I'm going to attempt weekly updates. Mostly because I love how well documented my first pregnancy was and I don't want Baby #2 to feel jipped that he/she didn't get enough press. However, you know how sporadic my posting has been since I started school, so don't expect too much.
Also, last time I gave all kinds of information from the internet and other sources about where we were in development. If that's what you want, you can look at other informational sites. This time, I'm going to tell you how I feel each week and then compare what I feel this time to how I felt last time.
First story. On Wednesday evening I started noticing random pains on my left side (near where I would expect my ovary to be). I wouldn't describe it as cramping, it was sharper. It wasn't take your breath away pain, but I noticed it, so I told Eric if it continued I would call the doctor in the morning. I was slightly concerned about the possibility of an eptopic pregnancy and since I'm already down an ovary, I didn't want to take the chance of losing a tube too. Next morning pains were continuing, so I called. After speaking with the nurse who relayed my concerns to my doctor, they called me back. Dr. B was not very concerned, especially because I have had no bleeding or spotting, but they did have an 11:15 a.m. cancellation, so they could fit me in for a scan if I wanted to. I did. So Eric and I trekked to the doctor. I joked that they were going to think of me as "that patient" you know the one who imagines up a new ailment every week. I'm just a lot more cautious than I used to be. So, Dr. B came in and was extremely nice and not at all judgemental about my call. She told us that all we were looking for in the ultrasound was a gestational sac, maybe a yolk sac, and that it was in the uterus. I had already warned Eric that 6 weeks is borderline about being able to see a heartbeat on ultrasound. She started the scan and immediately located my sac safe in the uterus. Then she scanned over to my ovary and I have a 2 cm corpus luteum cyst. She didn't seem concerned and after further research I have found that these can range from less than 2 cm to 6 cm and aren't technically classified as an ovarian cyst unless they are over 3 cm. She said it was probably making my ovary heavy and as things push on it or it twists, I feel the pain. I'm just supposed to limit my "bouncy" exercise or contact sports. Then we scanned back over to the sac. It measured about right for my estimated gestation, but she said things are too small to get a very accurate dating measurement (we'll do that at my normal first appointment), then as we looked closer we saw the flicker of a tiny heartbeat. It was cool to see we've reached that milestone. Dr. B then went on to say seeing the heartbeat this early is great news and that it further lowers our risk of first trimester miscarriage to about 5% (versus 25%). Yay! So, not planned, but a good appointment.
I've started a flicker set (album) for this pregnancy. All that's in there so far is a picture of the pregnancy test and my 5 week belly picture. Click here. I'll work on setting something up in the sidebar.
Ok, so how I'm feeling. It's crazy, but I swear my pants are already getting tighter. I've only gained 1 pound though, so it can't be overeating. Maybe things really do happen faster the second time? The tiredness is just starting to set in. It actually is worse in the morning, it takes me an hour or two to start feeling normal. I'm also really tired after eating. I can't say if I'm nauseous yet. It's weird, I don't feel good, but not like I want to puke either. Just very "blah". At least I'm not puking yet. Hopefully not at all. Also, my breasts are extremely tender, although I don't feel like they have grown much.
Compared to Grace's pregnacy at 6 weeks?
- I mentioned losing my appetite and turning down ice cream. I have been eating, but sometimes nothing sounds good (even if I'm hungry), so I don't eat. I did turn down fudge today, sweets just didn't sound appealing.
- I mention a strong sense of smell. This is definately true too. I had to make Eric move to the other end of the couch earlier this week when he was eating a brat that was just too stinky.
- I talk about total exhaustion. I didn't think this was as bad this time, but today especially is bad. I went to be before 11 last night and still couldn't drag myself out until 7. I was dying for a nap after lunch and tonight I did doze during an episode of Dora the Explorer (Grace was laying with me on the couch).
- I mentioned being cranky. I haven't really noticed this one yet. Except that I have been a bit more short-tempered with Grace in the evenings when she starts getting whiny because she's tired.
- I had my first wave of nausea send me to the bathroom, just in case, at 5w4days. Not yet.
That's all for now!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Hawaii Trip - September 7 through 15th
Ok, so it's been a week, but at least with this recap also comes 149 photos. Check it out in the Hawaii Vacation set in Flickr (click on photo)
Thursday is really when everything got started, because Wednesday was my last day in the office. I took Grace to her Speech Therapy appointment at 7:30 a.m. and then dropped her off at the daycare. That gave me about an hour until my 9:30 a.m. MRI. I grabbed a breakfast sandwhich and headed to the hospital. I was there by 9 a.m., so I headed up to the lab to get my bloodwork done. That went quickly and I was in the Radiology department by 9:15 a.m. We did all the paperwork, changed clothes and they told me the MRI would last 30-45 minutes. Sure enough, I finished up there at about 10:45 a.m. Then I had to drive to another building on the hospital campus for my mammogram scheduled at 11:00 a.m. I got there in time, but realized I left my previous films in the car, so had to go back to the garage, so I was running a little late from that appointment. Got through that one, dressed again and had to go downstairs to register for my Chest X-Ray (11:30). Didn't get done with that one until about 12:15 p.m. Next I had to go to the airport to pick up my Mom. Her plane landed while I was waiting to get my x-ray. I got her, we grabbed lunch on the go, and then swung by the daycare to get Grace. I dropped them off at home and then had to drive 45 minutes to a client appointment at 2:30 p.m. It finished at a reasonable time and I was home by 5:30 p.m. The evening was spent getting ready to go. I didn't get to the suitcases until 10:00 p.m. I had to give my Mom all the instructions about Grace's schedule and important info. I had 5 e-bay auctions end that I had to figure out how to get there stuff shipped (thank's Mom), and I had to pay the bills that would be due while we were gone. Whew!
