Columbia: One City, Two Tales

The weekend of September 11 Nick and I enjoyed a trip back to Columbia.  We arrived on Friday night and were scheduled to leave on Monday morning (more on that below).  I know you all don't want to read a novel about our trip so I'll keep it short.  I do want to include a HUGE thanks to our friends who made the weekend so fabulous.  Thanks so Rex and Paula for providing such comfy accommodations - that became even more important later on - and for chauffering us around town.  Thanks to Kelly and Michael for arranging all the details of an amazing weekend.  You guys really went all out to make sure that we enjoyed ourselves!  Thanks to Tom and B for sharing your tailgate fun with us, and to Christian and Angela for hanging out with us at the game and hosting us in your home on Saturday night.  Thank you to Laura, Lauren, and Kelly for putting on the most precious baby shower for Baby H and me!  Finally, thank you to all our friends who welcomed us back to Cola and helped us celebrate our Columbia visit and the impending arrival of Baby H.  We loved seeing all of you and already miss you sooo much!

Here I am with Laura, Kelly, and Lauren, the shower hostesses.

The TRUMC crew. 



FFF ladies with the bump.



Anna and Melissa



Outside Williams Brice Stadium



With Angela and Kelly at the tailgate





Nick with Carter, Michael, and Christian at the tailgate



At the game.  So thankful our seats were in the shade!

Now, for our second tale.  On Sunday night Nick got really sick - vomitting and in excruciating pain.  I called my mom, a former GI (gastrointerological) nurse, who told me how to do the "rebound test" for appendicitis.  Since Nick freaked out so much when I did the test, it was apparent that he had it.  We headed over to the Providence emergency room (in Columbia - not Waco, obviously).  To make a long story short, the ER staff was great, and after a few hours, lots of Morphine and Zofran, bloodwork, X-rays, and a CT scan, Nick was admitted and prepped for an appendectomy on Monday morning.  He had the surgery around noon, spent the night in the hospital, and was released Tuesday after lunch.  We stated Tuesday night in Columbia, and flew home on Wednesday. 

Again, HUGE thanks are due to our friends who helped us through this crisis!  An anonymous fairy godmother kept us in our hotel for the extra nights we had to spend in town.  Kelly rallied all our church friends to pray for us while Nick was in surgery and recovering.  Mollie, Kelly, and Laura all came to the hospital to visit, each bringing food and goodies, and Mollie who is also our pastor prayed with us before Nick went under.  And sweet Michael lent us his car for the duration of Nick's stay so that I could freely go back to the hotel as needed, we could leave the hospital promptly after Nick was released, and I was able to run necessary errands, like picking up Nick's prescriptions.  I can't imagine how different this experience would have been without all your help.

We Hail Thee Carolina...

Tomorrow Nick and I are headed back to South Carolina to see sweet friends, cheer on the Gamecocks against UGA, and celebrate Baby H.  We can't wait to get there!  Some of our best friends, the Wilsons and the Halls are hosting us, and we are so excited about our big reunion.  The two biggest highlights of the weekend will be the football game/tailgate on Saturday and Baby H's baby shower on Sunday afternoon (given by my friends Kelly, Lauren, and Laura).  Of course there will be lots of other fun times during the weekend, but you don't need me to list them all here! 

I've been super busy all week getting ready this weekend so I haven't taken any new pictures!  You can look forward to lots of SC pictures coming up, but here's a picture of the last time Nick and I were at a game together in Williams Brice Stadium. 

The biggest challenge in preparing for this trip was dealing with Finlay's boarding issues.  Not only did we have to find a place to board him, but I also had to get his Hydroxizine prescription refilled.  (That's the anxiety medicine that keeps him from having gastrointestinal fireworks).  Without this miracle pill, Finlay will be a very sick boy, and will end up at the vet's office as soon as they open on Tuesday.  However, getting it ended up being pretty complicated!  I had to have his old vet in SC fax information about the prescription to his new vet here.  The new vet here has apparently been swamped with "very sick animals" for the last two days and unable to approve the prescription, despite my calling every 2 hours for two days straight.  Finally, at 2:30 today, I took myself and Finlay up to the vet's in-person, and lo and behold the medicine was there waiting for us.  I guess my perseverance finally paid off!  The nurse who dispensed the meds did tell me that the vet was confused because I requested the medicine "to prevent nervous diarhea," but, and I'm quoting her here, "this medicine treats anxiety, not diarhea." Ummmmm......what am I missing here?  At any rate, we got the medicine, got a good recommendation for a boarding place, and now Finlay is at Waggin' Tails, playing with other dogs, in his "happy place" thanks to the happy pills we were finally able to secure. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and for all my SC friends, I can't wait to see you so so so soon!

