Weekend Wrap Up

I felt really busy this weekend but can't remember too much about it. The main highlights of the weekend were taking my maternity pictures, going to 'childbirth prep' class and my first baby shower!

I don't want to post an unedited picture from the shoot but can I just say my brother is amazing! I had so much fun with him and of course I was super comfortable with him because he's been my best friends his whole life! I will likely post one or two pics just so you guys can be awed in amazement :) okay, okay, here is a sneak peek:

Childbirth Prep class was a bit harrowing and this warrants its own post. I started writing it shortly after I got home because I had to get some of my thoughts out before I forgot them.

My first baby shower was a total surprise thrown by my co-workers! It was so cute especially because I am the party planner of my department so they were on their own trying to surprise me. Needless to say I have to take the disposable camera to get the film developed, because no one remembered to bring a camera. hahaha! So I'll be posting those another day too :) There was cake (yum!) snacks, games, and gifts! I feel very blessed to have people apart of our lives who love us and want to cherish our blessings as well.

My parents also came over for dinner on Friday, a meeting on Saturday, and church on Sunday just about rounds out this weekend's festivities.

I love weekends =)

2 random thoughts

This post is consists of random things that I wanted to tell you but likely do not really warrant a post of their own.

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My celebrity crush right now is Tia Mowry-Hardrict. Maybe it's the pregnancy thing but I'm loving her right now. She always looks put together, very glamorous, and is real about her pregnancy. She even talks about how she's grateful that she's not having twins and respects her mama even more now. She's in a long line of celebs who put their nude pregnancy photos out there for everyone to see. I'm going to do a maternity shoot (hopefully sometime in the next couple of days) but I am not sure if I will be sharing the shots with the world... I may post the decent ones here but I think they are brave for showing it off. Some pregnant women don't feel very sexy during their pregnancies and I think it's wonderful that they show it can be a very beautiful time.

Right before the holiday weekend, she had her baby boy. I'm pretty sure she name him Cree. I am so happy for them. She and her sister have a show coming out this August and I a) can't wait to see it and b) hope they document the pregnancy and Tamera's wedding.

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Extreme Couponing has change my life. I happened to stumble upon this show when they were advertising with previews and I recorded an episode (it came on too late for a pregnant woman) and I was immediately hooked. I learned so much about how to manage my grocery finances better from watching this show. When I originally started clipping coupons I never intended to start stock piling until I came across some can't refuse deals. I don't have much but this is a sample:

The sauces will be great for when we need quick meals after baby is born. I know part of the secret is to make meals and freeze them to be popped in the oven whenever- but {both}my freezers can only hold so much. Secondly- the salad dressing is going to be used all summer. So far we have have about 4 or 5 cookouts/impromptu gatherings and it's come in handy every time.

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Okay,

That's all for now.

31 weeks!

This nervous feeling never goes away. My weekly countdown is now in the single digits, for real! I had a doctor's appointment this morning and all is well. We discussed who would deliver my baby, cord blood banking, and more! In case you didn't know, there are 3 doctors in the practice. I asked the nurse today how do they determine who goes to the hospital when and she broke it down for me. The only thing I am a little leary about it the weekend schedule. If I were to deliver on a weekend any on call doctor could deliver the baby- and I am just not happy with that. She did state that my doctor would do membrane stripping to sort of help labor get started but a) that may not work and b) I'm really not into intervening unless medically necessary to start labor. My doctor did however agree that if all is well- once baby comes out they will wiped him or her off a little and put baby on my chest and allow baby's cord to stop pulsating on it's own! I like that because more of the baby's cord blood can get circulated in his or her body. This makes me very happy.

Doesn't this baby look squished?! Anyway... According to babycenter.com:

photo courtesy of babycenter.com

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. S/he can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his/her skin. S/he's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Pregnancy: 31 weeks!

Gender: Team Green

Name: Undecided

Weight Gain: I lost a pound (or 2!)- I can't believe it. I think that last weight check-in was a fluke.

Sleep: My husband isn't getting any... poor guy.

