last night at 6pm, i bought 2 tickets to the U2 concert online. $70 total. totally worth every cent because during the concert i had an epiphany. i was standing up and dancing in place singing along to a great song when it hit me - my child has been alive for 11 weeks, and i've basically been a miserable human being during that time.
yeah, breastfeeding has been hard, but so what? that's what i have to complain about? i had a gorgeous, healthy child, the easiest childbirth recovery ever, lost my weight in no time at all, but all i'm fixated on is the breastfeeding... but no more! I'm so fortunate to have the best husband ever, a pretty cool child (from what i can tell at 11 weeks) and i'm happy and healthy. we both have great jobs, great families, great friends... i can't complain about anything - so from this point forward, i will stop.
and in the spirit of embracing my life, here are 5 things that i'm thankful for right now in this moment (Thanksgiving has come early this year folks!):
I am thankful for... (in no particular order)
5. a husband who wants to pick up and go to a U2 concert on a Tuesday night after work (I would never have done this without him)
4. for the best parents who at a moments notice will come over and babysit their granddaughter until 12am...
3. for my daughter... yesterday in my breast feeding support group, she was all smiles and was a little chatty cathy... it was awesome!
2. getting to spend time with 2 of my favorite people yesterday - one, over a 2-hr lunch, and the other, over a 1-hr phone call - good times...
1. for the 9 hours that my daughter slept last night... wow...
oh, and what was the song that caused this revelation you ask?
Stuck in a moment
"You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it"
so, next week, when i complain about something else, remind me of this post... :) thanks!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
The last few weeks...
What we've been up to...
Well, it's basically been focused on Jayna's weight. To catch you up, she hasn't been gaining weight... So, finally on 9/25 (weighing in at 8.8lbs), we met with an Occupational Therapist to do an evaluation on her sucking. Drumroll people... she's bad at it. Apparently her mouth muscles need some work, so we've been doing some exercises to strengthen them while supplementing with bottles. We noticed an immediate improvement as she's never been able to hold in a pacifier and can finally do it (small victories). And to think we just assumed that she didn't like them...
So, we did this plan (exercises, bottles, etc.) through the weekend and went to the pediatrician on Monday (9/28) and she weighed in at 9lbs!!! Yay weight gain!
2 month weigh in stats (these were done on 9/28, so 5 days late). She's 9lbs (10th percentile), is 22.5 inches tall (60th percentile) and has a huge head - can't remember how big, but it's 75th percentile... not sure what this means. and since she's so huge (9lbs), i no longer have to go in for weight checks!!!
She got 2 shots and frankly she was a champ. She screamed for about 3 seconds and then we fed her and she was fine. Completely fine. I did give her 1 dose of tylenol before the shot, but really I should have given it to Oliver who was more upset than she was. Come on people - it's a shot!
Here we are another week later and still trucking through breastfeeding. I'm still threatening to quit everyday, although it seems that my milk supply may quit on me first. I'm getting crazy clogs since we've been giving her bottles and am not really able to pump them out. On top of that, I think I've gotten thrush which is adding in shooting pains to the mix... Have I mentioned that I hate breastfeeding? My new goal is October 23rd - 3 months. And for all of you people judging me, I've done everything humanly possible to keep going at this... if you have any suggestions of how I can make this better, please let me know... Maybe I'll get some advice tomorrow in my breastfeeding support group. Yup, I go to one...
Well, it's basically been focused on Jayna's weight. To catch you up, she hasn't been gaining weight... So, finally on 9/25 (weighing in at 8.8lbs), we met with an Occupational Therapist to do an evaluation on her sucking. Drumroll people... she's bad at it. Apparently her mouth muscles need some work, so we've been doing some exercises to strengthen them while supplementing with bottles. We noticed an immediate improvement as she's never been able to hold in a pacifier and can finally do it (small victories). And to think we just assumed that she didn't like them...
So, we did this plan (exercises, bottles, etc.) through the weekend and went to the pediatrician on Monday (9/28) and she weighed in at 9lbs!!! Yay weight gain!
2 month weigh in stats (these were done on 9/28, so 5 days late). She's 9lbs (10th percentile), is 22.5 inches tall (60th percentile) and has a huge head - can't remember how big, but it's 75th percentile... not sure what this means. and since she's so huge (9lbs), i no longer have to go in for weight checks!!!
She got 2 shots and frankly she was a champ. She screamed for about 3 seconds and then we fed her and she was fine. Completely fine. I did give her 1 dose of tylenol before the shot, but really I should have given it to Oliver who was more upset than she was. Come on people - it's a shot!
Here we are another week later and still trucking through breastfeeding. I'm still threatening to quit everyday, although it seems that my milk supply may quit on me first. I'm getting crazy clogs since we've been giving her bottles and am not really able to pump them out. On top of that, I think I've gotten thrush which is adding in shooting pains to the mix... Have I mentioned that I hate breastfeeding? My new goal is October 23rd - 3 months. And for all of you people judging me, I've done everything humanly possible to keep going at this... if you have any suggestions of how I can make this better, please let me know... Maybe I'll get some advice tomorrow in my breastfeeding support group. Yup, I go to one...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
My Best Friend's Wedding...
cue the music and dancing lobsters...
Last weekend (August 29th), my friend Erin, who I've known since 7th grade, got married. And she married my friend from work, Matt (yes, I'm starting my own match-making service since I've been so successful!)
For months, I've feared that I wouldn't fit into my dress, or that I would have a tramatic delivery and wouldn't be able to dance at her wedding. Well, I'm happy to report that I worried for no reason! The dress fit and I danced up a storm!
It was a great weekend and thanks to my parents, we were able to enjoy all of the events without having to worry about Jayna! But I will say that at the end of the night, I was very happy to see her again!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
the circus is still in town...
so, as you may know, we had people staying with us almost full-time for the first 4 weeks after Jayna was born. i basically decided that if i could get through August, i could get through anything... well, August ended with a visit from the Michler-Weniger family from Germany - all 5 of them (3 little boys!!!).
It was much easier than I ever could have expected - the boys were super well behaved, but it pretty much sealed the deal for me that I can not handle having 3 children (sorry husband). I'm barely surviving with 1 - i can't imagine how Inga handles 3 boys... but they sure are cute!
Friday, September 4, 2009
6 weeks...
