Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Mr. Rogers Goes To The Track

Darren was rewarded for all of his hard work this past year with a big surprise at his sales-ops meeting in TX... 10 laps around a NASCAR racetrack in a Corvette Z06 race car!!! (This was with the help of Texas Driving Experience). Darren got to suit up and drive 140 mph around the Texas Motor Speedway. Let's just say his first text to me went something like this:

wowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow.

Life is pretty much complete at this point as I believe he has probably reached the pinnacle of fun for a man :) There was also a pit crew competition that his crew won - of course. (you can view that here).






To top it all off, he got to share the experience with his best friend Tim!



Sunday, June 22, 2008

Introducing Baby Rogers #2!

His/her arms are behind his/her head, just like how Noah and Daddy sleep :) We went in for what is called "nuchal fold" testing - which tests for Down's Syndrome. We were pleased to hear that all tested well and we will get the full results in a week. I saw two arms and two legs so I was pretty happy!


Saturday, June 21, 2008

Out of control.

Mama wanted a hotdog, and Sonic was up for the challenge... Look at
the size of this thing!!

Monday, June 16, 2008

The sweet heart of our sweetheart

I wasn't expecting it, but today I was able to hear the sound of my tiny baby's heartbeat :) Darren and I were a bit disappointed since he wasn't with me for the momentous occasion... but he will hear it soon. With Noah we were both there - and Darren even recorded it so we could listen to it over and over...

This pregnancy has been a little different than the first - more emotionally and mentally relaxed. Maybe we aren't taking a picture of my growing stomach every week, or recording the first sound of the heartbeat, but I'm also not worrying about a miscarriage every 20 minutes, or desperately hoping all is well. I have a peace that everything is fine and will continue to be so...

Sometimes experience is a gift.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Happy birthday to me!

I am blogging on my phone from the beautiful room in Saratoga that
darren has just surprised me with :) I didn't know what our day
held... It was so fun! We went shopping at the gilroy outlets, had
dinner at the newly renovated La Fondue, and just turned into this
gorgeous lodge.... Aaahhhhhhh....

Gotta go, dar just drew me a bath :)

Nighty-night! And thanks juju for playing with Noah overnight!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

My "vacation" into postpartum depression

Last week I had the privilege of attending the annual conference held by Postpartum Support International. It was an amazing experience to talk with authors of the books that helped me, laugh with the founder of the organization, and meet many women who had gone through what I had and were doing something about it. It was inspiring at times, but also angered me at times. ONE in FIVE women will be diagnosed (ideally she will be diagnosed) with a perinatal mood disorder - yet OB's, mental health professionals, pediatricians and the like are not educated on such a marriage-shaking, joy-stealing, crazy-making, potentially life threatening illness... How is it that a beautiful, intelligent attorney can take herself to the hospital with typical PPD OCD symptoms (intrusive thoughts of harming your baby) - and be admitted into a mental insitution?? Someone knowledgeable on just the basics of PPD would know that OCD thoughts are generally horrifying, but not usually something the mother wants to act on. What that woman needed was to talk to a therapist, and probably get on some medication. Instead, she spent three weeks away from her newborn and ended up becoming borderline psychotic in the process (due to her surroundings).

Why is it so hard to find help? I am now the northern California coordinator for PSI. This means that when someone from northern California finds the site and is looking for resources, she (or he) can find my email and number and contact me. Once they do, it is then that my work begins. I will spend about an hour trying to find a therapist or support group that is experienced with perinatal mood disorders (PMD) (side note: A PMD just means that it can happen during or after pregnancy). It shouldn't be so hard finding help for these ladies, but it is. PMD's are a different animal than basic depression, and can't be treated as such. I am not the only woman to meet with a number of therapists before finding one that understood what I was going through. That is the norm.

Being in my first trimester, I was tired... TIRED! So I never really left the hotel and went straight up to bed after our meetings. However, I have to say that the hotel was beautiful, the food was good, the bed was cozy, and the time spent educating myself and building out the new and improved "Kim" - was wonderful. I can't wait to finish my proposal chapters on the book I'm writing, and to get it into the hands of all the women and churches who need it. Cornerstone Fellowship, attendance 5,000, is working with me on starting a support group and educating the staff and surrounding area on this illness. I can only pray that it works and reaches this hurting part of the population.

While I was away Darren took fabulous care of Noah... He played in the water, went out to eat, and even got a haircut! Darren also played with his new toy - a new digital SLR (camera). He is already taking great pics. We also had the opportunity to video chat via our laptops on most days which was so good for my heart.

Anyhow - that was my week - what a blessing. I will leave you with a pic that Dar took while I was gone.


PS: 11 weeks today!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

M.I.A.

I feel so out of sorts since I haven't blogged for awhile! Unfortunately I won't be blogging much today either, except to say that I will hopefully be back soon.

This first trimester with baby deuce is a bit more challenging than it was with Noah. This time around I am SICK. Lay in bed, eat crackers, stay in sweats, don't-wanna-leave-the-house sick. If I don't eat I feel bad and if I eat too much I feel bad and heck, if I eat just right I feel bad! I am surviving on diet ditto's - which are a knockoff of sprite/7-up. I don't normally drink soda but I've been drinking at least two of these a day. The weird part? They have to be room temperature, preferably almost flat, and I drink them with a straw.... crazy, I know!

Darren has been wonderful, of course. He helps so much with Noah and around the house. I don't know what I would do if I had one of those "it's your job, woman" type of husbands! Darren is the type that will cheerfully say "Why don't Noah and I go to the grocery store? do you have a list?" giving me some much needed time to veg. Even though I am so DONE just laying around. I am very bored - but just the thought of leaving the house wears me out... It's like having the stomach flu, but for weeks instead of days. Ugh.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment... A few are from when we went to visit great grandma and grandpa in portland, and a few from when my amazingly talented and brilliant photographer/clinical-psychologist extraordinaire friend came to visit us before she heads off to get her doctorate in chicago. We had a great time with "kekky" (Kelly) :)



staring out the hotel window

This is my friend Pam (Pami) - she was my very first bff EVER!

The Rogers Clan