Bracing for the storm

We're suppose to get anywhere between 15-35cm of snow tonight and tomorrow. We'll see what happens. Right now it's 8:30 and it's definately started to storm. I decided not to go into work tonight, as it seemed pointless to go into work to only come home again.

Today is my dad's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD.

I just finished reading book 5 in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I decided to re-read the entire series prior to reading the new book, Breath of Snow and Ashes. I have had the book here since Christmas day and refused to open the cover until I brought myself back up to speed. I normally do not read series books. I'm more of a "let's get it all over and find out the ending in 1 book". Kelly introduced me to this series about 3 years ago, and I admit, i'm obsessed. I told Rob that if this baby is a boy and he is born on May 1, we have to name in Jamie, as one of the main characters in this book is Jamie, and his birthday is May 1. Rob won't go for it. We'll see. So far today I have only read 1/2 way through the acknowlegements, and have not ventured to page 1. I am waiting until Colby goes to bed, so I get get in my jammies, curl up with a great mug of hot chocolate, and get lost in the world of Jamie and Claire. I'M SOO EXCITED!

Latest Craving

This can only be found in the Newfoundland store in Sackville, and I waited a month for it to come in. It's worth it.

Comparison so far

20 weeks 23 weeks 25 weeks

Week 25

This picture was taken by Colby. I am getting to the uncomfortable stage, but still loving every minute!

Colby and I were playing around with the camera. I just love this picture.

Grrr

I watched, again, Shall We Dance this afternoon. The ending kills me everytime. Richard Gere coming up the escalator, red rose in hand, and "The Book of Love" playing. I have been sitting here for an hour searching for a movie still of this scene, and none are to be found. If anyone can find it, please send it to me. Then this post would have a lot more meaning.

I must admit as I type this I'm listening to Oprah who has James Frey on her show and she's pissed. He's the author of "A Million Little Pieces" and I guess it was meant to be a memoir but in fact he made it up. I gotta listen to this. He's going to make more money off this book now because people like me who were not interested in first really wan to read it now.

Yahoo 4 days off!

I was at dad's today for lunch and he made a comment that I have not updated my blog in a while. WHAT?! You know it's bad when DAD is telling me to update, and I think poor Genevieve has given up on me. Well, tomorrow (today) is week 25 and I am off so I will update with yet another preggo pic in the morning and a true blog.

Memories of High school

I have been doing a lot of thinking about high school over the past week or so since I heard of a concert that is coming to Halifax. Jordan Knight, of New Kids On The Block fame, is coming to Halifax. This makes me smile, as all through high school all I heard, right up to grade 12, was about Jordan Knight. To say Tawny was obsessed was an understatement. Tawny and I did a project in high school about our friendship, and we did some crazy pictures. One picture in particular is one that we took, sitting her bed, and a very large poster of Jordan in a white open shirt (yes, I remember the poster even now and was unsuccessful in finding it when I did a google search or it would have been here) and we cut it, writing "This photo has been edited for content". But, if you look at the rest of the walls, you can see Jordan everywhere.

Another strong memory of this time is there was a night I was spending at Tawny's, which I did quite frequently back then, and we were watching an award show of some kind. They did a pan of the audience, and guess who was there? Tawny nearly ripped my arm off. She set the VCR up and I think had 6 or 7 1.5 second shots of his face when they panned the audience. What fools we were.

If Tawny was in town, we would go to this concert, if for nothing else, to imagine what the 17-18 year old Tawny and Tina would have done in the same place.

New pics

Explanation of the picture of Colby and I: I bought a heartrate monitor from EBay when I found out I was pregnant. Colby loves it, now that we can hear the baby moving.

23 weeks

23 weeks today

I'm just sitting here, waiting for Colby to be done preschool so I can go pick him up. I got a bag of stuff from freecycle last night. A garbage bag full of crib sheets and blankets. 2/3 of this were all pink and girlish. I also sorted through some stuff I had here yesterday to figure out what I had so far. Most of it is girl stuff, totally unintentional. I wonder if this is a sign? I am also having the hardest time sleeping. I was up until almost 3am this morning, for no apparent reason. I dropped Colby off at preschool this morning with the intention of coming home and going back to bed, but NO, still can't sleep. I'm about to lose my mind!

