Sigh...Thanks so much for the support, girls. You are all so incredible. I've been thinking about all this craziness almost non-stop but I've finally decided its going to be OK and if I do have issues, the doctors will take care of me. Heck, if I get to go for more frequent ultrasounds and check-ups, fine with me. I could stand a little hand-holding and pampering. :)

Ways I'm coping:
GD - I read that about 1/3 of all women who fail the 1-hr test will pass the 3-hr test, so I'm hoping I'm among them. I go for the test on Monday morning, so wish me luck. My principal told me to take the whole day off. He was kinda scared to think about a fasting pregnant woman walking around the school, snapping at kids. :)
Blood pressure - I've had my BP checked once since my appt and it was OK, so I'm hoping Wed.'s high reading was due to my being stressed because my parents had just arrived and were there to hear the h/b. Plus I'd had a gallbladder attack the night before, so that might be a reason...
Gall stones - I've been watching my diet since I found out and haven't had an attack in a week (knock on wood), so hopefully diet and exercise will keep my gallbladder under control until after Andrew gets here (on his own timetable!). If they have to operate, fine. If they induce early, fine. If they can wait, great.

Until I find out more, I'm just going to take it easy and, as needed, rely on you girls to keep me sane. I'm going to enjoy Andrew's pokes and kicks that seem to grow stronger by the day and just pray my heart out for this little one. I'm going to hold onto my faith and the truth that God loves me and Andrew. That's all I really need to know right now, anyway.

OK, how much more can a person take??? First, I have to go see a surgeon on Dec. 12 (two weeks from today) about my gallbladder and the possibility of operating before Andrew is born or waiting 'til afterwards...My doc says that, in the worst case scenario, we have to induce labor at 35 weeks and operate while I'm in the hospital. Best case scenario is we let the boy come when he's ready and I control the gall stones with diet and exercise, and operate about six months postpartum.

But now, the kicker...my glucose screen came back ABNORMAL. I have to go for the 3-hr test. I'm going to have to take a day off work so I can go in the morning and get this done. Grrr. High blood pressure, gall stones, possible GD...How much more can I take??

OK, off to google GD, hypertension, and gall stones now. I'll be back to whine more later, after I'm completely freaked out by the internet info I'm sure I'll find. Sigh.

So my parents (dad and stepmom, actually) left around 3 pm yesterday. When Chris got home from work we enjoyed a nice, quiet (read: nagging-free) evening. I love my parents, but they are a little much sometimes. I know they mean well, though, and I know they deeply love me and Chris (and this baby), so its OK. They went with me to my appointment yesterday and sat with me while I waited the hour to get blood taken for the GTT, then took me shopping (woohoo!) at Babies 'R Us and bought us the stroller/travel system we want AND the Pack-n-Play we want. We got the Graco Metrolite travel system in Delancy print, and the Pack-n-Play, with the mobile, bassinet and changing table (Ivy League print). In light of all they've given us and done for us, I can take a little nagging here and there about my diet and exercise habits, among other things.

We got home and got the Pack-n-Play all set up 'cause I was just too excited, and of course, this is what immediately happens:



Bad kitty! Oh well. I knew it would happen. In the pictures, Toby is on the changing table, but I've caught him in the bassinet as well . I'm gonna have to figure out a way to keep him out once there's actually a baby in there.

Anyway...its been a fun, quiet weekend so far. Chris and I decorated the Christmas tree and now the kitties are all asleep under it. I think the lights are soothing to them. No gallbladder attacks since Tuesday (and no good food, either), so all's well with the world at the moment.

Yes, I have stones. Big ones...right there in my gallbladder. Yuck. Oh well...at least we know that there is a definite reason I'm going through such pain. I'm calling the doc on Monday to discuss details, but I do know that I'm going to have to seriously change my diet (wah!) and after Andrew is born I'll have surgery to remove the blasted thing. Still don't know the results from my GTT but the drink was NOT as bad as I'd thought (tasted just like Sunkist to me!)and the nurse who took my blood was so gentle I barely noticed I'd been stuck.

Anyway, I'm off to hang with my parents before they leave, but wanted to update and ask for any advice about this surgery and what I can/can't eat now. Any info or advice is deeply appreciated!!

Quick update on the gallbladder thing...My doc is sending me to the hospital for an appointment at 7:30 am tomorrow morning (Friday) for an ultrasound and other various tests on my gallbladder. If it IS my gallbladder that's causing all this trouble, we'll have to discuss the possibility of surgery before or after the baby is born, and I'll probably be put on a strict diet. Fun.

