The longest blog ever, but it has been a while.

Wow, we’ve been incredibly busy the past few weeks, and I think that shows in our lack of blogging. So, allow me to go back a few weeks, just to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. I got back from West Virginia on the twelfth. The training was incredibly intensive, but very much worth it. I was so happy to get home though. John was such the good little husband while I was gone, cleaning house, finishing up Christmas decorations, and do little “fix-its” around the house. I think he was happy to have me back though. I know Lexi was. John picked me up at the airport, and she was in the backseat, with the cutest little Santa outfit on her. Poor thing, it was a little too small for her, but it just looked so cute on. She was almost trying to get out the window; she was so excited to see me. It was a great welcome home.

It was back to work the following week, but I did manage to call around to daycares, and we’re officially on a waiting list for one. The one we really want, Cornerstone, has a year and a half to two year waiting list for newborns. I was blown away when I heard that. How is that even possible? Apparently, a lot of people put their names on the list as soon as they start trying to conceive, so John and I were really behind the times.

I had my office Christmas party on the 19th. It was so much fun, with a lot of good food. We have a secret Santa gift exchange, and I’d been wondering for a while who had my name. It ended up being my boss. He got me a gift card to Toys ‘R Us. The best part is that he has a daughter who is currently at Texas A&M, and he had her pick up the cutest bib. It says, “I spit up on tu.” I love it! Plus, I got to pick up my car, finally. The repairs were done, so I picked it up Friday afternoon. Thank goodness.

John and I finished up Christmas shopping on the 20th, and we had the Allison Tree on the 21st. That’s the big family Christmas with John’s mom side of the family. There’s always a ton of people there and a ton of great food. There’s a “santa” there for the kids (It’s one of the men, or sometime women, in the family who dresses up.) They surprised me this year by having a gift for baby Vrana, so I had to sit on Santa’s lap (John’s brother-in-law, A.J.) to get my baby gift. I’m sure my face was beet red. It was such a fun day, and it always seems to go by so fast. John’s sister, Elizabeth was able to make it in. Thankfully, she just had a cyst on her ovary, so that was removed and she’s doing much better. So, it was really a blessed Christmas that she was able to make it out of the hospital and home for Christmas.

The next work week for me consisted of a day and a half. I love working at the lab; they’re always closing early for us, and we have so many holidays. It’s really nice because I’m trying not to take any days off of work, in order to safe up for maternity leave. In fact, I’m actually trying to come in from time to time on the weekends just to help build up the time. Not fun, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Tuesday morning some of us cooked breakfast for the lab, and our director had bought the makings for Mimosas for all of us. My friend, Audra was nice enough to think of me, and she picked up a bottle of sparkling white grape juice for me to make my mimosas with. I thought that was so thoughtful of her! I was able to use my short day on Tuesday to get most of the rest of my wrapping done though.

CHRISTMAS EVE
So, our family is rich in traditions. One of my favorite is “Christmas Eve Gift.” As soon as you see or talk to someone on Christmas Eve, you’re supposed to say Christmas Eve Gift, and they have to give you a gift. Well, things have gotten more and more elaborate over the years. Last year we covered Mimi and Paw-paw’s house with signs we had written “Christmas Eve Gift” all over. This year, Austin came over the weekend before, and we had a large piece of cardboard that I wrote “Christmas Eve Gift” on. Then, John and Austin punched Christmas lights through the cardboard, so that the sign lit up. So, at midnight Christmas Eve morning, John and I parked at Mom and Dad’s house, and John, Austin, and I walked down the road carrying this massive sign. There we were outside Mimi and Paw-paw’s house trying to tape/find some way to support this sign when a torrential downpour starts. As soon as we plugged the thing in, it lit up the whole backyard. Then, with the boys being so duct tape happy, we managed to wake Mimi up. So, she shot out of bed, and yelled Christmas Eve Gift through the window. Poor Paw-paw was jolted right out of his sleep, I’m sure. John and Austin dropped everything and took of running for it, leaving the poor pregnant lady there by herself. Thankfully, the rain had slowed a little bit, but we all jogged down the road back to our car.

I had already planned on going down to Mimi’s and Paw-paw’s for Christmas Eve. Paw-paw has always made seafood gumbo for dinner, and I wanted to help out with that as much as possible. Thankfully, Austin was there too because I couldn’t handle chopping up some of those peppers and onions. Mimi had gotten marinated crab claws from the Farmer’s Market, which are my favorite. After dinner, we opened presents from Mimi, Paw-paw, Mom, Dad, and Austin. While Austin and I were helping with the gumbo, we also helped Mimi with some of the gifts. Mimi doesn’t like to give money for Christmas, but it seems like she always has to give cash to a few. Austin and I came up with the idea to make them work for it this year, so we made a scavenger hunt. Dad, Mom, and John all had to walk all over Mimi and Paw-paw’s house finding their next clues, and eventually finding the cash at the end. It was so much fun for those who watched, and Austin, Mimi, and I had a really fun time setting it up. Austin decided to sleep at our house Christmas Eve night, so that Mom and Dad could set out the “Santa” gifts. Every year before Austin, John, and I would go to bed as soon as we got back from Mimi and Paw-paw’s so Mom and Dad could put out the gifts without us seeing those that were too big to be wrapped. So, Austin stayed at our house, but it wasn’t much difference for me because I just went to bed as soon as I got home anyway.

