Look what I got!

Hubby and I are out for the weekend and I've bought my trusty laptop and the Internet with me :) I wanted to pop in and tell you all how I have such a wonderful husband. Look what he bought for me:

I know this is a bad pic- but it's the best I could do

While I have been waiting to get this phone for a while, Friday morning I chickened out of it. The price wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I also could have gotten it cheaper if I waited til November, but then the newer iPhone version would be out. I texted this to my hubby while I was taking my GTT and he went to the store and got it for me! I told him he better not had paid the $150 price that I was told it was going to be online.

I'm so excited about it and have already transferred most of my old phone info into the new one. I'm having a great weekend so far and can't wait to share with you on my weekend wrap up- which of course won't be until Tuesday because I took an extra vacation day :)

30 weeks!

I don't know why my 'How big is baby' widget advances a week before I actually advance a week. I think it changes every Sunday. Anywhoo...

According to thebump.com: Your massive belly and nighttime heartburn might be making sleep difficult to come by. If you are able to drift off, you're probably having some strange and vivid dreams- your subconscious is no less anxious than your waking mind.

Baby's now the size of a squash!
As baby's skin smoothes out, his/her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. S/he's also adding some brawn -- his/her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

Pregnancy: 30 weeks!

Gender: Team Green

Name: Undecided

Weight Gain: I'm up 14 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. This startles me. I know I am pregnant but is it going to be easy to get it off?

Sleep: I was really banking on the HEPA filter to make me sleep like a baby. Not so much. Sometimes in the middle of the night I feel like I can't breathe. This is very weird I know. I also have been having really vivid dreams.

Feeling: Dead tired. I was out to dinner with friends last night and I felt like I couldn't take it once 9pm hit. I wish I were napping right now.

Health: I finally did the GTT! I have a doctor's appointment coming up soon so we will see how that turns out.

Movement: I feel like the baby is more active now. I feel the baby squirming and getting comfortable more frequently. I'm going to miss it when the feeling is out the outside instead of the inside.

Belly: 37 inches. I feel like the last time I measured the circumference of my belly it was 36 inches. I just checked... it was. Makes me more jittery about my weight gain.

Next appointment: July 7th. 

This week's obsession

Wonder Bumpers!

Crib bumpers have come under scrutiny. They have come under fire for several reasons. It's been said that they increase the risk of SIDS by blocking a sleeping baby's airflow, they give children a "boost" when trying to climb out of a crib thereby increasing the number of children who fall out of cribs, children can get wedged in between the bumper and another object, the bumper ties can get tangled around baby's necks, the list goes on. Some of these pose the question how? (how does a child get a boost from a piece of fabric... I didn't think it could be sturdy enough). But I'm not taking the chance- I don't want to be an example. So Go Mama Go came up with this alternative. I'm not completely sold on it yet- but I do think it's a good idea. It maintains it's purpose of protecting body parts from harm (head hitting crib rails) while addressing the concerns of normal crib bumpers (there are no ties- it zippers on and off, doesn't block air flow, etc.). Besides the fact that there aren't any that would go with my "design theme" it's very expensive. Our original plan was to use breathable bumpers, but I would consider this as an alternative.

breathable mesh bumper

and baby makes 3!

Awhile back, someone asked me how many children do we plan on having? I answered like I normally do "It depends on how many we can afford!"

My aunt thinks that you can afford any number of children you have- and I agree to a certain extent. I think there are many things we as a society think are a necessity that may actually be a luxury. The need to 'give our children what we didn't have' has grown into a very powerful market.

Here's an example: My husband said if we have 3 kids we would need a 4 bedroom house. My aunt's take on the situation is that same sex children can room together... it's not necessary for them EACH of them to have their own bedroom. And they are both right. My husband's view is that we would like to provide for our children a better life than we had and my aunt views this as a luxury.

