Drama Queen

False alarm.

Went to the hospital.

Contractions.

15 mins apart.

Fucking chill out, Clau!

Christ!

Dad of the Year Award

Josh gets my vote for Dad of the Year.

I was feeling like SHIT today (See my comment to PK under my previous post) and so stayed home from work. He's done dishes, on the thrid load of laundry, taken out ALL the trash, and cleaned up Fuzz's eating area a bit.

I've been systematically denied the right to bend over, pick up, or carry anything. I'm lucky he's letting me sit up and type right now.

He even buy me an ice cream pop. One of those vanilla ice cream with a thin chocolate shell and rice-crunch things in them. Sugar free, of course, with 10g of carbs total in each one. OMG, why didn't we get these before?! I had one after my lap. It was heavenly!

So, he's being a total doll, caring for me completely.

AND.... he's c-o-o-k-i-n-g dinner. Granted, it's a pop in the oven and ignore it for an hour dinner, but he's STILL COOKING!!!!!

It's going to taste fantastic, no matter what!

whew!

I finally managed to get all the way through the baby shower gifts. Just some small clean up left to do, but I can safely put it into the trunk of my car and forget about it until it's time to take it all out at Gramma Kathy's.

And the thank-you cards from those gifts are done too. I pray I didn't forgot anyone! I had some presents show up after the fact. :)

And a few with no address. I'm getting creative on getting them delivered.


Next up: Scrapbook.
(Now, where the hell is my glue?!)

Doctor Visits and Bloodwork

Today I had lab and doc visit.

Lab was to check for iron levels and something else. and I had to poke myself in the vahjayjay with a qtip. :( Not pleasant, nit even when I COULD reach it easily.

Doctor says I'm looking okay, but she's still concerned about my blood sugars. It's been two weeks, and time for another check up to ensure the diet is maintaining them. See, my after-meal level was 132. She wants it at 120 or less. -sigh- I go in for my vampirism manana.

Past that, we're both doing fine. Aside from the Doctor saying she thinks she may need to go c-section. I don't wanna. It's my second option. I wanna try on my own first. Yes, I'm short, but I'm by no means small framed.

How do I make it clear that I want to try natural FIRST and that it's going to be MY way or she can kiss my ass?

I'm a helper!

It's nice to help out family. Especially one that's feeling overwhelmed with trying to manage updates to an online store she's trying to grow. I think it's getting to be more than a 1 woman operation now. :)

Take a look at what I just did for her here!

If you knit or crotchet, you DEFINITELY want some Entrelac Stitch Markers!

LOL Cats

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com

You can make funny cat captions from pictures on the site, or you can upload your own and caption those! I found some of fuzz and I'm captioning them. and here's some i captioned from the site.

Baby Shower - a few pics

It was so much fun! I have to take some serious time to put into words how crazy fun it was!

All I know is that I slept HARD that night. LOL























Update: 12/17/07 - I promised you pics. here you go. And thenI'm off to write more thank you cards. :) Maybe I'll give you captions! :)

For Pistol Kitten!

Post found on http://www.knittyboard.com Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:29 am Post subject: Cats, Scarfs, and Straightjackets... oh my!
Good morning, Knitty World! I'm Entrelac's baby sister. I used her site to get here as a friend asked a knitting question on my blog. Unfortunately for her, I don't knit. Fortunately for her, my sisters do and have links to here. So, here I am, with her questions. I promise to post your replies to my blog when they arrive so she can see, and if I can figure out how to put up picture banners on my blog, a nifty Knitty.com banner up to! On to the questions: -=- From Pistol Kitten. I am in the process of knitting myself a scarf, when I am done I am going to knit a matching one for Mia...based on this I think I am definately crazy. (I'm just jealous because I made scarves for my parents and little matching ones for each of their dogs..kinda a his and hers thing somehow I leftout myself and Mia.) Do you have any suggestions on how to keep the scarf on the cat? Do you know if it's possible to knit straight jackets and where I could get a cat-sized pattern for one? PS. I can't read knitting patterns and actually can't knit anything other than scarves and I guess blankets since they are kinda just like gigantic scarves. Ana and Ceci are my knitting heros! PSS. Here's a funny little fact. There has been much debate about whether I knit at all. Some people (mainly old ladies so they are probably right) think that I purl. I only know one stitch and I am completely unaware of what that stitch style is called. So I either knit OR I purl everything! Who knows?! The first time this was brought to my attention the following conversation occured: (*Lene knitting/purling at work) Old Lady: You don't know how to knit. Lene: What? OL: You aren't doing it right. Lene: What? OL: That's not how you do it! You're doing it wrong! Lene: (picks up pile of yarn that completely resembles a scarf..looks at old lady) Scarf! OL: What? Lene: (still holding scarf) Scarf! OL: But it's not right! Lene: (still holding scarf) SCAAARRRRFFF!!! OL: FINE! -=- So, if anyone can help my friend out on these questions, drop a line here on this post! I'll check back and give her your replies. PS: How DO you check if one knits or pearls? Is there even a difference? Tangled in Yarn, Entrelac's Baby Sister

Check Up

After the doctor's visit, I've got some news.

She's 5pounds 11ounces, and on track to be an 8pound or so baby.

My butt-issue is going away.

Live is good.

Back to bed.

Doctor Visits

Bloodwork : right now
Conference Call for Work: 9am
Sonogram : 2pm
Doctor Review: 3pm

Having your sister weighing out if a sea turtle is okay for Baby or not : priceless

Thanks, Tia Lene!
(Do you like Tia Lene, or Auntie Lene, or just Crazy Aunt Lene, or Auntly. Yes, you're the Auntly Auntie Lene! I had mom save your wrapping paper special! Now, if only I can remember where I put my Elmer's so I can finally get started on Baby's Scrapbook....)

It was just gas.

Last night was rough. Went to be at 11pm, but woke up every hour, on the hour, with back pain and pressure on my cervix. But no contractions. Not like the first time. So I didn't call anyone, I just waited. Plus, the first time, the tension was coming every 15-20minutes. This was every hour. It just... didn't seem the same to me.

So, I get up from work, feeling like crap, and still having those back aches and not-quite-contractions every hour. By 9am, I'm getting concerned, so I call in. The nurse calls me back and asks me some questions, but since they aren't full-on contractions and they are spaced way apart, it's probably just nothing, but just in case, start timing them. If they get less than 20 minutes apart, go to the ER.

Meanwhile, I have hemroids. Or just one. One GIANT one. Dear lord! This thing is the size of a small grape! And it HURTS! So I take my lunch at noon, and hit the Walgreens. I get a salad put on my ointment and get back to work. Two hours later, I feel what is most certainly the closest thing to a contraction that I've felt all day. Nice and strong. It's such a surprise that my trainee goes wide-eyed, grabs the phone and asks who to call. We call my doctor's office, and I get put on the wait list for a call-back. Meanwhile, I start timing.

5mins

10mins

15mins

And then.... gas. Lots of it. I mean, rank little steamboat put-put farts.

For an hour!

4pm and the nurse calls me back.

Nurse: Okay. What happened?
Me: Oh, I felt something like the contractions I felt earlier, but really strong...
Nurse: Go to the ER. I'll paged your doctor.
Me: No, I really don't think that's necesary. I started farting about 15mins after that contraction and now, 2 hours later, I'm feeling much better and the pressure is gone. It's just some minor back aches now, and that I can live with.
Nurse: Oh. Then it was-
Me: Just gas.

Simpon Moose

Baby Shower Online Invitation

You're invited to a baby shower!
(bring your pink)

December 1, 2007 4pm- 6pm
Golden Jersey Creamer Building
Melden & Hunt Conference Room

Use this blog entry to RSVP for my baby shower on Dec 1, 2007. Gift Registries can be found ni the links section to the right.

See you there!

1 day left

until the baby shower. okay, so less than a full day. baby's stretching like crazy.

i'm ready for bed.

but i'm worried i'm forgetting something.

party favors are done,
need another prize,
need more cloths pins,
need party game,
signs are drying,
need the last minute bullshit.

