Weekend of 4/20/07

Finally, some good, sunny, 70’s weather!!!!!

Friday: Jen and Josh O came down to have dinner and game night with us. They brought three different games down that we haven’t played before and though I never won, it was fun to try something new.

Saturday: We worked around the house some, taking advantage of the sunshine and I started to really swell up. This concerned me because it’s amajor symptom of pre-eclampsia which they’re watching me for BUT it’s also just a normal pregnancy side-effect. How’s a non-medical person like me supposed to know if I should get freaked out or not?! It got so bad after our 2 hour furniture shopping expedition that I couldn’t get my rings off and my shoes were tight.
Jamie had me sit down and relax when we got to their house for dinner. She’s an expert at this as she was bed-ridden for 6 months with Ryan. Taking it easy did the trick and I depuffed back down to normal size in about a half hour.

Dinner there was great! We were so chatty we didn’t even play cards like normal. Ryan was especially cute as he took to me more quickly than normal and spent a notable amount of time playing with me and sitting on my lap. Awwwwww!

Sunday: More yard work, grading lots of papers, and furniture shopping. We found a bedroom suite, dining room table, china hutch and office desk we (jim especially) really like as well as a potential kitchen table. We’re going to be some furniture salesperson’s best friend when this is all over.

At the bowling banquet I got $4 for the 2nd high handicap game (249) and $49/ea for our 5/15 place finish for the season. We dined with the Polleyes afterwards and watched Planet Earth and The Apprentice season finale where our friend Surya didn’t win.

I had some wacky dreams last night that made perfect sense when I dreamt them but now seem too odd for interpretation.

29 Weeks

What Nicole is Up to: Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week she weighs about half a pound more than she did last week (just over 2 1/2 pounds total) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.

My Take: Literally the day after I mentioned having cramps last week they went away. :) What’s starting to happen with more (but still limited) frequency is some acid reflux – maybe I’ll be getting my wish of a kid with hair! She’s also kicking more frequently and has affection for snuggling under my left rib.

In attempt to reduce the amount of weight I'm gaining I'm trying harder (admittedly not “really hard”) to not eat as many sweets. Yesterday was limited to 4 Andes mints (those little after dinner things). I have intentionally not even opened the candy cabinet at work because I know there are mini Take 5’s and 3 boxes of marshmallow peeps in there that I can’t (aka choose not to) resist.

Only other notable thing is that my bathroom breaks are becoming more frequent – like every other time I stand up.

Mexican with Jenny

I'm really full. Not so full that I'm cursing myself for eating so many chips and salsa because that salsa was so good. I'm the kind of full where you quickly become unmotivated to move any further than the nearest chair/couch. The kind of full where you think “I’d really like a good nap right now” but you’re at work and would get weird looks if you just reclined in your chair with your arms limp on the desk and your eyes glazed over.

When I'm retired and full like I am now I'm going to just sit and be glazed.

25 years to go…

6 mo. Check-Up

Had my 6 mo check-up today at the doctor and here’s the skinny:

• I’ve gained 6lbs. since last time that, while better than last time, isn’t ideal. I need to be at the 4lb./mo (1lb./week) mark
• Total weight gain: 21lbs. (normal = 19-24lbs. at this point)
• My initial blood pressure was 140/60. Because this is a bit high, the doc retook it about 20 min after the nurse's calculation and got 122/60. This prompted some questions about my family history of toxemia (which, according to my reading is pre-eclampsia- an issue Carol questioned if I had weeks ago when my vision was so spotty) and requested only a 3 week instead of 4 week delay for my next office visit
• I got measured for the first time and when asked what my birth-weight was (6lbs. 6oz) she said that I could expect an average sized baby too! Wa-hoo!

Last night I had a whining spell. I have a new, deep appreciation for my old figure. I pulled out the boxes of my summer clothes and held them up- when I put a tank top up to me now my body is clearly visible on each side of the shirt. UGH. I tried the dresses that I bought a few weeks ago on and I look awful in them. I seriously feel huge and the fit of them doesn’t help matters. They’re going back tomorrow. The thought that I have 11 more weeks to go and it’s only fatter/rounder from here is sinking in and freaking me out. Carole said I look like a "cute pregnant lady" (every woman's dream!!) on Sunday but after last night I think she was just being polite!

Weekend of 4/13/07

This weekend we went “back home” to Spencerville for Jim’s family’s Easter. Friday night and Saturday day were filled with visiting folks around town, nothing too out of the ordinary. I tried a Chuffers pizza sub which burned the roof of my mouth to the point of blistering and was still an irritation for me when I ate my Chex this morning. It’s amazing how burning my mouth made me realize how much favor that one side for chewing – geez! I just kept rescraping the healing that had taken place over and over.

The actual Easter part of the trip was nice. We were missing 2 of Jim’s cousins who were out for various medical reasons though some suspected that there were other causes that kept them away. Noah, the 9 week old of Rich (Jim’s cousin) has gotten much plumper since the last time we saw him – the kid has no neck! It also snowed a ridiculous amount while we were there (yes, we got snow on Easter but not Christmas)- about 3.5 inches in total. BLAH.

When we got home on Sunday afternoon we bowled out our last game of the season and won 3 of 4. That puts us in 5th place out of 15 teams. Jason, a guy in the league, congratulated Jim and I on the pregnancy. He said he thought I was pregnant 5 weeks ago but his wife wasn’t sure and therefore wouldn’t let him ask in case I wasn’t. ha!

No more complaining

Here's me, the former "grape" and the new haircut

Classes

Class last night went well – we had good discussions that went on longer than I had planned and therefore cut out a 20-minute period where I was planning on having discussion on another topic. Oh well! Those poor kids never get out early!

At one point we were doing role plays and I had set up two students to play the roles of farmer and zoo purchasing manager. The goal was for the farmer to sell his straw to the zoo guy as animal feed (you know, like for elephants!). The farmer was telling the zoo buyer all about the tons of straw he had available that was "going bad" and had to be sold cheap. At one point he stretched out his arms and gestured that a ton of straw was like “this whole room full of straw”. For some reason this struck me as hilarious as I pictured the whole room full of straw and the other 149,999 tons “back at the farm” that he had too. I ended up in this laughing fit that took me 2 minutes to calm down from. I have no idea why this was so funny to me, but once I got started there was no going back. Not professional, but I couldn't help it at all!

As predicted, my fall class is shaping up to be small and adult-oriented. I only have 10 students signed up when in the past I was wait-listed by now. Every student in the class is a weekend/part-timer. Karen C. thinks that this will help me be a more well-rounded teacher to be able to adapt to classes 1/3 the “normal” size and with a different audience base. I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed – it’ll be a heck of a lot less to grade.

28 Weeks

How your baby’s doing: By this week, your baby weighs nearly 2 ½ lbs. and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. Her fat layers are continuing to build up as she gets ready for life outside the womb. The big news this week is that your baby can open and close her eyes — which now sport full lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at you.

Side note: in the baby book I'm reading it called out the fantastic weight Nicole has put on – just 11 weeks ago she was only 3 and a half ounces; now she is almost 2.5lbs! GEEZ!

My Take: yeah, I'm getting more “symptoms” of pregnancy more often. I had a Charlie horse last night that still has me sore this morning when I walk; sleeping though the night is a distant memory; my abdominal cramps are more often and stronger (leading me sometimes to consider calling the doc to make sure this really is normal); and I'm getting more fluid loss than I had previously. On the up-side- my 3-hour glucose test came back normal, I think I'm still okay weight-wise, and Nicole’s moving more often and more firmly. I have a dr. appt. next Tuesday.

As of yesterday I'm officially in my third trimester!

You Like Me, You Really Like Me!

I have determined that a sure-fire way to tell how comfortable another person is with you is by how much and how unabashedly they sing to the radio when they’re in your company. Especially true if, like me, you’re not vocally blessed. I take it as a great compliment when people “serenade” me in the car.

