Hey Everyone!
I'm trying to be better about updating this site the closer that the baby is supposed to arrive!
Today was hectic for me but not so much for Joe (who deserves the time off for a bit!). I had two exams today, one in Intermediate French and one in Social Work Practice II. In French we're focusing on Le Futur Simple, which has become my favorite tense in French but also the hardest one to conjugate irregular verbs in... but that's neither here nor there. In Social Work we're working on group therapy, which I really like so far. Everyone pray that the exam went as well as I hope it did!
We woke up on Sunday and Joe was all sad faced and dreary because his XBOX 360 died the painful red ring of death. God must have heard my prayers for peace and less live gunfire in my living room. Praise Jesus.
The baby shower is this weekend also, and we have the convoy of relatives coming into town to prove it! We're really excited to see everyone though, some of which Joe hasn't gotten to meet the entire time we've been married :) It's going to be a busy next few weeks, hopefully we can make it as close to Audra's due date as possible with as little stress as possible!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Counting down...
So as we're approaching the end of Winter, we're also approaching the end of school and the beginning of Summer! Most importantly, Baby Audra will be here soon in May! We are so excited and just about everything is set up and waiting for her to arrive. The baby shower is coming up next weekend and we will have just about every relative Joe didn't meet at our wedding plus a few friends from out of town. I haven't seen my best friend Lizzy since our vow celebration and I haven't seen my friend Andrea since I left Lipscomb University in 2007! It's going to be a lot of fun and we're going to have a FULL house. Our friend Josh is staying here, and both my friends Lizzy and Andrea, my friend Jordan, and then my mom, sister and aunts will be here Friday night as well! I know it's going to be chaotic but I'm so thrilled that I'm going to be surrounded with some of my most favorite people in the world.
As of right now, I'm feeling like I'm ready to have this baby NOW. I'm just fatigued and combined with the travel to school and walking all over campus, and the stress from the school work, I'm ready to be done with school and pregnancy altogether. Not that I don't love having my daughter safe and sound in my belly, I'm just ready to meet her, and to sleep on my stomach! lol
Joe is on two weeks of leave right now to help me get ready for our little one. Lots of spring cleaning and baby book reading! He's also getting ready for his NCO of the quarter board and the Audie Murphy board. When he gets back to work from leave he'll become NCOIC of S2 for his brigade. Joe jokes that there's no one in S2 so he's In Charge of himself lol. Either way it'll prepare him for the future and will definitely look good on paper! haha
Well that's all for now from SC!
As of right now, I'm feeling like I'm ready to have this baby NOW. I'm just fatigued and combined with the travel to school and walking all over campus, and the stress from the school work, I'm ready to be done with school and pregnancy altogether. Not that I don't love having my daughter safe and sound in my belly, I'm just ready to meet her, and to sleep on my stomach! lol
Joe is on two weeks of leave right now to help me get ready for our little one. Lots of spring cleaning and baby book reading! He's also getting ready for his NCO of the quarter board and the Audie Murphy board. When he gets back to work from leave he'll become NCOIC of S2 for his brigade. Joe jokes that there's no one in S2 so he's In Charge of himself lol. Either way it'll prepare him for the future and will definitely look good on paper! haha
Well that's all for now from SC!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Baby Update!
So as of right now I am officially 31 weeks, even though every ultrasound puts me further and further ahead. The last prediction made was May 11th... oy. I am soon to stop working so I can get off my feet some more. Joe is being the amazing man he and rubbing my feet and back without prompting, changing laundry loads over and doing dishes while I'm napping. The doctor is going to end up giving me a doctor's note to take my exams earlier than originally planned.
As for baby Audra, she is growing steadily and super healthy! She's big enough now that she's not really kicking anymore, more like rolling because she has no room to groove in. Her heart rate the last time we went in was 140 bpm and there's been lots of movement. Which explains my lack of sleep. I feel a whole lot like I did in my first trimester. So yeah, YUCK. I do have to go in in the morning to get checked out because of a re-occuring pain in my right rib area, I guess they're concerned because the pain is in one area of my upper abdomen so better safe than sorry.
No more blogging now... more news later! Cheerio!
As for baby Audra, she is growing steadily and super healthy! She's big enough now that she's not really kicking anymore, more like rolling because she has no room to groove in. Her heart rate the last time we went in was 140 bpm and there's been lots of movement. Which explains my lack of sleep. I feel a whole lot like I did in my first trimester. So yeah, YUCK. I do have to go in in the morning to get checked out because of a re-occuring pain in my right rib area, I guess they're concerned because the pain is in one area of my upper abdomen so better safe than sorry.
No more blogging now... more news later! Cheerio!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
"I just want back in your head..."
So I officially want to become a psychologist, who knows how I'll get there, but I know now in this moment that it's what I want to do. I realized this when I was sitting in my social work practice course this afternoon during a mach session between a husband and wife. We were supposed to take turns but I've been trying to lay low in that class because I can tell the teacher doesn't like it when I interject so often.
