Nursery is DONE!

We finished the nursery last weekend!  Yay!  I love how it came out, it's fabulous!  We have some minor touch ups to do, but the bulk of it is complete.  We have a chandelier coming to hang from the ceiling- how awesome will that be?!  Very princess :-)  Also not in the picture is the ottoman that goes with the glider- it was just picked up the other night- Sal had to go to West Windsor to get it!  That's absurd.  The Babies R Us near us was completely useless.  I was willing to buy the floor model- it was still wrapped in the plastic and they refused to sell it to us!  WTF?!  Whatever, we have it now and that's all that matters to me.

Had two doctors appointments on Tuesday.  First was the OB at 8:45, then the high risk at 9:15.  Well, we got to the OB by 8:30 and weren't taken in until 9.  Then the doctor tells me I need to strip from the waist down for an exam/to test for Strep B, followed by a HIV test.  No one else could tell me this?  I couldn't have my blood taken first?  I made Sal call the high risk office and let them know we would be late (I hate being late for anything, it makes me all twitchy!)  So we finally get to our 2nd appointment at 9:30.  I was due into work for 10:30 just as an FYI.  They take us in to the ultra sound room within 10 minutes and the tech did all her measurements and whatnot within another 15 mins- now it's 10 am.  The tech leaves and says the doctor will be in shortly, he's across the hall with another patient.  Okay, fine.  Now, I'm laying on the table with gook all over my belly from the ultra sound, waiting for him to come in.  We can hear him trying to wrap things up with the other patient, but she and her husband keep asking questions- NOT medically relavant questions!  They wanted to know about insurance and hospital stays and private rooms, etc- CALL BILLING!  I was sweating bullets at this point, I was going to be late for work!  I texted Dawn and gave her a heads up and of course, she said it was no big deal, but to me it was!  FINALLY the doctor comes in at 10:15!  He read the tech's measurements and made a few of his own- in the end we found out that Sophie is 4 lbs 5 oz, she's in the 50th percentile and she's head down/ face up.  He reviewed all my measurements from previous appointments and said Sophie will probably be 7 - 7 1/2 lbs at birth.  She's been measuring very average- which is good- not too big, not too small.  So we were thrilled with that information!  By the time all was said and done we didn't get out of there until 10:30- there was no time for us to go home and get my car, my lunch, my stuff for work, etc.  I dropped Sal off at work and then sped my way to the office.  I was 45 minutes late to work.  Oy!  I was all sorts of flustered and worked up.  And to top it off, I had no food!!

The rest of the week went okay though.  My ankles have been perpetually swollen though and that's gross.  I just don't have time to sit with my feet up!  Soon I'll be on maternity leave though and I'll get some rest.  My sciatic nerve has also been killing me- literally, I think it's killing me!  Last night I came out to the kitchen to take my pills and it shot down my leg/butt and brought me to my knees.  I screamed for Sal (he probably thought I was going into to labor with the panic in my voice!) and he had to carry/drag me to bed.  I've had every pregnancy symptom so far... this better be one healthy child.  I can say though I've been blessed with NO STRETCH marks (so far anyway, 6 more weeks to wait and see)!  

Alright, I'm tired of typing.... tomorrow is my baby shower, I'll update some day soon and tell ya all about it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is in the air....

Happy Valentine's Day all!  Unlike most people these days, I still enjoy the silly mushiness that is V-Day!  I'm not as cynical as most and don't think of it as a Hallmark Holiday.  I do believe you should show the people you love that you love them everyday, but I still think it's nice that there's a day dedicated to it :-)  Sal and I are going to The Melting Pot this afternoon for our little celebration.  He gave me a beautiful card this morning and one adorable one "from" Sophie. He also got me a Baby Hawk Baby Carrier!  I've been drooling over them since my cousin mentioned them in her blog!  Now I have my very own!!  He also got Sophie a pair of Baby Legs- pink and brown stripe!  So cute!  I gave him a book called "Why I Love You- 100 Reasons" and a silly card with monkeys on it LOL

My momma is coming over this morning to start painting the nursery!  We're doing two walls a darker pink and two walls a lighter pink.  Then we got a chocolate brown border and chocolate brown peel and stick polka dots!  I think it'll look adorable when all is said and done. 

