We are outta here!

Hi all, the precious few who read our blog....

Jeremy and I are leaving today. We're heading to the Blue Ridge Mountains for some much needed R&R. We'll be back on Friday, so don't do anything too exciting while we're gone! :-)

Someone wanna look after Big Fella? Aww, he'll be fine, I guess. We've left him for longer periods before.

Okay, so we'll talk later! Have a fun week!

~us wilcox types

And the blessings keep poureth-ing from Heaven....

Do ya think it's too big????

New Date

:-(

I'm no longer 26 weeks pregnant... I'm now 25 weeks and 4 days.

:-(

We went to Birthcare today for our first appointment with the midwives now that we've decided to go with a homebirth. Well, they way to make sure your due date is as accurate as possible, and the furthest away as possible, so that in case you go late (longer than 42 weeks) you're hitting their cut off date as late as possible (to give your body more time to do things naturally, like begin labor!) So they nixed the whole Jan. 3rd date for Jan. 7th, since that's more accurate (the 3rd date was based on an ultrasound size, which the midwives don't use).

So I'm a little sad... I was enjoying being at 26 weeks... But, it's only a 4 day difference, so now I'll be celebrating my new "weeks" every Monday instead of Wednesday.

In other news, we're pretty close to selling my car. Some gal from MD is coming tonight to put a down payment on it, with the rest coming tomorrow. She's paying what we're asking, which is great, considering it's a little more than the loan payoff amount. However, we did still list it slightly below bluebook, so we feel it's a fair price for everyone. So that's good. Jeremy will definitely be glad when this week is over with, as it's the last week of the month AND the quarter, which makes for very stressful times for him. Needless to say, we'll be enjoying our vacation next week! I'm dubbing it, THE BABYMOON. :-)

And that's all folks.

Just so ya know...

Nothin's really going on here. We had a pretty low-key weekend. It was my Mom's birthday Sunday, so we had lunch-ner with them at Bonefish Grill. Of course, we had to miss the 2nd half of the Steelers game... which is probably why they lost, because they didn't have their #1 fan rootin' for 'em (Jeremy, of course). But that's water under the bridge, or over the dam, or whatever you want. :-)

Now, we're just back to work stuff. :-P I'll be glad when that's over.

Something cool, though, that premeired tonight. Heroes is a new series on NBC that follows the life of seemingly ordinary people, and the extraordinary abilities they come to find. Pretty neat stuff. Being a comic buff, I enjoy shows like this. Hopefully future episodes are as interesting and fulfilling as the season premeire. You should check it out.

And.... that's it. Only 99 days to go 'til Jeremy Jr. makes his grand appearance (or around there... for all we know, it could have 99 days to go for a couple of weeks now....)

Woot.

Date night!

Tonight... we had a date. Which hasn't happened in a while. I mean, we go out, but not with the sole purpose of just being together.

And it was fun. We saw a movie (Little Miss Sunshine--nothing else was playing! But it was actually pretty good...), grabbed some kabobs for dinner, and now we're home.

But all I really wanted to say is.....

Tonight, we had a date. It was fun. Now it's bedtime. Goodnight.

Stuffed.

I ate too much. Well, I didn't eat too much, I ate what I needed to eat--there's just not a lot of room for it to hang out right now. I had a late lunch, and by the time I got home from my Soon-To-Be Mom's class, I was ready for some FOOD. I really wanted chicken kabobs, with the curry rice, and the naan bread with the yogurt mint sauce (yum!), but Jeremy didn't want to put on a real shirt so we could go there.... So I had to come up with something of my own here at home. This is more tricky than usual, because now I'm following the Brewers Diet, which puts a lot of emphasis on protein, and eating well balanced. I actually find it's easier to follow this than just "adding 300 calories" because I have a checklist of things to check off everyday, and a protein goal to hit. So I eat what I need to eat to make sure Jeremy Jr comes out happy and HEALTHY, and also to make sure I'm eating what I need to stay happy and healthy. And I don't mind doing it! You just re-prioritize what you might normally eat.

