Baby Thoughts

Today I am officially 17 weeks along. That's almost halfway!! How scary and exciting at the same time. Over the past weeks I have had a few random baby thoughts that I wanted to share. There are several people reading this who live across the country and are not here to experience this with us on a day to day basis so this is me keeping you informed. But since we all know I am not great at keeping up with blogging it would be much easier if you moved closer to Huntsville. For example, not Arizona....just a thought :)

Let the random thoughts begin:

- I was told there was a burst of energy that accompanied the 2nd trimester. Still waiting for that. School is wearing me out, especially these early morning clinicals. It's mainly the feeling of never being finished that makes me so tired. I may be finished with class or clinical for the day but there is always a stack of projects and studying to do. Yuck. So bring on the energy boost...I need you!

- VERY THANKFUL that the nausea and vomiting from the 1st trimester is over. The term morning sickness is very misleading. It's more like morning/afternoon/night sickness. One sweet, older man at the hospital said "Sweetheart, I have cancer and you look like you feel worse than I do." Granted I was horrified that I was obviously sick in front of him but he was so wonderful. He started to call me into his room because he "needed help" but really he wanted to give me a chance to sit down. I was more than happy to hang out with him and he wanted company. It was a perfect arrangement for both of us. Things like that are why I love nursing.

- Babies-R-Us is an overwhelming place. No need to elaborate on that. It just scares me.

- I can't wait to see Ben as a dad. He is going to be fantastic. And I can't wait to see our parents as grandparents. Very YOUNG grandparents of course. And our siblings as aunts and an uncle. Everyone is so excited!

- Ready for warm weather so I can stop trying to fit into my jeans. Using a rubber band as an expander is not ideal. This is exciting though! It makes the pregnancy much more real!

-I love going to the doctor appointments. Even the 5 minute ones. Hearing the heart beat gets me every time. What a beautiful process. Our next appointment is tomorrow morning!

- We have decided to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. At first I guessed a girl, and Ben is convinced it is a boy. We will find out soon! Of course we would be thrilled either way. We are prepared with a name for either one.

-I do feel more prepared to decorate if we are having a boy. Having an excuse to use a lot of blue in a room is a dream come true for me. Of course some version of these pictures will be included in the room. We have to let him know what is right from the beginning.

Let the brainwashing begin...

Spring Break!

Last week we took a few days and met some friends from Auburn down in Hilton Head, SC. We had a great time relaxing and site seeing. It was still a little too chilly to hang out on the beach all day, but a break from work and school was much needed.

We also went to Savannah, GA to check out their famous St. Patty's Day celebration. Apparently the party is bigger in Savannah than Boston, at least that is what the group of Irish Firefighters from Boston said. Although I'm sure you can imagine the wild time that we had with Jess being pregnant and me battling a stomach bug.

Chris' golf course

If you miss the fairway don't even bother looking

Harbourtown

The famous 18th green

Our temporary backyard

MS Awareness Week!

This week is the annual MS Awareness Week so I wanted to take a few minutes and help spread some awareness. Also, its been a little while sense I've updated on my status.

I had my every six month MRI last week and got some very good news. The images showed no new lesions in my brain and, even better, no active lesions. So far it looks like the new medicine I started about six months ago is working exactly like we hoped it would. Thanks again for all the prayers! Below is a link to the National MS Society's page and another link to a story about Courtney Taylor who was just diagnosed with MS. If you have a few minutes check it out. There are some really cool things going on in the research department and some awesome medicine that is about to be released soon. Hopefully a cure isn't too far off either!

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

http://blog.al.com/kevin-scarbinsky/2010/02/scarbinsky_courtney_taylor_won.html

Tomorrow!

Ben comes home tomorrow! Three weeks is WAY too long. We had a little scare thinking that he might have to stay out there for another few days, but now we know...TOMORROW! I have been very well taken care of in Huntsville by friends, parents, grandparents, in-laws, siblings, and of course Maggie. That being said, I am beyond ready to see my husband.



