Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today.

Stay at home mommy

2012-01-19T13:00:00.001-06:00

So I am officially a stay at home mommy! Did it happen the way I wanted it to not exactly, but it works. I am not going into the details because I don't need to, but I am soooo excited to be able to spend my days with my children. I get to see Aryssa and Carson grow everyday, have playdates with my sister, teach my children the right ways to act. Don't get me wrong I love aryssa's sitter and her family. They have showed us so much love it is amazing. When I talked to Michelle this morning she said her son (9) cried when she said aryssa wasn't going to be coming anymore. If I have dr appt or diaper studies I told her I would definitely call, plus now I can go with to the pool in the summer instead of picking Aryssa up there. I don't have much else to say I am so excited to start this new journey :) any stay at home mommies that want playdates.... I am free :)

Life with two kids :)

2012-01-09T13:46:00.001-06:00

Life with two kids is amazing! I am loving my maternity leave.... Today marks 3 weeks until I go back to work... I am so not ready. Our days are filled with giggles and cuddles. Usually while aryssa naps I take that time for me and Carson to snuggle. Could I be doing laundry, dishes, cleaning up... Sure but will the laundry, dishes and dust be there later of course. So instead we snuggle and I stare at him in awe how fast he is growing. We have his 2 month check up next week....2 months man I can't believe on Saturday he will be 8 weeks already! We had a great Christmas, I am currently typing this on my iPad that grant got me! I love it and was totally surprised. We got aryssa a huge doll house for her barbies and some clothes. We had busy busy days and I was so glad that grant had off that Monday so that we could just hang out and relax. So I am going to leave you all with some pictures :) All the kiddosAryssa and her papaChecking out her stockingHer doll house!Carson snuggling with his hippoFamily pictureHope you enjoyed!

Labor story

2011-12-21T13:22:00.001-06:00

Better late than never right? So Carson is now 4 weeks old... 1 month, I can't believe it! Anyway on to the labor....
My boss and I had always joked that I had to wait until she got back from vacation to go into labor (I think secretly she meant it lol) so anyway I turned 37 weeks that Thursday and then Friday Jamie came back from vacation so my gut feeling was that it was going to happen soon. So Jamie came back and we had a busy busy day at work. Jamie alone saw 40 patients and I was running around all day. I didn't get home until 7pm and was exhausted. The whole week I felt like crap at night but thought nothing of it. So per usual after Aryssa went to bed I stayed up for a little bit and was in bed by 930pm. Fast forward I get up and go to the bathroom at 2am, I get back in bed and get comfy, grant was snoring so I shifted in bed and all of a sudden gush! I thought "was that my water?" "or more pee" lol. I moved a little more and more gush.... I knew it was my water breaking at 205am! I wake grant up "grant my water broke!" his response "are you serious?" ok I give him the benefit of the doubt it was 2am and I just loudly wake him telling him my water broke. " yes I am serious Get me a towel!!" lol not funny then, funny now!
So we get our neighbors to come over to watch Aryssa for us because the sitter wasn't answering her phone. And off to the hospital we went!
I get up to the room and they do a test to make sure my water broke and of course yes. Then they check me I was at 3cm but Carson was posterior meaning face up meaning would hurt like hell coming out and longer pushing time. But it was still early so the nurse was hoping he would flip. So then we wait and wait I wasn't having regular contractions and they were not serious. So at 6am they decided to start pitocin. Let me tell you that is some evil stuff! Contractions pick up then. I make it through them and was on the phone with my sister for awhile and she kept me distracted. Then around 11am the contractions were crazy! I did not want an epidural I did it natural the first time and I was going to again. I knew it was getting close the dr came i to check me and I was a 8. Urgh only 8. The nurse said you can still get an epidural but I said no, I can do this. So more waiting and pain lol. Grant was amazing again and was there to hold my hand through the contractions. Then at 2pm-ish the dr said I was 9ish and could start pushing. Carson was still posterior so that was not fun. So I started pushing man oh man that was painful. I couldn't take it so they gave me a shot of fentanyl... It helped between contractions, but did not touch the contraction pain at all. But I do remember smiling between contractions lol. So back to pushing or as I say hell! I was making progress and it hurt, grant let me know that I told him I was done and wasn't going to go through labor ever again lol. So finally progress was being made and the head was starting to come out, at that time he decided to turn face down (the correct way) now that hurt! But one push later there he was at 336pm! He was put on my chest and my dr said there is your miracle baby. She showed us his umbilical cord, it had a knot in it. At that time I was like um ok and didn't really understand. Later after everything was calm and me and Carson were all cleaned up I asked the nurse about Carson's cord. She said that he his a miracle because if at any point the cord pulled tight he could have been still born. I was speechless. Right then and there I thanked god in all his glory for not taking my son and blessing us with him. So there you have it from start to finish 13 1/2 hours later my little man 8lbs 10 oz and 21 1/2 inches long had arrived. we are completely blessed with our little family. Aryssa loves her brother and hugs and kisses him all the time. She came to visit him at the hospital and immediately it was "my baby" and she let the nurses know it was her baby lol.
So that is our story in all its glory :) hope you enjoyed! Here is a pic of the cord-- note this isn't coming out of me it is connected to him laying only belly.

Carson Martin

2011-11-20T10:21:00.000-06:00

Carson Martin has arrived!!! 11-19-11 at 3:36pm 8lbs 10oz 21 1/2 inches long!!! Born at 37 weeks 2 days. I will write the labor story later, just wanted to update everyone :)

37 Weeks

2011-11-17T08:27:00.000-06:00

How far along? 37 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: well when I went on Tuesday I had gained back the 4 i lost and 6 more so total is at 25 lbs.
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: I have my good nights and bad nights. my knee and IT band have been quite the issue again. I think the IT band tightens up when I lay on one side too long and then when I go to roll over it shoots and burns up and down my leg like no other pain.... it is sometimes worse then the contractions
Best moment this week: still being preggo!!!!
Movement: less and less kicks now we are at the whole belly movement and shifting inside
Food cravings: none right now
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: having random contractions but nothing severe... Grant told me to do jumping jacks and run a mile (someone is a little anxious to meet his son)
Belly Button in or out? getting shallower, but still considered in (same as the last 4 weeks)
What I miss: feeling "normal" I am ready to be done being pregnant. I love feeling him move inside me, but man oh man it is taking a toll
What I am looking forward to: meeting out little man :)
Weekly Wisdom: i have to say I was kinda bummed when my dr checked me and said there was no change.... I shouldn't have been I love that I am making it this far in my pregnancy, but I am also ready to meet him. but one day in is another step away from NICU and I DO NOT want to do NICU ever again!
Milestones: 37 weeks!!!! my dr said full term and whatever happens, happens!

I can't believe we have made it this far! I am so amazed and thankful that god willing we will be able to take our baby home with us from the hospital! I had my weekly check up this past Tuesday and the dr checked me again and said I was still at 1cm and "had a way to go". I was kinda bummed b/c in my head I thought "ok, I am going to stop my shots and after the medication wears out the baby will come." not the case really. My last shot was Nov. 7th and "statistics" of the shot say 7-10 days after your last shot you "could" go into labor.... so I guess today is day 10 and not much going on. I have some random contractions but nothing worth while. I feel huge and ready to burst, but little man must be happy in there. It is just hard for me with the last pregnancy not being "normal". At this point I already had a 3 week old and was just finishing up my first week of maternity leave. I am working up until the day I deliver.... one of the Dr's said we need to make a "amy's water broke at work and we are driving her to the hospital" sign to put on the door in case something happens here.
I am just ready to meet my little man, his going home outfit is all ready and washed. My hospital bag is packed, I just need to pack a bag for Aryssa... I am not sure where she will be when we have the baby... kinda depends on my mom's work schedule and when Carson decides to come. Aryssa's babysitter is "on call" with us in case something happens in the middle of the night she would be able to watch Aryssa until someone from my family could come and get her. I can't really call my sister or mom at 2 am and say get here asap. My sister still has her 5 kiddos and a hubby that works, and my mom might not be available depending on what shift she is on. So that is a little stressful in my mind as well. Maybe the stress will put me into labor.... I should stress a little more about it lol. Well until next time..... hopefully with a picture of our son :)

36 Weeks (and 1 day)

2011-11-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

How far along? 36 Weeks (and 1 day when i posted)
Total weight gain/loss: total is 16 lbs-- when i was admitted last friday i was down 2 lbs from a week and a half earlier. then when i went in this tuesday i was down another 2 lbs. I think it may be because since i spent the day in the hospital i have been drinking a ton more water and not so much soda so i think that is why i lost weight. Dr wasn't too concerned since baby is measuring good. if it continues i think she will look into it further.
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: some... had a really bad week last week, but this week has been way better
Best moment this week: still being preggo!!!!
Movement: movements are bigger and bigger since he is growing, more whole belly moves instead of kicks
Food cravings: none right now
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: not this week. last week we had our scare, but no huge contractions since. My guess is next week after my body doesn't get the medicine something might happen
Belly Button in or out? getting shallower, but still considered in
What I miss: i kind of hate this question because i don't want to sound like i hate pregnancy, but what i miss is easily putting shoes on, or not panting just from getting off the floor.
What I am looking forward to: meeting out little man :)
Weekly Wisdom: when in doubt wake your sleeping husband to take you to the hospital
Milestones: 36 weeks!!!! every ~~week~~ day over 34 weeks is such a blessing.

So my dr appointment this week went well, like I said I have lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks, but i am thinking it could be from dropping soda and coffee out of my routine in the morning and drinking loads more water. Dr was still happy with the growth (just measuring my belly) so she said we will just watch it and see what happens. I have another appointment on Tuesday anyway. Other news also I am DONE with my 17p shot!!! We were originally going to do one more on the 14th, but I ran out of medicine (the pharmacy told me I was going to be able to make it, but "due to personal technique" it isn't that accurate... whatever! anyway I talked about it with my Dr and she said that it was fine (since I hit 36 weeks yesterday) and she was happy with that. So now "statistics" from the shot say 7-10 days after your last shot is when labor (if you were going to go into preterm labor) starts. So that would mean middle to end of next week already! Grant had a dream that he is going to come the end of next week so we will see! I would be perfectly ok with that since it would put me at almost 37 weeks. My dr thinks we are out of the gray area of the NICU, but no promises have been made. So we are super excited and praying away in hopes that as soon a Carson arrives he can also come home with us :)

A scare

2011-11-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

The title pretty much sums it up, Friday was a little bit (ok a lot of bit) of a scare. I guess I will start from the beginning. As most of you know I had aryssa early, at 34 weeks and a couple hours) because of that I am doin the 17p shot to help prevent preterm labor. I get my shot every Monday until november 14th. Well this past Wednesday I wa having random contractions throughout the day but nothing too consistent so I wasn't too worried. I came home drank a bunch of water and laid down all night. Thursday during the day I was much better and didn't notice any contractions. Then came Thursday night... Contractions woke me up about midnight. They were hard core contractions with pulling and cramping, the whole nine yards. I got up went to the bathroom and tried to lay back down. They continued all night until about 5am. Looking back I probably should have woke grant up and went in to the hospital (given my preterm history). So grant got up as normal and when he work me up he asked how I slept (something he does every morning) and I told him about the contractions. He told me to call the dr and get in. So I get ready for work get aryssa up and drop her off at the sitters. I went to work and pretty much sat there and waited until 8am when the ob nurses were available. I told the nurse everything and she said given my history I should come in for an appointment and they had an opening at 840am. So dr Jamie just walk into the clinic by me and I said good morning I am leaving for the dr. She said you know your body get out of here! So I called grant let him know I was on my way to the dr and I would keep him posted. I get to the office and my dr was asking about the week I told her everything and she said let's check you out. So she checked me and I was 1cm dilated but still firm. That was good news but she still wanted to monitor the contractions. So I was hooked up to the non stress test to monitor everything. I was on there for an hour and man the contractions picked up! The machine picked them up every 1 1/2 to 2 minuets. My dr didn't like that so much so she said let's get you over to labor and delivery and hook you up to some IV fluids. So I got the wheelchair ride to l&d for more monitoring and IV. When I got there the contractions were still evey 1 1/2 to 2 min apart. They pushed one bag through really fast and hooked up another. My dr came to check me again and said there wasn't any change and still 1cm. That was great news because that meant the contractions were not doing any cervical change. But the contractions were still too intense and close to send me home. By that time grant was at the hospital because I was getting scared and the dejavue of aryssa coming early was in the back of my mind. So grant and I just hung out for the afternoon. The dr decided to give me a shot of turb (I don't know the official name) to help stop contractions. So the waiting game was on. This is what happene with aryssa, then my water broke so I was just praying that didn't happen again. My sister was praying, she had a request out on Facebook and I new god wa on my side. I mean aryssa was already a week old at this point so I knew he would be ok, but I still want him cooking! By 4pm my contractions were weak and about 6-9 min apart. My dr came in to check if there was any change and there wasn't! Still only 1 cm and still firm. With that she decide I could go home, but at any point to come straight back in, but said she was confident that I would be fine. So off we went we picked up aryssa came home and grant ordered me to drink water and lay down! He is so demanding! I was exhausted from the night before and the long stressful day I went to bed at 830pm! I got up a lot to pee ( with 2 bags of fluid and drinking all that water) but I didn't feel any contractions :) today we kept it pretty low key grant said I was on house arrest, even though the dr gave me the all clear and to resume normal activity. I told him he can't keep me locked up all day! He then said "Rory lay down" lol anyone that knows my dad knows he can't sit still ever and isn't patient at all! I told him I will drink my water and watch myself. The neighbors asked if we wanted to do lunch and we did (had Hu Hot and it was amazing) we then went to target to pick up some baby things to be prepared and grant was looking at going home outfits, but didn't find anything. We were going to go grocery shopping, but I was getting tired and wore out so he dropped me and aryssa off at home and went by himself. So overall everything is alright now, no contractions since Friday and that is great! My next dr is Tuesday so we will just go from there! Thanks to everyone that was thinking of us and praying for us it means a lot! Keep it going that carson stays put (at least for a week or two more)!

2 year old

2011-11-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

Aryssa Mae

I cannot believe you are 2! You love telling people you are 2 but only raise one finger :) We are working on you getting them both up. You are such an amazing girl and changed both mommy's and daddy's lives in so many ways. Your personality is so contagious and that giggle can stop the world. You love to sleep and as soon as your jammies are on you grab 2 monkies and yell "na-night" as you run down the hallway to your room. You give mommy big hugs and kisses then daddy, you lay down in your crib and always giggle and put your legs up so that we have to tickle you to put them down to "snuggle" up with your blanket. You solve the world's problems for a little while then drift off to sleep. You have a new love for big kid toys: babies, barbies, little people, your new fijit, play dough... the list goes on. If something scares you, you usually say "rawr" or "scary" and want a hug. Your facial expressions are one in a million and those blue eyes will keep daddy on his toes when you get big. You love to give your brother kisses and blow raspberries on mommy's belly, we will see how much you love him when he is born and screaming :) You can't quite say Carson it sounds more like "car-cer" but I am sure you will pick it up fast. Your smile brightens my day and I can't wait to get home to see you! I cherish our Tuesday's together and look forward to the weekends :) You are the love of my life and I cherish everyday we have together.

Relief

2011-10-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

Relief... That is what I feel right now. I had my 34 week appointment today (I will be 34 on Thursday) and my dr said everything looks great. I am measuring right on, and I am completely closed up :) I made her check since this was the exact appointment that I was admitted to the hospital with aryssa (at that appointment I was 1cm and my water bag was right there) and she was born 3 days later at 34 weeks. My dr said she couldn't even get a finger in I was that closed. We did the ffn test again and she she said this will be the last one since they are not as accurate after 34/35 weeks. We also did the strep b test since we never got to do it last time b/c aryssa was early. So I am feeling relief, I am calm and know Carson is staying put for a while longer! my guess is still the week of thanksgiving, but who knows he may prove us all wrong and last longer! But yeah my appointment went great. I have gained a total of 19 lbs since my first visit. But 21 since the day I found out I was preggo. I went up at 8 weeks then lost 5 lbs after that so right now I have gained less than I did with aryssa. (26lbs)
So now I can relax for a while and breath easy preparing or little man to make his appearance :) ... In a couple weeks!

To brighten up your Monday

2011-10-17T11:15:00.001-05:00

To brighten up your Monday.... this was on my caller ID this morning at work. I guess the phone scammer couldn't come up with a better name to label his/her phone number. Lol have a great Monday :)

32 Weeks

2011-10-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

How far along? 32Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: total is 20bs
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: takes more and more time to roll over at night, and my knee and hip seem to bother me at times... but all worth it
Best moment this week: another negative on my FFN test.
Movement: movements are bigger and bigger since he is growing, more whole belly moves instead of kicks
Food cravings: none right now
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: No-- on Monday's before my shots i always feel really tight and contractions. they usually slow and calm by Tuesday
Belly Button in or out? getting shallower, but still considered in
What I miss: not much, bending over is getting hard
What I am looking forward to: meeting and seeing my little man. I am really interested in how aryssa with interact with him, she loves her baby dolls and i can't wait to see her as a big sister :)
Weekly Wisdom: relax
Milestones: 32 weeks :)

30 Weeks

2011-09-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

How far along? 30 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: total is 18 lbs

Maternity clothes? yes

Sleep: having issues with my knee that tends to wake me up and keep me up, also remembering not to drink stuff after 8pm otherwise I am up 2 or 3 times a night at least

Best moment this week: I love being pregnant so it is all the best moments, also getting a negative on my FFN test again.

Movement: all the time. he is a mover and a shaker, sometimes in the middle of the night and i just lay there and enjoy :)

Food cravings: potatoes

Gender: BOY!!!!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? getting shallower, but still considered in

What I miss: not much, bending over is getting harder, but all worth it

What I am looking forward to: meeting out little man (but not for at least 7 more weeks!)

Weekly Wisdom: relax

Milestones: 30 weeks, into the 3rd trimester already. Preparing for little man more and more every day.

We are still enjoying every second of this pregnancy since I know how fast it can end. Carson loves to roll around and is now putting his little toes in my right ribs... thanks... lol. He has his patterns, likes to roll around at night after I get up to go to the bathroom, or after Grant gets up to shower and right before he wakes me up Carson is usually up and tossing around while I am still laying down.

Grant also keeps reminding me to stay calm and relax. It is so hard not to think, "what if" -- he comes early, what will we do with aryssa, who will watch her, how will it effect her?!?! just those goofy questions that I have no control over. I think about it a lot and know that isn't good. I need to let go and let God as they say. Put the trust in his hands, I have a baby growing in me that is all that matters, everyday is one day stronger. We are just praying with the shots every week and FFN test every other week that we will be prepared or delay his arrival. My guess is he is going to come the week of Thanksgiving. It seems to be a Kolbe thing. All three of us (my sister in laws) had our first children by a holiday. K- was Labor Day, E- was Thanksgiving, and Aryssa was Halloween. So my guess is that week. I could go for November 22, that is my sister and brother in laws anniversary :) But he will come when he is ready. But grant thinks the same thing, he said he just has a feeling that he will be here just before thanksgiving. What a gift to be thankful for :)

Baby boy's name

2011-08-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

So we have decided on a name for our baby boy... actually I should say we have decided to tell our name for baby boy. We have known it since before we found out it was a boy, but have kept it to ourselves for a while. so drum roll please....
Carson Martin Kolbe
We just like the name Carson, and Martin is after my grandpa that just passed away August 24th. I knew I had wanted to use some part of my grandpa's name as the middle name, but couldn't decide on which one. His name was Hilary Martin Gebhart. I had thrown around the idea of using his last name but gave my husband the choice of which name he wanted to use, and Martin is what he chose. I love it :) My grandparents were a huge part of my life growing up and Aryssa is named after my Grandma Clarissa (Hilary's wife, who passed away almost 8 years ago) and I knew I wanted to honor them. Although I was not able to tell my grandpa this before he passed away I know he is looking down hand in hand with my grandma smiling away.
I have a picture that has been on my fridge for 2-3 months now from when aryssa was a little baby at Easter and we took a 4 generation picture. Grandpa, Mom, Me, Aryssa. Aryssa loves to carry that picture around and says Papa (which I usually say yup Great Papa), Meme (my mom) it is so cute, hopefully she will remember something about him this way.
Well that is all for now, just wanted to post little man's name :)

24 weeks

2011-08-18T19:35:00.000-05:00

How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: finally gained weight +6 lbs
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: having issues with my knee that tends to wake me up and keep me up
Best moment this week: everything!
Movement: he is starting to have his patterns. And getting stronger everyday.
Food cravings: potatoes
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: finally deciding on a middle name and announcing it
Weekly Wisdom: just breath
Milestones: 24 weeks today "viability" as they say
I will try posting a pic tomorrow. It has been a rough week. My grandpa isn't doing well. He had a fall and the drs think he also had a stroke. Right now we are all just praying for him and hoping he isn't in pain. I know it is his time and I am sure my grandma is ready to be reunited with her love of her life in heaven... but it still sucks. Anyway before I really start crying I will just end this with my prayer request. May God make this an easy transition for him and welcome him with open arms.

