Evan Update

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Semi-clear picture of Evan's face. He looks a lot like Mike!
A little bit of a smashed picture. He must have been right up against something.

Evan is getting to be quite a large baby. At almost 30 weeks, he is now 3 lbs and 11 ozs. He's in the 70% precentile for growth. Otherwise, my blood pressure is fine and I'm up to 16 lbs total, but I'm eating all of the time. I'm worried about how large he may get but we should be fine. While we were having the ultrasound/sonogram, the tech popped his picture into 3D/4D mode. It was very cool. We have determined that he looks a lot like Mike. One of Mike's coworkers even told him that Mike has the same face when he wakes up in the mornings, after his shift. I would have to agree.

$50 doesn't go far!

After work today, I had to go by Babies R Us and pick up a high chair that Mike's father, Dick, and stepmom, Jackie, bought us. While there, I decided to use a coupon and buy a box of diapers. There went the first $30. Afterwards, I went across the street to Costco. One bag of cat food, a box of cookies for my husband, and a dinner salad later, and I'm out another $20. I'm trying to go ahead and buy diapers when I can so that we can absorb a little of the cost now and not later when Evan is here.

Otherwise, it was a crazy day at work. If anyone watched the news this weekend, there was a huge story about Northside Hospital and the Transplant Program defrauding the government because of an improper financial and referral relationship. Imagine working in that program and never knowing anything! My boss didn't tell us for 2 and a half years. My coworker and I knew something was going on but didn't know the story until the top story on WSB aired Friday. Today, patients were asking us if we were embarrassed to be working for the program. I guess that's just how the world works but it is amazing how people can pull the wool over your eyes!

Long time no blog...

Mike has gotten our computer back to working at a normal speed and I am slowly working on rebuilding all of my bookmarks and stored passwords. I had to remember that I was neglecting this blog. I'll try to get better!

Overall things are great! It was a busy Friday. There were two wedding rehearsals at church and I had another couple, getting married in November, attend the rehearsals to help them see how things go in a Catholic wedding ceremony and so that they could ask me questions. The night was crazy with all of the people there but it went by fast!

Afterwards, I got to see our sponsor couple from when we were married in the church last July. Tim and Sharon are wonderful people and we've just missed them at mass lately. They were eating dinner but took a break to talk to me. Tim and Sharon have also accepted our invitation to be Evan's Godparents. They really helped guide us to learning more about each other and our faith, when we were preparing for our Catholic convalidation, and Mike and I both feel they will make good Godparents. Mike and I are attending a Baptismal Prep class on Sunday and I'm excited! Evan isn't here yet but I feel better knowing that things are falling into place.

I guess my last happy thought for the evening is that it is nice to know that you belong somewhere. I really love my church and feel honored to be a part of it. Mike and I are both in ministries that we love (though I try to quit mine often!), we have our favorite priest that we adore, and we've made great friends that have made lasting impressions on us and our faith!

Computer Issues

We are having minor computer/browser issues. Until then, my blogs will probably take a backseat. It is hard to lose all of your bookmarks and saved passwords. At least I have them written down. More tomorrow....

OB Visit Update

I went to the OB today and the measurement was perfect, heartbeat was normal, weight is up to 12 lbs total (but that should change soon as I get into my 3rd trimester), and my blood pressure was great! The visit only took 30 minutes too so that really topped things off! I have a doctor's visit at least once a week from here on out with at least one of my doctor's. This is where things get expensive with office visit copays. At least all of the visits and all of the money are for my little miracle. It makes it worth it just thinking about it.

Opinions!

We all know that everyone has them and sometimes I wonder why! I am sick and tired of everyones horror stories of knowing a diabetic that had a huge baby, early baby, or otherwise. People can give me their opinion on my diabetes just as soon as they review all of my medical records. I bring this up because I met some people that work with Mike at his other job, last night. Mike already told me this one girl was a nurse who used to work at Northside in labor and delivery and she said that I would have Evan by week 35. She made it a point to tell me again, last night, when I met her, that she doesn't think I'll make it past 35 weeks. Did I ask her? No!

Anyways, just felt like venting. I appreciate good thoughts and positive advice but don't tell me your horrors or what you think will happen to me when you know nothing about me. I guess pregnancy is a time when everyone thinks they know your body better than you.

Other than unwanted opinions, it's been a good week. I have a regular OB visit tomorrow morning. I've also been busy arranging the upcoming church weddings (since I volunteered and I can't seem to get out of the job). I hope everyone else is having a good and unwanted opinion free week!

Childbirth Prep

I haven't had much to blog about lately. Evan is still moving right along. We went to our first session of Childbirth Prep tonight at Northside. Tomorrow, we go back for 8 more hours. It's really interesting and we learned to breathe tonight. All of a sudden, I'm undecided about an epidural vs. natural childbirth. I know a lot of people really feel strongly one way or another but I guess I will see when the time comes. Mike is a great sport about going to the class too. He was breathing right along with everyone else tonight. Hopefully tomorrow's class goes by fast and we learn a lot.