It was the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced in school... oh alright that's a lie because I am often frustrated in school when I know the answer but no one says it (but the teacher won't call on me because she wants everyone's input... it's like- they're idiots, give it a rest already. Getting into college does not a genius make!).
So every time I wanted to say something, then our professor would interrupt and make suggestions that I was literally detailing out in my own mind. I felt so confident that I could have grabbed that session by the horns and really gotten something productive out of it.
Hopefully I'll feel this confident when I get to grad school.
On a good note, we got to see Audra on the ultrasound machine yesterday and she is progressing and growing perfectly. So perfectly in fact, that she's 3 lbs 2 oz which is about 2 weeks ahead of where she should be.... makes me nervous that she might come a bit early... the newly projected due date puts her arrival sometime about 4 days after my final exam... Yeah I'm a bit nervous.
Please Jesus have her come after I'm done with school, Amen.
It was the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced in school... oh alright that's a lie because I am often frustrated in school when I know the answer but no one says it (but the teacher won't call on me because she wants everyone's input... it's like- they're idiots, give it a rest already. Getting into college does not a genius make!).
So every time I wanted to say something, then our professor would interrupt and make suggestions that I was literally detailing out in my own mind. I felt so confident that I could have grabbed that session by the horns and really gotten something productive out of it.
Hopefully I'll feel this confident when I get to grad school.
On a good note, we got to see Audra on the ultrasound machine yesterday and she is progressing and growing perfectly. So perfectly in fact, that she's 3 lbs 2 oz which is about 2 weeks ahead of where she should be.... makes me nervous that she might come a bit early... the newly projected due date puts her arrival sometime about 4 days after my final exam... Yeah I'm a bit nervous.
Please Jesus have her come after I'm done with school, Amen.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Con
I'm just sitting up late because I can't sleep. My husband has gone to spend time with his buddy a.k.a "Brother from another mother" who's stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I was supposed to have gone but I had work and all that mess. But that's another tangent entirely.
In school, I often end up "the old married" woman in the room. All the women I go to school with, and yes I'm using the word "woman" very losely there, aren't or haven't yet been in a serious enough relationship that would qualify them with enough experience to discuss the issues we discuss in school. Which is really a pain in the butt for me because it's obnoxious when they say things like "if my husband asks me to make him a sandwich I'm gonna tell him to get his own d**** sandwich". To which I just retort "then you're missing the point of marriage". Here's why:
Marriage is about sacrifice and compromise to create a balanced and harmonious happiness. Rome was not built in a day and neither is marital bliss. Marriage is very very hard most of the time, but it's the rest of the time that makes you work so darn hard to keep up with it.
My husband and I have only been married for about 2 1/2 years, however we have learned a few things and I have learned that you never stop learning. You're human beings and you're constantly evolving. Leave room for each other to grow and respect that space, respect each other no matter what. Communicate with each other even when it makes no darn sense and it hurts because you don't even want to be in the same room you're so angry. No one is a mind reader. When people stop respecting, stop communicating and start taking people for granted that's when things unravel. Believe me, people unravel very quickly when it comes to being detached and separated emotionally from a spouse.
So, the point of that rant is that I'm having to write a paper on wellness in the family or family practice basically. How marriages work, whether a parent can be a good parent if they're not meeting their own needs, and so on. And after doing my research and interviews and so on, it amazes me how much people miss. How people just stop looking for ways to love each other, stop looking for ways to care and meet up with their significant other. People have become so selfish. Or maybe they have always been that way.... what do you think?
In school, I often end up "the old married" woman in the room. All the women I go to school with, and yes I'm using the word "woman" very losely there, aren't or haven't yet been in a serious enough relationship that would qualify them with enough experience to discuss the issues we discuss in school. Which is really a pain in the butt for me because it's obnoxious when they say things like "if my husband asks me to make him a sandwich I'm gonna tell him to get his own d**** sandwich". To which I just retort "then you're missing the point of marriage". Here's why:
Marriage is about sacrifice and compromise to create a balanced and harmonious happiness. Rome was not built in a day and neither is marital bliss. Marriage is very very hard most of the time, but it's the rest of the time that makes you work so darn hard to keep up with it.
My husband and I have only been married for about 2 1/2 years, however we have learned a few things and I have learned that you never stop learning. You're human beings and you're constantly evolving. Leave room for each other to grow and respect that space, respect each other no matter what. Communicate with each other even when it makes no darn sense and it hurts because you don't even want to be in the same room you're so angry. No one is a mind reader. When people stop respecting, stop communicating and start taking people for granted that's when things unravel. Believe me, people unravel very quickly when it comes to being detached and separated emotionally from a spouse.
