Good Morning, 30. I've been expecting you.

It's here! My 30th birthday. For those of you wondering if I'm freaking out, the answer is no - surprisingly! I've had my freak out - on my way out of my mid-twenties. So I think I'm over that part, which makes the transition into the next decade that much easier.

My twenties were great - I'd be lying if I said I accomplished everything I wanted to do during them, cause the answer is not really. But I've got bigger plans for this next decade. Reference my post from last year.

So bring it 30's - I'm ready and excited for your arrival. I've got big plans for you and I plan on accomplishing all of them - ALL of them do you hear me?! And just to remind myself of exactly what I want to accomplish, I'm reposting my goals for my thirties:

1. Have 2 healthy babies, God-willing, by age 33/34.
2. Stop living with regrets. Put it in the past and move on. It's well past time.
3. Use my passport a minimum of 2 times. Jeff and I will make it to Italy in the next decade.
4. Time for a healthy lifestyle change. Stop using the excuse not too lose weight due to the fact that you'll just gain it back with kids. Ridiculous. And stupid. Lose the weight. And keep it off.
5. KILL the student loans and be fiscally responsible
6. Read more. I'm talking classics, non-fiction, how-to's. Educate myself.
7. Watch less TV. Jeff and I are constantly battling with tv/productivity. Cancel cable if need be.
8. Stop wishing and start becoming the person I want to be
9. Stop comparing myself to others and start living the life I want
10. Buy land
11. Define my career path and stick with my hobbies, never compromising my (or my family's) happiness
12. Always keep the goals in sight and on track
13. Embrace life and live it up
14. Evaluate what was good and what was bad about my twenties
15. Keep my marriage on track, set goals, and keep the magic

The Waiting Game

The showers are over, all major holidays have passed and January 2010 is fixing to roll on by. All milestones in anticipation of K.T. are over, and now it's just a waiting game to see when she'll get here. Take a person who's normally a stressball, add high-blood pressure, add preclampsia, add your typical "holy-geeze-i'm-fixing-to-have-a-baby" anxiety and then add TIME on to that, what do you think that makes? Well, I'll let you pose that question to Jeff as my interpretation is a bit skewed. :)

The bp has been a bit high lately, not going to beat around the bush on that one. The doctor said that it's just going to be more elevated the farther we go in pregnancy. I can't tell you when K.T. is going to get here - as we are a bit in the dark ourselves. I think, at this point, we are just playing things week-by-week, seeing how the bp is doing and how K.T. is reacting to it.

We have another appointment tomorrow and since this week we turn 36 weeks, we're hoping to find out more information. At least a game plan. Do I want K.T. to come early? Yes and No.

Yes, as I'm exhausted. The third trimester has not been my friend, I will admit. My energy levels have been pitiful, my mood swings have been insane and I'm ready to start shedding all of this weight, both the water and the actual pounds gained. I'm tired! And, let's face it, I'm anxious to meet her!

The no is two-fold as well. First and foremost, I want her to bake as long as she needs to to make it out here in this tough world (and hello, can we say cedar pollen?). She's still a little small, hovering somewhere around the 5lb mark I think, right now. So, I want to make sure her lungs are developed, her weight is okay, etc. And if she has to be in there longer, than I'm fine with that! But I'm also scared out of my mind (partially) - hello? I've never raised a baby! I told Jeff the other day, I think the weirdest part is going to be bringing her home and then going "okay, now what?" - let's begin this chapter of our life, now! how crazy is that?

I know this post is mostly rambling, but I just wanted to give an update to those of you who are still reading it! (dont' be shy with the comments) Like I said, we'll know more soon and I'll try to keep everybody as updated as possible!

Until then, I'll try my hardest to RELAX.

I'm Beat

Actually, make that WE are beat. What a fantastic weekend, though - so it was worth every ounce of energy put forth. Jeff's mom, sister and our newest niece, Taylor came in on Friday night for our San Antonio baby shower that was this Saturday. Taylor has grown so much since we have last seen her, and Jenny, you are right, she's looking more and more like you! Just you wait until the hair comes in, I'm betting the resemblance will continue.

