tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43987813426297255972024-03-04T23:19:15.528-08:00Doodle BugUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-29167906302500655612010-02-17T06:27:00.001-08:002010-02-17T06:27:30.938-08:00Thought of the Day…<span xmlns=''><p><span style='color:#d99594; font-family:Pegasus'>I'm not trying to <em>save</em> my money…I'm trying to <strong>rescue</strong> it!<br /></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-20723828317537216222010-02-16T17:37:00.001-08:002010-02-16T17:37:47.815-08:00Surprise Baby Shower!<span xmlns=''><p><span style='color:#215868; font-family:Pegasus'>2/7/10<br /></span></p><p><span style='color:#215868; font-family:Pegasus; font-size:12pt'>Julie did it again! She surprised me!! I was so surprised at my Bridal Shower last year and this year, I was even more blindsided!! Frank took me to Brady & Ivy's house (in scrubby jeans and his hoodie) under the guise of hanging out with Ivy while he and Brady worked on the skateboard ramp. When we opened the door, Ivy jumped up and yelled "Surprise!" I thought she was telling Brady, "Surprise! Frank & Em are here!" LOL<br /></span></p><p> <br /> </p><p><span style='color:#215868; font-family:Pegasus; font-size:12pt'>My sister, mom, cousin Andrea, friend Jen Baker & pseudo-aunt Jane Gervais were also there. The weather was pretty trecherous (see post about snow) so some friends dropped gifts off earlier in the week so that I could open them there. That was so thoughtful of them!! <br /></span></p><p> <br /> </p><p> <br /> </p><p> <br /> </p><p><span style='color:#215868; font-family:Pegasus; font-size:12pt'>Ivy had a friend make brownie/chocolate chip cookie cakes - delish! And Mom did the most awesome thing!! She'd been saving the booties off of her shower cake for 32 years in our freezer with the three-decade-long intention of surprising me by putting them on my first baby shower cake! That is the coolest idea ever!!<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style='color:#215868'><span style='font-family:Pegasus'>Julie made the coolest quiz about me. See if you can "pass" it! </span><span style='font-family:Wingdings'>J</span><span style='font-family:Pegasus'><br /> </span></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-49617426375912128922010-02-16T17:15:00.000-08:002010-02-16T17:38:06.626-08:00Milestone chart<a href="http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-1-to-6-months_1496585.bc">Milestone chart: 1 to 6 months BabyCenter</a><br /><br />I found this interesting. It's a chart of all the milestones Doodle Bug should meet and when.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-2345290405424779932010-02-14T17:50:00.000-08:002010-02-16T16:56:07.748-08:00Video of Doodle Bug Kicking Me!<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyeeXDXZykcc4Fpdyo9_vRgMj60PcVGrGnY0jFR4q6CyN_QcWHvG9ESa2GVm8iMhFCUvJTT57T3ZE_a4J8e' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Turn your volume up so you can hear my cell phone ring right after the church bells. Sorry about the hairy belly, it's a side effect of pregnancy! LOLUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-88379004687606392792010-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:002010-02-16T16:16:07.479-08:00Surprise VacationWe were supposed to have of Fri-Mon for Valentine's Day (well...actually for President's Day, but you know...) but it snowed....and snowed....and snowed! So we have off for 6 days! Ask and ye shall receive! LOLUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-68889481778233253422009-11-20T16:19:00.000-08:002010-02-16T16:31:13.784-08:00I'm Famous!This is my story that was published on <a href="http://www.thebump.com/">http://www.thebump.com/</a>!!<br /><br />Click <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Acvb7ZNt5XjvZGdibWY0ejNfMjM2Z2tjaDc3cmo&hl=en">HERE</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-77584422703627648592009-08-27T16:44:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:53:14.866-08:00Peanut<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPIDwO1eCVsMLADhKczIPUX-lT0wnx9N57JIfw5JfIgiPJO1H-Xqod0LgXAntu3EkT9ezus9Q09hSBcADYsyRqtx7rjFhghdjEF8wlGvoTvq7ObXLfBj44CqREHlYk9WENYfcsXNAROo/s1600-h/Growing+Peanut.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 281px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439009084322303298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPIDwO1eCVsMLADhKczIPUX-lT0wnx9N57JIfw5JfIgiPJO1H-Xqod0LgXAntu3EkT9ezus9Q09hSBcADYsyRqtx7rjFhghdjEF8wlGvoTvq7ObXLfBj44CqREHlYk9WENYfcsXNAROo/s320/Growing+Peanut.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span xmlns=""><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Now I know where I got my nickname "Peanut." My adorable tiny little baby looks just like Mr. Peanut - a little round at the rump and a little blobular at the head. And yet, so adorable. Doodle doesn't really move yet that I can tell, but his/her little heart is going like crazy. You can actually see it on the ultrasound - a little flicker that means so much.<br /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;"><br /></span></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-45483033679768807292009-08-20T16:43:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:52:03.022-08:00Ditzel<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptEqeNGPDaIDiEI1hR4Ra6k3f1O1X24VecAY112NVdwik9_v2y136nTyum4icXwmg1uSmkJzL1piL71_5Tc3I9Z5fytJjKHLRzbgyd1ZMRcbEymkN-pkBdoOY0CcS1MzYkDi9U6wvetw/s1600-h/Doodle+as+a+Ditzel+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 262px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439008723670555762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptEqeNGPDaIDiEI1hR4Ra6k3f1O1X24VecAY112NVdwik9_v2y136nTyum4icXwmg1uSmkJzL1piL71_5Tc3I9Z5fytJjKHLRzbgyd1ZMRcbEymkN-pkBdoOY0CcS1MzYkDi9U6wvetw/s320/Doodle+as+a+Ditzel+2.