Werty's Minor Surgery

Monday Werty went to the doctor because he was still not feeling too hot since last week, and his ear was hurting. Turns out he has an ear infection, so the nice doctor gave him some antibiotics. While he was there, he had this strange mole checked out...strange because I had never noticed it until a few months ago and pointed it out to him. The doctor looked at it and it fit the criteria for the kind that should be removed and biopsied. So, now my honey has stitches on his back from very minor suregery.

Werty went with me to the NST this morning. He got to see the baby in the quickie ultrasound when they measured the fluid. My fluid level was down a tad, not up, so that's good. He was surprised that the baby's head was so round...much more filled out than the skeletor picture from the first ultrasound. Baby is still hanging out head down with his bum in my right ribs, however, he has been stretching his legs out across my belly so he's not always up in my rib cage, so that's a happy development.

The nursery still isn't emptied yet, although Werty was taking measurements today to see what can fit in the office closet, since we have to switch stuff around between the two closets. (Things like the mitre saw that really don't belong in a nursery with a little baby.)
Here is the front panel of the Dragon/Monster quilt. Isn't he cute? The final quilt will be about 5.5 feet square.

BBQ at the Pool

Last Thursday we had Sue and her family over to our place for a poolside BBQ. Sue said that her kids were asking all day if it was time yet to go swimming at Aunt Zanne's. :D Werty was exhausted from the construction EQ service project and staying up late to watch HP, so he didn't join us for the swimming. Sue's kids really like to get wet, and they came prepared with floating devices, so they could move about the pool with their parents. I even donned a swimsuit and coverup and got in the water. (Isn't it nice how you feel lighter in water...especially when you are 8 months pregnant heavy?) Werty grilled up the steaks and hot dogs, and joined us for dinner. We had a blast, and since it was a Thursday evening, the pool area wasn't crowded at all. It was so fun that it got Werty thinking that maybe he should try to have his family over for a BBQ some time. We usually go to Ged and Klari's house for family BBQ's, but Ged is out of town this week for a work convention, and it's Pioneer Day on Friday. We will have to see if someone else has already made reservations for that day. Werty's family is pretty big, after all, and there are rules about number of guests and such.

Update on baby: Last week's NST showed that my fluid level was up, which isn't good. It's still in the normal range, but now it's on the high side of normal. I go in again this Wednesday. It is possible for the fluid level to go up and down, so it doesn't mean that it will continue to climb necessarily. /em crosses her fingers. (Nan: since you asked, they have me going every week for NST to make sure 1. the baby has enough oxygen and 2. to measure my fluid level since too much or too little can be a problem with gd. Sue was telling me that she had extra fluid with her second child, and the rush of fluid actually caused the baby's head to move out of position. Thankfully, the doctor was able to locate the head again and the baby was still delivered normally.)

At my regular doctor visit on Friday, everything is still fine. We talked about hospitals and I found out that I will be delivering at the big hospital that I didn't want to go to. When we started trying, I had another insurance plan that covered certain hospitals. The insurance I have now, through my job, covers the other hospitals. I forgot that my doctor only delivers at two hospitals, one from each network. So, unless I want to have a different doctor, I have only one choice under my insurance. And I really like my doctor. My doctor got really defensive about the big hospital, about how the community doesn't give that hospital the respect it deserves, and how she had all her children at that hospital because it is the best. It got tense. Really tense. I told her about the car accident and how I had had my own negative experience at that hospital - how they sent me home and kept all the other injured passengers overnight because I "was so calm" that I didn't appear as seriously injured - and how the insurance used that against me so that they wouldn't cover as much care as I actually needed. I couldn't move my arms or get myself out of bed for 2-3 weeks, but hey, I was "calm" about it. 10 years later and I believe that I am the only person from the accident that still has chronic pain from it. But, that doesn't mean the whole place is terrible. Here are some pros: I have been going there for my NST and the staff have been very nice. And there is the fact that my child's birth certificate will say Provo instead of Orem on it. (Ddonn will appreciate the importance of that). This hospital is only a 5 minute drive away instead of 20. Since I go in for NST, and labor and delivery is the same floor, I already know where to go and they already have my information in their system. (I finally got them to change my marital status from single to married when I went in for my NST - they had my info originally from the car accident). I get to have my doctor there. So, those family members who live here in town and might want to drop by to see the little guy, you now know where we will be.

