38 Week Update

We just had our 38 week appointment.  I had a hunch that I was still going to be 3 cm dilated but I was hoping to be effaced. Well....

I am 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced! The doctor thinks that I will go into labor tonight or tomorrow but definitely by the end of the weekend. He said that he never tells patients' when he thinks that they will go into labor but I am so close, he felt confident in saying it will literally be any time and that a walk would probably push me over the edge.

Even though I really want my doctor to deliver me (he isn't on-call this weekend so I will get some random doctor in the group), I decided to give Mark the night to work and hope I go into labor tomorrow when my doctor is still working!

As we were leaving, my doctor said, "Things just got real, folks."

So, I turned to Mark and said,  "Mark, he means that this shit just got real!"

My Husband...the Thief!

My husband is a thief and I caught him in the act!!

About two months or so ago, we received one of those census surveys in the mail which was probably thirty pages long. I have always immediately thrown that yearly survey away but Mark essentially dared me (for whatever reason) to complete it for the ten dollars promised from the State of Nevada upon its completion. I think that the instructions said it would take approximately ten minutes. I thought, "a dollar a minute....I'll do it!" What a friggin mistake!

An hour into filling it out, I was only half way done! Mark laughed at me and kept telling me that it wasn't worth it and to just throw it away but I couldn't do that. He had dared me to fill the stinking thing out so there was no way I was going to give up now! I knew that I would never hear the end of it so I ignored his taunts and kept on filling out those stinking bubbles and inserting the appropriate responses into the blank spots.

The stinking thing took me about two hours to complete. If I had known it would have taken me so long to complete it, I never would have started it because ten dollars isn't worth it. Anyhow, I finished it and mailed it back in to the state.

Fast forward a few months and the entire incident was long forgotten. Mark was going through the mail   and he started laughing out loud. I asked him what he was laughing at and why he was holding ten dollars into the air. He explained that the State had sent me the ten dollars for completing the survey. I was shocked since I had totally forgotten about the whole thing. I laughed as I continued to wash the dishes.

A few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I see Mark take his money clip out of his pocket, grab the ten dollars and put it in his clip! I screeched, "What do you think you are doing? That is my ten dollars!" His face dropped as he was clearly busted. He stammered and then started laughing but he took the ten dollars out of his clip and set it back on the counter. I said, "That's more like it!" Mark is the guy who steals the change when we are out to eat or whatever. I'll pay cash and he'll take the change. We always laugh about it because I have to fight him to get the change back for myself so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that he would try to take the ten dollars!

The next morning, I was cleaning up the family room as Mark was getting ready for work and I again caught him removing the ten dollars from the counter and trying to put it in his money clip. Again, I screeched and called him a thief! He started laughing and said, "If that ten dollars is still on the counter by the time I get home from work, it is mine!"

He is such a little shit! It took me two hours to fill that thing out....I earned that money! And I just took that money and spend it on a decaf white mocha frappachino!

My husband...the thief! Gotta love him!

Trent is Potty-Trained!

And they said it couldn't be done!

Okay, okay...I should be honest...he hasn't pooped on the toilet yet so technically, he is not fully potty trained but he hasn't had an accident in 4 days, he tells me when he has to go pee and I am saved from having to change lots of wet diapers during the day!

It was a long, frustrating four days but I will take that over changing all of those pee pee diapers during the day. I put one Pull Up on him at night and when he wakes up, he poops immediately then calls for me to come get him. I then let him pee on the potty, throw his poop in the toilet and explain to him that that is where he is supposed to go poop. He hasn't done it yet but I think that once he does, he won't look back.

I am sure that he will have a few accidents along the way but I am so very proud of him for doing so well and for not having any accidents all week long. I cannot believe how big he is getting and how smart he is becoming!

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear Molly! I am so thankful that you sent me that book which pushed me to just get it over with and thank you for encouraging me to stick with it when I just wan't sure it was in the cards for Trent at this time.

Hopefully, the Pull Ups will be gone soon too but in the meantime, I will take a nearly diaper free house (at least, until the baby arrives shortly)!

Baby...Keep Cooking (per Mark's request).

