When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me… unless you think fast on your feet, and no one finds out =)

December 14, 2009


15 weeks 2 days                                                         

16 weeks today! Dec 14, 2009

Christmas Par-Tay!

Baby V's first Navy Christmas Party was a success. It was at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, and mommy and daddy enjoyed themselves. I was surprised that I still had my spunky little self full of energy and even had fun kicking my heals up and showing off my baby bump on the dance floor. It was fun watching Kraig laugh and joke with his friends while I danced the night away fueled by water and lemon.

When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me… unless you think fast on your feet, and no one finds out =)

Once a week, I peruse the job openings on the local independent school district websites. Usually I just find bus driver or crossing guard. Last week I saw "Part time finger printing clerk" I read the particulars and thought "hey, this could be alright!" So, as usual, I resubmit my app and cover letter and call it good. What's the worst that could happen, right? Well, Friday after the Christmas party we got a phone call asking when I would be available for an interview on Monday. Sweet, this could be it! Pretty happy I agreed to Monday at 9:30 and began mentally preparing for what types of questions they may ask, and how I would address the baby baby…not the food baby from a weekend of over indulging. =)

The weekend came and went, along came Monday bright and early. I did my run, showered, and ate my breakfast. I collected my errands I needed to run, and headed off to Forney. As I pulled into the parking spot and walked up to the building I paused to reflect. This was my fourth time coming here for one thing or another. Would this time be different? I just got comfortable with not having a job, would today be the day I get one?

I took a deep breath and walked in. The receptionist greeted me with a huge smile, and oddly enough both our names are Pam, and our husbands are from South Dakota…DING!!! Is this a sign?! We chatted until I was called into my interview, I was greeted by the human resources manager and taken into a cozy office. As I entered I noticed someone else at the table…hmmm "Why do you need two people to interview candidates for a 9 hour a week, part time, finger printing job?" I sat my naïve self down at the table and waited for the interview to begin. They led off with questions about my experience with children. I thought, okay maybe since this is a school district, they want to make sure all their employees have a rapport with children and young people. So I answered the question. Then they asked about my teaching experience. I thought, well I guess they read my resume, and were curious to hear about my work experience. Again, what does this have to do with fingerprinting?!

My red flags went into overdrive when the HR manager apologized for not mentioning that the other person at the table was a principal from one of the elementary schools…WHAT?! My mind quickly changed gears, this is a teacher interview! When I was contacted on Friday, there was no mention of this. I ASSUMED it was an interview for the finger printing job since it was the last one I applied for on the web site. OMG!!! Then they revealed it was for a pre-k teaching position that would be starting at the end of January. We continued the interview, we were laughing, and enjoying ourselves. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and I was on my way.

I still haven't quite processed what happened, but man! If I get that job, it would be great, but now I have a whole other set of things to think about…stay tuned!

Now off for some delicious pulled pork tenderloin and cheese enchiladas...... Ricotta Cheese is the key!

Turkey Day and Week 14 in the life of Baby Baby

14 Weeks and 3 days A.F.B. - After Food Baby


Today is a COLD, WINDY, and WET day. Parts of North East Texas even saw snow! That's something this Florida girl is not used to. Needless to say, I think being pregnant during the winter and spring is probably the way to do it. It's much more fun bundling up in fleece, sweat pants, hoodies, and furry boots than sweating my butt off - Wait a minute, sweating my butt off might not be so bad as I watch the scale head in a direction I've never been a fan of. =) Which leads me to Thanksgiving…

We had a great Thanksgiving! Our close friend and "adopted son" Brian aka Raf spent the day with us, and helped supervise the Turkey frying along with Kraig…with a little liquid courage of course. None for mommy this year, but it's well worth it. =)

