Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Dr. Appt. update
Well, I really don't have much new news. I am still 1 1/2 cm dilated but am now about 80% effaced, so when the baby does finally decide to make an entrance it should all go fairly quickly. I only gained 1 pound over the past week, so that brings me to a total of 32 lbs, I believe. Dr. Lines doesn't see anything happening before Easter, but as with every pregnancy, things can change quickly! I will keep you all posted!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Quick Pregnancy Update
No, the baby has not arrived yet! But I will be surprised if I make it through the week. I know my due date it April 13th but I REALLY doubt that I will make it to that long! The baby just keeps dropping lower and has now reduced me to "waddling". I try not to, but my hips and legs just don't move the way I would like anymore! I'm trying to take it easy to see if I can at least last until the first week in April, but I really need the hours this week at work, so I will be attempting to get in 40 hours.
This past weekend we did finally get the library set up nicely. We moved the queen size bed that was in the babies room downstairs into the library, so it is now a real nice guest room, so when people come to visit (hint, hint) they will almost have their own little Suite to stay in since there are pocket doors leading into the piano room that can be opened to enlarge the room. We still need to find a door that goes on the opening into the library from the kitchen hallway. Hopefully it is one of the 5 doors in the garage. Louis was also able to rearrange our room to allow for the babies bassinet. The arrangement turned out very nicely. I even ( finally) planted the iris' that mom had given me last fall. They survived living in a bucket, in the house all winter! Caisha and I also finished up scraping paint off and cleaning all the hinges and doorknobs for the built-in cabinets in the baby room. All that's left is to hang the doors back up. I still have a long list of things I would like done before the baby arrives, but fear that there is just not going to be enough time! Most of it is cleaning type stuff.... sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc. The kids have been a big help with a lot of that.
Wish me luck and pray that I make it through the week!!
As a side note....I won't be posting as often for awhile, since we do not have a computer at home. I will be going to the library occasionally to check email, etc.
This past weekend we did finally get the library set up nicely. We moved the queen size bed that was in the babies room downstairs into the library, so it is now a real nice guest room, so when people come to visit (hint, hint) they will almost have their own little Suite to stay in since there are pocket doors leading into the piano room that can be opened to enlarge the room. We still need to find a door that goes on the opening into the library from the kitchen hallway. Hopefully it is one of the 5 doors in the garage. Louis was also able to rearrange our room to allow for the babies bassinet. The arrangement turned out very nicely. I even ( finally) planted the iris' that mom had given me last fall. They survived living in a bucket, in the house all winter! Caisha and I also finished up scraping paint off and cleaning all the hinges and doorknobs for the built-in cabinets in the baby room. All that's left is to hang the doors back up. I still have a long list of things I would like done before the baby arrives, but fear that there is just not going to be enough time! Most of it is cleaning type stuff.... sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc. The kids have been a big help with a lot of that.
Wish me luck and pray that I make it through the week!!
As a side note....I won't be posting as often for awhile, since we do not have a computer at home. I will be going to the library occasionally to check email, etc.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Baby will be here soon!