I can't believe that I have a child who is 6 weeks old. And I still feel like I have absolutely no control over our days. Hopefully that is normal, but if not, I'm starting to not care - that must be the sleep deprivation talking...So, I am writing about 6 weeks, because we had to go back to the pediatrician since Jayna is not gaining weight - well, enough weight. So, today at 6 weeks and 1 day, she's weighing in at a hefty 8 lbs even. It's crazy to me that other people have bigger babies at birth - to us, she seems so much bigger, but she's not even 2 lbs bigger than she was 6 weeks ago. The pediatrician hasn't fired us yet as her parents, but when we go back for her 2 month check-up, things might be different.
For the past 2 days, she hasn't stopped eating, so we're hoping that this is a growth spurt - hopefully something will come out of it other than her getting taller - she's in the 75th percentile for height, but only 10th for weight... I guess husband and I are not that big, so we can't expect her to be a chunker, but we'd like her to stay on the percentile chart...
Looking back over the past 6 weeks, I'd say that this has been a lot harder than I ever expected. Oliver has been amazing - he should be awarded the "best dad of the first 6 weeks" title, but it's still different. The time has been so hard for me because I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself, which I realize is something that I can control, but I just can't help it. She's not gaining enough weight, so of course I think that it's my fault and that I'm not feeding her enough. Every time she cries, is fussing, or gets cranky, my first thought is that she's hungry and she's not getting enough from me. I know that breastmilk is best, but if it's making me this stressed out, it may not be worth it in the long run. I'm going to stick with it until her 2 month appointment and see if she's gaining more weight. If not, I may throw in the towel...
So, some things that she is doing at 6 weeks:
1) still staring at us - it's like she's trying to take in every inch of our faces - and we love it!
2) discovering her feet - she kicks everything - this is great except when I'm feeding her because when she kicks she and she's attached to me, it hurts.
3) always wants to be held - this is cute for a while, until we want to sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, or really do anything other than hold her. I keep reading that you can't spoil her at this age, so I'll continue to hold her - I know at some point she won't want to be held anymore...
4) smiling - she's been smiling in her sleep, which is so adorable, but she's finally started to smile at us. the 'reactive' smiles can all probably be counted on one hand right now, but we're really looking forward to more.
5) cooing - she's talking/cooing at us. She'll try to mimic sounds when she hears them (at least we think this is what she's doing).
6) showering - we've given up the baths and I have been taking her in the shower with me - she seems to LOVE this! We're gonna need to find some swim lessons for her soon!
She's basically perfect right now with the exception of the weight gain, so hopefully she's start beefing up soon and then everything will be ok...
Jayna - please start gaining weight - otherwise you're gonna get picked on in school for being too small...
Monday, August 24, 2009
1 month old
Jayna, You're now 1 month old. It's hard to believe it. Not because you're growing up too fast or anything like that, but because a little over a month ago you were still inside of me. It feels like years have passed since I was pregnant - not weeks.
Things that you're doing right now:
1) Grunting - wow, I never knew that babies grunted so much - the pediatrician says it's normal - but man are you loud.
2) Hiccups - at first I thought the hiccups were cute, but now they're just plain annoying. Everytime you start falling asleep, they seem to appear and this keeps you awake.
3) Awake time - what's up with this? I thought I was supposed to sleep when you sleep - how can I do this when you're always awake? Yeah, you sleep great at night, but during the day you like to stay up as much as possible.
4) Swinging - Jay and Sheri gave us their swing and you just love it - you stare at the fish as you swing and grunt happily.
5) Screaming - wow do you have some good lungs. The screaming mainly happens around your hunger. I don't really understand this since we're usually waking you up to eat anyway. If you could sleep through your hunger, how come you start screaming for food as soon as we wake you up - you go from 0 to 60 in like 2 seconds.
6) Feeding noises - We've labeled you little miss piggy when you're eating because you grunt, snore, snort, and cough/choke because you're gulping so fast. We've got to teach you table manners...
7) Eye contact - you like to stare at us - we like this a lot... We just wish you'd sleep a little more and stare a little less...
8) Burping - I leave this one for last because you make the best facial expressions when you're being burped. I find you to be the cutest during these times!
I think 8 is enough for this month. We've decided to take your monthly picture with Mr. Bear so we can see how you grow! Hopefully next month you'll be a little bigger (apparently you're in the 10th percentile for weight, but 75th for length)!
Anyway, it's been fun watching you change over this past month - you were really light skinned, then you got dark, and now you're light again. Your eyes have gone from blue to a grey color, and you seem to be losing some hair... I look forward to seeing how different you are next month!
Love, mom
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Jayna's First Concert
Just getting back from Jayna's first concert - at 3 weeks and 2 days. Can't really call it a concert, as we walked around the edges of Piedmont Park here in Atlanta, trying to get a glimpse of Sir Paul McCartney as he was playing a crowd of 40,000 in somewhat rainy weather. Of course it ended up being a little rainy - after they forecasted rain this entire week and nothing came, tonight had about 30 minutes of thundershowers that we got stuck in. Keeping Jayna dry wasn't easy - check out the pictures on the left and below...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Introducing...
Jayna Sheela Koehler... Ok, so i'm only 19 days behind schedule... :) Anyway, our daughter (yay, it's a girl!!!) was born on July 23, 2009 at 4:50pm. However, she was not quite the Gigantor that was predicted - weighing in at 6lbs 9ozs and 20.5 inches long.
Having a child has not at all been what I expected - good and bad. Somethings have been easier than I would have ever thought (recovery from a c-section), but somethings have been a lot more challenging (nursing).
It's also been a circus at our house since we came home from the hospital. We've had relatives staying with us non-stop. It's been nice to have the help and everyone has been so excited to spend time with Jayna, but we're also looking forward to spending time just the 3 of us (and the cats).
I'll post more pics later...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
hello world... meet Gigantor
Dear Gigantor (Baby),
It's been forever since I've written you a letter, but seeing as there are only about 3 more weeks that we have with you living in my belly, I thought I would let you know how I'm feeling about things.
First of all, thanks for being so good these past few months. As you know, after you moved in, you weren't the best 'guest' for about 4 months - making me sick every day - I was definitely thinking that you would be an only child. But luckily the last 3-4 months have been a piece of cake...until last week.
