It's a GIRL!!!

YAY!! I got my FOURTH ultrasound this AM and the woman was wonderful! She told me within 30 seconds, "Oh, it's definitely a girl!" And she told me I'm 27 weeks instead of 25!! So two weeks sooner-- I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!! Now my due date has moved from May 13th to May 1st. Woooo hooo!!

Annnnndddd.... she's 2 lbs 6 oz so far. And everything looks great. I've gained 6.3 lbs so far so she is sucking all my pre-prego poochiness away! Better than liposuction!

So we decided on the name: Bayley Elizabeth. We think that will be perfect. It's the ONLY girl name we could agree on.

And we are picking up the nursery furniture today. J is picking it up instead of paying $100 to have it delivered 24 miles to our house. He'll be happy working on putting it together (would've cost another $150 to have it set up) tonight. OOOOHHHHhhhhh... and the bedding I won on eBay for $9.38 is on the local Fed-Ex truck for delivery to my house today. WOO HOO!! So all I need now is a crib mattress...which I emailed my Daddy about so maybe Grampa will bring one to me when he takes me to lunch tomorrow. heheh. I know, pathetic, but hey... it's his FIRST blood-related grandchild and he is BEYOND THRILLED. When I emailed saying be on the lookout for those C-shaped Snoogle pillows, he ordered one on Amazon.com THAT NIGHT and had it shipped to my house!! How cool is that?! I just wanted him to look for a cheaper one than Babies R Us had.

So... I guess next week will be my third trimester? Baby-gaga.com says Week 27 is third trimester? Well, I'll just claim 3rd trimester myself. Makes me feel closer to having sweet Bayley Boo in my arms! Guess now the peeing every 20-30 mins, restless legs, fitful sleep, etc. are now making sense. I kept thinking, "Wow, I'm ahead of schedule!" But not so. :) heheheeh. I am SO excited!!

J.... well, heck..JOE.. That's my husband's name. I hate acronyms anyway. JOE took the u/s pics with him so I guess I'll have to snag them tomorrow and scan them to here.

Uh...TMI alert -------> I feel gassy. But I can't do anything about it cause the nurse who works across from me would hear it. Ugh. I just want to run down the hall and let loose!

And don't tell.... but Joe and I ate IHOP today after the u/s and I had two pancakes, two pieces of bacon, two eggs, and two pieces of toast. Well, I ate one piece of toast b/c it was burnt and only one egg. So then...when I was on my way back to work, I stopped at Wendy's and got chicken nuggets!! I'm A FRIGGIN PIG!!!! I have eaten 3 of them over the last few hours...but. still. DANG. SHHHHhhhhh.

And I sipped some more of the pickle juice last night...it's soooo good. I know, I'm a freak of nature. According to Courtney, Bayley may grow up LOVING pickles. Because of me. heh. What a cool thought. I'm going to have a little girl who could look or act like me. Wow.

Ranting...

I hate being a stepmom sometimes. Like, when Z is in trouble and I can't play with him or joke around with him. So yesterday I get home and he is sound asleep. J had a long talk with him and Z cried the entire time, according to J. So he slept from 4:30pm to 7pm when I woke up him to do his homework. I sat and helped him for the first half and J did the other half while I made dinner and ran a bath for Z. Z ate his dinner and took a quick (no toys) bath. He was grounded from everything. Basically, he slept, did his homework, ate, and went back to bed. Poor little guy apparently needed it, though, because he didn't argue and he was out like a light. I hate it so much because we won't get to have him spend the night again until NEXT Tuesday because this coming weekend is Mommy's weekend. Sadness.

This morning I woke him up and he said, "Did you have good night-nights?" I said, "Yes, did you?" But I was really thinking, "NO. I tossed and turned because I am NOT a side sleeper and my arms and shoulders HURT and my hands go numb. And of course I felt UBER GUILTY for not spending a lot of quality time with my family since Z was asleep and J was napping or doing homework down the street." :: sigh :: I don't mean to sound cranky because I'm not... it just really sucks when I have to be a "mean" step-parent.

On to other topics...

Yesterday I was excited to go to my doctor's appointment because I knew I'd get to have an ultrasound and get measured to see if I'm still measuring big. Well, the u/s went as I expected: very grainy, unable to tell gender, but she left my table up a little so I could see the actual u/s screen. I was SO excited!! I've never seen anything but ceiling tiles during ultrasounds and then am handed a creepy picture of some alien-looking thing that is supposedly growing in side of me. It was SO awesome to watch the u/s!! J was pointing things out on the screen for me and I was impressed by his knowledge. He said, "Well, honey, this isn't my first time around the block..." I just rolled my eyes cause it's MINE. So we got to see behbeh sticking its finger in its ear, making sucking motions with its lips, and just chillin'. Well, some kicks and punches too. Baby is very active and healthy. We got to see the face (only a grainy 2D, so nothing detailed) and a profile shot.

I am 25 weeks but am measuring 30 weeks (GASP!!) because of my pre-pregnancy pooch. Never in my life would I have though I'd be so happy to be able to pinch an extra inch of fat on my tummy. :) So I chose another location (different from my 18 week experience) and they got me in on Thursday! So tomorrow morning I get to find out the gender! And YES, I WILL find out! I will stay there for hours if I have to. This is my FOURTH u/s and dammit, I'm gonna find out what I'm having!

