Showered with Love and Gifts

Whew! What a busy weekend. My mom and grandmother got here Thursday evening. On Friday we went shopping and just spent the day together. Saturday we got the house cleaned up, started cooking the food, and decorated for the baby shower that was on Sunday.
It was nice to have so many people attend the shower. We got so many amazing gifts which is wonderful considering my current job status. We got all the necessities and then some. We were able to get the rest of the "necessities" with the giftcards and money we had received. It was a great day! Little Joey is going to have so many wonderful things and that is a great feeling. It's very comforting to know that so many people have pitched in to make this a wonderful and memorable experience for Frankie and I.
I was sitting down after the shower trying to think if there was anything else we needed and there wasn't anything. We have enough diapers to last us a little while. The only thing I have to get is a pump and we will be done! Thanks to everyone who came!

The cake (not sure why it's sideways)

Walker, bassinet, and travel system

Big pile of clothes

Toys, mobile, rattles, etc

Diapers, wipes, bottles, safety/grooming kits, bath accessories

Diaper genies, baths, blankie made by Wendi

Clothes hamper, jumper, and amazing swing (goes from swing, to infant chair to toddler rocking chair)

Update and Some Touching Words

First off... my doctor appointments for the week are done =o) My sugars are under control but now I need to get more protein. That shouldn't be too hard to correct... I hope.
Also, we had our first Child Birth class last night. I learned a good bit. Learned the signs of going into labor and Frankie learned a technique to help relieve lower back pain if I have any. At our next class we will learn breathing and relaxation techniques. I'm glad we signed up. We met some new parents to be and had a pretty good time. There were 8 couples in there and only one of the couples was expecting a girl! There are going to be a lot of little boys coming in March apparently =o)

I've been meaning to share the following for quite sometime but kept forgetting. I came across it again while cleaning so I'm taking the time to share now. It is a poem that my grandfather wrote back in 1982. I wonder if he knew how deeply his words would effect people when he wrote it? My dad read this at the funeral and it was the first time I've seen him cry. It was one the hardest things for me to witness and I'm sure one of the hardest things he's had to do.

"Reflections"
If by chance along life's way
you pause awhile to rest
come visit me in Canaan Land
high on the mountain crest

I roam this land of sparkling skies
through spirit willed on high
where kindred thoughts and moments
shared really never die

No words need to be spoken
we sense and thus we share
our past times brief with life's span
but meaningful and rare.

Life's game played through- some won, some lost
the challenge leaped to meet
sweet victories brief, elusive taste
true learning in defeat.

I pray that all your thoughts of me
however brief they be
are ones of love, fair measure given,
truth, tranquillity

For man I was, a speck of dust
a sand grain by life's sea
no longer now as I once was
but just a memory

The mountain's thrust, streams greenish-blue
all nature wild and free
a "Mountain Man" and with God's grace-
through all eternity.

H. Douglas Preble 1982

Happy New Year!

Well it is 2010 and things are going well for the most part. Actually the only rough patch right now is Frankie's grandmother. She is back in the hospital but she is doing well. They discovered she had E. coli so hopefully they will clear that up and she'll be home soon.
New Years was pretty quiet for us this year... in fact Frankie was asleep by 10:30 lol. We didn't want to take the chance going out this year, especially with all the fog.
I had a check up appointment today. It's hard to believe I am 30 weeks pregnant. My countdown is ALMOST in the single digits [weeks that is =o)]. Baby JD is growing on target and his heartbeat was strong at 156. My blood sugars are being controlled with the new diet so it looks like I won't have to take insulin. Thank goodness! I have an appointment with the Diabetes Center tomorrow just to let them look over my sugar results for the past week. After that I should be able to just fax them my scores.
Tomorrow night we have our first baby class. I don't think Frankie is looking forward to it very much but he's a trooper for going. I would rather take the class and discover I didn't need it than wonder what I might have missed. The classes will be every Tuesday for the next 6 weeks for 2 hours every night. After that my week is free until my mom and grandmother get here on Friday for the baby shower. I'm super excited about that!

