Mom's 68th Birthday

It was my mom's 68th birthday yesterday, and we celebrated her special day at my sister Pattie's house. We had barbequed hot dogs and rhubarb pie with ice cream. Pattie's husband Jim (as well as the rest of the family) has built a large backyard railroad which we spent the evening watching G-scale locomotives chug in circles around infinite lengths of track.

It's always fun to see the new additions they add to the layout. An out-of-work clown with hobo friend camping on the edge of the forest, crime scene in motion as a cop stands nearby facing the opposite direction while eating a donut, and a countryside wedding can all be seen upon closer examination of their mini-world. Also included is a re-creation of the house that our family used to live in when Jim was dating Pattie only 25 years ago (pictured below, along with the car Jim drove).

As the sun set on our day, we closed the evening with a bon fire, s'mores, and relaxing in the hot tub. At 10:30pm, before the twilight ended, my tired Dad and Mom left for home. A half hour later I dragged my own sleepy and pregnant wife home for the night.

We love you, Mom. Happy Birthday.

Showered with love

I am not really as tired as I look in this picture, but I wanted to give you another baby belly shot. Here we are at 36 1/2 weeks. Only 2 more days until full term. (Did you hear that baby? Two days and you can feel free to come on out of there!!) Friday was my last day of school and the wonderful moms had planned an end of the year party at one of their houses. What I didn't know was that they also had planned a baby shower! I am telling you, this child has been so showered with love we may have to move to a bigger house to accommodate all the new things! It's a good thing I don't have to work this week. I have some serious nesting to do!

Baby Stats

According to today's ultrasound, baby is still on target as far as size. Baby weighs about 6 pounds 1 ounce (I was 6 lb 6 oz at birth) and has a normal head size (52nd percentile) Hooray! It is always a relief to see and hear that baby is doing well despite the diabetes. The doctor increased my insulin dosage again today, and all 5 of my blood tests were in range! Hooray again! In five more days baby should be ready to enter the world. After the appointments we stopped by a boutique today that I really enjoyed. I got two diaper covers, two snappis, and some baby bum cleaner. All we need now is the baby!

Testing 1 2 3

My doctor has ordered twice a week non-stress tests to make sure baby is doing ok in there. I went in for my first test yesterday and had no idea what to expect other than a non-invasive monitoring. They walked me back into a little tiny room with a bookshelf, leather recliner, coffee table, and lamp. I got very cozy on the chair while the nurse strapped a couple of monitors on my belly. Then she handed me a chapstick-sized tool with a button on one end. I was instructed to press it every time I felt the baby move. She turned on the machine which blared the sound of the baby's heart beat. Baby was taking a nap, so she rang a cowbell over my belly. That did the trick! So for the next 45 minutes I got to relax in the recliner, listen to baby's heart, and feel for baby's movement. This was indeed a non-stress test! We get to go tomorrow for another NST, an ultrasound (this will be number four and I don't want to look at the screen at all in case baby decided to reveal anything), and another appointment. My blood sugars are still wacky. The endocrinologist has increased my insulin every other day and I'm sure he will again tomorrow. We are praying that baby decides to come out early - any time after next Tuesday - so I don't have to be induced. My final countdown at work: 2 days!!

A state of crisis

The image above is an excellent portrayal of our current problem. I especially like the gas attendant heading up the ladder to raise the price another 7 cents while the family is still fuelling up. At Christmas our prices were at 2.99/gal at every station around us. Erin got tired of me telling her it was a cartel. Now, 5 months later, it's up more than a dollar with no end in sight. Where's the relief? Decades went by without prices ever going above even one dollar. The summer blend was only ten cents more than the winter blend of fuel. If you're gay or pro-abortion, now is your time to pass some laws, because the rest of us are standing agog at the rising prices at the pump and grocery store.