CHRISTMAS DAY
I set the alarm clock for 6:00 because 1) That’s what time we always wake up to open Santa presents and 2) John and I were driving to his sister’s Tess’s house for the day, so we needed to be able to get ready and go. Mom had always said that Santa would stop coming as soon as there were grand-babies. Well, now that there’s one on the way, we knew this would be our last year (even though Austin swears he should get Santa for four more years). My parents always spend WAY too much on us, but I’m sure they know how much we appreciate it.

John and I drove to Tess’s house where we got to spend Christmas with all of his family. We all had a lot of fun, snacking on yummy appetizers and exchanging gifts and stockings. His family is so funny, wondering if there was anything there for me to eat. Of course there was, I ate a little bit all day long. I’m definitely glad to be finishing up the first trimester, the nausea is starting to go away, and I think I might even be slowly getting some of my energy back. It’s so funny because at the end of the day, I just looked up and wondered where all the time had gone. I couldn’t believe Christmas was over already.

Friday was spent playing Guitar Hero World Tour with Austin, and putting together our Christmas gifts that needed to be assembled. Plus, I got to have some yummy leftovers from the Christmas lunch we had missed the day before. I was even able to get a piece of my mom’s infamous chocolate pie before my father and brother gobbled it all up. Saturday, I was on the road again, this time heading to Alexandria. My friend Kellie was in Louisiana visiting her in-laws, and our friend Lacey was able to drive up from where she lives south of Baton Rouge. We all drove a couple of hours just to meet at the Cracker Barrel for lunch, but it was so worth it. We got to meet Kellie’s baby, S.J., and just catch up with everybody. Plus, this was the first time they were able to see me since I’d said I was pregnant, not that there was a lot to see. That evening, Austin, John and I went to Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. It was so good. My baby is probably going to be part crab when it’s born, but I love the stuff. Sunday, my Paw-paw’s cousin Max was in from Chicago, so we got to visit with him briefly. Then, last night I went out to eat with one of my oldest friends, Amy Beasley. Her husband was at the Independence Bowl, supporting his Alma Mater, Louisiana Tech, and she got her mom to watch her beautiful daughter, Abby. So, we were able to go out to eat, just the two of us. It was so much fun, and I don’t think we stopped talking or laughing the whole time. It’s always like that when we get together though, as if three and half hours is just not enough time for us to get out everything that we have to say to each other. Too funny. I actually didn’t get home until after 9:00 last night, shocking, I know. Then, it was after 10:00 when I went to bed. I seriously think that’s the first time I’ve done that since I found out I was pregnant.

Well, I guess that about sums it up. I wanted to post some pictures with all of this, but I figured if I didn’t post this now, I wouldn’t do it. We’ve got John’s office’s party tonight. This week, we’ve got friends of ours coming in from Lafayette, LA and Bryan, TX. They’ll be staying with us for New Years’ and part of the weekend. Also, after Mom and Mimi have had company at their house all last week, I generously (or crazily) offered to do New Years dinner at my house. Lord, help me. (Thank goodness Mom’s doing the ham). I think that’ll be the most people that’s ever been crammed into our house. At least we have barstools now, so we can fit more people. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I’ve got a check-up on Wednesday, and I’ll get to hear the heartbeat. Then, we should get to find out the sex at the end of January. Happy New Year to all our friends and family!!

I wish...

I went to this link I saw on thebump.com, http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Madame-Zaritska-predicts-your-birth-experience-736.htm. You answer a few questions, and "Madame Zaritska" gives the predictions about your baby. So, here's my prediction:

What she senses for youThe day you deliver, outside will be slightly overcast. Your baby will arrive in the evening. After a labor lasting approximately 2 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and will be 18-1/2 inches long. This child will have hazel eyes and be completely bald. But there is more. I get the impression that you have some questions -- unresolved concerns you have been too shy to address with your caregiver. This is quite typical. You might appreciate some of the advice to some of these seemingly embarassing pregnancy questions. With love, Madame Zaritska

I just thought I'd go ahead and post this since it's been so long since we've posted. I guess everybody's busy with Christmas coming up because none of the blogs I follow have been updated very regularly.

Hope everyone's doing well!

Our kids are already fighting over toys

I already know we are going to have our hands full when it comes to keeping our kids toys separated. Let me explain. Friends have already started giving us some gifts for Baby Vrana. We've gotten some clothes, books, and toys. This one toy in particular, a peek-a-boo-rattle has already attracted the attention of our first kid, Lexi, our Siberian husky. The peek-a-boo-rattle is sitting in a box in a chair in my office, and whenever I am on the computer, Lexi is allowed to be in the room with me. Well, Lexi has noticed the toy and decided that it is for her. Every time she comes in this room, she tries to nonchalantly nip the toy out of the box. In fact, she's doing it right now. So, this leads me to future visions of coming home to a pile of stuffing that Lexi has ripped out of a stuffed animal she stole from our baby, and our baby teething on Lexi's left out rubber Kong. Ah...good times ahead.

