Best buds till the end

I'm a big kid now!

Can you believe that our little Isaac has reached the weight limit for his infant seat? Today was the day to move him into his new carseat. He is growing up so fast!

Polar North blog saves a life . . .

I got this email from my sister-in-law AD last week who is due to have her first baby six weeks after me -- a little girl.

Now AD is, admittedly, not the best blog reader ever. She likes the pictures, and is a self-professed "skimmer". However, she was glad she didn't skim on my post about leg cramps! It saved her life!

Your blog saved my life....ok not my life, but I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst cramp in my calf so I tried to pull my foot back and that didn't work and I thought...maybe this is training for labor so I'll just breathe and see what happens if I relax....OK, so I am not brilliant at 3 AM. But then I remembered you saying that you limped around one night with a leg cramp so I got out of bed and walked around, WAY BETTER! It is still sore, but I've been doing stretches before bed. Thank God for your blog and its priceless information. Love you, AD

Just a note to anyone who has leg cramps, pregnant or not. GET OUT OF BED! Do not try to solve the cramp in bed. It will only get worse. Or you'll cramp something else. I cannot tell you the number of times that while trying to get a cramp out of my calf, I got a new one in my thigh or foot. Not cool at all. Move around until you find a position that the cramp hurts the least in and then remain in that position until you are SURE the cramp has gone.

My cramps have gotten a tad bit better, but they are still present and quite annoying. At least my pain helped save AD's life!

Dory

This morning, I substituted in the 6 & 7 year old class for Sunday School at church. Bernard & Lisa were out-of-town and asked if we could fill in. With Isaac being so young and Elijah on the way, JB and I did not feel comfortable committing to being full-time teachers. However, we did want to serve and subbing seemed a perfect way to do that. We will be working this week and next week with the 6 & 7 year olds. This week, I did it without JB as he didn't get home from work until 9am!

This morning I was attempting to tell the story of Jacob & Esau. Now I was a high school English teacher. I really do know how to teach a lesson and lead a class. Unfortunately, I think that pregnancy brain has finally gotten to me. While I did a good with the class, I did say things backwards quite a few times. Jacob was older ... I mean Esau. Jacob sold his birthright ... I mean Esau.

At the end of class one of the little girls thanked me for being their teacher and then said, "Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?" I had. "Well you remind me of Dory," she giggled.

If you have seen this movie, you are probably chuckling right now. If you haven't, let me just tell you that Dory has a memory problem that prevents her from remembering anything! She's quite the airhead throughout the movie.

Dory! Oh man!

Christmas party (without the hubby)

JB was on call yesterday. Actually, it was our friend Matt's call date. However, they decided to switch for two reasons. The first is that Matt wanted to get out of town for the Christmas holiday a day early. The second is that JB has been scheduled for call the weekend before and the weekend after I am due in January! Talk about bad timing! So he and Matt decided to switch days. JB took this call date for Matt, and Matt will take one of those two call dates for JB -- depending on which one we need him for.

I spent the day getting some work done for RLS, taking Scrubs and Isaac to the bay, working on Christmas cards, and trying to start making and working on a list of things we need to do before Elijah joins our home. Joia and Andrea both going three weeks early has even calm, cool, and collected JB a little flustered! ;) If I were to go three weeks early, I'd be going in three weeks! We are not ready for that. Of course, this is my first delivery and it was both of their seconds. Hopefully that means I'll be closer to on-time.

As much as I am ready to get this little guy's feet out of my ribs, going early would mean less time with Isaac, less time for preparation, and more gaps when I do not have help present. I took a breast feeding class the other day and the lady running the classes first question to me was "Are you going to have help when this baby comes?" Uh, yeah. Does she think I am crazy! We are blessed that my mother-in-law, Joan, and my mom are all going to spend some time here with us. In addition, Tara and Lesley are also hoping to get to spend some time here with their men by their sides. What a blessing to have great family and friends.

Last night I decided to tag along with Philip, Joia, and their now two children to the annual resident Christmas party (held at my doctor's house -- Dr. G.) Our families were actually the only representatives from the second year class! There were a TON of people there and it was difficult to maneuver through the masses. At one point, an anonymous three-year-old came up to Isaac, grabbed his little Dalmatian dog, and went running. I had no idea who she was, where she came from, or where she went with his favorite toy. It took me nearly five minutes to find her in a back bedroom, dog in hand. She did relinquish rights easily, however, which made me feel less badly about tracking her down!

Leave it to Joia to snap some shots of our evening. Here are a few pics (stolen from her blog).

Babies everywhere. Here is new baby Moriah (pronounced More-iah not Ma-riah) with Isaac (who is kindly hiding his brother.) Isaac was a bit in shell-shock mode the entire evening -- I think it was due to the sheer number of people present. Two times I walked out of the room, and Isaac freaked a little bit. "Who are all these people and where is my Mommy!?"

