See Toni Run

4 Months Old

2010-03-23T03:49:00.007-05:00

Nemo recently turned 4 months old and I am so amazed at how fast time goes past us. At his check up his official weight was 17.9 lb and 26.5 inches. This would make him at 91% for weight and 92% for height. Dr. T said he is doing fine and that he can start cereal which I plan to introduce to him this coming weekend.

He is such a fun baby. Lots and lots of smiles and more giggles. He is reaching and holding toys. His new love is his his "woobie" (little animal/blanket). He also likes to suck his pacifier when he is getting ready for bed or when he is fussy at nap time. I am thankful that he spits it out when he is done. I was glad that he never really liked it but something obviously changed his mind. I guess we will deal with this little addiction when he gets bigger.

His favorite games are patty cake with his hands and feet! Daddy and Nemo made up the latter one. He still loves to be sung to and likes to be held a little bit upside down. Talk about giggles when he goes all the way up side down! He likes it when we read to him and he likes kisses and tickles. He likes to lay on his back and when you give him all of your attention and play with him you would think it has to be his best day ever! I know it feels like it is mine!

On Sunday, we witnessed his first time rolling over from tummy to back. He did it 3 times and both directions! On the forth attempt he had a melt down, took a nap, and now has no interest in ever trying this again. I am starting to think he has a "check list" and he has decided that he has "been there and done that".

He still loves bath time and is now in the deep end of the infant toddler tub. One day, a few weeks ago he got to take a bath in the BIG tub. Let's just say we had a little problem with a very messy diaper. I didn't think he could repeat this but apparently he did at daycare yesterday and had to get washed up in the sink. Our little guy was quite upset with his teacher and she told Chief that he wouldn't even look at her when she was done cleaning him up! Again, a bit on the stubborn side as I have gotten that same treatment when I had made him mad.

Chief and I have realized that Sprout TV is a good thing. A year ago we wouldn't have known what this even is. He especially likes Roary the Racing Car, Animal Jungle, and his favorite time is at night with Nina and Star. He can be so sleepy but he will watch and when Star comes on he will start to "talk" to him.

A few weeks ago we put him in his Baby Einstein Activity Center. Chief has named this his "office". Nemo is very busy with this thing. He can stand and spin around and play with all of the toys. Sometimes he concentrates so much to figure something out. It is pretty fun to watch. He likes to go to his "office" and "work".

So, we are happy to report that our little boy is doing great. We couldn't be happier!

Happy Baby Boy

2010-03-03T14:23:00.004-06:00

Nemo is one happy baby boy! He is going to be 16 weeks old this weekend. It continues to amaze me how fast time is going. Everyday is fun. He seems to learn something new or give me a new look all of the time.

His daycare is amazing. Chief and I love it and we know Nemo is so loved there. One day, he was quite upset with his parents: daddy put on an outfit that was a little snug getting on and then I dared to put him in his car seat. When he got to daycare he wouldn't look at me. I went to give him a kiss and he turned his face. I handed him to Ms. Emily and my gosh his little face lit up and he gave her big smiles. At first, I felt like chopped liver but then it hit me that he really does like where he goes everyday and all that matters is his happiness.

We get reports everyday as to what he did. Let's see, there are art projects, and tummy time, and singing, and reading books....the list goes on. They record everything even down to his last diaper change and what was in it!

Nemo is busy playing with his fingers. A few weeks ago he started to grab things and now he is figuring out how to put things into the mouth. He is sitting up with help. His head is very controlled. He is still doing awesome with tummy time. He is talking and now squealing when he gets excited. I can't wait for him to laugh. I think he is getting closer on that. He gives us big smiles especially in the morning and every single time we put him on the changing table. Chief has labeled that his "happy place". He is kicking and starting to rotate his hips more when we play on the floor. Daycare is practicing rolling with him. Fair warning to JJ and Dusty for when this kid gets going I don't think we will be able to stop him.

He has a 4 month check up in a few weeks. We are guessing he is over 14 pounds and 26 inches long. I suppose I could get on the scale and do the math but me getting on a scale is not happening.

Since going back to work I have gained 5 pound which is a little distressing. When I was home with Nemo, I was so busy being a mom and never had time to eat. When I got back to work my milk supply dropped way down and so I stopped pumping a week ago. Ladies, as hard as breastfeeding was it was a great way to keep the pounds off. I am happy that spring is around the corner. I really can't wait to go out and walk farther and longer. You all know that ever since I broke my arm a few winters ago I am a bit afraid of snow and ice. I have toyed with the idea of going to the YMCA but the last thing I want to do is not come home to my baby. I just can't wait to get home and be with him. I have some friends that are stay at home moms and they tell me that it is good for me to get out and workout on my own. The difference between them and me is that they see their child all day but I don't. I am choosing to spend time with Nemo rather than the gym. I am looking forward to warmer weather for walking and gardening.

The boys (JJ and Dusty) are being good brothers. We have had no issues and hope that continues. I am sure once the little guy gets moving things may change. Nemo seems to be more interested in them compared to last month. He has grabbed some hairs and has given both of them a few kicks. We are trying to desensitize the dogs so that they are getting use to him. JJ is still protective. I guess he figured that the stork isn't coming back to pick up Nemo. I have caught him checking on Nemo when he is in his crib. Dusty still doesn't much care that there is a baby here.

Our lives have changed a lot since last year at this time. All for the better.

Someone is "Soooo Big"!

2010-01-12T07:27:00.007-06:00

How can two months go by so fast? Nemo had his 2 month check up and weighed in at 12.9 lbs and 24 inches long. He is healthy and happy. Well, maybe not so happy after his shots.

He is doing great. He smiles, is attentive to sound and color, "talks", and has some stubbornness to him. No ideal who that came from, ahem, Chief. He can hold his head up and is a "tummy time" rock star. He loves polka-dots. He is still not sure of his fuzzy brothers. They tend to make him furrow his brow.

He is not digging his crib these days. Probably due to the fact that he has a cold and when he is really stuffy I hold him in the rocker. He now prefers my "pillows" over his crib mattress. I bought a Baby Einstein Crib Aquarium over the weekend. I thought it would give him something to look at and drift off to sleep. This didn't work for us. Nemo didn't even look at it but did finally take interest in his mobile.

I am packing up his 3 month sized outfits. Wow, these look so small compared to his new 6 month old clothes. We are so fortunate that we received great gifts, especially all of these clothes. He will be looking good when he goes to daycare.

Speaking of daycare, I am having a hard time dealing with letting him go. Maybe it is selfish of me but I want to be the one taking care of him. He's my little buddy and has so many ways of telling me what he wants. It took me a while to figure this out and now he will have to go through this with someone new. I have thought that perhaps I have made a bad choice by going back to work full time. Perhaps I should have considered part time work instead. Maybe I should have had a nanny come into the house. There seems to be a lot of "what ifs" right now. Friends have told me this is normal but it is killing me.

I am going to miss him so much when I go back to work. I can tell that I will be crying my eyes out when I drop him off. I am sure this will be a hundred times worse for me than for Nemo. He is a pretty easy going fellow and I am sure as long as he is fed he will be happy.

The Meatloaf Saved the Day

2009-12-03T09:53:00.004-06:00

The Rest of the Story.....

After our appointment on Friday, November 13th, I was still of work because of the “early labor” and was told to take it easy. Since we didn’t have good meals during the week due my hospital visits, I decided I would make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and home made Nestle Toll House Cookies for dinner. I was really craving meat and cookies!

I rested all morning with contractions every 7 minutes. I had just finished lunch when I had a really strong contraction and then I felt a little “gush” of something. I went to the bathroom and found nothing except that the pad I was wearing seemed a little damp but definitely not soaked. It didn’t look like urine but I couldn’t be sure. So, I just figured it was something from the doctors checking me all week. The contractions did come a little closer together and later that afternoon I felt another smaller “gush”. It was the same as before but now I was questioning if my bag of water was leaking.

I called Chief at work and gave him a heads up. I also told him I wasn’t going to call the doctor because they would tell me to go to the hospital and then when I got there they would tell me to go home and rest! I told him I was going to “monitor the situation” and that I didn’t feel bad so it couldn’t be anything.

After Chief got home from work he walked the dogs and I was finishing up dinner. I was still timing contractions to be about every 5 minutes but to me they felt worse the day before. We had our ice cream and cookies for dessert and then it happened. I had another “gush”. This time I didn’t have a pad on so I was positive it happened. Chief convinced me to just call the hospital and it wouldn’t be a big deal if we just went there for them to confirm that my water did or did not break.

We headed off to the hospital. We checked in and were put in the same room as the previous night. I got undressed, hooked up to monitors and then the nurse took a peek and told me she was very sure I broke my water. Then the resident came in and confirmed it to be true. My first thought was I couldn’t have the baby on Friday the 13th; Nemo spelled backwards is Omen!

Well, the meatloaf saved the day! Because we ate a big dinner so late in the evening the anesthesiologist said the surgery would have to wait until 4:15 AM. There was nothing left for us to do but try to sleep and wait. We tried to rest and maybe would doze in and out. Mostly I was laying and watching the monitor. I loved listening to Nemo’s heartbeat. I had so many thoughts and emotions. I couldn’t believe that the baby was coming in a few hours. I held Chief’s hand, I cried, I thought about the future. I even wrote Nemo a little note just before the surgery.

Promptly at 4:00AM they came and took me to the OR to get prepped. Chief stayed behind and waited for them to get him. The OR was interesting. They had good classic rock playing on the stereo. Everyone was running around getting things ready. The anestesiolgist told me that the usual plan for C-Section is that the woman gets and spinal and epidural, but because of my allergy to morphine I was only able to get a spinal. The big deal is that they only have 2 hours of numbness. If I could have gotten the epidural the post op pain would have been less because the medication would have lasted 6 hours. I was really worried about getting the needle placed in my back but he talked me through it and it wasn’t so bad. Almost immediately the medication kicked in and I was basically paralyzed from my rib cage to toes. That is the worst feeling! I also had some lightheadedness and was dizzy because my blood dropped a little bit. They would give me IV medication to help with this.

I was so anxious to see Chief and when he came in I felt a lot better. A little while later I heard Dr. R say it was a big baby, asked for the vacuum and with two people pushing him from the top and Dr. R pulling from the bottom it was announced that we had a baby boy!

Tears of joy filled my eyes. Chief went to the baby while he was being taken care of by the NICU team. Everything seemed to be fine. Our little one was healthy and screaming!

I couldn’t wait to get to the recovery room because I had only seen the baby for a second. Chief and I waited for over an hour and I asked the nurse to please bring him to us. Finally, she did and when I held him I instantly loved him.

Nemo was 9 lb 2 oz; 20 inches long; and born at 5:07am. I will remember this day and that moment as the best part of my life.

Labor and Delivery (Part One)

2009-12-03T09:50:00.003-06:00

Labor and Delivery… I am sorry that this is late but for those of you who don't know the story here it is part one and I wrote this on November 13th.

On Monday November 9th, I had an OB visit and NST (non stress test). During the visit I started having contractions 5 minutes apart. The OB-GYN check me and said I was only a finger tip dilated and I should go home with the instructions to call if the contractions did not let up or if they got closer together.

Chief got home from work and walked the dogs. Then he and a neighbor moved the rocking chair to Nemo’s room. Unfortunately, he also threw out his back in the process. By 7pm I had talked with the doctor and was sent to the hospital because the contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and I had some concern about the amount of spotting that was occurring.

We grabbed the bags and off we went to the hospital; me with contractions and Chief with back spasms. When we got near the hospital Chief considered not parking in the garage because it would cost $4.00. You see, he pays for parking because he is an employee, but his parking spot is a bit of a walk for a man with an injured back and a woman with contraction. Thankfully, he opted to park and pay!

I knew his back was killing him so I hopped out of the car, grabbed the bag and cameras. He was having a hard time getting out of the car. We walked slowly to the hospital and I asked him if he would like a wheel chair and I could give him a push. I carried the stuff for a while until his back loosened up and then he took over. His next funny question and I think he was serious: “Do you want to take the stairs?” I think my glare answered the question.

When we got to L+D they quickly got me on a monitor. Yep, contractions are regular and 2-3 minutes apart. I was examined and was told I dilated about 1 cm. They decided to give me a liter of saline with the hope that this would slow things down. Over an hour later I was still contracting. I only progressed to 2 cm, which isn’t very much in 8 hours. The next step was to give me a shot to stop the contractions. Finally, around midnight they stopped and we got to go home.

We made it though the week until Thursday when the contractions started at 2:00 AM. At my OB appointment I was checked again and still only 2 cm. The contractions were only 7 minutes apart and I was instructed to stay home, drink fluids and call if anything changes. On Friday we had our ultrasound and we saw Dr. White afterward. The baby was 9 ½ pounds. Dr. White talked to Chief and I about our options. Her gut feeling was that the baby is big and if we tried to labor naturally it would probably result in 48 hours of labor and a C-Section anyway. She did check me and I was only 2 cm dilated with the baby still high. I was sent home to rest and wait for Nemo to come on Monday.

Now I am resting, drinking, and praying that everything works out. I can’t believe we are going to see our baby in just a few days. It seems that the time has passed too quickly. I know this pregnancy will end and another journey is about to begin. I thank God everyday for blessing us with this baby. Nemo, mom and dad can’t wait to meet you.

If the Chute Fits...

2009-11-08T21:16:00.002-06:00

We found out recently that Chief’s reputation as a child is coming back to get all of us in our home. When Chief was just a little chief, he decided to take a short cut into the basement from the first floor of his parents’ house to the basement via the clothes chute. Even though he was much smaller when he was 4-5 years old, the results were not good. He did not get stuck but the drop was quite intimidating looking once he got in there. Let’s just say that his mom needed to come and help him down to the basement.

We found out this past week that little Nemo is nowhere near little. We found out that Nemo’s weight is 9.5. I am not sure if that means 9.5 pounds or 9 pounds, 5 ounces. I know that this is only a difference of 3 ounces but we were told by the OB Fellow that if Nemo is over 10 pounds they will strongly recommend a c-section. (Groaning….) I really do not want a c-section. I had always thought that if Chief and I were fortunate enough to have a baby, I wanted to deliver vaginally without an epidural if possible. It sounds like that plan is not going to happen.

Two days after the ultrasound, I had a check-up appointment and the Nurse Practitioner and the Physician were concerned about the size. They wanted to schedule a c-section for November 13. I was against this plan for three reasons: first, I want Nemo to stay in me a little closer to full-term for development; second, this date is one day after my birthday and we don’t want our birthdays to be so close; and finally, something about delivering on Friday the 13th is unsettling. We compromised and decided to schedule the c-section for November 16.

Now on to my original point. I was told the c-section is going to be scheduled because they do not want the baby to get stuck in the chute. I did not realize the humor of this statement until Chief reminded me about the clothes chute. So this is how I see it, the doctors do not want Nemo to get stuck in the chute like his (or her) dad almost got stuck in the chute when he was little. Like father like son or daughter I guess.

