Hello 2010

It's hard to believe that 2009 is already ending. It has been quite a year! But, 2010 is promising to bring us lots of excitement - especially in the first half!

We really enjoyed spending a quiet Christmas with our families. Probably the last quiet Christmas for a while . . . We're enjoying the same quiet this New Year's Eve.

Darcy is definitely growing. It seems that every single day, I think my belly is bigger than it was the day before. Strangers now notice that I'm pregnant. We've also entered the period of time where she is most active (which is between 24 and 28 weeks, I think). She is definitely doing flips, kicks, and all kinds of other wiggles. She likes to kick me when I'm getting hungry, and then she settles down a little after I've eaten. Pretty amusing.

We are officially on the downhill slope. Only 14 weeks to go! We ordered Darcy's baby bedding, and it arrived yesterday. I'll try to post pictures soon. We don't have the crib yet, so the nursery pictures will have to wait a little bit. But, the bedding is lady bugs. Really cute!!

Brad borrowed a bassinet and brought that home this week. It made things a little more real for me. You'd think that the expanding abdomen would do that, but apparently I'm still living in a little bit of denial. I know she'll be here soon, but it sinks in a little bit more with each piece of baby gear we bring home.

We'll get another picture posted pretty soon. We are going to take this weekend and relax. Try to stock up on our rest before April gets here! Hello 2010 . . .

Stubborn Little Girl

So, we had another ultrasound today to check on Darcy's growth and for our 3D/4D ultrasound. Growth is fine. She weighs about 1 lb. 10 oz. already. However, as typical for each of our other ultrasounds, she didn't cooperate. She managed to get herself into a very difficult position - breech. Pretty much, it was like someone had dropped her into a barrel butt-first, with her feet in her face. Thankfully, Kim was able to still get some shots of her cute little face. But, we did get lots of shots of her feet.

Here are some of the pictures from today. Let us know who you think she looks like . . .

This is probably my favorite one.

Profile shot

This should give you an idea of her position for the ultrasound. Yes, those are her feet in her face. Apparently, this child is very flexible.

Gymnast Baby

Okay, so it's been a little while since I've posted. The night after my last post, we had a trip to the emergency room. Kidney stones. Oh, the joys of pregnancy . . .

And, things were pretty busy for a while getting that HUGE paper done. But, now that's over, and things at work will be settling down soon, so hopefully we can focus on enjoying this last holiday as just the two of us.

I'm really feeling the baby move now. Brad is too, which is fun for both of us. Sometimes I think she's doing flips! Might have a future as a gymnast . . .

I can't believe that we're only 16 weeks away from our due date. It's really going by fast. Here's a fairly current picture, taken a couple of days ago. The belly is definitely growing!

23.5 weeks

20 Weeks

Things have been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. We've been working a lot, and then I've been working on my HUGE paper.

But, we're half way there at 20 weeks! We had a good report from the doctor today. They did another ultrasound today, and Darcy looked great. Brain, heart, kidneys, all that stuff looked good. She was sticking out her tongue and swallowing. So cool to watch!

Anyway, here are some updated pics - belly pictures from earlier this week and pictures from today's ultrasound. Enjoy!

19.5 weeks

Getting rounder!

Mouth open. She wasn't going to cooperate very much to let us get a shot of that perfect little profile.

Precious little feet

Still a little skeletal

I think she may be sticking out her tongue a bit. She was doing that a couple of times during the ultrasound.

Scary face

It's a Girl!

We had our first ultrasound last week. It's truly amazing to see this little life. It is one way where God is still creating!

We found out that we're having a little girl. Very exciting!

Still praying for a healthy baby!

And for the record, I'm pretty amazed at how well our ultrasound tech was able to pick out what these blurry images actually were! Some of them I can definitely see, but others . . . well, it's hard to make out a baby from what I see.

I'm definitely feeling more movement today. She's an active little thing!

The Urgency of Eating

No, I'm not talking about Dug the Pug, or even Ebert for that matter. It's amazing to me how quickly serious hunger comes on. And, I'm talking serious hunger. I can go from "Yeah, I probably need to eat here soon" to "Oh my goodness! If I don't eat NOW, I will eat my arm!" in about 60 seconds. Some serious business!

And, that's when it gets tricky. I'm starving, but I need to make sure I stop eating when I'm full so I don't overeat. And when you're that hungry, it takes a minute to figure out that you're full, and it's quite possible that you've already overeaten in that minute. Overeating means some pretty uncomfortable indigestion, and nothing I've craved has ever tasted great enough to justify the misery that comes from overindulgence! Still trying to figure that out.

And, cravings have been pretty interesting too. Nothing too crazy. In the beginning, I craved some Mexican food with extra cheese and sauce. I've also craved Chick-Fil-A, Pizza Hut with extra sauce, popcorn, and potatoes. And pickles and ice cream, whether separately or together, have been on the list of things I don't want!

