30 April 2007

My Back Hurts...

and its only Monday. It wasn't even 11am this morning and I was thinking that my back was really bothering me. This is not good. I have too much time left to already be having this much back pain.

.... Just got interrupted and had almost an hour conversation with a guy on some interesting things not at all related to work... Must go home now

26 April 2007

Belly Update

After being asked a million times yesterday when my due date is and hearing their responses, I was definitely feeling like I have a protruding belly:

By the way, I'm due July 1st and hoping for a c-section during the last week of June. And everything I eat lately, and I mean EVERYTHING, gives me heartburn and makes my tummy uncomfortable. Diet, Caffeine Free Coke has been my companion lately! It's not fun. Otherwise, I feel pretty good so long as I don't spend too much time on my feet.

24 April 2007

Toilet Paper

Last week at work, another "boss" in the building mentioned to me while I was washing my hands in the bathroom about the paper towels. They were your typical brown, rough-as-sandpaper paper towels. I'd gotten used to them just fine in the last few years. Anyway, this lady requested to the building owner that he purchase us "nicer" paper towels. Now, I didn't realize that there was a quality to crappy paper towels. But apparently there is and now we have white paper towels that must be softer. I haven't really noticed that big of a difference.

Anyway, today I was taking my potty break #4 of the morning (gotta love being pregnant) and got irritated with the whole situation. I honestly care less about the paper towels. And since the change, we've also had a change in toilet paper. The stuff wasn't nice to begin with but now its worthless thin white stuff. You honestly have to roll out over 12 inches of paper just to get anything decently thick. Okay, I'm not a TP snob and I don't have to have Charmin or whatever other brand, but seriously, this new stuff is Crap!

Okay, enough griping for the day...

Mini-Martha

Preface: I am NOT the old-style "barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen" house wife. I don't wait on my husband all the time. I don't prepare all the meals. When I do prepare meals, they're generally pretty basic. I also no longer work out 3 days a week or get enough exercise. I spend my days at the office and my evenings chasing a little one. With that said, this is an interesting read:

I totally felt like a little housewife last night. After work, I went for a 30-minute walk with the little guy and then home to make supper. Ryan was outside shoveling dirt and when I had supper ready I yelled at him to come in. I somehow even managed to make two meals last night without burning anything, melting anything or any other major catastrophes! Anyway, after I yelled at Ryan out the door, Scott proceeded to stand in the doorway and yell at Ryan to come in for supper just like his mommy had done. It was too cute. Ryan came in for a quick meal where we actually sat at the table together to eat. It was unusual. Then the phone rang and the two Ryans chatted. I felt no obligation to stay at the table so I got up and cleaned up from supper. Okay, let me just say that I'm not so good at keeping up with dishes sometimes but I've been on a role lately. My kitchen has been clean for over a week now. My laundry has been kept up and the living areas aren't too bad either. By time I was done in the kitchen, I headed upstairs with a load of laundry which my husband even helped to put away. Finally, I headed to bed - swollen legs and all. I couldn't believe I'd been on my feet from 5-9 last night. I was dying by time I crawled in bed! And this morning, my legs still ache and my knee (the one I had surgery on in college) is in pain. Oh, this was supposed to be a fun day at work, one where I could spend a good amount of time out of the office and in the field but now I'm not so sure. I guess my pregnant and lazy body just can't go-go-go like I used to when I was 20!

23 April 2007

Poor Keller

It's finally "warm" here. Its warm enough that I'm not looking at airline tickets anymore! Anyway, with the warm weather comes the annual haircut for Keller, my mini Aussie. Last year was quite the event so this year we were a little more prepared. Being married to a veterinarian, he had the wise idea to sedate the wild and hyper dog first. Last year it took two of us - one to hold and one to shave all the while hoping the kiddo would stay napping in his bedroom. This year was significantly better. Here's how my Sunday afternoon entertainment played out:

