Are you sleeping?!?! I'm not!!! UGH!!!

Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

Apparently I was not meant to sleep tonight (last night - whatever).

I've been awake since 10 Wednesday morning. It is now 5:48 Thursday morning.

I actually went to bed at about 2:30 and thought I was going to be able to sleep, but apparently not. Finally at 5:15 I got up with Paul because I was so hungry. I've now eaten two granola bars and am going back to bed in about 10 minutes to try to get some sleep...

The baby has been moving around SOOOO much. It's crazy. And I feel this really uncomfortable pressure on my pelvic bone and bladder... Could the baby be dropping? Seems a little early to drop, I mean I'm not quite 34 weeks... Well, I guess not... I feel like I may have to poop, maybe that's it... But I've already pooped today and that didn't releive any pressure... UGGGGHHHH!!!!

I'm just so frustrated that I can't sleep. I'm so tired. And now I'm afraid that I will sleep all day today and won't sleep again Thursday night.

We're supposed to get a huge snow storm Thursday night and all day Friday, so I have to call the MidWife and reschedule my appointment Friday till some time Monday because I'm not driving that far in the bad snow storm...

UGGGGGHHHHH I'm just soooo tired.... Why can't I sleep?!?! I don't get it... And what's with this weird pressure and baby moving sooooo much?!?! UGH!!!!

Lullaby and good night HOPEFULLLLLY!!!!

Our talk with Jen...

So we went to dinner with Jen tonight... At the Outback. It was very yummy. And talked to her about moving out on March 1st....

Paul and I were both shocked by the response we got from her. She started crying. We never thought that would happen, or we wouldn't have talked to her in such a public place. We think she's terrified to live on her own. She says she already has somewhere to go. She says she can live with Megan and Karen so I guess she's going to go stay there. And Karen said that she doesn't have to pay rent until after she's working. So atleast she has somewhere to go.

The first thing she said after we started telling her this was "I'm not going to live on my own". We were just really surprised by her reaction. Plus we think that she feels we are saying "Well we're having our baby, and it's replacing you, so time for you to leave. Bye". And of course we're not. So we just have to reitterate (sp?) that we love her, and support her, will help her as much as we want, and just want her to be happy.

She has been told several times to work, and has refused to, so of course she doesn't have money saved. I think her mother sends her money a couple times a month. So since she's saying she doesn't need rent money for the month of March we're thinking we'll just pay for her state cosmetology boards (around $300). But we won't tell until we know that this plan with Megan is for sure. Because with her things change soooo quickly.

We've talked about letting her live in the basement, but decided against it because she takes advantage of us when we try to help her in ways like that. I'm afraid she wouldn't pay her rent and we would be forced to really kick her out. So we've already decided that it's not a good idea. But that was our original plan. Plus Sally says it's not a good idea, and we need to stop enabling her and just help her move out on her own.

It was a little akward/shocking to have her crying in the Outback. We're still suprised by it. She was going to watch Deal or No Deal and Moment of Truth with us, but after we got back from the Outback she showered, packed and bag and is staying at a friends for a couple days. I think she's pretty upset. We probably won't see her again until Friday or Saturday. She'll get over it, and we'll just keep telling her that we love her want her to be happy and we're going to help her out as much as we can. She has taken advantage of the living situation here big time, and it's time for a change. I just don't think she saw this coming. Which I find odd, but I really don't think she thought we would ask her to leave. I think she thought we were going to let her stay here for as long as she wanted for free.

So she left earlier and won't be back for a couple days. I don't expect her to stay here until March 1st. I think she's pretty upset and is going to move out as soon as she can. And since she says she already has somewhere to go, that could be any day now. Which is fine with me, we just keep telling her that we want to see her after she moves out and come over for dinner and stuff like that. So we'll see how things go.

I'm not trying to kick her out, but honestly it won't hurt my feelings any if she leaves early. She has been a constant argument with Paul and I since she's moved in. Orginally she was supposed to move out Aug 1st (yea of last year). But obviously that didn't happen. So she's been staying here, coming and going literally as she pleases. And complaining - her bedroom is cold, she leaves lights on all the time, she complains we don't have food to eat, when I told her to go buy her own deoderant she looked at me like I was crazy, when we told her my mom was coming on March 9th and she would have to move into the basement march 1st she said "umm okay" with a hint of "whatever" thrown in there.. when she's not even paying rent. It's just little crap like that.

She'll be 20 on Feb 23rd and it's time for her to grow up. I'm still shocked at how adament she is about not living on her own. I think she's terrified to live by herself. She's always had her dad taking care of her (too much care) and then when she was living with Eric (baby daddy) he paid all the bills... etc. She doesn't know how to take care of herself. We're trying to teach her how, but she's just not getting it... So now comes the "learn the hard way" part.
While Jen wasn't living with us Paul and I NEVER fought... She asked to move back in and we've been fighting since then about her... So yes, i will be happy when she leaves. I don't mean that in a cruel way, but it's true. I won't have to worry about "when is she coming home", "is she coming home", "what kind of mood is she going to be in", "is she going to make a lot of noise", "is she going to complain about something, if so, what"... etc.
I plan on breastfeeding so the "is she going to be home" one is a biggie for me. I don't want to be breastfeeding on the couch and she walks, let alone with a couple friends. I don't want to have just put the baby to sleep and she comes home and takes a shower, blow drys her hair, makes a lot of noise, etc.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean, but it's time she moves out on her own...