20 week survey

2011-07-25T17:25:00.000-05:00

So I know this is late and all, but here is the 20 week survey (written at 20weeks 4 days)

How far along? 20 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: still down the 5 lbs from the beginning
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: alright... getting up to go to the bathroom 1 or 2 times
Best moment this week: seeing my little baby at the ultrasound
Movement: active in the morning and then again after aryssa goes to bed and i am relaxing on the couch
Food cravings: coleslaw!
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: shopping for more boy clothes :)
Weekly Wisdom: just enjoying every second of this pregnancy
Milestones: 20 weeks! halfway done.... even though i am pretty convinced i am going to go early (just hoping not AS early as Aryssa) i told grant at 18 1/2 weeks in all reality i was probably half way done then!
everything is going great. our little boy was 10 oz at the ultrasound and measuring great! They did an internal ultrasound also to measure the cervix (in case it was shortening meaning preterm labor) but it measured great and was over 4.
So i will leave you with a picture of our little boy :)

It's a...................

2011-07-20T16:46:00.000-05:00

Smile :)

right hand over right eye, relaxing

Beautiful ... 10 oz big .... baby BOY!!!!!!
He is doing wonderful heartbeat of 150's and just a cute little thing already!!! He had no problem showing us his goods either! I had a feeling it was a boy and I was right. I think grant thought it was a boy too, but liked saying girl just to disagree with me! -- MEN-- lol
I will have to do my 20 week survey with a pic tomorrow.... still no weight gain, but my Dr isn't concerned.

24 hours!

2011-07-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

Do you know how hard it is sitting at work knowing that in 24 hours you get to see your baby again... AND hopefully find out the gender!!!!!?!??? It is very hard. I don't know how I am going to make it through tomorrow. Plus luckily my mom got bumped down in her shift so she is on 3rd again this week... that means she gets to come to the ultrasound with us!! (well OK not so lucky for my mom). At least I have off and Aryssa will keep me busy and hopefully keep my mind off of it. Plus God I think it was easier with her because we didn't find out the gender at 20 weeks, and when we did at 28 weeks no one knew we were going to find out ( Grant and I decided 3 days before on a whim to find out) we were planning on not telling anyone the gender and keeping it to ourselves... OK OK I know that only lasted 4 days but don't hate! So I think it is harder because all I think about is seeing my baby again and finding out if the little bean I have been carrying for (almost) 20 weeks is a boy or a girl. We have first names picked out for both, but I don't know yet if I want to share them... that could be my one thing I keep secret until the end.... but we will see! I loved talking to Aryssa in my belly and always calling her by name and I think I would slip up at some point when I am out in public or with family. Grant thinks this one is another girl, he swayed for a little while thinking maybe boy, but went back to girl. I think boy, but I also did with Aryssa! The only thing I hate is no matter what the gender is someone will always have something to say....
Girl-- "uhhh, so are you going to keep trying for that boy?"
Boy-- "Now you have the "perfect" family a boy and a girl"
What does it matter?!?!? I am more than happy with whatever God gives us. We are pretty sure we are done after this one (I always said 3 but am happy with 2, Grant is happy with 2), so I don't care what we have. If it is a girl we have loads of clothes all in the same season, and if it is a boy I have 30% off at Kohl's :)But whenever you tell someone the gender they always feel they need to comment... thanks but no thanks- keep them to yourself.
It is the same thing when you start dating someone....
"when are you getting engaged?"
"when is the wedding?"
"when is the baby coming?"
"when is the next baby coming?"
Why can't people just smile and say congrats??!?!!--- OK sorry for that little rant, Grant did say I am more hormonal this time around :/
OK moving on!! We have some super busy weekends coming up, this weekend we have a party in Waupaca for one of Grant's co-workers daughters. She had a tumor and she finished chemo and is doing great so it is a "Life is Good" party. It should be fun, only 4 of Grant's co-workers are going, but they are the fun ones :) Then Sunday I have Grant's cousins baby shower, Next weekend free. August 6th we have a picnic Christmas party with Grant's mom's side of the family, the 13th my mom's work picnic at the Timber Rattlers game, 20th Grant's cousins wedding... then finally an open weekend!
So if I am not around I apologize!
Anyway I will be sure to update with the baby's gender as soon as we let family know!
My shots have been going good also. I have noticed that I seem to get pretty dizzy about 2 hours after the shot. I know that it says that is a side effect, I don't remember it from the first week, but last week it was pretty bad. I haven't done it yet today, waiting for Wendy to get into the office to do it for me, otherwise wait until I get home so that Grant can do it.
LOL funny story for those of you not on facebook I had put this as my status:
~~ "Love is your husband giving you a shot in your butt :) lol ok so he stuck it in but wasn't able to inject it... That's good enough for me!"
This was my sisters comment
~~ "Amanda Moschel Popp lol. i'm thinking he "injected" something a few months ago that got you this shot in the first place... ;)"
LOL LOL, isn't that great!!! she had 8 people like the comment! I about died reading it! So giggle a little :)

PS> by the time I finished posting we are down to 23 hours :)... not that I am keeping track or anything!

17 Weeks

2011-06-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry no picture today I forgot my ipod at home.
Pregnancy survey!
How far along? 17 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: still down the 5 lbs from the beginning
Maternity clothes? yes
Sleep: still using my body pillow to help keep my hips in place a little longer and not have to be adjusted everyday
Best moment this week: actually feeling pregnant and not just chubby
Movement: yup i know for sure now i have felt it.... baby was wiggly this morning... ok maybe because i had coffee :)
Food cravings: cake! my b-day was last week and my mom made me yummy angel food and grant picked up a cake too
Gender: thinking boy! i have a boy name picked out but no girl. Gender ultrasound July 19th
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: GENDER ULTRASOUND!
Weekly Wisdom: just enjoying every second of this pregnancy
Milestones: first for sure movement :)

All is well over here. I started my first shot (17p) this past Tuesday and I have to say it was not bad at all. I was expecting a sting when it was given but I only felt the needle poke and that was it. I will have to get it every week from now until 36/37 weeks. Luckily I was given all the supplies so I can give them to myself. Even luckier, the chiro I work for used to be a nurse, and our massage therapist is a nurse so they are both willing to give them to me. I know it is easy now, but when my belly gets all huge I just don't think I would be able to turn that way to do it myself (they have to go in your side/butt). And Grant has already told me he will not be doing it. lol men! Other than that just looking forward to my long weekend with the 4th. Since it is on Monday we get Monday off and since Jamie and I don't work Tuesdays we get that off too! :)
So Happy 4th of July to everyone and enjoy your weekend :)

15 weeks!

2011-06-16T11:56:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy survey!
How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: at my last appointment I had lost 5 lbs from the day we found out
Maternity clothes? yes pants and shirts, they are just sooo comfy!
Sleep: started using my body pillow to help keep my hips in place a little longer and not have to be adjusted everyday
Best moment this week: might have felt some movement
Movement: thinking i felt a couple flutters, but not for sure
Food cravings: not really
Gender: i don't know!! i have a boy name picked out but no girl. Gender ultrasound July 19th
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: in less than 5 weeks we find out the gender!
Weekly Wisdom: just enjoying every second of this pregnancy
Milestones: 15 weeks :)
I just realized I never updated after my last appointment. Well baby k 2.0 is doing amazing. HB was strong at 162 bpm and was 2 inches long. Here is a ultrasound picture from that appointment.

So my next appointment is June 23rd (my b-day!!) and at this appointment I will be learning how to give myself shots! Since Aryssa was so early (water broke at 33w 5d, and delivered at 34w) and there was no warning she was coming my dr wants me to have weekly shots starting at between 16 and 20 weeks. The shot is called 17p. and basically it is a high dose or progesterone and it will "help keep my uterus calm" so that it doesn't start contracting and resulting in pPROM (preterm premature rupture of the membranes--- water breaking before 37 weeks gestation). I have done a ton of research on it and everything I read pushed me to doing the shot. Luckily the dr is going to teach me how to administer it myself so that I don't have to go to the office every week to just get the injection. I am pretty confident I will be able to do it to myself, and if not I know that Wendy (our massage therapist, who is also a nurse) would do it for me, or Jamie (we was studying to be a nurse before becoming a chiropractor) would be here for me. I know for sure Grant will not do it, I don't know for sure if he has a needle fear or just not comfortable, either way I think I will be able to do it. So that is the news on this end. Looking forward to a fun filled weekend!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

One of those days

2011-05-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

I have to say I think hormones are getting the best of me. I had one of those days at work that I am not going to get into and believe after my little sob session 20min ago I believe I got it all out and am preparing myself for another day at work ... Hopefully making it through!
But on to great things! Today I am 12 weeks!! Into the second trimester today!!! I have my 12 week appointment and ultrasound tomorrow! Can't wait to see my little bean again, and grant has off so he gets to go with me! It isn't until 3pm so sucky that I have to work the whole day before going into the dr. Oh well like I said earlier hopefully it goes by fast and I don't have anymore emotional break downs! And as soon as I can I will try and post my new ultrasound pics :)

11 Weeks

2011-05-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy survey!
How far along? 11 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: not sure but i don't think any
Maternity clothes? for sure pants, they are just way more comfortable.
Sleep: just getting up usually once or twice a night
Best moment this week: 1 week away from 12 week u/s
Movement: i don't think yet
Food cravings: not really
Gender: thinking girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: next weeks appointment to see how baby k 2.0 is doing
Weekly Wisdom: just enjoying every second of this pregnancy
Milestones: 11 weeks :)

So everything is going really good over here! I had about 2 weeks of bad morning sickness. And even when i say bad it wasn't too awful. I just felt like crap all day long and nauseous, i never threw up, but i did gag a couple times. Nothing compared to some women i know!

I have had this written for the past 4 weeks....

2011-04-28T20:15:00.000-05:00

I have had this post written in my head for the past 4 weeks. Why you ask....
b/c 4 weeks ago we found out we were

My estimated due date is 12/08/11.... maybe this time I will actually make it until december!!

Well we had our first dr appointment today and everything looked great I am 8 weeks today and baby was measuring at 7weeks 4days so pretty darn close. Baby has a great strong heartbeat and looks like a little gummy bear :)
I am so happy I can finally share my secret! That was a long 8 weeks! So now we just sit and grow our little baby k 2.0 :)
our first picture of our little baby!

I don't like being a single mom

2011-03-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

Lol grant is gone to Vegas for work and I am a single mom for the weekend. I hav to say I gift credit to all the single moms out there. Me and aryssa are handling it fine but it does get lonely after a while only talking to a 17 month old! But grant comes home tomorrow morning so that will be nice!
There is no new news on the baby front yet, but I will keep this updated as soon as there is any news! We are just letting things happen I need to stop stressing about it and just relax :)
Well today we are going to my parents house for a birthday supper for my niece Amelya and my dad. So that will be fun and it gives us something to do while grant is gone.
So have a great day everyone! Talk to you soon!

One of "those" days

2011-03-16T20:56:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of "those" days? Yeah that was my day today just one of those days. Work was work and it seemed never ending and I guess it was I was in at 730am and left at 7pm and didnt have a break besides running to the bank and even that is only 2 blocks away. I was so glad to be home tonight and to see aryssa's smiley face. So glad that Thursday's are an early day ( not really I guess I still work 730-230) then I can come home and hopefully go for a walk or something to enjoy this beautiful Wisconsin weather we have been having. Then on Friday I get to get done early again (330) because I have to get home because the cable guy is coming. For any of those who know my husband you know how long and how many times I asked for cable, well I had given up ( about 3 years ago) well this week he decided we should get cable. So Friday they are coming. The highlight to my week I guess! Next week is going to be crazy, grant is going to las Vegas for work Wednesday - Saturday so it will just be me and the roo. It will be so weird without grant, but we will make it through! So not much else goin on just relaxing and praying for the weekend! Till next time hopeing you don't have one of "those" days!

Cute Videos

2011-03-10T20:14:00.000-06:00

Here are two cute videos of my little Aryssa
Aryssa and her Daddy
Aryssa and her "uncle Ernie" ( my parents dog)

enjoy everyone :)

No 11-11-11

2011-03-06T15:35:00.000-06:00

No 11-11-11 pretty much says it all. We didn't get preggo this month, but thats ok we will just try again. I decided I need to blog more and not make this a once a month thing that either says yay or nay. So moving on!
It is march already! Were has the time gone?! I am sitting here hoping for warmer weather, but we know Wisconsin and that probably won't happen for a couple more weeks yet!
Aryssa is turning into such a big girl. She seems to be learning new words every day. She can say hi, mom, dad, hat, Ernie ( my parents dog) I think she can say more but they are not as clear. One thing she does do super cute… aryssa used to stand at my feet and scream to be picked up. Well I would say no and " you need to say up" well when I did that I must have nodded my head because now she will stand at your legs and nod her head to have you pick her up! Even if we are sitting on the couch she comes over nods her head and we will put her on the couch. How cute is that?! I can't believe she is 16 months already that time has flown by. She is such a good girl and she still loves to sleep usually goin to bed by 8 and sleeping until 730/8am on the weekends! And usually will take one or two 1-3 hour naps I love my great sleeper! Not much else going on around here just relaxing on this wonderful Sunday! Hope you all have a great week and I promise I will be back soon :)

Nope

2011-02-05T16:27:00.000-06:00

The title pretty much sums up our first month of "not preventing". It sucks but really did I expect to get pregnant after one month no... But did I secretly wish it would happen... Of course. It only took us three months of trying with aryssa so I am cautiously optimistic that it won't take too long this time around as well. And then whenever I start to feel down about not getting pregnant right away I think of all the women out there who can't have any babies and I usually snap out of my slump.
Not much else going on around here aryssa is now a full fledged walker! She has been walking since 13/14 month but after her 15 month birthday it has been all walking and just occasional crawling and not the other way around like before. I still can't believe she is already 15 months! She has such a cute personallity and loves to dance with me :) here are some stats from her 15 month appointment
22 lbs 6oz 45%
33 1/2 inches long 85%
she is such a tall skinny little lady!
She is also cutting molars all four at the same time. It doesnt seem to bother her too much, but she always seems to get a stuffy nose when she teeths, I guess that is better than being crabby and not sleeping though. So that's it for now we are preparing for he big game tomorrow… GO PACK GO!

Gonna be better

2011-01-22T17:39:00.000-06:00

Gonna be better that is my goal. To be a better blogger. I had a nice long blog post all typed up (twice because I hit the wrong button) on my iPod touch from grant and aryssa but lost them both so here I am just doing it right online and not using the "cool" app I found!
So Christmas was great here like I said grant and aryssa got me a iPod touch and we got grant Kinect for his xbox 360. Aryssa got a whole bunch of stuff, clothes, toys and lots of hugs and kisses :)
Ohhh exciting news ... In hopefully a couple more weeks we should be getting our brand new couch! New Years day had some pretty good sales and I finally talked grant into looking with me which of course turned into buying. But I am so excited to get it like I said probably sometime in February.
I guess the only other news I have is that we are officially not preventing a baby :) I hate saying "trying" for a baby it seems to add so much pressure so I just say we are not preventing a pregnancy anymore. So hopefully we can make aryssa a big sister soon :)
So I promise and make it my new years resolution to be a better blogger. We will see how long it lasts though :/

life as we know it

2010-12-05T21:43:00.001-06:00

"that was a really nice service. when they walked out that last time... I was at piece..." this is what i heard from my husband as we drove home from his grandpa's funeral. the words almost brought tears to my eyes. it was a beautiful service and i think it was everything that grant needed. it was sad (what funeral isn't?) the idea of death is never fun. i was sitting in church and i said a little prayer to my grandma. i asked her comfort grandpa mueller, show him the "ropes" of his new home. and of course i cried, funerals just bring back the day of my grandma's and how much i miss her and hate that aryssa never got to meet her. anyway after i said my prayer i felt at piece. and it was just such an amazing moment when grant was talking to me on the way home when he said he felt at piece. just one of those moments you know that God helped you with.
so lets see what else is going on in our life.... not too much. getting ready for christmas. we put up our christmas tree saturday. it looks so cute! we got it all out and up when aryssa was napping we knew she would try and "help" us and we didn't want it to be a stressful time! so when aryssa got up from nap we both walked her out to the living room and showed her the tree and lights. she loved them! her eyes lit up and and she smiled so big! we plan on wrapping presents and getting them under the tree, but my guess is that we may have to put them in our window to keep them away from our little busy body!
today i also went to walmart to get a bunch of pics developed that my cousin Ashley took for aryssa's one year birthday. they all looked so cute. my sister and cousin both take such amazing pictures, i wish i had half the talent that they do!
so i guess that is it for now. i have to say i am kind of proud of myself remembering and giving myself time to blog lately :)

ONE MORE THING! I would like to say a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful husband Grant tomorrow. 12-6. he turns the big 26 tomorrow. Happy Birthday babe i love you! (yeah i know he doesn't read this but oh well!)

what do you say?

2010-11-29T10:22:00.006-06:00

God has gotten another angel. friday morning grant's grandpa passed away. and i feel like a total idiot b/c me, my mom and sister were all shopping for black friday. grant had called me about our bank account number to pay a bill, and was texting me random stuff, and then he called again and here is the convo...

M: "what do you want now?!" i was saying it sarcastically

G: "my mom just called".... his mom had called tuesday evening letting us know things were getting bad and that is wouldn't be too long

M: feeling horrible
G: " grandpa passed away this morning"
M: "awww honey i am sorry..."

yeah so i felt like total crap... i know he knew i was kidding, but who wants to call with bad news and be greeted by "what do you want now" i was laughing when i said it and i know he knew i was joking, but it was just crappy i guess.

so back to my title what do you say?!?! i am back at work and everyone is asking how my thanksgiving and weekend were. i keep saying good... i mean who wants to hear about death... but then i feel bad for not saying anything like it isn't fair to his grandpa not acknowledging it. i don't know it is just an iffy situation i think. plus i don't think grant has really dealt with it yet. he isn't talking about it at all. once and a while he will make a comment, " i need to go shopping tuesday to get a black belt i can't wear my brown one" or "i think i am going to wear that new shirt and tie i got for that interview". the service is on tuesday and i would really like for him to acknowledge the fact that he is gone but i know men are different. i tried asking him about it and he just says i did deal with it. i told him it is okay to be sad and he says i am sad... but nothing else. so i guess i will just be there for him and try and stay strong and when and if he breaks down i will be there.

i am hoping i can make it through the funeral... i don't do well with funerals. i keep remembering by grandma's funeral and the feelings of that day. i also keep bracing myself for when my mom is going to give me that call saying my grandpa passed. he is getting very tired, and actually fell this past friday also. had to get stitches and everything.... so i am dreading the day my mom calls with that news. i know he has had an amazing life, and just wants to be with his wife again and i am being selfish by wanting him here..... but still i don't want to get that call!

anyway enough of the sadness i guess. i just ask you say a prayer for grant's granpa and family to help them through this tough time.

Rest in Piece Grandpa Mueller. Here is a picture of most of (minus tim who was in iraq) the grandkids 2009 christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Mueller.

