Adventures in Pumpkin Carving

Last night was our designated "pumpkin carving" night since Jaimie had school Wednesday. So after watching 'Pursuit of Happyness' (which is a great movie, by the way!), Jaimie, Miah, and I set to work on the pumpkins we got from Vala's on Tuesday.

Now, the last time I carved a pumpkin was in, like, 2001. And that was the first time I'd ever carved a pumpkin on my own. So I was completely rusty. Jaimie and Miah, however, were old pros. I swear, they had theirs done in about 45 minutes ...while I was still whittling away at Jaiden's tiny pumpkin. Jaimie taught me the finer points of pumpkin guts scooping and how best to scrape out the inner walls ... All things I was making harder on myself! lol

Since I'm a complete perfectionist when it comes to certain things, I had to make a pattern for mine and Jaiden's. Jaimie and Miah, however, just cut away at their pumpkins! I did Jaiden's first, then worked on mine.

All the pumpkins turned out fantastic! It's so cute to have them all lined up next to each other on the table ... a little pumpkin family! =D

We're going to run out and get some candles to put in them tonight for Halloween, so I'll be taking a few extra pictures of that, along with my pumpkin seed roasting adventures!

Also, before I leave you with the slideshow of our pumpkin carving adventures, I found the "Legend of the Jack-o-Lantern" while doing a search on how best to roast pumpkin seeds. I never remember hearing about this, so I thought I'd share!!

"There was a stingy drunkard of an Irishman named Jack; who tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree. Then Jack quickly cut the sign of a cross into the trunk of the tree; thereby preventing the Devil from climbing down. Jack made the Devil swear that he wouldn't ever come after Jack's soul again or claim it in any way. However, this did not stop Jack from dying and when he did he was not allowed into Heaven, because of his life of drinking, being tightfisted and being deceitful. And because of the oath the Devil had taken Jack was not allowed into Hell either. "But where can I go?" asked Jack. "Back where you came from!" replied the Devil. The way back was windy and dark. The Devil, as a final gesture, threw a live coal at Jack straight from the fire of Hell. To light his way and to keep it from blowing out in the wind Jack put it in a turnip he was eating. Ever since Jack and his "lantern" has been traveling over the face of the earth looking for a place to rest."

For more history of Halloween, click here!

And finally, "Our Pumpkin Carving Adventures!"

The Tradition Continues

Last night, we made our annual trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. This was Jaimie and Miah's fifth or sixth year going, and my second. When explaining Vala's to friends and family members, I have a hard time coming up with the exact way to describe it. Other than sending you to their website, I would have to say Vala's is a very quaint, countrified, simplistic version of DisneyWorld! lol

They have some shows, the Pig Races being my favorite (omg, those piggies are too cute!) ... they have walk thru attractions, like the Haunted House and the Pumpkin Mine ... there is tons of good food to eat ... and they have a Hayrack Ride that takes you out to their pumpkin fields where you can pick your pumpkin right off the vine. These are only a few of the attractions they have, and tho they are no where near the technologically advanced Disney rides and attractions, it is truly a wonderful experience for the whole family and I have looked forward to going every October!!! =D

This year, Jaimie, Miah, and I were able to see and do a lot more. For one, we went a little earlier, so we had more time. Also, it was just the three of us ...whereas last year we went with our friends, Pam, Tom & Erryn and their little girl Akyna. As any "park aficianado" can attest ...the larger the group you have, the less you get done!

