So yes, I am here! I was planning to do my best to make excuses and/or find a way to hide the fact that it's been a month (a freaking month!!???!!!) since i last posted but hey, the truth is I've just been kind of lazy.

Here's the thing...the replacement laptop is okay but has issues with the internet. We still haven't got ours back and I tried to post an entry weeks ago after my husband's grandpa passed away and lost it when I hit Post Entry. So instead of perservering and trying to repost the entry that I had so carefully and sadly written, I decided to ignore my journal for a few days. Those few days, accompanied by B's surgery, a surprise birthday party for my Dad's 60th that I had to plan and prepare for, quite a bit of working and all the other little irritants of life somehow turned into an entire 4 weeks and here we are!  

Things are going good...baby is getting bigger every day and he is reaaaaaaally active. He enjoys keeping me awake at night and then waking me up really early in the mornings. So, I pretty much haven't got enough sleep any single night in the last few weeks. Along with the hormones, this makes for a very interesting personality! One moment I am laughing and happy, the next I am bawling my eyes out and the next I am throwing stuff across the room. (little stuff though so... no worries lmao)

B is healing nicely from his surgery and has a nice set of fake teeth that he gets to sport for the next few months. He has this really lovely habit of popping them out randomly which of course is a complete turn on.    He had some bone grafts done and they have to wait for that to settle in and for his own bone to regenerate before they can even start the implants so it's a long process but eventually he will have 4 brand new beautiful top teeth! He went back to hockey for the first time last week which seriously freaked me out but he has added a nice cage to his helmet which definitely helps put my mind at ease. The estimates for all the work he needs done came to $17,000 and it looks like it will be covered entirely (fingers crossed for the ENTIRELY part!!) by our insurance but they will only pay for it once so he needs to protect that mouth!!!

Anyway, guess that's enough babble for now. I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to get by for a visit to let you all know how much I miss you!

Love and hugs,

 

  

I can hardly believe that it's already Thanksgiving!! That means Christmas is right around the corner and our new baby boy will be here soon after. This has not been the best Thanksgiving for us. Everyone is talking about eating yummy dinners and hanging out with family and friends. Us? Well, B still can't eat many solid foods so the closest he will be getting to a turkey dinner is possibly a nice bowl of turkey soup. Me? I woke up Saturday in the middle of the night with one of the worst cases of illness I have ever had. I was violently ill and thought maybe I had food poisoning from some soup that I ate. B didn't have the soup and wasn't sick but Riley seemed to be quite sick and I had shared the soup with him so I thought that had to be it. Came to find out last night that the nursing home where B's grandpa is staying and where we visited him on Thursday night just had an outbreak of Norwalk virus. My mother in law and B's aunt apparently got the same sickness too. (Good thing I didn't call up the grocery store and accuse them of selling tainted soup!) Kind of weird that B and his dad and uncle didn't get sick but all the women did?

Oh...I also got my first speeding ticket EVER on Friday. I am more than willing to admit that I was speeding a bit but I am going to be disputing my ticket because there is no way I was going anywhere near as fast as the cop said I was. I had dropped Suna off at home and when I got to the light at the main road, there was a silver mini van in front of me and a grey truck behind me. By the time the cop stopped me about 2 kms later, he told me I was doing 83 (in a 60 zone) I think I was doing in the 70s but I know it's impossible that I was doing 83, which just happens to be more than 20 over the limit and carries a higher fine. The kicker is that he said the mini van in the lane beside me was doing 58 and I said "Hmmm that's kind of interesting because that mini van was in front of me at the light so how is he right beside me when I'm doing 83 and he's doing 58???" All the cop said was "Well I know my radar is working" Um, okay then....guess I will see you in court. Yeah, fun times and Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!   

As most of you know, I was convinced pretty much all along that the baby was a girl. I have no problem with admitting when I'm wrong and in this case it appears I was very very wrong. So I am happy to report that the baby is a BOY!!! B is extremely proud and baby boy already owns his first set of camoflauge pj's. He is adorable and perfect with long legs, big feet and um, let's just say he was not shy AT ALL in showing off his goods. Actually, we had a great peak into our future...a future with a little boy who already takes after his dad. The kid is not even born yet and he already got us kicked out of the 3d ultrasound clinic...for lack of cooperation. The tech had no problem identifying his boy parts based on the fact that his legs were basically wrapped behind his head. Said legs, along with his hands were covering his face for the entire hour that we were there and, despite continued poking and prodding and even bribes of chocolate, he refused to allow us a good view of his face. The tech finally sighed in total frustration and sent us away although she was nice enough to invite us back after a good meal that was supposed to wake the baby up and get him moving around so his face was a little more visible. The second visit was short lived when the tech realized that the little guy just wasn't interested in interrupting his nap to allow her some nice pictures. So, she sent us home with several cute pics of arms and legs and only the odd shot showing some facial features. Of course, the minute we got back in the car, he was back to kicking the crap out of me. Going to try and share a couple pics here... The first is his big foot in his mouth

And this one is one of the few shots that shows most of his face...

