A Few Pictures

Since I have a little time to update I will post a few pictures of McKenna...

My first time holding herWhat a proud daddy he isMcKenna ElizabethThere we go, looking much betterMy mother-in-law and McKenna

My Daddy and McKennaMy Mom and McKennaMy brother and McKennaMy mother-in-law and McKenna (I LOVE this picture!)Three Generations

Introducing McKenna Elizabeth

A lot has gone on since I last posted. I guess I shall start from the beginning...

On Wednesday that 10th Mark had duty so I offered to bring him dinner and some more cookies. I spent all day baking and then went to base and hung out on the ship for a while. After I got home it was time to relax, watch Top Chef, and go to bed. I went to bed at 1130 and fell asleep at 1145. How do I know that I fell asleep at 1145, you ask? I for some reason or another looked at the clock right before I fell asleep. At 1230 I was woken up with my contracting; this went on for an hour, constant pain with waves of contractions. I wasn't able to time those but the whole thing went on for about an hour. After that I thought that I would be able to get back to sleep...and that is when the contractions really started in my back and abdomen. Sometimes I would get them just in my back, sometimes I would get them just in my stomach, and other times they would flow from my back to my stomach. These I was able to time...12 minutes apart; just enough time to fall back asleep before another would hit. I kept thinking they would stop but they continued. This went on all night; 12 minutes for a while, 10 minutes for a while, and so on. I got stuck at 8 minutes...but that comes later. Roxie kept coming in and checking on me because I was moving, trying to get as comfortable as I could, and breathing through them...so she was pretty worried about me. I wanted to put her on the bed with me (mind you, Mark was on the ship) but she was in heat so I couldn't. So the contractions went on all night and were getting more and more intense as the time went on. I know you are thinking "Why did you not call Mark to come home and take you to the hospital??" Well I knew that I would have been told to wait until my contractions were 3-5 mintues apart for at least an hour and I didn't want Mark to rush home and have to take off an extra day of work (the next day was a half day and I was pretty sure I could make it until he got off work). So after hours of laying in bed with contractions I decided to get up and take a shower and see if that would at least relax me a little. No sooner I get into the shower I get a call from Mark telling me to come pick him up. I was glad that he was already off work at 9-something in the morning but I just wasn't sure if I could make it that far driving with contractions like I was having, however, I made it to base and all with minimal contractions. As Mark got into the truck he asked me if I had had any contractions the night before. I just laughed and told him everything. Of course he asked me "Why did you not call me?" haha

Mark asked me how far apart my contractions were and I told him 8 minutes and he called my doctor who told him to wait until my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart for at least an hour. After Mark and I got home we took a shower and then he began playing his game while I fixed us some lunch. I sat down on the couch and took my first bite when I got another contraction which caused me to get nauseous. The contractions, by now, had become even more intense like to the point of this particular one I was on the floor on my knees leaning on the couch. All that to say, I was done with lunch. haha

By this time I was ready to go to the hospital but at the same time I didn't want to jump the gun. Instead of going straight to the hospital I called up there and spoke with my nurse, well she had been by nurse when I was in there for observation with my kidney infection and she is the one who essentially recruited me from the other hospital to that one for delivery. She is amazing; not to mention, I felt comfortable with her. So I called and spoke with her and as soon as I got on the phone a contraction started...I was trying to call in between contractions but it didn't work. Mark had been telling me for a while that there was no way that my contractions were 8 minutes apart but much closer. Just for the record, I admitted that he was right but I couldn't figure out how to get back on count. Ok so Christine told me to come in and let them check me and if they send me home than they send me home but at least I would know. She then told me later that she could tell that something was going on just based on the way that I was talking and breathing and all.

After I got off of the phone I went in and told Mark what she said and he asked if I was ready to go...I started contracting again which brought on tears and was like "I don't know...I don't want to jump into anything..." and I went into the bedroom and laid down on the bed and just cried. I was crying because I didn't know what to do, I was in pain, I was tired because I had not slept at all the night before, just everything. Mark then walked into the bedroom and saw me and was like "Come on, we're going now." So we picked up my bag, "just in case", and we left. On the way to the hospital I had a good 2-3 contractions at least and we only live about 10 minutes, if that, away.

Once we got to the hospital at about 230p-300p they took me right back and hooked me up to the monitors and said that they were going to monitor my contractions for a little bit to see just how far apart they were. About 15-20 minutes later I guess it was Christine came back in and said that they were 4 minutes apart and she was going to check me and see how everything else was going. She looked at me and was like "Yep, you're in labor." WHAT?! It was only the 11th and my due date wasn't until the 20th! haha So here I am, I have not even told my mom about the contractions, I had not told anyone other than Amanda and Mark...this was so going to throw my mom off! haha Mark had told me earlier that I should call my mom and let her know but I was like "I want to wait until I get the "you're in labor" before I get her hopes up." haha Well after I got that "ok" Mark and I just looked at eachother and he was like "Call your mom" and I at the same time was like "Get me my phone." haha

Ok let me interject here, my counting of my contractions was off because I was having them in my back and my stomach and although sometimes there was a break between the two I was counting them as one contraction instead of two. So that is why my 8 minutes apart contractions were actually 4 minutes apart. Oops! haha Hey, I just knew that sometimes they came all at once and sometimes they were broken up. This was my first time ever having contractions and being in labor, how I was supposed to know? HAHA