After my hectic day on Thursday, I was glad for vacation to officially start on Friday. Our plane left at 9 a.m. Eastern time. We had about 90 minutes layover in Minneapolis and had a nice lunch with my coworker and her husband (also on the trip). Then we had an 8 hour flight to Honolulu. I didn't sleep much on the plane, but it was nice. We brought headphones and the seats all had there own TV's and a good selection of movies. I read a book, watched Pirates of the Carribean 3 and In Her Shoes. Our flight landed about 3 p.m. Hawaii time (6 hours behind us). It took a while to get off the plane (we had some hydrolic issues in flight and had to be towed to the gate after landing). Then getting our bags took forever (huge plane!) and we rented a car (Mustang hardtop), so the car rental place takes a while too. By the time we got to the hotel and checked in it was 6:45 p.m. We asked about food and the front desk clerk made us a 7:00 reservation. Just enough time to drop our bags and head down. Charity and Jeff joined us and we ate at The Golden Dragon (chinese). The food was so expensive! It was just normal Chinese food, but it cost about $80 for Eric and I and we weren't even drinking alcohol. Good thing work was paying! After a relaxed dinner, we went back upstairs and unpacked, got settled. Didn't go to bed until 9:45 p.m (3:45 a.m. our time!).
Turns out staying up late the first night is the best thing you can do. Saturday we managed to sleep until 5:30 a.m.! We got dressed and went down for the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant ($52!). Then we headed to the Convention Center to register for the conference. We must have arrived around 7:30 a.m., but it still took us about an hour and a half to stand in line and get registered. Eric wasn't feeling well, he thought he might be getting another kidney stone, so after registration we went back to the hotel. Our original plan was to go to Pearl Harbor, but we didn't think it was wise to stray far from the hotel. He toughed it out for a few hours and then started feeling better. We just hung out on Waikiki Beach at the hotel and relaxed for the day. The CPCU Conferment Ceremony was at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, so we got dressed up and went back to the convention center. It was a nice ceremony. There was good entertainment (little girls hula dancing, a Hawaiian female vocalist group, the King's Guard rifle troup). Then the keynote speaker was Erik Weihenmayer who was the blind man that climbed Mount Everest. Really good speaker and very funny. After the ceremony, Charity and Jeff had dinner with one of her clients that was there. Eric and I went to the Congratulatory reception for a little while, but with 3,900 new designees, there were too many people for me, so we left shortly after and went to dinner at the Kobe Japanese steakhouse across from the hotel.
Sunday we just grabbed some muffins and drinks from the convenience store for breakfast, then headed back to the convention center for the Keynote speaker and Opening session. It wasn't quite as exciting as the conferment ceremony, but the keynote speaker was James Bradley (author of Flags of Our Fathers). I'm not overly intersted in history, so I probably didn't get as much out of it as the history buffs would have. After the opening we headed back and got into our beach wear. Then we drove to Hanuama Bay. It's this really beautiful nature preserve with an amazing reef and snorkeling. We rented snorkeling gear and spent a couple hours floating around the reef and looking at the fish. There were so many and such gorgeous colors all very close to shore and in very shallow water. It was the best snorkeling I'd ever done! There wasn't food on the beach though, so around 1:30, I was starving and ready to leave and get some food. We did and just went back to the hotel to hang out until our evening event. There was a reception for my company in one of the suites in our building. We had 29 designees from all over the company, so they had snacks and drinks for us all. We also received a signed book from the new CPCU president who happens to work at my company. After the reception we went down for dinner with Jeff and Charity. We went to the Villiage Steak and Seafood restaurant. I had a nice steak and Eric had lobster. Yum! Then we met up with one of Charity's other friends at an outdoor bar for some more conversation and drinks (funny after my glass of wine, I didn't feel right, so I just drank water, maybe I knew I was pregnant?). I was so tired by the time they closed at 11 p.m., so we headed to bed.
Monday, we did breakfast at the buffett again, and then spent the morning wondering around all the hotel shops looking at some souveniers. We found a couple of good things. Then we went back to the convention center for the seminar, "Aligning your Passions with Your Career." There were some interesting tips and a workbook, so maybe Eric will do it soon. I feel like I'm already working towards my ideal career. That seminar was over at noon, so we went back, changed and then left for the North Shore. We stopped at several beaches. The first one was my favorite. The water was warm and gentle. You could just bob in place for hours, but it was the first one, so we moved on. We got in the water at Bonzai and were quickly knocked down and realized we aren't cut out to be body surfers. We went up and spent a little time at sunset beach, but decided we didn't want to wait around until sunset, so we started heading back to towards the town of Haleiwa to look for a beach with a shower to change for dinner. We ended up finding one and after we cleaned up as best we could and put on real clothes, we watched a beautiful sunset (pictures included). Then we went into town and ate at a local place, Pizza Bob's although we both got burgers. Then we headed home.
Tuesday was the last day of the conference, but we didn't have anything until the evening. We walked to a local McDonald's for breakfast (I started feeling guilty about the $52 buffet). Then we drove to Diamond Head and hiked to the top for a spectacular view. Then we drove over to the East side of the island which is more rainforest like. We went to Pali Lookout which had some gorgeous views and then to Kailua Beach which was another fun one to hang out in. That evening, we had the "Final Night Celebration." Again, there were 7,000 people at this conference, so once we got there there were lines everywhere and it was just so crowded. The food was set up in stations with a different food (small serving) at each station. We went through one food line and walked around a bit before deciding to leave. Then for our last night in Honolulu we went back to the Kobe Steakhouse (I love Hibatchi).
