tomorrow!

Tomorrow I have my doctor's appointment, find out the test results for sure and fly to New Hampshire!!! I am super excited! I am all packed and ready to go! I hope I can sleep tonight. I was extremely tired after work (I didn't get much sleep last night due to packing) and I slept from 5:30 to 8:45!!! I wish Sean hadn't let me sleep that long because now I am super awake. I ate some salty edamame, and Matt is kicking as usual. He was kicking me this morning too when I was talking to him/myself about what I'm going to do for daycare. I think he likes the idea of me putting him in one by my work so he only has to be there for the minimum amount of time. (He kicked me really hard when I suggested it). I don't know how people can get abortions this late as birth control! It makes me sad. By now he already has his own sleep cycle and style and everything. He sucks his thumb and hiccupps. Oh well, at least I couldn't do it. The only way would be if he had a condition that would pretty much guarantee he would die within a year of birth. And that's maybe. Anyway! I am going to try to read and settle down and hopefully sleep! Luckily I have to wake up kind of early so I don't have to worry about inability to sleep in the morning, I can just get up! Oh, by the way, I am going to grooming school instead in Chula Vista, and it starts on the 14th. (yay, lots of time to move!). They are going to put me up in a motel room so I don't have to drive a long long way every day. (from Chula Vista to home would be at least a 3 hour drive one way with good traffic, it's pretty much on the border of Mexico).
Okay, I'll update again tomorrow when I know the amnio results and to say how my doctor's visit went.

Procrastinating

As usual...I should be packing right now but here I am, delaying it as usual. I guess I had bad learning experiences in that aspect because I'd always wait until the last minute to do stuff and school and I'd always get a really excellent grade. It's just so wierd that I'm moving!!! I think it's all good to go, but I need to make sure. If it is, it'll be the same address, just apartment F 171. But we'll see. I still have to call Adelphia and SoCal Edison and switch things over. I'm lame, I don't want to use my minutes! Oh well, looks like I'll have a lot to do monday. I will be packed by then though. I feel bad because I won't be helping in the move at all, so I'm going to try to pack and unpack as much as possible. I just feel really lucky that Joey is friends with our neighbor who works for a moving company, and he's going to move us for free. Oooh and I walked by the apartment and saw the current residents leave and get into their car which is parked right in front! Finally!!! I am so sick of having to lug groceries across half the complex just to get to where I live. And forget cleaning out my car or anything like that, it's way too much walking with the stairs and everything. It's going to be so nice with Matt and all the baby stuff to be really close to the apartment. Oh, and I think I can already tell who he is going to take after, behavior-wise. Sean was the most perfect baby; rarely cried, slept through the night, was very happy, etc. I was satan child. And already he is taking after me. I can be lazy all day and he won't move, but it gets to be nighttime and he is kicking and flipping and punching his heart out. I really haven't seen any other correlation besides this, becuase it doesn't matter if I eat or not. The only thing that really gets him kicking besides me trying to rest is when I eat salty foods. He loooves the salt! Or something. I had homemade fries last night and I was really craving salt, so I put a bunch on and he started kicking. (amidst Joey telling me that I'm going to dry up the placenta and get a heart attack, etc, etc). Oh well, I hardly get fries and don't douse pretty much any other food in it.
Except for the food I ate tonight. Edamame, or, soybeans in the pod. They are SO GOOD with salt! And there he went again, right on cue, kicking up a storm. Yay, I might have someone else who will enjoy salty movie theatre popcorn and carry on the family tradition that my grandma and my mom so kindly passed on to me. :-)
Anyway, work was good, pretty typical day. I had a really sweet Saint Bernard named Nana. She was a year old and smooth-coated so she didn't have the problem most Saint Bernards have with smelling like drool all the time. She was a sweetie and brightened my day. Also made me happy to discover McDonalds had a good-sized salad for a dollar so I don't have to keep spending $3 on thier stupid fruit and walnut salad, especially since I don't eat the gross candied walnut or "yogurt".
I was talking to a new girl at Petsmart, and she used to work at McDonalds and she was a shift leader or something. One day she heard a scream from one of the male employees, and he showed her that a rat had gotten into the chicken nugget deep-fryer oil and died. So he took it out and she got her manager to let her know she was going to change the oil and disinfect the container, and her manager said to leave the dirty, rat soaked oil in there and continue using it because it was rush time and they didn't have time to change it. That is so gross and I am sure if someone went out there and explained that there was a problem with the fryer and it would be about 10 minutes it would be a lot better than eating chicken McRatguts. Sick!
Anyway, Matt's kicking furiously, trying to make me get my lazy butt up and get packing! I'll at least make a list.

typical day...

