Don't Get Me Sick

Everyone at my office is sick.  Even Phil was sick last week.

There are maybe 3 of us in the office that are not.

I hesitate to say this... but I am currently not sick.  Oh man it needs to stay that way.

I think it is partially because I am sucking down fluids like it's my second job, eating more vitamin C than my body could possibly need, and going to bed at like 9 every night.  And my excessive water drinking makes me go to the bathroom almost hourly, meaning my hands get washed A TON.

But I am starting to wonder if I should just be working from home.  Since all the sick people who should be home being sick are at work being sick, maybe that means the healthy people should be home?  I don't know, the logic makes sense to me.

It is a constant symphony of coughing, sneezing and sniffling around here.  I'm almost afraid to take deep breaths.  My cubemate has a cough that sounds like Gollum.  At least every minute, one of our drafters starts hacking up a lung.  My boss sneezes like 6 times in a row.  All of their kids are sick with Influenza B and have been passing it around to each other.  It's like a cesspool of viruses.

The other day, some of my coworkers opened up a bag of chips and a jar of salsa and offered to share it with me.  Thanks but no thanks.  I'm staying 5 feet away from communal areas for the next 2 weeks.

Who am I kidding... the only reason I decided to not work from home today was because we are getting Padington's Pizza for lunch today (individual ones.  There's no way I'm sharing communal food with these people right now).  And I can almost NEVER turn down Padington's.

In case you aren't blessed to know what Padington's looks like, here it is:

Tell me that not worth risking illness for.

They're In Love

So far in their relationship, Taylor has just tolerated Cotton.

Sure she will play with him from time to time.  When the mood strikes her.  But overall, she just does her best to put up with him.

Last week, she went through a few days where she was just being a real bitch.  Every time he'd come close to her, she'd immediately snap and bark at him.  The poor guy could barely get a cuddle session in to save his life.  And we all know what playing hard to get does to the boys... makes 'em try even harder.

And try he sure did.

We were starting to get worried she might actually do some damage to the poor guy.

And then Saturday morning rolled around.  We had the whole gang on the bed for a little cuddle session (since Phil spent the day painting and I spent it sewing, we knew they needed some love) and Cotton, of course, made his move over towards Taylor.  Phil and I were a little nervous because we knew any potential fight between these two would most likely result in bodily harm to one or both of us (ever have a 40 pound job suddenly jump on you?  It doesn't feel great).

Cotton slowly army crawled over to her and began licking her ears.  Profusely.  Usually Taylor, looks totally disgusted when he starts doing this.  But this time, she kind of laid her head back and started kind of purring from her chest.  I'm pretty sure she even closed her eyes at one point.  When he stopped for a couple of seconds, she lifted her head and very gently licked his nose.

This kind of affection is unheard of.

She then laid her head back down as he put his head on her chest, and they cuddled.

I think their relationship might be going to the next level, if you catch my drift.

Not sure how I feel about this...

3rd Trimester!

As of Saturday, we are officially in the 3rd trimester!!

I'm so excited to be in the "home stretch" but it also feels like 12 weeks is still a long time.  I know it isn't and that May will be here before we know it.  I'm just so excited to meet our little man!  On the same note, I don't want him to come out a single day before he's supposed to.  He can stay in there and get nice and strong as long as he needs.

We had a doctor's appointment on Friday and found out that the little guy is already head down.  Such a good baby already.  I guess it is normal for babies to get themselves into position between 24 and 28 weeks.  And my doctor said he isn't likely to flip.  And once she pointed out the location of his head and how low it was, she definitely thought he wasn't likely to flip.  He's WAY low and using my bladder as a pillow.

The other thing we discussed at the appointment is the fact that I retain water like a champion.  Apparently she had noticed her patients with thyroid disorders have a problem with water retention.  I noticed a problem with water retention way before I got pregnant, so I can believe it.  However, since it took more than 3 liters of water to stay not bloated before I was pregnant, I'm not sure how much it will take now that I am.  I'm also not sure how many trips to the bathroom that will cause.

