The Rockin' Rocco Family!

Happenings...

2009-09-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well, first things first, Mark is another year older since I last wrote. He's 33 and he turned to that age on 9/9/09 which I think is pretty cool...3 * 3 = 9 on 9/9/2009. He's so lucky and yet, did we buy a lotto ticket that day? No. Oops.

We didn't really celebrate too terribly much. We still need to go to a new restaurant we have a gift certificate to and enjoy that. Lately it has been difficult to get out and do things, though, because I have been busying myself with rearranging the file room at the office. I am F-O-U-R boxes of files away from being done, done, done! Then, let the cataloging begin. The new filing structure will be such a blessing when it is time to rid ourselves of one or more years of files as everything will now be filed by the last patient visit or the last contact we had with the patient. We have to keep these puppies for 7 years. That means we have countless files for people that we've never met which we have to keep in storage for quite some time. Wow.

Other than that, I finally was able to "play" with my new candy making equipment and what fun I had! :) Last weekend, I made Chocolate Brownie Bombs. Trust me, you want some....they're yummy and well worth ignoring my wheat allergy for. I have to behave a little right now, though, because I went a bit overboard on ignoring the allergy and so the first part of this last week, I had some pretty nasty arthritis in my hands. Not fun, but the macaroni and cheese and spaghetti dishes (as well as those yummy brownies) were all at least fabulously tasty and so it was tolerable.

Back to Mark's birthday, though, I neglected to mention that I made him some brownies and grabbed some frosting and whipped cream from the store as well as some yummy Rocky Mountain Road and Almond Joy ice creams from Josh and Johns and made him a brownie sundae that evening for his birthday treat...topped with one of those yummy brownie balls! He was quite happy and more so because our friend Jewel made him a second set of cream cheese brownies (after we convinced her that they were yummy...she was a little leary at first - sheltered!). Naturally, because he's a sweetie, he brought them home to share. Unfortunatley, Charlotte ran the bag into a light pole and as a result, we had a batch of cream cheese and glass brownies. I salvaged them best as I could (you just don't waste food made by Jewel!!) and for the most part, I only bit into what I assume was a glass shard twice (two different brownies). Oops. At least they were so tasty I didn't care...and at least it didn't make me bleed.

Well, it is really late here and so I think that is about the only update you're going to get from me here, but you are welcome to go check out my blog for my business: www.coloradochocolatier.blogspot.com and learn about my scouting trip to a favorite chocolate store to see all the neat things I could make with my candy making supplies. You might even find a recipe you'll enjoy there!

Oh, wait, though, before I go, quick Nicholas update. He is a shape sorting king. He has two (soon to be three) different shape sorters and he loves playing with them. His favorite is the wooden one from Pottery Barn he received from his godparents, but he's also fond of the plastic Fisher Price one he has. It is really fun to watch him figure things out. He is also having a blast lately with my scent testers from scentsy. He likes to stack them, knock them over, smell them and take the lid on and off. If only adults could be so easily amused... Finally, his blocks seem to finally be of interest and he seems to have lost his fear of the vacuum which makes cleaning the house a lot easier!! He's still cute as a bug and approaching 3T in clothing so he's quite a tall little boy.

And, I just remembered, he went to his first MOPs meeting with me this week. He didn't attend last year...stayed home with Daddy. This year (at least for a while) he and Daddy are going to the Moppets rooms together. He's enjoying checking out all the new toys he hasn't see. Okay, now my brain is racing about things on Nicholas, but I really truly must go to bed! Night everyone!

No Points for Consistency

2009-08-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for my saying I was going to get back into the habit of blogging here for everyone. :) I guess I have improved somewhat...November to June vs. June to August...that's a little shorter time frame, eh? Of course, there are probably very few individuals who actually keep up with this fun little blog now-a-days because I am so utterly aweful at keeping it updated much like Nicholas' totsite...which come to think of it, I probably need to renew or it will go poof very soon. Add that to the to do list!

So what on Earth is keeping us so busy that we can't even find time to tell you?
Well, for me, the short list would be Nicholas, my Dove Chocolate business and Mark's practice in approximately that order. There are lots of fun play dates on my schedule for Nicholas as we try to get him socialized and learning at the right pace. Chocolate tasting parties are falling from the sky and, naturally, are about to multiply due to the impending holiday season. Let's hope it is very merry for us as it would be so nice to have some addiitonal cash flow. I do have some new team members joining me soon as well so that will, of course, provide another focus...I want to be sure those who start their business with me receive the training they need to hit the ground running and rock the chooclate world! As for the practice, I have decreased my involvement dramatically, but the bookkeeping and some other sundry tasks are still on my desk for now. I'm looking to pretty much wrap my involvement there since I've done what I needed to do and, in time, can step away.

For Mark, the practice and Nicholas (not necessarily in that order) seem to keep him hopping. He's been working very hard lately at devising ways to bring more patients to the clinic as well as working on some staffing solutions. Now it is just a matter of getting everyone up to speed and on the same page so that they can regrow the clinic by leaps and bounds. Whenever he's not working, Mark is very helpful at keeping Nicholas occupied so I can tackle some of the things on my plate.

As for that cute little red headed Nicholas boy (aka Mommy's little gingerbread man), he busies himself daily with just being cute and playing. His favorite activities of late have been hanging outside on the deck or down in the yard, venturing over to the park and going next door to play with various little children that come to visit. He is very tall and did I mention that he is just cute as can be? He certainly gets a lot of kisses and hugs from us....thankfully, he likes to give them as well and they've become much less sloppy, but I kind of liked the sloppy kisses, I do have to admit. They're fine as long as they involve my little guy and not a dog.

Speaking of the dog, Charlotte is doing okay. She and Mark are having a few disagreements lately over how she should behave and work, but that is to be expected from an animal that pretty much acts like a teenager and tests her limits every chance she gets. She and I tolerate each other. I have a difficult time having an animal that isn't a bird or a fish inside again (the kitties staying inside was pretty much pushed aside the first time I saw a cat hair in baby Nicholas' mouth).

Speaking of kitties, it looks like we are without. Pixie disappeared a ocuple of months ago. I was really hoping she would resurface, but so far not so. I do hope she is okay and just being loved on by someone else. It makes me very sad as she was such a sweet kitty and I was looking forward to having her back around whenever we are done with the renting stage, but I guess we'll either a) have to get another cat (I vote black or Siaamese!) or b) do without. I think if given the choice, I'd go for a parakeet. I miss the singing from Woodstock...not sure I'd go for a larger bird again. They seem a little dangerous now that I have a little boy running around and truth be told, I just am not in need of noise. I need quiet and parrots are certainly not in that category!

As far as specific events, we did celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary on July 31. That was fun...we began listening to a lecture on fingernail and tongue analysis and ended up at Emergicare where Nicholas experienced his first set of stiches. It took 4 of us to hold the little guy down. The reason for our trip? He ran into a glass table at the lecture venue and cut a spot below his eyebrow open. He is really a rough and tumble little kid. It took a little getting used to seeing all the scars and stuff on him. I guess he couldn't stay perfectly unblemished forever....but I certainly loved it when he didn't have any reminders of all the owies he's experienced.

Well, that is a brief update of where we are. Perhaps as I am working on streamlining my activities, I will continue to improve on my blogging here. Sadly, I think it will be more of the same if I do as I am not nearly as diligent at writing about the cute little thing Nicholas did from day to day. I just try to enjoy them and live life...it's not as good for blogging, but it certainly helps me stay in the present and that is probably worth it all! Blessing to you - have a sweet day!

Yep, We're Still Rockin'

2009-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'll bet you thought we fell off the face of the planet, didn't you? Well, we didn't. Not completely at least. There's been a lot going on behind the scenes around here which we just really aren't at liberty to speak about at this time and as a result I, dear friends and family, have not been able to post even remotely regularly; however, I shall try to get back in the habit.

I have quite a few goals for myself in the next few months - I plan to get back into a regular blogging schedule. Not sure what that means right at this moment, but we'll figure it out. We're experiencing something of a new beginning in our family as a result of some of the stuff I can't talk about having transpired. I'll just apologize profusely now for my "teasing." I really don't mean it to be so, but vagueness at the moment is kind of expected and necessary. Should there ever be a time (which I am inclined to say there will not be) that I feel sharing is appropriate, I will, but don't hold your breath!

So, at any rate, I shall be making an effort to post more regularly. I also am quite determined to get myself back up-to-date (which is no small feat, unfortunately) with Nicholas' totsite. Wow, that is going to take some effort...so I may not get it done until Christmas unless I just happen to have some crazy luck. :)

I am, after all, just one big ball of activity. For those who like to keep up with my craziness, I am still helping with Mark's business though I am, thankfully, no longer playing a major role. Accounting-related tasks are mine...everything else has been passed off to a new office manager who I trust implicitly with the success of the business and keeping everyone else in line. Mark is also in a more prominent role with the departure of the previous owner of the business and we're enjoying watching the business grow into a thriving place of health and healing.

In addition to the clinic which has been renamed Springs Family Chiropractic, I am still doing the Scentsy thing. However, that has been moved, to a great extent, to the secondary business slot because at the beginning of May I began a sweet new business with Dove Chocolate Discoveries (tm). I LOVE my new job! Can there be anything better than getting paid to share chocolate (and more specifically, Dove Chocolate!) with the world? I can't think of many....maybe just getting paid to stay home and love on Nicholas. :)

I am still at home with Nicholas as well. He just turned 2 on May 26 if you can believe it. The little tyke is the size of a 4 year old! He is seriously one very tall little man...and he still has his red hair. He is absolutely adorable (not that I'm a little predjudiced, of course). As I write this, he is running through the hallway giggling with glee....so cute! Earlier this evening, he was practicing saying "hiiiiii" and I just really wanted to go get the video camera, but I didn't want to miss anything so no video. Just gotta live in the moment sometimes. :)

Nicholas had a fun birthday party on May 31 (this past Sunday) and did very well in the gift area. Have to admit that I had to be reminded that some of the toys are his and not mine! A popup "play tent" shaped like a school bus, an Elmo that is like a Mr. Potato Head, a Cool Fire Engine, fun puzzles and a weird tribble-like ball as well as always useful gift cards were some of the spoils. Because Nicholas isn't much for opening gifts yet, I have some thank you notes to write. Of course, my dear little boy has made off with the list of gifts and who gave them to him so I now get to prove that my mind is still sharp and can remember such things on its own! :)

To backtrack a little, the chocolate business is quite amusing for me. I now get to feel like someone on the food network everytime I have a party. I get to demonstrate how to make yummy treats and teach entertaining ideas while making people happy. It is way easier to get someone to book a chocolate tasting party, I've learned, than it is to get them to do a candle party. Way easier! I actually served some of our products at Nicholas' birthday party which I should mention we held at Nancy Lewis park here in C/S. A lot less exciting than the zoo for some, but perfect for Nicholas who ran all over the place, enjoyed the swings and managed to get his first mild sunburn. Oops. Thankfully, it was very mild and cooled down quickly.

He's quite a dare devil lately and is getting lots of scrapes and scratches. Kind of annerving for a Mommy, but I'm surviving. Yesterday afternoon was one of the best, he fell down in the kitchen and cut his chin open. Wow. Took Grandma Nina and I close to 10 minutes to calm him down just a little. Thank goodness for the puppy Grandma and Grandpa Allen gave to him!

Speaking of my parents they were able to attend the birthday celebration and also were able to stay with us for a couple of days. That was really nice. Nicholas and I will get to see them again next week when we go down to Lamar where I've scheduled a few little chocolate tasting parties (really need to get a set of invitations out for the party my mother and I are hosting!). I am looking forward to that.

Nicholas is currently seeing a music therapist to help encourage him to vocalize a little more. He isn't talking as much as a kid his age should be apparently, but he certainly is sharp as a tack. He knows what he wants, he knows what we want and when the two are not in congruence, he's pretty frustrated. :) He really seems to enjoy the music sessions whether they'll help him talk more or not. We tend to think he may just be more focused on physical-related stuff. He is certainly all boy and enjoys running, climbing and rough housing. :)

Well, that little boy needs to go to sleep (we're running a bit late tonight since we treated him to some ice cream) so I shall say good-bye and go tuck him in. Hopefully he will fall asleep before I do! Talk to you soon!

I Suppose I Should Write Something...

2008-11-11T20:49:00.001-08:00

We have a lot going on so it's taken some doing to get here to write a quickie hello and let you know about some of our fun times lately. I wish I could say I see a slow down soon, but probably not for a few months. Eventually everything will fall into place and things will be easy breezy - I just know it.

So, first, we'll talk Nicholas. He's such a big little boy now. Goodness, it's hard to believe he's going to turn 18 months at the end of this month. He's wearing 2T clothes right now for the most part. His hair has really come in and it is still red, red, red...and gorgeous. Oh he is such a cute little guy!

For Halloween, Nicholas dressed up like a little zebra. When he took his hat off, he resembled an adorable (if that is possible) escaped convict. I need to clean his costume so I can dress him up in it and get some more pictures. I was a bit under the weather on Halloween so I didn't get many and whether any are good is debateable. ;)

Mark is doing well with a new guide dog that joined our family the 1st of October. Her name is Charlotte and she is a cute black lab. She's shedding all over the place and driving me a bit nuts with hair, but I'm dealing.

Nicholas loves Charlotte. Thanks to her, he is now a pro at playing fetch. He gets the ball from either Mark or I, runs to the kitchen, throws it and Charlotte grabs it brings it back to Mark or I and then the process starts again. If you get a chance to watch this, you'll love how happy Nicholas gets.

He's also been perfecting his ability to climb stairs and has also managed to figure out how to open doors and drawers in the house. The drawer opening resulted in a couple of incidents where his changing table and he got up close and personal and so Mark devised what I call the "Macgyver Kiddie Proof System." He's tied rope around three door handles and has fixed up a couple more for drawers in the kitchen. It's pretty ingenius and I figure I better take some pictures so that the rest of the world can adopt our super inexpensive baby-proofing idea. :)

My Scentsy business is doing well. I had a party last weekend that had great sales. :) I also went to Lamar the weekend of Halloween (with the fam) and sold most of my scent bar inventory. Now I'm slowly trying to whittle down my warmer inventory. This weekend will be another opportunity as I'm participating in an Open House I organized with Cookie Lee Jewelry, Mary Kay, Upper Case Living and Bubble Goddess Bath Company. It's sure to be a great time! Please stop by the office (4740 Flintridge Dr.) between 10 and 3 on Saturday if you can and see what we all have to offer...there will be treats!

As for Mark's practice, things are going well. He's been taking steps to ensure the patients become more acquainted with him and we've all been perfecting our ability to use the new software program. It is really pretty nice especially since it seems that I may be able to keep up and not get far behind like I was for a while there with the accounting.

We've had a few changes in our staff and now have a fabulous team that we think will help us make it very successful. Our front desk person is a real go-getter and loves to ensure that the accounting side of things is right. I love her.

We are having a grand opening for Metro Health Services on November 19 if you would like to attend. It will take place from noon to 6 p.m. and we're looking forward to it! Mark has a promotion to do a free exam of some sort (I don't have all the details) for new patients on this day...give the office a call (email me for the number if you need it) - this is the perfect time to get yourself in our doors and on the road to better health! :)

Way Too Long

2008-09-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I don't seem to get here hardly at all now, do I? I do manage to write a little something on the Nicholas blog periodically, but even that isn't as often as I'd like. And this will be a short one, I imagine, too...or not. You know me.

So we've been just swamped with the businesses. Scentsy is going pretty well for me though it could be better if I were willing to sacrifice my role as mommy. :) The other business is going pretty well, too. Mark is getting lots of new patients, but we're also having issues with medicare which is making it a challenge at times. We'll make it but it probably isn't going to be a walk in the park.

Speaking of which, we did go to the zoo this past Sunday after getting Nicholas a new pair of tennis shoes (his first!). That was a lot of fun and it was nice. We don't do a lot as a family lately...because when Mark's able to be home, I'm trying to catch up on business stuff and when he's not, well Nicholas and I are hanging. Nicholas is quite a lucky little guy getting so much time with both his parents.

I sometimes feel like I am not giving Nicholas the attention he deserves because I am so busy, busy with all the stuff for the business and such. I guess though he really does get more of my attention than many children get from their mommies so I shouldn't be so hard on myself.

Finally as I type furiously so that I can go give some time to Nick who's feeling quite unhappy lately as more teething episodes occur (we stayed up watching Groundhog Day last night...not watching TV much for a good portion of his life has really made it an excellent tool when he's feeling awful), I'll ask for all of your prayers. We have some financial "issues" on the horizon that we aren't looking forward to dealing with both with the business and our personal lives. We are going to need a little help from above for everything to work out nice and pretty.

Oh, and if you happen to live in Colorado Springs and would like to check out Scentsy, this weekend I am having an open house at the clinic's classroom. I'd love to see you and show you our new nifty scents and mini plug-in warmers. :) It will be going from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you need more info, please just give me a call or an email and I'll fill you in!

4 Years & Counting

2008-07-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

Four years ago at this time, I was in Colorado and I was exhausted. I'd danced the day away, been in countless photos and had earned a new title and a new last name (which I was a slacker about changing, but I finally got it done!). Yep, it's our anniversary today and it is so nice to be back in Colorado to celebrate it.

We were actually here to celebrate last year as well...with our little two month old baby Nicholas. But it was a little less amusing (for me at least) than this year because last year, we spent most of our anniversary visiting the clinic we now operate instead of going to lunch at Marigolds. We at least were able to make up for it with some goodies from there tonight.

Our celebration was quite lovely for this first bit (for I was told at dinner that a second celebration is planned - brunch at the Broadmoor!) - dinner at the Craftwood Inn using a coupon we found in a magazine. We had a yummy 5 course dinner and for about what we'd have spent on two entrees without the coupon....sweet!

Mark also surprised me today with flowers and a lovely card that really is fitting for where we are in our marriage. I appreciate his thoughtfulness. I'm pretty lucky to have a thoughtful guy who tries very hard as my husband.

I am hopeful that the coming year will be one we will remember for many happy moments. If all goes well, we're hoping to host an anniversary celebration next year - my biggest hope is that my dress which I was supposed to wear to the first celebration will actually fit (which is likely since my hormones are behaving much better!). I have some other wish list items as well, but a girl has to have a few secrets...

I hope everyone has a great weekend. We have Dr. Chi in town to examine our patients' fingernails and tongues so we'll be busy! :)

Back again...

2008-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

I didn' t realize I hadn't posted here for so long. I guess we've been keeping me otherwise occupied. :)

I have been having lots of fun with my business and Nicholas and I've been keeping pretty busy with Mark's practice as well. Hopefully at some point I'll feel like I'm not a chicken with its head cut off. ;)

This weekend was a good one. We went to a party for Mark's networking group in Manitou Springs. It was such fun and even more so since I was able to share my Scentsy products with the ladies in attendance. They were all quite pleased and placed several orders which is great since I have three left before my first 60 days is over and I'm hoping to hit one more level before that is up!

There was so much food at the party since we all brought something to share....kalua pork, salsa, potato salad, etc. We brought what I named the "Dolly Madison Zinger Trifle." If you are a trifle snob, I'll be the first to admit, it is *not* a true trifle...it's probably closer to a mess, but I prefer to call it a trifle and since it isn't likely to be published in a culinary masterpiece, I'm sure you'll go with me on it. It was composed of coconut cake (the same as for Nicholas' birthday cake which, erhem, I was going to recreate, but when the cake comes out in pieces, a trifle it becomes!), raspberry jam, shredded coconut, coconut pudding and whipped cream for good measure. It was really pretty and very tasty...especially the next day after it was able to sit around for a while. I think I might just have to mess up another cake so I can make it a day ahead of time because there weren't many leftovers to enjoy that second day! ;)

Yesterday was a very productive day for me as well. The downstairs office area is now useable space...not a dumping ground as it has been acting. It was a necessary change since the computer I am currently typing on will be taking a little trip to the geeks at Best.Buy to fix its speakers. They are just awful and we've just not taken care of it....laziness for part of the time and then, well, I didn't have another computer out and available so that was an issue, but not anymore! I think it will be nice to have a desk again and I'm hoping it will lead to the kitchen table being nice and organized rather than looking like a desk with tons of in process projects. :)

We're having pictures of Nicholas taken again today. We're doing a few makeups for lighting problems and what not with his 12 month pictures. The pictures will be taken at the Broadmoor so we're sure to have some really lovely ones when all is said and done....hopefully Nicholas will be in a better mood today, too!

Little Bitty Baby Steps...

2008-07-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Nicholas scares me. Well, okay, he doesn't, but his latest attempts at mobility do. We're up to about 8 steps at a time. They're teeny, they're tiny and they foreshadow the end of my concern over whether I'll ever lose those last 6 pounds of pregnancy weight. (I will...it's just a slower process when you're not excercising as much as you'd like).

This all started on Monday night (7/14) in earnest. Prior to this, Nicholas had taken a step here, a step there, and then three steps that morning on his way into the kitchen. He just improved exponentially such that by that evening, as he and I were waiting in the hall where we'd gone as a family to listen to a lecture about the wonders of coconut for diet and healing (we love coconut anything around here!), he did it...5 steps. Wow.

Since then, he tries his "feet" several times per day and I get excited each time and cheer him on while in the back of my mind I think "Don't encourage him!" But, of course, I must though the end result means he's growing up and I'm going to be chasing a toddler around.

But he's not just any toddler. He is an Amazon toddler...just ask all the people who keep asking me if he's two years old. Ugh. No! He's only a little over a year...please don't grow him up faster! He's just so dang tall that people can't believe he's just around 13.5 months. I see three year olds who are shorter than this little guy. Wow.

In other news, I had a great grand opening experience the second time around and this weekend my final one will be in Lamar. I didn't get to publicize it as well as I'd like (and I blame teething again), but I'm sure there will be at least a few visitors to my little show if for no other reason than I mentioned Nicholas would be there on the invitation!

One thing I did learn on Saturday is that our room sprays are PHENOMENAL!!! I never would have guessed they would be so effective and long lasting. I sprayed the stuff upstairs in our office building to help people find their way to the party at 10 a.m. I did not respray it...I didn't have time. And, you know what, I didn't need to. I kid you not, when I came upstairs when it was all over, it smelled just as good as when I'd first sprayed it. That was at 4 p.m. the same day. Now here's the super kicker...I came in on Sunday (ugh...I had to or our sales tax return was not going to get done on time) and I actually decided I better leave the outside door cracked because it STILL smelled just as yummy as it had the morning before and I didn't want to aggravate any of our patients' noses on Monday. That is totally awesome, don't you agree?

Our room sprays come in all the scents we offer for $8 each so if you're looking for a quick way to freshen up a room, they may be for you! Check them out at my website (www.scentsy.com/gotscent).

And with that, I suppose I shall sign off as there is a little boy here who wants to play chase - fun!

A New Addition...

2008-07-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

We're going to be adding to our family again it seems. But...this time I don't have to endure morning, noon and night sickness. Oh, and the new member will probably never talk...at least not in human forms.

Mark received a call the other day that they have found a suitable dog for his guide and they are probably going to have her (yea! a girl dog!) trained and ready to meet him/us by the end of September or so.

I am thrilled for him as I know this is something he's wanted for quite some time, buuut, I hope it doesn't result in an increase in my responsibilites as I feel a bit tapped at the moment.

His business, Nicholas an my business are all keeping me on my toes. As for mine, I had part II of my grand opening this past weekend. It was a much better showing than my first. I'm hoping that the next one which will happen in my home town next week will be at least this successful and hopefully more so!

And now I am going to get ready and climb into bed. A teething baby doesn't seem to result in much of a great night's sleep!

A Little Bit...

2008-07-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

of a post here. It will probably end up being a long one (as always), but I don't know how long Nicholas will allow me to participate here, so we'll shoot for a short snippet and see where we get.

So first things first - Independence Day. It was decent if not terribly exciting celebration for our family. I spent a good chunk of it at the office as I'm still working on catching up the practice accounting. I'm pleased to report that we are actually working on the month of June right now...furiously so that I can use our patient records to do our sales tax returns in the coming week.

We also had a visit from my papa who was coming home from his training for the wind farm where he now works in Albany, NY. It was nice to visit with him for a while.

We tried to get some fireworks in (even let Nicholas stay up late for them!), but other than a few illegal ones we were able to spot, we chose poorly. We thought we'd camp out near the ball park and watch the fireworks after the game. When 10:30 p.m. rolled around (we'd put Nicholas to sleep around 9ish...just for the record), and I could barely keep my eyes open, we decided we better head home. Apparently the ball field officials missed the memo that all of the families sitting in the Costco parking lot were counting on them.

Let's see, I also had my first grand opening for my business. It wasn't nearly what I had hoped for, but I have a second shot this weekend. Hopefully this weekend will go better. I believe some of my lackluster results were due to my not being able to call and remind a ton of people of the party's occurence since I needed to be mommy for Nicholas. The poor dear is cutting his molars....or they're cutting him is more appropriate phraseology.

Yep, he's getting more teeth. He has pushed through his first molar with the help of a lot of teething tablets. I keep raving to everyone I know about these things. The little tooth is pretty cute, but man did it make his life so unpleasant and we have three more lurking and threatening him (and us) with sleepless nights and discomfort. Keep the little guy in your prayers.

Earlier this week, my mother had her surgery for her hernia and cancer. She's currently in the hospital still recovering...with the help of a lot of drugs. I'm sad that I have not been able to go visit her, but our financial situation is not yet healthy due to the medicare billing troubles we've had since we took over. On the bright side, we finally got our first payment so this discomfort will hopefully be over soon (please!).

At any rate, she is doing well from what I've been told by her and by my dad. The doctors reaffirmed their belief that the cancer was in its earlier stages and they got it all. She also got a little help with her weight loss which I'm anxious to see. I've heard it's a pretty dramatic change.

Let's see, back to my business, I did have a very nice breakthrough this past week....two really. I took some closing gift baskets into a real estate office (on their request) and they were a big hit so I'll hopefully get some business from that. Then my banker asked me to bring stuff in so that she and her co-workers could check them out and order (they can't make it to the party on Saturday due to scheduling reasons) so that is looking like another promising avenue. So when do you want to have your party?

I am actually trying to hit a goal here, but am not likely to hit it as well as I'd like. The company rewards consultants who in their first 60 days of business can do things like make sales, get recruits, etc. My major stumbling block seems to be in the recruit area. If you know anybody who's looking for a little more income (and they can be anywhere in the U.S.) and who would enjoy having fun making said income, have them talk to me!

That, I believe, get you up-to-date with most of them important stuff around here. The only other thing I just thought to mention is that we're totally loving that we signed up for a community supported agriculture arrangement. We receive a share of the vegetables harvested from a farm near Pueblo every week. It's been pretty fun trying some new things...who would have guessed I'd like turnips so much?!

I wish you all a pleasant rest of your week. If you are in the Colorado Springs area, please be sure to stop by my grand opening on Saturday at the office's classroom.

My New Scentsational Business

2008-06-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Love candles? Then you will love the products I've decided to sell!

I am now a consultant for a new candle company. You can see my website by clicking on the link above. While you're there you can purchase our wonderful products, email me to get on my newsletter mailing list, get more information on hosting a party or becoming a consultant!

Our products are flameless wickless candles - perfect for families with pets and children. Since we do not use flames, our candles are safer than traditional candles. But you're wondering how it is we actually burn them, I'm sure. Well, we do that with a 25 watt light bulb which heats the wax just enough to let off the fragrance but not enough to make it hot enough to burn or evaporate and that means, soot is a thing of the past.

We have several warmers and we have over 80 scents for you to choose from. Our scent bars burn for approximately 50 to 80 hours (about the same as a 12 oz. jar candle) and can be mixed and matched to make other "flavor" combinations! As if that wasn't neat enough, you can swap out flavors with ease.

In my opinion, this is a must-have for any candle-lover with children and pets...and frankly, for any candle lover. The potency of our scents is under your control - put in one, two or three cubes to get teh strength you want.

I simply can not say enough about how wonderful these are - I like them so much I signed up as a consultant within two weeks of learning about them!

And, I must mention, if you're looking for a little extra income then you should definitely talk to me about this one because we're still on the ground floor and there is really great potential for making a great team and a great income stream for yourself.

And now, I have a little boy who is wanting some cuddle time with mom before bed time so I'll have to update you on the rest of what's going on later. I hope you're all doing great!

It Was Wild!

2008-06-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

We had Nicholas' birthday celebration this past weekend at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! The title above says it all - it was one WILD party! :) Nicholas and every one else in attendance thoroughly enjoyed it!

We began our adventure just inside the park where everyone was asked to sign their lives away lest any of the carnivorous animals escape and eat one or more children. Some parents signed while muttering such things as "there are days when I wish a lion would come and eat my child." They were joking...I think. Ha ha!

We then travelled up to the Moose lodge to drop off gifts and cake and ice cream. It was a little odd that they didn't just have someone run the things up I have to admit since, well, we had to turn around and come right back! In this process, we managed to lose my parents so they missed a good deal of the zoo portion of the day, but they got back in time for cake and ice cream...the important stuff you know!

Since I have mentioned the goodies twice now, I think I should give you the skinny on the cake and ice cream we served. They were sooo tasty and I say this not because I made all of them, but because they truly were just yummy, yummy, yummy. And, if you don't believe me, you can ask anyone who attended. ;) I made 3 cakes. One for Nicholas - a mini three-tiered cake with coconut cream frosting and blueberries and raspberries for decorations. And, two for everyone else. One was just like Nicholas' (only just two layers slapped together with frosting and decorated with berries and such) and one has a raspberry filling and a chocolate coating. All three cakes were wheat free (thankfully we do not have to deal with the egg allergy anymore because I tried at first to make them egg free as well...not good) and used coconut flour. I received a lot of compliments even from the zoo staff and that, of course, made me feel all good! The ice cream was also quite tasty - made out of the milk and cream from our little dairy farm we found and some fresh strawberries. We didn't have much left of any of the goodies...except Nicholas' cake, but we'll get there!

So, after dropping off the stuff, we went to enjoy a Meerkat demonstration. Very cool because they knew what was coming when their caretaker came. They were, for lack of a better word, hovering! And then, when they finally got the crickets they were sure were on the way, they were just happy little creatures eating their fill. It was a blast getting to see all of them so active!

After the Meerkats, we headed to the Giraffes where we fed them some crackers. Nicholas wasn't so thrilled with being licked by a big old giraffe tongue, but he had the experience because I made sure to help him hold the cracker so the giraffe could give him a little kiss. I figure after all the slobbery kisses he gives me, I owed him one, right? ;)

We then headed to see the Budgies (parakeets for you non-bird people out there) and on the way our fearless zoo leader, Joy discovered they had a baby Wallaby (a joey of course) out for the little kids to see. She made way for Nicholas and I to get a cute picture with the little guy. I haven't had a chance to review the camera yet (I will...just was working on some other things for his site today) but I'm sure it's adorable! What a special birthday treat! Then we went in to see the birdies. They weren't so keen on coming to say hello, but we enjoyed all the singing anyhow.

Once we were done there, we headed to meet our "animal ambassador" the African Millipede. Pede-y as we'll call him was sleepy. He was pretty much just rolled up and sleeping the whole time. But that's okay...I'm not so excited about bugs and Nicholas could have cared less since it was about that time that he decided he wanted something to drink. Now. So he drank, I touched the nasty bug and then was grateful our other fearless leader, Mallory, offered me some hand sanitizer. And, it was over.

But the party was just beginning...we ventured to the carousel and Nicholas enjoyed his first ride ever on one! At first, he wasn't so sure, I think, but then he decided he loved it! He was kicking and waving and making all sorts of happy noises. It was a blast to watch him so happy. I am so glad we took some video of it!

