A trip... and a trip to L&D

*** PLEASE NOTE: NOAH AND I ARE FINE!! ***

Today started out normal enough - I sent Ben off to work, did a few things around the house, and even went back to sleep for a little while. After I woke back up and got myself ready, I started getting my things together to leave the apartment to go scrapbook for the day with some of my girlfriends at a local scrapbooking store. I was on the second or third step of the stairs (inside the house!) when the doorbell rang. I quickly (probably too quickly) turned around and started back down the steps to answer the door. Somehow, I lost my footing and fell. First on my elbow and knee (I was trying to protect the belly with the other hand) and then on my very round belly. I screamed - not in pain (I wasn't hurt, really), but in fear: I've worked so hard to keep this little one safe and healthy! In tears, I open the door to the FedEx guy (the one that, ironically, I despise... long story there too) and say, "I'm 34 weeks pregnant and I just fell! I need to call my husband!" He just stands there like an idiot. Thank goodness for the lovely lady who lives just diagonal from us. She just happend to be walking by and heard me scream and heard the tears. She asked the FedEx guy if I was okay and when he didn't respond, she "pushed" him out of the way and asked me - of course I just responded with more tears. She asked him if I needed to sign for the package, and he said no and handed it to me. Thank goodness for Jennifer is all I can say! She came in and went and got my phone. We called Ben and then called my OB who told me to immediately go to Labor and Delivery... that they would be expecting me. So, we went.

By the time Ben and I got to the hospital, my stomach wasn't quite as tight feeling as it had been, but we were still a little worried... I'd only felt him kick twice since I had fell. The wonderful nurses hooked me up to the NST (non-stress test) machine and immediately we heard the most wonderful sound in the world: Noah's heartbeat. Unfortunately however, I started having mild contractions. So, I was given a shot of terbutaline (an anti-contraction medication) and after about three hours of waiting, Dr. Bickman came by to do an ultrasound. Everything with Noah looked (and is) great she said. We thought that we were going to be able to go home after she did the ultrasound, but, since I was still having contractions and had fallen directly on my belly, she wanted me stay overnight. Two doses of oral terbutaline and a second shot later, the contractions finally stopped.

Ben took this picture of me while I was in the "recovery" room before we found out we'd have to stay the night. I wasn't going to post it, but he said if I didn't, he would. And he meant it.

Let's just say I won't be answering the door for the FedEx guy for quite a while!

(And please, no comments on how I need to be more careful - I already feel bad enough and I will delete them.)

I caved.

Some of you know that it took us (well, me) a while to actually get pregnant. To help us along with the journey, I joined a website that helps track all your "information". Once I became pregnant with Noah, I continued to use the pregnancy side of the website. The ladies that use the site who are due in January also have been so much fun to "talk" with these past seven/eight months - we're all going through the same things and dealing with some of the same issues at the same time! One of the girls put together a "FF (the website) Shower" for everyone who wanted to participate. I've been DYING to open the present that Ashley (she's having a boy too!) sent me since it arrived.... Ben even tempted me the other night, but I resisted. However, today, while I was cleaning up and organizing my scrapbook room, I caved! We're suppose to open them tomorrow, so I guess one day isn't too horrible - isn't it Friday somewhere? :) Here's what I received - isn't it PERFECT?! I love it and can't wait for Ben to hang up the clock!

This is the back of the sleep and play! SO cute! It'll match his quilt perfectly!

And here's what I sent to my FF Shower Friend, Cassie. She's having a little girl....

Of course, I made the blanket and the butterfly wings are movable - she's doing the baby's room in butterflies, so I had to get a butterfly outfit for her too! I love my online friends! :)

34 Weeks.... 4 more (or less!) to go

Here's my 34 week belly shot!

And BB, this picture is just for you.... I don't know if you can see the outie belly button or not, but it's there! :)

At yesterday's appointment, Dr. Bickman went ahead and scheduled me for a c-section. :( I'm not happy about it, but since he's still breech and it's easier to schedule one now than at the last minute, we went ahead and put it down in her schedule. There's still plenty of time for him to turn, but I'm coming to terms with the fact that he might have to be a c-section baby.