Last year we were not able to take the hayrack ride out to pick out pumpkins because it got too late ...so this was the first year I got to experience this. Jaimie and Miah also had not been in a few years because something always seemed to come up (time constraints, mishaps with falling in water, weather conditions). So it was almost "brand new" for them too. The ride out to the pumpkin fields is fairly dark and it has a little bit of a "creepiness" factor ...especially riding past the fields of corn! All I could think of were the movies "Children of the Corn" and "Signs." lol

We wandered off to the part of the field were not many people were looking ... most people stayed near the "football" light because they were not as prepared as we were ... Jaimie brought a flashlight! lol We searched the pumpkins for the ones that "spoke" to us. Jaimie found his right away ... Miah found his next ... and I kept wandering around saying, "Oh, but that one's so cute ... wait, no, that one over there is great too!" I swear, I would have taken about five pumpkins home with me if I could have!! Finally, I approached a pumpkin that looked promising. As I walked up next to it, I got my foot caught in the vines around it. It seemed to me that my pumpkin had found me first and wasn't letting me leave without him! =D

As we loaded ourselves back on the hayrack ride, Jaimie leaned down and grabbed a small pumpkin. "This one is Jaiden's," he said. So *all* of us came home with a pumpkin that night. =D We're going to be carving them tomorrow ... so look for my next update for pictures!!




We upheld "old traditions" ...having chili bread bowls and going in the haunted house ...and started new ones, like getting hot cocoa while we walked around. And let me tell you ...hot cocoa on a cold night is D-I-V-I-N-E. ^.^ I look forward to next year when all of us return ... this time with Jaiden getting to experience his first pumpkin patch. I can't wait to see his reaction to all of it!

Lastly, I put together a slide show of all the pictures I took. Thankfully, this year I brought back-up batteries ... but it still got dark rather quickly, and my camera doesn't like nighttime shots! lol But I have the wonderful memories of last night stored in my head, so the limited amount of pictures isn't too bothersome. =D Until next year, Vala's...

Call a Plumber!

Oh, wait ...I sleep next to one every night! =D

I jokingly told Jaimie this morning that I was going to need his services as a plumber because the girls have sprung a leak. I told him that I have the home warranty plan, so if the leaks can't be fixed, he will be able to replace them at no cost to me! lol

Unfortunately, his area of expertise in plumbing doesn't involve the leaks I'm experiencing with my girls. I guess this will just have to be a lesson to me that they truly enjoy their supportive, comfy sports bra more than being "let free" for a night.

I Love My Jaimie! <3

Friday I felt the first flickers of an oncoming cold. Jaimie and Miah had both been sick over the past week, and I *almost* thought I was gonna dodge the bullet. Saturday I woke up with my nose more stuffy than normal and feeling a little froggy. Jaimie had to work, so I just stayed curled up in our nice warm bed and rested.

I got up around 10:30, my head feeling fuzzy. After consulting the "guidebook" my doctor's office gave me, I took some cold medicine that I'd bought for Jaimie a few days prior. I tried to check my emails and read thru blogs and play a little WoW, but I just felt miserable. So I went and laid down on the couch.

Jaimie came home a little while later with Jimmy John's. We'd never had it before and let me tell you ...it completely blows away Subway, Quiznos, and Blimpies combined!! lol Even in my blechy state, it still tasted absolutely delicious! hehe

After lunch, we went into the office, but Jaimie could tell I still wasn't feeling good. He asked if I wanted to lay down and I told him, "Yes, but I missed you all day and don't want to spend time away from you." So what does my hero do? He goes into Miah's room (he was at his mom's for the weekend) and pulls the mattress off his bed and puts it on the floor of the office! So I grabbed a pillow and a blanket from our room and curled up on my make-shift bed.

Finally, my meds wore off and I was able to sleep, which my body had been so desperately trying to do since about noon! I probably slept for about four hours or so, but I woke up feeling much better! All thanks to my Jaimie who did something as simple as give me a place to rest in the same room he was in. Because of his love and care and attention, I woke up feeling absolutely fantastic on Sunday!! No sniffles, no sinus pain, nothing!!

Yes, I most definitely love my Jaimie!!!!!!!!

I Guess Studying Does Pay Off

Last Wednesday morning I drove up to the hospital for my 3 hour glucose tolerance test (GTT). They drew my blood for the "fasting" reading, then I got to drink an even more sugar laden Glucola.

