:D

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!

They're Baaaaaaack!!

That's right kids, American Gladiators has returned to network TV with somewhat of a vengeance. For those of you who are fans of the old show, this one keeps many of the same games while adding a twist (jousting over a pool of water) and also adds new games. (Like running across a suspended bridge while gladiators throw 100 lb demolition balls at you from both directions) Anyways, I'm pretty pumped about it even though the new AG persona is just about as corny as the original.... but hey, that's part of the fun, right?

Nate and I went over to Kim and Tim's last night to watch the premier after we all discovered on Friday night that we secretly watched old reruns of AG on ESPN classic and really REALLY enjoyed them :) Anyways, for those of you that didn't see it yesterday and don't like football (GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!), they are re-airing the premier tonight on NBC. Fun stuff :)

Houston.... Winter?

Ok, so it's been cold recently. Not just Houston cold (65 degrees), but legitamently cold. All Houstonians are used to this is a small way. Every year we get one or two cold fronts that last one or two days and then we're back to life in the 70's. If you are very generous then you could say that we get 4 truly cold days a year. Well...... not this year. When was the last time we had almost two weeks of straight cold? This is starting to get insane! It is supposed to warm up this weekend, so we will see what comes of that.

Here is the problem--> Typically Houston has 4 cold days a year. This means that even a very fashion conscious person might have 5 cold weather outfit. This means that I have 3. When you go two weeks, you start to lose your ability to be creative with combining your 3 sweaters in different ways. Church is particularly difficult. Anyways.... come back to us warm weather (or even just cool weather) ...finding stuff to wear that will mask the fact that I can no longer button my jeans is difficult enough without it having to be long sleeved. Thank you :)

Cop out

Soooooo, my creative juices are less than free flowing right now, so I am stealing one of those surveys about me from a friend's blog. It's lame, and mindless of course, but those of you out there who blog understand the occasional total lack of anything to say. Anyways, here it is :)

Have you ever.....
() Smoked a cigarette
(x) Drank so much you threw up-> Let me clarify, it was water and my pregnant stomach couldn't handle it. As far as the traditional meaning... I've never been drunk :P
() Crashed a friend's car
() Stolen a car
(x) Been in love
() Been dumped
(x) Shoplifted (as a child)-> Piece of candy from a 7-11. I felt so bad I went and put it back 5 minutes later.
() Been laid off/fired
(x) Quit your job-> Anybody who has been reading my blog this fall knows about this one
() Been in a fist fight
() Snuck out of your parent's house. -> Umm, hi... perfect child here, I don't think so.
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back. -> Haha, ummmm... only during the entirety of high school. I had a better record once I hit college though :)
( ) Been arrested
() Gone on a blind date.
(x) Lied to a friend - not often, just when I couldn't bear to break their heart.
() Skipped school
() Seen someone die
(x) Been to Canada-> Multiple times, I'm 1/4 Canadian.....Eh.
(x) Been to Mexico-> Hello, I live in Texas
(x) Been to Japan-> When the 'rents lived there. Quite possibly my favorite place on earth... it's at least in my top three :)
(x) Been on a plane-> Getting to Japan without doing this gets tricky
(x) Been lost-> Not very often... I can't think of a specific example, but I would think I had at some point... at least for 5 minutes :)
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to Washington, DC-> 9th grade school "field trip"....pretty dang fun
(x) Swam in the ocean-> Multiple oceans
(x) Felt like dying.-> Migraines, ingrown toenails..... YEAH
(x) Cried yourself to sleep (LADIES you know what I mean)-> Um, yeah but not for the reasons you'd think. It was actually a migraine in it's third day and i'd had it.
() Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons.
(x) Sang karaoke -> Laura and myself.... never thought that would happen
() Paid for a meal with only coins
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) Made prank phone calls...-> Is your refridgerator running?
() Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue -> In New Orleans on Christmas Day... how weird is that?
(x) Danced in the rain
() Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Practiced kissing on your hand and/or pillow
(x) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about -> Maui, my fam
() Made a bonfire on the beach
() Crashed a party
(x) Gone roller-skating -> Hello, child of the 80's here! I had a roller skating birthday party one year.
(x) Ice-skating -> I stink, but I've done it

