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Thursday, February 26, 2004

Who's afraid of a little fog?

Ok, sometimes I think these Michigan people are the strangest group on the planet. They have weird, horrible weather that apparently everyone just deals with, rather than move away. But, evidently, fog really gets them. We had some fog this morning, nothing terrible, the visibility was still very good. But, it sent the people who determine when the schools get cancelled or delayed into a panic. They have a local television station around here that tells about all the local events, including things happening at the schools. It's just a plain blue background with white letters and cheesy music playing. But, when schools are either delayed or cancelled, the background turns red. I turned it on this morning, and saw that it was red. I couldn't understand why, since we hadn't had any new snow, the temperatures weren't below zero, and as far as I could tell, it was only a little foggy. They had issued a "fog advisory warning" and delayed school for 2 hours. Now, I had been told that if the public schools were delayed 2 hours, not even cancelled, that Emma's preschool would be cancelled. So I was preparing to have be at home all day. But at noon rolled around closer, I decided check the channel again. And it was back to being blue. So I called the school, and sure enough, school was still on. Now I don't mind the fact that they changed their minds in the middle of the day, Emma likes school & I like having 2 hours to myself. But the fact that they had to issue a fog advisory warning is what got me. Now, I grew up in Sacramento, where we get some nasty fog in the winter & spring. There were times when you couldn't see the front enf of your car, let alone anything else in front of you. But, I don't ever recall ever having school delayed or cancelled because of a fog advisory. These people can handle feet of snow, bone chilling temperatures, and blizzard-like conditions, but they can't handle fog. It makes no sense to me.
Anyhow, so Emma went to school & had a great time as always. She's still wanting to be the leader every day, but I think that's just her Type-A personality that she gets from her father. But, she came home with more than just March's calendar of snack duties and some arts & crafts projects. This is it, Emma's first fund raiser. I didn't think it started this young, but apparently I was wrong. It's a Little Caesars Pizza Kit fund raiser. Apparently, Little Caesars puts together these unmade pizza kits to sell to people, so they can assemble the pizza at home and not have to pay a delivery driver. They are also selling cookie dough kits, gourmet spice kits, pizza cutters & serving paddles, and Crazy Bread. For some reason, I thought this pandering didn't start until Girl Scouts. So I guess it's time for Emma to put on her cutest smile & go door to door, selling stuff she won't even eat (the pizza, that is, the cookies are a different story). But, I think this is one of those "benefits" of having a husband who works at a college, where there are people whose main diet consists of pizza & sweets. So, I think Emma will do fairly nicely in this fund raiser.
Emma had gymnastics last night. She did so much better than last week. She listened to her teacher, she didn't cut in line (as much), and she didn't push her classmates around. She still seemed to be the instigator when it came to goofing off when it wasn't her turn to do something, but at least it was mostly harmless. She wasn't having the other girls jumping off the 4 foot high balance beam or anything.
I met one of the other mothers who's daughter is in Emma's gymnastics class, who is a labor & delivery nurse at the hospital where I'm going to have the baby. She only works the weekends, so it's unlikely she'll be there when I deliver, but she was able to give me some information about L & D. They only have 3 labor & delivery rooms. But, she assures me that in her ten years at that hospital, she's only seen once instance, where they had more patients than rooms. It's hard for me to imagine. But, then again, I've never lived in a town as small as this. But, I'm seeing an awful lot of pregnant women around here, so I'm thinking I better go into labor early in the day, to ensure I don't end up delivering in the waiting room.

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

More snow?

Ok, I thought that Mother Nature had been really nice to us lately. It had been relatively warm, upper 30's, there was no snow on the roads, and it was starting to melt the feet of snow we have on our yard. Then, yesterday, we got hit with about 5-7 inches of snow. At first, it was still really warm, so most of it was melting on contact with the road or cars, but sticking to the snow already on the ground. Then, it started getting heavier & started sticking to everything. By the end of the day, we had good quarter size clumps of snow falling from the sky and we were once again in the midst of a winter wonderland. But the weather took a dramatic change for the better today. It's sunny & again, relatively warm. It's even supposed to get up to around 48 degrees by this coming Sunday. Whoo hoo! We might actually see most of this snow start to melt.
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I asked him if he was able to tell how big the baby was (by the information from my ultrasound) & if everything looked fine. He said that at this time, the baby was about 4 1/2 lbs. which is about 10 days farther along than it's gestational age. I asked him if that meant I would go into labor early. He said probably not, since trying to weigh a fetus in the womb is kinda tricky. He said the baby was most likely normal size, and would be born on time.
I think Emma has started to get used to the idea of the baby. Yesterday, when I was getting out of the shower & before she went to bed, she kissed my belly. When she was going to bed, she also patted my belly and said, "Night night, baby." It was too cute. So, it'll be a slow process of getting her used to the idea that a new baby will be with us in a couple months, but I think she'll be ready for it.

