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April 21, 2010

So proud of Tim!

After almost a year of prep and bargaining he just finished negotiating a KILLER contract. It included groundbreaking language and most importantly the nurses themselves had to participate in collective action to get it.

Just two years ago he was feeling stifled and stuck in a job (that I still hold) and took a leap to apply for one at his current employer. He’s rocking out and loving every minute of it. We’re both so lucky to have jobs with maximum flexibility, but I’m really proud that he’s found a place that appreciates what he has to offer and that challenges him every day.

I had a horrible thought in the shower this morning though. Since both of our jobs require working the weeks before an election, will we ever be able to take our munchkin trick or treating? Will we have to set up a new tradition that grandma takes him trick or treating every year? Do people even trick or treat in SF? We’ve never had a knock at our door.

Our Virginia Adventure Continued...

Between my discomfort in the car and Tim’s “exhaustion” we were a pretty big mess. We found a starbucks in Raleigh (decaf for me and highly caffeinated for Tim) and got on our way to Tazewell to meet his grandparents. I adore Tim’s mom and was really looking forward to an afternoon with her.

We arrived in Tazewell exactly on time and I met his grandparents, his Aunt Peg, and his uncle. We were expecting pizza delivery (so his grandmother didn’t have to put herself out), but she instead cooked up a feast for us. We had country ham, mac and cheese, salad, creamed corn, cabbage, biscuits, and banana pudding (I know there was more, but I forget what it was). I was SHOCKED to see Tim eat the ham, but weeks later he’s still talking about it. We chatted for a bit and were surprised when his mom brought us some gifts to open! She knitted turner a beautiful baby blanket and also presented us with the blanket that Tim’s grandmother made for him when he was a baby. It is in such perfect condition I can hardly believe it is 37 years old!

She also gave us an AMAZINGLY beautiful rattle. Hand carved out of wood by an artist. It just goes to show how perfect Tim’s mom is. She really “gets” us and knew that a rattle made of beautiful wood would be so appreciated by us. I hate to let our little muffin get his hands on it and want to just display it, but if I know Eunice, she’ll want him to play with it.

We got to go on a tour of Tazewell and see all the places she had lived, the churches, schools and visited the Tazewell museum. Tim was starting to look a little funky at this point but didn’t want his mom to know and I was starting to melt as well. We went to a little park and ate early birthday rum cake (SO GOOD) and chatted before we had to drop off his mom for her three hour trip back to Knoxville.

By this time we headed out again on an hour long trip to his dad’s house in Narrows, VA. His dad’s house is like a vacation wonderland (I can imagine renting a house like this for a weekend in CA would be hundreds of dollars). We had a great dinner and snuggled into bed. Tim looked horrible at this point. In the morning after a night of me worrying and Tim groaning through the night, we took his temp and it was 102.6. I decided it was time to go to the hospital.

Long story short: We were told after blood tests and xrays that Tim either had a blood clot in his lung or pneumonia. After additional testing, we found out it was pneumonia, got some IV antibiotics and left.

It was a long day and with my pregnant self and Tim’s illness, we spent the rest of our vacation in bed.

The three hour drive back to Raleigh was tough. We were both pretty sick, but I got to finally stop at the Cracker Barrel and if I could have I would have just eaten their biscuits forever (how do they make them so fluffy and magical in the South?).

The plane ride home was the longest plane ride I’ve ever had. Tim was SO sick on the ride home and we had to switch positions for the first time in seven months. I was the caretaker and he was the patient. It was good to know I could buck up in times of need, but you better believe we both needed DAYS of rest after this trip.

April 7, 2010

Ice cream

I can still eat ice cream, and bread, and five taste chicken from melisas!

We had our gestational diabetes screen today and THANK GOODNESS I passed. I usually eat several times throughout the night and first thing in the morning so having to wait until 8:15 to eat was rough. My blood sugar was so low (57 I think?) that the midwife was like "eat girl eat!" when she saw it. After I ate some granola, yogurt, and banana and we waited (and chatted) for two hours. We passed with flying colors.

Also got blood taken. Makes me LOVE LOVE LOVE midwifery and can't imagine having to go to Kaiser to deal with this instead.

April 6, 2010

Traveling

Tim and I just got back from a four day trip to rural virginia. I don't know if the folks there would consider it rural, but it was pretty remote. Tim thought I would be surprised by how remote it was and how "country" everything seemed, but in reality, it was pretty much like a lot of Sonoma County. While it was all beautiful, I'm thrilled to live where I live and climbing into my own bed on Saturday night at 11pm was one of the best feelings in the world.

I was really nervous about flying Southwest pregnant. I'm pretty uncomfortable generally, so 6 hours on a plane seemed horrifying. The great things was PREBOARDING! I got on each plane first, got to get the fabulous front row seats, and stretch my legs the whole time. I was worried about being without food, so I bought a ton of snacks and packed a mini cooler with vegis, cheese, and hummus. Since you can't bring ice through security, I would fill up a large ziplock with ice when we got through and it would last a long time! Everything stayed cold and fresh!

When we got to Raleigh we stayed in a great little B&B - it was a little pricier than what we tend to stay in, but well worth the money. We went to eat some BBQ (which was heavenly), but Tim wasn't looking so hot, so we went home early.

I got concerned about him as he was falling asleep (he just looked a little funny and was saying strange things), but he assured me it was just exhaustion and went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was burning up. We were up the rest of the night trying to bring down his fever. By morning, he was convinced he was fine, just a little tired, and we continued on our journey.

to be continued.