Remodel, Remodel, Remodel

Well who would have thought that ripping out our kitchen and not really having a place to cook or clean would be fun, right? Well it hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be, although it is taking longer than Steve thought, which I do have to throw my 'I told you so' in there. But it's been fun. I've actually got to help out on a few things. Steve won't let me do a lot but I've got to help with the floor and now I'm helping with cutting the wood for the cabinets. I really only had to leave a couple of days because of the spray texture and painting going on, but it did give me an excuse to go to the movies. I've seen a few this Holiday season.

The new floor looks really good against the color of paint Steve picked out. I do have to say that he does have an eye for that kind of thing. We also got to pick out new light fixtures and faucets and we even found a new ceiling fan with various shades of pink for Sadie's room. Don't worry the reverse side of the blades are blue just in case. HA!

That's been the on going joke at our house the last couple of weeks is what if Sadie is not a Sadie. Well we've decided that we'll take two outfits to the hospital a boy and a girl outfit just in case. I've officially started having Braxton Hicks contractions and yesterday was the most ever. So we at least know we are progressing nicely. Wednesday we have a doctor's appointment and we will start the stress testing then. We won't have an ultrasound like we thought on Wednesday their ultrasound is broke so I will be going to Quest on the 11th for the ultrasound. The stress testing will be twice a week and it is just basically monitoring the babies heart beat.

So I've decided I better get everything washed and organized. So I'll be working on that this next week when Steve goes back to work on Wednesday. He is only working two days this week so the other days we will be working on the kitchen. He is really excited about being able to do this himself and he has all kinds of new ideas for the bathroom cabinets and other projects around the house. So I'm glad we did it this way. And it really hasn't been too bad. Just cluttered. Hopefully we will have the stove hooked back up and the new kitchen sink in by the end of the week so I can have a semi functioning kitchen. As well as the fridge back in it's spot so we can actually use the sliding door. The good news is we were able to get rid of a lot of junk we had stored in the cupboards and now we will have a ton more space. Steve has been taking pictures at the end of each day so I'll post a couple when we are through. I kinda of liked having a completely empty kitchen. It made it look so much bigger, although it's just not practical.

Oh Happy Anniversary Shane and Suzanne! Just wanted to get that plug in there! I'm horrible and didn't send a card this year! I swear my brain is not functioning and it just keeps getting worse.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'll be lucky if I last until 10:30 or so. But I hope everyone has a safe and fun New Year's.

Happy Holidays

Well we had a Doctor's appointment on Thursday. My cervix is still closed and her heart beat was strong. We go back in two weeks for an ultrasound to start the measuring. After that we start seeing the doctor every week. We also start stress testing. It sounds worse than it is though. The doctor said that twice a week I will have to go to the hospital and they will basically monitor the baby's heart beat as well as mine. He also said this is normal procedure for a "Non Typical" pregnancy. The doctor was happy with my sugar levels and I even lost 4 pounds according to their scale. My scale I lost a pound. I tend to go by my scale only because I weigh myself the same time every week before eatting and the doctor's office is usually late in the afternoon and the weight can vary depending on how much water I've drank or what I've had to eat that day.

We got to go to Pasadena on Friday and visited a woodworking store. We got a lot of stuff for Steve's cabinet project. Also last Thursday was Steve's work Christmas party at the Hungry Hunter. Yesterday Steve worked in the garage getting it ready for all the construction. Then we went to the Goree Christmas Party. I miss visiting with family and it was a nice night. Everyone was happy to see us and talk about the baby. I had run into Nick and his wife Chrissy at Costco on Wednesday and got to see their 4 month old boy Beau. He is really cute. I got to visit with Chrissy on Saturday night and she is really sweet. She was really encouraging about the labor process and actually described what a contraction felt like to me. I thought I had one at Costco on Wednesday but it looks like it was a cramp in my side from walking around too much.

Today Steve pulled out our old fridge and put in our new fridge by the back door. Tomorrow he will actually start the demolition of the kitchen. Ok maybe even some of it today. I'll be hiding out in my room watching movies I think this week. I don't want to get in Steve's way and I don't want to bug him.

I woke up Friday with a sore throat and stuffy nose. So I'm back on the robitussin and resting. Tomorrow if I'm feeling better we might go see the new National Treasure Movie. But we will have to see. I went to Church this morning even though I don't feel well at all. But it's Christmas afterall and what would Christmas be like if you don't go to Church? We already are not having any Christmas decorations up and I've not watched all my traditional Christmas time shows. I think I might do that tomorrow. I still have Steve's presents to wrap so that will give me something to do besides sleeping! Although that's probably what I should be doing anyway.

Mom and Dad have decided to wait until Sadie is born to come down. I think that is a wise decision although I'd love to spend some time with the boys. It's just a lot of traveling for them and it's also very expensive. So it's just Steve and I again this year, which I'm kind of happy about since I'm not feeling well. I'm not a very good sick person especially when I can't really take the strong stuff!

We are almost done with Sadie's room. We have a few decorative things to finish and also to move the rocking chair into her room but we are going to wait until after Steve is either done with the kitchen or he goes back to work. Whichever comes first.

Well I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and remembers the reason for the season.

