We're all in Philly, now!

We got here Sunday after a fun week for Guy and myself in Scranton. And a fun weekend for Josh :-)

Our apartment is nice. Old, but nice. It was really dusty and kind of dirty. But it's got two huge bedrooms, and is nicely furnished, and will be a very comfortable place to live for a month. I'm pleased.

I had a bit of a mental breakdown last when we first got here and it hit me that I'd be alone without TV, internet, or anyone but Guy during the day. I also wanted to make sure I could get everything done during the day (shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc.) so that Josh could enjoy coming home and relaxing with our little family every night after work. I didn't think I'd be able to do it, watch Guy, and keep the little one in utero safe. I was tired, hungry, and really hot and sweaty.

I'm better now! Turns out, if we're in the right spot we can get a wireless connection. And Guy's summer birthday present was some awesome Beatrix Potter DVD's. I like them probably more than he does :-)

And UPenn's campus is close by and gorgeous. There's a nice grocery store just three blocks down the street. We had a good dinner tonight and Guy is already in bed. His windowblinds don't block the light very well, and he has huge windows so he'll likely get up early every morning.

I tried posting all of this last night, but my spotty internet connection disappeared at just the wrong time. So know that we are all doing well, but don't expect too much contact except maybe on the off weekend when we're in Scranton while we're here.

I love you all!

Tra-loo, Tra-lay

Oh happy day. (Quote from a children's book)

It's been a great day. Despite the fact that Guy woke up at 6:15 and stayed awake until naptime more than six hours later, we had a great day. Lots of playing, plenty of good food, a trip to Target for some essentials to get us through tomorrow, and fabulous conversation.

I love having my Josh around. :-D

In other news? I am definitely pregnant and look it. Once we get settled in Philadelphia I'll find the extra batteries and take some pictures of my belly. Even Josh was surprised to see how much had changed in a week. Unfortunately, I am also feeling quite pregnant as my feet and legs by the end of the day feel pretty uncomfortable. I think I'll go ask for a foot rub before bed!

It's late . . .

Well, it's only 10:15 here, but it feels late to me. The swollen feet and sore hips are telling me that it's bedtime.

Josh got in from Philly a little after 7, giving him plenty of time to fill petit Guy with joy and giggles at seeing his Papa after five long days of separation. I admit, I was pretty happy to see him, too :-)

Josh and his cousins are playing Desert Storm on the Xbox, so I've been surfing the net for the last two hours.

I read a lot. I went through my archives and edited a few things from when no one actually read this blog. And I reminded myself of a few goals I had for this blog that I had forgotten.

Originally I wanted to make it more than just a personal blog--the point was to share the things I was learning and doing and reading. I haven't done so much of that lately, and I would like my blog to be more than just, "This is what happened today." So I promise to talk about more than just my life, my pregnancy, my cute baby, and my cuter husband. Pinky swear. :-D

Tidbit for the day: Did you know that the movie Just Like Heaven is based on a book? A book written by a Frenchman, no less. My French friend lent me a copy of her favorite work by him, but I have yet to read more than the first page. That's my reading goal for the summer, along with finishing Jesus the Christ. I bet I can do it. I may even get around to posting book reviews! You'll just have to wait and see, friends.

I could spit

Update: I did manage to get the money orders back--after them giving me trouble for not living at the address I had the money orders sent to. Now I just need to take them into the bank and get the money put back into our account. Seriously? Next time I'm sending a certified check instead.

Really. I'm feeling extremely frustrated.

I know there are lots of silver linings to these clouds, but nearly everything surrounding this internship is DRIVING ME CRAZY!

The gal who had our $1650 in money orders finally got them FedExed. Four days after she said she would. And guess what? The FedEx driver couldn't find the house.

Excuse me?!? Supposedly he came by. Twice. The second time I was told he'd be in the area about 3:15. I sat on the front porch from 3 until 4. Guess what I never saw? A FedEx truck. Now I have to find a way to get to the holding facility that is 30 minutes away. So I either suck an hour out of someone's day, or I borrow a car to drive in an area that is completely unfamiliar to me.