I got my blood drawn three more times after that, every hour. Before the second blood draw I was feeling kinda blechy and very tired. So the two nurses who had been drawing my blood set up a bed for me in one of their nuclear stress test rooms. =D I ended up napping for an hour ... so that definitely made time go by quicker. I felt a lot better after the nap too ... and after the third blood draw I called Jaimie. As I was talking to him, he came up behind me in the hallway and surprised me! =D He was only able to stay for 15 minutes or so, but it was really nice having him there even for that short amount of time.

By 11:45 am, I was done with all my blood draws. They gave me a Sprite and graham crackers to make sure I had some sugar in me before I left. But I *so* stopped at McDonald's on the way home and got a chicken sandwich!! I was starving! lol

I had my first actual doctor's appointment on Monday. I got to meet the doctor that will be delivering our little Baby Ohz (pending any unforseen circumstances). Her name is Dr. Gina Harper-Harrison and she's very nice. =D She showed me the results from the ultrasound and my 3 hour GTT. I only had one abnormal number ...you need at least two to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So yay!!! No G.D. for me!! =D The abnormal number was after my nap ...so I don't know if that had something to do with it or what. *shrugs*

As for the ultrasound results, she said everything looked great. She likes to see the baby within at least two weeks of your expected due date, and aside from his big ol' pumpkin head, Baby Ohz was right on track. Apparently his head was measuring at about 30 weeks (I was 27 weeks at the ultrasound) ...so when I told Jaimie about it, he joked that someone must have thrown a pumpkin on his head, like in World of Warcraft, for the Hallow's End festival. =D Yes, we're total WoW G.N.E.R.D.S. =D Here's my "artist's rendering" of our little Pumpkin Head ...I'm sure he doesn't look this maniacal ...but who knows...


Otherwise, everything else has been going well. I ended up using my mom's idea of going on my local Freecycle group on Yahoo! to get 'free stuff'. I'm going to post about baby stuff in a week or so, but first tried posting for some maternity pants ('cause all I have are two maternity shirts and a pair of clam digger maternity pants! lol). I ended up finding a woman who gave me a grocery bag of maternity shirts and pants!! Woot! I was totally psyched about them ...and I have to say, I think the shirts are fantastic!! I look awesome with my cute little baby belly! =D Here's two pictures we took Sunday and Monday of my new duds!





















And, lastly, I caught Luna being cute Monday morning and luckily was able to get to my camera in time. We have an ottoman that goes with our couch ...but we rarely use it. Luna will sometimes jump up on it and look out the big window in our living room. Well, this time she'd made herself nice and cozy up there and was just staring out at the neighborhood. She is just too funny sometimes. =D So I leave you with her royal cuteness:

Perhaps I Need to Study Harder

I got a call yesterday afternoon from my doctor's office. My glucose test came back slightly higher than it should have been. Anything above 140 is questionable (mine was 146), so now I have to make an appointment at the hospital to go back for the 3-hour glucose test.

I have to say, I'm disappointed and upset ...but I had a feeling I'd either get gestational diabetes or preeclampsia ...heck, why not both? Both of my grandmothers are diabetic, as is my uncle on my mom's side. That ups my risk factor right there ...not to mention I was overweight again when we got pregnant this time. Add to that that our little guy was in the 77th percentile for his estimated age ...it's probably G.D.

But, it could just be a fluke. Maybe I ate too many carbs before the test (I did eat some crackers about 30-45 minutes before I drank the Glucola...they told me no sugary stuff, nothing about carbs tho). With the second test, I have to fast ...so I can't eat anything after midnight, then I'll go in at 8am. So, we'll see how that goes and I'll probably find out sometime next week the results.

