Lil D is finally here!!

He was born June 16, at 9pm.
He was 8lbs & 3 ounces, 20 inches.
So Lil D & I have been home now for a little over a week!! He is such a good baby. He is really mellow. He doesn't get upset alot, only when he's hungry or needs a fresh diaper. With the heat he has been really hard to wake up and feed.
He is so beautiful and being a mother has been more wonderful that I ever thought it would be. He has actually let J and I get alot more rest that we thought. We just have to make ourselves take a nap during the day. At the most he wakes up about twice during the night. He has been really good about going back to sleep.
My days right now are divided into 3-4 hour increments. They are just going by so fast. I can already see him growing before my eyes.
He got circumcised yesterday so it was kind of a tramatic day for him. He is better today and not so sensitive to the pain. He was 8 pounds last Thursday and yesterday he was 8 pounds 10 ounces.
Here he is sleeping this morning!

Lil D napping
-Until tomorrow

D-Day

Ok, no sign of Lil D yet. He is being stubborn and wants to stay in a little while longer. Mama, on the other hand, is ready!!!! I have done as much as I can to stay busy today and not think about how it may still be a couple of days. Here is my day so far:
1. Shower
2. Breakfast: Granola & Yogurt
3. Read chapter 22-28 in Genesis.
4. Packed a few more things in my hospital bag
5. Had 5 phone calls today: Kaydee, Sarah Jean, E(my sister-in-law), my Mom & my brother.
6. Had lunch: mashed potatoes & gravy, coleslaw and a buttermilk biscuit.
7. I watched four episodes of Bringing Baby Home.
8. I watched 1/2 an episode of Martha.
9. I wrote some emails.
The rest of the day will be:
10. Dinner ?
11. Go to small group

COME ON CONTRACTIONS!!!!! I'M READY FOR SOME PAIN ACTION!!
-Until Tomorrow

So I'm pregnant

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged. It just hasn't interested me in the past couple of weeks. I have been off of work for 4 weeks now. I have organized my entire house and the baby's room is 80% done. I have my bag packed for the hospital and all my lists have been made. In other words...I am ready! So there, I blogged!! :)

Good Pregnant Day!

I have had 2 good pregnant days in a row. Yesterday was good. I didn't really have any pains and I didn't get tired until about 5pm. Today I got tired at about 2pm. I walked over to the deli and it is definitely getting harder to get around. I can't take long walks. I get too tired and baby gets too heavy. I only have 8 days left at work!!! Wahoo!!
Last night we played Cranium with our small group. Our team won!! Yeah!! It was really fun!! We all really need to do that more often.
I've completely lost my motivation today at work. I was so good all morning. I have hit the bottom. I have to make myself finish the rest of the day!
-Until tomorrow

I'm back!

Ok, so I know I have fallen behind for the past 3 months. Pregnancy is harder than I thought it would be. Not that I thought it would be easy. It's just really hard to control your emotions and make yourself do things when you just don't have the energy. I haven't touched the internet. At work I am constantly on the computer and when I come home I just want to veg and rest. I only have 10 days left till my last day at work!!! I'm really happy about that. I take all the stress home with me. I just want to relax and think and worry about the pregnancy only. I'm kidding myself if I say I'm not worried. I think it's just the unknown that I worry about. Some days I am stronger than others.
Today has been an angry day. I started the day out angry. So angry I cried. It was really stupid what I was angry about. My clothes were left in the washer from Sunday and they smelled bad when I put them in the dryer. I couldn't control the rush of emotions I had. When I got to work every person I talked to on the phone was being a stupid person. I know that is not nice to call people stupid. But like my dad says sometimes you just have to call them what they are.
I am actually having a better day now. I have calmed down and prayed about it. The Lord will get me through the day!
-Until tomorrow

Thursday...

