A super Saturday

Well this week has been a bear of a week. Joanna found out she had an upper respiratory infection, which also included a nasty cough. In fact it was so bad that she could not sleep for more than two hours without waking up. Someone told me it was practice for her to be ready to get up with Ruth every few hours. I don't think that was how Joanna would have viewed it but to each his own.

We had planed to go to Starkville Saturday to watch the Bulldogs battle the rebs on the hardwood, but with her being sick not sure that was going to happen. Then on Friday morning she told me to try and see if someone wanted to go with me. Well I called a few friends but not one of them was able to go, so I figured I would fly solo. Saturday came and I started getting ready and to my surprise Joanna said she felt well enough to go so I said sure!  We got to the game and noticed that parking was not going to be as easy as last time. Last time we were able to park about 5 min away, however today not so much. See there was a baseball game that morning and on top of it all we showed up just before tip-off. Therefore we had the privilege of parking about 20 min away. Have you ever seen a 28 weeks and 6 day pregnant woman have to make a 20 min walk up hill in jeans and 80 degree weather? Well at one point, when a grandma passed us, I asked her if we should put one of those orange triangles on her back. Joanna did not think that was too funny.

Finally at the game and it is lunch time so Joanna and Ruth had a sub sandwich with a bag of chips and bottle water. At halftime it was time for some ice cream. We do know that Ruth is truly a Bulldog fan because as the DAWGS pulled away for the victory and the crowd stood to cheer Joanna got a couple of quick kicks. We know our little girl was trying to let the team know that she approved of the victory. After the game it was time for our 20 min walk back to the car, but the good news is it's mostly down hill.

On the drive home we had to make a pit stop in Louisville. During that pit stop Joanna and Ruth decided they needed a snack, so they had freshly fired chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, fried catfish, and hush puppies. We made great time and we got to listen to the baseball game on the way home. Once we got back into town Joanna had a $10 voucher to Kohls so we decided to buy Ruth some clothes since we don't really have anything for her to wear. After that we headed back home. We were both so glad we were able to spend the day out and about today. Considering last Saturday I was sick with the stomach bug and the week before Joanna was in the hospital.  

Well another week for the books!

Well this weekend was definitely a weekend I'd like to put behind us. We were total sick bums. Bryce was getting over the stomach bug and I had a bad cold. So we caught up on a lot of movies!! We watched Red, Secretariat, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Just Wright, and lots of basketball. UGH on Mississippi State!!

Bryce finally got his appetite back on Sunday but unfortunately my cold turned into a bad cough on Sunday. Then Monday morning I woke up with my left side of my face swollen. My eye was red and swollen and my lymph nodes were huge and my ear was completely blocked and was throbbing. So off to the doctor I went and you guessed it - a major upper respiratory infection with an ear infection to top it off!! Aren't I lucky??!! It's bad when the doctor looks in your ear and nose and says, "WOW that's impressive and gross at the same time!!" I think my look told him "NO DUH!!" So I am now on some antibiotics and nasal spray and hoping to get better very soon!! Thank goodness Bryce is better and back at work. I don't think we could do both of us sick in a weekend again. It's the first time it's happened in the 10 years we've know each other and I don't ever want a repeat - especially when Ruth gets here!!

Aren't we a pair???

Well Thursday night - what can I say. It's been one for the record books. I have been battling a sore throat for about 2 days now and I am just praying that it doesn't turn into strep throat - because that would just suck!! I mean what a way to cap off 2 weeks of sickness!! So I am now guzzling down lots of liquids (which I was doing anyway) and have become a fan of Benadryl and Tylenol!! It sucks being sick and pregnant because I can't take the things I normally would to kick this thing!! UGH Ruth better appreciate this!!

Now we were supposed to have our first baby class tonight - Breastfeeding - I am sure deep down Bryce was thrilled!! But I got home from school and took a nap and Bryce got home from work and went straight to the bathroom. So we decided to reschedule our class - which was a very smart move on our part, because not 2 hours later Bryce is throwing up his guts in the bathroom!! My poor baby has the stomach bug - which I am sure he caught from me! I just feel so bad for him. When he throws up - it is so painful to listen to! It's like his whole digestive system goes into a huge spazium. I am really surprised that he doesn't throw up blood sometimes - it's sooooo violent! So after what seemed like forever, he finally finished and says he feels better but I can tell he is exhausted and still feels pretty bad. I just want to make him better, just as I am sure he felt when I was sick!  Well that's marriage - in sickness and in health! Well i think we have the sickness thing down pat!!  I just think we both need some R & R and a long weekend to get our feet back under us!! Let's hope next week is better!!