For her birthday I'm going to get a cute wicker basket from TJ Maxx and fill it with her shampoo, deoderant, soap, face wash, tooth paste, etc. So she doesn't have to worry about buying these things for a while. I think it's a nice gift.

So I'm not sure if any of this makes sense to people reading it, but it makes sense to us. We're not kicking her out, and we're helping her as much as we can. I've been looking online for apartments, and room mates, jobs for her, etc. We'll talk about these things at our first Tuesday meeting next week. She won't be home tomorrow because she's staying in Port Huron because we're supposed to get like 10 inches of snow tomorrow night and we don't want her to drive Friday morning thro all that snow all the way to Port Huron.

So that's it I think... Not much else to say... I'm gonna go get something to drink! talk more later!! as if I haven't talked enough! lol

Jens Plan

So here's what we've written (with Sallys help) for Jen's Plan....

You're almost 20 yrs old and have been an adult for a few years now and we feel that you are ready to be on your own with your own place and that you will be much happier.

We will help you achieve this by March 1st. You have many options open to you, such as living with a friend, sharing an apartment with a roommate or friend or just getting your own place. However, at this stage, it is more prudent to share the expenses with a roommate or friend. We will help you financially for the 1st month to help you get started. We will work with you on this, but you have to also do your part. In order to do this, it is important to have at least a part time job to help pay for expenses.

The time table for you to be moved out is March 1st. We want to help you achieve this and we are willing to help you find an apartment, room mates, or a friend you can stay with. We will help financially with some rent money for the month of March.

By April 1st you will have finished school, taken your boards, and should be working full time. Working full time will allow you to continue to pay for rent and become independent.

At this time you should be looking for a part time job. By February 10th we expect you to be working part time even if it's at McDonald's, a grocery store, etc. If this part time job interferes with school then you will need to cut back on your hours to save money for rent, gas, bills, entertainment, state boards, etc. We want you to be financially stable on your own. As we said, we will help you for the month of March with some rent.

We will touch base twice a week to see what progress has been made - what you have done to find a job and a place to live, and what we have done to help you with that process. This will happen on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. We want you to attend these meetings so that you have a say in your future and we know how we need to help you. We want you to be a part of this process, and don't want to have to make decisions for you. If you miss a meeting we will be forced to make decisions for you.

We know in the past we haven't always followed through with guidelines that we have set for you, but this time we absolutely have to. Mandy has to be able to take care of herself for a while. So please work with us on making sure this happens in a timely manner. We know you weren't looking forward to staying in the basement when Mandy's mother comes, and this will solve that problem.

We really enjoyed when you weren't living with us last year, and came over to have dinner or play cards. Those were very enjoyable times for us, and we would like for our relationship to be that way again. After you move out we would still like to be involved in your life. We would like to have you over for dinner once a week to see how you are doing. And your dad would like to spend some one-on-one quality time with just you. You are still his daughter and he wants to strengthen the bond he has with you even more then it is already. So he would like to schedule time for the two of you spend together so you can build a better relationship together. If you need to do laundry here, you are more then welcome to when you come for weekly dinners. Quality time is important to our family, and we want you to be a part of that time.

We feel this will be a positive experience for you and want you to start your life as an adult now. We are having a baby and feel that we need time to ourselves before the arrival of the baby, and after. This is the time for us to focus on Mandy and the baby. This is our time t live our lives and you to live your life. A new life phase is starting for us and a new life phase is starting for you. Go out into the world and enjoy it! We love you and want to support you in having a happy life.

We talked to her tonight while we were eating out at the Outback... My next post will be about that....

Birth Plan

So here's my birth plan -

Mother-to-be: (Fill in)
Birth Site: (Fill in)
Primary-care provider: (Fill in)
Labor Support: (Fill in)

We are looking forward to the natural, drug free, intervention free labor and delivery of our baby. Listed below are my birth preferences. I understand that final decisions about my care will be discussed and agreed upon in the birthing room with my well-being and safe delivery or my baby as the most important consideration. We do not want anyone else (other then care providers) in the room with us during labor and delivery unless I permit it, this includes any and all family members. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to look over our wishes for this childbirth.

Birth Preferences

Labor:

IV: Prefer none
Room: same room for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum if available
Electric Fetal Monitoring: external and only for an initial 20 minutes, after that I would prefer intermittent Doppler monitoring
Movement: be encouraged to freely move and walk around out of bed/sit up
Nourishment: light foods and clear liquids, taken orally
Membranes: allow to rupture naturally, even with dilation nears 10 cm.
Labor Progress: allow to proceed on its own; prefer no artificial induction methods; if augmentation is needed, I'd like to attempt natural methods first
Pain relief and relaxation: shower/tub, massage, soft music, relaxation techniques, calm talking, dim lights, etc.
Medications: I am aware that pain medications are available for my taking, however, I would appreciate not being asked if I want drugs. If I decide that I want pain medication I will ask for it. Prefer no medications.
Lighting: Dimmed.