Work was good and over fast.
I had to go the doctor and get a breathing test done to see if I have asthma. I had to breath in the albuteral for 7 minutes. I was wired. It made me feel crazy and anxious. I won't know the results of the test until next week.
The drive home was hard. Lots of traffic and I felt crazy because of the medicine.
When I got home J & I got dinner...FISH TACOS!! My favorite right now!! We watched tv the rest of the night!!
-Until tomorrow

Another work day

Today was a good day as soon as the morning was over. I have severe chest pain this morning. It doesn't feel good until I take a shower. I called the baby doctor to make sure that the inhaler that the doctor prescribed was ok. It is. I'm glad...pain is not fun!!(really?)
This week is really going by fast. I like those kind of weeks. Today was a catch up day. "Senior" designer is in Bozeman, Montana today with a client. I organized files and trained my new officemate. Her name is...I haven't come up with her blog name...to be determined. Anyway, she is really great. She will be taking over "Senior" designer's jobs while I am on maternity leave!!
Here is what is going on with all my current jobs:
Sim..it is almost done with the installation. Everything is installed except for the island in the kitchen. We are about to measure for countertops.

Sim Kitchen Floorplan

Ken...We are working on the guest bath now. The tile is going in. We are tiling the walls and floor.

Ken Guest Bath Floorplan

Gor...Has been installed. We are done. Tonight the client's are having an anniversary party. The job is beautiful. I need to get pictures and post them! Here is the floorplan:

Gor Kitchen Floorplan

Far...We are doing the office now. I just got the order in for the cabinetry. It takes about 7 weeks till they are ready for delivery. Here is the floorplan:

Far Office Floorplan

Py...Almost all the cabinets have been delivered. The kitchen install will start on Monday, Feb 13. I'm really ready for this job start! Especially the activity room. Which is a huge entertainment center bookcase that makes and L and takes up 2 huge walls. It will be beautiful!!
Here is the Kitchen Floorplan & the Activity Room Floorplan below it

Py Kitchen Floorplan

Py Activity Room Floorplan

Rich...this is a new job that just got ordered. It is such a cool floorplan I have to post it for you...Here it is:

Rich Kitchen Floorplan

Pretty cool huh? This is the center of the house and the stairs lead to the second story.

This is a majority of what is in progress, whether it be ordering, installation or punch lists.
-Until tomorrow

Ok, I'm back

I don't know why it has been so hard to blog lately. I know Kaydee, I lag!!! The past weeks have just flown by. I live weekend to weekend. J & I have been trying to fix up the house. We have been getting some painting done and we got a new couch. We are also trying to get rid of our old couch. It is in our dining room right now. Everything is kind of in disarray. I feel totally out of control. I think I have finally gotten out of my lathargic stage and have started to see the first sign of a nesting stage. I cleaned my refrigerator on Sunday.
Yesterday I booked my Mom's flight. She is coming March 11 and I am taking a week of vacation. She is going to help me get the baby room and guest room in order, unless I am so motivated to get it all done before she gets here.(Yeah, right)
Here is a photo of my baby boy: Little D!!


-Until tomorrow

I kept forgetting it was Friday.

I wore my first maternity outfit today. It was kind of fun. Ah the little things. I finished up the 2nd option on Fisch this morning. Mr & Mrs Fisch came in at 11:15. They liked the 2nd option and decided to go with it. They decided on the finished also. English Figured Sycamore with accents of stained and dyed madrone burl. These are both exotic veneers. It is going to be beautiful!!
I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed green beans for dinner. It was good. We watched the Bad News Bears. It was ok. Time for bed. My back is killing me.
-Until tomorrow.

Hook'em Horns!!

We just got done watching the UT vs. USC Rose Bowl game. Yes, Ellie Mae just watched an entire football game!! Our small group came over to our house and watched. It was a really good game. I love Texas!!

Today was my first 8 hour day back to work. It actually wasn't that bad. I was hungry all day. I worked on Far's office. We did their bathroom a couple of months ago and they are ready to start their office. I did 2 options so it took most of the day. Wednesday is over and the weekend is almost here!!!

