I bet she'll taste great with some A-1 steak sauce!

I love my dog. Now please go back and re-read that last sentence one more time. Do you understand? Okay good. BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BARBEQUE HER!

For example, I was watching a show last night on A&E about people who O.C.D. (obsessive compulsive disorder) and there was this woman who obsesses over dogs being tortured and killed. Well they took this woman to a local pound and America got to watch her have an emotional melt down over all the fuzzy faces in cages. I am the kind of woman who cries at the IAMS dog food commercial so being pregnant and seeing this, I started to weep and proceeded to hug my dog until she couldn’t take it anymore due to lack of oxygen. Do you really understand how much I love my dog? I hope so…because taking away all her squeaky toys and leaving her with nothing to play with really going to breaks my heart.

Every morning my dog and I have a routine. I get up, shower, go downstairs, put her on her leash, let her out my front door so she can “relieve herself” on my lawn, go inside, feed her, feed myself, go back upstairs, and get ready for work. This pattern was interrupted when Sera came to town. She wanted to walk Freya across the road every morning and let her use the bathroom on the big lawn. I agreed because it was Sera and it wasn’t a big deal. But 2 weeks of walking across the road to let Freya urinate on the large patch of grass spoiled my dog. And now that Sera has gone, Freya can’t get back into our normal routine.

I let her out the front door and she just sits there…staring at me. It has become a battle of wills which I lose because I don’t want to bring her back in and have her pee on my floor. I have ended up caving in and walking her across the road to let her go to the bathroom. But not today! I wasn’t going to let that happen today. Nope, this morning she was going to pee in my front lawn no matter what.

So after my shower I go to get dressed and realized all my clothes are downstairs on the dryer. But that is okay because I am not walking outside today. My dog is going to pee on my lawn and I was only going to have to stand at my front door. So I wrapped a towel around me, threw my robe over that for a little extra modesty, and headed down stairs.

I got to my front door and clipped on Freya’s leash and let her out. Sure enough, she sat on the front step and waited. But I wasn’t going to give in. I closed my screen door and attached her leash handle to the knob so she couldn’t get away. She was going to sit out there and do her business. So I walked into my kitchen and got her breakfast ready. I peeked at the front door and could tell she was still sitting there so I went on my way. I got myself a bowl of cereal and some juice and headed to the table. …that’s when I heard it.

SCREECH…SCRAPE…CLUNK…

I whip around to see Freya’s leash handle lying on the floor. I run to the front door and look out my screen. She is across the road peeing on the lawn. Her leash is older and it broke months ago so Ryan tied a big knot in it to hold it together. Apparently this did not go unnoticed by my dog. And from the looks of it, she chewed the knot lose and ran free across the road.

Now I panic. My dog is a runner and if she gets lose, she takes off. So without thinking I dart out the front door after her. She sees me coming and knows she is in trouble. So mid-pee she starts running. I catch up to her only to get dog pee on my foot. Gross! I grab the little bit of leash still attached to her collar and began to drag her back to my front door when I feel something…slipping.

Then it hits me, I am still in my bathrobe with a towel wrapped around me. And that slipping, well that’s the towel. So now I am hunched over hanging onto my dog with one hand and trying to keep my robe closed tight with my other and trying not to let me towel fall completely off. I get back across the road and to my front door, but right as I am about to enter, the towel slips to the ground.

I shove my dog inside and try to close the screen door but it’s still open a crack. I bend down to pick up my towel while checking to see if any of my neighbors are dying from laughter in their front room windows, when through the crack in the door my dog licks my face. I glare at her and she cocks her head to one side and wags her tail as if to say, “I win. Let’s play again.” Tomorrow we will play by her rules.

Top Ten Annoying Work Things

Allow me to depart from my usual topic of blogging, pregnancy, to discuss another important aspect of me life-my job. I work for a brilliant doctor who was kind enough to give me my start in medicine. I love what I do and where I work. I am a receptionist most days but also do some work for the clinic as a certified nursing assistant. (CNA)

My job is very fulfilling and makes me feel like I am making some small difference in this world. I enjoy medicine and all the good that I can see it do for people. And I love the people I work with-they are friends along with co-workers.

