Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Holy Moly!

I'm back... mainly because during my 'bump time' I log in to see this:


Did you see that?! Holy Moly! 100 days left?! I better get on it!

Wanted:

More weekends like this...

This week's week end wrap is pretty long considering I had a long weekend :) Of course I got some boring stuff out of the way like Friday after my half day at work, I went to go get my hair done. My hair has completely fallen by the wayside (as it normally does) because I get too busy to care about it. I am a little disappointed in myself because pregnant hair is suppose to be luxurious... mine: not so much. So with a little inspiration from my good friend Ebony over at Longing 4 Length, I am going to try to "keep up" my hair for the remainder of my pregnancy. I have no idea about how I am going to accomplish this but a least right now, in this moment I plan to.

Friday afternoon started the official summer get together of the season. My aunt has thee best backyard for impromptu family get togethers and that's exactly what we did Friday night. The tables and chairs have been washed off, the miscellaneous debris swept up and there is charcoal in the grill :)

Saturday we visited my husband's friends in the next state over. A quick 2 hour drive and we're there! I hadn't been to visit them in so long so it was good to catch up with them. They have three beautiful children who keeps everyone entertained with their pool antics. While talking to 'the wife' she tells me that she found out at 22 weeks that she was having twins... commence freaking out! How in the heck did it take 22 weeks to figure this out??? My last appointment was at 23 weeks and I didn't have an ultrasound... in fact I haven't had an ultrasound since about 18 weeks! Her twin boys are 6 years old (I think) and I am not sure how much obstetrical technology has changed in the past 6 years but this is cause for concern. I distinctively remember my husband's friend freaking out once they found out about the twins and my husband (at the time he was just my boyfriend) frequenting their house to help his friend 'drink away the stress'. But I digress... we still had fun and ended the evening in my Aunt's backyard for another family get together by the grill.

Sunday morning I dutifully went to Sunday school and church. I want to share Sunday's lesson with you all because it struck me in a particular way. I'll have to save that post for another time because it deserves it's own shine time but it put a few things in perspective for me. Sunday evening we celebrated my cousin and her fiance's engagement. It was soo cute! They are getting married in the Dominican Republic next year so I am sure the engagement party was a chance for everyone to come together to celebrate (especially because destination weddings do not always have a lot of people in attendance). I really wish I could be there with them next year- but right now it doesn't look like it's in the cards. So instead they bought DR to the party!


I LOVE these centerpieces. They look so beach-y. They had a framed picture from their engagement pictures on each table... so cute!
There was a toothpick (or a skewer...whatever) stuck into each fruit arranged on a fruit platter. I think this looks so Luau-y
Who doesn't love a good candy buffet?! See my take on candy buffet's here... okay I haven't exactly updated the page but I will...

There was a mini-bar there serving specialty drinks. I like the punch fountains and you can see each of the specialty drinks on top of the bar. When I walked up there to get something to drink the bartender asked me "ginger ale or iced tea"... I thought it was pretty funny!


Monday was of course memorial day. While I appreciate every free day off we get- I think I am going to make it a point to take my children to see/do one memorial day related something growing up. Even if it is every other year. I truly respect and appreciate those serving our country and I intend to instill that in my kids as well. Both my grandfathers fought for our country, my mother-in-law and father-in-law served as a Marine, I have one cousin currently serving and one on the way to the Marines after his June graduation. There are countless other men and women in my life who has served, currently serving, and will serve and I truly appreciate it.

After going out to one of the best diners in town for brunch and a little bit of shopping, we FINALLY made it to the movies! We saw Thor in 3D and it was good.  I wasn't into comics or superhero cartoons as a child but the adult versions are turning out to be good! I remember my husband introducing me to them while we were dating. I thought I had to sit through a Batman movie for the sake of the relationship (and because he cooperates when watching chick flicks) but I thoroughly enjoyed it! So since then I've been down for Ironman, Ironman 2, the entire Batman franchise, and a Spiderman movie here and there. I can also say I'm looking forward to the Green Lantern, the Avengers, and Captain America all due out this summer. First, all of these previews were shown in 3D, second you must watch each movie (if you see it in theaters) until after the credits! There are very important clues about what's coming next! I know, I sound like an excited 8 year old boy but I find these story lines to be very entertaining! So, even with our blockbusters booked I think I am mostly looking forward to:

Photo credit
 I can't believe they gave him his own movie!!! I am by no means a movie watcher (although I'm sure you can't tell from my movie plans outlined above) but this I have to see...

