Scary Doctors Visit

So it has been a while since I've actually blogged anything with content. My last blog was a bunch of useless rambling I think but hey, its my blog. I can write whatever I wish right?

So anyway, last Wednesday I had a prenatal check up with my OBGYN. I was going every 3 weeks but now that I've entered my 3rd trimester I have to go every two weeks. The last time I went to the doctors she was insisting that I get more rest. I explained to her that if I got any more rest that I'd be at the spa every single day. In all honesty, I work in an office sitting down most of the day. I come home and my husband has picked up around the house and even started cooking dinner. Now that its winter and my mom is here she'll call us over to invite us for dinner or tell us to swing by and pick up some food and just go home with it. I relax a lot. Mind you my job is stressful because I do work with SUB and DQ but I'm okay with that. I don't let it affect me right? At least I didn't think I let it bother me.

My doctor told me that week that she wanted me to take it easier. I agreed and began to not stress as much about work. I asked her if I had anything to be concerned about and she told me that my uterus was lower than normal for where I was in my pregnancy but nothing to worry about.

When I went last week again she stressed how much I had to take it easy. She measured me to see how far I've expanded and she told me that I was about 5cms LESS than I should be. Since I was 30 weeks I should be 30cms but I am only 25cms. Then she told me that I was going to have a small baby. I asked her again if I had anything to be concerned about and she told me no...but then she told me to go upstairs and schedule an ultra sound for two weeks and to come downstairs right away with my results. So I start to freak out. Obviously my kid isn't going to be huge. I've barely gained any weight so I wouldn't expect for Demi to be huge. Then I stopped to think about it and if the doctor, who is a high risk specialist and head of OBGYN in my hospital, was really concerned wouldn't she make me schedule the U/S right away? Why wait for two weeks?

Then she also mentioned that I wasn't going to make it to full term pregnancy. I technically have 10 weeks of pregnancy left but the doctor said that she'd be happy to keep Demi in her uterus home for the next 6 weeks. She also made me stop work effective Jan 29th but I already had that day off so the 28th was my last official day of work. I'm still working from home and training my replacement via email and telephone and I do still go in but for half days. I promised my boss I wouldn't leave him high and dry. My replacement is good but she does still need some training. She's unsure of how to do some things even though they've been clearly laid out for her in the binder...some people need to DO things and not read about them so its completely understandable!

I've been trying to stuff my face since my doctors appointment to gain weight so that Demi can gain weight but I'm not getting any more plump. I took it ultra easy at my sister's wedding. I only danced to the english portion of the music and not for the entire time either. I barely went up and down the stairs (the owners of the reception hall were nice enough to open the handicapped bathroom upstairs for Nicole and I).

I have to admit I'm really freaking out about Demi being small. I'm a planner for everything and I never planned on having a small baby. I never planned for anything to go wrong with my pregnancy, not that anything went wrong. I know I'm high risk and thats why I see a specialist. Considering that we were expecting the worst for my pregnancy with my mysathenia gravis and everything had gone so well we were never expecting to hear that Demi is small. Like, how small is small? I guess only time will tell...aka the ultra sound. It's going to tell me how big she is. According to What to Expect when Expecting she should be about 3 pounds by now. Doesn't that seem small?


So am I over reacting and stressing over nothing or did my doctor give me stuff to truly be concerned about? I'm having a mini heart attack here but I do a good job of covering it up so my hubby and parents don't see me worrying. If I worry aloud they worry too.

It's been a minute...

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate that expression? Why do we use the expression "it's been a minute" to mean its been a while. Minutes and a while are really different things. Minutes are like 60 seconds each. When I think its been a while since I've eaten, obviously more than a few minutes have passed.


So on with the point, its been a while since I last blogged. I think this is my second post in 2010. WOW. Talk about being slow right? I gave my blog a bit of a facelift but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I might change it again. I saved a few really nice layouts on my hard drive for when I feel I need a change. I think the font is too small by default.

January has been a really busy month for my family. My sister's wedding is this coming Saturday and every single Saturday we've had an event. We had my sister's bridal shower on the 9th and of course that had some of its own drama....as usual. Anytime you get a lot of Greeks into a room drama is sure to ensure.

