Saturday, December 26, 2009

It's a girl!

Avery Dayle made her way into the world on Tuesday, December 22nd. She weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces, and was 21 and 1/2 inches long.




And we were fortunate enough to be able to come home on Christmas Eve, so we were able to spend Christmas together as a family.
We're all very much in love with her, including her big brother Logan. He always has to know what she is up to, and is always willing to give out a kiss or two or ten. He's such a great big brother.






So we're just adjusting to life with a newborn again, which so far hasn't been too bad. A bit sleepy, but all worth it.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

7 more days

And we are so very ready! Logan and I are going to bake some cookies tonight and we'll officially be done with the to-do list.

We dressed Logan up for his Christmas program at church:





We ourselves got dressed up for the company holiday party, and I swear we did have an okay time, despite the look on Richard's face :)




We made a gingerbread train, okay we put a train together, bought one of those nice pre-made kits. Worked out fairly well, although I'm pretty sure we won't be eating it.




And we visited with Santa:




So the Gustafson house is ready for baby #2, just as long as it waits until Friday. Everyone asks if I think I'll go earlier than my scheduled C, and honestly I'm not really sure. I never really went into labor on my own with Logan, or I guess I kind of did but didn't really notice. So I'm not sure I'll notice an early signs.
Why Friday you ask, because my husbands stupid boss decided, that even after he promised me he wouldn't, to send him 3 hours away to work for the week. He left this morning to work up near Chicago. Luckily the guy he's working with understands and they're going to work their butts off and get done early. So baby just has to wait until daddy gets home :)
Richard's brother Nathan will be on Friday from Hawaii. He's in the Navy stationed out there, and we only see him about once a year. And my other sister Joanna, will be in hopefully sometime this weekend as well (as long as she gets her butt in gear and figures out how she's going to get here:))
So this will be Logan's last weekend as an only child, so we're going to try to spend the whole weekend with just him, even if we don't do anything exciting. If I'm feeling okay, we might venture down to Christmas at the zoo for a little bit, but we're not making any big plans.
So the next blog entry you read will be pictures of our beautiful new addition!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

One more....

Only one more doctor visit before the big day! Wow, I cannot believe how fast time as gone. Even these last few weeks, everyone says how slow they go, but not for me, time is flying by. Two weeks from today (unless I go early) we'll be holding our new little bundle of joy.

And we're pretty much ready around the house too. Maybe just some cleaning before hand. I had thought maybe I'd throw together some freezer meals before hand, but if I don't get to it oh well.

We finished putting up the Christmas tree last night, just a few little decorations here and there to put up. I think this weekend we'll make a few batches of cookies and we have a gingerbread train to put together. Shopping is done, so other than wrapping presents, I think we're all set.

I'm starting to get a little anxious/nervous about once the baby is actually here, we're ready household wise. But it's been awhile since we've had a baby around, and so much has happened since Logan was born, I hope its just like riding a bike and it all comes back quickly.

But we're all excited to meet the new little one, so stay tuned for any news :)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Ladies and Gents, a new record in medicine has been set!

The length of my doctor appointment today truly had to be a record, and not in the way you think. I arrived at 2:45, my appointment was scheduled for 3:00. I was called back by the nurse at 2:55, weighed in, peed in a cup, got my BP checked, met with the doctor, had a couple extra questions this time, even had my Group B Strep test so that made for a bit longer appointment. Even with all that, I was back in my truck at 3:12!!!!!! All doctor visits should be like that, I was truly stunned.

All is good on the baby front, it was being stubborn and didn't want its heartbeat heard today, my BP was great and things are measuring just right. I now get to see my actual doctor from now on.

The problem with my leg ended up being superficial (basically meaning surface) phlebitis. Just an inflammation of a previous varicose vein location. I've been taking an antibiotic and aspirin to help with the inflammation, it's still a bit bruised looking but its 100% better than it was, and will completely improve after birth, not much else can be done about it now.

3 more weeks, or as Richard says 22 more sleeps. Can't believe we're that close already. We've been busy (well Richard has, I'm not much help these days) around the house lately. We're working on finishing the basement, and I think at this point we're about 90% done. It's going to be a family/playroom, and Logan is very excited for all his toys to be down there. Logan's bathroom also took on a new coat of paint, and our bathroom/bedroom is next. Guess we're using the baby coming as an excuse to get projects done, its working well :)

When I was pregnant with Logan I surprised Richard and went to Glamour Shots and had a belly portrait taken, so we wanted to do one with this pregnancy, however didn't want to spend the money again. So with a borrowed white sheet and Richard putting his very amateur photographer skills to work, we took a few shots. I'm pretty happy with how a few of them turned out.







We also started putting up Christmas decorations this weekend too, just haven't dragged the tree up from the basement this year. I love our tree when its up and decorated, but its such a pain otherwise. Might even go with a smaller real one this year, shh, just don't tell Richard, I bugged for years for a fake one :)

Happy Very Belated Halloween

I was looking through pictures and realized I hadn't shared a picture of Logan in his Halloween costume, he was so excited about it! Even though he wasn't all that into the trick or treating part.


Friday, November 20, 2009

I'm over it!

(for the record, I'm not a fan of that saying)
Okay, it's official I think I'm done being pregnant. This pregnancy has been uneventful for the most part, and I feel so blessed to even be pregnant, BUT I'm ready to be done. Pardon me while I complain a little bit :)

I'm incredibly sick of my maternity clothes, but at this point see no reason to invest in anymore, so it seems I wear the same few shirts over and over again, luckily I work with mostly men who probably don't even notice, or care.

