Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

We had a White Christmas in Wisconsin...
You wouldn't believe that on 12/14 most of the snow we had received previously melted. So all but a skiff of this came in the last week and a half!!

Chrismas and Candymaking

So this Christmas, we decided not to make the trek out west to see our families... Looking back, I wish we would have in some ways, but not having the hassel of traveling is nice.
However, I decided to make candy for the first time in my life, and have learned some good lessons...
First, make sure your candy thermometer works when attached to the side of the pan (ours for some odd reason only works great when in the middle of the pan - even though it has a pan clip). Second, have a stove that works for candy making... so when you're supposed to reach a certain temperature while cooking on low, but your burner does not let you - its a bad thing (ours likes to turn off when it thinks it is at the right temperature for the setting.) Third, Caramel should never be poured into a pan lined with waxed paper. Fourth, one batch of fudge and another of caramel is too much for 2 people! (This can be really bad when the weather turns ugly with snow and then really chilly weather so you don't feel like leaving your apartment to deliver any to others.)
Merry Christmas everybody!! We hope you enjoy yours wherever you may be.

Snowy night trip to the ER

Monday I started to have abdominal pain and after heading home from work early and taking it easy, it did not go away. I called the OB office and incoherently described what was going on. They said that it was probably not anything serious and to take it easy. When Daniel got home he was more concerned and after carefully describing everything to him he called the OB office back (after hours they have a nurse to answer questions). After describing everything to the nurse, she wanted to talk to me and said I should go to urgent care the following day, until it came out that she thought I was 10 weeks behind where I am (ie 16 weeks instead of 26). Once we straightened that out, she told me that with the abdominal pain I was experiencing I should go to the hospital where I will eventually deliver. So we headed to the hospital. It was starting to get a little snow packed on the roads, but we made it fine.
Once there I was taken to the maternity triage (or rather directed on how to get there, but we somehow got lost and it took us a while longer to get there than it should have...) I was hooked up so they could monitor Baby to see how he was doing. Baby was fine and the pains I was experiencing wasn't pre-term labor so they sent me home after we'd been there about two and a half hours.
Tuesday I stayed home from work and took it easy. I find it really interesting that for me it is hard to not do anything when I would rather be cleaning my apartment instead of staying off my feet even though the abdominal pain was worse when I stood up. I managed pretty well and did take it easy (except for making dinner - which Daniel helped a lot with.)
Today I still have some residual pain, but am doing much better.

Playing Tag

Since baby is active at bed time it is a great time for Daniel to spend some "one on one" time with him. The other night Daniel told Baby that they could play tag, and he put his hand on my belly and lightly pushed in. Baby responded immediatley with an energetic kick, tagging Daniel back. They then spent a few minutes tagging each other back and forth, until I interjected saying it was bed time... Then they complained about how Mom was ruining their fun.

Happy Thanskgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I hope your day went well :).

Today I learned I'm thankful that I as of yet have not had to prepare a whole meal... I came close this year as I organized a pot-luck at the church for about 40 people. Let's just say, I'm exhausted and it is something I should never volunteer to do again... especially when I'm pregnant and having hip pain which does not allow me to stand for any sane amount of time or bend over. (I'm paying for it now, unfortunately.) Luckily everything went well and we had a good time.

A small glimpse into Baby's personality...

I've started to guess some things about Baby based on how and when he moves. I can also tell about how long it takes from the time I eat to when Baby gets to partake of the foods... and judging by how much he starts moving, Baby LOVES to eat (he delivers very energetic kicks at this point)! Baby also starts complaining when he doesn't get foods and wants them (these kicks are more "Hey, remember me, I'm here and I'm HUNGRY!").

Also, apparently, Baby does not want to be named Wilberforth.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...Superman?

So, just because my life is absolutely boring and I have soooo much free time, I thought I would help a professor proctor some quizzes this semester. This has been an interesting experience (ie eye opening) overall. Today, however, takes first prize without a doubt.

About two minutes into the quiz, somebodies cell phone rings. I glance over in the guy's direction expecting to see him fumble around with it while trying to get it to be quiet. Instead, I see him standing up and answering it. So, now I'm expecting to see the professor ask him to put his phone away.

Here is what really happened. I hear the kid loudly talking on the phone. His side of the conversation went a little something like this, 'Hello. What!? Lois is in trouble!? I must go! I must go!' He then pocketed the phone and proceeded to pull off the hideous suit jacket he was wearing as well as the shirt and pants he had on. Underneath he had on a Superman costume. So, after the quick change act, he runs down the stairs (this is pretty hard to do in the room we were in as the stairs are extra long...). So, now that you have the image of some undergrad in a superman costume running out of a quiz, don't forget to add the trailing shirt/pants. Yeah, he didn't quite get them all the way off.