My Newest Favorite Links

Ok so yesterday Steve had me look up Paul Potts on you tube. Apparently he had watched this video clip during a diversity training at work and thought I would like it. I had heard of him and even heard him sing the National Anthem at the New York Giants/Miami Dolphins game in London, but when I watched his audition for Britian's Got Talent I was left speechless (shocking I know) and in tears (also shocking). Now call it hormones or just a wonderful voice but I cried throughout the entire thing.

I hope you enjoy it too...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA oh and by the way he did end up winning the competition. Oh and believe it or not this was the other favorite in the competition a 6 year old girl with a beautiful voice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkcE6Vy-e6c

Maternity Leave or is it Eternity Leave?

Well Friday was my last day of work until April 2008 or so. This last week has flown by. Steve worked in Paso Robles a few days but found out he won't be going back over there at least until after the new year. Saturday was my work Christmas Party and we had a blast as usual. Lots of people socializing some with help of good old alcohol but it was a nice party. I got my Christmas bonus on Friday which we promptly spent on tools for the new kitchen. We have decided instead of going to IKEA and getting the cabinets Steve is going to build them himself. He is very excited about this project and he has 12 days off starting this Friday so he will be able to get a lot if not most of it done. (We hope!)

Friday night we started our Shopping Spree at Sears in the mall. I can not believe how people act at this time of year. It's supposed to be the cheerful and friendly but I couldn't believe the number of grumpy or down right mean people. We got a few things for the cabinets and them we got a couple of outfits for Sadie and movies and a Salad shooter for Mommy. YEAH! I've missed my Salad Shooter! Merry Christmas to me! Saturday was a full day starting at 8:30 am when we went to Home Depot to see if they had a special book Steve was looking for about making Cabinets. Then we went to Beale park and picked up our first organic Veggie Basket. Steph Foulger introduced us to this program and every week we get a basket of organic fruits and veggies for only $17 bucks. It's great. Then we went to the Habbitat for Humanity Sale aka IKEA sale and got a new dresser for Sadie's room. It's a bit wider but shorter than the one we were going to use which is nicer for me since we are using it as a changing table as well. After that we took what we had home and promptly went to Barnes and Nobles and Steve found a couple of books and I found the dice game Farkle. Great Grandma Johnson loves this game and I'd never seen it packaged before so I got it for us. Then we went to CompUSA which is going out of business to see if there were any good deals and the sale is only at 10% still, but we got Steve a computer game he had been anxiously waiting for but holding off on getting for money purposes. Merry Christmas to him! Then we went to Sears and got some more stuff for the cabinets and then went home. As you can imagine I was pretty wiped so I promptly fell asleep. An hour later afraid of running late I got up and started getting for the Christmas Party. There we stayed until about 10:30pm. We didn't get to sleep until midnight so I was completely wiped this morning. So we have been working on Sadie's room and Steve has also started putting some of his big tools together.

This week is pretty low key and I'm so glad I don't have to work. Tomorrow I'm planning on mailing my nephew's Christmas presents and also the remaining Christmas cards. I guess at some point I'll have to go to the grocery store since we didn't make it there this weekend. Wednesday I'm going back into work because Papa Jim is cooking Steaks for lunch and he has invited me to come. Then on Thursday is our next doctor's appointment as well as Steve's Christmas party. Then Steve is off on Friday so we will begin the cabinet making. Saturday is the Goree Christmas Party which I'm really looking forward to. I can't wait to see everyone and be with Family.

So hopefully Thursday we will have an idea on how big Sadie is but I don't know that they will do a measurement this time or after the 1st. We will have to see.

Eight Month Check Up

Well Thursday was our eight month check up. Sadie's heart beat was strong and loud. The doctor even commented on it. We discussed maternity leave options and this coming Friday, December 14th, 2007 will be my last day at work. The doctor then reviewed my blood sugar levels. He was pleased with my levels after eatting and said I'm doing a good job. However my fasting levels were still really high. So he put me on 10 units of insulin just at night to help sustain my levels. He said it's nothing I'm doing because I'm sleeping but he doesn't like the numbers. So we went to Costco and got my insulin. I'm not a stranger to needles so it hasn't been a big deal. I had to go back in on Friday for another two hour fasting test. I was there at 8:30am and was able to run a bunch of errands while waiting the two hours. I was able to pre-register at the hospital (San Joaquin Community Hospital) where I'll be delivering Sadie. And I was able to get a bunch of Christmas shopping done as well. Our next Doctor's appointment is on the 20th of December.

Yesterday we went to Target and got a couple of cute outfits for Sadie and exchanged a couple of outfits for larger sizes. We also got a couple of things for the baby's room. Steve worked really hard yesterday and finished switching the closets. All he has to do now is put the closet rod up and I can start organizing her clothes. Things are coming together.

Next weekend is all about clearing the kitchen cabinets. Goodwill here we come! After that Steve will start the demolition on the kitchen cabinets. It's our goal to have them done by the end of the year. The 21st of December we will be going to IKEA to pick up our new cabinets and that way Steve can work on putting them in during his time off at Christmas.

We are determined to have most if not all of the unfinished projects done around the house before Sadie arrives and since it looks like it will be sooner than the 30th it's kind of lit a fire under us. The most frustrating thing for me is I can't really do a lot. But as most of you know I'm pretty good at planning things, so I guess that will be my contribution.

