Welcome to October 2006! Already, it's our One Year Anniversary!!!
Our Engagement Photo, Spring 2005, Wedding Photo, October 8th, 2005, & Baby Makes Three!!!
Thank you for visiting. We update this page every few days.... check back soon!
Thank you for visiting. We update this page every few days.... check back soon!
October 2, 2006:
I forgot to mention when updating last time that some other (good) exciting things have been happening around here.
On September 22nd, I FINALLY gained my acceptance into the Ohio Counseling Board, and have an official document that I need to frame. I am now a Licensed Practicing Counselor for the next two years. :)
Also, I finally gave up on trying to squeeze into my regular clothes (particularly most of my jeans), and am now wearing a lot of either maternity or mom's old large clothes. (Many of the maternity ones were bought from mom on ebay..thanks, Mom.) Oh, does my enlarged belly and chest thank me for it. I also went to buy two "nursing" bras from a maternity store. One is VERY nice...well, except for the fact that it certainly isn't very attractive to look at...but it works/supports very well. It's also funny that this pregnancy weight chart said that with my XL body size, I'm supposed to gain "no more than 15 pounds" during my pregnancy. Yeah. Sure. Maybe that was decided by a size 4 doctor....
I forgot to mention when updating last time that some other (good) exciting things have been happening around here.
On September 22nd, I FINALLY gained my acceptance into the Ohio Counseling Board, and have an official document that I need to frame. I am now a Licensed Practicing Counselor for the next two years. :)
Also, I finally gave up on trying to squeeze into my regular clothes (particularly most of my jeans), and am now wearing a lot of either maternity or mom's old large clothes. (Many of the maternity ones were bought from mom on ebay..thanks, Mom.) Oh, does my enlarged belly and chest thank me for it. I also went to buy two "nursing" bras from a maternity store. One is VERY nice...well, except for the fact that it certainly isn't very attractive to look at...but it works/supports very well. It's also funny that this pregnancy weight chart said that with my XL body size, I'm supposed to gain "no more than 15 pounds" during my pregnancy. Yeah. Sure. Maybe that was decided by a size 4 doctor....
This is my first belly picture October 1, 2006.
I may look like just a XL person, but believe me,
that belly is larger and pretty darn hard right now...
not near as jiggly as it was not too long ago.
Those are my first maternity pants, too. :)
I may look like just a XL person, but believe me,
that belly is larger and pretty darn hard right now...
not near as jiggly as it was not too long ago.
Those are my first maternity pants, too. :)
October 5, 2006:
Today, we had the second doctor visit with Dr. Arbona's midwife (Donna). After the appointment, we came out, and Dr. Arbona was there, having JUST returned from HER maternity leave. It was a great surprise, and she told us congratulations. So finally, Bruce got to meet this doctor that I've been raving about. (I said congrats to her too. She's a very thin, fit person, one of those who's skinny without trying. Once in the car, we both agreed that there was NO WAY a person could tell that she had just had a baby about a month ago! Talk about lack of body fat...yeah, I'm jealous....)
Anyway, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat (roughly at 160 bps, which is "good"). It was SO COOOOOOOLLLL!!!!!! :) And, well, I couldn't help but smile and giggle. And, yeah, a few tears showed up in my eye, too. I tried HARD to hold the giggles in so that we could hear the heart beat, because it was originally hard to find the thing, but then with my giggling, it got lost again. (By the way, the kid is RIGHT in the spot...on the far left side...where I've been feeling everything, so the location didn't surprise me.). I tried so hard to not giggle, but I couldn't help it, the joy just BURST from me when we found the kid's spot and, as Donna said, heard her/him saying hello to mommy and then to daddy. :)
We had both understood that another ultrasound would be performed today, based on the high-risk of the pregnancy (because of my epilepsy). But, perhaps in the excitement at the first one, we had both heard wrong. Donna said that I'm high-risk, yes, but not extreme high-risk. SO, the next ultrasound won't be until week 18-20. He/she will be almost **6 INCHES** by that point! It will be a "Level Two Ultrasound" and means that gestational age and fetal growth measurements are noted, along with comments about the brain, heart, kidney and cord insertion, amniotic fluid volume, placental position and obvious maternal pelvic organ abnormalities.