Harry Potter movie...Spoiler Alert!

So, we didn't get tickets to the midnight showing, but we still went to see it opening night - Wednesday night instead of Tuesday - but it still counts! If you haven't seen it, don't want to hear about it, well then the title of this entry should have given you a clue that you shouldn't read further! So stop now!

We really loved it - they left in parts that I was really hoping they would, and I can see why they cut down certain parts in order to focus on the most important part of the story, like the ending of the movie. It was interesting that they chose to create an alternate new action scene. I liked it. It meant that there was something new and interesting to watch, one scene where you didn't know exactly what was going to come next. In one short scene, they established character development between Harry and Ginny that takes place in the book gradually over time through lots of little side events that they didn't have time to include in the movie (like Harry dating and breaking up with Cho...security and curfews in Hogmeade, etc.) The scene also served a purpose in giving the viewers an action scene that develops the setting and atmosphere, since they had to cut out and simplify the action that originally happens later in the book. (And I love how this movie connected with the last movie's portrayal of Ginny - how she and Harry are well matched in courage and ability.)

Often, when writers add scenes in an adaptation, they stick out as 'time fillers' or they take away from the story. For example, the latest trend of using well-known children's books as movie material that they add subplots too, and sometimes, you lose the original theme of the book. Take "Tale of Desperaux," which kept changing themes and adding new characters and events throughout the movie. In the end, I had to tell Werty what the original message of the book had been because it was so lost in the movie. I know some purists might disagree with me, but in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the scene fit in seamlessly. It didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Instead it related to the other scenes wonderfully. I think it was one of my favorites of the Harry Potter movies.

Jean Quilt

I'm still plugging along on the quilt. It has changed design a couple of times in the past few days. The jean legs will form semi-circles that create an outline of coils, like a segmented snake. I did keep all the pockets - originally I was going to place them here and there for fun, like Julie's comment - but now they are going to be scales on the back of the coils. I drew a cartoony design for a head - and voila - it's going to be the Lochness monster quilt. So far, I have the coils cut and pinned. I really need to sew that first before I can do anything else.

In other news, Werty's laptop died. Looks like it needs a new motherboard, so it's going to cost a little over $400, which is not good news this time of year. So, he is going to look around and decide if it is worth fixing or if he should apply that $400 to a new machine that will last longer. Until he figures something out, he will continue to use my machine...and we can't play online together. Right now he is waiting for me to get off my computer so he can ue it. :P

Joy Toy!

Doesn't the title sound a little dirty? Anyway, for those familiar with FFXI, they will understand why me getting a Joyeuse is a big deal. I recently reached my goal of getting RDM (red mage) to 75. Now that I have the special, coveted Joy Toy, a high level sword which gives you the ability of hitting more often, Werty declared that I am "a real red mage now." We camped out the big octopus-like monster for two days, one failed attempt and one lost to competition, Werty tanked it (with support from me and some friends) and I won the lot. Now we are committed to helping Purp, one of our friends, to get the next drop.

Update on the baby front: The first non-stress test went well. This is now a weekly thing until the baby comes. Since this was the first visit, they did an ultrasound to measure the fluid level, and everything was normal. It was really fast, but when I answered the nurse that yes, we already knew it was a boy, she agreed that the earlier ultrasound was correct - the baby has boy parts. Werty didn't come with me, since we knew this test was about sitting still and monitoring the baby, so he was a little disappointed when he heard that he had missed the chance to get another ultrasound glimpse of the baby. Baby's favorite position currently is with his tush tucked into the right side corner, just under my rib cage, which the ultrasound confirmed for me that yes, that really is his tush pushing on my ribs.

We bought a mattress for the cradle yesterday. Sue went to DI to buy one a few years ago, and they used to carry the right size, but they stopped selling them there. Baby Depot is the only store in town that actually stocks them. I now know this. I decided to go with the standard size, even if it's a few inches shorter, it's the right width - and that's what I was most concerned with regarding safety. Another nice thing to mention about the store - if we buy our crib from them during the month of July, we get 25% off any matching furnishings we buy with it, like a dresser or changing table. What a great deal! And they carry the crib that is currently at the top of our list.

