He's a sucker for a short dress!

John has been going nuts with baby clothes. He's already bought Emma several outfits. Since my digital camera, that resembels a brick, is broken, I've had to try and find the pics online.. They don't have everything, but here is a sampling of the little dresses. Of course, you can't have the bear dress and bloomers without the matching bib..


And our favorite little summer dress, which we got bigger.. don't worry! We also got the matching hat and socks! Next to it is the little sleeper in the same pattern.


I wish I could have found the other outfits he bought for me. He's such a sweetie with all of this. He said he can't leave a shop without finding something for Emma. Now he's looking for shoes. She won't be able to walk for a while.

Our little exhibitionist!

Yep, thats what I said. After sitting for over an hour in the waiting room, we finally got the picture that our little "Thingey" has now graduated to an Emma! Opened her little legs right up, she did.
Here are two of the pictures. The one of her face is a little creepy, but she's waving at the camera! The other one looks like she's blowing little kisses. Sweet, eh?

Only 5 more days!

Well, the past few weeks have been good. John has a new job, and I'm just waiting 5 more days until my next ultrasound. I just hope that Thingey cooperates and lets us know what he/she is! I'm a little sad that John probably won't be able to get there to see this one. Its not a good thing to take off early from a new job.

As for finding out, I don't think I could not know and go through 4 solid months of John calling this poor baby "Herbie". I guess it could be worse, that lady allowed her husband to name her child ESPN. She was just so stupid. I will fight John till the end on a name, if Thingey turns out to be a boy. I don't care if I said, in the throws of morning sickness, "sure, you can name the boy".

Almost everyone at work thinks I'm having a girl. I don't have any feeling either way. We'll hopefully find out on Monday! :)

what's in a name???

A beating, perhaps! Our girl name has been picked and we're both happy with that. The boy name, on the other hand, is a sticking point.. So, here is a photo montage of the possible boy names from my lovely husband (who came up with the lame idea of he'll pick a boy and I'll pick the girl).


While I don't mind him picking out a truly British name, what happened to normal British names? I'm sure children in Britain are tortured for horrible names like that.

We will find out what it is on October 16th, the day before my birthday. I'm very excited, and although I'm praying for healthy, I'm hoping for pink (to save it from a bad name).

I hate the heat, plus some other stuff thats going on.

I'm so ready for the chill of Autumn. I feel like a big 'ol walking brick oven. Its cloudy today, and not too hot, so I'm a little more pleasant. Not nearly as happy as I am in October and November!

Due Date:
Who knows at this point. I was originally due March 9th. When I got my first ultrasound, they said March 4th... when I had the First Trimester Screening (for Downs syndrome- all is well), they measured me at Feb. 27! WTF! How big is this baby going to be???? Thingey just keeps growing and growing. At this rate, by my 20 week ultrasound, it will probably be January!

Clothes:
I am wearing the same 2 pairs of pants, alternately, until school starts. I bought maternity clothes, and hopefully, I won't get so big that I have to buy new before the baby comes. I should be wearing them now, but its like when I was younger... don't wear your new fall clothes until school starts. I've always been that way too.

Luckily, I can still wear most of my non-preggo shirts (minus a few that are just too short), so all of my nice long sleeve preggo shirts will wait until it cools off a bit. Here's my favorite purchase..


If I could only knit... I'd have saved a ton of money! Actually, it wasn't too bad. Oh, I am biting the bullet and buying a new bra for my porn star boobs. I swear, they grew over night. :o

Sleep (or lack thereof):
Insomnia is killing me. I hope that it goes away soon. I fall asleep, and like clockwork, I get up to go to the bathroom, and I'm awake for 3 hours, then fall asleep for 1 more hour. So, I've been getting about 4 hours sleep a day. blah. I'm ready to tell John to hit me with a big brick.

And to end off this post... I'll throw in a picture of Thingey. I think it looks like John. I also think that "it" is a she. So does John, and my dad. I've had a few dreams about a bald baby girl.. eventhough in one of them she turned out to be my cat, Winston (the black and white one).