I AM LIVID. I would like some serious sucking up from FedEx right about now, because they put me in a really uncomfortable position. It's bad enough crashing in someone's house and eating their food and letting your kid play with all of their things for a week.

I hope against hope that after tonight we'll have a lease on a place so I can get back to my life.

Enjoy the Days

I often hear that children grow up so fast, we should cherish every moment. I agree that they grow quickly and change nearly every day, so I've tried to become more aware of the time I spend with Guy and the quality of our interactions. This relaxing week in Scranton is the perfect time--no laundry, no cleaning, no dishes, hardly any cooking, etc.

I try to make sure he knows I'm always happy to see him again--after his wandering around the house or just waking up from a nap.

We chased balls outside on the lawn this afternoon, and blew bubbles together. We walked down the street and stopped to feel the bark on all of the trees. We chased each other, tickled each other, and enjoyed talking over lunch. He actually wanted me to sit next to him at the table while he ate instead of walking around the kitchen tidying up. It made me smile.

It's so easy to ignore the children while we try desperately to get things done. A tidy home, clean clothes, and healthy food are all important, but they'll never trump our relationships.

I'm trying to remember these things more often.

P.S. I miss my Josh. Next winter semester is going to be tough on us.

*fingers crossed*

I think we found a place. I hope. Josh will sign a lease Thursday for an apartment for all of July. This means we'll spend 2 weeks in temporary housing on base (think hotel room with a fridge and microwave). I can handle this.

It's a really nice apartment, too. Dishwasher, furnished, two bedrooms, clean, nice area. So here's to hoping!

In other news? Guy's more hilarious every day. Spinnng circles, playing peek-a-boo with me, pushing the wheeled kitchen chairs all around the house, and this afternoon I found him standing on the piano. No, not the piano bench, the piano. If my camera's batteries hadn't died, I would have taken a picture, I just about died trying to discipline him and keep from laughing.

This new little one is more active tonight than ever! Kicks and punches and somersaults, oh my. It's fun to feel him move more and more.

Ugh

It's late. I'm tired. We thought we had another apartment--but now we don't. This is frustrating.

Guy is a champ, sleeping well. I'm exhausted and need to go to bed.

I heard from the midwife today--if I remember correctly, without the cysts on the ultrasound my chances for a baby having trisomy 18 are 1 in 4400. Having the cysts it's more like 1 in 300. After the blood test, we're at 1 in 1100. Not much to worry about, really.

And turns out it's not a marginal placenta previa, which would mean good chances for it moving. It's a partial placenta previa, meaning chances are not so good. Still 50/50 or so, but I was discouraged to learn that placenta previa=EARLY scheduled c-section. As in pre-39 weeks. That's not good in my book, to take a baby out before he's done cooking. At least they do an amnio to check for lung maturity, but it makes me so nervous to think about.

Let's pray that the placenta previa resolves itself, yes? Then we can have a nice labor and delivery. Normal. Please?

Time for bed.

Oh, and I pulled out my maternity pants today. Last week they were super baggy. This week? Perfect fit. I swear I went to bed looking thick around the middle and woke up looking PREGNANT. Which works for me :-)

New People, New Experiences

It's always interesting being in a new place and learning about new and different people. Especially when you're living in their houses!

I'm loving Scranton. Imagine downtown Sacramento but with smaller streets. Lots of trees, beautiful old and new homes, and more hills. It's gorgeous.

And Josh's family have been wonderful to us. I feel completely at home here with Mary Kay, her house won't be hard to babyproof, and Guy is being a champ about the whole thing.

Last night we spent at Grandma & Grandpa Coyne's house while Mary Kay got the guest room ready for a more permanent stay (read: put a bunch of junk in the attic). That was a bit harder--they're in their late 80's and have lots of breakable things. They're also devout Catholic, which is evident in the myriad religious icons, paintings, statues, candles, etc. in their home. It was an experience for me--someone who's not been around Catholics much in my life. I think I'll try to go to mass with them sometime while we're out here.