Isaac and I chilling with John and Becky. Isaac LOVED John. I think he reminded him of his own John whom he hadn't seen all day. John and Becky are currently pregnant and expecting via IVF! They find out if there is one or two babies present on Monday! Please keep them in your prayers during this exciting time.

Rick is a third year resident. His wife is my role model with her two active twin girls. Here he is with Philip and Keenan -- one of Isaac's greatest fans.

Following the party, I headed up to the residency room to see JB. He had a few free minutes, and Isaac and I hung out with him as well as the other resident on call -- a first year and his wife. We were glad to get to spend a few free minutes as a family.

Sockless

I love this photo! I snagged it from Joia's blog. The other night when Philip & Joia watched Isaac, Keenan became concerned that Isaac did not have socks on. The reason Isaac didn't have socks on is because he pulls them off anyways, and the kid overheats in a few seconds. We rarely put socks on Isaac, but Keenan did not think this was a good idea! He brought out his whole sock bin and attempted to change this fact! How sweet is this?!

Please pray . . .

If you think of it, please stop whatever you are doing and pray for my friend Stephanie. She and Becky were the two ladies at the forefront of my mind when I wrote this post back in November. Becky has a positive result on her first try with IVF. Stephanie will find out this weekend the results of their second attempt. This two week wait is an amazingly torterous time so please pray that Chad & Stephanie get the desire of their heart. Thanks everyone!

Check out my new bball uniform everybody!

Another date

Joia is home and back posting on her blog. Thank goodness. I was going through some major Joia withdrawal. She posted two videos that I wanted to share with you.

This first video is the night she went into labor, while she was babysitting Isaac. Knowing "take-it-in-stride" Joia, she was probably filming this in between contractions. :)

Isaac meets Balloon

This second video is Keenan meeting his baby sister. However, what I find so cute about the video is that Keenan is calling Moriah "Isaac" -- as this is the "baby" that he knows! So sweet!

Keenan meets baby Moriah

In other news, JB and I had the opportunity to go out on our second date in one week last night. We went to a pharmaceutical dinner (which I can still attend as long as I am employed as a medical writer.) It was a wonderful dinner at a very posh seafood restaurant in Destin. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time chatting with Dena and Kacey, two of the very few female residents in JB's program. Brittney watched Isaac for us and said he was back to his regular, happy self! We are so blessed to have such great friends to watch our boy.

We actually became convinced that Isaac is back to himself when he woke up in the middle of the night last night, starving! The kid hasn't wanted to eat very much, and JB kept telling me he would decide when it was time to start eating his normal amounts. He decided at 2am last night that it was time! Normally if Isaac wakes up in the middle of the night, he talks himself right back to sleep. But last night, it quickly became evident that he had no intention of talking himself into anything. I attempted to change his diaper, and he became furious with me. So I gave that up, and as soon as I handed him his bottle, he scarfed it down, and then promptly fell asleep on my shoulder, something he doesn't do often. Our Isaac is back!

Bobbie's daughters, Paige and Brooke, also watched Isaac for me yesterday while I attended a breast feeding class at the hospital. What's even better is that they are quite used to Scrubs as he is over at their house playing with their lab Deuce all the time so they watched both of them for me. They said that other than getting into an annoying "please play with me" mood, Scrubs and Isaac were great! That's good news as I've often wondered how Scrubs will do with babysitters.

Many people have asked me if I plan to breast feed Elijah and the answer is a most definite yes. Honestly, I would have loved to try adoptive breast feeding (which can be attempted with hormones). However, my five years of infertility hormones left me not wanting to put anything artificial into my body for awhile, and JB and I opted to just go with bottle feeding for Isaac. I really enjoyed bottle feeding. I enjoyed how easy it was and how other people could help. But I am also looking forward to not having to pack bottles anywhere we go. It will be different and present a unique set of challenges, but I plan to give it my very best. Isaac has now learned to hold his bottle himself so I'll be able to feed both babies at the same time with some practice!

JB should be home at a good time today. He does have a Saturday call tomorrow which means he'll be gone from early morning Saturday until early morning Sunday, but I have a lot of work for RLSF to do so I'll keep myself busy.

Just four more shopping days until Christmas folks!

Big Press for RLS

As most of you know, I currently work for the Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Foundation. I will be taking an extended leave of absence from this position in the next few weeks but have so enjoyed the nearly five years I have spent as their Director of Publications & Communications. I primarily handle all writing and editing and just love this job.

We are always excited when we get some good press on RLS. The condition often takes a bad wrap as some people actually believe it is a made up disease. That is far from the case. RLS is, basically, a sleep disorder, that prevents individuals from sleeping due to their need to move their legs. It may sound strange, but it is quite real and quite devastating to those that have severe cases of the disorder.