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span xmlns=""><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">It's amazing how much Doodle has grown. S/he was a bubble just 9 days ago and now s/he's a full-grown ditzel. It's always calming to hear the heartbeat. Mine instantly calms when I hear my baby's. Then the cry-laughs start!<br /></span></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-62013854170401529572009-08-17T16:43:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:55:19.637-08:00ER Sunday<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">This past Wednesday was the first day of school. Less than 48 hours after finding out I was pregnant, I started cramping and spotting which turned out to be symptoms of a sizable fibroid. It has been a scary ride, only to get scarier. On my first day back to work I started a fever and body aches which got worse and worse until I was driving home calling my doctor who presumed that, with the sudden and violent onset, I most likely had H1N1. I took Tamiflu and spent the next three days in bed. Every night the pain from my fibroid grew worse and worse until, at 6am Sunday morning I could no longer stand it. I called my mother who recommended the ER and, for the third time in our relationship, woke Frank up with the words, "I think I need to go to the hospital." (The first time was for severe bronchitis, the second for a broken nose and now for a necrosing fibroid). Scared pale, Frank loaded me into the truck and sped off to the ER. After a significant amount of drama (a couple scares and a few painful tests), it was determined that I would need narcotics for pain management. I tried to go home but the next day, I needed to be admitted to the hospital for IV pain medication. I was there for four days and, just as I was running out of magazines and patience, I was discharged with a laundry list of prescriptions. My family was absolutely wonderful. Not a day went by that they did not visit and sit with me to help ease my fears. Frank came every day - even leaving work when my sister called him in a panic. We had almost daily ultrasounds and each time Frank and I held our breath until we heard the heartbeat. Every day, every hour, was a milestone for Doodle Bug. Although certainly not my preferred way to spend the end of summer vacation, the pain was the least of my concerns. I've never prayed, meditated or chanted mantras so many times in my life. Julie even did a special yoga mantra with me to help me focus on the baby's growth instead of the fear about the fibroid. My family was very understanding and chose their words and actions carefully so as not to trigger my superstitions and my fears. They tread lightly on the topic of danger and helped me focus on a positive outcome. I don't know what I would have done without them - probably perished from an anxiety overload.<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Coming home was the best. Frank seemed so happy to bring me back. He told me over and over how much he missed me. He tucked me into bed for the first day of my month-long bed rest and went about setting the room up like a hotel efficiency. He brought up the microwave, towers of canned food, a cooler bursting with juice and popsicles, a stack of magazines, pens, paper and DVDs, the TV and all of the pillows in the house (including his). I've always known he loved me - but it really clicked that day. I didn't realize how scared he had been before. <br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Again, my family visited daily. My father brought homemade soup from my Pap Pap or take out from my favorite restaurants. He always had a magazine or a book for me and continuously offered his stash of John Wayne flicks! :) Julie stopped by as often as she could, putting her 20-something post-graduation journeys on hold to see to my mental health. She shared everything she knew about focussing, yoga, mantras and positive thinking. Mom spent hours on my bed with me switching between obstetrician and mother - always my rock. She reassured me in every way she could that things looked as good as could be expected. She talked me down from daily panic attacks (and still does to this day) and reminded me that as worried as I was for my baby, she was doubly so for her own baby (me).<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">After slowly working towards more and more activity, I was approved to go back to work right after labor day. Everyone knew that it would be the best thing for my physical and mental health and I looked forward to it more than I ever had.<br /></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-38080861072289674282009-08-11T16:48:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:50:45.626-08:00Ba dum…ba dum…ba dum…<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqIPS3r9iwJzkgdtEHBCneEEuHkHQ2mMjcVz-MnH-bW66XLV-x6g5yMIfVMvSmDozCWpZhTAdOVf9KnZbnTn_c2X9ntySYvRiDwMpfAXgQkPLNbXy1AFt4ksXZZ8yAdg-IAEiVDhiNbQ/s1600-h/Doodle's+Heart+Beat.