tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62158361294591508212024-03-13T19:19:38.116-07:00New Kidney: New Life10/24/10 marks the day that Rob received an amazing gift - his kidney!
This is our new blog where we will highlight all things good (and bad) from this gift of life. You can find our old blog by clicking below.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-18654842427422814152012-08-09T09:03:00.000-07:002012-08-09T09:10:16.298-07:00Transplant Games continued.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Next up was the road race. It was my first road race outside of two time trials. It was the first time rubbing elbows with the rest of the racers. I was somewhat concerned what the pace would be like, but I had a strategy in mind that eventually played out to be pretty successful.<br />
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I had raced mountain bikes before, but was never all that fast. I would go on group rides when I worked at the corporate office only to get dropped. I had been so much slower than my peers, I just started riding by myself so I didn't dampen the workout for more serious riders. I am still built like a linebacker, but back before my illness took hold, I would hover in the 240 to 250 lbs range. No matter how my diet, how much riding, working out, etc, the weight stayed the same.<br />
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It wasn't until 2006 when I committed to racing in my first triathlon that I really understood how large my kidneys were getting. I had installed clip-on aero bars on my handlebars to try to get in a better position, but found that each pedal stroke was kicking my enlarged kidneys, so I eventually removed them from my bike.<br />
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The goal then was to not finish dead last. My first triathlon had a few positives, I completed my swim in a solid time. It was humorous to me to see so many fit athletes pulling themselves down the lane lines because of not even being able to doggy paddle. I am not expecting them to be Michael Phelps or even Ned Overend, but at the least, be able to muddle through a 300 yard swim, kind of like my 10+ minute 500y Free at the Transplant Games. My adrenaline spiked as I came out of the pool and I popped in the stairwell. I was able to calm down and get over to the transition, muddle through the bike, then remember how much my legs did not want to work during the run until I could hear the crowd and announcer at the finish line.<br />
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As I approached, the pain and stiffness faded away, my stride started to lengthen as if I had trained well for the event, and I sped up toward the finish. I just remember completing this and being being psyched and looking to do another one.<br />
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At the Azalea Festival Tri and the Xterra in Richmond, VA, I did what I set out to do. I didn't finish last...just next to last.<br />
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Back to the starting line, the Road Race started everyone at once which I felt was a little sketchy. I put myself in the second row on the outside. My goal for the first lap was to keep the leaders in my sights as I put myself into 10th or so in line. The first few corners were a bit dicey, but once we headed away from campus, I was able to move a little closer to the front. We were primarily being led out by Ian Vande Veld, who comes from a strong cycling family and transplant or not, Ian holds that tradition too. My new friend Zach, was rotating pulls and helped keep the pace up.<br />
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As we headed back out in the country on the second lap, I moved in front for my turn in the wind. I worked hard to keep the pace moving along, but still trying not to go too anaerobic. As we crossed the finish line going into the third lap, I kicked up the pace to 28 MPH to spread out the field a little and give me precious seconds of recovery as I slowed my pace to fall back in line with the rest of the group.<br />
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The next lap and a half, I stayed near the front, taking shorter pulls, but still working on recovery so I would have fresh legs for the final climb (a whopping 20 feet or so.) and the sprint to the finish. The race had 3 corners left in roughly a KM and a half and my strategy was to attack right after we rounded the first of 3 corners. Then a large group came from the back, attacking the front of the group. They came around 1/2 a KM before my attack was going to happen. I had to jump to catch back on to them and was able to reel in the group. Austin MacGruder (sp?) and Ian Vande Veld took off ahead of the group. I wasn't concerned about them because they weren't in my Age Group. I did see Scott Floyd and Zach Brooks ahead of me still, so I was really pushing at the finish. I took the inside line on the 2nd corner because it was much more gradual. I was somewhat surprised that the group had been taking it so far outside. I really allowed me to make up ground on the pack. We hit the final turn, a hard 90 and it was a sprint for the finish. There were 5 or 6 of us and I was somewhere in the middle. I had lost track of Zach, but I saw Scott in front where I drove my pedals as hard as I could turn them. Terry Box, a 60 year old recipient from Team Utah/Idaho pulled ahead of Scott for third, I had almost caught Scott when we crossed the finish line to finish fourth and fifth. Zach finished 8th overall, but was within one second of Scott and I.<br />
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Scott Floyd, the Bronze medalist in the Time Trial won Gold in the road race with a time of 34 minutes, I finished second and won Silver with a time of 34 minutes, and Zach Brooks finished third with a time of 34 minutes, 1 second.<br />
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My cousin Bob was there at the finish line and remarked to me how exciting the race was and how awesome it was to see so many recipients and families cheering everyone on. Also, how friendly the competitors are, at higher levels, people seem to be so jaded against their rivals. The riders had all talked about it too, that you can turn it on for the race if you are disciplined. Unless someone is dirty, they were the better racer on that day.<br />
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Swimming and Track and Field to come.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532689032145294989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-6591000382271468442012-08-08T09:18:00.001-07:002012-08-08T09:18:40.941-07:00Musings - Transplant Games and moreSo, the Transplant Games of America have come and gone. It was such an amazing event, meeting great people, great competitors, great town. Listening to others stories were really inspirational and watching everyone, who without the life saving gift of organ donation, would have passed or be on their way to the great beyond.<br />
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I had known about my need for a transplant from a very young age (20 y.o.), but seeing and hearing about some of the younger athletes who had already had transplants younger than 10 just broke my heart. Watching them compete was inspirational though. One boy, Kroupa I think was his last name, was amazing in the pool. He was so much faster than anyone else there, it was just amazing to watch. At just 14, he was turning in times that would humble the adults. My friend and teammate from Team Carolinas, Brian Barndt, went over to talk to him as he sat alone on the far side of the pool and tell him what he is accomplishing in the pool is nothing short of remarkable and let him know that he is the Michael Phelps or Ryan Locte of the games. That brought a smile from the somewhat quiet boy from Team Utah/Idaho.<br />
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Over on the track, during the 100m dash, a boy stopped before the finish line to wait for another boy in a walker, who was struggling to make it down the track. When the boy in the walker came even, they crossed the finish line together, holding hands.<br />
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My games were a mix of success and failure. My successes came in the fact that am alive and in any type of shape remotely resembling an athlete. I also was happy to make a new acquaintance in a fellow competitor, Zach Brooks from Team SoCal. He and I are in the same age group and raced against each other in the cycling events and track events, but joined forces in the 4x50 (200 yards) relay in the pool.<br />
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Zach is a kidney recipient as well, he has actually had to have two transplants, both from his parents. His father donated his first kidney and after it failed after a few years, his mother was a match as well and donated one of her kidneys. He was a great person to meet, I only wish we lived a little closer as we hit it off pretty well and I need more friends like him, a kidney recipient/cyclist/swimmer/runner who is one of the friendliest people you will meet.<br />
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My cousin Bob came over from the Detroit area and we met up after the Opening Ceremony. He is in need of a kidney and has been on dialysis for 6+ years now. He has a great outlook considering his situation (long term hemo diaylsis and enlarging PKD kidneys). I was not on dialysis near as long as Bob and I felt like my end was coming if I didn't get my transplant when I did. I can only imagine what it is like for him having to wait almost twice as long as I had to wait.<br />
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<br />My first event was the Time Trial and I pre-rode the course the day before. After talking to some of the guys during the 5k who were also racing bikes, they were estimating average speeds of 21-22 MPH and times in the 8 minute range. After my pre-ride, it had taken me a little over 10 minutes and needless to say, I was a little disappointed in my time, granted it wasn't at race pace, but it was close.<br />
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The morning came and Danielle, Eliza, and I headed over to the cycling venue. After a pretty solid warm up, I went over to the starting line and prepped for my start. As the timer counted down, I tensed my legs and core, steadied my gaze down the road, exhaled...GO!<br />
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I was off, I was feeling strong, shifting to taller gears, increasing my speed, but trying not to go to zone 5 right off the bat. I was feeling a good flow, pedaling, breathing, the volume of the wind through my aero helmet increasing. After the first few turns, the course headed away from the GVSU campus into the countryside. I got into my tuck and kept my speed going, but trying to reduce my heart rate a bit. At the 90 degree corner, there was a little traffic that had either ignored the police directing traffic or was confused on what was being asked of them. I came around without losing much speed. As I was coming up to pass the 3rd rider ahead of me, I made the next corner and saw the 4th rider. I kept the hammer down, but was starting to feel a burn in my legs from lactic acid making its way in to my quads.<br />
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At that moment, I broke into prayer for my cousin that a transplant would come soon, then my thoughts fell on my anonymous donor and the loss their family experienced and the pain that must have been felt during their last moments of consciousness. Then I started talking to my Dad who passed away in 2004 from complications from a nephrectomy. I just told him that his strength during his adversity and his toughness during his weakness inspired me to continue to push forward in life and have a positive outlook. I am not saying what happened next was a result of what I had been praying, but I felt a sudden surge in my legs, almost like the burn, but more intense, then the burning went away.<br />