Christmas and Then Some

Wow! Time flies when you're busy. Let's do some catching up shall we?
First off... my sugar test. I failed it miserably. I needed to be below 135 and I was 217 so I got to skip the 3 hour sugar test and schedule an appointment with the Diabetes Center. That appointment was on Monday (the 28th). They put me on a meal plan and gave me a monitor to check my sugars. My only issue so far has been that I'm having to eat too much!! Go figure. I'll have to talk to her about that because I can't make myself eat like that but my sugars have been good. Hopefully the diet changes will work =o)
Next... Mom came into town last Tuesday and is leaving town tomorrow. We've been busy but we finally have everything ready to go for the shower that is in a little over a week. We went to our friends house on Christmas Eve so it was great getting to see them. Unfortunately there was a little boy there who was sick and throwing up. Well... the day after Christmas guess what? My mom and I were sick. I got so dehydrated that my pulse was 160. To make a long story short I was admitted to the hospital over night so that they could pump me full of fluids. At first my mom and I thought we just had food poisoning from some banana pudding. (I didn't talk to my friend until I was out of the hospital to discover that just about everyone that attended the Christmas Eve shin-dig got sick.)
Now onto Christmas. What a great day. Cameron was so excited! He couldn't wait to open each one of his presents and once he was done he was ready to play with each of them. It was nice. We all got great gifts but I think the best was being together =o) Wish my dad could have been here to spend it with us but we will all be together next year. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Frankie and I on Christmas Eve

Cam opening his spy remote control car... his favorite gift I think

Mom opening her favorite gift... We got her DeAngelo jersey signed

3 Months To Go

Today I am officially 28 weeks pregnant.





I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like we just found out! Yesterday Cam got to feel JD kick. He jumped a little because he thought it felt weird. I'm glad he was able to experience that because we found out he never got to feel Riley (his lil brother at his mom's) kick. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. I'm getting my sugar test done as well as my Rhogam shot. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I pass the test because I DO NOT want to come back and do the test again. Tomorrow I will have to sit for an hour, and if I don't pass I will have to come back and sit for 3 hours.
Tomorrow is also the day that my mom should be here. The Winter Storm of '09 prevented her from being able to travel today so we are shooting for tomorrow. Unfortunately my dad will be unable to join us this Christmas as he will be spending time with his mother. It's more important that he be with her so that she doesn't have to spend the holidays alone.
I'll be sure to post an update after my appointment. Everyone keep your fingers crossed =o)

Baby Kicks

Lately lil JD has been kicking up a storm. At times I can just sit there and watch my stomach moving along with him. The other night Frankie was listening to a voice mail and put his phone on speaker and then laid it on my stomach. JD kicked so hard the phone almost fell off. I decided to lay my cell phone on my belly in hopes of catching him in action. As usual, he got shy lol. I did manage to catch a few small kicks on video, but nothing like the other night. Hope you can see it too!






Look for the phone to lift around 6 seconds and then the baby kicks again around 15 seconds.







Look for a big kick around 7 seconds.

Ready to Ring in the New Year

All I can say is come on 2010. This year has been rough for us and I think we are both ready for the start of a new year. This year started out rough with my not being able to find a job. Then things turned for the better; we were both working and found out we were pregnant. The same week we found out we were pregnant, I got laid off.
Being laid off was a plus in that I was able to rest my fist trimester but we really could have used the extra income. While laid off, we dealt with the deaths of two family members... both in the same night.
Now I'm back to work and things were starting to look up again. Unfortunately my boss keeps hinting to the fact that she is going to run out of money again and that I may be getting temporarily laid off again (probably in the Spring if not sooner). Of course she would start mentioning the threat of job loss just as we purchased new living room furniture and our full insurance coverage ran out (Don't worry... its just that now we have to pay 20% of the medical bills until our new PPO coverage takes affect in February).
What else could go wrong? Well we have 3 cars that we drive. Frankie alternates between his truck and his mustang. Well the transmission started messing up in the mustang (4th gear apparently) and it seems like the rear end or a bearing is going out in the truck. Perfect timing for the vehicles to start falling apart when we've been Christmas shopping and what not. Luckily Frankie's uncle sold him a transmission for about $200.
Surely that's all that could go wrong right? Nope. We were watching TV the other night and the convergence in it messed up. We have only had this TV for 3.5 years so its ridiculous that it is already messing up and the warranty was only for 2 years. A television definitely is not a necessity but it would be nice to have to watch movies on and what not while my mom is in for the holidays... especially since its the TV in our living room which is also the "guest" room. But once again we were fortunate to find someone to come out and fix it this morning for about $200. This is so much less than it would have cost to get a new TV.
And last but not least Frankie's grandmother was admitted to the hospital last night. She is being treated for congestive heart failure. We are praying that she is able to recover but Frankie's parents don't think the chances are good. So please keep her and Frankie's family in your prayers.
All I can say is I'm glad there aren't many days left in 2009. At least we know 2010 will start out better because our bundle of joy is due in March =o)