Baby Updates

I have purchased a baby memory book.  I bought some things for the kid already, so I don't know why the memory book makes it a little more real than, say, clothes and diapers.  And formula.  But it does.  I don't know why, but we have the book and are beginning the process of filling in the info that we can.  You know, the mushy stuff about how we found out we were expecting, family reactions, etc.  But the book is cute and girly and I am enjoying it.  I think my own baby memory book only goes to maybe the first year, but this one goes up to the first day of kindergarten.  It's weird that it goes so far.

But in other news, we have the crib (it's still in a box), the paint to start decorating the room, and other odds and ends that help in the organization of said room.  Hopefully we'll have stuff painted and set up in the next couple weeks so we don't have to worry about it when the heat of summer hits and we're not scrambling at the end.  It will just be good to get things fully organized.

I've felt the baby move in weird ways; everyone has said "oh, it feels like a butterfly."  Not so much.  I've felt the kid pretty much punching me from the inside.  I was rough and tumble, so it makes sense that my kid feels the need to beat someone up.  Lucky me, I'm the only one available.

Mentally, things are getting harder.  I'm feeling things more intensely, and even when a situation happens that is irritating, it just ratchets up to some intense anger that I know is not warranted based on the situation.  Regular irritation, yes.  Extreme anger, no.  But, it just happens that way.  I spent my anniversary day irritated beyond belief because of a couple things.  I was okay to be irritated.  The situation warranted it.  But I didn't have my meds to stop the escalation of emotion.  That is what my drugs do; put my emotions and everything else into normal range so I can feel things like a normal person.  We went to the psychiatrist the other day, and he asked me to hold out at least another couple months.  He thinks there is a lower chance of birth defects if I go back on my meds towards the end of May.  We need to check with my OB/GYN, and pray about it, but there is a chance I get could medicated earlier than after birth.  Which would be amazing.  I really miss my meds.  I miss how I don't have to monitor myself as closely as I do now.  My psych tells me that I am exercising my rational mind, and that this should be a self-esteem booster.  I'm sure I'll look back on it someday and be proud of myself, but for right now, I'm just not a happy camper.

Otherwise, things are just moving along.  There is not much new and exciting.  It's just killing time until D-day.    

Name change

Since we are in the middle of expecting a child, I figured it was time to take myself down to the Social Security Office and the DMV and add on to my name.  Since I liked all three that I was born with (and, to be honest, never thought it was fair that a girl had to change her name but a guy didn't), I just added Athey to the end of my existing moniker.  So, in about 7-10 days when my new social security card and driver's license get here, the initials will be SMKA.  I'm good with my new arrangement and just need to practice adding on to my existing signature.  I'm curious to see if the DMV can get the name on one line.      

Redneck Disneyland

Kevin and I recently had an adventure to Bass Pro Shop.  Neither of us had ever been there and I've been hearing a great deal about it; mainly that it was the most incredible sporting good store ever.  It is to Kevin what DSW is to me, just to give you a little perspective.  So we went and wandered around.  This place is truly a Redneck Disneyland (basically a more realistic Frontierland).  There is a shooting gallery, a HUGE fish tank full of the ugliest fish I've ever seen, mountain goats climbing rocks around the staircases, and all the clothes are divided up into categories of sport (fishing, duck hunting, large game hunting, etc.).  It was insane.  And I'm pretty sure there was everything a sporting-good enthusiast needs under one roof.  There is even a gift shop and general store where you can buy snacks and other food products.  You know, because it's so big you get hungry halfway through.

And the people-watching was worth the price of admission.  Wow.  Sometimes, stereotypes exist for a reason.  In the end, it was quite the adventure.  

 I'm pretty sure I saw people genuflect in the front before entering

 I'm an American Tradition since 1856.  I look pretty good for my age, then.

 So many shooting options

 Waterfalls and faux trees and live fish.

 Because what trip to Bass Pro Shop would be complete without a souvenir? They have everything you need to decorate your hunting cabin.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

We spent St. Patrick's Day in Dublin (California, not Ireland), watching the traditional parade.  I love homegrown parades and the random things you see.  I managed to purchase some Girl Scout cookies (I LOVE that time of year) and Maggie enjoyed the festivities dressed in her leprechaun best.  There were too many fabulous moments to only choose a few photos, so I'm giving you the best of my lot.

