faith

Hi all, thought I would check in.

If you could all send prayers and well wishes to my baby grand niece, Kelynn. She is still in NICU, seeming to do very well, just hit 6 lbs this last weekend, but they did an ultrasound/brain scan and found a vessel in there bleeding. Its a grade 1, but we are wanting all the prayers we can get that it heals up with no problems.

On the other hand, she has fed on her own since last nite, so they may release her from NICU on Friday if things look "ok".

Thanks all.

Oh, also a question, did you guys feel unusual amount of cramping the first 2 to 3 weeks of your pregnancy.

Just wondering, as I have had a whole lot of it, and usually I only get that around the monthly and then ovulation.

the first 2 to 3 weeks of pregnancy. well 2 weeks is ovulation and 3 weeks is implantation.... I'm assuming you mean 4 to 5 weeks????? If you do, I always felt like I was gonna have my period at week 4 to 5 when I was pregnant. That included cramping. But beware, I've had 2 miscarriages, one an ectopic which caused me to lose a tube along with the baby, and I'd not take any cramping lightly. Call your OB.

No Jenn, I don't really disagree with you. I just simply don't see that one or the other guarantees any modicum of marital success.

People can be frauds, whether they are from around the corner or around the globe.

Couples can be unrealistic no matter what their geography is.

The rhythm of a long-term marriage is subject to a whole lot more than the manner in which a couple met.

It's about how the couple keep 're-meeting' and 're-molding' whenever one of lifes 'unfortunate circumstances' unveils itself.

I'm not trying to say that online relationships are bad, or in any way inferior. I didn't even mean to single out online relationships, really. My point was is that I've noticed that some people go through the K1 process after what is often a very brief courtship, and a week-long vacation in their fiance's home country. I just can't see how that situation is not "riskier".

Of course the same applies to people who rush into marriage in any circumstance. It's just that it seems to be more common with K1's because of the restrictions that come along with it.

I don't know.. I met my ex husband in a bar, when we were both drunk! How does that make that marriage any more apt to work out? Any relationship is risky... come on, you are naive if you think that any relationship is a safe bet. When you put your heart and soul into something you always run a risk.

I was married to my ex for 6 years. At the end of our marriage I can honestly say that I didn't know him at all anymore. Was the marriage a risk? oh hell yeah... I let him adopt my other son from a previous marriage. We had one more son together. I risked my heart and my children's heart for him. And he was local.

So why would falling in love with a man that I had only seen in person for 2 months be more of a risk? It wasn't. It was an equal risk, just as any relationship would be. There is a lot to be said for online relationships and what the long distance can do for your relationship. You get to know that person just as well (even better in some aspects) than you would otherwise. Just because you aren't physically together should never be a factor for discounting the relationship.

Ask me, Johnny, and our boys (my two and the one in my belly) in 30 years if it was a risk. We'll all still say yes, but no more of a risk than normal life is to everyone in the world.

and remember, we had a relationship for 2 years before we were able to get married. Most of us K visa people had to wait a year or more after filing. So none of us are really jumping into anything.

As if that big of a conspiracy was able to be contained. Keep insulting the survivors, the victim's families and everyone else with your insisting that 9/11 is one big conspiracy. I for one will stand by the families of my ex husband's company and the rest of the victims that died in the towers that day. I will stand by the eye witness reports of the planes hitting the buildings (towers and pentagon). I will stand by the families that suffered through the phone calls from flight 93. I will stand by the countless accounts I have seen, heard, read of the witnesses and experts that can detail what happened.

I'm a big girl I can take your ramblings of a conspiracy as just that. But please for once show some respect to the people that had to live through it and quit trying to shove your ideas down their throats.

I'm almost afraid to post these:

Becky needs a little taste on Flickr - Photo Sharing! ( a taste of what?)

Becky needs the help of river pirates to free her brother. (umm ok)

Becky needs more friends ( I thought I had friends!!)

Becky needs a bullet in her head (NOOOO)

Becky needs a cactus shoved up her ####### (OUCH!!! I was horrified to read this one!)

Becky Needs a Job (nope, i quit mine starting tomorrow)

Becky needs a psychiatrist! (apparently after the cactus)

Becky needs to blackmail a friend to get information about her blind date (ok)

Becky still needs individual attention and specialized help (again, after the cactus, yes)

Becky needs a wardrobe upgrade (yeah i'm sick of maternity clothes)

Becky needs all dues ($15) as soon as possible (pay up!)

Michelle, you know I was married before and have 2 kids from that marriage (aged 11 and 6) Well, we had decided no more, he had the snip snip operation and that was that. Before we got divorced I started regretting that decision and really wanted another one....

so jump ahead to Johnny. he did not want to have any kids when I first met him. My two were fine for him. After awhile he decided that he did want his own and we decided to start trying (and you know where we are at now). I'm 33 now, will be 34 in september. We're having another boy so we're considering trying one more time in a couple of years for a girl. My concerns are holy ####### I'll be 36, I'll be such an OLD mom and all that. But my biggest concern is how my body will handle it. The only thing I can tell you is that the older you get the harder it is for your body. It's not the same as it was when you were 21 or 26 for that matter. HOWEVER, you can conceive up till the point when you enter menopause... so you do have time to decide. It's not out of reach for you. (hehe if I can do it, so can you!) If Craig decides to have one you still have plenty of time.

or......

wanna borrow my boys for a few hours? it may cure you of your baby wanting J/K J/K J/K

What is this movie about?

a greencard

(sorry, it had to be done)

another answer:

about two hours.

