Sleeping and Shots

On Tuesday night we were getting ready for bed and Forrest said he was hoping for a good night's sleep. Apparently on Monday night both Wallis and I were snoring and Forrest went downstairs to sleep on the couch. I didn't even realize he was gone because somehow he woke up during my middle of the night bathroom break and crawled back to bed. I felt really bad, so I tried really hard not to snore and would wake up and make sure he was still in bed. Then at 4am I woke up screaming because of a cramp in my calf. Poor Forrest, he might want to consider moving out to the couch.

I have hit a milestone this week. I received my second shipment of Lovenox shots, which means I have injected myself 100 times. For those of you that don't know, I have a clotting disorder and inject myself with Lovenox (a blood thinner) once a day as a preventative measure. I can't believe that many days have gone by! It has become part of my bedtime routine. According to my ticker, I only have 210 more shots to give myself! Woohoo!

Hawaii

I have finally decided to post about our trip to Hawaii - which was only 2 months ago, but whatever. It was slightly crazy getting ready for Hawaii. Forrest and I came back from my dad's service in Jackson on a Tuesday, worked 2 days and then flew out to Hawaii on Friday. (Did I mention that we flew in and out of Portland?) Forrest worked a total of 2o+ hours in those two days. We got to Hawaii on my birthday, but celebrated the next day by going to Kimo's in Lahaina. Their Naughty Hula Pie is fantastic and was my birthday cake.

We spent the first three days in Napili, which was nostalgic because the last time I was there was with my whole family, but it was absolutely beautiful and quite relaxing just being the two of us.

We then hooked up with Forrest's parents and spent the rest of the time in Kihei. We had lots of snorkeling and saw turtles every time we went out. We drove the road to Hana - which I will never do again when I am pregnant. I never get car sick, but pregnancy hormones, windy road and cheese and crackers is not a good idea. On the way to Hana we stopped at a beach for some banana bread which was quite yummy. We then drove to Black Sand Beach where Forrest found a cave to climb in. We had packed a lunch, but while Forrest was playing the cave, I saw a couple eating noodles and I then had to have noodles for lunch.

The last three days Forrest's sister joined us and we went back to Lahaina and I had to go to the Banyan Tree. If I could grow one of these at my house I would.

Overall the 10 days we spent in Hawaii were fantastic and just what we needed. God's timing was perfect because I was not ready to return to counseling right after my dad died, and I came back from Hawaii more mentally prepared to handle other people's crises. We are ready to go back anytime - so if a generous benefactor wants to send us for a babymoon - we wouldn't complain!

Weekly Update

Monday and Tuesday: Nothing too exciting. One of my kids that I work with told me I was getting fat and my response was, "that happens when you're pregnant." He then apologized.

Wednesday: My work had our office Christmas lunch at Azteca. Yummy fajitas. One of the interns asked me what my due date was and when I told her April 20th, her response was "That's horrible." Apparently 4/20 is National Pot Day. Having never smoked pot, I did not know. I think my due date is Emmett Noel's birthday, so that out trumps pot day by far.

Thursday: I found out that when we are in Jackson over Christmas, our friends are throwing me a baby shower. I never thought of that because it's so early, but I'm not going to complain. :) Forrest will get to hang out with the husbands for a "boys night."

Friday: Today has been a strange one. Today would have been the due date for the baby we lost in April. 8 months ago I thought that today would have been really sad, but how can I be sad when I am 21 weeks pregnant and this little one has been kicking away. (That may be because yesterday I told him he was in trouble for not kicking enough and he's getting back at me.) It is crazy to think that I could have been giving birth today, but then I wouldn't be pregnant with our son and I wouldn't give that up for the world.

I also went to Target today to register. I think there may be 10 items on our registry because I got there and was overwhelmed. I registered for things that seemed like a no brainer - baby tub, diaper genie plus refills. Then I started looking at baby swings, bouncers (which type is better, do I really need them to match), breast pumps (manual, electric, single, double, brand), car seats, and pack and plays. Do I need a bassinet for our room or should I just use the pack and play? I am begging all of you moms who read this blog to give me some advice.