Operation Shoebox

Tonight at small group we put together five boxes for Operation Shoebox through Samaritan's Purse. We made three girl boxes and two boy boxes and I wish we could have done even more!

Ben and I are taking them to our church on Sunday and they will be mailed off to some very deserving children around the world.

And, I couldn't resist adding this picture of Isabella that Ben took... just before she "turned" herself into Dizzy Izzy!

A Day "Off"

Ben took the day off work today so that we could recoup after the weekend of shopping and get a few things done around the house... and even though it was his day off from office work, it wasn't really a day off. We got so much done today! We finished decorating the house for Christmas - our new little tree is just perfect! Not all of our ornaments fit, but our favorite ones do, so that's all that matters. We even set up our nativity set! Ben also hung up some of the things in the baby room and put together one of my Christmas presents: a desk and shelf for my scrapbook closet! I'm SO excited about it and can't wait to finish organizing everything in there so that I can use the desk!

And, for the record, every picture today was taken by Ben on his new camera!

A Free and New Camera

This morning, Ben and I camped out at the BX for three hours to get two more free $20 gift cards to use on our new camera! Now, before everyone gets worried, yes, our Canon 20D is still doing well, we still love it, and will still be our primary camera. However, there have been so many times (like Ben's recent trip to Colorado), where we wished we had a smaller, more convenient (digital) camera to send with him, or to take with us when we are just out and about. (Or for times like yesterday when I forget mine....) One of the best things about the camera is that it takes videos too!!

We love it! We used the gift cards that we had acquired over the past three days, making the camera FREE! We love free! And, thanks to a Circuit City gift card that we received for a purchase that they didn't have when we went to pick up, we even got a free SD card for it too! Hopefully all of tomorrow's pictures will be taken with the new camera! We're SO excited about it!

First Time....

It's my first time to have forgotten my CAMERA!! Can you believe it? Okay, so it's not my first time to forget the camera, but it is my first time to forget it since we've had this blog. I was SO upset with myself!

This morning, after Ben and I got back from the base to get our FREE $20 AAFES gift cards (gift cards to use at the BX only), I went to Joann's. They were having a big sale and there were a few things that I needed to finish a couple of current projects.... including FIVE bags of poly-fill! And, I'm scared that five bags won't be enough!

Then comes the part where I forgot my camera. And OF COURSE, it presented a PERFECT photo opportunity! Ben and I went over to Evelyn's house (Evelyn is Ben's Grandma Lucy's sister-in-law) for a post-Thanksgiving meal. It was so fun to show up and have Evelyn be the only person who knew that I was pregnant - I wish I would have had my camera just for the look on Beth's face! The photo opportunity that I really wish I would have caught was Ben getting to go for a ride in Faye's (Evelyn's husband) 1926 Ford Model A! Faye and his son Danny had worked on it and the last time that it was in working order was about 11 years ago, just before Faye passed away. It was the coolest thing in the world! Hopefully George will email me some of his pictures soon and I can add them (even though I didn't take them!), so that everyone can see it.

Oh! And YIPPEE!!!! OU beat OSU and are the Big XII South Champs!!

Black Friday

It's a tradition in my family to go shopping at the butt-crack-of-dawn on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving for those of you who may not know!). And even though it's just the two of us out here in LaLa Land, it's a tradition that we are keeping alive! We cleaned up the house last night after everyone left and pulled out the sale ads one more time to go through them and make our shopping plans. This year, we were a little smarter in that we checked each store online to see if we could just order the items and pick them up or have them shipped for the same price. At one store I was able to get the items cheaper online than if I had waited in line - shipping included!! We got up at 3:45ish and got ready. Being only the two of us, we had to split up to get all the items on our list, but by 9 o'clock we were both back home, McDonald's sausage biscuits in hand, looking over our purchases and feeling quite pleased with ourselves! And, by 9:30, Ben was already back asleep! I can't wait until he wakes up and we put together our new tree!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, here are just a few of the many things I am thankful for today:




* my dear husband: there isn't enough paper in the world to write all the wonderful things about him


* my family: I miss ya'll! Wish I was enjoying your first fire in the fireplace, and that we could go shopping together tomorrow!!