A decade ago GM came out with the EV1 and paved the way for a whole new line of Electric Vehicles, but now is but a distant memory. After watching the movie, Who Killed the Electric Car?, it wasn't discontinued for a lack of interest. GM and Ford still have on their websites information about the future of automotive advances, but it is too little too late, even hybrids are a joke. Rumor has it that a barrel of oil will cost $200 by veterans day and gas at $8.00/gal. I'm not buying a new car anymore. Gas-only cars are a relic from the past, no longer providing the value they once had. What are the alternatives? If you have a lot of money you can get a Tesla Motors Roadster, one of the only completely manufactured electric vehicles around, or you can pay $50,000 to convert your car to electric. Or convert your hybrid to a Plug-in Hybrid and get over 100 MPGs. Hydrogen fuel cells, I think, are a waste of time and are a major distraction, because of the need to create the infrastructure, shorter fuel capacity distance, high price, and climate restrictions. For more information on these cars: http://www.eaaev.org/eaaevsforsale.html

Is this an environmental issue that I'm talking about? No, it's a cost of lifestyle that I'm talking about. This is America and we're being priced out of our homes. I went to breakfast today, and the restaurant was packed, but only had one server. Ten percent of the people that walked in the door, walked out without service after sitting at their tables for 15 minutes. The place is known for the "Best Breakfast in Town", but I didn't see it with my overcooked bacon and over-buttered eggs. The owners are certainly trying to reduce their costs by shorting their labor, and several menu items were crossed out with a Sharpie (didn't even reprint the menus). How did this happen? Why is the dollar decreasing in value so quickly?

What is the Federal Reserve up to? Like Federal Express, it is not a government agency, yet they control so much of our lives. Why are we paying them to print our money? Soon we'll owe them so much money that they'll print their own. Talking about control, how about this war. Is it real? I have seen no benefit to my lifestyle. Let alone gas prices, visiting somebody at the airport for a relaxing afternoon is a thing of the past, now you have to arrive two hours early for your turn to be strip-searched in front of the general public.

I think this war is more about improving on technology to control and track people. I have read in the paper about how we are trying to stop terrorists by finding their funding sources and stopping them. Which leads me to think that we're moving towards a cashless society pretty quickly. Without cash there is no anonimity. If everybody became chipped, and trackable, (there's even talks about instaling tracking GPSs in cars--to pay taxes on road mileage used) then there would be less crime. Therefore if a chipped person committed a crime, they could be "shut off" and thus be punished. However, if you refuse the chip, you must be a terrorist. The general public would demand it, because they are getting more scared of others. They get more scared because they aren't leaving their house as often because of fuel prices, watching more television and becoming more frightened by the stories they see on the news.

Am I too off with this sort of social entropy? I hope I am, but looking at $4.00 a gallon is pretty depressing and makes me concerned for the world that I'm bringing my new son or daughter into. It's not the same world that my Grandfather lived in, which seems to me to have been the best years to be alive. But, as a Christian, I have faith that the best things are still yet to come.

Well that part is good news

So today I went to visit the endocrinologist and got my prescription to help control the diabetes. Since my levels have gone so high, I am no longer eligible for the oral meds and require insulin injections instead. Injections?! I know!! But, insulin IS safe for baby and the oral meds are only "probably" safe. So that part is good news. I get to take 3 injections a day in my belly and increase my blood testing times to 5 (or more) times a day. If this baby had any idea all the poking I am doing for him/her ... So far I have made it through 1 injection with Joshua at my side comforting me and encouraging me and telling me how proud he was when I managed to actually do it. I don't know how I would ever get through this without him! Also, I have decided to end my school year a little early and am calling it quits as of May 30. The doctor today said they wouldn't let the baby stay more than 39 weeks, and that is just 4 short weeks away! We are meeting with our new ob this Friday, and she may have a more specific plan in mind after monitoring the baby. We'll see. We will now have visits every week and lots of extra monitoring to make sure baby is ok in there. It amazes me that the human population has continue to grow with all the complications that can come with pregnancy!

A Losing Battle

As many of you know, I have been fighting with all that I am to control this diabetes with just diet and exercise. It has been a difficult battle, and until this week I was putting up a pretty good fight. But I am sorry to say that the diabetes has won. My blood sugar is completely out of control no matter what I eat or how many miles I walk a day. It is too high when I roll out of bed. I have tried multiple supplements from my naturopath to no avail, and so on Monday I will call my endocrinologist and get my prescription for drugs that will certainly lower my sugar levels and "probably" not harm the baby. Next I will call and cancel my appointment with the midwife and try to reschedule with a doctor. Last, I will call the hospital and request a tour of their facilities. I am so bummed about this whole ordeal, but trust that it is the Lord's plan and am peaceful knowing that it is what is best for the baby.
Today is a rare day in Washington ... the sun is shining brightly over the 80+ degree day. So we are off to enjoy it and forget about the stinkin' diabetes for a while!