Speaking of u/s... I am waiting to hear back why my insurance DENIED my 18 week u/s when they state in my benefits that they cover one pre-natal u/s during weeks 16-22. My first was at 8 weeks and it was covered because I had spotting. The 18 week is being denied for two reasons: it was 3 weeks after my doctor appt (the soonest Radiology could get me in, mind you), and the coding was for an inpatient visit instead of outpatient. WTH?! So... I called and asked them to please have someone review this for payment because I was entitled to my u/s. I called last Tuesday. I checked yesterday and it was "still in review." UGH. I hate insurance. If I was on Medicaid, I would never be hassled for ANYthing. And I pay my damn premiums every month and my co-pays, deductibles, etc. It just isn't fair. J and I joked once that we should get divorced but still live in the same house and he would pay me "child support", so I can get Medicaid and not have to pay for my child being delivered, get food stamps and welfare, and get vouchers for childcare and go to college for free. Now, I know some mothers out there really do need help. But I work in the healthcare system and I see a lot of people taking advantage of the system. 90% of the people with Medicaid that I saw while I was working in family medicine (thankfully, I got out of that clinic!!) drove nicer cars than me, were able to work despite their claims of disability (patients getting up and dancing.. yes, DANCING.. in the waiting room and joking around), had nicer clothes and jewelry than I could EVER afford, and got everything handed to them for FREE. They were the rudest, most unappreciative patients I've ever met and it made me VERY bitter. Demanding isn't even able to BEGIN to describe them. But, like I said, there were a few (VERY few, mind you) patients who really did need the help and I would bend over backwards to help them out in any way I could. I just feel very frustrated that I work so hard to pay my bills, do everything the "right" way, and every year my insurance rates go up, so I bring home less money to my family, and I get a bill in the mail from the hospital saying I need to pay $275 for an ultrasound to make sure my baby is growing and developing normally. And when I deliver my child, I will be in the hospital for at least one day. That's assuming I have the baby vaginally and don't have any complications. That visit will cost me a $200 copay, and I have a $500 deductible, then I pay 20% of the remaining bill up to an out-of-pocket maximum of $1000 (that original $200 is NOT included in the $1000 out of pocket expense). Do I have an extra $1000 laying around? Of course not. So what am I to do? I could pay $25 a month for over 3 years. I chose instead to do a Medical Flexible Spending Account. That will save my life. Money is taken out of every paycheck and put into this account. I am doing $1000 for the year. The cool thing is that I can even use it on contacts, contact solution, my hubby's GI meds, etc. So I'll be able to cover most of the delivery using that. The 18 week u/s was in December so I can't use my FSA anyway.



Um... once behbeh is born my cousin wants to watch it because she's incredible with kids and she can't have her own. She's in her late 30s and I love her to pieces. I'm just afraid of what she may charge... I hope she's inexpensive. I know she'll be exceptional and I don't worry about a thing with her. I asked her and her hubby to be the Godparents. And I didn't mean that in a religious aspect... but if something ever happened to J and me, I'd want Tracy and Randy (my cousin and her hubby) to get custody of our kid(s). She has taken care of her neighbor's two kids and raised them and now takes them to and from school. I haven't talked to her in a month or two, so I guess I need to make sure she's still interested!!

I'm having lots of heartburn today. I have a thing of Tums sitting on my desk. I feel old.

And my bladder is quite active lately. I waddle to the bathroom tons of times a day. You know, I wondered what made women waddle. Now I know. It's not that you've got a big belly, it's that your hips EFFIN HURT when you get up and move! At least that's MY problem. I feel like my hips and joints are ripping apart at the seams and if I don't waddle, then everything will collapse and I'm left hurting like hell! Why am I using so many !!!! ?

Ugh. I seem bitchy in this post, but I am actually in a fairly decent mood. Tonight I will see Z for a few mins before his Mom gets him, then J goes to class at 6...so I'll have the house to myself from 6 to 7:30. woo hoo! I'll prolly balance the checkbook. Fun stuff. Oooh...and watch American Idol. heh.

Saturday I get to go to a baby shower where I know only the mommy-to-be. I will prolly go just because I'd like her company at MY shower. IF I have one. I'd like to think someone will want to give me one, but I can't be sure. Guess it's kind of bold to assume lots of people will be standing in line just to give you presents. That'd be cool, though.

Happy Birthday to Bae

Today would've been my precious baby's 8th birthday had she survived this year. Her name was Precious Baleigh Snowflake and she was not a dog to me. She taught me responsibility, accountability, unconditional love, and respect. She kept me from depression, listened intently when I was talking Calculus out loud to myself to study, and she would lay outside the bathroom door whenever I went in and shut the door. She was my first "baby" and I will always cherish her and love her. I miss her more than anything.

I LOVE YOU, BAE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

(She is the sheltie on the far left.)

Kindergartener Kraziness

So... is it normal for a 5 year old to go nuts during their first year of school? I mean, seriously. Z is AWESOME. But... we have discovered him lying to us the last two weeks (more on that in a min), he's been extra crabby lately, and Saturday he threw the Granddaddy of ALL TANTRUMS. And Z's not a tantrum-throwing kid. I've known him to throw 2 or 3 in his life, and they weren't too bad. But Saturday... well. I just have to say J and I were just shocked. We sat there staring at him in stunned silence. Finally I stood up, looked Z in the eye and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself. You apologize to your Daddy right now and then go back to your room and lay down." He sniffled out an apology and then he was sound asleep within the 2 minutes it took me to regain my composure and go check on him in his room. I know, kids are crabby when they're tired. He usually cries when he's tired or runs around wired like he's on speed. But he has N.E.V.E.R. acted like this before. Sunday he decided to throw his lunch down on the floor in a restaurant and J took him to the potty to "have a chat" with him. They came out and Z was still sniffling and I asked if he got a spanking. "No, just a big boy chat about how some kids don't get to eat out at restaurants and how some don't even get food everyday. He's being wasteful and disrespectful and I'm tired of it." Granted, all weekend, Z was a handful. So since his quesadilla was on the floor, he had to eat ALL of his rice and beans. I don't think he liked them very much, but what Daddy says, goes. So he ate every morsel. There wasn't much, of course, cause it was a kid's portion. My Mom (who takes us to lunch every Sunday. See, Jen, I'm spoiled too. lol) looked at me while J and Z were in the bathroom "chatting" and I said, "I feel so mean!!" She said, "Honey, don't. Kids just need discipline and if you don't give it to him, he'll just act out all the time." So, I felt a teensy bit better. An hour after getting home, Z says, "Jiffer, I'm hungry." So I responded, "Guess you should've eaten your lunch instead of wasting it, huh?" He sniffled, "Yes ma'am." Then I felt like a jerk, so I said he could have a banana and that was it until dinner time, when his Mommy would pick him up. Mommy said Z's been acting up at her house, too, but we just said our goodbyes.
This is a picture I took a year ago at a Chili's. Note the drooly chin on Z. And look... J is clean-shaven!! Woo hoo! He prolly got lots of smooches that day.