Wednesday we were up bright and early to check out, return the rental car and head to the airport. Our flight to Maui left at 9:35 a.m. Once we got there and picked up our new rental car (this time a Sebring convertible) and got to the hotel, it was close to noon, but they had our room ready and let us check in early. This hotel, was not nearly as nice as the Hilton, but it was a place to leave our stuff and sleep (although we did sleep in separate beds since the room was equiped with 2 full size beds). After checking in we drove down the south shore line and checked out several beaches. They were nice, but for some reason, I like the Oahu beaches better. We came back to the hotel, showered, and then drove 30 minutes to the town of Lahaina which was a very cute historic town. They had lots of shops and restaurants. We ate at Moose McGuillicuddy's which was a funky place that again had great burgers.
Thursday we did the drive to Hana. We started around 9 a.m. and hit the town of hana around 1 p.m. The drive is only 45 miles, but with all the twists and turns, one-lane bridges, and waterfalls and scenic lookouts to stop out, it takes 3 to 4 hours. It was so fun. That part of the island is like a rainforest. In fact in rained 4 times on the way down. Once we got to Hana we found a sandwich place for lunch, checked out Hamoa Beach and then continued the drive to see the best waterfalls of all. I drove back and it didn't take nearly as long because we didn't stop on the way back, but boy are those curves scary! On the way back we saw another cool beach with tons of surfers. We got some pictures of them. Wow, they must be brave. Once we got back and showered, we set out in search of a Mexican restaurant (I think I was in Chipotle withdrawl). We found a decent place that was a mix between fast food and set down. You ordered at the counter, but they had a full menu. I wasn't feeling too great, so afterwards we just went back to sleep.
Friday morning we got up at 2:00 a.m. and checked out of the hotel. We drove to Haleakala Crater to watch the sunrise. We were the second car in the parking lot at 3:30 a.m. It was so cold up there (30 degrees), so we stayed in the car until about 4:15 a.m. when lots of others started showing up, so we thought we should go get a good spot. Luckily we packed for the cold. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, and stocking hat, plus I brought a small blanket. It was still cold. It started getting light around 5 a.m., but sunrise officially was around 6:10 a.m. The pictures are gorgeous, however, at the time, I was just cold and tired, so don't think I enjoyed it as much as I should have. After sunrise, we walked around a bit and stopped a few scenic spots on the way down the mountain. We got back to town around 8 a.m. so went to Denny's for breakfast. After breakfast we didn't know what to do, so we decided to turn in the car and see if we couldn't get an earlier flight back to Honolulu (we were scheduled for 2:45 p.m.). We got to the airport at around 10:00 and were able to get on a 10:30 a.m. flight. We thought we were running late (got our boarding passes at 10:15), so we ran like idiots and ended up embarrassing ourselves by running down the jetbridge to try to catch the plane (no one was at the gate), only to find out the plane at the end had just landed and was ready to deplane, ours hadn't started boarding yet. Once we got to Honolulu we had another problem in that one of our bags didn't make the flight. That was resolved however, when it arrived on the 12:30 p.m. flight. Whew. We got dinner at the airport, read some books, sat around, and finally left at 5:20 p.m. We attempted sleep on the plane.
Saturday morning we arrived in Minneapolis at 5:46 a.m. Central time. We got breakfast and settled in at the next gate to wait on our flight. Flight left at 9:01 a.m. and we finally landed at home around noon.
So that's the end. Lot's of good food, I read 5 books! and we visited lots of beaches. Just what a Hawaiian vacation should be.
Thursday is really when everything got started, because Wednesday was my last day in the office. I took Grace to her Speech Therapy appointment at 7:30 a.m. and then dropped her off at the daycare. That gave me about an hour until my 9:30 a.m. MRI. I grabbed a breakfast sandwhich and headed to the hospital. I was there by 9 a.m., so I headed up to the lab to get my bloodwork done. That went quickly and I was in the Radiology department by 9:15 a.m. We did all the paperwork, changed clothes and they told me the MRI would last 30-45 minutes. Sure enough, I finished up there at about 10:45 a.m. Then I had to drive to another building on the hospital campus for my mammogram scheduled at 11:00 a.m. I got there in time, but realized I left my previous films in the car, so had to go back to the garage, so I was running a little late from that appointment. Got through that one, dressed again and had to go downstairs to register for my Chest X-Ray (11:30). Didn't get done with that one until about 12:15 p.m. Next I had to go to the airport to pick up my Mom. Her plane landed while I was waiting to get my x-ray. I got her, we grabbed lunch on the go, and then swung by the daycare to get Grace. I dropped them off at home and then had to drive 45 minutes to a client appointment at 2:30 p.m. It finished at a reasonable time and I was home by 5:30 p.m. The evening was spent getting ready to go. I didn't get to the suitcases until 10:00 p.m. I had to give my Mom all the instructions about Grace's schedule and important info. I had 5 e-bay auctions end that I had to figure out how to get there stuff shipped (thank's Mom), and I had to pay the bills that would be due while we were gone. Whew!