For example. A quick fix dinner for me would have been leftover lasagna. However, there's no meat in there, and while I might get some protein from the cheese, I would have to eat a lot of it to get what I needed. And I still needed to get another veggie in, some more milk, fruit and an egg (two a day is the goal, 4 servings of milk, 1 fruit, 3 veggies, etc, etc...) So instead of lasagna, I ate an egg salad sandwich (one egg, one grain), fresh broccoli with blue cheese dip (one veggie, I'll count the dip as a fat [which I need 3 of per day]), a chicken chili verde burrito (22g of protein, one "protein" [what they call it instead of meat, since you could also have beans or something similar], and the tortilla counts as a grain) which I topped with some cheese and sour cream (another fat and milk). Washed it all down with some Italian Orange Soda (made with real juice, so I'm counting that as my Vit C [I had other things today that help make that up, too]), and then some Gelati (vanilla soft serve with cherry gelati) and a pluot for dessert.

That's a LOT of food.

But I had to get it all in for Jeremy Jr. The great thing is, I eat what I need to eat, I don't go overboard on what I don't, and I don't feel guilty for being full, because I know I'm eating what I need to eat for BOTH of us.

And I don't care what anyone says, I'm still gonna eat peanut butter during my pregnancy and probably beyond--no one in my family (or Jeremy's, at least that I know of) has a history of peanut allergies, so I'm all good. :-) Hey, it's healthier than regular butter on toast in the morning (and an extra boost of protein to boot!)

Needless to say, we've already gotten a lot out of the Bradley Method class. :-)

Woo hoo! 25 Weeks!

Only 15 more week, or 105 days to go! Good, 'cause this kid is already getting heavy, and we've still got a ways left! For the first time yesterday, I got physically tired, not in an overall sense, just in my belly--it was just hangin' there, pullin' me forward, and just really kinda sore by the end of the day.

What am I gonna be like in December?!?!?!? :-) At least it's not twins.

Anyways, here's a pic of me at 20 weeks (it's the only one we've, well, I've taken so far--we've got the camera ready to go, so I'll try to get one from this week up as a comparison. I feel like I've ballooned in the past few weeks, but it could just be me...) See how flat my hair is??? That's from the severe lack of humidity in Las Vegas (and see my nice hotel bathroom?? Fancy, eh? That's the Four Seasons for ya!)

This doesn't look so good...

Right now, Jeremy and I are "watching" the game. That is, the Steelers vs. Jaguars game... And by watching, I mean Jeremy is at the gym peddling the bike and watching it there, while Jeremy Jr is flipping around and I keep up to date on the play by plays online.

Our Directv should be installed by Friday afternoon. (Thank God!)

And as of right now, the score is Jacksonville 3, Steelers 0, and with less than 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter...

And the Jags are on the 15.....

I can't watch.

UPDATE: Well, there's still 6 minutes left... We could still score a touchdown and WIN! WOO!

UPDATE #2: AN INTERCEPTION! BIG BEN WAS INTERCEPTED! BEEEEEEEN! YOU CAN'T LET THAT KIND OF THING HAPPEN RIGHT NOW!!!! ARRRRRGH!

It's okay.......... we can still get the ball back, and get a touchdown...... we've been in situations like this before.... Just don't let them SCORE AGAIN!

UPDATE #3: Jags 9, Steelers.... well, you know....

Grumble grumble.....

LAST UPDATE: We had the ball at the 2 min warning.... Ben passed for an interception... it was returned to the 2.

:(

Sweet sweet justice for the Washington Redskins

...and for football fans in general (unless you're a TO fan, and maybe if you're a Cowboys fan, but I know not many of either of those exist.) :-)

I know it's mean, but the first thing I did when I read this article is laugh... HAA HAA HAA, TO!! HA HA HA!!!!!

I'm sorry your team didn't win, Laurence and Katharine! Does this help at all??

Not much goin' on...

Just thought I'd tell ya that. It's been a busy week, with small group, Soon-to-be-Mom's class, visiting Birthcare and trying to find a Bradley Method Class that works with out schedule.... The weekend started out just as crazy; We had dinner at a friend's house last night, Jeremy had Awakening Fest to help out at (I was also supposed to help, but lucky for me, Jeremy's co-worker Michael, was kind enough to take my place) and tomorrow, our first class starts AND we get to go out to Manassas to watch my Mom paint on stage. Oh and she just got a new job--with my Dad, of all people! :-) Well, for the same company, different offices. So they now get to enjoy the 3-4 hour roundtrip commute together.

