Long Over Due - Short

I asked K last night if she'd be willing to blog for me...... as it seems most times when I have the energy (A.M.) I just don't have the time. By night time, forget it.

I'm battling a snot filled nose......and pretty much feel like 100% crap right now. I made me an "anti-oxident" yummmy smoothie this morning to see if that'll help kick the cold. OJ, blueberries, strawberries and watermelon with lots of ice! K went to work, I'm staying in my PJ's all day curled up on the couch. I may even try to watch a MOVIE! (We've had Mama Mia now for probably close to 2 months!)

A quick summary of things.........

I've got pictures of the garden to put on here. We've planted yellow zuchhini, rhubarb, peas, cucumbers, onions, raspberries, and tomatoes. We killed a few over our trip Memorial Day Weekend so we'll need a few more starts....... it'll be fun having lots of fresh veggies with the baby on the way!

I am 34 weeks today, pregnancy wise. This pregnancy hasn't been bad at all - I haven't gotten "big" and can't imagine that ladies that are big - and how they feel. I mentioned to K on the way into the store last night "Why do people even get pregnant!?" I'm beginning to feel a bit of the aches and pains of it all.........just wanting to slow down. It's crazy that in 3 weeks I could safely give birth at home. (chances are I'll be late...being my first and all) but when we were doing the math yesterday I was like "HOLY SHIT!" :) I cannot wait to meet this little one......... a snuggle up for a good while getting to know each other earth-side........ sure has been fun getting to know them inside! :)

the Life is Good Conference was as wonderful as ever! The speakers were great, the funshops were great, the weather was awesome, the farmers market rocked our world, and we just had a very enjoyable time. I love meeting new people..... I LOVE watching families in action. One particularly amazed me this year was Pig and Tails (waving!) just enjoyed their interaction. I'm trying to think of a Circle Chat I may be able to host next year...... I love the smaller more intimate settings of them..........and think there should be millions ;)

We have our last birth class this week.......a blessingway of sorts. It will be lots of fun (if I'm not sick.........and will be majorly bummed if I can't go because of it!)

I finally get a massage on Thursday after waiting since before April.........my massage person is undoubtedly amazing and everyone wants to go to her! I have 3 booked from here until July 9th! I decided heck, get them on the books now!

We have our home visit with the midwife on Thursday.....THAT makes it seem even MORE real. After the last appointment and she stated that I was like "whoa!" :) we'll get our birth tub around June 20th....... suppose we should get some stuff packed in a bag - in case?....gotta get me a few nursing tanks/bras.....otherwise I think we have enough stuff right now that if the baby were to come we'd be fine! :) boobs, clothes and diapers :)

Gonna snuggle up for a bit now......drink my smoothie and rest.

love you all.

LIG Henna Belly

henna belly
Originally uploaded by kauleen_randi

33 weeks Henna Belly by my sweet friend Ginger :)

28 Weeks

randi 28 weeks
Originally uploaded by kauleen_randi

Here's a picture of me at 28 almost 29 weeks :)

Posting

I'm going to post soon......... just not tonight :)

stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Poppi

happy birthday! Hope you have a great one!

Love Randi, Kauleen and Chuck :)

Girls Night Out Donation

The bottom left bingo square is the one I should've won $200 dollars on - if I hadn't missed B13 that had already been called.

I donated $200 to the lady who called bingo shortly after finding out I hadn't marked it.......

Sure had a great time though!! :)

Family Time, etc.

We got off early on Friday and picked Dad up in Marysville and headed over for our first trip after winter to Grand Coulee for Easter! :) We got there about 8:15pm, unloaded, hooked up the water, turned on the water........ and water gushed out of our tankless water heater used for one year (last summer). We don't think it froze (had a heater outside the closet door which held the house to approx. 60 degrees all winter) but we did have power to it all winter with no water running into it....... which could've burned the coils. Nonetheless, we have a soggy tub anyways.... so we're just going to go with having some cold running water, a toilet that flushes....... and we're not going to worry about the hot water for now. Nonetheless, it was a bit of a bummer. There is a meeting the end of this month regarding getting the water lines replaced in Coulee (and water added to our area) along with possibly sewer...... if that's the case - we have many more options for what we could do with our "special place".

