bowls

These are the bowls that Rachael and I painted when she visited me. Hers is the one with the pastel colours, mine is the darker one. They both turned out so well!! 

what's going on?

This past week we had two sets of visitors. Bob's sisters came down on Monday. We had fun visiting with them. The first day we ate at the Nascar cafe, where there were lots of interesting things on the walls but the food wasn't that great. After that we hung out at the mall for a while. Angie and I looked at preggie clothes, but I didn't buy anything. She got some really cute stuff though! After the mall we all retired back to the house for some conversation and relaxation. We went to bed kind of early, and Bob and I had to work on Tuesday. The crew, though, went to the zoo, where Bob met them after he finished work. I hear they had fun, but I still haven't seen pictures! They had lost of fun stories to tell when they got back. After they drove back up to Gso they went straight to Celebration Station. I'm sure the kids had fun, but the food was horrible! (at least, that's what they told me). Meanwhile, my sister came up around 3:30. I left work early and as I had given my house key to Cheryl we could not go back to the house. We ended up at Friendly Center where we shopped around for a while, then we went to Quizno's for lunch. After that we headed back to the house, where Bob met us to let us in. He then went out to Celebration Station to meet the crew. Rachael and I stayed at the house and caught up a bit, and played Donkey Konga 2. We had fun! Then everyone came home and we sat around and visited until bedtime. Rachael and I had a grand time giggling like girls at a sleepover when we went to bed! The next morning we had breakfast and then Cheryl, Angie, Tyler, Kelsie, Jordyn, and Ethan all headed out toward Raleigh. Rachael and I went shopping, even though it was cold and rainy and icky. Well, first we painted pottery at The Mad Platter. I can't wait to get it back so I can post a picture! We went a few other places, and ended up eating at Wendy's for lunch. We both had spicy chicken sandwiches, but I was miserable from eating it for the rest of the day! No more spicy food for me! We went to Michael's on the way home and got some yarn. I'm going to make some flowers for a little vase that Rachael got. (turns out I don't have the right size hook, after all. my bad) Then we headed back to the house (it was COLD) where we ran into Bob, who had just gotten home. He went to take a nap (it had been a busy week!) and Rachael and I played Donkey Konga some more, and just sat around talking. After that we watched Hitch, and then went to bed. I didn't have to be to work until one on thrusday so Rachael and I went and got presents for Uncle Greg and Kristen (whose baby is due next month) Dorks that we are, couldn't read the registry and so I bought something that had already been gotten and had to return it and get something else. What dummies! We shopped some more and then had lunch before I had to get to work. Overall both visits were fun and entertaining for Bob and I. I hope they were for everyone else. WE LOVE HAVING VISITORS!!
so anyway...I've lately become obsessed with the size of my belly. I'm always touching it and looking at it. I measured it the other day and then looked up the measurements from my wedding dress. It's grown 2 inches since Sept 2004. I don't know if that's because of the raisin, or if I just gained weight in between and didn't realize until i measured recently. Either way, my waist is 32 inches. It doesn't LOOK bigger to me, but people at work are beginning to say it's bigger. My pants still fit though. To me, when my pants don't fit anymore then I will think it's bigger.
I've been keeping up with the (extimated) growth of the baby on www.Americanpregnancy.com (thanks Angie!). At the end of this week, the raisin should be 6 inches long! It looks like a normal baby now, with eyes and ears in the right places. Also, the raisin's circulatory and urinary systems will be working. Yay, raisin!

i gained weight!!

Hooray! After loosing 9 pounds during the first 3 months, I have finally gained 1 and a half pounds back! That's without eating junk, too. I've been trying to make sure I eat whenever I'm hungry, which is most of the time. I've also been eating lots more fruits and veggies and meat. YAY!!

New things...