Ok back to the timeline...by 330p-400p I was getting my epidural, which I was SO glad for! (KRISTIN - EPIs ARE YOUR FRIEND!! LOL) So I got my epi and just chilled for a little bit. Not too long though. haha After getting the IV and the epidural my contractions had slowed just a little bit so they broke my water and gave me some pitocin to help them along. My doctor said that I should average a cm an hour in dialation, ok cool. They said they would wait a couple hours and come in and check me again and we would see how things were progressing and go from there. About an hour and a half later I guess it was I called the nurse in to ask her something and she said she was going to go ahead and check me and see what was going on; I was ready to start pushing. My doctor came in and we tried the pushing but decided that we were going to wait a few more minutes to see if McKenna would make it even farther down in the canal. My doctor had said we were going to wait about 30 more minutes but just about 10-15 minutes after he said that the nurse came back in and said she was going to check me again...this time not only was I more than ready but she felt the baby's head! So the doctor was called back in and I began pushing at about 815p and 35 mintues later at 850p McKenna was here!! It was amazing! She came out screaming and wide-eyed and ultimately just beautiful! Mark and I both had tears in our eyes.

My entire pregnancy was a wonderful beautiful experience! I loved every minute of it!! Then to end it with a great labor and delivery just topped it all off!

McKenna was born on December 11, 2008 weighing 6lbs 8oz and was 20 inches long. Oh and did I mention that she has a head full of hair? She is great and no matter what people say about babies not being able to smile, she has a beautiful smile! Poor thing though, she doesn't fit newborn size clothes so we had to go out and buy preemie clothes. I love it though!! She is so small and petite and she loves to curl up on my chest and sleep.

I was released from the hospital on Saturday the 13th, which worked out because Mark's mom was coming into town that weekend; initially she was going to take me to get a pedicure (since I couldn't reach my feet anymore...LOL) and then shopping!! However, things changed a little when McKenna decided she was ready to make her debut. I told Mark to make sure his mom knew that she was still more than welcome to come up; she had already bought her plane ticket and everything. So her plane got in on Saturday morning and I was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon so it all worked out that she was there when McKenna and I got home. It was a good time! My parents had planned on coming up Sunday and staying for a while. My Daddy was able to stay for a week and my mom is staying through Christmas. WOO HOO!!

Well speaking of McKenna I better go get a shower while she is sleeping. If I have missed anything I will go back and edit it but all in all I must say that I have one heck of a birth story! haha

Ciao!

P.S. Pictures to come.

KRISTIN: You are going to LOVE being a mother! McKenna has been SUCH a blessing already!! I just know that Addison is going to bless you and David as much as Mark and I have been blessed!

Might These be the Last?

I know that in one of my last posts I said something about needing to post some new pictures...since then I learned that my cousin Rebecca likes to see the pictures on my blog and I told her that I would take some today and post them for her to see. I am not sure how much longer I will have to take pictures like these so I am making the most of the time that I have! Enjoy!

Ciao!

Baby Shower and Christmas Baking!

This morning was my baby shower at church and it was a great turnout!! I was so excited and surprised to have one at all and then to see everyone who showed up and all...it was such a blessing! We had food and games and cake and presents; best of all though, other than cake and presents of course!, was the fellowship. It was kind of ironic how the sermon this morning was on friendship and how we as a people have become so cut off from human friendships and human touch. The charge to us was to work on our friendships and build friendships especially within our church family, our faith family; then to have a time afterwards where we were all gathered for a baby shower, some of the people there did not even really know me other than by my name, and be able to fellowship and begin to build friendships...it was just awesome how God put that all together! I mean, we had a guest pastor at church this morning; our regular pastor was not even there, he was preaching at another church!! So for us to have the sermon that we did on the day that we did where the guest pastor didn't know me from Eve (well, I had clothes on instead of just fig leaves..HA!)...there is no denying that it was all aranged by God.

I am hoping to get pictures from the shower, I know there was at least one person there taking pictures so maybe I can get those from her and if they look ok to me than I will post them. LOL I do have a picture of my cake so I will post that. The ladies of the church chose a ladybug theme and it was SO cute!!

So that was my morning and early afternoon, baby shower. The rest of the day I spent emailing back and forth with Mark (he had duty today so he had to miss the shower...*pout*) and baking! I have already started my Christmas baking with Puppy Chow and Butterscotch Balls (which by the way Mimi, mine never turn out as pretty or anything as yours...I don't know what I do wrong...they are good though so that's all that matters, right?). Now, on board the ship I am kind of loved by Mark's division for my cooking and baking. The other day, Friday I guess it was, Mark took some butterscotch balls with him to work and was then told that he never to bring a partial batch again. haha He was also told to pass on some requests to me: Snickerdoodle cookies, Lemon Bars, and I believe the last was Chocolate Chip Cookies without the Chocolate Chips. LOL Yes, that was how it was worded to me. Now, I have never made snickerdoodles or lemon bars so I had to go online and get some recipes for them. Today I tried out the snickerdoodle recipe! I don't have any lemon juice so I couldn't do the lemon bars; I did however get some snickerdoodles done and some sugar cookies done. I don't have time to finish the whole batche of snickerdoodles or sugar cookies off so I am taking what I have up to the ship and then I will have Mark either take the rest to work or I will take them up there next duty day.

Well speaking of going up to the ship I best be going if I want to get there on time!

Ciao!

It's December!