After the movies... guess where we went... yep! my aunt's backyard, lol! I told you it's the summer hangout. Everyone brings something and we use it 'til it's gone and then we get some more. We adjourned early because everyone (except me) had to work the next day. Actually, I don't think any of my aunt's went to work but I got to add a day to my already extended weekend!

So, where I work employees accrue vacation time instead of "earning" it. My parents who work for a well known, pretty reputable company gets a certain amount of vacation weeks per year. My dad who has 30+ years with the company (goodness!) gets 6 weeks of vacation per year (which is pretty hot stuff). My mom who has 23 years (or there bouts) gets something like 5 weeks. If you were to start at that company on Monday I think you would get something like 2 weeks. I on the other hand get 11.75 hours or about 1.5 days per month. So in a year if I do not use any time I will accumulate 18 days or 3 weeks and 3 days (it's a little more than that because we accrue hours not days... I hope you understand what I'm saying). I think that's a pretty good deal. Here's the thing... my parents have to use their time or loose it so in April of every year they end up cleaning their house for a week because they were trying to save their vacation time "in case something happens" FYI: nothing ever did... I on the other hand just keep accruing time until I reach 210 hours (6 weeks). So what's the big deal?? I have managed to max out my vacation time! So every month I have to take 2 days of vacation and I will remain maxed out (by accruing back the 2 days used), and essentially get more than 6 weeks of vacation. This is very important and strategically planned for my maternity leave and a summer bonus!!! Can you tell I am proud of this accomplishment? So this month I took off a day for my brother's graduation and I extended my Memorial Day weekend by a day! I have begun strategically planning for next month and rest assured in July I will be extending my 4th of July weekend... hahahahah!

Which brings me to today:

I treated my self to a pedicure. The toe nail polish is for my husband :) He likes when I wear bright colors. When he met me I only wore black, navy blue, brown, and beige so anything he buys me does not contain any of these colors. Honestly, it feels a little liberating stepping outside of my box. The last time I did this was in '09 when we went on our first anniversary trip and my insanely bright color was hot pink.




I FINALLY got my wedding dress cleaned and preserved. Everyone in my family will be happy to know this because they have been on me to do this forever. I think it was about time since I did get married in 2008. Honestly, the hold up was because I wanted to do a trash the dress session with it but I never got around to it and now that I am pregnant who knows if I'll ever be able to fit into that dress again!


I spent some time in Michael's which is a major craft shop around here. I know the franchise is in almost every state in America but I'm hot stuff overseas and needed to clarify. What?! You think I'm joking?? Okay....



Yep, these are my blogger stats by country. So what I'm not an international sensation but I'm still hot stuff over seas :) I;m actually surprised by the number of clicks I get from other countries. Okay, back to my point... I love Michael's. I am a crafty wanna-be and one day I will be a do-it-yourselfer. Anywhoo, I picked up some more scrap booking supplies for the baby's scrapbook among other things. I had hoped to get home early enough to actually start the scrapbook but I don't think that's going to happen. Lastly, I got my onesie exchange gift!!!! I am almost positive I've mentioned this in an earlier post but the ladies and I over at thebump.com decided to do a onesie exchange. I sent my package off today (I forgot to take a pic before I did) and I received mine today! I am so excited!!!! This is what I got:


4 of the cutest onesies and a receiving blanket! AND she sent me the orange M&M!!! In case you didn't know I love M&M's and the characters they are.... I wanted to do my gender neutral nursery in an M&M theme but I think it's kind of hard to do that without some sort of copyright infringement (and by that I mean having custom wall decals made) or scaring my child into thinking M&M's are monsters that's going to come off the walls and eat him or her. So, we may dress up as M&M's for baby's first halloween. Even if we don't (because I've found some super cute bunting costumes and won't be able to decide) baby will be taking one of his or her monthly pictures as an M&M! About a week or so ago my husband was out of town for a gig and bought me back something really special and thanks fellow bumpie for adding to that!