Sunday, February 22, 2004

Weekend Bliss

Well, here it is, another weekend almost over. They should really make these things a day longer or something. These are the most relaxing days, where we can sleep in (until Emma wakes us up), go out to breakfast, lunch or dinner, play games, watch movies, or, in our case, drop Emma off at the casino child care center so Jeff & I could eat a nice relaxing lunch. Not that she minds. We asked her specifically which she would like to do: go eat with us, or go play at the child care center. She CHOSE not to eat with us. It was her decision. Don't call CPS on us. She was not neglected in any way. She had a great time, and she even left willingly with us this time. Of course, she had just gotten a slushie & some Cheetos for the road, but somehow I know she would have gone with us even without those...I hope. We came home, all happy & in a good mood, only to have poor Emma get a giant splinter in her finger. You should have seen this child, you'd think we were trying to rip off her nail the way she was catterwalling & throwing a fit over this splinter. She didn't want us to touch it in any way, all she wanted was a bandaid, and she thought it would be fine. We tried to explain that it wasn't going to go away on it's own, and Jeff had to hold her still while I gently yanked the thing out. It was a good size splinter, probably about 1/8 inch long. I was surprised this hasn't happened sooner, what with our lower basement-type room being completely covered in wood paneling. And not the smooth paneling, either. This is the rough stuff, the kind you'd use for roof shingles. The whole incident just took too much out of her & she fell asleep in daddy's lap not more than 10 minutes later. She took a good long nap in the bean bag chair. She needed it, and I think maybe we should have taken a clue from her & napped ourselves. It's amazing how much energy it takes to try to calm down a 4 year old. It was hilarious the way she was acting, we couldn't help but laugh. She just kept saying,"I want a ban-bam (bandaid)", "I have a boo-boo" (like it wasn't obvious), and "Don't touch me!" I don't think I've ever seen her react quite like that before. It was too funny.
Well, after a couple of days (and a little shopping trip to JCPenney) I think we've gotten used to the idea that we're having a girl. I had forgotten about all the cute little girl clothes they have out. But, I can already tell, like with Emma, that I'm not much into pink. I like pink, don't get me wrong, but I like clothing my child in the other colors of the rainbow, as well. So, this new little one has plenty of pink, purple, yellow, blue & green. And it was all on sale, so that makes it all look cuter. I think Emma has also gotten the idea that she's going to have a sister and is ok with it. She even helped pick out an outfit for the baby. But, of course, HER baby doll had to try it on first, just to make sure it worked ok.
We've almost decided on a name, but are having a little trouble with the middle name. I went to Babycenter.com & started a poll to help give me an idea of how these 3 choices sound to others. I sent the link to most of you, but if I missed anyone (because I don't have your email address), then here's the link. You'll have to copy & paste it into your browser since I don't think this page supports hyperlinks. It's
http://click.babycenter.com/b/?le=6kQF&cn=emailafriend&en=20040216&ce=0&t=0. Jeff says he doesn't care which one we go with, but I like them all, so I'd like your opinion.

Friday, February 20, 2004

It's a girl!

Well, it's official. We're having another girl. I now know that the whole "mother's intuition" thing is nothing but bologne. I had been feeling this whole time that it was a boy, I was so sure of it. Well, that's what declaring something publicly gets me. A big piece of humble pie. Don't get me wrong, I could not be happier. I love little girls, I know what to do with them, since I HAVE had some previous experience. Not to mention I still have some of Emma's old baby clothes that can now be recycled. And, as my mother-in-law put it, "every girl needs a sister". I know Emma will have tons of fun with a baby sister. I can see it now, them playing dolls & having tea & then getting into cat fights over whose Barbie gets to marry Ken. I know that Emma & I will spend hours picking out clothes for her to wear (and then spit up all over) and doing her hair (according to the ultrasound tech, this one's going to have as much hair as Emma did when she was born). And Jeff will have another "Daddy's girl". I know that although he won't admit it, he loves being the center of his daughter's world, and now he's going to have another little girl to adore him for the rest of her life. I know he has a special bond with Emma and I know he'll have that same special bond with this one.
The whole ultrasound experience was amazing. I had forgotten what it was like to see that tiny little human in there, just hanging out, waiting to join the world. Jeff was in complete awe. He was asking a lot of questions, that he thought were stupid, but this was his first ultrasound, so nothing sounded stupid. Emma was kinda into it, but it took quite awhile to get all the pictures that they were looking for, so her patience had run kinda thin by the time it ended. But, she was a real trooper & didn't cause that much of a ruckus. I got a couple of pictures, including one of her face, and it looks almost identical to the one of Emma that I got at her ultrasound. We also got one that shows the baby's spine & head very clearly. They were looking for specific body parts, to make sure they were developing properly and also to judge how big the baby might be. We saw that the baby is breathing (not air, but amniotic fluid, it's practice for when it's born) and that her bladder was full (and she wasn't the only one) and that she was also swallowing fluid into her stomach. These are ways her body practices to use these organs once she's born. We saw her heart beating, I think it was about 150bpm, and we even saw her little toes. At first, they were worried we wouldn't be able to see the sex of the baby because she had her legs crossed at the ankles. Jeff even commented (before we found out it was a girl) that that was a very lady-like position. The way she's positioned now, her head is down, with her back curving around the left side of my body, and her feet are up by the right side of my ribs. She's in a crescent shape. She also has one of her arms underneath her head, like she's resting on it. Her other hand was palm side up and pushing against the top of my belly. It was really neat to see. We were able to see her for about an hour and a half while the tech tried to locate all the things she needed.
Now comes the big decision: names. Now that the field has been narrowed to only half the baby name book, it's time to buckle down & argue. Jeff felt completely out of the loop when it came to naming Emma (both literally, being out to sea, and figuratively, since I really didn't give him a chance to voice his opinion). Now he'll have every opportunity to tell me which names he likes & which he doesn't. And I might even listen.

