The Mizes: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween

David and I had an extremely uneventful Halloween. David worked all day and I laid around the apartment. When David got home we played his Ghost Squad game on the Wii. Then we talked politics for about a half hour, which we rarely discuss because I don't enjoy it. We headed over to the church around 5:45 for our ward activity. There was actually a really good turn out there, and we enjoyed ourselves. We mostly went to see Brittany and Randy's little boy, little Randy, in his cute little costume. Little Randy and Tucker are already best friends! :) We stayed there and ate some chili and cornbread, and David had a bag of popcorn and TWO helpings of cotton candy, and then came back home around 7:00. That's when the party really started... NOT! We watched the most recent Indiana Jones movie, and then David watched his recorded Blazers game and I got online. Exhilerating huh! We didn't even have any trick-or-treaters. It was enjoyable for us though, we definitely needed a nice relaxing evening. We hope that everyone else had a safe and fun Halloween. Next year will be more exciting for us! :)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Dr. Dr. Give Me The News...

We had an appt. with the Dr. today to discuss different options for flipping Tucker if he doesn't flip on his own. We thought that they would be doing the version this weekend, but we were wrong. Instead Dr. Bowen wants me to get another ultra sound on Tuesday to get an estimate on Tuckers weight and to make sure that he is still head down. (This picture is fitting because I have 3 weeks left.) Then I will meet with the Dr. on Wednesday to discuss the ultra sound results, and if Tucker is still breech and it looks safe, we will do the version on Thursday afternoon. So we are baby free for one more week! If Tucker does not turn on his own then we will schedule a C-section for the following week since that will be one week before my due date. The planner part

of me would love to know when Tuckers "birth"day will be, but the realistic part of me would rather wait and let him choose on his own. If I have a c-section this time then Salem Hospital has a policy of no VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarian), so any other babies I have in Salem would be c-section. So, we'll see. David and I have complete confidence in the Dr. and have decided that we will pretty much go along with whatever he feels is best.

On a kind of a down note I am swelling pretty good and have started dropping protein in my urine. So, the Dr. has told me that I really need to take it easy. I should only go out if I have to and when I am home I should be laying on my side and taking it easy (I write this as I am sitting up in the recliner, I'm kind of stubborn sometimes, but I'll lay down when I'm done.). The Dr. made sure to tell David that I can't do cleaning and whatnot, so that was fun! :) So, it looks like for the next few weeks I am back in the habit of lying around and being lazy. Not loads of fun but necessary. :)
I promise I will have pictures of Tuckers room this weekend. I am just waiting for David to take the rest of the stuff out to storage so I can take the pictures. So Kayti, don't freak out you'll get your fix, but it is for you that put these random cartoon pictures in this post! :)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Thursday, Friday Happy Days

Lot's of fun these last few days. Where do we begin...

THURSDAY

Thursday night my awesome visiting teachers gave me a baby shower with friends here in Salem from the ward and area. It was so fun to be able to sit and talk with everyone. Tucker got some great things too. It has been concluded that he is going to be very warm with all of his blankets, and he will be super clean with all of his towels and washcloths. All good things to have and I am very grateful to have gotten them for him. Amber made a stinkin' cute diaper cake that was on the dessert table and more than one person mistook it for the real cake. It was funny. Emily had some way cute decorations and they both did an awesome job. It was a lot of fun. :) I am pretty sure that Emily took pictures so I will have to get her to e-mail them to me so I can post them up here. :)

FRIDAY

Now that I was done with my baby showers it was time to get everything else that I needed. Boy I am glad that we have gift cards to Target. All we really needed were the smaller things that you want to have on hand when they are needed; i.e. nail clippers, thermometer, baby tylenol, etc. etc. So Brittany and I headed to Target and all of those things add up quickly... $120.00. But I am glad to have them all. So I finally got the bathroom organized and Tucker now his has own two shelves. Yeah! :) Brittany and I rounded out our day with the Dish Network Installation guy who was rather creepy and all too talkative while he was doing the installation. Made for some good laughs after he left. :)
Friday night David and I went up to Tigard and went to dinner with his parents. We went to my new favorite restaurant Newport Grill. They have a GREAT clam chowder and an AWESOME chicken ceaser salad. :) After dinner we made a stop at Babies-R-

Us to pick up a Breast Pump for me, and we wound up leaving with a pump, Beaver

sippy cups, Nascar sippy cups, an OSU binki, and poopy diaper baggies. Hmmmm, do you need to ask who picked out what? Oh well, it makes David Happy. Then we headed back to David's parents house and played cards. It was a fun evening, and it got to be so late then we just stayed the night.