Also, while I'm there at the hospital, I'm going to do my GTT and give blood to cheek my thyroid. My blood pressure was slightly elevated, which is a concern and (she says) puts me at risk for GD. Should be a fun morning all around. Yeah, right. The good news was that she immediately found Andrew's heartbeat and it was ticking right away at @165 bpm! Yay!

Anyway, the doctor on call should be calling me with the results as soon as they get them tomorrow or over the weekend. Hopefully.

OK, off to hang with the fam! Hope everyone has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I'm so thankful for my wonderful friends and family...including my blogland "support group"! :)

First of all, Jill...THANKS for the info about your experience with the gallbladder thing! I had another episode last night and it was horrible. I woke up with bad heartburn and then the pain kicked in. I ended up throwing up about 5 times. Gross. Fortunately, this was a relatively short episode (only about 20 minutes). I ended up sleeping sitting up for some relief.

I can't wait to get to my OB appointment today and talk to Dr. E about this. I don't know what she might have to do to diagnose something for sure, but I'll do whatever it takes for this to STOP. Also, I'm wondering if she is gonna make me go for my GTT today or sometime soon...I've heard its usually done between 24 & 28 weeks, and I'm in that window. Geez, that scares the heck out of me. Diabetes runs in my family big time, so I'm a little nervous that I'm gonna end up with GD that ends up being full-blown diabetes that I have to live with the rest of my life.

Gotta run...My parents should be here in a couple of hours! I'm so excited to see them! If I'm quiet the next few days, its only because they're keeping me busy. I will try to update with info from the doc, though.

Yay! My house is finally clean! I have scrubbed and scrubbed, and now it is presentable. Of course, with the cats climbing on everything and the dog shedding as she does, there will be some to touch-up tomorrow before the fam arrives, but that's OK. Looks like they will arrive around 1:00 pm or so, then we'll go to my OB appt at 2 pm and maybe do a little shopping. :) One thing I'm determined to do is discuss this horrible pain I've been having. The more I ask about it and read about it, the more I think it might actually be my gallbladder. That sucks. I'm trying to avoid greasy foods, but its still happening and getting more intense and more frequent. My mom had to have her gallbladder removed shortly after I was born (she was about my age), and I'm a little concerned that the same will happen with me. At least the gallbladder is not a necessary organ. I've already had my appendix removed...why not take my gallbladder? Heck, go ahead and get those tonsils while you're at it! Anyway. I guess we'll see what the doc says tomorrow. I just hope to make it through the night without another attack.

Gotta run for now...I'm meeting Chris at the Waffle House for lunch! YUM! (Yes, I know...greasy food! But I WANT it!) Then I'm off to do some grocery shopping. Gotta get a turkey! :)

Ugh, I can't believe how busy I've been. I've been a real slacker about blogging. I've been incredibly busy with school (thank God we've got the whole week off!!) and getting ready to take another test because of stupid No Child Left Behind. Apparently, its no longet good enough that I'm certified to teach special ed...I now have to be certified in the particular fields I teach. That's math for me. I took the test yesterday and it was AWFUL. I teach special ed. math, not ALGEBRA. It was really hard. I guess I should pray for a miracle, but I'm already looking at dates to take it AGAIN.

After the test we went to visit Chris' dad and stepmom. They grilled out and MAN, was it good. They had ribs, which I normally don't care too much for, but they were GOOOOD. Afterwards we sat around and talked, which was nice. Chris' dad works for the IRS, so we had a lively discussion about the book The Fair Tax (don't remember who wrote it)...Anyway, before we left Chris' stepmom took several belly pics of me. I'm sure that was attractive. :) Chris' brother and sister-in-law were there, and they came back to our place and spent the night. We watched the Alabama/Auburn game and then I hit the sack. I've been assaulted by my allergies and feel like I'm dying. Plus, I've been getting this INCREDIBLE pain that goes straight across my chest, right under my lungs. I'm guessing its gas, but when it hits, its so horrible I always end up begging Chris to take me to the emergency room. I am SO glad I'm getting an epidural when its time to give birth.

Anyway, that's the news for now. Yawn. I'll do a better job blogging this week since we're off. :) For now, though, I am off to church! We haven't been to OUR church in over a month (out of town, sick, etc.), so we're looking forward to it.

P.S. I'm 24 weeks now! Oh my goodness!! And Andrew kicks the crap out of me daily! I LOVE IT! Keep kickin', little man!

Yay! I'm so excited Thanksgiving is almost here! That means we get the whole week off of school, then we have only three weeks of school until CHRISTMAS break! And I LOOOOOVE Christmas. I think I love the breaks from school the most, though. These kids are wearing me out.

