Sprouting

Matthew has been asking for about a month or so when I was going to "start sprouting?" I kept telling him that I am. These stretch marks arent for fun, you know. But last night we were in the kitchen, and he goes "You are getting big." See, I told you! I am not just making this up!!! LOL. I am going to go to Wal-Mart today and look at baby stuff to put on layaway. I cant help it. I need to. I am so tired of waiting... I want to put together my nursery. I am just so tired of waiting for something to happen. I have to start getting stuff. I am not having a shower so I wont be getting a ton of presents, so I have to pace out the buying of stuff, so I dont have to do it all at once. I suppose I could wait till after the 14th, when I maybe know what we are having, but that is what layaway is for, so I can take off anything inappropriate, and add on new stuff. Anyhoo, I need to go get something to eat. Got those crazy hiccups again.

You know out of everything that is going to happen to my body and emotions in the next few months, there is only one thing that scares me. That I actually worry about. And its not the labor, its not the pushing or the birth... Its not the pain. Its the thought that after a human rips its way out of my body, there are still other things that have to also come out in the following days. And its the thought of going to the bathroom AFTER makes me want to cry with anxiety. Why is it that the thought of having a baby does not worry me, but the thought of going #2 scares me, well, shitless. I am ok, with everything else, cuz I know that I can do it, and I have no ill concieved notions of being Super Woman, trying to do this au naturel. So I am ok with that...but...Anyway, that is what is new in the area of baby-ing.

Decorating for Christmas

Its Grizzly's turn to wear the santa outfit.

Matthew is putting up the tree.

Jackie's rug is back out. I wonder if she misses it during the rest of the year?

The kitties helping us decorate.

Jackie's new sleeping spoyt. She is so worn out from helping, she just drops.Oh Christmas Tree...Oh, Christmas Tree...

Gobble, Gobble

Matthew: preparing the turkey (read: removing the guts)
Our turkey: BEFORE

Or Turkey: AFTER you know you want some... so yummy, so moist...

Meat just falling off the bone, crispy skin...

Kitties lookinbg for their feast...

A few more while the pie bakes...

My one picture os Steven Tyler. You can tell its him, but it was the best I could do without going down into the craziness.

I took this picture for Lew. This is Kimbi Daniels, he always wears this visor on his helpmet but this blue one is new. I think it makes him look like those Lego Man Cops that would come with the Lego set. I thought he could appreciate it.
I silently laugh, cuz he looks so much like a Lego man...

Just some pictures for you

This is Matthew actually dusting. We moved the bookcase upstairs and the desktop compter downstairs, to make more room in the nursery.

This is what we found when we moved it. Think it may have ben a kitty hiding place? We did.

Matthew's stripes waiting for Decedmber 1st to be sewn on... The day he leaves behind SrA Rose and becomes SSgt Rose.

This is the box of food we got for Thanksgiving. As you can see there is A LOT of food here.

And it turned out GREAT!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving.

I thought I would remind you of what our weather was like this time last year.

And this would be what our weather is like today. Yes, that is GREEN grass, visible on THANKSGIVING!!!!!

I can add to my work frustrations, yesterday, Connie and I were the only people (out of five scheduled) to show up for work yesterday. I was so pissed. You dont not go to work on a Saturday!!!! So as a result I have to work today, my day off, my only day I get to spend all day with Matthew. My feet hurt so bad from being on them for 8 straight hours yesterday, cuz we were SOOOO busy. And no one else was willingly to come in to work, so my conscience wouldnt let me say no to Marie, even though they dicked me over on the game night thing. Why should I bend over backwards for you, if you are not willing to give me anything in return? And why couldnt Connie do it? Because she is starting her 9 days ff? She JUST had a four day weekend LAST weekend end so that means I have to work 6 days a week!?!? I can tell you right now I am going to be sitting most of today. I am tired and my feet hurt. And I am doing you a favor. Cant wait to hear what they say about Tuesday's Dr's appnt. Especially with Connie off. But I was just doing guest services anyway, and I am still going in, just leaving for a few hours in the middle. I will walk right out if they say anything to me. If I miss this appointment, I dont get another one until January!!! This is my baby!!! Anyway, to add to it yesterday, Saturdays are my days when I get to leave early and dont have to close. But since there were only two of us, I did have to close. And these stupid ladies from Oklahoma (dont sing they dont deserve it!!!!) came in at 5 till six (closing time) and browsed. For nothing in particular. And Connie did nothing to urge them along and she is SO slow. By the time they got to check out its like 15 after, but Connie is old and slow and we didnt start counting down the registers until 6:45. Game starts at 7:15. And then my drawer wouldnt balance so I had to fix that. OH, and this lady totally yelled at me, like flat out yelled at me and hormones and all made me cry. And then I get to the game that has already started and there are NO parking spots left. And I had to park like a mile away on the other side of the baseball field and walk through the ice and the snow... I was crying again, I almost turned around and went home. But I didn't. I stayed and had fun, saw Steven Tyler, we won in overtime. But it didnt make up for the crappy day. Jen is surprised how disillusioned I am already. Usually new employees are still fawning over working there. But I had to remind her that I have a higher expectation then most people. I worked in a shitty environment for two years, I can recognize the signs. And I will not let this become that. I dont think it will, I can just see things that I know shouldnt be happening, and I want them fixed. If you cant show up for work without so much as a call, you shouldnt be working. If you call in at least twice a week, we need to find someone to replace you, who will come in to work. and number one DONT SCREW OVER THE ONE GOOD EMPLOYEE YOU HAVE!!!!! Give them what they want and they will continue to be your bet employee. Screw them over and you can start coming in to work when none of your employee show up and no one is willing to go above and beyond. And you stand there scratching your head wondering what happened. Its not that I'm disillusioned, its that I am practical, informed and fair and I expect the people I work with to be the same. Maybe that is too much to expect, but I think it is a sad state of affairs when I have to stop expecting people to be fair. And the thing that irks me most is that I am supposed to still be in bed with my husband. this is the one day we can jut be together. I would be home from church, changed and back into bed without him even waking up. And then we would let the kitties in to cuddle and watch some Friends and then we were going to go out for breakfast. Now I lost that day. And those days are so limited now. Once the baby comes, I doubt we will have leisurely mornings to lay in bed and watch TV... This just sucks. The only thing that makes this tolerable is that Marie's actually pays overtime, time and a half and when this pay period is all said and done I will have a pretty penny in overtime pay, thanks to last nights suckiness, today' suckiness and the Day after Thanksgiving!!!