Wow it is already December; oh my goodness I cannot believe it!! So much has gone on and it is only going to get busier! In a good way, of course. I am continuing to feel better and better each day and it is so nice to be back to my old self! I was so afraid that I was going to be miserable until after McKenna was born but thank goodness that didn't happen! I am back to where I was before I got so sick and it is great! Seems to me that it is about time to take more pictures, maybe even some last pictures, before McKenna gets here. *smile*

Speaking of McKenna getting here, this past hospital stay really made Mark and I realize just how much time we DON'T have to get everything done! We are getting things done though and just about finished! After my baby shower this Sunday we will have a better idea of what we still have to get and what we still have to do. I am so excited about my shower on Sunday! I wish that Mark was going to be able to be there but he has duty so no such luck. I know he wishes he could be there though. I also have another shower in two weeks but I won't get to go to that one. Amanda is throwing me a "Wish You Were Here" shower in Texas. Her and her mom put together this whole shower with cake and invites and all and they are going to have a baby shower for me even though I can't be there physically; then they are going to box everything up (minus the cake...haha) and send me all of the presents and decorations and pictures. I am so excited! It is one of the coolest ideas I have ever heard! Not to mention one of the sweetest!

So how about Christmas is close!!! I am slowly but surely getting my house all decorated. I need to go pick up a few things to finish up but I do have my tree up and that is the big thing, right?? *smile* I am going to begin my baking today! AAHH!! I am so excited! I am starting with Butterscotch Balls and then as soon as I get the recipes from mom I will make Puppy Chow and White Trash! That is my start. I want to be sure and have things for Mark to start taking to the ship when he is on duty.

Well I guess that is about all for now. I better get to baking!

Ciao!

Home at Last

I must say that this past week has been very eventful. The best part was Mark getting home!! Most of last week I had not been feeling very well but honestly I just chalked it up to pregnancy and being like 3 weeks away from my due date. Tuesday I had a slight backache but nothing out of the ordinary; come Wednesday, however, I not only had a horribly intense backache but I was shaking uncontrollably (which was scary, especially being home alone), throwing up, fever, and everything. Thursday was not any better, by now I had called my doctor to ask them if I needed to go to L&D to get checked out or what and they told me to just take it easy and eat light foods and all because it sounded like either the beginning of back labor or a intestinal bug like the flu or something. Well when Mark got home on Friday evening he walked in the door and found me taking my temperature which was about 102 degrees. So since my doctors' office was closed and the hospital didn't give any advice over the phone I called my Aunt to see what she had to say. Her response was that the temperature is what really concerns her so I should go to the hospital and get checked out. So eventhough Mark just got home there we went out the door. We figured that we would just be there for a few hours...nope, I was in there for 4 days and 3 nights. Turns out that I had a very bad kidney infection in both kidneys. I was on constant IV fluids and antibiotics all weekend and I must say that it shows and unfortunately my legs and feet got SO swollen! So swollen in fact that you could not see nor feel my ankle bones, my toes were tiny, and I had rolls on my feet. The swelling has since gone down some but there is still some to go. My hands also got swollen and I am not able to get my wedding band off. Luckily I was able to get my engagement ring off *whew* I would NOT be happy if that had to be cut off. The swelling really threw me off mentally and emotionally. It was such a drastic change in such a short amount of time (a couple days) that it really REALLY messed with me. So much so that when I had to be weighed I did not want to see it or hear it. Mark was my eyes and ears because I did not want to know; all I could do was cry.

Anyway, I got out of the hospital on the night of Monday the 24th at about 930p. I still felt pretty bad but really there was nothing too much else that could be done at the hospital. My blood pressure was slightly elevated my liver levels were slightly elevated as well. With that being said, I had to go to my doctor for a follow-up on Tuesday morning to check my labs, have more labs taken, make sure McKenna was doing well, all that good stuff. From the doctor's office I was sent back to the hospital. I got there and they hooked me up to the monitors for a non-stress test and then came and took some blood. Everything came back good except for my potassium which was by now sllightly low...haha Yeah, what else could go wrong?? After a few hours there I was allowed to go home (woo hoo! I was afraid they were going to admit me again) with instructions to come back the next day for more labs and check my blood pressure and make sure it was back to normal and another non-stress test; all that good stuff. By the time that I got out of the hospital on Tuesday, Eric was at my house!! How exciting!!

Wednesday my parents were getting into town so Mark and I got up and going so that we could hopefully get into the hospital and out before they got here. We got to the hospital and all hooked up and labs done and such and everything came back great! Except now, because of my horrible swelling, I was placed on bedrest. Yep, bed rest over Thanksgiving; until my next Dr.'s appointment actually. So by the time I got released from the hospital, mom and daddy were already at my house. haha Although I was on bedrest I went grocery shopping with them but I rode around in one of those little scooters!! haha It was fun...haha After I got home, however, I was good about my bedrest. I was given a break from the hospital and allowed to go home for Thanksgiving but I had to be back on Friday.

The next day was Thanksgiving!!! We were supposed to have some guys from the ship over but all but one of them bailed. I was pretty upset. I know that some of them were just trying to be considerate because they knew that I had been really sick but I had been looking forward to this big Thanksgiving for weeks!! Thanksgiving turned out to be wonderful, of course!! I didn't let those guys not showing up ruin my Thanksgiving. Afterall, my parents were here and my brother (one of them, Seth had to work so he couldn't come) was here and it was a great time!!! I ate SO much!! haha It was so good though!! I must say that although I was on bedrest and all I had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Friday morning, although I wasn't really supposed to go shopping (bedrest you know), I got up at 4 and mom and I headed out the door at 430. We didn't go too crazy or anything, just took it easy, BUT we did get out on Black Friday! Shh! Don't tell my doctor!! haha After we got home I laid down and took a nap before heading to the hospital. We got in and I was hooked up and labs taken and all that good stuff and then was told everything looked fabulous and I was allowed to go home. After I got home we really just hung out at the house and relaxed. It was so nice having mom and daddy and Eric up here.

