Misery

I am now at 38 weeks and 3 days....and every second is misery.

My feet and hands are swollen, my back is killing me, I am exhausted and not sleeping well.

When will this hell end?

Atlantis Shuttle Launch

On Friday was the Atlantis Shuttle's last launch. Since I had the afternoon off, Joe and I decided to head up to Cape Canaveral (about 30 minutes away) and watch it.

We went to my work team's monthly lunch first. It was at a Japanese resteraunt. So after loading up on soy sauce and plenty of salt, we headed up there. We made it just in time to see the shuttle launch.

It was an amazing thing to see! So much smoke, noise, power!

All that amazement lasted about 15 minutes...then it took us 2 hours to drive back to the base to pick up Jordan from day care.

Unfortunately it was in bumper to bumper traffic. There were people everywhere! Just when we were in the middle of wall to wall traffic, the soy sauce hit us. We were so thirsty! There was no where to stop...it was miserable. Finally we did find a McDonalds, thank God for McDonalds!

Overall, it was amazing to see the shuttle launch, but it was miserable getting back. I would recommend watching on TV!

Success!!!

I finally got Joe to quit the gym! It is not that I am against the gym, it is just spending money every month when Joe NEVER goes to the gym!

So finally after a solid two months of gentle reminding and urging (nagging), tonight he did it!!

Hooray! I feel richer already!

Hooray for Half Days!

I talked to my OB and got on half days! It couldn't have come at a better time. By noon daily I am wiped out! I could tell that I was getting more frustrated with my patients and really just wanted to scream, "Get the hell out!!" Not a good thing for a doctor to do!

So this week I have been able to see patients until noon, then come home! I took a long nap today thanks to Charis being here to wrangle the Jordykins!

Only 9 more weeks to go....it really feels like time is at a stand still!

Busy Day

Today was Sunday, usually a kind of lazy day....but not today. Jordan was up at 6:30, and I was up with him. We went downstairs and had breakfast, then right outside to weed the garden. I also harvested some compost from my worm farm!

Then we headed back inside to start cooking. I made some pizza pockets, which I leave uncooked and Joe cooks for lunches through the week. I also made about 40 waffles for the freezer as well. I got this idea a few years ago from my friend Jennifer (thanks Jenn). These are great for the morning, just pop them in the toaster like Eggos! Much cheaper, and less calories and no preservatives! I also made some refried beans, and another batch of yogurt.

Meanwhile I also had several loads of laundry going.

Eventually Joe got up (he likes to sleep in!) and we mowed the lawn. I did most of the backyard, he did the front yard.

After roasting outside in the yard, Jordan and I took a nap. After nap I ran to the store to get some more diapers (Jordan will never be potty trained!) and some milk. Then I picked up Pez from the groomers, and finally headed home.

I am beat!

The Worm Farm

One of my goals has been to start composting. I finally did it!

Not only did I make a rubbish pile in the back yard for yard waste, but I also got the stuff for a worm farm.

Originally I saw the "Can of Worms" on the Oprah show when Julia Roberts was on there talking about her worms. Initially I was interested, but that was several years ago while we were living in, well actually I don't remember where the hell we were.... we have moved too many times! Joe wasn't thrilled about the idea of a worm bin in the house.

So I put the idea aside, but kept wanting one. They seemed to be so helpful, and if Julia and Oprah endorsed it, how could I go wrong!!

Well I finally I saw the Can of Worms at a garden show that I went to. I was so impressed by the entire worm composting that I needed to get one. The lady at the show was charging almost double the cost of what I had seen on amazon, plus she wanted over 45 dollars for a pound of worms! So I waited and ordered online.

I found the Worm Factory for much cheaper than the "Can of Worms", and it is the same thing, with a square design.

Joe was sweet enough to find me a lady in our area who sells worms. We got a pound of the red wigglers for 20 dollars. With the Factory and the worms, I was ready to start composting.

I set the entire thing up in our laundry room. Joe was really concerned about it smelling, but there really isn't any! The worms are busy eating all of our household food scraps, so I don't feel as bad throwing food away- it is making compost! It is neat (and a bit gross) to open the layers and see them squirming all over the place!

From the BAD to the GOOD!!

So, I took the longer gluocse tolerance test, and all the results were NORMAL!!!

Hooray, I am not gestational diabetic.

Plus, I am taking the iron twice a day and feeling much better. I don't know if it is actually long enough for it to be working, but I will take the placebo effect!