Steven Tyler, yes the Aerosmith Steven Tyler, was at the Aces game tonight. Apparently his girlfriend is from here. I have a picture I will post leter. Its not very good, but they wouldnt let anyone get anywhere near him. But he was sitting in the VIP box right below our seats. He's a VERY small man. A good gust of wind and he would be gone!!! But I was pretty star struck. Not like mom with Chris Isaac, but still Steven Tyler. Kinda cool huh?

I'm behind

I am falloing behind... I CANNOT believe it is the middle of November already!!!! I forgot how fast time went wehn you spend it looking forward to your next day off. I'm pretty pissed at work right now cuz when i had my interview I made it clear that we had tickets to the Aces, and game days I would need to be off by 6, t least, so I could go get Matthew and so on. Mary told me that was something we could work around...blah, blah, blah. So The new schedule came out AFTER I sent her an email reminding her of the fact, and I am told that they cant "schedule around games" so I am closing Wed, Thurs, and Fridays. I am so mad. Dont lie to me. If you couldnt do it, fine, I understand that, but dont lie to me and tell me that you can only to tell me the day before the game that you cant. Jen says they will try to pull stuff like that. you just cant let them. Well, I understand that I am new, and I have to pay my dues before I get good hours, but DONT LIE TO ME, I got enough of that from HER.

I dont think I am getting enough to eat. I need to start brining lotsd of food to work, cuz I am just not getting enough food. But we need to go grocery shopping, and I DO NOT want to go to the commissary the weekend before Thanksgiving, but I think we may have to. I am going to have to bring some fruits and vegetables and things to eat throughout the day. I work from 10am to 7 pm. thats alot of nutrients I am not getting and it is starting to concern me.

16 weeks

Your pregnancy: 16 weeks

How your baby's growing:At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

Fox

So if SHE-Devil didn't know I was working at Marie's, she knows now... I saw Debra Welch in our store the other day. She is the Cosmoproff rep from Seattle. The one we always hung out with and she got us in all of those cool things like the Graham Webb party, the one who is like BFF with Lori. So I am sure she went running out to tell her... oh well. Cant do anything about it I guess.

The funny thing is there are 10 girls who work there, including me and 5 of us worked for LA at one time or another. Jen and Car were there with me, but I don't know the other ones. So on slow days we sit around and tell horror stories, mine are by far the worst.

But I love working there. I get pretty tired, but I enjoy being there. I didn't realize how much I missed Jen.

It snowed yesterday. Finally. Record fall for the date... since 1944 or something... Thought I would mention it.

I am beyond miserable right now. my head is SO stuffed up. I wish I knew whether this was a cold that I could get rid of or this increased mucus production I keep reading about. If that is the case, then it could last for the next five months. But I am having so much trouble sleeping. I took a Sudafed so I wasn't AS stuffed up, but my throat was SOOO dry that my tongue would get stuck to my mouth and I would wake up. so tonight I will know to take the Sudafed AND set up the humidifier. And I am having a hard time eating. I don't want to eat anything. Which I know wont hurt Cricket cuz I have lots of reserves, but it makes Matthew worry. He made me eat a ham and cheese sandwich last night, which was really sweet, but I had to choke the thing down cuz I did NOT want it. Anyway, I am already completely sick of blowing my nose. I just have to live through this for 10 more days. Then I can talk to Dr. Ostrand about something, anything I could do about this "increased mucus".

I get my first paycheck today... I have to choke down some breakfast first.

15 weeks

Your pregnancy: 15 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

I have two new (read pregnancy related) stretch marks on my tummy, above my belly button. I am getting bigger, I know. But I wasnt ready for stretch marks yet. Not yet. Four months is too soon to be getting them. At least that is what I think. lol.

Work is going good. I had to close my drawer all by myself tonight... I did ok. I was pretty nervous, and felt kind of pressured to finish fast cuz everyone was waiting for me to finish. You cant leave till everyone is done, and I was, of course, the last one. And I felt like I was holding everyone up from going home. But I dont think I screwed up too much.

I had my first lost baby dream. I dreamt that I had the baby and I put it somewhere and I couldn't find it again. So I spent the rest of the dream trying to find where I put the baby. Never did find it again. And then I dreamt that I went into labor and instead of going to the hospital I was at mom and dad's and decided to lay on the sidewalk by the shed and have my baby there. Something about if cats could do it... Interesting thing is these dreams are less vivid then in the first trimester but they are more baby themed. (obviously)

14 Weeks

Your pregnancy: 14 weeks

How your baby's growing:This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.