Norman's News

Busy Month

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:14:00 +0000

You'd think, with not working any more, that I would have more time to update this blog!

Ray and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary on July 1st. Ray had to work, but after work we went up to High Cliff to the spot where Ray "officially" proposed.

Over the 4th of July weekend, we went with my family to do some boating and stayed at a cabin in Beaver Dam.

The week following the 4th, Ray had vacation and worked on the baby's room. I'll do a post with pictures on that soon!

Then, we had our baby shower with Ray's family.

Our delicious cakes, made by Ray's aunt Nancy.

Berd and Malia - don't you love her smile?

Little Prince Bennett - already a month old!

And now our baby is due in exactly one month - yikes! My body is definitely ready (I get new aches every day), but I'm not sure my mind has been wrapped around this whole parenthood thing!

Barefoot and Pregnant

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:00:00 +0000

I now completely understand where the phrase "barefoot and pregnant" came from. Between the recent heat and being pregnant, all of my shoes feel tight and I'd rather be barefoot!

My 32 week picture:

Also, I don't think I've mentioned that I have a time frame for getting braces off! Dr. Olsen says my teeth will be ready at about the same time as the baby (August). Since lying on my back in a dentist chair for 2+ hours at nine months pregnant is not really an option, I will be getting the braces off once I'm ready after the baby comes (I'm thinking late September or sometime in October). I can't believe that phase of my life is almost over, and with so much less pain and money than originally thought!

We worked on painting the baby's room this past weekend. It's almost complete, just some cutting and another coat on the closet to go. I can't wait to post before and after pictures of that room - its' going to be gorgeous!

30 Weeks!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Only 10 weeks of pregnancy to go (give or take a couple of weeks). I can't believe I'm 75% there! Definitely feeling pretty large these days:

Sleeping is getting less comfortable, but so far I'm getting a good amount of sleep each night. My lower back is also starting to ache, mostly in the evenings. Nothing too major. Overall, I'd say that pregnancy has been very good to me. Thanks, little one!

I can definitely tell that Norman Jr. is getting bigger and stronger in there! I'm feeling stronger kicks, and I can feel body parts pushing against me. Norman Jr. also seems to not enjoy getting squished AT ALL. There have been a few nights where Ray is resting his arm across my stomach and Norman Jr. kicks Ray until he moves his arm. Lol! Stinker!

Sandy

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:00:00 +0000

How could I forget about the newest member of the Jochman family? My parents bought a pony!!! I think my dad went a little overboard after Silky died - chickens, a steer, AND a pony?!? Lol! Now he has plenty of farm critters to feed :)

Anyway, here she is:

She came with the name Cindy, but no one in the family cared for that, so Dad renamed her Sandy.

We all think she's going to be a great pony for our baby to learn to ride on!

My First Nephew!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Steve and Keri had their baby... and it's a boy! He's quite the cutie and he was very alert when we went up to see him today.

First, here's a picture of Keri and I about a week ago. I told her it might be the last chance for us to finally get a picture of our pregnant bellies together!

The picture Steve sent out this morning:

Bennett with his uncle Ray:

Bennett with his aunt Becky:

So, is Bennett going to have a boy cousin or a girl cousin his same age to play with???

San Francisco Trip (aka The Babymoon)

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Did anyone else feel like May just flew by? Our entire month of May was sooo busy! June is looking a lot less busy for us, and I'll be done working at the end of this month! Yay!

Anyway, I'm overdue for a quick post about our trip to San Francisco at the beginning of May. I've been having quite a bit of tailbone pain lately, so the flight was not very fun. The rest of the trip, though, was great!

We spent a full day in the downtown San Francisco area, doing the tourist thing. I put on 26,000 steps (about 10 miles) that day!

We had dinner that night was some friends who recently moved out to California.

We then went to see the Winchester Mystery House, which was not nearly as furnished as I thought it would be, but still soooo interesting.

On day 3, it was time to see the Redwoods. Just amazing. You really do need to see these trees in person to fully appreciate how huge they are.

On our way back to San Francisco, we stopped at California's Old Faithful geyser. I'm guessing it's not much compared to the Yellowstone Old Faithful, but for two people who had never seen a geyser, it was pretty cool!