So Cool

On New Years Eve, Nate and I went for my second doctor's appointment for the baby. We had our first ultrasound and it was possibly the coolest (albeit a tiny bit freaky) experience of my life. We got to see and hear the heartbeat. Not only that, but baby was kicking and punching like there was no tomorrow. This is reassuring for multiple reasons->

~ The baby does have arms
~ The baby also has legs
~ They move
~ The baby is developing well and by all of the Muhammed Ali movements, appears to be not only healthy, but possibly athletic :) (you seriously had to see this baby punch.... it was crazy. Kinda like when Tae Bo got popular and the instructor would tell you to go into "double time" which normal humans seemed incapable of doing.... our baby laughs in the face of double time, I mean, give it a REAL challenge, ya know?)
~ Side note- according to the ultrasound nurse, the baby is developing on schedule, has a normal, strong heart beat, and is very very active for this stage.

We got these little souveniers from our experience.... it's amazing how far ultrasounds have come... my mom was amazed by the 10 1/2 week photos. As you will notice, the baby has a head (always a good thing :) and though the fluid makes them look as though they are not attached (you'll just have to trust me that they are), you can see the arms and legs that luckily I am unable to feel moving yet. (I bet it will be fun when I can, if in fact the baby acts like karate star ALL the time)

And because it's Wednesday..... the growth chart->

What is happening with your baby?
Your baby’s head accounts for almost half of his/her entire length. Both the fingers and the toes have separated by week 11. The baby’s skin is still very transparent, but his/her bones are beginning to harden. The external genitalia have almost completely formed, and in several weeks you might be able to know if you are having a boy or a girl. Even though you cannot feel your baby moving around, he/she is very active.

How big is your baby?
Your baby is about 2 ½ inches long and weighs about half an ounce.

Blah

I'm sooooooooooooo tired right now :P I had a pretty intense migraine experience last night which resulted in some unpleasant early morning experiences and me not falling asleep until 4:45 am (I started trying at 9:30). Luckily I got in a good 45 minutes before I had to get up for work :P Anyways, I am sure I am going to be a bundle of sunshine for the New Year's festivities tonight but I will try my best to enjoy it.... I might just have to enjoy it closer to 9 pm than 11:59 pm it it is going to be a positive experience. Anyway, that's about all I have for today.... enthralling, isn't it?

YUCK

Soooooooo, I was walking from my car to my office this morning and I needed to spit pretty badly so I stepped over to the grass alongside the walkway. I put my head down quickly to do the deed and just as the rather flemmy spit wad got about 3 feet below me, my lovely scarf whipped around and caught it. EWWWW. I am so grossed out now I can't even tell you. And that's all I have :P

Hooked

So, Christmas was hectic, but a lot of fun :) I didn't exactly feel well rested when I came back to work yesterday and strangely enough the day of work yesterday gave me more rest than I had gotten the entire break :P This was likely my last "fantasy" Christmas for a long time. By that I mean, everyone was here for Christmas and I didn't have to have Christmas morning without my parents or brother or Amy or the kids or any of Nate's family (save Ray). It's going to be really hard for me next year depending how the chips fall... I could easily see a Christmas with just me, Nate and the baby. Since junior won't be old enough to appreciate Christmas yet, I think that scenario would depress me mightily. Well, we all have to grow up eventually.. but couldn't I have a few more years? :P

Anyhoo, part of what Amy and Ben got me this year was a book called Baby Bargains. I had never seen it before but as Amy described it and as I looked through it I came to find that it was basically a Consumer Reports book an all things baby. Things such as bedding and cribs and strollers are given rankings based on other mom's experiences and professional research. It tells you the best place to buy, the pros and cons of each brand, what to include on a registry and in every category, from furniture to clothing to diapers, it tells you ways to save money as well as common money wasting items that you don't need (like a separate cradle, or a baby quilt). It is pretty much AWESOME!! I spent a couple of hours going through it last night and am still totally overwhelmed by the amount of information in there. I can't wait til I have more time to go through it...... hmmmmm, perhaps I will need a package of Post-it flags for that little adventure :)

