New Year's Eve

I feel like I should have something profound and exciting to write about as we bid farewell to 2010.

Lots of fun and exciting things happened this past year for my family and me.

Babies were born, baptised, and grew into fun little people who now blow kisses, give high fives, and intentionally pull hair when it looks like fun.

We found out a new little one is on the way and should arrive in February.

In all reality, there were a lot more things than babies that happened, but they tend to be the highlight.  Hey...I'm an L&D nurse.  It's my job to make them the highlight of every new parents' life.  Why should it be different in my personal life?

I have no pictures to show you or stories to recap everything that happened this past year.

Instead, I'm going to wish all my family and friends a

Happy and Joyful New Year!

2010 was good to us, but here's to an even better 2011!

Be safe everyone!

The Kiddos

I am biased, but I think I have some of the cutest kiddos as nieces and nephew.

We recently tried to do a photo shoot at my parents' house with all 4 kids.

Yup...that's 4 kids age 3 and under.

It was interesting.

As my sister joked, we have a lot more outtakes than pics that actually turned out,

but what can you expect with that age range?!?!

I was also able to take a few solo shots of each of them.

Again, I am not into photo editing (yet), so all of these are straight out of the camera.

Thanks to my sisters for letting me practice on their kids.

Enjoy!

Miss Brooklyn...

Miss Jayde...

Mr. Wyatt...

And Miss Ava...

And let's not forget my parents with the kiddos...

Krumkake...

If you know what it is, you know how yummy this stuff is.  If you don't know what it is, you could be wondering how to pronounce it, let alone why I would want to eat it.

Well, it's not a very appetizing name.  The correct pronunciation is "kroom-caca."  I say that name to people and tend to get some laughs.  No, I'm not eating poop and it's not a "bad word".

I am eating a delightfully thin, crisp sugar cookie.

It's something that my Grandma Harms and Aunt Debbie would make every year for Christmas when I was little.  They had it rough.  They made them using a krumkake iron.  They could only make one at a time and it usually resulted in at least one person getting burned.

I'll admit...I have it easy.  I found a "krumkake baker" at a specialty kitchen store a few years ago.  It makes 2 cookies at a time and comes with a handy little tool to help make them into cute horn shaped treats.  After I told my mom about it and my desire to start making krumkake for the Harms family Christmas, she bought it for me.

In our family, it is typically a Christmas cookie and is only made during Christmastime.  This being said, it takes some re-learning in order to get the cookie just right.

The first ones usually are either too small, too big or too burned.

At some point, it usually oozes out the side of the baker.

But in the end, you get a beautiful, yummy, little crispy horn of a cookie.

Look how thin it is!

Even Harley hangs out by my feet trying to get a little piece of the action.

They're yummy.  Wish I could share with all of you, but these lovely things will be going to the Harms Family Christmas again this year.  This time without me.  I have to work and help deliver some Christmas babies.

And if you happen to be at that Harms Family Christmas, you might have to wrestle the delicious krumkake away from Dawn.  She loves 'em as much as I do.


These are for you Harmsie!  Enjoy!

Stupid Snow!

Today was going to be great!

We had a big celebration planned.  It's my weekend to work and had made arrangements to have off today so I could attend the bash.

What is this big bash, you ask?

The First Birthday of my one and only nephew on the Pieper side...Mr. Wyatt Fogarty aka the Turkey!

Due to the wind and snow and horrible driving conditions, most of the relatives of Wyatt were unable to make the party...including Rob and I.


However, to commemorate the occasion, I'm checking out some Birth Day pics of Wyatt.  I can't believe how tiny he was!

And look at what a big, handsome boy he is now!

We Miss You, Wyatt! 

Wish we could be there celebrating with you today, but know that we love you very much!

Your First Birthday will be one for the record books.

Love ya, Turkey!

Happy Late Anniversary!

Okay, so I know I'm over a week late, but I thought I'd blog about last Monday, November 29th.

It was our 2nd Anniversary!

We both had to work that day, so not much celebrating got done, but we had a nice relaxing night at home after busy days for both of us.

