29 Weeks

What a hot and miserable weekend weather-wise.

Friday was an early celebration for my mom's and Mike's birthday. We met my parents for dinner at Trabucco Oaks Steakhouse. Yum! I <3>

Saturday was a soccer game at 1:30.....the coach prior to J's game said to us, "We beat the team you guys are playing last weekend 4 - 0". Good to know....

J's team won, 11-0.

Good for them, even though it was hot as hell.

Brody was in rare form throughout the game. Flirting with all the ladies. He is not typically shy, but I have never seen him walk up to a group of girls, and sit right next to them and start "chatting" away.

During half time, he ran up to sit in on the coaches meeting with the girls, and the ladies on either side of him were taking turns feeding him grapes!!!

It was pretty interesting.

Anyway, here is another random room picture, they are slowly coming together, and I will update with more as they come.

Brody's shelves. I am not sure what to do with the books on the top one....they are all paper pages and he will destroy them if he can access them by himself, but they look stupid standing upright too, since they are so tall....

28 Weeks, 3 Days

Enough said.

My Birthday

Probably the only belly picture you will see...

Here are some random shots from my birthday.....

I got a glider as a gift. I was not wanting one. I didnt have one with B, and didn't really miss it. But, when we moved B into his new room, and had his bed on the smallest setting, he would ask for me to read him a book. I had nowhere to sit...I can kind of wedge my fat butt onto the bed, but then he is not comfortable....So, I told Mike I wanted a chair for his room. I looked and looked and couldnt find anything I liked...

I was at BRU, saw this one, it was on sale for a cheap deal, the ottoman was free, there you go.

It will move to the babies room, once it is finished.....but in the meantime, B likes to borrow it.

We spent my birthday and the week following out at my parents lot in Temecula. It was ridiculously warm, so I was able to wear my dress into the pool.

Brody saw his first catfish. Isn't it a wopper?! :/

And then my cake...which we bought on Wednesday....and then Mike wouldnt let me eat it till Jennifer and Donny came out.............ON SATURDAY!

I am pregnant, and had a cake dangled in front of my face for 3 whole days and wasn't able to eat it!

Onviously I survived, and the cake was still in decent condition.

Big Helper

You can always count on Brody to help out whenever work is being done.

Baby Clothes Chaos

Well, it is official. I have enough clothes for the octuplets!!

All 8 of them will be beautifully dressed for the first month of their lives.

Oh wait. I am only having 1.

(Thank god..)

I went through all of B's old clothes, all of which I saved in case. I know that when I had him, I LOVED white onsies, then I bought all sorts of boy hats and socks to go with them. Obviously white is unisex, so they are all usable again!

And with my neighbor loading me up with girlie stuff, I am pretty much set for the initial month.

I would like to point out that I have an 8 drawer dresser for Baby Harlee/Farrah/Pat/X/Beth?, and all drawers are overstuffed.

This sounds like a blessing but the "terrible" thing is all clothes are in newborn and 0-3 months size...so most of it will never see the light of day.

Anyway, I was out an about yesterday and I stopped at Old Navy...which I LOVE. Our Old Navy always has clearance items, and then takes an additional 50% off of the lowest clearance price. Is that normal? Anyway, I can typically find the J's jeans there for $5.00 a pair, which can't be beat. Brody's section is usually beat down and full of ugliness so that sucks, but I took a walk through the baby section, and scored big time! I bought 2 overstuffed bags of girls clothing for $38.78. Shorts for $.97, ect. It was fab! And before you continue to think I am nuts, let me point out, that I bought nothing in 0-3 months...everything will be stored for months, but for $.97 for shorts and shirts, I couldn't pass it up.

Being I was able to go through all of B's old things, I was then able to update my registry being I now know what I need.

I finally feel like I am making some progress, despite my lack of sleep.

(By the way, it has now been over a week)

Mike so nicely suggested I try sleeping on the couch tonight if I wake up at 1am.

I have to give him credit though, he really did try to make it sound nice and like he cared, and was saying it only for my well being. I, obviously know better, but good for him.

My ailments: The return of morning sickness. Restless legs, backpain, nosebleeds & bloody gums, and the heinous pain in my pelvis.

Positive notes: I feel baby alot of the time and have been able to complete almost a weeks worth of kick counts (I did 2 total while carrying B - he never moved..scary), and am slowly actually making progress on making the house organized before this kid is born.