2 Years ago today...

2010-11-08T11:18:00.005-06:00

2 years ago today i was preparing for my wedding. I can't believe we have been married for 2 whole years already. here is a little background for those who don't know us all that well.

grant and i met through a mutual friend in high school. well actually she told me there was this cute guy grant she wanted me to meet, then 2 days later started dating him like most high school romances it lasted a couple days. then on January 12th 2001 we went on our first date to Double Take. we held hands (i was 15 he was 16). funny thing about the first date, we were supposed to go out earlier, but Grant failed his drivers test the first time and we had to wait 2 weeks for him to re-take it :) after the movie we stopped by his high school b/c some people were hanging out. then he came to drop me off at home, and at 1036pm he was surprised when i asked if we were going to go out again. he said so you wanna go out? of course i said yes. that was almost 10 years ago!

we have been through so much together and every second has been amazing. we have a beautiful daughter and you still make me laugh so much! i love the little notes you write me ( i was lucky to find my happy anniversary note on my car seat this morning :) )

I love you more then yesterday and will love you more tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary!

Aryssa Mae

2010-10-30T20:47:00.007-05:00

Aryssa Mae.... today you are 1! i cannot believe how fast this year has gone. it seems like just yesterday mommy went into her dr appointment telling them she felt "weird" today. next thing you know i am admitted to the hospital and my water broke. ( if you want to read that story check out aryssa's hospital post and other posts leading to the birth post)

back to today. Aryssa had been sick with a fever the past couple of days and i was really worried she would be sick for her first birthday but she was feeling much better.

we didn't know for sure what we were going to do and kinda let aryssa decide her day. well she didn't want to nap in the morning at all so we kinda got a late start. after her nap we went to eat lunch aryssa picked mcdonalds, (our child loves chicken nuggets) we then went to the mall and let aryssa spend a gift card at build a bear to get her doodles an outfit. so i held up two outfits and aryssa picked a very cute dress for her bear! we had to make a quick run to sams club to pick up some wipes then we were off to the park. there is a super nice park by our house so we decided to let aryssa explore a little bit. she went in the swings a little bit and down the slide with daddy, but since we are in WI and the weather wasn't too warm we didn't stay too long since aryssa was just getting over her fever. so then off to walmart to finish up some grocery shopping. we let aryssa pick out another birthday present then came home. we ate supper then let aryssa try her cake! we got some great video and great pictures you can check out the pictures on my facebook page if we are friends :)

overall it was an amazing day.... grant and i were talking and thinking back to one year ago.... our beautiful baby girl had just arrived 6 weeks early, the smallest baby either of us had ever seen much less held... and now we are in amazement at how healthy strong and wonderful she is.

so here are some wonderful facts for aryssa on her 1st birthday.

~ you love your monker mash as we call him. you just cuddle up with him and go right to sleep at night

~ you are getting very brave and can take one step...then you get all excited and fall down

~ you can say dada, mama, and uh-oh. i think you are also trying to say hi

~ you love to crawl and stand up on anything, once you started moving there was no stopping you

~ your eyes melt our hearts.... i could stare into those baby blues for hours and not blink

~ you love to scrunch your nose and sniff.... we call it your super sniffer face

~ you love to give kisses, when i ask for a kiss and say mmmm you lean your face into mine

~ i can't imagine my life without you

so on that note i am gonna leave you all for the night. it has been a little crazy around here with aryssa being sick and preparing myself for her turning one... i just keep thinking she is now closer to 2 than she is a newborn.

Check out what i did!

2010-09-04T09:02:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone! i have finally gotten my tattoo!!! i have always wanted to get aryssa's footprint tattooed after she was born, but of course had to wait until after i was done nursing. they won't tattoo you if you are nursing because you could get an infection they probably don't know if that can be passed in breast milk. well anyway i have been done nursing for 2ish months now, and finally figured out what i wanted. i got aryssa's footprint, her name, and one of her birth flowers, (cosmo). i love it! exactly what i wanted!! i got it on top of my left foot, ( i already have a snap dragon flower on the top of my right foot in memory of my grandma.) you can check out this post if you want to see it and my other tattoos. anyway like i said i had finally figured out what i wanted, and since both grant and i had off on friday i thought that would be a perfect day. and since aryssa starts swim lessons in 2 weeks if i didn't get it soon i would have to wait until swim lessons were done so that i didn't wreck my tattoo. so off we went to the tattoo shop i brought in aryssa's footprint from the hospital, told the artist her name, and the birth flower i wanted, he found a pic online that i like, drew up a sketch and tada a beautiful tattoo :) so here it is!!
Here is a pic of the left side...and FYI the side of your foot is very tender!

Here is a close up of her name and foot print. the tattoo guy didn't put any of the cracks in the print because he said it sometimes looks goofy,(plus aryssa had super tiny feet! this is the exact size/ shape just without the lines) so he just shaded the whole thing without an outline or anything. i love it like this!here is the right side another portion of a flower around her name.

and here is a whole picture of the masterpiece. it is still pretty swollen but not too sore anymore.

so that was our adventurous Friday! lol today we are going to a local (my hometown) fair. grant got two free admission tickets from work so we figured why not! on sunday we have our nieces 1st birthday party, and then on monday we have our other nieces 3rd birthday party! so a busy weekend ahead! i am off to shower and get ready to go to the fair! have a great long weekend everyone!!

where did time go

2010-08-28T09:53:00.003-05:00

where did the time go?!?!?! i can't believe i can blink and on monday my baby will be 10 months already!! 10 months that is two full hands!!!!!!! she is still crawling everywhere and standing up on everything, her new thing is to try and let go and see how long she can just stand there. as of right now it is not very long, but she still keeps trying!

lets see not much else is new. work has been crazy busy lately and i really haven't had much time to come on here. plus last friday grant and i had off so we had a wonderful family day!! we went to the NEW zoo in green bay then to the green bay packer hall of fame and stadium tour. it was a lot of fun! aryssa loved checking out the animals at the zoo. she loved looking at the goats and the giraffes. sadly though the mommy giraffe gave birth that night and the baby died :( but it was still really cool to see them. the daddy was 16 feet tall and the mommy was about 14. plus fun fact for you did you know that for every foot tall the giraffe is that is about 1 inch of tongue?? yeah so the daddy giraffe had like a 12 inch tongue!! it was kinda creepy! but like i said aryssa loved them she just kept looking at them and checking them out. it was such a great family day.

Aryssa cuddling with her new stuffed animal from the zoo! then at the packer hall of fame we did the stadium tour. that was really neat. we didn't get to go into the tunnel because it started raining really hard and the field flooded! in the 7 years our tour guide was there it was only the 2nd time he saw it get that bad! i will post some pics at the end of the post for you all to see :) anyway we have a free swim lesson today so i better get stuff together for that!! have a great weekend everyone!

Flooded Lambeau Field!!!!!

My two favorite Grant's!! My husband Grant wearing Ryan Grant's Jersey, and Aryssa wearing a pink Ryan Grant Jersey (Ryan Grant is a running back for the Green Bay Packers)

So Cute!!!!!

9 months

2010-07-26T17:17:00.005-05:00

So aryssa isn't 9 months until friday but tuesday was her 9 month appointment, and picture time at my sisters house again!

(Here is a little sneek peek at one picture my sister took yesterday of course this is from my camera phone, and hers are way more amazing, but those will come later!)

She is ..... 16 lbs 11 oz (20%) 28 in (70%) and her head is 42.5 cm (20%) dr said she is looking great and doing soooo wonderful :)

~ it still amazes me that she started out at just 5lbs 4 oz 18.5 in
How does 9 months go by so fast!?!? I still remember the day we found out we were pregnant, and now we have a 9 month old.

so some fun facts for aryssa

--- you love to crawl! you are so proud of yourself when you turn around and giggle at us after you crawl away

--- you now "chase" us when we leave the room... thank goodness daddy installed that baby gate the day you scootched a little bit!

--- you now have 4 teeth, middle bottom two and top front two... the top ones are barely poking through, but it counts!

--- you love to eat!!! you love chicken patties, noodles, waffles, pancakes, all veggies, and all fruit!

--- sometimes you get sick of eating one thing, so i throw down some puffs, and you eat a couple then go crazy on the original item... kinda silly!

--- you will fake cough if no one is watching you eat... made mom and dad jump like crazy the first couple times you did it

--- your smile brightens my day every morning when you wake up!

--- your giggle is sooooo contagious

--- you love outside time and going for walks, you stare and take everything in... you love to try and pick at just one piece of grass at a time

--- Mommy and Daddy love you soooooooooooooo much!

So everyone have a great week!

Hey all

2010-07-23T12:18:00.004-05:00

look at me blogging again. It is one of those days at work when you have to keep repeating to your self "i love my job... i love my job...??" lol both me and one of the dr's are pmsing, and it seems the male dr gets it right along with us! oh well i guess, just one of those days that i am super excited it is friday and can't wait to go pick up miss aryssa. speaking of aryssa, in one week she is going to be 9 months!!!!! holy moly!! she has her 9 month appt on tuesday so i will have to make sure i update then so that you all can see how big she has gotten. she is getting sooo good at crawling, and now has decided to sit up all on her own also. we have the baby gate all set up already, this week was the first time she chased us after we left the living room!

we also are going to go shopping this weekend for new car seats!!! i am sure she is almost 29inches, probably not close to the 22 lbs, but she is a tall one! so that is our job this weekend, luckily i have 2 20% off coupons for babies r us and they are running a special the more you buy the more you save, so we will see. well i am going to finish my lunch and enjoy the quite at work, i am alone for a while... peace and quiet.... here is a little aryssa to brighten up everyones day also!

Sitting up all by myself!

I LOVE TOAST!!!! (check out the amazing bed head lol)

Just too cute!!!

Forever and a day ago

2010-07-05T14:33:00.004-05:00

it has forever and a day since i posted so sorry folks. life has been crazy busy around here. Aryssa has a tooth popped through, and 2 more white spots. She is growing like crazy! at her 7 month NICU follow up she was 15lbs 15oz!!! getting so big. Her newest thing is getting on her hands and tippy toes and rocking. she is moving backwards and turning in circles, but not going forward yet. she has started to get on her hands and knees the past couple of days so i don't think it will be long before she is crawling. Luckily we have already installed a gate between our living room and kitchen so all we have to do is put it up when needed :)

Not much else is new, we have officially been in our house for a year and are still loving every minute of it. Work has been crazy busy for both grant and I. I seem to have time to read every ones blogs but not post my own... oh well. So really that is all i have right now. we are finally done with all our weddings this season, hopefully that will leave me some more time to keep up to date with everyone :)

So until then enjoy the latest picture of my beautiful baby girl, taken this past weekend while we were outside helping daddy grill :)

I love that her hair is now long enough for a ponytail :)

6 months already

2010-05-04T15:22:00.004-05:00

i can't believe that my baby girl is 6 months already. every parent always says that time goes by sooo fast and your child grows up sooo fast, but you never believe them until you have your own children. i am still in awe when i look at aryssa and can't believe she is mine. We had her 6 month appointment today.... she is 14 lbs 7 oz (25%) and 26 1/4 inches (75%) her head is 40 cm (3%) my baby has a little head i guess :)

aryssa is doing so amazing, it is hard to believe she was 6 weeks early. She LOVES to talk and coo...i guess she got that from her mommy :D and from the video that i shared she loves to giggle. she has to be in the right mood to give you a huge laugh, but she gives giggles away pretty easy now.

she can sit alone for like 5 seconds. she LOVES to roll from her back to her belly! the first couple days she started doing it it would be funny b/c we would walk out of the room and she would be laying on her belly checking out the ceiling, then we walk back in and she is on her belly smiling away and checking out her toys. one night we were just playing with her and she would roll onto her belly and then squeal with excitement. she loves being on her belly now and pushing herself way up. she hasn't rolled off of her belly yet, but i think that will be coming soon enough! we have also started cereal and fruits and veggies with aryssa. she does not like peaches! lol the face i got when she tried them was priceless. i thought she was just doing it, but then she started gagging after every bite... so no peaches for her i guess. she loved everything else she has tried, pears, applesauce, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, yams, squash. we have some bananas that we are going to try next. she is still nursing and doing wonderful, but i noticed that when i pump at work i don't have that great of a supply, don't get me wrong usually if i wait 4-5 hours i still pump about 4/5 ounces total. so that is still a wonderful supply, but when she gets bottles at the sitters she is getting 5.5 -6 oz. so i am a little short, but only once and a while i have to thaw some frozen milk for her the next day. i still have tons of frozen milk in the freezer my guess is 200-275 ounces. my goal is for her not to have to have any formula and so straight to milk when the time comes, but if she would have to for a little bit then so be it!

May is going to be sooo crazy for us. this weekend we are heading up to Waupaca to my parent's camper for mothers day and my mom's birthday. next weekend i have a wedding shower, the following is an open weekend. then it is memorial day weekend, i don't think we have any plans yet, but that can always change. then june we have a graduation party, then June 13th is aryssa's baptism.... i know i had mentioned it before about who we were going to have as god parents, well aryssa's god parents are going to be my mom, and grant's dad. then our next baby is going to be my dad and grant's mom. then if we have a 3rd baby i dunno we will cross that bridge when we get there! i know you don't see many godparent's being the grandparent's but when we were at the baptism meeting a couple of the parent's there had their grandparent's as their godparent's and they really liked it. plus we thought and prayed about our decision and it just felt right and seemed to fit perfect for us.
well i guess i better be going now, grant is on his way home from work, and aryssa is taking a nap and could be waking up soon she has been sleeping almost 2 hours now (she loves her naps!)
see you all next time! hopefully sooner than later :)

the sounds of a giggle :)

2010-04-13T21:06:00.002-05:00

ok everyone you have to check out the amazing video of aryssa on my facebook. who knew how much fun you can have with a old kool-aid container and dry noodles?!?!
aryssa is doing amazing and getting sooo big already. at her last in home nurse visit she was 12lbs 8 oz and 25 inches. so in 1 month she only gained 6 oz, but hey that is something! and quite the improvement from birth :D so enjoy the sounds of giggles.....

GIGGLES!

GO CHECK IT OUT...or don't b/c i wanna win!

2010-04-05T09:22:00.002-05:00

You gotta go check out my sisters blog... she is doing a week of giveaways!!!! but if you don't it is okay because i would love to win them all... and i am on one hot winning streak so watch out!

Also you have to also visit her blog on saturday april 10th because it is her birthday :D
So happy early birthday big sis!

we have been super busy lately so i haven't blogged, but aryssa is now 5 months doing soooo great! i will try to get on later for more of an update!

have a great sunny day!

4 months already

2010-03-02T15:41:00.004-06:00

i can't even believe how fast these last 4 months have gone by. before i had aryssa i never realized how fast time goes, but we just got home from her 4 month check up... yes i said it 4 months!!! she is now.... drummmm rooolllll
12 lbs 2 oz (25%) at birth 5lbs 4oz
24 3/4 inches (75%) 18 1/2 inches
her head is 38.6 cm (5%)
Here is her 4 month pic! i can't believe how big she is!

Here is a picture from her first bath at home she was about 1 1/2 weeks old... soooo little and scrawny.

Here is a picture at 4 months in the bath... the wash clothes are the same size!! look at that belly!
i can't believe how much she has changed it is sooooo crazy!
also today my sister came over and took some wonderful pictures of aryssa. i only looked at a couple on her camera but the ones i saw were sooo cute i can't wait to see the rest. aryssa did pretty good to, i think we got some smiles.

check out the amazing pics here!!! Facebook
lets see not much else is new here. just wishing for spring so we can go outside for once. i can't wait until grant can grill out and me and aryssa can sit outside with him. right now he just goes out and grills and we stay in the house. plus i want to get a swing for aryssa to hang up. gotta love wisconsin weather. well i better go aryssa is going to be getting hungry soon.. speaking of that i hear her now :)

Guess what we did today?!?!?

2010-02-16T19:29:00.002-06:00

Hello all i just had to do a quick update for you all. well today is tuesday and i always have off on tuesdays so i had to go to the mall to get grant's wedding ring inspected. while there i thought i should get aryssa's ears pierced..... so i called grant made sure it was okay to do with out him. he said it was fine b/c he didn't think he could handle her crying. awww! so we went to one of the mall shops and i filled out the paperwork and aryssa and i were sitting in the chair when i looked out into the mall walkway and who did i see?!?!?!? TIM!!! that's right grant's cousin tim who is deployed in Iraq came home last night for his R & R! we knew he was coming home soon and that he left last wednesday to get here, but i didn't know for sure when. so i jumped out of the chair and gave him a big hug. he met aryssa and kristin and i talked. it was crazy, i get goose bumps just thinking about what that moment had to feel like when he got off that plane. tim said it still doesn't feel real to him. his daughter feel right into place and they are a happy family of 3 for 2 weeks until he has to go back until august. so anyway i talked to them for a little bit, then got back into the chair for the ear piercing. Aryssa did GREAT!!! she cried a little, pretty much the same as when she gets shots she looks sooo cute. so without further ado...my little big girl with her new ear piercings :)

oh but first a cute picture from valentines day :)
"I love my earrings!!"

beautiful October earrings

My big little lady

2010-01-30T15:20:00.004-06:00

Some resent pictures of our little lady. This week she has really started to care about toys and playing it is sooo amazing to watch her little mind work. she even was cooing at herself today :)BIG SMILE!!

12 week picture! taken 1/22/10

enjoy!!!

so i wanted to give you all an updated picture of my little lady :)

Here I am!

2010-01-29T08:16:00.005-06:00

hello folks don't worry i am fine, just a busy busy new mommy! Aryssa is doing so wonderful, she is officially 13 weeks today. i took her 12 week pic last week and will have to post that to show everyone how big she has gotten.

lets see what have we been up to?!?!? well we have joined a church in Appleton and have started the process to get aryssa baptized. we are still undecided on god parent's and trying to let god speak to us at to which way to go. for any of you catholics out there i am sure you know the "rules" on baptism, one god parents has to be an "active and in good standing" catholic. i am not getting into it, i know and understand the reasoning behind it. i didn't until we went to our meeting last night, so i understand and agree with it. so now we are just praying and trying to decided which way we want to go.

um... oh i also had to contact angel dear this week. you got aryssa a animal blanket from them (animal head and then blanket body which is her "security blanket") i looked and one of the monkey heads had a hole in it, and stuffing was able to get out. i e-mailed them right away. we had just bought them in the beginning of October, and they were only washed like 3 times. it took a little bit, and 2 e-mails ( i don't think i used the right one the first time) and i was contacted yesterday that they are sending 2 new monkeys and a gift for my troubles. they are also sending pre-paid postage to send back the one with the hole in it so that they can see what happened. i was so happy b/c aryssa already loves to cuddle with her monkey :)

HUGE news!!! Tim is coming home!!!! ok for those who don't know the story tim is grant's cousin that is deployed in Iraq right now. Here is the original post right before tim left. as of right now he should be home around valentines day. no date known for sure, and he really can't share that online with the whole world for security reasons. but we are sooo excited to see tim again and so happy that he is safe. they are going to have a welcome back party when he is home and we already have my mom all set up to baby sit so that we can go to the party. of course he has to go back and finish his deployment but seeing him safe and sound in the middle is pretty amazing. i can't imagine how Kristin (wife) and Cienna (daughter) are handling it. and it is so awesome he gets to come around this time because Cienna just turned 1 on the 26th. Happy Birthday Cienna! what an amazing birthday present!
So i guess i will leave you all with that, i have a friends baby shower on Saturday... it kinda makes me think back to 12 weeks ago when i had mine, after aryssa of course :) and then she can meet aryssa and grant can have some quiet time at home. of course he is super excited b/c he said he is going to go grocery shopping. he loves going by himself b/c he said i waste time when i am with him... well you have to go down EVERY isle or you might miss something you needed :0)
soon i will post an updated pic of aryssa i promise!

