We’re having a BABY!!!! (Again)
Current mood: blessed
Oh baby!
How to fit all the drama that this little one has created into one blog without sounding like a crazy person? I suppose the proper way would be to start from the beginning. I figured out I was pregnant back at the end of July. I was 5 days late, and that pretty much cinched it for me. I took the test Sunday the 20th and wasn't all that surprised to see two pink lines on the test. Derek and I decided not to tell anyone right away, just to make sure we didn't lose the baby and then have to explain to dozens of people that there was now no baby. That wasn't such a silly idea after what happened this week! Monday I had my first OB appointment and my DR couldn't find the heartbeat with his Doppler machine. He decided to do an ultrasound to make sure everything was alright. When he looked, he saw the placenta sac, but couldn't see any fetal movement or a heartbeat. They scheduled me for an internal ultrasound for Tuesday and told me to go home and relax....YEAH RIGHT. You don't tell an expectant mother you can't find a heartbeat for her baby and then tell her to relax! So I had to rearrange our whole schedule for Tuesday. Tegan was supposed to have his 15mo. checkup at 11am, but they scheduled my ultrasound for 11:30, so I had to move his appointment to 9:30am and you all know what a LOVELY morning person I am! LOL NOT. We got through Tegan's appointment just fine, but I knew that I would be freaking out for the ultrasound by myself, so Derek took some time off and came with me. We had to be there (my appointment) 15 minutes early, which is a joke since they didn't take me back until 12:45pm! (for anyone who's never had an ultrasound, you have to drink 12-24oz half an hour before your appointment, so they can see more clearly. You're not supposed to pee before your ultrasound...and I really REALLY had to pee by the time they took me back!) When I finally got back there, the tech did an external first, to see if she could tell why Dr Kim couldn't see anything. It turns out, when I had Tegan, my uterus got tipped back, and the angle, if you're not looking at it right, can be too far skewed to see clearly. She saw the baby just fine with the external ultrasound, and even gave us a few pictures to document the occasion! Once I saw and knew that our baby was okay, I felt 100 times better! After a scare like that, we decided that it was time to share our news. We told our parents last night, and today I get to share it with you! I'm due on March 22, 2009. I'll be keeping you updated as I get more info! (Also, Tegan's appointment went very well! He's grown 2 almost 3 inches since his last appointment, and gained 2 pounds to match. He got one shot, but took it like a man. He only cried out when they stuck him, but was over it as soon as they began!)
The Spider that Wouldn’t Die
Current mood: scared
Category: Pets and Animals
Ok, You all can laugh at me as much as you want, but I was seriously SCARED!!!!
Derek, Tegan and I just got home from a graduation party for Derek's cousin. Wait, let me back up. Last night, we decided that we weren't happy with the set-up of our living room, so we re-arranged our furniture and re-organized all of our electronics. So back to today. We were just getting ready to sit down on the newly repositioned couch when I saw a bug on our lampshade. I thought it was a beetle of some sort, given the size, but as we got closer.....it was a HUGE SPIDER!! This thing was seriously half an inch wide (not including legs) and close to an inch long...and no...I'm not exaggerating....ask Derek. I, of course, responded in true Chrissa fashion. I screamed like a little girl! Derek didn't fair much better when the thing LUNGED at us. Being as it was on the side of a lampshade, and the lamp is porcelain and breakable, we couldn't just take a shoe and smash it. Due to this....it took half a bottle of Windex and probably a quarter bottle of Lysol to slow this effer down enough to be able to coax him away from the lampshade. Unfortunately for us, there wasn't much of a place to coax him too except for the love seat. Once he was there, we were able to smash him with a curtain rod....(and by we I mean Derek). Once he was dead (keep in mind this has been an almost 20 minute ordeal at this point) Derek scraped his guts, and yes there were visible guts, off the love seat. Then he showed the remains to me, a horrifying experience in and of itself, The legs on this effer were almost as wide as the spider's body and, if we weren't terrified of it, would have probably made quite a meal for some 3rd world kid, There was some MEAT to those legs. The worst part of the whole ordeal is that Tegan saw and heard Mama and Daddy getting so upset, and in turn, became very upset. I had to take Tegan into his bedroom and read him a story to get him calm down. All in all it wasn't really that big of a deal, but for those 20 minutes, I was seriously freaking out. (Derek was too, not that he'd ever admit it!)
