Christmas in Dallas

Christmas turned out very well for us even though we were far away from our families. At first it was kind of hard on us but we realized we needed to make the best of it. We are family now and need to rely on one and another during these times. Plus, we will not be able to travel every holiday once little Matthew Thomas Barnett is born. We were blessed to be invited for Christmas dinner at a friend’s house. They made us feel very loved and part of their family.

The day after Christmas we went to Home Depot and bought a pre-lit Christmas tree for the years to come. We wanted a tree this year but did not want to pay full price. Plus it will be nice to have a large tree once the baby is born. Now I can use all the ornaments I have received throughout the years. I swear the tree next year will look like 98% Erica since I have gotten an average of 3 to 4 ornaments per year from my family and Santa. Bob's family did not go as hog wild on the ornament giving as the Smith side. Now he is learning our tradition and our child will as well next year.

New Years Eve is going to be a first for us. Bob is not playing for the first time!!! He is sad since he loves playing but I am a tad happy since it is hard one me. If this was going to be like last year I would have sat it out. For anyone not up on last year’s New Years Eve gig . . . I got up at 5:30 am to get to work at 7:00 am. Worked a full shift and left Sacramento at 3:30 pm to fight traffic to Vacaville. Got home around 5 pm and had to get ready ASAP for a show in San Francisco. We left around 6 pm and did not get home until the hours. Being 6 months prego that just could not happen.

24 Week Ultrasound

I just finished my 24 week ultrasound and everything is going well. He was not always cooperating with the doctor on moving to a new position. I told her he is more active during the day and nighttime then in the morning. It took her a long time to finally see one of his hands to confirm that the proper amount of fingers were intact. Plus she reconfirmed that it was a boy and the organs are developing perfectly. This time around he was at a better angle to demonstrate that he was a boy and Bob and I could truly see it without being told. I am glad it is going to be a boy since we have narrowed it down to two boy names. I did not want to go back through the process for girl names. The best part of we are both healthy, doing well, and cannot wait for Christmas!

Weather

Okay this does not make any sense but yesterday it was 78 for the high. Today the high is going to be 37. What is up with Texas weather?????

Quick Update

Bob has been super busy this week with Christmas shows.  I have barley seen him this week.  I cannot wait for things to go back to normal for awhile.  We are getting closer on Baby Boy Barnett's name and should be able to share it with everyone after the first of the year.  I also want my ultrasound on 12/22 to reconfirm that it is a boy!  We have held of on buying much or doing the room till we see the doctor again.  I am going to see a new hematologist on 12/29.  My OB was not getting any where with my current specialist on how to handle my pregnancy.  I did not really like my specialist so I am happy to try another doctor.  I want a doctor who cares about me and the baby not how much he is making each time he sees me.  Let's just say he told me at my first appointment that many oncologists do not see patients for hematology since it does not pay the same.  The way he said it ticked me off since it sounded like he was doing pro bono work.  I told him I was sorry I did not have cancer but still needed care.  Plus almost all doctors that are hematologists are oncologists since they go hand in hand.  

The weather here is very warm.  It was registering about 78 this afternoon.  Just does not feel right for mid December.  You would think we were in San Diego!!!!!  Oh how I would love to head to S.D. for a weekend . . . 

Road Trips

I think I am to the point where a car ride over 2 hours is my limit. We did the trek to El Paso which is a little over 9 hours one way over Thanksgiving. Over this weekend we went to Arkansas to celebrate Granny Barnett’s 100th birthday. I did not want to miss the celebration and seeing my new relatives. Well Fort Smith, Arkansas is about 4 hours one way from our house. After two hours in the car I just could not get comfy. The baby was tired of me sitting and wanted some movement. Let me tell you he can pack a punch even being a little less than a pound. We also did the AR trip in one day so it was almost the same as going to El Paso except we had a couple hour break in the middle. By the time I came home I was exhausted and started getting a head cold. But I did not want to go straight to bed since my legs were tired of being stagnant. I did some squats and cleaned up the house a bit to my husband’s dismay. No matter how much he tries to understand and I explain he will never understand what it is like to be pregnant. No matter how much I want to be with family on Christmas I just cannot do the trip to El Paso in a couple of weeks. Flights are too pricey for both of us. I am not sure what we are going to do for Christmas.