Josh made it to work safely this morning. He left at 5 a.m. to get to work by 8, but didn't get there until after 9 because he got so lost in the city. Luckily no one actually told him when to come into work, so no one cared much. He called on his lunch break and sounded a bit stressed from the morning but happy.

He's staying on base tonight and has a room there until the end of the week, at which point hopefully we'll have a place to stay. I hope!

Life is Swell!

We made it safely to Pennsylvania, and I'm typing this from the fabulous couch in Aunt Mary Kay's living room in Scranton.

Guy did great in the car, snacks and songs were his favorite pastime. Josh drove the whole time, and I fetched the water bottles that Guy enjoyed throwing all over the car. It was a good trip all in all, but by Saturday night my legs and feet were painfully swollen. They're feeling a bit better today.

I'm having a hard time not lifting Guy at all. In fact, I'm doing it several times a day. I'm trying my best to lift with my legs, but even that's tough.

And this morning we checked our e-mail when we couldn't get a hold of the gal who's subleasing her apartment to us. Yep, at the last minute her landlord said no. Thank goodness for family here. It's great to have them to help us out until we find a place, but I admit it will be hard not having an apartment that I can babyproof and settle into.

Now I'm off to respond to Craigslist postings. Wish me luck!

It's a BOY!

Hooray, it's a boy! I like little boys. I'm excited to have another. This way Shauna can have the first girl :-)

He looks healthy and moves quite a bit and was super cute--on the ultrasound he yawned and rubbed his eyes and face with his arm. Really sweet looking fellow.

The bad news? Partial placenta previa, meaning part of the placenta covers the cervix. So if I go into labor and it doesn't move out of the way, then the baby would die. It might move. It might not. Until it does, no heavy lifting. Translation: I can't even pick up Guy. This? This will be interesting. We can do it, but it will be interesting.

If I want, I can get an ultrasound done in 4 weeks to check and see if it's moved. If it has, the restrictions will be lifted. Problem is? I'm on Utah Medicaid. Not many hospitals, if any, accept Utah Medicaid outside of Utah. So if I don't want to pay for the ultrasound, I'll have to wait 10 weeks until we're back from our trip. I'm not sure I can wait that long.

So for now? I need to do a once-over and make sure we have everything, put away the clean dishes (thanks Mom!) and take a nap before Guy wakes up. Wish me luck.

Anxious

I'm starting to feel nervous about our road trip. I could list the dozens of things on the to-do lists for the next three days, but there's something else weighing on my mind.

She doesn't read here, but one of my good friends from high school was married last month. This past week, she lost her husband in a horrible accident. I'd only met him once, and couldn't attend the wedding, but I know she was so happy with him. I only hope that she can remember to be happy now that he's gone.

Sweet Relief

The pain is gone. Thank goodness.

In it's place? A head cold. And exhaustion.

I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. If you really want to know what's going on in my head, it is as follows:

I have one week to get my act together for Philly.
In a week we get to see our baby!
I'm really tired today.

That's about it.

Oh, the pain!

I had grand plans for today. I was going to do laundry, get my kitchen 100% clean again (it's not far from it now), tidy the house, work on packing lists, take Guy for some shots, and stop by Babies R Us for a neck pillow for him for our trip.

Then I woke up this morning with the worst round ligament pain in my life. I was terrified for the first hour or so that it was a blood clot. It got beter moving around, so I figured it wasn't. Then I thought it felt like cramps, and I was afraid I was miscarrying. But I'm not bleeding and have felt the baby kicking more today than I have the entire pregnancy.

After limping through the morning, spending a big chunk of time on the couch with a heating pad, I put Guy down for a nap and hopped in the tub for a hot bath.

Instant relief. It was miraculous. That's when I realized, "Round ligament pain!" and relaxed a bit. In the bath I started making alternate plans for the rest of the day.

Then I got out. Wham! Came right back. Oh, well. Not much I can do except apply heat when it's really driving me nuts, try not to move suddenly or carry anything heavy, and hop back in the bath if I can't take it anymore.

Thank goodness dinner will be easy, and Josh will be home in less than two hours. Frankly, this hurts!

Happy Sabbath

Sometimes Sundays are really stressful for me. Today wasn't one of them! It's been a lovely day thus far.