Thoughts From JJ

2009-10-31T20:02:00.002-05:00

Something’s happening around here. It feels almost like someone is getting ready to move in. I hope it’s not another puppy. I am still recovering from Dusty coming into my world. My mom and dad have been bringing all kinds of stuff into the house (as generous friends and family have been showering them with gifts), putting things together, and doing more laundry than we normally produce. For example, a few weeks ago my dad decided to move the computer. That was quite the undertaking, not much creative language mind you, but an adventure nonetheless. What started as taking apart the computer turned into moving Uncle Dennis’ desk out of the den, putting a new desk in the den, putting new rafters in the garage to store Dennis’ desk, moving the day-bed out of the spare bedroom, reassembling the day-bed in the den and putting a raised, wood kennel in the spare bedroom. I hope that new wood bed is for Dusty because he is a bed hog. Did I tell you he barks and kicks in his sleep? He should go into that new bed, it has safety rails to prevent him from falling out. Did I tell you he fell out of bed once and landed on me? That was traumatic and I don’t want to talk about it. Funny thing about the new bed in the little bedroom, there is no top on it like my kennel and there are some toys that hang and move in a circle. I don’t know what that’s all about because Dusty would eat the toys and be able to escape that pretty easily.

I did not want to tell mom but she has been getting a little bigger lately. She has been taking more space in the bed and seems to have a hard time getting comfortable some nights. I think I know why…she is possessed. I think this because, remember how I told you that Dusty kicks in his sleep, well moms belly kicks back once in a while. When her belly kicks me I just look at her wondering why we are not calling for an exorcist. I am worried and hope this kicking will end in the next few weeks. I don’t really care if Dusty gets kicked because he usually kicks first.

I was really worried two nights ago. Mom was packing a bag like she was going on vacation. A bag was not packed for me but Dad did not pack a bag for himself so I was only a little nervous. I think things will be OK if they go away because sometimes Dusty and I get to go to Doggie Depot for a few days.

A little more about Dusty. When he and I go in the car with my mom and dad, if we stop somewhere, Dusty likes to jump from the back of the car to the back seat and sometimes go all the way to the front. I think my mom and dad have a solution on the way. One day a seat came in the mail with a bunch of seatbelts. It looks like this seat will strap into the car and then Dusty could be put in it. I think this is for Dusty to keep him in place. One thing that is confusing me though is this car seat for Dusty can be removed from the car and put into a stroller for walking. The confusing part is Dusty does like to walk and chase squirrels. I need to think about this part of my theory for a while.

I don’t know about you, but I think something is about to change around here. I would not bet any of my kibble on that because I love my kibble too much. I would be willing to bet Dusty though, any takers. Anyway, here is that strange bed.

36 Weeks Down

2009-10-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday we went to our final birthing class. We learned about pain medications during labor (morphine and dilaudid are used at our hospital), epidural, cesarean sections, post-partum depression, and got a tour of the birthing suit and post-partum room. It was a long day but we both agree it was a great series of classes.

When we got home, we kicked up our feet for a while and then headed off to church. We do our best to get to mass on time but we were late once. As we walked in the door, we could here music coming from inside and Chief asked if we were late again. To our surprise, it was a polka mass. We were hearing the band all the way outside. As we sat on the south side of the church, we could see the north side of the church was packed, standing room only. Evidentially members of the Polish community travel around to the polka masses because parts of the mass will be in their native tongue. The first reading was in Polish. We had no idea what was being said. Fortunately the priest used the sermon to talk about the first reading and the gospel because most of the regulars had no clue what the reader had said.

I was very uncomfortable during Church. My back was sore and I had a few Braxton Hicks’ contractions. I asked Chief if we could leave after communion and he agreed. So, we are in line for Communion and of course the person in front of me received the host with her tongue. Now, being a nurse and in my 9th month of pregnancy, I am really getting paranoid with the germs that are around me. I almost bailed out of line because I know that that woman had to have breathed her germs on the distributor’s fingers that would then give me my host. Oh my God, I was so glad to get out of church this week. There just seems that during a possible pandemic of H1N1, there should be no receiving communion by the mouth, no drinking of the wine, no holding of hands during the Our Father and no shaking hands for peace.

On Sunday, Chief put the crib together and it looks so nice! I am really getting excited. We ran out to Buy Buy Baby to get a few things that we needed. I asked Chief if I should start washing stuff but he thought maybe I could wait until next weekend. I think he is right. Although we both think Nemo will be coming early I am pretty sure it wont be next weekend.

My neighbor stopped over today and invited me to my baby shower! I was so surprised. It will be next Sunday. We are really lucky to have nice neighbors and friends.

By the way, on Thursday I saw Dr. Reddy at the OB appointment. She said everything is looking good. I was shocked when she brought up inducing me between the 39th and 40th week. I had no clue that we would talk about this and I was taken back but she explained it is because of the hypothyroidism and the risk of the placenta dying makes me unable to deliver any time past 40 weeks. So, Nemo will be here between now and November 21st. She said if I don’t go naturally before my 39th week we would discuss the options in a few weeks. I also have to start the “kick counts”. I hate kick counting because they want you to do it during the day and with working I don’t have the time to sit and relax. I am supposed to feel 10 kicks in 60 minutes. I didn’t remember feeling any on Friday so I woke up at 1:00am on Saturday and of course the little guy was probably sleeping. I couldn’t fall back asleep because I was getting worried. Finally by 3:00am Nemo woke up and was moving like crazy!

Chief told me last Sunday that I have dropped, my co-workers and I agree. I can eat more, have less heartburn, and I can breathe. But now I have more pelvic pressure and I pee more too! Funny thing is that I have had some weird cravings. For instance I need to eat meat and I really needed banana pudding pie so for dinner we are going to have Sloppy Joes and pudding pie. I forgot the Cool Whip and ran back to the store. When I checked out I left with Flaming Hot Cheetos! The lady who checked me out made a funny comment about my Cheetos and Cool Whip. I told her I would blame this one on the baby!

Here is our 36-week belly shot:

Burning Ring of Fire

2009-10-19T07:17:00.000-05:00

No it’s not the song “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. It is the only thing I am afraid of when it comes to birthing the baby. More on this later.

So, we had our first birthing class today. We gathered our blanket and pillows and off we went. The class was from 10am-2:30pm. There were 9 couples with due dates from November to January. It is kind of neat being in this class because of the different personalities. There is this poor woman who worries about everything…her poor husband. The couple behind us was really cool. They are expecting a boy a few days after us. They are kind of funny and had some under the breath comments that made Chief and I giggle in class. There were also a few younger couples and of course the “preppy couple” but everyone seems to be in the same boat, which is cool.

Class began with us filling our “wheel of emotions” worksheet. It really looked like a pizza to me but whatever. Each “Slice” had something to do with pregnancy and labor. We had to put in some comments in each section. It was fun filling this out because it made me realize what I really am feeling. The slice topics were: pain, labor, cesarean section, parenting, the pregnant body, and medication.

Next, we went right into the first stages of labor. This involved us learning how to time contractions and ways to deal with the pain we are going to have. We did get on the floor to practice breathing and relaxation techniques. While us girls relaxed and breathed, our partners practiced on their supportive touching. Chief did really good until the end of a “contraction” he decide to do the old Karate chop massage down my back. You can image my surprise going from a nice gentle massage to a karate chop. It did make me laugh which we decided could be used as a distraction at some other point in labor.

After this Chief took us on a field trip to the cafeteria. We ate lunch with two other couples. I had bean soup but then thought better not finish it because I had a fear we would have to go back on the floor and I would relax a fart out. Chief was a trooper and took one for the team – he finished my soup.

Back from lunch it was part 2 of the stages of labor. This was the live labor and delivery clip. Nice of them to wait until after lunch! First off, no one got sick or passed out! ( I know this is a concern for some of Chief’s family, as one of his brothers didn’t make it through a class.) Seeing actual people go through labor with out medication is amazing. I tried to think about what I would be like and I can see me having some crying breakdowns when things get long, hard, and frustrating. I know Chief will be great at helping me through those times. The instructor gave good advice for our partners such as don’t take anything she may say or do personally and don’t argue with her. So, I guess I can count on Chief to be there for me and probably humor me somewhat.

Now, about that burning ring of fire: I am a little freaked out about this pain I am going to be experiencing. This supposedly occurs when I am at 10 cm dilated, when my cervix is total stretched out and ready for Nemo’s head to come through. She told us if we were to take our fingers and put them into our mouths, and stretch out our side of our mouths as far as it could go, we might understand this pain. Need I say more? And by the way, when we had a bathroom break you better believe I tried this in the stall. Not very pleasant at all. There probably is no breathing that will help me get though this pain. On the bright side…she said it is brief!

I actually got teary eyed with seeing the birth. I find this so amazing and beautiful. I didn’t like it when they showed the lady her placenta. No need for me to see mine thank you very much.

Just so you know, we are the only couple planning on natural childbirth. I was a bit shocked and thought that maybe I could be insane. The instructor gave Chief and I some extra time after class. She told us to communicate our plan with our nurse and perhaps ask for a nurse that supports this. She said almost all deliveries are with moms getting epidurals and nurses really encourage them. In fact, she said I would be asked multiple times if I am ready for the epidural. I am a little discouraged by this. I guess I thought I would have a ton of support.

With speaking with our instructor I felt like she really understood what I was saying. When people ask me if I am going to get an epidural, I tell them I am not planning on it. I then hear them say things like I am not going to get a medal by doing this naturally. I understand this. I am going to do this because I know it can be done and I want to experience what my body is made to do. I am not opposed to epidurals and pain medication. I just really want to try this without using medication.

Well, that is about it for part one. Next Saturday we learn about epidurals, infant care, and get a tour of the labor and delivery floor.

By the way, my appointment last week went well. We have another ultrasound scheduled for the first week of November. We could say it is Nemo’s make up test! I will have this little one sugared up this time. I hope he figures out this breathing thing by then.

Showers and Appointments

2009-10-11T19:34:00.007-05:00

We are so lucky to have good friends and wonderful families. My old co-workers gave me a baby shower the last week of September. These girls have known me for almost as long as I have lived in Illinois. It was a beautiful shower. We had lunch, played games, opened gifts and just had a really nice time visiting. The baby is so lucky to have so many nice new things.

Last weekend we headed up to Wisconsin for our family baby shower. My mom, sisters, and Chief’s mom planned a menu of all of our favorite foods. I was in heaven. There was so much to choose from. I had no idea that I had so many favorites! We had to pace ourselves and I am happy to say I did not explode.

The last time both families got together was for our rehearsal dinner. Of course the group is now bigger! Nemo will have 10 cousins, 1 great uncle, 2 great aunties, 6 uncles, 7 aunties, 2 grandmas, and 1 grandpa. Talk about a lot of love.

We had a wonderful time opening gifts. I was very emotional at times and had some serious crying breakdowns in the middle of the shower. I just became overwhelmed looking at all of the things we were receiving. I guess at some point I realized that Nemo will come out and we will have this little person to take care of and love. Things won’t be in boxes waiting to be washed and put in his drawers. Bottles will go in the cabinet, crib will be set up, and we will have a place for our baby.

Chief and I are so touched by everyone’s thoughtfulness. We know how blessed and we are thankful everyday.

After the whirlwind tour of showering, we got to look forward to the ultrasound. The little guy showed us his face this time!

Nemo got his first report card and he got a C. Part of the test is called a Biophysical Profile. Basically, baby is supposed to do 5 things and gets scored 0-2 on each. Our child got 8/10 because he wasn’t doing the fetal breathing movements. Here is the thing. Nemo was up all night and was a bit sluggish for his big test. He was not interested in being awakened. Believe me, they tried everything! So, because he scored a big, fat zero on the breathing part we were put on a monitor, given 2 grape juices for mom, 1 orange juice for dad, and finally he passed a non-stress test! Listen kids, extra credit pays off!

Thursday, I had my weekly OB appointment. The ultrasound report was not completed in time for my appointment but Nemo and I seem to be fine. The high risk OB and my OB have not talked about the next step so I don’t know if we have another ultrasound or not. My last thyroid test was great!

Next weekend is the first birthing class. I am sure we will have a lot to share with everyone!

Here are the 32 and 34 week belly shots.

Parenting Classes

2009-09-20T18:17:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we went to our “Baby Makes Three” and “Breastfeeding” classes. I am happy to say that my anxieties are lessoned and I really think I can handle most of the mommy duties.

The first class was 2 hours and was all about infant care. We discussed everything from what happens the first moments after the baby is born all the way to the first few weeks at home. I guess I was surprised that I knew most of the stuff. Chief was very attentive and made me giggle a few times with his sideline comments. I have to share at least two of these. The first was when the baby is born they put a blue or pink hat on them. Chief’s comment was “How about Packer green?” When we talked about the umbilical cord falling off he surprised me when he told me that one of our friend’s dog ate their baby’s cord and something about “good protein”.

The breastfeeding class was great because none of the other couples that signed up for it came. We had total one on one time with the nurse. This was good because I have no clue about breastfeeding and I needed to ask a lot of questions. We watched a video that really helped us to see what the correct positions are and how proper sucking should look. I decided that I am a bit analytical and I told the nurse that my concern is that I wont know how much the baby is eating. Knowing exactly how many ounces the baby is taking is the one thing about bottle-feeding that I wish would convert to breastfeeding. I almost wish my boobs had a dipstick for me to some how figure this out. I know I should not over think. I am so glad Chief went to this class. He knows he will need to give me timeouts when I am upset it isn’t working. I hope Nemo is a good eater!

We got home from Loyola and did yard work. It was nice to get the perennials cut back and I pulled out the annuals. I love fall and all I have to do is wait for the colors to change. After yard work and a quick shower it was off to Saturday mass. I think the parish had a rent-a-priest. We never saw this one before and he was a bit boring. My highlight had to pee during the offering and stepping out to find the bathroom. I have never needed to use the bathroom in church but my Catholic School upbringing helped I’m sure. All church basements are very similar and this was no exception. On my way back to the pew I peeked into a few rooms but nothing exciting to report. I must have been nosey today because I also peeked into a cabinet in the lobby and almost got caught. I can’t figure out where those weekly missalettes are. There are a few people at every mass that get one. I want one too! I like to read the readings for myself. One day I will win and find one.

Today we worked on house chores. I finally got the bathroom walls and baseboards washed. Then it was onto the bedroom windows. Chief cleaned out some drawers and slowly but surely we will be ready. We napped during the Packer game and will relax the rest of the night. The weeks are flying past us. Only 9 more to go and we will see our little one. I hope I get Nemo’s other blanket done in time!

Here are a few 28 week and 31 week belly shots.

The Icky Stuff We Don't Talk About

2009-09-15T19:24:00.005-05:00

So far this pregnancy has been pretty swell! In the beginning I considered the nausea to be mild and only threw up twice. I did go through a spell of headaches, which at times seemed unbearable, but with ice and rest I was able to get through this as well. I have benefited these past months with less acne and a bit larger chest.

With less than 10 weeks to go I am now getting to the annoying stuff that isn’t going away and at times seems to get worse. I thought I could just list this icky stuff and if anyone has help for me please feel free to respond.