Jenny and Taylor Jo

We marked another 'to-do' item off our list on Friday night. Jeff and Debbie painted the bathroom! Thank goodness - as this project was starting to drive me bonkers (you'd understand if you saw how many paint samples were on the wall). We ended up going with a sherbert or butterscotch-ish orange. I like it, I do - but it's ORANGE! Having to get used to it and trying to think of ways to break it up a bit. But overall, I'm pleased!

pretty orangey

On Saturday morning, Jeff and I took a safety/first aid/newborn care class at the hospital. It was about a four hour class, but I'm glad we took if for nothing else, the CPR part was informative. We even got to practice on dolls, that looked more like aliens in my opinion.

alien baby (check out that girl's hair next to me!)

Later that afternoon, we went over to my friend Sarah's house (who is expecting her first baby end of April) for our Couples Baby Shower! The entire event was hosted by my 6 of my closest friends (2 of which are related to me!): Sarah U., Sarah S., Meghan, Ellen, Carilee and Em! Let me just tell you how thankful I am for these guys. I know this was a huge feat as I've got a pretty great group of family and friends in the San Antonio area. It seemed like EVERYONE showed up, and thank you to ALL of you who did. Jeff and I were truly humbled by the turnout and consider each and every one of you a special part of our life and pretty soon a part of K.T.'s life as well!

Hostesses with the Mostesses (??)

Awesome letters made by Calli (love them!)

Kady, K.T. & Katie (love the hair btw, Katie!)

I didn't lift a single finger to click a photo - I left it to my Mom (thanks, Mom!). One things for certain, and I KNOW this, I've got a lot of work to do on the 'ole body once K.T. joins us. Jeff and I actually went looking at jogging strollers today - not sure if I might ask for gift cards for my upcoming birthday to go and purchase one of these bad boys. Sure it's for her to be in, but it's also for me! I've got a bridesmaids dress to fit into at the end of April!

One thing is for certain - I'm ready to pay it forward. We've had such a huge outpouring of support from everyone during this entire pregnancy and I'm ready to do the same for someone else. So let's get crack-a-lackin' on those babies, ladies!

Anyway, last evening my mother-in-law and sister-in-law finished sewing the bumper and blanket for K.T.'s room. A project that has been touched by many hands, including my Mom's and myself. So it was a great group effort from both sides of the family - and I'll be sure and let K.T. know it. It looks great in the crib, don't you think?

bumper and blanket

This morning, Debbie and Jenny left a little early to head back to Houston, and what was supposed to be a rest day, turned into a minor (okay, not soooo minor) outing in which Jeff and I went on a little shopping spree to Target and Babies R Us to buy some items we didn't receive at our shower. Mainly, the diaper champ, changing pad and cover and we needed another car seat base for Jeff's truck.

BUT, I did take it easy this afternoon - we watched movies all afternoon and so-far have had a relaxing evening (although, I am doing some laundry on the side, with Jeff's assistance of course).

Now, all we are waiting for is K.T. to join us. That could be anywhere from 3- 6 weeks - so stay tuned!

Bed Rest, Weekend 1 = FAIL

Well, not total failure, but I didn't "stay still" or really rest to tell you the truth. I know, I know, I'm going to try to work on it, I really am.

Seems like last week I suffered from another bout of insomnia. Two nights I stayed up till well past 1am. Yeah, I was doing work both of those nights, but if I had been "tired" I would of wrapped up shop a lot earlier than that and called it a night, but I had the 'energy' so I went for it. Now my schedule is all screwed up, but I think we're almost back on track. Maybe.

This week is going to be interesting - I am definitely going to try to be available to work. In fact, I already have some work lined up for tomorrow, but nothing too heavy. It's kind of nice to be able to work still, to tell you the truth. It keeps me busy, not that I have a lack of projecs around the house.

This week Jeff is going to finish the bathroom and K.T.'s closet. These two projects have been hanging over our head for a long time now and we need to just get it done. Obviously, I'll be taking a more "supervisory" role in these projects - I'm pretty good at doing that! ha!

And I'm pretty sure I'm entering my "nesting" period (weird saying that) as I'm really wanting to get a lot of little things taken care of (cleaning, washing K.T.'s clothes, some design work I've been wanting to do before she got here, and a whole other list of things). Let's just see how much I actually get done.

I'm also looking forward to my shower this coming weekend! I can't tell you how grateful I am to my friends for hosting this for me - I truly appreciate all the hardwork and effort that has been put into it!

