Marc & Ash

The title of this post is obvious to those who know it....it's from the movie "Spaceballs."  I saw it - or at least most of it - for the first time the other afternoon. 

Below is a tree filled with squawking birds, Mr. Chevy C/K 1500 Silverado(on sale, send an offer!), and Mr. Sampson looking on as sweetpea sleeps on his bed.

And I'm really digging the Whigs.  A band I stumbled upon on Sirius the other day:

The Whigs - Right Hand on My Heart 

And next Friday - literally one week to the hour from this evening - we'll be leaving for England on a British Airways 747, quite exciting.  We'll also be able to update from overseas and I hope to post pictures from Amsterdam as well as London.  We're very excited. 

The Land of Green Ginger is one of the more intriguing, fun, and enjoyable reads I've stumbled upon lately.  The author wrote the screenplay for the Wizard of Oz, so essentially what you're getting here is a bit of fantasy.  It's a quick read, especially for you pothea....Harry Potter fans out there!

Lo's, Sam, and an Eclipse(taken with the ELPH) 

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I just woke up from a cat nap, and I'm feeling ok. A little crampy and tired.

The procedure went well and quick. Everyone at the Fairfax Medical Center was soo nice and caring. Marc was a gem as usual. He was with me through out pre-op, and tried to keep me talking...and laughing. The doctors brought me in a gown, robe, socks, and a dashing blue surgical hat. Since I got to wear all the other stuff, Marc decided that he looked better in the hat. He wore it the whole time, until Dr. Forrest came in to take me back for surgery. I couldn't stop laughing..it was great!

Once I got back to the O/R, I was greeted by an Anesthesiologist Dr. Kim, Dr. Forrest and about 3 other nurses. Dr. Kim has some difficulty with my veins, and they ended up having to go through the top of my hand, whcih was much less painful. We began talking about the trip to England..etc. And then, just like that, I was out. Dr. Forrest told Marc that they had to give me extra juice, to get me to fall asleep because I wouldn't stop talking. Ha!

Once I was awake from surgery, and in the recovery room, I started to ge upset and cry. Something just hit me and I became so emotional. I think my mind finally realized that this was all over and I was no longer pregnant. It was all a little bittersweet.

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Marc and I had a follow up appointment today with Dr. Forrest. He wanted to perform another ultrasound just to be sure that nothing had changed since our last ultrasound. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, the placenta still measures 5 weeks, 3 days, and no embryo is present. Sad to say, but this pregnancy will end in a miscarriage. I am scheduled for a D & C tomorrow, (dilation and curettage)  to remove the tissue. Slowly but surely, I will be able to heal both emotionally and physically. As bad as this all is, Marc and I are trying to look on the bright side.  

It looks like there just might be a Bristish pint in my future. As most of you know we are leaving for our trip to England/Amsterdam, next week. After everything that we have been going through, it will be a nice way to start fresh, with a 14 day vacation.

So the baby posts, will be on hold for a little while, and hopefully we will be making some positive updates in the near future!

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So, this is the first Blog entry in over a week, since Marc and I received some news, concerning our pregnancy.

Its been a long week, and beleive me, this is not the post that I thought I would be making after our first appointment! It has been tough, fearing the unknown, but with Marc's support as well as our friends and family, we are going to come through  this stronger. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow, and should know some more then. 

It has really made quite an impact on our marriage. You think you love someone, but then realize you can love them so much more, especially when times are tough.

Carolyn really put a smile on my face today, when this edible bouquet showed up at my office with a Happy Birthday Balloon attached, from, http://www.ediblearrangements.com/Default.aspx 

It was so yummy!!!!!!! Expecially the chocolate covered apples!!!!

Ashley

According to the ultrasound, Ash's gestational sac is empty and measured 5 1/2 weeks.  Her blood was taken last Wednesday and again on Friday (her poor arm ).  The initial bloodwork done on Wednesday revealed her HCG levels to be quite low at 9,000.  The blood taken on Friday revealed those very numbers to have increased to 13,000.  While something still doesn't seem right - as they are usually supposed to double - we're hoping for the best.  If indeed this is a troubled pregnancy, it's Ok, these things happen and we're there for each other and will try again soon!  Our initial reaction was frustration followed by "shit, we told so many people" but in the end, everyone we told we love so it doesn't really matter.  Yes - we love 73 people.  Most importantly, we're there for each other in times like this and any mountain can be climbed, sometimes you just slide to the bottom.  Love Marc

Posted by Ash at 02:54 PM |

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl.

Looking forward to our first appointmanet tomorrow! More updates to come.

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Kale has quickly become one of my favorites vegetables in recent memory.  Throwing together a Kale stew is quick, easy, and perfect for those cold wintry days.  It's a form of cabbage and considered to be one of the most highly nutritious vegetables, with powerful antioxidant properties.  It's an anti-inflammatory as well.

Yesterday I dumped half a sweet onion, shallots, and some garlic(1) and let them sweat a bit while I cut up the Kale(2).  I actually think the stems are quite good, but remove any the size of your finger(3) and cut up the Kale just enough so it's not awkward to eat.

Add some carrots(7,8) and, of course, mushrooms.  I used a Shiitake, Crimini, and Oyster(9) mix.

Mix it up a bit(10) and then add some lentils(11).  Oh, and don't forget the Potatoes(12)!!!! 

And that's it.  Kale soup.  I let mine simmer for a good portion of our lazy Sunday, but you can throw it together and have it ready in 90 minutes.  As usual, it's up to your time constraints. 

Add salt & pepper to taste but you can also mix and match a few other spices.  I added a tiny bit of cumin yesterday and Herbes de Provence.  I know, an odd mix. 