Tonight Forrest and I are going to see the Nutcracker ballet. I am very excited - I have never been to a ballet, and I never thought Forrest would take me to one. It should be a lot of fun. If they let me take pictures I will post them.

20 weeks

It is hard to believe that I am halfway through this pregnancy. Time has really flown by. During the last week I think I "popped." It is not enough that people ask me if I am pregnant, but enough that I can wear maternity clothes. I like feeling like I look pregnant - it makes it seem more realistic. At our appointment last week - things looked pretty good. My weight gain is right on track and the baby is measuring on target. Now the difficulty will be coming up with a name - so far Forrest has vetoed everything I come up with. I bought a baby name book two weeks ago and now that we know we are having a boy, I have started to try to narrow things down. I think I need a new book though - I was looking at the letter B - two of the names were Bathazar and Beauregard. Really? I might be a crazy pregnant lady - but I'm not that crazy.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 57. It has been a weird day to say the least. Yesterday Forrest and I had an ultrasound. We are having a BOY! It has been fun to think about how excited my dad would have been to find out he was having a grandson. But, it has also been sad, knowing our son won't have the privelege of being absolutely adored by his "Boppa." I have been trying to think about what to do in memory of my dad today - it should be something that he would have enjoyed. So far all I have come up with is eating fried chicken at the deli below his office - but since I am not in Jackson that is not possible.

My mom sent all four of us an email today telling us the story of our dad at each of out births. It was really cool to read - we have all heard the stories before, but each story had something new that I didn't know before. I am going to share the story of my birth with you guys...

Amy, Guess what sporting event was happening on your birthday – The World Series – I wish I could tell you who was playing and what the score was, but I can’t – but you know that Dad knows! We were in our apartment and it was an evening that Daddy was not on call . We were watching the game together and around 9:00, my labor started. Dad would tell you how great it was that I let him finish the game. Being very naïve about babies and such, I wasn’t sure I was in labor ( your doctor thought I wasn’t due until November) A few hours later, we decided that we should go to the hospital. Dad with his big grin decided as I reached the bottom of the stairs, that we really needed a picture of me pregnant. I can still see his big, silly grin, thinking this was all going to be very funny – I wasn’t laughing. Contractions are not photogenic! Things went pretty quickly once we were at the hospital. No one could start my IV, so I didn’t get to have my epidural. Daddy was amazing and continued to rub my back till his hand I’m sure felt it was going to fall off. He was so encouraging. HE seemed to know what to say through all the stages of labor (even though he had slept through most of our Lamaze classes!) Then at 3:31 there you were – Daddy’ face glowed. You were his little girl – to cherish and love. Thankfully, Dad was doing a pediatric rotation and could stop in and see us during the day. It was on one of those visits that he held you I his hands and with tears in his big blue eyes that he asked me if I thought you would ever get married? His prayers for you and your future had already begun. You were only about 10 hours old.

Reading that story just makes me feel special - and reminds me of how much I was loved by my daddy.

Sadie Pearl

Sadie Pearl Wachob was born at 3:30 this afternoon. She weighs 7 pounds, 2 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. Colleen and Erik are doing great. Sadie came so fast that the doctor didn't even make it to the hospital on time. I will post a picture as soon as my mom emails me one!

Technical Difficulties

I have been wanting to post about our trip to Hawaii for days. And I have wanted to include pictures. However, I have not figured out how to upload the pictures to our new computer. And yes, I did ask Forrest and he's not sure either. The computer wants to reformat the SD card, but that means bye-bye pictures. So, you will all have to wait. In other news, I bought my first Christmas presents this morning. And I can't tell you what they are because the people receiving these gifts actually read this blog. I think this is the first Christmas in years that I actually shopped in November. Maybe that means my family will get presents on Christmas Day this year, instead of mid-January like they did last year.

A New Journey

I have been contemplating starting blogging again for a few weeks. My difficulty has been where to start. In the last month my life has been completely turned around. I look at my last post and can only think of all the different emotions that we experienced that day. Forrest and I started out that morning going to the doctor's for an ultrasound. Immediately afterwards we called my dad to let him know that everything was looking great. He was so excited to hear about his grandchild and to know that everything was okay. I am very grateful that I was able to have that conversation with my dad. In so many ways it exemplifies who my dad was: vibrant, funny, but most of all madly in love with his children and future grandchild. It still seems surreal that just a few hours later he was gone. The last month has been very difficult and quite strange. Life continues to move forward, even when I don't want it to.