28 Weeks

11 more to go! Halle-fricken-lujah

I am living in a zombie like state due to lack of sleep already so I dont even have that to worry about once the baby is here. Everyone always says "sleep while you can, because once the baby is here....."

So, I started early.

Yesterday was somewhat eventful.

Mike finally hung the shelving in B's room. Huge. I am so sick of seeing all of his things that he can't have constant access to, all over our bedroom. (nice book, a ceramic piggy bank, a clown music box). I am hoping within this week, to have an adult bedroom back..which will be a first in 2 1/2 years. No pack and plays, no kids books, no cartoon DVDs...

Then we had Janee's soccer game. They tied 4, 4. Which was awsome. They were down 0-2 for the whole first 1/2 of the game almost. They scored the tie in the last 2 minutes of the game.

Last year, they won every game, and this year won every pre-season game, and their first game of the actual season, so not that a loss would be a big deal, but a tie is obviously better. The game started at 10, and by 11 ish when it ended, the heat was almost unbearable for me. I hate pregnancy in the 100 degree weather. Seriously. It is 4,000 times more uncomfortable than it typically is for me.

I went and washed and put away all of my neighbors girl clothing so I know what I am missing. I have about 30 size newborn girl onsies, alot of which there are 2 of. I am sure Pat will be in newborn clothing for a week or 2, so most of these are un-neccesary, but still much appreciated.

I also, think I have started a new symptom - restless legs. How annoying. While researching how the hell I can get some sleep (and finding out nothing), I also looked this up. I read that it could be lack of iron. I will call Dr. on Monday, and talk to her about it, but luckily we had steak for dinner, and also luckily my new craving is maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

This is ground breaking news. Mike sat in bed last night during "The Dark Night" eating a Mrs. Fields ice cream cookie sandwich, of which there are 8 more in the freezer, and I had a bowl of oatmeal with fat free milk.

So, this weeks agenda is finding a temporary pediatrician for Pat's birth. I am hoping I can use the same one I used for B when I delivered at Irvine.

Confirming if anesthesia is covered for my delivery at Hoag. (And if it is not???)

Hopefully confirming a name.

Making a list of everything I am still lacking for this kid. I think I have its room all decorated in my head. I found some kick ass crib sheets I am in love with!! Which just also happened to match the color I was thinking of painting the walls, and go with the antique bronze hardware and lights we already purchased.

And, hopefully getting some sleep!

27 Weeks, 6 days

This is day 5 of no sleep.

I go to bed just fine. I am hardcore asleep. Then at about 10:30/11 pm I wake up. Wide awake. almost like it is morning and I have slept for 8 hours. But then I can't go back to sleep.

I am a mess.

I just spent to much time googling this issue, and apparently it is normal, and they dont offer any advice.

I hope this is a fluke, because I have become pretty useless during the day.

Names Part 2

I guess to be fair I should add in Jesse and Janees choices too, even though we have 86'd most of them.

Janee, I think, just pulls any girls name out of her head she can think of, from Suzy to Amber

Jesse wants Zoe or Chloe. Mostly Chloe. While I do think these are pretty, I think they are over popular.

One of them also suggested Baily. No one admits who it was since Mike chalked it up to a dog name. Whatever.

I should also add, that I dont want to be the A-hole with some freak exotic named kid, spelled some wacky way where everyone either 1) can't pronounce it, or 2) wonders why the hell my kids name has 106 letters in it.

And being one of my kids name's is Janee, and yet no one can pronounce it right, this is huge.

Name Crisis

So, although we have mostly agreed on a name, Farrah, we still chat about it....

My mother hates it because she is convinced that everyone will think we named her after Farrah Faucett.

My thoughts are that any name we could pick, someone could *think* we named the kid after. I mean, I was totally named after Christie Brinkley, right? Or Agatha Christie as my old neighbor used to call me.

So, here are the names and some explanations behind them, feel free to rip them apart or compliment them. Please.

Farrah, Farah - The number 1 choice, however, Farah Faucett did just die. And there was Farrah from Rock of Love & Charm School, but no one will remember her in 2 weeks, if anyone still does.

Rylee, Ryleigh - My mom is tryign to sell this one. I am against it because there was this girl on Janee's soccer team 2 years ago, named Rylee. She had a younger sister that her parents had no control over and therefor drove me crazy. Now, when I think Rylee, I think of her parents, and then her sister. (Lame I know, but it is in my head.)

