Holy Cow! Is it really the last day of 2009? That's totally crazy! The last 10 years have held a lot for me. I'm going to make a condensed list so as to not write a novella.
2000:
High School Graduation
Live in Costa Rica for three months
2001:
Get engaged
Buy a house
Get married
Travel to Bahamas for honeymoon
2002:
Hubby and I Turn 21
Decide to move to TX - try to sell house - fail
2003:
Decide to go to Bible School
Apply for Christ for the Nations
Get accepted at Christ for the Nations
Try to sell house - succeed
Start 1st semester at CFNI
Go to Mexico with friends and family
2004:
Continue at school and work in Dallas
2005:
Find out six days before graduating from CFNI that we're pregnant with Malachi!
Finish CFNI and graduate in May
Go to Europe with John's family (and Malachi in the belly) for two weeks
Start attending best church ever: Fellowship of Joy (FOJ)
Continue working at hotel until even on the day I go into the hospital
Go to the hospital at 33 weeks and 5 days for a potential issue that proves to be true. Diagnosed with PPROM.
Induced at 35 weeks and 2 days
Give birth to a wonderful baby boy on Nov. 23 2005. 5 lbs 5 oz. 18 inches long. Name him Malachi David Roy meaning: the beloved messenger of the King.
Leave the hospital two days later
Bring Malachi home 12 days after that
2006:
Stay home with the baby
Move back to CFNI alumni housing
Join choir at FOJ
2007:
Go to China to see how to go as missionaries the next year after John graduates from Dallas Baptist University
Decide we don't want to go to China as missionaries
John starts looking into the Foreign Service as a career option
Starts studying for the Foreign Service Officer Exam
2008:
John and Sara join the Marriage Enrichment ABF at FOJ as helpers to the teachers.
John graduates from DBU!
John takes the FSOE
Get job at CFNI Pre School teaching 4 yr olds
Lose teaching job, move to Media Dept to be the Admin Asst to the Director
John passes FSOE and waits for results of Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP)
Finds out in Dec. passed QEP
2009:
John and Sara go to Atlanta for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment - John passes!
Start process of Medical Clearance and Security Clearance
Esther Study with wonderful women from FOJ!
Medical Clearance Granted
Sara finds out she's pregnant with Roy child #2!!!
Security Clearance Granted 5/15/09
Invitation to Join Foreign Service 146th A-100 starting 6/22/09 given and accepted
Malachi's first seizure on 5/23/05 - has another one before we move
Move to DC 6/20/09
Malachi has three more seizures. Last one lands him in the hospital - perscribed Keppra - hasn't had a seizure since 7/8/09!!!!
John goes through Orientation and gets posted to Chengdu China
Goes through training for his job
Malachi's medical clearance is downgraded because of the seizures - pulled from Chengdu
John starts Spanish until we find out next posting
We take long weekends and go to Baltimore, MD and Virginia Beach, VA
Posted in San Jose Costa Rica!!!
John and Sara find out they're having another boy!!
Pregnancy has a couple of hiccups, but they turn out to be nothing.
John's parents and brother, and sister-in-law come over for Thanksgiving. We all have a nice holiday together.
John, Sara and Malachi have a wonderful Christmas in DC with friends.
That is quite a decade! I'm so thankful about everything that's happened. I know that God has been directing my life to lead exactly where I am. 2010 has great promise with amazing things I already know will happen: have baby, move to Costa Rica, e.g. And things I can't even imagine that will happen. I can't wait to see how the year goes.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season, what ever you celebrate. Blessings!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Bah Humbug
I haven't said anything to John yet, but the day after Christmas I was ready for the tree to come down. I don't know why I was in such a bad mood on the 26th. I guess I'm just anticipating the things coming up in the next couple of months and I was ready to move on.
Speaking of moving on, today John and I went to the storage place where the State Department is storing most of our household goods. I hugged the first huge wooden crate that I saw with our name on it. We needed to pick up some of the items that we stored because we couldn't fit them into the UAB (unaccompanied air baggage, I think, if it's something else, will somebody correct me please?).
Fortunately the things we needed were in the first two crates that we checked in. We picked up the pack 'n play, for the baby to sleep in until we move, the baby bouncer, the large Rubbermaid container full of baby clothes and linens (no sheets unfortunately), John's guitar, and our large electric griddle (because it's so annoying to make pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, and many other things in the skillets Oakwood provided. John wanted to get his guitar. He missed it after going to Guatemala. I saw the griddle in the crate and just HAD to have it. I'm so glad I picked it up.
Now the task of washing all the clothes and linens, the cover on the bouncer, and the surfaces of the pack 'n play begins. I guess it shouldn't take too long. I have a few weeks.
How many weeks do you have left Sara? Well reader, I have 5-9 weeks depending on when he decides to come. Please, please pray that he comes somewhere in the next 5-7 weeks. I really don't want him to be early and I really don't want to go over my due date. I've heard it gets pretty miserable. Plus I don't know how much more stretching my stomach can handle. I can't believe our bodies were built with so much elasticity. Some days I feel like I look huge, some days I feel like I'm not big at all and what the heck are people talking about when they say I'm huge.
John has all week off of work and it's really screwing with our schedules. It's hard to remember what day of the week it is. It's been really nice to have him home though. Yesterday we went to a Babies 'R Us location about 30 miles away from us to get the last Graco Snugride 32 infant car seat in Bombay that was in the area, because they're discontinuing the pattern and I really, really like it. It doesn't match the color scheme I picked, but I'm not having much success sticking with the color scheme because I've only been able to get a couple of things from my registry and all of the stuff that Malachi owned that we're using doesn't quite fall into the scheme, although they are pretty close.
I'm going to try an experiment here. I'd like to learn how to put pictures side by side. I've seen another FSO Wife do this. I've asked for her help, but until she gets back to me, I'll try this:
Nope, didn't work. Jill, help!!
Speaking of moving on, today John and I went to the storage place where the State Department is storing most of our household goods. I hugged the first huge wooden crate that I saw with our name on it. We needed to pick up some of the items that we stored because we couldn't fit them into the UAB (unaccompanied air baggage, I think, if it's something else, will somebody correct me please?).
Fortunately the things we needed were in the first two crates that we checked in. We picked up the pack 'n play, for the baby to sleep in until we move, the baby bouncer, the large Rubbermaid container full of baby clothes and linens (no sheets unfortunately), John's guitar, and our large electric griddle (because it's so annoying to make pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, and many other things in the skillets Oakwood provided. John wanted to get his guitar. He missed it after going to Guatemala. I saw the griddle in the crate and just HAD to have it. I'm so glad I picked it up.
Now the task of washing all the clothes and linens, the cover on the bouncer, and the surfaces of the pack 'n play begins. I guess it shouldn't take too long. I have a few weeks.
How many weeks do you have left Sara? Well reader, I have 5-9 weeks depending on when he decides to come. Please, please pray that he comes somewhere in the next 5-7 weeks. I really don't want him to be early and I really don't want to go over my due date. I've heard it gets pretty miserable. Plus I don't know how much more stretching my stomach can handle. I can't believe our bodies were built with so much elasticity. Some days I feel like I look huge, some days I feel like I'm not big at all and what the heck are people talking about when they say I'm huge.
John has all week off of work and it's really screwing with our schedules. It's hard to remember what day of the week it is. It's been really nice to have him home though. Yesterday we went to a Babies 'R Us location about 30 miles away from us to get the last Graco Snugride 32 infant car seat in Bombay that was in the area, because they're discontinuing the pattern and I really, really like it. It doesn't match the color scheme I picked, but I'm not having much success sticking with the color scheme because I've only been able to get a couple of things from my registry and all of the stuff that Malachi owned that we're using doesn't quite fall into the scheme, although they are pretty close.
I'm going to try an experiment here. I'd like to learn how to put pictures side by side. I've seen another FSO Wife do this. I've asked for her help, but until she gets back to me, I'll try this:
Nope, didn't work. Jill, help!!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas Day 2009
Oh what a day! The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Our first Foreign Service Christmas, and certainly a white Christmas.
The boys let me sleep until 8 o'clock, yay! After being up for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the night the sleep felt really good.
We made ourselves presentable and prepared for our friend to come over (the same friend who was over on Christmas Eve, she's a very good friend) and she got here at 8:30. John and I were in the middle of preparing for breakfast and then Malachi and I started the arduous task of passing out the presents.
Us with our huge pile of presents, almost all presents sent to us in the mail made it on time. Plus John and I might have gone a little overboard this year.
Opening presents took a long time. We let Malachi go first (Lesson #1. I don't think we'll do that again because he then wanted to play with all of his stuff and needed us to assist in opening and putting batteries in and what not, and we just wanted to open our own presents) and that was not quick. I finally had to "police" how much time he took with each gift, plus he had a ton. During the gift opening John was making his monkey bread (so tasty!) and he had to get up shortly after we started opening our gifts to check it - and then had to keep on getting up. After his monkey bread came out, I had to assemble and put in my quiches. So unfortunately the time for John and I to open our gifts was rushed, and a little more stressful than it should've been (Lesson #2. Leave time enough for gift opening to be free of stress and not rushed).
Our friend got her ketchup as well as a scarf from Guatemala. She was nice enough to keep Malachi occupied with his new Animal Encyclopedia while John cooked.
After a delicious breakfast of quiche, monkey bread, and fresh fruit, we played with our gifts. At the same time that our friend had to leave, John, Malachi and I needed to get ready for Puerto Rican Christmas. We drove over to the Maryland side of the city and spent the rest of the day with some good friends (who grew up in Puerto Rico). They had a boy about five months ago (I think, I'm horrible at remembering when he was born), and Malachi loves going to their house to watch their big TV and see their baby. I also learned that he also really loves our friends, especially the husband, who got a running start to a hug around the leg. We enjoyed a really delicious dinner that they prepared for us, and we played a gift exchange game with their neighbor. I got a frame for three pictures, Malachi got his very own playing card set that's just like Mommy and Daddy's but all his own, and John got a pair of earings. That's right...earings. He was gracious enough to give them to me.
We drove home that night during a rain storm. Earlier in the week I had heard that it was going to be a wintry mix, and I was really afraid we were going to hit some icy patches, but it was warmer than I thought it would be and it was just wet. Not a hard ride home (except for the difficutly of seeing because of the shiny-ness of the road). Malachi went to bed almost on time, and John and I made it to bed early. We were all pretty exhausted. I'm very sad that I didn't take pictures at our friend's house. I had the camera - I was just lazy.
Over all, we had a great couple of days. My fears that it wouldn't feel like Christmas were proved wrong. We spent the days with some great friends, ate some good food, and really enjoyed our first Foreign Service Christmas.
The boys let me sleep until 8 o'clock, yay! After being up for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the night the sleep felt really good.
We made ourselves presentable and prepared for our friend to come over (the same friend who was over on Christmas Eve, she's a very good friend) and she got here at 8:30. John and I were in the middle of preparing for breakfast and then Malachi and I started the arduous task of passing out the presents.
Us with our huge pile of presents, almost all presents sent to us in the mail made it on time. Plus John and I might have gone a little overboard this year.
Opening presents took a long time. We let Malachi go first (Lesson #1. I don't think we'll do that again because he then wanted to play with all of his stuff and needed us to assist in opening and putting batteries in and what not, and we just wanted to open our own presents) and that was not quick. I finally had to "police" how much time he took with each gift, plus he had a ton. During the gift opening John was making his monkey bread (so tasty!) and he had to get up shortly after we started opening our gifts to check it - and then had to keep on getting up. After his monkey bread came out, I had to assemble and put in my quiches. So unfortunately the time for John and I to open our gifts was rushed, and a little more stressful than it should've been (Lesson #2. Leave time enough for gift opening to be free of stress and not rushed).
Our friend got her ketchup as well as a scarf from Guatemala. She was nice enough to keep Malachi occupied with his new Animal Encyclopedia while John cooked.
After a delicious breakfast of quiche, monkey bread, and fresh fruit, we played with our gifts. At the same time that our friend had to leave, John, Malachi and I needed to get ready for Puerto Rican Christmas. We drove over to the Maryland side of the city and spent the rest of the day with some good friends (who grew up in Puerto Rico). They had a boy about five months ago (I think, I'm horrible at remembering when he was born), and Malachi loves going to their house to watch their big TV and see their baby. I also learned that he also really loves our friends, especially the husband, who got a running start to a hug around the leg. We enjoyed a really delicious dinner that they prepared for us, and we played a gift exchange game with their neighbor. I got a frame for three pictures, Malachi got his very own playing card set that's just like Mommy and Daddy's but all his own, and John got a pair of earings. That's right...earings. He was gracious enough to give them to me.
We drove home that night during a rain storm. Earlier in the week I had heard that it was going to be a wintry mix, and I was really afraid we were going to hit some icy patches, but it was warmer than I thought it would be and it was just wet. Not a hard ride home (except for the difficutly of seeing because of the shiny-ness of the road). Malachi went to bed almost on time, and John and I made it to bed early. We were all pretty exhausted. I'm very sad that I didn't take pictures at our friend's house. I had the camera - I was just lazy.
Over all, we had a great couple of days. My fears that it wouldn't feel like Christmas were proved wrong. We spent the days with some great friends, ate some good food, and really enjoyed our first Foreign Service Christmas.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas Eve!
I started this entry on Christmas Eve (which is why the date says the 24th - don't be fooled it's still the 27th) and then the internet stopped working in the middle of my writing the post and Christmas was busy for us, and since then I haven't been in a blogging mood. I'm still not in a blogging mood, but if I don't write something quick it's going to be a crazy entry. As it is, I think I'll make it two entries so I don't have one that's crazy long. Enjoy Christmas Entry #1:
One of my fears for this season is that we'd have nothing to do today and it wouldn't feel like Christmas Eve. That did not happen.
This morning we checked the hours for Costco and made it there 10 minutes after they opened. We bought the one present we went for (which I can't yet divulge because this person hasn't received it yet (note: it was ketchup - and it's a very funny story)) and the boys ate pizza for breakfast. We made it out of the store 10 minutes after they normally open and when we were leaving it was so crazy. People were pouring in to do last minute shopping. The lines to get in the parking lot were at least 15 cars long. We stopped at Target and a grocery store to get presents for a game we're playing at a friend's house tomorrow and food for their party.