Last night I was able to go to Paula's for a Christmas party and had a really great time. There was lots of food and great company. We did a gift exchange and just enjoyed each other's company. This morning I was not feeling well, emotionally and physically. I'm just relaxing today and trying not to worry about what I can't do. That's been the hardest thing for me is seeing everything that needs to be done but not being able to do it or not having the energy to do it. Oh well, it won't be much longer.

Luckily this next week is not too busy so I'll be able to enjoy my last week of work and not get to stressed running around. Steve has a work Christmas Lunch this week and I have my work party on Saturday. Lots of fun and socializing.

Etna Baby Shower

While we were in Etna, Mom threw me a baby shower so family and friends from up north could share this special and long awaited event. We had it at Grandma Johnson's house, who by the way just turned 96 years old on the 4th of November. I got to visit with old friends from High School, Carrie, April & Amy were all able to come. It was nice. I got to visit with friends from Church as well. Steve's sister Karina, niece Alyssa and Mom Judy were all able to come as well.

We played four games which was fun, then I got to open presents while everyone had Grandma Facey's awesome cake. I too was able to have a slice after we cleaned up. I got a lot of cute clothes and bedding and bath stuff. Everything I need to have a styling daughter.

It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to share pictures of Sadie with everyone!

Thanksgiving 2007

This Thanksgiving we were able to go up to Etna and spend an entire week. It was nice. I wish I could have spent a little more time with my family though. Steve and I were able to take the dogs in the mountains every day and let them run. As you can see one day there was actual snow we got to go and play in. It was beautiful.

I didn't do too bad with the food although I had a couple of spike meals...I love my Papa's Fruit Salad. It killed me though. I was able to have two meals of buck steaks and gravy! YUMMY! I was also able to have pancakes too. We went to Dotty's and I had my 1/2 of a cattleman's sandwich with curly fries and cheese. It was delicious. Then of course we had two Thanksgiving dinners. Both were delicious. And believe it or not I only gained one pound the entire week. I walked alot in the mountains and after one big meal at Papa's I walked down to Steve's parents house which helped my blood sugar levels.

I miss Etna and I'm happy we were able to go home for a few days. Next trip will be in March for Easter to have the baby blessed. Things are changing so very fast now it's hard to keep up.

Newest Pictures

Well here she is...these are the newest pictures. We had our 3D Ultrasound on Thursday, the 15th of November. She was more cooperative than the last time. We found out that she is a thumb and toe sucker and at one point she had both in her mouth.

She is still really active which is good. We have a doctor's appointment on the 6th of December and so we will hopefully have a better idea of how big she is. I am ready to be off work and ready to take a nap when I want. But whether or not that will happen in the next couple of weeks is uncertain at this point. We will discuss that on Thursday.

We got a stroller/car seat combo yesterday as well as the bassinet/playpen. So now we are ready for her to come. We also got a bathtub and changing table pad so we are slowly getting ready. We still have a lot of stuff to get but it's not as important as the stuff we got yesterday. Susan is throwing me a shower in January so we won't get anything else until after then.

Happy Veterans' Day!

Ok first I want to say Happy Veteran's Day to everyone. We have lots of Veterans in our family and I just want them all to know how very proud I am of them for serving their country for us. I believe that this holiday gets overlooked too much and I just want to share my appreciate and love to all those who have served and who are currently serving.

Baby Showers are fun! You know I never actually thought I would have a baby shower. I love throwing them for other people but it's just as fun when you have them for yourself. Today was my first baby shower. It was thrown by two great friends Katie and Dawni. It was held at where I work. We had quite a lot people there and some even brought their babies which I was so happy about. Katie and Dawni did a great job and I am really thankful to the both of them. We got a lot of neat things that I know we will both need and use in the future. We got a couple of really cute outfits, a boppy pillow, and a whole bunch of other things that were on our registry. Someone even made us a diaper cake with disney diapers and a stuffed Mickey Mouse as a topper. It is really cute. I am so thankful for everyone who came and for their thoughtfulness. We put everything in the crib and the weekend we get back from Etna we'll try and start organizing.

Today marks the beginning of one of our busiest weeks since going to Thousand Oaks for the invitro. Tomorrow is really the only day that we don't have something going on and knowing me something will come up. But this week we also get to go back to the 3D ultrasound place and hopefully get better pictures and a dvd of Sadie. That is the thing I am most waiting for. Wednesday we have our monthly appointment with the Dr and I also have to do any laundry we will be taking up north. Saturday we are leaving bright and early so we can hopefully make it to Redding for lunch. I am looking forward to getting out of town and to go home. It's been too long and I can't wait to just get up there and relax and not think about anything or have to do anything. 6 more days and counting.

My blood sugar has been fine and I was even able to have a large portion of Steve's lasagna he made for the shower today and it didn't make my levels go up at all. I think we are getting the hang of everything. Last Thursday I had to go into the Dr's office for a 2 hour blood test and I weighed myself on their scale and according to the Dr's scale I had lost 9 pounds since the 31st of October which was the last time I was in the office. So that brings my total weight gain approximately 17 pounds which is not bad for seven months. I'm hoping that with sticking to this diet that I'll lose some more. Just as long as I don't lose too much that it is bad for Sadie. But the doctor assured us that me losing some weight would not harm her. We are also going to try and stick to the diet/plan after Sadie is born as well. I think this was just the nudge that we needed to get everything back under control. And to be honest it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Although I am looking forward to the occasional treat after Sadie is born.