Harlee, Harleigh - Leigh is my middle name, so that is why I have this name and the one above spelled this way. However, My childhood friend growing up used Charleigh, (her sisters middle name), so I am not sure if I feel like a copycat. Janee so wisely thought about Harlee and said "That sounds like it should be a motorcycle"......really?

Harper

Audrey

Eleanor, not 100% on, but love Elle

Joey

Hope

The middle name, we are almost set on is Christine (After me, kind of, after my cousin, kind of, after my great aunt, Kind of). I can't use my real name, Christina, because although I am not of spanish decent, I feel like my name is. AND, it does not go with any first names I come up with.

So, we have baby X Christine Graff

27 Weeks, 3 days

Well, I got my u/s. I was sitting in the waiting room, and bitchface came out and said "someones name that is not Christy"

Relief.

I got someone new finally.

First, the devastating news - They estimated my due date as Decemeber 17. That adds 4 days onto the pregnancy.

I told her she can't do that!!

Her response was to say sorry, and to tell me to not pay any attention to it. She said earlier u/s are most accurate for due dates, because you can get a clearer picture of the baby. Once the baby is bigger, it starts looking more distorted.

I hope she wasn't bs-ing me.

I also found out that Pat is 2 lbs 3 oz. Shut the hell up! That seems gigantic for 27 weeks. I need to do some research and see what is average.

My mom told me that she weighed that much when she was born!

Anyway, here is the news only I have been waiting for:

And then for a special bonus, here is creepy baby face on. It was opening and closing its mouth and looking like it was smiling but it was skull like. Seriously creepy.

27 Weeks, 2 Days

Had my Dr. Appt today.

I asked her these questions:

1) WTF is up with this heartburn that started up. Again. And so bad that it laughs at Tums? Zantac

2) How do I go about scheduling this C-section so the anesthesiologist is covered? Call the hospital and get the name of the whole anesthesiologist group and see if they are covered and at what %.

Fabulous. And if they are not?

3) Do I get another ultrasound? Not necessarily.

4) What is up with this HEINOUS bruised feeling in my pelvic bone. That comes for hours. Then goes for days, then comes again. In the same spot on my left side. I have no idea. Could be a hernia, a bladder infection showing itself in a very odd way, the baby screwing around and sitting funny, my scar tissue stretching, amongst other things.

She checked for a hernia, and did see anything funny. but then sent me for an ultrasound. <3 After she told me #3, I was sad that I may not have the chance to confirm Pat's sex however, that changed when I asked her #4.

So, tomorrow at 10:45 I will hopefully have the answer to Pat's sex, as well as hopefully what the heinous pain is.

I am not on the every 2 week Dr. visit schedule, which means we are getting closer to the end.

I washed all my neighbors girl clothes yesterday, and about died putting it all away. It looks like a pink lace factory exploded in the dresser. Disgusting. No one turns down free clothes, especially when the kid will wear them 1 time, maybe 2 before bursting out of them, but seriously. Newborn girl clothes for the cold months, are not fabulous.

I know from B, that I am also not down with pants and tops combo for little babies as it makes constant diaper changes more of a PITA, so I guess I deal with it. But wow.

Oh and the big one for today was the 1 hr GD testing today. Blah. I get my results back on Thursday. The good news is the nurse asked me if I had it with B, and when I told her no, she shrugged and said, "Oh, then you shouldnt have a problem with this one"

So, I asked her if I should go home and mow down as many cakes and ice cream sundaes as possible as they may be my last, or if I was good to just stay calm.

I love her because she roller her eyes at me. :)

Anyway, stay tuned for the update on Pat.

27 weeks, 1 day

12 weeks to go! I love getting that 1 week off for early delivery.

Last night I got caught up watching Manson on the History channel, which was a 2 hour deal on the Sharon Tate Murders. Linda Kasavian, who was the lookout that night, narrated alot of it. It was creepy and interesting. BUT, the point of all of this is thank god, I was caught up in that for 2 hours because the baby was going freaking nuts! There was no way I was going to be going to sleep anytime soon anyway. It really didn't matter what position I was in, or what I did, that kid was on the move.

We are back from Temecula for awhile, even though we left the trailer out there for potentially a couple months. It will be nice to try to get this house organized, finally. Mike is painting and then hanging the doors up today and then hopefully getting started on the hall trim, and then it will be finished. We moved the kids in, mostly, and then took off to Temecula for a week and then another weekend, I never did straighten out the rest of the aftermath of the house. So, that is this weeks project...and then, I will update with some pictures.

