Very uneventful…lost 2 lbs., baby is just the right size. Heard the heartbeat and that was it. Nothing much else to note. Still not sure about this doc. It’s just really strange. No pics or anything.
Month: November 2009
Thanksgiving 2009 and family Christmas pictures…oh my!
Very good holiday, moved by WAY too quickly. All four Hortons joined us this year for Thanksgiving. That in itself brought much to be thankful for. Mom is here too, which is great. There were so many years that we didn’t spend the holiday together. I wish I could get them back. Since we can’t I can only hope for many more family filled holidays.
Chip pulled the turkey out on Monday to thaw in garage. It certainly has been chilly enough. The hum of the holiday is starting to pick up which is nice.
Hortons arrived late Tuesday. We stayed up too late right away. Before they came in we actually hung up a bunch of pictures on the wall. It actually feels like we live here after almost a year and a half. Wednesday was fairly uneventful at work. Slow day, but managed to hang in. I’m still fighting tired and morning sickness. I’m never sure whether to eat or just wait it out. It is SO not fun. I’ve tried both. It’s bad to eat bad stuff, it’s worse not to eat at all…right?
Thursday morning the girls came in to join us for the holiday. It had been about a month since I had seen them last. It’s always so wonderful to have them come out of the airport. Gillian will be staying until Christmas Eve. Kaitlyn went back today, but will be back the week before Christmas.
Chris and Keith had asked if we wanted to get together for a softball game. So all of us jumped in the car and headed to Joyce’s. The boys were overwhelmed, but it was good. They loved Joyce’s new dog and kennel. Forget the toys, bring on a dog kennel! So we all hopped in the car and headed to a middle school and had a wonderful afternoon. Mom and Joyce had the dogs and watched. Well Joyce gave it one try and knocked it out! Danny and I watched the boys and the rest of us played softball. It was really, really a great afternoon. The boys really enjoyed themselves just running around. No nap and completely out of whack for them, but they seem to just go with the flow. A little crabby in the car and all three fell asleep.
We came home and finished up dinner. This year seemed effortless compared to other years. Cooked the turkey for the first time in my new roaster. Turkey (as warned in the instructions) did not turn brown. Looked a little odd, but it was the most tender turkey I’ve ever eaten. We all agree that the roaster wins, hands down. The additional bonus is that the oven is free to cook other stuff. Mom made an amazing apple pie. She did the lattice top and everything. Beautiful and yummy! We had a delightful meal. Great family with really good conversation. Moments that are special and memorable. I love those kinds of days. I was dragging with morning sickness and just plain tired. Made it through though.
On Friday I had to work…casinos have the worst benefit plan on the planet. Nothing going on and lucky for me my boss is really cool and I came in late and out of the office early. I was thankful to get home early and be at home with the rest of the crew. We watched Four Christmases, which was pretty cute.
Mom had a great idea to head to a craft fair at the convention center so me, mom, Bunny, Gillian, Kaitlyn and Danny loaded up in the minivan and headed to town. The craft fair was pretty weak but had great deals. Mom and I talked to the vendors quite a bit. Great to meet the locals and just talk about all kinds of stuff. I bought a couple of things. Bunny found quite a bit.
Sunday came much too quickly. It was quite a morning. Hortons were getting ready to depart and we were getting the boys and the rest of us ready for a family pic. Now call me crazy, but I really wanted to get a professional family picture with the whole family. That includes 3, yes 3, two year olds. Oh my god, I had no idea just how crazy it would be. Ben wanted nothing to do with being held in any way shape or form. He was just not having it. No one wanted to be confined. Finally they starting taking pictures. The best one we could get of all of us had a big yellow duck in the picture and Ben was crying. It was such a calamity of errors that I finally pretty much gave up. They took well over 100 photos. Girls together, boys playing, Chip and I, all of us…it was a true experience. A 20 minute appointment took and well over an hour. Finally I had to leave because we had to get the boys down for a nap. I did go back right away. Of course like the session trying to get pictures, buying them was no picnic either. They advertise a discount but of course there were so many limitations that it was nearly impossible to get. Eventually all came around and we left after we lightened our cash load by $200. Yep, $200. They will only be two once and it was so good to get the girls and us in various pictures. Well worth it. Time was pushed to the limit on Sunday. I buzzed home and grabbed Kaitlyn and took her to the airport to go back to Vegas. Phew! Every day is like this though. Moving from one thing to another. Some days are better than others.
November cont’d
More in November…
Work continues to be tense. A person I don’t particularly trust has come into my end of the sales department. Originally going to report to me but then that was pulled back. Now there is clear “marking of the territory” by this person. Don’t trust her farther than I can see her. Lots of poking around to see what it is I do. I have much hesitation about her when I take leave for maternity.