Now, I am home (hoping hubby doesn't read this post before he gets home from the gym... I don't want the onesie surprise to be spoiled) spending the rest of my evening with you folks and leftover Monday brunch and most likely "bumping" and "facebooking" for the rest of the evening. I know this post was really long (i'm not even going to bother to spell check- I'll fix those later) so thank you for hanging in there with me - if you are still here - and listening reading all about my wonderful weekend. I am officially placing an ad in the paper for more weekends like this :)

Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you so much to all those serving our country- past, present, and future.




Thursday, May 26, 2011

25 weeks!

I think I am going to vomit... you know that nervous panicky vomit. Remember my second trimester post? Well it's almost time for my third trimester post! I was so excited to be in my second trimester but now?! Sheesh! I am glad to progress through a nice, healthy pregnancy but this is going by too fast! 2 weeks from now marks the beginning of my third trimester and I am NOT ready!!! I feel like I have so much left to do and that to-do list.. I've barely even touched! So I (we) are just progressing along... feeling unprepared:




According to the bump: Got a dark line running down your belly? That's your linea nigra, and it's totally normal. Pregnancy hormones might also be making your complexion a little spotty. Switching to oil-free, water- based, noncomedogenic makeup should help clear things up.
Baby's now the size of an eggplant! That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down.

 According to Baby Center: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her/his weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga (I've never seen a real live rutabaga!), but s/he's beginning to exchange her/his long, lean look for some baby fat. As s/he does, her/his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and s/he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. S/he's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.



Pregnancy: 25weeks!

Weight Gain: So, I had to step on the home scale just because I didn't last week and to my surprise I've added 2 more pounds! I expected it to be more. I've truly been unhinged at the dinner table (rightfully so) but I'm not complaining either.

Sleep: The absolute same, although I did go to bed a little earlier these past two nights. I hope to keep that trend up because it really makes a difference in my mood the next day.

Gender: Team Green

Name: Still getting suggestions from people- I think it's cute how everyone wants our child to be named after them!

Feeling: As I write this there is a fire burning in my chest. I wish I knew what triggered it (and do not say the baby's hair!). I'm thinking maybe orange juice?? Which is weird because I have been drinking it every morning for 5 days straight and nothing... until last night. I also had a bacon and cheese (that's right, no egg)croissant from Dunkin' Dounts and I'm pretty sure that's the first one I've had this entire pregnancy. Last night's dinner was fried chicken, rice, and creamed spinach. I think I am going to start keep a food journal.

Health: Surviving. Which is not bad.

Movement: Still there but no established pattern yet (at least I don't think so). One day last week I was up all night from the party going on in my belly and then the other day I felt like "where's my lil' bit?" I figured little one still has lots of room in there so s/he must be trying out some new positions some in which I can't feel him/her.

Belly: I forgot to measure :( so I'll use the general public's measurement: "you don't look pregnant!", "I wish I was that small", "aww your bump is sooo cute", "you're lucky- I felt like a house!" and there you have it people (gather your own assumptions).

Next Appointment:  June 9.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A random thought

Since I've been pregnant, there is nothing that is baby related that gets by me- not a mom pushing a stroller or a baby related item. Which brings me to this:

I got a little skeeved out when I walked into the restroom at Panera Bread and saw the changing table. I like many others do not really care for public restrooms, but there comes a time when you are out... running errands for a length of time and you need to go. The first thing I always notice in a restroom is the condition of the floors. If there is toilet paper, paper towel, or liquid of any kind on the floor I am mortified- mainly because you do not know what you are potentially stepping in and then when you go home you walk on your own floors! I normally take my shoes off before I walk in the door when I get home because you never know what else has greeted your soles from the outside world.

