IT'S A GIRL!!!

I know that's what everyone wanted to know so no need to ramble! We're so excited. I won't sleep a wink tonight.

The appointment was awesome. The ultrasound technician kept saying "Such a pretty baby!" Awww. All of the measurements were right on. The heartbeat was a steady and normal 144. At first she was laying on her side facing the "camera" but then she started doing flips and they were watching her kick me but I couldn't feel it. Must have been that big iced tea and Mexican food I ate before the appt that got her all hyper. My plan worked! She gave us great "down there" shots so there is no question that she's a she.

So, without further adieu... Introducing Stella O'dell Creekmore!!

Beginnings and Endings

This weekend was full of beginnings and endings... It was a good weekend and a rather bad one at the same time. Well, just one bad event...that will eventually be good. Mixtures of emotions are the worst!!

Sunday was the beginning of a new life for me and Easter and the ending of our every day companionship. At 1pm, Toby took Easter to her new home. I thought I would hyperventalate to death. It was hard - the hardest thing I have ever done. I had already cried the whole morning; every time I looked at her. Knowing that she would go to a new home and wonder where the hell she was and when the hell her mama was going to come to get her??? And I cried knowing full well I would not be coming to get her. THAT is what breaks my heart - thinking about what she is thinking. At 1pm, I put her in her crate and just went and quaranteened myself in the bedroom for awhile until I got control. Toby took her to the sweet lady's house who answered my ad - she only lives about 4 miles from us - and he was upset too. He said "I can learn to deal with the doo-doo. Let's call her and tell her no that we have changed our minds." And while I wanted to say OK; I knew in my heart that this was the right thing to do. For the baby, mostly. And also for me and Toby. I know he would try and deal with the doo-doo (ha!) for awhile but eventually it would get back to being an issue of tension in our house. It's not fair to him. If the situation was reversed and he kept choosing one of his animals over our marriage and over my feelings (which is what I was doing...) I would be upset too. Plus, this woman who took Easter is the ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS. When am I going to find that again? I'm not. So I had to let her go to her new home.

Toby said that she had already set up a place for Easter in her own wing of the house until she got used to the other animals and to her new Mom...then she could venture out as soon as she was ready. Toby said she was so excited for Easter to be there and loved on her right away. He said that she reminded him of me; and that Easter will probably be more spoiled with her than she ever was with me! That makes me feel better..........but I'm still going to cry and mourn the loss of my best friend...even though I may go visit in a month or so...It's time to move on and grow up and get our house ready for the baby.

Now, who wants to take Katie????

On Saturday, I witnessed another ending. The ending of my former Rock n' Roll self. I went to see Motley Crue and it was an experience. Maybe it's because I'm old. Or maybe it's because I'm pregnant. Or maybe it's because I WASN'T drunk. Maybe it's because I'm not into naked girls climbing ladders and swinging from chains by their teeth. But that show left a lot to be desired!! Vince sounded like a dying chicken, Mick looked like a skeleton Cousin It, Tommy hid behind the drums the entire time and didn't do anything cool, and Nikki still looked HOT. :) I could ramble about it....but I'll just post the review that was in the Richmond Times Dispatch. I will tell you that I almost punched about 15 drunk people in the face when they tried to crowd into the TWO empty seats next to me and Toby. The seats WE had paid $75 frigging dollars for - that is for EACH seat - ewww, that pains me to say that. And about 2/3 of the way through the show, I excused myself, bought a big glass of water, and sat outside the coliseum on a stone bench until the show was over. I needed fresh air and SPACE.

My ears are still ringing today. And the right one is THROBBING.

From now on, the only rock n' rolling I'll be doing is to a CD in my car...or at an MCS show!! (Or if Sebastian Bach ever comes to Richmond...) But that's IT!!