Being the thoughtful guy he is, Rob's gift to me was band to match my wedding band to complete my wedding ring set.  The problem with that was, the company discontinued the set almost a year ago.  He had to special order it and they had to specially make it.  In order for them to have it done by our anniversary, he had to order it 10 weeks ago.  That's right!  He had this thought in his head since August!  What a guy!

On the other hand, knowing my husband and what really makes him happy, my gift was slightly less romantic, but something he really wanted...

A new cell phone.

Yup...a cell phone.  We got it tonight and I think I have offically been replaced...at least for the next week or so.

We are both aware that an anniversary, let alone a marriage is not based on gifts. That's why we are thankful everyday for the love that we have for each other and the new little being that we have created and get to meet in February.

Speaking of which, today marks the 10 weeks to go point.  That's right!  In 70 days we get to meet this little person!  Rob set up the crib this past weekend and we are slowly, very slowly, getting the room together.  The baby is moving more and more everyday and those movements are getting much more pronounced.  I have been able to feel it on the outside, but every time I call Rob to come and feel it kick, it stops.  Go figure!  He gets frustrated and thinks I'm lying, but I swear this kid knows it's him and is just being stubborn. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We all know what I'm thankful for this year...all the blessings in my life, including my family and friends who catch up with us on this blog.  Thanks for being a part of our lives!

Jen and Rob

Cooperation!

As I stated in recent posts, because this baby was not cooperating for the last 2 ultrasounds and we couldn't see it's lip and nose, we were scheduled for a Level II ultrasound.

Today was the day...25 weeks and 6 days along to be exact!

It didn't start out well.  The kid was once again being camera shy and refused to let the face be seen.

After a few measurements, she went back to the face and had much success!  We even got a profile picture.  It sounds weird, even to me, but until I saw that little face, it almost didn't seem real until now.  The tech was also kind enough to take a 3D picture of the baby's face, but it still looks a  little alien-like, so I'm leaving that picture off.

It likes to have it's hands up by its face.  Rob said it's cause the baby's pissed about all the ultrasounds being done! :)  He was actually waiting for it to flip us off.

We even saw it yawn/open it's mouth today.  Rob told me that is what he liked the best about today.

It's little hand!

Profile

Profile with it's hands and arms up by it's face.

After the ultrasound, the perinatologist came in.  He's someone I've worked with before and was thrilled when I found out he was working today.  He told us everything looked great!  No "markers" for any type of chromosomal abnormalities and all parts of the baby looked perfectly normal.  We couldn't be more happy!



I also wanted to say Congrats to my cousin, Maizie and her husband Tony on the birth of their 4th child today!  Benjamin Thomas arrived sometime this morning and I'm told he is very handsome!  Congrats!

Thank Goodness!

To all 6 of you who have been dying to find out the results of my 3-hour glucose challenge test...


I PASSED!!!! 

I didn't even have to stay at the clinic the full 3 hours.  After the 2 hour mark, the lab tech said that my first 3 results were so good that I wouldn't have to wait around to do the 4th poke.

To celebrate, I called Rob and suggested going to Olive Garden for lunch.  It was delicious and not taken for granted in the slightest.

Thanks everyone!

Seven measley points...

I'll start off with the good news first...

I had my 25 week appointment today!  For those of you who are not familiar with the "Birthplace" vocab, it means that our little one is now viable, meaning that if it had to, it could survive outside of me.  Don't get me wrong.  I will be more than happy to wait 13 more weeks to meet him/her.  However, like I said, if it had to be born now, it could survive!

Since the US tech couldn't see the baby's lip and nose last time (1 month ago, already!), she had to look again today which means we got to see the baby again!  Once again, it has been confirmed that we have a stubborn baby on our hands cause it wouldn't look at us.  This means that we will now be scheduled for a Level II ultrasound.  Not seeing the lip and nose is not a huge cause for concern, but it's something the doctor really wants to see...thus, the Level II.