Eight month baby belly and Joshua's first baby shower

I know it's been a while since I've shown off my baby belly to the world, so here it is! 32 weeks and a few days along. Please ignore whatever it is I have spilled on my shirt and the sagging non-maternity sweatpants. We were on our evening walk (gotta keep the blood sugar down!) and we decided then and there it was high time for a picture.
After the amazing day of yard work fun, our home group threw a lovely baby shower. We were showered indeed with everything from a money tree to be used for diaper service to a round trip airline ticket so my mom can be here when the baby is born! Thank you everyone!

I get by with a little help from my friends

Joshua and I joined a home group through our church before we even began attending the church. I knew several of the couples (or halves I guess) from work. What a blessing this group has been to us! We were looking for a service project to do together and someone came up with the brilliant idea to serve each other! Our turn was first, and what a service it was! We spent the day working in our yard and the evening was a BBQ baby shower! I am so thankful to have found a group of couples our age who serve the Lord in tangible ways. What an honor to be a part of such a group!!

Trying to Beat Diabetes

I realize that this disease affects so many people, but I am just not yet willing to accept how much it is affecting me. I have followed my meal plan exactly (which leaves me feeling constantly hungry by the way) and increased my exercise level four times over. And yet, I have failed half of my blood tests. It is a very frustrating situation to be in, and now I get so nervous every time I have to test that it is probably making it worse! Stress is a major factor in increasing glucose levels. Stressed? Me? What, with a baby on the way, diabetes staring me down, a must-pass-or-will-lose-teaching-credential test next weekend, no job to speak of for next year, and all the day to day work and personal issues? Hmmm ... Did I mention that I had a week long hives outbreak too? Ok, enough of my ranting. Just had to get those feelings out to someone other than my poor husband. At least you don't have to see me crying all the time ...

Snow Day

Today is April 19th, and for the first time in my life I'm having a snow day in Spring! That's right it snowed big flakes that stuck at my house for the hour between 6 and 7 am. Erin and I jumped into the car and drove ourselves to the YMCA for a little bit of poolside excercise.

-Later in the day-

Now it's hailing!

I Got Da Beat

Diabetes that is! After taking the standard pregnancy glucose test last week, it was determined that my glucose levels are off the charts high and I have what is called gestational diabetes. Apparently 3% of pregnant women develop this condition which goes away as soon as the baby is born. Tomorrow I get to go learn how this will really impact my life for the next 8 or so weeks (Can you believe that is all that is left before the baby arrives????). Some of the big bummers that came with this diagnosis include: Not being eligible to deliver at the Birthing Center we had chosen with a midwife and no drugs; having a high risk for C-Section due to diabetic babies having extremely large heads; having a higher risk of a premature baby and all the complications that could follow; having to stick my finger with a needle every day to test my blood. SO... I would much appreciate your prayers for a healthy baby, a complication-free delivery, and peace about the whole situation.

Galloping Gertie

I was online today and found a great video displaying how our first Narrows Bridge collapsed back in 1940. It was designed by an arrogant architect named Joseph B. Strauss, who didn't take into consideration the high winds and insisted on constructing a ribbon-like span across the Tacoma Narrows.




Today there are two bridges containing a total of 9 lanes of traffic. A far cry from only two-lanes of the first bridge. The newest bridge (which opened only last year) was designed to hold a second deck for more traffic or mass transit depending on which demands the most need in the years to come.

The original Narrows Bridge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, even though it is sitting at the bottom of Puget Sound. It acts as an artificial reef for bottom dwelling sea creaures to live. Octopus' love it's dark and private crevases. In fact one of the largest ones ever found (if not the largest) was in the old Narrows Bridge.

What I Hate About Washington

I hate that my family is not here! How cute is my nephew Caleb? In this first picture he is laughing and smiling with me. We had so much fun hanging out together while everyone else buzzed around us getting ready for the shower. I will post shower pictures separately. :)













Here he is helping his mommy by holding her purse. We went to see Caleb's first movie - Horton Hears a Who. He had a fun time sitting on my lap and jumping up and down.