There are a lot of shadows so the pics aren't all that clear but hopefully you can get the idea!

We spent the rest of the weekend in beautiful Harrison at our friends' wedding and also driving around Vancouver for hours looking at about a million trucks. Which reminds me that I probably forgot to mention that B had a teensy tiny accident a couple of weeks ago and consequently our truck is a total write-off...hence the need to look at trucks. Everyone involved was fine but it was a little stressful and a little sad to have to say goodbye to our second vehicle in less than a year. There just might be a "Letting Go Part II" post about the truck but I'm tired and the words won't come. So, anyway... here it is.

Just a quick shot of the gorgeous sunrise

 

So, I woke up this morning to a beautiful clear sky and a cup of nice hot cappuccino. We are expecting highs of 26 today which I think has to be the perfect temperature. September has been beautiful and our appt is in only 2 more days!!! So all is well with the world right? Um no, all is not right with the world in fact, but thanks for asking. I actually had to take the laptop back in yesterday (for those who are counting, that would be the 4th time in a year and a half...three times for the same exact problem within the last 3 months). This time, it is looking like they will just have to give me a new one. All I can say is yay for extended warranties and no lemon guarantees!! I kind of expected to just walk right in there yesterday and have them hand me a new one but they are supposed to let me know what's going on today. I am unsure why as it says right on my contract that after 3 repairs they will provide me with a replacement product.

Anyway, the point is that I may not be around as much again for a few days. The other computer is cooperating quite nicely at this point though so you may not even notice I am running around laptopless. hee.

Have a great Wednesday!    

So, first off...the big appt is this Friday!!!!! We won't be getting back from Vancouver until Sunday but if I have a wireless connection at our hotel I will do a post about the big news. Anyone who guessed wrong over at Suna's has to buy pumpkin pie and parmesan cheese for...um, the baby. And no, I don't eat them together although the parmesan cheese craving has gotten a little ridiculous. Instead of just eating handfuls out of the package I have now taken to melting it on a plate and then eating it. Meanwhile, I continue to be proud of myself for not having any WEIRD cravings like pickles and ice cream.

Speaking of weird...I have a friend (who shall remain nameless for reasons that will soon become obvious) who is such a good friend that she has been experiencing some sympathy pregnancy symptoms for me. We were comparing recent weight gain numbers and she came out ahead of me by a pound despite the fact that she is not pregnant. Although I would like to feel good about the fact that this friend who isn't even pregnant has recently put on more weight than I have, the fact is, she was TINY to begin with and could use the extra weight. Actually, I am still at the point where most people say that you can't even tell I'm pregnant. I'm just starting to get the beginnings of a belly and I am still able to wear most of my regular clothes...including my favorite jeans, so I guess there's no real complaints from my end! Anyway, back to the weird...this friend who already put on some sympathy pounds for me, informed me last night that she has begun to lactate!!! And no, she is DEFINITELY not pregnant. I am quite excited about this latest development as it means I now have a wet nurse. I am not sure what kind of reaction I expected when I told B that said friend is lactating, but it definitely wasn't "Um...what's lactating?" LMAO...honey you have a lot to learn by January!!!!

Okay, so now that I have driven away even the bravest of male readers (Hi Wil!) it's time to go and get something done around here.

 

Wow, craziness going on around here these days and my laptop is still not fixed but I wanted to try and share this veeeeeeery interesting ultrasound picture with you. The picture is supposed to be of the front of the baby's face but it's sideways. No, we don't know yet if we're having a boy or girl (will be finding out September 29) but it appears from the ultrasound that something is strange in there! Some people at work said I should sell the picture to the Enquirer to finance the baby's college education. LMAO. Anyway, we'll see how this works as my photo editing software on this computer is terrible.

 

So my computer has become a hypochondriac. Apparently at the slightest symptom it decides that it is sick and would rather shut down, roll over and go back to sleep, rather than face another day of hard hard work. (Because we all know how intense poker can be) I am off once again (for those of you counting, this is the third time in less than 6 months) to the laptop doctor to see if I can't get this taken care of once and for all. There has been some trouble with our other computer so I'm not sure if I will have Internet access while the laptop is convalescing. I am dreading this more than you could possibly know. My husband is dreading it too because the last time the laptop came back after being "cured" I spent hours upon hours trying to put everything back to normal and let's just say that it wasn't exactly working for me. I finally took a deep breath and set it aside but that was only after about the 6th hour and a minor incident where I almost threw the thing across the room. B told me the next day that he was just about to confiscate the damn thing (which let me tell you would not have gone over well at all given my mood at the time) So, wish me luck that this time the computer will be good as new and let's just all hope that the process of putting everything back together runs a little more smoothly. mkay?