We were given a packet of a bunch of info on pregnancy and early childhood/ parenting. So we've been studying up. And then, we had to go to the lab so I could give 10?12? vials of blood to do a bunch of tests. Oh, how I love to be stuck with needles (NOT!!).
On other family news: here is an update on Bruce's dad. He is doing well all things considered. He is still adjusting to living alone. He has NEVER lived by himself before now. When he and Bruce's mom got married, he moved out of his parents' house and straight into an apartment, so until her passing he had never lived alone. He has gotten good news and bad news on the insurance fronts. The good news is that he got a check from State Farm for $10,500 for all of the damage done by all the flooding. So that check will help dad begin working on getting the basement remodeled after he gets his woodshop back up and running again. The bad news is that apparently because mom was over 65, her life insurance coverage decreased without Dad being aware of it (from 20,000 down to 13,000). Dad wasn't really happy about that, but I guess there isn't much that can be done about it. Also, dad has officially stepped down from his Lay Pastor position at Patteson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Guston, KY. The committee and advisors for the Lay pastors advised Dad that this would be the best course of action given all of the circumstances that were occurring within the church. This will also allow Dad to go to a Lay Pastors Retreat on the weekend of Oct. 18 with a clear mind and allow himself to recharge spiritually and mentally.
And, of course we are only 3 DAYS AWAY FROM 1 YEAR OF WEDDED BLISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, effective this Sunday we are no longer newlyweds. We are heading down to a Bed and Breakfast in the Hocking Hills area to enjoy our anniversary weekend. We are looking forward to what should be some very pretty fall colors on the trees. (Stay tuned for pictures! :) ) We will be getting our cake topper from Mom tomorow and bringing it with us so that we can enjoy our wedding cake as we celebrate.
Bruce is continuing to search for that perfect job. He is a bit frustrated and also nervous because his severance package runs out at the end of October. He would really like a job before than. One of his biggest hurdles at this moment is getting over his nervousness about making follow-up calls to the companies that he has submitted resumes to. I continue to try to encourage him on this front (and to remind him to be more aggressive and to display what he is worth!!!), but it remains a difficult task. Also, he is one step closer to going back to school and beginning work on his MBA. He finally received his third letter of recommendation (after weeks after pleading) so that his enrollment counselor could submit all of his paperwork to the admissions office. Hopefully by the middle of next week, we will know whether or not he is accepted into the LEAD Program at Ohio Dominican University. (I keep telling him that his nervousness is for naught!) If accepted, he will have orientation on Oct. 23, class will begin on Oct. 30, and in only 19 months he will have his MBA.
Today, we had the second doctor visit with Dr. Arbona's midwife (Donna). After the appointment, we came out, and Dr. Arbona was there, having JUST returned from HER maternity leave. It was a great surprise, and she told us congratulations. So finally, Bruce got to meet this doctor that I've been raving about. (I said congrats to her too. She's a very thin, fit person, one of those who's skinny without trying. Once in the car, we both agreed that there was NO WAY a person could tell that she had just had a baby about a month ago! Talk about lack of body fat...yeah, I'm jealous....)