After my hectic day on Thursday, I was glad for vacation to officially start on Friday. Our plane left at 9 a.m. Eastern time. We had about 90 minutes layover in Minneapolis and had a nice lunch with my coworker and her husband (also on the trip). Then we had an 8 hour flight to Honolulu. I didn't sleep much on the plane, but it was nice. We brought headphones and the seats all had there own TV's and a good selection of movies. I read a book, watched Pirates of the Carribean 3 and In Her Shoes. Our flight landed about 3 p.m. Hawaii time (6 hours behind us). It took a while to get off the plane (we had some hydrolic issues in flight and had to be towed to the gate after landing). Then getting our bags took forever (huge plane!) and we rented a car (Mustang hardtop), so the car rental place takes a while too. By the time we got to the hotel and checked in it was 6:45 p.m. We asked about food and the front desk clerk made us a 7:00 reservation. Just enough time to drop our bags and head down. Charity and Jeff joined us and we ate at The Golden Dragon (chinese). The food was so expensive! It was just normal Chinese food, but it cost about $80 for Eric and I and we weren't even drinking alcohol. Good thing work was paying! After a relaxed dinner, we went back upstairs and unpacked, got settled. Didn't go to bed until 9:45 p.m (3:45 a.m. our time!).
Turns out staying up late the first night is the best thing you can do. Saturday we managed to sleep until 5:30 a.m.! We got dressed and went down for the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant ($52!). Then we headed to the Convention Center to register for the conference. We must have arrived around 7:30 a.m., but it still took us about an hour and a half to stand in line and get registered. Eric wasn't feeling well, he thought he might be getting another kidney stone, so after registration we went back to the hotel. Our original plan was to go to Pearl Harbor, but we didn't think it was wise to stray far from the hotel. He toughed it out for a few hours and then started feeling better. We just hung out on Waikiki Beach at the hotel and relaxed for the day. The CPCU Conferment Ceremony was at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, so we got dressed up and went back to the convention center. It was a nice ceremony. There was good entertainment (little girls hula dancing, a Hawaiian female vocalist group, the King's Guard rifle troup). Then the keynote speaker was Erik Weihenmayer who was the blind man that climbed Mount Everest. Really good speaker and very funny. After the ceremony, Charity and Jeff had dinner with one of her clients that was there. Eric and I went to the Congratulatory reception for a little while, but with 3,900 new designees, there were too many people for me, so we left shortly after and went to dinner at the Kobe Japanese steakhouse across from the hotel.
Sunday we just grabbed some muffins and drinks from the convenience store for breakfast, then headed back to the convention center for the Keynote speaker and Opening session. It wasn't quite as exciting as the conferment ceremony, but the keynote speaker was James Bradley (author of Flags of Our Fathers). I'm not overly intersted in history, so I probably didn't get as much out of it as the history buffs would have. After the opening we headed back and got into our beach wear. Then we drove to Hanuama Bay. It's this really beautiful nature preserve with an amazing reef and snorkeling. We rented snorkeling gear and spent a couple hours floating around the reef and looking at the fish. There were so many and such gorgeous colors all very close to shore and in very shallow water. It was the best snorkeling I'd ever done! There wasn't food on the beach though, so around 1:30, I was starving and ready to leave and get some food. We did and just went back to the hotel to hang out until our evening event. There was a reception for my company in one of the suites in our building. We had 29 designees from all over the company, so they had snacks and drinks for us all. We also received a signed book from the new CPCU president who happens to work at my company. After the reception we went down for dinner with Jeff and Charity. We went to the Villiage Steak and Seafood restaurant. I had a nice steak and Eric had lobster. Yum! Then we met up with one of Charity's other friends at an outdoor bar for some more conversation and drinks (funny after my glass of wine, I didn't feel right, so I just drank water, maybe I knew I was pregnant?). I was so tired by the time they closed at 11 p.m., so we headed to bed.
Monday, we did breakfast at the buffett again, and then spent the morning wondering around all the hotel shops looking at some souveniers. We found a couple of good things. Then we went back to the convention center for the seminar, "Aligning your Passions with Your Career." There were some interesting tips and a workbook, so maybe Eric will do it soon. I feel like I'm already working towards my ideal career. That seminar was over at noon, so we went back, changed and then left for the North Shore. We stopped at several beaches. The first one was my favorite. The water was warm and gentle. You could just bob in place for hours, but it was the first one, so we moved on. We got in the water at Bonzai and were quickly knocked down and realized we aren't cut out to be body surfers. We went up and spent a little time at sunset beach, but decided we didn't want to wait around until sunset, so we started heading back to towards the town of Haleiwa to look for a beach with a shower to change for dinner. We ended up finding one and after we cleaned up as best we could and put on real clothes, we watched a beautiful sunset (pictures included). Then we went into town and ate at a local place, Pizza Bob's although we both got burgers. Then we headed home.
Tuesday was the last day of the conference, but we didn't have anything until the evening. We walked to a local McDonald's for breakfast (I started feeling guilty about the $52 buffet). Then we drove to Diamond Head and hiked to the top for a spectacular view. Then we drove over to the East side of the island which is more rainforest like. We went to Pali Lookout which had some gorgeous views and then to Kailua Beach which was another fun one to hang out in. That evening, we had the "Final Night Celebration." Again, there were 7,000 people at this conference, so once we got there there were lines everywhere and it was just so crowded. The food was set up in stations with a different food (small serving) at each station. We went through one food line and walked around a bit before deciding to leave. Then for our last night in Honolulu we went back to the Kobe Steakhouse (I love Hibatchi).