-Until tomorrow

Back to the Rat Race!

It was only a little hard to get up this morning. I could have slept another hour though.
I was a little afraid to go to work because I knew there would be germs everywhere! "Senior designer" sounded like death before I left for vacation and Chica sounded awful on the phone on Thursday. There was no telling who else got sick while I was gone. I cleaned my phone, my keyboard, my mouse and my desk with alcohol. I could tell that "Senior designer" had sat at my desk last week. Yuck!! Our office manager told me that I had forgotten to turn in my timesheet before I left for vacation and if I wanted my paycheck to get him the timesheet ASAP. I got that to him first thing and got my paycheck! Happy about that!!!
I worked on Rich job. "Senior designer" has priced this job as cheap as he possibly can. I will bet you money we will loose money on it. He takes my pricing sheet and just drops numbers for certain people and then at the end of the job he wonders why we lost money and didn't make anything on the job. I like to keep these cost sheets as proof and show him at the end of the job that he doesn't need to be pricing the jobs AT ALL!! He had an appointment with Mr. Rich at 3pm. I left the office at 2:25pm for my baby doctor apointment at 2:50pm.
We got to hear the heartbeat again! It has slowed down but is louder than the first time. It is just so amazing to hear. They also took blood for some test. I can't remember exactly what it was, J knows, but they said that no news will be good news...so I hope they don't call. We also scheduled the Ultrasound. It will be on January 23nd!!! 3 weeks!! We will know if it is a boy or a girl!!!!
Tonight I made grilled cheese sandwiches and oven baked fries. Ooo toughy huh? I'm just a baby cook! It will get better!!
J has been playing with his XBOX 360 that I got him for Christmas!!! He is having so much fun! Every now and then I hear him giggle because he has figured out something new that it does. It turns out that it is a media center. He can pull pictures from his laptop wirelessly. We were looking at pictures from vacation on the big screen. It was actually really neat.
Here are a few pics from vacation...ENJOY!!

J & Ellie Mae at the Train Station in Cottonwood, AZ!!

J & Ellie Mae at the Grand Canyon

J at the Grand Canyon

Ellie Mae at the Grand Canyon

It was REALLY cold at the Grand Canyon!
-Until tomorrow

LAZY DAY!!

J and I slept in this morning. I actually slept!!
My new year's resolution this year is...(drum roll please) to cook dinner most nights. I have been married for over 7 years and I just don't cook. J & I fend for ourselves or go out to eat. With the pregnancy I'm just sick of the same old thing and I'm sick of all the bad things!! So the solution is to start cooking and get good at it!! The only downfall to it all is I don't have a dishwasher. I know, I'm a kitchen designer, and I don't have a dishwasher...pitiful! The house that we are renting does not have one. It has a lame trash compactor instead, which I don't use. So, I got a slightly used dishwasher off of one of my jobs at work. It is sitting in the garage right now. All that needs to be done is...the trash compactor uninstalled and THROWN OUT!! and demo the drawers next to the trash compactor to make the hole big enough for the dishwasher. There is a plumber/electrician at work that has agreed to do the hook up FOR FREE! It's just all a matter of doing it. Pregnancy really disrupts the regular routine of your life. You just get so darn tired or so darn iritable that you can do any of the normal stuff you used to do. So poor J, my most awesome husband has to to a majority of the work. I have him so run down from all the stuff he has to do for me that he is worn out, burned out and tired!! Anyway, I know that the dishwasher project will get done before the baby!!
So, back to my new year's resolution...I have made a list of what I am preparing for dinner every night of this week. I also made a grocery list!! Usually when I decide to cook the grocery bill is insane. We only spent $100, and that includes my breakfasts and lunches...and J's snacks!! So for dinner I made Mexican Casserole and salad. It was really good. I was impressd with myself!! The key question is did J like it? He said it just needed a little seasoning...oh yeah, I forgot about that stuff!!
J & I also had to go buy a present for our nephew All Star "Z". It is his 11th birthday. We got him a gift certificate to Build a Bear. We all went over to R(J's brother) & E's(my sister-in-law) house and had cake. Turns our All Star "Z" spiked a fever 45 minutes before the party. Great contagious germs. Anyway it was a nice family birthday party!!!
J & I are both facing reality that we have to get back to the real world tomorrow. Why does vacation go by so fast?
-Until tomorrow