My dad and stepmom are coming to spend Thanksgiving with us. Its weird. I've always been in college or away at grad school and gone home for the holidays. I've never had it come to us! This is really new for us both, but it'll be fun...I hope. :) I love my parents, but it gets stressful having them in my home. I always think they're judging how clean the house is (or isn't), but that's my perception...nothing they've ever actually said. I have my next OB appointment next Wed. and my parents are going to go with me. There won't be an ultrasound or anything, but they'll get to hear the heartbeat, which will be cool. I bet my stepmom will cry. She's a sucker. :) But then again, I always get teary when I hear that beautiful sound, so who am I to judge? They want to go shopping on Friday to buy me baby stuff...I usually do all I can to avoid the malls the day after Thanksgiving, but for this, I might just have to break that tradition. :)

Anyway, its been a busy week and I'm tired, so I'm off to lounge in front of the TV for a few minutes until Chris gets home.

Only 2 more days of school! Woohoo!

Louisville was so much fun!! We arrived Saturday at about noon and met up with my college bud Shannon. We went to Cheddar's to eat (it was a favorite place to eat when we were in college in Lexington, so it was nostalgic and fun for us) and Shannon surprised me with two more friends from college who came to eat with us! It was awesome. We left there around 2:30 and drove to Georgetown (where we attended college). The town has changed so much. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They now have a Super Wal-Mart, a Lowe's, and a Kohl's...not to mention SO MANY new places to eat! When we were there, Scott County was a dry county, and now they're "moist" (liquor by the drink), so now all the good restaurants have decided to come. We left around 6 pm to head back to Louisville, and Chris started talking about wanting to go to Indiana, so we drove across the bridge (over the Ohio River) just so he'd shut up about it. :) Now he can officially say he's been to Indiana. We drove around a while and then went on back to Shannon's place to see her new house. She's so excited to be a homeowner...a big deal for a single chick like her. (She's always been VERY attached to her family, so this really was a big step for her.) Sunday, we woke up and went to church with Shannon, then drove out to see Churchill Downs! It was so cool! We drove around and saw the U of L campus and Shannon's high school, then went to eat at Mark's Feed Store. I think that was the name. That was some REALLY good barbeque. :) After a late lunch, we went back to Shannon's to pack and hang out, then went to the airport at about 6:30 for our 8 pm flight.

We got back home at about 11:15 pm last night after a short delay with the plane. We had to fly into Birmingham, AL, so it took us about an hour and a half to get home after landing and quickly getting out of the airport (we landed at 9:30 pm). It was a great trip, but SO GOOD to get home. I was kind-of freaked about flying, even though I know its OK and everything I've read says that the 2nd trimester is the best time to travel. Andrew was kicking the whole way to Louisville in the plane, and most of the way back. :) I guess he was letting me know he was OK. Nice boy. He knows his momma worries about him. It was so funny...every time the plane would hit some turbulence, or when the landing gear would come down as we prepared to land, he would kick really hard, as if he'd heard the noises. It was funny.

Today has been really hard, since I didn't sleep well Friday night or Saturday night and got home so late last night. Thank God I'm home and can just go put on my PJs and go to bed in a few hours. :) First, though, I have to check some blogs and see how everyone is doing!

Chris and I are off this weekend to visit a friend of ours (well, mine, really...a college friend/sorority sister/bridesmaid of mine) in LOUISVILLE, KY!! (I'll be thinking of you, Lorem!) The story is, we were supposed to go on a cruise last October, but I started miscarrying the day before we left and my doctor forbade me to leave the country, so we had to cancel the trip. We ended up getting our money back for the cruise and vouchers for the plane tickets. The deadline for using those vouchers is almost up, so we had to plan a little last-minute trip. (We just couldn't bear thinking of losing that money!) So, its off to Louisville for the weekend. Its no Carribbean cruise, but it'll be lots of fun to see my longtime buddy and visit the old college campus. I can only imagine how its changed. I'm so excited to just get away...I love spontaneous road trips! :)

Its only Tuesday and I'm SO tired. I'm still coaching the cheerleading squad, which is fun, but I'm just tired all the time and want to go home as soon as possible and lie down. School is OK, and the mean teacher seems to be over it, so I guess all is well. Only a week and a half more of school, then we get a whole week off for Thanksgiving. :) And only three weeks of school after that break, then we get three weeks off for Christmas! Gotta love the modified year-round school schedule. We go back around January 10 or something like that, and then I *think* I am going to get to stop working on March 10 (God willing) and stay home the rest of the year...maybe longer if Chris does indeed get the position at the church in McDonough! :) I hope it flies by.