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As I went up the slight grade toward the finish line, my speed was increasing, I then hit the last two turns and sprinted toward the finish. As I hit 30.2 mph, I crossed the finish line in what turned out to be the 2nd fastest time and the fastest in my age group to win a Gold Medal, the first bike race I have ever won or even placed. Zach Brooks was second for silver (4 seconds back) and Scott Floyd from Team Georgia was third, winning the Bronze Medal (26 seconds back).<br />
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Well, duty calls, I will add more later.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532689032145294989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-78625978904177837902012-01-11T16:26:00.001-08:002012-01-11T21:06:32.325-08:00Visiting National ParksHow many National Parks have I been to? Which one is my favorite? These questions were posed today in the question-of-the-day on my local Mommy forum. Normally these questions are the easy to answer kind, but every once in a while, along comes a question that really makes you stop and think. Like today's question. <br /><br />I've been to lots of National Parks all over the country, and I wouldn't have a clue as to how to answer which one was my favorite. So I figure I'll write a blog about the ones I've visited and maybe through writing about them, I'll discover which one was truly my favorite.<br /><br />I went to the National Park Service's website and found their Park Locator tool: <a href="http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm#CP_JUMP_275503">http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm#CP_JUMP_275503</a><br /><br />I clicked on every state I've ever visited and searched the map for all National Parks, National Monuments, National Recreation Areas, National Historic Trails and National Seashores. Here's my list and general summary of each one. I'm starting with "official" National Parks. There are 58 total, and I've been to 5 of them. So I've visited 8.6% of all the national parks in the US. Neato.<br /><br />1.) Crater Lake National Park - this is my most recent park visit. I went with my Mom, Dad, brother and his girlfriend in September 2011. The lake and surrounding mountains reminded me of a giant cereal bowl filled halfway with crystal clear blue milk and a floating clump of marshmallows in the middle of it(really, it was just an island, but hey, I'm trying to be a little creative with my writing, can't you tell?) There were lots of people cycling around the lake and I talked to 2 women in the gift shop who had just finished the ride and they said it was great. It's a 30 mile loop. I'm putting that on my Bucket List! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-phtgQ23263c/Tw5QineG3lI/AAAAAAAAAVo/MlgJPXvH3W8/s1600/panoramic_CraterLake.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 85px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-phtgQ23263c/Tw5QineG3lI/AAAAAAAAAVo/MlgJPXvH3W8/s320/panoramic_CraterLake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696579134311292498" /></a><br /><br />2.) Lassen Volcanic National Park - I went here one time in the fall of 1996 when I was a freshman at Chico State. Lassen was only 70 miles away from campus. I went there with a boy I'd met from my floor, which was a special floor called the Health and Wellness dorm. I don't even remember his name, but he suggested we go for a hike one Saturday, and since we were the only 2 kids in the entire dorm who weren't hungover at 8am, I decided to go along. I remember having a lot of fun. We hiked on some trail that wasn't really well marked, and soon, there was no trail at all. And we were lost. But I do remember that this guy grew up in a very remote area(<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.792932,-123.248069&hl=en&ll=39.790732,-123.242826&spn=0.045704,0.104628&sll=39.792932,-123.248069&sspn=0.045703,0.104628&oq=covel&vpsrc=6&hnear=Covelo,+Mendocino,+California&t=m&z=14">Covelo, CA</a>) and he said he hiked all the time in the Mendocino National Forest on trails that weren't really trails, and he was fine. So I went along with his backcountry skills and followed him like the lost puppy I was. We wandered around for what felt like half a day. Finally we found his car and boy, was I happy! But I wasn't letting him know that! I pretended to be "totally cool" with being lost in the middle of nowhere. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-moPZZfKD_1c/Tw5Uv8NkdLI/AAAAAAAAAV0/1uQALA42c0E/s1600/Brokeoff_Mountain_Lassen_Volcanic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 94px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-moPZZfKD_1c/Tw5Uv8NkdLI/AAAAAAAAAV0/1uQALA42c0E/s320/Brokeoff_Mountain_Lassen_Volcanic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696583761263883442" /></a><br /><br />3.) Shenandoah National Park - Rob and I camped here for a week in August 2008. Well, to be honest, we didn't camp *in* the national park. We stayed in a nearby private campground that was just 5 minutes away from the northern entrance to the park, in Front Royal, Virginia. We brought our dogs, our bikes and Rob's dialysis machine and all the supplies needed for that. We had a wonderful time here and went for 2 long'ish hikes, went fishing/kayaking, and mountain biking despite Rob being weak and tired from being on dialysis. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oztEArmM6e8/Tw5YlxJoMXI/AAAAAAAAAWA/Il2PzF9AN7k/s1600/Shenandoah_entrance.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oztEArmM6e8/Tw5YlxJoMXI/AAAAAAAAAWA/Il2PzF9AN7k/s320/Shenandoah_entrance.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696587984542380402" /></a><br /><br />On one of the hikes, we found a great swimming hole to jump into. It was really hot that day, so the ice cold water felt really good. Shockingly good.<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q3ilTZTQ3eM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />4.) Theodore Roosevelt National Park - I stayed here one night in July 2002 while I was finishing up a big, almost-across-the-country solo road trip. North Dakota is a pretty boring state to drive through. After eating lunch in Bismarck and sight-seeing at the ugliest state capitol ever, I hopped back in the car to see if I could reach Montana by the end of day. I would've made it, except I decided to stop in a small town called Dickinson and adopt a dog. My first dog ever. My first real pet ever. I fell in love. We drove away from the city animal shelter and it was hot, and I didn't want her to be uncomfortable in the backseat, so I decided to stop in a town near the Montana/North Dakota border called Medora. Very cool little tourist trap and hey, I actually got 3 lines of signal strength on my cell phone. Enough to call my husband (boyfriend at the time) and tell him how crazy I was to adopt a dog on my road trip. Anyway, this tourist trap was a mile away from the entrance to Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park, and it was around dinnertime, so I got a campsite for the night. I didn't see much of the park. Just the campground and bathhouse, really. I tried going for a bike ride after dinner, but my new dog just didn't want to cooperate with staying tied to the picnic table! I know, I know, I was a bad pet owner tying my dog up to a 5 foot lead. But seriously, I didn't know any better. Remember, this was my 1st pet! Anyway, while going to bed that night in the tent, a HUGE storm came over us. I grabbed my dog and ran to the bathhouse to take shelter while it passed. Once it was over, I went back to my tent and fell asleep with my new dog so cuddled up around my head, I didn't even need my pillow. A couple hours later, <CRACK> <BOOM>, another HUGE storm! This thunderstorm was so bad I expected to see Count von Count counting lightning strikes when I unzipped my tent's rain fly. I was attempting to get somewhere safer than a dome of nylon. A dome next to a big tree. The bathhouse seemed too far away. So I ran (with my dog) to my car, parked a few feet away. As soon as I slammed the door shut, I saw a big strike of lightning land what seriously felt like 10 feet away from me. I started the car and drove like a madwoman out of the campground and to the safest place I could think of - the I-94 overpass. I stayed there until the storm passed, scared for the first time of being alone on my solo road trip. My new dog didn't bat an eye at the thunderstorm. Proof that she was a great dog. Man I still miss that dog! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ep9sgise5TI/Tw5lynNdnQI/AAAAAAAAAWM/B8ejj5n83qY/s1600/theodore_roosevelt_national_park.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ep9sgise5TI/Tw5lynNdnQI/AAAAAAAAAWM/B8ejj5n83qY/s320/theodore_roosevelt_national_park.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696602498863570178" /></a><br /><br />5.) Yosemite National Park - I went here with Rob while he was my new boyfriend in October 2001. We'd only been officially dating for about 2 weeks. He wanted to take me somewhere really cool for my birthday and he let me choose from a couple options. I chose Yosemite because I'd never been there before, which is shocking coming from an outdoorsy NorCal girl who camped many summers as a kid with her family just a stones throw from Yosemite. Rob said he wanted to hike Half Dome and I'd heard people talking about it before and it sounded like fun. It was a 17 miles round trip hike that can be done in a day, but most people break it up into 2 days. We decided to do it in a day. It was a beautiful hike. And the climb up the ropes at the very top was really scary! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OKSMGykuLRE/Tw5oi3Rr2MI/AAAAAAAAAWY/sz_uch-g_vk/s1600/yosemite17.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OKSMGykuLRE/Tw5oi3Rr2MI/AAAAAAAAAWY/sz_uch-g_vk/s320/yosemite17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696605526833223874" /></a> We stayed too long up at the top looking at the amazing views, so we had to do the last half of the hike in the dark. We helped a bunch of people down off the trail that night. People who were not well equipped for the hike. People like these guys who only had a keychain mini mag lite to guide them down the mountain: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TCS_dReWGe4/Tw5pEbJ9r9I/AAAAAAAAAWk/tt0KBsf6Gt0/s1600/yosemite19.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TCS_dReWGe4/Tw5pEbJ9r9I/AAAAAAAAAWk/tt0KBsf6Gt0/s320/yosemite19.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696606103400198098" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Well that's it for National Parks. My next post will be about the other National Park Service areas I've been to, which will include National Monuments, National Recreation Areas and National Seashores. Once I'm all done writing about my park visits, I'll choose my favorite.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-12166248683135551272012-01-11T11:52:00.000-08:002012-01-11T16:25:40.279-08:00445 days since transplant - updateIt's been 445 days since Rob's kidney transplant and all is well with his health lately. The BK is still gone, and his creatinine is holding steady at 1.5, sometimes dropping to 1.4! Rob's been working out at the gym a couple times a week and he says he feels really good. I thank God every day for all that He has done in Rob over the past few years. He is supremely good and I cannot even begin to imagine what else He has in store for us in the future. So for now, we live in the here and now, content with all that we have. New kidney, new life, new baby (who is starting to be not so "new" anymore!)<br /><br />Eliza is growing so big and doing so many awesome things like clapping, crawling, babbling (and sometimes I can tell what she's saying - things like "yummy" and "love you"), walking with help, etc. Just today she was standing and holding on to the couch playing with a toy. The toy fell on the ground and she squatted down, picked it up and then stood back up. She had a giant smile on her face afterward! <br /><br />Well, that's all for now. Will post again when there's more to update about Rob's health.