Mourning the loss

That's what Ella is doing right now. Mourning (not quietly either) the loss of her paci's. (The "paci fairy" replaced them with a Thomas train last night.)


She's actually doing better than I thought, just kind of whining and calling for "DADDY!!", but not screaming/crying like last night or her nap today. I feel for the kid....I really do, but she can't have the paci's forever. We were already pushing it letting her coast to almost 3 years old and paci-addicted. Cold turkey is a tough way to do it though. Ugh.

Mike and E did some yoga this weekend to relieve her tension. She loved it. Downward dog and cobra were her favorites.




Pretty basic weekend all around for the Parkers. Neighborhood bake sale/painful neighborhood run (Braxton-Hicks contractions were KILLING me most of the run. Gotta check with my doc at my next appt. whether or not this is cool.)/trip to Ikea to get E "big girl" furniture/cheat meal at Chilis. "The glamour-glamourous life" as Fergie would say. :)

More than halfway done!

21 weeks along now. So only 19 more to go....woo hoo!! Feeling a TON better since I got adjusted. Sheesh, a good chiropractor should be mandatory during pregnancy. What a help. I am not even sore today after running yesterday. What a change.

21 week pic. Belly is certainly starting to get "out to China" as MIke likes to say.


Big weekend around here. We're getting a visitor sometime tomorrow. The "paci fairy" is coming to collect all of Ella's pacifiers and replace them with a Thomas the Tank Engine toy. (That's what she asked for.) She's slightly addicted to her paci when she sleeps. However, she wakes up about 3 times a night because she can't find the thing....even though it is usually an inch from her nose. Mike's ready to sleep through the night (he gets up to replace lost pacis at night.) So, hopefully all goes well and she doesn't go crazy without the paci. I am nervous about it though...

Wish us luck!

Running Again

Been avoiding my good friend, Mr. Treadmill, for the past week since the last time he and I met, he somehow pummeled my sacrum and low back to the point of not quite tears, but lots of whining and complaining to Mike. Every time I went to the gym, I'd look at him longingly, but not ready to be in pain for the rest of the day (and the following one, too.)

However, today, I was up for it. I had my amazing adjustment from Dr. Annie Banks (who herself is pregnant with twins...so complaining to her about low back pain kind of makes me feel like the biggest wimp ever.) and Lauren was there running next to me. Win win situation. Plus, I want to see how running feels since MIke and I head to Turks and Caicos in two weeks and I LOVE running on the beach. (Side note -- does anyone know if running on the beach is better suited for trail running shoes or regular running shoe? Post to comments if you've got any advice! I am thinking the sand is going to be packed for the most part.)

Run went well. 40 minutes of slogging it out. 6.2-6.3 mph is still pretty comfortable, but still really slow. Mike's going to drop my pregnant butt fast on vacation.

More pics

I had to post yesterday from my iphone (fantasy baseball drafting Mike monopolized the computer), which is not too convenient, so I've got some more pictures and info from the ultrasound. (Probably only exciting for grandparents, so feel free to stop reading now.) :)

My OB has me to go the perinatologist for my ultrasounds and Mike and I love him. He's awesome. He told us yesterday that he would like to see me every 4 weeks for ultrasounds, which is fine by me. I am pretty skittish this pregnancy after what happened last time with Ella. (I had seizures from eclampsia a week post partum and they're checking into whether or not it was actually HELLP Syndrome instead of just eclampsia.) Both things are pretty scary, but HELLP scares the hell out of me, so I'd love someone to be on top of everything. Doc told me to start taking my blood pressure every day and chart it. Normally, I have really low BP (around or below 100 for the top #, systolic or diastolic, can't remember which one comes first.) so when mine spiked a bit after having E, they didn't really care too much since it was still relatively low. At least, this way, we have a pattern and history and feel like we have SOME control of what is going on...or illusion of control? Whatever helps me to sleep at night, right?

