Family Weekend

This past weekend was pretty busy. On Friday night, we ordered in and had our usual movie night on the couch. We watched "A Beautiful Mind" per Adam's request. I don't recall seeing it before, which SHOCKED Adam for some reason. And of course I fell asleep during the last 10 minutes of the movie. Adam just shook his head at me because he says I missed the best part and I always fall asleep...blah, blah, blah. Oh well, life goes on.

Then on Saturday Adam worked and I played Cinderella. I cleaned and ran errands, the usual. After Adam came home, his parents came over for dinner and to help around the house. I stayed in the kitchen while they hung towel bars and toilet paper holders, etc. It was nice to spend some time with them, as usual. And we're getting our home together one thing at a time! After they left, we watched "I Am Legend." I loved this movie! It was a little scary and surprising in points, but I thought it was unusually entertaining.

On Sunday afternoon, we traveled to Snellville to see my parents. They invited us over to eat. And my brother Dan surprised us all with his special appearance! No one knew he was in the area this weekend, and he just popped by. It was great to see him too since he lives far away and we don't see him often. Then my mom took Adam & I shopping for a house-warming present(s). We got a late start since most stores close early on Sunday, but we did end up finding a large mirror in frame that we liked. Adam will be an expert hanger once we get through with the home fixin's. Then we hung around my parents house for a little while, watching TV, resting and socializing. We got in a little later than planned, but it was worth it. We had a fun weekend!

And surprisingly, I did ok in the car. I thought I'd be car-sick for sure, but it wasn't bad. I'm feeling better and am not getting sick as much. What a relief!

8 Weeks

Yesterday marked my 8th week of pregnancy. This week I can expect the following to occur...

Baby Emmett:
Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from the baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is almost gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. External genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether I'm having a boy or girl. The baby is about the size of a kidney bean and is constantly moving and shifting, even though I still can't feel it.

Mommy Emmett:
I may notice my bra getting more snug (nope, not yet). I may feel fatigued (not really, thank goodness). Hormonal changes, in particular a dramatic rise in progesterone, may contribute to sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting may be costing me energy (nausea, some, but not vomiting-so far). I may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep (YES, I wake up many times during the night), especially if I find the need to pee (Amen, sister).

Ok, I have to note this. I'm at work now eating my lunch at my desk and the DHL guy just stopped by. He reeks of cigarette smoke! He left 5 minutes ago & I'm still gagging from the stench. Yuck!!!

Happy Friday!

Lunch Date

I'm a little late writing this since my lunch date was actually yesterday. Since Adam had a day off yesterday, he decided to spend part of his day taking his "baby's mama" out to lunch. Hee, hee. It was a fiasco trying to decide where to go. Since I can't have deli meat, I was limited for lunch options. I really wanted a club sandwich from somewhere, but I had to gain control of my cravings and settle for a different option. By now, Adam is sick of Chick-fil-A. Of course I suggested that. We were running out of options until I remembered that Cracker Barrel is right down the road. Yeah! That hit the spot. We both had veggie plates. It was goooooood. It was a real treat to get out of the office and actually have somewhere to go and someone to go with. And the drive to/from was absolutely beautiful. I rolled down the window and enjoyed the sunshine.

After we decided on where to eat, the nurse finally called me back to answer my food questions. I couldn't give up on my ham & turkey crisis until I confirmed it with just 1 more doctor. She said it was true that ham and turkey from restaurants or deli packages have to go, unless I steam it first. Yuck! It's too risky with the threat of listeria (bacteria that can cause miscarraiges and birth defects). BUT...I CAN have honeybaked ham!!! Since it's fully cooked and prepared in the store (not packaged, transported & handled), it's ok to eat. Even their fully cooked turkey! Yee haw! And no queso dip of any kind either, unless I make it myself while heating it to a high temp. I normally hate queso dip, but Chili's has this amazing skillet queso dip that is super yummy. I've been craving it lately. But alas, I cannot eat this. I think when I learn I can't have something, it makes me want it more. Why is that?

Great Day

I don't know why today is such a great day, it just is. Work is going well, I feel good and I'm not sick. The weather is gorgeous and Adam & I have plans to walk around the park after dinner. I just enjoyed my pizza lunch, and it was scrumptious. Life is sweet! Such an improvement from last week, even yesterday for that matter.