I had a Dr.'s appointment today. So far I have gained a total of 31 pounds, which my Dr. is very pleased with. At this time I am about 1 1/2 cm dialated and about 70% effaced. Dr. Lines says nothing will happen within the next week, but it is very possible after that. We will have a better idea after my appointment on the 28th. I am hoping the baby will be born the first week in April (not April Fool's Day!) Dr. Lines says that once I do go into labor she fully expects me to go fairly quickly as everything is very soft and it shouldn't take much to dialate all the way. I liked to hear that! Today I am feeling pretty good. I slept pretty well last night after Louis snuggled with me for awhile. Monday night I didn't sleep much at all. My whole body ached! Both Monday and Tuesday were hard days for me. I am pretty sure it was because the baby was dropping further into position. I think it was hitting some nerves into my legs and putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis area. I woke up this morning and was actually able to lay on my back for a little while! It felt great to be able to stretch that way!! I am getting very excited for the arrival, but I am content to wait until the first week of April. Hopefully it won't be too much later than that if it doesn't happen then.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Updates
Well, we survived the 2 weekends in a row of ice and snow! The first weekend we got about 3/4" of ice and then it snowed about 10" on top of that! Louis had to prop up some of the branches on the pine trees to keep them from potentially snapping our power line into the house! The 2nd storm actually happened on a Thurs. & Fri. We got more ice and then another 8"-10" of snow again! We hadn't even dug ourselves out from the weekend before. Needless to say, I did not venture to work those two days. The first attempt at getting out was on that Sunday and then I still wasn't able to get out! Both Louis and I managed to get the Vue stuck in the driveway! Louis did go to work since the dispatch center really needed him there to answer 911 calls, but he had the police driving him back and forth between Ames and Boone. The kids (& the dog) had a great time with all the huge snow piles in the school parking lot! We were lucky in that we never lost power, but I know a lot of houses were not so lucky. We also only had 2 branches on our lilac bush break off, while lots of people around town were losing entire trees! It was a mess for quite awhile. The last couple days we have had 60-70 degree weather, so all but the biggest piles of snow are gone. Now we just have mud everywhere!! I am hoping since we are already half way through March, that we are done with the snow storms for this season! The pictures above are of the lilac bush and it is usually standing pretty upright! There was a lot of weight on those branches.
In other news, my pregnancy is progressing quickly! The baby dropped this past weekend, so I have been pretty uncomfortable the last couple days. It's the worst at work, since I don't have anywhere to lay down to relieve some of the weight on my hips and back. I've been experiencing Braxton hicks for about a month now which adds to my discomfort. I've been trying to tackle unpacking all the boxes we still have in the library and piano room but it is pretty slow going since my movements are pretty awkward. I did get all our books organized and put on shelves along with sorting through all our video tapes and DVD's and getting those organized. My stash of "garage sale" items is getting quite large. The kids are very excited about having a garage sale this spring and hopefully we will get it done this year! Both kids, especially Caisha, are always looking for ways to earn a little money, so they have been pretty good about going through their toys and weeding out the ones they really don't want anymore. Louis and I are planning that I will take 3 months off work (as long as money holds out), and in June, Louis will take a month off and spend it up at his parents (Jack & Lynne) along with me and the kids. I will probably be making a few trips back to Boone just to check on the cats (neighbors will be caring for them). Bronx (the dog) will be with us up at the farm. I don't think he is going to want to come back after an entire month there! Sometime in April, after the baby is born, I hope to get my garden started and planted. So far I have sweet corn, beans and carrots planned along with some flowers to plant around the dog run. Some day I hope to put in a sand box for the kids where the (very sad) pine trees are. Hopefully we can get someone to come out and cut the trees down for us. Louis has gotten a good start on clearing the branches off, so it will just be a matter of cutting them down without taking down the power lines that run through them! If anyone has the inclination to do a little manual labor (I don't have a tiller) I could sure use the help breaking up the ground in my backyard for the garden! Over the years I plan to expand the garden and flower beds to take up most of the backyard, that way we don't have to mow very much lawn! The biggest chore to tackle will be digging up the bushes in front of the house and transfering them to the back yard. I am hoping Louis will get the carriage house completely tore down this spring, too. Any help on that would be greatly appreciated, also! I would love to have visitors after the baby is born. If you are going to be in the area or just need a short vacation you are here-by invited to stay at the "Johnson Manor"!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Plumbing Experience
