Family Matters

In the past month or so, we've had three events on the in-law side of the family here in town. Once upon a time, they would have all received their own post, full of all sorts of insightful detail and lots of photos. But, in this new world I live in, the goal is to try to catch up and move on! So, here we go.

First, Andrew had a first birthday.

Remember this little guy?


Turns out a year passes in the blink of an eye.


He wasn't quite walking at his party, but he is now.


He received lots of nice presents.


Of course, older cousin Alexandra was there to show him how it's done.


His whole family was there to cheer him on.


And of course, eat cake...

The very next weekend, we got together for Alexandra's 2nd birthday. Andrew and Alexandra have birthdays one year and three days apart.

Here she was, brand new...


...and at her first birthday party...


...and now she's 2!

Forgive the quality of the photos from Alexandra's party. Another thing I would have certainly blogged about in the previous life I once led was the fact that my camera - my beloved camera - went down for the count. I had to mail it off to the Canon Service Center in Virginia so it could be fixed. I was without it for over a week. Now it is back and we're fat and happy. Emphasis on the fat or the happy. Your choice. So, for this party, I had the purse camera, in low light. Grainy.

Of course, there was cake and singing.

Funny little story - when they told Alexandra to blow out the candle, she starting blowing air through her nose...at this point, of course, the rest of us eying the cake were really glad her parents arranged for cupcakes. ;-)

Of course, Andrew was there for Alexandra's festivities, too.


The big fun, though, was this bounce house.


Where even the big kids (yes, that's S) got in on the action.

Finally, more recently - just last weekend in fact - look at me being timely - some of Kim's friends threw a little shower for her soon-to-be second daughter. Something else that certainly would have been reported before now - Kim is on bed rest for another three weeks (six total) because this baby started having ideas about entering this world at 29 weeks. So, she spent a week in the hospital and now some time at home. Once she hits 35 weeks, they will let her resume "normal activity" and if she goes into labor, so be it. She's a bit fit to be tied at this turn of events, but making it. Brooke, Mark, my in-laws, Kim's family are all taking turns staying with big A during the days so Kim can stay on the couch. And we go visit for comic relief when we can!

So, this shower was her only venture out of the house for days. And she really enjoyed.

Kim's sister made this adorable diaper cake.


Of course, Alexandra was a big help when it came to opening presents.


And since it's my blog, I'll show you what I gave her - a GIRL MOM shirt.


Alexandra was very interested in the toys that were exactly like the ones she had.

All in all, she received some nice gifts and a fun time was had by those in attendance. Heck, we even had cake. Might as well make it a family event triumvirate, right? Cake at all three occasions. Because you can never have too much cake.

That's it for today. Hope to see you again soon - I have actually downloaded other recent photos to share with you! Best wishes for the rest of your week.

It's a Baby!

Here I am with another post for March - albeit another baby post. I do promise one day I will post about something else. I promise this blog will not turn into a baby black hole. It's just, well, a big part of my thoughts right now, so here it is for you.

S and I went for the "big" 18 week sonogram yesterday. We had to go to a perinatal specialist for a level II sonogram because of my "advanced maternal age". This would be the first time S got to see a sonogram, and of course we were going to try to find out the sex of the baby. We didn't really care if it was a boy or a girl, but we really did want to find out which one it is.

Before we left home, I started out the day by throwing up my entire breakfast. I don't normally throw up. I do still feel nauseous, or sea sick, pretty much all the time, but I don't generally throw up. And, I ate the same thing I eat every morning, at generally the same time. So, maybe I was just a little nervous about it all. I don't know. I hope that's what it was...hope this isn't a trending activity!

So we set out yesterday morning for the hospital and finally arrived at the specialist's office. We filled out a ton of forms and were shown to one of several sonogram rooms. The sonographer came in shortly thereafter and looked all over the baby - she checked the baby's heart - all four chambers - brain, kidneys, intestines, the length of bones, size of skull, etc. After each check, she would say, "perfect". And, she reported the baby weighed about 11 ounces right now.

Funny thing is, this lady does sonograms all day long, and she was SO EXCITED to show us our baby - she was oohing and aahing like it was the first baby sonogram she'd ever seen. Except, of course, that she could actually read the images on the screen like nobody's business. Clearly, this woman loves her job!

Then, at the end of her portion of the appointment, she asked us if we wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. We said yes. Then she put this image up on the screen:



It's a BOY!!! She said he had been showing us the whole time that he was a boy...like we would have known...and it was clear as day that he was indeed a "he". No question. We were excited to know, and excited to start thinking about our baby being a son. It was especially fun for me to see S react to seeing the baby move on the screen and be part of the appointment. And, seriously, doesn't that arrow just crack you up? I will file this away as good high school date blackmail material. I mean, what decent mother wouldn't?