I got to see you last Monday during an ultrasound. One of the reasons we had the ultrasound was to see if you were growing adequately. Well, wouldn't you know that you're growing just fine - in fact, you're big. You're ABOVE average in weight. Who would have thought that Husband and I could have an ABOVE average in weight child? Last week you were already estimated to be 6lbs 3oz. And that's with 4 weeks to go. So, that's where your new name comes from. You're gigantic and I have a panic attack everytime I think about how you're getting out of the belly. Oh, and you have huge chubby cheeks that kind of look like you're storing nuts in them for winter. Oh, and you look like a boy.
Speaking of what you look like, your Indian Grandmother thinks that you're definitely a girl because you have a fast heartbeat (old wives tale) and because I was sick for the first 4 months (another old wives tale?). Your German Grandmother thinks that you're a boy because I haven't gained weight in my face and apparently boys cause that. Your German Grandfather hopes that you're a boy because he has 2 granddaughters, and your Indian Grandfather has not voiced his opinion - what do you think, dad?
Oh, so I was telling you what else has happened this week - In addition to finding out that you're going to be gigantic, it turns out that you've given me this skin condition where I want to scratch my skin off. That's not so pleasant. But Benadryl has become my best friend, so I think I can make it through the next few weeks.
And when I say a few weeks, I would like for you to hold off coming for atleast 1 week. I have plans scheduled through the 19th, so that would be great. And Gigantor, I'm behind on everything. I still haven't finished my last round of thank you notes. I haven't packed my bag, your bag, set up your crib (mainly because it hasn't arrived), and your father has not pre-registered us at the hospital (well, ok, he did, but unfortunately it was the wrong hospital so he has to do it again - who does that???). My point is that there is a lot to do. Although we did buy a really comfy chair for the balcony outside your room this weekend.
I am looking forward to meeting you, althought Husband and I discussed again last night that we really have no idea what we're getting ourselves into. Not really much we can do about that now! We are growing tomatoes in our yard, so at least we're becoming more domestic - that's a step in the right direction, isn't it?
Here's the most recent picture of us together... ignore the swelling in my feet and legs - apparently that's another side effect from you...
Love,
Your Mom
Sunday, May 31, 2009
catch up...
so, i've been MIA for the entire month of May. i've had good intentions of posting, but i keep wanting to add pictures and they are all on the home computer, so i've been procrastinating. this is probably going to be a long post, so feel free to skim... :)
Glucose Test
Apparently I passed, but barely. I once again failed the 1st hour, barely passed the 2nd hour, and was fine for the 3rd hour. Not sure what that says about my pancreas, but apparently I can continue eating chipwiches (which I have been enjoying over the past month). It also turns out that I'm anemic, so I've been chowing down on red meat.
Birthday
We celebrated my birthday in May. Husband was a rockstar and went to the guy who made our wedding cake to get a birthday cake made for me with the same chocolate filling that was literally the best cake that I have ever tasted. I should mention that it was everything that I could have hoped for and more... :) And so pretty! He also took me to Nava to eat some yummy steak!
Baby Shower
My mom threw me a baby shower the day with about 60 of her friends. I thought it would be totally overwhelming, but it was actually quite fun. We painted bibs for baby, played bingo, and measured my belly. Good times...
Other Celebrations
My mom celebrated a birthday the same week that Oliver accepted a real job. Yes, that's right - as of mid-June or early-July, Oliver will be employed again - getting a steady paycheck week after week. 401k, medical and dental benefits... it's AMAZING!!! So, to celebrate all of this, a co-worker baked this fabulous cake for us and we went to Bacchanalia for a 4-course dinner. The food was spectacular, but way too much!
Key Biscayne
So, for those of you who don't know, Oliver and I were planning on spending almost a full week in Mexico over memorial day weekend for our Babymoon, but more importantly, to celebrate Tui and Ryan's wedding. I say planning to do this, because after all of this swine flu nonsense, my doctor said no way. She had been pretty supportive all along, but finally made me feel like the worst parent-to-be because she was concerned with pre-term labor. 
I was seriously sad (still am), but decided that Oliver should still go to represent us. This meant that we
needed a new Babymoon destination. Since we only had 3 days, we decided to splurge and stay at the Ritz in Key Biscayne (fancy term for Miami). It was spectacular. We literally layed by the pool all day long, took long naps, walked on the beach, and ate fancy food. It was heavenly! :)
I was seriously sad (still am), but decided that Oliver should still go to represent us. This meant that we
needed a new Babymoon destination. Since we only had 3 days, we decided to splurge and stay at the Ritz in Key Biscayne (fancy term for Miami). It was spectacular. We literally layed by the pool all day long, took long naps, walked on the beach, and ate fancy food. It was heavenly! :)Mexico
while I didn't get to go, Oliver was still able to attend the wedding and had a great weekend with our friends. From the pictures that I've seen, Tui made a beautiful bride (not that it's hard when you look like her) and according to Oliver, it was one of the best wedding weekends he has experienced! His expectations of all future weddings include swings, beer during the ceremony, no suits, and shoes optional. I really wish I had been there...
while I didn't get to go, Oliver was still able to attend the wedding and had a great weekend with our friends. From the pictures that I've seen, Tui made a beautiful bride (not that it's hard when you look like her) and according to Oliver, it was one of the best wedding weekends he has experienced! His expectations of all future weddings include swings, beer during the ceremony, no suits, and shoes optional. I really wish I had been there...
Nesting
If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said this isn't real. That nesting wouldn't really affect me in the way that I've heard other women are affected. The whole idea seemed crazy to me. Well, welcome to crazy land, because that's where I live these days. All I do is make lists, clean, pick things up, and give husband new projects. I actually swept the deck last week when my parents, husband and I were having dinner outside. I made family members move to get to all of the crap under the table. It's ridiculous. But, the upside is that since my 'nesting' is not limited to only baby stuff, we're finally starting to feel settled in the house. We've hung pictures, built bookshelves, unpacked all of our boxes, and just put things in their rightful place. Husband said he'd like to keep this 'new me' around after the baby comes and get rid of the 'tv watching, couch laying me'. I'm not sure what to make of this...
Belly Pics
So, I've been pretty bad at posting pictures of the belly. So, here are a couple from the last few weeks... I think week 30, 31, and 32. 
