Drumroll Please!!!

I just got a call and an email from my midwife:

Hi Jaimey,

They were normal!

Down's syndrome risk 1/4350.
Spina bifida risk (neural tube defect) 1/27,200

Yea! No guarantees of course, but lookin' good!

Stay cool,

Paula

I am so excited to have confirmation to what I already felt I knew. happy happy happy dance!!! Now to go to attempt to go to bed so I can work another long shift tomorrow. They are finally giving me a few more hours and I got cashier trained. Yeah!

30th birthday

Today is my 30th birthday. I am not sitting at home crying.
I did get out of bed and I am sure I will get over it eventually.

For my birthday, Zack started out letting me sleep in. Then when I woke up we took Grayson to the fountain in downtown Hillsboro because at 9 it was already 90*. Yikes.

We were only able to stay 45 minutes or so before the fountain was overtaken visited by a large camp or school type group of way older kids. And it was scorching hot!

So we decided to take G to Chuckie Cheese. (Yeah happy birthday to me. LOL) We had a tons of left over tokens from when I was a nanny and we just needed to get some energy out of the boy.

Grayson filming Zack at CC.

Riding the bob the builder ride.

This afternoon Zack made the yummiest BLT's and packed up to go to the Tuesday Market. My friend Geneva made these yummy cupcakes for me and brought them to the market. It was unfortunately 103* out and we all melted and felt like absolute crap in the SHADE so we died a little and called it a day. The end! Just kidding but we didn't make it very long. Too hot!

And the best part!? When I got to the market I realized that I was wearing mismatched shoes. See?! Its just NOT my day!

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!!! wear mismatch shoes if I wannntttt toooooo! :)

30- blah

Two years ago if you have asked me what I thought about my impending 30th birthday I would have told you that "age is just a number" or "meah- its all good!".

But that was before. Before I found out the baby I was carrying had "something" wrong. After the US to confirm Anencephaly we were ushered into the genetic counselors office to talk about why and so she could explain some things to us. In that conversation the whole voice in my head on birthday's was changed.

She said "...given your ADVANCED maternal age..." I was 29.

I almost peed my pants. I still do when I think of those words.

*shudder*

When I was visiting my dad in April I mentioned that every day I was not pregnant felt like a waste of a day. I felt like every unpreg day was a day I should be getting pregnant because I was getting older~ every day! Every minute. Every second.

Now my birthday is Tuesday and I want to cry. I know I am pregnant and it should all just dissolve and be fine in my head but its not. Now I feel like I am that much closer to 35, which in my head is my baby cut off. I never wanted to be over 35 having children because of how much higher the percentages are of things that go wrong. But now... Now having had a baby with Anencephaly so young, I feel like I am aged somehow. I want to be done as soon as I can.

I don't want to be 30. Or 35. Or anything in between.

I refuse to have this birthday.

4 month stats

Not quite 4 months but lacking a clear thought today.
Weight gain thus far: 1 lb
Ability to wear regular pants: 0
doing that math on that: priceless

Its a good thing I am out of the closet so to speak at work about this pregnancy.
I am thinking its getting harder to hide....
just keep reminding myself how recently I did this, and how quickly our bodies remember.

15 week appointment!

Today I went for my midwife checkup to check our progress and heatbeat. Heatbeat sounds good and strong. And since she spoils us so, Paula did a quick US for us to see our babies parts. Above is one of the pics we got. Yeah! See that still round head?! We do too! :)

Granted, Anencephaly is rarely detected before AFP or 20 week US but I would think we would see something changing by now if it was going to. So fingers crossed but I may relax in the near future! Again he/she was very wiggley until he/she decided to take a nap, at which point I shook him/her up to try and get more of a visual of the "parts" I would like to see second most. I am pretty sure I saw what gender it is but until I have confirmation I am not spillin the beans! :)

Our next US is 18-20 weeks for gender and sizing and just general making sure all is ok. I have the AFP next week. That is the test we got Jonathan's diagnosis from. Since I am a silly "stupid"sticious girl I will not go and take it when I can on Thursday but on Monday. I took Jonathan's on Thursday and found out on Monday. I can't explain why taking it on the same day makes me cringe but it does.

All of this falls so close to when it did with Jonathan (and Grayson for that matter) I was due with G on January 4, 07. Jonathan on January 10, 09 and this baby is due January 14, 10. So everything that happens fall in the same time frame. We found out about Jonathan the first week of August.

Hopefully everything is fine and great and we will have a healthy baby boy/girl in aprx 176 days!

Thanks for all your continued support.

180 days to go!

Aunerwares by Mommy!

