Yeah, that game just sucked

So we lost to K-State...in basketball. Oh, well. I was so upset last night but now I just figure it's one loss for us and it's good for the team (and fans) to have a reality check. I wish it hadn't been to K-State, but go figure. I think they (the Wildcats) did play really well, actually. They were better than I thought. But K-State acted like they had won the NCAA Tournament after winning. I mean, I understand it's exciting and all, but seriously, people, that's almost embarrassing. It's one game, it's not the tournament. So we will survive and, well, K-State will have this one moment in time to hang on to for the next twenty years. :)

So I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and all is well. Pretty uneventful, which is good. It took my doc a bit to find the heartbeat (again), but she said that's pretty normal when the babes are this tiny. But she found it and it was a strong 158. So, Fozzy seems to be doing pretty well, which is nice to hear. I'll never forget what my mom said to me when I was pregnant with Gus. She told me that the baby is never again going to be as safe as it is when it's in your womb, and that is such a wonderful, cozy feeling. It's just nice to enjoy the 9+ months of growing this little baby and keeping him/her as safe and warm as I can.

I'm so excited b/c I confirmed with our daycare provider that she will watch Gus and the new babe this year. When we hired Jen we decided to take it year by year. Gus is her only daycare kid (besides her own 2 kids), so she really just does it for fun and for a side income. But she and Gus have really bonded and he adores her kids (especially Elizabeth--they are only 6 months apart and Jen says they are stuck together all day long). Whenever I bring Gus over Elizabeth usually comes running into the room saying, "Gus! Gus!" It's awesome. Anyway, Jen said she felt she could handle all four kids just fine (Mason is 4 and in preschool and Elizabeth and Gus will be 2 when the baby arrives). I think Gus will stay at her house until he's 3 and then we hope to move him to Hilltop Daycare on KU's campus. It has a great reputation and I think by then he'll need a bigger more structured environment. But I hope Jen can continue to watch the baby for a bit. We just love her and her family.

So, other than that, just working and whatnot. We're supposed to have cake today at work for the January birthdays, so I'm psyched about that. Tonight Andy is going out with his friends for "guy's night." I can tell he's excited b/c he's mentioned it to me about fifty times now. Hee hee. Tomorrow my dad is coming up to take Gus and I to a marble factory in Bonner Springs. I think Gus will love seeing how marbles are made and he'll probably want to leave with some. As long as he doesn't try to eat them, I think it'll be a really awesome field trip. Plus, my dad really wants some company, and I miss him, too. It should be a hoooooooooot.

ek

Vintage Gus

I found this old video of Gus today and had to post it. I think in this he is about 5 months old. I've been going through a "I can't believe Gus is growing up so fast" phase so I watched all kinds of old videos today. They do grow up so fast...it's so true. I think he's teething like crazy here and if you listen carefully he totally belches at the end. :)

Happy Kansas Day!

The weekend was a nice one. We had a bunch of folks over Saturday to watch the KU game, so that was fun. We all contributed some food so it was a pretty huge feast (everything from sandwiches to baked mac n' cheese to brownies to chips!). I pigged out and hung out with friends, and Gus and Ash played together. Our friends Mo and Seth announced they are having a baby, too, so we are extremely excited for them! Seth has a 12-year old son, Dominic, and Seth and Mo said Dom is a bit shell shocked by the whole idea of having a baby sister or brother. It'll be so fun. They are due Sept. 9, I believe, which is just about 5 weeks after us. So Mo and I are going to hit the pool together this summer...pregnant ladies unite!

I'm going on 14 weeks along now. I have a doc appt. tomorrow, so I'm exicted for that. I can feel the 1st trimester lifting. I've already felt more energetic and not quite as sick. I think this spring-like weather has helped, too, but I have to wait a bit for spring. I have a bump, and it's definitely larger than my bump at this time on the 1st pregnancy, but I don't think I necessarily look pregnant, just bloated. I can't wait to "pop" so it's obvious why I'm carrying more weight around. Oh, and lately I've been really craving boiled eggs. So, I made a bunch this morning (Gus loves them, too), and I peeled mine, bit into it, and almost lost my cookies. Something about the smell gagged me and I had to throw it out. This pregnancy stuff is crazy! One second I crave something and the next it tastes or smells terrible. Hilarious. Sorry, boiled eggs. We had our moment in time.