Wednesday we were up bright and early to check out, return the rental car and head to the airport. Our flight to Maui left at 9:35 a.m. Once we got there and picked up our new rental car (this time a Sebring convertible) and got to the hotel, it was close to noon, but they had our room ready and let us check in early. This hotel, was not nearly as nice as the Hilton, but it was a place to leave our stuff and sleep (although we did sleep in separate beds since the room was equiped with 2 full size beds). After checking in we drove down the south shore line and checked out several beaches. They were nice, but for some reason, I like the Oahu beaches better. We came back to the hotel, showered, and then drove 30 minutes to the town of Lahaina which was a very cute historic town. They had lots of shops and restaurants. We ate at Moose McGuillicuddy's which was a funky place that again had great burgers.
Thursday we did the drive to Hana. We started around 9 a.m. and hit the town of hana around 1 p.m. The drive is only 45 miles, but with all the twists and turns, one-lane bridges, and waterfalls and scenic lookouts to stop out, it takes 3 to 4 hours. It was so fun. That part of the island is like a rainforest. In fact in rained 4 times on the way down. Once we got to Hana we found a sandwich place for lunch, checked out Hamoa Beach and then continued the drive to see the best waterfalls of all. I drove back and it didn't take nearly as long because we didn't stop on the way back, but boy are those curves scary! On the way back we saw another cool beach with tons of surfers. We got some pictures of them. Wow, they must be brave. Once we got back and showered, we set out in search of a Mexican restaurant (I think I was in Chipotle withdrawl). We found a decent place that was a mix between fast food and set down. You ordered at the counter, but they had a full menu. I wasn't feeling too great, so afterwards we just went back to sleep.
Friday morning we got up at 2:00 a.m. and checked out of the hotel. We drove to Haleakala Crater to watch the sunrise. We were the second car in the parking lot at 3:30 a.m. It was so cold up there (30 degrees), so we stayed in the car until about 4:15 a.m. when lots of others started showing up, so we thought we should go get a good spot. Luckily we packed for the cold. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, long-sleeve t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, and stocking hat, plus I brought a small blanket. It was still cold. It started getting light around 5 a.m., but sunrise officially was around 6:10 a.m. The pictures are gorgeous, however, at the time, I was just cold and tired, so don't think I enjoyed it as much as I should have. After sunrise, we walked around a bit and stopped a few scenic spots on the way down the mountain. We got back to town around 8 a.m. so went to Denny's for breakfast. After breakfast we didn't know what to do, so we decided to turn in the car and see if we couldn't get an earlier flight back to Honolulu (we were scheduled for 2:45 p.m.). We got to the airport at around 10:00 and were able to get on a 10:30 a.m. flight. We thought we were running late (got our boarding passes at 10:15), so we ran like idiots and ended up embarrassing ourselves by running down the jetbridge to try to catch the plane (no one was at the gate), only to find out the plane at the end had just landed and was ready to deplane, ours hadn't started boarding yet. Once we got to Honolulu we had another problem in that one of our bags didn't make the flight. That was resolved however, when it arrived on the 12:30 p.m. flight. Whew. We got dinner at the airport, read some books, sat around, and finally left at 5:20 p.m. We attempted sleep on the plane.
Saturday morning we arrived in Minneapolis at 5:46 a.m. Central time. We got breakfast and settled in at the next gate to wait on our flight. Flight left at 9:01 a.m. and we finally landed at home around noon.
So that's the end. Lot's of good food, I read 5 books! and we visited lots of beaches. Just what a Hawaiian vacation should be.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Three Happy Results
I promise to update on vacation to Hawaii as soon as I get pictures downloaded, in the mean time...
1. When I got home, I checked my grade in Organic Chemistry 2 and manged to get an "A". Yay!
2. I checked the mail when I got home and had my mammogram results. "Normal." This is good because...
3. I'm pregnant.
Yes, that's right, I'm a bit shocked, so let me give you the back story. As I previously mentioned, I got my IUD removed on August 1st. When I started my cycle on August 18th, Eric and I discussed going ahead and starting to try this month. We had been shooting for starting during our Hawaii trip, but we knew that I'd already be past the prime time by the time we left. So we discussed trying before Hawaii. The only downside was the fact that I was going to be getting the MRI, Mammogram, and Chest X-Ray right before leaving. So I did some research about the effects during early pregnancy (just in case). What I found was that MRI's have not been found to have any negative effects on pregnancy (they don't use radiation). The amount of radiation from a chest x-ray and mammogram is approximately .21 mGy. The amount of radiation shown to cause effects in a pregnancy is 50 mGy (my procedure times 250). Also, radiation is most harmful between 8 and 25 weeks gestation. At most when I had the tests done, I was 3 weeks pregnant, so we took the chance, assuming it would take a couple months anyway.
Fast forward to our Hawaii trip. I knew to expect my period on Friday. I had charted this cycle and knew when I ovulated and even took my thermometer with me. On Friday morning my temperature was still up, but we got up really early that day and then began our trip home. We flew overnight, so Saturday morning I awoke on the plane and didn't get to temp. After coming home and taking a nap, I started obsessing about taking a test on Sunday morning. I knew I would think about it until morning, so I decided to go ahead and test that afternoon, and when it was negative would be able to stop thinking about it for a few days. Imagine my shock as I watched the color move across the test window and the plus sign immediately appear.