Looks like something from the X-files

Can you tell that this is a baby? Looks more like some creature from the X-files! The tech said that the head is on the bottom and you can kindof see the arms sticking out of one side. I can't see it, but I'm sure they are there, and waving away. All I see is my little wavy blob. I felt like that episode of Friends, where Rachel couldn't see the baby in the ultrasound.. I just couldn't figure mine out. At least I know its only one! It was cool to see the heart beat (163 bpm), and Thingey was flickering a bit.
You know, if you stare at it long enough, a face appears... kindof like in those 3D pictures that you have to stare at the dots to see a dolphin... I see Gollum (from LOTR) when I stare too long.
OH, apparently I am measuring at 9 weeks 3 days, instead of 8 weeks 4 days. That would put me at early March. Who knows.

I don't know how they do it....

bullemics, that is. I have now moved into the next phase (and hopefully final) of morning sickness. I just don't know how these girls can voluntarily make themselves throw up. And yes, I'm a total baby and whining is making me feel a bit better. *crossing arms, stamping foot on ground*

Still green

WAH!!!!!!!!!!!
I have become such a whinger (Ihope I spelled that right)! Getting through class feeling this way was a major accomplishment, so I can't even imagine getting through work. I'm at 7 weeks and my appointment is on the 31st.
Today we took a ride down to UPenn. John has an interview down there and we wanted to check it out. Ya know, I say some of the dumbest things. As we were walking, and I was already feeling gross, I stated "I smell Chinese" as we were walking through a campus tour of chinese people. Now, I didn't mean that I smelled chinese people, but I could smell the restaurant that was a block away! John thought I said that just because I saw Chinese people and was cracking up. But, honestly, it was the horrible smell from the restaurant wafting through the air.

I'm gonna have to download my pics sooner or later. I took a pic of a cuddly toy that John bought the baby, and I'm trying to figure out what it is... is it a horse, reindeer, donkey, or some sort of platypus type animal. Its cute anyway, but I just can't figure out what its supposed to be. I'll make sure I post a pic.

Time for a nap (again)

constant shade of green

6.5 weeks and counting...

Oh boy.... Where to start.. This week I am in a grad class called "creativity and composing in the music classroom". I love these kinds of classes, but on Saturday morning sickeness kicked in. The minute I open my eyes, the nausea kicks in. Thats all it is too.. nasty nausea. It lasts from morning till night, and goes from mild to bad in waves. Did I mention the hot flashes?? yikes. They're loads of fun in 100 degree heat! I'm also amazed that my clothes are still fitting. The bloating is bad, but at night, I look more like Buddah, than myself!

Other stuff...
my nephew went on a trip with a group called "people to people" to AUSTRALIA today! I am jealous, but I don't relish the thought of that plane ride. 17 hours from LA to Sydney.. then however long to Brisbane. I think its pretty cool, and I think my sister was okay at the airport. The last thing a 12 year old needs is his mother freaking out at the airport!
Not much else going on, except we have a visiting fox every morning and I always seem to miss it. I caught a glimpse of the tail running by, but John's seen the entire thing run up and back!
Hopefully, I'll have some news on John's interview next week..

Okay.. we're geeting a storm and the electric is dimming... :( I can't be without my AC (with these stupid hot flashes)!!

Hormones and food aversions

6 weeks
Hormones:
I have to remind myself not to watch the news. As I was laying in bed (sooo tired) yesterday, news of Barbaro's (the race horse) condition came on. Turns out he has that horrible hoof infection in his good foot and his chance of survival is poor. Well, I am an animal lover, and am always touched by animal stories of survival. I practically lost it when the news of Barbaro came on. More because he was doing so well for the past 6 weeks, and then thinking about how his owners have spent so much time and money trying to save him. I read today that he had a good night last night, so maybe he'll pull through.
Now I'm getting teary eyed over global warming and the doctors/scientists who are trying to save the polar bears. Right now they are showing a sedated mom, but with all of her babies in a wiggly pile , and the chance that they'll make it until next fall isn't good.