Well, I've been 3cm since Thursday and there is still no baby. I knew that I could potentially stay at 3cm for a few weeks but I was hopeful that the baby would arrive over the weekend. I am getting a little uncomfortable but more than that, I am sick and tired of peeing roughly every 20 minutes during the day and every hour at night. I should buy stock in Charmin toilet paper because I am running through that stuff at a ridiculous pace.

Anyhow, I got a pedicure on Saturday and the lady massaged the pressure points on my feet that could induce labor. I told my mom about it later that afternoon and she said something to the effect that she wishes I would have called her beforehand to tell her that because she would have told me that she was sick so it wasn't a good time for me to go into labor. Well, she didn't have to worry because it obviously didn't work.

On Sunday, I was standing in the kitchen talking to Mark when I felt my underwear and jeans get a little wet. I immediately thought that my water broke. Upon inspection, however, there wasn't that much liquid. There was enough for me to notice it and it didn't smell like pee but I didn't leak after that so who knows?! 

When I told Mark that I was "leaking" he said that I couldn't have the baby right then because he wanted to go fishing. I immediately told him that that would not be happening because we had to finish the last of the baby stuff yesterday (which we did) and that I didn't want him gone where he potentially wouldn't have cell phone reception in case I needed him. He responded that he was going to an area where he did have reception which only pissed me off because I've called him before when he has been fishing at this specific location and he hasn't answered because he told me that he didn't have reception! Apparently, he does have reception, he just chooses not to answer my calls when he is fishing...he is too busy enjoying his man time or whatever. Ugh! 

To make matters worse, I just got a phone call from him in which he said that he had taken a significant amount of money in loan applications this morning and that it was really a bad time for the baby to come (as if I have any control over this). He also said that I needed to either call a sitter to help me in the evenings with Trent or do everything myself because he would be too busy working to get these loans apps processed over the next few days. I really wanted to laugh out loud because Mark does one thing with Trent at night...ONE! He lotions him and dresses him after I give him a bath. That's it. It's not like he plays with him for hours on end during the evenings because he is working (to my husband's credit, he is a very, very hard worker which I admire). 

What astonished me however,  is that he felt the need to call me to tell me that he is too busy to take the 10 minutes or less that he usually gives Trent in the evenings because he has to work really late this week. I get it....I really do! He is busy and wants to get this stuff done before the baby arrives but the fact that he acts like he does so much work with Trent every night baffles me! He always makes it seem to others that he is the primary caregiver in the evenings and I always want to laugh because he lotions and clothes the kid...he doesn't read to him or brush his teeth or even put him down in his crib...I do. 

So, I told Mark that I didn't need to call the sitter and pay her for the ten minutes of her time that it would take to do Mark's job :)  I could do it myself and in less than five minutes! If Mark thinks that he deserves a gold star for clothing his child in the evenings, then I surely need diamonds since I take care of Trent the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of the day! 

Mark again began to explain how he really needed these next few days to work late and get everything at work situated. Apparently, I am to keep my legs closed until Mark is ready for him to come...silly man! I will do my best to accommodate Mark's wishes and keep him cooking just a little longer. I am sure that Mark is praying that his prediction that the baby will make his debut tomorrow, is pushed back a few days to better accommodate his schedule. I found it best to not tell Mark that I have so much pressure "down there" that I feel like the baby is going to slide right on out at any time or that I have been cramping a bit today...I didn't want to really stress the man out! 

I keep thinking that Mark should never have said that he didn't want the baby to arrive just yet because now, it will happen! After all, when do kids ever do what we want them to do, when we want them to do it? 

:) 

Potty Training has Begun!

A few weeks ago, my friend sent me a book which outlined a 3-day potty training method. I read the book several times over, bought all of the necessities (underwear, treats/rewards/etc.) and was prepared to start the process last Friday. The book boasts that in the majority of cases, if you start the process on Friday, your child will be potty trained by the end of the day Sunday. The author, who I believe has 5 children of her own, states that 22 months old is the ideal potty training time. Her process worked for my friend and I was so excited to start it myself and have a diaper free two-year old before the new baby arrived even though I know it is risky because kids had regress when there is a new arrival.