The doc sedated him and initially he ran around like wild - the opposite affect! Within minutes, Keller went to lay down near the edge of the porch after chasing a cat and fell right off the porch. It was a sad sight but definitely funny too. I was afraid he was going to start a seizure (my kiddo isn't the only one I've seen have a seizure, the dog did it when we first got him and he fell off the couch). Anyway, I picked up the seemingly drunk dog and carried him onto the lawn where he fell asleep. Okay, let me just say that Australian shepherds have LOTS of THICK hair. Getting started was no easy task. [Imagine this extremely pale person begging for a tan wearing shorts and a sports bra with a massive belly protruding out trying to shave a dog.] So, I got things started and was moving along slowly at first when I found a tick. And then another one. So, I ran into the house and interrupted the vet watching his Cardinals baseball game to have him get me some rubbing alcohol in a cup and tweezers. As I continued shaving, I made it a point to let the clippers cool every little bit while I picked off a few ticks. And then I got to his back hip and found a grouping of ticks. As if that's not nasty enough, it looked like there was something else on him - maybe a pussy substance but it actually looked like a piece of plastic and was the size of my pinkie fingernail (think 0.5 by 0.25 inches). I took a closer look to realize it was a FAT tick and I had nicked him with the clippers. Of course, I had to run in the house and get Ryan to come look at my huge find. It was so big I couldn't use the tweezers to pull it off and wasn't about to touch it. By now, it had lost some size in the blood that dripped out. I managed to get the tick off with a few sticks and into the alcohol.

For the next hour or so, I would shave a little and pick off a few ticks. [Yes, I'm married to a vet but don't manage to care enough about my outside dog to keep up with his flea/tick preventative stuff]. I had just flipped the dog to his other side when he seemed to start waking up. So for the next little bit, I hurried with the clippers, threw ticks in alcohol, lots my tweezers a few times in the grass, cut out the cockleburs that were matted in near his ears, wiped the slobber away and continued shaving. By time I was clipping up near his head, he was awake but still in the very groggy and seemingly drunk stage. When finished, Keller was nodding his head around trying to wake up. He looked like a whole new dog. No more ticks, no cockleburs matted in and his hind end was shaven clean with no matted yucky/stinky stuff. I picked Keller up and took him to his kennel where he woke up the rest of the way and proceeded to bark for the next half hour.

Of course, as soon as I was done, I headed in the house to take a shower stopping only briefly to check the score of the baseball game. Of course, just then I saw a tick crawling on my arm. I HATE TICKS and can't stand to see them near me let alone on me. I destroyed the tick and went straight to the shower. The job was done. And now, I will make sure that Ryan will be bringing home his flea/tick preventative medicine. Ryan kept my tick collection to use as a visual when he asks people if they're using the flea/tick stuff. He counted them up... 60 ticks!!! Poor neglected dog. By the way, he was so easy to clip while sedated that I think I'll do it once more this summer :)

20 April 2007

Tips of the Day

I was just reading my Iowa Outdoors magazine and found some interesting tidbits to share:
1. Keep your minnows breathing easy with a little H2O2. Add a capful of hydrogen peroxide to your bait bucket.
2. Dutch oven liner. Line the dutch oven with a disposable aluminum foil cake pan for easy clea-up. When done, throw the liner in the trash. Check out Byron's website for lots of handy information and recipes for your dutch oven.
3. For those of who love fish, that bluegill your husband fried up last night that looked like it'd had pepper shaken on it was actually grubs in the fish. DOn't worry, its harmless. The grubs are common and won't hurt you but make sure you freeze it first or cooking it properly (to 145 degrees internal temp) kills the parasites. Okay, I've totally experienced this one and NEVER got sick from it!!!

And then from my same reading experience, a few myths busted:
1. Lightning can strike the same place twice. For those of us who love to watch Sweet Home Alabama, we know the little kids in the movie lead us to believe that it can't strike the same place twice. This is not true.
2. Toads can't cause warts. Warts are caused by HPV (a human virus). So, kiss them all you want girls but you must know that so far research suggests that kissing toads won't turn them into princes either.

Have a happy Friday!

18 April 2007

Prego

10 more weeks and counting.
I suppose we should start talking a little more seriously about names.

A few names I like for a boy are:
Derek, Jake, Justice... haven't put much thought into boy names. Hubby would like for John to be a middle name since it runs in both families but that makes the name picking more difficult. I don't really like the sound of "Jake John" or even "Jacob John"

A few names I like for a girl are:
Kate, Danni, Sue... haven't put much thought into girl names either.

I really need to start considering baby names!