Many of us have fried a turkey or had them for Thanksgiving, and I must confess this was our first time doing it ourselves and it was HEAVENLY! So easy to cook, and it just melted in our mouths. Our good friends Chad and Sherri Boyd were the first to cook them for us, and we are now hooked! Of course we had all the traditional trimmings, and as usual I tasted too much as I cooked. My appetite was pretty nonexistent come dinner time. Not one to be a quitter, I made sure I claimed Baby V's share and Food Baby and Baby Baby were quite pleased. =)

Appointment with Dr. Angie aka Elvis Doctor was routine…Thank GOD! After the last few tense ones I was ready for a quick trip in and out. They were able to pick up Baby V's heartbeat with the doppler and it was the sweetest sound ever! 150bpm, and my eye makeup turned me into a raccoon or an Alice Cooper wanna be. =) Elvis told me I was doing great with my weight, blood pressure, etc. I did have to remind them that Thanksgiving was last week, and any transgressions regarding weight must be forgiven. I mean, come on! I can't let homemade apple pie go to waste, and you know my Grandma Doleman taught me how to make it right with lard and butter =) HEAVENLY!!!

Much to my surprise I had only gained 2lbs since last month and that is just fine by me. I'm beginning to hate those stupid books and weight calculators by now. To heck with'em! As long as I can still wear my jeans, and I'm exercising I'm doing great. Whoever said you only need to gain a couple pounds in the first trimester obviously doesn't know how to cook =) …(just kidding, I'm just incredibly Blessed to have not been sick at all…and have an insatiable appetite for burgers)

Sweaty Miss Yetti ! Ugh, but that's the Naked Belly after a run =)

Much better after I hit the showers!

Pecans Roasting in a Toaster Oven

For the last week Kraig's Food Baby has been craving roasted pecans like our friend Pat makes.  I haven't had these in forever, and not being one to deny my sweetie's cravings I got on it! =)
Pecan's are a great thing for expectant mothers to eat.  According to the Georgia Pecan Comission...

"In fact, women getting the least amount of vitamin E during their pregnancies were five times more likely to have children with asthma symptoms by the age of 5 and three times more likely to have children who experienced wheezing, compared to women who got the most vitamin E.

Unlike vitamin supplements, which contain a form of vitamin E known as alpha-tocopherol, pecans and other nuts are rich in gamma-tocopherol, a powerful antioxidant.

One ounce of Georgia pecans provides almost 7 milligrams of gamma-tocopherol, making them a top source of vitamin E in the diet.

The recommended intake of vitamin E is about 20 milligrams a day.

The researchers suggest that vitamin E may help reduce asthma by having a positive effect on the developing immune system of the fetus."

I usually keep dry roasted, or raw mixed nuts in the car just in case I need a quick snack.  Now I hope my Baby Baby will be able to wrestle these goodies away from Kraig's Food Baby.

My Baby's Keepers

Addy Girl and Trigger are my first babies, and are the keepers of my Baby Baby.  Not a moment passes when one or both of them are close by or on top of me protecting little Baby Vav.  It is the sweetest thing ever and I know that once the baby comes, I wouldn't be surprised if some how, some way...there will be Trigger and Addy hair on it. 

The Food Baby Trinity for the Real Baby

Okay, it's a little ridiculous...but those who know me will laugh about how some how or some way our conversations always turn to poop =).  Since I've been pregnant that had been my only source of discomfort...constipation.  I have been great otherwise.  No nausea, no extreme fatigue, no swelling, no strange cravings.  However my saving grace has been the Food Baby Trinity...

Everyday I pay close attention to these 3 fiber power houses.  In addition to eating whole foods and lots of veggies and fruits, those stinkin' prenatal vitamins do a number on me so I gotta up the fiber exponentially...more like fiber^3 (that's a little Stanton)

Big bowl of Bran, wheat germ, flax seed, raisins, bananas, and soy milk MOST mornings...unless I get a better offer from my Hubby.

The Food Baby's Breakfast of Champions for the Baby Baby

DELICIOUS!

