Living, Loving, Giving

Halloween 2009

Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  We went trick or treating with several friends.  Counting kids and adults, there were 16 people there, and one dog.  It was hot out, almost 85 degrees when we started, so we didn't have to worry about the girls getting cold or remembering to take coats.  The next day, the temperature fell to a high of only about 70.  I am not complaining about the mild winters here, but sheesh, it would be nice for it to at least be long sleeve weather when trick or treating!

Allison as double trouble:

Lauren as Hannah Montana:

 
The girls had a really great time and we now have more candy than we will be able to eat in three lifetimes. 

Still Boring

Thankfully, I continue to be a "normal, boring" ob patient.  I went yesterday to have blood drawn for the triple screen test.  I am not 100% sure, but I think it screens for several different possible birth defects.  While I was there, I was able to convince the nurse, who has been with the office for many years, and with whom I have a good relationship, to break out the doppler.  We got to hear the baby's little heart just beating away.  The heart rate was in the 140s, which is a nice, healthy rate.  Now I have to wait for the results of the blood work.  They have to send the blood to Savannah and then wait to get the results back, so I probably won't hear anything for a couple of days.  Or, they might not even contact me at all if everything comes back fine.  I have another regular appointment on November 16th, and then the "big" ultrasound on November 24th.  I am super excited about the ultrasound because my IM, Niobe, will be coming down for that appointment. I can't wait for her to get to see the baby!  Overall, this pregnancy seems to be passing at amazing speed.  I don't know if it is because I have so many other things to focus on, or because I have done it all before.  Either way, I keep thinking that I am still just "newly" pregnant and shouldn't be needing maternity clothes.  Then, I remember that I am 16 1/2 weeks, which is getting close to half way there! 

In related news, a really good friend of mine just found out that she is pregnant.  I am SUPER excited for her and her husband.  I just pray that all goes well for her, as this is the same friend who lost a pregnancy due to a blighted ovum a few months ago.  I will be so glad to have a pregnant buddy! This will be her first baby, and she is so full of joy that I can't help but to smile every time I talk to her :)

Other things in life are good, as usual.  My kids are still growing up way too fast, and my dissertation is actually coming along quite nicely.  I have my second defense later this month.  After that defense, I will do my study, write my results and do my final defense in March.  That will put me right on track to graduate in May, and then I will not know what to do with all of my "extra" time.  Maybe I will get to watch television again when things actually come on, instead of on DVR when I can squeeze in a few seconds here and there. 

I can't believe that it is already almost Lauren's birthday and Thanksgiving.  This year really has flown by so very fast.  Lauren decided to have her birthday party at the bowling alley again this year.  That decision is fine with me, since I won't have to clean my house after 50+ people have been there.  I will have a house full of guests (roughly 20) for Thanksgiving, but that is all family, and I am the only one with small children, so the mess shouldn't be too bad! Then, it will be time to countdown to Christmas.  I absolutely ADORE Christmas.  It is definitely my favorite holiday; I especially love how much joy it brings to my children.  There is just something so magical about the whole holiday season.  The only downside is the rising rate of robberies in the town where I work!  I guess the slow economy, coupled with rising prices is contributing to more thefts than ever before. 

What I learned in School This Week

This week is red ribbon week at my school.  RRW is basically a campaign to try to get kids to say no to drugs.  We do things like having different dress up days (wear sunglasses, wear red, wear a tie, etc) to having story, poem, and rap, and door decoration contests.  The mother of one of my students called and asked if she could speak to my science class about the dangers of smoking.  She is a respiratory therapist, and last week was respiratory health week, and the topic fit well with RRW this week.  So, she and one of her co-workers came in on Monday and spoke with my class. Which brings me to what I learned at school this week.  I learned that smoking makes you stupid.  Ok, well it really doesn't make you stupid, but it does decrease the oxygen flow to your brain, and therefore slows down your brain activity.  They showed scans of a non-smoker's brain and a smoker's brain.  The non-smoker had a lot of bright areas indicating brain function.  The smoker's brain had no bright areas, just a few dull areas.  So, if the fact that smoking is dangerous for your health and for those around you isn't enough to make you quit, perhaps the fact that it makes you dumber is.