Rockstar Husband

It's amazing how Ryan doing things for me makes me want to return the favor. I love doing for my husband but sometimes my attitude really sucks about it. It's horrible and I know that I'm not supposed to keep score but sometimes I don't want to do for him because he hasn't ... (fill in the blank). I don't want to be selfish but sometimes I just can't force myself to do for him simply because there's 2 weeks worth of trash that hasn't been taken to town yet. But that's me and I'm still learning!
Regardless of how selfish I can be, Ryan continues to serve me by cooking meals, etc. Sunday night was really sweet though. I mentioned that I wanted dessert. He said that he got the hint and asked what I wanted. I assured him that I wasn't "hinting" this time and that I didn't want him to get me anything. He went into the kitchen anyway and was in there for quite some time. I heard the blender going, cabinets opening, etc and continued to lay my fat and tired butt on the couch. When he came back in the living room, he told me that it would be a bit before it was ready. My husband had made me a cheesecake!!! What a rockstar! I truly didn't expect anything and would have even been happy with popcorn but I got cheesecake.
His thoughtfulness made me want to be thoughtful to him in return. The next night when I came home late after hanging out at my mom's, he was finishing up the dishes. I'm not sure what had gotten into him but I was appreciating it. Ryan is a wonderful husband but certainly is not a maid and does not clean. It was such a sweet gesture. I really need to think of something fun to do for him in return.

Thank You McD's

On my way to D-town for an OB appointment, I stopped at the "golden arches" for my favorite: an egg mcmuffin without the egg, topped with a hashbrown. In a total hurry, I pulled through the drivethrough and handed the cashier my credit card to pay. She had a surprised look and turned back around to tell me that their machine wasn't work. She walked away and I knew I was about to be late to my appointment and embarrassed at McD's. The only way I had to pay was my credit card so I waited for the lady to come back so I could explain that I didn't have cash and would have to cancel my order. But it didn't work quite that way... another lady came back to the window and handed me my credit card. She then grabbed a small bag and handed it to me. I interrupted with a "but I haven't paid". She explained that my meal was on them because their machine didn't work. I rushed off, thankful for a truly "FREE" meal.

12 April 2007

Airline tickets

I'm not appreciating this winter weather in April...

Airline ticket to go "back where I come from" is $1084. Aint happening!
Airline ticket to go visit Cori in beautiful San Diego $980. Aint happening!
Airline ticket to go see my in-laws in Northern Arizona $594. Aint happening!
Flight + 4 nights hotel to Waikiki starting at $584. Still aint happening!

What's wrong with this picture? Why is it cheaper to spend 4 nights in Hawaii?

I'm tired of being inside. I want to plant a garden, get a tan, lay in the hammock and enjoy spring flowers. But no, that's not what's going on here. Instead we got ~5" of snow, I cranked the heater up to 69 and snuggled up under a blanket. I've had a pair of shorts in my car for several weeks now hoping to go walking at night. It hasn't been warm enough for that yet. I've seen others out walking with their hooded sweatshirts covering their head. Meantime, the temperature is 83 back where I come from.

09 April 2007

My Little Cowboy


As I was cleaning Saturday, I dusted off my old cowboy hat which has become part of the decor in our living room the past few years. I put the hat on my head and the little guy was quite entertained. We, of course, had to put it on his head too and look in the mirror. Yesterday, we showed off my little cowboy to his grammy who was able to sneak a few decent pictures of him. Here's my favorite - dirty shirt and all!

Another seizure...

Saturday was a good day. Hubby was gone to work and I had the little one in front of the TV. (Let me just say that I hate having the TV as a "babysitter" but this day was necessary.) I would check on him every several minutes. The past few days he'd been a little warm off and on and a little whiny so I assume he's teething again. I had just checked on him and he was warm but my warm-bodied kid was in sweats with a fleece blanket over him at the temp at set at 68. I knew that he likely needed Tylenol but I decided that I'd finish the dishes quick and then give him a bath before going to meds.

I walk in to check on him just as he's getting off the couch. He slides off the couch and then stands still for one second and begins shaking. I WAS SCARED TO DEATH. I immediately ran over and grabbed him up in my arms shouting his name. Meanwhile, I'm wondering how I'm going to deal with a seizing child and manage to get his medicine out of my car all at the same time. It wasn't more than 5-10 seconds and the shaking stopped. He never screamed, got rigid, really hot or any other "seizure signs". As I sat on the couch (about to have a heart attack and definitely sweating now) clutching my child, I watched him closely.