Then, the doctor came in. He explained he would look for some stuff that might show signs of Down's Syndrome and would look closer at the heart and kidneys and some other things. He said a sonogram cannot verifiably detect Down's, but everything looked, again "perfect". We saw the blood flowing in and out of the baby's heart. It was all pretty amazing.

And then the doctor said this - and I quote - "You're way too healthy to be in my office." I have to tell you that was probably the nicest thing he could have said - after all the talk about "advanced maternal age" it was nice to be "way too healthy". Very nice. I'm way too healthy, and so is our little boy. In their words, he's "perfect".

I couldn't have said it better myself.

See you soon.

Woefully Neglected

Woefully neglected - that is what this blog could be called these days. I had one - ONE - post in February. And now here we are at March and I'm getting at least one post in! There are some positive developments that would lead me to believe I might get more posts up in March:

- my class has ended - all but the final grading. Amen to that.
- I am a tad bit less tired than I was previously.
- I have gads of things I wish to tell you, if only I could find the time and energy!

But, there are a few things that lend themselves to the blogging remaining slow at best:

- I am still nauseous. Yuck.
- I still don't have the energy I once had. Yuck.
- Any energy I do find after work goes to doing what must be done - laundry, groceries, etc.

So, I make no promises for the month that lies ahead. Blogging notwithstanding, we did have a full February. I had the class, which I did enjoy, even with all the work. Dallas encountered record snowfall. I took photos of that which are still on the camera. We dined with friends. We had two birthday parties for the in-town niece and nephew. Took photos of that too...still on the camera. And went to a bridal shower. My friend Errika's "in your kitchen" recipes still reside on. the. camera. This is all to say - I have things to tell you, should I find the gumption to do it!

I had a heartbeat check for this thing sapping all my energy and making me nauseous last week. It's doing just fine and dandy, thank you very much. Good someone is feeling up to kicking around. And, we have the big 18 week sonogram in 10 short days, where we'll go from an "it" to a "he" or a "she" and that will be exciting. Plus, more "photos" of the inner workings of my uterus will certainly be made available.

And S has really done some good work on the house. He really has. Things have been getting done. I hate to say it, but I don't think we're going to get finished enough to sell the thing (not that I wouldn't gladly get on that bandwagon should work continue at breakneck speed) but it will be nice to have a finished place for baby's arrival. Nice to be able to know we're all settled in - finally - and we have not a thing to do but general homeowner maintenance. What a concept!

We had a wonderful SPRING-like weekend here in Dallas. Boy, was that nice! We're ready for spring, although I think she's still flirting with us at this point. Things are humming along at work. Staying busy there, too, of course. So, you know, life is good. I just haven't gotten all of that written down in exact detail here. So forgive me for that, and for this woefully neglected excuse for a blog.

Hope to see you soon. Happy March!

An Unexpected Surprise

So now we get to another reason for the January hiatus. I have been tired. Tired beyond recognition. Too tired to move. And sick. Not "vomiting" sick, but nauseous morning noon and night. On top of that, I have that class I'm teaching. And my "real job" and "real life." So blogging very much at all just seems to be out of the question. Here at the end of January I hate to tell those of you who would like me to go back to regular posts, that February looms to be more of the same.

The reason for the fatigue and the nauseousness, it turns out, is a baby. I am pregnant. Unexpectedly, surprisingly with child.

Baby's first photo - 8 weeks.
Head is down and right.

We weren't trying to get pregnant, per se. Mainly because we didn't think it was remotely possible, I guess. You see, we did try, years ago, to get pregnant. We were tested for abnormalities and none were found. We tried infertility treatments and none ever worked. So at the end of the day we gave up. And, while it's easy to write this now, in one little sentence, we moved on from that. Not overnight. Not without sadness and grieving over something we thought we wanted. But we did. We made peace with it. We really did. We moved on. And I am here to tell you I was really happy with our life and felt blessed.

Second photos - 12 weeks.
Head is on the left, legs and feet on right.

So, not to get too graphic for my male readers, when I was "late" last December, I thought nothing of it. I was DIETING, people. I was doing really well with that diet, too. And I was very, very busy at work with holiday programming. And I had certainly been late before. No biggie.

But after two weeks of being late (that part really not being that unusual) and just being sick of feeling like I had constant PMS, I decided to take a pregnancy test. The directions say to pee on the stick and then wait a number of minutes to see the results. Sister, I was so pregnant by this point it had turned positive before I could even get it out of the stream of pee. I walked out of the bathroom and told S, "I'm pregnant." He said, "Nuh-uh..." I said, "Yeah, I think so." Then I took him the test and the instructions for a second opinion. He agreed - it appeared I was pregnant.