Amazingly I'm sleeping well still, just get up to use the bathroom at least twice a night, but I usually fall back to sleep fairly quickly. It's the getting out of bed in the morning that takes a bit. Even though I don't sleep on my right side, my right hip is killing me these days. It feels like more of a groin pull, but the pain comes and go randomly. Eh, tolerable I guess.

This week one of the wonderfully genetic varicose veins in my left thigh (thank you Krueger family) decided to swell up. Hurts like h-e-l-l. I've don't everything they say you should when you're prone to them, keep my feet up when sitting, have them on a little stool at work too, take frequent breaks, blah blah blah! Guess I"m just blessed, mornings are the worst, putting pressure on that leg is quite painful until I get moving. The skin around the bulging vein is a bit harder than the rest of my skin too. So, since going to the doctor today anyway, I'll have him take a look at it, I hope its nothing, but hope to get some relief from the pain as well. Can't help but think the worst sometimes, you know large clot shooting to my lungs, stuff like that.

On a good note, Logan and I were able to get our H1N1 vaccines this week. I wouldn't have bothered if we didn't have a newborn on the way. The health department was holding a clinic on Wednesday. Lucky for us, Richard decided to leave work a bit earlier than planned to go get Logan and take him over there, and they gave him two spots in line since he said his pregnant wife was on the way. If he hadn't I wouldn't have made it on time, as they only had 500 to give out. But, I think our total wait time was about 2 hours. Not too bad. The first woman that came out said she had been there since 11:30, a bit excessive I suppose.

And Logan was quite the trooper. Listening to all the other small children screaming, he was getting a really nervous look on his face the closer we got to the front of the line, but he didn't even flinch. He looked away, and when she pinched his arm for the shot he even watched. So hopefully we'll have a healthy winter at our house.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me!

Birthdays never used to be a big deal, just another day. Until I began to approach 30, then I dreaded birthdays. 30 was old! Today as I turn 31, I realized that birthdays are fabulous! It's a celebration of another healthy cancer free year, and the promise of another healthy year to come, I definitely don't take birthdays for granted anymore, especially cancer free ones.

Also had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My blood pressure was a bit elevated when we first got there, so the doctor was a bit concerned, so after the exam they made me relax for about 15 minutes and took it again and it had come down. So all is well, he told me to take it easy, and call if any other issues came up, headaches, floaters in my vision, and swelling. But so far so good, and don't really expect anything different. The baby is really active as always and really starting to make itself known just by watching my belly move, always fun. Can't believe how fast time is going, I'll be 34 weeks on Tuesday but with my c-section being at 39 weeks we really only have 5 left. I can't wait to meet this little one!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Snap, Crackle, Pop, Pop, Pop.....

Well, I guess my belly has officially popped. At least according to 5 different co-workers this week. They have all commented on how much I've 'grown' in the past week. Last Saturday I did feel like I was having growing and stretching pains, and just felt a lot of tightness, guess there was a good reason. I'm still not convinced that this baby isn't building something in there at times, usually not little flutters of movement, its usually all out whacks!

Not too much exciting happening this week. Logan was Star of the Week at school this week, that's where they feature one child, post their favorite things and that child gets to bring in pictures to share and it all gets posted on the door to his room. He was very excited to share one of the ultrasound pictures of the baby :)

On the baby name front, I think we have narrowed it down, we will not however be sharing until the baby is born, just something else everyone will have to wait for, sorry.

I still haven't told Logan about not being able to come to the hospital when the baby is born, but I think I'll wait until it gets closer in the hopes that the visitation ban gets lifted by then, so think happy thoughts please :) Wouldn't want him to miss out on cake and cookies, well and meeting his new baby sister or brother:)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Swine Flu Hits Home

Well, not in the way you think. Knock on wood, we're all healthy. Than how you ask? Well, with the pandemic that has become H1N1, local hospitals are restricting visitors. Our hospital in particular, no visitors under the age of 15. So.....for us that means, Logan will not be able to visit his new little sibling until he/she arrives at home :( I completely understand their reasonings, but it still stinks. That also means I have to go four whole days without seeing my little man, ugh! Well, since I will not be delivering said new arrival at home, haha, we'll make do.

On a good note, we have a 'birthday' scheduled for the little one. My C-section is scheduled for December 22nd at 8 am, unless he/she decides to come early, which would be fine too :)

Otherwise, things are going well. I did pass the three hour glucose test, just like I figured, yay! Everything else looks good, all is well in baby land.

Two of my co-workers commented this morning that I have appeared to "pop" over the weekend. I was experiencing some growing pains on Saturday so I guess it's possible. Also a few weeks ago had a complete stranger in the consigment shop tell me I looked like I was having a girl, so we shall see.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

A very boring three hours

Well I failed my one hour glucose test, just barely though. The cutoff is 140 and I was 148, so close. So here I sit, two needle sticks down, two more to go. The same thing happened with Logan and I passed the three hour test with flying colors, so I'm hoping that's the case this time around.
I've been home not feeling well the last few days. My sinuses are so backed up it feels like my eyes are going to explode. I'm pretty sure its a sinus infection, but I'll be stopping at the walk-in clinic on the way home just to be sure.
I figured since I was home anyways, mine as well get this test out of the way rather than have to take more time off work later. Probably not the greatest idea, but you do what you can.
So I'm passing the time with my latest Harry Potter book, I'm reading through the series again and am on book 4, love these books. Mindless reading is good sometimes.