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-49316550412768214862011-11-23T17:02:00.000-08:002011-11-23T17:46:43.308-08:00Brownie Delight...13 months post-transplantTomorrow will be Rob's 13 month mark since his kidney transplant! The BK is gone and the kidney is doing very well. I think his creatinine is still at a steady level of 1.5, which of course isn't awesome, but it's near awesome, and that's good enough and we are content with everything health wise right now. <br /><br />Tomorrow is also Thanksgiving. The day that most people make a point to stop and think about what they're thankful for. Food, shelter, job, clothing, etc. While the other 364 days of the year, we're thinking, "I want...I must have...I don't have "x" but I do have "y" but "y" is not cool anymore and "x" is so totally rad..." I think you know what I mean. We all struggle with this sin of feeling like we never have enough and we want more and bigger and better and fancier stuff. But I do try to repent of this in my life. Oh boy, do I struggle! I'm so thankful, everyday, for what God has blessed us with. And one of those things I'm thankful for is Rob's new kidney! What are you thankful for? Leave me a comment here on the blog if you want. <br /><br />Okay, I have to share this dessert with you! It's called Brownie Delight and I got the recipe from my Mom who found the recipe online. <br /><br />Gather the few simple ingredients:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D7BKT5fvRfw/Ts2afh_lLaI/AAAAAAAAARc/HTaXsziwdN8/s1600/BrownieDelightIngredients.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D7BKT5fvRfw/Ts2afh_lLaI/AAAAAAAAARc/HTaXsziwdN8/s320/BrownieDelightIngredients.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678364571675733410" /></a><br /><br />Make brownies according to box directions. Let cool. Spread a whole jar of marshmallow fluff on top:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPNnrQjYWYc/Ts2az3T4s3I/AAAAAAAAARo/dpJNkiYYm5g/s1600/BrownieDelightStep2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPNnrQjYWYc/Ts2az3T4s3I/AAAAAAAAARo/dpJNkiYYm5g/s320/BrownieDelightStep2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678364920995427186" /></a><br /><br />In medium sized separate bowl, add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch morsels, 1 cup of peanut butter, and stir. In bigger bowl, add 3 cups of Rice Krispies. Set aside. Put the medium bowl in the microwave for 35 seconds. Stir. Microwave for 30 more seconds until gooey. Pour gooey stuff into the rice krispies and stir up real good:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJu0-BOirxE/Ts2b23M-TaI/AAAAAAAAAR0/GqYhW5LQ3qY/s1600/BrownieDelightStep3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJu0-BOirxE/Ts2b23M-TaI/AAAAAAAAAR0/GqYhW5LQ3qY/s320/BrownieDelightStep3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678366072017669538" /></a><br /><br />Finally, spread this yummy goop on top of the brownie-fluff. Then sprinkle a few semi-sweet chocolate chips and some mini marshmallows on top to make it look good. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before you gobble it up, chow down, devour, feast on, pig out, wolf down, inhale... (choose your favorite way to describe how you will eat it!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXzhl6KCxnA/Ts2h7c9Io7I/AAAAAAAAASk/78lc99QYT2s/s1600/BrownieDelightYummy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXzhl6KCxnA/Ts2h7c9Io7I/AAAAAAAAASk/78lc99QYT2s/s320/BrownieDelightYummy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678372747941028786" /></a><br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all are having a great Thanksgiving week and enjoying time with family and friends. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JT0yWIza0Jg/Ts2ggaggjCI/AAAAAAAAASA/uwhpTDaWeNY/s1600/HappyTurkeyDay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JT0yWIza0Jg/Ts2ggaggjCI/AAAAAAAAASA/uwhpTDaWeNY/s320/HappyTurkeyDay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678371183915994146" /></a><br /><br />Eliza really enjoys craft time (and yes, I'm planning to do this every year!)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mPfpVcJ3J78/Ts2g5XdD-9I/AAAAAAAAASM/vjv6pIwNXs4/s1600/HappyThanksgiving2011_handprint.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mPfpVcJ3J78/Ts2g5XdD-9I/AAAAAAAAASM/vjv6pIwNXs4/s320/HappyThanksgiving2011_handprint.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678371612592962514" /></a><br /><br />And finally, Eliza is obviously hungry for some turkey:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fo7Ufpa4c7Y/Ts2hLhhzZWI/AAAAAAAAASY/6F_HPz8M0pw/s1600/HappyThanksgiving2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fo7Ufpa4c7Y/Ts2hLhhzZWI/AAAAAAAAASY/6F_HPz8M0pw/s320/HappyThanksgiving2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678371924534846818" /></a><br /><br />Enjoy your turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie...Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-81277510700758551342011-10-27T07:25:00.000-07:002011-10-27T10:21:06.551-07:00Virginia Transplant Games recapAbout 4 weeks ago Rob participated in the first ever <a href="http://www.virginiatransplantgames.org/">Virginia Transplant Games</a>. It was a really fun event and I think it did a great job promoting organ donation and transplantation. <br /><br />We made a fun weekend out of the event, which was held in and around Richmond, Virginia, which is only 150 miles away from where live. I found us a great hotel through Priceline for pretty cheap, and we checked in on Friday evening. Traveling with an infant gets easier each time, and we're almost pros at it now! This is Eliza's 6th major trip since birth to somewhere far enough away that a hotel is required (Roanoke, Asheboro, West Jefferson, California, Oregon, and now Richmond). Once we were settled in, had dinner, and put Eliza to bed, Rob picked up his Mom from the airport. Rob's Mom flew in from San Diego for the Transplant Games and to visit us for the week after the Games. We had a lot of fun celebrating Rob's new kidney and renewed life, in addition to meeting other transplant recipients and donor families from around the country. <br /><br />The Games began at 8am with a 5K cross country run/walk event that was open to the public. All other events were only open to those who had received transplants or were living donors themselves. Rob and I did the 5K walk with Eliza in the B.O.B. stroller. There were maybe 2 or 3 other people with kids in jogging strollers. It sure was a tough course for a stroller! The first loop (the first mile) went around the athletic fields at a new high school, and you know what "new" means for trails - bumpy! In addition to the bumpiness, most of this mile was off-camber, anywhere from 30 to 45 degrees on some parts! At one point, it got so tough that Rob and I just picked up the B.O.B. and carried it over the trail. We ended up losing our Cateye Mity cycle computer face somewhere along this loop. Grrr. I like my computer on the stroller because of the statistics it keeps for me as I walk with Eliza. <br /><br />Here's a slideshow of pictures from the day:<br /><br /><div style="width:480px; text-align: center;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w143.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fw143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FVirginia+Transplant+Games+2011%2F934f67e6.pbw" height="360" width="480"><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" ></a><a href="http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r153/norcal2carolina/Virginia%20Transplant%20Games%202011/?action=view&current=934f67e6.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;" ></a></div><br /><br />Wow, I wish there was a way to slow down the speed of the slideshow. That first picture's title is so long that it doesn't even spell it all out before it switches to the next pic in the slideshow! Oh well, I guess that's what I get for free on Photobucket. That first picture shows an 8 year old girl releasing one of the doves. After she released that one, 12 more followed from the cage. I was curious about the history of dove release, but didn't find out anything about until just now as I'm writing this. Thanks <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_dove#Dove_ceremonies">Wikipedia</a>, you're the greatest thing on the internet. Wow, dove releases actually kind of stink, now that I've read that entry on Wikipedia. Poor doves...they are bred in captivity and then when they're set free, they just become dinner for some hungry owl or a hawk. I'm so not craving eating a slab of steak right now. Maybe some celery and peanut butter...<br /><br />Anyway, after the opening ceremonies, we did the 5K walk. I think it took us about 1 hour and 8 minutes to finish. It was fun, that is, after that first mile loop that was crazy hard with a stroller. Rob and I just talked about anything and everything, and Eliza concentrated on her eyelids the whole time. <br /><br />After the 5K, Rob ran 2 track events. The 200 meter dash and the 50 meter dash. Here is the video of Rob running the 200:<br /><br /><iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M8TgPT4hMxs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />And the 50:<br /><br /><iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QBGEHLYKjck?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />That fast guy who came in first in the 200 race? He was a liver transplant recipient. And he was obviously a very good runner before the transplant. He even brought his running spikes and his own starting block. <br /><br />And in the 50 race, Rob was pretty bummed that he got beat by a blue jean wearing Paul Giamatti. Seriously, I was gonna tell him I loved him in Sideways and ask for his autograph! <br /><br />After Rob's running events finished, we all grabbed lunch at the event. There was delicious food there for all the athletes and donor families. Then we went to the Midlothian Family YMCA nearby for the swimming events. Rob swam in the 100 meter Free and the 100 meter Free Relay. Here are those videos:<br /><br /><iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5mf1_5f75bM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Little did we know that the tall guy swimming next to Rob in the 100 Free lives in Durham! Rob started a conversation with him between the 2 events. His name is Brian and he's one of the pastors at Grey Stone Baptist near downtown. How cool is that? He is a heart transplant recipient and he's been to the US Transplant Games many times and also has gone to the World Transplant Games, too. His main sport of choice is swimming (as you can see in the video, he's pretty good), so of course I had to ask him what Masters swim team he practices with. He obviously didn't swim with <a href="http://swimdama.info">the team that I coach</a>, but hopefully I can reel him in to join us!<br /><br />Here's the 100 Free relay, which Rob was the lead off swimmer. <br /><br /><iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DeTqk2TVIm4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />And finally, here's the awards ceremony for the 100 Free Relay:<br /><br /><iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y0OqeB2JnYE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />That's all the photos and videos I took of the event. It was a great event and Rob says he wants to participate in it again, in October 2013, when they will hold it again.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-7628658426875209612011-10-10T08:05:00.000-07:002011-10-10T08:45:26.301-07:00Babies R Us rant. Oh retail shopping world, why do you annoy me so? Next time I'll just buy the item I want on Amazon.com. At least I get free 2-day shipping on there, since I'm one of those Amazon Prime members now. Free shipping means I don't have to burn gas to drive down to the Southpoint area (12 miles one way) to buy the item, drive back home, open up the item and be disappointed by the fact that it was not a new item. I bought it full price, expecting it to be in brand new condition. I did notice that the tape on the box was obviously put on there by Babies R Us employees, and not factory sealed like most other boxes of items like it. But I figured that it was just opened up and then returned by someone who bought it or received it as a gift. I was wrong in my assumption. <br /><br />I opened up the item this morning with Eliza sitting on the floor next to me, both of us excited for the new toy. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rWMn-D94uTw/TpMNGP_9XqI/AAAAAAAAAQc/bfqW8UrUE3I/s1600/shop%2526learn_walker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rWMn-D94uTw/TpMNGP_9XqI/AAAAAAAAAQc/bfqW8UrUE3I/s320/shop%2526learn_walker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661883557560016546" /></a><br /><br />I pull out the first piece, which is one of the legs of the shopping cart. It took me 0.03 seconds to see that this toy was not brand new. I pulled out the other 3 legs of the cart and they look all the same. This toy was used more than once. Probably used even on concrete. Then probably their baby outgrew the toy and they figured, let's return it and get our money back because Babies R Us has a 90-day return policy. So Babies R Us accepts this product back onto their shelves, and gives the previous owner their money back. Which shouldn't have happened. <br /><br />From the Babies R Us website:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">We will gladly accept returns made within 90 days of the purchase date for most items when accompanied by your in-store receipt. Items must be returned, in new, or like-new condition, and in its original packaging, and with all paperwork including manuals, assembly instructions and your in-store receipt, as well as all accessories to ensure full credit. Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us reserve the right to refuse any returns if they do not meet our return requirements.</span><br /><br />Babies R Us should've refused this return on the basis that the walker was not in "new" or "like new" condition. Here's an up close picture of one of the wheels: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62OSuRhrCvc/TpMOy2K2C4I/AAAAAAAAAQk/7KekCguaXaM/s1600/shop%2526learn_walker2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62OSuRhrCvc/TpMOy2K2C4I/AAAAAAAAAQk/7KekCguaXaM/s320/shop%2526learn_walker2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661885423232093058" /></a><br /><br />Um yeah, not new. Not worth $44.95. I might pay $25 or $30 for this at a baby consignment shop. <br /><br />So I call Babies R Us and speak to an associate about the product's condition. She tells me the return policy and she says that BRU employees are supposed to look inside the box at the condition of the toy before giving any money back. I told her that obviously that didn't happen, and it ended up back on the shelves for an unassuming purchaser to purchase it for the 2nd time. I told her that I wanted to return it for a brand new Shop and Learn Walker, and she said okay, "as long as you have the receipt you can do that." To which I asked her if I would be compensated for the trouble of driving 25 miles round trip to do so. She said she'd get a manager to talk to me. Okay. No problem. I understand how this all works because Rob works in retail in a management position, and he tells me all the time about stories where his store "drops the ball" in some way or fashion, and when the customer demands some kind of discount because of it, <span style="font-weight:bold;">they always give</span> them a discount. Because they want to keep that customer. They don't want to make that customer mad because a mad customer spreads the word about that retail store. <br /><br />So a manager comes to the line and I tell her about the condition of the walker we purchased. She tells me pretty much everything that the previous associate told me. Then I asked if she would give me a discount on the walker when I came back in to return it and get a new one. She said no, we don't do that. We can't compensate for an item you bought that you were unsatisfied with because it's "just a toy". Yes, she said those 3 words. Just a toy. Then she went on to say that if the item I bought was a "necessary item, like a car seat or a breast pump and you opened the item and found that it had been in used condition, then yes, we'd give you a discount on the return-exchange because it's something that you need to be in new, never-used condition." <br /><br />I paused for a moment after she said that. Quiet silence...me, dumbfounded by what she just told me. Then I told her about how my husband works in retail management and how I know what companies usually do when a customer is dissatisfied by the product quality. To which she said, "well, I can give you a discount on the item you currently have, but I can't let you return it and get a new one for a discounted price." Okay, but I'd have to drive 25 miles round trip to get that discount, and I'll still have a used item. I asked her how much of a discount she'd give me. She said she'd have to look at the item's condition to assess the discount. "10% probably, maybe 20% at most, but I can't say for sure until I see it."<br /><br />I am not happy with Babies R Us right now. I will return it later today. Yes, the cost of gas is very annoying. But I do have 1 errand I can run, 2 doors down from Babies R Us, so I guess it'll all work out. But I am left feeling like Babies R Us really doesn't care about their customer's satisfaction. <br /><br />Sorry Babies R Us of Durham, North Carolina for calling you out on this blog post. But you dropped the ball and didn't make it right with the customer, so now you don't get any of my money. I'm going to return it and get my $44.95 back and I'll spend it with another company who does care about their customer satisfaction.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-58138727294422800902011-10-09T13:51:00.001-07:002011-10-09T14:28:02.411-07:00Updating this blog more frequently...SOON!Hello! And we're back...<br /><br />More than 2 months in between blog posts is sad, I know. I've said this before - <span style="font-style:italic;">"I'm going to blog more and keep you all updated on Rob's kidney and our life more often, I promise!"</span> But then I don't. For whatever reason. Busy with Eliza, busy at work, busy at play, or just finding other things to do besides blogging. The weird thing is is that I really enjoy writing blog posts. And things I enjoy, I usually find the time to do. <br /><br />Perhaps one reason why I don't blog as much as I'd like to is because I'm on Facebook too much. When I do find free time to reconnect and share things with the world of family and friends, I do it on Facebook. Lately, Facebook has been really low on my list of things to do. When Eliza is napping or off to Sleepyland for the night, I'm usually finishing laundry, straightening up the house or just hanging on the sofa talking to Rob about his day. When I get on Facebook, I'm shutting myself out to interaction with Rob or Eliza. So I'm taking a break from Facebook and I'm going to be keeping family and friends updated on our life happenings here on this blog. I don't know how long I'll be off Facebook, but I do know that I'm looking forward to a little change of pace. <br /><br />So much has happened in the past 2 months since our last blog post. Most recently Rob participated in the Virginia Transplant Games in Richmond, Virginia. My next blog post will be about that trip. Also, Eliza is growing like one of those foam snakes you put in your sink basin when you were a kid. You'd drop them in and watch them for a few seconds, get bored and then go outside to climb a tree or play kickball in the street. Then you come back inside and check out the snake, wowed by the growth in such a short time. This is exactly how I feel about Eliza lately. Just a few weeks ago, she was fitting perfectly into her 12-18 month sized clothes. And now...not so much. She's definitely in size 18-24 months, and she's not even 7 months old yet! Holy super-grow-snake Batman! What are we feeding this kid? <br /><br />Time to catch some personal time to myself while Rob tends to Eliza's dinner and playtime. I need some quiet time to read the Bible and maybe take a little nap. I've been extra tired lately because Eliza is waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes more than 1 time. I can't wait until these 2 upper front teeth are all the way out! <br /><br />I'll leave you with a super cute picture of the 3 of us, taken in Fredericksburg, Virginia at a Cracker Barrel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PYIDRZNoaZM/TpIR0Tkr2_I/AAAAAAAAAQU/OSfoQDu5ej4/s1600/CrackerBarrel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PYIDRZNoaZM/TpIR0Tkr2_I/AAAAAAAAAQU/OSfoQDu5ej4/s320/CrackerBarrel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661607271863147506" /></a>Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-23858564724200387782011-07-31T19:11:00.000-07:002011-07-31T19:30:11.649-07:00Creatinine Level: 280 Days post-transplantYes, it's been 280 days since Rob's transplant. Wow, that's sounds like a lot! <br /><br />Rob is doing well. His creatinine level was 1.5 at his last Clinic appointment, which was last Wednesday. However, his BK virus has decided to come back. Grrr. We do not like you Mr. BK virus. You can go away now. And stop pestering Rob's urinary tract. So his transplant docs have taken him off his CellCept again. That's the only thing they can do to get rid of it. So he has another Clinic appointment at the end of August to check on the BK virus. In the meantime, Rob is just instructed to keep on drinking himself silly with huge amounts of water!<br /><br />Rob says he feels amazingly well. He's been bike riding to work a little bit. Last week, it was unbearably hot here in NC, so he just drove to work every day. But the week before that, he rode into work 2 times. He's planning on riding in tomorrow. He works 19 miles away, but he <span style="font-style:italic;">usually</span> doesn't bike in that whole distance. He's been driving anywhere from 4-8 miles towards work, parking his car and then riding in the rest of the way. His docs are happy to hear that he's getting some exercise! <br /><br />I've been doing well. Staying busy as a Mommy to a super cutie pie little girl. I'm coaching some extra swim practices with DAMA this month while Coach Rusty enjoys some much needed R & R. Eliza and I should be visiting my Mom and Dad in NorCal at the beginning of September. We haven't got the plane tickets yet, but we will soon. They are so excited to see Eliza! Also, Rob's Mom is planning a trip out here to visit at the end of September. We'll be heading up to Richmond, VA as soon as she gets here because Rob is going to be participating in the Virginia Transplant Games. It's the first time that the state of Virginia is holding an event for transplant patients and living donors. And they decided to allow transplant recipients and donors from all over the US (and world, I think?) to participate, too. <a href="http://virginiatransplantgames.org/">Here's their website</a> that has all the info about the Games. Rob will likely participate in the swimming events and the running races. Maybe some other events, too. He'll decide later.<br /><br />Our <a href="http://toastie.st/2011/06/28/new-kidney/">good friend David</a> received a kidney transplant a few weeks ago! We are so excited for him. He's doing well with the new kidney and I think he's really liking his newly rediscovered freedom from thrice-weekly dialysis treatments! <br /><br />Well I think that just about sums up our life over the past month. Until next time...Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-31888451299816706132011-06-22T20:32:00.001-07:002011-06-22T21:26:36.639-07:00BK virus is gone, finally!Sorry I haven't updated this blog in a long time, but I blame a super cute little baby girl named Eliza, who has been taking up a lot of Mommy's time! Really, blogging about life and Rob's health is like the last thing on my "things I should do" list. I have so much on the "things I absolutely have to do" list that the things I should do get pushed aside for later, err, I mean never! <br /><br />For example, as I write this, I need to take a break to go put the cloth diapers in the washing machine...