But, the doc did some test on the uterine arteries to see how the blood is flowing and apparently you can tell with about 40-60% accuracy (not great, but better than nothing.) if you are going to have problems with high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia, etc. Mine were great...no problems at all. Phew! It is just amazing how much you can tell this early on.


Heading to the ultrasound


Baby girl in tow




E is celebrating her little sister...she DID NOT want a brother....at all.


In non baby related news, I am SO excited. Our last MacBook totally died this weekend, so I am typing away on my new MacBook. Love it!

It's a.....

GIRL!!

We had our big, 20 week ultrasound today. Everything looks great and
healthy and growing right. (yay!!)

I totally thought boy...so much for mother's intuition!

Happy Easter

We did our egg hunt a few minutes ago. E loved it. Heading out in a
few to try and see if waffle house will be the first meal I keep down
today. Fingers crossed!

Sharing

Mike and I are forever working with E on this. Sometimes she's great, sometimes resistant....pretty typical almost 3 year old sharing skills. Well, it seems that she decided to share her stomach flu from this past weekend with me. Yipee. My second stomach flu during this pregnancy, as if I hadn't spent enough time throwing up already. :)

Not feeling great, but not incapacitated either. Trying to rest and take it easy today and fully recover for tomorrow when I am solo with E for the weekend. Mike, my dad, his dad, my brother in law and some more friends are continuing their annual tradition of heading to the closest first and second rounds of the NCAA bball tourney. Birmingham this year. They always have a blast.

20 weeks today. Halfway there! If I could fast forward to the end, I totally would. Just not a fan of this whole being pregnant thing. LOVE, love, love the result...but not the process.

"Let's Go Thrashers?"

Yes, that is what is coming out of Ella's monitor right now. "Let's Go Thrashers". She's nuts. But, apparently a big hockey fan who doesn't want to nap. Her pro hockey cheer was preceeded by, "Mommy -- where are you? I am here!". Thanks, E. No idea where you were. Appreciate the clarification. :)

Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone. We're all sporting the green. I love seeing people out wearing green today...not sure why, but it makes me smile. Makes me think they're a good sport.

19 weeks along this week....20 on Thursday and I am still throwing up. Not every day, but wow, I had no idea it would last this long. Oh well, E gave me a big hug with a kiss after and asked me if her hug/kiss made me feel "all better". Sure did.

Still been working out about 5-6 days a week, which is great and it feels really good. However, I took last week off from running. Ran the week before and my low back and hips HURT for 2 days after. I really want to run and love to run, but I have to wonder if it hurts then is it good for me? Who knows? I've got to get one of those band things that go around my belly and distribute the weight better and see if that helps. It seemed to dull the achiness last time around with Ella. I probably stopped running more than 1x a week with her about this time, too.

Wishing a speedy recovery to Jason Poon, the poor little dude fell and broke his arm last week. Can't wait to see your cast, buddy!

Ella Movie Star

Our little celebrity.

What the hail?

E and I are down in the basement now...crazy,crazy weather here.
Tornado after tornado today and yesterday. Seems like they are never
going to end!

Change O'Plans

That's E's and Mike's "mad" face. We all have it on this morning.

8:15 AM
In the car heading up to Asheville to figure out where we want to put our house on the land. (We're building a vacation house up there.) We're all excited. E's psyched to swim in the hotel pool...I mean PSYCHED. She hasn't stopped talking about it since we told her last weekend. Mike and I are really excited to see the other houses in our neighborhood that have gone up and see our land for the first time since we bought it. We're looking forward to having a great meal in Asheville and just enjoying a day away.

9:15AM
Speeding along 85 in Braselton and E starts puking. Poor kid. She's crying and throwing up everywhere calling, "MOMMY!!!". Turn around....E and I head to Children's Healthcare and Mike is making the trip solo to Asheville. Pha-tooey.