Friday, April 24, 2009
time's a-wasting..
i failed my glucose test. yes, that's right, i failed it (well, only by 2 points). i really don't understand how blood sugar works apparently because i really thought that i'd be ok. yeah, so it's in my family like crazy, but i always thought that as long as i wasn't overweight i'd be ok. apparently, i needed some education.
so, i'm back in the waiting room of the doctor's office. today is my 3 hour glucose test. i got here at 8:45 (after not eating or drinking anything after midnight last night) and they took a tube of blood. then i drank this super sweet fruit punch and have to have my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. i've completed the first hour and have about 15 minutes left in the second. then another hour before they stick me again. apparently i have to pass 2 out of the 3 sugar tests, otherwise i'm a gestational diabetic. i'm still not sure what that means...apparently my one coke a day will have to be given up. it's just not fair...
this stinks. i'm getting really sleepy and i'm STARVING!!! what's worse is that i have a yummy whole wheat bagel slathered in peanut butter that husband made me this morning sitting in my purse. but i can't eat it... not for another 1.5 hours... ugh.
i guess the good news is that i won't get the results until monday at the earliest, so this weekend bring on the cupcakes, funnel cakes, chocolate chip cookies, and coke... who knows when i'll get to enjoy you again...
so, i'm back in the waiting room of the doctor's office. today is my 3 hour glucose test. i got here at 8:45 (after not eating or drinking anything after midnight last night) and they took a tube of blood. then i drank this super sweet fruit punch and have to have my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. i've completed the first hour and have about 15 minutes left in the second. then another hour before they stick me again. apparently i have to pass 2 out of the 3 sugar tests, otherwise i'm a gestational diabetic. i'm still not sure what that means...apparently my one coke a day will have to be given up. it's just not fair...
this stinks. i'm getting really sleepy and i'm STARVING!!! what's worse is that i have a yummy whole wheat bagel slathered in peanut butter that husband made me this morning sitting in my purse. but i can't eat it... not for another 1.5 hours... ugh.
i guess the good news is that i won't get the results until monday at the earliest, so this weekend bring on the cupcakes, funnel cakes, chocolate chip cookies, and coke... who knows when i'll get to enjoy you again...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Dedicate Time to Your Partner
the 25 week baby center email says that i should dedicate time to my partner. talk about why he's going to be a good dad. so, here's a list I've come up with - hope you enjoy husband:
1. you love kids, and kids seem to really love you
2. you make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (this might be why the kids love you)
3. you bring home yummy after 8 chocolates from duty free when you go on trips
4. you sing songs ALL the time and even when i make up ridiculous songs, you humor me by singing along with the chorus
5. you have more energy than a toddler
6. you really like educational games and puzzles (i'd never heard puzzle used as a verb before you - as in, "I'm going to puzzle now".
7. you actually know the answers to kids questions - "how come fish don't drown in the ocean?" and "where does that water in the toilet go when you flush?"
8. you're the most fun person i've ever met
i can only think of 8 for now, but that may be because i'm craving ice cream sandwiched between cookies after seeing it yesterday at the dogwood festival...
1. you love kids, and kids seem to really love you
2. you make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (this might be why the kids love you)
3. you bring home yummy after 8 chocolates from duty free when you go on trips
4. you sing songs ALL the time and even when i make up ridiculous songs, you humor me by singing along with the chorus
5. you have more energy than a toddler
6. you really like educational games and puzzles (i'd never heard puzzle used as a verb before you - as in, "I'm going to puzzle now".
7. you actually know the answers to kids questions - "how come fish don't drown in the ocean?" and "where does that water in the toilet go when you flush?"
8. you're the most fun person i've ever met
i can only think of 8 for now, but that may be because i'm craving ice cream sandwiched between cookies after seeing it yesterday at the dogwood festival...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Seriously???
so today was my day of rest at home... until 10:40am when a tree decided to uproot itself, fall over pulling down our power/cable/phone lines and finally come to rest on the car. um, what??? i was just sitting on the couch responding to work email and watching frasier, when out of the corner of my eye i see something start falling - um, yes, it freaked me out.
yeah, this is kind of funny. well, at least it was until 7pm when GA Power finally showed up (yup, i said 7) and said they were just cutting down and securing the power line. they apparently didn't have what was necessary to fix it (but there were 3 trucks at my house). oh, and they couldn't give me an ETA on when it will be fixed. WHAT??? oh, and they weren't going to be able to fix the power lines until we removed the tree/car from the driveway. SUPER!!!
that's when the neighbors came to the rescue with the chainsaw and tree limb cutter and cut the limbs down around the car and over the driveway. the pathfinder is just fine - i drove it to my parents house where i'm now sitting with heat, tv, power, and internet. heaven.
husband comes home tomorrow. i may turn into one of those wives that never lets my husband leave the zipcode after this weekend.
having said all of that, it's still a little funny...
yeah, this is kind of funny. well, at least it was until 7pm when GA Power finally showed up (yup, i said 7) and said they were just cutting down and securing the power line. they apparently didn't have what was necessary to fix it (but there were 3 trucks at my house). oh, and they couldn't give me an ETA on when it will be fixed. WHAT??? oh, and they weren't going to be able to fix the power lines until we removed the tree/car from the driveway. SUPER!!!
that's when the neighbors came to the rescue with the chainsaw and tree limb cutter and cut the limbs down around the car and over the driveway. the pathfinder is just fine - i drove it to my parents house where i'm now sitting with heat, tv, power, and internet. heaven.
husband comes home tomorrow. i may turn into one of those wives that never lets my husband leave the zipcode after this weekend.
having said all of that, it's still a little funny...
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Eventful Weekend...
so, what was supposed to be a fun and exciting weekend was fun and exciting, but also provided a little additional entertainment that was not bargained for...
this weekend was my friend Tui's bachelorette party in Atlanta at my house. Husband decided to leave on a flight Friday afternoon for Germany since he was getting kicked out of the house, and therefore he missed out on the fun.
I woke up Saturday morning with some shooting pain in my side (this had started on Friday night, but I thought it was normal preggo pain) coupled with a lovely lump, so after a call to the doctor, I ended up in the ER which is pretty much where I spent my day (luckily my parents came along to keep me company). The doctors were nice, and I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons by thinking that I no longer need to do a hospital tour, since after the ER I got to spend the afternoon in the Labor and Delivery area of the hospital, but 6 hours in the hospital is no fun.
