Award, Pics

Tiffany over at To A T gave me an award a few days ago, that I am just now getting to!



Now I am ready for some good ole lemonade.....Here are a few rules.....
1.Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post
2.Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude
3.Link to your nominees within your post
4.Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5.Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award
And my Lemonade Award goes to....

I don't think I can pick 10 without re-tagging, and I might be re-tagging anyway! But, here are some that came to mind:

Mrs. Spit
babysmiling
Natalie
Katie
Brandi

And, further in lieu of a real post, here are a couple of pictures.

1. My seed-starting setup. You see a couple of examples of my paper pots (the soil holds down the inner flaps). I may fill them up in the next couple of days. Inside the towel are individually labeled zip locks with soaking seeds. Beneath all of it is a heating pad.



2. The new baby carriage! Note: I just couldn't crop out the daffodils coming up in the lower-left corner.

Spring Break!

I should be grocery shopping, but a post is long overdue! All is entirely well. If it was any more well I would dissolve into a puddle of wellness.

I've resolved my fluids dilemma for now with Tang and Ovaltine (no, not mixed together). I'm diluting them generously to avoid sugar overload. So far so good. I've also just now succeeded at baking a nice batch of bran muffins (with a sprinkle of raisins and walnuts). They are actually edible, and on my first try! I munched two right away.

We picked up our new car Monday night. It is so cute, I love it. I'm going to get used to it all too soon. I've been calling it the baby carriage. At some point down the road, if all goes well, DH will occasionally need to keep the new car while I work because he will have baby errands. It will be strange to drive our old car. :)

I made my first maternity purchase at Target yesterday, a BeBand (bella band substitute). I don't have to use it yet, but that day is approaching, especially after eating at Olive Garden for dinner last night. :p I would estimate my weight gain to date at an average of 3 pounds, though I feel rounder and heavier in many respects. We also bought new pillows (DH likes the 2nd most expensive kind in existance!) so our old pillows are going to form the first pillars of my sleep support system.

My only "poor me" at the moment (*insert flogging for being a whiner here*) is impatience. I want to feel movement, it has been a whole 17 days since we saw our stickie moving on the ultrasound. Who knows what's going on in there now? My other impatience is gender identification. I'm a convicted planner, and I want to plan dangit. Though I admit, girl or boy, lavender is going to play a role. I'd also like to look pregnant instead of like I've been a glutton.

I'm aware I have an bloggish award out there somewhere, I will have to see to that soon!

Wheels

I must admit last week was fun. We have over 100 people who pop in and out of the office, so many of them were not around for the big announcement on Monday. It seems there were a couple people each day that I told, or that "found out" and were happy and thrilled.

All is quiet on the oven front. I'm trying to be healthy and hanging out in the holding pattern. I've been very thirsty lately, and water really isn't my most favorite drink. Milk and juice only get me so far. I'd probably be sucking down green tea if it were not for the folic acid absorption issue. I've tried throwing honey and lemon at my water with modest success. Next I may try some gatorade drink mix.

I have bloating that comes and goes, but no real bump. I can find my uterus when I look for it, but it isn't making itself incredibly obvious just yet. I'm impatient for showing and movement. I will post belly pics once I have one that shows some difference from my first pic.

It was funny, apparently my dad has started badgering my mom about when she's going to get on with planning a baby shower. He also wants to go shopping. I think its cute my dad is almost/even more excited than my mom.

Last but not least, the title of this post. This weekend we are car shopping, hoping to officially buy next weekend. Our current car is 11yrs old, cracked windshield, no air conditioning, golf cart that would collapse at the first sign of collision with the monster trucks that drive around here. So, we're aiming at a Honda Fit. Still small and economical, with more doors, a/c, and safety. I'm excited!

The world knows + u/s pic

We told my mom and dad last night.  I wore a shirt to work today that said "Baby Loading..." with a progress bar.  :)

First, my parents. This will be their first grandbaby, and DH and I have been married for 9 years.  So, yes, they were thrilled.  I had the pretense of bringing over a flier my dad asked me to make.  I gave him a copy of the flier, and my mom a copy of the ultrasound. She said, "Is this you???"  She was jubilant, they both are.  Though she said I should have told her, she would have been there for the u/s.  Sorry mom, it was wierd enough having DH there for my pelvic exam and vaginal ultrasound.  I just told her I wanted to be sure everything was okay first.  She can come to the next abdominal ultrasound.

Then, she was all about baby names.  Apparently she'd be thrilled if a grandchild was named after her nickname.  Sorry mom, don't think so. Yes,  we have names picked out, no we aren't telling anyone (even the anonymyous-net) because you'd all think the names are wierd, or would want to steal them.  I did tell her not to worry too much, we have standards.  1. Easy to spell.  2. Easy to pronounce. 3. Don't BEG to bemade fun of.  Then I deflected by asking what SHE wanted to be named.  Nana T-, I like it.  :)

At work today it was all surprised and happy hugs and joy.  Though a couple of the more observant ladies noticed I'd seemed a little more run down than usual lately.  The big shocker, even my boss was happy.  He didn't flinch too much at the date either.  Though later on he was talking to people (very much tongue in cheek) about allowing me only 2 weeks off and setting me up a workstation at home and a crib at work. :p  That reminds me, I tried to call HR today, but my HR lady was out.

