What I Say

I went to see my mom for Mother's Day and when I g...

2007-05-14T22:46:00.000-05:00

I went to see my mom for Mother's Day and when I got back I couldn't boot my computer. The power light was flashing and it was a sad moment. Today I called Dell Tech Support and the kind man walked me through a few things. He asked me to open up the case, so I let him know I'm 7 months pregnant and it might take awhile. I eventually got the computer open and removed the video card for test number 1. The computer then booted, so we determined it was the cause. I was looking at it and realized part of it had melted and the fan on the video card was basically melted to the card. As I was explaining this to him, the bottom sparked, flashed a small flame, and finally smoke streamed from the card. I screamed into the phone and threw the video card down, which apparently scared the shit out of the poor tech guy. After some calming down on both ends, he got me setup to receive a new video card at the end of the week, thanked me and assured me my baby would be okay. I'm pretty sure he was more scared, as he thought he'd somehow done some damage to little Isaac just providing tech support over the phone. Poor dude.

Next up, George the cat. He's nearing about a year old now, so he's getting all riled up in the way boy cats do. We have smelled some phantom cat spray around the bathroom the last week or so, but weren't really able to locate where he was spraying. Last night, I was sitting on the couch and thought I heard him spraying something in the bathroom, so I went to check, no smell, nothing that I could see. Tonight, I heard a definite FLOOSH sound of water hitting water and thought that was really odd, so I hopped up and ran to check. George is spraying alright. He's spraying INTO the toilet bowl! I am not even kidding. My thought is, if he has to spray for the next few days until we can get him fixed, that's the place to do it! Unbelievable. I never even trained him to use the toilet as a potty, though I knew it was possible.

Interesting night I've had. And now it's time for bed. G'night.

It's 4:30 in the AM and I woke up due to a dream a...

2007-05-11T04:31:00.000-05:00

It's 4:30 in the AM and I woke up due to a dream and a pain in my hip. In the dream, I was in the hospital for a reason I do not know. I was surrounded with a bunch of people that I know, but don't consider close friends. There was music on and one of the songs that played was really loud, so I bent over to turn it down and BAM! A sudden pain in my rear hip. The pain in my dream was unbearable and I asked my mom to have them make me sleep, to put me out. Then I woke up and the pain was real and holy crap I had a cramp or something up in my butt cheek, but it felt like it was in my hip joint. Then I started thinking, what if it's not a cramp, what if it's a tumor on my hip and I have cancer! Holy crap I can't get sick I have a kid to raise. Holy crap what if he never gets to know me as a real grown person and all he has are my stupid journals and blogs!!

And then I realized, hey, I'm pregnant and insane with the hormones and shit. And I get cramps in my legs at least a few times a day, also due to preggers. This is an irrational reaction and can be explained by the conscious and subconscious fears and worries of becoming a mom. But by that point I was already awake and realized I really needed a pee, so I got up and went to pee and here I am documenting this mental cupcake I just went through.

I added the baby registries over to the left, sinc...

2007-05-08T17:56:00.000-05:00

I added the baby registries over to the left, since Blogger completely sucks these days and is not doing it's job with my archives and also chose to mutilate my layout when I first tried to publish those links.

Grr blogger.

Isaac - negative 2 months old.

2007-05-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

Isaac - negative 2 months old.

Now under 70 days, I feel like he'll be here in a ...

2007-05-07T07:46:00.000-05:00

Now under 70 days, I feel like he'll be here in a blink. It's very exciting. My tummy is a basketball and people at cash registers across Texas seem to be surprised that I still have two months left. It is slightly round. That first picture is week 28 and the second is week 30, just the day before yesterday. I got a 4D sonogram at my shower on Saturday, but left all the pictures at my mom's. She will be scanning them in and e-mailing them for me. He looks really cute and he is definitely a he. No doubt. I will get those up soon. The shower this weekend was awesome. Misti came down and a lot of people made it out that I didn't expect to see at all. It was great to see everyone, even my girls from work. I'm thankful for all the people that care so much. You're all lovely!!!!!

We forgot Misti's blog password so she setup a new...

2007-04-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

We forgot Misti's blog password so she setup a new blog. It is at http://mistigreaud.blogspot.com/

Update your bookmarks if you read Misti!