Anyhow, Friday went relatively smoothly. I learned that Trent has amazing bladder control because he only went pee three times, two of which soaked his underwear while the third made it into the potty safely. He even stayed dried throughout his nearly three hour nap. I did put a diaper on Trent at night (despite the author advising against this) because the kid didn't poop on Friday and he is a two times a day (at least) pooper.

Saturday morning came and although Trent did wet the diaper, there was no poop. He woke up and went on the potty! The next time he went that day, he also made it to the potty. I was thinking that we were on a roll! Well, I was mistaken! He then had several accidents in his underwear that day. Although he does enjoy announcing that he sees his "pecker" and "nuts" (I know Mark taught him that nice little word but he won't cop to it) every time I set him on the potty.  Again, he didn't poop so I put a diaper on him at night again.

Sunday came and when Trent woke up, he had pooped in his diaper. He then had about 6 accidents in his underwear, put his hand in the toilet twice, threw a roll of toilet paper in the toilet, and stuck his foot in the water twice! I was beyond frustrated! I tried my best to not show him how frustrated I was but he was in an all around horrible mood and he was being a little you know what...he was throwing things at me, hitting me and he even spit his water out in my face. The book says not to punish your child during the potty training period because it is supposed to be a fun, happy few days but he got a spanking yesterday after he spit in my face. I told him not to do that and he did it about 4 more times. He was a MONSTER yesterday! Needless to say, he got passed on to Mark for a few hours because I had had it!

Mark took over the potty training duties from there and came up with a new method. He gave Trent a handful of Cheerios, let him throw them into the toilet, and then encouraged him to pee on them and it worked like a charm! Using that simple method with the reward of Oreos or fruit roll ups afterward, has  resulted in Trent going on the potty 4 times in a row (over the course of 2 days) and no accidents since yesterday afternoon. Fingers crossed that it will continue that way.

The lesson I learned from this situation is not to read so many books and make things so complicated! The books I read were wonderful and gave me great tips but I also need to use books as guidelines and adjust methods so that they work for Trent because every child is different. Mark didn't read the books at all (no surprise there, I know). I kept telling him that Trent needed to tell us when he had to go to the potty and that we just needed to watch for the signs of his having to go. Mark rolled his eyes at me and just went back to the basics. He put Trent on the toilet every few hours instead of being his shadow like I had been doing and just told him to pee and Trent did! Today, Mark's simple method has been working for me. We even went out and ran errands for hours and when we came home, Trent was still dry. I put him on the toilet, told him to pee and he went. I am hoping this method will teach Trent to tell me when he has to go but I'll take what I can get right now!

Half of my friends told me that Trent was too young to potty train while the other half all said that two was the perfect age to do it. I am hopeful that this is going to work but I will keep you updated!

My Husband...the Destroyer

Mark...Mark...Mark...

When we moved into our house 2 years ago, we bought a nice new kitchen table and I loved it! I read all of the care instructions and when I cleaned it, I made sure to not put anything on it that I wasn't supposed to. I didn't set frosty beverage glasses on it without a coaster. I was bound and determined to keep the table in pristine condition. Apparently, Mark had a different idea.

One morning, he put this huge nasty box on the table. Let me explain...Mark works for US Bank Home Mortgage and he covers several branches from Lake Tahoe to Carson City to Gardnerville. Because he seems to be at a different branch every day, he can't keep his files in one desk, at one office so he has to  carry this huge box around with him that houses all of his files. A few months after moving into the house, Mark set this box on the table and grabbed a roll of duct tape. Rather than put his files in a new box altogether, like his father, Mark loves himself some duck tape, so he decided to fix the box himself. So, he grabbed his dilapidated box and he began to wrap the silver tape around the box....really classy, right?!

I tried to keep my mouth shut...I really, really did, but as I watched his turn the box in circles over and over again as he taped the sides shut, I felt like I was going to burst. He was half way down the box when I asked him to tape the box on the counter because I didn't want the kitchen table to get scratched. He glanced at me with this annoyed look on his face and told me that I was crazy and that his box would not scratch the table. He continued to turn and tape, turn and tape and I continued to bubble with anger. When he started the second round of taping the box, I again asked him to move the box to the counter because I was sure the box was scratching the table and he continued to ignore me.