I personally can't imagine marrying someone without having lived together first (no judgement here - just my personal feeling!), let alone having only spent a few weeks together before getting engaged.

I have to comment on this....if we all felt like this then there would be far fewer of us on VJ!!!

As I said somewhere else last week, unless you are a millionaire or student maybe and can take 3 months off from your normal life/work, the K1 process does not give you the grace of a getting to know each other in person period of time. We have no normal dating process, or living together process, we have to get engaged and then get married within 90 days of arriving.

Sarah, thank you...and thanks to everyone else too.

I'm curious tho...what if the chemistry wasn't there? Does the love go out the window?

I tend to think that love has a lot to do with chemistry.... We had created our own online chemistry, and then we were in love, so I don't know that chemistry would have had anything to do with it, really.

This is a very good way of explaining what I was trying to say

that was my own lucid moment for today (I usually have such a hard time expressing what I'm thinking lately.. this pregnancy has fried my brain!)

I was nervous as hell when he got here. I almost puked in the airport. I was scared, I had thoughts like "what the heck am I doing". I went thru the whole gambit of emotions at that point. BUT....

From the moment he got here I didn't have a doubt in my mind. He was exactly who I thought he was from the net, in fact he was even better.

same here...landing in New Delhi with my dad, I felt like puking and just kept thinking in my head...gee this better be what you thought it'd be like....My dad kept asking me.."are you alright???". Not only meeting Sujeet face to face the first time, but being in INDIA!!

But also from the moment of actually being in eachother's presence it all faded away and became even better that I thought it would be.

At one point I told my friend who had gone with me to the airport... "I'll just be in the bathroom. You find him and bring him to me"

Sarah, thank you...and thanks to everyone else too.

I'm curious tho...what if the chemistry wasn't there? Does the love go out the window?

I tend to think that love has a lot to do with chemistry.... We had created our own online chemistry, and then we were in love, so I don't know that chemistry would have had anything to do with it, really. For example, had I met him here I probably wouldn't have dated him or had any chemistry with him.... But trust me, it's there between us! I think that's the love first meet second part of it coming out.

For us, his first visit here was for 2 months, so we could "try out" our relationship. We had never met in person before, and wanted to have a long visit to see how it would work.

I was nervous as hell when he got here. I almost puked in the airport. I was scared, I had thoughts like "what the heck am I doing". I went thru the whole gambit of emotions at that point. BUT....

From the moment he got here I didn't have a doubt in my mind. He was exactly who I thought he was from the net, in fact he was even better. Our two months together flew by, and it was like he was meant to be with us. (I have 2 kids from a previous marriage). As soon as he went back to Denmark we started the process for the K-1. While he was here it was not strange at all (except for the first few kisses as he was the first person I'd been with other than my ex in 8 years).

He came back on the K-1 on Jan. 27, 2005. We got married Feb. 12, 2005. Honestly, I have a better relationship with him than I ever have with anyone. I believe it's because of how we met, how we only had internet time and phone calls to get to know each other before we got physical. I believe the time apart also made things better in the long run for us (in terms of our relationship).

Thank god my husband is a modern man!!! He accepts my views and allows me to choose whatever I want for my life!!!

oh good grief.... because a woman who CHOOOOOOSES of her own free will and clear state of mind, to change her name to her husband's name, must be married to a cave man or something... ahahahahahahaa

yeah i thought the same thing too when I read that. Especially after the dragging by the hair comment that was made.

speaking of last names.. here's a funny that my 6 year old said this morning.

He asked me about the baby's name and I told him it would be Jacob Matthew R..... (my last name). He smiled and said "Ok fine but Snowball (our cat)'s last name is H... (my kids' last names)" I said "oh really?" He said "yep, Sahara (other cat) can have your last name and so can the baby, but Snowball is my cat so she'll have my last name" I didn't realize it was a negotiation!

I have three kids and did nothing to prepare for getting pregnant with any of them. Other than have more sex

hahah Faith.... same here!! except for this pregnancy... we actually wasn't going to have anymore kids with 5 between us already and me having 2 miscarriages before this one we had decided to not try again... well............Andy's immigration just happend to be right in tune with my ovulation and some how birth control was not discussed (deep down I think we both had a hard time deciding not to have any more) But we are happy to be blessed with this lil one non the less!!!

Patricia

hey i was trying to be honest Seriously tho, we had 2 miscarriages before I got preggy with this one so the only thing I did to prepare was buy more home tests that were extremely sensitive so I could find out right away as my doc had to check my hormone levels right away to see if I needed progesterone (which I did). And we had more sex Sorry couldn't help it!