Friday, October 16, 2009

The home stretch!

Can't believe we're already at this point. I'll be 30 weeks on Tuesday, officially in my 3rd trimester now. And we're on the cycle of every two weeks for doctor's appointments.

I had one today, and had the lovely glucose test. It wasn't as bad this time around because they didn't make my fast like I had to with Logan. Just had to avoid sugars prior too, and it was first thing this morning. I always wondered what evil monster decided to make a pregnant woman fast for 4 hours!

I had lovely fruit punch flavor for my glucola, my other option was lemon lime, can't imagine how awful that would've been, yuck! I think with Logan I had orange, which wasn't bad, it tasted like orange crush pop.

My visit with the doc went good, he called me Boring!! I'm feeling pretty good, didn't have any questions or concerns, my BP was good, weight gain was fine, all in all, pretty boring I guess. He said I was allowed to be boring, its not always a bad thing. Baby's heart rate was in the 140's, right where its been all along, it was kind of hiding out in the upper corner.

Baby has been VERY active lately which is always a cool, although sometimes painful thing. I think yesterday it was constructing something in there. Right after lunch I was sort of reclined back in my desk chair reading through some documents and I thought it was going to bust through my stomach, it was pretty hysterical. Such an amazing thing, always makes me smile or cringe depending on how hard the kicks are :)

Logan and I have been painting some artwork for the nursery, I'll post pics when we get them done. I need to get the valance sewn (I'm hoping to convince my mom to help, hint hint, nudge nudge), and we need to purchase diapers, wipes, formula, etc, just a few odds and ends and we should be ready for this baby! Can't believe it's getting so close!

We were in Northern Michigan last weekend at Uncle Tom and Auntie Tonya's, and it was raining on Sat. afternoon, and then changed to snow. I pointed the snow out to Logan, and he yelled "yay, it's Christmas and the baby is coming" So apparently snow falling should immediately trigger Christmas, it was so cute!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Shaking up the medical system!

I had my usual 6 month follow up with my breast surgeon today, last visit with her was back in April. At the time we had not yet found out we were pregnant, I think it was only a matter of a week later that we found out. So today when she walked into the exam room and saw my big ole pregnant butt sitting there, she was ecstatic! Almost dropped my chart on the floor.

Now mind you this isn't the surgeon who actually performed my surgery. My current surgeon I was referred to when my original surgeon decided to up and move back home to Illinois. My original surgeon was actually the only one on my medical team that was against me getting pregnant, which seemed odd, because she was all about the latest advances in treatment and surgery, but getting pregnant, she was old school in that department.

My current surgeon was completely on board with the idea, so I think I started her day out right! And by the time I had gotten dressed and gone back out into the main office area, word had traveled fast and everyone was excited, and I was ordered to bring the baby in at my next appointment in April.

She was going to switch me to yearly appointments, but with all the body changes that happen during pregnancy, six months seemed like a safe bet to me. There is never a guarantee that they're going to get ALL the breast tissue, so when a normal woman gets pregnant her breasts tend to enlarge. Well a (for lack of a better word) no-breasted woman with gain a bit in whatever tissue may be left. So I do have some misshapen areas around my scars, but nothing hard or lumpy, so nothing to worry about.

In this case, I certainly don't mind shaking up medicine a bit! I'm happy to be the 'rebel' in this case:)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Fall is here

I think it's officially Fall in Noblesville. This weekend we put away most of the outside toys, finished pulling up the garden and covering it for the winter, mostly to keep the dogs out of the mud, and put the cushions from the porch swing away, all pretty good signs. And mornings have been noticeably chillier as well.

Fall is my favorite season, its not as great of a fall here as when we lived in Michigan, especially in Houghton, but its still a great season. I love the crunch of leaves, the crisp mornings, and mostly the fall smells, it truly is a season for the senses.

Not too much new on the home front. We've been having some issues at school with Logan, but it's a hump and this too shall pass. He's got some big changes coming up, so I'm sure that's part of it, but we're working through them along with his teachers and brighter days are coming I can feel it.

He got to spend the night at grandma's this weekend, I think she just needed the cheap slave labor for yard work, but he didn't seem to mind. He came home Sunday night, exhausted and was out like a light in about 10 minutes. So what did Richard and I do with our kid free night..........worked in the basement, how romantic, haha! We're working on finishing our basement space, its been a long and slow process, but its getting there, can't rush free labor. I think we were in bed before 11, does that mean we're getting old??

Things with baby are going well, its moving around ALOT lately, always a good feeling. I'll be at 28 weeks tomorrow, so nearing the official start of the home stretch.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Cake on your "Birth" day!

We had our tour of the maternity floor at the hospital the other night, and I'm very impressed. It's a smaller unit, which makes it very cozy, but has ALL the technology you could ask for.

A few things that really stood out; even though I'll be having a c-section the baby can stay with me in recovery. Which is way different than when Logan was born, him and daddy went off to the nursery right away and I didn't get to 'meet' him for almost two hours. I did however have a rough recovery in reaction to the anesthesia so maybe that's why.

Also, you get to have a party! Yes an actual birthday party, complete with cake and ice cream provided by the hospital. How fun is that? We're very excited about the cake at our house, yes we're excited about the baby too, but how fun is it to have cake. Who doesn't love cake? Logan thinks a party for the baby is a pretty cool idea too.

