Rant . . .

Ok - I need to preface this posting with the following statement:

I want to THANK profusely all of the veterans who have server our country, now and in times past. All of them have sacrificed their own safety and many other things to try and make the world a safer and better place and we can in no way repay that sacrifie. So Thank You!

Now - I just got a call from one of the veterans groups asking for money. I appreciate that money is needed. Sadly the government just doesn't have enough to do what *SHOULD* be done to properly take care of all of those who've come back injured - mentally, and physically.

Now my first question is: if you have enough money to get a call center calling, where else could that money be put to better use? (and granted I don't know if it was volunteer or not . . .)

Next question: Why can't they accept no for an answer? Not everyone has money to spare to give. This is a tight economy. I have a new baby who I have to buy formula and diapers for etc. And too be honest, yes I have a little extra spending money - but I need that for my own selfish purposes to keep my SANITY! Every new parent (heck every old parent too) needs their own entertainments and pleasures to offset the hardwork that is parenting. If I tell you I don't have the money to spare this year, why can't you just accept that and move on?

Today the call really upset me and p*ssed me off. The man on the other end of the phone was in full telemarketer mode - they had their script of what to say when the person says no. He went into a "Can't you just squeeze $20 out of your budget for these men and women who have been injured in the line of duty . . ." etc. Really laying it on *THICK*! - and I'm sitting here going, it's a shame this particular association is now probably NOT going to receive much from me in the future because their practices in fundraising have really upset me. I appreciate all the veterans have done, but that doesn't add an extra $20 to my budget, and attempting to GUILT me into depriving myself or my family of something we need so I can donate to a cause that the government should be paying for anyway is very upsetting.

I just felt the need to get that off my chest so to speak.

Anyways - have an M picture or two to make you smile.

Ok - I know I've been bad

And everyone wants pictures. I have some video too - but have NO idea how to convert it to something actually uploadable as opposed to the HUMUNGOUS files they are now. :)

So anyway - As of yesterday Mikki is 8weeks old, 11lb 10oz, and 24" long and growing WONDERFULLY according to the dr. She is a happy baby who seems to enjoy Opera. :) Go figure.

I"m doing well - been back at work for about 2.5 weeks, and working with her here at home - not the easiest thing in the world but I'm managing for now until we figure out our daycare situation. Her naming at the temple will be Thanksgiving weekend . . .

Without further ado :) here are some pictures

TAGGED!

Tag...I'm it...7 interesting things you might not know about me...

I was tagged by Bradley Egel

1. I have visited Bradley's mother store and shopped from her - AND gotten the egel's nest discount. She rocks! :) (wink)

2. I have played many different musical instruments in ensemble including, oboe, flute, piccolo, crumhorn, recorder, drums, glockenshpiel (sp?), marimba, cello, and voice.

3. I was on the HS Rifle team. Actual target shooting. Was good too ;) (When i moved to DE, i asked in the HS if they had a rifle team. I was told "yes, they march in front of the band." - I think they misunderstood... ahh the things I miss about NY. :) )

4. My hebrew name is Yosefa Ilanna. (ilanna means little tree and was used because I was born on Tu B'shavat - kind of a jewish arbor day.) - Yosefa is for my great grandfather, and i was the first grandchild to be named for him. I never met the man but still feel a strong connection - probably because my mother had one with him and her father (his son.)

5. I'm an aquarius. :)

6. I loved to cook before i got pregnant. Then food turned me off :) and now i'm too tired to think about it. Hopefully when the Mik is older i'll start cooking more often.

7. I love shoes - but usually things like Dansko and Mephisto - not Manholo (sp?) etc. I think that much $$ for something that impractical is just ridiculous. Dansko - they are at least good for you (and 1/3 to 1/6 the price of those jimmy Choos and manholos. :) ) I may be a shoe-a-holic - but i'm at least a PRACTICAL one... :)

And I'm going to break the last rule - Not gonna tag other folks on this one cuz well, I'm not sure there are 7 people who even regularly read my blog :) let alone have the time to do this. :) IF anyone wants to - please feel free and put a note in my comments and I'll add your name to the main post.

New Babies are monotonous :)

But it's good to know my mom is having fun - so more pics to entertain! :)

I found myself but then lost it once again...