 

If you don't see me around for a while, don't be alarmed. (Because I'm around so often these days that my presence will be so noticeably missed! LMAO)

Thanks to all of you for making my birthday so special!!! Love and s   

So, a while ago B was sent home with a pager/radio combo that will enable the fire dept. to page him if there is some sort of significant event requiring off duty crew. My initial reaction was a very sarcastic "awesome" because there is nothing better than being tied to your job by a pager. But I take it all back. First, because it appears in Kamloops that there are very few "significant" events and B has never been summoned to work outside his regular hours since its appearance in our home. But the best part of all is the entertainment value of this new toy. Despite what my husband might think, no...I do not sit by the radio all day listening. I will admit though that it has pretty much replaced the need for a radio or other background music while I go about my day to day tasks (eating, sleeping, reading) I will also admit (reluctantly) that I have taken to talking back to the radio when I hear calls.

Example:

"Dispatch, Rescue One"

"Go Ahead Rescue One"

"Rescue One is clear of the scene and returning to headquarters"

Beverly and Dispatcher in unison - "Roger Rescue One"

This happens more often than I care to reveal, something that has prompted B to comment that "don't get me wrong...you ARE a loser, but you definitely have potential to be a dispatcher"  

I have heard several interesting things over the radio, although as previously mentioned Kamloops is somewhat lacking in "significant" events so they are usually minor traffic accidents, routine first responder calls for things like chest pain, shortness of breath, crack overdoses, etc. For some reason, this one cracked me up and even weeks later I still laugh when I think about it. Given the lack of "significant" events, when something big happens, it's exciting for everyone. So one morning I hear the dispatcher call out crew from two or three different stations for a suspicious package at a gas station. You can hear the high pitched shriek of different sirens all heading toward this dangerous situation as various trucks call in to report their locations. After the first truck arrives on scene, I can just picture the chaos of police, fire etc. all trying to get the danger under control. I wait with bated breath (not really, but this is that kind of story...what the hell is bated breath anyway?) for the first report when I hear this:

"Dispatch, Engine Three"

"Go Ahead, Engine Three"

"Uh, you can cancel response to the Mowhak (Hint of sarcasm apparent only to me because firefighter is a true professional) "It's a bucket of ice water"................this means long pause..................."with bait" Apparently someone thought it is always a good idea to put their fishing bait in a dangerous goods container...and then wrap the whole thing with a bunch of duct tape and leave it at the gas station.

Beverly "Roger Engine Three"
   

Wow, for the first time in almost two years I have allowed this journal to go longer than 2 weeks without being updated. As you may or may not have noticed, I am not the best blogger these days. It's funny, at a time in my life that I feel I should have so much to say, I find myself at a loss for words. I sign on and consider what I might write about and the words just fail me. The last few weeks have been busy and wonderful and stressful and tiring and joyful and heartbreaking all at the same time. We got to spend a few days visiting with my husband's side of the family. The setting at Lac de Roche was breathtakingly simple. The lake, sunshine, and a sound that I never really thought meant much to me. Kids. Although I have always enjoyed being around kids and love my nieces and nephews as much as I possibly could, I don't think I have ever really noticed the sounds of their lives. Laughter, sheer joy at finding a minnow or meeting a cute guy (lmao) tears. Although everything is the same as it always was, somehow it's all different now. My brother and his wife and my other nephew were here from California for a couple weeks. I watched the cousins splash in the pool, delight at balloons popping (which by the way, it appears I am afraid of the sound of balloons popping!) fight with one another over who had the right to play with that particular ball in that particular second of that particular day and I wondered where have I been all this time? I've seen scenes like this over and over but I have never really SEEN them. The worst part of the whole few weeks was when it was time to say goodbye. We always consider ourselves so lucky that we have family so close. My parents are just down the road, B's parents are less than an hour away. And one brother and his wife and my nephew are mere minutes. But when we have the opportunity to spend those rare days with our other family, somehow it makes the times when they are not here so much harder. The absence of them is a physical presence, a heaviness. I couldn't help but cry when we left the lake after saying goodbye to Bear and all the rest of my husband's family. I cried for hours the day my brother left to go back to California. I don't think they realize just how much it means to me to have those moments. I don't know if this post makes any sense at all...maybe I still don't have the words.

Sorry, I haven't been around lately. I miss you all.   

 

There is a common belief that if you carry your baby high it is a girl and if you carry low it's a boy. Ours? I appear to be carrying it in my chin...the jury is still out on whether that means it's a boy or a girl. We will know the gender on September 28th so in the meantime, let me know your guesses!!