7 Days!!!

Just 7 days!

This is the last Saturday before Riley comes. Next Saturday at this time we'll be at the hospital getting ready for Riley. Wow!

SINGLE DIGITS & 7 Useless Facts

We are in SINGLE DIGITS!!! Just 9 days (or sleeps for you Canadians) until Riley comes!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!

Shelly's still holding up. She had a three hour business meeting to attend this morning. Maybe sitting in a meeting that long will send her into labor. One can only wish!

Last week I was tagged by several people to complete a Meme. I totally don't know what a Meme is but I'll play along. The object of the Meme is this: Name 7 facts about yourself that you want people to know about. (I don't know if I want people to know about them but hey, it's all in fun.) Then tag 7 people and they should do the same. I've thought about this for days and am now finally ready to provide you with seven useless facts about me.

Fact #1: I'm totally obsessed with the Gi.rls Ne.xt Do.or. You know, the TV show about H.ugh Hef.ner, Playboy Extraordinaire, and his three live in Girlfriends. For some reason it fascinates me. I can't believe 1) They live like they do, and 2) They can at times be so incredibly intellectually challenged. Love it! Shelly thinks I'm nuts.

Fact #2: My feet look like I'm a direct descendant of Fr.ed Flin.tstone. They are wide, flat and fat. They're so wide I have a hard time finding shoes ANYWHERE that fit me. Yes, even D.SW, the gigantic shoe warehouse struggles to carry enough wide width shoes for my fat feet. Hopefully Riley WON'T inherit this from me.

Fact #3: Dir.ty Dan.cing came out on DVD when I was in High School. I developed a hugh smash on Pa.trick Sw.ayze. My friend borrowed me her VHS copy and the night before I gave it back to her I stayed up ALL NIGHT watching it because I couldn't get enough of him. Weird!

Fact #4: I truly believe cookies should become the fifth food group. Wouldn't life be great if everyone could claim "a cookie a day keeps the bad thoughts away". MMMM....cookies.

Fact #5: I love Sunday NFL Football!!!! I love to sit on the couch, eat football munchies, and watch football ALL DAY!

Fact #6: I can't stand it when cupboard doors or drawers are left open. Drives me nuts! I have a dear friend who I lived with at one point. (You know who you are 9.) She always left the bathroom drawers open in the morning. She claimed, "She was running late for work and didn't have time to shut them." Drove me nuts. Still does to this day! Please, everyone, it only takes a half a second to close a drawer or door and doesn't require much energy. Please, for my sake JUST DO IT!

Finally, Fact #7: I love Belle. Not Day.s of our Li.ves Belle but Be.auty and the Be.ast Belle! I love that she loves books! I love the storyline. I love the Beast. I love, love, love that he gives her a library. I solemnly swear, that before I die, I will be Belle for Halloween one year.

Everyone I know has been tagged so I'm not tagging anyone!
And, finally, just a reminder...ONLY 9 DAYS!!!

All Went Well Today

Today was a good Tuesday. Whew. We're so apprehensive about Tuesday's.

First, the OB, and all went well there. Shelly's blood pressure was fantastic. There was no protein in her urine for the third week in a row! She's not dilated at all but Riley has dropped a little.

Next, NST. Again, all went well. Amniotic Fluid was good at 15. Shelly was having zero contractions. Riley did exactly what she needed to do and we were out of there in no time.

Next, Lawyer's office. All of our paper work is signed. Now we just wait for Riley to be born to file the papers and wait for our court date.

Next, Primary Children's to have the Car Seat installed. We're so glad we did this! She went over several things with us that we'd never have thought about. Now we have a Car Seat in our truck! Wow!!!

Finally, lunch. Yummy Salmon Tacos. Then home to do more chores. I don't think they'll ever end.

Shelly felt pretty good today. We had fun together and laughed A LOT! I think we almost sent her into labor because we were laughing so hard at one point. It's so nice to laugh on Tuesday instead of crying.

