plant update

I know you're all just dying to know how my plant is doing since the mushroom fiasco of a few weeks ago. I'm pleased to say that the re-potting (new pot and new soil) has gone well and I have lots of little sprouts coming up. Doesn't look like I did too much harm to it!

update

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend! Ours was quiet, but nice. Jeremy has today (Monday) and tomorrow off, plus, he was on stand-by Friday which basically meant he just needed to be close to the phone. We didn't do a whole lot, just got the guest/baby room ready (all it needs now is the crib and a baby!); dog sat for some friends; and tried to stay cool (it was really hot and humid this week-over 90 degrees and high humidity every day).
Here's what babycenter.com has to say about lil' Gherkin this week: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.
As for me, I'm feeling pretty good....just big, uncomfortable, and emotional! My feet are what tend to bother me the most (especially my heels and achilles) and I'm having a really hard time sleeping. Not sure if sleep is elusive because of the noise the a/c running in our bedroom at night makes or because I'm big-probably a combination of both! Everywhere I've been lately someone has commented on how sorry they feel for me for being this pregnant at this time of the year. I'm guessing the emotionalness (is that a real word?) is a combination of lots of things too: the heat, lack of sleep, being big and uncomfortable, another upswing in hormones (I read that that's happening in my body now), the arrival of little miss Gherkin in a two short months, and the fact that I've been feeling more alone down here.
So, yeah, you can all feel sorry for Jeremy 'cause he has to put up with me on a daily basis...no wonder he likes playing that stupid video game so much!!!!!

30 weeks

Anyone want to place bets as to how much longer before my belly button pops out???

I learned something about my husband

On Thursday Jeremy and I picked his Jeep up from the shop (it had a small transmission fluid leak...too bad it wasn't a "small" bill to get it fixed, but that's a story for another day!). As we left the store I asked (read: begged) Jeremy to come with me to the store 'cause we needed stuff that I really shouldn't be lifting (cases of water, kitty litter, etc.). He kindly agreed. As we were wandering around Wal-Mart, Jeremy wanted to buy the movie "Sweeney Todd" and I told him I didn't want to buy a movie that we'd never seen. I found it playing on pay-per-view last night and we decided to watch it.

A few minutes into it Jeremy asked me if there was going to be singing all the way through the movie. I told him that I assumed there would be since it was a musical. I figured he'd be glad we didn't buy the movie on Thursday and complain his way through the rest of it. Boy was I wrong! Jeremy absolutely LOVED it! And, come to find out, he really likes musicals! (He may not want me posting that for the world to see, but he's volunteering this morning so too bad!). He liked the movie so much he stayed up and watched it again. I, on the other hand, went to bed and put in a kiddie movie so I didn't have dreams of twisted barbers, blood, and "meat pies."

week 29

Jeremy took this last night...I feel much bigger than I look!

29 weeks and a few other things

First, thanks to those of you who offered your input into my plant fungus problem! I cut the leaves off, washed the pine cone looking things and re-potted them in a new pot with new soil. I'll keep you posted as to how it does...And, mom, I kept the "mushrooms" in the old pot, but they're not looking so good so if you want to see them up close I'd recommend coming down sooner rather than later...

OK, lil' Gherkin is now 29 weeks and according to babycenter.com: weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, I'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I need to be sure to drink my milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in my baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Several of you have asked me about cravings and stuff, so let me just answer that here...The only thing I have REALLY craved has been coffee, and that's been true throughout the entire pregnancy (even when I was really sick). Kind of a strange one since I really haven't drank much coffee in the past couple years. One day I was making some for Jeremy and it smelled so good I just wanted to eat the grounds! The other day when Jeremy and I were in Wichita Falls we went to a Starbucks and they made me a decaf frappuccino with a shot of vanilla...it was like heaven in my mouth! Other than coffee...no real cravings. Sometimes I want something sweet, sometimes something salty, but that's not unusual and I haven't wanted to eat anything out of the ordinary. One thing that's been great is that I hadn't eaten oranges or anything with much acid for awhile 'cause of my stomach, but I've been able to eat them for the last few months so that's good (in fact, I eat an apple, an orange, a banana, and grapes just about every day). The other thing that I've noticed is that I'm drinking a lot more milk than I used to just because it sounds good to me.