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Anticipation

Tomorrow's the big day, or should be. I have my ultrasound at 10am tomorrow morning, and hopefully, if everything goes well, Jeff & I (and Emma) should be able to find out the sex of the baby. Since technically this ultrasound hasn't been scheduled for that exact purpose, I may have to coerce the tech to tell me, or I may have to just keep my eyes peeled on the screen & discern for myself. I'm hoping we have a nice tech who'll be willing to spill the beans & guarantee me something. I'm not even putting myself above a little bribery if the need arises. But hopefully it won't come to that.
Even after we find out what we're having, there's the big issue of what to name the baby. Jeff & I have kinda held off on discussing names until we had only one sex to argue over. Jeff's into normal sounding names that may sound boring, and I like some of them, too, but I also like different names, but not ones that are too trendy at the time. "Emma" wasn't very common when I named her that, so maybe we'll start another trend with this next one. It'll be a cool name in a few years, after people start realizing it.
I feel like I need to be in traction in a hospital bed somewhere. I had to go out & get one of those "prenatel cradles". It's basically like a giant elastic band that is supposed to hold up your huge pregnant belly, thus theoretically taking some of the pressure off your lower back. But, this contraption is about the most hideous thing I've ever seen. I definitely can't go out in the public in this. Unless I want to be publicly ridiculed and stared at like a leper. Since I've only had the thing for a few hours, the verdict's still out on whether it helps with the lower back pain.
I got my CD today. My Gavin DeGraw CD. The guy who was one of the opening acts for Barenaked Ladies. I'm happy. The CD is awesome, this guy is so talented. I'm probably going to wear this CD out before too long.
Emma's been a bit of a butt lately. Apparently, all 4 year olds go through this phase where they have to be first in everything they do. She was pushing other little girls out of the way last night at gymnastics, and stepping in front of them and basically just being a pill. We had to pull her aside twice to talk to her & made her apologize to her teacher after class for not listening. And for a few weeks now, every time she goes to preschool, she asks her teacher is she's going to be the leader of the line today. They take turns, but every time without fail, Emma assumes that it's her turn. I stand outside her classroom door, waiting for them to be let go, and I hear the teacher say to Emma, No, it's "so & so's" time to be leader, you need to get back in line. I just have to laugh. She's so persistent. She also thinks that every time she goes to school, it's her show & tell day. I'm going to have to make a calendar marking the days she has show & tell so we don't keep having this arguement every day.
I'm hoping that once Emma sees the baby on the monitor tomorrow, she'll be a little more receptive to it eventually coming out & going home with us. As of right now, it's still a foreign concept to her. But I think with these attitude problems she's been having lately, the queen needs to be knocked down a notch or two. It'll either help her, or it'll make us all go crazy.

