Halfway there?

Where on earth has the time gone? I'm 20 weeks and a few days and to be honest I got nothing. Our big u/s is not for another 3.5 weeks (because I'm a pansy who doesn't want to see anyone else in the practice). Truthfully that whole big u/s - I could care less about gender... I want to know that this babe has all the parts it's supposed to have. You know... chambers of the heart, outflow tracts, 2 kidneys, 2 lungs, a closed spinal column... I know I'm so romantic aren't I? But in all seriousness that's the things I worry about, not whether it will be a boy or girl. I live with my dad's philosophy that gender doesn't matter... healthy does. I almost grabbed a peds cardiologist and begged for a fetal echo the other day... if I had just been a little faster I would have caught them and probably fallen on my sword asking for one.

Last week was the anniversary of my dad's death and while I usually put a post up about it, this year I didn't have anything new to say. I miss him. I always will. March 12th will never be an easy day for me. This year I worked and that was a different animal.

No easy way to transition away from that, but we have had just sheer craziness in this household. I can tell you that I think Ernie is Hooch reincarnated from Turner and Hooch... the darn dog ate my favorite pajama pants when he got perturbed. While I don't think Hooch would do that... Ernie did. Squeaker is no help when Ernie gets in trouble either - he wants to let him out of his kennel and tells us loudly that "Ernie out here!"

Oh have I not mentioned Squeaker is now quite the little talker. He's a regular Chatty Charlie. It's quite cute and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It still has it's frustrating moments, but he's doing great on the vocal front. Now to get him to potty train. Today he chose to pee out the patio door... to be honest I don't care if it means we get out of pull ups. Although I'd prefer the toilet. My mom on the other hand will be horrified if she catches him doing that... and I know it'll happen. She's terrified he's going to go out the patio door and walk in our fenced in back yard. Seriously - that's probably a safe spot for him to wander. I've learned that as she ages she becomes more paranoid about things that she didn't even bother with when I was growing up... which is probably why I had so many visits to the emergency room.

Anyway so that's what's up with me. Not a lot.

Update of Sorts...

There are many things going on at the now 5 dog and a baby household... namely did I mention the 4 teeth we have here? No... oh I've been remiss.

On October 19th Squeaker decided to be a giant crank. To be exact he screamed the entire night. No - not kidding... there was maybe an hour there that he didn't. This was with tylenol and motrin on board for another complaint. Thankfully I had had the psychic ability to deduce it was going to be a shitty night and made D stay home. I was able to share the love so to speak with D so that each of us could get an hour here or there to sleep while the other cared for the screaming inconsolable Squeaker. The next morning during breakfast I put my finger in Squeakers mouth and was shocked to find... not 1 tooth like he'd had, but 4 teeth. Yes - we teethed 3 teeth in one night. It sucked. So at 14.5 months he has 4 teeth. He's also still under 20 lbs... to be exact at the last ped appt he weighed in at 19 lbs 9 oz. Still not into table food but getting better. Who knew feeding your toddler would be such a pain in the ass? I had no clue that's for sure.

In other news... Ernie had some growths removed from his side during a dental cleaning. We're waiting on the histology results - hopefully the margins are clear and we can just focus on Ernie being a dog. My mom is beside herself while I am cautiously optimistic that it's nothing to worry about. So some prayers are welcomed that they are just benign growths as we really don't need to be dealing with the other alternative. Ernie is forlorn right now as he has to wear the stupid elizabethian collar since he won't quit licking his sides. He'll have the stitches removed in about 2 weeks. Until then the collar stays on and he looks like Eeyore with it on. So sad.

In even other news... we are going to be getting dish TV... we had tried to suck it up through the digital conversion from analog - bought new antenna, the converter boxes, etc and yet as if to say screw you - the digital tv gods laughed at me when the cold windy weather hit and our tv channels were cut down by about 50%. My mom who is going to be living with us a good majority of the winter can not survive without certain tv programs (no not Je.rry Spr.inger more like Ju.dge Ju.dy) so in an effort to keep that front happy I caved and finally consented to allowing a satellite tv provider into our home. I'm not happy about it... and am kicking and screaming my way through it.

I have made some efforts to prepare myself for the holiday season. Christmas cards are ordered. A friend of ours took Squeaker's picture and they turned out fabulously... so we had a great photo to use.

This of course is not the picture, but it's from the photo shoot...

Goodbye Old Friend...

Today was awful... Chance had to be put to sleep... my dog... The dog who was there for me through everything... The dog who almost had me disowned.

12 years ago I purchased a beautiful miniature dachshund who was red dapple in color. I was 18 and I spent an exorbitant amount of money purchasing this dog. My mother when she heard the news threatened to disown me. He also convinced my mom not to disown me by running around the house with a newspaper over his head, running into a table and yelping like the puppy that he was. He eventually moved into my apartment with me and managed to scare off any number of bad boyfriends by doing various things such as eating a wallet, their shoes, peeing on them, coming between us when the guy went to kiss me. He loved my husband and didn't do any of those things to him. Chance had managed to survive back problems that caused numbness, two attacks by Megan and a kidney ailment. Chance was my baby before I had a baby... He was there for me through infertility and beyond...

Losing someone you love always sucks... doing the right thing and ending their misery is never easy. Chance is in a better place where he never has to worry about Megan trying to eat him. He doesn't have to share his bed with Lola and he'll always be with me in spirit. He has no pain and he's able to eat to his heart content... and I'm sure he'll be waiting for me at the rainbow bridge when I meet my maker...

Goodbye Old Friend... I love you...


CHANCELLOR SEBASTIEN CHAMPION
June 3, 1996 - October 15, 2008

All is Well

All is well in the 6 canine and a baby household... Or at least it's as good as it can be with 6 dogs and a baby in it.

Today I had my post partum visit to my doctor... and let me just say someone seriously needed to check me over before leaving the house. If they had I would have noticed that my t-shirt that I wore clearly defined my breast pads that were in my nursing bra. If I had known that I would have worn a different shirt. I was horrified when I walked into the room and there was a mirror and voila I see my nursing pads horribly defined.