So, the result of this little stunt was a loud burst of applause and cheering from the students. Why? I'm not really sure.

PS As the quiz continued, I strolled past the spot where this guy had been sitting. He had left his quiz and pen there. The quiz was blank, except for the name, Clark Kent.

On the extremely important topic of...

ICE CREAM!!!

Malted Milk Ice Cream = Good.

Eggnog Ice Cream = Not so good.

I feel something inside me...

So for the past few weeks, Baby has gotten a bit bigger and stronger. I also realized when exactly Baby is the most active. As luck would have it, I have a night owl inside of me! Baby likes to start kicking and moving right as I settle in to go to sleep. What happens most nights is that he eventually ends up doing a tap dance on by bladder and making me need to get up. I suppose that he is preparing me for the nights when I have to get up to feed him...
Then I get to wake up in the middle of the night practically STARVING and get to eat when I really would rather stay in bed. I suppose this is another: get ready mom, I'm coming soon... Then after I have eaten, Baby proceeds to celebrate his new meal by kicking me some more.
Yawn, no wonder I'm so sleepy!

First time voting.

So, yesterday, I voted for the first time ever. The actual experience of voting was pretty anti-climatic. I'd heard rumors of long lines and three hour wait times, but Crystal and I were in and out in about five minutes.

Afterwards, I found myself wondering if I had voted for the right candidate (ie the candidate that actually matches my views). Ultimately, I have found that the political world is still very gray to me. What I mean is I don't know enough to be confident and take a side on way too many issues. So, I suppose the lesson learned is to do more research and more soul searching before I hit the voting booth.

Subtle Irony

I have had heartburn a lot with this pregnancy, and today after eating a taco salad for lunch decided that it would be a bad idea if I didn't have any antacids (which I left at home...) so on the way back to the office Daniel and I stopped by Walgreens to buy some. We bought a bottle of Mylanta and received a printed coupon... for $2 off Maylox.

Ultrasound...

So we went and got our ultrasound done yesterday. We found out that our baby is currently laying sideways inside mommy. Baby said he wants blue clothes not pink. We were able to get a good view of baby's face... We also learned that this Ultrasound dates our pregnancy 3 days ahead of the other one, which means the due date is now March 12th instead of the 15th. Baby is doing fine and everything looked great!

It's a (insert baby's gender here)!!!

So, we are heading off to have our 20-week ultrasound in a bit, which is obviously pretty exciting. We are hoping to see baby moving and, if baby decides to let us, we would like to know the gender. Of course, if baby decides not to let us, such is life; baby will get to wear a lot of yellow and green clothes.

Baby's Active

Over the last few days, Baby has become increasingly active... It is fun to feel the little kicks as they pound inside of me. I am sure there will come a time when they don't feel so nice but for now they are a sweet reminder that there really is a baby inside of me.
Tomorrow morning we get to go in for an ultrasound where we will get to see Baby moving!

Bonding with Baby

Today I felt baby move for the first time! While Crystal has been feeling baby move pretty consistently for about two weeks, I'd never been sure that it was baby (instead of my own heartbeat) until this morning. I often talk to baby and imagine baby's mood and responses, but it was nice to actually feel some solid feedback.

One Hour of Parenthood...

So Daniel and I got a small taste of parenthood today when we got to take care of our neighbor's cute baby boy. Normally this baby is well behaved, but tonight we think he was tired, and a little fussy. We ended up having him watch Baby Einstein in order for him to stop fussing. It was a reminder as to what we are getting ourselves into. Not that we mind taking care of a fussy baby now and again, but after March we won't be able to give the babies back to their parents. ;)

Simple Joys in life

There are many simple joys in life... such as crunching on leaves in the Fall as you walk home. The other day I found the best leaf and it had the perfect crunch. It was great!

Lately the joys of being able to feel Baby move inside me have made me realize that we really do have a baby on the way and it is amazing.

Ultrasound Scheduled

We have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled on October 28, and if Baby cooperates, we'll be able to see what gender Baby is!!

Welcome to our Blog

For those of you who haven't heard, we learned we were expecting our first child in July of 2008. We are super excited for this new event in our lives. We are due in mid-March. In creating this blog, we want you to be able to keep informed on what is happening in our lives during the pregnancy.