A fond memory on a hard day

I've been thinking a lot about my Uncle Mitchell today... 1 yr ago today my mom called me to tell me that he was gone. I don't remember a lot about that day because I had a huge breakdown, but I remember how bad it hurt. I've tried not to think about it a lot today - I'm trying to stay as stress free as possible at the end of this pregnancy (I KNOW the stress of a newborn, so I'm enjoying my zen now). So I haven't had any breakdowns today, but I have had several memories and I wanted to share one... I don't know exactly which birthday it was, but I remember one birthday in Atlanta when my Uncle Mitch picked me up from school. He was in his white truck... the same truck that I kicked out of gear one time while parked and started rolling down a hill - but that's another memory. Anyway - Uncle Mitch carried me to McDonalds for a milkshake and I chose Strawberry. I also remember that I was wearing one of my birthday gifts - a pink sweatshirt. At the time, we lived down a bumpy road, so of course, when he got to my road I spilled milkshake all over my new sweatshirt. I was getting pretty worked up thinking I was going to get in trouble (by my mom) when my Uncle Mitch looked over at me and grinned and said "Don't worry about it Princess, they're both pink, nobody will ever know!" Course I giggled and it became our secret from my mother.... I have thought about that day many times since and it's one of my favorite memories of my uncle. That's just the way it was with him - he could keep all your secrets... and was one of the most fun people in the world. I'm going to quit writing now because I am gettnig upset - but I wanted to share that story of him. Thanks for reading.

No Change!

Forgot to post yesterday about my appt - no change! Still just a fingertip dilated... and I gained 2lbs! Needless to say I was not happy about this appointment. But the doc gave me a few tips for getting my cervix to open, so I will be trying those this week and hoping for a change next Wednesday. Cadence didn't get to go to her appt - her doc called out sick... I think we are going to change to a pediatrician in Lebanon anyway to be closer to home for the baby's docs appts. On a fun note - there is an office pool (and a couple of friends of the office) going on about when I am going to deliver and what the sex of the baby will be... here are the guesses so far...

Dr. D - Sept 17 - Boy
S - Sept 5 - Boy
G - Sept 14 - Boy
C - Sept 19 - Boy
GB - Sept 10 - Girl
Me - Sept 7 - Girl (I based my guess on what Dave thinks it is - I still have no inklings)
SD - Sept 11 - Boy
L - Sept 12 - Boy

As you can see, everyone thinks it will be a boy except for me and GB... we'll see!

Birthday Bliss

Cadence's birthday was, in one word, AWESOME! I could not have asked for better weather on Sunday - it was so mild out for the end of August. We had 2 tents set up for shade, and there was a nice breeze, so everyone stayed for a long time. Cadence had 36 guests not including me and Dave! I couldn't believe that so many people were able to come. And you would not believe the presents this kid got - I don't think I ever got near that many when I was a child, and I was the only child in my whole family! But anyway - the important thing is that she had a great time and got to visit with everyone... and I had a great time doing that myself. We had hamburgers and hotdogs thanks to Sams - we never would have had enough if we hadn't bought economy packs of both, and cake and ice cream.... OH THE CAKE! Let me just tell you - I was tickled to death with Cadence's birthday cake - it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and it had her name written in stars across the top - it was PERFECT! And it tasted great, and Cadence loved it! Thank you Natasha for all your hard work - I gave out lots of your cards and everyone was really impressed with your work :). I'll post pics later on this week - Cadence and I both have doc's appts on Wednesday, so maybe after that. As for now, we are all too worn out to do much of anything!

Still So Blessed,

One Lucky Woman

3 yrs ago today I walked down the beach and stopped a few feet from the ocean... there I joined hands with a handsome man and said the vows that we wrote... and I became his wife. It was by far one of the happiest days of my life! This morning when he called to tell me happy anniversary I thought to myself - "I love him more now than I even did then"! As I've said many times before, Dave is a wonderful man and does more for me than anyone else ever has... He waits on me hand and foot (pregnant or not) and still gives me backrubs at least 2x/week! He is a great Daddy and a great husband. I am a very very lucky lady. ♥

November 2008

Not Much Progress!

Doc's appt went OK... I gained 1lb this time, bringing my total to 13lbs. Baby's heartbeat was 142, and my uterus measured 36cms. The totally blah news is that I am still only a fingertip dilated! Doc says this is good news because she wants me to go another 2wks before having the baby, but I was just hoping that I would have had some change from the last appt. I explained to her that I am worried that this labor is going to be as long and hard as the last because of my cervix, but she is confident that this go-round will be easier. I trust her completely, so I'm not going to worry about it! I got Cadence's presents wrapped last night... still have a few things to do before the party, but I'm getting really excited about it too. Making nachos for dinner tonight - one of my very favorite meals. Life is good. ♥

Where are my feet?

