Early Christmas for Jake

I will start by saying today was seemingly one of the worst days of my life. After I calmed down from my pregnant fit of madness, waterworks and all, I realized a few things. The epiphany came from this true story. I wish I had taken a picture of the evidence, but I was still angry and cleaned it all up after I figuratively threw my dogs outside. 

When I came home for lunch today, Jake (our beloved yet secretly mischievous chocolate lab) was his normal happy self. I, on the other hand, was not so excited to see him. You see, after adopting our other dog Bruce, a German Shepherd puppy, strange things started happening in our house. Mysteriously, items were destroyed in our absence; the carpet, a leather-bound Torah, some college text books, a pin cushion (saw dust and pins were everywhere), the bathroom carpets and trash contents, and various others just to name a few. This was not something that happened in our house before. Only after bringing Bruce into our home did the destruction begin. My husband and I decided it was time to start crate training the puppy before further damage ensued. Since we never had any problems with Jake before, he continued to have the house to himself while we were gone. Problem solved right? 

Wrong! On a weekly basis, Zach and I noticed some of those same things were still happening. The carpet had been pulled up a little more, trash was still getting sprinkled across the living area, and now my house shoes were migrating. They hadn't been chewed up or anything, just moved to a different location. Sometimes it was the top of the stairs, sometimes it was by the front door. I guess it really just depended on the day. Surely, this could not be MY Jake committing these unspeakable crimes. Who else could it be though? All fingers are pointing at one chocolate colored dog and no other (unconfined) suspects are in sight.

So now that you have the back story, I will continue with my lunch break. I walked up to the door, all pissed off because this woman at the hospital was giving me hell about making copies of my medical record. Normally this would not be an issue, because there is a copier at work. However, my medical records folder is actually TWO folders, with about 600 pages between the two of them and stands five inches high when stacked on top of one another. There was NO WAY I was going to make two copies of that using the company copier and supplies. Anyway... I walk up to the house and Jake is barking. At what, I have absolutely no clue. I continue to walk in the door, come down the hall, and as soon as I walk into the dog play area to let Bruce out, I see wrapping paper everywhere. That little devil Jake had opened my Christmas present from Zach. When I say opened, I mean professionally. He didn't ruin the box with bite marks, but had somehow managed to remove most of the wrapping paper from the gift. This leads me to believe two things. First, Jake must have had an awesome Christmas last year and he couldn't wait until the 25th for presents. After seeing the tree go up on Thanksgiving night, he just couldn't wait any longer and thought he'd go ahead and celebrate now. Second, Jake knew we had bought presents for him and Bruce, but mistakenly thought we placed them in a box instead of their stockings. It's a good thing I already knew what my husband bought me for Christmas.

It's A Mini Princess!!!!!

Yesterday my husband Zach and I had an appointment in Topeka for a sonogram. The sonogram was to determine if baby has any major or minor birth defects. We got to the hospital about 15 minutes before our appointment started. I was told a week prior to bring a bottle of water with me. The instructions were that I had to empty my bladder and proceed to drink the entire thing immediately after my arrival at the clinic. Now for anyone who has never been pregnant before, it seems the further along you get, the more you have to pee. You always feel like you are about to explode, but when you actually go pee, the amount is less and less. After being cued in to this vital piece of information, I'm sure you can imagine how I felt by the end of 32 ounces of water. I was almost certain that I was going to pee on myself in the middle of the sonogram.
When we got there the clinic staff was for the most part at lunch. Eventually I was checked in and returned to the waiting area. The waiting area consisted of nine very small chairs and two small side tables. There were only six people there, including myself and Zach, but I felt like we were in a group hug. The TV was placed awkwardly behind my head, so I figured I would just get on with the water consumption and read a magazine instead. I got all excited when one of the nurses called my name, but it was a false alarm. After calling me back to check my blood pressure and weight, I returned to the waiting room. Finally a nice old lady came by and called us back to the sonogram room.
I was so excited, I almost forgot I had to pee. Now, before I go any further, let me just say a few things. My husband and I had talked about what we hoped baby's gender to be. My husband just knew, deep down in his heart, we were having a boy. I guess they were going to do all kinds of guy stuff together and write their names in the snow as an integral part of potty training. While I had hoped for a little girl, I had a dream we were having a boy. There have been many times where my dreams were more like prophecies, so I half believed it was a boy as well.
I laid down in the recliner and my husband sat next to me. The lady got started and made a bunch of measurements of various things. We could see the baby's spine, both hemispheres of the brain, little hands and feet, and a few other things. I think my husband and I were both getting anxious about whether or not she could tell the sex of the baby. Eventually she asked, "Have you two discussed whether you want to know the sex of the baby or not?" I told her we were both dying to know. My husband, cockily I might add, said, "I already know it's a boy. This appointment is for my wife who doesn't believe me. She wants a girl." I laughed and waited for the lady to finish searching around with the machine. Finally she said, "Well it looks like your girls out-swam your boys." My husband was a little confused. I could tell he was trying to figure out how that translated to "it's a boy". She said "It looks like a girl. I've been doing this for about 19 years now, so I'm pretty certain that you are having a girl." I can't even tell you how excited I was at that point. All I could think was It's a mini princess!!! She's going to be my little dolly. I can't wait to hug her and squeeze her and kiss her baby toesies.
The doctor eventually came in to look at baby and explain their findings. He said he did not see any signs of chromosomal defects or physical deformities (like a cleft lip or club foot). Everything measured up perfectly normal and right in the mid range for her growth period at 18 weeks. We were not able to do the 3D/4D ultrasound because my little princess decided it was nap time half way through the sonogram, so we could not get a clear picture of her face. She was laying on her little belly with her head turned away from us. Zach and I have to go back in eight weeks though, so hopefully she will be in a better position. I can't wait to see her again.
Last week I started feeling her moving around for the first time, and she hasn't stopped since. I think that is the first time I actually felt pregnant through this entire time. Before it just seemed like I was taking everyone else's word for it. When I felt her kicking around the first time, I couldn't believe it. I knew it was her, but I couldn't believe it. As the week went on, it became the most reassuring part of every day. I would feel her move around and it made me smile, because I knew she was safe and sound.