** And I got permission from J to post a pic of Z's face on here. **

Then comes Monday. Z decides to not listen to anything Mommy says that morning. She tells him to get dressed and comes back 20 minutes later, to him still in his pjs and flipping channels with the remote. She said he pitched a fit and she got him dressed. He was supposed to clean his room 2 weeks ago, but he won't do it (at her house).

And as mentioned earlier, the last couple of weeks he's been lying to us (Daddy, Mommy, and me) and I busted him yesterday in the middle of it. Yes, I emailed his teacher because I was feeling a little suspicious. So his Mommy and I get to my house at the same time. after work We get him from my neighbor's house and ask him how his day was. I ask where his note was. (They get good or bad notes everyday.) He LIES again and says, "Oh, we aren't getting them anymore." I said, "Really? Because I talked to your teacher today." He pooched out his bottom lip and his eyes welled up. Mommy and I don't buy into the cute-little-me-so-feel-sorry-for-me-pouty-crying-face. "Um, I think I lost it in K's house." (K being our neighbor.) I said, "You need to go back in and find it?" So Mommy tears into him about his lying and I agree with her because it's a zero tolerance policy at our house. Not sure about Mommy's policy, but I know she hates it too. So then J calls and I let him talk to Z. Not sure what was said, but Z keeps crying. I know we sound mean, all ganging up on him... but we like to present a united front. I know a kid in our neighborhood who pits his parents against each other. He uses that to his advantage and that kid is a holy terror. We aren't going to let that happen with Z. So Mommy and I talk for a few minutes and Z sits in her car sniffling.

This morning she texts me saying that she found a stash of uneaten snacks in his backpack and found his "bad note" curled up in his coat pocket. (His school asks that you send a snack everyday for them to eat after naptime. If you don't provide one, the teacher has a few extras. I recently bought a ton of snacks to replenish her dwindling supply.) So he has decided to lie to his teacher and say we don't give him snacks and he's hungry. Again, not a big deal... but all these little lies add up. And like I said, ZERO TOLERANCE. Yes, we're strict. We're so so so mean. I've heard it all before. But when you meet Z, you see how wonderful of a little boy he is. He's very well-adjusted and we have a great relationship. J says we don't need to defend our parenting to anyone because he will raise his child how he sees fit.

So anyway.

Here I am feeling all mean because I removed all the toys from his room, including removing controllers for his playstation, removed all games and movies and disconnected his cable. So he has his bed and pillows to lay on when he's in his room. He comes to our house tonight and J said he will be given extra chores around the house and then he will go to bed. We don't spank often, but when he really deserves it, yes, he gets one. I don't know what the decision will be tonight, for that's J's decision. I just always feel like a jerk for punishing him. :(

SO ON TO OTHER THINGS...

I go to my doctor today (she's family practice, not an OB/GYN) and she's going to measure my belly and see if I'm still measuring a little too big and she's also going to attempt an ultrasound with a really old machine. She's not very experienced with reading u/s, so she said not to expect much. So I'm not. But wouldn't it be cool to find out what I'm having??

Um.. I'm 25 weeks today. In 3 weeks I can call about this study that does free 3D/4D ultrasounds. :) That would be awesome!!

And last night... this is really gross.... I wanted pickle juice. Not just a pickle...but the juice. So I opened the jar and drank HALF the juice in the jar!! How sick is that?!?!! Then I ate a couple little pickles. This morning, I ate a breakfast croissant and then 3 small dill pickles. I could totally drain that pickle juice right now. Ugh. So last night I looked at the jar to figure out what I needed. Dill pickles are high in sodium...that's really about it. I think I get enough sodium...so I dunno. Guess I'm just a freak.

Stinky Breath Should Not Be Allowed On An Elevator!

So yesterday, after my last post... I went down the elevator to the little in-house convenience store thing and got a drink. As I got back onto the elevator with my splitting, caffeine-withdrawl headache in full swing, there were only 2 other people on the slower-than-Christmas elevator. We reached the 2nd floor and someone got on. Then they decided to HOLD THE ELEVATOR OPEN as they chatted with people they WERE JUST STANDING WITH before they got on the dang elevator!!! *&&*%^$%^
So as I'm standing there, mildly annoyed, that someone who just got on convinces these 4 VERY LARGE people to get on the elevator with us. So as they cram in, I am shoved into the back corner and someone's purse is jammed into my belly. I'm trying to maneuver around to free my belly, and one of the other people is a heavy breather. You know the types... who not only breathe VERY LOUDLY and labored, well... this one had B A D, S T I N K Y breath too!!! So I realize this stench is also making my hair sway, since they are huffing their fumes down on my hair! And did I mention this elevator is SLOWER THAN EFFIN CHRISTMAS?!?!? Well, thank GOB (thank you, Jen) that I only had to endure this painful torture for ONE floor. But it was the LONGEST elevator ride of my life!
( I don't mean to sound so rude about large people, I mean, I was a size 18 before I got pregnant. So I'm not exactly a poster child for skinniness. But these people were TALL too... and this elevator isn't meant to hold more than 3-4 people comfortably.)
So then we get to the 3rd floor and the herd stampedes off, only to realize that they meant to get off on the 4th floor so they turn around and try to get back on while I'm trying to catch my breath and get off. I get pushed back ONTO the elevator while I'm saying frantically, "I need off!!!" So this one lady who pushed me back on keeps saying, "I'm sorry, excuse me," but never really MOVES OUT OF MY WAY. Finally, I took a deep breath and just PUSHED past her. GYAH!!