Here's a picture from earlier this week at 17 weeks.

We have our ultrasound on Monday. I'll try to post again with the big news - boy or girl!

Naps are Great!

I love my weekend naps! I try to get at least one, if not two naps in per weekend. I'd love to do that every day, but it's generally frowned upon in the workplace!

Here's a picture we took almost a week ago - when I was about 15 1/2, almost 16 weeks. Brad took it right before we went to bed, so please forgive my bleary-eyed appearance!





My parents were supposed to come up this weekend, but since there's so much flu going around, they decided to wait a couple of weeks. I appreciate their concern, but it will be great to see them!

We have our ultrasound a week from Monday. I know it's going to be a long week! According to the books I have, I should be able to start feeling Baby Peanut move anytime. At times, I think I feel something that could be Peanut, but I always doubt myself. I'm sure I'll figure it out in the next few weeks.

Into Week 15

So, this week, we had a doctor's appointment. Everything was good, exactly where we needed to be for 15 weeks. So, we now have an ultrasound scheduled for November 2, where we should be able to find out what we're having. Very excited.

I've been trying to rest today. Seems to be my goal every weekend. I'm in search of a maternity coat. It gets pretty cold in the winter here in Kansas City, and since I'm going to be very pregnant throughout this winter, I thought it was a pretty important thing to look for. So far, I haven't found one I think will work yet. Saw maternity coats at Target, but they were trench coats. Don't think that will cut it.

I'm a little concerned about the H1N1 flu stuff. I can't get any vaccines for the flu because of my egg allergy, and I know pregnant women are at a higher risk. Doing the best I can to avoid people who are sick and practicing good prevention (hand-washing and hand-sanitizing all I can). Still, it's concerning.

I'm craving something sweet (which is rare these days), and I'm thinking baked apples. That's somewhat healthy, right?

The Big News

So, I haven't been able to share on my blog all that's been going on in the last few months because we hadn't made it public yet. But, the word is out now.

We're having a baby!!!

So excited. I've already started transitioning to maternity clothes. Still in that awkward, in-between stage where nothing fits. We have our third doctor's appointment tomorrow. Last time, we heard the heartbeat. It was awesome!! Can't wait to hear it again. I'm about 14 1/2 weeks along. Still hard to comprehend all of the change that's coming.

Memorial Day

I don't think I can express how excited I am to be home this weekend. I mean, I love my family, but it's really nice to be home and recharge the batteries, especially for the long weekend! We're going to tackle a few small projects around the house, but mostly just relax.

Oh - side note - I think I may have fixed my Blackberry! I have a Storm (my work phone), and I was having a terrible time with the clickable screen. It was harder to push than I thought it should be. Jess, who works with me, got one, too, and her screen was much, MUCH easier to click. So, I googled my problem, and two business cards cut to the size of the battery later, I am clicking away! I love Google. Don't know how we got along without it.

Leah's showers went very well. The second one was a TON of fun! I've posted a couple of pictures. The wedding is ONE week away! Very excited for her. It's still hard to believe that my sister is going to be married.

They have a house, have booked their flights, and are set to pick up their marriage license on Tuesday. Almost all of the details are decided and handled now.

Okay. Dirty dishes are waiting for me. And, a really gorgeous day, too. Need to get moving so I can get outside and enjoy it!

Being a Bridesmaid

I guess I'm technically the Matron of Honor. Wedding stuff is pretty busy, even if you're not the bride. We are gearing up for Shower #2 this weekend. Thankfully, the bachelorette party is now the night before the wedding.

Anyway, I'll try to get Leah's pictures from the last shower to post. It was very nice, quiet, and small. Which I think is exactly what she wanted. They got some really nice stuff, too.

Here are pictures of my dress for the wedding. Which reminds me - I still need to pick up my shoes!

It's going to be a long May

It is 31 days until Leah's wedding. In that amount of time, we will make four, yes FOUR trips to Joplin. Showers, bachelorette party, wedding. It's going to be a busy month.

But, she only gets married once, so I guess it's worth it.

I made homemade bagels last night. That kept us up later than we wanted, but they taste great!

Today is my dad's 55th birthday. He is officially a senior citizen. I didn't remind him of that fact, but I'm sure he and Mom are looking forward to the discount. K.C. is settling into his new home nicely. He's even playing with his toys.

I'll try to take some pictures of him (along with all of the wedding fun) when we're down to Joplin . . . again . . . and again . . . and again.

Sick on the Road

Being sick when you're away from home has got to be one of the worst ways you can be sick. I was traveling to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for work on Tuesday and woke up that morning with a slight sore throat. Slight enough that I attributed it to the dry air from all the recent weather changes.

