Five Boys Happy Home

Some of you are wondering why you cannot change your vote in our poll. I am not sure, and I am looking into it. Worst case I'll delete the poll and start over. I have not put a lot of time into it yet, but I wanted to let you know that YOUR VOTE WILL COUNT! ALL VOTES WILL COUNT!

Well, I spent a bit of Sunday afternoon at the hospital trying to solve the mystery of the Sore Leg. The Dr. told me to call if the leg pain "changed, or got worse."  It was twanging in my calf a little bit on Saturday.  Then on Sunday I got up for lunch and it kind of collapsed under me because of a really sharp pain in my calf.  Then it was sore and numb.  So I called the Dr. and she sent me to the ER to get an ultrasound of my leg.   I have to say it's kind of odd to be pushed around a hospital in a bed.  Well, the good news is that there was no blood clot in my leg! The other news is the Dr. at the ER thought it was likely Sciatica.  Which will only get worse because I will only get bigger.  BUT, it is not a life threatening problem, so I'll take that any day over a blood clot.   At least the mystery is solved!  Have a nice day!

So, on our way home from dinner on Saturday I saw a cricket in the garage.  I hate crickets!  Scott made fun of me and then we had it! The perfect name! Jiminy Chirstensen Everyone likes Disney, after all. Classy, eh?

Well, today is a good day! It's hard to believe I'm already... 33 years old. I don't feel that old. Sometimes I sit back still in disbelief that I have come to this point in my life! I have waited a long time and couldn't be happier! Scott has made it a great day. He got up early (5:00 a.m.) and went to the store to buy stuff for breakfast. Well, it may seem early but that's his normal weekday rise and shine time. Yum! Breakfast Bowl! (We usually make potatoes, ham, eggs, cheese, etc in one skillet and eat it from a bowl. Handy and delicious) I hear that there is cake in my future as well. SWEETNESS! Tonight we are going to dinner with Robert & Natalie. I am excited about that too. On top of that it is actually warm today and not snowing. A pleasant surprise! This is what birthdays should be like every year ! And next year at this time we'll have an extra little person at our birthday party!

Greetings! This week, according to What to Expect , Shrimpy is about the size of an open plam, or about 5 inches crown to rump. Don't know whose palm they speak of 'cause it sure isn't mine! Shrimpy is learning to suck and swallow this week. Also Shrimpy's brain and nervous system has developed enough that there is a regular heartbeat (which we heard last week!) We find out Shrimpy's gender on the 14th of November! How exciting! Then we can decide on names (probably still one of each, just in case). Not too much else this week: on to the usual inquiries! Cravings: Bread (will this ever end?) Aversions: The air freshner is starting to bug me. So much for trying anything beyond vanilla. Funny Moments: I finally broke down and got some pull-up stretchy pants. I was to the point where I was using the belly-band but my pants were needing to be unzipped all the way and it was still tight! These new pants are WAY more comfy! For some reason I resisted buying ...

Dear Grandparents, Great Aunts and Uncles, etc: You know who you are.  The one's who plan to (or have already in some cases) purchased "loud" toys for your little grand-bundle of joy.  All of this is part of your plan for "revenge" for some aspect of our  childhood. Yes I recall the loud toys.  The hammering shoe block at grandma's house.  I vaguely recall a xylophone of some sort, or maybe it was a plastic piano...   Let's think logically about this for a second.  We were, say, one or two years old?  We played with the toys that were available to us.  Toys that you  made available to us.  So if you wanted quiet, perhaps you should have only left out the QUIET toys! :)  Just something to keep in mind when you find a "loud" toy and laugh as you give it as a gift.  We do have lots of room in our new car to bring loud toys with us to your house!