I'm now 7.5 weeks in my pregnancy and here's an update (according to Baby Center) on us:

Baby Emmett:
Hands and feet are forming from developing arms and legs, although they look more like paddles at this point. The baby is still considered an embryo and has a small tail, which is an extension of the tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks. The baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry. Eyelid folds partially cover the eyes, which already have some color. Both hemispheres of the baby's brain are growing, and his liver is churning out red blood cells until bone marrow forms and takes over this role. He has an appendix and pancreas. A loop in the baby's growing intestines is bulging into his umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from his tiny body.

Mommy Emmett:
My uterus has doubled in size in the past 5 weeks (and oh, I've felt it!) and eating may feel like a chore - or worse - thanks to morning sickness (yes!), which may now be in full swing. I am peeing more than usual due to increased blood volume and extra fluid being processed through my kidneys. By now I have about 10% more blood that I did before I was prego. By the end of pregnancy, I will have 40-45% more blood to meet the demands of the full-term baby.

Wish us well!

Busy Weekend

This weekend was exceptionally busy and productive. On Saturday, we got up earlier than usual and started the day. Running errands, setting up and organizing our office area, unpacking some boxes, etc. Plus the usual laundry and dishes. Adam made a comment that now that we have a house and a kid on the way, there will be no more casual, lazy Saturday's. I've had this mentality for quite some time, house and kid or not. But that is just my "busy-bee" personality. I typically have a "let's get it done" and "work before play" approach, yet Adam is much more relaxed and easy-going. But I'm learning to appreciate his personality more and more. They say opposites attract, and in our case this is certainly true.

Then Sunday, we went to church as usual. Then we had lunch at Red Lobster (they screwed up my order and gave me free shrimp...SCORE!!). The funny thing is that I really wanted Red Lobster for lunch, but by dinner time the thought of Red Lobster was enough to make me puke. Funny, huh? Oh, my raging hormones. After lunch, we headed straight for our old apartment. We have to officially be out of there by next weekend, which means we are now forced to clean the stinkin' thing and get all of our junk out. It wasn't fun, but we made good timing. Adam did most of the work and I did some light cleaning. I more trip to get the vacuum cleaner and Adam's bike, and we are outta there! Good riddence, apartment life! We have moved on to bigger and better things! Don't get me wrong, we had a great apartment, but in time we tired of the flashing sirens and loud neighbors. Plus Adam was fed up with lugging trash around to the dumpster, a process that took about 5 minutes each time. We are so happy in our new house.

Anyway, back to the daily grind this morning. I'm having a case of the manic Monday's. Gotta run...

Chick-fil-A

There are many things I get tired of easily, but Chick-fil-A has never been one of them. Lately I haven't had much of an appetite, maybe because nothing that I eat satisfies me. There have been some food cravings in my pregnancy already, but that quickly subsided. Over the past week or so, nothing sounds good to me. And even when I do eat, I'm not satisfied. It's like my taste buds took a long vacation and haven't returned. My stomach is queasy most of the day and many things turn me off fast. Last week fruit was yummy, and this week it's yucky. This week either Adam has cooked or we have ordered out.

That being said, Chick-fil-A is still my go-to restaurant. At this stage in the pregnancy, Chick-fil-A is about the only thing that always sounds good to me. It always has. I told Adam the other morning before our doctor's appointment that my vanilla wafers just wouldn't do....I "needed" a Chick-fil-A biscuit for breakfast. So we caved and headed for the nearest restaurant. I've had Chick-fil-A only once this week, and I feel as though I'm being deprived of the savory nuggets and sandwiches. I got so excited yesterday because I got a goody bag containing Chick-fil-A gift certificates from an Administrative Professionals luncheon. The luncheon was great, and the best part was that I got to escape the office for a few hours! Vince Dooley's wife, Barbara, was the speaker and she was fabulously funny.

Can you guess where I'll be dining for dinner?

