Update

It's been a pretty stressful day and so I'll give you the short story:

• Still swelling, my feet look horrible.
• Went to doc this morning and my blood pressure was extremely high.
• They eventually sent me to the hospital and admitted me for tests, lab work etc.
• Everything came back fine, but....
• Doc checked my cervix and was surprised to find me a good 2 cm dilated and "very low" (whatever that means). Told me to start calling family to make their way on over.
  
• If Sarah does not make her way out naturally by Saturday morning, we are inducing on Saturday.

I'm going to eat a good dinner and prop my feet up. I'll talk to you guys soon.

I'm a Lucky Girl!

The Baby Shower was on Saturday and my friend, Patricia, did a beautiful job. She's very creative; she even had little baby socks hanging from her chandelier.

Beth took lots of pictures for me. Thanks again for all that you do for me, Beth. You Rock!

After the first gift was opened I realized that by sitting in a chair, my belly was going to get in the way, so I sat down on the floor and made myself more comfortable (the sofa was offered, but I refused).

I'm pretty sure that everyone had fun, and little Baby Sarah and I got lots of nice gifts. My friend, Sandy, made this blanket for us; it even smells like Baby Powder! Sarah's room is filled right now with gift bags that need to be sorted out.

Unfortunately, some people couldn't make it, but we still had a nice turnout. Patricia (at top right, dressed in black) even made special candles for everyone to take home.
By the end of the day, I was swollen and exhausted but feeling very content to be surrounded by such a wonderful circle of friends. I really don't have the words to say how thankful I am.

Oh, Yeah!

Phillip's Mom overnighted this King Cake to us and we got it yesterday. It's chock full of Bavarian Creme and Chocolate pudding; a little taste of home in the form of this heavenly pastry is just what we needed!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!!!!!

Boooya!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Okay, so after years of people telling me that Gabe looks a lot like his dad, I finally have someone on MY side! (I was once told that I was just an incubator for the Little Phillip that I gave birth to almost 6 years ago). I know it's not much; I'll take the 4%....but ya'll, that cutie up there has SOME of my features. I can't wait to see who Sarah will look like.

Pregnancy update:
I went to the doctor yesterday and I'm starting to swell. Doc says that the goal is to get me to 37 weeks, which will be on Feb. 2, without me getting worse and developing Pre-eclampsia. Keep in mind that I'm 3 inches below the 5 ft. mark (sounds so much better that 4'9", I think), and so things are getting pretty cramped inside. He wants me to stay off of my feet as much as possible (yeah, right!) and to keep drinking plenty of water. Oh, and I've gotten two good nights of sleep; I took some Sudafed and by some miracle, I can actually sleep horizontally now!!! So.....with the much-needed sleep, I can actually form a complete thought and I'm in a better mood....yipppeeeeeee!!!!! Oh, and the nurse that doesn't return phone calls gave me a wide berth until she realized that I wouldn't bite her head off. I had to chuckle to myself at that one. Am I really that bad when I'm in a bad mood? DON'T answer that.....

We'll make this short and sweet...

It's bone chillin' cold over here! And I hate this kind of weather; it's no good for my current sinus condition, which I've figured out, will not go away until after I give birth....

I've tried everything that I can think of to help myself, but it's not easy for me to get the okay from my doctor's office to get especially creative. His nurse seems like she's way too busy to simply return a phone call. For the past three nights, I've slept in our big over-sized chair in the living room because propping myself up on pillows these days just isn't cutting it. Spending my nights sitting up in the chair is utterly uncomfortable (I'd rather be sleeping on my side), but it is the only way that I can get some air through my nasal passages; if I try to breathe through my mouth, other problems arise. As I try to breathe at night all I can think of is that at my last doctor's appointment, his nurse told me that she's had it rough......and I want to slowly pull her teeth out through her nostrils so that she might have an idea of how rough it can get!

Do I sound bitter to you? And yeah, I like complaining...it makes me feel better. This is my blog and I'll do what I want to....cha, cha, cha.

We have another gumbo simmering on the stove right now. Hopefully, that might help me get some rest tonight. I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow. We'll see what happens, but I can't promise you that I'll be Miss Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy!

Random News and Thoughts....because You Need to Know.

I'm stealing Tracy's idea and I'm making a list (I need to jump into the shower, and this is quicker).

• Went to the doctor yesterday and got more antibiotics. Major sinus infection. Sleeping propped up on my back, so that I can breathe, with someone the size of a small cat in my stomach is not very comfortable. My doctor's great....his nurse sucks for not returning phone calls. I can elaborate on that later.
• I gained 5 lbs in the past two weeks. Must've been the box of Ding Dongs I devoured last week!
  