Back to work

2010-01-09T14:41:00.005-06:00

my two favorite people :) my lovely husband and baby girl!

so going back to work wasn't so bad. monday morning was hard. i cried getting aryssa ready in the morning, and did pretty good when i was dropping her off. it took like 20 minutes but i knew she was in good hands. i also went over during my lunch break and spent an hour with her :)

this next week i am also only working m-w-f then the following week i will work m-w-th-f, and always have tuesdays off. so that is nice it will be our special day.

anyway i am so happy b/c aryssa can finally wear her new hat that Veronica at Hooked on you Hats made her :)

so check it out here she is

too adorable i know! i am so happy b/c now maybe people will realize she is a girl and not have to ask. Thanks again veronica i love it!!!

New Year

2009-12-31T17:08:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year everyone!!!!
I really don't know how we can top this year! we bought our house and had our super adorable little cutie pie!
aryssa is doing wonderful, at her 2 month check up she is (drum rollllllllllllllllllllllllllll) 9lbs 6oz and 22inches long!! she is doing amazing. if you don't correct her age she is in the 25% for height and 30% weight. and if you correct it, she is above average in both. she also had to get her shots at her appointment... i did pretty good. i teared up and i know i got really red, if i wouldn't have blinked i would have cried, but i held open my eyes to try and dry the tears. she did great though, i probably took it harder than her, but they say that always happens.

christmas was great. christmas eve not so much, i had the flu :( and i had it bad puking, pooping the whole nine yards. finally by christmas day i was better and we still got to go to christmas with grant's family. it was fun aryssa was in a cute little dress and was all festive :)

this week i am enjoying cuddling with aryssa... i go back to work monday. luckily i get to go mon-wed-fri for 2 weeks then full time after that, but i will continue to have off on tuesdays as of now, so it should work out perfect. today we went to michelle's house (that is who is going to watch aryssa for us). we dropped off diapers, wipes, extra clothes, and stuff like that. i know aryssa is going to be in good hands, and both her kids just loved aryssa and listening to her breathing/snoring. i already told grant he has to be super nice to me next week, because i may be an emotional wreck leaving her at first. luckily michelle lives 3 blocks away from where i work so anytime during the day that i need to go and stop in i can. hopefully i do good with it all, and that work is busy and keeps my mind busy i am going to have pics all over my desk and will brag about her all day long to the patients :)
so blogging world be nice to me next week!

Yesterday was my due date

2009-12-11T10:31:00.006-06:00

lol...i think it is so funny that yesterday was my due date and today my baby girl is 6 weeks old! Aryssa is doing soooo wonderful! yesterday a nurse came to our house to give her a synagis shot. synagis is not really and immunization, but medication to protect her against RSV. RSV is a horrible cold that hits the lungs, and with her being a preeemie they are at higher risk. so until april once a month a nurse will come to our house weigh, measure and give aryssa the shot. i would like to say aryssa is now.... (drum rolllllllll) 7lbs 6oz and 20.5 inches. so since last monday she gained 4oz. my little girl is growing so fast :) now i have to say i was pretty strong during the shot. i braced myself, and held aryssa's hand, and then she started to cry :( i have to say i didn't cry... i teared up and felt horrible but i know we are doing what is best for her. and since her next dr visit will be her immunization visit, i got a little preparation to that one, i know she is getting more than one that day :(
so we are just loving spending everyday together. we have had some busy days, but since this great snow storm and horribly cold weather in WI we have stayed put this week. it sucks that in 3 weeks i have to go back to work. that will be hard, but i only work about 4 ish blocks away from where aryssa is going (an in-home sitter) so i know i can go and stop in whenever i need to. the next couple weeks are going to be busy with Christmas right around the corner i am going to try and suck in every last second of my maternity leave.
and to leave you here is a couple pics of my growing baby girl :)
Aryssa in a new outfit from grandma

All the cousins! Dustin, Caitlyn, Breigh, Amelya, Aryssa. I babysat for my sister and we luckily got a great picture with all of them together. they love their little cousin aryssa, and did a great job helping me out during the day. even if every time she was sleeping they said "aryssa's awake can i hold her?" and i would look and she was sound asleep :) they got lots of cuddles in that day

here is a pic i took to put into a picture frame for grant that we put "daddy's little girl" on and gave it to him for his birthday. it now sits on his desk at work :)

Loving my family of 3!

2009-11-30T15:45:00.002-06:00

My title says it all i guess! we are loving our life as a family of 3. Aryssa is such a good baby it is amazing. she usually goes 3-4 hours between feedings and sometimes at night she will wait 5 hours already! it is amazing how fast they grow, today we had her 1 month check up and she sure has grown.....
@ birth--- 5lbs 4oz 18.5 inches
@ 1.5 weeks old--- 5lbs 8oz 18.5 inches
@ 2weeks 3 days--- 5 lbs 14 oz 19 inches
@ 1 month--- 7lbs 2oz 20.5 inches!!!!
it is sooo awesome how well she is doing!
thanksgiving was great we went to my aunt and uncles for a little while to let everyone meet her, but i didn't want to stay all night b/c of germs, and i didn't want to overwhelm her with all the people touching and holding her. we then went to grant's parents house for supper and it was only us and his one brother and his wife and baby. it was nice and aryssa did amazing :) i can't believe how fast time is flying by and that aryssa is 1 month old already. in 4 short weeks i will be going back to work.... i am going to spoil her rotten until then :) i think it is time to rock with her a little bit

Pure Bliss

2009-11-19T14:53:00.002-06:00

Hello all! last time we spoke i had a very short post, letting everyone know that aryssa was coming home. i can't believe that was a week ago already. here is how the day went. i was at work and i knew that she was going to be able to come home soon, but didn't know when soon was going to be. well tuesday the NICU dr called me and said that i should bring in her car seat so that they could do the car seat test during the night tuesday. the car seat test is done to preemies to see if they can handle sitting upright in a car seat for 90 straight minutes. since preemies are so small sometimes with them sitting upright there lungs gets smooshed and they have trouble maintaining their oxygen and breathing while being in the car seat. anyway the NICU dr told me to bring in the car seat so they can do the test so that when she is ready to leave she can leave. that made my heart pound knowing that was another thing checked off the list of "things to do before going home" so like normal grant and i went to the 730pm feeding and said good night to our baby girl and wished her luck on her car seat test. my plan for wednesday was to go to the 1030am feeding since they have rounds on wednesday mornings from 8-9am and no one is allowed to visit due to them talking loudly about all the patients, they want to protect every ones rights. so i was sitting at work and my cell phone started to ring.(at 930am) i was doing some work, so i ignored the call. as soon as i was done with the patient i listened to the message and it was Nicole Aryssa's NICU nurse that day. well my heart started pounding, but i didn't want to get too excited since on tuesday the NICU dr called me and just needed to ask me some questions. so i immediately call Nicole back and she said "so your plan is to come to aryssa's 1030am feeding right?" i say yes... Nicole " would you like to take aryssa home with you?" me-"OMG are you serious? i'm going to cry" well nicole goes on to say that the pharmacy needs to get a shot up to them and they have 4 hours from the time they request it. so nicole told me to get everything i needed to get done and come to her 130pm feeding and then we would go over all the discharge papers and we could take aryssa home.
i immediately ran to dr jamies adjusting room and said we get to take her home!!!! it was an amazing feeling. then i called grant... he answered and all i said was "are you ready daddy?" he was sooo excited. i told him to finish what ever he needed to at work since we couldn't get her until 130 anyway. he said " no i can't sit here knowing we can get her, i am leaving." so yeah 10 minutes later grant was out the door and on his way home. I worked until 1130, i think mainly to keep my mind busy i am not one to sit around and knew i would go crazy sitting at home just waiting. plus i had stuff i needed to get done at work since my maternity leave started then. so then i went home and grant and i hugged... and kinda stared at each other in awe that we were going to bring our baby home. we finished up some stuff at the house in preparation of her coming home, and then at 110 we left to bring her home.
we got to the hospital and went over the important information, make sure she is eating, don't shake the baby, and enjoy. so by 230 we walked out of the NICU with our daughter! when we got home we just stared at her, in disbelief that she was home and healthy. the rest of the day we cuddled, let her sleep and rest on her big day, and rocked in the recliner.
We are loving having our little girl home. the first night was a little rough... what was that noise... is she breathing... oh a little whine she must be starving! lol needless to say we all took naps on thursday :) our nights have been sooo much better now, i know that a little whine means nothing, but a good cry will mean she will eat more and sleep more. aryssa eats every 3-4 hours. she is getting better and better at nursing, but still gets pretty tired after she nurses. so if i know she didn't nurse too well, or am worried about the amount she could have gotten, then i pump and give her a bottle, so i know exactly the amount she is getting, and then i feel better knowing that she is still eating a good amount. she is up to amount 2 1/2 ounces from the bottle, but sometimes leaves the extra half in the bottle. all depends on her mood i guess.
i can't believe the joy that both grant and i feel, it is amazing to wake up and look at my baby in our room, to have her home is just .... words can't explain.
we had a dr's visit on monday, and would you believe Aryssa was... 5lbs 14 oz and 19 inches!!!
at birth she was 5 lbs 4 oz 10/30/09
at discharge from the NICU 5lbs 8.3oz 11/11/09
then at the dr 5lbs 14 oz 11/16/09
When she was discharged the NICU dr said that a good weight gain is 1 oz per day. well miss aryssa doesn't seem to be having a problem with that! and already grew 1/2 an inch!! goodness she is growing.
her next dr visit is 11/30/09 so we will see how much she grows by then.
Here is the link to my facebook photos again, i have all of her since we were home pics after the hospital pics.
well i am going to spoil my baby a little more now, she is currently in my moby wrap (thanks amanda) and cuddling on my chest.... i could stare at her all day long!

SHE IS COMING HOME!!

2009-11-11T09:58:00.000-06:00

hey all i just got the call that after aryssa's 130pm feeding we are going to take our baby home!!!!!!!!
i will try and update as soon as i can after we are home as a family!!!
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!!!

the week in review

2009-11-05T13:04:00.003-06:00

hey everyone! sorry i haven't updated in a while like has been busy!!! so aryssa is doing wonderfully. She has latched on to nursing and is taking a bottle like a champ. the most she has taken from me is 28mL and then was just tuckered out and had to take the rest from the feeding tube. for only being 6 days old she is doing awesome. she did have to go on the bili-bed for 1 day for jaundice, but now her levels are great so she hasn't been on it at all since. i keep asking if they have a projected go home date, but nothing so far. i can't believe that tomorrow she is going to be a week old already. where does that time go? lol
i am super excited for my shower this weekend also, to get some supplies and see what else we will need to get before she comes home. grant and i did go and get her car seat and stroller already, i just had to have it. i really don't know why but i felt so unprepared that i had to have something worth while just in case they would have said go ahead take her home...then what i wouldn't have had a car seat!! i don't know it was just one of those things i guess.
anyway here is a link to a whole bunch of pictures i posted on facebook.
i have also gone back to work already. i figured i would rather use the maternity leave for when she is home instead of at the hospital, plus my boss is super nice and understanding that i am just telling her what hours i want to work, and then go from there. what i have been doing is going to aryssa's 730am feeding then going into work at 9 and depending on the day then just going back for her 430pm feeding. it suchs being away that long, but i know then she is resting and getting stronger so she can come home. some patients at work can't believe i am back to work 5 days after having a baby, but the labor was smooth, and i am not sore at all. plus i think i am getting more rest being at work than i would have at home. at least here i am sitting at the computer and doing work. if i was home i would be running around and not just resting. so i am resting at work :) and jamie told me that was quite alright!
Today was an amazing day.... my nieces got to see aryssa!!!! no one under 18 is allowed in the NICU b/c of the H1N1 stuff and i think in general no one under 13 is allowed. anyways back on track here, dustin had a dr's appointment at 1005 today, and my sister said that she was going to walk the kiddos over to the NICU to show the girls where aryssa is. they are confused as to why aryssa didn't come home with me, they know i am not pregnant and i had the baby but they don't get why they can't see her or where she is. so today i skipped her 730am feeding and went to the 1030. just my luck that when i called this morning i thought her nurse was going to be nicole. (see nicole is a nurse that is by the books to the T doesn't stray off or anything. so i was worried what she would do or say when i asked about bringing her to the window to "meet" her cousins.) well nicole said she was only working until 7am and that Julie would be her nurse then. I was so excited b/c julie was super nice and i knew she would understand what the girls were going through. well i came in and said could we hold the feeding off a little bit so that they could see her. she said no problem i will "accidentally" have her wires disconnected so that you can get closer. it was so sweet and seeing those precious little faces peeking in the window just made my day. plus aryssa had her eyes open and was checking things out. the girls even made pictures to put up in her station, that i hung up after they left so that aryssa knew her cousins were thinking of her. i can't wait until they can actually meet her, they are going to be such great big cousins!
well i think that is all i have for now. of course i will keep you updated with everything going on!

Aryssa's Birth Story

2009-10-31T18:47:00.007-05:00

So here we go!! I guess an update first Aryssa is doing wonderful. When I talked to the NICU dr this morning she said that she thinks she will only have to stay 2 weeks. The reason she is in the NICU is because she hasn't wanted to eat yet. but i will get to that in the birth story... so here goes.

when i left you all it was 445pm thursday night. the evening continued as usual, the only thing i was getting was penicillin to help protect me and Aryssa from the strep b since my tests hadn't come back yet. around 7pm i was getting some contractions, but nothing severe, they would come and go and not consistent. My RN (ryan) asked if i wanted to be hooked up to the monitors to see the contractions but i said no b/c then i knew i was bed bound. So we continued on with our night just waiting. around 10pm i was getting some more contractions, and when they were strong ryan told me to keep it up, but again they were not consistent or worth being bed bound to "see" the contractions i knew i was having them i didn't need to see it also :) The next nurse came on at 11pm and came to check on me. ryan picked my nurses for me so i knew i had someone good. ryan left said good luck and to get ready. well at around 1am (like usual) i started getting more contractions, and thinking back would have been a great time to call my sister, but honestly i didn't think anything of it, and my mind wasn't that clear. so grant and i just rocked through them and hung in there. finally about 2am-ish. grant called the Rn b/c the contractions were strong and i wanted some Nubian. also my sister had told me to wait until i couldn't b/c then the Nubian would work better and the more you take the less the effect. well she gave me the Nubian in my IV at around 240am. and the contractions were still crazy, so she decided to check me. (they hadn't been doing any internal exams b/c of my water breaking so early, they didn't want to put any bacteria near the baby or cause an infection.) so Jen (RN) decided to check me.... i don't think i have seen some one's eyes get that big before. she looked up said don't move you are fully dilated! in the middle of a contraction i yell to grant CALL AMANDA RIGHT NOW! Jen rushed out of the room, and let the NICU and called my dr that i was ready to go. it seemed like 3 sec and my room became filled with nurses and people getting things all ready to go. luckily my dr was only 6 min away and she walked in and said " i thought we were going to induce you at 5am" but per usual aryssa wanted to arrive around the 1am mark. So she gets her gear on and the resident checked me again to see for herself and yup she said all i had was a little ridge, and that i was ready to go. the NICU warmer was all ready and the nurses and NICU dr were ready. i was thinking in my head, wait my mom my sister...they are on there way, but little lady had other plans. also while they were watching me having contractions, i saw they were taking the warmer out and remembered they had her bracelet on the tank. so mid contraction i say "hey wait her id band...her id band" the resident giggled ( she told me the next morning that at that point she new i was going to be a great mom mid contraction thinking about the baby already.) i also made the resident get my camera for grant since my mom and sister weren't there yet and of course that is what i was thinking about mid contractions as well... So all was ready and and my dr looked at me and said alright lets push. So about 305am-ish i started pushing. both my dr and the nurse had to remind me to stop breathing and push down. you don't think of that in the heat of things, your mind thinks breathing will make it better. well your mind is wrong sometimes :)

So i get the pushing down.... and again mid pushing i say the most random "oh man amanda was right it burns!" lol one thing my sister always said no one told me it was going to burn. and well the whole room got to know that amanda was right it does burn. lol well a couple pushes later at 315 am Aryssa Mae arrived. 5 lbs 4 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Grant cut the cord and i told him to follow her. he went to the warmer and they were checking her all over, i heard the NICU dr say oh great, great. looked at my dr no oxygen needed looks great. they put her on my chest for a few seconds and then had to get her to the NICU to do a good check. so grant followed them down there, as i was getting cleaned up and finished the whole placenta birthing.

Grant came back and said she was doing great and had some pics for me. i was feeling greatish i mean i did just have a baby. no stitches at all and the only issue was some bleeding that they had to give me drugs to get the clotting started. Then my sister and mom walk in, my room was already back to normal and they look and i said it's done...she came already. it sucked b/c i really wanted them to be here and i know my sister really wanted to come. but aryssa was ready when she was ready and there was nothing we could do. well they checked me and made sure i was all cleaned up and then we got to go to the NICU to fully meet my little girl. it was amazing, she is perfect. you can't explain that moment to anyone...words just don't seem to fit. a perfect gift from god.

well not that you know it or anything but it is later saturday night now, we have been going to the NICU at every feeding. they say she needs her rest in between feedings, and that we can come down whenever but they would like her to stay in her incubator between feedings so she rests solidly. usually we go down and i get to change her diaper (5lbs 1.6oz @ 745pm saturday) and get stats if needed. after the feeding we usually sit there for quite a while snuggling and passing her back and forth to get our loves in until the next feeding. i don't think they mind that as long as she gets a good amount of rest in between feedings anyway. she is eating every 3 hours as of now. and now they have been having me try and get her to latch on while they give her food through the feeding tube. to try and signal her brain, and the last couple times she has tried latching on and sucking a little bit. they said it is still a lot of work and any progress is great. plus me just being there gives her the smells and atmosphere even if she is eating from the tube yet. my milk hasn't come in yet so they have to supplement with formula for now... i keep praying every time i pump that there will be something, but i have to remind myself that it doesn't come in 2 sec after delivery... even though the first time i pumped i got a ton since not much.
anyway grant and i are going home tomorrow, we are going to get stuff together, and come back all the feedings we can. it is going to be hard leaving the hospital, but i know she is in good hands and we are only 5 min away and i can call anytime for a quick update on my little girl. i will also try and upload the pics when we get home that i have taken here. they change so quick i have to capture everything.
till next time... :)

Wednesday/Thursday

2009-10-29T15:15:00.004-05:00

so the rest of wednesday was pretty uneventful i continued my antibiotics and was feeling great. i cuddled up hoping for a great night sleep at about 10pm.... then i woke up around 1am and thought maybe my belly hurts from laying the same way... then maybe my belly hurts from having to go to the bathroom... then about 130am it wasn't getting better so i called the RN ( who is actually my cousin in law too :) she decided to hook me up and see what was going on. well contractions were full on. when she got me hooked up the contractions were 5-7 min apart, and those were only the ones i was feeling ryan (RN) had said i was having contractions in between those also. well my dr wasn't on call so the on call dr was asked what to do, do they give me a shot to stop contractions or let them go? well the on call dr decided to stop them. so i got 2 shots about 2 hours apart and they upped my pills to slow/stop them. well finally about 5am ish they decided that they were slow enough they took aryssa off the heartbeat monitor and just kept the contraction monitor on for the night. i then slept pretty good until about 730 then i was up for the day. so my dr came in about 830 this morning and was kinda upset that i had gotten more drugs to stop, but what were the RN's going to do she wasn't the dr on call so i guess it wasn't her choice. so she then decided that i would not be given any more drugs to stop contractions or labor and they would just keep monitoring me once and a while until the contractions really start. they are not doing any cervix checks right now b/c they don't want to add any bacteria into the area until the labor is active and consistent.
i have had some contractions throughout the day but nothing consistent yet. grant and i both are thinking 1am again since that was what miss aryssa had in mind the other days.
i know some people were asking about the name we have picked out. we got aryssa from my grandma gebhart. her name was Clarissa so we took that and formed it into aryssa. also the middle name was pretty much just decided, mae is my mom's middle name and they really seem to flow well together and fits perfect. we always had mae in mind but hadn't definitely settled on anything, but grant said nope that is perfect we are doing that it sounds great and flows. plus it is sounds really cute :)
so it is now about 445pm, and still having he random contractions, waiting on supper tonight, and see what 1am brings us. of course we will try to update as soon as we can whenever we know anything. my mom and sister will be here as soon as the labor starts, and i am sure amanda will be right on top of the updates since she has it on her phone, so you can check my blog out or my sisters. proudmommyof4.blogspot.com also my facebook or amanda's facebook for everyone that has us as friends.
So thank you for the continued prayers and thoughts they are soooo much appreciated and i am feeling very calm and excited ready to meet her.
Talk to you soonish... :)

Admitted to Hospital... the story and what we know

2009-10-28T20:37:00.002-05:00

Alright folks here is the scoop. I first want to thank everyone who has stopped and prayed for us. I had a bit of a breakdown on Tuesday night from being scared and not knowing what was happening. but knowing that all of you were out there has helped out soooo much!