After that we went home and while I wrapped presents and Malachi watched TV, John was somewhere doing something. What he was doing has completely left my mind.
During Malachi's nap John played his xbox and I did dishes. Our friend (who's more like family) came over and we sat talking for quite a while until Malachi woke up.
Once he did we made our way over to the White House and saw the Christmas Tree. I was underwhelmed by the tree but the whole display was pretty cool. They had Santa's Workshop, a Nativity Scene, a Yule Log, and around the base of the tree was a very long train track and a couple of villages, one of them being a Thomas village.
After that we came home and I taught our friend how to make one of my recipes that she's had with us and she really likes. She's young and not very experienced in the kitchen and when she had it the first time thought it was too complicated to make by herself. I tried to convince her that it's not because I don't do complicated. She was excited to find out on Thursday night that it's a lot easier than she originally thought. It was a lot of fun for me to teach her - although really, she's so smart that it was more like we made it together and I didn't have to "teach" her much.
I can't remember what we did after dinner, and neither can John. Malachi went to bed on time (not what happens most of the time), and I went to bed early while John stayed up late. We didn't have anything to do to prepare for the morning so as far as I know he just chilled.
Malachi woke up at about 2:30am. He said he had a bad dream. We let him come into bed with us for a little bit and then sent him to his bed. I couldn't fall back asleep and I thought I was keeping John awake (I was) so I came out to the living room. I turned on the TV and opened the laptop to play spider solitaire. Malachi joined me after a few minutes crying saying he was scared. I let him sit with me for a while, but his eyes wandered a lot to the tree and the HUGE pile of presents under it. I sent him back to bed. I made my way back to bed at 5:00 am to sleep until 8.
See Christmas Entry #2 for the rest of the 2009 Roy Christmas Story.
One of my fears for this season is that we'd have nothing to do today and it wouldn't feel like Christmas Eve. That did not happen.
This morning we checked the hours for Costco and made it there 10 minutes after they opened. We bought the one present we went for (which I can't yet divulge because this person hasn't received it yet (note: it was ketchup - and it's a very funny story)) and the boys ate pizza for breakfast. We made it out of the store 10 minutes after they normally open and when we were leaving it was so crazy. People were pouring in to do last minute shopping. The lines to get in the parking lot were at least 15 cars long. We stopped at Target and a grocery store to get presents for a game we're playing at a friend's house tomorrow and food for their party.
After that we went home and while I wrapped presents and Malachi watched TV, John was somewhere doing something. What he was doing has completely left my mind.
During Malachi's nap John played his xbox and I did dishes. Our friend (who's more like family) came over and we sat talking for quite a while until Malachi woke up.
Once he did we made our way over to the White House and saw the Christmas Tree. I was underwhelmed by the tree but the whole display was pretty cool. They had Santa's Workshop, a Nativity Scene, a Yule Log, and around the base of the tree was a very long train track and a couple of villages, one of them being a Thomas village.
After that we came home and I taught our friend how to make one of my recipes that she's had with us and she really likes. She's young and not very experienced in the kitchen and when she had it the first time thought it was too complicated to make by herself. I tried to convince her that it's not because I don't do complicated. She was excited to find out on Thursday night that it's a lot easier than she originally thought. It was a lot of fun for me to teach her - although really, she's so smart that it was more like we made it together and I didn't have to "teach" her much.
I can't remember what we did after dinner, and neither can John. Malachi went to bed on time (not what happens most of the time), and I went to bed early while John stayed up late. We didn't have anything to do to prepare for the morning so as far as I know he just chilled.
Malachi woke up at about 2:30am. He said he had a bad dream. We let him come into bed with us for a little bit and then sent him to his bed. I couldn't fall back asleep and I thought I was keeping John awake (I was) so I came out to the living room. I turned on the TV and opened the laptop to play spider solitaire. Malachi joined me after a few minutes crying saying he was scared. I let him sit with me for a while, but his eyes wandered a lot to the tree and the HUGE pile of presents under it. I sent him back to bed. I made my way back to bed at 5:00 am to sleep until 8.
See Christmas Entry #2 for the rest of the 2009 Roy Christmas Story.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
So much to write, So little desire to write it.
It's been a while since I've blogged. I just haven't felt like it.
So last weekend we had a killer storm here (literally). After 11 straight hours of snow fall, we ended up with over 16" of snow. It was the record for December snow fall and the 8th deepest snow the area has recorded. I have had mixed feelings about it. I really hate snow. I hate winter actually. The snow and cold just drive me nuts. People who like it can have it - I don't want it, and don't get me started on dumb winter drivers!! But Malachi LOVES the snow. And it's so much fun to watch him play in it.
Therefore, Malachi and I went out to play during the storm on Saturday. It didn't last very long because Malachi only has cloth gloves (we looked for better ones and couldn't find any). Sunday we went out again with John. The sun was setting, so we'd had some meltage on the car and the snow was able to become heavier and packable. There were some snow balls thrown, Malachi played at the playground in is gear (weird, right?!), and he enjoyed just sitting in the snow (which made him a pretty easy target for daddy.
Sunday night we found out that all government offices in this area were closed on Monday so yesterday John had the day off. What a treat! That means that today and tomorrow are his only work days this week - yay! We did some shopping with a friend and then last night went to see Avatar. We had a pretty good time with our friends.
We're done shopping for Malachi, John and Malachi are out right now getting Malachi's present for me, and mommy is done shopping for daddy. The present to daddy from Malachi is in the mail. I don't expect to get it before Christmas but it shouldn't be too long after.
Out of our families, the only person getting their presents on time is my mom. Everyone else is going to have to wait - sorry.
So last weekend we had a killer storm here (literally). After 11 straight hours of snow fall, we ended up with over 16" of snow. It was the record for December snow fall and the 8th deepest snow the area has recorded. I have had mixed feelings about it. I really hate snow. I hate winter actually. The snow and cold just drive me nuts. People who like it can have it - I don't want it, and don't get me started on dumb winter drivers!! But Malachi LOVES the snow. And it's so much fun to watch him play in it.
Therefore, Malachi and I went out to play during the storm on Saturday. It didn't last very long because Malachi only has cloth gloves (we looked for better ones and couldn't find any). Sunday we went out again with John. The sun was setting, so we'd had some meltage on the car and the snow was able to become heavier and packable. There were some snow balls thrown, Malachi played at the playground in is gear (weird, right?!), and he enjoyed just sitting in the snow (which made him a pretty easy target for daddy.
Sunday night we found out that all government offices in this area were closed on Monday so yesterday John had the day off. What a treat! That means that today and tomorrow are his only work days this week - yay! We did some shopping with a friend and then last night went to see Avatar. We had a pretty good time with our friends.
We're done shopping for Malachi, John and Malachi are out right now getting Malachi's present for me, and mommy is done shopping for daddy. The present to daddy from Malachi is in the mail. I don't expect to get it before Christmas but it shouldn't be too long after.
Out of our families, the only person getting their presents on time is my mom. Everyone else is going to have to wait - sorry.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Yay!
John's home!!! He was missed so much over the last two weeks. He has some great pictures to share and I think he plans on blogging about it soon.
Another yay in our life came to us at our 31 week check up yesterday. After reading the report from the Radiologist he said that the low placenta is no longer low. I was so happy to hear this news! I now look like any other pregnant woman and now I just need to get the apartment ready for the baby.
We need to go to storage and get a few things. I need to wash the clothes that we get out of storage, I need to set up the play pen with the bassinet attachment in our bedroom for the baby to sleep in and set up a diapering area. We also need to buy a car seat, that being the most important thing. We will use our gift cards from our Dallas shower to buy all the linens that we need and maybe some diapers and wipes.
Unfortunately we brough ALL of Malachi's books with us and they're taking up the bottom two drawers of his dresser. I'm going to buy the kids a book shelf and put all the books on that. Then I'll have two drawers for the baby. They're pretty good sized drawers, so it should be enough room.
I now have less than nine weeks until my due date! I'm so excited to meet him!! John had a dream about him when he was in Guatemala. He had brown hair!
Another yay in our life came to us at our 31 week check up yesterday. After reading the report from the Radiologist he said that the low placenta is no longer low. I was so happy to hear this news! I now look like any other pregnant woman and now I just need to get the apartment ready for the baby.
We need to go to storage and get a few things. I need to wash the clothes that we get out of storage, I need to set up the play pen with the bassinet attachment in our bedroom for the baby to sleep in and set up a diapering area. We also need to buy a car seat, that being the most important thing. We will use our gift cards from our Dallas shower to buy all the linens that we need and maybe some diapers and wipes.
Unfortunately we brough ALL of Malachi's books with us and they're taking up the bottom two drawers of his dresser. I'm going to buy the kids a book shelf and put all the books on that. Then I'll have two drawers for the baby. They're pretty good sized drawers, so it should be enough room.
I now have less than nine weeks until my due date! I'm so excited to meet him!! John had a dream about him when he was in Guatemala. He had brown hair!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Counting down the hours!
Right now as long as the flight is on time John will be arriving in D.C. in 34 hours and 4 minutes. Hopefully the next 34 hours aren't impossibly slow.
I'm so excited to see him, and I can't wait until he sees the belly. I feel like it's huge compared to when he left. Malachi is coming with me to the airport, I know he's going to be so excited to see daddy.
John told me today that the group is pretty tired so they're taking it easy, seeing some more of the city, but relaxing a lot today. I imagine he'll be pretty exhausted when he gets home but in less than 12 hours after he lands he'll be at work.
I'm so excited to see him, and I can't wait until he sees the belly. I feel like it's huge compared to when he left. Malachi is coming with me to the airport, I know he's going to be so excited to see daddy.
John told me today that the group is pretty tired so they're taking it easy, seeing some more of the city, but relaxing a lot today. I imagine he'll be pretty exhausted when he gets home but in less than 12 hours after he lands he'll be at work.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Shoot!
Malachi said something really cute tonight and I wanted to blog it to remember it, but I've now forgotten it, and I'm so sad because it was really cute!
Tonight I'll rip off another link in the paper chain that leads to John's homecoming and there'll be only four left! Yay!
I don't think I have anything else to say which is weird for me.
Tonight I'll rip off another link in the paper chain that leads to John's homecoming and there'll be only four left! Yay!
I don't think I have anything else to say which is weird for me.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Confused
Malachi's runny nose went away quickly. I don't know what it was from, or why it went away, but I prayed that it would, so maybe it's as simple as God healed him.
I chatted with John yesterday a couple of times on Google. He's still doing great. I think when he gets home he's going to be exhausted. I can't wait to see him!
Today Malachi and I are going to a friend's house to bake Christmas cookies. I'm going to a cookie exchange on Monday morning, so I'm making some sugar cookies that Malachi and I will decorate on Sunday. I may also use some cookies to decorate my tree. We'll see if I like the look. I really didn't like the popcorn look.
I've done a pretty good job of filling the rest of my time while I wait for John. But I have zero plans for tomorrow, so I might have to think of something to do with Malachi.
I chatted with John yesterday a couple of times on Google. He's still doing great. I think when he gets home he's going to be exhausted. I can't wait to see him!
Today Malachi and I are going to a friend's house to bake Christmas cookies. I'm going to a cookie exchange on Monday morning, so I'm making some sugar cookies that Malachi and I will decorate on Sunday. I may also use some cookies to decorate my tree. We'll see if I like the look. I really didn't like the popcorn look.
I've done a pretty good job of filling the rest of my time while I wait for John. But I have zero plans for tomorrow, so I might have to think of something to do with Malachi.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Runny Nose
We seem to be battling a runny nose. That with the combination of the black ice and snow on the roads means we're not going to church. No fever to speak of and very little coughing. Hopefully this doesn't get bad.
We're still missing John. I've gotten to talk to him on Skype a couple of times. It's been great to hear his voice. I can't wait until he blogs about his trip, he's experienced some great things. It sounds like the immersion is really working to. Accoring to the paper chain it's eight days and about 12 hours until we see him again. It's probably too early to start counting down the hours.
I went to a women's meeting yesterday. We had a pot luck brunch and our Pastor's wife spoke to us on Isaiah 61: 1-4. That God is with us during the rough times in our lives, and if we're not the ones going through the rough times then maybe we're the ones to preach the good news to those going through it, for the Glory of God. We broke up into small groups and the moms all got together to reflect on what Ms Lisa said and to bring up anything we might need prayer for.
When the leader of our group asked me if there was anything I needed, I brought up the low placenta issue. I really want a miracle from God. I want Him to move the placenta up so I don't have to have a c-section. I believe that He can! However! If he decides not to, I know that he's Sovereign and he'll be with me through the whole c-section process. I'll keep y'all updated on that.
We're still missing John. I've gotten to talk to him on Skype a couple of times. It's been great to hear his voice. I can't wait until he blogs about his trip, he's experienced some great things. It sounds like the immersion is really working to. Accoring to the paper chain it's eight days and about 12 hours until we see him again. It's probably too early to start counting down the hours.
I went to a women's meeting yesterday. We had a pot luck brunch and our Pastor's wife spoke to us on Isaiah 61: 1-4. That God is with us during the rough times in our lives, and if we're not the ones going through the rough times then maybe we're the ones to preach the good news to those going through it, for the Glory of God. We broke up into small groups and the moms all got together to reflect on what Ms Lisa said and to bring up anything we might need prayer for.
When the leader of our group asked me if there was anything I needed, I brought up the low placenta issue. I really want a miracle from God. I want Him to move the placenta up so I don't have to have a c-section. I believe that He can! However! If he decides not to, I know that he's Sovereign and he'll be with me through the whole c-section process. I'll keep y'all updated on that.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Shots
Malachi had a fever on Wednesday night that reached 102.4 and a bit of a cough (a very little bit). I called his Dr.'s office and she said that it could very well be a reaction to the shots, but if the cough persists more than a couple days to give them a call.
Yesterday the fever was still there, but not as high. The highest it reached was 101.7. I let him lay in my bed and watch TV for six hours (not something he'd normally do. He can't sit still for a whole movie). And then put him down for a nap. I expected it to be short because of all the nothing he did all day. It ended up being a very sweaty three and a half hour nap. When he got up he didn't feel like he had a temp at all (I stopped taking his temp because he was so miserable during temp taking).
