34 Weeks!

Wow. Only 6 weeks to go. It's crazy. Some of me wants it all to be over, but then I remember when it's over I'll have a baby, which despite how ill I've felt, will be a heck of a lot more work than what Pumpkin is requiring at this point. Ken and I have been finalizing our birth plan, deciding how we want it to go, etc. It gets tricky because my family is HUGE and they ALL want to be involved, but we want a small, intimate birth. So we're making everyone totally mad and only having immediate family at the birth center (which is plenty as far as I'm concerned). The fact of the matter is, the birth center will only hold about 6 people, so our immediate family is really all that will fit anyway. I figure we had a huge family wedding; we can have a small, intimate birth. It will be much calmer, and I will be able to focus on the important parts (labor, Ken, Pumpkin) a lot better. I feel horrible about making everyone mad, but this is what we want, and I'm only going to appologize so much for it. I just really hope the family can consider it from my perpective, and respect what we are wanting.
My Mom and best friend Danielle threw me a shower on Saturday. It was awesome. So many people showed up (over 30!), were so generous with their gifts, and participated in the fun games. Danielle was in charge of coordinating the games, and she had asked Ken a bunch of questions about taking care of a baby, and I was supposed to guess what his answers were. Apparently we need to spend some more time going over basic stuff because some of his answers were crazy. He thought that babies go through 25 diapers a day, and don't sleep through the night until they are a year and a half old (I sure hope not!). Luckily, he said he would change 10 diapers a day, so I figure he can change the first ten, and I'll change any that are left over. I have another shower tomorrow with the family practice office at work, and then the PTs are having another small gathering next month. I'm certainly feeling very loved and spoiled. It's crazy how excited people get about babies. I was expecting a "wedding-level" of excitement, but this is all so much more than I experienced when Ken and I got married. It's very fun.
Pumpkin is getting so big. I'm still not huge when compared to other pregnant ladies, but I feel certainly feel big. My tummy is rock hard, though my belly button isn't sticking out yet. It's getting closer, but not quite there. Pumpkin has very distinct awake/sleep patterns these days. S/he wakes up when I do, then chills out for a few hours, then wakes up again around 10, then is pretty mellow all day until I get ready for bed. Then Pumpkin goes CRAZY! That's when the crazy alien-baby side of Pumpkin comes out. Party in my tummy, which of course keeps me awake. S/he often has a dance-off around 3am which often wakes me up, but I'm able to go back to sleep most of the time.
Anyhoo - things are going well. I'm getting more and more tired from daily activities. We'll see if I'm able to work 40 hours a week until baby comes. I hope I'm able to do it, I just may be an exhausted only-semi-productive blob the last few weeks. Hopefully my office will be ok with that.
Wish us luck.

33 Weeks (almost)

Things are starting to come together with Pumpkin's room. I bought curtains a couple of months ago, that I have decided that I really just don't want or need. The room NEVER gets direct sunlight and is relatively dark   all day. The view is beautiful, so there's not a need to cover up the windows for aesthetic reasons. After going around and around, putting them up and taking them down, they're staying down. I'll keep them for now just in case I change my mind. Ken and I put up the pictures today, as well as the mobile. I made up the crib yesterday, cleaned the carpet, and arranged/organized. I still have my desk to clean off, and some random stuff that I need to find a home for, but I'm well on my way to getting Pumpkin's room completed. I had a really sick morning, so I didn't get as much done today as I would like, but still quite a bit.

