CUP larger than normal!!! That I am not going to complain about!
I have noticed a marked increase in exhaustion in the last week. Shouldn't that be lessening around now? Could it be because of my terrible diet/ inability to keep many foods down?
My next midwife appointment is in just less than 2 weeks and hopefully we will hear a little heart chugging away! I can't wait! Ryan will be coming with me to that appointment since it is a holiday and I will not be working so he won't be at the sitter's. I know he won't understand it at all, but I am excited to have him there!

New Year Goals

I have decided to ditch the resolutions this year! I never stick to them with the exception of the resolution I made 2 years ago to TRY and like the guys my friends were in love with. It actually worked! Of course, Dana and Jim broke up (thankfully, I really disliked him) and Kara's now husband Dave turned out to be an okay guy (we just got off on the wrong foot) and is now Rob's movie buddy!
Anyway, here are my GOALS:
□ Clean out Kitchen
- put away any small appliances rarely used on shelves in basement
- clean out pantry and throw away / donate (to church) anything not used

□ Clean out attic
Sort by garbage, store, sell
Put hinges on storage space and utlize it.
Make Rob go through boxes to identify keepers v. garbage

□ Arrange attic into 2 or 3 parts
Storage
Office/guest room
Play area?

□ Arrange garage sale / Ebay items.
- begin listing on Ebay anything that will sell

□ Organize closets (ours, Ryan’s & guest room)
Use the closet organizer from basement in our room?
Get under the bed storage for our sheets

□ Move guest room furniture to attic

□ Make donation of sheets, towels to animal shelter

□ Weed through Ryan’s books
Make collection for new baby
Donate any duplicates

In addition to these "projects" I plan to go to church more and I have embarked on a monthly meal calendar inspired by Linda! I have made January's calendar and so far (4 days into it) we are on track! This way I know exactly what I need to buy at the store and we all know what we are having for dinner. Avoiding the hour long conversation that ends with fast food which none of us need right now!
So this is probably a pretty boring post - sorry!
It is more for my records than anything. I will post again today and I promise to make it more interesting :)

Ryan's second Christmas and a pregnancy update

We all survived Ryan's first "real" Christmas (cause, come on, he really was just a blob last year!).
Christmas Eve
We tried to keep the day as normal as possible to avoid a melt down later. See, I am a firm believer that regularly scheduled naps and meals make a happier baby! We went to a 4:30 church service at Rob's family church. I am not a huge fan of their services, I guess because I was raised in a very traditional Catholic church that never allowed for Christmas trees or any other secular holiday items. During the service we went to, they sang a very secular holiday song about wrapping presents and decorating trees. It was weird!
Ryan spent the hour in the nursery. Turns out that the grand-daughter of one of Rob's co-workers was also there. Ryan and N. have met before and apparently are a little in love! It seems they spent the entire hour holding hands and kissing each other!!! She actually cried when we tried to take Ryan home! It is cute and touching but scary at the same time!!!
After church we got back in the car and I was hit by a horrible, overwhelming odor that caused me to open the door, puke in the church parking lot, and begin cursing Rob out for leaving food in his car!!! Nope, turns out something is leaking in his car AGAIN and making the rugs all moldy. The fun!!! They can't even look at it until next Monday!!!!
Anyway, we spent the evening at my Dad's. Ryan got this play kitchen that I am pretty sure is bigger than my own kitchen! I honestly don't know where we are going to put it! I am considering taking it back and getting a smaller one. We have a fairly large house, but no room dedictated to toys. This would have to be an outside toy and then he would only get to play with it for like 3 months out of the year! What would you do?
Christmas Day
Honestly, we had to wake Ryan up on Christmas morning!!! We needed to be to my mom's at 9:30 for breakfast and presents and by 7:00 he still wasn't up so I had to get him!
He had a blast! I can't wait to download all our pictures! Some if the toys Santa brought him included: Fridge Phonics, a tricycle, a sit and spin (Daddy bought that one!), many books, a new CD, some bath toys..... I am sure there are more, but I am slightly brain dead from it all!
We headed over to my mom's where he obtained a radio flyer wagon from his Aunt Renee, and countless toys from Grandma. Grandma also had a wooden toy box made for him - very nice, and bought us one of those storage racks with all the different bins. Also nice, but really big! We are in the process of re-arranging our family room since we are getting rid of our HUGE space killing heater that we no longer need now that our furnace is new and the ducts are actually connected! Hopefully we will be able to accomodate the new toy chest/storage thing.
So after breakfast and present, I put Ryan down for a nap in the pack and play at my mom's. What does she do? She proceeds to BITCH the entire time he is napping about how nice it was for us to come over and then put him to sleep!!! Is she serious?!?! Does she not understand that my child NEEDS sleep? NO, she really doesn't. She is always pestering me to take him places during naps or bedtime and when I cave (she is really persistent) he is miserable for DAYS!
I have decided that NO MORE! From now on, family events are planned around Ryan's sleep schedule and if she has a problem with it, tough!
After his nap we headed over to Rob's parent's house for more gifts and dinner (can I tell you how stuffed we were by the end of the day?!?!). Ryan got 84,000 more toys he doesn't need and that I don't have room for.
This year we decided to do a name draw amongst the siblings. It just got so expensive. We all picked names and everything was good. Everyone seemed to stay in the $50 limit although my gift was a $25 gift certificate, a mug and some tea so probably less than $50 but who cares? At least it was less junk to take home.
The day after Christmas Ryan and I napped for a total of 4 delicious hours! Oh, and my mom bitched again because Ryan and I left my gradparents after a half hour because it was nap time.
Since this post is long, I will save the pregnancy update for tomorrow....

