Check out the nursery!

Here it is! The first room in our house to be "done" and I am so excited, I can't wait for Peanut to get here and use the nursery! Next I will be finishing the bathroom and working on the guest/craft room so I can get working on the diaper stacker and Peanut's birth announcements, if I can make them turn out like the picture in my head they're going to be adorable! If you want to see more pics of the nursery, look me up on Facebook! They're all uploaded there, but I seem to be having trouble getting my memory card to communicate with my computer in order to upload any more pics:(

In other news, I did have to retake the glucose test, which took FOREVER! I went in last Wednesday the 24th after fasting the previous night and had a blood draw as soon as I got to the clinic, drank a stronger version of the glucose, and had to wait. They drew blood after 1, 2, and 3 hours, so four more pokes. I was excited, not! I did, however, get to catch up on my tabloid gossip and knitted a few rows of Peanut's baby blanket I'm making. I got the call from my Doc today and she told me I don't have gestational diabetes, which is a huge relief, but that my 1 hour levels were high again. Basically I need to start eating healthier than I have been, and keep with the program! Otherwise, it could mean trouble for me and Peanut when it comes closer to delivery time because he may be bigger than expected, which may mean that I have to be induced, which means drugs, and I don't want the drugs! I have read too many birth stories where being induced with Pitocin can cause contractions to be too strong and it wears the mother out too fast that she asks for the pain meds which tend to slow down labor, and birth takes longer then it would have if it had been natural. So let's pray that I don't need meds!

Last Wednesday the 24th was also Chad's 30th birthday! We hung out at his parent's house during the day, actually just Chad and Cody did while I spent the day at the clinic, then we met up with some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings and celebrated! I had to leave the party early since I had to work early the next day, but it's probably better that I did... it's not much fun being the only sober one :( Oh well, I will get to have my fun again soon...

Sunday was my nephew Tyson's second birthday and it was a very bittersweet day for me. I remember 6 years ago at my niece's second birthday, Taye and I made a video of her. Taye and Alina had a conversation that went like this:

T: Alina, how old are you?

A:I have a birthday. I blow my candles.

T: Alina, are you seven?

A: Yes, I seben.

T: Alina, are you four?

A: Yes, I four.

T: Alina, are you two?

A: Yes, I two. Two!

The party was nice, there were lots of people there and it made me glad to know that there are so many people out there that love my nephew. I ended up leaving in tears, however, after people started doing drugs in the house full of relatives and kids. The first time it happened, I made it clear to my sister that I did not approve and that it put my husband's job in jeopardy. Chad left for work, the kids wend swimming, and I hung out with my sister. The kids came back, it was time for cake and presents, and where was my sister? In the house "smokin" for about 10 minutes while the party guests looked for her so whey could get the party wrapped up and be on their way. I left before she came out and sat in my car and bawled. I mean, it's one thing if you want to participate in illegal drug use in your home when you are home by yourself. It's completely another when you choose to do it in your home when you have other people and their children in your home. It is simply unacceptable! Especially when you know that at least one of those people objects to it as strongly as my sister knows I do, and besides that being pregnant! It just shows a very strong lack of respect for your guests. If one of the party-goers wants to do it, simply tell them that they can wait until the party wraps up. It's pretty much over after cake and presents anyway, right? So that is my rant for the day, 24 hours later and I am still so mad about this! My mom tried to call me and calm the water but it didn't help. I told her that if she wants to keep her family civil and her daughters speaking as much as she says she does, she needs to talk to my sister because of how disrespectful she was to me. Okay, time to let it go.

Glucose test today

The empty bottle of orange yuck!

I originally had my 28 week glucose blood test for gestational diabetes scheduled for Wednesday, Chad's birthday. Then I got my schedule for the week and have 4 days off so I changed it for today so we wouldn't have to change or cancel any birthday festivities. I will give you some background of my pregnancy to start with.

I am one of those lucky women who didn't have morning sickness. I tend to be really phlegmmy in the mornings and sometimes I gag and throw up while brushing my teeth but that's it. So when you drink the glucose drink you have very specific instructions. You can eat before it but not after it. You must drink it all within 5 minutes and you must be at the clinic and ready for the blood draw within an hour of drinking the drink. You may only have sips of water totaling less than 8 oz. after drinking the drink. I thought to myself, "I can handle that." After I got off the phone with the lab, it was time to get in the shower and drink the drink. Everyone kept telling me how nasty it would be so I was expecting the worst. I chugged it, then my tummy started feeling funny and (TMI) I threw up in my mouth a little bit. I didn't want to have to retake the test so I had to swallow what was in my mouth, GROSS!!!! I got to the clinic and the lab tech had a hard time finding a vein so she had to draw 3 VIALS from a very small vein using a pediatric needle, she said it was the smallest she had. Needless to say, I have a nice bruise from that! I am hoping and praying that it goes well, I should know something by Thursday!

The bruise from the blood draw, ouch!