I know i've been MIA - and probably will be for a while - but I figure for those who are curious I'd post an update. :)

We are obviously home now. :) it's been 4 weeks... in fact - 4 weeks and 1 hour as of this writing. :)

Doing well - other than the fact that the child appears to have a black hole for a stomach and doesn't think mommy or daddy need sleep (normal I know. :) )

Anyways - here's a few pics - mom had fun making "collages" :) ENJOY!


(i think hubby's
shirt is prophetic)

SHE's HERE . . .

I know it's been a very long time since I posted...

But she's here - Our daughter.
M*i *k*h*a*i*l*a E*v*e

she was born at 8lb 4oz and 20" long - via C-section after roughly 17 hours of Pitocin based labor. (where the epidurals kept wearing off. :) ) So - 9/4/2008 - 9:52pm. :)

She's currently in the nicu - was having some minor breathing issues - but she's being weaned off the oxygen as we speak - and is doing well. :)

Including a picture here and if you really you can go here for my album of pics.

I will be out of the hospital - around mondayish... :)

Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes through out to everyone!

Here we go again....

I know it's been a while - but I was waiting for updates and stuff. :) silly me. There wasn't a whole lot going on. :)

So - The bad news is I have Gestational Diabetes - Good news is it's mild for now. Need insulin at night but during the day it's all controlled well through diet. Which is the other silver lining, maybe I'll learn to eat better and lose weight after the baby. (or continue - I've only gained about 7 lbs so far with this pregnancy and i'm just finishing my 6th full calendar month.)

Shots in the belly are interesting. :) They don't hurt - and i get to play "scientist" when i fill the syringes. (gotta have fun with this stuff ya know? LOL)

Also - i'm only at a total of 7lbs gained (not counting the initial 10 we thought i'd lost...just being safe.) So YAY!

now - the moment you've all been waiting for i'm sure...



IT'S

A

GIRL!













(and please, let's limit the PINK. It is *NOT* my favorite color... :))

So . . . It's a .........

So I had this whole plan.

I bought these 2 screaming sling shot monkies - one with a pink cape and one with a blue, then I'd post the appropriate colored monkey to share the news.

Well this of course backfires.

You see - I apparently have a child that takes after mommy and daddy very thoroughly. It was sleeping like I do with one arm behind its head . . . :)

It also was sitting Indian style - (maybe a future yoga instructor? :) ) - the ENTIRE 1 hour ultrasound. Even worse, at one point it moved, and then put its hand down in front blocking the view even further. Stubborn child with a twisted sense of humor I'm thinking.

IN other words, My kid. :) All else is well though, heartrate is 150 - size is right on track . . . :) all good.

But I will share the pics...

here you go: :) (personally my favorite is the "dancing queen" pose on the bottom left.)

The Name hath been REVEALED . . . :)

That is correct - we have a name for SSSP2. :)
*D*
*A*
*V*
*I*
*D*

*R*
*U*
*B*
*I*
*N*

Now they are going for the hebrew pronunciations on this - so "Da Veed" and "rue vain"

Course apparently suka can't spell real well - and didn't realize that if they were going for "rue vain" then maybe she should have used an actual, i don't know . . . *v* in the name??? :)

Auntie Em paid for the food for said event - paid for 80 ppl. 25 showed up. :)

There's a few other things but nothing so spectacular that I"m going to go crazy with it here - just wanted to share the name. :)

IN other news . . . :)

The dr today confirmed that the breathing issues i've been having are most likely pregnancy related. Going to get some pulmonary tests done next week anyway but he said not worry about it. I think the way he explained it was that the extra progesterone hormones etc make it feel like it's hard to catch your breath, and then add in the extra fluid retention and the pressure of things moving around and we're all good. Now, he also explained part of this was for more oxygenation. The way I explained this to someone (who found it very entertaining) was that You hyperventilate because baby wants to steal more oxygen - Silly little parasite. :)

Baby's heart rate was 152 - so we're good there - BP was fine - and I decided to decline the screening test for the downs and spina bifida and all that. The risk is pretty low - I'm taking care of myself, been on folic acid and DHA supplements for 6 months PRIOR to the pregnancy - so why stress myself with possible false positives ya know? :)

The big reveal ultrasound is going to be on April 15th - in the evening so hubby can join us. :) Hopefully the tadpole cooperates. What's cool is that I get to have a 3D ultrasound. :)