My job has brought me insight into a whole new dimension of people however. And so now, without any further gilding of the lily, I give you my:

Top Ten Things That Drive Me Crazy about Working at a Doctor’s Office


1. Patient’s who assume I am a medical genius: Allow me to explain…please, I beg of you, DO NOT assume that the person answering the phone at your doctor’s office is a doctor. I understand you want to know what to do about your rectal bleeding, BUT I AM NOT THE ONE TO ASK! So don’t get upset when I stop you halfway through your explanation of your anal warts to tell you that I’ll transfer you to a nurse that can help you.

2. Doctor’s Office Does NOT = Babysitter: If you are a parent and cannot find a sitter for your kids, please don’t ask me to watch them while you have your rectal exam. I realize that you don’t want to emotionally scar your kids by allowing them to see a man inserting his finger in your rear, but perhaps you should have thought of that BEFORE YOU BROUGHT THEM TO YOUR PROCTOLOGIST APPOINTMENT!

3. Getting Mad About Your Lack of Pain Meds: Again I am going to remind you that I am not the person who denied you your refill of Lortab. I don’t know why it isn’t being refilled but please, don’t yell at me like I just kicked your puppy and then ran it over repeatedly with my car. Yelling at me won’t help…I promise.

4. Complaining About Magazine Choices: I know you want the latest issue of “Fish & Game Magazine” ready for you when you arrive, but that isn’t going to happen. Sit down, read “Better Homes & Gardens” and be happy about it or I’ll replace all the magazines with college level physics books…WITH NO PICTURES!

5. Talking On Your Cell Phone In the Waiting Room: Most people who come to a doctor’s office are sick and would like a little peace and quite. So when you are practically screaming your conversation because the person on the other end of the call can’t hear you, it’s REALLY annoying. No one wants to hear what you did last night, or where you are going after your appointment, or about the cute thing your kid did this morning. Take it outside or turn it off!

6. Complaining That There Are Sick People In the Waiting Room: Really? Sick people? AT THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE?!?! The nerve…Come on folks. I know you don’t want to have to sit next to someone who likes like they might barf, but where would suggest they sit to wait for their turn? In the parking lot? Or maybe in the janitorial closet? Give me a break! Complaining won’t get you back any faster, but it might help the sick guy out.

7. No Spanish Por Favor: It is not my obligation to learn Spanish. Period. The End. If you need medical care and you cannot communicate in English, please find an office that speaks Spanish or bring someone with you who can translate. Being upset with the office staff because we can’t understand you won’t help you feel better.

8. Patients Who Argue with the Doctor: If you go to see the doctor, don’t argue with his diagnosis or treatment plan. We assume you are here because you can’t fix yourself. If you had all the answers, you probably wouldn’t have been here in the first place.

9. Screaming Kids in the Waiting Room: I know kids get rowdy and hyper. But if that is the case, take them out in the hall. Our benches are not here to act as playground equipment. And if they are bored and screaming, maybe you should have brought something for them to do, rather than yell at them for being loud and rambunctious.

10. Patients Who Get Mad at Me When They Miss Their Appointment: Last time I checked you are a 40-year-old adult and should be responsible for yourself. If you missed your appointment, IT’S YOUR FAULT! As an office, we TRY to give reminder calls as a courtesy. But you are old enough to keep track of your own schedule. If your car needs a tune up do you wait for the mechanic to call and remind you? NO!!! So be a grown-up, I know for many people it’s hard, and write your damn appointments down!


This list is only a short list of annoying things from my job. And if you ever do this, I might smack you (And then kick your puppy and run it over repeatedly with my car!) And besides, do you really want the people who schedule your appointments being pissed off at you? (I’m sorry Mr. Smith but we can’t get you in to get your hemorrhoids looked at for another 6 weeks. We are just too busy.) Let this be your warning!