BCW Food Review

Megan, Amanda and I went to Skyline for lunch today where I tried the new Buffalo Chicken Wrap they’re offering. For you Cincinnatians and Daytonians, here’s your official food review.

The wrap is large, definitely a 2-hander. It’s got a tomato flour tortilla shell that is soft but not wrapped near tight-enough around the filling, practically requiring you to re-wrap it if you don’t want it to be loose or items to fall out. There is a good balance of lettuce, cheese, tomato, chicken and BBQ sauce, but not enough ranch in my opinion (the bottom 1/8 where gravity pulled all the BBQ sauce too was a bit warm on the tongue in such disproportionate quantities). Like Chipotle they had the issue of all the X (ie lettuce) being on the left side and all the Y (ie chicken) being on the right which meant that your bites didn’t have an even blend of ingredients/flavors.

Overall, it was close enough worth the $5.69 it cost since it did fill me up. The BW3’s Buffalo Chicken Ranch Wraps are notably better for the same price but are 2/3 as big and come with chips & salsa. I’d get them again but definitely open it up, remix the ingredients, and re-wrap myself.

Weekend of 4/5/07

Friday: Hooray for a ½ day at work!! Jim and I took the open afternoon (thanks to Good Friday observance) to visit Jess/Sean’s babysitter. She was WONDERFUL and so convenient to 2 of the tech centers Jim may work at. It’s nice knowing we have a viable option we're both comfortable with experience, cost, and environment-wise there and waiting for us come September.

Normally known for our packed social schedules, I do try to keep a few nights open for just Jim and I. Sometimes though, like after an entire Friday afternoon when we’re together all day, we miss the company. So, we conned Jen and Tom into meeting us at Dave & Busters for some tabletop shuffleboard which proved MUCH harder than it looks. We grabbed some Graeters afterwards (it’s been MONTHS since I’ve had it!) and called it an early, but fun, night.

Saturday: I got up way too frickin’ early for a weekend morning and dragged myself, my pillow, and my new book, over to Mercy for my glucose test. I'm not sure how the other people there thought they’d be entertained, no one else brought anything else to do so they all sat there in these uncomfortable chairs reading year-old magazines while I enjoyed my thriller. Anyway, the test wasn’t near as bad as I thought, and with an engrossing book to return to as a reward for the blood sample, I didn't mind the 3 hours at all.

After the test Jim and I drove around looking for baby cribs and found one that we really like at Treehouse Kids. It’s pretty expensive but it’s one of those convertible cribs (that turns into a daybed and then a full-sized bed) so we figure 18 years of use will make it worth the investment. Jess and Sean met us for cards and bowling that night. I won ½ bowling games and 0/2 Shanghai games but enjoyed the company. :)

Sunday: we headed to church, went grocery shopping, had dinner at Grandma’s, got my butt kicked in the Euchre tournament. Ryann was adorable. Mike asked me if I was ready for “all this” indicating the baby and looking at how sweet she is and how she looked up at Mike while she ate, I did feel ready. That sentiment mostly continues today! ; )

HGKE

I am very excited about our new house. I went to the library on Wednesday to go through decorating books and get some ideas on colors, patterns, etc. for some of the main rooms. Primarily I'm trying to stay focused on the living room and dining room which I think will be my biggest challenges- they’re to the left and right of the entrance immediately when you walk in so therefore they need to coordinate with one another and the foyer. On top of that I have white, silver and navy china that I would ultimately like to display so the wall/window decor needs to go with that as well.

Anyway, the books weren’t much help (mostly because the pictures in them look nothing like our house- they’re always older with lots of windows and heavy crown molding), but one did inspire me to make a color chart of the house, which I did in powerpoint. I outlined each of the rooms and then filled in the boxes with a color I'm considering. It really helped me get an all-over feel of the flow of the rooms and how they coordinate – important because we have such an open floorplan.

I know I should wait until it’s closer until we move in to get paint strips because I'll not only lose them but change my mind about 8X between now and then... but I doubt I’ll be able to! : )

Fast Food Competition

As I ate my chili cheese burrito today I began to wonder...

There are a half-dozen competitors to McDonalds- Wendy's, Burger King, Hardees, Jack-in-the-Box, etc- why are there no major threats to Arby's or Taco Bell?

Not only do the burger chains compete but they seem to all come out with the same menu- cheeseburgers, fries, salads, milkshakes, chicken sandwiches, etc. Arby's is the only roast beef place I can think of and they serve wraps, pita sandwiches and chicken salad sandwich-type things. Why doesn't anyone else do this? Wendy's is closest with their new Frescatta sandwiches and even those aren't very close.

Week 27

How your baby's growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

My Take: I’ve been having some minor abdominal cramping lately but it goes away when I lay down and my books say it's my body's prep for labor (grrrrreatttt). I'm not looking forward to my second, 3-hour glucose test this Saturday but Sarah lent me a book so at least I’ll be prepared with things to do.

Suzanne, a friend of ours due 1.5 weeks ahead of me, is on full bed-rest now due to her blood pressure. I'm VERY glad I'm not in that position.

Still waiting for Jim (and others!) to get to feel Nicole move…. My first “stranger” felt me yesterday – a client that I went to visit in the morning patted me down. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me a bit though I know random touching by non-family members freaks a lot of people out.

I'm trying to talk to her as much as possible which I accomplish mostly while in the car. I find myself calling her cutesy names like “pretty baby” and “little girl”. I'm also making a point to call her Nicky every once in a while too in lieu of her full formal name (I suspect/expect that we and others will flip back and forth between the two once she arrives). It’s hard to talk to someone you can’t see and who doesn’t respond… I'm not sure what to say most of the time so I end up describing where I'm driving to or what I see (“oh, Nicky, there’s a big hawk flying around outside!”). I'm sure I sound like an idiot to anyone who could hear me.

The Purse Saga

When I was in college I had a navy leather UD wallet that held my student ID, drivers license, cash and 1 credit card. It was a simple case that folded in half with Velcro holding it together and a key ring dangling off the top. I swore I’d never need anything else in life as it held all the essentials and easily slipped into my back pocket with no bulge.

I kept that same style wallet for a year after I graduated. All winter it slipped into my coat pocket as easily as my jean pocket and life was great. Then spring hit, I didn’t have a coat anymore, and my sundresses had no pockets. I broke down and bought a purse, but just a little one as I obviously didn’t need much.

I chided Lisa for the “luggage” she carried around and claimed was a “purse”. I laughed at my aunt who’s bag carried enough random stuff for her to win the “What’s in Your Purse?” game at every baby shower we went to.

I carried my little 1lb. handbag with me and even changed it out for the seasons like I was “supposed to” though I never won the shower games because I only had the essentials with me. Life with a purse, I admitted, was okay.

When I went to TJ Maxx yesterday to buy a spring bag I roamed the aisles looking for the right one. I wanted a small, springy yet professional look, I prefer that it have a strap to go over my shoulder, and it needed a side pocket for easy access to my credit card. The Nine West one I found fit the bill and was less than $20. I even splurged on a new wallet to go in it.

When I got home I dumped my current purse’s contents all over the kitchen table. I transferred the library card, Kroger card, Skymiles card, etc. into the wallet and started putting the lotion, Tylenol, pens, nail file, hand sanitizer, Spree candy, Starbucks gift certificate, ... into the new bag. Then I tried to zip it.

Somewhere in the last 3 years my “essentials” list grew from 3 cards and a $5 bill to over 15 items, several of them bulky. The haunting voice of Sarah W drifted to mind “just wait until you have a diaper bag- the purse will be out the window and you’ll live and die by this huge carry-all.” I yelled at her to be quiet. Her spirit laughed back.