Again, feel free to laugh at me (I won't know the difference anyway) but I'm telling you....the thing wouldn't die!!!!!
Leaves change early Because of the cold, A girl looses innocence As she grows old People say it's too soon to tell But she knows that the leaves have all fell
Because everything changes Memories are carved in stone Everything changes This she knows
People look, she's sure they see Whats inside her head. But they don't know that in her head Are all her thoughts of him. She tries to contain herself, but then she starts to grin
Because everything changes Memories are carved in stone Everything changes This she knows.
Years go by, they drift away A picture's all she has Looking back, as she recalls Are the good times that they had. She looks at her daughter, her heart fills with love She owes it all to him
Because everything changes Memories are carved in stone Everything changes This she knows
Everything changes Everything changes Everything changes This we know
Rest with the angels, and though you are gone I'll know you are with me, at dusk and at dawn. Your spirit is with me, and I feel your peace Both loving and calming, it gives me release. Your time here on Earth was to short for us all But God needed you with him, in the Great Banquet Hall.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY -- Friends and family are mourning the deaths of two people found inside a home just west of South Bend late Sunday morning. Metro Homicide Unit detectives are still investigating, but say it's too early to tell how the two died.
Police say a relative found the bodies of Chris Triest, 30, and his girlfriend Jeanette Masterson, 21, inside Triest's home in the 24000 block of Grant Road just after 11:30 a.m.
Masterson lived and worked in Plymouth, according to investigators.
Police aren't releasing any information on how the two died, though they have termed them as suspicious deaths.
It was supposed to be a happy holiday weekend for family and friends of the couple. But it quickly became clear it would be anything but that.
"Chris went to school with my boys," said Millie Hack, who lives just down the street. "He went to school at Marian [High School] and played football with them. So, I was pretty close to him, and his parents, and brothers and sisters."
"It was quite a shock having a son the same age and having something like this happen," she said, fighting back tears.
St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit Commander Tim Corbett says Masterson's father came to the home late Sunday morning looking for his daughter and discovered the bodies after looking inside a window near the front of the home.
According to St. Joseph County Police Sergeant Bill Redman, officers were unable to enter the home initially because Triest's German Shepherd dog was blocking the door. The Humane Society was called in to remove the dog. Masterson's dachshund dog was also inside, and was turned over to her family, Corbett said.
Crime scene technicians spent more than 6 hours processing the home, taking pictures and videotaping. Several brown evidence bags were also taken from the house, though Corbett would not comment on what was inside them, or if any weapons were recovered.
Meanwhile, friends and neighbors watched in disbelief, sharing stories about Triest and Masterson. Many called them a "nice young couple" and "fun-loving" people who never had any problems with anyone.
It seemed everyone in what they called a "very quiet neighborhood" had questions.
"I want to know when it happened, how it happened and why," said Dianne Dandino, who also lives just down the street. "Everyone knows everyone here. People walk the neighborhood. We're all extremely shocked."
Dandino also says no one she spoke with saw anything suspicious.
"Last night there was a party going on next door, but it seemed very quiet," she said. "We went to bed, and we didn't hear anything after that or prior to that going on."
That's one reason why Metro Homicide detectives are keeping all options open in the case, and aren't labeling the deaths as homicides at this point.
"We're following up on everything," said Corbett. "Right now, we have not heard of anything suspicious going on; no cars coming and going as far as we can tell at this point. We have had contact with one of the neighbors who said [Triest and Masterson] were observed out on the front porch around 1 p.m. [Saturday] afternoon."
That has some living in the neighborhood uneasy.
"I am a little nervous, not knowing if it was a murder, or if someone is out there," said neighbor Catherine Slagle. "I'm definitely going to be checking my windows to make sure they're locked every single night now."
St. Joseph County's coroner was at the home Sunday afternoon, but did not issue an official cause of death for either Triest or Masterson.
Metro Homicide Unit investigators will wait for autopsy results on both bodies before releasing any more information about the deaths. Corbett says it's likely that won't happen until Tuesday because of the Memorial Day holiday.
