Baby Pool!

I found this website online, and thought it would be a lot of fun to try. It's basically an online baby pool, like the ones I remember my family members doing when I was a kid. Of course, there's no money involved, but there's also no arguing over who was closest. When the baby is born, we just enter in the time, date, and other info, and the site will calculate the winner. If you are interested in making a guess, just go to http://expectnet.com and search for BabyPower2 (case sensitive, no spaces). I look forward to seeing your guesses. Just remember - I'm due on February 24th, and so far have had a healthy, normal pregnancy, so the baby should be well into the average range for size and weight :) Have a happy day!

Baby Update!

Alan giving his baby brother a hug
Baby belly at almost 28 weeks :)

This one's just for fun...Alan as a pirate (though he removed the pirate hat and put on his sunglasses )

UC Baby pic at 24 weeks

Here he's yawning. So cool!

Quick baby update! I'm currently at 28 weeks (12 to go!) and everything is mostly going well. I have to have another ultrasound in a couple weeks to check on the location of my placenta (it was low last time, and started out low again this time. Should migrate up like it did with Alan, and all will be fine). The 3-D ultrasound with UC Baby was awesome, and there is NO denying that we are having a boy. Alan is still excited about having a baby brother, although he does keep telling me that his baby brother is a robot for some unknown reason.... At any rate, things are going well and we're gearing up for Christmas. Alan even sat on Santa's lap yesterday!

Alan's third birthday!

New haircut and ready to go

We had Alan's third birthday at the Treehouse Cafe this weekend,and he definitely had a blast. There were 9 kids at the party to play on the indoor playground, eat cake, and help Alan open presents. After the party we headed over to Nanny Power's for our first of two Thanksgiving dinners. When all was said and done and we made it back to Grandma's, Alan was so tuckered out he napped in my arms for a most of an hour. It was a great day, and a lovely weekend. Now I am home getting ready for the week and Alan is at Aunt Linny's house for a few more days, since he wasn't willing to come home! Oh...and in case you didn't hear, in another twenty weeks or so Alan will have a baby brother!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Just a quick note to wish a Happy 4th Anniversary to my hubby. I love you more every day. Can't wait to see you with another little baby in your arms! Hugs!!

Alan Playing Wii

Alan always feel left out when Mommy and Daddy are playing on the Wii, so today I let him try the cycling on Wii Sports Resort. All You have to do for this one is move your hands up and down as if you are pedalling, and lean left or right to steer. Oh, and if you go too fast, you run out of breath. He had a great time, even if he did get progressively closer to the tv every time! More pics posted on Facebook here .

9 weeks and 1 day...

Obviously, from the title, I'm just over 9 weeks pregnant now. But let me tell you, I already feel like I'm twice that. When I was pregnant for Alan I didn't even find out until I was farther than this (Ok, so I was a little slow on the uptake), but I sure don't remember feeling like this! Basically, I'm just really really really tired, very queasy, kinda cranky, and I've already got a bit of a bump happening (although how much of that is still from child #1 I don't know :P ). Now to top it off, I am getting a cold. Grumble. Ah well. I know that in a few weeks I should be feeling better. Now if the weather would perk up a little, it would definitely lift my spirits, and getting Alan outside to play would definitely calm him down a little. The little bugger has decided that he will only nap at the sitter's. Think it has something to do with the playpen, since he can't get out of it. Here he just gets out of bed and plays for a while. And toilet training? Forget it. After a few pairs of underwear in a day, I give up (embarassed face). But I try it again the next day :) He'll get the hang of it eventually, I know.

On a brighter note, Tina and Rob and the boys are due home in less than a week for a visit. Soooo excited to see everyone. Now I just have to figure out when we can all get together! Also, on August first, our friend Shawn is coming to stay with us for a while. He's looking to get a job here in Amherst. Alan is super excited, as are we. Should be fun! And, to top it off, we are going to have a huge crew of people here the following weekend (Aug 7 - 10). Two friends of ours from the states (whom we were introduced to through that online game we play) are coming for a visit. As such, the rest of the group we play with are coming as well, to make a party out of it. Tim and Julie are even bringing Al and May's camper! We're pretty psyched, obviously. Right now I'm trying to plan a whole bunch of meal items that I can cook in advance (if possible), will feed a ton of people, and be pleasing to a wide variety of eaters. So far, I've come up with chili, meatballs, turkey (I'll cook it in advance to have the meat for sandwhiches and maybe casserole), lots of cut up veggies, pasta salad, and potato salad. I also think I may make spaghetti one night. I'm also tossing around the idea of making (or begging my mom to make) a seafood chowder, since the guys are coming up from the US, but I don't know. I'll have to see if they like seafood or not. I'd hate to not give them a taste of the maritimes (even if I hate it). Anyway, I'd appreciate any meal ideas anyone has out there! I'm also dropping Alan off at mom's that weekend, since I need his bedroom, and would like to relax with everybody a little.

At any rate, that's my rant for the day. Now off to find another way to avoid all the laundry and housekeeping I really need to be doing!

And three will be four....

Yep you see it! It looks like the Power family will be growing (again). I am 8 weeks along right now, and due on February 24th. So far I've been feeling really queasy and tired, but hoping that will pass in the next few weeks. I know most of the people that read this probably knew already, but I wanted to wait until after my first offical pre-natal appointment to announce it publicly :) I will definitely keep you all updated as things progress!

New Haircut!

This is the Before picture...

During the Haircut...

Look Mommy, all done!
Posing


Side view!

Alan got his hair cut today at a place called Sharkey's...it's really neat because the kids can sit in cars and watch tv while they get their hair cut. Afterwards, he got a tattoo and a balloon, as well. It was a really cool little place and I'm sure we'll go back. I find he's looking even more like Colby now that his hair is short! Should be good for the summer though. I think he's rockin' the spikes, but he wants his hat on all the time. It should be interesting how we work that one out! At any rate, it's time to wrangle Alan and Nathan into their beds for naptime, and get the house ready for BJ's birthday supper (better late than never!).

Summer is here....and I am back!

Apple blossoms along our driveway
Alan and Nathan

Cool flower in our garden

Peony flower in the garden

Alan showing off his tattoo (or Pattoo as he calls it)

So....I've decided to try to revive my blog this summer. Hopefully I'll be able to update it much more frequently. Except, of course, when I'm at the cottage. After all, I'm expecting there will be lots to keep you updated on (wink wink). For now, I'm watching Super Why with Alan and avoiding the house work I've been putting off for a week or two while school was finishing up. Looking forward to going to the cottage next week and chilling by the lake. Will Post again soon!

Yay for Tractors!

Thanks to the centimetres and centimetres of falling snow, Carman came over just after supper to plow our driveway (thank you Carman!) with his tractor. As per usual, Alan started running to the window yelling "Carman's here!! Carman's here! With his Tractor!!" as soon as he heard him. Once he was done, Carman popped in to say hi (and snag a loaf of fresh bread, of course), and asked Alan if he wanted to come see the tractor. Normally, Alan won't go near it, and often is a little shy of Carman as well. Today, however, he went right for it. He put his boots and coat on as fast as he could and was in Carman's arms fast as you could blink. He got to steer, raise/lower the bucket, and then Carman took him for a drive to the end of the road and back. What a lucky boy! As Tina observed on facebook, I must be becoming more and more like her, because I was outside, in a snowstorm, in my Pyjamas taking pictures, of course. Thanks again, Carman!

pics

Trees outside our place after the ice storm

Eating Burger King by candlelight when we had no power

At Church, where a cross was dedicated to Scott's memory

Alan doesn't seem to be a big fan of Grandma's driving
Cody!!

Alan and Nathan after a sleepover. Tight Squeeze!

Crawling through the tube at the Treehouse Cafe. A Super cool place, where we have already booked Alan's birthday party in October!


Me and Alan coming down the slide

With Nanny in one of Daddy's former sweaters

The Whole Story

I have to say that what I have been through in the last few weeks did nothing to help my previously slow-improving feeling towards dentists. As I stated in the last post, I had my wisdom teeth out on February 5th. I had put it off for about ten years, as I have an extreme phobia of dentists, likely stemming from a bad root canal experience, and a stream of holier-than-thou bad attitude dentists when I was a little younger. But, as I have made a commitment to improve my dental health, this was a step I needed to take.

The initial surgery seemed to go well, and I was slightly swollen on my left side (one tooth out there) but not at all on the right when I went back to work about four days after having them out. The extraction itself was quick and relatively painless, as they gave me some drug that would have made me not care if Adolf Hitler himself was doing the extraction with a pair of pliers. At any rate, things seemed to be going ok, and healing nicely.

A couple weeks after everything had healed, it started to swell and get really sore again, to the point where I was back to living on tylenol and advil every four hours. Around the 5th of March, I went to a family Doctor for some prescription refills, and he had a look. He figured it was an abscess and prescribed antibiotics, but also said I should get to my dentist, pronto. Ok. The next day, I went to see my Dentist (Dr. #2), and he said that the antibiotics should take care of it, but if it didn't get better in two days, or if it got worse, to go straight to the ER. Yay.

That was a Thursday, and the next day we went to Mom's for the weekend (the church was dedicating a cross to Scott's memory). On Sunday, though, I was in agony and went to the ER in Amherst upon returning there. Dr. #3 saw me (after about five hours) and said that he couldn't really tell what was going on without a better way of looking at it, and so scheduled me for a Catscan the next day. The catscan led me to Dr. #4 (incidentally, I have taught two of his sons, and his wife was my doctor and the prenatal clinic), who showed me what looked like Osteomyelitis of the jaw (infection in the bone), but wanted a consult with the Oral Maxillofacial clinic in Halifax where I had the original surgery done. Sigh. Back to Hfx less than 24 hours after leaving.

So. On March 10th, I see Dr. #5 (Much to my dismay. I didn't particularly like this guy), the OMF resident. He told me that they "See this all the time" and just upped my dose of antibiotics, but was nice enough to give me some Tylenol 3 when I burst into tears on the examination table. I'm sorry, but when you're in agony, you don't want to hear "we see this all the time" and "why would they want a catscan?" in equally derisive tones. If they see this all the time, they need a bigger freakin' hospital, let me tell you. But I went home, sore, swollen, and with another appointment to come back in a couple of days.

OK. Thursday, the 12th, next appointment. My face is MORE sore, and MORE swollen. The antibiotics are obviously NOT working. DUH!! (can you sense the frustration? I thought you could....) Enter Dr. #6, whom Jessie refers to as "the cute one" (she's right, he was). He decided to do a surgical drainage. Yay. More surgery (but more happy drugs too!). He also inserted a drain into the infected area. Ready for the super icky part? The drain opened into my mouth with the consistency of a wet noodle, and that's where the infection drained. Well I'm sorry if it sounds gross, it tasted worse. Oh, and more Tylenol 3. And told to come back on Monday to have the drain taken out. Woo freakin Hoo.

So I attempt to put a positive spin on the next round of swelling (By this time, I look like a Klump from the Nutty Professor with Eddy Murphy on the left side of my head), and try to assume that it's from the latest round of surgery. By Saturday, though, when Alan and BJ are back visiting me, I'm in agony, the Tylenol 3 isn't working, and I can't sleep, eat, or open my mouth enough to get my puffer in. So Lindsay calls the OMF resident on call and he agrees to see me. So I"m off to see doctor #7. He takes a look, knows I'm in pain, and is perched atop a fence as to what to do with me. On the one hand there is a LOT of swelling. On the other, its mostly a "soft" swelling and could very well be from the surgery (Infection is usually a firmer swelling and hot to the touch, apparently). He argued back and forth with himself a bit, but decided to prescribe some Dilautid for the pain (yay) and send me back home (sigh). Well. I took 4mg of the stuff right away (and by this time I'm having to convince the pharmacist that Im not a narcotics addict, since I"ve had 3 prescriptions from 3 doctors at 3 different pharmacies) and was marginally better. But I still didn't sleep, and in the morning I was taking 6mg, and still vertical. I guess this was a red flag to Lindsay, though, and she insisted that I come to the ER that night to see another doctor.

Alan went home with BJ, and Momma took me into the ER. Lindsay had me see a wonderful Doctor (#8?), who immediately grasped the seriousness of the problem. The swelling was now hard and warm, and I was almost in constant tears from the pain and pressure, as well as just plain old frustration. So he gets on the phone with the OMF resident on call (dr #7 from the day before) who says that he "almost" admitted me, and would be right there. Finally...some relief in the form of Morphine :P . They had a look at me, took a culture, and admitted me to the hospital. I took a fun little ambulance transfer to the VG site, and put in a dingy little hospital room, but all by myself, thankfully.

The next morning, after a restless night, I met Dr. #9, who appears to be in charge of patients on the OMF floor. He was a nice guy, attended by dr's 5 and 6, as well as a host of students and probably other residents. He decided they would do another surgical drainage and insert a new drain. Surprisingly, it worked very well. That afternoon I was feeling much better, and managing the pain on Tylenol and advil again. They also switched my antibiotics, but since it was a type where people who are allergic to penicillin may react to it, they were a little nervous, and had a nurse with me for the hour the IV was running.

I have been thinking that I must have scared a few of the doctors, because that afternoon I met Dr. #10, the guy "in charge". The nurse said he "never comes to see patients", and yet he knew every single thing that had happened to me over the past week or two. She also told me that 3 or 4 doctors were calling the floor to check on me throughout the day. We see this all the time, though, what?

