Cakes

The pregnancy announcement cake was a hit! It took some of them a few minutes, but they finally got it...YAY!

In the meantime, here's a lovely cake idea my friend emailed me titled "The Worst Baby Shower Cake EVER."

Finally Friday!

Here is a picture of my cake from Course 3. (I forgot to take a pic with my camera at home and brought the cake to work so its a pic from my phone!) We are learning how to use fondant. The bow is not as cute as I would have liked, but that's because you are supposed to let it harden before attaching, but we did it in class, so it had to be done then. Overall, I think it turned out pretty darn cute, especially for my first entire fondant cake. The only other time I used fondant was for my watermelon cake and I only used one 3 inch tall piece around the outside of it. This was a little more difficult. Next week, we are making more flowers, and the week after is our final Course 3 cake - a wedding cake with tiers and of course, more flowers! We are all out of whack with our class schedule because of teacher taking a week off for vacation, then Hurricane.Ike. But she said we'll just chug along and pay no attention to the calendar months. Course 4 is next - more super fun stuff with fondant and gum paste! This is really the only class anyone wants to take, but of course you have to take them all to build up your skills.


Tomorrow is Dean's 35th (!) high school reunion - rescheduled due to Ike. We had to decline 2 other parties that night in lieu of hanging out with some old dudes. Hopefully they will be going to bed early and we can ditch those old fogies and make it to at least 1 other party!


As the 11 week mark is approaching and my pants are getting tighter, I have decided to tell the rest of my team next week. And how better to share the news than over cake! I found a super cute idea on a cake site that I am making on Sunday to bring to a team meeting on Monday. Hopefully they get the idea and not just think its another cake from class!!!


Have a fabulous weekend!

P.S. What's up with someone finding my blog based on a Google search called "Peanut Photo." I am pretty sure they were not looking for an u/s when they came across my page!!! LOL

Getting Better...

Fewer sniffles and coughs today. I finally made it back into the office yesterday. Geez. How does my dear husband work from home ALL the time? 1 week and 2 days was way too long for me. Although I did get my fill of baby shows in - Baby Story, Birth Day, Baby Diaries, Special Delivery, and probably way, WAY too many that showed emergency births or what could go wrong. And can I just say that even though TLC/DHC blur out the hoo-hoo shots, what you see coming OUT of the hoo-hoo made me want to throw up on the spot. I know the placenta has to come out, but all that other crap and fluid too? G.R.O.S.S.

I am missing my weekly photo op with Peanut this week. Dr. H wanted to skip this week and come in at 11 weeks.

A few questions...

1. For those of you have who already graduated to your OB, did you miss those weekly u/s pics from your RE?
2. Did your OB understand and give you pics and u/s anyway at every appointment?
3. Did you rent/buy/borrow a Doppler to get you through the "hard times?"
4. If so on the Doppler, where did you get it from? I found some place called StorkRadio.com.

Thanks in advance for the info!

Sick @ Home

Blah...that is what I feel like today. When I woke up yesterday, my right tonsil was swollen and Dean said it was very red. By the time I went to bed last night, my nose was runny, my eyes were watering and I could hardly swallow. Suffice it to say I did NOT sleep well last night. Between blowing my nose and coughing...EESH.

So I wrote that first paragraph when I woke up and have since gone to see my new GP (Dean saw her a couple months ago). She was very nice and friendly - not too doctor-y. If you live in the Pear.land area, I would definitely recommend her. She said there is no infection or fever so its probably a virus...which means, like always I just have to let it run its course. Probably like a week or so. She did prescribe some cream for me for my face - gone are the days of a glowing face of pregnancy for me. It looks similar to a rosacea breakout I had 7 or so years ago. She gave me a cream for it so my face isn't so flaky anymore!!

Dean left for Dallas again today. Be back Wednesday. Good thing I still have my evacuees to keep me company!

HOLY MOLY - 9 WEEKS

Well...technically 9 weeks tomorrow, but Lord have mercy! Look how much Peanut has grown in just 1 week! Yes, it is zoomed to see better, but still! I cannot believe it. When they were measuring the sac, I asked what was in the sac? Because it sure as hell does NOT look like my Peanut of 8 weeks. Dr. H said, "Why, that's your fetus of course!" AAAHHH! He/she is getting so much bigger! You can even see the head! Dear Husband asked how many weeks this appointment was and when I told him, he said, "WHOA! This is already going by so fast!"

I KNOW!!

Home Sweet Home...

