March 29, 2009 - Week 24

I can definitely tell that I have grown a lot these past two weeks and the best is yet to come. On Tuesday, Paul and I went for another seminar called Baby Basics. The highlight was learning baby swaddling. Paul was so cute while he tried to figure out which corner goes first...the nurse referred to it as a baseball field with bases. We'll see how much we remember when it's time for the real thing.

This week I also went for another painting class where they were showing a technique called focal walls with a modern twist. Something from this technique caught my eye so I went ahead and tried it in the new baby's room. Paul and I painted the ceiling in a shade of green and then I tried this new technique on two walls with a light yellow color. I think it looks pretty neat, but it's not finished yet.

So this weekend I was in my painting mood, but we also went to see the junior girls regional volleyball finals. It was cold on Saturday with a little snow, but we were lucky because just below us in Kansas they got quite a bit. Sunday turned nice and warmer.

Opravdu mohu rici, ze jsem za posledni dva tydny porostla a to nejlepsi me jeste ceka. V utery jsme sli na dalsi seminar, ktery se jmenoval "Zaklady ditete". Zajimave bylo, kdyz jsme se ucili jak zavazovat dite, aby neplakalo. Me se libil Paul, kdyz nevedel, ktery roh ma byt prvni...sestricka to pojmenovala podle basebalu, prvni meta, druha...Uvidime kolik si toho budeme pamatovat az ten cas prijde.

Sla jsem zase na dasli malirsky seminar, tentokrat pod nazvem Fokalni steny s modernim nadechem. Neco se mi na teto technice libilo, tak jsem to hned pouzila v novem detskem pokojicku. S Paulem jsme nalicili strop na zeleno a pote jsem aplikovala tuto techniku na dalsi dve steny se svetle zlutou barvou. Myslim, ze to vypada docela pekne, ale jeste to neni hotove.

Takze tento vikend jsem mela naladu na liceni, ale take jsme se sli podivat na finale divciho volejbaloveho celostatniho turnaje. V sobotu byla opet zima s trochou snehu. Meli jsme docela stesti, protoze dole v Kansasu napadlo hodne snehu. V nedeli ale bylo pekne a slunecno.

March 22, 2009 - Week 23

Paul and I went for our first pregnancy class called Breastfeeding Essentials. I had to repeat multiple times that this class is also for fathers. It was beneficial for both of us. Afterwards, we stopped for dinner at a barbecue place. It was St. Patrick's Day so we saw a bunch of people in green outfits. That same night I also went for a painting seminar at the Woodsmith store. This time they showed a technique with circles using a "frisket" film. I could use this technique in the new baby room, but I think I have a different idea. I made our first baby purchase...crib bedding. I should have bought the bedding sooner so I could have painted this weekend. Now, I need to wait for it to come in to match the paint color to the bedding.
This week we also purchased a new washer and dryer. Our old washer gave up so it was a time for a new one...definitely this one is more quiet. It was beautiful on Saturday so we decided to grill out on the deck for the first time this year. Afterwards, we went to see a science fiction movie called "Knowing" with Nicolas Cage. We then went to the baby store to check out potential cribs.
On Sunday, we worked around the house and watched the NCAA basketball tournament games. I also went for our girls get together dinner. It was great to see my girlfriends and share our stories. Linda and myself are pregnant so there were plenty of baby stories.

Tento tyden jsme sli s Paulem na nas prvni tehotensky seminar nazvany zaklady kojeni. Musela jsem nekolikrat opakovat, ze tento seminar je take urcen pro otce. Bylo to dobre pro oba. Pote jsme se stavili na veceri v barbecue restauraci. Byl den sv. Patrika, tak jsme videli hodne lidi v zelenem. Ten samy den jsem sla na seminar ohledne technik liceni do nedalekeho obchodu. Tentokrat namet seminare byl o tom, jak vytvorit kolecka pomoci specialniho pruhledneho papiru. Mohla bych tuto techniku pouzit v novem detskem pokojicku, ale mam neco jineho v planu. Poprve jsem utratila za detskou vec...koupila jsem povleceni na postylku. Mela jsem to povleceni koupit drive, protoze jsem uz mohla tento vikend licit. Nyni musim pockat nez to prijde, protoze jsem to koupila po internetu, abych mohla prirovnat barvu povleceni k te, ktera bude na stene.

Tento tyden jsme take koupili novou pracku a susicku. Nase stara pracka vypovedela sluzbu, tak byl cas koupit novou...kazdopadne tuto skoro neslysite. V sobotu bylo nadherne pocasi, tak jsme poprve v tomto roce grilovali na nasi terase. Pote jsme sli do kina na vedeckofantasticky film "Knowing" (neco jako "Vedouci" "Predurceni") s Nicolasem Cage v hlavni roli. Pote jsme sli do obchodu se podivat na postylky.
V nedeli jsme delali na zahrade a divali jsme se na vysokoskolsky celostatni basketbalovy turnaj (tady tomu rikaji "Breznove sileni"). S holkama jsme se take sesli na veceri. Bylo to skvele se po dlouhe dobe zase videt a popovidat. Ja s Lindou ocekavame mimca, tak jsme meli o cem povidat.