A Christmas List

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot Chocolate - with TONS of mini-marshmallows! Honestly, I think Egg Nog is vile. Even the name makes me CRINGE!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrap, unless they are too big to wrap. This years Ryan's Sit and Spin and Tricycle will remain unwrapped. Actually, Elmo will be riding the tricycle!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored on the tree and white icicles on the house. I would love to someday do a second, smaller, tree with white lights, gold garland, and my collection of Hummel ornaments. Every ormanement made from 1974 to 2000 when they stopped making the series.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope, but I should we need more kisses in our house!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
The day after Thanksgiving (well the couple days after). The tree goes up about 2 and a half weeks before Christmas since we get a real one every year.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
This is so sad, but my favorite holiday dish are little smokies in BBQ sauce. For some reason we only have them at Christmas time. Actually, I am serving them tonight at a party we are having!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Going downtown to see Santa. Of course, when we were little downtown was still a busy place and safe to travel to. They had Santa on a HUGE mountain and there was a monorail to ride. It was so much fun. Now I work downtown and all that remains is the sad looking monorail and there is a seat for Santa, but I have never seen him sit in it....

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was much older than I would like to admit! I was probably 9 and my best friend told me. I was so devastated. I remember asking my mom who told me the truth but also told me that Santa will always be real if you believe in the Christmas spirit. That, my friends, was the deepest thing my mother has ever said!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We always opened a gift from our parents on Christmas Eve and it was always PJs. We will be doing that with Ryan this year as well.

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him?
We haven't done this yet. But growing up I remember how interesting it was that my dad and Santa liked all the same cookies!
11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
DREAD! I do, however, like a pretty white Christmas but I hate travelling in it.

12. Can you ice skate?
HA! I took lesson at 7 and broke my nose learning, or trying to lear, how to skate backwards!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
It was Tina ballerina! I have tried in vain to find a picture of he ron the internet, but I have had no success! Those of you over 30 may remember her. She had a plastic tiara attached to her head and you could spin her around by it. Creepy, but all I wanted Christmas 1977....
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Spending time with family and friends and earing cookies!
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
One year my MIL bought an ice cream roll from Friendlys. I LOVE peppermint ice cream!
16. What tops your tree?
For the 3rd year running our tree is topped by a star that looks like it is a gingerbread cookie. It was the only topper Rob and I could agree on the first Christmas we decorated a tree!
17. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Giving, but only if I am sure I hit upon the perfect gift, otherwise I get anxious!
18. What is your favorite Christmas Carol?
I love Carol of the Bells, but don't ever ask me to sing it -- you will be sorry!
19. Candy canes?
The most perfect confection EVER! My mom got these chocolate peppermint ones form Hershey this year. Most perfect candy. EVER!

Merry Christmas from Ryan Elf

Long time, no update.....

