Great book suggestions

At my school we have a "What are you reading?" contest, which involves sending an e-mail to everyone at the school talking about what you're reading. I sent a message saying that I'm reading a silly "chick lit" novel, and also "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which you may remember from a previous post--it was one of the books that Nick and Carey left on our porch.

Within minutes, I received responses from my coworker friends, a few of them saying "DON'T READ THAT BOOK, IT'S GARBAGE!" One suggested Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy, and another friend suggested the Mayo Clinic Book of Pregnancy. So now I'm on a mission to get my hands on these books at a good price.

I just think it's funny how so many people jumped in and said, "Don't read that book!" when I mentioned the What to Expect book. And at the same time, other people said it's one of the best books they've ever read. I appreciate getting tips from my friends. I haven't gotten sick of it--yet! It's especially helpful that a lot of these friends have had kids very recently or are pregnant now. I take each piece of advice I receive and then make a decision based on my personality. I mean, I'm already blazing my own trails since I'm planning a home birth, so obviously I don't listen to what everyone says! :)

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions! Now I need to go shop for books!

Way too much shopping this weekend!

This was an expensive weekend! We bought car parts (rotors and brake pads for Elphie, oil change necessities for The Stig), things we need for our trip, clothes (a depressing experience and I DON'T want to talk about it), new pots and soil to repot our houseplants, and of course, groceries. Our grocery bill has increased in the last couple of months and not because of the rising costs.

I guess there's really no point to this post other than to tell you that it felt like all we did this weekend was shop, which under normal circumstances would have been my perfect weekend, but given "the situation," it has turned into a chore. Boo.

After this coming work week I have a two-week break. Chris and I will be leaving for Virginia on Saturday April 4. On the 8th we'll leave Virginia and head to the NYC area to visit some friends. We'll come back home, Chris will go back to work, and I'll have a week at home. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a Body Shop party or two that week. Would be nice to get a few sales before the business goes under. (Let me know if you need details about that.)

Have a good week everyone!

I'm not as funny as I'd like to think I am!

My attempt at self-deprecating humor backfired, and I'm now going to attempt to explain how I learned that it's stupid to try to be facetious on Twitter.

First of all, I should explain Twitter for those of you who are unfamiliar with it (although I know that the only two people who read my blog already know what it is). It is a "microblogging" site. The point is to tell the world (or to just tell your friends if you have a private account, as I do) what you're doing "right now." Your "friends" on Twitter are called "followers", and you can have as many or as few as you wish. A lot of people on Twitter pride themselves on how many followers they have, both of their Twitter account and of their blogs, and they'll say "Yay, I'm up to 100 followers" to keep readers updated on how many followers they have.

Now, I only have two followers on my "Blueberry" blog, which is pretty lame. I mean, most of the people who talk about the number of followers they have will have hundreds, even thousands of followers. So I said on Twitter "I hate to say it, but I have two followers on my Blueberry blog..." I "hated to say it" both because I don't really want to be the type of person who gives updates on how many followers I have, and because having two followers isn't much to be proud of. Chris said that it didn't make much sense to him and it sounded kind of mean, then my mother-in-law thought that she had done something wrong by following my blog. (Sorry Colleen!!! It was nothing against you!!! I appreciate that you follow my blog!)

So anyway, I learned my lesson about being facetious on Twitter, and I'm sorry I sounded like a jerk. I should just stop trying to be funny, because it never seems to work out for me...

Another reminder of how awesome our friends are

We've known Nick and Carey for, I don't know, 6 years or so (?). When we went to dinner with them one evening about 5 years ago, they announced to us that they were expecting. That August, Owen was born, and we've been so thankful to have been involved with his life, and we were thrilled when their second child, Charlotte, was born this past September. Over the weekend we went to dinner with Nick and Owen, and that's when we gave Nick the news that we're expecting.

Today I got home from work to find a bag hanging on our door. Inside were some books: What to Expect when You're Expecting and a baby name book (which we've been talking about buying) and a congratulations card from Nick, Carey, Owen, and Charlotte. It was one of those things that just made us feel so warm and fuzzy. How thoughtful of them!!! I don't think they have any idea how happy it made us feel that they thought of us.