Since this week is so busy and we are traveling next weekend I may not update my blog until we get back after Thanksgiving. So I want to wish everyone a fun filled and safe Thanksgiving. And I give everyone permission to have a slice of pie for me.

Food Glorious Food!

Well I met with the diabetes nurse coordinator on Friday morning. I watched a movie about gestional diabetes and met with the nurse and went over what I should be doing. Bascially I am a restricted carbohydrates diet. Which I knew was going to happen. Yesterday was the first full day with the new regime and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I did however end up drinking more water, if that is even possible. Basically I am allowed 15 gms of carbs for breakfast, 45-60 gms for lunch and dinner and I'm allowed two snacks of 15 gms plus a protein. I am supposed to try and not have a snack in the morning, but in the afternoon and evening time. Which that part I'm having a hard time with. I'm not a big snack before bedtime person but I do get major hungry around 10am or so. That's going to be the biggest adjustment I think, besides the small portion of carbs for breakfast. I just have to find the right combination of foods to fill me up for the same amount of carbs.

For example yesterday I had 1/3 cup Honey Nut Cheerios and 1/4 cup milk for breakfast. That's it. I was so shocked at the portion size I even took a picture for my records. But today I was able to have three 3 eggs and a slice of toast. Eggs are free no carbs, so all my carbs came from the piece of whole wheat toast I had. I am a lot fuller this morning than I was yesterday.

I finished one of Sadie's afghans yesterday. It turned out really cute. It's just pink and simple. No fancy patterns for this girl just a simple single crochet. But I did add a bit of flair and put fun fur around the edges so she has something to tickle her nose with. This blanket is for the car seat and no it's not going under her it's just for covering her up with when we go out. It's not very big just big enough for the car seat. I am still working on the bigger afghan. I'm making 12 squares of 6 different colors and crocheting them together. It will look cute (I hope) when it's all through. I still have 6 squares to go.

This week we start our birthing classes. I'm really excited about it. Although the diabetes nurse said I will more than likely end up having a c-section because of my size and the fact that I have gestional diabetes which if not controlled can cause the baby to be really large. I'm hoping that I can still try and have her natural but that may not be the case. Because I'm controlling my diabetes. We are hopefully going to go and tour the facility this week too and get pre-registered. Everything is happening very quickly now and I'm starting to get a little nervous. But I think I will feel a lot better after the birthing classes and I have a little bit more insight to what is going to happen. I have two baby showers this next weekend so we will have more of an idea of what we will need to get. So I will feel a bit more prepared...I think that is one of my biggest problems right now is I don't have a lot of stuff and I'm not feeling prepared yet.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as the next couple of months are going to be a challenge for me with the diabetes. And I'll keep you posted of my progress.

Happy Halloween!

Well I am feeling loads better now, thanks to rest and Robitussin! Today we went to our ultrasound appointment or as I tell everyone at work...we got to visit Sadie. As you can see she is doing well. We also confirmed Sadie is a she and not a he in disguise. This is a regular ultrasound picture which in two weeks we will be having another 3d ultrasound so you will be able to get a better idea of what she will look like. Steve says she looks like me but who knows.

Bad news though, my 3 hour gluclose test came back and 2 out of the 4 draws they did were high. My fasting blood was fine, but my 1st and 2nd hour draws were high. Technically that is enough to diagnosis gestional diabetes. So tomorrow the nurse is going to call me with my appointment for the dietechian (sp?). They will give me a diet and routine for checking my blood.

Good news though, my blood pressure was down...127/89. So that is really good news. Now I won't have to worry about cutting back hours or being on bed rest. We are attributing it to being sick and a stressful week.

The next few weeks are crammed pack for us. This weekend we are taking the dogs to a clinic to get their shots. Tuesday we start our birthing classes. Saturday and Sunday after that are my baby showers. And the week after that is packed...the 13th (tues) we have a birthing class, the 14th (wed) we have a follow up appointment with the doctor, the 15th (thurs) is our 3D ultrasound, and the 16th (fri) Steve has a doctor's appointment and we leave for Etna. And somewhere in there I will be visiting the dietechian (sp?) Craziness I tell you!! So the next few weeks are going to fly by.

Well trick or treaters will be knocking on the door soon, so I better go and get the candy ready! I've decided I'm dressing up as a pregnant lady. Think they'll buy it? I don't!! HA!

Have a Happy Halloween everyone!

Things You Miss When Pregnant!!

Oh if only you could have glorious cold medicine while you're pregnant...life would be wonderful. So this week has been a stressful and not so fun week. Monday was fine but Tuesday morning I woke up at 1:30am with a horrible sore throat. I stayed home and tried to rest. While at home the doctor's office called and informed me they had my gluclose test results back and I was high so I had to do the three hour gluclose test. I also found out that I was anemic so I had to start taking iron pills twice a day. Also they told me I needed to have another Rhogam (RH Neg) shot as well and they couldn't wait until next Wednesday for my regular appointment. Not good news but something I could handle.

