Thursday, February 25, 2010
you know how i know you are pregnant?
I cooked my second meal tonight! Boy, is it hard to feel like cooking after working a full day! Sheesh! It was nothing to fancy, just some bowtie noodles with broccoli and cauliflower with an 4 cheese alfredo sauce. Sorry to admit, the sauce was bought from the store... I mean how many people make their own sauce? So I am not considering this a shortcut! hmph! But I timed it perfectly, this may be the very first time I have EVER done this even considering a grilled cheese/soup night. Everything was ready at the same time and I have to say I was very impressed! It was delicious and there is enough left over for lunch tomorrow! I can definitely feel myself getting more comfortable and defintiely not asking Rick as many questions. So maybe my plan is working!
On a different note, my energy has definitely started coming back. I can tell a HUGE difference at school... I have felt like dancing, singing and playing more in the afternoons than I have in a few months. I am definitely all around a lot more chipper than I have been. Even on the days I am feeling a little under the weather I find it easier to fight because it hasn't been happening as often.
I don't think my doctor has to worry about me losing weight anymore. I seem to have taken on the appetite of a pubescent 16-year-old football player. When I am not eating, I am thinking about what I can eat next! I even managed to visually turn a muddy snow covered street into a crumb cake... which was immediately proceeded by various, "You know how I know you are pregnant..." jokes.
I have noticed that I can barely sit criss-cross-applesauce (formally known is the un-p.c. "indian style") for more than a few minutes before my feet fall asleep. Sometimes they fall asleep just reading a book to my class in a chair. Now I am beginning to realize why all the girls at work tell me to prop up my feet as often as I can!
I have noticed I get a headache about every 2 hours and I believe it is always a different reason. It could be the fact that one boy in my class does not have an inside voice or sometimes it is that pregnancy turns sinuses into cement and therefore it cannot move which causes serious pressure. Each one feels like it won't get better... and promptly followed by my new favorite candy, Tylenol, even though it barely puts a dent in it.
So enough with my negativity. I definitley don't mean to complain. I am simply trying to be honest about what really is happening! I find when people ask how I am feeling and I say "Fine!" they stand there and wait for me to continue! It is crazy how the sypmtoms just do not compare to the anticipation of having a baby that is half me and half Rick. We both feel so lucky that this is a possibility in our lives. Having already made the commitment of getting married, it really feels like small potatoes compared to the commitment we are embarking on now. Although marriage is a commitment made for a lifetime it is so different taking on a life that is COMPLETELY dependent and I am sure we don't even know the half of it yet!
I am continuely reminded of how blessed we are and Bebo isn't even here yet! Speaking of Bebo... I think we have maybe found a name! We are going to sit on it a few months and see if we still love it but it feels right! :)
Well, I am going to go back to my night in with my 2 favorite boys! I cannot wait to add a third into the mix!
Hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and loved.
Love,
your blessed richmond rices.
On a different note, my energy has definitely started coming back. I can tell a HUGE difference at school... I have felt like dancing, singing and playing more in the afternoons than I have in a few months. I am definitely all around a lot more chipper than I have been. Even on the days I am feeling a little under the weather I find it easier to fight because it hasn't been happening as often.
I don't think my doctor has to worry about me losing weight anymore. I seem to have taken on the appetite of a pubescent 16-year-old football player. When I am not eating, I am thinking about what I can eat next! I even managed to visually turn a muddy snow covered street into a crumb cake... which was immediately proceeded by various, "You know how I know you are pregnant..." jokes.
I have noticed that I can barely sit criss-cross-applesauce (formally known is the un-p.c. "indian style") for more than a few minutes before my feet fall asleep. Sometimes they fall asleep just reading a book to my class in a chair. Now I am beginning to realize why all the girls at work tell me to prop up my feet as often as I can!
I have noticed I get a headache about every 2 hours and I believe it is always a different reason. It could be the fact that one boy in my class does not have an inside voice or sometimes it is that pregnancy turns sinuses into cement and therefore it cannot move which causes serious pressure. Each one feels like it won't get better... and promptly followed by my new favorite candy, Tylenol, even though it barely puts a dent in it.
