Is no longer baby James Princess! We found out this morning that we are having a little GIRL! Woohoo! We got some cute pictures (if you call black-and-white skeletal pictures cute) of our little chickie, who for at the time being shall remain nameless. Alas, my scanner is down and I will have to post the pictures at a later time. However, they look much like the pictures posted a few posts ago. We did get a cool one of her putting her elbow to her knee, which makes it look like a big white cross on the picture! :)
Yay!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Photos Galore!
I apologize, I have been SO TERRIBLE about getting photos up. I noticed at least twice previously that I mentioned photos would follow and then they did not. So, here ya go. The first photos are the 16 week shots of Baby James Princess. By the way, please note that you may want to check back on March 30-31st, as we have our 20 week ultrasound, at which point we'll be able to find out if we have a James or a Princess. :)
And now, onto the photos of the kitchen remodel. The first couple are the floor as it was put it (but not sanded and finished). The last few are the finished floor which is beautiful Tigerwood, and our cherry cabinets, almost completely installed. Also, my brand new dishwasher, which I ran for the FIRST time tonight! Who knew you could get so excited over a dishwasher, eh?
Our countertops are due to be installed Wednesday of next week. There's more painting to do, some trim work, and we still need to get my oven and microwave in this place. Then, one more coat of finish on the floors and we're back in business! Whew!
And now, onto the photos of the kitchen remodel. The first couple are the floor as it was put it (but not sanded and finished). The last few are the finished floor which is beautiful Tigerwood, and our cherry cabinets, almost completely installed. Also, my brand new dishwasher, which I ran for the FIRST time tonight! Who knew you could get so excited over a dishwasher, eh?
Our countertops are due to be installed Wednesday of next week. There's more painting to do, some trim work, and we still need to get my oven and microwave in this place. Then, one more coat of finish on the floors and we're back in business! Whew!
Monday, March 23, 2009
I'm Better Now
After force-feeding myself toast, applesauce and watered down gatorade, I am ALMOST back to my old self. The stress of life is waning at the moment. Paint in the kitchen, cabinets in the dining room (making their way to the kitchen tomorrow!), everything is ordered, just a matter of getting countertops templated out and cut to size and installed. Should be back in business by the end of next week!
The best part is that Our whole downstairs (minus one or two small, inconsequential rooms) are getting painted! Woohoo! No more white-washed walls! We picked a very nice carmelly-brown color, which a hint of taupe. LOVE it.
I'll be posting pics soon. As soon as I can find my damned camera. It's been lost in the kitchen mess in the office. :)
The best part is that Our whole downstairs (minus one or two small, inconsequential rooms) are getting painted! Woohoo! No more white-washed walls! We picked a very nice carmelly-brown color, which a hint of taupe. LOVE it.
I'll be posting pics soon. As soon as I can find my damned camera. It's been lost in the kitchen mess in the office. :)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I'm Sick
Well, kids, the stress of it all finally caught up to me yesterday. I spent the whole day crying, punctuated with moments of clarity, just long enough to talk about a claim with an attorney and not SOUND like I was crying all day. I got into a fight with one of my cousins over something s ridiculous via Facebook, that when I went back and read our dialog later, I was ashamed at myself. It was clear at that point, that the stress has successfully permeated every aspect of my life, and I have become a miserable person to be around.
Hell, my mom was so worried about me that she called Brett to discuss everything and make sure he was doing everything HE could to alleviate stress for me. Like it's solely his job, and he's not experiencing any stress either. God love her, she was just concerned about her daughter. Brett took it well, thank goodness.
So, anyway, we're laying in bed, after resolving some issues and I mentally felt better, but I could tell my body was rebelling. I just felt...I don't know...funny. Not like I was going to throw up, just maybe that I needed to be up and about. I went downstairs and watched mindless television until 3AM when I think I finally passed out. The TV viewing was also interrupted several times by trip to the bathroom. I'll leave out the fun details. But, let me assure you, it wasn't a fun night.
When I awoke on the couch around 4, I went back to bed. Then got back up at 5 and was sick again...until 6, when Brett got up for work. He suggested I call in sick to work, since Wednesdays are my days to work from home with Bryce in tow. This is no easy feat healthy, let alone sick and pregnant. I figure, any excess energy I have should be devoted to my child and not being at the beck and call of some attorney.
