I missed last week, here's the update for two weeks worth of Shaw goings-on. 
Disclaimer: So, I know I've been promising for a while now that I would be posting pictures soon. Well, here's the thing. My camera battery is still dead, and I keep forgetting to get a new one when I'm out - so the pictures on my camera are still un-downloadable til my next trip to the store. My scanner has been out of commission because I couldn't find a print driver that would work with Windows Vista until a couple of days ago (thanks, sweetie!). I was hopeful that soon I would be in business. And then my computer decided that it would no longer allow me to stay connected to the internet wirelessly for longer than approximately 2 minutes. So, the only way I can stay connected is if I sit in my husband's office and connect with a hard wire - but my scanner is in MY office, unreachable when I am in A's office. Sigh. Ultimately, we're rebuilding my computer over the next few days and I will be able to post pictures within the week. Say a prayer for my electronic sanity. p.s. If you've still been waiting with baited breath, you better start breathing again for a few more days.
We had our annual Christmas party last weekend. It went great! At least, everybody told me so. People showed up, we mingled, caught up, watched movies, took pictures (forthcoming), played games, played hot potato with a Texas Longhorn ornament, ate Christmas yummy candies & cookies, and watched a few of the boys attempt to beat each other up with Nerf darts. Yep, great times!
I spent a few days up at my church last week helping out one of the lovely and wonderful finance ladies with a few end-of-year tasks. It was SO good to see everyone on staff there and catch up a little. I really do miss working up there, and I hope that the Lord gives me plenty of opportunities to stay connected with everyone. It was a wonderful little blessing to see them for a few days last week.
Also, we went to our 12-wk sonogram on Thursday. Baby is doing great! The little one has arms and legs now, and even decided to do a little wiggle for the camera. My friend S has decided to start calling the baby "Wiggle Worm". A and I have been trying to come up with a cute nickname for the baby until we figure out if it's a boy or girl, but nothing has really stuck well yet. My family is calling baby "Cat" or "Cate" because the first sonogram looked like a caterpillar. A and I have mostly just called it "Baby." L thinks we should call it either "Lion" or "Tiger" because our friends called theirs "Bear." This is cute because then if another couple in our group of friends got pregnant, they could take the last of the 3 choices, and then we'd all have "lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!" That hasn't stuck either, though. I kind of like "Little Wiggle". We'll see if it sticks. Maybe there just won't be a cute nickname until there's an official name on the horizon.
I'm doing ok. Mama needs to eat better though. Her nausea caused her to lose 5 pounds in the last month instead of gaining a little like she should have. But doctor wasn't concerned, and just said to work on growing for a while now. My stomach is definitely doing better, but it's still hit or miss on finding something that sounds good to eat 3 times a day. My energy is still low, but again, better than it was. I'm starting to get a little stir-crazy sitting around the house all day. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to do around the house. I just don't have the energy to do most of it...so finding things to do that don't max out my energy level is a challenge. I'm getting a little brain-bored.
So I've discovered something very cool. It's a website service called E-Mealz. For approximately $1.25/wk, it provides a complete meal plan for a week's worth of dinners, including a shopping list for all the groceries necessary to prepare those meals. I. Am. Ecstatic. Last week, I asked the Lord to provide me some manna because planning, preparing, and shopping for creative and healthy meals every week was out of my capabilities and was driving me bonkers. In His goodness, He inspired me to search for meal plans on Google, and provided me with this amazing service. Praise the Lord! So A and I tried out the grocery shopping based on the list this week - it went great AND it saved us money on our groceries (they base their grocery list on the best prices for items at the store where you shop the most; isn't that cool?). We tried one of the recipes two nights ago, and it was actually really good! I am completely optimistic that this thing is going to help me out a ton! Yay! If you want to check it out, go to E-mealz
This week will bring our Christmas celebrations with family, beginning Wednesday night. Friday morning, we'll go to see my side of the family and I'm excited that my sis and nephew are getting healthier again! can't wait to see them!
My mom came down to visit last week, to help me get ready for the party that A and I are hosting this weekend. She's amazingly wonderful. We put up the Christmas tree and all the decorations, cleaned most of the house, and set out all the serving pieces and things to plan for the party menu. There is no way I could have gotten all of that done without her help. Thanks, Mom! I'll never be able to repay you for all the things you have been and done for me throughout my life.
