The trip to the Vet

$116 later, we learn that both dogs do in fact have an upper-respiratory infection, looking like the on-set of kennel cough. We had taken them to the groomers the day of the baby shower (10 days ago) so to not have them around the hosue during the festivities, and apparently they caught kennel cough. Kennel cough is apparently highly contagious and can be dangerous if left untreated. They are now on antibiotics for the next two weeks.
Bryan reports that both dogs spent the entire examination in his lap- both dogs, each weighing over 50lbs. When the Vet tried to take their temps, it seems they tried crawling up his chest to escape the thermometer. So brave they both are...imagine what they would do if we had an intruder? :-)

My observations for the day

Regarding the new flooring:
1: When you put new flooring in your home, it only makes the ugly 1980s fireplace look worse.
2: It also makes the grungy white tile in the kitchen look skanky.
3: The old moldings around the pretty new wood floor are scratched beyond recognition; you didn't notice with the ugly carpets, now it's all you see.
4: When your dog comes down with the flu, you are happy you have new hardwood flooring to wipe up, instead of the skanky carpets of yesterday.

Regarding dogs being sick:
1: I can't justify spending $60 for a vet visit for a dog who looks like he simply has the flu, but the poor fellow is gagging and sneezing and coughing, and is just laying here looking sad with goopy eyes and nose. And he's puking...although he gets himself outside 9/10 times.
2: Why is there no NyQuil for dogs?
3: There is a fine line between taking the dog to the vet when he's really sick, and not taking the dog to the vet because he's a dog, and I won't go to the doctor myself for a simple cold.

***UPDATE: We decided to call the vet this afternoon as both dogs are hacking and gagging and wretching...the diagnosis over the phone is that they probably have kennel cough, so they need to be seen to get antibiotics...we'll take them in tomorrow am. ***

Regarding life in general:
1: Why will the postal lady bring the package to my door, but still insist on putting the rest of the mail in the box across the street?
2: Why do the geriatric scooter carts at Target make an awful shrill noise when I go in reverse? Can people not see the fat pregnant woman with the IV bag already? Must I beep as if I'm a garbage truck?
3: Speaking of Target and being fat and gimpy, why are the aisles so narrow that a cart can't fit through? They know how big their carts are.
4: And while at Target, why, when I'm in said geriatric power scooter, do people try to run me down or cut me off so I have to give myself whiplash and/or check to make sure my water hasn't broken? I always try to get out of the way as soon as possible, there is no need for them to be so rude, and shot me the glaring ray of death from their eyes, as if I am a leper. I don't want to be sick and driving the geriatric power scooter any more than they want to see me doing so.
5: I really want to cut off all my hair. I won't, because I'm pregnant and my brain is not my own. However, I see other women on other blogs who have short spikey hair do's and I want to be like them. I know nothing good can come of this, I tried the Ashley Judd 'do in 2002, and we all know what happened (recall the mullet) but still, I really want to chop it all off. And I mean OFF, as in buzzed, very short and spikey. I won't do it...but I want to.
6: There is nothing better in life than Ben and Jerry's Chcolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream. I can't eat much, with the sickness and the what-not, but still, it is what food in heaven must taste like.

Four people who deserve a medal

Nomination #1: My aunt (ok she's really my cousin, but I call her my aunt) Nancy- Took an entire week off and spent it at my home making me food, hooking me up to my IV and helping me get my house in order. Bryan had to be in the OC (Orange County) all week, so Nancy graciously offered to stay with me and help out, as well as provide transportation in case the contractions progressed to actual real-life labor. God bless her.

Nomination #2: After spending the week in LA, Bryan got up at 3am Friday morning to fly home just in time for our ultrasound appointment in Tacoma. After which, he drove me back to the hosue, loaded all of Nancy's stuff in the car and turned right around and drove for over 2 hours to get her over the mountains to Cle Elum where she had a friend waiting to take her the rest of the way back home to Wenatchee. He then drove over another 2 hours back home (friday night of Memorial day weekend, mind you), and went to Home Depot to buy a saw and other necessities for his weekend flooring extravaganza. The man was not in bed until after 11pm. Saturday morning, he was up at 7 getting the saws set up and moving everything out of the house so that he could to begin the demo work. Oh, and he still managed to get me my IV meds in time. I really love that man.

Nominations #3 &4: At 8:30am Saturday morn, our friends Chris and Melissa Scheer came over and spent the next two days helping demo the carpet and baseboards, install new wood laminate flooring and then put the house back together. Melissa also served as my arms and legs, since I'm still out of commission; (so ridiculous) she helped me put away all the baby gifts and clothes and get the nursery ready in case of an early arrival. Needless to say, all these people are amazing, wonderful souls who deserve medals of some kind!