And that's about it. Jeremy Jr's been pretty active lately, which is fun. Sometimes it feels like he's practicing his karate (usually using my bladder as a target, no less....) Jeremy thinks he's gonna be born with a PS2 controller in his hands (especially with all the Sony info I'm spoonfed for work!) Well, for my sake, I HOPE NOT! If he rolls out at 7.5 lbs, and no controllers, I'll be fine with that. :-)

Okay, that really IS about it. We'll talk later. :-)

At least 12 shot at Montreal College

See? We're not the only ones with problems....

It's official!

I'm pregnant. :-) I know we've confirmed that before, but today, for the very first time, a complete stranger asked me, "When are you due??" Now, for all the skinny-minny preggers gals out there, that's not a big deal--heck, by the time they're 6 months, they're probably sick and tired of people asking them, "When are you due? Boy or girl? Do you have a name picked out? blah blah blah." But for the gal who's further along than some of the other preggers I've been around, it kinda hurts when people comment about them, and say nothing about me. I've been looking forward to the day when it would become more obvious.

And I'm not even wearing a maternity shirt! I'm wearing the stupid Playstation work shirts that were 3x too big on me before I was pregnant, and they're still big on me now!

Yay. I happy. :-)

PS3 vs. XB 360 vs. Nintendo Wii

I just wanted to say that I'm sick of all the petty controversies surrounding "who will win the next gen system wars???!!!!" It's a simple answer: no one. This isn't the lat 80's and the 90's where only one system reigned supreme, and caused all other systems to dissolve away into the void (R.I.P. Dreamcast... You were awesome! We miss you!) I believe that all three systems will co-exist, and that their market shares will probably even out moreso then they've been in the past (PS2 vs. XB vs. Gamecube; 60% vs. 30% vs. 10% market share).

I'll be glad when I no longer hafta pimp out any particular system. I have no beef with the XB or the Wii... I'm glad they're there. They make the world go round.

Okay, just wanted to get that off my chest. :-)

Ah the weekend...

Weekends are great. And I mean great as in AWESOME GREAT! The only problem with weekends, though, is that they end, and then you hafta worry about having "a case of the mondays". Booo... At least tomorrow, I have a conference call 1st thing in the morning. Helps get me up and motivated. That just means no sleeping 'til 9, so I can leave by 10... Oh well, better start trying to get used to sleepless mornings, right?

I had interesting dreams last night. Granted, I have interesting dreams every night, it seems, but most of them are not blog-worthy (like the scary one where I was in a store, and for some reason, trusted this total stranger to take care of my baby, only to find out later in the day, that he was a cannibal and had eaten him... I think even my sub-conscious realized this was too horrific for anyone to experience, so it covered it up by saying it was a movie, and it wasn't true, so I had nothing to worry about.... riiiiiiight... I still woke up crying, needing to cuddle with Jeremy to feel re-assured--okay, that was way too much of a tangent.) Not that last night's dreams were particularly 'blogworthy', but I figured if it was interesting enough for me to share with Jeremy, it was interesting enough to put on the blog? Well, that's my theory and I'm stickin' with it!

So the first dream I remember involved me working, and Stephin was tagging along with me (as he sometimes did during the summer.) We stopped at the Target in Potomac Yard (a couple of miles from the Pentagon, for you non-NOVAtians), and I went in, started doing my thing... But then I noticed Stephin was no longer with me. Turns out, you had to show you're ID to prove you were of "shopping age" in order for you to enter the store. I tried explaining to the gal that he was with me, and that he was too young to have an ID, and she said, "well, then he can't go in," or some crap like that. This episode ended with me cursing up a storm (I get very vulgar in my dreams....) at the stupid gal, swearing I would never shop at that store again, and so on and so forth. Then, for some reason, it took us over 2 hours to get home that night. I dunno, weird.

I think a lot of it had to do with a combination of recent events: it probably took place at Target because of the stupid lady I encountered there in May? June? a while back (it's in the blog somewhere), followed by a gal at Wal-Mart telling me Friday that I could not bring my purse into the stock room when I went to sign in and out of the vendor log (why, I don't know, because they allow my laptop bag and pull bag... just not my purse), and finally, the carding thing because yesterday we were at Costco, and we don't have a membership, but are thinking of getting one, and they were carding people at the door (we just snuck in around some people while the guy wasn't looking...) So probably all that stuff put together = my dream.