A couple weeks back, I decided to fix the leak in our kitchen faucet. After testing the existing parts as being the culprit for the leak, we found that they were not the problem. The hot water side was the side that dripped, so we had to always keep the water turned off under the sink. It was a pain every time I wanted to run the dishwasher because I had to reach under the sink and turn the hot water valve on, which is getting more and more uncomfortable as my pregnancy progresses. I finally decided that I would just replace the whole faucet. I thought, "How hard can it be?" ! It wasn't hard to do, but when you get the wrong parts, then misplace a part, then buy that part, then find the original part....it got to be a little frustrating! Not to mention trying to fit under the sink, inside the cabinet, to unhook pipes and then re-attach them, without a good angle to get at them!.....The story is this. I purchased the new faucet and finally wrestled the old one out to find that the whole faucet was made of plastic, including the part you attach the water pipe to. That would explain why it was leaking. It was a piece of crap! Anyway, I got the new one put in place without too many difficulties, had everything hooked up and turned on the water. No more dripping!! I was so happy.......until I looked underneath and saw water leaking out of the connection(compression) joint! As you will find out if you do some reading, compression joints are a one time deal! If they fail, you have to replace them, so I ran the 15 miles to Lowe's to get a replacement compression joint. If I had been smart, I would have brought the "failed" part with me. I didn't. I ended up with the wrong part. So the next time I went in to Lowe's I took the compression joint, the adapter that it was attached to and the copper water pipe. I figured that way I could not lose it! It was about 18" long. WRONG! I get home with my new parts, which now consist of flexible hose instead of the copper pipe, which eliminates the compression joint dilemna. But the part that I really needed to keep track of was the adapter piece that everything connected to, and I managed to misplace it! I looked in the car, on the ground, in the house and even had the store look for it! To no avail. So I drove the 15 miles to Lowe's (because I was determined to finish this!) and picked up a new adapter piece. Of course, that is when I find the original piece! So back to the store to return the new part. It was a long and drawn out process that, in the end, with all the right parts, only took me 20 minutes to complete! I really like the new flexible hose instead of the copper pipe and thought maybe I would replace the cold water side, but decided that I am not going to fix something that isn't broken! Not after my experience! I will be staying away from any plumbing renovations for a while!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Dog Run Update
This is the original height that Louis built the Dog run. Bronx just sailed right over without any effort.
This is what the Carriage House looks like now. Hopefully Louis (& friends) can get it all down this Spring. I would like to start preparing the ground for a future garden and transfer the bushes in front of the house to the back yard as a barrier between us and the school parking lot.

The Dog Run is finally complete!! Louis had to keep building it higher to keep Bronx in. All the materials used to build the dog run are from the carriage house you see in the top photo. I plan to plant flowers that like to climb to cover most of the walls. If you know of any plants that would be good for this, and aren't totally invasive, let me know! It will be interesting to see how it all looks in a couple years! The first photo is the start of the shelter within the Run for Bronx to keep warm in this winter. (If/when it turns cold!) It will be raised off the ground and "insulated" with sheetrock, carpet and blankets...If Bronx would ever leave the blankets alone!
This is what the Carriage House looks like now. Hopefully Louis (& friends) can get it all down this Spring. I would like to start preparing the ground for a future garden and transfer the bushes in front of the house to the back yard as a barrier between us and the school parking lot.
Monday, December 11, 2006
God answers prayers
Patience does have its rewards! That is one thing that I have to work on daily when I pray for or about something. I must remind myself that it is in God's time, not mine that my prayers will be answered. Of course, sometimes the answer is also, No. The reason for this blog is that one of our prayers was answered this past weekend! As most of you know, Caisha is taking piano lessons. In order for her to practice at home her teacher lent her a small electronic keyboard....nothing fancy, but effective. Caisha is now getting into moving her hand positions up and down the keys and having to play loud and soft. Both these things are not possible on the little keyboard. She has been praying every night for a piano for the last 6 months. I, too, prayed about this because I was not sure how we would ever afford a piano, even a used one! On Friday Louis came home from work and told me that he got us a piano! A co-worker of his had a piano that she REALLY wanted out of her house. She was giving it away free to anyone willing to pick it up and move it out of her house! Louis jumped on that opportunity right away and told her he could have it out of her house the next day! He spent part of his evening at work, talking to his friends and calling them to see if they would be available the next day to help move a piano. We also had one volunteer their horse trailer to transport the piano in!! All in all he got 7 guys to move the piano and haul it from Ames to Boone! We were blessed with warm, sunny, dry weather and a great group of friends! Saturday morning they all delivered it to our house! It is beautiful! I would guess that it is made of cherry wood and pretty old; at least 75+ years old. It is an upright and is a perfect fit for our house! I could not have asked for a more beautiful piece of furniture. It is exactly the type of piano I wanted! Caisha has played on it every day, multiple times. I have played a bit myself and have surprised myself at how quickly it all comes back to me! God does work miracles every day and this one was a big one for us! It strengthens my faith and hope that God does want to give me the things I want and need. I just have to be patient and trust in Him! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
Friday, December 01, 2006
General Updates
Well, the dog run is still not able to keep Bronx in! Louis said he thinks he came up with a way to keep him in....which will be good since the weather has now turned pretty cold! Bronx would be much warmer in the snug little shelter that Louis built in the dog run. Right now he is tied to the corner of our garage and has to make due with an open, collapsable kennel on the garage floor. I did weave a few blankets through the slats, but Bronx tends to tear pretty much everything apart! Hopefully he will leave it alone long enough that he will still beable to snuggle into the blankets at night....at least until Louis gets the dog run secure. Louis said he will probably work on it today.