-sigh- why didn't i get this crap last week? oh yeah, bedrest. fucking contractions.

but it was good to have everyone in one house. mom, dad, mamash, ceci, ana, camilo, jonathan, me, vanity, josh.... grand ol' time. and camilo didn't get pissed when josh scolded nico about being disrespectful. and not even when mom asked josh why and started to say it wasn't important, to which i was like, "it's disrespectful." instead, camilo pulled nico aside, explained and had nico apologize to everyone he disrespected.

ee cummings, eat your heart out. i'm boycotting captialization. :p

or something.

damn this post is not going to make any sort of sense in the morning, ah who gives a shit.

work was a bit of a pain.

i worked like i normally do. trainee no showed. don't know why. don't much care, truth be told. no lunch break. sigh. it sucked ass.

and made my wrists hurt. i'm going to bed now.

maybe i'll shower or bathe too. lori's moving a lot.

Baby Shower RSVP Reminder

IF YOU HAVE NOT SENT ME AN RSVP BY EMAIL OR PHONECALL, PLEASE RSVP ASAP! I NEED TO GET YOU GIRLS ENOUGH FOOD!!!!


LOVE YOU ALL!

Bed Rest

3am, Tuesday morning. I awake with an aching back. I've been having hip pain mostly, when I sleep. It's a lot of pressure on my hip, sleeping on the same side hour after hour. But this was my lower back, from below my waist to the crack of my ass, from side to side. It came with a slightly painful tension across my abdomen just below my belly button. The pain subsided and I tried to settle back down. But no sooner had I gotten comfortable, than the pain returned; exactly the same as what woke me.

Thinking it was just stiff muscles, I pushed myself up, went to the bathroom, and paced a bit. The walking helped ease the pain, but I didn't want to lay back down. So, I sat in the recliner Josh pulled out into the bedroom for me, put the floor fan on me cause I was so hot, and tried to get comfortable. Again, the pain returned, but now it was worse. I was half sitting up, my legs elevated. It just wasn't really comfortable.

About an hour later, 4am, when it hadn't subsided, and not understanding what I was feeling, I woke Josh to ask what I should do. I wasn't sure I could get back to sleep in time to get to woke in 4 hours. He told me to call a nurse and see what it might be. I had just remembered getting my employee benefits package yesterday, and reading its reminder note about the 24 hour Nurse Wellness Hotline. They call me every 3 months to get how I'm doing.

After speaking with the staff nurse and answering all her questions, she recommended I go to the emergency room within the next two hours, as it sounds like the start of early labor. My question? If it is, can they stop it. Her answer, Yes.

I wake Josh, tell him what the staff nurse said and he replied to have the oncall doctor paged to confirm. We'll do whatever he says to do.

The doctor calls back about 15mins later, and I describe my condition and my symptoms. His concern is pallible: Go to the ER; Now.

Again , Josh is woken and told what the doctor advised. He pushes himself and we get dressed and calmly and quickly as we can. We're out the door 20 mintues later, and as we get on the roadways, his hand inches toward the hazard switch, and his knucles are white on the steering wheel.

"Are you planning to psycho-speed there," I ask him?
"I'm thinking about it, yeah," he replies.
"I don't think I could handle that right now. I'm doing good so far being calm and controlled, if you go too fast, I might get scared. I don't think being scared is going to help right now. I know you want to get there fast, but there are no other cars on the road right now, so You can get to the speed limit fast and not have to worry about gramma drivers. Besides, the hospital's only 20 minutes from here. I think I'll be okay for 20 more minutes."

He nods, takes his hand away from the hazard blinker, and begins to make a hurried but stately drive to the hosiptal. We're worried only once, when Josh gets to a yellow light moving too fast to stop in time for the red, so he taps on my hazards, runs the redlight and keeps going. It's halfway through the intersection that we spot a police car in a parking lot facing the intersection. Thankfully, the blinkers and direction we are heading either must have told the cop this was a medical emergency or he simply wasn't paying attention, but he didn't come after us.

"If the cop came, what would you do," I ask?
"Keep going to the hospital," is the reply.
"Wouldn't that me evading arrest or something, and ticketable?"
"Running a red light is ticketable," he retorts, "And it'd be worth it. I don't care."

It makes me relax, and we get to the hospital without any other worries.

He drops me off at the ER while he goes to park. The EMT stationed outside asks if I need a wheelchair. "No, thanks," I tell him. "The walking eases the pain." He nods and shows me to the door. I get inside and start checking myself in. This whole time, I'm calm, composed, and only once in a while to I have to pause in my speaking to stretch my back when another pain comes. Josh joins me, and the nurse asks if he can fill out the paperwork for me so they could get me into triage.

Triage is a scary word, but simply meant an ER Waiting Room. When did that happen, or have I watched too much M*A*S*H?

Off I go, into triage. I have to pee in a cup, take off everything, get into a backless robe, wear little sockies, and an ace bandage girdle. I'm shown to my triage room, and they hook me up to a heart monitor, then microphone my belly. There's Lori's heartbeat, so fast, so strong. Another sensor is placed a bit higher up.

Then I wait. Long enough to find an original Star Trek episode on TV Land called "Operation - Annihilation". They have me sign something, release forms about delivering and needing a car seat... I hope I didn't sign my organs away. In retrospect, I should have declined until Josh was present, as I wasn't exactly thinking right. I was worried, but trying desperately to stay calm. I forced myself not to think about an hour from now, and just to rest in the moment.

Josh finally gets lead in, and we begin waiting. He's watching the montior and after about 30 mintues asks, "Are you hurting right now?"
"Yes," I replied, a bit startled. "How'd you know?"
"The monitor," he says, nodding toward it. "The line goes up. I've been assuming from the tension in your muscles, and I wanted to know for sure."
"Oh."

The nurse returns an hour later and states, "The urine analysis has come back. You're a bit dehydrated and you have a urinary tract infection. How much water do you drink?"
"Normally, a lot, nearly a full gallon, everyday, but yesterday was a bit hectic at work and I didn't grab my cup in the morning to keep full and drink from all day."
"It showed, and that's what's caused these contractions."
"So, I'm having contractions cause I'm dehydrated," I repeat, waiting to make sure I understood completely.
"Yes, ma'am. We're going to put you on an IV and try to rehydrate you as fast as we can as well as give you a doze of antibiotics for the infection. We'll keep you under observation for a few more hours to see how you're responding to the fluids."
Again, I repeat back what I was told, making sure I understood, before letting the nurse leave me.

Begin the calls. Dad, I'm sorry you weren't on the first round of calls. I think Josh and I both assumed the rest of the family would get told by the Mom's. Telephone, telegraph, Tell-a-Carranza. It's now 7am, and I get a hold of the boss and tell him where I'm at and what we know. He tells me not to think about the office and to focus on staying calm, doing what the doctor says, and to rest. He wants to know how I'm doing when I get the chance to call again.

7:45am and the contractions haven't subsided. The nurse contacted my doctor, who's on her way in to see me after a birth she's attending, and was instructed to try stage 2 of contraction stoppage, a pain medication called Demerol. I'm injected, and told that they'll need to wait an hour or two to see how I'm reacting. If things don't improve, I'll be admitting fully and given the next, more powerful set, of anti-labor drugs, and will definitely be put on bed rest.

Kathy, Josh's mom shows up, to pray over Lori and I, and to give Josh an angel pendant to help safe guard us and give Josh the strength to see us through this. I think she gave us a bible too, but by then the meds are kicking in, and I don't remember much of the rest of it. I vaguely remember Josh's voice, constantly, talking to people not me, but I can't make out the rest of them. Josh later told me that one of the Pastors that work with Kathy's home health care office came by to pray over me too, but that I was asleep. He said that the doctor asked some questions about my medical history that he tried to answer as best he could.