Now, we can't forget Food Baby's favorite healthy lunch for Baby Baby.  I usually keep a huge container of my homemade hummus on hand for veggie sandwiches or dipping carrots and celery.  I really try my best to eat as many whole foods as I can...but I can't lie the first couple of weeks all I wanted were hamburgers and fries. 

Food Baby Wrap

I used to love Roller Coasters...until I became Pregnant

To steal the words from one of my Besties Carson's mouth "This won't be the first time that baby gives you a heart attack".  As you read from my second prenatal appointment the nurse/midwife was unable to detect our baby's heartbeat. I was sent to the hospital (since our ob/gyn does not have one) for an ultra sound. Low and behold after the ordeal of the traditional, then vaginal ultrasound I had confirmation that my food baby was in fact a living growing baby BABY. I was on top of the world, until I got knocked down on Wednesday November11, 2009. My doctor's office, who doesn't even call to confirm appointments, is on my phone at 8:21am.

"We detect a problem with your ultrasound, we think you have an omphalocele and we are sending you to a specialist in Dallas. We will call with the appointment later on."

....uhhhhhhhhhhhh WHAT?! what does that mean!? The nurse was really unable to shed any light on my concern, and my concerns had to wait until later. Trigger and Addy had a vet appointment, and I had to put my google'ing on hold till later.

In true fashion I was unable to get a hold of my husband...gotta love the Navy...until much later, and by then I had already educated myself on ALL the worse case scenarios...with pictures and youtube video I might add. Sickly enough I was glad to see I was still an effective researcher and able to formulate a few theories on my own.

Finally Kraig called, and I struggled with telling him on the phone or waiting...I caved. I hadn't talked to anyone and I needed to let it out. I felt much better, and tried to be sensible. Omphalocele is a tricky diagnosis and can have many chromosomal abnormalities associated with it. Needless to say this is something no expectant parents want to hear.

Later that day I got a hold of my doctor's office...which is no small feat...and got the details for our appointment with the specialist in Dallas. It was for Wednesday November 18th. A WEEK!!! Dear Lord, we have to torture ourselves with google and discovery health, and any other source of information for a WEEK!!??

The next week was filled with a roller coaster of emotions...I was home alone a lot. No work to occupy my day, so I became an unofficial expert on all things omphalocele.

My saving grace, and ray of hope came when I read a journal about fetus development in the 10th week. The intestines appear to protrude from the fetus, turn and then return to the fetus. This process takes about a week...and appeared to be occurring during my ultrasound! I was 10weeks 2 days, please God let this be it!

That was my mantra until our appointment today. We sat down with a genetic counselor, and then had a level 2 ultrasound which showed I was right!!! The sonographer at my hospital was wrong...and there is nothing wrong with our lil' Baby Vav! Kraig and I were so relieved, our lil' one was kind of tired this morning, probably because I didn't run on the treadmill today =)

Everything looks great, and they just want to see us back in January to confirm.

Well, that's two roller coaster rides now...I wonder what the next one has in store.

Signing up for Stuff

Okay, I'm 11 weeks and 2 days...if we are getting technical and I feel a little out of sorts.  By now I should be a complete expert on my pregnancy and have registered for a zillion things, as well as have my grand plan for the perfect nursery...but I'm not, I haven't, and I don't.  Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled about the birth of our first child and are enjoying every moment of it but i'm taking a little of a dude approach to things.
First and foremost we need the basics and the number one basic that keeps running through my head is DIAPERS.  OMG! They are expensive!  I have been collecting coupons here and there for products related to the big D.  Now comes the question of when and how to use them.  My local grocery store in my small town sells diapers for what they call a sale price. It's a whole new world.  I would have never thought my efforts to feed my food baby with delicious yummy cuisine would be put towards diapers and wipes. =) Still time to clip the coupons for all those food deals, but more importantly work toward the needs of the newest Vavruska due in May.

You wannna put that thing WHERE?!