So, where do I go from here? I will continue to blog about what Forrest and I have been up to (our trip to Hawaii). I will share about the pregnancy (and how at 17 weeks, I don't look pregnant.) But I will also share about my grief; my struggles with God's timing; about how God is amazingly sovereign; and about what a great guy my dad was. In the last month I have realized how many people my dad impacted with his life. My dad's faith, vibrance for life, and sense of humor touched those around him deeply - even those who did not know him for long. I desire to honor my dad by emulating his best characteristics - which I believe came from his loving devotion to Christ. It is my prayer that during this new journey, my faith and love for Christ deepen - because my dad would see that as the greatest honor of all.

Introducing Flicker

Forrest and I would like to announce that we are pregnant and expecting "Flicker" at the end of April! So far things are going really well. Flicker is growing on target and looks healthy. I go to bed ridiculously early, and have to eat every couple of hours - but no major morning sickness.

The ultrasound tech decided to give us a close up of Flicker's face. It looks alot more human than the "cashew" baby we saw two weeks ago!

Seahawks Game

Today Forrest and I went to our first ever Seahawks game! It was a lot of fun! We were sitting next to some pretty drunk Canadian Cincinnatti fans and they provided lots of entertainment. It was a really good game, the Seahawks managed to pull out a win in the last 2 minutes. My only regret is that I forgot to check the battery level on our camera - and it died after 2 pictures before the game even started.

Simpsonized

I am not a big fan of the Simpsons. I don't really think they are that funny. However, it is really fun to simpsonize yourself! Check out simpsonizeme.com

The Mariners

On Sunday, Forrest and I went to the Mariners game with our friends Travis and Lyndsey. It was a great game - the Mariners were winning, then losing, then Ben Broussard hit a 2 run home run and we were tied, then we finally won. We had a blast.

My Garden

I have been known to have a black thumb. Just ask my mom. I killed a tree in a week once when she was on vacation. Now that I own my own home - I have been really trying to have a nice garden. I think that I have done pretty well.





You have to look sideways because I am not smart enough to figure out how to flip it, but I grew this pot from bulbs - so I am impressed with myself on how green it is.

I give up!

Forrest and I went on a four day weekend trip with Nate and Ramie last weekend. We had an absolute blast. When I came home, all of my flowers were bigger and had started to bloom. I have spent hours on my plants. I have weeded them, fertilized them, and watered them consistently. I leave for four days and they have all start blooming like crazy! And one of my tomatoes even turned red. I am going to continue to water them - but forget the rest of the stuff! :)

A Secret Society

This week has been rough for me, and although I don't know why this particular week is more difficult than others, I have decided to share with the blogging world the secret society that Forrest and I have sadly joined.

In the beginning of April, Forrest and I found out that we were unexpectedly pregnant. After the shock wore off we started to get excited! I went to the doctors and everything looked great. A few days later, on April 17th, I miscarried. It is hard to explain the depth of emotion that you feel for a person you have never met. The past two and a half months have been incredibly up and down - one day I feel fine, another day I am incredibly sad. The good thing though, is that everyday gets just a little bit better. There is a song by Watermark that has been soothing on my soul, and reminds me that God is in control and He knows what He is doing, even if I don't understand. If you don't mind - I would like to share it.

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby,baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby,baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we're home with you
Until we're home with you
Miss you everyday Miss you in every way
But we know there's a day when we will hold you We will hold you
You'll kiss our tears away When we're home to stay
Can't wait for the day when we will see you We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
till mom and dad can hold you
You'll just have heaven before we do You'll just have heaven before we do
Sweet little babies, it's hard to understand it cause we're hurting We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we're stronger people through the growing
And in knowing- That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would. Just like He said He would.