Okay.. enough of that.

Food aversions so far:
Peanut butter (used to love peanut butter on toast)
hamburger/ground beef
hot coffee
hot tea ~ I really thought I'd have trouble giving up/limiting my tea and coffee.
chocolate
cookies
sweets in general
creamy things (cream of anything soup)
smell of toast
smell of any tinned fish (blech.. don't eat it anyway!)

ZZZZZZZZZ.......

They (all those pregnancy book authors/ moms who remember being pregnant) aren't kidding about the tiredness. John and I went to King of Prussia mall today, and after having lunch and some shopping (I got a book - he got clothes), I found myself leaning on a clothing rack while John looked at shirts on sale. Those who know John, know that he examines every garment thoroughly. Next thing I know, I feel a tapping on my shoulder asking if I was ready to go. Yes, I fell asleep in JC Penney.
Thank God, I don't have to work right now. I can't quite see myself dancing around the room with a bunch of first graders waving scarves to "Lets Go Fly a Kite". I love my naps, but my mom tends to ALWAYS call me in the middle of my nap. Today, John actually gave me the phone, so I never really got a nap.
It was so hot today, that I didn't get up for my morning walk. My legs were really stiff anyway, and my back was sore (from John and the cats hogging the bed). I can justify this by knowing how much we walked in the mall, and John parked his car in the FARTHEST parking spot available. In his defense, it was under a tree and nicely shaded. The walk from the car to the mall wasn't bad going in, but coming out (after my JCPenney nap) felt like miles.

How cool is this?

This is the actual size of the baby! That little speck is giving me the worst heartburn and gas of all time! I am certainly giving John a run for his money. LOL!!!

Oh, the heartburn!!! 5.5 weeks along

At just over 5 weeks, I am having nasty heart burn, and horrible gas.. yeah, tmi, but thats whats happening. I am a huge fan of Tums and GasX. I don't have any specific cravings, but peanut butter, hot drinks, and chocolate don't taste good to me at all. Haven't decided to get any books yet, but probably in a few weeks.
Adding onto my last post about being moody... well, I've decided that there needs to be a moody pregnant woman day at any store that requires a cart. Yesterday at the Giant, I thought I'd kill the next big butt woman who stopped short in front of me or took a nice leisurely stroll down the middle of the aisle. Now, I am not a girl with a skinny butt at all, but for crying out loud!!! Move your spandex ass a little bit faster down the aisle. Don't even get me started on my Target experience.. All I wanted was my Tide laundry detergent that was on sale, and I found myself trapped in the laundry detergent. Blocked in on all sides. It was pure hell.

Who's a moody biatch???

Ooh, pick me! pick me! I've never been so cranky before! All I want is to turn my Air conditioning on. its just too muggy in here. John doesn't feel the heat at all, but I sure do. Its on now, but this is after I gave a few snide remarks...
Today, I had a brief sick feeling, but I'm fine now. I find it odd that I also would rather have spicy food than sweet. My morning cuppa just doesn't taste the same, as it does in the evening. I have to have it in the evening to truly enjoy it. Now, if I only had a custard cream biscuit to dip in it!

I suck at keeping secrets!

I really do!!! So, here we go..... Sometime in March, 2007, our little "thingey" will be arriving!!! We're absolutely thrilled, and so far, I feel great, outside of going to the bathroom every 10 minutes!!!

We're Back!!!