AUGHHHHHH!!!! I'm becoming a big bag woman!!!!! I was nearly ashamed to return the cute purse back to the Maxx. I looked both ways to see if anyone saw me evaluating the large Ralph Lauren pink logoed tote that looked a bit more chic than the standard diaper bag that maybe could be seen as some type of hybrid between purse and babybag. In the end, I couldn't do it. It was defeat just admitting I needed the next-size-up purse. I slinked up to the counter, exchanged the two handbags, and threw the contents of the old purse into the new when I got back to the car. I think I have it filled to within ¼” of the zipper.

Weekend of 3/30/07

Friday: After work Jim and I went to my parents for dinner with Mike, Lindsay, Ryann, and my grandparents (mom’s parents). What a shocker, Ryann stole the show. She’s such a good kid. We all took turns holding her, I got to feed her, and she showed her eyes to the family for the first time (that they’d seen, not ever). Probably the funniest moment was when Jim held her for about 4 minutes and got so hot from “body heat” that he had to take off his work shirt to cool down.

Saturday: I made the 4 hour trek up to bigger-than-I-thought-it-was Akron to see Ms. Sarah Ford. She’s got a cute house that she accurately compared to 1320 Brown and her roommate is funny. They yell at each other when they come home and they bicker at each other like old married people (“when I told you the dishwasher was clean that was supposed to be your clue to empty it.”). Too funny! Sarah has slimmed down more and looks fabulous! We went shopping, saw Ella at the Cleveland Playhouse, ate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, and went to sleep.

Sunday: Sarah made me pancakes for breakfast just like old times! After showers we headed up to the Outlet Malls to look for a dress for her and her brother’s wedding. We did find several cute ones and I think she’s going to get a brown and teal one this week. I was excited to buy a butter contraption for corn-on-the cob and proudly showed it to Jim when I got home only to have him pull out the one I bought last year from the outlet malls. Oh well. Miss Nicole must really find Akron peaceful – she slept the entire weekend and didn’t want to wiggle at all for Sarah. :(

Jim had a busy weekend while I was gone but I think he was happy to see me. He let me lay in his lap and he played with my hair while we watched Planet Earth Sunday evening. He’s great.

New Foods

It’s FRIDAY!!! I'm going to my parents to see Ryann tonight and tomorrow morning I set off to ___ Akron (I’ll assign an adjective when I get there and check it out) to see Sarah!

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My father is one of those guys who orders the same thing every time he goes to a restaurant. Somehow, he’s also that guy that always complains he ordered the wrong thing. One would think the answer to this problem would be to try something new, but we all know how people are in general about new things.

I try to not be “that” person and try new things on a semi-regular basis. Probably the easiest area I find to do this in is new food. I’ve sung my love song for Taco Bell before, but I've branched out and tried about 10 new menu items over the last year and have actually found some new “regulars” from doing so (specifically Mexi Melts- yum!). Recently my new expansion is yogurt flavors. I used to be just a Strawberry Banana girl but in the last 6 months I’ve tried Strawberry Cheesecake, Pina Colada (a new favorite- it has real coconut in it!), Vanilla, Chocolate Mousse, and today I'm trying Orange Crème which tastes just like a cream-cycle.

Even Jim’s in a kick of trying new foods. He was a typical only child when it came to dining – if he didn’t like it once as a kid he never had to eat it again and therefore missed out on some great things along the way. New things he’s tried in the last year: he ate Peruvian with me last weekend, now eats blueberry bagels with raspberry cream cheese, organic peanut butter, PB&J, shrimp stir fry, and a homemade quesadilla. I'm proud of him!! He’s never had Ramen noodles before though, and while it’s not particularly healthy or delicious, I feel it’s my duty to catch him up with the rest of us previously poor college students.

Any other suggestions are welcome!

Week 26

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air.

My Take: Yesterday something cool happened- I watched my stomach as Nicole kicked and I could see it all happening from the outside! Wacky!!

I went to Wal-Mart, even though I claim I never shop there if I don’t have to, to see if they had any cute maternity clothes for cheap. What I found was surprising – a lot of styles in the Juniors section are cut baby-doll style (as in fitted around the chest, flowy from there down) and are very doable (and cute!) for me in my current condition, even if I triple in size. And they’re a heck of a lot less expensive than clothes that have a maternity label. I got a linen sundress for $12.88!

What did this teach me?
1) Don’t limit myself to the maternity section
2) There are a lot of “fashionable” styles that “regular” people shouldn’t be wearing – if it fits a 6 mo. pregnant lady, non-pregos probably shouldn’t be wearing it as there’s no way it’s flattering
3) When this whole time period in my life is done I need to consider rule #2 above and evaluate my closet for uncomplimentary clothes and get rid of them

Sellin' Bars

I work in an office so I just expect that a few times a year co-workers will bring their kids’ candy/catalogs/whatever around to peddle it for a school trip/new uniforms/whatever. Today was one of those days – a box of Worlds Finest Chocolate bars showed up on the break room table. Now, if you haven’t seen a WFC bar recently, let me warn you that they have shrunk. Perhaps to compensate, there are more flavors now offered – almond, milk chocolate, crisp, and my personal favorite, caramel.

I had my turn at selling said candy bars in 7th and 8th grade when we made $.50 on the $1 for our 8th grade Washington DC trip. My secret weapon – bring a kid cuter than myself and look pathetic outside of K-Mart. That cutie- Greg. Man could that kid sell almond bars. Anyway, most of my trip ended up being paid for by the time Spring of ’93 rolled around.

Who sold candy for Greg though when it was his turn?

Weekend of 3/23/07

Friday night we headed up to Dayton to see the Erdahl’s. They were nice enough to change plans very last minute and come down to Cincy last Saturday because of the uncertainty of Lindsay/Ryann’s progress. Anyway, we had meatloaf (with this really amazing sauce), these awesome cheesy potatoes that I had 3 helpings of, and then brownie sundaes for dessert. Mmmmmmmmm!

I want to make special note that Lisa is a great sport. We taught her a card game, Shanghai, the week before and she wasn’t fully grasping the concept (it was 11pm in her defense). Anyway, SHE asked if we could play it again on Friday so she could give it another shot. Not only did she play the whole thing through (about an hour or so) but she did really well. Granted my generous husband kept his guard down and gave in to her (as he always does, he has some weird affinity for her that perhaps I should be suspicious over… they even have a nickname for themselves: E Squared. hmmmm... I'm teasing of course!). Anyway, great night in general.

Perhaps even better than Shanghai, however, was Lisa finding PM Dawn's "Die Without You" on the VH1 site for us. First of all - they're black!? see the vital things I missed in middle school without cable TV?! What a frickin' amazing song!! And Lisa owes the tape (somewhere)!

Saturday: This was our date day and we bummed around the whole afternoon and watched movies and just generally spent time together. Awwww, we’re adorable, I know *gag*. We tried Peruvian food for the first time together at this new place down the street. Jim briefly considered having beef tripe (cow stomach) until the waitress made a face while explaining it was “chewy” that indicated he should avoid it. It wasn’t bad but I doubt we’ll go back- too many other good ethnicities. My parents met us at the theatre where we watched Breach (B+) and then we headed home for some general chatting.

Sunday: got up, ate breakfast, went to church, babysat Alex (who was SO good and we didn’t even permanently damage him!) while Sarah and Danny house hunted, and then went bowling. We won ¾ games and lost the first one pretty much solely because of me (I didn’t even break 100). Then we headed home for cod and 2 hours of the Discovery special Planet Earth. Interesting series.

Anyway, that’s it from here! Have a wonderful Monday!

They're Coming! They're Coming!

One of you crazy people is finally listening to my shouts of Cincinnati being the best city on the planet!! The citizens of Porkopolis warmly welcome the Williams to our German town! HOORAY!!

Where are these people?