March 15, 2009 - Week 22

This week we went for our last regular ultrasound. By this time, the nurse can tell the sex of the baby with almost 100% certainty. Because we did not want to know (well, I did not want to know), the nurse carefully referred to it as "the baby". It is amazing what the technology can do. She combined images to create a three dimensional picture where we were able to see the entire baby's body. She said the baby is very flexible...not like its parents. She also mentioned that the baby has long and skinny feet. She is seeing thousands of ultrasounds so I guess she can tell. The baby's heartbeat was 154 beats a minute. She gave us plenty of neat pictures, which I will eventually include in our baby book. I also wore my maternity jeans this week for the first time. I guess I have to do a little shopping to get a few more pants for work.

This week we continued with cleaning up our future baby room. Paul scraped off the popcorn ceiling and dismantled the old closet shelving. Saturday evening we went to Wells Fargo Arena to watch the boys high school basketball finals. The last game was pretty close and interesting because the team from Ames has one of the best player in the country. This 6' 6'' guy is only a junior now, but he is being heavily recruited by all the top colleges. The best basketball coaches from around the country have come to Iowa to see him play.

Marvin and Jean came to Des Moines on Sunday afternoon. We went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then they are staying overnight. This weekend was nice with warm temperatures. The upcoming week should be even warmer and it sure is nice to see the grass starting to turn green.

Tento tyden jsme byli na nasem poslednim ultrazvuku. Sestricka muze uz nyni rict pohlavi ditete se stoprocentni jistotou. Protoze jsme to nechteli vedet (respektive ja jsem to nechtela vedet), sestricka opatrne rikala "to dite". Je uzasne, co ta technologie dokaze. Skombinovala dohromady zabery tak, aby vytvorila trirozmernou fotku, kde jsme videli cele nase ditko. Podotkla, ze ditko je velmi flexibilni...narozdil od rodicu. Rikala take, ze ditko ma dlouhe tenke chodidla. Ona vidi tisice ultrazvuku, tak asi vi o cem mluvi. Ditku tlouklo srdicko 154 tepu za minutu. Dala nam hodne fotek ultrazvuku, ktere potom dam do detskeho fotoalba. Take jsem si poprve oblekla moje tehotenske dziny tento tyden. Asi budu muset jit nakoupit par kalhot do prace.

Tento tyden jsme pokracovali v uklidu naseho budouciho detskeho pokojicku. Paul seskrabal popcornovy strop a sundal stare policky z klozetu. V sobotu vecer jsme se sli podivat na finale Iowskeho stredoskolskeho basketbalu ve Wells Fargo Arene. Ten posledni zapas byl tesny a velmi zajimavy, protoze jeden z nejlepsich stredoskolskych hracu v USA hraje prave za tym z Ames. Tento kluk, ktery meri pres dva metry chodi jeste do tretiho rocniku, ale i presto se o neho zajimaji ty nejlepsi "basketbalove" univerzity v USA. Ti nejlepsi treneri z celych Statu prileteli do Iowy, aby videli jak hraje. Tady je uzasne to jak ten sport je propojen se skolami.

Marvin a Jean prijeli do Des Moines v nedeli odpoledne. Sli jsme na dobrou veceri do mexicke restaurace a potom oni zustali pres noc. Tento vikend bylo krasne pocasi s vysokymi teplotami. Nasledujici tyden ma byt take krasne a jeste tepleji, tak uz se konecne tesime az se travnicek zazelena.

March 8, 2009 - Week 21

I recently received a great present from Jean...6 massages. I went for my first massage on Monday with my favourite massage lady. It was great, relaxing and seems to help my lower back pain. My skin is still doing whatever it wants and it is hard to keep it under control. I went for my appointment this week with my new doctor. Our Negley baby's heartbeat was again around 150 beats a minute. My belly is expanding and I feel more and more pressure. I've also started to feel the baby's "fluttering" movement as well. So far everything looks good. We have an ultrasound scheduled for next week. This time we can find out the sex of the baby if we want to. I think I want to keep it as a surprise, but Paul isn't so sure. He said when I step out he will ask the doctor without me knowing :-) Too bad Pauli, because the doctor will not tell you unless the mother gives the OK. Paul and others will have to patiently wait.

