Monday, September 29, 2008

30 weeks! Update time!

Oh my goodness! Can you believe how fast these last couple weeks have gone. People at work are teasing me saying, "I feel like you have been pregnant for a year or something!" To them, it probably feels like that but to me, I feel like just yesterday I was jumping for joy at being in the second trimester. Now, its incredible to me to think in just 69 short days (hopefully) we will have a little bundle of joy. That in just 10 short weeks I will finally be able to look this little kick boxer in the face. And in just 2.5 short months I will finally be able to fill that crib we have had since week 12! I think anticipation is the best/worst thing you have to deal with when you are pregnant. You prepare as much as you can for anything and everything. You read the books, watch all the shows, Birth Day, A Baby Story, Bringing home baby, Special Delivery, and of course Jon and Kate plus 8, you take the hospital tours, read reviews online on bottles/diapers/car seats... I really don't think I studied this hard for any test I've ever taken in my life and that includes the boards! Some days I feel ready and I want this child out then other days, (like today) I want to shield the baby from this crazy, upside-down world we all have grown accustom to living in.

Anyway, this weekend was tons of fun. My cousins were all in town for Becca and Dane's engagement party Midwest style. They live in AZ and were coming in town to visit but you know my mom, she just had to throw a party! So it was full of fun times. Bubbie and Papaw were extremely happy to see Becca, Sarah and of course Dane. Most of the family already knew Dane because of my wedding (that boy got around at the wedding. He was the bald guy talking to everyone, you remember now?). The night ended with a bon fire and karaoke (I was sleeping inside on the couch because I had to work the next morning... boo!). It was so wonderful to see everyone and I am digging Sarah living only 20 minutes (on a plane) away and we have seen her more in the last year than I have in the last 10 years. I love it! Keep coming girl! Of course it wouldn't be a party unless my Bexley clan came and without disappointment, they were there! I called Joanna that day and just started crying because A). I'm emotional and B). I love my life. She answered the phone with the classic Joanna saying... "Oh my god, I love you" and it makes me smile every time. I just love her!

Well work is going well. Its hard to stay on your feet for 12.5 hours straight and running around walking patients then driving home and making dinner just to fall asleep on the couch 20 minutes later but I'm sure it will all be worth it soon. Corey and I are doing wonderfully. He is going to be the most amazing dad on the planet. He always rubs my belly and pats it before he leaves for work. I am so blessed with a great husband and an even better friend. His ideal job would be a stay at home dad but as of right now, the boy is working!

All the prego friends I have (there are quite a few) are doing great. I am throwing Tay a baby shower on Nov. 1 (I think) and we did invites during Biggest Loser the other day and they look fabulous! Tonks is doing well, she and Steve are looking at houses. Apparently they are ready to get the heck out of their apartment! My friend Sarah, which I haven't spoken much about her on here just had her 2nd baby and she did a home birth. The pictures were amazing, she was such a trooper and I think it is incredible someone our age is that strong to do something so spectacular to do a home birth is amazing to me. So all in all, everyone is fine. I can't wait to see everyone at the baby showers coming up. I know one is October 18th and the other is November 8th I think. Baby Brain! Look for your invitations in the mail!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

To Be 10 again...

So for those of you who have been pregnant, dreaming crazy things basically is in the job description. Some of these outrageous dreams are scary, embarrassing and just plain off the wall. Well in between my frequent bathroom breaks I finally had myself one of the most amazing and sobering dreams I've had this whole pregnancy and maybe my entire life... I dreamt... that I was 10 again (or around that age).

It was a strange day in my 10 year-old life. I first dreamt that I was at my Aunt Florence's house in Cincinnati (but oddly Cincinnati looked a lot like Fishers, Indiana). It was here that we were all surrounded with love and around an enormous table full of the most luscious meals ever prepared. I was sitting (like always) by Joanna, Abby, Sarah and Becca. We were still at the kids table, but at that age I don't think we knew it was the kids table. I think we thought it was so nice of them to allow us to sit next to each other and have fun during Seder all night long. Silly I know. Across the room I saw Freddy and Hal sitting on the couch in the room that looked over the woods (or just a few trees, remember I was 10 everything was bigger when you were 10) and around the corner was Aunt Anne at the piano singing "My boyfriend's back" slamming away at the piano with her eyes shut just swaying away and hitting every note in that octave. Uncle Sy was standing up and giving the welcoming speech that he did every year and every year I just looked at him with great admiration and thought, man am I lucky to be part of such an awesome family. Now, I know this was a dream because A). If Freddy and Hal were sitting on the couch during dinner someone would have probably gotten in trouble, and B). If Aunt Anne would have been slamming away at the piano during the welcome speech Uncle Sy would have stopped in the middle of his welcome speech that was done in such a soft voice, and waited for her to be finished (never would have yelled). I always wondered why Uncle Sy talked so soft, I just figure now he was just one of the kindest men I've ever met and everything he said was so important he wanted to make sure you were really listening. Oh, and who could forget about Aunt Florence. There she was with my Bubbie sitting next to each other and occasionally whispering to Bubbie and giggling like they were 10 years-old too. Both were/are so beautiful, all "done up" with their amazing make up and lavish wardrobes. The servers were there like every year, were passing out the Seder dinner and it honestly was one of the best dreams. But it didn't stop there...