Caisha did very well at her recital! She said she was shaking the whole time, but I didn't notice at all. Unfortunately Great Grandma Chloe took a small tumble earlier in the day, so she was unable to make it. She is doing fine. Caisha has now volunteered to play a couple songs at her Sunday School Christmas Program. She just got 2 songs from her teacher, Miss Bohnker. She's not sure she will be ready in time with both songs, so she is leaning towards playing "Away in the Manger" and a song out of her lesson book, "Chime of the Bells", that she already knows. She will also be reading a few lines to introduce the songs that their choir will be singing. Zach also has a few lines in the Christmas program and he is suppose to have his memorized! Their Christmas Program is on the 17th.
For Thanksgiving we headed up to Milford, IA and spent a few days with the kids' Grandpa & Grandma Johnson. We had such beautiful weather! The kids spent a lot of time outside! It was an even better weekend because we had Nala with us. The kids were all a big help to Grandpa and Grandma. The plan is that we will have Nala the next 3 weekends before Christmas. Unfortunately we do not get her for Christmas.
Both Caisha and Zach are doing great in school. Their teachers are proud of them and had very nice things to say about them. Every teacher that Caisha has had says that she always has a smile on her face and is the motivating force in the class. She is always the first to volunteer to help out (teacher and classmates). Caisha is positive that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and is already loosely planning her future around that. Zach is your typical boy, as he says that he wants to be a professional Football player! But, if he can't do that, he says he would like to be a football coach for a professional football team. He said he would start out coaching the ISU Cyclones football team....to get some experience first...then he would move onto a professional team! I don't ever remember putting that much thought into the things I wanted to be when I was younger! I still had no idea half way through my senior year in high school! Zach is devouring books! Ever since he got a book from his Godmother, Colette, he can't read enough! Thanks Colette!! He is improving on a daily basis. Last year he was struggling a bit with reading and was getting some extra help at school, but he did so well last year that he didn't qualify for the help this year! *yeah* He is still considered "low risk" in comparision to most of his grade, but he is slowly closing the gap and should be right on target, or even slightly above, by the end of the school year.
Christmas is just around the corner! We started putting up the Christmas tree last weekend but never finished it, so that is on our agenda this weekend, along with putting plastic on some more of our windows, and hopefully, finishing up the drapes for the living room! I managed to get one drape done and hung before Thanksgiving and it looks fabulous! Only 3 more to go! Then onto making the curtains for the girls room! When they are all done I will post a few pictures.
If I don't get another post up before Christmas, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember that Christ is the reason for the season!
Caisha did very well at her recital! She said she was shaking the whole time, but I didn't notice at all. Unfortunately Great Grandma Chloe took a small tumble earlier in the day, so she was unable to make it. She is doing fine. Caisha has now volunteered to play a couple songs at her Sunday School Christmas Program. She just got 2 songs from her teacher, Miss Bohnker. She's not sure she will be ready in time with both songs, so she is leaning towards playing "Away in the Manger" and a song out of her lesson book, "Chime of the Bells", that she already knows. She will also be reading a few lines to introduce the songs that their choir will be singing. Zach also has a few lines in the Christmas program and he is suppose to have his memorized! Their Christmas Program is on the 17th.