After the carousel, it was time for cake and ice cream. We got Nicholas set up in his new little attaches to the table hippo chair thingie (which I highly recommend after this experience) and put his cake in front of him, lit the candle, sang happy birthday and I attempted to blow it out. I had to do it three times...guess the lungs were a bit tired after traipsing all over the zoo. I finally succeeded and we waited for the first birthday cake melee that was sure to occur. My son, who apparently takes after his daddy in this area, picked up a blueberry and ate it. Then he picked up a raspberry and ate that. I had to pick a piece of cake off and talk him into trying it. He had a few pieces and played with the frosting, but for the most part, he wanted the fruit. I have to admit I am pretty pleased with this! :) He did get plenty messy (especially since I forgot to put a bib on and then everybody was telling me to just let it go) and I have a rather large raspberry juice stain on his cute "Safari Guide" outfit I bought him. With any luck, Oxyclean will be its match.

We didn't really have a chance to open gifts until we got home and had a BBQ with my parents and a few friends. The little guy really cleaned up in the present category. I have a ton of thank you notes to write for him! He has been having a blast with all of them for the past few days. So, it was, I think a great first birthday celebration overall and now we're already thinking about what we'll do next year. Given how much Nicholas enjoyed his trip to the park on his actual birthday, we're thinking we might just do a little party in the park next year, but we'll see how the year goes and what tickles his fancy!

So that is about it about the party and he and I need to get ready to go walking with his "rent-a-grandma" Nina so I will let you go. I will ask you before I depart to keep my mom in your prayers, though, for healing. She's having surgery in the near future and we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!!

2008-05-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Nicholas, believe it or not, is a year old today. For me, it is both bittersweet and exciting that he's reached this milestone.

(By the way, I kind of jinxed myself with that whole ha ha two posts, thing...didn't I? I'll try to get back on the "wagon" after I manage to get the accounting which is proving to be quite unpleasant and time-consuming done for the business - bah!)

On the bittersweet side, there are, of course, several things I know now that I wish I knew last year at this time. You can probably guess that breastfeeding is one of my regrets to some extent, though I can now hold my head high as one of the mommies who made it to a year and is still going...if only for a few minutes of cuddle time in the morning and evening - it's still something and something many new mothers (and seasoned ones, probably) never get the joy of experiencing. If we have another child, I estimate that I may be a bit psycho about the whole feeding situation until I'm sure I don't need to be, but I do believe I can "do it" and I will give it another good go. At least I am more at peace with all that went on in that arena than I have been. I think that as we continue along with our current relationship, more healing will come for me.

Nicholas celebrated his first important day beginning on Saturday afternoon. We ventured to the great metropolis of Boone, Colorado to visit a dairy farm. If you've heard of me refer to my hometown, Lamar, as a great metropolis, I should tell you that Boone is even smaller...much.much.smaller. It's tiny. Don't blink...you'll miss it tiny. But, they have a dairy there that specializes in raw milk from cows who only eat grass. While there, we toured the facilities and saw some cows being milked and then signed up for a cow share. So we now are the proud owner of part of a Jersey cow and will be getting a gallon of fresh milk each week. This milk is soooo good. I have never had anything like it out of a carton, that is for sure...it reminded me of a lightly sweetened milk shake. Yummo. Of course, most of the milk will go to our dear little Nick, but I can get a little butter out of the deal and maybe so yogurt, too!

After our trip to the farm, we visited with Grandma and Grandpa Allen (my parents) who joined us for dinner at Red Lobster in Pueblo. Nicholas snoozed through most of dinner on Grandpa's shoulder, but he finally woke up and entertained all around with his antics and "uh-oh's". Did I ever get to mention that "Uh-oh" was his first "non-Mama" word? He loves to say it. I didn't realize I said it so much until he started saying it and I started paying attention. I'm thankful that this is one of the words I say often...

On Sunday, we had another adventure at Hillside Gardens here in Colorado Springs. We ventured there to take pictures! I finally found a photographer who was willing to take pictures, give me the rights to them and not charge me an arm and a leg. I think we found a winner, but of course, we do need to see the pictures.

Today, we celebrated by baking some cupcakes with coconut flour in them...they are SO good! Yummo! I'm in the process of baking his birthday party cake right now. The party is next weekend so I will put the layers in the freezer once they have cooled after baking. We also had a visit from Mr. Rick who gave Nicholas a fun little barnyard learning toy to complement his new Winnie the Pooh rock-n-ride vehicle that Mom and Dad gave him. What fun! Not surprisingly, he enjoyed playing with the boxes to both and then decided he wanted to play with Daddy's computer before warming up to the toys - looks like our kid is...normal! :)

For lunch, we ventured a bit north to see Nick's godparents, Buck and Lyndsay and his pal Ridge for a picnic lunch at Foxrun Regional Park where we introduced Nicholas to several nifty things. First, he had a couple of bites of cupcake which he seemed to enjoy...but he seemed to want the strawberries more! Then, we introduced him to swinging...on Daddy and Mommy's lap! He loved that and found the teeter totter amusing. His absolute most favorite thing ever though was going down the slide. That was WAY fun...so much so that when we tried to move him away from it (even if it was temporarily so that we could send him down it again), he threw a wee bit of a fit.

All in all, I think, if he could say a few more words he would tell you he had a rockin' birthday and that he's ready for his party. The bash is going to be at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (my favorite zoo of all time...even over San Diego...really!) and we have some neat activities planned...including, of course, Nicholas' first ever attempt at eating birthday cake unassisted. That should be a kick. I haven't completely decided what kind of filling and frosting I'm going to use in his cake, but I think it is safe to say it is going to be a stunner...and yummy, yummy, yummy! All the kiddies that are invited are sure to love it. To go along with the cake, I'm also going to make some very tasty strawberry ice cream using our new milk. With any luck, the guests will never forget the experience and will have lots of fun stories to tell Nicholas when he's old enough to understand it all! I promise to take lots of pictures to share on his website, too. 

And now, lets see if we can do a massive recap given that I haven’t posted anything for two months. I’m glad you all are an understanding lot! From the Nicholas side of things, we are crusing. We finally learned how to wave bye-bye and we can make the sign for “more” pretty well also. He loves bath time and is not at all pleased when someone (usually me) takes a shower because he thinks he should be getting to splash around in the bath. He’s become quite vocal at meals as far as voicing his approval (he just turns his head when he disapproves) for things that he likes. Mmmmmm! I should really try to get that on video.

Let’s see, what else….he has a lot more hair now….so super cute since it is still a nice red color. He seems to see very well also. He is sleeping through the night…sort of. He and I sleep on the floor (well on a bed of sorts made of blankets and a sleeping bag for him and a massage table for me) in his room now. It’s an odd arrangement, but we needed to try something else to get some sleep. So far, we’ve managed to end middle of the night feedings (unless he misses a feeding during the day) as well. He wakes up and usually snuggles up to me and falls right back to sleep. It isn’t optimal from some standpoints, but it is lovely getting to spend this special time with my boy. When the time seems right to me, I will work on transitioning him to sleeping in his crib through the night with me there and then I’ll move out slowly and return to my own bed…with any luck it won’t be too difficult.

Business-wise, we’re making headway. Mark did a business-to-business expo on Thursday which we believe will bring in a good number of new patients. We were showing them with before and after pictures taken on the spot what sort of a change Mark could make with just a couple of small adjustments. I’ve been working on the accounting and have taken over a miniscule amount of the office manager’s duties since she left this past month. In her place, we decided to hire another doctor to take x-rays and do diagnostic tests. Once he and Mark bring in a good number of new patients, we will be able to give him a raise…hopefully soon since he’s worth it but the budget won’t allow it.

On the home front, we have a new baby in our house thanks to an impulse splurge a couple of weeks ago. No, no…nothing that moves per se….rather we have a new baby grand piano. Thus a dream of mine is fulfilled…and one will be as Nicholas will get to have piano lessons when he gets to be a little older. We probably should have waited to buy it, but from a stress relief standpoint for me, it was worth every penny. Watching Nicholas “bang out” a song or two every day is quite amusing and just being able to play on a real piano after 10 years of trying to play on a keyboard that was missing the lowest octave has proven quite therapeutic for me. I consider it my belated Mother’s Day/You Put Up With The Chiropractic School, SBA Loan and Business Annoyance present….in my opinion, it was well-earned!!

Speaking of babies, now that Nicholas is one, I’m starting to get more and more people asking about whether we’re going to have more children. The truthful answer is I don’t know. My plate is pretty full with Nicholas, the business and what not and I’m not sure that another baby would be prudent. On the emotional side of things, I would love to have at least one more so that I could enjoy the learning curve that comes with the second child. We will weigh the decision carefully and maybe we’ll let you know if another pair of feet are in our future. Ultimately, we just want to do what is best for any and all children we have or may bring into the world.

And with that, I am going to sign off. I hope to be back here again soon….until then, if you haven’t visited Nicholas’ site recently, you may have missed out on several picture additions including those from when he was christened. Go enjoy!

Ha! Ha! Two posts in One Month

2008-03-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hope you were sitting down when you checked our blog again. :) I must finally be equalizing as far as things I need to do. Maybe I'll get my license plates and drivers license changed before April is over (since I obviously missed doing it by the end of March).

I have actually had a few rather calm days when I felt as though I really should have been running around more. Today I ran around plenty, but I still had time to just hang with my little Nickles (like the coin - one of my favorite nicknames for him at the moment) and even let him take a little nap in the car.

We accomplished a couple of things that have been on my list for a while. We finally got our DVD Recorder off to Panasonic for service. I hope it is fixable...I suppose since it is under warranty it isn't really an issue, but whatever. We also finally made it to Michaels to have Mark's diploma, board test certificates and license framed. How cool, huh? I am quite pleased with the selection I made. He is going to have a very chic and yet understated looking brag wall. I was fortunate in that Michaels is having a 50% off sale right now so I save some big bucks on the framing. It was still expensive though...partially because I opted for a double matte look rather than the single matte look I chose when framing my own certificates...

We had some excitement at the end of the day, too. I helped our office manager break into her car. She'd left her keys in it. Ugh. We all know how annoying that is. We were able to, with the help of a wire hanger I brought back from home, pop her back window open. We had the darndest time trying to get the actual lock to slide over though...it's too bad we don't have video! Mark actually came back just at the right moment and I used his cane to trip it. Hopefully it will help with the whole bonding experience at the office. :)

And then we have a little story about the Nicholas. We have had some really easy getting to bed times these past few nights, but Saturday night was the most amazing. I believe the ease was due to Nicholas being adjusted by a doctor teaching a seminar Mark went to this weekend about correcting the spine. It is some crazy stuff, but it seems to be something I'll benefit greatly from...and Nicholas seems to have already enjoyed some spoils.

So on Saturday this guy adjusted Nicholas. I was about ready to crawl across the table and throttle the guy after the first adjustment. I have never seen anyone do that to a baby (I'm not going to elaborate - you don't want to know). It definitely was not one of those "barely any pressure things). But, that night, I kid you not...I took him out of his car seat sleeping. He didn't even stir (well, he did but for like two seconds and then was back to sleep with no input from me as far as patting shhhing and the like). I took him to our bedroom, lay him on the bed, took off his clothes and dressed him in his jammies and his snuggly sleep sack and he was sleeping through the whole thing. Just to push my luck, I breastfed him and then put him in his crib to go to sleep. He slept...no whining. no startling. nothing!

This is highly irregular, in fact, it's never happened before. EVER. Tonight, I just put him down before coming here to write and I laid him down and again...not a bit of stirring. Oh, and I didnt mention that on Sunday the kid had 6 (!!) bowel movements (and we're talking significant size - even had to change his clothes once) from the time he got up to the time we fed him dinner. Whoa....especially since some of them were not even close to a solid feeding. It was too weird, but ever since his potty has been "fresh" looking rather than, well, not. Very odd and very cool.

As for me, the guy adjusted me, too. Except for the fact that he and I both kind of abdicated responsibility on the last Saturday night adjustment as far as what side I should be adjusted on which lead to my being in a pretty bad state by Sunday morning (and pretty doubtful that the money I was spending sending Mark to the seminar was remotely worth it!). We walked into that classroom very unhappy campers. By the end of the day, though, I was feeling more positive about it...especially since the doctor had the decency to tell me that he had adjusted me on the wrong side and that's why I was feeling so utterly awful. Shortly after he adjusted me again I felt much better. He adjusted me once more that day and then Mark adjusted me again. The doctor estimates that by November of next year, I should be pretty much back to "normal" with my spine. I am hopeful that he won't let me down as many others have in the past. I would love to feel good again and not notice my body...

Well, I will spare you a further novella... I hope everyone is well and will chat at you again soon (it's a little more believeable now when I say this, isn't it?)

10 Months...

2008-03-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

Our dear little sprout is 10 months old today and to celebrate, he got up on all fours and crawled! How exciting, huh?

I figured we'd start with that instead of the usual "blah, blah, blah sorry I've not posted" mumbo jumbo you've come to expect with my almost monthly posts. It is my intention (as it always is) to get back into the habit of providing regular updates. Maybe that will happen soon...maybe not. Only the business gods know for sure.

I have been swamped with getting things going with the business. Fun times since I am doing it primarily after normal operating hours and on weekends with Nicholas in tow. Frequently Mark will watch him which is helpful. This week was especially productive since Mark's parents were here to visit for Nicholas' baptism this past weekend and kept watch over him.

The baptism, speaking of which, was so nice. Nicholas was looking quite dapper in his little white tuxedo (there will eventually be pictures to see on his website which I also fully intend to get back up to date - hee hee!). It was a lovely ceremony on Easter Vigil (Saturday night before Easter) at the same church where we were married and where we seem to fit in nicely again despite their split from the Episcopal Church. It's pretty nice to be back in a very conservative church again, I have to admit.

The Easter Vigil ceremony is quite a sight and so it was the perfect time for the baptism. Nicholas once again stole the show (there were two other candidates who hadn't a chance) by getting fussy right as his turn "on stage" came. He started being quite figety, whiny, etc. So, the priest suggested Mark hand him over. As he read the service, Nicholas intently looked at him and thought about how he would steal his glasses. When he wasn't able to find a way, he went for the program. We have video of most of the service (we'd have it all but I had my brother stop recording in the middle to ensure we wouldn't have a problem with battery power when the actual baptism time came!), I can't wait to see it.

Because the ceremony was in the evening, we decided to have the party to celebrate it at lunch that day. We took all the VIPs to Phantom Canyon Brewery for some tasty vittles. For favors, I'd bought some candies to put in some cutie pie bunny easter baskets I found at Williams Sonoma. I had a big basket with Nicholas' name monogrammed on it for him. These were a big hit even if they were quite obnoxious and kept falling over when we tried to set the table up!

Nicholas has 7 official and one honorary (because he couldn't come to the ceremony) godparents. Our friends Kristie and Mark (Kristie sang at our wedding if you were there), Jennifer and Brent, Lyndsay and Buck and Noheilani (who s a rather recent acquaintance but who ADORES her little "Makana" and was a perfect addition to the line up were able to make the ceremony. Keola, unfortunately didn't make it, but is quite thrilled to be "the Godfather." We have quite a line up godparents-wise for Nicholas and we know they will be great role models.

On Easter Sunday we attended church with Kristie, Mark and their daughter Hannah, then we all joined Mark's parents for brunch at MacKensie's Chop House downtown. It was pretty tasty with all sorts of delectables including shrimp, crab legs, prime rib, ham and lots of other goodies.

Business-wise we are doing pretty well. Mark held down the fort without the retiring doctor for an entire week. About a 1/3 of the normal volume of patients showed up, but we were pleased with that as we know people get very attached to their doctors! Since that week, he's been the only doctor in the office on Wednesday and seems to be doing pretty well at getting a few people in to see him. :) He's slowly building a new patient base and should see an explosion here soon since he's joined a business networking group, the chamber and has been courting several area businesses.

We finally also have a somewhat liveable upstairs. We just need mt parents to come get their couch. :)

Other than that, we have been keeping up with our cutie pie Nick. We've begun introducing him to finger foods and he's loving them. So far we've made a hit with oat cereal (not cheerios, but similar), raisins (today), peas and pear chunks. He's a good little eater and seems to chew well before swallowing!

Other tricks he's got up his sleeves now including clapping and sometimes making the sign for Milk. Sometimes, I think he is waving though! He's grown enought that he's starting to transition into 9/12 month clothing and he has a lot of it. I went a bit nuts at a Macy's sale on MLK, Jr. day and he's pretty much not hurting for clothes for a while!

Other than that, I am toying with the idea of getting into children's photography. I say toying because I'm not quite ready to commit to taking photos of anyone but Nicholas. Part of what's bring the idea to the forefront is my dear MIL who thinks I'd be awesome at it and part of it comes from the fact that I am not having much luck finding a photographer here who does what I want for the price I want. I'm finding it almost amazing that if I want something close to what the photographer I used in the Bay Area offers, I have to pay more than double her cost! I guess it must be a supply and demand thing since the supply of photographers out there is much higher than that here. Who knows, though. One thing is handy - if I decided to do it, I have a pretty nice logo and website graphics designed that could probably be modified ever so slightly to make it work. Of course, the trademark wouldn't be of much use...

And then, I toy every so often with the idea of wedding or event planning here. I've come across so many photographers that are lamenting the lack of good wedding planners they can refer to brides who book with them. I even met one couple who was planning to introduce discounts for brides who had one. I probably would like it out here better, I'm guessing, buuut, I'm not even going to THINK about doing anything of that sort (or if I did, of advertising or whathave you) until Mark's business is up and running fabulously...if for no other reason than I promised the SBA when we applied for our loan. :)

I guess that will do for today. Perhaps I will make it back here before another month has passed. Until then, have a great time!

It's Over. (I Hope)

2008-02-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

I have good news and bad news. We'll start with the bad news first - little Nicholas is sick. We picked up something somewhere and despite our best efforts he is now sporting a nice little fever and has tossed his cookies twice. My poor baby! I can now add being vommited on to my list of things I never imagined I could handle with grace. :)

I think the sickies are the result of WAY too much stress for our family. What with moving, trying to getting Mark working and other "stuff" has put a few chinks in our armor. Thankfully, we finally got to check one stressor off our list today - we FINALLY got to close on the business. It is ours! Lord help us....we probably are going to need it!

Yes, Dr. Rocco now has a place to hang his hat. How exciting, huh? Things finally worked out and tomorrow morning he'll begin his quest for chiropractic excellence and bringing wellness to every person he can get his hands on. ;) Please keep us in your prayers.

In other news, we are not yet moved in. We still have a POD sitting in our driveway and we're kind of stuck until we are able to get some help moving the big things out of it. This is tricky since a lot of things we might find useful are hiding behind the big things. But then again, we haven't even had a chance to put a lot of the small PODS contents away so maybe it's better that we can't move more boxes into the garage, eh?

Obviously, being sick has slowed us down somewhat with respect to the "moving in" process, but we have also been playing hooky a bit since we were able. We ventured up to Frisco, Colorado, this past weekend to visit with Mark's cousins Dan and Jimmy. It was so nice to meet them and for Mark to see them again as it had been quite sometime since the three of them were together. They and Julianna, Dan's sweet girlfriend, all enjoyed time with Nicholas and Nicholas just really took to all three of them (Dan will tell you he's the favorite of the three if you ask, though). I have some adorable pictures that I'll be putting up on his site as soon as I can get around to it.

And, that is another piece of good news that came out of the combination of being sick and being in Frisco - I've managed to add a ton of new pictures to Nicholas's website. We are caught up through Christmas with the little guy now except for the professional pictures we took at Christmas time, but we'll get those up very soon as well, I hope. That reminds me that I need to find a good kiddie photographer out here in Colorado as we are approaching Nick's 9 month birthday!

Let's see, other than that, I can't really think of anything important that I haven't mentioned so I suppose I'll be scooting out of here to go heat up some yummy soup that Nick's Auntie Noheilani (she calls him Makana...and I'm starting to pick up the habit!) made to help us all heal up fast. We have to send a big Mahalo (thank you!) to her and Mark's Dad for all their help in getting this business purchase through. :)

Has It Really Been That Long?

2008-01-29T21:19:00.001-08:00

It doesn't seem like it's been nearly a month since I last came around the old blog, but I guess it has! Things have been CRAZY here so I guess I'm not totally surprised. What a whirlwind we're living in. With any luck it is coming to an end...

So, since we last touched base, we have pretty much gotten everything in line as far as the business. Unless by some bizarre occurence, we will be closing on the practice on February 1. Mark already has his name on the door...how neat is that? And, he's receiving his 1st paycheck on Friday of this week. A whole $10. Woo! We decided to pay him a small amount to take advantage of a special the bank was running on their payroll service. By making this one payment, we'll be saving $40. Not too shabby. :)

In other news, we are now officially back in Colorado after a horrid week of moving last week. It was awful, but we made it through it....with 1 1/2 PODS. We could't get everything into one. If you ask Mark, it is because we have too much stuff and need to get rid of some. If you ask me, it is because we have a baby and because I wasn't really given anytime to sort through what we had and get rid of things. I wasn't even able to take what I did have to donate to goodwill...I had to get a friend to volunteer for it!

With respect to our house, the good news is that we actually found some renters for it. They're probably going to be moving in toward the end of February. I was able to meet with the husband of the family and he seemed quite nice...he's actually a vice principal at a school in the area. I hope they like our home...if so, they plan to do a lease option and with any luck eventually buy it. That would be lovely.

As far as the news that everybody really wants (hee hee!), Nicholas is doing just fine. He's 8 months old now and just as much of a doll as ever though he has learned how to throw a fit. He's just not at all fond of wearing hats. He has a total of 7 teeth popping through at this point. Thankfully he's gotten used to all of them again and so he isn't gnawing on me. I don't like that much and it seems to happen every time he gets a new tooth.

Let's see, he's also sitting up on his own which makes him quite a bit of fun...especially at bath time. I'm still taking baths with him for safety's sake, but he's close to getting to be in the tub by himself...I'm just looking for a bit more stability. He's really come to love bath time....he loves to splash and kick and just smiles and smiles all the while he's doing it! He is also scooting around now. He looks sort of like an army guy scuttling along on his tummy especially when he has his one "dead" leg. Too funny! Finally, he seems to have discovered his feet...I always thought that happened a little sooner, but whatever.

Eating wise, he's still getting formula, breastmilk and he's been trying new little goodies in jars. I'd always planned to make all his food, but so far it's been a bust. Every time I try the consistency is too chunky and I end up pulling out a jar of something. I'll give it a try again soon I'm sure since he's getting into the land of "normal" food. We started trying meat out on him a few days ago and he seems to be quite happy with it, but then, he's pretty easy to talk into trying things as long as apples or pears are mixed in and it happened to be Chicken Apple. I just bought him a bunch of other goodies to try this evening.

Allergy-wise, we're still combating combinations with formula and what not right now. We seem to have cleared prunes and squash with formula, but we tried feeding him those in California and he was just a bit too stressed out with all the moving. His tummy was mighty upset and sending back everything including apples and pears. Thankfully he's feeling better now that we're at my brother's house, but I worry about how he'll do when we move into our new house at the end of the week...if we actually do.

It will be available, but we have the family timeshare this weekend in Frisco so we're probably going to enjoy some time away. I need it! I have been overworked and up to now quite underpaid for my services. Dr. Rocco totally owes me! ;)

Sleep-wise, Nicholas seems to do okay. We still have one night waking which I have grown weary of. We kept it up for a while there so that I could keep my milk supply up, but we need to get rid of it. Unfortunately, with Nicholas being so agitated with all the changes and what not, it just isn't the best time. So, we'll have to wait until we get settled into our new dwelling and then we'll have to endure a few very long nights, no doubt, as we refrain from giving him the breast or bottle when he awakes. We're going to need some serious patience for that activity I'm guessing.

I suppose that is it for now. The only other thing going on per se is that I've been contemplating maybe starting a new little business venture here in Colorado. I'm not sure what it would be. I'm not sure I really want to do wedding or event planning, but it's always a consideration. I really don't have time to focus on that right now anyway given my responsibilities to Nicholas and to Mark's business. I think the entrepreneur in me longs to give something a go, though, so I'm thinking on it. At least this time, hopefully, I will be able to do it in a way that I won't look back on it and realize that it was a "very expensive bout of therapy" like I do when I think about the wedding business.

Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things and post a little more frequently now that things should be dying down a little!

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

In our little corner of the world, New Year's Day isn't quite yet over so Happy New Year to you! Sorry I didn't make it here to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but I'm sure you know I was thinking about you all that day, too!

There has been a flurry of activity around here since I last wrote. For one, the practice purchase is becoming more and more of a reality...despite a quick blip there where it looked like everything was going to h-e-double hockey sticks in a hand basket. We've received approval from the SBA for the loan, have an agreed upon price (this was where we had a problem for a bit there) and have received the good doctor's terms as far as the loan he'll give us for the remaining balance of the purchase price. Wow! We're hoping that Mark will be working by the beginning of February and making things happen!

By the way, I am typing this in Colorado...we're not here for good yet. We're just visiting for the holidays and to get things set up as far as the business and our housing situation. Speaking of the last one - we think we've found the perfect location to live. It is less than a mile from Mark's office and is right by a Safeway and a Target. It has 5 bedrooms, 2 baths and is very nice based upon our viewing today. The owners seem like very nice people and are looking to sell it sometime soon so we're hoping to maybe set up some sort of lease to buy situation. We figure if we later decided we wanted another home, we could conceivably rent this one and buy some other home for us. We're going to call and start the application and negotiation process tomorrow.

As for the holidays, today was not terribly exciting (nor was last night as we were in bed by around 10ish, I think - I'm not sure as I have a cold and am not quite 'with it') other than the house scoping and meeting up with a friend for dinner at Giuseppe's (yummo!). Nicholas, too, is under the weather with his very first cold...the poor dear. We're pretty sure he picked something up during our visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He's really been quite a trooper, but I've had to deal with way too many loose stools and resulting diaper leaks and explosions for my liking. I think he's starting to feel better, as I am, but we'll just have to see what happens tomorrow!

Other than the cold, he's doing great. He's just about had his 5th tooth break through (uppper right next to front if that makes sense). I'm expecting it to be official in just a day or so more. He is up to about 17 pounds and 29 inches now...almost time for a new car seat! We scoped those out the other day at Babies R Us. We're leaning toward the Britax Boulevard...

As for Christmas, it was really nice getting to spend it with my parents. It was a good one for Nick's first as well. Santa was quite good to him and brought him a Christmas tree of his very own for when I finally realize my dream of having a Christmas tree in every room of the house at Christmas time. He gets to decorate his however he'd like with no OCD allowed from Mommy. hee hee. He received some ornaments to get him started as well. He also recieved a neat little doggie towel, some books, a blankie, clothes, ornaments for his tree and so much more. He, of course, wasn't completely aware of what was going on, but he thought the red shiny paper was pretty neat.

On Christmas Eve we took him to the church I attended while growing up for the service. It was so much fun getting to show him off to all the people there. They loved him and he definitely stole the show...especially when he was fake coughing and chatting during the sermon. It was too cute. He loved all the singing and the attention he was showered with...the little ham!

As far as future plans, we're currently thinking we'll return to the Bay Area on Jan. 7 and get things wrapped up as far as packing and what not. Then we'll head out around the 15th or so. We're contemplating maybe having my brother drive the car out and just flying here again...we're not sure. But at least things are looking up and good and we'll be getting to get our lives in order again soon.

Well, that is it for now. I suppose I've forgotten something, but hopefully not!

Graduation Weekend

2007-12-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

We're heading into a very busy weekend here in the Rocco household. For that matter, it's likely to be a very busy couple of weeks what with finishing up packing, moving and the like.

Saturday is the big day that Mark walks across the stage and gets to be called "Doctor Rocco," though, technically he is already. They just only have two ceremonies per year and so he has had to wait a few months to do the ceremony thing. We have all sorts of visitors planned for that big day - Mark's Uncle Timmy just arrived tonight and of course his parents and brother will be along as well. It should be a pretty fun weekend.

Speaking of fun weekends, my birthday weekend was also quite nice. We thoroughly enjoyed our little B&B tour in Napa. I totally overindulged....way too much sugar and way too much wheat. I was not feeling so hot the next day at all, but it was worth the experience. Our inn that we stayed in was very nice as well...even if there was a mix up as far as which room we were supposed to be in. As luck would have it, I liked the Winter room which we ended up in better than the Autumn room anyhow! :) Here are a few pictures of the room:

Isn't it nice? It was quite a joy to stay in. I was really glad I'd taken a picture of the bed when we first went up...when we returned after a quick bite to eat the bed had already been turned down.

As for the little tour, it was so neat. It was almost like a little progressive dinner party except there were only appetizers and desserts. It's actually like a kind of party I've always sort of wanted to set up...maybe once we're back to Colorado Springs I'll see if a bunch of our friends would be interested in a fun little tour of our houses at Christmas or something. Anyhoo, probably my favorite house on the tour was the Cedar Gables, but then, that is because the innkeeper there was dressed up as Santa Claus and took a nice little picture with Nicholas. It's the cutest picture ever...and sooner or later, it will be in the 7th Month group of photos on his website. Of course, I have to get the 6th month photos up there first!

We had so many goodies and yummy appetizers. I really appreciated that one of the inns even gave us the recipes for what they served. This was the Old World Inn which is run by chefs. They had some wonderful croissants there that made me happy as a clam. Wine-wise, I had a sip or two here and there of wines Mark tried. Since we decided against using the limo/shuttle transportation provided to tour-goers so that we could ensure Nick's safety in his car seat and because I'm still nursing him, I went easy on the vino. We had a lot of really yummy ones. Mark's favorite typically hails from the area of France where I spent some time back in college, too. Isn't that spiffy?

Nicholas really enjoyed the tour himself. He had all sorts of people fawning over him. We even had the good fortune to have some people take some pictures of us. Following the no Nicholas pictures without a pass rule, here's one that was taken of us while some nice ladies cooed over him. :)

Other than that, Nicholas has been doing great, too. We finished up his formula treatments and we have really noticed a great change in how he's been doing (yea!). He actually is able to pass a lot of his own gas which is refreshing (well, you know what I mean). We still have to help him out sometimes, but not super often. We've tried to introduce some other foods as well, but we're not having much luck allergy-wise. It seems that Nicholas' body doesn't seem to like most foods as of yet. One of the strange parts is that we have tested him on every food we've tried at the grocery store and he'll test okay, but then after we feed him the stuff his body "changes" it's mind.

We get some pretty decent indicators when he's eaten something his body doesn't like - the most prevelant one is that the food doesn't stay down very well. This is quite frustrating for everyone. For me, it is on a few levels...not only do I want the little guy to be properly fed, but I also just really am not a fan of trying to get the stains of out his clothing.

And, that, I guess, is the update for tonight since Mark and his Uncle Timmy who joined us this evening are chatting and I'm going to be social!

Thanksgiving, etc.

2007-11-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a lovely holiday. Nick's first Thanksgiving was quite pleasant...even if he didn't get any turkey! :) He dined on plums, pears and apples instead. I don't think he minded much....

At any rate, we spent our holiday at our friend Jeff's parents' house. It was so nice to actually be around a family again. Not since we've moved here have we been invited anywhere for Thanksgiving so this was a special treat!

It was actually quite interesting to be at another family's house for the holiday and see the differences between their celebration and my family's. I was surprised that there were no sweet potatoes or even mashed potatoes on the menu. Instead they served carrot souffle. The other thing that caught my eye was that they put sausage in their stuffing which I really liked. I may have to see if I can find a similar recipe (or here's an idea - ask them for theirs!).

We brought along a little gluten free dessert to share with everyone and it seemed to go over well. I made a maple pecan cake with coconut flour and then turned it into a trifle with caramel flavored pudding and pecans. It was really quite tasty after it had time to sit and meld...