And He's Off!

Nick is finally all set with his new motorcycle.  He spent all last weekend in a class that was kind of like driver's ed for motorcycles, and on Monday we got everything registered and licensed.  Look out Clovis, he's on the road now!  All kidding aside, this is something that Nick has wanted for several years.  I've had lots of surprised responses that I "let:" Nick get this bike.  My response is that A) I would never tell Nick that he couldn't do anything!  I trust him to make good decisions, and B) He spent a year on a remote deployment, not only doing without lots of things he wanted, but also earning lots of extra money.  It's his hard-earned money, and after so much deprivation I think he deserved a really nice reward, don't you?

Here he is, about to take off on his first spin around the neighborhood. 

There he goes!

Here's Baby H's 26 week shot.  My belly is supposed to be about the size of a soccer ball now.  Sounds about right, I guess.  There's not much new going on this week.  I did have to ask Nick to fasten my shoes for me for the first time last night - boo.  I'm glad that we're moving into fall shoes season since most of my fall shoes are slip-ons!  Oh, and last night I had a hard time getting my rings back on after my shower.  Good thing I have the $8 fake wedding band I bought for our trip to Mexico in May!  I'm really hoping that it was end-of-day swelling and that my rings will hang on through my baby showers.  After that, I know I'll have to swap out for the fake bling until January.  Boo!

In other news, Nick has changed back to days- wahoo!  He had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off so we have finally been able to hang out for the first time in a month!  This will only last until October, but I'll take what I can get.  He's now working from about 5am until about 3pm.  Not your ideal schedule?  Well, it's a lot closer to normal and waaaay better than the 10pm-8am schedule he had in August.

Finally, for my SC friends, I can't tell you how excited we are for the beginning of college football season!  Tonight, the Gamecocks have their season opener, and we'll be watching at home while noshing on shrimp and grits and pimento cheese fries in honor of our Gamecocks.  Go cocks!  Can't wait to see them play in-person next weekend against Georgia!!!

25 Weeks

Yep, she's growing! 

As I type this, I'd like to just let you know that it's currently 63 degrees outside.  Very. Nice.  Off-topic I know, but I just had to rub it in a little!

Baby H and I had our 25 week doctor's visit today along with my glucose test - blech.  Everything is going great with her - she's measuring right on schedule for an early-mid December arrival, and she is still super-active.  Every time we go to the doctor (except of course for the gender scan - go figure) they comment about how extremely active she is!  Today, when the doctor was trying to get her hearbeat on the doppler, she'd kick the sensor every time it got over her!  At least there was no need to stress out over her well-being since it was clear, both from the inside and looking at the outside of my stomach, what was going on.  She finally settled down and her heartbeat was great, but the doctor said "I think you're going to have a very active and stubborn baby on your hands!"  Wonderful............Just kidding!  Of course Nick and I are thrilled that she's doing great, and although her activity level can be tiresome at times for me (some days she kicks, punches, and stomps almost constantly, and let's not even get into what she does at night), I'm always grateful to know that she's happy in her little home.

On my end, let's just say that based on the scale baby girl ought to be growing VERY well.  I'm still where I'm "supposed" to be weight-wise, but I stand amazed at how a person can gain so much weight in just 4 weeks!  We'll leave that there, and we'll remember that a healthy baby is the most important thing.  I was actually instructed by the doctor this week to dial back my exercise.  I'd been having some pretty bad lower-abdominal pain after my walks, and today she suggested that I limit myself to 1 mile several times a week instead of the 2-3 I'd been trying for.  Yoga is still recommended so that made me happy!  I loooove my prenatal yoga. 

