Friday, October 31, 2008

21 Week Ultrasound

Yesterday, we had our second ultrasound at 21.5 weeks into my pregnancy. My due date has not changed and is set for March 9, 2009. The baby's head is already down, and is very low. Don't I know it! I've been very sore for the a couple of weeks and I attribute that to the baby being down so low. Everything is looking good and the little one was moving around so much it took us awhile to figure out if it was a boy or a girl. We finally got to see that we are having another BOY! I was a little disappointed that we were not having a girl, but the baby is healthy and there are so many good points to having another boy. I kept all of Ryan's clothing/toys from birth on up. Ryan was very easy on clothing, so it's like new. Ryan will have a friend wherever he goes too. The boys will be around 20 months apart in age. Josh and I are even thinking for the time being they will share a room. For the first several months we will have the little guy in the bassinet in our bedroom though. I will have my monthly Dr. Appointment November 4th. Hopefully he will have reviewed all the measurements of the baby and tell us everything is a go. Now, I am just hoping I will not start developing preeclampsia like I did towards the end of my pregnancy with Ryan!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Infrared Heater

Our EdenPURE heater has been working quite well for us. It does not heat our whole house of course, but it heats our large living room with a ten to twelve foot ceiling. In addition, it heats my son's room that is right off the living room. If we had two of the infrared heaters they would probably heat our entire home. Our house is very old and is a little over 1400 sq. ft. This particular heater is supposed to heat up to 1000 sq. ft. floor to ceiling evenly. This is depending depending on height of ceilings and how well your house is insulated. The heater itself does not get even warm to the touch. There is a small grate the heat comes out of and it should not be touched, the directions indicated. Even though it will not hurt you, the heat coming out on high is quite warm. Another good point is that it is on wheels and very easy to move from room to room. My cat even likes sitting on top of the heater. Overall, I am satisfied with the EdenPURE and I am sure when the electric and gas bills come in I will be even more so. I am very happy with the purchase of this heater.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Back and Forth

Today I drug Ryan all over the place! First we went to my parent's house to check on their cats since mom and dad were out of town for the weekend. Later in the afternoon Ryan and I dropped by Josh's work to visit for awhile. My mom called me while I was there. They had gotten back from Branson and wanted us to come over. We stayed for quite awhile, then some friends from Monticello were in town with their little boy who is the same age as Ryan. I took Ryan back to our house so we could meet them there. It was so cute watching those two little boys interact. They were giving hugs, kisses, and being their adorable selves. Ryan and I went back to Grandma and Grandpa's after that....then back to see Josh to tell him goodnight. Ryan and I sure went back and forth a lot today. It was a good day though. Ryan is sleeping soundly now, while his little brother or sister is kicking me. This Thursday is the day we find out if the baby is a boy or girl! I can't wait to see the ultrasound and see our little one moving around.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Some Random Pictures







My Rosebush October 24th, 2008!














Autumn Leaves















Spooky Black Walnut Tree

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Nice Day Out and About

Today Josh, Ryan, and I went to eat at the Fish Net restaurant for lunch. It was great as usual and Ryan loved looking at the fish in the fish tank.

After we finished our lunch we went to the AT&T store to get my new phone. I was eligible for an upgrade and I found just the right phone for me.

[A short intermission: Ryan just came around the corner from playing with his Daddy and blew me kisses with both hands at once! No one even told him to, he's just so darn sweet!]

We all decided to walk down to the park and play this afternoon after lunch. While there, we met a very nice lady who was walking her wiener dog. She offered for Ryan to pet the puppy, but the pup was a little scared of strangers. Ryan enjoyed just looking at the puppy up close just the same. We looked (and touched) at all the leaves and trees. Ryan likes to hug the trees and pat the bark, he's such a nice little boy.

Then, we walked down to True North to get a flavored tea. The owner gave Ryan a pickle to eat, which was so sweet of him. He said he used to give out cookies to little ones, but the mom's were complaining, so he changed to pickles. Ha ha! That was good for us, because Ryan loves pickles!