The 16th was my sister's bachelorette and Mike's bachelor party. The girls all had dinner at the casino and then we went to gamble. My sister's sister in law recommended that she play roulette and of course it didn't go so well. $120 not wisely spent. Alex, Nicole, and I (and everyone else) went down to our "Lucky Slots" where we won back everything that was lost at roulette, paid for dinner, drinks, and had some money left over. We had a good time. Besides the 3 of us I don't think anyone else did that great at the casino.

Yesterday we were meant to go to the spa all day but we decided that going on a Saturday would be too crowded and we opted for another day. We are going tomorrow. ALL DAY. First treatment is at 9am for all 3 of us. Nicole and I are going to get a pregnancy message and then a facial. We have to sign a waiver saying we won't be stupid enough to jump into the steaming hot or freezing cold baths.

I wanted to make this blog post longer but ummm... I have to watch this OT and then go to bed!!!!

Not So Happy Holidays?

Hey everyone! Happy New Year! Not too shabby right? I'm blogging on Jan 2, 2010! Maybe I'll this is a sign that I will be blogging more in 2010? I guess taking mat leave in Feb will help with that. I'll be less stressed and have about 2 months before Demi gets here!

Now I'd like to start off the New Year with blogging about something positive and happy but I can't. I find myself thinking about the holidays and how low key they were and blah blah. Now I made a conscious decision to have low key holidays. I didn't want to have 800 people coming through my doors or going to visit 800 people. We wanted to take it easy because when we do our holiday parties its always huge and we don't get to enjoy them. George and I are always in the kitchen cooking something, checking on something, refilling someones beverage, making sure the bathrooms remain clean.... and it gets to be really NOT fun although everyone else enjoys their time at my house.

Now something happened during Xmas 2008 that really pissed me off. It was my first year married and I wanted to host Christmas Eve OR Christmas Day at my house. Well guess what happened? One of my cousins decided to call everyone BEFORE HALLOWEEN to invite them to her house for Christmas. Now yes, she has always hosted the holiday but thats because no one else would step up do it. I did the bigger person thing and called my cousin and said, "Hey Cousin, why don't we split the holidays? You can do either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at your house and I'll do the day you don't want at my house." I thought it was very nice of me to put it that way and give her the choice. I even explained to her that its my first married year and I'd like to host a holiday. She was like, "Um no. I want to do both holidays because I ALWAYS do them and besides there is always so much food left over." So I said something along the line of, "Yes you always do it therefore you should SHARE the holiday and if the amount of food is an issue, just cook LESS." The bottom line is she was a stubborn bitch about it and refused to budge. She wanted to do both days at her house. Her excuse was, "You hosted Easter..." Um yeah I did do Easter because its my husbands favorite holiday and its the first holiday that came after our wedding.

So what did I do? I called my favorite aunt and explained to her the situation. I informed her that I was very well aware that my cousin called everyone to invite them to her house for Xmas Eve and Day however I was doing Xmas day at my house. I understand if they can't make it but I will be doing that. My aunt explained that she had already RSVPed to my cousin's house but she would leave early to come to my house. I did the same thing with some cousins and everyone told me the exact same thing. They would go to the cousins house because they said they would but they would go early and leave early so they could eat here. I did NOT invite the selfish cousin nor did I invite HER parents. I mean, that'd be kinda rude to tell them, "Hey I know your daughter is hosting a day at her house but why don't you come to mine instead?".

My husband and I discussed what we should do for Christmas Eve since I was only doing ONE of the two nights. We decided to be bigger people and go to that cousins house for a little bit. The only reason we went was because my sister was going to be there and Alex and I have NEVER had Xmas apart. We showed up to the cousins house with presents for the kids, a gift for the hostess, and stayed for a while (not as long as we had stayed in previous years). When we got up to leave we didn't mention the usual, "see you tomorrow" but she did ask my sister, "So will we be seeing you and Mike tomorrow" to which my sister responds, "No. My sister is doing Christmas Day and I will be there!"

Christmas Day rolls around. My hubby and I wake up early to clean the house, and start preparing our feast. When I say feast I mean a feast. We must have spent the better part of the day cooking the main meal not to mention the amount of appetizers we'd made. Everyone who came over really enjoyed it and commented on the vast difference in quality of food they were eating today compared to yesterday. It's not that my cousin cooks shitty quality food, she just isn't the best cook in the family!