Anyway that was the highlight of my day... or lowlight depending on how you look at it. In talking with my doctor rehashing the pregnancy and actually rehashing the conclusion I had to ask the question... "Since my water broke prematurely this time does that mean that I would be at risk for that to happen again." Now normally my doctor is very hopeful, optimistic - almost too optimistic. He looked at me and he said "yes". He then went on to say that they don't know why PROM occurs and have no way to prevent it, but they would be on the look out for it to happen a second time if we choose to have a second child - blah blah blah blah. I'm a planner by nature and while I am completely on the fence right now about having a second child as I love and adore the first child, but cannot begin to even think about having a second one when I am only barely staying above water with the first I had to ask the question. I wouldn't have been me if I hadn't asked the question and listened to the answer. I also felt that just asking the question was kind of like counting the chickens before they were hatched - not a good idea.

In other news breastfeeding - yeah well maybe once a day sometimes twice. We both are happier with the situation of pumping and getting it and both of us have to be either exhausted or starving which happens at least once a day. Ultimately we do our best and I'm no longer beating myself up about how he gets the breastmilk. I'm just happy that he does get breast milk.

We have his 8 week check up coming up on Friday. It is hard to believe it has been 8 weeks to me it seems like yesterday and in other ways it seems like an eternity has passed.

In funny ha ha dog news -

D is threatening to soak a pacifier (you know the ones from the hospital the s**thie kind) in pepper spray as the dogs have destroyed at least 4 of them in their "love" of these things... I think they would steal them directly from Squeak if they could. Right now we hide them - they find them. So if it's not in a drawer they consider it fair game and I'm not sure, but I think they're trying to figure out how to open the drawer to get to the pacifier. If it was one dog we could just say "BAD DOG". It's 4 dogs the only 2 that are not on the pacifier feast is the two puppies... the rest of the dogs can sniff them out. It's just plain weird. How do they know I hid the pacifier under 3 pillows?

Power Outage

What do you do when your father in law is visiting and the power goes out?

Pray for the power to come back on of course... fortunately my prayer was answered as my bladder was really beginning to protest my lack of wanting to go to the bathroom, but it was nice the power came on. I doubt it had anything to do with prayer but we'll give this one over to God and say -"Thanks a million!"

Ultimately my fil is here visiting until I think Monday. He came on Wednesday. Jodi his weim is with him and a more devoted pup you will not find. She adores my fil. She used to adore me, but that's okay that she is all about her owner. It's what we hoped for. It's brought a side of my fil out that we hadn't seen - a very very devoted one. He loves this dog and she goes everywhere with him.

In other news I apparently have hit my own power outage. As someone who is generally fairly active I have slammed head on into the wall of fatigue and let me just say it sucks. I hate it. I'm tired of being tired. That's my biggest complaint. I'm used to occasional fatigue, but this is bone crushing I could nap for 2 weeks and not be awake kind of thing. I've been told this is normal. In the hopes that this is normal and not because I haven't taken prenatal vitamins with iron - instead going for a different vitamin with low iron I've switched to the ones with iron.

In other news - this baby is still breech. He apparently has no sense of direction and does not appear to want to move anywhere. I believe the term - "I'm comfy" comes to mind. At my next appt if he is still breech we'll schedule an u/s and from there a version and well you get the idea.

I've also kind of hit panic mode. Panic as in... what the hell were we thinking having 6 dogs and a baby. I know this too shall pass and my fatigue is not helping with this thought process. If anyone wants to boost my spirits about 6 dogs and a baby - go for. If people want to point out it is ludicrious to have 6 dogs and a baby keep it to yourself PLEASE... discuss amongst yourself if you feel this way. I need support now, not any not so helpful points of - who in their right mind has 6 dogs and a baby. If anyone has $4000 laying around to help out with a fence for the 6 dogs then hell send it my way :) I'm good that way. I'll even send a thank you card. D doesn't seem to realize constantly harping about a fence to someone looking at the idea that my STD decreases my wages to 70% of my normal take home pay just isn't helpful. I hate to harp back at him that he's no millionaire.

In other news - he fell in love with a kirby vacuum cleaner. He stupidly let the sales people in. I had to go to work. We fortunately already have a kirby of my mother's from the mid 1990's. I firmly left to go to work stating "WE WILL NOT BE PURCHASING A KIRBY!" They of course did the whole presentation including vacuuming our mattress and most of the living room, the baby's room, and well anywhere else D could get them to vacuum. So at least he got some extra use out of them. He also had them take a look at my kirby and we found that for $30 we can have it back in tip top shape, so for now... he's quit mentioning buying a kirby, but has become quite the vacuum user. Everytime I turn around he's got the kirby out. No - I'm not kidding. It's quite comical as he hardly ever vacuumed before. The Hoover now has a RIP sign on it. He's sold on the kirby.

That's what's been going on for the last 9 days - fun fun fun.

Washing...

Yes, that wirrr sound is our washing machine having a field day doing laundry.

A few asked what brand we have which is G E and the model was purchased last year. I love the thing with a passion and now that it is actually draining water I'm back to actually loving the thing again. Ours was purchased at the irritating store A B C warehouse... yeah I know I can't believe we went there, but we got the best deal and somehow ended up with free installation and delivery. We had been tempted by the folks at HD, but ended up at A B C when the HD people could not show me the money. If you want actual model number I can look it up for you just leave it in the comments.

Ultimately we did not get the pedestals and right now D is lamenting that particular fact as that would have made things easier to access that stupid drain pump filter thingie that was clogged. However it wasn't a necessary item and still is not a necessary item. I of course win out on the "need" vs "want" game of chance.

Yesterday was spent shopping... we landed at the outlet mall and spent a small fortune on clothes for NN aka SD and D kept picking up things with firetrucks. No SD will not have a fire truck room as all the bedding I was able to find with fire trucks on it was absolutely awful and the one that was cute was way too pricey for this thrifty gal. I win out again on that whole "want" vs "need" game.

I was able to win a diaper bag on ebay that I am excited at seeing and hope is as great as the reviews I've read on it are. D still wants a bag that is more a work bag then diaper bag. He's losing that particular battle as no way jose' are you buying a bag that's $80 to cart diapers, bottles, and clothes around - even if you can use it again once the kidlet is out of diapers for work. The likelihood of this occurring as he'd have found another bag at that point is slim to well none.

Oh - the pens in the pump filter drain - most likely mine, the change most likely D's, the hair - well that would be all the puppies including the ones that have gone to new homes! So here's hoping the next time we clean our drain pump filter - which truly rolls off the tongue - it won't be quite the awful mess it was this time.

Oh yes and the area where he was able to find the information on how to clean it was located on epinions... I can post a link once he tells me what it is if there are those of you who need to know!