SATURDAY

What a laxy day. We went to Joanne's with David's parents to try and find fabric for David's Mom to make a beanie for Tucker. No luck, so we'll keep looking. David is being VERY particular. Then we sat around and watched football most of the day and hung out with his family. For the first baby in each family David's parents get a video camera. So we got our video camera last night and that is excited. We got an AWESOME deal on a digital panasonic. I can't wait to get video of Tucker when he gets here. :)

SUNDAY

Today we are lounging around home. Friday night after dinner I noticed that my feet and hands are extremely swollen, so today is a day for lounging. :) It is actually our stake conference today and we sadly bailed out on it. I get really light headed if I sit up for too long and can't even slouch, and the chairs at the stake center are AWESOME (note the sarcasm). And everyone is double parked during stake conference so there would have been no escape. So today we stayed at home. Except for this evening when we went for a short ride so I don't go completely crazy. It was an enjoyable day. :)

These are my fat feet from yesterday. They aren't as bad today, but you can tell they are swollen. I feel like the Nutty Proffesor when he is fat. :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Update on Tucker

We had a Dr.'s appointment yesterday and Tucker is still growing strong. His heartbeat is as strong as ever and yes... he is still breech. So because I am pretty close to the end now we have to try and turn him "manually". This procedure is called an External Cephalic Version. I have talked to a bunch of people that have done it, and the majority say that it is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it's worth it to try and avoid a c-section. So we have an appointment next Thursday with our Dr. to see if he has happened to flip on his own, and if not then to schedule the Version. The good outcome of this would be that he flips and stays down. :) However, there are some downfalls to a Version; the cord could wrap around the neck, his heart rate could drop resulting in an emergency C-section, he could flip...a full circle, or it could cause me to go into labor. For these reasons the Version has to be done at the hospital when my Dr. is on call, and conveniently enough next weekend (the 31st-2nd), my Dr. is on call at the Hospital. So we'll see how it goes. Any and all prayers are appreciated. I know that things will turn out fine in the end, it's just getting there. :)
For those of you who have asked, I will have pictures of Tuckers room as soon as it is done. My awesome VT's are doing a shower for me Thursday evening, so my goal is to have my friend Brittany help me on Friday to get everything finished up in his room. My Mom and I did a lot this weekend, but it's amazing that there are still things to get done. Mostly organizing all of mine and David's crap around Tuckers! :)

For my visual friends (Kayti) here is a pictorial
explanation of an External Cephalic Version. :)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Mom's Weekend

This weekend was an enjoyable weekend with my Mom. She got into town Thursday night. Since David has to get up really early Thursday mornings he goes to bed early on Thursday night to catch up on sleep. So I ventured up to the airport alone. I was somewhat worried that I might get lost, but made it there just fine. After I picked her up from the airport we were both hungry so we decided to stop at a Wendy's in Clackamas. Yeah, what should have been a quick off the freeway and back on again turned into a 30 minute adventure. But, we wound up finding Wendy's and we were completely satisfied. Although Friday morning we both regretted eating so late. Oh well!
Friday we got up and started in on getting Tuckers room in order. That was our main goal while she was here this weekend. Holy moly, we realized just how many clothes this little boy has. He doesn't need anymore clothes until he has outgrown 9-months. At the rate he is growing though, he will be 4 or 5 months old and wearing 9-month clothes. He'll be dressed well though. After we worked on the room in the morning we went to Target and just enjoyed finding the different things that we needed to organize his room. Friday night we watched Iron Man with David and had dinner. I slept through a good portion of Iron Man, I was exhausted from the days activities. But Mom and David sure enjoyed the movie.
Saturday morning we got up and continued on Tuckers room. I'm telling you, that little boy has more stuff that David and I put together. Saturday afternoon my friend Kim did a baby shower for me in Corvallis with our good friends. It was fun to be able to go down with my Mom and my friend Brittany and enjoy that time. Thankfully Tucker didn't get any more clothes at the shower, with the exception of a couple of cute pairs of pajamas. But he got 2 really cute homemade blankets, some toys, diapers, and bath stuff. Definitely stuff he is in need of. After the shower Mom, Brittany and I went into Albany and spent some time around there. We went to Target and I wanted to buy everything in sight, but my awesome Visiting Teachers are giving me a shower this Thursday, so I have to wait until after that. After Target we went to dinner at Red Robin, and it wasn't as good as we had hoped. It was so much fun to spend time with my Mom and Brittany. Saturday night we just hung out at the apartment and watched "The Visitor" (slow movie).
Sunday we went to church and my Mom was impressed with our ward. She said that everyone seems so nice. :) After church we finished what we could in Tuckers room and headed up to the airport.
I don't know what I would have done to get all of this stuff done if it weren't for my Mom. I am so glad that she was able to come and spend time with us and help me get everything ready for Tucker. It's so weird to think the next time I see my parents I will have a baby of my own. I think that even when I have 3 kids my Dad will still call me Baby, and I'm ok with that. Even after I have 3 kids my brothers will still look at me as if I am 12 years old, and I'm ok with that. And mostly, even after I have 3 kids my Mom will still be excited to help with all of them, and I am OK with that. :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Cool Picture