So I spent a little while looking through all my cookbooks today to plan for the party faire this weekend. And I have to say that my family rocks. On both sides. I have a family cookbook from both sides of my family that have fantastic recipes and old favorites from years gone by. What a treasure! I'm very grateful to those who took the time to put those together for their younger generations to enjoy.
As for the baby-watch, I'm still very fatigued. Sleeping for the majority of each day and trying to feed myself and baby sufficiently when I'm awake. I gave up on trying to follow the book's prescribed diet. As one of my friends said, it's "enough to feed a football player". So I'm just trying to eat as healthy as possible on the limited portions my stomach will tolerate right now. Only two more weeks til the 2nd trimester...I can make it!
Anybody else starting to feel the holiday calendar crunch? Ours is getting a bit full! I love it when that happens, though. It means we're blessed with many friends and family to spend time with.
Cheers!
I'm still feeling horribly weak and sometimes still nauseated most days. I quit my job at HPB today because I was going to have to call in sick for the second time this week...so I just resigned altogether so they can find someone that can work more consistently. My manager guy took it well and was supportive of taking care of myself health-wise, so that's good. I just feel bad that I had to quit and leave them a lot sooner than I was supposed to. Also, I finally got to the "Pregnancy Diet" section of the What to Expect While You're Expecting book...which is good because it could really help me feel a lot better in regards to the weakness/sickness, but I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by how MUCH I'm supposed to be eating, when almost nothing sounds good and it takes so much energy to fix anything at all. So I'm kind of discouraged there.
Also, I was supposed to go visit my family for the first time in several months over Thanksgiving weekend -- I have been missing them like crazy and have been looking forward to seeing them for so long -- but on Wednesday night they called and told me that my sister and nephew have both come down with something called MRSA (say "mersa"), which is an antibiotic resistant version of a staph infection that presents as a rash. Needless to say, this can be very dangerous for pregnant women, so I didn't get to go see my family after all. We're thankful it was discovered in time to keep us safe and from being exposed to it, but I was really sad that we couldn't go see them. It was an emotional disappointment that was hard on me. Also because it's one more thing in a long line of health problems that my sister keeps experiencing. They are supposed to do a 30-day regimen of some kind of treatment, and hopefully it will be cleared up and safe for me to be around them again by Christmas. Please pray that the treatment works -- for both their health and safety, and for my heart, because I miss them so much and it would be very hard for me not to see my side of the family for either of the holidays this year.
So, I guess I've been a little discouraged overall this week. On the bright side, A has been absolutely WONDERFULLY supportive through the hardships of getting used to being pregnant and my spending a LOT of time being a slug on the couch, and we had a really good Thanksgiving with his side of the family. Definite praises for his helpful and loving attitude, and for his wonderful family that has taken me in so easily and made me feel truly like a part of the family over the last year.
p.s. one of these days I'll post the sonogram picture I got last week. wait with baited breath. 
Baby is due in early July. Stomach has been getting much better, but energy level is worse. Praying over whether I should keep working at HPB or not. Urgh. It's difficult to make choices about an unforeseen future sometimes.
So, I worked all weekend for the first time at HPB. I like it, but my energy does not. I technically woke up this morning, but I still haven't really woken up.
Can't wait to see my family this weekend! Been looking forward to it for weeks! Ooh, and Thanksgiving food. Yes, yum to that. Need to figure out how to make green bean casserole, though.
Pretty sure I'm pregnant.
If I'm not, something is seriously off with me. Sleeping all the time. Can't get enough protein to eat or enough of anything (except alcohol or caffeine of course) to drink. Oh, and then there was the positive home pregnancy test.
So, pray for us! Yippee!
So today I got a new job. Lord help me. I don't know why I like to work myself into the ground, but alas, such is my life for now.
For the next 16 weeks, starting Monday, I shall be a seasonal temp cashier at Half-Price Books. Wahoo! I'll be making very little money, but it will be enough for a little spending money during the holiday season, and it will get me out of the house and keep me from becoming a bump on a log for a few months until Baby decides to start showing. I'll be praying that the Lord keeps morning-sickness at bay so that I don't have to skip out on my job too much.
p.s. My employee discount rocks!
Hi folks! So, with my new found flexibility of time, I am making another attempt at consistency. Hope y'all enjoy!