I was also scolded today but the nurse pracitioner to keep an eye on my blood pressure when at work and to slow down on the weight gain, which has hit the 13 pounds mark.  I was so tempted to say "Preachin' to the choir."  However, now that it has been officially made a "concern" by the NP, I'll be more apt to watch what goes in my mouth.

Which brings us to the not-so-good news...

I also had my repeat 1-hour glucose test today.  They had me drink the "glucola" before the ultrasound and my NP appt, so I only had to be bored for 30 minutes instead of a full hour.  The same lab tech drew my blood this time as last, so I feel we have a bond :).  I could tell by her expression as she ran the test, that I had failed.  In order to pass, I had to have a result below 130.  Lucky me, my result was 136.  Seven measley points that will totally ruin my morning tomorrow.  I have another appointment tomorrow morning at 8am for 3 loooooonnnnngg hours.  Which means I have to sit there for 3 hours. Not moving.  Not walking.  Not eating breakfast other than more orange flavored, high-sugar, cola drink.  I also get my blood drawn every hour on the hour during that time for a total of 4 pokes.  Please pray for me as I may not be the most pleasant person if I have to limit carbs for the next 13 weeks.  But please don't get me wrong.  I will do what I have to do for my health and the health of the peanut.  I just hope I pass.

Since we couldn't see much of the baby today, we didn't get many pictures, but we did get one of the baby scratching its head.  The head is the white half-circle and the hand is next to it on the left with the fingers bent.

Enjoy!

The Filter

I've gotten a lot of comments from friends and family lately.

Most of those comments have to do with some of the things that are coming out of my mouth.  No, not vomit.  It's those snippy comments when my tolerance for bull$h!t is at an all-time low.  Usually those comments stay in my head or are said under my breath when no one around me can hear.  I also don't put up with rude comments or actions from people lately.

My reason?

The Filter.

I've decided that this pregnancy has removed the filter from my brain to my mouth and is now letting me express myself in all ways possible to let others know how I really feel.

I had an awesome day with 6 friends from high school this past Saturday.  During that day (including a road trip to Albertville), I apparently let some comments and words fly that my best friends had not heard me say or even think to say before.  Let's just say the f-bomb was repeatedly uttered in many different forms.  It's a beautifully diverse word :).

I should clarify that I am fully aware that being pregnant does not give me an excuse to be a b!tch.  But like I said before, my tolerance level has dropped dramatically.

I'm not sure if this filter will return once I no longer have a placenta, but in the words of Chantel, "I like Jenny without a filter." (Yes, my long-time friends do call me Jenny)

Welcome to my new world!  :)

One year ago today...

*****Disclaimer - Medical talk and some disgusting stuff will be discussed.*****

I was sitting in Pre-Op at this exact time (10:14am) waiting for the OR to be cleaned as I was the next patient in line.

It was my first experience being in the hospital as a patient and even though I tried not to show it, I was soooo nervous!  My first IV, my first admission, my first surgery, my first general anesthesia, and the best part, my first PCA.

I had found out about a month earlier that I had fibroids aka non-cancerous tumors on my uterus.  Usually not a big deal, but for someone who was trying to have a baby, it was something that needed to be removed in order to prevent infertility, miscarriage and pain.  Most people with fibroids have a hysterectomy, but since we were wanting kids, my doctor recommended removing them.  On the first ultrasound, they anticipated the largest fibroid to be about 8 cm in diameter.  The next day, I had an MRI and the size was then noted to be 9cm, but I also had several others of unknown size that needed to be taken out.  Surgery was scheduled which brought me to my day of firsts.

Surgery was uncomplicated tother than the fact that my uterus was the size of a 20 week pregnancy and the doctor had a hard time getting my uterus out of my abdomen in order to remove the fibroids.  The result of which was an 8 inch long incision on my lower abdomen.  It turned out that the largest fibroid was actually 12 cm, followed by another at 5cm and 6 more between 1-2cm each.  Rob joked that I had octuplets!  My doctor was even kind enough to take pictures of the fibroids once they were removed...picture to follow :)

For the next 3 days I was a patient and lucky enough to have wonderful friends and family come visit me.  I'll admit I was not the best company...especially for the first 2 days.  I would often doze off in the middle of conversations.  I think I made Rob extremely worried.  I remember my mom trying not to cry the first time she saw me after surgery.