We've arrived home from the UK, and we had a great time, once we managed to get there! We departed from JFK airport and parked the car at the Ramada Plaza and then booked a room for the evening we returned back from England. Seems easy enough, doesn't it? Well, our flight was for 7:30pm, and we knew it "should" take no more than 3 1/2 hours to get there. It was a Sunday afternoon, so traffic shouldn't have been too bad. Good thing we left at noon! We zipped up to the bridge to NY in notime at all (2 hours)... then it took almost 2 1/2 hours to get from the Goethal's bridge to JFK. It was 45 minutes sitting on the Varrazano bridge alone. I've never been so stressed driving in my entire life! We got there, with only one wrong turn (according to mapquest), but it put us right at the hotel, so it couldn't have been too wrong, could it? The worst thing is that just as the shuttle was pulling away, John asked me if I locked the car. I then freaked out for the rest of the flight.
As for JFK airport, itself, I really liked the terminal. So much nicer than Philadelphia's airport terminal that BA goes out of. The flight wasn't bad for me. I was so stressed out that I slept for almost the entire flight. No NyQuil or anything! Poor John. His chair was broken and had a knee in his back the entire time, the guy next to me was reading the entire trip, with the light (plus the light of the empy seat next to me) shining the entire time, whilst accompanied by a screaming toddler (over tired, I guess) the ENTIRE trip.
We arrived to beautiful 66 degree weather! Got to Bicester and went straight to the Cafe for a nice fry-up . I forgot how good UK breakfast is! Now I seem to want it all the time! haha..
The trip itself was great. I met both of my brother in laws, and John's adorable neice. She looked like a little baby doll. She's just over a year old, and will be a big sister in December. Also saw MIL, Lynne and Nan (92 years old, bless her). Of course we saw all of our friends too, and had a great time. I'd put pictures here, but they're on my camera phone, and I can't seem to figure out how to get them on the 'puter! Oh, and saw Tam and Josh too. They just moved from the US to the UK, and Bruce is soon to join them (yay!).
Coming home we managed to get bumped up to World traveller Plus, which was great! I think we'll pay the extra for those seats next time we fly. We weren't cramped at all, and it was just the two of us. Got back to the hotel room, to fall asleep from 5pm, until 4:15am.. Ride home took 3 hours, with a half hour stop.
Here are some pictures


view from train:



Cornwall:


food shopping:

You have GOT to be kidding me!

I just got called for JURY DUTY ..... AGAIN! I just went back in October, and now I have to go back July 10. Un freakin believable!!!!

I don't mind doing my civic duty, but really, not even a year later! To add insult to injury, the "enclosed" envelope to return the questionaire wasn't enclosed.

Oh well, must remember to NOT go to Subway for lunch while I'm there. It was disgusting.

Woo Hoo! Going back to the UK for a trip

Well, in just over a week John and I will be heading up to JFK airport to go to England for 10 days. I'm so excited. I didn't expect to be going at all, but John said that he didn't want to go without me. Sweet, eh?
We booked on priceline and saved a sh*tload of money. Flying out of Philly was next to impossible and the tickets that you could get were almost $2000! It was less so much less flying out of JFK. I wonder why that is?

So, I'm driving us up to the Ramada at JFK airport, parking for the time, and then we are staying there the night that we land back in the US. There's no way that I'm going to drive 2 1/2 hours with jetlag!

I was just starting to get England withdrawl symptoms, and now I'm going. I'm so excited. Trying to work out a time to go see Tam too. I just hope I remember my camera (I forget it at every event I go to.. almost forgot it when I went to the UK to get married!). I will be posting many pictures, as long as I don't forget the camera. :)

More Random Photos

Outside of re-staining a table for my mom, which she wants to be a honey pine color, we're not doing too much for Memorial Day. Here's the table...Does this look like it should be "ipswich pine?" or does it look more like "special Walnut" that is on mahogany wood. hmmmm...


Outside of going to my sister's for a BBQ, which I have to post pics of the work they're doing in the new house, I've been doing just a little bit of planting. Most of my stuff is perennials, but I still do a bit every year. take a look!

This is my Orange Blossom bush, that came from a rooting of my sister's, which came from a rooting from my mom's bush that is now about 8 ft. high.