We went out do dinner with a friend and by the time we were finishing up, Malachi looked really tired. I was surprised, but had figured the fever wore him out. He coughed a little bit here and there through the day, but it wasn't an issue. He went to bed easily and I asked him to let me sleep 'til 8 (I was tired too!). He did and when he came in he was his normal self! I've decided it was just an adverse reaction to the shots. He did get four! Thank God it's over with!
He's been great all day so far. He's at play group with a friend now while I wait for the laundry to be ready for the dryer after which I'll join him.
Tonight we're going to watch UP at the clubhouse with a friend of ours. Malachi really liked that movie, so I think he'll be excited.
Yesterday the fever was still there, but not as high. The highest it reached was 101.7. I let him lay in my bed and watch TV for six hours (not something he'd normally do. He can't sit still for a whole movie). And then put him down for a nap. I expected it to be short because of all the nothing he did all day. It ended up being a very sweaty three and a half hour nap. When he got up he didn't feel like he had a temp at all (I stopped taking his temp because he was so miserable during temp taking).
We went out do dinner with a friend and by the time we were finishing up, Malachi looked really tired. I was surprised, but had figured the fever wore him out. He coughed a little bit here and there through the day, but it wasn't an issue. He went to bed easily and I asked him to let me sleep 'til 8 (I was tired too!). He did and when he came in he was his normal self! I've decided it was just an adverse reaction to the shots. He did get four! Thank God it's over with!
He's been great all day so far. He's at play group with a friend now while I wait for the laundry to be ready for the dryer after which I'll join him.
Tonight we're going to watch UP at the clubhouse with a friend of ours. Malachi really liked that movie, so I think he'll be excited.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
4 Year Well Check
Today was his 4 year check up. The nurse called him in and weighed and measured him. And then we went next door and he did a vision test and a hearing test. It was so much fun to see him do those! I was sad that John couldn't witness that. The nurse said that he did perfectly on both.
The Dr. was really impressed by him. She said that some of his skills (I think verbal mostly) were at a five or six year old level. She just really gave him a glowing report. She said we need to bring him to the dentist. She gave me a recommendation for a great (her words) Pediatric Dentist in the area. She said the 4th year is the one for developing social skills, therefore we need to make sure he gets lots of opportunities for social interaction.
Then we discussed shots. He was eligible for four boosters. I decided to do them all and get them over with. When the nurse came in with the needles he got really scared. She had to go out and get another nurse. I had been discussing shots with him and reminded him that it hurt for just a little bit and then stopped hurting. Apparently our talks didn't seem to help. The only thing I didn't try was singing with him. The crying, rage, and fighting actually calmed down during the shots and he didn't need too much calming after they were done. Poor guy!
Then he peed in a cup! That's right...peed in a cup! I had him sit on the toilet and put the cup under him. It was a little awkward, but it worked out pretty well. Then he accidentally spilled it when getting his hat, which was near the cup, from the back of the toilet. Almost all of it spilled, but I told him it was my fault because I told him to get the hat while the cup was still up there. The nurse said there was enough left. Whew! I felt really bad.
We've done well so far with keeping busy since John left. I made two paper chains today. One to countdown John getting back, and one to countdown until Christmas. I have to get off the computer now though, and play Uno Moo with Malachi - I promised. :)
The Dr. was really impressed by him. She said that some of his skills (I think verbal mostly) were at a five or six year old level. She just really gave him a glowing report. She said we need to bring him to the dentist. She gave me a recommendation for a great (her words) Pediatric Dentist in the area. She said the 4th year is the one for developing social skills, therefore we need to make sure he gets lots of opportunities for social interaction.
Then we discussed shots. He was eligible for four boosters. I decided to do them all and get them over with. When the nurse came in with the needles he got really scared. She had to go out and get another nurse. I had been discussing shots with him and reminded him that it hurt for just a little bit and then stopped hurting. Apparently our talks didn't seem to help. The only thing I didn't try was singing with him. The crying, rage, and fighting actually calmed down during the shots and he didn't need too much calming after they were done. Poor guy!
Then he peed in a cup! That's right...peed in a cup! I had him sit on the toilet and put the cup under him. It was a little awkward, but it worked out pretty well. Then he accidentally spilled it when getting his hat, which was near the cup, from the back of the toilet. Almost all of it spilled, but I told him it was my fault because I told him to get the hat while the cup was still up there. The nurse said there was enough left. Whew! I felt really bad.
We've done well so far with keeping busy since John left. I made two paper chains today. One to countdown John getting back, and one to countdown until Christmas. I have to get off the computer now though, and play Uno Moo with Malachi - I promised. :)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Ultrasound
Yesterday at my appointment I got to see my baby boy. He's growing perfectly! He's really doing great. He's going to stay in until we want him out! That was my biggest concern. The secondary concern was the location of the placenta. It hasn't moved. This is no danger to the baby. He's going to grow and develop fine. It does mean that I'll most likely be having a c-section. It's the last thing I wanted for delivery, but the risks in c-section are much less than the risks if I start to dilate.
Overall I feel very positive about it! I have a very cute profile picture of the baby. I have to find it again. Once I do, I'll scan it and get it online. He's so cute!!
Overall I feel very positive about it! I have a very cute profile picture of the baby. I have to find it again. Once I do, I'll scan it and get it online. He's so cute!!
The Weekend
Wow! What a weekend! John's parents got into town on Thursday morning. The turkey was in the oven, and before noon the whole Roy family was together for an awesome Thanksgiving dinner. It was a chill day with eating and hanging out at our apartment. The grandparents offered to babysit while their kids went sight seeing on Friday.
And that's what we did. John and I took the metro down town and met Ben and Sarah at the National Gallery of Art. We took our time going through, with a break for lunch. Shortly after lunch I wasn't able to walk around anymore so I made my way quickly through the Photography exhibit and then spent about a half hour sitting in the lobby while John, Ben, and Sarah finished and saw most of the famous stuff. It's too bad I missed it, but I could always go back.
After that we headed over to the National Archives. The line to get in was pretty long and very slow moving. Then an employee came to tell us that the line was stopped for the next 15-20 minutes. It was very, very cold outside and we didn't feel like sitting outside for what could be 45 minutes waiting to get in. So instead we headed over to the Natural History Museum because Ben and Sarah were interested in the Hope Diamond. After seeing it, they went through the rest of the gems, and after that we sat in a stairwell resting our feet and trying to figure out our next move.
After some weird looks and some deliberation, we decided that John and I would go home, change, pick up the car and then head back downtown and meet them for dinner. Since it was still freezing outside when we got home, I fixed myself some hot chocolate...it was so tasty! John changed, and we took the car downtown to pick up Ben and Sarah and head to the restaurant. They chose one that served organic, natural, and/or local foods whenever possible. Unfortunately when I read the menu the only thing that looked tasty was one of the most expensive things on the menu and I didn't feel like spending that much that day (even though my husband told me I should (I think something inside me is becoming more frugal, which is weird since John's job provides plenty for us)). I ended up ordering a pasta and a side of carrots. Both of them were really tasty!! The menu said that the pastas were served at a moderate portion. I thought that I would be getting a small portion, which is fine since I'm pregnant and can't eat American sized portions anymore. When I got my pasta I was taken aback by what their definition of moderate was. I felt like I got a big bowl of pasta. I may have eaten too much of it. :)
We headed to a movie, that I ended up not liking, so I walked out and got a refund. I didn't expect anyone else to come out, so I hung out in the lobby, journaling (it's been FOREVER since I've done that) and making lists. I made a pretty comprehensive list of what we need still for the baby.
Saturday we as a whole family went out to Mount Vernon. What a beautiful place! We have lots of great pictures from that, and they're on my facebook. Everyone enjoyed that, and since it's the holidays we got to see the third floor where Martha Washington slept after George died. So many important people visited that house and stayed with the Washingtons, and it's supposed that's where General Washington found out he was voted in as our first president (not what he wanted to hear by the way). It was really great to step back in time and see the house the way it was when the Washingtons lived there.
After we got home I had to nap. I was so exhausted from the weekend so far and I hadn't slept all that great either. When I woke up the in-laws were being taken to the airport by John and Ben and Sarah were watching Malachi. Saturday night was another chill night at our apartment with a movie.
Sunday was church followed by naps and Christmas tree shopping! That's right! John and Malachi went and found us an awesome real Christmas tree (and supported the Boy Scouts too). John set up the tree while I went downtown and picked up Ben and Sarah. We headed back to our apartment to get John and Malachi and all went out for a Peking Duck dinner with some of John's coworkers. It was a tasty meal and it was fun to have Ben and Sarah meet some of our friends. I even made a new friend there with one of John's coworkers that I'd never met before. She and I clicked very quickly.
Yesterday John left at 4:30am for his two week trip to Guatemala. I haven't heard from him since he was in Atlanta. Hopefully he's enjoying his time. I had mom's group with church in the morning, and an ultrasound in the afternoon. The day really went by pretty fast.
Right now I'm going to get off the computer and get ready to pick up Ben and Sarah again. We may be going to a museum by the Dulles Airport, we may not. Either way, I'm taking them to the airport. After that Malachi and I are going to the store to get some things (including Christmas tree lights!).
I'll blog again about my ultrasound appointment, and about Christmas decorating this year.
And that's what we did. John and I took the metro down town and met Ben and Sarah at the National Gallery of Art. We took our time going through, with a break for lunch. Shortly after lunch I wasn't able to walk around anymore so I made my way quickly through the Photography exhibit and then spent about a half hour sitting in the lobby while John, Ben, and Sarah finished and saw most of the famous stuff. It's too bad I missed it, but I could always go back.
After that we headed over to the National Archives. The line to get in was pretty long and very slow moving. Then an employee came to tell us that the line was stopped for the next 15-20 minutes. It was very, very cold outside and we didn't feel like sitting outside for what could be 45 minutes waiting to get in. So instead we headed over to the Natural History Museum because Ben and Sarah were interested in the Hope Diamond. After seeing it, they went through the rest of the gems, and after that we sat in a stairwell resting our feet and trying to figure out our next move.
After some weird looks and some deliberation, we decided that John and I would go home, change, pick up the car and then head back downtown and meet them for dinner. Since it was still freezing outside when we got home, I fixed myself some hot chocolate...it was so tasty! John changed, and we took the car downtown to pick up Ben and Sarah and head to the restaurant. They chose one that served organic, natural, and/or local foods whenever possible. Unfortunately when I read the menu the only thing that looked tasty was one of the most expensive things on the menu and I didn't feel like spending that much that day (even though my husband told me I should (I think something inside me is becoming more frugal, which is weird since John's job provides plenty for us)). I ended up ordering a pasta and a side of carrots. Both of them were really tasty!! The menu said that the pastas were served at a moderate portion. I thought that I would be getting a small portion, which is fine since I'm pregnant and can't eat American sized portions anymore. When I got my pasta I was taken aback by what their definition of moderate was. I felt like I got a big bowl of pasta. I may have eaten too much of it. :)
We headed to a movie, that I ended up not liking, so I walked out and got a refund. I didn't expect anyone else to come out, so I hung out in the lobby, journaling (it's been FOREVER since I've done that) and making lists. I made a pretty comprehensive list of what we need still for the baby.
Saturday we as a whole family went out to Mount Vernon. What a beautiful place! We have lots of great pictures from that, and they're on my facebook. Everyone enjoyed that, and since it's the holidays we got to see the third floor where Martha Washington slept after George died. So many important people visited that house and stayed with the Washingtons, and it's supposed that's where General Washington found out he was voted in as our first president (not what he wanted to hear by the way). It was really great to step back in time and see the house the way it was when the Washingtons lived there.
After we got home I had to nap. I was so exhausted from the weekend so far and I hadn't slept all that great either. When I woke up the in-laws were being taken to the airport by John and Ben and Sarah were watching Malachi. Saturday night was another chill night at our apartment with a movie.
Sunday was church followed by naps and Christmas tree shopping! That's right! John and Malachi went and found us an awesome real Christmas tree (and supported the Boy Scouts too). John set up the tree while I went downtown and picked up Ben and Sarah. We headed back to our apartment to get John and Malachi and all went out for a Peking Duck dinner with some of John's coworkers. It was a tasty meal and it was fun to have Ben and Sarah meet some of our friends. I even made a new friend there with one of John's coworkers that I'd never met before. She and I clicked very quickly.
Yesterday John left at 4:30am for his two week trip to Guatemala. I haven't heard from him since he was in Atlanta. Hopefully he's enjoying his time. I had mom's group with church in the morning, and an ultrasound in the afternoon. The day really went by pretty fast.
Right now I'm going to get off the computer and get ready to pick up Ben and Sarah again. We may be going to a museum by the Dulles Airport, we may not. Either way, I'm taking them to the airport. After that Malachi and I are going to the store to get some things (including Christmas tree lights!).
I'll blog again about my ultrasound appointment, and about Christmas decorating this year.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
On the mushy note:
I have so much to be thankful for this year.
I love and am loved by a God who saved me.
I have an amazing husband who has an awesome job that's going to give our family so many great experiences over the years. I have a wonderful four year old son who has survived so much in his short life thus far, and has given me so much joy.
We've been through a lot in the last 28 1/2 years, but love is still present in our family. I'm thankful that I have a mom, dad, and sister that love me and I love back. Also, who can forget the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Cousins-in-law that fill my life with joy whenever I see them. For the last eight years I've had a family-in-law that I love.
I'm thankful for my friends. I've made many friends over the years. Some of them I still have. One of my friends I've known since I was about three years old. Some of my best friends I've known for only two years.
All of you put joy into my life. I hope I do the same.
On the practical note:
My brother-in-law and his wife came into town late Tuesday night and we got to hang out with them yesterday. My mother and father-in-law arrive in about three hours and we'll have the whole family together. It's pretty rare for us to have this. In fact, we remembered last night that we were together at the end of January, beginning of February. It's really, really rare for all of us to be together two times in a year.
