Spotting, Bedrest, and Boredom.. oh my!!

This current week has been an interesting and scary week for me. Now I know spotting throughout pregnancy is normal, BUT this pregnancy has been easy- no sickness, no heartburn, bloating is gone, etc-- I mean, easy pregnancy. So when something like spotting happens, well, it freaked me out. Spotting to me is bad b/c I know the possibilities of WHAT can happen. The first episode happened Monday night. Of course first thing Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor and was told everything was fine. BUT drink lots of fluids, stay off your feet as much as possible, and TAKE IT EASY.

Well that is easier said than done when the doctor you work for has a 60 patient load, your work ethic is to work up as many of those sixty patients as possible (not to be a kiss ass but because that's what you're there for, those 60 patients pay you, and the sooner you get started, the sooner you leave), and because your work ethic tells you to constantly be moving. Luckily Tuesdays and Thursdays are light days, so it's easier to take it easy (25 patients is so much easier to work up than 60, as I'm sure you can imagine). So since Tuesday was a light day AND the day I was told to take it easy, I did. And everything was fine.

Wednesday rolled around with yet another sixty patient load and again, more spotting. This time I freaked out (more than I did Monday) and went to the doctor yet again who told me again that everything was fine. He told me that women spot for unknown reasons but my cervix was not thinning and perfectly intact. Said placenta could be separating a little and that could have caused the spotting. Told me to be on the lookout for more bleeding and pain because that, of course, is bad. Most important thing he told me was, "Go home and stay off your feet. Let's see if the spotting goes away." My question, "Am I out just today?" His response, "Nope the rest of the week."

While I'm enjoying putting my feet up and doing as little as possible so Elijah can continue to bake and get fat (which from what I was told yesterday, he's already a big baby-- whether that means he's long or fat I don't know), I can't help but think about work. I feel like I need to be working, not because I'm obsessed with my job but because I simply hate to be an inconvenience to anyone. I hate putting people off.. it quite frankly upsets me, BUT I have to do what's best for my body and Elijah. And if that means, staying off my feet than so be it. However I can't wait to get back to work on Monday-- I just hope the spotting doesn't return. IF it does and with the doctor's permission, I'll be reclined at work doing triage and ordering/dispensing contact lenses all day. Which is fine with me b/c at least I'll be working AND off my feet-- two for one deal.

So it's Thursday at 11.49am-- what am I doing? Watching Grey's Anatomy and The Price is Right and enjoying the company of my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece (who is quite the character). They were getting ready to go to the beach last night, and Josh took Paisley with him. As they were getting ready to leave, Ashtyn squealed and said, "This is the best day EVER!!!" LOLOLOLOL. She was getting ready to leave, and I said, "See ya later alligator." Her response, "See ya later alligator- don't let the bedbugs bite." Like I said, quite the little character. Love that little girl to pieces.

Pregnancy Trumps Drunk.

Josh and I decided to go to Savannah on Saturday and walk around to 1) get exercise (something I was a little nervous about but I had no problems and rested when I needed to), and 2) to let Josh take pictures of the green-watered fountain at Forsyth Park.

On our way up to Forsyth, we counted 4-5 wedding photo shoots going on, 1 military ball photo shoot (nonprofessional), and 1 bridal shoot. Not to mention people looking at the fountain and then handing us their camera and asking, "Will you take our picture please? Don't let our camera offend you now." There were 3 other Great Danes there, tons of pregnant women, other photographers, tons of people wearing green- including a guy with a shirt that read, "In My Pants," on the front and, "Lucky Charms," on the back- and the whole downtown decorated in reds, purples, and green.

After Josh got his pictures, we were walking back up towards River Street and decided to grab some dinner and take more pictures of Broughton Street lit up with signs and cars. While Josh was snapping away, I took the opportunity to go pee at Starbucks.

I walked in, and already there's a line to the single stall women's bathroom. The longer I stood there, the more I had to pee. One lady was in the bathroom with her kids, there was a girl in front of me, and before too much longer, there were two more girls standing behind me. One thing I guess I need to mention that along with all the people in green-- about 75-98% of them are drinking and/or drunk. SO the girl in front of me went in, and I'm standing waiting doing the bouncy dance. And I hear the last girl standing in line say, "Excuse me, can I go in front of you? I feel like I'm going to hurl." The girl behind says yes, so the girl asks me. I turned around to look at her, and you could tell she was hammered-- glassy, sleepy eyes, yellow skin, etc. "Can I please go in front of you?"