Endings

I wish endings were easier. And I know the saying “With every end comes a new beginning” but it doesn’t feel that way. Even when the ending isn’t mine, I still feel for the parties involved-especially when one of those parties is a very beloved and cherished member of my family. And none of the pain or confusion that she is going through is her fault. It may seem like I am in denial when I say that it isn’t her fault but trust me, it isn’t.

And this person remains so strong. She just keeps trying to push forward even though she doesn’t understand the situation. She puts on her brave face and just keeps on loving even though she doesn’t understand why things fall apart. She was talking to me the other day and questioned why God would lead people to believe one thing, if it turns out that the exact opposite is what ends up happening. And it hurt me so deeply that these words would come out of her mouth. I don’t want her to end up questioning God because of a bad situation…not now and not ever.

So how do I make this easier for her? The situation doesn’t involve me beyond seeing her have to go through it. I can’t repair whatever damage has been done to cause this painful ending. But how can I really help? I advise her to just pray for happiness. Pray that everyone involved comes out of this with some sort of peace and contentment. I continue to remind her that I love her and that I am always here if she needs someone to talk to. And I tell her that God works in mysterious ways and sometimes, things are only meant to be for a short period of time and then we are destined to take a different path. I guess, in a way, I echo the saying that even I don’t understand: “With every end, comes a new beginning.”

I keep her and the other parties involved in my prayers. All I want is for this special member of my family to find peace and to not end up feeling ill-will to God because she doesn’t understand why something like this would happen. And I pray for the other people involved that they try to continue to do what to best for them and find the happiness that they need, however they need to.

I know this is all so vague and it is meant to be. I don’t want any feelings to get hurt or for people to get angry. I just wanted to vent a little about what is going on. It helps me sort my own thoughts out so that I can continue to try and be supportive. And please don’t worry about anything. Mostly this blog is to help me get some of my feelings and worries off my chest so that I can continue to be as good of a support to my loved one as possible.

Much love to you all and thanks for letting me vent.

Sera Is Back...and so is her boyfriend

It is that wonderful time of year again when Sera comes home. Now that she is living in Arizona I don't get to spend much time with her. It sucks but that's life. Normally when Ryan is here, she gets to spend the entire summer with us. But since Ryan is in Mississippi she is only here for just a couple weeks. She got into town Saturday afternoon. Sunday was our lazy day where we kind of hung around the house and played. And today we went to Hogle Zoo...for four hours...and it was hot...and I am 32 weeks pregnant.

Even though I was getting tired towards the end, it was still fun. Sera and I saw all the animals and even got to watch a show where she got to pet some of the animals at the end. She also rode the carousel (twice) and the train once. It was a busy day!

While we were waiting for the animal show to start, Sera decided to put on a show of her own. It was pretty awesome so I am deciding to share it with our family and friends!

We had so much fun and I look forward to spending all the time I can with her. She is a delight to be with and I love her with all my heart. Enjoy the video and much love to you all!

A Good Top 10...For Becca

Apparently I am scaring my sister Becca out of having kids. This was not my intention with my Top 10 lists. And poor Becca, she wants to have something like, 25 kids so I guess I had better do as she requests, and give my Top 10 things I enjoy about being pregnant. (I am only doing this because Becca is hand-making the invitations to my baby shower. She is Martha Stewart-The Next Generation.)

The Excuses: You know what I really great about being pregnant? I have an excuse for EVERYTHING! It is great! I don’t look great one day…I am pregnant. I get extra cranky cause I stayed up too late watching television…I am pregnant. I ate McDonalds for dinner…I am pregnant.

The Excitement: Not only am I excited about this kid that cooking, but so is everyone else! It is great. Ryan is. My family is. His family is. Sera is. I love the feeling that surrounds this child. Peanut (That is the baby’s nickname.) will be one loved little baby!

Cute Baby Stuff: I get to buy adorable things for this baby and Ryan totally doesn’t care. I my nursery set is freaking cute! I will post a picture of what the blanket from the set looks like so that you may bask in its cuteness as I do often do.