We're having a turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, stove top (a family fav), corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberries, and the must have, olives and pickles. It's nothing fancy, and I hope I do it right. My mother-in-law is bringing her pecan pie (John's favorite), and I'm going to ask her to make the gravy. I don't eat gravy, so I've never made it, and I don't want to wreck it for those who do enjoy gravy with their potatoes.
Anywho...Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
I have so much to be thankful for this year.
I love and am loved by a God who saved me.
I have an amazing husband who has an awesome job that's going to give our family so many great experiences over the years. I have a wonderful four year old son who has survived so much in his short life thus far, and has given me so much joy.
We've been through a lot in the last 28 1/2 years, but love is still present in our family. I'm thankful that I have a mom, dad, and sister that love me and I love back. Also, who can forget the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Cousins-in-law that fill my life with joy whenever I see them. For the last eight years I've had a family-in-law that I love.
I'm thankful for my friends. I've made many friends over the years. Some of them I still have. One of my friends I've known since I was about three years old. Some of my best friends I've known for only two years.
All of you put joy into my life. I hope I do the same.
On the practical note:
My brother-in-law and his wife came into town late Tuesday night and we got to hang out with them yesterday. My mother and father-in-law arrive in about three hours and we'll have the whole family together. It's pretty rare for us to have this. In fact, we remembered last night that we were together at the end of January, beginning of February. It's really, really rare for all of us to be together two times in a year.
We're having a turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, stove top (a family fav), corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberries, and the must have, olives and pickles. It's nothing fancy, and I hope I do it right. My mother-in-law is bringing her pecan pie (John's favorite), and I'm going to ask her to make the gravy. I don't eat gravy, so I've never made it, and I don't want to wreck it for those who do enjoy gravy with their potatoes.
Anywho...Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
4 Years
Today we celebrate four years of Malachi's life. What an interesting year we've had. I saw someone else do this and thought it would be a great idea. So here's my letter to Malachi.
Dear Malachi,
Today you turn four years old. You've grown and matured so much this year. You grow so often that people frequently say that you've grown since they last saw you - even if it's only been a couple of weeks. The transition to 4T clothes happened before your birthday which is a first in your life.
We've had some adventures the last few months of your life. On May 23rd while you were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in MN you had your first seizure. After a trip to the ER, some blood work and a CT they couldn't find anything wrong. After coming home and following up with your pediatrician we decided to not worry about it. 10 days later you had another one while my good friend Melissa was babysitting. Another trip to the Dr's office and we decided you needed to see a Pediatric Neurologist. But by this time we were three weeks away from our move to North Virginia for daddy's new job as a Foreign Service Officer.
After our three day drive to our new home (you were a champ by the way) and settling in you had three more grand mal seizures. You also had three partial seizures where you would throw all limbs out and your head back. It would only last a few seconds and the grand mal ones lasted 1 1/2 minutes to 4 minutes. We did finally get in to have an EEG done but I couldn't get in to an actual appointment with a Neurologist.
On July 8th after the four minute seizure I called 911. It was the longest one you'd ever had, plus your post-ictal period was 30 minutes long instead of the normal 5 with vomiting and blue around your lips. Neither of those things had happened before.
We got to the hospital and by the time we were in the ER the Dr's and Nurses were very confused because you were acting like a normal 3 1/2 year old boy. The on call neurologist requested you be admitted, so you were sent up to the Children's floor at the hospital. You were treated very well, the Dr's were very thorough, and you had quite a bit of testing done. You had an over night EEG. The application of the leeds for this test took three hours and was quite traumatic for you. To this day you still get sensitive when people touch your head. You also had an MRI which you were put under general anesthesia for. You had an EKG which was normal. All of your tests were normal. You passed everything with flying colors. Even when the neurologist did her exam she couldn't find anything wrong.
You were prescribed some medicine, Keppra, that we give you two times a day. You were released and we came home. That seizure on the 8th of July was the last one you had. We're now celebrating 4 1/2 months of you being seizure free!
You've adjusted very well to being in North Virginia. You always make friends quickly. You're very outgoing so you'll walk up to kids and ask them to play. You've also won the hearts of many of daddy's classmates being voted the unofficial class mascot of the 146th A-100 class.
I'm pregnant with your little brother right now and you're already a sweet older brother. You talk to him, "pet" him, and love on him already. You have a very tender heart, you're so sensitive. Usually your sensitivity is directed towards the people you love. If you're told that some one's coming over and they end up having to cancel it brings you to tears. It also makes you cry when people don't sit next to you in the car.
You are so, so smart Malachi. I have to give daddy the credit for this. He's always teaching you. At this age though, your curiosity is quite apparent. You very, very frequently ask us why or how something works. You'll ask us to explain it a couple of times even. Then a couple of days later, you might explain to us how that thing works. Everyone who knows you, knows you are smart.
Life with you is amazing. We love being your parents and I love being your mom. You are amazing Malachi and I love you so much.
Dear Malachi,
Today you turn four years old. You've grown and matured so much this year. You grow so often that people frequently say that you've grown since they last saw you - even if it's only been a couple of weeks. The transition to 4T clothes happened before your birthday which is a first in your life.
We've had some adventures the last few months of your life. On May 23rd while you were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in MN you had your first seizure. After a trip to the ER, some blood work and a CT they couldn't find anything wrong. After coming home and following up with your pediatrician we decided to not worry about it. 10 days later you had another one while my good friend Melissa was babysitting. Another trip to the Dr's office and we decided you needed to see a Pediatric Neurologist. But by this time we were three weeks away from our move to North Virginia for daddy's new job as a Foreign Service Officer.
After our three day drive to our new home (you were a champ by the way) and settling in you had three more grand mal seizures. You also had three partial seizures where you would throw all limbs out and your head back. It would only last a few seconds and the grand mal ones lasted 1 1/2 minutes to 4 minutes. We did finally get in to have an EEG done but I couldn't get in to an actual appointment with a Neurologist.
On July 8th after the four minute seizure I called 911. It was the longest one you'd ever had, plus your post-ictal period was 30 minutes long instead of the normal 5 with vomiting and blue around your lips. Neither of those things had happened before.
We got to the hospital and by the time we were in the ER the Dr's and Nurses were very confused because you were acting like a normal 3 1/2 year old boy. The on call neurologist requested you be admitted, so you were sent up to the Children's floor at the hospital. You were treated very well, the Dr's were very thorough, and you had quite a bit of testing done. You had an over night EEG. The application of the leeds for this test took three hours and was quite traumatic for you. To this day you still get sensitive when people touch your head. You also had an MRI which you were put under general anesthesia for. You had an EKG which was normal. All of your tests were normal. You passed everything with flying colors. Even when the neurologist did her exam she couldn't find anything wrong.
You were prescribed some medicine, Keppra, that we give you two times a day. You were released and we came home. That seizure on the 8th of July was the last one you had. We're now celebrating 4 1/2 months of you being seizure free!
You've adjusted very well to being in North Virginia. You always make friends quickly. You're very outgoing so you'll walk up to kids and ask them to play. You've also won the hearts of many of daddy's classmates being voted the unofficial class mascot of the 146th A-100 class.
I'm pregnant with your little brother right now and you're already a sweet older brother. You talk to him, "pet" him, and love on him already. You have a very tender heart, you're so sensitive. Usually your sensitivity is directed towards the people you love. If you're told that some one's coming over and they end up having to cancel it brings you to tears. It also makes you cry when people don't sit next to you in the car.
You are so, so smart Malachi. I have to give daddy the credit for this. He's always teaching you. At this age though, your curiosity is quite apparent. You very, very frequently ask us why or how something works. You'll ask us to explain it a couple of times even. Then a couple of days later, you might explain to us how that thing works. Everyone who knows you, knows you are smart.
Life with you is amazing. We love being your parents and I love being your mom. You are amazing Malachi and I love you so much.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
27 Weeks
Yesterday I went to the Dr. to have my check up. I had to go half an hour early because it was my glucose test appointment. So on a day when I wanted to sleep in, I got up before 7am. Malachi and I left at 7:30 to get there in time. I drank their fruit punch sugar drink and we sat in the waiting room until my appointment.
At my appointment I met with the last Dr. of the group. It was interesting to see him in the office because I'dve only ever seen him in the hospital. He happened to be on duty both times I went in. He answered my questions, we listened to the baby's heart beat, and Malachi helped him measure my uterus (to check on the baby's growth). Everything sounded and looked good. I'll get a call tomorrow if there's anything wrong with the glucose test. If I don't get a call, then I know I don't have gestational diabetes.
27 weeks along in my pregnancy means that I have 13 weeks or fewer left of my pregnancy. 13 weeks really isn't a very long time. I'm so excited to meet the little boy inside me. On the other hand, I'm a little frightened of having an infant again. It's been so long since I've had one. A couple of months ago when I was holding my friends infant it felt so small and weird. I couldn't really remember how to hold one. People tell me it will all come back quickly, I hope it does.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Surprise!
A couple of weeks ago John and I were invited to a dessert party taking place on the 13th at a friends house. We didn't have any plans and I thought that sounded pretty fun (and delicious). We planned on it and when our friend Sam was taking care of Malachi during the anniversary celebration she put it on the calendar for us to make sure we didn't forget. Friday night John and Malachi made a delicious dump cake and we made our way over to Lynn's place. When we walked in the door everyone was looking at us and they yelled "SURPRISE!!!" My initial reaction was that of confusion and when I saw the pile of presents in the middle of the room I knew it was a surprise baby shower for John and I. It was so sweet!!
Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me so I have no pictures, but a friend did and when I get a hold of them I'll have to share. There were desserts as promised as well as a wonderful pomegranate cheese with crackers and a fruit platter that Malachi went straight for. John and Malachi's dump cake was a huge hit and many people asked for the recipe.
The hostess put together three shower games that were Foreign Service Baby Shower games. In each of them Secretary Clinton gave us an assignment, one assignment was to name the baby using places she's been and people she's met. The night's favorite was Pakistanly ConGen Roy. The second game was to plan out our next seven posts to make sure that the Roy Boys got a lot of Global Exposure and good education through their lives. John didn't take part in that one, but was surprised by all the employment advancements that he made and on my plan he even got Ambassador!
After the second game, they encouraged us to open presents and who can say no to that! All of the presents were from all of our friends who were present and they told me I had to open the small boxes first. So I did and we got the little robe and booties set that I registered for as well as some matching wash cloths. Then I grabbed what I thought was going to be a bath tub and instead opened the body of the stroller that we registered for!! I was so excited! All the other presents (three more) were parts of the stroller (wheels in one bag, front wheel portion with the basket that goes under the stroller in another bag, and in the big box was the tray for the baby, the toy for the tray, and the hub caps for the rear tires). Yay Stroller!!! I'm so excited for that! John put it loosely together before we left so everyone could see it together and we let Malachi ride home in it. It's a big stroller! Malachi fit in it just fine. but what I like about it is that the back reclines so that we can put an infant in it that's not sitting.
While John was putting the stroller together they played the last game. The assignment from Secretary Clinton was to suggest words to us that we could repeat to the baby to make them the first words instead of simple words like mama and dada. We had some great suggestions in Chinese, Spanish, Malay, Korean, Arabic, and Hindi. Ahh the Foreign Service!
Both John and I were sincerely and very surprised, they did a great job of keeping it a secret. We're so happy and so blessed to have the friends here that we do. It makes being away from friends and family that much easier.
Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me so I have no pictures, but a friend did and when I get a hold of them I'll have to share. There were desserts as promised as well as a wonderful pomegranate cheese with crackers and a fruit platter that Malachi went straight for. John and Malachi's dump cake was a huge hit and many people asked for the recipe.
The hostess put together three shower games that were Foreign Service Baby Shower games. In each of them Secretary Clinton gave us an assignment, one assignment was to name the baby using places she's been and people she's met. The night's favorite was Pakistanly ConGen Roy. The second game was to plan out our next seven posts to make sure that the Roy Boys got a lot of Global Exposure and good education through their lives. John didn't take part in that one, but was surprised by all the employment advancements that he made and on my plan he even got Ambassador!
After the second game, they encouraged us to open presents and who can say no to that! All of the presents were from all of our friends who were present and they told me I had to open the small boxes first. So I did and we got the little robe and booties set that I registered for as well as some matching wash cloths. Then I grabbed what I thought was going to be a bath tub and instead opened the body of the stroller that we registered for!! I was so excited! All the other presents (three more) were parts of the stroller (wheels in one bag, front wheel portion with the basket that goes under the stroller in another bag, and in the big box was the tray for the baby, the toy for the tray, and the hub caps for the rear tires). Yay Stroller!!! I'm so excited for that! John put it loosely together before we left so everyone could see it together and we let Malachi ride home in it. It's a big stroller! Malachi fit in it just fine. but what I like about it is that the back reclines so that we can put an infant in it that's not sitting.
While John was putting the stroller together they played the last game. The assignment from Secretary Clinton was to suggest words to us that we could repeat to the baby to make them the first words instead of simple words like mama and dada. We had some great suggestions in Chinese, Spanish, Malay, Korean, Arabic, and Hindi. Ahh the Foreign Service!
Both John and I were sincerely and very surprised, they did a great job of keeping it a secret. We're so happy and so blessed to have the friends here that we do. It makes being away from friends and family that much easier.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Exhausted
I've been regretting this part of my return to home. On Monday night and Tuesday morning/afternoon I didn't feel like doing anything, so I didn't do anything - including the blog. We (Malachi and I) were in Dallas for almost five days and we were pretty busy. Most of it was just hanging out with friends - we both had a great time doing that. I'll try to make this summary quick.
Thursday: Malachi was an angel the whole day of travel (about 8 hours from door to door). I kept him pretty occupied with books and snacks and his toys on the first flight. We got in to Memphis a little early and had time for bathroom breaks and some phone calls. I made Malachi sleep on the next flight and tried to sleep but couldn't get comfortable so I read. We got to Dallas, got the rental car and headed to our friend's (wonderful Don and Rosanne) house. Another friend, Danielle, was there with her kids, one of them being one of Malachi's best friends. Then another friend of mine, Ginger, joined us after a little bit. They wanted to be there to support me because they had some bad news. They had to change the time and day of the shower due to a funeral for the father of a friend of ours. I certainly understood and wasn't nearly as disappointed as they thought I would be. We had a great time of playing catch up. Loved it!