So anyway, I'm a little skeptical about using these changing tables. I mean come on... this was not bolted to the wall. Is this routinely checked by someone to make sure that all the screws are in the good?? What if they aren't ans someone places their child on it and boom! to the ground it goes?! How many times are these things disinfected?? Well, you know me- I'll have a carrying case of Lysol wipes with me to do my own disinfecting anyway but regardless of that, this changing table worries me.

**SIGH** I'm sure I am going to have a few more things to get over during this ENTIRE parenting process or find unique compromises for me and my child.



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Weekend Wrap-Up

Work is so insanely busy for me right now that I feel like I've been neglecting you all :( Yesterday I was so tired I went home and fell asleep on the couch... but not before ordering Domino's for dinner. So, weekend rest is going to be very important for me for the next few weeks.

Friday mid day started my weekend :) We have half-day Friday's now... enough said!

Saturday morning I slept. I didn't wake up until 11am. What a lovely feeling. I hope to have a repeat performance this Saturday. Later that day we went apartment hunting and found some pretty good prospects. That night my husband and I attempted to have a date-night. We showed up at the movie theater where every.single.movie was sold out. Seriously?? And I know it's only going to be worse this weekend because the Hangover 2 is opening... So instead we had dinner at Panera bread. I haven't eaten there in ages and right now they have a lobster sandwich special.... I wish I could go grad one right now.

Early Sunday the hubby went to go see one of our apartment prospects while I went to Sunday school. When he showed up at church there was nothing good to report. In fact I don't think he even bothered to take pictures like he promised to do. After church we had three more apartment appointments and lordhavemercy! his car nearly broke down on the way there. This disappointment was compounded by the fact that we just spent $1,800 to get another problem fixed 2 weeks ago!

Really... can we catch a break? as of this afternoon we haven't heard back from the mechanic so we are back to carpooling again (I love riding home with my hubby from work- I get to vent all of my work frustrations in the car and not bring them into our house). Needless to say Friday at 12:30 can't get here fast enough (barbecue weekend!!!).

And FWIW after Harold Camping's big fat FAIL (I had no doubt) this has got to be the funniest thing I have seen in reference to the end of the world. And trust me I'm not buying his third prediction either. As a matter of fact, I'm going to email him the scripture in regards to false prophets!




P.S. After all the non-sense dies down, I promise to do a post with some substance and not complaints.

Friday, May 20, 2011

24 weeks!

VIABILITY!!!!!

This is a very important milestone. Basically at 24 weeks the baby is legally viable and the baby has a better chance at survival withing the limits of current technology. However, my hubby and I sat down with the baby and had a nice long talk about how this does not give him or her permission to come now.

Pregnancy: 24 weeks!

Weight Gain: To my absolute total surprise I didn't not step on the scale once this week. I usually just kick it by accident in the middle of the night while trying to use the bathroom in the dark.

Sleep: Still not improving... and I can't even catch daytime naps. This afternoon I tried to take a nap after work and the noise from outside did not let this happen. Seriously, I was about to throw a brick out of my window. Every night I tell myself that I am "going to bed early" and it never happens.

Gender: Team Green

Name: I think we have it narrowed down to 2 names for a girl and one maybe name for a boy. But we are still not sharing.

Feeling: Tired and annoyed. I wish I could walk around with a meter that tells people how I am feeling so they can react accordingly. But I am definitely going to save this for later and perhaps dedicate a whole post to it.

Health: Pretty good although I swear I hear my pelvic bones go snap, crackle, and pop every once in a while.

Movement: This is such a good feeling. I feel like this little one is already developing a personality of sorts. The other night I was sitting on the couch and bent over to pick something up off the floor and the baby kicked me back! Of course little bit was probably just saying "get off me mom! you're squishing me!"