Thursday's Baby Update

I haven't been feeling too hot so I didn't post on Thursday after my appointment. Evan is currently 2 lbs 1 oz and in the 64% precentile for growth at 25 weeks and 4 days. I have to watch that. I am up to 11 lbs total, which shocked me because I put on the last 4-5 lbs in one week. I guess the weight gain is starting now! My blood pressure was also running a little high on the systolic side. The doctor wasn't concerned but I was. It did come back down before I left. I started doing some walking in the evening Thursday to help keep my blood pressure in a good place. We'll be 26 weeks tomorrow! Time is flying by.

Never Take a Self-Portrait

Well here you go! This is what I look like today, at 25 weeks and 2 days. I don't have makeup on but I did try and brush my hair and wear something decent as I tried to take a picture of my baby belly. I was determined not to take the picture with me holding the camera in my face where all you would see was my stomach. I had to find tall pieces of furniture but I got one decent picture. The pictures always make you look fatter too! Maybe I've eaten a lot this week? I will get another weight check on Thursday when I go for my ultrasound. Don't be too critical, it's all I could manage to do. :)

Another Great Baby Find

I have been obsessed with finding an exersaucer lately. I know Evan won't even use it until at least 3-4 months after he's born but I wanted to get one so bad. I wanted a used one even more since they are so expensive new. Last night I was on Craig's List and found one. It is in excellent condition and I only paid $25. I went to pick it up in Marietta today. It took me about 45 minutes back and forth from work but it was well worth it. I've already cleaned it up some, just to put it in storage. I'm very excited!

Nice Surprises!

I went to the OB/GYN this morning and everything went well. I've only gained about 3 or 4 more pounds so I'm up 7 total. I think it is actually only 6 pounds because I didn't take my boots off this morning when I weighed. I'll check again next week with I go to the perinatologist. Evan's heartbeat sounded good on the doppler too. The doctor moved my appointments from 4 weeks from today until 3, so that I will see a doctor every 2 weeks until I hit the magical 32 weeks, when I get to go twice a week until Evan arrives.

When I arrived home today, I received the wonderful Rachael Ray oval saute pan that you see pictured above. Mike went to Linens and Things and bought it for me because I mentioned that I wanted that pan in particular and because they didn't have the entire 10 piece set. The 10 piece set doesn't include an oval saute pan (just a round one), so this was a nice treat. I was completely surprised, and especially impressed that he used a coupon! At least I have taught him one of my crazy coupon habits.

Katy, Mike's sister, arrives tomorrow. We are going to the Baby Faire at the Galleria on Saturday. I'm excited about going and that she is coming to visit us for a few days. I'll try to take a picture of her and me, and not just one of my new saute pan.

Rachael Ray

I am totally obsessed with Rachael Ray, but I can't stand to watch her on TV. I'm weird, I know! I have Tivo'ed her daytime show and the first one was so annoying that I only made it through half. I am going to try and watch some more when I get bored. I can watch her 30 Minute Meals and Tasty Travels shows but after 30 minutes, I want to beat myself silly because I find her so irritating. With all this said, I have every one of her cookbooks, one of her Furi knives, a subscription to her magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and now I want the new set of the Rachael Ray hard anodized cookware with the funky orange handles. I am trying to figure out the best way to save money on it though. I think I can use a Linens and Things coupon on it! I also think I might get the set for Christmas.

Keep in mind, Mike does MOST ALL of the cooking. I think my obsession with the 30 minute meals cookbooks is because I have little or no talent in cooking. I can bake you a wonderfuly tasty cake but that's about the extent of it. My brother, Jerry, tells me that I have bland taste though, because I'm diabetic, so that must be why I can't cook. I don't have the taste for seasonings and sauces.

Evan is helping me find my sweet tooth these last few days though, so maybe after pregnancy, I might get a little kitchen talent since I have expanded my diet with sugary things. I can't get enough chocolate! I have an appointment with the regular OB/GYN tomorrow. I can't wait to see how much weight I've gained. I don't think it's that much and my blood sugar is in control (even with the chocolate) so everything should be fine.

6 Months!

Today, we are at 6 months of a pretty good pregnancy. I have no previous experience but I've been very lucky to not have had many of the horrible side effects I have heard and read about. I didn't have morning sickness at all and didn't have to rush to the bathroom every 5 minutes, until recently. Evan moves a lot now and I'm finally showing. It's kind of thrilling. Mike was able to feel Evan kick just the other day, which elicited a smile! I go to the regular OB doctor on Thursday to hear the heartbeat and measurements and next Thursday is another ultrasound.

Our next project is to re-paint Mike's old toy box. We are thinking about painting it into a firestation or a firetruck. It is rectangular and both long sides open on the top (hard to describe). Mike's dad made him the toy box when he was younger. Our progress might be slow so it will be a while for the pictures.

No More Vacations!

Vacation time is over. I am quickly approaching my 24th week so I guess I'll stay put near home for a while. There will be plenty of things to do around here, luckily. This weekend we are going on our maternity tour at Northside and then we have a wedding to attend in Monticello for our friends Shaye and Raymond. Next weekend is the Baby Faire at The Galleria and next weekend, the weddings start back up at church. Since I can't give my Lead Wedding Coordinator job away at church (I already tried to quit once), I am still the go to person to schedule altar servers and people on the guild to help. I enjoy it for the most part, until the weddings stack up!