Let's see...I've posted some new photos and a video. The brush photo is actually an art installation by August David Dierks. :) Gus inserted Cheerios into my hairbrush and also into the hole on the brush handle (my favorite part). Such a vision for art! The video is also a glimpse into Gus' artistic vision. Andy installed a chalk board downstairs on one of the walls of Gus' "romper room." It's really cool. He bought it at a surplus store that sells old materials from local schools. He drilled it to the wall and Gus adores it.

My dad is having surgery today on his arm (carpal tunnel). It's in Topeka, so we may drive there to visit he and my mom at the hospital, but it just depends on Gus' nap schedule. He's been gradually napping later and later in the day, going from a pretty dependable 11am nap to noon or 1pm. So, we'll see. Then my dad has at least 1 month off to heal, so I hope to visit Bgame with Gus on some of my 1/2 days so we can hang with Gpa. I have a feeling he's going to go a bit stir crazy b/c he won't be able to do anything with his arm in a cast. He'll need the company.

Oh, just an aside...if the rumors are true, my celebrity preggo partner this time around will be none other than Gwen Stefani. Gossip says she's 13 weeks along with her second babe...hey, maybe we have the same due date? She better not steal any of our names...ha! I laugh, BUT, my celeb pregnancy partner with Gus was Mariska Hargitay and she named her son AUGUST! She had him a bit before I had Gus, but we had already pretty much agreed on August as the boy name. Good thing Mariska and I aren't GREAT friends or that would be weird. Yeah.

Oh, we also posted some more pics on our flickr site, if you are interested. I'll post after the doc appt tomorrow!

ek

More teething

Gus is teething again. He's getting what I think are molars, and I can tell it's pretty painful. He wakes up periodically at night and wimpers/cries. He usually puts himself back to sleep, but I feel bad for him. He usually wakes up in the morning chatting and playing in his crib, but he woke up crying this morning. I went in and rocked him back to sleep and he slept for another hour or so, but he's just been so cranky. He's also been shoving his hand in his mouth quite a bit, so it's pretty clear that it's teething. Thankfully the Orajel works well at night. He doesn't like teething rings or washclothes with ice or anything like that. It'll be nice when these teeth make an appearance. They are taking forever to get here. But once they get here, he can chew steak! Ha...just kidding.

Other than teething woes, things are fine. The weekend was very low-key. It's just so cold outside we basically stayed inside all weekend. We did have a "date night" Saturday night. We asked Annie to babysit and we went to our friends' house to watch the KU/Mizzou game. I'm so happy we won, even if the win was ugly. It was so nice to just hang out and eat chili and watch the game and not worry about Gus. It was a good break, but then of course we missed him. He was sound asleep when we got home.

We laid around yesterday (I had the day off) and then drove up to KC to visit Lindsey and Anthony at Lindsey's downtown apartment. Gus had a blast running around the place and playing with them. Last night Andy and I watched the Democratic debates in South Carolina. They were heated, but good. We also watched some of the Texas/Ok. State game, but I went to bed before finding out who won. I've been so exhausted lately that I literally have to force myself to stay up past 8pm. Some nights I just give in and go to bed, or read in bed and then crash after about 2 pages. I hope the 2nd trimester brings more energy my way...I'm looking forward to it! :)

Today I'm working 1/2 day and trying not to get cabin fever. I wish it would warm up a bit. I think this will be my favorite spring of all time. I don't think I've looked forward to a spring so much in my life, for some reason!

ek

My Bag...I mean My Bad

So, over lunch today (at home again) I was watching a rerun of the first episode of Rock of Love II (I missed the premiere on Sunday night) and I saw a commercial for that Scott Baio show. It's called Scott Baio (sp?), 46 and Pregnant. I got his age wrong. My mistake. As if increasing the age by one year and changing "Single" to "Pregnant" is going to make that show good. Anyway, the Rock of Love season premiere was everything I had hoped for and more. It was slutty and disgusting and absolutely fall-off-the-couch amazing. I think Bret wears more eyeliner than the some of the 1980's trash on that show. When I watch that show I feel so good about myself.