Update -- E seems to be fine. Little stomach bug. Already downed 3 chicken nuggets and a lollipop. Mike's making sweet time sans wife and baby in the car. We're situated on the couch viewing "Toy Story" for the umpteenth time. So happy she's not sicker than this. I HATE stomach bugs. Hate them. Gimme strep or a cold any day instead of throwing up.

4 years ago today...

...Mike and I got married. Happy Anniversary to us.

Doesn't feel like 4 years...went by really fast. Been busy since then...an almost 3 year old and one on the way. Wow. Looking at the pictures from our wedding make me wish we had it all to do over again. We had so much fun. All of our friends and family made it down to Daufuskie Island (perfect place for a wedding...no cars allowed on the island!) Good memories. I love weddings...we used to have summers full of going to weddings/showers/bachelorettes, but no more. (Now its all baby showers/kids bday parties.) Most of our friends are married off now. Stinks since they're so much fun to go to.

We're heading out to dinner tonight (my mom is sitting for E). Should be nice to have a dinner without someone on my lap telling me she's done/wants to draw/watch TV/get ice cream/etc. etc.

I am 19 weeks today...almost halfway there. Getting bigger daily. See below.



Some happy belated birthday wishes to my inlaws (Kevin, Amy and Holly). All had birthdays this week. Hope you all had great ones.

Ow.

Fighting a migraine today. Its a close battle, but I think I am winning. He started off by pounding my head during my morning ride...then continued to beat me up at the grocery store making me open up a bottle of tylenol on line, then he pulled out all the stops and kicked in with the one two punch of nausea and light/sound sensitivity. Bastard.

Although, the usual right eye blindness (no kidding...my right eye loses sight during migraines.) has not surfaced. It just feels a bit weird right now.

I am holed up in the den right now willing Ella to continue her nap until Mike gets home. Doubt that, but in my current state, I can't succumb to Hydrocodone and drift away painfree. Tylenol is all the baby allows.

Good day otherwise, had a nice indoor ride this AM. Getting back on track as far as my eating. Things were getting out of control for a while there. (Chocolate shakes, lots of snacks, not a lot of healthy stuff.) I continued the trend of eating whatever and whenever I wanted from my first trimester when that was all that would work for my sick self. Not gonna work for the entire 9 months though...unless I want to gain 50 lbs. WHICH I DON'T. About half of that would work.

Weekend Pictures

Fun times with the Riepes. Rest of the pics are in the slideshow (down and to the right) if you're interested.

Riepe's Visit

Our friends, Amanda and Andrew Riepe, came all the way down from Indianapolis this weekend to visit us. They brought their adorable little girls with them....Mia (2) and Sydney (4 months). We all had a great time....acquarium, carousel, Mexicali, s'mores, Baggo. (The guys are outside right now playing in the freezing cold. Amanda and I are inside with the kiddos..although I am pretty sure she fell asleep putting Mia to bed.)

Thanks for visiting, guys. I know it was a long trip and we're sorry that the ATL came up flat on the weather front for you (snow? COME ON!!!) There's nothing like old friends. :) (Amanda and I played soccer/lived together in college and after, too. Andrew went to Wake Forest with us as well.)

Will post some pics when I am not so lazy and fee like getting off my butt and downloading them.

A belated congratulations to some other Wake Forest friends -- Alli and Gus Kearney -- they had their second boy, Gavin. Sounds like everyone is doing great.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

"Getting harder and harder, huh?"

I got that comment from a guy I know at the gym while I was running...and sweating...and beet faced. I guess my belly is becoming more and more obvious. But, yes!! It is getting harder and harder.

This is the first week that I've been noticing the lower back pains that plagued my runs during my last pregnancy. I know they are just going to get worse as I get bigger. Better go find my heating pad that's been stashed away for the past 3 years.

