Not As Easy As I Thought...

So, I had this great idea. Picture this with me if you will:

We're going to place the miniature wooden rocking chair in front of the fully decorated Christmas tree. Then we'll take the tallest present and stand up behind the chair. On the other side of the chair we'll put "Snowflake Jake" (Home & Garden Snowman). Now sitting in the chair a cute little boy dressed in his very own Santa suit.

Now that would make a cute picture, don't you think???

Well, I've since learned it may have been a good idea, but it's not as easy as it sounds for the following reasons:

1) Santa didn't want to sit up in the chair.


2) Santa was very interested in trying to eat "Jake", and with everything else going on around him.


3) Santa gives some strange faces. I had a very hard time getting him to even attempt to smile.


4) Finally you just get fed up with the whole idea and you're happy with any shot that can even remotely be called decent. That being said, these were the best shots of the bunch.



So, this was a learning experience. Definitely not as easy as I thought, but we still ended up with some decent pictures. Maybe next year will go a little smoother. Here's hoping!!!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town...

Well, I guess to be accurate, Santa Claus already came to town. My mother-in-law is very good friends with a man that plays Santa Claus each year. He used to migrate to New York every year to play the role of Santa Claus in some of the department stores up there, but the last few years he's been staying local instead. He really looks the part, and it's all him (no padding, no fake beard).

On Thursday, December 3, 2009 my mother-in-law got it set up for him to come to their hometown (Centerville, Kansas) to play Santa Claus for the town. She insisted that my husband & I bring Dakota up (about 45 minutes away), because it's his first Christmas, so he just had to see Santa Claus.

We made the trip, and I was fully expecting for it not to go well. The way their town does it, is they serve a supper at the town hall first, then they have door prize drawings, then Santa Claus arrives courtesy of the fire department. We got there early, but Dakota was very fussy. Mostly due to the fact that this fell in the middle of his nap time. I tried to settle him down, but it was so loud in the building, and there was just so much going on, that it just wasn't going to be possible.

Long story short, Santa finally arrived, and my son went from fussing/crying to openly staring at this complete stranger. He was absolutely captivated from the moment "Santa" entered the building. He followed his every movement. When Santa finally took his seat to begin meeting the children, he grabbed Dakota first. This is when I really expected a crying fit, but to my utter amazement, he went right to him. He sat on his lap for quite some time while Santa visited with some of the adults standing around.

Here is a picture of our first visit to Santa Claus.


So, our first visit was a success. We can only hope that his attitude doesn't change and that this type of experience always goes so smoothly.

Blogging Catch-Up...

Well, I thought it was time that I get back on here. I've been following along with all of your lives, but just haven't had the time to write about my own.

My little guy is growing so fast. We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We made the journey from Southeast Kansas to Northeast Missouri. That's right, I finally made it back up "home". We left Kansas about 11:30 Wednesday morning and arrived in Downing about 6-6:30 that evening. For the most part, we had a pretty good trip. We stopped around Sedalia to feed Dakota and refill the gas tank. Then we stopped again at Columbia to top both Dakota & the tank off again. We stopped at Macon because Dakota was tired of riding and wanted out of his seat, then we continued on. Overall, he didn't do too bad. He's a pretty good traveler. He spent most of the time asleep, but it worked out.

Thursday we had the typical Thanksgiving feast; followed by that typical over-fed, drowsy, miserable feeling. We did an early Christmas with my family, as it was the last time we would all be together for a while (we won't be back up until next year sometime & my sister Kayla flew out of Kansas City on Black Friday to join her husband in Honduras). My little Dakota was very much the center of attention. He enjoyed showing off & bonding with everyone. His Aunt Tracy bought him a Precious Planet Rainforest/Safari jumper, and he LOVES it!!!! He spent the majority of the weekend jumping and laughing.

The only downside in my opinion was my little man had some nasal congestion before we made the trip up, which his doctor said sounded like allergies, and to start him on 1/2 tsp of Zyrtec daily. So, we did that, but by Wednesday night/Thursday morning he had developed a cough that definitely wasn't allergies, that was sounding down deeper in the lung area. I didn't want to wait until we could get back home to see his doctor, so on Friday, we ended up going to Lancaster to see Beverly Oliver. She put him on Amoxicillian & Albuterol Nebulizer Breathing Treatments for the next 10 days. He's definitely getting a little better, and the breathing treatments are keeping everything broke up. Hopefully, at the end of the cycle we'll be all better. I called yesterday to update his doctor, and he said he would follow-up with him at the end of the cycle, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I too had a few problems. I normally have no trouble with sinus/allergies; however, the first night up there, I was very congested, so I saw the doctor too. I'm also on Amoxicillian, but mine is much better already.

We also switched my little man from his Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat to a brand spanking new (and expensive I might add) Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat. I have to say, I believe that he very much prefers the new big boy seat opposed to the before mentioned infant seat. At first I was a little concerned about what I was getting since I had never seen one in person. I bought this seat online, and was hoping it was well worth the money they were asking for it. Once I saw it though, it is a very nice, comfy car seat.

