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.