Today I had a great day of scrapbooking with some other ladies. I got (almost) caught up on scrapbooking! Plus Charis and I vowed to spend every "Cobbler Night" scrapbooking. It will be good to get things done! I know that if I don't finish Jordan's baby pictures done before this little girl arrives, I will be screwed!!

All kinds of badness

I haven't written anything in a bit...things have been rough.

I have been just so exhausted lately, and sometimes literally will come home from work and go straight to bed! Being pregnant, working full time, and having a 2 year old were to blame... or so I thought. Turns out I am really anemic, with my hemoglobin (RBC count) below 9! Normal should be up around 12.

So yesterday I started taking iron. Hopefully it won't take long till I start to feel better. But unfortunately that wasn't the only bad news the OB had to tell me. She also said that I failed my glucose tolerance test. I have to go back next week to do the 3 hour one. I am freaking out that I am gonna be diabetic, not only for this pregnancy but later in life too. The risk of diabetes goes way up in women who are gestational diabetic...bad news :(

At work I refer tons of people to a certain Imaging Center to get mammograms and bone density screenings done. When the rep came by and saw that I was pregnant she offered to set me up with a free 3D ultrasound! Joe and I went and got to see amazing pictures of our little girl! (yes they once again confirmed it was a girl, I was really worried it had grown a penis!) We got to get some pictures too (which are too technically difficult for me to post here....sorry!)

I was really excited about the entire thing, until I told my OB doctor about it. She was pretty mad about the whole thing! She said there is some study out that prolonged 3D imaging can be harmful to the baby! I feel just terrible now, and stupid that I didn't know about the study and possibly put the baby at risk.

The other really crappy thing that happened involves our rental property. We currently have great renters in there. They have been there for two years and always pay rent on time, no problems what so ever. We found someone who was interested in buying the place, so I got all excited that we may be able to sell. Then the lady changed her mind. Well at least we still had our renters...nope! They will be moving in August! So now we have no buyers, no renters, nada!
Oh the stress. Our property manager is working on finding some new renters....

So that was my week...all kinds of badness...

Outcome of Fight Back Challenge

Well, sadly I lost my battle of the Nebraska taxes. I went to the on base tax center and they took a look at what happened. Somehow Turbo Tax calculated my taxes for Nebraska as if I was not a resident of Nebraska at all. So much to my dismay, I won't be due another 2,000 dollars like I wanted!

But I did not take this loss in stride....I vowed to figure out a way to fight someone! Instead of the Nebraska taxes, we are taking on our home phone. We hardly use the darned thing, but I really insist upon having one since I don't always keep my cell phone on me. Plus for emergency purposes I like to know where I can get to a phone that will get me to someone immediately. With a cell phone I never know where it is.

Right now we have Vonage, which I am very happy with. But my mom has something called a Magic Jack, that is 40 dollars for two years! We almost pay that much for one month of Vonage! I am sending Joe tomorrow to get the Magic Jack.

In addition we are considering switching from our local cable company, to satellite. I think it will be cheaper, I am just concerned about installation fees and such. We need to sit down and figure all that out and if it would indeed be cheaper.

One money saving thing I did this week was make Homeade Yogurt. It turned out okay, just a little runnier than I had hoped. I will experiment and get it just right! There are several reasons I wanted to make my own yogurt. First my version will have much less sugar in it than the store bought. Plus it is much much cheaper! And there are no plastic cups to end up in the landfills since I put them in reusable containers.

I will keep you all updated on my Fight Back!

Update on Garden

Jordan loves to water!

The garden has been so much fun for Jordan and I. I love to go out after work and water with him. He has so much fun blasting each plant with water. I keep expecting the plants to
shoot out of the ground from the water pressure!

These are my first radishes! They were yummy :)

Here is some lettuce! Coming up nicely!

Fight Back!!

I read this blog called the Red Tape Chronicles, and read an inspiring post today.

It is about taking on some stupid fee in your life and taking an hour out of your day to fight back!

We pay too damned much for our tv, internet combo. This week I vow to spend some time trying to get it lowered, or switch to someone who is cheaper.

The other thing I vow to do is figure out our Nebraska taxes. After I did my taxes, I was supposed to get some money back from the state of Nebraska. Then we got a check in the mail for about half what I expected. NO explanation, No means to contact them to figure out....nothing. I will get to the bottom of this!!