We woke up on Saturday to SUN! It wasn't expected to be sunny but we were really hoping for some, especially after hearing it was supposed to be kind of rainy at home. It was a windy chilly day but the sun was out all day. We took a walk to Gma and Gpas and had some lunch and then went to the rummage sale and got a few baby clothes at the church and then came home and went out and got some goods for Easter and then celebrated Dad's birthday with yummy chicken, broccoli salad and chocolate cake and ice cream (thanks uncle joe!) IT WAS FANTASTIC!!

Sunday we woke up...... Mom and Dad hid easter bags Ryan, Dewayne, K and I :) it was very fun! K then went and piddled at our place after breakfast, Mom and Dad left for Wenatchee to look at Dad's new digs, and then we met them in Wenatchee for our travels home. It was snowing pretty good on the pass........with some sticking to the road but not too bad! I was a bit stressed before leaving but really it wasn't all that bad. K drives wonderfully :)

I AM IN MY THIRD TRIMESTER and 7TH MONTH! Time is flying by now.... its crazy to think that by the end of June I could have a baby :) I didn't have a very restful weekend..... don't know if that was fear or rodents, lots of peeing, Chuck deciding to be awake at all hours of the night/morning, or just couldn't get comfy. My hips were kind of achy.... so that could've been it too. Nothing too bad honestly.....just didn't seem like a restful nights sleep either night.

We start birth classes on April 22nd :) Birthing from Within.........its crazy to think by the time we're done with them I could just about have the baby! We have lots of plans between now and then and lots of things to get done around the house........painting, etc. We decided to move the cosleeper into the "babies room" and have the baby sleep with us in our new king bed. We'll see how it all works out and what works best for us.........

LIFE IS GOOD CONFERENCE is coming up........ and I'm getting more and more excited for it every day. I wonder how Chuck will like the drumming circle? Amy Steinberg? :) Being henna'd? I just can't wait to hang out with friendly folk.....whom I care for dearly!! :)

I better go help my wife fold the laundry now......

oh and I didn't mention on here only on facebook........ I passed my gestational diabetes test. Yes, thank you, I've been eating whatever the hell I want to. I am going to moderate obviously the bad things (and it really made us aware of carbs!) so that we can make better choices for a healthy, normal size baby.

I'll leave with something I read last night in my Ina May Gaskin Book that I really liked..... and am thinking of starting a "birthing banner" to hang with quotes that will encourage and inspire :)

Rather than thinking in terms of "uterine contractions" think instead of "interesting sensations that require all of your attention"

With that off to fold laundry..........

Work, Work and More Work

We have been working quite a bit of overtime lately! We're super busy, short handed, and to an almost 7 month pregnant person that = EXHAUSTING. I can't do mornings....we've come to realize it throws me off for all day and tends to make more emotional days. K left a bit ago (6:30) after we came home last night and went back to work and stayed until 8:30!

I'm going to have to moderate the overtime a bit I think..... maybe 2 days a week or 4 hours on the weekend. I love my weekends but can do a few hours and seem more rested up then the work week. Today I am tired. To bed after 10:00pm for 2 nights in a row is kicking my butt.

We did get our 10% back so that is very cool.

I'm ready for a vacation...... LIG (which is not necessarily relaxing....... but more of a FUN/EXCITING/ENJOYABLE/MEMORABLE time) which I'm glad I'm doing....because I like to do things for vacation..... and this will be my last hooray before the baby is here... and then before you know it will have the little one with us and I'll be tired but I'll be home for .... and we can all marvel in each other :)

Most that read this, probably read my facebook.........but just in case....... I haven't gotten my gestational diabetes test results back yet. I'm going to call at 9am this morning to get them. We'll see what she says.

May this day go by super fast..........Tomorrow is jeans day and we're having an "Easter Breakfast" with yummy waffles at work......sure wish I could find me a tall pair of tall old navy XL (16) pair of jeans........ for whatever reason they are sold out on their website. oh well.

what a post.........