I wouldn't tell the Librarian how many books I've read

Why is it that every time I'm on a job, fixing someone's broken computer, people feel the need to tell me how much they know about computers. I was at a job today, removing spyware from a very infected computer, and the whole time this guy is sitting there telling me about this about how he doesn't like Vista, but he can do anything you ask him to with XP. I wanted to say, "well how about you fix your XP machine here and quit wasting my time?" I get stuff like that all the time. People asking me what I think about such and such software, or what I think about the new blah blah blah. Then, they are shocked when I don't know how some random program links to their Iphone. I'm sorry, I won't know every answer right off the top of my head. It amazes me how they also think because I work on computers, I must know about their home theater system, Iphone (this one happens alot), digital camera, or some other odd gadget. Yes I fix computers. Yes, I can do some coding with different computer languages, and yes I could probably figure out how that random program links to your Iphone. No, I am not a walking encyclopedia of all new gadgets, software, and computers. Do ENT's have people ask them about a cavity in their tooth? The throat and teeth are pretty close...so ENT's must know how to fix a cavity. Ridiculous. Could you imagine someone going to the doctor and giving the doctor their own diagnosis of their illness. Here's a skit for you:

Patient: Doctor, I have the flu. Give me a prescription for the flu.
Doctor: Well, let me take a look, well, your throat is swollen. You having difficulty swallowing?
Patient: Yes, it's the flu, give me a prescription for the flu.
Doctor: Let me listen to your chest. It sounds like you are having trouble breathing?
Patient: Yes, it's the flu, I need something for the flu.
Doctor: Your eyelids are kind of drooping, are you having blurred or double vision?
Patient: Yes, look here, I have seen other people sick with the flu, and have taken care of my kids when they have had colds. I know the flu when I see it. Give me some meds for the flu.
Doctor: I'm sorry to say you have Botulism.
Patient: You are wrong. I know what I'm talking about. I'm taking my body and going to another doctor.

And this is my world. :)


On a different note, you know the best tool any computer tech will ever use? Google. Simple as that. I would say 90% of all problems that I don't know off the top of my head, I just google it and get the answer. There are very few problems where I have to say, "ok, this error is pointing to this file, and this file is part of this process tree, which leads me to....."
Seriously, have a problem? Just google it. You'll find the fix.

West Virginia is frickin' cold.

So, this week I'm in West Virginia for Advanced DNA Training. I flew in on Sunday night, and there was snow on the ground. We got here pretty late, so there was nothing open for dinner. I ended up having a cup of grapefruit before I crashed into bed. We started the training on Monday, and it's been pretty good. It's a really detailed program on the equipment we already have in our lab, so I feel like I'm getting a lot out of it. There are twelve of us in the program. There's a group of five from San Diego, two from Alabama, one from Denver, one from Idaho, and one from Seattle. There was also one girl from Orlando, but she had to go home on Tuesday due to a death in the family. We've been able to get out early throughout the week so far, and do some exploring of the town. In case you were wondering, there's not a lot of exploring to do in Huntington, West Virginia. Just to give everybody a point of reference, this is where Marshall University (as in the movie We Are Marshall) is. We actually found out from the bartender that Matthew McConaughey used to hang out in the bar in our hotel while he was here for filming. It's been a great time though, and I've really enjoyed it, but I am ready to head back home. I miss my husband and my demon dog. Plus, it's hard to be gone during prime Christmas shopping time. I'm going to have a lot to do in the upcoming weeks. We're supposed to have snow tomorrow and Friday, so I just hope we can get out of here alright.

I don't know about everybody else, but last week John and I watched the TV show "Secret Millionaires" and it just makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. Last week had the founder from Cane's, and it was just so sweet. I so appreciate reality tv shows that show the best of people. It makes me happy. I just wanted to mention it, in case anyone ever saw it on TV. It's totally worth tuning into.

Finally, John's sister, Elizabeth is in the hospital. She's been in and out a couple of times here recently. She's been having some strange pain that they're having a real problem diagnosing. So, if you all could keep she and her fiance, Jason, in your prayers we'd really appreciate it.

P.S. The baby is the size of a prune this week!