I am also thinking I need to get started with baby clothes and baby things. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I am having a girl since my technician was a total bitchface, so I am planning on going through B's old things and washing some of the newborn items, just in case. My neighbor has given me bagloads of girl clothes from her newborn twins, but the situation there is, she uses this nasty ass laundry soap and dryersheet combo. I don't think it is bad to the non pregnant nose, however, to me, I need a gas mask to be around them. Seriously. And the worst part is, I use all unscented laundry supplies. SO, my washing 1 time = nothing.

So, I estimate at least 30 loads of laundry. 15 to get started on scent removal, and 15 to rewash and cross my fingers.

While I am at it and trying to be prepared....Since I am popping out a baby between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am trying to think ahead.

I don't want to be Christmas shopping with a 1 week old, so here is some of my to do list starting now.

1) Hang Christmas Lights

2) Cook loads of food to freeze and cook once baby is born

3) Christmas Shop

4) Wash all of baby clothes

5) Clean out all of B's old things to see what is usable and what can go bye bye

6) Get entire house organized so I can get it off my mind.

BTW, Christmas? It is still 95 degrees outside. Where is fall??

26 Weeks 4 days

I am down with sharing my symptoms with M. If he wants to get fat and have back pain and pee all the time, so be it.

But

The one I won't give up?

Moodyness.

I am not so bad yet, but I would like to reserve the right to be, if I want. And he stole it from me.

Not fair.

Other interesting news: I had breakfast this morning - So it was a sausage biscuit from McDonalds, whatever...then we went for a walk and spent the morning at the DMV renewing M's license.

After a drive into Yorba Linda, and a trip to the hardware store so M could wander around pushing a manget on wheels with a look of awe on his face, he wanted Del Taco.

Actually, he said "Hey, I heard you say a few minutes ago that you wanted Del Taco even though we just ate MCdonalds, so I will take you"

(Nice try, blame the preggo on wanting food)

We got to Del Taco, and I was not hungry!!!!! Hallelujah!

I never thought this day would happen.

In other ground breaking news:

I cleaned out the Mrs Fields Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich supply at Outdoor Resorts over the weekend and almost cried when I went to get one on Tuesday and they were gone.

Well, we were in my most hated store, Walmart, today to get toilet chemicals (Nice how I have to explain why I was in there....I really do hate that store), I saw the ice cream cart at checkout and they HAVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, a redeeming quality about that store.

M is off to get an MRI which leaves me on soccer duty, and being super productive as I am, I think I will grocery shop while she is at practice.

For the parents: M went to a neurologist for his numbness in his knee, foot, and ankle (Not the surgery one) who had no idea why it would be numb. The Dr. sent him for an MRI and then he is to come back for nerve testing. Hopefully, in a week or so we will have a better update.

He always has to one up me ;)

26 Weeks 3 Days

So, last night, I was stoked to be finally relaxing in bed reading Woman's Day. I know, I am super old, but I havent read a new magazine in months, and WTF ever. I am certainly not down with reading Self Magazine and their healthy recipes full of veggies and the newest ab workout, so go ahead and make fun.

Anyway, Mike was diligently watching crap on TV so I was suprised to hear him laughing hysterically. At me. At my stomach to be specific. It was going freaking nuts. The oddest thing about it was I couldn't really feel anything from the inside, but it was jiggling all over the place. I am not sure what "X"/"Pat" was up to in there, but wow!!

Anyway, I thought I would take a moment to document what I am most excited for once this thing is born.

1) I want to say a cockatil but that makes me sound like a drunk so I will hold out for #2. I want to be able to wear pants and shirts and not be totally irritated when they touch my stomach. I HATE anything touching it. I have to sag my pants below it, and I hate shirts resting on it. I wish I could walk around in a sports bra and saggy pants. That would be ideal, however, I dont have that body either so I will spare everyone. For the record, I apologize to everyone who spends time around me. When my clothes touch my stomach (ALL the time) I am irritable.

2) A cocktail. This, by the way, would really help with the above problem.

3) Being able to go for a walk and not dying. Mike and I went for a 1 1/2 mile walk this morning on flat ground. He asked me if I wanted to go a certain direction which included a hill, and I almost cried.

4) Being able to drink a Monster. This sounds really good for some reason.

