Stuffiness and Pregnancy

Did anyone else have allergy and stuffiness problems when they were pregnant? I am so sick of blowing my nose. I was sick several weeks ago and then the runny nose just won't go away. I am so sick of ichy eyes too. I can't take anything either. I tried Sudafed one time and that completely screwed me up, so I won't be doing that again. I would love to just cut my head off. I am sure Dave would love that as well, but for many other reasons (like talking too much for example).

What are some remedies?

I am 26 weeks tomorrow. Thank goodness. I felt the baby kick my ribs today, is was a very interesting experience. I am sure it will now happen much more often now. I have a doctor's appointment next week to check my sugar levels to see if I have gestational diabetes. I don't think I do. I feel perfectly fine. It could have somethign to do with the fact that I eat constantly. This week my appetite has picked up. I think I could eat non-stop all day. All I want is fruit and chocolate cupcakes.

Well, off to go eat another snack.

Smoothies and Dancing with the Stars

Well, I was on a mission this morning. I woke up and all I wanted was a smoothie. I was way to lazy to make one myself, so I thought I would run by the smoothie place right by my house. They were closed. I couldn't believe it. So, then I headed to work, but my craving for a smoothie was getting out of control, so I stopped at Whole Foods. I figured it is a healthy store, they should have smoothie. No, no they didn't. They don't make smoothies at that store. So by this time, my craving was becoming out of control and I knew I couldn't go to work without a smoothie, so then I made a last stop at Wild Oats. Thank goodness, they had smoothies. So I got the organic berry boogaloo. Yum Yum. It had organic raspberries, strawberries and blueberries with grape juice. It was perfect. It probably would have taken me less time to make it at home, but it made for an adventurous morning.

On to Dancing with the Stars...this season sucked a big one. I didn't really like any of the dancers and I was bored to death. And then Scary Spice didn't even win. The only intersting part about watching last night was trying to figure out all the names of all the different spice girls. Thanks to Justin and Charisa, we would have never figured out the name of the last spice girl. So here are this names, just in case anyone was wondering. Scary, Posh, Baby, Sporty and (drum roll) Ginger. Had no idea on the last one.

Anyway, on to the next reality show, whatever that may be!

Thanksgiving Ends

Well another Thanksgiving has passed. It was actually a very nice. I was worried with all the family, but it was surprisingly very enjoyable and relaxing. We had so much food, it was gluttonous. Thank goodness I took time off from Wednesday until Monday. Our house was a mess and we are finally almost done with all the dishes and dirtiness.

As you know, I posted earlier about the gooey butter cakes. We ordered the Maple Pecan and it wasn't very good. It might have something to do with the fact that I don't really like nuts in things, but it just didn't do it for me. We did have a apple cranberry pie, that was delicious. Hopefully we will have that again next year.

We took lots of family pictures, which I will post a little later. I have to figure out how to post the pictures.

I have to admit, I think my therapy is actually working. I got through the entire Thanksgiving festivities without blowing a gasket. I usually get so overwhelmed and irritated (not at any particular thing) that I just can't relax and enjoy having everyone around. I think it was different this year. I anticipated that I would be more emotional and uptight and crazy, due to the fact that I am pregnant (or because I am a complete control freak), but that wasn't the case. I didn't even get paranoid and upset with other people doing the dishes and cleaning my china and crystal! (By the way, one glass broke and I didn't even care.) In years past, I would have flipped out and required that I do everything for fear it wouldn't be perfect. Oh well. I realized that it isn't worth the stress. Thank goodness.

The one thing I am not looking forward it is going back to work to a hellish week. 4 and a half more weeks to go. (and yes the countdown has begun!)

Have a great Saturday night. We will be watching football. Not that I really care, but we have to see the MIZZOU v. KU game, since we live in Missouri and it is an important game. I guess if I have to pick someone to root for it will be MIZZOU. So GO TIGERS!