They also do another program called BirthNotes where you can meet with a nurse, get all your paperwork done ahead of time, take a tour if you haven't done so already, and just make sure the experience your own. There are a few special things we would like done, so we want to make sure that's noted, and also make sure they're extra aware of me not being able to have IV's etc in my cancer side, and my previous reactions to anesthesia, just things to make it go smoother.

I just felt very comfortable when we were there, so I think it's going to be a great experience overall. I recovered very quickly from my last c-section even after almost 24 hours of labor, so I'm hoping this time will be a breeze. And I won't have labor exhaustion so I might actually recall meeting the baby for the first time.

Now if it would just hurry up and be December :)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Reindeer, Meatballs and more, OH MY!

We made it through our first ever bought with a bad dream. The other night I was woken out of a dead sleep by my son screaming "mommy" at the top of his lungs, boy that will shake you out of a fog quicker than anything! I wasn't even aware of what time it was. He crawled in bed with us, trembling lip and all, but not really awake enough to tell me about it. So he laid with me and I rubbed his back, and after about a half hour, shipped him back to his bed (otherwise I wouldn't have gotten any sleep, the boy is a cement mixer!). The next morning, vaguely aware of what happened during the night, he told me that he remembered his dream, but wanted to get dressed first. Guess being in his underwear made it seem scarier?? His dream involved him finding a dead reindeer in our backyard, crazy how a 4-year old mind works. Poor guy, do we now have to worry when Santa visits about the reindeer falling off the roof? Hopefully its forgotten by then. Although getting him to sleep alone in his bed the next night was a bit of a task, but I think he'll survive.

The next night we tackled a very large batch of meatballs. I've been on this make ahead food kick lately, hopefully it sticks around until the baby is born and we'll be eating good for awhile. I mixed up a large bowl and Logan helped me shape them. He did a whole pan all by himself, he was not however too keen on the idea of eating them. He's always been skeptical about "meat" of any kind, goofy boy, his carnivore instincts will kick in soon enough. He would try one of the ones that HE had made though. They were so easy to make, and very tasty, but the heartburn wreaked havoc on me for a few days.

And I did have a doctors appointment yesterday. As always everything is looking great, measuring right where I should be, blood pressure was good, and weight gain has been very minimal (YAY!). Once again this baby, like its older brother, likes to hide out in the back of my uterus, so finding a heartbeat with the little Doppler was tricky, and it made it known that it did not want to be found by letting out two HUGE kicks. Still not having any feelings as to what it is, unlike with Logan, I knew he was a boy. Nothing yet with this one. One more appointment on the every 4 week schedule, then I have the lovely Glucose test, yuck! Although I was pleasantly surprised to learn they don't make you fast anymore, just avoid sweets prior to. Always wondered what evil monster would make a pregnant woman fast! Then after that, we'll be on the every 2 week appointment schedule, makes it seem closer!

Also was able to get a flu shot, but seem to be suffering some side effects today with a sore throat and running nose. The nurse at the doc's office assured me it was common, and because it was effects from the shot because it contains an active virus, that my chances of being contagious are very unlikely, and symptoms should pass in a few days. So in the meantime, I'm drinking up the OJ (always my favorite).

Friday, September 11, 2009

Music is my heart

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

I stumbled across this quote yesterday, and realized that it really is true. It also got me thinking just how much a part of my daily life music is. I've been pondering this as a blog topic for quite some time, finding this quote is just a sign I guess.

I LOVE music, any and all types of music. If you were to flip through my iPod you'd find quite the range, from Carrie Underwood, AC/DC, Black Eyed Peas, Willie Nelson, Jim Brickman, Third Day, etc. Any and all genres, I just can't get enough of music.

All day at work I'm plugged into either my iPod or Pandora radio on my phone. Music helps me focus, tune out the background noise and just make me feel good. It 'soothes my soul'. It has a way of drawing out emotions of all kinds.

As a kid mom always had music playing, then factor in band and choir throughout high school. I actually miss the good old band days, of diving into a new piece of music and picking apart its parts to make up this whole divine production. It helped that I had the most fantastic band director a person could ask for, it was easy to love it learning it from someone as passionate about music as Mr. Stender was. I do kind of regret not keeping up with piano throughout college, now I might be able to plunk out twinkle, twinkle little star, but that's about it. And someday I think I might like to learn to play guitar.

In college when Richard and I started dating, I found that he too liked quite the range of music. It was him I think that turned me on to some of the things I listen to now. But he listens to all genres as well. Also when we first started dating and were at separate schools, I'd check my email in the mornings and would often find a message containing lyrics to a song that he found and had written to me, such a romantic :)

And now I'm so glad to be back in choir, however singing this fall/winter is going to be a challenge. I am diaphragmatically (yes I know not a word) challenged these days and get out of breath quite easily. So my choir director and I have worked out a plan that I can practice with the group, but I won't be performing until after the baby is born, keeps me part of the group, but also prevents me from passing out wearing wool choir robes. And now since rejoining church that genre of music and ignited a new passion in me, those composers back then new what they were doing, the harmonies, the melodies, such beautiful music.

One fun thing that I like to do with music is challenge my mom! We play a lyric game on occasion where I will send her the first verse to the song and she has to come back with the artist and title. She always does quite well. I'm sure it doesn't help that no matter what the topic of discussion she can come up with a lyric to match, I think she was a rock star in a former life, haha!