So, I'm pretty sure I'll come back to work with a counseling memo waiting on my desk for missing too many days of work lately. But, you know, I'm not afraid of that anymore, because I've decided my health and my family are much more important than any job. It would be nice, though, to be able to keep my benefits until the baby is born. :)
Hell, my mom was so worried about me that she called Brett to discuss everything and make sure he was doing everything HE could to alleviate stress for me. Like it's solely his job, and he's not experiencing any stress either. God love her, she was just concerned about her daughter. Brett took it well, thank goodness.
So, anyway, we're laying in bed, after resolving some issues and I mentally felt better, but I could tell my body was rebelling. I just felt...I don't know...funny. Not like I was going to throw up, just maybe that I needed to be up and about. I went downstairs and watched mindless television until 3AM when I think I finally passed out. The TV viewing was also interrupted several times by trip to the bathroom. I'll leave out the fun details. But, let me assure you, it wasn't a fun night.
When I awoke on the couch around 4, I went back to bed. Then got back up at 5 and was sick again...until 6, when Brett got up for work. He suggested I call in sick to work, since Wednesdays are my days to work from home with Bryce in tow. This is no easy feat healthy, let alone sick and pregnant. I figure, any excess energy I have should be devoted to my child and not being at the beck and call of some attorney.
So, I'm pretty sure I'll come back to work with a counseling memo waiting on my desk for missing too many days of work lately. But, you know, I'm not afraid of that anymore, because I've decided my health and my family are much more important than any job. It would be nice, though, to be able to keep my benefits until the baby is born. :)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
I Need A Bigger Plate
There are just too many stressful things going on right now, and I'm ready to explode. Either in tears, or I just may strangle someone, I'm not quite sure which yet.
We are now over 2 months without a workable kitchen. The floors are in, and were sanded, with two coats of finish on them. This is forward movement, yes, however, my house now WREAKS of the finish they put on it (think a very strong, obnoxious nail polish remover odor, mixed with paint thinner...absolutely awful). The fumes were gone, so it is safe to be here, but the stench makes me nauseated and gives me a terrible headache. It hasn't been exactly balmy here in the PNW, but my windows have been open 24/7 since Tuesday as if it were. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever go away. Oh yeah, and there's one more coat to go...
We were told our cabinets would be in the week of the 16th...well, that was pushed to the 23rd. Yeah, yeah, only one week late, which as far as construction goes, may as well be on time. But, still, after 2 months of this GARBAGE, I can't take things being delayed. I just want my kitchen back.
We still haven't decided on granite for the countertops. We've been to the slab warehouse twice and though I found several I liked, Brett found none. And, he's unwilling to take time off during the week to go look elsewhere, so that means that we're down to a small amount of time next Saturday to look (ie, maybe an hour, after a mandatory meeting I have on Saturday for my church council). Why Saturday? Well, because the cabinets come in on the following Monday and I swear to GOD, if Brett is the reason why we have another delay, he'll be swimmin' with the fishes.
Brett wants to purchase a $450 faucet for our kitchen sink. WTF? Are you f'ing kidding me? I found several VERY NICE faucets, all within the $100-$200 range, which frankly I still think is too much money, but much more reasonable that $450. Why so fancy? Well, it looks like an ornate lunchroom cafeteria kitchen sink hose. You know, the ones you can pull down from the ceiling and spray 1000 lbs psi to scour the mystery meat off the casserole dish. AND, it has a magnet within the faucet to boot, so that after you're done power washing your siding, it will self-retract and hold itself in place with the magnet. HOLY CRAP.
Frankly, I think you could pay me $450 and I could MAKE one that looked and functioned nicer than this. THIS WILL NOT BE GOING IN MY KITCHEN.
On the bright side, we did have someone finally come in to do some electrical, plumbing, and insulation/drywall, so I'm not staring at the bones of my house (aka the studs). We have picked out a sink, a dishwasher, and the paint color for our entire downstairs. However, despite this progress it gets worse:
My pregnancy has shifted from nausea (yay, I have my appetite back) to a constant feeling of pelvic pain, pressure, stabbing, sharp, miserable, can't-get-comfortable, crap I'm only 17 weeks and have at least 22 more to go, misery. These complaints brought about a slough of diagnostic testing from my OB. Nothing's wrong. Much like my dizziness months ago, this is just another symptom of my pregnancy, which may subside, stay the same, or God forbid get worse as time goes on. I recall feeling this way with Bryce...but I was about one month away from delivering him. I am already so tired, but everytime I lay down, I feel like someone has just kicked me HARD between the legs, and they are repeatedly doing it. So, no rest for the weary. No amount of pillows, large or small, seems to be easing my discomfort. I envy women who have easy pregnancies. Frankly, I'll be the first to admit that I hate being pregnant, and I only do it for the end result. I don't enjoy any moment of this. I didn't with Bryce, and I'm not with this one. But, the end result is MORE than worth it. So, you'll just have to put up with my rants from here on out.