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I was driving home from work not even an hour ago and traffic all of the sudden got heavy, alien spaceships - they could have been helicopters, but let's keep with the dramatics - were flying around, and there was smoke in the distance.  The shopping center located near Fairfax Circle was on fire.  I think Artie's and Fast Eddie's are Ok, but the rest?  I guess we'll find out, but it looks grim.

The joint was covered with firetrucks and onlookers.  Hopefully there were no serious injuries. 

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Ash & I had good fun last night.  First, I got home and made homemade Potato chips for Ash(Thoughts from whoever is reading this: "What the F#$! was he thinking?").  Just trying to find ways to the pregnant womans heart!

Second, I couldn't find a damn vase for her roses, so I hung them upside down on the Chandelier. Quite artsy fartsy huh?  And finally I ordered Thai from our favorite joint and downloaded some Van Morrison tunes to our Ipod.  Our first married Valentine's together and our very last by ourselves.  Weird.

The past couple of days have been cold, so here's some photos from my morning walk on Wednesday with the dogs.  As you can see, our maniac Lola on most mornings - regardless of the weather - fancies a swim.  She then parades around on the rest of her walk with ice clinging to her frizzy hair.

I never realized how pointy my nose looked.  To the weekend! 

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This entry is a little late, but priceless. We broke the news to my parents by showing up to their house with a stroller in hand. Needless to say they were confused, stunned and happy all at the same time. Here are some pics I was able to snap. I love my Dad's face in the first pic.

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Lately, I have been craving foods such as:

*Hard Boiled Eggs

*Garbanzo beans

*Peanut Butter

*Cream of Wheat

Also, I have to eat every two hours, I am like a small child. Feed me Seymour!! 

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Our little Blueberry!!

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of the nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from his/her tiny body. (babycenter.com)
 

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We've both been reading a few books recently, can you tell what's happening?

I'm reading the first one, Ash the other three.......though I'll occasionally pick up these other ones to see what is going on as they all have pretty detailed information broken down by weeks.  Crazy shit!

Considering my reading list of the past 6 months has consisted of Harry Potters "Deathly Hallows," Chrisopher Moore's "Lamb," "The Book Thief," and "Flight," among others, this pregnancy reading stuff is a whole new beast!

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Here is a list of the top names from 2007

From www.Babycenter.com, one of my favorite sites:

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We just scheduled our first appointment on February 20th, with our new practice, Dr. Terry Allen, and Scott Forrest, located in Fairfax City!!

http://www.drsallenandforrest.com/index.html

I was recommended to them through a long line of WT Woodson women, who have been using this practice for quite some time. Can't wait!!!

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Here are a couple of photos from this past weekend at Taft's house on Cathedral. Tom's very excited.

And here's Ash, drinking her seltzer water out of a delirium glass 

She was a trooper this weekend! 

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The next few months are likely to be trying times in regards to making the dog food.  With smells and such beginning to bother Ashley's little nose, I'm having a bit of a difficult time figuring out when to make Sam & Lola's food.  We've been doing it for about 4 months - thanks to Chantal's recipe recommendation - and the results are fantastic.  Lola is about the most finicky eater I've ever come across and she has only missed one meal since I started making it(and that was due to too much of Sweet Peas food this past weekend). Here's a couple of photos from Sunday's batch:

6 cans of vegetables(no salt), 6 hard boiled eggs, 3lbs of well cooked ground meat(Turkey, Beef, Chicken), a tub of chicken liver, brown rice, salmon, garlic, and a few other secret ingredients.  You then freeze the containers and defrost them when needed. 

It's comforting knowing what exactly is going into your dogs belly and the oils are fantastic for their coat.  Looks yummy, right?

The total cost this past weekend was $19.42.  This cost varies based on ingredients you have on hand, and this past weekend was a little more expensive than usual.  It makes 14 cans of food at 13.2 Ozs......the containers above are 750ml.

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A couple of ducks hanging out in the stream running by the area where I was testing for work.  I didn't win the Mega Millions last night, which was a complete surprise.  Ash & I met our neighbors and friends at the Marrakesh in DC for some Morrocan food and belly dancing.....very neat!  We then cruised over to the Brickskeller in DC, which has over 1,000 beers on hand.  The menu was daunting to say the least!

And finally, Lola waiting for Sweetpea to share her food.  This likely explains the reasoning behind Lola's funny tummy this morning as she's very dilligent and always seems to smell of cat food upon her return from the basement.

Ash & I are both reading books pertaining to pregnancy.  I, "The Expectant Father" and she "The Mother of All Pregnancy Books."  Mine is quite good.  I also just finshed a book called "Stiff" and "Eats, Shoots & Leaves."  I'll be linking all of this stuff up quite shortly.   

And Happy Birthday Mr. Saunders......you're 30 today.  Pictures from tonight to be posted tomorrow! 

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Rounding out my 6th week, the baby is about as big as a lentil if you can believe that! Pants are feeling a little uncomfortable, but I couldn't be more ready:)

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones.

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6 weeks today

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Oh yes, here's the first entry in our weblog.  The selected posts will be about Ashley and I, our animals, and the fun surrounding what guarantees to be a tumultuous 9 months.  Here's the first go.

Last night after throwing dinner toghether - spaghetti sauce laced with tofu - I ran downstairs to play Chris & Chantal online in Guitar Hero before Ash got home from work.  I plopped the guitar strap around my neck and immediately felt moisture.  Sweetpea - our newly acquired 16 year old family cat - had peed on Guitar Hero.

Bleach, Tide wipes, and fabric softner wiping later, I still smell cat urine when playing the damn guitar.

An interesting start. 

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