Wow. My baby will be one year old next Monday. He's had a pretty tame first year. This past week he had his first "medical emergency" with a 102.6° fever. We took him to MedPoint where he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. They said it was good that we caught it as soon as we did. They gave him some Amoxicillin and he's been taking that for 5 days already. His fever broke the second day on the meds, and he's been getting better with every passing day. We're getting ready for his first birthday, which we will be celebrating this weekend. With all of this happening in such a short amount of time, I haven't been writing as much lately. I feel so unprepared for dealing with a one year old! He is walking (albeit unsteadily) all over the house, and eating real-people food! As a matter of fact, he much prefers real food and 3rd foods to a bottle. We're lucky if he takes 16 ounces all day. I chalk that up to being so excited about his new abilities
Derek is doing well. He got his first raise at Polygon, which is helping immensely. We have been dealing with his erratic schedule, which proves to be a challenge more often than not. They lost a person in his department, so he's been going in 30 minutes early on Mondays and he's supposed to start working Saturdays as well. This could be a problem because we're planning Tegan's party for this Saturday. I just hope that everything works out in our favor!
As for me, I'm doing alright. Last week I had to have a colposcopy to check on some irregular cells. (Look it up if you don't know what that is). I'm still waiting on the results from that, but I'm keeping a positive attitude that everything is fine! I'll keep you posted on that front. Thats about it for news from our little corner of the world. Feel free to drop me a line and keep me connected to the real world!
Yesterday Derek, Tegan and I were taking a walk. Since we live right by Newton Park, we decided to walk the track around the perimeter and then down to the Subway for dinner. We hadn’t even made it 1/2 a mile when we saw this swarm of flies, just hovering. Derek was pushing the stroller and told me to take the baby and get back. There were 5......carcases. (There’s really no other way to say it.) They were about a foot and a half long (each) and looked like they used to be dogs. I can’t say for sure because they were so......decomposed. There wasn’t much left of them but bones and the taunt, leathery skin. None of them had heads. Every single one of them was decapitated. When we got to Subway, I called the Humane Society and reported it. We had to walk back past it and see that all over again. While we were eating, we talked about the different ways that that could happen, but nothing we came up with seemed very likely. Coyotes, bigger dogs etc. Nothing we came up with reasoned out to five bodies, all in the same spot, almost lined up. The Humane Society came today for the bodies and was pretty convinced that whatever they were (dogs I think) probably hadn’t been decapitated and left for dead by another animal. They’re thinking along the same lines as me....A person (or people) did this. How sick to you have to be to do that to anything...but especially a dog? They don’t hurt anyone, especially not one that small. *sigh* Sorry , I just needed to decompress a bit. I hope you all are having a good day.
Since it’s been a while since I posted an actual, informative blog, I figured I’d take a few minutes to do so now. We’ll start with the most exciting person in our little family, and that’s Tegan. Tegan is already 10+ months old, and growing every day! He has 6 teeth, with two more just below the gum line. This makes for a cranky boy sometimes, but lucky for us, he is generally a happy baby. He is getting so big these days! At his last doctor appointment,(3 weeks ago) he was 31" and 22.5 (right on track for his age). He is crawling all over the place and has learned to stand unaided and walk if he’s holding onto the furniture or momma and daddy’s hands. He amazed us the other day when he stood - unaided - and started clapping and "singing" along to the music we had on. We are so blessed to have such an amazing little man who shows us every day that no matter what we think.....there is always something left on the floor! LOL He manages to find the one thing the vaccum missed every single time! He is eating more solid foods and loves to get his hands on anything momma and daddy are eating. He can feed himself puffs, cookies and biscuts, and loves to hold the spoon for yougurt and oatmeal (with a little help from momma of course!) As we get closer and closer to his 1st birthday, I realize that he’s not my little baby anymore, but I’m loving the little man that he’s becoming! Derek and I’s news isn’t very much, so I’ll combine it into one section. I think I said before that Derek got a job in Walkerton last Christmas. Well, this past week, we moved into a brand new apartment down here in Lakeville. (If you want the address or phone number, just msg me and I’ll get it too you) Derek is thinking about buying a motorcycle to get him to and from work without spending an arm and a leg on gas. As it is, we’re still driving into SB at least 3 times a week. I go up to Curves and the boys come with me at least once a week to do our shopping. If you know me, you know that the thought of my man on a bike scares the hell out of me, but if its what he wants, I’ll try and be supportive! Well, thats about it for right now, but I’ll try and make more regular updates instead of leaving it for months at a time!