 Maggie loves a parade!

 Bagpipes are always a hit.

 Civil war veterans (re-enactors?) made an appearance

 Kevin was super excited about his high schools appearance.  His brother, Dan, was super critical.

 A happy leprechaun 

 Even leprechauns support breast cancer research

The Shriners appearance is NEVER a bad thing

 More bagpipes!

And a bagpipe band! 

Fantastical News!

A week and a half ago, my brother called to let me know our Uncle Rick had been diagnosed with cancer.  There was a spot on his neck he had nicked while shaving, and after it stopped gushing blood, a weird thing started to poke out of it.  He went to the doctor to have it checked, and it turned out to be a cancer often found in the kidneys.  On Wednesday, he went in for the MRI the doctor had scheduled, and they found a tumor on his kidney, approximately 2"x4" in size.  It is a contained tumor without any indication of cancer elsewhere in his system.  They caught it EXTREMELY early, thanks to the random lump on Uncle Rick's neck.  Apparently, in some very rare cases, some of the cancer cells break off and lodge elsewhere in the body.  This is what happened in this case, which is very fortunate since Uncle Rick wasn't displaying any signs of cancer or sickness whatsoever.  

Surgery is scheduled for April 2, and the doctors will remove the kidney with the tumor.  They anticipate that this will fully remove the cancer from his body and are not planning on him needing any chemo or radiation treatments.  I am extremely thankful that this was caught so early, and that Uncle Rick will have many more years to tell his stories and perform his stand-up for the family.  And I know that his siblings and my Aunt Madelen are even more thrilled with this news.  A world without Uncle Rick is a terrible thing to contemplate.

Cloth

We have decided to go the route of cloth diapers for the kid.  Not so much because of environmental reasons, but more because of cost-effectiveness.  Since the plan is for me to get back on medication as quickly as possible after the kid is born, we are formula-feeding her exclusively.  This means we need to buy a lot of formula (which we've already started purchasing and stockpiling), which is expensive enough in its own right.  Added to that the cost of disposable diapers, and it turns into a pretty disturbing sum of money.  

So we started investigating the cost of cloth diapers, observed our friends that use them, asked around, did some Internet research, and discussed.  And then took the plunge and ordered a set.  The plan is to order a set every month (since we have some time) so it's not a shocking amount of money all at once.  

The diapers are not the old-school cloth options, but are not really any different from disposable, except you just need to wash them, and they come in very attractive colors and prints.  Over the course of 30 months, the cost of disposable diapers is approximately $1500--$2000 (per child).  The cloth diapers we've started purchasing are going to cost a total of $400--$500 as the initial output, but we're saving in the long run, since they are a one-size-fits-all diaper.  Plus, if we have another kid, the diapers are good to go for round two.  

We'll see how this works out.  I'm a little nervous about committing all up front, but I can't overlook how much money this will potentially save us, and it just feels like a good direction.  If nothing else, we'll just get a good story out of it. 

  

It's still a girl! and other updates

I had to go back to the doctor's on Monday for a follow-up ultrasound.  When we were there last week, the kid was not in a cooperative mood and wouldn't let the tech get a look at her heart or a clear shot of the nose and lips.  So, back I went for an hour of fairly uncomfortable contortionism, but clear views of the heart were obtained and a "good enough" look at the lips and nose.  Apparently the kid likes yoga, because her knees were touching her nose and her feet were over her head.  I'm thinking we might continue with the yoga training after birth to maintain that flexibility.  I'd post updated photos, but we haven't scanned them yet, so be on the lookout for those in the (hopefully) near future.

At this point, we are 22 weeks along, and I am feeling much better.  The nausea is pretty much gone, but I am experiencing some major heartburn/indigestion every night, so the bottle of Tums is my new best friend.  Otherwise, it's just business as usual.  My energy is down in the morning, but up and pretty perky in the afternoon and evenings.  I was born a night owl, so I guess things don't change very much. We've started a list of names, and keep adding to it.  Someday we are going to have to start whittling things down, but for right now, our list keeps growing.  Hopefully we'll get to the hospital with a fairly short list and are able to take care of the naming situation without too much fuss.