During my lunch our doorbell rang. I was excited b/c I'm awaiting the arrival of our new duvet cover (the manufacturer screwed up our shipment last week so I'm waiting for the correct thing to actually arrive). But to my dismay, it was some annoying girl selling carpet cleaning services. She looked into the house and said, "Oh, you don't have carpet." She looked really dejected. To which I replied, "Nope, none at all." I handed back the brochure she had given me and shut the door. Ok, so I lied. We have carpet downstairs in the basement and we have area rugs, but beeeeotch, I don't want to be bothered during Rock of Love and Days, ok? Plus I literally ran upstairs to get the door, and preggo girls should never have to run, EVER, unless they somehow want to. But I was so out of breath and I almost missed the elimination round of Rock of Love. All is well, though.

ek

Arrggghhhh...

So I'm at work and normally I would be working but our email has been down since 8:30 am. I have so much to do today, and it's stressing me out a bit. I guess there's nothing I can do, and when KU's email system goes down, it takes them forever to figure it out. So, I thought I'd post given that I have some free time on my hands. You don't realize how much you depend on email until it's gone.

I had a "girl's night" last night. It was super fun. I met a few girlfriends for a movie at Liberty Hall. We saw "Juno" and I really liked it. The overall soundtrack is really pretty good, and they included one of my all-time favorite songs at the end (the scene where Juno has her baby). They play Cat Power's version of "Sea of Love" and I was (quietly) sobbing, trying not to embarrass myself. I covet that song, and it was the perfect song to play during that scene. I get choked up thinking about it.

We're having Marisa and Tom over for dinner tonight, assuming the weather holds up. I'm making potato/cheese soup along w/ some garlic bread. I've been craving a hearty soup, so this should do the trick. Lots of cheese and some bacon, too. In fact, Andy tried to make the bacon for me last night and he burned the entire pack. Our house smells so bad right now. My purse and all my clothes smell like bacon. I'm convinced that dogs and cats are going to start following me around b/c I smell so meaty. And I'm also convinced my co-workers are totally horrified by my smell. I did shower and I used perfume and lotion! It's penetrating my skin...and I have to make more bacon tonight for the soup, so it's going to smell so rank for awhile!

I just went home for lunch and watched some of Days and it is so ridiculous, but I love it. John Black is ALIVE! (of course) but now he's under some weird Stefano spell (again)...at least that's what I gather. Kelly might know more! :) But I also watched some of the Scott Baio, 45 and Pregnant show. It is so ridiculous. First of all, the name of the show is just stupid. And I can't stand that moron, but somehow I couldn't turn it. I'm not sure why. Probably b/c I love crappy tv shows. I swear they make those reality shows just for me.

Hope everyone has a nice day.

Just another manic Monday

I don't know why I used that as my title, except that I like the Bangles and it's Monday.

I've been having major preggo dreams lately. Last week I had a dream that I was riding on a motorcycle with Johnny Depp (a young Johnny Depp...21 Jump Street days), but we were both naked. And then it ended too soon. Then last night I had a dream that I was a finalist on Rock of Love, the VH1 "reality" show about Bret Michaels from the 80's band Poison trying to find his one, true love. Anyway, I was one of two or three finalists and I remember thinking in the dream that I was married, so I shouldn't really be a finalist. But I was excited, nonetheless. Yeah...weird. And I don't even have a crush on Bret Michaels, I just like the show b/c it's absolutely hilarious. I love hormonal dreams.

The sleeping thing has improved a bit. I've been going to bed pretty early so that has helped.

Gus has been pretty awesome lately. He has his toddler moments, and I'm learning to chill out a bit. At first I started to internalize every single thing and freak out, but the more people I talk with, the more I realize he's just going through the typical toddler stages of defiance and sassafrass-ness. But lately he has been really cool. He's babbling up a storm and dances a lot. Now he has a dance where he raises both arms above his head when the music starts and he wants us to do the same. So, we do, and it's hilarious. I should take video of it. It's like a rave or something, without the drugs and techno music and whatnot. This photo was taken when he tried on Andy's slippers. He tried to walk around in them and then got pretty upset when we took them off.

Other than that, just trying to get through the winter blues. Bring on spring. Oh, and I included the photo of our cats b/c they rule our house and it's rare that we can get a photo of the three of them together. Aren't they just special...

'Til later!

ek

Book recommendation

I am just full of posts today!

I forgot to post this earlier. I loved to read books before having Gus, but since having him it has been hard for me to finish a book. I love my magazines (especially the New Yorker and Smithsonian), but lately it has been hard for me to find a good book I can stick with. But I found one, per the recommendation of Andy, my darling bookworm (I mean that very affectionately, by the way. He is a reader, that guy!) Actually, I read a short story by this author in the New Yorker and loved it, and Andy then told me we had a book of that same author in our library. He knows what is in our library...I obviously do not! Anyway, I read it and it was one of those books I tried to savor because it went too fast. It is Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Here's a quick review from Powell's.com:

Publisher Comments: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of cultures and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth, while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.

Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant.

I will warn you: the first story is by far the saddest story I have ever read. Ever. After I read it, I sobbed (Gus was napping) and I called Andy and I said, "Ok, I love this book, but that story knocked me out." He said it was the saddest story he had ever read, too. And if you are expecting a child or have a child, I personally think it makes it even worse. But it is a great story, and the rest of the stories are amazing, as well. Just amazing. I loved this book. It is one of my favorites now.

That is all!

ek

"Morning" Sickness and all that jazz

So, this pregnancy is different from the last one in that I've been pretty sick to my stomach since about week 4 or 5. It has let up just a bit since Christmas, so hopefully that means it'll get even better as I roll into the 2nd trimester. I'm going on 11 weeks now, and I thought up until last week that I was actually 2 weeks ahead of what I actually am. Basically, we were off by almost 2 weeks, which is kinda a bummer b/c that means I get that much more time with morning sickness (they should call it "all day sickness"--more appropriate). I can't complain too much, though, b/c I haven't actually thrown up (TMI, I know, but it is what it is). I'm just nauseous x 10. And certain foods make me want to throw up now, too. That didn't happen last time, either, at least that I remember. Scrambled eggs? Check. Dry cereal? Check. Can't stomach either one right now. And I love a bowl of cereal in the morning. So I've been eating yogurt and maybe a piece of toast in the morning. Luckily, Gus LOVES yogurt, so we always share a little Yoplait every morn. Oh, and I've found that the Preggo Pop Drops you can buy for morning sickness do work. Thanks to Jenny and Sally for getting these for me! And apple juice works, too. Don't know why...

Otherwise I'm just tired quite a bit of the time. I am trying to take it easy but it's hard with a one-year old in tow. Really hard. And I've had sleep issues lately, too. I go through this at points throughout the year where I just cannot sleep very well. It's so frustrating. It didn't help that Andy got home at 1am this morning from a business trip, and being the light sleeper than I am, I was naturally awake when he came in. And I didn't get back to sleep until close to 2:30 or 3am. Good times. Hopefully that'll pass soon! Where's the Tylenol PM when you need it? :)

Okay, enough bitchin' from me. I'm so ready for the spring to arrive. I can't wait to work in my garden/s. I have so many plans for the front and backyard this year. I hope I can get all of it done!

ek

Vintage Sesame Street

Every once in awhile Gus and I will watch old Sesame Street or Electric Company clips on Youtube. This morning I found this classic, so enjoy! I know I did, and Gus kept saying, "ball!" Ha!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jG-0_p_yefg

Time Outs

So, we've recently started "time-outs" with Gus. He's been a bit of a little stinker lately--very defiant and sassy. I have no idea where he gets that from, but it's alarming. Chuckle, chuckle. Anyway, his fave word is "no!" so we've been putting him in time-out in his pack-n-play when he misbehaves. I wait until he really pushes the limit before putting him in time-out, and he's only been 2x so far. He doesn't like it, and we've noticed a bit of improvement since we've started it. I'm also trying to get him to stop saying "No!" when he wants something badly (I think he knows the word "No!" so well now that he uses it when it doesn't even make sense, which is super fun). He usually just wants food or more specifically, crackers. and I've asked him to instead say "Please" and "Yum Yum, crackers!." He says "Num, num" but hasn't quite figured out "Please" yet. Baby steps...

But otherwise he's great. He's saying new "words" every day. At times he seems to say complete sentences, even if it is in his own language. It's so funny, though, to hear him form a somewhat complete thought outloud but it's in alien-speak. And usually his language will be peppered with real words, like "no!" or "cracker" or "daddy" or something. So I think he's trying to talk, just hasn't quite formed all the words yet.

Last night was nice. Andy is out of town until tonight, so last night after Gus went to bed, I ate some ice cream and watched most of Season 3 of Sex and the City. I'm watching all the seasons through Netflix so when the movie comes out in May I can see it with all the old episodes fresh in my mind. I love that show. I wish I had watched it on HBO when I lived in Chicago, when it was actually on. But that's what Netflix is for, right? I'll probably finish the disc tonight.

