Heart burn

Well, I'm 26 weeks & 5 days pregnant. My stomach is getting HUGE! I can feel it stretching as it grows. I haven't gotten any stretch marks YET...but I'm not counting them out. My sister never got them, but my mom did, so we'll just have to see. I think the worst part of being pregnant is the heartburn/reflux. I wake up from a dead sleep with acid coming up. I've had to start sleeping in an almost sitting position. I wake up every couple of hours throughout the night & sometimes I can't fall back asleep. I'll be up from 2:30 a.m. until 7 a.m. sometimes. It's a good thing I'm not working right now or I'd be one cranky lady! I feel bad because I wake Mike up all night with my tossing & turning & he DOES have to work & he works HARD. He's out all day in the Louisiana heat pretty much from sun up to sun down. He's about to start school too. He's going for planning & estimating. He wants to get out of the field & into the corporate office for his company. He only has two classes left & now he's talking about going to school for safety too. His company has been trying to get him to go that route for the past three years & he's been resisting it. He's very ambitious. I love that about him! I do everything I can to support him. I think he's going to be such a wonderful father! I never thought I'd be the "stay at home mom", but it's looking like that's where I'll be for a little while. I've always been soooooooooo ambitious myself. I'm the first in my family to ever attend college, let alone graduate. I've always been involved in so many things, volunteering, advocacy, working 2-3 jobs at a time. I've really worn myself out, so it's kind of nice to take a break & give all of my time to my little baby. I don't want his care to be in someone else's hands. I want to be there for every moment & teach him so much. Eventually I want to start my own business, but it'll probably be when Isaac is in school. I'll just have to wait & see!

stress and househunting

So much has been going on. I'm so glad that I quit my stressful job, I don't know how I could have handled that along with everything else! Being pregnant isn't really adding to the stress at all...it's almost the calm in my life right now! We are trying to buy a house AND plan a wedding right now. I am having nightmares about both. I also have trouble going to sleep at night, probably to avoid the nightmares! We made offers on two separate houses & both times they accepted someone else's. It's devastating to go through, especially because the first house we formed an emotional attachment to immediately. The worst thing, though, is that our lease is up for our rental house at the end of July & we have to find & close on a house before then! This along with the fact that a lot of balances have to be paid off for the wedding this month. We had planned to use credit for this, but now I've learned that you shouldn't use credit between the pre-approval & the closing, otherwise it could screw things up!!! I hope little baby Isaac can't feel his mama's stress!

Wedding Headaches

I am glad I never became an event planner...and I'm definitely never doing THIS again! It was so much easier getting divorced than getting married! Mike & I had to go to Mississippi today to take care of wedding stuff...namely getting our blood tests transferred to MS & then applying for the marriage license. The fact that they even HAVE a blood test is rediculous...do they seriously have a problem with SYPHYLLIS there??? We had to go to their health dept. to transfer the tests. They said they only do them between 1 & 3...so we got there around 1:30. We couldn't even park the place was so packed! We walked into this tight little room PACKED with chairs, moms & kids with a few dads sprinkled here & there. Apparently this was the day that all of the kids would be getting shots for their school registration...that would've been a great piece of information to have before choosing this day of all days for us to go! We told the receptionist what we were there for & asked how long it would take (it was a 5 minute process of writing what we had on our paperwork on one of their forms & taking our money & saying "see ya later"). She said it shouldn't be long because they could pull it since we didn't actually have to see anyone. We saw some bitchy woman pull (what looked like) our file & throw it to the back and mutter something about the people that have been there all day. Two hours later I asked what the hell was going on because we still had to go to the courthouse to apply for our license. She said that they couldn't pull it after all, sorry. I was FURIOUS. I called the court to ask could we please go & apply for our license w/out their stupid blood tests because we'd never make it in time & she said that was fine, that I could bring the blood test later. I told the receptionist lady that I'd have to drive back from Louisiana to pick it up because we HAD to go. Interestingly, they pulled our file, filled out our paper & sent us on our way! Go figure. We got to the courthouse & the woman helping us was in LaLa Land. I repeated everything AT LEAST 5 times to her & she still got stuff wrong! After she got all of our information she asked could we come back to sign because their printer has been broken since Thursday. I thought the woman was nuts. I said that we live in LOUISIANA and NO WE COULD NOT JUST COME BACK. Mike took today & today only off of work to take care of this bullshit. Why the hell couldn't they tell us on the phone that their damn printer was broken?! Once again, I was furious. Finally the woman asked if we could come on a Saturday since they'd be there working elections. I have to go up there anyway the Saturday before the wedding for my hair & makeup consultation...so hopefully they'll have their shit together & everything will go smoothly. I swear, if I was a violent person someone would have been knocked out yesterday!