I will report back in one week and let you know how it went....

What are you going to fight this week?

Cobbler Night

Joe is taking a class every Wednesday night from 5-9 pm. So every Wednesday I was alone. Most of the time I wasn't even getting to see him when I came home from work, so my mom or Charis was watching Jordy until I got home.

The last several weeks we started a Cobbler night. It all started by accident. I was having a really rough week, and had to get some stuff from the market before I went home. Since I was so upset, I did some emotional shopping and came home with cupcakes and ice cream and a blackberry cobbler.

When I got home, Charis and my mom were already there. We made the cobbler and hashed over the distressing events that led to the emotional grocery shopping. It was so nice! So we have been continuing the tradition.

Tonight we had cobbler and made cards. I am a huge scrapbooker, and thanks to my friend Katie, started making cards to use up my scraps of paper. I taught my mom how to use her stamps and she ended up making some nice ones (we won't mention the starter card she made!)

Charis's best friend, Bridgette, is here visiting and was a great addition to our cobbler night. I wish she didn't live so far away!

Cobbler night has turned out to be a bright spot in my week. Instead of having a lonely night, it is really nice to look forward to girl talk, yummy food, and sometimes craft time too. Jordan seems to like coming over intermittently to see what we are doing!

Update 101 in 1001

It has been a while since I updated this...in fact I forgot about it :)

Time to start again with renewed vigor!!

The Blue are in progress, The Red are completed, The Brown are Abandoned

1. Become a member of AAFP and complete the monthly CME quiz.

2. Read the ER book by the time we leave here.-just didn't finish it all :(

3. Every month while I am in the ER, draw blood and start an IV so I don't lose my skills.(9/9)

4. Go to at least 3 social events with work people before we leave here. (3/3)

5. Renew ACLS

6. Take on a new task at work.- Radiology Wet Reads while Eric was gone.

7. Once a month date night where Jordy has a sitter.

8. Take Jordy to play group at least 10 times before we leave here (Korea). (10/10)

9. Find a wonderful daycare for Jordy once we get to Florida, one that is bilingual.

with all the problems with speech delay Jordan has had, we were just happy to get him speaking one language!

10. Work with Jordy, when he is ready, to learn spanish.

11. Take a family trip to Everland.

12. Take a family trip to Mt. Sorak.

13. Start going to church here, go at least 10 times (hey I am being realistic!) (0/10)

14. Find a church once we get to Florida.

15. Have professional pictures of us done.- will do this once Baby Girl arrives!

16. Have a big family Thanksgiving where I do the cooking.

17. Take Joe on a romantic weekend alone.

18. Take Jordy on a camping trip.

19. Go on a cruise with family.

20. Make a letterbox and place it.

21. Make 8 weekly menu plans to alternate. (2/8)

22. Learn 5 vegetarian recipes. (2/5)

23. Learn to Eat Clean and Incorporate some of these recipes into the regular

24. Go an entire two months without buying anything for myself. (2/2)

25. Go without tv for one week.

26. Get one of my scrapbook pages published in a magazine on a website

27. Close accounts that I am not using.

28. Master Quicken.

29. Make and keep a monthly budget.

30. Save "enough" for a down payment for a house in Florida.

31. Start saving for Jordy's College.

32. Get Joe a car when we get to Florida that isn't too outrageously expensive.

33. Get an annual credit report for both Joe and I. (1/3)

34. Start a garden to grow vegetables.

35. Start composting.

36. Have a big yard with a doggie door for Pezzy.

37. Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. (4/32)

38. Buy Joe the tv of his dreams.

39. Have people over for a home cooked meal and a movie.

40. Get pictures from my dad, sister, and a few others to have enlarged and displayed in my home.

41. Send 5 thank you cards to people for how they have impacted my life. (0/5)

42. Test drive an extravagantly expensive sports car.

43. Get Botox.

44. Play golf for the first time, and not miniature golf.

45. Read 15 books from the library, or other second had book. (4/15)

46. Stop swearing! This one isn't measurable, but I really need to stop being such a potty mouth.

47. Knit a sweater.

48. Participate and complete the 365 Portrait Challenge

49. Take a Class at the Community Center on making paper crafts.

50. Lasik- Sadly this had to be abandoned, not for my lack of trying though. I found out b/c of my incredibly dry eyes, I am not a candidate for it! Guess

