Tempting!

Ok, so I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and the doctor said I am 2 centimeters dilated and my cervix is thinned. He also said that the Strep B test came back negative and I don't have Pre-Eclampsia (I thought maybe I had Pre-E because my feet and ankles swelled up till the skin was stretching, and stayed that way for about a week! Fortunately the swelling all of a sudden went down to practically nothing and my feet and ankles look normal again! yay!).

Well Greg joked to the doctor that I was hoping for some complication so I could be induced early, and the doctor said that actually if by the 39th week I'm still pregnant, he would be fine with inducing. Do you know how tempting that is?! To be able to choose the day and not have to keep wondering when Toby will be coming? If I am still pregnant by then, I don't know if I'll be strong enough to wait for when the baby's ready to come. To induce or not to induce?

Hopefully this won't be an issue and I will have had the baby before then. We shall see.....

It's been a long time since I updated this blog, and to those few of you who actually read this, I sincerely appologize. I've been so busy with work and school and everything else lately that posting here simply slipped my mind.

Ilene is doing pretty well. She has those normal end-of-pregnancy complaints that I listen to and then do nothing about (cuz, really, I can't stop her from having cramps, now can I?). For more info on that situation, see Ilene's blog. But the good news is that in spite of all those little things, she's also very excited (not just anxious) for the baby to come. Ilene gets these ideas in her head that she just loves...like painting a picture of the baby...that make this time pretty great for her, and for me as well.

We went to the doctor on Monday of this week and she was 2 cm dilated. And she's been having cramps since then, so when we go back next Monday, I suspect that she'll be quite a bit more dilated. We know that this doesn't really indicate when, really, the baby is coming, but it could be any time. Ilene keeps hoping for "today," whichever day "today" happens to be, but obviously, no luck yet. In the meantime I keep my cell phone on my body all the time for when the moment comes.

Work-wise, things are going quite well. I never anticipated the level of secrecy to which I would be bound concerning some things that go on in the city. Not the bad kind of government secrecy, e.g. Watergate, but the kinds of things that, for instance, developers want to do, but letting that get out would stop them from doing because of market forces. In a lot of ways it seems ridiculous the things they think will happen. But then, it also makes a crazy kind of sense why they want to protect themselves as much as possible.

I get asked about my thesis a lot. After a day spent in the BYU library last time we were in town, I was able to collect and then copy/print all of the articles that I'll need for the bibliography section of my thesis. That's a big step because that bibliography section requires a bunch of time spent reading and making notes and then writing the section. That process will also generate the question(s) that I'll be asking for my thesis. So that's the next step. Once that's done, I already have the data I'll be using, so then the testing to answer the question should go fairly quickly. Then there's the writing stage that is the bulk of the thesis. So, in short, the answer to the question is: I'm finally starting to make some headway into the thesis. No, Jon, I won't be finished in time to graduate in December (because I had to apply for graduation like last week if I wanted to be done, and I couldn't do that until I had defended my thesis, which isn't written yet.) However, I anticipate I'll be done with the thesis by the end of this year, and that will allow me to graduate in Spring.

Well, I think that covers just about everything.

No Baby Yet.....

Well, 23 days left until Toby's due date. I don't feel like he'll be coming early. I don't like waiting, but really, who does?

Now about the photo on the left. I found this stained glass design on the internet and I felt like painting it -- so I did. :)
This is actually painted in the center of my next painting I'm doing. I'll post it as soon as I finish it. :)

8 Months! September 2007

Ok, now that I have only 5 weeks left (or less), it feels like time has speeded up!

Ready or not, Toby's coming.

Lost and Found!

Aren't these photos beautiful!
Greg shot them on May 2005 at a family campout at Zion's National Park. Somehow he had lost them, but he still had the memory card they were originally shot on (long since deleted).

So Greg found a data recovery service and they were able to recover almost all the photos he had lost! (about 30 photos)

Don't you just love modern technology?

33 Weeks Down, 7 to Go!

Here we are at 33 weeks and I wanted to let anyone who cared know what I've been going through lately.

Recently I have ballooned out - from the stomach and down! I'll post another belly photo in September so everyone can check out my girth. I'm a bit swollen and even my feet jiggle. Not a fun feeling.