Baby Boy Barnett

Most of you have heard through calls, texts, emails and other forms of communication that we are expecting a baby boy. The name has been yet to be determined and I think it might be awhile before we decide. I am not stressed since we have until mid April to make that important choice. Funny thing was my father-in-law told us to name the child Bob. I was like no not another Bob. But he was joking since the name would be Barack Obama Barnett with the initials Bob!!!!!! I was rolling since he is not an Obama supporter. :) Got to love the input of your family. Plus my father has already kidded we use Stanford since he loves the college. He may have won that front with my mom since Russell's middle name is Stanford but it is not happening this time around. I will save that one for Russell in case he has another boy in the future. ;)

Anniversary, Birthday, Ultrasound, and Turkey Day all crammed together

Well today is our 2nd anniversary and it is amazing how fast and slow it has been at the same time! I still can picture our wedding day and feel the excitement and buzz from my head to toes. Thinking that day everything was happening at warped speed and wondering if I'd ever have a chance to eat and go back to bed. For those of you not there . . . I woke up around 4 am and could not go back to sleep. I needed to get my hair and make-up done so breakfast never happened. Then the wedding was around 12:30 and lasted an hour. We jumped to the photo studio for more pictures and did not get out of there until 3:30pm. Then we got our hotel room for the night and then quickly left for the reception. A reception which lasted until midnight. I got my first bite to eat around 6:30 pm and we did not get back to our hotel till after 1 am. Then it took about 30 to 40 minutes taking all the bobby pins out of my hair. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I would never trade in my wedding day.

Tomorrow is my birthday which makes me now 32. Can I make it 30 by subtracting a year instead? Plus I am going to get my ultrasound the same day. Thursday is Turkey Day and I will be celebrating it with the Barnett clan. So much is happening in three short days. We feel very blessed to be where we are today.

Family

I am happy to say our first family member came to Dallas and stayed in our new house.  Now the sad news is that Bob's dad came since a family member on the Barnett side passed away earlier this week.  Bob and his dad are going to the funeral in Arkansas.  I was not able to take the time off this time around.   I am going there shortly for Bob's grandma's 100th birthday.  I met that side of the family back in July so hopefully a few of the names stuck.  Lets just say the Barnett side is huge.  I am not sure if Bob even knows the names of all his cousins.  I do since I only have 4.  I married into a large family.  :)

Maternity Jeans

I gave in today and wore my maternity jeans. Thank you Bob for hemming my pants last night! :) I am lucky to have a husband that knows how to use the sewing machine and does mind using it.

Funny thing about the jeans is each time I go to the bathroom I want to unbutton or unzip the pants. It just does not feel right to have jeans on without a zipper or buttons. However, I will say these are some comfy jeans!

I will try to get Bob to take a picture of me so you can all see the little tummy that is growing. Per babycenter.com the baby is only the size of a good size bell pepper. They say the baby is about 5.5 inches and weighs only 7 ounces. If it only weighs 7 ounces then why am I about 7 pounds heavier?????? Don't worry I know the answer.

No Ultrasound??????

You have got to be kidding me . . . no ultrasound today? I thought today was the big day to determine the sex of the baby but my doctor had different thoughts. She determined to just listen to the heart beat since I was going to visit the specialist in two weeks. Here I am telling everyone that I was going to know today but I was left empty handed. I just called the specialist and my appointment is going to be November 26th which is my birthday. I guess that will be my birthday present.

Other news during the appointment is that my Factor V testing never was sent to Texas. I get to do it all over again. I am going to the lab tomorrow to get a million vials of blood drawn.

On an up note they allowed me to get the flu shot. I would rather take it and not have to deal with a flu bug while being prego. :)

Boy or Girl??????

Well we should know tomorrow whether it will be a boy or girl. I am seeing the doctor at 9:45 am CT. I cannot wait to hear what the results will be or if the little one is showing their goods! I started a list of names I liked a couple of days ago and Bob was not that enthusiastic about some of them. I am sure it will be easier for us to pick one once we can eliminate boy or girl names. Everyone jokes that the Chinese Chart is right so if it is true then it will be a boy. I will let you know the results as soon as I can blog!

Roots and Clothes

I tried to be as good as possible but I am giving today and going to the hair dresser.  I cannot take the roots on top of my head!!!!  I have not been to the hair dresser in over 5 months.  I was scheduled to have an appointment in Sept but canceled since I was still in my first trimester.  I thought that maybe I could just let it go natural or dye it a little bit longer but the California blonde is too deeply in bedded in me.  Then again there are just as many blondes out in Dallas as in the Sacramento area.   