My excellent water retention has made me not that excited to take any pictures of myself.  But I decided I should probably put another one up since it has been a while.  This was the best I could do last week:

It takes a lot of concentration sometimes.  Plus that particular bra has officially given up it's will to live.

I'm so excited we only have 3 months left.  Overall, this pregnancy really hasn't been that bad.  Sure, I have some aches and pains.  But really isn't hasn't been anything out of the ordinary (I think).

12 weeks left!

Belly Dancing

For some reason, Baby Janney decided he wanted to have a dance party at work.  I didn't object.  His kicks aren't uncomfortable and I like to think that he's doing his best to let his momma know that he's healthy and just trying to say hello.

Throughout the day, I try to let Phil know just how active his little boy is being.  I know he likes these updates.  And so when the little man started getting crazy, I decided he needed to witness the action firsthand.

Please excuse the dog hair on my shirt.  There seems to be dog hair on absolutely everything I own (stupid puppy coat just won't finish falling out).  And ignore my coworkers in the background.

Belly Dancing from Natalie Janney on Vimeo.

12 and a half weeks still to go.  Things are going to get real crazy when he gets even bigger.

Braxton

Not my favorite Braxton:

{Seriously, that kid gets me every time.  Too bad he could care LESS about me.  

He does, however, LOVE Phil.  Everyone does}

I'm talking Braxton Hicks.

Those things SUCK.

I had a pretty rough weekend when it comes to eating and drinking water.

As in, I didn't do much of either.  Don't get me wrong, I did still eat.  But it definitely wasn't enough.  Which is pretty bad.  I'm a little shocked that I didn't end up passing out, but whatever.  It must be because one of the few things I did manage to eat was Skittles (cause I was sewing and I like to eat Skittles while I sew).

Anywho... I honestly think it all stems from my time on the Low Iodine Diet.  It doesn't take long on that diet before you lose your will to eat.  And I think it trained my body to shut off my appetite if I go more than a few hours without food.  I won't be hungry and nothing even remotely sounds appealing.  It would make for a great weight loss diet, but that isn't exactly something I'm looking for these days.

Ironically, Thursday and Friday I spent doing nothing but eating.  Seriously... I couldn't get enough food.  I think it was starting to scare Phil.  He'd never seen me eat that much before.

Well my binge eating lead to some pretty awesome dehydration.

Cue Braxton Hicks contractions.

Constantly... all day yesterday.  It didn't matter if I was sitting, reclining, laying down, on my side, standing up, walking around... They were constant and not too comfortable.  I really didn't appreciate them.

So I spent most of the day chugging water.  Then I decided I should probably do my best to relax last night. And what better way to relax than with a bubble bath.

Couple of problems with the bubble bath:
1) Our bath tub is clogged and has been for like a year.  It takes FOREVER to drain and that means that like a day after I clean it, it is dirty again.
2)  Our bath tub SUCKS for baths.  It's maybe 10 inches deep.  I'm not even exaggerating.  So by the time I  get it filled up, I have to practically lay down in the tub (cause that's safe) in order to get my body covered.  But yeah... my body still wasn't covered.  My knees, belly, and boobs were all completely out of the water and bubbles as I did my best to lay in the tub and not drown.  This also put my neck at close to a 90 degree angle.  Comfort abounded.
3)  The hot water heater doesn't really allow for enough hot water to fill the tub.  This only makes the above mentioned point all the more exaggerated.

But I did it anyway.  And since I was fairly unrelaxed when I got into the tub, I'd say it was successful in relaxing me a little.

So far, I've only had a few Braxton Hicks.  And I'm pounding water like it's my job.  Lesson learned... dehydration is NOT fun.

Ants

{This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I figured it needed a picture 

and I think it is funny that Cotton thinks he is a cat}

They are EVERYWHERE.