• I'm starting the dilating process which, according to my great doctor, is what I should be doing.
  
• It looks like there will be a good turn-out for the baby shower....I really do feel loved.
• Living in a military community is sooooo different from the way I grew up. Coming from small town LA, you already knew everyone's story. Here, your friends and neighbors become like family; and I find it very interesting and downright cool to learn more about everyone that I meet. I learned more about my neighbor, Patricia, yesterday and I'm thinking "What's a big city Brazilian girl like you doing in a town like this?".
• Yesterday, I got to visit with the Urologist that I used to scrub for...I will always compare other doctors to him. I miss him because he was so fun to work with.
  
• Gabe got an awesome report card yesterday and so today....it's allergy shots and then a small treat from Toys-r-us for him.
  
• A "too cute" moment: Last night, I had trouble getting off of the kitchen floor after kneeling down to put a pot back into the cabinet. I just knelt there, quietly trying to work up the strength and courage to get up, when my little knight in shining armor comes to my rescue....he holds out one hand for me to grab and puts the other on my belly to support Sarah. My heart MELTED!
• My ankles have until the end of pregnancy, I think, officially become "cankles".
  
• Thanks so much for the window suggestions. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do yet, but you all have great ideas. I'm thinking that I might do a combo of a dried branch/flower swag with a bow tying it up in the middle.
• One more thing: Thanks so much for the compliments on the belly pics. I had fun and feel fortunate to have had the chance to do the shoot. I really owe Beth more than lunch...
• Oh, and member of my family said that I managed to make pregnancy look "sensual" in some of those photos. Darn! I'm liking the sounds of that because at this point in time, all my sexiness has flown out of the window!!!
  

Hope all of you have a good day!

Need some decorating advice, please.

I'm trying to put some finishing touches on Sarah's room. This past weekend, we bought the window sheers at Ikea. You can't see it very well, but there is some green in the sheer (green flower stems and edge trim). My question is, should I dress the window up more? Possibly by putting some fake Ivy plant near the top of the curtain or in the dome of the window? A pretty bow?

As for the rest of the room, I have an armoire in the left hand corner with a cute pink and green lamp on top and I am in the process of changing the matte of a Peter Pan in Flight poster that will hang above her crib (I'm thinking that I'll do a mint green with yellow).

I guess I should've added more pictures of the room to give you more to go on...but for now, do you have any suggestions? Please pass them along.

PS. The white cat next to the teddy bear is Gabe's latest purchase for her....that kid seriously cannot wait to be a big brother!

Here they are!

Here are a couple of the pics from last week's photo shoot at Beth's house. I'm posting a bare belly shot here to give you an idea what to expect from that day's shoot. I also had Beth take some close-up pictures of my face so that, in years to come, I won't forget that I had a "pregnancy spot" on my left cheek (they fade away after the birth).

I realize that some people think that bare bellies may be a bit offensive are "too personal", so I give you the choice of whether of not you want to see the other images that were taken that day. If you decide, which I hope you do because all are great shots, you can go to the photo collection link to the left of this page. Don't worry, I'm covered, but my belly isn't.

Many, many thanks to Beth. I had lots of fun and I think she did too.

Exciting Update!!!

Okay, I mean it this time.

First off, I just got the pics in from yesterday's photo shoot with Beth and WOW! is all I can say. I would've been happy with just a few good shots, because I'm very critical of myself. Out of the 30 that she just sent to me, I can honestly say there are maybe 3 that we can throw out. Stay tuned...if Beth has time this weekend, she will do some more editing and then we will have some amazing photos to show you of my "34-weeker" possibly on Monday or Tuesday. (No pressure, Beth....none at all :))

On another note, my neighbor Patricia is throwing a baby shower for me in about two weeks. Yipppeeeee! I can't wait. I just hope that Sarah does wait because I will be just a few days shy of full term by the time it happens; and I aint' feelin' so good lately. But, hey, Murphy's Law was written with me in mind and I'll probably go to my due date plus some.

Ya'll have a good weekend now, ya hear?

New Banner

Do you like my new blog banner? I love it! My friend, Tracy whose talent you can see by clicking on 366 and Tracy to your left, made it for me. I didn't give her much to go on as far as ideas of what I wanted, but after a couple of tries, I think the end result is quite nice. It represents our little family well. Thanks a bunch, Tracy!

Later on this week, I plan to go over to Beth's house so we can play around with photographing my big ole' belly. If any of you have any creative ideas, send them our way!

And fun was had by all...

I hope you had a great weekend. We had the good fortune of having every day of our weekend include spending time with good friends.

