Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Happy Holidays!
To anyone who reads this, Happy Holidays from Brenda and I. We're looking forward to the new year as, frankly, 2004 kind of stunk. However, we survived the flood, business is picking back up again, and with any luck we can start trying for another baby in about a month or so. Best wishes to everyone that's supported us this year. Thank you so much!
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Little help?
As some of you know, we moved into a new house last December. It's a house I lived in as a kid for about three years and it means a lot to me. We absolutely love it there. However, we have been trying to sell our old house for over a year now with two different realtors. We've marked it down several times and now it's down to $60k. We painted it over the summer and thanks to the floods, it has a new water heater and furnace. Now I get word that our real estate agent has gone to another company. Just great.
If anyone reading this blog knows of anyone that might like a really nice starter house for sixty grand, please tell them about our house. You can get all the details and a flyer at http://www.jstudios.com/617front. Thanks for your support.
PS: On top of everything else, Brenda hit a deer yesterday. Apparently we've done something to anger the gods. Just wish I knew what it was.
If anyone reading this blog knows of anyone that might like a really nice starter house for sixty grand, please tell them about our house. You can get all the details and a flyer at http://www.jstudios.com/617front. Thanks for your support.
PS: On top of everything else, Brenda hit a deer yesterday. Apparently we've done something to anger the gods. Just wish I knew what it was.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Sweet Dreams, Little One....
For those of you who have been following this blog, we have some bad news to report. At some point in the past 2-3 weeks since our first ultrasound, Brenda suffered a miscarriage and we lost the baby.
Last Monday was our regularly scheduled doctor's appointment, and we were excited to be hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time. After two or three attempts, a heartbeat could not be located with their microphones. They did an ultrasound and confirmed that the baby had no heartbeat and he was gone.
Brenda went in for surgery the next day and I'm happy to report that everything went well and she's recovering very well.
There has been absolutely no evidence of what may have caused it, other than he must not have been developing properly and what happened was for the best. While we are comforted by that, it doesn't make things much easier to bear. I think we are holding up as best we can, and we truly appreciate the cards, flowers and kind words from family and friends. It will take some time for this wound to heal, but I know we'll make it through.
We are, however, undaunted in our decision to have a child. Our next appointment is in three weeks or so and we'll be taking it from there. It might be February before we can safely try again, but we know the ultimate outcome will have been well worth the wait.
A lot of what we're reading warns against trying again to "replace" the child that was lost. As far as we're concerned that won't be the case. We know he was our first child and we could never replace him. In fact, when we are pregnant again next year, and people ask if it is our first child, I will emphatically say "No".
We will always keep that little one in our hearts and will never, ever forget him.
Until we meet again, little guy, sleep tight. We love you.
Last Monday was our regularly scheduled doctor's appointment, and we were excited to be hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time. After two or three attempts, a heartbeat could not be located with their microphones. They did an ultrasound and confirmed that the baby had no heartbeat and he was gone.
Brenda went in for surgery the next day and I'm happy to report that everything went well and she's recovering very well.
There has been absolutely no evidence of what may have caused it, other than he must not have been developing properly and what happened was for the best. While we are comforted by that, it doesn't make things much easier to bear. I think we are holding up as best we can, and we truly appreciate the cards, flowers and kind words from family and friends. It will take some time for this wound to heal, but I know we'll make it through.
We are, however, undaunted in our decision to have a child. Our next appointment is in three weeks or so and we'll be taking it from there. It might be February before we can safely try again, but we know the ultimate outcome will have been well worth the wait.
A lot of what we're reading warns against trying again to "replace" the child that was lost. As far as we're concerned that won't be the case. We know he was our first child and we could never replace him. In fact, when we are pregnant again next year, and people ask if it is our first child, I will emphatically say "No".
We will always keep that little one in our hearts and will never, ever forget him.
Until we meet again, little guy, sleep tight. We love you.
Monday, September 27, 2004
Baby's First Photo!