All over my desk.  No joke, I have probably already killed at least 50 of them and the day isn't even half over.

During the last week, my desk has become infested with tiny little ants.  I'm told it is because my desk is next to an exterior building wall.  I know it isn't because I keep food on my desk, because I don't.

I hate ants.  Actually I hate ALL bugs.  You get Lyme Disease, then horrible spider bites that turn into months of rashes that require steroids to go away, and then another spider bite that turns into a pseudolymphoma that had to be surgically excised and we will see how you feel about bugs.  Even though I know ants are fairly benign, the idea of something small, creepy, and crawly on me makes me want to vomit... A LOT.

I didn't used to be so afraid of bugs.  I prided myself on being fairly independent and able to kill all my own spiders.  Now the sight of a spider makes me want to cry.  I'm not exaggerating.  Remember... LYME DISEASE (which isn't from spiders, but whatever).

If I find an ant on me at any point during the day, I'm going to have to throw a monster size tantrum and go home.

It doesn't help that I have a massive case of the Mondays.  I'm partially bitter because it is a federal holiday and I am working.  I get like this every paid holiday teachers and state/federal workers have that I do not.  One of the joys of working in the private sector.

I also blame my case of the Mondays on the fact that I was up late last night.  We had our Bradley class which included a rather lively discussion about vaccines.  Second to the conversation on circumcision, this was the most riled up the class has gotten.  I was pretty proud of Phil for keeping quiet during the whole discussion.  Being that he is studying toxicology, he knows more about vaccines that I ever care to know.  The conversation got a little one-sided and not fact based, but Phil managed to not say anything which is always best in those situations.  Those are debates you never end up winning.

Anyway, after that class (aka hippy natural birthing class) we went to dinner at a very yummy little restaurant (which also happened to be vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly aka hippy restaurant).  And because we were feeling a little too granola-ish, we stopped at Wal-Mart.  Walking contradictions.

I must admit, I hate Wal-Mart.  My inner cheapskate fights with my inner hippy every time I go in there.  But we needed something that we could ONLY get at Wal-Mart so it was a necessity.

Anyway... the moral of the story is that we got home late and then it took me a while to wind down and relax for the evening which means I'm tired.

And NO ONE is still reading this because it is the longest rambling post about nothing ever so I will just stop.  At least the Bachelor is on tonight.  :)

I Wish I Knew

The other day, I was flipping through some old photos on my phone and I was surprised by my own reaction to several of the pictures.

It wasn't that the photos were provocative or anything, but looking at these pictures took me back to that time.  And suddenly I remembered exactly what was going on at that moment and what I was feeling when that picture was taken.

Our Wedding Day

I was so excited to be marrying my best friend.  It was the best decision I could have ever made.


Our First Anniversary (2011) - Snoqualmie

We had just recently gotten some fertility test results back and they weren't exactly what they were supposed to be.  It took probably a month and half after we got those results for us to be able to talk about them with each other without tears being involved.  We hadn't started looking into fertility stuff yet, but we had decided we would start.  It was a lovely trip.  A chance to rest and spend some much needed time together.  But there was definitely a somber vibe.


August 2011 - Tegan's Wedding, State Fair, Family Camping Trip

We had picked a fertility clinic, but they didn't want us to start anything until we had my thyroid nodules figured out.  I was so scared that my nodules would be cancer, but I would have to wait until the end of the month to see an endocrinologist (gotta love specialists).  I basically spent the whole month terrified and counting down the days until my appointment.


Gorge Half Marathon

We tried to live life, waiting for my biopsy that would be about a week or so later.  In reality, my biopsy ended up being like 3 weeks later, after about 3 more attempts to get it scheduled and my doctor in her office.  You would think if they suspect you had cancer, you would get answers quickly.  I didn't know that it didn't always work like that.