* my little Noah: I can't wait to meet you face to face Dear One and I'm SO thankful that God blessed us with you


* a houseful (and heart-full) of friends

Since we were unable to travel for Thanksgiving, we decided to invite several of our friends over for lunch and games - we had such a great time! The food was good, the company was great and of course there was a little bit of Wii played, along with a lot of Mafia!

Ben "blow-torching" the glaze on the ham.... it was SOOO good!!

Michelle and Kristin playing Wii Tennis.

Elijah after trying (unsuccessfully!) to break the wishbone.

Ben and I with Julie and Ryan Jones.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

All in an Endo visit

This is what my mornings look like when I have to go see my Endocrinologist, Dr. Peters:

I usually spend at least 5 (usually more like 15) minutes uploading my most recent sensor data into the computer and then printing out reports for her to review. It's mornings like these, especially after an OB appointment, that I remember that Noah's size has NOTHING to do with my diabetes. When I look at my charts and see the (mostly) in range BG numbers and and see my most recent A1c reading printed on each page, it's a little reminder that I'm doing all that I can to keep this little one growing healthy.

Most Organized

You know, my senior year in high school (Go Spartans!) I was voted "Most Organized"... and I have a feeling that if the votes were to be cast again today, I'd probably "win" that title again....

I hate (yes, that's a strong word, one that my parents often encouraged us to not use!) being unorganized - not knowing where things are and living in disarray causes me a great deal of stress. Which is probably part of the reason why once we moved, everything was unpacked within a week! Keeping everything in the binders (I have five.... I know.... I'm OCD.) keeps everything in it's place and me a happy person.

And, yes, I had a fetal monitoring session today and no, I'm not going to say how big Noah is now. Dr. Bickman herself said that the measurements were off and I know they are incorrect. So, simply, he's still healthy, I'm still healthy, and unfortunately, he's still breech. :( Keep praying for him to turn head down!

Getting things done...

Okay, so I didn't really wrap these presents.... Ben did. But since we're trying to get everything done Christmas-wise and Baby-wise, I've been shopping like crazy for Christmas. The results of my shopping are sitting in the living room without a tree to sit under! I'm sure our friends that come over for Thanksgiving will have a good laugh about this one!

Lucky Girl

Today Ben restained the rocking chair, installed the carseat and extra base, helped me fold baby laundry, and even found the time to pack for his TDY. I'm SO lucky to have him as a husband. Thank you, Dear One, for all your hard work around the house lately!

Go Sooners!

Okay, so I know they lost. And I know they are probably (okay, they are definitely) out of the race for the National Championship. But that doesn't mean I can suddenly stop supporting them - I bleed Sooner Red! So, to my dear Sooner boys, especially dear Sam Bradford, please don't let me down next week when we play OSU.

Angie and I (and Noah) after the OU-Texas Tech game (I actually was able to watch it here in California!!), winning the night in Euchre, and of course, a game of Wii Bowling.... She and Greg were thrilled that Ohio State beat Michigan! :)

Overwhelmed.

I don't think I'll ever be able to really express how overwhelmed I've been by the love and generosity of our friends and family when it comes to this little guy I'm "growing". And so today, when I got to Sue's house for Bunco with my Cresson (and former Cresson!) ladies, I felt speechless - they had planned a surprise baby shower for me! It was absolutely wonderful. I feel SO blessed to have made such wonderful friends - it's going to be so hard to leave when the time comes. Charyl even said that Ben is lucky he is such a good guy, or else they would really try to keep me here! ;)

Below is a picture of part of our Bunco group: Mary Jo, Jane, Carmela, Carey, Helena;
Charyl, Me, and Erika (Sue is behind the camera!).

