Gone Crazy

Yup, the Kamas household has gone crazy - but only the furry black and white members of the Kamas family (i.e. Protege and MECO). Here are just a few of the things the cats have accomplished in the past seven days:

1. MECO put a broken half of a dresser knob in my purse. Apparently it was meant as a gift. I only wish I could have seen him carry it from Liam's room upstairs all the way down to the coffee table.
2. They both broke into an unopened bag of cat food spilling half of the contents on the laundry room floor. This happened at about 10:30 at night.
3. They knock books off the shelf in the living room daily. Again, this is a joint effort. That's Protege (aka Pro) in the picture taking it easy after a destructive evening.
4. MECO has taken to sleeping on the counters (so NOT okay with this) because one countertop gets super warm when we run the dishwasher. I guess he's playing the odds that at least during a few of his naps, he'll get the warm spot.

Even as I write this they are tearing around the house at warp speed, and I'm fairly positive one of them has just crashed headfirst into the wall. Maybe that will calm them down for a minute or two.

They've just recently gone bonkers - now that the room is getting put together and Liam is kicking like a soccer player, are they finally realizing changes are coming to the Kamas house? Speaking of kicking, Liam's definitely getting stronger and more active. However, he refuses to kick when Thomas puts his hands on my stomach. He can be going to town, but when I call Thomas over, all action ceases. Stubborn little kiddo...wonder who he takes after? :)

The Turtle

It's happened. I'm officially too pregnant to get myself off the couch after sinking into the cushions without assistance. I'm like a turtle on its back. I can't right myself. All I can do it wiggle back and forth hoping eventually I'll gain enough momentum to make it to the side. Or the other option - to wait for a nice enough human to come by and take pity on my plight and help get me mobile and on my way again. And this is only the beginning - I'm only going to get bigger from here. Imagine my strife as I lay here writing this blog realizing my pregnant butt (which is larger - but wider larger, not bubble larger...yup, still flat - bunch of bs) is sinking further and further in between the couch cushions and my only chance of human intervention is about 20 feet away, snoring soundly and more than likely snuggled up to my body pillow which I will have to steal back in an hour or two (assuming I make it off the couch tonight).

I did talk Thomas into repainting the room. Of course, this didn't come without the mass grief I knew I would get when I told him I thought a blue-y gray color would be ideal. Yes, Thomas, once again I will put on the blog that you had that thought originally and I laughed at you and said no freaking way. You were right and I was wrong. Enjoy that...relish it...I plan on it being a long, long time before that happens again. I hereby, forthwith and all other forms of lawyer speak withdraw myself from the choosing of paint colors. I will continue on in my duties as head house designer/decorator, but will delegate the selection of paint colors to someone else...but not before I send Thomas to Home Depot to bring back pots of color to test on the wall that I think will look good. I'll just give him the final decision.

Thomas thinks my demands for the furniture to be immediately assembled upon its arrival at the house and my desire to have the room repainted as soon as possible are signs of me nesting. Maybe, to some extent, but more likely I've looked at the calendar and have seen how much crazy is happening between now and July and decided sooner is better than later. Besides, if I've already turned into a turtle, how much longer can I possibly continue trekking up the stairs to monitor progress?

Seeing Green

I have a flaw (okay, I have a lot of flaws, but this one seems to keep rearing its ugly head). I apparently lack the gene that allows me to pick out a paint color for a spare bedroom. It's definitely spare bedroom specific because I've knocked it out of the park in the house, the bathrooms, our room, you name it...but Liam's room (former spare bedroom) is a horrible, horrible green. It was also a spare bedroom I had Thomas paint "Parchment Paper" in Temple - should have been a light beige, turns out it was the color of primer. I know...Thomas accidentally got primer on the wall and you couldn't even tell.

Now, for Liam's room - I must say it didn't look horrible on the paint chip. It didn't look horrible on the 2ft x 2ft square Thomas painted when we were checking out colors, but it is full on AWFUL now that it's on every wall. I swear the walls are glowing. Why green when I'm doing a whale bedroom? Well, blue would have just blended right in, and I laughed when Thomas said gray...now I'm thinking a light gray would be perfect. Damn...Thomas has only been right one other time during the pregnancy (when he said the whale knobs would look better with white furniture), and now he's upped his record to 2 (he's still far behind, but he's gaining ground!!).

He's a good husband - he assembled the (white) furniture and arranged it all in the room, and keeps telling me that it looks better with the furniture and it will look even better when we get all the other "stuff" in there. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way that I do, but he knows if he admits it he will have to repaint the room. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen this weekend. I cannot live with the green. No amount of "it's a baby room...it's supposed to be bright and cheerful" is going to save this one. I'll retape and help repaint if that will help convince him that we just cannot have this color in our house.

I'm owning up to this one - it's totally my fault that the world's worst paint color is upstairs mocking me. I can't even go look at - the sight of it makes me sick. Grr...looks like it's back to behr.com to find the magic shade of gray that makes me happy. Then it's on to pouting and pulling the pregnancy card to get Thomas to go buy more paint and paint supplies, and not spend his weekend resting...