At any rate, to sum it up a little quicker, they kept me in the hospital until that Thursday (the 19th), and let me out only if I promised to stay in town for another week and come in for frequent checkups. So that's how I had the week before March break off, spent the weekend of in the hospital, and the week after off as well. Now, I'm allowed to go back on Monday, but have to come back in two weeks for a final checkup. With any luck, it's completely done by then. I still have a bit of a lump on my face, but nothing like it was. And that, I think, is the WHOLE story, of ten doctors and a swollen head!

Hello again!

Hello again...sorry for the hiatus. Between the wisdom teeth and the winter blahs, I haven't been doing much worth blogging about. I'll try to do better! For now, I've posted some pics on facebook...which you can see if you follow the following links:

1. Alan Cam (all taken by himself)
2. Feb Pics (mostly OF himself!)

I'd put them on here but I've been procrastinating with my marking and should really get to that as opposed to waiting for them to upload here for the second time tonight!

Big Boy Bed!!!!

Helping daddy put it togetherHe wanted to crawl in before it was completely put together

Before the blankets are on, giving it a shot
"sleeping"

Alan had his first night in his big boy bed last night. After a couple of hours of frustration getting it together (stupid pre-fab furniture. Screw holes never line up.), Alan couldn't even wait to get blankets on it before he tried it out. I was a little worried that he would be out of bed a hundred or so times last night, but after four times up knocking at the door, he did settle in and go to sleep. He took about an hour and a half or so, but he often stays up almost that long talking to himself anyway. We also made sure to put a doorknob cover on the inside of his door so he can't get out in the middle of the night and go wandering around the house while we're sleeping downstairs. Here's hoping that the rest of the next few nights are as easy!

Exam Time!

As anyone I've been talking to recently already knows, it is exam time again. Today, my Advanced Math 11 kids wrote their exam. They made me promise to bring my camera, and I'm glad I did. I'm calling these kids my "dream team", since they are all done up for the intense workout that is my Math exam. I nearly fell over when I saw them today, and not just because they look like a bad 80's Aerobics video! I love the fact that they are wearing tank tops when it's -25 degrees outside. Finally some people who appreciate my math jokes!

P.S. They all did great on their exams (which are marked already...woo hoo), and I got their express permission to blog this!

Pics from Lately

Alan (aka Michelin Man Junior) Showing off his muscles before leaving for the sitter's.
Smiling for the camera

Using the stool daddy built to brush his teeth

My Beautiful sleeping baby...After next week he'll be in a bed instead of a crib.

Eating nuggets, watching Cars. This could be any one of five or so days last week!

Christmas in Pictures

Well. Here I am on the last day of my Christmas vacation trying to complete all the "stuff" I was going to do before now. Oops - again. It always seems to happen that way, doesn't it? Ah well. The last couple of weeks have been insanely busy, with being home for the first week or more and then back here to guests and a New Year's party to prepare. Fun, as always, but I am never quite ready to go back. I really enjoy visiting with people over the holidays, and having more than a day or two to do it. Even though I still don't get to see everyone I want to. Alan took a while to re-adjust to being home, but he is slowly settiling into being my nice, polite, happy boy again, instead of the little hitting devil-child he was for a couple of days. Although, as I'm sure Tina can sympathize with, he has now discovered the Cars movie and wants to watch it 18 times a day. I borrowed Julie and Tim's copy and now I'm going to buy one so he doesn't wear it out. Ah well...it's a break from Diego and Pablo at any rate. Apart from that, my newest obesession is the Twilight series of books that my mom bought for me. I got all four for Christmas and had them read in three days. I'm now reading them for the second time ( and almost done the third one...eesh) and watched the movie a couple times as well!

I haven't made any specific New Year's resolutions, unless it's to try posting a bit more and eating a bit less. But as I said, nothing rock hard. More or less, I just want to try a little harder to do those things I know I should do, and don't quite manage all the time. Well, it's time to make supper. I'll do my best to keep it current. Happy 2009!!!!!

Alan and Daddy eating breakfast on New Year's day
Alan with Auntie Linny

Joey's Christmas presents gave Alan and Nathan hours of fun.

Kisses for Nanny

Me, Alan, BJ, Kass, and Madeleine

Yay for cars! Thank you Nanny!

He's a pro at opening presents now

Look! A Diego Train!

Bruno, Diddy, Alan, Nanny, Nathan

Me and B and my staff Christmas Party