Growth Chart

It's Wednesday and that means...... time for growth chart! As of today I am 10 weeks along and here is the skinny~

What is happening with your baby?
This is the beginning of the fetal period when your baby's organs continue to grow and mature. The majority of his/her vital organs, kidneys, liver, brain, and lungs are functioning, but will continue to mature throughout the remainder of your pregnancy.
Your baby's head makes up half the length of the body, and there is a bulge in the forehead allowing for brain development. Fingernails, toenails, and hair will begin to become visible this week. The fingers are no longer webbed. The baby is actively swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking his/her legs.

How big is your baby?
Your baby is approximately 2 inches long, about the size of a lime, and weighs about a quarter of an ounce.


So, I am sitting at work today and so far I am the only one in my whole group who is here. It kinda stinks cause I have a deadline on Friday so I am going to be pushing it pretty hard to meet it during the next three days which are not typically or naturally the most productive days of the year. Oh well.... three more days til another Friday :P

Nutcrackin' Good Time

Sooooo, last night I went to the Nutcracker with 11 other girls and it was so much fun! I really miss the girls I used to hang out with in Lighthouse and I cherish the opportunity to spend time with them even if the only conversation time we got was during intermission :P Well, that was not so the case with Jana and I as we got 30 minutes of talk time in the car waiting for the line in the garage to move (next time we park strategically :)

Anyhoo, this afternoon I get to clean every square inch of the condo in anticipation of Nate's family's arrival tomorrow. We are pretty darn lucky this year as Nate's parents and sister are coming to stay with us, my parents are back in Katy and my grandma and my brother's family are staying with them for the next week. Basically we can drive 30 minutes and have both sides of the family together for the holidays. It's so nice to be spared the annoyance of split Christmases.... well, this year at least :)

Here today, gone tomorrow

A guy at work brought in homemade fudge in 5 different flavors yesterday, one of them being Andes mint (YUM!!). I saved myself a piece for today and the janitor took it :( I should have known better though..... they took an unopened bag of Cheetos from Kristin's desk not too long ago. I can't say I wasn't warned :P Oddly enough, they did leave my saltines... hmmmm :P

Growth Chart

Here is where I was last Wednesday~

What is happening with your baby?
Everything that is present in an adult human is now present in the small embryo. The ears are continuing to form externally and internally. The bones are beginning to form, and the muscles can contract. Fingers and toes are webbed but are growing longer.
The facial features continue to mature. The tip of the nose is present and the eyelids are now more developed. The embryonic tail is also disappearing, and your baby's body is beginning to straighten out.
While your baby's gender has already been determined, the external genitals are still forming and cannot be clearly seen. The embryo is at the end of the embryonic period and begins the fetal period.

How big is your baby?
The embryo is about 1 inch long and is approximately the size of a bean.

And here is where I am today~

What is happening with your baby?
While your baby is still extremely small, he/she is now ready for rapid weight gain. The baby is beginning to look more like a little person since the embryonic tail is completely gone by week 9. The eyelids are fully formed, have fused shut, and will open again during week 28.
All the baby's joints such as the knees, elbows, shoulders, ankles, and wrists are working and allowing the baby to move about freely within the amniotic sac. Your baby's heart began beating around day 24, but now his/her heart has divided into four chambers, and the valves are beginning to develop. Your baby can also make a fist, and he/she may begin sucking his/her thumb.

How big is your baby?
Your baby is about the size of a grape, measuring about 1 ½ inches from its head to its rump, and weighs a fraction of an ounce.



So basically one week has taken me from a bean to a grape...... I wonder what kind of grape :)

The world appears to have stopped spinning

I spent the last two days so lightheaded that I could hardly function. It felt like that one time I went crazy and had two amaretto sours in one night :P..... I hated the feeling of having alcohol affect me at all hence why I don't like to drink. Anyhoo, I hate to jinx myself, but it appears to have lessened in intensity today which is good seeing as how it made it almost impossible for me to be at work yesterday as all my thought processes were lost in the swirling sea that was my brain. I'm pretty sure this was my body adjusting to not being on the boat anymore. It's interesting actually~

~When I was on the boat I had no morning sickness, no motion sickness, and generally felt great.