Other than that, things have been going pretty well. We had someone come look at our house today (which wasn't so fun since it was messy, but oh well) and we also had an adventure in the "locking ourselves out" category which we so often venture into. This was one of the easier times since we just called the realtor and they came and let us in, but it was still frustrating that we missed grabbing keys or a gate opener or something.

We also had lunch at Red Robin today. That was fun especially since my burger was free. If you like Red Robin, you should sign yourself up for their email list because they send you a coupon for a free burger on your birthday. Mine technically isn't until Saturday, but a pre-birthday burger was just fine. :) Other restaurants do similar things (Sweet Tomatoes is one) so if you have a favorite, see if you might benefit from signing up.

So, yes my birthday is quickly approaching and I am really looking forward to it. I already know what my present is. :) We're going up to Napa to tour the historical bed and breakfasts up there and we're going to stay at one of them them, too. The place where we'll be laying our head is called The Inn on Randolph, I believe. We're going to be staying in the Autumn room. I just love staying in bed and breakfast rooms.

I can't possibly wrap this up without mentioning that Nicholas turned 6 months old on Monday. Hard to believe isn't it? He's such a big boy - a real little person now. :) We had pictures taken on Wednesday which hopefully will be done in time for our Christmas cards (which may not go out until January the way things are going!). We should have some really cute shots.

This evening, Nicholas and I tried out the sippy cup again. He really liked it....couldn't stop smiling. Naturally, he ended up with more liquid on his person than in his belly, but that is okay. Speaking of liquids, tonight we did what will hopefully be his last formula treatment allergy-wise. It seems to have really helped with his gas problems. He still has attacks but they are much better than before. If this one is all cleared, we'll be heading on to the rest of the basic fifteen treatments for him and then we'll start treating individual foods. He's creating quite a list of things his body isn't fond of (though he seems to like pretty much everything!).

Well, dinner is done (Mark was a sweetie and cooked tonight) and so I'm off for some sustenance. Enjoy your weekend!

Nick Notes

2007-11-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get here when Nicholas does something noteworthy more often. I hope you've noticed. :)

At any rate, I have a couple of cute things to share today. First, I have to tell you the little guy is now a big fan of sweet potatoes, apples and pears. We tried pears out yesterday and they were quite enjoyable it seems. :)

Eating pretty much is the cute-factor catalyst for the latest nifty Nicholas moments. He's begun singing, if you will, for his supper. I must get this on video. It is too cute. He gets a bite, he finishes it and then he opens his mouth and "sings" (I can't really figure out another way to describe it) until another bite comes in. He also holds his hands "just so" (I'm reminded of the cute diaper only picture on his website where he's looking all prim and proper) and in general doesn't end up very messy at all after meals anymore. He learns quick!

In addition to this today he added a funny face to the eating routine. I first noticed this new face yestereday. He sort of puckers up his lips, squints his eyes and blows air in and out very quickly (I also must video tape this!) I could help but laugh and now he's doing it when he takes a bite sometimes. Thankfully, food doesn't seem to go splattering out of his mouth when he does this. ;)

We had our first feeding in the car, by the way, today. We were in the middle of an avoidance period for his NAET treatment and so we gave him his pears then. He did such an awesome job...there was very little mess when we were all through (I have to admit I was very scared that there would be!).

The last bit of amusement that my dear little son created was at lunch today. Since we were out and about trying to avoid the house while the realtor showed it off (we had 2 people visit - buy it one of you, please!), we dined at Sweet Tomatoes. Nicholas, since we'd just fed him a little bit before, was absolutely wonderful and happy through most of the meal, but for some reason he got very upset and we couldn't calm him down at the table (we thought it was gas at first and then we thought maybe he wanted my soup, but decided that wasn't it). So, I took him to the restroom to change his diaper thinking that might be the issue. Strangely, he calmed down when we got to the bathroom before I even changed him and he remained calm until....we came back to the table. Almost without missing a beat he was crying and carrying on. And, then I saw it...the cause of the crying - my glass of water.

You see, when we were in Buena Park (where Knott's is), I had a tiny smidgen of apple juice left in my glass and I let Nicholas make an attempt at drinking some. He's been hooked on drinking from glasses ever since. I usually have just water and he's perfectly okay with that...but he's not okay with me not sharing. As soon as I realized he wanted a drink, I helped him get a few sips and he was perfectly content. What a cutie!

Hopefully I'll get another quick update out again soon. Until then, have a great week and a great Turkey Day if I don't make it back before then!

Nicely Outfitted

2007-11-16T19:32:00.001-08:00

Nicholas' wardrobe has increased in size again. This is probably good since he's getting close to moving into a new size also. He's starting to approach the 6/9 mark. He's hit in in many cases height-wise, but the waist is still too loose on most things (in fact, I still have some 3/6 pants that are too big for the little guy!).

At any rate, last weekend, I took advantage of a sale at Gymboree (one of my favorite stores) and got him a couple of nice holiday outfits and quite a few other things. Then, because they didn't have all that I wanted to get for him, I ordered the remaining pieces online. They're pretty reasonable shipping-wise so I don't mind getting clothes from them in that manner (as long as I've had a chance to check them out in-store first).

As luck would have it, Nicholas actually will have one more bodysuit than planned when all is said and done because they made a mistake with the order. I called them to see how to make an exchange in such circumstances and they told me just to keep the extra. I love companies when they do stuff like that. :) So, all in all, I'm thrilled with the way things went.

The shopping spree on Sunday, by the way, was with my friend Lisa. I haven't hung out with her for quite some time so it was awesome to get to see her. She was quite a helpful shopping buddy, too. :) I drug her to my other favorite store as well...the one I rarely buy stuff from because I feel a little odd spending the kind of money they're seeking (until they've had some serious sale markdowns!) on clothes that Nicholas will go to the bathroom in, spill food on (especially now with the solids!) and spit up on. Maybe once Mark is doing really really well, it won't bug me, but I think I'll probably still go for the sale stuff and use the extra for college savings, cool toys, etc...

At any rate, the store I went on and on about is called Janie and Jack. It's actually a subsidiary of Gymboree. Did I ever mention that I interviewed with them before? That was quite some time ago. I wasn't so into them then...funny how things change when the product a company sells actually is one you need in some way. Ha! I am full of tangents tonight. Anyhoo, I found a couple of really nice pairs of shorts for Nicholas there for under $15 total. I was quite thrilled. :)

Allergy-wise, we've been just going to town here. Mark is through the first 4 of the first 15 and I am on my redo of the 2nd after having cleared my allergy to Pixie. :) We're a little less than pleased to discover that on many of these I was weak..given that we already had them treated and I'd passed, but we've also discovered that the lady who was treating me also cheated by not doing all of the first 15 treatments. She only did the ones that showed up positive but by doing so she may have lessened the effectiveness of the treatments as a whole. Oh well..we're fixing it now.

As for Nicholas, we've started with him as well. He is finished with the Egg Mix treatment and has moved onto calcium mix which is tricky given that his formula is something he's not supposed to be eating while being treated. We're probably going to have to do extra treatments since we can't really avoid it completely. Hopefully this one will help the formula be a little less grumpy to his tummy.

By the way, if you're curious about the technique we're using to eliminate our allergies, have a look at www.naet.com. It's pretty nifty stuff!

Tidbits

2007-11-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

I figured I would stop by and give the latest scoop on Nicholas' eating habits. He's been devouring rice cereal like there's no tomorrow. He loves the stuff...and frequently is quite displeased when the bowl has nothing left to offer him. We may be eaten out of house and home before the little tyke is a teenager.

Last night, though, he discovered something much better (though my taste buds disagree) than rice cereal - sweet potatoes. He liked them so much that he devoured an entire jar. (!) The only problem with that is that he'd had formula beforehand and the latent bubbles it caused led to several sweet potato spit ups. Yuck.

This would be why we usually try not to do formula and baby food in the same feeding, but he was famished last night and we broke the rules...and then paid the price! Part of the reason he was so hungry is that Mommy and Daddy's curiosity finally got the best of them last night.

We've been practicing the allergy elimination technique Mark learned at last weekend's seminar on each other (yes, I have been treating Mark...and somewhat successfully, I might add - isn't that neat?). Since sometime toward the end of last week, Nicholas has had a rash on his chin and cheeks that at first I thought was due to the dry air down south but it hasn't gone away so I started contemplating that he's allergic to something. Joy.

Since we were supposed to be moving on from rice cereal to some other solid food, I decided I wanted to first test the rice cereal as I suspected he might be allergic to it. Believe it or not, he is...just slightly, but it explains the rash. We need to do one treatment to clear it...not too bad. We continued on to see what we could feed him last night without causing any additional problems. Tests on peas, carrots and bananas yielded unpleasant results, but he only needs a treatment or two on each of those as well.

Then, of course, we decided it was high time we test our belief that the formula stuff is just not a substance his body is into. Preliminary tests show that he's so allergic to the stuff that he's going to need sixteen (16!!) treatments to clear the allergy. This technique is a little crazy and puts you in connection with the patient's subconcious (really, I've done it on Mark...and he's done it on me!) and so you can actually ask what it is in something that is causing the problem. Surprise, surprise, soy and dairy both came back positive. At any rate, we're going to start treating Nicholas today for the basic 15 (you treat these first on everyone). I am hoping we can make some leaps and bounds toward helping the little guy finally feel better! Oh, and by the way, we also tested breastmilk I'd expressed from two different days and whether he was allergic to either of us (yeah, weird, I know). Thankfully, all of these were fine by him. I can't imagine how disturbing it would have been if any of these would have been a problem!

With respect to the two of us, we're also having some success with our treatments. I've been treating Mark for his previoulsy unknown egg mix allergy (the mix contains egg whites, yolks, chicken, tetracycline and feathers) and although I'm not as good as the lady who was helping me we've decreased the number of times he needs to be treated and the distance he needs to be from the substances being treated. Go me. Mark's been working on my allergy to animals (including our cat Pixie which has been fun) and has also made some progress. The animal allergy is a big one for me that I didn't actually notice until we cleared out a lot of the others. I was a little surprised when I finally figured out what the cause was. We're making progress, but it's going to take a while...much to Pixie's chagrin since I don't pet her as often now that she makes my nose itch and run.

In other news, Mark is now a licensed doctor! His license was waiting for us when we got home from L.A. Now we just need that loan to go through and we'll be set! That's coming along...probably another month or so before we are finished with that process.

As for the house sale, it's just not going as we'd hoped. Despite dropping our price by $50,000 (yes, $50K!!!), we haven't had any offers and really not much interest for that matter. It's probably just the time of year, but it's annoying none the less. We're probably going to rent the place out at a loss until we can find a buyer...but it's still up in the air. We have another open house this weekend and hopefully that will bring some good news.

We'll keep you updated.

And How Could I Forget That?!

2007-11-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

I started to write this post on Sunday but didn't have a chance to finish it I assume because Nick was having "a day." I can't actually remember why to tell you the truth.

The reason for my post was that I had totally spaced telling you that Nicholas ventured into solids...and loved them. Here I was thinking he wasn't ready and he practically grabbed the spoonful of rice cereal out of my hand and shoved it into his. Huh. Well, okay then! He's been eating it for a while now and seems to be doing great...if anything, our only problem is that I can't seem to get the spoon to his mouth fast enough. :)

As far as our little adventure to L.A., I did end up returning to Knott's but not that same night. I discovered that you can get a "shopper's pass" and go in for 45 minutes to get everything done. You just have to buy a full-priced ticket and then when you make it out in time, they refund your money. Perhaps the most amusing part of the deal is that they stamp "shopper" on your hand when you go in. So, yep, it's official...I have been branded as a shopper. Ha ha!

At any rate, I bought a little outfit for Nick, some snoopy lovees and a couple of tops for me. One of the tops I bought because I was dressed entirely too warmly. Can't say that I was all that sad to buy another top, though. ;) Oh, and I also got some copies of the professional photos with Snoopy and Peppermint Patty. I was a happy camper!

Mark also really was pleased with his seminar. It looks like this could be a very profitable part of his business. He now has all the training and implements to start treating me which is good because it seems that I need another treatment on a few of the items. Eggs and wheat still seem to be problematic, for example...a point which was reinforced multiple times during meals while we were out and about.

Once we were done with his seminar, we headed to Barstow to visit my Uncle Max. We stayed with him until yesterday (Wednesday) when we returned home. It was a nice visit though we didn't do a whole lot. We did make a trip to Ontario where we visited the mall and Babies R Us but that is about it other than various trips out for meals!

It is nice to be home again (even if Pixie is neurotically meowing at all hours). Hopefully we'll be calling another place home soon. We're scheduled (again) to have our moving container come at the end of this month, but who knows if it will happen or not. We're basically working on a either the house needs to sell or the business loan needs to go through basis as our trigger to move. I hope it happens before Christmas...

A Berry Good Day

2007-11-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Nicholas and I had a great day today. While Daddy was at a seminar learning how to do the allergy technique that has helped me enjoy several foods I previously couldn't without rather unpleasant results, Nicholas and I had a nice visit with Snoopy and Peppermint Patty at Knott's Berry Farm. I will eventually post the cute picture we took with the two of them on his website.

It's safe to say that now poor little Nicholas is wiped out. So, we'll see if we're able to go back this evening with Daddy which was the plan. I surely hope we are since there was a cute outfit for Nick I couldn't decide upon, as well as a cute one for our neighbor Cassie (a cute little bundle that came a couple of months after Nicholas) and I suppose I should be honest and say there was a shirt I was eyeing for myself as well. ;) And, there were also the professional shots they took of Nick with Snoopy and Patty...which I'm not sure I want, but I'd at least like to have the option of checking them out!

We didn't actually ride any rides. At one point, we were going to go on the Carousel, but Nick needed his diaper changed and we never really made it back there. Perhaps if he'll allow us to go back tonight, we'll do so and we'll catch a couple of others, too. We did go to a cute little show where Charlie Brown was the captain of a pirate ship. Nicholas really liked the songs...and during the play, Snoopy came over and said hi to Nick. This is what ultimately prompted me to get his picture taken. It's his first visit and Snoopy came to see him...had to commemorate that!

Oh, and I started a little tradition for the little guy, too. I've always thought those little penny things you can make at various theme parks were pretty neat, but I've never gotten one...I decided though, that Nick might find them nifty when he gets older so I started him off with one there. In honor of his namesake, we went with the Christmas-themed one. :)

Other than that, we've been busy bees at home working on a business plan for Mark and such. We finally got the first draft done and we've done a lot of other things for the loan he's trying to get to buy the practice he's found in Colorado. Hopefully it will all come together soon. :)

Home-sale wise, we're still waiting. There was supposed to be an open house today. Our first since we dropped our price (gulp) $50K. We decided we'd just drop the price and take a small gain rather than have to keep making payments on a place we weren't living in any more. So, hopefully something will happen soon.

And then, of course, Halloween gave us some amusement! Nicholas, for those who are wondering, was a peacock for Halloween (pictures will be on his site when I have time to get them there). Feedback was AWESOME re the costume! So many people were just taken aback...as a first time Mommy that is just what I wanted - a huge wow factor. So, I'm happy. :) He was the cutest little peacock ever, too...except when he got really tired and started screaming. That wasn't so cute, but oh well. We showed him off at the college for their trick or treat street. :)

And, with that, we'll wrap this up. I need to take a walk (I put Nick down to sleep in his stroller so I wouldn't have to wake him) to go get Mark so we can discuss whether we want to go do more Knotty things. Ha ha. I'd really like to go if little man will cooperate. :) I hope you all are doing well!

And, don't forget to set your clocks back....

Long Lost Update

2007-10-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you have every intention in the world of doing something. Then life gets in the way. That's my excuse for why I never got an update out to you - life. :)

It has been super busy as of late as you can no doubt imagine. And, thanks to some recent developments, I can finally be open and frank about a lot of things I've been skirting around so we'll just jump right in to what promises to be a post that resembles a novel (but then, my posts often do, don't they!)

First, we'll start with Mark since he's been the center of a lot of activity lately. He's a doctor without a license as of yet, but hopefully that will all change with a good set of test scores tomorrow on those Part III exams he took in September. He's been a busy little beaver working to find himself a "home" once he has that special piece of paper (his license - we have the diploma in our possession!). He found a practice in July and we visited it and now, finally, several months later, it looks like it is still a great opportunity. It is centrally located in Colorado Springs which is just perfect and it is what he's always wanted - a practice with multiple disciplines. Whether it be chiropractic, sports rehabilitation, or massage (and other stuff), this practice has it. We're currently investigating funding options since we've had an appraisal and the doctor is willing to go with the appraised value as the price. I'll provide more details as time goes along...

In other Mark news, he should also be getting his guide dog when we are established in Colorado. He's received notification from a training school in New York that they'll send a trainer and a dog to work with him once we know where we'll be living, etc. So, there's another positive thing.

As far as living arrangements go, we'll be renting for the first few months so that we can find a house that we are pleased with and that meets our needs near his office. The idea is to get something relatively close such that he can walk to and from work. We have quite a few options since the housing market in Colorado Springs is simply not the best.

Speaking of houses, ours here in California is on the market. Much as I feared when we first purchased our home, the market here has also slowed and so we're not seeing a lot of activity at this point. We're keeping our options open, whether they be reducing the price or renting it out - whatever way we go, we're pretty likely to come out ahead in the venture.

With respect to me, I'm still at home with Nicholas. My doctor has been keeping tabs on me and didn't think it best to send me back to my job when the time came and so he's extended my maternity leave. Since I have always really wanted to stay at home with Nicholas, it was an answered prayer in a sense. Thankfully it hasn't been a detriment financially since in California we do receive disability pay while we're out after having a baby as long as our doctor feels we need to be and can provide reasoning behind his decision.

Because the doctor didn't give any indication as to when he'd release me to work, I was actually let go by my accounting firm. That was a little uncomfortable...especially since they didn't extend me the courtesy of calling me with their decision. I received the news via a Fed Ex letter. Granted, the letter did say that they were pleased with my work and would hire me back if they had space, but it just really left a bad taste in my mouth. And, of course, it presents another challenge since Nick and I have health insurance through them. We've decided that we're probably not going to do a COBRA thing since the plan we were on would not work in Colorado (other than for emergencies) and since Mark is trying to get group health coverage set up when he gets the practice going.

In other health news, I have knocked a few more foods off my allergy list - soy (believe it or not, though, I'll still avoid it as much as possible since it just isn't the healthiest substance), wheat/gluten, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and joy of joys peanut butter! We've actually been able to go out and have some food at some restaurants and it has been great. Today, in fact, we went to Macaroni Grill and I had a yummy salad and a tomato, basil and italian sausage soup that was fabulous...if only it hadn't had crushed red pepper in it, it would have been perfect. Ah well, we'll get those on another treatment.

The chiropractor that has been helping with my allergies has also been trying to help me with my milk supply and I believe we're making some headway. I've been helping the process by feeding Nick or pumping every 2 hours. I can actually sort of measure progress since I am feeding him via bottle first and then I breast feed to top him off. When he gets to a point where he doesn't seem to need to empty both breasts to be full, I take him down a 1/4 of an ounce. We started at 4 ounces about a month ago and we're currently at 3 ounces every two hours (except at night). In addition, he's started to have 2 "dirty, dirty" diapers per day (at least the past two days) and so I think we're finally really making significant progress here. If we keep things up, with the introduction of solids coming around the corner, I'm hoping that maybe we can really minimize his formula intake and avoid the gassy problems he has. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me on this - please keep them coming!

Mark and I have also started excercising every morning. We try to walk and then lift weights daily. Since the rainy season has started here, it is difficult to make it on our walks sometimes which is unfortunate because Nick usually takes his morning nap via that route. When we don't walk, he becomes a pretty grumpy bear by lunch time. I have a goal with respect to all this activity (aside from losing those last 19 pounds of pregnancy weight) - sculpted upper arms. I've always wanted them but have never really put in the effort that needed to be put in to have them. This time, though, I'm going for it...and I will succeed. It essentially means (according to my personal trainer, Mark - hee hee!) that I have to do push ups every day and that I have to get to the point that I can do real military style pushups. I'm already doing better after just a week or so doing them using the ledge that divides our kitchen and dining area...I'll be on the floor in no time!

And, now, for the update you've really been wanting, The Sprout is doing very well. He is such a little person and has such a sweet disposition. He's also pretty easy going other than when he's having that gas attack stuff. He's currently sporting his two front bottom teeth and looks as cute as ever with them. I did get some pictures up on his site through his 3rd month "birthday" - go check them out.

We have the little guy's costume as well. It is quite neat and something you've probably not seen before. We've been giving him a little time in it most days so that when Halloween arrives he'll be okay with wearing it. I can't wait to show him off! :)

Nick is getting closer to crawling and has actually come to enjoy tummy time. He really didn't like it in the beggining. He'd cry and cry when you put him on his tummy. Now, though, he can lift himself up and he grins quite a lot. He's also figured out that he can bat at things and grab things which is pretty fun to watch and yet a bit scary given that it makes me think of what trouble he might get into.

I almost forgot to tell you about our Adventures as of late. We've all had some it seems. Mark went on a tandem bike ride a couple of weekends ago with a group toward the Marin headlands. His partner and he never made it because they got two flat tires, but he really enjoyed the experience. We will look into getting a tandem bike ourselves at some point in the future. On that day, Nick and I bummed around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. We also went to Ghiradelli Square. We didn't do too much other than wander around, but Nicholas did get to see his first parade. Funny, since he does have a nice bit of Italian blood, that it was an Italian parade of some sort...

Then just a couple of days ago we all went to Alcatraz. Can you believe that during the time we've lived here, we've never gone? We picked a doozy of a day, but we still had fun. It was very wet, though. With all the feeding and caretaking we have to do for Nicholas, we barely made it out of there at closing time. We're lucky we didn't have to spend a night on "the rock." ;) It was a really neat outing - I only wish we would have made it before Mark lost his sight. I think he really would have enjoyed it. I tried to describe things as best as I could.

You know, I think I'm running out of stuff to talk about here...which is good because frankly, this post is out of line! ;) So, we'll leave it be at this and if I have anything else, it will make it into our next marathon post (or not, if I actually succeed at keeping up with the blog again). See you next time!

No More Demon Eyes

2007-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

As you know, I typically don't use our blog for recommending products. Today, however, I'm making an exception as I have to tell you all about a great product I've discovered for removing red eye from photos called Stop Red Eye.

For those of you who aren't aware, Nick has aniridia and so his pupils are dilated at all times and a lot of the shots I take with our digital camera have red eyes. Some of these pictures are just cute as can be were it not for the red eyes which is why I turned to Paint Shop. Since it didn't go so well, I searched in Google for a solution to fix red eyes easily.

An ad for Stop Red Eye came up and I decided since they had a free demo, I'd give it a try. I was very pleased with how the program worked. With the click of the mouse (and that one click fixed all the shots in an entire windows folder!) the demonic looking red eyes were corrected and staring back at me was my darling baby boy!

I should mention that the program doesn't fix all photos, but usually the photos that aren't fixed are ones where Nicholas wasn't looking directly into the camera. This is consistent with what the website says the product works for so I'm cool with it.

At any rate, I definitely would recommend you take a look at www.stopredeye.com and download their demo to see how it works on your photos!

Practically a Gentleman

2007-09-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

That Nicholas...he just keeps growing and going! Would you believe that he turned four months old this past Wednesday? Neither can I...and yet, I have to admit that I can't really remember much of the days when he was an itty bitty baby. In some ways, this is pretty good - those first few weeks were hard on both of us. I'm glad I managed to get a few blog entries out about it, though, so I can remember something when the mood strikes me.

All that aside, he's made some great leaps this month. For instance, he now assists us when we put on his clothes. He'll lift his head up so we can put his shirts over his head and he'll help as best as he can with putting his arms through his sleeves. He now has discovered that standing up (with assistance) is just more fun than a barrel of monkeys. He also loves to laugh, give kisses and smile. He's just a genuine little person at this point!

As far as his actual growth, he's still a slight fellow. He still fits best in 3 month size pants and shirts, though he's graduated to 3 to 6 months in onesies footed sleepers (they're pretty big on him, but they're long enough!). And, to think I didn't think he'd even be in 3 month size clothing for more than a couple of weeks. I still love that he's a small little guy, though...I have to admit it!

All in all, Nicholas had a "decent" birthday. I can't say it was fabulous because he wasn't feeling so great. Sadly, it seems after a week of the "formula made of gold" that it isn't much better than the cheaper stuff. Can you say bummer? Perhaps as time goes on, it will go back to being good as it was in the first three days when we tried it and again the first few days of this trial. I'm kind of kicking myself for buying enough for a month now, though since we could have spent that money in other ways. Oh well. You live you learn, I guess...and there is still a possibility, I suppose, that it will start behaving.

For now, though, we're not so impressed after a longer feeding experience. He's still having gas and now has an added complication - constipation. The poor little guy! On the bright side, his waste products look more like what they said they should...i.e., seedy. I'll spare you any further details. It's hard as many other new parents (and perhaps some seasoned ones) can attest to remember that baby poo is not something that the masses wish to discuss on a regular basis. It seems that Mark and I discuss it often, though. :)

In other exciting Nicholas news, we received his Halloween costume in the mail the other day. Oooh, it's cute! You're going to love it when I finally post the pictures on his website.

Update on 10/06/07 - It looks like I never published this so I'm doing it now! :)

Chew On This

2007-09-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

My apologies for a rather lengthy absence (again!). There's been a flurry of activity around here with Mark finishing school last Friday (YEA!!!), painting, carpeting, Nicholas, etc.

I had to come back today though to share with you that my little boy is growing up much too quickly. :( I had already come to this conclusion, but then, yesterday, we discovered the most concrete proof yet - Mr. Sprout is getting his first tooth! What?!? He's only almost 4 months old. I guess after reading a few different resources this is not completely unusual, but I am just left with a wave of emotions. I'm so excited that he's reached yet another milestone (he's been laughing and squealing lately, too), but I am sad that this milestone is just another indicator that he's growing up at the speed of light.

At any rate, he seems to be doing quite well all things considered. He isn't sleeping as well as we'd like during the nighttime hours, but he's content to swing in his swing and suck on his little hand so we've been making use of this tool to get some sleep for ourselves.

Other than this, the formula we tried from the allergy doctor does seem to have helped. We ordered 2 cases last week and it should get here. Total cost for a month's supply - $250 (with a first time buyer coupon). Ouch. Worth every penny if it helps Nick feel better but ouch.

Mark, as I mentioned, finished school. :) It is weird having him home all day now every day, but also very nice. We enjoyed a number of outings last week to celebrate with his classmates. We missed most of the BBQ (the thing we wanted to attend most) due to the carpet people who took 12 hours to do their thing. Our house looks quite nice now, though. :)

As far as being a chiropractor, we're just waiting for the results of his Part III boards which he took on Sept. 8 (the day before his birthday). He's also seriously looking at a practice in a location to be announced if everything goes as planned. It's a great opportunity in a great location so hopefully it will!

We had a little BBQ for our friends to make good use of our 1/2 cow we bought. It was a very fun time despite the fact that I had just had an allergy treatment the day before and couldn't have anything with sugar in it (can you say just kill me now?) for about 2 hours of the party. In fact, I pretty much lived on tater tots that day...yum, I think. Luckily, pretty much everyone came about 2 hours after the start time we designated so I didn't have to really suffer too much. Which is not to say if that Nick and I didn't the next couple of days after. :)

That will do it for today I suppose... Until next time, I hope all is well with you and your loved ones! :)

Allergy Appointment

2007-09-06T18:42:00.001-07:00

Today I took Nicholas to the allergy doc's office. It wasn't all I had hoped for, but at least we have something else to try. I am not sure if I ever mentioned the uber-expensive formula I found called Neocate. Well, he wants to try that first before we do any testing... He assures me that the soy oil in it will not cause problems if Nicholas has a soy allergy. Bizarre, but whatever we'll try it.

Of course, this was a bit of a bummer visit for me because the doctor told me to avoid all the typical offenders as far as food allergies go. That means eggs are back on the "can't eat 'em " list. Of course, I can't eat them because I choose not to for Nicholas not because I actually can't eat them so I guess that is a little better. At least I was able to enjoy some of the best French Toast I've ever had (because I hadn't had it forever, no doubt!) on Sunday morning...

Let's see, what else has gone on. Nicholas is becoming a real kissy baby. I love his little slobbery kisses. It just makes me smile...kind of makes me feel bad to wipe all the drool off, though. I'm glad as he gets older he'll be able to perfect his technique! :)

Nicholas also is really enjoying standing up assisted. He gets a little perturbed sometimes when you put him in a sitting position. I think he likes being able to have a direct view of our faces. He's a real cutie pie - I like looking at him, too.

Not that it is earth shattering, but I also got a new purse and wallet yesterday. I had to...my other one broke. I always hate it when things break or get ripped, need mended or whatever. I always have such a hard time finding something else I like and am willing to pay for. So I guess it sort of surprises me that yesterday I actually let myself splurge. I bought a Liz Claiborne purse and wallet to match. They were on sale so I don't feel the need to commit myself (hee hee). I think I'm just going through a really need to feel somewhat girly moment.

It's been really hard for me since about mid-pregnancy to motivate myself to do my hair or makeup. The hair now is pretty much worn in a single style - can you say pony tail? It's kind of a necessity if I don't want my hair pulled by my dear little guy. So, no more super model hair days for me for a while longer...except when I'm standing in the mirror in the morning or before bed and can brush out and admire that I have some very nice locks (not being conceited here...I just recognize that I was blessed in the hair department). As for makeup, well, part of that is Mark's fault. He had to go take (okay they made him) a class on Toxicology and learned about all the horrible stuff they put in makeup and countless other things so he's asked me not to use it unless I can find some without the icky stuff.

That seems fair and I've actually found some options (Bare Escentuals is one) that I'd sort of like to try, but I have a hard time justifying the cost at this point since I'm not working. BE has a little starter kit that is like $60 that I'm still contemplating, but I keep talking myself out of it partially because I've never really worn much other than mascara and eyeliner so I'm not sure I want all that other 'stuff' in the lineup. Maybe once Mark is employed I'll reconsider it.

Speaking of Mark, he is scheduled to be essentially finished with school on Wednesday of next week. How cool is that? It will be nice to have him finished. He's looking into a couple of opportunities which we'll let you know about when things are a little more crystal.

Well, I need to go help with dinner so toodle-loo for now.

Go Ahead! Egg Me On!!!

2007-08-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have some egg-cellent news, my friends...truly egg-cellent news! I visited the chiropractor who is helping with my food allergies today. We had worked on the egg mix which has eggs and related "stuff" in it last time and I had my fingers crossed that it would work despite the fact that I ran into a feather within my post-treatment avoidance period. I'm happy to report that we succeeded despite this little slip up and today I showed no allergy to eggs!!!!! YEA!!! YEA!!! YEA!!! (Um, yeah, I guess you could say this has made me very happy).

Of course the true testament will be me eating me some eggs and not feeling icky afterward. I think it is possible since yesterday I cheated and ate part of a muffin and didn't seem to have any trouble. Breakfast will be so much more interesting now, I have a feeling.

So, after checking that out, we worked on, of all things "calcium mix" which has a bunch of calcium-rich stuff in it like milk and stuff. This one is tricky...and it's all Nicholas's fault. Okay, not really. I suppose the blame could be mine... Essentially the problem is that I have to avoid contact with his formula until 2p.m. tomorrow. So far, we've already messed this up. I was holding Nicholas earlier and he spit up on me. Oops. So, we've decided that I will avoid contact with him, other than to kiss the top of his cute little head and stuff like that until I'm in the safe zone tomorrow. I sure hope that formula thing doesn't mess everything up. I'd hate to have to do this twice. I think it's pretty much torture for both of us. On the bright side, apparently there is some chance that fixing this up could help with the breast milk supply. I guess we'll wait and see...