Not so much. In fact, by 5:00 PM that night, I was pretty sure I had a fever. When I took my temperature at 6:00, it was already over 101, and I was pretty sure I was coming down with strep. That was Tuesday, and I was supposed to be in Hot Springs through Friday.

Needless to say, I flew home on Wednesday, and have been trying to recover ever since. Still a little tired, but I feel TONS better.

On a positive note, I've lost the four pounds I've been stressing about lately. Hopefully I won't find them again now that I'm feeling better!

Snow?

Okay, all week they've been predicting this massive snowfall over the weekend. The estimated snowfall kept growing - 4 inches, 8 inches, 12 inches. Snow was supposed to start falling at abou 4 AM this morning. The word "blizzard" had been thrown around.

I wake up . . . NO SNOW!

Now, apparently it's raining and should be changing to a rain/snow mix anytime. And the accumulation predictions are under 6 inches.

I am very ready for spring.

Combatting the Mud

So, we embarked on this landscaping endeavor to try to fix the drainage problem in the yard. No water in or near the house, really, just standing water in the back and perpetually squishiness on the sides of the yard. Not ideal when you have two dogs.

So, Brad and his dad and brothers dug French drains and dry wells. And so far, so good. However, we still have a mud issue since the yard is still torn up.

I'm looking for research articles for my homework for this week. I have to find one supporting teen sexual activity and one against it. The surprising thing is that I'm having a fairly difficult time finding a research article that says teen sex is harmful beyond STDs and HIV. Kind of depressing. I am able to find research that says teens who practice abstinence may even be at a disadvantage socially for not engaging in premarital sex.

Finally got a date for my sister's bridal shower. Yeah! I can't believe there are only 65 days until her wedding. My baby sister is all grown up!

We're supposed to get four to eight inches of snow this weekend. What happened to spring??

Procrastination

If there was one household chore I could forego forever, I would pick cleaning the shower. I hate cleaning the shower. My shower is totally gross right now. I really need to clean it. But, instead I'm blogging, watching TV, and playing ball with Ebert.

long-distance friendships

I had a great weekend with my friend Tera. She came up to spend the weekend as a beginning of our attempt to prioritize and schedule time together. We get so busy with jobs, husbands, and she is a mom now, that it's hard to find or make time to just hang out and be. It doesn't help that I live in Kansas City and she lives in Webb City.

It's really hard living away from your friends and family. It feels like you miss out on the details of life. She didn't know about our recent embarassing moment of finding strange underwear in a blanket. I didn't know that Noah rubs his belly when he's hungry.

We live about three hours away from all of our grandparents, too. This didn't bother me as much until recently. I've always lived at least an hour away from grandparents, so that's normal. Nana didn't receive the greatest news from her doctors yesterday, and so that makes me reget all the time I let pass between visits. It's more time than I'd like to admit.

We had a huge snowfall yesterday. I say huge, but we haven't had very much snow this winter. It's really pretty.

Doggie Door

Why can't our dogs go out the doggie door downstairs when we're upstairs? They simply refuse and want us to let them out upstairs. I just don't get it.

Ebert and Dug are definitely enjoying their newfound freedom. It was really nice on Friday, and they were exhausted Friday night. Saturday was another pretty day, and they spent quite a bit of time outside. I'm hoping it continues as the days continue to get nicer. That's my hope for Dug to lose his few lbs. That, and when it's light out longer we can take walks.

Ebert is still infatuated with his ball. He must think it's fun to push it under the furniture. He does it all the time.

Things are good for Brad and me. We've had a relaxing weekend, just the two of us.

a little something fun

I stole this from my sister's Facebook page. It looked fun, and I thought I'd share. You should give it a try. It's not as easy as you think, at least it wasn't for me anyway.


Rules:Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real, nothing made up! You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question. Have Fun!!



1. What is your name: Sara

2. A four Letter Word: Soft

3. A boy's Name: Scott

4. A girl's Name: Samantha

5. An occupation: Salesman (actually the politically correct answer would be salesperson)

6. A color: Sage green

7. Something you wear: Socks

8. A food: Soup

9. Something found in the bathroom: Soap

10. A place: Spain

11. A reason for being late: Stuck in traffic

12. Something you shout: Stop!

13. A movie title: Sense & Sensibility

14. Something you drink: Soda

15. A musical group: Supertones

16. An animal: Sheep

17. A street name: Seventh Street

18. A type of car: Saturn

19. A song title: Stand by Me

20. A verb: Strive

Jack the Foster Puppy

Here are some more pictures of Jack the foster puppy. Isn't he adorable?

life's surprise blessings

Dug woke me up early today, so I have a moment to share about our week, which as been kind of crazy. Monday morning, I received an e-mail from Brad that a lady in his office, Talena, had rescued a puppy and they were all trying to find him a home.