<br /><br />Okay, I'm back. That didn't take long. You know, cloth diapers are really awesome. I highly recommend them to anyone who is pregnant and wondering how they'll afford all those diapers for 2-3 years. <br /><br />Well, time is short so I better get to the point. Rob finally got rid of that pesky BK virus he's had for a few months. Thank you Jesus! We were never super duper worried about it because of our faith in the ultimate healer. I just knew he'd overcome it and that God would be the one who did the work through the hands of the doctors and the medicines he's on! You know, I never really get worried anymore about Rob's health. At least not in the way I used to worry. When I read our old blog (robneedsakidney.blogspot.com), all these old memories come rushing back to me and I remember how much I used to worry and how I'd try to balance it with my faith, prayer and favorite verses from the Bible (my favorites were: "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you" - Psalm 55:22a, and "casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you - 1 Peter 5:7) Oh, how far God has taken us in the past year! I smile when I think of life now compared to life a year ago. :)<br /><br />So I wrote about the BK virus in a previous blog post. It's here if you want to read about it. <a href="http://ten24ten.blogspot.com/2011/01/creatinine-level-25-months-post.html">Click here and scroll down to number 7 to find more info about it.<br /></a><br /><br />So in March, we were told the BK virus was almost all gone. It was down to 297 replications. Anything below 300 is like non-existent. But then in mid-May, it came back and was at 990 or somewhere around there. So the docs were still concerned and trying their best to keep his anti-rejection meds low enough to kill the BK virus but not too low so as to harm his transplanted kidney. As of yesterday, the transplant coordinator said that the BK virus is gone! I don't know the specific number of replications in his blood, but we should know that in a couple more days when they release the lab results to us in our Duke Healthview account. <br /><br />So...Rob's health is doing well and he's feeling great. I hear him say, "I feel 10 years younger" whenever someone asks him how he's feeling since the transplant. He rides his bike sometimes, goes for walks with me and Eliza sometimes and just in general remains pretty active overall. Speaking of riding bikes, Rob did a metric century on May 1. A metric century is 100 kilometers, or 62 miles. He did this at the <a href="http://www.ravenrockramble.org/">Raven Rock Ramble</a>. This event raises money for the UNC Kidney Center and goes toward direct patient services. What's amazing about him completing this distance on his bike is that his longest training ride before doing this was maybe 35 miles! Well...when you've been a cyclist for as long as Rob has, it's not too hard to just hop on the bike and keep pedaling for a few hours. Sure, you'll be so sore the next couple of days that you'll feel like a birthday pinata that had its innards beaten out, but it's not impossible. Here's a few pics from the ride:<br /><br />This is the mass start of the riders who are doing the 62 mile option and the full 100 mile route. Overall, there were 530 riders out there!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odaH_YEUoaM/TgK8H8Um9pI/AAAAAAAAALs/HjMzCIMyPrw/s1600/RavenRockRamble_start.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odaH_YEUoaM/TgK8H8Um9pI/AAAAAAAAALs/HjMzCIMyPrw/s320/RavenRockRamble_start.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621262129549473426" /></a><br /><br />Here's Rob at the start (you can see 1 of his abdominal hernias here really sticking out - he needs to have the hernia repair surgery soon, more on that later!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUrjmUMz_e4/TgK8nKYhZDI/AAAAAAAAAL0/BqrBogFE6Nk/s1600/Rob_at_start_RRR1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUrjmUMz_e4/TgK8nKYhZDI/AAAAAAAAAL0/BqrBogFE6Nk/s320/Rob_at_start_RRR1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621262665899926578" /></a><br /><br />During the ride, Eliza and I drove the bike course backwards and met Rob at his halfway point, or for those of you not accustomed to bike speak - what they call a "sag stop". At the halfway point, Rob said he felt good and he was keeping around a 15mph pace. Here he is at the halfway point:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TzCOTMGF-8/TgK9PpBb6tI/AAAAAAAAAL8/Fr_Of3JXSmI/s1600/Rob_at_halfway_point.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 155px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TzCOTMGF-8/TgK9PpBb6tI/AAAAAAAAAL8/Fr_Of3JXSmI/s200/Rob_at_halfway_point.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621263361319365330" /></a><br /><br />After that, Eliza and I drove back to the ride start, which was at Harris Lake County Park in southwest Wake County, near the nuclear power plant (cue the Simpsons theme song music in your head...) We waited for Rob to finish his ride by walking around the lakefront area and playground/picnic area. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70s'! Here's a pic of Rob (and Eliza) after he finished the ride. He said he was very, very tired and so happy to finish! Yes, Eliza is sitting on his bike! She's got a long way to go before she fits properly onto a 58cm road bike! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7II4Kxyexg/TgK-S0N6dOI/AAAAAAAAAME/qeP2zOOobJ4/s1600/Rob%2526Eliza_atFinish.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c7II4Kxyexg/TgK-S0N6dOI/AAAAAAAAAME/qeP2zOOobJ4/s320/Rob%2526Eliza_atFinish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621264515375723746" /></a><br /><br />Okay, so I've touched on the major subjects of Rob's health (BK virus gone), my busy life as a Mommy (can't find time to blog), and Rob's activity levels (he rode 62 miles about 6 months after his successful kidney transplant). That's about all I have time to blog for now. Maybe another night I can blog about how cute our little Eliza is. And how she's not so little anymore. She's growing like a weed and at just over 3 months old, she's wearing 6-12 month sized clothes! She a professional sleeper - sleeps all night long, usually about 12 hours every night. She smiles all the time and is really close to laughing soon. <br /><br />Okay, the cloth diapers just finished their wash cycle. Time to hang them up (on an indoor clothesline that Rob put up for me - thanks sweetie!) to dry and hit the hay for the night!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4x_ZJrwLYC0/TgLAXD6gTrI/AAAAAAAAAMM/xfWuu_QwnF4/s1600/indoor_clothesline.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4x_ZJrwLYC0/TgLAXD6gTrI/AAAAAAAAAMM/xfWuu_QwnF4/s200/indoor_clothesline.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621266787332017842" /></a><br /><br />Nitey nite everyone!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-1769023667686745252011-04-06T12:27:00.000-07:002011-04-06T12:54:50.297-07:00Eliza is a synonym for cuteReally, it is! Okay, so maybe it won't list "Eliza" in that copy of Roget's Thesaurus you've got sitting on your bookshelf when you look up "cute", but you will find "<span style="font-style:italic;">attractive, pretty, coy, cutesy, see also BEAUTY</span>". All of which describe our daughter perfectly!<br /><br />I finally finished uploading the videos we've taken of her since she was born 3 weeks ago. We have the slowest cable internet speed right now (saving money, cha-ching!) so it takes hours to upload a 4 minute video. <br /><br />Here are the first 2 videos we took of Eliza in the hospital. She was 2 days old here. And yes, she's wearing blue even though she's a girl. Hope that doesn't confuse anyone. She was sporting her Duke Blue Devils sleeper that our doula Charlene bought her. I think she looks good in blue!<br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00631.mp4"><br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00632.mp4"><br /><br />This next video was taken on April 2, when she was 2.5 weeks old. Rob calls her hand/arm movements "Baby Hands". I think she looks like she's pawing at the air, kind of like a playful cat batting at some dangling yarn. She is wearing pink in this video - this sleeper was a gift from Grandma Cheryl. Everyone at the NC Masters swim meet (where we'd gone earlier in the day) thought that her outfit was so cute! Especially the feet part of the sleeper. <br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00683.mp4"> <br /><br />And here she is experiencing the fun of a her baby swing for the first time! We desperately needed this swing because she's been so fussy lately and we needed something else that would help calm and soothe her when she's unhappy (because even though I'd like to, I can't hold her all day!) I think it's safe to say that Eliza LOVES her swing! Something is wrong with the sound about halfway through the video - sorry, I don't know what it was that caused it?<br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00684.mp4"><br /><br />And finally, here are the last 2 videos that I took yesterday. This first one is me playing with her while she was sleeping, trying to wake her up. <br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00710.mp4"><br /><br />And I took this video of her immediately after she woke up from her nap. I just love the faces she makes when she's waking herself up! Note: At 1:41 on this video, you can hear her pass some wind! I would say "fart", like I normally do, but fart is such a goofy word! I think Eliza is too pretty to say "she farted" - how can someone so beautiful have something so stinky come out of her? Hee hee!<br /><br /><embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr153%2Fnorcal2carolina%2FM4H00713.mp4"><br /><br />That's all the videos for now. Maybe I'll post up some more later. I really want to make a video of me changing her Soft Bums cloth diapers and showing how I wash them so that I can show the world just how easy cloth diapers are! Hope you enjoy these cute baby videos!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-32105796228442130332011-03-30T14:19:00.001-07:002011-03-30T15:32:47.526-07:00A much needed update about Rob's kidney and our new baby girlWe had our baby girl! Her name is Eliza Jane Newton and she is beautiful, healthy and did I mention - she's totally gorgeous? She is 2 weeks old today, which has been the fastest fortnight of my life. I can't stop staring at her, especially when she is busy staring at me and listening to my voice. Her eyes are so big, beautiful and full of wonder. She likes it when I sing to her while her bottle is warming up. She also likes to ride in my EcoSash wrap & tie while I do general household chores or we're out and about shopping. Rob is extremely happy to be a Daddy finally, as he has wanted the blessing of a child for as long as I have (many years!)<br /><br />I will write more about labor/delivery and the first 2 weeks of her life in another blog post. But here is a cutie-patootie picture of her (taken March 19). I now give you permission to say "awwwww"! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKUmMMBlOPI/TZOrKtcA_kI/AAAAAAAAAK0/5i--bb5Gx74/s1600/GoingHomeOutfit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKUmMMBlOPI/TZOrKtcA_kI/AAAAAAAAAK0/5i--bb5Gx74/s320/GoingHomeOutfit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589999762981060162" /></a><br /><br />Now, on to Rob's kidney update:<br /><br />A while back I wrote about Rob's BK virus and how the docs took him off one of his anti-rejection drugs (CellCept) to fight the virus. Well, it worked - there's only 293 replications of the virus present in his blood currently! There were 30,000 replications of it back in January, so this is great news! <br /><br />His creatinine level had been 1.8 for the longest time...but then about 2 weeks ago, it went up to 1.9, which isn't good, but it's not anything to worry over. Then, 1 week ago, Rob had labs drawn and his transplant coordinator called him to tell him some bad news - his creatinine had gone up to 2.3, which definitely frightened us and his doctors, too. They recommended that Rob <span style="font-weight:bold;">drink lots of water</span> for a couple of days and then come in and get his labs checked again. So he did...and guess what? His creatinine went down to 1.5 - wow!!! That's as low as it's been since the transplant! So Rob learned an important lesson about staying hydrated post-transplant: water does a kidney good! It's hard for many transplant patients to stay hydrated after having been on dialysis for a long while, because dialysis was the only way for Rob to process fluids - so everything he drank, he kept on his body until dialysis treatment time. So he had "water/fluid is bad, don't drink too much of it" running continuously through his mind. But now that his new kidney is working well, he has to retrain his mind to think the exact opposite! Water is good for you and you should drink as much as possible! <br /><br />So Rob will be carrying his Nalgene bottle, filled with delicious water, wherever he goes in the future! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXPG0TrYSzw/TZOvZ4P3BXI/AAAAAAAAAK8/SIMVA3FBK58/s1600/nalgene.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 121px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXPG0TrYSzw/TZOvZ4P3BXI/AAAAAAAAAK8/SIMVA3FBK58/s200/nalgene.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590004421627413874" /></a><br /><br />We have so much to be thankful for in our lives right now! There's lots more I could write about right now, but I've got a sleeping infant on my chest right now and I really just want to go lay down on the couch and watch the news with her!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-86688436344487638362011-02-14T17:54:00.000-08:002011-02-14T18:08:30.272-08:00Happy National Donor Day!Today is <a href="http://organdonor.gov/materialsNtlevents.asp">National Donor Day</a>. So we decided to celebrate this holiday instead of Valentine's Day. We've never been big into Valentine's Day anyway, so there's not much to miss by skipping it this year. Celebrating our donor and his/her awesome gift is so much more meaningful to us than a nice dinner out together followed by flowers (which will wilt and die) and candy (which will get wolfed down too fast).<br /><br />So I made a cake in honor of our kidney donor. Here is a picture of it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arjzN7XauNQ/TVneZlnTyuI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/U9bU4lXA7zs/s1600/NationalDonorDay2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arjzN7XauNQ/TVneZlnTyuI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/U9bU4lXA7zs/s320/NationalDonorDay2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573730545022782178" /></a><br /><br />Then I had Rob write a letter to our donor, and I did the same. Here are our letters:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K_ete7paOfU/TVne9ZmKbaI/AAAAAAAAAKE/gslT01NZ65w/s1600/NationalDonorDay2011_2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K_ete7paOfU/TVne9ZmKbaI/AAAAAAAAAKE/gslT01NZ65w/s200/NationalDonorDay2011_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573731160272039330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6hwjYrZeQo/TVnfKm2XrfI/AAAAAAAAAKM/lvgTo2Qv7-E/s1600/NationalDonorDay2011_4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 144px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6hwjYrZeQo/TVnfKm2XrfI/AAAAAAAAAKM/lvgTo2Qv7-E/s200/NationalDonorDay2011_4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573731387167976946" /></a><br /><br />We started our celebration with prayer time together. And then we read our letters out loud to each other. Finally, we lit the 1 candle on the cake and Rob blew the flame out - and we both said, "yay!" I know, kind of cheesy...<br /><br />Then we enjoyed a slice of Donor Day Cake - strawberry with vanilla frosting, coconut flakes and funfetti sprinkles. Yum!<br /><br />Happy National Donor Day everyone!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIfsGeuKA3Y/TVngBsb6MRI/AAAAAAAAAKU/sxdXynwWXaY/s1600/NationalDonorDay2011_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 307px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIfsGeuKA3Y/TVngBsb6MRI/AAAAAAAAAKU/sxdXynwWXaY/s320/NationalDonorDay2011_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573732333560410386" /></a>Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-4890130756034711142011-02-06T19:19:00.002-08:002011-02-06T19:20:30.369-08:0028 days until new life: Letter #13<blockquote>28 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #13:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Daddy loves football, so Super Bowl Sunday is pretty important in our house. Daddy says that he wants to teach you all about football so that you’ll understand the game and want to watch football with him. But I say, what if you don’t like football? What if you’d rather play with your favorite toys instead of sitting down on the couch, yelling at the TV? Daddy says it will be okay, but he has to try to see if you like football. <br /><br />I don’t really like football, and I really don’t understand the game. But I watch some football games with Daddy anyway, just so that I can spend time with him. We invited Daddy’s friend Jason to come over to watch the Super Bowl today. He has a cute dog named Emma who gets along really well with Gunnie and Taylor, so he usually brings her with him. <br /><br />This morning I woke up early and made the chili in the crockpot. Then we went to church and listened to Pastor Martie give a really great sermon on Exodus 1. After church we just went home and did some chores around the house. Daddy did a little more work on your bedroom, while I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen. Then the Super Bowl started and we all ate chili, boneless chicken wings, celery & carrots with ranch dip, a slice of Oreo cheesecake and a Magic Cookie Bar square. Mmmmm! You started to get really active inside of me after I drank a little bit of Diet Dr. Pepper, probably because of the caffeine in it. I try to limit the amount of caffeine I drink because I know that too much of it can be not good for you. <br /><br />Well, since I started writing this letter, the Super Bowl has ended and the Green Bay Packers won! Daddy and his friend Jason said it was a pretty good game to watch. <br /><br />Well, tomorrow morning will be the first Monday morning in a while where I don’t have to wake up at 5:40am! But I will probably wake up by 6:30 or so just so that I can see Daddy for a little bit before he leaves for work. <br /><br />Goodnight beautiful baby girl,<br />Love,<br />Your MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-41637014707596711062011-02-06T19:19:00.001-08:002011-02-06T19:19:47.807-08:0029 days until new life: Letter #12<blockquote>29 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #12:</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />Today was the last day of coaching the DAMA swim team for a while. I prepared my favorite workout for the swimmers – the 40 X 100’s set. I had 9 swimmers come to practice. I usually have more on Saturday mornings, but there were a few swimmers who didn’t come because they were busy running the Krispy Kreme Challenge run in Raleigh. <br /><br />My pelvis still hurt a little bit today, but not as much as yesterday. I took a long nap in the afternoon after talking on the phone to my Mom (your Grandma Cheryl). Taylor was snuggled up with me the whole time I was napping. Gunnie usually snuggles with me, too, but she must’ve wanted to sprawl out more because she slept on the other couch. I think I am pretty blessed with you in my tummy because you really don’t kick or move much when I am sleepy and napping. I know that other pregnant women say that sometimes they can’t sleep at all because their babies are kicking so much in their tummies! <br /><br />After resting for a while, I got up and my pelvis really didn’t hurt at all! So I thought I’d take advantage of that and get some stuff done around the house. I vacuumed the rugs and swept the house. Put the bathroom rugs in the wash. Folded laundry. After that, I made 2 desserts for tomorrow, which is Super Bowl Sunday. I made an Oreo cheesecake and Magic Cookie Bars. And Daddy went to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients for crockpot chili, which I’ll make tomorrow. After all that, my pelvis started to hurt a little bit, and it was getting kind of late anyway, so I went to bed.<br /><br />That’s all for now. I love you and Daddy loves you, too! <br /><br />Love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-17856157868390092452011-02-06T19:18:00.000-08:002011-02-06T19:19:04.994-08:0030 days until new life: Letter #11<blockquote>30 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #11:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />My day started out pretty good. I coached swim practice and then met up with a new friend of mine, Laurie, at Caribou Coffee in Brier Creek. We had a wonderful time talking and getting to know each other. Afterward, I went grocery shopping at BJ’s food club. I had to buy things like peanut butter, dishwasher soap and get Daddy some more lunch snacks. I can’t wait to take you with me after you’re born. I’ll tie you into the wrap or Baby Bjorn (I don’t know which one I’ll get) and we’ll stroll the aisles together. And then when you are older, you can sit in the shopping cart and help me pick out lunch snacks for Daddy!<br /><br />When I got home from BJ’s, my day began to go south. As soon as I took one step outside of the car, I had extreme pain in my pelvis. Ouch! Then I took a few steps towards the house and I knew something was wrong. It hurt to walk. Every step was painful. I stopped and tried to shake out my legs, thinking that maybe the weight of my pregnant belly was pressing on a nerve that was causing the pain. But it didn’t help. I finished walking to the front door, in pain the whole way. I took a little rest there before I opened the door. As soon as the door opened, I had only 15 seconds to get to the kitchen so I could turn off the house alarm. I barely made it, just in time before the alarm went off! After that, I laid down on the couch and rested for the rest of the night. The only time I got up was to go to the bathroom!<br /><br />I know this pain will probably go away as soon as I give birth to you. But you know what? I really don’t mind this pain. Sure, it hurts. But it reminds me of the miracle of you growing in my tummy! If I didn’t have pain, I might forget sometimes that I am pregnant with a beautiful baby girl! Well, until you started moving and kicking inside of me, and sometimes tickling me, that is!<br /><br />Well, that is all for now. I love you and can’t wait to see you and hold you! I know Daddy feels the same way, too! <br /><br />I love you,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-38671415754061277232011-02-03T19:31:00.000-08:002011-02-03T19:35:11.851-08:0031 days until new life: Letter #10<blockquote>31 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #10:<br /></blockquote><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />Yesterday was a big day in Mommy and Daddy’s history – the date was February 2, 2006 (5 years ago!) – which is the day that we bought our house! When we bought it, we were not “planning” to have kids yet, but we knew that when we did, that the bedroom in the front of the house would be a perfect room for kids. We loved the fact that there was a big fenced in yard for the dogs to run around in, and it had a big backyard that I envisioned would someday hold a swingset and a playhouse. Another great thing about our house was the amount of storage space! We’d only lived in small houses before we bought this house and we had to store our bicycles inside of the house. But this house had a basement, a workshop and a storage shed! We were so excited!<br /><br />It’s been quite a wonderful blessing to have this house. We bought it during a very different time in the world, financially speaking. You may be too young to understand the story of how we bought our house when you first read this, but someday, you’ll be older and you’ll understand more about how money, loans and banks work. And when you do, come ask me or Daddy about how we bought our house. 2006 was a very good year for some people, but just a year later, lots of those same people were not having very good years. In fact, the year 2007 will be in history books someday and lots of “old people” will recall stories of how the housing market crash of 2007 ruined them or set them up for financial ruin in 2008. <br /><br />But thankfully, Daddy and I were not seriously affected financially during the housing market crash and we were able to keep our house. What a blessing that has been! Thank you God for allowing us to stay here. Many people had to move out of their houses because they could not afford to pay for them anymore. <br /><br />Here is a picture of Daddy and I sitting in front of the house on the day we bought it. Your bedroom window is on the left, and the living room window is on the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUtzgT5hhXI/AAAAAAAAAJg/ep_rV2iKWuA/s1600/House2_small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 130px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUtzgT5hhXI/AAAAAAAAAJg/ep_rV2iKWuA/s200/House2_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569672363108304242" /></a><br /><br />And here is a picture of Daddy and I on the day we bought our house. The woman standing next to us was Brendalynn, our realtor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUtzx_92yyI/AAAAAAAAAJo/gXkCA7FJx_8/s1600/House_small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUtzx_92yyI/AAAAAAAAAJo/gXkCA7FJx_8/s200/House_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569672666995411746" /></a><br /><br />Well that’s all for now. As they say, it’s time to “hit the hay” and “get some beauty sleep” and “catch some Z’s”. <br /><br />We love you Baby Girl and we can’t wait to bring you home into our house!