MEXICO

We FINALLY got our passports in the mail over the weekend. YIPPEE!!! We bought our plane tickets yesterday. We have our brochures & I'm trying to remember some Spanish from all of those years of being forced against my will to learn it (it's not really working either). I am just ready for some snorkeling & relaxing on the beach with my honey-pie! I wonder how many other big fat pregnant brides there will be...probably not many. Hopefully our son won't be born in Mexico! I asked the doctor "What if" & she simply said "Well, I guess he'll have dual citizenship"...isn't she just a comedian.

Anxiety over flying pregnant

So far so good right now with everything. My biggest worry is my upcoming honeymoon. We will be flying to Mexico & plan on doing some snorkeling & adventuring. I'm the most worried about the flight & the possibility of going into labor or something while there!!! My doctor is giving me permission to go & writing a letter for the airline. I asked her about the possibility of having the baby there & her only response was "I guess he'll have dual citizenship then". I guess we'll see. The honeymoon was paid for over a year ago & given to us as a wedding gift...we've already changed it once & my honey-pie really needs a vacation. I'm just scared to go & scared I'll be no fun at all while there. I'm crossing my fingers that it all goes smoothly!

cats and the emergency room

Ugh! I spent last night in the emergency room. It wasn't for me, though, it was for my kitty, India. She's our only outdoor/indoor cat. When my fiance' came home from work last night he hurried in the house asking me what was wrong with her. I ran out of the house, tripping over my Siamese on the way, to see. She was sitting in our neighbor's yard & wouldn't move. When I tried to pet her, she'd growl at me. Normally she meets Mike at his truck & meows & loves on him. She NEVER growls at us either. I tried to examine her, but she wouldn't let me. I went & got her favorite, a can of cat food, & set it out for her to see if she'd come to it. She was able to run to it, but she looked kind of crooked & stumbled to stand up & limped on her back left leg.

We called the emergency Vet @ our old college (LSU). We left dinner on the stove & went straight there. We were there from 7:30 until MIDNIGHT. I was STARVING. It was HORRIBLE & we will definitely not go back there. They told us it would only take about 30 mins. to 2 hours & wouldn't let us leave to grab something to eat. COULDN'T THEY SEE I WAS PREGNANT & HUNGRY? They did X-rays, but then, to top everything off, the machine went down. The vet (who looked like she just graduated from high school) said that she only saw the radiograph for a minute, but she definitely could tell that her hip was fractured & that it couldn't be from a fall. My poor little kitty! I wonder if she was sitting out by the road & got clipped by a car. What if someone kicked her really hard? They couldn't give me any information about how it might have occurred because they didn't get to examine the X-ray for long enough. They will supposedly call me this morning after they get the machine back up. Because it's not a limb-bearing fracture, they said to just keep her in a small room. I asked for pain medicine for her...she almost didn't want to give it to me because then she might try to jump on stuff because she didn't feel the pain. The total? $200!!! What did they do? Not much of anything! Like I said, we will not be going back there. There are other emergency vets & I'll take my chances with a different one should the need arise (hopefully it won't)!

Now I have FIVE cats in my house. We had been trying to figure a way to let all of our cats be indoor/outdoor before the baby comes, but now I'm truly at a loss. We had been searching for a house that was safe enough for them to roam around outdoors, but that just didn't end up being in the cards for now. I don't even want to let India go back outside. The only reason she's the only one that gets to go out is because she DEMANDS it by using the bathroom (#1 & #2 at the front & back doors) & trying to beat up the other kitties. I'm not sure how we can co-exist with FIVE indoor cats, THREE birds AND a newborn baby in our small 2 bedroom house! Getting rid of any of them isn't an option. Buying a new house isn't an option. Putting them outside isn't an option. I'm not sure WHAT to do! The closer it gets for baby Isaac to arrive, the more claustrophobic I'm feeling with all of our animals in the house. I keep having dreams about chasing the birds (& other birds that aren't ours) around the house & trying to put them in their cages & the cats keep getting in their room & I'm fighting with the cats trying to keep them out & from getting the birds, fighting with my brother for leaving the door open letting the cats in & fighting with the birds who keep sneaking out of their cages so that they don't get eaten by the cats!