Aside from blimping up, I've continued to feel pretty good this month (I say month since I haven't given you an update in 3 weeks).  My appetite has increased in a major way (no kidding, right?)  I'm also starting to feel tired more easily, and getting up and down and moving around is getting a little tougher.  I've noticed myself starting to do the waddle, which I'm fighting as hard as I can.  It's so weird how your hips just kind of open up on their own and make you sway side to side when you walk! 

I can't believe that I'm almost through my second trimester.  Time is flying by!  I know she'll be here before we know it, and I'm just trying to relish every minute of anticipation and preparation.

Projects

Today I finally finished this project for Nick. I've been working on it for over a month, and it's finally up on the wall! Of course, the bigger accomplishment is what's represented inside this box. As a rule, I hate "brag blogging," but I think you'll all appreciate knowing what the items in this shadow box are and what they mean. Okay, starting with the top row: the bronze items with straps are spurs. Nick was given the right to wear them as an honor from the cavalry unit with whom he worked in Afghanistan. Especially since he's not in the Army this is a huge tip of the hat to him. In the middle of the top row is Nick's biggest Afghanistan honor: his Bronze Star. This is the military's third-highest honor for meritorious acts or service, ranking just beneath a silver star. It is a very distinguished honor for Nicholas, and one that was very hard-earned. Directly beneath it is his Combat Action Badge. This means what it sounds like - he actually saw combat action, i.e. took fire/was attacked by enemy forces. Thank goodness for body armor! On the left of the middle row is the Army Achievement Medal. This is from the Army - since Nick was working with and for them, they decided to give him this award because of the amazing job he did on the deployment. The next medal to the right is the NATO-ISAF medal which signifies that he was in Afghanistan as a part of the ISAF mission. The far right medal is the Afghanistan Campaign medal, which is self-explanatory. At the bottom are the badges from the cavalry unit, the army brigade (4 ID), and ISAF that Nick wore on his uniform every day. I'm so happy to have this up in our house so that all of Nick's achievements are proudly displayed for our visitors. I also can't wait to someday use it to explain to Baby H what a war hero her daddy is! He certainly worked hard enough to earn them; he deserves a pat on the back every now and then too!
Today Nick completed another household project - much less exciting, but so much more necessary!

Recently the city of Clovis opted to discontinue the polycart trashcan program that it had been trying out for several months. Apparently, many of the area's citizens found it too difficult to get their carts to the curb on trash days, and other residents were frustrated that the carts would sometimes blow away in high winds. Personally, my message to these people would be to suck it up and deal with it because now that the polycarts have been confiscated by the city, all residents must take all their trash to dumpsters located about every 200 feet in alleyways behind our houses. I ask you, which is easier, placing trash in a trash can, taking it to the curb for pick up, and then bringing the trash can back in or hauling bags full or trash and other household waste to a dumpster located several houses down from yours?!
My objections to the discontinuation of the polycart program aside, we are now relegated to dumpster use, which brings with it an entirely different set of issues. You see, although the area between our fence and the alleyway is not technically a part of our property, the city will not maintain it, i.e. get rid of the tree-sized weeds that grow up along all of the backs of fences in the alley. Since people haven't had to utilize these alleys for months, most of us have let the weeds get out of control, as you can see from this view of my street's alleyway. Now, though, Nick and I need to get out of our back fence and into the alley to get to the dumpster, and these ridiculous weeds have made the task almost impossible. Here's what ours looked like today.

My brilliant and hardworking husband had a plan, though, for dealing with these ferocious weeds, and he executed it today, even after working all night last night. He cleared away the trees, whoops, I mean weeds, with a machete, a weed wacker, and a shovel. Then he put down weed killer, then sand, then these concrete blocks. Now we have a permanently clear passage to the alleyway, and hence to the dumpster. Look at what a great job he did!

While I'm still not happy about this dumpster situation, I am very very grateful to Nicholas for making it much easier and more pleasant to get to the dumpster. Great job, honey!

Ready, Set, Go!

Last weekend started baby fever at my house! I traveled to Dallas and Waco to register for baby showers, to shop for Baby H, and to spend some good quality time with my family. We've just got the beginnings of baby girl's nursery up, but I thought I'd give you a peek at what's in there now. I'm sorry I don't have any belly pictures, but those are hard to come by when I'm in my pajamas anytime Nick is awake since he's on nights right now. Okay, so here we go.