Yesterday I proactively bought maternity clothes.  I figure I will need to start wearing some of the pants in a couple of weeks.  I was hoping it would be later but on Friday I realized that my loose pants were not so loose on my waist.  Bob was patient and kind and took me to Old Navy to try on maternity.  They have a decent selection and very low prices.  I am not a fan for paying a lot for something I may never use again in the next 5 months.  I bought a pair of jeans, three short sleeve tops, two tanks, and a long sleeve top for under $85.00 bucks.   One semi-funny thing that did happen is the girl in the dressing room asked me how things went after trying on the clothes.  I told the under 20 year old that I felt fatter and more pregnant then ever and she just looked at me dumb founded.  Bob had a look on his face like no you did not just say that.   Don't ask since you might not hear what you want to hear from a pregnant woman.  But then again I am not sure if she even realized that I was pregnant until I made the comment.  It has helped my ego a little bit that strangers have not asked being pregnant.  In a month or two that will be fine but I am only 17 weeks and this is a first baby . . .  

Earthquake in Texas?????

Okay, I thought when I moved from California that I would no longer hear news about earthquakes close to home . . .  Well that went out the window over the weekend.  We had two minor earthquakes on Saturday night that registered a whopping 2.5 at the most.  Bob asked me if I felt it and I almost laughed but held back.  I have slept through greater ones than that!!!!!  I guess in Dallas you have tornados, snow, and earthquakes.  :) 

Texas Voting

Texas voting is different than California. They do not allow you do an absentee ballot unless you are over 60, in jail, traveling, military or overseas. However, they do offer early voting to help alleviate the polls. I voted on Monday night and it took forever. The line was wrapping around the door and I finally got to the polling area an hour and half later. Once I got up to the front I realized the problem. It was a bunch of older people that were confused as all be on which forms to give to each person. All you are required for early voting is to vote in your county so they had to figure out which ballots to give since people from all over Denton County were voting there. There were times they were arguing which ballot to give or asking people to give back their ballot since it was the wrong one issued! Oh my!!!!! I got to pick between electronic or paper. I picked paper since everyone in the electronic section was taking forever. Another interesting thing is that you can mark a box for straight party ticket. I thought that was a little odd since there was not always your party running for a specific category. It just also seems lazy to me regardless if you are going to vote a straight party. Bob was not able to vote this time around since he forgot to change since voter registration. He is still listed in El Paso since he did not have to change it when he was in the Air Force. Now he cannot cross cancel out my vote! Haha. I am living in Texas not California. Does my vote even count?

Baby Updates

I swear I am almost done. Now to baby news. I am officially 4 months pregnant as of today and I am starting to feel like my clothes are getting a tad snug. I have gained about 4 to 5 pounds which everyone says is okay but I am trying to be careful as of now. Let’s just say the last few weeks have been shot due to the move. I have eaten more junk food since we have eaten out or had fast easy things to make. My body does not want to consume another item from a fast food joint for a long time. I am no long nausea which is very pleasant however, exhaustion still kicks in super fast. In two weeks I am having an ultrasound which hopefully will detect the sex of the baby. We would like to know prior so we can focus on one name only! Bob and I have talked a little bit about names and I am clueless what we will do if we have a girl. We are on the opposite page when it comes to girl names. Boy names look like it will be easier. We are blessed to be having a child and it will not matter whether it is a boy or a girl.

Moving - Home Sweet Home

I have been so busy with the house that I stopped blogging. I am very sorry. Well where to start. We closed on the house on Friday 10/24/08. It was a whirl wind of a day. I got up at 5:30 to get to work early so I would not lose any time at work. I have been trying to make up an hour I leave early for doctor’s appointment or the house to make sure I have as much time as possible once the baby is born. Back to Friday . . . I worked until 1:30 and headed to another part of town for the closing. I am horrible with driving in Dallas even though we have lived here for about 10 months. Here I am with the GPS and it is telling me to go another way that the Google directions. I am calling Bob in a panic and luckily he walked me through on how to get there. It took about an hour and half to close and then we were off to our apartment. We had been packing for weeks and Bob wanted to get as much into the house that day and the following day get the big items with a U-Haul. We loaded the truck and car three times and did not get to bed until 1:30 am. I was exhausted, hungry, sour, and in a foul mood by then. Let’s just say I did not lift anything heavy but I have not been on my feet or up that long in a very long time. The next day Bob was up around 6:30 which woke me and I finally rolled out of bed at 7:00. There was a big panic since U-Haul never called us about where we were supposed to pick up the U-Haul. We are calling and them and find out it is the wrong direction. This sucks since it costs a $1.00 a mile to drive it. Okay so a truck for $35.00 turned into $106.00. Now I know how they make their money. But as we are driving to get the U-Haul Dish Network calls to get come over and set of the satellite now. Okay, you are not supposed to be there until noon and 5 and it is 8:30 am! I told them there was no way and I was baffled since we had a different time set up. He said that he was just trying to work his schedule and thought he could squeeze me in early. The problem is we are not there and the TVs are still at the apartment. We made it to the apartment and one of Bob’s friends came to bring some muscle. I helped pack some small items while they did the heavy lifting. We loaded Bob’s truck, his friend’s truck and the U-Haul and still had some stuff left in the apartment! That day mainly involved me unpacking boxes and taking an hour and half nap since my body could not take it.

