WHAT is that ticking???

It took me a few days to remember what that rhythmic ticking feeling was.... usually waking me up around 3 in the morning.

I knew it was SP, duh. But either he had an incredible sense of rhythm, or .... DUH the Hiccups! He's been getting them more frequently... not as bad as Evan did, but enough that Mark and Evan have both been able to feel the little jumps.

In other SP news... He's definitely dropping into position... much to my bladder's horror. And I'm pretty sure he's head down. You can easily feel a little leg and foot resting right at the top of my stomach most of the time.

AND has anyone else noticed the counter down near the bottom right of my blog has a horrifyingly LOW number on it??? Someone at work yesterday asked me if I was "ready". Physically, yes. I own blankets and bottles. Mentally, HELL NO! He's much easier to care for where he is, lol!

I guess I had better stop putting off buying Diapers and Wipes, eh?

Suggestions are welcome

I have FINALLY got Mark interested in at least DISCUSSING (seriously) names for SP. We have defiantly decided on the last name... hehe.

Seriously, we're to the point that we MIGHT have settled on a middle name!! (Might being the keyword there). Oh, and don't ask, cause I'm not saying until it's official... which means it will be written in ink on the birth cert.

So, since there are a LOT of names we don't agree on, and I'm drawing a blank because my favorite name has been vetoed (it was vetoed with Evan too), I'm willing to take suggestions.

Here are the rules (okay, more like guidelines, feel free to ignore them if you have a really cool name in mind:

1. Since our last name is so freaking common, it can't be in the top 10 for baby names in the last 10 years.

2. I like short, multi-syllable names.... Ev-An. Co-Lm (the vetoed name, pronounced too close to COLUMN, which my husband says is a building term, not a child's name. Personally, I think COLUMN is something in an spreadsheet, but I'm not arguing AGAINST the name, and don't want to add fuel to the fire.). Something that is easy for a young kid to say and spell. Not a huge issue, but definitely something to keep in mind.

3. Mark is mainly Scandinavian... I am of Irish/English/Scottish decent. Names from those nationalities would be a bonus.

4. Mark is firmly against biblical names. (Which sort of cracks me up, since his first and middle name are both biblical.)

5. My husband refuses to name the child after ANYONE HE KNOWS. (Unless it's a person at least 2 generations removed... therefore, grandparents: good... siblings and people he went to elementary school with: BAD. *shrug* Don't ask me, it's not my rule!)

6. I'm not really too keen on having the name start with an E... unless you really sell me on the name.

7. Neither Mark nor I are big on nick names, for example: if we were to name him the forbidden Joshua (see rule 4) he would NEVER be called Josh.

8. Neither Mark nor I are big on alternate spellings or names that are completely outside of our heritage... What I mean is: If we were to name him the forbidden name Isaiah (again, see rule 4) we would use the traditional spelling, not change the s to a z, or spell it Isayah, etc. And, I love the name Taariq, but since neither of us have any ties in our heritage to anyone/thing remotely Arabic, we're going to skip it. That being said... both of our families have been in the US long enough, there are plenty nationality ties... so suggest away, especially if it's a fairly common name in the US, but remember rule #1.


And if you can come up with a REALLY good argument for Colm, let me know... I've exhausted every avenue I can think of... other than getting him drunk at the hospital when we fill out the birth cert... but I'm not sure how the hospital staff would take that....

For Kathy...

And because she's my oldest, dearest friend, I didn't even put on make-up or do my hair.

And to put it in perspective... you're looking at a 48 inch circumference.

Weeble Wobble

I feel like a weeble wobble... or weeble waddle really. lol.

People keep commenting on my expanding belly... they say it's "cute"... or that I look "great".

It's hard not to respond negatively.

I generally have a hard time with compliments... my friend constantly lectures me, and tells me to smile and say thank you.

It's become very hard with these comments since I feel like, well, a weeble wobble. My skin has stretched to the point that it HURTS, my back is in a permanent sway back, my hands and feet swollen, I'm tired as all get out, and even most of my maternity clothes are now too small!!

I know some women feel "sexy" while pregnant, not me. I stopped feeling "sexy" when I could no longer roll over in bed at night, and instead had to sit up to change positions. (Along with a few other wonderful pregnancy side effects that are just so enjoyable.)

Anyway, so next time you tell a pregnant woman she looks good, and she responds negatively (especially if it's me) don't look at her like she's crazy, don't argue with her, just change the subject.

Oh, and DON'T ask her if she should be "lifting that box." She probably knows exactly what she should or should not carry.

The Doctor and FedEx

First, WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!

My Doctor appointments have been progressively getting worse, lol. Today, the pattern changed!!!

Those of you who don't know... Evan was a trial, lol. I was threatened with bedrest (and basically begged my way out of it), had a random hole in my cervix, and was finally induced due to pre eclampsia.

Thus one of the reasons we waited so long to have a second. I worked my butt off to get myself into better shape, and was so disappointed when at about 16 weeks, things started to follow in the previous pregnancy's footsteps.