So enough with my negativity. I definitley don't mean to complain. I am simply trying to be honest about what really is happening! I find when people ask how I am feeling and I say "Fine!" they stand there and wait for me to continue! It is crazy how the sypmtoms just do not compare to the anticipation of having a baby that is half me and half Rick. We both feel so lucky that this is a possibility in our lives. Having already made the commitment of getting married, it really feels like small potatoes compared to the commitment we are embarking on now. Although marriage is a commitment made for a lifetime it is so different taking on a life that is COMPLETELY dependent and I am sure we don't even know the half of it yet!
I am continuely reminded of how blessed we are and Bebo isn't even here yet! Speaking of Bebo... I think we have maybe found a name! We are going to sit on it a few months and see if we still love it but it feels right! :)
Well, I am going to go back to my night in with my 2 favorite boys! I cannot wait to add a third into the mix!
Hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and loved.
Love,
your blessed richmond rices.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
So I said not to run out a buy everything blue since we aren't quite 100% sure Bebo is a boy. But for $4, I really couldn't resist.
How perfect is this? Especially with a Daddy like Rick! He, of course, loved it!
Bebo already has 2 other t-shirts, a pair of khakis, 2 skully onesies and even a pair of swimming trunks! Slowly but surely we are building a wardrobe! The next thing on my list of must-haves... Vans softies!
I cannot wait to get some little checked vans for Bebo to rock and purple sneakers for LSU games of course, but I guess I will have to wait until our doctor is 100% Bebo is a boy!
Can you tell we are starting to get really excited?? It makes it so much more real knowing the gender! But we still have 2 more months to know for sure and then the huge task of picking out all the important things comes, like car seats, strollers and cribs!
It feels like we are going to have a baby before we know it, time is flying by! I guess that is why the preparation is 9 months!
That is all from this extremely excited mom-to-be!
Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful afternoon.
Love,
your too-excited richmond rices.
finding a place to fit...
So... we are really jumping into our church community. As I have posted before, Rick has joined the contemporary service's band and really been enjoying himself. They seem to appreciate his musical talent!
To say that I am not a little bit jealous of Rick would be lying. I am definitely happy he has found a place that he fits but I have been feeling a little bit like I don't have my own. People at church know me as Rick's wife and I find myself introducing myself as "Erin, my husband plays the guitar in the band, Rice."
I have been trying to tune into God's voice, listening for where he would like me to be. The obvious place is to offer help with the children's sunday school. But I don't want to just pick something, I want it to be where I am supposed to be. Then, 2 weeks ago there was only 1 service due to the snow. And during the announcements part of the service, a lady stands up and asks if someone could help with the "young germy children". They are going to sing a few songs for Palm Sunday and need an adult to volunteer to lead them.
This was my chance to get involved! This might even help me see if I am called to help with the Sunday School, since I will get be able to get to know the children as well as their parents.
Today, I met with the choir director and it seems I will be leading the Kindergarteners as well as the first graders in their Palm Sunday Program!
Now maybe, in addition to being "Erin, Rick's wife..." or "Erin, my husband's in the band..." I will also be "Erin, she is wonderful with the children!"
We also signed up to help serve dinner one night when we host 40 CARITAS men at our church.
I am starting to feel like the more I involve myself in this church community, the more they will involve theirselves with us, a road that goes both ways, a road the is important to us as we start our family.
We hope this finds everybody happy, healthy and feeling as loved as we do on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon!
Love,
your God-lovin' richmond rices.
To say that I am not a little bit jealous of Rick would be lying. I am definitely happy he has found a place that he fits but I have been feeling a little bit like I don't have my own. People at church know me as Rick's wife and I find myself introducing myself as "Erin, my husband plays the guitar in the band, Rice."
I have been trying to tune into God's voice, listening for where he would like me to be. The obvious place is to offer help with the children's sunday school. But I don't want to just pick something, I want it to be where I am supposed to be. Then, 2 weeks ago there was only 1 service due to the snow. And during the announcements part of the service, a lady stands up and asks if someone could help with the "young germy children". They are going to sing a few songs for Palm Sunday and need an adult to volunteer to lead them.
This was my chance to get involved! This might even help me see if I am called to help with the Sunday School, since I will get be able to get to know the children as well as their parents.
Today, I met with the choir director and it seems I will be leading the Kindergarteners as well as the first graders in their Palm Sunday Program!
