Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Monday, May 31, 2010

Residency 1


Last week I attended the first residency of my master's program in Alexandria, Va. I was really excited to meet some of the professors I had for past and current classes as well as my fellow classmates. Capella University offers online programs for a variety of undergrad and graduate degrees- including school counseling (which is what I want to do). It has taken me a little time to adapt to the online learning environment...and just when I got into the swing of things we had our first in-person meeting at a 5-day conference-style learning residency (8am-6pm daily!).
I am not going to lie- I loved and hated this experience at the same time and wished every second of it that I was not pregnant. It was so neat to put the skills we have been learning to practice in hypothetical situations and develop a rapport with our future colleagues. At the same time, the long hours sitting in the same chair were brutal on this pregnant body. I learned (in addition to counseling skills) that I need to maintain a level of self-care to protect myself and the little one. I have the utmost appreciation for those women who work throughout their pregnancies. I equate full-time grad school with a full-time job, but let's be honest - I get to sit in a lazy boy and lay down on my left side when I need to.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Dogs + New baby


So, we have begun to train the dogs for the arrival of the new baby by introducing them to baby clothing and putting a baby blanket and toy down for them to not tread on.... But I would love any advice those of you who are fellow dog owners might have for preparation of the pooches.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Fun Weekend

Ross and I had a fabulous weekend reminiscent of our busy lives in Columbus...we were busy every day/night beginning on Thursday! Here is a quick recap of our whirlwind weekend. On Thursday night the 2nd Dental Battalion had a "Dining out" that was, as some people like to call it, mandatory fun. It was a formal, semi-scripted dinner loaded with military flare and traditions from the times of round tables and swords. It had some funny moments and was generally a good time...but having to wait to go the bathroom can be killer for a pregnant lady! Look at how handsome Ross is in his dress whites...Tom Cruise has nothing on you, babe! I must also send out a thank you to my friend Maria Miller for lending me a formal maternity dress. I was not looking forward to trying to find something- and it fit perfectly :)



This is the time of year when there is a lot of turnover at Ross' work with people leaving the clinic to rejoin the civilian world or transfer to another base. In a few weeks/months these spots will be filled with new graduates or transfers. On Friday night we went out to dinner with our friends Lori , Colby & Cameron to bid them farewell. Lori was a Lieutenant at Ross' clinic and they lived one street away from us. Even though Colby is a die-hard Washington husky fan, we spent our football Saturday's watching football together and cheering on each other's teams. We also liked to go out to dinner and get together to hang out whenever we could. They are moving to Washington this week and we will miss them!
Pictured below from left to right: Colby, Cameron, Lori, Ryan, Maggie, Ross, me

Saturday evening we went to another going away party for Lt. Mukul Dave. He was also at Ross's clinic for the past 2 years and has been a great friend. He will be moving to Pittsburg to begin a pediatric dentistry residency... we will miss him!
Pictured below: Ross, Brian May, and Mukul Dave
Finally, on Sunday we met up with our friend Natalie and her family in Myrtle beach, SC for a day of fun in the sun. Sorry- somehow we forgot the camera and have no pictures!


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Bump!


Today is 20 weeks...we are halfway! Wow my bump looks big! It seems so different in a picture from the side than when I look down on it. So far I have gained around 10-13 lbs or so which I guess is normal according to the books. I can't imagine how fast the rest of the time will go. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. So far I agree with what others have told me- the second trimester is better than the first. I never had morning sickness but I did have terrible back pain that seems to have gone MIA for the time being.
A note about dreams- I have never been one to remember my dreams. I don't know if I sleep too deeply, have dreams too close to reality that I think they actually happen, or if my dream cycles are too rapid that I can't remember it all. Whatever the case may be, I have never been a dreamer until now. I feel like those TV shows and movies that were produced at the beginning of the color era, "Now dreaming in technicolor!" I must really be missing my family and friends because each night I have a crazy, worried dream about someone I care deeply for. Following are some pieces of advice from my crazy dreams...Leanna- don't run off with some guy to Canada who lives in a dirty house, Kim- take care of yourself, Mom- don't wander too far from your phone, Trisha- you are a fabulous mom, sister, and friend, Tricia- Don't move to India or South America, Natalie- slow down when you drive or watch out for the bad c-bus drivers, Ashley and Erin- be careful in your residencies. Hmmmm....maybe I am only worried about the women in my life?

Comments on the blog

Many of you have mentioned that you have difficulty posting a comment to this blog...so I did some searching and changed some settings so that you can comment as anonymous at any time. Hopefully this will help everyone out!

In the meantime I am going to post some comments for those of you who have emailed me instead to see if I can get it to work anonymously. Let me know if you would like me to erase them!

Jamie

Sunday, May 2, 2010

gDiapers

So I have been trying to figure out what to do about the diaper issue...paper vs cloth. There are benefits and downfalls to both options. Paper are convenient and economical while cloth are ecofriendly/more natural and may reduce the incidence of diaper rash. I like the idea of cloth...I'm just not sure I can handle washing them myself. Plus, the chemicals used for sanitizing them (bleach?) most likely are not any better on baby's bottom than the chemicals in paper diapers. And I have heard complaints about the smell in your home and just can't stand the thought of my home smelling like dirty diapers for years!

Today I was blog browsing and saw that my friend Ashley Hodge (who just had her baby, Noah!!!!) has decided on diapers called gDiapers. So, I looked them up online and I think they are the perfect solution/compromise for me. They have a flushable insert and/or are biodegradable and the outside is cloth. Not sure how I would register for them though.... Check them out and let me know what you think!

www.gdiapers.com