What?!

Dee just informed me that he wants to be surprised on the baby's sex!!!! So, that is two people that do not want to know! Dad is the other.
I'm sorry but I have to know!! And Dee is going to (hopefully) go with me to my next sonogram to find out!!!

An Old Friend

It's been nice having Dee home! However, my dear old friend, Nausea, wanted to stop in for a visit...companied by Mr. Headache! Yay! Pregnancy ROCKS!
I didn't follow thru, but I have just been feeling horrible the past 2 days. I thought I was over this!!! So far, being pregnant hasn't been a pleasurable experience. I wish I could be some of those women you hear about that say they LOVE being pregnant. That's not me. I know it will be well worth it when the baby arrives and I would do it again.

I was cuddling on the couch with Dee, laying down, and Sabrina decided she wanted to sleep behind me....fine, whatever. Well, she kept moving around trying to get comfortable. I told her to settle down and she started kicking me in the head with her little toothpick legs!! The Lord is testing my patience......

Good News!

I had my first appointment with Dr. Meeks today and he said that my bloodwork came out wonderful and he gave me the option of have a blood screening done to test for Down Syndrome, spina bifida and various other things. He said that because of my age and health, I have a 98-99% chance of not having anything. I told him that I didn't want the test anyway and that I would love the baby no matter what happens. He checked the heartbeat again today and my dad was able to hear it! I think he was a little teary...:) Dr. Meeks said the baby sounded very strong and healthy. Then, I had to have my pap smear....ugh. Ever since my surgery, paps are uncomfortable. Anyway, he also checked my cervix and said that I DID NOT have to get a cerclage (stitch)!!!!!!!!!!!! I was soooo happy! I get to have a somewhat normal pregnancy! I still have to be monitored often, but other than that....everything is gravy!! He also gave the "go ahead" for me to have relations with Dee! I wanted to cry! Even if i had to have the stitch, which would help hold the baby full term, it would limit me to so many things and I just thanked GOD that I was still able to have intimacy, travel, go on the bike....just be normal....it was a blessing! Sooo, i have another appt. in 4 weeks to do the same thing.
By this point i was hungry....I started to get a little pale and jittery. None of us know our way around Amarillo. Dad and Grams kept asking me what I wanted and I just closed my eyes and kept saying "WHATEVER...JUST GET ME THERE"! After driving around and getting lost, Dad and I saw a billboard for Cracker Barrel. He said, "I hear they have great mashed potatoes". I yelled, "GREAT!!!!! MASHED POTATOES!!! GOOOO!!!!!" I think i scared him a little bit and he sped over. He told me i was cranky..... (wrong thing to say).... I told him that if I don't eat soon, I'm going to throw up everywhere...
He said "ok...honey...stand in line and I will park the car"
As soon as we got our food, I tried to control myself. I never asked Dad or Grams if I ate like a pig. Guess I didn't really care. I had grilled trout, mashed potatoes, okra, and corn. YUMMMMM...
It was so satisfying i wanted to take a nap right there. After I ate, I was normal and nice to be around again.
I can honestly say that I don't like the "Hungry Nichole".....it's not pretty.

"Joe The Plumber"

Bear with me.......

Today was interesting...that is quite an understatment. As I write this, I am really trying to smile and remain calm and collected.
It all started when I was taking a shower. I have OLD...CRUSTY knobs to turn on the water, ok? You have to turn the hot water knob all the way on and turn the cold water knob just a little bit to get the right temprature. Well.....the cold water knob came off! I picked it up off the shower floor and observed it. The back of the knob was covered in glue... I thought to myself, 'this isn't the first time that this has happened...who the *heck* would do something like this'? Then my eyes began to roll...why am I even asking....Of course i know who did this.....JOE CHITTY (the person my husband and I are renting from).
You kinda would have to know why I was rolling my eyes at this man and it started from day 1 when we moved into this house. The renters are not smart people. They literally have no common sense.
Anyway, I had to turn off the water because now i couldn't have any cold water and the water was now scalding. I go into the second bathroom and bathe myself "the old fashioned" way in a tub...ugh. When I was decent, I called the Chitty's about the dilemma. His wife called me back and told me Joe would be their shortly. He came and went straight into our bathroom to see what was the problem. He said, "I think I can fix this"! I thought, 'Sure you do. Just slap some glue on there"!! He asked if I had a flat head screwdriver. At this time, I was on the phone with Dee asking him where his tools were, the dog is going ballistic looking for blood, and I am in the garage going thru Dee crud. He had heavy objects on top of his toolbox, which I needed help moving and nobody would help. I was yelling from the garage at Sabrina to quit barking and Dee is talking in my ear to walk me thru the "Where's Waldo screwdriver scavenger hunt"!!! By this point I am getting pretty irritated. I walked down the hall and gave JOE the screwdriver, yanked Sabrina out of the taxi and put her outside.....
Dee asks if I'm ok. Joe comes out and says he is going to soak the knob in CLR (actually he said CRL) and that he would be back later. He came back less than 5 minutes later with some tools and got back to work. He said he couldn't fix it (shock, shock) and that he would get a plumber. He left the house and I thought, 'yay! A professional'. Seconds after his departure, Grandma and I smelled something. It smelled like gasoline and the fumes got stronger towards my room! Grandma said he sprayed something. "He sprayed something and didn't tell us about it"! Dee called back and I told him that we were smelling fumes. He was upset and said he was calling JOE. He told him that I was pregnant and wanted to know if he sprayed anything. He also told him that if he ever sprayed he needed to tell us whether we were pregnant or not. Joe said the cleaning solution was not toxic and we needed to open a window.
Dee called Gabe, our friend and fellow Trooper, to come and open the window in the bathroom and get a fan to blow out the fumes.
Everything always happens when Dee is gone! I was livid. I just can't believe, pregnant or not, he didn't say, "hey, I sprayed some solution....you might wanna open a window". OMG.....
Sorry this rant was so long....it feels cathardic right now to me. I can't wait to move in March.

Small Town Gossip

My other "grandma" down the street, Mrs. Harris, came to visit me a couple of days ago and wanted to know if I was still alive. I told her that I hadn't been out much because I was very sick due to pregnancy. She was so shocked and happy! She had noticed that Dee's Trooper car had been gone and thought that something was wrong. I told her that I was finally getting on my feet again. Well, today another neighbor came by and asked if i was ok.... I told her I was doing great! She said she heard that I was pregnant and she knew my due date and how far along I was!!! She did all the talking for me, basically!! Anyway, it was just funny that she already knew all the stats.
Some other news.....
One of Dee's fellow Trooper friends in Dalhart, TX got shot today during a car stop. He is fine, but the driver didn't make it. I shouldn't have watched that.....I knew Dee would find out way before I would tell him. Please pray that my husband will always be safe. I can't fathom the thought of becoming a single parent.

Pink and Green

Just like to say that I am really diggin' this layout with the greens and pinks....if we have a girl, i want these combo colors...

what do you all think?

Making Room

Today, I was really wanting to take Sabrina for a walk and clean up my media/scrapbook room, but OMG the baby was "making room" in my tummy and it hurt! I felt the stretching from my lower abdomen all the way around to my lower back. I did a few stretches and it helped some. The nurse said that it was ok for me to take Extra Strength Tylenol, but I want to omit any drugs as much as I can. Well, I am about to make a late snack...yum, yum.....and try and tackle that room for just 15 minutes. Grandma has claimed the T.V. for the rest of the evening; watching NFL...boring! Sorry, I just can't get in to it. I try to every year and just can't do it.