I also think there is another side thrown into this situation. I think that the cost of living, inflation, and government regulations have completely skewed America's American dream. For instance, a pair of Chuck Taylor's cost anywhere from $40.00 for the very basic version all the way up to $80.00 for a fancy high top version. My parents got theirs for as low as $6.99 (their oldest sibling) but on average $9.99. Then we have the car seat situation. I remember riding in the back seat of my parents car... just riding. Now the government mandates that my 50 pound child HAS to be in a booster seat of some sort (the state will determine the weight requirement and what type of car seat convertible seat vs. booster seat). This adds extra child rearing costs tat my parents didn't need to take on. I am not disputing safety regulations- just merely pointing out the differences in child rearing costs over a 20 year span.

I will stand by my point that we need to be able to afford each child that I bear- and you can never account for unforeseen circumstances such as children who need (very expensive) medically attention or spontaneous multiples- but I do think that changing my view on what's a necessity and what's a luxury makes a difference.

If money were no object I think I would want about 4 kids- I think. I really don't think I have a magic number to be honest. Like if we never conceive again I will thank God every day for the blessing that he has given us thus far. And if we have 4 more 'oooh that New Year's Eve party was fun!' babies- I will be equally grateful for each one.






Ok, wait.... I'm not taller than him, but I've been "drawing" these people for way too long and this is as good as it gets.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Amazing weekends always come and go too quickly.

The weather last week was terrible. I think Monday and Tuesday was nice but the Wednesday through Friday it rained off and on and was very muggy out. I was so nervous that would continue through the weekend and ruin everything we had planned...

We gave my brother a "surprise" graduation party! It was kind of a surprise because he knew what was going on and we all knew he knew. So, we tried to keep as much of the details a surprise as possible. Here is my favorite:

I conspired with my amazingly talented sister in law (I wanna be just like her when I grow up!) to make his cake. Needless to say- it was amazing. The cake it on the right and my brother's camera is on the left. AWESOME. My brother is an aspiring photographer and refused to cut it. Of course I don't have more pictures because I used his camera for the rest of the day to take pictures. I'll probably will never see those again. But we had fun either way.

The next day was 'Graduate Sunday' at church. We have a fairly sizeable youth population and my church is big on education. It is encouraged that throughout the year parent's bring in report cards, certificates, trophies, awards, etc. to recognize their children's achievements (you should see how proud a 4-year-old is receiving a standing ovation for getting promoted to kindergarten. I'm not going to lie- church was part of my motivation in college to keep up the grades. There was no way I wasn't bringing in MY report card and letting the youngins show me up! I'm joking but we do honor the graduates in a big way. This year we had 1 master's and 1 bachelor's recipient, 2 high school grads, and an elementary school graduate. We also had a host of middle/grade school, kindergarten, and pre-school graduates. The older kids get embarrassed over such a big deal, but the little ones eat it up!


Every fourth Sunday the Deacon's at my church hold a small church service for the sick and shut in at an extended care facility nearby. The Elder for that month has to give the sermon. Guess who is my church's Elder for June... yep! I was nervous as heck! I have no idea why. I'm usually okay with public speaking- I mean I get nervous but I'm okay. This time for some reason was a whole different ball game. The audience isn't that large and the crowd LOVES whatever you say no matter what it is... I think maybe it was because it was my first time giving the message at this particular place. Either way, it went well and I'm glad it's over. In fact, I have 3 more days left until I pass the reigns as pastor's "right hand" to the next person. As an Elder, I sit on Session, serve communion on first Sundays, take communion to the sick and shut in on first Sundays, and a whole host of other things. This is my second year sitting and I have enjoyed it. My term is only two years so I'm come off in January but I don't think I'll be going back on for a bit. It is kind of stressful helping to run a church off well over 100 congregants ( I forgot how many we have). The normal term is 4 years. Mine was so short because I was taking over for someone who couldn't finish their term due to a move across country. I will continue my faithful journey and raise our children that way. I also have plans to join faithful bloggers so that one day I can share my faith with my readers :)

Lastly, I'll leave you with my advertisement for this weekend, although it didn't stop me from being asked the same question over and over (although I really don't mind). It ended up being the running joke. If someone asked me when I was due someone else would say "you clearly didn't read the shirt"!