Now maybe, in addition to being "Erin, Rick's wife..." or "Erin, my husband's in the band..." I will also be "Erin, she is wonderful with the children!"
We also signed up to help serve dinner one night when we host 40 CARITAS men at our church.
I am starting to feel like the more I involve myself in this church community, the more they will involve theirselves with us, a road that goes both ways, a road the is important to us as we start our family.
We hope this finds everybody happy, healthy and feeling as loved as we do on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon!
Love,
your God-lovin' richmond rices.
look at bebo now!
Interested in pregnancy? Read about being
10 weeks pregnant, 20 weeks pregnant,
30 weeks pregnant and 40 weeks pregnant.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
lent: meal 1/13
If you know me, you know how much I hate raw meat. Raw chicken and hamburger really gross me out, which makes it quite difficult to cook. In fact, the one time I have cooked raw chicken I had to use a fork and knife to move it from the container to the pain because the though of touching that slimy, gooey meat (with the weird tough skin) REALLY grossed me out. So this is one of the many fears I hope to get rid of with my lenten commitment.
With that being said, I am not going to start on my first meal. In fact, I am going to save the meat for when I get a little more comfortable in the kitchen!
I have decided just to do 1 meal this week since technically, Lent begins halfway through the week, today to be exact.
With that being said, I am not going to start on my first meal. In fact, I am going to save the meat for when I get a little more comfortable in the kitchen!
I have decided just to do 1 meal this week since technically, Lent begins halfway through the week, today to be exact.
For my first meal, I am going to keep it vegetarian (for the above reasons).
Fettuccine with Peas, Shallots and Herbs
picture: realsimple.com
I made this once before last Spring when Rick was working out of town. But to be honest, I remember skipping some steps and not following the recipe like I should, but I also remember it being pretty good as well! So, this seems like the perfect starting point.
I will be sure to let you know it turns out!
Love,
your cooking-crazed richmond rices.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
blackberry band wagon!
Yes, that is correct! Rick and I jumped on the blackberry band wagon today. We both had upgrades and with the buy one get one special going on and the $100 credit I earned for waiting to use my upgrade, we got 2 blackberry curves FOR FREE!!
Rick of course got the black one and I got the purple one.
We walked into Verizon today hoping to get Rick a new phone because his has been turning off whenever it feels like it. But with a great deal like that, we just couldn't pass it up!
So if you too are on the blackberry band wagon, here are our pins:
Erin - 312314CA
Rick - 312601FD
BBM us and let us know you are a blackberry person, too!
Love,
your technologically-advanced richmond rices.
Rick of course got the black one and I got the purple one.
So if you too are on the blackberry band wagon, here are our pins:
Erin - 312314CA
Rick - 312601FD
BBM us and let us know you are a blackberry person, too!
Love,
your technologically-advanced richmond rices.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
sinus pressure?
Apparently the so-called migraine I have been experiencing is actually sinus pressure. My doctor thinks with my high sensitivity to things like mold, dust and pollen (I believe you all remember the horrible picture of my back from my allergy testing) is causing sinus pressure (this is the non-too-much-information explanation). So the suggestion is to try a sinus cleanse to relieve the build-up, so I plan to do that this afternoon. Hopefully, it will work.
I am a little bit relieved to have found a natural remedy because I would really prefer not to pump a bunch of medicine in Bebo's little developing body, so hopefully it works.
In other OB news, we got to hear the heart beat! Such a different thing to hear it and to see it. Pretty amazing! I believe it is finally starting to really settle in that we are going to have baby!
I also found out I am part of the 9% of women that lose weight in the first trimester. I have lost a total of 8lbs since our first OB appointment on Jan. 4th. (If only I could do that when I am not pregnant). So far they do not seem worried, they just wanted to make sure I am keeping food down. They said they won't get concerned unless it continues throughout the pregnancy.
So, I took that as the green light to eat an apple pie sundae at the restaurant last night! I have been staying clear of most sweets and other indulgences because of the empty calories but it was soooo nice to indulge and the sundae was delicious!
So today I am back on my good eating so that I don't gain a bunch of unwanted weight and will change my diet accordingly if necessary, but my OB says when it is needed to gain weight I will no problem, so nothing to be too concerned about!
Well I will keep everyone posted as this pregnancy and our preparation for Bebo progresses!