We made it back from LA. The usually 6 hour trip took us almost 9. We had to take several detours due to high water, but luckily we like to take back roads and can navigate with a map pretty well. The last city we saw gas was Jasper, TX. Everything south of there was either out or didn't have electricity to pump it. We saw lots of devastation in East Texas - tons of downed trees, power lines, trees on homes and cars, torn up barns. It looked like it was tornadoes instead of a hurricane. Speaking of, we had tornado warnings all around us in LA from the remnants of Ike coming through. Fortunately they all missed us. It's a good thing. We were in a mobile home (with a permanent roof structure over it) with no where to "hide" from the twisters!
Our neighborhood is fairly new. The oldest sections are 5 years old. Our section is only 3. Almost everyone has sections of their fences or the entire fence down. Luckily, that is all the damage we had. We were very lucky because we didn't even board up any of the windows. Our next door neighbor, not so lucky. They stayed with a relative in the area and didn't come back to check until after the storm passed. By that time, it was too late. They lost 50% of their roof. This caused rain and wind to get inside, soaking the insulation (foam and the blown in kind). The ceilings couldn't handle the weight and just collapsed. The wind blew the wet insulation on everything - furniture, walls. They have a total mess on their hands.

I am sure most of you have been watching the news and our neighbors to the south - Clear Lake, Galveston, etc. didn't fare that well either. Most of their homes were completely leveled...nothing but pilings left standing. It is very devastating to South Texas.

We know how lucky we were and can't thank God enough for watching over our house while we were gone. We just pray for all the others that were hit the hardest for their health, safety, and strength to rebuild again.

Below are some pics of the fence damage....

Evacuating to Higher Ground...

Brazoria County is under a mandatory evacuation, beginning Thursday 8AM. We're at the northern part of the county, but Emergency Mgmt said it didn't matter. We could still have 1-3 Category force winds here. We were going to stay if it was just under a voluntary evac, but mandatory....they said this would mean that if something happened to us, well, we were screwed. No medical, no police, no grocery stores, nothing. Mandatory means everything will be closed.

As soon as Dean gets home from Dallas, we are headed out to north Louisiana to some family property out. There is no phone at the house and the closest "town" is 25 miles away, so I'm not sure how connected to the world wide web we will be. My parents and friends may be joining us, but we haven't heard for sure yet.

Keep us all in your thoughts.

The Cone of Unpredictability

That is what this stupid cone should be called. Depending on which computer module you see, the tracks are changing multiple times a day. As of 1PM, this is the current track. Dean is now leaving Dallas tonight, instead of tomorrow. He has already sent me a "Preparation List" (I kid you not) which includes items to bring in from the backyard that could be possible projectiles, strapping down the lid and doors on the bbq pit, gassing truck, packing clothes (in the event we evac), food and Maddie's stuff. Brazoria county is a coastal county and has already evacuated one zip code (not ours) but there is another news conference by the Sheriff scheduled for 5:30 to determine if any other evacs are necessary and if the storm has changed its route AGAIN.

The "cone" definitely impacts us, but probably not directly. More than likely just 5-7 inches of rain with some tropical storm force winds... But if it will be worse, we will be headed to north LA tomorrow morning. Keep us and all the other Texans in your prayers.

Happy 8 Weeks to Peanut!

• I am a bad blogger. Peanut's Photo of the Week didn't get scanned. :-( I had cake class and my neighbor invited me over for dinner after (Dean's out of town for business), then DVR of Y&R, then...fell asleep on the couch! Plus the computer that is setup for the scanner is Dean's laptop and that is in Dallas with him...so we'll have to wait until tomorrow night when he gets back.
• I also forgot to mention that Dr. H invited us to a baby shower. I was mucho confuso about this shower and who it was for? He has a shower in the office (on a Saturday) every few months for all of his "Fertility Successes" - those with children or currently expecting. Everyone brings a small wrapped gift for a boy and a girl and then we all get a present (or 2 I'm not sure how this works just yet). Isn't that awesome? And a great way for us Fertile Infertiles to meet others like us.
• Thank the Good Lord for Zof.ran. I had to take it 3 times yesterday! Nothing specific this time to make me nauseous like smells or whatever, but BLECH! I almost lost my turkey burger dinner.
• Thanks Martha! I got my consolation prize in the mail. They smell yummy. I can't wait to soak my fat pregnant butt in them. You are too sweet!
• I added the "Followers" gadget to the right sidebar AKA "People Who Like Me!" Shout Out to Amy, Martha, and Brandi!

7W6D

1 day closer to 8 weeks....WHEW. The 8 week mark is scary. According to Dr. H, once you get to 8 weeks, the miscarriage rate drops to only 2%. Some websites I have read show 12 weeks is the critical mark, but since I transfer back to my OB at 12 weeks, I'll go with the 8 with Dr. H.

Peanut is doing wonderful. Growing, growing, growing! I can't remember the measurements exactly, but he/she was measuring at 8W0D. WOOHOO - one day ahead! Gonna be a go-getter! The hb was 170 this time. According to old wives tales, theories, rumors, and websites if it stays over 140 then it's gonna be a girl! Speaking of, we still have yet to determine if we are going to find out the gender of Peanut, when the time comes. We have gone through Pros & Cons lists...sometimes coming out even, sometimes with one ahead. I like the surprise at the end of the journey to look forward to...BUT planning would be MUCH easier....and we might get lots of fun monogrammed things for Peanut. Grammie was not too happy about this announcement. She wants to buy "specific" things for the him/her. Green and Yellow just isn't fun! HA! I told her she can buy "generic" items now and "specific" items later. This would give us more presents from Grammie!!! (It's a trick I tell ya!)