The crib! I know it looks old fashioned, and that's the point. My favorite aspect is all of the turned detailing. It's all over the bars...
And even the feet are turned! So sweet.

Here's the changer. I liked this one for several reasons, but went with it because it's small enough to fit in this spot, unlike almost all the others. The baskets are lined in pink and green, which are the nursery colors. No theme, just colors.

On the other side of the window are her dresser and closet. This dresser was in my room when I was a little girl, and even traveled to college with me. Nicholas has the exciting job of repainting it. Lucky him! It will still be white, just needs to be cleaned up.

Here are a few other little things I've picked up. Udder Covers (purple thing) was giving away free nursing covers during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. I snagged one! The shoe-socks are a gift from "Aunt Rebecca", the Beatric Potter box set is a gift from Grammy (Nick's mom), and the little golden books are three of my favorites from my little girl years.

I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I love my new diaper bag! It's got all the bells and whistles and it's super-cute. It was a bit of a splurge, but I think that if I've got to give up cute purses for a while, I might as well get a cute diaper bag instead!

Baby girl had her first Northpark shopping spree last weekend. This is a tradition my mom and I have always shared a few times a year, and now she gets to join in the fun. Lucky for her, Neiman's was having Last Call so she got some super-cute spring/summer clothes to grow into as well as a few sweet things for the first few months. Her "Homecoming Outfit" is in there, but you'll have to wait until December to see that!

If I had to pick the most precious thing in her closet right now, it would be this baby bunting. I honestly didn't know that those really existed outside of nursery rhymes! Hers is a super soft, barely pink, bundle of fluff. Apparently, she wears this instead of a coat in the winter. Since it actually does get really cold in New Mexico, this was a must!

Finlay watched, with some level of perturbation, as I took all these photos, and then walked into the middle of the room and started posing for the camera. I said, "Oh, Fin, do you want me to take your picture?" He immediately struck this pose, held it while I snapped, and then pranced happily out of the room. We are really in for it once this baby actually gets here with this little attention hog running around!

Thanks for indulging me by looking at all these pictures! I hope everyone has a great weekend. We're finally trying out our first Clovis church tomorrow so I'll be sure to report on that experience ASAP.

Pop Goes the Tummy!

At 22 weeks pregnant, I've finally popped! No more walking around with the "beer gut" look. I'm finally, actually looking like a momma to be. Baby H is moving all the time now. If I'm not actively doing something else - cleaning the house, going for a walk, etc. - I can pretty much always feel her kicking, punching, and rolling around in there. This is cute now, but I wonder how painful it will become a few months from now?! At any rate, though, I'm very grateful for the constant reminder that all is well with her. My popping tummy coincided with a major uptick in my appetite for a few days this week. I guess she was just going through a growth spurt because things have gone back to normal now.

Something new and lingering is serious round ligament pain in the lower middle of my abdomen. I'd had it on the sides for a while, but now I can feel some serious stretching going on right in the middle. It's pretty uncomfortable at times, but another great reminder that baby girl is growing! For about the last month I've had a lot of days where I felt like my whole stomach was stretched to the limit, and one thing I've done a lot that's seemed to help is prenatal yoga. I can't recommend it highly enough! Although I still get these stretching pains, they feel so much better after some gentle yoga stretching, especially the cat/cow pose (for my yogi friends out there).

We're gradually getting the house ready for baby - I ordered a crib and a changing table this week! I can't wait for them to get here. My mom and I are also making a shopping trip to Dallas and Waco this weekend to register and pick up some other baby items. Does that seem a little excessive to you? Well, you obviously haven't tried to baby shop in Clovis or Lubbock! I'm hoping to find a Babies R Us with a good selection of items in Dallas, and then I'll also hit up the Waco Target. We also get to do some fun shopping around in the children's wing at Northpark! I don't know who's more excited about that part of the trip - Edie or me.

Be thinking about Nick this week as he moves to the night shift (starting tonight) and has to handle Finlay and the household stuff all by himself from Friday through Tuesday while I'm gone. I figure that if I could do it for a year, he can do it for a few days, though.

Happy Tuesday everyone!