Impromptu Tour of the Maternity Ward

This past week was super crazy (that's a blog post in and of itself). And the weekend started off with a bang. Our little guy has had a bit of a cold, so he came into our room Friday night/Saturday morning around 1 am all sniffly and coughy. Of course, we couldn't refuse him, so he snuggled up between the two of us.

I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to flip through the channels and try to relax a bit. About 45 minutes later, I realized that I hadn't really felt the baby move. So I did the no-fail tricks, like changing positions, walking up and down the stairs, drinking apple juice...even eating a handful of M&Ms. I even jostled my belly back and forth. No kicks.

When it reached an hour & a half or so, I decided it was time to head to the ER. I told Troy the situation and decided it would be best if he just stayed home with Hayden since he wasn't feeling well. Besides, I knew my adrenaline would kick in and I'd feel him as soon as I got in the car.

After missing my exit and spending about 30 minutes in the car, I still hadn't felt him move and finally reached the hospital - about 3:15 am. As I walked in the doors, I started balling like a baby. I'm sure they see it all of the time. I filled out paperwork and could barely pronounce my name, much less explain the situation. They called the maternity ward and assured me that someone was on their way.

I sat down in the waiting room chair. Petrified. The ER attendant came over to console me. She was great.

As I sat there - KICK! Not just a little kick, but a "What the heck are you doing, mom? I'm just trying to sleep!!" kick. Talk about a mixture of joy & relief!

Regardless, they wanted to take me up to the maternity ward and monitor the heartbeat for an hour or so. It was great to hear that little heartbeat, and I at least got to see the maternity ward and get my long list of admittance questions out of the way.

I told all of the nurses on the floor that I'd see them in 4-6 weeks. Hopefully not any sooner!

My Unspectacularness

Mommymae linked me for a meme. I've never heard the term "meme" until now. I looked it up online, and it's basically the term used for the list of questions people answer about themselves and then forward. I think it's supposed to be pronounced to rhyme with "dream", but it makes more sense to me to call it a me-me...since these lists are always about, well, "me".

Anyway, here are 6 unspectacular things about me.

1. I cook a dozen eggs every morning. We only eat the whites (except the little guy), which means 6 for Troy, 3 for me and 3 for our future strong man.

2. Like my pal mommymae, I used to be in a rock-n-roll cover band. It was when I first moved to St. Louis, and we covered everything from Nelly Furtado to Rage Against the Machine. It was never really "me", but it was fun for a while.

3. My original name choice for baby boy #2 was Harrison Richard (Richard being my dad's name). I had chosen that long before we got pregnant. However, about the time baby boy #2 came to be, I realized that would make his nickname "Harry Dick". We immediately dropped that idea.

4. I get overly excited and nostalgic about anything pumpkin flavored this time of year.

5. I've only read one fiction book since high school.

6. I hold some type of record for being the world's loudest drinker (my theory is that I have ultra thin throat lining...whatever that means)

Now, I'm supposed to tag others...
Aunt Rae
Kari
Erin
Libby & Brandon
B's
Susan
Danielson

Directions:
1. link the person who tagged you
2. mention the rules on your blog
3. list 6 unspectacular things about you
4. tag 6 other bloggers by linking them

more photos from this weekend...

Family Pics

We had a great time at Mitch's 60th birthday party this past weekend. Debbie did a great job of putting it together, and I think we're all still recovering from lack of sleep :) We rarely get a photo of the 3 of us together, so I thought this was a great time to do it! However, the look on the little guy's face in the second picture cracked me up. I realize that no one will find this as funny as I do, but I had to share anyway. I have lots of other great photos from this weekend that I'll share when I have more time at the computer. Apparently it's urgent that we watch Dora The Explorer at this very moment...so I must go!

One Year Ago Today...

It's hard to believe that it was a year ago today that Troy started his new job here in Normal! He still loves it, although the last couple days have been a bit rough with the stock market :) Happy Job Anniversary, Troy!

Pottery Barn Revisited

I would just like to say so long to that adorable, chubby pachyderm and his circus cohorts. I have decided that I no longer want those Pottery Barn creations or their fabulously crafted corresponding gallery frames.

And here's why.

Being frugal (aka, a cheapskate) has its rewards, outside of the obvious saving of money. I decided last week that I would recreate those cute Pottery Barn prints for a fraction of what they wanted to charge. If you're not familiar with this personal saga, feel free to read Why I Hate Pottery Barn.