5) Wanting to go camping again. It is just not the same while fat and preggo.

6) Sleeping - and I know this wont come till Pat is at least 4 months old, but the countdown has begun, as I think, last night was the start of back pain hell.

All and all, however, I think I am keeping a good head and trying not to fight everyone around me. Jesse did try to eat my last piece of chocolate cake pleading "I am craving chocolate though". Nice try.

I admit though, I did get a little laugh out of that.

26 Weeks 2 days

Well, we are back home. We ended up staying 1 extra day out there instead. I was not happy to come home. However, now that we are here, and the kids are home, it is kind of nice to be back.

It also helps knowing we are going one more time next weekend.

The biggest positive was that we were able to leave the trailer out there, so that is a huge PITA, we dont have to deal with. Now.

Brody saw his first cat fish
He has a plethera of new words: Sock, duck, pool, suit, star, eyes, nose, hair, bye bye, shirt, shorts, trees
He also will put his finger to his lips and say "shhhhh" and then proceed to whisper.
His new name for me is ma. I am not happy about this to say the least. And if he says "Ma!" and I dont respond, he yells it. embarassing. I think I would prefer a "hey you" over ma.
He also watched Mike jump into the pool, and then decided to jump right in himself. with no fear. He sunk to the bottom, of course, like a brick. Luckily Mike was right near him to pull him out of the water. He came up out of the water, and was stunned, but ok. Mike later tried to get him to jump from the side of the pool into the water into his arms, and he would have no part of it, so I think he learned something from that mistake.

I am now 26 weeks pregnant, and have been going back and forth over whether or not to have a baby shower. I am not sure what is correct, but I was kind of leaning towards a co-ed one months ago.

After talking to J, of J & D, I think I am sold. It is not so much for gifts, but more to celebrate the new kid and get everyone together. So, I think we will do a casual BBQ at my mom's with men, women, and children. No games, or any of that typical bs.

I have my next appt. Tuesday with my GD test. yay. And then, I am onto every other week appts. I plan to ask Dr. No BS about the plans for checking up on this kid to make sure what happened with B (Yanking his cord and stopping his heart) does not happen to this baby as well.

I will update later with some random pictures, but after 7 loads of laundry and doing taco night for everyone, I am beat.

Birthday

Uneventful.

I spent the day busting my ass, then waiting out a fluke thunderstrom, and running after Brody all day. Mike spent the day relaxing and golfing.

I didnt even get to eat my cake.

We did decide to go to dinner at Front Street Bar & Grill in Old Town Temecula. ( I <3 that place). And then had chocolate mousse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which they gave us for free. The birthday dessert there is cheesecake, Sick. So I passed on that, and the server hooked me up with the mousse.

I am still pregnant. Feeling gigantic. With nasty symptoms. I think the biggest one that pisses me off to date being the bloody noses.

Oh and another Happy Birthday to me: My kid walked up to me today, put a hand on each side of my stomach, and said "Ball"

Cute, but not, at the same time.

Today, I am waiting for Mike to get back from golfing, again, watching B, then we are going to take a drive to lake Skinner to check out a campground Mike knows of there. He thinks it is a cheaper alternative to Vail Lake. We will see. That would be nice since Vail Lake suddenly is more expensive than 4 nights in Hawaii. <3 <3

The rooms

Here are the rooms, not 100% completed as far as move in goes, but this is better than nothing.

Janee's room.

Brody's bed. I was super stressed out about what to do about a bed for B. He is a crazy sleeper and all over the place. I have never been able to use a blanket for him because he moves around so much. He has spent every night of his existance in a sleep sack.

I have read that bed rails are dangerous and can cause small children to suffocate. They can become trapped between the rail and the mattress. I have also read that toddler beds are a waste of money. They outgrow them and then still need to buy them a bed. I was super stressed as far as what to do with him. I found this kick ass bed at Ikea for about $130.00. It grows. It starts out abou the length of the crib, with the side guards that end up pretty close together. You can then move the headboard and footboard farther apart in three stages, with the final stage being a full size twin bed.

Of course the next issue was getting him to sleep in it. The first night, last Friday, I took him in his brand new room in his brand new bed, said "Get into bed". He then jumped in bed, got under the blanket, head on his pillow, and went to sleep. And stayed under the comforter all night. I hate to say this because I could jinx myself, but every night since then has been the same. Go figure.

Jesse's room

All rooms are still missing blinds which should be arriving today!