I'm still alive, I swear!

I really don’t know what my problem is. I really should be better about updating this blog, but for some reason, I just don’t get around to it. And it’s not like I’m super busy either. It’s the opposite actually. I had almost 3 months on maternity leave, and have been back to work for almost 2 months and still have not updated this stinking page! To those of you who actually read my blog, I apologize for my lack of attentiveness. Let’s get to it…

It has now been almost 6 months, since my little Wesley was born. Some days it feels like it’s been forever and some days it feels like yesterday, that my little miracle arrived. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster with some crazy ups and downs. To start with the downs, I got a case of the post partum blues. The first week after we brought Wesley home, I was depressed and very anxious. I tried medication, but that turned me into a Zombie, so I didn’t want to take it anymore. After a couple weeks of being home with a new baby, I adjusted and it got easier. There were still days of weepiness, but for the most part, I did ok. I actually started to enjoy being home and I didn’t think that I would get to that point. I got to go to lunch with Jase a couple times a week, had chiropractor appointments twice a week, and got a few things done that I had on my to do list.

Going back to work was a tough decision for me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a full time stay at home mom, but I also felt like I should be at home with Wesley. I didn’t want to quit and realize it was a bad choice, so I decided to go back to work and test the waters. Jase and I talked about it and decided we had a few smaller things we could pay off faster if I worked for a couple months, and even if I decided to stay home, it would be easier with those monthly bills out of the way. It’s been 2 months and I’m still at work. At first I was ok being here, but my PPD (post partum depression) came back and things got harder for me. I finally was put on some low dose meds to help, and so far things are much better. I still feel weird sometimes at work, but it’s definitely not as bad as before.

Aside from work and maternity leave, the past 6 months have been fun for us. We have gone through Halloween, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Valentine’s Day, and are coming up on Easter.

For Halloween this year, Killian was Batman. It was awesome for us, because he already had a bunch of pieces that he got throughout the year as toys, so we really didn’t have to spend a lot of time and money on his costume. My grandma bought Wesley a penguin costume, which he was so cute in. We didn’t realize it right away, but Batman and the penguin complimented each other very well. We went to a trunk or treat thing at my mom’s work, and Killian had a party at school, so he was already stocked up on goodies before we even went trick or treating. Because I was on maternity leave, I got to go to Killian’s Halloween parade and sharing time at his preschool. All the kids walked around showing all the parents and the other classes their costumes. Then we all gathered together and each class sang a Halloween song for the entire group. I was very proud of Killian, because he sang really loud and really did a great job.

Our Thanksgiving this year was pretty busy. We went to Fred and Valda’s for the Dietrich side gathering, Jase’s parents for another dinner and then to my grandma’s for pie and cards. We were a little too late for cards, but it was still fun to see everyone.

Christmas, as always, is one of my favorite times of year. Killian decorated our tree this year, which was absolutely adorable. Christmas morning, my mom came over and we opened presents together. Killian got a lot of dinosaur stuff, some new PJS and clothes (a mom’s dream) and a Scooby Doo Chia Pet. Wesley got a floor play gym, a glowworm and some clothes and toys. I think the play gym and glowworm are his favorites. After opening presents, we went to Jase’s parents’ house for Christmas breakfast. Then we went to my grandparents’ house. We ended up staying at my grandparents’ house because people just kept coming, and we didn’t want to miss anyone. Jase ended up drinking a little with my grandpa, and had a pretty good time…that is until he got sick. He must have had just one too many, so we took him home and put him to bed. All in all, it was an awesome day filled with family and good feelings.

It’s now 2010 and so far has been an ok year for us. I am hoping that this year brings awesome things and hardly any struggles. Life wouldn’t be the same without a couple, but hopefully no big ones. My company is building a new building, which we will be moving into midyear, and I’m excited for that. As of Jan 3^rd, I’ve been there 4 years, so it will be interesting to see what the new year has in store.