When you go to a hair salon (note I said SALON, not barber or shop like a Great Clips) all the folks doing hair normally have great hair themselves. I always look around when I'm in the chair and think “why can’t I have modern and cool hair like her?” Every last one of them is stylish, well-colored, and neat (no frizzies, even “messed up” ponytails look chic!) when you’re there.

Where are these people in the real world? I never see those same hair folks with the ideal styles just milling around the mall or the grocery store. I see lots of people with "girl next door" hair like mine, but nobody I could pinpoint as a hair stylist outside of thier professional environment.

Also, in the year + since I had my acrylic nails taken off, I never seem to see anyone with fake nails either. I'm chalking this up to the reverse of when you buy a new car and suddenly see “your” car all over- since I no longer have perfect nails I see no one else with them either...

25 Weeks

How your baby's growing: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — doesn't sound like much, but she's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. Her hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he's born.

My Take: Nicole is shy. I feel her move around every day but somehow she completely avoids all other people. I had Megan and Jim touch my tummy yesterday and *BAM* she quits wiggling. People are going to think I'm making it up!

Side note- when I was holding Ryann last night she (Nicole) was kicking a lot. Maybe she’s a jealous kid too? Ha!

Flawed = Ideal

I really like people who aren’t perfect and don’t pretend to be. It makes me appreciate them in general so much more because I think they’re honest (if you can say something unflattering but true about yourself I know I can trust you in general), personable (friendly enough to be open about things that aren’t necessarily roses and sunshine), and genuine.

Some examples (and 2/3 of these have been publicly stated in blogs so I don’t feel too bad repeating them, besides, I'm using these people as illustrations of folks I LIKE):

1) One of my vendors just had a new son about a month ago. I asked him how his oldest daughter, the new big sister, was reacting to the baby. His response: “She’s cute sometimes, then, when we’re not looking, she hits him. She’s got some jealousy issues but we’re working on them.” FINALLY, someone who will confess their kids aren’t flawless and adorable all the time!

2) Viki admitted that when she went for her Idol competition that her legs shook with nervousness. THANK YOU for saying so – I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets performance anxiety! She made me feel much better about my own apprehension now that I know professionals face the same issue.

3) Lisa owns up to the fact that she sometimes gets jealous of others who have babies. As a person who will have a baby, her forthcomingness about this helps me be a more sensitive friend (hopefully) and makes our relationship better (we don’t offend one another on the subject if at all possible).

A big HOORAY to those real people out there! I commend you!

I failed. : (

I’ve always been good at tests. I do my prep, take the evaluation, and normally come out on top. Today was not one of those days.

I went to the OB this morning and failed my glucose test. Grrrrrrr. This means that I have to take this “really bad” (the OB’s words) fasting test where they draw several vials of blood an hour for 3 hours while I sit and do nothing.

Further, I got scolded for how much weight I gained since my last visit – 7lbs. I'm supposed to be at 1 lb. per week which means I'm 3lbs. too fat.

The culprit on both: Juice. Dr. Nerendran said that drinking juice every day like I have been is like taking a glucose test every day. Further, it’s what’s making me gain weight. While it’s good that we can pinpoint the cause of both issues (weight gain and bad blood sugar) it’s frustrating because I’ve been intentionally drinking the damn juice! I caused these problems myself!

So now I'm on a water and milk-only fluid limitation for the next 3 months. My only saving grace to this whole thing was that even though I’ve gained 7lbs in 4 weeks, I'm still only at 15lbs. total which is the low end of the 15-20 that’s normal for my stage. Her goal for me is 2lbs. between now and my next appt. on April 17. I am not happy.

Introducing...

Ryann Nicole Templin

Born on 3/18/07 at 12:03am

8lbs. 7 oz.

It was a very long process to bring her to the world, but I'll let Lindsay explain when she's back on her feet.

Ryann has tons of dark brown hair and these poofy cheeks that are made for Grandma kisses. I think EVERYONE was surprised she's a she, even the doctors apparently claimed all day they thought she'd be a he!

She's adorable!

Lindsay's in Labor!

Her water broke this morning and they went to the hospital around 10:30am. They gave her Pitocin becasuse contractions hadn't started but she's on her way now. We were told to expect an evening delivery. :)

Friday, 3/16/07

I did something in the middle of the night I said I wouldn’t do – I got frustrated with Jim because of a dream. In it he was roughing me up a bit and we were being all white-trashy and arguing. It eventually came out that he was having and affair with some co-worker named BeBe. Anyway, I got up, it was about 3:30am, got a drink and came back to bed. But, totally illogically, I was irritated at him. It didn’t help that I was worked up and there he was, sleeping peacefully on his side of the bed. Ah well. I guess the fact that in my next dream, I was the one having the affair makes up for it and he can be mad at me now? Ha ha!

I'm taking a half day today which I'm really looking forward to. I'm heading home around noon to make tacos for lunch for Jim and I and then we’re going to do a tour of a local daycare for Nicole. Immediately following, we’re going to pick up my grandparents and take them to see what our new house will look like by doing a walk-through of the model in Lebanon. We’ll eat dinner at the Golden Lamb afterwards which will catch me up with the rest of the city who I think has all dined there before me. Should be a good time!

Week 24

Because my due date got moved up 3 days (to the Fourth of July), my weekly updates have been moved from Saturdays to Thursdays now…

Your Baby this Week: Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, that makes for a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds may be working now. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

Your baby can hear more and more now, and you may even notice her startle at loud, sudden noises. But she's probably getting used to the regular noises she hears around the house, such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner. Many new parents are surprised by how unfazed their newborns seem by sounds like these, but if you think about it, they've had months to get accustomed to them.

Your Body This Week:The top of your uterus is now an inch or so above your belly button, which means it's about the size of a soccer ball. With the skin on your abdomen and breasts stretching, you may feel a little itchy now and then. If your skin is dry, keeping it well moisturized may help. You may also find that your eyes are sensitive to light and feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly normal pregnancy symptom known as dry eye. To ease your discomfort, use an artificial tears solution to add moisture. Are your shoes feeling a little tight? Swelling is partly responsible, but pregnancy hormones are loosening the ligaments all over your body, causing your foot bones to spread apart.

My Take: I added the “Your Body” part because it’s more telling of my life this week than the baby part. I have gone up about ½ size in my shoes and have switched from the ones that fit fine in my rack to the ones that used to need thicker socks to wear comfortably. I'm also suffering from bad dry eye at night, even with the humidifier. This wouldn’t be noticeable except for the past week and a half I’ve been getting up at least 2X/night to use the bathroom, take my thyroid pill, pull myself out of a vivid dream, etc., and when I wake up my eyes are painful they’re so dry.

Though he’s probably going to groan that I'm publicly stating this, I made Jim talk to Nicole over the phone yesterday. He said (or claims he said): “Nicole, your mom wants you to move around but your dad doesn’t really care.” I am still all tickled by this. Cheese, I know!

Have I Ever...

I stole this list from Katrin... I thought I would have highlighted more but this shows me that I still have lots of living to do and hopefully a long time to do it!

Have I ever... (maroon means that I have)

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candle lit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights (ironically in AZ)
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (if school theatre counts)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream (marrying Jim!)
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Spanning the Gap

Back in HS the age difference between you and the person you were talking to/dating seemed to be an important fact. Especially at McAuley (my HS that was all-girls) one of the first questions was always where he went to school and then promptly followed by what grade he was in.

One summer I met a guy at Lori Layer’s sister’s wedding (her cousin if I remember correctly) and talked to him for a little bit after the shindig. He was 2 years younger than me and I can honestly say that not long after this fact was uncovered I disappeared. Sounds like a really dumb reason to stop talking to someone, I know, but at the time it was completely logical and merited. That was the only time in my whole life I ever even considered a younger guy.

I don’t know where I originated this notion that the woman should be younger than her husband/boyfriend. One of the best couples I know, Christina and Byron, have a 2+ age gap, her senior, and are a great match.