Riley's been super active. Shelly keeps telling me "Riley's trying to bust out again." She was a total wiggle worm during the NST. She's such a sassy a little girl. I can't wait to meet her!

Just 11 days to go!!!

Thank you all for your love, support, and well wishes. It means a lot to know there are so many people out there praying and sending good vibes our way. THANK YOU!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We are busily getting ready for our new arrival. Every spare minute not working is spent getting things ready and getting stuff done. This weekends list looked like this:

aBank
aTruck Detailed
aBuy Extra Battery Pack for Camcorder
aNew Windshield Installed in Truck
aOil Change, Tires Rotated, Safety Inspection & Emissions on Truck
aOil Change on Land Cruiser
aWal-Mart for Extra Toiletries and Snacks for Hospital Bag
aCraft Store for some Necessities
aStop at BF's (Best Friend Amy & her GF Trish) to say hi and get puppy kisses
aBeauty Supply for Hair Products
aMall for Mother's Day Gifts

I know there was more but I think that's enough. Sunday was spent doing LOTS of chores around the house. Tonight I got the hospital bags packed. We're getting so dang close!

Tomorrow is our OB appointment, NST, Lawyer's, and car seat installed.

I'll post an update tomorrow night after our appointments.

Sorry to be see such an absent blogger lately. There's just so much to get done! I have been keeping up with my blogger family I just haven't had much time to most. I'll get caught up soon.

Finally, GO JAZZ!!!

We Hate Tuesdays (and Wednesdays)!

Yesterday started out wonderful. We got up early so that we could stop for bagels on our way downtown. We laughed a lot on the drive and talked about things we're going to do with our sweet little girl as she grows.


Our first appointment was with the OB. Everything went well. No protein again! Of course Shelly's very happy there will be no more peeing in a bucket. Her blood pressure was fine. She gained 3 pounds but the doctor attributed this to her swelling.

After the OB we drove up the canyon to a great outdoor restaurant for lunch. We had a good time. Lots of laughs and talk about the future. Plus the drive through the canyon was gorgeous!


After lunch we had quite a bit of time left before our next appointment. So, we went to Toys R Us. My cousins baby shower is next weekend so we needed to pick up a few things for gifts. Mostly we went to get Tate a present. Her sister is due in June and I'm sure she's going to have a hard time adjusting to a new baby in the house. I wanted to get her a new baby doll and a carrier for her to take care of her baby when her Momma takes care of Talor. Check out the CUTE travel carrier we got her. She's going to love it!

Next we headed to the hospital for our NST and Ultrasound.

First the NST. Again, all was well. Riley was very active and did everything she needed to. Shelly's blood pressure was great. No contractions, just some uterine irritability. Amniotic Fluid level was 19 which is right in the mid of the normal range. All was good with the NST. At this point we're feeling pretty confident heading into the Ultrasound.

Finally, the Ultrasound. The tech comes in to do her job. The minute she puts the wand on the Hygroma both Shelly and I saw what we didn't want to see. It was much bigger. We asked her to please measure it and it's approximately 1ox10x11 centimeters. On the screen it looks as big as her head, and it is. It's now as big as our sweet little girls head! Shelly starts crying and I stay stoic. The doctor comes in and looks for Hydrops of which there is none. Which is fantastic. He talks to us about the size and not to get caught up in the numbers because we're measuring a 3D object in 2D. Plus the object is soft and pliable. Depending on the angle in which you take the measurement it could be different every time. Great we get that. BUT, we've seen this at least twice a month for four months. We can tell it is much bigger and it sucks. It is SO DAMN HARD TO SEE!!!

The doctor proceeds to tell us things we already know. Riley's doing great. She's almost here. No need for another Ultrasound before she comes because she'll be here soon. They got a measurement and her growth looks to have slowed a bit. She's measuring 5 lbs 14 oz which is right on track. We can't believe she's not bigger than that.

