Sunday, January 20, 2013

Week 33/ Snowmageddon 2013/ We're Getting There!


Hi!

I don't like snow.  Which doesn't fare well when living in this part of the south.  It's not nearly as bad as further north (or more in the mountains), but still.  Don't like snow.  Well, I take that back.  As long as I am home and don't have to go anywhere, and as long as John can be home, then I don't mind it too much.  Anyway, we have experienced our first (pray only) Snowmageddon 2013.

I'll explain my disdain for snow: It started with Snowmageddon 2009.  At the time I worked in Greeneville, and Becky and I carpooled on that fateful Friday in December.  Thankfully, she drove that day.  I say that because she grew up in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, so she did a great job of driving in the snow (would you want a Cali girl driving in the snow?  I didn't think so).  Anyway, about 3pm the heavy, wet snow started.  We got a late start leaving work, but still left well before 5.  We made it to JC so I could get my car, and even to this day we wonder if I should have just gone on home with her.  But I got in my car and started my trek home.  It was terrifying!  Crazy people everywhere!  Snow!  Ice!  What normally was a 45 minute commute took me 3.5 hours.  Three and a half hours!!!  I can't remember the last time I had been so scared.  And even in the 3.5 hours, I still didn't make it all the way home.  Had to ditch the car at the bottom of the hill and walk the rest of the way.  Just awful.  I swore I would never, ever get caught up in snow like that again.

Then came Snowmageddon 2013.  It rained all last week.  Even flooded areas around here.  Rained up until Thursday.  Thursday afternoon around 1:30, that is.  That's when the rain changed over to big, fat, heavy, wet snow.  Flashbacks of Snowmageddon 2009 stung at me.  No way was I getting caught in that again!  I had an appointment until 3, but right at 3 I left campus.  My director, bless him, drove me home.  There were moments of that drive I'd rather forget (almost not getting up the hill!), but he got me as close to the house as possible so that he could go on home.  Still had to walk, but not nearly as far as before.  Still, can you picture a pregnant woman, in her big red coat, walking in the snow?  I'm sure it was a sight to see :)  This trip, walk and all, took just 1.5 hours.  Much, much better than before.  

The worst part was that, as before, phone lines were jammed.  Could only communicate via text message; phone calls wouldn't go out/come in.  John was able to get through one time, to tell me he was doing fine and that the tires on the Maxima were AWESOME (Michelin tires, people!).  He got home about 20 minutes after me, after ditching the car at the bottom of the hill (oh, the memories :) and walking the rest of the way.  This will tell you how much it snowed: I got home only 20 minutes before he did.  He didn't even see my footprints in the snow when he walked up to the condo.  That's how much it was snowing.

So, you see, I'm not a fan of snow.  If snow had a Facebook page, I would not "like" it.

Gizmo, on the other hand, loves snow!  Here are some pics of him playing:

My snow puppy! 

Running to daddy! 

Eating some snow 

Loves to run in the snow!

He's such a good boy! :D

Let's talk about Dean :D

Dean's bed is ready!  

And his furniture is up!  

We also went out today and got his travel system.  So we can bring him home from the hospital, he has a place to sleep, he can eat, has some clothes to wear, and has diapers/wipes.  I'm feeling so much better about having everything I want ready for his arrival.  Still have some minor things to go, but most of the big stuff is done!  Hooray!!!

Let's see what Dean is up to this week!

Size:  Pineapple baby! (sounds yummy!)  Dean weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17 in mark.

Physical Features:  Dean's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look :)  His skeleton overall is hardening.  The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap.  This will make it easier for him to fit through the birth canal.  These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood anyway, so they can grow as Dean's brain and other tissues expand during infancy and childhood.

How I'm Feeling:  Not gonna lie, I've felt some pain this past week.  Really since Thursday, so I'm lead to believe it's from the stress of the snow.  After John got home and I was finally able to relax, I started feeling pain all over my body.  Today I'm feeling so much better, and paying very close attention to what my body is telling me.  I'm sure John's going to love having more responsibilities over the next 7 weeks :)

What I'm Thankful For: I'm thankful for getting home safely on Thursday, and that my director who brought me from Bristol was able to make it home safely as well.  And I'm grateful to have everything we do so far for Dean.  As I mentioned before, I feel so much better about his arrival.

Appointments and Upcoming Events:  We toured the hospital this past week, which was pretty cool.  It's a big room!  Next appointment is a week from Wednesday.  Tomorrow I'm taking a breast-feeding class, which I'm pretty excited about.

Let's see what I look like this week!


Look at him sticking out there!  We went over to my parent's house today for a bit, and first thing my dad says is "Look how much he's grown!"  Indeed, he has :)  I'm getting to the point whenever I lay on my side I need to wedge a pillow, otherwise his weight pulls me over!

Have a great week!

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