Honestly, I don't have a ton of pictures from 2012.  I spent most of it just trying to get through whatever came next.  But it was a reminder of just how much Phil and I have been through.  And to look at those pictures and remember those feelings now, knowing that I currently show no signs of having cancer and am expecting our baby boy in just over a few months... I wish I had known then that things were going to work out.

I need to remember that.  I know we will be faced with more trials and struggles in the future, but we will get through those too.  And being scared isn't going to help at all.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Since Taylor was adopted, Phil never really knew her actual birth date.  He did, however, know her approximate age.  So he decided that her birthday would be Valentine's Day.

Happy Birthday to our "favorite" (since she is so much better behaved than Cotton).  She's 6 years old.

She's the best dog we could ask for.  She knows exactly where to go when we ask, is happy to see you but also gives us space, is playful but not high maintenance, and is so well behaved that we almost never have to worry about her behavior.

She's actually such a good dog that people keep offering to take her from us.

Happy Birthday pretty girl!

Here's to many MANY more birthdays (cause I have forbidden her to ever die.  I'll be an absolute mess).

Valentine's Day

Usually, I hate Valentine's Day.  It's partially because it never turned out the way movies and television told me it should.  And it is partially because my birthday is so close to it, that I have ALWAYS gotten the "combined" Valentine's Day/Birthday gift.

Combined event gifts suck, amiright?

Anyway... This year, I'm excited for Valentine's Day.  Why is this, you ask?  I will tell you why...

{Confession... I don't care to receive flowers anymore.  Some very kind people were nice enough to send me flowers when I first got cancer and when I had surgeries, but I found it really depressing when they died. Probably because I was so scared of dying.  I didn't care for the symbolism.  I know...I'm weird.}

Low expectations.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about Phil.  Despite years of me telling him that I didn't want to celebrate Valentine's Day, he has always done something nice for me anyway.  The low expectations are ENTIRELY related to last year's Valentine's Day.

In case you want a refresher, here's the recap of last Valentine's Day.  And here's the post that qualified as my husband's gift.

So I'm thinking most things will trump having surgery and spending the evening in pain because the nurse never did get my anti-nausea pain so I could take my Vicodin.  Or almost throwing up from morphine (which would have really hurt the fresh neck wound).  Pretty sure.  Not that I didn't love getting to spend time with my parents, nephew, husband, and Rikkie (who came to visit me in the hospital), because that was great.  And I definitely felt loved.  But since I won't have to re-open my neck scar this year, I'm a happy camper.

Everyone asks if we have big plans for our Valentine's Day.  And we don't.  I think we will stay home, make Taco Salads, watching DVR'd episodes of Chopped, have some kind of chocolate dessert while playing with our pups and feeling our baby move.

Those plans kick last year's plans' ass.  Just another reminder of how far we've come in the last year.

Come to think of it... I can't think of anything I'd rather do for Valentine's Day.  :)

Pregnancy Brain

I've heard about pregnancy brain, but really hadn't had any experience with it.  I was starting to think that maybe I would get through the whole pregnancy without getting forgetful.

I mean, I had my moments of walking into a room and forgetting why I had gone there.  But it wasn't really anything crazy.

Then this morning, I scurry out the door to head to the office.  I was running a little behind, so I needed to get going.  I put my phone in my coat pocket.  I even remembered to grab my bluetooth (stupid Oregon hands-free law).  I picked up my lunch, said good bye to Phil and the dogs and got in the car.

I got to work, just a few minutes late when I realized that I forgot to finish putting my make-up on.  I had managed to put on my eye make-up, but totally forget foundation, powder, etc.  Not sure how that happened, since I have a pretty well developed routine.  Whatever, I thought to myself.  I'll just put on some of the powder I have in my purse.

I walked to my desk and reached for my purse to put my keys away when I realized... I didn't have my purse.  And it wasn't that I forgot it in the car.  I forgot it at home.  How the heck did I walk off and forget my purse?