We leave the appointment with Shelly being emotional and me still feeling pretty matter of fact. It is what it is. It won't change whether it is 8 cm or 10 cm. We're still dealing with the same thing and the size doesn't change anything. We get in the truck and neither of us feel like calling anyone to give them an update. I had to at least make on phone call to Mom. Something happened as I was talking to her. I snapped and became so damn angry! I wanted to throw my phone out the front windshield. I was so angry. And then the tears came. Shelly and I didn't say one word to each other the rest of the ride home. She thought I was angry with her. I thought she didn't want to talk. We got home and both cried and cried and cried. We were going through the whys. Why us? Why Riley? We know there are people that go through much worse. But that doesn't make what we're going through any easier.

Luckily my best friend, of over 20 years, Amy, called during my melt down and I let it loose on her. After I'd been ranting and sobbing for about 10 minutes I say, "Wait, you were calling me, what did you want to talk about?" She responds with, "I was just calling to bitch about the gas prices." It was too funny. She can ALWAYS make me laugh. Thank you Amy! I love you!!!

I then got Shelly to come sit outside and watch our four legged girls play with their ball in the back yard. They're so sweet and can always make us laugh.

Today, I'm struggling. Shelly's up and doing well. Not me, I always struggle on Wednesday's. The emotional toll of Tuesday's really takes it out of me. I just want to curl up in bed all day. Shelly's forced me to get up and at least stay in the family room with her and the girls. I'm glad she did because I'm feeling a teensy weensy better. Plus, getting how I'm feeling down on paper is very therapeutic.

I've got a lot of work email to get caught up on today so I'm going to focus on that and keep my mind busy. Tomorrow will be a new day and we'll both feel much better.

Shelly's putting our stroller together right now. It's so dang cool! See picture below. It's got a music system. We simply plug in the IPOD and the speakers funnel music to Riley. Too cool!


And last, but not least, only 17 days to go! Wow!

Our Baby Shower was Wonderful!

We're 36 weeks and 1 day today! Just 6 more days and we're at 37 weeks!!!!! It's getting so close. 19 days until Riley's big arrival.

Shelly's holding up great. She's starting to swell more but it's been pretty hot here. Tomorrows Tuesday, our marathon day of Doctor appointments. First, OB, then Non Stress Test, and we wrap it all up with our Ultrasound. I'll for sure post updates tomorrow night.

Shelly's family baby shower was yesterday. It was wonderful! Shelly's Mom, Sister, and Niece were the hosts and they did a fantastic job. Everything was beautiful! There were well over 30 people there.

Riley got lots and lots of loot. Clothes, quilts, blankets, receiving blankets, burp clothes, baby wipes, Baby Bjorn, Soothing Sounds Machine, two Boppies, (One for upstairs and one for down. Heck, why take one back? It's all about convenience!) wipes warmer, towels, wash clothes, toys, socks, mini scrapbook, keepsake boxes, Raggedy Ann Doll, Tea Set, Velveteen Rabbit Book (My all time favorite! Something I'm looking forward to sharing with Riley!), a swing, stroller, her first swim suit, and gift cards. I'm sure I'm missed something. Once again, we got more than we could have asked for. We are very lucky to have so many who love and care for us and this precious baby we're bringing into this world.

They passed a book through the group where everyone was supposed to offer advice. There are so many great things to share. One of my favorites was from Sarah, Shelly's 14 year old niece. She said, "Never be the first to break a Mother-Daughter hug." I love that!

After the shower Sarah come home with us. Shelly had to work so Sarah and I unloaded and unpacked everything. We cut out tags, took things out of boxes, did wash and then watched a movie. It was fun spending time with her.

I leave you with a few pictures from our shower (there are a few more posted on our Flicker site). The first is of Shelly and her Grandma, whom I adore! Next, Sarah unveiling the buffet. Then, the best picture of Shelly and I together was hovering over the food.