When I met Jim I knew he was older than me and liked that fact. It didn’t fully dawn on me until after 2 years of dating him that he’s almost 3 full years older than me, but when it did, even at my mature age of 24 at the time, that fact was almost something I was proud of. Like 3 years is a big deal. *eye roll* I see how this notion makes no sense but yet I’ve been thinking it so long it’s stuck in my head as the “normal” way of doing things.

For some unclear reason this age appreciation does not factor in at all when it comes to my friends. While I know how old most of my friends are, the fact that Dale graduated the year before me or that David’s kids are closer to my age than he is makes no difference. I like the people for who they are and we find a lot in common regardless of our age difference, if any.

Am I the only crazy person who thinks this way?!

Weekend of 3/9/07

Friday: Friday was date night for Jim and I. We schedule ourselves pretty heavy normally, so a night with just the two of us is a rare treat indeed. We had dinner, watched some Lost, read, went to bed at a reasonable time. Ahhhhhhhh!

Saturday: Sarah and I met for lunch at the Dayton Mall and then went to pick out material for Nicole’s quilt and bumper pads that she’s making for us (cause she’s the best ever). I thought I knew what I wanted and then I got faced with the wall of fabric. And then aisle after aisle after that. So the sophisticated Victorian Garden theme I thought I was going to have morphed into more of a general garden theme with yellows, blues, purples, green, and LOTS of pink. I think it’ll turn out really cute and Sarah was very patient with all of my deliberating. Upon my return I had to explain to Jim what it is I was even doing as he didn’t know what a bumper pad was or why we needed a quilt. Maybe those books aren’t so comprehensive… ;)

That evening we met up with Jen and Tom at Bravo and came back to our place for Black Forrest Cake and games. Dinner and conversation were, as always, excellent, my luck with Tom (note I did not say skill) at Sequence was severely lacking though as Jim and Jen kicked our butts 9-4. I had bad stomach cramps for the last part of the evening and Tom helped me diagnose the problem to fresh garlic which is has been the common denominator of the same symptoms the 3 previous times I had issues. An unfortunate sacrifice to have to give up, but dealing with shooting pain is not worth it.

Sunday: We finished Lost Season 2 and while Jim didn’t like the end, I was intrigued. We then ran errands (got coupons for Mike, picked out a stroller, grocery shopped) and went to bowling. My dear husband bowled a 202 AND a 234! Since we only won by 40 for the night (3/4 overall) much credit goes to Jim for his stellar performance that definitely picked the other three of us up that second game and helped us hold onto overall victory through the third game. Hooray! We should be around 5th place in the league I'm guessing.

Week 23

How your baby's growing: Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow, but he normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

My Take: I noticed two things on Friday that surprised me. First, I always have a bottle of water in my car and I never buy them. Since water is the best thing for me to be drinking and I go various places all the time to get them (business meetings, to friends, etc.) I always leave with a half drunk bottle in tow and leave it in my car for later (which I’m always grateful when I need a drink and it’s there!).

Secondly, soft drinks are now a dessert. I was in a phone system demo on Friday after lunch and the receptionist brought in those mini Pepsi cans for refreshments. Since I have probably had less than the equivalent of 1 can of coke since I got pregnant (supposed to be avoiding caffeine) and when I do I’m surprised by how sweet it is, my first thought upon seeing those ½ cans of pop was – it’d be nice to have a treat and it’s a manageable size. In the end, my conscience and timing won out and I didn't end up having the drink.

Here's a picture of me from yesterday:

Teaching this fall

I got offered another adjunct position for the Fall semester. All of the full-time faculty are coming back and they get first dibs on their preferred timing for classes. David, my boss, asked if I’d be willing to teach a ½ semester course (still 3 credit hours, just condensed inweeks) on Saturdays from 8am to 12pm. Since I still want to teach, already have the materials done for the class, and thought it would give me a nice little break (starting in Oct. instead of Aug) with Nicole coming, I agreed enthusiastically.

When I told my students about next semester's timing last week in my Sales class, they all whined because it was such a bad time. It then dawned on me – who’s going to be awake/sober/motivated enough to come to an 8:00am class on a SATURDAY morning!? I think their predictions will be correct – I’ll probably have a lot of adult students who work full-time in my class and very few, if any traditional undergrads. Not sure how I feel about that.

Other kicker – the semester-long project I had them do (which got rave reviews) will be very challenging to do in an 8 week time period instead of 15 weeks like I did it last semester. The reasoning there is with a 15 week class I could teach them a topic and give them 2-3 weeks after that to get their portion of the project pertaining to that subject together. This class will only allow 1-2 weeks max to compile their work. That’ll be very rough and I suspect the caliber of work I'll get will reflect that. : (

B-I-N-G-O

Last night I had a hot date with another man: Jessy’s husband. Sean invited me to go to St. James with him to play BINGO and finally last night the schedules worked out so we could go. Now I haven’t been to BINGO in a church/hall for probably 15 years if not more. The most recent BINGO I played was on the cruise and that was pretty low-key.

Anyway, BINGO has come a long way since I last played. For those of you who haven’t been recently either, let me catch you up:

1. There were probably 150 people there of all ages which surprised me because I think of BINGO as a blue-hair’s game
2. Fear not, the “fun” people are still there – the awkward woman with her 20 neon plastic bracelets up her right arm, he old man with his troll doll watching over his cards for good luck, the mid-50’s lady who had little tolerance for poor calling because she’s there on a mission (when we played the corner postage stamp rounds she’d yell “No N’s!” when the caller accidentally pulled one)
3. The pad of BINGO cards I got was 3X4 for a total of 12 cards (squares) per sheet. I was probably the person with the least amount of cards in the hall. For comparison, Sean was watching 30 cards to my 12 and was more accurate at getting all the numbers than I was. Total we played 12 total rounds of bingo each having 2 games per round (used the same sheet for the whole round) for a total of 24 games.
4. “Single Line Bingo” isn’t really that at all- you can win with a straight line, corners, large diamond or a small diamond. This threw me at first because I was watching 12 different cards and had to look for several permutations of winning, not just a simple line. A little more complicated than the days of ole…
5. You can spend a small fortune in 3 hours – not only is the church selling the bingo cards (which this month are on special- up to 36 for a flat $10), but they sell special game cards for $1 and tons of pull-tab games at $1 each. I had enough stuff to keep me busy and active the whole time since I'm apparently a BINGO novice, so I only spent about $15 the whole night. I think the average spend per person was probably about $50. What was nice was that unlike so many other entertainment places, you could bring in your own food and drinks. So, I packed my PB&J, granola bar, banana and water, and didn’t need to visit the concession stand at all (though sitting next to it did make me want popcorn- it smelled so good!).
6. No more is the winning card determined by reading out all the numbers they BINGOed with. Now, each card has a serial number and they plug that number into a computer and the computer says whether or not the card’s a winner. Much more efficient I think.
7. I didn’t win anything. Then again, I’ve never won at BINGO. I did come within 1 twice and within 2 (even on the coverall!) a few times. I think Sean was accurate that I had as many close calls as he did, even with the difference in quantity of cards.

I had a good time. Those stampers, a new thing for me, are a riot- I felt very professional using it! I wish, however, that Jim was more interested in going – it would have been more fun with him and Jess there to get us more riled up about being so close and the agony of defeat.

Boob Tube

Jim and I are not big live TV watchers. There are a lot of great and intriguing shows on that our friends, family, and co-workers rave about, we just don’t take the time to see them. Not that we don’t have the time, we just don’t have the time on a scheduled basis that watching a weekly show on a dedicated basis demands. So, instead, we watch TV on DVD.