So, that's the Cliff Notes version of our trip to San Francisco! We almost didn't go on this trip, since there wasn't much time between our trip to North Carolina and the beginning of my third trimester of pregnancy (when travel is supposed to get more uncomfortable). I am really glad we decided to go and really glad that we didn't go any later in the pregnancy than we did!

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes, Unless You're a Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:14:00 +0000

Last Tuesday, we got to see Norman Jr. on ultrasound! He/she has grown so much since our 8 week ultrasound!

The ultrasound technician verified what my midwife had guessed - I do have an anterior placenta, which is why I haven't felt Norman Jr. much. I have been feeling him/her more now, and Ray even felt him/her on Thursday night!

Babies seem to be the theme of the month of April. My dad has been wanting a new farm critter ever since Silky died this winter. He finally settled on twelve new farm critters:

They're cute now, but they'll be ugly chickens in just a few weeks! I think my dad called them "jumbo fryers", so that tells you a little about their fate :( My mom is pretty excited about having organic chicken this fall!

As if a dozen baby chicks weren't cute enough, Daisy out at my parent's place wasn't about to be left behind. Four more cute babies arrived this week!

Babies everywhere!

22-Week Bump and Cloth Diapers

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I feel like my belly has gotten a lot bigger these past two weeks:

Ray thinks Charlie's belly has gotten bigger:

We also made the final decision to go with cloth diapering. I guess I'm really becoming a hippy: using a midwife instead of an OB, planning to give birth at home, drinking organic milk, and now cloth diapering!!! At least we're not planning on joining a commune (although....) ;)

Anyway, I have a Craigslist search saved for cloth diapers and was able to get a really good deal on these used ones:

I'm pretty excited because cloth diapers can get expensive! I know it will save us money in the long run no matter what, but I still like the idea of trying to minimize the upfront cost.

My plan is to get one or two of a bunch of different kind of diapers and see what works for us once Norman Jr. is born. Then, I can stock up on what I like and re-sell anything that doesn't work for us.

I've also started going to rummage sales. I haven't had great luck yet, but I'm excited that I have the whole summer ahead of me to search out those deals!

North Carolina Trip 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:11:00 +0000

Ray and I went to visit Tom in Raleigh again this year. We had a great time, as always, though Ray started getting sick on Saturday. Then, after getting home this week, he lovingly passed his cold onto me!

Our Raleigh trip this year was a little more low-key than previous years, mostly due to Norman Jr. Still, Tom had plenty planned to fill our days!

On Friday, we went to Duke University. The guys loved seeing where all of the big-name NCAA ballers play, and I loved the gardens.

Ray and Tom at the Duke University basketball court.

I LOVE wisteria! I really want to plant some, I just need to get Ray to build me a pergola!

We then met up with Tom's sister, Mary, her husband Matt, and their daughter Kalina, at Tom's dad's house. The men talked men talk and watched Kalina while Mary gave me the 411 on cloth diapers. I had asked her ahead of time if we could do that on this trip, and I'm so grateful she was willing to take the time to share her wisdom with me.

Friday night we went to a real symphony! It was a first for Ray and I. They did a beautiful Beethoven piece.

Saturday morning we left for the ocean! We first went to tour the WWII ship, USS North Carolina. After that, we went to the beach. This is the point where Ray started feeling sick. Ray laid on the beach while Tom and I went for a walk. It was a bit chilly to go in the water, but it was gorgeous!

Tom, Me, and Ray at the front of the USS North Carolina

On Sunday, we went out to Bald Head Island by ferry (a short, non-choppy ferry ride, thank you!). We didn't have much time, but we took a walk up the lighthouse (which was not recommended for pregnant women, hah) and enjoyed a fantastic view!

Luckily, Ray was feeling better on Sunday, because Tom had talked up Ray's basketball skills to his Raleigh friends. They had a great time beating some college kids on the UNC basketball courts.

The victory walk after beating kids 10 years younger than them!!!