Standing water

Quiet - yes, it's been quiet here at the 6 dog house... mainly due to a work stretch.

Everything is fine, just life in general tends to get sucked from you when you do a 6 night stretch. Apparently 6 is my lucky or unlucky number. I've made some arrangements in my schedule for work as this pregnancy progresses, namely so that I can function a bit better. Just breaking up the 6 day stretch seems awful to me. I love having that 8 days off and that's probably why it's taken up until September for me to agree to back off a bit and break my stretches on up. I hate the idea, but with another coworker going on maternity leave shortly the numbers for working in the ICU are awful so I've switched a day here or there to accomodate that.

In other news - standing water... yes that is what I've had to deal with in our washing machine. We tried a few quick fixes and ultimately it lead to me making a service call. Our front load washer and dryer are wonderful - LOVE them love them love them. However no clue how to fix this issue as we could not figure out where a "drain pump filter" was located because the manual had no information other than "clean drain pump filter once every 3 months". It's never been cleaned. It was the most likely culprit.

Somehow D was able to pull a rabbit out of his a*s and thanks the the wonderful world of internet and forums a person who had actually located this filter - the problem was amazingly resolved. In the filter he found 2 pens, change, enough dog hair to last a small lifetime and god knows what else. We no longer have standing water and for that I am thankful. I had arranged on Tuesday for a service call to occur on Thursday between 8-5 and fortunately we were able to cancel that call. It would have been free, but that's not the point. I also called and complained to the company that manufactures the washer and dryer that it would behoove them to indicate "how" to clean that filter. We'll see if an updated manual comes out of this for the drain pump filter issue.

Ultimately I am happy to say we now can wash clothes. We now will regularly clean the drain pump filter. Ultimately I'm just happy to not have standing water.

The next few days I plan on doing some shopping, hoping that the NN has turned his little body head down. (Yes, I know we have a few weeks before this becomes an issue, but early turn is a nice thing right?) Trying to remember to do my hypno lessons so that we can have that hypno birth we would like etc etc.

The NN room is stocked full of clothes... some cloth diapers are present, but more need to be ordered. The breast pump has been purchased and is in the closet and the cradle is finally up in the bedroom so that the dogs could get used to it.

Ernie our resident doofus has healed so his paw is not as big of an issue. Also note to self and others when giving your dog a tranquilizer it's a good idea to ask the vet how quickly it takes affect. In this instance the second time I gave it to him I gave it to him 30-45 minutes before I needed to leave. Wrong move on my part. I had a drunken dog to walk down to the basement and his kennel which resulted in us walking down from the house, into the garage, into the basement and then into his kennel. It was quite comical if poor Ernie hadn't looked like a drunken sailor.

So that is life as we know it... I hope your week has been more fun than mine.

Rearrangements!

One of the things we haven't done since moving into this house almost 2.5 years ago was rearrange our master bedroom. With the addition of a cradle into our master bedroom well - we needed to do this. Figuring out how to house 4 dog kennels in the master bedroom as well as a cradle and a king size mattress - well you get the idea. Not simple.

Today was spent rearranging the bedroom. We also had to take Chance to see the vet to have him cut his toenails. Yes - I pay someone to cut Chance the geriatric crotchety - "I WILL NOT LET YOU CUT MY TOENAILS RARRRR!" dogs toenails. He used to be okay with us cutting his toenails, after the Meg incident - not so much. We were able to do it in June and in July - Chance tried to bite the clippers, the person doing it etc. I'll let the vet do it for $7.50 every 3 weeks. We're frugal people, so this is something that we a) don't feel is wasteful and b) really are sad that we can't do it ourselves. However he was able to get his nails clipped without sedation this time and for that we're thankful. He also milked the vet and the vet techs for all they were worth in dog treats. I swear it was a puppy hold up - he got 3 treats out of the vet alone. Chance is very food motivated. So he has another appointment in 3 weeks.

Anyways - back to rearranging. D is a planner - I am not. I would have gladly just tried different variations and seen what I liked, D had to plan it out. So we had a diagram to go on. Ultimately we moved the bed, moved a book case, added a cradle, traded night stands, and moved a kennel and voila we have a whole new room. D is thrilled. I am thrilled and it's clean. We have filters on the vents as we've had a dust problem and we'll be looking into purchasing a hepa filter for our bedroom and S's room once we get around to it.

So - we accomplished a lot. I also accomplished washing the clothes, and putting the cradle together. It not has a doxie blanket on it from gymboree that a friend gave me at the shower. Lola keeps staring at the cradle - lets hope she doesn't figure out a way to make that her new bed!

Tease and thankful to be home..

First - the gender and name will be posted at the very end. I promise I won't leave you all hanging, just want to get all my thoughts out.

Travelling with 6 dogs is never easy. It's complicated - you have to make sure that you have all the items you need, want, desire. All the food you need for the dogs for x number of days, etc. Kennels if they are kenneled which ours are. Leashes, seatbelts, toys, etc etc and the list goes on and on. Our last trip went smoothly so we had it down pat. What we didn't have down pat was that a) Ernie would cut his paw up and make it look like a mas*acre in our basement and b) that I'd be in the third trimester and c) that I'd be the one loading the car again.

Luck of the draw meant that D had to work and I got to load the car. I'd rather have worked. The main items were easy, the kennels not so much. They were in use until right before I left to pick up D so there was no way I could just pack them up the night before. Ultimately I got everything in the car that needed to be and everyone that needed to be, it just took a lot longer than it did before. I was happy D was going to be the unloader and repacker and unloader again at the end of this trip. I also told him no more big trips with the dogs until after the baby is here.

We arrived at my mom's late Thursday/early Friday morning. Friday was spent preparing food for the shower and talking with my mom, D's parents and with my sister and my niece and nephew. It went well all got along and nothing untoward happened. The hall was decorated and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We were whipped, but things were going well. My mom had a bit of a scare which I was able to fix - as there had been a contractor on her house who had neglected to pay a bill and the supplier had threatened to put a lien on the house. Well I cleared up all of that and there is no lien on the house. It is free and clear. She wanted to know the gender and went back and forth about the sex of the NN. Which is quite comical to listen to. My mil of course wants a girl. My fil wants a baby and my mother wants a girl. So no pressure for the NN at all right?