We started with 24, moved on to The Sopranos, then Deadwood, and now Lost. Let me say that the format of watching is fabulous. No commercials, few time restraints (if we borrow the DVD from the library we get 2 weeks, our generous friends don’t give us such restraints when we borrow from them), and immediate gratification of knowing what happens next on OUR time table.

That being said, we’re in season 2 of Lost and I'm still really enjoying it. I wonder if the format we’re watching it in is helping that – so many others have said that this season in particular is very frustrating, I'm not frustrated at all. Further, since everyone else on the planet it seems is one season ahead of us, Jim and I have heard all kinds of conspiracy theories about the show. I like this too because it makes me consider all kinds of different angles of the whole plot while I'm watching.

Conversely, we ARE caught up in 24 and are watching it on Mondays “real” time and I think this is the worst season so far. My irratation is the opposite of why I like Lost- I think having to wait a week to see what happens is a driver in my overall apathy of this season’s shows.

After this, I think it’s safe to say that I really only have a desire to watch reality TV on prime time (ie The Apprentice, American Idol, etc.). Fortunately, I think Jim feels the same way.

Weekend of 3/2/07

Friday: worked, sold a deal, locked my keys in my car over lunch like the blonde I am, went to Brazenhead with Chuck and Kristi. Those two crack me up. Poor chuck lost in Sequence making his rant of Kristi beating him at everything valid once again.

Saturday: I used part of my Christmas present and got my nails done at the spa up the street. I had acrylic nails for 5 years but his was my first manicure on my real nails. Holy crap did she do a great job. I look at them constantly! If it weren’t $30 a pop (and only about 35 minutes!) I’d go regularly.

I screwed up my timing on my calendar so I was about 20 minutes late to Rachel’s bridal shower that afternoon. This was some of the best shower food of all time – her aunt should go into professional catering! Rachel also got some great gifts and looked beautiful. There were 2 toddler boys there and two other pregnant women, each having a boy. I’ll admit I did feel kinda special that I would be the only one with a girl coming.

That night Jim and I had Sean and Jess over for a game night. Sean kicked our behinds in pretty much everything and the only time I won was when I was partnered with him. They brought us the cutest little outfit for Nicole – it’s blue with white polka dots and a flower at the waist. They also gave us RUFFLEBUTT tights which we had to explain to Jim. ADORABLE.

Sunday: Jim took me maternity shopping which was sweet of him to come along and give me his opinions on things. I got two tops which cost enough for me to use my Macy’s coupon and save $10. I wish there were more things I liked in the price range I'm willing to pay…

The other exciting thing that happened on Sunday isn’t really my news, it’s Jenny’s, so I’ll let her tell it… :)

Week 22

How Your Baby's Growing: Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Your baby's eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks some pigment.

Her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is also developing steadily. Your baby's lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. You won't actually see her first tooth until she's around 4 to 7 months old unless she's one of the rare babies who's born with teeth (1 in 2000 babies is born with a tooth).

My Take: Sarah and Danny got Jim a book, The Everything Father-to-Be Book, to pick up some tips before Nicole arrives. Along with that, he’s been reading the Consumer Reports Baby edition as well. It’s very touching to see him trying to prepare for the baby to arrive, further, he’s now constantly giving me tips (many I didn’t know!) and trivia like “at what age is a kid supposed to…” Last night was when is a kid supposed to stop using a pacifier (1-2 years).

He also did some good research on cribs, strollers, car seats and swings via his books. I think we picked out a stroller model but I want to go back to the store and see/push it in real life before it makes the registry officially.

It ain't easy being green

I am a green nazi. I love trees so much that after a meeting where I petitioned our sales team to electronically submit orders rather than printing them out, a co-worker put a post-it note that said “HUG ME” on the leaf of one of my office plants and set it on my desk for when I returned. I went so far during our office move to collect everyone’s scrap paper that they had initially thrown away and I made Jim lug a 3 feet tall stack of it a half mile from the car to to P&G to be recycled.

Therefore, people who waste paper frustrate me to no end. A guy in my office just printed out a 100+ page cell phone bill so he could get 14 pages of summary out of it. Why it’s not worth 5 extra minutes to go through, find those specific pages and print just them is beyond me. Instead, a ¼ of a ream of paper and X amount of ink was just wasted so he could manually pull them out of the stack and then throw the unneccessary sheets away. Salt in the wound I tell you. The recycling bin is 3 feet away from the trash can and 90% full of my papers since no one else seems to contribute to it.

Sometimes I feel my battle really is a lone, uphill one. No one else, at least in my office where the offences are hourly, seems to care. Somehow though this fact makes me feel like I need to care and conserve that much more to make up for each of the people who don’t.

"Made It"

No one would argue that the world and “today’s generation” is more materialistic than past generations or even “our generation” (which is funny since even I say that in reference to the “youngsters” who are only like 7 years younger than me and are probably technically in MY generation). People seem to feel the need to surpass the success and wealth their parents (a convenient benchmark) accumulated over 25 years as quickly as possible.

Cases in point:
My brother has a friend who has a 100” projection TV. He’s 25.

One of my uncle’s proudest accomplishments is that he pays more in tax than his father made during the highest earning year of his career.

I think deep down we all want to prove we’ve “made it” and that we’re successful at what we do. Material things are a convenient way to showcase that fact. Obviously some people take that too far, end up in debt and while they appear to be well-off, they’re really struggling and emotionally breaking as a result of the stress. I certainly don’t advocate anyone doing that.

I expect that many of us have a “made it” item that they hope to acquire at some point in their lives (whether they want to admit it or not). Something they know indicates success; even if others don’t fully appreciate its value (sometimes that facet makes it even better!). It seems that at Jim’s work, very high-end watches are a common signifier.

I used to think that my item would be an original piece of art. Not a Picasso or anything, but something that cost several thousand dollars and I buy it just because I can and stick it in some room with a museum light over it. The older I get the less that particular acquisition seems important, but the concept of some thing hasn’t died in my mind as something I “should” do. I just haven’t come up with what to replace it with yet…

Movin' on up

I went shopping yesterday and it sucked. My cantaloupes have officially become a nuisance. Normally I wear a medium in clothes. Now that I’ve outgrown most of my normal stuff, I took the opportunity to go shopping yesterday. I found some cute stuff, on sale no less, except that the body of the shirts (where Nicole will grow) is plenty big, it’s just the stupid chest area that is already too fitted and requires the larger size. An Extra Large size to be exact. I know that it’s more important to have clothes that fit and look good and size shouldn’t matter, but GEEZ.

The one positive of the whole experience...
When I called Jim on my way home the conversation went like this:
Me: “I’ll be home in 15 minutes. I stopped to buy dress shirts and I’m unhappy with my body.”
Jim: “What’s to be unhappy about? Your body’s great.”

How wonderful is he!?

Eating Habits

A lot of people have “weird” food-isms.

My grandpa Templin would only eat bananas if they were completely brown (therefore sweet and mushy) whereas other people won’t touch a banana with any significant spotting at all.

My brother Greg mixes cottage cheese and applesauce together before he eats it.

Jim likes his cookies undercooked so they’re still semi-doughy in the middle.

I have my own food-isms too that are probably a little neurotic. I think one of the best inventions in serving are the plates with individual sections for food. That way, I can more easily separate every item on my plate so that nothing touches and therefore sauces/flavors don’t intrude on each other.

I also eat in order. That is, I will eat one item on my plate in its entirety and then move on to the next one; of course never mixing the two in the process. I can take this so far as to eat beef stew item by item- all the carrots first, then potatoes, then meat, etc., even if it’s in the same bowl. There are a few exceptions to this- Chinese food and soup come to mind.