Another One Bites the Dust

Just a quick post to say that Jeff and I, in keeping with my new years resolutions, killed another debt today! Wahoo! Feels so good - I seriously can get a high off of paying off debt. Is that a nerdy thing to say? Who cares. "Another one bit the dust" today! On to the next one - I can't wait to kill it!!

And also, because I'm watching the commercial right now, the FINAL season of LOST premiers February 2nd.... sad and happy all at once.

The Third Trimester

I knew it. I knew that this pregnancy was going waaaay too smooth - in fact, like a pessimist, I was just waiting for that other shoe to drop. And drop it has, though it's not all that bad really.

Yesterday, my doctor swung by for a visit to check in on me. While my 24-hour *ahem* sample came back okay, overall my blood pressure readings were still high - so, the prescription came in:

BED REST

Le Sigh.

We're not talking kick my feet up in the bed all day, all night. We're talking stay at home, don't travel too far from home, light exertion, etc. I asked if yoga was okay, and after raising an eyebrow and asking me what types of moves we do, I convinced her to let me at least try. Thank goodness... you can't take away my social time with other prego ladies! It's just not right! Jeff can't handle all these complaints (just kidding.... sorta).

Fortunately, I'm able to do some work from home. Modern technology is so awesome. I just connect through the VPN and voila, there's my desktop and everything - I can even use the communicator to chat with everyone back at the office. I know, this has been around for awhile, but at least I'm finally on the bandwagon. And did I mention that I'm so happy to finally have CS4? Makes my life so much easier.

I plan on showing my company that they can count on me so that I can at least bring some income in during this time out and show them why they need to hire me full time after K.T. :) What? I'm competitive, it's not a bad thing.

I'm going to realllllly try to relax - I realize it's not my forte. In fact, relaxing sometimes makes my blood pressure rise more than actually doing something. For example, my bro asked me the other day to picture what it is that can make me relax and he through out a beach. I have got to tell you, just ask Jeff when we went to the Bahamas, how crazy the thought of lying out on the beach makes me. I can't do it - it's one of the worse activities I can think of. So now, 99% of you think I'm crazy, but at least you can see my end.

I think I could go for snow, cozy fire, blanket and warm drink as relaxing.... too bad I'm too far from snow.

Anyway, back to the point, I'm going to really try to relax and listen to my body. If I need to take a nap, take a nap. If the house isn't clean for one day *cringe*, then okay, fine, I need to make do *swallow*.

My doctor also mentioned that if we can't get the blood pressure under control, then our precious K.T. may be joinging us a bit earlier than we expected, possibly as early as 37 weeks, which is FOUR weeks away from today. I'm excited and nervous at the thought!

With this in mind, she prescribed me two steroid shots that will help develop K.T.'s lungs a little faster. I received the first dose yesterday and Jeff and I had to go back to the hospital this morning to get the second injection. I hope it does the trick. My main concern is that when she does get here, she'll be healthy! Please, Lord.

So that's where we are at right now. Trying to find the balance and get through the next four to seven weeks! I'll have some added time on my hands, my friends, so I'm sure there weill be more updates! Stay tuned.

Oh, and I forgot one of the most important details, I think K.T. finally FLIPPED! We had a quick sonogram yesterday while in the hospital and the doctor found her head down low - wahoo!

Test Run? or No Fun?

I'm going to go with the no fun part! Please, let me explain.

Monday afternoon I had a regular doctor's appointment to just check on things, particularly my blood pressure as it's been a bit elevated the last few visits. So, after a Non-Stress Test (NST) in which I lounged on a recliner in partial darkness and listened to K.T.'s heartbeat, I thought I'd had enough time to destress from the days activities. Apparently, not so much.

My reading was 140/90 - which translates to No Bueno! And after feeling the tightness and swelling in my calves, things didn't look much better. I thought, great, now what's the doc going to say? I've got to get back to work! I'm on deadline!

Well, my day took a sharp turn when she told me she wanted to send me to the hospital to admit me for a 36-hour observation period. Basically I'll have my blood pressure monitored at regular intervals and I have to give my fourth, count 'em, fourth 24-hour urine sample throughout this pregnancy.

So to get to the point, Jeff and I made our way to the hospiatal around 8pm last night after taking care of the animals and getting work out of the way. Protocol was to start in the OB ER and get all your vitals taken care of while they fill out the paperwork to admit you. I'm not going to lie, this was time consuming. We ran out of patience after the 4-hour mark. But, finally we were admitted to a room around 12:45 am and after multiple nurse visits, we finally dozed off around 1:45 am.