One Awesome Chick

A big thanks to Cousin Cori for the super fun and unexpected present in the mail! Our child will wear this with pride and his/her mothers will beam with joy. Cori you Rock! I think I like this idea of suprise packages in the mail. Thanks again :)

Good Night Sleep Here We Come

We found a fabulous deal for a King Bed on Craig's List this weekend. It is a memory foam mattress with a washable cover (freshly washed) and a bed frame from Ikea. All of this for the low, low price of $475! With the help of our wonderful cousins we were able to bring it home and get it set up for our first night of dream sleep. It was soo roomy even the cats didn't bother us. Now all we need is a little one to put in between us!

100 DAYS!

We are on the 100 day count down as of today!

We are very excited to meet this little one!!

Randi and Kauleen

For Soon-To-Be Grandma Punteney

25 Weeks

Here are a few pictures we took this morning of my "really not showing yet belly" :)

Weight & Gestational Diabetes Testing

I have been concerned about my weight recently too. Since my last midwife appointment a month ago, I have gained 12 lbs. I am planning on having a homebirth and am worried about any complications that might arise from gaining too much weight.

The midwife has now put me on a strict low carb/no-low sugar diet. I'm not measuring big. I don't have any other symptoms really. She was going to allow me to eat something sweet rather than do the crappy drink....but now she says with the weight gain I have to do the crappy drink. I'll do it sometime next week to get it over with and for me to not have to stress about it!

We looked at a few things tonight at the store after getting a "carb counter" book and the most important thing for me to get is fiber in the morning..... my cereal has tons of carbs (right now it is frosted fiber one) and I am lactose intolerant so add the rice milk carbs and I'm wayyyyyyy over my carbs for one meal. AND if I don't eat my fiberous cereal for one day... I get plugged. TMI. We're just going to have to give on the cereal.... and we're really going to have to figure out for the rest.....

and exercise here I come. I've been doing a swim class one day a week......
got a prenatal yoga video to do at home........
the nights are longer so we can walk outside (if it isn't raining in the Pacific NW)
or I have a treadmill I could use inside too......

It stresses me out to no end to think I might not be able to have a homebirth so will kick it into high gear as much as I need to....to be able to have one. AND HECK, I may go through all of this and not even HAVE it..... just have gained weight (31lbs at 24.5 weeks!)

Any encouraging words you want to share?
Protein/breakfast ideas with lots of fiber but low carbs?

I will do the test next week......the sooner the better for me not to stress......

ugh.

Early Good Morning

I got ready in record speed this morning..... expected to have to iron but thanks to some awesome family members who hunted me down some pants.... well I'm wearing a pair today that didn't need ironed! YEAH!!

I am almost on the 100 day countdown.....9 days to go. Isn't that crazy?! :) Kauleen started cleaning out the "room" in which the babies clothes, diapers, etc will go....yeah we're doing a "room" but plan on co-sleeping, etc. We just don't have enough room in OUR room for all the stuff! We'll start painting here someday soon.........

Did I ever post that I'm having a Partylite Candle party on April 4th and anyone who reads this is invited?! :) it is at 10:00am and should be fun. I'm going to get some bagels, cream cheese and some fruit too......... come and check it out!!

Work has been a little nutty lately. It doesn't look like the rates are going to change too much keeping us busy...which is great. Unfortunately, they took away our incentive....so 10%, now incentive, how great is that?

We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend of no specified plans. We've talked about garage saleing, we've talked about the Green Festival (which looks awesome!!), and we've talked about vegging at home doing NOTHING. It is our first weekend and last weekend for awhile with nothing planned......

We see the midwife tomorrow again for a check up :) we will start using the measuring tape to measure my belly. I'll post pictures this weekend......it sure has grown......but seeing others that are due around when I am........boy do I NOT look pregnant!! Oh well. I just carry differently. Gestational Diabetes testing and blood work this time around..... :)

I think that's it for now.....
Randi

The Big 3-0

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY RYAN!

WITH MANY MORE TO COME........ we love you! :)

Random Thoughts for the Weekend

We ended up locking Rosa out of the bedroom last night. For whatever reason, she has been walking on us, we throw her off the bed, she hops back up in one minute, and we play the game all night - making it an unrestful night for all of us. I tried to play with her a little last night, gave her some cat nip..... but at 3:00am sometime she decided it was time to take a trek on her Moms! I think it doesn't help me getting up to pee so many times a night....so she thinks its time to play? If we lock one out, we have to lock the other out... so about 5am Clover is screaming to come in.....We never heard a peep from Rosa to come back in. We let Clover come back in..... she played in the room with whatever she could find and was fine until I got up about 7:30am.