The left cyst is gone - YEAH! The right one is about 27X14mm and is shrinking from last measurements. I had an OB Panel of b/w done, including peeing in a cup. REALLY....you think you could have told someone? I went before the hoo-hoo cam, then again while I was waiting for the lab dude. THEN he gives me the cup. I am not a pee-on-demand kind of gal. I can't just "go." So then I had to sit and drink 3 cups of water and read 2 magazines before I had the urge to do anything again. And even then it was only like 1/4 of the cup! EESH.

Peanut's Photo of the Week coming tonight...I sure am going to miss these weekly photo ops when I graduate.....

Fried Pickles

On Saturday the weather was so nice so we went for a drive with the windows down and the radio up. We ended up at Sea.Center.Texas. Free admission, cool fish aquariums, and a fish hatchery tour. It was pretty good for just stumbling upon it.

I think Dean is just realizing how much things with my body are going to change...no, not like THAT! I mean with my bladder. I have been known as Super Bladder. Able to hold it 6 hours en route to LA for a family reunion. Well, on our little day trip, we stopped at multiple Buccee's stations. And after like the 3rd one, he was like, "Seriously? What happened to Super Bladder?" Hello? There is a little peanut growing in there on top of it, causing everything to be squished around!

Also, I think I had my first craving on Saturday night. After we got home, I REALLY, REALLY wanted some fried pickles from Hoo.ters. There isn't a Hoo.ters anywhere near us so Dean said he could make some for me. He has made some before and they were quite yummy. So he made a plateful and gave me a side of ranch and I cuddled up on the couch with them. He had moved his drink to my end of the couch and then was like, "Uh, are you eating those by yourself?" OOPS. I thought I was....so we shared....And then he had to make more. :-)

Love you Honey!

PG Symptom?

So last night when I was getting ready for bed, my palms were itching so bad! I don't have long or tough nails so I had to get Dean to scratch them for me. He said if your right hand itches, then it means you're going to meet someone new. If you left hand itches, it means you're about to come into some money...

Apparently he was wrong... baby.center.com says it's a pregnancy symptom! WHO KNEW? They are driving me crazy again today, but luckily it just means an increase in estrogen production.

Wordless Thursday

Peanut @ 6W6D. That's the heartbeat showing at the bottom.

The final cake...Primrose flowers with basket weave.
This is what happens when you ask your husband to help make dessert. He eats and WEARS the whipping cream! This is what I caught on the convention last night. Remember that pet peeve of mine? REALLY - if you are going to have a sign at a NATIONAL convention, telvised EVERYWHERE, you can at least spell the name of your country correctly!

7 Weeks

So today is 7 weeks. I still can't believe it. Even after seeing and hearing the hb yesterday. Speaking of...I have a pic of that u/s too with the hb at the bottom but I didn't scan it yesterday. Hopefully I can convince hubby to send it to me today. I also forgot to mention that Dr. H prescribed me some Zof.ran for my nausea. I told him it wasn't too frequent and only at night, but he said to take it as needed every 4 hours so it's not a big thing. I took one last night and kept my dinner down - YAY Zof.ran!

Last night was my last night of Course 2 of my cake class. We did our final cake. I took a pic of it when I got home, but then decided to start reading a little of "What to Expect when you're..." instead of uploading them to the pc. So hopefully hubby can do that for me today too

OR

you'll just have to wait til tomorrow. :-)

It's Official...

I have "Evening" Sickness.

The past 2 nights I've tossed my cookies. UGH. Sunday night was before dinner. Dean was grilling some steaks so I was getting the drinks ready and opened the fridge to get out the tea. We had a salad with Saturday night's dinner and the bowl was in the fridge with the leftovers in it. I got one whiff of the salad (it's only lettuce mind you) and there I go - off to talk to the Porcelain God. I was OK afterwards and was able to actually finish dinner. Last night I made 2 cakes - 1 for a co-worker's birthday today and another for my final cake in my cake class tonight. The cakes were baked before dinner. We had dinner and my stomach was a little shaky from all the smells going on - a chocolate cake, a strawberry cake, and Dean made homemade beef and veggie soup that had been on all day. WHEW! Talk about overwhelming aromas! So after dinner I have to make icing and ice the cakes. Meanwhile he has to move some stuff out of the fridge to make room for the soup pot. This included the lasagna from Saturday night and some beef brisket. He cleaned out the pans and left them in the sink, meanwhile I am washing some cake stuff I need and then it hits me....there goes my dinner. UGH. I hate throwing up anytime - sick or hungover - but this really sucks. It just feels terrible.

On a positive note, we're going for another u/s today!

P.S. Could the little ticker above be any more accurate today?

***Doctor Update***

The gestational sac is measuring 25.3.
The fetal pole is measuring 6W4D.
The heartbeats per min were 140! That was C-R-A-Z-Y! The fetal pole was barely visible. Doc said like 1/2 a matchstick long but you could see the heartbeat and HEAR the heartbeat!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!