Warning! Baby talk to follow...

I'm addicted to feeling Andrew kick. I purposely sit down while I'm teaching as much as possible, just so I can feel him. He never takes more than about 5 minutes after I sit down to start punching me and I LOVE IT. I hope it never stops until the moment I deliver him safely. I'm counting the days until the due date...only about 4 more months to go! God, please let it get here quickly. I'm scared about being responsible for a human life, but I'm really excited, too. Chris is going to be such a great dad. I can't wait to watch him be a daddy. (Please, God, let me see that.) I'm not taking any moment of this pregnancy for granted. I know too well what could happen, so I'm making every effort to enjoy every minute of it.

Wow, I almost forgot that I'm another week preggo now! Woohoo! Feeling movement has been such a relief. Now I'm just worried that it will STOP. The stress never ends.

Last night at around 6 pm, Chris' mom and stepdad called to say they were coming to visit! They decided to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip just to get away. We rushed home from our early dinner with our friend, cleaned the house, and waited for them to arrive. They arrived around 10 pm and we ended up staying up talking until about midnight. We slept a little later this morning, ended up sitting around talking and missing church, then went to eat at Huddle House this afternoon. They left to continue their road trip, and now we're home. I'm doing laundry and Chris is playing with his XBOX. Ah, how exciting my life is. Well, actually some interesting conversations were had today...

My MIL brought me this beautiful little figuring of a man & woman holding their newborn baby. I love it, but at the same time, I'm kinda nervous still about what could happen between now and March. I'd been doing so much better about dealing with all that fear and anxiety, but seeing that (plus all the baby stuff my SIL sent with them to give to me) made me a little nervous. I mean, should we be so confident? I guess its pretty rare for anything to happen past 20 weeks, but it still can and it makes me a little scared for people to actually be giving me stuff.

We talked a lot about how my BIL (who just got back from Afghanistan) and his wife are doing. In case you don't remember, my BIL had an 8-month affair with an enlisted woman who was stationed in Afghanistan with him. It began about a month after he left home and ended just before he came home. He didn't confess until it ended and, I believe, only because Lindsey (SIL) had just been to visit him for 2 weeks and he felt guilty. Oh, and his commanding officer caught him and the girl and wrote him up for it, therefore ending any chance of a promotion. (The army is apparently very strict about inappropriate relationships between soldiers.) ANYWAY, my MIL kept saying how angry my SIL was and how mean she's being to Timmy and how he's repented and needs to be forgiven, but personally, I would be PISSED if Chris had done this to me. He'd probably be a dead man. No, he'd definitely be a dead man. I can totally empathize with my SIL and I understand her anger. I respect her for staying with him and I'm so glad she's making the effort, but to me it just seems obvious that she's going to be dealing with a lot of emotions for a LONG time. This is not going to just go away overnight. You can forgive, but forgetting is HARD to do. Especially in a situation like this.

Anyway...Just another fun visit with the in-laws. Sometimes I feel like I live in a soap opera or something, and sometimes I feel very boring.

Well, off to do more laundry.

**Warning! Total tirade to follow. Hope I don't offend...

Its been a totally lazy Saturday around here. Nice. Last night, after whining about the stupid teacher who's trying to make me miserable at school, Chris and I decided to finally finish watching "Saved!" It was really good. There were a couple of things I disagreed with, but overall I really enjoyed the movie. I thought they did a really good job of portraying the self-righteous Christian who ignores their own flaws and the basic needs of other people and focuses solely on what THEY think is best for the person. I'm thinking about the whole scene with Cassandra in the mall where she was obviously drunk or high (or both) in particular, when Hilary Faye says she obvioulsy needs Jesus, and Mary says, "No, she needs a ride home." Mary was so right. Too often I see people talking about sharing Jesus with people in need, and totally ignoring their physical needs. I mean, if a person is starving and homeless, they're not going to give a rip about how "Jesus can save them from Hell." They want a hot meal and a warm bed. Take care of those needs first, then maybe they'll be open when you try to share Jesus with them. Too many people have it backwards. Oh, and about the whole homosexuality issue (thinking about how the school in the movies tried to get Mary's gay ex-boyfriend to leave and stay away from his prom)...Regardless on how you or I feel about it, and whether or not you or I think its a sin, gay people are still HUMAN and deserve to be treated as such. It makes me so angry when "Christians" go on tirades about how homosexuality is wrong and how "these people are heathens who are going to burn in hell for their abomination." I mean, God loves EVERYONE. No exceptions. If you think homosexuality is wrong and that its a sin, do you really think you'll get them to see things your way and change their lifestyles by cursing them and turning them away or acting like they have some weird disease? I mean, come on! If you read the New Testament, you'll see that Jesus was always hanging around and welcoming the homosexuals, prostitutes, thieves, AND so-called "righteous" people to hang out with him. He didn't push anyone away, and neither should we (as Christians). Seems obvious to me, but I guess its not that clear to lots of Christians out there. Ugh. I get so frustrated by people who've turned Christianity into something reprehensible.