By 9am, the nurse has a good report, and the doctor with her. The contractions stopped and have stayed stopped for a full hour. The doctor checks my cervix, and it's still closed up tight as a whistle. But, seeing how groggy I still am, they want to give me another hour to rest and sleep it off before letting me go. They are worried that I'll faint on my way out if released right now, and the fall could aggravate things. I sleep some more, and awake feeling better. A bit medicine-head but better. I'm released and Josh takes me to get my prescription for the UTI filled, then for breakfast. Oh, and the doctor's ordered me to bed rest for the remainder of the week. Yes, I'm sure Melinda's all pissed. She was heading out of town today. But I can't worry about that. She'll understand when she's blessed with her first. Until then, I must just endure her ignorance with a knowing smile.

Josh gets me home, I take my antibiotic, drink some water, then collapse on the sofa. Mom stops by, but I think I fell asleep on her, cause when I woke up sweating-hot, she was gone. Josh got home about 2 hours ago, and laid down for a nap. I'm going to wake him up and see about dinner. If he wants a fresh meal, I'll cook. If not, I've got plenty of leftovers still.

The bright side: I know what mild contractions feel like now.

And that was the end of Birthing Rehearsal, scene one.

Now that I've remembered I had a photobucket, here we go!

First off, Frightfest with the South Texas Rolleristas. I only managed to make it out for one day of the five day event, but I had fun none-the-less. I painted myself like Zombie Mom, since we needed to be Scary, and then helped Enya Fayce and Pistol Kitten with their make up. I think I did a pretty decent job, tho' I like Pistol's Make Up better. Sorry, Enya!

Next up, Random Shit! Let's see here, oh yes! A picture of my cat. Totally BUSTED! Up on the shelves. How the HELL did he get up there anyway? Ah well. he was able to get down without hurting himself, so I'm happy. Oh! And there's Josh making a funny face one day while we were on our way out the door going I-Don't-Know-Where. It's a great place! OHOH!!! And the cake a baked for him for his birthday!! My first cake that I baked all by my lonesome! I'm so proud!! :)









And now, baby stuff! First, one of hte pink dresses I got. SUPER CUTE! And according to Lene, there's already shoes to match! Then a bib. Josh grinned so huge. And lastly, one of my favorite shirts: "This is my Attitude Problem" Arrow. Hee!

Before I go back to bed...

Enjoy! You have front row seats!

It was a rare quiet moment at the office. I got hungry and started eating a snack. That's when I noticed she was kicking hard enough to move my belly, and I thought, 'I wonder if I can catch her on video, in the act... or will she be camera-shy like her father? Only one way to find out!'

Photo MADNESS!

YAY! Upload from my camera is Done Dude!!
Words to the Wise: Graphic heavy post! (I need a photo bucket!)

Picture #1 : When Josh's mom and brother Danny pop by for a visit,
we introduce her to Guitar Hero. A bass
player at her church, it was a bit tough
to transition to lead guitar that the game
looks for, but she really enjoyed it. So much
so, that she wanted to stay and keep playing!
Go hip, Gramma!




Picture #2 : Round One of cute pink girlie stuff courtesy of the girls from
EGL Station CVG, Cincinatti Ohio. Thanks Jackie,
Robin, Linda, Kristi, etal! Arlene got to see them,
and for nearly every little dress I got the same answer,
"Oh! She's got shoes for this one! Oh, the perfect pair
for that one! Oh, I've already got shoes for that one!"
Turtle-a's going to be a fahionista!







Picture #3 : At the park, I teach Nephew Nico how to play Pente. He looks so serious!

4am...

Wide awake.

And I feel like i've been walking in a desert! But after a few glasses of water, my tummy's too full to hold more! T.T What's a Prego to do!?

I got a comment from my sister Ceci about a dear friend from Austin. OMG! I can't believe I didn't even THINK to ask about her. I guess it had just been too long, that it slipped my mind! UNCOOL! I hope she makes it down... with a few of those applesauce cupcakes. I miss those with a passion! They were So good, and would be the frosting of just SEEING her again!

My reply got deleted for a stupid glitch in the blogger system. :( Oh well. The gist of it was that as far as cute party favors go, ask Mom about that. She's already gotten me the cute baggies. We just got to gets the stuff to fill them. Why oh why is Thanksgiving next week, already?! I'm supposed to have another month to get Baby BINGO put together!


Note to self: Cat + Tile Floor = Hours of Fun!
I don't have any video of it, but here's the visual. Cat, laying on the floor, looking completely calm save for the very tip of his tail. That is going haywire. Then, all of a sudden, out of no where, eyes widen, ears flatten, and he's off! Running full-tilt... In place... for 5 seconds. Then suddenly, track sets in and he rockets off... straight into the wall. >.<' At least he didn't dent anything this time. (He'd dented the bathtub at the old place cuz he rocketed across the carpeted house, hit the tile in the guest bath, slipped, and careened directly into the bathtub. Knocked himself out cold too. Josh thought the cat had killed himself.) I never cease to be amused whenever Fuzz gets hyper and starting trying to rocket about the apartment.

94% on the camera download. That's what I get for not downloading off my camera in weeks! And here I was hoping to have tons of pictures for ya'll this time around! Hoping, I'll have the patience to wait until it's done, then photo edit the Turtle-a wave video I took of my tummy one day at work.

Until then, Imma get more to drink. SO THIRSTY!!!!

An Update Long Over Due

I've been far too lax in my updating recently. I supposed because there's been litle drama to report. No news is good news?

But the low-down is that I've had my glucose screenings already, three of them to be exact, and each one is coming out 'normal'. Now, by 'normal' I mean that screening number one, my blood sugars were WAY too high. But I've heard that's true of nearly everyone. Test number two is the one I hate the most. three-four hours of blood work. I go in fasted, they draw blood. I have to drink the orange-fanta glucose soda of doom in five minutes (chug chug chug), then go away for an hour. Come back, draw blood, go away for an hour. Repeat two more times. It's gruelling, as I can't eat and can only have a few sips of water if I get really thirsty. Done at the start of October, what I thought was just going to knock me out for the morning, turned into an afternoon of exhaustion, and I passed out on the sofa shortly after getting home.

The results came back, and while techinically it wasn't diabetis, the fastest blood sugars came back way high, and the rest totally normal, if only a few points off being way too high. It made the doctors stop and think for two full weeks, while they watched my weight and body shape change. I've got the risk factors of being diabetic normally: Hispanic, overweight, and family history (thanks, Dad! :S Couldn't you have kept THAT to yourself?) Plus, I'm carrying my excess body weight (and always have) where diabetics typically carrying it, front and center.

It finally made the doctors want a third test to check if they could diagnosis it, if it was wild swings in my blood sugar or not. In I go for the morning only, 2hour screening. They take blood, I go eat and have a morning with the husband, and go back in two hours later for more blood. That was Monday.

Tuesday, I get a call from the Nurse Aide.
NA: "Good afternoon, Ms. Carranza. The results have come back and they were slightly elevated. We'd like you to come in for another three hour test as soon as possible. Is tomorrow good for you?"
Me: OMG! What? Umm.. let me try to get the day off...
NA: "If tomorrow's not good, we can do on Friday, but we'd really like it tomorrow."
Me: I'll call you back. O.O' OMG! *rush to the bosses office* Simon! Simon! The doctor called. Blood sugars are high again. They want another test tomorrow. It's the same one that knocked me out last time. Can I take the day?
Simon: YES!
Me: *run to call Josh* OMG OMG!! Blood sugars and high and test and-
Josh: This doesn't sound right. I don't want you to have it done until you talk to the DOCTOR.
Me: But-but-but- *insert tears here, cue co-workers staring at me in shock*
Josh: now!
Me: *calls doctor's office back* But-but-but-! I'm going to call the doctor. I have her cell phone.
NA: Okay. I'll pencil you in.
Me: I'm going home now. I've got to figure this out. I'll call in the morning and let everyone know if I'm here or not. I'm really sorry. *cue more tears, cue more estranged looks from the coworkers, stop at the store, get gravy for Josh cuz he's been sick and wants his favorite and I don't have any gravy mix inmy cupboard, get home, get undressed, toss in a load to wash, start in dinner*
Josh: Are you not talking to me?
Me: I'm sorry. I just wasn't loud enough.
Josh: What's wrong? Talk to me.
Me: *cue blubbering about all my fears, including something about feeling like Josh doesn't want me to check up on everything little thing to make sure baby's healthy and-*
Josh: *walks away*
Me: *cue more tears and crying, finish dinner, get it on the table*

We eat in relative silence, then the doctor calls me back.