Saturday, today, has been a good day...though mom and Daddy had to leave. Eric and I ate leftovers for lunch (YUM!) and watched The Family Stone then we relaxed some and went to a pizza parlor for dinner. After we got home from dinner we started watching Love Actually (LOOOOOVE this movie!!) and we made sugar cookies.

Well that was my week...*whew* It was very interesting to say the least. I better get off here and spend some time with Eric; he has to leave tomorrow. I hope that ya'll had a great Thanksgiving!!

Ciao!

I've Just Gotten Word

Well today was doctor's appointment day and let me tell you...it went great! I had another test done, Strep B, and will get those results next week. It's no big deal really. All it means is that if I have Strep B than I will be given antibiotics when I deliver. See, no big deal. So first thing that the doctor and I talked about when he came in was my weight=perfect, cultures=normal, blood pressure=great, and then we moved on to what Strep B is and what it means. After that talk we moved on to the other big talk...labor. I was given word that I have passed the magic number and if I were to go into labor now they would not stop it! Wow! I really am getting close!! From there he asked if I had any questions or concerns...which I did. I told him that I was getting anxious because last that I knew McKenna had not turned; meaning that she was still transverse. I know that she was still in the transverse position last week because I could feel her head in my ribs. How do I know it was her head you ask? You just know. LOL No, I would feel her head in my ribs on my right side and yet feel her kick me lower on my left side...so yeah, her head + in my ribs = Not too comfortable. Anyway, so I told the doctor my concern and he said that he would examine me and see if in fact she had turned. So he did and she was! She is officially now head down. *whew* What a load off of my mind! I was beginning to get concerned. That fear is laid to rest now though. Woo hoo! I am measuring 36 weeks even though I am only 35 weeks and 2 days. Not a big deal at all and the doctor said that I am measuring right on track. McKenna's heartbeat was 156 which once again is perfect! And I am now down to weekly appointments. How crazy is that?? And even better, Mark gets to go with me to all of the rest!! He has only missed maybe a handful if that but still, he likes to go and I like him to go with me. All in all it was a great appointment and my two big highlights were 1) finding out that she was head down and 2) if I were to go into labor now they would not stop it. Wow! I can't believe how fast this time has gone by!! It seems like yesterday that Mark and I found out that we were pregnant!

Ciao!

Quite a Weekend

I know that I just updated this a couple of days ago but why not update again? It's a new week! This weekend was pretty good but definitely not long enough! Mark was supposed to get into port on Friday but because the weather was so bad they were not able to come in. I was pertty disappointed. Not that Mark would have been home but I was going to be able to go to the ship and see him. Since they were not able to pull in my day was pretty uneventful really. Nothing too much went on at home.

Saturday I woke up and took an exam. It was pretty tough and I wasn't too sure how I was going to do on it. I had studied for it but my goodness it was a doozy! I managed to come away from it with a "B" so *whew* I was afraid that I was going to do worse. After I finished the exam I got dressed for the day and began to get ready for Mark. I had already gotten word that the ship was going to be able to pull in so I was quite excited about that. However, at the same time I wish that they had just gone back out and finished up the underway and gotten it overwith. Not that I didn't want to see Mark of course but had they gone out then maybe they would have come in early to make up for it. BUT they were able to pull in and Mark and I got to spend the day together. Given much of it was spent playing World of Warcraft all that mattered was that he was home and we were together.

As of today, Sunday, Mark had to be back on board early this morning so that they can head back out to sea. See what I mean about just going ahead and finishing up the underway? So I took him into work and came back home and laid back down for a little bit. I thought that I was going to be able to stay up and get my day going but after I got home I realized just how tired I was. I slept for another like 2 hours and then got up and started getting ready for church. Church was really good this morning! Ther sermon was on confessing your sins and making things right with those who you've hurt as well as with God. Good sermon. After church I was pulled aside and told that the ladies of the church want to throw me a baby shower. How sweet is that?? Being that we go to a small church I am the only woman who is due like now; the other ladies are due in March and April really. That being the case they wanted to throw a shower for everyone and since I am due so soon they want to make sure and throw me one. I don't mind sharing a baby shower...LOL I thought that it was really sweet of them to think of me though!

Ok now for the news that I keep forgetting to blog about! Within Mark's career he has advanced very quickly and therefore he is already up to the point where if everything goes right he can go ahead and make Chief although it is quite rare that someone who has only been in for 6-7 years to make it. We have been waiting on evals to come out because in order for Mark to be elegible to take the Chief's exam he would have to get an EP on his eval; that in itself is very rare. Well a couple of weeks ago results came out...Mark got his EP!! He is now able to take the Chief's exam when it comes up! I think that it comes up in January but don't quote me. All that being said, next year Mark very well could be an officer in the Navy!! I am so very proud of him! He works hard and is very good at what he does and for him to be given this opportunity and to be recognized for all that he does is super exciting and he very much deserves it!

How about it is almost Thanksgiving!! OMG!! I am SO exciting! My parents are coming up as well as Eric, unfortunately Seth has to work so he can't but I understand and I know that if he could he definitely would. Mark has invited some of the guys from the ship who don't have any family or anyone around to come over so that will be a lot of fun! I am not sure how many of them will actually show up but the more the merrier! I am quite excited. Not to mention, this will be my first Thanksgiving at my house and that I get to actually help prepare for so I am super stoked!