Next I went next door to my Grandma's house... (I know it's not next door but in my dreams it was) And there was my amazing, wonderful, most gorgeous grandma in the kitchen rolling dough out on her kitchen table that could quite possibly be the oldest table I've ever sat at (I only ever remember that table that wobbled a bit, and had 6 mis-matching chairs), rolling out noodles and saying "Hey Stephy! (oh I am bawling by the way!!!) I remembered the way she looked... grayish tennis shoes, blue slacks (that were always pressed), a white sweatshirt (but it was a fancy one with beads on the front. hahahha) and her hair stiff from Aqua Net with the smell of Este Lauder perfume as soon as you hit the door.

I stole a few noodles and moved on into the family room where my Papaw was sitting there in his old blue chair with his Velcro tennis shoes, white socks, bruises and scuffs on his legs from working out in the shed, blackish-blue shorts on and his work shirt that was unbuttoned and his glasses on his head, peeling an apple with his old pocket knife he used for EVERYTHING and complaining about how grandma hit him on the head. This was a joke he did every time I came over complaining about how grandma was beating on him, even my best friend Taylor said, I don't remember much about your grandpa but he always told us your grandma hit him. He was watching Matlock or Murder She Wrote, I'm not sure because I was so consumed with their faces I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

I just sat there on their gray couch and watched them both go about their day with anticipation for the huge gathering we had every Sunday afternoon/evening and just...breathed... I promise, you I could smell the noodles, aqua net, este lauder, and skoal chew Papaw use to use. Then it began to fade, I found myself lying in bed and crying. I had to go to the bathroom and the baby was kicking so that must of woke me up.

I laid back down and wished myself back in their old house and back at my Aunt Florence's house, but it didn't work. I didn't dream about it again, I'm sad (actually I'm crying uncontrollably right now) but I think of how my child will miss out on Grandma's Noodles, Papaw's crazy remarks, Uncle Sy's soft voice and Aunt Florence's loving touch and I'm so sad. I know my baby will make new memories like Colts Sunday and my parents house, Mom's chili, Bubbie's Thanks-ween holidays, many many many trips to Bexley, and I'm sure he or she will have a few of ours too, cousin's reunions and Aunt Anne still slamming on the piano :).

How I wish I was 10 again, for one day....

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Oh the places we will go!

Hey guys! I know its been a while but we have been super busy these last couple weeks. Corey and I went on a little mini-vacation last weekend and had a blast. We figured that since we don't have too many more opportunities to do this as a two-person family we should get it out of our system. So we headed out and left on a Friday and had an amazing time! We stayed in a nice hotel with tons of things to do. We went to the "Bodies Exhibit" and it was absolutely incredible. They have a fetal room where you can either by-pass or go into and it was such a great experience to see what the baby looks like at this stage. I mean you can read about it in a book but when they say a 2 lbs chuck roast its hard to imagine it. They had it set up where you could see the baby every stage of the game. Amazing. Then we went to the zoo, (not my cup of tea) because Corey loves the zoo and lastly we had dinner at this fancy-shmancy restaurant on the river. It was really nice though, all in all. We also discovered our favorite store ever... IKEA. Love it! If you haven't been, I recommend going ASAP. They have one in Chicago and Cinci!

Anyways, back to baby! This week (week 26) the baby is 2 lbs and is the size of a chuck roast like I said before. I don't know what that means, but sounds big. I love feeling this little one move. It is so hard to explain but its the most wonderful thing ever.

We registered for baby things as well this weekend and I promise you they should put a disclaimer on this adventure. Corey and I only agreed on some things. He had the gun, and I wish I had one. Basically it was a little stressful but it is over now and things are back to normal. I warned my other prego friends that registering could lead to sleeping on the couch or divorce and to beware! hahahaha. Just kidding... Oh well, c'est la vie! Either way we both survived and we are now registered at Babies R Us and Target. :)

Today Bubbie and I went to the beauty shop for her appointment and she has had the same "beauty operator" for 40 years. I was very surprised. She looks fabulous as always and it was nice to spend the day with her. Papaw was trying to be like Tiger Woods and played golf with his cardiologists. Bubbie is making him go back to them tomorrow because she is worried about him, she should have saved a co-pay and made them check him out today. hahaha

Work is going extremely well. I just got off orientation and now I am on my own. My preceptors were absolutely amazing and so helpful and I can't thank them enough. I'll never know everything there is to know about Bariatric patients but I know who to go to when I don't know something.