It's rainy and snowy here. Pretty dreary. I want to attempt to take a walk w/ Gus later today, so we'll see how the weather holds up.

Have a good one! Oh, and a shout out to my new celebrity friends, Lindi and Ben! I also saw them on tv during the KU / Boston College game (woo hoo!) and then saw them in the Journal World paper. How awesome! And that game was awesome. KU looked rock solid on the court.

ek

So Many Exciting Things!

So, quite a bit has happened in the past few days that I need to write about!

First, Andy and I recently let everyone know that we're expecting baby #2! We're psyched. We're nervous as hell, but we're really excited, too. The babe is due August 2, and Gus' 2nd birthday is Aug. 6. Great timing! But we are just so excited about giving Gus a little sister or brother and having another little tot around the house. It's going to be insane, but a good insane. So, that's our big 2008 announcement!

And, what about those Jayhawks! What a game. I was so nervous near the end of the football game, but we pulled it off. Yahoo! We won the Orange Bowl. Gus and I are representing today with our KU shirts on. We are so proud. And the bb team takes on Boston College tomorrow. I'm kinda nervous, but I know we can beat them. GO KU! Rock Chalk, people! I am so freakin' excited.

And Obama won the Iowa caucus! I'm personally really excited about this. He's always been my fave, but living in Kansas it's been difficult to get too excited about him b/c we don't really matter until the big election. So, I would've supported Hillary, too, and if she ends up getting the bid, I will support her. But I hope Obama can carry this success into New Hampshire and he can win the bid as the Democratic frontrunner. His speech last night was amazing, too. We switched back and forth between the KU game and CNN. He was just so uplifting and hopeful and awesome. Gotta respect the guy. I told Andy that I had a bit of a (platonic) crush on Obama b/c he seems so kind and so hopeful and so honest and Andy said, "I think everyone does!" And then he smiled. Yeah!

Let's see...working from home again today. Just a 1/2 day. Took the car in for an oil change already. Gus is getting harder and harder to manage when taking him out. He doesn't like to be in his carseat for too long, and he just recently started getting really impatient in his stroller. It's a bummer to me, b/c my walks are shorter and our car trips are more anxious b/c he just wants to get out and walk around. Fun times! But he is overall a great kid and he knows what "no" means. If we really tell him "no" he'll walk away from the temptation...most of the time. I hope that lasts...ha...

That's it for now. Happy New Year, happy new baby, and happy everything else! And again, Rock Chalk Jayhawk, GO KU!

ek

Happy New Year

Our holidays were very nice. We had a great time visiting family in Iowa, and some of our Michigan family came down to Iowa, as well. It was nice. The kids (Gus and his cousin, Eli) were spoiled rotten with toys. I've posted photos from our holiday get-togethers at our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_dierks. Here's a fun photo of Gus and Eli, his cousin, playing w/ new toys at Christmas. Note the matching pjs! This has become somewhat of a tradition. They did it last year, too. It's super cute. Thanks to Jenny for always buying the pjs! It's our turn next year.

Overall, we've stayed sorta kinda healthy over the past couple of weeks. Eli was getting over a nasty flu bug, so he was kinda sick when we were in Iowa. Gus threw up one night while we were in Iowa, but we figured out it was the chili he ate, not the flu. He did have a nasty fever on New Year's Eve, so we were up pretty much all night w/ him. Andy and I had to laugh at midnight, b/c we honestly never thought in a million years we'd be up that late, but we were! But it was to calm Gus down...But then his fever went away, so that's good. But then...he fell in our kitchen yesterday and split open his top lip. After much blood (I started to freak out but calmed myself down somehow...), many cold washcloths and some Motrin, he seemed better. But last night he slept so poorly. He was up pretty much the majority of the night crying. It was awful. I hope it's better tonight. There's not much to do with a fat lip but let it heal. It looks like he was punched in the mouth, though. He was chasing one of our cats and tripped on the crappy kitchen rug that I've desperately wanted to replace, especially now. Darn you, World Market, and your crappy circular straw rugs! (They are on sale right now...don't do it).

So, that brings us to this week. I'm working from home all week b/c my daycare provider is at the Orange Bowl. I'm pretty tired, but otherwise, things are fine. Andy's sister, Lindsey, moved to KC last weekend, so she's settling in. She starts her new job in KC Monday.

Go KU tonight! I'm curious to see what happens.

More later!

ek