The last week has been an interesting one. I have been out of school because of the terrible tragedy at UAH, so I was hoping to get a lot accomplished. I had plenty to do: schoolwork, cleaning, and more schoolwork. Well over the weekend Maggie started getting sick. I will spare you the gruesome details but let's just say I had to clean up after her often. Sure it was not a pleasant job but I'm going to be a nurse! I can handle that kind of stuff! I have seen much, much worse in my clinical experience already (again, spare you the gruesome details). Unfortunately this pregnancy has thrown me for a loop and the faintest smell can make me gag. I was trying to clean out her crate Monday morning and there was nothing "faint" about this smell. So I had to run to the nearest thing which happened to be the kitchen sink as I gagged. I guess my gagging is very hardcore (at least that's how I like to look at it) because I proceeded to pull a muscle in my lower back and fall to the floor in pain. I'm sure the scene was pitiful but funny, almost like something you would see in a sitcom where everything is going wrong. Thankfully my dad was off work that day and was able to come to my rescue...and like a mature adult I have been staying at my parent's house since then. Although it is getting better, it still hurts terribly! When the pain gets more tolerable I am going to have to do some serious back exercises to get stronger before I start gaining a bunch of weight. I have been very thankful for my family and all of their support. Plus it's been nice having the company. Can't think of a better person to critique the Winter Olympics with than my dad, a person to make me laugh than my sister, and someone to love on me than my mom. Besides, dad pulls the same muscle in his back often so he can sympathize with me. Just add that to the list of reasons I am definitely my father's daughter.



Have I mentioned that Ben comes home tomorrow and I am beyond excited?? Maybe I have. I am thankful for the work experience he gained while he was in California. I am also excited for him to be able to visit so many different cities and have new experiences during his time off (even though going to a wine tasting and buying some to bring home while your wife is pregnant is slightly cruel). I was especially excited about his trip to the Pebble Beach golf course because that is a trip of a lifetime for him, and not my idea of a vacation. So now that is out of his system it's time for him to take me back to Colorado...THAT'S a vacation.

Pebble Beach

Today I went to the AT&T Pebble Beach National ProAm. Pebble Beach is definitely the most beautiful golf course I've ever seen, if not the most beautiful place I've ever been.

I drove down to Monterey early this morning and got to the course just as the leaders teed off. I followed a few different groups, like David Duval's, Padraig Harrington's and Phil Mikelson's. Then I went and found a great spot on 18 just in front of the right green side bunker where I could watch the leaders finish. For all of you who didn't see it, the tournament came down to the wire. David Duval and JB Holmes finished at 15 under, while defending champion Dustin Johnson was also 15 under going into 18. Johnson took a risk and tried to reach the green in two, but dumped it into the bunker that I was standing right in front of. He ended up making an awesome bunker shot that left him a relatively easy putt for the win. It was an awesome finish.

After the tournament I walked around Monterey and then ate at this awesome restaurant overlooking the Pacific. Here are some of the pictures from today. (note: I did not take the golf pictures, camera's weren't allowed on the course, but all the pictures are of things I witnessed)

Duval on 18

Paddy

Phil

Ben

More California Fun

I'm still in California, still working a ton, but I'm still having a good time. I hope everyone in the South is enjoying the snow, ice and freezing cold. Not to rub it in, but it was 65 and sunny today. I drove 10 miles up the interstate to Lodi where there are a ton of vineyards. They had a big festival this weekend where you could go to each vineyard and taste their different wines. You could also sample all kinds of good food. Here are a few pictures of the pictures I took. It was a really cool experience.

San Francisco

Hi Everyone, Ben here. I've been in California for more than a week now and just wanted to post a few of the pics from this weekend. We drove down to San Francisco and had a great time being tourists. The sunny, 50 degree weather was also a plus. I heard it was rainy and in the 30s back home and I do not miss that at all. Ill post some more pictures soon from future excursions. Jess, miss you, Maggie and the baby! See ya'll in 14 days!