Little soccer player, nursery theme, pets

I had my 24 week appointment today with them measuring my stomach for the first time...it was 24cm exactly. When we listened to his heart rate it was 147 bpm until the nurse poked my belly. Little Isaac gave a swift kick to the device & the heart rate jumped to 150! So funny! He's sitting so low & kicks me hard. I had sore spots that felt like bruises & the Dr. told me that it's probably from him kicking me. I get fitted for my wedding dress alterations on the 16th for the wedding 8/11/07. I was a little worried that I'd grow too much between now & then, the Dr. told me to expect to grow about 1 cm./wk. That helps...hopefully. I've decided to do the nursery in Classic Winnie the Pooh. I loved it so much as a kid & I'm so excited to start decorating!!! We've decided to postpone the house hunt & renewed our lease for one year. Our problem right now is that we have a 2 bedroom house. The spare room houses our three birds. We have to keep them in a separate room from our cats or it could be disastrous (the cats like to lunge at the cages & try to get the birds & it, of course freaks the birds out). The birds lived in our bedroom for four months while my brother was staying with us and it drove me insane. Two of them are lovebirds & they are SO LOUD. I swear I have lost some of my hearing. They wake up at the crack of dawn. In no way shape or form can they share a room with Isaac & I do not AT ALL want them back in our room. The only other room with a door is the kitchen & everything I've read on birds said NOT to keep them in the kitchen because there are too many harmful things for them in there, like cooking in a nonstick pan on high heat. I love my birds AND my cats & I'm just not sure what in the world to do!!! I've got to make room for my little baby's arrival!

Not getting it

Well, the third time WASN'T a charm and on 07/07/07 at that. Each offer we put in wasn't accepted...each time we offered the asking price or more. It is NOT a buyer's market...I don't care what anyone says! We are tired of looking at houses & stressing out about being in one before our lease is up at the end of this month. I spoke to my landlord & she said I could withdraw my 30-day notice & just find someone to sublease if we find a house within the next year. I don't think we'll have a problem finding someone because EVERYONE wants in this neighborhood! We love it but would NEVER be able to BUY a house here...they are going for almost $400,000.00!!! It's CRAZY! So now we can stop stressing about the house & put all of our energy & money into the wedding/honeymoon/baby. I think we made the right decision. I feel bad for our agent...she put a lot of time & effort into our househunt. We're going to save up more money & try to get into the next price bracket so we'll have a lot more choices.

Remember your dreams

I had a dream last night that my Grandmother was talking to me & saying "Make sure the person you choose is someone who will love you for a whole lifetime, not just for a little while." It's so odd. When she was bedridden in the nursing home, I felt so bad for her because her husband had abandoned her. She was married, I BELIEVE, five times before. In the end, she died alone. I feel almost that she was sending me a message to make sure that I am with someone who will be there for me no matter what, all the way to the end. I feel like she's still looking out for me, even now that she's gone. Now she's free from her crippled earthly existence. Now she can look out for her family. It seems that the dead do visit those they loved in a dream once they pass. Dan came to me after he died & asked me to look out for his dad. These are my two experiences & enough to make me really believe they can communicate with you once they are gone. I think it's that much more important for people to try to remember their dreams.

Bad luck or what?

We put an offer in on a second house &, just like the first one, the seller accepted someone else's. I'm taking this as an omen or something. Mike said that we should just start looking in Denham Springs since Baton Rouge, Gonzales & Prairieville don't seem to be working out. I think land is cheaper there or something because there are sooooooooo many more houses in our price range...NEW houses at that. I'll be looking with our agent all day today so I hope we find something & they don't go accepting other offers on us!



I woke up this morning from a horrible wedding nightmare. Everything that could go wrong did. First of all, noone was there. Then the minister was really old & babbling & preaching & yelling Jesus stuff to the ceiling & Mike was arguing with him (this was during the ceremony) to stop. When he wouldn't Mike would walk away & I was just standing there in front of the preacher in tears. The photographer didn't show up, the florist didn't show up & none of the guests hardly showed up. My parents arrived at the end. My brother showed up without his tux & was standing in front of the church with his pants unzipped. I told him he couldn't be in the wedding & to go sit down. We forgot to rehearse so noone could figure out how to walk or where to stand.I forgot to give everyone the address of the place or something. Then, my hair wasn't even done. Oh & we had forgot to pick up our rings at the jewelry store so we didn't have those either. It was pretty bad. I hope this is a normal dream, because if it goes anything like that I'd rather just stay home!

Excitement & Nervousness

Whew! We went & looked at NINE more houses yesterday & both fell in love with the same one. This was after a HUGE fight when I was trying to convince him to choose the second one we saw. I loved the neighborhood & how new the house was despite its smallness & small yard. I'm glad he put up a fight, though, or we never would've seen this one!!! We looked at the rest of the places we had scheduled, but our hearts were already set. We went & put in an offer & will hear back from them by 5:00 today. I've been tossing & turning with knots in my stomach!!! I just hope the news is good.