My friend sent me this picture in an e-mail. I don't know if it is photo shopped or not, but I thought it was cute and it put a smile on my face, so I want to share it with all of you.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tucker is Unique and David...

Here are the results of Tucker's name on the How Many of Me Website.
I love that he is one of a kind. :)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
1
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

And here are the results of David's name.
He's not so unique. But I love him still. :)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
185
people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I am either popular or unique

I saw this on my friends blog.

The results for my married name...
Jennifer Mize

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
73
people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

The results for my maiden name...
Jennifer Boehrer

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
2
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I like the uniqueness of my maiden name. :)
However, it's also cool to know that a lot of
people have my married name as well! :)

California Prop 8

Unfortunately I don't live in California anymore, so I can't vote on this proposition. However, I do have strong opinions. I would type them here, but two of my friends have worded them so well. So I encourage you all to read these blog posts. I also ask you to read the comments that have been made on Kris' individual blog especially. If you have opposing opinions to what my friends have said, please keep those thoughts to yourself. It is not the right of ANYONE to attack someone for what they said on their blog. Thank you!

http://navenfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/yes-on-prop-8.html

http://jamienpreston.blogspot.com/2008/10/ok-im-getting-political.htm

I found this article on lds.org and thought it was extremely interesting, especially as it pertains to this proposition.

Click Here For The Article

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Wonderful Weekend and New Belly Picture

David and I had a fun weekend this weekend. It is starting to register that our time is getting shorter and shorter before Tucker comes and everything we do revolves around him. :) Honestly, we can hardly wait for that time, but want to take advantage of the time we have now.

Friday night David and I rented a movie that we surprisingly liked..."Be Kind Rewind". If you haven't heard of it its probably because if anyone paid money to see it in the theater they were insane, but it is surprisingly. The main characters are Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover. It is definitely worth renting from the Red Box. We also had our treats to go with our movie, David had fudgcicles and I had mint-n-chip ice cream. Yum! Yum! Yum! We enjoyed our evening together.
Saturday was another enjoyable day. David and his Dad had bought tickets for 3 OSU games. Yesterday was one of the games, against Washington State, and David's Dad

flew out to North Carolina with his Mom so I took the extra ticket. I thought I would be able to handle it all. I was somewhat sorely mistaken. We wound up parking at the Institute building and walking down to Reser Stadium. If you ask me it's a mile walk, but I don't really know how far it is. It felt a lot longer than it used to though. The walk actually wasn't so bad, it was once we got into the stadium. We were in row 72! That's right, I had to hike the stadium up to row 72. It was AWESOME! Oh wait... it wouldn't have been so bad if there was a hand rail, but the only thing I had to hold on to was David. Then we get to our seats, and the man sitting on the end of our bench was on hte large side. I think he should have had 2 tickets for himself, so we were REALLY squished! But, it was fine because it was kind of cool out and we were in the shade. I loved being able to spend that time with David. We enjoyed each other's company as well as the fans around us. OSU won the game, it was pretty much a slaughter. The final score was 66-13. Pretty fun! I was glad I went, even though I was rather uncomfortable, I really enjoy the OSU football games. It was definitely a different experience not sitting in the student section. Much more enjoyable without all of the stupid drunk college students falling all over themselves. While we were in Corvallis we saw our friends Kim and Chris. Kim just found out she was pregnant so it was fun to sit and talk with them about that, and catch up on everything else. :)
Today, Sunday, we spoke in Sacrament. Our topic was to pick a General Conference talk that we really enjoyed. I chose Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk "Come What May, And Love It". I absolutely loved his talk, and I enjoyed sharing my thoughts about it. David chose President Monson's talk from Sunday Morning, about changes, and Elder Richard G. Scott's talk from Priesthood Session. David did such a good job on his talk. My exhaustion, babyness, and topic got the best of me and I sure did cry. It was so embarrassing, but I think the congregation heard most of it. :) Tucker was moving and kicking a whole lot while I was up there speaking so I kept touching my stomach and rubbing it. The Bishop came up to me afterwards and said that he was so worried that I was going to go into labor when he saw me rubbing my stomach. It was ironic that he said that because David told me that I should grab my side half way through my talk and then just say it was a cramp. :) Unfortunately at the beginning of Relief Society I got really light headed and faint. My friend Brittany was so nice and helpful, she went and got David for me. By the time David got there I was about to pass out and my shirt was wet with sweat. It was embarrassing, but I couldn't help it. Brittany was so awesome and brought us dinner tonight. She is such a good friend. :)
And now for the belly pictures! :) Yay! David took these pictures this evening so keep in mind that I haven't felt great. Today I am 34 weeks and 1 day pregnant. My next Dr.'s appointment is on the 21st, apparently I have to get another awesome pregnancy test done. NEAT! Oh well, the first picture is a close up of my tummy.