Brett's been super busy at work (or so he says), and can't seem to get his ass home before 8PM. This creates havoc in my life. First, Bryce's bed time WAS 8PM ( I say was, because he really wants to see his dad at night, and I feel guilty putting him to bed before dad gets home most night), but has been pushed back, sometimes as late as 9:30 during the week. This means less alone/couple time for us. It also means that Bryce has been whinier than ever due to the fact he gets to spend little to no time with dad, and then he's super cranky in the morning when everything starts back up at 6:30 AM. Second, I get NO help during the week with the daily routine of meals (which currently amounts to a TON of driving around to figure out what "sounds good"), cleaning, bathing, and entertaining Bryce. I've tried to be understanding, but it's difficult when your husband is OBSESSED with money and his job is commission-based. I once jokingly called his boss a slave driver (we have that kind of relationship where I can do that without any retribution) and he was very quick to point out that everyone else leaves at decent hours on most nights and it's not him that's making Brett stay. So, basically I married a man that would much rather spend his evenings under cars than with us. Resentful? You bet. Tired? Duh. Upset? To say the least. His little schedule comes in waves. He starts staying later and later, under the guise that he just HAS to get these cars done, and then I finally get fed up and tell him he needs to leave because it impacts us all negatively. HE IS ABLE TO LEAVE BY 6PM when I threaten him within an inch of his life, for a couple of months in a row, before the cycle starts all over. I just can't understand why he's doing this NOW. I am pregnant, our house is completely torn apart, we haven't finished making decisions to complete our kitchen, Bryce just got his cast off and misses him like mad, yet he still stays. Boggles the mind.
Anyway, I know this was a long post, and there is even more that could've been written here that is complicating my life at this juncture, but this would be an inappropriate venue to divulge the remainder, so I remain mum. Just know that if you don't hear from me for a few weeks/months/years, it's because I'm either in a mental institution suffering from a nervous breakdown, or that I'm in prison. :)
We are now over 2 months without a workable kitchen. The floors are in, and were sanded, with two coats of finish on them. This is forward movement, yes, however, my house now WREAKS of the finish they put on it (think a very strong, obnoxious nail polish remover odor, mixed with paint thinner...absolutely awful). The fumes were gone, so it is safe to be here, but the stench makes me nauseated and gives me a terrible headache. It hasn't been exactly balmy here in the PNW, but my windows have been open 24/7 since Tuesday as if it were. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever go away. Oh yeah, and there's one more coat to go...
We were told our cabinets would be in the week of the 16th...well, that was pushed to the 23rd. Yeah, yeah, only one week late, which as far as construction goes, may as well be on time. But, still, after 2 months of this GARBAGE, I can't take things being delayed. I just want my kitchen back.
We still haven't decided on granite for the countertops. We've been to the slab warehouse twice and though I found several I liked, Brett found none. And, he's unwilling to take time off during the week to go look elsewhere, so that means that we're down to a small amount of time next Saturday to look (ie, maybe an hour, after a mandatory meeting I have on Saturday for my church council). Why Saturday? Well, because the cabinets come in on the following Monday and I swear to GOD, if Brett is the reason why we have another delay, he'll be swimmin' with the fishes.
Brett wants to purchase a $450 faucet for our kitchen sink. WTF? Are you f'ing kidding me? I found several VERY NICE faucets, all within the $100-$200 range, which frankly I still think is too much money, but much more reasonable that $450. Why so fancy? Well, it looks like an ornate lunchroom cafeteria kitchen sink hose. You know, the ones you can pull down from the ceiling and spray 1000 lbs psi to scour the mystery meat off the casserole dish. AND, it has a magnet within the faucet to boot, so that after you're done power washing your siding, it will self-retract and hold itself in place with the magnet. HOLY CRAP.