31 ain't so bad

I didn't it was so bad until I looked at the number. 31!!! I must admit, I had a nice, quiet birthday. I got email cards from Jen, who never forgets, and Marylou, which was nice surprise. I also received many phone calls, but the call I miss most on this day is the call from my grandparents. They always called first thing in the morning to be the first ones to wish me happy birthday. Mom and Dad stopped in with a "little" birthday gift for me. Initially, it was 3 beautiful wicker baskets, which would have been perfect for me, as they're the perfect size for my scrapbook stuff. Mom says to me, "well, open them up and look at it" and inside the smallest one is a DIGITAL CAMERA! I had planned on buying one for when the baby was born, because as much as I LOVE my Canon Rebel, it's a pain in the ass developing "snapshots". The digital is a Hewlett Packard 5mp. I'm about to go read the book and play with it to see what it can do. What a clear LCD it has! Sandra showed up, after a laugh on the phone when I mentioned about being 31, to which she replied, "Tina, you're not 31 yet" (she thought my birthday was Monday) and brought me cheesecake. So, I'm off to finish my birthday with a nice long swim and a piece of cheesecake before Rob comes home!

Introducing Baby Schwartz

Thanks to a very nice technician at the Grace this morning, this is Baby Schwartz. The technician left the monitor on with this picture when she went out to check with the doctor, and as soon as the door closed the camera phone came out! The baby is doing great, was actually chewing and waving it's arms. We saw all 10 fingers and toes. It was the best one yet.

Goodbye 2005, Hello 2006

It's the end of another year. This has been quite the year for us. Here are a few of the highlights of 2005.

Adam and Genevieve asking us to be godparents to the at that time "Baby Read"

The arrival of the 2nd most beautiful child in the world, our goddaughter Adelle.

I bought a Cavalier, that I fondly named F.C, after it kept shutting off.

Adam bought a beautiful Silverado, and Rob bought Adam's truck.

I sold the aforementioned F.C

I watched my little brother marry a beautiful woman, and had the honor of photographing such event.

Dad finally received a settlement from Worker's Compensation, a fight he begun 12 years ago.

My Aunt Rosemary came to N.S from NL for the very first time.

I took a pregnancy test as a joke, and the joke was on me.

Colby entered his first year of preschool, and after 2 weeks settled in so well the only time he cried is when he had to leave.

My friend Sandra and I have grown closer much closer, becoming almost like sisters. Her kids have also become like extended members of the family, and coming home from a a Frenchy's run or a yardsale without something for all 3 children is a failed event.

I accepted a new job at the Call centre, which has turned out to be the easiest job I have ever done, and the best paying.

My angel turned 4.

My angel got the chicken pox the day before turning 4.

My cousin Kellie Ann came to visit, and stayed with Colby and I most of the time.

Nicole and I made a scrapbook for her grandmother, and had a great time doing it.

We finally took a family picture this Christmas.

I love this picture

I fell in love with this picture. No question who Colby looks like!

They say a picture is worth 1000 words

We're finally done

Well, it's Christmas eve. The last gifts are wrapped, the stockings are stuffed, Colby is in bed, we're full from food from the Schwartz's Christmas Eve bash, the Game Boy Advance battery pack is charging, the tripod and video camera will soon be set up. I wish Adam, Genevieve and Adelle were closer. I met up with Tawny and Jody today, which was great. Now I'm tired and Miracle on 34th Street still needs to be watched. Merry Christmas everyone!

First kick!

Rob and I were laying in bed last night watching tv and I put my hand on my stomach, as I now do out of habit. Well, didn't I feel a little kick? I couldn't believe it! I grabbed Rob's hand and as soon as he put it on he felt it also! Honestly, he wasn't sure if it was a kick or not, but when he happened again a few minutes later, he was definately sure! They're still light at the moment, and I honestly think it was more of the baby stretching than kicking, but it was definately movement felt from the outside!