Saturday came way too early and the pups were all discombobulated as they were not on their normal routine. Ernie's paw was doing well thank goodness and we made a make shift hood to keep him from licking it. He was less than thrilled with this turn of events, however it was effective. The shower started around 1 pm and family and friends started arriving. I was able to see quite a few people I haven't seen in a long time as well as some that I was happy to not have seen for a long time. Ultimately a good amount of people showed up less than 50 but more than 25. We received a ton of items and there were 3 little girls who helped out with the opening of presents. Two were my nieces P and C and the other was a little girl by name of Shyane who was a riot. She was 5 and just adorable and a sweetheart. When opening a card that had money in it she said - "If you open up another card with money in it... you'll be rich!" With big brown eyes and a sound of awe in her voice. This caused both D and myself to start laughing.

We gave both of our mom's cards which when opened announced... "It's A Boy!" With love from S & D and Samuel David.

Samuel David will be the NN name. This will probably be one of the few posts that has his name on it. His name is both our father's names... my dad's being first. We had debated about doing a third name like Landon Samuel David, however we couldn't agree on a name and the closer and more real this has become the more adamant D has become that the baby just be named Samuel David. He thinks my dad had a hand in this pregnancy. He also thinks my dad had a hand in the fact that this baby is a boy. He says this because my mom went on and on and on about having a girl. My dad always always always said - it doesn't matter, just that it's healthy. So since we think he wanted to remind mom of that statement. Gender truly does not matter just that this little one is healthy is truthfully all that matters to both D and myself. We're happy, but we would have been happy if he had been a girl as well. We're just happy to be here and to be this far along.

So now you know the rest of the story... as Paul Harvey would say- Good day!

Bloody Hell...

Because what would life be like without a dog trying to bloody the whole basement. Ernie decided to spaz in his kennel and ended up cutting his foot pad. I came home to find a bloody mess.

I love Ernie, but this freaking out in his kennel gets old. I have some tranquilizers from when the pups were fixed and maybe next time I have to go somewhere he'll get one of those. It's just not worth it to come home and find him a) miserable and b) bleeding. D goes - what are we going to do? I know it will get better once my mom is over here, but maybe we just need to clean fabulously and hope for the best by leaving him home alone out of his kennel for short periods of time.


In other news - NN is doing fine. It's breech right now, but no biggie on that front. No clue as to weight estimate. I did of course have a freaky dream last night/this morning which prompted me to be a bit panic stricken. Basically in the dream - my water broke and there was a foot. It gets better of course - wherever we were the hospital was being built or what not and there was only 1 doctor and no operating room or at least not a sterile clean one. Needless to say I woke up at that point. Talk about a weird dream. The pups woke me up and I was totally fine with that and glad I didn't jump back into that dream when I went back to sleep.

I am off to the other side of the state just until Sunday - I wish all of you could be there as I'm sure you would be way more fun than some of the family members that will.

Obla Dee Obla Dah...

Life goes on... Oh... Lalala life goes on... Sorry Ernie wanted to say hi... this was back in June when we went to the other side of the state. We'll have more after this trip. I'm sure the dogs will be quite photogenic.

Remember the song? Remember the show??? No? You don't remember Corky and Becca and their parents and Paige. Okay so I lived most of my teen years watching TV and reading books. I'm boring like that.

The beginning of this post is me and my personal freak outs... Don't mind the crazy lady - it's just me. The second part is puppy pictures. You've wanted them... now you have them.

One of the things that I struggle with is that right now as of this particular minute the NN is doing fine and I still feel like I'm waiting for a shoe or boulder to drop on me. D doesn't feel this way. I end up looking like the crazy one at doctor's appts, the freaking m*tern*ty store that I hate with a passion, and anywhere else when people start questioning me too much. I'm a snoop and read one of D's emails to a friend and he talked of my paranoid ways... and truthfully I wanted to punch him. I'm not a violent individual, however I wanted to punch him. It's one thing to say to me "Sami you're paranoid." It's a whole nother story to say it to someone else. His only saving grace was he didn't say it to his parents - that would have been grounds for a real throw down.

I know men and infertility and men and loss especially early losses like the ones we had react differently. D has always reacted differently to a pregnancy than I have. He was the optimist - which to know him is to find shocking. I am the pessimist. While I have no ill wishes for the NN I pray nightly that this will work out. D has this subtle confidence that it will. Once we got through the u/s that showed a heartbeat and then the first trimester he was on the bandwagon of everything will be fine. My freak out about the heart - didn't happen for him. However he was relieved that I had connections so we didn't spend 6 weeks in limbo! So there are some contradictions that occur. He just is of the opinion - it will all work out. Which is normally me - actually that is me in regards to the dogs and having all 6 of them.

He doesn't fret about things - I fret about the finances, I fret about what the heck I'm going to wear to this shower, I fret about the gifts that we'll receive because in my mind I have a replay of our bridal shower where we received I think 2 items off our registry and the rest including 3 electric skillets (already have one thanks) had to be regifted or returned because of course no one liked where we registered at. Ultimately it made me hate showers. I wasn't that keen on them in the first place. But when you have to regift, return, exchange, etc a good majority of the items you receive it's not fun.

This is the stuff infertility and recurrent loss has left me with... I wish I could have a shower where it was all my friends from the internet and it would have an open bar for those still in the trenches and the food would be fabulous. (now I know the food will be great at this real shower, but there won't be an open bar) Because honestly you all get me. Where as those that see me in real life - don't. They just don't get it anymore. They can't figure out why I'm still a little weird about the whole pregnancy thing. Why I'm counting down the weeks and going - phew 29 weeks is great, but 30 is better and so on and on and on.

I feel as if I'm in a leaky boat and I have a life jacket on and someone says - you're almost to the island - don't get lost. Since I have a shitty sense of direction I'm hoping that my compass will guide us to shore. To land... because ultimately we all want off the island. It's just that uncertainty of being kind of in limbo - you're planning for shore, you're planning to make land and sometimes along the way there still are rough waters or storms and your ability to handle them is a bit diminished since you're not on the island anymore, but you're not on land either. Make sense? Shitty analogy, but hopefully someone gets it.

So in closing... Life goes on right? That's what I'm doing just taking one day at a time. Trying to stay sane, still blogging, still reading and still here. Just a bit quieter - popping my head up and saying nothing to see here move along just seems so boring. Now for the puppy pictures!

This was Blue trying to sleep. Yes - he thought it would be a good idea to sleep like that.