Another busy week down. I almost made it without a trip to the doc, but not quite. Thursday I had to go to Summit for another Non-Stress test because this ornery baby decided to not move all day long... this time I got to lay there for 35mins with these big round sensors strapped on me like the jaws of life. And of course, not long after being hooked up the little stinker started putting on a show with lots of big kicks. :) But I couldn't be mad because I was just glad that the baby was moving again. I told the doc that I was sorry for coming when nothing was wrong, but she assured me that she wants her patients to come anytime they think something isn't right. She said she would much rather see a pt and nothing be wrong then have someone stay home because they were embarrassed to come in and something be wrong with the baby. So - all is well in babyland for now, and my next appt is this Wednesday. I have decided that I am really excited about this baby, and I can't wait until he/she is here. That may sound strange, I mean, I've always been excited about this baby, but lately there has been so much else going on that I haven't gotten to enjoy the end of my pregnancy and the excitement of being so close to delivery. I am putting everything else that is not important right now to the side and focusing on Cadence's birthday and the birth of our new baby! I'm really really really anxious to see if the baby is a boy or girl... I just knew with Cadence that she was going to be a girl, but with this baby I have absolutely no idea about the sex. (The nurse did say on Thurs. that this baby was bound to be a boy for all the trouble it has caused :) ) You can definitely tell that I am getting near the end now... I am waddling -much to the amusement of my coworkers, and I have finally traded my heels and wedges in for flat, comfortable shoes. It is hard for me to breathe and get comfortable in any position, but I'm not complaining because that just means that the baby is growing and the end is near. (well I'm trying not to complain anyway) I am still having contractions, but no more spotting, and I am hoping that when the doc checks me this week my cervix has changed again. The baby's room is ready, and we put the carseat in my car this weekend so all we have left to do is pack our bag for the hospital and PICK A NAME for the baby... HOPEFULLY we will be doing both of these before the baby decides to come.

We have almost everything ready for Cadence's birthday party next Sunday... I am SO excited to see her face when she sees all the Mickey decorations, and balloons, and her cake! She gets so stinkin' excited when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse comes on the TV it's crazy... she even stands up and does the "Hot Dog Dance" at the end of every episode - it is so cute. So far we have gotten her new bedding and decorations for her room (ladybug themed), clothes, shoes, new Minnie Mouse cups, and Minnie Mouse pjs. It is hard not to just buy every cute thing I see for her, but I have finally cut myself off. So far we are expecting a crowd of about 30 so I am praying that it doesn't rain. (we'll have 2 big tents set up just in case) I still can't come to terms with the fact that my little angel is going to be 2 years old - where has the time gone? Yesterday she counted from 1 to 10 by herself and I nearly fell over in the floor! She says 1,2,3 all the time, but for whatever reason yesterday she just kept going... all the way to 10! So I had her say it again for Dave just to make sure that I wasn't imagining it and she did it again! I'm pretty sure that I've got the smartest little almost 2yr old around ;).

As an aside - heard another great message at church today about David and Goliath. It's such a simple story, but it demonstrates a good message about being willing to do what God wants you to do and submitting to his will. Thanks to Brother Bill for teaching me something important again this week. Also Cadence goes to the nursery every week and she cracks us up talking about the "kids" she plays with. Today, when I went to pick her up, Mrs. Cripps said, "She is the perfect child!" And I said, "You think so?" She said, "Yes I do, she has played and colored and talked to us... she is so good and sweet." So as a proud momma I thought I'd share that. Every parent thinks that their child/children are so good or so sweet, but it's just nice to hear it from others every now and then too.

Now I'm going to take a nap with my angel before I have to go mow the yard... hope that everyone has a GREAT week and I'll post again after my appt on Wednesday.

Whirlwind!

Don't ask me where the last 3 weeks have gone - I don't know! Seems like pregnancy was going so slowly until about 2wks ago and all of a sudden I feel like my life is a tornado that is raging in all different directions. I finally got Cadence's birthday invitations mailed and some of her party decorations, but I have still yet to buy any food for this party that is taking place in less than 2wks (besides the cake, thanks Natasha), nor do I have my house or yard ready! Compounded with the fact that after Cadence's birthday I will be "ripe" enough to have this baby any time this is all driving me bonkers! Thankfully I don't have a doc's appt tomorrow so I can work on my house, but starting next Wednesday I will be going to the doctor every week. And I have started training the lady that will be my replacement on Maternity Leave, so it is really sinking in that in just a few short weeks I am going to be a TEMPORARY stay at home mom with a newborn and a 2yr old! I say temporary like that because I am planning on taking 6wks leave MAXIMUM and coming back to work as soon as humanly possible.

Dave is still battling his last Algebra test for school - he is even using my old college notes, but I certainly can't help him because I stink at Algebra... I'm really proud of him though, he has taught himself Elementary Algebra from one of those Dummy Books! I mean - he is doing slopes and quadratic equations... stuff that makes my skin crawl! We are anticipating a speed bump in the school process - they are going to start a 2nd shift back up at his old job so he will probably be called back to work soon. This means that he will have to knock school back to part time, but he is definitely still going to go. Either way, there are pros and cons to each and we can't get worried or stressed about it until something happens. We have been very fortunate to be able to manage our finances with Dave being unemployed for the last 4 months - I know that a lot of families are not able to survive when one person loses a job. Dave and I are very fortunate that we are able to take advantage of the newest options being presented by the gov't for laid off workers. We were recently approved for the new Health Care Tax Credit, which pays 80% of our Cobra Insurance! You will not hear either one of us bashing our president because right now we are saving $600 a month because of a plan he put into action. We are very, very blessed.

Anyway, all is well, just busy, at the Reynolds' Household. I probably won't post before my next doc's appt (next Wednesday), if anyone needs me - I'll be cleaning and running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!!