From the Richmond Times Dispatch:
It's not high art, but it is fun. A big, loud, grimy show that makes you feel as if you need a shower by the fourth song.
Call it skank rock - and it's Motley Crue's specialty.
The'80s institution, reunited last year with original members Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee, pulled out every cliché in the How to Rawk 101 handbook last night at the Richmond Coliseum, keeping the crowd of about 5,500 blissfully entranced.
So what if the sound was terrible, especially for the opening "Shout at the Devil," a pyro-soaked pool of muck? And so what if Neil's voice - never as strong as Motley's songs call for, anyway - is shot after 15 months of touring?
These fans don't care. They were thrilled to have water spat on them by bassist Sixx, his face painted with a black eye mask and ebony hair spiked to the ceiling.
They obediently whoo-hoo'd when Neil offered such studious banter as, "Riiiiichmond!! You're some crazy [fill in the blankers]!!" and shrieked appreciatively when half-naked nymphs writhed against a metal ladder during "10 Seconds to Love."
It's supposed to be stupid escapism - one reason the band has lasted more than 20 years (albeit with plenty of breakups and jail sentences). Think of Motley as KISS, except with actual musical chops.
Lee's double bass drum assault on "Red Hot" exhibited why he is one of the best rock drummers still playing, and it was his dense backbone on "Looks That Kill" and "Livewire" that distracted from Neil's breathless phrasing.
Too bad his drum solo - usually a highlight of any Crue show - was such a disappointment. His flying between junkyard drum kits looked cool for a minute, but the elementary beats he whacked out hardly demonstrated his capabilities.
The scarily frail Mars, his face obscured by a black top hat and his moves more Disney animatronics than guitar-god cool, can still play despite his corpselike appearance. His gritty blues-laden solo on a muscular "Wild Side" was impressively complex, and it's his riff that makes "Girls, Girls, Girls" such a guilty pleasure.
For that strip-club staple, the boys rolled out on revving choppers, while more airborne bimbos wriggled above them and a naughty video displayed more porn action than Cinemax at 3 a.m.
Still, there is a teeny bit more to these raucous troublemakers than an affinity for lesbians and music played at ear-bleeding volume. When the band revealed its softer side on the mellow acoustic singalong "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" and the definitive power ballad, "Home Sweet Home," it reminded listeners who could still hear that these guys have always had a knack for tight, hummable melodies.
But that comparatively gentle side quickly got kicked into the gutter for "Dr. Feelgood," another fat, nasty groove that proved that sometimes, big, loud, grimy rock is just fine.

My child's name will be....

REGLAN.

Which is the name of the prescription of the reflux med I got my my Dr. (yes, my Dr gave it to me....no GI doctor visit needed, thank you very much....) and I am IN LOVE with this med and grateful that it has given me my life back. Thus, I will name my first born after it.

Just kidding.

But really. I'm so happy right now I can hardly stand myself. I am now really looking forward to the Motley Crue concert on Saturday and to the MCS shows next weekend. I'll be able to go and have fun and function normally and not be sick!!

Bring on the long hair and leather!!!
"He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood - he's the one that makes you feel ALRIGHT!"

Drugs and Cats

Time for an update! Work was pretty busy last week and I had a couple days where I spent way to much time gagging in the bathroom... but things are looking up, I think. I THINK.

It is now determined that I am no longer suffering from Morning Sickness; now it's a raging case of Acid Reflux. So basically, I am ok until I eat something. Which is kind of a bitch because the only time I feel good is WHEN I AM EATING SOMETHING. So I eat. Then I suffer. I tried Zantac 75 which is on my approved medicine list...and it seemed to help! But not completely. It does not last all day so for dinner and nighttime I'm still stuck at home for fear of getting sick in public. I called my OB's nurse last week and she wanted me to try all the other Acid Reflux Meds available OTC before they would prescribe me anything a bit stronger. Damn. I KNOW I need the next dosage up! I want to turn into Crazy Pregnant Monster Lady and just yell "GIVE ME THE DAMN DRUGS!" But I didn't. I went to Kmart and bought Pepcid AC...which of course is not strong enough either.... but I tried it. I got through the weekend and still had problems so I called again this morning. I know she hates me. She kind of brushed me off and said "Well, I'll have to talk to Dr. Schoeffler and he's in surgery this morning so it will be a while. He'll probably want you to go see a Gastro-Intestinal Doctor."

WTF!?!?!? I know SEVERAL pregnant friends who were prescribed Zantac - just a bit of a higher dosage than the 75. I'm sure that would be fine. I'm so sick of this. I feel like maybe I should just shut the hell up and deal with it....... but then I go and puke in my car (like I did this morning. Thanks.) and then I change my mind and want to call EVERYONE ON EARTH to get this fixed. Even if I am a huge pain in the ass.

So, even though I'm still having issues (obviously!) I AM better, I suppose. The 24/7, 2 month long hangover is pretty much gone. And I never want to go back there again. You can quote me.

I'm ready to feel HALFWAY normal again. I want to be able to go shopping for more than a quick trip to Wal-Mart for deoderant and necessitites. Meet friends for dinner. Stay up with Toby past 8pm.......