Monday, February 16, 2004

Valentine's Day

Well, I hope everyone's Valentine's was wonderful. We had a very nice day, complete with a surprise. Earlier in the week, Emma & I had made some cards to send out to family, including one from each of us for Jeff. Emma was very proud of hers. She had done a really nice job on it. I had made one for Jeff, only because I had been under the impression that we really couldn't afford to do much else for each other. Well Jeff had been scamming me. He got me a CD (the one I'd been begging him for), a box of candy, and had a dozen red roses delivered to our house early on Saturday morning. I was completely shocked & surprised. But, of course, that made my homemade card & plans for a really nice dinner seem very lame. It seemed his plan to make me think we were too broke to do much backfired. But he was very generous about it. Even after our "nice dinner" didn't happen until almost 8pm. I blame it too much preparation needed for what should have been a relatively easy dinner. We had cream of carrot soup, breaded pork chops, green beans amandine, and french bread, with chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. I thought it was very romantic, but then again, it's kinda hard to be romantic when Emma keeps coming downstairs asking for juice and another quesadilla. Well, you make do with what you have.
I know that probably sounded bad; there we were, having a nice, completely balanced dinner & Emma's eating a quesadilla. It's not as neglectful as you think. I know for a FACT that Emma would not have eaten anything I made, so I was just saving us all the drama that forcing her to sit down & eat with us would have produced. At least for one meal. She's got plenty of drama in her little body to last until she graduates...from college.
I think we've found Emma's new favorite place to be. It's the childcare area at the local Indian casino. We went there yesterday afternoon to watch a friend of Jeff's from work do some DDR. That's the Dance Dance Revolution game, where you try frantically to follow arrows in the screen & step on tiny squares that coincide with the arrows & stay on the beat. It's really hard, even on the easy levels. I should know, because Jeff forced me to do it. I'm sure I was a sight. A 7-months pregnant woman, trying to have rhythm, and not fall flat on her face while jumping around, stepping on squares. In a child's arcade, no less. Yeah I'm sure it was funny for all concerned. Not mention the fact that I was standing next to Cia, the guy from Jeff's work, who is an expert at this. So I'm sure I looked doubly stupid trying to do my lame little level, while he's practically breakdancing on the pad next to me. I think at one time he got an 128 combo, which means he successfully completed 128 steps without screwing up once. But, hey, I got some exercise. Even Emma tried a little bit, but she got kinda shy when people started looking at her & saying how cute she was. Yeah, all that attention can get a little nervewracking.
Afterwards, we were going to take Cia out to lunch. On the way there, we saw that they had a childcare area. So we went in to see what it was like, how much, the hours, etc. Well, as soon as we got in there, Emma was begging for us to leave her there. It's relatively inexpensive (cheaper than most babysitters would charge) and they have tons of stuff for the kids to do. You can even give the kids a spending limit on snacks that they can have while they're there. So, we decided to leave her there, and go have lunch. We figured we'd get Emma something on the way home, since she obviously wasn't interested in eating with us at that time. So, we go & have a nice lunch. We go back to pick Emma up & they call her name on the loud speaker. We see her walking up towards the front of the place, and she gets about 50 feet from us, sees us & we're waving and saying, Come on Emma, it's time to go home! We mistakenly thought she'd be happy to see us. Uh, no. She sees us, has this really upset look on her face and TURNS AROUND! She walked back into the play area, and was obviously not ready to leave yet. Jeff & I just started laughing. It took the staff about 10 minutes to get her to come back out & leave. One staff member said to us, You're going to have to come back because that's the only way I was able to get her to come out. Emma was sulking the whole way home. I suppose it's better that she really liked it, rather than coming out to us running & screaming to take her home. She apparently had a lot of fun. Which is a good thing.
Ok, now some bad news. I have lost all of my contact information that was on the computer. Everyone's e-mail addresses, physical addresses & phone numbers that were on the computer are gone. Long story short, computer basically say "I don't like you, you smell", give us the virtual finger & make big crash. I lost everything. So, if you all would be so kind as to email me at coolmommy99@scalablenetworking.com and send me all of your information, I would greatly appreciate it.
I would like to thank everyone who has put in guesses at my expectnet.com game. All except my "thinks he's funny" husband, who put in a ridiculous guess, and if it comes anywhere close to that, I'm going to blame him. Everyone else's guesses have been great. And hopefully we'll know at least one part of the puzzle by this Friday, whether it's a girl or a boy, when I have my ultrasound. I'm thinking the baby turned yesterday. My belly looked an odd shape & it was very painful, like the baby was using my lower intestines as a foothold to change position dramatically. Not very pleasant. But I guess we'll see this Friday.