**Update: Jaimie picked up my paperwork for me, and I'm going to the hospital tomorrow morning to get my 3 hour test done asap ...Will let everyone know how it goes when I get back tomorrow afternoon**

The Discomfort Begins

Okay, so they say that the second trimester is your "feel good" trimester ...and once you hit the third you go back to feeling crappy like you did in the first trimester. It's a completely different kind of crappy tho ...well, at least for me (indigestion, for the lose). And, truthfully, it's not really *that* crappy ...I'm just being whiny. =D

Yesterday, especially last night, I started to feel *SO* uncomfortable. I swear, I am super hot from the moment I wake up till I go to bed at night. And no, not that kind of hot ...tho Jaimie would argue otherwise! lol I don't know if it's my new 'corner' in the office ...or if it's pregnancy hormones ...or what. But it's seriously an oven over here!! Jaimie just smiles and turns the air on for me. =D

Also, I think Baby Ohz is doing more renovating (aka growing) in there because my tummy felt super tight and heavy yesterday evening. I had a lot of trouble getting comfy in bed last night too. I feel like my tummy's so big already (and yet, not ...sometimes I think I don't look 'far enough along') ...so I can't imagine it in the next couple months!!

Mm-kay, so that's my little whiny rant for now. But for every moment of discomfort and blechiness on my end, I am just so thankful that our little boy is doing so well!! And, no matter what, I would do this all over again!! =D

Uh Oh ...Naming Dilemma Already??

Well, since the ultrasound Tuesday night, we have been running around saying "Jaiden Thomas" this ...and "Jaiden Thomas" that. The name Jaiden had been something we've had "set in stone" for nearly two years now. We had been having a discussion about baby names, and I had told Jaimie that I loved the name Aiden for a boy. Because Jaimie has a personal J-name tradition in his family, he said he liked the name, but it didn't start with a J. ...So we added one and got Jaiden!! Perfect! We also agreed on the spelling, because the first three letters of Jaiden and Jaimie are the same. I like little things like that.

Then, earlier this year, Jaimie's oldest son, James, and his girlfriend, Amy, had their second son. What did they name him? Jaiden (spelled differently tho). I went thru a hissy-fit stage ... pouting around the house and whining, "How could she take our name?!" ...Well, truthfully, they never knew the names we'd had picked out for our kids, so it's not really their fault. But I was being whiney and selfish, so it totally was their fault!! So I made a list of 'alternative' J boy names, but Jaimie pretty much shot the idea down and reassured me that it wouldn't matter what they named their son ... that we could still have our little boy be Jaiden. And so that's what we did.

Buuuuut ...last night when we got up off the couch to head to bed, and Jaimie touched my stomach and said Jaiden (amongst all his little nicknames), he tells me, "You know, I do like the name Jackson." At first, all I hear are the bombs raining down around me ... but then I snap out of it and say, "I've always liked that name too ... I had thought about using it if we ever had more than one boy. You know, it's kind of a homage to my hometown, too? Jacksonville!" And Jaimie goes on to say, "I like the nickname as well -- Jack."

OMG ...what have we gotten ourselves into?? You know how I said in my last post that I was a little disappointed it wasn't a girl? ...Well, at the same time, I was also relieved that we wouldn't have to worry about picking out a middle name just yet!! lol I was happy that our little Jaiden Thomas' name was "set in stone." ...I guess we picked a really weak stone ...'cause it's starting to crack and crumble!!

So now we have to decide if we're going to stick with Jaiden ...or perhaps go with Jackson (and maybe play with spelling on that ...I like Jaxson, Jaimie's not too sure about the whole 'ebonics' X thing). By choosing Jaiden, we'll have two boys in the family only a year apart with that name ...we don't have that problem with Jackson. But Jaiden has been such a long time favorite ...UGH!! Such a tough dilemma ...I love them both!! Why couldn't we just have had twin boys? lol

I've created a poll on the baby's blog. Jaiden v. Jackson. Lemme know what you think. Either way the middle name stays the same ...Thomas, after my late grandfather. <3 Well, at least we have another three months to figure it out!!

Best Day Ever ... So Far!! ^.^

My appointment yesterday went fantastic! Just one quick 'rant' before I start, however.

** Don't let the doctors/nurses fool you!! The drink for the Glucose Screening Test is NOT awful!! It's the "You're not allowed to pee before your ultrasound" that is the true horror!! =D **

Aside from my desperate need to pee when I got to my appointment yesterday and Jaimie not being able to make it for the full ultrasound, my visit to the doctor's office went *very* well!