I'm so thankful for our friends. They make us feel so loved! Here's what was in the bag we found on our door on Friday afternoon.

Happy 14th Week, Blueberry!

Every Thursday I get an e-mail from BabyCenter.com telling me what's going on with our baby, and it hit me that maybe I should post updates. Today marks 14 weeks, and according to the web site, the baby can move its facial muscles and it has functioning organs. It's 3 1/2 inches long, about the size of a lemon.

Dangerous territory--asking a lady her shirt size

Background story: I'm helping with Envirothon this year. Envirothon is a competition for high schoolers. Groups of the kids do environmental challenges such as identifying wildlife and trees, reading instruments, and things like that. It probably sounds a lot more boring than it actually is. I think it's fantastic, but that's something I was always into when I was a kid. So anyway, I've always been lightly involved in the group, but this year I was asked to help chaperone the trip. YAY! (You probably think I'm weird for wanting to take a group of high school kids on a school bus trip to spend a day in the woods, but I really, really love these kids and am so happy to participate!!!)

So you're probably wondering why this story is ending up on my pregnancy blog, and I'm going to tell you right now:

I got an e-mail from the advisor of the group saying that we get a free shirt for Envirothon, and he wondered what size I wanted. Now, I wasn't sure if he knew about "my situation," so I responded by saying that normally I'd take a small, but since I'm pregnant, maybe I'd better go with a medium. (His response, "Uh, what? Pregnant?" told me that he probably didn't know about "the situation.")

You probably know that the only pregnancy-related thing I'm really scared of is maternity clothes. I'm not even as afraid of the birth as I am of the maternity clothes. SoI found a bit of humor in that whole situation. (If I were having a sensitive day, I probably would have ended up in tears, but luckily I was able to take it all in stride.) And I'm wondering if I could have gone with the small instead of the medium. I'll be about 18 weeks by the time Envirothon rolls around. I'm really going to miss those small clothes!

Dream Interpretation Part 2

Last night I think my dream had to do with a show we watched (Chuck) before we went to bed. In the show, a drone was sent out to bomb a store, so I think that drone inspired the dream I had. First, there was a large fighter jet, like an F-16 or something, trying to take off FROM OUR STREET in the middle of Dunkirk. The plane had trouble flying, even though it was in full afterburner. (This is what I get for having a husband who is obsessed with planes.) Then, for some reason, I was suddenly at my parents' house in Cuba, and that plane had turned into a missile that landed on my dad's truck while it was sitting in their driveway. But this truck wasn't what my dad drives, this was a white work truck that had all sorts of gadgets on it. I don't know why, in my dream, he had a truck like that, but for some reason, I knew that it was his. I think there was more to the dream but that's all I can remember.

According to a dream interpretation web site, being attacked by a missile represents feelings of helplessness and forces beyond your control. That makes sense because what's going on in my body right now is beyond my control, and I'm acutely aware of that fact. I'm really paranoid about weight gain and all of that stuff I don't like to think about, and that's truly beyond my control. (Of course, I probably should be eating better than I am...I'm sure that ice cream at night isn't exactly good for keeping the body fat to a minimum!)

I also looked up fighter jet, and it said that to dream that you are in a fighter jet (which I was not) indicates that you're involved in a fast paced project, which is also a little bit true.

To see an airplane in your dream indicates that you will overcome obstacles and rise to a new level of prominence and status. That sounds kind of good.

Belly Bands

On Facebook I mentioned that I'm hoping I'll still be able to fit into my pants for a while longer, and my friend Melaine (who has three daughters and you wonder how that's possible for two reasons--1) she looks younger than me, and 2) she is in excellent shape) recommended the Belly Band. I looked it up right away and found it online--this is something I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on. I'm not really worried about getting it too soon--I'm sure I still have a few more weeks until my clothes start to get tight (or maybe I should say that I HOPE I have AT LEAST a few more weeks!), but I have to stop living in denial and realize that this baby is going to get bigger and my body is going to have to grow to accommodate it, and therefore, I'm going to have to think ahead to maternity clothes and/or something to fill the gap between my "regular" clothes and those dreaded stretchy banded pants.