Ok now, yes this is quite a ways away but I am so excited I have to get it is....our Christmas cruise for next year is booked!!! I want to say it is to Cozumel and Cancun as two of the places but don't quote me on that cause I can't remember. There are 26 of us going, including McKenna (our will be little world traveler), and the cruiseline is even going to put a roll away crib in there for us so we don't have to bring our own. Woo hoo!! haha Ooh the little things. So Mark and I are super pumped about that cruise. We have not been on one since March of this year so by December of next year we will be SO SUPER ready!

Well I think that is all that is going on really. Everything is going great and I cannot wait to have Mark back home! I think it is time for me to jump on the homework bandwagon now.

Ciao!

Everything's Coming to an End!

Oh goodness, after a wonderful lunch I am stuffed!! There is a little authentic Italian place down the street from our house and I stopped there for lunch and got chicken fettucini alfredo. Now, let me tell you, the reason I can say "authentic" is that it is a little Mom and Pop's shop where the owners are from Italy and make everything the real Italian way. Also, being that Mark has been to Italy he knows the food and even says it is authentic. Anyway, oh man, I ate so much. I probably shouldn't have but alas I did.

School is finishing up quite well. I took my Physiological Psychology final on Monday, a 4 hour final! No joke, my butt did not leave the chair...well ok it did but only to go to the bathroom...haha So 4 hours later the final was over and I made an "A"!! *whew* I did really well in the class all semester (other than the juggling that we were supposed to learn, I just could not pick that up; and being pregnant where my coordination is all out of whack anyway didn't help...haha) so I wasn't expecting to do bad on the final but being such a big final I was a little nervous about it. It was one of those, I was not nervous about it which made me nervous about it. There is an optional exam for that class for those who need the points and I cannot decide if I want to take it. We'll see. I know that it will not do anything but help me but I don't want to stress myself over it. As far as my other classes they are going well. In one of my Anthropology classes we still have weekly work and I believe one more exam but evenstill class is over the first weekend in December I believe. As far as my other Anthropology class I have 2 exams left and once again the final is optional to those who want to up their average as long as all 4 exams have been taken. I am not planning on taking that exam because first off, I do well on the exams and have not missed one yet and don't plan to, and secondly the only way that the final will really count is if you do better on the final than on any of the exams. Prettymuch I would have to get a 100% on the final in order for it to do me any good so, is it worth it? You know? Not to mention, in this class if I take the final I will not be finished until December 17th and that is cutting it close to my due date of December 20.

All of that said and as the title of this post says, everything is coming to an end!! Not only school but my pregnancy as well as Mark's underways (well this one is coming to an end for a while). Speaking of my pergnancy, everything is going great! I seriously could not have asked for a better pregnancy! I am really loving every minute...even McKenna's head in my ribs. haha Being that she has not turned yet and yet she is running out of room sometimes the only place for her head to be is up in my ribs. Where it does get very uncomfortable at times I love it in the sense that she is so close to me and I know that she is comfortable. I have come to the realization that I am never going to get this time back, I am never again going to be able to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can make her absolutely comfortable. This pregnancy really has been a blessing; scares, pains, and all.

Mark has been out to sea this week and we have one more leg of this underway to go! After this he will be in until January. It will be so nice to have him home for a little while. Of course though, it is all going to go by too fast and before we know it he will be leaving again. I wouldn't trade these times for anything. I know that many people do not understand and they feel sorry for me but really, as I have said before, this is mine and Mark's life! We know that although we may be physically apart we are never that far apart. I have said it before and I will say it again though, there is no reason to feel sorry for me. I am blessed beyond belief with a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, two fabulous fur-babies, and a strong support system. No need to feel sorry for me! God never gives us more than we can handle and if I was not able to handle being married to a man who sometimes has to leave in order to provide for our family and who sometimes has to leave in order to fight for his country than He would not have put Mark and I together. God knew what he was doing when he paired Mark and I up and I would not change a thing about us.

Well before this gets too much longer I better end it. There is more to say but I will save it for another day. *smile* I will, however, post some new pictures in here. Some of them are a little blurry because my camera is moody but I wanted to post them anyway...so I am!

Ciao!

What a Week!

Wow what a week! Not a bad week, just a week...haha Mark was home and we had a lot going on! He got home last Friday and we pretty much were going all week. We got a lot accomplished though! There was a lot that we wanted to get done, that we needed to get done, and I must say that we got most of it done! One thing that we wanted to do was get the garage cleaned out...it's done!! We did that on Saturday I believe it was. Unfortunately we did not think to take a "before" picture but just take my word for it, it was a mess! It wasn't so much that we didn't care or didn't ever try to have a nice clean garage but there was a lot of junk left over from Mark's ex-roommate and we just had not had the chance to get out there and throw the stuff out. Saturday, however, we did just that and put a bunch of stuff out by the curb for the Vietnam Veterans to come and pick up on Monday when they were scheduled to. Mark and I decided after we had already put stuff out by the curb that we should have just had a yard sale. LOL We could have made some money with that! Our neighbors across the street came over and picked through a bunch of the stuff we had out there. I told Mark, "Well they'll be having a yard sale here shortly." LOL We also had a few other people come by and get stuff as well. Not that we cared, we just wanted it gone one way or another.

Did I mention that we had EVERYTHING outside of the garage and we even went as far as to hose out the garage?? Yep! It is spotless! AND SPIDERLESS!! LOL I don't know how many spiders we found, some of those being Black Widows. EEK! We knew there were spiders out there and Mark hated for me to go out there and worried whenever I had to but now he doesn't have to anymore! In the same way, I hated when the dogs followed me out there when I needed to get something but now I don't have to worry about that! It is SO nice to have a clean garage! You never think that a clean garage would make such a difference in how you feel but it really does!