But They Are Magically Delicious!

It's been a productive weekend. After braving Houston traffic to go see close friends who happened to be at the rodeo (never, ever, ever going to the rode on Spring Break Saturday EVER again), we picked up the baby furniture from Babies R Us (I've also added going to that store to my things I don't plan to ever do again list), went and got the dresser from Target, and picked up the paint from Home Depot. Of course, by this point we had been on the move for a good solid 7 hours which just happens to be about 6 hours more than I am useful for. Although Thomas was content to keep going and hit more stores for baby-related shopping, I called a time-out for a much needed rest. Turns out a short rest in the bed watching Big Love makes it a lot easier to go to Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream with Deb at 8pm...and I thought I was ready to call it a day. I'm apparently never too tired for a hot fudge sundae.

Today we painted the room...well, I helped. Don't get jumpy, the window was open, the room was well ventilated, and my main role was taping anyways. I did a little trim work, but when it was time for the real painting to start, I vacated the room. I won't pretend that was totally related to the pregnancy - I usually take on more of a supervisory role when it comes to home improvements anyways. Once the room dries, we'll start putting the furniture together. We have a crib, changing table and a dresser, but I still need to buy a chair. Naturally I don't want just any chair (surely by now you've gleaned from the blog that I'm a *little* spoiled), I want Pottery Barn's Ultimate Swivel Glider. It's the most amazing thing I've ever sat in...it doesn't only glide, it swivels. It's also like triple to cost of any of the other chairs often seen in nursery (just pointing out, these inferior chairs don't swivel!). I figure if I save up for a few months and whine enough, I just might get it. Besides, if I'm going to be upstairs feeding Liam at 2am in the morning, shouldn't a girl at least be comfortable?

I should have been on a plane today bound for NYC, but, per doctor's (actually more like doctors') orders, I'm here in H-town, enjoying the beautiful weather, and thinking good thoughts for those that went in my place. I wish I could be there, but I'm not complaining. I completely understand why I've been "grounded". I get winded going up the stairs, I can't put up the laundry without taking a break, I still get light-headed from time to time (although MUCH less frequently now thanks to the magic pills). It's the right thing to do for me and Liam, even if I am missing out on some fabulous travel opportunities. Plus, I'm being good and following doctor orders. I even bought Honey Nut Cheerios today instead of Lucky Charms after the OB about had a conniption fit when I told her what I had eaten for breakfast the morning of my appointment (perhaps she doesn't understand that they are magically delicious!). I'm trying to be good...but a preggo has to get her sugar fix!

As the picture up at the top says, **ONLY** 133 days to go...

Halfway There

So, today marks the halfway point of the pregnancy; however, I'm pretty sure it's not all downhill from here. I'm thinking the next twenty weeks (or less) will pretty much drag along at snail's pace because, let's face it, that's about how fast I'm moving these days. People keep telling me about the miracle that is the 2nd trimester and how you get all this energy...I'm calling b.s., people. True, my lack of energy may have something to do with the heart issues since I'm essentially working out all day long, but still. I spent all day in bed yesterday, took about a 4 hour nap and managed to sleep for 10 hours last night (minus bathroom breaks). I shouldn't have any problem nodding off again tonight, either. Second trimester energy...hmmph.

From the last post, you probably saw that we learned that we are having a boy, and it is quite possible that Thomas will get his Samoan after all (no, not an actual Samoan, but possibly a kid of that stature). Here's the story behind the Samoan deal - Thomas wants to a adopt a Samoan kid because of some crazy stat like a plain-Jane American male has like less than a 1% chance of making into the NFL, but for a Samoan it's like 50%. Hence, Thomas wanting to adopt a Samoan. Yes, I know...I live with him. But, our kiddo is measuring almost a week ahead in most departments, and week plus a couple days in the legs department. Just what I need, another man I can't look in the eye without standing on my tippy-toes (and it's a stretch even then).

Of course, once you learn what you are having, all the really fun stuff can begin. I'm an organizer and a planner (hush Thomas - I didn't say I was a cleaner - organizing is different) and I like to have things wrapped up well in advance. I'm also an analytical thinker, so when it came to choosing a name, we highlighted every name in a 500 page book we could live with, drew up a chart, made the different combinations, and started working through what we liked and didn't like. The highlighting in the book took several weeks, but once we found it we were having a boy, it took all of three days (and not even whole days) to arrive at Liam Weston Kamas...yup, that's how we roll. The name doesn't have any particular special meaning or origin to us, we just like it. But it is kind of cool that Liam is short for William, and I just happen to be married to Thomas William...seriously though, that's about as close as I can get to having a "Junior".

It's also time to start nailing down all the fine little details - I know I have about zero control over how and when this little man plans on making his entrance into the world, therefore, I must control and have worked out every single other detail possible. Thus, we are registered for the baby gear (hooray - I get my PotteryBarn Kids whales!!), although I'm sure I'm missing probably 400 things that I *need* on the list (but I'm also sure people will tell me what those missing things are), we've picked out and ordered most of the furniture (just a dresser to go), we've chosen our name, and today we selected a paint color for the nursery. I'm on this...I think.