On November 7th, I was discharged from the hosptial and spent the next 4 weeks at home laying low and getting the royal treatment from Rob, my parents and his parents who each brought us a meal to enjoy without having to cook.

When I think back to everything that has happened within the last year, I am in awe!  Surgery, our first wedding anniversary, the birth of a nephew and 2 nieces, not to mention the wonderful new addition that has been created and will arrive come February.

To all my family and friends...Thank You for being You!  You all have made this last year so much better just by being there for Rob and I.  You are amazing!

Disaster Area

Our house is a disaster.  I keep looking at it and telling myself it's gonna get better...really.

It's all for a good cause, the main focus of this blog, the baby that is supposed to be arriving in 16 weeks.

Our current guest room is the going to be the baby's room and our lovely "work-out" room will go back to being the workout room/mini storage room.

All of this includes going through a lot of stuff...throwing some away and creatively organizing others.  I like things organized...really, I do!  It's just getting them that way that bugs me and usually takes forever. 

As I'm going through our stuff, I am also realizing that we not only have a lot of stuff, we also have a lot of stuff that we will never use.  I am currently calling all the extra stuff "crap."  I have never had a garage sale, but that might be what it will come to....after baby but before maternity leave is over.  It's a good thought, right?  Maybe I won't call it a garage sale.  I'll call it a crap sale.  That'll draw the buyers, won't it? Ha!

As for the organizing, I'm about half-way done, but it seems never-ending.  That's the way cleaning and organizing goes, doesn't it?

I keep telling myself it'll be worth it when it's done.

It'll be worth it when it's done!

For the sake of my own sanity and pride, I am NOT including pictures this time around.  But visualize this...a small tornado has hit all of the rooms in our house with the exception of the bathrooms.  Maybe a medium tornado would be better and no, I'm not exaggerating.

It'll be worth it when it's done.

21 week ultrasound

Today, I have hit the 21 week mark. It's really not that special other than the fact that we had our ultrasound today!

We have decided that our baby is going to be a stubborn thing. The ultrasound tech was not able to get the usual "profile" picture cause it wouldn't cooperate. It was also a good thing that we didn't want to find out what Baby P's gender is, cause we had a modest kiddo on our hands. Because they were not able to visualize the face, I have to have another ultrasound (oh, darn) at my next visit in 4 weeks.

We were able to get a picture of a foot as well as an arm and hand. If you look really close, you can see the baby's head and shoulders in the arm picture.

I am feeling the baby move a little more. However, I did find out why I'm not feeling it like most people have told me I would by now. My placenta is in the front (anterior) acting as a cushion for baby's kicks and punches, making it difficult to feel.

All in all, it was a good day! Rob had the day off, so we went out for lunch and then checked out a couple stores for cribs. I have to be one of the most indecisive people on the planet and can't decide on a crib for the life of me. Good thing we won't need it for a while! With being fortunate and having sisters who are sharing their baby stuff with me, we won't get too much new stuff, so getting to pick out the new things our baby will use is wonderful and helping me get into "mommy mode"! Too bad I can't decide and thanks goodness we have a few more months before we really need the "baby gear."

I know the pictures are a little blurry, but like I said, baby wasn't really cooperating that day.  Enjoy!

Half-way...kinda

Today I hit the "official" half-way mark!

I am 20 weeks along which is technically half done.

However, since I'll be having a c-section at approximately 38 weeks, I hit the milestone last week.

Either way it's nice to finally say...

"I'm half-way...kinda"

The Stuewe Family

Last week my sister, Jodene mentioned that she wanted to try to have a fall family picture taken to commemorate Jayde's 7 month "birthday" as well as to simply have a recent family photo including Jayde. Instead of going to a "pro", she asked me if I would be willing to take some pics.