Friday: Rosanne let me sleep in an hour while she and Malachi hung out. We didn't have any plans until 11, so we spent the morning chillaxin. At 11 we met a friend at Chick-fil-A. We don't have CFA here, so we were both very excited to have it! It was a lot of fun to catch up with Sam and hear about their new adventures. I meant to make plans for Friday and I did try, but it didn't work out. We ended up just hanging out at Rosanne's house. Danielle and her kids came over again so they played while we did more resting. I was still exhausted from the previous day of travels.
Saturday: John left DC at about 6am to come to Dallas for the weekend. We had breakfast plans in Dallas with our friend Holly. I was so excited to see her. After we got back "home" from breakfast we left to go back to Dallas to get a couple of friends, Cassie and Sarah, for a mini-shower because they couldn't make it to the re-scheduled one. We met another friend, Cassi (yes that's right, at the table sat Cassie, Cassi, Sarah and Sara), coming from Austin at a Mexican restaurant. That just happened to be the restaurant that John and his friend Chris had gone to. They had been there for just a few minutes when we walked in and went to our own table. We all said hi and then went back to our separate tables. The girls had a great time playing catch up and eating delicious Mexican food. The boys did to as far as I can tell. After lunch I brought Sarah home and met John, Chris, Holly (yes they're married) and their one month old son Stephen at Starbucks. We sat with them for at least an hour just talking and hanging out. It was a lot of fun, and Stephen was awesome. He just laid there in his mama's arms sleeping the whole time. Afterwards John and I passed a little time waiting for another time of hanging out with some friends. Eventually we made our way over to Cassie and Jason's house. Cassie, Cassi, Jason, Sarah, Ival, Isaac, John, and I spent a few hours that night catching up and having a great time. People started getting tired (three pregnant ladies!) so we left around 8:30. John and I put Malachi to bed right away and hung out with Don and Rosanne for almost three hours talking. More catching up!
Sunday: Church day! We were so excited to go to church and hear our Pastor speak. Malachi enjoyed his time at church with his old friends and so did we. I cried through out church because I missed it so much. After church we had lunch at our favorite after lunch spot with some friends. We went to Target for a short time then made our way over to my shower. The ladies had put together an awesome shower and I had a great time. I was so blessed by those who put together my shower and by all who came. John and I went from the shower to visit our friends Raul and Valerie. We hung out with them for a little bit and then went to dinner at one of our favorite BBQ places. I dropped John off at the airport so he could do homework and went do Don and Rosanne's. They were having a home group meeting so Malachi and I went to my room and I started packing. They finished their meeting and I went to visit with people I still hadn't seen. I stayed up to watch the Cowboys beat Philly.
Monday: I woke up excited to return home. Being excited for my return home made the morning happen kind of slowly. Ginger and her daughter came over for our last morning. Malachi and Rachel played nicely while the adults stayed in the living room and talked. Malachi and I left at 10 for the airport. I had to return the car, ride the bus, check the car seat, get through security and get us some food by 12:00 and I made it. Malachi had a pretty rough day this time. He was completely exhausted by this time from the lack of naps and the super busy-ness that this weekend was. Happily for me we got on the second plane and he fell asleep during the safety announcements. He slept almost the whole flight. It caused a bit of soreness for me, but it was a great break too. John met us at the airport and I was so happy to see him! Even though he came to Dallas, the time spent apart sucked.
Tuesday: Woke up with John and wished him a Happy Anniversary. We were celebrating 8 years of marriage on Tuesday. He gave me an awesome card - seriously hilarious. Then he handed me a second one. It was a gift card for a pregnancy massage, I'm very, very excited for it. Unfortunately I had forgotten to get him a card and I didn't know he was getting me a present so I didn't get him one. I was totally being lame. John went to work that morning and I tried to rest while doing things to get ready for the night throughout the day. Showering, doing hair, make-up and packing were almost all done by the time John got home from work. At 4:30 our friend came over to stay with Malachi that night.
We made our way to the hotel where I pulled out the pregnancy and anniversary cards and got us an upgrade to a Jr. King Suite. It was like a regular hotel room, but bigger. The size was great. We had some time to kill before going to dinner so we sat down to enjoy some TV and there was a knock on the door. The gentleman who checked us in and gave the suite to us sent up some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries with raspberry dipping sauce. It was delicious. I toasted our anniversary with him with a sip of champagne. We took a taxi to our restaurant and ended up there half an hour early, but they were very accommodating and sat us right away. When I made the reservation I told them it was our anniversary and I'd like a view of the capital. They were quite good at fulfilling this request. Unfortunately there was a large tree between us and the capital and I could only see white spots through the tree. I guess in a couple of months when all of the leaves are gone it'll be visible. Dinner was delicious! I've really been into potatoes lately so I think my favorite part of the dinner was the Yukon Gold Potato Puree. I totally over ate on the Puree. Then we ordered a very decadent chocolate dessert. Then our waiter brought us over another dessert, he said it was for the baby. We will totaly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good steak dinner.
After dinner we made our way back to our apartment complex to a goodbye party for a friend. I didn't think I could make it through a movie so we decided to do this. She's moving to London on Monday, and I didn't want to miss saying good bye to her. We stayed for about 20 minutes before I started wilting. We headed back to the hotel and went almost immediately to bed. We got to sleep until 8am the next morning! That's not a huge deal, but we got 9 hours of sleep. It was awesome! We had breakfast at the buffet at the hotel and checked out. We made our way over to the Spy Museum. We had a ton of fun there! I also recommend this to anyone visiting the area. After that we headed home. We had a very fun time celebrating our 8 years together.
Ok, so this is probably the length of a short story. Hope it didn't put you to sleep.
Thursday: Malachi was an angel the whole day of travel (about 8 hours from door to door). I kept him pretty occupied with books and snacks and his toys on the first flight. We got in to Memphis a little early and had time for bathroom breaks and some phone calls. I made Malachi sleep on the next flight and tried to sleep but couldn't get comfortable so I read. We got to Dallas, got the rental car and headed to our friend's (wonderful Don and Rosanne) house. Another friend, Danielle, was there with her kids, one of them being one of Malachi's best friends. Then another friend of mine, Ginger, joined us after a little bit. They wanted to be there to support me because they had some bad news. They had to change the time and day of the shower due to a funeral for the father of a friend of ours. I certainly understood and wasn't nearly as disappointed as they thought I would be. We had a great time of playing catch up. Loved it!
Friday: Rosanne let me sleep in an hour while she and Malachi hung out. We didn't have any plans until 11, so we spent the morning chillaxin. At 11 we met a friend at Chick-fil-A. We don't have CFA here, so we were both very excited to have it! It was a lot of fun to catch up with Sam and hear about their new adventures. I meant to make plans for Friday and I did try, but it didn't work out. We ended up just hanging out at Rosanne's house. Danielle and her kids came over again so they played while we did more resting. I was still exhausted from the previous day of travels.
Saturday: John left DC at about 6am to come to Dallas for the weekend. We had breakfast plans in Dallas with our friend Holly. I was so excited to see her. After we got back "home" from breakfast we left to go back to Dallas to get a couple of friends, Cassie and Sarah, for a mini-shower because they couldn't make it to the re-scheduled one. We met another friend, Cassi (yes that's right, at the table sat Cassie, Cassi, Sarah and Sara), coming from Austin at a Mexican restaurant. That just happened to be the restaurant that John and his friend Chris had gone to. They had been there for just a few minutes when we walked in and went to our own table. We all said hi and then went back to our separate tables. The girls had a great time playing catch up and eating delicious Mexican food. The boys did to as far as I can tell. After lunch I brought Sarah home and met John, Chris, Holly (yes they're married) and their one month old son Stephen at Starbucks. We sat with them for at least an hour just talking and hanging out. It was a lot of fun, and Stephen was awesome. He just laid there in his mama's arms sleeping the whole time. Afterwards John and I passed a little time waiting for another time of hanging out with some friends. Eventually we made our way over to Cassie and Jason's house. Cassie, Cassi, Jason, Sarah, Ival, Isaac, John, and I spent a few hours that night catching up and having a great time. People started getting tired (three pregnant ladies!) so we left around 8:30. John and I put Malachi to bed right away and hung out with Don and Rosanne for almost three hours talking. More catching up!
Sunday: Church day! We were so excited to go to church and hear our Pastor speak. Malachi enjoyed his time at church with his old friends and so did we. I cried through out church because I missed it so much. After church we had lunch at our favorite after lunch spot with some friends. We went to Target for a short time then made our way over to my shower. The ladies had put together an awesome shower and I had a great time. I was so blessed by those who put together my shower and by all who came. John and I went from the shower to visit our friends Raul and Valerie. We hung out with them for a little bit and then went to dinner at one of our favorite BBQ places. I dropped John off at the airport so he could do homework and went do Don and Rosanne's. They were having a home group meeting so Malachi and I went to my room and I started packing. They finished their meeting and I went to visit with people I still hadn't seen. I stayed up to watch the Cowboys beat Philly.
Monday: I woke up excited to return home. Being excited for my return home made the morning happen kind of slowly. Ginger and her daughter came over for our last morning. Malachi and Rachel played nicely while the adults stayed in the living room and talked. Malachi and I left at 10 for the airport. I had to return the car, ride the bus, check the car seat, get through security and get us some food by 12:00 and I made it. Malachi had a pretty rough day this time. He was completely exhausted by this time from the lack of naps and the super busy-ness that this weekend was. Happily for me we got on the second plane and he fell asleep during the safety announcements. He slept almost the whole flight. It caused a bit of soreness for me, but it was a great break too. John met us at the airport and I was so happy to see him! Even though he came to Dallas, the time spent apart sucked.
Tuesday: Woke up with John and wished him a Happy Anniversary. We were celebrating 8 years of marriage on Tuesday. He gave me an awesome card - seriously hilarious. Then he handed me a second one. It was a gift card for a pregnancy massage, I'm very, very excited for it. Unfortunately I had forgotten to get him a card and I didn't know he was getting me a present so I didn't get him one. I was totally being lame. John went to work that morning and I tried to rest while doing things to get ready for the night throughout the day. Showering, doing hair, make-up and packing were almost all done by the time John got home from work. At 4:30 our friend came over to stay with Malachi that night.
We made our way to the hotel where I pulled out the pregnancy and anniversary cards and got us an upgrade to a Jr. King Suite. It was like a regular hotel room, but bigger. The size was great. We had some time to kill before going to dinner so we sat down to enjoy some TV and there was a knock on the door. The gentleman who checked us in and gave the suite to us sent up some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries with raspberry dipping sauce. It was delicious. I toasted our anniversary with him with a sip of champagne. We took a taxi to our restaurant and ended up there half an hour early, but they were very accommodating and sat us right away. When I made the reservation I told them it was our anniversary and I'd like a view of the capital. They were quite good at fulfilling this request. Unfortunately there was a large tree between us and the capital and I could only see white spots through the tree. I guess in a couple of months when all of the leaves are gone it'll be visible. Dinner was delicious! I've really been into potatoes lately so I think my favorite part of the dinner was the Yukon Gold Potato Puree. I totally over ate on the Puree. Then we ordered a very decadent chocolate dessert. Then our waiter brought us over another dessert, he said it was for the baby. We will totaly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good steak dinner.
After dinner we made our way back to our apartment complex to a goodbye party for a friend. I didn't think I could make it through a movie so we decided to do this. She's moving to London on Monday, and I didn't want to miss saying good bye to her. We stayed for about 20 minutes before I started wilting. We headed back to the hotel and went almost immediately to bed. We got to sleep until 8am the next morning! That's not a huge deal, but we got 9 hours of sleep. It was awesome! We had breakfast at the buffet at the hotel and checked out. We made our way over to the Spy Museum. We had a ton of fun there! I also recommend this to anyone visiting the area. After that we headed home. We had a very fun time celebrating our 8 years together.
Ok, so this is probably the length of a short story. Hope it didn't put you to sleep.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tres Horas
Last night I only got three hours of sleep. I have this horrible, horrible habit to stay up when I have something really exciting going on the next day. Luckily until I get to Dallas I only have to do about 10 minutes of driving. John can do the rest.
Malachi and I are both super, super excited to see our friends this weekend. We've been talking about going to church and all the friends he gets to see. I hope some of those friends come to the baby shower on Saturday so he can see them more than once. I really miss having those friends for him and I really miss the connections that I built in Dallas. I've made a few friends here, but non that have the connection that I have so with many wonderful women in Dallas.
Our first flight leaves at 11:30 this morning. We have a connection in Memphis and arrive in Dallas at 3:50pm. I'm checking his car seat (for free, yay!) so after getting that from baggage claim and getting the car I rented I figure that I wont get to my friends house that I'm staying at until about 6:00. I think we'll just have dinner with them and chill there tonight. I have a feeling I'm going to be even more exhausted than I am now. I also expect to have some soreness.
GAH! I'm so excited!!!! I'm leaving my apartment in a little over an hour, so I guess I better be getting ready. :) See you later Dallas!!
Malachi and I are both super, super excited to see our friends this weekend. We've been talking about going to church and all the friends he gets to see. I hope some of those friends come to the baby shower on Saturday so he can see them more than once. I really miss having those friends for him and I really miss the connections that I built in Dallas. I've made a few friends here, but non that have the connection that I have so with many wonderful women in Dallas.
Our first flight leaves at 11:30 this morning. We have a connection in Memphis and arrive in Dallas at 3:50pm. I'm checking his car seat (for free, yay!) so after getting that from baggage claim and getting the car I rented I figure that I wont get to my friends house that I'm staying at until about 6:00. I think we'll just have dinner with them and chill there tonight. I have a feeling I'm going to be even more exhausted than I am now. I also expect to have some soreness.
GAH! I'm so excited!!!! I'm leaving my apartment in a little over an hour, so I guess I better be getting ready. :) See you later Dallas!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
tidbits
Because my life is so crazy with out being crazy (where does the time go? what do I actually do with my time?) my blog entries tend to be long, especially when I wait a week to update. So I decided that this time, I'm going to forgo the details and do tidbits.
