April 29, 2007

Just our luck . . .

It has been one long week. On Friday, I felt like it was Tuesday . . . not because the week passed quickly. It felt like it was Tuesday of next week. Unfortunately, this weekend is flying by and I haven't gotten anything done that I had planned on getting done. So, instead of doing it this morning, I'm writing this blog.

On Thursday, when it was raining, our bad luck struck again. I had to run some flyers to Addison Elementary and when I got back to camp, I turned of the wipers, turned off the explorer and put the keys in the cup holder. Only the wipers kept going. I looked at the keys, looked at the wiper switch and sat there for a minute trying to figure out what I had forgotten to do. Is it possible that the wipers can still run without the keys in the car? For us, it is. Only us.

So, I called Chuck and he came to look at the situation. He looked under the steering column and after consulting the car manual, he pulled the fuse for the wipers. They kept going. I was ready to have our staff lay hands on our car and pray out of fear that it was possessed by some evil spirit sent by the rain gods. So, he finally unhooked the battery and they stopped. Hoping that it would reset them, we reattached the battery, but lo, the started back up again. So, for a little more than 24 hours, I just unattached the battery when I got somewhere and reattached it when I went to leave again. A little inconvenient . . . and I got some stares from people who couldn't figure out why the crazy pregnant lady had her wipers on at the second highest speed and detached her battery everywhere she went.

The next day, Dave was able to find the fuse under the hood that turned the wipers off. So, if it rains we're screwed but at least we don't have the wipers going in all of this sunny weather. We googled the problem and found several answers . . . everything from needing to clean the wiper motor to needing to replace the steering column. If we have to replace the steering column, I can honestly say we'll become a one-car family because there is absolutely not way we can afford that.

On top of all of this, our basement still smells like sewage and we can't figure out why.

I'm not being whiny . . . I just find it amusing that we have the most unfortunate luck of anyone I know. At Kyle's baseball game yesterday, foul balls kept heading toward the parking lot. I estimate that we are at least 10 times more likely to have our windshield hit by the ball than anyone else.

Here's some good news: the past two or three days I've had more feeling in my hands than I've had in a while. And my ankles have only been mildly swollen! I'm thankful for that.

I went shopping for nursing clothes yesterday . . . no luck. The ones that fit well are way out of my price range and the ones that are cheap are not comfortable AT ALL. I guess I need to hit a few more places up and try some more clothes on. I really don't think that the size "XS" should be allowed in maternity or nursing clothes. First of all, it's a downer for most of us. Second of all, I think even the smallest girls are at least a "S" and probably usually a "M" by the end of their pregnancies.

We have the SBC summer kick-off today. I hope it goes well and that we get a lot of kids there that have never been to camp before. Our camp registrations have been UP from last year, which is a really pleasant surprise with the state of the economy in Michigan. I just want kids to experience everything about camp that I was able to experience as a kid. I would say that my summers at camp and my four years in college are the most important experiences I had that shaped who I am today.

Well, Kyle's outside trying to get the lawnmower to start . . . and if I had to guess, I'd say that our chances of getting it to work without paying out a lot of money to get it fixed somehow are slim, but stranger things have happened. :)

April 23, 2007

Genius

Do you know who I think is a genius? The guy who invented the remote control. I know that it is sometimes the symbol of general laziness, but for the person who feels like her ankles are wrapped tightly in ace bandages because they're so swollen, it's really quite helpful.

I LOVE this weather. Spring is the only time of year that I'm ok with living in Michigan (as opposed to, say, Southern California). In church on Sunday, our pastor said that spring comes as a surprise every year . . . you never hear anyone complaining that this spring is just like last year's spring! My windows are open and my house smells like summer. THere are boats out on the lake. I love it!

If you feel led to pray for me this week, pray that I'll be able to focus on getting the theology portion of my thesis done. My goal before the baby comes is to have that done (well, that's more than a goal .. . it's a requirement) and to have hte survey done. If I have the survey done, I can adminster it during Senior Teen camp, thereby eliminating the need to round up test subjects. I'm having trouble focusing and getting anything done when there's so much camp stuff and baby stuff to be done. I'm hoping I can buckle down this week and make some significant progress.

Kyle and I bought a camera today. He had asked for gift cards to Best Buy for Christmas to purchase a GPS system. EVERYONE got him gift cards, so he bought the GPS system in January and we've been sitting ont he rest of the gift cards ever since. I have my digital Canon Rebel which takes fantastic pictures, but it's really bulky. I've been wanting something I can throw in my purse or the diaper bag just to have in case . . . well, in case the baby does something new or cute. So, we found one in the price range of the gift cards today and I'm pretty happy with it. It was hard to walk away from the $500 sony one that I really wanted, but I know that I'm better off not having to spend money out of pocket that I don't have!