Pregnancy brain...unable to multi-task or remember anything
Swollen feet and ankles-gross!
Leg cramps (including feet, hamstring and most recently my left shin area)
Stretching belly pain
Weight gain-need I say more?
Thunder thighs
Blind shaving the bikini line (I can’t see that area anymore!)
Crotch pain – this is one no one told me about. Sometimes out of nowhere I feel like there is a 2x4 up there.
Shopping for maternity bras – I will need to blog on our shopping experience
“Tighty” whiteys
Limbs falling asleep during the night
Itchy nips
Restroom breaks every two to three hours. This includes during the night.
Easily tired with walking the boys. I can’t seem to go as fast or as far anymore.
Tiredness which can lead to crankiness
Extra stretch marks
Marathon stair climbing – it is getting hard to climb more than 2 flights of stairs
Belly in the way at a restaurant when I need to squeeze into a booth.
Feeling stuffed after only eating 1/3-1/2 of any meal and not to mention heart burn.

I have heard there is still some stuff to come. My friend gave me breast pads to use before the baby is here. Apparently, I will be leaking sometime in the near future. I hope I don’t freak out.

All of the above is tolerable. It all doesn’t really matter because having Nemo inside of me, moving and kicking is the best of all feelings. Having Chief feel the baby move is one of my favorite moments of my day. So, Nemo, bring it on! You are worth it!

New Due Date

2009-09-10T21:27:00.003-05:00

Well, it’s official; Nemo’s arrival date is now November 21st. Which makes me 30 weeks pregnant on Saturday. I am still crossing my fingers for him to come after Thanksgiving but I may lose this battle. The little guy seems to be measuring big. At today’s appointment (with the new due date) I should have been measuring 30 weeks. I of course measured a little over 31 weeks.

My weight was good because I lost a little bit! I was not feeling good over the weekend and I am definitely not as hungry anymore so I am sure that had something to do with it. Believe me I was shocked!

We are going to do another ultrasound in 4 weeks. They need to keep an eye on my fibroid and to keep an eye on Nemo’s growth. The ultrasound report said that the fibroid has displaced my cervix but the birth canal is open which is good.

I will have another appointment in 2 weeks with the OB and for my thyroid blood test. Everything seems to be going great. I am enjoying Nemo and I hope he decides to hang out with me until the end of November.

After my appointment I drove to work and was going through a construction zone. Unfortunately, I hit one of those barrier things and it smashed the driver’s mirror of Chief’s car. I was not so happy. I was half way through the construction and then BANG out of nowhere my mirror snaps and it is completely shattered! To be honest, I never saw and I am only assuming that is what hit me. I wonder if the car in front of me hit it first but who knows. Anyway, that really sucks!

Chief's knee is slowly trying to heal itself. He saw a sports medicine physician on Tuesday. The preliminary diagnosis is that he has medial and lateral meniscus tears. He recommended no running or twisting activities for 4 more weeks. He also has an order for an MRI which he may get if there doesn't seem to be improvement. There is a chance this may heal itself which would be great. If not his option is arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. I really understand how he is feeling about not running. It is painful for me to watch him go through what I did.

About the baby’s baptism: it is definitely December 12th. I am so glad that I made copies of the sponsor certificates because they were lost in limbo for a few days. I guess the lady that taught the class did not turn them in right away so that when I went to make arrangements for the baptism they did not have them. After three phone calls and me faxing my copies everything worked out. I later got a phone call saying that the original certificates were eventually found and Father Ernie gave us his stamp of approval! Now we pray for good weather!

I promise to get a nice belly shot this weekend for all of you who want to see how big I am getting!

Quick Update

2009-09-04T07:15:00.004-05:00

I will make this one quick! We had our ultrasound yesterday and little Nemo was very shy. He is head down and apparently likes to smush his face in my placenta. He was pretty laid back and did not move too much during the exam. We did get him kick a few times but that was about it. His heart rate was 153. My fibroid looks like it is behaving and really shouldn't be a problem with delivery. The baby weighs 3 lbs 4 oz which puts him at 67%. (Yes, I did the math...mommy gained a lot of the weight!) He is doing great. Everything is coming along fine with the due date at November 21st. I am assuming when I see my OB next week it will be officially changed.

Chief and I went to baptism class last night. Now we just need to choose a date. I really feel that it is important to do baptism early. With winter weather early December should be okay for travel. We could go as later in December but we are thinking about Christmas and again the potential for winter weather seems to increase later in the month. Oh, does anyone have a Farmer's Almanac?

One more thing...still didn't find out if Nemo is a boy or a girl. Does anyone want to start a pool?

Lots to Talk About

2009-08-23T19:26:00.010-05:00

Wow, there is a lot to talk about since I blogged last. Let me start with my last OB appointment. My thyroid level has gone down since we changed my medication dose. I will get another blood test in six weeks. I had my glucose tolerance test and I passed with flying colors. Nemo seems to like sugar (he moves and grooves) so I was a little worried. I gained 6 pounds and I was very upset. I have now decided to “grin and bear it”. So I will just keep walking and I will try to eat a little better. I have noticed the weight gain in my face, arms, legs, and tush. Many mommies tell me that this will go away and I need to just keep up with the walking and enjoy the pregnancy. Sounds like good advice.

Chief picked up the cradle and crib that we are borrowing from his brother and sister-in-law. Our rocking chair arrived and we love it. Things are starting to come together. We really need to get the den cleaned out so that we can move the daybed and get Nemo’s room ready. I am still knitting that darn blanket. I only have to finish one side of ruffles. I will post a picture when it is done.

Today we drove northwest to meet up with a friend of mine from high school. It was so great to see Jodelle and her family. She has two great kids and a wonderful husband. They made us lunch and I especially loved his delicious pub burger. We had a really nice time visiting and I am sure we will keep in touch.

Now the exciting news…we had our first baby shower on Saturday. I can’t even describe how fortunate I feel to have so many friends and how lucky we are to have such nice gifts. I had a blast playing games and visiting with the ladies from work. Chief was there as well but my boss’s husband kept him entertained with beer and watching golf. He did help with the gift opening and we both had a really great time.

Here are some pictures.

Pregnancy, A Different Point Of View (From Chief)

2009-08-11T19:09:00.005-05:00

I thought I would share my thoughts on pregnancy. It is definitely going to be a change for all four of us. As time has been passing during this pregnancy, I have seen some advantages and disadvantages to this adventure.

First the advantages, there is more room in the bed. Now most people would think that with the gradual gain of girth during pregnancy, you would lose real estate in bed. Not in our house. JJ and Dusty have been kind enough to allow us in their bed for the past 2 years but they have gotten tired of being disturbed when Toni needs to use the restroom. I’m sure Toni looks as this as a partial advantage as she is the person taking one for the team getting up all night. She does appreciate more space though.

Second, we were at Buy Buy Baby recently and found out that they have handicapped parking and reserved parking for expecting moms. Can you say, “I must be in the front row.” I have been good about the reserved parking for the handicapped, clergy, employee of the month, compact cars, and even Bears’ fans (boo) but I finally have one I get to use. Sweet.

Third, there are of course many cravings to be had while pregnant. Toni has been craving burgers, ice cream, and lemon ice. I have been taking one for the team in this category. I have been taking her to get these items (in moderation of course) and have had to “suffer” by having them myself. I hope I need to suffer through chicken wings, pizza and maybe Mexican food next.

Fourth, I am planning on taking Nemo running and biking with me when he is strong enough. Cool toys!! Can’t say much more about that.

Now the disadvantages,

Many of you had requested a belly shot but it was not quite clear who the belly shot was supposed to be of, so…

Chief

Belly Up?

2009-08-02T17:53:00.006-05:00

Well the title is not perfect but here is the belly shots everyone has been looking for:

And I can still see the ends of my toes.

Keeping Busy

2009-07-27T01:59:00.002-05:00

It has been a fast and furious weekend. I was running non-stop until 7:00 pm on Saturday. I woke up, walked the dogs, went for an eye exam, picked out glasses, signed up for Baptism class, went to a Lia Sophia party, went to church and then helped make supper. I was exhausted and was fast asleep by 8:30pm. Chief was also busy but his was fun stuff. He ran a 10-mile race on Saturday at Waterfall Glen and on Sunday biked 38 miles with some friends. I got to meet them afterwards at Starbucks. It is fun talking baby stuff with our friends. They of course are experienced moms and have lots of good advise. I like watching Chief’s face when we discuss things like “nipple confusion”.

We are slowly making progress in regards to making room for Nemo. I have gone through most of my drawers and now will start to focus on the closets. I didn’t have too hard of a time packing away my clothes that don’t fit. I know that someday I will be back in them. I had been squishing Nemo in my scrubs and decided last week that I had to buy some bigger ones. I admit that I had a bad day and cried when someone at work told me that I had bigger pants on. I am now over it. My goal is to look nice and feel comfortable. I do notice how there are all shapes and sizes of pregnant ladies. Of course, it is hard not to compare myself to the skinny people with obvious inherented good genes!

After we are done with the above I will work organizing the bathroom space. Nemo will need a shelf for his things. Then it is on to the kitchen to clean out a cabinet for bottles and future food supplies.

We are also working on the baby registry. This is not so fun. I have no idea of what is really needed. There are too many choices in every category. Chief is working on baby monitors and I just picked out the high chair. There is the “Consumer Reports guide to baby products” book that I am going to purchase today. Hopefully this will take out some of the guesswork. We have decided on the car seat and stroller, which we already purchased. I really love it! The other item I am excited about is our choice on crib bedding. Since we are Wisconsin natives and since I happen to love cows Nemo will be having a “moo cow” themed room.

Not else much to report. We are staying busy and trying to get things ready in stride so that there is not a panic near the end. Nemo is also getting stronger. I feel him more everyday or should I say every night. I am a little concerned that he is more active near bedtime!

Our Baby is NO Chicken!!

2009-07-16T20:59:00.001-05:00

For the past week I have heard so many opinions on the gender of the baby. It is kind of funny listening to people. I had multiple people say it is a boy because my face hasn’t changed. I had some people say it is a girl based on how I was showing. My favorite was that it is a boy because I am not ugly! Good to know. All of this has lead to some very weird dreams. The best one was that I had to go with my mom to the grocery store and I told Chief to watch the baby. When I came home “she” was a chicken and Chief was walking her on a leash! Yes, I said “she” because in the dream Nemo was a girl.

My OB appointment went well today. I am so glad I finally didn’t gain so much weight! I should be wearing a star or at least a smiley sticker for my hard effort this past month. We are going to go ahead with the next ultrasound in September. Apparently, I have a fibroid near my cervix, which may cause me a problem with delivering the baby, and the worse case scenario is to have a c-section. So, we will keep an eye on this and we will get to see Nemo perform for us again. Maybe this time he won’t be so shy and will show us his little face more.

A neighbor of ours that moved to Arizona gave us a big tub of baby clothes. It took me an hour to go through them! We are definitely set with sleeping outfits for a boy or girl until 3 months old. She has some amazing clothes and since she had three girls I have a lot of girl stuff to use until 12 months old. If Nemo is a Nema, she will be well dressed. It was weird holding those tiny clothes. Very cute, but weird.

This weekend is the final decision for our rocker. We are pretty much set with a nice upholstered rocker from a local department store. It is one that has higher arms which will help with me holding when breastfeeding. It will look nice in the living room for when we are done with it in the baby’s room. I just have to make one more stop to check out a higher end baby furniture shop. I want to see what all the hype is and why gliders are so great. I am fairly frugal and I don’t want to spend a ton of money on a rocker.

So off to bed I go. Hopefully, no chicken dreams tonight.

Happy Day

2009-07-10T08:16:00.003-05:00

Our appointment with the genetic councilor went very well. We received confirmation that we are at low risk for having a baby with chromosome abnormalities. She asked us if we had thought about an amniocentesis. Chief and I decide that we would decline as long as the ultrasound went well. We are happy to report that it went very well.

For all of you who want to know the sex of the baby, here it is…you will have to wait 20 weeks like the two of us. An OB resident did the first part of the ultrasound. He was obviously practicing and forgot to tell us when he was down by the baby’s legs. I thought that I saw “evidence” to prove it was a boy but my reading skills were questioned when I said “look at his hand” and was told that it was a foot. When the technician came in she told us when she was below the baby’s waist and we would look away. I told her I thought it was a boy but she would not give me any hints. Now, I am not sure if she was messing with me but I heard her in a whisper say to the resident that “she” wasn’t cooperating with her. I am sure she didn’t mean me. Someone at Chief’s work asked if we received any new pictures because they indicated they would be able to tell the sex from the picture. Good luck…

Nemo really was not cooperating with the tech. He didn’t want to show her his right foot. And when it came time to show his face, he was shy. They had me lay on my side and even had put my head lower than my feet to try to get him to move. Eventually, they got the pictures. I think I even saw a “grumpy” face and commented that he didn’t look too happy. I think we woke him up. Everything looked fine. We saw every (almost every) part of him. For those keeping track of the heart rate it was 150 beats a minute.

The maternal fetal medicine (high risk OB) physician came in afterwards and said that the ultrasound was completely normal. He is growing fine and measuring at 20 weeks and 5 days old. I may have to succumb to the fact that the due date will be changed. We briefly discussed my thyroid and she said that since everything is right on track it might not be necessary to have additional ultrasounds every month. She said that we just need to monitor my hormone levels but I should talk with my doctor to see what she thinks.

I can’t stop thinking about our baby. I can’t stop going over all of the images we saw. I keep looking at my belly. This little baby is in me. I still can’t believe that we are going to have a baby. We are blessed and I am thankful for our little one.

18 Weeks and Counting

2009-06-27T18:30:00.002-05:00

Time is flying by. I can’t believe Nemo is 18 weeks old. I continue to feel good and have been walking more. This week my internist increased my thyroid medicine and we will check my levels in 8 weeks. I am confident in her decision. We also found out that the MSAFP test was normal which means Nemo should have no neurotube defects. I am so thankful. The level II ultrasound is scheduled for 2 weeks from now. We still don’t want to know the sex of the baby. I will admit there are days that I really want to find out but mostly I want the surprise at the birth. I still think it is a boy and Chief is toying with the idea that it is a girl.

Speaking of surprises we went to the Farmers Market today and they had Michigan Sour Cherries. Those are the ones you bake pies with. I just love to eat them! I bought 2 quarts and I am not sure that they will last until Monday. If anyone must know, I have a real talent for eating these things. I did stop swallowing the pits due to being pregnant. I figure Nemo doesn’t need pits to be in my system.

After the Farmers Market, I met Chief downtown for Heritage Festival. I don’t think I will be riding my bike much longer. It is a bit uncomfortable. Chief was helping out with the bike corral so I met him there and went to the craft show. I went to the first booth I saw and bought a baby blanket and a soft stuffed puppy. Of course I didn’t bring the checkbook so I walked home, drank some water to cool down, and then walked back. Chief and I then shared some food and went to the beer tent to listen to a Beatles tribute band. I of course did not have beer but it looked really good! We then had “lupper” which is a late lunch/early supper. After filling up, we grabbed our bikes and headed home. Gosh were we tired.

We are going to early mass tomorrow so that Chief can go for a bike ride. I plan on cleaning out some drawers. Maybe we will do some other things but it seems to be looking like a lazy Sunday.

Four Month Check-Up

2009-06-21T18:40:00.002-05:00

I was so busy for a few weeks that I have not had time to catch everyone up. I will try to do at least one entry a week because so much changes and I will otherwise forget to tell you what is going on.

