24 Weeks...WOW...6 Months Already!

I can't believe i'm 6 months already!!! 

23 Weeks.....

I will post more later...but here I am at 23 weeks!!!  This baby is growing growing growing!!!  

Time Flies...

WOW…time flies by sooo fast!  I’m 21 weeks and 5 days today and it seriously seems like just yesterday we found out we were expecting!  Lisa, Dustin’s baby sister had her little one last Thursday by cesarean and he’s soooo adorable!  After he was born (8lbs 5oz), Dustin and I got soooo excited to welcome baby Breckin into our world!  Meet Jonathan David Tranel…our 1^st NEPHEW (so excited our boys will be so close in age). 

I talked about how my mom and I making some blankets for Breckin so I’ve attached a picture.  I love them!

  I’ve been going overboard on clothes shopping and really have to STOP!  We got the bedding set for his room and the picture below is it!  I love that it’s simple and not too busy!  

We have some paint colors hanging in his room to choose from, looking at getting something really subtle and calm that will pull in the light, since his room is on the side of the house and the window (only one) faces the North, so not much light is let in.  My mom bought us a crib so that should be here by the 9^th of July!  So exciting! Haha.  Its funny how your life changes so fast, isn’t it?  This is me at 20 weeks…crazy how fast the belly just pops out there!  

I’ll try and keep posting more frequent for my readers (Amber) hahahaha.

I just realized I update Facebook more than I do on here!  I haven’t shown pictures of our new house!  We moved to Maricopa on May 22^nd and absolutely love it.  While it’s a ways out there it’s a nice quiet little small town without all the small town gossip/talk like Show Low! Haha.  We are pretty much settled in, just have some things left to unpack and still need to finish decorating.  We have this HUGE house and not sure what to do with it! Haha.  It’s got this funky formal entry-way with formal living and dining room and it’s just EMPTY right now…not sure what to do! Lol.  Dustin is thinking a pool table with the old nostalgic signs and then on the other side do couches and the TV for the PS3 and Wii…I think that’s a good idea…because quite frankly I have NO idea what to do and I’m usually good at decorating! Lol.  The dogs have become adjusted to the move, it was touch and go there for a while!  Thor HATED it and didn’t eat for days.  I think he thought we were going home at some point! Chowski just whined and whined but all is good now! 

Last week we hit an estate sale across the street from our house!  It was a BIG score on our part!  We picked up fairly new washer and dryer, new refrigerator, fake plants (gotta love those for $3), 3 stools for the island (really cute), a desk for the office, a 4 chair patio table set, 2 floor lamps and a complete bathroom set for the guest bath!  We really got a smokin’ deal for all this and couldn’t be happier with our purchases! Haha.  Dustin was excited we purchased our 1^st washer and dryer and refrigerator as a married couple!  I laugh at the stuff that amuses us these days….conversations are definitely not like they were when we were 24-25 years old, but I like it!  I know life is going to change so much and I’m so excited for those changes, but really sad right now because I want nothing more than to go to Sycamore Creek this weekend and ride my dirtbike! Haha.

Next weekend is our 1^st ANNIVERSARY and I’m sooo excited for it!  I can't believe a whole year has passed by!!!  Dustin and I have known each other exactly 3 years now as of the 20th of July!  We thought of a million things to do celebration wise, but it was all stuff I couldn’t enjoy, like cruise….Disney Land, Oklahoma (driving…not so good with a pregnant lady!), you know the FUN stuff! Haha…just kidding.  We decided to take it easy this year and relax in the nice town of GREER, Arizona!  We both love the relaxing feeling and the quietness it brings!  Since it’s 4^th of July weekend there will be plenty going on up there and I’m really looking forward to it!  Shellie Vallery, who made our wedding cake, is graciously going to replicate the top tier of the cake for our anniversary!  I’m soooo excited about this…she did an amazing job!  So if anyone needs an awesome cake for any occasion please give her a call @ 928.537.7565!  I was thinking of doing a picnic lunch with cake in tow to our wedding ceremony site, Pico’s Nursery!  I think Dustin would really enjoy that!  We can reminisce how the past year has gone and look forward to the next 50+ years! I’ll post pictures after the 4^th!!!!  

I.....Can't.....Breathe.....

So lately, this little man inside me has been moving non-stop and growing a lot, I’m assuming!  He’s getting big enough now to where it’s getting harder and harder to breathe!  I feel amazing, and the mornings are the best!  My stomach is empty and there is more room in there for him to jump around!  But come lunch, my biggest meal of the day, I’m soooo uncomfortable cause there simple isn’t enough room in there for all this! Haha.  Apparently, which I did not know, digestion slows down so thus the feeling of being full or bloated ALL THE TIME! Haha.  Small meals and snacks are what I’m doing and helps a lot!

I’m loving pregnancy now that the kidney issues are resolved!  Getting lots of stuff from family and friends for our little Breckin!  Everyone has been very nice!  Thanks to Beth for the AMAZING collection of boy clothes ranging from 0-2 years!!!  We love love love them!!  We recently got the bedding set for his room, and over the weekend my Mom and I finished 5 blankets for him!  I love being crafty and knowing how to sew, his blankets are unique and nobody else has them! Haha.

Becoming a parent gets more and more scary each day!  But I can honestly say, I’m so excited for the day he is born and can only imagine the feeling that we will experience when we meet him for the first time!  It’s amazing how much love you have for someone you haven’t even met yet!  I will admit, I’m scared to have a baby! Haha.  I’ve been around them my entire life, however, I guess it’s different when it’s YOURS and you carry the sole responsibility to this human being.  It’s not Dustin & I anymore; it’s Dustin, Breckin and I now…it’s just crazy to think we will be PARENTS soon!

Time has flown by soooo fast since we found out we were expecting!  On June 9^th I had my 20 week follow up with Dr. Allen, our OB and everything is moving right on schedule!  I’m measuring on track and Breckin’s heartbeat was 148!  I keep track of everything, which I think Dustin must assume I’m a nut, but it’s nice to know from month to month how our baby is doing.  Last month there was some concern for kidney issues since my UA came back with trace of Protein, which means infection.  I got me some cranberry pills, lemons and lots of water!  Thankfully, this appointment everything was PERFECT!

We have had 3 ultrasounds so far and have still one more to schedule.  Dustin and I opted to get the genetic testing done for Cystic Fibrosis since this runs in my family, everything was good here!  Next was the Ultra Screen; this is the test they do for Down’s and other Neural Tube Defects, but again everything was well!  My blood results came in at 1 in 10,000 chance of it and our ultrasound with this came in good!  The beginning of this month we did the Anatomy scan which just checks for various anatomy parts to make sure he’s growing on track.  He’s healthy!  We were notified of the Echogenic Intracardiac Foci, which is explained below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echogenic_intracardiac_focus

While this is no harm to our baby, it was nice for Dr. Wolfson to tell us some history on this.  Breckin does NOT have a heart condition and from what I’ve been told by our OB, they are finding this little EIF more and more and they believe it’s because the ultrasound technology is getting better and better!  While some state this is a marker for Down ’s syndrome, our baby is in no harm.  The 3 things they look for are the result of the blood test, which mine again, were 1 in 10,000…then comes the presence of a nasal bone…which Breckin has.  And lastly, the neucal fold (the thickness of skin on the back of his neck), which again is normal.  While this is interesting to know, it was still scary as an expecting mother to hear!  Thank goodness Breckin is good to go!

I also found out when I was just 8 weeks pregnant that I am RH Negative, which means my blood type is O Negative so therefore my blood doesn’t mix well with other types.  Since this is not a problem with Breckin, it could be for any siblings he may get!  With that said, around 28 weeks I will have more blood drawn to double check the blood type and antibodies my body has built up.  What happens is my body “could” attack any little ones I get pregnant with and thing of them as a foreign body, since the blood type could be different.  So it’s a simple shot of Rhogam about 28-30 weeks to prevent this from happening in future pregnancies.  Antibodies take a long time to build up, thus, the reason why Breckin is safe.

Anyhow, after that I’ll have another ultrasound to make sure growth is going well and that will be again around 28-30 weeks…then I’m on my own! Haha…the waiting game will begin!  I’m still hoping he makes his debut before or after Halloween but on his own special day since we have a lot of October birthdays!  Either way, things are getting pretty exciting around my neck of the woods!!!  Can’t wait!!!! 

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Today we had out 19 week ultrasound and anatomy scan, we all (except Dustin) went into the ultrasound room thinking for SURE it's a girl!  To our surprise, HE was NOT a GIRL!  Dustin was so excited!  My mom asked the ultrasound tech if she could double check! haha.  I'm soooo happy, more happy that he's healthy!  His heart, lungs, kidneys, brain....limbs, etc looks AMAZING!  He's healthy and growing like a weed!  He was all over the place and was cooperative for the ultrasound tech, but the minute Dr. Wolfson came in, he wasn't having it!  He's a very active baby, we are thinking JUST like Dustin!  Haha.  He was moving so much!  It will be amazing to feel and watch him grow!  I started feeling him move around a few weeks ago but thought it was just muscle spasms...until it started happening every night around 6:00pm! 

Our baby is due October 28th!  I'm REALLY hoping he arrives before or after Halloween!  I'm sooo not a Halloween fan!  There are a lot of October birthdays both in my family and Dusitns!  So hopefully he gets his own special day!  It's crazy to think I'm going to have a SON!  Well I'll keep you posted on the progress!  Enjoy the pictures, they are incredible!

WE ARE FIGHTING FOR KONNER....

HAPPY MONDAY!!!! Today is a special day because our friend Konner Dowdy is doing GREAT! He’s fighting his way through his Neuroblastoma trial in good spirits!!! If you haven’t heard his story, please visit: http://www.konner13.blogspot.com/ . In efforts to help Konner and his family, we are putting together a door-to-door fundraiser this weekend! We will be doing “PENNIES FROM HEAVEN”, a fundraiser in which we collect as many pennies for Konner as we can! Of course we are hoping we get other monetary donations as well but pennies are what we are after!!!!

We are in search of the following:

• Volunteers to walk door-to-door (we are looking for at least 15-20 volunteers)

• 2 drivers (will have snacks and drinks on board)

• If you cannot participate, donations can be made at:

Wells Fargo Acct. #3670514227 in the name of Konner Dowdy

Time: Meet @ 7:30am for bagels and juice, walking begins at 8:00am

Location: TBD an email/text will be sent by Friday at 12:00pm.

Duration: We anticipate reaching as many homes as we can by 1:00pm

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANY FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS WHO YOU THINK WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP IN KONNERS FIGHT!!!

Thank you!!!!

Ultrasound #2...3 months!!!!

Hello everyone!!!  Well today was a VERY big day for us!  I've been stressing out, which I know I shouldn't be....about the Ultra Screen.  This test is done during 12-14 weeks to test for Trisomy 21, 18, 16 and some cardiac defects.  While we don't fit the risks for Down's Syndrome, it's still scary!  Dustin wasn't able to join me, which made it even more hard since I had to go ALONE!  But everything went well!  I'm 12 weeks and 1 day today and just waiting to see a belly pop out there!  It's exciting being pregnant, but not as exciting when you feel fat but can't prove you actually are pregnant by looking at me! hahah.  Our baby is about 2 inches long right now, about the size of your thumb!  This little one was bouncing around like crazy in there and VERY cooperative for the ultrasound tech!  I scored a 1 out of 10,000 chance of having a baby with the above mentioned anomalies, so of course this makes me very happy!  I have attached some pictures of the little one!!!

Konner...."The Little Tuff Guy"

Please keep little Konner in your thoughts and prayers as he fights through his battle, this little guy has clearly brought great joy to his family and we send warm thoughts his way!  If anyone would like help raise some funds for this little man and his family, please let me know!  Bracelets are being sold for $5 as well!!!! 

http://www.konner13.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter!!!!

Easter is coming and I’m not prepared at all…my days turn into my nights and my house is a mess all the time because I’m too tired to do ANYTHING!!! I just want to SLEEP all the time! I wanted to make a basket for Dustin for Easter, but he tells me he doesn’t like all the gross candy and that’s not really what Easter is about anyhow. So poop on him, he’s not getting a basket! This year is the first year we haven’t went to Tucson to Uncle Matt’s and it feels REALLY weird not being there! It’s always been a tradition but we understand why they didn’t have it this year….we definitely look forward to it next year!!!

I was planning on just staying home and enjoying the nice relaxing weekend, but Dustin surprised me with us going to Show Low for the weekend!!! YAY!!! I got off work early on Friday because I didn’t have much work to do, so I was home about 3:00pm and off we went! I was sooo excited to see my family, I’ve been REALLY HOMESICK lately! With me being sick and already had one failed attempt at visiting…I was bound and determined to make it up there!

I’m sure my Mom was excited that we came; she seemed rather bummed on the phone when I told her I didn’t have much extra funds to come up for the weekend and that I still need new tires on the Lexus. Boo. We made it to my parent’s about 8:00pm-ish, and my Mom and I ran over to watch Brinley color her Easter eggs! Dustin opted to hang out with Dad, so off we went! Brinley had a blast coloring eggs and boy did I make sure she got it EVERYWHERE! Well not too bad, but by the time we were done we made some artwork and colored her hands! Haha. Katrina and Mom assured me that next year; it would be MY CHILD with colored hands! It was fun though!!! How good of a job did she do writing all that out!  I just love the "2"!!!

Saturday us girls, Mom, Katrina, Myself and Brinley went to Wal-Mart for groceries and I don’t know if it was the fact that I really was tired, or the thin air up there! I was soooo EXHAUSTED! I couldn’t wait to get home and take a nap! The girls wanted lunch so we stopped at Taco Bell, but I passed out in the car! Hahahaha….it was a nice nap! We finally made it home and I about devoured chips and dip…mmmm my favorite just before we celebrated Easter on Saturday so that we weren’t getting home too too late on Sunday. We enjoyed a nice tasty ham, potatoes, green beans, rolls and of course desserts! It was sooo yummy! Saturday night Dustin and I had a slumber party with Brinley, watched Flicka and slept on the living room floor! Sooo not good for the back; halfway through the night Brin and I ended up on the couch! Haha.

Sunday we lounged around and I slept most of the day away before we headed back down the mountain about 2:00pm! Hahaha….thanks Mom and Dad for a great Easter! It was nice and relaxing!!! Love you guys!!!

Nice Little Visits!!!!

Well we had the nice pleasure of having Dustin’s Mom and John come stay with us! They came out for a week to visit his Grandma and we got to have them stay with us for the weekend! Friday after the ultrasound we headed out to San Tan Flats for Martha’s Birthday! We met up with Malisa, Jensen, the kiddo’s, Aunt Cathi, Zac, Britney and Nathan, plus Dustin’s Uncle Dave and Aunt Lynn met us there too! We had so much fun! We really do love that place and the kids had a good time! Brinley hung out with us and had a nice time, but crashed as soon as we got in the car! She loved the dance floor, of course!

Saturday we got up and enjoyed breakfast and the Red Mountain Café (Mine & Dustin’s reminder of Show Low) with Martha, John and the kids and they headed home! Having to determine which route to take back to Oklahoma due to road closures from snow wasn’t nice for them! But they left and made it home safe!

Since my mom and Grams are also down, they stayed at our house on Tuesday til Sunday and we sure enjoyed their company! Uncle Matt also came over Sunday afternoon and we all hung out! I have to say I love love love having my Uncle in town! I love his visits, he always makes them fun! I wish he could visit more often, well I should go there too! I love how well we get along and I can tell him anything! I think my mom really liked spending time with him too! We watched movies and made dinner each night! I love cooking with him…he always has some great recipes to make!

Monday, Uncle surprised us by putting up some shelving in our garage that’s been sitting there for a while, because Dustin didn’t know how to put it up! Hahah. It’s sooo nice now and saves a lot of space! You can believe those are coming with us when we move (hopefully soon)! Mom got the rest of the paint needed to finish painting the house and some nice trim to spice up around the windows. The house hasn’t been homey since we moved in, but I think it’s coming along nicely! We did a neutral color on the walls with white trim! I love it! Katrina and I did some Cricut sayings for the walls and of course I’m taking those with me too! I love them!

Saturday we were invited to Uncle Brad’s for a shin-dig celebrating his birthday…which one was it….ummm….35th. Yeah, I think so! Hahah…they made rolled tacos, beans and rice with some yummy dessert! Everyone sat by the fire and had a good time. I of course was running out of steam from painting that morning! The sun was down and when I looked at my mom and said “you about ready, it’s pretty “late”…but noticed it was ONLY 7:30pm!!! Hahah…as Me, Mom and Grams made our way out the door, I called shotgun and Grams proceeded to climb in the back! Needless to say, she’s a safety girl and needed her seat belt! Well I don’t know if it was the fact that all 3 of us were tired, or what but this started a laughing frenzy amongst the 3 of us! Grams couldn’t get her seat belt on, so as we are pulling down the road, we pull over I hop out to help Grams, get it fixed and hop back in. We went no further that 2 feet when she STILL couldn’t get it clipped in! We stopped again….by this time laughing because Grams is having so many issues putting her seat belt on! I pulled out the part to click in the seat belt, hop back in the front and off we go. Another few feet we stop again cause she STILL can’t get it buckled!!! She gets frustrated and moves to the middle….still unable to hook her seatbelt my mom stops AGAIN and gets out this time. Now we are laughing so hard we are crying and Grams moves from the middle to the drivers side….Mom is laughing sooo hard she can’t help her buckle her belt! Finally, she buckles her in and off we go! We must have laughed and stopped-started for a good 15 minutes! It was hilarious!!!! Maybe you had to be there to enjoy the good laugh, I sure did!!!!

Sunday, everyone left me and went home. I felt lost without my family….granted Dustin was there, but it’s not the same when you miss your Mom! I’m going to clean and do some laundry! Hahaha…

8 Weeks & Counting!!!

So…on Friday we went back to our OB for our 2 week follow-up at 8 weeks, for our first ULTRASOUND!!! Dustin’s Mom and Stepdad are in town from Oklahoma so we invited them to join us for the exciting visit to the doctor! Since my Mom, Grandma and Brinley are also in town, they met up with us there too! Brinley was suppose to be going to the Renaissance Festival with her mom but told her she didn’t want to go, she wanted to go to the doctor to hear the baby’s heartbeat! So there we were….all 10 of us in the waiting room!!! They finally called me back and once the tech was able to locate the baby and verify a heartbeat, everyone was able to come back and enjoy this happy time with us!

It’s sooo amazing the little blob on the screen is OUR BABY! While Dustin was amazed and said “that’s it, that’s our baby”…the tech said “Yep, you better take care of it”! We all laughed! She verified that there was ONLY ONE baby in there, with a good strong heartbeat and everything looked well! I’ll try and get some pictures from the ultrasound on here….even though it’s hard to tell what it is! Haha. We were able to hear our baby’s heartbeat and it was soooo loud! It was about 176BPM which is VERY fast, but is a good sign that our baby has a strong heartbeat! I am 8 weeks and 1 day, however, on ultrasound i'm measuring 8 weeks and 6 days, but since it's in the same week my due date doesn't change. 

It was nice to have my Mom, Tanya and Brinley there and I’m sure Dustin loved having his Mom there to experience this with us!  Afterwards we saw the PA, Abbey Coppenhaver; http://www.azmomdocs.com/Providers/Abbey_Copenhaver.aspx .  I was a bit apprehensive on seeing a PA since I was assured we would be seeing our Doc today…but Abbey was just what we needed! She’s very upbeat, outgoing and very very knowledgeable!!! She answered all our questions, plus some! We decided to do the blood test for Cystic Fibrosis since it is on my Mom’s side of the family. We were given information about The First Trimester Screening for Neural Tube Defects, which we opted to do. This will test for Down ’s syndrome and other Chromosomal disorders along with some cardiac defects as well. This will be done between 12 and 14 weeks. Although Dustin didn’t want to have these done, I want the piece of mind knowing our baby is healthy.

I’ve been feeling really sick all day after I take my prenatal vitamins whether it be in the evening or morning. I’m not liking this feeling at all! We talked to Abbey and she told me to start taking Flintstone Vitamin’s that it’s better to not feel nauseous all day long but still get the vitamins in my system! Thank goodness! They make me feel sooo horrible! Aside from sleeping the days and nights away, I’m feeling pretty good. Bathroom breaks and snacks are a MUST about 10 million times a day! Hahah. Things are good and I will come back next month for another check!

So, since the last post….lots has happened!!! I was feeling better after much needed sleep! Was told I had a kidney and bladder infection, got pain meds and some antibiotics and sent home. I filled the antibiotics, but since I was feeling much better and hate taking medication, I told the pharmacist to throw away the rx for the Percocet. BAD IDEA. Since I was feeling better, Christa invited me to road trip with her to Show Low for the weekend! Since I’ve been feeling a little home sick I thought this would be perfect, so I packed and waited for her to pick me up about 4:30pm and off we went. Well we stopped in Payson for food and I couldn’t take it anymore. I was in soooo much pain, so much pain I was crying uncontrollably and Christa’s smelly KFC wasn’t making it any better.

Poor Christa, I made her pull over because I didn’t think I could make it to Show Low. Tylenol wasn’t helping and since Christa has never seen me in this much pain, she called my mom! Haha. I managed to call the Walgreen’s Pharmacy that I went to earlier and had them dig through the trash for my prescription for that Percocet I really could have used about now! Since it’s a narcotic, Dustin had to pick it up then on his way he was to be with me so Christa could go on to Show Low. My mom told Christa to take me to the ER and how thankful I was for that! We walked in the Payson ER about 7pm and they got me started on a shot of Morphine and a dark room! Dustin arrived about 8pm and Christa was able to get to Show Low. Two shots of Morphine, a shot of Delotid, more pain and moaning….then some running to the bathroom in between tears of pain sick to my stomach….I finally got some rest. Next came some more Percocet!

The doctor was great and told me the kind of pain I was having was that pain of a Kidney Stone! WOW….this pain was intense!!! I’ve since been told that Kidney pain is the worst pain a person would ever experience….well they weren’t lying. I don’t wish this sort of excruciating pain on my worst enemy! The doctor in Payson knew what he was talking about…(not surprised anymore that the Payson docs are better than the Phoenix ones, since this is my 2nd time as a patient in Payson). He gave me meds to relax my bladder wall so I could pass the stones he thought was in there. Apparently, the first sign of stones is blood in the urine, that means they are moving around. Since now I only experienced the pain and no blood, that means it’s stuck between the kidney and bladder wall. Just great.

About 4:00am I was wheeled out to the truck and pretty much was out! Got home and fast asleep in pain…slept until about 3:00pm on Saturday, enjoyed some company from Tanya and Dustin. Fell asleep again about 8:00pm until finally coming out of a coma about 8:00am on Sunday. Finally feeling better but still sooo exhausted. The reason for all this pain made it’s way out on Saturday afternoon….2 kidney stones! No bueno! Apparently, kidney stones are VERY common in pregnant women, and are caused from dehydration! Well I know now how to prevent them! Lemons help too!!!! Feeling much better and choking down the water since NOTHING tastes good these days!

Trip to the ER...What a Joy!!

So last night I hung out with Tanya and then watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice...then I headed to bed.  Out of a dead sleep i'm dealing with this aweful abdominal and kidney pain on the left!  I thought maybe it was gas or indigestion or something, so I held off from 11:30pm to 1:30am until I couldn't take it anymore!  I woke Dustin up and off to the ER at Banner Gateway we went.  We got there, waited for what seemed like eternity, got back in a room, waited over an hour til the PA came in and saw me.  Got started on Morphine, Zofran for the Morphine and Benadryl just in case I had a reaction since I'm allergic to Lortab.  Ugh.  I got some IV Antibiotics which I was immediately thankful for!

Then the waiting game began.  Blood in the urine...generally not a good thing.  Then blood draw and 3 ultrasounds.  Finally 6am rolls around and they finally let me go home!  Sooo not fun.  I'm hungry, loopy and still in some pain!  Bed was my best friend until about 115pm today!  Finally feeling better, got more antibiotics and i'm praying everything with this crap goes away.  This MAY explain the cruddy feeling i've had the last week or two.  Who knows.  All I know is this infection stuff is soooo not my best friend.

Hope it goes away soon.

Our 1st OB Visit!!!!

Well today we had our first OB visit!!!  Got an intense medical background; met our doctor Dr. Laurie Allen with Goodman/Partridge OB/GYN http://www.azmomdocs.com/Providers/Dr_Laurie_Allen_DO.aspx . She’s very nice but a little too shy for Dustin and I. She seems to know her stuff though which is OBVIOUSLY a good thing.

My official due date is OCTOBER 28, 2010!!! I’m 6 weeks today! I was given an array of blood tests to get done and a nice little welcome bag with A LOT OF INFORMATION ON WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT EAT! Not happy about that! Hahah. I come back in 2 weeks for the 1st ultrasound! How exciting!!!!

It Starts.....or Continues from the Spokane Trip

Ugh….sickness! So today is a good day; more energy than yesterday, which isn’t saying much! For the last week or so I’ve been EXHAUSTED!!! Exhausted to the point where over the weekend I did NOTHING! I woke up Saturday at 7am, and laid around the house all day. Slept the day away and didn’t shower and get dressed until about 4pm! Sunday, the same thing! I was in bed until about 1pm! The only reason I got up was because I invited family and friends over for dinner at 5pm and my house needed to be cleaned! Haha.

Cleaning or anything that required energy just drained me even more! Haha I picked up a good read “Belly Laughs: The Ugly Truth About Pregnancy & Childbirth” by Jenny McCarthy. Boy am I hoping that half of the stuff she talks about DOESN’T happen to me! I’m praying and praying this pregnancy goes well and there is NO morning sickness. So far so good, just exhaustion; no appetite (although the last 2 weeks I couldn’t get enough food in my belly) and really funky dreams. I’m not sure they are considered dreams because I find myself constantly tossing and turning and waking up with my mind racing 90 mph!!! Maybe that’s why I’m so exhausted when I get up….but I can’t remember what I was tossing and turning about! Haha.

Hoping that the morning sickness that I haven’t experienced yet stays gone! I’m 6 weeks and will start my 7th on Friday! Time is already flying by! I’m ready to start shopping…..look out!!!!

GI bug….I think NOT!!!

So Thursday 2/18 I went and saw my doctor to find out what the heck was going on with my stomach!!! I still felt like crap, but no vomiting, etc. Our medical system is so messed up, and yes, I can say this because I work in it everyday. I can’t stand the offices that you go to that are not customer service oriented, nor are they concerned about “the patient”; the MAIN reason why they HAVE JOBS! Yes, I’m being obnoxious here but really?

Anyhow, my appointment was at 415pm, but I arrived promptly at 4pm, paid my unnecessary co-pay that the lady just made me make! UGH….got checked in and had a seat. Since my normal doctor wasn’t available, I had to see the PA (not happy about this). Anyhow, I sucked it up and at about 405pm I was called into the office for my appointment; the MA took vitals and asked what was going on. I gave her a history as she rushed me through my explanation and quickly said “okay, Gary will be with you soon”. Gary, the PA came in not 2 minutes later asked the same questions that the MA asked, had me hop up on the table barely did an examination and his diagnosis was a “GI bug”. He said it’s just a virus and proceeded to explain to me that his MA had been out for the last 4 days with uncontrollable diarrhea. I was like REALLY…WHY THE HELL DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS? Anyhow, Gary quickly wrote me a prescription for some sort of medicine he said would help me with the abdominal pain if I experienced symptoms over the weekend, says to get it filled and keep it in the medicine cabinet. Looking at him like ummmm okay! I’m not the type of person who takes medicine just to take it, I would rather not take anything and suffer….clearly he gave me no answers to my problems.

He rushed me out the door at about 410pm not asking if I had any questions, concerns, NOTHING!!! I was so upset that this guy who went to school to HEAL people, didn’t take time….but I can guarantee he charged my insurance a boatload. We really need some caring people in our medical offices for sure!!!!

Anyhow, leaving there upset with a prescription that I would not ever fill and paying $10 for NOTHING, I went home. Still feeling crappy, I went to bed early. Friday morning I woke up about to pee my pants, clearly this is HIGHLY UNUSUAL for me! I ran into the bathroom and there was a pregnancy test sitting there….since I was still feeling cruddy and it was just sitting there and me with a full bladder…I took it!

2 minutes later…it was POSITIVE!!!! Glad to know it wasn’t a GI bug….but so sad I worried myself sick trying to figure out what was going on with my belly! Guess it was just the little one on the way trying to get comfortable in there! After I took the test and composed myself I went in the bedroom where Dustin was still sleeping, woke him up and told him to go look in the bathroom. He did and was soooo excited!!! We both were! We immediately called our parents, brothers, sisters, grandmas!!! I didn’t want to tell EVERYONE until we went to the doctor. We are going for our 1st visit on March 4th @ 4pm to see how things are going. On our 1st appointment by calculation I will be exactly 6 weeks along! SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

I’ll give updates after the appointment!!! Unofficial due date is October 31, 2010 (hope I don’t have a Halloween baby…I despise that holiday)

SPOKANE...or San Diego, Oakland, Portland, Seattle...

Well….Dustin and I have been soooo excited to go to Spokane for his dad’s wedding on Valentine’s Day!!! We got things worked out and have been seeing a counselor and come to find out we just aren’t on the same page as far a communicating and listening to one another! So, with that said we both were so ecstatic to spend some much needed time out of Arizona. We decided to change our flight to Thursday night and coming home Monday just in time for our weekly session with our counselor.

Thursday night, Dustin’s kind coworker Ed drove us to the airport and off we were through check-in and security! 1st snag should have given us a clue as to how things were going to play out for our little adventure! Dustin had to go through security, get searched and then go in the x-ray machine! I wish I had taken a picture! It was hilarious! Of all people…of course Dustin was the one to get pulled aside..haha.


We got checked in and listed on a flight (since we fly standby) and waited for our flight to board. Low and behold…apparently MANY people were trying to get out of town on the same night…who would have thought! We missed our 1st flight due to it being full….so Tod tells Dustin how bout try going through Oakland….so off we went. Listed on a flight to Oakland…was surprisingly able to get on, had a stop in San Diego for a bit…got some free drinks! SCORE!!! Finally, we were in the air again…and I started feeling sick. I think I had some food poisoning…UGH! Must have been that nasty Chinese I had for lunch that day! Hoping the Monster and Vodka I had would make me feel better…but clearly didn’t!

We got to Oakland and of course….we got booted off our flight to Spokane! Since it’s about 10pm now and this airport isn’t international, there we NO MORE FLIGHTS going out! We debated getting a hotel room or sticking it out in the airport. Well, after talking to Tod and Oakland being his home base, he recommended if we get a hotel room that we don’t go outside and would be best if we put a chair against the door. After Dustin got done telling me this and finding out that hotels are about $90 a night and we only needed it for about 4 hours…I said HECK NO!!! My life is a bit more important right now than getting a good night’s sleep! Hahah. So nighty-night in a airport chair it was! Great.

By this point the last flight that was delayed about 2 hours finally had taken off…it’s about midnight and I’m soooo exhausted. Being up since 530am is just not fun when you are tired and wanting to crash in a comfy bed! I tried sleeping…while we were the only ones in this place and the security guards kept an eye on us, I still didn’t feel comfortable sleeping; of course Dustin didn’t have any trouble at all….he was snoring away just a chair away. I tried reading, walking, anything to keep me awake….finally I begged Dustin to get up and move to some more comfy chairs. It’s hard to LAY DOWN when then ALL have arms on them! So annoying! Hahah. We could a bit more comfy area, and I was somehow by the grace of God, able to fall asleep for about 1-2 hours. Of course this wasn’t GREAT sleep but it works!

We ran down to our gate, of course at the opposite end of the airport than where we are currently. We listed on a 625am flight at 425am and waited around. This flight was headed to Seattle then to Spokane. I by this time still feeling sicker than a dog with abdominal pain and bloating….running to the restroom thinking SOMETHING would happen. I didn’t care what…just as long as I felt better! Man, food poisoning is the WORST!!!! Up, down, up, down….nothing helped. Dustin ran to get some breakfast and all I wanted to do was die….anything had to make this craziness go away! I opted for a bagel even though it didn’t sound great at all. I had half of a bagel and couldn’t eat anymore! We got on our flight at 625am and Seattle bound we were….THANK GOODNESS!!! We were lucky enough to get some more free stuff and let me tell you, I was pumped full of peanuts and V8 juice for every flight! Haha.

We landed in Portland (I know…we must have stopped at EVERY city in Washington), and had about an hour wait until the plane boarded our Portland friends. While Dustin surfed and uploaded pictures to Facebook…our best friend and communication with a very low battery…since our luggage was patiently waiting for us in Spokane with the phone charger; I passed out for an hour or so….Dustin’s lap and the airplane seats, uncomfortable as they may be, was my new sleeping place! We boarded the plan and by some miracle I didn’t have to get up. Every seat was taken except the one I was laying in! I really really didn’t want to have to share…I already felt like crap.

We landed in Seattle….finally, but still not at our destination and let a nice girl sit by us….she chatted up a storm the ENTIRE way!!! Since Dustin opened his big mouth and told her she could sit with us, I made him sit in the middle! I was soooo not in a mood to entertain anyone! Haha. Our 35 minute flight from Seattle to Spokane was long and uncomfortable. I hadn’t gotten much more than 3 hours of sleep in a 30 hour period, I was sick, needed a shower and wanted to scream! We FINALLY made it to Spokane on Friday and Tod, like a good father he was, was waiting for us outside. Our bags were patiently waiting for us and off we went.

Surprised that there was NO SNOW on the ground in the entire city of Spokane! What happened…how did Arizona get 7-9 feet of snow and Spokane the city that gets on average 81 inches of snowfall a year, not get ANYTHING?? Whatever…I was really to tired and still feeling crappy to care. We made it to Tod’s adorable and HUGE house and were greeted by Dustin’s Nana, Claudine and her hubby Ron. Not really caring who these people are, no offence, but did you read up above??? I just wanted a shower and a nap. So that’s just what I did. I must have really needed that sleep because I barely got myself out of the shower and dressed and passed out on the bed. When I came to, disoriented and still sick…I made myself upstairs to find Dustin and his family going through about 1000 wedding pictures! Hahaha. Glad they enjoyed his commentary!

Tod offered me lunch…I though LUNCH!!! What the heck time is it? I thought it was like 8pm or close to it. My clocks are so off it’s not even funny! Needless to say, it was barely 1230pm! Yes Ashley, lunchtime! Hahah. I made myself a ½ sandwich and tried getting it down. No offence to Tod and his food but it just didn’t sound good. I think I finished about a half of that half sandwich. Cheri and Kaitlyn arrived and we hung out talking about girl stuff while Tod & Dustin bonded in the garage!

Apparently, there was a bachelorette party happening this night and neither Cheri nor I were interested in getting our butts off the couch for. We didn’t even know about it til the last minute. I still didn’t feel well and relaxing sounded more fun that getting wasted and coming home at 2am! Haha…but seems everyone else had a great time! I’m pretty sure I was in bed at a decent time…I think even before Tod & Ron! Haha. Tod threw together dinner for us all and it was sooo good! This made me feel lots better!

Saturday was a new day! We got up, had some of the best French Toast ever and off we went to run around with Lauren! We went to Couer D’ Alene, Idaho and I fell in love with the scenery! We visited a mall, and Lauren’s college! She told us a creepy story about a girl there and I still can’t get the images out of my head. From here we went back to Tod’s for a nice family BBQ just before his wedding on Sunday!!! Still not feeling well I tried to mingle…sorry guys that I wasn’t the most social person there!

Sunday kicked off to Dustin, Cheri and I going for a drive that I think Cheri and I wished we hadn’t signed up for! We got a wedding gift for Tod & Anne and started getting ready for the wedding! We arrived in the rain to the church and things got underway! It was so fun! The ceremony was great, so were the sweets they had at the little reception. Once the reception was over we all went all around town for a nice dinner at the Vintage’s!! Dinner was exceptional and so was the company!

Thinking it could have been the fact that maybe I was pregnant that was making me sick this whole time…so pregnancy test here I come. Low and behold it was negative. Must have just been a nasty GI bug! Great…..just what I wanted on the way home (which was a nightmare too). Monday morning we were up bright and early and off to the airport and jumped on our plane to Vegas since we decided we would have a better chance getting home through Vegas than Oakland again!

Well….we were wrong…way wrong! Keep in mind we have an appointment with our counselor at 745pm and HAVE to be there; he encouraged us to change our plans so we don’t loose any time with him! So we did! Flight after flight passed by and another flight passed by…all of which were overbooked; we couldn’t get on ANY flight! We really really needed to be home by 730pm!!! Needless to say time was running out; Dustin being the friendly person he is approached a couple who was stuck too and we ended up renting a car and DRIVING back to AZ from Vegas! Since WE rented the car I drove the ENTIRE way home….being sick and driving 3 other people in a rental car across state was NOT FUN! Our conversation with Rob & Lori was fun…but I just wanted to be home! As we came into Surprise and looked at the clock, I was sooo happy that we were going to make our appointment at 745pm…that is until Rob said it’s not 630pm…it’s 730pm…the car was displaying Nevada time!!! UGH!!!! So all this mess could have been avoided by just missing our darn meeting and coming home on Tuesday like we planned! We didn’t make our appointment and didn’t get home until after 10pm on Monday night! I still had to be up and ready for work the next day! Soooo the fun and exciting trip we THOUGHT we were going to have was the trip of no sleep, sickness, chaos and exhaustion. All in all we did have a good trip…when we were on the ground! Hahaha….thanks to Tod who let us stay with him, fed us and got us there and home; we love your Southwest privileges’!!!! Thanks for everyone who put up with me….sorry Lauren that we didn’t get to see you much! We hope to get out there soon for a “better” trip!!!

I'll upload pictures some day! hahahaha

Adulthood

I remember how life was when I was 7, 10, 13, 17…and how easy life was. How I enjoyed life with no worries in the world and not having to pay bills, get gas, feed the dogs, worry about food on the table. Why do we all want to grow up so fast? I’ve been having a hard time lately and I’m not sure why. Why do I seem like my life is at a dead end? Why does it seem like I can’t make my husband happy? Why does it see like I’m always grumpy? I like my job. I like my husband…okay I love my husband! Haha. I really have nothing to be grumpy about. I don’t like coming home to dogs. I realize I’m NOT a dog person. How sad, the two things Dustin loves soooo much…I don’t.

There are times where, like today, I just am crabby. I got a good nights rest….I woke up without the alarm yelling at me. What’s wrong? I just feel like crying all the time…like I don’t know what to do. My husband told me he was sick of coming home every night to the same old thing…nothing. He says “this rut we call our life”. He wants more “excitement” but couldn’t tell me what that entails. He tells me he wants to do stuff…but what kind of stuff? He couldn’t answer that. I’ve become a homebody lately and I’m sure he doesn’t like that…but what is there to do in this town? I need a life change! I apparently need some excitement in our lives….not that it’s a bad thing. We really come home from work, eat dinner, check email, Facebook, bank account (always low Haha), etc and watch TV. Then off to bed. I feel just run down, bored. But what to do?

Over the last year I have realized a lot about myself and the people around me. I have realized that you can’t please them all…especially Dustin. I realized that Dustin is a MAN and I’m a WOMAN and we DON’T think alike AT ALL. I realized there are some people in your life you just can’t trust no matter what; no matter how many times I give them the benefit of the doubt. I realized that I vent to the wrong people sometimes. I realized that I should watch what I say in front of other people. I’ve learned a lot about myself. This week has been hard for me and as I sat my butt on the couch last night eating Taco Bell and watching Autumn in New York, I knew there was much more intended for me in this world.

I feel like I need to see a counselor for my frustrations of marriage, but in all actuality, they are very minute. I get upset over the dishes piled in the sink, the laundry that I do most 9 times out of 10. The dogs that sleep in our room at night (I really don’t like that); the creaking closet door in our room that always wakes me up when Dustin comes to bed late; the fact that Dustin waits until 9-10pm when I’m in bed sleeping to shower (its sooo loud in our bedroom). Our yucky yard and no desire on Dustin’s end to pick up the poop or chop the weeds down.

I do love my life, but at times, it’s irritating. I am however excited and looking forward to our future together…getting a house of our own, not relying on a landlord (friend) to come fix something. Paying Dustin’s truck off THIS YEAR! Getting out of debt. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m just in a slump, the slump we call our life as Dustin would put it. Maybe I need to take up some sort of hobby? I get upset when Dustin doesn’t want to spend every evening with me. I guess just because we don’t see each other during the day, its nice to hang out after work. Is 5 days a week too much, with the weekends too? I feel like he doesn’t like me as much as he did when we first started dating…like my newness wore off. Am I no fun anymore?

I feel like I’m missing something in my life. Is church the answer? Tanya, Scott and I went to church last Sunday and I enjoyed it, not as much as I hoped. I think it was the pastor…I’m going to try again this week at their church. I asked Dustin to go, but he said he’s not ready. I guess I can’t make him go….I guess I can’t push him to do something he doesn’t want to. I just feel lost. Something’s got to push me in the right direction.

Is some of this me? Is it that nothing keeps me occupied anymore? That there is only so much you can do at home. Is it the fact that I feel unpretty? Is that a word? Is it that I need to loose weight that I feel like a cow! Haha. I want to run, I want to get in shape, but have absolutely NO DESIRE. I am at my all time high for my weight…maybe this is why I’m so depressed about life! Haha….

Being all grown up really isn’t fun all the time. UGH. Hope my day and week gets better….

HOBBY LOBBY=LOVE

I've been seeing Hobby Lobby all around lately and haven't heard much about it...but always want to check it out!  So last night my Christa friend and I went!  Let me tell you.....I FELL IN LOVE!  They have EVERYTHING!!! There have everything from lamps, silk flowers, vases, aisles and aisles of scrapbooking stuff, baskets, TONS of home decor, tables, lawn ornaments and TONS of other amazing stuff.  I've now heard about how people think it's over-rated and over priced....but excuse me...it's cheaper than Pottery Barn!  We got a $200 gift card to Pottery Barn for Christmas and Dustin was disappointed when we got there!  He said we got it just as a tease, because in addition to the $200 gift card, you still have to spend another $100 or more! hahaha.....we went home with shelving and tea candles!

is now my new favorite place...I was happy I went on a non-payday week so I didn't blow any money!  I'm in a total decorating mood now!

Time to paint, redecorate, redo and let the spring spirits in!!!  Can't wait for the nice warm weather!!!

Anyhow....