MYOB!!

So today I'm in the breakroom at work and some lady I've never seen walks up beside me wearing her pretty white labcoat and picks up the box of a dinner someone left behind.
White Coat: Wow! 15g of fat! That's NOT GOOD!

She then picks up my box, which I just removed my food from ...

White Coat: Wow! Yours isn't any better!

Me: Well, I'm 24 weeks pregnant and have only gained 5 lbs, so I must be doing something right.


*&&*%%^&^TW&**&^&*^%^$%(&*))_(_)(_%$$#$3

Sweet Deal!!

Yay for Ebay!! I just won a crib bedding set (9 pieces!!) for $9.38 and $19.99 for shipping. I'm so excited! We aren't sure of the gender of our baby yet (thank you, bitchy u/s tech) so we're trying to just go with what we like and can be used for either gender. We don't like bright, primary colors because we're more earth-toned people. I think this will look FAB in our nursery. I LOVE good deals!

I have bid on 4 other sets, too, just in hopes to get ONE more to have a backup set. No, it's not the same pattern. :) If I get any, I'll post pics of it too.

I'm having a much better day than yesterday. I got to work early and no one has been here except me and two docs. They're long gone and I've only got one more hour to sit here and rush the clock. It's a long weekend because I'm off Monday (thank you, State Job) and I can't WAIT to lay around and watch tv all weekend! Well, I say that, but J always creates things for me to do. And we may have Z Monday since his Mommy has to work and he's out of school.

SPIT So Pissed Its Thursday.

Not a good day so far. Z's bus came a few mins early this AM, so I left right afterwards. I was excited to get to work a little early, but the traffic gods were against me. I hear on the radio that there are several accidents on my normal route. I decide to take a back way. Well, it's going pretty well and then STOP. And wait. And wait. And wait til I'm about to give freakin' birth in my car!! I counted SIX accidents on my "back way" route. SIX. Long story short, I got to work an hour and a half later. So I decide to stop and get a warm breakfast. Something artery hating and whatnot. I get to the drive thru and the girl is R U D E. I take my breakfast and get back on the highway. Once I pull into the parking deck at work, some girl is running across the parking lot and doesn't see me. I don't see her because she's between cars. She sees me first, stops and jumps back. I'm only going like 10 mph, but I still slam on my brakes. I don't make a face, any guestures, etc. I just look at her, all non-committal. She glares at me, flips me off, and then takes off again. W T F ?!?! So I sorta laugh, because at this point I'm just effin irritated that I am late for work and have used up so much gas, but hey... at least I have a warm egg/cheese/sausage biscuit waiting for me. I get inside the elevator with a few people who were in the same terrible traffic I was and get to my office and sit down at my desk. I open my bag of breffas and what's in it? NOT MY BISCUIT. I got biscuits and gravy. NOT. WHAT. I. WANTED. DAMMIT. So I am still trying to choke them down because I'm STARVING and this alien behbeh inside of me won't. stop. kicking. Maybe the breffas is choking it's arteries too.

The Joys of Stepmotherhood

I am one lucky girl. When I married my husband, I got a package deal. I got Z and Deejay too. Deejay has no strings attached. She's a yellow lab/chow mix and she's very soft and cuddly. Deejay is VERY protective of her territory and she won't let a stranger in the house if we aren't there. J has had her going on 14 years and she shows no signs of slowing down. Now enter Z. He'll be 6 in June and he's simply amazing. He has these huge blue eyes and the sweetest personality. He loves to help us around the house and he's SO thoughtful. (Yes, this is the same kid that told me I have "big ones.") Last night, we let Fletchy back into the house and he immediately jumped on the couch with J and snuggled. (Traitor dog. *I* am the one who cleaned his poo and didn't even yell at him!) J's the one who made Fletchy sleep outside that night.

So then Z runs over to cuddle with J and Fletch and I'm all alone on the loveseat. Poor me. I commented about how Fletchy didn't love me anymore and so Z comes over to me and snuggles up to me on the loveseat. How's that for a thoughtful, sweet 5 year old?! :)

People always ask me what it's like being a stepmom. Well, everyone is different, but in my situation, it's a great job. My husband thanks me and appreciates that I treat Z as if he were my own child. Z loves me and calls me, "my Jennifer." Very sweet. I have the greatest stepkid in the world...and Z doesn't know another situation. J and I began dating when Z was 6 months old and we got married when Z was 2. So, I am not walking in and confusing the child. He knows "Daddy and Jiffer" and "mommy" as separate entities. So it's pretty easy for me. However, I do have to walk on eggshells because Daddy and Mommy do not like each other and have a VERY bitter past between them. Thankfully, they are pretty civil and I am the mediator. I usually talk to Mommy and relay info between Mommy and Daddy. Mommy and I get along well enough and so that makes things so much easier.

It hasn't all been rosy, as we've been through restraining orders, drug through court, and talking through lawyers. Let me just say that it's just not worth it. The court system is not fair and they ALWAYS think the mother should have custody. Do I agree with this? Absolutely not. I think if both parents are willing and able to provide a good, stable environment then it should be joint custody. But NOoooooo. Not in the eyes of the court system. I won't get myself started, because I am very passionate about this. Let me just say that J is treated VERY unfairly and I don't think one parent deserves more time with their child more than the other parent. J is a WONDERFUL father and Z adores him. Okay, done with that.