Meet Me Where I Am

One of the gifts I got for my birthday back in October was a $25 dollar gift card for Itunes. Up until tonight I haven't spent any of it, just for the simple fact that I couldn't really think of any songs that I really wanted to download. I got on the computer tonight and figured I would spend finally spend some of it on Christmas music, as our digital music library was seriously short in that department. I downloaded a few good songs, including my all time favorite Christmas song, "We Three Kings" It took so long to find songs though. For every Christmas song, there are about 2 million versions. Some good, some bad, and some way out there. I'm very picky with my Christmas music. For instance, "What Child is This" and "Carol of the Bells" have to be sung by a choir, preferably the the Vienna Boys Choir. "White Christmas" has to be sung by Bing Crosby. "We Three Kings" has to have string instruments playing and male voices, or it just doesn't work for me. So, being so picky, it took me an hour to download 3 Christmas songs. However, looking for Christmas songs, I came across some older Christian songs that I used to listen to in high school, which is what this blog is really about.
You see, my first two years of high school, I was definitely what alot of people would call a "Jesus Freak." There's nothing wrong with that, but I was that kind of person. I listened to nothing but Christian music, went to Christian concerts, at one point I even shaved the Christian fish symbol in the back of my head. My last two years of high school, I thought I was becoming a more rounded individual. I still went to church every Sunday and Wednesday night, went to church camp every summer, but I also went to some high school parties, started drinking, and let's just say Jesus wasn't my only passion.
In college, I was very much pulled away from my "Jesus Freak" days. The only time I went to church is when visited my parents, and sometimes not even then. I was "living the college life" as they say. Parties and clubs every weekend, and let's just say it, a very sinful life. I still had convictions during this time. In fact, as my roommates at the time could probably tell you, some of the most heated arguments/fights we had were centered on me and feeling ashamed of the way I was living my life. Anyway, I've since calmed down or grown up or whatever you want to call it, and I guess you could say I'm back to my more rounded self, going to church more, praying daily again, etc.
Now, why write all this on a blog that is mostly centered on the fact that Michelle and I are having a baby? Well, the answer is this. I'm worried. Hearing old Christian songs that used to stir up such emotion, and make me feel like I could reach out and touch God, makes me feel like I'm not living as close to God as I should right now. I know I want our child to grow up in a strong Christian family, with regular attendance in church, and to learn and believe in God. I grew up in a very strong Christian family with very strong Christian parents, and I'm worried that I am not going to be that strong Christian role model for my child. I'm also worried that I won't find a good balance I guess.
My childhood church was a small southern-Baptist church. During my years there, I listened to many different preachers with different beliefs, from the "fire and brimstone" types to those who preached about God, the loving father. What I'm trying to say is, with some of the things I believe, and knowing how I was my early high school years, I'm afraid I could get in too deep (kind weird to say that you can go in too deep into Christianity), and go that unbending, uncompromising Christian type. You know, where there is right and wrong, and no grey area. No drinking, no cussing, no dancing southern-baptist. On the other hand, I don't want to be the other guy. The Sunday morning church goer, who doesn't strive to live a Godlike life the rest of the week. As Michelle could tell you, I feel very strongly towards my beliefs and convictions. Michelle would also probably tell you that I am my own worst critic. She say's that I am hard on myself for things I shouldn't be. Like, this whole rant for instance, I can just hear Michelle saying, "John, you know where your heart is. You know your beliefs and you love God. Everything else will work itself out. No one is the perfect Christian, so you shouldn't expect yourself to be one."
I know she's right. Everything will work itself out. It's just hard not to worry about doing things the wrong way. But, I guess with a new baby on the way, I should get used to it. I'm sure there are going to be alot of things that come up where I am worry about doing things the wrong way. Anyway, it's getting late, so this rant is coming to an end. I'm just going to listen to this song that came on, and go to bed. It's one of my favorites. It's called "Meet Me Where I Am". It's by Ross King. You should check it out if you haven't heard it before.

That brat beat me to the punch.

So, I asked my stinky husband to scan in the picture so we could post the blog. What did he do, scan the picture and then post it before I could. What a stinker. Anyway, John and I had our appointment today. I had the joy of a vaginal ultrasound, but all was forgotten when we saw that baby. I immediately saw that heart beating. It was so FAST! Then, the doctor let us listen to the heartbeat, and it was just amazing. I know I've had plenty of friends who've had children, and I used to look at their ultrasound as if it were interesting (but it my mind I was thinking "It just looks like a blob to me.") Well, it's so different when you're actually seeing it live, right in front of you. Really, we should force our friends to watch that video instead of blurry photos. The doctor measured the baby from crown to rump, and he told us that the baby was only measuring 9 weeks 3 days. Well, that wasn't too shocking for us. We were actually surprised when the doctor originally told us that I was 7 weeks along. So, being 9.5 weeks now actually makes more sense. I am a little disappointed though because that means I'm that much farther away from being through the yucky first trimester. This puts my new due date as July 6. As my parents like to say, we're going to have a little firecracker baby.

I also just want to mention how blessed I am to have the friends I do. I got so many phone calls, texts, and just "good luck"s in general that it just made me glow. All of you guys knew how concerned I was about this appointment, and it made me feel so great getting all of your messages. So, thanks guys.

On a side note, I'm going out of town this Sunday. I'll be going to Marshall University (as in We Are Marshall) in West Virginia for Advanced DNA Training. I'll be back next Friday. I figure by the time I'm back next Friday I'll be close to as far along as I thought I was this morning... If you could keep up with that last sentence I'm pretty impressed. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll bring my laptop, so I don't know if I'll post or not. That means you guys are going to have to depend on John for entertainment, and I'm not so sure video games won't win out over posting.