For Thanksgiving we headed up to Milford, IA and spent a few days with the kids' Grandpa & Grandma Johnson. We had such beautiful weather! The kids spent a lot of time outside! It was an even better weekend because we had Nala with us. The kids were all a big help to Grandpa and Grandma. The plan is that we will have Nala the next 3 weekends before Christmas. Unfortunately we do not get her for Christmas.
Both Caisha and Zach are doing great in school. Their teachers are proud of them and had very nice things to say about them. Every teacher that Caisha has had says that she always has a smile on her face and is the motivating force in the class. She is always the first to volunteer to help out (teacher and classmates). Caisha is positive that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and is already loosely planning her future around that. Zach is your typical boy, as he says that he wants to be a professional Football player! But, if he can't do that, he says he would like to be a football coach for a professional football team. He said he would start out coaching the ISU Cyclones football team....to get some experience first...then he would move onto a professional team! I don't ever remember putting that much thought into the things I wanted to be when I was younger! I still had no idea half way through my senior year in high school! Zach is devouring books! Ever since he got a book from his Godmother, Colette, he can't read enough! Thanks Colette!! He is improving on a daily basis. Last year he was struggling a bit with reading and was getting some extra help at school, but he did so well last year that he didn't qualify for the help this year! *yeah* He is still considered "low risk" in comparision to most of his grade, but he is slowly closing the gap and should be right on target, or even slightly above, by the end of the school year.
Christmas is just around the corner! We started putting up the Christmas tree last weekend but never finished it, so that is on our agenda this weekend, along with putting plastic on some more of our windows, and hopefully, finishing up the drapes for the living room! I managed to get one drape done and hung before Thanksgiving and it looks fabulous! Only 3 more to go! Then onto making the curtains for the girls room! When they are all done I will post a few pictures.
If I don't get another post up before Christmas, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember that Christ is the reason for the season!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Second Baby Ultrasound
On Monday we had our second ultrasound to check the babies heart. We had to go down to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines this time. I took the whole day off work since the appointment was at 1pm. Louis took off the first half of his shift, so he didn't have to be at work until 7pm. The ultasound went real well. We had a Sr. med student do the initial check and she couldn't stop saying what a beautiful baby we have! And so well behaved! She said it was a great way to start her afternoon! If you chose not to read the previous blog about the sex of the baby I will not give it away here. I am right at 18 weeks and the baby weighs 8 oz. and is 8 inches long! The babies legs are definately longer than they were a month ago at that ultrasound and it knows how to kick with them!! *smile* The babies favorite position seems to be with its head down in my pelvis and I can tell when it is there! During the ultrasound the baby was all stretched out and still had lots of room to grow into. Louis thought the coolest part was when we got to watch the baby swallow....seeing its tongue move and the opening and closing of the mouth.....it was kind of cool. During most of the ultrasound, the baby had the hiccups. I'm not looking forward to those when it gets bigger! Whenever Zach had the hiccups it made me naseaus! Caisha is very anxious for the baby to be born. It would have been cool for her to see the ultrasound. We do have a book that shows the baby at the different months in pregnancy, so she has a pretty good idea what it looks like. Zach doesn't talk much about the baby. I think he is still absorbing the information and seeing how things go once it is born.
On a different note, Caisha has a piano recital tonight. She will be playing two songs from heart and singing "Over the Rainbow" with her teacher accompaning. Great Grandma and Grandpa will be there, so she is super excited!
On a different note, Caisha has a piano recital tonight. She will be playing two songs from heart and singing "Over the Rainbow" with her teacher accompaning. Great Grandma and Grandpa will be there, so she is super excited!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Dog Run Progress
Well, Louis thought he had the dog run all finished over 2 weeks ago when his dad, Jack, came down to help. It looks a lot better than I had thought it would (which is good!), but it didn't keep Bronx (the dog) in!! He jumped right over it! Of course, they had only built it about 5 feet tall, so it was a breeze for Bronx. Since then Louis came up with a way to increase the height to around 8 feet tall. He worked on it on his three days off and thought again, that he had it finished. Well, this time, it did keep Bronx in for a while, but he did eventually find a way to jump out! Louis hadn't quite finished raising the height above Bronx's shelter and had temporarily put a few boards on top that maybe came to about 7 feet. I figure that is where Bronx is jumping over. We are finding that Bronx is VERY athletic!! I don't have any pictures developed just yet, but when I do I will be posting them and explaining the different stages of building. Hopefully this last effort at "securing" the dog run will work, which will be around the 7th & 8th of this month (Louis' next days off). I will keep you posted!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Baby Update! (If you want to be surprised on the sex of the baby, DO NOT read this!)