My response, "Well I'm pregnant and gotta pee, so no you can't go in front of me."

"But I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"Sorry. I gotta pee. My pregnant body trumps your drunkedness need to throw up. Don't worry. I pee fast."

I told Josh later, "I'm going to love this pregnancy thing." (as if I'm not already outspoken when people cut me off in line).

How I Know I Own a Great Dane

... And yes I mean besides the food and the size ...

Some people we know that have a Dane used to tell us that he had his own designated spot on their bed that he would sleep, and if anyone got in his way he would pout and pace and make noises until they got up.

WELL... when we got our furniture, we said, "Paisley is not allowed on the furniture. It's new... blah, blah, blah..." Yeah that lasted about a week. We have a couch, a recliner, and an over-sized chair-- and Paisley can pretty much sleep and sit where she wants now (it's kinda hard to control the power and weight of a Great Dane). So recently her place to sleep has been on the couch beside of her daddy.

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting in her spot and she started pacing.. pacing around the coffee table, pacing around the room... she would NOT lay down. I took her out, thinking that would make her lay down... NOPE. She's still pacing... then she comes over to me and puts her head on chest and sighs. And she's pacing again and making noises and looking at Josh.

Then it hit me, and I said, "I'm going to get up. Let's see how long it takes for her to get in my spot."

I got up and walked to the kitchen, and as soon as I got up-- I get the look like, "Are you watching me? When you're not looking, I'm going to get on the couch." And sure enough when I was far enough away, the front paws get up on the couch and the look of, "Oh am I going to get away with it? Is she watching me?" The back paws go up and she plops down.. within 5 minutes she was zonked out.

And tonight.. Paisley ate her kibbles and came over to look at me like, "Mama get up so I can lay down on the couch." And as soon as I got up, she climbed up and is now out like a light.

I LOVE this dog-- she's awesome!!!

Life With Paisley...

Life with a 5 1/2 month old Harlequin Great Dane female has been an interesting ride so far. Besides the obvious- being tall and strong and majestic- she's also silly and sweet and beautiful-- and ALL DANE. So this is what I've learned from my beautiful sweet girl...

1. She leans- which all Danes do, it's a sign of affection. She especially does this when you pat her side. And if you move when she is leaning, she will stumble over.

2. She hates her vet. All dogs are a great judge of character, and if they don't like you- they're not going to give you the time of day and they're especially not going to let you touch them. Paisley sees whoever is available at her vet, and we have found that there is one vet she really doesn't like. The vet was trying to exam her and give her a shot, and Paisley was unruly and squirmy. They vet proceeded to lecture us for ten minutes about socializing her with other people and messing with her ears and nose and mouth and feet. Josh wanted to say, "Maybe she just doesn't like you." We exam her nose and ears and teeth, as well as her paws when Josh is clipping her nails-- and she gives us no problems. We socialize her as much as we can and does well with other people and dogs, so maybe it's the vet she doesn't like. There is one other vet that Paisley likes b/c the vet gets down on her level and plays with her and loves on her. PLUS if she's getting a shot, do you really think she's going to just sit there and let you do it? She's just like a human child in that aspect.

3. She loves to be in competition with herself. Give her a toy and watch as she picks it up, lays in the middle of the floor, and runs back and forth as hard as she can to pick it up. Sometimes she succeeds and sometimes she doesn't. It's the funniest thing to watch her do.

4. She LOVES to be scratched behind her ears. Scratch back there and watch the eyes get sleepier and sleepier.

5. She can sit and stay before feeding or while getting weighed. She can give you High Five, and she's learning not to bark at other people (which is a process). We're trying to teach her not to pull, which again is a process when she sees something she wants, but we're getting there.

6. If she sits on it, it's hers. This can range from her chair, to the couch, to me or Josh. She's so tall that it's nothing for her to walk by something and sit her on a chair or the couch while her front paws are still on the floor. Josh was winding down, getting ready to go to sleep. Paisley was on the bed and down went her butt on top of Josh, totally oblivious that he was laying there. Yesterday she plopped down on Branson, as if to say, "I want to sit here, so you can move or I can sit on you."

7. She gets really silly when it snows or when the weather is warm outside-- self explanatory.

8. She gives the greatest hugs and kisses.

9. When she sits down, her head is at my hip bone. I still realize that I'm vertically challenged so everything is bigger to me than it really is, but still I love that she's so tall. And yes I realize she will be bigger than me and will feel the need to pull me everywhere, but that's why we're teaching her the things we're teaching her.