Yesterday, The New York Times online posted their feature on RLS. It is absolutely fantastic and one of the best pieces of press we have ever had done on RLS!

Click here to read the story or click here to listen to the patients' accounts of RLS. We are so excited by this painted portrait of RLS. I work and know each of the individuals featured in the first-person accounts and am so excited to see RLS illustrated so appropriately!

Peek a boo

Isaac is finally feeling close to himself and actually smiling and playing again. Here we are last night playing peek-a-boo. I am hiding behind the couch . . .

Happy Birthday Dave!

A big happy birthday to one-half of our Mayo lifeline! I am not sure we would have made it through medical school without David and Lesley J. They met the first year of medical school and were married and living two floors up from us in Rochester Towers by second year. I love this picture of Dave -- catching Isaac in mid-barf! This was taken when we went to Minnseota for Hans and Rachel's wedding. Have a great day Dave! Tell your wife she is moving toward the bottom of my "Blog Update" list so she needs to get on it!

Oliver & Moriah

***Baby/pregnancy mentioned***



Well life has been quite exciting here lately.

Last night, JB and I went to see the play Oliver with a third year resident, Nick, and his wife Kristy. They have a four month old son, Noah, and are great people. The last time we did anything with them was last year when Tristan and Shannon were still here! So it was definitely time to get together again.

The first thing we did was drop Isaac off at his babysitter's house: Joia. Philip was there too, and Joia assured me that she was perfectly fine watching Isaac despite the fact that she has felt "ready to go" for a few days now. She wasn't due until the beginning of January so we thought this was fine. In addition, Keenan and Isaac have already spent a lot of time together so I wasn't worried about Isaac infecting him anymore than he already has.

We had dinner at a delightful little German restaurant in Niceville and then headed to the play. Imagine my surprise during an intermission call to Joia to hear that she was in labor. She remarked that it was a bit predictive of what I'll be doing when I go into labor: bottle feeding an infant while contracting with another!

Our friend Jodi was on her way over to be with Keenan so Joia told us to go ahead and finish the play as Jodi had agreed to watch Isaac too. I agreed to this, but by the time I got back into the auditorium, was doubting whether this was a good idea. They didn't need our son there during this big event! I asked JB to call Philip and make sure that everything was okay. Philip echoed Joia's sentiments: that everything was under control. In fact, Philip was lamenting a note he had typed and lost at work more than he was the hectic events of their evening. I really wanted to get back to Isaac, but we also had paid a nice price for our tickets, and I wanted to see the end of the play. So we stayed, and picked our little man up from Jodi a few hours later. (Thanks Jodi!) The play was fantastic, and we had a wonderful evening out.

Well, by 6am, we had heard from Joia. The baby was here! I'll make you jump over to their blog to check for details because as of this posting at 8:25pm, the announcement isn't there, and I want to make sure I don't spoil their time for telling. We stopped by to see the happy fam this afternoon -- Joia had a great delivery and baby is doing fantastic!

Yes, both of my fellow 2nd year pregnant-wives have gone between 2-3 weeks early! Not sure what that means for me. Time will tell. CONGRATS PHILIP, JOIA, AND KEENAN!

Lovin' Florida!

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???

Okay, try this without looking at the answers.

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the calculator . . .)
4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number . . .
5) Add the digits together

Now Scroll down to find your role model . . .





1. Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. Brad Pitt
8. Hitler
9. Wendi Kit.
10. Barack Obama

:)

Videos (for the Gramas)

As always, don't feel you have to watch these videos. But I know the Gramas at least would like to see them!

This first video is a few evenings ago when Isaac had a break in his being sick and actually had some smiles to share with us:



This video was from yesterday. Scrubs, Isaac, and Jocelyn were playing together in the living room. Scrubs LOvvveeesss Jocelyn! This video all shows Isaac's desire to start crawling. I think he is getting close.

Jocelyn & Scrubby

Isaac slept a lot today so that left Jocelyn and Scrubs to entertain each other.

In addition, I wanted to wish Kristi's daughter Raylee as well as my cousin Sarah a very happy birthday!

Thanks and wake-ups

First of all, thanks to everyone who posted an encouraging comment following my last blog regarding kennelling Scrubs. To answer your questions, yes, my reason for trying not to have Scrubs in his kennel when we leave is because I feel guilty. I want him to have more room and be a "grown-up" dog. But I agree with what many of you said. He is still young, especially for Dalmatians who tend to leave puppy-land around three years old. And he does like his kennel. As soon as he sees us heading to the door to leave, he runs in and waits for his treat. He is also not in it very often as I am home a good portion of everyday. He can't handle being left out yet (as proved by the lack of handle on the kennel door now), and that's okay! Your comments really helped my guilt level about having to kennel him. I thought I was the only one with a dog who couldn't handle this!