We are in the process of registering for baby items. I don’t really know how much stuff we need. We figured out the big things but we are going to be guessing on clothes, blankets, and the little necessities. I have no clue as to what bottle or nipples will be okay for Nemo. There are so many choices and it is overwhelming to me. I might take my friend up on the offer to go with me to help me sort this out. These are the days that I wished we lived closer to family, as our moms, sisters, and sisters-in-law would be great help.

I had to buy a dress for a wedding that we went to last night. Chief and I went to Motherhood and found they are reasonably priced and had very comfortable clothes. I can’t believe how comfortable maternity clothes are. Chief was fun to shop with. I must have tried on three or four dresses and then he found a pair of shorts. I told him they would be too small and I was using that “Bellaband” to hold up my regular shorts that I no longer can zip. Anyway, I tried them on and they are so wonderful. So we left with a dress and a pair of shorts. Later that week during his lunch break he went to the mall to get me another pair of shorts. I thought it was one of the nicest things he has done. How many husbands go to that store during lunch to buy their wives clothes? I know I am lucky.

I went for my 4-month check up on Thursday and everything seems to be going well. The baby’s heartbeat was strong and was running about 150 beats per minute. My thyroid level went up again. We decided to recheck it in 8 weeks and will then decide if I need more medication. I am comfortable with not raising my medication right now but I am a little concerned as to the increase in my level. I am still controlled but with the hormones from being pregnant it is expected that they will continue to increase.

Today is Father’s Day. Chief went running and I rode my bike next to him for 9 miles. We had a really nice time talking and enjoyed the weather. We grilled out brats and burgers for dinner. It was a relaxing day! I think it will be neat to have Nemo with us next year. I often find myself thinking about how things will be with a baby in our lives. I can’t wait to find out.

We plan on visiting our families for the Fourth of July. I know everyone wants to see my “bump”. I have had requests to post a picture but I think it looks better in person. Maybe next month I will have Chief take a picture. For now, here is one of us taken at the wedding last night.

Blame It On Being Pregnant

2009-05-30T08:49:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I am loosing my mind. It seems as though I am more forgetful. Take yesterday at work. I was walking around with an envelope in my hand and I couldn't figure out what I was going to do with it. Duh...maybe put it in the mail bin? I told Chief I was going to make egg salad sandwiches for lunch. When I went to crack the eggs they were not done. I think I set the timer for 6 minutes instead of 16 minutes. Yes. Things like this are happening all the time.

Let's not forget my emotions. Poor Chief, this morning I had a breakdown. I was crying for no real reason. I have been happy, anxious, sad and worried all since waking up this morning. At least I am not angry. The other night we were watching “Wipe Out” and I was laughing so hard I had tears. Normally, I wouldn’t think that this would be a funny show. I am also sensitive to the “Baby Story” on TLC. It is a sure bet that I will cry at the end of those episodes. These emotional up and downs are weird.

I am still walking. I wish I could get in a really tough workout, the kind that you leave your heart at the gym. Those workouts used to make me feel so good. Unfortunately, Nemo doesn't want to be baked or shaken. I guess I will have to dig out the heart rate monitor and maybe hit an elliptical at 70% of max. Oh, there is always swimming but my suit won't fit.

This will be a busy weekend. We have a few chores to do around the house. The windows need to be washed and base boards. I also want to clean out my car. There are a lot of nose prints on the car windows. Darn JJ, Dusty, and Chief (not so much the latter though). The other day I thought it will be kind of fun for Nemo to see the boys in the back of the car. This child will always be entertained.

3 Month Check Up

2009-05-24T19:12:00.003-05:00

It was a busy week but we made it through. I had my appointment on Thursday with Cheryl, a nurse practioner at Loyola. I really felt comfortable with her and she took a lot of time with me in regards to my thyroid condition. She went through my old ultrasounds and decided to keep an eye on my parathyroid as well as my thyroid. Apparently, I had a questionable enlarged parathyroid on an exam but the one a few years later looked better. This brought up an interesting family history note that I totally forgot to mention at my first OB appointment. My sister Jodi had 2 of her parathyroid glands removed after having her daughter. Cheryl also added a T4 onto my next lab to help her understand how my thyroid function is doing. I will be getting the blood test in 2 weeks.

Nemo's heartbeat was strong (once she found it). He was moving about as usual. I think it was around 156-160. We also discussed our due date. If you remember the date got change to Nov. 21st because of the ultrasound results. I am very sure of my cycle. After Cheryl and I looked at my calendar she decided that we are going to keep the Nov. 28th date. Chief and I are not little people so that may explain the size concern. Changing the date this early isn't going to matter too much. We will be having plenty more ultrasounds to change everyone’s mind between now and November, so I am not too concerned.

Loyola would like me to try to see each of the physicians so that there are no surprises when it comes time to deliver. I discussed this with Cheryl and her thought is that I shouldn't go out of my way to try to see each doctor, especially if I have to change my work schedule. You all know how I hate to change my work hours so I decided that I will be sticking with Cheryl and to be honest, I don't think I will care who is delivering our baby. I will just be happy that there is someone down there that knows what the heck they are doing.

I was anxiously awaiting the results of our Early Screening for Down syndrome, Trisomy 18/13. Chief and I had discussed all the "what ifs" and clearly we would have been accepting and loving to our child if it had one of these chromosome conditions. The waiting is still hard and I even felt that I had wished that we hadn't been screened, but on the other side if we were to be faced with this challenge, I would have wanted to be prepared. On Thursday afternoon we found out that Nemo has a 1:1392 chance for Down syndrome and 1:5500 for trisomy! We both are happy and feel even more blessed. The next little hurdle is an AFP blood test, sometime in the next month.

On Friday we started to look at day care options. We found that we have to register Nemo fairly soon to guarantee a spot when I go back to work. We have an appointment on Tuesday with a place in town. Other options are still being looked at. We joked that we would try to get him in with the boys at Doggie Depot. We figured he would just need a small kennel and a few extra feedings. Nemo would have the cleanest face and fingers of anyone in town. I am not sure B & C will go for it though.

Thanks for all of the extra prayers that have been sent our way. We do appreciate everyone's concern. I told Nemo that he just has to keep growing and stay healthy. We will take care of the rest.

For no reason, here is a picture of JJ and Dusty, imitating Nemo, mooning us:

Baby On Board

2009-05-16T09:15:00.004-05:00

We are so excited! It is really happening. We are going to have a baby!

I found out I was pregnant after our vacation in March. Chief and I saw the doctor in April and that is when we saw the little heart beat. It was so special. Of course I cried. Since then, we have had an ultrasound as a screening for possible chromosome abnormalities to the baby. We are awaiting those results. The little guy was squirming and kicking. We even got “mooned”. The experience was amazing. To see our baby moving about was incredible. I was joking because he was active and I am not a morning person so I am sure he is taking after his father.

The ultrasound technologist did a measurement and subsequently the baby measured a week bigger than what we expected so our due date got changed to November 21st.

Because of my hypothryroidism, we will continue to be monitored by the High Risk OB physicians. Apparently the concern is growth and development of the baby. They will monitor my TSH levels and watch the baby with ultrasounds starting at 20 weeks. I will be asking very specific questions about this at my next appointment so I can give more details later.

I have been feeling good. I get occasional nausea and I am tired but I hear this should be ending soon. I still walk in the mornings and I am really wanting to swim. It is just that I am tired when I get home from work so I have not had the energy to go to the YMCA. Maybe this week will be better.

By the way, we don’t want to find out the sex of the baby. I know that there is a chance we may accidentally find out with the upcoming ultrasounds but we are not planning on it. As Chief said “there are not enough surprises in life.” I have been calling the baby “my little guy” and after a recent trip to Florida we started to call the baby Nemo. If she is a girl I will apologize to her in person in 6 months.

Not Much Happening

2009-04-04T10:09:00.004-05:00

March flew by and now April is upon us. Chief and I went to Florida a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful time on the Gulf Coast visiting with our Aunt and Uncle. Everyday was fun and relaxing. It is just what we needed. After a few days we drove over to the Atlantic side and stayed with our friends. Unfortunately, I got sick with a nasty cold. Finally, by the end of the trip I felt better and had a fun time with Rhonda in the Keys while Chief and Steve went snorkeling.

I gave up on the running. I know it is better this way. I am so glad that I can still get a decent workout with walking. I probably should get to the Y and do other cardio stuff but I really don't feel like it. I still want to swim and work on weight training. All in time I guess.

I am also happy to say that Chief is in the last week of training for his marathon next weekend. Thank God! He could use some rest. He got my cold on the last day of vacation and it turned into a sinus infection.

The boys are fine. They enjoyed Doggie Depot while we were on vacation.

Not much else to report. We are just waiting for spring to come. I can't wait to get outside and work on my garden.

If It Makes You Happy

2009-03-09T06:57:00.004-05:00

I made myself happy! I woke up, put on my running stuff, hooked up JJ and went for a 30 minute walk/run. I haven't been this happy in 3 months. There is nothing that could ruin my wonderful mood.

The plan was to walk the first and last 5 minutes. Anything in between was based on how my knee felt. It was so strange when I began the run. I felt like I had to tell myself how to do it. It didn't matter if it was super slow or that I walked all of the hills. All that matters is that I actually listened to my body.

I promised Dr. E that I would only do short walk/runs on soft surfaces. I know that the sidewalk is not considered soft and because of this I really will listen to my body. Today was a good start. I know I will not be back to where I was in November but at least I can say I am trying again.

Alive

2009-02-08T15:29:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am still alive. I just am not living my life to its fullest. I have not jumped into the pool yet. I was trying to convince Chief to go with me these last few weeks but he isn’t interested. I don’t blame him, as I am not interested either. I did hop on the trainer and have some medial pain especially in a higher gear. I will be sure to talk to Dr. E about that tomorrow. I have gained some weight but not so much that I hate myself. I just need to get things in control very soon.

I am glad that the weather is warming up. I did take a really nice and long walk with JJ on Saturday. Chief went running with his friends and took Dusty with him. Dusty was very dirty when they got done and had his first bath in our bathtub. He was not happy with this. On the other hand, JJ was thrilled. He just wagged his tail and was watching the whole time.

Nothing is new with me. I have just been a slug trying to crawl out of this hole that I am in. Things are better with my sadness. I am okay now. It is hard to get back into a fitness routine when so much time was taken off. I just need to get motivated again.

I have been thinking of a new name for my blog. Any suggestions? Blogging is good for me so I will post more often. I know it won’t be about me running. Maybe it will be about me learning to be a “real swimmer”. That’s a thought.

BUSTED

2009-01-04T18:49:00.011-06:00

JJ has never been allowed on the furniture. He has always been okay with this rule. Something changed his mind. This something was probably Dusty. Now, Dusty has always been allowed a small corner of the couch. Not because we encouraged it but because he is so OCD that it was a battle we couldn’t win. Thankfully he is only 20 pounds and doesn’t take up much space. Plus he is very easy to pick up and move.

A few weeks ago Chief went downstairs in the middle of the night and busted JJ. Our sweet, innocent, obedient dog was stretched on his back, tummy up, on our couch! I didn’t believe Chief when he told me. Well, we have been playing detective and have the pictures to prove it. As you can see, JJ is quite content being up on the furniture. There are times when we are watching TV and JJ will sit in front of us and start “talking”. Mostly it is a whine/moan and we are convinced he is saying, “Move over and make room for me”. Yes, we are suckers. We are dealing with this new behavior by not encouraging it but at the same time we are not kicking him off either. Let’s say that I believe dogs understand the concept of “fairness”. So, we will see what he thinks he is entitled to next. Hopefully, it is not taking my seat in the car!

I'll Have a Blue Christmas

2008-12-27T16:09:00.006-06:00

Right now we should be at my mom’s house celebrating Christmas with my family. We didn’t leave yesterday because of the dense fog and fear of our basement flooding when the rain came. At 4:30am our fear became reality as Chief went downstairs and had to suck up water with the shop-vac. The water had got from the front of our basement to the middle. He got to it just before it got to our carpeting and furniture. Looking out of our windows there is a river going down our driveway. With the temperatures in the 60’s and the rain coming we have very little snow left outside.

Needless to say, I was not so happy this morning. I was so hurt that Chief couldn’t go with me to Wisconsin and for some weird reason I was really, really, mad at him. I know it is not his fault that the basement gets wet. I know it wasn’t his fault that it was warm and raining. I guess I thought he would understand how upset I was and somehow could have done or said something to make me feel better. I cried most of the morning and talked to my mom several times. Chief ran out to the post office and informed me that there were some streets closed near our house.

What was I going to do? Sit here while Chief sat in the basement watching TV and sucked up water every 15 minutes? Should I try to get home for Christmas? The weather guy keeps saying that the worst is coming and that tonight a cold front is coming through and the water will change to ice! Great, maybe I could make it up there but could I make it home?

Lately, I have been reminding myself that life is making choices. So, I could stay home and be miserable or spend Christmas with my family. Upon my own advice I decided to try to head up to Two Rivers alone. I decided I would drive up, have dinner, and exchange gifts and head back to Illinois hoping to be home by midnight. I showered, put on a cute Christmas top, loaded the car, and headed for the toll-way. On my way to the toll way the first street I needed to drive on was closed due to flooding. I guess Chief wasn’t exaggerating. I finally got to I-88 and there were lower areas that definitely had too much water so the far right lane was closed. Okay, I then get on the ramp to I 294. Other than the pouring rain and occasional thunder all seems okay. I am driving along and I hit a pothole. Oh, there are so many potholes. I called Chief to tell him that there were a lot of potholes and I was concerned about not being able to see them on my way home tonight. He didn’t offer me much suggestion other than to say the toll way is pretty well lit. Well, it is not dark out and I just hit one! Then a minivan hits one, swerves, and cuts across all lanes to pull over. His left back tire was completely flat. Okay, now I am getting worried. I didn’t bring any extra clothes or shoes. What if something happens? I am driving along and all I can see or seem to focus on is the damn potholes. Then I counted 4 cars that were pulled over and changing flat tires. So, I called Chief again and decided to just come back home.

My mom wasn’t home so I called my sister Jodi. I was crying and she was trying to console me. My mom called me back too and said she felt better that I was going to be safe. I was a total wreck! Nothing left to do but drive back to my house.

Coming back home would be tough because on my way past the airport I noticed that the southbound traffic was totally stopped. So, I exited in a north suburb headed west and picked up I-53 to I-355. Then the rain came. It was raining so hard you couldn’t see anything in front of you. There were some potholes but not nearly as bad as I-294. I eventually made it home. Chief was on the couch and I quickly asked him why he wasn’t in the basement sucking up water. He said it had slowed down a while ago. I was mad! Well, then the rain came and he went downstairs and hasn’t come up since. I hear the shop vac sucking up water about every 15 minutes or whenever there is a commercial on TV. He said he has emptied the 16-gallon container 6 times in 12 hours. So, we will spend the rest of our evening probably on different levels of the house not talking much. By the way, I am appreciative that he is tending to the water issue. I just am mad at the situation and the timing of it all.

I made chocolate covered peanut butter balls out of boredom and self-pity. Maybe that will cure me my broken spirit. All I have done today was cry, drive to nowhere, and make candy. Not one of my better days.