Our trip to Minneapolis was alright. When we got there, it was chilly and rainy. I think we brought the weather back with us too! We are the worst at taking pictures so I have none. We will be better with pictures when Evan arrives. I hope everyone else's weekend went well.

One Last Long Trip

We leave again in the morning for Minneapolis, MN. I am going to work Sunday through Tuesday and Mike is going because I got an airfare deal and I will feel better with him there. I'm afraid I might get stuck with messing with heavy things since our work exhibit is huge and heavy. I should be more trusting of the other people going with me, but I'm not. I guess I've been the only one working at these insurance shows before! This will probably be our last big trip before Evan arrives. I'm not looking forward to airport security hassels with my insulin but it's probably not as bad as I imagine it to be. I hope the silent people that read this blog, and Andrea and Katie who actually comment, have a good weekend!

Our Typical Dinner

Baxter and Romeo waiting for their share

This is the picture we get to look at every night that Mike's home from work and we eat at the dinner table. Both Baxter and Romeo sit patiently and wait to see if we are going to share with them. Tonight was no exception with our feast of Publix chicken. Mike did share some with them since we are leaving again on Saturday for Minneapolis. I am attending a work conference and Mike gets another small vacation for 4 days.

Our Vacation

Sunset in Tampa 9/5/06 (from a moving car)

We started our vacation on Sunday and drove to Valdosta to see Katy and Derrick. We went to lunch at Mellow Mushroom and visited. After lunch, we drove the additional 4 hours south to Venice, Florida. We stayed in Venice with our friends Erin and Brent (from Dallas, TX), Erin's parents and their 3 month old baby, Alannah. We had a good time visiting. We couldn't go to the beach because of red tide but Erin's parent's house has a screened in pool so we were able to get some swimming in there.

We left Venice on Tuesday evening, after some shopping at the nearby outlet mall. We were going to stop and stay with Katy and Derrick but Mike got a phone call on the way home to take a flight (his second job is being a paramedic on medical flights). We decided to take a detour into Tampa and visit Landry's, a resturant that we went to almost 2 years ago before we went on our honeymoon cruise. It was a very nice dinner during sunset on our 2 year anniversary. Afterwards, we drove home and arrived here just after 3:00 AM.

Today, our neighbor brought us over a ton of boy clothes and I did some Goodwill shopping while in Florida so I don't need any more baby clothes!

I hope everyone else had a good Labor Day Holiday Weekend!

Packing Procrastination

I am the biggest procrastinator when it comes to packing to leave on a trip. I have done everything else today so that I didn't have to pack. Now, at 11:23 PM, I finally have to get some packing done or else I'll be up all night. That won't work either since I'm not a morning person, and I have to drive in the morning. Today I went to Macy's, again, home a few hours, church, then back to Ross and finally home to wash clothes and eventually, pack. I hope everyone has a good Labor Day holiday. I'll post something on Wednesday when we return home.

Labor Day Weekend!

I can't believe vacation is almost here! It took forever for this week to end. I had issues with a coworker all week and it was torture to get to this day. That's how it goes working with women, someone's always moody and I know I'm guilty many times too. We don't get to leave until Sunday morning when Mike gets off of work but it will be worth it. We will make a stop in Valdosta to see Katy and Derrick then head to Venice, FL. Tuesday evening, on our 2nd anniversary, we will drive back to Valdosta and crash there, if we get the okay with Katy and Derrick! I figure Mike won't be as tired of me going to the restroom every 30 minutes if we only do 4 hours of driving Tuesday and then 4 hours home on Wednesday.

My sister-in-law Heather wrote me to let me know that her and Elena are doing good. Elena was born 8/30/06 at 6:23 AM (Texas time) and weighed 7 lbs 5 oz, 20.5 inches long.

I'm sure I'll find something to blog about in my boredom tomorrow as I was clothes and clean the house. By the way, Macy's is having a good children's sale. Broke me, of course, couldn't resist just a little something on the Macy's card.

Evan's Pictures

Evan is 22 weeks and 4 days old today. I went in to the doctor to get his pictures taken this morning. I don't think he liked the Diet Coke that I had with breakfast though. He rolled around and around for the first 25 or so minutes of the ultrasound and he wouldn't move his arm out of the way of his aortic arch of his heart. The doctor and sonographer really wanted pictures of it and he didn't want to cooperate. After 40 minutes, he started fighting the ultrasound probe back. He was kicking and moving. He showed his boy parts well today too so we definitely know he's a boy. He is currently 1 lb. and on target! I am up to a 3 lb. weight gain myself, which I am pleasantly surprised with. The doctor thinks the small weight gain is fine too. We get to see Evan in another 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and then twice a week when I hit 32 weeks. I'm not looking forward to the twice a week appointments, just 10 weeks from now, but at least they will make sure that he's okay.