Secondly, last night was a whirlwind in our house. Not only was it the finale' of Survivor (one of my least favorite seasons by the way), but as the show neared its end, I had a bit of a bleeding scare. Thank goodness I am married to a doctor who immediately took control of the situation, told me it was probably something very minor, and called my doctor (his boss) to discuss. They decided to monitor me at home for an hour and see if the bleeding subsided which it quickly did. Elijah was moving fine, and an hour of monitoring at home was all it took to determine that all was well -- no trip into the hospital at 10pm required -- thank goodness! I was already thinking: I need a shower, we need to get Isaac somewhere, we need to get Scrubs pottied and settled, etc. when JB told me that we could stay home for a bit first. I was so happy to hear that.

. . . and then Isaac, who is still under the weather, woke up in the middle of the night crying for the first time since he was three months old! I guess that's a pretty good run wouldn't you say?! He has been sleeping through the night since he was eight weeks old, but still had a few wake-ups here and there until he was twelve weeks old. However, since then, the child has slept 11-12 hours every night without fail. I know, I know. He's spoiled me rotten. (I won't even discuss the fact that he takes three naps for about two hours a piece a day, with no complaining at all.)

Anyways, it was so unusual to hear him crying at 2am that both JB and I got up to investigate. He was dirty and hungry, probably due to the fact that he has been eating so little and losing about half of what he does manage to eat. I changed him, Daddy gave him a bottle, and they looked at the Christmas lights on the tree for about twenty minutes, before he easily went back to sleep. Poor little guy! I'm really hoping he starts feeling better soon.

JB is starting his urology rotation today. It was so nice to get up, out of the same bed, together this morning instead of waking him from the guest room and watch him climb in the car for the 90 minute drive to Pensacola. I am watching Jocelyn this morning and Keenan this afternoon and trying to get a bit of work done here and there while also trying to catch up on some scrap booking.

Please continue to pray for this pregnancy and our little Elijah. Just a little under seven weeks to go!

We give up! (And a few other notes)

Well it's official. We have given up in the quest to not kennel Scrubs when we leave the house. We tried it. He tried it. And he repeatedly failed to pass the test. Mind you, we only leave him in the laundry room. Mind you, we take everything out of the laundry room except his kennel and a few of his things. Mind you, he still finds something to get into.

The first time it was a small rug by the door. Okay. So the next time we left, we removed the rug as well. The next time he actually started chewing pieces off his toy basket. Okay, so we removed that the next time we left. The next time we noticed he had started chewing on piece of his kennel. Okay, we can't remove that but we can spray down the sections he was chewing on with the "bitter yuck" stuff he hates so much. Last night, he chewed off the handle to his kennel -- one part I hadn't sprayed.

We came home from our Christmas party and declared we were done trying. His kennel is very large. He has plenty of room in there to stand up, lie down, turn around, and roll over if he wants. I am home a good portion of everyday so it is not often we have to leave him. But for now, when we do, we'll have to continue to leave him in his kennel. Sigh . . . Scrubs, we were trying to give your more freedom! Doesn't he understand that?!

Now let me tell you that Scrubs doesn't get into any of these things when we are home. He never chews on anything in our house now except toys from his own basket. We curbed his thievery long ago by spraying him with the bitter yuck every time he stole. I've been told that many Dalmatians are "counter-surfers" -- grabbing anything they can off kitchen counters. Scrubs doesn't do that all. We can leave a slab of meat on the counter without him going near it. If we we were to drop a steak on the floor in front of him, he wouldn't get it unless we said he could! He doesn't get on our furniture. He doesn't touch the trash can. Other than some bursts of hyperactivity that sometimes get a little rambunctious, his behavior when we are home is really pretty good.

But for some reason, when we leave, he just gets bored (despite the raw hide and peanut butter filled bones I put in the laundry room for him to help prevent this). They say some dogs start this behavior because they are mad. I don't think Scrubs is mad. I just think he starts chewing, thinks: wow, this is kind of fun and keeps doing it. Even though he wouldn't dream of this behavior when we are there. We've tried only leaving him out of his kennel at night when he is bound to go to sleep. No go.

So for now, Scrubs will remain in his kennel. If you have any advice, I am open to it, but JB said he is done with this. For now at least. It will be easier to kennel him when I am trying to get out of the house with two babies anyway. Oh well.