They even have Belly Bands made out of bamboo! If you're curious, here's the web site: http://www.babybeminematernity.com/store/osc/index.php?cPath=38

Seeking suggestions for baby items and names

Most people who know me know that I'm not a big fan of receiving unsolicited advice, but I'm opening up the floor for people to make suggestions about two things:

1) Baby supplies
We're starting to create registries because people have already started asking us what we want, and we're realizing that we have some big decisions to make. I'm pretty sure I'd like to use cloth diapers and/or some diapers called "g diapers," which are special cloth underwear (for lack of a better word) with a disposable, biodegradable liner. I don't think my conscience could handle the environmental damage disposable diapers would do. As for furniture, I'd like to find a nice set of used furniture. I'm sure my family members are cringing at that idea, but reusing is truly one of the best ways to help the environment (not to mention that when we buy used furniture, we're also decreasing the amount of packaging used to get that furniture to us, so we're reducing, too!!!). (Just so you know, we fully intend to purchase a new (organic) mattress for the crib.) One of my biggest wishes is that I stick to my green guns throughout this entire process.

Here's our problem--there are SO MANY CHOICES for strollers, pack 'n plays, and all of those other items used to transport the child from place to place and to keep the child coralled once we get where we're going that it's mind boggling. Of course we want to get the safest items possible--that's #1 on our list. Then the second most important thing for me is color. I know, I'm so shallow ;) But since we're not going to find out what the baby is until it's born, we need neutral colors. And of course, you know I like my earthtones.

I'm discovering that strollers and carseats are cumbersome and expensive! And then we'd have to choose what kind of carseat to get. Do we get the baby carrier that snaps into the base, which is always mounted in the car? Do we get two carseats; one for each of our cars? What's the safest? Which is the easiest to get from place to place?

This is why I'm enlisting the help of you experienced parents out there, especially those of you who have had kids in the last 10 years or so, because the equipment has changed so much.

2) Names
We have a few names that we like, but we'd like to hear what other people like. Sometimes you don't really consider a name until you hear someone else say it. Maybe in a few months I'll post the names we like and see how you all feel about them. I've always had a couple boys names in mind, and I'd most likely use Christopher as a middle name for a boy, but girl names just don't appeal to me. Chris came up with one a few weeks ago that I like quite a lot, but again, we'll see what you come up with before I share what's on our list.

I'm not sure whether we'll share the final name decisions with you before it's born or if we'll announce the name when we make our phone calls after it's born. But no matter what we choose to do, we first need to make our "long list."

The contest I won

A few weeks ago one of the most amazing things happened that I wanted to keep a secret until I started telling people about the baby. Now that we're spreading the word, I can FINALLY share this story and publicly thank the anonymous people who so generously donated their time to run this contest, and who made me so incredibly happy, grateful, and excited!

Back when we were in New Hampshire for Chris' grandma's funeral (the weekend of Feb 14), I had a bit of time to waste at the hotel because everyone else was sleeping, and I stumbled upon a web site called "His Boys Can Swim" (http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/). It's an anonymous blog written by a couple in Texas who are expecting their first baby. They ran a contest on their web site that started Feb 21 and ended Feb 28. The contest was for various products, mostly baby-related. There were 31 prizes in all, and there were three ways to enter. The first way was to visit each of the sponsors' sites and leave a comment on the His Boys Can Swim blog about which products I liked on each site. As for the other two chances to enter--one was to post on Twitter that I entered the contest, and the other was to write about the contest in my blog. Well, since I was only 10 weeks pregnant at the time and didn't want anyone but our parents to know, I opted to not enter the contest the last two ways. When I entered the contest, I wrote in my entry that I was only 10 weeks along and was not ready for friends and relatives to find out from my blog or Twitter.