32 Weeks

I promise I wont do a "catch-up" post seeing has how I've been MIA for several months. But, I am going to try to make an effort to keep this more updated now. I'm currently 32 weeks. I'm still sick. I know. You probably think I'm lying, but I'm really not. I'm actually currently trying very (very, very) hard to keep my breakfast down. The juice was a bad choice. My eating stuff is better, but not great. I still have to strategically eat - no veggies, very little dairy, very little protein, no whole grains, limited fruit. So in essence I'm still living on white carbs. Sometimes I can sneak something good in. Yesterday at lunch I had a piece of marinated artichoke heart. I was really excited about it (but of course I paid for it all afternoon, so it was really less sneaking and more self-sabotage). We had our last ultrasound yesterday. Pumpkin looks so much like Ken. I keep getting girl vibes, so this baby really may look just like Auntie Alicia. Of course, I'm probably horribly wrong and it's a boy and will look just like Ken. Pumpkin certainly has a Walker nose, not mine for sure. On one of the ultrasound pictures it looked like baby has dimples! I would love that. I'm getting very excited. Part of it is I'm really looking forward to not being pregnant anymore, since I haven't been very well. Last night was our last birth class. I'm so glad we took the classes. Ken was only able to attend the first two because of his school schedule, but my mom came with me to the last three. I'm feeling pretty motivated about the whole birth experience. I know it's going to be really really hard, but I'm excited to meet this little person. This weekend I'm going to finish up Pumpkin's room. I still need to hang up pictures, decorate, CLEAN!, shampoo the carpets, decide if I'm going to put up curtains or not, make the bed, possibly buy more storage baskets, and clean Ken and I's room. My mom and friend Danielle are throwing me a baby shower on the 23rd, and I need to get Pumpkin's room looking like a baby's room for the party. It's getting there, the furniture is in the right places, and most things are put away, but it still is in need of quite a bit of finessing. Hopefully I'm feeling well and able to get everything done this weekend.
Wish us luck.

17 Weeks

I'm definitely starting to have a bump! Most of the time my tummy just looks chubby, but in certain clothes, like the dress above, I look pregnant. In other news, I developed shingles this week. Not so fun. It's a big ugly rash on my chest that itches and feels like a sunburn. Although, a lot of people with shingles have incredible pain, which I have avoided thus far. So despite the shingles, I feel lucky. I'm also supposed to avoid young babies and pregnant women, which I find funny (How am I supposed to avoid myself?). Hopefully this will be cleared up before my 20 week ultrasound and checkup, so that I'm not exposing a bunch of innocent bystanders to chickenpox. As of today I've only gained about a pound since my big weight-loss, which is fine with me. I know I'm going to gain baby weight, but I don't want to gain a bunch of mama-pudge along with it. Anyhoo, things are going well. I'm still feeling comparatively well to a month ago. I'm still throwing up every day or so, and am nauseous for most afternoons, but it's so much better than before. It's amazing how much my definition of a "good day" has changed over the last couple of months. For a while a "good day" was only throwing up 2-3 times a day, and now it's the days that I don't throw up at all, and am only nauseous for hours on end. I'm hoping I'll get rid of the nausea eventually, but it hasn't happened so far. I'm still shocked by how firm my stomach is. I wasn't expecting the "baby part" to be so hard. It's like abs of steel. I'm definitely enjoying my body changing shape. It's certainly different than before, and certainly going to get a whole lot stranger, but I'm liking it. 

Pumpkin kicks ALL DAY

So I felt the baby on Friday, and then I didn't feel anything again all weekend. I felt like a dork who had mistaken gas bubbles for a baby. Good grief, what kind of a mother am I? Then I had a latte this morning, and holy cow! Pumpkin has been kicking all day long. It's really exciting, but makes me nervous for when he/she's strong enough to really kick me hard. Gulp. But today, when it's just a sweet, tickling flutter on the left side of my belly (the only side Pumpkin seems to like), I really like it, and am so thankful for a fun reminder that I'm growing a little person from scratch in my belly.

I felt Pumpkin kick!

Today at work, I was sitting there, minding my own business and I felt a flutter/popping sensation in my belly! It was waaaayyy too high up to be gas, and didn't feel like gas at all. I think it was Pumpkin! It lasted for a solid 45 seconds, so I had time to actually feel it, and think about how it felt before it stopped. Very exciting! I wasn't expecting to feel the baby for a few more weeks, but there you go! Finally a fun pregnancy symptom!

Ken Started Classes!

Woot! Ken started classes yesterday for his teaching certification program at the UofO. He was a little stressed, a little tired, but overall he was excited and it went well.
Three cheers for Ken, and his awesome scholastic achievements.

