They're here!

Mom and Pop arrived safely in Hyrum late yesterday (Monday) morning. They had a few hours to rest and relax before we got home but then Pop decided he wanted to get some exercise so he tackled the lawn and mowed the whole thing! That was GREAT because it needed it and because it freed Brandon up to mow the dog run and the west side weeds after he got home from work.

Pop made us the most beautiful cradle. It's absolutely gorgeous - a work of art. I think it's the same design as the one that he made for DJ and Michele when Chris was born. We're delighted to have it and will follow his wishes to pass it along as a family heirloom. But first we're going to use the heck out of it ;).

Brandon and I are both having to go to work each day while they're here so hopefully they won't get bored out of their minds. Joie, Brody & Bonnie can only provide so much entertainment. Today someone is coming to the house to install our new satellite dish and wireless internet connection (we finally got fed up with the bad customer service at Comcast), so that will provide a few minutes of distraction.

Pop and Brandon leave Thursday morning for the river. Mom and I will keep ourselves busy by attempting to paint the baby's room. Brandon and I got the guest bedroom painted and the office furniture moved into it just in time before Mom and Pop got here, so the old office is ready to be transformed.

Love to all of you!

Happy Birthday to Sami!

Hard to believe she's a whopping 5 years old already. Time sure flies...

We're looking forward to seeing you all while we're there in August (the 9th through 13th). And we're certainly looking forward to seeing Mom and Pop in less than a week!

It's Official...

Dave just received the news that WaMu is relocating the financial accounting dept to Seattle. So, about 100 Vernon Hills employees will be layed off. It's happening in two phases. The first is October, and the second is Jan, Feb, or March. Dave is in phase two. With the package they are offering and his vacation time, he will have 4 1/2 months paid when he stops working. It's amazing what can happen with just one person quitting. I hope Dave's old boss doesn't feel too horrible. (One of Dave's employees already sent his a text message...she's kind of an idiot and has no tact.)

Maybe Dave will end up working for his old boss at HSBC after all?

tgif

Welcome you your weekend, everyone! Gram is back at Devonshire, as of yesterday afternoon. This time we filled the prescription for the more powerful pain medication, just in case she has another bout of this terrible pain. They found absolutely no cause except for the fact that it's part of the healing process. And it's been 8 months since the surgery!

I came home from work to find Pop up on top of the car port once again. He has spent many hours trimming all the dead wood from the 2 climbing roses that we planted there 4 or 5 years ago. There was a ton of winter-kill this year. He's pretty much a mass of little scratches and pokes.

The Mercury is still leaking some substance from under the hood, but we can't determine what it is. We really really need to find time to go car shopping, but the timing is bad since we're planning to leave town next weekend and be gone for 2 weeks. Any suggestions as to what kind of car we should buy? Gram needs to be able to get into and out of it.

I've been spending some of my "spare" time arranging for Medicare supplement insurance and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. The time has come that we're ready to dump the Nestle insurance. It's pretty expensive and provides lousy coverage.

We've been invited to Dave and Melissa's on Sunday. We'll be going up there after I get off work at 4:00. We had a fantastic dinner and a lovely time at D.J. and Michele's on Tuesday evening. Saturday night we'll be bowling in a candlelight bowl fundraiser for the Ulster Project. Should be interesting since I don't think I've been bowling in about 45 years.

Cheers! I'm off to make dinner...

Mom

Happy Birthday , Pop!

Well, I've tried to call to wish you a happy birthday twice Pop, and no luck. You busy birthday boys and your jet-setter schedules. I hope you at least got a birthday treat (cake or otherwise) at work. Regardless, as Missy noted I'm sure you're in for a gourmet birthday dinner this evening at Chez Michele.

That's too bad about Chloe. Hopefully the treatments will help. And poor Dave! Those years of gymnastics and wrestling are no doubt to blame. I've heard that a daily dose of grape juice with some Certo pectin stirred in has helped lots of arthritis sufferers. Might be worth a try. Mmmm.... grape juice....

I've been watching airline ticket prices and they continue to hover in the 'outrageous' category. Brandon and I are still planning a late July/Early August trip out your way. We'll let you know ASAP when we narrow down the dates and get our flights booked.

And yes, hearing the baby's heartbeat is WAY cool (not to mention reassuring - I don't know why I get so nervous - maybe because I still don't feel all that pregnant). I'm really excited for our 20-week ultrasound when we'll get to actually see the baby move around. Ohboyohboyohboy! Or is it Ohgirlohgirlohgirl?

3 Cheers for the birthday boy!!!

Happy Birthday Don!!! Hope your day at work was stress free. :) Enjoy your birthday dinner at the North Aurora Wood's. I'm sure you will since Michele's menus are always outstanding. Will we see you this weekend?

Hopefully by tomorrow, Gram's tests results will be in. We continue to pray for her rapid recovery.

Hearing the baby's heartbeat must give you goosebumps. How freakin cool! I think it's a girl at this point because don't all fetuses start out as girls? I think I remember learning that?? Either way, great to hear the genetic testing results are "WNL".

Dave had his MRI of the lower spine yesterday. He has arthritis! Poor, poor old man. His MD is referring him to a pain specialist.