I went in and Colleen, the ultrasound tech, first checked my cervix and something else ...then she let me pee. Oh, thank you, Colleen!!! lol

She then got started on the baby's anatomy. She told me that she would check out what she had to, then she would show me the baby and answer my questions. However, while she was doing her measurements, I would comment or ask something and she answered everything. Colleen is, by far, the best ultrasound tech we've ever had!! =D

Colleen said that the baby looks great ...everything is measuring well too. =D She looked at the baby's head and brain, stomach and kidneys, heart, and femur. It was really amazing to see the baby's heart beating on the screen!! ^.^ She also checked the placenta and measured the amniotic fluid around the baby.

So a few stats: Colleen measured the baby at being 29 weeks (based on my last period I'm about 27 weeks). The baby is 15 inches long (and I can't remember if she said that was crown to rump or not >< I think being that long, tho, it's probably more a head to toe measurement!) and weighs 2lbs 14 oz ...that's almost 3lbs!! Baby Ohz is in the 77th percentile ...my little over-achiever! ^.^ Based on Colleen's measurements, she put my expected due date up to December 22, 2008!! Maybe we'll have a Christmas baby!

Okay ...so I know you probably skipped all my blabbing for what you really came here for. I know you're all dying to know ... "Did you find out what you're having?!?!?" ...Either that or you're saying to yourself, "Pictures, woman!! Pictures!!" lol

Well, here HE is!!! Our little Baby Ohz -- Jaiden Thomas!!

Since Jaimie was not there, I asked Colleen if she would find out the sex and write it down for me ...I brought an envelope for her to put the 'surprise' in, that way Jaimie and I could open it together. She did one better tho -- she took a picture of Jaiden's 'boy parts' and put all the pictures in the envelope for me. While I was waiting to get my blood drawn for the glucose test, Jaimie came in and I handed him the envelope. He found the picture and smiled. ^.^ Then he got all giddy about getting to buy "boy toys" again. lol

I will say one thing ... I had a slight tinge of disappointment learning we were having a boy. Jaimie also felt that, because 1. he knew how much I wanted a girl first and 2. I know he's wanted a girl too. But I smiled at Jaimie and said, "Well, you know what this means? We just get to try again!" ^.^ He laughed and rolled his eyes ... "You just keep pushing my retirement further and further away!" I am *very* excited to be having a little boy ... and I know my little Jiana will be waiting for her day in the spotlight!! So, for now, my niece Jessica is still the only granddaughter!! =D Enjoy it while you can, Jess!! =D

I will have the rest of the pictures posted on The Adventures of Baby Ohz. Colleen was kind enough to give me seven!! =D I had to get a little 'creative' because I don't have a scanner. I used my (crappy) camera to take pictures of the pictures, then I cropped them down one by one to make 'individuals'. They are still slightly blurry, but not as bad as when I try to zoom in and take them individually. I also added a few labels to certain ones ...those ultrasounds can be rather confusing. I give Colleen a lot of credit for knowing what she's looking for!! =D

So, yay for Jaiden! And yay for a great doctor's appointment!!

Torture

Whoever knew that being told to drink 4 - 5 glasses of water and not pee would be *this* torturous. Okay ...so all the pregnant women who've had to do this! lol

For some reason, I didn't think I'd have to do the full bladder thing for an ultrasound. Boy, was I wrong!! I still have over an hour before my appointment and I have to PEE!!! I even 'cheated' and peed at 2 pm. It's a good thing I did tho or I'd be in even more agony than I already am!

I'm starting to think another reason women look forward to the ultrasound is so that they can pee afterward. The release has seriously got to be just as satisfying as seeing your little baby on the screen! lol

A Little Scare Turned into a Nice Surprise

So, Jaimie and I had a bit of a scare yesterday. When I woke up and went potty, I noticed bright red blood on the toilet paper. I had been having minor cramps since the day before, but had attributed it to "growing pains". I tried not to be too worried, especially since I had been feeling the baby move that morning before getting out of bed, but all I could think of was when we went to the ER in January because I was spotting and found out we'd lost our baby.