BUT, now that the holidays are over, Mark is settling into a new position, the state legislature at least balanced THIS years budget (and it sounds good for our department), the most needed items for baby purchased, and I had a week's worth of dinners made for me and my kitchen cleaned by my mom and sister...

My blood pressure is DOWN!!!! My last appointment was the "If this keeps up, we'll need to discuss options" lecture... this week was "KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!"

Okay, so no stress is allowed between now and my next appointment. Seriously. I'm gonna move into a bubble.

AND when I got home, I found a HUGE box from FedEx sitting on our step. From my wonderful sister-in-law Casey. It was full of baby things (and being the wonderful Aunt that she is, she included a little something for Evan too).

She sent an infant tub, a floor gym, a super cute crib toy, a package of diapers, a bunch of little onsies, BLANKETS (something, this time around, I have almost none of), along with a few other random items. It totally rounded out what we had, and was so fun to go through and touch and hold everything and imagine little SP using each item.

Thank you Casey!!!!

Another Week.

Busy.

That's what this week has been!

Of course, Mark's new job... which as happy as were are, it's been stressful and time consuming getting the schedule and details worked out.

My brother and mom came to visit... which was great. I didn't have a lot of time to spend with them, but they got to spend a LOT of quality time with Evan, and just keeping him busy made things easier on me! (Oh, and having dinner made every night when I got home was a great little perk!)

Work... Yikes. Seems like all I did all week was put out fires.

The little one has been very active the last few days... but it's different active. I'm feeling sharp little elbows and heels instead of massive movements from side to side now that he's running out of room. And he's responding to pokes and sounds from the outside world.

He's still very high, and settled into my back, so while I feel huge, everyone says I don't look 33 weeks. Tell that to my over stretched, itchy skin!

Anyway... I have a ton of pictures to post this weekend... including some projects that I've finished. Promise.

It took EIGHT months...

to come up with the idea of Decaf.

Well, not really... the first 4-5 months, the smell of coffee made me want to hurl.... so I just avoided it. Then, I was like, "I'm not making a whole pot of decaf when Mark won't drink it."

So really, it's taken less than a month of the lovely espresso maker being in the house for me to have the "DUH" moment.

No, I couldn't find decaf espresso, but they did have a nice Kona blend, which tastes and smells just wonderful.

I had a nice latte this morning, with a shot of chocolate. Oh, MAN did that taste yummy!

It's a new year...

and that means what?

lol

Evan just asked me what it means for a new year. We went down the list.

Last year:

He turned five.
He started Kindergarten.
He started reading chapter books.
He learned to fish.

In the new year:
He will be six.
He will get a baby brother.
He will start first grade at a new school.

His response?

"Oh, so the new year means that things are different?"

I guess that sums it up.

So how is this year going to be different??

There will be no "goals" again. Just a list of accomplishments to cross off (52x3 is back).

Work... Work will be a challenge this year... budget cut backs and hiring freezes leave me wondering how this year will turn out, but I know there are things I still want to happen.

Work for Mark... That's a huge question mark. By the end of this year, I just want him to be happy again. It's been a tough two years, the last 6 months have been a real challenge, and I want to see him excited about work again.

Mark and I... Baby will be a big adjustment. I remember when Evan first entered the family, and how hard it was to get back to an US place. I want this one to go smoother... I hope that over the last 6 years, we have grown as a couple enough to make the rebound a little smoother.

Evan and SP (Sweet Pea... until Baby is named, he's SP)... I have no idea how to make the transition from one kid to two easiest for Evan. But it's something we'll need to work on. Suggestions are welcome.

Add to that the laundry, ironing, dishes, toilet cleaning, and everything else it takes to make the household run, and I think we've got a jam packed year.

Not to mention that I want to get Logical Me to take a second seat to IMAGINATIVE Me this year. Last year, I kept pushing that part of me aside to make things "work", however, this year, I want to make it work while keeping that part of me at the forefront... I know for a fact if I stop suppressing that part of me, I will be a happier, more well rounded person this year.

So that's my new year post.

Last of the Triple Digits.

Did you know that today is day 100 until little boy's due date? It's the last 3 digit numbers. That somehow makes tomorrow much more "OH MY HECK THE BABY IS COMING!!!!"

Christmas was my buffer... I just kept telling myself that baby things could wait until after we got through Christmas... we're almost through Christmas, my buffer is almost gone... Excuse me while I freak out a little, okay??

(And I know that I haven't posted the pictures I promised, but I'm freaking out here, hellllOOOOOO!)

Baby Update

Well, we've been expecting this... the ultra sound showed that the little guy wasn't so little. So, today I met with my doc and after a few more measurements.... my due date was moved forward 2 weeks. The new expected date... March 28.

His measurements actually put him closer to done cooking around March 14th, but due to the fact that Evan was so big, and my family has a history of large kids, he split the 4 week difference and moved the date 2 weeks with a promise that he wouldn't let me go too far over my date.