Whoa. Geez. Really? Man. That's a lot to process.

I should say, before he shoots me, that S was pretty much excited from the get go. I am the one - the tired, nauseous one - that has had to process it a few days longer. I mean, as I said before, we processed the information about not having children over time. It wasn't like I could flip a switch back immediately! It just wasn't going to happen.

A week after the big positive test, I had a great deal of cramping and I was convinced I was miscarrying. I told S something was not right. He said I should call the doctor on call, who sent me to the hospital to get a sonogram and some blood work, since she had not seen me yet, ostensibly to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. Blood tests and sonograms later, all was well, except that I had a nasty kidney infection. They gave me a shot in the butt and some oral antibiotics and sent me home to lie in bed for a few days. We actually saw the embryo on the screen that day too, but didn't get a copy of it. At that point, it looked sort of like a seahorse.

So we decided we should wait to tell people until 12 weeks had passed. To make sure the biggest chance of miscarriage was over. And that passed this last week. So I told my boss, who, God bless him, was just very excited for me. And we told family, friends, co-workers, random acquaintances, over the last couple of days. And now I'm blogging about it.

And, before you already turn me into child protective services, I am excited about it. I am no longer feeling an affinity for the "unplanned pregnancy?" billboard on the way to work, which was really speaking to me a few weeks ago. I am getting around to being over the overwhelmed part. OK, scratch that. I am not sure I will ever be over being overwhelmed for the rest of my life. And I am not as tired as I was, thank God. But I'm still nauseous. I'm looking forward to that ending too - people keep telling me it will. So, I have hope they are more knowledgeable than I am on this topic. Generally, I'm sure I'm just being a normal pregnant person.

The excitement quotient doubled-tripled-quadrupled when I saw the sonogram during week twelve. I wasn't supposed to have one that day, actually. Just a heartbeat check. But, while she could hear the fetus moving around (bloop-bloop noises on the heart monitor) she couldn't get a lock on the heartbeat. So, they sent me in for a sonogram. As you can see above, the eight week sonogram looked a lot like a kidney bean with a heartbeat. But this time - the twelve week sonogram - it looked pretty much like a BABY. And the heartbeat was there right away. And that little thing was waving its hand around and kicking its legs, turning its head. That was so cool. Amazing, really. Totally amazing. It made it seem so much more real. And maybe a tad worth all this bother.

We are going to find out if it is a boy or a girl. But we are not doing any other genetic testing, even though I am of "advanced maternal age," a horrible phrase. We are just going to take it from here and see what we end up with! I would put my money on a girl, if I were betting. The heartbeat has been high - 165 - which generally means it's a girl. The Chinese birth calendar, which is certainly 50% right, says its a girl. We weren't trying, which, again without going into information the menfolk would rather skip, usually means it's a girl. And that would be fine. I can list pros and cons of either sex. And I'll be happy with either. The sonogram that can help determine the sex will be on March 10th. So stay tuned.

We're trying to decide if we want to move before this blessed event. Our house only has two bedrooms, which means we'll lose our guest room/office if we stay. Again, there are pros and cons of both. We could certainly stay in the house until next spring and sell then. Then we'd know more about our finances post-baby. And we'd have a better idea of what our priorities will be post-baby. And certainly we could manage without a guest room for a year. The rest of the house is quite spacious for two people and a baby. But, the equity we have in this house would help us pay off some debt and get into something with three bedrooms. There is that home buyer tax credit that could disappear next year. And interest rates are certain to rise before next year too. Our house, though, needs some TLC before listing it, and we aren't going to purchase one before selling the other one. We did that once. We're not going to repeat it. And...I don't want to be moving in my third trimester. So who knows...we'll see how far we get in the next month and take it from there.

There are lots of other things to take under consideration - childcare for one. Apparently, in the city, childcare is costly and not abundant. Waiting lists abound. I do intend to go back to work after taking 12 weeks off, however, so reliable childcare will be essential. I'll be spending a great deal of time researching options in the coming weeks and months. And, back to the "should we move" question - now we have to think about schools when we move. Not tomorrow, but one day this child will need to enroll in school. These, my friends, are things I never thought I'd be pondering. But I am now, sister. I am now!

And, coincidentally, both - not one, but BOTH - of my Texas sisters-in-law are pregnant too. Yep - a whole lot of babies by Christmas. One about 11 weeks before ours, one about 5 weeks after ours. Lots of babies. Everywhere. Goodness.