Belly: Still growing! This week I saw a body part kind of sticking out the side of my belly. I wish I knew which body part that was. The baby was like that for about a day and a half. Now that the baby has moved- I miss it!

Next Appointment:  June 9 I started to do a sad face emoticon but the I realized that I always begin this weekly post by saying how time is flying. So no more wishing time away just to "check on the baby" anymore. I want to enjoy every day of this journey.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Nursery Notes

It is a cold and rainy hump day here and it's making for a pretty dreary work day. So to cheer myself up, I started nursery shopping. I came across this bedding set from Nursery Depot:




It's gender neutral and also our wedding colors :) It can also be accented with any color once baby arrives. Shown here is the 10-piece set which includes a quilt, bumper, sheet, skirt, valance, diaper stacker, musical mobile, and three wall hangings- none of which we will probably use. I am not sure why I even want a bedding set- I guess to go along with the color scheme? But if I had to pick one this is the front runner so far. Now that I think about it, by baby product reference book (Baby Bargains) said don't even bother with a bedding set- and this makes sense.

Unless of course the quilt is big enough to be used after the baby reaches a year. But by then baby will have a personality with likes and dislike so I doubt that this neutral quilt will reflect that. So I guess my bedding set will remain as just an inspiration.... for now.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Weekend Wrap-up

Just as I thought- another great weekend :)

We never made it to the beach on Saturday- it rained all.day.long.

My cousin's baby shower was absolutely lovely :) There was food, games, and partying. My cousin's girlfriend is Dominican and baby showers are celebrated a little differently. First, it was held at 8pm... I should have taken a nap that afternoon... second, it is a party of sorts- a DJ, buffet style food, etc. and lastly, she didn't open any gifts :( I love watching mama's-to-be open shower gifts. They traditionally open gifts the next day with close family and friends. I know how much controversy that would cause in American customs but it is what it is.



The cake- which was a traditional dominican dulce de leche
Then, yesterday was my brother's graduation!!!! I dedicated yesterday's post to him and the entire class of 2011. I have been waiting for this for a while. The only thing that sucked was that it started at 8 am (I don't even have to be at work that early) and it was raining. Of course neither of those stopped the party tho'. I'm not sure if commencement officials expect the graduates to pay attention or not- but I don't think they were especially considering I was texting my brother the entire time (and so were his friends and a few other family members) and there are reports of him twittering (I don't do twitter-fb is enough for me). At my college graduation they did not call our names individually but each graduates name was scrolling on the jumbo tron in the arena. Well my brother not only got his name called out loud but each graduate got a 4 second message on the jumbo tron along with a picture and he dedicated his space to us!!! Very sweet.

So after the graduation we took a million pictures in the rain and then went to lunch. Anyone who knows my brother (or anyone in family) knows that lunch was a debacle. My brother's first task as a graduate was to pick a restaurant of his choice for lunch and of course he chose a restaurant that was closed. So, we spent 15 minutes in the car, in the rain calling every restaurant in the tri-state area to see who was open and who could accommodate 11 people for lunch (his friends opted-opt and I don't blame them, so it was just family). Then my his phone died and of course he needs to receive all of his congratulatory text messages, phone calls, tweets, and fb posts- so we drove by his apartment to get his car charger (which was actually no biggie because it was 2 minutes from the arena but I had to add it in there for the dramatic effect). Then we finally arrive at lunch (a nearly 30 minute drive away) and the waiter decided that we should wait hours for bread! Okay, maybe not hours but to a hungry pregnant woman any minute is a minute too long. I mean we did call ahead and notified them we were coming- they could have had it on the table already (is that too much to ask?? okay maybe it is but that's not the point!) My brother LOVES Italian food so we ended up at the Macaroni Grill. Delicious.