Time for mommy advice

Ok, I am 35 weeks pregnant. Not quite there yet, but things are progressing, and since I've been on bedrest for contractions, there is a possibility that once I start moving about a little more next weeks, we might go a little early. As such, I'm trying to get everything put together and organized in the chance that little miss moffat comes early. (This may also just be nesting, and, well I am already a type-A, anal retentive first-born, who are we kidding?)
I put together a "go to the hospital bag" yesterday but am not really sure what I really need to take, and what is just adding extra weight. So far I've got a t-shirt and a pair of comfy sweats, a couple pairs of undies and socks. I've got a small bag of jolly ranchers, my digital camera with batteries and an empty card and my ipod. And of course the usual hygeine products. Anything else I need?
And what about a diaper bag? I assume I don't really need one in the hospital b/c they'll provide what I'll need, yes? I am bringing a blanket and a "coming home" outfit, but do I really need anything else for her?
Besides diapers, wipes, a change or two of clothes, a couple pacis and maybe a toy, what else goes in a diaper bag? This may all be stuff I know I can figure out eventually, but I'm bored out of my mind, and when one is bored and pregnant, one tries to organize and plan. As you know, I don't have my mom to ask these questions of, so any tricks of the trade are most welcome.

There's nothing quite like a political discussion to get my juices flowing

I have recently run across a blog entitled "Rocks in my Dryer:" http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/
which is wildly entertaining as well as thoughtful. Today she posted a topic for political discussion, basically asking the question, would you vote for a presidential candidate if you knew he had had an affair? The ensuing discussion has been fascinating to me, and of course I couldn't resist posting my own thoughts as well. You'll have to go to her webpage to see the whole discussion, but I thought I'd post what I wrote here as well, to see if anyone else wants to chime in, 'cause as you all know...there's nothing quite like a political discussion to get my juices flowing.

One must look to history in order to determine how to answer this question. Truth be told, there are less than 10 former US Presidents who remained faithful to their spouses. While an unfortunate and very sad statistic, the point remains that we have had many leaders who are remembered for their strength and leadership regardless of their own personal struggles. The difference between then and now however, is that a candidate cannot even get a haircut without being scrutinized by the pundits, let alone cheat.
As a married woman and Christian, I am obviously not a proponent of adultry. However, as a human being created by God, I also realize that regardless of how righteous we are, we are still sinners, and frankly, sin is sin. As such, every candidate is a sinner and is going to have struggles with something that would be viewed as unacceptable. Therefore, I cannot base my opinion of a candidate solely on their personal activities.
Just because a person has an affair, does not make them incapable of being a good president, in the same way that just because a man "seems" to be the ideal Christian candidate does not mean he in fact will be great. FDR is remembered as one of the greatest presidents in American history, guiding this country through the tumultuous dynamics of the Great Depression and WWII. He died in the arms of his mistress. Does the fact that he had a mistress make him any less of a great president?
My real concern is that especially in the Christian community, we find ourselves arguing over issues such as whether or not we'd base our vote for a candidate on whether or not known adulterer.
Christ said "he who is without sin, cast the first stone...." as well as "remove the plank from your own eye, before trying to remove the sliver from you brothers." Somehow we forget these instructions, and feel justified to judge and scorn others for their infidelities, while we ignore our own struggles. Sure, we may not be adulterers, but we are still sinners in other ways, and we have the luxury of not have cameras pointed in our lives 24 hours a day to provide fodder for our neighbors.
Christ spent the majority of his short time on earth instructing us to love one another, to be fiscally responsible, and in so doing to provide care for the poor and meek. How about we follow his example and worry about taking care of the poor? Feeding his sheep? Let's discuss things that will in fact matter in the grand scheme of history. Let's look at the voting records of these candidates and see who cuts funding to the poor, who cuts funding for health care, who thinks that giving tax cuts to the upper 2% of the population is financially responsible.
Before you say there are no "good candidates" I challenge you to reevaluate your basis for what makes a good candidate. Do not base your opinion solely on the headlines of the tabloids and what the pundits say on Fox news and MSNBC. Instead, do the dirty work. Take the extra moments to log on to their websites, read their actual platform. Log in to www.house.gov, and see what issues the candidates voted for or against. Then listen to them when they speak or debate, do not take the 5 second soundbite for face value, read the transcripts for the entire context. This will show you what kind of person they will be, and whether or not they will in fact have the qualifications to lead us through this very difficult time.