Besides all the big ways music is in me, just small things, the ringtones on our cellphones, being put on hold with the doctors office, commercials on tv and radio, music is everywhere. Also one of the new things I learned is that the hospital where I will be delivering plays Brahms Lullaby every time a new baby enters the world, very cool.

I can only hope that my love and passion for music gets passed onto my children. I can already see it in Logan as he will sometimes sing "You are my sunshine" to my belly, makes a momma proud!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Summer Photo Catch-up

I finally, got the desktop hooked back up to the internet, so I thought I'd do a catch-up of pics from the summer. And I don't really feel like a clever, fun post today, so just enjoy some pictures.

Summer and baseball, a popular combination.


Chilling in the paddleboat at Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Dave's in CF over Mem. Day weekend.

Richard teaching Logan to fish for the first time.


One of our scarier storms this summer, the worst of it missed us, but the clouds were pretty freaky. I think we ended up in the basement for a bit during this one.


Slip-n-Slide Fun :)

Fun at the sprinkler park. In Indiana we lack lakes, but there is no shortage of sprinkler parks, always goood on a hot day. The boys always have fun.



Guess I need to get out from behind the camera more often :)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A long week......

This week is taking forever! Mr. Logan was sick this week, ugh! He's never been one to really get sick (knock on wood). He's only had two ear infections, a few colds here and there, but nothing too major. Monday, on my way to pick him up from school, his teacher calls to get my permission to give him some tylenol because he was running a fever of about 101. WHAT?? Yes, of course tylenol please.

So I get there and he is crashed in their reading loft. She said he was great at lunch, but was very restless during nap (totally unlike Logan), didn't want to play outside much, and wouldn't eat snack. Again, all not Logan-like symptoms at all! Poor little guy looked at me when I got there and started to cry :(

Monday night was rough, drink or eat, just layed around. Still running a fever. So on Tuesday he stayed home from school with my mother-in-laws husband, who fortunately for us isn't working right now. He just laid around all day. And Tuesday night he slept a marathon almost 13 hours! And Wednesday I worked from home to hang out with him.

So he's back to being Logan, thank goodness. I hate when my little guy is sick, especially since it doesn't happen very often. You feel so helpless, not much to do, but cuddle, which we did plenty of.

Also had a doctor appointment yesterday (21 weeks). Everything looks good, measureing good. Baby's heartbeat was around 142. My blood pressure was perfect and weight was good, I've only gained about 6 pounds so far. Think I do have a bladder infection though, so just waiting on my labs to come from that. But nothing major to report there, things are going well. I'm in that feeling pretty good stage, first trimester yucky stuff over with, the uncomfortable stuff hasn't kicked in yet. Just enjoying being pregnant!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Strange Laws

I came across a website that listed strange laws that are actually still listed on the books in their states, just thought I'd share some of them on this hump-day. Enjoy!

In New York, it is against the law for a blind person to drive an automobile. (My thought, then why do most ATM's have braille on them?)

In Utah, birds have the right of way on any public highway. (Good thing that isn't an Indiana law, I would then have to apologize to the few that I've hit)

This one is for Rochelle, just in case she was considering trading in her car.
In the State of Kansas, you're not allowed to drive a buffalo through a street.

In Michigan, married couples must live together or be imprisoned. (Isn't that the same thing, haha)

In Washington State, you can't carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length. (And just how in the heck are you supposed to conceal a 6 foot weapon)

Just thought these were comical. Makes you wonder, that for these to be actual laws someone at some point had to do this to make it illegal. Kind of like the 'don't use in a bathtub warning" on a hairdryer.

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Halfway there!

20 weeks today! Whew, where does the time go? Really no too much to report, since we've gotten everything done so early already. I'm feeling pretty good, although the 90 degree heat and 100% humidity this past weekend were really not much fun. Just the usualy stuff, more frequent trips to the bathroom during the day and at night. I finally broke down and bought a body pillow to help with sleeping. We have a check-up next week to see how everything else is doing.

My mom returned last week for the school year. Logan was VERY excited to have gwamma back. He helped her get settled into the new digs, and got to spend the night at her new house. So gwamma had a dose of Logan right out of the gate, but I think they both survived. He was precious on Sunday after she left. He's getting a good grasp of time and distance, so he understood that she was just at her house not all the way by Papa, but I think he thought it would be a whole summer again before he saw her, so he cried himself to sleep on Sunday night. But after that I think he was okay, goofy boy. He sure loves his gwamma.

Richard is back on his working out of town swing again, ugh! I really hope something changes on that front once the baby is born, or I might just run screaming into the night! But work has been slow, we've taken a hit with the economy so we just have to go with the flow on that one, especially since really no other opportunities exist around here, and I don't think we'll be making a big move anytime soon. At least I hope it doesn't come to that.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Picnic Days

We had our company picnic on Saturday at a place here called Connor Prairie. It's one of those interactive history places, with villages and homesteads from the 1800's and actors that teach you what life was like back then. I have to be honest, it was neat but I'm glad we didn't pay the $18 a person to visit on our own. I think we weren't into it because Richard and I have both experienced places like that in Copper Harbor, and on Mackinac Island. It was obviously geared towards 'city-folk'.

And being that Logan still thinks that hundreds of years ago was last week, didn't really much care about the history stuff. He did however enjoy the interactive animal barn. He got to pet a cow, a lamb, a goat, and hold a baby chick. So that was cool.