Doc: What's wrong?
Me: We have questions! Why'd it take so long? Why all these test back to back? What are blood sugars at REALLY? We're confused!
Doc: *explantion on the blood counts and blah* If the last test was high, we'd skip any more tests, and go straight into You Have To Come In Right Away.
Me: Then why do I have to go tomorrow?
Doc: You don't, but I do want the three hour again after the 10th. Who said for you to go in?
Me: The Nurse Aide. She called, said my levels were high and they needed another test right now!
Doc: I'm going to hang her by her toenails. (Editor's note: The doctor didn't ACTUALLY say she was going to hang the poor Nurse Aide by the toenails, but she WAS pretty upset.) That is NOT what she was supposed to have told you! The results were normal! The fasted one was two points off adnormal and the 2hours after food was completely normal. The further along you get, the less tolerant your body becomes of glucose and the higher the chances of gestational diabetis. So, a repeat teh three hour 1 month after the first 3 hour and that is the nail in the coffin. (The pendejo in the coffin!! Inside joke, sorry.)
Me: Oh, so.. I'm fine?
Doc: Yes.
Me: And nothing's wrong?
Doc: No! *chuckle* You worry too much. That's why I had left clear instructions that they were to call you with a CLEAR result and that just to be formal and final, the next 3 hour needs to be some time after the 10th.
Me: Oh, thank god. I was panicking.
Doc: I could tell. Sorry it caused problems. I'll be /talking/ to Nurse's Aide in the morning.... TRUST ME.
Me: okay.

Whew. Still some tensions, hurtful words, and what nots, but at least THAT drama is behind us.

Now, back to party planning. OMG! Where am I going to find cute little party favors for all my party guests that won't cost my poor mother a rib?! -worry, again!-

It's raining Babies!

Well, presents, at least.

It's about that time to think baby showers.

I've got two scheduled. The co-ed family only one on Thanksgiving Day, and the GIRLS ONLY pink-extravaganza on Dec 1st.

Guys, don't worry. I'm not leaving you out. I've got a pool hall 5 mins from the baby shower locale all scoped out for you to buy Josh a round of Shiner Bock.

Watch for details soon.

On the update front, I'm getting BIGGER, I'm feeling ok most of the time, and I'm really starting to feel her KICK. She's kicks hard enough to make my head shake. O.O!!

Much Love.

Before I Update Fully...

My thoughts to Mr. Obama:

I just wanted to say that the sound bites I'm hearing on the radio regarding Mr. Obama's views on the issues brought forth by the Jena 6 are moronic. I may have wrong information, but I have been under the impression that while the whites hung nooses, which granted is disgusting, the blacks nearly beat someone to death? The whites expressed their freedom of speech, albeit in a way that leaves quite the foul taste in my mouth and has me questioning the lack of consideration and respect taught to them by their parents, the blacks violated a Law. Is it not, then, reasonable for the blacks to get a harsher punishment, seeing as it was an actual crime? The cries of racism are idiotic and petty and are only making things worse. What support Mr. Obama had won in my husband and I over his views of the Iraq War now finds itself broken by Mr. Obama's leap for the bandwagon.
-as posted to his feedback website.

Josh for President, 2016! Just your guy next door, tired of the Big Dogs that only want to play politics for their own gains. Fuck you, here's my HONEST opinion.

For the Rolleristas

A promotional video for my girls on the Fallout Brigade.
Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Much love, Mama Moose.

Saturday Night = Roller Derby MADNESS

Disclaimer: Mom, Dad, Doctor, and Bosses - I did NOT skate. I did not take my skates out of the closet. I wanted to, but I didn't. My inner-Josh threatened horrible things to my skates if I put my hands on them. That said, happily read on!

Saturday night was Bout #1 of Season #1 for the South Texas Rolleristas! God damn am I excited!! This exciting to have contact with something like this, and better, to know that I was skating and will be skating with them. I'm on medical leave to care for Turtle-a for the time being and I simply can't wait to get back to the wheels. Anyway. The bout between the Fallout Brigade and the Traumakazees was badass! I didn't know who to scream for, so I screamed and cheered for EVERYONE! Thank you to Kitty Glitter and my hubby for taking pictures and video from the bout. I helped too by working the merchandise booth. Pistol Kitten called me a Merch Whore. Well, I can't help if I like selling things, can I?

I have so many pictures and videos, I want to find the best ones, and do a good update, but there's housework to do, and I've taken my break. back to work for me! More updates, soonish?

It's a girl!!!!

See the black arrow? Those are her tiny bits. Thank you, Turtle-a for mooning the camera!

And now, a few more pictures!

And now a view from the outside. YIKES! I look HUGE! Beached whale, anyone? This was from this past Saturday after a LONG day of moving in. Kristi was helping me learn the features on my camera, and we were playing with the black and white option. She helped me 'pose' and smoothed out my shirt. I'm only starting month five here, so what the hell? I guess, that's what I get for being pudgy, ne? While I look like a whale, Kristi... well, looks like a freakin' super model. Look at that!!! Sick.

Target Bay Registry updated

I've removed a few items from my baby registry.

1. 4-in-1 convertable crib to bed - My mother has called dibs on this item.
2. Rocking Chair & Ottoman - we took a look at this item in the store and it is not strong enough to support Josh. Sorry!

Next update: Are we buying pink or blue?

Moved In.

But still not COMPLETELY unpacked.

Alright, as promised, I busted butt to get things settled to the point where I didn't feel like a complete ass for taking some time to play on my computer. :) But what that does mean for all you lucky peoples out there in internet land is that I'm going to over load you with pictures!!

First picture out of the gate is my cat, Fuzzbutt (long story, i'll have to tell it to you sometime). This is back at the trailer. Josh had given me the camera on Wednesday night when I got home from work, so I took a moment from packing boxes to play with the camera (wouldn't you?!). And what a cute kitty cat I have!! Awwwwwwwwwww.......

Next up, on the right, is a picture of the lowest gas price I saw this week. $2.37 a gallon for Regular Unleaded. I'm always watching the ever-changing gas prices seeing as I fill up about once a week. Sucks working 30mins away from the house. Josh is the lucky one... He works 5 mins from the new place, so he fills up once a season.

Lucky bastard... :S

Anyway. On to the moving.

BW and his wife Barbara, Jonathan and his wife Vanity (I was playing with the black and white options after the move during the thank-you party), and Josh's brother Danny and his wife Kritsy.
My mom joined us as well, but I didn't get a picture of her. *cry* We did our best to get everything started by 10am, but as is typical for us, we got started late. By about 11am or so, the two trucks that had been offered to us to get the furniture moved showed up and the loading began in earnest.
Mom and I went to the new apartment ahead of the group to be
ready to direct traffic and see to the cleaning of all the stuff. Luckily, we were not alone. Grey and Brian showed up (no photos available) to help unload and clean. The cleaning, I might add, was an ordeal.
The old house, The Trailer, was infested with those tiny little brown cockaroaches. We had two types. We had the long skinny kind and the short fat, shiny, black and brown kinds. I'd search the internet for pictures of them, but honestly, I hope I never see one again. *shudder*
They were in EVERYTHING! The computers. The TV. The sofas. The books. The CDs. The ROUTER!!!! It was horrendous. I hated it. And the mold and mildew in the trailer. UGH! The front door's weather stripping was... well, I don't think it even had weather stripping. Whenever it would rain, water would get in. Then it would get hot. Mold city. And Josh is allergic. -sigh- BW would clean and spray and vacuum. I vacuumed too. The area rug, the sofas a little bit too.
Once items had cleared "inspection" they got dusted again, sprayed with antibacterials, then directed into the apartment. I was on traffic control detail early on. Box there, box here, chair there. Mom spent the day washing dishes and doing the urgent laundry. Vanity and I took time to 'rest' by sorting, folding, and hanging the already clean laundry.