I had a couple doctor's appointments last week too...For my regular OB appointment they said everything is looking good and on schedule. I gained 8lbs in the last 5 weeks which was pretty good (better than 10lbs in 4 weeks like the month before). I had to do the glucose tolerance test (for gestational diabetes) too. It wasn't too bad and I passed just fine. Along with that blood work they also tested my blood type again. Anyone know why the military tests for blood type every 6 months? (Jeremy says they test his blood type every 6 months). I didn't think that your blood type changed...I asked the phlebotomist and he said all he knew was that they paid him to test it every 6 months so that's what he did...

I also had the echocardiogram last week. While the tech couldn't tell me anything, she told me that I shouldn't worry about it. So, that tells me everything must've looked fine with my heart. I go back to the cardiologist on June 3rd for a follow-up appointment to get the results. We'll see....

I'll put a picture up as soon as I can tear Jeremy away from playing with his Jeep....

need some plant help!!!

I was going to repot my shamrock plant this morning 'cause it hasn't looked since Christmas time. I asked Jeremy to move it onto our little glassed in front porch this morning and this was growing in the middle of it. (They look like fuzzy yellow mushrooms, but very thin on top). They weren't there last night, but are clearly there this morning. The second pic is of the "stems." Any ideas out there as to what they are and, more importantly, how I should proceed???????

Pickle had a good week!

Jeremy had a good week!!!! First, he found out that he got an A+ in his writing course and a C+ in his psychology course. I am very proud of him! The classes were very intense (since they were only 8 weeks long), and with everything else on his plate right now, he had to work his buns off to get those kind of grades! The next semester starts in June and he's only going to take one class, a math class. We're keeping our fingers crossed that I don't go into labor during his finals week (the class runs from early June through the very end of July).

The shell for the truck finally came in. It was a bit of a hassle to get it installed, but it's on! And, when he was having it installed he saw that the store had the side steps and they were willing to install them that day. So, I don't need a step ladder to get in anymore! I just can't believe that putting a shell and side steps on a truck can make it look even bigger!!!!

Because the cost of diesel has gone through the roof, Jeremy and I have been discussing ways to save a few dollars (we've been spending close to $600 a month to keep the truck fueled...can you say OUCH?!?). We played with the numbers and figured out that we could get another vehicle, keep the truck for longer road trips, and still be ahead each month. So, Jeremy got a Jeep. It's a '98, has just under 100k miles, came with a hard top, soft top, mud tires, standard tires, a rear deck, and all kinds of other goodies.

28 weeks and lots of pics today!

My mom took this pic on Friday... Jeremy was really trying to make his belly big...I didn't have to work very hard to make mine stick out though! (If you look closely you can see the orange shag carpeting that covers the floor in our bedroom...gorgeous isn't it?!?!)

I have now entered the 3rd trimester. I have to say that for as miserable as the 1st trimester (and half of the 2nd trimester) was, it sure is going by fast! I can't believe that the Little Miss will be here in less than 3 months!!! According to babycenter.com, lil' Gherkin: weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from head to heel. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding on more body fat in preparation for her life in the outside world.

Enjoy all the other pics we took this weekend!

Mom's Visit

My mom came to visit us this past weekend. It was so helpful to have her here...we got lots done around the house to get ready for lil' Gherkin's arrival. Plus, it was just nice to have someone around to go do stuff with (I'm not saying Jeremy won't go do stuff with me, but he's pretty busy these days and a lot of the stuff we did wasn't stuff he'd enjoy doing). The only downside of her visit was that when she left it made me realize how truly alone we are down here...