Friday, February 13, 2004

Barenaked Ladies

No, this is not a blog that is going to involve some sort of nudity, so parents, you need not send your small children into the next room. The Barednaked Ladies I'm speaking of are the group from Canada. They are, in fact, Jeff's absolute favorite group of all-time (well, aside from the newest additions Dave Matthews, Tenacious D, and an old favorite Toad the Wet Sprocket). Jeff has been a huge fan since he was introduced to the band back in his Freshman year. He introduced me to them after we met & I, too, have become a huge fan. We have amassed all 8 of their CD's, including their original covered debut album, Gordon. All the Gordon's that are out in stores now have a different cover on it. Jeff's very proud that he owns the original. Our friend Deanna was gracious enough to buy us tickets to go see BNL in Lansing. We were, of course, psyched. The only problem was finding a sitter for Emma that wouldn't mind being at our house until after midnight in the middle of the week. Luckily, we were able to find someone at the college. An RHD (Resident Hall Director) named Andrea. She & Emma had met last Halloween when we brought her to the college to go trick-or-treating. Emma was dressed as Barbie of Swan Lake, and Andrea was performing in the ballet, Swan Lake, as the lead Odette, which is who Barbie portrays in the movie. And since Andrea gave her candy, Emma immediately liked her. In fact, everytime we go see Andrea in her office, the first thing out of her mouth is "Candy?" It's like a Pavlovian response. So, when Andrea showed up last night, Emma was esctatic. And of course, she had brought some candy. I guess it really doesn't take much to please a 4 year old.
Before too long, Andrea was being initiated into Emma's 4 year old world, including being shown all her favorite movies, her dolls & Barbies, and all of her dress-up clothes. In fact, we forgot to warn Andrea about Emma's desire to constantly wear her torn up Cinderella costume. If it were up to her, she'd wear it all the time. But she ends up looking a little too risque for a 4 year old, seeing as how the whole back of the skirt is ripped up to the waistband & the halter top never quite stays above her baby cleavage. But Andrea was completely into it, probably having something to do with the fact that she doesn't have kids yet.
So we went off to the concert without worry. We got there in plenty of time, and our seats were great. They were on the second level, but they were in the first row, and we had a completely unobstructed view. Plus, there were only 2 seats in the row, so it was like a private balcony. They had 2 opening acts, a girl named Butterfly Boucher, and a guy (with his band) named Gavin Degraw. They were both really good, especially Gavin Degraw. Very powerful singer & talented musician. He sounded like a blend of rock and R&B, with a singer/songwriter feel mixed in. Very cool. The only bad part was this group of college girls sitting behind us. They were talking the whole time during the 2 opening acts & I doubt that most of them even knew the group they were here to see. Now I'm not claiming that Jeff was the first ever BNL fan, because I know they were popular in Canada before they even came here. But Jeff, along with whomever introduced him to them, has been a fan since very early on. Most of their songs were a little eccentric in nature, especially with titles like "Be My Yoko Ono", "Enid", and "If I Had $1,000,000". It didn't help that, at the time, music was all about grunge & despair or rap & excess. These guys weren't all that attractive & their music was head-bobbingly happy. Nobody wanted to pay attention to 5 guys from Canada. Plus, it may be hard to be taken seriously when one of your band members bears a close resemblance to Carrot Top & plays the upright bass. Jeff & I can distinctly remember when BNL hit it big in the US. It was the release of a remake of their song "Brian Wilson" in 1998. We were living in Illinois, and we heard the song on the radio. We're like, hey, we know that song, but it's a little more "pop"y now. Jeff's immediate reaction was to get all defensive, especially after more people started claiming to be "huge" fans. But, as wary as Jeff was about BNL getting noteriety & "selling out", he was happy that they were getting some attention. And although most of their songs on the album that came out that year, Stunt, seemed to sound too mainstream, their lyrics proved that BNL was still eccentric at heart.
Although Jeff has been a fan for years, it seemed that fate didn't want him to see them in concert. Every time they were in town for a concert, regardless of where we were living, either he was out to sea or we were out of town. I've been wanting Jeff to finally be able to see them in concert for sometime now, and I was so happy to find out that they were going to be in Lansing. And Deanna had said that the next time they were anywhere around us, she'd buy us tickets, knowing how much Jeff loves them. She'd already seen them in concert & raved about it.
Ok, back to the concert. It was awesome. Enough said. These guys are such a kick to watch, the way they interact with each other and the audience is so funny. One of the guys' birthdays was yesterday, and I think the rest of the group (and the whole audience) sang "Happy Birthday" to him about 5 times. They're all very animated onstage & they take a lot of liberties when it comes to their lyrics. Nothing is sacred & they feel comfortable enough to ad-lib in the middle of their songs. Jeff was glad they played some of their older songs, including 2 (one during their encore) from their first CD. I wondered out loud to Jeff, if they busted out with "Grade 9" or "New Kid (on the block)", if most people would know those songs.
They did 2 encores, and I was pretty sure they were going to do a third one, but then all the house lights came on, and we guessed that was our cue to go home.
At this time, it was already 11:30pm. We called Andrea to let her know we were on our way, and she informed us that Emma had been great, and had gone to bed without complaint. You know, sometimes when I think that kid is a holy terror, she surprises us and is a perfect angel. After I got off the cell phone, I pretty much fell asleep. It's an hour-long drive and it was WAY past my bedtime. I seem to be falling asleep on the couch at home around 8:30pm more often than not. I think I need to be taking naps during the day, but it's kinda hard when Emma won't take them with me. Jeff was a trooper & stayed wide awake to drive home. He's my hero. I would have driven off the side of the road into a snow drift & we would have been forced to become cannibals in order to survive the elements. I know how difficult it can be to stay awake driving, late at night, when someone is asleep in the seat next to you. It's like yawning, it's contagious. All of a sudden, you find your eyes bobbing open & shut and you realize you can't remember the last 5 minutes of driving you did. Not a good situation to be in when you're be-bopping along at 70 MPH. I vaguely remember stopping for gas, but the next thing I knew, we were pulling into our driveway.
Of course, that little nap prevented me from being able to fall back asleep right away. Aw, the curse of the power nap. Jeff, on the other hand, practically zonked out before his head hit the pillow. Poor guy. And he had to go to work today, too. Again, he's my hero. I now know why coffee is his best friend.
Of course, Emma was happy to see us when she woke up this morning, but the next thing out of her mouth was "Where's Andrea?" I told her she went back to her house, and Emma reacted as if I'd told her we were leaving her at a train station, never to return. She just wilted, her cute little face just crumpled into an inconsolable sob. She climbed into bed with me, and just wailed about how she missed Andrea. This poor kid needs some more friends.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Baby blues