But what, you ask, does the new apartment look like? Well, I'm SO glad you asked! :)

Here's the living room as seen from the front door. Josh is sitting at his computer and mine just finished booting up. There's still a few boxes lingering about. But that's to be expected. Off the living room is a small hallway where to two bedrooms are located. The door we see here is the door to baby's room.

I have more pictures, but I have to reformat them to portrait, otherwise they'll look all sideways crazy.

Until then, enjoy the fruits of my new digital camera!!

New Home

Yesterday, we moved.

The new place is very nice, and I'm learning the joys of all tile floors. Josh stayed up late to entertain the work crew that showed to help us move. All the furniture and boxes were at the new place by 3pm, and everything was as bug-free, dust-free, and fur-free as it could be made before entering the apartment by about 6pm.

Today, mom's coming back to help finish all the laundry. I don't think Josh is gaming today so we'll sort and unpack.

For my birthday this coming Monday, Josh got the family a digital camera. Well, he got ME a digital camera, but I'm a shutter-bug.

Next post: PICTURE MANIA! (Once we get my computer set up and I figue out how to download...)

Now: Breakfast and Sid Miers' Civ2.

PS: Fuzzbutt says hi to all, the new place is awesome. I'm going to hyper-turbo-rocket-mode and careen into the fridge!

ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
*thud* muurr? =o.O='

Is that gas?

No, it's just Baby.

I was lying in bed on Wednesday, chatting with Josh before falling asleep when I felt something so weird! It felt like when Fuzzbutt walks under my cloth bottomed camp chair while I'm sitting in it, and I can feel all the bumps from his head and shoulders and tail. Only, this feeling was inside, between my pelvic bone and my belly-button - dead center. I remembered that that's where Cris always puts sonogram things to see Baby. I told Josh immediately, and he just smiled.

"That was Baby," he said.

Wow... already? It all happens so fast!

Music and Me

Suzuki Baby Music
Pre-Natal Music Classes & Music Classes for Parent and Baby in Houston

Pre-Natal Music and Relaxation
A Four-Week Class for Moms-To-Be
The sense of hearing is strongly developed in the womb and babies are born able to recognize their parents' voice. What types of music are most beneficial to the developing child? Current research indicates visible benefits to babies who listen to music pre-natally. In addition, a stronger bond forms between parent and child. Learn more in this four-week class for expectant moms (and dads!).

Early Childhood Music
Music for Parent and Baby (ages newborn through 3 years old)
Current research shows that babies who are exposed to music form stronger neural connections and are therefore more able to handle higher-level thinking skills later in life.

“Recent studies also show that from the twenty-fourth week on, the unborn child listens all the time.

“Moreover, in an arresting series of new studies audiobiologist Michele Clements has shown that the unborn child has distinct musical likes and dislikes – and discriminating ones at that.

“….Vivaldi is one of the unborn child’s favorite composers; Mozart is another. Whenever one of their soaring compositions was put on a record player, reports Dr. Clements, fetal heart rates invariably steadied and kicking declined. The music of Brahms and Beethoven and all kinds of rock, on the other hand, drove most fetuses to distraction. They kicked violently when records of these composers were played to their pregnant mothers.”

“It’s even possible to begin teaching an unborn baby. At the very least, a pregnant woman who spends a few minutes each day listening to soothing music could make her child feel more relaxed and tranquil. At most, that early exposure might create in the child a lifelong musical interest.” The Secret Life of the Unborn Child (Thomas Verny, M.D. with John Kelly)

“The long-term effect of prenatal stimulation programmes on developmental achievement and intellectual function has been the subject of several recent research programmes… The literature holds a wealth of information regarding the influences of early stimulation on the fetus…The evidence of auditory discrimination, memory and learning which occurs from the fetal stage indicates the vital role which parents, caregivers and society should play in the provision of optimal sound environments from before birth.”

“If a parallel is drawn between music and spoken language, then it is indicated that the presence and quality of the musical environment before the age of two is of the utmost significance in the development of auditory processing skills…” (“Musical Origins;” an article by Professor Sheila Woodward, University of Capetown, South Africa)

Wishlists and Registries

Fixed the link on Jinx.com : Get me fuzzy green dice!!!!

...and I feel fine.... o/`

So the vomit counter is sorta back up and running. I had a rough start to my week. I had given my meds a rest, but now I'm back to two a day. When will I be DONE with the throw up? >.<'

Before conception: 217#

I had dropped nearly 10# of that up until I got put on the anti-vomit meds. And then, put the weight right back on. -sigh-

Currently: 216#

I'm at week 15. Next week officially starts trimester numero deux!

I had a quickie sonogram last week though. Got to see Turtle-O moving around, crossing the legs, stretching the legs, wiggling about. It was SO cute. Josh was smiling the whole time, and holding my hand. I got to see the bones!! Tiny little bones, and it looked like a real person already. The thing that really struck me was the forearms. Two distinct arm bones. And fingers, and toes! It was... amazing.

I still, almost, can't believe that... That is there, in me....

....and then I vomit. >.<'

Medicaid and My Health Benefits

So, the form Cris gave me was a big help, but in the end, even if I don't declare Josh's meager $1k/month salary, I, by myself, make a mere $30 over the poverty limit. That's one tank of gas folks, and I fill up weekly. But gas isn't taken into account. So, I was denied Medicaid. Stupid government.

I even wrote a letter to my congressman. I'll attach that later...

another bad note was that my HR Office won't let me extend my deductibles for the two weeks I'll be over Jan 1 for Baby to be due. But, my current doc is in the program to pay less with less deductibles. Don't worry. It made sense to me. I'll explain... later, for now. I'm late for work. again... had to eat. I started to feel vomitous, so down with the meds and some munchies.

and now, to float my happy ass to work. >.< So MUCH RAIN!

Just a quickie note.
- Went fishing this weekend with the in-laws. Learned to cast a fishing pole. Caught some seaweed.
- Got a very nasty sun burn.
- Fell asleep in the car.

Much love,
Catry.

Finally!

I know I said I've had a few sonograms already and I was just waiting to figure out my scanner. Well, I finally figured it out, so here you go, Clauie-Fans! Offical Baby Picture Number One.

By the looks of it, Baby aka Turtle-O likes being upside-down. Turtle-O is very low down right now, that verticle line right under Turtle-O's head being the vahjayjay. According to Aunt Debbie, that means a very big baby. Well, seeing the father's a small Hill Giant, that would make sense.

So, there you go, folks. My first real baby picture that looks like something more than a turle-esque blob.

Hope you enjoyed. And now back to your regularly scheduled web-surfing.

Wanted: One Surrogate Vahjayjay

or Despite the New Doctor Being Truely Awesome Josh is About to Cry, plus God is listening.

Firstly, the new doctor is awesome. Well, the Registered Nurse slash Certified MidWife is awesome. The staff is awesome. The doctor.... I don't know. See, I'm not having any sort of complication and I'm err Baby is developing well so there really isn't anything for the doctor to see. The RN Midwife is a member of the Church Josh works at. We are not members. I haven't gone since like Christmas, and yet she recognized me almost immediately. My first trip in to see her with my mom was fantastic. She had me laughing, she sat down, listened to all my stupid First Timer Questions, gave me wonderful understandable answers and just made me LAUGH. It was so important. And just like my first impression at the Church, I was made to feel at home, like they had been my doctor for years and just hadn't seen me in a while. Fears answered with Gift, number One.

This weekend, we had planned (PLANNED) to go to Combined Realms War Ten (CRWX) in Burnett County. I had even warned the family in Austin that I might be in the area. Well, last week... or is it the week before now... I started vomitting blood. I refuse to go into the details of said excretion as the memory makes me want to wretch, but needless to say it was a scary ordeal to say the least. RN Midwife saw to me (her name is Cris, BTW) and simply wanted me to stop throwing up. I could handle that, so I was put on much rest and No-Throw-Pull pills. YES! Finally! A wonder drug for morning sickness. I was in heaven! Things were getting better until last Tuesday, when we got hit with round one of the medical bills, and the $300 we had saved up for CRWX got redelegated to Baby Bills. SUCK!! I was livid, sad, and dejected. I told the guys to give-'em-hell and stayed home to do housework with the vacation I had already taken and now had to use. This Tuesday, I had forgotten to eat. i was just being so lazy that it didn't cross my mind. So when Josh got me dinner, I threw up before I ate. No blood, but still. On Wednesday, I started bleeding.