Thoughts on LOST Season Finale

I know that usually I just post updates and pictures of my ever-complicated pregnancy, but today I need a moment to vent about last night's season finale of LOST. If you haven't yet seen it, do not read ahead, because you will only become more confused.

OK. I have been a die-hard LOST fan since the beginning, and I gotta say, I'm getting a little perterbed. I would like to say that in the same way that the first 3 seasons of ALIAS were fabulous before the show went to pot, LOST has started to falter. However, speaking of LOST/ALIAS connections, I'd like to point out that the scene with Charlie in the room drowning was pretty much EXACTLY the same as the scene with Vaughn in the season 3 season finale of ALIAS. Right down to Desmond banging on the porthole with a fire extinguisher. This fact leads me to believe that Charlie may in fact not be dead. Vaughn survived drowning in the very same way, why can't Charlie?
Next, the whole issue with Jack in the future causes me some concern. First, we know his father is dead, and yet he spoke of him upstairs as if he were very much alive. This leads me to believe that we were not watching the actual future, but an alternate one that is a result of his using the satellite phone, in the same way that Kate isn't running from the law. ....a change in action now changes history...very much like the Butterfly Effect.
Speaking of Kate, she was driving a Volvo wagon when she met up with alcoholic, drug addict Jack. Didn't her ex-boyfriend doctor guy (who was killed while she was running from the police) drive a Volvo wagon? Was she married to him and subsequently, was he the "he" that was wondering where she was? Or did she just get a Volvo and the "he" was Sawyer, or another guy entirely...perhaps a baby?
All this is to say that I think they are either in a new altered future, or rather, a parallel universe....which would be why Naomi and Locke's dad said they were all dead. If they're in a parallel dimension, they could be dead in one reality, and still very alive in another.
And while we're on the subject of Kate and Jack, he told her he loves her. What? He was just kissing Juliette. And Kate didn't seem that phased by the whole thing. He just said "I love you." No big deal, just thought I'd share... Odd. Very odd.
Another quandry I have is why do some people regenerate and/or heal, and others die? Shannon and Boone are very dead, as are Echo, Libby and Ana Lucia. Why is it however, that Locke can heal right away, and Rose no longer has cancer? Furthermore, why can Jin impregnate Sun on the island but not in real life? I don't understand the inconsistsncies of the medical "miracles" that keep happening.
The producers keep assuring us that they are not in Purgatory, so I believe they must be in some kind of alternate dimension. But then, this theory goes out the window once we bring Penny into the picture. If they can communicate with her, then they must still be in reality, yes?
I'd also like to say I'm irritated with the rumors saying that there would be 5 "significant" deaths. I guess one can chalk it up to simply being rumors. Killing a handful of others is not really significant, in my opinion. And as I said before, I'm still not convinced that Charlie is "completely" dead yet. However, the fact that Aaron started crying after we saw Charlie cross himself, may mean he is really dead. I keep going back to ALIAS however, just because we see them die, doesn't mean they're dead. JJ Abrams is famous for bringing suppossed dead people back.
These are my thoughts thus far.

Baby Shower Fun

Yesterday was the big baby shower. My sister Sara came over from Spokane and with the help of my aunts and friends, threw quite the extravaganza. I am still on bedrest, so I had to sit in the recliner for the party, but it was still great fun to see everyone!

Ugly Lines

I had thought I might be lucky. So far, although I have encountered just about every sinlge pregnancy symptom known to woman, I had yet to experience the wonder of stretch marks on my belly. I have a few on my hips, my my tummy had remained smooth. That day has ended. Today it has been in the high 80s, low 90s at my house, so I've been sitting with my tummy sticking out of my shirt- I'm home alone on bedrest, nobody can see me. Anyway, while sitting here, I was watching the baby do some acrobatics, and as she flipped into a very uncomfortable position, a red line appeared. I gasped in horror as I discovered I have a big ole' stretch mark running up to my belly button. Oh well...I suppose it was bound to happen.