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I didn't get to blog our entire vacation because I couldn't get on the internet for the rest of the week. We were out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in Camp Verde for 2 more days. On day 3 we rode the Verde Vally Railroad. It was really beautiful. It was exhausting though. I rode in the out door car for the 1st half, my eyes were tired from squinting in the sun. The train left at 1pm and we didn't get back until 5pm. J and I got some dinner and went back to our hotel. We watched tv and relaxed. On day 4 we got up the next day and went to Jerome, AZ. It is an old copper mining town. It has a population of maybe 500. It was a neat little quaint town. We then went to a fish hatchery. Then to Sedona. J & I walked around uptown Sedona and went into all the neat little shops and had lunch too. That night we went to a cowboy dinner in Cottonwood, AZ. J & I took old west photos. They came out really cute. The dress I picked out made me look really pregnant or really fat. The dinner was good!! We had beans, baked potatoe, BBQ beef, applesauce and spice cake on a tin plate. The lemonade was in a tin cup. The show was cute too. A bunch of cowboys singing old cowboy songs like Tumbleweed and Ghostriders in the sky. The only part I didn't like was the wooden benches. I nearly died sitting on them for 1 1/2 hours. J & I slept in the motorhome tonight. It was really hard to sleep in the motorhome being pregnant. It killed my back and the bed was just too small for J & I and all my pillows. On day 5 we drove up to Williams, AZ. We drove to the Grand Canyon south rim. It was beautiful! But as the sun went down it got really cold! Wind blowin' cold. We drove back to the RV in the dark. We ate dinner at a 50s diner called Cruisers Diner on Route 66. It was really cold that night it hurt. J & I stayed at a hotel again. On day 6 we got up and ate breakfast at another 50s diner called Route 66 diner. Then we were off on our way home. We drove most of the day. Excuse me, J drove most of the day. We stopped in 29 Palms, CA. We left Williams at 10am and got to 29 Palms at 6pm. We stopped along the way and went to the Grand Canyon Caverns in Seligman, AZ. That took about 2 hours. It was really interesting. An elevator took us 21 stories down, 210 feet. It was warmer in the caves than outside. The reason it is called the Grand Canyon Caverns is it has a tunnel that ends at the Grand Canyon. At the end of the tour they turned out the lights and you couldn't see you hand in front of your face. And everything was formed around 345 million years ago...blah, blah, blah, whatever. When we got to 29 Palms we had dinner and J & I looked for something to do. We played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture...J won(as usual). On day 7 we headed home. We left at 8am and got home at 11am. We unpacked the motorhome and got lunch. We washed clothes and put everything away and did nothing for the rest of the evening. I got addicted to this new game called Aloha Solitaire. We did nothing exciting for New Years. We went to sleep at 12:15am. This morning we got up and went to the Auto Show at the convention center. It was really good exercise for me. I was exhausted afterward. J & I played with his Christmas present, the new Xbox 360 for the rest of the day. We made a fire and I have played so much Aloha Solitaire that I am sick of it. Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. Boo. Then it's back to real life.
-Until tomorrow

Day 2

Well last night J & I didn't make it to the movies last night. We had to go thru the drive thru at a Jack in the Box, because the dining room was closed. It was the only restaurant open in Surprise. We took our food back to the motorhome and ate dinner and went to bed. We were tired.
Today we got up at 8am and went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Surprise, AZ. We got some groceries and stuff. We set out at around 11:00am and drove a couple of hours. We stopped at a really nice rest stop and had lunch. The view was really nice.We drove maybe another 1/2 hour and arrived at Camp Verde, AZ. We checked in at the RV Park and drove in to Sedona. It was a beautiful drive. We then drove into Cottonwood. We found a Sizzler and had dinner. J & I found a nice hotel and checked in for the night. Time for sleep. Traveling makes you tired.
-Until tomorrow.