15 Weeks aka Finally Feeling Human again - Time to Blog

Hello ya'll (anyone who's actually still clicking on this thing after two months without a post)
So as you probably know, I'm unexpectedly knocked up. Quite an exciting, fun surprise that I'm happy about, but a shocking, what-the-heck-are-we-going-to-do? surprise. The first few weeks I was just in shock. (I never missed a pill - just keep that in mind ladies) Then I started planning, figured out a few things, feeling more prepared and relaxed about it, and then the sickness hit. Vomiting, vomiting as far as the eye could see. The term "morning sickness" is a big fat joke. I actually felt great in the morning. Everyday I would wake up, say to myself, "Gosh, I was being such a big baby about being sick. I feel great! Today is going to be a new day!" Then by about 11:00 I just wanted to die. If I wasn't puking, I was so close to puking, that my nausea was the only thing I could concentrate on for weeks on end. In addition, we had some crazy turmoil at work and I needed to work regular 12-hour days that I was short-handed during. So, I was doing the job of two people, working crazy overtime, and just wanting to curl up in a ball and cry during the whole thing. Horrible to say the least. It was by-far the most horrible two months of my life (and that's including the second term of LLD during which I was a giant mess) But I've started feeling more human. My vomiting down to only once every few days (waaayyyy better than throwing up after every meal), and I'm not so nauseous all the time that I just want to cry. Unfortunately, Pumpkin is still being a picky eater, and wont let me eat much more than white carbs (no whole grains...ever) a little dairy, and a little fruit. The fruit is a huge improvement. During my two-months-from-hell I was solely surviving on instant mac-and-cheese and rice cakes. Not so awesome. But, I can now keep down most fruit as long as I don't eat too much.
Pumpkin is starting to poke out now. Which is really fun. I know people who were really unhappy when their body started to change and felt really fat. I don't feel fat, I feel pregnant! Hopefully I remain this upbeat about all the changes my body will go through the rest of the pregnancy. I can't wait until I can feel him/her kick. I'm really looking forward to that. We aren't going to find out the sex, so Pumpkin will remain Pumpkin until birth. Names are still a bit up in the air, though we've pretty much decided on Finn for a boy, and Moira for a girl. The middle name will be James (after my side of the family) either way. Anyhoo - I'm planning on keeping this thing up to date now that I'm feeling better, so that I can chronicle my pregnancy.

Wish us luck

Who are those furry animals?

You may be wondering, who the neck are those furry animals in the banner picture? I've never talked about them here, so how would you know? The Siamese, blue eyed beauty is Vella. I adopted her from the human society in Corvallis my Sophomore year of college. Ken and I were together, and he helped to get her, but initially she was my kitty (of course she always has loved Ken more, and is totally his cat). Vella is leggy, lean, and beautiful but has a saggy middle that swings when she runs. It makes for good entertainment for us, but she would probably like a tummy tuck. Vella has the classic siamese yowl, but is overall pretty quiet. Mable, her black cubby counterpart was given to us in 2006 by a friend who couldn't have Mable in her apartment complex. She is soft as a bunny, and very vocal. She doesn't have Vella's yowl, as she's much more squeaky, but she talks nonstop. She likes to play fetch with catnip toys, and is a hardcore snuggler. Both kitties moved into my parents house with us in December. They seem to be adjusting fine, although Vella sometimes gets into arguments with my parent's cat Winston over the food dish. While we don't have any real babies yet, our kitties are our babies for now. 

Passport applications are sent!

Ken spent his morning at the post office waiting in line to submit our applications for passports. We had filled out the applications ahead of time, and had everything ready to go, so once it was his turn it didn't take long. The lady who reviewed our appliciations said that everything was in order, took our money, and sent them off with the morning mail. WooHoo!
 The most "awesome" part of the entire experience was getting our passport photos. We had some time to kill yesterday afternoon, so we decided to go get them. Ken didn't want to go because he'd been wearing a hat all day so his hair would look bad in the picture. I tell him that everyone looks bad in their passport photo, that I'll help him make his hair look ok, and that he just needs to suck it up. Of course during this time, I haven't looked in the mirror, which let me tell you, I should have done. We get the pictures back, and mine's horrid. I then remember that I didn't put hardly any makeup on that morning (so I have giant dark circles, and I look like I died a week ago yesterday), and I ran out the door with my hair soaking wet so it's flat as a pancake. Awesome. I'm super glad I'm going to have this photo attached to me for the next 10 years. Ken of couse looks dapper in his photo. Jerk.