We are 98% done with putting things away. We are building some shelving in the bathrooms since there was not enough space to house all of our stuff! Darn those double sinks. :)

Does Phoenix know?

I am starting to think that our cat Phoenix knows that I am pregnant.  He has always been cuddly but is has increased his neediness as of recently.  He is constantly wanting to lay on my stomach and knead on it.  It is sweet and we are joking that the baby will come out purring rather than crying.  

El Paso

Last weekend we spent our time in El Paso, TX to celebrate Becky's (Bob's sister) wedding.  It was wonderful to get the see the family and celebrate her big day.  I do not think I have ever seen Becky smile so much in her life.  The flight, food, and lack of sleep however, did not mix well with my pregnancy.  I was sick as a dog most of the time.  I have learned that if I do not eat at certain times it all goes down hill.  It is hard to stay on a schedule when you are traveling.  It does not look like we are going to be traveling any time soon and the next time we might drive rather than fly.  :)  

Hanging our hats

Well Bob and I decided to make the biggest purchase of our lives a home!!!!  We are closing on 10/24/08.  We cannot wait to have a place of our own to build, paint, and not have neighbors above us!  Lets just say renting as not been very pleasant since we got new neighbors.  The girls above us are college age and like to party in the wee hours.  We are talking about any day of the week since they do not want to exclude a week day.  It is not the best thing to be woken up at 1 am with loud music, yelling, and some guys wrestling around that turn into a fight.  I swear it is the same drama every time they throw a party.  I guess it does not get old when you are young and drunk.  

But the great thing is that the house is going to be a mile away from Hidden Cove.  It is a park which is part of Lake Lewisville.  It includes hike trails, rental boats and jet skis, volleyball, horse shoe and many other things.  It will be a great place to get out kid(s) in the future.  

Yes, I asked for a butterfly needle . . .

This afternoon's doctor's appointment went from mildly annoying to flat out frustrating.  I was a little bothered that the nurse forgot to take my blood when I was at my appointment on Monday.  This meant having to come to work early today to take an hour lunch that would not consist of a lunch.  Now the story gets to annoying.  This is the first time I've had blood drawn there so I gave them the low down.  My veins suck because they like to hide and roll.  First they need to use my left arm and a butterfly needle due to my past history.  Okay, I should know this because have been giving blood longer than I want to remember.  As a child it was due to my seizures then it was my blood clotting disorder.  Lets just say for the past 6 years I have been giving blood at least once a month.   The lady does not listen to me and goes in with a regular needle in my left arm.  She starts digging since my vein rolled.  What a shock!!!  She then proceeds again with the wrong needle type in my right arm after I tell her that she needs to use the other needle.  She misses again and tries to dig.  Plus she curses while trying to do it.  I tell her as calmly as I can that I think we need to try with the correct needle or another person.  She then tells me she did not use the butterfly needle to begin with because she is afraid of them.  What?!?!?!?!  I am about ready to fly off the handle because if you felt like that at the beginning why did you proceed?  A new nurse comes in and looks at my battered arms and tries again.  This time she uses the correct needle and arm and surprise surprise she gets its.  At least I know who can do it in the office if this happens again.  I guess the moral of the story is people hate not being listened to and treated with care.  Hopefully, this lesson will be a good reminder for me when I try to plow ahead.  ;)   

Sharing Germs

A week ago Bob  came down with a terrible flu bug that last about 48 hours.   I thought I was in the clear since I was feeling good less the morning sickness.  Well I got his bug six days later . . .  Lets just say that I felt bad Saturday but was blaming it on the pregnancy and had no idea what was in store for Sunday.  It was flat out miserable and took the life out of me.  Yesterday was mainly me involved me trying to get my strength back from the weekend.  Just going to the OB yesterday took everything out of me.  The only good part that came of it was that I got to hear the heart beat again.  It registered around 188 to 194.  Today my stomach feels semi-normal and the head and body aches are gone so I am going to try to make a run at work today.   Hopefully Bob will not pick up too many germs from the kids he teaches and pass them along to me. :)

Sonogram #2

Well this sonogram was very, very, very exciting.  I got to see the baby upside down and grabbing thing with its little flipper like arms!  The heartbeat was at 177 compared to 105 two weeks ago,  I was amazed at what a difference two weeks made.  Plus, technology is crazy since you could see all that and it is only an inch long!  The due date is now between 4/15 to 4/18.  Maybe we will have a tax baby! :)  The next ultrasound will be in about 3.5 weeks and it will be 3D!!!!!  Even with all the morning sickness this is what made it real to me.  