We came back home on Sunday. It was great to see everyone again, but it was also great to get back home! Now that we're back home, I need to get everything put up, I need to clean & rearrange the living room, and when I'm done with that, put up all the Christmas stuff.

Busy, busy, busy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's to a Merry Christmas!!!

My How Time Flies...

I guess that old saying "time flies when you're having fun" really is true. As of today, we've added yet another year to the marriage category. Yep, that's right, today's our anniversary. We've been married for 7 years now.

It's amazing the little details you can still remember about a specific occasion, but certain other details or facts you can't remember if your life depended on it. I still remember that we didn't want a big fuss, we wanted something simple. Therefore, we decided not to give anyone much notice. We told his parents the weekend before the ceremony. We were at their house visiting, they said "so, what are you doing next weekend?" James said, "I don't know about you, but we're getting married." You'd have thought we'd dropped a major bomb, as there was complete silence. My group was happy for us, but couldn't make the trip down to join us.

We proceeded on with the week. We planned a very simple ceremony: pastor, bride, groom, witnesses; and that's it. However, then we got that old lecture of: "it's rude not to invite the family", so they ended up telling grandparents and everyone else. Therefore, our wedding of the planned 5 people turned into a wedding of about 50 people. Looking back on it, I guess that was alright. One thing did go as expected, I told everyone we were NOT dressing up, and we didn't! We wore jeans & dress shirts (men) & sweaters (women) as it was raining that day. Not exactly what I wanted, but it still turned out alright.

We've had 7 great years so far (married), we've actually been together for 9 years. I have to say, that this year, with the addition of our son - Dakota to our family, we both agree that this year has been the best one so far. That being said, here's to many more to come!!!

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you!!!

The Long Road To Recovery...

Well, what a year it's been for our family! Exactly one year ago today (October 7, 2008), my sister Tracy Ketchum (then 17 - now 18) was in a near-fatal car accident East of Lancaster. It had rained really hard that morning, and on her way to school, she ended up hydroplaning and going sideways down the road. She eventually ended up losing control of the car and it rolled a couple of times before coming to rest up on its side in a pretty deep drainage ditch. We later found out that several people had drove past the scene without even knowing that she was there, so it's very hard to tell exactly how long she would have been there if a truck driver from Glenwood Elevator hadn't seen the accident and immediately called it in to dispatch. My sister, Carrie Orr (who drives the headstart bus) came upon the scene of the accident, so she called one of her co-workers to bring her car and come and get the headstart children and the bus and take them on into the Glenwood center while leaving her car at the scene so that she could stay there until they got Tracy out of the car. Well, unfortunately, extraction took a while. Tracy was driving a Buick Century, and the doors automatically lock after reaching a certain speed, so as a result, all the doors were locked with the windows up. The fire department still had not managed to get into the vehicle by the time the Schuyler County ambulance arrived on the scene, so Michelle Fry (EMT) took it upon herself to bust out the windshield and enter the vehicle that way.

So, after finally getting in the vehicle, they stabilized her and finally extracted her from the car. They had to open and stabilize her airway, and they knew by her symptoms that she had sustained a severe head injury and that due to the position she was in that she was deprived of oxygen to the brain for an unknown amount of time. Before you ask, yes she was wearing her seat belt, but it was the model that came out of the door, and while it kept her from flying forward, it offered absolutely no support from side to side. So, the ambulance departed for Kirksville, where my mom was already at work (she drives one of the OATS buses), so she met Tracy at the hospital. Almost immediately upon arriving at Kirksville, the staff there decided that she needed more help than they could provide, so they decided to transfer her to University Hospital in Columbia. Due to her condition, they requested life-flight, but due to the continuing bad weather (rain & fog), they were unable to fly. So, they ended up transferring her via the trauma ambulance instead. In the meantime, my sister (Carrie) and my step-dad arrived at Kirksville to get mom and they all departed for Columbia.

However during all this, they had forgot to call me and tell me what was going on. The way that I found out was I received a text from my cousin while I was at work that read "Grandma just told me about Tracy, when you know how she is let me know". I was like what the heck is going on, so I called my sister (Carrie) and said what's going on, I just got a strange text, at which point they filled me in and said that it's bad and that they would get back with me when they knew more.

When they arrived at Columbia, as you can imagine, it was to a host of one doctor after another. They met her entire team: neurology, trauma, respiratory, etc. Of course, in a situation such as this, they never want to give you much hope. They informed them that it was a severe head injury (the same type you would see as a result of shaken baby syndrome), and that they didn't know if she would make it. However, that if she did live, she would most likely be a vegetable for the rest of her life. So, after getting this update, and knowing just how bad it was, I left for Columbia almost immediately of getting home. I arrived in Columbia at about 9:30 that evening. Upon getting there, they immediately let me in to see her, of course she wasn't aware of anything as she was in a full-blown coma in the ICU. (These pictures were taken on October 8th).