After we finished the garage we started on the upstairs. We have a little office which we use for storage and we went through all of that and though we didn't get it cleaned out fully, we got a good start on it. Most of it is stuff that I just need to go through and throw out. I should probably work on that today.

On Monday I had my doctors appointment and all was well! I don't know that I went into detail as to why I had to go back one week after my last appointment but basically what happened was while everything looked good, my weight had jumped 8lbs in 3 weeks. THAT IS A LOT! I knew that there was no way that was right, and my doctor didn't believe it either, so he wanted me to come back in a week and recheck it. Turns out the scale was wrong, not to mention the bloat/swelling was gone, and my weight is actually fine. *whew* I was worried. It was still a little high for me personally but...LOL So it was a short and sweet doctors appointment. McKenna's heartbeat was around 143bpm. She still has not turned head down but hopefully she will soon. I am about 34 weeks and the doctors don't really worry about it until 36 weeks but she is just cutting it close for me. On that note, my doctor said he had a patient whose baby turned at 39 weeks right before she gave birth so I know it can happen but I am getting anxious.

So do you remember that stuff by the curb that we had for the Vietnam Vets and how they were supposed to come on Monday? Well Monday came and went and guess what? That stuff was STILL in our yard! I called them at about 4pm and asked what was going on and the girl told me that they were done in Suffolk for the day and they must have missed us. I told her that there was no way to miss the stuff because it was out on the curb and A LOT of stuff. She apologized and then told me that although they were finished for the day she could make sure that they pick it up on Thursday. THURSDAY?! That stuff had been sitting out there since Saturday!! What could I do though? I scheduled the pick-up and that was that. Mark and I theorized that the guys who were supposed to be out there just never came by. There is no way that they could have come by and "miss it". No sooner that I got off the phone scheduling the pick-up that it started to rain. It rained Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Given, Mark and I put a tarp over as much of the stuff as we could, especially the couch we had sitting out there, but when it is windy and all there is only so much you can do. So by the time that they got there on Thursday everything was soaked. It's not our fault though! We did what we could! Had these guys done what they were supposed to do and come when they were supposed to come than they would have had it all dry.

On Tuesday Mark and I went grocery shopping at BJ's so that I could go ahead and get some things that I needed for Thanksgiving dinner and all. I am so excited about Thanksgiving! Not only are my parents coming up but we are also having some of the guys from the ship who don't have any family around over. I am so excited! I don't know how many guys are planning on coming but whatever...I am ready. haha

Wednesday Mark had duty so he went to work and didn't get home until Thursday morning. When he got home we relaxed a little bit and ate some breakfast, played a little WoW (yes, I will admit, we are gamers...haha) and then we went and got out passports!!! Mark needs his not only for cruises but also to get home from deployment and I needed to get my name changed on mine. So we went and did that and then stopped at Walmart to get some things that Mark needed for work and then came home and WoW'd it a little more and just relaxed before he had to go back to work; he had to be back on board at 10pm.

At the beginning of the week Mark was sick, he had a cold. Well before he left he gave it to me. Aww how sweet! haha So here I am, so sick with a cold. It's bad enough being uncomfortable and having a pinched nerve in my neck but now I can't breathe. I am falling apart!! haha I did take some Tylenol Cold (which is ok to take when you are pregnant BTW) yesterday because I was just miserable but I don't know if I want to take it again. I am sure that this had nothing to do with the Tylenol but after I took it yesterday I didn't feel McKenna move for a good 2-3 hours and it really started to freak me out. I don't usually get freaked out by not feeling her move because I know she sleeps and all but something just really freaked me out about it. I mean, Mark and I were sitting there playing WoW and I was like "I haven't felt McKenna since we got back from Walmart." So I started poking her and trying to get her to move and she just wasn't. I tried for a good 10 minutes at least with no luck. I even had Mark come over and try and she wasn't even moving for him which is weird cause usually she will start moving and playing with him when he talks to her and all. Finally, I drank some ice water and ate a couple of bite-size candy bars and she started rolling around and all..*whew!* I am sure that it had nothing to do with the Tylenol because I didn't get the nighttime or anything that would cause drowsiness and I have taken it before and it didn't affect her like that so I am sure it was just coincidence but now I am freaked out to take it again. haha Silly, I know. I did take a half a dose of Benadryl the other night when I first started getting sick and that was SUPPOSED to knock her out, if knocks me out, but my goodness did it have the opposite effect. LOL I was struggling to keep my eyes open and she was rolling around and kicking and playing. So silly!

Yes, I am at that uncomfortable stage in my pregnancy where I have a pinched nerve in my neck from my sleeping posture, I believe, because I have pretty good posture any other time. I am pretty conscious about it. My back kills me a lot of the time...and I waddle. LOL Yep, I have the pregnant waddle. Maybe not all of the time but a lot of the time. Although I am uncomfortable a lot of the time and I struggle getting up from sitting or laying down I absolutely LOVE being pregnant! It is amazing and everything that I thought it would be and more! I am not saying that it won't be nice to get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and body or anything but I really do love being pregnant. I could do without the weight gain...I have to make a conscious effort not to let that get to me; if you know me, you know that I am very big about my weight being just so and I have a rigorous work out schedule (pre-pregnancy Mark and I worked out lifting weights and all for at least 2 hours a day), so gaining a pound or two every few weeks gets to me at times but Mark is wonderful and reminds me that it is ok and I look beautiful. He is so amazing!