Love,
your soon-to-be-parental-units richmond rices.
I am a little bit relieved to have found a natural remedy because I would really prefer not to pump a bunch of medicine in Bebo's little developing body, so hopefully it works.
In other OB news, we got to hear the heart beat! Such a different thing to hear it and to see it. Pretty amazing! I believe it is finally starting to really settle in that we are going to have baby!
I also found out I am part of the 9% of women that lose weight in the first trimester. I have lost a total of 8lbs since our first OB appointment on Jan. 4th. (If only I could do that when I am not pregnant). So far they do not seem worried, they just wanted to make sure I am keeping food down. They said they won't get concerned unless it continues throughout the pregnancy.
So, I took that as the green light to eat an apple pie sundae at the restaurant last night! I have been staying clear of most sweets and other indulgences because of the empty calories but it was soooo nice to indulge and the sundae was delicious!
So today I am back on my good eating so that I don't gain a bunch of unwanted weight and will change my diet accordingly if necessary, but my OB says when it is needed to gain weight I will no problem, so nothing to be too concerned about!
Well I will keep everyone posted as this pregnancy and our preparation for Bebo progresses!
Love,
your soon-to-be-parental-units richmond rices.
Friday, February 12, 2010
bebo's getting big!
Comparitively speaking of course...
Here is our first ultrasound at 6 weeks 6 days (Jan. 4th). That white circle at the top of the black circle is the yolk sac and the baby is in it. The white dot at the top is the heartbeat. Hard to tell without me actually pointing it out.
And here are our ultrasounds from today at 12 weeks 3 days.
Bebo actually looks like a baby! I guess we skipped the alien/tail phase completely!
So we got to see EVERYTHING during this ultrasound. They pointed out the skull, brain, eye sockets, spinal cord, arm bones, leg bones, feet and hands and EVEN "something bright" between his legs. Yep that is right, at 12 weeks and 3 days they are pretty sure Bebo is a BOY!!
They will not say for certain until week 19ish so don't go running out to buy everything blue, but this does mean Rick and I are going to put some serious thought to a boy name since we have yet to find one!
We are once again on cloud 9! I have seen sooo many ultrasounds but it is soooo different when it is your baby in your belly! And to be able to see so much detail when I barely have a baby bump is insane!
We have another appointment with our regular OB this afternoon, hopefully to get some migraine medicine! I will probably post again soon about that.
We hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and utterly blessed!
love,
your anxious-to-be-parents richmond rices.
Here is our first ultrasound at 6 weeks 6 days (Jan. 4th). That white circle at the top of the black circle is the yolk sac and the baby is in it. The white dot at the top is the heartbeat. Hard to tell without me actually pointing it out.
So we got to see EVERYTHING during this ultrasound. They pointed out the skull, brain, eye sockets, spinal cord, arm bones, leg bones, feet and hands and EVEN "something bright" between his legs. Yep that is right, at 12 weeks and 3 days they are pretty sure Bebo is a BOY!!
They will not say for certain until week 19ish so don't go running out to buy everything blue, but this does mean Rick and I are going to put some serious thought to a boy name since we have yet to find one!
We are once again on cloud 9! I have seen sooo many ultrasounds but it is soooo different when it is your baby in your belly! And to be able to see so much detail when I barely have a baby bump is insane!
We have another appointment with our regular OB this afternoon, hopefully to get some migraine medicine! I will probably post again soon about that.
We hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and utterly blessed!
love,
your anxious-to-be-parents richmond rices.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
migraine from hell!
This migraine is going on Day 4. I have tried everything under the sun to ease my throbbing head/face... ice pack, heating pad, sleep, meditation, yoga, darkness, temple/forehead massage, caffeine, sugar and even tylenol.
It wasn't until I took 2 extra strength tylenol (1000mg) that I was finally allowed some relief today. But, the relief was short-lived to a dull ache throughout my day.
The good news is that I got to leave work early to go take a gardening teacher workshop at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens called "What to Plant/What to Teach" so whereas most days I love being around my kids, it has been VERY hard the past few days because light and sound aggravates my migraine.
(I am in the process of building an edible garden as well as starting a compost bin at my school but that is a whole other blog...)
The teachers who have also been through the pregnancy thing at school say that migraines are often a symptom of pregnancy. UGH! I have never had a migraine in my life, but now I definitely have some compassion toward my brother who grew up with them.