So I decide to fast and take care of the three hour test on Wednesday. I figured I could go in and get my shot and take care of the gluclose test all in one shot. Now remember I'm still not feeling very well. So Wednesday morning I go into work a little early and let everyone know that I will be gone from 10am to 3pm so I can take care of the testing. Well when I get down to the doctor's office to get my slip to take to the lab they tell me I've been fasting for too long and that they won't take me. I could only be fasting for a total of 14 hrs which include the 3 hr test. Also the doctor's aren't in the office so they can't give me my Rhogam shot. Needless to say I was not happy. I asked if I could get the slip for tomorrow and they said no they have to print it the same day. So I went out to my car called Steve and promptly starting crying. Stupid people. Why can't people just communicate. They could have told me everything over the phone and I could have planned for it. So I went back to work and made it through the end of the day. With the plan to go in 1st thing on Thursday and take care of the testing.

Enter Thursday morning...my cold has gotten worse and now my ears are starting to hurt. I go into the doctor's office to get the slip and find out if they could squeeze me in that afternoon so I can make sure I don't have an ear infection and need antibotics. I went to the lab and spent the next 3 hrs watching a movie (thank goodness for portable DVD players) and crocheting. (I'm making a blanket for Sadie) They drew blood for my fasting level and then I got to drink the yummy gluclose syrup. They then took my blood every hour. They won't know the results until Monday or Tuesday, so keep your fingers crossed. I then went home and ate lunch and rested until 2:00pm and went back down to the doctor's office. I waited for about 45 mins and then Dr. Shakespeare finally saw me. Enter bad news...my blood pressure was high 147/87. He was not pleased. But after the week I had already had I would have been surprised if I hadn't had high blood pressure. The doctor thought I was seeing him for my monthly and not for my cold (great communication huh) He told me I could take sudafed for my congestion and tylenol for my ears and headache, and Robitussin for my cough. He believes my ears are sore due to the drainage from my congestion. I got to hear Sadie's heartbeat which was strong. I have a scheduled ultrasound for the 31st so he will follow up with my cold and blood pressure then. By this time I was exhausted and it was after 3pm so I just went home and took a nap.

Friday I made it most of the day but by 3pm I was exhausted and went home and then Steve and I went to costco so we didn't have to go anywhere all weekend. I got some Robitussin which has been a life saver. Friday while I was at work we have the Rain Soft water treatment installed and Steve worked on the nursery and got the wall paper border up. He also started putting the crib together but there were a couple of pieces broken so we now have to wait for a third crib to be shipped and then we can take the pieces we need and they will pick up the pieces we don't use. The room is starting to come together and it's looking more like a nursery rather than a guest room.

I woke up on Saturday with no voice. Today I have a little/deep voice but I feel a lot better. Not 100 % but better. So Steve and I have been talking about what we are going to do if my blood pressure won't go down. We've come to the conclusion that maybe cutting back my hours at work would help, but we will just have to see.

All weekend I just did laundry, sleep and crochet. Boring but it was restful and exactly what I needed. This morning we even got to listen to Sadie kick with our baby monitor. It was exciting. Things are moving much more swiftly now. We are about 90 days away from the big event and that puts things into another perspective.

14 1/2 Weeks To Go!

No we aren't counting down?! Yeah right. Steve is ready for his "toy" to arrive. He has even started a count down on the calendar. Not just of how far along I am but now there is the number of weeks left and also the number days. So as of today there is 14 1/2 weeks left and 102 days. This is approximate of course but it's based on the 30th of January due date.

The past week has been uneventful but yet another week down. We received the crib and had to promptly return it...UPS didn't even get it through the door. The box was so demolished I knew that the crib wasn't going to be in good shape. I immediately got on the phone with Target and they shipped another crib. It should be here Tuesday or Wednesday.

We also had Rain soft come to the house on Wednesday and tested our water. We knew it was bad but we didn't know it was that bad. After seeing everything and talking about pricing and options we decided to get the home Rain soft water treatment system. They come on Friday, October 26,2007. I'm really excited so now we know Sadie will have soft water for her skin, clothes and for drinking and cooking. Not to mention that since we signed up on the night the technician came out we got a 5 year supply, for a family of 4, of soaps. All kinds of soap, laundry soap, dishwasher soap, hand soap, disinfectate soap and so on. We will end up saving so much especially now we won't have to buy bottled water. Which our monthly water bill compenstates for at least half of the monthly cost of the water treatment system. So as you can see I am really excited about this.

Let's see what else happened this week...Oh I received a calling at church. I will now be the assistant activity day leader. Susan Kirklin and I get to work with the 8-11 year old girls. Similar to girl scouts but on a more religious basis.

We also had a Super Saturday at the church, where people sign up to learn different skills. I was supposed to teach about crocheting scrafs but now no one came. Which is fine, I got to visit and start on a small blanket for Sadie's car seat.

Next Saturday Steve and I are going to the beach for the day. We are getting dog transporters (crates) so we can start training the dogs that they will be in there instead of inside the truck. As we are taking them up north for Thanksgiving and it will be the last trip we will go without Sadie and once Sadie is here they will not be riding inside the cab, so we are starting the transition now.