It turns out that I have a uterine fibroid (aka mystery lump) that is apparently dying and was/is still causing a ton of pain and some really mild contractions (so mild that they are technically not even classified as contractions, they are called 'irritability'). apparently this is quite normal and 30% of women experience this. there's always not much that can be done about it - i can have surgery, but only after the baby is born, so i'll have to deal with it as long as it chooses to stay around. the baby seemed totally unfazed by all of the poking and prodding of the day and was happily kicking away at this growth inside of me. the doctor said she wanted me to take it easy and stay off of my feet for 72 hours. um, I'm hosting a bachelorette party lady!!! she finally seemed ok with me going out to dinner as long as i made the other girls do all the work and stayed off of my feet (well, she said she didn't want to see me at the same restaurant as her, so i assumed that it was ok to go as long as i didn't run into her!).
i got home at 4:30pm - 30 minutes before everyone showed up. the shower at the house was really fun and Tui seemed to have a great time! I ducked out on the party around midnight and have been relaxing today as much as possible. my plan is to stay home from work tomorrow to complete my 72 hours, but the pain is already going away and i haven't experienced the contractions today, so i'm not too worried about it.
husband will be out of town for the wknd of April 24 and i just can't wait to see what is in store for me then! stay tuned... :)
this weekend was my friend Tui's bachelorette party in Atlanta at my house. Husband decided to leave on a flight Friday afternoon for Germany since he was getting kicked out of the house, and therefore he missed out on the fun.
I woke up Saturday morning with some shooting pain in my side (this had started on Friday night, but I thought it was normal preggo pain) coupled with a lovely lump, so after a call to the doctor, I ended up in the ER which is pretty much where I spent my day (luckily my parents came along to keep me company). The doctors were nice, and I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons by thinking that I no longer need to do a hospital tour, since after the ER I got to spend the afternoon in the Labor and Delivery area of the hospital, but 6 hours in the hospital is no fun.
It turns out that I have a uterine fibroid (aka mystery lump) that is apparently dying and was/is still causing a ton of pain and some really mild contractions (so mild that they are technically not even classified as contractions, they are called 'irritability'). apparently this is quite normal and 30% of women experience this. there's always not much that can be done about it - i can have surgery, but only after the baby is born, so i'll have to deal with it as long as it chooses to stay around. the baby seemed totally unfazed by all of the poking and prodding of the day and was happily kicking away at this growth inside of me. the doctor said she wanted me to take it easy and stay off of my feet for 72 hours. um, I'm hosting a bachelorette party lady!!! she finally seemed ok with me going out to dinner as long as i made the other girls do all the work and stayed off of my feet (well, she said she didn't want to see me at the same restaurant as her, so i assumed that it was ok to go as long as i didn't run into her!).
i got home at 4:30pm - 30 minutes before everyone showed up. the shower at the house was really fun and Tui seemed to have a great time! I ducked out on the party around midnight and have been relaxing today as much as possible. my plan is to stay home from work tomorrow to complete my 72 hours, but the pain is already going away and i haven't experienced the contractions today, so i'm not too worried about it.
husband will be out of town for the wknd of April 24 and i just can't wait to see what is in store for me then! stay tuned... :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
eat more chicken...
Dear Baby,
It's been a while since I've blogged or written to you... this is probably a good thing as I've made it past the grumpy, yucky, complaining stage, to the feeling my old self stage of pregnancy. Except that I'm pregnant, as you know Baby, which is still weird... oh ps - you seriously looked like an alien the last time that we saw you on the big screen... not really sure what that indicates for the future.
So, the interesting thing that has been happening over the past 3 or 4 weeks is the kicking. That's right, you're kicking me all the time. Well, kicking, punching, etc. - not sure what you're doing, but at times I feel like my uterus is a jungle gym. Hope that you're having fun in there, and getting some exercise, because my mother is going to try and fatten you up as soon as you're born.
The good news to report on this front is that I'm now working at Chick-fil-A, and eating lots of chicken, frozen yogurt with oreos, drinking yummy lemonade, and salivating over chocolate milkshakes. You might come out pudgy after all. Husband (your dad) took the scale away from me since I was obsessing about the weight gain, and I must say that this is much more effective. Now I can eat whatever I want, and not know the effect that it's having on me! Why didn't I think of this years ago? Why buy a scale?
Last update - Husband and I bought you a stroller this weekend. We still have no carseat or crib, but now we can go for fun walks in the neighborhood - something to look forward to in the heat of August... :)
that's it for now Baby - oh, if you could kick a little bit when the classical music is being blasted through the house, it would make Husband (your dad) really happy.
Love, Me (your mom)
It's been a while since I've blogged or written to you... this is probably a good thing as I've made it past the grumpy, yucky, complaining stage, to the feeling my old self stage of pregnancy. Except that I'm pregnant, as you know Baby, which is still weird... oh ps - you seriously looked like an alien the last time that we saw you on the big screen... not really sure what that indicates for the future.
So, the interesting thing that has been happening over the past 3 or 4 weeks is the kicking. That's right, you're kicking me all the time. Well, kicking, punching, etc. - not sure what you're doing, but at times I feel like my uterus is a jungle gym. Hope that you're having fun in there, and getting some exercise, because my mother is going to try and fatten you up as soon as you're born.
The good news to report on this front is that I'm now working at Chick-fil-A, and eating lots of chicken, frozen yogurt with oreos, drinking yummy lemonade, and salivating over chocolate milkshakes. You might come out pudgy after all. Husband (your dad) took the scale away from me since I was obsessing about the weight gain, and I must say that this is much more effective. Now I can eat whatever I want, and not know the effect that it's having on me! Why didn't I think of this years ago? Why buy a scale?
Last update - Husband and I bought you a stroller this weekend. We still have no carseat or crib, but now we can go for fun walks in the neighborhood - something to look forward to in the heat of August... :)
that's it for now Baby - oh, if you could kick a little bit when the classical music is being blasted through the house, it would make Husband (your dad) really happy.
Love, Me (your mom)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pregnancy...
...is much harder than I expected.
Oliver read a pregnancy book (yup, he's on book #2, and I'm still on book #1), which describes this guy's experience and how blissful those 9 months were... We're wondering when that part starts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited (read here if you don't believe me), but there are a lot of things that I hadn't anticipated...
1) Feeling like I'm going to vomit everytime I go into the bathroom. I can't explain this sensation, but bathrooms clearly gross me out. This is problematic since I have to pee all the time.