They also had an 1800 balloon ride, that he loved watching. However we WERE NOT going up in. It's tethered to the ground and goes up about 350 feet, but you're completely at the mercy of the wind. That things gets blown around so much, some people were looking mighty green coming off of there.

They did have some neat things there just for our picnic group. Pony rides which Logan rode for the first time, a bouncehouse, and a dunk tank for our executives to be dunked.

Now we can say we've been there I guess. Here's some pictures from our day.




Here we are holding the baby chicks.








And here's his first pony ride, the pony's name was Teddy.


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

IT'S A.........................

BABY!!! haha Yup, we opted not to find out. Although Richard thinks he got a glimpse of something, but who knows. Guess we just wait until he or she arrives. Logan came with and thought it was pretty neat, although got a bit bored when the nurse was taking all the necessary measurements.

Everything looks great, we had a very active little one, but she was able to measure everything she needed to. Weights about 9 ounces, about an ounce ahead of where it should be at 18 weeks. All systems looked great and intact. It was being a bit stubborn when she was trying to take heart pictures, but I think she got them, Heartrate was around 136.

Here's some pictures from our visit. She did the standard ultrasound images, and then some pretty cool 4-D ones, such an amazing technology.


And it looks like quite large feet already!

I think this is the baby's "no please don't take my picture" pose, hands up face turned away.

This one is neat, looks like its smiling.

The ever popular side profile shot.





Sunday, July 26, 2009

Is there such a thing as being too organized?

If so I think we're there. We pretty much have the baby's room done. We found a bedding set this weekend and the crib is put together. Most everything is washed and put away, and we washed all the bottles this weekend and put those away as well. Except for a few odds and ends, and some artwork I think we'll make for the room, I think we're done. Here's some pics of our progress.

Here's Logan helping Daddy with the painting.

Here's the crib set we chose, well I guess I should give Richard credit he picked it out.


Friday, July 24, 2009

17 week appointment

We had a doctor appointment on Wednesday. Everything went well. I've only gained about 4 pounds so far, woohoo! The baby's heartbeat was very strong and around 155. The doctor guessed a girl again. At least he's consistent, haha.

I never seem to have questions or concerns, things are going well. I sometimes feel like I should make stuff up because my appointments are so quick. But I guess I've been fortunate.

I think it's officially time to put the non-maternity pants away, things are getting too snug. Actually have a pair of maternity pants on today, still a bit roomy so lots of room to grow.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Mush, mush, mush.....

Just ask Richard, it's official I have preggo mush brain, and I think its getting worse by the day, haha! I've taken to asking dumb questions at work, I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent person, so usually feel even dumber after having realized my dumb question. My co-workers just laugh at me, all is forgiven, given the circumstances.

Last night I think was the worst. All evening I seemed to be having issues putting words together correctly, causing me to giggle. At one point I yelled at Maggie to "go to sleep" instead of "go lay down", it went downhill from there. The topper: Richard and I were laying in bed discussing names, he had said he wanted to use 'Dayle' as a middle name for a girl. My response was that we couldn't use an 'M' name because the poor childs initials would be MDG. Which in my head was the beer, so I laughed for quite awhile, literally laying there with tears rolling down my face, unable to breathe through my laughter. Of course than laughing even harder when I realized the initials would have to be MGD for that to be valid. Probably doesn't come across as funny here, but believe me it was hilarious. I'm just glad Richard hasn't started recording me, look out then.

In other news, we got the nursery painted this weekend. When I say we I mean Richard painted and I did the taping. I HATE to paint, I'm not good at it, and just have a general dislike for the whole process. But it does look fabulous. Richard picked a color called Toasted Coconut, kind of an orangey brown, I call it giraffe brown. We loved the color so much we painted before we even have a theme picked out. But I think it should be a pretty easy color to match, hopefully.

We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and our ultrasound is next Tuesday. I think we might take Logan with so he can "see" the baby. He's very excited about that. We're still undecided if we want to find out the sex. Initially Richard absolutely did not want to find out, but lately he's starting to bend a little. Which makes me feel bad, because I give him a hard time about it all the time. So I'm not really sure if he's just giving in to me, or he genuinely wants to know. But I think either way, if we do find out, we probably won't share (sorry everyone). Although, if you know me, that might be pretty impossible. I'm usually an open book. So we'll see what next week brings.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

It's been awhile.

It has been awhile, but really not too much happening. I'm feeling well, which is always good. We've started to bring baby stuff up from the basement, and wow do we have a lot of blue stuff. If this baby is a girl, we'll be starting from scratch, but if it's a boy it won't need new clothes for a long time. I decided that since I'm going through stuff I'd orgaznie Logan's old clothes by size, going well so far, just slow. Although Logan likes when I work in the baby's room because he gets to play with his old baby toys. He's been going through boxes of toys, and deciding what he thinks the baby would like, he does well for the most part. He's going to be such a good big brother.

Richard has been working in town for a few weeks which has been really nice, but this week he got sent out of town again, hopefully just for this week. It's kind of nice when we have doctor's appointments because usually on those weeks they keep him in town. Wonder if my doctor would object to starting weekly appointments now, haha!