Well, I just heard Kyle pull into the driveway from taking our trash to the dumpsters at camp. He's got Murphy with him so my moments of peace are over!

Another day, another shower!

Shower #5 was on Saturday! It was last, but not least. It was a lot of fun and Kyle's mom and the other girls at camp that put it on did a great job! What happened to shower #4? You can read more about that later when I have pictures to post.

We received a glider for the nursery, a bassinet, toy rocket, a base for our car seat, clothes, toys, bath items, a diaper pail, humidifier and so much more! We feel incredibly blessed! The invitations asked people to bring a children's book instead of a card so we have tons of books for our little boy. THey are all so sweet. We have so few things that we still need . . . we are amazed at how much people have helped us out! Our kid is going to be VERY well dressed, that's for sure.

Here are some pictures of the shower:

The theme was "planes" just like our nursery theme:





Instead of games, everyone decorated a burp cloth or onesie!



I enjoyed relaxing and opening gifts in our new glider:



By the way, remember when I was talking about the claw in my last blog? Here it is:


It was a really good time and I had a lot of fun. I'm so thankful for everyone who was a part of it!

April 20, 2007

The Claw

Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Chandler gets “the claw?” It’s the one where he plays an arcade game for so long that his hand molds to the shape of the joystick and looks like a claw. I’ve developed a claw. My right hand is so numb and achy (which seems like an oxymoron, but unfortunately is not) from pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome that I can’t get it wrapped around anything with using my left hand to manually move my thumb. It looks like a prosthetic hand when I try and pick up a glass, pencil, or anything else. Typing is even becoming more difficult.

I’ve also developed cankles. Full-blown cankles. Only at night though. On Wednesday night my ankles were the same width as my claves. It’s ridiculous.

I really am just trying to make fun of myself rather than complaining here. I know that every pregnant woman goes through what I’m going through and I have no reason to complain. Most people have it much worse. I do find myself rolling my eyes though when I hear people who are 20 weeks pregnant complain about being uncomfortable and tired. I know that I probably complained at that point too, but I really don’t think I got too whiny until a couple of weeks ago.

We had our 34 week check-up on Wednesday. Once again, my weight brought me to tears. It’s going to take me years to get back to my original weight. Years. However, the baby is healthy. The doctor couldn’t get a heartbeat long enough to be able to record it because the baby was moving so much. He asked if he always move this much. Every day except for Easter Sunday he does. The great news is that his head is down. That's my boy . . . ready to go!

The highlight of my trip to the doctor’s office, however, can be summarized by the following equation:

Very Pregnant Woman + Tight, thin white sweat pants + Hot pink thong =
Way inappropriate.

We had to wait for 50 minutes before our appointment, but this lady made it all worth it. You couldn't not look. It was so horrific that you couldn't turn your head away. She had two young kids with her and looked like she was about to pop the third out any day. What possessed her to wear thin, tight white pants with a hot pink thong? Not anything fashionable, that’s for sure.

April 16, 2007

Countdown!

5 Weeks, 5 Days left! Seriously, I woke up really excited this morning. This is ironic because last night was an AWFUL night. But I'm not the "I can't wait until this misery is over" kind of excited this morning. I'm the "I'm so excited to meet him and love him" kind of excited!

With the exception of hanging a few frames, the nursery is pretty much done. There are still some things we need, but if he were born today, we'd have all of our immediate needs for him met. Usually, I'm always preparing last minute for upcoming events, but I can honestly say that I'm ready. I wish the nesting instinct would kick in every time I needed to get things done!

My wardrobe is shrinking as there are fewer and fewer maternity tops that will still cover my belly. I think they should label maternity clothes like they do baby clothes: 0 - 3 months, 3 - 6 months and 6 - 9 months.

I have two more showers and they're both this week. I'm so grateful for the people who have thrown them / are throwing them for us. I'm not sure what we would have done without them! I feel so blessed . . . not just by the gifts but by the fact that there are so many people out there who love us and will love this little boy. He has so much family and surrogate family that he'll never be lacking for love, advice or support.

Kyle and I bought a mattress for the crib on Friday with some gift cards. We also got to pick out some clearance clothing items. It seems like no matter how many clothes, it never seems like we have enough. I had a parent tell me yesterday that there are days they go through 3 - 4 sets of clothes a day with their newborn! I'm going to be doing a lot of laundry!

