Baby Girl has a wish list

Before I begin, I'm sorry, Baby Girl, for blaming you for my headaches and accusing you of crawling down into my leg and kicking it really really hard this morning...(woke up with a major leg cramp, people-OUCH!!!!)

Now, as of today, Baby Girl has a wish list at Babies R Us. She wants all kinds of pretty stuff for her new room and to eat with, travel in, and sleep on. So, if anyone wants to spoil her rotten, go to your nearest Babies R Us, or check out our registry at www.babiesrus.com on line.

pregnancy has its down days

I KNOW for other people that pregnancy can be quite difficult--the morning
sickness, preeclampsia, hair issues, feet issues and what not. If you've
asked me up until yesterday about the pregnancy, I've told you that I feel
great and things are going sooo well... but that was up until yesterday--
when "THE HEADACHE" hit. At first, I didn't even mind the headaches, but
yesterday's was different. I had a headache begin when I got home from
school--about 4:30. It gradually worsened throughout the day. I tried to
go without meds, but last night I was in HORRIBLE pain. I took two tylenol
and laid down on the love seat. I felt relief for about 15 minutes. Then,
my lower back began to hurt and by hurt I mean "throb" like a kidney
infection. I sat up and walked to bed. I cried my eyes out in pain for
about 10 minutes. Geron, my wonderful husband, asked if there was anything
he could do to help, but there was nothing. Finally, I went to sleep and
woke up feeling good this morning. I guess its all a part of growing pains.
My next doctor's appointment is days away, so I'll check up on things then.

Until then, I am resolving to drink more water--Geron's orders, as well as
many friends'. I know I've been hard-headed about the water buisness, but
yesterday I learned my lesson. Besides that, its supposed to help with my
foot problems, too.

Something to look forward to...my first baby shower is coming up quickly. I
think we will probably register this weekend. And, I'm hoping we've finally
found some nursery decor that we both
like..YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Growing Pains and other 80's t.v.shows...

Pregnancy defined by 80's television.

"Growing Pains"--the cramps you get when your uterus starts to stretch or from watching too much of Kirk Cameron

"8 is Enough"--how many months of pregnancy you should actually have to endure

"Silver Spoons"--baby shower gifts

"The Cosby Show"--what will happen in the delivery room

"Facts of Life"--all about where babies come from

I don't know if its hormones or working with kindergarteners, but one or both is making me crazy. Today, I experienced some major growing pains. I was quite worried at first, but I feel like I'm constantly bugging my doctor about every little thing, so I asked a VERY pregnant friend of mine what the pain I might be feeling was. She suggested it was probably my uterus muscles stretching to make more room for baby. And since the cramp would go away whenever I set down, I probably didn't need to worry about it. I believe she was right because I feel fine now. Just another thing people don't tell you before you decide to have a baby.

upon further examination

This story over at yahoo news really cracks me up.

Apparently, the weird doctor traveling door to door giving free exams didn't tip them off. But they were tipped off because he didn't wear gloves. IDIOTS!!!! If a doctor shows up at your door offering a free service, here's the rule i follow. Either he's not a doctor, or it's not really free. I think the fact that

pics

okay so everyone wanted to see our horrible pictures. here are just a few

we promise we weren't taking anything at the time the photos were made.

dimes from heaven?

I was sitting here at the computer at the house a few minutes ago messin with my page over at myspace. All of a sudden it sounded like the house was coming down. It was hailing outside; big ones!! I ran out to pull the van under the carport and got soaked in the process. Well, at least the paint won't get chipped. If you've seen our van you would find this hilarous!

update

Tom & Katie had their baby

Ben & Bekah are gettin' hitched

The busy season is over for a bit

Alias is making it's long-awaited return to wednesday night

Lydia and I had our picture taken by Olan Mills(i only look "special" in one of them)

An ATT Commercial

Isn't it ATT that had the jingle "Reach out, reach out and touch someone..." ?  Well, whoever it is, I've entered that stage.  So far, only coworkers and fellow church people have wanted to rub my tummy.  I thought I would absolutely hate this, but I really haven't minded.  Probably because I know all these people pretty well.  However, I've heard horror stories about strangers coming up and touching bellies in the supermarket or the mall.  I think I may have to smack those folks.  That, or just rub them right back and say "how do you like that?"  Whatever the case, I do understand the wanting to reach out and touch a rounded belly.  In college, I knew a guy who had a tummy that looked like he had a basketball under his shirt.  I remember talking to him one day and as I started to walk away from him, I reached out, patted him on the tummy and said "I'll see ya later."  I don't know WHAT came over me that day. 