Logan is doing well, he's enjoying the summer, riding bikes, playing in the pool, etc. He is however missing is Gwamma (my mom), he must ask everyday when she's coming back. I think this summer he has more of a concept of how far aways she is, because he realizes how long it takes to get to Papa's house, so she can't easily just pop down for a visit. So he's glad to hear it's only a few more weeks. And of course the other question we get all the time is when, can we go to Papa's house. 4 year olds don't have the greatest concept of time yet, so we always mark things on the calendar and cross off days, that helps. With the baby he just says it will be here for Christmas.

My good friend Mindy, is making us bloggers look bad, she's set a schedule now of when she'll be blogging, maybe that's the way to go, since I don't often remember to post things. Guess if it's scheduled I wouldn't have much choice, we'll see how that goes. Although, with Richard being out of town, I don't have computer access at home and don't often get a chance to blog at work. Should be working, haha!

Well, tata for now!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Second Trimester

YAY! We made it to the second trimester. Officially 14 weeks yesterday. I had a pre-natal appointment last Monday. They didn't think they could've picked up the heartbeat with the doppler so we got a freebie ultrasound (can't post the pics, computer at home isn't connected to the internet these days, working on it though). The little bean was kicking and moving all over the place, in one of the pictures it even gave us a little wave. It still had the alien look to the face, but all other parts had developed to look like what they should, little hands, little feet. Always amazing! And the heartbeat was good.

My doctor was a bit concerend about my high blood pressure at that appointment, i think it was 125/90. I did mention that I had driven through terrible traffic to get there and was running late, so that could've contributed, but she still wanted it monitored anyways. So I was to use the little checking stations at CVS (or whoever has them). They are not however, user friendly for someone who has to use their right arm. Because of having lymph nodes removed on the left side, I have to use my right. Impossible in those machines, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

So back I went this past Monday. Blood pressure was back to normal, hmmm, maybe it was that traffic after all, DUH! But better safe than sorry I guess.

They were able to get the hearbeat on the doppler, and the baby was also kicking the doppler like crazy. Fiesty little thing.

Lately, Richard and I both have thought we could feel it moving, so I happened to ask if it was possible. My doctor said that if this was our first we probably wouldn't even be asking that, because we wouldn't know what to feel for, and given the way this one kicked the doppler he figured that yes indeed we were feeling the baby. Usually we can feel it at night, laying in bed, very sublte, but still there.

No big plans for our 4th, just enjoying the long weekend, maybe start organizing some baby stuff, seeing what we still have from Logan. Our humidity has finally dropped off, and temps are actually supposed to be cooler than normal, in the upper 70's and low 80's so I'm sure we'll be spending some time outdoors.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Vacation Bible School

I haven't actually attended VBS in I can't even remember how long. I'm pretty sure I was still in high school, and we were spending a few weeks at Auntie Tonya and Uncle Tom's in Roscommon. It was such a fun time.

The VBS at our church started last night, and I got talked into being a group guide. So my first VBS in who knows how long, and I have to lead these children through the different stations, and help them, etc. So to say the least, I was a bit hesitant, I often don't have a full grasp of my own faith, and I'm supposed help lead a group of 9-11 year olds through theirs???

But I must admit, I had a BLAST!!! From an adult perspective, the whole thing can really be quite cheesy, but obviously its geared towards kids. And the kids love it. They are really energized about being there, most anyways. I did have a few boys that were just there because mom made them I think. It was really cool to learn about god, and the bible through their eyes. Our theme is crocodile dock, and the decorations and production is so over the top, that you can't help but get excited right along with them. Amazing what faith through the eyes of a child does for your own. The answers and ideas these kids have about things is just unbelievable.

Logan being in preschool didn't get to participate in the whole production, but they had a scaled down version for his age, and he had a blast too. Was incredibly over tired by the time we got home, took a bath and got to bed slightly before 9. Of course then he was still up there gabbing when we went to bed after 10. So its going to be a long week of late nights, but should still be worth it. So with our first night behind us, I'm excited to see what tonight brings.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Weekend Flood

No, not a flood as in mother nature. A flood as in full out pregnancy hormone sobbing at a children's cartoon over the weekend. Pathetic.

We took Logan to see the new Disney movie UP on Saturday. Don't worry no spoiling here, but it is a great movie, if you get a chance to see it on the big screen, I highly recommend it. It was Logan's first movie theater movie, so he was very excited.

The waterworks came throughout the entire movie, I recall about 5 different times where I was wiping tears from my face. There was just no stopping it. I remember one time even almost sobbing out loud, it was crazy. IT'S A CARTOON, IT"S NOT REAL. This was what I keep saying to myself over and over again, it didn't work. Richard looked over a few times, and just shook his head. I was quite the display:)

Also water related, we bought Logan a slip-n-slide this weekend as well. He had a blast with it on Sunday. I'd post pictures, but the computer at home isn't hooked up to our wireless just yet, we're working on it.

Despite the flood of June 2009, haha, we did have a nice relaxing weekend!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Food

Ahhh, one of my favorite subjects. I love Food! (Rochelle, it must be a Perry gene) So I'm always disappointed when foods I once loved I now cannot stand. And foods I used to eat in moderation, I'd drive miles to find.

It started when I was pregnant with Logan. I used to LOVE pickles, couldn't stand them when I was pregnant with him, not a huge fan of them to this day. Although, this makes my husband and my Aunt Roxann happy, one less person fighting over the relish tray at holiday meals. I did however, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, couldn't get enough of peanut butter, more specifically peanut butter toast, and orange juice. I can't even imagine the gallons of orange juice we went through. Towards the end it was McDonald's fries and Big Macs, obviously not a healthy craving.

