Bad Week/Good Week

Last week I missed a concert for one of my favorite bands, but by the end of a week of self-imposed bed rest, I was able to roadtrip to Chicago to see another favorite band(s) play! Allow me to explain.

Last Monday, the 9th, was one of the worst days of my pregnancy so far. I made the mistake of going to the grocery store to get cereal and something else that sounded good for me to eat. Claire went with me and that's never a fun time. I could barely walk down the aisles. Everyone was probably scared of the death rays coming out of my eyes, it was bad. I took Claire to the library to get some books and couldn't even read them to her. I felt so bad because we usually do fun stuff on our Mommy Mondays. But I was in a bad way. I went home, set her up on the couch with a Kids Cuisine and Phineaus and Ferb and konked out in my room for almost 3 hours. By the time I woke up, Claire had gotten her princess pillow and fallen asleep on the couch, so I didn't feel like the worse, most neglectful mom in the world.

Mike and I had tickets to see Phoenix at the Pageant. I was really excited to go b/c I don't think they have ever come to St. Louis and the tickets were fairly expensive. By the time Mike came home from work, I was seeing stars with a horrible headache and wanted to hurl everywhere, so we had to miss the show. Booooo. We tried to give the tickets away on facebook, but no one took the bait. I hate having to miss stuff because I'm pregnant and sick! With Claire I had to miss seeing "Wicked" at the Fox with a bunch of friends and I'll never forget it!

I tried to go to work the next day, but only lasted through my first meeting. I spent the rest of the day in bed. Later, I got a phone call from the NP at my OB/GYN office regarding some blood test results. Apparantly I'm not immune to chicken pox even though I officially got them when I was in 3rd grade. So I have to steer clear of any little rugrats with chicken pox or anyone that has shingles. I'm guessing it's just active cases? She also told me that my progesterone was low. This concerned me a lot, but she said my levels weren't that bad and they were prescribing an oral hormone to take every night "because it will make you nauseas and sleepy". I'm like "Wait - you already realize I'm ridiculously nauseous and sleepy already?!? right?!" Well obviously, this was too important not to treat. So I was really looking forward to those side effects!

After talking to my supervisor at work, we agreed that I would take a week's vacation to rest at home. It was really what I needed. I took Claire to Grammy's every day and then would come home and either take residence on the couch and catch up on my Bravo Reality TV, or take hours and hours of naps. This is in addition to sleeping my 12 hours each night mind you! The exhuastion this time around is unbelievable!

By Friday I was feeling very well rested and that was important. Because Mike and I were planning on driving to Chicago to see some old friends play a reunion show for Dovetail Joint and Ivory Wire. The venue was blocks away from Leah's apartment and she and her boyfriend, who was also a big fan of the band. I was so proud of how well i did on the majority of the car ride. I even drove for a couple of hours so Mike could take a nap (he had played a show the night before). But after getting slowed down at no less than FIVE construction zones on 55 and TWO accidents, it took us over 7 hours to get into the city! I wanted to punch someone in the neck! Leah ordered take out, I had two bites and then - you guessed it, went to bed. With a bag of frozen berries on my head no less.

Saturday Mike, Leah and I went to see "The Other Guys" at a big movie theater downtown. It was funny. The show at Lincoln Hall was fantastic! Leah called ahead to reserve me a seat (she used this pregnancy card more than I have!) and Mike was front one. There was a lot of hooting and finger pointing going on. Rock signs were thrown. I stayed up until like midnight! Couldn't believe it.

Our Good News

in case you haven't heard yet, the Lowder's are expecting! Yep :) I'm 8 weeks pregnant, due in mid-march 2011. we had our first ultrasound last friday to make sure i wasn't having twins because of my history of hyperemesis. just one baby in there! claire got to see it too and she thought it was cool, but i think she was expecting a miniature fully-formed baby!

a lot, i mean a lot, of people have been asking me about what my chances of getting hyperemesis or preeclampsia again. as my OB says about hyperemesis, "If you're a puker, you're a puker." So I can expect to have some issues with naseua, vomitting and/or dehyrdation during this pregnancy. I'm preparing and counting on it in fact, not to be morbid, but I guess I'd rather be pleasantly surprised that it isn't happening.