51. Recycle aluminum Cans Regularly.

52. Once I am doing the cans, move on to plastics.

53. Stop buying individual yogurt cups, buy the big one and put in my own reusable container.

54. Have one day per week where I don't drive and use public transportation.

55. Buy/Find enough cloth bags to use for grocery shopping. (5/10)

56. Consistently use the cloth bags when grocery shopping for one year. (0/24)

57. Donate old clothes and other things rather than throwing them away. (2/4)

58. Start using natural cleaners in my home such as Vinegar and Baking Soda and lemon.

59. Buy an Air purifier to clean out the YelloW Dust

60. Stop buying paper towels and napkins for a month. (1/1)

61. Take the clothes Jordan has outgrown to the Consigment Shop on Base.

62. Eat Sushi 10 times (10/10)

63. Go to the Seafood Festival in Florida

64. Play video games with Joe at least 5 times. (1/5)

65. Go to 10 movies with Joe, or watch pirated ones here in Korea, that Joe picks. (4/10)

66. Find 15 new ways to tell Joe that I love him. (2/15)

67. Have a spa weekend with Jennifer, my treat.

68. Landscape backyard.

69. Try 10 new resteraunts. (10/10)

70. Make 100 scrapbook layouts.

71. Go on a picnic 4 times. (0/4)

72. Draw Jordan's Family Tree

73. Make a photo book of all of Jordy's pictures.

74. Go to Disney World

75. Go to Disney Wild Animal Park

76. Get an account on Facebook

77. Watch a Marky Mark movie with Jennifer while we drink strawberry daiquiris

78. Visit the Park's in Alaska.

79. See 5 plays/musicals/concerts. (0/5)

80. Find a Charity I am passionate about and help them raise money.

81. Participate in Gimme your Stuff

82. Send PostCarts in Post Crossing (5/5)

83. Exercise for health, not to maintain some unrealistic goal for myself.

84. learn to love myself, my body, and mind, even though there are countless flaws.

85. Go to Miami

86. Exercise regularly 3x per week.

87. Run a 5K

88. Get a perfect score on my next fitness test.

89. Laser Hair Removal

90. Do pictures for at least 5 groups of people. They can be family, wedding, kids. (0/5)

91. Stop buying bottled water. Get a filter for work so I can use a cup instead.

92. Continue to be a nonsmoker and encourage my patients to quit.

93. Have Joe and I both make "bucket lists"

94. Make a list of 100 things I love.

95. Go Hiking at least 10 times. (4/10)

96. Go to the DMZ.

97. Make Joe a new quilt.

98. Wear heels at least once per month starting in March 2009

99. Go to the Florida Keys

100. Write in my blog once per week.

101. Organize this list!-I just don't care to organize this list....too many other things in my life that need organizing :)

Personal Goals:

98. Wear heels at least once per month starting in March 2009. (0/30)

100. Write in my blog once per week.

101. Organize this list!

94. Make a list of 100 things I love.

92. Continue to be a nonsmoker and encourage my patients to quit.

80. Find a Charity I am passionate about and help them raise money.

81. Participate in Gimme your Stuff

82. Send PostCarts in Post Crossing (4/5)

97. Make Joe a new quilt.

92. Continue to be a nonsmoker and encourage my patients to quit.

93. Have Joe and I both make "bucket lists"

94. Make a list of 100 things I love.

95. Go Hiking at least 10 times. (0/10)

Environment Goals:

91. Stop buying bottled water. Get a filter for work so I can use a cup instead.

60. Stop buying paper towels and napkins for a month. (1/1)

61. Take the clothes Jordan has outgrown to the Consigment Shop on Base.

Fitness Goals:

83. Exercise for health, not to maintain some unrealistic goal for myself.

84. learn to love myself, my body, and mind, even though there are countless flaws.