AND GO TO THE MOTLEY CRUE CONCERT THIS WEEKEND. I'm so worried about that.....I bought the tickets for Toby for Christmas before I knew I was pregnant...We're in the 3rd row. I WAS so excited. Now I'm scared I'll be sick and ruin our time........................

Not to mention the THREE Motion City Soundtrack concerts in VA the following weekend... I HAVE to go to those.......

In other news, I blogged about my cat Easter awhile ago. About how the cats (esp the pooping cat) was causing major tension..... blah blah blah. Well, that issue was swept under the rug for awhile and then 2 weekends ago, it came back. Like I knew it would at some point. So, out of sheer desperation, I placed an ad on the PM Employee Marketplace to see if I could find a new home for them...and I started a correspondance with a women who works in Training...and she wants to take my Easter! With her neurotic tendencies and all!!! I'm so happy; yet so so sad and scared at the same time. This is the absolute right thing to do - for the most important person involved in this whole situation: THE BABY. We need a clean home, free of cat turds in the kitchen. We need a peaceful home where there is no yelling about said cat turds in the kitchen. This lady sounds wonderful - she told me that Easter would have a very loving new home with a patient new mama.... I couldn't ask for more. It's the answer to my prayers. But the tears well up everytime I think about her being gone. And in a strange house. And wondering where her Mom is. This is going to be a long grieving process, I think. But I am SO THANKFUL to know where she is...and I am sure if I needed to go visit her, this lady would be more than happy to have me over. :) She sounded so sweet on the phone. She only lives a few miles from me!

Ugh. Enough. I'm at work and really don't need to start the waterworks here.

We also need a home for Toby's cat, Katie. It is in the works that MAYBE Carol Bock will take her!!!!!! Carol has told Cece recently that she wants a cat. Their beloved dog just died and they have never been animal-less. Katie would be PERFECT for Miss Carol and I hope that works out too. I would feel very confident (although sad) that the girls are in good homes.

I'll post again sooner than last time..... Work has gotten busy again. The nerve!!

Same ol' Same ol'

It's 12:35 pm and I feel sick. Why do I feel sick right now? This is not my normal time to be sick. It's usually at night, around 7pm, when I want to watch American Idol in an hour but can't because I'm sick. And I go to bed. But here I am...in my cube...feeling like I am going to hurl. So I'm eating a sandwich and drinking gatorade and GETTING REALLY PISSED OFF AND FRUSTRATED. Blah.

Anyways... I bought a mattress and box springs from a girl who works here. We have a Marketplace Website on our intranet which is kind of like a classifieds section where you can post items to sell...And she was selling these for $50. That's a darn good deal. And when my Dad and I went to pick it up last night, she also threw in the frame and mattress pad. COOL!!

We sold our guest bedroom set a year ago since our house is small and we didn't need it....and I gave my old bed away (which I inherited from Leslie) when I got married because we didn't have room for it. It went to a good home: Denny. (That bed is certainly seeing more action in its new home! Sorry for the visual; had to do it. haha!) So, we have been guest bed-less for awhile but now that I am pregnant and will soon be GIANT, we need another bed besides our 1970's waterbed which is hard to get in and out of on a normal day.... Plus, we need to convert the back bedroom back into an actual guest room for overnight guests who will come to stay to help with a screaming baby :) - and not just a hang out room with a couch and a giant TV which is what it has been for the past year.... We're growing up, people!

After we picked up the mattress, Dad and I had a nice dinner at Mexico. I had been dreaming of their burritos with the red sauce, rice, and beans. So that's what I got - but I didn't eat much at all. I'm like a gastric bypass patient lately - I do not want to eat too much or I really regret it... So I packed up over half of my wonderful dinner to save for later and left the to-go containder on the damn table at the restaurant and didn't realize it until I was on Powhite; halfway home. Grrr.

I was going to think of a few other things to talk about but right now I am all consumed by the gags and must go find an empty bathroom in the building. Please excuse me. Damnit.

30 year old minds in 90 year old bodies

That's me and Toby!! I swear.

I called Toby from the car on my way home yesterday to say Happy Valentine's Day and tell him I'd be home in about 30 minutes. He sounded pained - he said his leg (the one with the rod in it from his falling accident) and his back (the one he broke in the falling accident) were killing him. I had put some pork loin in the crockpot for BBQ so dinner was already done. We weren't planning on going anywhere anyway so that was good. I got home and fixed myself a plate and I had rented The Wedding Crashers from work. Toby laid on the couch and I sat on the loveseat and ate my dinner. We did exchange cards and little stuffed V-day animals. (It's become a tradition to get each other a gorilla or a monkey on V-day...) About 45 minutes into the movie, the sickness started coming on like clockwork...around 7pm...so I go hang out in the bathroom for awhile like usual and then went to bed. At 7:45 pm. Dammit.

