Hot...

I'm so hot....and not in a 'woo hoo look at that hot momma' way, more like 'ick look at that sweaty frumpy mess' way :) I never understood referring to pregnancy as having a bun in the oven until I was pregnant during the summer. After that I swore, the next baby I had, I would be pregnant in the winter. See how well that worked out? =) So my next 'absolute vow' is the next home we live in will have central air, it will also be kept at 65. If the others don't like it, they can wear sweaters!!! Not that I'm being overly dramatic or anything (no not me!!!)

Books

I meant to add yesterday (got sidetracked :) ) that my online book club started again!! Technically, not mine, but I belong to it. It got sidetracked for a while, lots of new babies being born. Guess that's a hazard of belonging to a bookclub centered on Mommies. We're reading Bouidica: Drawing Down The Eagle by Manda Scott. So far, I love it. Of course I love the history of that particular region, as well of stories of strong women. From what I've been able to find out, this is the first in a quartet of books. Only two have been released so far. Now if I can get DH to move the couch out so I can get to reading again, I'll find out if I want to read the others :) I have a bad habit of setting whatever I'm reading on the back of the couch, especially bad now as I'm not allowed to *move* the couch :P

In other book news, I'm sooooo excited. I found a book that I vaguely remembered reading when I was young (7 or 8) I loved the book then, and have no clue where it had gone to . I wasn't sure of the title or anything and I found it again!! It's called The Ordinary Princess. Very cute story, and I figure something that has managed to stick in my addled brain for this long, is something I should have around :)

Life or something like it....

DH is home! He's been home since last week, I just haven't been in a blogging mood. He was in a lot of pain for the first few days. Now he seems to be doing great! I haven't seen him take one of the mega pain pills he was perscribed and he's finally been able to eat something besides bread and broth! In baby news, 1 week 6 days till the big U/S. The appointment is at 7 in the morning, so I have to get up by five so I can drink a gallon of liquid of my choice and have it finished by an hour before the appointment. I think they do this as some kind of pregnant woman torture :) In super good news the AFP test came back 'completely negative' in the words of my nurse!! For those who aren't familiar with the test, it is the Alpha Fetal Protien test, used to find the odds of your baby having either downs syndrom or spina bifida (and possibly other things). With DS, the test came back with a high rate for Spina Bifida (where basically a section of the spine is not enclosed). It led to tons of stress, genetic counseling and an in depth U/S. And it was wrong :) DS is now a perfectly healthy (albeit honrey) almost three year old. My mom had her 50th birthday yesterday :) A part of me is kind of sad. The older she gets, the closer I am to loosing her. I know 50 isn't *old*, but she's not exactly healthy either... Smoking, drinking etc. I've tried to talk to her, but I'm in a somewhat akward position in that she is my mom. I've made it very clear I want my babies to know her, a chance I didn't get with my grandma. I for once am going to try and think positive!

DH

As some of you know DH is in the hospital. He has been diagnosed with Pancreatitus, I am so very thankful that we caught it early and he should have a quick full recovery. DH has had high cholesterol since he was about 9. Like the medical mystery that he is, nothing has put a dent in it! Apparently this is what caused the Pancreatitus and hopefully with the help of meds and time he should come home in a couple of days :)

Reading

With finally being on vacation (for a month at least :) ) I've been able to return to my first love, reading. I actually read two books this weekend! The first was Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Much like Mists of Avalon, I found it hard to be absorbed in the beginning, but after a while I couldn't put it down! I love Greek Mythology, so this fit right in. The second book was Quilters Legacy (don't remember the author off hand). I also loved this book. I found the flashbacks to what had actually gone on during the making of the Eleanor's quilts just facinating. It gives me an additional sense of purpose with my stitching. In addition to doing something I enjoy, I am leaving a piece of my life behind. Very neat. Now off to go through my book stash to find something new to read :)

May Prenatal Appointment

I had my May prenatal today with the new Dr. From first impressions, I love love love this Dr.!! She explained everything to me, confirmed my risk for VBAC (I have a 1% chance of my scar rupturing, I think I can deal with that), and she spent plenty of time with me to make sure I had no questions. That and they offer very early morning appointments so DH can come too. I got to hear the heartbeat (154) and my next appt is June 16th for my 'big' ultrasound. I really hope this baby is more cooperative than Boo was :)