We were skiing on the day that the drawing took place (yes, I continued to ski even after we knew I was pregnant), so the next morning I checked the results. I was sure I hadn't won as I scrolled through the winners and didn't see my name, and then I got to sponsor #31, the very last one. The winner was "Kelly (comment #154)". My heart started pounding--that prize was a $200 gift card for Babies R Us! So I went back to the blog to see if my comment was, in fact, #154. Once I found out that the winner was ME, I ran into the family room to tell Chris. I just couldn't believe it!!!

Now, here's another interesting little part...when I first went to the web site to check the winners, I scrolled down further than I had intended and I missed the first part of the blog entry where they talked about how the drawing had gone the previous night. Later when I reread that posting, I saw that they specifically mentioned MY ENTRY to the contest! I couldn't believe it! I felt like a star! They mentioned how I opted to only enter the contest once but that I won the largest prize. Read about it here: http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/1502/the-his-boys-can-swim-pregnancy-blog-contest-winners#more-1502

I feel so fortunate to have won this prize, which will surely be put to good use! I'm a frugal shopper, even with gift cards, so we'll be able to stretch this gift card quite far. We may decide to hold onto it until after the baby is born so we can buy things we didn't realize we would need, and I'm certain there will be MANY such items, since we have absolutely no clue what we're doing!

I hope you enjoyed this story! I couldn't wait to share it!

Word is spreading

It seems like every day a few new people approach me and say something like, "I heard a rumor about you..." to which I reply, "It's probably true..." Then I see a huge smile appear on the person who asked me as they reach out to hug me. I have to admit, I'm not sick of it (yet). Their excitement makes me even more excited!!!

So in case you're wondering, at this point I don't care if you share the news with people. Now that we've officially started telling people other than our parents, the news is fair game.

Field Trip

On Wednesday I took 40 high school juniors on a field trip to a college fair in Buffalo. The kids were amazing--very well-behaved and punctual. A few of them were a little silly, but it never compromised the integrity of the group. They were awesome.

I realized, though, that riding a bus to Buffalo was not a fun experience for my stomach! Thankfully, Chris had stopped at the store and bought me ginger ale, and I had crackers with me, so I was able to settle things down a little bit. The yucky feeling didn't last long, and I was really thankful for a great day!

People seem happy

Everyone in the office knows that I'm pregnant, and they seem to be having a good time with it. The other day our "hall walkers" were booking down the hall in the school and I ran to cross before they plowed me over. The superintendent saw the whole thing and said to be careful (jokingly). A few coworkers have called me mommy, which is cute for now. (I'll make sure I let you know when it gets annoying. Some people will probably be able to get away with it more than others...I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. I know you understand.)

Today I was carrying an empty box, and my principal said, "Hey, no lifting!" (Again, jokingly.) Honestly, I don't really feel any different (with the exception of a little bit of an upset stomach at times), but it seems like people are looking at me differently. I'm surprised that more teachers don't know, though. I thought that word would spread more quickly. But it's ok, I don't want to be obnoxious about this "situation." I'm still the same scatterbrained guidance counselor I always was!

I'm trying to compose a blog about some of the weird dreams I've been having. I should try to finish the one I started yesterday before I forget all of the stupid details.

Dream interpretation-Part 1

I'm labeling this "Dream Interpretation-Part 1" because I'm sure this topic will resurface frequently...


I've always been kind of a weird dreamer--I have had some dreams that are so vivid that I still remember them to this day...but they don't make any sense whatsoever. I've heard a lot of people say that they had weird dreams during pregnancy, and husbands also have that experience, so I thought maybe it would be fun to blog about some of the dreams I have. I don't know as I'll necessarily be able to explain the dreams because they don't always make too much sense! (Example--How is it that I ended up at Sea World, swimming in a tank with a dolphin and a beluga? I'm pretty sure I would have gotten in trouble for that if it had happened in real life.)

So the main theme of this dream seemed to be dolphins. Here are a few different interpretations of dolphin dreams I found online:

http://dreammoods.com/cgibin/dreamdictionarysearch.pl?method=exact&header=dreamsymbol&search=dolphin
Dolphins
To see a dolphin in your dream, symbolizes spiritual guidance, your intellect, mental attributes and emotional trust. Utilize your mind to its capacity and you will move upward in life. Alternatively, it suggests that a line of communication has been established between the conscious and unconscious aspects of yourself. Dolphins represent your willingness and ability to explore and navigate through your emotions.