Anyway, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat (roughly at 160 bps, which is "good"). It was SO COOOOOOOLLLL!!!!!! :) And, well, I couldn't help but smile and giggle. And, yeah, a few tears showed up in my eye, too. I tried HARD to hold the giggles in so that we could hear the heart beat, because it was originally hard to find the thing, but then with my giggling, it got lost again. (By the way, the kid is RIGHT in the spot...on the far left side...where I've been feeling everything, so the location didn't surprise me.). I tried so hard to not giggle, but I couldn't help it, the joy just BURST from me when we found the kid's spot and, as Donna said, heard her/him saying hello to mommy and then to daddy. :)
We had both understood that another ultrasound would be performed today, based on the high-risk of the pregnancy (because of my epilepsy). But, perhaps in the excitement at the first one, we had both heard wrong. Donna said that I'm high-risk, yes, but not extreme high-risk. SO, the next ultrasound won't be until week 18-20. He/she will be almost **6 INCHES** by that point! It will be a "Level Two Ultrasound" and means that gestational age and fetal growth measurements are noted, along with comments about the brain, heart, kidney and cord insertion, amniotic fluid volume, placental position and obvious maternal pelvic organ abnormalities.
We were given a packet of a bunch of info on pregnancy and early childhood/ parenting. So we've been studying up. And then, we had to go to the lab so I could give 10?12? vials of blood to do a bunch of tests. Oh, how I love to be stuck with needles (NOT!!).
On other family news: here is an update on Bruce's dad. He is doing well all things considered. He is still adjusting to living alone. He has NEVER lived by himself before now. When he and Bruce's mom got married, he moved out of his parents' house and straight into an apartment, so until her passing he had never lived alone. He has gotten good news and bad news on the insurance fronts. The good news is that he got a check from State Farm for $10,500 for all of the damage done by all the flooding. So that check will help dad begin working on getting the basement remodeled after he gets his woodshop back up and running again. The bad news is that apparently because mom was over 65, her life insurance coverage decreased without Dad being aware of it (from 20,000 down to 13,000). Dad wasn't really happy about that, but I guess there isn't much that can be done about it. Also, dad has officially stepped down from his Lay Pastor position at Patteson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Guston, KY. The committee and advisors for the Lay pastors advised Dad that this would be the best course of action given all of the circumstances that were occurring within the church. This will also allow Dad to go to a Lay Pastors Retreat on the weekend of Oct. 18 with a clear mind and allow himself to recharge spiritually and mentally.
And, of course we are only 3 DAYS AWAY FROM 1 YEAR OF WEDDED BLISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, effective this Sunday we are no longer newlyweds. We are heading down to a Bed and Breakfast in the Hocking Hills area to enjoy our anniversary weekend. We are looking forward to what should be some very pretty fall colors on the trees. (Stay tuned for pictures! :) ) We will be getting our cake topper from Mom tomorow and bringing it with us so that we can enjoy our wedding cake as we celebrate.
Bruce is continuing to search for that perfect job. He is a bit frustrated and also nervous because his severance package runs out at the end of October. He would really like a job before than. One of his biggest hurdles at this moment is getting over his nervousness about making follow-up calls to the companies that he has submitted resumes to. I continue to try to encourage him on this front (and to remind him to be more aggressive and to display what he is worth!!!), but it remains a difficult task. Also, he is one step closer to going back to school and beginning work on his MBA. He finally received his third letter of recommendation (after weeks after pleading) so that his enrollment counselor could submit all of his paperwork to the admissions office. Hopefully by the middle of next week, we will know whether or not he is accepted into the LEAD Program at Ohio Dominican University. (I keep telling him that his nervousness is for naught!) If accepted, he will have orientation on Oct. 23, class will begin on Oct. 30, and in only 19 months he will have his MBA.
October 12, 2006:
Yesterday, I got a call from Dr.Arbona's office concerning all of the blood tests that I took last week. Despite the fact that I still have a quarter-sized nasty-looking bruise from the ordeal, every one of the tests came back NEGATIVE. In other words, this kid is once again standing firm to the truth that he/she is healthy, has no problems (like Cystic Fibrosis, etc) thank you very much, and is, again, one tough cookie.