One Last Hurrah!

Costa Rica.....here we come!

Ken and I decided that we needed one big fun adventure before he starts grad school. So we've reserved the week of May 17th off work, and we're heading off to Costa Rica! We had planned on going to Mexico City, and bopping around there a while, but tickets to Costa Rica weren't much more expensive and we both would prefer to go there as it's less urban and more tropical. We are flying out of Portland the evening of Friday, May 14th, and will return to Portland on May 23rd. I'm really excited to be going on this trip. I haven't been out of the country since I went to Mexico on a missions trip Junior year of High School, and Ken's never been outside of the US. We're hoping to travel quite a bit once Ken's done with school and before we have babies, so this will be a nice introduction to international travel. 
Now's the mad dash to get Ken a passport, and mine renewed, as I've changed my name since I last used it. We have 8 weeks as of today, but probably wont have all of the pieces needed until the middle of next week, so we may want to pay the extra money to have them expedited, as I'd rather not stress about it. My parents have my old passport in their safety deposit box, and we have our marriage license (to change my name on mine) and Ken's birth certificate here at the house. So I just need my dad to get my passport, get our pictures taken and get down to the passport office.

Wish us luck!

UOTeach Admission Decision

Got an email last night from the UO Ed Department ---

Congratulations! You are invited to accept admission into the UOTeach Program leading to the Initial Oregon Teaching License and to a Master’s of Education Degree in Curriculum and Teaching. Confirmation of formal admission will be sent to you directly from the University of Oregon Office of Admissions. The UOTeach program has been approved by the Oregon University System, the University of Oregon Graduate School, and the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission.


Yay Ken! He'll start the one year program in June, then complete his masters (an additional 3 months) from June to September next year.

Interview Went Well!

Yay Ken!

His interview went well! It was a group interview, meaning that he and a group of five other prospective students were all interviewed at the same time. The format of the meeting was that the applicants were given a prompter question and had to discuss within the group. Those of you who know Ken know that he can be shy, and I was concerned that he wouldn't get enough in to demonstrate his great ideas. Luckily, he says that he was able to make several good comments, and feels confident about how he came across. The program will mail him a letter in the next 3-4 weeks notifying him of his acceptance/denial. We have our fingers crossed!

In other news, I qualified for (and ordered) a new cell phone today. I'm excited about it, but Ken is in comparison, much more excited, as he has been using my hot pink razor phone off an on (aka between other cell phone murders) for over a year. He left his last phone outside during a rainstorm in the parking lot at work, and the phone before that he managed to somehow fling off the balcony at our 4th street apartment, resulting in its untimely death. Needless say, he will be much more happy (and manly) with my hand-me-down LG chocolate phone that is a nice reddish brown. We'll see how long he's able to keep this one alive. ;)

Yay Ken!

Yay!
After weeks of waiting. Ken got an interview for the UofO secondary education program. Apparently he had kind of given up hope because he knew that those selected for interview were called/emailed last week, and he hadn't received an invite. Today when I was at work the person in charge of scheduling the interviews called my phone. She was quite frustrated as she had emailed him several times (to his now defunct UofO address, and not the address on his application - no idea why) and had yet to hear back from him. Somehow she obtained my number (Emergency contact maybe? Again, we have no idea) to get ahold of him. I called him, he called her, and the interview was set for Friday.

Yay! Go Ken!

Valentines at the beach

Ken and I celebrated Valentine's Day today (Saturday) instead of Sunday because he has to work tomorrow. He gave me a beautiful orchid (hopefully I wont kill it) and chocolates, and he got sleeping pads for camping (I swear this is what he wanted). We went to lunch at Cornucopia, and then drove to the beach. I love tide pools far more than actual sandy beach, so off to Yachats we went. We spent the afternoon, and had a blast. Ken brought his camera only to realize upon arrival that his batteries were dead. Sad day. But I had mine, so we still have pictures.