Ok, I know people are probably tired of my ranting about how all I want is to know what the heck I'm having, but here's another one. You can skip it if you like. I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday, all set to be told that he was going to refer me for my ultrasound. I was 30 weeks & that's when he said he would do it. I've been having my friends & family on pins & needles for 2 weeks waiting for this. So, I go, I see him, and it looks like the appointment is coming to a close, WITHOUT him saying a word about my referral. So, I ask him, and he starts to hem & haw & look at my chart. I immediately think in my head, he's going to say, I'd like to wait another 2 weeks. And that's exactly what happened. He says "I'd like to wait until after your next appointment." I just sat there, with a not so happy look on my face. He looks at me, sees my face, and says something like "Is that going to be ok?" And my first reaction was to say "NO! Of course not! Don't you realize that I'm only 10 weeks maximum from having this child? I might as well wait until I give birth with all the procrastinating you're doing!" But instead I say, "Well I'd really prefer to have it this week." So, he gives me the referral. But, as luck (or divine intervention) would have it, they don't have any open appointments until the 20th. I didn't realize THAT many people needed ultrasounds in this tiny town. But I'm not giving up, I'm going to call them everyday to see if they have any cancellations. And if I still have to wait until the 20th, oh well, at least I have a date right now. That's more than I had yesterday.
A friend of mine told me about this website that basically does what I had proposed yesterday. You go there, put in what you think the baby will be & all the other pertinent information about the birth (date, time, weight, length) and then they calculate the results & see who got the most points based on your guesses. I think that would be more fun & a lot less stressful for me, because they're doing all the work. It's called www.expectnet.com. I'm going to set it up this morning, so if you want to, you can go there & predict what we're going to have and all that fun stuff that goes along with it. So, go to expectnet.com and put in Wilson1 as the game name & it should take you right there. I put in my guesses already. But hey, what do I know? I'm only the one carrying this kid.

Monday, February 09, 2004

I can breathe!