I just realized that it's been a while since I've done an update on life in general (and I'm avoiding a paper **gasp** isn't that a shocker???) so here goes. School is well.....school. Like I've said before, ever since finding out about this pregnancy I just haven't been able to concentrate on it. Let's just say I won't be making the dean's list this semester :/. B. is doing great. He is the typical two year old terror. Ever since the finger cutting incident, he has turned into the biggest hypocondriac. :) Anyone who will sit still for two minutes has to hear about his 'owie' It's cute, but boy is he milking it for all it's worth! DH and I are doing well (thanks to those who were asking about it.) I think a majority of the arguements were do to him freaking out about the idea of a new baby. Luckily he has come around and is very excited (still hoping for daddy's little girl) We are hoping to do a mini vacation in the beginning of June. We are thinking of going to either Gettysburg or back to Chicago so I can show him were I grew up (and I can get some of that great food I've been craving!) In baby news, everything seems to be going fine. My next appointment is May 11, with the new OB's and I think I've felt the bub moving!! I say I think because it seems insanely early, but then again I've heard that you recognize it earlier with your second child. I've also 'popped' I feel huge (and it doesn't make it any better that I know I'm going to keep growing!) I told DH that I remembered being this big when I had B! oh well, par for the course as they say. The kitties are doing good, although mr. Vlad is working his way to an early death. There must be something in the air because the little poop takes every chance he gets to shoot out the door like a bolt of lightening. It doesn't help that we have a very independant (and inattentive!) two year old who doesn't pay attention to the kitties when he opens the door. I think that's about everything, so back to the paper I go!

Since the archives are down at Friday Five (and WG used the one I used last week so I can't copy hers :) ) I'll do the stitchers five for the week!
1. Which do you prefer, Kits or Charts?
Charts!

2. Why?
I hate, hate, hate sorting the thread. It is almost never in any dicernable order. I would much rather get to stitching than try and figure out the difference between forty different types of blue.

3. How do you organise your materials before you stitch
Not very well :) I have the floss boxes and bobbined floss, but I'm trying to get into the DMC stitchbow system, with one project at a time kitted up and stitching it.

4. Do you do anything to the sides of your fabric before starting?
I don't do anything, my LNS serges the edges for me, and I've fallen in love with Silkweaver (got my first piece this week!!!)

5. What do you do with the leftovers when your done?
put in back in my ever growing pile of stash (bad TWBB enablers, Bad!!!!!)

Well in an effort to get away from the constantly baby oriented blog, I have decided to look up something interesting I have seen on other blogs: The Friday Five....As there isn't a new one posted, I will start with an archive from April 12, 2002...

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why?
Leona's (a Chicago based pseudo Italian restaurant) They have the best triple cheese garlic bread, and a wicked garlic chicken. If you love garlic, and don't mind the ability to kill vampires by simply breathing on them, I highly recommend it!

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to?
Arby's, it's not your typical rubberized burger. That and I'm a sucker for curly fries.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping?
I usually start at $2, even for crappy service. I will go upwards of 20% or higher for good service. As a former waitress, I have a guilt complex for not leaving anything, even if service is horrible. I also had a waitress chase after me demanding why I didn't leave a tip (the one time the service sucked so bad I couldn't see tipping at all) and the confrontationally challenged person that I am is terrified of that happening again.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert?
appetizer - yes, dessert - very rarely

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant?
soda (coke if they have it...)