Lip buzzing

Gently purse your lips together and blow, allowing them to vibrate and make a buzzing noise. Now do this while taking your index finger and rubbing it against your buzzing lips. You now know what I'm doing all the live long day.
I went to the doctor on Friday for my 2-week check up. I'm still on IV fluids and meds, and my doctor doesn't want me moving around without "adult supervision." Because of the very long bedrest/illness, my body has weakend and my blood pressure is now having a difficult time maintaining a regular level. The other day it went from 80/40 to 190/120 in a matter of minutes. This can cause one to feel quite dizzy, to say the least. And I'm still having pretty strong contractions whenever I do in fact walk around, so I remain confined to a seated position.
I'm 33 weeks pregnant, which means I still have a month and a half before the alleged due date of this blessed child. Meanwhile I seem to have turned into an 8 year-old boy; I suddenly find myself suffering from a severe case of ADD. For a while, I could keep myself busy by reading books and magazines and watching the View, Oprah, the People's Court, and several hours of HGTV and TLC. Nothing all that stimulating, but at least it made the time pass.
I no longer have any interest in TV, I can't stay on one show for more than a few minutes before I have to switch the channel. And then I find it very grating on my nerves, so I turn it off and sit and stare. In the 2nd trimester I read many, many books. I've tried reading three new books in the past two weeks and I can't seem to make it past the first chapter in any of them. I've logged on to many baby websites, but find them too tedious to hold my attention for long. Absolutely ridiculous. The irony is that I know that as soon as she arrives, I will be wishing for quiet days of nothing to do, but right now I'm ready to be able to do something productive.

Moniker mayhem

I never realized the stress a parent endures when trying to determine the name for their child. Perhaps I am over-thinking it, but we are struggling to find a name we agree on. You see, we had a name. We loved it. But that was last year, before the third miscarriage. When I became pregnant for the fourth time, and the baby made it past the "danger zone," we started talking about what we would name her. We found a name that we loved, and vowed not to tell until after she was born. Well, the name we loved so much seems to be the name everyone loves. I've been doing my research, tracking name popularity on the Social Security website and babynames.com, and I was sure we'd be fine; apparently everyone else had the same idea. Since September, I know of 7 baby girls born with this name. As I am a teacher by trade, I know how difficult it can be both for the student and the teacher when there are several children with the same name. As such, I told Bryan we'd have to come up with some alternatives. He is not happy about this to say the least. You see, the name we love now was a name he once disliked, but it slowly grew on him, and now he can think of no other name that will hold the same power. We know that her middle name will be Virginia, after my mom. The trouble is, many names do not go with Virginia; any name that ends with an "a" sounds silly next to Virginia. For example: Mia Virginia- not so great. Then, any name that can double as a location sounds ridiculous. For example, Bryan likes the name Savannah, but you put Savannah with Virginia and it sounds like we are simply bad at geography.
I want a name that sounds sophisticated, but offers options; Bryan wants something cute. When we come up with a name, I imagine it on a resume. If it looks too cute, I veto- I want my girl to be able to run for President or be a cheerleader (although I prefer the first.) Her options may be limited if people don't take her seriously, or she sounds too much like an elderly woman. We still have a little over a month to figure it out, but I fear she'll be born and we'll still be arguing. I imagine I will ultimately pull rank, since I am the one giving birth after all. Feel free to offer suggestions- perhaps you know of a name we haven't yet thought of.

Let us all take a moment and applaud the Kiwi

So on World News Tonight, they did a cute little presentation on the mother Kiwi bird. The Kiwi bird lays an egg more than 50% of her own body size. This means, the momma bird can't really do anything, including eat, for the majority of her pregnancy. The egg is so huge, it completely crushes her internal organs.
I've recently been feeling pretty fat and uncomfortable, but once I saw the Kiwi bird, I felt fortunate to only be carrying such a small and proportionate sized baby.
In other news, I smell like a baby's bottom. The skin on my arm around my IV site has started breaking down and it has become trmendously raw. My sister had sent me a baby survival kit, in which there was a tube of A & D ointment. I thought, "my arm is raw and cracked, baby ointment is for rashes" Cut to me slathering baby diaper rash ointment all over my arm around the edges of the IV tape. I find it very soothing, but also very sticky.
Finally, I'm gonna have to hurt Portia soon. I think that she's probably stressed out and knows I don't feel very well. She's been on edge all week. She's insisted on laying right next to my bed, so I have to step around her in the night. During the day, she insists on sitting behind my chair, which means she knocks over the garbage can every time she crawls back there. I've moved the garbage can, but somehow she still knocks it over, and my IV stuff falls all over the place. She is very anxious, barking at everything that moves...she did this when I was taking care of my mom in her final days as well. Finally, she's been very licky. What I mean by this, is that she's licking her paws, she tries to lick my hand, and I found myself saying earlier today, "stop licking the chair!" I know she probably means well and can sense the stress in the house; she is a very sweet dog, but she's driving me crazy and I fear I may have to hurt her soon if she doesn't get it together.