I stayed there the rest of that week and weekend, but then had to return to work. My parents and sister (Carrie) stayed there pretty much the entire time. When I was up, we rented hotel rooms for the extra people. My parents were able to get into the local Ronald McDonald house just down the street, so that saved them some on expenses. I came back every weekend while she was in ICU, and there were many ups & downs during that time. She had a lot of posturing (typical in head injuries). They put a trach in as it would be easier for them to suction therefore drastically reducing the risk of pneumonia. Late one night we got the cardiology team called in because her heart-rate jumped to 210 bpm, and they said they needed to get it down or it could cause her to have a heart attack. They wanted permission to try an IV drug, so we gave consent. They said if it didn't work by morning that they wanted to stop her heart & restart it by shocking it back to a normal rhythm. Luckily, she came out of it with just the medicine, so we didn't have to resort to that.

The coma lasted for 3-1/2 weeks. During that time the team from Rusk Rehabilitation started coming over to the hospital to work with her to try to build up her muscle strength and control. Before she was out of the coma, Rusk's team decided to transfer her to their facility. They were afraid that they were losing too much ground waiting around on the hospital. So, we transferred to Rusk, and they started working with her everyday. Upon entering rehab, she couldn't use the right side of her body very much at all. They had to re-teach her a lot of things: walking, talking, eating, etc. However, about one week before Christmas she had made enough progress that she had finally got to come home. I was traveling back & forth every other weekend until I found out around Thanksgiving that I was pregnant, then the travel became a little too much for me.



She was thrilled to be home. They started her on physical therapy at the Scotland County Hospital three days a week. In January, there was a tutor that came to the house to home-school her, and she was still able to go ahead and graduate with the rest of her class in May 2009.


As of now, a year later, she still attends physical therapy three days a week. She still has difficulty with her right wrist/hand as well as a significant limp when walking on her right leg. Her speech is a little slow and slurred, but if you take the time to listen, you can understand her just fine. She also had trouble with her right eye, but other than being a little sluggish, it has come back almost 100%.



In September she enrolled at North Central (in Trenton) for a couple of their online courses. Her doctor didn't want her on campus, and didn't want her taking more than 6 credit hours. So, she is still at home, and taking college reading & sociology this semester. She's had a long road to recovery, but I couldn't be happier for her. She's worked very hard to get where she is today. She's not 100% yet, she may never be, but considering what the alternative could have been, we're very pleased with her progress!!!

Weekend Plans Cancelled...

Well, we were all set to return to Schuyler County this weekend to attend the Downing Appreciation Days, but now those plans have been cancelled.

My little Dakota was pretty fussy last night, but I couldn't figure out why. He wasn't running a fever, but you just couldn't seem to make him happy. I was up most of the night with him (by myself as my husband works the night shift). I kept rocking him, walking with him, feeding him; which all seemed to work for a while, he would go back to sleep, then wake up an hour or two later crying again. It made for a long night, but when getting him ready for daycare this morning, he was still not running a fever and he was out like a light.

I bundled him up and dropped him at daycare around 6 am. About 8:15 daycare called me to tell me he was really fussy and was running a temperature of 100.1. Therefore, I made the 30 minute drive to daycare to pick him up, then made the 30 minute drive back to town to get him in to see his pediatrician. I was honestly pretty worried with all the swine flu going around. Well, we finally got in to see his doctor, and his doctor said he had a little bit of congestion (he thought), so he sent him for a 2-view chest x-ray. They also decided to do a nasal swab (which he hated) to test for the flu. The doctor was pretty confident he didn't have the swine flu, but just wanted to rule it out.

My husband met us at the doctors office. I returned to work when everything was done, and he took my car and Dakota home. They'll come back for me this afternoon, and then I'll go home to take care of my baby. The doctors office has already called me back. They said the chest x-rays looked good, no trouble there. However, he did test positive for flu "b". I asked what the heck that was, and the nurse said there is 2 main types of flu they are testing for "a" & "b". The nurse said flu "b" is the lesser of the 2. So, I guess if he had to get one, this is the one to get. They said the only thing to do is regular systematic treatment (try to keep the fever down and keep him hydrated), and it will run its course.

So, nothing too serious, but we've decided we're not traveling 7-8 hours with a sick baby. So, our weekend plans are now cancelled. So, those of you that I normally see, we'll try to catch up with you some other time.

Weekend Plans...

Well, Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and man was it a busy weekend. We managed to get everything accomplished that we had planned. Here is the low-down:

We entered Dakota into the Uniontown Old Settlers Reunion baby contest. I have to say, theirs was conducted differently than any I had ever been to. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't impressed with how they ran theirs. For starters, I think every baby contest I've ever been to was broken up into 3 month categories; well Uniontown broke theirs into 6 month categories. Secondly, on all the contests that I've attended, the judges set out in front of the babies, and they come up and interact with them a little. The judges were always separate from the people that registered the babies. Well, in Uniontown, the judges were the same 2 women that registered the babies into the contest. Also, they were seated behind the babies, and they never came up and looked at them or interacted with them at all. I have to say, I didn't care for how this baby contest was conducted. Now that I've ranted about that, I will say that Dakota did win 2nd place in the 0-6 month boys category.