Anyway, I certainly didn't mean to turn this post into a tirade, but there ya go. Blame the hormones, the bad week I had...whatever. I really did enjoy the movie and I'm glad we bought it. :) Now I'm off to have lunch with some friends. I guess this means I should change out of my PJs...

Ugh. This is a total teacher vent. Sorry if it bores you, but I gotta let it out.
Sometimes I really hate people. I know, that's not very nice of me, but so true. I went back to school today (feeling weak, but much better, thank you!) and had to deal with some issues with a student. He's one of my special ed students who takes resource math, reading and language arts. Anyway, we had a meeting and decided this kid needed extra support in science and social studies. This meant a big change in his schedule. Well, one of his teachers threw a FIT because "it messed up her other classes." Sheesh. None of the other four teachers got upset, and it definitely changed their classes as well. This teacher ALWAYS does this. Makes me so mad. She says she wants what's best for the students, but only as long as it doesn't affect her. Part of me says, forget her. Its no big deal. I probably won't even be there next year anyway, so who cares what she thinks of me? But the other side of me REALLY cares what everyone else thinks of me and wants everyone to like me all the time, so of course this matters. Grrrr. I wish I could just forget it. I hate that I care about what people think of me. I wish I could be one of those people who are so confident that they really, truly DON'T care what everyone else thinks.

Sigh. I'm going to go watch a movie or some stupid TV show and try not to think about her stupid fit.

Well, about midnight last night, Chris and I both woke up throwing up. It was AWFUL. I guess its a stomach bug going around the school or something...Also, I had the worst pain I've ever felt in my life last night. It was horrible cramping that went straight across my chest, right under my lungs. I asked the doc about it and she said its probably just really bad gas. Oh, great. She said everything is so squished in there with my uterus growing so much, that it just feels higher and more painful than normal. It was seriously painful. I kept telling Chris how I'm definitely going to get an epidural ASAP when I go into labor. :)
I was a bit worried about the baby with all this craziness last night, but he's kicking away this morning, so I guess he's all right. Probably hungry, but OK. The upchucking finally stopped about 6 am, so of course I did not go to work today. Chris went in at 6:30 am but is home now. He just couldn't do it. I've been drinking Sprite and cuddling with my kitties and puppy all morning. Now I'm going to try to eat a PB&J sandwich and see if that stays down. Wish me luck!

OK, I don't want to jinx anything, but for the past four days now, I've been feeling regular movement!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously. Its definitely KICKING I'm feeling! I come home from school, sit at the computer or lie down (depending on the extent of the fatigue at the moment), and about 10 minutes later, I feel him! It also happens when I lie down to go to sleep at night and in the morning when I first wake up, before I actually get out of bed. This is so freakin' cool. I just know that its probably gonna stop now that I've actually SAID something, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer. Andrew is actually moving in there! Woohoo!!!!! Finally, some sort of proof of life. Now I just have to pray it continues. :)

About This Blog

This is me, sharing my journey through struggling to conceive, surviving miscarriage, and, finally, receiving the greatest blessing ever...the gift of a healthy, beautiful little boy.

Blogs I Love To Read

• Aurelia Ann
• Bark Like a Dog - Milo (Justin & Lauralu's babe)
• Beyond the Pale
• Certainly Not Cool Enough to Blog
• Everything Is Under Control
• Galloping Cats
• House of Miao
• Irvin World (our family blog)
• Kathy McC
• Mad Mommy
• No, I Will Never Be "Over" It
• Sweet Coalminer
• Taking Up My Cross
• The Barefoot Mama
• Three-Girls-O-Rama
• Vegas Mommy
• When Eggs Go Bad

• moving
• guilt and bad mommy thoughts
• update on us
• She is here!!!
• 5 days
• still here...
• Full Term!
• Deep thoughts
• Two years old!
• overdue update

• April 2005
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• July 2006
• August 2006
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• November 2006
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• March 2007
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• August 2007
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• October 2007
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• December 2007
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• September 2008

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