Sandy’s Blog

I know it’s been ages since I last blogged and David will be 2 months old on February 5 and it is around the corner but I have been pretty busy the past 6 weeks as you can imagine.

David was born on December 5, 2009. I had a pretty good pregnancy and labor and delivery. I was induced on December 4 but the drugs didn’t start working until the morning of December 5th. I went into labor around 1:30 am and he was born at 6:42 am. The weird thing was I never felt a contraction. I started getting severe leg pain around 11:00pm on December 4. The nurse checked me and I was starting to dialate. It was so bad they finally gave me drugs to ease the pain. I was loopy and don’t remember a whole lot. About 3 hours later I got the epidural. I remember feeling pressure but I was never in any pain. When I tell women my story they are shocked I never felt an actual contraction and the monitor never really picked it up either. I was in the hospital until Monday, December 7th and that was the day we came home.

Our first few days at home were challenging to say the least. My milk hadn’t come in and we had a very hungry baby who did nothing but scream the first night. It tested our patience a lot and I know if I was younger and not ready for this I don’t know how I would have handled it. But, we got through it. The next day my milk came in but then breastfeeding was a challenge until we went to see the pediatrician a week later. She showed me some tips and it is has been going well ever since. I still pump though so Jason can feed him when I am not around or if I want to take a break.

Life has been changed so much but in a good way. David cries a lot. We don’t know if he is colicky or just a fussy baby. But he has been a challenge, especially in the evenings. He wants to be held all the time and attended to. It is hard to get stuff done around the house when he wants to be held a lot. But, I am sure he will outgrow it eventually and start smiling, moving around more and it will be all worth it.

However, the one good thing was ever since last Wednesday when daddy was in Texas on business, David has been sleeping 5 and 6 hours at night. It makes mommy and daddy very happy. He turned 6 weeks old on Saturday so I can’t complain. I guess if he is going to be fussy in the evenings I will take him sleeping that long at night so I am able to get some rest. I will be very helpful too when I go back to work in two weeks.

I am looking forward to going back to work but then again I am not too. I wish I could just spend time with my baby all day and not have to work. But I know we need the money and need me to work. I hope eventually one day I can just stay at home and not have to work. I do feel fortunate though that I am working at home and we don’t have to put him into daycare and we just have to hire a sitter for a few hours to watch him. It is a lot less expensive than having to put him into daycare.

I must say these past 6 weeks have been a whirlwind but they have been great too. I remember before I had him I was wondering how I would take care of him since I never had any little babies around to watch. I never changed a diaper or fed a baby. But, that motherly instinct kicked right in after I had him and I even surprised myself.

I promise to keep this blog updated more as David goes through more milestones and I can’t wait to see life in the months ahead. All the things I have had to change in my life and things I have to give up are totally worth it.

I have noticed since the last time I blogged, that how things change so quickly. My last blog was how we bought a house but nothing more. Well we are finally moved in and all settled (finally) in our place. We really like it and all the unpacking is done for the most part. Now we are just trying to get the nursery set up before the baby comes. The crib, dresser and changing table are up and my shower is on Sunday so I am sure we will have lots of baby items to put around here after that. We already have a few baby gifts from my work shower and family already.

It is amazing how fast this pregnancy flew by. I found out in late March which was when it was still cold out and will give birth probably in early December or possibly late November which it will be cold again. I am finally starting to look like I am pregnant. However, I have been really careful what I eat since I wasn’t super thin to begin with and didn’t want to gain too much weight.

Soon I will be blogging about my new baby but until then I still have a little more to go and enjoy my life the way it is before everything changes.

After months of looking and wondering if we would be able to find a house in time before the baby comes, we finally found a house. It seemed like everytime we would find something we liked, someone else would already have it. We looked all over the place. Of course we only had a certain area since we didn’t want Jason to have a longer commute than he has now. Once we have the house, I will be applying to work at home so it won’t be as big of an issue to me.

So, then we found this house. The only thing was another couple was also interested in it. We put a bid on it last Friday. They were supposed to look at it Friday night. So, the waiting game began. We got a counter from the seller on Saturday and negotiated. So, we finally heard back on Sunday that they had accepted the offer. We were really happy.

We had the inspection on Thursday and a few minor things need to be fixed. However, nothing major that would prevent us from getting the house. We are hoping to have closing the first week of September and then we can move in Labor Day Weekend. It would be great since we would have an extra day off.

I would post pictures on here so instead I will be posting them on our website and on facebook.

We went for the ultrasound yesterday and found out the question we had been wanting to know. That we are going to be having a little boy. I am thrilled. We got to see the baby moving around and he is definately an active one and definately has Jason’s ego. He was smiling and waving at us showing off for the camera.

Today, I had a doctor’s appointment. It wasn’t anything too big. We got to listen to the heartbeat with the fetal monitor that the doctor had. It was pretty cool sounding. The heartbeat is 150 beats per minute which is really good. I then had some bloodwork done for tests. However, we got to schedule the exciting next appointment which is the 19 week ultrasound. We scheduled it for July 10th. If the baby cooperates we will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. I am happy with either as long as the baby is doing well and healthy.