Let me start by saying I never liked being on my period, but bleeding while knowing there's a little life inside is FUCKING SCARY AS SHIT! But, Ceci had said it can happen, and if it does lay down immediately. So, I did. At 8am, I laid down on the sofa, Fuzzbutt curled up by my tummy, and on went the History Channel. At 10am, I ate breakfast (which Fuzzbutt wanted and i offered the apple), and laid back down. I think I fell asleep cuz went I had to pee next, it was 1pm. I went pee and the blood hadn't stopped. It was worse. Dark, rusty colored, but thicker than I had ever seen it these past three months. Panic time, number... what number am I on? So, I call Josh.

"Hi, Gorgeous! How are you?"
Not so good. Look, I don't want to scare or worry you at all, but I woke up bleeding. I laid down, like I was told, and I just checked. It's not getting any lighter.
-quietly- "Call the Doctor, then call me right back."
Yes, sir. -minor panic attack trying to remember where I had the number until I realize I had it on my phone-
"Renaissance Women's Health?"
Yes, I was hoping either Dr. Montalvo or Nurse Riersen were available for me to speak with right now? My name is Claudia Carranza, and I'm a patient.
"Certainly. May i ask what the concern is first?"
I'm three months pregnant and woke up with more than heavy spotting this morning. I laid done and rested, but it's not getting any lighter. I'm worried because I'm feeling menstrual-like cramps with it that is very steady and not letting up.
"Okay. Let me get you a nurse. Please hold a moment."
-lalalala, at least their hold music doesn't Totally Suck Ass-
"Claudia, this is Nurse Bernie. Can you describe to me exactly what your are feeling and seeing?"
-I reexaplain, and add the rusty color. At this point, I'm starting to break down and shake. It's a fight to keep my voice something close to level, but if something is wrong then strong emotions might make it worse. My mantra was In through the Nose, Out through the Mouth.-
"Let me check with Cris real fast for you, but stay laying down, okay?"
Ok.
"Okay, I'll be right back."
-more hold music-
"Claudia, thanks for holding. Can you come in? It may be nothing, since the blood isn't bright red, but dark and rusty, but we'd really like to be sure."
Sure. I don't know if I have the good car or not. Do you want me to drive myself, or have my husband drive me to reduce my stress?
"Please have him drive you if you can. Don't rush. It's more important that you get here safely than quickly. I'll let the front desk know you're on your way and we'll be waiting for you."
Okay, thanks. I'll see you soon.
-call Josh-
Can you take me to the doctor? They'd like to check me over to be safe.
"Get dressed. I'll be right there."

Okay, getting dressed while period cramping is never fun. Getting dressed while feeling period cramps and knowing there's a little one is NOT FUN IN THE SLIGHTEST. Every move at me nervous. Five minutes later, Josh walks in with that 'I'm so worried and nervous if any one gets in my way they'll see the sharp end of my sword' look on his face. I'm about to say, 'Please don't worry.' but really, who would I be kidding? I'm scared as hell and fighting to hold it together and not break down. That would be the last thing Josh needed, to be completely worried about Baby (or as Arlene calls Baby from Week 5 sonogram: Turtle-O) and I, and then have me a blubbering wreck. We get in the car and he starts to zoom to the doctor's office.

Dad, if you're reading this, Mom told me she used to not tell you anything about the pregnancies because with Ceci you'd panic with every little thing. She said she was more scared with your driving to the hospital at the start of her contractions than she was at pretty much any other time.

Josh was driving a bit like that. It was quick stops, hard accelerations, and top speed with cruise control so he wouldn't go over the speed limit and truely that was the only thing that kept him from lead-footing-it all the way there. It wasn't comfortable, but after seeing his eyes when he walked into the house, I wasn't going to tell him I was getting scared at his driving. He's a fantastic driver, and is just trying to get me there fast cause he's just as scared as I am.

We arrive like 10 minutes later, and get into the waiting room. I'm still writing my name when I'm called in. Whoa! O.O

I get into the bloodpressure slash weigh the whale slash pee in the cup area and the nurse asks Josh to wait outside a moment. Wha? And there's Cris.

"Claudia! You're here? I thought Bernie was still on the phone with you?"
No, she asked me to come in straight away, just to be safe.
"Oh, okay?" -glance at Bernie-
B: I checked with Jessica.
Cris: Ok. Well, get her weight, bloodpressure, and a urine sample.
My husband's outside. Can he please come in now? He's really scared.
B:Of course. -opens door- Mr. Carranza?
His last name is Kaufman.
B: Huh? (Type 'help' for help.)
Happens all the time. I haven't changed my name.
B: Oh.
J: What's going on?
We got here too fast. Can he wait in a patient room for me to get this stuff done.
B: Sure. Here's your pee-cup. Mr. Kaufman, this way.
-I get my weight (208, down from 217 at my very first visit, and oddly enough I feel fatter not lighter) give my blood pressure and reexplain everything. When I pee, the blood is much less. Okay....? I get out and they start to lead me the other way from where I saw Josh go.-
But my husband is...
B: Oh! Over here!
AH! Hi Josh.
B: We're going to check everything down there, so can you please get undressed from the waist down please?
-Here's my pink paper blanket. I think Sloan Medical makes this... Anyway, I undress, and Josh is too nervous to make a 'reow' comment. Up on the table-bed and wait. Try chatting with Josh but we're both too nervous.-
I keep wanting to tell you not to worry, Babe, but it's stupid. I'm scared shitless.
-Josh nods. Great, silent treatment. He's freaking out on the inside. Cris walks in.-
"Okay, let me hear it."
-Reexplain.-
"Have you two had intercourse recently?"
We tried last night, but it wasn't going to happen, before that... a day or two, then a week or more, really. It's been touch and go. This morning, he kissed me good bye for the morning and it felt good. I took care of myself when he left, and maybe I tensed too much? I fell asleep for an hour, and when I woke up I was bleeding. I thought that maybe that was the reason, and my sister had told me the last time I spotted, which was weeks and weeks ago and really light by comparision, to just lay down and it should go away. It hasn't, and the pains are worse, not unbearable but worse, so that's why I called. It's been hours.
"Okay. Well, first of, let me start by saying that a really don't think this is anything. The blood you described was dark, rusty colored. That means it's old. This is not a fresh bleed. But any blood when you're pregnant is really really scary. You did absolutely the right thing. You rested, and when it didn't seem to get better you called in. Your last sonogram showed you had 11 weeks and everything was developing the way it should. We had a very strong heartbeat. The chances that this, whatever it is, is a sign of a miscarriage is very very low. Your pregnancy looks very strong. That's not to say the chances are zero, so we're going to check everything to make sure, but I'm not terribly worried that this is amiscarriage. Often, with all the hormones, the walls of the vahjayjay (Okay, editor's note here, she didn't ACTUALLY say vahjayjay, it just sounds funnier that way!) and the cervix get irritated and if you try to have some fun, a small tear could happen and produce blood. The urine test was to check if the blood was related to a bladder infection, which it's not. Your urine is very clear-"
Well, thank you. I drink as much water as I can handle.
"Why water?"
Umm.. cause it's clear and not dark and heavy like soda?
"Ah, good reason. Well, water is the best thing to drink." (As I slurp down Gatorade at this very moment...) "So, bladder infection is out. Let's take a listen."
-here comes a little black box with something almost like a microphone.-
J: What's that? -He spoke!! He's calmer!-
It's a Doppler Microphone thingie to hear the baby, right Cris?
"Exactly."
-Several tense moments and then: woosha woosha woosha woosha woosha woosha COUGH woosha woosha-
"Ah! Baby sounds very happy in there, and baby kicked at us."
She kicked? I thought it was a cough... not that... Baby could really cough, I mean, there's no air and.. I'm dumb.
-woosha woosha woosha COUGH (Josh starting to almost grin here.) COUGH woosha woosha woosha-
"No, there's no air in there. A cough would be like gurgle gurgle. That's the baby kicking at us."
Wow. I was starting to get worried when you weren't finding anything.
"Oh, don't be. We're trying to find something an inch or two long, maybe, in all of this..."
Gee, thanks. (Josh grins here. Thanks, Josh!)
"Well, baby sounds happy as can be. I want to check to see if I can see anything that would be bleeding, and to see if the cervix isn't doing anything stupid like trying to open up."
-shuffle shuffle, open the hood-
"Okay, I do see some blood, but this is definately not a fresh bleed. it's a few days old at worst. And your cervix is closed up really tight."
.oO( Oh good. I'm tight. Josh'll like that. )
-unhooked, close the hood-
"Everything looks okay. If you're okay with it, I'd like to see if Melissa can fit you in for a sonogram with me to be sure the sac is okay and not-"
Tearing?
"or detaching."
-we explain some worries we had about money, she gives us a medicaid form filled out, and says not to worry, we explain about my deductibles which despite being very good reset Jan1,2008. I'm due Jan 14, 2008. SUCK ASS!! I've got my HR Office checking if they can do an exception for me or something. Off we go for the sonogram, and into the room with Josh's favorite comfy chair. And there's the picture (which I plan to figure out how to scan ASAP)-
"Everything looks fine. The sac is a little low though, really close to the cervix. I would have to say while everything is fine, no intercourse for a month, just to give the baby a chance to get up and out of the way."
(Insert a pained dejected look from Josh here.)
J: A month?
"At least."
Ok. Thank you.
"Other than that, you both look fine."