That night, Tom called up an acquaintance who showed us the view of downtown Raleigh from her high-class downtown apartment building. We met some people who probably have a lot more money than we will ever have! It was very interesting :)

View of the Capitol building

A great time was had by all, as always. I doubt we'll make it back to Raleigh again next year (maybe Ray will???), but we'll definitely have to get back there SOON. We always have such a wonderful time.

20 Weeks!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 21:22:00 +0000

We're halfway there!

Can you tell I have a limited maternity wardrobe?!? :)

Right on Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:09:00 +0000

I had my monthly midwife appointment today and everything's looking great! I took my mom along this time, which Mom really enjoyed. She got to meet my midwife (one of them), check out the office and birthing rooms (though I won't be using them, they are sooo nice!), and, most importantly, hear Norman Jr's heartbeat (currently 156 bpm).

Jill, one of my midwives, measured my stomach and said I am exactly on schedule. I've been a little annoyed with Norman Jr. because I still haven't felt him/her moving around in there, and Jill thinks I might have an anterior placenta. I'll find out if that's the case when we have our big ultrasound in about three weeks.

Jill is big on nutrition, and I proudly told her that I tried asparagus for the first time in my life... and it was pretty good! I've been doing really well with getting my vitamin C fruits/veggies in each day. Some days, I get my greens in (like when we ate asparagus), but I'd like to continue working on that.

She did say that since I drink so much milk, I should consider buying organic. It makes sense to me that the things I consume the most of should be as healthy and natural as possible, so I picked up a gallon today. I haven't tried it yet, but it cost $6!!! Yikes! I can't wait to hear what Ray has to say about that ;)

Next time, I'm finally scheduled with the other midwife, Marijke. Ideally, I'd see each midwife equally as often, but it just hasn't worked out like that. I'm really glad I'll be able to get to know Marijke a little bit better.

And on we roll to the halfway point. I plan to post a 20-week belly picture on Friday!

Baby Update: First Belly Picture

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:18:00 +0000

I've been putting this off, but I guess I'm ready to post my first belly picture! I still feel like it doesn't look like a pregnant belly as much as an "I've been pigging out on cookies" belly (which I haven't!). I feel like Norman Jr. is pushing up more than out. He/she is quickly going to run out of room in that direction, though, so it probably won't be too much longer before the belly looks more like a pregnant belly. I am 18 weeks, 4 days pregnant in this picture:

I also bought my first piece of baby clothing since becoming pregnant. I bought it at a thrift store, and it's from The Children's Place!

I figure when I find something cute and clean that's gender neutral, I'd better snap it up :)

Chicks Silouette June 5th, 1986 - February 20th, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:17:00 +0000

I've been putting off writing on this blog because I knew I couldn't write a post about anything else until I wrote about my beloved horse, Silky, whom we had to put down unexpectedly last month.

I received Silky (Chicks Silouette is her registered name) as a Christmas present (can you believe it?!?) in 1990. I had been bitten by the "horse-crazy bug" as a little girl and had been taking riding lessons for a year or two. I don't know how my parents scraped up the money, but that Christmas Eve they blindfolded me and drove to the stable where Silky was being boarded. She was the best Christmas present ever!

First picture of Silky and I, in 1990.

The following spring, Dad put together a barn for me and Silky came home, where she would live the rest of her life. Silky and I did the 4-H horse shows every year until I turned 18. We even made it to state twice!

Silky and I at the State Horse Show in 1994

In 1996, we bred Silky to a handsome stallion name Booker T Boss and the following spring, my little Diego was born. Unfortunately, late in the summer, Diego somehow broke his leg while he and Silky were out on pasture and we had to put my baby down.

Silky and Diego (one day old), 1997

Silky had a couple of barn mates over the years. My mom got interested in horses for a few years. Mom tried out a couple of horses, but her favorite was Sunny.

Mom on Sunny and Me on Silky, 2004

Then, last month, I got a call from Mom after work on Friday afternoon. She said that Dad came home, went out to feed Silky, and found her stuck lying on her side in her stall. She was caught next to the wall and wasn't able to get up. She had probably been like that all day. While Ray and I were on our way out to the barn, Dad and Mom got Silky up. We thought everything was going to be ok.