I am not a professional. I am simply a photographer wanna-be with a mediocre camera and average eye. I told her I'd give it a shot and hopefully we'd come out with something decent enough to put in a frame.

The problem? Her husband Andy is a busy farmer who recently cut all of his hay and is in the middle of fall harvest. What's the big deal? In farming, a good weather day is a crazy busy day. We knew getting him to agree to take even a few hours off to sit in front of a camera was going to be tough.

I had to be the annoying sister-in-law and text him yesterday saying "This is your warning. Pictures tomorrow in Chaska." His response "K". What a guy! No arguing.

We planned a trip to the Arboretum in Chaska for today...a beautiful fall day. It was almost too warm! We stayed in the car and did the 3-mile drive. It's gorgeous! I had never been to the Arboretum and I was amazed just driving into the parking lot how beautiful everything was. Part of the reason the pics turned out so great was the scenery.

The other part was how cooperative my "subjects" were. Andy was very generous with 2 hours of picture taking and even Ava and Jayde held it together long enough to get some good shots. At least...what I think are good shots.

Here are some of the results. I'm not good with photo editing, but I think they turned out pretty good all the same. Enjoy!







My Favorite One




















Being silly

F-A-R-M again... and the new ride!

For those of you who don't believe me when I tell you that Harley knows the word farm...I'm attaching a short video of when I told him we were going there today. Hopefully it works since I've never uploaded a video on here before! (Okay, so I checked it out after I posted this and it didn't work. I'll have to pick the brains of some of my fellow bloggers to figure it out in the future!)


Before we left for the farm, I had to move some stuff around in the van. That's right. I said van. I'm a convert. My co-worker/friend's husband recently got a job at Burnsville Dodge. Knowing that Dodge still makes a mini van and that this was a salesman we could trust (hey, I know where he lives!), we decided to check it out. Rob and I have been considering buying a van since before we even knew we were expecting. We were leaning towards one of the more "popular" brands, but when we looked at the prices and what we would get for the money, we decided on the Grand Caravan. With financing being a steal and getting a good price for my trade-in car, we couldn't pass it up! We went and looked at it on Thursday and brought it home on Friday. Believe me, it took a while to get used to driving it and I'm still extremely cautious, but so far I love it! My entire family is taking a trip to the Dells in January, and we've already been assigned to have Ava in the van since it has built in DVD players. Yup...players. Two! With headphones! What's not to love! I guess it has good horsepower too. Me? I'm all about the fun stuff. Just give me a back-up camera, DVD player and a phone that connects to the van, and I'm a happy camper.



The new ride!


Going out to the farm also gave me some time to spend with my sister, Jo and my two nieces Ava and Jayde. Who am I kidding? She just wanted some help with cutting back her perennials. (Just Kidding, Jo!) I got in some "holding" time with Ava and a nice little snuggle with a napping Jayde. There's nothing better than a baby falling asleep on your chest and being prefectly content. Content enough to even let the nuk fall out of her mouth and the light snoring to start. She's such a sweetie!


Jayde Marie























Ava Gabrielle



















Harley was hyper as ever during his trip to the farm. He tortured some cats, ran after Ava, pooped twice in the first 5 minutes of being out of the van and rolled around in some cat poop. Let's just say he needed a bath desperately before we left. Thanks, Jo, for helping me give him a bath! On the way home, he crashed in the back and inhaled his food when we got home. He's currently passed out on his bed. It'll be a good night!

By the way, there's no pics of Harley cause he's just too fast to get a good pic of him at the f-a-r-m.

I Feel It!

For the past few weeks now, I've been dealing with continued "morning sickness" as well as the arrival of that nasty stomach bug. There's been alot of stuff going on in my abdomen!

So much stuff, that I still wonder if what I think I'm feeling is really "it".

"It" being the baby kicking/punching/moving!

Yup, I am finally almost sure that I am feeling the newest little Polingo moving around in there.