Delivery:

Position: whatever feels most comfortable at the time. I think I may want to try a birthing stool, squatting position, hands and knees, etc.
Perineum Care: no episiotomy. I would like a care provider/support person to apply warm/oiled washcloths or compresses to my perineum throughout my pushing stage. I know I need guidance during the crowning stage with breathing and control techniques to promote SLOW head and shoulder birthing
Pushing: I'd like to push when I feel the urge (maybe not with each contraction) and be calmly guided as far as when to and when not to push.
Actual Birth: I want to breathe and push my baby out - I don't want my baby pulled out in any way
Umbilical Cord: clamped and cut by dad or myself after it has stopped pulsating
Following Delivery: Immediate and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby and immediate attempt to breastfeed
Newborn screenings/testing/vitals/shots: We would like weighing of baby and footprints to be postponed at least an hour after birth; we refuse any silver nitrate or substitute antibiotic ointments being placed in baby's eyes (mom does not have gonorrhea), we would like baby to be given Vitamin K orally as opposed to injection, and we are refusing the Hepatitis B vaccination.

Postpartum:

Location of baby: room-in with mom and dad
Circumcision: None
Method of feeding: breastfeeding exclusively without supplements; no bottles or pacifiers
Newborn Vitals: Mom and/or Dad present for all procedures

In case of complication which requires emergency care, we ask that our care providers still do their best to accommodate as many of our preferences as possible. We would only want our baby to be born via C-Section in the case of an absolute emergency, and we realize that this would necessitate mom being given general anesthesia; dad would like to be present during surgery. In the case of a medical problem with the baby after birth, dad and/or mom would like to be present with baby at all times, during all procedures.

Thank you, Staff!!!

We realize that some of our choices aren't common in a hospital setting, and we thank the nursing staff, OB staff, and all other care providers for respecting our wishes. Our basic wish is that we'd like nature to take it's course with the labor and delivery and only intervene with medical technology should a complication arise.

Sincerely,

Amanda and Paul

Hopefully it helps someone out with writing their own birth plan!!! Now, since I am using a Mid-Wife most everything in my birth plan is normal. My only advice is go after what you WANT and feel comfortable with! Follow your instincts, it is your birth and there is no wrong or right way of doing it, as long as it's the way you want it!!!

33 weeks 1 day!!!

Not a whole lot has happened since my last entry... I take that back, I guess a lot has happened lol... I dunno we'll see what all I write about in this entry... lol

First of all, we got our crib and dresser!! It was kind of a pain in the arse because we thought they would both fit in my car, and of course they didn't. They barely got the dresser in there and we had to borrow Jerry's truck to get the crib. But we managed. So Friday night we got the crib and dresser home. Had to leave the dresser in my car over night though, but we put the crib together Friday night!!! It looks great! And Saturday we got the dresser out of my car and into the nursery! They looks amazing! I love them! So on Feb 15th we'll order the hutch/changer combo unit. I can't wait! I'm so excited.

Melonie called! Can you believe that?! It's been about 5-6 years since we've heard from her... Pretty much that long since she messed Pauls credit up and crap, but the past is the past.... So we went to her house for dinner Saturday night and had a great time. She cooked and amazing meal, we played Wii (that's so much fun - we wanna get one lol), and watched "Game Plan" (such a cute, funny movie!). It was a great night and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

Today we went to a birth/baby fair. They played the new movie "The Business of Being Born". It was amazing! I think Paul even enjoyed it, he definitely learned a lot and so did I. It was great. We went to some of the vendor booths and got lots of info. I've decided that I'm going to see a chiropractor, and the baby will definitely see one on a regular basis. I've also got to call my local Le Leche League leader and find out when/where the next meeting is. I definitely want to go. And when I have my midwife appointment on Friday I'm going to ask about that breastfeeding class the dr.s office has once a month and see if I can get in for the Feb. class. I want to make sure I'm totally prepared.

But the movie was truly amazing. I definitely recommend ANYONE (but especially pregnant women or women who intend to become pregnant) to see this movie. Truly amazing.

In my last entry Paul and I were fighting like crazy about Jen... Well of course that has passed. We met with Sally last Wednesday and everything is all worked out. We have a plan!! Pretty much the gist of it is that she is moving out March 1st and we will help with the first month's rent or finances. Notice I said HELP... we don't have a lot that we can help with, but we can help a little. So without going too much into it, that's the plan... I'm excited about it. Of course I wasn't too happy at first about giving her money, but it's getting her off on her own feet and will allow us to live our lives and be alone a couple weeks before the babies arrival, so it's a great plan. Now we just have to tell Jen, which we'll do Tuesday night.

So hmmm... what else... We had our meeting with Jenny on Jan 12th. That went great as usual. She gave us a relaxation thing we're supposed to do twice a week, of course we haven't done it even once since then... We HAVE to do this. I finally wrote my birth plan!! I was super excited about this and love it!!! The midwife was really happy about my birth plan and said that everything on it was normal for them anyways, so that's great!!! I'll have to post a copy of my birth plan in a couple minutes.

Our next meeting with Jenny is Feb 16th. And on Feb 17th we have our hospital tour.