Went to work today, had a short shift; 7-1. Lame! I really need more hours, but at least starting August 10th until maternity leave, I'll be full time and working 8 1/2 hour shifts 5x a week. Super excited about the trip to NH! Maple candy, here I come! Had some odd customers today--one was a lady with a 7 month old Lhasa Apso, and since last time it came it bit for certain things, this time she brought a big nasty looking shock collar and a muzzle and told us (in a sweet soft special-ed school teacher voice), that if he's a bad boy we can just shock him a bit and give him a good whack and that will make him settle down. "he's just dominant, and needs to be put in his place. Don't you my widdle-piddle cutie pie?" It took a lot of composure to tell her that corporate probably wouldn't approve of us using shock therapy and physical abuse to tame her dog. Well, not in those exact words. She just kept going on about ways we could hit him and say "NO!" really loudly to make him settle. Then cooing at him and hugging him. Quite odd. If you don't know already, we work behind big glass windows with a mirror behind us. And we're not supposed to be mean at all--the most we can do is use a muzzle. Guess what? The dog was fine. Dogs don't make dogs neroutic, people make dogs neroutic. I felt sorry for him.
We went and rented Final Destination 3 (not by my choice--it's a horrible movie) and the new version of The Producers. I'm going to watch that tonight, I'm excited to see if it's as wonderful as the original. I finished Darwin's Children today. I enjoyed it, it was a good book. Now I have to find another one to read. I wonder if I can take Dramamine? That would make the plane ride so much nicer. :-)
Okay, I'm totally rambling, product of my special boredom. I was bad today. I had a can of baked beans, 2 boiled eggs...then 2 bags of kettle corn!!! I was having such a bad craving!!! Mmm...the Act II kettle corn is the best.

oh, power

So the power kept fading in and out yesterday, so I didn't get to finish my blog! Anyway, yesterday Sean and I went to the beach in Oceanside. It was really fun! We went boogie-boarding. Well, Sean went boogie boarding. I stood there in the ocean with my boogie board trying to figure out how to use it without putting pressure on my tummy. Eventually I turned it sideways. I consider this a big development, I was able to stand in the ocean with waves coming and crashing onto me with only one freak-out episode. (2 waves crashed on me in sucession and I was paddling furiously after and screaming for Sean to come get me and it turned out the water was only 4 feet deep. Smart.) It was really fun to glide over the waves that didn't have the foam on them. The ones that did, I just turned my back to. I got really burned though because we forgot sunscreen and we didn't have a beach umbrella or anything. It was super fun anyway. Then we went to In and Out where I got my grilled cheese and I made Sean order a Flying Dutchman because I wanted to know what it was. It turned out to be two small beef patties with cheese in the middle and on top. Not very ship-like. Apparantly they have this whole "hidden menu" you get get off the internet. My friend told me to order the Flying Dutchman but wouldn't tell me what it was. So of course I was dying to find out what it was! Not that fabulous. Also today I got WIC, and they gave me a ton of checks for milk, cheese, cereal, eggs, and peanut butter. That's really going to come in handy money-wise. Other than that it's been a really boring day. Matt's bored too. I hate not working because of AT, it's really aggravating. It sucks being home all day.
Anyway, yesterday I was going to say in my blog, (before power outages deleted it 3 times), that I talked to my grooming school instructor and he is going to work it so I can start on the 10th and not the normal starting date of the 7th, so I don't have to cut my vacation short and pay a huge fee to exchange my ticket! Yay! And he is a REALLY good instructor. The last 2 girls who went to grooming school didn't cut hardly any hair and didn't learn much, and upon their return, had to do all their learning on the job. But Heidi, who went to grooming school taught by Shawn (my instructor), came back knowing what she was doing and was able to do 4-5 dogs a day. The normal is 1-2 dogs a day for a newly graduated grooming academy student. That makes me happy! That way I'll be able to get my 100 dogs done sooner, my portfolio done sooner, and start making commission sooner, all before Matthew arrives! Then, when I return, I won't have any more training to do, won't get paid crappy hourly anymore, and it'll be great! Everything is working out great. Finally! Now I just need those results from the amnio to come back negative for Down Syndrome and we'll be set! But even if they are positive, hopefully by the time he is 2, when he is going to need to start special therapy, Sean will have a well-paying job too so we can afford anything he needs.
Well anyway, I am going to sign off now, I'll post tomorrow after work.

arrgh!