Well it's been a while since I posted, but I can't say that anything terribly exciting has happened. I've been working, of course, and Bob, too. Scroll down and you'll see my latest craft project. I've been trying to set aside time to do things like that. It's very relaxing and it's something you don't really have to concentrate very hard on. I finished that one in about 2 hours.
I was planning to go to Lexington today to visit my dad and sisters, but it turned out that I couldn't go due to various reasons. One of which is that lately I've been getting car sick pretty easily. We are expecting visitors next week though, and I am very excited! Bob's sisters are coming down on Monday and we are all going to the NC zoo in Asheboro, and then on Tuesday my older sister (Rachael) is coming down and she's staying until Thursday! Yay! I love having visitors! So far I haven't been terribly successful in thinking of things for us to do, but I'm sure we will have a great time anyway. We always do!
Bob and I went grocery shopping the other day and we bought lots of yummy food to make actual meals with! So far all I've made is beef stew, but it turned out really yummy. I'm sure I'll get home in time tonight to make something for us. I really like cooking for my hubby!
We've started looking at houses again. We're hoping to buy one in the next few months so that when the raisin is born we will already be settled in. Also, we're going to need a lot more room than we have here for all the baby stuff. A one bedroom apartment is definately not big enough for 3 people, a dog, and all their stuff.

Rachael...

I finally made my sister the potholder/trivet that I promised her 2 years ago for her birthday. It turned out nothing like the pattern, but it's done! It turned out reather cute, I think. I hope she likes it! 

Dr's appt

We had our first official appointment at the Carolina Birth Center yesterday. We met with a midwife (one of four) and she went over diet and exercise, etc etc. She told me to eat more protien and drink 4 liters of water a day! I've really been trying but I already have to go to the bathroom every 2 seconds, this isn't helping. We also got to hear the heartbeat again, for a longer time. She was trying to measure it but the baby kept swimming away from the pressure of the machine thingy. I thought it was very funny, but I was crying when we were listening to the heartbeat. She also measured my pelvic bones and made sure nothing was protruding anywhere to hinder the baby coming out. She said everything looks normal and that we meet the criteria for working with them. So that's our official place now. They gave me a little binder full of information and it has a calendar and some other stuff so I can keep track of what's going on. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, they let you take a very active roll in your prenatal care. When you come in for an appt you do your own urine sample and measure for protien and such, and weigh yourself and keep track of weight gained/lost since your original weight (before you were pregnant). I feel so useful!

On a completely different subject, we have a visitor this weekend! Chris, who was the best man in our wedding, has come to spend some time with us. I was very excited when he confirmed he was coming and when he got here (earlier than I expected) I was very suprised! Of course, I was at work but I did take a break and we went out to lunch (Bob, too). So far we're having a good time. I will hopefully have some pictures to put up on Monday, but we'll see. We're having dinner with Kyle and Cindy tonite and the guests they have from out of town. This should be interesting!

We love nature!

These are some of the turtles we saw when we went for our picnic a few weeks ago. We had a great day! I wasn't sick so after we ate our delicious bread, cheese, grapes, and juice we walked around the lake. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time. By the time we were done I was so tired out and thirsty! But we did get to see lots of turtles sunning themselves. Even a few tiny ones! 

My new mom-do

I went and got my hair cut yesterday! I didn't go as short as I normally do, but I like how it turned out! It was a lot of fun and Babs (my hair stylist) was very entertaining. Cindy got her hair cut too, but I don't have a picture. We both looked super cute when we were done. Too bad it was too late to go out on the town. 

Nothing really...