I called the lady that heads the Republican HQ to get a McCain/Palin sign for our yard. She said they were fresh out and her husband had to go out of town to get some more. She asked me where I live and I told her...she said, "Oh, that's just right around the corner from us. We'll just drop the sign off later today!" About 30 minutes ago her husband came over and put the sign up for us. He was such a kind man and I was very thankful for him bringing the sign to us.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Protect the Sanctity of Life (Petition-Please Sign!)

From Mike Huckabee's site, HUCK* PAC:


["I have no doubt that the Democrats' ideas are totally wrong for America and many of their plans would take us the opposite direction from where America needs to go.

Led by Senator Obama, the Majority of the Democrat Party in the House and Senate support the most liberal and indefensible positions on abortion, including a refusal to support a ban on the most vile form of all, partial birth abortion. Led by Senator Obama these Democrats are actively pushing for what the anti-life forces euphemistically call "reproductive rights."

Against them, we must rally every American that seeks to protect and cherish life."]

LINK TO SIGN PETITION:



Thanks,
Kara

Monday, October 20, 2008

Problem Solved!

The weather is turning colder and it's almost time to light the gas wall heaters we have in our home. Josh and I have told Ryan at least 100 times not to touch the wall heater in the living room. He isn't even a year and a half old yet, so he doesn't understand that those no nos are for keeping him safe. He still wants to touch the heater especially now that he is walking/running on his own. There is no tempered glass in this type of heater and it's right at the level he can put his hand right in or stick toys in the heater. Josh and I were contemplating getting a fireplace grate and anchoring it to the wall somehow. I know Ryan would still be tempted to pull on the grate and it would still be considerably warm to touch.

The other day while in Ft. Smith I saw an advertisement for an infrared heater. I got on-line when I got home and read about this type of heating and liked what I found. We ordered the EdenPURE portable heater which will heat up to 1000sq. ft. That will at least heat our living room, Ryan's room, and the kitchen. The heater is safe for kids and pets. Kids can even touch the heater and it will not harm them. It has no fire hazard clearance. You can shove it right against a wall or if it gets pushed against a piece of furniture there'll no fire danger. In the US (except HI and AK) - free shipping and it is supposed to reduce your electric bill, or in our case gas bill! The heater uses the same electricity as if you were to use your coffee maker. There are so many great points that I'll just list the link the the site: http://www.edenpurestore.com/question___answers

Friday, October 17, 2008

A Couple Pictures I Took of Ryan Today

Today Ryan played in the leaves at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He thought it was so much fun to crunch the leaves.















Ryan loves playing the piano! He doesn't bang on the keys like you would expect a 15 month old boy to do. He presses a note, listens to it, then smiles.


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Quote on Abortion

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." -Mother Teresa

Monday, October 13, 2008

Target

Josh, Ryan, and I went to Ft. Smith today (again). They opened a new Target store there yesterday. It's a good thing that we don't have one here or I would be spending too much money there. We were walking through the parking lot (we had to park a mile away) and a man approached us and said, "here, it doesn't have but $2 on it, but you can have this". He handed us a target gift card and told us to buy something for Ryan. That was so nice of him even though it was only $2 we appreciated it and used it. We had so much fun in that store, but we didn't even go through it all, it's huge! It's got a Pizza Hut AND a Starbucks too, whoa. Ha ha! I live in a very small town, can't you tell? Back to the store...I bought some flannel sheets for our bed and a very nice quilt to go with them. I also bought a new sheet set for Ryan's twin bed, a quilt, and a matching lamp for his room. We got Ryan a Tonka steam roller and he loves that thing. He played with it all day in the car and until bedtime at home.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I've Gotta Make up Those 6 Pounds Somewhere!