I quickly passed along the e-mail to many of my dog-loving friends, and then I tried to find out more information about this little guy. Talena had watched Animal Control in Bonner Springs take him into a vet (who is lovingly known as Dr. Death, so apparently this is a common occurrance) who she knew had a three-day holding period for owners to claim their pets before he puts them down. I guess they don't have any kind of shelter in Bonner Springs? Anyway, Talena gave the vet her phone number and asked him to call her if the puppy wasn't claimed.

So, he called her on Monday morning at 8:45 AM and said "The puppy has until 11:00 AM." She couldn't convince him to hold him until after the workday, so she picked him up and took him to Wells Fargo's office. Everyone fell in love with him, and Brad and I offered to foster him if he didn't have a home by the end of the day. So, Monday night after work, we picked him up.

He is a very cute and very sweet dog. The office named him Jack after the Wells Fargo stagecoach dog. Talena had picked up some food, a new collar and leash, some treats and some toys. I grabbed a kennel/crate and food dish on my way home. He is a very curious puppy, very playful with a sweet personality. But, his paws are bigger than you expect. After looking on the internet with our friends Adam and Rachel, we decided that we think he's part Border collie. Not full bred, because he didn't seem to be fuzzy enough for that, but his markings were definitely pointing in the Border collie direction.

He really liked Dug. They wrestled and wrestled, and Jack tried to chew on Dug's curly tail. Ebert wanted to play ball (surprise!), and he growled at Jack when Jack tried to play, too. Jack made some good progress with potty training and was even starting to go to the door to go outside.

He slept through the night on Monday night, and on Tuesday evening we found him a forever home. A couple came to meet him, and I'm convinced that anyone who meets him falls in love. The husband had lost his boxer, and they were looking for a new dog for him. I'm really glad he found a family (with four kids, two cats, and another dog) to love him and spoil him rotten. Brad and I discussed keeping him, but to have three dogs, we would need an SUV! That wasn't in the budget plan . . . but other than that . . .

Dug and Ebert are glad to have things back to normal. I am, too, but I still think about that cute little guy. I'm glad we were willing and able to help one of God's helpless creatures.

Okay, so somehow the pictures went to the top! Sorry . . .

It's the little things in life.

Look at me! Two days in a row. While I'm waiting for the coffee to steep (French Press style), I thought I'd jot down a little update. Brad's parents were supposed to come up this weekend, but Janet is sick and plans were squashed.

So, it's just Brad and me for the weekend. But, we really don't mind that. We really enjoy having weekends to just hang out. He's my favorite person to hang out with! So, some errands to run today. Maybe look more at furniture. Old Blue, the best sleeping couch in the world, is about out of life in the basement. Getting pretty ratty and tattered (but the frame is still SOLID).

I need to take a quiz today, too. That reminds me - I should probably make a list . . .

Update

So, getting on the computer after I've spent almost all day in front of one is proving difficult. I'm even having a hard time getting motivated to get online for school. I really need to take a quiz today. Yuck.

Things are moving along in 2009. Still working on getting into that exercise routine, but the other stuff is going okay.

Brad gave Ebert some racketball balls that he had in the garage. Dug likes them, too. It's funny to watch Ebert try to chase them because the bounce. High. Definitely makes playing ball more fun. They also slip out of his mouth and start bouncing all over when he tries to bite down on them. The only downside is that they're small enough to roll under ever piece of furniture in the house.

It's been really really cold here the last couple of days. Bundle up! I don't mind the cold, but the wind has been gusting 25-35 miles per hour at least. Don't enjoy that!

so 2009 is here before we knew it . . .

Okay, so the blogging on a regular basis didn't go so well in 2008. Doing better with that is one of my goals for 2009. So is losing five pounds. Don't know where some of those came from, but two of them appeared in the last two weeks of 2008. (Very unwelcomely, I might add.)

So, here are the goals I'm setting for the coming year:

1. Blog on a more regular basis (at least a couple of times a week).
2. Lose 5 pounds.
3. Get into an exercise routine. This will help with #2 and also help get me back into better shape. And, I always feel better when I do.
4. Dress more professionally for work. I don't do horribly with this now, but I need to bust out the iron more and get more wear out of those button-down shirts.
5. Find a new ministry to serve in at church. You can only be a sponge for so long before you can't soak up any more. And, both Brad and I have felt a bit of a restlessness about our involvement with the church.

Five goals. I should probably stop there, although if I thought about it, I could come up with all kinds of things that I need to work on. But, five is reasonable to accomplish.

School is back in session in a week, so all of these things that I'm able to do now (blog, exercise, iron) will be a little harder. We'll see how it goes. But, I keep telling myself that school is not an excuse, and these things will only get harder when we eventually have kids. Now is the time to forge these habits!

Happy 2009!