I bought a pattern recently from Fishsticks Designs through the great coop I love- This End up.
I was so excited to get it in the mail I immediately cut out a few pair of undies for G from this great Ooga Booga fabric I had also gotten from TEU.


See! TEU is the best! She runs the best stuff for coops!

Well today I finally felt good enough to sew, or even had the urge... I am the laziest pregnant woman ever- I swear! And this is what I cranked out.

He loves them! And they are so cute on!

Honestly there is NOTHING cuter than baby buns in Underwear! I just want to bite him. :)
Luckily, he is fast!

I have never been taught how to use a pattern so when I do use one I feel like I am going in blind. I rarely use one. I just usually wing it. Oddly that is way more comfortable for me. I felt so awkward with the first pair it took FOREVER to put together, but the second pair came together very quickly.

On the next 4 pair... I already cut 4 fronts out of a cute monkey pair of jammies the G had when he was a baby that got a breast milk poo stain that refused to leave. I love re-purposing. And I loved those jammies. I can't wait to see them happy and in use again.

Out of the Mouths of babes

Wednesday as we stand in my walk in closet and I change~

Grayson: Mama? Where's you's aunerwares (underwear)?

Me: On my buns... (wearing a thong)

G: (quite perturbed look on his face) I see you's buns!

M: I know, its okay, that's how my underwear are supposed to be...

G: in you's butt?

M: *giggle* yes.

G: eeewww!

(Its in these moments we realize that some of the things we do make NO sense!)
p.s. OF COARSE THAT IS MY THONG ABOVE!! wink wink!

Thursday Thankful- 14 weeks!

Today I am thankful for:

1. My girlfriends! I have some great girlfriends who are there for me in a pinch or just to chat! I love hanging out with them and am glad they are in my life!

2. Sun. today was 95 and while that is TOO hot for me to sit in the sun, I do love it when its bright and sunny out!

3. Books. I have rediscovered reading! I have not read more than a magazine article in 2 years and 6 months (Grayson's life!) partly because I was busy sewing or scrapbooking or whatever and partly because I never had time after those things and being a parent. My friend Lesley introduced me to Jodi Picoult, who wrote My sisters' Keeper that just came out in theaters. I have read 4 books in as many weeks! Yeah me!

4. Indoor plumbing. Its the little things in life we always take for granted and as I sit on the potty typing this (I know Dad, I have no dignity! ) I realize just how much I love that we don't walk out to an outhouse or worse throw our waste out a window. blah.

5. My son. I just hope he forgives and forgets how lazy/boring his mommy is during pregnancy!

Cute pic alert!

Could that be any stinkin' cuter?! I think not. :)

Grayson and Ryker, Tuesday market, June 29th.

Camping at Silver Falls!

Last weekend we went camping at Silver Falls, it was so much fun.

On the way there we went down through Woodburn and Silverton. Along the way there were some flower fields that neither Zack or I could pass up. We stopped to take some pics of G in the fields. Unfortunately the good pictures are on my dinosaur film *gasp* camera so when I get the CD back I will post more.

Here I am in front of the "purple flower" field, no idea what they are. :)


And then there is what I look like just before that picture... I had fallen in the mud getting there from the poppy field next to it as Zack and G watched from the car. Doh! Zack missed the best part, my toes were COVERED in mud.

G in the poppy field.

I wish I had paid more attention to the spot we put him, its a little sparse... but the good pic on my good camera (these are iphone pics) are on his level of the background.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and hanging out with friends; Darla and Mike and their kiddos came from Thursday to Saturday morning. And we made friends with our neighbors who were a hispanic family who kept trying to feed us! It was just like a childhood family that I love, the Gonzalez' family. I grew up across the street from them and they treated me like another one of their kids. I miss them. (Hi Lethi! I know you read sometimes)

We took our bikes and G's though he rode on the back of mine when we went as a family, he loves his plasma car. Zack hooked it up so he could pull him. G loved that even more! We love it when he decides that he is too tired, lazy, bored, or sees something shiney to go on.
And every now and then Zack would hop on and get G to pull him, which as you can see didn't work out so well.

Anyway, more pics to follow in the near (09 anyway!) future.

Thursday Thankful, 13 weeks!

Today I am thankful for:

1. still being pregnant! Yeah! I am 13 weeks today and as far as I know all is going smoothly. Since I had the Ultra sound last week I am feeling a little bit better, though I don't think I will feel better until s/he is in my arms.

2. not barfing on Wednesday or Today, though I did barf for the first time on Monday morning (at work no less!- luckily I made it to the bathroom!) But I have felt fine since... so maybe things are finally moving into second trimester bliss. One can hope anyway!