Looking forward to a SUPER week

Well of course today is the SUPER BOWL, GO PACKERS!! However it is the last week of the 2nd trimester, and we will be looking for to the home stretch. All of Ruth's furniture has been put together and is in place. Now we are simply putting the final touches on the room, hopefully we will have that knocked out within a week or so, but probably not. She is starting to be more active and really is liking certain food items. This past week was the first time that Joanna actually had cravings. Now none of them were weird but if I don't watch out I am going to be putting on 10 pounds with her. For example yesterday afternoon she wanted some crack dip to eat as we watched the basketball game, then for dinner it was a salad followed up by cheese bread and pepperoni pizza, and then an ice cream cake from DQ for dessert. For lunch today it has been Zaxby's and for dinner it is going to be ranch dip, steak, hot dogs, black eye peas, and butter beans. (I did learn today it is dangerous to take a pregnant woman to the grocery store). Oh and if it is chocolate or cake, or chocolate cake, it does not stand a chance in this house.

All in all Joanna is doing much better and Ruth is quite active. She is sleeping in the morning, and not really getting active until around 10am ish (Dear Lord please let her follow this pattern once she is actually here!!) She stays pretty active until around 4-5pm and then she likes to nap. Usually around 9 or 9:30pm she is ready for another round, which this is not good since Joanna is trying to sleep. We also know that she is going to be a great tennis player or a soccer player with the amount of punches and kicks she has going on in there. She also as pretty good aim with those punches and kicks. Every time I put my face on Joanna's belly and talk to her or kiss on her, I'm usually in for a swift kick or punch. This is a good skill for her to learn later in life when some "boy" tries to give her some unwanted kisses!!

With all that is going on Blitz is starting to figure out someone or something is coming to stay a while and he is ready. As you can see below he is hoping it will be someone whom he can play with.

"Snow" Day

Well, so much for a normal rest of the week. I only went back to work for 2 days and then the freezing rain and ice made us call it a holiday on Friday!! I guess I can't complain too much - I did enjoy the sleeping in with the rain and the breakfast Bryce made me! (He didn't have to go in to work either - ahhh so nice!!) I think puppy also enjoyed sleeping in and staying warm under his blanket - lazy dog! The all important ice was all gone by about 11:00 - the rain had washed it away so we decided to go do some shopping! It just so happened that Babies R Us had sent me some awesome coupons that had to be used this weekend - go figure! So we went to Babies R Us and loaded up on some pretty cool stuff for Ruth (spoiled child already!!) We got the changing pad and cute diaper caddy. We also had coupons for a monitor and car seat which we purchased. And they had some really good deals on diapers - which I know we will need to go ahead and buy stock in!! LOL However, the best part of this shopping spree is that it was on the house! Bryce's office had gotten together and gotten us this fabulous gift card which was put to use today!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AHT!!!  Now we are at home and about to go through all the fun stuff again and try to get her room a little more organized - we'll see how far we get! I will say that I am loving these short weeks - I think I am getting too spoiled!!

Update on the Hopkins

Well we were finally sent home Saturday at around 3:00. Bryce was such a guy. The nurse came in with all the discharge papers and instructions just as the last 2 minutes of the State/Florida basketball was going on. He was so not paying attention so I had to throw the toilet paper at him!! Such a State FAN!!  Getting home was great - the first thing was a nice hot shower!! AHHHHHH!!!!  Although that was all the energy that I had for the rest of the day. Bryce was true to the doctor's orders and kept handing me water, Gatorade, 100% juice!! I felt water logged! Sunday was just a little better but I was not feeling well still. I was still very slow and had no energy. I got up and ate breakfast and then had to go back to bed because I was so tired. Talk about a horrible cycle to be in. I needed food for energy but food sounded awful!! (Felt like I was back at 8 weeks of pregnancy! - YUCK!!) Monday was a lot better - I slept in and actually ate a normal breakfast. I did just a little bit around the house and had to nap again about 11am, but after I woke up I was at least hungry for lunch - a very small lunch but hey it was what I needed! I then had a chance to work on Ruth's baby book which made me feel a lot better - she's not even here and she already makes me smile! Bryce kept checking on me and asking what I had in my hand that was liquid!! :) Luv that man!!!  2 very special ladies brought us dinner that night and it was the first meal that was really eaten by me so a BIG shout out to B and Lynn!! yall are the best!!!