Butterflies, tickles, gas

I believe I have finally felt baby move!!! YeA!!  The wait had been driving me absolutely crazy!  During the ultrasound I was about to go nuts seeing her kick me over and over again and not even feel it.  Not that I really want to be kicked, but it IS different when what you're being kicked by is the size of a Barbie doll.  Also, people have asked and asked and asked if I'd felt the baby move yet and I couldn't even tell, so I didn't know what to say.  Everyone kept saying "Oh, it feels like butterflies fluttering"...or the first time mom's responses "I didn't know what to expect.  I just thought it was gas."  And my sweet friend at church said "It feels like a tickle."  So, last night I was laying in bed and I felt what I would describe as bubbles.  And no, it wasn't gas.  I could tell because of where I was feeling the bubbles.  I think I've probably actually felt her a couple of times before now, like a finger was poking my stomach from the inside.  But last nights movement was the most distinct.  Everyone says once you get farther a long, you can start to see the baby move.  A second grade teacher told me her baby was moving one day and she covered her stomach real quick because she thought the kids would see it and scream "ALIEN!"  Mom told me she was in church one night and my cousin was sitting next to her watching her stomach the whole time while the baby put on a show for anyone around.  I'm excited about some of that, but not the dreaded baby resting in the rib cage feeling.  I can wait for that. 

 

So this is what the superbowl is...

My mom sent me this cartoon. The games haven't started yet for me, she's still getting warmed up, I guess. But check this out...

P.S. ANd on an entirely different note

CONGRATS AND BEST WISHES TO OUR GOOD FRIENDS, BEN AND BEKAH!!
We love you and are very excited for you!!!!

Bilbo Brown here, posting once again.

Its official, I'm a hobbit. Its taken a bit of coercing to make myself admit it, but its true. Today we attempted the shoe shopping adventure again. I know you're all asking "Why torture yourself?" We went to Shoe Carnival and I tried on every cute white sandal I saw and NADA, ZILCH, NUH-THING fit. I had a visit from Psycho Lydia while I was in the store and she burst into tears in the back. After Geron helped me find my normal self, we decided to leave and walked over to Goodys. I found a pair of shoes in there that I could get on. They're two sizes larger than my normal size, but they were wide enough to actually GET ON. So they're a little long, I'll get over it. Geron said it will all be worth it one day. I told him it better be, or a certain little girl is going to get a spanking every time I go shopping for shoes. NO, NOT REALLY!!!!!!!!! IN the meantime, I think I better invest in a pair of crocs. I think they MIGHT fit. ANd if anyone knows where a person can buy cute WIDE shoes, please let me know. I would ask Peggy Hill, but she's only a cartoon.

changes

There are some things that people don't warn you about before you decide to have a baby. These are namely changes that happen to your body. There are the obvious pot belly, and "the spread" (what happens to your backside). Then, you get pretty stretch marks on your tummy--some people are fortunate and get the white ones that barely show while others look like they've drawn squiggly lines up and down there stomach and sides with a purple magic marker. (Thankfully I haven't experienced those, yet, and hopefully won't) Next, you have what my sister likes to call "cankles" which is where you can't tell where your ankle ends and your calf begins because your legs are so swollen. ANd then there's the return of the outie...you know, the belly button you had when you were six, only its a lot bigger now. There are unmentionable changes and hair texture changes (I like mine hair right now, by the way). And then you have the retreat to middle school years---ZITS!!! I actually don't remember having a big problem with zits ever. I had really good skin. But now, I get the pretty pimple on the chin look weekly. Lets see what else.... oh, dry skin-my friend April would tell me my legs are "ashy". I'm dealing with these changes as they occur, knowing that many of them will go away after baby girl arrives. However, there is one change that I'm afraid will be permanent and I am not enjoying it in the least. Geron has named it "Frodo feet". PEOPLE, YOUR FEET GROW LIKE 1 or 2 sizes LARGER when you're pregnant. ADOPT!!! (I'm kidding about adopting) But be prepared. I allready have an oddly proportioned foot being that the front is very wide and the heel is very narrow. And my foot is not very short either. I think the only shoes that might fit me comfortably right now are crocs. I've been told that your feet stay that way after the baby has come. My friend, Laura, has three boys, and she said she grew a shoe size after each one. Men, this may be a small issue to you, but for ladies, the larger your foot, the less cuter shoes you have to choose from. UGH!I guess my mom and I are finally discovering that half my doctor's prediction when I was a baby is true. He said I'd be five feet tall and five feet wide. I think he was referring to my feet!