~When I got off the boat at various ports I experienced morning sickness and lightheadedness.

~ When we got off for good, I spent two days (maybe more, we'll see) swimming inside my own head.

Anyhoo, I hope yesterday was it in terms of dizziness since I have cookies to bake, a house to clean, and all of the necessary preparations for Nate's fam coming on Saturday to make. Yikes, could get interesting :P

Pregnancy- The pull to act maternal

Sometimes the blog inspiration fairy leaves you totally empty and you stare at the blogger screen for ten minutes and nothing comes to mind. As a result of this, you get this post.....

I realized something on the cruise that we just took..... as soon as you are pregnant, you feel like you should have maternal feelings towards all children. It's almost like if you get annoyed by a child then you aren't going to be a good mother. After all, shouldn't just being pregnant be enough to make every child you run into a pure joy to be around? There is this feeling like if I am not amused with every child I come across now then I am not "mom material".

An example perhaps....... One of our stops on the cruise required us to take tender boats from the ship to the shore. These get backed up in the morning and so they had us all wait in the theater as our number groups were called to go ashore. I wasn't feeling too well that morning (for those of you who are wondering, I had no motion sickness problems on the boat at all, but I did eat something in Mexico that made me sick the last few days... not too sick though :) and we end up sitting in the row in front of a family with two small boys. The boys spend most of their waiting time leaning up close to my ear and yelling while one of them saw fit to elbow me pretty hard in the back of the head. I know that a good pregnant lady would have the patience of an angel in this circumstance and would turn around and smile at the little dears and ask them their names and ages. But me as the sick pregnant lady just wanted to get on the boat and away from them. I didn't yell at them or shoot them a dirty look.... I just ignored them and waited it out (as I also did with the annoyingly loud 50-something New York woman on my left... see, it's not just kids :P ).

Anyhoo, I was hit by an overwhelming feeling that because I wasn't excited about being hit in the back of my head and yelled at in my ear that I wasn't going to make a good mother. Then I realized something.... those weren't MY kids. Additionally, those weren't kids I cared the least about and they were being truly annoying. I put up with alot more from my niece without getting annoyed because I love her. Also, I usually do find kids I don't know cute as well if I am feeling ok :) Anyways, the point being... it is different when you love the child. Even when they are being truly annoying and everyone at the store or wherever is tired of them, they are yours and you love them. Anyways... just something I wanted to get out :)

Goin' Cruisin'

Nate and I leave tomorrow for our cruise and I am SO PUMPED!!! It really didn't come quickly enough. Although, I'm sure after it's over I'll say that it didn't last long enough :P Anyhoo, this pre-planned vacation brings up a very interesting dilemma...... sea sickness + morning sickness could be VERY interesting :) Because of this, I am bringing something with me on the cruise that I affectionately refer to as my "arsenal". I'm not really one to get sea sick, but I figure it might exacerbate the morning sickness and it's probably wise to at least be prepared. Contained within my arsenal....

~ Saltine crackers... alot of them since they calm my stomach
~ "Preggy pops"- known to combat morning sickness
~ Ginger candy.... hate the taste, but they are worth it if they work
~ A whole bum load of mints- which have proven to calm my stomach instantly
~ Sea sickness acupressure bands- they have also proven to calm my stomach within 5 minutes of putting them on
~ Last, but not least, prescription sea sickness patches from my OB

If you want to have an interesting mental picture, imagine me using all of them at one time :)

Our office building management is serving us a Holiday Breakfast today...... it doesn't appear to matter how old I get, free food will always be the highlight of my day :P

On the other hand, there is something else that could prove to be a good highlight for the day as well. To preface this, there are two groupings of EITs in the public works section of my new office and we sit on opposite sides of the building. If I stand on my tippy toes, I can just barely see over to their side. Well they have this thing where they decorate for every holiday (yes, even things like 4th of July and St. Patricks Day). They don't do THAT good of a job but they are so proud of it because they are the only ones who do it. Well, all that changes today. The two EITs I sit with have wanted to compete with the others, but always felt like the couldn't with just the two of them.