Now that I've caught you up on this past week, I really want to mention a good friend so is such a tremendous amount of inspiration. She is going through a tough time right now with her mother being very ill and I am in awe as to her strength. I know she relies a great deal on the Lord and I know that she has been supported by Him. I've been praying for her and her family daily and especially her sweet mother so she will be in as little pain as possible. I found out this week that her mother has got a sweet tooth for a certain candy and I've made it my goal to give a "Halloween Care Package". I know I can't do much but I hope that I can at least bring a little joy or laughter in their lives. Dawni has been such a great support for me during the past year and I wish I can do more. Please keep Dawni and her family in your prayers. I know the Lord listens and will bless them during this hard and trying time.

Six Months & Going STRONG!!

Well we've made it to 6 months. Yay! Things are going good. Sadie is strong and a lively little thing. She is kicking a lot right now. The past two mornings she has woken me up bright and early kicking. Yesterday was at 5am and this morning it was 4am. I was able to walk around and get her to go back to sleep. I told Steve she has his internal clock and believe it or not he was up this morning at 4am packing. He's been in San Diego this week for work and gets home tonight. He has worked so hard and is exhausted. I'm just glad he is on his way home. I've gotten used to seeing him everyday now that he is working in town.

Not much news other than Sadie has a good kick. I have a wedding to go to this weekend for a friend of mine from work. It will be a lot of fun and Katie, Rylie and I are carpooling. It's just outside of Porterville. It should be beautiful.

Other than that, our new crib should be arriving either tomorrow or Monday. Just in time for Steve to put it together. I'm excited because then the baby's room will start looking more like a baby's room and not a guest room. We still have the wall paper border to put up and the closet to finish but other than that we are just waiting for the baby showers before we start stocking up. I have two showers in town one on the 10th of November and the other on the 11th of November. Mom is throwing me one in Etna, Thanksgiving weekend so we should be set once we get home from Etna to start organizing.

I have only 10 more weeks of work which one will be in Etna. So it's been busy at work trying to get everything ready. I think it really hit home today when I took the above picture for my 6 month mark. It kind of put it into perspective for a lot of people at work and a few are starting to get a little panicky. But it will all be fine because the controlling part of me will have everything organized with instruction guides for every aspect of my job. Yes I'm that pathetic. It's either because I don't want to come back to a huge mess or I have nothing else to plan right now so it's the only outlet I have. (the 2nd one is probably the real reason).

Steve should be getting home in an hour so I better go and get dinner ready for him.

23 Weeks and Going Strong

Well Thursday we had a doctors appointment. We were supposed to do an ultrasound to officially determine the sex. Well the doctors office was so busy we didn't even get to see our regular doctor. We were able to listen to the heartbeat which was strong and healthy but weren't able to do the ultrasound.

I go back on the 17th to do the diabetes test. I get to drink a glass of sugar water and wait an hour and then have my blood drawn. Then we go back on Halloween (31st) and that is when we will do an ultrasound to verify everything is going ok and make sure Sadie is a Sadie and not an Emmitt.

Work has been crazy lately. More and more people are asking me what's going to happen when I leave for maternity leave. Who's going to do what? That is the big question? I still have about 10 weeks left before I go on maternity leave. So I've been busy trying to make a binder at work with all of my duties and instructions for those duties. I've even made a spread sheet with my duties listed and to whom they were assigned. Yes you make think I'm a little controlling but I am not completely confident in leaving my job in the hands of the people whom I have to and not come back to a big mess or get called a lot for help. Which I know that will happen. I'm just hoping that with everything I put together my work will begin to understand that I do a lot for that company. A lot more than they realize or I get credit for. I'm hoping that this too will help me have a case to plead for me to be able to work from home part-time so I don't have to go into the office 5 days a week. That is still an issue Aaron, my direct supervisor and I are trying to haggle.

Anyway, Steve is going to San Diego tonight for an office sight. He will be gone all week long. I've gotten used to him being home all the time now so it's going to be an adjustment this week. He's not too happy but it's work so what can we do. Oh well got to earn out living somehow right?

159 Days Down, 121 Days to Go!!

Well I've been battling a small cold so I stayed home from church to get some rest. Well sometime in the afternoon, Sadie decided to make her appearance known but kicking. Yes she has started the thumps and bumps. It was a very different sensation than what I have been used to the last few weeks. It actually felt like something was pushing on the inside of my stomach trying to come out. Yes visions of Aliens popped in my head. Poor Steve though everytime he tried to feel she stopped kicking.

Today at work she started in again and I even had to adjust my chair so I wasn't so cramped in on my desk. I have a funny feeling she was telling me she was being squished although I know that's really not the case. I logged on to babies online today and saw that I have survived 159 days of pregnancy and only have 121 days left. Also my third trimester begins on Halloween.

Thursday we have a doctor's appointment with Dr. Shakespeare. He will give us the offical, gender reading. So we will get to have another ultrasound, or as I like to say we get to visit Sadie on Thursday.