Well, I better cut this short- Momma is on her way and I need to let the dog outside otherwise she'll never shut up! LOL 

Snow/Sleet/Rain/Ice and I have to drive an hour for a meeting!

So the weather outside is absolutely disgusting!  It snowed over night and now it's raining/sleeting.  I've been watching the news and nothing good has been said about the roadways.  This would all be fine and dandy if I didn't have to go to a meeting for work in an hour and a half!!!  I would have rather just gone into the office, worked a normal day and came home.  But noooooo!  I got the morning off because I have a mandatory meeting in Middletown- which on a good day is a 45 minute drive.  I wonder how long it will take me today!?  I could cry, I don't want to go out in this!  At least Sal cleaned off my car and shoveled the driveway.  So I'll be able to get down to the street, but they never plowed our neighborhood, so who knows what lies out there beyond my sidewalk!  I'm going to go sulk some more....

27 weeks!

So, I'm 27 weeks along today!  I'm up 20 lbs (yikes!) but it seems to be primarily belly, which I can live with!  Even if I gain a pound a week until I'm due (which is the norm), I'll have gained 33 lbs.  I was targeted by my doctor to gain between 25 and 35- so I'm within range.  I have an appointment Monday (19th) with my regular OB and then one Thursday (22nd) with my high risk.  I have a few questions for them, so I'm anxious to go.  I'm hoping we'll have a sonogram with my high risk, I'm dying to see how much she's grown (and to make sure she's still a she)!  We haven't had one since November, so I'm curious!!!  Well, I've got to get going to work, just wanted to give a quick update!

Our Mini-Vacation

We had a pretty nice time overall down in Orlando, there were a few bumps in the road though.  Here's the general run-down:

Friday- we flew out of A.C. and landed in Orlando around 9 pm.  It took forever to get our luggage, but thankfully nothing was lost.. they were just slow!  We left the airport, stopped at Publix and stocked up on a few essentials for the time share (fruit, water, etc).  Finally got checked-in and settled by about 11 pm.  Our room for the night was a 2 bedroom, which would have been fine, except the room Sal and I stayed in had 2 twin beds, no TV, no alarm clock, no bathroom.  So we had to sleep apart and every time I got up to pee, I had to walk through the living room and kitchen to the other side of the time share to get to the bathroom! LOL  Thankfully that was for one night only and our real time share was ready Saturday morning.

Saturday- we (well, not so much me, I didn't have a lot of say in anything we did, but that's okay) decided to go to Busch Gardens in Tampa.  It was about an hour drive and I get uncomfortable in the car but I managed.  The weather was amazing and I felt pretty good, so we walked around the park, but there wasn't much I could do- almost all the rides there are roller coasters!  We did do a safari ride where we got to feed giraffes! That was kinda neat but I started getting really uncomfortable standing in the hot sun for an hour.  In fact, by the end, I felt woozy/ light headed- so we went to the nearest restaurant to get me food and some air conditioning.  Things went downhill from there.  After lunch, my back and sciatic nerve started acting up..BAD!  The in-laws were in the stables looking at horses and I just broke down- sobbed my eyes out.  I was in pain but felt even worse that I was going to ruin everyone's day.  Sal decided we'd get a wheelchair and push me around.  That didn't end my pain, but it relieved it enough  that it didn't ruin the whole day.  I lasted til about 5 pm there, which is pretty good considering we arrived around 9:30 am!

