Baby Shower

Here are a few pictures from my baby shower (aka pedicure party and dinner) with my friends from residency. We had a great time, and it was a perfect way to do a shower. No fuss, no cooking, no clean up. Thanks Beth, Tara, Erica and Suzy!!

(The nursery painting is 95% done; hopefully I'll be posting pictures soon.)

Tabula Rosa

Here it is--the empty nursery ready for some color. We'll see if I'm brave enough to go BOLD. I have a vision of a fabulous Kate Spade inspired nursery, but I don't have quite enough designer in me to know if it will turn out. Either way, hopefully it will be ready before September comes.

Two Hearts

Just in case anyone shares my slightly neurotic nature, you can rest assured that the baby's heart is a-okay. I had my unnecessary (but kinda cool) fetal echo today and not only are there 4 chambers, but the girl's also got normal valves, vessels and flow . My heart, on the other hand, apparently needs a little more juice. My screening labs came back today and showed anemia (low blood count). Maybe that's why I can't climb a flight of stairs without becoming winded. Hopefully a little extra iron will get me up and running before the baby gets here.

Growing Times

After Jess threatened to take a picture of my belly and post it on her blog (although she can't really talk--www.brettandjess.blogspot.com has not been overflowing with posts recently) I decided to post another pregnancy shot. I think the picture makes my stomach look more pointed than it actually is, but who knows. This is me at 27 3/7 weeks. The other pictures are of my one decorative nursery piece: a bird mobile that I think is great. Other than the mobile, the room is pretty plain. We are going to paint next week, so hopefully it will look more like a nursery and less like a DownEast warehouse.

Happy Day

Over the past 3 years, I have spent over 150 nights on call. For the lucky few of you who have not had to listen to me complain about this, call means going in around 6 and coming home around 12 the next day. (Thank heavens for the 30 hour rule--back in the day there was no limit to how long you stayed). Yesterday I finished my LAST CALL DAY EVER. Yeah!!! I still have a month of residency, but it should be an easy month, without call. We went out last night to celebrate, and it felt great. Thanks to Ryan for putting up with all of the 150 days and nights. You're the best.

I'm it

I've been tagged by Megan, my good friend from med school. Here's the dirt...

How long have you been together? 7 years this June. I can't believe it's been that long.

How long did you date? About a year

How old are you? 29 and counting

Who eats more? 6 months ago, no question--Ryan. But now that I'm eating for two, some meals are a toss up.

Who said I love you first? Honestly don't remember. I think maybe me, but I'm not sure.

Who is taller? Ryan. I have strong Ivie genes.

Who is smarter? That would be Ryan. I always say I hope our kids get his brain and my heart.

Who does the laundry? That would be me. Although, Ryan does occasionally help out with the washing/drying but NOT folding.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me, but if I've cooked a nice meal Ryan takes over.

Who pays the bills? I take care of the day to day bills (thank you Quicken) and Ryan is in charge of the overall finances.

Who mows the lawn? One of the great perks of our house...the HOA takes care of the yard 

and the snow removal. But if they didn't, it would be Ryan.

Who cooks dinner? I do, most of the time. Ryan is a better cook, but I am more consistent.

Who drives when you are together? No question. Ryan. There have only been two times Ryan has seen the view from the passenger seat (except for occasionally to and from church). On the first occasion he was so doped up on pain meds he was not fully coherent. The second time he had just rendezvoused with a deer while going 45 miles an hour on his bike. Both times he wanted to drive!!

Who is more stubborn? Probably me. When I get something in my head, it's hard for me to let go.

Who has more siblings? Ryan. 4 boys to my 3 girls.

Who wears the pants in the family? Good question. I think we probably both get a leg, but mine has a fancy back pocket while Ryan's is unadorned.

Recharging the Battery

How do you survive a month in the ICU, with days starting at 5:00 and more sadness than you can bear? A quick weekend getaway to San Francisco, that's how. Ryan and I spent the weekend relaxing, eating, sleeping, shopping, reading and sightseeing. Doug was heavily involved with a national cardiology meeting, and had a great suite at the Marriott, so Ryan, Janet and I tagged along. It was just what we needed, solidifying the idea that weekend trips keep you sane. We even happened upon a friendly face--we saw Kim Peay (now with a new last name) at church. If anyone is up for a little trip, we left plenty of things undone and are ready to go back.