The Interview

Well, it's my turn for "The Interview". I put this off until this weekend so that I could give it some thought. And, luckily enough, I get 10 questions to toil over. Thanks Merr and K. Guess I'll sit down, drink a DP and get this done. Problem is, believe it or not, I'm shy sometimes. We'll, let's see how this goes.

1. Perfect day?

In the past my perfect day would go like this...Wake up around 9:00 am at our property near Duchesne, Utah. Let the dogs out, put the coffee on and wake my friend Trish up to cook us breakfast. Trish would cook Corned Beef Hash and eggs. After the food settles I'd have a couple of Screwdrivers to get the day started. Next we spend the day on the boat, soaking up the sun, at Starvation Lake. Then, back home around 5:00. We shower and Trish again is cooking but this time it's a yummy dutch oven dinner. Then the night is spent around the camp fire with friends, drinking beer, telling stories, and laughing A LOT. But, now that I enter motherhood something tells me my perfect day is going to be any time I can spend the entire day with my little girl and my wife.

2. If you could change one persons mind, who's would it be and about what?

I wish I could change my Dad's mind and get him to move back to Salt Lake ASAP. He says they're waiting a few more years to move back from Las Vegas. I want him here now! I love spending time with him and his wife Joyce and love them both dearly. Plus, I want Riley to know them. Just seeing them 3-4 times a year just doesn't cut it.

3. If someone wrote a Movie about you, what would the title be?

Let' see. How about "The Incredibly True Adventures of a Scrapbooking Lesbian."

4. Any 5 people at a dinner party...dead or alive, who would they be?

Hmmm...again, tough one. I'm going for a fun and interesting dinner party. Let's invite Ellen, Angelina, Hillary (Clinton), Sarah McLachlan and Oprah.

5. List 5 things you love about someone you REALLY hate?

I really don't hate anyone. There is a person who I was very close friends with for years. We've since parted ways but I still miss and love her dearly. 1) I love that she was so stinkin' funny! 2) I loved that she'd go gambling with us on a whim. 3) I loved that she'd be there for you no matter what, no questions asked. 4) I loved that no matter what you were doing, if you were with her, you were having fun. 5) I love that for a long time she was a part of my life.

6. How has your family reacted to your being gay?

They love me unconditionally. Me being gay doesn't change that. They're all extremely accepting and supportive.

7. How you meet Shelly and how did you know she was the one?

Well, the verdict is still out on that. NOT! It's actually kind of romantic. I'd known her for awhile through a friend of a friend of a friend. We suddenly found ourselves hanging out in the same circle. I thought she'd been flirting with me, come to find out later, she was just being friendly. I needed to really get her attention. I sent flowers to her work with a card that simply said Smile. (I've always loved her smile.) For the next two weeks she was asking EVERYONE if they knew who had sent her flowers. I kept my lips shut! I'd only told one friend. About two weeks after we were out in a group. She was talking about the flowers again and I said, "It was me who sent you the flowers." I turned, got in my car and left. The next night everyone was going to the bar. Well, she walked in and I was looking smoking hot and that was all it took. We've been together ever since. 10 years later and we're having a baby together so she better be the one!

8. What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

I want to be a mother and a wife. I want to raise a child that will be diverse, strong, caring and independent. I hope to spend many, many years as a family camping, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

9. Who do you most admire and why?

This is very tough. I think I'd have to say my Aunt B. I'm actually named after her. My middle name is the same as hers. She's an amazing woman who has overcome tremendous obstacles. She's always given selflessly to her family and made sure that everyone is taken care of. She's done this at times without remembering to care for herself. She's survived cancer twice. She helped raise my Dad and his younger brother when they came to the U.S. from Holland. She's an amazing woman and I truly love her.

10. What scares you the most about being a new mommy soon?

Everything! I worry about being neurotic and not providing for her properly. The fact that I'm responsible for another human being is terrifying and exciting all in one.

That's it! Whew! Check back tomorrow for updates from our family baby shower. And, we're 36 weeks tomorrow!!!