April 13, 2007

How much longer?

Just when I think I can't possibly feel any less in my hands than I do know, they go a little number. I don't think I slept for more than 10 - 20 minutes at a time last night because of the throbbing and tingling. Ice doesn't help. Heat doesn't help. When I use google to try and find information on carpal tunnel syndrome relief, all of the websites just allude to the fact that it goes away after delivery. That's great, but I still have 6 weeks of misery. My OB told me to take Unisom to help me sleep at night. I guess I'll try that, but it's not going to help me function during the day. Typing takes twice as long. Picking up anything between my right thumb and index finger is getting difficult. Gripping anything (like the glass of water that I just dumped down the front of my shirt) is proving to be a challenge.

Needless to say, with my lack of sleep, it's been an emotional day.

I just called the pediatrician's office that I was set on sending the baby to after he's born and was informed that he isn't accepting new patients right now. After crying about it for 15 minutes, an overhwhelming feeling of panic began to sink in. As I began searching for info on pediatricians in Jackson, I ran across information on the importance getting your finances in order before your baby is born. I cried again. I'm avoiding all mirrors today because I know that it will result in even more tears.

Don't get me wrong . . . I'm really excited about this baby and I love him and I would go through 10 times the stuff that I'm dealing with now to have him. I just feel miserable right now. I know a lot of people have much harder pregnancies than I do so I shouldn't complain. I'm just really ready for the pregnancy to be over and the parenting to begin. Someone might have to remind me that I said that in about 2-3 months.

April 12, 2007

Birds of a feather . . .

Mark my words . . . today's going to be a weird day.

Weird thing #1: I just woke up. Well, that's not completely true. I woke up for first breakfast at about 6:00, but must have laid back down because it's little after 8:30 and I woke up for the second time because I was snoring so loud it startled me. I so rarely snore, and I never sleep in past 7. That's weird.

Weird thing #2: I was sitting at my kitchen table (where I still currently am) checking my e-mail and looked up to see two robins sitting on our birdfeeder (which is empty) staring at me out of the beady little eyes on the sides of their head. As I sat here thinking about how ironic it is to see these symbols of spring in a week that is so cold and snowy one of them took off flying right toward me . . . right into the window! I've seen marks on our windows from birds before but I've never actually seen one fly into it . . . especially flying straight toward me. So, so strange. FYI: The bird seems to be alright and did fly away eventually.

Weird thing #3: As I was sitting in shock over the robin hitting the window, I looked up and saw a HUGE turkey walking through our back yard toward our deck. At this point, I looked for a camera because I was stunned. I've seen turkeys cross the street when I'm driving and at camp, but never in our back yard and never after a different bird just crashed into our kitchen window. But that's not all. Following the turkey was a deer. If I didn't know better, I would think they were friends traveling together. Honestly, I feel a little like it was a dream.

Weird thing #4: This is the weirdest of them all. Murphy was sitting on the back of the living room chair watching the whole thing. Her head kept tipping from side to side but she DIDN'T BARK AT ALL! I wonder if she was as perplexed as i am. This dog barks if she sees a squirrel three yards away. But she just sat there looking and seemed to be speechless.

Maybe this doesn't seem weird to you, but when it all happens in the first 10 minutes that you're awake it still seems like you're dreaming a little. It's only 9AM . . . I wonder what the rest of the day holds.

April 11, 2007

Oui oui

We did group building for 46 5th graders today . . . 23 of which speak nothing but French. I took 4 years of French in high school and I fell that Southgate public schools failed me miserably because I had absolutely no way of communicating with them. It was interesting, to say the least.

Here's the 33 week picture for you to enjoy/make fun of. It's very hard to look like a "cute pregnant woman" past 27 or 28 weeks.


April 9, 2007

Nesting is for the birds . . .

After two full days of crib shopping, we came home and bought a crib online. We could have saved a lot of gas money if we had just settled to do that in the first place. Our nursery furniture is WHITE which is what I said I would never do. I'm more of a dark wood fan (as evidenced by the furnishing in most of our house). But I think it will look good. We found the crib on ebay and the dresser/changer from Ikea. They were cheap . . . and you get what you pay for. Oh well . . . we don't need a Pottery Barn nursery. He won't know the difference anyway!