Yay!!! I got a lot of financial aid money for the summer. That combined with the fact that I had to drop 2 of my 3 classes (daycare fell through) means we can get everything that I wanted for the baby!! We didn't need a whole lot because I hoarded everything from DS. We do need some big ticket items though, mainly the crib. DS shook his until it fell apart, hence him being in a toddler bed at 18 months. This also means if it's a girl, I can get all the little frilly pink clothes my heart desires. I'm thrilled! In other news, I'm dumping my Dr. The last appointment was both disappointing and frightening. First off, they were totally not supportive of my choice of a VBAC. Now I'm all for having a c-section if it is *medically* necessary. If it will save my baby I will do it in a heartbeat. I will not have major surgery (and don't kid yourself, that is exactly what it is.) for the sake of convenience, be it mine or the Dr.s. I have no delusions about a vaginal birth being painless, but I've been through a c-section and the recovery blows. Now that I have a two year old to care for, and that DH is a contractor (meaning no paid leave when baby arrives) I have no clue how I would swing watching a newborn and a toddler. The second thing was that the nurse tried to find the heartbeat, gave up after about ten seconds and was looking way too low. They found DS's HB much higher, at the same time. It's scary not to hear it, and to know I won't have another chance for a month all because the nurse was either too rushed or too incompetent to do it correctly. The final straw, and the one that frightened me the most, was that they gave me a hepatitis B vaccination, telling me it was perfectly safe. #1, I don't have hepatitis b, I was tested and it was negative. #2, I don't have *any* of the risk factors for getting it, and finally I did the research when I got home, and while there is no evidence yet that it is harmful to the fetus it is still in the testing stages!! How dare you tell me something is perfectly safe, when in fact it is in the middle of the testing stages and for all I know my kid could pop out with 3 arms and a mouth on it's rear!!! Granted some of this (maybe most) is pregnancy induced hysteria. Yet under the best of conditions I don't appreciate being lied to or patronized. So I've made an appointment with another group and am hoping they are both more supportive of my choices, and more interactive with their patients. It looks promising so far, they have the only nice medical receptionist I have ever met.

I'm sorry to anyone that still reads this, first trimester exhaustion has hit me full force. I hate this feeling of total lethargy. Ugh. Well I had my first pregnancy related emergency room visit. The baby is fine, I'm just paranoid. I had a 'threatened miscarriage' with my son last pregnancy (which basically meant I was bleeding and they couldn't figure out why) so if I think anything is wrong I go get seen. My Dr. was closed, so I went to the ER. Good news is we got another US, and it looks like a baby now! This pregnancy seems to be taking so much longer than DS's. Oh well. I'm back on a stitching kick. My (step)dad asked me to stitch a tribute to Jaime (see below) I am so honored. I ordered my first piece of hand dyed fabric for it, and while waiting for supplies I restarted TW's Fantasy Sampler (for the third time!!) The first time I had the fabric turned the wrong way, and didn't figure it out till I had a good chunk done, so in lieu of frogging I started again. The second time my lovely 2 year old grabbed it with spegetti hands. You can never get spegetti stains out. :P I told DH if something happens to this one, I'll take it as a sign from God that it wasn't meant to be :P Bad school news, I have completely lost my drive in school, good news I only have about 5 weeks left. I just want to nest and prepare for baby, not write silly papers that won't matter in the grand scheme of things beyond school. I have 1 summer class (was going to do three) I think with a break from this semester, I can handle one class. It's beginning spanish, and I took that in high school, so hopefully it will come back to me once I'm doing it every day. I have to take something rediculous like 12-14 hours of a foriegn language, so I figured I might as well take one I'm semi familiar with. Well I think that's all for now.

My husband did the most romantic thing this weekend. He kidnapped me! Ok, that sounds a little odd. For once we threw caution to the wind, said screw the expense, and we took a road trip. We drove to PA, and rented a hotel. DS was so excited to go swimming. He just kicked his legs like he was going to run across the water! I can tell he's going to be a fish, just like mommy! I don't think I have ever seen him so excited =) It was nice to get away from all the worries and crunches of home life, if only for a day. In other news, my stepdads dog had to be put to sleep =( He was so devastated. My stepdad has never had kids, so Jaime was like his daughter. It wasn't a surprise, she had been going downhill for a while. That doesn't ease the hurt any. So, if anyone out there is the praying sort, please say one for my stepdad and Jaime. Jaime, you will be missed.

I had my first ultrasound!! Beautiful baby (ok looks like a tadpole at this point, but I'm hormonal and I say it's beautiful) HB 163 beats per minute! I'm so relieved.

I

I had my first Dr. appt. yesterday. It went well, was very very long though. Good news, I get an ultrasound on Monday!! Bad news, I may have to have a repeat c-section. I really would rather VBAC, but I guess for safety reasons they won't let me unless they can get my records from my old Dr. (in another state...) phooie. All in all I'm doing great. Been really tired, no morning sickness tho. I have only found one food aversion (tuna). We have names all picked out!! Well dinner calls :) Hopefully I will be able to post more often!