This second picture is a little further out. David thought it would be more effective if I had a tighter shirt on. It made my belly more defined I guess. :) In my opinion... I am LARGE and in CHARGE!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Tucker Update

I had a Dr.'s appointment today and all is well. Tucker is still breach, and most likely he is still Frank Breach (head, arms and legs up) like he was in the ultra sound two weeks ago. The Dr. made it sound like if he is still breach when it comes closer to my due date, that he would give me the option of whether or not I want to try and turn him. My sister-in-law, Tory, had a frank breach baby and she said that if she could do it again she would just take the C-section. She wound up having a C-section anyway because Lexy turned head down, and then flipped right back to breach. I think it was a sign of her little stubbornness now. But we love her. :) I am measuring at 36 1/2 weeks, and technically I am only 33 1/2. So probably in another month if I am still measuring big I will have another ultra sound. YAY! That will also tell us if he is breach and whatnot as well. My BP is great, it's actually 4 points lower than it was before...YAY! The Dr. gave me permission to exercise again, so my goal is to make it to the gym for 20 minutes or so on the treadmill at least 4 days a week from now until delivery.

This is what a Frank Breach baby supposedly looks like. I'm sure Tucker is in there with his legs in a perfectly straight position like that. If so, he's going to be a gold medalist in the Olympics some day! :)

It is so strange to think that next month Tucker will be joining our family. I won't lie and say it's been easy, but it has seemed to go by fast. I'm sure this next month will go by slow, but we seem to have something going on every weekend, so that should help. I am so excited to meet this little man. David and I were talking tonight about how we want to be selfish for the first few hours after he is born and not share him with anyone. At our hospital tour last week they told us that the baby is normally most alert for the first 2-3 hrs. after delivery and then he just sleeps a lot. So we will most likely be taking those couple of hours as our own. David said this evening, "Don't lie, you don't want to share him with anyone at that point, even me." I laughed and said, "It's true, but since you're the Dad you get to be there." He knows me to well!
These last couple of days my mind has been wandering all over the place with everything that is going on in the world. I lie awake at night and sometimes think to myself, "How could I bring an innocent baby into this madness. What am I getting him in to?" But then I am so comforted by my knowledge of the gospel. How grateful I am in these perilous times to know that there is a greater plan, even greater than we can imagine. What a wonderful thing! I'm not bringing this baby into a world of peril and turmoil, I am giving a spirit the chance to come into this world and fulfill the Plan of Salvation as it pertains to him. I am allowing a Son of our Heavenly Father the opportunity to come down to grow and learn so that one day he and our family can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. What an amazing responsibility I feel as his mother to teach him in the correct way. To teach him that although things in the world may be contrary to what we believe, our testimony of the gospel and of our Savior Jesus Christ can carry us through these times. What a comforting thing it is to know that David and I aren't completely on our own in raising this little boy and his future siblings, but that we have the guidance of our Heavenly Father every step of the way. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

Monday, October 06, 2008

General Conference (Thoughts Wanted)

I love hearing from these men...

As well as these men...