We are officially under the 100 day mark and I thi...

2007-04-07T04:25:00.000-05:00

We are officially under the 100 day mark and I think my insomnia has officially kicked in. When I go to bed, usually around 10 or so, I'm tired and rarely make it through my 30 minute TV sleep timer. I sleep well for a little while, but it's becoming more normal to wake up between 11 and 2 for a pee break or to be entertained by Isaac's party in my belly. On work nights, I try really, really hard to go back to sleep but on weekend nights, I don't fight it much. I'm still having a few sleep through the night nights, but they're getting fewer and farther in between. On the work nights, I tend to lay in bed for an hour or so. Sometimes I'll drag myself out of bed and go do something with my mind. Sometimes I'll actually fall back to sleep without getting up. Either way, it's weird and disturbing to go from exhausted to wide awake within a few hours.

*insert witty parental advice about it being no different once he gets here* I've heard. I know I don't and won't understand how much that means until it happens, so there's probably no need in telling me how much it will change my life. Again. That phrase is such an awful phrase. It's like telling a color blind person how vivid colors are and how they just don't understand. Well no shit. Telling them over and over how yellow yellow can be isn't going to make them get it. Okay, rant over.

I am stressed out about a lot of things. Work, a few of my life relationships, money, living space, vehicles, clothes that fit. Most of those are not directly related to Isaac, however, Isaac making his way into the world is certainly placing more of an urgency on the need for those situations to improve. I've read that with or without a partner, pregnancy can be very lonely. While it's great to have so many women around me that have been through an actual pregnancy, it's still very lonely. I talk to him and rub his little bits when an arm or leg or head make a teepee with my tummy. I can't describe how I feel about him. I love him. I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait for him to talk and walk and piss me off and make me laugh and grow up and become a person, whoever he becomes. I really want to hug him. And see my dad hug him and love him and teach him silly things like how to cut off your thumb with a table saw. (My dad actually has all of his fingers and toes. That was just for comedy's sake.)

So, now it's about 2 hours after I started typing this up. And I'm starting to be ready to sleep. I'm really hoping he comes exactly 3 months from today. We shall see.

Almost under 100 days. Wower!

2007-04-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

Almost under 100 days. Wower!

A little note about customer service. Our country ...

2007-03-23T17:19:00.000-05:00

A little note about customer service. Our country has gotten to such a ridiculous level of "The Customer is Always Right", I just want to back that bus up a little. Please don't call customer service and really, seriously believe this. No. The customer is not always right. Sometimes the customer is so completely wrong and misinformed, it hurts. Don't expect to get what you want when you call customer service. Lower those expectations people. That way, if you DO get what you want, you can dance and be happy. More than likely, you will get some sort of compromise to what you want, whether you realize it or not. Be happy with this as well.

And another thing. If your kid gets your credit card and buys things online, IT IS NOT CONSIDERED FRAUD. It is considered someone in your household using your credit card. Odds are, you probably gave the information to them. Blame the kid. Make them work. Don't demand the money back because they are underage and shouldn't have been able to use the card in the first place. That some people actually believe that last sentence is absurd. ABSURD.

End rant.

Isaac just gave some people up here at work a litt...

2007-03-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Isaac just gave some people up here at work a little show. If I lay back in my chair and put my ID on my belly, he has been kicking/punching it to make it jump around my stomach. Lance next to me thinks it is weird. We all laughed. I might try to video it later.

So I went ahead and created a few baby registries....

2007-03-18T00:11:00.000-05:00

So I went ahead and created a few baby registries. I have a lot of stuff on them, mostly because I'm going to be using it as a checklist for myself. I've been told lots of onesies, lots of receiving blankets, lots of burp cloths, so there's a lot of that. It's a little frustrating trying to find stuff that's just plain boy like. Solid colors rather than trains and cars and elephants and soccer balls. I'm not really into any of the cartoon print stuff. Big fan of stripes, earthy colors, etc. Anywho, here are the registries I have. Of course subject to change. We're getting close to the third trimester, so I feel like time's short!

Target Registry
Babies R Us Registry
Amazon.com Registry

Drake Palmer Greaud born right before Misti called...

2007-03-01T13:23:00.000-06:00

Drake Palmer Greaud born right before Misti called me a little bit ago. 5 pounds, 2 ounces. 17.25 inches. All are healthy and Misti's mom says he looks like Davis. Yay!