Shots - Malachi and I have been perfectly fine over the last week. Neither of us have shown any signs of flu or colds even. I'm hoping this means that the H1N1 vaccine will work for us, but we'll see. We have the rest of the season to make sure we don't get it. John and I are trying to be wise about where we go with Malachi with out going over board with it.
Foreign Service Life - John's schedule changed effective yesterday. He now works 8-2 instead of 10-4. That means on admin days (sporadic Wednesdays when they have half days) he's off at 10 instead of 12. It was so awesome yesterday when he got home before I put Malachi down for his nap. Mom and dad had some extra child-free time during the day, it was almost like a weekend day. Tomorrow just happens to be an admin day and we're going to go downtown to the building affectionately known as Main State and go to the Passport Office to go get pictures taken and apply for passports. Malachi and I can't apply for Diplomatic Passports yet because we don't have travel orders yet but we all need our regular passports (for all non official travel) because Malachi's never been out of country and mind and John's expired last year or earlier this year. It feels like forever since we've been out of country!
Travel (in country) - Malachi and I are leaving for Dallas in less than 48 hours woohoo!! I'm so excited to go "home." I'm even more excited that John's joining us on Saturday to see some of his friends and so that we can go to FOJ as a family on Sunday morning. He got a late flight on Sunday night so it gives us all of Sunday together too. Unfortunately since our trips are short, I'm having a very, very hard time figuring out how to spend my time. John has a ride from the airport and is going to hang out with one of his best friends for brunch. Funny (short) story: I'm going to breakfast with said friend's wife earlier that day. That breakfast, my shower, and church on Sunday are my only set plans. So if you're a good friend expect a call or an email today or tomorrow to plan something during my time there.
Pregnancy - 25 Weeks today! This is the first day of my last trimester and the pregnancy is going pretty well! I have some aches and pains here and there but I push through them. I've been having a hard time the last couple of weeks not over doing it. I know that will be a huge issue this weekend in Dallas, but I'll try to get rest. John has been amazing to me the last few weeks. He's taking care of Malachi so much and cooking so much, it's awesome. He's been such a good husband, such a blessing to me.
Halloween - We had a great time this year! This was Malachi's first year to go trick-or-treating for real. His Pirate costume was a big hit. He got a ton of candy in about an hour and a half of 'treating and he's been very nicely sharing with mommy and daddy. John and I had a lot of fun as parents watching him do things that we did as kids. Next year we'll be at the embassy doing embassy parties and embassy style trick-or-treating which is different at different embassies/consolates.
How'd I do? I think I might have gotten into to much detail on some of those, but oh well. I think the format breaks it up enough to make it easier to read.
Shots - Malachi and I have been perfectly fine over the last week. Neither of us have shown any signs of flu or colds even. I'm hoping this means that the H1N1 vaccine will work for us, but we'll see. We have the rest of the season to make sure we don't get it. John and I are trying to be wise about where we go with Malachi with out going over board with it.
Foreign Service Life - John's schedule changed effective yesterday. He now works 8-2 instead of 10-4. That means on admin days (sporadic Wednesdays when they have half days) he's off at 10 instead of 12. It was so awesome yesterday when he got home before I put Malachi down for his nap. Mom and dad had some extra child-free time during the day, it was almost like a weekend day. Tomorrow just happens to be an admin day and we're going to go downtown to the building affectionately known as Main State and go to the Passport Office to go get pictures taken and apply for passports. Malachi and I can't apply for Diplomatic Passports yet because we don't have travel orders yet but we all need our regular passports (for all non official travel) because Malachi's never been out of country and mind and John's expired last year or earlier this year. It feels like forever since we've been out of country!
Travel (in country) - Malachi and I are leaving for Dallas in less than 48 hours woohoo!! I'm so excited to go "home." I'm even more excited that John's joining us on Saturday to see some of his friends and so that we can go to FOJ as a family on Sunday morning. He got a late flight on Sunday night so it gives us all of Sunday together too. Unfortunately since our trips are short, I'm having a very, very hard time figuring out how to spend my time. John has a ride from the airport and is going to hang out with one of his best friends for brunch. Funny (short) story: I'm going to breakfast with said friend's wife earlier that day. That breakfast, my shower, and church on Sunday are my only set plans. So if you're a good friend expect a call or an email today or tomorrow to plan something during my time there.
Pregnancy - 25 Weeks today! This is the first day of my last trimester and the pregnancy is going pretty well! I have some aches and pains here and there but I push through them. I've been having a hard time the last couple of weeks not over doing it. I know that will be a huge issue this weekend in Dallas, but I'll try to get rest. John has been amazing to me the last few weeks. He's taking care of Malachi so much and cooking so much, it's awesome. He's been such a good husband, such a blessing to me.
Halloween - We had a great time this year! This was Malachi's first year to go trick-or-treating for real. His Pirate costume was a big hit. He got a ton of candy in about an hour and a half of 'treating and he's been very nicely sharing with mommy and daddy. John and I had a lot of fun as parents watching him do things that we did as kids. Next year we'll be at the embassy doing embassy parties and embassy style trick-or-treating which is different at different embassies/consolates.
How'd I do? I think I might have gotten into to much detail on some of those, but oh well. I think the format breaks it up enough to make it easier to read.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Protected?
I hope so. Today Malachi and I got the H1N1 vaccine. Malachi needs to go get a booster in a month, adults don't need boosters. Malachi goes in for his four year well check on Dec. 2nd, so I think I'll just wait until then for the booster.
Malachi and I stood in line for two hours before we even got the paper work. He was amazing! I brought about ten books to pass time but I didn't think about bringing food or drinks. I really didn't think it would take that long. Malachi didn't whine or complain about the wait. He did tell me he was hungry, and he also told the mom next to us in line that he was hungry.
We were both injected six hours ago, and so far there have been zero adverse affects. Malachi's injection site looks great, I haven't checked mine yet.
In other news, I had my monthly Obstetrical check up yesterday. The baby's heart beat was very strong, I measured well, my blood pressure was good, and my weight is good. Everything was very positive. We did discuss the pre-term labor I had with Malachi a little bit. For now I don't have to worry about anything.
I do have to go in for another ultrasound on Nov. 30th to check the placement of my placenta (for those who don't know, if it's too low it can separate from my uterus and it would cut off contact between me and the baby), and the thickness of my cervix. If it's too thin they'll be putting me on bed rest, if it's thin enough they'll be sending me to the hospital. A thin cervix is the precursor to my water breaking. I assume that putting me on bed rest will delay that from happening. By the time I go in for the ultrasound I'll be one day short of 29 weeks along. If they do find something wrong it could mean anywhere from 7-10 weeks of bed rest. My mother-in-law has offered to take Malachi in case that happens. I'm praying hard that that wont happen.
I have the glucose test at my next check up in three weeks. With that test we can find out if I have gestational diabetes. With all the halloween candy I've been eating (yes, yes I know that it's not even Halloween candy yet) I wouldn't be surprised if I did have it.
The round ligament pain has been a little better since that one day, but if I do too much it gets kind of bad. I just pushing through it now, knowing that it's nothing bad and I don't have to worry about it. Over all, things have been better.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Guatemala
John is leaving on the 30th of November for a trip to Guatemala. He'll be gone for two weeks. I suppose I better get used to this. As the wife of a diplomat there's bound to be work travel involved in his job that I don't join him for. In Guatemala he's going to live with a host family, go to class with a teacher from the Foreign Service Institute (one goes with them (them being the group of 7 people that we know and love that are going with)) and then spend the rest of the day immersed in the Spanish language and culture. He's very excited to go.
I'm a lot less excited. I hate being alone (yes I know I'll have the company of my son, but I dislike being with out an adult). I've never lived by myself and honestly I'm a little scared of being by myself. Even though we live in a secure building there are still over 150 apartment in this building and I don't know very many of the tenants. There are just so many strangers.
I know that it's very likely nothing will happen. I just have a very active imagination. On the plus side! I'll have the King Size bed all to myself for two weeks! I LOVE having the bed to myself!
I'm a lot less excited. I hate being alone (yes I know I'll have the company of my son, but I dislike being with out an adult). I've never lived by myself and honestly I'm a little scared of being by myself. Even though we live in a secure building there are still over 150 apartment in this building and I don't know very many of the tenants. There are just so many strangers.
I know that it's very likely nothing will happen. I just have a very active imagination. On the plus side! I'll have the King Size bed all to myself for two weeks! I LOVE having the bed to myself!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Week of Adventures
It's been a while since I updated. The last week has been interesting.
Wednesday I didn't do much because I was in extreme pain. It may have been the worst pain I've experienced since I got pregnant, it brought me to tears. Someone suggested on mamasource that the pain might be Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) and I got really scared of that after reading the wiki info about it.
I called the Dr's office on Thursday morning because I really didn't want to wait until my next check up to talk about it. The office assistant asked if I'd experienced any discharge (sorry to anyone who's reading this that doesn't want to read this kind of stuff, it comes with pregnancy). I told her that my bladder has been leaking but I didn't know if anything else was. A little while later, after discussing my symptoms with a Dr she called back and told me to make my way to the hospital. I brought Malachi to a friends house and drove my way there.
After some tests and discussion with the Dr on call he told me it's not SPD but rather Round Ligament pain, yay! Also, I do just have a leaky bladder (supper leaky compared to the last pregnancy). The Dr released me and the nurse gave me a great list of symptoms that should make me call the Dr's office. Now if I'm experiencing anything that's not on that list, I can just wait until my next appointment. I was home by lunch time, but I was exhausted. Even though I spent most of the time there laying down it was an emotionally exhausting experience and it drained me. I don't think I did much more that day.
Friday morning I dropped Malachi off again at the same house as the previous day and made my way to the prenatal echo cardiogram that I had scheduled. I went in with no fear and then was told by the Dr that when a mother has a heart defect (I have a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)) it increases the risk of the baby having one. I didn't know that! All of a sudden my fear level rose. The Dr assured me that any major complications could be seen on a sonogram at this far in the pregnancy. However, he saw that everything was developing perfectly! Everything was the size it should be and the vessels going into and out of the heart are the perfect size and working like they should be. Anything major looks to be ruled out! Praise God! Anything minor can still develop but the pediatrician should be able to catch it when he's born. This time I was done and home before 10am but it was still an emotional couple of days and I was exhausted again.
I did make an awesome dinner that night (Chicken St. Pierre, broccoli salad, crusty salad and garlic mashed potatoes) and had a good friend over for it. In fact Sam made the potatoes and they were awesome!! After Malachi went to bed I watched the season premiere of Ugly Betty and I watched Rachel Getting Married for the first time. That was a hard movie to watch. I'm glad I did, but I don't know if I'll ever watch it again.
Saturday and Sunday were rainy and kind of blah. We did make it to our Pastor's house on Saturday morning/afternoon for Apple Baking. I made Apple Dumplings with a friend and the other things made were: Apple Cider, Apple Sauce, Apple Cake, Apple Pancakes, Apple Pie, and pizza. It was a very delicious day!
Sunday was a normal day. Today I had mom's group. I really started wilting toward the end, but I'm really glad I went. I haven't been sleeping very well the last few days. I've been waking up a lot through out the night. Tomorrow I'll be 23 weeks pregnant. Which leaves 17 weeks of pregnancy which is so crazy! In those 17 weeks we have a ton going on:
Trip to Dallas on Nov. 5th
Anniversary on Nov. 10th
Malachi's b-day on Nov. 23rd (his party is going to be on the 22nd I think)
Family in for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
John leaves for two weeks on the 30th for a Spanish Immersion trip in either Ecuador or Guatemala
Christmas
New Years
John's birthday
and then the birth!
I have a feeling that it'll be a very, very quick 17 weeks.
Wednesday I didn't do much because I was in extreme pain. It may have been the worst pain I've experienced since I got pregnant, it brought me to tears. Someone suggested on mamasource that the pain might be Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) and I got really scared of that after reading the wiki info about it.
I called the Dr's office on Thursday morning because I really didn't want to wait until my next check up to talk about it. The office assistant asked if I'd experienced any discharge (sorry to anyone who's reading this that doesn't want to read this kind of stuff, it comes with pregnancy). I told her that my bladder has been leaking but I didn't know if anything else was. A little while later, after discussing my symptoms with a Dr she called back and told me to make my way to the hospital. I brought Malachi to a friends house and drove my way there.
After some tests and discussion with the Dr on call he told me it's not SPD but rather Round Ligament pain, yay! Also, I do just have a leaky bladder (supper leaky compared to the last pregnancy). The Dr released me and the nurse gave me a great list of symptoms that should make me call the Dr's office. Now if I'm experiencing anything that's not on that list, I can just wait until my next appointment. I was home by lunch time, but I was exhausted. Even though I spent most of the time there laying down it was an emotionally exhausting experience and it drained me. I don't think I did much more that day.
Friday morning I dropped Malachi off again at the same house as the previous day and made my way to the prenatal echo cardiogram that I had scheduled. I went in with no fear and then was told by the Dr that when a mother has a heart defect (I have a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)) it increases the risk of the baby having one. I didn't know that! All of a sudden my fear level rose. The Dr assured me that any major complications could be seen on a sonogram at this far in the pregnancy. However, he saw that everything was developing perfectly! Everything was the size it should be and the vessels going into and out of the heart are the perfect size and working like they should be. Anything major looks to be ruled out! Praise God! Anything minor can still develop but the pediatrician should be able to catch it when he's born. This time I was done and home before 10am but it was still an emotional couple of days and I was exhausted again.
I did make an awesome dinner that night (Chicken St. Pierre, broccoli salad, crusty salad and garlic mashed potatoes) and had a good friend over for it. In fact Sam made the potatoes and they were awesome!! After Malachi went to bed I watched the season premiere of Ugly Betty and I watched Rachel Getting Married for the first time. That was a hard movie to watch. I'm glad I did, but I don't know if I'll ever watch it again.
Saturday and Sunday were rainy and kind of blah. We did make it to our Pastor's house on Saturday morning/afternoon for Apple Baking. I made Apple Dumplings with a friend and the other things made were: Apple Cider, Apple Sauce, Apple Cake, Apple Pancakes, Apple Pie, and pizza. It was a very delicious day!