Finally, I would like to end my post with a list of commercials that are currently bugging the fool out of me. Now, some of these are old ones, and I just see that as more reason to take them off the air. First off is the Glad bag commercial. You know the one where they freeze frame shots of a woman, cleverly looking away from the camera, and they call her things like "Grand Puma" of something or other. The woman just annoys me. Guess what, Ziploc does the same stuff lady, so get off your high horse. Then, there's the Glade commercials, where the chick doesn't want to admit that she uses Glade candles, plug-in, or air freshener. You know the one because at the end of it she says, "And, yes, they're from Glade." Gag me. Who cares enough to lie about where they get a freaking candle from. Finally, there are the new XBox 360 commercials. These are just disturbing. The commercial starts out with a frontal view of whatever ridiculous expression the person has on their face, and then, the camera rotates to show the back of their head, which is open and they're doing whatever activity on the XBox 360. I don't know what marketing genius came up with this one, but I personally like to have my head intact when I'm enjoying myself. Plus, it bothers me to see the inside of other people's heads. OK, just wanted to get that off my chest. Have a great night everybody, and a wonderful weekend!

'Nuff Said

So, you know how when you are trying to get pregnant, or you are thinking about having a baby, it seems everyone you know is pregnant? At first it is such a odd mix of feelings during that time. You are happy for your friends that are pregnant, but a little resentful/jealous that you aren't pregnant yet. You feel like, what am I doing wrong.
I brought that subject up to bring you to the real topic of my post. Now that Michelle and I are expecting, I couldn't be happier for all those people we know who are also pregnant. No more jealousy or resenftulness. In fact, it just makes me think more happy thoughts for our future child. I can't wait to see our baby meeting and playing with all our friend's kids. Our baby isn't even born yet, and already has more friends than his/her father. Baby Vrana will have Seth Jr. in Maryland, Abby in Humble, TX, Baby Casas in Bryan, TX, two third cousins in Kennard, TX, and Logan in Dallas, TX, all of these kids being within 2 years of age difference from Baby Vrana. In fact, all of these with the exception of Abby are within a year's age difference from Baby Vrana. Heck, with all these kids it doesn't matter if we have a boy or a girl, Baby Vrana will still have plenty of suitable options (besides the third cousins of course) for future dates/husbands/wives. :)

All shaken up.

So, today was a pretty much normal Monday all around. I had a short lunch and skipped break, trying to make up time for my doctor's appointment on Thursday. That always makes it feel like a longer day, but in the long run it's worth it. Then, I had to go to the grocery store after work, not my favorite but I was super-hungry, so I didn't mind stopping for some of the yummy foods I was craving.

Then, on the way home from the grocery store, I had the amazing good fortune of rear-ending someone. I don't know what I was doing, but I glanced away from the road. That was stupid of me because I know to slow down on Airline here, but I guess I was distracted. I looked up, and all I saw was brake lights. I slammed on my brakes and turned towards the right to try to avoid her as much as possible, but that did nothing. I did an excellent job of crunching my left headlight. So, I was pretty shaken up, and I couldn't find my flashers anywhere, so I got out in the middle of Airline Drive to see if the lady would pull into the parking lot immediately to our right. She basically screamed at me that she had her kids in the backseat, and that she wasn't going anywhere. It was at this point that I noticed her two kids in carseats. I got back in my car, finally found my flashers and proceded to start shaking like a leaf. A fire truck arrived almost as soon as I got back in the car. They checked out the kids, and they came and checked on me. I told them I was pregnant, of course, but I really felt fine, just shaky. They asked me if I had any pain in my stomach, which I didn't. So, I didn't feel a need to get checked out. My air bag didn't go off or anything, so it really wasn't that bad. Once the officer got there, he asked us to move into the parking lot, so I pulled into there. I just sat in my car because I didn't want to look over at that lady. Then, I remembered that I should at least write down my insurance information and give it to her. When I walked over there to hand it to her, she's still bawling crying talking on her cell phone. After that, I walked back to my car and promptly started crying myself. I just felt like such a bad person for rear-ending this lady with two small children. She was obviously so upset about it that she couldn't get a grip on her emotions, and I just hated that I made this lady feel this way. Thankfully, John was on his way to check things out, and was doing his best to calm me down over the phone. The officer gave me back my registration, insurance, and license (with no ticket thankfully!), and told me we were free to go. John spent a few minutes looking at my car, making sure everything was OK. The lady was still sitting there, crying on her cell phone. I really don't know the reason behind it all. Her kids were fine. They were just sitting in the backseat, happy as could be.

Once, I got home, reported the claim to my insurance, I called my mom to see if she could pick me up from work for a few days until my car is fixed. When I told her the story, she made me feel so much better, telling me how much the lady was obviously over-reacting. When it all boils down to it, everybody was probably slamming on their brakes, and I just didn't see it in time, so I rear-ended her. I guess Mom is right that she was over-reacting. I mean, it was 45 minutes later and this lady is still crying on her cell phone. I just feel so horrible about making her feel that way, and I guess I'm hoping for a little validation from you guys! Anyway, here's a picture of the damage to my car. There wasn't really any to hers. Not that John saw at least.

That's about it. I'm hoping after my week started off so badly, that means I'll get nothing but good news on Thursday. Tonight, I think I'm going to take a bath and read...try to forget the past few hours.