Last night I had the best all natural beef hotdog (hemplers) with no nitrates, etc. IT WAS FREAKIN AWESOME! I tried some smartdogs....I think they were tofu dogs? maybe turkey? they were disgusting even TRYING to disguise them with chili. Well, so I had a chili dog for dinner last night.... and am guessing Chuck doesn't like chili so much......I could not get comfortable in any position....we even went shopping for a little bit and still was miserable. I took a gas-x and a tum..... and finally fell asleep last night. Woke to major, major...magical music! YEAH!! :) We celebrate that around here....let me tell you. (maybe TMI for some but oh well) :)

I am beginning to notice it is getting harder and harder to bend down.....and not have the gumption to get off the ground. I need to realize I can't bend/stretch/maneuver like I used too....

Yesterday was K's niece/nephew (twins) 2nd birthday! We're going for a celebration today for them and Amelia who will be turning 6 on the 28th! It is always fun to hang with the family! :)

Tomorrow we'll go and pick up Madison and we're going to have a play date! :) we'll see what she feels up to doing....... we have a few fun ideas!

K's dad called us on Monday night and left us a message...... it stated "K, this is dad, I was in Everett and a lady hit me...I need you to come pick me up.... (lots of police scanner background noise) (dad asking police where at?) "I'll be at the denny's on Pacific way" thank you. SHEESH. We'd been out at my cousins for a get together of a family member that was in town.... and get home about 10 minutes after this message. My first instinct was to call Denny's on Pacific Way....so we did and they asked around...no dad. My dad then tries to tell us how to get to the Denny's and we then realize we're not being able to keep them in our heads as we just want to get going.... he suggests taking his GPS - GREAT! We get in the car...... K decides to call her step mom just in case someone else is already on their way....we really don't want to make the trek if someone is already picking him up. Someone was already on their way.....we turned around and came home. About 10 minutes after being home... Denny's was calling us. It was K's dad. He had just gotten dropped off there. (HE HAS NO CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!) Ends up....... a lady was getting on the freeway in Everett..... hit ice... Dad was in the middle lane.....the lady hit him went flying one direction and sent Dad flying another direction where he spun a few times then hit a concrete barrier. NO ONE WAS HURT and NO ONE ELSE WAS INVOLVED!!!!!!!! can you believe it!? His truck is totaled and he's using our truck for now..... He hasn't been sore, wasn't hurt or anything. We're glad everyone came out safe and not hurt!

This coming weekend we're hosting the "Girls Day Out" at our house! :) Our theme it "Cinco De Mayo Gay Bingo" with gay really having nothing to do with it....LOL Our initial thought was to do Gay Bingo in Seattle but I just don't handle the "party" scene all that well....and decided it'd probably send me over the edge....... so we'd make our own "safe" gay bingo at home!! I think we're going to have a taco bar and some homemade tamales .... mmmm. We'll also do a little celebration of Ryan and her 30th birthday on the 24th! (you're getting old!!)

On the pregnancy side of things....... I am 23 weeks today. It is crazy that we're half way through March... and come April I will have less than 100 days to go. We start birthing classes at the end of April that will go through the beginning of June. I've been feeling great. I did a pre-natal swimming class last Tuesday in Anacortes and will probably do it again this week. I need to start doing some walking. I also have a call into a dance instructor whom I heard through the swimming class that does prenatal yoga......I'm crossing my fingers. I really like the yoga. I may just be able to do a class here in Burlington and just amend it to be what I can do..... it relaxes me like nothing else. :) I felt hiccups for the first time this week..... it felt like my butt was twitching. LOL It hiccuped from the front to back it really was weird. I've been feeling Chuck kick a LOT more often too. He actually woke me up for the first time this morning.....