The 2nd dream was a little more.... realistic? Well, maybe not. You decide. It was Thanksgiving time, and we were in the middle of a huge ice storm. Yet, our small group and some other friends still managed to get together for Thanksgiving dinner (on the Wednesday before [I know it was wednesday because I was excited to not have anymore work that week, after just coming off a three day weekend... man, I'm lazy, huh?] at some random restaurant). We just hung out and chatted, and I guess I thought that Jeremy Jr was gonna make his appearance soon (my brother James was born in the middle of a terrible snow storm), and I was telling everyone how I hoped I would go into labor in the morning after having a nice full night's sleep, so that I wouldn't be so exhausted throughout the process (this probably stems from the fact that last time I did the whole labor thing, I went to bed at midnight, and woke up at 2 am with contractions, and delivered at 2 pm later that day---exhausted! Took me... well, a long time to recover... Probably 3 weeks or so. Of course, the depression may have had something to do with that... Anyways!) The following day (Thanksgiving) we woke up, and no sign of Jeremy Jr. Which is fine, considering that would have made him about 5 weeks early. Not terrible, but not ideal, either. So we'll see if that holds true. And I am hoping for the AM labor, vs a PM labor, but hey, as long as I don't hafta get induced, or a C-Section, whichever way he appears will be okay with me.

Oh yeah, and during that ice storm, Steve Irwin appeared--he poked his head through the window of the house I grew up in, in his khaki shorts (we're still in an ice storm...), asking for donations for his zoo or something. I guess Stephin had been in the same "accident" that cost Steve his life last week, but both of them had survived (in my dream, Steve asked Stephin, "How ya holdin' up there, buddy? You okay? Great!") Yeah, that Stephin's a fighter!

On a related note, it's very sad that Steve Irwin is gone... He was a cool guy, and from what I hear, a really good guy, too. It's unfortunate he's dead, but that is an inevitable part of life... We'll all die at some point, whether by sting ray or natural cause. I hope his wife and kids can recover from this tragic event.

Okay, that's too sad of a note to end this post on, so I'll just say we're only a few days away from bein' 6 months (technically speaking, if going by the 4 week months instead of the lunar months... Although even the lunar months start the 3rd trimester [and 7th month] at the 28th week mark, so I guess I am right! Woot!) Time is flying by, and thankfully so. This week is gonna be crazy, but at least it will go by quickly. Tuesday, Jeremy and I are going to Birthcare to check them out and see if we want to go with them to deliver Jeremy Jr or if we're gonna stick with my psycho doctor. Wednesday is Small Group/Soon-to-Be-Mom's class, Thursday we get a break, but then the weekend is nuts. Friday dinner with friends (should be lots of fun!), Saturday, we're doing security for Awakening Fest, and Sunday, my Mom's gonna be painting on stage during praise and worship at their church's Sunday night service. So that should be okay, since it doesn't really require much of us--just showing up! Yay!

Okay, then, that's better. Time to go 'start the day' (and kick Jeremy off of the XBox 360--which is making a lot of noise, by the way... and we just swapped it out a month or so ago! Junk! Cheap American Junk!) Oh, and if you're familiar with the whole video game industry, and follow what's going on with the XBox, PSP, Gamecube, and if you've ever shopped at Gamestop (or EB Games), check out this video... It's kinda vulgar (okay... it's very vulgar, especially on the part of the PSP), but very amusing for those industry insiders who "know". You've been warned...

Another bright season lies ahead...

The Steelers kicked off the football season this year, beating the Miami Dolphins 28-17. It was a CRAZY game! The first quarter was boring--neither team could manage more than an occasional 1st down... 2nd quarter, we started picking things up, and by half time, was having a lot of hope for Batch, our backup Quarterback (does that make him a Quarterback-back?)

Beginning of the 3rd quarter, I thought we'd left our team in the locker room as we just let run after run, and pass completed after pass.... Then we came back... then we "dropped" the ball at the 1 yard line (Baaaaaaaatch!). But Polamalu redeemed us with a pick, that we then converted to a touchdown, and then in the 4th quarter, Porter picked off Culpepper for a TOUCHDOWN, and that was about it. No more points for the Dolphins.