Well I guess I have gone on long enough. I know that this is super long but a lot has gone on! I hope that ya'll have a glorious day!!

Ciao!

Happy Halloween!

Wow it's been a full day!! Well Mark is home (for now), he got home early this morning and we have been going ever since. After he got home this morning he and I went up to Walmart because we needed batteries so that he could play his game. So we went up to Walmart and picked up the batteries along with a "Guitar Hero World Tour" pack. haha Impulse buy. We walked around a little more to pass the time until Bed, Bath, and Beyond opened because there were a few things that I wanted to pick up from there and then he took me to breakfast at Dunkin Donuts! YUM! We actually got it to go and then stopped at the movie store on the way home to redeem a free rental that we had. After that we went home. It was now about 10-1030am. Talk about a full morning!

Once at home Mark and I watched the "House" that I had TiVo'd for him while he was underway and we ate breakfast. After breakfast we played some "Guitar Hero"!! We did that for a while and then showered and he took me out to dinner at Applebee's. By the time that we got home from dinner there were already Trick or Treater's out and about. Mark and I had initially decided that were going to stay inside and wait for the kids to come to the door but after a few knocks at the door and the dogs being so excited and wanting to be right there at the door to greet them we decided that we were going to go out to the tailgait and put the dogs up there and let them Trick or Treat as well.

Last year we did not get many Trick or Treater's at all and had so much candy leftover; because of that we decided to just get a little candy, not dress up ourselves, and not dress Bailey and Roxie up. Now I wish we had atleast dressed them up! They are known around the neighborhood and even got comments like "There they are. They haven't missed a Halloween yet, have they?" So yeah, they are well known and people look for them each year! They a famous!! haha I really wish I had been able to dress them up. I had the worst time trying to come up with good costumes for them this year; after that comment though it made me feel bad. Last year people were asking to take pictures of and with them and all. It is so sweet and Bailey and Roxie love the attention!

We had some CUTE Trick or Treater's this year! Before Mark and I decided that we were going to go out to the tailgate we had a group of Trick or Treater's come to the door and while Mark was handing out the candy at the door, I was behind him on the floor holding the dogs. This one little boy, probably about 3 or 4, decided that he was going to come inside and see the dogs...haha His mom stopped him but it was funny cause he was trying to get around Mark. There was another little girl at the door who was probably 3 dressed up as a dog and she saw Bailey and Roxie behind Mark and she squealed with delight and her eyes lit up! It was SO cute! This other girl, she was older, probably 8?, anyway while she was getting her candy Bailey decided that he wanted to say "Hi" so he barked, and if you have ever heard him bark you know that it is deep and massive, well that girl froze and her eyes got huge! After a second she goes, "Those are big dogs! Cool!" and her eyes got big again and she got a huge smile on her face and then turned around and went on her way. Mark and I had a good laugh from that one. NOW, let me tell you about one of my favorite little Trick or Treater's...a little Jack Sparrow! This little one was probably about 2 and was all decked out to the max! He was SO cute! As I said, there were a lot of cute Trick or Treater's but he was definitely one of my favorite ones.

We sat out on the tailgait for a while and then the dogs were getting cold and tired and thirsty and Roxie was starting to whine, not to mention that the Trick or Treater's had since tapered off, so we decided to come inside. Let me say, no soon had we gotten inside that Bailey and Roxie got water, went outside to go potty, and they are now crashed out! Mark is playing his game and I am watching "Halloweentown".

It is going to be so good to sleep with Mark tonight! I should sleep better than I did last night. Lats night, although I was in bed by 11pm I woke up at 3am and was not able to fall back to sleep until 630 to which I woke up again, per my dogs, at 730 to feed them and let them out, and then I fell back asleep for about an hour when Mark finally got home and I woke up to him coming inside. A pleasent way to wake up mind you. Hence to say, I am exhausted! Not only should I sleep well with him being home but I should sleep well because I didn't get much sleep last night.

I hope that everyone had a great and safe Halloween! I look forward to next year when I can dress McKenna up (as well as Bailey and Roxie...I learned my lesson about that this year)!

Ciao!

33 Down; 7 to Go

Our new door is being installed...AS I TYPE! As I think that I told you, the backdoor to my house got shattered back in August and then about a month ago all of the glass bowed in and fell out during a big storm. This baby is 8 feet by 8 feet double paned solid glass.

I wish that I could take pictures right now of these guys trying to get this door though my backyard...it's a monster! I think these guys are even a little stumped as to how to actually do this. haha I will take a picture after they get it installed but goodness, trust me, this is an ordeal!

Mark gets home this weekend!! YAY!! I am so ready to have him home, even if it is just for a few days. I miss him. This has been a long underway and there is one leg to go. Sure, it has been broken up into 3 separate underways' but they are all separated by just a few days in port so basically it is all one underway. You know though, I wouldn't trade my life for anything! The days that Mark and I get together are some of the best days of my life! Him being gone really just makes the time that we do get together just that much more special.

Ok now, speaking of Mark, I can't believe I didn't blog this when I found out on Saturday! SO...Mark made an EP on his eval and that means what? That he is able to take the Chief's exam early!! I think think that "early" is December but don't quote me just yet. I am so proud of him!! He also completed his last board on Saturday and I think that he had to have that in order to make chief but he passed and was given the Captain's coin! I like when he brings those home to me. *smile* I don't think that I can express just how proud of him that I am!