85. Know that having a few jiggles here and there doesn't make me unlovable.

86. Exercise regularly 3x per week. (0/

87. Run a 5K

88. Get a perfect score on my next fitness test.

Work Goals:

1. Become a member of AAFP and complete the monthly CME quiz. (1/32)

2. Read the ER book by the time we leave here.

3. Every month while I am in the ER, draw blood and start an IV so I don't lose my skills.(1/9)

4. Go to at least 3 social events with work people before we leave here. (0/3)

5. Renew ACLS

6. Take on a new task at work.

Family Goals:

7. Once a month date night where Jordy has a sitter. (1/32)

8. Take Jordy to play group at least 10 times before we leave here. (0/10)

9. Find a wonderful daycare for Jordy once we get to Florida, one that is bilingual.

10. Work with Jordy, when he is ready, to learn spanish.

11. Take a family trip to Everland.

12. Take a family trip to Mt. Sorak.

13. Start going to church here, go at least 10 times (hey I am being realistic!) (0/10)

14. Find a church once we get to Florida.

15. Have professional pictures of us done.

16. Have a big family Thanksgiving where I do the cooking.

17. Take Joe on a romantic weekend alone.

18. Take Jordy on a camping trip.

19. Go on a cruise with family.

64. Play video games with Joe at least 5 times. (0/5)

65. Go to 10 movies with Joe, or watch pirated ones here in Korea, that Joe picks. (0/10)

66. Find 15 new ways to tell Joe that I love him. (1/15)

67. Have a spa weekend with Jennifer, my treat.

68. Visit Heidi in Kentucky and meet her family.

Travel

96. Go to the DMZ.

99. Go to the Florida Keys

Jordan is taken over by the Exorcist

Friday night I was feeling pretty down,and just wanted to go to bed early. It had been a long week, and I was ready for it to be over. Joe and Charis were wanting to go see a movie, so I stayed home with Jordan. As soon as he was all tucked into bed, Joe and Charis left, and I nestled snuggly into my bed to watch some tv and play on the internet.

Soon after I finally fell asleep, Jordan came running into my room crying. I woke up to hear and see him projectile vomit, seriously at least three feet, of chocolate milk and bologna chunks all over my cream colored carpet. It went on and on and on! I jumped out of bed and by the time I reached him, it was still going!

Finally it stopped and I picked him up and we went into the bathroom, to prevent my carpet from any further demise. I grabbed the phone and called Joe to tell him to come home immediately, after he stopped at CVS to pick up a prescription (sometimes it is great to be a doctor!).

Poor Joe and Charis had just got their tickets, gotten all their snacks, and had just sat down in their seats when I called them! They both were so sweet and didn't complain at all, just rushed right home.

Unfortunately Joe misunderstood me and just got some pedialyte, and didn't get the prescription. So back to CVS he went, this time to the wrong one. But finally the poor guy got it all right, right CVS, right prescription. I felt so bad. We gave Jordan the nausea medication, and he intermittently would complain of a tummy ache but thankfully no more vomit!

My carpet on the other hand will never be the same. After vigorous shampooing, there is still a stain...damned chocolate milk! Too bad that wasn't the only insult my carpet sustained this weekend.

After the vomiting bonanza was over, the next joy to settle upon our house was diarrhea! I was taking a nap, because I also got some sort of plague during this, leaving Joe to man the house alone. Joe came rushing up with Jordan and declared he had explosive diarrhea. He plopped him down on the bedroom floor and started to change him. When he opened the diaper it was like he opened the portal to hell! The smell was horrific, but was even more disturbing was the sight of completely watery poop come flowing out of his diaper and all over the carpet!

Back to the carpet shampooer I went. Like the vomit stain, it will always be reminder of this horrible weekend.

For the next three days Jordan had diarrhea, nearly every 10 minutes! I swear it was terrible. We went through an entire box of diapers, a sixty count, in one day. I would have been completely panicked if he weren't bouncing off the walls between episodes.

In the middle of the night he would get out of bed and wander into the hall declaring, "Poozy!" Joe would get up and change him. I tried to alternate with him, but felt like death myself.

Today is Tuesday. Jordan seems to be better. I still feel weak and tired. Walking up the stairs took a huge effort. But the real victim is Joe, he is sicker than a dog now. Last night he was just burning up and said he felt nauseated.

This weekend we have some people coming to visit, hopefully we won't infect them!

Vacation, temper tantrums, and family drama

Joe on Bourbon Street

Joe ate a raw oyster, I played the pregnancy card (no raw foods!)

Eric, Roger, Brad, and me (guys from residency)

These last few weeks have been a whirl wind of activity. I had a military training/conference thing to go to in New Orleans. Being as this is probably one of the last times Joe and I will have to go on vacation before the new baby arrives, we decided to leave Jordan at home!

We went to New Orleans and had a wonderful time. Half of my residency class was there! It was great to see them again. We had so much fun catching up and comparing life after residency. Most of the days I was done with my lectures before 12, so Joe and I would hit the town! We were right in the French Quarter so we were within walking distance of everything. Every lunch and dinner we went out of incredible meals. I actually gained 6 pounds in five days! I was an eating machine!