The daycare that Dakota attends, "Imagination Station", entered a themed float into the Uniontown Old Settlers Reunion parade. The theme for this year was "pride & progress". The daycare requested that any child that was available to ride the float to please do so. So, after the completion of the baby contest, Dakota and I walked the 3-4 blocks to the bus barn where they were lining everyone up for the parade. We rode on the float with all the daycare teachers and approximately 15-18 of the 30 kids that are enrolled into the daycare center. It was very foggy here during the baby contest, and that made it pretty cool weather wise, but about 20 minutes before the parade started, the fog cleared and it got really hot & humid. They had us out in the open waiting for the parade to start. There wasn't any shade anywhere around us. I tried to keep Dakota out of the sun as much as I could. He did get a slight sunburn on his cheeks and nose, but it was gone the next day, so luckily it wasn't bad at all. Dakota decided he was just plain wore out - its hard work waiting around you know, so he fell asleep and remained asleep through the entire parade. When the parade was over, he decided it was now time to eat. So, that sums up our Labor Day. By the way, the daycare's float won 1st place, which earned them $100.

As for this weekend, I can hardly wait. This weekend we're coming back to Schuyler County. We're coming back up home to attend the Downing Appreciation Days. I'm taking Friday off as a vacation day, so we will be leaving Kansas about 5 am, and depending on how many times we have to stop with Dakota (this is our 1st long trip with him) then we should be there by 1-2 pm. I'm sure I'll see a few of you lingering around. I normally run into at least Andrea, Kristina, Kenny, Nick, Crystal, Mandy, Ember & Leah, but I may catch a few more. I try to always make it back home for Appreciation Days. It is the last time that I see my family for the year, and so we try to make the rounds and visit with everyone. This year we'll be entering Dakota into the Appreciation Days baby contest too. Whether he wins or not, we'll have a good time. Hopefully, it won't be too hot, and if it is, I hope I can keep him out of the direct sunlight. So, we'll be up that way by Friday afternoon, and then we'll be leaving to come back home sometime Sunday morning as my husband has to work Sunday night. So, whatever your plans, if I see you, I'll be sure to say hi. If I don't notice you, but you see me, say hi too. See ya soon - maybe!!!

A Necessary Evil...

I can't begin to tell you how much I'm dreading this afternoon. I'm leaving work at 1:45 today so that I can drive out to daycare (20-30 minutes away) and pick my son up and bring him back to town (another 20-30 minutes) for his 2-month appointment with his pediatrician where he will be weighed, measured and given his next 4 shots.

I know that these immunizations are necessary and that its in their best interest to get them vaccinated, but at the same time you just can't help but feel really terrible to make them go through it. Shots don't bother me at all, so if I could, I would get them all for him. What's sad about the whole situation in my opinion, is that I know oh so many adults that are absolutely terrified at getting a shot (I mean they are really babies about the whole deal - no pun intended), and most of them are only getting 1 shot. Yet these poor little guys (or girls) have to suffer by getting multiple injections (in places close together) all in the same day. How is that fair?

I just hope my little guy handles them alright and that they don't give him much trouble. I make sure to always give him a dose of Tylenol before we go, so that it has time to kick in and work prior to him getting the shots (kind of as a preventative measure). Then if needed, follow-up with an additional dose later on. He didn't have any problems with his 1-month shot, but it was only the 1 shot. I hope the same can be said when we get the 4. I guess we'll see!

Oh well, I've got that off my chest now. Sorry for boring you if you read clear through to the end.

Am I Going Overboard???

Alright ladies, tell me in your honest opinion, am I going overboard?

The situation is, my husband thinks I'm crazy and that it isn't necessary as Dakota is too little to understand or care about books. The daycare that we chose to enroll him in is partnered with the Southeast Kansas Headstart program (we don't qualify for Headstart as we make too much money), but you still get some of the benefits. One of the primary benefits in my opinion, is that since it is a preschool as well, we receive the monthly Honeybee Scholastic Book Order catalogs.

We received the first catalog last month, and should continue to receive them monthly. I went ahead and placed an order for a few of the "educational books". Things like numbers, letters, colors and several short books that are "touch & feel". I'm reading them to him, even though he doesn't understand or care, and on the touch & feel I run his finger/hand over the textures. My reason (in my own mind), is that I love books, but I didn't always, and I want my son to have a love of books and reading (prior to getting into school). I also want him to have a variety of books or his own little "library" that he can choose from as his love of books grows as he gets older.

So, my husband believes it's a waste of time to read to him at this age, but I don't see it that way at all. In my opinion, it's not hurting anything, and it is just another thing we can do together. Therefore, in your honest opinion, should I put it all off for a while, or continue on as I have been? How early did you start reading to your kids? Even if they don't understand, what does it hurt? In short, am I going overboard in reading to my son while he's this young?

You can be honest, if I'm nuts, just say so!!!

My Life Is Forever Changed...

For starters, it's been forever since I've been on here, and I've decided it was way passed time to get back into the swing of things, so here goes.


In some ways it seems almost impossible to believe that as of the end of June my life has now been forever changed. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret this particular change in the least. I love my little guy so much. He has forever changed me, and I will be thankful for that and him for the rest of my life. It seems like it took us forever to say that we were finally adding to our family, then with the worry and doubt that nailed us as a result of the many complications while carrying him, but now looking back on all the hard times, worries and doubts, it was all so worth it in the end!!! I don't regret a single thing, and if I had to go through it all again (all the worries/problems) for him I would. It is truly amazing that you can utterly love and care for someone so much, even before you've ever had the extreme pleasuring of meeting them.