I have my 12-week checkup tomorrow so I plan to talk to them about some different medications suitable for managing this type of pain because there isn't any way I can continue teaching 4-year-olds if these migraines are going to continue like this. Last night, I was up for 4 hours trying heating pads, ice packs, sleeping upright, etc. to get some sleep and nothing was working.
Again, I guess another way for me to get used to not having any sleep since that is something moms must get used to! (Even with migraines, I am looking at the positive side, I must be really ready for motherhood!)
I will post again tomorrow and let everyone know how our appointments go tomorrow!
Love,
your throbbing-head richmond rices.
It wasn't until I took 2 extra strength tylenol (1000mg) that I was finally allowed some relief today. But, the relief was short-lived to a dull ache throughout my day.
The good news is that I got to leave work early to go take a gardening teacher workshop at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens called "What to Plant/What to Teach" so whereas most days I love being around my kids, it has been VERY hard the past few days because light and sound aggravates my migraine.
(I am in the process of building an edible garden as well as starting a compost bin at my school but that is a whole other blog...)
The teachers who have also been through the pregnancy thing at school say that migraines are often a symptom of pregnancy. UGH! I have never had a migraine in my life, but now I definitely have some compassion toward my brother who grew up with them.
I have my 12-week checkup tomorrow so I plan to talk to them about some different medications suitable for managing this type of pain because there isn't any way I can continue teaching 4-year-olds if these migraines are going to continue like this. Last night, I was up for 4 hours trying heating pads, ice packs, sleeping upright, etc. to get some sleep and nothing was working.
Again, I guess another way for me to get used to not having any sleep since that is something moms must get used to! (Even with migraines, I am looking at the positive side, I must be really ready for motherhood!)
I will post again tomorrow and let everyone know how our appointments go tomorrow!
Love,
your throbbing-head richmond rices.
Monday, February 8, 2010
this lenten season...
Although my family is not Catholic, we have always given things up for Lent. Among my personal vices I have sacrificed over the years are television, soda, alcohol, fried food, and red meat. Some years sacrificing mulitple items to really make it a challenge. Obviously this year I have already given up most sodas and fried food as well as all alcohol considering our most recent post.
So with that being said, I was having some difficulty figuring out what I should give up this year. Just because I am pregnant doesn't mean I shouldn't participate.
So after some prayerful consideration I decided to look at it from a positive side. Why not, instead of giving up something why don't I pledge to do something that is a challenge, that requires some sacrifice as well!
So this lenten season, I am going to pledge to cook 2 meals per week. This does not mean lasgana or pizza from the freezer. I am going to step out of my comfort zone and cook meals. Real meals.
Most of you know what a difficult challenge this will be for me, so you know it took some serious prayerful consideration to commit to, but I think not only will it help me become more comfortable in the kitchen, but it will take some pressure off of Rick's gazillion responsibilities around here! Plus, today has been my most energized day since I took the pregnancy test so I believe my energy is coming back. And I mean, I don't know what I have been waiting for, I can bake any recipe I have tried!
It is only 6 weeks = 12 meals total. So I am going to go through my Real Simple Magazines and find some delicious 30-minute meals and get to it! I believe this will also get me a lot more comfortable grocery shopping as well! An all around positive experience!
If you have an meal suggestions that a novice cook like myself could use, it would be much appreciated!
Happy Cooking!
Love,
your soon-to-be-enlightened richmond rices.
So with that being said, I was having some difficulty figuring out what I should give up this year. Just because I am pregnant doesn't mean I shouldn't participate.
So after some prayerful consideration I decided to look at it from a positive side. Why not, instead of giving up something why don't I pledge to do something that is a challenge, that requires some sacrifice as well!
So this lenten season, I am going to pledge to cook 2 meals per week. This does not mean lasgana or pizza from the freezer. I am going to step out of my comfort zone and cook meals. Real meals.
Most of you know what a difficult challenge this will be for me, so you know it took some serious prayerful consideration to commit to, but I think not only will it help me become more comfortable in the kitchen, but it will take some pressure off of Rick's gazillion responsibilities around here! Plus, today has been my most energized day since I took the pregnancy test so I believe my energy is coming back. And I mean, I don't know what I have been waiting for, I can bake any recipe I have tried!