Day 1 VACATION!!

We left at around 11:30 this morning. We drove all day and just got to Surprise, AZ. It was a nice drive, especially when it got to be about 5pm. The sunset was absolutely beautiful!! J & I are going to the movies now to see King Kong.
-Until tomorrow

Only 2 more days left till I'm FREE!!

Today I finished up some final details on Jord. "Senior designer" called at about 10:30 and told me he had the flu and that he wouldn't be in today. He had me work on pricing and a proposal for Rich. The kitchen that was designed for Rick is really original. It is a round circular kitchen. I didn't get to work on it. I'm actually kind of bummed about it, but I realize I have more than enough. About 3 weeks ago one of our cabinet manufacturers came to our showroom. This cabinet manufacturer is my favorite. They are not a large company, but they are really awesome at what they build. I have been working with them for the past 3 years. I can't tell you who they are because "senior designer" is nervous that someone else would "steal" them from us and take time away from our projects.
Anyway, Sim was delivered today!!! Yeah!!! But one setback, I talked to the superintendant at the jobsite and he asked when the install would start. I told him tomorrow, no problem. I went to verify this with our production manager. He said that "senior designer" had taken Jack and Augi off the Sim job and put them on the Gavran job. Gavran job is one of Chica's job. (Chica is my best friend) I was so angry. "Senior designer" does what he wants, doesn't communicate the changes to me, I think we are right on schedule and tell the superintendent that install starts tomorrow like we planned, and I look like the bonehead. I called "senior designer" and told him I was sorry that he was sick, but he was going to call the superintendent and the client and tell them about his changes. Let him take the heat!! Throwing it right back at ya!!
I got the proposal done for Rich and left at around 4pm to turn in my heart monitor. I left poor M with all the documents to make changes if "senior designer" had any. M is our receptionist. She is really awesome!
We met Kaydee, THE INTIMIDATOR, Amy Jo and Scout at Fuddrucker's. It was a good time! I love hanging out with friends!!
-Until tomorrow

Almost through the week!

Today I worked on Jord all day long. I had tons of details to finish. My shoulders were in alot of pain. I pretty much stared at the computer screen all day long. I finally got the email out for a price quote at 5:25pm.
I had a doctor appointment today at 2pm. I had told the doctor awhile ago that my heart would flutter sometimes and it would also thump really hard, hesitate, then beat really fast. So she wanted me to get some test done. That was today. I had an echo cardiogram and a resting EKG. I am having to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours too. That bites. I feel like I have seran wrap wrapped around me. I get to take it off at 3pm tomorrow. It will definitely be an uncomfortable sleep tonight.
-Until tomorrow.

Already Monday again.

I can't believe how fast the weekend went. Friday night was our company Christmas Party. We all went to Hard Rock Cafe. It was a fun time!! On Saturday I had a surprise birthday party for one of my friends and a family birthday party for my Sister-In-Law. Sunday morning I watched the first half of the Charger game and then went shopping. I only lasted 2 hours. It's really no fun by yourself. J & I went to the movies and saw Chronicles of Narnia. It was so good. I loved it!!
Today at work I worked on Fish all day. I had to finish the revisions from the meeting on Friday and get the drawing to our cabinet manufacturer for pricing. I sent the email at 5:10pm.
I had Tres Tacos from Baja Fresh. Yummy!!
-Until tomorrow

Another long day.