Tuesday Morning
I didn't have to go into work until 8am, and after i showered i felt weird/funny as i was getting socks i just like i was having period cramps. then i had a slight brownish/blood discharge. so my plan was to monitor it during the day since the clinic was closed and i was just going in to do paperwork anyway. I just continued to feel funny at work, baby girl was kicking and squirming away so i really wasn't too concerned. i also knew i had an appointment with my OB at 310 anyway so as long as things stayed the same i would just go to that as usual. So i finished up my paperwork, went home and ate lunch and waited until my dr appointment. I went in as normal and told my dr that i was feeling funny and had the slight cramps. well that one me a internal exam. I was 1 cm dilated and my water bag was right there. so she did a swab test and then said as it was processing that she was going to put me on the non stress test and monitor the baby and any contractions. well little did i know that i was having pretty consistent contractions. the swab test was invalid, she figured because of too much mucus. so this one me a trip to labor and delivery for the night to watch things. So i called grant and told him that i would be for sure spending the night.(admitted at 530pm) as soon as they hooked me up to the good hospital monitors they said that my contractions were 2 minutes apart, and very consistent. this made me nervous. they started some drugs to stop contractions that at first i took 20mg every 20 minutes for the first hour then 20mg every 4 hours. they also gave me a shot to stop contractions, and also steroid shot to boost baby girls lungs since she was still early. well finally at about 9ish i want to say they were finally spread out more and less consistent. so we knew that i would just continue to be monitored through the night and hope that nothing happens. well grant and i couldn't sleep my back was killing me from not being able to move and my legs were crampy, so the sleep just did come.
Wednesday Morning
then comes 1am!! my nurse was just in seeing how i was doing, and giving me some antibiotics to fight off strep b if i would have it ( i was going to get the test done at my next dr) so as a pro caution they have me on iv antibiotics just in case. well she goes on here way i was just getting settled and rolled onto my back.... then i felt it warm water. i told grant to get the nurse "either i peed myself or my water just broke!" so the nurse comes in and did a simple test that was positive for amniotic fluid. the resident then came in and did a more advanced test to be sure, and of course positive. so now things were more scary. i always thought 24 hours after your water breaks you have to deliver...this didn't sit well, i wasn't ready not yet. so they kept the monitors on me all night and kept giving me the stop contractions pills since i was still having contractions also. so yeah i think i may have slept 2 hours last night. i was asking the RN's about the 24 hour rule, and they said that if everything was fine you could go longer with antibiotics and close monitoring of the baby. so that kinda soothed me, but was it safer to have her in me and risk infection, or deliver?
so my wonderful sister had plans all made out so that she could be here at the hospital with us today in case i would go into labor, or if they were going to allow labor to continue. i was very grateful when she said she was coming, she has a way of keeping me calm and level headed and on the right page also she has had 4 kids and although they were never this early, she knows what is going on in the labor world :)
so my dr came in at 1030am to let us know the plan. she was going to continue the stopping contractions pills until i would have 2 doses of the steroids to pump up baby girls lungs and they can only be given once every 24 hours. and that was wednesday at 530ish. so her plan was to keep up with the stopping pills, and then as long as everything stayed good... baby girl would be induced friday morning!

So that is the plan folks. i am sitting here just chilling in the hospital feeling great. Grant is getting a little cabin fever, and keeps going home to check on things. baby girl is doing wonderful, her heartbeat has never gone down, or up during the whole process, and she has been moving like crazy with all the action going on around her. so i will keep you all updated if anything changes, but the way it looks now....Aryssa Mae Kolbe should be arriving on Friday :)

32 weeks! 32 WEEKS!

2009-10-15T08:56:00.004-05:00

How far along? 32 weeks, 8 months!!!

Total weight gain/loss: at the dr Tuesday i am at +20 lbs

Maternity clothes? yes

Stretch marks? still doing good

Best moment this week: going to the dr and hearing the heartbeat again.

Movement: she loves my ribs right now

Food cravings: candy corn

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? still in, but still getting smaller

What I miss: sleeping through the night, for about an hour every night i am awake for some reason

What I am looking forward to: baby shower :)

Weekly Wisdom: time goes by soooo fast, i have to remind myself to slow down once and a while and just hold my belly and feel the movement, and live in the moment

Milestones: making 32 weeks, 8 to go!

My dr appointment went great! I gained 3 lbs which puts me at 20 overall, i don't think that is too bad. Also since everything is going so wonderful she cancelled my Nov. 3rd dr appointment. I was supposed to go every week in Nov., but she said that we will just skip that one and then do every week after that :) I love that everything is going great, she said i am measuring right on with the "normal" or charted range, so that is perfect.

So fast

2009-10-13T11:12:00.002-05:00

You know every women says pregnancy goes by so fast, and you think to yourself really that's 9 months that is so slow. like when you were in school thinking way back in September how slow the year is gonna go until you get out in June. but wow as i approach 32 weeks (8 months) i think where did the last 32 weeks go. i mean we found out April 4 we were pregnant, i remember the day like it was yesterday, but it was a long 28 weeks ago already. it seems like i blinked and bam now i am 32 weeks and going to the dr every 2 weeks. and starting November every week. PLUS our November is super busy so i think the next time i blink our baby will be here.
EX:10/13- dr visit
10/16- going to meet the baby's babysitters husband and check out the house, let everyone meet everyone so there is no awkwardness
10/22- nephew turns 1 !!!!!!
10/24- grant has a hair cut. okay not big plans, but still something going on that week
10/27- dr visit
10/30- Halloween party at work during the day
10/31-- sister in law baby shower
11/3- dr visit
11/7- my baby shower
11/8- our 1 year wedding anniversary
11/10- dr visit
11/15- cousin in law baby shower
11/17- dr visit
11/21- i get my last hair cut/color before baby is born
11/24- dr visit
11/26- Thanksgiving
11/27- thanksgiving shopping???? still don't know if i am going, we will see how i feel then
12/1-dr visit
12/6- grant b-day
12/8- dr visit
12/10-- BABY DUE DATE!!!!!!
Do you see that people holy moly!!!!! and that is just stuff that i have on my calendar right now. jeez i am tired just looking at it.
Anyway i have my check up today so we will see what the weight gain is. last visit i was measuring right on so hopefully that stays the same. it seems like the baby has grown like 3 lbs and 16 inches lately :) my belly is so hard, and when she is in one spot my belly is all lopsided. makes my belly look like an alien, but that is okay grant thinks it is funny. she has also found her favorite spot under my ribs on the right side, lucky we got that recliner so i can stretch out and give my lungs a break :)
So i guess i will leave you all with that. i will do the pregnancy survey and post my picture on Thursday, man 32 weeks already...can't wait to see my precious girl :)

Pregnancy Survey :) 30 weeks!

2009-09-30T09:08:00.004-05:00

How far along? 30 weeks!!! (okay by the time i finished the post i am 30 weeks and 1 day)

Total weight gain/loss: up 17lbs now from pre-pregnancy

Maternity clothes? oh of course :)

Stretch marks? no new ones on my belly, but getting some on my breasts, also i think i have gained all the weight in my thighs

Best moment this week: getting my glucose results- all normal

Movement: all the time, she likes to roll around after daddy leaves for work

Food cravings: had to make some muffins again

Gender: GIRL

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? still in but getting smaller

What I miss: being able to cut my toe nails

What I am looking forward to: my baby shower!

Weekly Wisdom: thinking in my mind that she is going to listen when i nicely ask at 3am to go back to sleep :)

This week has been great so far, we finally got our recliner on Wednesday, and i am in love with it. It both rocks and swivels!! I also had to go out and buy a body pillow for sleeping. My hips have just been hurting like crazy, and people i work for 2 chiropractors, i shouldn't be having any issues! I figured as soon as they put me in place, i would go home and sleep and throw everything out of whack again. So i bought a body pillow last night, i am still getting used to it, it definitely helped with the hips, but i think i still need to get used to it. but i slept through the night of course except you know getting up 3 times to pee last night :) I also got a massage Thursday after work. We have a massage therapist right in our office, and she was free so i jumped at the chance, ohhhhh it was ahhhhmazing. it felt so good, it was funny b/c i used a pregnancy pillow when i was laying on my stomach (the pillow raises you up and has a hole it is for your belly to go into so that you are not laying on your stomach at all) well little lady in there was rolling the whole time i was on my stomach. it was funny b/c i don't lay on my stomach at all, i never have so it probably was a new experience for her! and my goodness. but i was still able to relax and let all my stresses melt away!
It is a rainy day here is Wisconsin today but oh well perfect for cuddling on the couch with a good book and blanket.

We just couldn't wait!!!!

2009-09-20T08:55:00.004-05:00

Ok folks.... so let me start at the beginning. As you all know we were not going to find out the gender of the baby. Early on we named the baby, Baby K, and were going to hold out until the end. BUT we thought we would only have to make it through 1 ultrasound at 20 weeks. WELL at the 20 week ultrasound my placenta was low and slightly covering the cervix, which meant that I had to have an additional ultrasound in 8 weeks to re-check the placenta placement. which brings you up to date! ANYWAY moving on.... one day while we were shopping Grant turned to me and said, "I can't wait." I believe my eyes bugged out about 5 inches. "WHAT" he said he couldn't wait, that we were getting this 2nd ultrasound this 2nd chance to check out our little Baby K and find out what gender they are. I looked at him and asked are you sure, and why? He said that he just couldn't wait he wanted to know and that it would be so much easier to prepare for. He asked me what I thought. I told him that if that is what he wanted then we could find out. I knew it was the right decision at that right moment, because i didn't feel any doubt or concern. I felt butterflies, my heart started to race, and for some reason i knew it was right. our first thought was to find out and just not tell anyone. keep it a secret no one even knew that we had a slight thought about finding out. and i was fine with that, our own little secret. i mean i kept my sisters secret why couldn't i keep my own! welllllll we keep talking about it all week, and by Tuesday we knew we were ready to find out the gender of our little baby.

So drum rollllllllllllll please................... Grant and I would love to introduce you to our little Baby GIRL!!!!!! that is right folks we are having a little girl. I was shocked!! Grant said the whole time that he knew it was a girl, but for some reason i was thinking boy the whole time. It is crazy that you think you know what you are having, then bam someone tells you different, and there is not a questioning moment, or a disappointing moment. I felt this wave of emotion roll over me and thinking, "Oh my gosh, that is OUR baby girl" that moment seeing her even though i had seen her before, this time was different, i looked over at grant and i held back my tears, and we both just smiled at each other. It seemed like it was one of those moments were time stood still and everything was perfect, peaceful, and right.

Well like i said the plan was to just not tell anyone, but i couldn't keep it in, my ultrasound was on tuesday, and on saturday morning i walked out and looked at grant and said " you couldn't wait to find out and i can't wait to tell!" all i wanted to do was call my mom, and tell my sister. so he said Go for it :) so my mom was called, i texted my sister (she was at a wildtree show) and when grant's mom was done with work he called her.

we don't regret our decision, i don't regret my decision. after grant made that first comment, i never thought should we? for some reason i was at peace with it, it felt right. and planning will be so much easier now, i figure we are having a baby in the winter in Wisconsin, that means a cold! and after looking through clothes that i already had at home, i just couldn't look at any more yellow. now the baby's closet has pink and purple in it already. After we found out we went to target and picked out our baby girl's first outfits.

so the pink and purple has already overloaded the closet, i mean you can't pass up 30% off coupon at kohl's when they were already having a sale now can you? so i bought a bunch of stuff and even got $10 cash back for next week :)

So anyway that is my news for the week. and now i am off to eat some breakfast, my little lady is kicking and rolling in my belly and just must be hungry.

my little girl...... i really love that sound :)

2009-09-17T20:24:00.003-05:00

How far along? 28 weeks! 7 months

Total weight gain/loss: up 4 lbs at my dr so total +12

Maternity clothes? all the time

Stretch marks? prolly a couple more on the sides, none on the front

Best moment this week: hearing the ultrasound tech say "your placenta is way out of the way"

Movement: all the time, Baby k loves to roll, and usually is quite active at 9ish until 10

Food cravings: none really, i like to eat everything

Gender: ??

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? still in but getting shallower

What I miss: being able to see my feet

What I am looking forward to: dr appointments every 2 weeks now

Weekly Wisdom: smile when people say "you don't even look pregnant" i then pull back my work coat and say see there is a big belly there!!!!

Milestones: dr appointments now every 2 weeks. i have hit 28 weeks, only having 12 weeks to go!!! and loved seeing baby k again at the ultrasound

Baby K update

2009-09-15T17:43:00.003-05:00

Well today was my ultrasound to check on my placenta, and i am happy to say that is is way far away from my cervix. and yes "way far away" is a direct quote from the ultrasound lady :)

Baby k decided to cooperate this time and we actually got some profile pics... so for your pleasure here is Baby K

nice profile shot, i love seeing the chubby cheeks coming

a little smirk after kicking the ultrasound wand :)

And last but not least here is baby k sticking its foot up its nose... one flexible baby!

Baby k weighed in at 2 lbs 9 oz, and a heartbeat of 140. i forgot to ask about the length, but oh well. Like i said eveything looks great, and the next time we see baby k should be the day of delivery :)

Baby K's Room

2009-09-04T15:21:00.003-05:00

Hello!

so can you believe that we have another weekend free?!?! well Saturday grant has to go to his parents to help move some pipes or something, then Sunday grant has his fantasy football draft. but other than that nothing. I know we are going to do something with friends this weekend at some point, but don't have definite plans set up. My plan is to do some crib shopping. I want to find the one we want so that we can go ahead and get it already, i don't know i just want to start getting things slowly together so that when November and early December come we don't have tons to do. then we can just sit and wait for baby k to arrive!! with that here are some great pics of the new paint job in baby K's room. my lovely mom painted for us :)

Before ^^^^ After

Before (yellow) After (frosty Grass)

the color looks kinda blue on the pics, but the color is called frosty grass, and looks greener in person. We are totally in love with the color, and can't wait to start filling the room with more baby stuff. we have to clean out the closet yet, we have some boxes stored in there, but i am sure that we will have tons of clothes and will need that space :)

So everyone i hope you have a great holiday weekend, and that if you have 3 days off to enjoy every minute of it :)

no plans weekend!

2009-08-28T15:07:00.003-05:00

hello again! i am so excited that we have no plans this weekend!!! we have had weddings for the past 2 weekends, and my goodness that takes a lot out of a pregnant lady! so our plans this weekend are go do some baby stuff "looking". we are not going to buy anything just to look at some places to compare prices and items for our registry. we haven't decided where to register at. my thinking is target for sure, and then either babies r us or baby depot. my sister told me to compare the two stores to see what they have to offer. i am also so excited because my mom is going to be painting the baby's room and our bathroom next week! she loves to paint so i go to her first! plus i know i am not supposed to paint. i usually will just hang out with her while she is painting to keep her company.
Baby k is getting bigger and bigger, and the kicks are getting stronger and stronger. grant loves to poke my belly and wait until the baby kicks then they play a little bit of tag. i love that grant is so involved with the pregnancy and that he will "play" with the baby. and now that the kicks are stronger i can see my belly move now. i will lay down and lift up my shirt and just watch my belly move... an amazing thing! words can't explain the feeling both inside and out. meaning the literal feeling of the kicks and then the emotional feeling of the kicks. the thought that in 104 days-ish (i know that's it!) we will be holding our little baby k. we will get to see if we are having a boy or a girl a little Gavyn or Aryssa..... until that day i will just live in the glory of my pregnancy :)
don't forget if you want to join our little baby guessing game check this site out
http://www.bebepool.com/agkolbe

24 weeks! That's 6 months folks!

2009-08-20T20:12:00.002-05:00

Hello all! here is my 24 week survey and my 24 week pics :)
How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: had my dr apt today and finally weight gain... +8lbs
Maternity clothes? all the time
Sleep: still going good
Best moment this week: grant feeling baby k kick, and seeing my belly move
Movement: all the time :)
Food cravings: fritos
Gender: waiting till december
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? still in
What I miss: seeing my toes :)
What I am looking forward to: ultrasound next month
Weekly Wisdom: pregnancy is the fastest 9 months of your life
Milestones: grant feeling baby k kick and then seeing my belly move from a kick :)

So there you go guys. as you see i have finally gained weight.... although i didn't think that it was going to be 8 lbs at one time, but oh well baby is doing great heartbeat in the 140's at the dr visit. next visit i have to do the glucose test. i was supposed to do it the same day as my ultrasound, but said no way am i gonna be able to handle that drink, and keep my belly so full of water... so i have to go monday for the glucose, and tuesday for the ultrasound. which is nice because then they will have my results at my dr visit. i'm not to worried about it, i think i should be fine. i just am dreading the drink, no one says it is good but oh well it will be fine :)

so have a great weekend guys and i will talk to you soon.

