7 Quick Takes Friday

Thanks, as always, to Jen.

1. Collin's pay raise is a bit more than we originally expected. Not a huge sum, but hey, more per paycheck is always nice! It's payday for me today, too -- of course, most of it will go to rent, but it's still nice when payday falls on a Friday.

2. I must give kudos to my wonderful husband. This past week I've barely managed to drag myself to and from work; I've pretty much come home and just collapsed. He's been taking care of supper and the kids for me so I can rest. Thanks, honey!

3. I hope I'm over the worst of this chest cold. I was actually able to get a decent night's sleep last night. Being sick while pregnant is no fun.

4. The kids and I are going to go see Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella on the big screen tomorrow morning -- something one of the local mega-churches is doing in conjunction with a local Christian radio station. Should be fun! I love VeggieTales and so do the kids.

5. Afterward, we have some errands to run, including scouting thrift stores for maternity clothes. I think I'm going to need some pretty soon.

6. Collin and I are seriously considering starting the home ownership journey this fall. We'd love to buy the house we're renting if we can get financing. It's something we're praying about, anyway.

7. Prayers for my sister and BIL, please. I can't be more specific, but they could use them.

Ups and downs

Up: Collin got a promotion and a pay raise!! He starts training for his new position on August 17 (and, if the training is Mon-Fri, we'll have weekends together for a while! Yay!). I'm so proud of him.

Down: I've had an icky chest cold since Saturday. I took Monday off of work but couldn't afford to take any more days off. Lots of coughing and phlegm. Thank goodness the nausea has settled down this past week. I still get queasy if I cough too hard, though.

Thank you...

...To the lady at McD's who carried our tray for me, as I was holding William and couldn't carry it one-handed, and

...To the mom at McD's who shared her table with us so we could sit in the very crowded play area.

Yours gratefully,

A tired mom who really needed those little acts of kindness today.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Hosted by Jen

1. We have a baby bean! Cute little thing, isn't s/he?



2. Now that I'm feeling (reasonably) confident that this pregnancy won't end in miscarriage, we've started discussing names. So far, we have one main boy name with two backups, and two girl names we can't decide between (I like one best and Collin likes the other best, although they're both beautiful names). We still have a while to decide, of course, especially since we aren't finding out the baby's sex until birth. Until then, we've nicknamed the baby "Thor," because Collin thinks it looks like an Asgard at this stage of pregnancy.

3. As for gender preference, we'll be happy either way, of course... but Collin would like another boy. This baby and William will have about the same age gap that he does with his middle brother, and they're very good friends. Collin would like William to have a close relationship with a brother, too. A boy would be nice as we still have a lot of William's baby clothes (nothing below 3-6 month, though, because we gave away so much when we moved); however, I think a girl would be wonderful as well. I love buying all those beautiful frilly dresses.

4. Speaking of clothes, I need to start buying maternity clothes. I have a few shirts, but that's it (again, gave most away when we moved). Guess I'll be hitting the thrift stores and Once Upon a Child (and maybe the clearance racks at the local Motherhood Maternity)! Too bad it's not rummage sale season around here.

5. I showed Elanor the ultrasound picture and explained to her that there was a baby in Mommy's tummy, and that when the baby was born she could help me feed the baby, and clean the baby, and read to the baby. She thought about this for a moment, and then asked, "Can I help snuggle the baby, too?" I said yes, of course she could, and tried not to cry.

6. I won a podcast contest last week! I listen to the weekly Among Women podcast, and a few weeks ago the hostess announced a contest, the prize being the book Mother Teresa: Her Essential Wisdom. All you had to do was send in an e-mail asking to be entered. I did, and I won! It's a wonderful little book (and a terrific podcast, too). Podcast #16 is the one where she announces my win. :)



7. We are going to make a third attempt to see "Up" this weekend. This time, instead of finding a babysitter, we're just going to take the kids with us and hope for the best. They really enjoy the other Pixar movies, especially WALL-E and Finding Nemo, so I'm hoping it'll go all right. This time, I plan not to gorge on popcorn and then be sick the rest of the day, as happened when we saw Harry Potter 6. Thankfully, the nausea seems to be petering off a bit.