Anyway, it was cool to jump from 22 weeks to 24 weeks in 5 mins! Third trimester... here I come!!!

It's a ...

BOY!!

It's Sunday

My husband says it's too early for Christmas stuff. He wants to know why I didn't put up Thanksgiving. I told him I didn't have any Thanksgiving... he didn't believe me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting up the Christmas Tree, but I did get out the snowmen and wreath... and one stocking to hang by the wreath. Evan picked out a Santa to hang on his door and his Santa hat.

The Baby gets really active when I have the computer on my lap... Not sure if it likes it, or doesn't... but it kicks and moves a lot.

Speaking of the Baby... the U/S is scheduled for this coming Friday. Hopefully he or she is not shy!

Evan is currently shining a flashlight down the heating vent... he said it doesn't look good. He can't feel the heat, so it must be broken.

Evan has been making "Jets" all weekend. Not paper airplanes, but using scissors and glue to cut out jets... then little men for soldiers.

As Promised...

A Belly Picture!




I'm at 17 weeks, 5 days.
Any bets on when I won't be able to tie my shoes??

Sporadic at best...

That's what my postings will be for the next while I suppose. Every time I start to think I've got a handle on things, something throws us off again, lol!

On to the good stuff...

We hired someone, she starts on Monday, YEAH!!!!!! We're really short staffed this week, down an employee, and one other on vacation, perfect timing for a snafu to be blown out of proportion by the media!! ( http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=4583494 )

As IF his mail man actually has TIME to look at the return labels on his MAIL!! Anyway, because of this, combined with our own error (the letters were from the wrong batch (and there were a total of 2000), and are a repeat of a letter we sent a month ago, which seems like a bigger error than the envelope) the phones have been flooded! Hopefully tomorrow they will start to tapper off.

Evan and I went down to Castledale this weekend to scrapbook with my friend Robyn. We had a blast. Evan was a champ and did great on his own, allowing me to actually get some scrapping done! I will post some pictures this weekend... promise!!

Mark spent the weekend with Rick, Robyn's husband, riding around looking for deer. Even though Mark didn't have a tag, he went with Rick to help him stalk.

Baby is doing great. We heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago, and there is just one! I was beginning to worry with the size of my stomach! Even though I'm only up about 7 lbs, my stomach is so much larger than it was with Evan... which I know is suppose to be typical, but seriously, it's huge!

Okay, that's it for now, I've got to go read with Evan... and then get some sleep!

Update

hmmm.... what can I tell you...

Evan is doing amazing in school! The speed at which he is picking up reading is just amazing to me. He's really getting used to the long days thanks to the 4 day work week. His good friend Gio stayed the night last Thursday, and that was his first official sleep over! What happened to my little baby???

We pulled the trailer down off the mountain last weekend, and Mark listed it on KSL (free local classifieds) and it sold within 12 hours!! We had decided it was getting to small, and with a baby on the way, it was WAY to small for next summer! I'm not sure if we'll get a nice tent or another trailer for next season, but either way, it was the perfect time to sell with the hunt starting this weekend!

Speaking of the hunt, my husband hesitated too long and didn't end up with a single tag this year... that means no dead deer that we end up giving away!

As for me...

Work is going well... I've been in my position now for a year, and I can't believe how much it's changed... for the good. I'm short staffed again, but we're interviewing (finally) on Monday. We had 104 applicants for a customer service position! They "narrowed it down", and we are interviewing 31 people.

The baby is growing... none of my pants fit! This happened a LOT faster than last time. The sick is still there, but it's getting manageable. And I'm starting to feel a little less tired.... can't wait until that rumored energy from the second trimester kicks in!!

Well, that's all for now I suppose!

Yikes...

Sorry it's been so long. Life started spinning really fast, lol.

Evan started kindergarten... and is READING. He has reading homework every night, but even though it's time consuming, it is so fun to sit with him while he discovers something so amazing. He still says he hates school... but he can't WAIT to pull out his reading bag as soon as we get to the car.

I'm doing okay, other than the extreme fatigue and the vomiting. Everything is sort of settling into a schedule though, so I'm finally starting to feel slightly in control again.

It's all I can do to keep the house from falling in around our ears, and cooking is beyond me right now (smells... I don't remember this horrid smelling thing from last time)... oh and the excessive saliva... what is that about??

Sorry to turn this into a post about weird pregnancy side effects, but that's what my life is about right now!

Sorry... There is a reason I've been absent...

The reason: I'm tired. And I'm sick.

And that may not seem like much of a reason... but the REASON I'm tired... and I'm sick... is...

Are you sitting down???

Really, I think if you know me, and don't already know what I'm about to say, you should pull up a chair, and maybe put down anything you have to drink so it doesn't spill....

I'm... Well... A picture is worth a thousand words I suppose....

Seriously...

If you spill grape juice on white carpet, it's NOT my fault.

You are soley responsible for snorting soda through your nose...

Or falling from your full standing height and banging your chin on your computer desk.

The due date is around the 7th of April. And yes, we did it on purpose. I claim temporary insanity.