I am most THANKFUL for...

My rock throwin'

Leg up sleepin'

Wife dippin'

Floor moppin'

Soul singin'

Husband

This year I am most THANKFUL for Chuck

(my multi-talented baby's daddy)

The Plight of Minnesota Mom's to be

Picture by Trevor Morris

I have always loved the changing seasons of Minnesota.

The sleet storms of spring,

The humidity of summer,

The beautiful changing leaves and cool breezes of Fall,

And winter with it's 30 below freeze your breath days.

(Can you guess what my favorite season is?)

Yet, as wonderful as it is for Mother nature to keep things interesting, I find myself running out of room to put my ever changing wardrobe. I think our storage shed (which is tiny) is overflowing now with plastic bins of skirts, tops and Capri's that wont make an appearance until next summer.

Then you add a pregnancy to it all, which ends up being like 3 different sets of clothes in and of itself...

• The "Oh cute I'm showing" set
• The "I can't squeeze my butt into anything anymore" set
• and of course (Soon to come) The "I'm gonna pop" set

Who has money to buy clothes to keep up with it all?

My saving grace has been some ANGELIC ladies who have given me all their preggo hand me downs. I am so grateful that people are so willing to share, and I figure what I get I will share when my baby days are done.

I can remember when I was younger I hated hand me downs... I always wanted new stuff. These days I feel like kissing the ground and thanking the heavens every time I someone gives me their used stuff (I don't even care what it is!!!)

It makes me want to be more generous to others

and reminds me of the old pioneer saying,

"Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

The hamburger sign says no turtles here

This is my attempt to show you an ultrasound pic. It is extra blurry because I took a picture of an already blurry picture (Alison! I don't have a scanner either!!).

Meet baby Call who enjoys...

• Chillin in the breech position
• striking a pose Madonna style (had hand up by face for almost every shot)
• snuggling with placentas
• Livin in-utero
• Flashin the hamburger sign... which, for all of you who are familiar with Ultra-Sound lingo, means that baby Call

IS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

So much for maternal instinct. I was SURE it was a boy,

But The hamburger sign says no turtles here.

Do you think we could come up with some other terms for recognizing the female anatomy on an ultra sound. I mean there are many things we could compare it to... but a hamburger?!?!?

Maybe this will be the awkward conversation that I bring up sex education with my child... "Well you see honey boys have turtles and little girls have hamburgers"

Or not

Lucky Chuck

Two incredible women to Love

ACP Foundation: Health Literacy

In light of my finishing my Medical Terminology course, I thought I would share with you this little video I saw during the semester. It was really eye opening to me... we had a group discussion in class about possible solutions and reasons this problem is increasing. Sure makes you think.

Thank you Quick and Easy Medical Terminology

Last night I finished one of my classes for the semester! It was a self study course that you could do at your own pace. I decided to crank out my last two exams and quiz last night after a day of studying. The course was on Medical Terminology and taught the Greek and Latin roots of words that help you to understand medical terms in a quick and easy way (oh how convenient!).

I do feel very well versed in the medical terms which I think is important for anyone to know... I mean how frustrating is it to go to the doctor if you don't understand what they are talking about. However the main thing I took away from this class was a list of diseases and disorders I am glad that I don't have and hope to never contract in my life. Here are just a few, in no particular order:

• Kyphosis- A condition commonly known as humpback or hunchback


• Dysphagia- Inability to swallow or difficulty swallowing.


• Trichosis- Abnormal condition of hair growth, including baldness or excessive hair growth in an unusual place


• Exophthalmos- Protrusion of the eyeballs

And here are a few self diagnosis of my current health condition:

• Polyuria - Excessive urination... especially in the middle of the night.


• Polyphagia- Excessive hunger and uncontrolled eating


• Cephalalgia- Headache


• Narcolepsy- Sudden attacks of sleep that occur at internals

The above was not meant to be a complaint... I am quite enjoying my pregnancy these days. Feeling the baby move is really exciting and makes everything else seem like no big deal.