I should not watch TLC in my delicate condition...

But first, apparently, a lot of people find our blogs inquisitive, based on the number of comments we've all received!

I just like to think that it's because we're all so insightful, and witty, and pithy that people can't help but fall into our spell & post their comments.

But I think it's more likely that there'a a spam generator out there throwing out these comments like monkeys tossing poo.

On another note, we are getting a few DVDs and VHS tapes burned to send to the parental (or should I say grandparental?) units....I think that you can see the VHS tape a little better than the DVD, but I know that Dan, with all of his movie software, may be able to do something to help clarify the images somewhat. Or not. But anyway, we're going to be sending out Bean stuff soon.... Most people will probably be getting copies of the pictures printed out during the ultrasound, so everyone will be able to see what the Bean looks like at this stage. See the Bean's perfect spine...perfect hand....*Sigh*

But back to the TLC TV thing--somehow the TV landed on "Medical Miracles" or "Amazing ER Stories" or "How The Heck Are These People Still Alive?!?!" or somesuch program, and the story that came on was a baby born with 4 legs. Now, these are NOT the kinds of programs I need to be watching. Because of course as soon as I saw that, I ran to the fridge (well, since it's only a few feet away, it was more like walking quickly) to make sure that I only saw 2 legs. And I am pretty sure I only see two. And, as a real pick-me-up, the next program is "The Girl Who Turned To Stone" about a girl with a progressive disease that's slowly paralyzing her. Yeah, that's what I need to see right now.

Where are the programs about lollipops & rainbows?????

Gee, if I'm lucky, they'll follow the Stone Girl up with the one about the boy whose skin fell off (which I did see, and was really heartbreaking, and made me cry. A lot.).

I think I need to watch our recorded episode of "Rollergirls" now.

18 weeks!

We had our ultrasound today--I must say that our ultrasound technician had a personality that left a lot to be desired....in fact, I think I must say that I prefer our afternoon appointments--I think that some of the folks in the office are not morning people!

I got up on the table, and was instructed to pull my shirt up and my pants down. No, more. No, your panties, too. (Huh??? I thought you were just going to squirt some gel on my tummy & move this roll-on thing around & make magical images appear on the screen!) Then, once I'd "assumed the position," the tech sat very stone-faced, staring at the monitor and moving the roll-on thing around a lot. Not saying anything. Not making any facial expressions. Okay, now I'm worried. Is something wrong? I look at Patrick, who is sitting catty-corner to me, and he's looking at me like "I don't know, either!" It was probably only five minutes, and the tech was probably calibrating the machine (or whatever they do to them), but it felt like forever. I felt like she was going to say, "Uh, we need to get the doctor in here....STAT!" or "Uh, do you have any lizards in your family, 'cuz this is one for the record books!"

But, finally, she turned the screen in our direction, and I saw a big smile break out on Patrick's face, and I knew everything was okay. Of course, I started to giggle....then the tech had the gall to ask me to not laugh. Yeah, right. You lay on a table, your pants & panties down, with goo on your belly & a roll-on pressing you here & there, looking at this miracle that you & your beloved has created, and try not to giggle a little bit!

We got a good long look--we brought in a VHS tape, and if we still had a VCR, I could tell you if the tape turned out or not! I'm working on a plan to get some DVDs burned, and I'll have a few copies made so we can send them out. We also got 6 pictures, some of which are posted below. They all copied pretty well, so I'll send those out, too....

We heard--and saw!--the heartbeat. 165 (it was 170 the first time we heard it)....it is so fast!!! But it was a good, strong beat.

We saw the Bean moving around some...right now the Bean is about 1/2 pound, and according to the doctor (and the ultrasound technician, who seemed to warm up a little towards the end) "perfect." Well, of course! Did you all expect anything less???


Enjoy the pictures--hopefully you can see some of the detail. The one of the face is more for size reference--you can see the head, and the outline of the body...but it's more like an x-ray than a picture. I love the one of the Bean's little hand.... And the spine is just perfect! I also included the one that shows the heartbeat....just because I think it's cool. The Bean is in the picture next to the hearbeat.