3. still being employed. There was a big debacle at work over the line my drivers license number was placed on one of the forms I filled out months ago at Target. After it not getting fixed properly and timely corporate took me out of the system while it was fixed, in essence firing me. :( boo by the way! It took almost 2 weeks to get it figured out and then another few days to get the pay I was owed worked out since they kept having me work even though we found out later I wasn't really supposed to be. Oi!

4. making friends. I work with a lot of really great people. Not that I am surprised but after my first few weeks I wasn't so sure. Wednesday someone actually went to bat for me by bringing up that I keep trying to cross train, in front of a higher up and it may have actually worked. I heard later that she asked about me and having me help her out for more hours!! So Thank you M!! I really appreciate it! I would write you a great team card, but I probably couldn't phrase it right to not have it come out weird to D.

5. Local berries! I picked blueberries at Charles Starr farms and then Raspberries and Tayberries (cross between a rasp and black) at Smith Berry Barn. Then today I made two batches of jam. I love jam!

Up and up!

We had our 12 week Ultra Sound today. I have been on pins and needles for a week (well 10 really but whose counting) and kept trying to tell myself it would all be ok. I drank my 32 oz of water an hour before hand like a good girl should and when she was done and we thought we were all clear to leave she left the room to go look at the photos and bring ours back. A LONG time passed, too long... and she comes back. She says she is going to have to take another look because given our history the doctor wants to be sure... ugh. I sink. Zack sinks. We both wait. We get another look at our little bean. Cute little bean that s/he is, it doesn't help me not to feel scared that she is back. She finishes again and leaves again. A few brief minutes go by and she comes back, says the doctor said everything looks right on target for the 12 weeks and 1 day we are measuring at! Yeah! This little bean is so active that it was hard get good measurements! The most wiggley of our babies yet, its a good thing I can't feel it. :)

We are about to get ready to go camping but I wanted to share the good news that things look ok and good for now. Sorry I have been so sporatic on my posting and you are all wasting trips here, I am hopeful that things are on the up and up. Afterall it is Wednesday and I have not thrown up yet. :)

Wednesday blahs

Wednesday's are the bane of my existence lately. Today I woke up and barfed. Yeah. That was a first. Then I finished getting ready for work and went on with my day. I felt fine but tired the rest of the day. Odd. Later, about noon I took a nap and here is where it usually gets tricky. Usually I wake up feeling horrible and barf-y. Not today. Today I feel fine! Yeah!! Maybe we are turning the corner... I am 11 weeks tomorrow after all!

In other news, work at Target continues. I like it for the most part. There is still one person who drives me a lot insane but I just try to avoid her. Some times that is easier said than done, but I asked today to have more time on the floor and less time on the truck unload line. That will help.

My direct boss knows as well as a few select others that I am pregnant but not the whole team. I just don't feel like sharing. (unless they have found me online somehow then the cats outta the bag!) I had told my boss that once I got these tests back I would probably share but then I found out the quad screening I just had last week does NOT show neural tube defects. So now I am still reluctant to share again. And trust me its about the hardest thing I have ever done! I am SO NOT A SECRET KEEPER! Its always on the tip of my tongue!

And then there is the obvious! I am getting huge, well to me anyway. I can't fit in most of my pants, partially because I hate things touching my belly and partially because I am getting fat. I guess I don't expect any less, I mean I just did this 7 months ago, its not like my body has had all that much time to *forget* or get back to "normal" (whatever that is). I have gotten some occasional looks at my midsection but noone has acted directly yet...I guess its just a matter of time.

Next Wednesday is our US (Ultra sound-- Angel sorry I forgot to post that- you know that is right?) I should be able to see something though nothing is going to be as definitive as the AFP later, but I think I can take that at 15 weeks at the earliest. I just realized that is right around the corner! Holy Crap! I'm having a baby!!! oi!

Update on the G contest!

In case you missed this post... I will inform you that gDiapers is doing a cool new promo that lets you get 6 little g's for $70, but for a limited time only I have a code that gets you those same diapers for $40!!!

Just go to their site, put them in your cart and when you check out use this code: g628Buquet

They also launched their cloth option today so if you want even more flexibility in your g's you can get these.

I would love it if anyone who has a g product review would post one in the comments section, and if you haven't tried them, now is the time. It seriously won't get any cheaper to snatch them up! :) (that is little more than $6 and half EACH!!!)

Happy g'ing!

Strawberry Dreams!

I have always loved Strawberries, or I thought I did. Then I moved to Oregon and came to know strawberries as they should be. DARK red, full of juice and sweetness. Yum. It makes my mouth water just to think of them. Oregon berries are NOT like California berries, to say the least. Not that Cali berries aren't good, they just aren't delicious when you put them side by side.