It's amazing how one little person can change your lives so much - and all for the better!!! I love watching him learn and discover the world around him. I'm amazed by how fast he is growing and by how much he seems to change with each passing day. You would think that so many changes hitting you all at one time would be hard to adjust to, but I can honestly say that we've fallen into a wonderful routine that is working great for all involved.


My husband and I were great as a pair, but with the addition of our little boy Dakota, I now feel that our lives are complete. That's not to say that we won't eventually add to our family, but since having Dakota, I don't feel like we're missing out on anything.


Here's to the rest of our lives - may they be happy and blessed!!!

Today Is The Day...

Well, today is the day. We are supposed to be at the hospital by 4:45 this morning to begin our induction. We're exactly 38 weeks today, but the doctor wants to move forward and get our little guy delivered. I've been having quite a bit of blood pressure issues, so they finally decided it was getting high enough that they needed to put me on bp medicine to control it. It worked for a little bit, but is beginning to rise again, so they feel the best thing possible for all concerned is to go ahead and deliver.

I can hardly believe that today is the day (well hopefully, today is the day). They're starting our labor around 5:00 am, but that doesn't necessarily mean that baby Dakota will put in an appearance today. I certainly hope so, but you never know!!!

I finished packing everything last night, then tried to sleep for a while. I ended up with about 3 hours of sleep, but I guess that will just have to do. I got up early this morning (1:30) so that I could get all cleaned/groomed up. I took a nice, long shower. I shaved my legs/underarms. Got dressed, and now I'm all done with an extra hour to kill, so you see what I'm doing with my spare time.

It seems like this has been such a long and emotional- rough and rocky road, that I will be more than happy to reach the end of it. However, I have to admit that I'm a little nervous at the same time. I know I can do this and that we'll be fine once we're home, but there is always that little voice in the back of your head that convinces you that you're going to have trouble. I've been around babies/little kids a lot in my life (I mean my youngest brother is 15 years younger than me and I did a lot of baby-sitting in my time), but it is different when they're your own and you have complete care of them 24 hours a day. Oh well, I guess I just need to let nature take over and tackle this one day at a time. We'll let tomorrow take care of itself (for now).

I'll post some pictures of our little man soon.

So, let the fun begin!!!

We're Almost There...

I went back to the doctor again yesterday, and we are definitely getting close now. Due to my continuing high blood pressure issues (even with the medicine), doc has decided that he doesn't want to put things off any longer than necessary. Therefore, yesterday he scheduled us for an induction that is to take place on the morning of June 29th!!!

Honestly, I'm feeling some mixed emotions. On the one hand, I cannot wait to meet my little guy, but on the other hand, now I'm a little nervous that all of this is going to happen in just a little over 1 weeks time. We have everything ready for his arrival, I just have to pack a bag for me & a bag for him (which I'll do this weekend).

Luckily, with this scheduling, I get a little extra help as well. The company that my husband works for (Carlisle Power Transmission) is closing the plant for 1 week, so all members that wish to receive a paycheck for that week is required to take a week of their vacation. Our induction date falls at the very beginning of his mandatory 1 week vacation. So, we'll have our little guy, and then we'll both be home with him together. That makes me feel a little better about everything.

Nervous or not, our times almost up. We'll try to post a few pictures shortly after we get back home. Here's hoping for a quick & easy induction/delivery!!!

Thanks for reading.

I'm So Excited...

I'm so excited!!! My doctors appointment yesterday afternoon was so good. My doctor was happy with my blood pressure, he said the medicine he had put me on the week before was working exactly as it should be. Therefore, he is no longer talking about taking me off of work and placing me on bed-rest.

However, the best news (in my opinion) was right before leaving the office. We were wrapping up the visit when he asked me if I had any questions for him. I said, actually I do (usually I can't think of anything I want to ask) so I said in some of my readings on the internet, it sounds like a lot of doctors won't talk about inducing until the patient is at least 41-42 weeks, but I know that every doctor is a little different, so what do you do? He said I don't let them go over at all. He proceeded to tell me that with all the problems we've had, that if I haven't had the baby by 38 weeks, that we will have an induction scheduled sometime in the 38th week, he said the baby is big & ready, so he would have no problems caused by arriving early.

That being said, sometime between June 29th & July 4th, I will finally get to meet my little guy. My doctor said we would nail down an official date sometime in the next week or two. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. I mean an extra 2 weeks wouldn't have killed me, but to get to meet my little guy a few weeks early will be great as well.

We're almost there!!!

I'm Jealous...

I try to always be happy with what I've got or where I'm at, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

You know what I mean, right???

However, I had a moment of pure "jealousy" yesterday, and I just couldn't help myself. My department at work is "small" (when I say small, I mean there is 6 people that does all the work in my area). One of my co-workers and I are due exactly 1 month apart (she is due June 15th & I'm due July 13th). Due to her 2nd baby being delivered by repeat c-section, they took hers a few days early (yesterday). Thus my moment of jealousy!!!