I am sorry to those that I did not share this with earlier. It is the secret society part of it. I have found that miscarriages are not talked about very much. It is also a difficult topic to bring up in the midst of a conversation. Although I have found that talking about it is healing. Sorry that this is a downer post - but it has been burning on my heart for the past two and a half months, and I am finally feeling ready to share it. Thanks for reading.

Love,
Amy

Grandpa Jack

Some of you have met my fabulous Grandpa Jack. He is my mom's dad and lives in San Diego. Senior year at Fox, Marisa, Shara and I spent a week there and got spoiled rotten by him. Sunday was his 95th birthday. He was up in Seattle for my cousin's high school graduation, so Forrest and I got to spend some time with him. I will upload pictures later, but I just wanted to say how amazing my grandpa is. He still drives, lives on his own, and has a more active social life than I do. Physically he is slowing down, but his mind is still really quick. He and his friends have dinner parties all of the time - including a beer tasting party because Grandpa doesn't like wine. :) My grandpa likes to tell this story of what makes a good marriage. My aunt Laura asked him what makes a good marriage and he told her "It takes love to get it started, commitment to keep it going..." and in the background my grandma pipes up with "And a very tolerant wife!" Happy Birthday Grandpa!

A Wobbleygus

On Thursday I somehow managed to rear end a semi on the freeway and did this to my car. The good news is that I am completely fine, just some very minor whiplash. The airbags didn't deploy - which is odd. I would think that with that kind of impact they should have. I did not do any damage to the semi, in case you were wondering. Forrest came and picked me up and we went home where we had a BBQ with our bible study. We only arrived at our house a few minutes late. The worst part of the accident was Wallis. He was asleep in the back seat and got thrown into the passenger front seat. At first all we noticed was a rug burn right above one of his eyes, but as the weekend progressed we realized he is wobbely. Wallis has always been a bit clumsy - it's part of his charm. But now he can't stand straight and is scared to go downstairs because it causes him to be off balance. We took him to the vet and today he and I get to go to a neurologist. I will keep you posted on him.

The other part of the accident is that Forrest and I have been car shopping all weekend. I seriously think we have test driven 5 or 6 cars. We have narrowed it down to two - the 2007 Toyota Rav4 or the 2008 Ford Escape. Does anyone have a vote? We would love some input.

The End of the Roll

Back in the days when Forrest lived with Nate, he bought this roll of plastic wrap. I believe the original intention was to seran-wrap a car. However, that never happened. It has been around for at least 5 years, and has moved with us 3 times. I am happy to say that the roll is finally empty, and I can move on to much more normal sized rolls of plastic wrap.

I am not a plant killer

I am notorious for having a "black thumb." My mom put me in charge of watering her plants for a week and I ended up killing a tree. I thought those were supposed to be hearty. This spring though, my goal is to have a beautiful front and backyard full of flowers. I want everyone to know that so far, I haven't killed anything. I actually have some petunias sprouting. They are really little, but that's okay. They are growing. I am very excited, and as soon as I can post pictures to prove that I am not killing my yard, I will.

The Week of Chickens

This past week I went to Georgia for work. It was 80 degrees everyday, and very enjoyable. The theme of my week was chickens. The day I landed in Georgia, I was driving up to where we were staying and on the freeway I saw a tanker that had liquid chicken in it. I don't even know how you make liquid chicken. And in case you are wondering... it is inedible.

Then, the next day, my coworker and I were looking up tourist type things to do, and we found the "Big Chicken." So, of course we had to try to find it. All we knew was that it was in Marietta, so we stopped at a gas station, asked how to get to the "Big Chicken" and he sent us here.

Inside a police car

Yet another interesting story from my job... this week I got to sit in the back of a squad car. Long story short, I was 1.5 miles from my car at 10:00 PM. I had to call 911 due to the crisis I was dealing with, and when the police came, they put me in the back and drove me back to my car. I felt a little strange because if anyone had seen me, they would have thought I had been arrested. I have always heard that the back of a squad car is uncomfortable, but my only complaint was the lack of leg room.

In other news... I got an estimate to fix the outside of my car from the superglue debacle - 1700 dollars. I have yet to get an estimate for the inside. Stay tuned!

I hate superglue!