I am doing well so far. I haven’t had any complaints so far the whole pregnancy. In fact luckily it has been fairly easy. I feel lucky to have escaped the morning sickness and all the misery with that. So, I do feel quite lucky. I have had a few aches and pains and some tireness especially at the beginning but overall it has been really good.

Today I am 15 weeks and 2 days along. I am going to buy my first pair of maternity jeans tomorrow. I finally reached that point where my clothes are getting tight. In fact my jeans have been but I was wearing transitional band that helped. But, it is time to buy maternity jeans. A few weeks ago I tried some on and they were too big so I decided to wait a few weeks.

It’s with great joy to announce that Jason and I are expecting our first child.   We are 11 weeks along and mom-to-be and baby are doing just fine.  Call us a bit old fashioned, but we didn’t want to announce until we had made it most of the way through our first trimester.

We had our second visit with the doctor today, and we were able to hear a good strong heart beat.  The due date is 12/2/2009, so we’re expecting the snow storm of the decade to fall on Central Indiana that week.   Now that’s Jason’s dad’s birthday, so we know what day he’ll be picking in the baby pool.

At this point, not much else to tell, our house hunt continues and we hope to find something this summer.

About a week or so ago Jason and I went and ordered Ohio State checks from our bank, National City.  Well, we ordered Ohio State checks this time.  Today, we got them in the mail, except that they were the wrong checks.  We remember when we went to the bank to order them the guy at the counter gave us a big deal over them because they were Ohio State.  Jason even gave him the paper that the checks were on and I remember it saying OSU.  So, I went back today and complained to the girl.  She gave me a bunch of you know what.  Like we have so many customers and he probably just ordered what you already had.  Well, we handed him a paper that said OSU on it how hard is that?  So, tomorrow I am going to be making a call to the branch manager.

Of course this isn’t the first time we’ve had a problem with checks. Maybe it is just this branch.  I have always liked National City- well now PNC that is bought but have had problems with the guy we handed to the paper to a few times at this branch.  Last year when we opened our account, first they put the wrong phone number on the checks, the second time I told them no phone number so they finally got it right the third time.  I just want my correct checks.  Of course if the bank had online ordering for the checks we wanted, there wouldn’t be this problem.

Lately I have been wondering if I am hearing about the Cleveland Browns organization or watching an episode of my favorite soap opera.

First Kellen Winslow gets upset because the general manager doesn’t call him while he is out with a staph infection in which the organization would not release that he had to begin with.  He goes to the media and then is suspended for a week.

Secondly, Derrick Anderson has a great year in 2007 and in 2008 he chokes.  So, he is finally pulled for Brady Quinn who gets his chance as an NFL quarterback only to be injured after two games. 

The Browns are ahead of the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos both by double digits in the 3rd quarter both weeks and blow leads and end up losing both games.  It was however Brady Quinn’s first start and he did look good against Denver. If only the defense could have held Denver for the Browns to win the game.

Braylon Edwards has a record number of dropped passes during the football games.

After the Buffalo game, the general manager of the Browns Phil Savage sends an e-mail to a fan who had sent him an e-mail previously complaining about the coaching staff and other frustrations of the season.  Savage sends an e-mail back to the fan saying  Go root for Buffalo-f#@* you.  The Browns were losing to the Buffalo Bills at the time on Monday Night but ended up winning the game.

Brady suffered a season ending injury when he hit his index finger against one of the Bills’ helmets.  He ended up playing against Houston but was taken out after throwing two interceptions probably due to the hurt index finger.  He is going to have surgery this Wednesday on the finger.

Browns Owner Randy Lerner spoke to the media to extinguish any rumors and said he was not selling the team, he will do anything it take to bring a winning team in this city and that money is no object.  He also said that the fate of Crennel and Savage will be decided after the season’s end.

So, that meant Derrick Anderson was back in as quarterback.  He had another shot.  Not so fast my friend as Corso would say… He suffered a season ending injury as well against the Indianapolis Colts in which the Browns also blew a lead and Anderson’s pass was taken back for a touchdown as he was trying to throw and the ball went backward.  So, that means now the quarterback is Ken Dorsey, a former Miami Hurricane.  The Browns also picked up Bruce Gradowski who was quarterback at the University of Toledo and then went on to play for Tampa Bay and St. Louis.

To add to the drama of the Browns after Anderson got injured not all but some of the Browns fans were cheering as Anderson was carted off the field.  I don’t know if it was the fact that Anderson was playing in place of Brady Quinn who was a fan favorite, or if they were just too drunk (due to the horrible season).  Also…fans have started chanting Bill Cowher’s name in order to try and get the Browns to hire him after this season to replace Romeo Crennel.  Crennel will most likely be gone after this year and so will Phil Savage. 

All I have to say is that I can’t wait for this misery of a season to be over.  I just hope that Santa brings Cleveland a real football team.  I have been a Browns fan my entire life and this is been the worst I have ever seen it.  We might not have gone to the Super Bowl in the 80’s but at least the Browns were competitive.