But in the meantime, we continue work on the guest room/nursery, where Kevin is resistant to some of my more stellar decorating ideas, but I persevere, nonetheless.  I have some time to get around objections, so wish me luck!

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

I decided the pillows on the couches needed to be updated.  The ones we had came with the sofas Kevin purchased LONG before we ever met.  Needless to say, it was time for a new look.  Thanks to Pintrest, I found a super easy tutorial here, and went to town yesterday.  I made four pillow covers and they came out AMAZING.  It was easy, I figured it out, and there were no meltdowns.  I'm ridiculously pleased with myself and the results.  I am now on a streak and want to make more pillow covers and get more pillows (as accent pieces, obviously); we'll have them for everyday and then seasonally appropriate looks.  Our whole house is going to be decorated with pillows.  I'll calm down soon enough, but I am super proud of me.  This gives me hope for future sewing endeavors.  Today, a pillow.   Tomorrow, a curtain!

 My pride and joy; all four pillows.

 A close-up view.

  The context shot.

Dreams

I have recently become a very vivid dreamer.  It's weird.  I assume I always dream, because doesn't everybody?  But I never remembered my dreams when I woke up.  But in the last few months, I have been experiencing incredibly vivid and somewhat realistic dreams, and remembering them when I woke up.  Some are horrible nightmares, such as watching my brother Chris be killed and die right in front of me, while others are just absurd, like living in Eureka and the people I know from the Bay Area are living up there.  And not my close friends either; just people I kind of know through friends and co-workers.

It's really very odd.  I'm not sure what my subconscience is trying to work out.  I could look everything up in a dream interpretation book (there are actually psychology textbooks for therapists to reference on this subject matter), but I just don't want to.  I'm a little scared about what I'd find out.  I miss not remembering my dreams.  I'd like to go back to that state of being.  It was just easier than trying to figure out what the heck is going on in my brain at night.

Happy 85th Grandma!

We spent the weekend in Chico for my Grandma's 85th birthday and a little Klima Family reunion.  We packed a lot into the space of 48 hours, but a good time was had by all.  It was nice to see my brothers, SIL, and cousins.  Plus, Maggie had a good time with her friend Willy (Grandma's dog).  We tend to have these gatherings every five years, on Grandma's "milestone" birthdays.  We hang out, catch up, take a family photo, and celebrate Grandma.  And it's always fun to hang out with the cousins we hardly get to see.

 The newlyweds; Jeff and Kerry

Cousins Christian and Christopher; the Chris and Chris show!

Me and brother Ben

Dad and his sister (my Aunt Jan) and Uncle Jordan

The birthday girl!

Mom and I

Jeff and cousin Ashley

Kevin and I were excited that Livermore Wineries were represented at the 5th Street Grill.  We're absurd like that.

Not the best shot of us, but just go with it.

Happy 100th Oreo Cookie!

Happy Birthday Oreo Cookie!  The oreo cookie turns 100 today, and deserves a some celebration.  I have enjoyed this little sandwich cookie in so many forms, I am hard pressed to say which is my favorite.  I think an Oreo Cookie and Peanut Butter Milkshake (Harbor House does it best) is the overall winner, but crushed up into frosting on a birthday cake is pretty great as well.  And the original twist, lick, and eat of the Oreo cannot be overlooked.  Whatever form is your favorite, go all out and celebrate Oreo today!

Maggie has an announcement!

-posted on the go!

The Saga Continues

Remember this fun incident I experienced last year?  After I had showed up at the Alameda County courthouse TWICE (October and November), responding to two separate subpoenas, only to sit there for hours before they finally let us go due to the trial being postponed, I thought I was no longer on the hook, since so much time had passed.  But no such luck.  I received in the mail today, a subpoena to appear at the courthouse on March 5th.  That is hardly any notice at all.  I really hope something happens on Monday.  I don't want to have to show up again and again.  With my luck, I'll be in labor the next time I get subpoenaed and then have a warrant out for my arrest because I didn't show up.  Imagine the doctors note I'd have to get out of that one. 

Why couldn't these armed robbers make a smart decision for once in their lives and just plead guilty?  That would save everyone involved a ton of time.