For Jackie's birthday we all went to dinner at Mimi's. Oh to be 22 again ... We had a wonderful dinner followed by an amazing dessert of Bananas Foster and Bread Pudding. We ordered two desserts for the six of us and still brought home leftovers! For the grand finale of the trip, Jackie, Jennille, Caleb and I headed to the Long Beach Aquarium. We had a great time watching the sea life and feeling some too. I'll post some pictures of our underwater friends separately.

Bringing the pregnant belly to fancy events

OK, I admit it- I am not one of those happy-to-be-pregnant ladies. On a typical day I feel fat and sluggish. Getting to dress up in clothes that fit helps, and I have had the opportunity to do so lately! I also got a haircut yesterday (it is not pictured here) and I'm feeling much better. Any how, pictured here is my six month belly all dressed up to go to the orchestra. My friend Heather is the Concert Mistress for the Gig Harbor Community Orchestra and we had the chance to hear her talents.
	Speaking of Heather, here we are at the Lighthouse Christian School Auction. The theme was "Sea you in Paradise", hence the leis. By the way, I found both of my dresses at the Goodwill for about $5 each. :) This one still had the original tags on it - they must get the rejects from Target. Works for me!
	The auction was a blast and the school made somewhere around $300,000. My favorite part was listening to the auctioneer - it sounded like some kind of rap song most of the night! This was the project my class "made". When I say made, I mean one of the moms came and helped us put our fingerprints on the tiles. Then she made the pictures (yes, I am the Queen Bee) and had a friend make the table. It turned out to be really cute! I wish I had one for my house.

How do people do it?

Lately I have been wondering how people live on one income. After analyzing our budget, we have found that we don't have much room to budge, and that's on two incomes. With baby coming soon and decisions being made for next school year, we are wondering how we can possibly make it on half (or less) of my income. I am wondering too how I could possibly make it working full time and being mommy full time. I think I would fall apart! I wish there was an easy solution, but there isn't. Thankfully, I know that whatever happens, God will provide for our family one way or another.
That's all... just getting my frustrations out there for all the world to see.

Garfield the Cat

As a kid my favorite comic strip was Garfield. It was better than it is today. I had garfield books, pillowcases, wallpaper, stickers, clothing, shoe lace clips, and alarm clocks. Today I discovered a new adventure in Garfield, one that is without him. It stars only Jon Arbucle, Garfield's owner. They have removed the fat cat and his thought clouds. What's left is just Jon looking like a lunatic that just talks to himself. Quite amusing, and interesting concept, it's not like Garfield could talk back anyway. It makes me think of all the times I have conversations with my own fat cat, the Six. (if you want to see a picture of our cat, do a Google image search for "Cat in Dryer", he's usually the second or third picture)

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

We are a couple of lucky ducks!

Those of you loyal blog readers may remember a while back when we missed the opportunity to buy an awesome glider from Costco. Well, we went out to lunch after church with a friend who had never been to Costco. Lunch for a buck 50 can't be beat, so hot dogs it was. While meandering the aisles I told her about our disappointment with the chair. After we finished exploring, we back tracked to find Joshua. Low and behold, there on the end of an aisle all boxed up was one and only one of the very glider we loved! And better yet, it was $60 less than the last time we saw it!!! I sat on the box so nobody could sneak away with it while Joshua got a cart. Wahoo! Getting it into the car was not such a lucky story. It just wouldn't fit. But, Heather offered the use of her minivan to transport it. A fair pay back for the $1.50 lunch I think. :) So now I am home sitting in the living room with chair parts all around me waiting for Joshua to get home and get it assembled. I'm so excited to try it out!

We spent all day Saturday painting the baby's room. We decided to use a pale green on three walls and yellow on the wall with the window. Now all we need is a crib, sheets, car seat, stroller, diapers, .... you get the idea. :)

Babymoon!

It's Valentines weekend and after reading and hearing about this new popular trend called a babymoon, we wanted to try it. First the thought was to do another big road trip, but that would take too much time and a lot of expense. So we decided to stay more local, as there are already so many great things to see in this beautiful state of Washington.

We chose Leavenworth as our destination of choice. It is a small Bavarian village nestled behind the jagged peaks of the Cascade mountains. During the 1960's when the major railroad stopped passing through their town, the residents had to find a way to keep their community from becoming a ghost town. "Let's make it a German village and expand tourism." Everyone agreed and so became the town.