And, because I didn't have it on my camera and I told the ladies about it after getting a Very Hungry Caterpillar card from Erika, here's a picture for them of the quilt that I made for Noah. I mean, we're all teachers, so we love this kind of stuff! ;)
Don't worry ladies, once it is complete, I'll bring it to Bunco so you can see it in person... it's so much cuter that way!

Cookie, Wii, The Office....

These are just a few of my favorite things! And of course, seeing my husband interact with children tops the list! Add it all together and it makes for a great evening.

Tonight, Ben and I watched Christian for a couple of hours. We played Wii bowling with him (he loved it and would call out how many pins everyone knocked down!), I made the rest of the cookies (I had saved some cookie dough so Ben would have nice, warm cookies... I know, I'm a GREAT wife!), and then we watched The Office ("Line."). Christian ended the show by getting all snuggled up with Ben, and once show was over, he was out! And it wasn't long before Ben was too. I wanted to take a picture of them, but I didn't want to wake either of them up! Needless to say, I can't wait until it is Noah all snuggled up in Ben's arms.

Alphabet Soup

We've got our crib all put together and ready for Noah!

I love our bedding (it's called Alphabet Soup) and I think it looks great with the crib. Once I finish making the pads for the rocking chair (and Ben refinishes it) and we get everything hung on the walls, I'll take a few pictures of the entire room.

Also, a happy wedding day and congratulations to my dear, dear college friend Michelle who is getting married today on Maui! I wish I was there girl!

And, last but not least, today is World Diabetes Day....

I don't think the average person knows how much it really affects everything that you do and more often than not, they have incorrect information and an "old school view" of type 1 diabetes - so a special thanks today to my parents, sisters, and especially my husband, for learning about diabetes and how to truly help me live with it.

I LOVE Mexican Vanilla...

Seriously, it's the BEST stuff in the world! I could barely wait to make something with it! I had bought some chocolate chips at the commissary during my last trip, knowing that if I was able to get my hands on some Danncy Vanilla during our cruise, there would have to be some chocolate chip cookies made in my house!! They SMELL delicious!! And taste even better!!! :)

Cruise to Mexico: Back Home

We made it safely back home! The picture of the four of us was taken just before we went to get in line to disembark the ship - it was the only one we took the whole time of all four of us! (I know, I can hardly believe it either.)

And, for those of you who noticed, yes, we are wearing the same thing that we wore to dinner that night... our bags had to be packed and left outside our room by midnight so that we wouldn't have to deal with lugging the suitcases off the ship ourselves!

Thanks to Royal Caribbean and Greg and Angie for making our first cruise an unforgettable one!

Cruise to Mexico: Day 3

Today was our day at sea... which meant that we played a LOT of Euchre! But, we managed to find a few other fun things to do besides eat and play cards. Ben and Greg climbed the rock wall (good job guys!).

Greg, as he reached the top!

Ben, just before he reached the top!

The fun little drink I wish I could have had! ;)

(Daddy-Man, bring your pineapple-corer at Christmas!)

Angie and I freezing out on the deck after sunset.

How did the lady that checked us in not notice this belly?!

Ben and I just before dinner on the main stairway.

Our towel Elephant.... Ben was really hoping for a monkey... which Greg and Angie found in their room!

Cruise to Mexico: Day 2

Ensenada, Mexico!

Here's the view of Ensenada from our ship....

and here's the view of our ship from Ensenada!

We spent most of the day wandering around Ensenada in search of the right type of clear vanilla (I LOVE Mexican vanilla!!!) and good prices on liquor (well, the boys were in search of that). The following are a few shots from around the town.

Ben taking a shot of tequila after purchasing something from this store... Greg finished his much faster!

Our tiny stateroom: room number 2557!

Us at dinner for "Formal Night".

The towel bunny that found it's way into our room!