It's not everyday or even every other day. It's only when I'm really paying attention or if it's a significant movement. The little taps don't get my attention. It's usually the big bumps that I feel. Rob tries to feel it too, but I explain to him that if I can barely feel it from the inside, it's going to be a while before he can feel it on the outside.

We have our ultrasound in 2 weeks to make sure all has developed normally. We are both praying for a wonderful result and can't wait to see how much Baby P has changed in the last 13 weeks.

More good news is that I am feeling much better. I finally realized that maybe my nausea wasn't just nausea, but also a touch of the heartburn. I started taking Zantac a couple days ago and so far so good!

That about covers the latest goings-on in our world. Hope all is well in your world too!

Until next time...

It's going around.

Nope, nothing fun is going around.

The "flu", a nasty stomach bug, or whatever you may want to call itis.

It started with my sister. She got it last Wednesday night. Being the good sister, I went over to her house on Friday to help with the girls while they went to my brother-in-law's grandfather's funeral. She was still in bed when I got there, stayed in bed until the very last minute, but started to feel better by the time she got home later that afternoon.

I had just gotten my flu shot. I've been throwing up (not to sugar-coat it) for the last 11 weeks. Throwing up is nothing new to me. I felt (almost) invincible.

Until Sunday...

Our church was hosting a fundraiser for a family whose home was destroyed by a fire. Not only was the man of the family a high school classmate of mine, but his wife has been a close friend of mine since pre-school. They met at my 16th birthday party and married 5 years later. They have 3 little, adorable kiddos. Me? Help out? No problem.

I woke up not feeling well and chalked it up to "morning sickness". Halfway through the benefit, I really started not feeling well and excused myself. The rest of the afternoon was not "normal" for me. Then later that night the one thing that could differentiate morning sickness from a stomach bug occured. I'll leave it at that and spare you the gory details.

I've now been "sick" for 3 days and am starting to feel more normal. Then today, I get a call from Rob saying he's coming home from work early with a body aches, fever and nausea. He's upstairs sleeping right now. And I'm downstairs trying to inhale as much fresh, non-infected air as possible.

With any luck, in our family, it will end with us. We've quarantined ourselves.

But beware...

It's going around!

The Results Are In!

I went to bed last night full of nervousness about what I had eaten during the day and would it effect my test today.

I was careful not to eat anything this morning.

I checked into the clinic at 8:40am and went back to the lab to drink my breakfast...a lovely orange soda type beverage that reminded me of my Grandma Harms (orange pop was a favorite of hers).

The lab tech told me I had to sit in the waiting room for 1 hour. No walking around as it might effect the results of the test.

So with book in hand, I patiently waited...

At 9:40, she came back to get me...

Drew my blood...

And 1 minute later, I had the results.

I passed!!!!!

No Gestational Diabetes at this time. I will be rechecked at 25 weeks just to make sure. But for right now, I am a happy camper and all really is well!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes!

Happy 62nd...

Anniversary!

My Grandma and Grandpa Pieper are celebrating their 62nd Wedding Anniversary today!

Well...not actually celebrating today. They celebrated this past Sunday at my Mom and Dad's house in what has become somewhat of a tradition. For the past few anniversaries, my mom and dad host my grandparents and all of their children (all 11 of them) for a special anniversary lunch.

This celebration once again reminded me of my parents love and generosity. My Grandma suffered a stroke May of 2009 and lost all control and movement on her left side. She is mostly wheechair bound now, but can pivot with help to sit in chairs or in the bathroom as needed. My parents house is not exactly handicap friendly. There are stairs going from the garage into the house and the bathroom door frames are too narrow for a wheelchair to fit through. My dad built ramps to cover the stairs going into the house and took the door off the bathroom, making it easier for my Grandma to do the things she needs to do. My mom then made a "door" out of a curtain so Grandma would have privacy when she needed it. She also planned out the whole meal and cleaned and decorated the garage.

BTW, my parent's garage is not a typical garage. You could eat off the floor in there! There is also painting all over the garage walls showing the evolution of life on the farm. It's pretty cool!