Turkey, lack of sleep, and an overall good weekend.

So, I realize that it's not really the end of the long weekend, but there was so much to talk about that I just had to go ahead and post. First things first, as promised here are pictures of my Christmas tree and mantlepiece. I added in a couple of pictures from previous years so you can see the difference.

This was our $20 Walgreens tree. It worked well in our apartment for three years, but I'm sure everyone would agree that we needed an upgrade for our new house.

This is our old fireplace with my mantlepiece.

Drumroll please....
This is our new tree. John pitched a fit when I told him how much it cost, but it's pre-lit, and 7.5 feet tall, and just so pretty. I love the red and gold look...so pretty.

This is the same mantlepiece, just on our new mantle...not sure if you can tell much of a difference.

Finally, this is our wreath that my mom made for us last year. She's super-talented at these things, and, as you can tell we continued the red and gold theme.

So, those are my Christmas decorations. John and I (well John will be doing most of the manual labor) are planning on hanging our lights on the outside of our house tomorrow. Now, on to the events of the weekend.

Thanksgiving day we spent at my Mimi and Paw-paw's. I tried to help out as much as possible, but I would get so hot in the kitchen, and have to go outside to sit down and cool off. I did make pumpkin crisp and chocolate truffles the night before though. I was really concerned about what I'd be eating because lately I've had a great aversion to foods that I normally enjoy. Sometimes, foods that I ate just the day before sound disgusting to me, and I get sick to my stomach just thinking about the fact that I recently ate that. It's strange, I know. Thankfully, I was able to enjoy my turkey and dressing, which is all I really care about anyway. I also ate a lot of fruit salad. Fruit and bread seem to be the only two things that I can constantly enjoy. We played games, of course, and just hung out with family all day.

Friday, John had to work, but Austin and I got up at 6 o'clock in the morning to cash in on some good deals at Best Buy. Austin's pretty good at getting up early with me when no one else will. Even though John could have gone to Best Buy, and still made it home in time to get ready for work, he didn't go. He was concerned that he'd be late for work...rrrrriiiiiiiiiiight. Anyway, we were able to get a tv for mom and dad, blu-ray player and receiver for John and I, plus a couple of blu-ray disks. That's pretty much it for Christmas presents for John and I. Now, we just have to focus on the rest of the family. We might be going about this backwards. To top it off, I stayed up until midnight last night. That's just crazy talk. I don't even think I took a nap yesterday. That's not true, I probably did.

This morning, I decided to put in some hours at work. Every little bit I can add up is less I'll have to worry about when it comes time for maternity leave. I was able to do a half day, so that's good. Thank goodness Audra was up there too though because otherwise that building is spooky, and I'm not sure I'd have been able to last that long. I met John, Austin, and Mom up at the Boardwalk for lunch because we were all going to the 1:30 showing of Twilight. It was a yummy lunch at Cheesecake Bistro, and we all had a really good time at the movie. We've all read the books, well John's got about 100 pages left, but pretty close. Afterwards, John and I came home to clean house for our visitors this evening. Plus, I needed to finish up Christmas decorations. Our friends, Josh and Amy came over, with their daughter, Abby. We had such a good time playing Wii. This was Amy's first time, and Josh's first time to play Wiifit. It was hilarious! Abby was even applauding when the pins would fall down in bowling. So much fun. I was smart enough to fill Lexi's kong with peanut butter and put it in the freezer so it'd give her something to do once the Beasley's got here. I know Abby's a little nervous around Lexi-sized dogs, so I wanted to do something that would keep Lexi from being in her face the whole time. It worked well. Abby was even reaching out to pet her by the end of the night. Also, Amy's sweet mom sent a gift over for us. She got us a rattle, baby lotion, and our baby's first book "Goodnight Moon." That was just too sweet of her.

Well, that's about it for our Thanksgiving weekend. Tomorrow will just be Christmas lights, I'm sure. I might lay around a little bit because it sure doesn't feel like I did a lot of that this weekend. Oooh, and I've got to remember to pick my friend from work up at the airport. I don't think she'd be too happy to be left there. :-)

This Thursday we've got our second doctor's appointment. John's going with me to this one as well because I'll actually get an ultrasound this time. I'm so anxious to hear the baby's heartbeat. That's all I really care about right now. I just want to make sure there's actually a baby in there. Sounds strange I'm sure, but I just think that'll make everything click that I'm actually pregnant, once we see and hear it. So, check back later in the week. I'm hoping to have a picture of Baby Vrana to post.

Oh Christmas Tree

I love the holidays, just thought I'd start out with that. There's a lot of pictures I should post with this blog, but I just don't have the energy (or most of the pictures). So, I'll try to do that later on this week. This weekend John and I drove to Bryan, Texas to visit our friends Jessie and Amy Casas. Amy is pregnant too. She's actually one week further along than I am (if you read earlier posts she was the one we were talking about), so it's nice to be able to talk to someone who knows exactly what you're going through, as you're going through it. We went to the Renaissance Festival Saturday, which was so fun. I was just proud of myself for being able to stay awake, and not so grumpy the whole time. I ate a a lot of food that now makes me feel gross to even think about. Once I got back to the house I crashed. Jessie and Amy were laughing at me because I would just wake up to say crabby things to John, but in my defense his phone was making the tv all staticky and it was waking me up. We came home to a dog that was oh-so-excited to see us, and howled at us for forever.