On Feb 3rd we're going to Janelle's baby shower... that'll be fun.

I had a good birthday... I'm 23 now! woo hoo lol... We went to dinner at Fish Bones the Saturday before my birthday and it was sooooo yummy! Paul's going to wait until Feb 15th to get my birthday present because we just didn't have the money this pay period. I told him to just wait until Feb 15th. After all, I asked for an MP3 player, and those aren't completely cheap. lol

We're still waiting on my firkin W2's so we can do our taxes. And Bush just passed that new thing so we should get about $1200 back in late spring as well... so woo hoo! lol... Now we just gotta get my W2's... figures that RGIS would wait until the last minute to mail them out, doesn't surprise me at all... lol

I'm sure there's more that I wanted to write, but I'm tired of thinking lol...

Oh yea, but before I go... Last Sunday night Beth fell down her basement stairs and broke two ribs. I feel horrible for her. I gotta call her tomorrow and see how she's doing.

I'm out!!!!

Fighting about Jen... Of course....

I haven't been sleeping well this week.

Paul and I have had some arguments about Jen.

She is almost 20 and we allowed her to move back in last May when she broke up with her loser baby daddy. So when she moved back in I told Paul that maybe we should stop TTC until we KNOW for sure when she will move out and he kept telling him "No we'll keep ttc. If we get pregnant the baby will be due in Marchish and she'll be done with school (cosmetology school) and moved out (or paying rent by then)." So I agreed and on July 9th we found out we are pregnant...

So anyways. The fight is that she is NOT going to be done with school until March 15th (because she missed 80 hours of school because SHE DIDN"T FEEL LIKE GOING AHHHHHHHH). My due date is March 15th! I was told that she would be moved out by march 1st and now she won't be... So now Paul is saying "well lets give her until April 1st. She'll finish school on March 15th and that'll give her two weeks to take her boards, find a job, and get an apartment or pay rent"...

It just p!sses me off!! And I'm sure this is mostly hormonal, but I really didn't want her living here when I bring my new born baby home. I don't want to have to worry about her too. I don't want her here while I"m trying to breast feed or take care of my baby, etc. I'm not trying to be selfish or anything, but I just don't want her here while I'm trying to learn how to take care of my baby. Plus she's not exactly someone I want my baby spending a lot of time with either, if you know what I mean. She's a good kid and everything, but obviously has issues if she's not taking care of her own son...

She was supposed to be done with school in the middle of February and then moved out or paying rent by March 1st. I feel that we should stick with the March 1st plan because she's the one that fucked up by not going to school and won't be done until March 15th. That's not my problem!!!!!!!!! She should have thought about all this shit before she decided she didn't feel like going to school for two weeks.

So we've been fighting (knock down drag out fighting) over this. And it's tearing me up. I've been so sad these past few days and just want it to be over. Paul and I are still getting along... as long as we don't talk about Jen . As soon as her name is mentioned it's on... I hate that. It's like we can't even sit down and talk about her because we totally don't agree and neither one of us is willing to change their minds.

I know in the end I'm going to end up saying "Okay fine April 1st" and honestly, that P!SSES me off as well... I'm always the one that has to give in with her and she's always changing her plans and disrupting our lives... It would be different if she was 15 or 16 (or still in high sschool)... or it would be different if she was responsible and respectful, but she isnt!!! I just feel like at this point, with her being 20, having a baby, almost done with school, that she should be on her way out... but she's showing NO signs of moving out anytime soon... I mean my god, we still buy her freakin deoderant for her and she refuses to work.... OMG!!!!!!!

I told her the other day that on March 1st she was going to have to move into the basement because my mother is going to be here and will need the spare room (that is next to the nursery). She looked at me like I was crazy and then said "Okay "

It just makes me want to scream. I can't believe I've let her live here this long, and it's only because Paul wants her here... But at some point I'm going to have to say "OUT" I just don't know when to put my foot down and do that... and it tears me up...

I just feel like crying all the time over this. I really don't want her living in my house. Paul has drilled it in my head for 7 years that she is not a part of my family, so I don't consider her a part of my family. Which is why I don't want her here when we bring the baby home.

I don't feel comfortable around her and that makes me mad. Becuase it means that I don't feel comfortable in my own house... No one should ever feel uncomfortable in thier own house... But everytime she's home, or even calls, I get uncomfortable.

Like Tuesday night - We were going to Babies R Us to order the crib and dresser and were waiting until Jen got home from school. At 5:30 we called her to see if she was coming home and when she would be home. Well it went straight to voice mail, so Paul left a message and we waited until 5:45 to leave... She still wasn't home. So we're in Babies R Us and of course she calls. Apparently her phone was dead so she had to call from someone elses phone...

The first thing she said was "Where are you"
I said "We'll be home in about 30-45 minutes"
"Well, what am I supposed to do"
"I don't know. We tried to call and couldn't get ahold of you and we waited until 5:45. We'll be home in 30-45 minutes"
"Well, fine" and she hangs up...

It's just so rude... And makes me so mad that she talks to me that way. And Paul wonders why I don't like her. I don't like people that are rude, disrespectful, and irresponsible.

I'm done talking about this... I just want to go back to bed and cry all day... It's just so sad...

Too Much Crap....