At any rate, that's all I have for today. I'm just pleased as punch! It's just too bad that we don't have a single egg in the house (by design since we didn't know if I'd be avoiding them again).

A Once in a Lifetime (I Hope) Experience...

2007-08-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Ah the joys of parenting. I haven't written about them lately...sorry for my absence. ;)

Nicholas apparently felt for you all and helped to get me to the computer today so that I can recount the thing he did that made me laugh the most I have laughed for who knows how long. It is hilarious. You want to know what it is? Well, stay tuned then...I'll get to it. First, though, we'll work through the usual updates.

First off, Nicholas who is now 3 months old (can you believe it?) has learned a couple of new tricks since I last wrote a post. He can roll over both from tummy to back and back to tummy (just one way or the other, though). He doesn't do this consistently, but he's done it often enough that I figure it counts. His favorite place to practice, much to my dismay, is the changing table. I have to watch him like a hawk. I spend quite a few extra moments putting him in his crib just so I can find him clothes or whatever and not have to worry about him rolling right off the table. So that's one thing.

His other trick is that he's learned how to give kisses! I got my first on Sunday. At first I wasn't exactly sure what it was he was doing, but after thinking about it and paying attention to when he does it and such, I've determined that my little boy is a kisser. :) He's kind of slobbery, but I don't mind at all. It definitely isn't a "normal" type of kiss (he's only 3 months after all!), but it works for me.

The gas still plagues the little guy, but I may have mentioned that we discovered the swaddling, shhhing and patting seem to bring him some relief. It's nice to have another tool in our arsenal since I have a hard time bouncing on the swiss ball continuously and find the sling rather uncomfortable.

Another development is that I will be home a bit longer with Nicholas since my doctor has not yet released me to return to work. Since I am totally enjoying my time with him, I'm not complaining. The doctor has also been quite helpful in obtaining some formula for Nicholas from the formula maker. That is truly helpful. I love my doctor.

The insurance company on the other hand is not helpful. We had the pediatrician write them to see if they would help us pay for donated breast milk for Nick since it seems that the formula does not agree with him. They denied our request because, they say, there are so many types of formula that it isn't a high priority. Not happy at all with that. Perhaps they'll change their minds if after the visit with an allergy specialist we're taking Nicholas to on Thursday of next week, we discover, as I suspect, that he's allergic to soy (which is in every formula in existence!). I just want the poor little guy to feel better...no little baby should need suffer as he does.

I'll be quite happy to know what stuff he's allergic to since he's got another "mystery rash" now. Actually, I don't think it's a mystery. I tried some baby oil on the tyke (just a little) a few nights ago to give him a little massage. I promise not to do it again.

I'm also trying more voodoo to rid myself of allergies. This time it is a technique called NAET. We'll see how it did at the last treatment session which was supposed to clear eggs and egg-related things. I was supposed to stay away from eggs, feathers and chicken afterwards for 25 hours and pretty much botched that with the feather thing (a cat toy got me outside...I forgot it was there!) and so we'll see. I may have to redo that one. Otherwise, we'll move onto calcium.

Mark is also doing well. He's been checking out a practice in Colorado Springs that looks pretty good. It would be nice if it worked out as it seems just what he's been looking for.

And now, the recount of my experience. Nicholas and I were sitting on the couch. He'd just woke up from a short nap on my lap and was wrapped in his burrito blanket...he's such a cutie when he's baby burritoed. :) At any rate, he'd eaten before his nap and I was reminded of this in a rather unpleasant but terribly funny way. I put Nicholas above my head in a superman position and then saw coming toward me a pillar of spit up. It landed in my hair and trickled down my face. I couldn't stop laughing despite how utterly gross it is to be thrown up on. I don't suppose it will be so funny when he throws up on me and it is more than just spit and milk. Perhaps it isn't nearly as amusing to you, but it's definitely one of those "I must remember this" moments of my parenting career. I may think twice before holding him over my head like that again...

And, that is it for now! I hope you all are doing well...and I hope I didn't forget to tell you something. I should think not given the length of this post!

Photos!

2007-08-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

We're enjoying a visit with Mark's parents at the moment, but I had time to upload new photos to Nicholas' site including a nice selection of the professional photos we took in early July with my friend Lucie. They turned out so awesome. I seriously am having one heck of a time trying to figure out which ones we should have printed. I guess that's the problem with having a cutie pie as a baby! If you don't have the login information for the site, let me know via email and I'll get it to you.

Other than that, we had a pretty uneventful week other than the visit from Mark's parents and his brother Michael. Our days have been rather calm with most of the festivities centering around eating beef. We've made a small dent in the cow, but we still have plenty for people who'd like to come over for dinner!

I guess I did, however, go for my first voodoo treatment for my allergies. I don't think it was successful because I was supposed to avoid eggs (no problem), chicken (no problem) and feathers (a problem). I wasn't supposed to go within 5 feet of these things and darned if I didn't forget about the fact that all the feather things in our house were quickly thrown out on the porch and go out there to turn on the grill. *sigh* I hope I'm wrong but I'm having some seriously unpleasant allergy reactions... I guess we'll see how we do the second time around.

That's about it for updates this week. I hope you're doing well!

Walking in Memphis...

2007-08-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

We did a lot of that. :) We didn't see the ghost of Elvis on Union Ave...but we did stay on Union. We didn't go to Graceland...being a bit too young to really appreciate Elvis and being with Mark's parents who'd already been, we decided to spend our time elsewhere.

Now what we did do while we were in Memphis was...eat a lot of ribs. I kid you not, we had them at least 4 times while we were there. If we'd had the time, we would have had more. We've even talked about having some FedEx'd to us from Rendevous whose ribs I believe both Mark and I liked the best...too bad we only got to have them once since we missed the little piece of info on the menu that said they were closed on Sunday and Monday...doh! What a bummer it was to find that out on Sunday night! We had Corky's and the Blues City Cafe for our other ribby ventures...both were tasty but with the exception of the cole slaw which we thought was weird, Rendevous is our top pick. :)

The flight to Memphis was interesting. I can now say that I have changed a diaper in an airplane bathroom. That was a challenge....especially since sweet little sprout decided to have a real whopper of a diaper for me! Then I tried pumping...don't if you don't have to. It's more trouble than it is worth. I can't say how many times I was panicking because the blankets I'd rigged up were trying to fall and expose me. I'll never try that again (I wouldn't have in the first place if Nicholas would have cooperated!).

Other things we enjoyed while in Tennessee included riding in a little horse drawn carriage. This was a treat since I'd wanted to have one for our wedding but couldn't due to where we decided to have our reception. So, since our anniversary was on Tuesday, the 31st, Mark, his parents, Nick and I all climbed in. We went for the Cinderella carriage with lights...and it was a neat ride. We learned a little about some of the historical sites in Memphis and enjoyed ourselves. We also made a stop in at the Hard Rock for a pin for my mom and at Hooters for a shirt for my Uncle. We even got Nicholas a little hooters outfit to make the uncle smile...I still think they should have had something that said "my mom's hooters are the best" or something like that, but no. By the way, just in case you don't know me well, getting the outfit for Nicholas was Mark's idea. I get embarassed going into the joint to get my uncle a t-shirt. Maybe it is because I am jealous of some of those girls.... hee hee

As promised, we made our stop in Colorado. Nicholas, not surprisingly, was a big hit. We were able to hang out with the two brothers and Lea, Doug's girlie, when we arrived on Monday night in Denver and then we got to spend time with my parents on Monday for a good part of the day. We had lunch at Monica's in Colorado Springs. It wasn't the plan - we were supposed to go to Marigolds for salad and some yummy dessert since it was our 3rd anniversary and we got our wedding cake from there. Alas, we didn't even make it over there for dessert. I'm glad we'll be able to go back there more often very soon!

We were able to go visit a chiropractor's office that Mark is interested in and that went pretty well. He has a couple of options now as far as where he will practice. He just needs to iron out details and decide which way he wants to go.

And, then it was time to come home....we went to church this morning and that was interesting since Nicholas had yet another gas attack. :( It was kind of nice, though, because I got a lot of ladies who were thrilled to give me support and pep talks and who showed me a few little tricks that I can hopefully use some other time to calm the little guy down.

In other Nick news, he has begun learning how to roll over from his back to his tummy. I thought I made a little note somewhere on the blog that he had done this so that I would be able to remember when this happened, but I'm not finding it anywhere. :( It's been a few days since he's done this so maybe it was a fluke. ;) He also has really gotten quite strong as far as his head goes. He can hold it up by himself for the most part now, though, he has his moments of being a floppy neck still, too.

One final bit of news is that the adventures in breastfeeding are going well. I have actually succeeded in increasing my supply thanks to an herbal preparation I started taking last week. Nicholas' consumption of formula has decreased by a few ounces and everything seems to still be working out. I still don't have a full supply but just to have some success is wonderful. I will see if the herbalist who recommended the nursing tincture to me has any other tricks up her sleeve to help me be even more of a cow.

Hope all of you are having a nice August so far. Mark's parents and his brother are supposed to visit us mid-week this week....not sure where they're going to sleep (I would have opted for a hotel if I were they), but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

It's Been a While....

2007-07-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

hasn't it? I am sure everyone knows what or should I say who is occupying my time. Yes, that little Nicholas keeps me busy!

He's just growing like a little weed, but thankfully not too terribly fast (though, I still think it's too fast sometimes!). He's flashing his adorable smile and smiling eyes on a regular basis now. He has quite a few smiles actually to amuse his mommy. One of my favorite activities as of late is watching him while he sleeps (okay, it's been one of my favorite activities since he came out!) because he smiles intermittantly. I often wonder what he's dreaming about. He seems to have lots of little baby dreams...very cute!

He also has begun coo-ing. He is sooooo cute when he "talks." You just want to pick the little guy up and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. I'm definitely making up for the teenage "eww, Mom...not in front of the guys!" episodes that are probably in my future. I can't help but kiss those little chubby cheeks.

And, yes, they are getting chubby. He even has a bit of a double chin now and his legs seem to have filled out as well. He's still a small little guy, though....he weighs about 10 pounds and still doesn't quite fit into size one diapers. I think it is kind of funny that I had bought one box of newborn diapers before he came home thinking he'd probably wear them for a week yet he's still in them. I said I wanted a baby that looked like a baby and I think I got one! :) Actually, I get asked a lot whether Nicholas was born prematurely because he is so small for his age. I think people are just so used to seeing bigger babies now days for some reason!

Let's see what else can I think of to update you on what's going on. Oh, well, the gas problem is still around. Thanks to everyone for the tips. We have tried pretty much everything. We've even tried, on our pediatrician's recommendation, a couple of different formulas. Lactose free formula was a big mistake. The poor little guy just did not take to it well. So, now we're trying the other hypoallergenic formula on the market Nutrimagen by Enfamil. It's supposed to be slightly more broken down than the Similac Allimentum we have been using. I can't tell honestly...and he's still not feeling well though it is an improvement over the lactose free stuff.

It's quite distressing watching him suffer through the gas stuff. He just looks and sounds like he's in so much pain (and he probably is). So, we're still looking at ways to help him out. I found a formula that is geared for infants and children with food allergies...it is free from both milk and soy ingredients. We may give that a go at some point in the future, but it is expensivo stuff - $35 for a 14 oz. can of powder. I also wrote our health insurance to see if they would pick up the cost of feeding him donated breastmilk. They didn't say they would, but they didn't say no either so Nick's pediatrician is in the process of trying to get it authorized through his medical group. This is actually a bit bittersweet since I had planned to donate whatever milk I produced that Nicholas didn't need...

For now, I am making an effort to increase my supply to decrease what we do need to feed him in formula thus hopefully decreasing his overall discomfort. I can't say that I've seen much improvement at this point, but I recently came across a little technique that I think could be helpful and I am taking various supplements to promote milk production as well. The other thing we're going to try is using a goat's milk formula. Goat's milk is the closest to human milk so we are hoping it will work better with Nicholas' system. It will only require that we give him a vitamin supplement and some fish oil (joy....unless I can find an odorless kind!) to ensure that he gets all the nutrients he needs to grow up big and strong. It comes highly recommended by many of Mark's instructors.

Other than this, we are trying to get ready to go to Memphis this coming Thursday. It should be a fun time. I'm not sure what all we'll do there - we might visit Graceland...maybe if for no other reason than to see crazed Elvis fans. Oh, and of course, we'll be tossing the allergy list to the wind and having lots of yummy BBQ ribs and what not. I plan on taking a lot of claritin with me...

I think I mentioned that we're stopping in Colorado on our way back. We are going to let my parents have a little time with their grandson and look at a couple of chiropractic offices that Mark is considering. Since we'll be there on our 3rd anniversary we're also going to go for lunch at Marigold's Cafe...if you're in the mood for some of that triple chocolate mousse cake we served at the wedding, please join us. :)

Well, until we get back (assuming I don't make it back to the computer before then), I hope all is going well for all of you!

More About Our Cow

2007-07-09T21:15:00.001-07:00

Since Annie asked, I'm happy to give a few more details about our cow acquisition for all those who are interested in knowing the info. :)

Our cow, who's name is very Shakespearean (still not going to tell you, but that narrows it down, perhaps), was grass fed until the last month of its life. At this point, they start feeding it on grain to get some of the grassy taste out and to help create some marbeling. It really is some of the tastiest beef I've ever had. And, one excellent thing about it when I was pregnant was that since I knew where it came from and what it had eaten and such (i.e., no antibiotics or what have you), I could still have a nice medium steak if I wanted. Of course, I didn't really like my beef undercooked (nature is one heck of a smart lady) so I rarely did, but if I had wanted.

Cost-wise, it really is quite a steal. You pay a per pound amount -- ours was $3.25 per gross pound (i.e., before butchering) and then you go over with the butcher what cuts you want. This year, in contrast to last year, we went for a lot of steak and also increased the amount of hamburger we got in lieu of many roasts. Whether you eat a pound of hamburger, a pound of filet mignon (my personal favorite) or a pound of NY strip (which is what we enjoyed tonight for dinner), you've paid $3.25 for it. I can truthfully say that filets and NYs would never be on the menu at our house if we didn't do this cow thing! :) The only drawback to this method is you do have to pay upfront (our total cost was about $1100), but if you can save your pennies, the decrease in your weekly grocery bill makes up for some of it. For us, our dining bill also decreased because we kept finding that we were never as happy with restaurant beef after...

Beef. It's Still What's for Dinner...

2007-07-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, the 1/2 cow that we bought last year is gone except for 2 packages of stew meat and a london broil. Our freezer was looking mighty sparse for a while there, but no more! Today we picked up this year's cow just outside of Sacramento. This time around we went for more steaks and fewer roasts. We like roast, but it takes some planning and frequently results in way too many leftovers.

We did get a lot of hamburger again this year and I am thrilled. After having to eat hamburger from the store again (and it was even fancy schmancy Whole Foods hamburger), I am very happy to have a stockpile again. I grew so accustomed to hamburger with minimal fat content (so little that any attempt to drain it after cooking is futile) that when I ate the stuff from the store, I found it quite "icky." So yea for good hamburger again.

At any rate, I have to say I am slightly disturbed by the 1/2 cow this time around. Only slightly, but nevertheless disturbed. Why? Because I know what its name was. I hope that everytime I tear into a burger or steak I am able to forget. I will spare you in case you happen to come over for dinner sometime the name...if you really want to know, you can always ask, but don't say I didn't warn you about the possible disturbance in your brain.

To celebrate our now well-stocked freezer, we'll be having some very tasty burgers for dinner - anyone want an invite? ;)

A Troubling Tale of....

2007-07-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Gas. It's back. Poor little Nicholas!

We were thinking the little guy was having gas just because he was crying for more food, but alas, it doesn't seem to be so. He's spent the last couple of days in periods of misery trying his best to get the bubbles out! We're thinking we may take another break from his current formula to see if that would help. We really just want the little guy to feel great!

Otherwise, our big adventure for this week took us to Santa Clara for pictures with a photographer friend of mine - Lucie of Lucie XYZ Photography. She is in the middle of wedding season and busy as a bee can be so we'll not get the final product for some time, but we know it will be worth waiting for. She took some great shots of all of us...we can't wait to see them!

Of course, there was lots of fun to be had during the photo shoot thanks to Nicholas. He managed to "shower" both Mommy and Daddy (only Lucie was spared!) and never fell asleep for the sleepy time photos. That's okay, though...we have quite a few of him wriggling on a towel showing Miss Lucie how he's been practicing so he can crawl soon. These should be quite priceless.

Other than that, this marks the last week of Mark's last school break. On Monday morning he'll begin his final quarter at Life West. It is kind of crazy to think he's almost finished!

All Clear!

2007-07-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Yea! At my doctor appointment today I was given the great news that everything is finally healed up and can be left alone. No more sticking long q-tips or sticks into my wounds. Thank goodness - I was just waiting for the time when one of them would break off!

We also did a little weigh-in for Nicholas today and are happy to report that he's all the way up to 7 pounds 14 ounces. This is about a 14 ounce gain since he was at 7 pounds even last week at our weigh in. Given that Nick has been eating like a horse these past few days, we're glad to see some of it is sticking with him.

Speaking of eating, we discovered why dear Nicholas was having "colic" symptoms. He was HUNGRY! We were giving the little guy the amount of formula (and breast milk, of course) that he should be eating to enjoy a steady weight gain, but we discovered on Sunday that it probably wasn't enough at the moment...he really wants to get big and strong folks. So now that he's in a little growth spurt we're making sure he's getting enough and we're really enjoying having our little angel baby back.

Finally, we enjoyed a nice little outing today to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Since we arrived about 15 minutes to closing time, we plan to return soon. It was a great place to stroll with Nicholas...

Way to Go Mark!

2007-06-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

The results are in - Mark passed his Part IV Exams! Can we get a woo hoo? Doctor Rocco is one step closer to emerging! Our thanks to Nicholas for not coming during daddy's testing weekend. Your patience has been rewarded!

Happy Birthday to Nick!

2007-06-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a day late here (which is funny since I had the realization on Monday that I was a day early), but things are just crazy with a baby in the house. Life is definitely more exciting (and in a good way for the most part since I so frequently cite that excitement is overrated) with little Nicholas around...and can you believe that yesterday marked his being on the outside for a whole month? Wow!

And, what a month it was with doctor appointments for him and I in the double digits. Thankfully, his weight is good and so we got to decrease our quota a little. Mine are still going since we're waiting for the last little drain hole to close up properly....that should be done by the end of the week. I honestly don't know what I'll do when I don't have a reason to visit my OB's office on a regular basis...they're pretty much family at this point.

Nicholas has been doing very well lately, but he's developed a nice little case of colic....poor little guy. It's all due to gas unfortunately. Where the gas is originating we're not sure - from formula type to things I eat (that are then transmitted through breast milk), we're trying to find the culprit. We seem to have had some success in at least calming him during the witching hours of 6 to midnight by instituting a little nighttime routine that gets him in bed by 7 p.m. which was suggested by my OB. We're still working on perfecting it...

Other than that, we're scheduled to go get some professional photos done of our little family and Nicholas by my friend and favorite photographer on Tuesday morning next week. I'm really excited to see what gorgeous shots she'll come up with. :)

We hope you're all doing well!

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today is Mark's first Daddy's Day! How exciting, eh?!

We started celebrating yesterday with a trip to Red Lobster for lunch and the purchase of a new trash can (really, we needed one and it's a really neato trash can - yeah, we know all you other dad's are jealous out there!). We made up for the lackluster shopping of yesterday with a gift befitting a new daddy - a VCR/DVR combo that Mark's been wanting for quite some time at Best Buy. We also made a little stop by the baby store and got a few more nipples for bottles and some more burp clothes (not that they did much good when I forgot to put one over my shoulder and Nick let loose - he was a little upset about a slight delay and lunch which led to more volatility in his digestive track).

Other than Father's Day festivities, we do have some updates on the whole weight gain and infection fiascos we've been dealing with. We seem to have brought Nicholas back to his birth weight and perhaps beyond. We'll find out for sure on Thursday at his next doctor visit.

Finally, with respect to my infection, we've beat it and now we're just trying to not get another one. This is fun (not!) to say the least. Mark's mom has the extreme pleasure of sticking long q-tips down each of the "holes" to ensure they stay open. We've been doing this for a bit over a week now and things seem to be healing up...despite the fact that they hurt something awful when I move around too much (and yet, that's part of what I need to do to heal properly).

I still take tons of pictures, but haven't really had the motivation (or time) to put any up on his site...I will try to soon. I got a couple of really cute ones of him and Mark today!

Hope you're all doing well...

Catching Up

2007-06-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

I was contemplating the other day what, if anything else, worth mentioning happened during our first week as a "new" family that you might find intriguing or interesting to read. To be honest, I'm not sure much of what went on, besides that which I already mentioned (and can't remember right at this moment, incidentally, but that's beside the point!) would be in the "news you can use" or interesting category except to us, but here are a few highlights nevertheless:

Dr. Newman, Nick's pediatrician, came to visit and check him out on Memorial Day for the first time. They seemed to get along swimmingly! :)
We had a visit with Doug and Diane, friends of ours, on Memorial Day. They brought flowers, a beautiful pearl bracelet for me and, after shuttling Mark home for additional clothes and what not, ice cream for me since I was leary of what would be served by the cafeteria!
We had a visit from Mark's teacher, Dr. Thompson, who checked little Nicholas out and told Mark he'd done an awesome job with his adjustment on Tuesday!
We took our first ride in the car with Auntie Cassie at the helm to return home on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday, Grandma Rocco came to take care of Mommy and spoil Nicholas!

Despite the list being less than "thrilling" for most, it was quite a wonderful first week for us. I think the best part of it was when we were in the hospital, to be honest. It was so nice to have Mark and Nicholas all to myself...except when we had a few visitors here and there to spice things up. I have to admit that it was hard to say goodbye to all of that...especially since Mark would be going to school the very next day. I admit it actually made me cry when he had to leave that morning...I was just so sad that we were back to "normal" life with all its committments.

We did have a couple of other happenings which I've reserved to talk about currently since they are more in the newsworthy area. First, we're having some issues with breastfeeding so poor Nicholas lost a little more weight than they would have liked a little more quickly than they would have liked and he hasn't gained it back as quickly as they would have liked. So, we're in the process of supplementing with formula (much to my chagrin...) and pursuing a bunch of different avenues to up my milk production including taking reglan (a prescription drug that has helped other women be more "milky"), fenugreek (an herbal supplement with the same goal) and I am pumping regularly with a hospital grade pump. I am stubborn if nothing else and sooner or later my milk supply will come in at a level that meets little Nicholas' needs, I hope. If not, well, it isn't the end of the world, but it will be extraordinarily sad for me since this is one of the parts of being a mommy I was really looking forward to. We'll keep you posted on Nick's progress with weight gain...at last weigh-in on Friday, he was 6 pounds 6 ounces - 6 ounces short of his birth weight. He's in the 5th percentile right now (i.e., there are 5 kids out of every hundred out there who weigh less than he at his age). Length-wise, he's pretty average - 20.75 inches which puts him in the 50th percentile.

The other bit of excitement is about as fun as that one. My C-Section incision became infected. We're not sure how, but these things do happen. Thankfully, we caught it early enough that the doctor didn't have to re-open the incision, but the treatment still hasn't been what I would call pleasant. I'll spare you the details and just let you know that I am improving daily and should be out of the woods, hopefully, by the end of this week. We'd appreciate your prayers both for my becoming a better "cow" and healing...

One final thing before I rush off. We did have a "first" yesterday evening. We took Nicholas out for a little walk in his stroller around our community. He seemed to enjoy it....good thing since it is a nightly activity around here!

Have a great week!

Week One with Baby Nicholas – Part I

2007-06-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

I have a little time to wait to take drugs (good friends right now) and then go feed the little guy so I figured I'd continue on with my "writing assignment."

Yesterday at 5:01 p.m. we celebrated Nicholas’ first week with us outside the womb. Or at least Grandma and I sort of did by singing him a fun little round of Happy Birthday.  So, now that we have the birth story out of the way, let’s talk about the past week and how it’s gone!

There’ve been good times and bad. Times with laughter and times with tears (speaking of which, I don’t’ think I mentioned that Mark said he cried when Nick came out…he just loves his little boy so much!). Times of elation and times of frustration. In a word, we had a pretty “normal” first week, I’d say! :)

Since we had a C-Section, the first four days with Nicholas were spent in the hospital. It was sooo nice having that team of professionals there to help us keep on top of things. We really do have to give a shout out to all the nurses and doctors who crossed our path and especially to Dr. Toig (who is responsible for Nicholas’ entry into the world!) because they were outstanding. Each one taught us something that has made our time caring for and enjoying Nicholas more precious and more productive.

So, the first night, I have to be honest, I don’t remember too much about. With all the morphine and other drugs I’d been given, I just wasn’t real “with it.” We actually had Nicholas in the nursery for most of this night with him coming in for “on demand” feedings so that I could get a good night’s sleep (or at least attempt it). That seemed to have gone pretty well. I spent a lot of time marveling that this little being was so precious, so tiny and created by Mark and I. It seemed too good to be true most times…especially since Mr. Nicholas is one sweetheart of a baby. Temperament-wise, he rarely cries unless he needs something and it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what it is he needs. This is saying a lot since most of the other babies on the maternity floor were crying A LOT during our stay. We actually had many nurses remark just how well-mannered our little guy was.

Despite his tendency, though, we did have a couple of “all-nighters.” Mark put an end to these frustrating crying fests one night after trying everything he could think of. I, believe it or not, actually slept through most of the episode because I was so exhausted. He had just remembered that in school they had learned that one way to calm a fussy baby was to put your finger pad on the top of his/her palate to allow them to suck, suck, suck to their heart’s content. Now being his mommy’s boy he was particular about Mark’s positioning during this exercise and wouldn’t let him set him down. He was okay, however, with laying in his bassinet with Mark standing there soothing him. After doing this for a while, Mark decided it would be amusing to have a look-see at our little guy’s spine (leave it to a chiropractor to be amused by such things, eh?).

Believe it or not, he found that C1, the first bone in our spine called the Atlas, was just a bit out of place on our dear little Nick. So, he gave it a little pressure for about 15 seconds with his pinky finger (there’s no racking and cracking when it comes to little ones) and, we kid you not, the moment he felt the bone go back into place, Nick was out like a light and we haven’t had a crying fest night since. You can bet your bottom dollar we’ve been using this little story to promote chiropractic right and left! Mark just wished he could go up and down the hall of the maternity floor and offer to check on and adjust all the other babies to give their parents a break from continuous crying, too!

As is always the case now, I need to run now so we’ll call this “Part I” and we’ll come back another time to relay more stories of our first week and all the neat things we learned and all the wonderful (and some of the not-so-wonderful) experiences we’ve had with baby over the past week!

And Now...

2007-06-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

The rest of the story...

The next morning the day began with a pitocin drip and a wonderful process called breaking my water. All I can say is I will be wary of crochet hook looking things in the hands of others for a bit. And so, the real fun began...

Contractions. Fun? Not really. In this case, even less so because every time I had one, Nicholas' heart rate decelerated...not a good thing. I tolerated them by getting up and moving around with the help of Mark and a good friend of mine, Cassie (who was made an "honorary Auntie" due to her role in the birthing process). We made it to 13ml/hr. of pitocin (I may be off on my units here, but go with me) at which point the baby's heart rate was really decelerating and so they stopped the drip, ordered me back to bed and started monitoring again.

At this point, the doctor came in and discussed with us our options: 1) get an epidural and try the pitocin drip again to see if a normal delivery was possible or 2) get an epidural and go in for a C-Section. As I see it, going in for a C Section was pretty much a last resort sort of thing so I opted to try the pitocin again. Lemme just tell you how much I hate epidurals - it wasn't pleasant at all. The part I didn't care for the most was that I felt paralyzed from the waste down. I don't know if this is normal, but I did...though Mark and Cassie assured me that I could wiggle my toes when I tried despite not feeling them wiggling. Enough on that, though.

So, we began the drip again and this time I was forced to lay, yet again, on my right side so they could monitor the baby and I most effectively (is it any wonder that my right side was terribly sore the next day - my shoulder was totally the worst). This turned out to be a waste of time. They gradually increased the dose and we waited to see what would happen. In a word, nothing. At 10 ml/hour (3 away from where we'd ended the first round), I was having no contractions...none. Furthermore, I had not dialated any further...2 cm was still the call.

After some contemplation regarding the implications surrounding us, we decided to call the doctor in and discuss the C option. After learning that, given all factors present, we had a 5% chance of actually making it through a normal delivery, and after considering how long it was going to take to even get to the delivering part, we decided to go for the C-Section. Apparently, this was a good decision since, about two minutes later, little Nick's heart rate started decelerating rapidly with no contraction present.

What this meant for me, though, was that instead of being prepped and taken to surgery in a calm way, I was rushed with shouts and all manner of excitement (if I've said it once, I've said it a million times - excitement is WAY overrated). And, of course, as luck would have it, once they got me there, everything stabalized.

So, they got everything ready to go and Mark and Cassie came into the OR and away we went! Once baby Nicholas was taken out of my tummy (which I am so grateful Cassie actually took pictures of the event - a little bloody perhaps, but oh so magical!), Mark helped to cut the unbilical cord (which, by the way, we found out from the cord blood people, they like to get 100 million cells and Nick's had 190 million - go him!) and then he was bundled up and given to me to say hello. I held him, best as I could for a bit, and then let him go see daddy because I just didn't feel like he was very stable where he was and it made me nervous. Then Mark, Cassie and Nicholas went for bathing and screening and I "hung out" with my doctor and the rest of the staff to get stitches and such...

We all met up again in my recovery room where Nick and I made our first attempt at breast feeding. We did pretty well all things considered I think. Then we returned to our room for some much needed R&R and bonding time.

With that, I'll take another pause for a nap (I'm just absolutely exhausted at the moment) and try to get back here soon to give you some of the details of our time in the hospital as well as what's gone on since we left! Hope you're all doing well.

Yes, Saint Nick,,,

2007-05-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Sprout has finally arrived! :) And, if we do say so ourselves (and we do...) he is one of the cutest sprouts we ever did see! So, without further a-do, we are happy to announce to you the birth of our precious little boy:

Nicholas Makana Rocco was born on Saturday, May 26, 2007, at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California, at 5:01 p.m. He weighed in at a perfectly pleasant 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long - wow! He was named if you haven't already guessed after one of my favorite saints - good ol' St. Nicholas (which is appropriate because he's not only the patron saint of children but of scholars, but also because we found out he was a he on December 20!). His middle name was chosen by Mark (known to our little guy as Daddy of course!) and means "gift" in Hawaiian. We truly do feel blessed with this gift that the Lord has bestowed upon us so we really liked this name. It also holds special meaning for us because on our honeymoon, MeLissa swam with a dolphin named Makana.

And now, for those of you who are interested, the rest of the story:

As seems to be the case, Mark and I never do things low key and so you can probably classify our son's birth experience as an adventure! It all began on Friday evening. I went to the clinic for a last minute adjustment and then we went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe. After our yummy meal, it was a surety that we'd be late, but we figured we'd have to wait anyway so no big deal. As things turned out, we should have just waited until morning...

We got to the hospital and after finding a solution to the problem of too many bags and not enough coordination and talent to get all of those and the two of us to labor and delivery, we finally made it to check in. They showed us to our birthing suite and we began the process of getting me ready for the "marathon" that lay ahead. Once I was all dressed up with no place to go but a birthing bed (ha ha!), I crawled in and was hooked up to monitors that checked whether I was contracting and how the baby was reacting to it based upon his heartbeat. I was supposed to be in monitoring only state for about an hour...3 hours later after being in many uncomfortable positions and despite not getting a picture perfect grade on how we were doing (the sprout's heartbeat was being difficult to track often cuz being the little wiggle worm that he is he couldn't stay put), the doctor finally told the nurse to put in the Cervadil and get going. So, she did...