Baby Vavruska

10 weeks and 5 days old

Top Left = Baby from toes to head

Top Right= Baby's head and arms (can't see fingers yet)

Bottom Left= Baby Bum and legs (doing a froggy kick)

Bottom Right= profile view ( head is on the right)

Today I got an added bonus…a sonogram. I wasn't expecting this but the Nurse Practitioner couldn't pick up the baby's heartbeat with the doppler machine during my appointment. She was concerned and recommended that I have a sonogram. Obviously I was very nervous by this, but since I hadn't experienced any weird symptoms I stayed positive and hoped for the best. All I knew was I wasn't going to leave that hospital without hearing and seeing the baby. They sent me over to the hospital and the tech was not able to see the baby with the traditional sonogram equipment. She left the room for what seemed an eternity and returned to share that I was approved for a vaginal sonogram. Thank God for that!! I was able to hear baby Vav's heartbeat…a strong 170 and see these wonderful pictures. I couldn't believe something so scary turned out to be the best thing ever. The only thing that would have made it better was if Kraig were there. I feel bad, because had the Nurse Practitioner not had been able to hear the heartbeat. I would have never had a sonogram today. I feel Blessed to be able to see our baby so soon, but I know Kraig wanted to be there for the first one. I know he will be there next time, and that is fine because I'm so proud and happy for how well he is doing with his new responsibilities as Chief.


Other than that, I feel great! Eating well, sleeping well…and yes I'm still running. Not like before, but a nice moderate 3miler 5 days a week. Baby Vav likes it, because they were very active on the sonogram. Moving their arms and legs for mommy to see. I hope we have a little athlete on our hands =) !

Next appointment is December 2, 2009! Can't wait!

Doctors Appointment Number Two

I have a little guilt that as I write this entry.  We still haven't told a lot of people our good news.  It's been fun to keep it to ourselves for a bit.  We are closely appoaching our total disclosure date which is after Thanksgiving. So if you are reading this after Thanksgiving (which you should be as I haven't invited anyone to look yet hee hee) I hope it was wonderful!
Kraig is in Whidbey Island Washington and will be home tonight, and I'm off to our second Dr. appt.

It's Official the Vavruskas are Pregnant!

Kraig and I are pleased to announce that we are expecting our first child due May 31, 2010! We are so excited, and can't believe how everything is falling into place. The only thing that would make it better is if our friends and family were here in Texas to share it with us.


Texas has been good to us so far. We love the home we are renting, and Trigger and Addy enjoy the large yard...a huge upgrade from their Florida digs. I am currently a substitute teacher in Terrell Independent School District and Kaufman Independent School District, and in hind sight, very glad that I did not get hired to teach this year. There was a bigger plan in store for the Vavruskas...that we found out about on September 20, 2009.

Kraig was selected and initiated as a United States Navy Chief on September 16, 2009. A huge accomplishment in his Naval career. Upon returning from his initiation I was thrilled to share the news of our pregnancy with him.

The day after he returned I just had a feeling. A lot of people say that, and I totally agree. I just knew it. I woke up as he deservedly slept in. Bleary eyed I did the test, and to my surprise it was POSITIVE!!! Not being one to keep quiet about anything I ran back into the room and shared the big news with Kraig. Kraig is not a morning person, especially after waking up at 3:30am the last 6weeeks, but he shot out of bed with so much joy and pride.

We took another test together, and sure enough POSITIVE! We couldn't believe it, we were standing in our bathroom forever changed and excited by our results.

That morning we went to IHOP and basked in the glow of our news...followed by a trip to our only store...Wal-Mart to buy classic...What to Expect When Your Expecting. The remainder of the day was spent reeling in disbelief, and reading WAYYYYYYYYY to ahead in that book.

At this point everything began to make sense again. Not having a job, Kraig becoming a Chief, quitting smoking Aug 3, 2008, and maintaining a fitness and healthy living plan have all prepared us for becoming parents.