I have conflicting views as to the order of eating at a picnic. Inevitably there are a lot of really good items like baked beans, deviled eggs, etc. Most of the time you also get some kind of sweet item like a Waldorf salad or that green pistachio/pineapple fluff stuff. Which to eat first can be hard to choose– do I eat the sweet stuff first so I'm sure I have room and therefore ensure I get to taste it OR do I eat all the other stuff first and save that for the end so I have a good taste in my mouth when I'm done?? Tough one…

Weekend of 2/23/07

I had an appointment in Dayton Friday afternoon so I got to be treated to lunch by Sarah W on my way back into the office. She’s so sweet! We even got milkshakes at Steak N Shake (special treat!), which I’ve not had a full-sized one of ever.

Jim and I left Friday a bit early from work so we could head up to Spencerville (Jim’s hometown) to have dinner with his cousin Derrick and Derrick’s girlfriend. Jim suggested his favorite restaurant, Red Lobster (yeah, I know some of you are cringing that that is his favorite), and Derrick replied “after checking with Jessie, she has some Catholic crap going on so fish works good.” Ha! “Catholic crap”!

Anyway, we got back to Rusty’s (Jim’s uncle) and slept in until 8:30am. That’s when the real work began. Jim’s uncle helped him TREMENDOUSLY when we redid the bathroom and kitchen, so it was time to return the favor and help him with his kitchen/family room remodeling. Not fun work, but it was good to be able to help.

Rich (Jim’s cousin) brought baby Noah over for us to see. He’s a good baby- very pleasant and such soft skin!

We left at 8:45 to beat the winter storm that was predicted to hit and I drove in probably the worst conditions of my life. The sleet was so bad I couldn’t see the road and semis from the other side of the road kept spraying the car with huge amounts of it. The Erdahls were nice enough to offer us a bed for the night, but it slowed down to rain by the time we hit Dayton so we pushed on through.

This afternoon is the monthly Girls’ Lunch. Sarah W is coming down for it!

21 Weeks (a day early, but I'm going out of town!)

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. If you're having a girl, her vagina is formed now, though it will continue to develop until birth.

My Take: Well, I can feel Nicole moving if I'm being still but it’s definitely “ignorable” if I'm preoccupied with something else. What did make me happy was that during the ultrasound she was VERY active even though I couldn’t feel a thing. It was quite reassuring to know that she’s busy even when I don’t know it.

Other personal progress notes: I’ve gained 9lbs. total (I should be 10-15 according to my books) and they moved my due date up to the Fourth of July.

Nicole’s middle name is currently being debated so any suggestions are welcome! We had initially picked Jeanine which is a combo of my grandmother Jean’s name and Jim’s grandmother’s middle name, Genine. Now Jim’s not so enthused and is leaning towards Elizabeth.

Ultrasound Pictures

Profile

Lookin' Right at You!

and as for what we're having??





** drumroll **







a Nicole.

Unsolicited Opinions

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone’s personal way of thinking about a subject is “right” according to them which means a lot of other people are therefore “wrong” about said issue.

I just got back from my uncle’s office who said “so today’s the big day, huh? You’re still going to find out what it is, right?” in reference to this afternoon’s ultrasound where we’ll hopefully find out the gender of the baby.

Why he, and others, feel the need to blatantly state their opinion of “that’s a mistake” as a follow-up to my “yes we are” answer is beyond me.

Did I ask his/their thoughts on whether or not I should find out my baby’s gender? No, I did not.

Did I ask his/their take on whether or not I was “ruining the surprise?” No, I did not.

So why do people feel they have the right to call out the “mistake” I'm making when their opinion was not requested? I don’t come up to people and say “oh, so you got dressed this morning, huh? Well, what you picked is a total disaster.” Somehow though, this facet of my pregnancy seems to be fair game for unsolicited opinions, often very rudely stated.

Carol’s approach to the matter was right on. When she confirmed that I was going to find out the gender today she said “I wouldn’t want to know if it was my kid”. Great, no problem, I respect that. She also respected the fact that I DO want to know. She was polite and supportive of my decision even though it was different from her own.

I guess the bottom line to this rant is that I’ve been surprised by how many people are really outspoken about this subject when it’s an item I would consider "not your concern". I'm further taken aback by the outright rudeness of the condescending tone that the opinions are given in. It’s definitely made me more aware of keeping my descending opinions to myself, on this and nearly every other subject, until I'm asked.

Weekend of 2/16/07

Some highlights from the weekend:
Friday: Greg and his girlfriend, Holley, came over for dinner. She was very pleasant to have – good conversationalist, got involved in the games, and generally seemed to have a good time! She even admitted she can’t cook at all but offered to help several times!

Saturday: I got an oil change (oh those necessary evils!) and Jim and I ran some errands in preparation for his family to come. When they did we all went to LaRosa’s for dinner and hung out until midnight- way past all our bedtimes!

Sunday: we got up around 8 and I made breakfast for everyone and we got all dolled up for the baby shower. As mentioned, this was the most over-the-top shower ever. Lots of fun though! Here’s the promised video of Jim’s game participation:

20 Weeks - 1/2 Way There!

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system.

She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

My Take: There are several people who have anxiety about the world they’re bringing their child into. Watch the news and it’s enough to give a non-pregnant person heartache about the state of humanity and the planet. I have to admit, I never felt this way. There are a lot of bad people in the world – child abusers, warlords who support horrible environments for the citizens of their countries, people who knowingly pollute the Earth and make it unsafe for others, etc. – but there are so many good people that surround me on a regular basis that I'm not very concerned about all that stuff I have little/no control over.

I also had a really fabulous baby shower this weekend, my first! My aunt and uncle rented a country club, catered in lunch for about 45 people, and had some of the funniest games I’ve ever seen. I’ll post a video of Jim eating baby food later this week. I was crying and laughing so hard I couldn't' keep the camera steady!

Ultrasound is on Wednesday at 4!!

What I've Been Up To

What a week- with a snow and ice storm bad enough to cancel ½ a day of work on Tuesday and all of Wednesday, Jim and I had a chance to start Lost Season 1 on DVD (Thank you, Sean!). I see why people get addicted to it- I'm really intrigued by the whole thing! The disappointing aspect of it is that since we’re watching a season from three years ago, I’ve been privy to all the recent complaining about the series going downhill plot/story-line wise. Disappointing to know it’s not going to get better from here or at least stay par…

Class has been going really well. The students have their first exam next week and I'm sure they’ll all do well. So much of sales is common sense.

My sales though, took a turn for the worse yesterday at 4:00 when I lost a deal I assumed I was going to get. The customer really irked me about it too and I had to walk out of my office to not blow a fuse and call her out on the whole thing when I was emotional (read “super pissed off”) about it. Fear not, now that I'm “more rational” after a night’s rest, I will be calling her today to discuss the matter more thoroughly. I do not take to losing well. At board games or my job.

Speaking of board games, G-Scott and his girlfriend are coming over for dinner and games tonight. On his wish-list: mozzarella sticks, pork loin, ranch potatoes, cranberries, pie, ice cream, etc. I did change my plan on a few items I was thinking of preparing to accommodate my youngest brother. He’s too cute not to, what can I say?

5 Random Things About Me

1. I like wet food. Basically, whatever I eat I want it to be moist so I top it with condiments and sauces like sour cream, gravy, etc. whenever possible.
2. If I have to use a laptop, I use two hands to control the mouse, 1 on the mouse pad and the other on the clicking button
3. I always get at least 8 hours of sleep.
4. I’m nervous about moving into my “grown up” house and am glad I have a few months to get used to the idea
5. I like it just as much as Jim when my girl friends fawn all over his toned, muscular physique

Weekend of 2/9/07

OK, I'm losing my mind because I seriously can not remember what I did 60% of this weekend, namely Friday and Saturday afternoon. I'm sure it was fun. *eye roll at myself*

Saturday Jim and I went to PF Changs for dinner with Erin and Scott – had a good time. I tried the Chow Mein for the first time and it was okay but I don’t see myself craving it any time in the future.