Have a wonderful, blessed weekend!

A great appointment

I had a FANTASTIC appointment this morning. I did get a transvaginal u/s, and the baby looks great. S/he is measuring 8w5d and has a strong heartbeat. I'm so relieved! The doc did a pap smear and, because of my history of preterm labor, also did the GBS test. I go back in four weeks. I know we're not completely out of the woods, but our odds are excellent so I'm feeling positive.

I'll post a picture of our little bean after I get home tonight.

Problem resolved!

Collin was able to take a half hour off of work on Thursday, so he can just watch the kids while I go to my appointment. Whew!

I've often wondered...

...if Mary had to go through first trimester nausea when she was pregnant with Jesus. I tend to think she did, given that her body was a human body. If so, I heartily sympathize, and ask her to pray for me right now.

I've never had an epidural during childbirth, but I do wish I could get one for the first trimester. I hate the all-day nausea, the occasional vomiting, and trying to make it through the workday when all I want do do is crawl under the covers and whimper.

I do have nausea medication (Phenergen), but I'm reluctant to take it at work as it makes me drowsy. It's hard enough staying awake while at work the way it is!

A few more details about this pregnancy: I got the positive test on Father's Day, June 21. Collin was thrilled by his surprise gift (I wrapped up the test and gave it to him after I showed him the slideshows I'd made of the kids). Over the course of the next week I had two quantitative HCG tests done; my number at 15 days past ovulation was 256 and my number at 17dpo was 667. Both excellent numbers, and doubling nicely, as they're supposed to do. My progesterone level was 19 - also excellent. I've had a "paperwork" appointment at the doctor's office and go in on Thursday, July 23 for my first actual appointment.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the kids. I don't really want to bring them with given I'll be getting a Pap smear done, but Collin's not sure if he can take time off of work due to a project with which he's involved. I may just bring them to daycare and then drive back to Surprise for my appointment, but that seems like a waste of gas (it's a 45-minute drive, one way, to their daycare). Still, it may be worth it. I'll have to think about it more.

I'm really hoping I'll get an ultrasound at my appointment, but from what I understand they're not routine. Still, given my miscarriage history and the fact that I won't be far enough along to hear the baby's heartbeat via Doppler, maybe the doctor will take pity on me and give me one anyway.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary

1. Our trip to North Dakota (July 11-15) went very well. The kids both LOVED flying on the airplane. William never stopped moving, which made for a tiring flight (he was a lap baby). Still, we got to see lots of relatives, most of whom we hadn't seen since October.

2. Sadly, one of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Taco John's for potato oles. There's only one Taco Johns in AZ, ad it's on an Air Force base in Tucson. I miss potato oles.

3. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to visit -- just not enough time. We did get to see Harry Potter 6, though! I liked it quite a bit, even if they did leave out some scenes from the book I was hoping to see.

4. At the airport, they had to test the juice in William's sippy cup to make sure it wasn't explosive. Our tax dollars at work.

5. Even though it's only been a two-day workweek for me, I'm ready for the weekend. Maybe the kids will even sleep later than 7am!

6. Another reason I was glad to be able to visit family was that it meant we could share our big news in person. And that news is...

7. I'm pregnant! BabyW v3.0 is due 3-2-10. My blood tests are great so far, and I'm hoping for an ultrasound next week. Please keep us all in your prayers. I'm in the throes of nausea and fatigue, which makes going to work lots of fun. Luckily I've been able to manage so far.

An Anniversary

Collin and I had our first date nine years ago today. We went to see the movie "Chicken Run", and then we went to the Barnes and Noble release party for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We stayed in the parking lot of B&N talking (and maybe a little necking) ;) until two a.m.

Nine years, two kids, two miscarriages, and two moves later, we're still very much in love. I love you, honey!

No 7 Quick Takes today

Too busy! Having a great time so far.

But I wanted to share the before and after pictures from William's first haircut. He was mistaken for a girl yet again last night, so we finally bit the bullet and took him in for his first haircut today.

Before:



After: