Ah 14 days maybe

Well it's funny to see that potentially there are 14 days left, because 14 days into the pregnancy you don't even know if you are pregnant and here I am at 38wks pregnant and potentially only 14 days to go. Tom's still counting down the days, which I told him he might want to add another week or two to that count of his, because this little one is not going to want to come out.

Well through this whole pregnancy or I should say once everyone realized I was pregnant and not just gaining a little wait which was around 24 weeks, everyone kept telling me down here that I looked to small to be due when I was due (even last month).....OH how that table have turned. I am sure I have mentioned the swelling has started just after 34wks, thankfully it's not as bad as some women get but it still sucks and hurts. Anyhow my friend Laurie and I were out walking and near the end of our walk along the main street with all the shops and restaurants....in the matter of 15 minutes a part I had two older women just look at me and say:

"Oh you must be ready to go any day now, do you know what you are having"
me: "I have about 2 weeks to go and no we decided to wait to find out the sex".
Both ladies "OH IT'S A GIRL"

Hahahaha. I am not sure what to think of these comments. They don't bug me at all, I just laugh and than they continue to ask me all the pregnancy questions. I couldn't imagine though if I was really sensitive of these comments though, like some women can be. If I was I don't think I would be leaving the house anymore. So now I have gone from you can't be due in June to SHAMUUUUUUUUUUUU "the killer Whale" that is going to burst at any moment. Hahahaha

So I was hoping that the full moon last night might help me out a little and bring this little one closer to us but no such luck. I think this little one is never going to want to come out and meet us. Sort of like his or her dad and getting up in the mornings, they just don't want it to happen. We just got to wait to see when this little one decides to come or if the doctors decides. At least I know it will end sometime this month, thank goodness.

Just another Post

I am finally putting a dent on my crafts that I have start over the last year or so!!!!

1. My 1st baby blanket is done except for the name and the date of birth to be stitched in and I have the backing bought I just have to sew it on, which will be the hardest part b/c it has to be done by hand because of the edging.

2. The second baby's blanket is complete and and washed
3. I got a bunch of scrapbooking pages done. I think I just have about 20 more to do to get caught up to this yr. Than I have to start the pregnancy/baby scrapbook :S. Not sure if this one will get caught up.

Well besides that we had a great long week. Got a bit down around the house and some baby stuff, hopefully I'll get more done this week and next week. Now I am just getting ready for my friend Laurie who arrives on Thursday for a 5 day visit. Well tom is counting down the days like a mad man and I am trying to tell him that you know the baby more than likely will be late, but it's not sinking in. Anyhow like Tom would say 18 more days to go. Lets hope for less than that rather than more!!!! I think that is up to date for us.

Totally unexpected

Well a few days ago this week Tom called me from work and said that I couldn't do anything on Friday at noon because his 6 co-workers were throughing us a surprise baby shower for us at one of the local Chinese restaurants. It was totally unexpected I must say. I know all his co-workers, a few better than the others, but we both have a feeling it was the only women on their team that put this together. It's a little bit funny because most of the showers I been to or seen have been mostly women and sometimes a few male parties but my was the total opposite. It was all male except me and the one female co-worker. Anyhow it was really nice of them to think of us and our little one on the way.

As the day gets closer I am dreaming of the day that I can just crawl into bed and be comfortable, noticed I didn't say to get some sleep. I think, I have the no sleep part down pat here pretty good. Most nights I am up 8 times during the night and than I finally crawl out of bed at any time between 6:30- 7:15 am because I just can't handle laying there not sleeping anymore. Not sure if most pregnant women go through this too, but I know I am. I know why I can't remember anything anymore these days which people call pregnancy brain too. I don't think it has anything to do with being pregnant per say but more due to the of lack of sleep and not being able to rest comfortably. At least when this baby comes and the recovery of delivery is over I will finally be able to be comfortable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the long weekend here for us and I am extremely happy that Tom gets this holiday off because there are a lot of holidays that he doesn't. I am hoping just to relax and straighten a few more things up around the place. I must say yesterday I got some things done but I know now that I did too much because my body started yelling at me last night and today. I think today I'll probably do a little bit less than I have been doing, so I am not out for the count during the whole weekend.

36 wks and hopefully no more than 4 to go!!!!

Can't believe I am finally 36wks now!!! We had our doctors appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. Baby is head down, cervix is really soft and I am still dilated 1cm. She said that there is a chance to go early which I would love b/c of how soft my cervix is but I am not getting my hopes up there because sometimes you can stay in the position I am in for days, weeks etc.... Our next appointment is in two weeks so I guess by than well know more of how things are going.

Well the weather is suppose to get really hot here after the weekend. I am hoping that the new window fans we bought will help cool the place down some, where our air conditions just doesn't seem to do the trick that well. It ends up being hotter in the apartment than the actual outside. ugh.

Next weekend we have our long weekend which will be nice. We don't have any plans at the moment but maybe I can talk tom into going somewheres if I am feeling okay. It will be our last long weekend of just the two of us!!!! My mom got her passport picture done and is sending everything in but she won't talk to me about a time frame that she's thinking of coming down so I don't know if she want to surprise us when she know for sure or she is just getting the passport done so that she has it and doesn't have to be bother with getting one later, since they are good for about 8yrs.


Well I should probably run we have a lot of stuff to do today and I am just a pregnant women beginning to ramble now. Hope everyone in Canada is having a good long weekend.

POTENTIALLY 30 DAYS TO GO!!!!!

Well folks it's been a while since I last wrote. Not much is going on our side of things here. Just a very busy husband at work and a pregnant wife at home. Not long now I guess maybe just 30 days and 30 night to go. That is if I don't go over which most cases first time mom's do. But a few first timers go early too. I would love to be an early mom, like most pregnant women do especially at the end of the road like now. So in 30days we might have many big surprises to say the least. Like is it a boy or a girl, when is the birthday, what is the child's name and of course when will we be able to come home. If everything goes well we'll be home 24hours after birth, which sounds crazy to me and if there is complication I think it's 2-3 days, down here. We have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow, so well see how things are looking than. We are getting more excited each day but not too much b/c we don't want to be let down if we go pass our due date, so in my head I have July 1. That way I know I'll go early if it's July 1 hahaha. It's great when you trick your mind.

Tom's mom will be down for two weeks in July which will be great to have some family down and than I heard that my mom is saying she is getting her passport and there might be talk of her coming down in August for a visit which will be wonderful too. We are still trying to come home for the Christmas/new year holiday this year, so hopefully we'll get to see everyone than too, even though it will probably be a fast trip like always with lots of driving in the winter time ugh. One thing I don't miss about home is driving in the snow, even thought Californians don't know how to drive in rain.

Well I should go and put up my feet for a bit since I got blessed with some swelling just last week in the knuckles and feet. Got to love pregnancy!!!!

Buddha belly Pic's

Well I was messing around with the camera yesterday and they aren't great but it's not easy taking pictures of yourself, hopefully I will get better. So here are some pictures of the Buddha belly. I find this shirt makes me look a lot bigger than some others I have but oh well. Hopefully I can get some good pictures done with practice. Hard to believe that I only have potentially 6 wks + 1 day to go but it will probably be longer than that. Who knows only time will tell I guess.

32wk Doctors appt

Well we had our 32wk appointment today and all is looking good. The heart beat is still strong and sounding good. The baby is still high and even though I have lots of braxton hicks contractions and a tiny bit of cramping, it doesn't seem to be affecting anything so there is no worry about going into premature labour. I have my next 3 appointments already scheduled so we have a 36wk, 38wks, 39wks appointments on the calendar. We have our Breastfeeding class tonight and CPR course tomorrow and Thursday night this week. Our birthing course starts May 7th and continues for the next three Mondays after. I guess having all these course are telling us that the time is getting closer for the baby day, however it still seem really far away till mid June.

Finally getting some Scrapbooking done!!!

Finally getting some craft out of the way. Last night and today I worked on pasting in some pages of my scrapbook about Tom and I. So I am getting old pages together. Here are a few pictures of my progress. Sorry if some are a little blurry.

Strange how things work....

...out in life. I have been looking for a good job for what? a year and a half and I had an okay one for 6 months. Well I stopped looking anyhow because we found out about the little one on the way and the fact that that there was no such thing as morning sick but all day 24/7 puking sickness for the first four months. Late Friday I got a call from a resource technology company that Google bought to recruit people for massage therapy for their company. It's not completely what I would like in a job because you have to start off with doing chair massage but everything else is perfect with the job. So in the end I told them to keep me in mind and that I was interested but where I am potentially due less than 9 wks away I won't be able to work for a bit, so I am told to contact them when I am ready to go back to work, where there is normal always 1-2 spot open. Tom and I talked this morning after I called them back and where it's part time 3 days a week 2-7pm job, I might be going to work after the baby depending on how things go later with the baby....meaning probably not till 6 months after the baby. Tom can probably come home and work from home while I am at work. It's really strange how things come around, I wish that I got this call over a year ago. It would have made a lot of things easier for us. Plus I would feel comfortable in this work environment because it would be employees and and not just any Joe off the street.

30 wks and approximently 10wks to go!!!

I am hoping these next 10wks will go fast. I am having a lot more trouble walking around now with a lot of lower back and sciatic pain where I can't put much weight on my left leg. Lets hope that it's just a spell and not going to last long or get worst over for the rest of the pregnancy. We are still trying to figure out what to do with some of the stuff that we have in our small tin can and as well buy an apartment size deep freezer so I can cook some casseroles and dinners that can be frozen and used when the baby is here. I just hope that we figure it out before the baby comes. Tom started thinking that we will rent a storage cube close buy to put stuff in just b/c you never know when we will need it....ugh. I am dumbing out some of the small junk around the place and I going to have to re-organizes some of the cupboards and our bedroom closet shelf, so much to do.

This weekend we didn't do too much. Saturday we went to Santa Cruz and spent the night, which was just nice to get away from the apartment for a bit. We went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk and laid on the beach for a few hours just smelling the ocean air and listening to the waves. It wasn't that warm and the wind was blowing but it was still relaxing. We didn't go on any rides b/c I am not allowed on any, but we played some arcade games and walked around the fair grounds.

Now we are just taking the rest of Sunday as an easy day and picking more things up around the apartment. Well I hope everyone had a good Easter Weekend.

Baby shower box

Today we got a baby shower box in the mail from my mom and sister sandy. It was really nice of them to send a shower gift box. I picked up the box and took it to Tom's work so we could open it up together in the car. It was a wonderful Baby shower box I must say. They sent the normal baby shower gifts which is really great. My mom even put in the hospital outfit that I came home in that was knitted by my great Aunt Geneva and my own baby blanket for the baby. Thank you oh so much. Here are some pictures.



We also have to thank Trevor and Sarah for they have sent us a few things as well. I must say tom liked the Edmonton Oiler stuff and the little stuff Canadian moose was really great as well, especially since we really don't have anything Canadian down here. Thank you guys.

Living in a can and loosing my mind....

.....yup that is me. I have been trying to clean and get rid of stuff to make more room in this tiny tin can that we live in. I have thrown some stuff out but not enough and I can't get rid of some things by myself b/c well I can't lift the armour, or the gliding chair anymore, that I need to get rid of because there is no room and they are just sitting in the closet anyhow. I took apart of the crappy surround sound home theater system that we have today because well tom turns off the subwoofer b/c it's too loud for the apartment, the speaker cut in and out and the rears are unplugged, I have no idea why. So why do we have it all if we aren't using them....they are going out the door to goodwill. Now where to put the computer????? I just can't think of that at the moment at all. What to do with the kitty litter? I have no idea yet either but at least I don't have to worry too much about that till the little on starts to crawl thank goodness.

I am coming to the conclusion that I will be over 40 before we will be living in something bigger, which is depressing and to tell you the truth being forty won't be the depressing part but just knowing that we have lived most of my life in a tin can does. Time flies by so fast, and 40 is only 13 years away for me and 10 yrs away from Tom, it's crazy how time flies. I guess at least one day even if we are old we will have a bigger place or maybe not because once the kids are grown, we'll probably down size to a smaller place...So maybe we'll just keep living in the tin can. No one can say that time doesn't fly. I look at my nephews and nieces and well the oldest is 7 years old now, I was in UNI when he was born and was around to babysit him. I don't know how he got to be 7 already. Just ask your parents if they can believe how old all their children are. I bet they can remember like it was just yesterday when they had their first child or even when they brought each of us home.

I was day dreaming the other day and started looking at housing around here and well we are only 700,000 dollars short hahahaha, you know just pocket change. Well not our pockets I have checked. We couldn't even afford the low income senior housing here that were for sale in the mobile park, I guess with prices like these I can keep dreaming. Dreams are nice to have so well I guess I will try to keep that in mine. It's not so much as not having a house but the fact that it would be nice to live in a space that is bigger than a 850 sq ft cube.

However I try to remember all the more positive stuff like I am so thankful that tom and I go on trips and see different parts of the world, that is so important to us. I just couldn't imagine living in one area and never experience anything else out there. There is so many amazing thing out there to see and we have only been to three different countries, beside Canada and have only seen a little part of each of those countries. Hopefully it will continue to happen even when this little one comes in June. This little one might see more of the world before s/he can really remember it but at least we will have some pictures of it. Where to go next? who knows there is so much of Europe we want to see, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, just few examples and other places as will outside of Europe.

Well It's been a while I guess from the last update on how the baby and I are doing. We had a doctors appointment last Monday and things were good, the heart rate was strong and I was measuring right on target, so no concerns yet. I getting really tired mostly because I don't sleep anymore. Most nights I am up 6 times just because I wake up, sometimes to pee or my hips are killing me. So I am thinking that not sleep now is just preparing for when the baby is here. Tom's been really good dealing with me and my lack of sleep I must add b/c lack of sleep and pregnancy hormones just don't mix that well for me. However I got to get tom on board about realizing that 10 wks and a few days is not that far off, and has to start helping me prepare more instead of thinking we have all the time in the world till this little one comes. If you know tom well than you know his frame of time lines and distance is not that good. Some of you might remember a walk from our old place in Ottawa to Hull and he said it was about a 5 min walk when it's more like a 30min walk. Well I think that's it for now not much news just one very pregnant women's rambles.

3rd Trimester!!!!

I can't believe it, I have finally made it to the 3rd trimester, what a blessing it is. Not much is new with us. I am moving a lot slower and well all the other stuff that comes with pregnancy. I have finally joined a prenatal yoga class which is near our house and is on Thursday nights. Not sure how good I will be at it but just maybe I will meet someone at the class. Tom is happy that I finally joined one and now we got to get him into a soccer club or something. Our next doctor appointment is next Monday, to see how things are going. I am hoping that this baby not too big. Tom keeps saying he wants a BIG sturdy baby and I tell him if he keeps wishing a BIG baby on me that I am going to wish kidney stones on him since they say that is the closest way a male can experience giving birth. I just want a health baby no more than 7bls since it's coming out of me. If he wants the BIG baby he can push it out of him. Funny how men don't think of how it actually feels to get stretched pretty much to the point of the no return. I also think it's true that if it was up to man giving birth there would be no children. I know tom and he wouldn't do it. You know man when they get sick or hurt and yes all women know what I am talking about. Well everything else is good with us, just the slow everyday living here.

Last week of second trimester!!!!

I can't believe today marks the last week of the second trimester!!!! It's hard to believe that 6months has passed into the pregnancy and there are only 3months to go. I am 98 days away from our est. due date but don't get excited folks because this little one probably won't come any sooner than June 24th no matter what the ultrasound said. I am think it will be sometime after the 24th when this little one will grace us with her/his presents. Well the old belly is getting bigger which I like to see and thankfully that is all that is growing. I haven't gained anymore weight since our last doctors appointment, which I am not upset with. Everything seems to be progressing just fine. Baby is pretty good , s/he doesn't keep me up at night and doesn't wake me up either. The baby seem to fall asleep when i do and waits for me to wake up before s/he starts moving. It looks like the baby is not going to be like dad in the mornings because after I wake up about 5 mins later this little goes right to town with a party.

We are having a wonderful weekend this weekend in CA. The sun is out and the weather is shorts weather, got to love that. I also love it because I am tired of wearing my only two pairs of maternity paints that won't stay up. I have four pairs of shorts that we bought for Hawaii so I have a little bigger wardrobe which is nice. The plan for today is just like yesterday, to stay outside in the sun and to try to get a few things done. Yesterday we manage to buy some folding cloth diapers and a few fitted cloth diaper(for night time), and of course the plastic diaper covers. I will go back in a month or so to buy some more. I didn't want to make one big purchase at once, littler purchases are just easier on the old wallet. We are going to go to Ikea to see if they have some smaller computer desks. We'll need a smaller one when the time comes to move the office into the kitchen, when the baby is moved out of our room. The desk even thought is not big is just too big for the kitchen. That is still a few months way after the baby comes, so there is no rush to buy one just now, we just need some dimension for future planning. I however need another small bookcase because tom is just collecting too many computer books and they are just getting piled everywhere in the house. Well I think that is all for now with us, time to run I need to get out in the sun.

I can't see the birds!!!

I hear the birds but where are they? Come here birdy birdy!!!

Another day waiting

Well this is the second day that I have to stay home and wait for the Auto glass guys to come and replace our windshield on the car. Monday they gave us a time of come from 9-5pm and I must say I was happy when they came just before lunch so I didn't have to wait that long. However, since the once chip grew to more of a larger crack when waiting for them to have an appointment for us, they couldn't it fixed on Monday b/c he didn't have the windshield replacement with him. So I get to wait once again today for another guy to come out and replace the windshield with the time of 8-12pm. Which I didn't think was bad but now that it's a 11:17am and they still haven't called I am not impressed. So this morning since my back is still hurting I have been just working away on my baby blanket, hoping to rest a bit so I can run out this afternoon and get some things done. I have also been trying to record the baby's kicks with the camera but every time I get the camera ready the baby goes quiet till I put the camera down. Hahaha I guess he/she is just going to be like mom and hide from the camera :). I will get the shot sometime, I just got to be sneaky. Well I am happy the weather here has been amazing and I have been wear shorts for a few days now and it is great!!! I was hoping to go swimming before lunch but that is not happening since I am still waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try to go swimming later this afternoon. I can't wait for this weekend it's suppose to be over 20C outside and the time goes ahead on sunday so that means longer sunnier days!!!!!! Can't wait for this weekend.

Good weekend in USA

Well this weekend tom and I were out and we finally found some good chocolate. That is right this weekend we walked into one of the little Chinese corner store that bring in different stuff around the world and I just happen to look down on the shelf and they had nestle coffee crips bars. I couldn't believe it that the US brought in some Canadian chocolate that is made in Canada and not just a company down here trying to make the same thing. As well tom went to Digital Moose infor session for taxes/green card for Canadians living in the US and he got some smarties too. What a good chocolate weekend, not that I need it and after eating chocolate my acid reflux acts up but it was good when I was eating it.

Baby is right on schedule

Well we are back from the doctor's office this morning and everything is looking good. The baby is measuring 24-25wks so that is pretty much right on, where I will be 25wks on Sunday. Heart beat is strong and was found right away. Weight gain is looking good not too much and not too little, however I am still worried that this is going to be a big baby. I don't think I look huge but the little one feels really heavy. Next appointment is on March 26th so we'll see how things go from now till than.

Well I am almost done that blanket for the baby I have two squares left to finish and than I have see how I want to put a backing on it(it doesn't have to have one but I want one). Once I get it completed I will post a picture of it. Got some names in mind but we are going to keep that a surprise till the little one comes. We aren't going to narrow it down to one because I find that too hard, so we'll problem have three boys and three girls names in mind and than decide when we are in the hospital after the birth.

Fish that we saw when snorkeling

Update on things

Well the weekend is here and I must say I am tired. Tiffany came down for her spring break from Victoria, BC and I must say we had a really good time. We went to the city(San Francisco) and did some sight seeing, I took her to Gilroy for some outlet shopping, and I took her out to eat some different foods!!!!! However, right at the end she got the flu....Tiff I better not get it ;), hope you feel better soon.

Well as good things come there is always something that sneaks up on you and on Friday morning we found our windshield on the car cracked. We don't even remember something hitting our windshield so now we need to pay for a new windshield. Not really happy about it, the car is not even a year old but what can you do but nothing. No since getting mad or upset it won't fix it.

So today was an early day where we got up at 5:20am to drive Tiff back to the airport and we just decided to stay up and go to bed early tonight. We went out for breakfast, than rested a bit and went out to Burlington Coat Factory to the Baby Depot. We finally got our car seat for the baby, a few onesies for newborns because they were 10 for 15 dollars which is pretty good for here and I got tom a book, father guide for the first year, for some bathroom reading :). Well I can't lie I have a small group of women that I talk to on a pregnancy board online. There are four of us that talk quite often and I am so jealous of them. They are all dressing up their nurseries for their baby's and are sharing pictures and they look so good. I really wish I had a room to do up. I just keep telling myself that we are saving money by not having a room for the baby but still I walk in to the stores and see the wooden cribs, blankets, lamps etc that I like and would love to buy. Maybe next time around I will have a room to decorate(wishful thinking).

picture of our car seat

Now hopefully tomorrow we can move the furniture around in the office/spare room just to see if somehow we can get more space. Might have to put the office in the dinning room and move the dinning room more into the living room but we'll see what happens.

Our Maui trip

Okay so now that we are back I know some of you have asked to hear about our trip to Maui. We have loads of pictures and memories of this trip. It was completely amazing for a relaxation trip. We laid on the beach almost every morning except maybe the 3 days where we had to leave early for activity days we booked. Maui is totally different from O'ahu/Waikiki where we went last yr. But they are both great in different ways. I love Hawaii it reminds me a lot of the Maritimes. It's more laid back and not so rushed, which is what I like. So for the first few days we just relaxed and walked around and took one drive up to the west coast of the island where we stop in a little town called Lahaina, which was right on the water and was probably the most touristy part of the island but it's not that touristy (pretty quiet) compared to Waikiki. We continued up to the far west part where all of a sudden the road goes to one very tight lane that follows the coast. We found out after that rental cars weren't suppose to be on that section. Oops. But we found a little stand which is supposed to be the islands most famous banana bread which they ran out before we got there but we tried a sample (it was really good but I can say it wasn't healthy) and bought some taro chips and some nuts.Our first trip that we paid for was the Haleakala Volcano sunrise tour. We got picked up at 3:30am at our hotel and got to the top around 6am and sunrise was at 6:50am. I must say we were told to bring light cover up and when I got up there well I wish we had our winter coats. The wind was brutal and made it colder. I was so cold up there but once the sun came up the temp did warm up some.

Our next trip that we went on was called the road to Hana. It was a nice tour just because neither one of us had to drive the 617 curves and 56 one lane bridges, which meant that both of us got to enjoy the scenery of the trip. This was another earlier morning pick up but not too bad just 7am this time. We drove through a town called Pa'ia were Willy Nelson lives part of the yr and just outside of this town at Ho'okipa Beach, which is supposed to be a world famous windsurfing beach where the most experienced surfers go for part of the day and the windsurfers take over the rest. The windsurfers weren't out due to the little wind that day when we got there but there were a few surfers out. On the road to Hana we saw beautiful trees, flowers, wild roosters, black and red sand beaches, waterfalls etc. However due to an earthquake Maui had at the end of last yr a bridge was out and we couldn't continue to Maui's winery or the O'heo Gulch Pools nicknamed"Seven Sacred Pools". So we went to the winery ourselves another day.Our last activity day was our snorkeling trip and I haven't gotten the pictures developed from our underwater cameras but as soon as I do I will post them. I must say that the snorkeling trip was the best activity Tom and I did besides just being together and relaxing. At first we were a little nervous just because we haven't snorkelled before and out of both of us, I am definitely the swimmer in the family but I must say after adjusting to it Tom took to the water like a fish and had a big smile on his face. We didn't get to see any green sea turtles at the second snorkeling sight which was a little disappointing but over all it was amazing and if we ever get back there I will want to do it again and again. While we were on the boat sailing from site to site and back home we got to see dolphins and whales which was amazing.

Maui Pictures

Just click on the picture and it will take you to a web album of our Maui Pictures.

From pictures from...

On the beach tomorrow at noon in Maui

Well folks just wanted to remind you that Tom and I will be out of reach for the next 10days. We leave for Maui tomorrow at 8am and get to Maui at noon time. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Well not much is new here at all, just our normal every day lives here. I am just finishing up the cleaning in the house before we go, we take Bella tonight to one of Tom's co-workers place for them to look after her while we are gone. I am going to miss her, she's been such a cuddle bug lately, especially in the evenings. This morning tom felt the baby kick for the first time and not just once kick either which I was happy for. He was pretty happy in his sleepy state of mind. This Sunday we were suppose to post up another belly picture for 22wk but it will have to be posted when we get back.

My next doctors appointment is my March 2nd, which we are looking forward to. Well everyone normally ask how I am doing. Well I try not to complain because everything is 100 % better than the first 17 weeks which I am very thankful for. But I am not one to enjoy being pregnant which bums me out. I have aways looked forward to the joy of being pregnant but I guess I didn't get blessed with the joy end of the stick. I still can't really enjoy a lot of foods and it's not just one or two because of heart burn (which I have never had in my life before), I get strong sharp pains in my low back and sacral area (it"s not sciatica it's more in the SI joint which makes it hard to walking sometimes), and than I probably have the common aches and pain that most pregnant women have. The only joy I do really have is felling the baby move at the moment and knowing we are going to have a baby roughly in 4months and 3 days (I will be 5 months on Sunday) !!!! Tom is a little bummed that I don't have any craving at all. He was really looking forward of telling people at work all the things I crave during pregnancy. However I am lucky if I ever feel hungry or desire any food at all (yes people I do eat I just don't care what or when I eat anymore). I can't wait till the day where I want to eat food because I am hungry or crave something because I love food. Well I think that sums up everything here with us. When we get back from our trip I'll try to post some pictures up.

Being a Parent

Well when one becomes a parent you do your best at making sure your child/children are safe and healthy. So why are some parent's in denial about what their actions, and what does it really say to their children. How can you be mad at a child if you the parent is doing the exact same behaviors or lifestyle. I was raised to be a person to treat others how you wish to be treated, to always do your best at what is in front of you, family is important etc.... Those were just a few things I took way from my childhood. Now as the time approaches Tom and I will be the ones to teach our child/children the right from wrong and what is important to us. One big thing for us is our child/children health and will be right till they grow up and than they will be making their own decides for themselves and their family. We want our child/children to be involved in activities, doesn't matter if it's sports or something else but whatever they want to be in but they are not sitting in front of the computer all day. Another thing is that we want them in a smoke free environment. Smoking way back when my 101 yr old grandfather who passed away August 2006 was a boy/young adult was told by advertisements etc. that smoking was sexy and great. But that was years ago and what year are we living in now? We now know the effects of smoking on the smoker and the people around them. Smoke gets into everything and everywheres. It turns white walls yellow and soaks into everything that is around it and stays in it. Sometime takes a few washes to finally get smoke out of clothes etc. Here is just some information on smoking and children.

What's in second-hand smoke

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, of which more than 40 are known to cause cancer.

These carcinogens include:

arsenic. nickel, chromium, cadmium, lead, polonium-210, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde, benz(a)anthracene, benzo[b]fouoranthene, benzo[j]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, chrysene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, dibenzo[a,I]pyrene, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, indeno [1,2,3-c,d]pyrene, 5-methylchrysene, quinoline, dibenz[a,h]acridine, dibenz[a,j]acridine, 7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosoethylmethylamine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-snitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N’-nitrosonornicotine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, N’-nitrosoanabasine, N-nitrosomorpholine, 2-toluidine, 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, benzene, acrylonitrile, 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, 2-nitropropane, ethylcarbamate, hydrazine.

Even if smoking is restricted to a single room, the harmful constituents of cigarette smoke can be dispersed throughout the house. Many of these highly dangerous chemicals are in invisible gas form.

Second-hand smoke (which is sometimes called environmental tobacco smoke or ETS) contains toxic substances, over 40 of which cause cancer. Some of these substances are in stronger concentrations in second-hand smoke than they are in the smoke that goes directly into smokers’ lungs.

ETS is causally linked with a number of adverse health effects in children (under 18), including:

• lower respiratory tract infections (i.e. croup, bronchitis and pneumonia)
• increased fluid in the middle ear
• upper respiratory tract irritation
• reduced lung function
• additional episodes of asthma
• increased severity of asthmatic symptoms in children
• reduced oxygen flow to tissues, comparable to children with anemia, cyanotic heart disease or chronic lung disease ^†

ETS is also associated with:

• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• acute middle ear infections (otitis media)
• tonsillectomy
• meningococcal infections
• cancers and leukemias in childhood
• slower growth
• adverse neurobehavioural effects
• upper respiratory tract infections (colds and sore throats)
• unfavorable cholesterol levels and initiation of atherosclerosis (heart disease)
  

Why kids are especially vulnerable

Young children are especially vulnerable to second-hand smoke in the home because:

• they breathe more air relative to body weight (and for the same level of exposure will absorb more tobacco smoke toxins)
• they are less able to complain (either because they are too young, or because their complaints are ignored)
• their immune system is less protective
• they are less able to remove themselves from exposure

Not much new...

Well not too much is new. Tom is working hard and I am trying to get things down around the house, out of the house and than my crafts. Besides that we are looking forward to our trip in February. I am looking fat not really pregnant so that is great :(. Just starting to get heart burn so that is a lot of fun too. The baby is moving more and last night I saw my belly jump very quickly, I though I imagine it but than I felt it kick later with my hand, but nothing since than. I can't wait till there is more of them so tom can feel them. Well I got to run to the store and get a few groceries for dinner. I am really running behind today my backs been sore so I sort of let everything slide today. I am a bit mad at myself because yesterday I got all the stuff done that needed to be done outside the house like banking etc. and today was suppose to be a house day of cleaning and baking some homemade bread/white pan rolls. Here is hoping I get caught up tomorrow.

Maui it is

Well last night we decided that it would be Maui and not Rome for our trip. Tom booked the trip and it's all paid for, well not really paid for it's on the Cards. I don't think Tom and I like having a low balance on our cards b/c every time we get them half way paid off (it's not a little amount either) we put more on it. One day we will have that card on a low balance but hey you need to live too. No since saving everything till you retire, you never know what the future will hold for you. So we are going to live in the present and I will try not to worry till later. Somehow things manage to work themselves out in the end, how I don't know but they do. We are hoping that next summer or fall to get to Rome. Hopefully we can convince a babysitter(s) to come out here and live for a week or two and look after the little one, while we take off (You know who you are);). Or we will take the little one with us. Got to love free flights for children under the age of 2. But who really knows what will happen in a years time but it's still fun to dream. So February 8th we fly to Maui and relax and enjoy 29C temps. I can't wait for those type of temps it's been so cold here and LA got snow a few days ago. I was so mad when I saw that. We are farther north then they are and we only got frost and frozen puddles on the ground :(. I hate the cold but if there is snow than it makes me feel better, than just having cold weather. Well here is to Maui and sun shine let it come fast but last long.

Can't decide!!! and it's driving me crazy!!!!

Well we are still flip flopping on our trip to somewheres......it's driving me crazy. We got the go a head from the doctor but for some reason we are stalling on the fact, should go and where to go. I really really want to do our trip to Italy and there is a sale on from San Fran to Rome... We only have till the end of February to go some where. We have also talked about going to a different island in Hawaii too. But for some reason we want to see something new and exciting. I have a feeling if we don't go I'll regret it big time but we are also nervous to go too. grrrr. I hate decision like this. Some days I just say lets do it and other days I say I am not sure. Here is hoping that we do go though because after the baby comes I know I won't want to leave the baby even for a night :).

Project list of things that have been started and not finished.

Things that I should finish before the summer......somehow there doesn't seem to be enough time!!

Crafts
1. Finish the baby afghan that I started in 2005 and almost finished. Just four more squares and than write the date of the birth in a blanks square and the name in the alternating blank square.

2. Finish two other baby afghans (one was suppose to be a gift)
3. Finish my scrapbook up till this point in tom's and my life...going to have to start getting photos printed off.

Baking/Cooking
1. Finish my Christmas chocolates baking for Tom's work...a little late but better than never.
2. Get after tom to buy the deep freezer so I can start cooking meals and freezing them so we can have meals after the baby is born and try to stay a way from take out(Tom's idea of cooking a meal).
3. Once we have the freezer start cooking.

Fitness
1. Get sign up for a prenatal Yoga class for February and march.

Shop
1. Still a few months away but than start buying the few things we need for the baby...cloth diapers(got to love the fact that I found a store that has them for baby under 8lbs and than the normal 8lbs+), something for the baby to sleep in(probably a arm's reach co-sleeper that hold till 30lbs), car seat, some clothes and a few odds and ends like soap for the baby etc.

4 months Today

Well folks we are four months today!!!! I have had the best three days since I was 5 weeks pregnant. Not only was I not sick, I was not nauseated and I got to eat some food. I am still not craving food and never really hungry or care what I eat, but I got to eat which was really good. Today was a great day we ate some dim sum, played some min golf and the weather was gorgeous (very unusual for the winter months but I am not complaining one bit). We finally bought two items for the baby but that will probably be it for awhile. We got a diaper bag from clearance and a baby carrier which can carry the baby facing outward or inward. The rest of the stuff I have been researching and I have some ideas but after the consumer report done on infants cars seats it's pretty much narrowed down to two and we'll probably get one in May. Well the baby has been moving around a bit today which is nice and reassuring and I like it for now until it starts hurting. Only 5months to go and lets hope for more days like the last three. Oh we forgot to take the picture today which we thought was 16wks but as of now is 17wks, so we'll take it tomorrow morning and get it posted.

Pictures of the Ultrasound

Hi all I just wanted to let you know that I am trying to keep all baby pictures in the same place so I posted the ultrasound pictures on the belly page. Today is a better day and I have lots to try and get done because if I I don't I think tom will kill me. So my goals today are clean the kitchen, do all the laundry, must be at least 6 loads :(, go for a long walk or do my yoga DVD recommendation by the doctor to get some exercise in, and try to finish a baby blanket I start back in 2005. Good think I only have about four squares left to cross stitch before starting another one. Hopefully I will get most of the cleaning done. Well got to run while the sickness is at bay.

Dancing BABY

Well we just got back from our big ultrasound appointment and we got a dancer here. The technician had a little bit of difficulty getting freeze frames of the baby becaues the baby wouldn't stop moving. It's little legs were jumping all over the place, even hit it's self in the head with it's hand and was arching its back to a postion I don't think we could do. I think the baby was very excited for its big debut on the big screen (wink). So even though I was trying not to be sick while they were doing the ultrasound(because today was not a good day for keep food down). Tom and I were really happy to see the little one moving all over the place and the heart looked good too. We could have sat there all night watching the screen. We got about 6 pictures of the baby and I will try to scan them in tomorrow when I am feeling better. Once I can really start feeling this baby move I think I am going to be black and blue inside.

Happy New Years!!!

Well I can't believe another year is ending. We went for an early dinner with one of Tom's co-worker and his girl friend and than tom and I stopped off at the store to pick up a movie to bring in the New Years. Not really exciting but what do you expect from old people like us. We can't hide it anymore, we are no spring chickens anymore. But enough of that stuff.... The New Year is holding a lot of good things for us, well I should say one good thing for us. When our little one arrives in June. Not too worried at all when the little comes, some things will change but than for us not a whole lot because we don't have a big social life and we stay at home a lot. So I don't think that is going to be a big problem for us. The first few months will probably affect Tom more than me with the lack of sleep but since he is working I will probably be doing all the late nights and than he can do the weekends to give a little bit of a rest but not much of one since Tom won't be able to help out with the feeding. Oh well, I'll look at it as bonding time for the little one and me. Well we will be truly old by the time the little one comes, Tom will almost be the big 30 and I'll be 27...UGH....one thing we both won't be looking forward too. I think Tom and I'll just be 25 forever now. Here is looking forward to the little one making us feel younger when she/he starts running around. Well Happy New Years Everyone and here is hoping I don't fall asleep before 12am.

Doctor's Appointment

We had our third doctor's appointment today and things seem fine. Still haven't gained any weight really(not that you are supposed to gain much weight in the beginning anyhow but you should gain 3-4lbs) but the good things is I haven't dropped below my pre-pregnancy weight. So that is great news. Our first goal now is for me is to start being able to eat. Once that happens then the doctor wants me to concentrate on increasing my protein, iron and calcium which I already knew but it's good to hear that she's not worried about my weight. We also got to hear the heartbeat which was the greatest thing in the world however, it took a while for her to find it which I knew could happen however Tom didn't know this and I think he started to turn white because all of a sudden she said "it sometime takes a while to find the baby's position to hear the heart". I have to admit I was getting a little nervous myself because not hearing a heart beat was my worst fear. In the end everything went well and we have our big ultrasound to look forward to next week to make sure the baby is developing fine.

One quiet Christmas

I wanted to get up early on Christmas morning like I always do but Tom got lucky. It was a slow start for me this morning so we didn't get up till 9am, which I think Tom was happy for. We have discover that I am now intolerant of all dairy :(. It really suck since most of my protein came from dairy, so no milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and even no chocolate. My stomach just can't handle it and I end up puking :(. We opened our gifts, talk to family members on the phone and computer, played some board games that Tom gave me as gifts and than we made our Christmas lasagna for supper. Yes no turkey, we didn't do the big dinner this year because we didn't know how I would be feeling and right now poultry is not appealing to me, so we made homemade lasagna. Pretty quiet day over all, I felt bad that Bella didn't get her Christmas gifts and Tom was short a few but hopefully I can get out on one of my good days and pick them up a few gifts present in the New Year. I hope everyone had a good Christmas this year and that Santa found everyone one.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Even though we are far away from everyone that we love, just remember we'll be thinking of you and wishing you a Merry Christmas. Christmas is never the same without you all and all the busyness that Christmas brings. Tonight Tom and I are going to try and go Christmas light seeing around our neighbour hood. It's not quite like home b/c there are so my different religion's down here, compared to home so there aren't as many decoration up on the house, but certain areas have more than others. Christmas eve will be quite here tonight we have no plans and tomorrow morning I am hoping to get Tom up some what early for his liking. We hope that everyone was good this year and that Santa Clause finds everyone. MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's Snowing!!!! Oh wait that is just RAIN!!!!

Well if it was 10 degrees colder we would have so much snow today but all we have is a very dark day full of rain. Today was another blah day for me and it sucked because it was Tom's first day off for Christmas, however I was happy he was home with me. We didn't do much today I took a lukewarm bath and read a book trying to keep my mind off not feeling well. We did manage to go to Target today to get a pair of maturity pants for me. Not that I really need that yet, because I can still button my pants to all my pants however some of them are not comfortable while sitting so I decided to get one pair of maturity pants and see if they feel better. Now I don't know if maturity sizes are suppose to reflect the normal sizes in clothes, and I know I have lost weight over the last couple of months but how do you go down a size when buying maturity pants. I thought at least I would be the same size but it wasn't so. I tried on a pair of 6's and well with the belly band in them you can't wear a belt, plus I don't like the feel of a belt now around my waist anymore so they would have fell down so i had to get size 4's. It's pretty funny because I have never worn a 4 in my life not even as a teenager. I must say though the softness of the belly band on the maturity pants feel a lot better than my normal pant. I did feel silly getting the pants though since I don't feel like I am showing at all. Oh well it all for comfort. Here is hoping tomorrow is a better and Tom and I can spend a wonderful day out together. It's looking like however I won't get our christmas shopping done for Christmas:(, Oh well present in the new year could be nice too.

Life

Stress of life....if it's not one thing it's another. We are stressed in school, finding that special someone to love, making sure we pass exams, finding money to pay for post secondary education and than graduating. Once we are finally past all those things, than we have to figure out life...if that is even possible, find a job, pay our student loans back and than pay our normal average bills... AHAH...you think it would end there but it doesn't!!!!!

Next comes where to live, a wedding to pay for, the job that wants your family to move to another country,try to save money so you can finally move back home to buy a house and a little over 2 years trying to start a family (which is probably the most stressful thing of all) and will you be able to have anymore children? Once you are finally blessed with a gift of life, comes the stress of knowing you have to eat not much more just 300 extra calories a day for the last 6 months, so that the life the two of you are trying to bring into the world will end up healthy and strong. This part should be the easies part of all but when you can't eat because you are sick all the time it's stressful. Most people will tell you this is normal and that the sickness will go away at a point in the pregnancy but when you have already past that point in the pregnancy how does that make you feel.... AHAHA. This stress will continue though even once the little one arrives because you will always worry about the health and safety of your child no matter how old they are.

Then the stress of figuring out if you should move or not do to space issues but if you do you will have to pay a lot more for rent. When you live in a small placed, there is not a lot of room which leaves you researching everything to find out how big things are and how long they will last, and what are the weight restriction. No since spending a 100$ or more on something that you will use for a few month and then have to try to find some place to store it, when you have no place to store anything. Blah,blah,blah...a house would be nice. This also means that one has to give up having the extra non essentials things which can make your life easier for sure when you have a baby but are not necessary to have. One thing that helps though during the first year is that if you are going to breastfeed for the first year and use cloth diapers, you don't have to buy formula and diapers, which the cost of using them is very costly.

With all these cost coming up in the new year, you try to figure it out if it's a good idea or not to go on a trip to Europe before the baby comes because who knows when you will get away again. People will always say they can go later in life but as I know things are always coming up in life and than you put off the trip agian and again. The doctor says it's fine to fly and the best time is to go between 12-24 weeks. The major risk of flying when pregnant is blood clots in the legs but that is the same risk for women who are on birth control, and how many women are flying when using birth control. Once the baby is here, you aren't going to be able to go anywheres because you are breastfeeding and would you want to leave your child for a few weeks? ...I highly doubt we would. So the trip?