My family should all be at my mom’s house by now. I wish we were there. I thought I would share some pictures of Christmas 2004, 2005,and 2006. You can see why I miss them so.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T16:44:00.009-06:00

Our families live in Wisconsin and since I worked on Christmas Eve and we both work tomorrow we decided to stay here for Christmas. Yesterday, I went to work and we saw patients until 12:00pm. It can be so frustrating being a nurse. Our office has openings for “sick calls”. Basically if you are sick or have an acute issue we can get you in to be evaluated by the doctor on the same day you call. This does not apply for chest pain/shortness of breath or trauma such as injuries with bones sticking out or if you shoot your eye out with a Red Ryder BB gun (you get my drift). Those are emergencies and those people need to go to the ER. Our physicians don’t typically just write out prescriptions for antibiotics. If you think you are that sick that you need one, we want you to be seen. That being said, on more than one occasion, I was screamed at, hung up on, and told to have a “Merry Christmas” in a not so “merry” way. Apparently, people are too busy and too sick to come and see the doctor. They just want antibiotics, muscle relaxants, narcotics, and hypnotics and really can’t understand what the big deal is with just calling in these medications. You can tell that I had a lovely morning.

Chief went running with TL and then he helped the neighborhood make 800 luminaries and then distributed them down our block. He said that there were 8 “crews” in all so that the whole surrounding neighborhood around Randall Park made and put out something like 6000 of these things. Later last night we went out to Giordano’s for pizza. Giordano’s was very busy. They had every booth filled and people coming in and picking up for carry out. I think this will be a new tradition for us. This morning Chief and TL ran again. Did I mention they are training for the Illinois Marathon in April? Their running schedule is messed up this week. He ran three days in a row! I bet he will be glad to get back to his Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday schedule. Besides running he has been doing double dog walking. I am usually in charge of morning walks but because of the cold and ice he has taken over for a while. I am so afraid of falling (broke arm exactly one year ago when I slipped). After showering we took a road trip to Dunk’n Donuts for bagels and coffee. It is so icy and cold. We have had some crap weather so far this winter. Snow, ice pellets, rain and now our driveway is a frozen river. I heard that we are going to warm up, get rain, and potential flooding. This makes me worried because there is a chance we won’t get to Two Rivers on Saturday.

Santa came for the boys. They are so funny when they unwrap presents. Chief and I just giggle. Dusty takes off the tiniest pieces. It takes him forever to open a gift. JJ is a pro at this. Santa was sneaky and wrapped some of their old toys. The boys would take out the old toy and keep pulling at the paper because they knew something else had to be in there. After Christmas pictures, every one found a spot (even Chief) to curl up and take a nap.

We made a ham and all the fixings for Christmas dinner. For the rest of the evening, I plan on opening a bottle of wine and will need to finish gift-wrapping for Saturday’s Christmas at my mom’s. We have a movie to watch that we rented from Blockbuster’s called “Joyeoux Noel”. It is supposed to be very good and is about Christmas Eve in 1914 on a WWI battlefield. It was a quiet and lazy Christmas Day at our house and this evening will be the same. We will need all of our energy because Christmas in Wisconsin is still coming.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

How am I doing?

2008-12-19T22:19:00.003-06:00

I get this question a few times a day. I am doing all right. I am working on my poor attitude and I am trying not to be so pissed off or depressed. Being mad and sad has put my diet on hold for now. I have been eating whatever I want and feeling guilty about this too. I am trying to be better and I will work harder on this after Christmas. I might as well enjoy Christmas treats this year. I have no idea of how much weight I gained. I know my jeans still fit. They just aren't as loose at they were before. I don’t like wearing belts anyway. I really don’t want to know how much I weigh so I refuse to step on that scale until December 29th (the day I can start to work out again). Really I don’t need to be anymore upset right now.

I have come to the understanding that if I don’t continue to exercise I will get fatter and that will hurt my knees worse than running on them. I have come to understand that I don’t like the stuff I have been eating. I felt much better on a healthy diet and daily workouts. I am really sick of being sedentary. I miss working out. I am so tired since the surgery. The good new is that it is only 10 more days until I can try to swim! I have been researching beginner swim workouts and I found one that is called “From zero to one mile”. I am excited to get in the pool. It is good for me to have a plan.

So, I can’t run but I can walk, swim, spin, and be active. I can control my weight by making good choices. That is what it comes down to choices. So, I choose to be happy and healthy. I am choosing not to dwell on the outcome but rather on what I can become.

Seriously…I am doing okay.

Healing

2008-12-16T23:02:00.004-06:00

I went to my appointment ready to protest (I wore my New Balance "I Run" t-shirt). He went right to the point, explained every arthroscopy picture, showed me how extensive the damage was, and with that being said I have to accept that running is not an option. There I said it...my option is not to run. Not ever. My knee is indeed very messed up. If I weren’t 37 Dr. E would have scheduled a total knee replacement tomorrow. I am a canidate for total knee replacement. That is so hard to hear and harder for me to understand.

My scope showed a lot of damage. I have bad arthritis – bone on bone throughout my knee. Mostly on the femoral and medial sides, and some lateral. There were some problems at the tibia but not as bad as the rest of my knee. I had frayed cartilage and floating pieces. I have erosion. He did a lot of cleaning and smoothing stuff out but the damage is done. He can’t fix bone on bone wearing. I asked him if I can’t have a TKR now when will I? How will I know when it can’t wait any longer? The best answer is that when I can’t walk, stand, and do activities of daily living with out pain. That’s what I have to look forward to. That was hard to hear. It’s hard to think about what will be. It should be enough for me to suck it up and figure out what to do instead of running. I asked about other activities. The best things are swimming and spinning. No stair climbing, no squats, no lunges, and elliptical is even in question. I have to keep the weight down. Dr. E hopes I can make this knee hold out until I am 50. For now my job is to rest, ice and elevate. In a few weeks I can swim. In 2-4 weeks I might be able to hop on my trainer. In 4-6 weeks I can try elliptical but if swelling or pain that will need to be crossed off my list. In 1 month I will follow up with Dr. E and we will see how things are doing.

My pain was fairly under control. I have not taken any narcotics! I am super proud about this. I have needed Ibuprofen and it seems to take the edge off the pain. I have calf tenderness. If this doesn’t improve in the next few days I need to get an ultrasound to be sure I don’t have a blood clot. I don’t think I do but I was honest when I reported that the calf pain at times is worse than the surgery pain.

I went to work today. I wish I hadn’t. Dr. E didn’t want me to go back until Monday. But I am tough and bored so I begged Dr. E to let me go in today and I promised I would sit at my desk and just call patients with results. I ended up with pain, swelling, and hurt feelings because I left 20 minutes early and I didn’t even make it for four hours. What happened? I was feeling so great at home. Why did I swell? Why did my calf pain get worse? Why was it hurting? I swear I was good. I just sat at a phone with ice on my knee. I called his nurse on the way home and she said no more work until Monday. She faxed me a note excusing me from work for the rest of the week. I will wait and see what tomorrow brings. I want to be this tough girl and prove to me and everyone else that I can take this. If I go to work I am keeping my mind busy. I don't want to think about me anymore. My nurse said trying to work when I shouldn't wouldn’t help me heal. Being tougher than I need to be won’t help me. I need to heal.

Recovery

2008-12-15T11:18:00.003-06:00

Maybe deep down I knew the outcome would be bad. I had talked myself in and out of the surgery at least a dozen times. Maybe if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t know, and I would be running today.

My outcome was not what I wanted to hear. He couldn’t do the lateral release because of the surface damage that was there. It would have made my ITB much worse. He could only clean up the frayed edges and smooth the cartilage as best as he could. When I awoke from anesthesia he told me that my knee was “really messed up” and that running wouldn’t be an option anymore. He told Chief that I had the knee of someone twice my age and I would need a knee replacement in the future. He told Chief that I am not a candidate now because I am young. He wants me to get 15 years out of this knee. In 15 years I will be 52. Why can’t I run this knee out and just get the darn replacement in my 40’s? Okay, I know the answers and it isn't fair. Am I supposed to just wait? Am I supposed to not enjoy my life in my 30's? I am supposed to preserve this knee so that I can enjoy my life in my 50's and 60's. What about now?

I have not accepted this yet. I have not been able to see me not running or not even attempting to run. I have considered power walking but that lasted for about 5 minutes. I just bought new shoes and winter running clothes. I just ran an awesome 10K! Everything was so good when I ran. It was my release. It was my therapy. It made me happy. I am scared that I will get back into bad habits of food being my comfort. I let it comfort me for the past few days but my body wants to work out now. I am trying to keep my chin up. I am trying not to dwell on this until I know more at my appointment tomorrow. I am still hoping.

A good friend just called me. She is also a nurse, very logical and brutally honest. I know she is right. I know I need to step up, get over this, and find new challenges. I know I only have one body and one shot at this life. I just need to figure things out.

All About JJ

2008-12-07T18:45:00.012-06:00

Five years ago, Chief and I started talking about getting a dog. We agreed that we wanted to adopt or rescue since there are so many that need good families to join. So we started our search at one of the local humane societies and we basically were told that we couldn’t own a dog because we both worked full time. I was heart-broken. Because we worked, they judged us as being incapable of taking care and loving our dog! Chief decided to look at the Australian Shepherd Rescue Group. He had an Aussie in his college years and she was a very nice dog. We looked at their website and filled out an application. Next, there was a telephone interview and finally they called us with two possible choices that seemed like a good fit for us. We were interested in a one-year-old dog named Journey. He was a small tri-colored beautiful boy with very good house manners. He was good with cats, kids, and he liked horses. We were told that Journey was given up because they wanted him to do agility and was diagnosed to have seizures. They did not want to invest the time into him with the medical condition. Fortunately, his foster mom’s dad is a veterinarian and worked him up and found no evidence of seizure disorder. We think he was given up because he is not very coordinated.

On December 6th, 2003 Journey was to come to our house to meet us in person. The rescue group prefers this because they can observe our surroundings and us while we interact with the dog. He came up the front steps and when Chief opened the door he let out a few barks. We told his foster mom that we were comfortable with him roaming the house. I showed Journey around. He particularly liked the long and low to the ground windows we have in the hallway. It was great for him to look out and see the neighborhood. He went upstairs to check out our bedroom. He seemed to be okay with the house. We were told that he was shy around men. Well, within five minutes of being petted on the floor by Chief and I he was on his back getting his belly rubbed. It was then that his foster mom said that if we would like to adopt him she would be happy to consent. It must be hard to be a foster mom. She gave him a goodbye hug. I could tell she would miss him.

The first night was rough. Journey cried in his crate and I wanted to get him out. Chief is good for me. He is the reasonable one in our relationship. Eventually, he did go to sleep. By the way, he sleeps with us now! The next day was a Sunday. All three of us spent the day getting use to each other. We didn’t really like his name. It didn’t seem to fit him so we changed it to JJ. JJ didn’t know how to walk on a leash. He was a country boy turned city. Every house that we would pass he would want to walk up to the front doors. He would pick up everyone’s newspapers and carry them proudly. I am glad we are over that stage. Initially, we had other and bigger problems with him. The first is that he was very food aggressive. I couldn’t go near him when he ate. He would just growl and devour his kibble as fast as he could. To correct this, we hand fed him for a long time. It is rare when he acts like this but if he does, we do go back to hand feeding him. The other problem we had is that he hated me. Chief will say that I am exaggerating but JJ really didn’t like me. This was so hard for me because I really loved him and I was becoming afraid of him because of his almost continuous growling at me when Chief wasn’t around. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I was the one who had to kennel him before going to work. He was around 48 pounds when we got him and he was so stubborn about going in his kennel. There were days that I would actually have to pick him up. His only defense was to growl. Well, this progressed to growling when I looked at him or when I walked passed him. One day, Chief witnessed his lovely attitude and gave him a major correction. Chief worked with me and I worked with JJ. And yes, on occasion JJ will give me attitude but it is rare. I am so glad we got through those times.

There are so many stories to tell you. He eventually gained trust to have the house to himself. We found out that he was a very busy boy. Let me make a list of some of the things he got into: chewed the ends of our running shoe strings, chewed the kitchen cabinet corners, got locked into a bedroom and took all of the Kleenex out of its box, and my personal favorite moment…he chewed open a case of cherry cream soda, punctured one of the cans so that he was covered in evidence when we got home. Other things he has done that are note worthy: upon arriving to Pet Smart he jumped out of the car window before the car was in park, broke into his Rubbermaid kibble container and ate until he was bloated, tackled a kid in a snow suit, brought us a loaf of bread in the middle of the night, brought us hot dogs that were thawing on the counter, and brought us his bag of treats when we packed for vacation.

He despises rain, loud noises in the house, and the snow blower. Chief finds the last one strange because he doesn’t mind the lawn mower or the leaf blower. He is protective of our car and will “mean bark” if you approach the car. He loves toys, playing chase, tug, and ball. He will wake you up in the middle of the night to tell you to move so he can jump back in bed. He is not a fan of mornings. He and I both like to sleep in. He loves to eat and play in the snow. He really loves our neighbors and, thank God, their kids too. He has an Aussie girlfriend Maddie and his best bud is Roy. He is very social! He likes to mess with his brother Dusty and also likes to take naps with him. He likes to take naps with us too. He is inquisitive. He seems to have an “old soul”. He seems to really care what we are talking about. He is nosey. He has to inspect any bags that come into the house.

In 2006 he became ill. He would vomit daily and eventually would vomit up blood. He was in so much discomfort he stopped eating. Through an endoscopy and biopsy he was diagnosed with gastritis related to food allergy. He was put on medications and his food was changed to KO (Kangaroo and Oats). Through out the year, we would be in close contact with his vet. If he had flair up we would increase his medication. In May of 2007, JJ was very sick. He became toxic to one of his medication and almost died. This medication attacked his central nervous system. He became paralyzed and had tremors. He lost control of his body and body functions. He was rushed to VCA-Aurora animal hospital and we were told that the antidote was Valium and there was a chance we could get him back. We just couldn't lose him. I kept thanking God for the time we had with him. I got a phone call from Dr. Barnes (neurologist) that he made it though the night and was able to stand. He was wobbley but he was standing! JJ fought back and is 100% normal today.

Adopting JJ is the best thing that we ever did. He is our buddy. He is good to us and to his brother. I love his personality. I love that he wants to be near us and when he has had enough of us he goes up to bed or hangs out in his house (kennel). He is always trying to please us. He is easily corrected and remembers! He really is a good boy. He is our best friend. If Dusty could talk he would say his brother is the best! We are lucky to have our JJ.

Thanksgiving Day Run

2008-11-30T08:16:00.002-06:00

We drove up to Sheboygan, Wisconsin on Wednesday night after work. It is so nice to be able to stay with family! My sister and her husband have a beautiful home and are always so willing to let us come and stay.

Thursday came rather fast. The weather was awesome. It was in the 20’s with a light breeze. We got up, got dressed and drove to the YMCA to register for the 10K. Let me tell you how cheap this was. We chose the no t-shirt option and paid $12.00 each. We waited in the car for a while and then we decided to go inside the YMCA to use the bathrooms. It was very nice not having to use a port-a-potty! This race was also a 2-mile fun walk/run for families. I found it enjoyable watching the kids and parents get excited. I found it very fun to watch the parents bundle up the kids in snow suits, boots, and mittens.

Chief and I went outside around 9:15 to wait for the start. I didn’t get too cold waiting. They had a strange start. There was no gun, no sirens, no one said “go” (that we heard). At 9:30 am people just started to run. And run we did!

