30 March 2007

14

Jack's generation has doubled.



Frederick William Matvias
Born at 11:22 a.m. Central
9 pounds, 7 ounces
21 inches long
Congrats to Aunt B and Uncle Fred!
Jack is so excited to go to Cago and see Cousin Freddie!


26 March 2007

13

R2 at 15 weeks ... only 25 more to go!
At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help the air sacs in his lungs develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you were to shine a flashlight at your tummy, he'd be likely to move away from the beam. If you're scheduled for an ultrasound in the coming weeks (most women have one between 16 and 20 weeks), you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! Don't be disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down the gender depends on how clear the picture is and the position of your baby during the ultrasound; he may be curled or turned in such a way as to keep you in suspense.


I thought I'd share the wonders of pregnancy considering Husband doesn't want to know. He gets squirmy every time I try to tell him what's going on in there. It's pretty amazing and really, when we saw the baby at just a little more than 10 weeks, I couldn't believe how much had already developed.

I think I may have felt the baby flutter last night when I was being lazy on the couch. Coincidentally, I got an email today that said second time moms could start feeling movement this early but first time moms would think it was gas. What I felt was definitely a little kick. Very exciting.

We're now debating about finding out the sex. I am iffy. He is adamant that we will. I am torn. This could be our last baby and wouldn't it be exciting to hear "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" and be really, truly surprised? I know it's still a surprise when you find out at the ultrasound but I just don't know if the impact is the same. I have always hated people who chose not to find out. I am a firm believer in being in the know but now I am (maybe hormonally) changing my mind.

The only thing that makes me think we should is that I have zero girl items. I'd hate to get a bunch of green stuff and then have a girl. My next appointment is Thursday and then the next is the ultrasound. We'll see who wins...

In Jack news:
His vocabulary continues to grow, hysterically.
He's way into asking why. Apparently we use the word "because" a lot because he often answers us with "Beeecccaauuse, I can."
And if I tell him to be careful, he looks at me, holds his hand up and says with a sigh, "I know, Mama!" That kid has a lifetime of hearing me telling him to be careful and he's already sick of it at 2.
We continue to work on the essentials with him, name, age, parents names, and the new one: city. We drill him all the time but with everything going on, we haven't worked on Okemos in a while. But yesterday, Husband threw out the question. "Jack, where do you live?" and without hesitation he said, "Okemos!" It was a great moment.

13 March 2007

12


There was a time in my life that I cheered whole-heartedly for the Michigan State Spartans. I would pile into the bar, climb on the couch or even go to the arena to cheer for my Green and White. And I would cheer loudly.

But now, nearly 10 years out, I think I may be the only graduate of MSU that hopes they lose. Well, that's not exactly true. During football season, I say kill everyone.
But basketball is such a drag. And having the hubbie gone for as many as five weeks in a row is just too much. It's too much, I say! Now, if they had a chance to win it all, or even make the Big 8, I would feel a little better about it. But to go to Round 1 and likely fail, it's just hard.
Next year, it seems, will be the year. That's reasonable. I have a year to mentally prepare and schedule assistance with my then-two children. Let's hope the Grandmas realize they will be spending March in Okemos.
The spouse is driving to Winston-Salem now. That's 10 hours of hard driving through the Smokey Mountains. Jack and I are just about sick of it. And I know he is too.
Whenever I tell people what my husband does (at least guys) think it's glamorous and fun. They usually say something like, "Wow! He gets to go to all the games?! He gets to talk to Izzo?! What's that like?!"
Yeah, I am sure it was fun and exciting the first five or so years he did it but the germy planes, cheap hotels and crappy dinners get old. And it gets old for the family. And now he has a 2 year-old and No. 2 on the way, and he misses things. He freaks every time he gets home claiming Jack looks older. This last time he said he looked like he was 12!
Maybe I should start a support group with other sports widows and widowers?
True, in the off season, things lighten. He's home for dinner every night and is around to play with the kid a lot more. But trust me, the perks of the summer are quickly forgotten once the 7-day weeks and late nights begin. And the travel. It's not fun to go to Penn State in January. It's not fun to go to crummy Purdue. There's no glamour in Fairfield Inns of the Big 10.
Really, it's just during that damn basketball season. Football is easy. It's Saturdays only(which by the way, most people have off to enjoy the football games and spend time with their family) andthe most he is gone is a weekend.
But basketball is sneaky. It pops up on Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays or even Sundays. It can be in the early evening, morning, afternoon or late night because of TV. And even though it should be a fairly quick game, players always seem to drag it out with timeouts and tons of fouls at the end. I hate that! I don't think it should be allowed. If there's 13 seconds left and you are down by 7 YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE! Let it go.
I feel bad for him, honestly. I know he's so tired. You would think the man would hate basketball and everything it stands for ... but no. When he gets home, I know he will immediately flip on ESPN to see what the Pistons are up to ... and then I will have to watch every single Tigers baseball game this summer. And what about the Red Wings, are they good enough for the Stanley Cup? Please tell me no.
Sports writers are a strange breed. It's a high stress, low reward position that requires passion to do it well. He's got the passion and the talent. Now, I just need more patience ... and a Marquette University sweatshirt.

06 March 2007

11

My oldest friend had her first baby this week.

Lucinda "Lucy" Angeline was born last night. She weighed in at 9 pounds 5 ounces and is 20 inches tall. She has a full head of hair. Her (Maternal) Grandma says she looks just like her Mama.

We have been friends since we were 3. It's insane to realize how old we are -- and now we're both Mamas.

I will be visiting my gals this weekend. Can't wait!

I wish all the best for my friend, her husband and Jack's future bride... just kidding! But stranger things have happened.

05 March 2007

10

These last few weeks/months have been a little rough for our little family. It may be why I have been so mediocre when it comes to the blog. We've had this HUGE thing going on and I didn't feel like I could talk about it -- so it was difficult to add anything to JwJ when this big thing couldn't be mentioned.

Until now.

We're expecting Baby #2!

Jack has requested a sister though Husband swears it's a boy based on a recent ultrasound we had. The doctor (an OB for more than 25 years) says there's no way to tell this early but maybe he knows something she doesn't. Everyone else in my family is convinced this baby is a girl. I am sure we'll find out in a few weeks.

I hit 12 weeks Sunday so I am close to being done with my first trimester. The morning sickness has been strong with this one -- much stronger than with Jack. We also had a scare with bleeding and for several hours I was convinced I lost the baby. But after a week of bed rest, things are looking up. The doctor says once you hear a heartbeat there's only a 1 in 100 chance of miscarriage. Pretty good stats, I'd say.

The baby comes Sept. 16 -- sandwiched between the Michigan State v. Pittsburgh and the Notre Dame game. Let's hope R2 decides to come during the week.