What is the deal with long days lately?
Work was intense all day. I worked on Jord all morning. I got the 3 options done. During all this Mr. Fish called and wanted us to come to his home instead of him coming to our showroom tomorrow for our 11am appointment. I told him that would probably be fine, but I had to check with "senior designer" first just to make sure. "Senior designer" was with a client and the meeting had just started when Mr. Fish called. I told Mr. Fish that "Senior designer" would probably be an hour or so and as soon as the appointment was over I would call him to confirm. Well an hour goes by. He asks me very sternly, why hasn't "Senior designer" called him. I told him that he was still in a meeting. Mr. Fish went off...I've had it, either you come to my house tomorrow morning or I want a full refund, I want an answer, all the plans better be done, this is ridiculous, I want this project done. The man just paid his design fee like a week before Thanksgiving. We have already had a conceptual meeting with him and his wife (they showed up unannounced expecting us to drop everything for them, luckily "senior designer" was at the office and of course he did drop everything for them.) So, I just calmly tell him there is nothing I can do until "senior designer" gets out of the appointment. Another hour goes by, he calls again. Our receptionist tells him that "senior designer" is still in the appointment. He tells her this is unacceptable. She asks him if he wants to talk to our office manager. (I lover her for doing this, at least I didn't have to talk to him again) He said yes. You don't want to mess with our office manager. He is a retired drill instructer!! So "senior designer" finally got out of the appointment and we tell him what happened. He called Mr. Fish and told him that he never breaks from an appointment for a phone call, but as soon as the appointment is over that will be his first phone call. Clients like this are so hard to enjoy working with.
Our appointment went well with Jord. She brought her daughter who just passed the bar in Boston.
It's late. J is sitting over my shoulder sighing loudly!!! Time for bed!!
-Until tomorrow

Long day.

Today was a long day. J was in LA at Dacor training, so I was by myself. He had gotten up at 6:15 yesterday morning. The alarm went off at 6:15am this morning for me. I don't get up until 7am. I know it is only 45 minutes, but 45 minutes is precious to me!! I haven't been sleeping well since I got pregnant. I just wake up in the middle of the night a couple of times for no reason and it's hard to get back to sleep. I would love to be able to sleep in a little on Saturday mornings but my internal clock wakes me up at 7am. Of course on work days I could sleep a little longer if I could.
At work we had a really good debate going this morning. The subject...God!! I thought it was awesome! A couple of the installers were talking about free will and sin and a ton of other stuff! It was really cool!!
I have a lot of new jobs. Here are a few new jobs I worked on today...Jord, Fish, and Mudd. We are only in the conceptual stage. We have an appointmen with Jord tomorrow. I have 2 more floorplan options to do for the the meeting at 2pm.
Sim gets delivered on Monday!! Yeah! I'm really excited about this one. We have been dealing with the Sims for 3 years now. They signed their proposal and contracts in 2003. They bought a really large house in a really nice neighborhood and tore it down to the studs. They have added onto it. The view is incredible. We are doing the kitchen, breakfast nook, butler's pantry, living room bar and theater bar.
Ken is almost complete! Ken is my favorite client. Mrs. Ken is awesome. She never complains ever. She is on my perfect client list. The tile guy finished the floor and the backsplash today!! The closet is being installed tomorrow and all the plumbing needs to be done. The glass enclosure for the shower is all that will be left. It will be installed the Wednesday after Christmas. We promised her that her master bathroom would be done by Christmas. I am going to get "Senior designer" to call her tomorrow and tell her the bad news. Hopefully she will stay on my perfect client list!
Tonight was our potluck at small group. The food was REALLY good!! We exchanged gifts and had a wonderful time!! Sunrise gave me a ton of baby "stuff". IT begins!!
I actually feel like a normal person and lately forget that I'm pregnant. The only thing that reminds me is how tired I get and I have no pants that fit. Speaking of tired..I am. Goodnight...
-Until tomorrow