Sunday was a normal day. Today I had mom's group. I really started wilting toward the end, but I'm really glad I went. I haven't been sleeping very well the last few days. I've been waking up a lot through out the night. Tomorrow I'll be 23 weeks pregnant. Which leaves 17 weeks of pregnancy which is so crazy! In those 17 weeks we have a ton going on:
Trip to Dallas on Nov. 5th
Anniversary on Nov. 10th
Malachi's b-day on Nov. 23rd (his party is going to be on the 22nd I think)
Family in for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
John leaves for two weeks on the 30th for a Spanish Immersion trip in either Ecuador or Guatemala
Christmas
New Years
John's birthday
and then the birth!
I have a feeling that it'll be a very, very quick 17 weeks.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
To Bounce or Not to Bounce
Yesterday after Malachi's nap we headed out west to Sport Bounce. It's a big warehouse full of different bounce houses. John found this place online and thought Malachi would like it.
We got there and Malachi was really excited. We payed his admission ($10 for the open bounce time - we were there for an hour of it) took off his and dad's shoes (parents bounce for free) and headed to the bounce houses. The only problem: Malachi didn't want to bounce.
He ran to the baby room, and when we told him it was a baby room, he then went to the lounge and tried to play Foosball but couldn't find a ball and I wasn't going to the front desk to get one.
Finally daddy got Malachi to play hide and seek with him on the bounce houses. They went through a couple this way and Malachi was a little unsure. Then after Malachi got into one and daddy found him he was encouraged to follow some kids. He followed them right through it and down the slide - which he enjoyed.
Bingo! The key to Malachi's enjoyment was found. He just needed to find some kids to play with. After a while he and a boy found each other and they played together for over half an hour. Malachi ended up doing every single one more than once and when we left and John asked which was his favorite he said the one with the water. There isn't any actual water, it's just decorated like a water slide. We were surprised by this answer because it was one of the biggest and he spent most of his time on another one. It was the last one he did though, so maybe that affected his answer.
Unfortunately we forgot the camera so we have no pictures of this fun time.
After that we made our way over to a mall that was nearby to get a little shopping done before dinner. I bought a book we're going through for Mom's Group, got a pair of pants and some shirts. John got a couple of shirts, and so did Malachi. My son bought Star Wars shirts. Yes people, he chose them. After that we headed to Red Robin to have some very delicious burgers and then headed home.
All in all it was about four hours, but after we were done I was completely exhausted and very sore. It's definitely too much for me to do. Before this pregnancy I could've done that and more. Man! I really didn't expect to be like this, this early.
We got there and Malachi was really excited. We payed his admission ($10 for the open bounce time - we were there for an hour of it) took off his and dad's shoes (parents bounce for free) and headed to the bounce houses. The only problem: Malachi didn't want to bounce.
He ran to the baby room, and when we told him it was a baby room, he then went to the lounge and tried to play Foosball but couldn't find a ball and I wasn't going to the front desk to get one.
Finally daddy got Malachi to play hide and seek with him on the bounce houses. They went through a couple this way and Malachi was a little unsure. Then after Malachi got into one and daddy found him he was encouraged to follow some kids. He followed them right through it and down the slide - which he enjoyed.
Bingo! The key to Malachi's enjoyment was found. He just needed to find some kids to play with. After a while he and a boy found each other and they played together for over half an hour. Malachi ended up doing every single one more than once and when we left and John asked which was his favorite he said the one with the water. There isn't any actual water, it's just decorated like a water slide. We were surprised by this answer because it was one of the biggest and he spent most of his time on another one. It was the last one he did though, so maybe that affected his answer.
Unfortunately we forgot the camera so we have no pictures of this fun time.
After that we made our way over to a mall that was nearby to get a little shopping done before dinner. I bought a book we're going through for Mom's Group, got a pair of pants and some shirts. John got a couple of shirts, and so did Malachi. My son bought Star Wars shirts. Yes people, he chose them. After that we headed to Red Robin to have some very delicious burgers and then headed home.
All in all it was about four hours, but after we were done I was completely exhausted and very sore. It's definitely too much for me to do. Before this pregnancy I could've done that and more. Man! I really didn't expect to be like this, this early.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Costa Rica and Baby Stuff
So, if you haven't read John's blog, then I'll tell you now. We're heading to San Jose, Costa Rica in May! Well...that's the plan, this is the Foreign Service...anything could happen.
John's doing well in Spanish, and I am so excited to live in Costa Rica again. I'm sure two years as an adult with a family is going to be very different from the three months as a young single girl just out of high school. But still, I'd like to re-connect with the friends I had back then.
Now I gotta work on getting my Spanish language skills going again. Until about three weeks ago I was the Spanish "expert" in the family because I had more experience. It really didn't take long for John to get enough of the language down where he is definitely now the family expert. Somehow I need to catch up.
I miss Team China from John's Orientation class, but I think there are a lot of fun/neat people heading to Mexico, Latin, and South America so it's fun to hang out with them and plan trips to see each other. Sorry Mexico people, but I wont be heading that way.
There's a ton to do to prepare for living there. There's also a ton to do to prepare for the new baby. One of those things is working with the State Department to get all of the baby stuff out of storage. Normally I would have to wait until we moved to C.R. to get it all out but since there's a baby on the way I should be able to get those items. However, I do think there are about four different departments I need to talk to in order to make this happen. I need to find out from John exactly what the process is so I can take care of it.
Our registry is mostly complete and is at Baby's R Us. It was a little hard doing that with out having gone through the stuff we already have, but some of the stuff I KNOW for sure we don't have, for instance, a glider. The one we registered for is so comfortable I may never get out of it. Some of the stuff I registered for is just for fun. I know we have enough clothes for two babies so I didn't register for any of that. I love registry stuff, and I can't wait for my shower in Dallas. The ladies that are throwing that for me are amazing. I'm so blessed that they're doing this for me.
Friday, October 9, 2009
2nd Pregnancy
So many things are different with this pregnancy from the last. I've heard so many people say that every pregnancy is different, and I didn't believe them. I especially didn't believe them in the first couple months of this pregnancy because it started out exactly the same as the last one. My morning sickness was exactly the same, the headaches are the same, and the excitement is the same.
However, the more this pregnancy progresses the more different it becomes. I've done a lot of whining lately. It's unfortunate for anyone who hasn't had a kid, and for my family. I have friends who I think I've scared from having children because of all the whining, it's too bad really.
I want to use this as an outlet instead of my mouth. Of course, this will reach many more people, but I think a lot of my readers are moms of more than one child and can understand and sympathize.
I had no idea coming into this pregnancy how hard it would be on my body. Only half way through my pregnancy and I'm so easily exhausted and really quite sore. Sleeping is very difficult because it's hard to get comfortable. Although, the last week has been a bit easier because I'm just so exhausted.
Doing chores is quite a...well...chore. I've decided that instead of doing everything at once and completely wearing myself out, I'm going to have to change my habits. I'm going to have to do laundry every two to three days so I can use my wheeled cart. Dishes are probably going to have to be loaded as closely to when they're used as possible instead of letting them pile up.
Also I think Malachi is going to be helping me a lot with picking up the apartment. He's really good at it, so he will be a big help. I've come up with a system to put all his toys from our room and the living room/dining room on a side table next to the hall. He knows prett well now, that when he sees toys there he needs to put them away. I wish I'd thought of this sooner. I'm so thankful that he's big enough to do a lot by himself. He's also pretty good at occupying himself. Bending is quite a hard thing lately, so I think he's going to be picking things up off the floor for me. Although, I am pretty skilled with my toes.
John has been a really big help the last few days. It was hard for him to understand why it's been so hard for me. In my last pregnancy I worked until I went to the hospital (I worked a full shift the day I went to the hospital), and I had a lot more energy. Some how, taking care of a four year old is harder than standing for 8-9 hours a day. After I explained to him that this pregnancy was so different, he's realized I really need a lot more help. I'm trying to not take advantage of him because his work is pretty stressful. He feels like he's under a lot of pressure to learn Spanish for our next post. I know though, that if I need him to do something, he's there for me. All I need to do is ask.
So, I think I'm done here. I hope I haven't scared anyone away from pregnancy. I know that it will all be worth it in must a few short months when I get to see the fruit of my labor.
However, the more this pregnancy progresses the more different it becomes. I've done a lot of whining lately. It's unfortunate for anyone who hasn't had a kid, and for my family. I have friends who I think I've scared from having children because of all the whining, it's too bad really.
I want to use this as an outlet instead of my mouth. Of course, this will reach many more people, but I think a lot of my readers are moms of more than one child and can understand and sympathize.
I had no idea coming into this pregnancy how hard it would be on my body. Only half way through my pregnancy and I'm so easily exhausted and really quite sore. Sleeping is very difficult because it's hard to get comfortable. Although, the last week has been a bit easier because I'm just so exhausted.
Doing chores is quite a...well...chore. I've decided that instead of doing everything at once and completely wearing myself out, I'm going to have to change my habits. I'm going to have to do laundry every two to three days so I can use my wheeled cart. Dishes are probably going to have to be loaded as closely to when they're used as possible instead of letting them pile up.
Also I think Malachi is going to be helping me a lot with picking up the apartment. He's really good at it, so he will be a big help. I've come up with a system to put all his toys from our room and the living room/dining room on a side table next to the hall. He knows prett well now, that when he sees toys there he needs to put them away. I wish I'd thought of this sooner. I'm so thankful that he's big enough to do a lot by himself. He's also pretty good at occupying himself. Bending is quite a hard thing lately, so I think he's going to be picking things up off the floor for me. Although, I am pretty skilled with my toes.
John has been a really big help the last few days. It was hard for him to understand why it's been so hard for me. In my last pregnancy I worked until I went to the hospital (I worked a full shift the day I went to the hospital), and I had a lot more energy. Some how, taking care of a four year old is harder than standing for 8-9 hours a day. After I explained to him that this pregnancy was so different, he's realized I really need a lot more help. I'm trying to not take advantage of him because his work is pretty stressful. He feels like he's under a lot of pressure to learn Spanish for our next post. I know though, that if I need him to do something, he's there for me. All I need to do is ask.
So, I think I'm done here. I hope I haven't scared anyone away from pregnancy. I know that it will all be worth it in must a few short months when I get to see the fruit of my labor.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Whew! Part 2
Saturday morning John went to the store to pick some things up and I cooked and cleaned. We were preparing for a visit from our friends from TX. The Salerno Family moved on the same weekend we did to a town two hours south of us. They got here around 12:30 and we went outside. The men grilled the hot dogs while the moms watched the kids play on the playgroung. Since hot dogs don't take too long to grill, the kids didn't get to play very long, but I honestly don't think they cared.
After lunch with them we hung out for a bit and then went back outside where everyone but the moms played tennis for a bit. My child and the youngest Salerno felt like coming in before everyone else, so I brought them in. The Roys and Salernos hung out for a few more hours and then they made the long treck home.
Saturday night it was John's turn to go to a movie with friends. I stayed home with the boy. The weekend had been so exhausting so I enjoyed just chilling the rest of the night. Malachi and I watched part of a move before he went to bed. John came home and we vegged the rest of the night 'til I fell asleep (around 10:30 - early, but so needed).
Sunday was normal I guess. Church, Chipotle, nap, Volleyball, and dinner. We had a lot of fun at dinner though because a bunch of us hung out at the grill. It was dark and a bit chilly, so I don't know how many more dinners will be out there. It's a nice area though, so it'll be nice to do it again in the spring.
Today was my first Life Group meeting for our church. I might have singed up for a few (Moms, Womens, Meals, Explore DC, and 2:42 (just eating and fellowshipping)). It sounds like a lot, but all of those are maybe once a month, except Moms which is every other week, and Meals is just on a need basis no meetings as far as I know.
So anyway, today I started the Mom's Group. There were a lot more people there than I expected. We had nine moms including me and the two leaders. Malachi was the second to oldest and there were a ton of babies and toddlers. We had a day mostly of just chatting, getting to know each other and then introductions. We're going to read The Power of the Praying Parent by Stormie O'Martian. I look forward to much insight into the power I have as a parent, and how to use it.
On tonights docket: shopping and dinner.
After lunch with them we hung out for a bit and then went back outside where everyone but the moms played tennis for a bit. My child and the youngest Salerno felt like coming in before everyone else, so I brought them in. The Roys and Salernos hung out for a few more hours and then they made the long treck home.
Saturday night it was John's turn to go to a movie with friends. I stayed home with the boy. The weekend had been so exhausting so I enjoyed just chilling the rest of the night. Malachi and I watched part of a move before he went to bed. John came home and we vegged the rest of the night 'til I fell asleep (around 10:30 - early, but so needed).
Sunday was normal I guess. Church, Chipotle, nap, Volleyball, and dinner. We had a lot of fun at dinner though because a bunch of us hung out at the grill. It was dark and a bit chilly, so I don't know how many more dinners will be out there. It's a nice area though, so it'll be nice to do it again in the spring.
Today was my first Life Group meeting for our church. I might have singed up for a few (Moms, Womens, Meals, Explore DC, and 2:42 (just eating and fellowshipping)). It sounds like a lot, but all of those are maybe once a month, except Moms which is every other week, and Meals is just on a need basis no meetings as far as I know.
So anyway, today I started the Mom's Group. There were a lot more people there than I expected. We had nine moms including me and the two leaders. Malachi was the second to oldest and there were a ton of babies and toddlers. We had a day mostly of just chatting, getting to know each other and then introductions. We're going to read The Power of the Praying Parent by Stormie O'Martian. I look forward to much insight into the power I have as a parent, and how to use it.
On tonights docket: shopping and dinner.
Whew! Part 1
What a weekend!
Malachi and I headed out to the car of Friday morning to go get his hair cut. After getting Malachi all strapped into the car and getting myself strapped into the car I tried starting the car - to no avail. The few days prior to that it would have a hard time starting and we thought it was due to the cold, even though it would get at least that cold (and colder) in TX.
I texted John and told him the problem, and he diagnosed it as a dead battery. I asked my wonderful neighbor Nicole if she could jump my car. Thankfully she had jumper cables and the time to jump our car.
Malachi and I made our way to the nearest National Tire & Battery. After checking us in the guy said that it would be about a 30-45 minute wait for our car. I asked if there was anything within walking distance of interest to a four year old (it's simpler to say that instead of three and four quarters year old). Another employee responded saying there was a Starbucks down the road and around the corner. Perfect! Malachi loves going to Starbucks and getting chocolate milk.
