A Year in Review

Well, a lot of friends have been posting some sort of year in review type of thing so I figured...why not jump on the band wagon.  (Although technically you could just scroll through the old blog posts to reminisce.)  Because I'm not really in a writing mood I present my review in list format:
  • Brian goes to Vegas with a group of friends.  Good times!
  • Matt and a pregnant Angie paid us a visit.  :)  Lots of anticipation about little baby Barrett.
  • Amanda goes to Disney World on her second mother/daughter trip for spring break.  Fun!
  • Amanda begins taking Clomid in hopes of becoming pregnant.
  • Amanda gets to see The Drowsy Chaperone with Jonathan Crombie in the lead role.
  • Brian goes up to Alaska for Brad's college graduation!
  • Amanda is chosen as Teacher of the Year for her school and school district!
  • Amanda goes to Disney World a second time with her school district for the Model Schools Conference.
  • Brian agonizes over the stock market.
  • Visit Amanda's parents in New Jersey for a week.
  • Baby Barrett is born, and we are all overjoyed to meet the little guy after 9 long months.
  • Amanda and Brian find out they're having a baby, due March 22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)
  • Amanda begins her last year as a teacher and finally gets to move back to 4th grade.
  • Evacuated from Hurricane Ike.  Luckily only minor damage.
  • Brian and Amanda find out they're having a baby boy...Gabriel William Lipscomb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)
  • Took a dance lesson with some of our friends.
  • Spend Christmas with Amanda's family in Dallas.  What fun to see Barrett on his first Christmas.
  • Amanda finds out she has Gestational Diabetes.
  • Brian switches us to Direct TV and ditches Comcast.  Woohoo!
  • Amanda tries to spend as much time with her husband as possible since he will begin turnaround at work in February of 2009.
  • Continue to make preparations for when little Gabriel joins the family.
All-in-all I would say that was a very successful 2008, wouldn't you?!  :)  We look forward to everything that 2009 will bring our way.  I think it is going to be a great year filled with a lot of excitement and adventure.  I look forward to sharing with all of you as our little family expands (literally people...I am expanding!!!  lol) and I am excited to see what each and every one of you are doing in the upcoming year.  (Best of luck to our best friends Chris and Marissa as they also  come closer to the arrival of their little boy, Kase!  We are so excited about sharing this journey with our best friends!!!  And we will find time to get together.  lol  I promise!)

I failed...

My name is Amanda and I have Gestational Diabetes.

I guess it's just something I'm going to have to accept. I feel like a failure. Like somehow I have let down myself, Brian, and Gabriel. Like I should be a better mom. But, I know deep down that it's really not something that I have control over. Either I have it or I don't.

So, I have to go pick up my monitoring kit this evening, and I will be waiting to hear from the diabetic teacher at the hospital. She and I will meet to discuss a diet and exercise plan. (Ugh...exercise!) They are faxing over a diet plan for me today...which will tide me over until I get my specialized one.

I have to check my blood sugar levels 4 times a day, record those levels, and record everything I eat. Fun stuff, right? The good news is that my levels aren't so bad that I need to be on any medication.

After I have the baby and I go in for my 6 week check up I will have to do another 2 hour glucose test. If I fail that one then I will have to see my general practitioner about further testing, etc.

So, I'm going to go for a walk with Grace. That usually helps me feel a little better, and then I'm going to crawl under a blanket and watch Dr. Phil so at least I can feel like maybe my life isn't that bad...at least I'm not having major problems and sharing them with the world on a TV show!

For more info on Gestational Diabetes go here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gestational-diabetes/DS00316

Christmas 2008...

Well, Christmas started early this year with a visit from Cherlyn, Greg, and Brad. We were fortunate to spend an afternoon together to share in family fun, food, and gifts. Grace was more into Christmas this year than we have ever seen her. Hmmm...maybe she has a sense that she will be sharing the spotlight next year?

On the 23rd we had our own little family Christmas before heading to Dallas.

Gabriel got a little present that his daddy got to open. They are onesies all based on the theme of Frogs, snails, and puppy-dogs' tails...that's what boys are made of. :) (By the way, the pictures are framed but are not up on the walls yet. I hope to do that this coming weekend.)

On a side note...thanks to everyone who gave Gabriel gifts this Christmas. It made things all that more exciting and special for us...and made it all that more real. Although the more frequent kicks and jabs I'm receiving are also making it more of a reality. lol

We are also excited that today (Sunday, Dec. 28th) marks the official beginning of the third trimester. Only three short months left!!! :)

Christmas in Dallas

This year we spent Christmas in Dallas at Matt and Angie's house with my parents. It was a great time!!! It was Barrett's first Christmas so I'm glad we could all be there to celebrate together.

This treat from Three Dog Bakery was huge, but Grace loved every bite and we loved that it had her name on it.






Dad being...Dad. ;)

Brian got a lot of bowling gear.


Barrett got a lot of cute books! I think he will be quite the reader. :)



The doggy toy was a Christmas favorite.




Grace enjoyed visiting with the family. She made sure to make the rounds and to get pets from everyone there in rotation.