Don't get me wrong, I was/am very happy for her & her family. However, I couldn't help but wish at the same time that it was me & my family, and that it was our chance/time to finally meet our little guy. I know, that is just so wrong of me!!! I should be happy that he isn't here yet, and therefore has a little longer and should be better suited for this new world when he does finally make his appearance, but at the same time I still wished it was me.

So, now I've confessed my jealousy.

Does that make me a bad person??? Oh, maybe not, just human!!!

Things Are Never Easy, But They Seem To Work Out...

Every time I get the dumb idea to go and think that things are settling down and going right for a change, BAM, something has to go and mess it up. Alright, I know that may sound extreme, but that's just how it feels sometimes.

I thought things were finally smoothing out, and we would have a good ending to this complicated pregnancy, but yesterdays doctor's appointment threw a wrench into that plan. Some of you know that I was having some issues with the "female" doctor that I was seeing. Enough issues, in fact, that I was considering switching doctors. Well, as of the first week in May, that decision was taken out of my hands. I received a letter in the mail from the hospital stating that my doctor was leaving to return to a career in the Army, and that all of her patients could switch to one of two doctors: a "male" OB/GYN or a "female" Family Practitioner. My first instinct was to go with the "female", but due to all the problems we've had, they consider me high-risk, and she doesn't take high risk. Therefore, I had no choice but to switch to the "male" OB/GYN. It wasn't that I had a problem with him being a "male", I was just really uncomfortable in that situation with a "male". I continued to see my "female" doctor until May 19th (she wanted to see me for another 2 weeks), but I called in and said that I would prefer to go ahead and switch to him. That put me seeing him for the first time at 32 weeks instead of the original 35-36 that it would have been had I stayed with her until she left. So, long story short, after meeting him, I really like him. He just has this way about him, that even though you're not comfortable with the situation, he just really puts you at ease and you're able to relax.

That being said, yesterday didn't go so well. We are 34-1/2 weeks, and when they checked my blood pressure it was 148/100. He decided that was really too high, and wrote me a script for high blood pressure medicine (lebetalol) {100mg - 2x a day}. He said he will give it a week to kick-in and work, and then he will see me next Thursday. He is hoping that it will do its job and lower it down, but if not he is talking about putting me off work and on bed-rest.

That had me worried at first, because I had requested/arranged to take 8 weeks off after having the baby, and I was afraid that if he put me off early that it would cut into the time that I had previously requested. However, I just got off the phone with the head of our human resource department, and I feel much better after talking with her. I told her that I "could possibly" be put off work early, and wanted to know what my options were should that have to happen. As it turns out, she said if that happens we are fine & covered no matter what (and it won't cut into my requested time, they will just extend it out). She said that if it stays under 12 weeks time total, I'm covered under FMLA & short-term disability and that if it should go over 12 weeks that my long-term disability would kick in and cover the rest. (I've always carried both short & long term disability, but have never used either of them, so I wasn't sure how they worked).

Now I feel much better, so much in fact, that I'm fine with whatever happens. If I have to be off, then that's what we'll do. The pay won't be as good as what I generally bring home, but something is better than nothing!!!

Just had to get that out, thanks for reading!

Count Your Blessings...

Well, like my friends & family in my original Northeast Missouri area, we too got hit by bad storms and tornadoes last night. We apparently had one on the ground about 1 mile from our house. We didn't know that though. Being in a rural area, there are no storm sirens around us. We knew there was really heavy wind/rain/hail, but didn't know the true extent of the damage until later.

Of course, in our area, it hit about 7:30-7:45 pm, and that is the time that my husband is usually leaving the house to head into work. I tried to get him to wait around and see if it would die down some, but he wouldn't wait. So, he left our house about 7:45 pm.

About 7:50 I get a call on my cell phone from him, you can tell he is obviously shook up, and that is just not like him, and he said, "it's bad out here, I really messed up". I said, "what do you mean?" He said, "I just wrecked dad's truck." I said, "where are you?" He said, "I'm by Andy Johnson place" (which put him approximately 1 mile from the house - if that). I said, "are you hurt?" He said, "no, just a few scratches, but I'm OK." I said, "do you want me to come down there?" He said, "no, I don't want you to leave the house, just call for help." He said that there were power lines running thru the truck, and I told him no matter what, don't get out of the truck, I'll call for help.

I had to hang up with him and call and report his accident to 911, as I couldn't use the home phones since the power was already out by this time. So, I called at 7:53 and reported his accident.

I really didn't have a clear picture in my mind of what had taken place. Whether he had hit a pole and knocked some lines down or what. Later I found out, that the path the tornado had taken was straight down that road, and it had taken down a string of approximately 12 poles. Two electrical companies overlap thru that particular area: Heartland (lines run North & South) and Westar (lines run East & West). Heartland's lines had went down, and in the process and the weight of the poles coming down had brought down Westar's as well. As it turns out, the lines were already down across the road, and he was just unlucky enough to be the 1st one thru that area and therefore, he hit the downed line(s) before he ever saw them since it was still very heavily raining/hailing.