After monitoring Silky for a little while, we all went into the house. The neighbor called a couple of minutes later to say that Silky was lying flat on her side out in the snow. I ran out, and we got her to get up again. Something was obviously wrong, so we decided to call the vet.

The vet examined Silky and said she probably had a twist in her intestines, called colic. She gave us some options, and the best one for Silky seemed to be to sedate her and wait out the night to see if her intestines would untwist on their own. It was a really long night of checking on Silky every half hour (Ray did a lot of the checking).

By the next morning, it was obvious that Silky's intestines were still twisted. We made the difficult decision to put her down. I pet Silky's beautiful face and gave her tons of kisses while the vet gave her that last injection. Dad was able to find a good spot on the property where the ground wasn't frozen, and Dad and Ray laid her to rest on Sunday.

Silky's last walk with Ray and I on Saturday morning.

Silky had a great, long life, and I'm so thankful for that. Still, I had always envisioned my children sitting on her back in her senior citizen years. I can't help but feel a little cheated - with our first child due exactly 6 months after Silky died.

I'll never forget you, Silky-girl.

Successful Sewing Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I posted last year that Ray got me a sewing machine for my birthday. I haven't used it much, and wanted to take a sewing class before making some throw pillows for my newly-reupholstered couch.

I signed up for a Sewing 101 class at Joann's in December, but they didn't actually schedule my class until almost the end of January. In the class, we made a tote bag, which ended up being a lot more difficult than the throw pillows! I am so proud of how well the tote bag turned out, though!

After finishing the tote bag, the pillows were a breeze! I sewed up the three sides and stuffed them, and then took them to Ray's mom and she taught me how to blind stitch the last side. It was really easy, I can't believe no one has ever taught me before. I've learned so much!

The pillows don't actually go on this chair-and-a-half, they go on the dark green couch. They just showed up better here for a photo shoot :)

Big Announcement!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I finally get to announce that Ray and I are expecting our first child in August 2010!!! We're pretty excited, and quite a bit nervous, about becoming parents.

The pregnancy test came up positive on December 13th. We kept quiet all through Christmas, which was really hard. Right after Christmas, we told our parents and swore them to secrecy until we had our first ultrasound. Our ultrasound was on January 11th and all looked well!

We told some family and friends at that point and then it was just waiting to hear the heartbeat again at our midwife appointment last night. She found the baby's heartbeat with no problem - yay!

We are not going to be finding out the sex of the baby ahead of time, so until he/she is born we are calling him/her Norman Jr. Ray came up with the name, of course :)

Can't wait to meet you, Norman Jr!

Bathroom Update: Glass Blocks Are In!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Ray put the glass blocks in the bathroom this past weekend and they look great!

The idea is to let as much natural light into the bathroom as possible, and this way you get light into the tub area without losing your privacy.

They still need to be grouted, but it's so fun to see the progress! Yesterday, I picked up some options for vinyl flooring and last night we chose our favorite. Today, I ordered it, so we're really moving along :)

Orthodontic Update: It's Official!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:56:00 +0000

I had an ortho appointment today and my orthodontist officially called off surgery! Yay!!! I wasn't too surprised, considering that this past month has been the "test" and my underbite hasn't come back. Still, it's really nice to hear it become official. :)

Bathroom Update: January 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:49:00 +0000

Ray's work project is finally starting to wind down, though it's not finished yet. Regardless, he took New Year's weekend mostly off and him and his dad accomplished this:

Of course, he refused to be photographed with his work, so I was sent in to pose. I actually painted the bathroom a very pale blue in October. Ray and his dad put the Corian surround up last weekend. It looks great! Plus, I am so glad to have the surround off the guest room floor, where it's been for the last 2+ years.

As I type, Ray currently looks like this:

It took a lot of pleading to get this picture! The white stuff is pieces of the Corian surround. Ray is using his brand-new router (yay!) to even the edges out. Then, he'll caulk it and the glass blocks are next!

Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:51:00 +0000

My brothers at the Packer game last weekend. It's fun to see them all hang out together, especially because the oldest is 28 and the youngest is 17! From left to right: Neil, Noah, Nathan, Mark. Aren't they handsome boys?!