Here is a pic of J and Z walking down the street to a pond in our neighborhood. Ignore the big red cartoonish redneck truck at the neighbor's house. We don't like them. They are new and loud, obnoxious, and well... rednecks. We hope they move eventually. Like, really really soon.

Here is a pic of J showing Z how to hold a bat. This was taken a couple of years ago. Sorry I can't show Z's face. Our lawyer told us back during the court battles that we should NEVER post Z's picture online. And since he's not technically MY child, I feel I would need the permission of Daddy and Mommy first.

OH...speaking of MY child... I finally took pictures of our unfinished nursery last night, per Courtney's instruction. I am in love with the new carpet, as we have pulled up all the carpet in our house and will be tiling the floors. So I can't get enough of it in Z's room or the baby's room. All we have in the nursery are a basket for dirty clothes, a print on the wall, some new bamboo blinds, a dimmer switch so sweetly installed by my sometimes thoughtful hubby, and a black glider rocker. Our furniture will be in soon, so when that comes in, I'll post pics of that too.

Not very exciting, but I love to go in there and dim the lights and just sit in the rocker. Figure I only have a few more months of peace and quiet, so I had better enjoy it now. (And those spots are from my camera lens needing cleaning. Sorry!)

And I just HAVE to show off the cutest little coat on the face of the planet. It's a 18-24 month coat, so baby (if a girl) will have to wear it next year instead of this year, but I could NOT pass it up.

So my weird pregnancy thing for yesterday: I was walking down the hallway at work and thought I was walking funny. I look down and my right foot looked like it was turned out a little. SO WEIRD. And I had a little trouble catching my breath. I'm not big enough yet to justify being all out of breath, unless you count my being overweight before getting prego. I did get a shipment from Old Navy.com last night and I was SO excited!! I am actually enjoying getting new clothes now, cause I can say, "I'm not fat, I'm prego!" And I haven't gotten any maternity tops yet, just pants. I have about 4 pairs of pants that I wear the mess out of. The tops are pretty much empire waisted so I can fit my belly in them. The Old Navy stuff isn't empire waisted... just sweaters and stuff. Got a little bigger and stretchy so I could wear them. Now I'm having an interesting issue. I was rather, um, large chested before getting prego. So now my tummy has outgrown my chest and my chest hasn't gotten much bigger (THANK GOODNESS!!) so my tops aren't filled out and I find myself having to wear camis or tshirts underneath tops. I'm NOT complaining, because I'd love to have a normal size chest and get the cutest little maternity clothes. My mom said, "Honey, you will expand up there once your milk comes in." Great. NOT what I wanted to hear. I read Jenin's blog (http://jenacide.blogspot.com/ ) where she talks about jogging without a sports bra and I about shot my drink through my nose! If you haven't read her blog before, you HAVE to. She's hilarious. I feel pretty lucky that she occasionally reads my pitiful blog, so hi Jen! :)

So anyway, I guess I'll find something productive to do. Like WORK. After all, that's what I'm paid to do, right?

Amazing Poop Facts...

Wow. I came across this page... and I won't say what made me google "green poop"... but this is funny ....and interesting. http://www.heptune.com/poop.html

Fletcher-sized Poo

About a year ago, J and I rescued a skinny, tick and flea infested collie. He was covered in over 100 ticks, VERY skinny, and filthy. A friend of mine who is also a dog lover, called and asked me if we knew of anyone who could take in a collie that had showed up at another friend's house until they could locate the owner. J said we could (we already had 3 dogs at this time: a lab/chow mix named Deejay, a Siberian Husky we rescued named Makana, and my precious sheltie Baleigh) and we'd be by that night to pick him up. Poor collie, he was pitiful looking but VERY friendly. My friend Sara had cut a lot of the burrs out of his coat and had gotten some ticks, but it was going to be a BIG job. We loaded him in the back of my blazer and took him home. We put him in the garage on a cushy dog bed for the night and gave him a big bowl of food and water. J sat out there and picked a dozen or so ticks off of him. Z got a treat and before I could stop it, he had the treat up to the collie's mouth. I was TERRIFIED!! Yes, it was a collie, but I had no idea if this dog was friendly or not. He took the treat ever so slowly and gently from Z's hand and J and I stared in amazement. The next morning, we put a flea collar on him and put some flea/tick drops on his back. It was too cold outside to give him a bath and he was WAY too big to put in our home bathtub. We let him run around in our backyard and meet our 3 poochies. They are pretty good with other dogs, as we fostered a lot and they know to play nicely. Later that day when the weather warmed up, we gave him a bath and was amazed at how SKINNY he was! So over the next month, we watched him fatten up a teensy bit and saw how beautiful he was with a clean, tick/flea free coat. He was so smart; he somehow knew his boundary was the garage and he never tried to come into the house. We'd leave the door from the kitchen to the garage open and he'd just stand there, watching us. After a couple of weeks we let him walk into the house. He was very sweet and gentle, never disturbing anything. We would let him out in the front yard with us and he never took off... he'd just lay in the grass and watch everyone or get up and play with us. We let him roam the street while we were outside and if one of us left, he'd chase our car down the street upon our return. He'd dance around, waiting for you to open your car door and then dance around you letting you know he was THRILLED you were home. Now, a collie has a long, beautiful coat. Watching him run down the street was like watching him in slow motion... so beautiful... watching his coat swish in the wind. Mostly, he'd be waiting on you in the yard. He would lay there looking all gorgeous and regal, and then jump up to do the happy dance when you pulled into the driveway. He looked like he belonged on the front cover of an LL Bean catalog or something.

