Training and Gross Things!

Dewey decided last night that we needed some training in the art of getting up at night. He was in the laundry room, like usual, except he was whining and barking for an extended period of time (we're talking 1/2 hour +, the time was fuzzy since I was half awake)! So, I finally got up and took him outside (in the rain) to pee. He continued to whine about 15 minutes after that, probably just wanting to sleep in our bed. Apparently, I'm a softy, because as soon as Andrew went out to him and just said "no Dewey" in a gruff voice that even scared me, Dewey was quiet for the rest of the night. I guess we're discovering who the disciplinarian might be.

Also, please skip the next part if you don't want to read about gross things!

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I just had the pleasure of getting sick at work today. The worst part is that my nose started to bleed right during the "up chuck." Anyway, no harm done. It quit very quickly afterwards. I thought I was starting to feel better as I have been supplementing with B vitamins (and some say that helps morning sickness) but I guess surprises can still happen! At least I feel better now! So, hopefully this will make for smooth sailing during our staff meeting this afternoon, as I'm just not ready to tell the news yet, although the time may come more quickly than I anticipate! I'm looking forward to the rain they say is coming this afternoon and I'm looking forward to getting a lot of sleep tonight, after last night! :)

Dreams!

I'm beginning to have very vivid dreams. Two nights ago, I dreamed I was back in the midwife's office. They had me lay down on a table so they could inject my spine with something that would make me sleep. They wanted to record my brain waves. I remember the painful injection and the falling asleep in my dream. Weird!!

I'm already so sleepy today. If I had the guts, I would call in sick (since I still have all my days) and just sleep, but I doubt I can bring myself to do that!

First Appointment Update!

I had my first appointment yesterday! It went very well. It was really pretty short and simple. I am going to a clinic that has two midwives (I met with one of them yesterday) and about eight doctors. They like for you to have an appointment with everyone before your due date, just in case they are on call for the delivery. This freaked me out a little at first, since I've never been to a man doctor before, but everyone keeps telling me that I absolutely won't care during the birth. I like the place, so I guess I'll just have to overcome this one detail. The midwife set my current official due date as February 5th, 2008. I did the other standard things like pee in a cup and have a few other tests run. I still have to go have my blood work done in the next few days. There are about 12 locations in the area I can do it. I'm probably going to try and get it over with at lunch today. I hate needles and blood, so I was hoping they would do it while I had Andrew there with me, but oh well. She said my next appointment on July 27th would be more extensive. I would get to hear the heartbeat (they only can see it now with an ultrasound) and I would get more information about birth classes, etc. Yikes! Does that mean I actually have to give birth?! :) Anyway, my queasy stomach has just started for the morning, so I'm going to try and eat a healthy breakfast before it gets the best of me. I am going to leave you with a picture I took about four weeks ago, just in case you still had any questions or doubts.

Two Posts! You Guys are Lucky!

To take my mind off of my queasy rolling stomach, I was browsing the good ole' Target for some things.

*Disclaimer: Yes, I know it is very (too) early to be looking at this stuff. Yes, I know I have many months to plan and prepare but I'm not getting any of this (yet), and that's why I'm going slowly . . . one item at a time. But . . . it's fun to think about!

So, what crib do you like better?

Rochester Crib w/ Drawer at Target - $199.99

OR

Aspen Stages Crib with drawer at Target - $369.99

Both seem very acceptable to boy or girl. I just love a dark stain on wood but I'm also open to white (seems like that could be dirty). Ok, well that took about 5 minutes of my time. Perhaps I'll eat a cracker! :)

Plans . . .

My crazy and exciting plans for the evening include . . . . SLEEP! I have never been this tired in my life. Feel like I could sleep sitting up and I can't have a shot of caffeine as a pick-me-up.

Also, the refrigerator and I had another wrestling match this morning. The fridge won! The freezer doesn't have the same effect, weird!

We finally got a much needed soaking rain this morning. Hopefully our patchy grass will grow a bit. I made Dewey go out into the rain this morning to pee. He has been such a good dog lately. I can even let him out into the garage and say "sit" and he stops and sits before exiting the garage (so I can tie him up). He was scared of the thunder.

Perhaps I'd better work, so maybe I can go home early and catch a nap!

I'm Beginning to Understand!

I was thinking the other day that I really haven't been very hormonal (yet?). Apparently that day has arrived. I'm so glad the church is primarily deserted today, otherwise I might be discovered crying. My functional brain realizes that the things making me upset are very unimportant and would normally not bother me, but not today! Part of this problem may be due to lack of sleep. Normally I get between 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours of sleep per night. I've been doing about the same thing lately and it's just not cutting it for me. I actually took a nap during my lunch hour (in the youth room). It's not like I've been doing anything really important. I was mainly waiting to see whether some visitors were coming last night and got caught up in a TV show. I'm beginning to understand what all these books are talking about. My symptoms just show up a few days later than what the books says (so I naively think they aren't going to happen).

Also, the fridge has become my enemy. I promise that we do not have smelly or moldy food in our fridge, however each morning when I go to open the door, I inevitably feel extremely nauseated. It's funny because the trash (in our house and in the garage) does not bother me much. We have been in somewhat of a dilemma what to eat for supper. Andrew has been spending hours finishing up his latest class (which is done with tonight!) and I can't hardly open the fridge to even begin to prepare stuff, so we've primarily been snacking. Thankfully, my main cravings include fruit, so at least it is a healthy snack. On the down side, we're slowly running out of food, so I'm going to have to face the dreaded grocery store soon. The only way I can get through it, is if I stay in the produce section (which isn't bad) or if I bring a mint along for the occasion. That flavor and scent overwhelms all others, and then I'm ok.