I am now in week 12, and there's still no weird cravings or anything, other than the annoyance of sitting down to eat most of my normal-sized meals and then getting STUFFED after just 2 to 3 bites of food. (And then having to eat 4 hours later without fail.) BUT, there is the NAUSEA. Lots of that. Pretty much every day, I have at least one bought of sickness. Occasionally, it's even been where nothing helps except stripping from the waist down, laying down, and drinking a double-dose of cola syrup.
That, unfortunately, is what came to pass on Sunday (our 1st Anniversary Day). We stayed at a very nice, quiet Bed & Breakfast for the weekend, had an excellent breakfast, and then during the day, we went hiking up/down a LOT of the hills around Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills (Ohio's foothills of the Appalachian Mountains). The area had no cellphone access, so truely, we had NO ONE interrupting our time together until we drove to a (slightly) more populated area and (then) had several messages to listen to. The trees were simply at their PEAK in color (why oh why was it not this way LAST October 8th? Hmmm??). Anyway, we had a good time, and both agreed that we attained all of the exercise that we have each been lacking for the last few months (grin). WELL. Aparently this kid is not too fond of mom walking/exercising that much. When we got back to our room, we had all intentions of enjoying the hot tub, eating our wedding cake topper, and (finally) deciding on which of our professional wedding pictures to have enlarged and framed, put into our album, etc.
Soon after getting to the room, the nausea hit HARD. Bruce took care of me through the evening. He helped me to strip so I could be more comfortable, put my hair back in case of sickness and a quick run to the toilet, and took the cola syrup. I then fell asleep; and he enjoyed the hot tub (alone). Later, we did decide on the pictures and had SOME cake, but really just a piece for each of us....the nausea never completely disappeared. During the night that night, I returned the favor, and took care of Bruce in the middle of the night when he had a nightmare. What a great ending (NOT!) to such a nice day!
On Tuesday, we had the family from this area come by to help us finish up our cake topper. Debby & I shared pregnancy woes until the guys interrupted in a futile attempt to change the subject. It was good to see everyone, and it was nice to have a small family party here.
Today, Bruce was officially accepted into the Ohio Dominican Master's Program (called "LEAD").....like there was EVER going to be the opposite!!!! Anyway, tomorrow, he needs to pay the registration fee and look into signing up for exams which will (I am certain) allow him to test out of many foundation classes. Nineteen months from now, he'll hold his Master's of Business Administration. Sounds like money that he deserved a long time ago, doesn't it? :)
Yesterday, I got a call from Dr.Arbona's office concerning all of the blood tests that I took last week. Despite the fact that I still have a quarter-sized nasty-looking bruise from the ordeal, every one of the tests came back NEGATIVE. In other words, this kid is once again standing firm to the truth that he/she is healthy, has no problems (like Cystic Fibrosis, etc) thank you very much, and is, again, one tough cookie.
I am now in week 12, and there's still no weird cravings or anything, other than the annoyance of sitting down to eat most of my normal-sized meals and then getting STUFFED after just 2 to 3 bites of food. (And then having to eat 4 hours later without fail.) BUT, there is the NAUSEA. Lots of that. Pretty much every day, I have at least one bought of sickness. Occasionally, it's even been where nothing helps except stripping from the waist down, laying down, and drinking a double-dose of cola syrup.
That, unfortunately, is what came to pass on Sunday (our 1st Anniversary Day). We stayed at a very nice, quiet Bed & Breakfast for the weekend, had an excellent breakfast, and then during the day, we went hiking up/down a LOT of the hills around Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills (Ohio's foothills of the Appalachian Mountains). The area had no cellphone access, so truely, we had NO ONE interrupting our time together until we drove to a (slightly) more populated area and (then) had several messages to listen to. The trees were simply at their PEAK in color (why oh why was it not this way LAST October 8th? Hmmm??). Anyway, we had a good time, and both agreed that we attained all of the exercise that we have each been lacking for the last few months (grin). WELL. Aparently this kid is not too fond of mom walking/exercising that much. When we got back to our room, we had all intentions of enjoying the hot tub, eating our wedding cake topper, and (finally) deciding on which of our professional wedding pictures to have enlarged and framed, put into our album, etc.