Attack of the Birds

Apparently our 2 cats, Daisy and Baloo, were in serious danger last night. Adam witnessed this happening, and he swears it's the absolute truth with no exaggerations. So the cats LOVE our new house. It took them a couple days to adjust, but they love the extra space to run around in. They especially love chasing each other up and down the stairs and going outside. We let them out occasionally on supervised visits. Since we don't have a fence, they could (and have) run all over the woods outback like crazy monkeys. Daisy got in trouble last weekend for overstepping her boundaries and jumping over the tarp nextdoor and into the mud. That was a mess. There is construction going on next door, so it is a war zone.

Anyway, back to the attack of the birds. Adam let the cats out yesterday evening and was watching them explore, and then he was summoned by a guest in our neighborhood. Someone was asking him questions about how to get in the for-sale houses next to us. He went to help them out and somehow forgot about the cats being on the loose. We also have these HUGE birds, probably hawks or eagles, that perch on this big pile of dirt directly in front of our house & up a hill. Adam noticed that the birds all of a sudden stretched out their wings and seemed to be staring at our house. They maintained their attack position and then Adam finally had a revelation at what they were probably looking at...our innocent animals. Daisy and Baloo were unknowingly being looked at as fresh meat.

As soon as he realized the danger, he ran to our front yard, which were where the cats were hanging out. The birds were on the attack...they swooped down and headed for the cats. He ran to their rescue and luckily got them in the house in time. He said the birds swarmed in between our house and the house next door, right where the cats have been. As Adam got an up-close look, he swore that the bird's wing spans were about the size of a car windshield. He said with their claws they could have easily picked up our cats and taken them off as prey!! AHHH!! What a strange way to die! We've seen this happen to a rabbit, and Daisy is small enough for sure to be scooped up (only 8 pounds).

I almost had a heart attack when he shared this news with me. Of course I wasn't home at the time and didn't even know that my babies (yes, they are babies in our family) were almost attacked and eaten by birds!! Oh, the thought of it is horrible. Now the story is kind of funny, but the cats will be strongly supervised from now on. Pesky birds.

Baby Emmett

I had my second doctor's appointment this afternoon. Adam was able to take some time off and meet me there, which was a treat. This was a big day because I had my first internal ultrasound! We heard the heartbeat and left with a couple ultrasound photos. I am trying to find a way to post them on my blog. I will have to find a scanner.

Baby Emmett's heartbeat is racing at 133 beats per minute, about twice as fast as mine. He/she is so tiny, but everything appears to be progressing as normal. That's what I like to hear! So far, so good.

AND....there's a NEW DUE DATE!! According to the size of the baby, I'm not 7 weeks and 6 days along as originally thought, but 6 weeks and 6 days along. Alas, I now have to add one more week to my 1st trimester blues. So my new due date is December 5, 2008. We have so many December birthdays in our family, and this looks to be one more added into the mix. If it's really late (11 days), it will come on Adam's birthday :)

Speaking of Adam, he has been a great support. He seems to be getting lost in all the mix, but he is a life saver. He has been very patient with me and my many moods. He lets me vent and offers to get me things and buy me things. He's here to lighten my load, which is just the way I like it :)

Signing off for today...

Broken Stuff

Everything seems to be breaking around the house. First, the heating & air system continually goes into spasms. When we first moved in, we came home from work one day and the heat was blaring. It was 90 degrees in our house!! Yikes! So we found out later that this meltdown melted the wiring, which led the entire unit to completely breaking. No heat, no air for 2 days. This happened in March, and it was really cold when this occurred. So I wore my pink winter robe and heavy clothing around the house for 2 days and stayed by my space heater. Then they came out to fix the problem, then it worked for a little while, now it's broken again. There are 2 thermostats, one on each level, that have to be programmed all the time. There is a setting for when we wake up, leave for work, come home, go to bed, etc. I'm surprised there isn't a setting for when we go to the bathroom :) Ha, ha. Well, the units went into spasms a couple days ago and they will not cut off. We turned both units to the "off" position, which should cease the heat/cool blasts, but it didn't. One floor stayed off and the other would not quit blowing heat. AHHHH!!! So we never know what we will be coming home to. Not to mention our outrageous power bill. The heating & air guys are here now working on the problem. And believe me, there IS a problem.

