Word of the Day: démarche My appointment went well. The same nurse practitioner who was there with Patrick is still there, so that's nice to know that a familiar face is taking care of us. And my financial worries were unfounded because we do quailfy for Medicaid. They tried taking my blood before the exam, but the nurse had problems finding the vein and I felt like I was going to faint--ringing ears, shaking hands, shivers, blurry vision. I'm not afraid of needles so I don't know why I get like this, and I felt really bad for the nurse, who was doing a good job. She brought me some water and showed me my room and said that they could take the blood after the exam. Everything went fine except for Patrick wanting to touch everything and run around the already cramped room. We brought Kon with us, and Judy [the nurse practitioner] complimented me on my craftsmanship. So that was nice. After the exam was over and I put my clothes back on, Judy came in to try again with the blood. She suggested I lay down and see if I feel any better then. I did, and it was perfectly fine. Patrick was really concerned about me getting a shot, but we explained that she was taking my blood to do tests on to make sure that me and the baby were all right. He recently had his blood taken at an emergency room visit, and it involved lots of stickers and even ice cream to calm him down. So he wanted me to have stickers and ice cream when I was done since I did well. I thought that was nice of him. Judy scheduled me for an ultrasound in two weeks. I only had one ultrasound with Patrick, so I don't know if having one this early now is standard procedure or what. And then two weeks after that, I have my second appointment with the clinic. When we left the clinic, I had to go to HEB to grab some Dijon mustard I needed for dinner. So Patrick and I went in and out, and when I started the car again, the battery and the brake lights were on, and the air conditioner blew hot air. The car had been squealing when she started going, so I knew that she was having belt problems. I assumed one of the belts had broken. I kept an eye on the temperature gauge all the way home, but it was fine. JD looked at it when he got home, did some research, and discovered that it was belt that controls the air conditioner and the alternator. So yesterday morning, we got up early and took the car to Firestone to have both belts replaced for good measure and to have a tune-up. And now she runs fine. We do need to have the brakes looked at and fixed up, but that can still wait a bit for that. Oh, and I'm due 4 December 2008.