Things got a little busy at work the last 2 weeks, so I haven't had the chance to post anything lately. Here is the latest news concerning the baby!
On Tuesday I had a Dr.'s appt. where I had an ultrasound done. The main purpose of this ultrasound was to check the lining of my cervical opening to make sure it had not thinned due to a procedure I had done 8 years ago. Dr. Lines is treating me like I am over the age of 35 since I am so close to that number. She wants to make sure everything will go smoothly for me. Anyway....since we were doing an ultrasound on my cervix they also checked the size and development of the baby to reconfirm my due date. They originally had said my due date was April 16, but have now pushed it up to the 13th. I figure I will have the baby on Tom's(Louis' younger brother) birthday, which I believe is the 9th. I seem to be good at that, being that Caisha shares her dad's birthday and Zach shares mine! The nurse technician said everything looked great with the baby and that it weighs around 5 ounces. She asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby and since I have already known (mother's instinct) and Louis wants to know so he can tell Nala so she has time to digest the info, I told her sure. My "feeling" was confirmed, so I am now 3 for 3 on knowing the sex of my babies based on my instincts. Here is where you will want to stop reading if you do not want to know until the baby is born! Louis had always thought he would only ever have girls, but he put in his "order" shortly after I found out I was pregnant, for a boy. I am happy to say that once again I deliver! The nurse technician was pretty positive that it is a boy! I got a few ultrasound picture, which the kids thought were great! And Caisha took one to school today to announce to her class that she is getting a little brother soon!
I do have another ultrasound on November 13th to check the baby's heart development since both sides of our families have histories of heart problems, including Nala (very minor). At that time they will be able to get a better picture of the baby and since he will be older they should be able to confirm the sex at that time, also. Louis will be going with me to the one on Nov. 13th. He would have gone to the one on Tuesday, but I didn't realize they were going to do an ultrasound of the baby, too.
I haven't gotten any pictures taken yet since I really haven't started to show until now. As soon as I get some I will be posting them.
On Tuesday I had a Dr.'s appt. where I had an ultrasound done. The main purpose of this ultrasound was to check the lining of my cervical opening to make sure it had not thinned due to a procedure I had done 8 years ago. Dr. Lines is treating me like I am over the age of 35 since I am so close to that number. She wants to make sure everything will go smoothly for me. Anyway....since we were doing an ultrasound on my cervix they also checked the size and development of the baby to reconfirm my due date. They originally had said my due date was April 16, but have now pushed it up to the 13th. I figure I will have the baby on Tom's(Louis' younger brother) birthday, which I believe is the 9th. I seem to be good at that, being that Caisha shares her dad's birthday and Zach shares mine! The nurse technician said everything looked great with the baby and that it weighs around 5 ounces. She asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby and since I have already known (mother's instinct) and Louis wants to know so he can tell Nala so she has time to digest the info, I told her sure. My "feeling" was confirmed, so I am now 3 for 3 on knowing the sex of my babies based on my instincts. Here is where you will want to stop reading if you do not want to know until the baby is born! Louis had always thought he would only ever have girls, but he put in his "order" shortly after I found out I was pregnant, for a boy. I am happy to say that once again I deliver! The nurse technician was pretty positive that it is a boy! I got a few ultrasound picture, which the kids thought were great! And Caisha took one to school today to announce to her class that she is getting a little brother soon!
I do have another ultrasound on November 13th to check the baby's heart development since both sides of our families have histories of heart problems, including Nala (very minor). At that time they will be able to get a better picture of the baby and since he will be older they should be able to confirm the sex at that time, also. Louis will be going with me to the one on Nov. 13th. He would have gone to the one on Tuesday, but I didn't realize they were going to do an ultrasound of the baby, too.