So in addition to being struck by massive waves of exhaustion and naseua, I am also struck with the fact that Chirstmas is in 5 days!!!
5 DAYS PEOPLE!!!
I have mostly finished shopping (I just need to get a gift certificate to Home Depot for Rob), but have I wrapped anything? NOOOO!
I have baked my annual holiday cut outs, but have I frosted them? NOOOO!
I have purchased the rest of the ingredients for the rest of my holiday baking, but have I made them? NOOO (and, honestly, I probably won't)/
UGH!
Yesterday was my first midwife appointment - nothing terribly exciting to report from it. I didn't even have to get a full pelvic exam since I just had my annual exam in October. She does have me on a B6 vitamin and a half a unisom tablet at night to combat the morning sickness. I took this last night at so far have not thrown up today so maybe it is working? I hope so!
Funny Ryan sotry for the day - I got out of the shower this morning and Ryan had on one slipper, no PJ bottoms and was sitting in his toy box. I have no idea how he got in the toy box and I am not sure I want to know! Of course, I had to go get the camera....
Picture to follow when I can post it!

Sick, sleep, scissors, santa....

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "S"
SICK:
Apparently Ryan's ear infection never quiet went away. 3 weeks later and the doctor said they are still pretty pussy (yum, right before lunch). He is now on Augmentin which I hate. I am not a fan of antibiotics in general, but then I am also not a fan of sick babies so we are giving it to him, twice a day....
Oh, also under SICK, morning sickness has reared it's ugly head already! Again following the same path as when I was pregnant with Ryan -- from 4am to 11am, and then again around dinner time and until I pass out for the night. This morning marks the first time I puked this pregnancy - the joys!
SLEEP
I am assuming the poor ass sleep is coming from the ears and the fact that Ryan is growing 84000 teeth right now! I cna sympathize, but PLEASE sleep! Mommy is not feeling well and Daddy is working super early hours this week. WE NEED SLEEP! Ryan's poor sleep is effecting everyone including the dog, who was reduced to SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR!!!! I assume he will soon figure out how to dial the phone so he can call animal protectives....
SCISSORS
You should never run with them! Seriously though, Ryan and I both got haircuts yesterday. I was the only one who enjoyed it! She only took a half inch off and then FINALLY put some layers in! WE let them grow out to make my wedding do easier and I finally got around to getting a haircut.
Ryan, who has already had 8 or so cuts, was a terror yesterday. Crying, pushing, squirming.....
Final result is great, but getting there was not so easy! I can't believe she still won't charge us for his haircut! He give her $15 any way, but I have to slip it in her purse since she won't take money from me :)
SANTA
Ryan met the man with the beard. He did initially cry, but got over it and sat on his lap for one deer in the headlight picture which I need to scan!
That pretty much sums up the last 24 hours in my life....

Wedding pictures!

We got our pictures last week - 19 CDs worth of them! I have FINALLY gone through half of them and pulled out the best of the pictures.
I will share a handful of them here with you! They are all on OFOTO if you would like to see them all, email me and I'll send the link!





The rest of the posed pictures, pictures from before the wedding, ceremony, and the second part of the reception are at home right now and I am at work. I need to get working on these soon since I am making wedding albums for our families for Christmas!

If you're happy and you know it....

Ryan has recently begun singing "If You're happy and You Know It" thanks to Elmo.
You see, we have this Elmo puppet/book thing and Ryan REQUIRES at least thrice daily readings of it. Last night at dinner (which BTW Ryan ate CHILI and quite a bit of it!) he started singing and then clapping, and singing and clapping. After a few minutes Rob recognized the cadence as that of the book! HURRAY for my genius baby!
He has also discovered that everyone has a belly and he like to point them out by pulling up your shirt, blowing raspberries on your belly and exclaiming "BEEBEE".
He also walks around all day with his shirt pulled up so that his Buddha belly hangs out. Just another example of him looking just like my Grandpa D.
THE BULLY
Ryan met his first real bully this weekend! Friday afternoon I decided that Rob and I have now been married a month and maybe I should actually change my name now! It took 2 minutes, but over an hour wait in the Social Security office (now there is a fun place to spend the afternoon - I think I disinfected both our hands about 80 times before we left and then SCRUBBED them before we had lunch!). During our wait we took 84,000 walks, tried to shut the door 90,000 times, picked up 76,000 nasty things off the floor and got smacked across the face by a 16 month old brat named Liam. OOOOOOOOH was I angry! Fortunately the kid's sister who was watching him (she was 16) actually disciplined him, but that didn't stop him from trying again. Eventually the armed security guard got up, went to the window, and arranged to have their number called next (why couldn't it have been me next?!?!).
What an experience. Poor Ryan didn't know what to do!

Start Spreading the News....