After lunch we had to have celebratory cake. What's a celebration without cake?? So do you remember these from my shopping spree:



Well those delicious squares of chocolate was a part of my master plan:



My brother's graduation cupcakes! Yes, I am a dessert diva-in-training. I love to bake and I use my family as guinea pigs. I love dessert (it's the best part of any meal) and therefore I love to make dessert. Not to brag but I can make a great tasting cake/cupcake at anytime so i am honing on decorating. I have taken cake decorating classes (although I haven't finished the series yet) and that along with a little internet inspiration I was able to do this! Everybody loved them and there is none left to prove it.


To be honest I could have used a little bit of time added on to the weekend (no surprise there) even though I didn't even go to work yesterday. This Friday starts half-day Friday's at work and I am sooo excited!!! I was hoping with rising costs we would get the whole day off as many of our "competitors" do but I'll take what I can get because most companies only observe casual Fridays. I think that I may never work a full Friday for the remainder of 2011 because my maternity leave will start just as we return to full day Friday's (that is if all goes to plan and I understood our human resources person correctly). There's nothing else on my schedule for this weekend but I'm sure I'll find something to change that :)

Monday, May 16, 2011

Congrats!


To my brother and all the graduates, congratulations!

Freshman bow down to you, Sophomores fear you, Juniors want to be you! Make 'em scream, make 'em run... you're the Class of double 1!

I love you :)

Retail Therapy

Every once in a while a girl needs a little retail therapy. I've been having a particularly rough week between heartburn keeping me up at night, the constant need to pee in the middle of the night, and overall stress outs at work.

I love shopping and getting new things. There is something about it that makes me feel good. Since, I need to expand my wardrobe to accommodate my growing belly I headed on over to Motherhood Maternity to get some stuff. I'm not really into investing a lot of money in a wardrobe that will only be good until October (and if I'm lucky I'll get to use these clothes again) so it was important that I found some really versatile pieces for really good prices. Enter exhibit A:


I absolutely LOVE this bag. It is very reminiscent of my college wardrobe from the Victoria's Secret Pink collection. AND- it's a diaper bag! I have been having the diaper bag debate for as long as I have been having the nursery room decor debate and I haven't found anything that has struck me yet. This isn't insanely huge and it will definitely work as a casual bag for me and the little one. The best part of it all is that I plan to use it now as a tote bag (shhhh!)

Exhibit B:


On Saturday's I'm a t-shirt and jeans kinda girl. My husband hates it but it is the easiest most effortless outfit to put on in the morning. Sure I could take the time to plan a cute top with shoes that pull on the subtle colors in the shirt and the accessories that make it pop... but who has the time. If it's Saturday morning I am likely sleeping in and waking up in just enough time to barely make it to where I need to be on time. So these tanks are perfect!!! red, brown, pink, black, and blue... what more could I want (besides white)??

Exhibit C:


Told ya I'm a t-shirt and jeans girl. Plus a hoodie in case I get cold :)

Exhibit D:




On the days when I get do feel like getting cute- I adore maxi dresses. They flatter my figure perfectly and I look like a goddess in them :)

Exhibit E&F

A band to accomodate my slighty swollen fingers and lastly...



More on these later...

All these goodies for $100 bucks...score! Or at least I think so. The best part of it is they gave me coupons to come back and I already know what I want :)


Friday, May 13, 2011

23 weeks

I know I say this every week but time is flying by. I feel like next year we'll be sending baby to college! I also still feel very unprepared. Two of my co-employees (I definitely made that word up- but these women don't work with me directly but we work for the same establishment) had babies this week! It makes me so excited :)


photo credit

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his/her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, you may be able to see baby squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in baby's lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him/her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him/her when (s)he hears them outside the womb.


Here's the progress update:


Pregnancy: 23 weeks

Weight Gain: Plus one pound :) I really thought it was going to be more than that which leads me to believe that that five pound weight gain that was reported at my last visit was a fluke...perhaps I didn't booboo for a while prior to that visit. Either way my doctor says I'm doing well. She said I look good and that I'll be a skinny mama after baby is born.

