The Waterfront

This Saturday was the grand opening of the waterfront on the intercoastal in West Palm. Which is just a simple name for a beautification project they did using stimulus money to improve the path along the water and make some large boat docks for the public. This was done in an effort to bring people downtown and make it easier for boaters so that they could just drive up and go shopping or eat downtown. They really did a great job and it will definitely bring people in. Every time the throw a shindig on the intercoastal it is grand with lots of music, lots of food, lots of people, but this time there were not a lot of bathrooms and in my efforts to stay hydrated I also have to "go" a lot. But despite the long lines we had an experience to close off the night unlike any other. We walked to the end of one of the new floating docks, these things are huge. Looking out into the intercoastal you can see the large barge the fireworks display are going to be launched off of. So naturally we think the show will be great from this spot. There was no wind but the breeze coming off the ocean and over the island towards us, which proved to be to our disadvantage. When the first amazing explosion took place we realized we had NEVER been this close to a major show before we had to look straight up, the explosions were practically taking place over our heads. It was an awesome sight, except for the falling debris and the smoke, and the specks of who knows what that was getting into my eyes. I tried to take so many pictures but the booms were so close all my camera would capture was pure flash. It was crazy, it was awesome, on the 4th we are definitely not watching from the dock!

Nesting & Insurance gripes

So, today I have just been thinking about all of the things I would like to do to our place to make it more "homey." Right now we have our furniture in place but still almost a year after moving in we have some bare walls and only plastic blinds in all of the windows. I have this long list of things I would like to go get and do to the place to make it feel warmer. We can call it the I want list... a rug for the living room since it is all tile and can feel quite sterile at times, and possibly get some nice light flowy curtains to cover the 3 windows in the living room, some nice frames and shelves for the wall for some interest. For a while I was content to just deal with it since we are just renting, but lately I just want it to be right. Am I "nesting"already? This could get expensive and I am trying to control my urges but I just spent the last 30 minutes at work looking up area rugs.... Craigslist has done us well in the past and I think we are going to be able to find some good baby things on there (such as changing table/dresser, and those types of odds and ends that don't need to be new) since there are no garage sales around here Craigslist is the next best thing!

Yesterday, I discovered after a long telephone conversation with Sheniqua at BCBS, that I should have timed this pregnancy better. For some reason my insurance plan renews on March 31st. This means that all the appointments that I have up to that date count on this terms deductible, and on April 1st I get to start over from scratch. It is sickening! It is one event and I am so annoyed that if I would have had an insurance plan that renewed on January 1st this would not even be an issue, I mean it all occurs within a year, I wish they would make an acception for pregnancy, but they would rather stick it to me! I know it will all be worth it, but I am not excited about essentially paying my deductible twice. This issue it was not even something that had crossed my mind. I am so thankful however that this little bean in my belly was planned, because we will be needing every penny we have piled up!

Baby Time!

So, I can finally start blogging again. Hard to keep a secret when all you want to do is tell people your story and how you are feeling because you are PREGNANT! I am going to start by telling you how we found out we were pregnant in the first place. I have never had a positive pregnancy test...

We had been trying to get pregnant for 6 months, which in the grand scheme of things is not a very long time, but when you are "trying" it feels like forever. After I got off the pill, my cycle never returned consistently, so I was worried there may be something going on, and after 20 days straight of spotting I decided to go to the doctor. On December 21st I went to the doctor to discuss what was happening/or not happening, they gave me a pregnancy test and it was negative, so they decided that they were going to start testing me for PCOS. This testing involved lots of blood work (WHICH I HATE) and an ultrasound. I decided since this news was kinda of depressing (it could have meant really hard to get pregnant, weight gain, higher risk pregnancies) I was going to wait until all the family had finished visiting for the holidays before I had any of my testing done. So in the back of my mind while trying to be festive and fancy free I was worried.
On January 5th I went in to have my ultrasound done, I was expecting the worst, or just hopping for some answers. The US tech was very nice and while I was prepping I told her why I was there (PCOS testing), and she said ok easy enough. She inserted the US and began to look around. She quickly turned off the monitor that I could see on the wall, the proceeded to ask me if there was any chance that I could be pregnant. I said I guess so, she then asked if I would like to know if I was pregnant, and of course I said YES. Then she turned the monitor back on and said there it is. I was SHOCKED, I saw the little piece of rice, and heard the little heart beat, all while bawling on the table I could not contain myself. I was expecting COMPLETELY different news, I had been preparing myself for the worst. She told me I was 6 weeks along and I was just filled with such JOY! That meant I was pregnant when I had gone in on the 21st, and it meant that I got pregnant while I was spotting, so confusing, but God had a plan!
I wish I had the opportunity to find out like the modern woman of today, by peeing on a stick, but I think I have a pretty good story.