A couple months ago, the kids had their doctor’s appointments…Wes for his 4 month checkup and Killian for his 5 year checkup. Wesley was 15.5 pounds and 27 inches long. He is in the 97^th percentile for height, so I think he’s going to be a tall kid. Killian was in the 75^th-90^th, so he’s going to be pretty tall as well. They both had to have some shots, but they handled it like troopers and Killian got a sucker when we were finished. We have Wesley’s 6 month checkup next week, so it will be fun to see how much he’s grown.

During the past 6 months, we also got a family photo shoot done, with a few newborn pictures of Wesley. He was 8 weeks, but we got some really great shots and I was very happy we did it. Now I just need to decide which pictures are going in my wall collage for the front foyer. We also got a new couch, loveseat and 65 inch TV (thanks to an awesome sale at RC Willey) for our main living room. I was so glad to get rid of the cat pee smelling, uncomfy as hell futon we had as our “couch”. It’s so nice to feel like it’s an actual room where we can entertain guests without having to cover everything up. We also finally got our wall décor back up so it feels like an actual room that we live in now.

In addition to those home improvements, we also got some new outdoor lights. The ones we had were getting a bit rusty, and just weren’t us, so we changed them and gave the house a bit of a new look. We’ve been in our house almost 2 years now, and most of it is feeling like us. Next step…getting my singing room put together. Wish me luck!

A couple months ago, I caved and let Jase get his dream car. He traded his Mercury Milan in and we got a slightly used Lincoln MKS. It’s the fanciest car I’ve ever ridden in, let alone owned, so it’s been quite the adjustment for me. Our payment did go up a little per month, but we sucked up some of the negative equity from the previous loan and got a way better interest rate, so it evens out a bit. Jase really likes his new ride, and I think it may have increased his ego a bit haha.

Well I think that’s all I have for now. Here are some pics of the things we’ve been up to these days..until next time!

The kiddos at Halloween....Killian was Batman and Wesley was a Penguin

(we actually didn't plan that)

Some pictures from our Family photo shoot

Jase's new ride



Wesley in his Christmas outfit...he was so cute!

Labor Day

Well it's official...I am no longer prego! That's right! Little Wesley Oliver has graced us with his arrival at last! It was a little bit of a surprise because he was a week early though. I had a regular scheduled doctor's appointment last Monday and wasn't feeling any contractions or anything, so I figured we still had some time before I went into labor. At my appointment, my blood pressure was really high and my feet and legs were extra swollen, so my doctor sent me downstairs for some tests. During the testing, I had an ultrasound and found out my fluid levels were low, so the doctor decided to admit me. I was started on something called Cytotec to help my cervix finish ripening since I wasn't dialated yet. This was given to me every 4 hours so it made the first night a little uneventful. The doctor and nurses thought it would go into effect by the next morning, so they were sure they would be inducing my labor on Tuesday, but that wasn't the case. The Cytotec hadn't really affected my cervix enough, so instead they let me eat and decided to start another round of Cytotec later in the day. The first time I was given the Cytotec, I was given all 4 doses, but the 2nd time, I only had to have 2 doses because it actually made an improvement. By the second dose, I was dialated to a 1, so my labor was induced. At 9am, I was started on Pitocin to start my contractions and my water was broken.

Once the Pitocin was started, it seemed to me that my contractions started shortly after. This part was an interesting experience for me because I had really been curious what they felt like. They weren't really bad at this point either, so it was tolerable. As the contractions got worse, I tried some pain medication, but it seemed like my contractions were getting more and more painful, so eventually I opted to try an epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and got started with that, and I have to say that was not as painful as I expected either. It may have been because my contractions were every couple minutes so it was easier to focus on that instead, but I'm not sure if it would have been bad even if they weren't.