I haven't gotten any pictures taken yet since I really haven't started to show until now. As soon as I get some I will be posting them.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Idiocysm
Just heard this on the radio and found it humorous, if not somewhat true.
"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than living in your garage would make you a car!"
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
First Baby Appointment
This morning Louis and I went in for our first baby appointment! Everything went real well and we got to hear the babies HEARTBEAT! Everything seems more "real" now. Initially, I seemed to have gained a bit of weight, but I have leveled off. I think my body just got excited about being pregnant again and just remembered from 8 and 10 years ago what it is suppose to do. I've probably gained about 4-6 pounds and I am 11 weeks along. Dr. Lines says that my uterus is the perfect size for how far along I am, which made me feel better. I was a little concerned at how quickly I started to show that maybe I was carring twins, but it doesn't seem to be the case. *Phew* As we were listening to the heartbeat, the baby was moving around, too! It was so cool! I can't physically feel the baby move yet, so it was neat to hear it move around. I will be going in for an ultrasound the end of November to check the babies heart as our families have histories of heart problems. I am sure that Louis will ask to know what the babies sex is at that time. I am still unsure that I want to know ahead of time. I kind of like the suprise! Although, it would be cool to see if I am right about my hunch that it is a boy, along with one of Louis' co-workers who is right about these things 90% of the time. We are both soooo excited!
Friday, September 22, 2006
More Fair Pictures




Clay County Fair Pictures
Monday, September 18, 2006
Clay County Fair
This weekend was so great! It was show weekend at the Clay County Fair for the Johnson Hereford Farm and we had a blast! Both Caisha and Zach showed a heifer calf and were 2,3 in the line-up(respectively)! Caisha was so pleased because she had picked out that calf herself. She is looking forward to next year already and is planning on showing that calf as a yearling. This calf will be considerably bigger, not to mention stronger, by next year so we will have to see how things turn out. She also wants to show another calf, so she will be showing 2 animals next year. Grandpa and Grandma even mentioned that maybe she can show this heifer at the Iowa State Fair next year. Maybe I can get her in to show at the Boone County Fair, also. That's if they even have a class for Hereford's in Boone! I think I need to get the kids signed up for 4-H now that we are planning to stay put for awhile. I think Caisha and Zach would enjoy the different projects they can do. I was in 4-H for 11 years and loved it! It was hard work at times, but well worth it. If Grandpa is willing to haul a few animals down this direction for the kids to show that would be great!
Zach did real well showing on Saturday. He started out leading his calf all by himself, without any adult walking near him. I was so proud of him!! His calf did start to get a little pushy later so Grandma hopped in to help him. It's been a great experience for both the kids. Caisha is really showing a propesity for picking the winners. Grandpa says she will have to help pick out the calves for next years show! She picked such a winner this year that Grandpa almost ended up selling her to a buyer! Caisha told Grandpa emphamatically "NO, You can't!!" I think he is going to hang onto this heifer.
My mom was able to make it down for the fair, also. It was nice to have her be a part of the showing process. She pitched right in and was washing and brushing animals on show day. I know Jack and Lynne both really appreciated her help! We also found out that my mom, who is really a Dairy person, knows how to pick the Herefords, too! It was fun to spend time with her. I hope that next year she can convince my dad to come down with her. The Clay County Fair is known for its agriculture and farm machinery, which is something that my dad loves and the MN State Fair no longer really offers. I know we would loose him all day as he wandered through all the machinery! Zach would love to hang out with Grandpa Diers on that day!
On Sunday the kids and I walked around and looked through all the other projects and buildings at the Fair. Both kids got new belts with their names engraved on the back.....just like Grandma Lynne (and their dad had when he was little)!They both wore them to school today. I think it is the first time I have seen Caisha tuck in her shirts!
It did rain both Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday they had to sandbag in front of the barn because the water was creating a river down the center of the barn! I was driving in that downpour and could barely see a thing! It was a good thing I knew the road as well as I did!