Second, our dryer broke again. Adam fixed it this summer after several long days of taking it apart and putting it back together. The heating element broke. Well, Saturday another problem occurred. The belt broke (we think) and the thing will NOT heat anything up. We probably could have fixed it, but at this point we are over repairs. So we bought a new dryer this weekend. We caught a sale at Home Depot. It will be delivered this Saturday. Luckily my in-laws live nearby so we were able to finish our laundry at their house.

Have I mentioned lately that I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired? Today was bad, really bad. No details needed. Tomorrow can only be better :)

Relief

Finally, some relief. I feel as if I've been drowning in a sea of morning sickness the past 5 days. This weekend was no better. We had to run many errands yesterday, so a lot of my time was spent in the car. Not good for the morning sickness, or as I now refer to it as "all-day" sickness. Why do they call it "morning" sickness anyway?? I had to crack the window and get some fresh air to help with the nausea. So sorry to all the people who we are overdue for a visit, because I will not set foot in the car for more than I have to at this point. I can't handle it.

Anyway, 2 things have helped me with this problem. The first is sea bands. They are these wrist bands with a round plastic part in the middle that sits on my pressure points. I got them at Walgreens for $10. There is no medicine in them, but when placed on my acupressure points, they are supposed to relieve nausea. They are used for sea sickness or morning sickness due to pregnancy. These have helped a bit.

Also, I think my prenatal vitamins are the major culprit! The doc gave me 3 samples of different prenatals to try, so I've been taking one each morning after breakfast. Each one has different ingredients and I'm supposed to be finding the one I like best. I decided to skip the vitamin this morning and take it tonight before bed, and low and behold, I feel better!!! Woo hoo! I am still a little queasy, but it is not nearly as bad as the other days. Could I have cracked the code? I feel like a mystery solver.

Also, my pants are getting tighter already. Especially in jeans, I now have to unbutton my pants when sitting down. I guess my belly is starting to grow, even though nobody would be able to tell yet . This is just the beginning :)

So as you can tell, pregnancy is my world now. It's all that's on my mind, especially since I'm constantly reminded (nausea!!) of it. I promise to post about something other than pregnancy stuff eventually...but not now :)

TGIF

Thank God It's Friday!!! I love weekends. Friday nights are the best because the weekend is just getting started. Usually on Friday's Adam & I have movie night at home. With our big screen and Blockbuster online subscription, we are all set! It's like our own home theater. Plus movie theaters are overpriced and dirty and I usually get annoyed and distracted. There's always someone crunching their popcorn too loud or obxoxiously opening their candy wrapper. Or a screaming child. Or cell phones going off. Or whispering. Ahh! I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it. This is why we don't go out to the movies.

So tonight will be no different I'm sure. Last week we saw "The Prestige" about an illusionist. It was good. I can't remember what we have on the list for tonight. I'd like to walk around the neighborhood tonight like last night, but it's supposed to rain and then get colder. Yuck! So this is the perfect cozy movie night.

I'm feeling slightly better today, but not good. Still nauseous. I'm paying attention to my eating habits and I think that helps. I ate a piece of wheat bread last night before bed, and that helped with the nausea. So I thought I'd try to do the same thing this morning before I got out of bed. The bread in bed worked as I did not feel sick when I was getting ready for work. Then I ate 2 scrambled eggs on wheat toast before leaving the house. That was so good and helped as well. I'm snacking on multi-grain saltine crackers today at work and am trying to keep my stomach full, but not too full. Maybe I'll figure this thing out eventually!

7 Weeks

So far week 7 is brutal. Something must have literally happened overnight. Today I feel terribly nauseous and sick. The thought of anything greasy disgusts me. Maybe the McDonalds hamburger happy meal yesterday did me in. I felt sick from the moment I put my feet on the floor. I had a pickle for breakfast because this normally does the trick. Not so much today. I took Pepto for the nausea. That didn't do it either. The car ride to work was horrible! I think I groaned to myself the entire way. After getting to work and eating some more, I still felt sick. I read online that real ginger helps, and I just happened to have some ginger & pear green tea at the office. After drinking that, I actually felt better. But that was short-lived. It is back with a vengeance!