At about 4:30, my contractions had progressed to the point of me needing to push. Since my legs were numb, my mom and Jase got to hold my legs and my dad was behind me helping me push myself up. I didn't expect him to hang around for that part, but he really was such a trooper and I was so proud of him! Now my moment of weakness kicked in...pushing was really really hard for me and I kept getting frustrated. I got to watch my labor in a mirror that was on the ceiling and I was getting mad because everyone could see the baby's head and I couldn't. I was also getting really tired and worn out from the pushing (I'm kinda wimpy when it comes to stuff like that). At one point, I actually took a break and said I wanted a C Section. My nurse, Tracy, was absolutely amazing and got me back on track with the pushing and in no time, I could see my baby's head. At this point, the doctor came in, took the puzzle piece off the end of my bed and got ready to deliver the baby. Once I could see his head, it really got me motivated and I think I pushed harder than ever and poof! The doctor pulled the rest of him out, and layed him on my tummy.

Looking at my baby for the first time, was so overwhelming and I just started crying! What an amazing experience to be able to grow a baby inside my tummy and bring a new person into the world. I knew it would be awesome, but I don't think women ever really think about it until they are personally experiencing it. I know I didn't. Wesley was taken and weighed, while the doctor stitched me up. At this point, I realized that although I had an epidural, I completely forgot about the magic button to release the meds! It must have worn off because I was no longer numb while being sewn up haha. I realized that I must be stronger than I think I am. I only pushed for a little over an hour, and delivered a baby and got stitched while not numb and the pain really wasn't unbearable.

After a couple days in the hospital, all was well for the most part, so we got to go home. The only problem we had was that Wesley was Jaundice, so the hospital arranged for us to have a home bili light bed for him to sleep in. As a new mom, it was really hard for me to have to put Wesley in it. We had to put patches over his eyes so he wouldn't stare at the UV lights, and he had to be in it the majority of the day, which was really hard for me. The first couple nights at home, I really didn't sleep because I was constantly worried about him. Every noise, every movement and every cry got my heart racing, hoping he was still ok. Eventually I got used to it, and after only 3 days, the Jaundice had peaked so we got to give the bili lights back. I was so happy and excited to have Wesley out of that thing!


The only other problem we have had so far, is my "baby blues". When we were able to come home, I had depression and anxiety kick in, which made things very difficult for me. I had panic attacks in the middle of the night, didn't sleep well, and woke up every morning not being able to sleep anymore for the day. I wasn't able to take naps even though I was so exhausted and was constantly worried about being home alone with the baby. Luckily, Jase was able to work from home this week, and my mom has leave at her job, so they were both able to hang out with me and help me feel comfortable. I had seen a couple different doctors and given some medication, but it didn't seem to be helping and my anxiety was getting worse. I called to talk to my doctor about the problem, and she wasn't there so I ended up talking to one of the nurses there. Although I know they were looking out for my best interest, I was mad they weren't helping me deal with the issue, so I talked to a doctor at our other medical center. I was given some Ambien to help me sleep, and for the past couple of days, I have felt so much better. I haven't had a panic attack, have actually been able to nap during the day and have felt ok about being home during my maternity leave. I was also given a remote healing by some close family friends and their Rykie (don't think I spelled that right) group, which I truly believe also helped me. I feel great again today, and I'm hoping to be good to go for Monday when Jase has to go back to the office. Wish me luck!


Now that I've talked so much about myself and the delivery, I should probably talk about Wesley. I'm a little biased, but I think he's the most beautiful little boy in the whole world and I absolutely adore him. He was 6 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long, has a little brown hair and blue grey eyes, which I think will turn brown eventually. He is starting stay awake more during the day, which is awesome since he's only a week old. I've already nick named him squeaker because he really doesn't cry a lot, he just squeaks. One of my favorite things he does is sneezes. He always lets an adorable sigh after each one and it just makes my heart smile. I look at him and he really warms my heart. Here are some pics of my new little miracle.....

Born at 5:59 pm

All cleaned up

At the hospital

Hanging on dad's lap in our room

In his carseat, ready to go home!

First night home, chilling on his nursing pillow

2 weeks and counting...

I figured I should do an update, since it’s been a month since the last one and I’m due in 2 weeks. I may not be able to update again until after Wesley is born, so hopefully next one, I can add some pictures too.