This weekend has been spent trying to remove superglue from all over the place. I have superglue in my hair, my coat, the windows of my car, the outside of my car, on the seats of my car, the steering wheel and the console. For those of you who think that the glovebox is a safe place to store items from out of control kids... think again. That's all I've got to say.

And The Winner of Crappy Moustache Day Is...

That's right... Forrest.

Every six months or so, my husband and his coworkers have Crappy Moustache Day and try to create the ugliest and creepiest moustaches ever seen. Forrest won the first year, but last year gave up his bragging rights. I am proud to say that my husband won Crappiest Moustache this year. I haven't asked him for permission to post a picture, and I don't want to get into any trouble. :) But just imagine a moustache that connected with his sideburns, and you can get a good idea of why he won.

Love Em or Leave Em

Two weeks ago, I ran in my first 5K of 2007. It was a beautiful run around Greenlake in Seattle. My coworker Delene ran with me, and we had a lot of fun. My goal was to run the first two miles without stopping. I have done absolutely NO training. (so much for New Year's Resolutions). I reached my goal, and ran/walked the last mile. It was a lot of fun, and I am now planning on running a race over St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Oh Canada...

Last weekend, Forrest and I got the chance to go to Whistler with our friends Ian and Amanda. We drove up late on Friday night, and I was the one that got to drive through the border. I was really excited because I have never been to Canada before. The driving wasn't bad, it was just a little tricky to tell how fast I was going because the speedometer on my car doesn't light up.

We arrived in Whistler at 1AM. The next morning we went skiing, and it was absolutely beautiful. After we were done skiing, Amanda and I ditched the boys and went to go get facials at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. It was SO relaxing. I have never had a facial before, and it was so much fun. I had no idea that it would include a light massage as well. I haven't told Forrest how much it cost, because I am afraid that the exchange rate is not as good as I want it to be. :)

Sunday, we went skiing again. I was a wimp and only went for a half day because my shins were bruised from my ski boots. That night we stayed at the condo, went to the hot tub, and ordered pizza. When Amanda called she was told they were out of large pizzas, but we could get a medium or extra large. Silly pizza place, didn't they know they could take extra large dough and make a large pizza?

Forrest and I went out to breakfast at a cute french restaurant on Monday, and then did some shopping. We both enjoyed our long weekend, and it was so relaxing to be away from everything. I didn't even talk to anyone on the phone for three whole days, which is totally amazing for me!

The Adventures of My Job

I know that I often complain about my job, sometimes it is just a pain. Other times, it is a lot of fun. This week has had great examples of both. Last Tuesday I was driving one of "my kids" to an appointment. On our way there, she puked all over the passenger side of the car. It was one of the grossest things I have ever seen. We immediately pulled over, and she went into a store to get cleaned up, and I sat with Wallis in the parking lot because I didn't want him to eat anything disgusting. I then got to clean up the disgusting vomit (I am now completely sure that nursing was never my calling).

Then on Wednesday, I got to fly to LA with a 4 year old and a 6 year old. They had never flown on a plane before and have a history of running away in public. They actually did really well until we landed and got to baggage claim. They were riding the carousel, trying to get to the back where the people load the suitcases. A nice man was trying to help me and he said "you need to listen to your mom" and the kids yelled back, "She's not our mom!" Then we got outside where we had to wait for the shuttle to take us to our rental car. Both kids took off down the walkway and ran for about half a block. I just stood there yelling "Hope you don't get hit by a car!" and "Please come back!" It was a very entertaining day.

There has been one major perk of my job this week: Disneyland. So much fun!

Now I am back in WA, the kids are back where they belong, my car is in the shop getting detailed, and all is well.

My New Year's Resolution

Way back when I was in grad school, I used to run everyday. It seems a little crazy to me now, because I was a jumper in track, and jumpers don't have to run very far. That year I ran the Turkey Trot 5K in Jackson in 24 minutes. So this year my goal is to run a 5K this spring in 27 minutes. (I am giving myself extra time because I am old). I think the most difficult part is going to get my lazy bones out of bed. So now that my blogger friends know my new year's resolution, you can keep me accountable.