From the inception of the trip, I wanted to find a place that felt like home and had a place where people could gather at the end of the day and play games; like a bed & breakfast but bigger. The Enzian Inn fit all the criteria and more.

In the mornings, a full buffet breakfast was provided for all guests, with a live performance of the Alpenhorn on outside deck. Afternoons could be spent Cross Country Skiing at any of the six surrounding trails with skis provided by the Enzian. In the summer they offer rounds of golf at their Championship Putting course. At night in the main lobby, which was opened up to the two floors above, they played piano music. Also provided were indoor and outdoor pools with hot tub, excercise gym, and a racketball court.

For our room, we chose the bridal suite; actually it chose us as it was the only room left when we booked our stay. But we couldn't have asked for anything better. His & her sinks, double headded shower, whirlpool tub, wood burning fireplace, balcony, and a king sized canopy bed.

When we arrived, Erin was tired from the three hour drive and wanted a nap before perusing the town. As soon as the front desk handed us the keys, she took her's and bolted to the room while I was left to get our luggage. It took me a while to move the car around the parking lot, find a dolly, and wait for the elevator. Meanwhile, Erin get's to the room, but the bed is on stilts. At 5'2" she's not that tall, and being pregnant, she's not that agile, and being tired, she isn't thinking clearly about how to get into the bed. When she finally does achieve success in climbing into the bed, I arrive at the door and cannot figure out how to unlock it. She reluctantly falls out of bed again and helps me in, and we laughed about the situation.

In town, the shops are fairly unique with original items from the area or imported from Germany and other mountainous regions of Europe. For dining, I really enjoyed King Ludwigs, as they had authentic German fare and had a live polka band with dance floor. Erin's favorite was the Gingerbread Factory, where they made some delicious sandwiches and, of course, fantastic gingerbread cookies.

The evenings were my favorite part of the trip, everyone gathered around the fireplace, listening to piano music, drinking coffee, and playing games or puzzles. We noticed several times that they would be playing modern Christian worship songs. It certainly felt like home to us, and I'm sure we'll be going there again in the future.

The picture below shows Erin smiling because she knows she's just about to whoop me at dominoes.

Click on the images below to see them larger.

How to use a Macy's gift card to buy shoes from Marshalls: a lesson in customer service.

We set off today to find a new pair of brown shoes for Erin's growing feet. Erin was given a Macy's gift card for Christmas and this seemed to be the perfect way to use it, since Macy's doesn't have a maternity department. We arrive at the Tacoma Mall Macy's and go through their selection of shoes, only to find a pair that almost works. We make the purchase anyway, exceeding our $50 gift card by $37. Knowing that we may get a better deal, we headed to the Super Mall Outlets. There at Marshalls, Erin found her favorite shoes, by Born, in the size, color, and comfort that she was looking for. The price tag? $50. Excited by this great find, but bummed for making the initial purchase, Erin was feeling anxious about her shoe buying adventure. I told her it was okay, we could go back to Macy's and get a refund on the first shoes. As we drove back, we wondered how they would perform the refund. Our question was answered when the clerk asked, "You want this all back on the credit card then?" Without pause, "Yes." came simultaneously from our lips. And that is how you use a $50 Macy's gift card to buy shoes from Marshalls.

 

In other objectives for the day: Erin's fingers aren't a slim size 5 any longer and her wedding and engagement rings don't want to fit as they once did. Since the sight of a bare finger is too much and sometimes leads to near tears, she wanted a temporary replacement ring. We searched several stores including Wal-Mart for a $15 CZ ring that would still give the appearance that she was still married. Side note: did you know that Wal-Mart keeps their CZ rings behind the glass counter for a sales representative to show you? Wierd. I thought that the ring should be a little different from her real one and perhaps have some colored stones just to be fun, but she was set on having one that looks similar to her real ring. We didn't purchase any because the options are either too "blingy" or of the incorrect size. However, a girl at Macy's said that they could resize it for us for $20.

 

Notables:

Distance between Tacoma Mall and Super Mall - 16 miles

CZ - cubic zirconia - a synthetic diamond simulant

What Joshua Wanted - Duck Shoes - Got 'em