The past month has certainly been busy, but great! I have really enjoyed being pregnant, and will miss it a little when it’s all over. With the exception of the daily heartburn and my swollen feet, I have been really lucky and had a pretty easy going pregnancy. I was able to go to Lake Powell and St. George and not die of heat, and have loved the baby kicks, etc. I’ve been a little bit anxious over the past couple weeks, thinking that soon I will have a baby to take care of, but it gets easier as time passes. The only problem I have now, is waiting. I hate waiting, and would really love to know when I’m going to go into labor and how it’s all going to go. Guess I have to suck it up and be patient.

We were fortunate enough to have 3 baby showers, so we have almost everything we need. We also got some gift cards, so we can get the leftover stuff, which is nice. I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family that have been so supportive. Wesley’s room is all ready to go, with the exception of a couple things to hang on the wall, and I’m really in love with how his room turned out. Pictures coming soon, I promise! My dad bought us a glider, so we had to arrange some things a little differently to accommodate but it’s awesome and I love just sitting in there, staring at the rainbow walls.

Now we just wait…….

I mentioned earlier that in the past month, we’ve had 3 baby showers. The first was my family shower. We had it at the outdoor pavilion of my old ward, because by the time we tried to book one at a park, they were all reserved. My mom did an awesome job with this shower. We played games I’d never played before, had sloppy joes, and my aunt and cousin carved a watermelon into a stroller and filled it with fruit. It was adorable! My favorite game at this shower was “make a baby”. Each group was given an outline of a baby and a bunch of scraps and crafty things, to make MY baby. I chose the winner, but they were all so hilarious and so creative. The one I chose as the winner, put glasses on my baby, gave him tattoos and food allergies haha.

My second baby shower was thrown by Kristen and Christi, girls I work with. We had a nice dinner at the Olive Garden and had an extra bonus of being waited on by my friend Adam. I really love the gals I work with and it was really a nice night. The last shower, Jase and I kinda threw ourselves, because we just have too many friends. We had an open house at our house and because it was co-ed, we just hung out and had dessert. It was great because we hadn’t seen some of our friends in quite awhile, and it was good to see them and be able to catch up.

Aside from the showers, my mom and I made a plaster cast of my belly/boobs (it just looked better with the boobs). It will need a little fixing and still to decorate it, but it was a fun experience and turned out awesome. Last Saturday, I also did a maternity photo shoot. One of my college friends posted her newborn pics and I absolutely loved the maternity gallery! I had to come out of my box, but I am really glad I did it. I don’t get the pictures back for at least another week, but I’m so excited to see how they turned out. She was great and did some with Killian and Jase too, so I’m excited to be able to use them in the wall collage I plan to do. It’s been a project in mind since we bought our house, but when we found out we were going to have a baby, I thought it would be nicer to wait and include him in the pictures.

We also took a little family trip to St. George over Labor Day weekend. Jase’s grandpa and step grandma live down there, so it was nice to be able to see them and hang out a bit. We spent some time in the Valley of Fire, went to see what was left of Lake Mead and went to see AIDA at Tuacahn. I’d never seen AIDA, and what a great show! I absolutely loved it, and was glad we were able to go. Sunday, Jase’s grandpa was doing some things with church, so Jase, Killian and I went to Zions for the day. There was a breeze so the weather wasn’t too hot to handle. We went on one of the Emerald Pool walks because I thought I’d been on it before and knew my prego self could handle it. It wasn’t the same walk I remembered, but it was still pretty easy. After that we were going to hit the Zions lodge for lunch, but the café was packed and the restaurant wasn’t open. Instead we headed back to the visitors center and had lunch at the café at the entrance of the park. We decided to take our car and tour some of Zions that way, instead of taking the shuttle further into the park, since my feet and hands were swelling. On the way back down the park, Killian had to use the bathroom (kid almost died, he had to pee so bad haha) so we stopped at the museum. The sun was starting to set, but we decided to take the shuttle to the top of the park, to see where it went. The very last stop was a riverside walk, so we took a nice evening walk together. On that walk alone, we saw a couple deer and a tarantula. Sadly, we didn’t get to the end because it was getting dark, but we’ll have to plan another trip in the Spring.