Okay, so this is the THIRD time I have tried to post this blog. The first time, I had a lot done, like a page's worth, and the power went out and I lost it all. Oh well, stuff happens. Then the power came back on, I logged back in, typed about half a page, and the power went out AGAIN! So, when it came back on again, the internet was seriously messed up, and has been out until now. It was a rain and thunder storm then, so since it's nice out now (relatively), this one should be ok. So, I don't really remember what I was going to say, because my husband looked over and just -now- realized I have a blog. sigh. Anyway, I know I was saying something about how it's strange that my knee is hurting a lot now, especially since I've lost weight. But Matthew is ok! He weighs in at a perfect 6 oz right now. I'm eating and doing everything right, I guess I'm just not one of those people that eats and immediatly gains weight. I'm sure that'll change after I give birth and my metobalism slows.

Oh Boy!

Yep, it's a boy!!! For SURE! He, um, let everyone know! I am so happy! He has 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 fingers and 10 toes! He's so perfect! We got a picture of him sucking his thumb, laying down, and kicking me. He was also doing the "hang loose" surfer sign (seriously), but didn't get a picture of that. He looks perfect! It turns out my dates WERE off, actually to the point where the blood recults would be normal and not indicative of Down Syndrome, but I gave my consent for them to go ahead and do the amniocentesis because that's the only way to know for sure. The way the lady put it was I could go back and do another blood test using my correct dates, and it would probably be normal, but that still is only a 65% chance it's right. So either way the only way to know is to test his genetic layout.l He looked perfect on the ultrasound, he has ALL his organs, all his bones, a perfect spine, etc. But they said Down Syndrome babies usually look normal in the ultrasound. I didn't know that! But it was still a wonderful experience. The amnio was HORRIBLE awful pain, because they had to do it twice and keep moving the needle around. I'm guessing a perfect amnio only takes like 5 minutes and mine took at least 10. They couldn't get a good spot, they had to get a bigger needle, etc. I didn't look. I was crying and screaming in pain but it is worth it. I don't have any side effects like severe cramping, bleeding, etc. I'd rather them have to re-poke me (like they did) and make sure they do it right then do a rush job. Everyone said I was really brave...yeah right! Oh well, it's over now, and I'll know for SURE, 100%, by next week hopefully. Either way, I'm having a really perfect little boy. I'm super happy. Anyway, time for bed, just wanted to give a quick update! Oh, by the way, his name is Matthew.

back so soon?

Well, as my most vigilant readers I'm SURE will realize, I am back much sooner than expected. Sooner than now, actually. I got back prematurely from Marine Corps Annual Training because I got a scary call from my doctor saying my blood test came back as having a high risk for having a baby with Down Syndrome. After a freak out fest I calmed down and listened to him and it turns out any little thing can tweak the test results, such as being even a little off on my conception date, or if I'm having twins (which I'm not), or sometimes the hormone levels are off for no reason. The book I got when I got the test said most of the positives are false, and the follow-up results will indicate a healthy baby. It says, over and over, in BIG BOLD LETTERS that the majority of women who indicate positive on the test will go on to have perfectly normal pregnancies and babies. I was less freaked when I realized they didn't even test my DNA, just an amount of a chemical in my blood, not even in the baby's blood, just mine. Plus I looked online and DNA-wise, any parent that carries the gene has a pretty good risk of passing it on, and an even better risk if the partner also has a complimentary gene. (even recessive genes). Therefore, if I had the gene for it, it would only go to show logically that it would have shown up somewhere in my family tree. It hasn't. Then the chances for random Down Syndrome are pretty low for me because I concieved when I was 20. Combined with the fact I never had any official pregnancy dating done besides a pee test (which aren't very precise) and the feeling of my uterus and I don't honestly remember the last day of my last period, my dates are probably off from what I told the doctor they are which would make the test results worthless. Anyway, long story short, logically and statistically, my baby is probably fine.
So I go in for the follow-up this wednesday the 19th, and they're going to do a detailed ultrasound to date the pregnancy and look for telltale skeletal defects that indicate DS. If their results are inconclusive, I get to have an amniocentesis. Grreat... One good thing though, I am feeling tons of movement so I am probably close to how far along I need to be to determine the sex of the baby, especially with this super ultrasound, and hopefully I get to find out in 4 days whether this little athlete inside is a girl or a boy!
Oh, and just as a side note, if the kid DOES have DS, I am NOT getting an abortion, Sean and I both agreed that we will of course have the kid and raise it well and make sure it has the best life and the most loving parents possible.
So, onto a happier subject! I did all the laundry today! To normal people this isn't a big deal, but you have to understand that our laundry pile was more of a mountian, and we had stopped using the A/C and just enjoyed the cool glacial breeze coming from the top. I found fossils in the carpet. I'm not sure if they're from small dogs or prehistoric rodents. I had no time to discover which because my aspiring archeologist Mai took the bones under my bed for closer examination. Joey and I were bored so we drove up to Idyllwild, which is on top of the (now) nearest mountian, about an hour away, and ate at a place called the Bread Basket. It's a little over 5,000 ft elevation and was a nice pine-y change from the 115 degree heat where we live. It was also entertaining playing on his fear of heights and accidentally driving a little TOO close to the edge at times. Well, a married pregnant woman has to get her kicks somehow! But I didn't really, really freak him out because that would have left both of us in tears. Well, yes, mine would be tears of laughter, but he IS my friend and I GUESS I wouldn't like it if someone did it to me with like, water or cottonballs. I'm really trying to get the motivation to clean some more today, because so much needs to be done. Really, I am trying. Maybe it would be good motivation if I stopped typing so much and looking at Babyzone (because I am pathetically obsessed with pregnancy, go figure). And a Creamsicle wouldn't hurt. Neither would watching JUST ONE episode of Law and Order CI while eating said Creamsicle. Actually, said Creamsicle and Creamsicle's brother. Or sister. Or both.
Okay, I'll keep everyone updated on what I'm sure will be a wonderfully successful housecleaning night. Tomorrow will be awesome though, I'm going to see Othello with Brenda!!!