Pepper, Blue & Lola in the back seat. Lola decided she'd rather sit with them and then push Blue off the seat than be up front with us.

3 Dogs In the Bed and the Littlest One Said...

I'm crowded... roll over... so they all rolled over and one fell out...

Remember the song on Sesame Street about the bears in the bed. No?? Well I do. Right now I'm experiencing this phenomenon with Ernie, Megan and Lola in bed with me. Lola is a bed hog. Megan is a bed hog who also tends to pedal with her paws kicking you. Ernie wants to be right next to you. So where the heck am I to sleep?

Normally our king size bed has D, Lola and myself in it. It works usually. Ernie is generally on the floor until we fall asleep then he sneaks his 84 lb body into the bed. Sometimes the sneaking works. Sometimes we wake up and say get in your bed Ernie. Ultimately it depends on how much he wants to crowd us out. Lola during the summer months is not as great to have in the bed as one might think. She's a heat hound and adds degrees to an already warm situation.

So this is my sleeping arrangment. Yes - it is what it is and it is what we make of it. Normally this is not a problem. This morning my allowing Meg and Ernie in the bed means that when D gets home Ernie will hopefully sleep in his bed, Meg in her kennel and Lola well Lola will sleep wherever she darn well pleases. She's a queen you know. Drama queen that is.

My mother left on Wednesday to go home. We were able to accomplish quite a few things while she was here. Not that there are not a lot more things that need to be accomplished because they do.

Stuff about pregnancy is coming...










We're pretty boring here. I have my appointment on July 25th that will also include another look at the NN. The shower is slated for July 28th and truthfully I have no idea what to wear or even buy to wear or even how I could look marvelous. Renovations are occurring with the NN but that whole "popping" thing is not apparent yet. I'm fine with that. D's fine with that. Everyone else - is apparently waiting with bated breath for me to suddenly pop and make it apparent that I am indeed pregnant rather than fluffy.

I can still sleep on my stomach. Please don't hate me. My body is just weird. Although we've known that for a while now right?

I'll be 28 weeks on Sunday and I feel like I can at the very least take a deep breath and go - phew. Likelihood of survival at this point is way better and while a NICU stay is not something I want, at least I know what I would be in for as I've taken care of 28 weekers. However the NN has been given strict orders to keep it's ass inside until at least 36 weeks. I'm trying to get all things arranged for the whole fmla and such. D's work paperwork is awful. It makes no sense. Although mine is not much better.

We're trying to figure out who will take care of the 6 dogs when we go to have the NN. I'm tempted to talk to both my mom and D's dad to make sure a plan is in place. I worry about my dogs and I know D doesn't want to have to worry about them while we're trying to have the NN. Boarding the animals is not an option - 6 dogs plus boarding expenses = way too expensive. That and half of our dogs can't have the kennel cough vaccine as they're allergic. Yes - my dogs are pansies.

We'll figure it out. We always do.

Next week I'm going to try and post some pics of all the dogs. They are so beautiful and such characters... I know I haven't done a post just about dogs in a while. I plan on doing that soon.

All Dogs Accounted For..

First - we're back.

Second - I'm glad we're back.

The trip was long and for the most part uneventful. I will post car pictures as they are quite comical. Everyone survived the trip and no one was left behind. My mom said - "I'm sure you're going to forget one dog." I asked - which one do you want me to forget? I was teasing and she was teasing. At the point of the round up of 6 dogs - D had about lost his patience with the whole trip as well as my mom, the heat, his parents, me... pretty much everyone.

Saturday arrived way too stinking early for me and I rounded up 6 dogs and put them in the car. This would have been comical if anyone had videotaped it - thank goodness no one did. I'm sure it was quite the sight to behold. I drove to pick D up and the puppies experienced for the first time baby raccoons that they probably wanted to destroy. Apparently none of our dogs are lovers of wildlife. I arrived to pick up D who was running behind due to a complaint he had to write up. So - various dogs came in and said hi. Then we were off... D chose to drive.

We stopped off at an outlet mall so I could use a gif card that would expire and purchased some items. The adult dogs were doing well with the ride. The 2 pups were a bit rambunctious. We had to switch how we were doing their seat belts and eventually got everyone straightened out. We arrived at my mom's. En route we had received a phone call from my mom who apparently had indulged a bit too much the night before at a jewelry party. She had a hang over. Yes- my 60+ year old mother had a hang over. D thought that was quite comical.

We went to lay down and take a nap and were awoken by my mom coming in to the bedroom to hand me a telephone. D's dad was on the phone and Jodi his puppy was apparently acting punky and they would not be able to come over. I told fil that that was fine and that he needed to contact the on call vet and let us know what they recommended. So multiple phone calls and Jodi was going to be taken care of.

Sunday arrived and we checked on fil and Jodi again - who apparently was starting to perk back up. Plans were made for the in laws to come over. So Sunday afternoon 7 dogs, 2 cats, 6 adults were at my mom's house. I then had to deal with the crap about the shower they wanted to throw. Not to be picky but I like food prepared a certain way. My mil sometimes does things a bit differently. I'm used to my mom changing the recipe on me frequently, but she makes sure the flavors are the same... my mil something that I thought I would like has turned into something that tasted awful. So I had huge reservations about her making food for this thing. It became a source of debate and I'm sure I looked like an ungrateful bitch, but truthfully at this point - don't care. D of course was little to no help in regards to this and just said - "She's picky." Gee thanks.

Eventually I got the point across and settled on items she could make that would hopefully turn out. We shall see. I hate showers by the way. I'm not comfortable and truthfully with the extended family situation it's just a huge pain. If it was just my family it'd be a cake walk and I wouldn't have the anxiety about it that I do. It's just not something I'm terribly excited about except to see some of my family friends and family. It'll be interesting.

Monday we visited with D's cousin's widown and seen the girls. They are adorable and precious and just such little sweet hearts. C and I enjoyed chit chatting and D got to take care of the 2 girls. We left a few hours ago and finally arrived home.

There was only a few bumps in the road... D and I while cutting rhubarb for a pie ended up getting into some stinging nettle - nothing water and steroid cream won't cure. The pie was wonderful. Pepper pooped in her kennel... atrocious smell that we cleaned up - this occurred while we were visiting with the girls. The icing on the proverbial cake - was Blue chose to destroy my laptop cord. D pulled my laptop out of the bag and put it on the floor... Blue has a bad habit of putting everything in his mouth and proceeded to tear part of it apart. So a new cord will be bought tomorrow.