The chance of someone developing preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies after having it during your first is 33%. So my chances are better there, but at least we know the signs to look for. Last year with Claire I developed preeclampsia and HELP syndrome with Claire at 32 weeks and we wouldn't have caught it so fast if I hadn't been weighing myself every day, which I was doing as a part of my hyperemesis protocol. I had lost 20 lbs in my first trimester, and it took me the rest of the pregnancy to gain it back. I gained like 8 pounds in one weekend and that's what concerned my nurse and prompted me to go in to my OB and eventually get admitted to St. John's...and 5 days later Claire Michaella was here!

SO, so far so good. I'm taking preemptive Zofran. Research is showing that is can stave off symptoms of hyperemesis or prevent them alltogether. So I'm fairly naseuous, I probably have average first semester morning sickness. The exhuastion is overwhelming though. I can't believe how sleepy I am! I go to bed early and sleep until the last minute. At least one day a week I'm going home early just to take a nap and every night after work i'm napping. as Aunt Jackie says, "making a baby is hard! every time you're taking a nap, think about making a cute nose or a little heart..." So on that note, I have some fingers and toes to make, I'm going nighty night!

Vacation in Paradise!

LIDO BEACH

Mike and I took a couples vacation to Sarasota, Florida over Father's Day weekend. We flew to Tampa on Friday June 18th and rented a convertible (!) to drive the approximately 50 miles south to Sarasota. We arrived at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sarasota and immediately unpacked, took in the view from our balcondy (complimentary upgrade!) and hit the town.

Our first stop was St. Armand's Circle, a small boutique shopping district near the beach. We shopped for souvenirs and scoped out places to eat lunch and dinner over the weekend. Then we drove the couple blocks to Lido Beach and sat and watched the sunset. Dinner that night was at the Salty Dog. It was directly on the bay and had nice scenery, but gross food. That was surely a dissappointment as I planned to eat good seafood every single meal if I could help it!

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went fishing with Captain Charlie to fish in the Bay and the Gulf. Cap. Charlie was so fun and friendly and a really good teacher. I hadn't fished in years and years, so I wasn't sure if I could do it. But we did! I caught several bait fish in the bay (4 on one line my first cast), and a king mackeral in the gulf and a trout in the bay. I even got a little bruise on my tummy from stabilizing the rod when I was reeling the king mack in - ouch! Mike caught a spanish mackeral and some bluerunners as well as a trout I think.

We were wiped out after fishing and I was starting to get a little seasick and a storm was brewing over the Bay, so we bid farewell to our fishing captain and had lunch at the hotel and took a dip in the saltwater pool. Then it was nappy-nap time! That sun really takes it out of you. After our nap we drove to a seafood resauarant favored by the locals Phillipi Oyster Creek Restaurant. Holy mackeral it was so delicious! It was a traditional floridian seafood shack; long shared picnic tables, adjacent to a creek, HUGE menu and scrumptious food. I had lobster, shrimp and scallops sauteed in butter and thought I had died and gone to heaven in the sea. Then we drove around in the convertible with the top down all around town because it was nice out. We were definately loving the feeling of Sarasota. Very laidback but with tons of things to do if you wanted to. It didn't have a very touristy feel, which we both liked. It's called the "Cultural Coast" of Florida because of it's abundance of art museums, botanical gardens, live music venues and other performing arts activities. After grabbing an ice cream cone at St. Armands Circle and calling Claire in St. Louis we turned in for an early bedtime. Vacationing is exhausting!

THIS IS WHERE THE FABULOUS PEOPLE SWIM

AREN'T YOU JEALOUS OF US RIGHT NOW?!