I'm not upset about V-day or our Anniversary being less than exciting. Actually, even if I wasn't sick, I'm a homebody so we probably would have done similar things....maybe with a dinner out or something added... but I am just OVER the sickness and ready for it to go away. I'm just frustrated with it. Although I'm thankful that my DAYTIMES seem to be manageable.

I had an OB appointment on Monday that went very well. It was determined at this appt that I am the only person on earth who can puke every day and still manage to gain 6 lbs in a month. :) I told Toby it was ALL BABY. He laughed and said "That baby weighs 3/4 of a pound right now." WHICH is true. But what about the water weight? And the extra blood? And stuff? I'm sure the lbs have NOTHING to do with the copious amounts of carbs I have been injesting. Hmph. :)

I got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler again and this time there was no problem finding it. The big ultrasound appt is scheduled for March 14. Toby asked me if I thought the Dr. would get mad if Toby stormed out of the room and kicked the wall if he said "it's a girl!" haha! He is SO wanting a boy. And all this "big talk" is just that...because when he has a little girl, she will be his princess forever and I bet I'll have to fight and beg for him to let me hold her. :)

Time Flies when...

...you're married and pregnant!



Yesterday was our First Anniversary and that is the rose Toby gave me. Part of me thinks it is not even possible for a year to have gone by already. And another part says "It's ONLY been a YEAR?!?!?" Since I have been pregnant for 10 months so far (that's what it feels like anyways...) it does seem like we have been married forever. While I remember my life before Toby, I would never ever want to go back there. I have wonderful memories of my crazy, single youth in Banner Elk and then in Richmond... but I love being married and having Toby as my constant companion no matter what. It's nice to have a partner in crime who will do anything for you - and vice versa.

I love thinking "we" instead of "me." Sure, married life is hard - hardest thing I've ever done. As most of you know, I was UBER-independent! But being married is also the most rewarding thing I have ever done and I am CONSTANTLY challenged and learning. And I'm sure the CHALLENGED and LEARNING aspects will only grow immensely when the kid gets here and joins our little family.

HALLELUIAH

HALLELUIAH, HALLELUIAH, HALLEEEEEEUYAHHHHHHHHH!

Halleluiah looks really funny when you spell it out. But I don't care because...

I. feel. normal.

As normal as you can be while pregnant. Sure, I'm tired. My butt hurts when I sit in a chair too long. My thighs could start a fire because they rub together like never before. My face is friggin huge....

...but I don't feel like I have a hangover anymore. And after a 2-month-solid hangover is gone, it's like new life has begun.

I'm rather busy at work and I'm actually enjoying it and am finally able to concentrate... I'll update more at a later time.

Just wanted my fans to know that I'm doing better. :)

Blah

1. My arse never even left the house this weekend. Maybe I should have atleast stepped outside on the porch or something? Oh well...

2. Still sick. Mostly SICK sick though. I think the BABY sick may be pretty much gone. But don't quote me. Because Lord knows everytime I think I'm getting better, I'm not.

3. I'm going into work today around lunchtime. I'm feeling like crap. Can't take medicine. And I have a meeting this afternoon at 4pm. FOUR PM. I hate meetings at that time!!! So, just incase I can only make it half a day, I'll go in the latter half to get this dang meeting over with.

4. My husband was especially nice and understanding this weekend. Especially when I was crying because I'm "sick of being sick" and "I have no friends." (haha! Yes, I know I'm crazy pregnant lady who is delusional.) He even bought me a pint of Dove Vanilla Ice Cream with a Chocolate Soul. Which I ate for dinner on Saturday and Lunch on Sunday.

5. Yes, I am taking plenty of vitamins.

Just check me into the hospital now...I'll live there until July.

I haven't really thought about my "morning sickness" today because I have been concentrating on my STUFFED UP RUNNY NOSE (that is now red from tissues), SORE THROAT, and CRIPPLING HEADACHE. I feel gaggy, but I think it's from the headache and snot; not from baby.

From one damn thing to the other. And once the sun goes down, I bet BOTH ailments will kick my ass at once. And I won't be able to take anything except tylenol which we ALL know is like eating tic tacs....Useless!

I can't wait until 5:30 when I can say "Hello, Waterbed" and he will cradle me in his warm (heated!) embrace and I can stay there until 6:52 tomorrow morning.