This whole time, I'm waiting to hear that someone has claimed him. Sara had put up signs, called all the vets, shelters, and put an ad in the paper. NOTHING. So, after a month of nothing, my husband and I were trying to decide what to do. I mean, we had THREE dogs. And we're not talking smallish type dogs like yorkies. J was sitting in the kitchen floor and I had informed him that I had made an appt with CARE, the rescue group that we had done some fostering for, for two days later. I said, "If you want to keep him, I need to cancel with at least 24 hours notice. It's up to you." I had mixed feelings, of course, because I had become quite attached to this dog and his very sweet, gentle demeanor. Z was 4 and loooooved this dog. The neighborhood kids would surround him whenever they saw him and he'd just stand there, very still and patient and let the kids hang on him or pet him or whatever. I didn't want to be the one to make the decision to find him a new home. But I knew I'd be heartbroken if he left us. He apparently was housetrained and he would sleep next to our bed at night, on my side. We had decided to name him Fletcher. He needed a regal sounding name. Fluffy or Sparky just wouldn't work for a dog of this caliber.

So... J is sitting there with this contemplative look on his face. Fletcher was standing there and of course he KNEW what we were saying. Fletcher looked from me to J, then... (I SWEAR THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED) layed down in front of J and put his head in J's lap. You could just see J melt. Fletcher knew his life with us was in question and he pulled out the big guns. So of course J sits and pets Fletcher for a moment before looking up at me with tears in his eyes (yes, my tough, macho man J had TEARS in his eyes!) and says, "We'll keep him." At that very moment, I swear to you, Fletcher sighed. He SIGHED! Like, "WHEW! That was CLOSE!" So, Fletcher became an official member of our family.





We went that evening to PetsMart and got him a new collar and tag with our info on it. I called CARE and cancelled my appt with their vet, and got in touch with a lady who has the Bob Barker grant to get Fletcher his shots and neutered. We wanted a thorough vet check and that's what we got. It turned out he had Ehrlichia, which is a tick disease that causes them to be anemic, skinny, and somewhat sickly. We had noticed he wasn't gaining a lot of weight and he'd been vomiting the last few days. He got his shots and they had to reschedule the neutering until after he finished his meds for the Ehrlichia. And thankfully, he tested negative for heartworm. I had taken both Baleigh (my sheltie) and Fletcher in for the same visit. Baleigh got spayed that day and was groggy walking out of the vet's office. Fletcher looked pretty happy, but wasn't thrilled about walking across the slick linoleum floor.

Over the next three weeks, I made sure Bae healed from her surgery and Fletchy got his meds taken on schedule. Bae was back to herself within a week and Fletchy was getting much better. When we took Fletchy back for his checkup, he had actually gained a few pounds! This was great news because he was pretty underweight for a collie. He was under 60lbs but was now a healthier 65lbs. The vet was pretty impressed with his dramatic improvement.

Since then, he's become ingrained in our daily lives. He is the most well-behaved, affectionate dog I've ever seen. In August, we had to put my sheltie Baleigh to sleep after 8 years. She had gone into kidney failure and I was devastated. She was my BABY. I didn't sleep or eat for a week. I cried nonstop and Fletchy was there with me the whole time. The day I said goodbye to her, J and I came home and I could barely walk. It was like Fletcher KNEW what happened, because he was constantly at my side and would just sit and lay his head in my lap, or stand next to me and let me lean on him for some support.


When I was opening up a box to decorate for Christmas, I found Baleigh's stocking and just fell apart. I sat in the floor sobbing and J looked over and saw what was in my hand and came to hug me. Fletcher came and layed next to me, resting his head on my knees. He knew when I was sad and would provide the quiet, patient support I needed. He still does.

So he has become MY dog. J has Deejay (almost 14 years old) and Makana (3 years old). I lost my precious Baleigh so Fletchy is MINE, dangit. Well, last night I come home to the foulest smelling odor. Apparently Fletcher's tummy wasn't happy and he couldn't hold it any longer. He let loose in our bedroom. And I don't mean poop. He knocked the blinds around a little trying to get out the back door, he hit a shelf we had in the corner which knocked a plant down and shattered the pot, and left a trail from our bedroom door to the back door. It was the nastiest, foulest smelling thing I have EVER encountered in my LIFE. (Z's nasty diapers included.) Fletchy about knocked me over to get outside. He apparently still needed to go do some more nasty business. So of course, Z's mom L came in to see the baby clothes I had gotten at Old Navy over the weekend and she had to smell it too. Z was exclaiming, "Ooh! YUCK!!! SHOO WEE!!!" over and over again, til I said, "OKAY, I GET IT. I KNOW!! I SMELL IT TOO!" L was brave enough to come in and quickly look at the clothes and then J walks in, saying, "OMG!!!!" I said, "Honey, I KNOW. I'm AWARE. I don't need you to tell me about it too!" So L and Z leave, J says, "Well, I was going to hang out a bit before class, but not now! Loveyoubye!" He kisses me and leaves. I stand there, pissy, thinking, "I'm pregnant. Where is the thoughtful, considerate husband who says, 'Honey, you don't need to be inhaling those fumes!' Why did I marry this jerk?!" So I go back in, breathing through my mouth, tears running down my face, and open all the windows and doors. I run outside to breathe through my nose for a few mins and then run back in to light about 30 candles. There were so many candles, I was able to turn off the heat. Then I sprinkled Oxyclean over the "poo" type mess. Then I walk outside and talk to a neighbor for about 20 minutes. By the time I came back in, the house barely stunk at all. I scooped up as much as I could then got gloves on, filled a bucket with steaming hot water and pinesol, and mopped up the rest. Then I got clean hot water and pinesol and mopped the rest of the concrete floors in the rest of the house. I had the shakes by this time, as I need to eat about every 2 hours for alien baby and it had been 7 hours!! I heat up a frozen pizza and am slowly eating it as I have NO energy and am feeling woozy from all the poo fumes. J walks in and says, "What's wrong?" like HE DOESNT KNOW. He begins making jokes about "Jiffer cleaning the shasta..." and whatnot. Needless to say, I'm NOT amused and would love nothing more than to rub some shasta on his face. I finally say in a very calm voice, "I don't mean to sound like an ass, but I'm not amused. I'm tired, hungry, and grossed out." What does my ASS of a hubby say in response? "No, you don't mean to, but you're doing a good job of it!" Then he sings about shasta some more. I just ignore him and watch some boring commercial while he sings and does a shasta dance in front of me. What an ass. So then he says, "Well, do you want to go somewhere and get you out of the house and something to eat?" I said, "No, I want to finish mopping the floors. " I had already mopped, but I wanted to do it again. Why? I don't know. Maybe I missed a fleck. I like to clean when I'm ticked off.