K and I are going to head to Coulee in April to check things out and chill out for a bit. It will probably be one of our last trips before the baby.... we may be able to go in June... we'll see. K will make the trek late April with Dad to go over and discuss them putting in new water lines. (They have had to send us notices since we bought the place that the arsenic levels were too high) and I think the health department is now cracking down on them. We're crossing, hoping, that if they replace the water that they do the sewer too. That would make our options for Coulee SKY ROCKET. (right now we can only remodel what we have - not tear down because our septic isn't to code...it IS grandfathered in... but not to code) We really don't care on the money side of the things..... we'll make it work - BUT this would really help our property values. The hard part is right now most people are strapped a little bit more for money and so paying quite a bit out each more per month for these things to happen... we'll see how the city council meeting goes. :) we at least know 4 houses that want to partake....... one being mom and dad!! :)

I'm getting excited for Life Is Good. I had such a hard time transitioning back to real life last time......really missed it..... so am really trying to prepare myself. It looks like I'll be getting a ride from a local friend that is coming from my area for the first time with her family (including a new baby!!) and then K will come down on Saturday to hang out for a day or 2... and then we'll drive back together. We can't both be off work......it just can't happen anymore. (the birth will be an exception and then she's only taking 2-3 weeks off)

K's up now so I gotta go and read the paper and eat my banana.

Quick Post

baby ticker moved to...........

6 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Officially 4 months to go....... grow baby grow.

Free To Be Me by: Francesca Battistelli

A song I heard today that I really enjoyed.........

crank it!

Saturday Morning Post

Good Morning Fellow Blog Readers -

Another week down....... and boy did this week have some definite ups and downs! I woke up this morning to a catch/ache in my hip that just wouldn't stop unless I got up....it was 7:15 so now too bad. Nothing like waking up to it though......

Today I am going birthday shopping for Kauleen :) her birthday is Wednesday the 4th....I'm sure I'll find some good stuff :)

Tomorrow we watch Braxton in the afternoon and over night and then we'll drop him off at daycare and watch him on Monday night until Mom returns from a little vacation :) We were thinking of doing a children's museum....probably not here in Burlington is my guess because Chucky Cheese is right next door......and well........that place makes K and I go BONKERS!!! :) We'll see how he's feeling and what he's up to doing.......

We had a midwife appointment on Thursday and everything is moving along just as it should :) We are 21 weeks today (or tomorrow depending on my ticker....stupid thing). It is SO fun to hear the heartbeat every time....and this time it made a definite change! She had poked/prodded to find the baby and then when she did he slowed down a bit....was kind of fun! :) she said that was a good sign! We go back on March 26th and I'll have to get some lab work done....and then get tested for Gestational Diabetes.....she said she won't make me drink the crappy orange stuff I can just eat a gooey cinnamon roll!! :) cannot wait!! (Actually that sounds good now!!)

Watermelon has been my best friend latley. I can't get enough of it :) I've ate almost 2 small watermelons this week......still have a good portion of the 2nd to go.......but am going to Costco to get 2 more today!! LOL It initially was blueberries......yum. Then it was Mango...... YUM. Now it is Watermelon. At least I'm over indulging on good foods....... :)

Work has been work...... We've made some changes in a few aspects, some people have helped me a lot (THANKS CORRINA!) in simple ways that make a HUGE difference, and I've been given more responsibility........so we'll see what we can do. I had definite "hormonal crazyness" this week.....but thankfully I work with an office full of women who understand.....and some may even cry with me sometimes :) Oh the joys of being prego........

I'm still not really *showing* yet.... my regular t-shirts are now obviously touching my lower stomach...my upper stomach has yet to reach the lower. The midwife says being taller doesn't help as much for people to notice.....but I suspect in the next month of so I'll be showing more.....there is a definite round bump from top to bottom. LOVE IT.

I've been feeling the baby move quite a bit......I tend to feel "him" more on the weekdays then I do on the weekends moving around etc. I have an anterior placenta so the midwife did state that the movement may be a bit muffled....but in due time I'll get some good punches ;) baby isn't that big yet....but from what I read in the coming weeks we'll be growing some baby fat and gaining some weight! GROW BABY GROW! :)

I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE THIS BABY ON THE 4TH OF JULY!
I want to be at the family celebration.............!!!

I'm getting excited for the Life is Good Conference in May!! :) I'll be 33 weeks then.......which is crazy to think about. I'm about 34 days to go and I'll have less than 100 days!!! It has gone by so slow....yet so fast in some aspects. :)

K is up now so I'm gonna go find me something to eat.......and read the paper.