Today, Tuesday was our originally scheduled doctor's visit. I was to have my glucose test this morning and a sonogram to check on Ruth. I was very nervous this morning drinking that stuff just because I really didn't need my system on a shock again so soon after getting over the stomach bug and dehydration. But I went ahead and drank the drink - which by the way was not that bad - it was an orange Sunkist soda! Not the best thing in the morning on an empty stomach but it was not that bad. I think the ride to the doctor's office was worse than drinking that stuff. It was pouring down rain and the traffic was awful!!! We made it to the office with 15 min left on my timer! WHEW!!  She ran the test and it was good and my iron was also very good so I was pleased!! Then we moved on to sonogram. She was doing great! She was asleep with her face down and her legs and arms curled up underneath her. She was not wanting to move either  - Bryce was trying to secretly video tape with this phone - which was pretty successful but she was not wanting to put on a show for us this morning! Her heartbeat was 126 and she was measuring right on schedule of 26 weeks and the little cyst that they were checking was all gone! Thanks you Lord!! Bryce was able to tape some of the video and he was most excited about getting the heartbeat on his phone. I think we have listened to like 5 times today! He is going to try for a ring tone!! (Not even here and already she has daddy wrapped around her little finger!!)
It was nice to have the rest of the day off with Bryce, we went and saw some family and ate lunch together (something we never get to do!) However, Bryce had a dentist apt at 2:00 to have a cavity filled - oh what fun for him!! When we left, I took a nap - go figure!! But hey I just can't pass up a rainy afternoon nap! He came home with a numb mouth and a little slurring of the speech but overall he said it was not bad at all. They gave him a shot and let him have his ipod to listen to while they worked. He said they were done in about 15 minutes so no worries. Although now he is complaining that he wants his tongue to go back to normal!! Big baby (but aren't all guys!!) LOL :)  

We are both looking forward to a normal rest of the week and pray that we get it!! It's been a rough one lately but we are on the sunny side of things now!!  Thanks again for all those that sent prayers and thoughts our way last week, they were much needed and we cannot express our gratitude that we have such a great christian support system surrounding us! We are truly blessed by the Lord!

Test run

So this is not the week we thought we would be having, but it did give us a chance to have a "test run" to the hospital. Let me go and back fill the story for you all.

On Tuesday night Joanna was not feeling 100% and she had been having a small pain in her side. On Wednesday it seemed to get a little worse. Come Thursday morning she did not look good nor feel too hot. In fact she went to work and an hour later she called me to let me know she was back home.

I was in my sales meeting this week so I knew we would not talk much and I would not see her on Thursday until after 9pm, well that changed. During the meeting Joanna called and informed me that the pain was pretty intense and the doctor had told her to get to the ER so they could run some test. That was all I needed to hear, and out the door I went. I actually got to the hospital before Joanna. We got checked into the ER pretty quickly, but that was the only thing that was quick. After several test, discussions with the doctor and the OBGYN, they decided we would be staying the night. Now keep in mind that Joanna had not eaten since noon and it was now 9:30pm. Did I mention we were still in the ER? We did not make it to a room until after 11pm. Once in the room Joanna had a bit of mashed potatoes as well as a few bites of a biscuit, but that was it. We then attempted to go to sleep around 11:30pm.

