Happy Holidays!

Ultrasound Pics / Oh So Thankful

I love Thanksgiving! It is by far my favorite holiday - and not just for the food, although that certainly does help!! It is the only holiday where I can spend time with my loved ones and it just be about that - spending time with loved ones. It seems like all of the other holidays are over-commercialized and it drives me batty! I hate walking into a store in October and already seeing Christmas decorations! Ok - let me get off my soap box now!

Back to Thanksgiving - every year, I always find something to be thankful for. Even if it hasn't been the week/month/year and I'm not feeling especially great, I can always find something - quite a few things, actually, if I just give myself some time to reflect. But this year I have something MAJOR to be thankful for!

Yesterday, I had my 20-week ultrasound and actually got to see the first glimpse of the baby that I've been nurturing for last 5 months (even before I knew it was there!). It was such an absolutely incredible experience and there really aren't enough words to describe it!

As soon as the transmitter-thingy touched my belly, the first thing I saw was very similar to the picture below. Of course, I was so in awe that I couldn't get that actual picture, but after the tech showed us all of the big stuff and took the measurements she needed, we asked for her to try to get a few certain shots. And this was one of them.

Baby's Head and Spine



After that, I had to have a profile shot.



While working on getting the profile, we got another couple of gems...

Thumbs Up!



Deep thoughts...



And last, but not least...

Baby's Foot!



The foot one is especially meaningful to me for a few reasons...
1. It's just so darn cute!
2. I'm a runner - and with the way those feet were moving, apparently he/she will be too! That's why we could only get one foot! (Of course, I would never push any sport on my child just because I like it, but I can hope, right?!?!)
3. I had a crazy dream about the baby's feet earlier in my pregnancy. Don't remember if I posted about it, but basically I dreamed that while looking at my belly, I could see the imprint of these tiny little one-inch feet kicking/pushing my skin. In the dream, I was trying to grab ahold of the feet so that I could take pictures of them for my blog. Very bizarre - but I guess that's what hormones do for ya!

So there you go! I do have lots of other reasons to be thankful, but the baby is my #1. I hope each of you have something to be thankful for - even if it is just as simple as knowing that someone (me) is thinking about you and wishing you a wonderful holiday!!!

Crazy Eights

I was tagged by Anna last week, so here goes...


CRAZY EIGHTS

8 TV shows I love to watch
1- LOST
2- Army Wives
3- House
4- How I Met Your Mother
5- Two and a Half Men
6- Big Bang Theory
7- Ghost Whisperer
8 – Law & Order: SVU

8 Places I love to eat
1- In The Raw
2- In The Raw
3- In The Raw
4- In The Raw
5- In The Raw
6- In The Raw
7 – In The Raw
8 – Pretty much anywhere else – I love food!


8 Things that happened yesterday
1- Took a shower.
2- Went to Church.
3- Visited with hubby’s brother and sister-in-law in town from KC.
4- Had a nice long visit with hubby’s step-mom.
5- Dinner at Louie’s Grill.
6- Watched TV.
7- Went to bed.
8- Watched more TV.
Exciting day huh???


8 Things I look forward to
1- Ultrasound tomorrow!!
2- Thanksgiving
3- Working on baby’s room
4- Christmas
5- Picking out baby names
6- Meeting our little boy or girl
7- Going to Hawaii for Steve’s wedding
8- Getting out of debt!

8 Things I love about Fall
1- Leaves changing
2- My fireplace
3- Big cozy sweaters
4- Fall smells – pumpkin, butterscotch, cinnamon, etc
5- Snuggling in blankets
6- Getting ready for holidays
7 – Fall colors (for clothes/decorating) – browns, reds, golds
8- Spending more time with family

8 Things on my wish list
1- A healthy baby
2- A new strap for my heart rate monitor
3- A healthy baby
4- To be debt free
5- A healthy baby
6- Sushi
7- A healthy baby
8- A dirty martini


And at this point, technically I'm supposed to tag 8 more people. But that's just too much effort!

So, if you've read this blog and you want to play along, please consider yourself tagged!

Bring on the Baby Gifts!

So I walked into my little office this morning, and had a nice little surprise in my chair!


My friend/coworker Melissa (different Melissa from my "tag" a while back) had given me a gift. She's so sweet! We've worked together for almost 9 years, and her son was born 1 week before my wedding 3 years ago. I loved hearing about her pregnancy, and she has been patiently waiting for me to have one of my own.

Anyway, this is a close-up of the little card on the bag. I am totally stealing this idea! Such a fun way to honor the half-way point!



And here is what was inside...




My first official baby gift!! Woohoo!! For the record, last week my friend Susan gave me a sweet little book of "Goodnight Blessings for my Child" but that is more for me to read to the baby. This was an actual gift for the baby. (Okay - there was a little something in there for me too... but now the baby has clothes!)

This is so much fun!

Was That A Kick???