Not a whole lot else happening on the baby front at this point - I'll update you all around 20 weeks :) or if we find out anything significant - (20 weeks is around 4/18)

In other non ME related baby news... Apparently this woman my friends and I know - went into the hospital for a kidney stone last week. She came out with a 7lb 6oz baby boy. She claims to have not known (or in serious denial) that she was pregnant at all. Now I know this does happen occasionally - but usually it's larger women where the belly change isn't as noticeable. This woman was like 5'8" 130. We're not talking plump here. I just don't understand how you don't FEEL it etc... :) Go figure. I told my husband she had a 7lb 6oz kidney stone and told him the kid's name. He thought I was making a joke. :) His eyes about popped out of his head at that news. :) Life is definitely interesting eh?? :)

Suka Spawn - Service Pack 2 - SSSP2 :)

Yes - you guessed it - the 2nd child has spawned hale and hearty from the Suka. 7lbs or something like that 19" - born on this past saturday.

Of course - they won't share the name - They have decided that they will not tell ANYONE the name until the bris - THIS saturday. (Thankfully I already have an excuse to not go, even if they did bother to invite us - which they haven't. :) )

This withholding the name thing is just another attention grabber of course. Cousin P thinks it is revenge because she found out the sex of A&E's baby (baby clean floor) when SukaStar didn't get to know. (E knew, but A didn't want to so she could only tell people she KNEW wouldn't spill the beans.)

But - I don't think this is the reason. That might be a nice side benefit - but not the reason.

*I* think the reason is because they are planning on a name that is going to stir the sh*t and they are waiting for a nice public and crowded venue where they can make the announcement when the sh*t can be stirred nice and quietly and no one will make a scene.

There are two options.

#1 - John Joe Doe. (obviously not the real name. :) You see - Star's dad passed away when he was around 15 or 16 or so. When P had her son 9 years ago, she named him John in honor of her father - per jewish tradition. But as is typical of my insensitive Auntie Em - she has gone on and on through out Suka's 2nd PG, about how they may name the kid for Star's dad John, and john would then FINALLy have the name. Umm huh??? What about my son John??? "oh - well, this will be the REAL name, because he'll have the last name too . . ."

Can we say incredibly obnoxious?? And of course you know that STar would love to announce that he finally has the name etc - completely insulting his sister. This falls under the same category of "oh, it was much harder for me to lose My parents than for your P to lose your father, because I had them so much longer, it hurts that much more."

#2 - Jim John Smith (finding generic names is hard. :) ) - This would be naming him for my grandfather. Now - TECHNICALLY my grandfather has already gotten the name with baby clean floor. ANd I find it kind of rude that they gave him that name. NOt because I wanted to use it for myself... (which I do but that isn't the reason) - but because her father had JUST died. Jewish tradition says there's a priority - parents get the name first, then grandparents, then beyond. So her FATHER should have gotten the first name and precedence rather than giving priority to our grandfather instead. Water under the bridge. But - Star - He may do my grandfather's name which while I can't do anything about it - will *REALLLLY* upset me. That will also stir the sh*t but in different ways i'm sure.

once i hear any good stories from the bris - i'll let you know. :) somehow i'll announce the name.

***update - So originally as usual Suka's parents said they'd pay for the Bris - but now of course Auntie Em is once again paying for the whole thing and now Star is pushing for an additional party on friday night... plus they want to invite a bunch more people than originally planned... are we having fun yet? :)

In PG news - i'm now 15 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Doing ok for the most part. Still kind of tired, and nausea hasn't completely gone away - but i'm getting better - definitely. My next appointment is the end of this month.

There isn't a whole lot of other stuff going on right now. Going to visit DH's family up north for Easter - I believe there is a 'christening' or baptism involved. (not sure which it is/what it's called.) But we're being named Godparents.

Then next week I'll be going to Quantico to see my friend graduate from the FBI academy. I find it amusing that they are graduating on April Fool's day - but we all know the FBI has no sense of humor. (grin) Just kidding. ;)

And that's all news that's good gnus :) at this point. (thank you Great Space Coaster for the reference :) - never say I don't give credit . . . )

I did promis an update didn't I . . . ?