We went to Rob's grandmother's 80th birthday party today. What a great day. We spent the afternoon at Brightwood Golf Club, and then off to his Aunt Rose's for a feast. She really seemed to love the scrapbook. Debbie and Trena were down from Ontario, and it was nice to see them. We're almost ready for Christmas. One more day of shopping for me and that's it!

Tough love 101

I finally have 5 minutes to sit and blog so here goes. Colby has become a non-existant eater, and it's extremly frusterating. It began when he got sick, he didn't want breakfast, or he didn't want what I made him so I would make him something else. It came to the point that I was throwing out more than I was feeding him so I thought "Enough is enough! We didn't get to choose when we were kids." Well, let me tell you, I don't know who has done more yelling or crying, me or him. It's very hard to let your child go hungry, but he's got to learn he has to eat what he is given. It's not like I am feeding him stuff he doesn't like. It's the same food he always ate in the past. I'm just varing it. For example, there were times he would eat breakfast, and then want the same thing for lunch and supper. The new rule is all 3 meals have to be different. And, if he doesn't eat breakfast, he has to wait until lunch. That is the hardest part for me. But, here's hoping it works. Getting ready for Christmas has been absoutely maddening in this house. There's just not enough time. I have resorted to shopping online to get my last minute gifts, which is a first for me. Nicole and I have been working like fools trying to get a scrapbook made for her grandmother's 80th birthday, which is Sunday, and getting pictures together has been a nightmare! But, it looks really good and we should have it all done and put together by Saturday. I can't believe Christmas is in less than 2 weeks! AHHHH!

17 weeks yesterday

THIS IS FROM A WEBSITE I AM ADDICTED TO, and yes, to be honest, I'm too tired to actually blog so I'm copying. So sue me. I've provided you wtih reading material.

Mother: Your uterus is now about halfway between your pubic bone and navel. Your secretions all over your body may increase, due to the increased blood volume. So if you are sweating more, have nasal congestion, or are suffering from increased vaginal discharge this is nothing to worry about and will go away after the birth of the baby.

Baby: Your baby is forming brown fat deposits under his or her skin, by the end of pregnancy this will account for 2-6% of their total body weight. This will help them maintain their body temperature when they are born. The baby weighs in at about 5 ounces (142 grams). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta. No new structures have formed. Loud noises outside may actually cause the baby to startle.

Can't sleep

Colby had a sleepover at mom's last night and at the last minute I decided to go over there with him when I got off work. Mom said that he hadn't eaten all day and all he did was slept. He was up at about 3:30 and I crawled in his bed with him. I was there about 1/2 hour and he sat up and vomited all over the bed. I got him up, changed him, put him in my bed, stripped his bed, and spent the rest of the night / morning listening for him to get sick again. Dad and mom are both sick, so it's no wonder he picked it up. I managed to catch a couple hours sleep this morning when colby napped with dad in his room, but beyond that I've been awake and going non stop. Mom got her first Christo hamper today, and man, what a pile of food! I can't wait to get mine on Monday. So, I figured, with all this lack of sleep, I would be ready to drop. I was falling asleep around 8:30 in the chair so I got up and started puttering around the house to keep awake until Colby went to bed and I knew he was asleep. Rob went hunting today and thankfully due to today's technology I sent him a text message early this mroning and he was home by 2. We brought Colby home, (I had spent the entire day at mom's) and he slept for another couple of hours, but when he got up it was like he was never sick. The kid is amazing. He had soup for supper, (not a lot, but it's more than he ate in the past 24 hours), 2 big glasses of milk, and a pudding. I gave him some Children's Gravol to help him sleep and prevent him from getting sick through the night to see if he can kick this once and for all. Here's hoping. At this point, I thought I would be sound asleep by now, but no, after a nice long, hot epsom salt / bubble bath, I'm wide awake. *sigh*. Wish I could take something to sleep!