On Tuesday, we went to see Paul's friend from Clarinda coach a big high school basketball game. Unfortunately they lost...one game away from reaching the state tournament. We then played co-ed volleyball game on Wednesday where we ended up winning. After work on Friday, we went to Urbandale High School's new auditorium to listen to a vocal concert. After that, we drove to Clarinda for the weekend. Jean celebrated her birthday and the family got together at the coffee shop. We had a nice time together!

Nedavno jsem od Jean dostala pekny darek...6 masazi. V pondeli jsem sla na masaz k me oblibene maserce. Bylo to vyborne, uklidnujici a zda se, ze to pomaha mym zadum. Muj oblicej si porad dela co chce a je tezke to drzet pod poklickou. Tento tyden jsem sla na kontrolu k me nove doktorce. Tlukot srdicka naseho Negley ditka bylo opet okolo 150 tepu za minutu. Me brisko roste a citim vice a vice tlaku. Take jsem poprve ucitila "simravy" pohyb ditka. Doposud vsechno vypada dobre. Pristi tyden jdeme na dalsi ultrazvuk. Tentokrat muzeme zjistit pohlavi, jestli chceme. Myslim, ze chci, aby to bylo prekvapeni, Paul je ale jinsiho nazoru. Rikal, ze se zepta doktora beze mne po odchodu z ordinace :-) Muzes si to zkusit Pauli, ale bohuzel ti to doktor nerekne bez souhlasu matky. Paul a ostatni si musi trpelive pockat.
V utery jsme se sli podivat na velky stredoskolsky basketbalovy zapas trenera, ktereho Paul zna z Clarindy. Bohuzel prohrali...jen jedna vyhra je delila od toho, aby se kvalifikovali do celostatniho turnaje, kde hraji nejlepsi ctyri druzstva z kazde kategorie (kategorie zalezi na velikosti stredni skoly podle poctu studentu). Pote jsme ve stredu hrali volejbal mixu a vyhrali jsme. V patek jsme si sli po praci poslechnout koncert stredoskolaku v jejich novem auditoriu. Po koncertu jsme jeli na vikend do Clarindy. Jean oslavovala narozeniny, tak se cela rodina sesla v kavarne. Bylo to moc pekne.

March 1, 2009 - Week 20

This week I've gained another pound and a half. My hormones are raging war with my skin, but I'm surviving. We've been putting off making any baby purchases so this week we got something that should make life easier for me in the kitchen...a new stove. It has two ovens and a ceramic top so it should be simpler to keep clean. I took it for a "test drive" and the first thing I made in the oven was sweet-baked rice with peaches and pears followed with our favorite pizza. I may have to start cooking more because I definitely have the appetite for two.

Wednesday, we won a tough volleyball match in our co-ed league. At the last minute, we found out our setter couldn't make it so I had a little more of a workout than expected. The next night, we went to the musical "Legally Blonde". On Friday, we went to a high school basketball game where one of the teams is coached by Paul's friend from Clarinda. They won and now they're only one win away from making the state tournament.

Over the weekend, I started cleaning our future baby room. It was not easy because it has been our storage room. Paul and I had to make quite a few trips to the dumpster. I want to get it ready for painting before I leave for the Czech Republic in April. I am looking forward to buying our first "baby things" with my Mom.

Tento tyden jsem pribrala dalsi kilo. Me hormony bojuji s mym oblicejem a ja se to snazim prezit. Odkladame nakupy pro nase ditko, ale tentokrat jsme koupili neco, co me usnadni praci v kuchyni...a to novou troubu. Je to dvojta trouba s keramickou plochou, takze by se to melo snadneji umyvat. Prvni "testovaci jizdou" byla upecena sladka ryze s broskvemi a hruskami. Hned pote nasledovala nase oblibena pizza. Asi zacinam vice varit, protoze citim, ze opravdu jim za dva.

Ve stredu jsme vyhrali tezky volejbalovy zapas mixu. V posledni minute jsme zjistili, ze nase nahravacka nemohla dojit, tak jsem mela vetsi zaber nez jsem ocekavala. Na druhy den jsme sli na muzikal podle filmu "Legally Blonde" (blondynka pravnicka). V patek jsme se sli podivat na stredoskolsky basketbal, kde jeden z tymu byl trenovan Paulovym kamaradem z Clarindy. Jeho druzstvo vyhralo a nyni je deli jen jedna vyhra od toho, aby se kvalifikovali do celostatniho turnaje, a to je pro kazde kvalifikovane druzstvo velka udalost.

Pres vikend jsem vyklizela nas budouci detsky pokojicek. Neni to jednoduche, protoze to bylo nase byvale "skladiste". Nekolikrat jsme museli vazit cestu do kontejneru. Chtela bych tu mistnost pripravit na liceni predtim nez v dubnu poletim do CR. Tesim se az s mamkou spolecne pujdeme nakoupit prvni detske veci v CR.