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 241px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439008413420799170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqIPS3r9iwJzkgdtEHBCneEEuHkHQ2mMjcVz-MnH-bW66XLV-x6g5yMIfVMvSmDozCWpZhTAdOVf9KnZbnTn_c2X9ntySYvRiDwMpfAXgQkPLNbXy1AFt4ksXZZ8yAdg-IAEiVDhiNbQ/s320/Doodle's+Heart+Beat.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span xmlns=""><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Today the baby looks like a bubble; mom says it looks like a diamond ring. Either way, it's just amazing that the teeny tiny little life inside of me has a heartbeat!! 170bpm. I cry every time I hear it! This is my fourth or fifth ultrasound and the tech knows to go straight for the heartbeat before she checks anything else. She tells me to try to hold my breath because the emotion from hearing the heartbeat makes my belly shake in an uncontrollable cry-laugh. I've absolutely never experienced something so moving! </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;"><br /></p></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;"><br /></span></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-21988907929752898942009-08-01T16:42:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:54:57.959-08:00Better Than Terrible<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Mom took me to the hospital to get an ultrasound today to see what the cramping was all about. As soon as Dr. Johnson looked at the screen, she asked, "Did you know you had a fibroid?" I had no idea. A what? Apparently I have a 10-12 cm benign tumor growing in the uterine wall. This can have disastrous effects or it can just be "there" sort of as a punching bag for Doodle while s/he's growing (we're, of course, praying for the latter). The fibroid could be inside the uterus completely, which is much more dangerous, so that's better than terrible news. It's also good news that the pain I was feeling was affecting only me and not Doodle - s/he is floating around, blissfully unaware. Thank Heaven<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">Click <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Acvb7ZNt5XjvZGdibWY0ejNfMjM2Z2tjaDc3cmo&hl=en">HERE</a> to read my fibroid story that was published on The Bump!</p></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-29627238448888117352009-07-29T16:41:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:55:41.166-08:00What…you mean like now?<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">I've been going nuts waiting to tell Frank we're having a baby! I couldn't tell him last night because he was only home for a few minutes and had to go to a training class out of town. I didn't want to tell him and then not be able to enjoy the time together after he found out. <br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">So, I went out and bought the book, <em>A Caveman's Guide to Pregnancy </em>and a father's day card. I wrapped them up and when Frank got home we sat out on the porch. It was dark out and I told him I had a present for him. He opened the book and asked, "What...you mean like now?" (As if to say, "Will I need this book in the future or are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?") I showed him the pregnancy test and he was so happy. He was surprised because we thought Aruba hadn't worked (I had taken 3 pregnancy tests already.)<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">In retrospect, it made sense. Yesterday evening, Frank gave me a kiss and I said he smelled like peanut butter. He said he had a peanut butter cup...for breakfast at 7am! Our last day in Aruba I was <em>very very </em>nauseated, but I thought it was just because I was scared to fly. In fact, I remember eating at an outside Bistro and I kept my eye on the lady's room because I didn't know if I was going to be sick. I told Frank I just wanted to be able to not be afraid to fly so I didn't feel sick to my stomach. Then, when we got home, I was soooo sleepy. I slept until 1:30 in the afternoon - which is very out of character for me. Frank was proud of me! :) He said I was enjoying my summer vacation by sleeping in. I thought I had jetlag from Aruba...well I sure did have <em>something</em> from Aruba, but it wasn't jetlag - it was the greatest souvenier ever!!<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9;color:black;">XOXO</span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-55527954772563213722009-07-28T16:30:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:37:57.782-08:00Is That a Pink Line??<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:lucida grande;color:black;">"So what the heck. I've take 2 pregnancy tests already, there's one left in the box, I'll just take it," I mused. I sat the most advanced technology I'd ever pee on by the bathtub and brushed my teeth. It was almost 8am and Frank was already at work. I had to return to school in 3 weeks and I had a "nothing much" sort of day planned. Lately, I had been exhausted and sleeping until almost 1pm. I chalked it up to jet lag from the honeymoon a week and a half ago. I put my toothbrush away and reached for my pixie stick to throw it in the trash with its impotent bretheren. However, while reaching I noticed something new. Where before there had been but one lonely pink line, now there were two...or, one and a half. Does that pale little smudge count? It should. Shouldn't it? Only one person could answer that question. I threw on sneakers and a coat, grabbed my swizzle stick, threw it in a holiday penguins ziplock bag and headed