Gestational Diabetes

I got the test results yesterday for my gestational diabetes and I do not have diabetes. :) I'm so happy! We go to the doctors tomorrow and I'll post an update of what the doctor says about little man.

What's Going

I just realized I only blog once last week. Let me give an update on me and Mark.

Birthing Classes
We started our birthing classes last Tuesday Night. Very interesting and amazing. We have a birth plan that we need to fill out, but first I need to make a copy for my Aunt Bernie, in case she wants to use it for her practice :). It had many questions on it that I didn't even think about.

Odd Phone Calls
You every got a phone call from someone that you love and talk to regularly, of course you have. We my wonderful Aunt Bernie called and asked me two questions and said she had to go.
She knows I'm not good with surprises. All I know is she is up to something and its killing me.

3 Hour Glucose Test
I found out on Thursday that I could have Gestational Diabetes, so the doctor wanted me to do the 3 hour test. The test wasn't that bad, it was after the test that sucked. I was so hungry that I started to sweat and get the shakes. I was so thirsty. Thank goodness we were at Perkins when this started happening so I could get something to eat and drink. I'm so over going to specialists and doing all the testing. I hope I'm not diabetic, but if I am I'll be fine. I'm ready for little guy to come b/c of all the appointments, not because I'm miserable. I'm not miserable at all. I actually feel great!


Babies R Us
Saturday my friends Katie and I went to Babies R Us, because they were have a event all about Baby Showers. Katie is throwing me a Baby Shower up here in WI. She truly is a great friend. Katie and I met in Knoxville while we both worked in KC Transportation Department. She moved up to WI in September and I'm so happy she did. While at Babies R Us I received 4 $1.00 off coupon for Huggies, won a lullaby CD, won a bottle of Huggies Body wash, and won a bottle.

Sunday
Went to church then went to Wal-Mart and the grocery store. Came home and did a few scrapbook pages. I'll post pictures soon. I made Chicken Pot Pie for dinner, and I may say it was the bomb good!

This upcoming week is going to be busy. Monday night our friend Amy is in town for work so we are going out to dinner Monday night. Tuesday we have our birthing class. Wednesday night Mark, me, my dad, and Nancy are going to see Broadway show The Wedding Singer at the Performing Arts Center here in Appleton. Can't wait to see it.

I hope to be able to find a little time to post the scrapbook pages. Have a great week!

Scrapbooking

Yesterday I was able to work on my scrapbook pages. I got all 3 ultrasound pages finished. Now all I need to do is work on my pregnancy pages. I'm not sure if I want to do an individual page for each week I have pictures for or do a page for each trimester. I have to do some thinking about it. Here are a few pictures of the pages I finished.

This past weekend was very nice. On Saturday afternoon my friend Katie and I went to see the movie P.S. I Love. It was a very good love story. I cried, not a shocker. I would have to say it's almost as good a The Notebook. Then Saturday evening Mark and I had friends over for game night. We played Apples to Apples and Cranium. It was a fun time. Of course Boo and Sly showed off for everyone, and Puddin and Annie watched from a distance.

Sunday we ran errands and I made Swished Meatballs and did my scrapbook pages. It was very enjoyable weekend.

Tomorrow we start our Child Birthing Classes. Its a 4 week class held at the hospital (Theda-Clark) that baby Lawson will born. We are excited about starting them.

Our next doctor appointment is January 17th and it is with our normal OB doctors. We do have to do a follow up visit with the perinatologist to check the heart again. They want to do the first week in February. I'm feeling great.

Pediatric Cardiologist Visit

A few weeks ago I wrote and told everyone that the doctor indeed said that our little baby did in fact have ASD (hole in heart). Today we went to see another specialist, a Pediatric Cardiologist about the ASD and what we need to do once he is born. The doctor today said that she did not see any concern with the baby's heart. I'm not sure how to explain it, but the doctor said that what she believes the other doctors are seeing is an area that should be 4mm or less, and our little guys is 5mm. She believes the other doctors were taking that to be a hole. This doctor said there are no concerns or worries. In a nut shell he is fine.

Mark and I are very happy and relieved, but we are still a little cautious since two other doctors saw a hole and this doctor said no hole. We have told ourselves that when he is born is when we will find out for sure.

Thanks for all the prayers and concerns.

Raisin Filled Cookies

Over Christmas Mark and I went to TN. It was such a great time! We got see Mark's Grandparents in Virginia and all of our neices and nephews. Let me say the 2 year old and 3 year old are just wildmen! They are so cute and fun, but they never stop for 1 second.

Mark's dad and I made these wonderful cookies called Raisin Filled Cookies. Pops can I give the recipe out? If you like raisins you'll love these cookies. I add the recipe if Pops says its OK. I'm not sure if it's a family recipe or not.

On our way home from TN Mark and I stopped in Michigan City to do Christmas on 12/29. It was fun. Christmas was at my brother's house and we had Prime Rib and Lobster tails for dinner. That was Greg's present to everyone. I think it was an AWESOME present since I love Prime Rib and Lobster tail.