Updated with the non-typo'd length.

Drake's arrival has been delayed until Thursday. N...

2007-02-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

Drake's arrival has been delayed until Thursday. Nothing's wrong, Misti is just on antibiotics and her Dr. wants her to finish her round before she delivers. Just thought I'd update!

Baby updates. We went to the 20 week sonogram to...

2007-02-21T20:32:00.000-06:00

Baby updates.

We went to the 20 week sonogram today, where we found out our baby has boy bits! Everything is healthy and sound, as far as the sonographer could tell. We have another appointment next week with my regular Dr. who will probably look at the pictures and decipher things.

Misti is currently scheduled to welcome Drake into the world this coming Tuesday, February 27. Mom and Drake are doing well other than her having a tad of a cold this week. She seems to be in good spirits for a several month preggers lady. I will get to go see her next weekend, hurray!

Not a whole lot else going on at the moment. Will udpate later with more news, if there is any.

I vowed February would be a good month. The year 2...

2007-02-05T11:27:00.000-06:00

I vowed February would be a good month. The year 2007 is known as suck in our household, so I wanted February to be better. Then I ate a taco from Jack in the Box and broke a wisdom tooth. I'm going to a doc in an hour or so to get a consultation to see if I can get it pulled or if I need surgery or if they can just put me to sleep for the next 3 months. I really don't want to be a complete negative nancy, but damn.

Things that make me smile: My husband doing a ton of laundry and putting it all away. The Pod is now about the size of a large onion and can hear and taste. Misti's Drake has more room now.

I need to think of a lot of things that make me smile.

For those who are coming to the funeral tomorrow, ...

2007-01-29T13:45:00.000-06:00

For those who are coming to the funeral tomorrow, here is some information:

Link to a map of the church

The funeral service is at 12:30 PM and the burial will be at 2:00 PM. If you need anything else in the way of getting here, please feel free to call my cell phone. I think most people have that number.

Melanie passed away last night around 9 PM. It was...

2007-01-25T16:54:00.000-06:00

Melanie passed away last night around 9 PM. It was very peaceful and myself, Adam, my mom and one of her friends were there with her at the time. Services will be on Tuesday in Copperas Cove. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.

Well this is definitely a time for me to post. I...

2007-01-23T21:18:00.000-06:00

Well this is definitely a time for me to post.

I am not currently at home in Austin, as Adam's mother has become very ill and is in the hospital. His father isn't able to be here with her because he has some very important negotiations to take care of, but he will be back as soon as possible. Without going into details, I don't know if we expect her to make it through the week. At this time she isn't responsive and we are just trying to make sure she is comfortable. I thought we would be able to handle things for a few days until John made it back, but today was very tough on both of us mentally, so I asked my mom to come. It's a very hard situation right now, as anyone who knows Adam's mom knows she is a tough as nails fighter, but she definitely did NOT want to be in this position at her end. It's difficult to see her in this situation and it's difficult to be the only people who can make decisions, though I know the decisions we have had to make have been the right ones.

I'd like to ask anyone who prays to pray that Melanie isn't in any pain, that Adam and I will make it through this without asking someone to drop into a pit of fire, that John and Nathan make it back to us safely, and that Melanie be happy with the way we all handled this.

Yes, I am taking care of myself. I know I'm pregnant... :P

I will post new peapod pictures soon.

Peace out.

Well it was a good ole Christmas. We go to visit m...

2006-12-26T21:29:00.000-06:00

Well it was a good ole Christmas. We go to visit my folks and Adams folks + Softie. It was really great seeing everyone, even though I'm sure I'm hard to be around. I tend to be snippy at times lately. I can't imagine what's making me psycho like that.

Oh right. Little peapod. Here is exactly 1 month after the first sonogram. Peapod is about 2.5 inches long now, per the Doc. I still can't feel anything wiggling around yet and we still don't know the sex. I think we'll find that out around February or so.