The kid was glued to the Vegie Tales movie (being repeated for the 3rd time which he didn't mind). And on the movie, there was an outer-space vegie that was coming down. As I watched, I was sure that the kid wasn't seizing - he was just scared of the stupid vegie!!! Of course, my awareness of seizures in relationship to fevers was the scary part. Thankfully, it was not a medical issue! The remainder of the weekend, I watched him closely and got a little nervous each time he'd stand quietly in one spot in a "different" sort of way.

06 April 2007

Yummy Food

We live in the "sticks" which means that most places to eat serve very boring tasting food. But, in our small town of ~500, there's a new guy in town. He's a big time cuisine chef (I can't remember the official terminology) that opened up his own place here. I've been in the restaraunt several times: once when he allowed us to use the building for our Vday supper, once for supper with my cousin and then last night.

The guys has wonderful meals on his menu. Unfortunately, they're such "nice" meals that I don't even understand what the heck they are. In fact, when we had supper with my cousin, I ordered dutch pancakes with fresh fruit on top because I didn't understand or didn't have an interest in the fancier foods. Our small group met for supper there last night. I asked Thomas to translate the menu for me and ended up ordering a Tarragon Corn Meal .... Walleye. It was huge and tasted very good. It came with flavorful mashed potatoes (that weren't beaten to death) and grilled asparagus. It was quite delicious. Thanks Thomas!

05 April 2007

Glucose Test Update

I passed with flying colors yesterday. The tech (a lady I also attend church with) was the lucky one who got to deal with me. I had only failed the original glucose challenge by one point which I consider to be good after all the sweets I ate that day.

I was a bit nervous Wednesday morning realizing that I'd not eaten much or anything healthy the night before because of a work meeting. At 6pm I had a milk shake and fries on the way to a meeting. At 9pm I had an apple on the way home. I was afraid that I would be starving. And I was when I woke up but I got up right away and got moving around and forgot all about it. Thanks to a piece of sugar-free gum, I was entertained all morning. Of course, right after the glucose drink, I felt an emptiness in my tummy but it went away with the gum. In fact, when I was done, I didn't go straight to food. I wasn't even hungry until I had some water and then it was like my body realized my tummy was empty. I even stopped at the vet clinic to see my hubby for a few minutes before I stopped at moms to eat. And even then, I played with my kiddo for a bit before I grabbed a slice of pizza and a handful of grapes.

Thankfully, my tests were normal and I can continue to eat whatever - except I might consider having one maple bar instead of two! Just another little bump in this pregnancy road that God quickly ironed out before it became a pothole!

03 April 2007

Dr. Dentist

Just got finished with the dentist. Not fun! I used to love the dentist. The guy I had growing up and through college was wonderful, down to earth and very gentle. Then I moved to Iowa and married a guy who's father is a dentist. Same experiences with him. Wonderful, down to earth, gentle. And better yet - FREE! So, it wasn't until they moved to Arizona and I didn't get there often enough that I had to find a local dentist. This guy is nice and his hygentist is nice too. But, it's not the same. She's not gentle, she's not funny and she has different methods than what I'm used to. MY TEETH ARE SORE! Apparently I have a spot to watch and make sure I floss good. Next cleaning they'll do an x-ray to check that spot. And if I have a cavity there, I'll be very tempted to fly to Arizona to get it fixed instead. Hmm, maybe that will encourage another visit to Ryan's folks which I'm sure they'd appreciate!

I want my old dentist (either one of them) back.

Couple of Thoughts for the Day

Last night I had a dream about having a foreign exchange student - thanks Merritt!
I also had a dream where I really questioned if Ryan loved me or someone else - thanks to name discussions with Ryan and my co-worker.

My kid is hilarious. Honestly, I didn't know it would be such a joy! In the few short hours we were home last night, several things he did made me laugh out loud:
- He yelled at the dog and told him to come and eat (after I'd done so several times).
- He was at the table playing with his magnetic drawing toy (brain fart... what is that toy called?). I look over and not only does he have the little magnet animal shapes on the screen, but also several slices of potatoes that I was making homemade chips with.
- Next time I look over, he's eating a raw slice. Only, he's not eating it, he's taking a bite, turning his head and spitting it out over his shoulder. I watched him do this 4 times. And after laughing, I scolded him and he responded with "DJ, eat". Not sure if he was still nagging the dog to eat or trying to give him another food option.
- He loves this old farm book that was his dad's as a child. It's falling apart and each time he insists we read it, something else tears out, falls out, etc. Last night, he pried the chicken off but continued to lift the flap and say "chicken" and then "egg" when he could see the egg.
- Bath time was hilarious. Let me preface this by sharing that he likes to throw his arms in the air and say "where did it go" any time something gets out of site. He was playing along with a shallow little bowl. And sitting in the tub, he looked down, said "peepee", covered himself with the bowl and said "where did peepee go". He did this multiple times and I died laughing!