Just a little FYI :)

Hacked

I always pay my credit card bills online.  So, I try to check them once every week or so just to make sure I don't forget to pay one.  Last night, right before going to bed, I decided to check on them.  It had been about a week and a half since I last checked and I just wanted to make sure that everything was ok.  Imagine my surprise when there was a bright red alert at the top of the page telling me to call the company due to "high risk and suspicious" activity on my card.  I looked at the detailed list of charges and there were 13 charges on there that neither I, nor my husband, made.  They were all for websites.  Some were for dating sites and others were for foreign sites and I have no idea what they said.  Anyway, I immediately picked up the phone to call the company.  45 mintues later, the card is canceled, a new one is going to be sent, and they are disputing the charges for me.  I didn't really add the charges up, but they probably totaled between 500 and 1000 dollars.  There were also some charges showing up on the credit card company's site that were not showing up on mine.  I don't know how much those charges were for, but I know they were made on the Mitsubishi website.  I know that they will be able to discover that we did not make the charges and they will take the charges off, but it is still such a pain to have to go through the whole process.  The charges dated back to October 12th, and I really have no idea how someone got my number.  The credit card representative said that someone's system probably got hacked and the number was stolen. 

Anyway- It will all work out just fine, it is just a pain in the meantime. 

I hope everyone's week is going well.  Mine is pretty normal (other than the credit card mess).  I got my dissertation back in the mail yesterday and have a lot of changes to make, but I should be able to have it done by the end of this weekend to send back to my chairperson.  I must do it, I must do it, I must do it.............

Another Appointment

Yesterday I had a regular ob appointment.  It is kind of strange to be just a "normal" pregnant woman.  I kind of got used to having weekly ultrasounds!  But now, I just have the regular doctor's visits.  It's just a little strange I guess to be considered normal.  The visit went well.  They took my weight, blood pressure, and temperature, asked if I had any concerns, and then used the Doppler for heartrate.  The baby's heartrate was in the 150s.  They didn't tell me the exact number.  Then they told me to come back in two weeks for blood work and in four weeks for another "boring" ob visit.  The whole visit was less than 45 minutes, including the wait time of 30 minutes.

In other, non-related news, Lauren and Allison danced again this past weekend at a fall festival at Lauren's school.  This time Allison actually remained on the stage and did her dance (mostly). Lauren did a great job on hers.  Then they played the little games that were there and Lauren jumped in the jump house and had her face painted.  I took a lot of pictures, but my new camera takes pictures that upload as really large file sizes.  When I try to upload them to my blog, it always freezes the computer.  I will try again though. 

I also finished the first three chapters of my dissertation this past weekend and sent it to my committee chairperson.  He usually gets it back to me very quickly, so I should be on schedule to defend those chapters in November so that I can complete my study in December and write up my results over Christmas break.  Then I will be able to defend my final draft no later than February or March.  I am really excited that things are progressing with my dissertation.  I just pray that things continue to progress quickly. 

Second Trimester!!!

I have always been just a touch confused about the exact day that you progress from the first to the second trimester and then from the second to the third.  However, at week 13, all sources that I have seen consider me to be in the second trimester!!!  YAY!!!  This is supposed to be the "glory period" of pregnancy, right?  I'm supposed to feel great and be productive and look fabulous.  I'm not certain that all of those things will happen, but I do feel pretty good so far.  I sure cannot complain about this pregnancy.  It seems, at times, to be flying by, and then at other times, to be dragging.  Mostly though, it feels as if it is passing far more quickly than either of my pregnancies with my two girls. As far as I know, everything is still going well.  I have another doctor's appointment on October 19th.  I will also have a level two anatomy scan on November 24th.  They should be able to tell the gender then.  My IP's are going to come down for that one, so I am really excited that they will be able to be there.  I'm sure it is still very surreal to them, especially when they are not able to come to the appointments with me or see me getting rounder each day.  I can still wear a few of my pre-maternity clothes, but I think that I will be going totally maternity very soon. 