So, not a bad game... I was impressed at times, disappointed at times, scared at times, bored at times, but over-all, it was worth staying up late for.

Steelers 28
Dolphins 17

OMIGOSH! IT'S SURI CRUISE!

All I have to say is...

She sure looks like she could be alien spawn.
:-)

Geek.

I didn't think this was cool until he got to the middle of the song.... And then I thought, "What a geek."
But a cool, devoted, talented geek! Rock on, Mario Geek!

I think I may have over done it....

Today, Jeremy asked me to "show" him the inventory of clothes we have for the baby.... He thinks I've been going crazy. My Mom says it's silly to get so many clothes when that's all people are gonna wanna buy for us at our shower.... :-/ Well, I wanted to prove 'em wrong, so I laid it all out!

I think they may have been right....

Well, kinda sorta. For newborn, we're STOCKED! We've got some 35 onesies, 6 sleepers, and 6 gowns (though those gowns will probably work through 6 months). Now, most of those (probably about 20) onesies are from Andie. So technically, it isn't my fault. :-) I'll just make sure to change 'em two or three times a day, just cause I can. It'll save me some laundry, if nothing else, for the first couple of weeks.

Now, the rest of the months, we're fairing more evenly on. We do have a lot of clothes clothes for the 3-6 month age, however, we still need socks, and maybe some plain white onesies (you can bleach those when the diaper gets a bit over-soiled... I'd rather do that, then hafta worry about the cutsy ones...) And we only have a few days worth of clothes for the 6-9 month stage (which will probably be the 3-6 for us...)

So, I guess the rule of thumb for all those folks interesting in buying clothes for Jeremy Jr is to BUY BIG! Anything 6+ months (or plain white onesies and socks for 3-6) will be very graciously accepted. :-) You people are so nice.

Da d'daaaaaaaa!

We are officially 5 months pregnant (and in our 6th month)! Thank gooodness the time is going by more quickly now. Can anyone tell me where August went? Anybody? Still trying to figure that one out...

Rain rain rain... Blah. Don't get me wrong, I like rainy days, but there are a couple of reasons I don't like them RIGHT NOW!

1) It makes for a very dark morning, which makes the difficult task of getting up and out even more difficult.

2) It's freakin' cold outside! Like, seriously C-O-L-D! Even Jeremy was cold. I'm sorry, I can't remember the last time it was in the 50's... It's been awhile.

Did I mention it was cold?

Thanks a lot Er-nest-o! Stupid hurricanes with it's stupid wind that blows my stupid umbrella inside out.... I know, it's not a hurricane anymore. Sheesh. Everyone's a critic.

How annoying...

Okay, so apparently a Houston Grandmother was shot and robbed by her 21 year old grandson. That---is sad. What's incredibly frustrating, though, is the way in which the "reporter" reports this news. Now, I'm no jounalist, but I'm pretty sure when you're writing an article about something, you're not just simply typing out your lines of notes.

The grandson of a 75-year-old woman found shot to death in her home has been arrested and charged with her killing, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Houston police said Sean Saunders, 21, was arrested in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Houston police said Sean Saunders confessed to killing his grandmother, Dorothy Saunders.

Dorothy Saunders was found dead in her home in the 3000 block of Shady Park Drive on Sunday. She had been shot in the head, police said.

Police said the car missing from Dorothy Saunders' home was recovered in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Police said there was no forced entry into the home, and the door was bolted from the inside, indicating that the killer was someone she knew.

Relatives said they suspected Sean Saunders the entire time.

Family members said that a family friend called police to report seeing Sean Saunders driving Dorothy Saunders' car.

See what I mean? And for a second here, I thought it was going to get better, but it reverts back to it's original format:

Dorothy Saunders' neighbors said they are shocked that a family member allegedly took her life.

"A relative come out and of no where and kills her for money, her purse and a car," neighbor Charlie Musick said. "He shot her three times in the head. Come on, your grandmother?"

Houston police said Sean Saunders has been charged with capitial murder and will be extradited to Houston soon.

Surely I am not the only one who is annoyed by this?? I don't think it's the pregnancy this time... I could be wrong... Am I wrong???