To dream that you are riding a dolphin, represents your optimism and social altruism.

http://www.sleeps.com/dictionary/ddd.html
Dolphins
Dolphins are highly intelligent mammals, and as such represents the mental attributes and accomplishments involved in the dream itself. It also denotes that the dreamer has made some giant strides upward through the use of his mental faculties, and, if the rest of the dream bears it out, a dolphin is like a pat on the dreamers back with a well done thrown in for good measure.

My new blog

For the last week or so, I've been blogging about the events of the last few months, but I've refrained from posting them until we made "the big announcement". Now that we've officially started telling people, I'm going to reread the blogs (to make sure they don't sound *too* stupid,) and then I'm going to post them. They'll probably all show up as being posted on the same day, but each entry is labeled with the date on which I wrote it.

(Added 3/15/09: I just got done posting all of the entries I wrote last week, and they appear below this post. You may want to go to the earliest post and work your way forward. There are only about 8 posts to catch up on.)

I intend for this blog to be very honest...if I'm ticked off or scared about something, you'll probably know it! Read, enjoy, and have fun as we share this adventure with you!!!

Worried about work

I'm happy to be having a baby. Very happy. I look forward to sharing the next adventure in my life with my best friend in the world. But I was terrified to do what I did today...tell my coworkers.

Up until that point I had only told my parents and one very trustworthy friend, and even that was difficult. So why, if I'm so happy, am I so afraid of telling people? I'm trying to figure that one out. Sometimes I have irrational reactions to things and I don't know why. It's not horribly common, so when it happens it throws me for a loop. I'm used to knowing myself pretty well and am usually quite confident about the way I view myself and the way I choose to live my life, even though I know I'm a little on the weird side (or maybe a LOT on the weird side! ;) But when I got ready to share this news, I was actually shaking, my voice was cracking, I was close to a combination of laughing and crying... What the heck?

I think I'm worried that I won't be able to juggle a family and a career. I love my job, and although I'm a little on the scatterbrained side, I swear I try to be a good employee. My coworkers were all very happy and excited for me. So happy, in fact, that they squealed, prompting other teachers who were walking by the office to come in and see what all of the commotion was about. My principal was incredibly supportive and seemed genuinely thrilled when I told him the news. My superintendent congratulated me and laughed when I told him that I'd be back to work "eventually". (He's a super nice guy and has always been very supportive of me, but I don't know if he gets excited about things like that. Also, my "situation" makes a lot more work for him because he has to go through the hassle of finding a counselor to cover for me for however long I'm out of work.) The ladies in the admin office asked me all kinds of questions and were very interested in details.

I think that with all of the support I'm receiving, things are going to be fine. Now that everyone knows, we can all work together to prepare for me to be out for anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 years. (I'm able to take up to 2 years of unpaid child rearing leave, although I don't know as I'd want to be out of work for that long.)

To everyone at MGHS, thank you for all you've done for me over the years. I'm happy to be surrounded by such wonderful and caring people as I experience probably the most exciting (and drastic!) change in my life!

Announcement day--not sure I'm ready

I keep wondering if I should really announce my pregnancy to my coworkers tomorrow. I really want to tell people, but I have NO IDEA what I'm so nervous about. Maybe it's that I don't want to tell people in the wrong order...I don't want to offend my friends who are coworkers by not telling them first, but if I tell my friends who are coworkers, then they might tell other people before I get a chance to tell my officemates. And a lot of my coworker friends are also on Facebook, so if I tell them, and if they post something on Facebook, then what if some of our closest friends, like Mark, Dorota, and Dani? They're on Facebook, and we talk to them fairly regularly, so I'd hate for them to find out "cyberly"!