Chloe went to the doctor today. She has some little scratches on her belly that haven't healed, (she keeps licking them). The vet said it's an allergic reaction to something and gave her an anti-inflammatory injection. She has to go back in 2 weeks. Since she's such a daddy's girl, I think Dave may have to take her. She is a horrible patient! She screams and cries, hisses and squirms. Have to admit, it's quite embarassing.

...more later

"A bit of good (or at least not bad) news"


Peggy Wood said...

Glad to hear that things are progressing favorably. I presume that you will be waiting at least another 4 weeks to determine the gender of this most wonderful child. Just think - we had to wait until after delivery for such information!

They did the biopsy on Saturday, and as of this afternoon the results aren't in. They were giving her a blood transfusion this afternoon when I went to see her. She had me deliver a McDonald's vanilla shake which she'd been craving.

Our cookout went well yesterday. Tomorrow we'll be dining at Michele's. I'm planning to meet Pop at Ace when he gets off work at 4:00. Poor guy has to work on his birthday :(

You've gained 3 pounds? I can do that in one day. Way to go!

Mom

June 11, 2007 6:00 PM

A bit of good (or at least not bad) news

Brandon and I went to our 16-week checkup today. We were disappointed to not get another ultrasound, but our spirits were buoyed by being able to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The doc commented that the speed of the heart rate was 'boy-ish', but then dismissed her comment by saying that being able to tell the sex from the heart rate is mostly an old wives' tale. My blood pressure and rate of weight gain (about 3 pounds so far) are right in line with what they should be, and the results of the scary 'triple screen' blood test (which estimates the odds of the baby having a genetic disorder such as Down's Syndrome) were 'within normal limits', which was encouraging.

How is Gram? Please tell me they finally came and did the biopsy and will have the results very soon. Thanks Melissa for shedding some light on the medical terminology.

Gram update

Good morning! Today Gram is going to have a biopsy done. She has a hematoma (blood clot?) and they will have to figure out what to do about it, after the results of the biopsy. That will be either Sunday or Monday, depending on the pathologist's schedule. Yesterday her pain became very much worse, so they now have her on some heavy duty pain medication which is helping a lot but making her "loopy." I'll be going to Devonshire and then to see her shortly. Her phone number is (630)646-0219 (room 219). It's my understanding that Renee played a role in securing an available bed on the second floor, which Gram likes much better than the ortho floor. Renee was the charge nurse the night Gram went into the hospital. Michele, tell her "thanks" for me!

Hope you all have a good weekend.

My Grandmas are falling apart!

Poor Gram Signer :( I hope her pain is controlled and the MDs figure out what's going on. I pray it's an easy fix. How frustrating! Peggy, did you get my email re: unlimited services? Any news about the electric scooter?

My Grandma Grace is also hospitilized. She was diagnosed w/ COPD 3 wks ago and has to wear continuous oxygen. She was experiencing terrible chest pain on Sat., called the paramedics, was admitted to find out she also has congestive heart failure. Needless to say my Mom is going crazy trying to figure out the plan. At least she has a brother and sister that can help out.

My Grandma Dorothy continues to hang on. The hospice nurse called my Dad on Mon. stating she will need 24/7 care very soon. She is so weak, yet so strong willed. Her situation breaks my heart everyday.

I'm getting over being sick. I feel much better then I did. Thank God I didn't give it to Dave. He went to Seattle on Tues. and will be home tonight. His boss is leaving WaMu on the 13th, so they went to develop an operation plan until they replace him. The not so good news is Dave's dept. may be transfered to Seattle, so he'll be out of a job since we're not moving there.

Most of our siding has been replaced. It looks terrrific! Have to admit; never thought I'd be this exciting about siding. Does this mean I'm getting old?

Tonight we're going bike shopping. We're finally going to take advantage of the paths and forest preserve trails so close to home.

How does DJ like his new job?

J&B, happy to hear all the baby news, so keep it coming. Can't help but smile every time I think of you.

Love you all...
Melissa

back to Edward

Got a call last night at 11:43 from the Devonshire. Gram has that pain again, so they called 911 and took her to the hospital. They've admitted her, but xrays reveal nothing so far. I don't think they ever really got to the bottom of this the first time around. I'm thinking adhesions but I'm not a medical expert. I'll try and tell you more after I get up there.

Whew.

I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I'd take a couple of minutes before Brandon and I crash out in front of a movie to say hello. Hello, family! Hope you all had great (or at least decent) weekends. It was our neighbor Hart's 50th birthday on Friday, so that was one underlying theme of our weekend. The other was the Four Paws yard sale fundraiser, of which I was in charge. I had a great team of volunteers, Brandon being a superstar among them, and we raised $1900. We made $1500 last year so I'm pleased. I'm also REALLY glad it's over. Or is it? We hauled the better leftovers home in a trailer and plan to have a Round 2 yard sale in front of our house here in Hyrum sometime in the next few weeks. We had SO MUCH stuff donated this year!
I don't suppose I can sign off without an pregger update: I'm still feeling really good (under the circumstances) and am still trying to exercise and eat right, though my cravings for sweets and my propensity for sitting around are getting stronger by the day. Brandon still walks around with a big ol' smile on his face and he rubs my belly any chance he gets. I already can't wear some of my pants, but a friend gave me a boatload of her maternity clothes so I'm semi-prepared for the summer. Our 16-week checkup is a week from tomorrow. Lots of love to you all!