2) Feeling like I'm going to vomit everytime I brush my teeth. Again, a problem because if I didn't brush my teeth, the smell would probably make me want to vomit.
3) Smells - People at work eating smelly food. Someone today was eating Thai food (which I greatly dislike) and I had to chew gum and go wash my hands so that I could smell them (soap) to keep me from vomiting. The problem was that this required me to go to the bathroom and almost made me vomit.
4) Weight Gain - With all of the vomiting, you'd think I'd be skinny, but I'm not - I'm fat. Ok, not really, but I'm in the 'fat' pregnancy stage. Not quite big enough to really look pregnant, but bigger than normal, so people probably think I've been spending too much time at the local Krispy Kreme.
5) The fat thing - I can't find clothes that fit. All of my shirts seem to be too short or too small. But the next size up doesn't quite fit yet, so I just look like a sloppy dresser. Where did my waist go???
6) Again on the fat thing - have I mentioned how much I hate it? I've always told my friends who have complained about this before that it's supposed to happen and it's so exciting. I apologize to all of you right now. That's the worst answer. It certainly doesn't make me feel better - and seriously, did you think I didn't know that? Weight gain is weight gain - I don't care what it's for. I know that when the baby is happy and healthy this will all have been worth it, but right now, it's quite sucky.
7) Decisions - it's hard to make decisions on what to do, what to get, what to register for, what daycare to enroll in, whether to work or not... I know there's no perfect answer, but I'm already growing the baby, can't someone else make all of the decisions?
ok, that's it for now - kajal pointed out that 7 is a lucky number, so I'll end with that.
as a final thought, husband is fantastic - i mean, out of this world AMAZING. i would be on the side of the road somewhere if i was married to anyone else because they would have kicked me out of the house or car by now. i'm really a huge pain and for the most part, completely useless. i'm sure i'll complain about something he does in the near future, but for now, he's perfect and i'm lucky he hasn't run out of the house screaming(yup, i'm still a crazy emotional person). help me remember this when he refuses to go to the grocery store to get me chocolate ice cream or when he ditches me for a week to go to germany (march 3rd)...
Oliver read a pregnancy book (yup, he's on book #2, and I'm still on book #1), which describes this guy's experience and how blissful those 9 months were... We're wondering when that part starts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited (read here if you don't believe me), but there are a lot of things that I hadn't anticipated...
1) Feeling like I'm going to vomit everytime I go into the bathroom. I can't explain this sensation, but bathrooms clearly gross me out. This is problematic since I have to pee all the time.
2) Feeling like I'm going to vomit everytime I brush my teeth. Again, a problem because if I didn't brush my teeth, the smell would probably make me want to vomit.
3) Smells - People at work eating smelly food. Someone today was eating Thai food (which I greatly dislike) and I had to chew gum and go wash my hands so that I could smell them (soap) to keep me from vomiting. The problem was that this required me to go to the bathroom and almost made me vomit.
4) Weight Gain - With all of the vomiting, you'd think I'd be skinny, but I'm not - I'm fat. Ok, not really, but I'm in the 'fat' pregnancy stage. Not quite big enough to really look pregnant, but bigger than normal, so people probably think I've been spending too much time at the local Krispy Kreme.
5) The fat thing - I can't find clothes that fit. All of my shirts seem to be too short or too small. But the next size up doesn't quite fit yet, so I just look like a sloppy dresser. Where did my waist go???
6) Again on the fat thing - have I mentioned how much I hate it? I've always told my friends who have complained about this before that it's supposed to happen and it's so exciting. I apologize to all of you right now. That's the worst answer. It certainly doesn't make me feel better - and seriously, did you think I didn't know that? Weight gain is weight gain - I don't care what it's for. I know that when the baby is happy and healthy this will all have been worth it, but right now, it's quite sucky.
7) Decisions - it's hard to make decisions on what to do, what to get, what to register for, what daycare to enroll in, whether to work or not... I know there's no perfect answer, but I'm already growing the baby, can't someone else make all of the decisions?
ok, that's it for now - kajal pointed out that 7 is a lucky number, so I'll end with that.
as a final thought, husband is fantastic - i mean, out of this world AMAZING. i would be on the side of the road somewhere if i was married to anyone else because they would have kicked me out of the house or car by now. i'm really a huge pain and for the most part, completely useless. i'm sure i'll complain about something he does in the near future, but for now, he's perfect and i'm lucky he hasn't run out of the house screaming(yup, i'm still a crazy emotional person). help me remember this when he refuses to go to the grocery store to get me chocolate ice cream or when he ditches me for a week to go to germany (march 3rd)...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Going Gray???
back in 2006, 1 week before the wedding, i went to van michaels to get the 'gray' hairs dyed out -that's right, all 4 of them. i had 4 strands of gray hair and KNEW that everyone was going to be so distracted by my 4 strands that they wouldn't be able to pay attention to the wedding. so, i did the rational thing, and paid a lot of money to have them dyed out. yes, the colorist laughed at me.
fast forward 2.5 years and i have like a million gray hairs. and THIS HAS JUST HAPPENED!!! so, it makes me wonder, do kids really cause your hair to go gray? my mother always said that i was giving her gray hair - could there be some truth to this??? i mean, ok, so a 5 year old throwing a tantrum is probably not going to cause the silver to come in, but is it possible that the hormones are causing this? it's really gotten out of hand in the past few months and i can't explain it...
so yeah, i'm almost 32 and this could be a cause, but seriously it's so bad that on sunday a friend went to pick something out of my hair, and then realized that it was a strand of gray - just an awkward moment for everyone...
so, now i can also thank the baby for all of the money that i'm going to have to spend on getting my hair colored. husband - are you reading this??? it's not my fault... it's baby's...
fast forward 2.5 years and i have like a million gray hairs. and THIS HAS JUST HAPPENED!!! so, it makes me wonder, do kids really cause your hair to go gray? my mother always said that i was giving her gray hair - could there be some truth to this??? i mean, ok, so a 5 year old throwing a tantrum is probably not going to cause the silver to come in, but is it possible that the hormones are causing this? it's really gotten out of hand in the past few months and i can't explain it...
so yeah, i'm almost 32 and this could be a cause, but seriously it's so bad that on sunday a friend went to pick something out of my hair, and then realized that it was a strand of gray - just an awkward moment for everyone...
so, now i can also thank the baby for all of the money that i'm going to have to spend on getting my hair colored. husband - are you reading this??? it's not my fault... it's baby's...