Today was the big day...first ultrasound! Actually, it was supposed to have been last Monday, but Hurricane Ivan saw to that. We're happy to report that the little one is doing great. Everything is totally on track for this stage of pregnancy, which is going into week eleven tomorrow. Heartbeat is 168 beats per minute, which Brenda tells me is very good. And he's also very active, moving around a lot just while we were watching (and no, we don't know the sex yet, but it's just easier to say "he" instead of "it", which seems kinda impersonal :) )
So at this point he's moved out of the alien-face-hugger stage and has actually developed arms and legs, and boy was he using them! Even waved at us once! Other than that, mommy is doing very well, and everything is as it should be. She's still pretty tired, but no sickness or anything like that.
I know, I know, enough with the yakety-yak and make with the photos. Okay, here's a good shot of the full body, and here's a good shot of his face. I'm also making the first image my desktop wallpaper, so if anyone wants a copy, let me know.
More updates as they're available!
So at this point he's moved out of the alien-face-hugger stage and has actually developed arms and legs, and boy was he using them! Even waved at us once! Other than that, mommy is doing very well, and everything is as it should be. She's still pretty tired, but no sickness or anything like that.
I know, I know, enough with the yakety-yak and make with the photos. Okay, here's a good shot of the full body, and here's a good shot of his face. I'm also making the first image my desktop wallpaper, so if anyone wants a copy, let me know.
More updates as they're available!
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Almost Back To Normal
Well, as of this afternoon, we've gotten both houses cleaned up from the flood. In fact, both basements probably haven't been this clean in decades. While all of this has really been difficult, I honestly think it'll all work out fine. We ended up taking care of a lot of things we'd been putting off. And hey, we don't have to go through the trouble of a yard sale anymore!
Right now, all we can do is wait for our State Farm check to start replacing stuff. Unfortunately, due to our deductibles on both houses, we'll probably have to cough up the cash for the Front Street furnace ourselves. Oh well. Better than having to pay for it all.
FEMA has also been over to Scammel, and did their inspection. Unfortunately, they won't cover "contents" either, so all that stuff is just gone. But the good news is that they should give us money for the washer and dryer. Hopefully it will all even out. I'll just be glad to be able to take a shower in our own house again.
Big THANK YOU's go out to Grandma and Grandpa Jones for the use of their shower, Grandma and Grandpa Cooper for the hip waders and hose, Mom and Parke for the sump pump, food and labor, and especially big thanks to Deb and Mom and Dad McCutcheon for the HUGE help in the cleanup of both houses. Couldn't have done it without them.
PS: Nine days later, our "official" city site doesn't say the word 'flood' once. Thanks a bunch.
Right now, all we can do is wait for our State Farm check to start replacing stuff. Unfortunately, due to our deductibles on both houses, we'll probably have to cough up the cash for the Front Street furnace ourselves. Oh well. Better than having to pay for it all.
FEMA has also been over to Scammel, and did their inspection. Unfortunately, they won't cover "contents" either, so all that stuff is just gone. But the good news is that they should give us money for the washer and dryer. Hopefully it will all even out. I'll just be glad to be able to take a shower in our own house again.
Big THANK YOU's go out to Grandma and Grandpa Jones for the use of their shower, Grandma and Grandpa Cooper for the hip waders and hose, Mom and Parke for the sump pump, food and labor, and especially big thanks to Deb and Mom and Dad McCutcheon for the HUGE help in the cleanup of both houses. Couldn't have done it without them.
PS: Nine days later, our "official" city site doesn't say the word 'flood' once. Thanks a bunch.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Our Weathermen Suck
Well, you can scratch what I said in that last post. Hurricane Ivan hit us in a big way. Thanks to our local media and the incompetence of the National Weather Service (what they're calling a "simulation glitch"), the river actually crested Sunday afternoon at forty-five feet, much higher than expected. It was at about 41 feet when the house on Front Street had six inches, and the new house on Scammel started getting water through the basement drain. That was Saturday (9/18/04).