Pregnancy Sucks

I know that I should be very happy about being pregnant, especially since it took us so long to get pregnant, but there are days when I just hate it. Yesterday was one of those days. My stomach hurt so badly, I felt like I was going to die. The baby was super active and I think it kicked me for about 5 hours straight. I felt like I did a million sit ups because of all the kicking going on. Anyway, then I woke up this morning and I swear my stomach grew overnight.

I hate the fact that I can't go on long walks anymore without figuring out a path that goes by a bathroom because I can't make it that far. I am so out of breath just when doing light exercises at the gym. I have barely any energy after 8:00 at night. My pelvis is killing me because the baby is sitting so low it feels like it is splitting my pelvic bone apart and not to mention sitting directly on my bladder, so I am peeing about every 10 minutes. I could go on and on with all the uncomfortableness of all of this, but I will stop now.

I am very excited about having a baby and being able to stay at home with the baby. It really is amazing to feel the kicking and movement and knowing that there is a living being inside of me (I won't go into more commentary about that because it kind of freaks me out too).

Anyway, all and all it is very exciting, but when I have days like yesterday and last night it makes me question why I even wanted to get pregnant to begin with.

Please people have a glass of wine or two or three for me.

Almost Thanksgiving

In preparation for Thanksgiving, Dave and I tried cleaning the house, did all the laundry and bought lots and lots of food. Dave cleaned the ceiling fan blades and lights. My goodness that gets so dirty. I don't think we have cleaned the ceiling fan since we put it up at least a year ago. The one thing I didn't do, but desperately needs to be done is dusting. I hate dusting.

I am planning to take pictures of our delicious spread of food on Thanksgiving, so maybe I will post those after the holiday.

I am not sure how much time I will have to post between now and Thanksgiving. So Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Travel safely, if you are traveling and eat lots!!!!

Domestic Violence

I was watching the today show this morning and they were interviewing Drew Peterson, the police officer that is a possible suspect in the disappearance of his current wife and a possible suspect in the death of his 3rd wife, that was previously ruled an accidental death.

When Matt was interviewing him his morning, I couldn't help but think that this man is an abuser if I have even seen one. He blamed the women for thier depression and unhappiness. He said that both women came from families that were abusive. He described both women as beautiful, but crazy with mental problem. The man made me sick. He blamed thier failing relationship on the women and didn't take resposbility for any of his behavior. He didn't address any of the accounts that he was abusive to the women. INterestingly, both women disappeared when they were planning to move forward with divorce proceedings.

What really upsets me, is that the issue of domestic violence is rarely talked about in the media or in our community. The only time it become a topic is when something like this happens. Men aren't held accountable for thier actions and women are continually isolated.

While I am out of work, my goal is to begin intereviewing victims of domestic violence and putting together an inspriational and educational book for victims of domestic violence and for the public in general to encourage discussion about this crime.

Watching that interview, just made me sick. Anyway, I am done with my bitching for now.

Pediatrician, Work...

So our lives have been boring for the past weekend. I didn't feel well all weekend, so I basically sat around and relaxed. It was very nice. I pulled out work to do on Sunday and then I said screw it, I am quitting December 31st, so why should I do work on the weekends. Whatever is left after I leave is not my problem.

Today has actually been interesting. We interviewed our first Pediatrician, Dr. David Hartenbach. He was a very nice bald man and an extremely fast talker. I almost had a hard time keeping up with him because he was going a mile a minute. But, he did cover a lot of information. He has three kids, so I guess not only is he a good pediatrician, but he has experience too. I like his opinion about breastfeeding, sleeping, pacifiers, etc. I may want to interview another pediatrician, just to see if we like someone better, but I really liked him.

Anyone have any suggestions for other pediatricians in the St. Louis area?

I took the day off today because I can't get over this cold. I barely slept last night.

I am heading off to bed now.

I just wanted to say to my brother Jonathan, I know you have made fun of me for my blog, but I see that you check it everyday. So you must like it!!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Food, Baby and Sick

Well I am still sick. I am trying to fight this cold off, but I am not doing a good job.