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
happy anniversary
so, today upon waking, I realized that January 18th had passed me by and was really sad. husband and i met on January 18th, 1997, so this year was our 12th anniversary of meeting each other...
i think that i was most saddened by the fact that i completely forgot. and it's not like i remembered a day or so late. i remembered today, february 4th. sure, we have lots of anniversaries now - 2 wedding anniversaries included, but we really don't celebrate anything. we usually go out to dinner for the wedding anniversaries, but we have basically stopped doing anything for each other on any other occassion - christmas, valentines day or any other holiday like that, so we really don't go overboard on anything. i guess i just liked celebrating that day in january because it's just a fun random day in our lives where our paths crossed for the first time.
and let's face it people. i'm pregnant and i get emotional about everything... that's probably what this is...
i think that i was most saddened by the fact that i completely forgot. and it's not like i remembered a day or so late. i remembered today, february 4th. sure, we have lots of anniversaries now - 2 wedding anniversaries included, but we really don't celebrate anything. we usually go out to dinner for the wedding anniversaries, but we have basically stopped doing anything for each other on any other occassion - christmas, valentines day or any other holiday like that, so we really don't go overboard on anything. i guess i just liked celebrating that day in january because it's just a fun random day in our lives where our paths crossed for the first time.
and let's face it people. i'm pregnant and i get emotional about everything... that's probably what this is...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Do-Over
Dear Baby,
This morning I was scolded by your Aunt Erin. She told me that one day you'll be my 4th blog reader and you may not like what I had to say yesterday... she's probably right, and while I can't say that I didn't mean it (because I was feeling really crappy yesterday), I think I may be able to explain a few things...
First of all, husband and I are really excited about you. We talk about you every day and now I find myself touching my stomach all the time. Just a reflex really, since you're not very big yet (around the size of an apple), but nonetheless, I like knowing that you're there. And as much as I complained about feeling sick and being pukey, I think I'd rather have that than have no symptoms because at least I know you're still there everyday!
Here's the thing... people who have had children (and your Aunt Erin) get so unbelieveable excited when we share the news with them. They jump up and down, they cry, they scream - it's crazy for us - and we get really excited when we see those reactions because we know that means only great things are in store for us. People with children say that you can't comprehend loving some one so quickly, so immediately, so completely and so unconditionally. I guess husband and I are in that phase of not being able to comprehend it yet...
So Baby, I am excited, it's just that it doesn't really seem real yet and the only 'real' thing about being pregnant so far is being sick and pukey, which isn't that much fun. My mom keeps saying that I need to be happy during this time so that you'll come out a happy baby. I personally think that after making me so sick for this long, you should just come out happy because it's what I deserve, but I'll try and cheer up. I'm going to allow myself to be miserable and sick this week, but then I'm off to New Mexico for the weekend for a super fun wedding. And next week, I think things will be better. We're going to be looking for childcare for you as well as starting to clean out the spare bedroom (also known as your room). Maybe then you'll start to be a little more real to us...
I'll keep you updated - but seriously, if you could stop making me sick and stop getting so grossed out at every smell, things will be easier for me... thanks Baby...
Love, me
This morning I was scolded by your Aunt Erin. She told me that one day you'll be my 4th blog reader and you may not like what I had to say yesterday... she's probably right, and while I can't say that I didn't mean it (because I was feeling really crappy yesterday), I think I may be able to explain a few things...
First of all, husband and I are really excited about you. We talk about you every day and now I find myself touching my stomach all the time. Just a reflex really, since you're not very big yet (around the size of an apple), but nonetheless, I like knowing that you're there. And as much as I complained about feeling sick and being pukey, I think I'd rather have that than have no symptoms because at least I know you're still there everyday!
Here's the thing... people who have had children (and your Aunt Erin) get so unbelieveable excited when we share the news with them. They jump up and down, they cry, they scream - it's crazy for us - and we get really excited when we see those reactions because we know that means only great things are in store for us. People with children say that you can't comprehend loving some one so quickly, so immediately, so completely and so unconditionally. I guess husband and I are in that phase of not being able to comprehend it yet...
So Baby, I am excited, it's just that it doesn't really seem real yet and the only 'real' thing about being pregnant so far is being sick and pukey, which isn't that much fun. My mom keeps saying that I need to be happy during this time so that you'll come out a happy baby. I personally think that after making me so sick for this long, you should just come out happy because it's what I deserve, but I'll try and cheer up. I'm going to allow myself to be miserable and sick this week, but then I'm off to New Mexico for the weekend for a super fun wedding. And next week, I think things will be better. We're going to be looking for childcare for you as well as starting to clean out the spare bedroom (also known as your room). Maybe then you'll start to be a little more real to us...
I'll keep you updated - but seriously, if you could stop making me sick and stop getting so grossed out at every smell, things will be easier for me... thanks Baby...
Love, me
Monday, February 2, 2009
sick and tired...
so, since i only know of like 3 people who read my blog, i haven't really mentioned that i'm pregnant yet. mainly because the 3 of you already know, so i didn't think there would be much to mention. if anyone else does read this, you'll have to comment or email me sometime so i know to keep my news more timely.
so yeah, i'm almost 15 weeks and am still feeling like crap. the good news is that i started feeling a lot better last week. the bad news is that i got sick - like the cold and fever type - which has somehow made me start puking again and so i feel crappy again. i've heard that pregnant people get sick a lot which is really not fair. not only do i puke because of food, or bad smells, or thinking about things that gross me out, or because i have to go to the bathroom, but now i'm gonna get sick a lot? yeah, i know that husband has to deal with me, which hasn't been easy since i can't open the fridge or go into a grocery store because of the abundance of bad smelling items in either place, and so he's forced to do everything, but i think that's better than wanting to throw up all the time... he doesn't seem to think so, but you'll never hear about it since he apparently boycotts this site (and no, i don't count him as one of the three readers).
i've heard that feeling this way is actually quite good for baby, so that part makes me happy. and since i'm not really displaying other signs of being pregnant, i guess it's nice to know that something is going on inside of me...
anyway, here's a picture of baby at 12 weeks. we started out calling it an alien, but i've stopped in the past few weeks - i guess i'm not feeling as sick as i was in the beginning. i think the ultrasound is pretty cool since you can really make out baby - for those of you who can't, the top picture is the baby's face - the baby is laying on it's back, so it's a profile shot. the bottom picture is the whole baby - profile shot again, still on it's back.
i'm hoping that this cold passes soon so that i can start enjoying being pregnant. not sure how that's going to be, but anything has to be better than how i've been feeling... wish me luck!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
My Apologies...