But, it came out before too long (by the way, I'm typing this one-handed with lots of drugs in my system so keep this in mind if there are lots of weird things) because the sprout (aka Nicholas), was again looking a little less than perfectly happy with the process. They decided to wait until morning and give me pitocin (yea! ha ha)..hence why I say we should have stayed home until morning. What I failed to mention is that the rest of the night was spent "enjoying" the periodic influx of numerous nurses when the baby's heart rate went off the monitors. So, I can't really tell you I had a pleasant night's sleep...

Morning finally came and a whole 'nother bit of exciting happenings...unfortunately, dinner is about ready and so you'll just have to tune in to the next installment to find out what transpired during the rest of the adventure...sorry for the additional suspense!

Today Is Really The Day...

2007-05-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight...to start the process at least of coaxing Mr. Sprout out of his cozy quarters. I sure hope he's ready. I am and I'm not at the same time. That list yesterday made me a bit less eager to move from preggie princess status to marvelous mom (I hope) status...if there's one thing that always gets me it's being too sentimental.

Nevertheless, tonight at 8 p.m. PDT (or perhaps a bit earlier), we will be arriving at the hospital for our Memorial Day weekend adventure. I can't think of a better way to spend it...I imagine this may be the best Memorial Day weekend I'll enjoy in my lifetime. It's going to be tough to match that's for sure!

The plan, I think, is to get me adjusted (gotta have that nervous system souped up and ready to go) around 5:30 and then go grab a nice big meal at Red Lobster (assuming we can get in - maybe they'll have pity for me when we tell them I won't be eating another large meal until I'm finished pushing something the size of a watermelon out something much smaller...I hate that Red Lobster doesn't take reservations). After that, we're heading to the hospital...for what is sure to be an experience.

I've still been having a good number of contractions (still for practice, I think) and so I'm hopeful that the body is pretty close to being ready on its own and will just get in gear with a little persuasion by the cervix softening agent they're planning to use. If it is, I escape the joys of pitocin. If not, well, we'll manage!

So, here's to all of you having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend of your own! Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday we'll have arrived at home and will be able to share a little picture of our bundle on his little totsite. We probably won't post any pictures here since I'm feeling a bit protective of the little one so if you don't have the site and password info, drop me a note and we'll get it to you...

Today's the Day (I Hope!)

2007-05-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

May 21, 2007...it's here!

Today the sprout is due to come out and play - how exciting! Though there is no sign that he's planning to grace us with his presence today, the day is young!

Still, just in case he decides to be tardy (I keep telling him that Hawaii time only applies to his daddy), here's a new little ticker to keep you informed of his "overdue" status (which, of course, I don't really need to put up since he's coming today, right?!), but just in case he doesn't I don't have time to do so tomorrow (ha ha!) and since the other ticker I had was showing (horror of horrors!) that I had 366 days to go (um, I don't think so!), here's another one for your amusement:

OD Day 3: Okay, Okay...I Will Miss It.

2007-05-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Mom left another comment with my exact birth weight and length should you be interested. I was fairly average despite my late arrival. I probably just needed that extra time in the oven...

Based upon the rest of her commment, I guess I better admit that I will actually miss being pregnant. There I've said it. I think I've said it before, but it was earlier in the process before things really started getting uncomfortable. It still holds true today. Despite many less than pleasant aspects of being pregnant I've experienced, I have found many joys in the process.

A few of the people I know do this little thing called the Thursday Thirteen. I don't participate, but I'm going to borrow the concept today. As such here's a list of the thirteen things I have enjoyed about being pregnant and will miss (where applicable):

1. The biggie - having that little sprout inside of me wiggling, squirming, kicking and carrying on....even the jabs that hurt bring a smile to my face.

2. Believe it or not, watching my belly grow. In fact, I have to admit I kind of was a bit bummed that it took so long for me to look pregnant.

3. Being doted upon and treated sweetly by friends, family, and once I finally looked pregnant, by complete strangers.

4. Never being alone - I always had someone to talk to and sing to...no matter where I was!

5. My shelf as "The Mom" put it. I am going to look like a dork for a while when I keep trying to rest my hands on a non-preggie belly.

7. The nesting instinct - I can think of no better way to get your house looking pristine and to help clear clutter. Of course, it will probably be less than pristine in just a few more days, but at least we're starting with a pretty clean slate!

8. Baby Showers - whether thrown by co-workers or friends, there's nothing better than being the center of attention and getting to see all the neat things people have found for your little one...until after the baby comes, of course!

9. Shopping for baby clothes and goodies - there's no better reason to part with your hard earned money.

10. Receiving hand-me-downs - perhaps a bit strange for some, but it's like Christmas for me. I love to see what secret treasures are hiding in a big bag of clothes passed along to us!

11. Playing "guess that body part" and "hey sprout move!" These kind of go together...we have a little game where Mark and I feel the little parts that sprout rests up against my belly and where we give them a little push and he gives me a little kick in return. It's too amusing. Right up there with it is watching my belly move when he's rolling over.

12. Bigger "girls" and a break from certain monthly processes - I have to admit that it's kind of fun to be a bit more buxom since I've always been modestly endowed. I think the other part goes without explaination.

13. Hearing his little heartbeat and watching his antics on the ultrasound machine. This is probably just below feeling him moving around...it always brings a huge smile to my face.

I was worried for a bit there that I wouldn't be able to get 13, but there you are. :)

Otherwise, I have been having quite a few contractions (I think they're braxton hicks since they aren't terribly uncomfortable) since last night. My belly gets hard as a rock and I have some achiness, but that's about it. Maybe we're making some progress which will help us along tomorrow evening, though.

And now for some fun! Since we're getting awful close to D-Day, anyone want to take a guess at what that little sprout's name is going to be? There probably won't be a prize if you guess it other than being "all knowing and powerful." ;) Feel free to guess on anything else that amuses you as well (weight, height, time of day he'll emerge, etc.)! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all think!

OD Day 2: Still Have a Belly!

2007-05-23T07:48:00.001-07:00

Yep. It's still there...funny how that works out, isn't it? To be honest, though, just having that induction scheduled takes a lot of anxiety out of the process for me. I tend to do very well when I have a deadline to look forward to. Of course I also tend to try to do things ahead of schedule, but obviously not when I, myself, was being born. If you missed it, "the Mom" (mine - hi Mom!) left me a little comment and confirmed that I was indeed right - I made her wait for an extra month before coming out. Now it's payback time, I guess. ;) I sure am glad that doctors today don't like to let you go so far overdue - a month! Eeek!

At any rate, I'm not sitting around bemoaning my still pregnant state...I just do it while I'm flitting to and fro cleaning and what not. Last night I was able to pack up most of the knick knacks on our bookcase in the living room. After such a feat, we now have a bookcase with (shocker) primarily books on it. I was pretty pleased with myself on that one.

I also moved plants around last night such that a table that has elicited countless grumbles from Mark who seems to have a homing beacon that directs him toward it is now outside keeping my plants organized out there. That process brought an excellent surprise last night. It turns out that the purple calla lily plant I was sure had met its demise last year is, joy of joys (!), recovering. I saw little sprouts coming up last night. Awesome! I wondered if it might when I noticed that the white lily that I also thought I had killed had grown back. So, some happy news on the plant front there.

The last little bit of cleaning I did was this morning and definitely must be due to nesting. I took windex wipes and pretty much scoured our car. I've never done that before, but I likes it.

So, still no baby, but soon...really we only have what 3 days to wait? That's not too long at all. I suppose I better go prepare Pixie. ;)

Pixie on the State of Things...

2007-05-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

It has been waaaay too long since I have been able to post on this blog. Frankly, I am less than amused with my typing slave, MeLissa. She seems to have plenty of time to tell you all about this "baby" thing and has even, horror of horrors taken time to write about a D-O-G possibly joining our household. Has she even taken a minute to post my thoughts about anything...anything at all...over the past few months, though? Let me answer that for you - NO! Not one post for months. It's a travesty. I apologize profusely my dear fans...

How I persuaded her to post today for me is truly a mystery, but I'll take it because I have a few things to say about these two things (the baby and the D-O-G) that may invade my territory. First, on the baby or "the sprout" as I've heard him called...I'm not sure what this is exactly, but I'm not liking how things are going around here because of his impending arrival. I have noticed that shortly after this became a topic for discussion in the house, MeLissa's belly started growing. It is now quite round and it scares me...especially since one time when I was on it, I was kicked. I did not like that at all and now refuse to sit on MeLissa's lap. That will teach her to sniper me.

Besides this, though, I am displeased because there has been a flurry of cleaning around here lately and the vaccuum has been making way too many appearances. There is no good place to hide from this destructive monster that I can see so I end up running from room to room...I have been punishing them by hacking up hair balls and spitting up my food periodically in places I know they'll find with their bare little toes...preferrably first thing in the morning. I like it best when Mark finds the presents...his reaction is always so much more entertaining.

I am also displeased with the fact that they are being stingy. They have brought a ton of interesting and colorful things into the house recently which just scream to be batted, laid upon and scratched. They will not let me play with them. They lock them away in their bedroom and the guest room. To add insult to injury, their practice of ensuring the bedroom door is locked has kept me from pursuing my sock fetish. I am not happy about this at all. Stingy humans. Apparently, something big is happening on Friday and Saturday of this week involving this baby thing. I hope they change their mind and send it back so I can finally get at those toys.

As for the D-O-G, this better be an empty threat. I will not tolerate it. Someone please explain to me why it is they need another pet? Did they not learn from when Banshee was here that other creatures are nothing but trouble? It was bad enough that there was another cat before, but a dog? You must be kidding. They keep talking about it being to help Mark get around better. Ha! He seems to do just fine to me. He may not know it, but I am wise to his constant mission of stepping on me every chance he gets. I'm still trying to fight back by making him stumble and fall...still to no avail, but I make up for it with fur. It's a rare day that he doesn't need a quick defuzzing and isn't griping about my hair being everywhere...and yet he wants another hairy beast that probably slobbers to come live with us. Stupid humans...they never learn.

Well, I suppose that is enough for now since it appears that MeLissa may go face down on her desk if I don't let her go take a nap. I approve of this activity and will probably take one of my own...just not anywhere near that stomach of hers! I hope to have another opportunity to speak with you again soon...

OD (That would be overdue) Day 1: No Sprout Yet

2007-05-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry to keep you waiting in suspense...I'm not a 5% - er. :) Still no sprout.

We had our OB appointment today and he's still not seeming very interested in greeting his adoring fans - no dilation, no effacement. Nothing, zilch, nada, rien, as ususal. Lucky for you (and me!), a world premier date has been scheduled (that would be an induction date) so our wait is not indefinite. By the end of the day on Saturday, the world's population is increasing by one little boy...

Yep. After all that talk of inducing so that Mark's test wouldn't be interupted and then deciding that we were going to take our chances and go for the surprise factor, we still may end up inducing. I say may because the little guy could still decide to come out on his own, of course...

Friday, May 25 at 8 p.m. I go in for a little somethin' somethin' to get the process started. If all goes well, the doctor plans to let things go on their own from there rather than juicing me up with pitocin (he prefers not to use it if he doesn't have to!). From there it takes between 3 and 12 hours for labor to get underway...so it could be a very long night my friends...a very long night indeed. At least the end result should be well worth it!

Until tomorrow's update (assuming we don't get some sort of surprise tonight)...

T-1 and Counting: Could Tomorrow Be The Day?

2007-05-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Or will it be just another day? I read only 5% of people have their little ones on their due date. I guess, in a way, I have two chances since I calculated the 21st and my doctor calculated the 22nd. Perhaps we'll both be wrong, but wouldn't it be nice if one of us were right?

Mark and I made good use of what may be our last Sunday (we're hoping here!) as a family of two with one on the way...we went to a movie! We haven't done this for quite some time so it was quite a treat. We chose to see "Delta Farce" with Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall. It was a pretty amusing flick and best of all there weren't many cuss words...just a good portion of slapstick humor. I'm still chuckling just thinking about it.

Other than that, we did make it to church today and the grocery store. Now we're just kind of cleaning and straightening the house in the hopes that we will soon be heading to the hospital and returning home to a nice and clean abode. Keep your fingers crossed that we get our wish!

T-2 and Counting

2007-05-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Still nothing on the baby front. I have been having some practice contractions yesterday and today, but that's it and after that first appointment where I had a ton of them and nothing to show for it when I went to the OB, I don't really put much stock in them!

I just returned from an infant care class that I took this morning. I think it was helpful, but I'm now a little anxious/nervous about the baby's arrival. It seems like there are so many things to do and to remember and to take care of and so many ways to mess up! It seemed pretty overwhelming to me, but that might partially be because I'm still not sleeping well due to my back. So much for maternity leave allowing me to rest up in preparation for labor. ;) I guess if I weren't able to at least get cat naps in and such I'd be much worse off so I won't complain too much. At any rate, I hope I do better than I am currently feeling I will when it comes time to bathe, diaper and care for our little sprout...

In other news, Mark is still in the second portion of his test. This is the practical portion so he should be just fine. If they finish up according to the estimates given yesterday, he's only got about another hour to go.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend...

T-3 and Counting: Let the Testing Begin!

2007-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

The waiting is over for Mark if not for me! :) He should already be in the midst of testing as we speak. It definitely looks like our little sprout is going to let daddy take his test now, doesn't it? He has about 1/2 a day of testing today and then a full day tomorrow. I'll be keeping myself amused tomorrow with an infant care class...as for today, maybe I'll see if I can finish up the little guy's blankie. We're getting pretty close!

So the car seat inspection/installation went very well yesterday. Believe it or not, after confessing to the world that I couldn't get the thing in there with the ball in the little green area, I had to take the base out of the car (because I couldn't figure out how to get the seat in and out at first - this is quite a learning process all the way around!) and when I put it back in, for some reason, things worked. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it again, but the highway patrol officer (who in no way resembled Eric Estrada, by the way) who checked everything out said I'd done a great job and just tightened things up for me a bit more. That car seat base is going no where! After getting the seat in place, he showed me how to put the little guy in it (using a cabbage patch doll which was totally amusing to watch) and how to get him out of it, too. This was good information. I never would have guessed half of what he showed me. So, we are ready now...come out, come out, little sprout (just not tomorrow!).

As far as how we're progressing, I've had several people state that they think I've dropped a bit but that I have a ways to go. Bah! I'm impatient for a cute little baby boy - the process of bringing him into the world, not so much. I'm a wee bit nervous about that, but I'm sure I'll do fine. I keep reminding myself that many women have done it with much less technology and comfort than I'll be enjoying and succeeded with flying colors. And if my dreams last night are any indication, that first breast feeding experience should be a piece of cake. The little guy was a pro! :)

So that's today's update - that essentially I'm still pregnant and haven't noticed much to indicate that we'll have any excitement before we reach the end of our countdown. Mother Nature has a way of surprising us, though, so stay tuned...and while you're at it have a fabulous weekend!

T-4: Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

2007-05-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Intrigued a little by the title? It could apply to the sprout, I suppose, but it doesn't in this case. He is a pretty good little fish as I remember from his smaller days. He would flit around in my tummy so much I felt like a fish bowl!

At any rate, nothing really has changed to my knowledge regarding sprout. No tell-tale signs of impending pushing or what have you....apparenlty, ladies and gentlemen we have a very well-behaved little boy in here who actually listens to mommy and is going to let daddy take his test. Day one of two is tomorrow! I think Mr. Mark is ready to roll on that one. He seems to really have things down and has even been helping his fellow classmates study. Keep him in your thoughts!

As for the real reason for the fishy title, it comes back to Mark! He has been doing such a great job in the clinic with his patients that a few of them bring him little gifties. We've received floral arrangements and a beautiful orchid plant (that I probably need to go water...) and the like. It makes sharing him with others fun. :) Last night I learned we received another gift...one fish, two fish, catfish, trout fish (sorry Dr. Seuss...they weren't red or blue it woudln't have worked). At any rate, they've both been cleaned and the catfish has been debarbed, but he still has his head, his fins and whiskers which to me is a little disconcerting. The trout is a bit better - no head or tail...but we still have scales to deal with. At any rate, I have no idea what to do with them so they've been neatly wrapped up in freezer paper and put in the freezer for when Mark's mom comes to visit. Apparently, she has more experience with such things...something else to look forward to there, Pat! :)

Other than that, the excitement around here today is that I'm going to get the sprout's car seat installed correctly. I have attempted to do it, but I can not get the little ball thing in the green area...despite the fact that the base is going no where since I went all Shera on it. Hopefully the nice Highway Patrol officer can help me figure out how to make it work. I'll let you know if he resembles Eric Estrada. hee hee..

And so we continue on with our countdown....I'm beginning to worry that we're going to have to start counting up again, but hopefully little sprout will be a sweetie and come out on his due date or very shortly (one or two days) thereafter....

T-5 and Counting...

2007-05-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Very short post today since nothing's changed since yesterday other than the fact that I actually do feel like I am on leave now. I have noticed a definite decrease in my stress level because I finally do feel like I have enough time to get all that stuff I need to do done!

I was able to call the highway patrol and set up an appointment to get the sprout's car seat correctly installed. That is for noon tomorrow and is the most important thing I had on my list of things to get done before he comes...obviously! So, in a little more than 24 hours that will be taken care of and I will feel yet another wave of relief. :)

Other than that, I am hoping to treat myself to an afternoon siesta today and I plan to get out there and walk (or should I say waddle) to encourage our little sprout to move toward the exit. Speaking of waddling, there is one good thing about it, I get to say "Quack, quack, waddle, waddle" as I go and it amuses me. I sure did enjoy that McD's commercial back in the day...

Thus endeth another update - I hope everyone is doing well!

T-6 and Counting...

2007-05-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

My friends and family members, it's time to start praying with earnest that little sprout is a timely baby...not too early...not at all late. I may be wishful thinking here, but I'm anxious to hold a baby rather than have a belly (though, I guess I'll probably have both!) so let's see if we can convince the little guy to come right on the 21st or maybe the 22nd (the day the doctor calculated I am due...he waited too long and impatient little me had to calculate the date on myown).

Speaking of the OB, if you didn't guess from the first paragraph, it was a rather uneventful visit. Nothing's happening still. I did get my paperwork for the disability turned in and so sooner or later (probably) we'll start having a little cash flow to make up for my not pulling in a pay check.

I also had an ultrasound today to check on the size of the baby this morning. Right now, we're looking at a pretty average sized tyke - just what I was hoping for. At the moment they estimate he's around 6 pounds 13 ounces so that was a bit of great news. They checked a lot of his other systems out too and it looks like he's just a very healthy little guy! That is great news! Unfortunately - no pictures, but I got to have a little look at him and he is, of course, precious (not that I'm at all biased).

Other than that, today is my very first day of maternity leave. The doctor asked if I was going to do anything to celebrate. My answer? Take a nap. Oh how I am excited for the prospect of getting one of those for the next few days....even if I did sleep better than usual last night thanks to Mark who worked out a lot of the kinks in my back. Oh it hurt, but for that good night's sleep I think it was worth it. I'm hoping tonight's chiropractic adventure will continue the improvement.

And, speaking of Mark (the wonderful daddy to be!), he is just like me - excited for little sprout to arrive! He is also readying himself for his big challenge this weekend - the part IV boards. Keep him in your prayers - we want a first time success on this so that little sprout's life can be the best it can be! :)

While Mark is taking his test this weekend, I will actually be taking an infant care class taught by the hospital. I have some experience with babies, but it is from long ago when my little brothers were born and I was only 6 and 8 during those experiences so I really don't remember much at all!

Yet another update will be forthcoming tomorrow, though, it looks like we may not have a lot to talk about for a bit. At least it looks like Mark's test won't be interupted. That is such a blessing!

T-7 & More Mother’s Day Surprises!

2007-05-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Still no sign of anything. We’ll have our check in with the doctor tomorrow morning after our ultrasound to see how big of a little boy we are looking at having. I say, let’s stick to a nice average 7lbs and some ounces. Let’s go easy on mom, here. And, as for you Mr. doctor...find something! anything! Um, but not so much that it looks like sprout will arrive during those blackout dates. Daddy still has that test to pass!

So, I already mentioned my little gifties from Mark for Mother’s Day, but wait! There’s more. :) I think I mentioned I was supposed to go to dinner at Mimi’s Cafe with a couple of my friends in his class. Oooh, they’re sneaky these chiropractic students and I love it! My friend Laelle came to pick me up and take me to the restaurant where I discovered that a group of friends had gathered to celebrate the sprout’s arrival with a little surprise baby shower. They rock. :) I can definitely say that on my first Mother’s Day I felt very appreciated and loved...and I didn’t even have my baby boy to join in the festivities yet! He’ll just have to be a delayed present. :)

So, we had a yummy dinner (and I misbehaved and ate the muffin and the carrot bread!! It was worth the resulting allergic reaction, I assure you) and then it was time for presents! Everyone was so thoughtful and generous and got the little sprout lots of nifty things that he needs for bathtime, bedtime, dinner time, etc. It was fun seeing all the neat things they found and I am anxious to try them out. So a big thanks goes out to all the girlies (and of course to Mark!) for making me feel special on my first Mommy’s Day!

T-8: My First Mommy's Day!

2007-05-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies and mommies-to-be today! I hope yours is as pleasant as mine has been so far.

Mark is a real sweetie (as you no doubt already know) and found a few little somethings to make my first Mother's Day a special one. Here' a little picture:

Each of these little butterflies is a magnet for our refrigerator. I love them! They're just so delicate and pretty. Apparently, Mark found them at his school's bookstore.

Unfortunately, I won't be seeing too much of Mark on this day since he is away studying for his big board exam which is next weekend! At least I have my little sprout to keep me company. :)

As for the little guy, no change from yesterday to report. My back is still really inflamed and so I am going to be taking it easy again today. I will probably need to make a trek to the grocery store, but otherwise, baby blankies, cooking, maybe some baking and reading will be the order of the day. I hope everyone else has a lovely day!

T-9 and Counting...

2007-05-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Still no news. I doubt we'll have an early bird here...which is fine, I guess, though my back would really appreciate it. It isn't really responding to the chiropractic adjustments Mark's been giving to make it behave. We may just be at that time when the back says "I've had enough." Maybe it will give the sprout some added incentive to vacate.

Last night's appointment, at least, did have an upside. As I've mentioned previously, I think, Mark goes to school with the wife of the pediatrician we've chosen. Last night he was in for his adjustment, too. So, I went out and visited with him for a little bit. I went with the express intention of not "talking shop" with him since I think it's just polite not to take advantage of such situations, but you can tell he loves his job! :) As soon as he saw me, he started asking about how the pregnancy was going, etc. We ended up having a light-hearted little chat about various baby and pregnancy-related topics (the funniest was when we were discussing how men miss out on the squirming and wiggling that we women get to enjoy...he proposed that maybe if men could contract a really big parasite they could understand. It was too funny, but maybe you had to be there!). He really is just a stellar guy and I'm looking forward to him taking care of our little sprout!

Other than that, I have been very good and have kept my activity light today. I've worked on baby's blanket and straightened up our bedroom...especially the "nursing nook" I've created for myself. It was jut a little too disorderly for my liking. Now it is quite relaxing and user-friendly. :) In general, all the crazy cleaning is over with and I plan to just do a little bit on the areas that bug me each day and then keep them in order so that when our little man arrives I can come home to a nice clean house (I might as well enjoy it while I can, I figure!).

In other news, Mark has heard back from the guide dog organization and they have all his paperwork and will be setting up an interview with him soon. That involves them having him show that he can basically get where ever he needs to on his own. Then they also give him a demonstration of how working with a guide dog would be like. We're still hopeful that maybe he'll be able to do his training during his three week break in June.

More details to follow on all the excitement in our lives tomorrow as I continue the countdown to the sprout (despite my hunch that he's going to be like all of my friends' babies and arrive fashionably late!).

T-10 Days and Counting

2007-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Only 10 days to go!!! And, as I'm sure you can guess nothing new here in sprout-land. :)

My back is still killing me, my feet are still swelling, the sprout is still kicking up a storm and there's no sign that we'll have a baby in our arms by Mother's Day. I'm patient, really I am...and there's also this absolutely stunning bridge I'm selling. Perhaps you've heard of it - what an honor it would be to be known as the owner of the Golden Gate! Any takers? I do have a college education to pay for in a few years, you know...hee hee!

Mark tried this morning to tweak my back since I'm doing the hunched over (as best as I can) gorilla walk thing. I'm going to again say how thankful I am that my back problems waited until month 9 to start being problematic. I have always worried that they would relegate me to a life of bed rest early in my pregnancy experience...not so! This is something to celebrate!

Today is my next to last day in the office and I'm more and more pleased with myself for deciding to take some time off. I think it was a good move...

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and that all the mommies out there have a wonderful Mother's Day. I'm looking forward to enjoying both sides of the holiday this year!

T-11 and Counting...

2007-05-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Due dates are at best estimates. We all know it's true and yet I have no problem relying on mine for a blog post title. I figure if we go past the 21st then we'll adjust our tactics. ;)

At any rate, today's major development is the return of the back pain. I'm not exactly sure why, but nevertheless it's back! And, to accompany it, I have a dear little boy who has found the right spots to lean up against and pummel such that I've "enjoyed" some very interesting and very intense "ow, ow, ow" moments. At least he's having a good time in there...your days are numbered, hon! :)

I had a neat moment at Costco last night worth mentioning. I was walking back to my car after replenishing our stores and a nice lady in an SUV rolled down her window and shouted "congratulations!" I thought it was quite wonderful.

That's today's update! I'm still secretly wishing for a Mother's Day surprise from the sprout, but I suppose if I can't have a baby, I'll settle for lunch at Mimi's cafe. I think the baby would be more memorable, though. :)

3 and 12 More Days...

2007-05-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well, since I am actually going to take a litte break before our little sprout comes out (assuming he doesn't want to give me a nice Mother's Day surprise! Wouldn't that be the best gift ever?), I only have 3 more days of work after today!

I've decided to try to get a quick update out to you daily since we're in the home stretch, but I can't promise I will! It's still pretty surreal that there are only 12 days left until my due date. It's too bad that date isn't a guarantee! I have had so many friends lately who have gone past their due dates. I'd like to buck that trend and either be early (but not the 18th or 19th of course) or right on time...especially since now that we're taking the gamble with not inducing to miss Mark's test, it would be a real bummer to have to because the sprout decided he didn't want to vacate his current quarters.

As far as how I'm feeling today, things are good. I feel the little guy kicking up a storm right now (probably because he's enjoying the ice cream I enjoyed at our monthly birthday gathering a little while ago!). I have a feeling he is going to be a very active baby boy! My feet still are swelling a lot - and Tevas are definitely a life saver since none of my normal shoes really fit. Thankfully, though, it looks like my feet have not (knock on wood) increased in size. I was quite fearful of this since I already wear a size 10 shoe. It's hard enough to find shoes that look cute...

So, though it isn't terribly exciting there's today's update. I'm now going to try to be good and work on some of the little projects they've thrown my way at work. I know you all wish you could do them for me. Who wouldn't want to spend their day writing letters to the IRS arguing that the additional assessment they've made is incorrect? ;)

Holding Out

2007-05-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, based upon today's OB appointment, I think it is safe to say that yes, our dear little sprout is quite content. He is liking where he is and he's not coming out until he's good and ready...already he's asserting his authority. Let's just hope he doesn't decide to be onery and come out during daddy's testing days. :)

Despite all the cramping and what not, there's no progress other than the fact that our little man has assumed the head down position which is definitely a good thing (but then given that whole baby booty sticking out picture, I suppose this is not an earth shattering revelation). That was discerned via a quick peek with the ultrasound, but sorry no pictures. He does seem to have a nice looking head....I can tell you that much. ;)

I also had the extreme pleasure (?) of being hooked up to some sort of contraption that measures contractions and the baby's heartbeat in relation to them. I was supposed to be marking when the baby moved, too, but he wasn't really getting down too much during the test. No, he waited until all the monitors were off me, of course. Sly little guy, isn't he?

The only other development as far as the appointment goes is that I have changed my stance on whether to take a little leave before the lovie comes. I've been feeling pretty wiped out lately and the 45 minute drive (one way) to work is becoming quite bothersome so I'm taking off a week before my due date rather than trying to be superwoman and work up until that day. So, next Monday is my final day in the office. I am looking forward to the opportunity to get some much-needed rest and relaxation and maybe get a few little important errands taken care of, too (like getting our car seat installation inspected since the stupid little level ball won't cooperate despite the fact that the seat barely budges). In general, though, I am going to make myself behave and rest. Now that the guest room is clean, I figure I should be able to do it without too much policing from others. ;)

So, sorry to not have much in the way of an exciting update, but there's always next week...

Parting Buddah Shots...

2007-05-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Given how good I am at getting pictures up and how bad the pictures have been turning out as of late (they're fuzzy and I can't tell until after I look at them on the computer...grr), this will probably be your last glimpse at my belly...so enjoy it! ;) I figured since the counter says we only have 15 days to go, I better get a move on and post these before it was a moot point!

So, we left off with a picture from week 32 and we'll start with a week 34 picture (in the infamous brown shirt no less!):

Next is a picture of me all dolled up (well, as much as possible given the whole pg thing) for my office's after tax season party at the beginning of week 35:

Here's one from week 36 (kind of in the middle of the week):

And last but not least, here is today's 15 days to go (assuming we have a punctual little boy!) week 38, "boy that buddah is getting big" shot (you're going to love this one and I'm going to make you scroll to see it...):

Isn't that classic? I was really having trouble getting a shot that I was happy wih so I started goofing off. Wouldn't you know that was exactly what was needed in the end. :)

Incidentally, I had a bit of a nesting fest this past weekend and in the background of that shot, you get a little glimpse of the guest room which was one of my big projects. I am so proud of that room now...which is good because I overdid it a little and am pretty much resigned to low grade activities for the rest of the weekend.

I do get to get out of the house today to go to a breastfeeding class which should be educational. Mark is out learning today, too...he's at an activator seminar as he was yesterday when I was going crazy and cleaning everything in sight (a feeling I am fighting off with vigor this morning!).

We have our next OB appointment on Tuesday morning and I'm thinking we might have a little more in the way of news this week, though I can promise nothing. I've been having menstrual-like cramps for the past few days. They're bothersome, but not usually outside my tolerable limits. So stay tuned for that and have a terrific week!

Taking After Mom Already...

2007-05-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

"Try wait." It's a phrase that Mark uses and taught me from Hawaiian Pidgen that essentially means "hold your horses...impatience will get you no where." :) I think little sprout is going to like this particualar phrase as much as I do.

I had my 37 week check up today and the verdict is....nothing. nada. pas du tout. No progress in the whole effacement and dilation game. Not a surprise really...only recently have I noticed a little more "activity" in the way of practice contractions and what have you. At any rate, the doctor seems to think that our boy is in no hurry to vacate and that Mark may actually get to take his test without the little squirmer disrupting it...kind of sounds like someone I know well. Um, yeah, me. :) I was rather late myself...by a month if memory serves me correctly (I wasn't exactly aware of what was going on back then as you can imagine). We do like to make our fashionable entrances...

At any rate, the only other developments are that I obtained clarification on when exactly I need to be at the hospital due to testing positive for Group B Strep (a buggie we all have, but some of us have a more generous supply of). This was good news...as long as my water doesn't break before, I can enjoy the comforts of home until the contractions are 5 minutes apart. As soon as my water breaks, though, I have to get going so that they can shoot me full of antibiotics to keep Mr. Sprout from getting any nasty sickies.

I also received my pre-admission forms which I will fill out promptly and send back so that I don't have to go through the process on labor day...though I still have to fill out paperwork apparently.

