Kitchen Remodel and More

Let's just say I haven't been too much of a stickler when it comes to blogging weekly-I really have a lot to learn! So much happens and so few know! Let's start with where I left off...

Now rounding the corner of my 25th week-officially looking pregnant is no longer a concern. The concern is officially NOT fitting into maternity clothes. Can you believe some of the maternity wear I purchased already doesn't fit!? I've gained a whopping 26lbs to date with an approximate 15 to go...right on track for my forecasted forty! Gabriel seems to be doing wonderfully! I have my glucose tolerance test this Friday (yeah!...NOT.) and my follow up ultrasound in two weeks. Hopefully my low-lying placenta has moved up stream!

Our kitchen remodel is moving along slowly but surely and our back splash and counter tops are in! The pictures do not do them justice but they are just gorgeous. The honey colored maple counter tops really complement our existing furniture. Additionally, Mike has just begun sanding so that painting can begin (hence why I'm blogging-to avoid little dust particles). Mike will be doing the lion's share of the work with the kitchen while I look on-helpless to help but quick to correct!

On a much more solemn note; our uncle Richard has taken ill. He went to the hospital after having been unable to eat or drink for several days. He was extremely dehydrated and had lost a significant amount of weight. After thorough testing, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 lymphoma of the stomach and esophagus and was referred to a local hospice agency. He is now seeking palliative rather than curative care in the comfort of his own home with his wife alongside. We aim to see him within the next few weeks but ask for everyone's thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

The Beginning of the End

Having just cleared the 'half-way' mark, our pregnancy is currently at 23 weeks (only 17 weeks to go!-er, in theory) and I've finally reached the 'comfortable' point. I'm able to wear maternity clothes (and they fit) and I have been officially acknowledged by a stranger as 'pregnant' rather than 'tubby'. The bad news, you ask? I think that Gabriel has officially begun his sleep stealing techniques. Whether through movement or just plain discomfort-sleep has now become tough. I guess this will be the point when naps will begin to make up for the fact I often wake up twice (at least) to pee in the middle of the night and can typically not fall asleep again after 5:30am...for a job I normally don't have to get up for until 10am! Either way, this milestone (half-way mark) has really helped to ease much of my anxiety about being pregnant and so on...now the anxieties are beginning about labor and delivery-and of course, motherhood.

Demolition began on Monday of our 1950's kitchen. We will have a new back splash, counter top (honey maple butcher block), cabinet doors (with mullions), and fixtures in the end. Mike is working alongside our contractor, Rick (whom we love), and is having a blast. Yesterday he even had hammer envy.

Attack!

For those of you who haven't heard via phone call, I figured it was important to post that I was bitten by a dog two weeks ago while dropping a client off at her home. Needless to say, we (me and Bean) are perfectly fine. The most interesting part of the whole story is that the dog actually went airborne for a few seconds-she ran from one side of the fenced backyard towards me and jumped onto the chain link gate and over she went. Afterward, the family has had some issues determining which dog (of the two black and white female pit bulls they have) was really the culprit. I can't deny my current instinct was to face their free standing brick mailbox and sheild my belly so I didn't get the world's greatest eye witness report. I'm sure that if I weren't preggers that dog would've eaten my foot since I would've retaliated differently. The tetanus shot was probably the worst part but the whole event scared the poo out of me and did make me feel a lot less safe with my job. Luckily, HR came up the following week to see our employees and I made my concerns known. I will say, although I'm not 'actively' looking for a new job because of all of the things I love about Eckerd, I can't be too sure about my longevity with this position (not just because of the dog bite-because that was definitely an isolated incident...but my job has turned me into the most cynical social worker I know). I plan to remain with Eckerd (if they'll have me) until I'm done with kiddos since the job really lends itself to raising kids. I think once our youngest (whenever that will be) hits VPK I'll probably be ready for a desk job or something closer to the gerontological background I pursued in grad school.

Ta-da!