More to come.... WE ARE SO EXCITED!

Dear Tow Truck,

Go away. I know you have an important job to do at times when a car will not move or after an accident. But please tell me why it was necessary at 3:00am to tow a truck that had been parked perfectly between the lines all day and that happened to be in front of my house. That truck wasn't hurting anyone, you just wanted your $150. Let me be perfectly clear this is not even my vehicle. But your stupid truck engine, your rattling chains, and your screeching of tires WOKE ME UP and KEPT ME UP until you were able to remove it from its parallel parking spot and secure it to your flat bed. I do not appreciate you and your rude wake up call! I am sure the owner of the grey tuck does not appreciate you either!

Sincerely,

Grouchy pants

Complain...complain

I really should not complain! But, I am going to... Why do I always get stuck working for AD's who always side with the coaches and never with the athletes or ATC? In turn I am always the bad guy, and this keeps me from doing my job to the best of my ability and it is so frustrating. The AD basically said he knows more that our Ortho! WHAT! No, more like you are an idiot and now a kid with his 5th cocussion in a year (should be season ending) will be playing tonight in a collegiate basketball game. WHAT!

Lesson of the day?
C.Y.A...DOCUMENTATION! DOCUMENTATION! DOCUMENTATION!

New semester...same old dishes

What can I say I am not a domestic goddess, I come about that naturally. If you were to walk in my house right now you would notice a large number of dirty dishes on the counter and laundry bins full of clothes, although some are clean just needing a good fold. Spring semester has begun and with it I am still trying to get into a new rhythm of get up go to work, come home go to bed. I guess the rhythm should include come cleaning but who wants to clean when the couch looks fo lonely? Of course the untidyness only seems to bother me, I saw the conditions Greg let himself live in when I wasn't around, and when he was the self proclaimed "clean one." But, never the less, we need to clean tonight or we are gonig to have to wash a dish just to use a dish....sheesh. I need a vacation.

33* out, YUCK!

I got to turn on my heated seats today that makes like 4 times since we've moved, it's pretty stinkn' cold! But on top of that I brought my pretty new camera to work with me this morning so I could show you what we've been up to for the past couple weeks. Of course the photos would start on Christmas since that is when I opened it :)

We HAD to go to the beach Christmas afternoon, just to say we did, the kids had a hard time keeping their eyes open for the picture this was the best we got. What's that big gold ball in the sky?

Typical Patterson picture.

The "big tree" on the island. This picture doesn't do the bigness justice.

CityPlace decorations. We went to Il Bellagio for our anniversary dinner and sat right by the tree. This is one of my favorite places to go, it is just so Florida and it is fun to watch people. There were so many tourists in town over the break, it was crazy, but glad we got to spend Christmas at home this year and attend our church service, see our tree on Christmas morning, it was those little things that made this year special. I thought it would be hard without the cold, but shockingly enough it is something I can do without.

Once the Hills got here the highlight of that visit had to be sailing. We went again with Captain Mike. The seas were much rougher this time, but it was so much fun.Tiny, before he turned the color of mom's shirtLike my new bracelet?It was worth this view over Palm Beach!