I went on to make breakfast, all the while giving Mark the evil eye, I'm sure. When he was finished taping the box, he put it in his truck and when he came back into the kitchen, I saw him eyeing the table. I took Trent into the other room to change his diaper and when I was there, I could hear the squirting sound of what I know to be Pledge. I finished changing the diaper and when I walked back into the kitchen, Mark was hurriedly walking into the other room. Curious, I looked around, wondering what in the world he was cleaning because the man never cleans anything. I instantly noticed that half of the table was all shiny looking while the other half was dull. I yelled for Mark and asked him why he was Pledging the kitchen table because the one thing the care instructions said to not put on the table was Pledge. He acted like he had no idea what I was talking about! I pointed at the table and now looked at him like he was the crazy one. He denied even cleaning the table at all. I was shocked he was lying to me and told him that I am not stupid but he continued to play dumb.

I begin to inspect the table and what did I see? Scratches, scratches everywhere! Half of the table was scratched to sh!T and I was not a happy camper. I screamed, "You did scratch the table! Did you think that the Pledge, which you are not supposed to clean the table with, would miraculously buff away the scratches?" He looked like a little kid who got just got busted and finally admitted that I was right, his box did scratch the table.

That was the first piece of expensive furniture that he damaged.

The dresser in the nursery is the second.

A few weeks ago, we were finishing organizing and cleaning the nursery when I told Mark that the little sticky stoppers on the bottom of Trent's humidifier had somehow peeled off on the top of the dresser even though we have never turned the machine on while it was actually on that dresser. Mark moved the humidifier up to the top of the dresser one day after Trent kept trying to tip it over when it was on a lower table we had in his room.

As Mark inspected the sticky tabs, I told him that I would peel the residue off later. His response was to tell me that he would get Goof Off and remove the sticky tabs for me. I was horrified! I said, "No way! You can't put Goof Off on this furniture!." He asked me why and I explained that the care instructions said that Pledge couldn't even be put on the furniture and that he was not to touch the dresser because I didn't want him to ruin the dresser like he scratched the kitchen table. He rolled his eyes and agreed to keep his mitts off of the dresser.

About 10 minutes later, I smell the unmistakable smell of Goof Off. I rush toward the smell and see Mark standing in front of the dresser with a rough rag in one hand and a can of Goof Off in the other. As if in slow motion, I screamed, "Noooooo!" as I ran toward my husband in a panic but it was too late. He turned around and looked at me with wide-eyes, clearly busted. I glanced down at the dresser and what did I see? Four large, faded, almost white areas in circular scratch marks that more than stood out against the dark wood. I could tell that he was in full panic, both that he had been busted and probably fearful of my hormonal reaction. I kept asking him why he would put that chemical on the furniture after I specifically told him not to and he shrugged and said, "At least the sticky stuff is off." If I could have karate kicked my husband right then, I would have. He assured me that he would be able to fix it. Mark is a more than handy man, I'll give him that, but I knew there was no way that he could repair the damage to the expensive dresser.

It has been a few weeks now and the spots are still there, sticking out like a sore thumb and driving me nuts. I  know that I don't know everything but why oh why, won't my husband listen to me at times, especially when it comes to cleaning? I've asked him how he plans to fix the dresser and he always changes the subject. As I was packing the baby bag for the hospital this afternoon, I stared at those spots and had to shake my head at my husband...the destroyer.

37 Weeks: I'm How Many Centimeters Dilated?

I was 37 weeks on Tuesday which means that technically, the baby is full term! Talk about time flying by!

We had my 37 week appointment this morning and it went really well. Being that I didn't really dilate with Trent until the week or so before I was due, I went into the appointment fully expecting the doctor to say that I was not dilated at all. Much to my surprise, the doctor examined me and said, "You are a good 2 centimeters dilated...wait...no...you are definitely a full 3 centimeters...yup...a full 3." My head shot off the examine table so fast I fear I gave myself whiplash. My reaction, "Excuse me, doctor....say what?"