My cousin didn't call me to wish me a Merry Christmas that day. I didn't really notice but of course my hubby does. He notices the strangest things!

We decided to host NYE and New Year Day at my house last year. My mom always wants to do it but she had just renovated her basement and did not want all of the cousins kids to go there and ruin it so we did it at my house. My mom paid for a lot of the dishes and even cooked a bunch of them but we just had the event at my house. My cousin didn't come. She decided her friends were more important than her family that particular day.

So now Xmas 2009 rolls around. Of course the cousin calls me to invite me over and I say, "I'm unsure of our plans. I'll have to check with my husband to see if anyone on his side is doing it since we did it last year." She said okay and to let her know. I didn't let her know but I didn't plan on going there from the get go. I had told George that I would rather stay home alone doing nothing than go there. I told him I refuse to go there for 6 years! Why six? I don't know its just a random number I came up with. In all honesty, we aren't comfortable going there. It's just that there are SOOOOO many people in such a small space that its very uncomfortable. The house gets all hot and loud. We had NYE here last year 2008/2009 and we got uncomfortable and I have 3 floors of house! My cousin has a 3 or 4 bedroom apartment. If we felt stuffy at my place imagine what you feel like there?!

My cousin told my sister that she was upset with me because I didn't call back to RSVP for Xmas. I told my sister that common sense says if one doesn't respond they aren't coming. I mean, if you don't respond to my sister's wedding shower I'm assuming you aren't coming, I don't assume you will be there.... I don't care if shes upset.

Oh, she didn't call me this Xmas or New Years in order to wish me happy holidays. Oh well, I didn't call her either. I had to call to invite her to my sisters bachelorette though. Ugh. Hated it.

Now my sister is getting married in 29 days. I discussed this with her today. Would she like to split the holidays? I realize that I will have a young child during the holiday season next year but I still want to host a holiday. My mom will go back to hosting NYE therefore its just Xmas Eve and Day that are left for us to split. She said shes interested. I told her to let me know which date she'd like and then in November of 2010 we'll call our aunts/cousins together and tell them what day they are invited to our respective homes.

What irks me is that the holidays are meant to be about family and sharing. My cousin refuses to share. It's her way or no way because she's done something for 10 years. Yes, but no one else wanted to do the holidays. Maybe they don't want to spend the money entertaining a bunch of hungry Greeks, maybe they don't want to exhaust themselves cooking and cleaning, whatever the reason may be no one but her would offer to do it. How can you be so selfish about hosting a meal at your house? My sister in law called me about 2 weeks before Xmas to ask me what I was doing. I told her I had no plans for Xmas Eve but since my mom was flying in on Xmas Day I was going to do a very small dinner. Just me, George, Alex, Mike, my father in law, and our kourbari (like bestest friends), if they'd like to come they are more than welcome. She told me that her family will come to my house after they go to HER sister's house and that we are invited to HER house on Xmas Eve since we aren't doing it. See how it works? Everyone wants to host something yet they call to find out who is doing what so that it can be shared.

Now I find myself asking this question, its a whole year later and I'm still bitter about this. Is it too long to hold a grudge? Am I blowing things out of proportion? Should I just drop this whole, "5 more years of no Xmas at cousin X's house?"

Best Buy, not Best Service!

I like Best Buy, I really do. I think they have some of the greatest prices around on electronics. They finally wised up and lowered their prices to reflect what people are selling on eBay etc. They are FINALLY competitively priced. I've never liked their service though. NEVER! I had a huge issue with them about two years ago regarding honoring the warranty on a laptop. About 3 years ago I had a problem with just getting customer service. I was wandering through the television department and there was no one there to serve me. I was annoyed. While in the store I called Best Buy and complained that I was standing there and NO ONE came by to help me. Suddenly I have 6 employees on me. UGH! So annoying!