And all of the other men and women that speak to us during General Conference. I look forward to it every April and October. This last weekend I was especially excited because David and I have the opportunity to speak in Sacrament next week about our favorite conference talk. It sound easy, but more difficult than one might think. I have narrowed my choices down to a couple of different talks but am still so torn as to which I want to speak about. So I thought I would ask everyone what their favorite parts/talks of conference were. So please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks everyone! :)

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Taj-Ma-Hospital

David and I went and did our hospital tour this morning. The tour itself was nice. I enjoyed being able to see where we will be and how it is going to flow. Nothing was really said though that I didn't already know. I feel fortunate enough to have spent time with my sister-in-law Rachel while she was laboring with my nephews. I wasn't in the room when they were born, but I got a pretty good idea of how laboring goes. I think her motto of who is in the room during delivery is hilarious, "If you were in the room when the baby was conceived, then you can be in the room when the baby is born." For anyone who is wondering no friends or family were in the delivery room with her and my brother! :) The hospital is really nice though. It was opened in 2003 so it's fairly new. For those of you in Citrus Heights/Roseville, it's comparable to Sutter Roseville, maybe a little more up to date, and it has a NICU. I'm not sure if Roseville has a NICU. And for those of you familiar with Kaiser Sacramento, this hospital makes Kaiser look like a World War II hospital. :)
I don't want to totally discredit this tour of the hospital. The main point of this tour really was to figure out where the hospital is, and parking and whatnot. After our adventure today, we are sure glad that we did it. Since neither of us had ever been to the birthing center before we had no clue really where to go. So we take the general directions and make it to the hospital and then we had to figure out parking. Of course we get stuck behind some idiot in a white van who would just stop randomly to try and figure out where he was. Drove me up the wall. Eventually we park in the Valet Parking garage, because it is free on Saturdays, and we make the trek over to the birthing center. We had to walk through all of the construction and whatnot and it wasn't so convenient. But we made it just fine. As we approach the entrance to the Birthing Center we notice that to the right, just across the path, is a HUGE parking garage. We both look at each other and say, "Well, I guess we should park there for the real thing." As we were walking back to the car after the tour we were playing it out in our heads what it would have been like had we not figured this out ahead of time, and we had to do it while I was in labor. Anyone that knows me well enough knows that it would NOT be a pretty site! :)
While we were standing outside of the well-baby nursery discussing various things one of the nurses brought a little baby to the window. Right at the moment everything became SO real for everyone in the group. I, along with all of the other Mommies, got a little teary eyed. Even David was anxious to see the little baby. It was so cool. We can't wait for next month when we get to be there with Tucker, and finally get to start our own family.

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!!!

My Sister-In-Law, Rachel, Sent Me This Picture And I Thought It Was Too Funny No To Share With Everyone! I Hope That Everyone Is Looking Forward To Halloween This Year As Much As I Am! Remember... Calories Are Cut In 1/2 On Halloween! :)

You've Been MOONed

Friday, October 03, 2008

49-Days...

...And Counting!

I can't believe that d-day is just about around the corner. It is so crazy how quickly the time has gone. And at the same time I am sure that these next 49 days or so will seem like 9 months in and of itself. So we'll see!
Tomorrow David and I are going to take a tour of the hospital that Tucker will be delivered at. I am kind of excited to see everything. Since I don't go there for my Dr.'s appointments I especially wanted to do the tour so we would know where we are going exactly when the time comes, and it won't be such an unfamiliar place when I am there. The easier and more familiar my surroundings are, the easier the experience will be for me. From what I have read on the hospital's web site, and what I have heard from others it is really nice. If you are curious about the hospital Click Here. It seems like a nice enough place. I'll be sure and let everyone know in about 49-days. :)

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Holy Stuff

Wow, Tuckers room is literally overflowing with stuff. Our possessions have doubled since we have started collecting things for him. It is insane. Tomorrow I will have to take a picture of his room. It is ridiculous! Until I can get a picture let me paint a picture for you...

Crib...overflowing with clothes
Car seat and base
Stroller
Cradle...overflowing with decoration odds and ends
Dresser
4 Dresser drawers
Changing table... overflowing with clothes
Guest bed
Computer Desk
Boxes
Filing Cabinet

It is so crazy. I am SO grateful that my Mom is coming to town this month from the 16th to the 19th. She is going to help me get everything ready. I don't know what I would do otherwise. Probably just go insane. I know that David could help me, but he would want to do it the easy way, and I would want to do it my way (easy or not). My Mom is a lot like me so we will be on the same page as far as how things should be done. It will be a fun weekend for us! :)