I am still walking an hour six days a week, but it's getting harder to do. I get tired and my stomach pretty much stays contracted the whole time. At least I'm not getting side aches anymore, since I started drinking a big glass of water with each meal. Probably was dehydrated.

I have to go to the bathroom 10 times a day, which is about every two hours. Other discomforts I have are; occasional heartburn, occasional insomnia, and Toby kicking my delicate organs. Really, I don't have very many complaints. Although Greg might say otherwise! I like to keep him informed on every little twinge. :)

Doctor Anderson thinks that everything seems to be going well, and is still scheduling appointments a month apart. But I'm sure after the next appointment he'll start seeing me more often. I'm really not fond of doctors, but this one seems okay.

Greg and I are so anxious to meet our Toby! It's almost as if we are waiting for Christmas to come.

Time is dragging by!

No Such Luck

Two weeks after getting my hopes up, my contact at Rio Tinto dashed them again, telling me that Kennecott will be promoting from within. That's a bit of a disappointment both on the pay and location fronts.

However, there are some good bits of news along with it.

First, we aren't in desperate need of a job, so this isn't a big hit to us and we're not panicking. So, yeah, we have to stay in Vernal for a while longer, but it's not like we're not making a good living--well, decent, anyway.

Secondly, I now have a contact at Rio Tinto, and therefore Kennecott, that I can check in with from time to time and submit my resume to from time to time. So there's potential to the future.

In the meantime, I'm going to be going to a couple of conferences over the next few months where I'll be making (hopefully) several professional contacts. That networking should help me to be able to get a different position back in SLC area at some point. Who knows, I've even heard that Herriman has expanded its staff from 1 to 6 over the past 3 years, and with continued growth in the area, it wouldn't surprise me if they end up needing more in the near future. So, I'm keeping my hopes up, my options open, my resume out there, and my eyes and ears pealed for new opportunities.

Our Baby Checklist

For those of you going to my baby shower that would like a hint of what Greg and I need/desire that we haven't bought ourselves, I'm posting this list of things we don't have:

For the Nursery-

Mobile, Digital Clock, Diaper Pail, Hamper, Toy Box, Crib Blankets, Receiving Blankets, Toys,

Baby Boy Clothes, all Sizes (and shoes, socks, etc)

Health and Safety-

Medicine Dispenser, Outlet Covers, Safety Gate, Thermometer, Cabinet Latches, Baby Medicines (like Tylenol), And whatever else we need; we don't have anything at all from this category

Toiletries-

Diapers (cloth or disposable), Diaper Pins, Diaper Rash Ointment, Diaper Bag, Shampoo, Lotion,

Baby Wipes, Wash Cloths, Nail Clippers, Brush/Comb, Bath Tub, And whatever else we need; we don't have anything at all from this category either

Feeding-

Baby Bottles, Bottle Brush, Bottle Nipples, Bibs, Bottle Sterilizer (?), Pacifier (?), Breast Pump (?), Nursing Coverup (?), Formula (?), High Chair, We don't have anything from this category either! And I'm not really sure what is needed.

Miscellaneous-

Quiet/Church Books and Toys, Portable Playpen/Crib

So that's what we don't have. In certain categories (Feeding, Toiletries, and Health and Safety) I'm sure there are useful and essential items I don't know about and have not put on this list.

Oh, and in case anyone wants to know, we have decorated the nursery in Purple, Green, Yellow, White, and Black. Only about 60 days left to go! Wish me luck with the delivery! :)

Going Home Outfit (Tentative)

I was checking out the "October 2007 Babies" message board on Baby Center online, and there was a post of the "going home outfits" that the pregnant women had picked out for when their baby will be born.

So I decided to post mine on the Ilene Report. I picked out a newborn size (left) and a bigger, warmer size (right). Bottom left corner is a baby blanket.

However, I haven't had a baby shower yet, so most likely this outfit will change. If it does, I'll post that one too!

The Baby Swing!

Okay, Greg and I are trying to spend our money wisely and not buy extravagant baby stuff. But this was the only swing that was electric!

Plus we loved the bright colors and neat features. The seat swivels so Toby can rock from side-to-side or from front-to-back. It plays music or jungle noises, and the mobile moves around.

It cost $100. At least we won't be buying batteries for it all the time!