I haven't posted in a while and I'm starting to feel guilty. I still feel sick sometimes in the evening, and I still get tired very early. I've been trying to take a nap when I get home just so I can stay up to a normal hour, but that doesn't always work.
We've got so much to do, and I realized today that we only have 6 more months to get ready for this baby. That seems like a long time and a very short time. There should be some kind of checklist for getting ready for this like there is for weddings! We finally settled on a girl's name, I think. We registered at Babies R Us. I've been keeping a baby journal and this blog, as well as a calendar of events (dr appts, visitors, etc). Bob's been keeping a blog as well, for those of you who did not know. It's www.bobandmaggiewalkup.blogspot.com
We're still looking around to see about buying a house. If we can we're going to do that, if not we'll upgrade to a two bedroom apartment for a year while we get settled and ready to buy.
We went to church with Kyle and Cindy tonight. It was fun, Kyle read the scripture passage and Cindy did the message. Then she sang! I didn't know Cindy could sing! She did very well! Afterward we went to dinner at Tex and Shirleys and it was very nice and the food was yummy. I got apple pancakes, but I think I ate too much because now I feel icky.
I think I'm starting to get a little bit of a belly. My regular pooch seems to me like it's bigger and sticks out more. I wish I'd hurry up and start to show more, sometimes it still doesn't feel real to me.
We watched The Butterfly Effect the other day, and it freaked me out. After we watched it was the first time I started thinking that something could be wrong with our baby. What if our baby is a scary little freak like the kids in that movie!?!?! I was awake most of the night worrying about it. Stupid movies.

baby games

reading another blog, I found this site: www.expectnet.com

It lets you create a game that keeps track of everyone's guess as to when your baby will be born and weight and length and all that. I set one up because I thought it would be fun! The name of the game is bobandmaggiebaby.

babies in blogland

So I read the comment on my last post, and at first I thought "That's cute, but I want nothing to do with it." Then I went to the site and scrolled down to around our date (oct 8) and started reading some of the other sites. Apparently I'm the only person who isn't worried about miscarriage. I was happy to see that most everyone had the same symptoms as I did, most worse than I had. I guess it's just nice to know that I'm not the only one going through all this stuff. So, for the moment, I'll let my name and due date stay there.

I've been probed!!!

We had our first ultrasound today, and here's the picture. It was an internal ultrasound, which I must say is probably much more uncomfortable than an external one! But we got to see the baby, which is positioned in the top corner and upside down (yep, our baby is a bat!). We also got to hear the heartbeat for a few seconds. It's a good thing it wasn't longer because it almost made me cry. We got two pictures, but the scanner is being difficult so I could only scan one. I don't know if you can tell but it is labelled head and body. Maybe I'll blow it up a little and put another one on here later. Since my last visit I lost 5 pounds! The doctor said not to worry though, that was normal during the first trimester and that I will gain it all back and then some. Overall, everything checked out ok! One more thing, they changed our due date to October 8th.

REAL FOOD!!

For about 3 weeks all I could stomach was chex and crackers. Thankfully, I can now eat real food again!! I've had pasta and chicken and sandwiches and all kinds of delicious food! Everything tastes so good!!!!
I still feel like sleeping most of the time, but when I don't I have a lot of energy. (I took the dog for a walk today! Washed the dishes too!) Bob has been such a great help. He's taken care of all the housework and made me anything I wanted to eat while I was sick. He's the greatest hubby ever!
We've decided to transfer to the Carolina Birth Center, one of only two freestanding birth clinics in NC, to have our baby. They promote natural labor and birth with little intervention from modern medicine. We'll be working with a midwife and an RN. We had our first visit and a tour yesterday and it's so much friendlier and homier than the hospital. If you want to find out more about it, here's the link: http://www.birthcenters.org/fabc/featuredbc/nc-cbc.php
There's lots of good information on there.
Bob is looking for another job so we can make sure everything is taken care of while I'm out of work. At this point we are planning that I only go back part time after the 12 week FMLA leave. It's better to have less income and full time care than to spend all your salary on day care. Besides, who wants to leave their little tiny 3 month old baby in day care with strangers all day!??! NOT ME!!
We go Monday to get our first ultrasound and hear our baby's heartbeat (hopefully!). That will be our last visit to Green Valley OB/Gyn. If we get a picture I will be sure to post it here.

Jammie time!