So, the point of that rant is that I'm having to write a paper on wellness in the family or family practice basically. How marriages work, whether a parent can be a good parent if they're not meeting their own needs, and so on. And after doing my research and interviews and so on, it amazes me how much people miss. How people just stop looking for ways to love each other, stop looking for ways to care and meet up with their significant other. People have become so selfish. Or maybe they have always been that way.... what do you think?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
24 Week Doctor's Appointment and All That Jazz...
So today was my 24 week checkup, as well as time for me to do my glucose screening test. This screening is basically to see if you have gestational diabetes, and they test all pregnant women at one time or another; usually between 23 and 26 weeks. So today was my lucky day! They gave me my fruit punch flavored glucose concoction at my last appointment and told me to keep it chilled until I had to drink it, which was 30 minutes prior to my appointment at 1:30pm. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything but water prior to that, so I wish that I had scheduled my appointment for like 10am or something like that so that I didn't have to feel that hunger pains or Audra ribbing me for food. Joe went with me and we were able to listen to Audra's heartbeat, strong and super active as usual. The doctor made a comment about her movement because she hates ultrasounds and dopplers (they actually emit a high pitched sound in order to work so babies shy away from them).
The doctor also was concerned about my activity and stress level, because of my short hospital visit about 2 weeks ago due to pains in my abdomen. He's limiting my work hours to less than 6 hours per shift and restricted what I'm able to lift or do. He also made sure to tell me that if the contractions intensify and the stress isn't at least a little less intense, then it's up for discussion that I won't be working anymore. Honestly, that place stresses me out so badly, I don't know how much longer I can keep going back there.
On the bright side, Joe got an award: Army Commendation to be exact. They really appreciate him at this post and all his hard work, I hope he gets promoted in March because that would just be such a blessing. Keep you fingers crossed and the prayers coming!
The doctor also was concerned about my activity and stress level, because of my short hospital visit about 2 weeks ago due to pains in my abdomen. He's limiting my work hours to less than 6 hours per shift and restricted what I'm able to lift or do. He also made sure to tell me that if the contractions intensify and the stress isn't at least a little less intense, then it's up for discussion that I won't be working anymore. Honestly, that place stresses me out so badly, I don't know how much longer I can keep going back there.
On the bright side, Joe got an award: Army Commendation to be exact. They really appreciate him at this post and all his hard work, I hope he gets promoted in March because that would just be such a blessing. Keep you fingers crossed and the prayers coming!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Round and round the merry go round, the monkey chased the weasel...
So another year has begun and the Orders family is embracing the biggest year so far! In May we will welcome our first child into the world and our lives will forever be changed. Also this year, Joe is up for his first look by the Army to possibly get promoted to Sergeant First Class. In the Army, after you've made Staff Sergeant, you no longer are brought before a promotion board where you spout facts and knowledge that you need to get promoted. When you go before this promotion board, you go before them in the spirit of a file that includes basically who you are or who you have been so far in the military; your picture (full body), any evaluations, any issues like article 15s or letter of reprimand as well. It's nerve wrecking for so many soldiers, however I think Joe has written it off as he won't get promoted because it's his first look and very few people get picked up on their first look. I'm trying not to mention it because I think he thinks about it enough. Joe also gets to participate in the Audie Murphy board which is an awesome opportunity. If you don't know who Audie Murphy is, read a book or google him! He's only one of the most famous soldiers of all time! In the infantry it's pretty much an honor to be invited to the Audie Murphy board. There's supposedly a PT test and all sorts of stuff involved, Joe has to go and do that in February.
I go back to school on the 20th of January, and I'm only concerned about school in the sense that I will be delivering a baby right after finals. Other than that I really love my new school and all the people there. Everyone is very helpful and the work load is hard but manageable.
To prepare for that exciting event in May, Joe and I are doing some prenatal classes. One is a full day of birthing prep in March and the other is a breastfeeding class in April. Hopefully they'll be able to answer my questions about natural childbirth, Joe and I really don't want to use any drugs at all if possible. I'm still nervous about all the stuff on my birth plan that I don't understand.
Soon after Audra is born (July or August), we'll be trekking to Florida so that my grandmother (who cannot travel) will be able to see her first great grandchild.
Which brings us into the Fall part of this year, Joe may be getting orders for another duty station and we would end up moving in the following Spring. I can just tell you right now, moving with an infant doesn't sound too interesting to me and Audra is not even here yet lol.
Well that's our scope for the year, who knows what will happen as the events unfold? So far God has blessed us immensely and we will continue to follow Him where we need to go! God Bless
I go back to school on the 20th of January, and I'm only concerned about school in the sense that I will be delivering a baby right after finals. Other than that I really love my new school and all the people there. Everyone is very helpful and the work load is hard but manageable.
To prepare for that exciting event in May, Joe and I are doing some prenatal classes. One is a full day of birthing prep in March and the other is a breastfeeding class in April. Hopefully they'll be able to answer my questions about natural childbirth, Joe and I really don't want to use any drugs at all if possible. I'm still nervous about all the stuff on my birth plan that I don't understand.
Soon after Audra is born (July or August), we'll be trekking to Florida so that my grandmother (who cannot travel) will be able to see her first great grandchild.
Which brings us into the Fall part of this year, Joe may be getting orders for another duty station and we would end up moving in the following Spring. I can just tell you right now, moving with an infant doesn't sound too interesting to me and Audra is not even here yet lol.
Well that's our scope for the year, who knows what will happen as the events unfold? So far God has blessed us immensely and we will continue to follow Him where we need to go! God Bless
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