I think both Emma & I are in the home stretch of recovery when it comes to this bronchitis we've had for over a week. For the first time, Emma has not needed her inhaler during the day or before bed, her coughing fits are virtually non-existent. And I can finally sleep through the night without breathing through my mouth & sounding like a freight train. My nose has finally healed from being assaulted by Kleenex 50 times a day and I'm no longer coughing up stuff that should be in a lab experiment. I think all of that made our weekend at home a much more relaxing & enjoyable experience.
I'm beginning to think that even Emma is starting to get tired of the cold & snow. Jeff decided to shovel the driveway on Saturday morning & Emma got all dressed up in her snow gear to go outside with him and play. After only 20 minutes, she comes back into the house, complaining she's cold & doesn't want to go back out there. My little snow bunny, who, every time we get into the car, whines about playing in the snow, tired of it after only 20 minutes? Somebody call Oprah, this is a huge moment. So, instead, we watched daddy shovel outside & knock all the icicles down from the eves. I asked him why he was doing that, I thought they were really pretty. He thought they posed too much of a hazard. What if somebody walked up to our front door, only to be impaled by a falling icicle? He doesn't think renter's insurance would cover that. Good point. But, as I looked outside this morning, I noticed that they're back. We had above average temps this weekend, so the snow on the roof was melting just a bit. Not enough to completely uncover the roof, though. No, somehow I don't think that will happen until at least March. Jeff also took care of the giant icicle that was forming underneath the air vent from the heater. It was at least 3 feet tall. I took some pictures of it & posted one on the website www.msnusers.com/wilso4jm. Not the best quality picture, because again, I can't take pictures even with a wonderful digital camera in the snow. They all turn out too dark. I was noticing that some of the icicles that had formed on the eves of the house weren't all that clear. They had a yellow tinge to them. That kinda grossed me out, thinking about how they got that way. There's really only one way that snow turns yellow & it probably has something to do with all the squirrels that live in the trees in our yard. I hear them on the roof when it's quiet, squeaking away, and something tells me that they just aren't playing happily up there. I think they've decided to use our roof as their personal toilet. Eww. Just another reason to listen to my biology teacher's advice back in high school: Never eat yellow snow. Or in this case, don't eat yellow icicles.
Well today is my doctor's appointment. Hopefully I'll find out this afternoon WHEN I'm going to get my ultrasound. I'm hoping it's going to be by the end of this week, I'm getting really impatient. But, since I've got a little time before we actually find out what we're having, I have a little game I'd like to play. It's called, What do YOU think we're having? Oh it'll be great fun, just send me an email to coolmommy99@scalablenetworking.com & tell me what you think I'm having, a girl or a boy? I'll try to keep the tally updated up until we actually find out & then post the results. Won't this be fun? I already have a few opinions, and just to let you know, the tally so far is 2/girl, 2/boy. I don't expect any scientific reasoning behind what your guess is, because there isn't any behind the opinions I already have. It's just your gut feeling.
This Thursday is the Barenaked Ladies concert. Jeff has been waiting for years to see this band. Everytime they were in San Diego, he was out to sea or we were out of town. They're playing in Lansing & Jeff is very excited. I am, too. It should be a lot of fun. Someone from the college, one of Resident Hall Directors, is going to watch Emma for us. Now the only other band that Jeff & I really want to see is Dave Matthews. But I suppose that one can wait.

Friday, February 06, 2004

I guess diamonds don't last forever

I made a very disturbing discovery this week. One of the little diamonds on my wedding band has fallen out & I can't find it anywhere. I was very upset when I saw this. I don't even know when it happened. It could have fallen out sometime last week & I didn't even notice. I've emailed the company we purchased it through and am waiting for a response. I do remember something they told us about how they would repair the ring, even replace a diamond, as long as we still had the band itself. But since there isn't a store nearby (or for at least 4 or 5 states), I'm not exactly sure what they could do about it. Plus, that was more than 7 years ago, so I don't even know if that guarantee is still effective. I guess I should just chalk it up to having a marriage that lasts longer than the ring itself. That's a good sign, right?
Emma was finally able to go back to preschool yesterday. Although they had school on Tuesday, she had to miss it because we took Jeff to Lansing for his Microsoft conference. She was really excited about seeing everyone again. And the teachers were happy to see her as well. I'm glad Emma is this happy about school. I'm hoping the trend will continue even after she starts school where there's homework involved.
The snow continues. We got about another 3 inches last night. I was just beginning to get used to the roads being clean. Even though the snow has been piled up 5-6 feet on the sides of the road, the roads themselves have been relatively clear because we hadn't gotten any new snow in about a week. And I just had the car washed yesterday, too. Having a clean car in Michigan in the winter isn't about vanity, I'm discovering. It's about keeping your car from getting rusty due to the copious amounts of salt they have to put on the roads. Sometimes I don't even think they plow the road before they pour on the salt. On some streets it seems they just salt the road & plow later, which makes no sense at all. All that does is make the snow slushy, which in turn makes it more difficult to control your car, equaling more accidents. Plus, if it gets really cold, the slush freezes, making inches of ice on the road & then we have the conditions like we did last week where at every stop sign & stop light we're sliding all over the road trying to slow down. Fun.
I think Emma's in serious denial about this baby thing. She has very serious & deliberate thoughts about this whole process. For instance, the baby's a girl, and apparently it's not going to be allowed to come out. When I try to explain that the baby will come out eventually, she gives me this look, like I've just told her that it was raining kittens outside. She doesn't believe me. I've tried to tell her all the fun things that we can do with the baby, like dress it & play with it, but that's not helping. Maybe when we go to the hospital for the sibling tour, she'll start to get the idea.