Chief got in front of me and I was chasing while fussing with my watch. I have no idea if I started it when I began to run or if I hit start when I crossed the timing mat. Since we were chipped I didn’t really care too much. I just like to have an ideal of my mile splits. The race was an out and back along Sheboygan’s Lake Michigan coastline and nearby neighborhoods. I kind of wanted to stay with Chief as long as I could. Being that he got a head of me so quick it took me a mile to get on his heals. Unfortunately for me that is when I got to the bottom of the big hill. Chief is very strong with hills and I am not for two reasons: ITB and hills just suck! The course was not flat. There seemed to be endless rolling hills. I couldn’t get back to Chief but could see him in front of me for most of the first part of the race.

My splits seemed fast. I saw Chief go around the cones at the 5K-turnaround. As we passed by each other he gave me some encouraging words. When I got to the 5K-turnaround, the guy shouted “26:28”. Could he be serious? I looked at my watch and we matched. Holy Cow I never ran a 5 K this fast! I could no longer see Chief so it was up to me to keep up the pace. At mile 4 there was a small water station. After I gracefully choked on my drink, I decided to see how hard I could push. I felt so tired. My heart rate was around 93-95% and I really wanted to be done. I was happy to see mile 5. I latched on to some guy and toward the finish he thought we should “take it”. We picked it up and I saw Chief cheering me on the side of the road. I crossed at 53:07. Later I would find out that my pace was 8:33. Holy crap. Chief did well also. His chip time was 51:21. (Thanks for pacing me babe!)

Other than wanting to puke I felt okay. My knee held up and I was warm enough. What more could I ask for? How about water? Nope, they did not have enough water at the finish line. There was Gatorade and two kinds of Donut Holes but no water! They need to change two things about this race: more water at the end and a person at the start with a megaphone, starter pistol, whistle, air horn, etc., just to let us know when it is time to go. I guess that is why the race was so darn cheap.

After the run, we went to my sister’s to shower and pack up the car to head up to Manitowoc for Thanksgiving dinner with Chief’s family. We had good eats and “feats of strength” – Chief arm-wrestled his nephew. We are lucky to have a great family to stay with. This time we slept over at my other sister’s house. They recently moved to this very pretty home. I enjoyed staying there because it gave me a chance to catch up with my niece and nephew. I wish I lived closer. They change so fast and I really had a blast seeing the kids again. Friday morning came early and I got up at 4:00 am to drive to Green Bay and shop with another sister, niece, and mom. My niece and I had a fun time in the back seat snacking on jelly beans, pretzels, Pringles, and what ever else we had brought or bought. That night we drove back home to Illinois. We don’t usually get home for Thanksgiving because I normally work the day after. I am glad we had the chance this year. It was fun.

Keeping Busy

2008-11-23T08:59:00.003-06:00

It is definitely getting chilly outside. You know you like to run when you get up at 4:50 am, turn on the weather channel to see the temperature and wind report, spend 10 minutes figuring out what to wear and then finally get out there and run. This is now my routine on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I have built up the distance and speed to run with Chief and TL. We do a 5-mile loop starting at TL’s house. If I feel okay at the end, I add a little bit and run home. It is really awesome that JJ is able to run with us too. I think the trick was building super slow. The problem is that I get so competitive with myself that I want to keep adding distance or running more frequent then I should. Take today, we ran 8 miles in 81 minutes yesterday at Waterfall Glen. I was ready to run with the boys this morning even though my knee is a little sore and I am physically tired. Chief woke up with me and said he would go with us if we would walk. So, we walked and I enjoyed talking and looking at the neighborhood. I think the boys like the break as well.

Yesterday the run was great at WFG. We got there at 5:45am. Chief bought a headlamp from REI and it worked really well. He lit up the path for all three of us. Dusty got a new running jacket (looks like a yellow Superman cape). He is a little guy with less fur than JJ so we are careful with cold weather and running him. He ran in his little jacket and he had absolutely no issues. When Chief got home, Dusty followed him to the den to hang it up. It was really cute.

Today I am returning to “Hot Yoga” class with my friend. She invited me last weekend and it was my very first yoga experience. I loved it. I am not flexible but that didn’t matter. I just did as much as I could. I admit when I was done I felt so relaxed. I got home and wanted to sleep. Today, I need to drink more prior to class. I think that will help me not feel so dehydrated later tonight.

This is Thanksgiving week and I have a lot to do. Normally, I work the Friday after Thanksgiving so we make a dinner for just us two and put up the Christmas tree. This year we are headed up north and I already have some time constraints. After working and a manicure on Wednesday, we will be driving to Sheboygan to stay with my oldest sister. We are planning on doing a 10K turkey trot in Sheboygan on Thursday morning. Then we have to drive to Manitowoc and get our butts going to be at Chief’s family gathering. We are staying at my sister’s house (different than the one referenced above) and she has her dinner at noon, which we are invited to as well. I told her we would just snitch a piece of turkey because we have to be at Chief’s brothers house by 2 pm for dinner at 4 pm. I will be going shopping with some of my family on Friday morning. I have never done the day after shopping thing. I am not a real lover of shopping but I wanted to spend some time with them. We are driving to Green Bay and Appleton for this. My mom’s dinner is on Saturday night, but we will already be back in Illinois because we are picking up a friend at O’Hare Airport on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, I will be getting started with Christmas decorating. Wow, we will need a vacation after this.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

My 10K Race Report

2008-11-12T20:32:00.013-06:00

On Sunday Chief and I ran a local 10K. I was worried because my knee was sore from probably too much spinning and I was also concerned about the weather. It was suppose to be windy, cold, and a chance of snow.

The day started early. Chief got going and took the boys for their walk. I got to "sleep in" until 6am and had to figure out how to dress. I had bought a few new cold weather running things as a birthday present but I wasn't sure if it was quite cold enough to wear them. With the temp being around 38 I decided on layers of 2 wick shirts and a pull over Sport Hill running jacket. I had my gloves, hat, and a layer of tights. I do have a heavy pair of tights but the zipper has dug into my Achilles and I haven't been brave enough to wear them again.

We got to the race, picked up our timing chips and waited in the car. About 30minutes prior to the race we decided to find a potty and wait in the tent for the call to the line. I was a little chilled waiting. I loved watching people before the race. I felt like a dork because I don't have a ritual. It was obvious to me that there were some very serious runners. I saw some use foam rollers and the stick to loosen up. I saw people doing crazy stretches and some weird duck walk thing. I was getting nervous. Why was I here? What did I sign up for? This was crazy. It was early, cold, and I just wanted to be done and go home.

We finally walked to the start. We went to the middle. The gun went off. Funny, how as soon as the gun went off my nerves went away. I told Chief to run ahead and have fun. I knew I was going to be slower and I didn't want to drag him down. Truth be told I am pretty much a loaner when I run. I don't mind running alone.

I was running comfortably. I felt that I was warm enough. I took off my gloves at the half way point. I started to realize that I was turning out 9 minute miles. I got to where the 5K and 10K course splits. For a moment I thought about bailing but I didn't. I figured I was out I might as well get in a good workout. It was with 2 miles to go that I knew I could get this race done in under an hour. I just kept telling myself to keep turning my legs. Keep the pace. Only 9 minutes until the next mile. I picked up some dude and he was running faster than me. He spoke Spanish and he would wave for me to pass him. I told him I was coming but I couldn't catch him. I was just past the 6mile marker and I saw Chief. It was cool to see him at the finish line. I ended up running in 56:12. I was so happy with my run and I am glad that I didn't bail at the 5K split!

They had great post race treats: bananas, apples, oranges, bagels, soup, hot dogs, McDonald yogurt parfaits, coffee, hot chocolate, and hot cider.

I chilled pretty quick so we grabbed a bite and left. I was pretty tired for the rest of the day. My legs were tired at spin on Monday and Tuesday my knee was sore with running. I went to spin today and it wasn't too bad. I hope to run with Chief and TL tomorrow. They plan on doing 5 miles.

My "Diamond" Day

2008-11-09T16:34:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday, I drove up to Wisconsin to pick up my mom and sister and head to Green Bay to see the Neil Diamond concert. I was a bit cranky...long week at work, hard work outs, PMS so I guess my mood sucked from the moment I woke up. In fact that morning I ran with JJ to meet Chief and some friends. I over dressed for the run which made me hot and not happy which I am sure was a great impression. I took a ride home with Chief and felt guilty for not running longer. I changed into dry clothes and went back out for another 5K. On my second run I was thinking that I probably could get Chief a Green Bay Packers umbrella for his birthday. I knew he needed a new umbrella and he is also a Packers fan. So, when I got home I made a phone call to Dick's Sporting Goods in Green Bay. With my great mood I loved our conversation.

Me: Do you have GB Packers Golf umbrellas.
That guy: Yep, we have two.
Me: Could you hold one for me and I will pick it up tonight.
That guy: I really don't think we are going to sell 2 umbrellas on November 4th.
Me: Please, just put it aside. I don't want to drive 4 hours from Chicago and one not be there when I get to the store.
That guy: If you live in Chicago, why do you want a Packers Umbrella.
Me: It's a long story. We relocated and he is a Packers Fan.
That guy: You would never get me to relocate there.
Me: So, could you leave one for me? I will be up around 4pm. I should be able to swing by before we go to the Neil Diamond concert.
That guy: Neil Diamond eh.
Me: Yes. Do you need my name.
That guy: Nope, don't think we are going to sell 2 umbrellas today.

I was now late to get on the road. I quickly showered and packed. I headed to the tollway. The ride was uneventful. I was thrilled when I got to Milwaukee and I found a 24 hour Christmas music station. I totally love Christmas so this was helping me feel better. I got to Chief's parents house to pick up my tickets which I had left when the first concert got cancelled. Poor Chief's mom. I told her about my bad mood and just listened. She is such a sweet lady. I am lucky to love my in-laws. I then got to my mom's house. She was so excited. We had about an hour to spare before leaving to pick up my sister. There isn't much to do up there. I suggested we go to the local grocery stores. My mom thought this to be strange but I like to see what they have that I can't get here. I bought Chief some cookies and salted nut rolls. And off we went to Green Bay.

My sister, mom and me had a nice time catching up in the car. My sister is so funny. We made it to Dick's and my umbrella was waiting for me. We then found the Resch Center, got an awesome parking spot, and enjoyed the "Diamond Dinner". Because of my diet I only ate the roasted chicken and some carrots. There was also beef tips with mushrooms and gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, and lemon torte. Oh, I did taste the torte. It was really good. My mom and sister said everything else was really good too. We thought we could walk around the venue until the concert started but we were wrong. They don't let you find your seats until one hour before the show starts. Since it was only 6pm we had some time to wait. I really wanted a beverage and when it was 7 pm my sister and I found the booze cart. We both enjoyed a cold one. Time to find our seats. Our tickets said section 219, ZA, seats 19-21. Okay, I knew they were not the best seats but I didn't think they would be the worst ones. This is not a lie. We were in the highest row. There was nothing behind us but the concrete wall. To make things worse, my mom is deathly afraid of heights. I had no clue that she was so scared of heights. We go to sit down and I could see how uneasy she was. She was a trooper but I could see she wasn't right. Later she tells us that she was dizzy just looking down and really thought she would die.

Now the good part. Now my mood gets better. We are waiting for the concert to begin when some guy named Jim comes up to us to ask if we would like to upgrade our tickets. Me being ready for a scam said that I liked these seats. My sister asked where the new seat would be and he said "that section down there". We are so high up that we can't tell what the heck section he is talking about. I asked how much it would cost and he said it was free. I wanted to know if we moved and I didn't like the new seats could we come back up here. He said we would not be disappointed. My sister asks to clarify which section and Jim tell us the section is where there is no one sitting now right next to the stage. Okay, say what? Right next to the stage. My sister then says to the guy "you can have our crap seats" and we gave him our old ticket and off we went to the good seats.

Oh my God, we got to sit at stage level row 1 for the cost of the crap seats Chief bought. We were so excited. My mom wasn't going to die now. I was so happy I had tears of joy. The concert was awesome. We sang and danced. I just wanted this to be special for my mom and I could tell she was happy. Neil was incredible. It was so cool seeing him up close. He even walked to our section and sang. I never thought I would be a crazy fan but I couldn't help myself. With my sparking Neil Diamond t-shirt I shouted "I love you Neil" and by God I know when he put his hand on his heart and mouthed "Thank You" it was meant for me. My day was complete. Great concert, awesome parking spot, spent time with mom and my sister.

I woke up the next day in the best mood ever. I went for a long walk in town. I hadn't done that in years. I walked to Jerry's Bakery and ordered some treats for work and for Chief. I also got Chief's dad a treat and dropped that off on my way out of town. I got back home in record time. I took out the boys, unpacked and headed to work. If I ever figure out how to get my pictures off my cell phone I will post them.

So, if you are in a bad mood maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be your best day ever.

Beautiful Weekend

2008-11-02T20:09:00.003-06:00

Gosh, it was such a pretty weekend. I looked at the trees today and I think we are in the peak of the fall season. It's suppose to rain this week and that will probably make the leaves to drop. That gives us yard work to do for next weekend.

Being that the weather was so very pleasant we ran on Saturday morning. JJ and I did 7 miles! I am so happy with my progress. I stopped my watch at 6 miles and it was on 59 minutes. This is a very nice time for me. After running I hurried home to take a shower. I had a manicure appointment at 10:00 and then we had a birthday party to go to at 11:15. A friend of Chief's turned 60 along with her husband. Their children gave them a wonderful birthday party at a banquet hall in McCook. The meal was awesome. We had soup, salad, rolls, pasta, beef, chicken, carrots, potatoes, and cake and ice cream for dessert. I made good choices but I also enjoyed a taste of Chief's chocolate cake and a bit of carrot cake. By the way, the cake was from Sam's Club and it was really good.

Today I went to Arlington Heights to meet some old friends for breakfast at Walker Brothers Pancake House. We meet once a month. My good friend and I share a birthday. She will be 60 and I will be 37. It's kind of cool how when you are an adult the age of your friends does not matter.

When I got home we took out the mountain bikes and went to WFG. My first loop on the year on the bike. We decided not to do 2 loops because both of us are tired from the run yesterday. Chief also is still riding his bike to work and he wants fresh legs for the morning. I think that he plans on riding just a few more days because it gets dark earlier now that the clocks changed. My knee was a little sore riding. I have noticed that it is bothering me just a little more than last week. I have been spinning more and I think I need to go lighter on the resistance. The pain is more lateral which is the ITB stuff. Where Dr. E injected it is fine.

We got new cell phones. I just spent an hour trying to find a ring tone because the ones that came with the phone suck. So, when you call I get to hear "Spirit in the Sky". I love that song. I have told Chief that when I die he has to play it at my funeral. I am not joking.

I just have to get through Monday and then I get to drive up north to see Neil Diamond with my mom and sister. I seriously can't wait.