Last but not least, I need to schedule my last ultrasound. The doctor wants to see how big of a kidlet we're looking at here. My guess is that it is because despite having been rather judicious about what I eat, I've gained much more weight than is typically recommended (around 50 pounds...egads!). It's all been a steady gain so I figure it's just what my body wanted to do and I've been doing my best not to berate or beat myself up for it. A healthy baby is the goal....weight gain, well, it happens...at least I can lose it and at least it all seems to have gone to the belly since I'm not seeing double chins and what have you. On the bright side...maybe we'll get a last minute sneak peek at the cutie in utero! :)

In other news since I haven't updated you, we found out that Mark didn't pass his Part III exam for chiropractic school. He'll take that again in September and shouldn't have any problems. In general, he thought that test was a little odd so we weren't terribly upset about it.

I think that is about it for now. I'm going to see if maybe I can get around to posting some of the updated belly shots I've taken over the past month or so. It's sometimes hard to motivate myself...

Houston, We Are Go For Baby!

2007-04-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

We've made it! I'm full-term (this was actually a bit of a surprise to learn this morning since I thought next Monday was the day, but regardless - HOW COOL IS THAT?!?)!

The Sprout is now officially all ready to make his grand entrance (sometime between now and the 16th of May or after the 20th of May, of course!) as everything except for his little immune system is adequately developed for life "on the outside." It's all so exciting and mind-numbing to think that we're so close to having a little bundle of joy instead of just a big ol' belly (which I may actually ever-so-slightly miss when it goes away...maybe).

So, that's this morning's quick announcement. I do have some other updates to share, but I need to get busy on some work here at the office (they do pay me for that afterall!). Tomorrow is my next check-up with the OB so I'll be sure to get back here and let you know how it went. Have a great week!

9 Months!

2007-04-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? Before I know it, little sprout is going to be a teenager (a well-behaved little angel of a teenager, of course - hee hee!) if time keeps going at this break neck speed.

As far as updates, nothing too new in the way of the pregnancy. I'm still having back issues, but the chiropractic care I'm receiving seems to be helping keep me in a state where I can at least tolerate things.

We didn't really do too much baby shopping this week either. For the most part, we have most of the really important stuff. There are a few "wants" that we may still invest in, but until we have some real life experience come our way, we figure we have a good start. Thus, most of the purchases this weekend were for yours truly. :) However, I did start a little blankie for the sprout which should be quite lovely when finished....

We picked up some slippers and a nightie and robe that I can wear in the hospital during/after delivery. The robe and slippers are for sure before. The nightie - well, we'll have to see if it still fits in a few more weeks (that belly of mine is g-r-o-w-i-n-g it seems - pictures will be forthcoming...) and we also have to take into account that I'm going to be hooked up to an IV. Either way, it should get some use. Finally, to save me a lot of time and trouble, we invested in a little MP3 player for me to put my favorite music on since music can really effect my mood. So, I now how a cute little pink MP3 player that holds plenty of music to keep me moving and grooving. I'm going to give it a bit of a trial run here at work today (if my right ear stops being stupid and feeling all stopped up).

Other than that, we packed my hospital bag and started brainstorming some ideas of food to bring to the hospital for me. Since I'm allergic to so many things, we figure we better have a pretty decent stash on hand to ensure that when I'm done helping sprout make his grand entrance I don't turn into an angry (and very hungry ogre - you may or may not know that I'm not the most pleasant individual to be around when I'm starving). So, I have to do a little preparatory baking/cooking over the next two weeks for that. I packed everything I should need and then some (including my favorite surgery buddy - a stuffed mouse whose been through all of my major surgeries with me!) and several movies to keep myself amused as well. I decided to go for cute and not too hard to follow so the doctors and nurses who get to come visit me will be amused by two Legally Blonde movies and Bring It On (I figure some cheerleading in the birthing room could be a good thing!).

Other than that, yesterday was my parents' 30th anniversary! Happy day mom and dad!

Week 35 OB Update

2007-04-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that we're so close to getting to meet the sprout in person! Only 34 days to go by that little counter over there. Who knows it could be even earlier...we've given sprout clearance to come out before May 17 and after May 20. :) The dead days are, of course, the days Mark will be taking his test. So, yeah, unless I change my mind, we're going to go for letting sprout determine when he comes. We kind of want that "surprise!" experience just in case we decide one little sprout is enough for us.

Today, of course, we had our next little OB update. We picked up our cord blood banking kit at this visit...now I can start filling out the big ol' application. Aside from that, everything seems to be going well with the little guy and with me (aside from the back thing which seems to be a bit better today and which will hopefully improve with tonights appointment with the world's greatest chiropractor!). We'll have our OB next appointment in two weeks and then we'll have weekly visits with the doctor until it's time for the little guy to grace us with his presence. How exciting all of this is! It became a little more real today, too, since I made my first appointment in May...it was a bit surreal! I am honestly in shock at how quickly time has passed!

After our OB appointment, we visited with one of two candidates for the esteemed and much sought after position as the sprout's pediatrician. This visit was with a doctor who was recommended to us by one of Mark's classmates....she may be a bit partial since he's her husband (hee hee...kind of like how I think Mark is the best chiropractor on the planet!), but we agree with her that he's a class act! We also met one other pediatrician who our doctor had recommended to us and he was nice as well, but we think the first pediatrician will be a better fit and so he's hired. :)

Finally, we visited the hospital's lactation center (and store) today while we were in the area....and we're glad we did! They had a great selection of breast pumps and supplies at awesome prices! We ended up getting my "wish list" breast pump which comes with a really cute bag that can be used without the pump when all is said and done. What made it really cool is despite going for the "limited edition" bag, we actually paid less than we would have paid at a retailer for the "boring" normal version of the pump. I figure I'm allowed a few "silly fashionista girl" purchases here and there, right? :)

Other than baby news, we attended my firm's after-tax season party last night. It was so much fun. I just wish we could have visited with more people. The food was absolutely wonderful, though and we had a blast. Today, then, was our after-tax season holiday, though it was terribly busy! I sure wish I had tomorrow off, too, but it is back to the office tomorrow. At least things will be really calm!

It's Raining Again!

2007-04-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Bay Area. Just as I started to pen this post, it started pouring...no wonder I was able to sleep in this morning! I always have the roughest time staying in bed when the sun is out. I may take advantage of this weather and crawl back in since I might even be able to get back to sleep now that I've eaten breakfast!

Despite the rain, today should be a pretty decent day here. I don't have anything planned really. I might put our car seat base in so that (hopefully) I can make it sometime this week or next to have one of the checkpoints give me the thumbs up or needs improvement sign.

As far as a thumbs up, Mark got a big one yesterday! He has been waiting for the results of the clinic exit exam he took at his school about a week or so ago and they finally came in! I'm happy to report that our boy passed! Yea! Three cheers for Marky Mark! This means that once he gets his numbers in at the clinic, he can decrease his time there to make more time for spending with the little fish (or should I say kickboxer now - ouch!) that lives in my tummy! At any rate, it is very exciting. Now he only has one more "big" exam to go...that would be the one that our dear sprout is not going to interrupt. :) Mark's attending a review course all this week to ensure that he's ready for that big test, but passing his school's exam is actually a big booster in that area - it's been said that if you can pass the school's exam, the board exams are a little easier. We're not buying it, but it's a nice thought anyhow!

In other Mark news, he's been looking into offices and what not for when he is a bonafide doctor. He's been talking to a lot of docs in Denver and Colorado Springs since we think we'd like to move back to Colorado. Yesterday he was able to talk to a doctor who has a place on North Carefree and Powers and is looking for someone to share office space with (this is apparently the newest trend). I thought it was funny that this is in the same general area that we lived when we moved.

Other than that, I can tell you that coming up this week is sure to be full of fun and blogging fodder. We have my company's after tax season party on Monday, our OB checkup and two introductory pediatrician appointments on Tuesday (a day off for me!) and who knows what the rest of the week will hold besides my parents' anniversary on April 22 - Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Here's to (wow!) 30 years!

A Real Weekend...

2007-04-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

This was a great weekend since it was the first in several where I got two days off! We made good use of our time especially since it is the last that Mark will really be able to "hang out" much since he'll be reviewing for those board exams that dear sprout is not going to interupt. We have faith.

Speaking of which, we've sort of come to the conclusion that we'll probably let him choose when he's ready to come out rather than inducing labor. The ultimate decision will be made as we get closer, but for now I'm (and I'm pretty much the one who'll be making the decision since I'm the one with the test anxiety...go figure) really wanting to have a surprise. I don't want to miss out on the whole "honey! I think it's time!" experience...and again, our little sprout is a good boy so I know he'll cooperate and not interupt daddy's test. Please?

So anyhow, we made good use of our weekend. We had lunch at Red Lobster yesterday...it's lobsterfest time! :) And, then we did some grocery and other errands at the shopping center next door. We sure were reminded how grumpy people in this part of the world can be during this experience, too. I'll spare you the details.

Once we made it home, I engaged in many nesting activities such as getting baby's crib ready to go (including making a cute bed skirt so we can store stuff underneath it) and washing all his cute little clothes which I simply can not wait to dress him up in. I was never much into the whole doll thing when I was a little girl, but I may make up for it with my little boy! :) I sure am anxious for him to come out and play, but I'm also just enjoying having him kick my innards...even when it hurts it still makes me smile. :)

I do have to admit I'm getting rather uncomfortable and I do think I'll be ready when he's ready to grace us with his presence. It's kind of funny since most people who see me seem to think that since I'm not utterly huge (of course, most of these people didn't see me when I was a skinny minnie either) I must be feeling grand. Not so...I definitely have all the challenges that come with those last few months of pregnancy. The only thing I have on a lot of those ladies is my live in massage therapist and chiropractor...yet again I am thrilled with the man I've chosen to spend my life with! :) Now if only he could help me stay asleep...

This morning we attended Easter services at church and enjoyed seeing all of the people we haven't since tax season started up. They all are anxious to hear when the little sprout has arrived. I think they were a bit disappointed to learn that we'll be having him baptized in Colorado, though.

After church we came home and finished up the laundry and then had a visit from our friends Penny and Brent who brought us lots and lots of neat baby stuff. From clothing (primarily for 12 months and older which we haven't really started to accumlate) to crib mobiles and a Peg Perego high chair, they treated us to some great "loot" for our coming addition. We're especially excited about the co-sleeper that they've passed along. This will be so helpful in baby's first months so that I can nurse him without too much fuss. We just need to reorganize our bedroom a little to make room for it to be by my side of the bed.

The last bit of excitement is we had pizza for dinner and I tried out a new rice flour crust recipe that performed beautifully. I think we've found a winner and my whining about not being able to have pizza has come to a full stop (except for the part where I can't just go out and grab a pizza which may persist!). ;)

So, all in all, it was a great weekend filled with stuff to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I'm glad we're finally to this point...I'm not sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep up with those 6 day work weeks. Tomorrow is the last official week of tax seaon and our 34th week of pregnancy...very exciting stuff. Our next doctor appointment is on the 17th (a day off for me!) and so until then we may not have too much excitement but we'll keep you posted if we do!

Some Nice Friday Surprises!

2007-04-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, today has been a banner day despite it following a rather sleepless night. I don't think I quite understand why it is that in the time shortly before giving birth our bodies decide that sleep is something we don't need. It seems like I'll have plenty of sleepless nights after little sprout arrives...can I please have a good night's sleep before he does? :)

Anyhow, I received a couple of nice surprises today at work. First, I don't have to come in tomorrow. In a word, YEA! This is awesome not only because I can sleep in tomorrow but because maybe I can spend some quality time with Mark (which will become quite scarce after this weekend due to his busy class schedule and his reviewing for his last big board exam). Furthermore, it makes it much easier to make it to Easter Sunday services. We haven't been to church forever (well, not since tax season began) and I'm going to enjoy showing off my little 'buddah belly' to all the people. :)

The second neat surprise I received was a little giftie from one of my co-workers for little sprout! She made him the sweetest little cardigan sweater with the most adorable little elephant buttons. It is just precious. I always just love gifts that people make for you...they're just so much more precious than words can convey.

Little sprout is cleaning up this week as always. I went on a little shopping spree yesterday afternoon with my friend Yanna from work. She and I found some adorable surfer boy and girl tub toys/gear and we got him a cute little tummy time play mat that will convert to a little tunnel for him to crawl through when he makes it to the mobile stage. :) Both of these fun toys have a little "sailing, sailing" ditty that plays and lots of neat little fishies to keep him occupied. He's just going to love it!

The other acquisitions for the week were our diaper bags and another round of clothing from Babies R Us. We chose one large and one small diaper bag from Land's end and they are just awesome. I am anxious to get them packed and ready to go for baby's trips away from home. For the most part, I think we're about ready for the little bug to arrive! That's probably a very good thing since we only have a month and a half to go....I can't wait to hug, cuddle and fuss over him and I know Daddy is just as anxious!

Maybe to at least tide me over (and since I'll have some free time this weekend) I'll get some pictures of some of the nifty things we've purchased for the little guy. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of some of them...though it is going to be hard to top the "tax deduction" bib. ;)

Buddah Shots - Part II

2007-04-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I'm pretty far behind on the belly shots thing (I blame it on tax season) so I'm sitting down right this minute to catch myself up. :) Following that, we'll do our typical update...

Without further a-do - March 10, 2007 (I would have been at the tail end of week 30):

It's amazing how what you wear can change how slim you look...something I learned way back when I was overweight as a kid. And, if you don't believe me, look at that belly again and then look at this picture which was taken at the beginning of week 32 on March 27, 2007:

And now we have a picture of the belly sans clothing...taken today.

As I've mentioned, my belly is pretty small compared to a lot of people who are 8 months pregnant! And, I suppose that's why people look at me with a look of surprise (and on occasion worry) when they find out just how far along I am. I figure I still have plenty of time to "blossom" as my dear friend Jenny described it. I will try, now that tax season is winding up (2 more weeks to go folks!) to be a bit better about posting pictures that show my progress....

Aside from belly shots, we actually do have some things to speak of here in Roccoland. For one, little sprout is just kicking up a storm right this very moment. Apparently he's very excited that I'm chatting to all his adoring fans. ;) He definitely is one active little boy. I've started telling people that he's destined to be either a soccer or a dance star. The Rockettes have nothing on him!

All that aside, though, we did have an appointment with the OB this week as I mentioned we would. We heard his little ticker beating away as usual and the doctor did our strep B test. I'm now back to less modesty in the doctor's office for the rest of our little visits. Joy. :)

So, we discussed with the doctor what the latest I could stay at work because after looking into the financial situation, I would just feel better if I could stay as long as possible. In the doctor's opinion, I am good to go until my due date or, if earlier, the day I deliver. That gave me a good boost of confidence because it obviously means he's pleased with how the pregnancy has gone so far and doesn't forsee any problems. That is always a plus! So, that's the plan - I'll stay in the office as long as I possibly can (and hopefully I won't go into labor there - wouldn't they love that?!?) and then I'll be able to stay out with baby longer...which is when I am really going to want to be home anyhow!

As for other activities around here, we were busy today with lots of errands and we also were able to sell Mark's mountain bike which is great - one less piece of equipment to take care of and a little extra $$ to add to the kitty for the tandem bike we're hoping to get at some point so that Mark can go riding again with me at the helm (which is, in some respects a scary proposition!).

Errands-wise, we went to Babies R Us for our weekly "get a few things at a time" drill. This week's acquisitions included a Diaper Genie II which we're hopeful will keep our house smelling decent when we have lots of diapers running around. We also actually bought our first box of diapers - the book we've relied on for insight suggested 100 newborn size and 400 size 1s were a good start to have in your arsenal. We ended up going with Pampers Swaddlers for our newborn diapers (which are the only ones we bought today) because they have aloe in them for soothing instead of some other "stuff" which we'd never heard of before.

We also picked up a monitor so we can keep tabs on baby when he's snoozing and we're in a different room. After contemplating many bells and whistles models, we decided to go for a simple sounds and lights monitor that was recommended by, you guessed it, the book. ;)

Aside from this type of stuff, we also bought some fun articles of clothing that little sprout is going to just be so adorable in....primarily hats. We got one that looks like a little dog with blue corduroy ears and another cute little hat and slipper set that looks like a little bear with ears....too cute, I assure you. The last couple of knit hats we got were rather plain and chosen more for their utility...they're still cute though. We also got a cute little swimwear cap with fishies on it that we found amusing. Perhaps the best article of clothing we found today (at least in my opinion) is this bib:

Isn't it just perfect for little sprout given what I've amused myself with during most of his time in my tummy? I simply couldn't resist it. And, I also can't stop giggling about it because seirously, I find it just too funny. But then, I am a tax accountant and I guess it's to be expected that I would find a bib declaring my offspring a tax deduction too funny. Lucky for our little sprout that I see him as more than just a way to decrease our tax liability. Speaking of which, our personal tax season is over - the returns are in, the refunds have been received and life is good! :)

The only other thing we did today is that I ordered our diaper bags (one large and one small) from Land's End. After much contemplation, I decided I liked the baby blue/black combo better than the mint green/black combo. So, that's what we have on the way. We used a gift card we were able to get from our Discover cash back bonus to buy these so we have two very nice and useful bags on the way for an outlay of $10. :) Not too shabby.

Well, with that we probably have covered all there is to cover as far as what we've been up to goes. Tomorrow Mark starts his next quarter at school which should result in his being extremely busy with 33 credits and I will continue plugging along on the tax returns assigned to me.

There's only one final observation to make then - as of today there are only 50 more days to go until little sprout comes out to play. As I've said many times before, wow! It's hard to believe!

Five Bits of Food Do Not a Meal Make

2007-03-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Unless you're pregnant apparently. Yes, I know, the statement defies all logic, but it is true. I haven't had a meal that I actually *ate* an adult-size portion in what seems like forever. It's actually only been a couple of weeks, but it is definitely already old...especially since we cook dinner every night and I can barely eat it. I'm not a big fan of leftovers but that's basically how I get to have dinner...as lunch the next day.

So that's one of the latest developments as far as our pregnancy goes. Otherwise, we hit 32 weeks on Monday of this week which means we're cruising in our 8th month now. Can you say wow? Time has really flown. And, despite the fact that it is still small compared to most of my pregnant friends' bellies at this stage, my belly has grown quite a bit as well. I need to get the latest picture up soon...

We've acquired more baby stuff over the past week or so including a mattress some additional cute outfits that I couldn't resist - my favorite is a little shorts set with a cute little crab and sheets and other bedding stuff. I also got a nursing video which was helpful. I'm just not sure how all that is going to work out...my "girls" are admittedly quite small still. I never even had to get a maternity bra (yes, I realize this is more info than you wanted - sorry, I'll stop). At any rate, I figure babies and breasts were pretty much made for each other so little sprout and I will figure it out.

Mark is on break this week though he still spends a lot of time at the clinic. He's going to be a very busy guy this next quarter as he's trying to get as many classes in as possible so that we can avoid daycare once I return to work after my maternity leave. It looks like I won't be leaving for that until about a week before my due date or our induction date (we're still contemplating whether to go this route or not) because I want us to not have to worry about our financial status while I'm away. I do receive some state benefits while on my leave, but they're not nearly as good as that salary I can earn when I'm at the office. At any rate, it looks like I'll probably be back at work by August 20...

Other than that, we have our next OB appointment tomorrow morning. I believe this is the beginning of the "less modest" visits that we moms-to-be enjoy. I can't say that I'm looking forward to that, but I guess it's just part of the deal...and so I'll deal. :) I don't really expect any real earth shattering news to come from this visit - it's still a bit early for anything "exciting" to be happening so there may not be an update afterwards. We shall see! What I can offer those of you who are privvy to the logon particulars for the sprout's special site is that there is a new poll up that is a little more on the light-hearted, fun side of things. The plan is that I'll be introducing a new poll each week (or two or three or whenever I get around to changing it!) to just see how well the masses can predict our little guy's movements as we get closer and closer to his joining us outside of the womb. This week's topic - what day of the week do you think he'll arrive? I can't wait to see the responses!

Spills & Thrills

2007-03-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, as is customary, I'm here for your weekly update on how we're all doing and how, most importantly, the little sprout is doing. Surprisingly, despite the fact that most of our week was spent studying and doing taxes, I do have some "excitement" to discuss. Of course, if you know me, you know that I'm guilty of proclaiming that "excitement" is frequently overrated. This week's excitement falls into that category for the most part. Now that I've teased the excitement sufficiently, I think I'll go back to my typical chronological method of filling you in...it seems to work best for not forgetting (well, too much...I usually forget something).

So, we did have our appointment with the OB this week on Monday. I'm on for every other week visits again....which, as I remember, make the time go by much more quickly than when I'm only going every month. Nevertheless, we had a good visit...everything is going well save that slight swelling I'm having in my legs (taxes and baby growing...not a good match, I guess in this respect). The doctor gave me some tips on how to keep it from getting too serious which is, of course, my goal - I really want to avoid the whole "cankles" thing as long as possible!

I got some additional advice and had a lightbulb go on about this when I visited my favorite chiropractor for our scheduled visit. Okay, the advice didn't come from Mark, but he is my favorite chiropractor. We have to give credit to one of his advisors, though, who kindly relayed that blood typically goes down deep (i.e., inside the leg) and comes back up shallow and that the socks which were not a problem "back in the day" were causing some constriction and probably inhibiting the blood flow. Soooo, I'm glad it's spring since I've pulled out the sandals. The only part I'm not crazy about - I am having to wear them without nail polish. I can't really reach to paint the ol' toe nails and the verdict isn't in on whether putting a concoction of tons of not so good for you chemical components on your toesies can have an effect on your little baby so I'm abstaining. I figure I can handle 9 (yes, only 9!!) weeks of not having beach ready toes.

We also discussed maternity leave with the doctor which led to us having a decent discussion that night about our finances, whether or not we can make it if I stay home from work, etc., etc. The doctor suggested that I take off about a month before my due date but wasn't super firm about it. Since I am the "money source" in our little household, Mark and I have decided that I'll stick it out as long as I can...up to a week before my induce date or delivery date if we decide to let the sprout come out when he wants (we're still leaning toward his coming out sooner rather than later). And, we've decided that I'm just going to have to suck it up and go back to work in probably August so that we don't have to worry about how we're going to pay our bills and such. Luckily, it will only be for three days a week (maybe more since I've seen Mark's schedule and am going to see if they would be open to my coming in all five days but for only 4 or 5 hours each day). We're hoping to arrange the schedule such that our little bundle of joy will be watched by either mommy or daddy rather than a day care provider...partially because the day care thing will practically negate the positive cash flow we estimate my going back to work would provide. These things are always so tricky!

Aside from the OB update, a friend of mine sent us a nifty little site this week: http://howmanyofme.com/ where you can see how many people in the US share your name. Now, they don't go on symantics so I'm going to say there is only one of me (thanks to that capital L) though in total there are 14 Melissa Roccos....still pretty unique. There are also 28 Mark Roccos. The most interesting statistic for those trying to figure out what we've named the sprout, though, is that he is quite unique as well as there are only 8 other people in the US with his first and last name. What could they be? You're getting closer to finding out every day! :)

Other than that, the week was pretty quiet until today. We did do a little experiment allergy-wise with baked potatoes for dinner one night. Oh, they were sooo good may I say and it seems that my water helped keep them from causing too many issues. The tricky part is that potatoes never really caused a huge reaction as I remember so I'm still kind of wondering (especially since we had some again last night in celebration of St. Patty's Day and I forgot to ever take the water). I do have to admit that I've snuck a few little bits of things that have eggs and flour in them and they've done okay after a dose of voodoo water, though, so maybe we're onto something.

So, aside from that, we have today. Mark is still in the midst of his Part III Chiropractic Board Exams. They started WAY too early this morning at 6:45. Yikes! And, here's where the excitement comes in as well. I got up a bit before we needed to leave to take him over to the school and did some email checking while he wrapped up all he needed to do with himself to be presentable (which isn't much, I assure you...he's pretty low maintenance as most guys are). Once he was ready to go, I, in my most graceful (he he!) way got up out of my chair and headed toward my keys, purse, etc. Before I made it very far, though, something happened and I sort of tipped over, stumbled and ended up on the floor surrounded by several papers from the coffee table. I'm fine...I managed to land on my right hip and elbow so that's a little sore and a I have a few achy muscles here and there, but I don't have a scratch. Nevertheless, it was a bit of a surprise and a little scary after a bit. Luckily, I know that little sprout has one of the best shock-absorbing spaces one could wish for. So, there you go...there's our excitement for the week.

I did take a quick break to go get Mark from his test before finishing up that last paragraph. He thinks he did okay on it. I guess we'll find out in a month or so...stay posted and have a great week!

Rollin' Along...

2007-03-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Not a lot happened this week that is really worth mentioning. We do have our next OB visit on Monday (the first of the every two week drills) so perhaps that will spice things up a little. I sure do miss the days when I knew an appointment meant I'd have some new pictures to post at least. :)

As far as what excitement has occurred, we have created a new website for our dear little sprout at a site called Totsites. We've decided that with all the weirdos lurking on the internet we'd prefer to post pictures and intimate details of our little guy's progress on a password protected medium and this site is just perfect for that. We currently have some "fun facts" up about our pregnancy and a couple of journal entries - the first commemorating only 75 days to go until he arrives - can you believe it? We even have a little poll going on to see what people think about our inducing labor so that we can have the baby before Mark's all-important last set of chiropractic exams. Isn't that just fun? If you would like to be invited to see our little sprout's spot, drop me a line via email (I think there is a link to my email in our profile).

In other baby (what else!?!) news, we received his car seat and stroller last night. Yea. I even put them together as we enjoyed Rocky IV...something, believe it or not, I had not yet seen. Mark was amazed. This is the one where he fights the Russian dude. It was a pretty good movie. At any rate, the stroller is together and we know how to lock the infant seat into it to create a nice little baby carriage. I think baby will be quite cozy in there.

In mommy news, I am having even more "fun" symptoms to deal with as time progresses. I'll try not to complain too much, but allow me a bit of a whine, won't you? Among the most troubling are the mood swings (which have been magnified this week by a number of encounters with a particularly stressful client at work and a couple other people) - I'm doing my best to cope, but I have to say I kind of miss those 2nd trimester days when I seemed to be a little less "on edge" about things. On a more physical note, I've been being very good with my excercise program - I usually get out and walk at least 5 days a week...hopefully this will be helpful once we make it to the delivery room. Unfortunately, I'm also experiencing a lot of achies (especially when it comes to my back and legs) and now, joy of joys, I've noticed that my ankles are starting to swell. *sigh* Cankles...they're coming my way. The bright side (?) of this is, I guess, that now I have an imperative to come home at night and put my feet up. This could be challenging since I always feel like I have "so much to do" and not enough time to do it. I'll manage, though!

The only other thing we've done this week is "almost" signed up for our cord blood banking for the baby. I need to make a phone call to finish up the process on Monday and then we'll be good to go.

Oh When the Saints....

2007-03-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

It's March! Crazy wacky stuff...and the reason for the post title. I couldn't quickly think of anything else that had "march" somewhere within it phrase wise. I love that tune though, so it's workin' for me. Just like the song, I'm feeling kind of peppy (and yet still exhausted...not quite sure how that works, but I'll go with it)!

So it has been a bit since I made it over here to post...that means we have a lot of catching up to do! Shall we get started?

First up is a big shout out and congratulations to my buddy Christina who just had a bouncing baby boy of her own. Little baby Timothy is a doll folks...but then, I adore his mommy so I'm a wee bit predjudiced toward him. :) At any rate, I can tell those of you who are wondering, if you were...and as I was, that Christina's baby name is not the same as the one we picked out for the sprout. There I've narrowed it down for you - his name isn't Timothy and it isn't Aaron either (which is Master Tim's middle name just so you're not lost here).

With our congratulatory wishes out of the way, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

And, of course, we'll just go chronologically since it seems to be the easiest and most efficient way. Thus, we begin with a follow-up from my last post. I don't think I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. I'm not sure what I was having but the doctor said he wasn't worried and so I stopped worrying about them. I still have them periodically and I can't say that I'm terribly thrilled, but maybe they're helping me raise my pain threshhold so I guess we'll deal! I still plan to mention them again to the doctor cuz even though I say I'm not worried, I am a little....you knew that already, I'm sure. ;)

On the allergy front, we had some excitement this week. I had a bit of a rash for most of it. Actually, it's just finally seeming to clear today (finally!). We're not completely sure what caused it though we have our suspicions. Mark thinks it's the lotions his parents brought this Christmas for me to use because they have dyes in them and he's convinced I'm allergic to dyes. I'm not convinced of this at all but I did stop using them. I will probably try to use them again at some point to see if they were actually the cause. My theory is that it was due to the "voodoo" water.

I can't remember if I told you about the "voodoo" water or not. Basically it is distilled water that one of Mark's teachers jazzed up for me using a little Rife machine which puts electrical impulses into the water and has been known to help people conquer their allergies. Since it didn't cost anything, couldn't be harmful to baby and couldn't hurt we're giving it a try. My reasoning for why this might be the culprit is that the rash started a couple of days after I started drinking the water and I'm thinking maybe my body was going through a little bit of a detox process or something. We shall see. We haven't tried any allergy foods yet, but I'm hopeful that when I get the courage up to eat that potato that we bought last week you won't be hearing me gripe about how yet another attempt didn't work. Keep your fingers crossed. :)

Other than that, the majority of the interesting stuff I have to speak of here happened today (with the exception maybe of the Mr. Potato Head bunny that I bought the other day - too cute!). Today was eventful, I guess you could say. I didn't have to go to work....always a plus. Mark did have a seminar to go to for his extra neurology degree he's working toward (little overachiever that he is!), but I had nothing. And, so....I slept in until I couldn't any longer. I have found that about 9:30 a.m. is my absolute max regardless of how tired I am and regardless of when I went to bed because that is when my little body says "FEED ME NOW." Arguing and trying to ignore it doesn't seem to do much good so I give in. Pixie prefers this since it means she gets fed, too. :)

At any rate, after enjoying a few extra moments in the bed, I got up, made an extraordinarily gourmet breakfast of....wait for it....Cocoa Pebbles and decided to have a gander at the computer. I have finished the Baby Bargains book that Mark and I bought to help us with choosing baby gear and the like and just wanted to do a little surfing to see about diaper bags and a few other little choice items we want that the book gave some tips on. Ultimately, I decided that we're going to follow the book's advice and go with Lands End's diaper bag offerings...they have two - one's full size and one's smaller for everyday type trips out and I think we'll get one of each. Then I have to decide if I'm going to be silly and get a third one just because it has cute little jumping frogs on it. It looks like the perfect bag to go to the beach...to help me decide on my frivolous desire, I've ordered a swatch of the fabric (for free - love Lands End!) as well as swatches of the colors I'm contemplating for the "normal" diaper bags. It will be like Christmas finding such fun things in my mail box...okay, yeah, maybe this isn't exciting for you, but well, I've never been accused of being difficult to amuse/please. ;)

I also had a look at shopping cart cover options. The book basically said that it receives tons of "this thing is junk" regarding the shopping cart cover we were planning to get from Babies R Us. And, you know, I'm sooo glad that I went and looked at the other options it mentioned. There is one site which has the CUTEST (ever! really!) fabric with baby sea turtles on it. I am in love. And, the cost is only about $10 more than what we were going to spend at BRU....and it's hand made with lots of quilting and even a little pillow. Soooo cute. If you want to check it out, have a look here. I also love the turtles and starfish option on the "unisex" page. :)

My final little find was the Mother's Mate Milk storage system which the book mentioned and which you can see here. I think this is the way we're going to go if I ever need to pump milk for work or whatever. I really like the idea of just pumping into the bottles and then feeding from them....and it's so reasonable from a cost standpoint especially since it works with the two brands of pumps that I'm considering (Medela and Ameda - both highly recommended).