In other news:

• Happy third birthday to my nephew Nate!
• Joia had a successful inversion of her little Tiny last night. Keep them all in your prayers!
• Last night we celebrated Christmas at our Care Group Leaders' house: Bernard and Lisa. What a great time despite the fact that Isaac is still sick and JB and I are feeling a little cruddy now as well. This time the white elephant game actually produced -- a fish! It's a Beta that JB plans to accompany him to work. (Check back later for pictures. I'll wait until Brittney posts them and then link to her blog since I never got around to taking very many.)
• My parents will be here a week from Wednesday to celebrate with us.
• JB is DONE WITH HIS PENSACOLA ROTATION! This was a killer month. With driving, he was doing about 60-70 hours each week. He starts a much lighter rotation on Monday, and we are all so relieved to have him home.
• Please keep praying for Isaac. The poor kid is still pretty sick. He is drinking enough to stay hydrated but just barely. He normally drinks about 32-40 ounces of formula a day and yesterday he drank about 12 total. Don't worry everyone. We have a doctor in the house so Isaac is in good hands. We just feel so bad for the little guy.

Second year residents celebrate!

Last night Matt & Tiff hosted a wonderful get-together for all the second year residents. Nearly everyone was able to attend which was even better. JB and I did decide to go despite the fact that our little boy is very sick. We planned to put him down to sleep in one of the rooms, but he was so fascinated watching everything that he basically sat there, fairly content, most of the evening.

Anyways, here's some photos from the evening:

No Jodi didn't have too much to drink. This is her celebration for picking the "Number one" card in our white elephant game. This pick saved her from having to go home with a framed deer picture of Matt. :)

Joia looking beautiful and festive three weeks from delivery and host Tiffany looking equally beautiful and festive. Tiffany did a great job putting this evening together.

Shannon -- one of the three out of ten female residents and her new husband Joe.

Isaac managing a smile while sitting with Daddy. He mostly sat with Daddy (and Joia) for most of the evening. Smiles have been a rarity the last three days. Our poor little boy feels so crummy. Watching him be sick is just a horrible and helpless feeling!


Philip, Keenan, Joia (and little "Tiny" in utero)

Tiffany and William

Kacey (left) one of the three other female residents. She is engaged to be married in November.

Daddy comforting boy.

Erik and Andrea (with new addition Chloe.) Their other son Jonathon got to spend the evening at home with Grandma.

Rob, Della, and Sarah. Della has the same nasty cold as Isaac so Rob & Sarah spent the evening taking turns with Della back at their house while she slept. Good thing they just live three doors down.

It was a wonderful evening! I am so glad Isaac was able to handle the night out and so blessed by the friendships we've made here at Eglin. What a great group of friends -- they are truly our family here!

49 days to go!

When my doctor used the phrase, "As you are nearing the end of pregnancy . . ." at my appointment last week, I think she noticed my eyes bug out of my head.

I told her I am not sure what is more scary: actually delivering a baby or having two children under nine months old (and a dog who is still in todler stage as well) in my house at the same time. She laughed, but I didn't mean for it to be funny. I was dead serious!

I am still in complete and utter amazement that after ten years of marriage and five years of daily appointments to try to achieve pregnancy, we now find ourselves under fifty days from a delivery!

So, anyways, here is a 33 week photo for all you who keep asking me. Not sure what is wrong with the star on the top of our tree, and no, this isn't my favorite photo, but at least you all can see the much talked about baby in belly (I actually had two people this last week say I was so "tiny." WHAT are they looking at?!)

In addition, you can also see my new pants! These are the maternity jeans I was finally able to secure for $60 (plus $20 in alteration fees.)

LIfe basically boils down to two questions . . .

Should I get a dog?

Or should I get a kid?

. . . Oh crud. I did both now didn't I?

JB's wisdom

JB and I have been corresponding via email a lot while he is on this Pensacola rotation. As he gets a break from patients, he can check his email and shoot one back to me. It's really rather fun since on many of his other rotations here on Base, he doesn't get to his computer much at all.

So one of our recent email conversations had to do with how Isaac is feeling and the fact that I can't really get him to keep any solid foods down. JB said I was probably feeding him too much.

One of the long-standing jokes in our marriage has to do with JB's "desire to always be right." (Or as he would say "The fact that he is always right.") John often jokes that the one time he was wrong was the time he thought he was wrong. It used to cause a lot of real arguments in our relationship as he stuck to his guns and I tried to demand his admitting failure. But after ten years of marriage and fifteen years together, we rarely argue about this anymore. I accept the fact that he is never going to admit he is wrong. And he accepts the fact that he is only lying to himself about him never being wrong.

Okay Mister Doctor Captain JB. How much should I feed our boy to prevent him losing what he has eaten?

Hmmm . . . well, go with me now into JB's mind. He can't admit that he doesn't know! I mean that is the equivalent of admitting he is wrong. It's admitting a lack of perfection. Inconceivable!

Thus his response to my question regarding how much is the right amount of food?

The key is to stop before he barfs. But make sure you give him enough. But not too much.

In my next email, I pressed him to expand on this wealth of knowledge. How many bites was that exactly? My husband's response:

It's pretty simple actually:

• Step one - feed baby the baby food
• Step two - keep feeding until full
• Step three - stop feeding one bite before he barfs
• Step four - if he barfs you fed him one bite too many

Needless to say, I laughed out loud! That's my JB for you!