<br /><br />Love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-64556776318284395392011-02-03T19:29:00.000-08:002011-02-03T19:36:09.653-08:0032 days until new life: Letter #9<blockquote>32 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #9:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />We had a very special guest over to our house tonight for dinner. His name is Aaron and your Daddy and I have known him for about 4 years. He disappeared from our life for a couple of years, but just recently came back to share his wonderful news with us – that he is living a new life and he owes it all to God who helped him out of his struggle with some very bad stuff he was doing. When he told us all of this, I just couldn’t help but cry, of course, happy tears of joy. I hugged him, told him that I was so happy for him and that I would call him sometime to have him over for dinner sometime. So we finally had him over and it was a great night of fellowship with an old friend. <br /><br />He gave you a Christmas gift, a very thoughtful gift – a package of pink and white “onesies”, an Elmo baby bath towel and a package of pink socks. I can’t wait to put them on you and then have Aaron come over to visit. I’ll ask him to hold you and then take a picture. What will be neat about this picture is that you’ll be the “new life” in flesh, and he will be the picture of “new life” spiritually, which are both gifts of God! <br /><br />The dinner we all ate was Baked Maple Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and herb focaccia bread. Aaron really enjoyed the dinner, which makes me happy. I love cooking and hearing people say, “Mmmm, this is yummy.” But you know what else makes me really happy? Knowing that you’ll be here (hopefully) in only 32 more days! That’s as many days as I am years old! I will be 32 when you are born, and Daddy will be 39, for a little bit, that is. Daddy will turn 40 on March 28, not too long after you are born. He has already told me that you will be the best early birthday gift he could ever ask for. Isn’t that sweet? I plan on making him a birthday cake that says “Happy Birthday Daddy” instead of what it usually says – “Happy Birthday Rob”. <br /><br />Hey, you just now started kicking and moving around in my tummy! I think maybe you are excited to be born soon and to meet me and your Daddy!<br /><br />That’s all for now,<br />I love you so much!<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-26428386261369549572011-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:002011-02-03T19:36:23.232-08:0033 days until new life: Letter #8<blockquote>33 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #8:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl, <br /><br />This is my last week of working part-time as a swim coach until you arrive. You gave me and the other swimmers quite a laugh a couple weeks ago at morning practice. I was describing the last set on the workout to a few swimmers, which was a kick set. I said, “okay, 6 X 100 Kick on 2:00, odds are dolphin kick and evens are flutter – have fun!” And as soon as I finished saying this, you started kicking in my tummy! It was funny because you hadn’t kicked or moved much at all during the previous hour of swim practice. Everyone I told this story to said the same thing – “Oh, she’s gonna be a swimmer!” Which, to be honest, makes me smile. I mean, I don’t really know if you’ll enjoy swimming or if you’ll be gifted in athletics, but I hope you will be! Even if you are not really into playing sports or being active, I will love you regardless. <br /><br />I have been coaching DAMA since the middle of November last year. I knew this would be a temporary coaching job since I am pregnant with you. After you are born, I will be staying home with you and taking care of you full-time. I don’t know what the future holds, but I might go back to coaching, and if I do, it will be in a very part-time capacity. I would have to make sure that Daddy can stay home with you if I am out coaching for a couple of hours. So I may be able to just coach on Saturday mornings, from 8-10am. But like I said, I don’t know what God has planned for us. We will just have to wait and see. <br /><br />The only thing I know is that you will be more important to me than any job could ever be. I love working as a swim coach and I know God has blessed me with the perfect skills needed to be a great coach! But I also know that God has blessed us with you and that taking care of my family is more important than going to work for selfish reasons. Plus, my duties as a Mommy, to teach and train you up in the ways of the Lord, to love you and nurture your growth in all areas of life – are more special and longer lasting than teaching newer swimmers technique or giving the advanced swimmers a hard workout.<br /><br />Well, it’s time for bed. I have to wake up at 5:40am to get ready for swim practice! <br /><br />Love you bunches!<br />Your MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-80978546108670919382011-01-31T19:56:00.000-08:002011-01-31T19:58:35.470-08:0034 days until new life: Letter #7<blockquote>34 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #7:<br /></blockquote><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />I received a package in the mail today from Daddy’s cousins who live in Maine. It was filled with all kinds of goodies, mostly for you! His cousins are named Mike and Tamara, and they have 2 kids (1 boy and 1 girl). The little girl’s name is Caylie and the little boy’s name is Chase. Mike and Tamara use cloth diapers, which is what I’m planning on using on you. I don’t know much about cloth diapers yet, but I’m learning. So in the package they sent, it has 5 cloth diapers with inserts and 2 G-diapers with a bunch of flushable inserts. They sent these to me so that I can try them out on you! I have to find the right brand of diaper that works best for you before I order a bunch of them to use on you. That is very nice of them to send us these because cloth diapers are very expensive! <br /><br />In addition to the diapers, they put in some nice stuff that we can definitely use. Like a waterproof mattress pad for your crib, which is a definite must-have for every baby’s room! And they gave us some Halo Sleep Sacks, which will go over your jammies at nighttime. They make it so that you don’t have to have a blanket on top of you. And the last things they sent were nursing pads, milk baggies, and a sheet protector. Isn’t that a lovely care package from them? Lots of people have been so kind and generous to us since we found out that we are pregnant with you! Like Grandma and Grandpa have bought you a crib, bedding set, a vibrating infant seat and some other odds and ends like clothes and toys. And Grandma Nana bought you your car seat, which will work for you from the time you are born until you turn 5 years old. And Mrs. Dean at church has given us a gently used stroller. There have been other little gifts sent for you, from lots of other people, which has been so nice of them. <br /><br />Here is a picture of all the stuff that Mike and Tamara sent:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUeEo3TwWaI/AAAAAAAAAJU/S8fXNBSCEmg/s1600/Baby_Care_Package.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUeEo3TwWaI/AAAAAAAAAJU/S8fXNBSCEmg/s320/Baby_Care_Package.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568565301843351970" /></a><br /><br />Thank you Mike and Tamara! <br /><br />I would write more, but it's bedtime and I need my sleep, just like you do!<br /><br />Love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-57878866584851134262011-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:002011-01-30T18:12:42.955-08:0035 days until new life: Letter #6<blockquote>35 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #6:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />I feel much better today than I did yesterday. I caught a cold of some sort on Friday night. When I woke up yesterday (Saturday), I felt really sick. I had a sore throat, my lymph nodes were swollen, a runny nose and I was sneezing and coughing. Since I am pregnant with you, there are some medicines that I can’t take because it would be harmful to you. Daddy went to the store looking for a specific medicine for my cold, but he couldn’t find it anywhere! And he went to 3 different stores, too! So I decided to not take any medicine and to just let my immune system fight it off. I drank a lot of water and orange juice, and I rested a lot. I felt much better this morning. Now all I have is a runny nose and I’m sneezing a lot. I wonder if you can feel my tummy muscles squeezing you every time I sneeze? <br /><br />Wow, only 35 more days until you’re due to be born! That’s not a lot of time! Just a little bit more than a month away. When you’re a kid, a month seems like it is a LONG time. But when you’re all grown up, one month seems to go by VERY quickly! I hope this last month of my pregnancy continues to go very fast. Because I am so excited to meet you. I just know you are going to be so beautiful. So cute and so adorable… <br /><br />That reminds me of something my Mom and Dad taught me to say when I was a little girl, maybe around 3 years old. If someone asked me, “Why are you so cute?” I would answer them, “because my Mommy is pretty and my Daddy is handsome!” And of course everyone in the room would laugh and say, “oh, how adorable and charming you are!”<br /><br />I wonder if you will have blonde, curly/wavy hair like I did when I was little, or if it will be blonde and straight like Daddy’s hair was when he was little? If you do have curls, I am going to buy this book for you:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYadlJhMhI/AAAAAAAAAJM/4cmjrlDeWes/s1600/littlegirlcurl.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 153px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYadlJhMhI/AAAAAAAAAJM/4cmjrlDeWes/s200/littlegirlcurl.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568167084780761618" /></a><br /><br />I’ll probably buy it even if you turn out to have straight, brown hair. Because it’s such a cute book! <br /><br />Well, Mommy is getting tired and I think I might go to bed early tonight because I didn’t get to take a nap today. <br /><br />I love you already Baby Girl,<br />Love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-26899960535610530222011-01-30T18:06:00.001-08:002011-01-30T18:09:03.357-08:0036 days until new life: Letter #5<blockquote>36 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #5:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />We started doing a little more work today on your bedroom. Transforming it from the “Green Room” to “Baby Girl Newton’s Room” has been quite a task so far! I’ve had to do a lot of cleaning and organizing these past couple of months. There are 2 closets in your room – the big one, which had a lot of junk that just needed to be thrown out – and the small one, which we used as a coat closet. When I cleaned out the big closet, the first step was to take everything out and lay it out on the floor so I could go through everything. Here’s a picture of what your big closet used to look like:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYZbRNxcLI/AAAAAAAAAI8/iuCd2CdPr2o/s1600/big_closet_green_room.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 116px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYZbRNxcLI/AAAAAAAAAI8/iuCd2CdPr2o/s200/big_closet_green_room.