We get out of the office, both feeling lighter and much more relieved, and as the engine warms up, Josh sighs.
J: Can I get a surrogate pussy for a month?
Sure, babe. I'll put a wanted ad up on my blog. Tall, blonde, double-D?
J: I don't like blondes.
Okay. Short, mexican, stacked?
J: Oo. -pause- You're evil. -pause, laugh, facepalm- AH! I'm not going to last a month!

Wanted, Surrogate vahjayjay for loving husband. Blondes need not apply. Must be short, mexican, and stacked. Please apply via reply with URL link to vid of self being dirrty. Files must be more than 20secs in length, the longer the better. We do use YouSendIt.com

Extra Bonus Material:
So, last week, Josh had mentioned to one of the ladies that had stopped by Monday morning to help him count the donation plate from Sunday and all the tithes and so forth so that there's accountability (now that Josh isn't a Count, He's a Duke..) that we were looking for a house. We're taking a moment to rest up from some pregnancy crazy, but that we're gearing up for the house hunt very soon. The next day, she brought by her card and a print out of a listing. under $90k, wonderful location, beautiful house, exactly what we wanted. Monday, she brought by a stack of 50 more. All in the area we want, all in the price range we want, $60k-$90k, all when the bed/bath combo we want. And that's just cause he mentioned it, in passing. Thank you for listening. Thank you for answering when it was least expected but needed most. Just... well, thanks.

And just because this was funny as hell...

You know that commercial for EPT, where the lady is all "I can't concentrate, could I be pregnant?"... well, here's Josh's dee-dedee ,moment.

Heh. Okay, I figure this while get a smile out of you.

I had a real Dee De Dee moment here. See if you can spot the logic error.

I go to Stripes to pick up a taco for lunch. I get back into the car, start it up and drive off, and I'm back at the inter-section of the church when I start patting my pockets. Oh Shit! Where are my keys?!?

Sp I pull into the parking lot fully intending to grab a phone book and call the store and see if I left my keys there. I turn off the car and realize....Oh...here are my keys. In the ignition.

Dee de Dee!

Josh

Better Late then Never.

It's been a while since I updated. I'm sorry about that, Clauie fans! :) But I thought endless updates of just my vomit-counter would get really boring really fast. So, I've saved my update for some juicy stuff.

First on the list is that I'm now about 8 weeks or so. It's still a rough estimate because I'm a freak and don't have regular periods. All I know is that in midMay, I started feeling like I should be getting my period. All the classic Mood Swing Clauie symptoms, and then... upset stomach for a week. I thought it was an ulcer because let's face it, after 3 years of wanting desperately, I'd pretty much given up fretting, timing, and hoping. I'd tossed the Big Guy a shout out and put it firmly out of mind.

So, now that it turns out I am, I've started the big push to take real care of more than just myself and Josh. Though admittedly, I've always been really bad at taking care of anyone, myself included. But, I'm now not the center of the world. It's really weird... I have moments that I don't feel any different, then other times where I'm scared senseless.

This week's panic attack: Toxoplasmosis aka the Cat Sh!t Disease.

Toxoplasmosis
(TOX-o-plaz-MO-sis)

What is toxoplasmosis?
A single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes a disease known as toxoplasmosis. While the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Of those who are infected, very few have symptoms because a healthy person's immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, pregnant women and individuals who have compromised immune systems should be cautious; for them, a Toxoplasma infection could cause serious health problems.

How do people get toxoplasmosis?
A Toxoplasma infection occurs by:

Accidentally swallowing cat feces from a Toxoplasma-infected cat that is shedding the organism in its feces. This might happen if you were to accidentally touch your hands to your mouth after gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat feces. Eating contaminated raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison; by touching your hands to your mouth after handling undercooked meat.
Contaminating food with knives, utensils, cutting boards and other foods that have had contact with raw meat.
Drinking water contaminated with Toxoplasma.
Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion, though this is rare.


What are the symptoms of toxoplasmosis?
Symptoms of the infection vary.

Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma are not aware of it.
Some people who have toxoplasmosis may feel as if they have the "flu" with swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more.
Severe toxoplasmosis, causing damage to the brain, eyes, or other organs, can develop from an acute Toxoplasma infection or one that had occurred earlier in life and is now reactivated. Severe cases are more likely in individuals who have weak immune systems, though occasionally, even persons with healthy immune systems may experience eye damage from toxoplasmosis.
Symptoms of ocular toxoplasmosis can include reduced vision, blurred vision, pain (often with bright light), redness of the eye, and sometimes tearing. Ophthalmologists sometimes prescribe medicine to treat active disease. Whether or not medication is recommended depends on the size of the eye lesion, the location, and the characteristics of the lesion (acute active, versus chronic not progressing). An opthamologist may provide the best care for ocular toxoplasmosis.
Most infants who are infected while still in the womb have no symptoms at birth, but they may develop symptoms later in life. A small percentage of infected newborns have serious eye or brain damage at birth.


Who is at risk for developing severe toxoplasmosis?
People who are most likely to develop severe toxoplasmosis include:

Infants born to mothers who became infected with Toxoplasma for the first time during or just before pregnancy.
Persons with severely weakened immune systems, such as individuals with HIV/AIDS, those taking certain types of chemotherapy, and those who have recently received an organ transplant.


What should I do if I think I am at risk for severe toxoplasmosis?
If you are planning to become pregnant, your health care provider may test you for Toxoplasma. If the test is positive it means you have already been infected sometime in your life. There usually is little need to worry about passing the infection to your baby. If the test is negative, take necessary precautions to avoid infection (See below).

If you are already pregnant, you and your health care provider should discuss your risk for toxoplasmosis. Your health care provider may order a blood sample for testing.

If you have a weakened immune system, ask your doctor about having your blood tested for Toxoplasma. If your test is positive, your doctor can tell you if and when you need to take medicine to prevent the infection from reactivating. If your test is negative, it means you have never been infected and you need to take precautions to avoid infection. (See below).



What should I do if I think I may have toxoplasmosis?
If you suspect that you may have toxoplasmosis, talk to your health care provider. Your provider may order one or more varieties of blood tests specific for toxoplasmosis. The results from the different tests can help your provider determine if you have a Toxoplasma infection and whether it is a recent (acute) infection.