Here's my birdfeeder seen through the rose bush


The roses... Its a David Austin Rose called Graham Thomas. You see this kind a lot in English Gardens..
There are loads of roses.. the only problem is that the stems are too short to cut and put into a vase. They smell delicious, and look incredible. Apparently, they really are disease resistant.

Here's my herb garden. Only small. Basil, Chives, Oregano, Cilantro, Thyme (French and English) and Parsley


And my front porch flowers...
these are mums that will bloom in the autumn


My hanging basket, that was supposed to go to my mom for mothers day..


and my impatients..

Will post more later, when I upload the pictures.

One year ago today

One year ago today, I was finally over the panic of waiting for immigration to go through on John and Charlton. It didn't hit me until last night that on May 12, 2005 they had their interview at the US Embassy in London. It's amazing that I carried so much stress with me for 11 months and survived. So, on this, the anniversary of the interview, I will now post the timeline.. oh, and a small glossary. With all of the immigration hubub going on here, this is what it took, in our case, to come over legally!

RFE = request for further evidence (aka wait longer than you should for a mistake that someone looking through your paperwork usually makes - sometimes its you, but in our case, it was someone else )

I-130 - petition for relative CR1 visa (greencard)
I-129F- petition for K3 visa
I-864 - financial evidence
DS-3032- paper that says to send me all paperwork
DS-230- Biographical information (the last bit of paperwork.. big deal when you get to this stage)
AOS- Adjustment of Status
VSC- Vermont Service Center
NVC - National Visa Center


6/14/2004 - married in Scotland
--------------VSC----------------------------------------
6/21/2004- sent 1-130 for John (was told I didn't have to for Charlton)
6/28/04- NOA1 for I-130 (they got it and its in a pile somewhere)
6/29/04- sent I-129F
7/01/04 - found out via congressman to get a I-130 in for Charlton
7/06/04- sent I-130 for Charlton
7/10/04 - I-130 for Charlton arrives (overnight mail, my ass!)
8/11/04- John's petition approved (where's Charlton's approval????)
9/3/04- RFE for Charlton (birth certificate)
----------------------NVC TIMELINE------------------------------
9/3/04- Case number assigned for John
9/24/04- DS-3032 sent for John
10/7/04- Charlton's I-130 approved
11/10/04- case number assigned for Charlton
12/7/04- AOS fee (both J&C) sent and DS-3032 sent overnight
12/26/04- Visa fee sent
1/4/05- I864 for both J&C sent.. COMPLETED. NOTHING is missing.
1/30/05- DS 230's sent to NVC!
2/4/05 - Black day... 2 RFE's on the I-864's. They said that I did not include my W2's for either packet... WRONG.
2/4/05- FED EX Tax forms to NVC
2/11/05- John's tax forms there... but they "don't have a set for Charlton" - bullshit
2/14/05- I fed ex another set of tax forms, as well as Congressman Weldon's office
2/16/05- Charlton's tax forms there
2/21/05- Congressman Weldon's office tells me to be patient.. then told me that the person at the NVC probably didn't even look at the packets, and that they didn't "feel" thick enough. grrrr
3/7/05- found out both cases were complete!
---------------------US EMBASSY-----------------------------------------
3/18/05 - Cases sent to LONDON
4/12/05- email confirming interview for 5/12
5/04/05- medical in Edinburgh..
5/12/05 - successful interview!

If you can survive that, you can get through almost anything!!!!!

Been crazy week...

What a nutty week. Things at school have been hectic, and Winston has decided to start peeing right outside his litter box. I've even bought a new box, which the other cats love, but Winston still insists on peeing outside the other box. I think we should get rid of the "pee box" and leave the new box, so he'll get used to it. Its a nightmare everyday. This box really does cut the smell and not as much litter goes onto the floor. So, it gets 5 paws, in my opinion. Its the Booda box, if you happen to want one.