Leaving

Okay, it's time...(certain doom-type music playing)...to go to AT! :'-(. So I won't be posting until at least the 23rd. Bought a ton of food so I won't starve, and lots of entertainment because half the time I'm going to be sitting on the sidelines. I got a SuDoku game, so at least I can excerise my brain because I feel like every time I go to Marine Corps training my IQ drops a few points. Good news--I am definately going to grooming school in August so I can look foward to making buku bucks by the time I have to take my maternity leave. That really gives me some relief. Okay, have to go, I already packed now it's time to relax.

sixteen weeks!

Almost 17! Pretty exciting. I felt my first movement a few days ago; it felt like a little gas bubble in the wrong place. He/she/it kicked me then scraped across my abdomen a little. It was definately a movement! Very exciting. I'm going in today to get some bloodwork done to determine whether the kid has any disorders. By the time I come back from AT, on the 22nd, I should have the results of those back and my "official" ultrasound. (That's on the 24th). So before I go to New Hampshire, I should know much more than I do now about the newest member of the family. Oh, another wierd thing, according to the doctor's scale, I haven't gained any weight since I've been pregnant, and I'm almost to my 5th month! But they don't seem too concerned. I'll probably drop some more weight during my 2 weeks of training because apparantly for breakfast and dinner they are having catered meals, which translates into "unidentifiable meat-based foods", so I won't get to eat anything until the nightly MRE which, thankfully, come in vegetarian types. Luckily they are about 3,000 calories if everything inside is eaten, and I can bring my own food. I'm getting leave on the 14th and the 15th so I can restock then. So anyway, I'd better get dressed and begin my day. Maybe I'll go see a movie.

Black Makes This Look Cooler

Well, they don't have my favorite font here, so my blogs will suffer. Anyway, my name is Ally and hopefully I'll be posting new episodes of my life frequently. There's always something to talk about in my exciting animal-filled life.
For instance, tonight was bath night. Isis, my 2 month old spitfire kitten was first. She had to have her nails clipped, but don't ask her--she'll tell you I personally ripped off each of her toes with a pair of pliers. She isn't even 8 inches long and Joey (my live-in friend) had to scruff her and hold all her legs. She was also great for her bath, got a nice design on my belly from her. My baby is going to have interesting birthmarks. Nino, my older cat (1 1/2 years old), ran over to see if she was ok, because the way she was telling the story at the time I was squirting the shampoo into her mouth and drowning her. He peeked into the tub, saw the water, looked at her, and I could swear he laughed. Of course, with that he was next and he lost all his dignity the second the water turned on. Luckily, he is an exceptionally gentle cat and he didn't take out his claws at any time during the bath, even while climbing on me. According to him, I was bashing his head against the wall and making him snort the shampoo while I whirled him around by his tail to dry him and laughing. The dogs weren't so bad, they just decided they were paralyzed and couldn't move. At least when I finish they seem grateful. Whether that's because they are clean or free, I'll never know. So now I have two hyper wet dogs and two sullen wet cats, and a much better-smelling place.
I haven't eaten dinner yet tonight, because after I found out someone went on a Ramen binge and ate all of it, I decided I didn't want anything else. Of course I managed to eat a can of green beans and some kettle corn. It's starting to become a free-for-all when it comes to eating. I'm so hungry all the time, it's becoming boring. So I just try to eat balanced..ish...and avoid that horrible pregnant hunger rage. Anyway, that's about all, I think I need to go plan what to eat before I'm too hungry to think!