And then I wonder how I should tell my coworkers. Should I just blurt it out? Should I gather everyone and tell them all at once? Should I tell the other counselor and the secretaries and THEN tell my principal? Should I tell my principal first and then tell the ladies? Should I tell Mary (math teacher/friend) and Kathi (school nurse/friend) before I tell anyone else? Should I tell everyone in the office and then tell Mary later? How long will it take for word to get around the school?

As you can tell, I'm a complete basketcase, but Chris had a good point...he said that maybe once I tell everyone, I'll be able to sleep again. This "secret" is clearly stressing me out. But is it too early? Will I jinx it?

I did some reading. I googled "What's the best time to announce your pregnancy?" It said everything from "After two positive pregnancy tests" (check) to "After you hear the heartbeat" (check) to "After you get an ultrasound picture to show everyone when you tell them" (nope) to "When you're three months pregnant" (nope). So two out of four. 50%. Technically, that's failing. But will this "issue" continue to stress me out and keep me from sleeping? I really think that Chris is right about how much stress this is causing.

As they say, the truth will set you free....

Insomnia

I don't know if this is a result of pregnancy or my brain working overtime or what, but for the last few weeks, I've been wide awake sometime between 1am and 2am. Occasionally I'm able to fall asleep again, but on nights like tonight, I JUST CAN'T! I got up and went to the bathroom right after I woke up. That's been my habit lately...I figure I can't sleep if I have to pee, so I'll just try that and get it out of the way and then I should be able to go right back to sleep. This time it didn't work. So I lay there for an hour, rolling around and kicking Chris. Then I decided I didn't want to leave him with any more bruises, so I got up around 2:30. It's now 3:51 and I'm still not tired, but the warm milk I drank has now given me heartburn. 5:30 is going to be here before I know it, so I'm going to head back upstairs and see if I can squeak in an hour of sleep (bringing me to a grand total of four hours for the night) before the alarm goes off.

Written at 3:51 am on Wednesday March 11, 2009

Wondering when to make the announcement.

I'm having a hard time deciding when to tell everyone (or maybe I should say "anyone who doesn't know yet") that I'm pregnant. I'm specifically worried about breaking the news at work. We always said that we would wait three months before we told anyone, but obviously that didn't happen. Now, as I approach 12 weeks, I'm ready to just say it. It's not so much about the excitement...(don't get me wrong, I AM excited), but the main reason is that I'm sick of keeping this big secret. I've never been the type to be able to keep stuff like this in. I pretty much say everything that's going on, unless it's really, really personal. (It's something I'd like to keep personal, but I know that this type of thing is everyone's business, whether I like it or not.)

I've pretty much decided that this coming Thursday, March 12 or Friday, March 13 will be "announcement day" for my friends and a few coworkers because at that point I'll officially be at the 12 week point. (I know it won't take long for the news to spread after that, especially once it hits the internet.) On Friday we're going to Stations of the Cross at Holy Trinity church. We've done this for the past couple of years, and although we're not particularly religious people, we love the event because of the people involved. Everyone is always so excited about the production, and I love helping with the setup and tear down, then after it's over, everyone goes to our friends' house for a party. I don't know if the party will be happening this year, but even if it doesn't, it will still be nice to spend some quality time with some great people.

So why am I basing my decision to make the announcement on Stations of the Cross? Well, we're always trying to get together with these friends, but everyone is very busy. We finally set a date to get together for a barbecue last June, then Roberta's mother-in-law got sick and we just never rescheduled. We'd like to tell as many people in person as possible, and this Stations of the Cross event may be our only opportunity to do so before the baby is actually born! And at least four of the people we'll be making the announcement to are on Facebook, which means that my friends and coworkers will find out that way if I don't tell them at work first. Some people will find out via Facebook or Twitter...that's inevitable. But I'd like to at least try to personally tell the people we see in the community or at work.

So although it may not be the best idea, I think we'll be breaking the news at 12 weeks.

Written at 3:27am on Wednesday March 11, 2009.

Blueberry?

I should probably explain why this blog is called Blueberry Filkins.