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything was great. The baby's heart rate is back up into the 160s. The last three times it was in the 140's. We have heard every prediction about what we are having based upon the heartbeat. But, it keeps changing every time we go in, so who knows. I had to get a flu shot yesterday. I never had one before. I was always a little nervous about getting injected with a virus, but the doctor said that it is recommended now for all pregnant women, so I am not going to argue. My arm doesn't hurt at all today. Hopefully I won't get any sicker then I am now. That would be horrible.

I wasn't able to write about our Anniversary evening, so I will do a little blurb now. Dave and I had agreed not to exchange gifts this year because we have been doing so much baby stuff. So, of course I follow through with our deal and I don't get him anything. But, then we are at dinner and Dave pulls out a small green box (our jewelery store has green boxes) and I was instantly angry (not really, because I love gifts, but mad because I didn't get him anything). Anyway, he gave me these beautiful Sapphire and diamond earrings. (For those of you that don't know, my wedding ring and band are sapphires and diamonds). They were beautiful. I will post a picture as soon as I download them off the camera. I love them. They were perfect. It was a wonderful surprise.

So onto the dinner. This was the first time we have eaten at Cyrano's (other then the dessert, which they are known for). I don't know if it was because I was coming down with a cold or what, but I did not think the food was that good. Everything was over seasoned. We got a marinara and goat cheese appetizer that had a ton of red pepper in it. It was okay. Then I got a grilled tuna with stir fry veggies. The veggies had way toooo much soy sauce, it was so full of salt I could barely eat it. Then Dave got two small dishes, a chicken dish and beef dish. The chicken was good and soft and flavored well, but the beef had way too much seasoning (Dave didn't think so) and was overcooked and chewy. So the main meal wasn't so great.

On the to DESSERTS. Now, if you want a good place to go for desserts go there. It was amazing. We got an apple crisp and caramel cherry bread pudding. I have never tasted a better bread pudding. It was like eating butter cake. It was so good. To die for! I highly recommend it. Yum Yum.

Happy Birthday and more to come.

I wanted to wish Charisa a very happy birthday today! Hopefully she has some really yummy cupcakes to eat today.

I am not feeling great today and have a ton of work to do, but I will post later about my wonderful anniversary night and the food at the returant we ate at last night.

Gooey Butter Cake

I am still planning for Thanksgiving and I knew there was a place in St. Louis that had tons of different varieties of gooey butter cake. This is a St. Louis thing and it is soooo good. My sister-in-law's family is coming to St. Louis for Thanksgiving so I wanted to have something St. Louis for them to try. Anyway, look at this link if you are interested, Park Avenue Coffee they have 60 different flavors and they deliver all over the world. It is worth a try. They are yummy. Enjoy.

Our Anniversary!

Yes, yesterday was my parents 31st Anniversary and now Dave and I are celebrating our 3rd Anniversary today. Time really has flown by. We have been together for almost 8 years! That is the most amazing part. It has been wonderful. This is our last year to celebrate without having a child around. We wish we were more creative, but we aren't. So we are just going to dinner at Cyrano's. We ate there for dessert one time, but never for dinner. I am excited to try it out. I will give an update tomorrow on the food.

The baby is kicking me like crazy this morning. I don't know if it was the juice I drank or the yogart I just ate, but this baby is moving!

So I had my first semi-alien dream the other night. I gave birth to a baby that looked like E.T. when it came out. Of course the head was huge, so in my dream I looked and Dave and told him it was his fault that the baby had such a big head. Anyway, then the doctor gave me the baby, but didn't tell me what the sex was and I looked down and it was a boy. My first boy dream.

I have had at least 2 baby girl dreams since I have been pregnant and Dave has had 1.

Anyone know what that means? I have no idea. Everyone is playing the guessing game, but we won't know until March 11th (at least that is the new date the doctor's tell us, I think it will be earlier. But, what do I know, this is only my first).