Rain, rain go away!

Folks it is still raining. I managed to get out in the yard and throw the Frisbee with Scrubs about four times before it started again. It has rained non-stop for nearly two days now. We are a little cooped up right now. Scrubs just sits at the window, dreaming about his old friend Deuce who he probably thinks he is never going to get to see again. When you have a dog that lives for exercise (or is it that I live for him to be exercised), the inability to go outside cramps your style. We've played with the flashlight and rings more times than I can count, but it isn't the same as a good walk, run, or romp at the bay with Deuce.

In addition to the rain keeping us inside, Isaac is pretty darn sick. He's now got a fever, a cough, and a runny nose. While he did stay in his bed last night, he was coughing and waking up nearly hourly which meant I was too. No one got much sleep. JB didn't get home until well after 1am but was sweet enough to get up with us at 6am and take a look at Isaac, give him some Tylenol, and feed him before the little guy just fell asleep right on JB and went back down for four hours!

Tomorrow is JB's last rotation in Pensacola. He was fortunate enough to be able to switch to an earlier rotation which means he'll be home in time to go to the 2nd year resident Christmas party at Matt & Tiff's tomorrow evening. Hopefully Isaac will be feeling up to the festivities.

Another glance out the window and another glance into dreary, cold rain. Cabin fever is setting in. C'mon sunshine!

A very wet day

Not only did it rain the entire day, but I spent the day a bit wet as well.

First piece of advice ... when turning on the water in the shower to wait for it get hot while you are still fully dressed and outside the shower, don't forget to remove your head from underneath the shower head beforehand. It's amazing what you can forget when you are tired and in a hurry.

Second piece of advice ... when taking care of a sick son, recognize that if you put him over your shoulder, with his head nuzzled in your hair, you have a good chance of needing a shower afterwards. Since I avoid talk of bodily functions on this blog, I'll leave it at that, but needless to say, back to the shower I went.

Like I said. A very wet day.

Did I mention I cannot WAIT for this Pensacola rotation to conclude! Come home JB! We need you here!

Doctor Update

So a real quick update. My OB appointment went very well. I'll now be going in every two weeks or so as I am "nearing the end of pregnancy." Yikes! I am still measuring stomach-wise, one week ahead -- proof that my stomach is big! :) My weight is perfectly acceptable to Dr. G., blood pressure is perfect . . . and baby is head down and apparently plans to stay there -- "nice and wedged" according to Dr. G.. She did an ultrasound to see where he was, and what I have been feeling is correct. This dude has his head down, butt up near my belly button, and feet implanted in my ribs! Ugh! No wonder my right side feels like I am getting punched all the time.

Secondly, Isaac's appointment with Dr. D. was short and sweet. They are going to remove the skin tag sometime in February when Isaac is around 10 months old. Unfortunately, he will have to be completely sedated for the procedure. Dr. D. did think this procedure was needed however, not only for cosmetic reasons, but because the cartilage could continue to grow or cause nerve pinching issues. In addition, the "dent" he has in the upper ear shouldn't be tackled until he is nearing school-age as his ear is still growing. So we'll wait on that and decide later if or when to deal with that issue. The dent is pretty minor to me so we'll have to see what Isaac thinks about it at the time.

It's a rainy day here in northern Florida. Not sure that Scrubs and I will be getting much exercise today. JB just left for Pensacola but did get to go to both doctor's appointments with us which was very nice. It'll be a "chill" here day as the only thing on my agenda besides getting some work done for RLSF (as usual) will be to let the bug guy in to spray the house and to watch Keenan this afternoon while Joia does our "Moms in Motion" class. This is good as Isaac has definitely come down some sort of cough/runny nose thingy. Dr. G. said she had seen four kids with the same thing already this morning.

Tagged (another time)

I was tagged by my friend Aimee. She is a friend from Mayo Clinic. She tagged me awhile ago, and I started the post right away. But it has taken me some time to think of all the things I should include in this blog. So . . . here's how it works.

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3.) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So six random things . . .

1. I drive with the cruise control on, like, all the time. In the city, in town, on the highways, in on base. You name it. I am so worried about speeding, and cruise keeps things in check. The bad news is, my car won't set cruise under 25 mph. This is no help at all in our neighborhood which is 20 mph. Unfortunately, even 2 mph over the set speed limit on base can result in a ticket. A ticket results in a series of punishments including a one week minimum loss of base driving privileges and eventually, your husband can even get in trouble for your bad driving! I've really got to focus when the speed limit is under 25 mph!