Thursday, February 05, 2004

The next Mary Lou Retton

Well, maybe that's a bold statement, especially after only 2 sessions of gymnastics, but there's no doubt that Emma thoroughly enjoys going. After 2 weeks of not being able to go anywhere or do anything, Emma was thrilled to be able to go to gymnastics last night. Her preschool's been cancelled due to the weather the past 4 times and since she was sick last week, she wasn't able to do gymnastics. She about peed herself when I told her it was time to put on her "suit" (what Emma calls her leotard). She couldn't wait to see her friends & do "jumping & bouncing". We went & picked Jeff up from work & headed over to the Student Activity Center, where the classes are held. The only bad part of having the class there is it seems every other week they have men's basketball games there & we have to park out in the back 40 or else pay the parking fee. So the able bodied people who have a VIP parking pass only have to walk maybe 40 yards to the front door, while the people with small children have to hoof it from the Ozarks in the snow & cold. I didn't think this was a fascist society, but I'm beginning to wonder.
As soon as we get there, though, I'm already thinking that I should have brought her inhaler. She starts coughing before we even get to the class & once she's in there, and starts running around, the coughing continues. But after about 5 minutes she stops & is good for the rest of the class. Jeff took some pictures with our digital camera & I just put them up on the website, so check them out. The lighting wasn't the best in there & with Emma running around, a lot of them turned out fuzzy, but we still got some good shots. And after the warm-ups, where every 2 seconds she was looking at us & giving up a thumbs up, she seemed to forget about us & concentrate on her class & having fun. That allowed Jeff & I to relax a little bit. I was able to to have a good discussion with my neighbor from across the street & Jeff read his computer book. Emma didn't seem to mind that we weren't paying 100% attention to her, but whenever she DID look up to find us, she saw that we were paying attention. It was more like a "just checking up on you" thing for both of us. We were making sure that she wasn't causing trouble & she was making sure we were still there & hadn't ditched her.
Once the class ended though, it was a struggle to get Emma to get her clothes back on to leave. She, again, was having too much fun to be bothered with leaving. But I think she finally realized that we would be coming back, so she relented without much of a fight. Something tells me, however, that gymnastics are going to be something we do every year. She's been bitten by the athletic bug & I don't foresee her slowing down anytime soon.

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday was my birthday, Groundhog Day. No, I didn't see my shadow & yes, I've heard all the jokes. If only that movie "Groundhog day" were reality. I'd love to repeat my birthday over & over again.
I had a very nice birthday. It actually started a few days before, when I got part of my present early. I had been wanting this "Prenatel exercise kit". It comes with a set of 2 lb. weights, and a set of those stretchy bands that mimic weights. They have 3 different levels, low, medium, & high. It also comes with one of those big yoga balls. I've been wanting one of those for awhile. Since I've been in physical therapy & using them, I've found them to be very comfortable on the lower back. Plus I've seen women use them on all those baby shows during labor. Since I plan on having a very different labor than I did with Emma (where I was forced to lie in bed the whole time), I'm hoping to be able to use it.
So that was the first part of it. Jeff also got me a package to the local salon/day spa. But that's going to have to wait until I'm feeling a little better. What's the point in getting an aromatherapy massage if you can't breathe through your nose?
He then took me out to lunch yesterday, which was very nice. We went to Ruby Tuesdays. We'd never been there before, and it's very good food. He was able to get off work early, and we got take out for dinner, so we could stay at home & be together as a family, instead of at a restaurant. He got a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, that said "Happy Birthday, Mom" on it. Emma helped him pick it out. So we sat at home, having dinner & dessert. Emma & Jeff sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was a very nice day.
Emma has been having a field day with "Alice in Wonderland". I really think it's her new favorite movie. She's watched it half a dozen times (or more) since we got it in the mail last Friday. It came with a memory type game of all the characters in the movie. This kid has a really good memory. She wants to play the game all the time, and most of the time, she wins. Of course, there is a fair amount of cheating involved, on her part. But that's only during the beginning of the game. Until she remembers where all the cards are & keeps picking pair after pair. But even when she doesn't sneak looks at more than 2 cards during her turn, she still manages to beat Jeff & I.
She's also getting really excited about gymnastics coming up tomorrow night. Barring any other medical emergencies, she should be going as scheduled. And since it snowed a fair amount last night, I doubt she's going to have preschool today, so I'm glad gymnastics can't be called on account of the weather. I'm beginning to doubt whether paying the preschool $50/month regardless of how many days they're actually going is worth it. Especially since the past 2 weeks have been cancelled. Oh well. I guess that's the price you pay when you live where it snows...a lot. So, back to gymnastics. Emma was practicing her somersaults last night. Jeff was helping her remember her form. And she was getting pretty good. Not at all like the first night at class, where she was rubbing her scalp bald on the mats or falling over sideways. After we saw that she had the somersaults down pretty well, I wanted to see if she would want to try a cartwheel, with help of course. She didn't quite get the mechanics of that one down, though. She's still pretty stiff and doesn't want to be positioned into where she needs to be. We worked on her stretching, and trying to keep her legs straight. She did really well with that. So, I think, even though she missed last week, she'll be ok.