So, Rob and I had an interesting conversation last night about when to tell people that I am pregnant. I, of course, have already told all of you and my friend Sarah at work. I only told her because she caught me (almost) puking in the bathroom and she knew we were going to start trying after the wedding so she would ahve figured it out anyway.
Rob wants to wait the 12 weeks! 12 weeks! That is AFTER the holidays!!!!
I am more inclined to tell our immediate families at Thanksgiving. After all, if something happened I would want their support. This will also solve the dilema of my MIL buying me ugly clothes for Christmas!!! YAY!!
I can see his point. This summer when we were in Michigan his cousin announced that they were having another baby having just found out that morning. She miscarried 3 weeks later. This was after they had told all their cousins and second cousins, etc. How sad for them to have to tell everyone about the miscarriage. But our close friends and parents? I think we should tell them next week - what better way of celebrating Thanksgiving?!?!
Anyway, I am still exhausted and so sick after lunch every day (but so hungry before it). I have been good other than that!
I have started bidding on some maternity clothes from Ebay since I will need winter wear that I don't have. I have 3 pairs of long pants and the rest are capris! I didn't need maternity clothes util late April last time around and I imagine I will be needing them by the end of Janaury this time. Cool timing though, I will be 19 weeks on Rob's birthday. I am hoping to be able to schedule our ultrasound for his birthday. What a great present for him! He, by the way, is convinced we are having a girl. Me? I am saying boy all the way!!!! Hey, one of us is going to be right!!!
I have found the perfect boy bedding and while I have a theme in mind for a girl, I have not seen any bedding that goes with it yet. I know, I have plenty of time:)

Ryanisms of the day

Ryan came up to me this morning while I was getting ready for work and handed me abook and said "happy". Clear as day! I asked him what he just said and he said "happy". The book was the Happy Hedgehog. I asked him if he wanted me to read it and he shook his head yes! of course, after 2 lines he closed the book and took it away from me!
Ryan can also put things away when you ask him and most times in the right spot! He helps me clean up the plastics he has scattered around while I am making dinner and puts his dirty clothes in the hamper when I ask (of course, he also puts blocks, slippers, and some clean clothes from the basket in our room in there!)
Even through all the tantrums he is such a joy!

The reactions....

Okay, so now I have had a day to digest the news and I am excited - still very freaked out, but very excited!
My biggest concern, I guess, is that Ryan is still a baby himself and now we are going to add another to the mix? Are we crazy (probably!)?
Rob got home sooooo much later than we thought he would - it was after 8:00pm. I couldn't contain it anymore, so after asking him how the game was, etc. I said "I know that our honeymoon being cancelled was really disappointing, but something really great DID come out of it" and I pulled the test out from behind my back. He was shocked! He kept saying "shut up!" and "Are you serious?!?!" and "WOW!". Of course I had to go and ruin the beautiful moment by starting to cry because I feel guilty towards Ryan for getting pregnant again so quickly and because I am still very overwhelmed that it happened this fast!
But, all in all, a good thing! Rob is so much more attentive already this time around. I think he was so SHOCKED by my last pregnancy that it took a while to sink in. We had some arguments in early pregnancy that were really related to him just being clueless about how I was feeling physically. This time around? He has already inquired twice about how I am feeling!
How am I feeling? Fine. Tired - no, make that exhausted! And hungry. That is it so far! And the mild cramping and very full feeling in my mid-section.
Last time the morning sickness didn't kick in until 6 weeks so I figure I have another 2 weeks of feeling good to go! Hopefully it won't be as bad this time around since all I wanted to do was sleep last time!

Cycle Day 27

2 pink lines
holy crap!
P.S. I tried to get a picture but you can't really make out the second line, but it is there. Trust me and my pounding heart! Rob isn't even home to share this with - he left for a football game before I got up this morning!!!

drowning in a sea of snot

So Ryan is sick. Really sick. So sick that he wanted nothing to do with Mandarin oranges, remote controls , or sleep Tuesday night. Poor baby. I took him to the doctor yesterday and he has ear infections. One in each ear. OUCH! It is so scary because it started as a little cough and then Tuesday afternoon the sitter asked me to pick him up a little early b/c he was starting to show a slight fever. He started whining around 4pm and didn't stop until 4am when he FINALLY fell asleep on my chest (with me sitting upright in bed). Afte the doctor yesterday, Ryan slept for 3 hours on the couch with Rob and another few with me. He was much better by last night and today he is (mostly) back to normal! YAY!
What scared us most was how he fine and then BAM! not fine. He did this the last time he was sick, when he was 3 months old. Yes, we are very lucky. Ryan has only been sick twice in 13 months (of course we have paid almost $200 in co-pays from all the injuries he has had!)
Anyway, on the mend but snottier than ever. Tell me, is nose wiping really that tortorous to a child? Is walking around with snot dripping down your face preferrable? YUCK!
Edited to add: Ryan is sucha trooper. Yesterday afternoon, even though he felt lousy he tried to play, but all he did was sit on his police cruiser and mumble "beep beep". Usually he cruises all over the room honking the horn and blaring the siren and yelling "BEEP BEEP"! I tried to get it on video but he wailed when I attempted to leave the room.

