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.