Ultimately we survived. The pups were almost angels on the ride home - apparently we need to drive during night as they are much better behaved then during the day.

Just another day at the vet...

Remember how I said things were going swimmingly with Blue & Pepper's nip/tuck procedure?

No - good cause... apparently I was mistaken.

While Blue has been fine and his wound looks as if it is healing nicely - his wanker no longer appears to be bruised and he's just going on with life as normal. Pepper was fine as well up until... Tuesday. D apparently found a lump near her incision, but of course did not say anything to me because - well hell I don't know why.

Yesterday D said - "Hey, did you get a chance to look at Pepper's wound?" When I responded no - he suggested I take a look. So I did and he looked as well and said - "Hmm that's a bigger lump than was there yesterday." So it was 5:30 pm and I called the vet who told me - "You'll need to bring her in to see if we need to drain it - 10:45 alright?"

So this morning off we went to the vet. You know our second home with the uncomfortable chairs? Yeah that place. We took Blue along because - well he doesn't like to be without Pepper so off we go. Ernie of course came along as well because - well Ernie's a big giant wimp who doesn't like to be in his kennel so we avoid it if we can.

So it was D, me, and the 3 weims... on the road again. It gave us a glimpse of what it's going to be like with all 6 next week. It was not a pretty glimpse. Imagine this...

All dogs belted in their seat belts... behaving like good dogs?? Well that wasn't our car so move over to the next car... All dogs belted into their seat belts and Ernie setting on Pepper. Blue trying to find anything he can chew on -paper, plastic, whatever he can get his greedy little mouth on. Pepper twisting in her seat belt. Yep that's a better image and that's how it truly went.

We arrived at the vet's and went in with Pepper and Blue because - again - they go together like salt & pepper. Eventually the vet tech comes out and says - I'll just take Pepper back. Pepper apparently had a flashback and decided that going back meant she was staying and hell not that wasn't happening. She put on her brakes and had to be half carried back there. Blue meanwhile tried to follow. He then stood and stared at where she left and whined. Pitifully. No amount of reassurance from us made him believe for 2 seconds that she was coming back.

Then - she was back. She apparently developed a seroma or hematoma at the site and it was drained. If it becomes that big again - we'll have to drain it again, but usually these things apparently do well after the first draining. The vet tech asked us to try and keep her quiet for the next few weeks and D and I both looked at each other and laughed. There isn't enough tranquilizers in the state to keep Pepper quiet for that long. She's a busy girl. We'll do our best. Rough housing will be out for at least a little while and hopefully this thing will heal on its own without us having to take her back in again.

Blue was happy to be reunited with his sister. He and Pepper stared at the vet tech as if to say - see - we're a team. They both were sitting at the time which was the comical part.

So that was my morning - how was yours?

11 years and a day...

June 3rd, 1996 - a very special pup was born. I didn't meet him until August while visiting my sister and that day changed my life. Chancellor Sebastien became my dog.

He almost had me disowned from my family as when my mother heard the news she wouldn't speak to me. She was very vocal in her yelling about it once I got home. She even gave my sister an earful. I was 18 and I would be going off to college and to a new apartment and I brought home a puppy. I did of course check to make sure I could have a puppy in the apartment complex, but still. I did think about it before I bought him. I thought for all of 2 seconds. He was adorable. He was being run aground by a terrier. He had a blue eye and a brown eye. He looked at me with love.

Chance won my mom over by grabbing a newspaper and running around with it over his head - he then ran into a table and yelped. My mom dropped the phone she was yellling at my sister on and ran and picked him up - making sure he was okay. Chance spent about 4 weeks with my parents - being house broken and loved. My mom was devestated when they brought Chance to me. However Chance had been missing me from the get go. He would lay in my clothes or steal something of mine that smelled of me and keep it in his kennel.

Over the years Chance has been there for everything. He was there for the bad dating years... for the schmuck years, for the online dating year, and for the day I met D. Of all the men that walked through my door - D was the only one Chance did not try and do something to. By something I mean - eat a wallet, shoe, pee on them, jump in their laps and give them kisses whenever they attempted to kiss me... etc. Chance liked D. Now... Chance loves D - not as much as he loves me, but still he loves D.

Chance was also known as "freak dog" for a number of years - now he's just a mouth rather than a freak. However he is efficient at opening water bottles, finding food and figuring out ways to sit on the kitchen counter. The dog is resourceful.




Chance is a doxie and doxies have back problems. Chance has been blessed to not show the signs he did in previous years - when the whether changed whether it be good or bad he would limp and the sensation would get a bit off in his hind quarters. He has been blessed to survive an awful attack by Meg. I thought for sure that he was a goner once we saw the extent of the wounds and now - he's lost a pound and a half and it's like he's got a new lease on life. He's spry - he's fast, he runs... all things he never would have done 6 months ago.

Chance is many things - a mouthy, obstinate, loveable, caring dog - who has been with me through thick, thin and everything in between. I am blessed to have found this dog. D and I both love him and hope that we have at the very least a few more good years with Chance.

Happy Birthday Chance - we celebrated yesterday as you got yourself some ice cream, but now the whole world knows it's your day... may we have many more.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...


All of our dogs (D & mine) are fine... however this is for Sadie.

Sadie was my parents dog. She was a golden lab. She initially was the dog that my dad got after his stroke. This dog went everywhere with him. To the pronto mart for morning coffee even, to the doctor's office, etc etc. Rarely was she left home. After my dad's death she became my mom's dog. She was in my mom's mind a link to my dad. Sadie helped my mom get through those initial days, weeks, months after the loss of my dad. Granted she also became a reason for my mom to go to my dad's grave and give him a talking to about his dog, but that was more due to the fact he neglected to let anyone know that she had panic attacks during storms. We learned this the hard way when she pounced on my mom in the middle of the night before the storm hit and was hyperventilating. Gee- thanks dad.

Sadie was a very sweet golden lab who only wanted to be loved. You'd yell at her for a transgression and she'd put her head down, blink her eyes at you and wag her tail at you begging for forgiveness. She and Fred (a yellow cat of my parents) had a weird relationship - I say weird, as you'd always find the two of them licking one another and laying together. It was odd to say the least. Granted Fred is an odd cat anyway.