So I go back to the bedroom and mop for a third time. Mr. Concerned Hubby says, "Honey, you don't need to breathe in all these fumes. This pinesol is STOUT." So I open the back door again and keep mopping. Where the hell was Mr. Concerned Hubby when I was breathing in POO FUMES?! Ass. Then he says, "Please don't slip and fall." Ass.

By this time, Fletchy is laying outside the glass door in the living room and he is hanging his head because he knows what he did was bad. I can't yell at him, because whenever he gets into trouble, he already knows it and I never have to say anything. He feels guilty enough. So I walk outside to talk to a neighbor for a sec and he follows me, all excited. I won't even look at him. I just say, "You made a big mess in the house. I'm not happy with you right now." He knows what I said, because he stops dancing and hangs his head. I feel pretty bad about this, because I know he couldn't help it... but I have to be mad at SOMEONE. I went back into the house and he knew not to try to come in. He just layed on the front porch looking all guilty. Then my husband decides at 8:30 he is hungry AGAIN for dinner. He just ate at 5pm!!! So I let Fletchy in the backyard and take J to Wendy's. When we get home, I let Makana and Deejay into the house and reluctantly let Fletch in. Joe says, "NO, he's staying outside!" and Fletch turns and runs outside. He slept under the back deck. I worried about him getting too cold, as the temp was to drop to 29 degrees, but J assured me that he would be VERY warm with all that hair. This morning, I let him back in for about 15 minutes to warm up, eat, and then go back outside for the day.

I know I should've called T, our neighbor, last night. He cleaned up Fletch's other big mess a few weeks ago in the garage. For $10!! Talk about dedication. He's 14 and is saving up for a car. He puts his money in savings and his mom matches it. I think she's ready to kill us by now... we hire him for help on house projects since I can't help J much right now.

Anyway, I have rambled enough about poo. I'll talk about Bae and Makana and Deejay another time. And give more updates on Riley. She is in a great foster home right now and loves it. I still miss her, but am happy she's in a home she feels better in.

:: Taking a breath ::

I Have Big Ones

OMG. I TOTALLY forgot to mention this:
Last night I sent Z (my precious 5 year old stepson) to our neighbor's house to take them a big bag of things I was giving them. It was heavy and he'd walk about 10 yards, then stop to rest. (They just live across the street, so it's not like I was violating any child labor laws.) So anyway, when he got back I told him, "Wow, good job. You sure have earned your allowance this weekend!" He had helped clean the house, sort laundry, cleaned his room, and helped J clean the garage. So I figured he earned it. I then walk back to my bedroom to put up J's and my clothes I had just folded. Z walked into the garage and announced to J that, "Jiffer said I earned my allowance!" J said, "Oh yeah? Well, she has lower standards than me!" Of course, he's smiling and joking, but Z comes back to me in the bedroom and saysin a very serious voice, "Jiffer, Daddy said you have lower stannars." I said, "Oh, he did?" Z says in his best "I love you and he's a poo poo head" voice, "Yeah, but I know you have big ones." ??!?!?!

I am TOO YOUNG for Depends!!

Okay, so this is my first pregnancy and I don't know what's going on with my body. My bones are shifting so much to make room for the baby... that some days (pretty much EVERY day now) I feel like my insides are going to fall out if I stand up too long. It's uncomfy to sit too long, to walk too long, to stand too long, to lay down too long, etc. And today it's like my bladder is working on a different schedule than the rest of me. A few moms have told me that if they sneeze or cough too hard they "leak." I'm not sure I like this part. I mean, I'm wearing pantyliners but if this bladder thing keeps up, I may have to invest in some Depends.

Changing gears...

So the nursery now has a new framed print on the wall and a cute basket I'll use for dirty laundry. I need to post a pic of it so far so I can remember what it was like when it was new and clean and smelled good. We will get our furniture within a couple weeks and then it'll be really real to me. Of course, I am ready for the other necessities that come along with babies: bedding, humidifier, diaper genie, etc. Are wipe warmers really worth it? Just wondering...

Today is the first day of the Spring semester for J. He's got an easier schedule this time around. He's a Wildlife Management Biology major and he's taking Wildlife Mgmt, Fisheries, Genetics, and a poetry class. He only has classes on Mon & Wed and his poetry class is online. I get an hour and a half of ME time on Mon & Wed nights from 6 to 7:30. I'll prolly use it to nap while the house is still and quiet.

This weekend we donated a TON of stuff to Goodwill. We filled my Blazer to maximum capacity and then J followed in his truck... poor Z had just enough room to sit in his carseat and rest his feet on top of some bags o' stuff. He didn't care, cause he slept through most of it anyway. J wants to know what tax breaks we can get for donating all this stuff and so he called a friend of his who just so happens to be an accountant. She said we'd need to itemize (read: *I* need to itemize) on our taxes this year. I, like every other poor person out there, want every penny I can get from our lovely government but sometimes I just don't feel like working so dang hard for it. Ugh.