Frankly, I think you could pay me $450 and I could MAKE one that looked and functioned nicer than this. THIS WILL NOT BE GOING IN MY KITCHEN. On the bright side, we did have someone finally come in to do some electrical, plumbing, and insulation/drywall, so I'm not staring at the bones of my house (aka the studs). We have picked out a sink, a dishwasher, and the paint color for our entire downstairs. However, despite this progress it gets worse:
My pregnancy has shifted from nausea (yay, I have my appetite back) to a constant feeling of pelvic pain, pressure, stabbing, sharp, miserable, can't-get-comfortable, crap I'm only 17 weeks and have at least 22 more to go, misery. These complaints brought about a slough of diagnostic testing from my OB. Nothing's wrong. Much like my dizziness months ago, this is just another symptom of my pregnancy, which may subside, stay the same, or God forbid get worse as time goes on. I recall feeling this way with Bryce...but I was about one month away from delivering him. I am already so tired, but everytime I lay down, I feel like someone has just kicked me HARD between the legs, and they are repeatedly doing it. So, no rest for the weary. No amount of pillows, large or small, seems to be easing my discomfort. I envy women who have easy pregnancies. Frankly, I'll be the first to admit that I hate being pregnant, and I only do it for the end result. I don't enjoy any moment of this. I didn't with Bryce, and I'm not with this one. But, the end result is MORE than worth it. So, you'll just have to put up with my rants from here on out.
Brett's been super busy at work (or so he says), and can't seem to get his ass home before 8PM. This creates havoc in my life. First, Bryce's bed time WAS 8PM ( I say was, because he really wants to see his dad at night, and I feel guilty putting him to bed before dad gets home most night), but has been pushed back, sometimes as late as 9:30 during the week. This means less alone/couple time for us. It also means that Bryce has been whinier than ever due to the fact he gets to spend little to no time with dad, and then he's super cranky in the morning when everything starts back up at 6:30 AM. Second, I get NO help during the week with the daily routine of meals (which currently amounts to a TON of driving around to figure out what "sounds good"), cleaning, bathing, and entertaining Bryce. I've tried to be understanding, but it's difficult when your husband is OBSESSED with money and his job is commission-based. I once jokingly called his boss a slave driver (we have that kind of relationship where I can do that without any retribution) and he was very quick to point out that everyone else leaves at decent hours on most nights and it's not him that's making Brett stay. So, basically I married a man that would much rather spend his evenings under cars than with us. Resentful? You bet. Tired? Duh. Upset? To say the least. His little schedule comes in waves. He starts staying later and later, under the guise that he just HAS to get these cars done, and then I finally get fed up and tell him he needs to leave because it impacts us all negatively. HE IS ABLE TO LEAVE BY 6PM when I threaten him within an inch of his life, for a couple of months in a row, before the cycle starts all over. I just can't understand why he's doing this NOW. I am pregnant, our house is completely torn apart, we haven't finished making decisions to complete our kitchen, Bryce just got his cast off and misses him like mad, yet he still stays. Boggles the mind.
Anyway, I know this was a long post, and there is even more that could've been written here that is complicating my life at this juncture, but this would be an inappropriate venue to divulge the remainder, so I remain mum. Just know that if you don't hear from me for a few weeks/months/years, it's because I'm either in a mental institution suffering from a nervous breakdown, or that I'm in prison. :)
Friday, March 6, 2009
It Moves
I'm now 16 weeks and 1 day. And after drinking an ice cold glass of milk, I felt Baby James Princess move for the first time. The miracle of life has made itself very obvious. :)
We also go another ultrasound on Wednesday to rule out some complaints I'd been having. We still don't know the sex, but he/she sure likes to such his/her thumb! Bryce was there with me and was fascinated NOT by the image of his sibling on the screen, but with the blue jelly that the technician squirted on my stomach! We will be going in for our "official 20 week" ultrasound on March 30th. Hopefully BJP will cooperate and we'll know if we have a girl or a boy. Keep your fingers crossed!
We also go another ultrasound on Wednesday to rule out some complaints I'd been having. We still don't know the sex, but he/she sure likes to such his/her thumb! Bryce was there with me and was fascinated NOT by the image of his sibling on the screen, but with the blue jelly that the technician squirted on my stomach! We will be going in for our "official 20 week" ultrasound on March 30th. Hopefully BJP will cooperate and we'll know if we have a girl or a boy. Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, March 2, 2009
It's Back
So, I thought I was done with this crap. I'm 15 1/2 weeks along, I had been feeling better for 4-5 days, and then BAM! Yesterday morning sickness (aka ALL DAY SICKNESS) hit me like a ton of bricks. Because of it, I only ate a salad at dinner. That's what I had to eat for the WHOLE day, which is not good. And because that was all I ate, now today I feel like poop again and don't want to eat. It's a vicious cycle, I tell ya.
So, I'm going to force myself down for an egg mcmuffin this morning and try and get the ball rolling again. You may get another fun story about how I yakked in the McDonald's bathroom. Be prepared.
So, I'm going to force myself down for an egg mcmuffin this morning and try and get the ball rolling again. You may get another fun story about how I yakked in the McDonald's bathroom. Be prepared.
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