Sadie was there when my dad died. Sadie would not let the paramedics in to take care of my dad and had to be put in his truck until he was taken to the hospital. That night when D went to the house - he found Sadie just staring at the spot where he assumed my dad had laid. She then quietly walked over to him and put her head on his leg as if to ask - "are you sure?" D said it broke his heart and it did mine because once I got home with my mom - she was still staring at that spot in the kitchen. We had to drag her away from it. My mom let Sadie sleep in the bed with her that night for the first time. Sadie slept in my dad's spot and doted on my mom. She helped my mom through those initial days and I am so thankful for her as is D.

Sadie had had a leg wound for a while that my mom had been taking her to the vet for. However after a few months of this wound still not healing my mom sought out a second opinion after Sadie attacked Fred putting a large gash in Fred's ear. This was on top of the other personality changes that she had had which made her unpredictable at best - she was suddenly destroying things in the house which she had never done and her response to Ernie, Chance and Lola was becoming unpredictable. After running more tests, prescribing more medicine and waiting for those results the results were in. Sadie had cancer and it was advanced. My mom beat herself up about this because she had been taking Sadie to another vet for months and had been told it wasn't cancer. If only... granted the outcome probably would be the same, but my mom feels awful that by the time Sadie was diagnosed it was too late to do any good. In the last month while Sadie did not appear to lose weight she had lost 20 lbs.

Yesterday June 2, was Sadie's last day on this earth. She spent her last night with my mom and my mom was with her when she passed. Sadie will be cremated and her ashes will be placed near my dad's grave. We figure that that is where he would want her to be. I am positive that animals have a place in heaven... because animals are part of God's creatures and they make humans happy... everyone has a different view of what their heaven is like - mine has a lot of animals in it as I'm sure my dad's did as well. Sadie and my dad are reunited again... I hope she gave him a big ole lick - yes she'd probably get yelled at, but I think it's fitting that he get a lick since he hid that fear of storms from all of us.

Rest well Sadie girl...

All is quiet - for the moment...

I have six doggies sleeping in my bedroom - three on the bed and three in their kennels! Life is always good when everyone is sleeping!

Today I take Blue & Pepper to the vet for their procedures so that we won't have any more puppies. While I hate having them be in pain for anything I also know I do NOT want to deal with more puppies in the future. We are not breeders - heck we're not even breeders in the human form why the hell would we be in the dog form? So - it is a necessary thing to do. We'll pick up the two puppies this afternoon and they'll have to rest for a few days and then life is back to normal so to speak.

D says thank you to all the wonderful birthday wishes. He received coffee as his birthday gift from me. I know so terribly loving and sweet aren't I? I think right now we're both so busy trying to get things done, working 10-12 hours at our jobs - his is 10, mine is 12 that we're really just wanting a vacation. However - no vacation in sight. It's our lot in life - that right now vacation time is absent and we'll just have to deal with life as it goes.

We're planning on going out to eat this weekend to celebrate our birthdays and have a relaxing night at home. I know we're such exciting people. I worked my 6 day stretch and spent yesterday recovering from it. Slept all day and all night - and miraculously I did not have tail bone pain which has been occurring at frequent intervals while at work during the night. It's there then it goes away -and boy do I love when it goes away as it's a nagging ache not that painful, just constantly there for a bit then it goes away. We googled it and found there's really not a whole hell of a lot you can do for tail bone pain. Gee - thanks.

My friend from work who is due a few days after me found out she's having a GIRL :D I'm tickled for them as I think they will be great parents in general and a girl of theirs will definitely be a hoot to watch grow up! She will be very well loved and very well spoiled and all those things are good things. I'm working on getting my registry done- though I feel like I'm an idiot in regards to these things and have basically just followed a book to see what I need/don't need.

Other than that... life is good. As always we're taking one day at a time. Isn't that all one really can do?

I Survived...

The weekend is over and boy are we happy to have our home back. It was nice to visit, but it is such a different type of visit with my in laws vs my mom.

Friday I had set up a dinner with some friends from another bulletin board and told D that I was not changing it just because his parents were coming to visit. We set this date up in April and his parents announced the weekend before they came that they were coming. Both could be done, it's just that his parents would be left with 6 dogs and their puppy for a brief period of time before I got home.

Friday while at dinner - I received a phone call from D. D wanted to know whether I was on my way home yet. I responded "No." He was slightly agitated... apparently his parents were there and that he just was worried about leaving the dogs with his parents. Mind you - he leaves the dogs with my mom without looking back. So I told him I would be home shortly. Finished dinner and then called him. Apparently he was worried that his parents just wouldn't be able to handle the dogs, puppies, etc. They had Jodi with them and while Jodi is very well behaved the addition of the other two puppies to the mix leads to puppy chaos.

Quite comical puppy chaos. I arrived home shortly after we talked, reassurred D that none of his precious pups had been let out unsupervised and that all were accounted for. I have to laugh at this because I think it gives you a glimpse as to why we have said we're not planning on having them baby sit? I came home, let the 2 pups out. Outside they went and were well behaved little hoodlums running, playing, attacking one another - poor Blue is the low man on the totem pole - he's a pushover. He's all of 44 lbs and just is kind of the one who everyone dominates. Pepper weighs in at about 38 lbs and Jodi is about the same. So he's got 6 lbs on them and he's still the one you find on the ground most days. He's a mellow fellow. The 2 girls on the other hand - wow watch them run. Speed demons is an understatment.

Brought the 2 puppies back in and let the 2 big dogs out to romp. Back they go and then out come the 2 dachshunds... eventually after everyone had been out once I let the puppies back out as well as Lola and Ernie. So we had 5 dogs to watch and I watched all 5 of the little agnels. It was fine - they played and played and played.

D arrived home the next morning and between my cooking breakfast for everyone and feeding all the dogs we got everything accomplished. However - we had to come up with something for his parents to do while we slept - because I tend to stay on the night schedule while D works - it makes it easier for both of us - he doesn't get interrupted sleep. So we sent them to a car museum and had them leave Jodi with us. Jodi - the poor puppy thought she'd been abandoned by my fil. The poor thing whimpered, cried, etc for about 3 hours. Finally she went to sleep with Blue. I say finally because in all honesty we were able to get maybe 2-3 hours sleep total. She is completely attached to my fil - which is a good thing. It's what weim's do. It's what she's supposed to do. She remembered us, but she didn't want us.