Jase also got in a little accident shortly before we went to St. George, so for the past month, we’ve had a Kia Optima as one of our cars. I gave it a nickname, so we called it "Prime"...like Optima Prime haha. When he first told me he got a Kia, I wasn’t too happy, because it wouldn’t be the same, but it actually wasn’t a bad car. It was close to the same size, and came with satellite radio, which Jase loved. The only things I really didn’t like was the cloth seats (made sliding my prego butt in and out of the car more difficult) and the headrests. But yesterday, Jase’s car was ready, so we got to trade back to our own car. It looks practically brand new, since they had to paint 80% of the car, and Jase is so happy. I bet he’ll be extra paranoid driving now, because that car is one of his children. I am glad we’ll be able to bring our new baby home in our own car though.

Well I think that’s about it for now. My next doc appt is in a couple days, so we’ll see how things are going with the baby stuff. This weekend we plan to finish the baby’s room, hit the state fair, and my mom and I are going to get pedicures for my birthday. I’m really excited because my feet could really use some pampering. Next time I update, I should have a ton of pictures to share and a new baby to talk about!

Been too long...

My blog updating has gotten worse it seems. I used to average about a month in between updates and who knows how long it’s been since the last update. Hopefully while I’m on maternity leave, I can be a bit better about updating this thing.

I’ll be 34 weeks tomorrow and feel like my belly gets bigger every day. I can still fit in all my clothes (some better than others), but now have to hook an elastic around the button on my pants and wear my BeBand every day to hold them up. My heartburn/acid reflux seems to have gotten worse, so it’s been a little harder to breath and sleep sometimes, and my feet are now swollen, so I’ve been wearing flip flops or sandals every day now. Other than that, I’d have to say I’m doing rather well and only slightly uncomfortable. My next appt is on Tuesday, then one in 2 weeks, and after that we’re going every week. I’m a little nervous that we’re so close. But I’m not quite ready yet, so I hope it doesn’t go by too fast.

I can actually say now, that we have painted the baby’s room! We painted it weekend before last and I absolutely love it! We painted each wall a different color, which was a little harder than I expected, and we had a couple noticeable mistakes, but overall it really turned out awesome. We also set up the crib and arranged everything a few different times. I’m still not sure I like the set up of the furniture, but we’ll figure it out. I have to wait til my first baby shower to get my bedding set, and the stuff I wanted for the wall, but I’m excited to see it all put together.

Everyone else in the Whipp household is also doing well. Jase’s company has now split onto its own, so he’s officially with Myriad Pharma, instead of Myriad Genetics. He still loves his job and they love the work he does, so I’m very glad it’s turned into such an awesome opportunity. Not to mention that I love him being so happy.

Killian is still doing awesome in school, and we haven’t had any big issues in a long time. We’re still deciding for sure if we want to continue to do the therapy sessions, because they don’t seem to help him much, but haven’t come to any indefinite decisions yet. We started doing the therapy sessions once a month instead of every 2 weeks because it was a bit too much time off from work to work out with the baby appointment being every other week. The progress with adopting Killian has also come to a bit of a halt, but hopefully that will pick back up very soon.

About 3 weeks ago, we went to Lake Powell with my family. With the exception of the last day, it was a really nice trip and the weather wasn’t too bad. The growth of my belly was a bit inhibiting, but everyone was really understanding and I did ok. I got a little bit burnt the first day, so it was a bit hard to keep it from burning more, but I think I did alright. Jase also got a little bit burnt on his shoulders, but now it’s turned into a nice tan. Killian only got a little pink on his face this trip, but his cheeks still managed to puff up a little bit. When we got home, his pinkness started to crack and made him look like a wrinkled old man, but I couldn’t help but smile, he looked so cute! Considering he spent the majority of the time in the water swimming, and that’s the only thing he got, he did pretty well.