Blizzard Allison, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Like just about everyone else in Wisconsin, Ray and I woke up to about a foot of snow on the ground this morning. I hopped in the shower and Ray hopped into some snow boots to shovel out our driveway.

When Ray comes in, he lets me know that we won't be going anywhere until the snow plow comes through (what with our little cars and lack of 4-wheel drive and all that). "No problem," I think, "they'll be coming along any minute now."

At 7:30am, my boss texts me and tells me to not bother coming in until about noon. I let him know that sounds good since we haven't been plowed out yet.

11:30am and no plow. I call my boss and tell him if we're plowed by 1:30, I'll be in. If it's later than that, it just wouldn't be worth the hassle. Boss agrees.

After lunch, Ray and I (Ray worked from home all day) go out to brush the snow off our poor arborvitae and shovel again. The neighbor across the street tries unsuccessfully to get his little car out of his driveway. Ray and another neighbor end up just pushing the car right back into the driveway again. None of us are going anywhere!

While outside, I had Ray take a picture of us to send to the children we sponsor through Compassion International. They live in South America and Africa, so I'm sure they'll love the picture!!!

We go back inside and I give up on making it into work today. Ray thinks the plow crew has forgotten our road exists.

At about 3pm, I see a broken-down plow go past our house being pulled by a large front-end loader (wish I had gotten a pic!). Not a good sign.

Then, at 4:10pm, it happens!

And that, my friends, is the story of Blizzard Allison.

Orthodontic Update, November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

I really should have posted an update after my last trip to the orthodontist, since that's when the interesting things happened. So, I will recap both trips.

I went into my October ortho visit hoping that Dr. Olsen would finally tell me I was ready for oral surgery. So, imagine my surprise when, after looking at my teeth and chart for awhile, he instead tells me he wants to try something that could keep me from needing surgery at all!

Of course, I said, "Let's go for it!"

So, Dr. Olsen gave me some rubber bands that go from my back upper teeth to my front lower teeth to try to convince my top teeth to "hop" over my lowers.

Last week, my uppers did in fact start "hopping". I was cautiously excited going into today's appointment. I had no idea what my teeth would need to look like in order for Dr. Olsen to think that this could work.

When Dr. Olsen saw me today, he was really happy with how my teeth are looking. Whew! He's still not ready to say that the surgery is off, but he did say, "If your teeth keeping moving like this, we shouldn't need to do the surgery." I'm going to keep praying!

Being An Aunt is Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:53:00 +0000

My little niece, Malia, is now over a year old and she's been walking for a few months now. She is getting to be so much fun!

Yesterday, Ray taught Malia a new game that made her squeal with excitement:

The dog, Phoebe, does not like this game nearly as much as Malia does. Lol!

On another exciting note, my second niece/nephew is on his/her way. We found out a couple of weeks ago that Ray's brother, Steve, and his wife, Keri, are expecting their first child! Yay!

New Shoe Shelf

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:52:00 +0000

I keep Ray's project list pretty full, so I think he was glad to cross this one off!

There was a shelf in the closet before, but the shelves were narrower and at a steeper angle, so all of my shoes were always sliding right off of it. The new shelves are still at an angle for easier viewing/grabbing, but it's just a slight angle. Nothing has fallen off, so I'm happy :)

Yay for handy husbands!

The Fruits of My (Lack of) Labor

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Our raspberry bushes are ever-bearing, meaning that they give us berries twice a year. Our first crop of berries came pretty late this year, so I figured that our second crop would be really small. Boy was I wrong! This second crop of berries is bigger and more plentiful than the first crop. I'm guessing that some of it is the huge number of bees we've had buzzing around the bushes. For once, I'm glad to have bees around!

My cucumber plants never got very happy this year. I'm not sure exactly what the trouble is, but I've only gotten 4 or 5 cucumbers so far. There are a few more growing now, so they will definitely be worth the (small amount of) time invested, but I'm hoping for a better outcome next year.

The tomatoes, on the other hand, seem to be pretty content. I snapped a quick picture of what I picked this afternoon. They are now in my belly!

Delicious!

Work and Play

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:04:00 +0000

What I did Saturday morning:

What I did Saturday afternoon:

A good balance of work and play, I think!