So dinner was eventually made and D and I asked his mom some questions about her diabetes. It didn't go all that well. She doesn't check her blood sugar. Her hemoglobin A1C is elevated which leads one to conclude that her blood sugars are not well controlled. My husband loves his mom... and I love her- she's a good mom even if she is wishy washy... she loves D and that counts for a lot. D knows what these things mean - that his mom is playing russian roullette with her life. He talked with my mom about it as my mom was going to get my mil another glucometer. His words - "you can get her 50 glucometers and it's not going to change that she just doesn't think it will happen to her." She doesn't believe all the bad things that can happen will happen. I can talk until I'm blue in the face - and I do. I badger, and nag and make sure that all the stuff I bring to family functions is low or no sugar added. I do this because it's important not just to me, but to D, and to her future grandchildren. Want to know what she brought? A cake with chocolate frosting for D's bday, a box of donut holes, and chips. FIL told us that she ate a large ice cream cone during the day at the museum. I know it's only a matter of time before something bad does happen... it's just a matter of time.

I don't know what to say to even begin to make her understand just how much this bothers her only child - D. He worries about her. He worries because he knows bad things can and do happen and while you may not be able to prevent them - you don't have to court them.

All in all everything went fine - my fil kept asking me if i was eating enough for two. I finally grabbed a baby book and handed it to him and said - see no where in there does it say that you're supposed to eat as if you're two adults. Your grandchild is fine. We spent way too many months for me to starve it to death. I know I'm such a loving daughter in law right?

Photos to make you smile!

First you might have noticed that I changed some labels... I apparently can't count. What I thought was number 11 on the pregnancy scale is actually number 12. So I changed the label and then thought to myself god I'm an idiot. However in my defense once you've hit double digits it tends to be a little difficult to keep track of things or at least keep things straight. That and 11 sounded a bit better than 12, however I then thought better of it and decided no this is number 12 and we'll be okay with number 12. Besides it's a nice round number.

I know I've been remiss in putting up pictures lately. Partly due to lack of time and dial up is so slow. However I am too cheap to spend the money on whatever the faster service is out in the boonies that I live in.

So... without further ado I give you Ernie - please ignore the mess on the floor. This is Ernie in his bed. He pulled the green blanket down to be in his bed and then proceeded to fluff it up so that it was his pillow. Yes - he's a princess. Which if I get the opportunity I will show you just how much of a princess he is as he sleeps in Lola's "pink princess bed" yes the bed actually has a crown on the center of the pillow and it says princess. Ernie doesn't care he's all about comfort and even though he doesn't fit in it he loves the thing. Dino this was for you ;)



The next photo is of the infamous shower cleaners. One of the things with having 6 dogs and having an Ernie well you run out of water in the water dish quite frequently. Chance decided long ago that he preferred fresh water rather than water from a bowl so everyone eventually learned that the shower was the preferred drinking area. It also means that we don't have to deal with Ernie and the puppies slopping and dripping water all over the place. They don't clean the shower, but for some odd reason every single one of them would rather drink water out of the shower than out of a bowl. So the water is always cold and they get their fill whenever we go into the bathroom. This picture is of the 3 hoodlums - Ernie, Pepper and Blue are drinking... a more comical picture will occur soon - of the puppies and Lola drinking - getting those 3 on camera is a big effort. Actually getting a picture of the puppies not in motion is quite teh challenge.



So enjoy my babies... I'll post some of the other yahoos soon I promise.

Puppy Play Dates

I'm going to start with stuff about the puppies... and end with stuff about the Not Negative... so you've been warned.

This afternoon we had a playdate... it was fun. Granted 2 puppies in a car that haven't really been exposed to their seatbelts was a bit chaotic. D wasn't listening to me when I said - give them a short leash and gave the puppies way too much room to roam. It was a puppy free for all in my back seat. Needless to say we did make it to our destination in one piece. The 3 pups were reunited and they had a blast. Granted a lot of poop occurred, but what's a puppy without some poop.

I had a great time with Bert's new owner and learned some things like she's a fellow infertile... she understands this. All of you would love her as she's just a great lady as is her husband. Sometimes you meet people and bond in the strangest ways... dogs and infertility - it's quite a heady cocktail. Ultimately I know we'll be getting together again with Bert and his owners... both big and tall owners and letting them run on our property will be quite the adventure.

Now on to the not negative news - I added a link in the "about me" title - it's to the not negative's website. I had to do a website for my in laws. No belly shots will be posted - it's just not my cup of tea - I look at others and think that's great - but it's just not something I can do. I have enough body issues that putting a picture of my stomach anywhere on the internet is just not going to happen. However I will show you pictures of u/s photos if you are up to it - if you do visit - feel free to sign the guestbook and let me know you're there. Most of the posts are addressed more towards my in laws as this was a way for them to be included in the Not Negative's journey.

Blogging after going through infertility is kind of like a land mine. So for me - most of what I write has very little to do with pregnancy and everything to do with my life in general. It's for me... and this is the way I think. I open mouth and insert foot fairly frequently... so now on with the Not Negative news...

Today we had to get up at an awful time in the daylight and head to the stupid doctor's office. Yes - I know I should just be greatful that I have to go to an OB appt, but as D said - can't we just let him listen over the phone? See - doppler checks are great, but I do them at home on a fairly regular basis. If I could just learn to measure fundal height (I've never been all that adept at finding a fundus so why should I be able to do that with my own?) well we'd be all set. I spent approximately 10 minutes with the doctor - and truthfully that's probably pushing it. I haven't gained any weight from the last appt - can we all say thank goodness... blood pressure was fine and the doctor and his nurse and the lab lady all apologized for the accidental disposal of my other specimen tube... we sent 2 tubes this time just in case something happens in transit. I tried to play stump the doctor - however failed miserably. All I could come up with was a question about whether or not we couldn't just go ahead and do the 3 hour GD test rather than the 1 hour... he felt we should do the screening test and the reason why the 1 hour could not continue into 3 was due to the amount of glucose you have to ingest. Such a pain. Not that I plan on failing, but just in case - I'm all about not wasting my time and having to go back to take yet another test if you fail the first one is to me a waste of my precious sleeping time. If the likelihood is that I'll have to do a 3 hour test then lets just cut out the 1 hour test. It apparently doesn't work that way. Oh and he also truly likes to wait to do the "big" u/s... I won't be having that one until my next appt in 4 weeks...

I need to remind myself why I love my doc... oh yeah - he's a great doctor. Still hasn't a clue how to deal with D or myself, but hell you can't have everything in a health professional right?