We were going to do another Lake Powell trip this week, but last Tuesday, Jase got rear ended while driving home, and his car now has to spend a month in the repair shop. We still have my car, and we were able to get a rental car, but decided that maybe it would be better if we were able to be contacted by phone in case something happened. Jase is a bit bummed out about not going, but we made up for it by scheduling a trip to St. George over labor day weekend. His grandpa and step-grandma live down there so we planned a visit. Jase’s parents decided to join us for the trip, so we’re going to see a show at Tuacahn, do a little bit of walking around fire valley and whatever else we feel up to doing. Should be a good trip.

The next couple months should be quite busy, but quite fun for us! We get to go see Depeche Mode in concert next week, got 3 baby showers going, I’m going to do a maternity photo shoot and make a belly cast, and my 28^th birthday, all before the baby is due. That is, if he comes on time haha. He’s due October 1^st, and my birthday is the 28^th of Sept, so it could be anytime around that. My wedding anniversary is the 3^rd of October, so I’m kinda hoping he comes in between that and my birthday, but I guess we’ll have to see how that goes.

Well I think that’s it for now. When I take pictures of Wesley’s room, I’ll make sure to post them.

I have actually had a few things to do at work, so I haven’t updated in a bit. If anyone actually reads this, I’m sorry for my slacking. In any event this should be a fun update, because we’ve had a lot going on the past few weeks.

I will start with baby news. We had our first ultrasound on the 6^th, and it’s a boy! I was a little disappointed at first because I was talked into it being a girl, but I’ve since come around and am very excited. I think I will love being the only girl in our house haha. Killian is so excited to have a brother. We took him to the park after the ultrasound and he told everyone there that he was having a little brother. He’s even made sure that his brother will have a good mom like he does. He’s so adorably clueless about how the baby process works. We’ve taken him to a couple doctor appointments and the ultrasound and he always asks “Do we get to take the baby out now?” He still doesn’t understand why we have to wait 5 more months.

A fun part of finding out what the baby is, is we got to keep it a secret. Only a few people knew we had the ultrasound, but we kept it secret until Mother’s Day. My mom and I made me a shirt with a little baby on it and once we found out it was a boy, we embellished the shirt. The baby was in the womb and had a thought bubble above his head that said, “Snakes, snails and puppy dog tails. That’s what I’m made of!” It was really fun to watch people read it and see if they understood. Most everyone got it right away, and there were a couple people that were a little slower and needed some help, but it was so much fun!

I am at the half way mark now, and am getting excited for all the things that are soon to come. I can’t wait to register, have baby showers and of course, get a big belly! I’ve already chosen the crib bedding set that I want, paint for the nursery walls, and the stroller and carseat.

We also painted our living room and foyer area this past weekend. My dad has been bored, so he came over and tore down all the wallpaper, spackled and sanded all the rough spots and so we were ready to paint. It took a little effort to choose the color both Jase and I liked, but thank goodness Lowe’s sells samples. Money saved in the end. Overall it looks great, we just have to do the finishing touches. Pics will come soon. We had hoped to start on the baby’s room, but the living room took longer than expected due to our 15 foot ceilings, so the other stuff will have to wait.

Last Saturday, it was Jase’s birthday. He and I went on a date Friday night to Brewvies and I threw him a surprise dinner on Saturday night. We usually go to dinner for his birthday, but I thought it would be extra fun to show up for dinner and have everyone already be there. We went to the Chinese Gourmet, one of his favorite places and he was so surprised. He’s 30 and I just wanted to do something fun for him. Happy Birthday babe! I love you!

Sunday, it was Mother’s Day and overall it was a fun day. My mom and I went to Jase’s mom’s for a Mother’s only luncheon and really had a good time. While we were there, Jase, Killian and Ron, Jase’s dad, went to see the new Star Trek movie. After lunch at Karen’s, we went to my Gma Judy’s for cake and ice cream. Everyone was there and it was fun to have everyone read my shirt and look at ultrasound pictures. For Mother’s Day, Killian made me a great picture with a poem and his hand prints on it. My mom got me a set of Aqua globes, and a butterfly candle holder for my bathroom. I told Jase I wanted to go shopping for Mother’s Day, but I haven’t decided when I want to do that yet.