Anyway, last night my husband asked me if I minded him using the gift card my boss gave me to Best Buy on a universal remote for the basement. We already had one for the upstairs family room but George wanted one for the basement. We went to Bestbuy.ca to see how much they cost. My boss had given me a $500 gift card and the Logitech Harmony One 1100 Universal Remote was there and on sale for $379.99. I told George that he'd have to pay a little extra out of his pocket since I did use about $120 on some Wii Games on Christmas Eve. Not a problem! Usually the website lets you click a button to see if your local store has it in stock. There was a message "During Boxing Week in-store pick up and store stock availability is unavailable until January 4th. We apologize for any inconvenience. Visit a store near you". Okay. Well we weren't in the mood to go out to Best Buy only to find out that it wasn't there so we decided to give our local store a ring...and a ring....and a ring. We tried pressing 0 to speak to customer service and no answer, we listened to the automated messages to direct us to Audio/Video Accessories including remote controls. No answer.

George was at home for about 10 minutes on hold when he decided to actually get up and go to Best Buy. He went, found the remote, and came home. He was still on hold with Best Buy (he called from his cell and took his cell with him). By the time he showed me his phone the call log was up to 48 minutes and 37 seconds on hold. I decided to hang up at this point. Not only that but while George was in the department he saw the phone ringing and asked a customer service rep "are you going to get that" to which they replied, "I'm too busy!"

I get that its a very busy time of year for stores right now. Americans have Black Friday and we have Boxing Day which has slowly become Boxing Week. It's our biggest shopping days of the year. People go insane. But why not change your automated system to reflect that of the website? How about something like, "We are sorry for any inconvenience but due to the number of in store customers at this time we are unable to answer any questions over the telephone regarding products or stock availability? Please come to your local store for any questions or call back after Jan 4, 2010?"

I mean its a really crappy thing for a customer to point out that the telephone is ringing and for the employees to just shrug it off and claim they are busy. Yes, you are busy but why can you not excuse yourself from your in-store customer for 30 seconds and pick up the phone and say "Best Buy, please hold". Finish with your customer and take a minute on the phone with the phone customer before finding the next person to hawk commission from? Believe me proper customer service goes a long way and the person who called is very likely to come into the store, into your department and ask for YOU by name to serve them to give you the commission. I know that I do that when I call a store. I ask for their name and when they are working, I especially do that if I'm doing comparison shopping in stores and have just eaten half an hour of someones time. I'll ask for their card as well as when they are working next in case we decide to come back and get the item from that particular store.

Anyway I thought that was rather crappy of them and thought I'd share. I guess its true that you always complain about bad service and never really rave about excellent service!

Baby List

So I kind of stole this from Future Mamma's blog.

It's so hard to stay organized while you are pregnant and the amount of things a newborn baby needs is completely overwhelming. Not only that but apparently a side effect of being pregnant is that you completely forget everything. I honestly find myself having to write things down instead of depending on my amazing memory. Very craptastic for me!



So Future Momma put together a list of things she needs, thinks she'll need, knows she doesn't need, or already has. I figured I'd do this as well to track my progress!


NURSERY
Crib and/or bassinet Thanks Mom and Dad!
Crib bedding Thanks Mom and Dad...and George!
Crib mattress Parents again..
Mattress pad
Waterproof crib liner
Fitted sheets (2-3)
Sleep Positioner
Receiving blankets (4-5)
Changing tableParents again...
Changing pad
Changing pad covers
Dresser Parents
Rocker/gliderbought
Hamper nursery
Nursery monitor
Mobile
Night Light

Feeding Supplies
Bottles been bought off my registry even though I haven't sent out invites
Bottle Sterilizer
Bottle brush
Bottle warmer
Bottle drying rack
Nursing pillow
Breast pump
Nursing pads
Nursing cream
Breast shields
Nursing bras
Nursing gown
Milk storage bags
Travel formula dispenser
Pacifiers
Pacifier clips
gas relief drops
High chair Also bought from my registry
Meal mat
Infant spoons
Sippy cups
Teethers

Bathing
Bathtub
Washcloths (5-10) Mom's random shopping I have like 20 already
Baby wash pruchased
Baby shampoo from
Baby lotionregistry
Bath toys
Tub toy pouch
Hooded towels (2-4)

ACTIVITY

Toys and More
Swing Purchased from registry
Bouncer seat Purchased from registry
Play gym
Crib mirror
Jumper
Rattles
Walker
Toy Chest