It's also a chance for my grandparents to spend time with all of their children, play cards, tell stories and simply enjoy each other's company. With 10 living siblings, it's very difficult to get everyone in the same room at the same time. My uncle Ron died after a car accident in 1996, but is still very much present in these celebrations. The only one missing on Sunday was my aunt Kathy who couldn't make the drive up from Omaha. Otherwise...Ray, Mike, Mary, Trese, Tony, Julie, Jean, Frank and Carol were all present and accounted for. Yes, I know all of their names (and birth order) by heart!

My sisters and I were the servers for the day os everyone could relax as much as possible. It also gave us an excuse to get together and see all of our babies...Ava and Jayde, Brooklyn and Wyatt. Gotta love babies!

I'll end with a picture of my sisters and I with our Grandparents from my wedding. This was taken only 6 months before my Grandmas'a stroke and a picture I will treasure always.

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

Week 17!

When I tell people that March 1st (the official due date) seems so far away, anyone who has been pregnant before tells me that it goes by so fast.

I'm starting to realize how true this is!

It seems like I was just writing about our "Lucky Number 13" and now here we are at week 17 already!

I had an appointment today with a nurse practitioner and everything is great! The heartbeat today was in the 140's. It's lower than last time which concerned Rob, but the normal heartbeat range is from 110-160, so I'm happy! She could also hear the baby moving away from the dopplar which was kinda cool. I'm still not feeling any movement though. Soon!

I did find out one thing today though that I'm not real thrilled about. Every pregnant woman has to take a glucose tolerance test...usually around 24-28 weeks. Since I am a "larger woman", I have to not only take the test, but take it twice! The first time will be tomorrow and the second time at the routine 24-28 weeks. All-in-all it is a good thing. If I have gestational diabetes, I want it caught early to help prevent any issues with the baby. However, cutting back on carbs (which I love!) is going to be tough. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but just in case I met Rob for lunch at Olive Garden and did some extra carb eating. It may be my last "carb meal" for a while! Wish me Luck!

When I got home today, I decided to take Harley for a walk. I wasn't feeling the greatest (yup, the nausea and vomiting are still present!) and thought a little fresh air would be great to help curb the nausea. I was right...the fresh air was great and helped with the nausea...until Harley decided he had to do #2. Not good. Being the responsible pet owner, I picked up his...we'll just call it "production." Good thing the fresh air was readily available.

And...breathe. Just breathe...

The Big Man's Birthday!

He was the first man in my life.

He's big. He's black. He loves me unconditionally.

He's Harley!

Harley's First Day Home



He was born on September 8, 2004 in South Dakota. My coming to be his owner was an interesting thing. I wanted a puppy, but I didn't want one that would shed. My co-worker, Danica had a standard poodle and was planning on getting another one. Good temperment, non-shedding, and a true life-long companion. She helped to tilt the scale of my hesitancy into "I need and want this puppy." I told no one. No one except a few friends, Danica, who is the mom to Harley's older brother, Paul and litter-sister, Debra. It even took me a while to tell my sisters.

Danica and Debra, Jen and Harley



I grew up in a "no animal in the house" family. It was fine by us. We had our fair share of animals outside...cows, cats, even a dog. But none of them belonged in the house.

Telling my parents was fun. I took him to their house and knocked on the door while I was holding him. My mom wondered what was wrong cause I never knock. She then looked down at this little 7-pound ball of black fur in my arms and knew. She told me I better tell my dad. He was the "enforcer" of the no-animals rule. He handled it surprisingly well. Harley is still not "allowed" in their house, but they don't mind that he's in mine when they come to visit.

He used to fit under the end table in the living room.


He was easily potty-trained. He barks...at other dogs, kids, people and does it loudly. He's loves walks, car rides, treats, and trips to the f-a-r-m. He's my protecter (so he thinks).

He thinks he's a lap dog.



He loves my niece, Ava. He'll be good with kids.

I can't wait for my first baby to meet my first "real" baby. Well...maybe I can wait 23 more weeks.

Happy 6th Birthday, Harley!