The only bad part about the day, was on the way to Karen’s house. A mother duck and her babies were crossing the road and a car on the other side ran over one of the baby ducks. Those who know me, know I don’t do well with that kinda stuff so it traumatized me a little bit. Being as emotional as I am, it took a lot of effort for me not to cry, but even more effort not to turn my car around and ram into the back end of that other car. I hate hate hate people who have no concern for anything else, and it just enraged me. I luckily haven’t had any nightmares about it, but I wasn’t able to drive home yesterday on that road because I was worried the ducky would still be there. I just hope that I personally don’t even run over any animals, or I may end up in mental therapy.

One other new, cool thing. Jase got a new job! He now works for Myriad in a new pharmaceutical department. Everyone is really cool, and he loves it, so I’m happy. Not to mention that his benefits are better than mine. We signed up for his medical insurance and because of that, our baby will be practically no cost to deliver. It’s so awesome to have that feeling. Friday, some of the vendors he deals with, took him and his co-workers to Ifly, so it’s really been a great place for him to be.

Killian is still doing very well in school and only has little bit of a problem at home sometimes. He can recognize almost all of the letters and knows all the colors and shapes. We’re still working on recognizing numbers, but hopefully that will be good to go very soon.

Well I think that’s it for now. This week, I’m finishing my living room, maybe starting my baby’s room and having a Lia Sophia party. Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend, so I should have plenty to update next time. Until then….

MS Walk

Well it’s been a couple weeks since the MS Walk, but I’ve been meaning to share my experience. I think this is our 4^th or 5^th year doing the MS Walk but this one was a bit hectic, given my pregnant emotions. It started by us being late picking up my mom and Killian, so we didn’t get to trax on time and were late for registration. When we finally arrived, my mom registered for us while Jase and I went on a search for the free food. We wandered all over outside, and then were told the goodies were inside, where we just left. By this point, I really had to pee and I was worried we wouldn’t be ready for the walk start. We finally got our bagels, donuts and goodies and put on our shirts and numbers. After all the speaking and announcements, we finally got to walk.

The walk starts at the Gateway, and loops around the surrounding neighborhood, passed the old Children’s Museum and back. I think it’s total is about 3 miles. We first started walking and got a little behind, because I’d forgotten to pee and had to stop at the porta potties. While lagging behind, we caught up to a group called “Bob’s Army”. They were a rather large group and one of their members, I presume to be Bob, was walking with a cane and therefore walking slower. My emotions took over and I instantly started crying. It really touched me that this man’s whole team waited for him, making them one of the last teams walking. I’d been complaining about so many things, and it just humbled me to see this man. I’d felt terrible for all the things I had whined about, because compared to that, they were so trivial. I complain about my back hurting, and being tired and this man was doing it without complaint, slow, with a cane.

I finally recouped from my emotions, and we continued to walk. At the first rest stop, Harmon’s was giving out fruit and granola bars and a lot of people stopped to snack. We didn’t stop for long and ended up back in the middle of the group. From that point on, we walked with no problems and no emotions. The weather was a bit chilly, but I’m very glad it didn’t rain. We finished the walk and got back on the train to head home.

The rest of the day was emotional and tiring haha. After we got back to our car, we decided to get some lunch. We stopped at Subway for me and Killian and went to Apollo Burger for Jase and my mom. At Subway, we went through the drive through and the order just kept getting messed up. With my emotions being the way they were, I didn’t handle it very well and got mad at Jase. We ended up getting in an argument at Apollo Burger and Jase got out of the car and ended up walking home. My mom, Killy and I went to her house to relax and after we made up, Jase came over. Later that night we dyed our Easter eggs and watched movies. With the exception of me, the day was pretty good and it was a nice walk.