The past week has been full of ups and downs (new car, Mike's parents visiting, baby shower, etc.) and had a bizarre climax on July 15th. Our ultrasound went well on July 10th and the week went on as normal with our little Bean finally named a boy. The week progressed, I saw my clients like normal, ate, slept, and complained like normal and then WHAMMO! My chest felt as if I had had a gallon of milk in my stomach for six days and ended up experiencing what I now know as heartburn that landed me in triage for three hours (one hour was paperwork). Everything was perfectly fine with me and the baby...and after a high priced dose of Maalox in labor and delivery, I was feeling better. Now we have a bottle on hand and will be able to diagnose the situation more readily. I will be sure, however, to let my friends know who have yet to become pregnant that a bottle of Maalox is just as necessary as cocoa butter.

A brand new car!

So-the posting once a week idea is a bit off considering so much has happened over the course of the weekend.

On Friday, Mike's parents arrived along with Aunt Virginia and Uncle Richard-our visit was short but sweet. By Saturday morning, our long awaited new car finally arrived after months of debating and test driving. Despite our wanting a Hyundai Genesis sedan, which was a bit out of our comfort zone price range, we still ended up with a Hyundai after all-a Veracruz. It's most comparable to a Lexus RX300 luxury SUV. It's quite posh, what can I say...her name is 'Dory'.

Then, after all the excitement of our visiting family and new car, my supervisor Angelyn, held a baby shower for me and Gabriel! The games were hilarious and it was really wonderful having Mary, Virginia, and Ruthie there since the trip to Daytona would be all but impossible for each of them. The games were a blast and the gifts very thoughtful (love the 'urp cloths', Ang!) Most memorable was when Mary fed Ruthie a bit of 'poopy diaper' to verify which melted candy bar was inside...it was classic! Needless to say-quite a bit has occurred over the last 72 hours and Mike and I are just about to start settling into our routine again.

Pregnancy Part Duex

For the first part of our pregnancy story, see "It's a boy!"

After having told Mike in the bustling union at FSU we were pregnant (and after the 10 minutes of hyperventilation that comes with knowing you're pregnant), off we went!

At 19 weeks, our pregnancy has been almost perfect! I have not suffered any debilitating symptoms like nausea or water retention, rarely am I fatigued, and the baby's development according to our 18 week ultrasound is perfect. One thing I have had to deal with is what is termed 'gestational rhinitis'-or a permanent stuffy nose during pregnancy. It is caused by the influx of hormones throughout the body leading to inflammation of the sinuses...if, however, this is the only symptom I have with my pregnancy...I will be a happy camper! We were told that my placenta has developed close to the cervix, however, but is often corrected as the pregnancy progresses and the baby grows within the uterus. All that in mind, it seems that we've been truly blessed!

Prior to becoming pregnant I weighed a delicious 117 pounds (on a bad day) and shortly arriving at our half way mark, am already up to 130!

Updates will surely follow and as soon as we scan our ultrasound pictures they will be posted, promise!

It's a boy!

Well-it appears that our little bundle of joy is a bouncing baby boy! We've decided on Gabriel Thomas as his name and can't wait till he gets here! Since I've not posted hardly any information regarding our pregnancy, here's the abbreviated version of our story...

For those of you who may not know, Mike and I use Natural Family Planning as our method of pregnancy postponement. NFP is 100% free and as effective as other means of birth control when used correctly. Compared to the Catholic Church's rhythm method of pre-Vatican II, NFP has many more advantages...namely, it actually works!

Despite our efforts to start a family after three years of marriage-we got just about one year under our belt before becoming pregnant. Whether you want to blame it on our method (we're big rule followers) or divine intervention is up to you-we choose the later-either way, our date of conception is almost that of our one-year wedding anniversary and we are slotted to have our son arrive on December 8th, 2009 (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, no less).

On April 8th, 2009 after feeling a bit under the weather for a few days, slightly irritable, and experiencing soreness in my chest-I decided to use a pregnancy test (since I have a batch at my house for my job-you never know what my clients will run into)...and lo and behold! A positive result! I actually did the test upon waking up, cleaned the ferret's litter box, fed the dog, let her outside, changed, and then checked the test-without the slightest thought it would be positive...needless to say, I immediately scheduled an appointment that morning with our primary to get a second opinion. After leaving the office with a smile on my face and the greatest sense of impending doom (each day is more exciting then the next and a bit less fearful), I wandered over to FSU's campus to tell Mike the news.

To be continued...