Saturday we watched the water creep up Scammel Street, and our neighbor was already pumping water from his basement. However, our drain plug seemed to be holding and I really thought we'd be fine. I was stressed to the max, checking the basement a couple times an hour, and staying glued to the tv and radio. Nobody's reports seemed to mesh with each other, and the lack of "official" announcements on the internet were frustrating to say the least.
I ended up just taking a chance on it and went to bed at 11:30 crossing my fingers. At 3:00am, I went downstairs to find water gushing down the basement steps! At that point, it was much too late to save anything, so all I could do was wade through 6 inches of freezing cold water to turn the pilot off on the hot water heater. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep after that. There's something really disconcerting about hearing stuff falling over and bumping into each other as it floats around.
Long story short (too late), the river crested at 45 feet and we had about 4-5 feet of water on Scammel, about 5-6 feet on Front. Both furnaces and hot water heaters shot. When I opened the door to see that water, it was like I'd been hit with a cannonball. So right now, we're gearing up to start the cleanup process. We have no hot water and only partial electric, as I had to shut some of it down because it shared the furnace circuit.
Now I'm really glad I didn't dispute our new house being in the flood plain. Below are some of the pics:
Scammel Street: Basement steps
Scammel Street: Back and side yards
Scammel Street: Front of house
Scammel Street: Alley beside house
Front Street: Water in basement (this was after the water had gone down 2 feet. Note the distinct water line.)
Saturday we watched the water creep up Scammel Street, and our neighbor was already pumping water from his basement. However, our drain plug seemed to be holding and I really thought we'd be fine. I was stressed to the max, checking the basement a couple times an hour, and staying glued to the tv and radio. Nobody's reports seemed to mesh with each other, and the lack of "official" announcements on the internet were frustrating to say the least.
I ended up just taking a chance on it and went to bed at 11:30 crossing my fingers. At 3:00am, I went downstairs to find water gushing down the basement steps! At that point, it was much too late to save anything, so all I could do was wade through 6 inches of freezing cold water to turn the pilot off on the hot water heater. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep after that. There's something really disconcerting about hearing stuff falling over and bumping into each other as it floats around.
Long story short (too late), the river crested at 45 feet and we had about 4-5 feet of water on Scammel, about 5-6 feet on Front. Both furnaces and hot water heaters shot. When I opened the door to see that water, it was like I'd been hit with a cannonball. So right now, we're gearing up to start the cleanup process. We have no hot water and only partial electric, as I had to shut some of it down because it shared the furnace circuit.
Now I'm really glad I didn't dispute our new house being in the flood plain. Below are some of the pics:
Scammel Street: Basement steps
Scammel Street: Back and side yards
Scammel Street: Front of house
Scammel Street: Alley beside house
Front Street: Water in basement (this was after the water had gone down 2 feet. Note the distinct water line.)
Saturday, September 18, 2004
When it rains it pours
Thanks to the rain Hurricane Ivan brought our way, much of downtown Marietta is underwater as I write this. At about 1:00 this afternoon, our old house on Front Street had about six inches of water in the basement. So I put trash bags on my feet and went down to bring a few boxes and what-not upstairs. Based on where they're saying it will crest tomorrow, the water in the basement could be waist-high. I sure hope not, as that will probably mean a ruined furnace and hot water tank. Just what we need.
Then when I got home from that fiasco, I found that water was already flowing up from the drain in our new house. Thankfully I think the drain plug is actually working and I've gotten it to stop. Just have to keep my fingers crossed until it crests tomorrow afternoon.
More updates on this debacle as it unfolds, plus Monday is ultrasound day, so we'll have a full report on that as well. To see the current flood level downtown, click here.
Then when I got home from that fiasco, I found that water was already flowing up from the drain in our new house. Thankfully I think the drain plug is actually working and I've gotten it to stop. Just have to keep my fingers crossed until it crests tomorrow afternoon.
More updates on this debacle as it unfolds, plus Monday is ultrasound day, so we'll have a full report on that as well. To see the current flood level downtown, click here.