Some of the days Joe was feeling pretty down because he missed Jordan so much. We saw him on skype every night. Charis did an incredible job taking care of him! My mom also watched him when Charis had to work. Together they took Jordy to the zoo, the beach, and the park. I wasn't as worried about Jordy as Joe was, but I knew he was in good hands, and have left him in the past for long periods of time. But this was only the second time Joe had ever left him! When Jordan was about a year old, Joe and I left him overnight with my parents. That was it, in 30 mos, Joe has only been away for one night!!

So we were both really excited to get home and see Jordan, but Joe especially! When we did get home, Jordan was so excited to see us! It was so cute to see his little face get all excited! Plus he started calling me mommy instead of Bee!!

We were all so happy to be a whole family unit again....

Then the next day happened.

I needed to return some maternity clothes that I had bought online to Old Navy. We got to Old Navy and while I was talking with the sales people, who couldn't return my stuff b/c I didn't have the invoice, Jordan found some silly putty he wanted. Joe tried to wrestle it away from him, resulting in a horrible temper tantrum.

We got outside the store and we put him on a time out. Joe had to pee really bad so I said I would hold the bag, my purse, and two jackets, plus watch Jordy so he could go pee. Just when Joe was out of sight, Jordy made a run for it into the street.

I darted after him, as fast as a pregnant woman wearing uncomfortable maternity pants that are too big and falling down, holding a purse, a bag of unreturnable clothing, and two jackets, could dart. I did manage to catch him, grab him by the shirt and drag him to the other side of the street, all with about 3 cars witnessing the spectacle. Once on the other side, he wriggled free and made another dash for it.

This time I caught his arm, and yanked him back from certain death. Thank God we were in public, because by this point I was so mad I could have killed him on the spot!

Joe returned to Jordy howling on the side of the road, me crying, and the day shot. I insisted on being taken home.

Joe got Jordan into his car seat, and hugged me, then said, "This is what we rushed home for?"

The next two days weren't much better. Everything we planned to do, Jordan found some new level of temper tantrum to reach. Joe and I periodically look and say, "I can't believe we are doing this again!"

I certainly hope my sweet little boy returns soon....I miss him.

On a happier note, we got the ultrasound done on Monday. We were fully expecting it to be another boy after taking that IntelliGender Test. Imagine our surprise when the lady said, "Its a GIRL!"

We made her check three times, each time it was still a girl!

That night I went out and bought a little pink dress! Then after a quick look around the little girl department, realized it is quite possible I will go to the poor house buying cute pink clothes!

Being the Bad Guy....

In our family, I do the budget, manage money, and pay the bills. It has always been this way since Joe and I were dating. The reason for this is simple....Joe sucks at it!

I am very fortunate that he acknowledges this this fact quite openly, and often tells me that we would be living in a cardboard box if he were in charge of the money. We don't have money fights because whatever I say is golden. If I say we can't afford something, he is (usually) very good about accepting and moving on.

The only problem that this set-up leaves us with me always being the bad guy. Whenever we get all excited to do something, it is always me to say NO!

It leaves me feeling like the big bully of the house, the fun crusher, the kill joy, mean mommy....I hate it!

Last night in a moment of weakness combined with not wanted to be the bad guy once again, I said yes to buying Jordan an adorable pair of converse shoes with little orange flames on the side. The were 22 dollars, yes 22 dollars for a toddlers shoes seems excessive when I usually get him Payless Shoes for much much less....but I was weak and sick of being the meanie.

This morning I am having remorse of the 22 dollar shoes and am wondering if we should take them back....

Bingo!!!

In an attempt to get out of the house and do something new, I took my mom and Charis to Bingo!

I like to play, and thought that my mom would enjoy it. Honestly I thought it would be a nice relaxing thing us ladies could do once a week....I imagined us sitting around our bingo boards and snacking and having funny conversations, and occasionally winning some money might be nice. Boy was I wrong!!

We got to the Catholic Church, yes it was held at a church! This is important for later on, so hang on to that little pearl.

The cost was 14 dollars for the basic pack, plus 1.25 for a bingo dauber. I selected a beautiful teal color, it really was quite pretty. As I turned from the table where the cards were sold, and turned to look at the available seating, I knew we were in for some trouble.