At 1am they decided to move us from one room to another because the bathroom light was not working. Not really a problem for us since the IV machine was providing plenty of light and we could see the bathroom without an issue. However we were moving, because it was policy. I wonder where this "policy" was when we checked in? Once in the new room and asleep things seemed to calm down a bit. The OBGYN came in at 7am and checked on Joanna. After that a few more test and then about 1pm they decided that we needed to stay another night because Joanna was dehydrated still and they did not think we should be at home. So here we are, in the hospital for another night of "wonderful" sleep. She is doing better, actually looks and sounds better than before. It does appear that she has/had a GI infection, along with the stomach bug, which lead to the dehydration. Hopfully we will get the green light tomorrow morning and we will head home.

All in all Ruth is ok, in fact she is quite healthy with a 151 heartbeat and she is still quite active according to Joanna. Moral of the story is, Gatorade is your friend... 

It's been a while

Well life has been pretty normal around here since the holidays. We both went back to work and got back in the swing of things. I enjoyed a snow/ice day which was nice but it always means that we will have to make it up later - oh well i guess I will take sleeping in when I can get it. (because according to everyone sleep will be in short supply come May!) Ruth is doing great. She and my stomach are growing each day - hard to believe that I am 25 weeks pregnant!! HOLY CRAP that means only 15 more to go and then she will be here!! I'm not sure we are ready! LOL  I go to the doctor next Tuesday for my oh so fun glucose sugar test - bring it on orange flavored sugar!! We do however, get a sonogram to check up on our sweet girl so I guess I won't complain too much! Although I think she is going to play some type of very active sport when she gets here because I feel like my belly is always moving and she is always letting me know she is there! Just makes me think about what life will really be like in the next couple of months!

Bryce's work has been very busy especially with his sales meetings happening this week! He was in for a surprise on Monday afternoon though. All his friends/coworkers had gotten together and thrown him a little shower; complete with pink cupcakes and plates and napkins!! He was just telling me how blessed he feels to be working with such a great group of people! I have to agree with him!!

On another note Duchess is now at her new home where she has been nick-named "Queen of the Farm"! Go figure!! It was a hard decision to decide to find her a new home but we both decided that it would not be fair to her to live in a house where she would be limited. So the search began to find the perfect home for our fat, sassy cat! Thank goodness we found one. She is now the only cat/pet to a sweet lady and they have really bonded! I couldn't be happier and I know Duchess is happy as well. I really don't think Blitz even noticed she was gone - such a DOG!!!

This past weekend was very eye opening for me and my limits. I had the weekend to myself while Bryce went on a guys hunting trip. I decided to clean the house since Lynn ( OUR FABULOUS HOUSEKEEPER!!!!) had surgery on both her knees right before Christmas and can't come and clean for me!! :(   Well it had been a while since I had been that active and used certain muscles as well as be 25 weeks pregnant - can we say Oh My Gosh!!! I could barely move that night - my back and feet felt so bad - so i said ok Bryce is cleaning the house next time!! Please hurry up Lynn and get better, we miss you so very much!!

I am looking forward to Saturday as well, Bryce and I are off to Starkvegas to watch a basketball game and eat lunch!! I love spending time with him and Starkville is a perfect place to do that!

Well i think i have caught you up on our life in the past weeks! i am sure there will be an update after our doctor's apt on Tuesday, Until then have a great week and weekend!

Now that the holidays are over...

Well now that Christmas has come and gone it only means that it is time to get Ruth's room ready. We had been using her room as a place to store all of our Christmas items. There was no point in putting all the empty boxes back in the attic when in a matter of weeks we were going to have to get them right back down. So for the past few weeks it has been a very cluttered room. As we packed up Christmas we also went ahead and cleaned out her closet as well, which meant the guest bedroom closet as well as the upstairs closet. After all the cleaning it was time to start putting the furniture together. Unfortunately not all of the furniture came at the same time so we are putting it together in "stages". Below is the progress we have made so far.

  

As you can see we still have a little way to go but we have progress. I am also sure that we will move, change, and rearrange within the next few months. Well as we wait for may to get here, Blitz is taking all of the "lap" time he can get with Joanna while he can.

Now that 2011 is here we are looking forward to a very busy year. We, of course, did go ahead and break Ruth in to MSU football. After a 9 hour car ride to Jacksonville, Ruth got to "hear" what a MSU football game sounds like. Of course we had a blast and are very glad to be back home.