There is something to bo said for dedication. Some people look at it from a work ethic point of view. Which is the more common form of dedication, I'll admit. Starting with that, I'll say that I'm happy to announce that Derek got the job in Walkerton! There was no move to Oklahoma for this family. The whole story with the job is long and complicated, so I'll try to keep this part short. When he interviewed with the company, they said that they wanted someone who could start within the month (or before the new year) so Derek talked to HR at Affinia (his old job) and they said there was no reason he couldn't be severed from the company within the month....well before the company closed. Derek called Polygon Co, the new job, to let them know that leaving wouldn't be a problem. We had it worked out, that if he got the job, he'd take it, and if they didn't give it to him, that he would take advantage of the TAA - a government program that pays for 2 years of schooling to gain experiance for a better job - so when Polygon called and said that he didn't get the job, we weren't to worried. Then. the week before Christmas, Polygon called to say that the person they hired didn't work out, and they were willing to offer $1.50 MORE than the position was posted for if Derek would start the day after Christmas! Thanks to this new job, we will either be moving closer to Walkerton (ie: Lakeville, North Liberty) in the next 6 months, or we will be buying a more fuel efficiant car! Derek's got himself a 40mile drive right now and is filling up about once a week as opposed to once every two and a half. Dedication can also mean dedication to another person. Last week, December 30th, was Derek and I's one year anniversary. We've officially been married for a full year. There have been uneasy patches and I'm the first to admit that, but we made it! No one said that marraige was easy, but we are both dedicated to each other and our family and that makes any little spat small and unimportant as long as we talk things through. As parents, we are dedicated to our children. Tegan is almost 8 months old and getting bigger by the minute! He now has two teeth, and a third one pushing through that should be out any time. He is sitting up effortlessly and is working on full out crawling instead of just scooting and rolling. He continues to change everyday, almost before our eyes. His weight is up to 18lbs 3oz, but he doesn't stay still long enought to see how long he is! Finally, we can be dedicated to our friends. In this new year, I am putting to rest all hurt feelings that I've been holding on to for far too long. I had a conversation with someone who hurt me so deeply, I thought I would never recover. While I'm not saying that I have forgotten what happened between us, I have realized that nothing good will come from holding onto the hurt. I have been unable to move on because of the hurt in my heart, and thanks to the conversation we had, I am able to move beyond that. He helped me in a way. Without that conversation, I wouldn't have realized that I need to let go of the people that are bad for me. Be them ex-boyfriends, friends that cause more hurt than help, and those people who are chronically negative towards life. With this reolution, I am dedicated to becoming closer to those people who enhance my life. My family and friends. In this, the new year of 2008, I am dedicated to becoming a better person.
Today was Tegan's 6 month Well-Baby check-up (almost a month late). He now weighs 176oz, is 26.5in long, and in the 90th percentile for both. My poor little guy had to get more shots while he was there, but he took it like a champ. Some of the milestones he's hit are being able to roll over (since he was 4.5 months) sitting up on his own (5 months) standing (while holding mommy or daddy's fingers) and scooting from one place to another. An update on Derek's job: he has put in to be severed early and has *crosses fingers* found a job in Walkerton that uses his skills better and has better hours. That is great for us, because we wouldn't have to move to OKC, but potentially bad, because if he doesn't get the job (for some reason) and does get severed early, he's out of a job over Christmas. We got Tegan's picture taken for his 6 month birthday/Christmas. They turned out AMAZING! We got the disk with the prints, but accidentally left it at my parents, so I will post them when I get it back. I have all of my Christmas cards made out, and they have a wallet of him. I'll be sending them out in the next week or so (as soon as I get my procrastinating ass to the post office to buy stamps!). Thats about it for now, except for the announcment that I'm so proud of: I DROVE A MANUAL ACROSS TOWN! (and didn't stall or grind the gears!) Something is wrong with Ginger (my '96 Grand Prix) and she's taken to not starting on occasion, but since today was Tegan's doctor appointment, I needed to make sure I had reliable transportation. So I got myself out of bed at 5am and took Derek to work so I could have the car ( 5am being a miricle in and of itself) and then drove from the south side of Mishawaka to Main Street Medical on the very north end. That drive involves hills, train tracks and lots of traffic. (If you couldn't tell, I'm pretty proud of myself! This is the first time I've driven the car farthur than to church-a 1.5 mile drive with no turns or hills-and I did it alone! Thats about it for now. I need to get Tegan loaded up so we can go get daddy from work! xoxox Chrissa
blessed
scared
nostalgic
awake
thoughtful
enthralled