Sleep: This has not been my strongest point throughout this pregnancy. If it isn't one thing it's another. Last night I was chilling at my parents house- while there I layed down... without a pillow in between my legs. This is a HUGE nono for me. When I tried to get up I could barely bare weight on my left leg. This passes after a while but the back pain lasts for days. Which also causes uncomfortable sleep. Add that to my allergy symptoms and you have one sleepy, grumpy mama-to-be.

Gender: Team Green

Name: The SSA released the top baby names for 2010. Now this presents a small dilemma for me. How annoying was it when we to school and there was a Jennifer S. Jennifer R., and Jennifer P. in your class?? How would I or my child feel if they were among those called firstname lastinitial? At one point I knew and associated with so many Jessica's it was ridiculous. So, do I choose a name because we like it even if there were 700 of those babies with the same name born recently??

P.S. The most made up name in the world... Nevaeh... is number 25! I can't believe that! I actually know someone named My-Heaven who named is daughter Naveah (she's 5 now) and I thought that was very sentimental and the popularity it has gained is crazy!


Feeling: A little stressed out and very tired. The stress that I feel is just the nature of things. It is the close of the semester, deadlines are looming, summer preparation has begun, and I feel like everything is always on the go! The worse part of it all is that I keep forgetting to schedule a pre-natal massage :( I feel like I am always playing catch-up rather than getting it done. Even this post is " a day late" (well I do weekly updates on Thursdays but there's no rule that says I have to) and blogger didn't help with their sna-fu these past hours.

Health: I'm in relatively good health :) I'd like to schedule some other doctor visits in between prenatal visits but I always forget. I'd like to stay on top of being healthy so this needs to get done asap. The weird thing is my blackberry isn't very helpful at allowing me to accomplish this.

Movement: Baby is busy in there! My brother was the next person to feel little bit move and he was excited and creeped out at the same time :/ It's funny because the babycenter.com blurb said baby can feel me dance an this is so true! I dance for two hours a week and I can sometimes feel baby dancing along :) It's confusing and cute and the same time!

Belly: Growing! When I do my belly measurements I measure the circumference of my body at the largest point of my belly. Somehow a measuring tape mysteriously appeared in my house ( I promise I didn't take my mother's) This morning my belly measured 37.25 inches!

Next Appointment:  I had an appointment this morning. The next one is June 9. 


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Predicting a Labor of Love

So I came across this quiz about "my labor" and thought it would be cute...

Get your bags packed early just in case you need them. Make sure your partner has a phone available when he's away because this baby just might come early. We predict your baby will come 2-3 weeks early. Your baby will most likely be born in the morning. Justmommies predicts that your baby will weigh approximately 9.0 pounds and that your labor will be about 12 hours long.

... but there were my results. What?! I don't want to go early- definitely not 3-3 weeks early. A 9 pound baby?! Huh?! 12 hour labor ::HEADDESK:: No more labor prediction quizzes for me.

My sister-in-law told me that someone told her that your labor/delivery will mimicks those of the child's father. Her son came five weeks early just as her husband did. My mother-in-law told me that hubby was two days late so if our little one came two days late then our baby would be born on 09-10-11... I think that's an awesome birthday! If forgot how she said her labor was with him but I do know he was born an enormous baby hovering somewhere between 10-12 pounds ::HEADDESK::

Only time will tell what happens but I am hoping for the easy route :)


Monday, May 9, 2011

Weekend-Wrap Up

Another weekend gone by in an instant.

Friday my hubby had an event that he had to stay for after work and I stayed at work too to show my support :)

Saturday was spent with my in-laws celebrating Mother's Day. I don't know how we always manage to divide our time equally with both families- but it always works out! We had fun catching up on the Royal Wedding details and watching my nephew be a typical six year old boy. I felt super special because my sister-in-law got me a wonderful mommy-to-be gift :) It's like a pre-mom mother's day celebration! My in-laws haven't really seen me pregnant except for what I post here so they got to rub my belly and talk to the baby too :)

Sunday after church we spent with my family celebrating Mother's Day. As usual there was lots of food and my sister-in-law sent dessert :) She always hooks us up with thee best baked goods in the world! (don't mind the wine in the background)