My good friend Kellie gave birth to a baby this Saturday. She's home now and everyone is happy and healthy. I saw pictures of him, and it just makes me so excited for our future. I can't wait until our next appointment next week. We'll get our first ultrasound and get to hear the baby's heartbeat. So exciting.

I was so happy to have a short week this week. In fact, I found out today that we'll be getting off at noon tomorrow. Tonight, I met Mom and Mimi at Splash to buy our Christmas tree. For the past three years John and I have had a tree that I bought from Walgreens for $20. It was just pitiful. This tree is so beautiful. It's 7.5 feet, pre-lit and so full and pretty. I planned on decorating it this evening, but I'm so tired, I think I'm going to put it off until tomorrow afternoon. As soon as it's completely decorated I'll get pictures up. I may even pull one of our old tree, just to show you as comparison.

Our Thanksgiving plans involve Thanksgiving dinner at my grand-parents' house. Last year I convinced my brother and cousin to sit outside in freezing weather in order to be one of the first in line for the Best Buy deals the day after Thanksgiving. John and I saw a couple of things that we really want, but I'm hoping that John will have Friday off, so he can be the one who sits out there this year. Either that, or I'll just get online at midnight to order what I want.

OK, John's got a nice fire going, and I really want to pull out some of the decorations, so I'm off to eat cookies. HA! It all makes perfect sense to a pregnant lady.

Scaring myself

Well, I did a wonderful job of terrifying myself today. I was looking at some of the boards on thebump.com, which is the site that's linked to thenest.com. One of the boards mentioned something about "blighted ovum". Not knowing what this was, I did the stupid thing of googling it. It turns out that it's a pregnancy where just the gestational sac is present. So, you get the positive pregnancy test, you get the symptoms of pregnancy, but eventually your body realizes there's no baby there. Once that happens, the hCG levels start to drop, and within a few weeks you will miscarriage. I just wish that we would have gotten an ultrasound at the first visit, and actually saw/heard the heartbeat. So, now I'm concerned that that's me....that I've got a blighted ovum. I know it's me just worrying without reason to, and guess what folks, should I not have a blighted ovum, then this worry will most probably continue throughout the whole pregnancy. My next appointment is December 4th, so two weeks from tomorrow. I think I'm going to hold out until then...unless I lose sleep over it, then I'll have to call and try to get in there earlier. On the plus side, I don't really feel like my symptoms are decreasing. I've been moodier than ever this week, and I'm still super-tired and sensitive to smells. Plus, I've got all sorts of aches and pains. So, keep praying for me, the olive (which is what it is roughly the size of this week), and John's sanity. :-)

Baby's first 5K

OK, technically this was my baby's second 5K, but we didn't know I was pregnant at the Pumpkin Run in October. It was so cold out there this morning at the Red River front, but John was nice enough to take me out there to support me. He stayed out there the whole time, with wild child Lexi straining to be a part of the race, in nothing but a pullover and jeans. I don't know how he did it. I run these 5Ks with work buddies, usually. Jessica is the best because she helps me to push myself, without running out of steam too fast. So, this morning Jessica and I started off, and, I'm going to be honest, we were two of the last people. This was a 5K and half marathon, and the people that were there were definitely runners. Throughout the race, there was a father and daughter running ahead of us. Well, I say they were running. The little girl, I'd say she was about 12 was getting tired, and kept walking. The whole time her dad was trying to get her to start jogging again. He'd use us as motivation. I'm not exactly sure why he picked us because there were plenty of people that passed them, but they chose us. So, they'd be walking, look back, and see that we were getting close to them and start running again. Keep in mind, the whole time, Jessica and I were just trucking away. So, with about a quarter mile to go, we were really going to pass them. They were walking side by side, and we got in single-file so that we could pass them. AS SOON AS we got even with them, the dad looked at the little girl and they started running again. OK, that ticked the pregnant lady off. After that I was mad. First, they should have gotten out of our way instead of making us squeeze by. Second, it's just tacky to wait for us to get even with them to start running again. So, we keep jogging, I'm saying mean things under my breath, such as, "Congratulations to everyone who beats the pregnant lady." I was so mad. So, as we were rounding the last curve (the father and daughter were walking again!), I looked at Jessica, and said, "Let's kick it up a notch." After that, I just started sprinting. I wish you could have seen the look on that little girl's face as a I flew by her. As soon as she saw me run by her, her eyes got big and she started to jog again. Poor Jessica, I left her behind me. After we crossed the finish line, she commented "The hormones were flowing today." Maybe so, but here's a word to the wise, don't piss off the pregnant lady. As I was telling this story to Mom, Dad, and Austin, Austin started laughing, and saying he wished he still worked at the shirt-printing place where he used to work, just so he could have put that phrase on my shirt from the race.