New book!

Despite the horrible headache and actively-draining nasal discharge (gotta love sinus infections!) I dashed to Borders after work to pick up the glorious new book I've been obsessing over for weeks. My review? It's AWESOME! It's exactly the kind of sewing book I've been waiting for. It's all about dresses (which I wear about 85% of the time), it's all about how to take a basic pattern and adapt it to the awesome idea in your head. There are 25 projects in the book, and only two of them I dislike. Actually, dislike isn't the correct word, they just aren't my style. They would be totally cute on someone else. There's a military inspired dress with cargo pockets (not me at all), and this layered-illusion dress that really isn't me either. I like to layer for real not fake (seriously, I honestly don't remember the last time I wasn't wearing a cardigan or jacket). The other 23 patterns ROCK! I honestly can't decide what I want to do first. All in all, totally excited. The book recommends fitting a muslin before hacking into nice fabric, which is a good idea no matter what you're doing. I've cut out the pattern and pieces for the "Sheath" dress in muslin, and plan to sew it up tonight. Hopefully it wont have to be altered too much so I can get started on a project later this week!
Three cheers for great new project books.

New Dress

Well, I will probably wear it a lot more often like a jumper as in the pictures, but it's technically a dress. This is McCall's pattern 5388. I lengthened it for a dress, as it is originally a top pattern. I read reviews of the pattern online, and a lot of people recommend making the yoke less wide, but as this is the first time sewing this pattern, I didn't. Much to my disappointment, the reviewers were correct, and I should have made the yoke narrower, but it is still quite cute. I plan to make the dress again. I cut it out on Friday, and whipped it up today while my parents were watching the super-bowl. In total, it took about 4 hours to do including cutting. I'm not a fast sewer by any means, so this is a very quick dress. I bought the fabric nearly a year ago. It's a denim-look linen/cotton blend that was on sale for $6 a yard. It took about two yards to do, so I'm quite satisfied with my $12 dress. It's lightweight and will be a good spring piece. If I do it again (as I plan to) I will make the yoke narrower, and add pockets to the side seams. I made the bottom hem really wide, which I like and would definitely repeat. I hope to whip up a few more spring dresses to add to my wardrobe.
P.S. I'm still really excited for the new Sew U: Dresses book to come out! Tuesday baby!

Feeling inspired

I enjoy sewing, and have been feeling inspired the last week or so (I think it's the hair-cut, it's making me feel worthy of cute clothes) so I'm totally excited for this new book to come out. I love the Built By Wendy line, and her patterns are great. Unfortunately my new living conditions permit me very little sewing space, but my house-mates may just have to work it out.

The end of Peace Corps, and what's on my needles

So, at this point, Ken and I are not going to Africa. Neither of us has wanted to go for a several months, and have been just waiting to see if the hesitation would pass. It hasn't, and we have decided that particular adventure is not for us. I know this is probably a big shock for everyone, but we've been weighing doubt and concern in our minds during the entire process. After months of going, "I don't think this is right", we are finally acknowledging that it's not.
On that note, I don't plan to end the blog. We have enough "adventures" and excitement to continue. So this will be about our everyday lives: my crafting, Ken's school, our plans for the future, and hopefully some big adventures along the way.


To the crafting.
Some of you know, some of you don't, but I'm a big crafty person. I like to knit, I attempt to crochet (but I'm horrible at it), cross-stitch, sewing, etc. This is currently on my needles for a certain friend who recently had a certain baby. I'm really liking the knit so far. It's been really easy, and it has seed-stitch trim which I love. I'm knitting it up in a cotton blend, so it will be multiple-season appropriate. The sweet baby lives in Oregon, so no Arctic chill to plan for.



In addition to the sweater, I also have this great dolly to send to her. I got it at Bambini, which is the best little crunchy baby store in Eugene. I'm excited. I love the dolly, loving the the sweater, and I hope they love them too. <3