Either I didn't understand the directions or he miss-spoke. Either way, the way I went didn't work. I could see a major road from where I ended up, so I just headed that way. I ended up finding a Starbucks in a strip mall and I was so happy because I had dissapointed said three and four quarters year old with the news that I couldn't find the Starbucks. We got a very healthy lunch there consisting of fruit, salad, chocolate milk (for the boy) and fruit juice (for the mommy and baby). By the time we got there and sat down we had been walking for over half an hour, and had gone about a mile. It was quite exhausting for both of us.
After we ate Malachi said he wanted to go to a store. So we stopped in TJ Maxx and got him three outfits for winter and Malachi picked out a onsie for baby brother. I really love the idea of him buying clothes for his brother (he's done it twice now). I think it'll help him to grow love for him (hmm this could get confusing). After that we walked all the way back to the car shop. Did I mention that half the way is uphill and half the way is down? No?! Well it is...and it's very tiring for both of us. I guess I got good exercise.
After getting back to the store and waiting 10 minutes for anyone to come to the front room to help me, we hopped into the car and finally headed out to get his hair cut. It was WAAAAAAY past nap time by this point and I was starting to see signs of Malachi being tired, so I tried (successfully) to keep him awake on the way to the kids salon. After getting his hair cut, no wait - thank you God, we finally headed home. By this point we had been out for over three and a half hours. Everyone was very tired from the days events.
We got home and Malachi went down for a nap. It was so late into the afternoon that I knew John would be calling after work and I didn't want to go to sleep to be woken up. I also didn't want to put the phone on silent and miss a call in case he got news of where we were being posted. He called promptly at 4:30 and informed me of our next posting. Saddly we're sworn to secrecy (which we've mostly been keeping) because we "stole" the post from the new class. Things like that happen all the time, and they've surely been notified of the change already, but apparently our CDO doesn't want the class to find out who stole it until after Flag Day. What ever. We can share our posting with the cyber world Friday evening (their Flag Day is Friday).
That night I went out to a movie with some girlfriends. We went and saw Whip It. We had a really good time and we all enjoyed the movie. After that I was so wipped out from the day that I watched two Grey's Anatomy episodes and then went to bed.
I have to get ready for my first Mom's Group for church. I'm excited for Malachi and I to meet some new friends. In fact I have to leave in half an hour so I really need to get moving. I'll try my best to do the rest of the weekend later today.
Malachi and I headed out to the car of Friday morning to go get his hair cut. After getting Malachi all strapped into the car and getting myself strapped into the car I tried starting the car - to no avail. The few days prior to that it would have a hard time starting and we thought it was due to the cold, even though it would get at least that cold (and colder) in TX.
I texted John and told him the problem, and he diagnosed it as a dead battery. I asked my wonderful neighbor Nicole if she could jump my car. Thankfully she had jumper cables and the time to jump our car.
Malachi and I made our way to the nearest National Tire & Battery. After checking us in the guy said that it would be about a 30-45 minute wait for our car. I asked if there was anything within walking distance of interest to a four year old (it's simpler to say that instead of three and four quarters year old). Another employee responded saying there was a Starbucks down the road and around the corner. Perfect! Malachi loves going to Starbucks and getting chocolate milk.
Either I didn't understand the directions or he miss-spoke. Either way, the way I went didn't work. I could see a major road from where I ended up, so I just headed that way. I ended up finding a Starbucks in a strip mall and I was so happy because I had dissapointed said three and four quarters year old with the news that I couldn't find the Starbucks. We got a very healthy lunch there consisting of fruit, salad, chocolate milk (for the boy) and fruit juice (for the mommy and baby). By the time we got there and sat down we had been walking for over half an hour, and had gone about a mile. It was quite exhausting for both of us.
After we ate Malachi said he wanted to go to a store. So we stopped in TJ Maxx and got him three outfits for winter and Malachi picked out a onsie for baby brother. I really love the idea of him buying clothes for his brother (he's done it twice now). I think it'll help him to grow love for him (hmm this could get confusing). After that we walked all the way back to the car shop. Did I mention that half the way is uphill and half the way is down? No?! Well it is...and it's very tiring for both of us. I guess I got good exercise.
After getting back to the store and waiting 10 minutes for anyone to come to the front room to help me, we hopped into the car and finally headed out to get his hair cut. It was WAAAAAAY past nap time by this point and I was starting to see signs of Malachi being tired, so I tried (successfully) to keep him awake on the way to the kids salon. After getting his hair cut, no wait - thank you God, we finally headed home. By this point we had been out for over three and a half hours. Everyone was very tired from the days events.
We got home and Malachi went down for a nap. It was so late into the afternoon that I knew John would be calling after work and I didn't want to go to sleep to be woken up. I also didn't want to put the phone on silent and miss a call in case he got news of where we were being posted. He called promptly at 4:30 and informed me of our next posting. Saddly we're sworn to secrecy (which we've mostly been keeping) because we "stole" the post from the new class. Things like that happen all the time, and they've surely been notified of the change already, but apparently our CDO doesn't want the class to find out who stole it until after Flag Day. What ever. We can share our posting with the cyber world Friday evening (their Flag Day is Friday).
That night I went out to a movie with some girlfriends. We went and saw Whip It. We had a really good time and we all enjoyed the movie. After that I was so wipped out from the day that I watched two Grey's Anatomy episodes and then went to bed.
I have to get ready for my first Mom's Group for church. I'm excited for Malachi and I to meet some new friends. In fact I have to leave in half an hour so I really need to get moving. I'll try my best to do the rest of the weekend later today.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
20 Week Picture
I think I figured out the issue and fixed it. Here's the picture, sorry it's a couple days late.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
20 Weeks
I'm 20 weeks along now and I'm very excited to be half way (or more) through my pregnancy. I'm definitely starting to feel pregnant. My belly is getting in the way of doing things like bending over, reaching up, or breathing.
I look very pregnant with out a shirt on, but when I have clothes on the belly seems to hide. I'm still telling people that I'm pregnant and getting a very surprised response. I guess that's flattering. During this pregnancy I have been very, very active so I've actually lost a lot of fat. My legs and arms are a lot thinner, and my calves are more muscular.
I have my 20 Week check-up but I wont have any pictures taken. I guess I'll hear the heart beat, yay! I do love that!!
I was going to try to post a picture but it would be sideways because for some reason I don't have the "authority" to turn it 45 degrees. Maybe next week.
I look very pregnant with out a shirt on, but when I have clothes on the belly seems to hide. I'm still telling people that I'm pregnant and getting a very surprised response. I guess that's flattering. During this pregnancy I have been very, very active so I've actually lost a lot of fat. My legs and arms are a lot thinner, and my calves are more muscular.
I have my 20 Week check-up but I wont have any pictures taken. I guess I'll hear the heart beat, yay! I do love that!!
I was going to try to post a picture but it would be sideways because for some reason I don't have the "authority" to turn it 45 degrees. Maybe next week.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Weekend
We've had a great weekend. John mentioned to a friend tonight that it felt long, and I think I have to agree. I'm coming to a point in my pregnancy where doing almost anytihng is pretty exhausting. John let me sleep in on Saturday morning and I still couldn't sleep past 8:30. We got ready shortly after that and headed to a movie. We saw Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. We really enjoyed this movie. We didn't know if Malachi would like the 3-D experience, but we never had to leave. After that we had lunch at the mall and then Malachi played in their play place while John watched and I shopped. I got a pair of jeans and two shirts at Motherhood Maternity. I also picked up a little dinosaur and some wrapping things for a friend that we were going to see. Our friend had a baby two and a half weeks ago and we had to go see him, and them of course. :) He was so little and so cute. We really loved seeing their family. We've known the mommy since second semester at CFNI and we really love her and by extention her family. It also gave us an excitment for our little one to come in February.
Saturday night we chilled at home. Today we had church in the morning. Afterwards we made our weekly trip to Chipotle. Malachi and I napped at home while John went out to buy a power supply for the computer because we thought it blew. After getting home and putting it in, it looks like that's not the reason our desk top isn't working. John's new theory is that the motherboard blew. At any rate, we're down to one computer, which can be annnoying some times.
John played Volleyball today with some people from his class and the class right after. After that John made a delicious dinner of dumplings and Pad Thai. A relaxing night with our friend Sam and then TV. Now that I write about it, it sounds like a typical weekend, and I wonder why anyone would wanna read this. Oh well.
No news yet about where we're heading. Trust me, as soon as we know something y'all will hear about it.
Saturday night we chilled at home. Today we had church in the morning. Afterwards we made our weekly trip to Chipotle. Malachi and I napped at home while John went out to buy a power supply for the computer because we thought it blew. After getting home and putting it in, it looks like that's not the reason our desk top isn't working. John's new theory is that the motherboard blew. At any rate, we're down to one computer, which can be annnoying some times.
John played Volleyball today with some people from his class and the class right after. After that John made a delicious dinner of dumplings and Pad Thai. A relaxing night with our friend Sam and then TV. Now that I write about it, it sounds like a typical weekend, and I wonder why anyone would wanna read this. Oh well.
No news yet about where we're heading. Trust me, as soon as we know something y'all will hear about it.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
230th Post
I'm going to post some recent pictures and thought that I should mention this is my 230th post. I didn't keep track until a few ago and thought that mentioning the 223rd might be weird. :) So for your enjoyment, some recent pictures!
Malachi and our friend's dog Oosha:
Mommy and Malachi chillin in the car waiting for daddy:
Malachi being awesome:
Photography by Malachi:
Malachi and our friend's dog Oosha:
Mommy and Malachi chillin in the car waiting for daddy:
Malachi being awesome:
Photography by Malachi:
HA!
I was going to blog this morning just because I thought I should. Just as the blank blog page was pulling up I got a text. I figured it couldn't be John saying we got a bid list because he said he would call if we did. The text read: bid list received. After jumping and cheering and running into Malachi's room to jump and cheer (he ignored me and kept his eyes on the TV (by the way, I think we may never do a TV in his room again)) I called him.
We talked about what's on the list (13 posts). I'll let John blog about the specifics, but we're very happy about some, and very scared about the others.
We talked about what's on the list (13 posts). I'll let John blog about the specifics, but we're very happy about some, and very scared about the others.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sigh
I've been pretty silent about this subject on my blog so far, but I need release.
John was taken out of Mandarin training and thrown into Spanish training the day before the language training started because of Malachi's clearance. No China for us. Right now with Malachi having a level two clearance the Medical Department (MED) here has to make sure that where ever we go has an ER and a Neurologist. So, John's Career Development Officer (CDO) sent a list of post ideas to MED to check out. As far as we know the CDO is still waiting. Once she gets word on all the posts she'll put together a bid list for us. Very similar to the one that we worked on before, except much shorter. So basically right now we're just waiting for the bid list. We're very anxiously waiting for it. It's possible that there are some really nice English Speaking posts on it (Sydney, Geneva, Johannesburg). We're trying to not get to excited about those posts. If we get Sydney (which we asked specifically about because there's a post open there and on the list for the 148th class) we'd be in the R&R spot for Eastern Asia. That would mean that Team China, which we're very sad that we're not a part of anymore, would be coming to see us.
So now we're just waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. We were hoping to get the bid list Friday, then we were hoping to get it today. Now I don't know. Maybe I should just stop hoping. I've been getting lots of "encouraging" notes from people. For some reason I don't want to hear it. Sigh.
John was taken out of Mandarin training and thrown into Spanish training the day before the language training started because of Malachi's clearance. No China for us. Right now with Malachi having a level two clearance the Medical Department (MED) here has to make sure that where ever we go has an ER and a Neurologist. So, John's Career Development Officer (CDO) sent a list of post ideas to MED to check out. As far as we know the CDO is still waiting. Once she gets word on all the posts she'll put together a bid list for us. Very similar to the one that we worked on before, except much shorter. So basically right now we're just waiting for the bid list. We're very anxiously waiting for it. It's possible that there are some really nice English Speaking posts on it (Sydney, Geneva, Johannesburg). We're trying to not get to excited about those posts. If we get Sydney (which we asked specifically about because there's a post open there and on the list for the 148th class) we'd be in the R&R spot for Eastern Asia. That would mean that Team China, which we're very sad that we're not a part of anymore, would be coming to see us.
So now we're just waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. We were hoping to get the bid list Friday, then we were hoping to get it today. Now I don't know. Maybe I should just stop hoping. I've been getting lots of "encouraging" notes from people. For some reason I don't want to hear it. Sigh.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Pardon the Language
I'm so sick of the damn cold.
Obviously I thought it was over with a few days ago, boy was I wrong. It really is a weird cold. When I'm sitting my nose gets stuffy, when I'm up and moving around my nose is clear. It has moved to my chest now and I'm coughing quite a bit. It's a productive cough - but a lot of the time, I can't cough anything up because we've been so busy and out this weekend. John's parents were in town and yesterday we went to see the Arlington National Cemetary and the Pentagon Memorial. I think we walked around for about three hours. By the time we were done I was cramping and crazy sore. I think I know now that it's way to much for me to do things like that anymore. If people come to visit I'll go on short trips and John can take you to the big stuff.
Today was church, then lunch, then toy shopping for the boy, then home to nap. Now we're making dinner. mmm...Grilled Chicken, homemade potato salad, and corn on the cob.
Obviously I thought it was over with a few days ago, boy was I wrong. It really is a weird cold. When I'm sitting my nose gets stuffy, when I'm up and moving around my nose is clear. It has moved to my chest now and I'm coughing quite a bit. It's a productive cough - but a lot of the time, I can't cough anything up because we've been so busy and out this weekend. John's parents were in town and yesterday we went to see the Arlington National Cemetary and the Pentagon Memorial. I think we walked around for about three hours. By the time we were done I was cramping and crazy sore. I think I know now that it's way to much for me to do things like that anymore. If people come to visit I'll go on short trips and John can take you to the big stuff.
Today was church, then lunch, then toy shopping for the boy, then home to nap. Now we're making dinner. mmm...Grilled Chicken, homemade potato salad, and corn on the cob.
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