I guess I officially had a pregnancy brain morning.  At least I remembered the REALLY important things like putting on pants.

If it makes you feel any better, I am spending the day designing buildings.  No big deal.  Don't worry... I always check things like three times.

Iron Tablets

Oh geez... I can't really explain how frustrated I have been over the last few days over iron tablets.

I had my glucose test Wednesday which meant they also checked me for anemia.

Here's what I will say about the glucose test... it really wasn't that big of a deal.  As someone who has had stomach tests done in the past (aka I've had to swallow barium), swallowed radioactive iodine, and been on the stupid low-iodine diet, drinking the glucose didn't bother me.  More than anything, the volume and time limit were difficult.

I passed my glucose test (cue sigh of relief).

But I'm anemic.  And that really wasn't a shock to me.  I tested anemic at my first appointment and have been taking special iron-laced prenatals ever since.  Plus, I've been REALLY tired.  I'm sure I have alluded to it a little on the blog, but for the most part I have tried my best to not complain too much.

When we were struggling to get pregnant and then forced to put baby plans on hold, I really struggled reading other women complain about their pregnancy symptoms.  Honestly, I still REALLY struggle hearing pregnant women complain.  I want to reach through the computer screen, grab them and yell, "You're so lucky to be pregnant!!  Stop complaining!!"  I know pregnancy isn't always comfortable and some women have it worse than others.  But all the aches and pains are so worth it.  This pregnancy and baby have been such a blessing and awakening for Phil and I.  So I do my best to not complain too much.

But I won't lie... I've been REALLY tired.  I knew it couldn't be normal pregnancy exhaustion.  It had to be thyroid/anemia related.

So I was kind of relieved when they called Thursday to tell me I was anemic and that they had sent in a prescription for some iron tablets.  I was ready to start taking them IMMEDIATELY since I knew that meant I would feel better soon-ish.

However, these iron pills are apparently like gold.  And they are more than impossible to get filled.  I've been running back and forth between pharmacies to try and get it filled.  I literally want to burst into tears.  I feel like they are holding these dang things hostage... my ticket to feeling better.

Cross your fingers I get my iron tablets soon.  Or I may cry.  Baby Janney wants his red blood cells.

Phil now understands why I stock-pile my thyroid pills.  I refuse to go a single day without one of those bad boys.

Nursery Checklist

I think nesting has officially kicked in.  Now that the nursery is cleaned out, I REALLY want to get it put together.  Here's a list of the things I want to get done for the nursery.


Nursery To-Do List:

-  Clean out Nursery

-  Put furniture on Craig's List

-  Pick Nursery color

-  Paint Nursery

-  Put together nursery furniture

-  Make Baby's Quilt

-  Make Chenille Baby Blanket

-  Crochet baby booties

-  Make Mobile

-  Crochet baby hat

-  Make cover for cradle pad

-  Make Car Seat Cover


My goal is to get most of this list done before my baby shower in the beginning of March.  I figure, at that point I will be 31 weeks and don't need to be spending time hunched over my sewing machine.  And since we don't have Sunday to do much of anything, this pretty much means you'll find me in the sewing room during all my free time.

There are a few projects I still want to get done after the baby shower, like making some wall art and hanging things up on the walls, etc.  But I figure those things will be more manageable when I am a little... bigger.

I just need to make sure I fit in time for my husband, pups, and sleeping at the same time (and cooking, cleaning, and laundry).  No big deal.


PROGRESS REPORT:
Phil painted the samples on the walls Monday night.  After looking at them at night and with sunlight, I am 95% sure we have picked a paint color.

The baby quilt is ALMOST done!  So so close.  All it will take to finish it is one evening with enough energy to concentrate and I think I can finish it.  I'm not super in love with it, but Phil is.

I bought a few patterns for the baby booties and have kind of muddled my way through each of them.  Then I tried them on my cousin's 3 month old and discovered they were TOO SMALL.  I'm so glad I know that before I made a bunch of them.  Looks like I will be making the next size up.