Books and Music
Preggo Planner Don't believe this is necessary
Pregnancy books
Childbirth books
Breastfeeding books
Parenting books
Baby book
Journal
Educational music
Lullybuy music

NEWBORN ESSENTIALS

Diapering
Diapers (disposable or cloth)-- Too early to buy because baby might be allergic
Wipes
Wipes warmer
Travel pack for wipes
Diaper bag (Afraid to cross this off because I THINK I found my dream bag!)
Diaper pail and refills
Rash ointment
Diaper sacks for travel
Disposable changing pads

Clothing
Homecoming outfit Sister in law bought
T-shirts mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Onesies mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Sleepwear mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Bibs (5-10)mom & best friend bought
Burp cloths Best friend bought
Booties and socks
Hats (2-4)
Mittens
Footed rompers
Sweaters
Swaddle blanket
Baby laundry detergent
Stain remover
Baby clothes hangers

BABY CARE

Health -- All items removed came in a kit that was purchased from my registry
First aid supplies
Thermometer
Medicine dispenser
Baby fever reducer
Nasal aspirator
Humidifier/Vaporizer
Baby brush and comb
Nail clippers

Safety
Safety gate
Corner guards
Outlet covers
Drawer latches
Cabinet locks
Toilet locks
Fireplace bumpers
Fire alarm
Carbon monoxide detector

TRAVEL
Rear-facing infant car seat Sister in law bought from my registry
Car seat base for 2nd car
Full-size stroller
Lightweight stroller
Stroller rain shield
Stroller toys
Infant car mirror
Pack and play
Soft carrier

MISCELLANEOUS
Birth announcements - Already have a designer in mind
Thank you cards - see above
Stamps
Camera
Camcorder
Picture frames
Growth chart
Batteries
Baby calendar
Personalized items



OPTIONAL STUFF I'D LIKE
Baby sling - Still debating on if I'm a baby wearer or not
Baby Wrap
Diaper stacker Came with my bedding set
Nursery curtainsCame with my bedding set
Pregnancy pillow A life send!

So far it looks like I have a lot crossed off my list. Other things that aren't crossed off are on my registry but only like 5 people know of my registry so it's not shocking that a lot of things haven't been bought. My mom goes nuts everytime she goes out shopping she has to pick something up for Demi.

Demi already has mounds and mounds of clothes just waiting for the nursery to be put together, washed, dried, and put away. I already have my bag for the hospital (obviously not packed yet)and I'm waiting to find my perfect dream diaper bag. Demi and Mommy are going to be styling the entire way!

So what do you guys think of my progress? What do you guys think of my registry? Too much? Not enough? Useless things on there or not?

I know that people don't recommend wipe warmers but its something that I want for Demi so damnit I'll get it for her! I have a bunch of little things on the registry because between my mom, sister, sister in law, best friend, and best friends mom/sister, all the large "Bulk" items have already been purchased. My parents bought the entire nursery for me (crib, crib mattress, bedding set, changing table, dresser, night stand, bassinet, and glider). My best friends mom and sister have bought me the bouncer, the high chair, the play pen, a bathtime set, some bottles etc! My sister in law got me a boat load of clothes (that she won't let me see) and Demi's stage two car chair (infant over 20lbs). My sister hasn't bought it yet but shes getting me the travel system which is the stroller and car seat. Nicole (best friend) has bought me a bunch of clothes (she also won't let me see) and some random small things for Demi.


So yeah, thats my list and I'm kind of proud of the progress made. I'll probably be updating this post as the months pass by (sheesh I'm already 6 months along) and again after my baby shower!

By the way what do you guys think of my sample invite? It's the first shot only and we are making some changes to it.

Dallas is so expensive!

First of all, Sorry for being such an epic fail with NaBloPoMo...but at least I am posting more regularly right? Oh But I have like 3 blogs I'm about to pump out today!


Now for our regularly programmed blogging!

As most of you know I have a dog, a very cute dog with a hell of a personality. He has the cutest face in the whole world and his eyes are so expressive but man this dog is freaking expensive! He is on a raw food diet meaning that George and I always have to feed him raw chicken, beef, lamb, pork or whatever. (He hates turkey!) We never complain about the cost of his food because, well, we chose to get a dog that is on a raw food diet. But this dog is funny with his expenses... Allow me to explain.