I called up my new doctor's office and they had me come in. Jaimie met me at the office and we went in and saw their nurse practitioner, Erica. First thing she did was check for the baby's heartbeat ...this was really Jaimie and I's moment of truth ...we had been thru this awful experience before in the ER. But Erica found it almost immediately and said the heartbeat was good and strong in the upper 150s. That right there relieved *SO* much worry ...but we still didn't know why I was bleeding. My thoughts had gone to either 1. a placental abruption or 2. placenta previa.

Erica then did a quick pelvic exam to see if the problem was with my cervix. It was my cervix ...but not how I'd thought. Erica found the bleeding on the outside of my cervix ...the opening is still nice and closed up tight. However, she wanted to do an ultrasound just to make sure the placenta was where it should be and the baby was swimming around happily. I, of course, jumped for joy on the inside ...an ultrasound!!!! Yay!!!

Luckily, there was a quick opening in the ultrasound tech's schedule for 3 pm, otherwise I would have had to go across the street to the hospital ...and *really* have to relive a horrible experience. Jaimie and I went home for 30 minutes and headed back to the office just before 3 pm. Colleen, our ultrasound tech, didn't seem very happy that we weren't doing a full scan ...she didn't see the point in us having to pay for two scans, since I haven't had a full anatomy scan done. But she did a quick scan anyway, to check the baby and placenta.

And that's when (mostly Jaimie) got to see our little Baby Ohz! Colleen wasn't really explaining anything because (I think) she was in a rush. But when Jaimie asked her, "Is that the baby's spine you keep moving over?", Colleen said yes. =D Jaimie told me later that it looked like something out of Alien. lol Colleen said everything looked A-OK ...my placenta isn't over or near my cervix (it's actually at the top of my uterus) ...and Baby Ohz was curled up in the vertex position.

Then, just before Colleen went to put her wand away, Jaimie asked 'the question'. We had talked about it in the car on the way back to the doctor's office ...and we decided to find out if Baby Ohz is a Jiana or a Jaiden. Colleen started poking and prodding the wand high up in my abdomen ...but it seems Baby Ohz is a lot like his/her Mommy! When my mother went for an ultrasound when she was pregnant with me, I wouldn't get my legs out of the way. Well, neither would Baby Ohz! lol So, Baby Ohz still remains a mystery.

But Jaimie and I cannot tell you how happy we were to know that Baby Ohz is okay and my 'super' cervix is still doing its job. After the ultrasound, we went back with Erica and she did a pap smear and took some swabs to rule out infections. She said that most womens' cervices during pregnancy are 2-3 mm thick ...mine is a 'super' 4.7 mm! lol Then we finished up being poked and prodded and went to the nurses' station to get a sooner-than-Oct 27th-appointment set up.

My next appointment ...today at 4 pm!! I'm going back for the full anatomy ultrasound (wooooot!!!!) and my glucose screening (bleh! lol). Jaimie's going to try to make it for the appointment, but if he's not there, I'm going to ask Colleen to write the baby's sex down on paper (No, Mom, I'm not mailing it to you ...but I will call and tell you the results!! lol), that way we'll still be able to find out together! =D Hopefully, since this is my first (and probably only) *big* ultrasound scan, I'll be able to get lots of pictures! =D So I'll be posting tomorrow the big news. =D Stay tuned!!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

On this day, 88 years ago, Arthur Thomas Schmidt was born in Jersey City, NJ to Adolf and Johanna, who immigrated to this country from Germany. Sixty-one years later, I finally got to meet this wonderful man when I was born into this world by his oldest daughter, Joanne.

Arthur Thomas Schmidt was my grandfather and I cannot explain the depth of emotion that I hold inside of me for this amazing man. So, instead, let me share with you some of who he was and why he means so much to me.

