davejenbarnes

Well, my sources were right on the mark with the new Saturn Minivan, so why not trust them when they email me this link? For those of you not wanting to visit that site, here’s a pic of the sketch of the car:

Having Babies by Thomas Congdon. He spent 9 months in an obgyn practice getting to know the doctors and patients and followed different parts of different pregnancies through different stages and gives a lot of historical background into the profession of obstetrics.

I’m halfway through. I am really enjoying this book.

Let’s just say that I’m not looking forward to this week. I’m not looking forward to any week which involves work. I’m getting pretty used to being able to relax all day and not have to focus my brain power… and not be around children. other people’s hormonal adolescent pre-teen children.

But this week will bring us one week closer to the cruise.

And this week’s pay will bring us closer to being debt-free.

David’s school is having their 6th grade band concert Friday night. I’m hoping to have a comfy pair of pants by then… either that or I may just have to rig a rubber-band contraption to keep the tops of my slacks from flapping open. NO, it’s not time for me to be showing, but I AM rather bloated and swollen around the middle due to the Lack of Digestion going on in there. I mean, I can hear stuff gurgling and all, but when there’s no output, the process is definitely not moving along much.

I just re-read this and it doesn’t seem like much of a pregnancy entry, but there is not a lot going on that I can tell right now (it’s all hidden inside) and I don’t feel like whining and complaining ALL the time, just some of the time. the 8th week is rather like the 7th.

Our baby may only be between the sizes of a pinto bean and a raspberry, but next year’s halloween costume is already bought. We couldn’t pass up the chili pepper costume for a $1 at Once Upon A Child. NOTE: THIS IS NOT WHAT OUR BABY WILL LOOK LIKE… this is a picture to give you and idea of what the COSTUME looks like.

We’re missing the hat, but I bet I could make one out of green felt by next October. I also picked up two onsies (both green). Philip and Kimberly gifted us with a green baby blanket and two yellow bibs. I’m glad we’re already used to green and yellow… reminds me of Baylor in a way.

Yes, we’re pregnant. And we told the fam. today so there is no use keeping it a secret anymore. But I will not tell you about it here. For the curious, visit my pregnancy journal where I will put all the pregnancy stuff… to keep it nice and neat and most of all, optional. Where you won’t have to read about it if you don’t want to.

We’re up at David’s folks’ house and my parents and brother just left to drive back home. It was sooooooo good to see them all together again. I don’t think my side has seen David’s middle brother, Philip and family since the wedding (our wedding) and then they only had ONE kid. Now they’re up to THREE. Yes, I know, even this did not scare us out of wanting our own.

Now, let’s see if David can figure out how and where to stick the cable so I can upload some pictures from today into the gallery!

PS> it’s good to be blogging again.

UPDATE: pictures added

The infection is almost gone, though I am still taking my medicine faithfully. I am so glad there is medicine that a doctor can prescribe to take care of the infection but keep me and the growing embryo safe.

Today I inherited several pregnancy books from my sister-in-law, Kimberly. She has a three-month old, Kambry, who is adorable! Absolutely adorable! Now, I know that I am not the first woman ever to be pregnant, but I sure feel like it. I suppose a lot of women feel like that… I am so scared at times and so joyful at others. But the books are evidence that, despite my newbie feelings, I am NOT alone.

Symptoms (and/or complaints) at this point in the game (week 7):
Tiredness… extremely tired. I go to bed exhausted and I wake up exhausted, as if I was building the new tollway going in over 183 all by myself in an alternate dimension while the rest of the world slept and when I woke up I rejoined the rest of the world in this dimension, only tired.
Extra air in my system… lots of burps and, uh, gassy moments due to my slowed down digestion. No more regularity!
Oh the Soreness… I guess when you start with nothing, you can’t complain about bigger and better and more sore.
What??? oh yeah, forgetfulness… I can’t remember stuff, but it’s random stuff like in the middle of the conversation when you’re trying to say something and you have to stop and burp … and … what was I talking about?