It then continued when I was going through chemo. I couldn't stand the smell of fried chicken, let alone eat it. Sandwiches were impossible to eat, even just plain old peanut butter and jelly. But doing okay with them now. And it took me a long time to eat Arby's after a very ill treatment session.

Now with this pregnancy, up until today I haven't discovered any horrible aversions. I'm still not a fan of pickles. Haven't really found anything I eat in mass quantities either. For a week or so I was craving pizza. And I can smell McDonald's fries from a mile away, but haven't been eating them. But today, I found a food I couldn't even swallow. Bananas!!! What the heck, used to love bananas. Peel one open for a morning snack today, break off a piece, put it in my mouth, and instantly spit it in the garbage. Not sure if it was the texture that caused the gag reflex to kick in or what, but I'm very disappointed.

So I guess when you're pregnant, it becomes kind of a love-hate relationship with food.

Happy Eating!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Please say a prayer

Please add a few more families into your prayers. Our pastors at church were expecting their first child in early August, and we received word this morning that she lost the baby. Also the cousin of a co-worker of mine lost their twins over the weekend as well.

I can't even imagine the heartbreak these families are feeling, especially now that I'm excpecting as well, although it would still be hard to imagine at anytime. Especially something so unexpected.

I'm sure God has another plan for these children and their families, but please pray for their strength in the coming weeks and months as they cope with their losses.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

another year in the books

Happy Cancerversary to me! 2 years ago today I became cancer free!!!!! Most days that seems so long ago, I think this pregnancy has helped it to seem like a lifetime ago as well. Although I'm never really sure what date you're supposed to count your survivorship from. The day you were diagnosed, the day you finsih treatment, the day you get the word you're cancer free. All the days of which I do remember, but I think the one that holds the most importance for me is today, June 6th, the anniversary of my mastectomy and the day that the last of the cancer was removed from my body, what little was left after chemo anyways. I feel very blessed to even be able to write this post today.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

10 weeks and counting....

Well, officially 10 weeks today. I've taken some criticism from some friends (well more like acquaintances, so their opinion doesn't count anyways) for letting the cat out of the bag so early. And I think to myself, WHY NOT?!?!? We're overjoyed to be expecting again, when just over 2 years ago we were told we might not have more children. I had a hard enough time keeping my mouth shut as long as I did, I know of some who didn't though(my mom for example, ha ha, but no harm done).

This acquaintance was so concerned that something would happen, and then I would have to give others the sad news. Well, you can see why this opinion doesn't matter, such negativity. Life is to short to dwell on the negative! I'm happy, ecstatic, over the moon excited to be pregnant and would rent billboards if I could, haha!

Logan so far seems excited to have a new baby coming. Although he wants a baby brother, because girls are icky. I'm using that as an angle to try and find out the sex. If its a girl we could 'prepare' him better. But its not working, Richard still wants to be surprised, and my doctor won't just tell me. Oh well, I tried. And Logan thinks it should be named 'eyeball'. Silly boy, he cracks me up.

Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't come across any foods that disagrees with me, yay for that! Just really tired, can't wait for the 2nd trimester energy to kick in. I had forgotten what that's like. Richard has been working out of town a lot lately, and usually those nights shortly after Logan is in bed, I'm there myself, just doesn't seem like enough some days. I've thought about naps in my truck during lunch hour, but the fear of not waking up is too real, not worth the risk. Maybe I could get the boss to put a couch in the restroom for a few months! I'll let you know how that goes over.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

TAKE THAT CANCER!

Yup, we're shouting one BIG screw you to cancer! The Gustafson family is expanding. I'm due December 29th, so we're about 9 weeks right now. We had our first ultrasound today, we got to see the little bean, and hear the heartbeat. Made it seem so real.

We got lucky as we haven't been trying very long. I got the go ahead from my oncologist back in January. We've always known we wanted more children, and given my awesome response to all my treatment, we wanted to have more and be done as soon as we were able. Being that I'm BRCA2+ it puts me at increased risk for ovarian cancer, so the sooner we can finish having kids, the sooner I can have them removed and wipe out that chance once and for all, the happier I will be.

So I had my IUD removed in mid-January and really the rest is history. I had really long cycles so trying to predict optimal time was really hard, but I guess not that hard.

We're very excited, and hope to continue the blog to share in the excitement with everyone. All that we ask is prayers for a healthy pregnancy.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Back at it.


Well, I figured it was time to start blogging again. I really did enjoy it when I was going through treatment, so I thought why not continue, keep everyone up to date with the fam, and writing as always been an outlet for me.


I'm still working on getting my old blog posts incorporated into this one, as I do enjoy going back to read them every once in awhile, just to remember how far we've come.


Lots has happened since the last blog. Richard and I both have new jobs, the land surveying/engineering work here has taken a nose dive, and the new company we're with (yes, we're with the same company AGAIN) went through some layoffs, but we've both weathered the storm. Guess that's what happens when you're damn good at what you do! I like to think so anyway. But this company is much larger and has a better reputation than the company we moved to Indiana with, so much better in the long term.


Logan turned 4 in January and is growing like a weed! I think I've gone through his clothes 3 or 4 times since just before Christmas putting away things that are too small. At 4, he's wearing boys size 6, yikes!! And somedays acts like he's 6, the boy really is too smart for his own good.


And today is officially the start of baseball season, Go CUBS!!!