Well I have my first Dr.'s appointment today. It's not really a Dr. appointment, it's a pregnancy confirmation appointment. Apparently my insurance isn't sure that I can manage peeing on a stick all by myself :P I've been awful crampy lately so paranoid me went out and bought another test and sure enough the pregnancy line came up nice and dark, but the control line was barely there...I told my mom I think that means I'm really pregnant, but barely human :D I'm really trying to enjoy this pregnancy b/c Dh and I have pretty much decided that if it's a girl it will be our last. I might convince him to try one more time if it's a boy, but that's a big maybe. It's kind of hard to enjoy at this point b/c I'm just getting all the yuk stuff now. Oh well :)

	Bedtime Bear You are usually asleep on the job but that's okay because your job is to make sure everyone gets enough sleep! You're shy and sweet...when you are actually awake! Getting sleepy already?
Take the Which Care Bear Are You? Quiz!

Ok I think a major reason I got this is b/c I'm pregnant and exhausted......:P Oh and I blabbed already :) Oh well

Holy Cow!!! I have such big ginourmous news....Kind of ironic considering my last post :D I'm preggers!!! I'm so scared and elated all wrapped into one. Now I'm only about 5 weeks (4 weeks 5 days) and for all the TWBBers out there I am going to post, I'm just going to try (note the word try here!) to wait till I'm a little further along. We are looking at a due date of November 1, although I went two weeks early with DS. Funny thing, If I go two weeks early for this one, I'll have the baby on my birthday :) Yay!!!! What I'm planning to do with school is take classes over the summer, and take the fall off. Hopefull I'll go back in the spring of next year! The baby will be about three months old then. I really want a baby girl :) I made a joke to DH that if it's a girl and I have to have another c-section I can tell the doc to just tie the tubes while he's in there =) I'm just soooooooo excited!!!!

Woo Hoo!!! I got a B- on my paper/presentation for Dr. Intimidation!!! And he's letting me rewrite if I want to improve on that. Color me relieved =D (I need WG's green grinny for this one!!!) I talked with him after class tonight and told him that part of my problem is that I've never had to deal with the in depth analysis of literature before. I'm used to reading something and taking it at pretty much face value. This interpreting everyline for some deep earth shattering meaning is confuzzling the heck out of me. DS got his stitches out on Tuesday. His finger looks pretty good, although there might be a scar. On the other hand he had double hernia surgery a year ago and you can barely see the scars from that. How I wish I had his skin! I was telling my mom today I wish I could find my biological clock and kill it. I have been wanting another baby so bad I can taste it. Now is *not* the time to have one! That and I'm pretty sure we would need medical intervention...DH and I have opposite blood types (pos & neg), and he was told that he couldn't father children. (Hence DS being a complete surprise!!!) Does any of this stop me from wanting another one? Nope. :P So I drive myself crazy monthly. I hate hormones. I was a little surprised by the quiz results (see below) yet it's mostly true. Except I don't have an accent...(at least I don't think midwesterners have one.) and I really don't have an affinity for straw hats....I haven't worn one since I was about a year old =) O.K. nuff babbling (I got a B!!!)

Found this on Lorna's blog....

You're Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!

by Mark Twain

With an affinity for floating down the river, you see things in black
and white. The world is strange and new to you and the more you learn about it, the less
it makes sense. You probably speak with an accent and others have a hard time
understanding you and an even harder time taking you seriously. Nevertheless, your
adventurous spirit is admirable. You really like straw hats.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Thanks Angi and WG for your comments =) I was in the midst of a pity party :P.

We got a second car!! Ok, kind of =) My mom got a new car, and the dealership wasn't going to give her anything for her old car so she gave it to us. That makes me feel bunches better :) DH went on a cleaning rampage last night. I think I may have to hurt him. The problem is that he is a minimalist. He likes very uncluttered spaces, clean lines. I am the complete opposite. I like lots of things crowded around me. I like them to be neat, but I like them there. It feels cozy to me. Well in his cleaning "fit" he completely rearranged the living room, all trying to make the room look bigger! Now it doesn't help that we both want cigarettes badly, and have been snapping at eachother all weekend... I tried explaining that the only way to make the room look bigger would be to remove some furniture and he is *not* getting rid of my comfy furniture. Silly man. That and he keeps trying to move my stash!!! I have about six kitted projects in a basket he keeps trying to shove into our spare room. He seems to think I only need to have one project out at a time...(he also seems to think that I need to finish something before buying anything else, little does he know). Well DS wants me to play so off I go =)