The Fact That I Don’t Have Gestational Diabetes: This is pretty self explanatory but still, the fact that my blood sugar isn’t goofy during pregnancy is just one more thing that I haven’t had to deal with.

No Morning Sickness: So many women complain about being so sick during pregnancy and I have not been sick at all. I cannot even begin to tell how great it is that I have not had to spend my days with my head inside a toilet bowel. I mean, on top of toilets being full of germs no matter how much bleach I use, throwing up is just unpleasant.

Reading to My Unborn Child: I believe that the little baby in my abdomen can, in fact, hear me. And my friend from work named Janell gave me this great book by Dr Seuss called “Oh Baby! The Places You’ll Go” which is a rewrite of his classic “Oh the Places You’ll Go” but is specifically done to be read to babies in-utero. I love that even though it my words may not come across clear, that my baby can still hear my voice.

When People Can Tell I Am Pregnant: The first time someone looked at me and asked, “So when are you due?” was one of the most satisfying moments of my life. Yes, I am going to be a mother. Thank you for noticing and not just assuming that I am getting fatter.

The Kicks: I know that I have complained about these kicks waking me up on my list before, but they are also one of the coolest feelings that I have ever experienced. It is Peanut’s way of saying “Hello. I am still here.” I love it in a very special way.

The Naps: Finally, I can nap all I want and people don’t look at me like I am lazy. I simply tell them that I need extra sleep because I am making another human being!

All You Need Is Love: I know that being pregnant has made that statement even truer than it was before. I love Ryan more now than I did before. This baby makes my love for Sera stronger in that I realize now, how much of a miracle she is. It makes me love my Mom and Dad even more to know that they went through all of this to get me into this world. And my sibling for being so supportive. And more love to Ry’s family for how happy they are to have another little person joining the ranks. I there are more people I could list that I love even more now, but it would take way to much time to list you all. But you know who you are and why you are special to me. There is just so much love in the air and I couldn’t be happier.

So there you go Becca. Are you happy now? Will you please tell Spencer that you have changed you mind and someday you will let him have Spencer Jr.? I don’t want to be held responsible for him never getting an heir! And thanks to everyone who reads this and gets a laugh. Love to everyone!

P.S. I am going to say one thing that I hate…sorry Becca! The orange drink that I had to gag down to do my gestational diabetes test was AWFUL! I am glad my results came back normal but the prep was not pleasant.

My New Top 10

Sitting at my desk this morning I was re-reading my blog and saw my list of the top 10 things that were driving me crazy about being pregnant. As I predicted, that list has changed. And so now, I shall update you on my newest top 10. (Please note: some of these things will be the same because sometimes, the fun never ends!)

1. The Sweating: Have I mentioned how sweaty I have become? The hot flashes are causing me to sweat gallons upon gallons of sweat. IT IS GROSS! I don’t like being the sweaty person.

2. The Hunger: I am always hungry! I can eat a meal and literally like an hour later I am starting to feel a little hungry. And by 2 hours later, look out! I will eat anything I can that isn’t labeled toxic.

3. The Hip Pain: As most pregnant women can tell you, the bones in our bodies start to get softer as they prepare to have a baby. And my hips, HOLY CRAP! They are getting so sore and after some of my longer days at work, I can barely walk that night.

4. The Heartburn: I have heard of pregnant women having awful heartburn and I get to join that club. I am eating so many Tums that I should just consider taking stock in the company.

5. The Hair Growth: As I was warned by other mothers, the rate of hair growth during pregnancy can change. And it has! OH JOY! Not to mention I had to pluck a hair off my chin this morning that was almost an inch long. How embarrassing is that?

6. The Bathroom Urgency: Does this really require an explanation? I am sure that this urgency is only going to get worse as the baby grows and puts more weight on my bladder.

7. The Hormones: I am cranky…A LOT! The end.

8. The Planning: Having a baby requires a lot of planning that I wasn’t prepared for. Sure the picking out of cute baby items is great, but do I really have to have a “Birth Plan”? I mean, isn’t the plan that is comes out after a certain point and then give you hell for the next 18 years? Doesn’t that sum it up?