Oh, and I'm due August 8th. In the heat of the Texas summer. Yeah. I know. I know. Please, if you see me in July, be kind to me and my cankles. I told the ladies at work that I planned to buy a big pink MuMu and wear it every single blessed day. And sit at my desk with a fan underneath me. God bless. I hate the Texas summer anyway. God bless. God bless.

So there you have it. An unexpected surprise that's really - literally - growing on me. The diet is on hiatus, too, I guess. But I am proud to say I didn't gain anything during the first trimester. And all those loose pants are now coming in really handy to put off the maternity clothes shopping for just a little longer. So we have a lot to take in, a lot to do, a lot to learn, a lot of change. A new adventure.

And I'll blog when I can. See you soon.

A Fun Night for John

You know S's friend John and his wife Jennifer, not to mention his cute little boy Jack, and his mom and aunt that we saw at the Pioneer Woman's book signing...

...well, John, as I've mentioned here and there, is having a time of it recently. Those fabulous lungs he received just a little over two years ago are now being rejected by his body. He's been in and out of the hospital with the complications from this. Not to mention this treatment and that, all trying to stop the rejection. He's back on the transplant list, hoping to get another set of life saving lungs, and trying to stay well enough to endure the surgery that comes with a transplant like that.

Jennifer and Jack at the party.

And Jennifer and Jack have to be emotionally spent too. And his parents. And scores of other friends and relatives. It's exhausting wishing the best for your loved one. Of course, it's the only thing to do - the thing you want to be there to do - but it is draining - taxing - a long haul for everyone involved. Not to mention John is the kind of person who, lying in that bed, I am certain, is on some level worrying about what he can do for all of them. It's a trying, tiring situation where everyone is hoping - waiting - praying - for the best. And feeling the good wishes of friends around them. And the good work of prayer. Nonetheless...it has to be, well, not what any of them would like to be doing.

Saturday night, one of John's friends organized a fundraiser to benefit John and his family. The funds collected from a cover charge for each participant and from a silent auction of hundreds of donated items all went to John's family to help defray the costs of medical care, living expenses while John is away from work, and the general needs of his family. You would not believe the outpouring of his friends and family and the outpouring of total strangers for this auction. There were hundreds - HUNDREDS - of auction items at all price levels. From baseballs to high end vacations and everything in between.

In fact, I went to the salon Saturday to get a little update. While I was there, my stylist and friend Michelle, who happens to be the best stylist in the world in case you were wondering, asked me what we were doing Saturday night. So, I told her we were going to this benefit. She up and donated a haircut/blow dry/style from her to the event. Can you believe that? I thought it was incredibly nice of her. And it brought in some money for John's family. So it was great.

Anyway, the event was held at this very chic bar called the AM/PM Lounge. I am here to tell you one thing I quite know for sure about that place - that I am certainly not cool enough to be part of their regular clientele. Not even close. The event was from 6-8pm, long before the regulars would be coming out to party on a Saturday night. You know, after I'm in bed, comfortably sleeping in my jammies. And I meant to take my good camera to the event, but in the hustle and bustle of the day I totally forgot. So I had the trusty purse camera and you have some grainy, slightly blurry photos to check out of the festivities.

S, Cheryl and Sam

S's brother Michael and his wife Brooke went along as well as S's parents Sam and Cheryl. S and John have been friends since they were in the 2nd grade, so the whole family knows John and wanted to pitch in.

The bidding floor.

We all had a fun time bidding on some items of interest. And we all won something we were bidding on. S won some very nice Nocona boots. I tried to win the one female pair but the bidding got too rich for me. I won some hair products that I use regularly. S's dad won a retro looking radio that he really had his eye on. Brooke and Michael won a portrait session from an acclaimed local portrait photographer. So, it was a good night for us too, I'd say!

A photo of the big, main bar.


The kitchen, just behind the bidding area.


A close up of some auction items.


I thought this ceiling of disco balls was cool.


A cool chair on the way to the restroom.


The restrooms.

Yes, that's right. The restrooms were cutting edge too. They were very "open." Don't get me wrong, the commodes were individually behind those and other doors out of the frame, but you could see right into the men's and women's sides of the space, with that column there separating the area. If you were a woman washing your hands at the sink or checking your hair, any man doing the same could see you and vice versa. Clearly, again, I was totally not cool enough for this place. And I am totally comfortable with my un-coolness.

But, what was definitely way cool - cooler than this place and all the people in it - was the collective way everyone came together for John and his family. That part was way, way cool. And, of course, we are keeping John in our prayers, wishing and hoping the very best outcome of this current situation, and many, many more future, happy reasons to party.