2. I don't like to drink my calories. I usually only drink water, and I crave it! I also do not like hot drinks. No coffee or tea for this gal. Even hot chocolate is reserved for rare occasions. I'll get an apple cider on occasion, but that's it. In high school I gave up caffeinated drinks altogether because I was such a stinky sleeper. If I drink anything but water it is lemonade or some sort of 100% juice. I also always like to drink with a straw in restaurants. And I don't like lemon in my water. If I wanted lemonade, I'd have ordered it! (And I watched some special on the germs found on lemons and it completely freaked me out.)


3. In recent weeks, I have really come to terms with being tall. I'm not sure why but all of a sudden, I have quit caring so much, but I really have. In Publix the other night, my checkout lady asked me, "How long did it take you to find a husband tall enough for me to marry?" and I didn't get offended even a little bit. However, despite coming to terms with this fact about myself, the one thing I really wish that I could do is wear funky shoes and buy pants in any store!


4. I have never ice skated or down hill skied. However, I am actually a pretty decent roller skater! I also love to miniature golf. These things are not really related at all, but hey, they are random, right? More random: I have never participated in any high-risk "athletic" type of activity. No bungy jumping or sky diving for this chick! Ever! Mark my words on that one folks.


5. The only time I can remember cheating in school was in the second grade. I ended up confessing to my teacher, the guilt was eating me up so badly. I cheated on a spelling test. I also technically cheated in middle school when I let another girl see my answers so that she would like me more and quit picking on me. How stupid is that? I confessed to that one too. While I caused my parents a lot of grief, the one thing I just never did, and still can't do easily is lie. It bothers me too much.


6. When I was five, I got locked in a PE locker with my foster brother, John. I'm not sure how long we were in there, but we were in there long enough that when we finally got out, I had a big gash on my leg that I couldn't feel because my leg had gone completely numb. Little known fact: those PE lockers could be opened from the inside, and we thought it would be fun to climb into one together and try it out. Only thing was, once inside, I couldn't find the latch! I eventually did and my little "brother" and I promised not to tell my Dad which fell apart when my Dad found me hiding under the kitchen table, completely traumatized from the experience. I broke down and admitted we had disobeyed and had climbed into the lockers despite his warning not to. Oh, and I also got locked in a bathroom in a house with Brianna when she was about Isaac's age. (Do you remember that Bri?) I was giving her a bath, the pocket door slid off the track, and we were stuck, without a diaper, for hours, until Joan and her friend returned and called a locksmith. That was fun!
   

So now I am tagging the following: Kelly, Gabbi, Amy, Erica, Joia, and Brittney. If I remember, I'll link to them or post a comment on their blog, or whatever the other rules are. :)

A bigtime congratulations!

I've been waiting for her to post her results so I could finally share them with the world. An IVF success story is a great way to start a week, don't you think? Our friends John and Becky have been blessed with a positive result on their first try! What an amazing blessing. Click here to read more! JB works with John and through them, Becky and I have become great friends. We met for lunch today -- the first time I have seen her since she got this great news. Please, please, please continue to pray for John & Becky, especially during the next few weeks as they wait to see that heartbeat on ultrasound. Those of you who have followed my story from the beginning know how grueling and then disappointing IVF can be. The Lord answered my prayers -- the Becky wouldn't have to get that negative call. PRAISE THE LORD!

In other doctor news, our family will spend a good bit of time at the clinic tomorrow. I have my OB appointment and then little Isaac has his appointment with the plastic surgeon regarding his ear. I'll make sure to update you later. Little Isaac is a bit under-the-weather as well. It's a bummer seeing your kids sick.

Tagged . . . AGAIN!

I was tagged by Brittney who actually had a picture of Isaac up on her blog!

So this picture is of Tara's visit back in February!

The Rules: go to Your Pictures file go to the 5th folder open up the 5th picture and post it then tag 5 people when you are done. (Actually, this is picture #6, but I think Tara would have been mad at me if I put up picture #5 as it wasn't nearly as beautiful as this one.) :)

I tag my old Minnesota friends: Ebby (who I've been trying to email without success -- can you email me Ebby?), Rachel, Lesley, Tara, and Kristen!

Little bits of life

Lots of little things to report on.

First of all, my friend Joia. I can count on her to fill you all in on what's going on in my life when I don't do a good job. Two of her recent posts Pajama Party and Santa and DQ involved my life activities on Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon. So instead of blogging about them, I'll let you jump over to Joia's blog if you are interested. Thanks friend!

As for us, we had a wonderful weekend. JB is still training for his half marathon so every Sunday he does his "long run". He is now up to 5 miles. Scrubs is apparently trudging right along with him although JB did say Scrubs "pretended" to have to pee one time in order to get JB to stop. Smart dog!

JB not only got to run this weekend, but he got to spend a lot of time with Isaac which was much needed. The two headed off on Saturday morning for some "manly Christmas shopping" and also to the grocery store together on Sunday where JB tells me that Isaac was so overtired he burst out into tears when a little old lady went to talk to him. During that time I was able to clean the house and go for a walk just me and Scrubs. I am reminded how much simpler my life is when one piece of the formula is removed. Just having Scrubs here felt like the house was empty!