I had a doctor's appointment this past Monday and all went well! Something came up, not with McKenna, but now instead of going back in 2 weeks I go back next week. I can't say that I mind though because now Mark does not have to miss another doctor's appointment! He hates missing appointments and I hate that he has to miss them as well so this actually worked out. I was kind of bummed because of the situation that occurred but my mom pointed out to me that it was probably God's way of allowing Mark to make it to the appointment. Gotta love Mom's...they always know how to make you feel better!

On another note, I can't believe that McKenna will be here in about 7 weeks! 7 WEEKS! A friend of mine pointed out last night that it is amazing because 7 weeks is like the end for me and yet he is just about 7 weeks along in her pregnancy and it is the beginning for her. It's just crazy how the same amount of time can mean such drastic different things for two different people. Again, I ask you to please cross your fingers and pray with us that she will arrive before or on her due date. We would love to have her home for Christmas!

Well the door is installed now and as soon as they finish up the last minute touches and leave I will take a picture and post it. The guy who installed it told me that this was the biggest door that he has ever installed. haha I am sure that it is! It is a monster of a door!

Well I guess that is about it for now. I hope that everyone's week is going just wonderfully!

Ciao!

Finally! The Weekend!!

Not too much has gone on this week. It started out going quite well. I had an exam due on Monday, I took it Sunday though, and made a 90%! I was so excited....until Tuesday came and I got an email from my professor stating that a couple of questions had gotten messed up somehow and instead of a 90% I actually got a 95.4%!! So I was excited before but I was ecstatic now!! My week was starting out quite well and seemed to be going by quite fast which is great because the faster the week the sooner Mark gets home!

Tuesday was a good day. I got to thinking that since we are going to be having such a big Thanksgiving I would like to decorate the house so on Tuesday I did some shopping. I got things for my kitchen and things to decorate my mantle...I already did up my mantle and it looks SO good!! It is not complete just yet so I have not taken a picture of it. I have two scarecrows that my mom gave me after Mark and I got married that I am going to put up there but they are in the attic I think and Mark would get onto me if I climbed into the attic right now so I am waiting on him. haha I have not set up my kitchen completely because I am waiting until after Halloween to fully do up my kitchen.

Then Wednesday got here and it was a pretty rough day. Nothing physically happened but I just did not feel like myself. I wasn't unhappy or sad or anything of the such but I was just kind of here. I just was not myself. I was SO glad when that day was over!! It took forever but I was more than happy when I crawled in bed for the night.

Thursday proved to be MUCH better and I was back to myself. WOO HOO!! It never felt so good being me! I did homework and completed a few assignments but the day itself was just a good day.

Now, it's finally Friday!! I had another exam open last night at 11:55pm and it is open until the 31st but I really wanted to get it out of the way. So this morning I studied and took the exam this afternoon. I made a 98.43!! I only missed one question!! Of course on the one hand I was super excited and proud of myself for missing only one question but on the other hand I was beating myself up for missing the one I missed because it was a stupid reason to miss; basically I knew the answer but put too much though into it and ultimately missed it. BUT I only missed one!! haha So I am quite happy with that.

I don't have any big plans for the weekend other than probably homework just to get ahead some more. I figure the further ahead I get the better it will be just to make sure that if McKenna decides to come a little early (which we are ok with!!) than it won't mess my semester up; you know, finals and all.

Well that was my week. I did hear from Mark a little bit but he has been really busy. One night I missed his emails and that quite upset me. Usually I don't get as upset as I did that night but I was quite upset that night. I heard from him the next day though so it was all better then. haha

I hope that your week has gone super!!

Ciao!

Our Sweet Baby Girl

Mark and I had our 3D ultrasound yesterday...so much fun! McKenna was still laying in the transverse position with her head on my right side, her butt on my left, and she had a leg above her head. haha Mark says she will be a gymnast. She is limber already! She weighs about 3.6 lbs and is right on target as far as growth and everything! Not that Mark and I thought her dates were off...we pretty much have the hour of conception down. haha Most of all, she is still a girl! Once again, no doubts but it was confirmed again. Also, I do not think that we have a picture of it but she has hair on her head! The ultrasound tech gave us a CD with pictures on it, I am not sure if it is the same ones that we have in print or if there are others because when I put it into the laptop to look at them the computer won't read the CD AND to make it worse it won't open back up so I can't get the CD out. I am sure Mark will be able to get it out but since he is out to sea he can't exactly work on it right now.

McKenna was moving around while we were there but it wasn't so much that we couldn't get any pictures or anything. She did have her knee in front of her face some of the time but it didn't really block her, you can just see it in the pictures. At one point she did stretch out and we thought we were going to get some other kinds of pictures but as soon as we went to look she moved her little knee back. haha We did get some good pictures though and it was so great to get a little glimps of what our little girl looks like. She truely is amazing already!

If you'll notice in the 6th picture McKenna stuck her tongue out at us. In the 7th picture you can see her little button nose. In the 9th picture you can see her little chin and chubby cheeks. As I said earlier, she had her knee up by her face so you see that in most of the pictures; the only one that it really blocks her is the last one where it looks like she is sucking on her knee something. Who know, maybe she was!

I am still in awe of McKenna and I love just looking at all of my ultrasound pictures...this whole pregnancy has been such an amazing experience! Although I have been ready to meet her for weeks and months now, I am even more ready after getting a glimps of her yesterday! I can't believe how fast this time has gone by...and as I have said earlier, it will only go faster! As it is Mark and I are 9 weeks and 2 days away from meeting our daughter...sounds crazy soon when you put it like that doesn't it? *smile*
Well, it is dinner time and I am pretty hungry...better go get something to eat!
Ciao!