So, for the past few days, I'm about 95% certain that I've been feeling my baby move! WooHoo! Of course, I won't be 100% satisfied until I can see it and feel it at the same time at my ultrasound next week. Only 6 more days! Followed very closely by my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving!!!! Yay!!!

Anyway, according to babycenter.com "Women have described the sensation as being like popcorn popping, a goldfish swimming around, or butterflies fluttering." I'd have to say that my feelings are much closer to popcorn than anything else. But usually only one or two pops. My actual first thought was that I felt like I was being "flicked" from the inside. I read somewhere that if you drink a soda (or pop, or whatever you choose to call it), the sugar and caffeine will get the baby moving and you can feel it more frequently, but I'm not having much luck. Of course, I've been nursing the same Diet Coke for about 4 hours now and only about 2/3 done with it, so maybe that's why I'm not having any results. Maybe I need to chug it next time???

Maybe I'll do that before my last Financial Peace University Class tonight... gotta do something to keep myself entertained, right??? Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the class, but Randy is the one who does all the writing in the workbook. Watching the sometimes very long videos can get a little boring. If I can get that baby moving in there, it might make the class go a little faster - besides, I promised Randy a shopping trip to Kohl's tonight after class. I guess they're having a big 50% off sale, and Kohl's is probably his favorite place to shop. I wonder how their maternity section looks...

Oooh! And on top of tonight being the last class, on Wednesday nights different groups from the church (missions, youth, etc) take turns preparing and serving dinner for everyone. Tonight, the North Tulsa Indian Methodist Church will be in charge of dinner and they are making Homemade Indian Tacos!!! I am so excited! Most of the dinners have been pretty normal stuff - pizza, tacos, soup, so we usually don't go - we just get some McD's or Wendy's on the way. But tonight, we are definitely eating at the church!!

Ok - I gotta get back to work, so I can get out of here on time. <3

Lunchtime update

Since I'm a little overdue for a new blog and since it doesn't take an hour for me to make and eat a PB&J, I figure this is a good time for an update!

I had hoped to post updates during the Mother Road 100, but there just wasn't enough time. Yeah - in a 24 hour race, I couldn't find time to update. This is mostly because the runner I was crewing for was just too darn fast! We'd go ahead of her 2-3 miles and it seemed like we'd no sooner gotten parked, there she was again. Of course, I'm not complaining at all. It certainly made it easier to stay up all night when I knew she was on our tail, and it made for an incredible 2nd place finish with a time of 22:48. Kathy rocks!! I was also helping out and keeping tabs on another runner, Trail Zombie, who also got in the way of my blogging plans because for over half the race he was ahead of Kathy by about a mile. So we'd get parked, cheer for TZ and give him his new favorite race food powered sugar donuts, send him on his was, and here came Kathy. It was the 3rd 100 miler for TZ in 6 weeks, and I think it finally caught up with him that night, because after Kathy passed him, she slowly crept farther ahead and we probably didn't get to see him for the last 20 miles or so. He also had a strong finish at 23:35. And for the record, those time are in hours! They both amaze me and while I never intend to do a 100 miler, they both inspire me to push myself and not give up. BTW, you can read TZ's report here.

So, after that, most of last week was pretty uneventful. Tuesday's run came and I realized that I had already lost the strap for my heart rate monitor, so I still am not able to run. Thursday was my birthday and also the group's pre-marathon party. A time of pizza, other yummy food, and last minute race instructions for all of our incredible runners. Friday, I left work early and went and had a pedicure. Very relaxing - I really should treat myself more often, especially now that I'm preggo! I deserve it!! Saturday, was a quiet day at home. Randy had some stuff to do, so I had the couch and TV all to myself! I found something extremely interesting to watch, and promptly fell asleep. Naps are good!

Yesterday was a big day for most of our running group. It was the Route 66 Marathon/Half-Marathon/Quarter Marathon, and it was a first for many of the runners. I got up early and met everyone before the start and was there to cheer them on all day! By the time I got home, I felt like I'd run the marathon myself - I was drained! Who knew that spectating and cheering was such hard work?!?!?! I can't say enough good things about the runners in my group. It is a great accomplishment to finish your first marathon or first half-marathon, and I can't wait to read all of their blogs to see how they felt about it. Its hard to believe that I just celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my own first marathon. Some days it seems like it was just yesterday (especially being on the course and remembering how I felt at those points during my own run) and some days it seems like it's been forever since I crossed that finish line. I am so proud of everyone who made a goal, trained for it, and crossed the finish line yesterday. You are all awesome!

So here I am waiting impatiently for this week to hurry up and end. While I do look forward to Wednesday being the end of my Financial Peace class that I've been in for the last 3 months, next week brings such bigger and better things! Saturday is the last TU home game (and thankfully an afternoon game), Thanksgiving is next week (which I couldn't be more ready for!), and most importantly, Tuesday we have our 20 week ultrasound! I will finally get to see the child that I've been carrying, nurturing, loving, for the past 19 weeks! Truly, something to be Thankful for!!

Mother Road Here I Come...