Here is an everyday Joe low-down on Doppler and how you can hear baby's heartbeat (because you asked!) All waves act the same way.  Light from the Sun.   Water in the ocean.  Sound from a car driving by. Have you been to the racetrack?  When the cars are coming towards you they have a high pitched sound. Then when they go past you it is a lower pitched sound.  To me it sounds like " Vrrrrr-o-o-o-o-o-o-m".   Hmm...why is that?  Well, the sound waves from the car's engine coming towards you compress (squish together) as they reach your eardrum.  Then when they go past, they spread back out (see cool diagram).  The difference in "squish-factor" (frequency) creates the difference in pitch. And it is related to how fast the car is going! Frequency is how Nerds measure how far apart the crests of waves are.   Well, that is the same idea behind the doppler device at the doctor's office (say that three times fast).  The little hand-held device puts out sound at ...

Yes, well we are nerds, aren't we? Today we visited the doctor for our month 4 checkup.  No ultrasound this week because we could hear baby's 150 bpm heartbeat through the doppler device (see nerdy diagram above and you too will suddenly understand intuitively how it works).  Baby was squirming around and we had to chase Shirmpy all over the place! Everything was pretty normal.  I had off and on an unusual pain in my left thigh.  Kind of a deep muscle pulsating pain.  It started yesterday, so they said to watch for a few things, and let them know if it gets worse.  Not really a cramp.  It could be my nerve hurting already, or there is a chance for a blood clot.  But there are no other clot symptoms, which is why we are just keeping an eye on it and not worrying too much yet.  The PA said she would talk to the OB/GYN and they would call me back. According to What to Expect , Shrimpy is 4-5 inches long, and eyes are starting to function better.  Shrimp's eyes are closed but c...

Well, to me it looks like I ate a whole loaf of focaccia bread.   I'm not saying I ate a whole...it was in three sittings...over two days.  But it was good bread and I was totally craving it! Scott didn't even get to try the bread.  I think he's still bitter about that. So to me I don't look too pregnant.  Just like a big eater.  But compared to the "before" me there is truly a change! We shall see how the shaping of the belly progresses in the course of the next few months. 

Well, it's no Mustang, but it is black! What we got was a 2009 Pontiac Vibe. At any rate, we both like it. It was a reasonable price for a smaller sized family-with-lots-of-stuff car. It served the purpose of "ease of child seat access" and "can load many groceries plus a dog" into the back.  (You should have seen us try to get the rocking chair into the Mustang.)  It also serves the gas economy purpose (31/28 advertised) and was not a big SUV, or a minivan. I have never been fond of driving huge cars or trucks! It looks like a five door hatchback to us, but I guess it is technically listed as a "wagon." Some things go full circle, eh Mom?  Maybe a bit cooler than the Corona Wagon we drove in Texas, or whatever it was called.  Sorry the photo isn't super great, it's raining and cold so I pretty much didn't want to go out of the garage.  There are some more photos on our Flickr account (see link to right "other photos...")   It act...

Well, things are moving right along this week.  According to What to Expect  Shrimp is about 4 1/2 inches long!  Growing like a weed, so it seems.  Also starting to wiggle and giggle fingers and toes.   Ears are moving to their correct local, so Shrimp looks more like a human and less like an alien! (We would love Shrimp anyway, but that would take some explaining...) This has been a pretty slow week otherwise.  Starting to feel better more hours a day than I used to.  I'm still pretty tired, but I think I'm less moody (you'd have to ask Scott).   I was a sub again on Thursday, and the 7th graders said they thought I was showing a bit, but I'm not so sure.  I guess it's harder since I see myself every day! Recent cravings:  none this week Aversions: still nothing. I'm not complaining! Favorite food: Grilled ham & cheese sandwich 

What an exciting week for all of us! This week, according to What to Expect , Shrimpy is about the size of a clenched fist. Whose fist? Who knows! It also says this is when babies start to grow at different rates, just like after they are born! Some tall, some small. Shrimp may even be starting to grow a head of hair. Another part of the gene pool in development! We are both starting to get more excited about our soon to be bundle of joy. Here's a funny story from this week: Scott and I had both been "leaning" towards boy both as our instinct and our answer to "what do you want it to be?" This morning Scott was at McDonald's getting breakfast for us and was behind a lady with two small girls (ages...2 and 7 he thinks). Well the youngest turned around and told him, "That's Mommy, that's Sarah, and I'm Mia." Scott said hello back, and when he came home he said, "You know, a girl would be OK. They're pretty cute!...