Family Pictures

"Hurrication" - I don't think so!

Many people called this event a "hurrication." Those people obviously had power early on and could stay in their homes and actually have a mini-vacation from work. We're just thankful that after 12 days without power, it was restored! Yeah! On Saturday when the temperatures rose to the 90's with a lows in the upper 70's we discovered that Matt's old apartment had power so the last 4 nights we've been sleeping there.

Above is a picture of Matt getting ready to make French toast in the morning (Day 3). Notice the apples that he lined up in the background...spectrumy, huh?



So, during the time that our house was not air-conditioned, I got to wear a heart monitor for 48 hours to monitor my palpitations. I also got to get another echo cardiogram. My heart is structurally sound (no volume overload from being pregnant) but I do have "premature atrial complexes" or extra heart beats from the top of my heart. Dr. Civitello says it's "not dangerous."

Our "hurrication" wasn't complete without a dog party. We celebrated Penny's Gotcha Day by making her a hurricane party hat and wrapping her with ribbon. She loved it - can't you tell?

Ike left us with no power!

We're fortunate to have no damage to our home, but we're still without power...it's day 6 and counting! Centerpoint Energy says we should have power after Monday. The first few days were fun, like a great camping weekend. Our gas stove and water heater worked so we cooked all the food we had and got to take showers (even with low water pressure). I'm at work using the internet and Matt is definitely back at work trying to recover money from the delays from the hurricane. We're out of food (except for canned goods...and who wants to eat warm food when it's warm outside!) so we've found some restaurants that are open.

I'll update more with pictures when the power is back on.

Matt likes the Doctor!

We went to our 3rd prenatal visit with Dr. Papasakelariou today. Matt met him for the first time today and liked him - everyone likes him! We got to hear the heartbeat again so that's always reassuring.

We asked him some questions and he told us some answers: First answer is that I can't bowl anymore because I could strain my round ligaments which could effect my pregnancy, somehow. I actually thought he was joking about this because I couldn't imagine that rolling a bowling ball down a lane could be problematic...but it wasn't a joke - he was serious. Second answer is that I need to go see my cardiologist again to make sure my heart is doing ok. I had 2 echocardiograms (2005 and 2006) which showed a leaking valve that resolved on its own.

The great news is that I'm doing a "good job" with my weight! I loved that the doctor said this in front of Matt who is always harping on what I've been eating or not eating. Bite me Matt!

The Duchess and Uncle Jerry

Here's a picture from Matt's visit in July! I must admit that the Dutch looks pretty cute with her goofy ears sitting on Uncle Jerry's lap. From what I hear, he really enjoyed seeing her.

My Dad is Almost 60!

My dad's 60th birthday is approaching! We're going to have a Cook-Out where Matt gets to meet everyone in the family that he hasn't already met. I think it's going to be a fun party! Above is a picture of my dad when he was camping with my mom when he was 26 years old!

Matt's Family

I met Matt's family this weekend in Windham, NY. Above is a picture of Matt and his brothers: Michael, 39, and John, 43. Somehow, I didn't get a picture of his Dad or Carol! His dad put on a Hawaiian skirt (a skirt that is made and worn by men) so I definitely missed a good photo opportunity. Matt told the news within about 15 minutes of our meeting. Everyone was surprised and excited! It was really fun to hear his dad call his sisters and friends to share the news that he was going to be a "Grandpa Joe" again. Our baby will be the 8th grandbaby that "Grandpa Joe" and "Tutu" (Hawaiian for Grandma) share, but the first baby from Matt's side of the family.


So, as you can see, we did a lot of really good eating! Carol prepares very healthy food and it was delicious. I appreciated her knowledge of what I should be eating/drinking. She made sure I was drinking bottled water and that I didn't eat the brie cheese. The food was very fresh and from the farmers market - Yum!

Matt and I enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights of the small town. The best part was sleeping with the windows open and feeling the cool air as we slept! A funny little thing happened when I was returning from the bathroom in the middle of the first night... I fell!!! I made a huge boom!!! I thought I saw the bed in front of me, but I missed and landed on all fours on the floor. Fortunately, I'm a stomach sleeper so I was facing forward as I was approaching the bed. Matt woke up (fortunately) and was in a panic about me. Only thing that happened was that my knees got carpet burned. Ha!

It was a great trip and I can't wait to meet even more family when we visit Raleigh for Thanksgiving!

bowling

I'm back to bowling with the Pink Panthers! It's so much fun! Unfortunately, I get tired more easily than before. My average is 109. My first game tonight was 140 and my second was 95...and then I started rolling bad balls so I left early. My team gives me beer $ and I go to the bar. It's tons of fun to see the other teams watch me walk back to our lanes with a full pitcher of beer and a bloated tummy...they're wondering, is it the beer or a baby?

school is full throttle ahead

The semester has started and I'm back to a regular routine. It feels nice!

I ate lunch with my friends from Poe today and it was so good to see them. It's nice to see how things don't change...but that I have. I really like my job at UH! I miss my friends at Poe.