I have been holding on to a box of old jeans to make into a jean quilt for a long time. Finally I am doing something about it. (I ran across the box as I was clearing out stuff in the back bedroom). The last two days I cut off all the legs and ripped apart seams. Last night, I started tinkering with a different layout design. Now I need to borrow a sewing machine and just get it done. I'm not as thrilled with the idea of a jean quilt as I once was, but that's probably because I'm baby obsessed these days, and would rather be making a quilt for him. If I get it done and it turns out ok, I will post pics.

Six weeks to go, and even less until summer break is over, as one of my students reminded me at church today. "Summer is almost over. I'm so sad. I don't want to go back to school yet" Amen, sister. Don't tell me that summer is almost over...I have so much left to do before the baby comes...and I'm in no hurry right now to deliver this baby!

Jeopardy last night

Final question on Jeopardy last night asked which aboreal region was made famous by one of its princes who was known for impaling people...let's see now...Vlad the impaler...believed to be a possible origin of the Vampire myth...which is the reason why Count Dracula is traditionally from TRANSYLVANIA! One of the contestants got it right, but the other two answers were hilarious, so I wanted to share:

"The Dracula Tree Forest"

"The Bloody Forest"

I guess it's nice that they knew the definition of aboreal - pertaining to something tree-like or wooded area...but if you knew the connection between the impaler and Dracula...how could you not know that Vlad or Dracula was from Transylvania?

Summer Pics - for your enjoyment

FYI, this is what is known as a Bachelor's Hood. Bachelor's hoods have gone out of vogue in many universities, but anyone with a bachelor's degree is qualified to wear one. They are shorter and simpler than the Master's Hood. With each degree, the hood gets longer and longer. Since Bachelor's hoods are rarely used these days, online instructions for how to wear a hood mostly referred to the higher degrees, and were not helpful. So, I fiddled with it the night before the graduation ceremony until I got it to look nice and kept it that way. Turns out, I had it pulled through inside out, but by the time I learned how it should be, we teachers were lining up and I had to ask another very helpful teacher to please stop trying to fix it for me, since I would have to re-pin it and there was no time. (I liked how I had it, with the black square thing out of sight instead of hanging down...which I am sure has some symbolic meaning that most people don't actually understand anymore...) In the second photo, I am showing off my belly...remember that only 2 weeks before this, I shocked my students by telling them I was expecting.



Werty showed up at graduation, and unbeknownst to me, took pics of me being all official - this was the first year that I got to sit with all the other teachers at graduation and participate in the processional. (At my high school, the teachers would do this at our last assembly of the year, but they actually do this at the graduation - so the seniors walk past all of the teacher and get congratulated, hugged, etc. as they walk to their seats. I like it.) So, using all your 'Where's Waldo' skills, can you find me in the photo?



Pics from our trip to Vegas to see Ddonn and meet my famous great Uncle. We went with my grandparents.




















(left-right) Uncle Richard and I, Grandpa, Grammy, Molly, Richard, Me, Werty. Richard showed me pics and told me stories about his mission on the Enola Gay in WWII.






Rena and I at the family reunion in Idaho (the same week we went to Vegas). I don't think Rena will kill me for posting this, because she looks better in this photo than I do. Even though all the little kids were sad that her husband didn't come, we enjoyed having Rena along with us for the car ride.
























The awesome baby shower! (Thank you to Ddonn for taking the pics). (Above) Here is KP and my bulbous belly - KP and I have been friends since we served together in the MTC. (Right) Rena and Cherry, two of my wonderful SILs.





Sue, my sister who put the whole thing together, and my Aunt M.




















These would be the pics I promised earlier - the beautiful baby blessing suit that Ddonn lovingly made for our little guy. (I showed it off to my parents when they were here this weekend).


Well, I'm afraid I don't have any pics to share of the open house on the 4th - so I can't show off the job I did on her hair, but my newest SIL, GLump's wife, is the blonde in the green shirt next to me.

My mom caught a plane this morning. It was great to see my family, and have my brother Softserve stay with us, but I'm happy to have things calm down for a bit. I know there are some things I need to do for work, emails I haven't answered, etc, because we have been so busy.

Randomness for the day: I took a nap while reading about the 1948 Isreali-Arab war, and when I woke up my brain was evaluating whether or not the national identity crisis of the Palestinian refugees could be considered an interregnum, like in the novel "July's People." Yeah. Don't you love how pregnancy effects your processing and dreams?