Approximately 10pm, they finally had him out of the truck. The on-scene fire personnel, said they didn't have the authority to tell him to jump out of the truck, but one of the electrical workers standing nearby asked him if he thought he could get out of the back sliding glass window. James said I can if you tell me to. The worker told him, then if you can get out, and then jump clear of the truck without touching any of the downed lines, then go ahead, so that is what he did.

It took a while due to the downed lines to get the truck loose and all the reports filled out. Even though this was about 1 mile from the house, it still took quite some time. James & his parents finally pulled in along with the tow-truck (the truck is setting behind our house until the insurance company comes for it) at almost 2am. So, it was a very long night. I didn't expect the power back on anytime soon, but to my surprise, it kicked back on around 5:30am.

Obviously, the truck is a total loss, but by the grace of God and a pure miracle, James is fine. Like I said, he has a few scratches, but other than that, he had no injuries. I'm definitely counting our blessings today!!!

We're Making Progress...

Well, I was really beginning to think we were never going to have the nursery done before we managed to get Dakota here, but we've finally made progress.

My father-in-law (Glenn) and my husband (James) put two coats of primer on the walls. They were a slick surface, so the paint itself wouldn't stick very well to the original walls.

Then they went over the primer with the pale green last weekend. We allowed that to dry for a week before we went any further with it.

Then first thing Saturday morning, I got up and used the painters tape to tape off the stripes. Naturally, we didn't have enough tape, so I had to make a quick run into Wal-Mart. So, I got my tape, and finished taping off the room.

Luckily, it didn't take too long to paint all the stripes around the room. I had it done by 10:30-11:00 am. I allowed to dry for about 90 minutes, then removed the painters tape. So, I allowed the stripes to dry for a while. Then around 6:00 pm, I went back in and began putting up the pre-pasted Winnie-the-Pooh wall border. This was my first time ever putting up a border, but it wasn't too bad, and it stuck on the first try. Whoo-hoo!!!


After putting up the border, I put up the self-stick Winnie-the-Pooh mural on the East wall. With the addition of that, the nursery itself is done (with time to spare)!!! Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

P.S. We actually got some of the furniture put together and in the room yesterday. I went to take some flowers & balloons over to my maternal grandmother's house when we got back from my in-laws place yesterday. I was at her house for about an hour, and when I got back home, (without any prodding from me) my husband had the 3-drawer changing table put together. Then he had time to put the 4-drawer dresser together before he had to leave for work last night. We'll put the crib together this afternoon/evening, then all the furniture is put together!!!

My Little Guy...

Well, yesterday my husband and I drove to Overland Park, Kansas for our elective 3D/4D ultrasound.


Dakota wasn't fully cooperative, as he really likes to keep his hands up by his face, but overall, I thought we ended up with some pretty good shots.

The ultrasound technician was really working to get him to move his hands away from his face, but he really didn't want to. He must be camera shy, guess he gets that from me.

She tried to poke around and shake him up some, but he wasn't falling for any of those tricks. He seems to be pretty stubborn and set in his ways. I'm not sure if he gets that from his dad or me, we can both be pretty stubborn.

Overall, we were pleased with the outcome. We got some good shots, we have a DVD of our little guy. The paternal grandparents got to go along with us to view the ultrasound, so all in all, it was a pretty good trip and definitely a memorable experience.

Shopaholic

I'm developing a bad habit. I think I'm on the verge of becoming a shopaholic. Don't misunderstand me; it isn't stuff for me that I'm shopping for, but stuff for the coming baby, Dakota. In fact, typically, I hate shopping. It is one of my least favorite tasks. I don't browse thru a store, if I've gone into the store, I've gone in for something specific, I buy it, and get back out. However, lately I find that I come home with at least a couple more baby items on each shopping trip. To me, that is really the only shopping that is any fun. The baby stuff they have out anymore is just so cute!!! It doesn't seem to bother me at all to go shopping for baby things, but send me for something else, and I'd just as much prefer that you would shoot me.

Since the nursery isn't ready yet, we're storing all the baby stuff in one of the extra bedrooms, and let me tell you, it is beginning to fill up. I'm having a blast buying stuff for our little guy, but my husband thinks I'm taking it to extremes, but he doesn't realize exactly how much stuff one kid needs. However, even though he originally thought I was getting carried away, I think I've almost got him converted, the last couple of times we've gone shopping together, he has went thru the baby department and found some outfits and accessories that he thought we needed. I guess it doesn't look as bad if I get him involved too.

My only thing, I don't know if it is an every store thing, or just our area, but there seems to be much more selection for little girls than for little boys. It seems in our area, that to get much selection in the boys department, they have to be wearing 18 months and up. What is up with that? Boys need things too. So, for that reason, I've actually done a lot of my clothes shopping online. It would be nice to get it locally in the stores, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Oh well, I guess until they come around to my way of thinking, I'll continue to give both my debit card and the UPS man a workout.

P.S. Do any of you that have little boys have any suggestions on where to buy cute baby boy clothing?

Do All Men Think Women Are Maids???

Yes, this is an honest question. Do all men live with the belief that women are maids? Fair warning, this is my chance to rant/rave or just blow off some steam, so if you don't want to hear it, I suggest you leave now.

Well, you had your chance, so here goes.