This weekend I am looking forward to a date night with the hubby (hopefully), a baby shower, and maybe a visit to the beach =) I can't believe that this time next year I will a full-fledged mommy! And here is mommy-to-be day belly shot :)




Friday, May 6, 2011

Motherhood

photo credit



It's almost the weekend folks! You just gotta make it through the rest of work day. And if your a Domestic Diva - just make it 'til the ice cream truck starts singing :)

In light of Mother's Day weekend I wanted to share another side of my journey. I know everyone will define motherhood differently because it means something different to everyone. With Mother's Day approaching (no worries mom, I got your gift!) I came across this article in my church newsletter. I think it will help guide my journey to and through mommyhood and beyond:


"What does the Bible say about Christian mothers?"

Being a mother is a very important role that the Lord chooses to give to many women. A Christian mother is told to love her children (Titus 2:4-5), in part so that she does not bring reproach on the Lord and on the Savior whose name she bears. Several things are commanded of Christian mothers in God's Word:

Availability- morning, noon, and night (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
Involvement- interacting, discussing, thinking, and processing life together (Ephesians 6:4)
Teaching- the Scriptures and biblical worldview (Psalm 78:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:10)
Training- helping a child to develop skills and discover his/her strengths (Proverbs 22:6) and spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12)
Discipline- teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly (Hebrews 12:5-11, Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15-17)
Nurture- providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love (Titus 2:4, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 4:29-32, Galatians 5:22)
Modeling with Integrity- living what you say, being a model from which a child can learn by "catching" the essence of godly living (Deuteronomy 4:9, 15, 23, Proverbs 10:9, 11:3)

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

22 weeks!



Another week done! I feel like I should be celebrating Cinco De Mayo with the rest of the world... but I'm not :( I have so much stuff to get done I couldn't quite possibly celebrate anything(except another week of pregnancy). Needless to say- I can't wait til the weekend. So here's our weekly progress:


Real estate within your belly is getting tight, with growing baby leaving little room for your lungs to...well...breathe. Expect the huffing and puffing to start soon. There's not much room for your belly button, either -- it'll pop out any day now.


Baby's now the size of a papaya!
Baby's settling into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.


Pregnancy: 22 weeks

Weight Gain: At my appointment last week my reported weight gain was 5 pounds! Good news right. So I had a pound a week jump from my last appointment and hopefully it stays that way.

Sleep: My husband complains that I snore terribly (sorry sweetie). I think it has a lot to do with my allergies. I have all sorts of issues with the connections in my sinuses and this time of year isn't always best for me. At my last ENT appointment I was put on steroids to reduce the inflammation of my sinuses... yeah not fun at all.
Gender: Team Green

Name: So it's looking like we've decided, but we are not sharing. We need flexibility to change our minds and the less opinions the better.

Feeling: Pretty crappy due to allergies. At one point I was at the mall with my husband and we walked into GNC and I had to walk right back out. I have no idea what was in there that set me off but it was no fun sitting outside of the store... alone... waiting for husband. Now I know how men must feel when they accompany women who are shoe shopping.

Health: My heart burn has improved! In fact I can't remember the last time I felt it. However, my back is back to hurting. It's like if it isn't one thing it's another. Ah well, I'm sure it could be worse.

Movement: YES!!!! and I love feeling it. It's like this baby has a mind of it's own. I haven't learned exactly what is what- like is the baby moving because it's trying to get comfortable or if the baby playing around in there.

Belly: Last week when I didn't post- I did measure and it was 36 7/8 inches. So there was 0.375 inches of growth in 2 weeks (no wonder you can never "see" a difference until you have a reference point from the distant past). Today, I didn't remember. So maybe we will have another measurement next week.

Next Appointment:  Next week!!! So, at my last appointment my doctor say I have to come in every three weeks now...squeee!! From weeks 8 through 20 her practice does every four weeks. After which the appointments increase in frequency. I forgot how long I have to do three weeks but either way I get to check on him/her more often!


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