Our next ultrasound is in 10 weeks...and the tech said we should be able to see more features then, since the Bean will have a little more fat on him/her. (And in case you're wondering, the tech didn't even go where the schwing-schwang or the bajingo would be....we told her from the get-go that we didn't want to know, so she made sure that none of that would show up. So don't bother lookin'.)

Fun with pets

I will warn you now--this is not pretty.

As most of you know, we have two cats (the one really great cat having died a couple of years ago...still miss you, Roo kitty!): Mouse (long fur) and Smokey (short & greasy fur).

They have diarrhea. And have had since last night.

We had to buy a Bissell SpotLifter from WalMart last night at 10p.m.

What first clued me in was the somewhat formed turd & residue on Mousey's cute little kitty behind. That rapidly became less cute as this adventure wore on. There comes a point in every pet-owner's life where pride goes out the window (and I'm sure we'll see this in triplicate once our little Bean is here)--I grabbed a washcloth, wet it well with warm water, and while Mouse was distracted by the really smelly food I put in her bowl, I proceeded to wipe her butt. And no, she didn't like it much. Apparently, she wanted me to leave the fecal matter where it was, so that she could scoot across the carpeting.

How do I know this?

Because as soon as I was done wiping her butt (and then trimming her butt fur, which admittedly we'd let get too long, by the looks of it), she went to the litter box, her butt exploded, and then she proceeded to scoot along the carpet.

Which prompted the 10p.m. trip to WalMart for the above-referenced SpotLifter (which is great, by the way...we really like it and it works well).

Now normally our cats are pretty healthy (well, except for The Diabetes that Smokey has), and since Smokey pees a lot, I thought I'd get him some Purina One for urinary tract health (I just figured that Mouse would also benefit from this variety), and we've had them on a 1/2 canned, 1/2 dry diet since Smokey's diagnosis. I figured that maybe the change from the Indoor Cat formula to the Urinary Tract Health formula caused a little tummy distress for Mousey.

Well, as it turns out, for Smokey, too.

Yes, his butt is also exploding, and he doesn't stop with diarrhea. No, Smokey goes for broke with vomiting, too. Luckily, Patrick was very quick, and picked up Smokey and popped him on the vinyl floor in our "dining room." I tell you, it sounded like someone emptying a bucket. I'm not sure how much liquid Smokey had in his tummy, but it sounded like a whole bunch. But, it did give us a chance to try out the "hard surface cleaning power" of our SpotLifter (which Patrick said worked well). And, I must admit, that as soon as I heard the sounds of Smokey begining to urp, I lost it. I started laughing so hard I was snorting. The whole unpleasantness of it just washed over me, and I guess to keep from crying or going insane (which is probably debatable, as I apparently think it's hysterically funny that our cat was vomiting), I laughed. And laughed. I laughed all through the urping, and laughed through Patrick's testing out of the "hard surface cleaning power" of the SpotLifter. I 'm just happy Patrick understands my sense of humor.

So, I did some research on-line, and they advocate taking up food for 24 hours. We'll keep an eye on them....and hopefully they won't die before Monday (as much as I love the cats, I'm not sure that I want to pay emergency room vet costs for what may be as simple as their food isn't agreeing with them). I'm sure we'll get lots more use out of the SpotLifter, too, before the weekend is over.

On another note, Patrick will be going back to Cleveland, but because of various shutdowns of the plant that he'll be working at, he doesn't have to go until Wednesday after our next doctor's appointment (8:30 a.m. for those of you keeping track--this is the big one, where we get to video the ultrasound!!!!), so I will have him home for a few more days.

Which is good, since it may take both of us to corral the cats should their butts begin exploding again.

16 Weeks!

Today we're 16 weeks pregnant...according to my book ("Pregnancy Week By Week"), the Bean is is about 4 1/3 - 4 2/3 inches (crown to rump...and I guess those thirds are important. It would be too easy to say "4 to 4 1/2 inches" wouldn't it?), and weighs about 2 3/4 ounces (or, if you're on the metric system, 80 grams). So, a bit bigger than our original "bean" reference, but "Bean" sounds cuter than "Fetus."

No movement yet; the book says that at this point I may feel a fluttering (what some of my friends have likened to a goldfish swimming around in your tummy), but so far nothing yet.