I've been saying for a few weeks that I'd like a nice nightgown. I dont' really have any jammies to wear to bed, and now that I spend A LOT of time in bed I thought I needed some. We went to the mall to Motherhood (maternity store) and all they had were shirts and pants. I can't stand wearing pants to bed!! Anyway, I went in to work yesterday and there was a box on the counter. We don't usually get packages so I went over to check it out. It had my name on it so I opened it up and inside was a really pretty box! I opened up the box and there was a pair of slippers! I picked them up and kicked off my shoes and put them right on. Underneath the slippers was a very soft purple with white dots nightgown. I picked it up to get a better look and saw something else under it! I picked that up and it was a matching robe! I'm so excited! I'm washing them today so I can wear them tonite, I can hardly wait! So anyway, there was a card at the bottom from bob. He's such a sweetie! I love my hubby and I love my new jammies!

Seabands!

For anyone who has ever been nauseous because of motion sickness or morning sickness, listen up! I have been sick for the past two weeks, I've not been able to eat or even smell food. But no more!! Today we went to CVS and in the motion sickness section there are these miracle wristbands called SEABANDS! They work by stimulating an acupressure point on your wrist that makes you less queasy. I was sceptical at first because of all the things I've tried already.(ginger tea, ginger cookies, ginger ale, crackers, eating, not eating, cereal, rolaids, you name it, I tried it) This actually worked! I don't feel "normal" but I felt well enough to do a few things around the house. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up every minute! So to all upset tummies, try this! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

Cowgirl Canoe

 

Christmas breakfast

This is what bob made for breakfast Christmas morning. I asked for pancakes because he makes the absolute best pancakes I've ever eaten! I was pleasantly suprised, though, with Bob's creativity in the making of the pancakes. They were very cute, and of course they were delicious! He even made a fire hydrant shaped one for Jasper. 

wasn;t expecting this....

Ok, maybe I was expecting it after being sick all week, but we weren't PLANNING it. We're both very excited!!! 

the holidays are over!

Hooray! We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the way into the new year! Not that it was very hard. I could have sat here and done nothing and still made it. As it was though, we travelled, had fun, and spent time with friends and family.

Christmas day was spent lounging about the house. We got up kind of early (8:30) and Bob made breakfast. I'll have a picture of it to put on later, so I won't tell you what it was right now. Then we opened presents, which was fun. Then we built a fire, snuggled down on the couch and watched The Incredibles. (great movie, by the way) Most of the rest of the day was spent snuggling and playing games. It was the greatest Christmas ever!!

Dec 31st: I had to work until 3 so when Bob finished work he went home and relaxed a little then picked me up. We went up to his dad's new house to hang out and have dinner. Their house is NICE! I especially like the sunroom, it was so open and bright. The whole house was very pretty and big too! We had some very yummy Mexican food for dinner and then headed home to change and run up to Kyle and Cindy's. We stayed there until about 3:30am playing Star Wars Monopoly (which they had gotten us for Christmas). It was so fun!

Jan 1st: I had to work...what a bummer!

Jan 3rd: Bob's birthday! Hooray for Bob, he's 32!!! We both had to work this day so we celebrated the day before. We did however go out to PieWorks with Kyle and Cindy and have a pizza buffet that was absolutely fabulous! Then Cindy and I ran off to pottery painting class where we were LATE and the teacher had already left. We still painted though, and I made something special for Bob's birthday. I'm so excited!

So now everything is back to normal. Blah!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Christmas is almost here and I'm very unprepared for it. I've not finished my shopping and I've barely had time to rest. My inlaws came to visit on Saturday, our first visitors in our new cottage. We spent the entire week before cleaning and preparing for them to come. We're short staffed at work so I worked every day but one last week and it's looking like the same this week. Extra hours means extra money, but honestly I'd trade the money for being home and not having to work. I'm still waiting and hoping for snow. We had some ice but it went away quickly and nothing else has happened since. As a matter of fact it's been quite nice out, with no wind. That makes it nice for walking and such, but I want snow for Christmas!