It's Been a Fun Day

2008-10-25T14:56:00.004-05:00

What a great day! Chief and I went out to Waterfall Glen. He took Dusty and went running with some of his faster friends and JJ and I headed out for 3 miles and doubled back. JJ was a pain in the butt for the first mile. He gets so excited when we start. He has to pull and cut behind me because he is too nosey and needs to meet everyone. He wants to see who is behind us and wants to catch up with whoever is in front of us. Eventually he settled in and by the time we got to the 3 mile mark we seemed to run like a fine oiled machine. That is until he saw the deer! JJ ears perked up and off he went to get a better look at it. The problems with this is that I was being pulled so hard while running down a hill. The only way to stop him was to literally stop. I was glad when the deer jumped back into the woods. JJ of course wanted to follow but with me giving him strong "no's" he figured it would be best to listen to me. Now because of his extra work his tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth. Thanks to TNT (team in training) I got him a drink of water. The last 3 miles went fast. In fact we finished in 64 minutes which is good for us. We then walked about a half mile or so and met up with Chief and friends. I was glad to give JJ's leash to Chief that way I could run a little bit quicker. I had a great workout today.

After showering we picked up a buddy of Chief's and drove to Aurora to the "Wurst Kitchen". This is some sausage place that Chief really likes. They have all kinds of flavored brats which being from Wisconsin you know he was like a kid in a candy store. We bought tequila and lime brats, regular brats, atomic sausage sticks, southwest chicken brats, and a big pickle for me. We then finished the morning by shopping for new rugs for the house. Linens and Things is going out of business so we got some runners and throw rugs at reasonable prices. I can't wait to scrub the floors and put them down. It should look really nice.

We went to Cooper's Hawk in Burr Ridge for lunch. It is a restaurant and wine bar. It was very good. Chief was on call so we didn't have any wine or beer. I am sure next time we will be taste testing. We ended our afternoon getting a new toaster. I hope this one will be the "best toaster ever". I have toaster issues.

Chief got called into work so it's time for me to work on the floors, walk the boys, make out a grocery list, possibly go to Trader Joe's, and maybe have a glass of wine. I had a really good day.

Busy Days

2008-10-21T21:47:00.005-05:00

I have been busy these past days. On Monday, I volunteered to work at our new after hours care clinic so I put in my regular work day and then went to the clinic until 10:00pm. I like to do extra stuff. I feel getting involved is a good way to meet new people and help me advance in my career. Tonight I went out to dinner at Hugo's in Naperville with friends. They have the best steak. I am told their fish is wonderful. They have HUGE dessert servings. So if you go be prepared to share! I brought home some of my steak and broccoli and I brought home my key lime pie to share with Chief. He had good left overs! The rest of the week is going to go by fast. Chief is also busy at work so we have not had a ton of time to talk lately. I can't wait for the weekend.

My diet is coming along. I have been eating more fruit lately and sometimes I go a little crazy on the Pringles. I guess when you have cravings you just have to go with it. I don't want to end up not eating what I want to. I think that cutting out everything that is "bad" will shoot me in the foot later. So I did have my fill of those evil Pringles and I am satisfied. I ate a few malted milk balls which tasted really good. There are days when I make bad choices. What can I do about it? Nothing but try to do better the next day. I know that I have lost most of the weight that I need to. I don't weigh myself often. I don't care about how much I weigh. I just want to remain active and I want my jeans to continue to fit me. I've been getting comments about me being "too skinny" or that I lost the weight "too fast". I am becoming annoyed at these comments. People don't understand that I work out at least an hour a day. I eat a very healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't eat the candy, cookies, pie, or fat and carb loaded meals brought from the drug reps. Maybe I need to let comments roll of my shoulders but it is hard not to say back "what did you do at 5:00am for your workout?" I don't like to be judged by those that are not in my running shoes.

I can report that my running is coming along. I was at Waterfall Glen on Saturday and ran/walk over six miles! On Sunday, I ran 3 miles and today I ran too. I have also started going to spin classes on a regular basis. I feel good about my progress. I hope that I can keep this pace and not get re-injured.

The injection has helped my knee. I guess I will be needing the surgery. I will be seeing Dr. E in 4 weeks to discuss this. I hope that the injection will last a few months!

Chondromalacia Patella

2008-10-06T19:37:00.002-05:00

I saw the orthopedic surgeon today and was told that my problem is not so much my ITB but something called "chondromalacia patella". I guess as time goes on and with over use the cartilage starts to wear and fray. Dr. E told me that my ITB is only mildly tight at this time. I was happy to hear that all my stretching is helping. I did get a steroid injection into the knee joint. If this helps...arthoscopic surgery . If it doesn't...that is the question I didn't ask.

My restrictions are no running for 2 weeks. I honestly couldn't decide if I should get the injection because of the running ban. I know it is crazy but I would rather run in pain than not run at all. Dr. E totally understood my dilemna and waited patiently while I sweated out an answer.

The injection was not bad at all but then again I have a really high pain tolerance. He said I could resume spinning, elliptical and walking tomorrow. I have to admit that after working all day post shot my knee did hurt a little. It also feels weird like something is under my knee cap and it feels like I want to pop/crack my knee.

So, I will be very good and I will not run for 2 weeks. Chief is going to walk the boys tomorrow because on Tuesday I normally run and I don't want to be tempted.

I guess I am glad I rejoined the YMCA. Elliptical and stinky dudes here I come.

By the way, I have arthritis setting in on my right knee (the one I had the ACL repair on when I was in highschool). The knee that hurts has no arthritis, go figure.

Frustrated

2008-09-18T22:30:00.007-05:00

Time to update on my running or lack of running. While on vacation I did 5K's on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. We biked the other days. When we got back home I continued with the running and biking. I was feeling really great. I was able to do 6 miles at WFG on September 1st in 84 minutes. During the following week I was mostly running and only walking hills. My last visit to WFG was on September 6th. I did the 6 miles in 72 minutes. As you can see my times improved. On September 9th while on my way home from a 3 mile run I felt the old familiar pain. I have not run since.

I see that I probably over did it again. I just can't figure out how to hold myself back. I LOVE to run and I love to challenge myself. It is so frustrating to have to walk when I know I could run, be done, and feel great. After I felt the pain I took 3 days off. No running, no walking, no nothing. I took Advil, I iced, I stretched, and I am terrible at being patient.

I made the appointment to see the Orthopedic Surgeon for October 6th. I don't know what to expect. I've seen the sports medicine physician, had a cortisone injection, did two rounds of PT, and I had the MRI. I hope he doesn't say "let's do more PT". I just want this thing fixed for good. I have been dealing with this since January 2006 and I just want to be able to run. I don't really want to have surgery but I don't want to have this problem anymore. I wonder what my options are.

A Little Rain?

2008-09-15T19:30:00.016-05:00

We definitely got a little rain. A little too much! The county we live in is listed by the Governor as a "disaster" area. Fortunately, we faired well. The rain started Friday during the day and by Saturday morning at 3:00am, Chief was putting together the 15 gallon Shopvac. We have a foundation that is roughly 100 years old. Needless to say it leaks. Thank God the sump pump works and thank God we did not lose power or we would have had some problems. The good ole Shopvac sucked up over 60 gallons of water over 3 days!

Here are some pictures of the pond that over flowed near our neighborhood.

This kid is walking/balancing on the railing of the bridge. See the other kids in the background?

This is where the pond flooded across the street. Since the street was closed, kids had a blast riding their bikes through the water.

The pond's bank is actually behind the trees in the middle of the picture.

I am again thankful that we were able to come out of this with just a damp basement. I feel really sorry for the people who are not as lucky as us. We will try to stay high and dry for a while.

Missing Dad

2008-09-12T23:17:00.003-05:00

He just turned 48 when he left my mom, sisters, and me. The day he died is forever embedded in my memory. What I seem to forgot is what his voice sounded like or how a hug felt from him. I wished he could have been with us when we played sports, graduated, got married, had babies and lived our lives. I wish we had one more moment.

I believe he was and is watching over us. He has to be. He wouldn't want to miss out on anything. I believe that he is happy that our family is close. He probably would want us to get together more. I heard he liked a good party. I am glad that my sisters and mom are getting together tomorrow night at my dad's high school hangout. I wish I could be there too. Hopefully they remember old times and tell stories.

Girls and boys, have pizza and drink beer. Dad would want it that way. Laugh and talk. Remember and make memories. When you say "goodbye" don't forget to hug each other. Please remember what it feels like. Keep the moment alive.

What To Do About Neil?

2008-09-05T21:56:00.002-05:00

I love Neil Diamond. I have loved his songs since I was a young girl. Since moving to Chicago, I have been so fortunate to have close friends that also enjoy him. In fact I have gone to every concert that he has done in since 1998.

I am positive that my mom's love for Neil influenced me. So, because he was going to play a concert in GreenBay, Wisconsin I thought it to be a perfect gift to give my mom. She has never been to a Neil Diamond concert. The good news, mom, me and Terri (sister 2) were going to go see him when I was on vacation on August 28th. The bad news, he postponed the concert to September 12. The good news, I got that day off to drive up North and finally enjoy the concert with my mom. The bad news, he postponed until November 4th.

What to do about Neal? I guess, I ask for November 4th and 5th off and pray for good weather. I purposely left the tickets up there in case something happens. My mom still wants to go but if there is any chance of snow I will not be going. I am sure I could get Chief's mom to take my place. Anyway, pray for good weather and no more cancelled concerts.

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-09-02T13:01:00.003-05:00

Having a week off of work was fun. We brought the road bikes up north with us. I was not sure how that would work out for me. My ITB seems to flair with riding but I really wanted to try and ride.

We rode twice to Two Rivers and when we got back to Illinois we rode on the Frontage roads. I have some pain with inclines and so I try to keep myself in low gears and less tension. It is kind of hard to ride this way. I really am a masher but this injury is changing those bad habits. I had more problems with my right arm than my ITB. Last year in December I fell and sustained a slightly displaced radial head fracture. This is the head one of the two lower arm bones closest to my elbow. You could say it was a broken elbow but I like the technical terminology. Anyway, I noticed this to be a problem on the trainer and it has continued outside. I guess this too will take time to improved or get used to.

It is fun riding again. September is here and I know I have a few more weekends to enjoy on the rode. Better late than never.

Homeward Bound and Back

2008-09-01T16:41:00.012-05:00

We are back from vacation. Last weekend we packed up the boys, the bikes, and all of the clothes needed for swimming, biking, running, and shopping. We headed north to Wisconsin and had a great summer vacation.

We kept fairly busy. Every morning I went for a run, bike, or walk. I was joking when I said it was like going to "fat-camp". I ate healthy and kept busy with the workouts. So what did we do? We started the trip with a birthday party for my niece, which included a water balloon fight. We got to see my side of the family and we had a good time. That was the coldest of the days. It was in the 70's with a breeze so getting wet wasn't the best. I tried to avoid direct hits.

Monday we went sailing off of Manitowoc with Chief's uncle. Uncle David has a 25-foot sailboat called "Poppyseed". It was a beautiful day. Seeing the lakeshore and being on the lake reminds me of how pretty the area is where we grew up. The wind made the waves 1-2 feet that on a fishing boat isn't so bad but a sailboat is so low to the water. I did get a little seasick towards the end. I started with just a slight headache and then my stomach got queasy. I didn't say anything because I don't know when we will get the chance to sail again and I wanted the fun to last. When we got on land I took some Excedrin and ate some pretzels. Within a hour I was much better. Later that evening we got to spend some time with Chief's family. Our niece who is now a kindergartner had too much cake with extra frosting (Ahhh...sugar-high). She was bouncing around the living room and was entertaining me. She is so cute!

Tuesday we went to Door County. Just Chief and I drove up and spent the day together. We took a picnic lunch and ate at a wayside. I was a little sad because on the way up we found out that the Niel Diamond concert that I had tickets for was postponed from Wednesday to September 12th. I was upset because I wasn't sure if I could get off of work in 2 weeks to come back and take my mom and sister to see the concert. I made a desperate phone call to my boss and a few hours later she called to say I could that day off. (I brought her back apple butter and cherry butter as a thank you.) So, after that, my mood was much better and we enjoyed a day of shopping and sight seeing. We went up to Sister Bay. They have a neat restaurant called "Al Johnson's". They have actual goats on the roof of this place that spend the day in the sun eating grass on the roof. On our way back down we stopped at a cool place called Woodard Orchard. They have lots of home made goodies from pastry to flavored butters. There are also a plethora of free samples. It was a good snack for our drive back.

Wednesday we took the boys to the beach. JJ knew exactly where he was and pulled to the water. He jumped right in and swam. He also drank. He drank a lot!!! Dusty did not want anything to do with the lake. We tried to coax him in but he was too smart. I carried him in and gently put his back legs in which was like putting a cat in water. Needless to say Dusty watched from the comfort of the towels while his brother played. Chief said it was one of JJ's best days ever and Dusty's worst. By the way, JJ pee'd a lot that night.

Thursday and Friday I spent with my mom and sister. We went shopping in Appleton and Green Bay. We even got a free lunch at a microbrewery because after waiting over an hour for our food my sister told the wait staff we were going to leave. Apparently she forgot to put our order in. The manager came over and told us that if we stay the meal would be free. So, we waited and ate a very nice lunch. Chief and I went back to the beach on Friday night. We took my niece with us. She is in 8th grade and I gave her the "safety talk". I was glad she went because I was a wimp and didn't go in past my waist. For one, the water was cool and for two, I am a chicken about "under-tow". She and Chief swam way out to the 2nd sandbar and I took pictures and played in the sand. We had a really nice time.

Saturday was our last day. We went for a walk to the local farmers market. I bought corn and apples. We went for our last bike ride to Two Rivers. There is a paved trail that runs along Lake Michigan called Mariners Trail. We took it to TR on Wednesday. It is only about 6 or 7 miles to TR. We really enjoyed the view and it is flat and fast. Some local groups plant gardens and it is just beautiful. In the afternoon we went to a Roncalli High School football game. Chief and I went to Roncalli and my nephew plays for them. They lost but it was a good game.

We drove back to Illinois later that evening. It was the Harley Davidson 105th anniversary weekend in Milwaukee so we saw a lot of interesting people riding bikes.

Now that we are home we are trying to get out of vacation mode. We pick up my sister and brother in law at O’Hare Airport on Tuesday. They are coming back from Germany and I can't wait to hear about their vacation. Then it will back to work on Wednesday.

I had a great time up north. I wish I could see my family more. It's fun spending time with everyone even if it is only for a few hours but I always feel that there isn't enough time. Mostly, I enjoyed being with Chief. We had quality time together. I need to make us a priority more and this was just the beginning.

All About Dusty

2008-08-19T19:04:00.010-05:00

About a year ago Chief and I considered adding to our family. We thought JJ could use a brother and we had the itch to have a little excitement in our house. So after much discussion and research we decided to adopt a little mini Aussie named Dusty.

Dusty's story is that he was given up because his previous owners moved to an apartment that had a 20 pound weight limit on pets. He came from Minnesota and was brought to Wisconsin to be fostered by his temporary mom Sandy. Sandy and her family brought Dusty in and took great care of the little guy. He had a cyst on his head which had been infected, he was underweight, and he had worms. He had a very shy personality but was the sweetest dog.

We corresponded with Sandy for many days trying to figure out if he was a good fit for our family. Dusty needed confidence. He didn't know about toys or how to play with other dogs. He was non-confrontational and afraid of some dogs. Would we be a good fit for him? Would JJ be a good big brother and teach him about play and toys? Would JJ resent us for bringing home a new dog?