Well - I did promise an update - so here goes . . . :)

Pregnancy is all going fine - i'm about 4 and a half days into my second trimester. That's calendar count. My body hasn't QUITE accepted that fact yet - but i'm hoping it does soon. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat at the dr's office and it was pretty cool. :) All seems to be going well with that and my next appointment is at the end of March. (seems SO far away . . . )


In other news - the house in NY was finally torn down. This of course put Auntie Em into hysterics. So she is now going on and on about how hard it is for her etc etc etc. It's been 2 years people. One would think you'd be over the bulk of the mourning phase, and while you still miss the person who passed away - your life SHOULD be functional.

I mean - the Real estate agent wants to clean out the house down south to make it more saleable. So we went through inventory and marked what we wanted. The inventory was then sent to the other sisters as well - and of course - once again - Auntie Em "why do we have to do this?? i can't handle it right now? Why can't we just put everything in storage and deal with it later? It's just too hard . . . " (i'm going to gag now.) It's all about the attention for her. And of course she once again pulls out the old chestnut - that it's harder for her to lose HER parents than it was for her daughter to lose her father - her reason? She had SOOOO much more time with her parents than P had with her dad so the loss is just THAT much more painful. You know what? I think it's much more tragic when someone is taken from you before their time. When i've had a lot of time with someone and I lose them - well they had a GOOD life - why not celebrate it ya know??

Ahh well - typical of the whole ALIT crowd I guess. Suka is due to deliver sometime mid next month - so maybe we'll get some good stories out of that. :)

Otherwise - not a whole lot else is going on - just trying to stay healthy and keep the tadpole growing at a steady pace. :)

Later Taters!

I'm ok . . .

I know some of you were wondering how i'm doing and I"m doing ok.

Still kind of nauseous - all the usual stuff.

Will probably make a more in depth post later this week after my next dr's appointment.

Bradley's mom - if you read this: the second one seems to fit ok, i'll send the first one back eventually :) and order more of the other one I got too since i'm living in it. :)

HUGS to all!

Drum Roll Please . . .

So -

One of the reasons I haven't been posting much is because there was stuff going on that I couldn't tell anyone about. And you all know me - I can't keep my mouth shut so rather than post about nonsensical things and try to keep my mouth shut I decided that I wouldn't post about anything.

So lets see - we had good holidays :) As I said on Bradley's blog, our tree is still up and somewhat healthy as well - not dropping many needles at all - I know we need to take it down, but at the same time I hate to get rid of a tree that is still so nice and green ya know? :)

I got some cool stuff for Christmachanukwanzayule this year too... I got a nintendo DS with brain age, and solitaire, and word jong and mah jong etc. Lots of fun to play with. Got some new sweat pants and a new sweatshirt that i'm pretty much *LIVING* in . . . and I *FINALLY* got the bathrobe I'd been wanting for 3 years. The problem is that its ll bean, and by the time xmas etc comes around they are usually sold out. So hubby got smart and took care of it in OCTOBER this year. :) So now I finally have it and I"m very happy. :)

There have been a few minor suka stories but nothing worth major documentation. She's getting paranoid again at the end of the pregnancy. Goes to the hospital like 4 times in a week. Every time she feels a slight twinge she goes to the hospital. she isn't due until mid march. I can't decide if she's paranoid, or just looking for the attention or what? I know some people do need to go in early for legitimate reasons - but she did the same thing with sukaspawn. Nothing was ever wrong - she just went in for EVERYTHING. Weird.

So - I guess i've tortured you all long enough. You probably want to know what the news is. Some of you already know and some of you may have guessed - but here it is:

This is our little blob. :)

I"m approx 7.5 - 8 wks
along.

Heart rate is 157

Due date 9/5/2008

That round blob
that looks like a head
at the bottom is the
yolk sack - peanut
is up above that. :)





So that's my news. Hubby and I are officially Spawning. :)

I told hubby the day he came back from visiting his family for the holidays. He wants to know who the daddy is since i wasn't PG before he went home. :) (well I was, we just didn't know it :) )

Truth is he is very happy about it. Already making puns. Has decided peanut will be born early, so that he/she/it is born on labor day. :)

I'll keep you all posted... because as we all know I can't keep my mouth (or my fingers) quiet. :)

New Post

Coming soon I promise.... :)