I got Grace up from her nap and found my Mom had went to the grocery store. Eric was napping on the couch and I was going to wake him up, but then I heard the garage door, so I waited. He slept for 2 more hours! Finally after he woke up and Mom was in the kitchen, I told him I had a surpise. "I'm pregnant." He was very surprised but very happy. He then told me I had to go tell my Mom. I told her and she was very excited too. We called my Dad in China and told him and I called my girlfriends and told them (except for Samara, I made plans to see her today, so I could tell her in person.)
Wow! I'm still a little shocked. I never expected it to happen this fast, but I thank God for allowing this to happen. We didn't know if I would be able to have babies after chemo and then there's the fact that I lost an ovary a couple months ago. We truely are blessed.
I'll try to update a bit more frequently now, but for now, that's the news!
1. When I got home, I checked my grade in Organic Chemistry 2 and manged to get an "A". Yay!
2. I checked the mail when I got home and had my mammogram results. "Normal." This is good because...
3. I'm pregnant.
Yes, that's right, I'm a bit shocked, so let me give you the back story. As I previously mentioned, I got my IUD removed on August 1st. When I started my cycle on August 18th, Eric and I discussed going ahead and starting to try this month. We had been shooting for starting during our Hawaii trip, but we knew that I'd already be past the prime time by the time we left. So we discussed trying before Hawaii. The only downside was the fact that I was going to be getting the MRI, Mammogram, and Chest X-Ray right before leaving. So I did some research about the effects during early pregnancy (just in case). What I found was that MRI's have not been found to have any negative effects on pregnancy (they don't use radiation). The amount of radiation from a chest x-ray and mammogram is approximately .21 mGy. The amount of radiation shown to cause effects in a pregnancy is 50 mGy (my procedure times 250). Also, radiation is most harmful between 8 and 25 weeks gestation. At most when I had the tests done, I was 3 weeks pregnant, so we took the chance, assuming it would take a couple months anyway.
Fast forward to our Hawaii trip. I knew to expect my period on Friday. I had charted this cycle and knew when I ovulated and even took my thermometer with me. On Friday morning my temperature was still up, but we got up really early that day and then began our trip home. We flew overnight, so Saturday morning I awoke on the plane and didn't get to temp. After coming home and taking a nap, I started obsessing about taking a test on Sunday morning. I knew I would think about it until morning, so I decided to go ahead and test that afternoon, and when it was negative would be able to stop thinking about it for a few days. Imagine my shock as I watched the color move across the test window and the plus sign immediately appear.
I got Grace up from her nap and found my Mom had went to the grocery store. Eric was napping on the couch and I was going to wake him up, but then I heard the garage door, so I waited. He slept for 2 more hours! Finally after he woke up and Mom was in the kitchen, I told him I had a surpise. "I'm pregnant." He was very surprised but very happy. He then told me I had to go tell my Mom. I told her and she was very excited too. We called my Dad in China and told him and I called my girlfriends and told them (except for Samara, I made plans to see her today, so I could tell her in person.)
Wow! I'm still a little shocked. I never expected it to happen this fast, but I thank God for allowing this to happen. We didn't know if I would be able to have babies after chemo and then there's the fact that I lost an ovary a couple months ago. We truely are blessed.
I'll try to update a bit more frequently now, but for now, that's the news!
Monday, September 03, 2007
Once Again, I Apologize
I promise my intention has never been to let posting get sporadic, but it seems these days I have so much going on in my daily life, that I never feel I have enough free time to blog. Makes me a little sad though because I love the idea of a journal that I can look back at what's been happening in my life.
So, again, here are some highlights from the last 6 weeks.
School
As I mentioned in my last post, my teacher is not the greatest. I did manage to get a 90% (after the curve) on that first test. However, tests #2 & 3 were only 88 & 83%. Luckily after test 3, the prof decided he will drop our lowest test score, so if I get a 92% on my final (this Wednesday) I could still pull off an A. Otherwise, I'll be looking at my first B. I should be studying now. That's next on the list after this entry. Next quarter I'll be taking my first Organic Chemistry lab. That starts on T&Th starting September 20th. Good news, after Wednesday, I will have completed 7 of the 13 prerequisite classes for med-school. Over 1/2 way!
GWO's
The weekend of July 19-22 I had a GWO. This one was in Lafayette. I have been budgeting for these, but need to get better at sticking to the budget. This time everything I purchased was less than $10, but I guess multiple items, even if inexpensive add up. It was as always a needed good time. Next one is scheduled in October. It will be interesting. Samara gets to go this time and we're bringing all the kids! Jamie's son (Danialle's nephew) Coen is having his 1st birthday party and I think there will be costumes and a big Halloween themed party. Also, very exciting it will be held in Erica's new home (she closes end of September).
House Sale
Speaking of new living arrangements. We have decided on the apartment/townhome we will be living in when the time comes. We decided on the one with the attached garage and no basement. I just liked the living space better and the community and overall think it will be a better fit for our family. I had hoped we'd be there before the pool closes for the season, but seeing how it's now September, we may have to wait until next summer for that feature. I am still optimistic about the sale of our house. We have now been on the market for just over 11 weeks. In that time we have had 16 showings and 1 open house. Three of the 16 showings were 2nd showings. We have also had 1 offer. We made a couple of counters, but I don't think the buyers could really afford the house, so that didn't work out. The offer was 3 weeks ago (4 showings since then), so I'm hoping for another one soon.
Softball
Our softball season ended on 7/29 with us winning the tournament for the 2nd year in a row. We only lost one regular season game, so it was fun. It makes me feel active, so I really enjoy playing. Grace behaves herself too playing with her friend Evan.