Everything else in life is good as well.  Lauren lost her second tooth this past Wednesday.  It was the other one that had a tooth growing in behind it. I'm relieved that she won't have to have them pulled.  I was worried that the shot would scare and hurt her.  Today both of my girls are dancing at a little wildlife festival.  It is Allison's first performance!  I promise to post a few pictures :)  Next weekend, Lauren has a fall festival at school, and there is a local seafood festival that hubby and I will go to with some friends. 

Well, we have to leave in an hour, so I should probably shower!

Another Ultrasound

Today I went in for an ultrasound.  Everything went very well. The ultrasonographer said that my uterus looked perfect, as did the baby.  He/she is still measuring three days ahead.  He/she measured 11w6d today.  The heartrate was wonderful too- 156.  So, for now, all is well, and I don't go back to the doctor until October 19th.

In other news- Lauren lost her first tooth on Saturday.  It was one of her bottom front teeth.  Some of you may remember that I was a little worried that she wouldn't lose the two teeth because her permanent teeth were growing in behind the bottom two and the baby teeth were not even loose yet.  However, she lost the first one, and the second one is really loose.  So, thankfully she will not end up having to go to the dentist to have them pulled.

All else in life is good.  The girls are getting more grown up each day, and the fatigue is beginning to fade.  The headaches appear to be mostly gone, and I cannot believe that the first trimester is quickly coming to a close. 

First Ob Appointment

Yesterday I had my first regular ob appointment.  The appointment went well, but was anti-climatic when compared with the RE appointments.  I guess that I had forgotten that you don't get to have an ultrasound every time you go to the doctor (though I tried!). 

The doctor says that everything looks good, my uterus (from external measurement) is right where it should be, and the inner lady parts look good.  She did not use the doppler for the heartbeat though.  I asked her if she would do it, and she said that it might be too early to hear anything.  She asked if I would freak out if we didn't hear the heart beat, to which I responded yes, so she said that she would rather not do it.  I then tried to convince her to let me have an ultrasound, but she said something about insurance and pre-certification, blah, blah, blah.  So, she scheduled me to have an ultrasound next Tuesday, when I will be 11w3d. 

Everything else in life is good right now. I am just working, spending time with my family, and trying to get some of my dissertation done.  I have a serious case of avoidance with my dissertation right now.  I know that I have a deadline, and that I need to be working on it every day, but I just cannot get my heart into it.  It doesn't help that I think it is going to be more work than I originally thought it would be, and now my statistical measures are going to be more complicated.  I am meeting with a statistician from my college early next month, so I have to have some things done by then.  I hope to get my next draft to my committee by mid-October so that I can start my study in November or December.  That should put me on track to be finished in April, which is my DEADLINE.  It must be done! 

I, Allison

As I was driving home tonight from open house at work, I thought about my blog.  I do think about my blog often, I just don't often get hit with inspiration for something to write.  However, this time, inspiration struck.  I realized that I haven't written about Allison in a very long time.  She will be 2 1/2 in just a few short days, and has grown up so much in the last few months.  So, this post is dedicated to my youngest daughter, Allison.