We decided to drive up towards Milwaukee and meet Dusty. We took JJ with us too that way we could see how they would interact. It was a rainy and cool August Saturday. We got to Sandy's house and minutes later we met Dusty. She opened her garage door and there he was. The cutest little dog ever. He was so very shy and he was skinny. He had this cute little face and he knew how to look so sad. I bent down as did Chief as we petted him and tried to get him to trust us.

Since JJ was still in the car waiting to meet this new guy, Sandy thought it would be a good idea to let the boys play in her fenced back yard. Just like Sandy said Dusty had no idea how to play. JJ tried so hard. He tried to play chase but Dusty wouldn't run. He would lay down at Dusty's level but Dusty had no interest. We could see that there would not be any problems with fighting between the two of them. JJ got bored after a while and decided to sit on Sandy's deck and watch the Aussies inside of her house from her patio doors. Chief, I, and Dusty tried to figure out if he should come home with us. We spent a few hours there and decided that we could give this a try. We adopted this little guy and away we went back to our house.

He has been with us for a year now. The first months were not easy. Dusty has separation anxiety and after many nights of not sleeping he made it into our bed. At first JJ would not have anything to do with Dusty, even going upstairs, but I think he too was tired of the crying by his brother at night. Dusty didn't do well in his kennel when we went to work. We figured he cried all day and by the wetness outside of his kennel door he was probably barking too. He also had accidents in his kennel and just when we were about to give up on him we decided to leave he and JJ in the kitchen while we went to work. Perfect solution. He never had a problem after we got rid of his kennel. JJ was a trooper for staying in the kitchen. Before Dusty was here, JJ had the whole house to himself. He didn't seem to mind regressing back to one room all day so he could hang out with his new brother. Eventually, Dusty graduated and now when we leave they get to have the entire house.

His favorite things to do are: sleep on the couch, watch squirrels, bite JJ's ankles, run with dad three times a week, steal toys, play fetch, go to school at Doggie Depot, car rides, walks, and anything to do with going outside.

Dusty has come a long way. With Sandy's encouragement when things were tough, Dusty found a forever family. With the help of Brian and Colleen at Doggie Depot, he has more confidence with other dogs and his play skills are exceptional. Because of JJ, he knows all about toys, how to pee in the yard, and has new friends (canine and human) in the neighborhood. He is a good little brother and a good little dog. He is Chief's little buddy and my little guy. We love Dusty and he is a perfect fit for our family.

Lazy Sunday

2008-08-10T13:04:00.002-05:00

It seems to be a lazy Sunday at our house. Except for Chief who ran 2 hours today. I walked the boys to the pond and went to breakfast with some friends. Today is an "off day" for me. I did my 5K walk/run yesterday and was not excited to get that work out in. I woke up tired and unmotivated. I was also feeling rushed because I had to get to the farmers market, shower, and get to work by 9:00am. I tried to talk myself out of the 5K but Chief is either the devil or the angel on my shoulder. I listened to him and off I went. I felt pretty crappy in the beginning but still decided to run earlier than usual. My usual rule is walk for the first 10 minutes and the last 5 minutes. Anything in the middle is fair game. Because I was rushed for time I ran after the first 5 minutes. I still try to walk the hills because of my knee and I was so happy to have an excuse to walk! When the flats came I ran again. I found myself to be very lethargic and at times it felt like I was running in place. I had to tell myself to just find the rhythm. I got to a part of the 5K that I normally run and I had some ITB pulling. Knowing I should walk I did. Obvious I put too much running in the beginning and now the middle was suffering. I was happy to turn onto our street and finish. My time was improved but I felt like crap. Sometimes bad workouts seem worthless but for me it was a lesson in pushing myself. So to the devil on my shoulder I thank you for talking me into going yesterday. I am so enjoying my "off day".

Go Cubs Go

2008-08-05T19:45:00.004-05:00

I had not been to a Chicago Cubs game since my sister's God parents took us when I was 18 years old. So, when some tickets became available Chief and I jumped at the chance to go to Wrigley field.

Dr. Ed and his wife picked us up and we drove to Chicago with very little traffic. Parking was easy and off we go to the stadium. It was around 11:30am so we decided to grab a bite and some beer before heading to our seats. Chief had to suffer with Old Style Lite. I laughed because Old Style was my dad's beer of choice so I told him that he was having one for dad. When we were walking to our seats we did pass a beer hut with Corona, Heineken, and other good choices...poor Chief. We walked very high and guess what? Our seats are in section 516, row 9, and 101-104. What does that mean? We sat in the final and highest row in the stadium. There was nothing behind us but fence to hold us in. Us girls were cold! It was a breezy day with the wind off the lake. The actual temperature was 80 degrees and sunny but up there it was freezing and shady. I didn't think I would ever experience a wind chill in August!

The game was uneventful and I was secreting hoping for it to speed up as I was really cold. I also was getting annoyed at the people needing to exit the row for beer, food, or bathroom. You have to know that the seats are very small and our legs are cramped. I have big feet so whenever anyone had to get passed me I would have to point them sideways so not to get stepped on.

It was around the fifth inning that Dr. Ed went to get coffee for his wife. He didn't come back with any because he waited in line for 20 minutes and found out that booth was out. Shortly after that a miracle happened. He found a friend of his who happened to be in the 6th row behind home plate. With a little convincing he took me and Mrs. Ed down to the best seats in the stadium. I kid you not we sat in the sun and the seats actually burned our bums. I could see Chief all the way high and was glad when a few people left and gave us their ticket stubs so now all of us could enjoy a piece of heaven.

I love, love, love those seats! Next time I go to a game I hope I get to sit in the sun and get to stretch my legs out. These seats were awesome. Larger and more room for my big feet. I was so happy there. I didn't want the game to end but it did in the top of the 9th. We sang the winning song and headed back to the car to get some supper.

Dr. Ed decided to take us to Twin Anchor's in Chicago. He said he heard they had the best ribs in town. I had a chicken sandwich because of my diet but the guys had the ribs and they both agreed that they were pretty darn good.

We got back home around 6:30pm and visited a while with some neighbors. I still have that stupid Go Cubs Go song in my head! It was a great day.

Sunday walk at WFG

2008-07-20T09:18:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I went out to Waterfall Glen. This is a forest preserve off of I55 and Cass Ave. in Darien, Il. It is about a 20 minute drive to get there. It is a great place to run, bike, hike, walk or do what ever it is you want to do. The path is crushed limestone and the total loop is just about 9 miles with some hills. This is not a flat loop. I ran it a lot when I was training for the half marathon.

I went with Chief today. He usually runs there once a week. With the injury I am suppose to stay on flat surfaces but I felt that since I have been walking everyday for almost a month it was time to give this a try. We decided to go separate directions and I would do a 45 minute walk out and back for a total of 90 minutes.

So, I head out and felt really good. I got pass the 2 mile marker and decided that I would try to run just a little bit. That really hurt but I needed to try it. At about 40 minutes in I was looking to get to the 3 mile marker by my 45 minute turn around point. I knew it was close so as time kept ticking, I decided to jog to find it as I knew it was close. After getting to the mile marker I turned around and jogged back for a few minutes. I knew that I was being stupid with the jogging so I made myself stop. It is so hard to be out there with other runners and only walk. I kept thinking that I use to be able to run to the 3 mile marker in 30 minutes and this took me 47 minutes! Yikes...well, you can't live in the past can you?

On my way back I saw two 6 point bucks. God, they were beautiful and so close! I saw blue jays, bunnies, and heard angry bull frogs. There were a ton of slugs on the trail. That was kind of gross. Chief caught up with me and I told him I would be 4 minutes late. When he was far enough a head of me I jogged some more. I completed 6 miles in 94 minutes. My best run there was 9 miles in 89 minutes. I wonder if I will ever get to run again.

On the bright side the ITB is not too bad. It stings a little but with some stretching I think I will be okay. Also, I walked hills today! There is nothing flat about WFG so I have something else to be proud of!

Progress

2008-07-12T21:09:00.004-05:00

Progress has been made be it ever so slow. I have been able to walk for 30 minutes everyday for two weeks. Today I was able to hop on the trainer and ride my bike for 30 minutes. I know it is not running but I am on my way. I even enjoyed the trainer because I could watch an episode from the first season of "House".

I still have pain everyday but I am able to manage it with Advil. I had my physical last week and my doctor agreed with the sports medicine physcian that I should see an orthopedic surgeon. I probably will but for now I feel that since I am making some progress let's just keep going and see how far I can make it.

I am also on a diet. I have lost some weight and I think that is why my knee pain is more tolerable. I need to do some simple quad strengthing exercises and will probably work this in next week.

I know it is best to move slowly and this time I am going to keep up the snail pace. Even though it's hard it is best for now.

Independence Day Reflection

2008-07-05T16:49:00.005-05:00

I got to thinking about my childhood and some of my favorite memories are about the Fourth of July. I grew up in Two Rivers, Wisconsin (a small town on Lake Michigan and proudly the "Home of the Ice Cream Sundae") and we celebrated every year with day long anticipation of the fireworks display. I was so fortunate to have a close knit family and tradition. My family...I could go on for days about them. I have 5 sisters and when I was young my mom and dad. Dad died when I was in 8th grade and sadly so did some of the traditions that I miss.

Every July 4th our cousins from the "country" would come and spend the day. They had 3 boys and 1 girl and luckily for me Dawn was my age and I loved when we got together. The day would start with a trip to downtown to watch the parade. Afterwards we played and rehearsed our annual "firecracker boom, boom, boom" cheer while my God-parents and Dad went golfing. When they returned my dad would "fry out" which is barbecuing for the rest of the world. That was always a sight. He had 2 bottles of beer - one for drinking and one for "putting out the flames" which I am pretty sure actually did have water in it.

The town shot off the fireworks from Neshota Park which is near the lake. We had a perfect view from our back yard. The older kids got to climb on the roof of the garage and watch. The rest of us had lawn seats. When it was over we would watch our dads light off our little firecrackers on the street. We always had the crowd favorites of snakes, smoke bombs, and sparklers.

And then tradition went away. I don't know why and it doesn't really matter. There were years that we stopped celebrating the way we had in the past. This year my family got together on the fourth and did things the old way. I just hope that my sisters continue this with their families forever. We don't get up north as often as we used to. We blame this on holiday traffic and there is never enough time to spend with everyone. I guess if I miss it so much it must be time to go home more. It's time for me to pass down the "firecracker cheer" to my nieces. Maybe next year I will be back.

For those who "TRI"

2008-06-25T06:27:00.005-05:00

Even though I am not a triathlete I really enjoy following those that are. My husband started racing 8 years ago. When he first told me that he was going to try to do one I remember asking "you're going to do what?". Sure he was a strong biker and his run was okay but let's now factor in the swim. I am sure he was influenced by his friend Kim who had completed an Ironman. Well, he worked at it and he accomplished his goal. Kim is now training for her 3rd Ironman. Chief has been "training" with her by doing the long runs with her on the weekend. These guys get up at 4:30 in the morning to run 18 miles! I get crabby just thinking about it.

When we moved to this neighborhood, we pulled in the driveway with our bikes on the car. We had not met but one family and then down the street comes a woman on a road bike. She would turn out to be a triathlete. She had raced half-Ironman distances. We would become good friends with her and her husband. Eventually Chief and Karen would convince myself and Dennis to try a triathlon. Dennis learned to swim so he could do this! I thought we were all crazy!

My short career, my only triathlon was a sprint with the swim in a pool. I was so nervous. When I went to sign in they didn't have my reservation. THANK GOD! I told the lady not to worry, I would come back next year. My loving husband said she was going to fit me in and that was that, I was assigned a swim start. Actually, looking back the swim was the fun part. I remember it to be so rhythmic. I only breathe on the right so every time I took my breath (one the way down) I would see the crowd. Then came the bike. That was fun too because I think it was my strongest part. Finally, the run. The first part of the run wasn't too bad but being my first triathlon I didn't save anything. I just wanted to finish as fast as I could to be done! I ran and thought I was going to puke but I didn't. I finished the race. I even placed in my age division! It was hard and it felt good to be done.

Through the years I have met other triathletes. One of the toughest people I know is MJ. She truly has passion and commitment for this sport. I met Jennifer Garrision last year through Team LunaChix and I was so amazed at how humble she was. She is an Olympic distance USA National champion and she is amazing. I follow Bree Wee and Jennifer Harrison through their blogs. All of these people are an inspiration to so many others.

I don't know if I will do another triathlon. Maybe someday. For now, I will keep watching and cheering on those that do. As for Chief, he is still racing. He likes the sprint distances and maybe someday with some swim training we will see him do a half Ironman distance! I think Kim can talk him into it.

30/30

2008-06-12T06:46:00.008-05:00

So, I decided that walk/run should be a good way to get me back. Hal Higdon has a 30/30 plan. It is simple 30 minutes of exercise for the first 30 days. The first 10 minutes you must walk. The last 5 minutes you must walk. During the middle 15 minutes, you jog for 30 seconds, walk until recovered, jog 30 seconds again. Jog, walk. Jog, walk. I think I got it! After this if no injury to the ITB I can look forward to his 5-K training plan!

I remember when I would run 3-5 miles before work everyday and now I am taking such small steps. It is really hard for me. Well, because of the ITB pain I don't have any options. I know if I go out full force I will be sidelined for another month.

On the bright side, my big Aussie JJ will love this program. When I started to run a few years ago, he was my "running buddy". He still gets so excited when I put on my running watch and it "beeps" to set the time. We would run every morning, even in the rain. As I became stronger and faster and gradually gained more miles, JJ became less interested. He has a mind of his own and he showed me. There were times he would "fake pee". Yes, he would lift his leg on a tree but would not pee. I swear he would do this and smile at me! That would frustrate me and so I would give him the 2 block no sniff, no pee penalty. He would counter that with just stopping and sitting on the grass and eventually would lay down. When trying to convince my 50 pound dog to move I realized that this wasn't fun for him anymore. He did his job. He got me started. He got me to run 3 miles without walking. It was his way of telling me he was done. I would still take him sometimes and when I did it was on his schedule not mine.

I can't wait run with my buddy again. Just like we used to. Slow and pokey on his schedule.

Introduction

2008-06-02T19:12:00.010-05:00

Since this is my first blog I thought I should introduce myself to you. I am Toni. I am a wife, Registered Nurse, and mom to two Australian Shepherds. I am sure in the future I will be talking a lot about those guys. I decided to blog because I enjoy reading so many other sites and I thought this might be kind of a fun way to keep a journal of my progress.

There is nothing special about me. I work a lot. I have a great husband and friends. What I am missing in my life is running. I used to love to run. Too many injuries and too much weight gain have made this a bit difficult. Now, I am not nor have I ever been a great runner. Actually, I began running in 2005 and trained for the WDW half marathon. I completed it in 2:22 with a pretty bad ITB (Illiotibial band) injury that has never recovered. My sports medicine guy told me that I will never be able to run that distance again. I guess it was hearing him say that and the pain that caused me to quit all together. The thing is I don't want to quit. I want to run again. So, my blog is about me re-learning to run. Don't worry, I will throw other stuff in as well.

I have a lot of books about training. My friend LT told me to stop reading them and to start running. I am taking her advice. I am ready to shed this weight and pick up my feet again. So, with that I am hoping you will See Toni Run.