I've been frantically trying to get everything together for the concert, while dealing with a crazy bug that just won't go away. Just feeling like poo, but not 24/7. I dunno, I just wish it would go away so I can move on!
This coming week is going to be insane. Concert is on Tuesday, have union meeting on Thursday, and hopefully there won't be too many more mettings. I have to get over to my mom's new house to get an antique bookcase for all of John's cookbooks. Right now, we have one of those horrible unpainted bookshelves that I put a light stain on, but it looks like it belongs in a kids room. Maybe I'll go get that today, if not, I will definitely get it this week .

The new house

Well, My sister just moved into a new house, which is actually a victorian house that was "modernized" in the 1960's/1970's... and my Mom just inherited a victorian farm house that isn't too bad, but we have the huge task of going through all of the house and clearing out old paperwork/magazines/etc.. I will be definitely taking pictures of both homes before and after as the transformations take place.

My sister's house has many walls that will be knocked down, and some of the paint/designs are quite scary...

My mom's new house, the basement is MARBLE! Who the hell has a marble basement??? Well, not entirely marble, but I'm guessing that the previous owner's (I'm not mentioning names yet)father was a contracter many many many years ago, and must have gotten extra marble somewhere and used it as the floor and part of the wall. You can see where he must have been too sick to finish as the stuff to stick the marble slabs to is on one spot, but the marble to be put there is laid nicely against the wall. The rest of the basement has a coal shoot, and doors that we dont' really know where they come out at. Its a cool house, and I will have to definitely post on that one as time goes on.

Had to face up to it

Yes, today I finally realized that I had....... a mustache. I always thought John was teasing me, but this morning as I'm washing my face and putting my makeup on, I noticed a lot of fine hair around my lip. I had a ladystache.

I tell ya, nothing make you feel old as much as facial hair. I really felt that if I didn't do something about it, people were going to start to look at me and run in fear ! Or, that I'd come home one day and this would be on my door, as a sign to all.


So like any freaked out woman, I bought some of this stuff ....



and it is much better. phew.

Finally have an up-to-date phone!

Yes... I finally got a real cell phone. My old Nokia, kept dialing people on its own whilst in my purse! My purse has dialed friends, family, random number, 911 (and they called me back too), and has connected me to the internet more than I care to think about.

So, I got my pink razor phone. I couldn't get my "Sanford and Son" ringtone, but I have "Down Under" as my normal ring, and "Bad Day" for my mom... It totally suits her! So, now I have a new toy, plus the bluetooth headset - since I love to gab on the way to and from work. I swear by my hands free! To make things even sweeter.. I even got a 15% discount for work, and I got it for a lot lower than I thought.

So, if you are reading this, and you know that I had your number, please either call, or text my cell so I can re-add you to my phone list! The bright girl that I am, I didn't write a single number down.

will resize pics...

I just saw how HUGE the pictures are in my last post... I will resize later today! Happy Monday.

Some Random Photos

Well, since its been a while since I've truly posted, I thought I throw some piccies in. Our recent drama here has been the illness of Winston, our little black and white cat. He decided to eat a fabric covered button that was green with lots of thread

Needless to say that after 1138.00 in vet bills, here's our Winston..



He milked his illness too. He knew that John would be totally suckered into it..




On a new topic... here's Johns garden in the UK... I am having UK withdrawl and really wish we could be there. I'm a bit envious of Bruce and Tam for moving back to England.





And finally, probably the best pic ever taken of me... and of course, look what I have in my mouth! Bruce took this one last night at our get together at Marls and Stu's house. We had a nice relaxing day, until Marlene pulled out the teeth! It was great to see Auds, Gareth, Gaby, Bruce, Tam, Josh, and our hosts.. Marlene and Stu. Its ashame that Joanne and Tony couldn't be there too. We missed them.

Yeah, yeah...

I know, I know.. been a long long time. So, before I fall asleep I'll do a quickie post. Yes, I did get the chocolate, about 3 days after that idiot guy drove off. What made me mad was that a few days later when we went to World Market, they had the same thing for a few dollars cheaper.

Alright, more tomorrow when I can get my head back together! More importantly.... Liverpool beat Chelsea today.