It is only 6 weeks = 12 meals total. So I am going to go through my Real Simple Magazines and find some delicious 30-minute meals and get to it! I believe this will also get me a lot more comfortable grocery shopping as well! An all around positive experience!
If you have an meal suggestions that a novice cook like myself could use, it would be much appreciated!
Happy Cooking!
Love,
your soon-to-be-enlightened richmond rices.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
excuses, I KNOW!
I know I always have excuses as to why this blog gets neglected. And they are usually very good excuses, that I at least think, make our readers believe that I really did have some more pressing priorities...
With that being said, this time it really is a good one...
We are pregnant!
Most of you have known for months, but as the first (and hardest, I'm told) trimester comes to a close we are now ready to tell our blogging world!
We are due August 24, 2010 and very excited! We had our first appointment (1/4) where we were able to see our little nugget's heartbeat on the ultrasound. The whole appointment is a little muddled because there are sooo many questions and sooo much information exchanged but I distinctly remember the ultrasound tech turning the screen so we could both see it and pointing to the heartbeat. I also distinctly remember looking over at Rick with tears in my eyes. I am actually getting a little choked up thinking about it (but that could be my crazy hormones!)
We had an emergency appointment about 2 weeks ago because I was experiencing some discomfort on one side, but of course I was just being paranoid. The doctor said everything looked great and not to worry. We have our next appointments on Friday (2/12). The first to have an ultrasound and some standard bloodwork to check for chromosonal abnormalities and the second will be our 12 week check-up.
So far, I have had about a 3-week episode of morning sickness. That was pretty hard to get used to because the only thing that helped was eating about every 90 minutes (which is pretty difficult to do when teaching a bunch of 4-year-olds!). I have been having some headaches now and then that are also difficult since I am used to having an Advil liquid gelcap to knock that out and Tylenol just doesn't do the trick! But other than that I am just running extremely low on energy! I am told this should pick back up at about week 14, so I am counting down the days! I really can't complain, the symptoms I have experienced have either been mild or extremely short-lived.
So the next question is always, "Are you going to find out the gender?" And my response is always "Do you know me? You know I can't keep secrets!" So yes, we will be finding out the gender. I have heard some women find out at week 12 so don't think I am not going to ask my OB at my next appointment! The suspense is killing me!
Rick really wants a girl. I go back and forth, almost on a daily basis, mostly because I don't want to be disappointed. We have already picked out a girl name (which I plan to keep a secret, we shall see) but no boy names have really appealed to either of us that haven't already been used by someone we know or that I haven't been turned off by due to a student! (Another reason why I really want to know the gender!)
We have started to look for a bigger apartment. We plan to move into a 2 bedroom this summer so we can make room for Bebo (Baby Rice's in utero name, dubbed in Orlando). We are also planning on getting a new pull-out couch so that our lovely mothers can come take a shift with the baby when he/she comes if they want :) and anyone else that would like some quality time with Bebo!
As for my job, my bosses are very excited! They were both very accepting and planning to hold my classroom for me! I have already secured a spot for Bebo in our infant room (and I found out I get 60% off!!!!) so when I am ready to go back to work, I will just be down the hall. There are 5 other teachers pregnant so they are in for a crazy summer/fall!
Rick has been amazing. Most of you have either seen him with my niece, Delaney or with various other babies we have been around and know that he was sooo ready to be a Dad. He has definitely already begun taking this new role on. He holds my hand while walking on ice and cooks balanced meals for me even when he won't be home for dinner. He has offered to go to whatever parenting classes I would like and has even given some opinions of this or that kind of questions relating to baby products (which is more than I can say about our wedding planning!) The best part (and he would probably kill me for making this public) he has even been reading What to Expect When Expecting that I leave lying around. He is definitely going to be a hands-on dad!
If I said things were going wonderfully... that just doesn't even do it justice. And I haven't even mentioned the church family that we found!
That is right, we have been attending a Methodist church right down the road that we have fallen in love with and I am pretty sure they have fallen in love with us as well. Rick has been playing guitar in the band for the past 3 months and this morning I committed to helping with the preschool children's choir for Palm Sunday and Easter. I have been contemplating joining the rotation for children's Sunday School as well!