I've added a couple more blogs I have added to my list to check everyday. They're over there under Blogs I Heart. These ladies are SO much more entertaining than me. And they actually have stuff to talk about. I mean, I could talk about my never-ending pile of laundry, my poochies that seem to always want to go outside, or the amount of dog fuzz that ends up on the floor. When I feel like I need to "get away" I go into the nursery. There's nothing in there, it's quiet, clean, and roomy. I sit in the glider/rocker, put my feet on the ottoman, and dim the lights. I know I just have 17 more weeks of that peace and tranquility. Trying to enjoy it while I can. I have a new respect for moms...and I'm not even one yet!!

Alien Baby Update

So I went in today for my 22 week OB visit and I've only gained 5 lbs total!! This is very exciting for me, as I was overweight when I found out I was pregnant. I am only supposed to gain 15-20 lbs total, so I'm on the right track. YAY!!



My last ultrasound (at 18 weeks) was awful. My tech was mean and blah blah blah. So my doctor is going to try to do one herself in her office in 2 weeks. I also have to do the Glucose Tolerance Test which takes about an hour, but is normal to test for around this time. She's not worried about me being diabetic or anything. Also, at that same appt, she will re-measure my belly to see if I'm still measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. If so, she'll get an official u/s preauthorized by my insurance to make sure everything is normal. We're pretty sure that the extra inches of belly are due to my pre-prego pooch, but we want to make sure...and we want to know the gender of my alien baby!! :)



So I took a video of my doppler today to get audio of the baby's heartbeat since J couldn't be at the visit. The video portion is just staring at the wall, so ignore that and listen to the audio. The loud part in the middle is the baby kicking. It takes about 13 seconds to really hear the heartbeat. I'm going to see if I can upload this from my phone to this blog. :: Crossing fingers ::
Okay, I couldn't get it to work on here so I'll keep trying.




J and T (our neighbor) finished painting the nursery Monday night because we got an incredible deal on new carpet, padding, and installation and had it installed Tuesday morning. Z was EXCITED about his new room and he says the baby will love it's room, too. We put new light fixtures and J put a dimmer switch in the baby's room for me so the baby and I wouldn't be blinded in the wee hours of the morning during feedings and diaper changes. He's so handy..and SO SWEET!! Anyway, our furniture for the baby and a new bed for Z is on layaway now and we'll get it out in a couple of weeks. This is very exciting stuff!! And I'm not even due til May 13th!!

Riley gets a new home...

J (my hubby) and I had adopted a female sheltie at the end of September who was 7 months old. She had been rescued by a local Sheltie Rescue who purchased her from a self-proclaimed "breeder" who had NO business even OWNING dogs. It was obvious that the sheltie hadn't been socialized (with people) and was probably abused. She was entirely too thin and was so scared she was shaking. We weren't entirely sure she was a pure breed, as her daddy (who was rescued along with the puppy's mother) looked to be more of a border collie. The mother was absolutely gorgeous but extremely terrified of all people. Bless her heart. The daddy was very friendly.


She was terrified of my husband (ALL animals love him...) and would run into things to get away from him. We could never figure out why because she was so great with me. She snuggled up to me on the couch and in bed at night. She was SO warm!! I named her Riley and it suited her SO well. She was so skinny with big ears and sweet brown eyes. When I'd take a shower in the morning, she would have to be in the bathroom with me laying in the floor waiting for me to come out. Whenever I talked to her, her tail would wag so hard she'd almost knock herself over. She was buddies with our husky Makana and they'd run so fast through the yard it was like Oaklawn (Racing Track for those of you not in AR) in my backyard. She had even begun to warm up to my stepson, Z.


The sad part is that I finally admitted that we needed to find a home where she wasn't so afraid of people. She would lay down with J and watch tv, but I'd have to hand her to him. He'd rub her belly and she'd eventually relax and lay on her back (which was her fave sleeping position too.... complete with paws in the air) and sometimes halfway snooze. But then she was terrified once she was back on the floor. So strange. He had never raised his voice or hand to her. We're afraid that with my being pregnant, that she could knock me over when she got scared. She had tripped me a few times but I had caught myself on a door frame or something.


And of course, 4 dogs is a lot to handle for a busy household like ours. J works full time and goes to school full time in the evenings so it's basically up to me to take care of the dogs. We have a lab/chow mix named Deejay that J has had for 13 years. She's very protective of us and our house. We keep her inside when we're not home to safeguard our house since my purse got stolen on 12/14/07 (right before Christmas, thank you). We have Makana, a very sweet and intelligent husky that we rescued a few years ago and we also have a big, sweet, affectionate collie named Fletcher that we rescued. So, we have 3 large dogs... all are housetrained but Makana stays outside all day and comes in at night. Fletchy likes sleeping on the back deck during the day and roaming the neighborhood after we get home. They all sleep inside at night. All are housetrained and very well behaved. Riley was the one who was a lot of work. We got her housetrained but she still had accidents and then she barfed on my bed!! YUCK!! So we decided that I needed a little relief and called the Rescue.


J's friend at the rescue, K, was wonderful and completely understood. She hugged me several times today as I was crying the whole time. K said that she would update me regularly on Riley and that she was going to a good home. She's going to a single father with two boys, ages 3 and 7. The Dad had to have his sheltie of 13 years put to sleep recently and so he was a sheltie person. That made me feel better, but I hope Riley can adapt to 3 males. And I hope she gets a stable home. K called me an hour after we parted ways (with Riley staring at me from the truck window and me bawling) and needed some more information, but told me that Riley was snuggled up to her on the couch and watching tv. So that makes me feel better.


My attraction to shelties is from my BABY that I had to put to sleep after almost 8 years named Baleigh (pronounced like Bailey). She was all I had when I was in college and kept me from being depressed and lonely. I'll talk more about her later. She was NOT a dog, she was human to me.


So anyway, very sad day for me and I'll miss her little warm self next to me tonight. :(

Riley in J's lap the night we got her (9/30/07) and Fletcher in the front.

Riley first thing in the morning, a week after we got her.



Christmas Fletchy and a shy Riley (my husband had to hold her still next to Fletcher.)