I feel on the edge of... not a freakout but... something... now that everyone knows.   It is starting to sink in, not for real but for surreal.  It's as if I'm beginning to take steps out of the life I've known and into someone else's. Figuratively, my skin does not quite feel like my own.  I'm looking into the mirror and seeing someone else's face.  I'm waking in the morning to live someone else's life. I have no doubts that I'll adjust, adaptability is one of my strong suits.  These are interesting times.  This is why:

Baby Inside!

Pics later, I either have to take them with my camera, or sneak them in to work where I can use the scanner.

In retrospect, I feel lucky our appointment happened! Their office had 3 doctors out, so my OB was covering and busy.  When we arrived he was delivering a baby at the hospital next door, so the official part of the appointment started an hour late.  In the mean time, the nurse took my weight and BP, and we talked to the billing lady and had to sign a contract.  Finally, my Dr was available.

He did the exam, and felt my uterus.  Yep, its that growing hardness beneath my belly button that I was wondering about.  Next he hooked me up for the  transvaginal ultrasound.  Wow!  It was sooo cool.  The baby squirmed, rubbed face, waved, kicked etc while its little heart beat away at 165 bpm.  I was glad DH was there to see it all. They left us with 5 pictures, which are awesome but don't even compare to the live motion view.

I mostly just stared in awe, smiling, nodding and trying remember everything my Dr. said.  He said all looks well, "perfect" even and that we'd probably hear him say that many times throughout the pregnancy.  I hope he's right.  I am really happy with my OB, and glad he was able to get to us before he had to rush off and deliver baby #5 for the day (and I overheard that there would be a C-section after that). Next appt in 4 weeks.

So, unfortunately, my parents won't both be in the same place (and awake) until Sunday evening, so I'll have to wait to tell them then.  I plan on breaking the news to my poor boss on Monday. :)

To Do List:  Get my u/s pictures digitized, and take another belly pic, and post all of the above.  I guess I'm not "just" bloated after all.

Three.More.Days

Just random kvetches and gripes, nothing to see here!

Now I'm second-guessing what I thought I heard at the office.  I'm pretty sure the nurse said they have a smaller less-sophisticated ultrasound they will use at my next appointment.  But, the appointment schedule sheet says the next appointment is when I hear fetal heart tones.  So... maybe she actually said doppler instead?  But maybe not.  I don't know, I'm confused. Three more days, no regular symptoms. I hope there's a somebody in there, alive and well in a comfy womb.  

I'm also a little glum due to daylight savings.  DST is mostly just a hindrence for those who work at "it.hurts.o'clock" in the morning.  My morning sunrise has been pushed back a month. :(

Oh, the new blanket of snow really wasn't helpful for my mood either.  We had just gotten rid of the dirty icy remains of our monster winter.  But, it isn't done with us yet.  1-3 more inches tonight, hmf.  

I'm thankful for...  being pregnant, a busy/occupying occupation that compensates us fairly, good snow tires, a loving DH, and a president who appreciates scientific inquiry and its role in developing public policy.

10w2d, Appointment ETA 7 days

Nope, my appointment isn't here yet. It has been forever-ish, like running a marathon through a foot of cold peanutbutter.  I've stocked up plenty of comp-time to make next Thursday a half day. Now, it just has to get here.  I really should've saved up some of that patience I squandered during various two week waits.

Anyway, there are far worse things. :)

One kind of disturbing thing today was an uncomfortable dizzy spell I had at work.  I haven't had an issue like that in years.  Though I used to let my blood sugar get a little low occasonally in my late teens/early 20s.  

We were watching a copy machine demo, in a crowded stuffy hot room, no chairs. I tried shifting my weight, marching in place, bending my knees, popping a vitamin C drop, but I could feel the room closing in and my vision was getting sparkly.  I discreetly scooted out into the hall and around the corner where I found a comfy chair to rest in, and made like I was making some notes.  When I felt well enough, I visited the drinking fountain down the hall, used the restroom, and took another drink.  I rejoined the gathering feeling much better.

I need to remind myself to eat more protein I spose.  I had a stick of cheese with lunch, and there were some legumes in my soup, but probably not nearly enough.  I'll have to fix that for tomorrow.

Now, its off to my Yoga/Pilates class. I'm definitely going to take it easy.

A Nerdy PG-Free Post

So, I've been hoping to spend some quality time with CivIV:BTS (a turn-based strategy game on the computer).  But, as I've mentioned before, my computer keeps crashing. I've always been suspicious about the temperature, which is why I run with my case off.

Today I finally installed some software to monitor my CPU temp, and fired up Civ.  Sure enough, after ~20 minutes the screen froze.

I restarted and checked the log to see 94 degrees CELSIUS (over 200 degrees F for my fellow Americans). Were it not for all of the electrons floating around, I could nearly use my cpu to boil water. No wonder my system hasn't been stable. 

Now, what to do about it...  

A. Give up on Civ

B. Get an extension cord so I can plug in an external fan to blow on my computer.

C. Surf around for a more uber cooling system for my poor CPU.  If COMP-USA was still here I'd just go pick one up... I really liked shopping with them for parts because I knew I could take things back without shipping them.

I guess I'll do A until I can do B and then if B doesn't solve it or come summer time when I'm sure it will be more of an issue I'll try C.

I'm getting close to being in the market for a new computer, a laptop this time, but alas... I am waiting for Windows 7.  In the words of micro$oft, I'm a PC.  I'm a PC because that's what I've always used, because that's what I use at work, because I have an unnatural right-click attachment, and because Linux is not mainstream enough just yet. 

While I'm doing A, I guess I'll do more reading.  A coworker gave me a book called Islandia, perhaps I'll like it. I really haven't been picky about reading material lately, so I'm hopeful.