All this is so new to me! I’m exhausted and hoping to have a little bit more computer time then I’m going to S-L-E-E-P! yeah!

Before I headed out to my doctor’s appointment, I had lunch with Nicole and her almost-three-month-old, Hailey. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Brick Oven.

I complained about it stinging when my bladder emptied and we decided I should mention it to the doctor, which I did. Turns out, I have a urinary tract infection. I feel slightly better today after getting the medication, but now when I go, there’s blood. And that scares me. I hate seeing blood when I wipe.

The actual doctors appointment went relatively well. I had a pap smear, blood drawn, and received a flu shot. They also gave us a goodie bag with two magazines and some formula and seven different samples of prenatal vitamins and two diapers! Our first two diapers! All in all, it took two hours out of my day, but it was well worth it. There was no sonogram, no looking for a heartbeat, no extra pregnancy tests… though the flu shot nearly made me pass out.

Back to drinking lots of water!

So our first doctors visit is this afternoon. I am so nervous. I feel like I’m going in there for a performance. Hello, this is my body. This is my child. How are we doing? like there’s a grade involved. A+! like there should be applause at the grace of God to allow my body to do such a thing as start to grow a baby. like performing a clarinet solo in church, which I recently have done, and putting my all out there.. on the examining table for the doctor to look at.

Most of my nervousness, I think, comes from not knowing what to expect. I’ve never done this before. I’ve never seen an obgyn for anything other than a pap smear and a consultation to talk about getting pregnant. I’ve never met this doctor before. Will she do a sonogram? What is the difference between a sonogram and an ultrasound?

The other part of my nervousness is due to the fact that David and I will be arriving there at different times. I’ll be getting there at 1:30 to complete paperwork; Dave will be leaving his place of employment at 1:30 and will arrive probably around 2:00, when the appointment is supposed to start. I worry about too much.

Okay, so I’ll get the comments turned back on since I know a lot of you reading this have already had a child (or have one on the way!) and maybe had these same questions. The only thing is - I’m not planning on publishing this until after Thanksgiving and by then, the coupla nervous questions I have will have been answered.

I’ve recently been introduced to a new game that has me hooked. It is called the Kingdom of Loathing. I learned about it through an article in Games Magazine. Here’s the lowdown: this guy wanted to make a game one week, so, he did. He used sketches, and the magic of the internet, to create a MMORPG. At the end of the week, he showed it off on a few message boards, and before long had over 60,000 registered users. The game is simple, yet complex (as I’ve found most great games to be). You won’t find flash animations (you’ll hardly find any animations), there aren’t lush 3D worlds to explore, and yet, as I said in my opening sentence, this game “has me hooked.” Did I mention that it’s free?

Now, on to the real reason for this post. The game is super-saturated with the kind of humor that appeals to me on so many levels. Object discriptions, character classes, items, locations, etc. are all woven together to form a thick Meat Blanket of hysteria which envelops the entire game (BTW, Meat is the official currency of KoL, and is also used to create things during the MeatSmithing Process).

I’d like to share a few of my favorite quotes from this game so far (I’ll be adding more as I get deeper into the game).

You’re attacked by a fiendish can of asparagus. Cans of asparagus aren’t normally all that scary, but this one’s got a knife!

This is a linoleum sword. It’s easy to clean, and with proper care, will last a lifetime.

You have contributed 2 Meat to the Council’s “Buy a Pair of Yetis” fund.

In the Sleazy Back Alley, you are attacked by a completely different spider than the big creepy spider that you may or may not have already been attacked by.

This is a fairly straightforward slingshot. You can use it to shoot rocks at things, or presumably to shoot things at rocks, provided that the things are relatively small.

I’ll be posting more of my favorites when I come across them. In the mean time, click on the link up there, and give the game a spin (the game isn’t a life sucker either, it only gives you 40 turns a day).