I really can't even begin to try and verbalize how blessed we are. I feel like everything is really falling into place!
I hope this catches everybody up on where we are in our lives. I know I still owe pictures from Christmas and Orlando and cannot promise to post those in a timely manner. But I will do my best to stay updated now that our secret is truly out!
Love,
your over-joyed richmond rices.
With that being said, this time it really is a good one...
We are pregnant!
Most of you have known for months, but as the first (and hardest, I'm told) trimester comes to a close we are now ready to tell our blogging world!
We are due August 24, 2010 and very excited! We had our first appointment (1/4) where we were able to see our little nugget's heartbeat on the ultrasound. The whole appointment is a little muddled because there are sooo many questions and sooo much information exchanged but I distinctly remember the ultrasound tech turning the screen so we could both see it and pointing to the heartbeat. I also distinctly remember looking over at Rick with tears in my eyes. I am actually getting a little choked up thinking about it (but that could be my crazy hormones!)
We had an emergency appointment about 2 weeks ago because I was experiencing some discomfort on one side, but of course I was just being paranoid. The doctor said everything looked great and not to worry. We have our next appointments on Friday (2/12). The first to have an ultrasound and some standard bloodwork to check for chromosonal abnormalities and the second will be our 12 week check-up.
So far, I have had about a 3-week episode of morning sickness. That was pretty hard to get used to because the only thing that helped was eating about every 90 minutes (which is pretty difficult to do when teaching a bunch of 4-year-olds!). I have been having some headaches now and then that are also difficult since I am used to having an Advil liquid gelcap to knock that out and Tylenol just doesn't do the trick! But other than that I am just running extremely low on energy! I am told this should pick back up at about week 14, so I am counting down the days! I really can't complain, the symptoms I have experienced have either been mild or extremely short-lived.
So the next question is always, "Are you going to find out the gender?" And my response is always "Do you know me? You know I can't keep secrets!" So yes, we will be finding out the gender. I have heard some women find out at week 12 so don't think I am not going to ask my OB at my next appointment! The suspense is killing me!
Rick really wants a girl. I go back and forth, almost on a daily basis, mostly because I don't want to be disappointed. We have already picked out a girl name (which I plan to keep a secret, we shall see) but no boy names have really appealed to either of us that haven't already been used by someone we know or that I haven't been turned off by due to a student! (Another reason why I really want to know the gender!)
We have started to look for a bigger apartment. We plan to move into a 2 bedroom this summer so we can make room for Bebo (Baby Rice's in utero name, dubbed in Orlando). We are also planning on getting a new pull-out couch so that our lovely mothers can come take a shift with the baby when he/she comes if they want :) and anyone else that would like some quality time with Bebo!
As for my job, my bosses are very excited! They were both very accepting and planning to hold my classroom for me! I have already secured a spot for Bebo in our infant room (and I found out I get 60% off!!!!) so when I am ready to go back to work, I will just be down the hall. There are 5 other teachers pregnant so they are in for a crazy summer/fall!
Rick has been amazing. Most of you have either seen him with my niece, Delaney or with various other babies we have been around and know that he was sooo ready to be a Dad. He has definitely already begun taking this new role on. He holds my hand while walking on ice and cooks balanced meals for me even when he won't be home for dinner. He has offered to go to whatever parenting classes I would like and has even given some opinions of this or that kind of questions relating to baby products (which is more than I can say about our wedding planning!) The best part (and he would probably kill me for making this public) he has even been reading What to Expect When Expecting that I leave lying around. He is definitely going to be a hands-on dad!
If I said things were going wonderfully... that just doesn't even do it justice. And I haven't even mentioned the church family that we found!
That is right, we have been attending a Methodist church right down the road that we have fallen in love with and I am pretty sure they have fallen in love with us as well. Rick has been playing guitar in the band for the past 3 months and this morning I committed to helping with the preschool children's choir for Palm Sunday and Easter. I have been contemplating joining the rotation for children's Sunday School as well!
I really can't even begin to try and verbalize how blessed we are. I feel like everything is really falling into place!
I hope this catches everybody up on where we are in our lives. I know I still owe pictures from Christmas and Orlando and cannot promise to post those in a timely manner. But I will do my best to stay updated now that our secret is truly out!
Love,
your over-joyed richmond rices.
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