10. And last but not least, she was destined to be our dog. Getting Paisley has been an issue with certain people ever since we got her. They think we're not fit or responsible or "rich" enough to have her. Here's my issue with that.. while we may live in an apartment and not be as well-off as others, there is nothing we wouldn't do for any of our dogs. We do whatever it takes to make sure our dogs are happy and healthy. And most importantly, we love our dogs unconditionally.. so with all due respect, if THAT makes us unfit as parents, then maybe that's your own insecurity and not ours. And again with all due respect while we may not have human children, we do have four-legged children, and we worry about them and love them just the same. We raise them to be decent adult dogs in public and at home. We worry when they get sick or have surgery. We have to potty-train them and teach them manners.

Start of a New Year...

Say good-bye to 2009 and hello to 2010-- only is it two-thousand ten or twenty-ten?! A very good point was made yesterday-- all the good things happen when the year is pronounced in the latter. For instance the Constitution was signed in Seventeen Seventy Six- Prince's song was Party Like It's Nineteen Ninety-Nine.. so I guess it's only fitting to say the year is Twenty-Ten.

So it's been a LONG, LONG time since I've blogged-- I think maybe around my 30th birthday. A lot has changed and happened since that blog. For one I've figured out that there are some people that are willing to and will stand by you and some that will dispose of you at the drop of a hat. Turning 30 was just like any other ordinary day- I don't and still don't feel any different as I did a year ago (although my hair doesn't hold the natural waviness it once did.. an early aging sign maybe?)

The holidays were different but also the very same. Good and new memories were made-- great food, full and deep laughs made from Pictionary (check out my FB Christmas album to understand), wonderful presents (again check the album out to understand), and some much needed time off.

Work is the same-- working with a new doctor and a new team is always an interesting experience, trying to figure them out while they're trying to figure you out. And while Josh and I have decided to stay in NC until April 2011, I have often wondered if it was the right decision. Either way, it's only for a year.. and then we'll be out of NC (yes it will happen). We're paying a lot of stuff off so when we officially move, we don't have a lot of crap hanging over our heads that don't need to be.

I still have dreams of being a writer-- still desire to write for a living, but I guess I've taken a break from it (unfortunately). I have been toying with the idea of writing a blog or a piece called Life with a Great Dane or Life with Paisley (that's my Paisley, not Brad Paisley.. LOL). I've also been dabbling with photography, although, I will NEVER be as good as my husband.. would love to do something with food photography b/c I'm such a foodie. Been thinking about doing a baking blog which could combine the 3 things I love- food, writing, and photography-- but again I don't know. Of course there is no better time than the present to do it, and the best way to get into it, is just to do it--- we'll see I guess.

Life with the dogs is always interesting... I learn something new about Paisley everyday (if I choose to blog about her, you'll find out). Shadow and Branson are still getting used to her, even though we've had her for a little over 2 mos.

So that's the past 2 mos of Vittitow life... so good-bye 2009, hello 2010.. let's see what you hold for me this year. :) I am hoping to blog more, regardless of what it's about. Au Revoir!!!!

May Days

This past week has been an interesting week. At my day job I followed the retina doctor around- learned how to listen very carefully to what he was saying, learned how to write down exactly what he was saying, went to surgery two days, got thrown to the wolves Friday morning, and rode in his Porsche Friday at lunch. But at lunch he said I was doing extremely well and he would be sure to pass the word to my supervisor. He's the president of the company, so she's gotta listen to him. LOL... day job aside...

I've written a lot more this week as far as the number of articles I've been writing. I think I've written sixteen or seventeen articles this week compared to my usual ten or eleven. The big thing I've written about this week has been tubal reversal surgery- how to find the best doctor, what to do following surgery, tubal reversal vs IVF, and ovulating after tubal reversal surgery. I've also written about some how-tos for cooking, disciplining your teenager, marriage problems and their solutions, pediophobia (a fear of dolls and/or children), and then some re-writes on hypnosis and Singapore museums.

This week my boss is going to take on a large writing project, so lots of work will be available. I'm really excited.

Josh's photo shoot went well last week with TR. Then later Saturday evening we went to our friends' mother's house for a cookout. Our friend has five dogs- two Great Danes, a Great Dane/Lab/Hound mix, a Lab, and a daschund- and all five of them were there. Needless to say Josh got some great pictures of the dogs and of our friends and such.