I'm gaining back my energy (thank goodness)--I no longer NEED 10-11 hours of sleep per night...I'm getting by on 9-10, and seem to be quite happy. At least Patrick's not hinted that I need more sleep, so that's a good thing for everyone. Still no funky cravings (so Patrick's hope that I'll grow to love okra is dying a slow death), and still eating a very impressive amount (there are times that Patrick & I eat about the same amount...he's quite proud, I assure you).

I have been shopping a few times, and thanks to Lorraine's lending of her "Prego clothes" (as her husband Bill tenderly calls them), I should be set for awhile for clothes. I am beginning to love my elastic waistbands....they're the coolest thing--it's elastic in the back, and the elastic has button holes that you can let out & fasten as your tummy grows. And yet, they're still fashionable. Or at least I think they are. I do wonder, though, why some makers of maternity wear insist on horizontal stripes for their tops. Who thought this is a good idea? Maybe they figure that, when a woman gets too big for anything else, she'll be desperate and won't mind looking like beached whale wearing a striped shirt. I'm not talking subtle striping. Some shirts I've seen have good 2-inch sized stripes on 'em. That's just mean.

I'm posting my 16 Week photos below....Patrick says I look cute, but all I can see is a shiny face, funky hair, and my belly poking out a bit from my t-shirt in the front view (by the way, prenatal vitamins are fabulous for the nails, and I'm shedding less hair, but the hair that's still on top of my head is going wild and there's not a darn thing I can do with it). I know I promised Rachel that I would not spend my pregnancy in sweats, but these aren't sweats--they're yoga pants. And I'm at home. (Not sure if you can see them, but I'm wearing cute pink argyle slippers, so you can tell that I'm not going outside. I promise.) The pooch is really becoming apparent!!! So anyway, I'm going to post the pictures so I can finish up dinner. We're having Not-So-Sloppy joes (a mix we picked up at the discount grocery store...don't worry--it's a brand we recognized & it's not expired), baked beans, and I baked an apple pie. I don't care that the pie started off in Mrs. Smith's kitchen; I brought it home, put it in my oven and baked it. The glory is all mine now.

Of course, since it's dinner, that means that Patrick will have to stop killing Ewoks (or at least stop dying at their hands. Which from what I understand, what with their only weapons being their cuteness and their rock-throwing, is pretty embarassing.) in his quest to save the galaxy. I think our galaxy may be doomed.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's 2006. Lots happened in 2005: We up & moved to a city that we love; and we've started a family. Sorta sounds like we got some Sea Monkeys, doesn't it? "Insta-family: Just add water, the ingredients of the magic packet, place in a sunny spot, and soon you'll have your very own family!" But it's true--we're expecting our little Bean to arrive sometime around June 21, 2006. Right now, it still doesn't seem real, and June seems SO far off...but I know it'll be here before we know it!

On our last doctor visit, we heard the Bean's heartbeat--170. I know it sounds a bit fast, but the nurse seemed very happy. Our next doctor visit is on January 18, and we get another ultrasound. I think we get to tape it, too--we'll try to hit some of my techies at work up to use their fancy computers and see if we can't get the VHS tape converted to DVD...since we don't have a VCR anymore. Plus, we could burn it & distribute to all who want to see it. Maybe not as exciting as last season of "Deadwood" but we're pretty stoked about it.

We do NOT want to know the sex of the baby; so here's a word of warning to everyone: If you see the ultrasound (whether via video or picture), if you see me carrying high/low, if you see excess hair/less hair (I don't know either, but that's supposed to be one of the signs of boy vs. girl. No, I don't know who comes up with these things!)--we don't want to know!!!!

I've started taking pictures to document the growth of my tummy (or my "pooch" as I like to call it...since you can really start to tell now that I'm most likely pregnant, not just bulking up for the winter!); I started taking the pictures at Week 12, and since Week 16 is coming up this Wed., I figured I'd better post the Week 12 photos now. I figure I'll do monthly picture updates. I promise the pictures won't show anything that my parents & grandparents would not want to see....

Enjoy the pictures, and Happy New Year to everyone!!! Thank you to all family and friends that made 2005 so fantastic, continue to shower us with love, and know that the next year will only bring greater joy to all of our lives!