This weekend has gone by too quickly.  Yesterday, Bob and I went home looking/shopping in The Colony area.  For those of you not familiar with Texas it is North of Dallas.  We are looking for a home that is closer to both our jobs that are located in Plano.  Plano is where they based the TV show Dallas.  Scary part is that there are people that act like they should be still in the show!  Some parts of Texas really does think that bigger is better when it comes to hair, make-up,  purses, and loud clothing.  We are not ready to purchase yet but we want to have a good idea about the market once we are ready.  Now the bigger is better trends for homes are the same in Texas as in California.  The homes are huge but on a dinky piece of land.  I could not believe that home's backyard that we saw yesterday was all pool.  I love pools but I want an area where my child can play in the backyard and have a swing.  Yes, there is a park in the neighborhood but sometimes you want to spend time at your own place.  Is that asking for too much?

Tuesday I am going in for sonogram number two.  I cannot wait to hear the heartbeat and see the little blob again.  ;)  I just read that at 8 weeks the baby now has hands with slightly webbed fingers, knees, and eyelids.  Pretty cool all that develops so quickly and when it is still so small!!!!

Labor Day Weekend Update

Well I am very thankful for the three day weekend.  I could not be more exhausted from this past week.  A little history . . . when I moved over to my position in Dallas I became hourly. :(  Thus,  if you take time off then you have to make it up within the physical week it occurred or use your sick or vacation time.  I had the sonogram on Monday, appointment with the hematologist on Thursday, and blood work drawn on Friday.  Right now working 8 hours is hard enough let alone making up the time.  I did not want to use my sick or vacation time since I am trying to hoard every last minute so I have the most time possible once the baby is born.   At some point I might have to give in . . .

Some how it seems like clock work but around noon hits I get sick to tummy and then the exhaustion kicks in around 2 pm.  The three hours are me trying to keep my eyes open.

Plus, we had a sick kitty on our hands.  Cali had a urinary track infection last week and Bob took her o the vet.  She got a shot and ten takes worth of antibiotics.  We thought things were better but then the sneezing began.  She was sneezing constantly and just wheezing. Her poor little purrs sounded pathetic.  Bob took her back into the vet a few days ago and now she is taking another round of antibiotics and antihistimins.  Today we saw a turn for the better.  She was bathing, eating, purring normally, and playing with Phoenix.  These are things  that we have not seen in over two weeks.  I am so happy since she is a huge part of the family.  

Today has been about relaxing and enjoying time at home but also wishing I was in California. I took a much needed two hour nap while Bob whipped up his famous tacos.  They say to win a man's heart is through his stomach but I think Bob might have won me over that way!!!! ;)  Now, I wish I was back in Northern California to be part of Noah's 3rd birthday party.  The hardest part about being away from home is missing my family and friend's birthdays, holidays, and special events.  It is especially hard to not be there for Suzette and Noah since they are amazing kids and growing up so quickly. 

   

Is it true?

I thought I would share information about my life in Texas but something larger occurred yesterday so . . .  I got confirmation that I am six weeks pregnant!!!!!  This now means that I am not crazy for being ill for the past couple of weeks!  I am excited and scared all at once.  Bob and I have always wanted children and we are over the moon but it is that story of wow I never though it would happen so quickly!  Luckily, I am a planner so I lined up all my doctors ahead of time due to my factor five disorder.  I am going to be seeing doctors a lot more frequently to make sure that neither I or the baby have a clot form.  The nice thing is that I will get the 3D ultrasounds and the first one is at 12 weeks so I am half way there.  I am going back into the doctor in two weeks for another sonogram to confirm the due date that is tentatively 4/18/09.  

First Blog

Okay, this my first time blogging so please be gentle!  I want to be able to share pictures and moments with my friends and family that live close and far away.  Thank goodness for today's modern technology since our closest immediate family is about 9 hours away driving time.  Please enjoy and feel free to comment.  :)