Okay, so I've come to the conclusion that we have wayyyy too much Christmas crap!! lol... After I got everything put away I have 2 huge bags and 3 huge tubs full of Christmas stuff... And I don't know how I did it, but I came out with an empty tub... I think it's because I bought an extra tub in Novemeber thinking we may get more Christmas decorations this year, so now we have an empty one!!! woo hoo!! I'll find something to put in it! lol

So all the Christmas stuff is put away. And all our family pictures are back out. I like having the family photos out again... Makes it feel like home! lol...

I'm even starting to try to get some stuff put aside for a yard sale this summer... We have way too much crap that we don't even use, so it'll be good to sell. Plus by this summer we should have some baby stuff we can sale. That'll be nice to get some extra money and get rid of crap we don't use, or even realize we have LOL!!!

Not much happened today. Put all the Christmas stuff away and cleaned out the fish tank... Ugh.. It took forever. I actually just finished. I had to stop earlier because it was time to go to Kroger to get the ingredients for our YUMMMMMMY dinner!!!

We had Roasted Citrus Chicken with Lemon-Thyme Gravy, Mashed Taters, and Roasted Green Beans!!! It was soooo damn good!! And pretty easy to make. Just throw everything for the chicken in a roasting pan and into the oven. Yummmmmmmmmy.

So like I said, I just finished cleaning the fish tank out...

My back is killing me today. I think I did way too much today. I feel like doing so much more though... We need to clean my car out because we're taking it to get Jacob tomorrow because we need to get the stroller. Right now we're watching Tuesdays AMC, so when it goes off we'll clean out my car. And then I also feel like organizing the storage room in the basement, but I need Paul's help for that and I know he doesn't feel like doing it..... :-( Oh well.

Guess I should just relax tonight since we'll have Jacob this weekend.

Not much else here. Thinking about going and heating up some leftovers from dinner... yummmmmmmmy... You just don't know what your missing out on!! lol

I'm outta here!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

Pebbles ate my Jammies/Baby Movement

So on Monday night I decided to go to Wal-Mart after Paul went to bed so I wouldn't have to deal with the crowds. So I get to home from Wal-Mart around 11:45 and go to put on my jammies. I grab my jammies off the bed, where I had lay them so I could easily get them in the dark without disturbing Paul, and head to the bathroom to put them on... Of course Pebbles followed me to the bathroom. She's eyeing me suspiciously as I put on my jammies but I kinda ignore her. As I put on my pajama bottoms I realize something is wrong... PEBBLES ATE THE WHOLE CROTCH OUTTA MY JAMMIE BOTTOMRS!!! lol...

So today I headed off to Kohls to get new jammies. lol

First off I woke up feeling pretty darn good. Jumped outta bed around 10:30 and headed straight to the shower. After the shower I ate a big bowl of Cocoa Krispies and then started having stomach cramps. I layed down on the couch for a while and it eventually passed. Then I took Pebbles for a short walk down the street. It had been so long since she'd gone for a walk and she loved it. I was still feeling okay so I headed off to Kohls to get new jammies. While I was in Kohls I started feeling crappy again.. Ugh... But I still had to go to PetCo to get Pebbles' treats, and then to Walgreens to get our holiday pictures.

Finally I made it home around 1:00 and was still feeling crappy. So I layed down on the couch for a bit and watched tv. Then I ate.

I feel somewhat okay, but I just feel funny... Not really sick, but not great either. Just icky kinda. It's weird... I really hope I'm not coming down with anything. The last thing I want is to be sick while 30-31 weeks pregnant. Plus we are getting Jacob for the weekend and if I'm sick we won't be able to. Ugh... So we'll see tomorrow... I feel okay, just not great...

I just took down the Christmas tree... Kinda late I know, but we didn't even get home until Jan 3rd. And on the 4th I had my dr.s apt. and on the 5th-6th we painted the nursery. Monday (7th) Paul had his eye appointment and I had the ortho appointment. Yesterday I just kinda relaxed, didn't even get outta my jammies. And today I wasn't feeling well. But I figured I'd get it down after Paul went to bed, and I did. I had him bring all my Christmas tubs up from the basement tonight so I can get everything put away tonight and tomorrow. It's going to look so empty with everything down... it always does after Christmas. But I can get our family pictures put back up.

About baby - I had been reading that the baby stops moving so much during the 3rd trimester because of the lack of space, but man I'm feeling the exact opposite!!! I've never felt the baby move so much, it's crazy, but I love it!! I just totally love feeling him move across my belly and kick me and stuff... it's just amazing. Paul and I were laying in bed earlier just watching my belly move. And then we put the earphones on with Mozart playing and he reallly started moving around. It was great. He either really liked the music, or hated it! It seemed like he was dancing!! Maybe he'll be a dancer!!! We'll see... lol

Well, I'm gonna try to get some more Christmas stuff put away so I don't have so much to do tomorrow...

I wanna give Pebbles bath tomorrow and clean out the fish tank... I can't believe how nasty the fish tank got while we were gone on vacation. It's totally green and disgusting. I'm going to have to take the fish out, empty it, fill it with hot water, let sit, empty, hot water, empty, regular water, and leave the fish out for about 24 hours.... UGH!! Such a pain in the arse! lol

Well, I'm off like a prom dress!!! Have a good night every one!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

Owie!