There was two huge lunchroom looking auditoriums, both with huge folding tables set out. Women, the vast majority silver haired and obese, were sprawled out all over the tables. There were women hogging an entire table to themselves. Seriously some of them had 3-4 Bingo Cards each, with each card having 9 games on it!! That is 27 to to 36 games per person!!

Most women had at least 5 bingo daubers laid out. Snacks were everywhere! Most of them the obese women preferred some sort of potato chip, I notices fritos to be especially popular. The few women that were thin, had packs of cigarettes piled up. Thank goodness they had to go out to smoke!

Finally we found a spot where we could all sit together. But unfortunately we didn't know which order the games were played in. We giggled and laughed as we asked the girl sitting next to us. She had all kinds of facial piercings and looked like she might belong in a tattoo parlor rather than a bingo hall, but was fairly nice and explained stuff to us. While she was explaining, there was an extremely bitter woman sitting behind us, she said quite loudly mind you, that we had better shut up when the game starts!

Eventually we did start. When someone would win there was a flurry of conversation and curse words! My mom and I exchanged surprised looks as we were in a church!! A CHURCH!!

When one lady one, the bitter woman behind us exclaimed " I just can't stand that woman!" No attempt to hide it!!

Finally during one of the game my mom blurts out, "I never want to do this again....I feel so old!!" Then she starts laughing and snorts so loud in the middle of the near silent bingo hall!

There were angry shhhh's heard from all over the place! Those women were ready to attack! Of course the more tense the situation got, the sillier my mom got! I am surprised we all made it out of there alive!

I don't think we will be going back. My mom hated it, I didn't win anything....although we did leave soon after the snorting incident and didn't finish our games.

Next week perhaps we will try another activity! Any suggestions?

Jordan's Turning into talker!!

Jordan has learned so much in the past week!!

This week he learned to say "hot" rather than just blowing on stuff! This week he also started doing the elephant noise. He also knows what a sheep and a cow say. And now he knows the name of our dog, Pezzy, but he says what sounds like Pissy.

He also learned the word Pushing, but it sounds exactly like- and this is my personal favorite b/c it is so hilarious to hear- Pussy!! So funny! We were worried when we went to church this week and he was in the day care that we would be told he was a potty mouth when we got him back!!

That is another development...we have gone to church for the past three weeks! Shocking I know!! We hadn't been for the last four years! I think we found a church that we like. There is just one guy in the choir that irritates us, otherwise the pastor is great.

Joe built me plantar boxes for my garden this year. I am pretty excited about them, and hope I don't kill everything that I touch. Joe calls me Dr. Brown Thumb. I read a book called about Square Foot Gardening, and got inspired. They made it sound so easy....We will see how it goes.

Joe's sister Charis moved in with us in January. She is supposed to be working at Chili's starting pretty soon. She is getting pretty bored sitting around the house. I love having her here! She is so helpful with Jordy and does the dishes and cooks sometimes too!

We have been working on the house a lot! We got the living room almost all done! I got my family photo wall all done, and Joe and Charis are painting the rest of the room! I love all the colors- all earth tones!

Oh Happy Day!!

Jordan has had so many troubles talking, I was beginning to think he would be a mute! Then the past few weeks have been just wonderful!

About two weeks ago he screamed "a Tree!" when I brought our little palm tree inside to keep it from freezing outside. I was so thrilled.

Then today he said "a bike!". He also started saying "hurry".

It makes me so happy to hear his sweet little voice! I can't wait to see what he will learn tomorrow!

14 weeks and counting...

So finally my secret is officially out...Joe and I are having another monster, I mean another blessed angel. With Jordan just hitting temper tantrums and becoming more independent, I keep wondering what on earth we were thinking having another one.

We got to see the baby on ultrasound two weeks ago. It is so amazing and makes it seem real. I have been feeling well, and finally got my appetite back, as evidenced by the five pounds I gained over the past two weeks!

I am a little frustrated that everyone thinks we are dying for a girl, since we already have a boy. My dad has even started referring to his "grand daughter". It makes it seem like no one will care about this baby if it is another boy. They seem surprised that I would like to have another boy. Jordan is such a fun little guy, who wouldn't want another one?

Well we are going to find out, if not to shut up all the speculation... Hopefully by the time we have the baby in July, everyone will be settled and happy with whatever gender we are having! Funny people get so uptight about other people's children...