It's Saturday afternoon. George and I have to go do a little Christmas shopping and we decide to leave Dallas with George's dad in our house. You figure the dog has a baby sitter, he shouldn't be too hard to watch. Give Dallas a chew toy or a stuffy and he's really content for a few hours.

George and I get back about an hour and a half after we left the house. We walk in and Dallas is super excited to see us but we aren't so excited to see him. All we see all over our living room floor is a red mess. George and I are looking at each other like "What the heck?" then it clicked. I had left two Christmas cards for our Secret Santa's on a table that Dallas is tall enough to reach. He took one of the cards and decided to shred it. (Thanks Gramps for watching out for him!)

The more I walk into the house the more I realize I was wrong. In the sea of red is also some pink. What the heck!? Turns out that George's dad wrote us Christmas cards and put them on the tree so that when I wrapped the gifts and put them under the tree I'd see them. Inside the cards were money. Canadian money is colored. 50's are pink.

Dallas doesn't mess with the tree but since he saw my father in law go near it he decided he had to do some investigating. He took one of the cards off the tree and ripped it open to see what was in the card. In the process of opening the card (aka shredding it to pieces) he decided to EAT some money. He tore a whole lot of 50's up and ended up eating one completely. Yeah, I'm not gonna be looking for that in his digestive tract. UGH!

C'mon you have to admit thats funny. The dog actually ate money. So George and I came home, threw down the bags with shopping and started taping money together...and then George punished Dallas for an hour by making him sit all by himself with no toys or anything. :(

Dallas doesn't go near the tree anymore but just to be on the safe side the envelopes are way up high on the tree now.

Is the end near?

Is the end near for work? NaBloPoMo? My pregnancy? The cold weather?

No, I'm not complaining, okay well maybe a bit! Work has been so long this year that I just can't believe the holidays haven't started yet. Seriously I think this was one of my longest years. I think the stress is starting to get to me considering the fact that last night I had a dream that my boss/co-worker pissed me off and I just said "I quit" and I stormed out of the office not even bothering to look back.

It's really funny because I honestly don't feel the stress while I'm there. Sure there is a lot to do but two of the big projects are off of my desk and in the hands of the printing company who can hopefully meet the deadline. But I think just being in the office on a daily basis and having to answer all the questions my boss has which are like, "Did you do this?" "Has this been mailed?" "Do you think we should..." It's like GRRRRR! I was trying to plan on all of this stuff MONTHS back but no one cared. You know that expression "Procrastination is like masturbation, you only end up fucking yourself?" Oh so wrong... everyone else's slacking off ended up fucking me!

It's so freaking cold here in Montreal right now. No snow or anything but just bone chilling cold. Like super cold. To top that off George borrowed my car and left me with 2L of gas. Basically that would have gotten me half way to work only. I had to stop to pump gas in freaking -20 weather. Not fun. I bitched so much that when I went to work late my boss was like, "It's okay. Don't worry about it." But I was just so furious! I don't think I spoke to George for the entire day because of that. All I have to say it that I'm so happy that today was the FIRST day in my 10 years in Montreal that I chose to wear gloves!

I don't want this to be a pregnancy blog and I really feel like I talk about the pregnancy so much its driving me crazy but I wanted you guys to know that at 24.5 weeks I am starting to FEEL pregnant in the sense that apparently Demi is 1.7 pounds right now and I can actually FEEL myself carrying that around. Getting in and out of cars that are low to the ground takes some extra effort. I don't have the need to pee in the middle of the night or other weird things that apparently some people are feeling from 10 weeks pregnant (yes that sarcasm and yes thats me rolling my eyes). Although when I do feel the urge to pee I have to pee, like right then and there. There is no more "Oh I'll go in a few minutes."

I'm so sorry I've missed 2 nights in a row. :( On Wednesday I had two doctors appointments and I found out that my best friend is going to have baby girl so Demi will have a best friend. This also makes the baby my SECOND little girl to baptize! George and I are going to baptize her together and this excites us so much! :)

Now I'm off to read all the blogs I missed over the past few days!