I had an orthodontist appointment yesterday and OWIE!!!

She finally rubber banded my mouth shut! Seriously I can only open my teeth maybe 1/4 of an inch!!! Obviously I have to take the rubber band out to eat and brush my teeth. The rubber band goes from 2 brackets on the top, to one bracket on the bottom. And damn it hurts like hell!!! I knew I was going to be sore today, but OMG!!! I had a hard time sleeping last night because my mouth hurt so bad. And it hurt even worse when I woke up this morning. It felt so good to take the rubber band out when I ate breakfast! I ended up leaving it out for about an hour and then put it back in... It's not hurting so bad right now, but it still hurts. Last night was just horrible though.

I just keep telling myself that I thought the same thing when they put in my expander, and that pain went away in a few days. So this too shall pass... But damn, it hurts now! I'll just tough it out for a few days and I'll be fine....

Oh, and I got a power chain on the bottom. Some people say that these hurt, but who can tell what hurts when your whole damn mouth hurts!!! lol...

Not much else is going on here. I am so tired today because I didn't sleep well last night. I could barely get out of bed at 11:30 today because I was just so tired. I couldn't even hold my eyes open. It was terrible. But I made myself get up and I'm feeling okay now. Just tired.

I just did some cleaning. I had to put away the groceries (I went to Wal Mart at 10:30 last night, but didn't put anything away except the cold/frozen stuff). So I cleaned out the pantry. It was good to get rid of old crap. Made plenty of room for the stuff I bought lasst night.

Paul really liked Glenn and Capris laundy soap (Gain) so I got some last night and we'll give it a try. It's a little more expensive then our regular stuff, but not by much. I liked it too, so we'll see...

I did some more reading on vaccinations today. So far nothing I've read has convinced me that we should get our child vaccinated. Maybe when the child is 16 and hasn't had the chicken pox we'll do the chicken pox vaccination. And when the child is older (12-13) we'll get the Hepatitis B shot. These are still big MAYBES. I ordered the What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Childrens Vaccinations book. I liked it so much and enjoyed the information I received from it, so I ordered it at amazon.com. I think I'm also going to order Vaccinations : A Thoughtful Parents Guide. I did a little reading in it today and it seems very informative. But I'll wait until the 15th to order that one.

Well, Paul will be leaving work soon and I'll have to start dinner, so off I go!!!

Oh yea, before I forget, Paul's eye appointment went fine yesterday. They did a bunch of tests and stuff and of course found nothing. Paul feels so much better now that he knows he's not going blind! lol... He goes back on Friday for one more test where they inject him with dye because they want to see the blood vessels in his eyes to see if there's a problem them. But Paul is feeling so much better now that he's seen the doctor. He was so nervous at the doctors office yesterday and wouldn't stop shaking and rocking his knees. I'm glad he is feeling better and he slept so well last night.

Cooper was super active yesterday and seems to be pretty active today as well!!! I love it!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

Midwife appointment today - 30 weeks!!!

So we met LouAnn Case today. She is another midwife at the practice we are going too. I absolutely loved her. Loved her right away. She came in and introduced herself immediately and felt totally comfortable with her... So far LouAnn is my favorite midwife!!!

She answered all of our questions. Asked Paul how involed he wanted to be in the delivery - if he wanted to cut the cord, assist in delivery, or just be there for support... of course Paul said "Support" lol...

She was very happy with the fact that we've hired a Doula and got excited when we said that we were going to start writing our birth plan next weekend. She told us to make sure that we bring a copy with us to our next appointment.

I asked if we could wait to cut the cord until it stops pulsing and she said yes right away (unless something goes wrong of course). She told us that as soon as the baby is born it will be placed on my belly and we can do whatever we want (breastfeed, hold, cuddle, etc.). I am super excited abotu this!!! This is exactly what I wanted.

A few highlights from todays appointment -
- My Glucose level was 81 (130 is considered borderline) so that's great.
- Iron dropped a little, but is still well within normal range. This is normal during pregnancy, and she was not concerned at all.
- Hemoglobin dropped a little as well, but again is within normal range. This is also normal during pregnancy and no cause for concern.
- She said that I would not have any more blood work done during the pregnancy... YAY!!! No more needles.
- The baby is head down and it's butt and spine are resting on my left side. I think it's been this way since week 16-18. I have always felt movements in the same place. A few times I've felt movement higher up or on the right side, but not very often. The head is not engaged in my pelvis.
- The babies heart rate is 154.
- I now go to the midwife every two weeks. I am super excited about this!! It means that the day we meet our perfect lil baby is getting closer.

As of tomorrow I will be 30 weeks pregnant... Only 10 weeks until my due date!!! Yippeeeee!!! How exciting... I am super excited about this.

On January 15th we are going to purchase some major baby items!!! I am of course sooo excited about this! We are going to get the dresser, crib, crib bedding, and glider with ottoman!!! Yay!!! I have four 15% off coupons and we'll use them for these purchases. Then on February 15th we will get the hutch and combo unit!!! It's getting so close to time for the baby.... We are so going to be ready. I know I freaked out a few times about not being ready for the baby, but we totally will be ready! We'll have everything we need, as long as the baby doesn't come early of course!! But with Paul's bonus of Feb 15th this kid is going to be set!!! Woo hoo!!!