Please don't think I am complaining about all of this. The weird thing is, as uncomfortable as I am, I actually like feeling this way, because I know things are going ok! I'm very excited for this and I don't mind feeling a little sick for a while! I am getting very excited about our first appointment next Monday (partly because I took the day off). I just have LOTS of questions about what to do and what not to do, so I hope they can be answered. I even called our insurance today to make sure everything is covered and in network . . . and it is. Beyond the blood test and meeting with the midwife, I have no idea what all is going to happen. I've read that first appointments can be fairly long, so I prepared A for that, so he can tell his boss the appropriate thing.

Ok, I'm feeling better now, so I guess it's back to work!

Father's Day Reflections

This post is a little late, I realize, but better late than never. I just wanted to write a bit about how important my dad has been to me. I have many wonderful childhood memories of Dad reading to me. I don't remember these times, but I'm told that when it came time to read at night I would insist that my dad be the one to read. Many other fond memories include spending hours playing catch with a balled up sock in the living room (we were entertained with very little, I guess) getting "cork its" from Dad and getting the torture chamber. When Mom was gone to a church function or whatever, we knew we could get Dad to give us something that was a little forbidden from Mom, usually juice or milk in a bottle, etc. I do remember going shopping one time with Dad and getting the exact shirt that I wanted! :) Mom would always be very sensitive and nurturing when we were sick and I remember one time I had a bad reaction to a vaccine when Mom was gone. I went to tell Dad I had been sick and he said, "Oh, I'm sorry." This reaction definitely help prepare me for the way my husband now reacts! My dad loves the Royals, Wheaties cereal, coaching boys basketball, and CATS! As I grew up, I started to have more responsibility on the farm (like changing flood irrigation at 6 am) and during one of those times I had a bug fly up my nose while we were on the 4-wheelers and as I sneezed it out, I will never forget how hard my dad laughed. It was funny! My dad worked so hard (and still does) to give us a secure childhood and life and a happy one! There are times that I feel sad that my children won't have the same childhood that I did, but I am glad of the fact that I can send them off to the Fairchild Farms for a true farming experience with my dad!

You Guessed It!

We're expecting a baby in early February. My first appointment is next Monday and I have already taken the day off of work! Yeah for sleep! Andrew said he would have to tell his boss (since Andrew is coming with me to the appointment) and I think that is fine.

The rest of this post will most likely be about puking, so if you don't want to read it, stop here!

So, I really didn't think I would be the type of person to actually get physically sick (a little nauseated maybe) but my second episode was this morning! Both times have been because of something stupid I did. The first time I took my vitamins on an empty stomach (still managed to wait until Andrew had left the hotel room) and this morning I threw out some stinky soup. I knew the thought of it made me gag but I told myself it wouldn't be a big deal. It was the smell that got me this time. Andrew was in the bathroom and so I had to use our back yard! Sorry if this is too much information. I think things like this will spur Andrew on to finish the upstairs bathroom more quickly (which he already hopes to have done by August). I was hoping none of our neighbors were out for a morning stroll! I haven't tried the crackers in bed thing, but I may have to start trying that. For the most part, I feel fairly good, so long as I have something in my stomach and I don't think about yucky foods (like green peppers and eggs, which I'm sure I will love again in a few months).

I was feeling so good last night before bed that I was beginning to worry about my hormone levels or that everything was ok with the baby, so I guess that is what I get for worrying, a great big reminder. I'm hoping to have a new look for my blog but I need the help of my ultra talented husband, so it may take awhile before we have the time!

A Post from the Road

I apologize for my vague posts and lack of frequency. To see what news we've been holding in, please go to the bottom of the blog to view my new ticker! More news and hopefully a new skin to the site will be forthcoming!

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!

We're on our way to Kansas tonight (actually stopping in St. Louis). I'm excited to get to see my family. I will make sure that Andrew brings his camera so we can have pictures for my blog. I hope blogging hasn't taken over my old scrapbooking habits. When we get back, I will convince Andrew to get my card table from storage (aka Grandma M's barn) and then I'll set it up in the basement. Now that I have an area to work, maybe it will be little easier. Anyway, a bit off subject there. Perhaps I'll blog from the road!

MIA

Sorry that I haven't posted very often and that my posts have been boring! I am in the midst of working on a new template for my blog to make things more interesting and will try to put it up once we get back from Kansas! Tonight I am practicing with the piano player from the Monroe Pres Church, as I am singing there on Sunday, and then tomorrow night Andrew and I are going to enjoy a nice homemade pizza and movie. We used to do this all the time, but haven't lately, since our small group meets on Friday nights. We used to get mexican food, so I'm still having a debate between making Mexican food or having my yummy homemade pizza (I use a WW crust and lots of fresh veggies. Of course, there is always plenty of cheese too.). The weather here has been absolutely amazing this last week. It's supposed to be in the 90's today and so I'm holding out hope for perhaps a swim this weekend. It doesn't feel like summer until I've been swimming!

Yards and Such

Our major project this last week has been getting our yard to grow. We thought that it might be hopeless, due to lack of rain, but we've begun to see a few little sprouts shoot up. There IS hope! I wish I had some pictures to post, but we just haven't gotten around to doing so. We enjoyed a nice little thunderstorm this evening to help water our grass. The next two weeks will be filled with us preparing to head to Kansas for a wedding the weekend after next. We are leaving on Wednesday night, and staying in St. Louis, in order to have Andrew arrive for the wedding festivities (he's a groomsman). I have to work ahead at work, so that's what I'll be doing. It works out well, if I know when I am going to be gone, and I can get stuff done ahead of time. Guess that's all for now!