My Apologies!

I know, I know...I am a super bad blogger!

In my defense though...I was busy making those dress patterns I posted way back on January 1st, I got 2 finished and a third (a smaller version of the pretty bubbles pattern) nearly done the night before we left for Las Vegas on a business/pleasure trip of the "adult" variety!  Then, we were gone for a week and when we got home, we had family visiting.

So, with January gone, we moved right into February!  After our trip to Las Vegas, I brought home a ton of "work" (for my "other" blog that you have to be over 18 or 21 to visit) and that kept me busy while Garrick was in Michigan the week of Valentine's Day!  Yup, he was gone that whole week!  The following weekend though, he came home baring gifts!  I got a blue coffee mug from the Peeps store in the Mall of America that has a line of multi-colored Peeps bunnies on it and says "inside we're all the same", how cute is that?  I love Peeps, those little gems of chick or bunnies shaped marshmallows covered in sugar...yum!  Of course, I still have part of my "stash" of Sugar Free yellow Peeps Chicks from last Easter...and they are perfect now!  Just stale enough to be a bit more "chewy", just how I like em!  But, Garrick also brought me home a Valentine's Day pack of Sugar Free pink heart Peeps!  And, for good measure, the gal at the store tossed in a "White House facts" boxed set that came with 2 packs of 3 specially shaped Peeps, and a stuffed "Peep"!  He kind of looks like a misshapen snow man, but he's kinda cute in that scary way.


So, here we are in the second week of March already, phew!  Don't think just because the first quarter of 2012 is coming to an end in 3 short weeks, that that means I have slowed done...if anything we've sped up!  We "celebrated" the first of March by taking a home pregnancy test and having it come up positive!  With that, brought about the removal of most Caffeine sources in my diet...you know, all that coffee I drank every day (sometimes 2 entire pots of coffee in a single day)!  That was okay though and I had done that on my own prior to the end of February because I was getting seriously ill every time I tried to drink a cup.  Yeah for morning sickness, that has been a constant thing for the last several (3 maybe?) weeks.  Sadly, for now anyway, it also means I have to "give up" my low carb eating habits...baby needs carbs and they actually help with the nausea too.  I am still keeping a close eye on my weight though...I do not want to have to "start over" in October/November at a weight higher than what I was at nearly 2 years ago!  I have an appointment with the Diabetes Educator/Nutritionist at my Endocrinologist's office tomorrow to hopefully work out a decent food plan to follow!  We also have doctor's appointments galore...next week, we have a mandatory "new beginnings" class to go to on Wednesday and then our first OB/GYN appointment on Friday (where I'm guessing we'll get the "official" estimated due date...our best guess so far is October 27th or so), we may even get to look ahead and see possible "actual" birthdays for our little blueberry!  Since the Fibroid surgery in October has made C-Section delivery mandatory, we have some say in when he or she is born!

We are extremely excited!  Amid all the "normal" stuff we have been cataloging as "things we need to do or get", we also need to add in car shopping.  My little pick up is not "safe" to put a baby seat in and Garrick cannot drive a manual...so, we need another car/SUV/whatever.  Hopefully while I can still fit behind the wheel of the pick up too, it has always been a tight squeeze with the seat as far back as it goes.

To add to the "stresses" of March, we ended up in the Emergency Room last Sunday because Garrick had a "giant" kidney stone!  So to add to my doctor appointment nightmare, we had to add in X-Rays, Urology visits, and surgery this morning!  He had a procedure that uses ultrasonic sound waves to bust the large stone (about the size of a dime) into sand-like pieces that could easily pass through his kidney and "out".  It meant being up at 3:45 this morning and driving to the hospital before they even opened!  We finally left close to 10:30 am, because I didn't have a parking ticket, I planned on having to pay the $5 "max" for parking, but when I told him I didn't have a ticket because I had arrived before 5am, he let me out without paying, which was very nice!  We then "rushed" to the nearest McDonald's so Garrick could eat (I had a little something too) and I could pee.

This month isn't all stressors though...I got invited to participate in another BzzCampaign!

This time around, I had my choice of the cats or the dog participating, since it's a pet food product.  Since Rosie got the Bil-Jac last summer (and loved it), we decided to let the cats have this one.  Both are extremely picky eaters, so we shall see how this goes!

What is it right?  What is so cool that I am excited to see the mailman bring me my package?  Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance cat food!  It boasts being corn-free, having chicken as the first ingredient, being designed for easy digestion, and optimized nutrient levels!  They also have a version that is grain-free, but in all honesty, the bag was only 2 pounds while the "grainy" one was a 3.5 pound bag, and I like to get the most out of my "testing"!  You can try it yourself for free too!  Simply go to Hill's site here, and follow the on-screen cues to get a free bag of food!  I don't know how well my cats like it yet, but I may very well have Garrick sign up to get the rebate on a bag of dog food as well.  Rosie has been very fussy about her food recently.