Here's a link to some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/alissa.packer/SanFrancisco

Best Mother's Day EVER!

While I am not officially a mother, I had a great Almost-A-Mother's Day. Ryan surprised me with a great gift--a promise to paint the nursery (!!!) and a baby outfit. If anyone has any good nursery fabric/color scheme ideas or websites, let me know. Then to top it all off, because I was on call last night, and because she's the greatest, my own mom came and brought me dinner. Yes, that's right, my mother came and cooked me dinner on her day. It was fantastic. What a selfless, loving, mom. She's the best ever. 

Introducing...

...Jane...Kate...Abby...Elizabeth...Addison...Pollyanna...insert GIRL name of choice!

We had the official ultrasound yesterday, and Amber was right--she's 100% girl. I am trying my hand at video-blogging. Here's the 1 minute edit of the 45 minute ultrasound.

Girls' Trip

We had a fantastic time visiting Jamie and Kimmy in NYC. They showed us all their favorite places, and we shopped till we nearly dropped. We ate very well...if only we had a 'WichCraft, Patsy's, or a Pop Burger in Utah! As an added bonus, we stumbled upon the Sikh Cultural Society Parade and Festival. You never know what you're going to get in the big A. We rode the subway all over, and only saw one rat!


Who can resist a dancing cupcake at the Cupcake Cafe?? Not us!




Pink Flowers never looked so good

It's a girl...we think!?!

So, the little tyke wasn't totally cooperative with the ultrasound, leaving us about 80% certain it's a girl. I have another ultrasound next week, so we'll get a better idea. But for now, we're going pink. Looks like the Harman genes won.

Good Times

After nearly 7 years, Ryan has officially joined the Harman family. Today my dad and Ryan ran the SLC Half Marathon. My dad showed restraint during most of the race, but at mile 13 (with .1 to go) his encouraging words ceased being helpful. Ryan, following in the footsteps of all three Harman girls and about a dozen kids on the PCHS XC team, told him to shut up. He did and they finished the .1 together, no hard feelings. Ryan does NOT consider himself a runner (more of a cyclist, really) but he showed great potential. Finished right at 2 hours. Way to go, babe, and welcome to the family.

Per Request

I saw my OB today and scheduled my ultrasound. Unfortunately, they can't do it before I go to New York. But my OB happens to be one of my dearest friends, and she is going to do a special late night is-it-a-girl-or-is-it-a-boy ultrasound on the 24th. She is the GREATEST! Everything is coming along swimmingly. Given how much the baby was hiding today when we tried to find the heartbeat, Amber (my OB) is betting it is a boy. Ryan also thinks there is a Y chromosome, so we'll see if they are right in a few weeks.

For all you belly watchers out there, here is a pic of my ever changing belly. A few weeks ago it was growing like a weed, but has since slowed down a little, thank heavens!


This is a self-portrait, so it's not the greatest. Where's Jamie when you need her?

End in Sight

As of Saturday at 3:oo pm, I am officially on my way to being done with residency. I have 3 months left, only one of which will be challenging. After nearly 7 years, it's hard to believe that this chapter of our life only has a few pages left. Even though there were some early mornings I would have traded places with the patients sleeping in their hospital bed, all in all I have really enjoyed this experience. I have met amazing patients and have made friends to last a lifetime. Now if I can just survive the PICU....

Wonderful Weekend

I had my first work-free weekend in ages, and I enjoyed every second of it. I slept in, cleaned my house, did my laundry, cooked in, ate out, saw a movie, worked out, took a nap...pure bliss. And, I think I felt the baby move. Either that or there are new bubbles in my stomach that are popping every now and then. I must be looking more pregnant too, because today in church the woman sitting next to me (who speaks very little English) offered me a cookie, "For the baby." I happily took it.