Sunday Sarah W came over and we rode to Lindsay’s baby shower together. Lots of presents, lots of cake, lots of people! She made out like a bandit! On the way home I took Sarah by the lot where our new house will be built and promptly got her stuck on a snowy, icy hill. Love-ly. At least we could laugh about it. At one point I was driving and she was pushing. I was in D and I was still going backwards! Anyway, I got my first taste of how convenient it is to have my parents nearby, we called them and they helped dig us out and help us up the hill.

I made it home just in time to go to our bowling league that evening. We only won 2/4 of the games but that was enough to put us in 4th place out of 15 going into next week! I did not do particularly well, however Dave kicked butt by bowling a 729 series with one game being a 269 (his highest game ever!). It was AWESOME. He only had 3 open frames the entire night! Jimmy did great too with 2 games in the 200’s! Definitely made up for me being off.

Anyway, it’s snowing and freezing rain out and our office closes at 2:00 today as a result. Jim’s home cleaning off the driveway for us (he is the best!!) and I'm going to try to con him into coming here for lunch this afternoon. :)

I'm starting to get a little anxious about the ultrasound next week. I’ve been firm on it being a boy but now that we’re so close to finding out I'm starting to doubt my own predictions a bit...

19 Weeks!

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

My take: The kid is moving but not as much as before. This had me frustrated for a bit and prompted Jim to ask “do you want it to move like every 10 minutes?” Well, duh, yes! How else do I know it’s doing okay!? I'm happy to report it’s moving right now!

I’ve almost run out of clothes. I bought 2 pairs of jeans and have 2 dress pants from Sarah and that’s it as far as slacks go. It’s time to go shopping!

Who's coming to my home?

I read a lot of blogs. Only one is from someone I’ve never met, Katrin from Austria, and the rest are all friends of mine from grade school, high school, college, and the “real world”. I'm sure I'm not the only person to use their own blog page as the hub to get to everyone else’s (by clicking on my friends’ links off my page), but I wonder if others use my page for that same reason rather than their own?

I am surprised when people drop into conversation something they read on my blog about my life when I didn’t know they were readers (I don’t know they read principally because they don’t comment, which is okay too!). I will say, I also am impressed when people I don’t know, like Jim’s co-worker, read along when they’ve never met me! How flattering!!

Sarah’s counter also intrigued me. Chuck pointed out that I have 850+ views on my page over the last year as stated on my profile page (even I didn’t know that information was there ‘til he told me!) but I wonder how many of those are unique individuals on separate days, or if they're the same people multiple times a day like me racking up the tally because I keep bouncing from my page to everyone else’s.

The Bump

Here's me after a long day of work from the front!

Here's the same me from the side!

Snowed Out, then In

The big snow of ’07 hit yesterday. It took my normal 13 minute commute to 1 hour and 28 minutes. Still, while long, it doesn’t frustrate me because everyone else is just as backed up as I am. Further, when there are so many cars on the road they’re going to be bad because salt trucks can’t get through. So, even though I left work early, I didn’t get home until about 5, so it wasn’t that much extra time than normal.

It did, however, feel like a lot of extra time. Jim finished up our taxes, I finished part of Lindsay’s baby shower gift, we ate dinner and watched After the Sunset. It was a neat movie because the protagonists in the flick are thieves and the cop is the “bad guy”. Salma Hayek was the female lead and I’ll admit that even I was in awe of her figure which she kept scantily clad for most of the show. Final rating: B.

After that Jim conned me into watching a second movie, Just Friends. This was cute though kind of quirky. Several good lines and scenes, but a little too cheesy in other places. I gave it a B, Jim gave it an A-.

The kid is moving again though not near as much as before. Perhaps it’s time to pull out the oranges again. I had SEVERE stomach (not abdomen) cramps last night, dead on to some I had in early December that, while very painful when I was vertical, were tolerable when I laid down.

Other interesting news, I was VERY touched and impressed that my brother Greg’s girlfriend reached out to me this week via email in an effort to get to know me better. She even proposed an evening where the four of us (she and Greg, Jim and I) can hang out. I do feel very protective of my little brothers and I am innately skeptical that anyone they date isn’t good enough for them. Jim says I can be intimidating because of this protectiveness and how dear Mike and Greg are to me. Not that my approval means too much to anyone probably in the big picture, but her friendliness and enthusiasm to reach out to me goes a long way. Not that I didn't like her before, but I like her more already!

Weekend of 2/2/07

This weekend, like all of February will be, was a whirlwind. Some highlights:

1. We went to my parents for dinner, cake, and presents for Mike’s birthday on Friday. You can tell Mike just bought a new house- between Christmas and his birthday he’s gone from like 1 screwdriver set to owning dozens of tools, including power tools and a shop vac! M, L and G left to be social not long after presents so mom, dad, jim and I hung out and played cards where I did TERRIBLY.
2. Saturday we took our *&%@! taxes to a CPA to do because we owe $7000+ to the federal government PLUS penalties. This seemed crazy to us and we (Jim) determined we needed to pay to confirm that we really owe that much. Unfortunately, we do. UGH. The source of the problem is that my OLD payroll company never changed me to married status so when we switched and I did, I had too many deductions/exemptions/whatever and I paid that way too little throughout the year.
3. We picked out all the stuff (carpet, hardwood, brick, cabinets, etc.) for the house in “record time” according to our builder rep! Jim and I have very similar taste and had nothing we didn’t agree on!
4. Saturday night we went to Jamie, Jason and Ryan’s for dinner. Ryan, who turns 2 this week, has grown up so much. I still think of him as a baby and he most certainly is not any more. When everyone sat down to dinner and I was using the bathroom, he actually asked where I was by name!! awwwww! Kids always learn Jim’s name (typically pronounced "Jeeeem") first- I was very excited!
5. Sunday was cleaning day and super bowl day. We had 18 of JIM’s friends over (sans Karen) but that’s the tradition and they're my friends too, right? right? We had a good time and ate nearly all the food. I need my dad to come back next year so we have more appetizers!
6. Because of our company, our fridge has 5X more beer in it than normal (normal = 2-3). Jim drank one last night with dinner, something he has no real desire to do other than to clear out fridge space, and didn’t want to finish it. Jim thought I was kidding when I told him what I was going to do with his last 3 inches of brew; I decided to take Rachel up on our SB conversation and wash my hair with the remainder this morning. She (Rachel) had enthusiastically told me she used to do this and it made her hair soft and shiny. I think my hair is about as soft as it is with conditioner and it’s not any shinier, however, it was a breeze to straighten and that made it worth the effort.
7. Kid hasn’t moved much/at all since Sunday and the car seat catching incident. This of course is probably a fluke but now my mind’s going in directions that make me worry… It’s most likely not that something is wrong but more that I’ve been too busy with my own life to notice the little fluttering that’s happening. Still, I have my classical back on today and am hoping for some activity.

18 Weeks- 3 weeks until the Ultrasound!

How your baby's growing: Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

My Take: The more people I see whom I’ve never met or don’t see frequently, the more I'm aware that I must have a small tummy. I apparently don’t look pregnant! While this might be disappointing to some, it’s turned into a funny conversation starter more than anything.

Since we bought the house and now know the timing, we’ve (I’ve) decided not to set up any baby thing except the changing table before we move. It’s only 2 months and it seems silly to set up a full crib when the kid will be in a bassinet in our room for a few weeks anyway. If we get tired of a guest in our room we’ll simply move the bassinet to his/her room for the remaining time.

I got yelled at by the Wal-Mart lady yesterday when I caught the car seat that fell out of the stroller that Jim was lifting. It was only about 10lbs. and I caught it mostly with my arm out of general reflexes, but this lady was all concerned about me just letting it fall. “That’s why we have insurance” she kept reminding me. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but afterwards I realized she was right – I shouldn’t be catching large objects falling 7 feet from the “sky”. Then again, no body probably should...