We are painting the nursery tomorrow!!!! YAY!!! I'm so excited. We got Sherwin Williams Harmony paint... its the No VOC (volatile compounds), no toxins, no odor, etc... They say it's so safe you can paint the room with a newborn in it!! So I'm totally safe helping paint the nursery!!! YIPPEEE!!! lol... Super excited!! We are painting the nursery a sage green and goldish color... It's the color of our crib set and pooh bear. The green is called Koi Pond and the gold is called White Raisin. They managed to match the paint to the pillow perfectly!!! I'm super excited to see how well it looks when we paint it. We probably won't do the moulding until February, but that's okay... I just can't wait to see how it looks!!!

The cat just drank out of my glass of water!! How funny. I've never seen him do that before. But he stuck his paw in there and licked it dry, then just stuck his whole face in there for a few slurps... I had Paul dump the water out of course!!! lol

Paul is a little freaked out right now. Apparently he's been having a blind spot in his left eye for a couple weeks but didn't want to say anything because he didn't want to ruin our vacation or worry me. So he made an eye appointment for Monday... I hate taking him to the eye doctor because we are always there for 4 hours and only see the doctor for like 20 minutes... It totally sucks. But of course I always go with Paul, love him too much not to go!!! He needs the moral support and I'm there to give it.

He's really worried that he's going blind, or has a brain tumor or something. He made the connection that he's been having head aches on the left side (same side at blind spot) for a few weeks now today. He keeps telling me how pretty I am... I think he's actually afraid the doctor is going to tell him he's going blind. I feel so bad because there's nothing I can do to ease his worries. Of course all I can do is be there for him and support him. He actually started to tear up when he said "what if I can never see Cooper"... Now that one scared the crap outta me!! I keep saying it's nothing and the doctor will check everything out and tell him not to worry. I'm sure it's nothing, but it scares me when he says stuff like that.

So I'm offering whatever support I can to him. And trying not to freak out as well... I'm usually really good at this... When Paul freaks out I stay calm, someone has too!!! lol I love him so much and want everything to be okay. I'm sure he's just over reacting like he usually does... And I would be too!!! But he has a history of freaking out when something goes wrong with his body... At one point he thought he had cancer!! Long story, and of course he doesn't! lol...

I don't know if I mentioned before that my Daddy got a computer AND the internet!!! I think it's cause he wants to be able to see pictures of the baby and stuff... it's so cute how excited he is about the baby...

Anyways, I wanna run out and get my camera outta the car... it shouldn't be left in there cause it's like 20 degrees outside... It's been in the cold car for a few days now, I keep forgetting to bring it in... Ugh!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2008 - Bring on whatever ya got baby!!! I'm ready for ya!!! lol

So we just got back from our 12 day trip to AR and OK... We had a blast!!!!

I'll try to give a quick recap and mention all the important stuff...

Let me start with the pregnancy! Everything went great while we were gone. I didn't have any issues or problems at all. So that was good. My wedding rings no longer fit though and I just weighed myself and have gained 7 lbs since we left!!! I gotta believe it's all that home made candy I was eating at Christmas, but it was good! lol...

Christmas Day was nice at Grannys... Aunt Trish caused a big scene (no big surprise) and refused to leave...

Here's what happened - Gloria and Johnny were passing out gifts. Well, Gloria was just setting Mason and Sarah's gifts off to the side. When Johnny found one of Masons Aunt Trish jumped up and said "I'll take it". Granny said "No, if she can't come down here and get it then it can wait."... She meant that when Sarah got there she could open her gifts... Well Trish got all pissed and started screaming that it wasn't fair and no one liked her and no one wanted her there... yada yada yada!!! lol... It was crazy. We were all trying to get her to leave but she refused to. Poor Johnny was in tears and screaming at her. Momma called the Sheriff (then cancelled their arrival cause she finally left).

After she left we all went back to opening gifts, eating, and just having a great time. It was pretty tense there for a while, but we didn't let it ruin our Christmas. All in all, we had a great Christmas day.

Of course Paul just sat there stunned while all this was going on. He couldn't believe that someone would act that way. He was just shocked... It was quite funny to see the look on his face. lol...

So we opened gifts, ate tons of food, played a game with Trista, watched a movie (HairSpray - it was okay), etc. We ended up staying at Grannys until after 8. It was great. We got a few baby things, but mostly Snowmen decorations for next Christmas... seemed a lil odd, but that's my family for ya!!! lol...

Momma threw me a Baby Shower on Dec 26th. We got tons of great baby stuff!!! Let me start with the gifts!!! lol... Tons of blankets, onsies, rags, brush set, etc. But my fav is the diaper bag Gloria got us... It's sage green (Our color) and has a very small Pooh Bear on the front!! It's so cute!!! I love it.