The last time I was this scatterbrained I was pregnant...

Nope - not an announcement, although I am on CD 21 of our first TTC cycle so stay tuned....
Anyway, I apparently lost my mind this morning. I had to return home twice before getting to work. First I forgot Ryan's sitter bag. Normally this isn't a problem but he is not feeling well right now and his bag contained a pacifier, tylenol (which I am sure the sitter has) and his thermometer. Now this brings up an interesting question - what temprature taking method do you use with your kids? I am of the rectal school (eeeeeew how would you like to have to list that as your alma mater??!?!). I have found that it is the most accurate method and since he is teetering on fever it is the difference between medicating or not so accuracy is important to me. Also, I tried to use the ear thermometer on him last night and it said 89.5 - clearly his ear is still to small for it.
After I went home and got the bag to the sitter's house I headed to work and realized that I had left my glasses at home. Normally I wear contacts, but my eyes were itchy and dry this morning so I opted for my glasses (think Tina Fey glasses) but forgot them! I would have made it to work fine, but would have had a fierce headache by noon!
I truly have no idea what the cause of my scatter brain-ness is, but the last time I experienced lapses in memory like this I WAS pregnant so maybe.....
Speaking of TTC - yeah, I mentioned it earlier - I am starting to think that maybe now would not be the best time to get pregnant. Turns out Rob will most likely be switching restaurants and going to the exciting new one that is opening up in Rochester. Problem is that he would be out of town training for 12 weeks and then setting up and opening a new store (think about the hours on that!). The store is set to open in September. So if I get pregnant in the next few months I will be either very pregnant, giving birth, or adapting to a toddler and a newborn right at the time of the opening!!! Good Grief!!!
Rob says we shouldn't let work dictate our family, but he isn't the one that would have to be home ALL day ALONE with a baby on his breast and one wrapped around his leg clammoring for attention right?!?!? Any advice out there? Should we keep trying or put it on hold?
Incidently, I wil NOT be trying to get pregnant during my March cycle -- seriously my child would be due December 24th! I would feel awful giving a child that unfortunate a birthday!

A possible career path for Ryan....

last night Ryan was asleep in the car when we got home from running some errands. In hindsight I should have put him in his jammies before we left to run them. Anyway, we got home, I took him upstairs and changed him for bed. Unfortuantely, he woke up during this process and proceeded to SCREAM for what felt like hours. After about 15 minutes I went back up. This is the kid who normally drifts off to sleep without a peep, so something must be wrong. I walk into his room and there he is standing in his crib with all his toys and pacifiers (yes he sleeps with 4 of them) on the floor and his pajamas - well, not on him! Honestly I still haven't found the top! When did my monkey learn to undress himself?!?!?

Some wedding pictures....

My walk down the aisle


Me with my HUSBAND


CAKE (and it was delicious - the one we cut was chocolate with mocha creme YUM!)

We danced to "Thank You (for Loving Me)" by Bon Jovi (who else?)


My bouquet

Back to reality

Today I came back to work at 8:00am, and by 8:15 I was ready to go home!
Since Rob and I were not able to go to Mexico for the week we spent it with Ryan and had a GREAT time!!!
We ate out at least once a day (hey, we have a ginormous refund coming from the travel agency), slept in - yup! Ryan can now sleep until 8:30 - ahhhhh!, watched lots of scary movies, picked pumpkins, and generally had a good time! I love my guys so much! And today I miss them incredibly....
I meant to post all week, but time got away from me.
I have some pictures, but not many - here are a few from the wedding and pumpkin picking:

Ryan and the pumpkin he wanted! This one is from Papa's garden
Okay that's all you get since I saved some pictures that were sent to me from Shutterfly and they are all the wrong pictures -- I hate shutterfly for that!
I will post more tomorrow - Ryan in his costume and hopefully at leats ONE wedding picture!