It's starting to become real - every time I see him on an ultrasound, hear his heartbeat, feel a fluttering kick, or we take a major step, it becomes more and more real. Not that I've been pretending this isn't happening, but it's hard to look ahead and see how this life-changing event is going to, well, change your life. It's not quite time for me to get my momma on, but the good news is that there are plenty of beautiful babies around for me to get my fix :)

Our First Gig 'Em

Today was a good doctor day (they really haven't been fun visits lately) because we found out that we are having a baby boy! Although our son was very uncooperative for much of the ultrasound, he did give us a "Gig 'Em" sign...he's an Aggie already! We got all great news - everything is developing as it should be. We saw the four chambers of the heart, the two hemispheres of the brain, and what the ultrasound technician referred to as his third leg. Her words, not mine. I'm glad she knew what she was looking for because I wouldn't have been able to tell from what we could see on the screen. They did take lots of measurements, and the baby is almost a week ahead of how big he is supposed to be, especially leg measurements. It looks like I'm having a giant...

Even though it was totally awesome to see the baby during the ultrasound and learn the sex, the best part of the whole experience was watching Thomas. I'm not sure he blinked for the entire process. His eyes never left the screen! This was the first ultrasound he's been to - I was probably like that for my first one, too.

Now that we know the details, it's time to start buying things! I've had my eye on this adorable whale bedding at Pottery Barn Kids since about the week after we found out we were having a baby. It's finally time to let the swiping of the plastic begin! It's also time to start getting serious about names. I've got about half the alphabet left to go in the name book, guess it's time to get started!!

Time to Get Serious

Well...hmmm. I've now seen my cardiologist twice and turns out they *think* I have something called unprovoked tachycardia. What this means is that my heart beat will increase to some ungodly number for absolutely no reason. How do they know this? On Thursday/Friday, I had to wear something called a Holter monitor that measured every heartbeat for 24 hours. The highest measure it took was 190 bpm...at 3am...while I was sleeping. Needless to say, they are really concerned. Especially since it peaked above 120 bpm at least 25 times during the 24 hours I was strapped into the contraption. I also had to keep a diary of my activities during the day. Turns out there is zero correlation between what I'm doing and what my heart is doing.

So what does all this great information mean? Well, they are still trying to decide what to do exactly. I'm not done having tests run on me. I have an echo-cardiogram scheduled for Thursday. I'll be seeing a high risk OB in addition to my regular OB. I also get to go on a medication called Inderal to try to get it under control. It's relatively safe for the baby, but the many doctors caucused and decided the risk the medicine brings is still better than my heart beating that fast.

In the meantime, I am to continue a relatively normal life - until they say otherwise. Above all, I am to REMAIN CALM (they keep saying that). However, it's not exactly easy to remain calm when you are fairly certain your heart is trying to jump out of your chest. I'm also supposed to report to the hospital immediately if I have chest pain, faint, or have difficulty breathing...but still REMAIN CALM.

All too quickly, this has gone from, yup we need to check this out and find out what is going on, to this is very serious and we are concerned and must get this under control. Not exactly the kind of response that makes you REMAIN CALM. Sure...no problem. If the medicine doesn't work, they've talked about ablatement surgery (which would be a pretty extreme measure) or putting me on bed rest. I'm really not too keen on either of those options (especially the surgery), but I'll do what I need to do to make it through. I do have one question...if my heart is beating like I'm working out practically 24/7, can I at least see some benefits from it?

One day at a time...

A White Flag Day

Okay, so for the past several weeks, things have been going really smoothly. Other than frequent trips to the bathroom and a few sleepless nights, I've been coasting...until today. I've been feeling dizzy off and on the past several days, and when I went to get blood drawn this morning, I was talking to the nurse about my symptoms. She took my blood pressure and it was a little high, so she suggested I make an appointment with my OB, stat. No problem, my doctor is amazing and I got in almost immediately. My blood pressure wasn't bad (138/86), but not great. What they couldn't get to slow down was my pulse rate...a pounding 126 bpm even after resting.

So what now? Well, I get to go see the cardiologist tomorrow to see if I'm having any problems with my heart. I'm also supposed to rest, take it easy, and in general REMAIN CALM. Sure...no problem. I've also been banned from getting on an airplane and going to San Fran. Very disappointing, I was looking forward to going. But, my health and that of the baby's is the most important. Plus, I have absolutely amazing colleagues that take care of me. I'm so lucky to have everyone in my office - they keep me going.

The dizziness comes and goes in waves. Right now, nothing, but 10 minutes from now, the room could be spinning as if I just drank the Lobsterita (if you haven't had one, I don't recommend...it's a margarita the size of a swimming pool with extra tequila shot-I swear that wasn't what I wanted, but I wasn't allowed to get up from the table until I finished it...which of course, I did). Fingers crossed that the cardio doc can figure out my latest issue...and fingers doubly crossed that it isn't something that puts me to bed for the next 22 weeks. I'm thinking positive thoughts, T, I swear!! However, this definitely goes down as a white flag day...I'm waving it, eating my dinner, and going to bed.