I washed all of the clothes, blankets, sheets, etc. that we've accumulated for this little boy. I've sorted and folded everything, but kids' clothes sizing is annoying. SOme things say 0 - 3 months, some say 3 months and others say 3 - 6 months, but everything looks like a different size. Plus, I've been told by some parents that the sizing is pretty accurate and others tell me that it's way off for most kids. I hope we're equipped with enough in the sizes that we need.

We had another shower on Saturday that Kyle's aunts threw for us. It was so nice and they did an amazing job planning it. We got clothes, toys, a bundle bag for the car seat, a baby monitor, books, a diaper bag (one that has been approved as masculine enough for kyle), and so much more! It was, once again, overwhelming. Here are some pictures:


They had a cake made that matched our bedding for his room exactly!


Me with my mom (left) and Kyle's mom (right).


Not the best picture of me ever, but it gives you an idea of how ginormous I am.


Ready to be done with pictures.

All in all, it was a good time!

Easter was pretty good . . . we went to my parent's church and had dinner with my family. Afterwards, we went to Ikea (which we thought was weird that it was open on Easter, but we were glad it was) to buy the dresser that matched our crib. In the everning, we went to Kyle's parents for an hour or two to see his aunt, uncle and cousins. We realized on our way home on Sunday that from now on we'll be doing Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts for our baby every year. We're so grown up.

I went to triage on Monday morning because I hadn't felt the baby move in so long. I felt him twice on Sunday and not at all all night through Monday morning. I called and they told me to come in. THe nurse found a heartbeat right away and made me feel like an idiot for worrying. Then gave me a discharge paper that said I should come back if I had severe cramping or if I felt a decrease in fetal activity! I can't win. But the heartbeat was strong and there's nothing to worry about.

Kyle had his first baseball game yesterday and his team won both games! They played so well. The first game wasn't too bad to watch, but the sun started to go down on the second game and we froze! I didn't think I'd make it through both games but I did. My back is paying today from sitting on bleachers for so long.

Only 6 1/2 weeks left and I can't wait to get the feeling back in my fingers and the heartburn out of my throat!

April 4, 2007

Crib shopping

I'm watching the news and they're talking about the wind chill this morning. It was 51 when I woke up and it's 40 now. April's not supposed to be this cold.

Kyle and I are on unofficially spring break. Basically, we're off this week, but we're just working at home and trying to get ready for the baby. It's nice though because if I think of something at camp that I need to do, I can just go do it instead of trying not to forget it all week. Kyle got the nursery painted and the closet organizer set up this past weekend. MOnday, he cleaned up the yard, took down Christmas lights and cleaned all of the gutters. We also added some things to our registries becasue we keep hearing from people that there's not much left, but it looks like there's a lot left to us. I wonder if a lot of it is no longer available in stores. My throat closes up a little when I think about how much there still is that we should go out and get, but I just remember that my friend Annie told me all he needs when he's born is a place to sleep and a source of food . . . both of which we can provide.

My job was shampooing the carpet in the nursery. I ended up having to shampoo all the way down the hallway and into our bedroom too because . . . my feet have been so numb lately I can't feel anything. So when I was trying to figure out what Murphy got into that left bright red spots all the way down our hallway into our bedroom, I failed to realize that I cut my foot and was tracking blood all over the house because I couldn't feel it. That cannot be healthy. Luckily, it all came out of the carpet.

We crib shopped all day yesterday. It wasn't fun. We find a style we like, but it's not the finish that we're looking for. Our we find a great dark wood finish, but it's an ugly style or it's WAY out of our price range. I'm really close to buying one of the cheap cribs from IKEA. I just don't want it to look cheap, which it does. I guess I need to get over that.

We had our hospital tour tonight and it scared me a little. Being in a delivery room made it all very real. Thinking about actually going into labor and delivering is something I've tried to think very little about (other than trying to convince the baby to make his way into the world on May 11 or 12). Just talking about epidurals and how much they cost made me dizzy. People keep asking me if I want drugs or to have a natural delivery. I'm not sure I can afford to have anything more than a natural delivery. I shouldn't complain . . . at least I have insurance. Then again, if I didn't, the state would probably cover all of my labor and delivery costs. Where's the justice? I know I shouldn't worry. I don't need to be rich and I don't need to retire rich. I just need to have a healthy baby . . . but like I said back in October: I still hope he comes out holding a bag of cash.

We have another dr. appointment today. I think I go every other week or maybe every week starting now. While the first 30 weeks seem like they took forever, the last three weeks have FLOWN by. I think this baby might come before I'm ready for him. I'm gonna start looking at cribs online.