After we found out that I'm pregnant, we signed up for e-mail updates from BabyCenter.com, and each week it mentions how big the embryo/fetus is. First it was a poppy seed, then a sesame seed, then a lentil bean, and by 7 weeks...a blueberry. So we started calling our baby "Blueberry", and that kind of stuck. As I write this at 11 weeks, BabyCenter.com says it's about the size of a fig, but we still call Blueberry because we think it's cute.



Written on Tuesday March 10, 2009

We should have waited...to tell.

So right at the beginning of February, just two weeks after we found out, I started to feel a little nauseated. Nothing major, but I really feared that it would get worse. I have a weaker stomach than I'd like to admit. I guess since I started having migraines a few years ago I realized that it's easier to just go ahead and throw up than it is to try to hold it in, because when I hold it in, the nauseated feeling doesn't go away.

We wanted to make sure that our parents knew about the baby before we told anyone else, and I just knew that as soon as people at work saw me throwing up, they'd start speculating. (That's been happening to me for a long time...when I first started getting migraines and feeling sick, that's the first conclusion that people came to. But this time, it would be true, and anyone who knows me knows that I CANNOT lie, even if it's about something good.)

So against my better judgment, we told our parents on February 3rd, when I was only 7 weeks pregnant. Chris will probably get mad at me for saying this, but I think he was just looking for an excuse to tell people. And everyone else will probably be mad at me for saying this, but I really wish we would have waited. We really only intended for our parents and maybe our grandparents to know, but it wasn't long before aunts, uncles, and even high school friends knew. It's not that we didn't want them to know, it's just that we really wanted to wait a while until we had a chance to let it sink in. And I also wondered if people would be offended that we didn't tell them ourselves. It's not that we didn't want to break the news in person, it's just that we didn't have a chance to. (So I'm sorry to anyone who may have found out from someone other than us.) I know that our parents were just excited, but I guess I was just right that we should have waited to tell them. (But I'm usually right, so that shouldn't be a big surprise.)

And since I'm somewhat of a grammar/spelling freak, let me explain something--While it's commonly thought that people feel "nauseous," that word is actually misused. People feel "nauseated." Nauseous means something that's disgusting or something that creates nausea. So for example, while we might think that a carnival ride is "nauseating," the ride is actually "nauseous." I know, I don't like it either, but it's true.

Written on Tuesday March 10, 2009

Is it true?

The first few weeks after the positive pregnancy test were pretty unbelievable. As in...I just didn't believe it. I wanted to, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that we'll be having a baby. As little as I wanted those infamous symptoms to creep in, I have to admit that I looked forward to them a little tiny bit because I hoped that would further convince me that it was really true! As I would find out weeks later, it's still hard to believe it's true, even when there are other, more concrete signs... That will come in another post because I'm trying to keep these stories chronological.


Written on Tuesday March 10, 2009

Does that say YES?

Monday January 19, 2009...a day we looked forward to with fear and excitement. (Mostly excitement!) That was PT day! Yep, time to take a pregnancy test. A few months prior to that date, we had made the biggest decision of our lives--to start our family! Getting married was no big deal, other than the fact that it was the happiest day of my life. I already knew I loved Chris and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, so that was a day I looked forward to without fear. But a family??? Now that's bound to change our lives! It's another adventure we're looking forward to sharing with each other.

So without going into too much detail, I read the directions on the box, took the test, and waited the longest three minutes of our lives to see whether a YES+ or a NO- would appear in the little window. I was pretty sure what the answer was going to be, but I still needed to see it. Finally the little timer signal stopped flashing and a word appeared. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, and all I could say was.....

"DOES THAT SAY YES?!?!"

Indeed it did. And I checked it every day when I got home from work to see if the answer was still the same. Wow, that news does NOT sink in easily!

Here's the proof......This is actually the second test I took. We snapped a picture of the first one but didn't try very hard to get a good one, but when we decided that we wanted to make a video to announce the updated web site, I took the other one. (Two tests came in the box, and I didn't know what to do with the second one after the first one came back positive. It would have gone bad eventually, so I figured I'd take the second one, just to be sure, and we'd use that one to get better pictures.)

Written on Tuesday March 10, 2009