Today..... we build a gingerbread house :) Only this time, we have a light-up candy cane lined hallway leading up to it, we'll have candy on the walls and a slew of cheap stuff we found at Arne's.... this should be good :)

Growth Chart

I thought you guys might be interested in this... it is part of an email that I get every week telling me what is going on in my body and the baby's... I find it fascinating. It definitely makes me wonder how people can justify abortion by saying that the embryo is not a baby until born. In the first couple of weeks, here is what happened....

~ The baby's heart is completely formed and begins to beat a steady rhythm in week 5 (aka, 1 wk after your missed period)
~ The skeleton, lungs, jaw, nose, hands, feet and brain have begun to form

As for the week ending today...

What is happening with your baby?
At this point every essential organ has begun to form in the embryo's tiny body. The hair follicles are forming, and the eyelids and tongue have begun formation. The elbows and toes are more visible as the trunk begins to straighten out.

How big is your baby?
Your baby is approximately ¾ of an inch long by the end of this week and weighs less than an aspirin.

The Time Has Come

I wasn't going to do this today (as you can tell from the lame offering below) but I decided it's time to have a bit of honesty with my blog readers. Well, that and I can't blog what I want to without telling you this and I'm tired of having to search for things to write about when I have such great material waiting in the wings :P So here it goes.... I'm pregnant :) As of tomorrow I will be exactly 7 weeks along. Nate and I are thrilled!! If you are wondering, this was planned and not an oops :) I am due on July 26, 2008 and I will find out at the end of February whether it will be a boy or a girl.

While we are very excited, we are also aware that we are only where we are because of God's blessing and that he may or may not have it in his plan for us to have this child. Soooooo, we would ask for your prayers to mirror ours that if it is God's will that he will allow me to carry the baby to term and deliver a healthy child. By mid January, I will be out of the most dangerous phase for miscarriages and we are just trusting God with the life and health of our child during that time and hopefully 6 months after that.. and years and years after that :)

Countdown til Nate and I go on vacation is now at 4 days but I'm not sure it'll come quickly enough :)

BCS = Big Crack-Smoking fun

Ok, I realize that most of my readership is female (such as it is after my long respite between jobs) but I have to address something about college football that is driving me nuts. Ok, so we all know that the BCS is jacked up right? I mean, it just very rarely turns out that there are two obvious teams at the top that should play in the national championship game. There are either 3-5 teams that "deserve" it, or in the case of this year there aren't any obvious choices.

As for me, I'm thrilled that LSU is in the championship game and I see how the BCS reached the conclusion that they should be included... here is my real beef with the BCS this year..... KANSAS??? REALLY?? Only two teams from any given conference can play in BCS bowls which meant that although Missouri, OU and Kansas are all in the top 10, only two of them could participate in BCS bowls. Well, it should be Missouri and OU then... right?? WRONG!!! The BCS has chosen Kansas over Missouri! Ok, let's review the facts here.....

~ Missouri is ranked #6 currently and Kansas is ranked #8. 1 point to Missouri

~ True, Kansas only lost once during the season but it was a butt whooping administered by Missouri. I say, 1 point to Missouri although many say 1 point to Kansas for only losing once.

~ Missouri beat out Kansas for a spot in the Big 12 championship. 1 point to Missouri

~ True, Missouri lost twice, but both times was to OU (the number 4 team in the country!!! Two points here.... Missouri only lost twice because they played in the Big 12 championship and the only reason that Kansas didn't lose twice was because they didn't get the opportunity to play OU in the regular season and they didn't make it to their own conference championship. I say, 1 point to Missouri.

~ Kansas had a much weaker schedule. They played A&M, Baylor and OK State while Missouri had to go against OU, A&M and Tech. In fact, the only ranked team Kansas beat was K State who was ranked # 24 at that time and has never made it back in the polls since. Point to Missouri.

All this to say that the BCS got it majorly wrong and I can't believe they are holding a loss against OU in the Big 12 championship against Missouri.....it's ridiculous :P