I might also say I do not think being pregnant during the holidays is the the brightest thing. I ate so much and I couldn't help it. Over all Christmas was wonderful.

First Scrapbooking Pages

For Christmas I asked for scrapbooking tools and supply to start scrapbooking. I got what I asked for, so tonight I put together two pages of my cats. I think they turned out great for my first time. I'm sure there are rules and proper ways to put the pages together, but I thinking using my imagination worked just fine. :) Here are a few pictures of my first pages. Next scapbooking projects are the ultrasound pictures and my pregnancy pictures. I may need to think these out a little bit more. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

Mark and I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We are in Tennessee and it's absolutely beautiful out about 45 degrees :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Love

Mark and Beth

25 Weeks

Yesterday we for our level two ultrasound. Doctor has confirmed that the baby does have a hole in his upper chambers or ASD. Its a smaller hole so that is a plus and the baby will not need any surgery right away. On January 2, 2008 we go and she a Pediatric Cardiologist to see what our game plan will be once the little guy arrives. Doctor said the little guy weighs 1 LBS and 13 OZ. All I know he is a kicker :) We received a few ultrasound pictures. Doctor gave me blackmail picture of him. I'm sure he'll appreciate that when he is older :) Hope you enjoy them.

To Uncle Butch

Aunt Bernie make sure Uncle Butch sees these pictures of my little Maine Coon. My Aunt and Uncle have a Maine Coon named Buster. I told them I would get a few pictures of mine Maine Coon Annie. She is very pretty and as you can tell from the pictures she is a Princess!

By the way Uncle Butch, it is 245 miles from your house to my house. :)

Love ya,

Sissy

Christmas Cookies

This weekend I went to my Aunt Bernie's house to make Christmas Cookies. We made traditional cut out sugar cookies. We also watched the the movie The Notebook. I still cry while watching this movie, even though I have seen it quite a few times. On Sunday morning we went to church and out to breakfast with my Aunt's friend Mary Ann. It was such a great time. I hope my Aunt and I can do it again. Maybe next time we can not slave over cookies :) Aunt Bernie remember it was FUN and it's about the TOGETHERNESS :) Here are a few pictures of our hard work.

Budget

Mark and I have put ourselves on a budget. We figure we might as well get use to living on a budget prior to the baby arriving. Here are some of the things we have done.

1. Cut coupons on the items we use, which I like cutting coupons. If a manufacturer wants to give 25 cents I'm all for it.
2. Move money into our savings account prior to spending
3. Use our pig points from Piggy Wiggly. We have received up to 54 cents off a gallon of gas. You can get up to 15 gallons at the reduced priced. We figured at least once a month we can get savings on gas.
4. Make dinner menu prior to going to the grocery store and sticking to the list.
5. Buy generics and compare prices between grocery stores.
6. Only buy things that are on sale, is the item a want or a need.
7. Make dinner at least 3 nights a week, left overs for the other evenings.
8. Only go out to dinner once a week
9. Make coffee in the morning, do not stop at the gas station or buy coffee from work.
10. Reduced the heat in the house from 73 to 70. I can use a blanket if I am cold.

No we are not in any money crisis's, but we thought we should start getting used to living a little tighter and not be such compulsive shoppers. Some of the above items are very easy to do, but others are harder to do. I have a hard time asking myself if it is a want or a need. I have gone for so long without worrying about anyone else, that I just bought something if I wanted to. Target and Kohl's are my weakness.

Only time will tell if I can stick to these rules, but some of it has become a game for me. The Pig Points! I love to see how much I save between Pig points, coupons, and stores sales. Last weekend I saved $21.00 and the week before that I saved $14.00.

Mark thinks I'm crazy and out of control with the whole coupon/Pig points, but then I show him my savings and he just smiles.

Christmas at the Lawson's

Mark and I decorated and put up our Christmas Tree last weekend. Here are some pictures that I thought I would share with everyone. I actually figured out how to do self portraits on my new digital camera. :) Of course Boo and Sly enjoy sleeping under the tree.

I hope you enjoy!

Baby's Nursery

Mark and I bought the baby's crib. I was struggling with spending anywhere between $500 to $1,000 on a nursery set for the baby. Everybody was telling me to buy a convertible bed, one that converts from a crib to a toddler bed, then a full bed. Just for the crib is was $700. I was like are you crazy!!!! I didn't understand what I would do, if another baby came along in 2 years. I converted the crib to a toddler bed and now I have to buy another crib. Then a course I would want the dresser to go with the new crib, so pretty I would buy a new nursery. I didn't like that idea. Also, the side doesn't go down on the convertible crib, I really disliked that part. Do not get me wrong they are beautiful beds, but not for me. Plus I know myself in 2 years I'm going to want to buy a new toddler bedroom set. I love my baby, but for real, this baby will not know if the crib came from the speciality shop or Wal*Mart. Not sure if you are aware, but I am not a Wal*Mart fan. Just remember I work for Kimberly-Clark and I see a lot of things happen that the everyday consumer just does not realizes happens. So, Mark finally convinced me to go to Wal*Mart. Guess what? they had a Nursery in a Box set. The set included a crib, a changing table, and dresser. It was only $199.99. I was very skeptical of the set, but we bought it. My rational is after 2 years the baby will most likely be moving to a toddler bed. All I need to hold up is the crib. It will be nice if all 3 pieces hold up, but its the crib that is most important. Well, to my surprise they turned out very nice. They are sturdy and I like them. I'm very impressed. Now the test will come when little guy gets here and becomes mobile. I have included a few pictures for everyone to see the nursery set.