My boss heard me ranting and insisted on getting me whatever I need. So he ran to Publix to get me a fresh cut fruit mix, as requested. That part of being pregnant is working to my advantage. I love the pampered part. I broke the news to my co-workers yesterday. I was so nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I don't think they did either as it came as a complete surprise. But luckily they were thrilled. I got baby balloons and everything. Whew! So glad that worked out. My nerves were all worked up for nothing.

Ahhh, the fruit has arrived! It is cold, juicy and delicious. Mmmm to the watermelon, canteloupe and pineapple. I feel better already!

Beanie Baby

According to the baby center website (which is wonderful, by the way), the baby is about the size of a lentil bean at 6 weeks. My own little beanie baby! Ha! Within the next week we will upgrade to a blueberry :)

Speaking of food, the cravings have already started. I am surprised it's happening this early on, but it's here. I couldn't wait for this part because I LOVE eating! But lately I have not wanted to cook, which is unlike me. What am I craving, you ask??? I want everything bad it seems. Here's the list:

-Chick-fil-A sandwiches and nuggets (the fried stuff, of course)
-McDonalds french fries (mmmmm)
-Zaxby's fried chicken salad with mediterranean dressing (a little more healthy)
-Taco Bell crunchy tacos
-Sour, garlic vinegar Claussen deli pickles (which I have at least once a day)
-Tart & tangy Wishbone Italian dressing (we had this on cucumber/tomato salad this week)

Could it get any worse? Luckily I have not satisfied all my cravings. I did, however, eat a McDonalds hamburger happy meal with extra pickles this afternoon as my 2nd lunch!! I had a healthy first lunch, and a not so healthy 2nd lunch, both about 2 hours of each other. I'm so bad! When they asked "for a boy or girl," referring to the toy, I quickly said "girl." I don't know why, it just slipped out. I wonder if there's any truth to my response.

At the rate I'm going, my kid will probably turn out to be in the fast food industry. It will be all he/she knows! Just kidding-I will try to be better about my eating habits, I promise.

Let's Talk Turkey

It's official...I'm pregnant! The doc said so far, so good. She felt around my belly/uterus area and said all seems to be well. I got all the do's and don't's (should that have 2 apostrophes??) of pregnancy. To my surprise, I can have a cup of coffee or a soda with caffeine in moderation, maybe 1 a day. I don't know that I will, but good to know. No cold deli meat of any kind. Bummer since I was planning on packing a turkey sandwich today for lunch. Oh, and the best part...I absolutely CANNOT change the litter box for the next 8 months. Hallelujah!!! Sorry Adam.

Oh, and I'm due on November 27, 2008...THANKSGIVING DAY!!! Adam & I also discovered that I will be exactly 26.5 years old on my due date since my BD is May 27. And Adam will be 27 years old. Is this a crazy pattern or what? I love the number 27, so it is perfect.

Of course my father-in-law is praying for the baby to come 4 days late on his birthday :) That would be cool also. My mom said she may be so hyped up that she may not even be able to cook Thanksgiving dinner. NO WAY!!! I will be eating tons for 2 somewhere (unless the baby comes early), even if I have to go to Ryans Steakhouse. I think they have a Thanksgiving buffet. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that.

I go back next Wednesday for my first ultrasound to hear the heartbeat. I don't think Adam can come along, but I will be in good hands. I love this new OBGYN office! It's been fun talking turkey, but now I have to do some work :(

Change

Change is in the air! If you're not up to speed, the Emmett house has been bursting with excitement lately...first we moved into our new home in Canton. Love it! It's a cute Craftsman-style home with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths nested in a quiet new neighborhood with a wooded view. This is the "perfect" home for our "perfect" little family, which leads me to my next announcement...

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!! (or as Adam calls it, a "crumb snatcher")

We found out just 1 week after we moved into our new house. So Daisy and Baloo (our cats) will have to take the backseat to our attention in the next 8 months or so. I am about 6 weeks along and estimate a due date right around Thanksgiving. So much to do before then and I don't even know where to begin! I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at 9:30am, and Adam will be coming along. I need to start jotting down all of my questions, and believe me, there are lots of them.

I'll keep you posted on my doctor's visit tomorrow! Pray all goes well!