Friday I ordered some maternity shirts online. Lane Bryant apparently doesn't carry maternity clothes in the store. I was furious. Besides now having to wait for my clothes 1-2 weeks they tacked on $12 shipping for their convenience not mine. I also didn't get to get a cinnabun from the Mall. But I digress. So sent them an email nicely stating it wasn't our fault they didn't carry certain things in the store and they should at least pay for shipping considering we have to wait. I also mentioned that it was almost worth it to go to a different store so I can get my clothing immediately and without having to pay more money. I know what your thinking, pregnancy hormones, but really $12 is half of another shirt and their clothing isn't that cheap, ok Maternity clothing isn't that cheap I need to save where I can now. So we will see what my tyrad will lead too. I included my order # thinking perhaps they might give me a credit. Yeah I know wishful thinking but a girls got to do what a girls got to do.

Don't You Feel Sorry For Sadie?

Ok now take a look at this picture. It is of course Steve and my friend Katie's daughter, Rylie. It is one of the cutest/funniest pictures ever.Don't you feel a little bit sad for poor Sadie. Look what she is getting into!

Things are going well I'm now 21 1/2 weeks and things are going fine. I've started nesting and I can't get enough organizing. I'm even cleaning on a regular basis and those who really know me know that is unusal for me.

The most recent project is cleaning out the hall closet so we can organize with tubs so things will be easily accessible. I'm trying to think ahead to determine what I can do now to make things easier later. We still have some things to go through in the baby's closet. I still have some crafts and scrapbooking supplies there.

There are a couple of people at work who are trying to get rid of their crib and changing table so we are going to look into that so we can possibly save some money and get the crib set up. I also have gotten my daycare situation almost settled. Katie's daycare will have an opening for a baby by the time Sadie is ready to go to daycare. She is reasonably priced and I'm excited that Rylie and Sadie will be there together. I know that Katie wouldn't send Rylie somewhere that she didn't trust the caregiver so I am very relieved. It makes me feel comfortable knowing that I have people that can pick Sadie up if I something happens and Steve and I can't make it.

I've updated a few things on our baby registery but I think we've decided on the original bedding from Wal-Mart. As of right now I know Mom is throwing me a baby shower on November 24th in Etna. I am having a baby shower at work I believe on the 11th of November. I'm not sure when Susan's shower is going to be yet. She has been super busy so I'm not sure which Saturday she has free.

Our next Doctor's Appointment is on October 4th. That visit the doctor will do an ultrasound to determine sex (like we don't already know) and will also to another Valley Fever test along with my blood sugar/diabetes tests. I guess from this visit forward they will be really monitoring the blood sugar levels to make sure gestational diabetes doesn't set in.

Sadie Abigale Eastlick

Well we finally know. Yesterday we went to our 3d Ultrasound and discovered we are indeed having a little girl. She was extremely shy or possibly coy. She kept putting her hands in front of her face on top of her head so we really couldn't get a good picture. So we are going to go back for another 3d ultrasound the Thursday before Thanksgiving. Sadie will be a little bigger and we should be able to get better pictures.

Steve, Aunt Mary, Shane, Suzanne, and my good friend Katie with her daughter Rylie was in attendance. It was very nice and comfortable. Rylie kept talking to Sadie and everytime she did Sadie would move. It was very cute. We all came back to our house afterwards and had a BBQ. It was nice to visit and just hang out.

Today the reality of having a daughter has hit me. Now we know what we are having and it's exciting and a little scary. At least now we can decorate and move forward. Check out our website http://theeastlicks.com/ later this afternoon so see the few pictures we have of Miss Sadie.

Almost Halfway Home!!!

Well I'm currently 19 1/2 weeks along. Almost halfway! We had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and everything is going fine. We got to listen to the heartbeat after the baby and the doctor played hide-n-seek for a while. It was fast and strong.

October 4th is our next visit and that will be the official ultrasound to determine gender. We will also be doing a blood sugar test and Valley Fever test. They do a Valley fever test as a precaution but my last two were elevated so they are going to try it one more time in October. Nothing to worry about though the Dr said. Most people in Bakersfield have either had Valley Fever or been exposed to it at some point.

I asked the doctor about the pains I have been having in my lower (bottom) region after sitting and he said it was normal with all the muscles and ligaments pulling and stretching to accommodate my growing body. So I bought me a doughnut/cushion for my chair at work and any other hard surface chairs. It seemed to help on Friday but I still am moving slow, ok slower than usual.

Steve has also mentioned the new form of walking or waddling as he called it. He even threatened to video tape me waddling at different times and make a movie with the "Baby Elephant Walk" as the back ground music. So supportive!!! Oh well as least we know my hips are starting to turn out and get ready for the actual blessed event. Which Steve is still threatening me with an 11 lbs breach delivery. HA! All I say is epideral!!

Saturday the 15th we are having a 3D ultrasound and so we will hopefully be able to see if Mississippi is a boy or girl. That is if he/she is being cooperative. Thankfully we are having friends and family at the ultrasound. My friend Katie just had a daughter in March and everytime Rylie is around, Mississippi is really active so we are bringing her so hopefully it will encourage Mississippi to move. We are also having Shane, Suzanne, Aunt Mary, My other friends Susan and Dawni. We are all looking forward to the big day and are going to BBQ afterwards to celebrate!

Work Crazy Work!!!