Update

For those who don’t know, I absolutely LOVE to read other people’s blogs! I find myself checking my blog every day just to see if anyone has updated theirs. I love to see how people are doing, what their houses look like and get fun ideas from the ones that have kids. If there are people out there that enjoy reading my blog, as much as I read theirs, I should really try to update more often.

Over the past month or so, I feel like we’ve been so busy, but I’m not sure how busy we have actually been. We did get some great things accomplished though, and some things which are still to come, but I’m optimistic that we’ll continue on a good path and continue to be happy.

I have still been thinking about being a stay at home mom. I’m still in the mode of not wanting to go to work, and my job is still so boring! The past week or so, I was given a couple decent sized projects to work on, but now that I’m finished with those, I’m back to being bored. I’m very glad that our IT guys took down the firewall, because I’ve been able to watch my favorite shows instead of watching nothing but movies. It’s nice to have more variety.

Jase is still at his sucky job, but he’s been really great and kept on trucking. Because his last job decided to stiff him on the last month of his pay, he had to work to get caught up on the couple things we fell behind on. But I’m glad to report, we’re back on our feet and he has a few jobs in the works. I just hope he ends up somewhere that he loves and that he can work for awhile.

Killian is also doing very well, and thanks to our nightly tutor sessions, he was able to move up to the next class at school. His behavior has been so much better and it’s really great that we could find something that helped him without putting him on medication. Our doctor said at some point medication may be a good idea, but he’s only 4 and that just seems too young to me.

On another Killian note, Jase and I had “the talk” with Jen, Killian’s biological mother. We have been thinking about talking to her about letting me adopt Killian for awhile, but when we got to a point that it was a good idea, something happened. We decided to buy our house first, then had some financial stuff come up, etc. Jase and Jen had a debt collection come up about the time we bought our house, and she worked with us to pay it off. She asked me to send her the paid in full letter when we paid our portion, so I used that opportunity as a jumping point and told her we wanted to talk to her about Killian. We arranged a time to talk, and although I was nervous, it went pretty well. She had suspected the reason for the talk, and had already talked to her therapist about it. Her therapist suggested that she think about it for 24 hours, but I told her she could take more time. That’s a huge decision, and in my opinion, not something that one could decide on in 24 hours. We haven’t heard back yet, and it’s probably approaching a couple weeks, but I’m still optimistic that she will be cooperative. She hasn’t seen him in over a year, and he doesn’t even know who she is, so at this point, it would be hard for her to come back in his life. She also really only seemed interested in the fact that if Killian wants to know her, that we will let him. I found that a bit interesting, because I think it would be hard to not tell him about her. He doesn’t really look like me, I don’t know anything about the first year and a half of his life, so I think even if I tried to keep it from him, he’d figure it out. But Killian and I have developed a bond and it will always be there, so if he has some curiosity about the kind of person Jen is, he can find out for himself.

My last baby appointment went well. Hearing the heartbeat was so amazing and it made the whole thing seem so much more awesome. My tummy is also starting to get hard now, so I get poked a lot haha. Jase is being so awesome and really making me feel great, so I love being pregnant even more. My next appointment is in a little over a week, and I’m sure things will continue to go well. I don’t get to find out the sex of the baby til the week after Mother’s Day, which upset me a bit, because I had a fun idea to tell everyone what it is. I guess I will have to come up with something else, because I don’t think I can keep it a secret until Father’s Day.

Things with Brittania’s move have changed a bit as well. She was supposed to move out this upcoming weekend, but sadly, her sister flaked out on her and cancelled the move. Last week she found another place and had scheduled to move out on the 18^th, but then found out that children are not allowed to live at this particular condo, so that cancelled that deal. I unfortunately had to tell her that we need her out by the end of May, but I hope she can find something that she can be happy with. I’m sure it’s hard to find a place with roommates when you have your daughter every week and every other weekend.

Well, I think that’s about it for now. Until next time, thanks to those who actually read my rambling.