On Friday, we made a gumbo and had the Jacquot's and our friend Margaret over. On Saturday, Phillip went over to Craig and Mary's to do some beer tasting/guitar hero(ing) while I took Gabe to Chuck-E-Cheese to help him burn some energy. What was I thinking? I'm eight months prego, was brave enough to order and eat their pizza AND spend about two hours playing games. I left exhausted, but proud of myself for not losing my cool...that place can drive an adult insane. We then joined Phillip at C&M's house and spent another 3-4 hours visiting with them and eating more pizza. Yesterday, Phillip and our friend, Kit, went to Dallas to pick up a gas grill from Aunt Wendy. Thankfully, they took Gabe with them so I could get some rest and "veg out" for a bit. The night ended with testing out the new grill and having more friends over (Kit's wife Tiffany, and Mark).

We did have a little bit of a predicament yesterday. While the guys were gone, I was fixing myself some lunch when I start to hear a cat meowing. I looked over to the back door and see the most beautiful cream-colored/blue eyed persian pleading with me to open the door. I went out to greet her and check for a collar. She had no collar and her fur was matted. Oh, Goodness...what do I do? I can't take her in, I don't know if she's sick or whatnot. A cat like that HAD to belong to someone, but I was in no condition to be waddling the neighborhood looking for a possible owner. And I didn't want Gabe to come home, see the cat and beg us to keep it (we don't need that extra expense/responsibility right now). I decided to just ignore it, and hope it finds it's way home. Well, when the guys came home, we were in the back yard and lo and behold, the cat makes an appearance! Gabe instantly falls in love and while petting the pretty kitty, tells her so. I warn him not to handle her too much and NOT to get too attached; "If she's still here in the morning, I'll put signs up in the neighborhood so that we can find her family. " I tell him. I decided that I needed to act fast, so I started making phone calls to everyone in the neighborhood who's phone number's I had. Time's running out, and Gabe's getting quite attached! Thankfully, Tiffany rings the doorbell and comments that she ran into our neighbor, Shannon, who was inquiring about a lost cat. I grab my belly, and run over to Shannon's house who by that time was shaking a carton of kitty treats and crying as she walked up the street. All's well that ends well....Chloe, the kitty, and Shannon were happily reunited, and Gabe took the news that he wouldn't be able to keep her quite well. I was proud of him. It seems that Chloe decided to be sneaky and go on an early morning adventure out of the garage door. And the matted fur? It's from her refusal to be brushed. BAD KITTY!!!

The subject of getting a pet for Gabe has come up quite a bit lately. I'm guessing that by the end of the summer, we'll have one. So, add that to the list I had last week of what to expect for the coming year!

Exciting Update!!!

No, not exciting at all....just didn't know what to title this post.

Actually, since Sunday, life over here has been very relaxing and maybe a bit boring. On New Year's Eve, we spent half of the day in our p.j.'s, I had a glass of wine before bed and just as I told ya...I was in bed and asleep before midnight. On New Year's day, we spent ALL day in our p.j.'s, took down our Christmas decor (now the house looks empty), made the traditional NYD meal of roast, smothered cabbage and black-eyed peas and then we took our showers and put on fresh pajamas. Nice! I like days like that.

Yesterday, Phillip and I went to another OB/Gyn appointment and I was so very excited to see that after about two weeks of not walking everyday and not watching my diet, I only gained about 6 oz. of weight!!! (For those of you really close to me, you know that my weight gain since Gabe was born has always been a touchy subject with me). So I pat myself on the back for staying under the 15-16 lb. mark so far in the pregnancy. My doctor did prescribe a different inhaler for me since it is still difficult for me to breathe at times. I've never been diagnosed with asthma, yet I get these attacks of not being able to breathe, my heart rate goes up and I start to panic...I have a phobia of suffocating to death. Last night, it happened again. Today, I go pick up my prescription! He did mention that Sarah is pushing my lungs up to my shoulders, but we're both thinking that maybe I'm getting pregnancy induced asthma...or something like that.

I have to mention this one last thing. We won't tell Gabe that I told you, but I think it's the cutest thing, so I'll say it anyway. For weeks now, he's mentioned this girl at school, Emma. I've seen a picture of her and she's a cutie. She's in another kindergarten class, so he likes to "spy" on her at recess. Well, last night he was bouncing around, almost happy about going back to school today so that he could continue to spy on Emma. From what he says, she scares the boys away and wants nothing to do with playing with them. Once, he even had one of his female friends invite her to play a game with them because he was too intimidated to do it. I would love to be able to observe them at recess. I'm very curious to see how he acts around her. I think this may be his first serious crush and as his mom, I must admit that I'm a bit crushed myself (for other reasons).