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Oops, almost forgot. I wanted to wish my parents a very happy 31st wedding anniversary. Love you!

Pre-Natal Yoga and STAR Court

So, I was way too hungry yesterday to post after pre-natal yoga. I think my stomach was the only one in class making noises by the end. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. There were about 10 women. All different ages, stages of pregnancy and number of pregnancies. There was only one person in the class having twins (but she was only about 11 weeks, so you can even really tell she is pregnant.) Most people were having their first. We did a lot of stretching, which my body is not really used to do anymore. That might be way my stomach feels a little sore today. The class is an hour and a half and we have the yoga class portion, relaxation and then discussion about pregnancy at the end. I think it will be really nice. I need to meet more people. Anyway, it was nice and relaxing. It is a seven week class so by the end I will be about 30 weeks pregnant. So close to the end!!!!

Okay, so a little bit about STAR Court, which used to be Truancy Court. I am a volunteer Judge. I go to an elementary school every Friday (unless they don't have school) and I meet with about 10 kids. All of these kids have issues ranging from not attending school, being tardy or social and familial issues that are affecting their progress in school. I would say the majority have behavioral problems stemming from their home life that causing them to misbehave in school. I love this program. The kids act like they hate coming every Friday, but they get so excited to sit down with me and talk about their week.

This isn't a completely fun program. If I feel like they are not following the rules or I feel like there may be abuse or neglect at home or educational neglect, I can refer the family to Children's Division, which may end the family in Juvenile Court. So there are serious consequences. But our goal is to try to deal with the problems, before it ever gets to that point.

This is my third year participating in this program. I will be going every week until I have the baby, then I will try to go back as soon as I can after the baby comes. Anyway, I will have to post the funny things that the kids say. Sometimes I can barely hold back laughing because they are so funny. Most of the kids in my session are in 4th, 5th and 6th grade. They are so smart and sometimes I can't believe that a little 8 year old comes up with some of these things.

This past Friday was my first week meeting with the kids. I sat down with one of my kids, Aaron and I asked him how his week was. He told me that it was good and bad. I asked him if he wanted to tell me the good stuff first or the bad stuff first. He said, "Lets start with the bad stuff, because I want to end this session on a good note." So cute. With that, I will end my post for the day.

Is it too early to be planning for Thanksgiving?

Well my sister in law and I created our whole menu this morning. We were thinking that it might be a little early to start planning, but what the heck. Dave and I are having 11 people so far at our house this Thanksgiving. I think it will be the third or fourth year of hosting. The attending will be: me and Dave, my brother (Jonathan) and sister in law (Laura), my parents, Dave's parents, Laura's parents and Laura's sister. It should be a packed house.

We are planning to have tons of food, but I always feel like we need more. The menu (so far): Turkey, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli Cheese Casserole, Potato Casserole, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, maybe salad, maybe a fruit salad and I guess that is it. Anyone have any other suggestions? Of course we will have pies too and think we have 5 pies already bought, so I am not worried about dessert.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Family can all get together, have fun, eat a lot of food and then not worry about exchanging gifts or having to get dressed up. I love it. Plus this year will be special because it will be our last one without a baby. Forever our lives will be completely different, which we are of course looking forward to, but it will be nice to be able to eat my own food without having to worry about a baby (the kicking I am experiencing very frequently may be a little disturbing, but it won't stop me from chowing down on the food).

I will miss the wine drinking with dinner, since I won't be partaking in that. Hopefully, my family will drink for me!

Tomorrow I start pre-natal yoga. I will give an update about how that goes. It is from 12:00-2:30 on Sunday. Dave is happy about that because then he gets football watching time, without me bugging him.

Tomorrow after yoga I will write about a few organizations I am involved in, one being STAR Court. I am a volunteer Judge at a local elementary school in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. I love it. More on that later.

Back to the Michigan/Michigan State Football game. GO BLUE!!!!!