I hope to never miss a Clay County Fair as long as I am able to get there! It's always a great time and the kids really learn a lot from their Grandparents that weekend about showmanship and sportsmanship. All the exhibitors that showed Herefords this weekend got together and provided potluck lunches and suppers so we didn't have to spend a fortune on fair food. It was a great idea and I hope they make it a tradition. It just shows the kids that even though we are competitors we are also friends and neighbors!
Look for pictures in the near future!
Oh, by the way....I felt GREAT all weekend! I really didn't have morning sickness at all. It was awesome. I know that being outside and being active really makes a difference. It just makes it even harder to go to work, though. But I will take the sick-free days where ever I can get them!
Zach did real well showing on Saturday. He started out leading his calf all by himself, without any adult walking near him. I was so proud of him!! His calf did start to get a little pushy later so Grandma hopped in to help him. It's been a great experience for both the kids. Caisha is really showing a propesity for picking the winners. Grandpa says she will have to help pick out the calves for next years show! She picked such a winner this year that Grandpa almost ended up selling her to a buyer! Caisha told Grandpa emphamatically "NO, You can't!!" I think he is going to hang onto this heifer.
My mom was able to make it down for the fair, also. It was nice to have her be a part of the showing process. She pitched right in and was washing and brushing animals on show day. I know Jack and Lynne both really appreciated her help! We also found out that my mom, who is really a Dairy person, knows how to pick the Herefords, too! It was fun to spend time with her. I hope that next year she can convince my dad to come down with her. The Clay County Fair is known for its agriculture and farm machinery, which is something that my dad loves and the MN State Fair no longer really offers. I know we would loose him all day as he wandered through all the machinery! Zach would love to hang out with Grandpa Diers on that day!
On Sunday the kids and I walked around and looked through all the other projects and buildings at the Fair. Both kids got new belts with their names engraved on the back.....just like Grandma Lynne (and their dad had when he was little)!They both wore them to school today. I think it is the first time I have seen Caisha tuck in her shirts!
It did rain both Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday they had to sandbag in front of the barn because the water was creating a river down the center of the barn! I was driving in that downpour and could barely see a thing! It was a good thing I knew the road as well as I did!
I hope to never miss a Clay County Fair as long as I am able to get there! It's always a great time and the kids really learn a lot from their Grandparents that weekend about showmanship and sportsmanship. All the exhibitors that showed Herefords this weekend got together and provided potluck lunches and suppers so we didn't have to spend a fortune on fair food. It was a great idea and I hope they make it a tradition. It just shows the kids that even though we are competitors we are also friends and neighbors!
Look for pictures in the near future!
Oh, by the way....I felt GREAT all weekend! I really didn't have morning sickness at all. It was awesome. I know that being outside and being active really makes a difference. It just makes it even harder to go to work, though. But I will take the sick-free days where ever I can get them!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Morning Sickness
Well, morning sickness has settled in and it just got a little worse this morning! For the past 3 weeks I have been just naseaus and as long as I was munching on something all day, I could make it through the day. I usually started to feel better around 2pm. This morning, on the other hand, I got to work and I didn't even have time to turn on my computer before I had to run to the bathroom! Yesterday morning I almost didn't make it to work and had to stop at the park next to the kids schools just in case I did throw-up. I never did, but I had the "taste" in my mouth for a little bit and then that passed. There was no door-to-door service for the kids yesterday. I thought I was doing ok this morning, but it snuck up on me real quick! I thought I would do the same as yesterday and the feeling would pass, but no such luck today! I had called my doctor and her nurse told me to try taking Vitamin B6 three times a day at 10mg a dose. I couldn't find anyplace that sells B6 in 10mg doses. You can get it in 50mg, 100mg, and 200mg. I looked online and the dieticians sites say not to exceed 100mg a day. In Europe they only recommend up to 25mg a day! I guess I need to do a litttle research on where I can get 10mg dosage pills. I'd really hate to have to miss work because of morning sickness, especially since I just started back full-time the 1st of August! I also really need the paycheck! If any one has any suggestions on how to combat morning sickness I would appreciate your input!
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