And when you throw in that there are You pick farms 10 minutes in every direction of my house, well who can complain? Not me that is for sure. My friend Heidi and I took our boys on Tuesday and went a pickin'.

this is the farm, Groveland acres and its right across the street from Roloff farms.

g head with our loot! 15 lbs- $15!! love it!

happy boy, full belly and a full basket.

g head and Collin.

Thursday, I had planned to host our sign language group at our house and have a pot luck brunch, but after throwing up all night and day before, my house was trashed and so was I. So I threw together this lovely galette (rustic pie if you want to google the recipe- I recommend the ones with corn starch in them. this was the easy {read: lazy} version and it ran everywhere!) and went over to our friend Kelli's house who was generous enough to host at the last minute!

Saturday Heidi and I got back together and I taught her how to make "real" jam, as opposed to freezer jam. I love how easy freezer jam is, but my freezer space is at a premium and jam just doesn't earn its keep. :)

We both made two batches. Mine ended up being 24 4oz jars and 5 6 oz jars. Yum! What a great way to start the season! And I have a gallon (stuffed full!) bag in the freezer.

everyday g's contest!

My favorite little company that could is hosting a contest!
They challenge us to help them get the word out about a new package they are offering. They call it the everyday g package, which is 6 pair of lil g's for one amazing price!
And for a short time only I can get you $30 off!!! of that amazing price!
You read that right. If you have been dying to try g's now is the time to do it. I will post the code as soon as I get it, but in the mean time, if you want to email me for more information feel free.

jsbuquet@gmail.com

Thanks for supporting an amazing company.
Oh, and the contest is really a mute point for me since I live in Portland and the grand prize is a trip here. :)

Thursday Thankful

Today I am thankful for:

1.) my hubby who takes up the slack when I can't do anything (all the time lately- I am utterly useless!) He cooks, he cleans, he does laundry and he is working at a car dealership attempting to make some money.

2.) mostly only throwing up on Wednesdays, its not ideal but I can set my watch to it however weird it is.

3.) Tuesday and Saturday farmers market, we try to go to both every week. Its fun to see all our old neighborhood friends (its in downtown Hillsboro where we used to live) and to enjoy the band and hang out. I miss it when we can't go.

4.) fresh fruit. Hillsboro and the Portland area is a very rich agricultural area and there is never really a lack of farm fresh produce this time of year. I picked Strawberries on Tuesday and am making jam this weekend. It was $15 for 15lbs of delish Oregon berries!

5.) an easy going child who will usually contentedly play while I feel like crap and ignore him. I know this too shall pass but can it come any faster PLEASE!!

Stupid Wednesday and other news

So here it is Wednesday and what am I doing besides blogging? Vomiting. Every time I look at food since I woke up from a lovely 3.5 hour nap. Every Wednesday without fail! Its so frustrating. I always seem to forget that its Wednesday and then there I am hovering over the kitchen sink! (I refuse to vomit where I put my butt!) I can't figure out why its mostly Wednesdays, sometimes a weekend day but always Wednesdays. :(

In other news, I had the first trimester quad screening today. I immediately got my blood counts back online, they were all seemingly within normal ranges. Though I emailed my Aunt Sue to make sure, since she is in the medical field and my midwife is out of the office for a few days so I can't get clarification.

Fingers crossed that I do NOT get a call in the next few days. I will be on pins and needles until I know one way or another how the rest of the tests fair. I hope everything is okay with this baby. I keep telling myself that since this pregnancy is so much closer in similarity to Grayson's that it will all be ok. I was SO sick with Jonathan I just knew something was wrong. The doctor tells me its all coincidence but I think a mother knows.

Anyway, thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers or whatever it is you do. :)

8 week check up!

I got a few hours of kid free time today, the only down side is I had to go to my midwife appointment. Which normally are fine, but anyone who has had a baby knows the first one has all kinds of un-pleasantries.

But today I got to see the bean for the first time and see its tiny heart beat, beating away in there.

I also found out that Kaiser now does the new quad screening and I am getting mine next week. I had recently emailed Dr. Friedman (the specialist we had with Jonathan's pregnancy) and asked if Kaiser did this as routine and if I could get it "the next time around" and he said it wasn't likely. So I was very excited and surprised to hear Paula (my midwife) say she could order it for me for maybe a little piece of mind. If that come back with any irregularities they then send me into a Hig Definition Ultra Sound to check the skin at the back of the neck of the baby, basically a thickening is often a sign of a problem.

Paula also ordered the US, for just another added bit of piece of mind. It won't be the super high tech one we had with the specialist but the one just below that (to my knowledge). That should be in two weeks.

It was very exciting to see the bean. Hopefully as is as well as I think it is, we shall soon see I guess.