Anyway, here are a few pics from the weekend....On Saturday she and I took lunch up to Jeremy at the refuge when he was done volunteering. We had a little "Subway" picnic next to a lake.
Not a bad pic of the two of us huh?
This bison was right next to the trail when we were walking back to the car, talk about surprising us!
It was a bit of a struggle for both of us to stay on the rock while Jeremy took the picture...

oops

Here's the right side up of this pic...

Congrats Amy and Robert!!!!

Amy and Robert got married on Thursday. Here's a couple cute pics from the day. Jeremy and I were sorry we couldn't be there, but it looks like they had a fabulous day!!!!

cute little frog

This cute little guy took shelter from the nasty thunderstorm we had in the night and throughout the morning on our enclosed porch (he was only about 1.5 inches long). I was attempting to coax the dogs outside to do their "business" this morning, when Jenny found this little fella and thought he'd make a good snack. I managed to rescue him from Jenny, but didn't manage to get the dogs outside 'til almost 11am...I can't believe they held it for that long! I have no idea how the little guy got inside, but once the rain stopped I went to help him get back outside and he'd already left. I imagine nearly being eaten by a German Shepherd was all the motivation he needed to find his way out.

belly at 27 weeks

OK, here are a couple of belly shots that Jeremy took today. I originally cropped my face out of the pics ('cause it's windy and sunny so they aren't the most flattering pics of my face), but Jeremy hollered at me for doing that. So, you get to see my face this week too!

An upclose shot of my belly. Jeremy insisted on taking this one and on me putting it up. He thinks my belly button looks hilarious.

As for lil' Gherkin (according to babycenter.com): She's starting to get big. She weighs in at about 2 pounds and is 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers (if she takes after me at all she'll suck her index finger). Although her lungs are still immature, she would be capable of functioning-with assistance- if she were born prematurely. And, having hiccups may be common for her from now on.

update

Let's see...it's been awhile since I was able to post anything so I'll try to just hit the high points...
Jeremy's classes are nearly finished. He has a research paper due in his writing class on Wednesday and the final in his psychology class later that night. He's done really well in his writing class, and has really enjoyed it. His professor invited us over for dinner this past Friday evening, and we had a nice time visiting with her. Jeremy seems to have worked his charm on her 'cause she certainly thinks a lot of him. As for his psychology class...it has been more frustrating than enjoyable. He's figured out that all he needs on the final is a 47 and he'll pass. I've asked him to aim a little higher...Otherwise, he's still enjoying volunteering (though I don't particularly enjoy pulling a half dozen ticks off him when he gets home); he starts physical therapy for his back on the 12th; and work is, well, work.
I've been ok. I had planned to head back to Colorado for a couple weeks, but I've had some contractions so the doctor and I had a long conversation and pretty much concluded that a 10-hour car ride was not something that I needed to do. It was very disappointing to not be up there because it meant that I wouldn't be able to attend the shower that my family was throwing for Amy (my sister) and me (bridal for Amy and baby for me). More importantly, it means that I won't be able to attend Amy's wedding later this week. It was very weird to realize that when I last saw everyone at Thanksgiving time I didn't even know I was pregnant, but the next time I see them I'll have a baby. Crazy how quickly life changes!
Other than that, not much has been going on. The cardiologist told me he thinks that my heart is just sensitive to changes in my body and that's why I'm having the palpitations. But, they're going to do an echocardiogram (basically an ultrasound of my heart) in a couple weeks just to make sure.

quick note

We have been without internet access for the last 9 or 10 days, so I haven't really been a "slacker," I've just been unable to do much of anything. I will give you all a nice update this weekend (with pictures of my ever-growing belly included). In the meantime, I have a lot of email and fantasy baseball to catch-up on, I should probably do some on-line banking too, but email and fantasy baseball are much more pressing at the moment...I'll be in touch soon!