toward the hospital. Thank goodness I had already brushed my teeth! <br /></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:lucida grande;color:black;">I had always imagined breaking my first pregnancy to my mother by scheduling an OB visit under a pseudonym. Ever since my mother switched careers, I have been trying to re-work my master plan. I arrived at the Labor Hall window and asked a familiar face if my mother was in. Discovering that she was safely tucked away in her call room, I solicited the help of the nurses. They hid me in an exam room and paged my mother to tell her there was a patient to see her. I shooed the nurses away, understanding their excitement since they had seen me grow up from "the baby in the basket" to the lady with a baby in her basket. They all scurried away and tried to look nonchalant as my mother approached. When the door opened, I held up my penguin baggie and asked, "What are you doing in April? Wanna deliver your grandchild?" I could see the curious eyes of the LH nurses peering into the room, beaming with pride and excitement.<br /></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:lucida grande;color:black;">Of course, my mother said yes and also confirmed that the powder pink line did, in fact, count. I wanted to come up with the perfect way to tell Frank but today was not the day. He had a work meeting out of town tonight and would not be able to totally enjoy the news. So, I had to hold the world's most amazing secret inside until tomorrow. I hurried home and wrapped up "The Caveman's Guide to Fatherhood" and a Father's Day card I had stashed away for just this occasion. Then, I hid them in the closet and waited for Frank to return home. That evening, I was itching to tell him, but I just couldn't. He leaned over to give me a kiss goodbye and I smelled peanut butter on his breath. "Did you have peanut butter?" I asked. He furrowed his brow, "No......wait.....I had a peanut butter cup this morning....at 7am. Why?" "I can smell it." I beamed; my wolverine senses were already coming in. He gave me that half smile/ half eye roll and said, "I love you," on the way out the door. <br /></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:lucida grande;color:black;">The next day, I paced and tried my best to look at my pregnancy test a maximum of once per hour. It seemed like Frank worked 39 hours that day (he probably felt that way, too). When he got home, we sat on the porch and I told him I had a surprise present for him. He unwrapped the book and said, ever so gallantly, "What like you mean I need this now?" I beamed and held up my tinkle twig. He grinned right back. He was clearly stunned since we both thought the honeymoon hadn't worked. <br /></span></p><p><br /><span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">We went to bed that night knowing that we were finally everything we had ever wanted to be - parents!</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><br /></span></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398781342629725597.post-66962516826862317922009-06-28T16:28:00.000-07:002010-02-16T16:38:44.046-08:00Meine Erster Loebfel<span xmlns=""> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:black;">When I was a teenager, I went on a trip to Europe with the Pennsylvania Ambassadors of Music. We went to Switzerland and I stopped into a local Swiss Army Knife shop. The owner was a friendly little old man and he chatted with me in broken English. I bought a little blue Swiss Army Knife and he gave me a free baby spoon. It said, "My First Spoon" in German and had little animals etched into it. He told me to use this for my baby when s/he is born some day. I promised him I would and I've always planned on doing just that.<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:black;">Then I lost it. I was upset and looked for it several times over the years. When Frank and I fell in love and started talking about children, I started thinking of that baby spoon. I really wanted it to be my baby's first spoon, just like I promised that sweet old man. As we got engaged, then bought a house, then married, I started to get a little panicked that I'd never find it. On a trip to Frederick, MD with Julie, I stopped into a baby boutique and saw a silver baby spoon that said "Bambino" which is what Frank and I call kids so I figured it was suitable replacement for Meine Erster Loebfel. I brought it home and put it in my hope chest along with a couple other things I had been buying for when I became pregnant.<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:black;">Then, one day this summer, I was helping my Mom (Doodle's Granny) clean out her garage. We got all of my old things out and decided what to keep and what to give to charity. I told her, again, that I was looking for Meine Erster Loebfel. No sooner did I tell her to keep an eye open than she reached into a box and pulled out a little plastic bag with a tiny silver spoon in it. It was the spoon the little old Swiss man had given me!! I remember right where I was when she handed it to me - squatting down in the back of our green Tundra, rearranging boxes to take to Goodwill. I was so happy, I started to sob a little. Mom said, "This is a sign." I thought so, too. <br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:black;">And it was!! One month later, I found out that G-d blessed me with the beautiful miracle of my first son!<br /></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0