Will try to keep up with my runs as long as they feel good. I can deal with the achiness post run, but there comes a point where you have to think...is it worth it? Not there yet, not even close. 40 minute run today between a 8:45 and 9:40 pace....picked it up at the end. Felt so good. :)

I found some awesome maternity workout clothes. Last time around I COULD NOT find any maternity running shorts...so I worked out in my Nike maternity pants the whole time. Not fun. I like to run in shorts. No need to be hotter than I already am. Although these shorts lack a liner...WTF? Who makes running shorts with no liner? Duh. But, well worth it even sans liner. Small steps, I guess. :)

I am so proud

Mike got his review from work today. As you can see, I am bursting with pride.

His boss and reviewer is one of his best friends and obviously very funny. This had me crying-laughing.

Supervisor's Summary of Results (Year-End)

I am very pleased with Mike's performance this year. His ball breaking
acumen is off the charts and he has made a strong effort to utilize that
skill on others beyond his supervisor. For the first time in Mike's
five years, he has gone outside the fuels group to belittle and
embarrass other company employees. Mike continues to be a master
debater and is especially admirable in his no holds barred approach to
arguing. For Mike, it is not enough to simply win the argument, he also
wants his audience visibly and audibly laughing at his victim. Some
managers might consider Mike a bully in this respect. I have another
word for it.........inspirational.

Mike's statistical database is also remarkable. His ability to recall
sports statistics, random song titles and obscure band/movie members is
nothing short of astonishing. However, for some reason this skill has
not translated into the energy sector. That being said, who gives an
eff.

An often unnoticed quality of Mike's performance is his willingness to
provide a virtually endless stream of buffoonery to his supervisor.
While it may go unnoticed by some, it does not go unnoticed by me. Mike
is more than willing to provide hilarious, though often off color, witty
gems to his supervisor who then delivers said gems as his own. Mike
does not seek nor even want credit for these masterpieces as he is
perhaps the prime example of an altruistic buffoon. I for one, could
not be more proud.

If I had to offer criticisms of Mike's performance at work, and believe
me, this is splitting hairs, they would be few. I think an
underutilized skill of Mike's is in the area of flatulence. Mike has
one of the more powerful ass trumpets I have come across in my 32 years
of life yet he will very rarely utilize it to its full potential. While
the rest of the row is straining with all their might to deliver a
barely audible grind, Mike is constantly holding back for what many
believe is a fear of seeming rude. I know better. Mike simply does not
want to show up his fellow worker. Were he to unleash his full power,
there would be nary a bottom left on the row with the courage to speak.
Let's face it, when it comes to gas, the rest of us are playing
checkers............Mike is playing chess.

In summary, Mike has performed at the highest of levels. He has become
that most rare of species, the feared yet beloved member of the
community. I look forward to the years to come to see what other
surprises Mike has in store for us and I feel privileged to have had a
front row seat for the past 11 years.

Green Monster

Not talking about Wally, the Red Sox mascot, today. Nope, just feeling a bit jealous of everyone who is training hard, racing hard and feeling all those endorphins. I miss them. I miss the feeling of a hard morning swim followed by an hour long run or the feeling you get after a 5 hour bike ride or how you feel after any race that you pushed yourself.

You know it....the tired, but semi-invincible, proud of yourself feeling. I miss that.

I know that what I am feeling is just as awesome, different, but really, really cool in its own right.

The way that I think about it is that everyone takes their turn out. Be it from injury, work/family issues, burnout or pregnancy. You can't improve/push hard/train like crazy every season. Your body and mind demand time off....well, this year is my "time off". It's my turn to cheer on everyone else in 2008.

As it did the last pregnancy, it just made me appreciate a healthy body that can and is allowed to run, bike and swim until exhaustion all the more. I was sneaking out 2.5 weeks post partum for "runs" with Ella in her stroller and LOVING it.

Yo Adrian!

E tangled with a table at J.Christophers and lost. Her first black
eye.:(

Big day...

Mike's new (to him) bike is finally ready, fitted, recabled, new chain-ed and all spiffed up ready for his first half in years come November.