However, I am not blind because no matter what stage in life you are in there are always going to be stress'er in life. The main thing to remember is that you just have to keep dreaming and moving on with life and be thankful for the things that you are already blessed with and try to not worry about the rest. Easy Said Hard To Do!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am ready for some good days

So winter is here at last. The rain is coming and it fit the way I feel. Every few days I feel like it's the end of feeling crappy and the beginning of feeling good. However, it's just not so, the good days are just a tease. We were suppose to go out to Berkley university today to walk around the campus with some of tom's co-workers but the rain has postpone that one and I wasn't going to go anyhow b/c I am not feeling good. We went for breakfast but all I could mange to order was a glass of milk while everyone else order and ate their meals. Tom is gone out to the movies while I stay home and try to feel better. No since two of us staying home and feeling bad, plus this gives him a chance to see Borats, which I am just as happy to miss. Well I don't know if it's just this morning or yesterday but my pants are just becoming uncomfortable and some how my stomach is getting rounder but when fully dress it still looks like I have only gained a few pounds which I only have. Actually I have lost some weight and now I have to try to start gaining weight now that we are in the second trimester. How I am suppose to do this I don't know when I have trouble eating on every other day and when I do eat it's really small. It's a good thing that you only need 300 extra calories a day more when you are pregnant. If I needed more than that I think I would just ask for a feeding tube because but I do not crave food at all. In fact it the opposite still, I hate food. The look of it, the smell of it and the idea of eating it. I miss the days of loving food. My mom said she was the same through all four of her pregnancies so it makes me feel a little better. So I guess it 6 more months to go before I'll enjoy food and want it again. Here is hoping that time keep flying like it does and doesn't slow down over the next 6months.

Congratulation Sarah

Well tonight I got a message left on my answering machine from my sister Sarah saying that she is pregnant too. I thought she was when I talk to her earlier this week, when she said a few things. But I have learned that asking if one is pregnant or when one's going to start a family is not a good thing to ask one b/c you never know the situation that they might be in. I am really happy for my sister this will be their third and I am know she wanted three. It's funny b/c at one time my family was really small and over the years it has been growing. As of the Fall, if all things go well my parents will have nine grandchildren and all the children will be under the age of 7.

Just another day

Well not much to write about today. Tom found out last night that they are getting two extra paid vacation days for Christmas because they have to close the office to move departments around the building to make room for some new people and to make a bigger lab. I am not complaining, that gives me the two days I didn't get to spend with tom on Thanksgiving because I was too sick and spent it in bed. Last night Tom and I finally finished decorating our Christmas tree which was nice however, this morning I have a feeling Bella was up to no good because certain things have fallen off or down a few branches. So I will have to fix that up later this morning. Not much less is really new, I am feeling a bit better this week but it seems to go up and down every other day. Tom's still pretty excited however he seem to forget that I am pregnant because he keep asking me if I would like a glass of wine or something from the liquor store. Hopefully when I start showing he won't forget too much. Well this weekend we'll post our 12 week belly shot. It's not that exciting, nothing is showing and probably won't for a long time yet. I can fit in all my regular pants which I am really happy about, it saves a lot of money. I am just looking really bloated right now because everything that is suppose to be down in the pelvic region is starting to get pushed up into my abdominal region.

Finally, we are blessed!!!!

It has been a long road but we finally have good results. Tom and I are expecting and we are overjoyed but not getting to excited b/c a lot can happen yet. Here is a little picture for you to see, we are hoping to get a better picture after Christmas at our next ultrasound but still it's exciting. This pictures shows us at 8wks 5days however this is 3 days ahead of our ovulation date. We aren't sure which one we are using yet. The doctor said that the ovulation date is the better then the ultrasound date so that means that our little one will be blessing us around the June 24th 2007.


So how have I been you might want to know. Well for those who have been pregnant before and had a great first trimester don't talk to me. I know way way back I said I didn't care if I am puking with my head in the toilet, all I want is for us to get pregnant. Well I didn't think it could be this bad. Since my fifth week, that's where I have been for most of my days and it's not just morning either. @#%!, they call it morning sickness well that must have been a man that named it b/c he only saw his wife in the morning before he left for work. This so called morning sickness doesn't just last the morning but it's all day, everyday. Just the idea of food entering my month makes me want to puke. I can't even go into grocery stores, our kitchen or even think about or be around food. The headaches are unbelievable, if I'm not puking the nausea is making me gag so much that I am almost puking, than when there is nothing left it's the good old dry heaves. Basically for those that haven't been pregnant or for the males that never will be, all I can say is it is like the biggest hangover x 3 with the case of the flu and you can not take anything for it but just ride the wave till it passes. I am hoping that the second trimester is a lot better and most of you say it will be however there are a few women where it does continue throughout the pregnancy and like I said, at the beginning, this hasn't been an easy road to get to, and hasn't been an easy start on this road so my hopes of it becoming easier are not very high. Somehow I always find myself taking the bumpier road in everything that I do. I wonder if I can make it throughout the next many months ahead but as long as the little one enters the world strong, health and happy that is all we care about. I know I will make it b/c somehow I always do. We aren't going to find out if it's a girl or boy, because we want it to be a surprise the day she/he comes to us. Just like Christmas I don't want to know what I got before the day b/c well where is the surprise in that. We know we are having a baby so that not a surprise but a blessing so let him/her surprise us with who they are.

So right now I am just longing for the time where I can enjoy a meal and eat food that I love to eat, b/c I am getting tired of crackers and instant breakfast. All I can do is thank Tom right now for trying to help me through this and just taking each day at a time.

Well I wrote this blog a long time ago but didn't post it till we told our family. So most of this is old. We are now at the end of our first trimester, so things are a little better.

The old days

Well I got up early this morning and thought I would watch some cartoons.....where are the cartoons. I remember when I was little I would get up before school and watch cartoons. What are our children these days watching. Okay there were maybe 2-3 cartoons on that if I was little I would watch, like Dragon flys, Berenstain Bears(this one started in 1985) etc. But it was really disappointing b/c where are the cartoons that everyone watched and even Saturday mornings are disappointing if you ask me. Were are the smurfs, transformers, He-man, snorks, gummy bears, Monchichis etc. Well I didn't find a site that wouldn't show the old cartoons/tv shows but I did find a site calledRetro Junk that listed old shows and show most intros to the shows.