This is, thankfully, the last week of my hubby's Pensacola rotation! Thank goodness. Next week he starts urology which should mean he is home every day at a very reasonable time. We can't wait.

I'll close today's post with a video illustrating my new "Mommy Challenge." How do I convince baby to be nice to dog instead of the other way around. You can see how good Scrubs is with Isaac in this video and how oblivious Isaac is to the fact that Scrubs is actually something he has to be nice to.

Seven months old

Don't give 'em an inch

I've been sleeping on the couch recently. It has seemed to help me find a more comfortable spot as I've been having a lot of rib pain. I'm pretty sure Elijah has both his little feet planted firmly between my right ribs. He seems most comfortable like that.

Scrubs falls asleep wherever he wants. He usually chooses between an old piece of our sectional in our bedroom, another piece of the sectional in the breakfast nook/office (shown in the picture) or a blanket in the living room. He has a place of his own in each of the major rooms of the house which I think is pretty generous of us.

Ever since we found out about Isaac's arrival, our sofas in the living room have been a no-go for our big puppy. Scrubs knows this and really does not push the issue -- much. He is not even allowed to put a paw on the sofa. I don't want him jumping on guests or on little kids while they are relaxing on our furniture.

This morning I awoke to the wet nose of a dog at 5:40am. I managed to convince him to return to bed, and he did, for about one hour. At 6:30am he returned, wet nose and all. I was so tired and excited that Isaac was still sleeping. Please just go back to bed Scrubby.

Before I knew it, my sneaky dog had slithered up onto the couch right by my feet. Normally I just push him off. But I was so tired. And so pregnant. Leaning up and pushing him off would take so much effort. I let him lay there for about 60 seconds -- debating with my brain before the rational side of me took over. This is a bad idea. This will set a bad precedent. You'll be trying to break this for months. Despite the very tired side of me which was pleading to just leave him there so we could both go back to sleep, I instead decided to get up and get the dog off the couch. Might as well start our morning and stop a bad behavior before it gets started.

Scrubs went potty and got something to eat while I went to use the restroom. I'm sure there is no need to tell you where I found the little stinker upon my return. You guessed it -- right in that same corner of the couch. He looked at me, very pitifully, and I am positive his eyes were actually saying to me, "I'll be good. Really. Just this one little corner. Let's compromise."

I stood firm. No go! This dog takes up enough of our house. Our new furniture is just not up from compromise. Off you go little doggie. He walked away with tail between his legs, hurt that his 60 seconds hadn't accomplished more. No one ever told me that a dog was just like a toddler! Give them one inch and watch them take a mile!

Anyways . . . JB is staying away from Pensacola until Tuesday! He left as soon as he got up with Isaac in tow to run some errands and allow me some time to clean the house. Speaking of that, better get off the computer and back to it! Have a great weekend everyone. Just having our Daddy/JB home means we definitely will!

We've voted!

Isaac, Scrubs, and myself all took a vote. We voted that we do not like the Pensacola rotation that JB is on right now!

Here's the facts. He doesn't get home until well after midnight. By the time he gets his eight hours of sleep and goes for a run with Scrubs, it is time for him to head into the hospital here on base to handle t-cons (telephone consultations with his patient panel here). From there, he's back into the car for the nearly 90 minute drive back to Pensacola.

It's a vicious cycle! And we've voted that we are not fans whatsoever. We want our JB/Daddy back. Pensacola has had him long enough.

Actually though, here's another fact. JB really does enjoy the rotation. It's a pediatric emergency room so he gets to see many things he never sees here on base. He comes home with some very interesting stories.

But that doesn't change the fact that we miss the big lug! We can't wait to have him all to ourselves this weekend. Come home soon!

Boy and Dog

Everyone told me that dogs just seem to "get it" when a new baby pack member comes into the house.

But I have to admit that I had my doubts. When Isaac was born in May, our Scrubby was just one year old. He was full of boundless energy and needed attention.

But everyone was absolutely right. While Scrubs can sometimes knock toddling children over with his exuberance, he is actually much better hanging out with kids then he is with grown-ups. When Isaac is on the floor, it's as if he knows that he has to approach with caution. He always lies down and just scoots over to where Isaac is. While I avoid leaving them alone together, I have gotten to the point that I trust Scrubs nearly 100% to not get too rough. If anything, Isaac will just get a little more licking than I would like.

Now the question: how will Scrubbers do with two little pack members dominating his once peaceful home.

Marley and Me

I cannot wait to see this movie: http://marleyandmemovie.com/! Whenever I get frustrated with Scrubs, I flashback to Marley and Me (one of my favorite books of all time.) It opens Christmas Day. I can't wait!