In the blog, "18 Week Doctor Visit" I mentioned that I lost 6 pounds since the last visit. Tonight my husband (such a doll) went out at 10pm to get me some ice cream. A few minutes ago I ate a Snickers ice cream bar AND a drumstick one right after the other. I wasn't planning on eating both, but I did. I joked with my husband telling him that I had to make up for those 6 pounds I lost somewhere! I am probably going to regret it here in a little while, but they were oh so good. Ha ha, the things you can get away with while being pregnant :)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Cat Scratch

Ryan loves animals and he's only 15 months old. He was playing with our cat, Domino this morning and she scratched his head and by his eye a bit. I felt so bad because as soon as I saw her lunge for him it was already too late to separate them. I cleaned his face up and it looks like small minor scratches. Domino has never laid a paw on Ryan until today even when he wasn't being 'gentle' with her. We're still working on 'soft' and 'gentle', but from now on I am going to have to make sure I keep Domino's claws clipped and help Ryan when he is trying to pet the kitty.

Friday, October 10, 2008

18 Week Doctor Visit

I am down 6 lbs. from last month and the Doc said "well you won't be a fatty!" LOL. My blood pressure was good and everything else was great. The Doc asked me while we were listening to the baby's heartbeat if in my last pregnancy did I have a girl? I told him no, it was a boy. He said this baby's heart rate was at 180 and that it was an old wives' tale, but this baby might be a girl! He said it is either that or this baby is just kicking up a storm. I looked at my old blogs when I was about this far along with Ryan and his heart rate was always around 150-160. I'm not going to hold my breath over a wives' tale, but I'm hoping for a girl. My ultrasound is scheduled for October 30th at 1PM! I hope the baby will cooperate then and let us know.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Nice Trip Out of Town and Scheduled Dr.'s Appt.

Josh and I went to Ft. Smith yesterday afternoon to go shopping. We got Ryan a couple of Christmas presents and we got him a teddy bear Halloween costume. I put the head piece on Ryan last night and he looked absolutely precious (even more so than usual )! We were going to try to go to the new Target on the Pavilion Drive they were still adding stores to, but Target wasn't open yet. October 12th is when they open. We went back through Poteau as we always do, I hate going down 71 to get to Ft. Smith. Anyways, we stopped at the Poteau Wal-Mart so we wouldn't have to go to ours at home. They didn't have any maternity clothes whatsoever! I even asked! How do ya like that? Oh well, I'll just buy some out of a catalog or online. Josh and I got home fairly early (5PM) and picked Ryan up from his Grandma and Pop's house.

Ryan and I are getting over our colds finally! Josh somehow escaped getting this (lucky). I hate being sick, it just takes so much out of you and I can't think straight. Being pregnant I can't think straight anyways, so being sick on top of that just stinks.

I have my regular monthly check up at Dr. M's tomorrow afternoon. I am 18 wks. right now and I think they will schedule me an ultrasound tomorrow. I hope they can do it in 2 weeks from now...the sooner the better. We are so anxious to see if this baby is a boy or girl so we can start making some plans. I'm so excited for Ryan to be a big brother! It will be wonderful watching them grow up together especially since they will be so close in age. Ryan is so sweet and social already, I know he will love helping take care of his little brother or sister.

Friday, October 3, 2008

A Fun and Productive Day!

This morning Josh got off work and we got a lot of running around done in town. We paid our property tax and picked up some registration forms so we can vote next month. We also went to the bank and paid in full the small loan we had with them for our floors. Josh got to pick up his check for going to Houston a couple of weeks ago for helping out after Hurricane Ike. Since I completely paid off 2 of our major credit cards this week we are thinking of keeping half the check each to do what we please. I also finished my 3rd assignment for my children's literature course this morning and sent it off today. I am so proud.

I had a fabulous day in the park with Josh and Ryan today! The weather was beautiful and cool. We live only 3 blocks from the park, so we walked there with Ryan this afternoon. Josh carried him most of the way, but when we got there Ryan got in the grass and walked all over that park! He played in the little spring that feeds into the ponds and splish splashed in the cold water eek! We walked over to see the ducks too, he really liked that. Every now and then we'd see a squirrel and Ryan would say, "kitty!" Josh put him up on his shoulders for the first time too. Ryan loved that! He is such a daddy's boy, he thinks his daddy is the best. I took a short little video with Josh's phone of Ryan up on Josh's shoulders. I will post it soon, it's too cute!