I still am not loving my job, another serious run in with the marketing department. Verbal attacks by the PR person. Caught VERY off guard. Defended myself, but we’ll see what happens. PR guy goes on vacation and his boss attempts a private apology. I’m very proud I stood up for myself and my skillset. May not matter though. This particular company may not be ready to take on a social media strategy. It’s frustrating.
Lots of morning sickness. I’m very tired all the time. It’s hard to keep up with the basics both at work and home. Thank goodness for the help and support from Chip, mom and the people in sales that actually believe in what we can do.
The boys are still growing like crazy. They are putting together 2 and 3 word sentences. Its just been in the last couple of weeks that they are all saying “I see you” and “I want…”. Ben is still the quietest, but he’s an observer. He does, however, do a much better job of sticking up for himself. He loves to jump on the sofa. They all do, but it’s Ben’s deal to start it.
Ryan is still the most vocal. He repeats EVERYTHING. He’s very particular too. Loves red clothes, especially if it has stripes. If he can’t be in control he freaks out in the morning. He says “Ry Ry’s ….” for whatever he has, wants or thinks is his. He does a wonderful job of trying to trade with his brothers when they have something he wants. It’s so interesting to watch them. Ry also loves the book “Ham” (Green Eggs and Ham). He flips the pages and then on Ryan’s timeline it becomes AH DONE. Ryan is strong willed and spends the most time in time out, but does well with it most of the time. He truly misses his ‘Nina Nina since she left us. Every girl in a magazine is ‘Nina. He asks “Where’s my ‘Nina?”. Super cute, but it makes me want to force her to come back.
Gary is super funny with his silent takedowns. When he’s getting picked on or pushed, he steps back and then gets back up for another round. It’s very funny to watch. Then he’ll basically tackle Ryan but not say a word. Ryan of course starts wailing, but Gary just doesn’t let up. Gary is still the most emotional too. His feelings are easily hurt and he likes to snuggle. It’s very sweet that Christina taught him how to eskimo kiss when she was here.
All the boys eat bacon and eggs like CRAZY. They can put down almost a pound of bacon. It’s insane. We’ll be seriously broke soon thanks to the boys eating. It’s all good, but we still crack up on a daily basis. We’re seriously worn out every single day…
Jeff got laid off from Les Schwab and lucky for Kristy and Jeff, she got a job at Khoury’s Market in Winnemucca. Hopefully things will get better. The last month has not been kind to them with losing out on a refinance and repossession. Makes me worry.
I’m still very restless and would love to do some consulting along with my job. So much to do so little time. Looking forward to Thanksgiving. Kristy and Jeff will be missed, but we’re happy to be hanging with mom and the Hortons.
First Big OB Appointment – Nov. 2, 2009
We met our new Reno doctor and had our first appointment with Sierra Women’s Health. Dr. Farringer. Good midwest boy. Very to the point. Took a ton of history and did an ultrasound. We did see very clearly the normal development. We will deliver at Renown and I plan to have my tubes tied after the birth. The doctor also moved our due date out from 6/5/2010 to 6/11/2010 based on the size measurements on the ultrasound. He said everything looks good and that I’m a good “baby maker”. That was based on how long I carried the boys and the “unremarkable” births with the girls.
Its a truly weird experience to have 2 babies, then multiples and then another single (that was a total surprise). Being here vs. Vegas hasn’t been great with medical people. I’m hoping this experience will change things.
I certainly didn’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling about the new doc, but Chip told me to give it time. I am seriously emotional and kind of sad this pregnancy. I can’t explain it. Well, maybe I can a little. I feel so up and down about this one. I love all of my children and they are ALL a blessing. Everything happens for a reason and I believe that about this too. Everything seems very amplified though. Work isn’t fabulously fun, life is challenging in general and adding another child to the mix is going to be interesting.
Anyway, the appointment was a long one and it as informative and good to spend so much time together. 4 weeks until the next one.
October through Halloween…
Girls headed to Reno for Halloween. A lot of battle with their dad over costumes, who pays, etc. John gets Kaitlyn a flu shot without my consent.
Halloween…all 3 boys were cowboys. Of course I was very last minute with costumes. Lucky for me Grandma had bought the boys hats and Celia hooked them up with cute little stick horses. The party store had 3 outfits left and so it was a quick purchase. On the big day Kaitlyn dressed as Bella from the Twilight movie and her new guy next door Nick was a zombie. Gillian was a ladybug that was super cute. Then we had our little cowboys. It was pretty chilly out, but once the boys got going they had blast! I made the mistake of letting them get out once and oh jeez, it was a mess.
Boys came home and tackled the candy. They definitely know “M&Ms” and “Candy”. They also tried lollipops for the first time.
The boys are the hit of the neighborhood. People made so many comments about seeing the boys out with Chip on their daily walks and waiting for them to come by. It’s really cool.
We all had a great time. Chilly by the time we got home, but I had put chicken corn chowder in the crockpot. Lucky for us! All of us ate a late dinner and called it a night.