Little Britches

I should start by saying two things. First, I started a blog a couple of years ago, but for some reason I can no longer access it. This is sad in itself because I really loved that blog. Second, my husband and I are expecting a tiny munchkin on May 9th. We are extremely excited for this new addition to arrive in 6 months. We will find out if it is a boy or a girl on December 6th. Not knowing this vital piece of information certainly did not stop me from going to the Little Britches Consignment Sale on Friday and purchasing three armloads of amazing things for my little bumble baby. 
Now before you go thinking this was some leisurely stroll through the aisles, browsing everything and inspecting each item carefully, let me tell you otherwise. I arrived at the volunteer pre-sale about 15 minutes early. I was fortunate enough to receive this privilege by volunteering a mere four hours of my Saturday morning, half of which would normally be spent sleeping. When I arrived at the pre-sale, the line was only about 10 people long. I noticed most women brought their own reusable shopping bags, but a few went so far as to bring LAUNDRY baskets and empty strollers as if they were shopping carts. I was starting to feel like the ultimate newbie. I spoke to a lady and her daughter while we waited. It was their first Little Britches sale as well which was comforting. 
When they finally let us in, everyone rushed politely to the front door. I had no idea which direction I was going to go once I got inside, so I ended up using my instinct and went to the right. Immediately, I saw bouncers, strollers, cribs. BINGO! Just the things I was looking for. I noticed a bouncer in the corner, but before I could get to it, an Asian couple started checking it out. I politely looked at other things while they looked at that prized item. Wrong decision. As soon as they walked away, this woman came out of nowhere and starts pushing on it, wiggling the toys, turning it upside down and shaking it about. Then walks off with it. "BITCH!" I thought. I wanted that bouncer! At that moment, my game face was on. No more being polite. I realized these volunteers were seasoned vets, and this was a recurring war for the best deal and nicest items. I rushed about like a mad woman. I didn't have a shopping cart, AKA stroller, and I managed to forget my reusable shopping bags by the front door at home. This meant I had to bounce back and forth between the shopping floor and the hold area. I zipped back and forth across the sales floor until I reached my spending limit... Or so I thought. 
I may have gone a few dollars over... like 28 dollars over. I justified this increase with how great of a deal I was getting. Do you know how much baby stuff costs these days?!?! So what did I get for $128 at this giant cut-throat garage sale? I walked away with a Baby Bjorn carrier ($25), a Fisher Price swing ($20), Fisher Price mobile ($10), infant-toddler bath tub (in original box, $10), baby contour sleep pad (in original box, $10), classic Winnie the Pooh woven blanket ($20), 10 onesies, 3 sleepers, one sleep sack (brand new), and 10 books. That's crazy right? It took two trips for me to get it all in the car. Not only that, but I had to disassemble the swing in order for it all to fit! I was ecstatic. That is until I thought about getting home and explaining the costs to my dear husband, Zach, but that is another story altogether. I can't wait for the next sale in 6 months!