Guy did excellently in sacrament meeting and in nursery (hooray!), proving once again that he takes after his calm and somber father. We had a lot of fun running the library, as we have thus far with this calling. Josh and I both really enjoy it.

We caught most of Sunday School, and all of our auxiliary meetings. Both lessons were superb.

And dear Bishop Thompson was released. I cried during almost the entire sacrament meeting, and then half of Relief Society. And again when we saw him as we were leaving to come home. I really am my mother's daughter. It was almost embarrassing, as I forgot a handkerchief and was on the front row for everyone on the stand to see, tears falling nearly non-stop and nose dripping like a faucet.

I'm sure that Bishop Hicks will do a marvelous job, but Bishop Thompson is the only bishop Josh and I have had during our marriage. He's been a sympathetic father figure, ready to tell the truth when needed and give us confidence boosts when we're feeling low. Though he would never consider himself to be eloquent, he's touched our hearts many times.

Now I'm going to sit down with Jesus the Christ and read the next chapter. If you've never read it, boy you're missing out. One chapter at a time, it's not only interesting--it's a testimony builder to be sure.

Countdown

I can't believe that two weeks from today we will be in Pennsylvania. That is a crazy thought.

Everything is squared away with the apartment (we won't need you to get the key, Becca, thanks). I need to make a packing list and figure out how many suitcases will fit in the car.

I have three doctor's appointments in the next two weeks, and some deep-cleaning I hoped to do before we leave. But all in all? I'm not feeling stressed.

Tired, yes. Pregnant? Definitely. Too big for my pants? You betcha!

But life is happy. It was a cool, rainy morning. Josh and Tom and I played video games while Guy wandered around the apartment playing. We had waffles for breakfast. And Josh and I had steak and salad for lunch.

So I thought steak without potatoes would be heresy--but I found an awesome recipe in Better Homes & Gardens where you make a balsamic vinaigrette dressing and brush it over the steak before grilling, and use the remainder on salad. It's FANTASTIC, and really filling.

And now? It's time to take out the trash, fetch the laundry, and come home to take a nap. Or maybe read a book. Probably the latter ;-)

It's only Wednesday?

I feel a bit like this week has been a marathon--so much going on! And most of it in my head.

We found out today the police report from last week's accident hasn't been filed yet, because the officer is on vacation until next Tuesday. So the car definitely won't be getting fixed before we leave. But we have the apartment we wanted for only a little more expensive than we had hoped. Yay!

I went to the midwife today, and despite the "trauma" from last week's car accident, the baby Coyne is safe and happy and playful. And we get our ultrasound in two weeks! So that's really exciting.

I just found out my brother's wife is having a baby boy, so that will make three male grandchildren for my parents. In two weeks, we'll know about number four, with any luck!

I'm getting excited about Philadelphia. I've decided to make a two-week menu, so that I can decide exactly what dishes to take (or purchase) there, as well as which appliances we'll need. I'm also planning to take our empty suitcases and see how we can pack them most efficiently into the car to know just how much space we have.

Clothes won't be too hard--Guy and I will at most only need one week's worth of summer clothes. Josh will need his suit, work clothes, and probably two casual outfits for the weekends.

I also need to make a list of the places and sites I want to visit! I figure Guy and I will make a trip into the city once a week by ourselves, to do more of the "boring history" stuff that doesn't thrill Josh. Then we'll probably do a day trip to NYC and a day trip to Washington, D.C. if we can swing it. Excitement!

As for right now? I'm off to do some more dishes. Ugh. And make a grilled cheese sandwich :-)

Philadelphia

I'm getting really nervous about Philadelphia.

I'm super excited to be living there this summer, but finding a place to live has been frustrating at best. I finally thought I found a place to live, but now the lady thinks I'm trying to scam her.

Guy didn't sleep near long enough last night and has been a bit crabby, I'm feeling tired, and am having a hard time being faithful.

I thought this apartment was the answer to our prayers, and now I'm afraid that we won't get it and I'll be back at square one with two and a half weeks to figure out where we're going to live.