Medical
On August 1st, I had my IUD removed. I got a little freaked out for a moment, because I had recently started tracking my cycles again to be sure I am ovulating now that I'm off Tamoxifen and with only one ovary. Eric and I had only considered using alternative protection after the IUD was out, so when I realized I was going to be getting the IUD out on day 14 of my cycle I wondered if our actions prior to that date could have resulted in a "whoops." I did discuss with the doctor though and she seemed pretty confident that the IUD also works as a spermicide, so while there was a slim chance, it was very slim indeed. And sure enough, a couple weeks later it was confirmed that no accidents happened.
Garage Sale
I organized a community garage sale for the weekend of August 10&11. We ended up with about 8 families on the culdesac participating. Traffic wasn't as high as I would have liked, but I did sell alot of stuff. I had a ton to sell. Once we move, I will have one less living room, no basement, and one less bedroom, so downsizing is key. I made just over $1,000 during those two days and sold a couple of big items (2 leather recliners, tall bookshelf, small entertainment center, 32" TV, barstools, living room tables, and lamps). However, I still had lots of big stuff left (couch, chair, loveseat, oak entertainment center, futon, desk, 2 short bookshelves, 2 media shelves, treadmill, weight bench). I put the big stuff on Craigslist and have since gotten rid of the futon, desk, and all shelves. I've had a couple of leads on the living room furiniture, but right now it looks like my mother-in-law may buy it from us. I also am hoping a lead at work might help me unload the treadmill. It feels good to watch stuff leave and watch the money go in the bank.
Financials
We didn't do a great job in August at sticking to the budget when it comes to food. We're going to try much harder in September. But because of the Garage Sale, I didn't have to dig into the emergency fund and kept paying extra on the snowball. I'm pleased to say that in October we will make the final payment on Eric's student loan and will have paid off the fifth credit card or installment loan since February. We've reduced the debt by just over $12,000 now, so I can't complain. If we can be in the new apartment by February, we could be completly debt free by December 2009.
Grace
Wow. I don't have a baby anymore. Grace is definately growing up and she's hilarious. We're starting to be a bit more lenient on her bedtime, now it's sometimes after 8 p.m. before we get her to bed, but she's just so fun, I don't want to quit playing either. Over the last week or so, we've tried to put a focus on potty training, but she's so stubborn. She never wants to sit on the potty for me. I started giving her M&M's for just sitting on the potty and a hershey's kiss or similar type candy if she goes on the potty. I put her in underwear for a weekend and she would cry if she had an accident, but she never asked to go (I had to beg her to sit and then she would only sit for as long as I made her before she could qualify for an M&M). Then as the day went on, even the promise of an M&M wasn't enough to get her to sit. She would just say no and cry if I tried to make her. Maybe she's not ready? They say don't force it, so I guess I won't. It would be nice to stop buying diapers though.
Also, on August 16th Grace started speech therapy. She goes for 30 minutes every Thursday. The first week was mostly playing, but the last week she really started making progress. One of the key things we are trying to do is get her to keep the air out of her nose when she talks. We've been practicing directing the air through her mouth by blowing on things. She's not very good yet, but if you hold her nose, she can do a good job. We try to blow kleenex across the table, we have a pinwheel, whistles/horns, and just last night found a toy harmonica you have to blow to play. Last week we also started trying to work on the "k" and "g" sounds. She uses her tounge on the front of mouth for these, not the back, so they more like "n" or "m" sounds. This one's harder for me to work on at home, but I feel like Alicia (the therapist) knows what she's doing.
COMING UP
We've still got alot going on in the next two weeks. This weekend we're enjoing the rest. Then our schedule goes a little something like this:
Tuesday
Work & Study for Final
Wednesday
Work
Final Exam
Laundry and Start Packing
Thursday
7:30 - 8:00 Grace's Speech Therapy
9:30 Breast MRI
11:15 Bilateral Mammogram
11:45 Chest X-Ray
(sometime at the hospital, I need to go get some bloodwork done too)
11:58 - Mom's flight arrives
Take Mom by the house
2:30 - 5? Client Meeting (45 minutes away from home)
Finish packing and go over all instructions with Mom
Friday
9:05 a.m. Depart for Hawaii!
I will be in Hawaii from the 7th to the 15th. Mom is staying at our house with Grace. I can't wait. Wednesday, September 19th, I have my 2 year appointment with Dr. L. Hopefully, after that, I can start filling my blog with TTC posts. Hopefully, the lab won't be as study intensive as regular class (yeah right!).
Later!
So, again, here are some highlights from the last 6 weeks.
School
As I mentioned in my last post, my teacher is not the greatest. I did manage to get a 90% (after the curve) on that first test. However, tests #2 & 3 were only 88 & 83%. Luckily after test 3, the prof decided he will drop our lowest test score, so if I get a 92% on my final (this Wednesday) I could still pull off an A. Otherwise, I'll be looking at my first B. I should be studying now. That's next on the list after this entry. Next quarter I'll be taking my first Organic Chemistry lab. That starts on T&Th starting September 20th. Good news, after Wednesday, I will have completed 7 of the 13 prerequisite classes for med-school. Over 1/2 way!
GWO's
The weekend of July 19-22 I had a GWO. This one was in Lafayette. I have been budgeting for these, but need to get better at sticking to the budget. This time everything I purchased was less than $10, but I guess multiple items, even if inexpensive add up. It was as always a needed good time. Next one is scheduled in October. It will be interesting. Samara gets to go this time and we're bringing all the kids! Jamie's son (Danialle's nephew) Coen is having his 1st birthday party and I think there will be costumes and a big Halloween themed party. Also, very exciting it will be held in Erica's new home (she closes end of September).