Soon after getting to the room, the nausea hit HARD. Bruce took care of me through the evening. He helped me to strip so I could be more comfortable, put my hair back in case of sickness and a quick run to the toilet, and took the cola syrup. I then fell asleep; and he enjoyed the hot tub (alone). Later, we did decide on the pictures and had SOME cake, but really just a piece for each of us....the nausea never completely disappeared. During the night that night, I returned the favor, and took care of Bruce in the middle of the night when he had a nightmare. What a great ending (NOT!) to such a nice day!
On Tuesday, we had the family from this area come by to help us finish up our cake topper. Debby & I shared pregnancy woes until the guys interrupted in a futile attempt to change the subject. It was good to see everyone, and it was nice to have a small family party here.
Today, Bruce was officially accepted into the Ohio Dominican Master's Program (called "LEAD").....like there was EVER going to be the opposite!!!! Anyway, tomorrow, he needs to pay the registration fee and look into signing up for exams which will (I am certain) allow him to test out of many foundation classes. Nineteen months from now, he'll hold his Master's of Business Administration. Sounds like money that he deserved a long time ago, doesn't it? :)
October 13, 2006:
A short but mighty important entry: Jenn (and her husband Jim), my very good friend from Kent State and all of the years since then (who I talk about every so often on here) has delivered their first baby. His name is Benjamin James Piller, is absolutely adorable, and I CAN see both Jenn and Jim in his face. He was born October 11th at 5:41pm by cesaerean. He is 6 pounds 7.6 ounces, and is 18 inches long.
I haven't gotten to talk to Jenn yet, of course, but I will soon, and Bruce and I will be traveling to Cleveland soon to see them. Jenn's been the closest friend (emotionally) that I've had for such a long time now; been through just SO much together. Just makes me smile to think that now, our kids will grow up at the same time; only a few months apart. :)
A short but mighty important entry: Jenn (and her husband Jim), my very good friend from Kent State and all of the years since then (who I talk about every so often on here) has delivered their first baby. His name is Benjamin James Piller, is absolutely adorable, and I CAN see both Jenn and Jim in his face. He was born October 11th at 5:41pm by cesaerean. He is 6 pounds 7.6 ounces, and is 18 inches long.
I haven't gotten to talk to Jenn yet, of course, but I will soon, and Bruce and I will be traveling to Cleveland soon to see them. Jenn's been the closest friend (emotionally) that I've had for such a long time now; been through just SO much together. Just makes me smile to think that now, our kids will grow up at the same time; only a few months apart. :)
October 28, 2006:
For those regular readers of this page, it will be updated (a lot) at the end of this week. I have some people that I need to catch up with and everything, but for the last two weeks I have been very busy and will continue to be so until 5pm Nov.1st (this Thursday) with a LOT of art therapy things that are due THIS WEEK. So, it is crunchtime for me. I will get this page updated, and I will email/call/see the people who I haven't yet, but please just wait on me.
Bruce has started his first class, and is now worried about trying to learn the "MLA" writing style, since he has at least one paper due a week (written in MLA) for the next 6 weeks. Please say a prayer for him this week. We all know he'll be just fine, of course, but extra help doesn't hurt. :)
For those regular readers of this page, it will be updated (a lot) at the end of this week. I have some people that I need to catch up with and everything, but for the last two weeks I have been very busy and will continue to be so until 5pm Nov.1st (this Thursday) with a LOT of art therapy things that are due THIS WEEK. So, it is crunchtime for me. I will get this page updated, and I will email/call/see the people who I haven't yet, but please just wait on me.
Bruce has started his first class, and is now worried about trying to learn the "MLA" writing style, since he has at least one paper due a week (written in MLA) for the next 6 weeks. Please say a prayer for him this week. We all know he'll be just fine, of course, but extra help doesn't hurt. :)