A Portrait Attempt

Faleena, Caitlin, Mark

Over the holiday break I had the pleasure of photographing my friends Faleena and Mark with their newest addition, baby Caitlin. They were hoping to get a family photo out of the time spent with my camera, and I think we were able to get a couple of decent shots.

Some glare issues here with Mark's glasses here, but it's so good of Mama and baby I left it in.

We had some limitations to the photo shoot - we tried earlier in the week, but Caitlin was coming down with a serious ear infection and was not her usual lovely self, as you can imagine. And the weather, you might remember, was unseasonably cold for Dallas for most of the month of December and the start of 2010. Thank goodness this week we've gotten back to some unseasonably WARM temperatures!

Even when Caitlin was feeling better a few days later, she was sort of sober for the shoot. I got a couple with a little smile, but mostly caught genuine sober baby faces, which are cute enough for anyone. And, this photographer isn't as adept at capturing photos of little ones this age...once they start toddling around, I'm a little better. A little.

This post showcases a couple of the shots I felt were the most interesting. I hope you enjoy them.

We took the inside shots at Mark's parents' house.


I think there is no debating who's running the show here.


She's clearly looking at Mommy here.


Speaking of Mommy, here's an attempt at a mother-daughter pose.


I love this one.


And how about a few of the big C by herself.




And I think this one clearly shows Caitlin's thoughts on the photographer.



The frog turned out to be a good prop.




She's a cute one, no?

Last but not least, we attempted a group shot with the grandparents and the dog. This was almost too much for this photographer. Her skills are of the AMATEUR variety. But, with help from Photoshop, we got the following composite...

I think it looks like they are watching me worrying about the outcome of the shot and wondering that themselves, but if you didn't know the circumstance, they are all looking towards the camera, except the baby, who is looking in the general direction anyway, and have pleasant looks on their faces. So, it wasn't a total washout I suppose!

So there you have it. Some photos of my friends from LA LA Land. Thank you, Faleena and Mark for letting me attempt a family photo for you. I hope you enjoy them!

Since I haven't posted recently, I'll give you a little update on stuff around here. Let me tell you the class is off to a good start. It's a lot of work for me and them, I suppose, but so far so good. And the diet isn't in full throttle yet after the holiday hiatus I must confess, but the good news is I haven't gained any weight since the last official weigh in before the holidays. And that's something! Besides working feverishly at work and on the class, S and I have started working on the little things on the house we have never finished - trim, paint, etc in an attempt to finish things up and have the pleasure of living in a "finished" house. (Does that ever happen?) I have also started taking a look at those closets of mine and I'm making a plan for a late winter purge. We have too much STUFF, people. Too much. God bless us.

Best wishes for the rest of your week and for whatever it is you have on tap for the weekend. See you soon.

Losing a Loyal Companion

Over the weekend our friends Cathy and Thomas lost their first baby, Dawson, a chocolate lab, to bone cancer. He was thirteen. He had a pretty long life, considering his health, for a dog. And he was certainly one of the "good ones" - a very good dog.

He was an integral part of their family and I know he is greatly missed today and for years to come. Dogs - pets, animals - they become such a part of our family, don't they? And they reward us for this inclusion with unconditional love. It is so hard to lose them when they go.

Of course, Dawson's death has me thinking of my own aging pet population here at home. Ellie is ten and Echo is nine. They are not going to live forever. If we're lucky, we have five or six more hopefully healthy years with them by our sides. And then there's Norman, who at twelve, still thinks he's middle aged, showing no signs of slowing down whatsoever.

But our girls, they already show signs of age. They take medicine. They sleep a lot more. They don't want to walk quite as far. I don't know why God chose to give us such wonderful companions who cannot be with us for any longer than they are, but this is a fact of life that we pet lovers have to make part of our reality.

I think it is because we don't really appreciate all that love coming our way. Maybe it's so we do appreciate them more. In fact, I think it's the reason some choose to not have pets - to not go through the grief of losing them. But, I believe the love and companionship they give is worth the grief tenfold.

There are many people who say animals don't go to heaven when they die - that they don't have souls. I am not a learned philosopher or sage in any way, but I disagree with this point of view for two reasons. First, I disagree they have no souls. Anyone who has loved and known a dog in their life knows these animals have old, deep souls that surpass our silly little consciousness in so many ways. Second, I believe if heaven is to be paradise that my dogs will be there with me. No paradise would be complete without them.

I send hugs to Cathy and Thomas and their children as they grieve the loss of their loyal friend. And I'll hug my girls a little tighter and a little longer as I try to capture every moment I can with them at my side.

Best wishes for your week.