On a happier note, I drove up yesterday, and noticed another package outside my door. I didn't wait for John this time because I know he would have ripped into it before I got to see the return address. It turned out to be a gift from my oldest friend, Amy and her family. It was so sweet! There were some onesies in there (in neutral colors) with paw prints, one that says "I love Mommy", and one that says "I love Daddy." There was also a rattle and some receiving blankets in there. It's just so sweet. I know I keep saying this, but it's so hard to believe all these little things are for a baby that is growing inside of me right now. I just can't wait for the first ultrasound, maybe things will start to feel "real" then. So far, I'm still feeling pretty good, a few minor aches and pains. The only real bother right now is how sleepy I get at night...early at night. It's also really bad after lunch until about 3 pm. I wish I could just lay down and take a nap, but I don't think they'd look too favorably on that at work. According to what I've been reading, the hormones should be getting better soon (which John says I haven't actually been that bad - such a nice guy), but that I'll be getting even more tired, yuck! Only about 4.5 weeks until my energy is supposed to return. Thank goodness, but that seems so far away.

OK, I need to get to cleaning, since there's no telling how little I can get done before I get exhausted again.

Aww...

I told almost everyone at work about our good news on Friday. This morning I had to tell the big boss man, which I was a little nervous about. Everything went well though. So far it seems like everyone is being really nice about everything. The only drawback is there are some things I can't do in the lab, which means I'm going to have to hound some of the other analysts to help me. I'm sure that they'll all be OK with it, but after another 7.5 months, I'd be willing to bet that's going to wear on them. Sorry guys!



I'm still feeling fine, really. The only thing that seems to bother me is that I get so super tired at night. It's so bad. I have to make myself keep moving because I know if I sit down after eating dinner, that's about it for me. John is being super-wonderful. I bought him a Father-To-Be book, and he's so cute about reading it. He'll read something and ask me if I've felt like this, or I'll say something and he'll tell me that the book said that would be OK. Too sweet. He's also being so helpful, letting me rest as much as possible. He's wonderful.



When we got home tonight, I saw there was a package waiting for us at the front door. John ran around to get it, and he brought it inside. I've already started ordering Christmas presents, so John was thinking it was one of those. When we saw it was from Kidsarefanstoo.com we really had no idea. John ripped into it without even giving me a chance to look at it. It was the cutest present: Texas A&M booties and a knit cap. Two of my former co-workers, and bestest friends, sent them to me. I'm so cheesy that I just started crying. They were just so cute and tiny, and those girls just know me so well that it all made me so happy. So, here's a picture of them:

So sweet. I could just look at them all day. It's weird to think that our baby will one day wear these things. It's weird to think that we will have a baby to wear things at all. Thanks girls!

June 24th

Well, Michelle and I went to the doctor today. We found out that, yes, she definitely is pregnant, and that she is about 7 weeks pregnant. 7 weeks!!! We thought maybe 4, but 7!! That's almost two months. In another 10 weeks we can find out the sex of the baby. I know that it's like forever still until the baby is born, but knowing that she is already almost two months along definitely makes it feel real, and like it does't seem so far away...like, if 2 months have already passed, the other 7 will just fly by as well. Also, knowing that she is already 7 weeks along mean that she is just one week behind a friend of her's that is also pregnant. Wouldn't it be cool if we and our friend's had our babies on the same day? I think it would. We also got a little gift basket from the doctor's that has like 5 different type of vitamins, and like 3 books. With the books Michelle has already bought, I think I have more to read than I ever did for school. It's already all worth it though.

Tin Roof...RUSTED!!

For those of you music-lovers out there, you might know the urban legend that this line from the song "Love Shack" means that the girl was pregnant. Well, guess what folks, this tin roof is rusted. We found out on Monday morning, and John rented a billboard and bought a neon sign that said he was going to be a daddy that night. OK, not really, but he didn't hesitate to call and tell everyone, as well as post blogs and bulletins on both Myspace and Facebook. It's so cute how excited he is about this.

We had our first doctor's appointment today. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to do an ultrasound today, but next time we will for sure. The doctor did tell me that according to the calendar I was seven weeks, but the examine seemed like I was more like eight weeks along. SEVEN weeks!!! John and I definitely didn't think that we were that close to being parents. We really thought that I was four weeks. That was our jaw-dropper of the day, for sure. I say that because a very good friend of mine had recently told me she was pregnant in the middle of October. We had talked about being pregnant at the same time and how much fun it would be. So, I tested that weekend, and it was negative. Come to find out, it was just my over-eagerness to be pregnant because fast forward three weeks and I start getting some symptoms and decide to test again. This time it's positive. So, you can imagine my surprise today when the doctor said I was seven weeks along.

We took pictures of me last night. I'm not anxious to show off the "pre-pregnancy" pictures just yet, but they'll be a good keepsake and a nice way to compare as I progress. So far, I'm feeling great. I do get tired really early at night, but that's completely normal.

Needless to say, John and I are super-excited, as well as our parents and grand-parents. Stay with us in the upcoming weeks to see how things progress. Although, I think most of my time will be spent reading the mountain of information that we now have. :-)