Monday, August 23, 2004
First Doctor's Visit
Today was Brenda's first official visit with Dr. Myers. Not a lot of new news this time. They took a bunch of blood to test to make sure she hasn't gotten toxoplasmosis from the cats. Since I'm on pooper-scooper duty now, that shouldn't be a problem.
So far everything is going well, with still no morning sickness. Tommorow starts the sixth week, and Dr. Myers wants to do two ultrasounds. The first will be September 20th. This early we won't be able to determine the sex, but we should be able to determine quantity (for those that don't know, both grandmothers have been doing voodoo rain dances so we'll have twins).
We're still in the early stages of planning for the big event, but Brenda has already gotten some maternity clothes and is trying to find some decent bedding options. We're going to use her sister Lisa's old crib, but will probably spruce it up a bit. That's it for now. More tidbits as they develop.
So far everything is going well, with still no morning sickness. Tommorow starts the sixth week, and Dr. Myers wants to do two ultrasounds. The first will be September 20th. This early we won't be able to determine the sex, but we should be able to determine quantity (for those that don't know, both grandmothers have been doing voodoo rain dances so we'll have twins).
We're still in the early stages of planning for the big event, but Brenda has already gotten some maternity clothes and is trying to find some decent bedding options. We're going to use her sister Lisa's old crib, but will probably spruce it up a bit. That's it for now. More tidbits as they develop.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Cash or Charge?
Today was Brenda's first visit to the doctor. Before you get too excited, it was mostly to discuss billing and insurance. Gotta have our priorities straight, apparently.
Anyhoo, she filled out a bunch of paperwork and watched a 17-minute video on the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. As it turns out, one of the don'ts is to avoid cat litter. So guess who's going to be cleaning up after three smelly cats for nine months? It's a conspiracy.
She also got a goodie bag filled with all sorts of stuff like pregancy and baby magazines, catalogs, coupon books and a little travel thingy for baby wipes and such.
And, oh yeah, they deduced that Brenda is about 5 weeks pregnant, and our "tentative" due date is April 19th. Don't quote us on that until we've talked to the actual doctor, though. Other than that, things are going well so far. No morning sickness yet, which is a plus since morning comes for Bren at 4:30am. I've never been, but I hear it's quite early :)
More updates as they come along. Official doctor's visit is the 23rd.
Anyhoo, she filled out a bunch of paperwork and watched a 17-minute video on the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. As it turns out, one of the don'ts is to avoid cat litter. So guess who's going to be cleaning up after three smelly cats for nine months? It's a conspiracy.
She also got a goodie bag filled with all sorts of stuff like pregancy and baby magazines, catalogs, coupon books and a little travel thingy for baby wipes and such.
And, oh yeah, they deduced that Brenda is about 5 weeks pregnant, and our "tentative" due date is April 19th. Don't quote us on that until we've talked to the actual doctor, though. Other than that, things are going well so far. No morning sickness yet, which is a plus since morning comes for Bren at 4:30am. I've never been, but I hear it's quite early :)
More updates as they come along. Official doctor's visit is the 23rd.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Welcome!
At about 6:00am on August 8th, 2004, Brenda saw what we've been waiting the last couple months to see: two lines on a pregnancy test. A trip to Quick Care the same day confirmed what we were hoping...we're going to be parents!
We're not sure it's completely sunk in yet, but we're unbelievably happy and excited about this new adventure. That's why we've invited family and friends to visit this weblog to stay up on the latest developments. We'll be posting stuff like due dates, ultrasound pictures, etc, plus most likely miscellaneous ramblings as we get the time.
Again, thanks for visiting and keep checking back for updates!
We're not sure it's completely sunk in yet, but we're unbelievably happy and excited about this new adventure. That's why we've invited family and friends to visit this weblog to stay up on the latest developments. We'll be posting stuff like due dates, ultrasound pictures, etc, plus most likely miscellaneous ramblings as we get the time.
Again, thanks for visiting and keep checking back for updates!
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