I had always thought that a person was considered to be "in labor" at 3 cm but I guess I was mistaken. My cervix is still "thick" so there is no telling when I will actually go into labor. The baby is head down and ready to go so the doctor said that I need to be ready to go too. Apparently, a woman can be at 3 cm and go into labor at any time or she can stay there for a few weeks, so there is no telling what is going to happen but he did say several times, "if you make it to next week" and "you are ready to have a baby." I now realize that I really do need to finish packing my hospital bag and install the new car seat. If the baby can stay tight until Saturday, that would be great :) I could get some stuff done around the house and maybe even get the pedicure I have been dying to get for the last few weeks. Ahhh, that would be heaven!

The fact that I went into the hospital with Trent at 3 cm and I am already 3 cm with this little one, is kind of scary. We will soon be a family of four and that is crazy to think about. I am going to cuddle my little Trent Monster as much as possible until the baby comes because things will never be the same once the new little guy arrives. We can't wait to meet him!

Monkeys, Tigers and Elephants...Oh My!

While we were in the Bay Area for the birth of Mark's sister's baby, we were able to take Trent to the zoo! Finally...a family trip took place if only to a tiny little zoo for a few hours!

Trent loved the elephants, the monkeys and especially the train ride that took us through the park itself. Here are some pics of our trip...

Trent was very excited to see the elephants

The saddest monkey in the world! 

Trent had a stare off with the goat...Trent won. 

Trent checking out the giraffe's 

My silly monkey 

This animal literally drank the others pee like a water fountain...it was quite entertaining. 

Mucus Plug be Gone!

While I was in the Bay Area for my sister-in-laws birth, I began to bleed. We had to rush to see the baby and get back home in case I needed to go to the hospital.

When we got home, I went to the doctor who said that he didn't know why I was bleeding but that everything looked normal. At the time, I was still 4 weeks out from my due date and a little worried that I would go into labor early. Luckily, the bleeding stopped...for a few days.

As I was rushing around and running a million errands in preparation for the party last Thursday, I was worried that I would start bleeding again because I was doing so much and hadn't sat down for a second! As predicted, I started bleeding again Thursday night but it had slowed by Friday and was gone by Friday night.

So this is gross but I'll tell you anyway. Well, last night I started bleeding again. I was peeing and when I looked down, the toilet was full of bright red blood, along with a clump of what I can only assume was my mucus plug. The toilet water however was too red for me to tell how big the clump actually was. This morning, I went to the restroom again and it appears that I lost even more of my plug. Although this doesn't mean that labor is imminent, it does mean that I am well on my way to pushing this little guy out and I suddenly don't feel ready at all!

My biggest fear is that I will go into labor in the middle of the night and no one will be here for Trent. I am so lucky to have a friend who is willing to come over in the middle of the night and be with my little guy until my parents arrive but I am still worried. I don't think that I will go into labor in the next few days but I am still stressed out about it. Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks and I am positive that my due date is actually one week earlier than the dr. set it at so that really only puts me at 2 weeks away from potential delivery! Yikes! Hopefully the little man will cook for a while longer :)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go vomit now. My dog, who was sleeping on the pillow next to my head, just farted in my face and it is absolutely disgusting.

Oh, but first...

Here is a side view of my 36 1/2 week bump.  It is huge!!

Trent Turned Two...the Crawfish Boil is Complete!

It seems like forever since I have posted anything but I have been so incredibly busy these last few weeks! Not only did my sister-in-law give birth to a beautiful baby girl, but Mark turned 35 last Thursday and Trent turned 2 on Friday.

As you know if you have been reading my blog, we threw a big old crawfish boil in honor of Mark and Trent's birthdays. Let me tell you, we never knew it would be so much work to throw this party! Luckily, I had family in town to help me out and if it weren't for them, I never would have gotten anything done.

Even though it took much longer than anticipated for the water to boil in the world's largest pot (and therefore, we served the food much later than we had planned), everyone seemed to have a great time. I have posted some pics below of the party for you to enjoy.

The first batch of crawfish, sausage, potatoes and corn.

The cake was a hit! Done by Paris Custom Cakes in Sparks, Nevada.

Trent's individual cake that he dug into! 

The take-home koozies. 

Trent sipping sweet tea from the chair given to him by our friends Evan and Tera. 

A family picture...finally! 

Family and friends starting to get their grub on!

My dad who everyone thinks looks like the Dos Equis Man...the most interesting man in the world! 

Now that the party is over with, it is time to make the final preparations for the baby!