Things she is doing now (some of these are not new, I just haven't written them down):

• Language EXPLOSION- she is well mannered, with please, thank you, bless you, yes ma'am, yes sir, etc.  Her favorite though, is saying "no ma'am" over and over while shaking her head no if she doesn't want to do what you told her to do.  She says this quite often.  She is also starting to talk in sentences.  The other day, she took her hand out of mine in the hallway and said "I do it, I big girl".  It is just amazing to me that I can suddenly have an entire conversation with her and actually understand what she is telling me.
• Not a baby.  If I ever (and I do it often) call her my baby, she will put her hands up to her chest and say "I Allison", with quite a bit of emphasis.  I guess she is telling me that she is not baby, she is Allison.  However, if I tell her I'm Trish, she will say "no, mommy".  I guess mommies don't have "real" names.  She does the same thing to her daddy.
• Still in diapers, but that is mostly my fault for being too lazy and tired to potty train her.  I think she is ready, so I really need to get started.
• Independent!  She wants to do everything herself, especially if she has seen her big sister do it.  I can't even count how many times I hear "My got it" or "My do it".  She especially likes to answer the phone with a cute little "hewwo".
• She still loves Max and Ruby and Dora. 
• She loves to do puzzles.
• Happy!  She is happy all day long.  She wakes up smiling and loving, and how could I ever have a bad day when she wakes me up like that!  She loves to give hugs and kisses, but will not usually stay on your lap for very long.  Sometimes she will sit with you in the morning when she first gets up, but once she gets down, she is ready to play! 
• Big.  She is wearing 4T clothes.  She needs the size both for length and for girth (I'm not sure I spelled that right.)
• Good Sleeper.  Generally she goes to bed around 7 and gets up around 7 on the days that I don't have to get her up earlier so that I can go to work.  I get her up at 6:30 on those days.
• There is certainly so much more, but the thing that melts my heart the most is when she says "love you mommy".  It makes whatever bad things happened that day just melt away. 

Why Yes, I am Still Alive!

So, I know that it has, once again, been forever since I posted.  The cooties had me down for several days, then I had another ultrasound and was in a wedding this past weekend.  Also, this pregnancy is kicking my butt.  It is much harder to be pregnant when you have two kids at home than it is with none or only one.  I also timed the transfer so that I would be just going back to work when the symptoms hit (not such a good idea, but not really my decision).  We were actually supposed to transfer a little sooner, but things didn't quite work out according to my plan.  I am also a little bit older than the last two times (I know that is obvious!).  In fact, I am considered advance maternal age by my ob's standards (I'm 32).  

I really cannot complain so much though.  I know that most people have it worse than I.  Really, for me, it is just a constant headache and some serious fatigue.  I remember being really tired with Allison too.  I really don't remember with Lauren.  She was my first, so I could nap whenever I wanted to with her.  If I didn't work, I'm sure that I would take a nice, long nap each day when Allison did.  I get about 8 hours of sleep each night, but it doesn't seem to be enough.  I remember with Allison that there was a point early in my second trimester when the fatigue faded, and I felt almost normal.  Then, it came back toward the end.  I just have to keep telling myself that it will pass and that it is all for the good of the baby.

I do have to say that my husband has been awesome through all of this.  He has been cooking dinner, helping with the girls, and just making sure that I am ok.  He really is the greatest.

The ultrasound on Wednesday was both good and bad.  Twin A is doing awesome with a heartbeat of 176 and measuring about 2 days ahead.  Twin B, however, is no longer with us.  The poor baby just couldn't make it.  I was mentally prepared for bad news, but it was still hard to hear and process it.  They say that everything happens for a reason, so I will just have to believe that God called the baby home.

The wedding this past weekend was very nice.  It was on the beach and it was really windy and a little rainy, but otherwise, it was beautiful.  I had a really good time hanging out at the beachhouse with most of my best friends.  We all stayed together in a six bedroom house right on the beach.  The bride and groom are leaving for a honeymoon cruise right now, and I have to admit that I am very jealous.  I think that we are going to go on a cruise this summer though.  I want to take my kids and my mom with us.  Hubby and I have been on two, but have never taken the kids.  The first cruise was when I was pregnant with Lauren, and the second was summer before last.  The kids are both old enough to enjoy the children's programs on the ship, and we want to do a 5 day cruise, and there is no way I am leaving them for that long!

Time to get back to work!  I will try to be less of a slacker with blogging!