Hi Everyone - we want to be added! I'm 6 weeks right now and we just found out yesterday. This is my second baby and while we weren't planning on it happening so soon we're thrilled So I'll be checking in and looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Welcome to the club and congrats!!

I have three kids and did nothing to prepare for getting pregnant with any of them. Other than have more sex

and according to my doc she says that im measuring perfectly!

and geez....6lbs, 15lbs...and your complaining!!! pft, thats nothing!

I look like I've gained 50.. no kidding. It's just all in my belly. I look like I'm going to pop

Up till my last appointment I had only gained 6 pounds. I gained 9 more in the past 2 weeks, so that puts me at 15 pounds. That is not a lot of weight gain for someone 32 weeks. However, my baby is huge. So weight gain is not really an indicator of size of baby.

is it too early to eat lunch? oh nevermind, I don't have anything good, just a sandwich

Glad it went well!! Sorry you have to wait on the FBI check!

yeah well don't get me started on Greenpeace. When my ex was in the Marines and we lived on base we used to have to fight to get thru the Greenpeace protestors just to get to our house on base. Those people can be mean!!!!!

oh boy....that reminds me of the naked war protesters at my blokes air base.....flabby white Brits

they protested NAKED?????

ya'll are making me really hungry now

too bad we have baseball practice tonight.. now I want my chicken stuff since I'm thinking about it!

OMG faith - he would LOVE that!! I acutally have most of those ingradiants already too except the corned beef!!!

I am DEFINITELY writing this one down!

Thanks

i usually double the recipe and then eat it for lunch for a few days afterwards. It's so yummy And the upside is that we all love it (even my kids!). Like I said, it's really rich, but man, it's so good you'll end up adding it to your list of menu items as often as you can stand it!

I make beef tips...so easy...take any type of beef(I use round steak) cut it up into small bits and brown it well with some onion/minced garlic (if you have it) and salt and pepper. I add a bit of worcheshire sauce too....then add some water and simmer it for a couple hours until it's tender...thicken the gravy and it's good to go over rice or noodles. I prefer rice, but do noodles sometimes too. If he likes mushrooms, they could be added to this dish easily! Just a thought...gotta run..shopping with mom! Good luck coming up with something.. M.

that sounds really good!!!

the chicken beef bacon jumped out at me.

Does he like rich foods?

If yes, here's my very own chicken recipe. Takes an hour to cook and about 20 minutes prep time.

Becky's Chicken Stuff:

Layer a baking pan with corned beef (use the Buddings brand lunchmeat corned beef or beef it works best). Take boneless, skinless chicken breasts and wrap them in uncooked bacon. Place in pan over beef.

Mix together 1 container sour cream, 1 can cream of chicken soup, and 1 container cream cheese. Make sure all lumps are out. Pour over chicken in pan.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Serve over rice (I use chicken flavored rice)

You should get her something! I automatically get a gift (I already have 2 other kids) but my hubby would still get me something even if they weren't around. I think she'll be touched and so happy! (And expect to see a few happy tears if the preggy hormones have taken control of her!)

My hubby would NEVER leave the puter if that was his!

... especially when everyone wants to blame everything on Bush...

Frankly, the hysterical idiocy some people on the left display with respect to Bush reminds me of how some of the zealots of the so-called VRWC used to act with respect to Clinton during his presidency.

See, that's what bugs me. It's like everyone (on both sides if you want to go back to the Clinton admin as well) forgets that the president of the U.S. is not the end all be all of power. There is a Congress, there are other departments, there's even big business (when Bush gets blamed on high gas prices is where I'm going with that). I guess the extreme on BOTH sides need a scapegoat and the President gets to be it.

... especially when everyone wants to blame everything on Bush...

Frankly, the hysterical idiocy some people on the left display with respect to Bush reminds me of how some of the zealots of the so-called VRWC used to act with respect to Clinton during his presidency.

I blame Peta and Greenpeace. Maybe if they had more animal protein in there diet they wouldn't be so radical (like Hitler).

yeah well don't get me started on Greenpeace. When my ex was in the Marines and we lived on base we used to have to fight to get thru the Greenpeace protestors just to get to our house on base. Those people can be mean!!!!!

they always schedule my appointments immediately after my u/s. So I'm only there once. Hopefully you'll get some good news!!

Oh my, I really have gotten bigger the past couple of days. I've noticed my belly bumping into doors because I'm not used to it being so big

My hubby has definitely different political views as I do. He comes from Denmark, a socialistic government, and I'm a Republican (and not afraid to admit it). There are lots of time sthat I feel "outnumbered" in debates, but I'm not about to walk away if I feel that I am right. There are plenty of times I get disgusted by what I read (especially when everyone wants to blame everything on Bush) but I'll still fight for my view to be seen.

My point is that I love VJ and that even tho we all don't agree all the time I don't think most of us ever mean any harm by what we say to each other in a heated debate.