Feeling: Tired and winded. But I love it when the little one stretches and takes my breath away =)

Health: My blood pressure was 120/68. This is really good considering. I do have to get a lot better with drinking water.

Movement: Baby is definitely more active at times. The doctor showed me where baby's body parts are and it turns out that last night hubby was talking to the baby's feet!

 

Belly: Big.

Next appointment: July 21st. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Yes, my weekend has finally come to a close :( Which is pretty good considering is hump day!

Friday

Half-day Friday's at work never get old :)

However Friday morning induced a little panic... we are officially in the single digit weekly countdown (9 weeks and 6 days to go...)

We had lunch at one of hubby's friends house. Then lunch turned into dinner and the entire afternoon was accompanied by laughs. His daughter is getting married this weekend. I'm not going but I love weddings anyway! His wife showed me all of the do-it-yourself projects they are doing and it took me back to my wedding.

Lastly, my hubby is the sweetest man ever! Look what he surprised me with:

Okay, well sort of. He didn't actually bring it home- which I am relieved about because I want to get some more home projects (read: nursery) out of the way before this. There is also a portion of my maternity leave where I will be required to pay into some of my benefits and that added in with the expense of a new baby- I want to wait before we add more bills into the household. The last time he bought a car he waited until I gave the go ahead so he figured he would do the same again this time (thank goodness he did). The dealership was even going to give him a bow to put on it...awwwwww!

Dear Sweetheart,

You are the best husband ever and you are going to be a great dad! I love you and thank you for thinking of "us".

Love,

Sweatpea


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Saturday

My cousin's baby shower was on Saturday. We had lots of fun and I even won a prize!

I normally wouldn't step foot in a Starbucks- but since someone else is paying... tall vanilla bean frappacino please!

I just checked the website to make sure I had my sizes right (and I didn't) and saw they now have coconut creme frappacino... I'm changing my order :)

She and I took pictures of our bellies but I think she might kill me if I posted a picture of her pregnant. Speaking of which- my other cousin had the first summer baby 2 weeks ago! (I can't remember if I told you or not).

After my cousin's shower we were supposed to be state hopping between 3 states but a last minute change of plans by hubby's best friends left us state hopping only two states.

We still had fun though. I love visiting his friends- they are always good for laughs. We stayed one night at one friends house and another night at a different friends house.

This brings us to...
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Monday

We headed home to my Aunt's 4th of July cookout. It was originally scheduled for Sunday but it rained so she pushed it back one day. This was perfect for us because we actually got to make it :) I love hanging out with family. My dad's family was always huge (in numbers) and there is something comforting about this to me. My grandma's sister is like 90 something and she was the oldest of 17 (nope she wasn't there- she's not doing well in her old age) but to have my grandma's sisters and brothers there with some of their descendants is always entertaining.

Did I ever tell you about how much I LOVE Rita's coconut ice? Yum!

That night we stayed at my parent's house. Our block usually has a huge fourth of July celebration until the wee hours of the morning and we just weren't up for it this year. So we had a sleep over at my parent's. They love it when all of the children are under their roof...day or night.

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Tuesday

This is my extended weekend. I did it for memorial day and if I weren't going to be on maternity leave I would do it again for Labor day. It was the smartest thing I could ever think of... extending my already long weekend by another day. *Life's simple pleasures*

Hubby was very patient with me all.day.long. We went wherever I said I wanted to go. This included home depot. We finalized the paint for baby's room and picked up the primer. We also decided that we are going to do a chair rail in the room. I knew you could do almost anything yourself but the amount of "stuff' available to you in these hardware superstores is amazing! I've never really been past the paint aisle. When we got to the lumber section I was floored and inspired! When I own my own home... I'm going to be a stapling gun wielding do-it-yourself fixer upper. Actually, I'll just supervise what hubby does, but it's all the same... isn't it? This is what we picked out...

I know you can't get the full gist of it from this picture, but maybe you can get an idea from my pintrest board. We also went to IKEA- picked up a few things and turned one of the living room walls from

to

We needed a change of scenery and this was a quick and easy way to do it.

Now that the weekend is over- it's back to the grind at least for another day and a half!

Happy Independence Day!