What is the treatment for toxoplasmosis?
Once a diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is confirmed, you and your health care provider can discuss whether treatment is necessary. In an otherwise healthy person who is not pregnant, treatment usually is not needed. If symptoms occur, they typically go away within a few weeks to months. For pregnant women or persons who have weakened immune systems, medications are available to treat toxoplasmosis.



How can I prevent toxoplasmosis?
There are several general sanitation and food safety steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma.

Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling soil. Cats, which may pass the parasite in their feces, often use gardens and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.
When preparing raw meat, wash any cutting boards, sinks, knives, and other utensils that might have touched the raw meat thoroughly with soap and hot water to avoid cross-contaminating other foods. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling raw meat.
Cook all meat thoroughly; that is, to an internal temperature of 160° F and until it is no longer pink in the center or until the juices become colorless. Do not taste meat before it is fully cooked.
For further information on safe food handling to help reduce food borne illness visit the Fight BAC! ® Web site at http://www.fightbac.org/main.cfm.



If I am at risk, would I be able to keep my cat?
Yes, you may keep your cat if you are a person at risk for a severe infection (e.g., you have a weakened immune system or are pregnant); however, there are several safety precautions to avoid being exposed to Toxoplasma:

Keep your cat healthy and help prevent it from becoming infected with Toxoplasma. Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food rather than allowing it to have access to wild birds and rodents or to food scraps. A cat can become infected by eating infected prey or by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the parasite. Do not bring a new cat into your house that might have spent time out of doors or might have been fed raw meat. Avoid stray cats and kittens and the area they have adopted as their "home." Your veterinarian can answer any other questions you may have regarding your cat and risk for toxoplasmosis.
Have someone who is healthy and not pregnant change your cat's litter box daily. If this is not possible, wear gloves and clean the litter box every day, because the parasite found in cat feces needs one or more days after being passed to become infectious. Wash your hands well with soap and water afterwards.


Once infected with Toxoplasma is my cat always able to spread the infection to me?
No, cats only spread Toxoplasma in their feces for a few weeks following infection with the parasite. Like humans, cats rarely have symptoms when first infected, so most people do not know if their cat has been infected. The infection will go away on its own; therefore it does not help to have your cat or your cat's feces tested for Toxoplasma.



Alright, firstly, I'm not in full-blown panic mode. After all, the chances are pretty slim in my book for me having come down with this disease. Fuzz is an indoor cat. He doesn't have access to wild birds or rodents. We've only seen two mice in the 3 years we've lived here, and that one was at least a year ago. He didn't eat it. Rather, he offered it to Josh for dinner. The second he called me out of bed to help him hunt and teach me how. I have to admit that I'm a terrible student and the mouse got away. But clearly, Fuzz is more interested in helping us than eating it himself. Plus, I haven't found any rodent corpses laying around. Also, I don't eat my cat's poopie.

As for raw meat, I tried the rawfood diet for him, and he hated it. He likes his ground beef cooked, salted, and spiced. Maybe with a bit of diced onion and fresh minced garlic too. he's not a fan of the cilantro, but then, neither is Josh.

So the real worry for me was the rare steak I had at Tony Roma's last Thursday.

Sunday, Josh noticed a thing on my eye, like a bruise. I remember that on Saturday night my eye itched bad, so I rubbed and rubbed. I'm mostly sure that I just scratched my eye a bit too badly. Melinda said she noticed it on Tuesday last week but forgot to ask me about it. I cleaned the litter box the Saturday before that.

Over all, I'm just confused and don't know what it might be.

I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday with my new doctor. Yes, new doctor.

OMG, let me tell you!!! *insert Josh's girlie hand-motion that he denies he does here*

Okay, so the doctor I had originally started with was Dr. Rodriguez from the Women's Clinic in Edinburg. While the doctor was okay, he really was in and out, and not just with the wand-of-baby-viewing. This is my first pregnancy. I know ZELCH and have all sorts of really dumb questions. (Am I supposed to ache? "Yes, Clau, but if you bleed go to the doctor." - Ceci. My cat jumped off my tummy! Is the baby going to be okay? "Yes, Clau. The baby is much more protected than you think. My sister had boston terriers spring boarding off her tummy and her baby's just fine!" -Arlene. OMG! I'm feeling uber fat already! Can I go swimming?! "YES!!!" - just about everyone.) But how can I ask my questions if he barely has time to lube the wand of baby viewing +5? Seriously! o.o!

And the staff. OMG. Incompetence is too pleasant a word for the level of stupidity in their office. First it was: OMG, I'm having pain and I don't know if that's normal! I now my appointment is this weekend, but can I please move it up to day? "Yes, of course. Your doctor's at McAllen." I get to McAllen. "I'm sorry. That doctor hasn't come badk from vacation. I mean, he just walked in 5 minutes ago. I mean, he came by, but he left early. I mean, he was here but had an emergency. OMG the doctor's hand was really hurt and he had to go to the hospital." Okay... what? Is there another doctor that can see me? "You can see hte Nurse Practioneer. I mean, you can't see the nurse. I mean, new patients have to see the doctor first. I mean, new patients have to see the doctor, but we'll make an exception. I mean, we can't make the exception after all, but you can go see a different doctor in our Edinburg Office." Okay... call it in so I'm not treated like a walk-in. "Sure. I'll call right now. I mean, I'm calling them right now. Okay, I talked to someone." Whatever. Off I go, across town. Hi. I'm Claudia. McAllen office called me in over here cause my doctor stepped out. "Who are you? Do you have an appointment? Fill out this paperwork. Oh! You've already filled it out? Who are you? Have a seat. No, we don't have room. Childern aren't allowed passed this point, but you, stupid woman with the 14 childern that's mooching off the welfare system, yes, you can take your brood and invade the back office and not watch your dirty childern while they run amuck, but miss first pregnancy paying customer you have to wait 3 hours cause we're going to treat you like a walk in anyway." 3.5 hours and 16 screaming childern later. "Ms. Cavazos." It's Carranza. "Whatever. You can go to the back now." okay.... there's another waiting room back here. what the h3ll, man? What is this? Waiting Room Purgatory?! "Who are you?" >.<' "We need you to pee in this cup." Why? "To see if you're pregnant." Umm... hello... didn't I DO this already? Here's my stick. "Pee in the cup, please." >.<' Fine.. Good thing I just had some juice. "Where's the cup?" In the window, like you told me. "We can't find it." THen look again, stupid. "Oh, we found it." Fifteen minutes later. "You're pregnant. Can I schedule you to....?" I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE DOCTOR RODRIGUEZ YOU MORONIC EXCUSE FOR AN EDUCATED NURSE'S AIDE NOW TAKE MY DAMM BLOODPRESSURE AND GET ME THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!! *pantpantpant* Doctor: -zoooooom, papsmear, wand, wham- "sac. empty, see you in 3weeks." -zoooooooom gone-

o.O WTF?

Okay. So, that coupled with the office staff knowing nothing about how to treat a paying customer really sent me over the edge on Saturday and I blew a gasket at them. Josh got annoyed. I forced them to refund my copay, and we left. Tuesday, I try on a new doctor.

So much for the 8wk sonograph picture of my lima bean for Josh's Father's Day card. *cry* At least he got one of the things he had asked for yesterday. I'm very glad the steak was optional.

This month's vomit counter: 1/day average.

What's next: I travel to Austin next weekend for HFS CRW X. And I still haven't gotten medical clearance to go. Stupid Women's Clinic. After that, a day-trip to either Rio Bravo or South Padre to hang with Josh's Dad and bros. The only ladies: the bro's women. This ought to be interesting.... And then, family reunion in midJuly.

Can I stop yet?

Oh, wait. That's a no. I still have to corner the bank guy into giving me my mortgage so I can buy a house. GAH!!! Why aren't you calling me back?! I've left like a half dozen messages!! What's it take, man? Do I have to go over there and show you what a phone is? If I shoved it up your @$$, you'd call me.... wait... eww... scratch that. Stupid banker.

Weekend Update

This weekend's vomit counter is 1.

And it's raining. I spotted a bit today. SO nervous! And cramping, and not feeling well. I'm going back to sleeping tv.