Sunday morning was Father's Day and we decided to go to the beach. Lido Beach was just a short drive away and after a beautiful breakfast, we rented some chairs and an umbrella so Mike wouldn't spontaneously combust in the sun and chilled out. Perfection! We snorkeled in the clear, shallow water and even saw several dolphin swimming not 50 yards away from us. We collected lots of beautiful shells for Claire and some of my clients back at work. Then we dried off and had lunch at the Crab and Fin, one of the premier restaurants in town. We thought lunch would be more affordable than dinner and we were right. I had a delicious authentic Caesar salad with an achovy on top! We were going to go to the Botanical Gardens, but it was too costly and almost closing, so instead we hit up a Tiki Bar in the Bay called O'Leary's. We met a fabulous older couple named Dave and Gerry who had moved to the area from New Hampshire a few years ago. They were a riot. Gerry was proud to tell us they had "six children...all very successful, doctors, lawyers, alright?!" We chatted for quite a while and they gave us their calling card in case we "ever need anything". They were super sweet. Meanwhile, 3 margaritas later, this little lady needed to take a walk around the bay to sober up! Mike took me to Columbia Restaurant, the oldest eating establishment in Sarasota since 1905. They specialized in Spanish food and it was ridiculously good! I was a little tipsy and didn't even know what I was ordering, but a beautiful red snapper with red peppers and rice appeared on my plate and I was a happy senorita!

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT SINCE 1905

I can't remember what we did that evening, it's all a blur...

Monday was our last day in Sarasota : ( We checked out of the hotel, which we found to be lovely and the staff was really gracious. Beautiful fancy room and free gourmet breakfast every morning. I had researched that the Ringling Art Museum was free on Mondays, so we went there to check it out. The estate is where the Ringling Family retired in the 1920's. The lush grounds feature a mansion, several museums including fine art and circus exhibits and a performance art theater. After that we had lunch downtown, which reminded us of Clayton, finally had some authentic Key Lime Pie (it was yellow, not green!) and made the trek back to Tampa.

RINGLING ART MUSEUM

I was seriously bumming that we had to come back to St. Louis and considering running away to join the Ringling Museum Circus exhibit. But Mike was my rock and let me bitch and moan and got me a huge fountain Diet Coke as soon as we got invasively frisked and xrayed by the Tampa International Airport. What the heck?! We had a fabulous time and can't wait to return.

WE HEART SARASOTA!

Thanks to Grammy, Nana and Pop. They made this trip possible by watching Claire and Brody. It's so nice to get away and have some adult time (although we talked about Claire nonstop) and know that your flesh and blood is safe and sound with your family!

Book Review: "The Hour I First Believed" Wally Lamb

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb



My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i listened to the audiobook of the newest book from lamb. i think that helped beat the trudgery and boredom that others readers experienced. this was classic wally lamb. long, gritty and detailed. it involves a main character the reader really doesn't like at all and by the end you understand them much better and thus like them more as well. lamb fully finishes the book and you get a sense of closure with all of the characters. i didn't realize how much it would involve discussion about ptsd, as this is a mental illness i work with considerably during my day job, it wasn't the 'escape' i was hoping for. but a really sympathetic, compelling story.



View all my reviews >>

things

here are some things going on at le chez de lowder:

1. claire had her first ballet and tap recital. it was darling! we will be having a dvd viewing party, so don't worry if you missed it :)

2. the weather here alternates from oppresively hot to southeast asia monsoons.

3. claire has started swimming lessons at Fenton Riverchase. She's a level II goldfish. That's level II sir! She started her first lesson scared of going in the water and all the "splashing", but reports from her second class show significant progress. She's going under BY HERSELF! and jumping in from the side. Pink goggles have been purchased and used to practice in the bathtub twice in the last 18 hours.

4. mike and i go to sarasota, florida for an extended weekend this week. staying at the hyatt regency and it looks niiiice! i want a beach day at Lido Beach and shopping at St. Armand's circle and maybe some snorkeling. Mike wants to fish, so we've chartered a boat and are going to fish for tarpon or something?

5. We saw Karate Kid over the weekend and it was Awesome! I want Claire to marry little Jaden Smith someday. He is precious and Will and Jada could pick up the wedding tab! Win-Win!

Little girl gives herself a pep talk

Check out this great MSN Video: Little girl gives herself a pep talk

magazine coasters

I stole this "make-in-front-of-the-TV" craft from this blog - "How About Orange"
I think I'm going to make homemade magazine paper bows for gifts next! stay tuned...