Kicks and weddings

2009-08-18T10:48:00.005-05:00

well this weekend was fun! we had our friends wedding (Chad and Torrey, you both looked wonderful!) of course i was the lucky designated driver, my parents took advantage of us also, and just spent the night by us since we lived so close to the reception hall. it was a perfect day and everything was wonderful.
~~ i think the most wonderful part of the weekend was on Sunday. grant has been trying to feel baby k kick for the longest time. and finally on Sunday he felt it!! we were laying on the couch and his hand was on my belly, he gets frustrated because as soon as he puts his hand on my belly the baby stops. so he moved his hand off, and then kick...kick. so i told him put your hand here. then all of a sudden BAM! a big kick left of my belly button right in the palm of Grant's hand. i asked "did you feel THAT!" he says "i think so :0)!" i was so happy i even teared up a little. he was so happy to have finally felt baby k. then of course the baby was quiet the rest of the night. But then again last night we were laying down and he had his hand on my belly and all of a sudden " i felt it again :)" i love that he gets to experience the kicks now. the baby is very active and rolls around and kicks, and punches a lot when it does... baby k has its own routine down already and usually when i get in to work in the morning and eat something the baby goes crazy. and around the afternoon there is another huge spurt of movement. then of course at night when i am settling in and relaxing on grant the baby has to make itself known and kick away :) it seems like another step... to think that on Thursday i will be 24 weeks already. 6 months! holy moly. i will have to do the survey and put up a picture. i have my Dr's appointment on Thursday so we will see what my weight is now...maybe i will finally gain something!?

the only non wonderful part, i couldn't sleep at all Saturday night. it seems when i stay up "late" i can't fall asleep or stay sleeping. we got home at like 130 or so and i couldn't fall asleep i got up and had to pee at 130, 230, 330, 430, and 530. funny thing is i didn't drink anything at the wedding! i had 1 soda with supper. later on like 830 i wanted a kitty cocktail (guy didn't have cherry juice so made me a cranberry cocktail instead...Not as good.) then some water at 1130. that's it! plus they were in the to-go cups so they were really small. i don't know if it was b/c someone else was sleeping at the house or what...also it didn't help that grant was snoring in bed, and if any of your lovely husbands drink and then snore in bed we all know how hard it is to get them to stop! usually if grant drinks enough he will sleep in the living room so that his snoring doesn't bother me. but with my parents sleeping on both couches, and him not wanting to get stepped on sleeping on the floor, that meant he slept in bed with me. oh well i took a nap on Sunday, and then last night fell asleep at 915 on the couch. i think i have caught myself up now :)

this weekend we have another wedding. Grant's cousin Matt and fiance Krystal. it should be fun...maybe a little crazy too. there priest is Matt's friend that has a mo hawk, wearing a kilt, and also playing the guitar during the ceremony. they are getting married at a chapel, but still a little crazy! to each there own, it will be fun to not have a "stuffy" wedding to have to go to. so that should be our fun and crazy weekend!

and i will be sure to load a 6 month belly pic and the survey to keep you all up to date! then of course the next ultrasound is in Sept. when they will be checking on my placenta again. but of course i will be around many times before that :)
also don't forget about the baby pool we have set up
http://www.bebepool.com/agkolbe

Another day in the neighboorhood

2009-08-11T11:32:00.005-05:00

sorry again folks, that seems to be the way i start my post lately because i have been a bad blogger agian. Oh well here i am today! lets see what is new.... not much sorry.
so a re-cap of girls weekend. Great fun! it was kinda crummy on saturday, cold and such so no swimming, but we still did our k-mart run. i didn't find anything but that's okay i still oogled the baby section :)
um this past weekend was pretty uneventful also. saturday grant and i went out looking for colors for baby k's room and our bathroom. right now they are both this ugly yellow... like bright yellow a room that screams YELLOW! we found frosty grass for baby k's room, and a tan for the bathroom. the bathroom has some blue tile around the tub and vanity so i figure it will be perfect, our shower curtain is already a tan, and the bathroom mats are green so it all flows well for the earthy feel i guess. my mom is going to paint for us the first week in september, when she is on first shift again. i know i can paint, but to not have to smell all the fumes will be nice, plus my mom loves to paint. seriously she likes doing it. just one of those people i guess.
i guess sunday (the 9th) was kinda a weird day... okay not weird just... Well sunday is the day that grant's cousin tim boarded the bus to be deployed. we was sent to Germany to get on a plane for Kuwait for 2 weeks then to Iraq. I guess it just hit me that it sucks that his wife and little girl will be waiting for him. Cienna is only 6 1/2 months old and when i e-mailed kristen (tim's wife) monday she said that as tim was leaving cienna said dada for the first time. that kills me knowing it will be 6-9 months before she can touch him again. but i know tim will be fine fight for our country and be home before we know it. that is what i am praying for anyway a safe return.
then Sunday i had my sister-in-laws baby shower. see her family is a little (lot) weird i guess. she had a wedding shower like 2 days before the wedding, because her dad doesn't think people deserve the parties. but i don't even know who was invited because i wasn't and grant's mom said it was small. so it was only grant's aunts and cousins that were invited to the shower. so like 15 of us were there. just odd in my book i guess. i am used to huge wedding and baby showers to celebrate, i guess not all people are like that.
anyway this weekend we have a wedding. a good friend of ours so that will be great. my parents are spending the night at our house since we live so close to the reception...lucky me i get to drive the 3 drunkards home Saturday night. oh well though.
also please keep my sister in your prayers she is going through a tough time right now, and could use that extra support. thanks a bunch!

Did you hear!?!?

2009-07-27T13:03:00.003-05:00

OMGoodness did you hear!?!? I won! Okay i know calm down, but seriously i don't win things, and i won Valerie's birthday giveaway I was so excited to see this! i will be getting a hand crafted fabric ball and also a very cute crayon carrier!! i figured since we are not finding out what we are having and so that i can use them with all my kids, neutral colors it is! I am so excited and will defiantly post pics once i get me fun prizes!

Well this weekend was pretty busy! it all started thursday. After work we went to grant's aunt and uncles house for grill out. We had fun spending time with tim, kristin, and cienna before they leave again for Hawaii, (and then in august tim gets deployed to Iraq for 12 months) some of tim's other friends were there as well, and we all got along great. well then at like 9pm they decided they wanted to go out for a while. and i love my husband and trust him, but i knew it wouldn't be a safe idea for him to go alone with those boys! so kristin and i went along. we only stayed out until 11pm, which isn't too bad, just an hour past my bed time! but really how can i say no in all reality, tim could leave for iraq and never come back, i would hate to think that i was being selfish and wanted to go to bed, and grant missed that extra hour they could have spent together. so then on friday i had to work, grant had off and cleaned the babies room ( i know we have 4 months left, but we had some boxes from moving in there) and then he cleaned the kitchen and mowed the lawn...AND he also separated all my wildtree stuff out so when my sister got there all she had to do was put it in bags! such a sweetie! well i worked until 2 and then sat and talked with my sister for a while. after they left grant and i went to babies r us. i had some coupons, and wanted to see if it would help with any big purchases. and i am going to have to talk to my mom and grant's mom to see if they would want to use them. then of course since we were on that side of appleton.....that's right folks we went to HUHOT!!! so yummy, and we got there before it was crazy busy! so we get home and are relaxing then grant gets a text from tim. they were having a bonfire and wanted us to come hang out again. ( they were first leaving saturday at noon, but originally they had plans for friday night) so off we went again to grant's aunt and uncles house. it was fun just chilling by the fire and talking. and of course we got in our huge hugs before we left, wished tim good luck and a see you soon! it is weird to think the next time we see him we will have had baby k ( he should get a "vacation" from iraq between 6-9 months after deployment, then go back to finish the rest of the deployment). crazy to think. it is also crazy to think that his daughter will be 1 or over the next time he sees her. but we will be thinking, writing, and praying for his safe return! Anyway with that i will leave you with a cute pic we took of us 3 thursday night!

Me Tim Grant

20 Weeks!~with pic :)

2009-07-23T15:00:00.004-05:00

Here is my 20 week survey! I will try and add a picture when I get home and Grant can take one :)

How far along? 20 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 0-- still have not gained any weight
Maternity clothes? pants of course....i went to walmart and bought old men's shirts for bed, cheap and comfy
Sleep: i still love sleep
Best moment this week: seeing Baby K on the ultrasound
Movement: all the time! kicks and punches
Food cravings: caramel creams
Gender: not finding out :)
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? i don't think anything is going on with it yet
What I miss: nothing
What I am looking forward to: my next ultrasound on 9-15 to see if my placenta moved and Grant feeling kicks on the outside
Weekly Wisdom: Praying can cure a lot
Milestones: more and more kicks everyday!

Ultrasound

2009-07-21T19:11:00.003-05:00

So these are the best pictures that we got of baby k today. there was no cooperation on baby k's part at all. I stood up, i went to the bathroom, i poked my belly, i begged baby k, i went to the bathroom again...but nope. Baby k was not having it, just stayed were he/she wanted to and didn't give us any straight on or nice profile shot. But that is okay i still love my baby k. And whenever the tech was doing anything by the legs both grant and i looked away, my mom was watching the screen, but she doesn't know what she is looking at, i even asked her, but she said "who knows." So Baby K weighs 11oz, i don't think she gave us the length. and the heartbeat was 145 bpm so perfect! And gender is still unknown!!! also check out on the right side of my blog for the baby k guessing game. www.bebepool.com/agkolbe and guess away!

I guess the only thing is that they are making me come back in 8 weeks for another ultrasound. Nothing too major, but the tech said that my placenta was slightly covering my cervix. technical term posterior placenta previa. a lot of the time it may happen early on in pregnancy and then "move" where it is supposed to by the next time they look at the positioning. so hopefully at the 28 week ultrasound they will be able to tell me that everything looks perfect, and if not they will keep a close eye on it as i get closer to the due date. I know i am only 2o weeks and a lot can change in that time, but i like to know my options. Pretty much if my placenta decides to stay where it is, then i have to have a scheduled c-section, which if that is my only option then fine, but i would prefer to do it naturally. But whatever is the safest for the baby then i don't care, sign me up.

I am going to try and not worry about it so much, and just put my trust in god that everything is taken care of, and if it comes down to it and nothing changes, then baby k will be c-section. and hopefully at the next ultrasound (sept 15) baby k will decide to cooperate and i can get those awww...ohhhh... pictures that everyone loves to see :)

another thing is that i still have not gained any weight. still the same as the day i found out i was pregnant. my dr isn't worried about that and claims i should only gain 15-20 lbs during the pregnancy. well whatever i gain i gain. but like everything else i know i am only 20 weeks, and i have another 20 weeks to gain away :)

other than that great day. Baby k is still kicking away like crazy, on the ultrasound he/she was kicking away. I can't explain how amazing that feeling is. every time i feel a kick/punch i giggle out loud or smile. i can't believe the power that god has to make that little cell turn into a baby....really wow! and every time i feel that kick, i thank god that i was lucky enough to become pregnant as fast as we did, and that if all i have to worry about is maybe having a c-section, then so be it. all the power is in his hands, and i will do what i have to, to see our baby happy and healthy in december.

have a great night everyone and talk to you soon. i will try and put up my belly pic on thursday which is my official 20 week mark....half way already, where did that time go?

Movement :)

2009-07-15T08:16:00.002-05:00

Hello all, again i have been slacking and i am sorry! But big news.... i have felt Baby K move!!!! I was at a wedding shower on sunday, and i felt something i hadn't before, i kinda put it off because i mean the bride was opening gifts, what was i supposed to do jump up and say i think my baby kicked me? lol. Anyway then on monday i was sitting at work on my computer and then again the same feeling, and i know it wasn't gas, it was butterflyish feeling. i was so excited i e-mailed grant right away and told him also that i finally felt baby k move, and can' t wait until he can feel it. it was also funny because yesterday when i got home i had taken a shower (had an awesome massage!) and then grant came home and started talking to me, and flutters again, i told grant that baby k must have heard him talking.... i know that the baby can hear now, but i am not sure if it can recognize yet... i don't think so, but anyway it was cute how i felt a kick when grant was talking to me:)
Also last night was my WildTree part!!! It was awesome, i actually had people come! i was nervous because i had a lia sophia party for my sister and only 2 people showed up at my house, so i was worried that no one would come and i would feel bad, BUT there were 8 people there, and i have outside orders!!! So thanks everyone for coming, ( and Amanda L for bringing a guest:) it was really nice seeing you again, sorry we didn't get to talk much.) So i am super excited to start searching the book for free stuff!
We have a busy weekend this weekend again. Grant's cousin Tim and his wife and daughter are coming home one more time from Hawaii before Tim gets deployed to Iraq :( We are re-celebrating 4th of july and shooting off fireworks at Grant's parents house, and a little get together with Tim before we leaves, i think his deployment is for 7-12months... but i am not for sure. i will defiantly make sure that grant gets his favorite cousin pic again, and a pic with all 5 (w/their daughter) of us together! next time he sees us baby K will be here! Then saturday we have a wedding, we are only going to the reception, so that doesn't eat up the whole day...but i do need to go shopping for an outfit yet! oh well i have friday to do that :)
I guess i will end you with the weekly survey thingy, because you know me and preggo brain it maybe another 3 weeks until i write again :) i will try to do sooner i promise!
How far along? 19 weeks tomorrow
Total weight gain/loss: i don't know for sure, we will see next Tuesday at my appt.
Maternity clothes? i need to start getting more :)
Sleep: still going great
Best moment this week: MOVEMENT!!!
Movement: first felt it Sunday, have felt it everyday since :) :)
Food cravings: i just love everything, not really cravings
Gender: still thinking Boy
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? still the same
What I miss: my brain sometimes, i swear pregnancy brain is true!
What I am looking forward to: seeing baby K next week on the ultrasound 7/21
Weekly Wisdom: enjoy every minute of it
Milestones: finally feeling kicks :)
So enjoy and i will try to talk to you soon :)

16 weeks! :)

2009-06-25T19:13:00.006-05:00

Hello all! Like promised here are my belly pics! The first one is the day we found out, so 4 ish weeks. The second photo was taken today at 16 weeks!
So there you have it. My belly pics! I can't believe I am already 16 weeks, that's 4 months... time has gone by so fast, I love it, yet hate it. I really want to live in every moment of this pregnancy, I can't wait until I finally feel baby k kick. A couple times I have stopped and thought wait was that something...then I burp, or fart (gas lovely extra of pregnancy!) and then think nope just gas again. But I am sure I will know when it happens. I have a dr's next week, but it is just a regular visit, I get to see Baby k again in July for the gender ultrasound, BUT we are not finding out what we are having, I know I know, everyone asks how can you do that.... my hope is that I am strong enough to not buckle under the pressure at the ultrasound. Everyone says boy already, so in December they will see if it is true I guess! :)
So enjoy the pics, and talk to you all later.

24

2009-06-23T18:47:00.002-05:00

24... yup that's right folks today i am 24!! I have had a great birthday! Grant and i had gotten the Wii 2 weeks ago and decided that it was going to be our birthday presents this year, but to surprise me grant already had a dozen roses and a balloon waiting for me a day early so that i wouldn't suspect it. Dr. Ben came in this morning with a balloon, and cupcakes, and my goodness they were delicious! Dr. Jamie had taken me out to eat at HuHot last Thursday, and then had a bouquet of flowers delivered to the office. (she doesn't work on Tuesdays). My parents gave me a card and money, the perfect gift! Grant and i went out to eat at Red Robin, first b/c it is like 100 degrees in Wisconsin today, and 2nd b/c i had gotten an e-mail to receive a free burger on my birthday. So that was nice, cool and cheap! and of course they came out put the balloons on my ears, and sang for me. And to anyone that knows me, even the mascot for red robin (a man dressed as the huge BIRD) was along to sing to me, and I didn't even run away!! anyone that knows me knows i am petrified of birds.... so hey that was pretty good for me :)
Everything else is going great, i can't believe that on Thursday i will be 16 weeks (4 months)!! I will post a pic of my belly finally, i have them up on facebook, but never really thought of putting them on here. But i will since everyone loves seeing a preggo belly, and i am finally starting to look preggo, and not looking like i just ate a big meal.
Well have a great night everyone, and i promise i will be on Thursday or Friday with a pic of my belly...i hope i remember!
Amy

14 weeks

2009-06-11T16:58:00.002-05:00

How far along? 14 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: when i was at the dr on 6/2 she said down 1 lbs
Maternity clothes? mostly just maternity jeans, they are just way more comfy
Stretch marks? nope
Best moment this week: waiting to go the the wedding this weekend to show off my little belly
Movement: NOT YET! hurry up
Food cravings: anything someone says i want
Gender: still thinking Boy
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Innie
What I miss: nothing really yet
What I am looking forward to: MOVEMENT!!
Weekly Wisdom: not much here
Milestones: into the 14th week, and 2nd trimester still feeling great :)

My week has been good to far, busy busy, but good! My mom is having a wild tree party tonight. Check out my sisters blog (proudmommyof4) for more info on that! Yummy Yummy stuff! So i probably won't be back until next week, rehearsal and wedding this weekend, then grad party and anniversary party Sunday. Family full weekend!
Have a great weekend Everyone!

so long ago

2009-06-05T16:34:00.003-05:00

Hello all, wow i am sorry it has been so long. Things have been crazy with moving and getting the house all in order. We are finally done with our apartment and all settled into our house. I still have to take recent pics of the house, but just haven't gotton around to it. So anyway I am still doing great with my pregnancy. As of today I am 13 weeks and 1 day. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday and figured I would post the pics for you

the second pic is baby k's foot :) The tech said that baby k was 2 inches long already, and the heartbeat was 149. So everything is right on track. I can't wait for the ultrasound at the end of July it would be the gender scan, but we are not going to find out the sex, anyway i am excited to see the difference that 6 weeks make! Anyway i am just waiting for Grant to get home, we are having HuHot for supper...yummy!!! Talk to you all soon!

Appointment

2009-05-13T15:50:00.003-05:00

Hello all! Well I had my first visit with my Dr. yesterday. I have never met her before, but I think we will really get along, we seemed to mesh well together. I think I need to warm up to her nurse, but by the end of the visit we were talking more also! So they did the normal exam breast, and pap stuff, and then we got a vaginal ultrasound to make sure everything is still looking good! And everything is perfect. From my cycle I was 9weeks, 5days yesterday and Baby K was measuring at 9weeks 3 days so I thought that was perfect. Also the heart rate was 153 nice and strong. Grant really like being there to see our little gummy bear! So after the appointment we went out and scheduled ALL my appointments until I deliver. Doing that made it seem like the time would just fly by! I have my next appointment in 3 weeks, then they are doing the NT ultrasound to check for any abnormalities. I know that it is optional, but I figured why not. So here is the latest pic of Baby K... I think it looks just like a gummy bear!
Awwww :)
Okay other news....we close on our house on FRIDAY!!! We are doing a final walk through tomorrow night, our realtor said it is a smart thing to do to make sure what was said was being left will be and so on. I can't wait!!!!! We are sooooo excited!! and SOOOO ready to leave our apartment! I will have to post before and after pics of the house, my mom has been nice enough to offer her painting services for us :)
Other news...in case some of you read my blog and not my sisters (proudmommyof4) I am going to be an auntie again! My sister is expecting number 5 or "E" she is due sometime around x-mas, I am not sure on the date yet! Busy year for us all!!!!!
Well have a great day everyone!
Amy

Because nobody says it better

2009-05-07T11:57:00.002-05:00

Because nobody says it better.... that is how I feel about my sister. She has a way with words, that I just can't explain. So read this post http://aproudmommyof4.blogspot.com/2009/05/just-house.html
It has so many great things in it. It goes through so many emotions. I teared up while reading it at work. It is so true! I just wish my children would have been able to meet the wonderful person my grandma was/is! But it is for sure we are keeping her alive in our heart, and I know my mom will be just as great of a grandma!
That's all for now.
Amy

Is it next week yet!?

2009-05-04T14:06:00.005-05:00

Hey all Over on hoping for our peanut she does this quiz about the pregnancy so far, and I thought it looked fun so here goes

How far along? 9 weeks on Thursday
Total weight gain/loss: I don't know because I didn't know what I weighed before, so next week at my next appt I am sure I will get an idea of what I have been doing
Maternity clothes? bought some this weekend, haven't worn any yet
Stretch marks? only the ones I already had on my sides
Sleep: I LOVE SLEEP! although I fall asleep early in the night, (930pm, yet I am up at 8am)
Best moment this week: none so far
Movement: not for a while yet
Food cravings: rice crispie bars
Gender: my mom called a local radio station and they said BOY
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? Innie
What I miss: being able to stay up until 10pm
What I am looking forward to: next week we are getting an ultrasound, and closing on our house!
Weekly Wisdom: Keep eating, it keeps the morning sickness away!
Milestones: seeing Baby K next week

Fun times! Anyway my appointment last week was good. They did my weight and then a ton of health history stuff. And of course pee in a cup, and like 7 vials of blood. Which since they took so much blood I decided I had to get a smoothie on my way out of the hospital! :) My next visit is next Tuesday (may 12) and the nurse had said the Dr. will probably do an ultrasound to get the dates correct, and make sure everything is going great! I just want to make sure there is only 1 baby in there again. See my 2nd cousin had twins, and my father-in-law is a twin... Now I know they say that twins run on the mothers side, but I want to be sure. Not that I wouldn't love twins...we would just need the next 7 months to let the shock wear off!
This weekend we have a busy weekend, we are going to my parents camper and then on Saturday my mom, sister, and I are walking in the Sole Burner, for the American Cancer Society. It will be nice to get away for the weekend, and it keeps us busy so that we don't sit and wish we were in our house!! Which if I didn't mention we close next Friday!!!!!!!!
So anyway have good week and maybe I will talk to you later!
Amy

Our Secret is Out!

2009-04-29T11:31:00.004-05:00

Hello all, it has been quite a while since I blogged....and the reason?!?! Well I have been holding a big secret, and figured if I blogged I would more than likely spill the beans and had to wait just a little bit. So on with the secret right!!!! My husband are proudly announcing we are PREGNANT!!!!! We found out early April, and have an EDD (estimated due date) of December 12, 2009. From my cycle it says 12-9, and an early ultrasound said 12-16, so right now I am picking the 12th! I have my appointment with a nurse tomorrow, but I couldn't wait so I had made an appointment on 4-23 at a free local clinic for an early ultrasound, and here is the "proof"

Your first look at Baby K... that is our little nickname already because our last name starts with K. Grant and I are sooo excited already. I have been feeling pretty good, as long as I keep eating. Once my stomach gets empty I feel very nauseous. I am tired a lot earlier now a days too, in bed by at least 9:30pm!! We are so excited that soo many great things are happening this year! We close on our house May 15th! My mom has already offered to paint for us! (Thanks Mom). It's nice because we will have 2 weeks to get everything ready before we have to be out of our current apartment. I can't wait until we are in our house and relaxing! Not having to worry about being loud or having people over, the best part we will have a yard to play at, we can grill out and not have to stand in the parking lot! Oh and you better believe I already have plans for all the baby stuff!!!!!! Well have a great day everyone! I will sure and keep you updated after my dr appointments!