Not let me go back a little the a few hours before the baby shower. My grandma (not the above mentioned Granny) was making the cake (as usual!!!) for me. And she dropped the cake AND her gifts off at Mommas around 230. Momma, Granny, Paul, and I were all there, we were a little busy decorating for the shower, but when she walked in, we all said hi, asked her how she was doing, etc... Everything seemed fine... Well apparently it wasn't because she didn't come back for the shower at 5. I figured she wouldn't when she dropped the cake and gifts off early... but I was giving her (grandpa- as he controls everything she does) the benefit of the doubt.

So the next day Momma and I went to Harps (where she works) because I wanted to say good bye to her and stuff... Well she walked up to us and I said "We missed ya at the baby shower last night, but we figured with the snow not many people would show up. Thank you for the cake and gifts." She said "well I would have come back but when I dropped the cake off no one spoke to me and I was ignored and just didn't feel welcomed"... Momma and I just looked at eachother like WHAT?!? Well, we talked to her and stuff and she calmed down and we have a nice long conversation with her before we left... I know Grandpa had something to do with this.... It just pisses me off that he controls her so damn much. Makes me wanna scream!!!

But we had a great baby shower. It wasn't much and it was pretty quick (only an hour) but it was nice. Stephanie showed up. I haven't seen her since my wedding last year. It was nice to see her. She got us a small diaper bag with lil barn yard animals on it. It's cute. I figure I'll keep that one full of diapers and in the car, just to make sure we always have diapers!!!

On Thursday Dec 27th we ended up taking Pebbles to the vet for her flea problem. Apparently she is allergic to fleas and they just chewed her up. And then she chewed and clawed the bites bright red into what we call "hot spots". The vet was great!!! He gave her a pill to kill all the fleas on her within 30 minutes, an allergy shot so she would stop chewing herself up, and one dose of Frontline to keep more fleas from getting on her... All for 60 bucks!!! If we'd have done that here it would have cost us well over 100 bucks! She never had another issue with fleas. We gave her a bath with some of the prescription shampoo that Momma had from Buddy (he was the same was as Pebbles is with fleas - allergic to them) and that really helped her stop itching. She's fine now of course. Not a single flea, and no more itchys!!!!! YAY!!!

On Friday, Dec 28th we left Arkansas to go to Uncle Glenns in Tulsa. I was a little worried since Aunt Capri had said that Pebbles would have to stay in the garage. But when she saw Pebbles and how her demeanor was she even let Pebbles sleep in our room with us!!! We did put her in the garage while we were gone though - I didn't want to take any chances. It was nice there though, in the 40's everyday, and she had her sweater on, her bed, and a little heater there with her... she was fine for a little while.

Paul wanted to go to Gardners Book Store and found a ton of books!! He loves that place. He got like 12 books for 30 bucks... if he'd have done all that online they would have cost over 70 bucks!! There was even one book that he couldn't find online anywhere! And another book that he could find online, but was about 17 dollars without shipping!! It was nice to see him so excited about something.

Oh yea, Unlce Glenn and Aunt Capri got us baby gifts of course! lol.... They actually found an AC/DC shirt for a baby!! It'll probably fit a 1 year old, but our kids gonna live in it! lol...

One day we went to Babies R Us and I got a cute onsie that says "MY MOM ROCKS" and a dolphin baby book!!! I've spent so much time searching for a dolphin baby book and found one!! It is so cute - very sparkly! Can't wait to read it to Cooper! lol... And Aunt Capri bought Cooper and onsie that says "my aunt loves me" lol.. It's so cute... But the AC/DC one is my fav!!

They had a big New Years Eve party of course. There were tons of Jeffy's friends there. Lots of weed and I think there was some coke in the back room... Of course we stayed far away from all that... Glenn and Capri have three rules at their house.
1.) What happens there stays there.
2.) No smoking (anything) in the house.
3.) No fighting
And they all no these rules by heart. So it wasn't bad. All these kids are well monitored while they are there and kept under control, and of course no one drives. Most of them are around 20 now. But I remember a couple parties where they were all drinking and under 18... lol... But that's Glenn and Capri... Atleast all the kids are safe, monitored, and under control...

The party was pretty fun... Of course I was the only sober one there, which was kinda funny. But we had a good time.

Not much else is going on here. We left Tulsa yesterday to come home and made it home around 2 today. It was nice.

Pebbles was so freaking excited to be home. She ran around for a few minutes, and then rolled around on the living room floor for literally 10-15 minutes. It was so cute. And Mister was so excited to see us as well. Pebbles is sleeping right now... she is so tired. It's been a long 12 days for her. And she's just so happy to be home.

Jen is on her way home now and we are going to go out to dinner at the Olive Garden. We have a gift certificate and thought it would be nice to take her with us, since we haven't seen her in so long...

I guess she's having car troubles though. Hopefully that gets all figured out soon. Paul thinks its cause theres a lot of snow caked under her wheel wells... Which it could be. We'll see when she gets here...

Tomorrow I have my mid wife appointment and then we are going to go to Babies R Us and buy the dresser from our bedroom set.... I need something to put all this stuff in... And with my daddy's check we can get the dresser no problem. And then get the rest of the furniture when Paul gets his bonus in February.

On Saturday we are going to start painting the nursery!! YAY!!! I can't wait for that. I'm so excited! lol...

Well, I'm outta here!!! Jen should be home soon!!! Time for a yummy dinner!!