My grandfather grew up in Jersey City and met my grandmother, Gertrude, through his buddy Charlie. At the time, Charlie and my grandfather were enlisted in the Army and were just home on leave. My grandparents decided to write back and forth to each other and from there their relationship budded and grew. Long story short, my grandparents were married in November 1943 and remained so until the day he died.

My grandfather was stationed both in the Yukon and across the Atlantic in Europe during World War II. After the war was over, he came home and worked in places like Kellogg's and the U.S. Postal Service to support his growing family. But no matter how busy he was with work, he always found time to be a father.

My grandparents had and raised five wonderful children, two boys and three girls. My mother is the oldest girl, like myself. When my mother learned she was pregnant with me, my grandparents were very loving and supportive of her. Both she and I were very blessed to have them in our lives, especially when my mother was transferred from New Jersey to Florida with her job. They were retired and decided to come to Florida with my mother and I ...so I was privileged enough to grow up in a house with my grandparents and my mother.


My grandfather was my first male role model. I credit him for nurturing my sense of humor among many other things. He was always patient and loving with me, and let me do things he probably would not have let anyone else do (like be his hairstylist [see below]). We would watch baseball together and he would always help me understand what was going on in the game. Whenever we would watch National Geographic, he would joke that "There you are, Jess," when the monkeys would be on ...so I would point him out when the baboon was shown. I would help him put together his 1000 piece puzzles (well, I tried, at least! lol) and he taught me how to play Gin Rummy (not to mention 52-card pick-up! ^.^). When needed, my grandfather could be strict with me, but he was always loving and kind.


In him, I learned about the characteristics of the man I wanted to be with one day. I truly feel in my heart that he left me a path that led me here to Nebraska and to Jaimie. After my grandfather died in February 1997, my grandmother, mother, and I know that he watches over us. Whenever we see a butterfly, it is our way of knowing that he is with us. When I met Jaimie, he told me he lived in a small town south of Omaha. The name of that town: Papillion, which means 'butterfly' in French.

Since the start of this pregnancy, I have worn a small butterfly necklace as a way of reminding me that Grandpa is with me and is looking out for me and the great-grandchild he will never get to meet in person. I do wish that he was still here and could see this little baby for himself ... and that my children could grow up knowing this wonderful man who played such a special role in my life. But, instead, he will watch over and protect us all ...and I will get the privilege of telling our children about who he was and what he did for me.

So, Happy Birthday Grandpa!! I love and miss you with all my heart. <3

What else haven't you told me??

So I knew a lot of the basic symptoms I would experience during pregnancy -- morning sickness, weight gain, water retention, back pain, fatigue, etc. What I didn't really know a lot about I read in pregnancy books -- headaches, my hair not falling out, and a couple others.

What I didn't know was that I would experience a symptom not in my previous knowledge base or in any of my books. But it's something that occurs in many women during pregnancy.

So here it is ... something 'they' never told me! ...My hands frequently fall asleep at night to the point that it wakes me up and my hands are numb and tingly. I don't sleep on them, and really, it's mostly my right hand that this happens to ... because when laying on my left side, I have a tendency to curl my hand around Jaimie's or underneath my chin, which bends my wrist and apparently cuts off my already stressed-out circulatory system.

I've always had a 'weird' circulatory system ...my feet have always fallen asleep faster than most peoples' ...and I have experienced times when, after sleeping on my hand, it has fallen asleep. But never have I had a hand fall asleep just by having it bent!

Many women get Carpel Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) during pregnancy because of the increase of fluids pumping thru our bodies that puts pressure on the nerves in our wrists. So far, my wrists do not hurt ...so I don't think my hand tinglies can be completely diagnosed as CTS. Hopefully, it won't get that bad either!

So Jaimie's new mission, he says, is to wake up throughout the night and make sure my wrists are straight. ^.^ And, actually, I only had one incident last night where I was woken by a tingly, numb hand. So he must be doing a good job! =D

Well, to all women out there, don't let anyone tell you that your hands falling asleep is not a symptom of pregnancy! I am here to attest to this little known, but fairly common, pregnancy malady! ^.^;