I've gotten the most amazing gifts in the last month. I got a new camera for my birthday. My first digital camera ever and it's a damn good one. A Canon S3 IS. Love it. And one of my Christmas presents from adam is a pool stick! It is so awesome, I love it. Other than that I've just been having a pretty crappy time with headaches and nausea. I don't believe the nausea is from being pregnant, but from the headaches. I think the headaches are from being pregnant. It sucks. Doc says it's not unusually to go through a period of regular headaches, but that it should pass. Waiting for that to happen. I'm not really experiencing any other big stuff. Just random bouts of hunger, sleepy all the time, yadda yadda. Speaking of, it's near bedtime.

Holla.

So, I just heard the recording from Verizon's bad ...

2006-12-21T13:41:00.000-06:00

So, I just heard the recording from Verizon's bad math. This guy was going to Canada, so he called to see what the rate was for data. He was quoted .002 cents per kilobit. When he got his bill, he was charged .002 dollars per kilobit. He then spends long amounts of time trying to resolve this with multiple customer service people, who each say, yes, we quoted you .002 cents, which is correct. We then charged you $71.79 for 35,893 kilobytes of usage.

I understand their screw up in my head, but I wrote it down to play it out to myself. The main problem with all of the representatives he spoke with assumed that .002 represented the decimal point that separates dollars and cents when describing our currency. However, the quote they provided did not. The quote described the decimal representation of a percentage of a cent. .002 cents is .2% of one penny. (Just as .2 is 20% and .02 is 2%.) If you do the math to figure the percentage difference between .002 cents and .002 dollars, it's very clear. Doing first grade mulitplication, to figure .002 cents, write down $0.01 times .002.

$0.01
X .002
______
$0.00002

You will get an answer of $0.00002. This is .002 cents represented in dollar form.

Now to figure .002 dollars, write down $1.00 times .002.

$1.00
X .002
_______
$0.00200

You will get an answer of $0.00200. This is .002 dollars represented in dollar form.

So the problem was, Verizon quoted and its representatives quoted .002 cents per kilobit, then their system charged .002 dollars per kilobit. The end difference being $71.79 for .002 dollars per kilobit or $0.7179 for .002 cents per kilobit.

I don't know if this explanation was any better than how he explained it, but it's really sad that the people he spoke with couldn't grasp the idea that there COULD be a difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents. Sad, really. Here's the audio.

Here's little Peapod as of 1 week ago. Peapod is t...

2006-11-28T11:48:00.000-06:00

Here's little Peapod as of 1 week ago. Peapod is the little white dot in the middle of the dark, black eyed pea shaped thingy. The heartbeat was basically that little dot blinking like a flashlight. Really weird.

Today, Peapod should have little webbed fingers and toes sticking out in the appropriate places. It's not really that pretty, so I wouldn't suggest Googling it. Just imagine tiny hands and feet in your head and keep it that way. That way is cute.

Next appointment is December 21. Will probably update then with another sonogram.

Well apparently everyone read it this morning befo...

2006-11-25T12:12:00.000-06:00

Well apparently everyone read it this morning before they left. Huzzah secrets!

So, fun news. I'm hoping that the family coming he...

2006-11-24T21:59:00.000-06:00

So, fun news. I'm hoping that the family coming here tomorrow for Thanksgiving won't read my blog tomorrow. I want to tell them in person, so if you do read this or if you already know, don't tell the people you're riding with!

Adam and I are having a baby!

To answer frequently asked questions I've had thus far:

Are you excited? Yes.
When are you due? July 13, 2007.
Were you planning this? No.
Are you going to breastfeed? No. La Leche League, be damned.
Are you going to wear those revealing shirts that show your entire pregnant belly? A huge hell no...
When can you tell the sex? 20 weeks, so she says.
Are you going to find out the sex? Yes.
Are you feeling okay? For the most part.
Have you picked out names? Yep.
Do you want a boy or a girl? Don't care.
Do you have any cravings yet? Yes, Jalapenos.

I'll answer more as I get more questions to answer. We had the first sonogram last week. I will scan one of those in as soon as possible. It has an incredibly likeness to a black eyed pea, so the nickname at the moment is Peapod. It's also technically a parasite, so the full nickname is Peapod Parasite. Thems jokes.

Posted.

2006-11-23T11:10:00.000-06:00

I will be posting more of a blog soon. This one is...

2006-11-13T09:22:00.000-06:00

I will be posting more of a blog soon. This one is just to say hi and I'm still around. Cats are still growing. Jobs are still good, etc...

You really should be used to this by now.