a musical legacy

Geron got me thinking on whether our daughter would be musical or not.  I'd say growing up in this house, she doesn't have a choice not to be.  I must admit, I have a fear, though.  So far, the only person she hears sing is me.  Nuff said.  I don't doubt she'll be able to carry a tune, but will it sound good?  I think I better have Geron start singing lullabies to her.

that's my fun day

Spring has sprung in the heart of big G.

Today on my day off, and I did our taxes. It was super fun. We had four W-2's this year. One was mine, and 3 were Lydia's. For some reason I couldn't find the one from the daycare Lydia worked at last year for a while. Lucky for me, my dad happens to be the bookeeper for it, so I hauled it over to him to get a copy of the missing W-2.

My errands took more time than expected today, and I was a little bummed because I wanted to try out the disc golf course near the house. When we lived on the other side of town, I used to drive about thirty minutes down into Georgia to play at a beautiful course on top of Lookout Mountain. It has real open fairways and great views. I had heard rumors for a while that they were building a new course in Chattanooga. Now that we live on the other side of town the new course is only about 7 minutes away. Lydia had a PTA thing at school tonight so i decided to play while she was at that. I would prefer not to play by myself, but I need the exercise, so I went anyway.

The course is called "the sinks "(links to a pdf of course), because there are a large number of sinkholes spread throughout the 18 holes. It's very wooded, and the entire course was pretty much hacked out of the middle of a forest. The sink holes are pretty stable and make for great hazards. One of the baskets is located at the end of a long fairway on top of a rise. It looks easy, but if you overthrow the chains your disk winds up at the bottom of a 10 foot deep 20 feet across sinkhole. The tee boxes aren't paved, but most have a good layer of chipped bark. There are two per hole one for advanced players and one for novices. I kinda mixed it up a bit. A good time was had, and I intend to spend many more days there. I didn't keep score, but actually did pretty well, I didn't get lost between holes, and actually brought all of my discs home. yeaaaah!!!

big thanx

I've been a dedicated firefox user for many years now, and always check this blog in firefox. Well i got a shock yesterday when i happened to pull the blog on a different computer using internet explorer. The sidebar was all jacked up!!! after quite a while of trying to resolve the issue, i did what i usually do. I called my code guru ben and asked him to take a look at it. he fixed it in a snap. thanx ben, and sorry to all you ie users who have been reading a jacked up site.

Meeting Baby Girl

Probably one of the only political statements you will here from me: Our ultrasound was an absolute testimony that babies are miracles from the Lord and there is absolutely no way anyone could justify abortion.

Monday: My husband noted my comment about wanting a large mello yello in sonic ice and showed up at work with the perfect treat for me! Super-size mello yello in sonic ice. I worked on downing it on the 15 minute ride to the doctor's office. I had been told previously BY MY DOCTOR that I should drink some caffeine before the ultrasound so the baby would move around a bit. Then, we'd have a better chance of seeing what he/she was. So, by the time we got to the office, I was nervous AND on a caffeine high. Oh, and I had to go to the bathroom really really bad, but I was waiting for the usual trip to go in the cup.

Mom, Dad, and Geron's mom met us at the doctor's office. We talked in the lobby for what seemed like 20 minutes or so and then we were finally called back for THE ultrasound. (Dad waited.) By this time, I really had to go, so fortunately there was a bathroom off the scan room.