I think that is all of what I researched today....I looked at a ton of stuff. Oh, I guess I did look at our stroller and infant carrier choice again. Believe it or not, I think this is the last time you'll have to read this. :) We finally bought them today...because for some odd reason, I went and looked for them at Target.com and found them and that the site was offering free shipping on two or more baby gear items. Since I also had a 10% off coupon for Target and since both the stroller and the car seat are items that can be returned to the store, we decided to jump on the deal...how could we resist when with tax the total was less than the pre-tax price of these items at Babies R Us? So, yes, we've ultimately decided on Peg Perego's Primo Viaggio infant seat and Centro stroller. And, they should be arriving in a couple of weeks - yea!

Before we bought them, we decided to go to BRU and just "kick the tires" at least one more time on the stroller. We're shelling out a pretty penny for this little puppy...and we want to be sure that it is exactly what we want. After what was probably a ton of amusement for the passers-by at BRU as they watched us try to decipher how exactly one folds and then (more importantly) reopens the stroller, we finally became pros and decided that this was indeed a stroller that we would like. Part of the impetus for us going to BRU was that we had a bunch of coupons for gear and what not from there that expired today. They were, unfortunately, out of a few things that we wanted, but we still came out pretty nicely. We are now the proud owners of a Baby Bjorn carrier...midnight blue with red edging...very cute and comfy (unlike the active model which had just waaaay too many straps and felt more like a straight jacket to me - Mark of course preferred this one, but knew since I was fighting to get it on and off that it wouldn't be used by me!). I can't wait to carry baby around in it. We got a couple of other things, too, but those were the big buys of the day. And, now, we pretty much have all the expensive stuff purchased - all that is left on the hefty price tag items is a mattress, a breast pump and in the future a convertible car seat. Coolie.

So there you have it - another issue of "How the Rock Turns" or something like that. :) The only thing left to say is that I've totally found the best treat today. If you can find coconut sorbet (Sharon's is the brand I buy at Trader Joe's), drizzle a little (don't go nuts or you'll only taste chocolate) chocolate syrup on it and enjoy...if you're a fan of Mounds candy bars, you'll be in heaven. Like Almond Joy's better, add some toasted almond pieces...yum!

I hope you all have a wonderful week...

OB Update...

2007-02-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

So we had our first third trimester visit today. I still am in shock that we're in the third...why is it that time flies like crazy when you're an adult and crawls when you're a kid? Anyhoo...

Everything seems to be going well. We have "graduated" to every two weeks visits again so that should be fun to fit in with my increased hours at work. I've been pulling about 52 to 53 a week lately which is pretty good given that I wasn't sure I could even pull 50 off! The only problem is that I have a very bad habit of not stretching and going on my walks like I should, but given the fact that the whole labor process is looming before me, I am committing myself once more to not being a slug. I must get myself into better than good shape by the time my "marathon," as Mark calls it, comes. I want quick and speedy...or as quick and speedy as I can get!

So, the plan is that Mark and I will start getting ourselves up a bit earlier (like 15 minutes) to do some body weight bearing excercises in the morning and then I will go on at least a half hour (and preferably an hour) walk every day for the next however many days until it's time to greet our little sonshine. :)

I discussed my whole trepidation with Mark's test being right around when I'm supposed to deliver and the doctor said he would be fine with inducing me a few days to a week before our scheduled due date. We're going to talk about that one. It sounds like it isn't a bad process these days. They basically just give you a little something "up there" that dissolves your cervix and then nature takes over. If it doesn't do the trick, you aren't stuck at the hospital forever since they don't break your water and what have you.

And, in the spirit of labor and delivery, I am experiencing my first real bout of Braxton Hicks contractions today. To put it mildly, they aren't much fun...and I'm ready for them to be over after about 3 hours of this. I can honestly say that I've had worse cramps due to another natural process, but these, even though I know they're normal and just my body's way of practicing, have the added effect of making me nervous because, well, it's too early for the sprout to come out. I'm just trying to take it easy and wait for them to subside...feel free to subside anytime now...

Let's see, other than that, Mark has been looking into chiropractic practices to either join or purchase or something. He's found a few, but mainly in Denver. I have to admit that I'm just not a big fan of Denver as a place to live (no offense, Jenny). It's just waaaaaay too big for the small town girl in me (I know, I know...like Colorado Springs is small, but it feels small due to the way it's laid out, I guess). I could probably handle something in the "outskirts" toward the south like Highlands Ranch or Cenntenial or something, but anything much further in and I'm not so sure it wouldn't be something to make me growl. Of course, the alternative he came up with to go to a practice Burlington isn't much better...more for him than me. I lived on the Eastern Plains for the first 2/3 of my life...I'm cool with prairie and not much going on. My dear Mark, though, goes through torture every time we visit my home town and so I can definitively say that one isn't going to happen. I'm glad he's looking now...hopefully he'll find something that will work before we move back.

And, I guess that is it for tonight. I just wanted to let you all in on what we learned today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

The Home Stretch...

2007-02-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Huh. Well, would you look at that...27 weeks gone by, 91 days to go...where has the time gone? It really seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was dealing with feeling awful and yet being so happy to feel awful. I think only pregnancy can make a person enjoy being sick. And, yet here I am in trimester #3 looking at a little more than 3 months until I will be holding a bouncing baby boy in my arms. Whoa. This is heavy...

I will admit I am a wee bit nervous about being a mom. I inherently know I'll do fine, but I do have those moments when I think about how I really don't feel old enough to be a mom. I'm not sure I can explain that, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had that feeling. And, then, of course, there are the musings running through my mind about how I'm going to manage to get everything I already need to do with the increase in responsibility that comes with a new little baby and then a toddler and then a young child...you get the idea. No doubt I'll find a way...I always seem to manage somehow, but it is a little scary to think about. I think part of the pressure comes from knowing that I will be responsible for raising a responsible adult...a contributing member to society. That is the ultimate goal of child rearing as I see it and it's one heck of a responsibility to have and there are countless examples of how even the best of intentions can fail at producing a good end result. No pressure...

So now that you're in the know about the things running through my psyche with respect to baby, how about a little update on the past week? To be honest, there isn't much to relay that's exciting. First up - Mark is one step closer to graduating! He passed his clinic mids. One more test down. Now all he has to do is get enough adjustments to take his clinic exit exam. And, of course those two big board exams which are approaching...

Of course, there always has to be uncertainty to make things more interesting and we have some with respect to Mark's last board exam. Guess when it is? May 18, 19, and 20....the weekend before the sprout is due to join us. He assures me he'll not miss our son's birth, but we're both hoping that sprout will be patient and be maybe a bit late. :)

Otherwise, I had my second (though much shorter, thankfully) bout of stomach flu, bought more baby clothes at rock bottom prices and felt pretty spiffy. :) I also bought us a little s'mores making set when I returned the maternity clothes I didn't like from JC Penney. It was 75% off and I thought it would be a good alternative to our typical marshmallow roasting ritual which involves the fireplace...something I just don't really want to pass along as a good idea to the sprout. Fireplaces and little fingers are not a good match if you ask me!

And, that is about it. I pretty much spend most of my time doing taxes. I am actually enjoying it. I'm even contemplating ditching the wedding business to go back to my original plan in college of doing taxes out of our home or maybe doing bookkeeping....we shall see what transpires. If nothing else, it's going to be a heck of a lot easier to get business and make money with an accounting gig...and if I'm doing it on my schedule it might be quite enjoyable indeed.

So that's it for tonight. I'm finally feeling a bit hungry and am going to go partake of a little dinner that Mark made. I hope you all have a fabulous week!

One Hundred Days?!?

2007-02-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! That counter over there on the side bar says that it's only 100 more days until Baby Rocco, the Sprout, the Sweet Pea, Rocky, ********, will be here! (How you like them stars? I'm just sort of taunting you now, aren't I?). It's pretty hard to believe that we're so far along here...

That said it has been a somewhat eventful week here in Roccoland. We started our progress off last week with our usual trip to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. This has become tradition with us...and it's a good one on several levels. It's healthy (well, for the most part if you don't count the whole ice cream fest at the end of the meal), it isn't terribly expensive and it helps keep me feeling fine on several levels. During this particular lunch we actually accomplished something aside from feeding our faces, though. It is decided...the baby has a first name. Go us! :) Of course, I don't actually plan to tell you what it is until he is here with us, but at least you can rest easy that he won't be signing his checks as "The Sprout" when he's 30-something...and hating us every minute of every day. ;)

As for the middle name, we're still contemplating. We have four names that we like. Two of which seem to be the front runners since Mark technically gets more weight when it comes to choosing this one since it will be of Hawaiian origin. I like one of the names better than the other, buuuuuut I have a hang up with the one name we both kind of like...I don't particularly like writing the first letter of this name. Yep, you've contemplated it for some time and now you know it to be true...I'm a wee bit eccentric. :) I have a feeling that the favorite name will win out despite my "issues" since in all honesty the most frequent use of our little one's middle name will be the whole you are so in trouble first, middle and last name at once use. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about...more to come on the name game when we have made more progress.

Another thing we accomplished this week was that we ordered the sprout's crib. We decided ultimately to go with an inexpensive but highly rated model (per our Baby Bargains book which is based upon parent reviews primarily). We ordered it from Sears because we figured that the extra money we'd spend to get it from there was worth the time and money we'd save if we needed to return it. since we could return it to the store. I have sent Sear's a little email to see if maybe we can get a little money back as a result of their price matching policy since we could have ordered it cheaper from Target (but no in store returns there). It's a simple crib in white which does, I believe, convert to a day bed. Now we just have to get a mattress and maybe some bedding...

Speaking of bedding, I do really like the set I found, but I am mulling whether we'll actually go that route. I go through stages. Sometimes it seems a little more logical and financially savvy to just buy separates in solid colors. I guess we'll see where we ultimately go.

We've hit another milestone with respect to my whole pregnancy experience as well....I have a cold. Thankfully, it seems to be rather mild and the ear ache that I was having yesterday seems to have been abated, but nevertheless, I have one. It seems that every pregnant woman I've know or know has had a cold at some point during their pregnancy so I guess it's just one of those rights of passage. I just hope mine stays manageable since most colds I've had result in my hacking and coughing the night away until the doctor dopes me up with codeine cough syrup...which isn't really an option right now.

The last development for the week in the world of baby madness is that my office threw a lovely baby shower for me. I was very appreciative since I wasn't sure I'd really have one otherwise. They gave us some great gifts including a nice china setting made especially for kids for special occasions. It has a luncheon sized plate, a bowl and a little cup with a barn yard animal theme...so terribly cute. We also were given the full set of Beatrix Potter books that came out recently and that I thought were so awesome when I saw them on Martha Stewart's show. I'm sure the sprout, daddy and I will all have a blast reading these cute stories. The two partners in my firm pitched in for a nice Babies R Us gift card and my supervisor and a co-worker picked up some great necessities at Target for us including an adorable layette set that I can't wait to put baby in. :) One final gift came from an intern at our office whom I've given a ride home to a couple of times. It is the cutest little outfit with a pair of pants and a zip-up cardigan. I love it. I definitely appreciate how sweet they were to me!

In non-baby news, tax season is going well for me and school seems to be going well for Mark. I've already worked about 20 hours worth of overtime. I have opted to bank my first 80 hours so that if I return to work I'll have some time off for if baby's sick or what have you. I, of course, would prefer not to return to work, but I don't want to close any doors so I'm keeping my options open on that one. I just may see if we can go down to 2 days per week...

And, that is about it for us. I hope you all enjoy a great week!

The Week in Review

2007-02-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

So this week's activities can be summed up in a few words/phrases - shopping, baby shopping, pizza eating and, of course, taxes. We'll even throw a little wedding in there for you just to spice things up. So, yeah, in general, not a very exciting week per se in the lives of "normal" people, but since when have Mark and I ever fit that category? Don't answer that. ;)

So, because all girls love shopping (well, okay, I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan unless I have something I'm trying to find), we'll begin there. I bought more maternity clothes this week. Because the whole tax thing pretty much saps all my time, I did it online at Penney's. I'm usually not a big fan of ordering things off the internet, but I've usually had good luck with Penney's catalog and online offerings and they make it easy to give things back if they don't work for you so I figured it was a good place to go to see if they had anything I'd like at a price that I'd like because afterall I'd rather spend more money on the sprout (or Rocky as my mother has recently taken to calling him since we're still not spilling the beans on the little tyke's name...which we technically can't because we haven't officially decided, but there is a front runner).

At any rate, all the name stuff aside, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they have a pretty decent sale going on, they had some pretty cute looking stuff that was on sale. And, not only that, but I happened upon a page where I found a coupon for 25% off...and wouldn't you know a lot of things I ordered actually qualified for it. I think I figured out that I saved about $175 with the selections I made. Another reason I chose Penneys was my height. I wanted to invest in talls size clothing since as my little guy grows, my typical buy a size up and they'll ride lower and look longer method doesn't seem to work so well...my hips are somewhat altered. :) Oh, and lest I neglect to mention it, the impetus for my going shopping was that I've had two pairs of maternity pants sustain "injuries" which I simply do not have the time nor motivation to deal with and another pair has just become downright uncomofortable at this point because I'm not into even remotely "hugging" pants right now. So, I'm kind of down to about 3 pairs of pants that I actually can/will wear. Not so good...and a bit of a pain when it comes to doing laundry.

Anyhoo...I'm on a tangent roll today, but I bought 6 pairs of pants (2 each of 3 different types in my current size and a size larger in case I outgrow my current offerings which definitely isn't the plan, but you never know), 6 camisole tops (which I needed because my regular ones are starting to not fit so good at all), 2 cute sweater cardigans and some pantyhose that should, I hope, fit me even as I continue to grow so that I can wear some of the cute maternity skirts and dresses I bought. I've never been able to get out of the pantyhose wearing thing. I can't stand it when my shoes stick to my feet... So, that was the shopping for me.

As far as shopping for the sprout, I spent a good chunk of time yesterday (because at the last minute it was determined that there wasn't enough work for me to bother coming into the office - yea!) looking at bedding sets. I have finally found the one I think we'll go with. Here's a sneak peek:

It's called "Bubbles" and is made by Lambs and Ivy. We've both been going a bit gaga over sea-themed items and this bedding set is the cutest - not too girly, lots of colors to play upon and lots of neat little accessories to add to the mix. The only regret I have? That I don't really have a nursery to set up. Baby will be staying with us in our room. In a way, I guess it is a good thing since it will keep me from going to crazy buying stuff to decorate with...curbing the whole nesting thing is probably not a bad thing in its entirety. ;)

Other than this shopping, I have been checking out some clothing sites that a book we bought called Baby Bargains suggested. I found a couple that seem to have excellent merchandise at pretty affordable prices and I also found the cutest baby shoes that won't cause any problems with baby's feet since they're soft leather. Perhaps I'll post a picture of some of the ones I like at a later date.

And, then there's the pizza experience which I know has you all on the edge of your seats if you've been following my allergy journey at all. I think, my dear friends and family, my exile from the land of pizza is over. We tried the crust mix that I purchased from the Gluten Free Mall place and it worked fabulously...well, other than the fact that I didn't grease the pan enough and was sort of chiseling off the pieces last night. Hee hee...that amused Mark immensely and scared the cat to death! I'll be a little more careful next time I imagine! So, yes, I can have my pizza and eat it too without feeling like I have been hit by a mack truck afterward. This is defintiely a good thing...especially since pizza cravings have been running rampant as of late...I better go order some more crusts!

As for the other foods I purchased from the mall, we've had some great ones and we've had some duds. A caramel apple snack bar I got to try was in the pretty darn near a dud category...it's texture, it's flavor, etc...just not something I would get excited about. The worst so far has been the shortbread cookies I tried. I've decided that maybe if I crushed them up and made a pie crust out of them or something of the sort, they would be more palatable. The two winners so far have been the snickerdoodle cookies I bought which have a little weird texture but taste fabulous and the boxed macaroni and cheese stuff. I had that for lunch yesterday and was totally psyched that it only took 3 minutes to cook the pasta...well, I think it took 4 to get it to where I wanted it, but still...less than 5 minutes and you have mac 'n cheese. It was pretty tasty, too...all things considered (meaning you don't really expect gourmet mac 'n cheese out of a box, but then if I wanted gourmet, I would have made it from scratch!).

And, now, finally the wedding thing. I got a call at work on Friday about coordination. I seriously don't think the lady will email me as I suggested a location to meet on Tuesday. She could surprise me, but I just don't see it happening. I was so totally not in a customer service mindset...but that's because I was in the middle of a tax return and that tends to turn me into a drone. Whatever. At any rate, it was exciting since it was the first call I've received from someone based upon one of the print ads I paid for. So there you go. :)

And, with that,I think I will go jump in the shower (I've been taking it easy this morning) because my dear Mark and I are going to go to lunch, I think, this afternoon and then maybe we'll go see a movie...we'll see on this last one. Lunch will be our weekly Sweet Tomatoes run and I'm naturally looking quite forward to it. There's nothing like a big plate of salad followed by a big dish of ice cream with strawberry and caramel sauce to make you a happy pregnant lady. ;)

Hope you all have a great week!

Buddah Shots

2007-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

So to begin today's post, I have a little equation for you:

Tax Job + Pregnant = No Time/Energy to Post :)

This pretty much sums up why I've not made a sound for two weeks now and why you probably won't hear too much from me until after April 17...especially since this is my last Saturday when I am not required to be in the office. Not a lot has actually gone on during that time, but we'll give you an update on the high and perhaps low points anyhow. We'll start with the pregnancy-related stuff.

First thing's first, we have an extremely active little boy...or perhaps fish swimming around in that belly of mine. It's quite amusing when he really gets going which, from what I've noticed is about mid-morning, mid-afternoon and then shortly before I call it a night and head to bed. I'm sure he's active during the night time at some point, but since I'm sleeping and he's not yet quite big enough to wake me up with his baby gymnastics moves, I can't tell you for sure. I read somewhere that the baby's activity in the womb is an indicator of what you'll be dealing with when he's outside of it. If so, I'm going to be one busy little beaver of a mommy which is good since I can't think of any better way to pass the time. ;)

In addition to enjoying knowing there is a little being in there and that I'm not just indulging a bit too much in twinkies (which honestly I haven't had a one of, but man would I like to!), I have had the pleasure of experiencing two other pregnancy joys - the nose bleed and the soppy sneeze . They're both a little annerving. If you're a woman and you've been pregnant (or if you're not), I'll let you figur out the sneezing thing as I don't really feel like spelling it out for you. As for the nose bleed, it was a little annerving.

Thankfully, I've been doing my homework re this whole process and I didn't freak out about it, but that feeling of something trickling just isn't one I enjoy. We have since mitigated the problem for the most part by investing in a pretty decent humidifier which we run in the couple of hours before bedtime in the bedroom (I'd never get to sleep if we ran it all night) and which follows me out to the living area during the weekend. Since I haven't had an incidence since last weekend before we brought the humidifier out to the living room, I think we've nipped it in the bud! Oh, and I seemed to have nipped the other problem as well after some advice from some friends regarding how to manage it. :)

On Monday of this week, I had my last (because I passed!) test for this little pregnancy experience. I took my one hour glucose tolerance test to see if I had devleoped gestational diabetes. I'm happy to say that I am perfectly fine and that my doctor has let us know that since I passed all my tests, I'm cleared to have the baby. What a relief...I don't think he's going to want to stay in there forever (and I don't think I want him to either!). At any rate, the test was kind of amusing since I really am not much of a sugar junkie anymore (I still love sugary foods, but I try to go easy on them). I drank that syrupy orange otter pop tasting drink and within a few minutes felt like I could easily bounce off the walls. I wasn't the only one...you would have thought there was a pinball game going on down in my belly. It was pretty funny to feel the baby's first huge sugar rush...especially since he couldn't get into too much trouble given his location! ;)

I did have my monthly check up on Thursday and that went well. The little sprout made thing easy for the doctor to check his heart beat and we had a few questions answered...including one regarding cord blood. We've been planning on saving our baby's umbilical cord blood, but I just really wanted another perspective from someone who I figured actually knew about it. Now I am feeling that this is definitely something we should do.

In non-pregnancy news, I have started posting recipes to our recipe group again in response to the whole computer dying thing. I was fortunate to have a rather old backup of some Mastercook recipe books I had of our family recipes and such and I've printed out a lot of the recipes I enjoy as I go along. So, if you're looking for something to eat, or if you have something yummy you think others would enjoy eating, sign up using the button at the bottom of the lefthand side bar over there. We'd love to have you! :)

In other computing news, I'm happy to report that the geeks at Best Buy have had success with my computer's hard disk recovery. That means I didn't lose all my business files, my pictures, my financial data, etc. afterall. *PHEW* The whole thing scared me enough that I ponied up for an external hard drive for them to put all my stuff on, though...now I won't have an excuse to not backup my important things periodically. It's going to set me back about $600 for the whole process, but it is so worth it and given my next topic, I'm not out too much money in a net instance.

With regard to that I have solved an issue that was plaguing me a little bit - I finally got a hold of the bridal fair people and am getting at least part of my money back for the bridal faire I just don't really want to participate in...especially since I can't really do much as far as setting up wedding clients anyhow. I'm not even sure if I will continue with that business. We've actually been talking about me maybe (and for those of you who know me very well...especially those of you who've worked with me and have enjoyed one of my "diva" moments with regard to this subject!) taking up a little bookkeeping once the baby is here to earn a little extra money and still be able to stay home. From working at my current firm, I can totally see how my offering such a service at a reasonable rate (TBD but not less than my hourly rate at my current job) would benefit a lot of people and, in the long run, save them money. The overhead costs shouldn't be too much and finding clients should be somewhat simple given my contacts with other CPAs. So, we'll see what we do with that.

One last little tidbit that I'm excited about as far as this week goes is that I ordered a bunch of goodies that I found that I'm not allergic to! I found them at the gluten free mall online and I can't wait until they arrive. There's a cake mix, cookie mixes, boxed mac 'n cheese (don't laugh...if you can't have it starts sounding really good!), already baked cookies, snack bars and even cornbread and pizza crust mixes. It should be fun to try them all out and see which ones will become favorites in our house!

And now, as a little surprise for some of you and to fulfill requests made by others, the section of the post which was alluded to by the post's title. For those who know Mark and I in "real life," my belly and sometimes the belly/baby combo are referred to as "the Buddah" and I have been documenting its progress as time goes on. I have some 'issues' with putting pictures of one of the parts of my body I'm not usually comfortable with on the internet, but just this once (and maybe from this point on as we continue to grow and get closer to our due date) I thought I'd give you a peek at my belly and how it's developed.

I am actually kind of amazed looking back at these pictures just how big I've gotten. Here I was just yesterday telling a buddy of mine that I look like I've just indulged in a few too many twinkies (yes, it is one of my favorite lines), but um, after looking at these shots, I'm thinking maybe I've moved past the a few to an entire warehouse full. My goodness! At any rate, give me a little slack with these because I took them, in most cases either early in the morning when getting ready for work (yes, you get to see some of my cutie maternity clothes!) or after I'd gottne dressed on Saturday and Sunday mornings after showering. So my hair isn't gorgeous, I rarely have makeup on and I may look a little scary...maybe it's a good thing for once that you'll be focusing on my belly. ;)

Without further ado...my preggie-morphosis:

The first shot I currently have is from November 11 when I was 12 weeks along. I may have an earlier one, but it is currently with the Best Buy folks...

And, here's another from 11/12:

Here's one from my birhday (12/1 - as you remember I was recovering from sickies and yet it's one of my better pictures):

Here's one from 12/8:

And, one from 12/15 (around week 17 I think):

Here's the one opportunity the world will have to see my belly sans clothing (also from 12/15):

Here's a pic from 12/26:

And, one from January 4 (week 20 - the halfway point!):

Another from 1/12 (week 21):

Yet another from 1/24 (earlier this week - week 23):

And last but not least...here's what I look like as of today! :)

and a front view just because I don't have any others really.

Hopefully I don't look too ghastly in those photos up ther but at least you can see that I'm defintiely pregnant. You can also see that I have a knack for dressing in the same clothing to take pictures and that for the most part, my maternity clothes (at least I hope) do not scream - I'M HAVING A BABY to the world which was rather important to me when I picked them out cuz I like a few of them enough that I probably will keep them in the wardrobe even after I'm not. But who knows, I still have several weeks to wear those and only those clothes and I may be just plain old sick and tired of them by the end of this adventure!

I hope you all have a nice week or two - I'll try to get back to post as soon as I am able. Until then, the little sprout sends a couple of kicks out to all of you (seriously...he just did!). :)

Nine Days...

2007-01-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

As opposed to nine months of course. I'm actually, if you're counting about ready to move into week 22 of my little experience with pregnancy. The past couple of weeks haven't been too awful on that front. My biggest complaint is that I'm just so darn tired so often.

At any rate, this has been quite the whirlwind of a week plus to be sure. Lots and lots of things are going on....some wonderfully pleasant and others, well, not so much. I guess that's just life, though, huh?

So, first up, I don't think I mentioned in my last post that my dreams of an office to myself were crushed. It totally stunk finding out that I was going to be put in a cubicle while a younger person who was promoted to senior auditor shortly after I started but who's been with the company longer would be getting the office that I'd been told would probably be mine. It was a bummer especially since the audit staff is out of the office so much, but whatever. I was able, at least, to talk them into letting me stay where I am so I am still sharing an office with another lady who is nice but gets on my nerves often...at least it's only for a few more months.

Tax season is upon us and my work load has increased quite a bit which means I'll definitely not be posting super regularly, but I'm still shooting for once a week here if there is something worth posting about. We have an "issue" with doing our taxes currently which just isn't fun at all either (I'm trying to get all the "bad" news out first so we can dwell more on good news later!). That would be that my computer has died. My hard disk is fried and so now I have signed my life away - or at least up to $1600 (no, I didn't back it up....I was in the process believe it or not when the stupid thing finally said it gave up) to send said hard disk to a restoration company that will hopefully rescue countless pictures of importance (thankfully most of our pictures through 2005 are on a disk somewhere), family recipes (though this is suspect because I'm not sure exactly where I put these for storage and I have a funny feeling they're going to be missed - sigh - glad a lot of them got posted to our recipe exchange site), every business file I ever created for my wedding business and most importantly, our financial data (!) for the past couple/few years. This alone is worth that $1600 price tag...and more. The thought of having to recreate those records makes me shudder. I think maybe I'll back my computer up a little more often once I get it back. That is a bit of good news - we did have a service plan so the dead hard disk will be replaced free of charge.

So, I think that about covers all the not-so-pleasant items on the docket...let's move on shall we?

Mark's parents came for their "parting" visit on Friday, Jan. 5. It was nice to have them around again. His dad busied himself with various minor repairs around the house which seem to have been successful with the exception of the caulking which I redid yesterday since a good portion of it had come off...probably because we needed to use the shower prior to the 36 hour period you're supposed to wait was up. My "redo" isn't nearly as nice as his job was since I've never done it before, but it looks "good enough" as Mark would say and it's getting it's 36 hours of dry time since we had notice of it so it should be fine (though I'm cringing today that I can't get a shower in...grr!).

The rest of us did a lot of galavanting (per Mark's terminology) last weekend including visiting Babies R Us to finish up our registry which we're thrilled to have done because now we know what it is that we want for our little guy. The simple knowledge that we don't have to pour over strollers and car seats and what have you anymore makes me one happy camper. The tricky part now is that we just have to start buying the stuff....we figure we'll do a little at a time.

And, I've already started! I actually bought baby's first article of clothing this past week at Old Navy. They had the cutest little sleeper with owls and mushrooms (why these go together I'm not sure in case you wonder as Mark did) that I picked up for around $4. I also had another little whirl at baby clothes shopping at Babies R Us this past Friday where they had a lot on clearance with an additional 30% off. I found about 10 pieces (most are separate tops and bottoms since Pat (Mark's mom) clued me into the fact that separate tops and bottoms mean quicker diaper changes. I spent a little over $40 so I am feeling pretty psyched about the experience. Most of the clothes I bought are for when the sprout is a bit older (in 3/6 mo. and 6/9 mo.). We kind of have a feeling our little guy is going to waste no time growing and so we're not planning to invest in a lot of newborn clothing...

In addition to finishing up the registry, we also went to a store called Lullabye Lane and found a crib that we really like. It's made by a company called Munire who comes highly recommended and converts into a toddler bed and a full size bed when the time comes. We are still contemplating whether or not we want to wait to get it until after we move just so it doesn't get banged up in the process.

In other furniture news, we actually have purchased a dresser for baby! We found one at Ikea last night (after Mark's neurology class which was nearby) for $59...on sale from $150. It is pine (an easily dinged and damaged wood) so we may not keep it forever but we couldn't pass it up the great deal especially given the fact that this chest of drawers has a fold out changing table on top of it. It is basically perfect. We were glad we found it, but if not, there was a suitable $30 changing cart that we were going to get to make due with. So now I have something to put together....

And, let's see, it's sort of related to furniture so for those of you who know about the Consumer Reports car seat study, we have done our homework and will be getting a seat that passed the tests. We originally had chosen the Graco Safe Seat which we were going to combine with a little stroller attachment to use until the baby outgrew his infant car seat at which time we were planning on moving to a Peg Perrego stroller and a convertible car seat. Since the Peg Perrego car seat seems to have passed the tests as long as safety belts rather than the LATCH system are used to secure it (and we're not even sure our car has the LATCH system) we're just going to go for that seat with the Centro stroller and we'll be just fine.

And, finally, we hit another milestone on Friday with respect to our little one - I felt him move! Since then, I've picked up the weird little feelings of his synchronized swimming moves off and on. He was especially active this morning after my breakfast of oatmeal waffles with blueberry sauce (yum!) - apparently I wasn't the only one who really liked them. ;)

I hope you all have a nice week. I am now off to finish taking down what little bit of Christmas decor I haven't yet while Mark is at his second day of Neurology study stuff (I think I get the better deal here, but he actually enjoys this a lot). I also get to go for groceries, do laundry and try to relax since tomorrow is sure to be a taxing (ha ha ha - CPA humor rears its ugly head!) day. :)

Pictures...Finally!

2007-01-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've been a slacker. I admit it. Well, sort of. I have been kind of busy but I could have made time to do this before now. I just haven't - hence the slacker moniker. Maybe I'll tell you about what I've been up to (it's really not that exciting to be honest) once I get these pictures posted. :)

Wow...kind of liking the new picture uploading interface here...hopefully things will be a little less problematic. So just as a reminder, these pictures are from our visit to the ultrasound specialist doctor on December 20...they're probably the last ones we'll get until we have the little one to show off if I'm guessing correctly. We've been pretty fortunate with all the pictures we've had, though, so we can't really complain. :) Incidentally, I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do as far as posting pictures of the little guy once he's arrived. There are some pretty sick people out there and the thought of them oogling over my baby's pictures kind of creeps me out. I have plenty of time to think about it and let you all know! I'll probably just set up an album on York Photo or something and then have people contact me to get the login info...we shall see. All that aside though - pictures are here!

So, here's the first shot. Baby is right side up here with head to the left. You can sort of make out some facial features. He's cute don't you think?

The "alien shot where you get to see his little face from the front view. His eyes should have moved in closer to his nose by now so he probably looks a lot more normal. :)

Cute little baby feetsies...

And, finally, a face down shot...head is to the left.

So, like I said - not a lot of excitement here over the past week or so. We spent most of our New Years working on a registry at Babies R Us which we're sort of using to help keep track of what it we want to buy as time comes closer for the lovey...or, of course, to give family and friends who are so inclined ideas about what we need. We found a great book that is helping us make wise decisions on things like cribs, etc. so we're probably going to move most of our Target registry over there as well (we've heard they are just not the best if something needs to be returned and just would prefer to avoid that mess!). We'll probably have a few things left there since some of their items don't seem to be sold at BRU. Seriously, that is about all that we have really accomplished...and we only made it through a third of the store. :) I was pretty tired after that and we had to call it a day.