I don't know if most men live with this belief, or if it is just my husband. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but sometimes I could just strangle him for his indifferent attitude. I usually get no help whatsoever around the house, and that just irks me to no end. One, I hate cleaning house, and yes, I know there are many women out there that love that particular task/chore, but I am not one of them, never have been, probably never will be; two, I hate the fact that he seems to live under the assumption that the house cleaning is automatically my responsibility. I didn't make the mess myself, why should I be expected to clean it up? Not to mention, when I do decide to clean (which isn't very often), I no sooner get a room cleaned up, then he comes in and drops something down like it is his god-given right. I tell him to pick it up, that it doesn't belong there, and I get that standard line "I'll get it later", but later never makes an appearance in our case. I know it probably isn't right, but mainly for that reason, I have no interest in cleaning, because I know it isn't going to do any good, and that it isn't appreciated anyway. For that reason, our house looks like a tornado went thru it.

I know we can't continue on with the situation the way it is, we obviously need a house that is clean and in order prior to the baby getting here this summer, and I can't/won't continue to carry it all by myself. I know that the nesting instinct is supposed to eventually kick in, and I should want to clean everything in sight, but so far there hasn't been any sign of that particular instinct making an appearance anytime soon. Do you have any words of wisdom that you're willing to pass along? I'm open to any suggestions on getting my husband to do his part.

Sorry to dump on all of you, but I'm desperate for a change, so thank you all for taking the time to read my rantings, I promise this won't become a regular occurance.

So Uncertain...

I hate not knowing what to do. I thought I had my mind pretty much made up, now I'm not sure which way to go. I guess I'll pose this question to all my "mommy friends" out there, maybe you'll have some thoughts on the subject.

The center that I'm doctoring at for all my prenatal care doesn't offer the 3D/4D ultrasounds. They only have the capabilities of performing the standard 2D diagnostic scans. I had that done during my 18th week, and everything checked out all right. However, I really wanted the 3D/4D scan done, not because I'm worried about any health risks with the baby, I just wanted it as a souvenir/keepsake. (I mean, it's taken us over 7 years to come up with this one, who knows if we'll be able to come up with another one - eventually). I located a place a little over an hour drive from us (in Overland Park), that offers exactly what I'm wanting done. They would prefer that you have a script from your doctor, but in a pinch will take copies of your last ultrasound as proof you're under the care of another physician. I approached my doctor about having this done, and she practically blew up over the issue. You'd have thought that I told her I wanted to go sky diving or bungee jumping!!! She had a whole list of reasons: "the people who offer such services are not trained"; "that type of scan heats up the tissues, and therefore the baby, and they don't know what kind of effect that can have", and on - and on.

My problem is, I've done everything that she has recommended, ordered, wanted - whatever. No questions asked, and believe me, she's wanted a lot of stuff done due to our previous issues/complications (which have since straightened themselves out). This is the one thing that I really wanted done, and now she's making me feel guilty for wanting this one thing. She is so opposed to it, she flat out refused to write the script that they are wanting, that is when I found out that they would take the previous ultrasound photos as proof instead. I've known a few other people that have had them done, and it didn't cause any problems with the remainder of their pregnancies, and their babies turned out just fine.

Did any of you have this done? Do you have any thoughts on the subject? I have one scheduled towards the end of April (I'd be 28 weeks then), but if I think it is dangerous, I would cancel prior to that. I know that they aren't actually offered in this hospital, but they are actually offered in some hospitals around the country. I'm just having trouble convincing myself that if there was actually a risk that they would be offered in any hospital. I just don't know what to do, so any thoughts/comments on the subject would be gladly received.

There's Just Not Enough Time...

The title says it all. I have so much stuff to do, and one, I don't have enough time to do it, and two, I can't seem to motivate myself to do it either. I know, I know, that's laziness on my part. I'm hoping to find a cure for it someday.

I really need to clean my house, I just have no interest in doing something like that by the time I get home each day. What is really bad is, we are going through a slow period at work, and at the moment have very little to do, so while I'm at work, I'm thinking about everything that I could be doing if I wasn't at work. That doesn't make for a very productive day!

I've been buying a few things each week for Baby Dakota. The main goal at the moment is to get the nursery set-up. We've bought the paint, but then learned that we can't just paint the walls. The walls in that room have a plastic type coating on them, so they have to be primed first, so that the paint will stick. I believe that is currently going to be the weekend project - hopefully!!! My husband and my in-laws are supposed to come down and do it. I planned on doing it myself, but they all threw a fit and said that I didn't need to be painting. So, as long as it gets done, I guess I will amuse them and do what they ask - this time only, it's not going to become a habit! At least once they get the painting done, we have most everything we need to complete the actual nursery layout. We have the crib, dresser, changing table, wallpaper border, a mural to place above the crib, the bedding, the mobile, and a few other miscellaneous items. I'm getting so excited, I can hardly wait!!!

Well, I've bored you all long enough, until next time, enjoy yourselves!

My First Blog

Well, I finally decided that I ought to take the time to create a blog. I'm new to this whole thing, so you'll have to forgive any of my mistakes and blunders until I get the hang of this system. We live a pretty dull and boring life, so don't expect anything exciting.