My purchases consisted of three frames from Target, ribbon from WalMart and three wooden craft car wheels from Hobby Lobby painted white with old trim paint from the basement. Some photo paper and a home printer allowed me to print the knock-off artwork. And I was even able to personalize the tent pennants with our son's name - whatever it may wind up being!! Currently, I have a "filler" name that is one of ten+ on our list (keep the suggestions coming). I can only imagine how much more personalization would have cost from the catalog!













I realize that these are not up to PB standards, and our nursery is not adorably painted with blue & white circus tent stripes, but I'll take much more pride in the room knowing it was put together with love, gumption and for less than $50. And I've moved on to other rooms in the house now - dinosaur prints for big brother's room, some helicopter artwork for the boys' bathroom and a retro coffee print for the kitchen. I suppose I should thank Pottery Barn for the initial inspiration. It's amazing what some mild creativity and desperation can do!

So, I'm still not a member of the Pottery Barn Club...but I'm holding out hope for the the sale section in the next catalog.

Yearbook Yourself

I got this link from Brandon & Lyndsey's site. Pretty funny - and a bit scary!
www.yearbookyourself.com

Our Little Guy

I've gotten over my photo-phobia and am finally posting some pics. It was so nice yesterday - rainy, but it felt like fall. (yeah!) We opened all of the windows, and the little man was playing in the breezy window curtains. I had to snap a few shots. Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

The Name Game

Any ideas for boys names?

We've narrowed down our list, but nothing is jumping out at us. We want something unique, but classic - if that's possible. I'd love a 3-syllable name, but nothing has stuck out. If we happen to pick your suggestion, you'll get total props in an upcoming post :)

By the way, this new blog background is really blah. I think it's already time to change it up!

Happy Hump Day! And Happy Birthday Debbie!

Hallelujah!

I can breathe a sigh of relief today.

All photos of Super Underpants Boy are officially off of the Google image search. If anyone ever needs to know how to remove sites or images from Google, just ask me! I've tried just about everything and finally got some help from a wonderful Google employee. I've probably made too big of a deal out of it, but it's tough seeing your son in his underwear when you don't know what random pervs are out there searching for that kind of stuff. Anyway, praise the Lord and pass the turnips!

Thank you to my friends & family who came to the bambino shower in Mt. Vernon this past weekend. It was great seeing you all. And thank you mom & Kar for pulling it all together. I wish we could have stayed longer. I think it finally hit me that there really is a baby coming soon. We've got a lot of work to do around here!

Like many people I know, I'm ridiculously excited for fall. So, I had to change up the site a bit to match my mood. Happy Monday! I hope everyone has a great week.

Nothing To Write About...Or So I Thought

It's been a good week. Filled with the usual.

Trips to the grocery store. Stepping on dinosaurs. Watching Curious George for the 27th time. Kisses in threes to the hubbie as he leaves for work and then steps back through the door in the early evening. Amazement at the steadily growing size of the belly...and many other areas of the body that seem to tag along for the ride. Singing Jesus Loves Me and Jingle Bells a bit prematurely on the comfort of the keep-it-til-it-falls-apart-couch with a guitar that seriously needs to be tuned.

All of the mundane that is so very beautiful.

I pray from time to time as I'm hugging the little guy or snuggling with both of them that God will allow me to freeze this moment in my memory. That I'll remember it forever. I know when I'm 90, these will be the moments that I want to go back to. Not the camera-ready, big events that are hyped up throughout the year. I have a feeling it will be the sweet, and maybe even silent moments that I will long for the most years from now.

Laying in bed in the early morning when the sun is starting to rise, after the little guy has shuffled down the hall and cuddled between the two of us. Listening to him breath and wondering what he's dreaming about.

And even those not so quiet moments that undoubtedly await us in the next couple of months. Ok, years. Those moments when the baby is crying, the toddler is fussing, the pre-maternity clothes still don't fit and supper is just begging to be made and unfortunately not ordered. I know when I'm much older, I will long for those moments, too.

There is a country song that talks about this very thing. I've only heard it once on the radio, but I balled like a baby when I did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG9XfJxMY8A

Sitting down to the computer this morning, I wasn't planning to write much. I had intended to write about how nothing much had happened this week and link to my Aunt Rae's post from today about Autumn (http://frazierfauxpaus.blogspot.com/2008/09/are-you-ready.html). But, I guess there was more to write about - about nothing - than I thought.

Funny how that works out.