So work has been so busy lately I can't even catch up. On top of that I have Steve's birthday to prepare for. He asked me to make him a white cake with Banana Cream filling and whipped topping. Then he threw a challenge flag and said he knew he'd end up with a Costco cake. OH NO HE DIDN'T!!! The man knows how to push my buttons that's for sure. So I have errands each night to get stuff ready for Sunday so I don't have to do it all in one night.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and we are hoping since my episode at the hospital, the doctor will want to do an ultrasound instead of waiting until October. It would be nice to see if we can find out what we are having. Although we are having the 3D ultrasound done a week later on the 15th. So regardless with in the next two weeks we'll know what the sex of Mississippi is for sure.

We had such a great time in Fresno on Saturday. Before we knew it time flew by and it was after 6pm. We definitely have to do it more often. Playing games with Shane, Suzanne and Ingrid is always fun. We were able to visit and have wonderful Lemon Chicken. None of us could believe that it had been almost a year since we had seen eachother. We are definitely going to have to work on that.

So I Was Wrong!!

Ok, Ok, so I thought Thursday's heat was bad...Yesterday it got to 106 and 90 in our house. It's been awful!!! It finally starts to cool off in our house around midnight so that's when we've been able to go to bed. Luckily though by the end of the week the weather is supposed to cool off.

Needless to say we haven't...ok I haven't...done much around the house. I did the dishes this morning and picked up in the living room a bit while poor Steve mowed the back yard and put together the day bed for the nursery. Tomorrow I think he is going to be moving the rocking Chair/recyliner into the nursery and setting up the DVD racks we got at IKEA so I can finally put all my movies away. My poor piano has just become a DVD rack.

I'm excited I get to go up to Fresno on Monday and spend the day with Shane, Suzanne, Ingrid and Theron. It's been a while since we've been able to visit...ok play games...and I am really looking forward to it.

Hotter than Hades!!!

Well today I think was one of the hottest day of the year so far. Thank goodness next week it's supposed to cool off. Our house is like a sauna. So little is getting done right now. It's just too stinkin' hot.

This week I had lots of "growing" pains. I figured out though if I can get through the first part and walk around, the walking helps calm everything down. So the mass walking has begun. I've had a bad habit of eatting cinnamon melts from McDonald's in the morning. So I am going to try and cut that habit now. Although I've actually lost more weight but it's still not the healthies thing I could be eatting right now.

Oh well...the sacrifices have begun!!

Too Many Choices!!!

Well we did it!!! We are registered for baby stuff. It was not easy let me tell you. There is just too much to chose from and not having done this before it was hard to know what to look for. But finally after today we have three solid registries at Wal-Mart, Target and Babies R Us.

I know I will be having a baby shower in October for the work crowd and at the beginning of November (date still undetermined) for Family and Friends. Mom is also throwing me a shower in Etna on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the Etna Crowd. So we have to have a broad selection and places to purchase.

Crazy Crazy Crazy!!! Oh well it comes with the job I guess.

Oh Baby Baby Baby

Well it's been a while since I last blogged. And a lot has happened. I'm pregnant and everything was going great until Saturday night. Thursday was my prenatal check up and we got to hear the babies heart beat. It was really exciting. Well Saturday I did too much around the house. Sure as soon as I get over never having any energy I over do it and end up in the hospital. Well you know what they say about luck...if you didn't have bad luck you'd have no luck at all.

Well Steve and I went to Bakersfield Memorial due to bleeding and clotting. (both not good) We were there a total of EIGHT stinking hours. It was ridiculos. I will spare the gorey and gruesome details, but all ended up well. We actually got to see the baby and man is it a mover and shaker. The poor ultrasound lady could barely keep up enough to get measurements. The baby or Mississippi as we fondly refer to it, was clapping it's hand and have a good ole time while mommie was laying on a hard and extremely uncomfortable emergency room bed. And so it begins the sacrifice a mother makes for the comfort of her child. By the time we were through with the ER it was 2:40 am and Mommie was hungry. So we stopped and got Taco Bell (thank goodness for 24 hr service) and went home to sleep.

Today (Monday) I stayed home from work but worked from home. It was nice and relaxing but tomorrow is another day at the grind stone. I will try and update my blogg more now that there are actually exciting things going on in my life. Ordinarily I am a very boring person. (YA RIGHT!!!)

Friends, Food and Great Music

Well tonight Steve and I got to go and hang out with friends from my work and enjoy good food, conversation and music. My dear friend Olen writes music and plays a mean harmonica and guitar. Aaron, Dawni and Lauren were there and after a little coaxing Lauren warmed up to both Steve and I. It helps that she loves to have her picture taken and of course I always have a camera at the ready. We also got to visit with Katie and Rylie. I really do miss seeing Katie everyday but it's always good to see her and hold and play with Rylie. This time Rylie was awake so I actually got to play with her. Steve discovered that she is ticklish and we got her to smile and of course I took tons of pictures. Olen played with some of his songs with his friend Mark who was just as fabulous on his guitar. It was a blast and yes I actually got Steve out of the house and he enjoyed it!!!!

So What's The Big Deal?

Ok so I finally did it! I created my own blog. Thanks Suzanne!! So check out the World of Tams and hopefully I will keep it updated.

There really isn't much going on with Steve and I. We are still working on the back yard. We, I say as if I'm actually doing something other than taking pictures to memoralize the event.

Oh yeah and I wrote a book this past month. Nothing too crazy, just another romance. But I will let you know if I get anywhere with it.