9. The Rude Awakenings: This kid likes to move quite a bit and I am totally okay with that. I would rather have the baby be moving than not moving. I am totally fine with it except for the times I get a swift kick to my insides at 5 am and it wakes me up from sleep. But, I guess I should just get used to being woken up at all hours of the night since soon, it will be cries, and not kicks that sound the call.

10. The Sleeping Habits: I can no longer sleep comfortably. That is all there is to it and there is nothing I can do for the next 12 weeks. I have accepted that I will never sleep “normally” again.

So that is my latest list and undoubtedly it will change again before the next 12 weeks is done. But I am getting very excited to meet this kid who gives me so much grief sometimes. Every time I see a baby now, I get antsy. I want one and luckily, I won’t have to wait too much longer. Much love!

P.S. I am going to finally post my ultra-sound picture of my baby since many of you have asked. Sorry I have been a slacker!

A Not So Quick Update

Hello to everyone! Another week down and another week closer to everything changing…for the better of course. J I will be 28 weeks pregnant on Sunday and I could not be happier that things have still continued to go well for me. I will admit that certain things are getting harder to do, like vacuuming my stairs or carrying heavy bags of litter for the ferrets. But for the most part, I am still managing just fine on my own. Don’t misunderstand, however, I still miss Ryan like crazy and wish with all my heart he could just come home.

Ryan, as always, does everything he can for me even though he is a few hundred miles away. He calls every night and we talk. Sometimes it is only for a few minutes and other times it for an hour or so. We have also taken to using MSN video chat so that we can talk and play UNO or Poker at the same time. It has helped in me missing him quite a bit.

The baby is still doing well. I am getting used to feeling all the movement, which is a weird, but great feeling. My next doctor’s appointment is this next Tuesday. Hopefully I will not have gained 10 pounds, which what I feel like has happened. So far my weight gain has been perfect! Not gaining too much and not gaining too little. It is still strange to see how big I am starting to get and how tight my abdomen is. And the hot flashes….OH THE HOT FLASHES! I will literally have sweat SOAKING my hair at random times during the day. And all of this effects my sleeping and makes me very tired during the day. Pregnancy is supposed to be this beautiful thing, IT AIN’T! See that? I used the word ain’t folks…can you see the seriousness of this situation?

My step-daughter Sera was telling me the other night that I should put another baby in my tummy now so that it can start growing while the other baby is in there. That way, when the first baby comes out, I will already have another cooking. I wasn’t about to explain to her how having babies works…I’ll leave that conversation for a later date. But I do appreciate her enthusiasm at Ryan and I having babies and that she wants us to have many. I wanted to tell her that once I was able to swim to shore through the lake of sweat I am currently producing, I might be in a state of mind where I would consider doing this again. (Also as a side note, Sera is convinced that we are having a boy this time around. I shudder to think what happens if this one comes out with a vagina.)

Since I last updated, Ryan and I also celebrated our 2 year anniversary. It was a blessed event where I splurged and ordered take-out steak from Texas Roadhouse and chatted online with Ryan while playing UNO. Fabulous! Not exactly the dream evening that we would have liked but it was nice. And Ryan sent me roses, of course, which were gorgeous and perfect. I am one of those women who LOVES getting flowers and Ryan totally plays into that. I married one smart cookie! And he also does it because he loves me unconditionally and always tries to show me that. Such a great guy!

Also, for those of you who are in the loop, my most wonderful Grandma Diane is doing well. Her thyroid cancer is a stage 2 cancer which means she has to do radium therapy. The last I heard was that when the doctor removed her thyroid he got all of the cancer and that once she finishes her radium therapy, she should be good to go. Of course, this my Grandma’s second cancer so I’m sure she’ll have lots of follow up tests in the future to make sure she is still doing well. I am glad that her prognosis is so great and that she has such a positive outlook. I think a positive attitude makes a big difference in recovery.

That is going to be it for this update. I want to send love to all my friends that have been keeping in touch with me. And of course to my family, including my in-laws, who are always so supportive and caring! Love to you all until next time!