Then, it was the big moment. I laid on the table and we all anxiously stared at the screen above to see who was going to reveal themself to us. As soon as the nurse put the scanner on my stomach, we immediately could see the baby. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life! If you've seen our video by now, you know what I'm talking about. A wiggling, kicking baby with fingers, toes, perfect head and tummy and little arms and legs--AGAIN, there is know way anyone could truly say that this is not life. Baby was kicking and even waving, and we think "she"--which we found out after about 10 minutes-- was even smiling a couple of times. She was REALLY on the caffeine high! After waiting for above said time, the nurse was finally able to get a view of baby's bottom side. Baby spread her legs up in the air and it was kind of like she was saying "Look, everybody, I'm a girl! I'm your daughter in here!"

I think, after me, Patsy was the most excited that we were having a girl since she'd had two boys and always wanted a little girl. We're definitely going to have a spoiled baby--there's no doubt about it. Mom and Geron had thought, understand not wanted or didn't want, but thought it was going to be a boy. ANd I think my mom thought Geron wanted a boy, but he never gave us that idea at any time. He was going to be satisfied and excited either way. Believe me, he is going to be a sucker for this little girl! (that's just how daddies are) As for my mom and dad, I think they are just thrilled they're finally getting a grandbaby! Girl or boy, baby is going to be loved by everyone and spoiled by most everyone. I imagine my dad will be just as big a suckerif not bigger for his granddaughter then Geron will be. I won't even mention the siblings. No hope. No hope.

Last night, Geron and I watched America's funniest videos and we saw a little girl in her room kind of leaning on her bed just staring at the camera. I know, not really funny, but she had chocolate all over her face, in her hair, all over her bed, (hershey's syrup bottle laying on the blanket), squiggles of chocolate all over the floor, a care bear covered in chocolate--you get the picture. I mentioned to Geron "That is when I would have to come and get YOU." And his quick reply "And that is when I would say 'That's YOUR daughter'."

flickr friday

.

If i don't get a break soon, I'm gonna crash.

well i mentioned a few posts back that the heavy funk i had been in was dissapating. I think i just need a vacation. It seems like Life has just been soooo busy lately. We finished up revival this past wednesday, and once easter is over I will have a little more breathing room. i think i may take a few days off. I've never really had many mood swings till recently, maybe it's a getting older thing

Psycho Chic

NO, I'm not talking about the baby. I'm talking about myself. I think pregnancy alzheimers(PA) has hit for sure. I just got in a huge shouting match(shouting coming from my side, extreme laughter coming from Geron's) over when we bought a particular pitcher and where it was supposed to go. I almost think he was just trying to push my buttons by asking me where I got it from since he knew we got it from Walmart very recently--I thought I'd pulled it out of the pantry and that we'd had it since we moved into the house. My temper got hotter and hotter as he tried to convince me otherwise and I did not want to hear it. When I finally realized(after I'd hid myself in the bathroom) that he was right I just got mad and started crying. These hormones are raging and I'm wondering if some of baby girl's hormones are entering my system,too!!

Another incident that makes me think PA has hit me happened at work last week. It was lunch time, for the kids, and I was going to get a snack out of my lunch box to eat while I watched the kindergarteners. I went to my room and couldn't find the box. I searched every room I went in that morning, asked all the teachers I'd talked to that morning, and double checked every place. I even looked in the freezer since I'd put a lean cuisine meal in there earlier. The box was nowhere to be found. Finally, I called Geron, who ever so sweetly informed me that I didn't have it in the car that morning. When we got home that afternoon, it was on the kitchen counter, full of snacks. ARRGH!!!

Ya know, the pregnancy help books all said I might experience some memory lapses, but they didn't say how bad they would be or how emotional I'd get over these VERY LITTLE things. People, you need to pray extra hard for Geron and our little girl on the way that they will not experience so much of my unexplainable psychotic outbursts. Fortunately, at work I was able to laugh it all off, but at home I want to be right. Who doesn't? So, again, pray for Geron as much as humanly possible over the next 4 months.

Til later, if I forget your name and call you by something else, just pretend I'm right. We'll both feel better about letting it slide. And maybe your name will dawn on me later and then I can go have my hormonal cry in the bathroom.

daddyhood

there's a real special announcment over at our baby blog today

Announcment

It's a Girl!!!

See all our pics here, and look for the video to be put up real soon.

UPDATE

video is up

right click on link below and "save target as"
http://www.geronbrown.net/video/baby.mpg