House Sale
Speaking of new living arrangements. We have decided on the apartment/townhome we will be living in when the time comes. We decided on the one with the attached garage and no basement. I just liked the living space better and the community and overall think it will be a better fit for our family. I had hoped we'd be there before the pool closes for the season, but seeing how it's now September, we may have to wait until next summer for that feature. I am still optimistic about the sale of our house. We have now been on the market for just over 11 weeks. In that time we have had 16 showings and 1 open house. Three of the 16 showings were 2nd showings. We have also had 1 offer. We made a couple of counters, but I don't think the buyers could really afford the house, so that didn't work out. The offer was 3 weeks ago (4 showings since then), so I'm hoping for another one soon.
Softball
Our softball season ended on 7/29 with us winning the tournament for the 2nd year in a row. We only lost one regular season game, so it was fun. It makes me feel active, so I really enjoy playing. Grace behaves herself too playing with her friend Evan.
Medical
On August 1st, I had my IUD removed. I got a little freaked out for a moment, because I had recently started tracking my cycles again to be sure I am ovulating now that I'm off Tamoxifen and with only one ovary. Eric and I had only considered using alternative protection after the IUD was out, so when I realized I was going to be getting the IUD out on day 14 of my cycle I wondered if our actions prior to that date could have resulted in a "whoops." I did discuss with the doctor though and she seemed pretty confident that the IUD also works as a spermicide, so while there was a slim chance, it was very slim indeed. And sure enough, a couple weeks later it was confirmed that no accidents happened.
Garage Sale
I organized a community garage sale for the weekend of August 10&11. We ended up with about 8 families on the culdesac participating. Traffic wasn't as high as I would have liked, but I did sell alot of stuff. I had a ton to sell. Once we move, I will have one less living room, no basement, and one less bedroom, so downsizing is key. I made just over $1,000 during those two days and sold a couple of big items (2 leather recliners, tall bookshelf, small entertainment center, 32" TV, barstools, living room tables, and lamps). However, I still had lots of big stuff left (couch, chair, loveseat, oak entertainment center, futon, desk, 2 short bookshelves, 2 media shelves, treadmill, weight bench). I put the big stuff on Craigslist and have since gotten rid of the futon, desk, and all shelves. I've had a couple of leads on the living room furiniture, but right now it looks like my mother-in-law may buy it from us. I also am hoping a lead at work might help me unload the treadmill. It feels good to watch stuff leave and watch the money go in the bank.
Financials
We didn't do a great job in August at sticking to the budget when it comes to food. We're going to try much harder in September. But because of the Garage Sale, I didn't have to dig into the emergency fund and kept paying extra on the snowball. I'm pleased to say that in October we will make the final payment on Eric's student loan and will have paid off the fifth credit card or installment loan since February. We've reduced the debt by just over $12,000 now, so I can't complain. If we can be in the new apartment by February, we could be completly debt free by December 2009.
Grace
Wow. I don't have a baby anymore. Grace is definately growing up and she's hilarious. We're starting to be a bit more lenient on her bedtime, now it's sometimes after 8 p.m. before we get her to bed, but she's just so fun, I don't want to quit playing either. Over the last week or so, we've tried to put a focus on potty training, but she's so stubborn. She never wants to sit on the potty for me. I started giving her M&M's for just sitting on the potty and a hershey's kiss or similar type candy if she goes on the potty. I put her in underwear for a weekend and she would cry if she had an accident, but she never asked to go (I had to beg her to sit and then she would only sit for as long as I made her before she could qualify for an M&M). Then as the day went on, even the promise of an M&M wasn't enough to get her to sit. She would just say no and cry if I tried to make her. Maybe she's not ready? They say don't force it, so I guess I won't. It would be nice to stop buying diapers though.
Also, on August 16th Grace started speech therapy. She goes for 30 minutes every Thursday. The first week was mostly playing, but the last week she really started making progress. One of the key things we are trying to do is get her to keep the air out of her nose when she talks. We've been practicing directing the air through her mouth by blowing on things. She's not very good yet, but if you hold her nose, she can do a good job. We try to blow kleenex across the table, we have a pinwheel, whistles/horns, and just last night found a toy harmonica you have to blow to play. Last week we also started trying to work on the "k" and "g" sounds. She uses her tounge on the front of mouth for these, not the back, so they more like "n" or "m" sounds. This one's harder for me to work on at home, but I feel like Alicia (the therapist) knows what she's doing.
COMING UP
We've still got alot going on in the next two weeks. This weekend we're enjoing the rest. Then our schedule goes a little something like this:
Tuesday
Work & Study for Final
Wednesday
Work
Final Exam
Laundry and Start Packing
Thursday
7:30 - 8:00 Grace's Speech Therapy
9:30 Breast MRI
11:15 Bilateral Mammogram
11:45 Chest X-Ray
(sometime at the hospital, I need to go get some bloodwork done too)
11:58 - Mom's flight arrives
Take Mom by the house
2:30 - 5? Client Meeting (45 minutes away from home)
Finish packing and go over all instructions with Mom
Friday
9:05 a.m. Depart for Hawaii!
I will be in Hawaii from the 7th to the 15th. Mom is staying at our house with Grace. I can't wait. Wednesday, September 19th, I have my 2 year appointment with Dr. L. Hopefully, after that, I can start filling my blog with TTC posts. Hopefully, the lab won't be as study intensive as regular class (yeah right!).
Later!
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