Spoiled or just loved?

For awhile now I have been telling Mark that I would like to have a new digital camera. I told him with the baby coming that a new camera would be nice so we can send our family nice clear pictures. There is nothing wrong with the digital camera we have, but I wanted a 8.0 megapixal. Last Monday we were off and Target had a 8.0 Canon digital camera on sale, plus you got a $30.00 gift card. I told Mark about it and I looked it up on consumer report to see the ranking. The ranking was very good! Well, guess who got the digital camera -- ME!!! I'm not sure if I am spoiled or just loved, but either way I love my new camera very much! It can video tape and do panoramic pictures, and it has a settings on it for fireworks, snowing, and pets and kids. Don't worry I have figured out how to reduce the pixels and have nice clear pictures without sending 1MB emails. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark and I are headed to Indiana to see my family. I heard that it has snowed in Indiana and Mark can not wait to see it.

Love,

Beth

Daycare

Today Mark and I took off work to look at daycare facilities. Today was overwhelming and I'm not sure why I thought it wouldn't be. After seeing the different daycare facilities, this maybe one of the harder decisions to make as a new parent. We went to 4 different facilities. Three were referred to us the other one we found by driving around. I really liked 2 out of the 4, 1 was fine, and the other was a NO! Mark liked all 4 facilities. The two I liked the most are close to work so I can come by at lunch to breastfeed and that meant a lot to me. Plus one of the daycare facilities has 2 RN on staff at all time. This also meant a lot to me as RN's are trained medical professions that have knowledge about illness. All four daycare center cost about the same. One gave a Kimberly-Clark discount, which was nice to hear. Now we just need to make our pro and con list to make a decision. I personally have the one I want picked out. :)

Its a boy!!!!

We went yesterday for our 20 week ultrasound and the baby is a boy!!! We are so happy we cant wait for him to arrive in March. He loves his hands by his face as if he was thinking away.

The ultrasound is just an amazing thing. We got see his kidneys, heart, stomach (which was very full), his lips, fingers, toes and his spinal cord. It was so neat. I wished I could get an ultrasound everyday just so I can see him. :)

Here are some pitcures of the little guy!!!

Update

Last night when I got home from work the doctor's office called and told me that I needed to reschedule my ultrasound due to my doctor having a surgery on Monday 11/19. I was all bummed out and thought I would have to wait another week to find out the sex of the baby. This morning I called the doctor's office and they rescheduled for Friday 11/16 at 130pm. I'm so excited. Make sure you read our blog on Friday for the news.

Cool Blog...

My sister-in-law Susie sent Mark and I this blog about a month ago. I looked at and though it was pretty cool, then yesterday as I was cleaning out my email inbox I came across it again, so I though I would share it. If you have children, grandchildren, nephews, or nieces you need to look at this blog daily. It provides sales on children clothing, shoes, books, and many other things. It provides details such as.,when the sale will take place, the Internet sale code, and there is a shipping cost. I haven't participated in any of the sales yet, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but in my eyes if you can save a buck its worth checking out.

http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/

Wisconsin Fish Fry's! :)

Last night Mark and I went out for fish with our friends Mandy and Ronell. In Wisconsin everywhere you go on Fridays there is a fish Fry. Its not a healthy dinner at all. All the fish is deep fried, served with melted butter and sides are french fries and potato salad. I'm pretty sure last nights dinner was great for my heart and baby. Just Kidding!!! In honesty Friday Fish Fry's are really tastee! Mandy and Ronell took us to a hole in the wall which means the fish is even better. Inside the bar, and it was a bar, were deer heads and Elk heads hanging on the walls. I'm not against hunting, but I am a softy for animals. While I sat there and sipped my O'douls I finally got over the animals heads on the wall. I said to Mandy I hope I don't see a dead deer here. Of course she convinces me that won't happen and I believed her. Dinner was over and we were leaving, I looked to my right and saw about 8 guys hang around the tailgate of a pick up truck. I thought to myself how odd that these guys are drinking outside by the tailgate of a pick up truck, they should go in to the bar and drink. Then I saw it..... the poor little deer, ok it was a buck and according to Mandy and nice size buck! Then I saw a sign that said deer and turkey tagging. Again I thought to myself, tagging animals at a bar...very odd to me.

Here is the moral of the story, only in Wisconsin can you go to a bar, have great fried fish, laugh with your friends and see a dead deer in a pick up truck. :)