Cleveland) – Longtime Indians pitcher and broadcaster Herb Score has passed away after a lengthy illness. The team says Score died Tuesday morning at his home in Rocky River.

The Cleveland Indians and Team President Paul Dolan issued the following statement, “Today is a sad day for the Cleveland Indians family and for Cleveland Indians fans everywhere. We have lost one of the greatest men in the history of our franchise. Generations of Indians fans owe their love of the Tribe to Herb Score, who was a powerful pitcher and legendary broadcaster. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and the Family.
”

The 75-year-old retired from the broadcast booth more than a decade ago.

Visitation is as follows: Friday, November 14, 2008 from 1-3pm and 6-9pm at Busch Funeral Home, 21369 Center Ridge Road in Fairview Park, Ohio.

Funeral Mass of Christian Burial for Score will be celebrated at St. Christopher’s Church, 20141 Detroit Road, Rocky River Road on Saturday, November 15 at 10:30am.

Interment will be in Lakewood Park Cemetery located at 22025 Detroit Road, Rocky River, Ohio.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cornerstone of Hope, 5905 Brecksville Road, Independence, Ohio, 44131; or Cleveland Indians Charities, c/o Cleveland Indians Community Outreach Department, 2401 Ontario Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.

Herbert Jude Score was born June 7, 1933, in Rosedale, New York.

Score came up as a rookie in 1955 with the Indians. A left-hander, Score struck out 245 batters in his rookie year, a rookie record that stood until 1984, when it was topped by Dwight Gooden.

On May 7, 1957, against the New York Yankees, Score was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald, breaking numerous bones in his face and leaving him quite bloodied. McDougald reportedly vowed to retire if Score was blinded as a result, but Score actually eventually recovered his 20/20 vision, though he missed the rest of the season.

Score returned late in the 1958 season, but fearful of being hit by another batted ball, his pitching motion was altered, and he was never quite the same pitcher.

Score pitched the full 1959 season, going 9-11 with a 4.71 ERA and 147 strikeouts. Score was traded to the Chicago White Sox after the season, and pitched parts of the subsequent three seasons before retiring.

Score finished with a career record of 55-46 and a 3.36 ERA and 837 strikeouts over 8 seasons, in 858 1/3 innings pitched.

After retiring, Score served as an announcer on the Indians television broadcast from 1964-1967, and joined the radio broadcast, serving from 1968-1997. Score was revered by fans for his announcing style, including a low voice and a low-key style, as well as a habit of occasionally mispronouncing the names of players on opposing teams.

Score’s final Major League Baseball game as play-by-play announcer was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.

Score was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2006.
- Courtesty of wtam. com

I remember growing up listening to Herb call Indians games, especially the years where we lost every game and never had a chance. He was the only voice of the Indians that I knew my whole childhood.  Tom Hamilton is a great announcer and is doing  a great job, but Herb Score will never be replaced. Today is a sad day in Cleveland Indians History. 

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns may have flipped around their season. Led by tumbling wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who announced his team’s return to Monday night after five years by sticking an Olympic-caliber cartwheel and back flip during pregame introductions, Cleveland ended New York’s 11-game road winning streak with a 35-14 win over the defending Super Bowl champions.  

Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson, whose job was in serious jeopardy just a few weeks ago, threw one of his two touchdown passes to Edwards, cornerback Eric Wright intercepted Eli Manning and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown and the Browns (2-3) finally looked worthy of a prime-time TV slot.

Anderson finished 18-for-29 for 310 yards, Edwards caught five passes for a career-high 154 yards and Jamal Lewis scored on a 4-yard run for the Browns, who won a Monday night game for the first time since 1993 and handed the Giants (4-1) their first loss, leaving the Tennessee Titans as the NFL’s only unbeaten team.

Manning was picked off three times and the Giants, so dominant through their first four games, were roughed up by a Cleveland team running out of time to make good on lofty preseason expectations.

In the closing minutes, Browns fans chanted “Over-rated” at the New Yorkers. Aside from some more silly penalties, the Browns were superior to the Giants, who had reeled off 11 straight wins — 12 counting the Super Bowl — outside of New Jersey since Week 1 last season.

But Manning was not himself and New York, which embarrassed Cleveland during the exhibition season, missed an opportunity to open a two-game lead in the brutal NFC East.- Courtesy of WKYC.com

My analysis: I still can’t believe we won this game. I was so prepared for a loss that I turned on the game and couldn’t believe it.  I originally planned to go to bed around halftime because I was sure the Giants would be killing us.  To my surprise they weren’t.  So, I stayed up the whole game and went into work a half hour late.  It was such an exciting game. It reminded me of the days when the Browns used to be good.  I hope those days are ahead of us.  What would be really sweet would be if we could beat Peyton Manning and the Colts.  Living in Indianapolis I would like for nothing more for the Browns to beat the Colts.  It would be sweet especially since I could trash talk my co workers.