Jeff got up early to head to work and I had to get up to sneak in some work, since I had a deadline that I couldn't leave hanging. Basically, the day has been pretty boring...lots of visits to do bp checks and vitals, hospital food and work! (thank God for modern technology)

Anyway, I'm supposed to break out of here tomorrow around noon - which in hospital speak probably means 2 or 3pm? maybe?

But just to summarize, everything is fine and this was merely a precautionary testing period. I think this might determine if I will be on bed rest or not, but I won't find out more about that till after these results come in. The good news is I got my fancy-schmancy laptop in from work! Wahoo!

And might I add that Jeff wins 2010 Husband of the Year, and we're only five days in!! That should tell you how great he's been!

my desk for the day

swollen

where Jeff's been sleeping

K.T. and my swollen hand

Insomnia Ramblings

It's late. 1:14am to be exact and I can't sleep. Could have something to do with my 2.5 hour nap from earlier. But you would think a 32-wk pregger could fall asleep on a dime, which is normally the case, but no so much tonight.

I've been perusing the web for the past 2 hours (since Tech pulled out a great win over Michigan St.) and am getting all kinds of inspiration. Photography, crafts, writing. I'm anxious to get started on something.

I used to read. A lot. But I've just not been in a reading mood. For the past 8 months or so. While I still watch an indecent amount of tv at nights, I'm thinking I need to use some of my pent up of energy (not that there is much of it these days) on other ventures. I'm just not sure of what that is at this point.

I think it's time to start investigating hobbies.

A Time for Resolutions

Sure, we may not meet them all, and after awhile they start sounding redundant. But I genuinely feel by posting my New Years Resolutions I'm held more accountable then if I wouldn't of posted them at all. My list this year may not have been as lengthy as last years, but it's not less important. Some of these items may be easier to meet than others, but again they are all equal in importance.

So, without further ado:

• For the last 8 weeks of pregnancy, focus on providing K.T. with better nutrition than I've done these past 7 months. And while my general lack of energy is disheartening, I plan on remaining mobile (walks in the evening and continuation with my yoga class) so that this may help with ease of delivery, slow down on weight gain and put me into good practice for post-delivery.
• Snag a full time job. While I feel confident with the company I am currently with as a contractor, I would be stupid to think that I have a 100% guarantee in this department. Hopefully things will be settled by the time I go on maternity leave, but if this isn't the case, I'll have a lot of work to do on my end.
• Focus on my photography. 2009 gave me the opportunity to grow as a photographer. I took a course, had a part-time photography job and even landed a few gigs of my own. All of which were fantastic learning experiences. However, there is still so much to learn and I'm anxious to find my particular style. Luckily, I'll have a pretty good model to use here in a few weeks!
• Focus on a healthy lifestyle after K.T.'s arrival. I refuse to be a fat, overweight parent and Jeff is in agreement. I really wanted to start training for a sprint-tri pre-baby, so I'm hopeful about adding this back into my goals. I may start with a basic 5k (note: I am not a runner), but I need goals to strive towards, it really helps out. Plus, I'm super anxious to get back on my bike. I've been on a hiatus since July :( and I truly love cycling.
• Vacation time, just the two of us. Jeff and I have realized that we haven't taken a vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon in '05. Ridiculous if you ask me. While we love our families, and most of the time vacationing with them, we've realized it's important to take the time for ourselves as well. So this year, we are planning on treating ourselves to a 30's trip. Right now, we are both digging the thought of Seattle.
  
• Continue paying off debt. Jeff and I paid off a substantial amount of debt in 2009 and I'd like to continue this momentum into 2010. We still have those pesky student loans that I'm determined to defeat in the next five years or so. Sure, the baby is going to be expensive, but we've made strides over the past year to put ourselves in a good position to afford baby and continue debt reduction. This year I'm aiming to kill the other auto loan, one student loan and at least start chipping away at another one.
  

All-in-all I think it's a good list. It's going to take some hard work, some harder than others to pull it off, but with the right encouragement I think I can be successful! I hope you've made some great resolutions for yourself as well. I'm a strong believer in goals - and if don't set any for ourselves, what do we have to reach for?