In just a few short hours, I will be headed down the highway to Elk City to help support some friends of mine who are running in the Mother Road 100. This is a 100 mile road race - yes, on foot. This will be Trail Zombie's (Ken) 3rd 100 mile race in 6 weeks, and Kathy's 2nd. Ken is hoping to beat 21 hours - and Kathy is hoping to beat Ken, so it could prove to be interesting. Originally, I was going to help be a pacer for one of them, but seeing as how for the last 3 months running has made me want to puke, I am now on the road crew instead. Or I'll work the TATUR aid station. Wherever I'm needed most is where I'll be - but I'm hoping for the road crew. The race starts at 9am tomorrow and will go through the night, so I'll try to post updates occasionally (especially if I can get any good pictures from my phone!).

Anyway, here is what I did this week...

Last Saturday, our group did a Mock Marathon. They ran most of the actual Route 66 Marathon course - and I did the crew thing. Along the run, one of the runners found a barely live 4-6 week old Chihuahua mix puppy thrown in a trash can. She took it out and laid it beside the trash can and Kathy came by and picked it up. After some water, he started to perk up, but then later had a seizure while someone had gone to the store to get him some milk. About the time the milk (and a hot dog) arrived for the puppy, a runner/vet came back to the tent and did a quick check. He seemed to be okay, but she thought he might be blind. After having some milk and hot dog, he was doing much better, and another runner who is a foster parent with the Pet Adoption League took him home in a Panera bagel box and made some calls and got him into another foster home. The puppy was given the name Panero, and should be available for adoption soon on http://www.pet-adopt.org/. I'm so glad our group worked together to save the little guy - he was just too cute!

Monday I had my monthly checkup and Randy came with me to hear the baby's heartbeat! It was such a relief to hear the heartbeat again. As many of you know, I have a friend who was pregnant and due about a week before me. She had gone in for her 12 week checkup and heard a heartbeat and everything seemed fine. When she went in a couple weeks ago for her 16 week checkup, there was no heartbeat and an ultrasound indicated that the baby had probably died a few days after her previous appointment, but her body hadn't yet started the process of cleaning everything out. She basically had no clue that she'd lost the baby. So I've been a little anxious for my own appointment to make sure our little one was still doing okay, and so far, so good! We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound for 11-25, and for those of you who don't know yet, we will NOT be finding out the baby's gender until he/she is born.

On Monday evening, I had my first Prenatal massage, which was very nice. I'm sure I'll do another one in a couple months (hopefully I can wait that long!) I'd love to have a massage every week, but that is just a little too costly!

Tuesday, I met with the running group and walked a couple miles with Susan. We talked with a Kathy a little bit about our plans for meeting up and carpooling this weekend, and after the run a group of us had dinner at Jason's Deli.

Wednesday night was my financial class. Nothing too special. Oh - except for the fact that I spent all day feeling like I'd done hundreds of sit-ups. Apparently my ribs were expanding. It's not fun, and I'm sure I can look forward to feeling it all again in the coming days/weeks/months.

Thursday night I had intended to meet the group and walk a few miles, but a mishap with UPS caused me to be a little late. I work in a small office building, and it even though they deliver here frequently, they couldn't seem to figure out where to deliver my new toy to. So after several phone calls, and a short drive to the UPS Customer Center, I can know officially start running again!

WooHoo! This one comes with a heart rate monitor, so I can safely keep my rate below my doctors recommendation of 140 beats per minute. I can't wait to start using it!

So, now I'm back to today, and I have a haircut scheduled this afternoon at 4:15 and then I'm meeting my people after that to head to the race. Even though I have plenty to do to keep me busy until then, I will still be hoping for time to pass just a little faster!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Friendly Little Game of Tag!

Thanks to my friend Ken aka Trail Zombie, I have been tagged. I am supposed to post my sixth picture from my sixth file of my "My Pictures" folder. I post my blogs from my work computer or my cell phone, but my cell phone pics aren't in folders and my work computer doesn't have personal pictures on it. I do, however, have a ton of photos stored in Picasa Web Albums, so I used the sixth album that I have saved on there.
This charming photo of (L-R) my friend Melissa, her friend/coworker Mandy, and me, was taken on November 30, 2007 at CJ Maloney's and Jenny Labow was playing. Melissa's hubby and my hubby grew up together and used to watch Jenny perform in bars around TU during their college days. They think she is just the hottest thing around, and now she's big time with a record deal in LA. So whenever she is in Tulsa, they think the world will end if they do not go see her. The thing that made the evening particularly memorable was that although I was there with my husband, I somehow got hit on - twice - by girls. And these were not the type of girls that I would consider re-enacting Katy Perry's song for.
So that's that... now I get to tag someone else to join in the fun. I will choose a runner friend (TaturDave), a church friend (Casey), and a "baby mama" friend (Suzi). Now that you've been tagged, please post your sixth picture from your sixth folder in "My Pictures" (or wherever you keep 'em) and tell us the story. And no cheating!!