Amy

Oh where of where have I been

2009-04-09T08:20:00.004-05:00

Hey all! Sorry it has been awhile! Well everything is going wonderfully on our house! We close May 15th! I can't wait...last weekend I even packed away some of my books, and partylite stuff. (my mom and sister were consultants, so I have a lot!) I figured I can pack up my summer stuff too because we all know Wisconsin, and I won't be needing shorts in the next month! I can't wait to finally have our house, paint how we want, be loud, and not worrying about the downstairs neighbor coming up and yelling at us. (true story, and it was scary). We have a busy next couple of weeks, that is for sure. This weekend is Easter, we are going out to eat with my mom's side of the family, then going to Grant's side of the family, then to my parents house to celebrate my big sis's 26th birthday!!!!!
Happy Birthday my loving wonderful sister, even when you call at 8:15pm on a Friday night :)
Also I am soooo excited tonight we (me, mom, sister, friend Melissa) are going to the Melting Pot for my sister's birthday. I have never been there before, but Amanda and Melissa love it, so I am ready to try it out! Plus it is ladies night and it is a little cheaper :)
Then next weekend, Grant has to get fit for a tux for his cousins wedding in June that he is standing up in, then on Sunday we have a PAWS on Parade event. Grant used to internship for the business that is putting it on, so he wants to go again this year and show support for the non-profit business; The Beacon House in Green Bay.
The following weekend is my amazing little nieces Dance Recital! I can't wait to watch them!!!!
Then Mother's day weekend is well first mother's day and my mom's birthday, but also my mom, sister, and I are walking in the 27th annual Sole Burner Run/Walk. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, this will be our second year doing the walk.
THEN the next weekend we close on our house!!!!!!!!!! Now seeing how busy we are I think this month is going to fly by, and we will be in our house before you know it.
Well that is it for now...Have a Great Easter if I don't write again until after!
Amy

Our House

2009-03-29T16:21:00.001-05:00

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=237698&id=564155401&ref=nf

Here are the pics from the listing site. Once we close I will have many before and after pics to show... ENJOY!!!!

Home Inspection

2009-03-26T19:48:00.003-05:00

So today was our new home inspection. It is something that is mandatory when you purchase a house so that you know what if anything is wrong, and then you can fight the sellers to pay for it. Anyway we had ours today and it went GREAT!!!!!! When we got there the inspector (which we had to hire, but it was only $250 for home and foundation inspection. Plus our realtor gave us cards to a couple people) was already on the roof checking that out. He said the roof, chimney, and dryer vent (yes our dryer vent is coming out our roof not the side of the house like most) were all in perfect condition. No shingles are loose, and it is only one layer which means when it was replaced (2002) it was done correctly. He said the gutters were a little plugged and would suggest cleaning them out. So great news there! Everything else on the house was perfect, the siding, the grade of the side lawns, the foundation, the walls, the basement, the pipes, the electric work....EVERYTHING! the ONLY thing that he found "wrong" is that the sellers have put up drywall in the garage for insulation, and there is a outlet that doesn't have a cover on. That is it!!! the only thing he could find worth writing in his home inspection!!! I cannot believe it. I was really nervous because I had this fear that we were looking at the house with rose colored glasses. Meaning we loved it soo much that we looked over/didn't see the "wrong" things. But no we saw everything that was how it should be. The furnace is the original furnace, but the inspector said that if you were to have an older furnace the Williams was the one to have, and that is what is in the house, so the furnace is from 1977/1978 which isn't too bad. The central air is also a little older, 1986, but again he said we should get at least 5 years out of it yet. So as I said it was amazing!!! And we could not stop smiling!!! So now we just wait to see what bank picks us up. See we are already pre-approved so we know we for sure have the loan, but a bank has to just verify, the company we got pre-approved with works with 17 banks, so I guess they wait to see which one will give us the best rate and stuff. Our lady told us it would probably be 2 weeksish until we heard anything. So the wait continues I guess, but this kinda wait is okay because I know that it is all taken care of already. So I thank God that everything he worked everything out.
I also want to throw out that I am thinking and praying for my friend Melissa, she is pregnant and going through some stuff right now and just needs a little comfort of prayer. Also remember to keep Stellen in your prayers as he is still fighting in the hospital.
Also check out my sisters (proudmommyof4) HOT new hair cut!! She looks amazing!
Have a great night everyone!!!!
Amy

Home-Owners!!!

2009-03-24T08:05:00.002-05:00

That's right folks!!! As long as the home/foundation inspections all go perfect and the deal is done, then we will be home owners!!! We put in an offer, they countered...but after talking to our Realtor, she said that is was still a great deal, and do we want to fight over $950. We decided NO we do not want to fight over $950! So I faxed over the acceptance letter this morning. See we looked at over 48 houses!! I counted this morning, and after each tour we would rate the house on a 1-10 scale. This house was the one of only 3 we gave 10's to. Even the house with the amazing kitchen only had a 9, and another one we liked (max) only got an 8. The 3 that got 10s were ones we all looked at Saturday, but one by one we realized that this was the one. It is 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, first floor laundry:), gas fireplace, and 1,295 sq feet. The basement has one finished room, and a large area ready to be finished. The backyard is all fenced in already, and has a retractable clothes line! The yard is not the biggest, but we are able to put a play set in it, which was one of my requirements! The kitchen is big and wide open, and we love it!! It has a two and a half attached garage, and a small/medium section of patio bricks perfect for the grill (says Grant!) Also it is on a culdisac (SP?) so there isn't that much traffic, no through traffic! I am so excited and praying that everything goes as planned, because if it does then we would be closing on May 15th. We have to give a 45 day notice at our apartment so we figured it was better then trying to fight them to let us out a little early (meaning the end of April), and then it gives us plenty of time to clean the apartment, and be able to paint and get everything set up in the new house and not having to move in one weekend. I can not wait until everything is signed, sealed and delivered! So I will definitely keep you all posted as to what is going on, as of now our home inspection should be Thursday (and don't worry Amanda, I will still be meeting you at the salon :) at either 830 or noon. So that is that! Now the waiting game continues! I can't wait until this is all done!
Amy

Walk

2009-03-17T18:25:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. In Wisconsin we had 62 degree weather today! And the whole time at work I kept looking at the clock until I was able to go home to go for a walk. And walk I did. I decided to drive the 5 min to town, (we live in a countryish area, we live in apartments that are off the highway, but on a country road.) So anyway I drove to Brillion, got my mp3 player ready, my piece of gum, my cellphone (you never know when you may need it) and I was off. I walked for over 6 miles!! I did 2 laps around Brillion! It felt awesome, the weather was perfect for capri workout pants and a t-shirt. I love taking walks by myself because first I can go at my own pace, sometimes I walk fast, and then slow down , then speed up again. I love just putting my mp3 player on and listening to music, But the best thing about walking alone... I can think...or not think. I have no one asking me questions, no annoying insurance companies to deal with, no cares at all. I usually don't think about much when I am walking and that is the way I like it. Yet some times all I do is think about stuff, work it out in my head and walk away the stress. Walking is like venting to me. So I am pretty proud of myself, because on Sunday I also went for a walk, about 45 min. My goal is to tone up a little. I have a love hate relationship with my thighs, and would love to see (or not see:) them as much. So I plan to walk them away! I also saw one of my friends when I was done with my walk. For those who have been with me a while it was Sara, my cousin, and old roommate. We used to be super close, but I moved on with my job, and don't work with her anymore, and we just don't talk as much... ok at all anymore, this was the first time I saw her since my wedding. I talked to her 2 times, but not in person. She is getting big, she is pregnant and due in July. We talked for like 5-7min, then she had to get her son home to make some supper. I wish we would talk more, but honestly we are just in different places it seems... you know how it is.

I would also like to pat myself on the back because tomorrow March 18th will be 2 years since I quit smoking!!!!!! ok not until like 10pm tomorrow, but still 2 YEARS!!!! I can't say that I have been a perfect angel in those 2 years, I did slip up a couple times, but it was always when I was drinking, and after I ALWAYS thought..why did I do that. And I would only have one and then be mad at myself. I would get over being mad at myself pretty quickly because I reminded myself how strong I am for being able to only have that one and not start up again. It wasn't the easiest thing to quit, but looking back it was again one of the best decisions of my life. I feel better, smell better, and saved a lot of money!
So have a great day everyone, and hey walk away your stress and celebrate something meaningful!!!
Amy

Not Me Monday!

2009-03-16T08:07:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
So it is Monday again, I haven't done this in quite a while, but here goes.
Head over to MckMamma's for the complete rules and regulations :)
... I did not get frustrated after looking at 7 houses this weekend to like 0 of them. I am trying not to give up on the whole finding a house thing!
... I did not totally run into a door frame at work this week after turning around too fast. (that hurt)
... the same day I didn't run into the door frame I did not also slam my knee into a shelf. (also really hurt)
...Grant and I did not go to an open house this weekend, talk to the Realtor, as soon as we both got back into the car said " he was so gay" then I was confused because he was wearing a wedding ring. Then I did not tell Grant that I was so happy we was not our Realtor because he reminded me of my tennis coach in High School. Good ole Mr. Randall whom I still have suspicions of being gay.
...I did not eat some Doritos Sunday and then felt guilty for sitting in the apartment on such a gorgeous day that I went for a hour walk. (but it felt amazing! yay for 50's in Wisconsin)

That is really it I guess for this addition of Not Me Monday! I am hoping this week goes fast...and that the weather people are right and we get upper 50's Monday and Tuesday! gosh I can feel spring already!!!!!
Amy

Pre-approved

2009-03-10T17:11:00.002-05:00

That is right folks we are now officially pre-approved for a home loan. We met with a wonderful women today, Donna, she was really great. Answered any questions and was quirky but not crazy! We didn't have good meetings in the past with mortgage people, so she was refreshing! Anyway now all we have to do is find a house! She is going to keep updating our information so it is the most current so when we find a house we can give them our pre-approval letter with an offer. It looks better when you have it. So that is that I guess!
Well my pedicure and HuHot was amazing last week! We also stopped at Kohl's and I bought Amelya a birthday barbie she saw there. We then went to my eye appointment, to re-check my macula levels. They went up to 29. So up 5 in 3 months. The Dr. was happy the level went up, but called me to tell me to start taking 2 pills a day to see if that would help it along a little more. I am fine with that whatever it takes to help me from getting worse, and to preserve the levels I have. Like I said in my last post 100 is perfect, and 25 is high risk. So slowly but surely I am going up. My next appointment is in June and they will test again, I am not sure what would happen if they don't go up or stay the same. I am going to trust in God that he has everything taken care of.
So no house hunting this weekend, Grant and I had haircuts on Saturday and then Saturday night we babysat for our nieces and nephew (aproudmommmyof4). We had soooo much fun. I don't care how bad of a day you are having spending any time with those kids make it all better. We even took them to McDonald's for supper. All 4 of them! It wasn't bad at all, people always look at me like I am crazy when I tell them stories about all 4 of them, but hello they are the best behaved kids ever! My sister/brother-in-law have done and will continue to do an amazing job at raising them. They know how to act in public and what is expected of them. Yeah they are still kids and act up, but even then you are able to talk to them and let them know that isn't the right thing to do, and bam like perfect kids again! (99% of the time)! So anyway we had a great time, the girls had grant playing marching band around the kitchen table, while I fed Dustin. They put on an amazing parade! Nothing else really going on here. I don't know for sure if we are house hunting this weekend, I hope so. Now that we have the all and mighty pre-approved letter I feel calmer about things! So have a great rest of the week!!!
Amy

Guess what I get tonight?!?!

2009-03-03T12:13:00.003-06:00

Can you guess?!?! HUHOT!! I am taking my almost 4 year old(yes I am in denial like my sister) niece Amelya to get a pedicure and the out to eat at HuHot. And let me make it known that SHE picked HuHot not me! She is going to be turning 4 on Thursday!! And for anyone that doesn't know who she is jump over to proudmommyof4 and check those cute nieces and nephew of mine out! So I am excited for that!
Also today I have my levels re-check for my eyes. For any new readers, I am at very high risk for Macular Degeneration. My grandfather and Aunt have it, and when I was tested in November my levels were at 24 out of 100 (100 being perfect, 25 and under high risk category to develop) So I now take 1 pill a day of EyePromise. It is a vitamin for your eyes that I get directly from my eye Dr, that has all the good stuff that your eyes need. So today I have the check-up to see what my levels are at. If they are still low then I need to start taking 2 pills a day, get re-checked and go from there. I really don't know yet what my options would be if after 3 months of 2 pills they would do. I don't know if they would keep upping the dosage or what! I am gonna ask today if the levels are not up any.
Also I just checked Grant's e-mail, and the house we liked... Chicago style...the one with the amazing kitchen, all re-done... has an accepted offer on it. So God decided that it wasn't the house for us. Although it was my favorite, it must not have been the one. And I was sad when I read the e-mail but was okay with it.
So we finally got Grant's 2007 taxes back and we are setting up a meeting with a mortgage lady to become pre-approved so that when we are sure and want to make an offer we can without having to wait, and then losing the house we wanted. So on with our search I guess.
Have a great night everyone... and I will for sure enjoy my HuHot!!!
Amy

God was watching out for me

2009-02-26T15:35:00.002-06:00

Today I had one of those "moments" that remind us that God is around all the time and watching out for us. I was on my way to work driving 33-35 in a 30mph road. Well this car must not have seen me and started coming across 4 lanes of traffic. This is not a highway but a busy city street (Oneida st by Walgreen's for those familiar with Appleton) any way I saw her at the last second and hit my breaks hard, because it rained yesterday the roads were still slickish (not icy, but not clear) my truck (saturn vue, SUV) started to skid and I barely missed this person by 2 inches. Luckily there was no one behind me because I stopped to sudden. If someone was following me they would have for sure hit me causing me to t-bone the other person. I immediately thanked God for watching out for me and almost wanted to pull over because my heart was pounding hard. It was scary and situations like that remind us the good that God does, and that he is there for us. To protect us and keep us safe.
Work was good today, kinda a slow week this week. I am sure that tomorrow will be slow because of the awesome Wisconsin weather we are having right now! Snow snow, sleet, rain...you name it we are gonna get it!
This weekend we are going to continue our house hunt. We still really like the great kitchen (Chicago style is the nickname we gave the house because the current owner moved to Chicago) but want to keep our options open because we are still waiting for Grant to get his 2007 taxes transcripts. So I will give you an update after this weekend to see what we find!
Drive safe if you are around the winter weather, and know that God is watching out for you.
Amy

A day late but no dollar short!

2009-02-24T07:40:00.002-06:00

Well I am a day late with the Not Me Mondays but hey I will do it anyway!
...I of course didn't see that my sister got HuHot Thursday night, and then didn't see that my cousin also was getting HuHot Friday night. Which most certainly didn't make me really crave HuHot and beg Grant to go Friday night!
... We most certainly didn't go to oh Delicious HuHot and see my beautiful cousin Ashley, boyfriend Jay and son Ayden!
...I also didn't totally run into a table at HuHot when someone stepped back in front of me. Of course I saved the plate of food, But I do have a huge bruise on my leg!
... I certainly still do not have the vases from our flower lady, from our wedding that was almost 4 months ago! I am also not going to finally deliver them to her today. (seriously she doesn't care)
... I did not get beat BAD by my 3 almost 4 year old niece in both bowling (i was beat my 30!!!) and boxing on the Wii...(in literally 10 seconds)
...I also did not get beat by my big sister either in tennis and boxing! But hey I did beat Amelya in tennis! Plus she gets more practice then me!
...I also did not leave thinking that when I babysit them on March 7th we will have a rematch!
Well that is all I got this week! We didn't do any house hunting this weekend because we are waiting for Grant to get his transcripts of his 2007 taxes back so that we can talk to a mortgage person for a real pre-approval this time! My lovely husband didn't make copies of his taxes last year and mailed them to IRS so we have to request copies and wait for the IRS to finally decide to send them to us! Lucky us! So after that we can finally get going on finding a house. We still really like that one, but we are keeping our options open! Happy fat tuesday to everyone!
Amy

Insert clever title here...or here...!

2009-02-18T20:27:00.001-06:00

Well lets see what have I been up to??? Nothing really. I guess I need to start by updating our weekend and the 13 houses we looked at!! We actually found some we liked. 3 to be exact! I really really like 1 in particular. It is a 3 bedroom 1600 sq ft house in Appleton area. The whole house has been updated and I mean the whole house. New windows (July 08) new furnace (November 08) all hardwood floors in house, all stainless steel appliances in kitchen (included, and still have warranty's on them) and HUGE projection screen downstairs. And I mean HUGE like 8-12 feet corner to corner! Plus washer and dryer included. So yeah needless to say I loved this house. We also really liked another one but the big down fall was that there was a power tower right in the back ward, and I mean right in the back yard. The first thing I thought of was our future kids climbing on it and getting electrocuted. So that one doesn't appeal to me as much, but it is a brand new home that a company builds and sells. That means no one else has ever lived in it and we could make it our own. But anyway that was the update from our weekend. We are going to meet with a mortgage person to get pre-approved and go from there. I don't know for sure if we are going to look this weekend, but either way my heart is still kinda with that one house...oh that one house...
Moving on Grant and I had a great Valentines night then. We just stayed home and watched movies, and then cuddled together and well we don't need to go there ;)
So yeah the wait continues on baby. But I have to say I have not been as crazy this month. I have read another blog, and this women is crazy about charting and temps and calendars, and mucus, and everything else. I just don't want to get that way. I want the process to be fun and romantic. When God wants to give us a child he will and I need to just wait for it and trust that he has a plan for us. I know they say you get pregnant when you are not trying and thinking about it so...I have to say I am pretty proud of myself that I haven't been browsing yahoo and babyzone, and fertilityfriend at all, and saying whatever will be will be. So we will see what happens. I am praying for no period next time, but like I said I trust in God that his plan is in place and it will be fulfilled when he wants it to be.
I suppose I can go now, Grant is sleeping on the floor like usual and snoring...arg I hate snoring! But Criminal Minds is getting to the end and getting good.
Till next time folks...it's funny I like to think I am as popular as MckMamma or My Special K's when in reality only a handful of people read this.... oh well I still feel important!
Amy

NOT ME!** UPDATE

2009-02-09T09:17:00.004-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by http://www.mycharmingkids.net MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net" her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
So here goes
... it is not me that hasn't done not me Monday in like forever!
...I also did not have to take my truck back to Saturn this morning to get something fixed, because I took it there the week before the wedding and this issue still shouldn't be happening!
...I did not cry in the Best Buy parking lot because Grant failed to ask if I had gotten my period yet, and I was not overly emotional because I had, and he didn't ask earlier.
...It is not me who gets bi-polar and crazy when Aunt Flow arrives.
... I then didn't proceed to enter my "information" into some calendars to see when we should try next month...I am not that crazy!!
... We did not plan to look at houses ALL day on Valentines day because Grant has made some magical plans (not) for our first married valentines day. (but honestly i would rather house hunt anyway!)
Well that will be it for all! Back to work for me and waiting to see what Saturn says about my truck!
Amy

***UPDATE***
So I call Saturn at 200pm and they said that they have periodically started my truck throughout the day and the lights have worked every time(go figure). I told them I would keep my truck there until the end of the day so that they could keep checking it. The called then at 430pm and said that they took off the dash and wiggled a whole bunch of wires, and nothing didn't work. So he said to keep an eye on it and if it happens, they would like to see the lights not working. So luckily they didn't charge me anything for keeping it there all day and them starting it. I guess I will just have to see now... Wish me luck!....Oh and lucky me they also washed my truck, it soooo needed it!