So, my kid was fun last night. His dad stopped at the house for a quick minute to drop off the dog and grab a to-go bite before heading to his next call. His dad got home just as we finished in the bath and were getting ready for bed. So, Ryan snuggled the kiddo for a few minutes in his "big bed" while I went downstairs to fry us some pork fritters for a late supper. I came back up and the kiddo was still awake but definitely tired. Ryan got up and small fry just stayed there. He asked to go to "mommy's bed" and when I said no and asked if he wanted to go to his crib, he said "no". So, I asked if he wanted to stay in his "big bed" and he said yes. We grabbed his bed time pals (music toy, elmo and pacifier) and lifted up the rail and headed to bed. I was sure that it would be an all night issue to get him to sleep. But, he was fine. He slept right through the roaring thunder, hail, winds, etc. What a champ! My kid slept in his big bed on the first try (although he napped in there with Ryan on Sunday). It was awesome. Of course, we got up 3 different times to cover him back up and check on him like worried parents but he was fine!!!!

02 April 2007

Weekend Up North

I left work 45 minutes early on Friday to start the weekend. I was hoping to leave at noon but because I was swamped at work, I considered 45 minutes being lucky. Rushed right home and didn't even stop at my mom's to see my kiddo. I got home in time to question why in the world did I hurry... hubby was standing in front of the TV playing xbox!
Now, I hadn't communicated that I wanted to leave at any certain time but I did mention that I would plan to get home early. I was dissapointed that hubby was still in work clothes (not that he ever cares to change), had yet to pack (or do anything else around the house on his half day off) and was playing video games. Now, let me state that I struggle so much with keeping up with the household chores while working full time. And that's before I added a child to the house and am pregnant with #2. I was so frustrated that hubby had provided NO help to me that afternoon! Okay, now that I vented about my frustration, I'll share about our weekend.

I was ready for a quiet and cozy weekend without the phone, TV or friends. We got close! Friday on our way up to the house, we stopped in at wallyworld. Before we even parked, we saw a friend (and past co-worker) of Ryan's. After visiting for 15 minutes, we parked and headed inside for a quick shopping trip. After gathering some needed items for home (might as well when you're actually near a place to shop) and some food for the weekend, we headed out.

No big plans, just some quality time together... we had frito boats for supper, I ate some "fresh" (so they say) strawberries and we watched the Pursuit of Happyness (which I did not like). After a long week of work, I was more than ready for bed when the movie finished. Saturday we headed to town for brunch. I took Ryan to Ruby's - a local place with a good chicken fried steak. Afterwards, we walked around town, poked our head in the different shops, spent too much money (I bought an old egg basket, a old bat for kiddo's room while hubby found an old thing that had DX logos on it). We made a quick stop at the local coffee house but when I didn't know what anything on the menu was (I'm limited to experiencing a caramel frapp at Starbucks), we ordered a hot chocolate and sat and played Battleship for a while. It was a well needed break for my tired feet and body. We managed to avoid the short rain showers all except once and even then stayed fairly dry. Of course, we couldn't go home without another trip to Walmart, another DVD purchase (with 500 other things) and a stop at Culvers for lunch (as if I was hungry).

I tried my best to be content. But honestly, I didn't know what to do with myself having "free time". It was crazy and I was bored! In between movies and games, I swept up a few asian beetles, wandered around outside, etc. I never have that kind of time at home. There's always laundry to do, a kid to chase, plants to water, etc. Not only was I bored but I missed my son!

Saturday night we had some wild thunderstorms with lots of rain and wind and tornado warnings. I slept wonderfully (thank you Tylenol PM) that night. Sunday morning I lounged around and finished a book while Ryan ran to town once more. I showered and wasn't quite finished packing when Ryan came back. We were at mom's picking up our son by noon. It was a nice weekend and good to spend time with just my hubby. But it was also good to be back home!

Thanks for a slow weekend...here comes another whirlwind week of events!