Brian was so good with Barrett. I can't wait to see him with our son. :) He's going to be an amazing daddy. And Barrett just was all smiles at his Uncle Brian!!!
We decided to head out for some bowling after my parents left town. They have a great non-smoking alley up there. :) I was the cheerleader as I didn't want to lose my balance in the slippery bowling shoes. But, we had a great time.

Angie got a strike on this one!

Brian got a ball, shoes, and bag for Christmas. His ball is taking a little getting used to for him, but he had a great time.
The ball did receive it's first owie though. You can see it by his thumb.

Then we have little Barrett a bowler in the making. :)

3-hour Glucose

Well, I did the 3 hour glucose test today and won't have results until post-Christmas. :( How not fair is that? So, I asked what I needed to watch over the holidays and they said not to eat simple starches (white bread, rolls, pasta, and potatoes). If I avoid those I can have a limited number of sweets, and by limited I mean like a slice of pie a day or the equivalent. Partaking of a simple starch means I must pass up any sweet treats. Hmmm...decisions, decisions. Really the sweets are apparently not as bad for me as the simple starches. I thought that was interesting. This is only until I find out if I pass or fail the glucose test. It just stinks that it happens to be right during Christmas. And poor Matt and Angie have to put up with my odd eating habits. Sorry guys!

It will be a lot easier with my supportive family around, but it's still going to be hard. I love the Christmas cookies!!!!!!! In order to help myself not to be tempted I have not made any Christmas treats at my house. My mother-in-law brought a few down and some people have gotten me candy, but I am working very hard to avoid it all until I get my results back.

So, wish me luck...not only on the test but on the avoiding all things off limits. lol

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


Yes, it actually snowed a few days ago in Clute, TX!  Who would have thought that would happen?  I told Grace it smelled like snow when we checked the mail, and sure enough...about an hour later there it was.  It actually picked up quite a bit as the evening went on and stopped a little bit before bed.  It did stick to the ground (these pictures were taken when it first started).  It was so fun...especially to be in the house all cozy knowing it was snowing outside.  Definitely not something I can say normally down here.  

December Dr. Appt. (aka Gabriel Update)

I had my December dr. appt.  Unfortunately my dr. was out of town, and the other dr. was delivering a baby so I opted to have the nurse practitioner rather than wait for Dr. Roberson to return from the delivery.

Cherlyn was able to join me at the appt. which was nice.  I'm glad she knows where the hospital is now just in case I need her to take me at some point.  

I did the glucose screening/anemia screening.  My test results won't be in for 2-3 days but they will only call if there is something wrong.  Fingers crossed that there isn't anything wrong.  I had to drink that nasty flat orange soda drink with 3 times the sugar in it.  Honestly...it wasn't too bad until I got down to the last 1/3.  I'm not saying I would want to have one for fun, but it wasn't as bad as people made it sound.  

We got to hear Gabe's heartbeat again.  Nice and strong in the 150's.  As I've said before, he's a consistent little boy.  Everything else looked good.  The NP (Nurse Practitioner) made a comment about the fact that I had gained 5 pounds in the last month and that was a little high.  Then I mentioned that I was supposed to gain 4 pounds and the fact that I was wearing heavier clothes this time than last and that we had Thanksgiving that I didn't think 5 was all that bad!  She didn't really know what to say to that.  It made me miss Dr. Wilson...she would have said my weight looked great.  Anyway...I've decided that the NP is a social moron.  According to my weekly, yes, weekly, weight chart I am right on target at 20 lbs.  So, I say to the NP - In your face!!!  Booyah!!!  (Does anyone say "booyah" anymore?)

I also get irritated when they weigh me on the balance scale instead of the digital one.  Because they always weigh me in higher on the balance one.  They don't wait for the stupid little balance to stop moving.  AAAAHHHHHH!!!!  Okay, enough obsessing now.

Anywho...things are great.  Gabriel is great.  :)  And only 15ish more weeks to go before we meet the little guy.

Interesting Facts

The last few weeks I have come across some interesting facts in two very different areas. However, they fascinated me. (I also found them to be a bit unnerving.)

Diapers:
  • 50 million disposable diapers enter the landfill every day.
  • It takes 500 years for each diaper to decompose.
Catholicism:
  • 3 out of every 10 Catholics have left the Church - more than in other churches, even mainline.
  • Weekly Mass attendance has dropped from 75% in 1945 to 34% in 2005.
  • The number of priests in the U.S.A. stopped growing in 1969.
  • In the U.S.A. there are more priests over the age of 90 than under the age of 30.

Thanksgiving 2008

This year we spent a quiet Thanksgiving at home. It was actually very nice. I started wrapping packages and worked on our Christmas cards, and I also got a little cleaning done.

I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband who cooks Thanksgiving dinner. :)


Poor Grace...tuckered out from all of the activity in the kitchen.
But, it was all worth it because she got to have her own little Thanksgiving too!!!Yummy!!!

We will miss you, Daisy

Sadly last night Daisy passed away. She was a very sweet and loving dog/family member who will be missed deeply.

The Rainbow Bridge
(inspired by a Norse legend)
By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.
For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.
No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.
They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.
For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.
The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.