Cuddly Puppy

Cleaning was tough for Cotton.

He wanted to be right in the thick of things, which was really inconvenient.  So he took it pretty hard when we put the baby gate up to keep him away from the nursery.  And he took it even harder when he had to be locked in his crate so we could make multiple trips with furniture up and down the stairs.

He didn't get his cuddles in.  And he decided at 3 AM on Sunday morning that he needed his cuddles.  It didn't go over well.

He's not getting on the bed to cuddle at 3 in the morning.  Not happening.

But he took full advantage of our morning cuddling at 7 AM.

I can't remember the last time he was so cuddly.  He ran over to my pillow, curled up, rested his head across my neck, and slept that way for at least 30 minutes.

It melted my heart.

And I realized while we were cuddling that if my puppy can make my heart melt this much, I'm going to turn to goo when our little boy is here.  Absolute goo.

Almost Nursery

Saturday, we tackled what was our extra bedroom and what will now be the nursery.

You know how when you have an extra room in your house, it tends to just collect... everything?  Our extra bedroom was the definition of a crap room.  As I mentioned on Friday, we have been using the extra bedroom as almost a walk-in closet.  It had all of our suitcases, an extra dresser and armoire, my grandma's vanity, and some extra furniture we hadn't gotten a chance to get rid of.

When we found out I was pregnant, we knew that room would be the nursery, so we started staging the room knowing it was getting a major overhaul.  We started piling up things to get rid of and collecting baby stuff in there.

It was bad.  I'll just show you.

Saturday it was time to bite the bullet and clean it out.

Now, we could have done it over the course of a couple of days... taken our time... relaxed a bit.

But that's not how I roll.  Call it nesting or the fact that we don't really have Sundays until April, but I needed it to be done and I needed it to be done right away.

It took about 6 hours of constant work, with very few breaks.  But it looks AMAZING!

My dad made the cradle for me when I was a baby.  So now we will use it for our babies.  It will go in our bedroom and he'll really only be able to be in it for a few months.  The little table will go next to the glider when we move that up there.

In case you were wondering, we got rid of 11 bags of stuff.

7 bags of clothes

1 bag of books and VHS

Some picture frames

1 old TV

1 old DVD player to Goodwill

3 bags of garbage

And the other miraculous thing... the rest of the house is clean too.  Phil made sure the garage is organized, the office is still clean, the living room is picked up.

I think nesting is kicking in.

PS - I could barely move the rest of the day Saturday and Sunday.

Walk-in Closet/Nursery

I'm so excited today is Friday.  And that it is February 1st.  Not only does that mean that January is over, but it is my gorgeous best friend's birthday.  :)

I don't know why but I find January to be the most painful month of the year.  The world just seems darker once the Christmas lights get put away.  But now it is February.  We are a month closer to Spring, sunnier weather, seasonal fruit, and May.

And since May is inching closer and closer, Phil and I will be spending Saturday feverishly cleaning out what is currently our "closet" and what will be the nursery.

When we moved in, I picked the smallest bedroom for us to use.  I know this doesn't seem like the most logical thing to do, but I'm really weird.  It had to do with the way light came into the room.  To compensate for the tiny room and tinier closet, we branched out into another room to store our clothes and my grandmother's vanity.

Unfortunately, it has become the dumping ground for all the other crap stuff in the house.  It used to share that honor the office, but we have since cleaned that room up.  It's now in tip-top shape.

While our Saturday plans may some tedious and boring, I am so excited.  Once we get the nursery cleaned out, we can get it painted and then Phil can put together the crib and dresser.  And then we can move the glider up there.  And it will start to feel like a nursery.

For some reason, the nursery makes it seem so much closer and real.  Cause the growing, moving belly just wasn't making it real enough*.  :)


*actually the moving belly is pretty cool.