We hope you all had a nice New Years and we wish you many blessings in the coming year!

Christmas Recap...

2006-12-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

It's almost been a week since Christmas (time flies when you're having fun!) so I guess I better get you all updated on how it went! :)

I think it is safe to say we had a very nice Christmas this year...filled with surprises and only the occasional snafu. I had the day off the Friday before and so I started preparing for guests on Christmas Day. Somehow, as is often the case, I forgot we were only having a few people over and prepared enough food for about 20 people. :)

Due to the stormy weather in Denver (which seems to be somewhat reincarnated), we had the pleasure of having Mark's parents come stay and celebrate the holiday with us beginning early Saturday morning. While they were here, we busied ourselves with home improvement projects such as replacing our kitchen sink. It is now quite nice and a big improvement over the original 20 year old faucet. I guess we won't get to enjoy a replay of my pulling the faucet handle off here...which is fine. I did that in Colorado once and it was about as much fun as pulling off the one in the bathroom. :) We also ordered closet doors for our hallway which hopefully will arrive soon. We've not had doors in our hall closet since we moved in and I am ready for that to be taken care of!

On Sunday evening, Mark's mom joined Mark and I for Christmas Eve services at church. We had a nice time watching the nativity pageant the children put on and celebrating the birth of Jesus. It was really neat having Mark's mom there with us...and we all were thinking that maybe next year our little on could be playing baby Jesus...though it is probably a long shot since we'll be relocating and such. :)

That evening, Mark and I opened one gift each...kind of a tradition we're carrying over from both of our families. He received a game called "Would You Rather..." that should probably amuse us when we have a chance to play it! As for me, I received a very nice fondue set from Williams Sonoma which will also provide plenty of amusement. In fact, it started early by providing amusement on Christmas day since Mark figured that since WS had displayed it with a candle as the fuel supply he didn't buy a sterno. :) It was quite a timely gift since we were planning on fondue for Christmas dinner!

On Christmas morning, we made oatmeal waffles and then went to see what other fun things were under the tree. Mark enjoyed his gifts which included another game, some clothing items and gift certificates for movie rentals and theater tickets (Rocky Balboa is the first movie we'll probably see with those!). Many of his gifts were centered around a theme of our getting to spend more time together and remembering to be husband and wife instead of just mom and dad when our little one comes along. The "superstar" gift that tied these all together was a date jar which has a bunch of different date ideas for us to draw on when we need some inspiration. Many are things we can do here at home for little $$ and with a baby or little child near by...Mark really loved this gift!

As for me, I received some CDs for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra that we saw in concert, the Harry Potter book I need to read before the next one comes out and other nifty things. One of my favorite gifts was a choo choo train bundt pan that I had wanted but didn't get from Williams Sonoma. Since we have a little boy on the way, I think I know what his 1st birthday cake is going to be! :)

We also had some fun gifts for Mark's parents. Since we'd sent most of their gifts to Colorado, many of what they opened on Christmas were re-gifts that we thought they would enjoy....hopefully we were right. Their big "planned" surprise was the digital camera that we recently replaced. They were very happy with that once they figured out that we hadn't went out and spent a ton on a new one. :)

Christmas afternoon was a big party with the addition of our friends Kai and Tina from Sweden to our little family. They treated us to goodies from their homeland and we al enjoyed chatting and eating. Since I was pretty worn out by the time all the festivities were over, it was a good thing we had leftovers...which we're still working on. Hee hee!

As for the past week, there wasn't too much in the way of excitement. We did have a little visit with our Obstetrician and gave him a copy of the birth plan we've written up which he seemed to think would be okay even though it was very "chiropratic" oriented...I doubt he expected anything less! :)

Yesterday, since I was out at noon from work, we met up with a couple of friends - Lydia and Jeff and had a nice lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Then we went to Target and set up a baby registry. We're planning to do one more at Babies R Us this weekend and then we should be finished with that process. We found lots of little things that we think will be quite helpful in making our little one's first year or so quite pleasant...and of course we found quite a few fun toys that we can't wait (oh, wait I mean, the baby - ha! ha!) can't wait to play with. :)

In just a bit I'll finally (with any luck) get the last ultrasound pictures up for you all...until then, we wish you a super Happy New Year! :) On New Year's Day, we'll be 1/2 way to the sprout's delivery day!

Pink or Blue and Maybe Some Pictures, too!

2006-12-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I suppose everyone is just anxiously awaiting the announcement of what gender of baby we're having? I know I was! Thus, without further a-do, here's the verdict!

It's a boy!

Yes, my friends, we're having one of those little ones that is filled with snips and snails and puppy dog tails. Boy oh boy oh boy! :)

We do have pictures of him (yes, jus him instead of him/her!) to share, of course, but I am just a little tired and not in the mood to deal with them so please be patient and I will get them up in the next few days or so. :)

Until then, we'll sign off as proud members of team blue!

Popping in for a Recap...

2006-12-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been absent for quite some time again. For some reason this working at a job where I actually have to work (whether it's my own business or someone else's), being pregnant and trying to keep up with all my normal activities and Christmas preparations is really cutting into my blogging time! ;)

So, first things first...I have made the switch. You'll probably notice some changes around here at the blog as time goes along. I have to say that I think I'm going to like this new format. I will admit that I was a wee bit scared to switch over, but several "buddies" of mine have done so and so I followed suit...if for no other reason than that I can't post any comments to their blogs. One of the features I'm definitely going to love is the label feature, though the thought of going back and labeling some 200 posts is a wee bit daunting, but then I need to go put all of them in 1st person anyhow, so maybe we'll just kill two birds with one stone there.

Anyhoo....on to what's been keeping me occupied for the last few days starting with Sunday the 10th. Wow! it really has been a long time since I've posted! This one post should make up for it - you may need to space your reading over a few days. ;)

At any rate (I'm tired, forgive me for my tangents), on Sunday of last week, we went to church and then I became a cookie-making monster. I made 11 dozen sugar cookies with peppermint glaze which I bagged and tagged (with holiday greetings) for all the sweeties at Mark's school who've helped him and are still helping him make his way to graduation (less than one year away my friends - woo hoo!). By the time I was finished with this task, I was beat. This pregnancy thing really does a number on you...

On Monday, we delivered the goodies to their recipients when I dropped Mark off at school since I needed to kill a little time prior to my dentist appointment. I find it rather amusing that right before visiting the teeth doc I was encouraging cavities in others....muwhahahaha! :) Everyone was so appreciative of the goodies...and apparently a few of Mark's classmates took the hint that buttering up teachers is never a bad thing since I've heard there've been other goodies floating around the school lately! :) As for my dental visit, I got a thumbs up. Everything is improving from the last couple of visits when the hormone therapy I was on was doing a number on my gums. So, I guess I'll keep flossin' and a-brushin'.

This, by the way, was the beginning of Mark's finals week which he wasn't too terribly nervous about, with the exception of one class which he pretty much just studied like a madman for. It appears to have paid off since he missed five on that test and garnered himself a much better grade than when he went in to the test (especially since the teacher threw out his 2nd exam after realizing that he probably only did poorly on it because a "lay" person was trying to read him the questions). All in all, the Mark passed everything to our knowledge so we're one step closer to being home. Yea!

Tuesday and Wednesday are a blur. I can't remember anything except for the fact that I was supposed to go to a Chamber of Commerce mixer on Wednesday for my biz but ended up just going home when I started feeling nauseous...no idea why, very glad it didn't amount to anything! I imagine everyone was happy that Mark and I didn't show up since they had a better chance at the door prizes...we Roccos are lucky you know! ;) Incidentally, I think Tuesday was the night that Mark was taking a case history on a former bodyguard for MC Hammer...kind of funny, huh?

On Thursday night I was in full pregnancy hormonal glory...much to Mark's dismay. Whoa nelly was I depressed, upset, etc., etc. I was just really feeling overwhelmed with life, Christmas, being a mom, etc. I guess we're all allowed our moments....mine is, thankfully, over for another spell. And, that's all there is to say about that! :)

On Friday at work, they had a little birthday celebration for me and one of my coworkers. We had sorbet for me and carrot cake for her. What is funny is that the mango sorbet (which they'd chosen after I mentioned that I'd really liked it at the Christmas party) had carrot juice in it. I think everyone was amazed that something like that would be hiding in sorbet...is it any wonder that I read labels religiously?

On my way home from work that night I picked up a few more gifts for Mark and also got some rice pasta at Whole Foods. I also bought myself a little treat since I found some fudge with walnuts that I'm not allergic to. It's really good stuff and is almost gone! :)

As for Saturday of this past weekend, we were again just crazy busy. I was making Christmas gifts (I could tell you what they are but then I'd have to kill you since some of the recipients read this blog). I'll just say it was a pretty fun process and toward the end I was getting pretty good at my technique. I can't wait to see what people think of my creations. If someone reminds me, I'll tell you all about these nifty gifties after January 5... I also mixed up another batch of cookie dough on this day and set it aside for baking later.

Mark occupied himself with shopping for my gifts. He's very efficient and finished all his shopping in one day...he even got everything wrapped. He rocks and I was impressed. He's even such a sweetheart that he got Pixie a present. I was shocked. I haven't even bought her anything (and I'm sure I'll pay for that later if I don't get it done soon - I'm going for culinary delights!) and I actually claim to like her. Methinks maybe she has a closet fan. ;)

We were supposed to go to the Carols and Lessons night at our church on Saturday night, but Mark's shopping trip didn't bring him home until it was too late to go. *sigh* I was really looking forward to it. I guess I'll just have to torture (?) him with two services on Sunday of this week - normal Sunday service and then the 5 p.m. Christmas mass. I dont' think I can make it to 11 o'clock for Midnight Mass.

Since we weren't going to make it, I tried a new cookie recipe and it flopped. It tasted great but looked, well, not so great. Luckily, men are rarely concerned with how things look and so the sweetheart that took Mark on his second shopping excursion of the day (Colby whose middle name is not Jack...yeah, he gets that a lot) was quite thrilled to go home with a nice bag of raspberry walnut floppers. I'm going to try these again sometime using the actual cookie dough that the recipe calls for rather than trying to substitute regular sugar cookie dough cuze they were actually quite tasty and I know people will like them, but that's for next year!

On Sunday because we'd stayed up really late and I was pretty much beat before even getting out of bed, we stayed home and slept in. Then we got up and made oatmeal waffles (these are the best!) and enjoyed a yummy breakfast. After that, I jumped into cookie-baker mode again and busted out 8 dozen (or so) more cookies...this time, though, I substituted jimmies (sprinkles, if you will) and colored sugar for the icing because it seemed like a good way to decrease my workload. It was, but I was still exhausted after I was all done. So, I did the smart thing and took a nap!

Then I arose, packed the gifts in boxes that needed to be shipped and put them and most of our Christmas cards (I'm a wee bit behind this year) in Mark's care for mailing on Monday. We went to the grocery store and then came home, ate dinner and I finally wrapped Mark's gifts. Our tree is looking quite cheery now. The hard part now is waiting a whole week to see how much he likes his goodies.

Oh, and the grocery store provided some annoyance since we discovered that Trader Joe's no longer carries the chicken broth that I could actually eat. This means that the one kind of canned chicken broth that I'm not allergic to isn't available soooo now I am forced to make my own. It's a good thing I didn't discard that chicken carcass from the chicken we ate this past week. *sigh*

Okay, so we're now almost caught up. Yesterday, Mark mailed the gifts and the cards. Today he went to Berkeley and hopefully made some contacts which will result in some clients. I worked.

We do have a wee bit of excitement coming up tomorrow, though. :) We'll be going in for our Level II Ultrasound which we're hopeful will give us comfort that our little baby is developing appropriately and maybe even let us in on the secret of whether or not we have a he or a she. I'm sooo looking forward to only using one pronoun. I have to admit, as awful as this may seem, that I'm pulling for a girl, though, of course, I'll still be thrilled with a little boy. :) I have to admit that part of my desire stems from the fact that we're not having a lot of luck coming up with boys names that we like...I'm sure we'll do just fine if we are informed that we better figure it out! :) Oh, and don't ask what name we're planning to give our bundle of joy. We'll share what gender we're having but the name is our little secret. :)

Other than that, the rest of the week will be spent readying ourselves for Christmas. We have at least one guest scheduled to join us for Christmas dinner which will include, as of this time, ham, cheese fondue, other dippy things and probably a caramel fondue treat for dessert...I may also do an apple crisp and ice cream. I'm pretty psyched that on Friday I don't have to go to work since the partners have decided to just give us the full day off, too...nothing like a four day weekend to make the season bright, eh?

In the unlikely event that I don't make it back to post before Christmas (I have every intention of at least telling you whether the verdict is boy, girl or still unknown), we hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time Is Here

2006-12-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

And, we're really caught up in the season it seems this year. We've been busy, busy, busy. It seems like there is never enough time in the day, the week, etc.

This week I had my 5 drops of blood taken for my AFP screening. I have to wait a bit longer for results since I'm in the middle of switching over to my employer's health plan (oh the joys of health insurance). They're holding the test for me (it's good for a year I guess - which would be a bit long to wait, I suppose) until I have some proof of insurance that they can send along to the lab so that I don't have to go through the annoyance of trying to get reimbursed since I'm now with an HMO which scares me a little, but it does seem to be quite nice for the pocket book since there isn't a deductible I have to meet this year as a result. *phew* That was Wednesday.

I really don't remember much about Thursday so it must have centered around work. I guess I did go in and get adjusted by Mark. I think we're finally on the same page so my back and leg pain seems to be decreasing. I think the missing link was that my leg bone needed to be pushed back into it's socket a bit and he and his partner in crime at the clinic thought that when I complained about my hip I was complaining about the front rather than the side. Tricky, tricky these patients can be I guess....

On Friday my office had their Christmas party. We had it at a place called Nibblers Eatery and it was fabulous...especially since the chef created a special menu just for me. Rock on. He even told me that if I wanted to come in to dine anytime just to give him a call about a week before and he'd create a menu again...just for me. Can you say this guy rocks? It really was a nice place for a light meal...though you could probably order a little more food if you were going off the menu. I am now thinking my parents-in-law may be treated to an experience at this restaurant when they come to visit...especially since I've now eaten at the Walnut Creek Yacht Club three times. It's getting a little old...even if they have been able to create three different meals for me. If you have a chance to go to this establishment, please go - it's wonderful. Tell Chef Daniel I sent you! :)

At the party, we had one of those "white elephant" gift exchanges. It was fun and thankfully, despite a bit of a scare, I was able to leave with a pretty nice gift. For quite some time there I was the proud owner of a door mat that said "Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit." Um, yeah...not exactly my style. I do have to admit that I probably would have gifted it to my grandmother if it had ended up being mine...I seriously think she would have been amused by it, but I'm glad I don't have to find out! I ended up with a nice little hanging candle lantern that I think once we have "real" house I may put in our back yard on a patio table or something....not sure. I' still need to think of it's possibilities.

Once the fun was over, I had a little extra time so I went shopping. I hit Target first where I picked up a few little odds and ends for Christmas gifts including an integral part of one of Mark's gifts. I am so thrilled with all the things I came up with for him this year. He's really going to have a fabulous Christmas...and I'm guessing the gift he'll like the best will be the one that costs me the least up front (it's also the most time-consuming of gifts, though). I am dying to tell you what it is, but loose lips take all the fun out of Christmas so just in case something might get back to the dear boy, my lips are sealed! You know you'll be the first to know what he got and how he liked it when Christmas has passed.

Once finished at Target, I made my way to the mall. I needed to pick up a belated wedding gift for our friends who got married in August and a couple of things for Mark. I was totally there on the right day. They had so many great sales going on that I ended up buying a lot more than I planned to for Mark, but most of what I got are things he needs for school and what not so I don't feel terribly guilty especially since most of the things I bought were deeply discounted. I can't wait to give them to him! Once the mall had yielded all its treasures, I headed home...exhausted and ready for some food.

Today, Mark and I attended graduation for some of his original classmates. It was a very nice ceremony. One of our favorite people, Diane, was actually valedictorian - go Diane! So that was awesome. She gave a fun speech. I'm thrilled that she's going to be practicing in Colorado Springs since I know that despite how anxious I am to move back it is going to be hard to leave all the friends we've made behind. At least we can hop a plane to visit them every-so-often (or they can visit us - I hope!).

Once we returned home, I jumped into some Christmas preparations. I made enough cookie dough for 8 dozen cookies. I need to do about one more batch of that size and I think I'll have the cookie quotient taken care of for all the people we want to bestow with gifties. Anybody who lives in the Bay Area who wants to lend a nice pregnant lady a hand with baking, please stand up...I know I'm going a bit nuts here, but I can't seem to help myself. :) I'm just all about spreading the love this year, I guess.

Then this evening, we made a little trip up to Oakland to attend a Christmas party for the Lion's Center for the Blind. We had a good time and met some people who may be helpfu to Mark not only in adjusting to his new lifestyle, but also in finding new patients for the clinic. Currently, he has 5 out patients which we're thrilled about, but we'd love it if he could get a few more so that he can make sure to get the numbers he needs. :) At any rate, the party was a great time and a nice little break from studying and baking...

And, there you have it - you're now up to date on what we've been up to the past few days! I hope you're having a nice holiday season so far...it seems to be flying by for me!

Birthday Recap...

2006-12-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

I wrote this post yesterday during a break by hand in the hopes that I could just type it out quickly this morning before heading to my appointment. Let's see if we can do it!

I had a great birthday and birthday weekend...and it started off with Thursday. This was the last day I was home sick last week. I should mention that I'm feeling much better and that Mark made a super speedy recovery (wishing the same for you LP!). The night after he was ill, he was eating normally while I could still barely manage to eat anything due to an almost non-existent appetite. Thankfully, it returned and I've recovered most of the pounds I lost during that ordeal.

All the sickies aside, though, we jump started my birthday weekend on Thursday night when a surprise package from Mark's parents arrived in the mail. I was going to wait to open it until my actual birthday (only had about 8 hours anyhow!), but Mark told me I should open them so I didn't argue. :)

Inside of the package (actually there were two) were many fun goodies but my most favorite was a cozy pair of fleecy fuzzy slipper socks. They are heavenly and will be put to good use now and in the future (I'm definitely thinking birthing room wear though maybe not when it's time for delivering...we'll see). Other goodies included a neat necklace, a dip and spreader set and a festive wreath pin that blinks.

On Friday, I returned to work - not feeling 100% but well enough to go and earn some money again. It was a pretty easy work day as things go with no real excitement to speak of.

Afterwork, I headed home to make it in time for a birthday party Mark arranged for me. Funny thing is I ran into my friend Lydia who was on her way there, too when I was on the train. :) We came together and enjoyed a fun party complete with sweet gifties and cards from our friends here. Another neat surprise was that Lydia had made some yummy brownies which were wheat free and so we had those and some ice cream. The brownie mix had come from Mark who bought what can be described as a "chocolate fest" for one of my gifts. It had tons of soy-free chocolate for me to try...and I've been trying it. Last night I had a fabulous dark chocolate with orange essential oil in it...yum!

Mark's other gifts to me were a heating pad to warm up my side of the bed before bed-time (I get really cold and have trouble getting to sleep) and tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra perform. This last one was a combo birthday/Christmas gift...and absolutely awesome.

On Saturday, we spent our day attending a seminar for chiropractors about business-type things. We gained some great knowledge that should help Mark make a good start when he opens his practice. Of course, I was close to yelling "stop!" at one point because the financial advice the speaker was giving was at times not the best, but well, I'm a financial professional and I guess I just "get" this type of stuff better than most people. Regardless, if you're paying down debt folks and want to give as little of your money away as possible, the interest rates you're paying dictate what debt balance you pay off first...enough said.

On Saturday night, we puttered around San Francisco's Union Square to see if there were any gifties we could find for those we love. I had briefly entertained the idea that buying gifts this year might bring less stress, hassle and frustration to the process. This is adventure reminded me why we ususally make most of our gifts and so we're back to plan A.

On Sunday, we went to church and then out to lunch with our neighbors. It was nice to finally get to sit and spend some time chatting with them about their careers, etc. After lunch, we ran errands...including one that was integral to our gift making. I'd tell you what it was, but then I'd have to kill you since some of our recipients read this blog! :)

That evening, we again flew the coopy to enjoy my birthday/Christmas concert. It was so awesome. If you ever have the opportunity to go see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra - go! My only suggestion is that you bring sunglasses. After a whil, the light show (mainly the bright white ones) starts to wear on you...we nevertheless hope to see this ensemble again.

After the concert, we headed home (thankfully, via BART!) and crawled into bed to be at least somewhat rested for work and school the next day. Not too much in the way of excitement this week so far, but as I mentioned, I am going in for a blood test this morning. Other upcoming excitement includes my office Christmas party on Friday (which Mark will miss out on :( since they do it for lunch) and on Saturday, a graduation party for a friend who's on her way back to Colorado to be a chiropractor (we're right behind you Diane!) and a Christmas celebration at the Lion's Center for the Blind. Though I have no idea when, I am also hoping to finally get started on making Christmas gifts this weekend. I may need to call in reinforcements...

Enjoy your week. I'll try to get back to tell you about anything noteworthy soon!

Uh Oh...

2006-11-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess that bug I caught was a good one. It looks like Mark may have it now. I took today off from work, too, since I still just wasn't quite back to normal. I've finally been able to at least get some food in and staying in the system. Assuming Mark isn't sick, I will probably be find to go back to work tomorrow though I have no idea what I'm going to take to eat because as of yet I really can't handle much food at all.

I just feel really awful though that my Mark is now probably coming down with the bug....especially since it usually takes a pretty decent bug to bring him down.

I wonder where on earth we picked this little gem up...I sure hope it goes away completely by the time my birthday rolls around.

Take your vities people, the bugs are upon us!

Sickie Quickie

2006-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Today has been a pretty wretched day. I actually stayed home from work because I can't keep anything down. I must have caught a bug some where, I guess. It's been so long since I had a virus of this sort and this is definitely making up for the lapse of time.

The silver lining - my wonderful husband stayed home to take care of me. Another - it looks like maybe, just maybe, the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen...I hope so, I am so thirsty and a drop of water here and a drop of water there just isn't cutting it. :(

Hopefully things will be bright and pleasant tomorrow.

Picture Famine

2006-11-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been real and its been fun...and at times it was even real fun, but the picture fest seems to be over kids. Can you hear the cries of despair and disappointment?

So, yeah, we did go to the doctor today, but no ultrasound pictures. I did, however, get to catch a glimpse of our little one on the ultrasound machine. She/he wanted to be sure that mommy got a short glimpse so he/she maneuvered so that the little heart beat was hard to find. What a good little one we have. :) Nevertheless, I have nothing to show for the short ultrasound experience. I can tell you though that we look like we're growing quite nicely and we have a very nice looking spinal column and some very cute feetsies!

On the bright side, along with this decrease in ultrasounds comes a decrease in appointment frequency which is nice since I have to make up time whenever I'm away from the office. So, our next appointment with the doctor is one month from now. Prior to this, I get to go visit the screening people a couple more times. Once next week to get an AFP blood test (which involves 5 whole drops of blood...yea! I've avoided a needle again!) and then we get to have more pictures...or at least I assume they'll not be greedy! So, in 3 to 4 weeks from now we'll have our Level II Ultrasound screen which will finish up our screening for various issues that will impact the baby's nervous system, organs, etc. With any luck, friends, we'll have some show and tell after this visit.

Oh, and just cuz it was pretty neat to learn, we did find out that our risk for Down's Syndrome based upon that first scan we did is 1 in 8000. Yeah, I think we're good. The doctor was thrilled with the results since someone of my age should be around a 1/200 risk I think he said. Let's hope the rest of the screens go just as well. :)

Let's see the only other stuff we really discussed that was of interest was where the doctor delivers. I have to go do some checking since I'm switching health plans in a few days and will be with an HMO (I've never been on one of these before so I'm a bit scared of what will transpire to be honest). Since it's with blue cross, I imagine we won't have an issue, but still it would be horrible to find that the hospital I'd prefer (which based upon current info is one that works with Stanford but actually has birthing rooms that you get to yourself) was not on the provider list. In general, I think all three of us agree that me being in a room by myself is going to be much better...the idea of listening to other women give birth just doesn't sound like a good thing for me given how empathetic I can be toward others.

Otherwise, everything looks good and so we're just moving along...here's to trimester 2!

Christmastime Is Here!

2006-11-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

We've been busy bees here at our house...and it shows!

Our weekend was great...especially since I got to leave work at noon on Wednesday. This gave me the opportunity to go to the Cingular Wireless store and switch us over to a Cingular plan (we are some of those hold out "former ATT Wireless" customers) so that Mark can use his new fangled contraption of a phone. I got that taken care of and, in the process, got myself a newer phone, too...with, I'm happy to say, a few less bells and whistles than dear Mr. Mark's phone. It seems that they would try to keep things simple for people with visual impairments, but whatever. At any rate, despite a few "issues" with converting our accounts, everything was up and running by Wednesday night.

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving and we enjoyed a nice quiet day at home. I fixed us a nice allergy free (with the exception of yams which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole if I weren't allergic to them!) meal of turkey, mashed turnips and gravy, grape salad (which I may have to make again soon), spinach and artichoke dip, broccoli with cheese sauce and a couple of desserts to enjoy. We're still eating some of the leftovers, of course. Everything was really good, but man was I tired after all that slaving in the kitchen. I was almost too pooped to even want to eat the spoils of my hard work. I guess I never really realized how much energy I expend when I cook a holiday feast. Point noted and we may be having grilled cheese sandwiches on Christmas (I'm kidding!). I'm not sure what we'll have, but it may be significantly less time intensive than a full holiday spread...we shall see.

So, anyhow, after we finished eating and cleaning up after "hurricane MeLissa" (a category 5 storm in the kitchen this time around per Mark), I decided the time to move our living room around was at hand. Um, yeah, I did say I was tired, but for some reason the mere unsightly look of two separate work areas finally took its toll and I just couldn't stand it any longer...not to mention that I am just not one of those people who does well doing nothing. This drove my parents crazy I'm sure when I was home sick as a child...

When all was said and done, Mark and my work stations are in the same area of the front room...behind the couch and, for the most part, they are organized...the parts that aren't are hidden by the couch. :) I am loving the new layout!

On Friday, we jumped right into holiday preparations which is normal for us. I have a little rule that the house needs to be Christmas-i-fied by my birthday and as you can see from that little counter on the side bar, we are quickly approaching said day! We got most of the stuff up and out yesterday and finished up the rest of it today minus the greeting card display that I usually do in the entry way. I am just not sure I'm ready to expend the amount of energy that usually takes to make it look lovely...so we may just let it go this year.

Last night, we had a little visit from some new friends, Sara and Dan. Sara and I met in a rather odd way...she called to sell me some advertising in a bridal publication. We just seemed to really hit things off over the phone and we've been trying to get together ever since. She and her husband were great company for a nice Hawaiian dinner and then a little game of Disney Trivial Pursuit which we chose after discovering that, for the most part, our selection of games isn't exactly the best now that Mark can't see what's going on. I think we might make a trip to buy a couple of games soon...any suggestions on things we might be able to enjoy together?

So, as I mentioned today, it was still go, go, go as I finished up decorating our Christmas tree (which we really must upgrade either next year or the year after - it's getting very difficult to find empty branches for ornaments!) and the banister for the entry way. When Mark came home from the clinic, we tackled the guest room which had become a "catch all" and just really needed some TLC. Thankfully, I'd started that project last week and so there was plenty to do but it wasn't impossible to finish by the end of the day. As part of the process, I went through and cleared out a lot of wedding-business related stuff. I've kind of decided that if I do continue on here in California with my business I really prefer to just do a very minimalist day-of package. I have one more bridal show to do in February and this will be the slant I take. I plan to revise my website to reflect this as well at some point, but as of yet, the motivation to do so hasn't quite hit me! :)

We hope you all had a lovely holiday and have a wonderful Chirstmas season (or other holiday) ahead of you! Perhaps I'll try to get some pictures of our house as decorated up sooner or later. Until then, let us be the first to wish you a very
Merry Christmas!

Just a heads up that tomorrow we may have more pictures to show...I have an appointment with my regular OB/GYN. I'm sure you can guess that if I have anything to show and tell, you'll be the first to know!

First Screen Results

2006-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that our Nuchal Translucency and First Trimester screen came out A-OK! This means that our little one has a smaller risk of having chromosomal issues. Pretty neat, eh?

We also finally got our wireless service set up so that Mark can now make his own phone calls and such...very cool! I got a new little cell phone myself which can take pictures and such. I needed one to get on our new plan.

Other than that, we're just preparing for Thanksgiving. We're not doing anything too exciting...just hanging out and having some turkey. We hope you all have a lovely holiday filled with blessings.

Pictures-a-Plenty

2006-11-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

As usual, blogger just wouldn't cooperate last night. I guess we'll see if it's feeling a little more amiable this morning - it looks like we have pictures! :) Without further a-do...

In our first little view here, you can see that baby has a cute little nose and mouth...I could look at these all day. If we have a girl, I hope she gets my nose. It's such a silly thing but it is one of my favorite features. :)

Here's one of my "hmmm, where did all the space go" shots. If you look you can see a little baby arm on the left side there going up to his/her little head. Too cute for more words except to say that this picture was taken as the roll of ultrasound tape was running out hence the crooked bottom edge!

Here's another good view from the side. Funny thing about all of these pictures except the first one was that they had the wrong patient name on them. If I hadn't been there (which obviously I had to be, I guess) or paying attention, I would have thought they were the wrong baby pictures. You can rest assured though they are of our little guy/gal!

Our final pictures is yet another head scratching view...from the side this time around. Still utterly adorable...I can't wait until I can cuddle this little baby in my arms. :)

Feeling Deprived?

2006-11-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in quite sometime have I? I have to admit that there just hasn't been much going on this week. I did have a visit for an ultrasound/finger prick blood test to screen the baby for Down Syndrome and other disorders. Based upon the ultrasound things seem to be looking fine, but definitive results won't be in until later. As I'm sure you can guess - ultrasound = pictures. They were pretty generous so I have five pics to share today.

Our little one is looking like a human now. :) He/she (still don't know yet what we're having!) was striking some cute poses as you'll soon see. My favorites are the ones where he/she's scratching his/her little head wondering where all the room went. This is because on the day of this lovely screen I was having mild (thankfully) contractions. The doctors and nurses told me it was perfectly normal and that my body is just practicing for the birth process. Fine by me...as long as I don't have to endure pain yet!

Let's see in other news, I'm finally sporting just a wee bit of a baby belly. If you know I'm pregnant you can barely tell, if you don't you think I'm hitting the twinkies a bit too hard (which proves you're totally out of the loop since I'm allergic to them...alas!). Yeah, twinkies are sounding good...yet another allergy-laden craving that I'm resisting. There have been so many I won't even bore you!

One thing that is sort of "exciting" with respect to the whole food situation is I actually found a cracker recipe I like. It's for oat crackers and if they're rolled thin enough and baked to just the right state, they taste like a cross between a triscuit and a wheathin. Yummy. I've been enjoying them all week long and I think I might just make some more! :)

Okay, okay...enough chattering (or Jibba Jabba as Mr. T would say - have you seen his new show on TV Land? It's quite a trip...we love it!) - let's get onto those baby pictures! :) I'm not sure these scans are quite as nice as previous ones, but we take what we can get, right? :)

So here's picture number 1 of our little girl or guy. You can see the head to the left, the arm toward the bottom, etc.

Well as is all too often the case, blogger is now not cooperating so I'll bring this post to a close and try to get pictures into another. *sigh*