Dear Mr. Jobs,
First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your health. I sincerely hope that these 5 months off from the day-to-day operations at Apple will allow you to get the appropriate care that you need to ensure a speedy recovery back to the daily grind of the company that we've all grown to love...
Which brings me to the point of my letter. Mr. Jobs, I doubted you. I doubted your judgment when you said that the iPhone would revolutionize the cell phone industry. I did not understand why you thought people would toss aside their perfectly good phones to spend $200-$300 on something new and "pretty". How dumb do you think we really are? I knew that your iPhone was WAY overrated and I wasn't buying your sales job.
Let's back up. I'm a Blackberry user. I love my Blackberry. I'm now on my 3rd model and was making plans to upgrade to another one. I love all of the synching capabilities, the plethora of applications that I can download for it, the web browser, the keyboard - I could go on forever about my love. That is, until Husband got an iPhone.
I put up a fight - "why do you need an iPhone, you have a FABULOUSLY new Blackberry" and "The iPhone is just hype, it's not that good" and "You're going to ABSOLUTELY HATE the onscreen keyboard"... This conversation had been going on for several weeks.
Well, Husband bought the iPhone on Monday and asked me to check it out for him. 3 hours later he had to pry it from my fingers. Mr. Jobs, I take back everything bad that I've ever said or thought about your phone - it DOES live up to the hype. It is NOT overrated. I was WRONG.
So, I wanted to share with you a few things in particular that I really love about it:
First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your health. I sincerely hope that these 5 months off from the day-to-day operations at Apple will allow you to get the appropriate care that you need to ensure a speedy recovery back to the daily grind of the company that we've all grown to love...
Which brings me to the point of my letter. Mr. Jobs, I doubted you. I doubted your judgment when you said that the iPhone would revolutionize the cell phone industry. I did not understand why you thought people would toss aside their perfectly good phones to spend $200-$300 on something new and "pretty". How dumb do you think we really are? I knew that your iPhone was WAY overrated and I wasn't buying your sales job.
Let's back up. I'm a Blackberry user. I love my Blackberry. I'm now on my 3rd model and was making plans to upgrade to another one. I love all of the synching capabilities, the plethora of applications that I can download for it, the web browser, the keyboard - I could go on forever about my love. That is, until Husband got an iPhone.
I put up a fight - "why do you need an iPhone, you have a FABULOUSLY new Blackberry" and "The iPhone is just hype, it's not that good" and "You're going to ABSOLUTELY HATE the onscreen keyboard"... This conversation had been going on for several weeks.
Well, Husband bought the iPhone on Monday and asked me to check it out for him. 3 hours later he had to pry it from my fingers. Mr. Jobs, I take back everything bad that I've ever said or thought about your phone - it DOES live up to the hype. It is NOT overrated. I was WRONG.
So, I wanted to share with you a few things in particular that I really love about it:
- Air Hockey (yup, that's right, it's a FREE game!!!)
- Remote (you can remotely control your i-tunes music from the phone - change songs, change playlists - it does it all!!!)
- Shazam (another FREE application - you can hear a song playing on the radio/tv/movie, hold the i-phone to it, and it will identify it for you - how cool is that?)
- Pandora (you guessed it, it's FREE and you can access this on the phone - I LOVE it!!!)
- All of the other applications - phone, calendar, email, etc.
After just 3 hours of playing with Husband's phone, it was love at first sight and now the iPhone is at the top of my wishlist. Again, thank you for making such a FABULOUS gadget that will waste plenty of time and adequately distract me from adding any real value anywhere.
I look forward to the next big thing that you and Apple have in store for us...
Best Regards, Nandita Keswani Koehler
P.S. If you'd like to send me a complimentary iPhone, I will continue to "sing" your praises to the 3 people that read my blog! I'd prefer the 16GB model! :)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Happy New Year!!! What???
How did that happen? What happened to Happy Thanksgiving??? Or Merry Christmas??? Where did the past 2 months go?
I think I seriously woke up on the 25th and thought "oh, crap, it's already Christmas. i'm totally unprepared..." There's really no excuse for this feeling - it does occur on the same day of the year every year, but nonetheless, I didn't see it coming this year.
We've been pretty consumed with moving (among other things). We spent most of November (early November) packing up the townhouse and then we officially moved in to the new house on November 21st. That was followed by Thanksgiving and a long weekend with the host family in Rochester, NY (coldest place on earth).
I think we were home for about 2 weeks in December before heading to Germany for Christmas. Great time - not terribly relaxing, although vacationing with Oliver never is... but it's always great to hang out with the family and see Oliver's friends who we don't get to hang out with enough.
We came back home on the 29th, spent a relaxing New Year's Eve with our friends Duane and Tracie, and have been getting settled (again) in the house for the past few days.
We're in the market for a big screen TV and a washing machine, so if you have any advice on either, we'd love to hear it... the internet is fantastic until you start finding all sorts of conflicting advice!
Hope you all had a great holiday and we wish you a great 2009! We have a feeling that there are great things in store for us! :)
I think I seriously woke up on the 25th and thought "oh, crap, it's already Christmas. i'm totally unprepared..." There's really no excuse for this feeling - it does occur on the same day of the year every year, but nonetheless, I didn't see it coming this year.
We've been pretty consumed with moving (among other things). We spent most of November (early November) packing up the townhouse and then we officially moved in to the new house on November 21st. That was followed by Thanksgiving and a long weekend with the host family in Rochester, NY (coldest place on earth).
I think we were home for about 2 weeks in December before heading to Germany for Christmas. Great time - not terribly relaxing, although vacationing with Oliver never is... but it's always great to hang out with the family and see Oliver's friends who we don't get to hang out with enough.
We came back home on the 29th, spent a relaxing New Year's Eve with our friends Duane and Tracie, and have been getting settled (again) in the house for the past few days.
We're in the market for a big screen TV and a washing machine, so if you have any advice on either, we'd love to hear it... the internet is fantastic until you start finding all sorts of conflicting advice!
Hope you all had a great holiday and we wish you a great 2009! We have a feeling that there are great things in store for us! :)
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