Sunday- we went to Sea World and got me a wheelchair immediately.  This was supposed to be a half-day park so we could go to another one in the afternoon (we really only had 3 full days).  It turned into an all-day event though.  The in-laws wanted to see every show and the shows unfortunately were way spaced out!  Nothing was back-to-back.  And let me tell you, sitting in a wheelchair all day = not comfortable!  My ass/ tail bone were killing me!  At least it was different pain than I felt from walking around the day before, but it was still pain!

Monday- we went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  Again, we did the wheelchair thing- it really worked out well (we got to use the wheelchair access in all the lines!).  I was actually able to go on rides there, so I felt like I was a part of the vacation finally.  It did get a little crowded though, so we went to Epcot for a change of scenery.  This is where my nightmare began.  As I was being pushed around in my wheelchair throughout the day I felt Sophie kicking, punching, moving around.  I know it's normal for her to have "rest" time, but it occurred to me suddenly that I hadn't felt her move in a few hours.  I thought about it and realized it had been over 3 hours.  I tried to remain calm, but the tears welled up in my eyes quickly.  I tapped Sal and he leaned down to talk to me (for whatever reason, no one could hear me when I was down there) and I whispered to him that I hadn't felt her move, and saying the words brought on the flood of tears.  He kept reassuring me everything was okay, just relax, etc.  But the longer we waited, the worse my fears became.  I told him not to tell his parents, I didn't want to make a scene, but we should go to First Aid like he suggested.  He just told them I wasn't feeling too well and we'd meet up with them in a little while.  We got to First Aid and the women who greeted us were so nice.  I was a blubbering mess, could hardly choke out any words so Sal was my form of communication.  The nurses in the First Aid center needed us to call my OB and get his directions- they can't do anything really without doctor's orders in a situation like this.  For instance- they could say I just need to lay down but my doctor may want me to go to the E.R.  So, Sal got in touch with Nurse Diane (my OB nurse) and she gave the instructions for me to lay down and drink something sugary.  If I didn't feel movement in 30 minutes I would have to go to the E.R.  So the First Aid nurses wheeled me in the back where they had little cubicles of beds and took my vitals, laid me down and gave me Powerade to drink.  My vitals were good, heart rate was 86, blood pressure was 67/115.  So, I drank my Powerade, praying that it would work.  After about 10 minutes she kicked.  And the water works started again.  I was so relieved.  I had never been that scared before in my life.  I pray that it never happens again, but if it does, I'll know how to handle it.  Needless to say, I'm not going anywhere until this baby arrives.  I need to be within 30 minutes of my doctors for my own mental well-being.  

Tuesday- they (the in-laws and Sal) went back to Sea World, I stayed at the time share.  I was done with parks after the day I had Monday.  I did laundry and packed our luggage and just generally relaxed until it was time to go to the airport.  Our flight wasn't a great one though because of the storm that was hitting the East Coast.  I literally cried tears of joy when the plane finally touched down in A.C.  

And so, I'm going back to work tomorrow, I took today off to unwind.  I'm really looking forward to maternity leave though...LOL  That sounds terrible, but it's true.  I don't have another appointment until the 19th, so maybe by then we'll have a date of when I'm going out of work.

Happy New Year

Well, 2008 has come and gone.  There have been some ups and downs, but overall, I think it was a pretty good year.  I have a lot to be thankful for- my brother overcame his drug problem, my hubby and I were successful in creating a life, my best friend gave birth to a healthy and handsome little man, my niece is growing like a stink weed (and gets cuter everyday).. I could go on and on.  Here's to a positive outlook for 2009!

And now for a quick recap-  Thanksgiving was a slight nightmare.  I held it here for the first and last time ever.  It was way too overwhelming for my little house.  I simply do not have the room to host holidays like that.  Having friends over is different, they don't care if they have to eat off their laps sitting on the living room floor.  That doesn't jive with family.  Also, having everyone "bring something" doesn't work either, because not everyone brings their "something" hot.  I only have one oven.  I can't keep 6 trays of food hot.  So, everything was luke warm/verging on the side of cold.  I was on my feet the whole time, which resulting in terrible back pains by the end of the day.  Needless to say, I was miserable.  I'm not hosting Thanksgiving ever again.