After that, I called and made an appointment for a haircut. Got done at the clinic @ 10:35, had until 2:30 to wait for the haircut. So I made an exchange at Target and browsed the baby isles like I always do. Hmmm, my bottles and such are on sale, but I passed. I am giving second thought to passing on the picture frame book ends though, I might stop and see if they're still there when we go to town tomorrow. After that I got a wave of ambition and decided to look at diaper stacker sewing patterns at Jo Anne Fabrics. Questions that I asked myself before seriously considering buying any fabric:

• Can I sew? Don't know, my guess is not really.

• Do I know how to use my sewing machine? Again, not really, and I don't have a manual for it. It can't be THAT hard, can it?!
  

• Do I really want to pay $16 for a pattern that has several items in it when I just need the one, and it's not really what I want anyway? Not really.

• Do I really think I can make a pattern out of newspaper that makes sense, serves the purpose I need, and is actually functional without tearing my hair out and throwing the fabric and sewing machine into the trash? Lets hope so!

I walked out of there with 2 and a quarter yards of brown flannel to go with the flannel DwellStudio receiving blankets I bought just for the purpose of making a diaper stacker, along with some ribbon to tie the stacker to the hanger it's going to hang on, and possibly to wrap the hanger. Also got a really cool wall decal to hang with the multi-frame that holds some of our wedding photos, it says "Just one lifetime won't be enough for us" and I can't wait to decide where I'm going to hang it!

Spent some time with an old friend after that, and then it was time for my hair cut. I didn't really have any kind of style in mind. My description to my hairdresser was something like this: "I think I want it to be not bulky or sticking out behind my ears. Kind of layerish on the sides and short in the back." Susan made sense out of what I told her, and I really like the cut.

I went swimming this afternoon! It has been so hot and humid that I decided to visit my sister's swimming pool after my haircut. Took my nephew and he was adorable! He's going to be 2 on Sunday and he already thinks he can swim! The problem is that once he reaches a certain level in the pool, the buoyancy of his foam full body suit makes him float too much and he starts have difficulty regaining balance. I took him out to deeper water a few times, and his dad too. He had the best time on the pool's edge playing catch by throwing whatever toys he could find to me or his dad in the water and having us throw them back out to him. I definitely am starting to get a tan! We spent about an hour and a half at the pool, then we changed and my sister came home from work. Had spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, and got to spend some nice time talking to my sister.

Then I headed to the grocery store before heading home. Now I'm home and it's just about bedtime!

Braxton-Hicks

I had my first contraction today! It was about 12:30 and I was laying on some pillows on my belly. I felt Peanut kicking and moving around alot, then I started to feel a cramp, almost like a tightening, that started low and moved up my whole belly. It was a very strange feeling, but exactly like my Dr. told me it would feel! I am nervous and excited to feel more, this one didn't hurt but I know they will eventually!

My nephew's 2nd birthday is next Sunday so I went and bought him a present today. I got him a few pairs of shorts with matching tshirts, and a really cute remote control robot that's made by the Parents company. I hope he likes it! I got myself a pair of gaucho's and a couple of shirts, and I finally found some MAM brand nuks that were unisex so I got those too. I love shopping for baby stuff!

Chad has some friends out tonight and they are going to check out the bar scene in downtown Poynette later tonight. Right now they are playing James Bond on N64. Old school, I know, but we still haven't gotten the Wii we were going to get ourselves for Christmas. Maybe next month...

We went out and had a really bad dinner tonight at a place in Portage, The Cottonwood. Chad's fish was pretty small, Cody's ribs were dry and my chicken alfredo tasted like tuna casserole and I couldn't eat it. Chad laughed at me and tried to convince me to give it another try, but I couldn't even swallow my first bite. Very disappointing!

Well, that's all that's new for us. Chad has the next 2 days off while I'm working both days, but we are excited to be taking in a Mallards game tomorrow night! Lets hope we don't get rained out... Should be fun as long as it's dry!

More later...

Ericka

New to blogging

I am starting this blog to keep in touch with family and friends who we might not see or be in touch with as often as we would like. We love and miss you all.

As of today, 16June09, I am 27 weeks pregnant. Chad and I are currently living in Poynette. He is working at the federal prison in Oxford, WI and I am working at McDonalds in DeForest. We are working like crazy to get our apartment set up by the time Baby Vondrum makes an appearance in September. We are due 15Sept09 and baby's gender will be a surprise on delivery day, we can't wait! Names we have picked out are Haley Jane Vondrum or Evan Dennis Vondrum. Last week we bought our nursery furniture and I had fun putting it together, NOT! It was a pain in the ass! But, it is assembled. Baby's clothes up to about 9-12 months are washed and put away. There are quite a few gender-specific items but those will be packed away after baby gets here. Nursery colors are mainly brown, red, green, light blue and yellow. Crib bedding is the DwellStudio "Circles" pattern from Target, the picture below is the stock photo from the Target.com website.
I love circles! I can't wait to upload pictures of the finished nursery, and of course pictures of the baby once it arrives! Oh! I probably should upload a picture of baby too, so you all know who I'm talking about:)

This is Baby Vondrum. Chad and I call baby Peanut, although I tend to refer to baby as "him" all too often. I think baby is a boy, I have from the beginning. We love baby so much already, and can't wait to meet him!

Well, that's all for now folks, I will update more later. Thanks for reading:)

Chad and Ericka and Baby ;)