Ode to my Husband

2009-02-07T21:24:00.003-06:00

So we have been married for 3 months now and my sister (proudmommyof4) got this meme thing from another blogger and I figured since we are married now I get to do it too!

Husband Tag
1. Where did you meet? we talked on MSN messenger first, the first time we met was at a basketball game and we only said hi..funny thing he thought i was shy! lol if he only knew!

2. How long did you date before you got married? 7 years 10months...we are high school sweethearts (like my sister and parents)

3. How long have you been married? 3 months on Sunday

4. What does he do that surprises you?

5. What is your favorite feature of his? his huge hugs, eyes and smile

6. What is your favorite quality of his? that we can be total goofs with eachother, yet when he needs to be serious he is

7. Does he have a nickname for you? babe, or buns (he is a butt man)

8. What is his favorite color? green
9. What is his favorite food? meatloaf
10. What is his favorite sport? football
11. When and where was your first kiss? March 2001, in my parents basement at the bottom of the steps
12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? cuddle on the couch watching tv or movie

13. Do you have any children? not yet we are trying

14. Does he have a hidden talent? nope

15. How old is he? 24

16. Who said I love you first? he did, again in my parents basement

17. What’s his favorite type of music? rock

18. What do you admire most about him? I love his desire for things, he worked soooo hard during college and I was so proud of him when he graduated summa cum laude (highest honor) from UW Green Bay
19. Do you think he will read this? No i don't think he reads my blog...or won't admit it

HUSBAND MEME
1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: What is on the screen? right now? a video game he is playing

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French

3. What is one food he doesn’t like? peanut butter, pickles, bananas

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Miller Lite

5. Where did he go to high school? Hilbert high school

6. What size shoe does he wear? 12 or 13 depending on the shoe

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? video games

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? ham and cheese

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? supreme pizza

10. What is his favorite cereal? gross Cheerios ( no not honey nut the plain ones)

11. What would he never wear? a turtle neck

12. What is his favorite sports team? i asked him he said "uh um" but he does like his alumni schools basketball team Go GB

13. Who is his best friend? Chad and Andy

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? go up to people in stores and start conversations, ( i tell people when tags are left on clothes, or they drop something..I am also the one that has to argue with stores when we get ripped off)

15. How many states has he lived in? just good ole Wisconsin

16. What is his heritage? German

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind is it? HoHo cake (his mom's recipe)

18. Did he play sports in high school? Football

19. What could he spend hours doing? playing his video games

Well that was Fun! Hope everyone had a great weekend. We checked out some houses.... still searching for the one!
Amy

Weekend Fun

2009-02-05T19:48:00.002-06:00

Well another week has gone by! Last weekend was a blast, like I said we went to Waupaca get away from the house hunt and relax for the weekend, and that we did. My mom and I danced the night away, and my dad and husband even joined us! It was fun and much needed. Now it is Thursday and I had an amazing massage today. Dr. Jamie hired a new massage therapist to work at the clinic, and I tested her out today. She did an awesome job, and hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow, but as she said "your traps really needed it, they fought me the whole time" I think it is funny when massage therapists talk about your muscles like they are people!! Anyway we are back to house hunting this weekend, widening our search a little bit. I will let you know how that goes...I promise! Well Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are about to start, and I can't miss this combination episodes this week now can I? Have a great week everyone!
Amy

NEW HAIR

2009-01-29T20:24:00.004-06:00

Okay so I had a hair cut today! I thought about it all week on what I wanted to do,I have never been good at deciding. I talked to a couple people about it and finally looked through books at the salon. See my aunt is a beautician so I totally trust her with my hair and usually tell her to do what she wants. We had a couple ideas, and finally came up with this! I absolutely LOVE it!!! Anyway we have decided to take a break from house hunting this weekend. Too many disappointments and we need a stress relief. So we are going to Waupaca with my parents for a friends surprise birthday party. It will be nice to see everyone again, we didn't get up their very much last summer because of the wedding planning. So then next weekend we will hit it hard again!!

Please keep my sister (aproudmommyof4) in your prayers she is going through some medical issues lately and we all know that when that happens every prayer helps!

So have a great weekend and maybe I will see you Monday!

Amy

Not the way to start a Monday!

2009-01-26T20:43:00.003-06:00

Okay I had a horrible start to my Monday. I will just leave you with the letter that I am sending to my Apartment complex managers/landlord.

To Whom it May Concern:

I am Amy Kolbe, my husband and I live at-----. On Monday January 26, 2009 I went down to open my garage door to go to work. When I put the key in nothing happened. I tried again and same thing. I went upstairs to get my husband to see if maybe the door was frozen and if he put some pressure on it, it would open. No such luck. I then called the assistance line (920-989-****) I talked to Gina @ 6:58 am and told her what was happening, she took my number and said that someone would be calling me soon because I needed to get to work. I waited a half hour and still no call. I then called the assistance line again @7:32 am and talked to Gina asking her what was going on because I was now late for work, and no one had called me regarding the situation. She told me John was paged and that she would page him again. She again took my phone number to make sure she had it right and again said someone would be contacting me. Then finally at 7:38 am Gary called my phone. He was asking questions about the garage door, I said I had tried to get it but no luck he then said well it will be quite a while before anyone can get out there. He was asking if I knew how to use the override on the door, I said no but let me get downstairs and talk me through it. He tried to talk me through it, but I was unable to get the door open. The whole time on the phone I feel that Gary was being rude, and impatient with me. I also feel that it shouldn’t be my (the renters) job to try and fix the garage door. Finally he said let me see what I can do. He called me back at 7:45 am and said someone will be there in a half hour. Then hung up without asking any other questions or seeing if there was anything else he could do. He was very rude on the phone and unprofessional. I was very upset at this point because I was already late for work and then had to wait another half hour before someone would even be able to look at the door. I sat in my apartment watching for someone to show up. Finally at 8:20 am 2 Murphy Development employees showed up. They took my keys and tried to open the door. Didn’t work. They then decided to take the key part off the door, and try to short circuit the door to open. Also didn’t work. Finally they decided to try and use the override pull cord. While one pulled and the other lifted the door, on the second try they finally got the door open. One man looked at me and said “late for work?” Laughing as he said it and I stated yes an hour and a half late. They stated they were going to fix the garage door and I went to work.
I feel that this situation was handled very poorly! A resident should not have to wait an hour and a half before someone is able to come and look at the situation. I also feel that Gary was very rude and didn’t handle the situation well, nor was he very helpful, he seemed annoyed at the fact that I had called in to complain.
I would also like to say that I feel that if someone had to call and make a complaint about their building or something with their garage, that the person should get a call stating what the situation was and if it had been resolved. My husband came home and tried the garage door, and it worked. He then ran into a neighbor and he stated that none of the garage doors worked in our building this morning. I feel that someone should have called me or my husband to let us know the situation. I am very upset that we were not called and that none of your employees seemed to care that I was having a problem or that I was an hour and a half late for work because my problem wasn’t important enough to be taken care of within a time limit from my first call. It was over 30 min before I got a call back and that was only after I called twice. I don’t know what you want to do about this or what you can do about this, but let it be known my husband and I are very upset with the way we were treated and would think twice about recommending anyone to call the maintenance line when they have a problem.

Amy and Grant Kolbe

** So yeah after that my day got better, but really not the way I wanted to start my week.

Taco Tuesday

2009-01-20T20:24:00.004-06:00

Hey all! well today is Tuesday and I had Taco's for lunch! One of our patients (which i also consider a friend) came in yesterday and I told him I had to get my oil changed after work and he said hey it's taco Tuesday at Taco John's lets go to lunch! So I said OK! So we did and I have to say the taco's were pretty good but oh my goodness the little potato thingy's and the Cinnamon thingy for dessert were amazing!! I would defiantly go back just for those!!!
Let's see an update from this weekend. Grant and I went and looked at 3 houses in Hilbert, one was a total bust! It had windows that had cracks in them, windows that didn't even shut, and needed a lot of work. Then we went to another house it was really nice, and had a super great basement...BUT NO garage! It was really weird. I know we can lower the price and then try and build one, but really we want to keep looking. The third house was nice too, but a really small living room, but and amazingly redone kitchen with all new appliances included! but again i don't think they were the "one". We are going again this weekend to look at either 3or4 houses, this time in Brillion. I am excited because they all look really nice. But I have to say I am proud of myself because I am not getting overly excited. Meaning setting myself up for failure. I keep reminding myself that when God wants us to find a house, and when we find the "one" we will know and he will let us know! So I keep reminding myself that, and happily it is working!
Well the new Dr. started yesterday and I think it will work out wonderfully! He of course doesn't have any patients yet, but they will come, they always do!
Well that is all now the biggest loser is getting to the good parts, they are all weighing in now and then comes the elimination...and my favorite part the "how have they been doing" after the show.
So until next time, "Don't set your self up for heartbreak"
Amy

Cold!

2009-01-15T13:20:00.002-06:00

Well welcome to WI right?!?! it is currently -9 in WI and wind chills anywhere from -20 to -44 F. COLD! I can't wait to get home put jammies on and cuddle with a blanket...okay and Grant too! I have a couple things to finish up at work, then home.
Lets see what has been up lately. Grant and I celebrated our 2 month wedding anniversary...okay we didn't celebrate but we did acknowledge the day. Then on 1-12 we celebrated 8 years of being together. Grant surprised me with a cute note in my purse, and then when I got home he had a gift bag in my closet for me with season 3 of Grey's anatomy, and a DS game. I felt like a total idiot, because I didn't think we were getting each other anything! well I thanked him and told him that I felt like an idiot. So Tuesday after work I headed to the "nerd" store. (it is a new/used game store that we have always called the "nerd" store) (now don't take it as a diss to nerds, because it is not, I believe grant is a nerd, at heart) I got him a 4000 point card for his XBOX 360 so that he can download more games and music, then I went to walmart and got stuff to make him pizza burgers for supper. He loved the surprise when he got home, I think mainly because that meant he didn't have to make supper/think of anything for supper!
Work has been going good. Dr. Jamie hired an independent contractor (another chiropractor, but he isn't technically her employee...I know the legalities) he starts Monday. I am glad because then Jamie is able to take her 2 week maternity leave (yes folks I said it 2 weeks, that is all she wants) But, now I can't come on here during the day and post. I know I have been horrible about it lately, but work is busy and with the new doctor I am organizing things, and getting things straightened out from 2008-2009 with taxes and crap like that!
This weekend Grant and I are going to check out some more houses! I am excited, I can't wait until we can move out of our apartment!!! Speaking of our apartment... neighbor man (don't know his name) came to the door last night and said he hit Grant's car. okay so he only scratched the back drivers side door, but there are 2 scratches that run the whole back door, and a little past that. Grant didn't think it was a big deal, I told him um...yeah we are gonna get it fixed, and he is going to pay for it. I know it isn't a big deal to us, but it would be a big deal if we want to ever sell the car! so the neighbor is going out of town for a couple days and told us to let him know what we want to do with it when he gets back! oh joy! anyways I better finish up my work so I can get home to my couch and blanket!!!
Till then folks!
Amy

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T16:07:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year All! My new years was ok. Grant and I went to our friends Abbey and Andy's house. We grilled steaks and played games. The clock struck 12 we kissed and then Grant was like, lets go. I said ok then doesn't matter to me. We get in the truck and he tells me he doesn't feel good and feels like he is gonna throw up. Lucky me right! so we get home and i tell him i am going to bed, he decided to lay on the couch for a little while. Fast forward about 30 min. I wake up feeling horrible. The slimy throat, tight stomach, and sounds coming from my stomach that we all know are not natural! i get up put my hair into a ponytail (b/c you never know) get a drink of water, (notice grant sound asleep on the couch) and try to go back to bed...didn't work. again i was up... luckily no puking from either of us, but i still was getting sick (but not puking, i am sure you all understand) i was up for about 1 and 1/2 hours getting the chills and sweating! and then finally getting to sleep. I slept in until 10am, and then felt OK. So a great way to start the new year right?!?! But luckily it was only a little bit of the flu and both of us are tons better now.
Lets see nothing else really going on with us, we are officially trying! that is exciting, i am trying not to think about babies 24/7 because i know when you are not trying is when you get pregnant, but how can i not think about it all the time. I can't wait until i can make a post saying we are expecting and posting ultra sounds pics.... so yeah all i do is think about it!
So good luck to us!
Have a Wonderful Start to the New Year!
Amy

Calm now

2008-12-30T16:39:00.002-06:00

Well Christmas was a success. Busy that is for sure. Christmas eve I worked until 1230 and then got home and made my noodle salad for Christmas day, and then relaxed for a little bit before going to my grandparents for Christmas eve. that was fun. My cousins and sister and I always make family events a good time, at least for us! Then onto Christmas day. In the morning we went to Grant's grandparents with his parents to visit, then went to Grant's aunt and uncle's house for the Kolbe Christmas, and THEN we went to Grant's parents house to exchange gifts. Phew it made me tired again just typing it! Then i woke up Friday morning feeling like total junk. My head was all stuffed and i couldn't breath out of my nose at all and my lungs hurt... YUCK. but i took an allergy pill and then used some nasal spray and started to feel better. My sister had called to see if i wanted to watch the girls on Saturday so that her and my brother-in-law could go shopping for some Wii games because they had gotten one for Christmas. so grant and i went shopping on Friday to get some supplies for the packer game (oh yeah... Dr. Jamie had gotten us tickets to the packer game! it was amazing, and we saw history in the making. Detroit went 0-16!!) then Saturday we watched the girlies (and yes i can say that because Amanda brought Dustin with her) we had fun like always!! Sunday i got up early and we got ready for the game! it was amazing, it was my first ever packer game! and like i said we saw the Green Bay Packers help make history by beating the Lions and making them the first team ever to go 0-16!!!
So now it is Tuesday and i am waiting for Grant to get home. Of course it is snowing AGAIN in Wisconsin, so it will probably take Grant a little longer to get home. Then tomorrow new year's eve we are going to hang out with our friends Abbey and Andy, grill supper, and probably play games all night! We love playing games with them, we make it interesting! other than that not much going on here.
I would also like to remind everyone to pray for Stellan and his family over at MckMama's blog he is going through a really hard time right now with RSV, and i am sure they all need some prayers to try and keep their heads up.
So have a Great New Year's Eve... See you next year haha...
Amy

house hunt

2008-12-19T11:09:00.002-06:00

So we had a walk through with a house on Thursday night. and well, it didn't make my heart flutter. It is an old house, and needs work. And for the people that actually know my husband, he is not handy with stuff like that. Plus it was a story and a half, and you couldn't stand up in the upstairs and the bedrooms were super small and cold. now i know that no one was sleeping in them now so that explains the cold. and the ceiling had cracks in it up stairs, some of the walls i saw had cracks in them, and the ceiling in the living room had a huge bubble in it. i guess it was okay, but like i said it didn't make my heart flutter....sadly not even a little bit. So we are going to continue to look and look... that is really all we can do right?!?! So then after that we went and got our hair cut. my aunt carol took off like 3 inches of my hair. I told her to do whatever she wanted with it because i was "sick" of my hair. I love it, now the challenge of not getting static head with the dry air... i end up getting an afro throughout the day, and out comes the pony tail! oh well all is well....

So not it is Monday and jeez i have been slacking! Yesterday we had Christmas at my parents house, got good stuff. Some shirts i had picked out, cool winter decoration, a microwave (for our house whenever that may be), and Burt's bees wax chap stick. my absolute favorite. See i have super sensitive lips, i cannot drink out of anything made from clear plastic, certain straws and cups or anything else my lips decide is "harmful" or my lips will swell up to 3 times the size and ooze and awesome ooze. Horrible i know. and Burt's is an all natural chap stick and i don't have to worry about any ingredients or the container harming my lips and making them explode. Trust me it is not pretty. It was a fun time at Christmas we played our Hit or Miss game again, and had a great time. my family really enjoyed it.
So this week at work is super busy so i don't know if i will grace you with my presence again this week. and sorry no not me's again... like i said BUSY!
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and May God Bless you and yours.

horrible i know

2008-12-10T13:26:00.002-06:00

man where have I been right?!? so I miss two weeks in a row of Not Me Monday's and haven't posted in a week...horrible I know! Well lets see what's new, Grant's birthday was Saturday and we went to a UW Green Bay mens basketball game. that was lots of fun, plus we had amazing seats, right behind the green bay bench, I literally could touch the players. and while we were their we saw Larry mccaren (sp) he is big in green bay, with the packers and on sports, so that was cool! during the day Saturday we went house shopping!!! it was fun we just plugged addresses into our GPS and away we went. we found a house we really like and grant e-mailed the lady to see if it was still available and if we could set something up to tour and what not! so as of yesterday we hadn't heard anything yet from that lady, but we will see what happens. I am trying not to get my hopes up, (because i do that way tooo much and then it just really hurts to fall that hard when things don't play out as i wanted them) so I keep telling myself that god is in control and if we were not meant to have that house then well we won't and we will keep waiting until we find something, or god decides what we are supposed to do. lets see oh Wisconsin got hit big time with snow! Monday dr. jamie and I were talking and she said it didn't pay for us to come in and risk driving in the horrible weather Tuesday, so i called and rescheduled our Tuesdays patients, and grant and i had a snow day in with each other...it was nice, of course grant didn't go to work. he thinks flurries is a snow storm! we just relaxed and hung out together stayed in bed and relaxed (wink wink), really what else were we going to do, we definitely we not going to drive any where!! so now that it is wednesday i keep thinking it is monday, and am all screwed up at work!
oh and tomorrow my sister and i are going to my mom's house and making Christmas candy! the whole chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter balls, haystacks...yummy!!! I can't wait, my mom wants to make it a tradition, and both amanda and I are all for it!!! and then I think this weekend we are going to hang out with andy and abbey again, they have a birthday present for grant and we have so much fun hanging out with them and just chilaxing! so I believe that is it and now i got work to do.
have a work filled day
Amy

Long time gone

2008-12-03T10:28:00.003-06:00

Sorry folks it has been forever! anyway this week and the week of Thanksgiving have been crazy. busy at work and then jumping one house to the next jeez it feels good to have like 2 weeks then do it all over again with Christmas!! Other than that everything has been great on this end, i had my re-check with my contacts last night, and got my glasses which i absolutely love!! anyway the Dr changed my right eye to a little stronger, b/c i told him that things were still blurry, so he bumped it up to -4.75 in the right and -4.50 in the left. yeah bad right! and then i bought the vitamins from them to help prevent/ delay macular degeneration. i got 3 bottles of 60 pills for $75. now i figured it is a small price to pay for eye sight right, plus he said that i can either take 1 or 2 a day and i have to go back in March to see if the vitamins are helping, if not i am going to start taking 2 then another check up and so on, until the levels stay up. scary thing. i asked some more questions on it, he said i don't have macular degeneration yet, but at very high risk... 100 being perfect 0 being having it i am at 24. 25 is the high risk category. so he said that they will keep an eye (no pun intended) on my levels every 3-6 months, and if i continue to buy the vitamins through them the check ups are free (the original test was $50, so kind levels itself out with the price of the vitamins) i also asked about getting pregnant and continuing taking the vitamins, but he said when that happens i need to talk to my Dr about that, but he didn't see anything in them that would harm, but made sure to tell me to talk to the Dr when i get pregnant. on that note i have to say i am on point to know exactly when i get my next period and when to try following that! yes i am that lame and sat down with my planner....FYI it is over the new year that i am "fertile" haha, then our 8 year anniversary is January 12th, i told grant wouldn't that be a great anniversary present!?!?! i think so!!! but i will let God figure that out for me and Grant and when it happens it happens...but if i am anything like my sister and mother, i don't think i will have anything to worry about!

Also Mck Mamma is having an amazing give away so go and check out her blog, new camera and supplies!! i don't know for sure what i all had to do to enter this, so if i did it wrong oh well!

Have a snow filled day (that is what WI is getting today!).
Amy