The Christmas festivities went much better.  Friend's Christmas was held on the 20th here.  It was small this year, Lenny had the stomach flu, Ang and Ryan were with his family and Chris and Danielle had other plans.  I made spaghetti- which is nice and easy- it doesn't require multiple trays! LOL  After dinner we made cookies and played with Mason.  It was a quiet night.  Christmas Eve we spent with Sal's parents at Luigi's in Lakehurst.  Another quiet evening, had dinner, came home.  Just the way I like it!  I did host Christmas morning breakfast though- did ALL the cooking myself!!  And know what?  It was perfect!  The food was hot and delicious!  We opened gifts, ate, chatted, played with Aly and everyone was gone by noon.  It was a great day.

Last night, New Year's Eve, was supposed to be spent with Ron, Steph, Lenny, etc... HOWEVER, I ran into an issue that I just couldn't get past.  We were getting ready to go to the Sledzik's, so I hopped in the shower.  I put my leg up to shave and saw it... FLINTSTONE FEET!  My feet and ankles were swollen beyond recognition.  If you know me, spent any time with me at all, you know I have boney ankles and feet.  I screamed for Sal to come see and then proceeded to sob like a baby.  I made him call Steph and Ron and tell them we were coming, there was NO WAY I was letting anyone else see this.  I put on my pjs at 7 pm, got in bed, propped my feet up with ice packs and that's where I stayed.  So much for a fun NYE out, so much for the cute outfit I had picked out, so much for a good time with friends.  I was asleep by 8:30 (due to exhaustion for the extensive crying I did).  What a miserable night.  I know it's due to pregnancy, I'm not ignorant to that fact, but SERIOUSLY?!  I've had every other issue, why couldn't I be spared this one?!  WHY?!  In fact, they are still a little swollen this morning.. better but not normal.  And now, we're getting on a plane tomorrow- great.  More swollen feet.  

Oy.

It's a GIRL!

We found out on Nov 20th that we're having a lil' girl!  We had a Level 2 Sonogram with our high risk doctor and she was quite cooperative!  In fact, she was spread eagle! LOL  I hope she doesn't continue the trend into her teenage years though!  Everything measured good and her heart is strong.  So let's thank God for that!  

In other news- Steph and Ron's wedding was perfect!  The church ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fun fun fun!  (See pics on my myspace- www.myspace.com/mrsmonardo)  We stayed overnight after the reception because we were down in Galloway Twp- so it was a bit of a hike.  Unfortunately, Sal had to work the next morning, so we were up and out of there by 8 am.  That kinda sucked considering we didn't get to bed til after 1 am.  Oh well.  This same night though, something wonderful happened!  Kerry and Chris got engaged!!  After 7 long years, it's official!  I only wish I would have gotten her message that night instead of the next morning!  I can't wait to help her plan!  It's been a long time coming and I'm sure if we really wanted to, we could have it planned in 6 months! LOL  But I know realistically, it'll probably be in a year or so!  (P.S. Ker, we need to talk dates!)

So, today is Thanksgiving and I'm hosting this year (5 months pregnant and sick as a dog, what was I thinking?)  I've been up since 5:30, cooking, cleaning, blowing my nose and coughing up a lung.  Oy!  Hopefully everyone will just eat and go.  I know that sounds harsh, but I really just want to get back in bed.  Plus I have to work tomorrow, so I really need to rest at some point.  We had a full house last night too.  And even though I retired to bed early, I didn't go to sleep- I couldn't quit coughing.  It's horrible!  I saw my OB yesterday and he put me on an antibiotic, and told me to take Robitussin and Sudafed.  I'm doing all that and still am not feeling any better!  I hope by tomorrow I feel at least a little bit better so I can get through work!  

So long for now.. gotta baste the turkey!