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568165945558528178" /></a><br /><br />And here is a picture of everything that was in the closet, all laid out and ready to be sorted, thrown away, or stored somewhere else:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYZnuzAItI/AAAAAAAAAJE/v362EHFzcIg/s1600/big_closet_green_room2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUYZnuzAItI/AAAAAAAAAJE/v362EHFzcIg/s200/big_closet_green_room2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568166159657738962" /></a><br /><br />You might be thinking, “Wow Mommy, that closet sure was full of lots of junk!” And if you are thinking that, I will completely agree with you! I’m sure by the time you’re reading this letter, your closet will look much different. It will probably be full of “big girl” clothes and shoes, and “big girl” toys! <br /><br />Daddy started working on the walls of your room today. We went to Home Depot to buy some beadboard which will cover the bottom 4 feet of all the walls in your room. Daddy had to take off the baseboards today and will continue working on installing the new beadboard next weekend. Then we will buy some drywall mud and put it over the rest of the walls, which are green and textured right now. Once that is complete, we will be ready to paint your room! Mocha brown on the beadboard, and a beige/cream color on the top half. I’m excited to see how your room will look when it is all finished. <br /><br />I can’t wait to snuggle with you in your room while we read bedtime stories and say our prayers together every night. I think this will be my favorite part of the day with you! <br /><br />Lots of love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-27759511087171710012011-01-29T13:35:00.001-08:002011-01-29T13:36:00.231-08:0037 days until new life: Letter #4<blockquote>37 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #4:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />I am actually writing this letter 1 day late. Yesterday, I had a busy day and wasn’t at home as much as I normally am. I had to pick out some special outfits for me and your Daddy at the mall because we were planning on having our pictures taken today. But by the time I got home from the mall, I was really tired and worn out. I only had just enough energy to clean up the kitchen, cook dinner, and then clean up again. In addition to feeling tired, I was also cranky. I’m not cranky very often, and when I am, there is a good reason. Well, I started to feel sick after dinner. I felt light-headed and just “run down” in general. That’s not a normal feeling for me. Later, when I washed my face and neck, I could feel that my lymph nodes were tender and swollen. That definitely told me I was getting sick.<br /><br />Despite feeling yucky, I made a special trip out to my best friend Heather’s house. She and I, and her oldest daughter Taylor, hung out for a little bit watching a TV show called “What would you do?” I’d never seen it before and it was interesting. Afterward, Heather gave me a haircut and we talked about what giving birth is like. She is a good person to talk to about this since she has 5 children! <br /><br />To be honest, I am a little scared to give birth to you. Which is really dumb, I know. I’m sure I’ll read this letter years from now and just laugh at that! Of course giving birth is going to be painful, that’s a given fact. But I’ve never been the kind of girl who is afraid of a little pain. I can give blood and have blood drawn from me without hyperventilating; in fact, I think it’s pretty cool to watch the wonders of medical science and how God works through doctors and nurses all the time. And the pain I endured while racing mountain bikes for years, which has to stand for something, right? Sure, it was painful while I was climbing up a huge mountain, pushing myself to the limit and riding through the pain, but I was able to endure it because I knew that when I finished, I’d be standing on a podium with a medal in my hand (most of the time).<br /><br />Now, a medal for winning a bike race is nothing compared to what I will get to hold in my arms for a lifetime after giving birth – YOU!! So I really ought not to worry about the pain of childbirth at all. I am so excited to meet you (and so is Daddy) and if it means I have to endure some pain in the process, then so be it. When they place you in my arms for the first time and I look at you and speak to you, and you recognize my voice and look back into my eyes, I’m sure that all the pain I just endured will seem like nothing at all. I imagine that I will probably be crying at that point…crying happy tears for the gift of a baby girl, for the gift of you!<br /><br />I Love You,<br />Your MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-59053366846745432912011-01-27T05:17:00.000-08:002011-01-27T05:21:06.509-08:0038 days until new life: Letter #3Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />Even though it’s a Thursday and I don’t have to wake up before the sun rises to get ready to coach the swimmers, I chose to get up early with Daddy at 5:50am. Daddy went to the grocery store last night before bed to buy some bananas for the special breakfast I wanted to make this morning. So we ended up getting to bed about 1 hour later than usual. (Another reason for the late bedtime was that Daddy was keeping track of the San Diego State-BYU basketball game, which is like the equivalent of Duke playing Carolina, just in a much less prestigious conference.) I warned Daddy to not push the snooze button more than 1 time in the morning, otherwise I wasn’t going to make him the special, yummy breakfast I had planned. He said, “you’re a meanie pie!” and I just giggled, knowing that he knew I was just joking and that I’d make him that special breakfast regardless of the time he finally got out of bed! You should know by now that Mommy is a “morning person” while Daddy is definitely not! It makes me wonder what you will be? Will you be a morning person or a “night owl” like your Daddy?<br /><br />So I made chocolate chip banana pancakes this morning for all of us. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUFw_ISL_II/AAAAAAAAAIs/VdCDymV3yTw/s1600/banana_pancakes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUFw_ISL_II/AAAAAAAAAIs/VdCDymV3yTw/s320/banana_pancakes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566854844264479874" /></a>They came out delicious. I imagine that you are eating them right about now and enjoying the sugar high from the chocolate and the syrup! Here is a picture of your Daddy eating breakfast. Notice that his eyes are still only halfway open, which is further proof of what I said earlier about him definitely being NOT a morning person! <br /><br />And here is a picture of me eating my pancakes. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUFxKktMo8I/AAAAAAAAAI0/mlHXFAIjuqI/s1600/banana_pancakes2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y6ypM6SpKG4/TUFxKktMo8I/AAAAAAAAAI0/mlHXFAIjuqI/s320/banana_pancakes2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566855040872522690" /></a>Yes, I’m still in my pajamas! They are the most comfortable clothes I have right now! Actually, they’re not my pajamas. They belong to Daddy. I would never buy myself pajamas that had footballs on them! Look at my eyes in this picture – they are wide open, unlike Daddy’s eyes! I love being a morning person because it means that I can get up early and do special things for my family like cook banana pancakes! Although I don’t do it very often, I can stay up late, if required. Like 2 weeks ago, I stayed up until 2am making split pea & ham soup that Daddy could take to work and share with his co-workers the next day. I sure did sleep in late after such a late night. <br /><br />I can’t wait until you’re born and old enough to start eating some solid foods. Like most babies do, you’ll start off eating things like Gerber cereal, Yo-Baby yogurt, bananas, Cheerios and mushy, home-cooked squash. Mmmm. But at some point, we’ll start to give you more “complicated” foods like pancakes! And whole pork chops to gnaw on! My Mom tells me that when I was just barely 12 months old, I ate a whole pork chop for dinner one time, and then demanded a second helping!<br /><br />The song I’m listening to right now is called “Banana Pancakes” and is sung by Jack Johnson. Here are some of the lyrics: <br /><br />“Waking up too early<br />Maybe we could sleep in<br />I’ll make you banana pancakes<br />Pretend like it’s the weekend now”<br /><br />Yes – I woke up too early today. No – I didn’t sleep in. Yes – I made you, me and Daddy banana pancakes. And No – we can’t pretend it’s the weekend because it’s Thursday, and Daddy goes to work on Thursdays. <br /><br />So today, it’s just me and you, baby. Well, it’ll be us and the dogs…until Daddy gets home at 7pm. <br /><br />38 more days until you’re due to be born. I can’t wait. I’m so excited. <br /><br />I love you Baby Girl!<br />Love,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6215836129459150821.post-42172560729743439842011-01-26T12:33:00.000-08:002011-01-26T12:34:58.725-08:0039 days until new life: Letter #2<blockquote>39 days until we get to meet our little bundle of joy: a true gift from God. Baby Girl Newton, you’re such a blessing to Daddy and I, and we love you so much already. I’m writing a letter to you everyday until you make your grand entrance. Letter #2:</blockquote><br /><br />Dear Baby Girl,<br /><br />You are kicking me like crazy right now. But I don’t mind. It’s nice. Sometimes your kicks tickle me, but that’s usually when I’m laying down reading before bedtime. A few nights ago, you started kicking in that special way that tickled. And I laughed out loud. I was trying to laugh quietly so that I wouldn’t wake up your Daddy who was snoring next to me. Daddy needs his sleep more than I do right now because he works hard, a full 8 hours everyday. That’s 4 times as much as I work, and he can’t take a nap in the morning or afternoon like I can. <br /><br />Speaking of taking naps, I am really enjoying my morning naps and I think you are, too. I usually get about 5 hours of sleep on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. That’s because I usually don’t fall asleep until midnight and I have to wake up at 5:40 to get ready to go to the pool and coach the morning swimmers. But when practice is over at 8:00, I go home and eat breakfast. Which is good because I’m starving by this time! My usual breakfast is a big bowl of some kind of whole grain cereal with milk and a cup of extra-calcium yogurt. I’ve been eating very well since finding out you were growing inside of me. I do eat some junk food sometimes, but I try to limit it because I know you’re growing big and strong and you need the good stuff more than the sweet, yummy stuff. After breakfast, I usually climb straight into bed and nap for a little bit, sometimes as short as 1 hour, or as long as 3 hours!<br /><br />Only 39 more days until you’re due to be born. I can’t believe it. Some parts of my pregnancy with you have felt like I was living in slow-motion, while other parts went by too fast. That’s why I really want to write a letter to you everyday until you’re born. That way I can remember what the last days of my pregnancy with you was like. And so that you can read about them when you are older. Maybe these letters will be preserved for so long that you will be able to read them when you are fully grown, married and having your first child. I know I have enjoyed hearing my Mom (your Grandma Cheryl) tell me stories about what it was like when she was pregnant with me! <br /><br />Everyone keeps telling me to “enjoy the amount of sleep you’re getting right now” because apparently after you’re born, you will likely sleep all day and then keep me awake most of the night! You know what? I’m not scared of that happening. I’m excited. I can’t wait to hold you, kiss you, comfort you, sing to you, rub your back, feed you, burp you, hear you scream and change your diaper (even the yucky ones). I also can’t wait to dress you in cute pink and purple outfits, and gaze into your eyes while you gaze into mine. If doing all these things means I won’t sleep much during the middle of the night, well that’s just fine and dandy with me! We’ll just call it special Mommy and Baby Girl bonding time! We’ll let Daddy get the sleep he needs… and then you and I can both take naps after breakfast.<br /><br />Lots of love to you, my sweet baby girl,<br />MommyDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763906920771241630noreply@blogger.com1