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Monday, August 30, 2010

Stream of consciousness...

A pregnant woman's ramblings (aka I finally got some sleep)

We spent the weekend at my parent's house since Joey had a tile job he was/is doing. Yay for some extra money! He is in fact still alive despite eating all of my ice cream. This is only because I am pregnant and decided the work of disposing of his body would be too strenuous and might possibly cut into my nap time. Besides I still need him to paint the nursery for me. I did consider killing him again on Saturday night though when he copped a 'tude with me. Instead I let him swelter downstairs in the not air conditioned living room while I went and slept in my old room with the AC running full blast. Small victories, I tell you.

My dog is now thoroughly spoiled after an entire weekend with my mom and dad. He was walked on demand, slept in the bed with my dad every night, fed an entire bag of dog treats and napped without interruption. Luckily Cadillac put him in his place fairly quickly upon returning home. Side note to the dog - no we are not going to get the cat declawed - I enjoy watching you get beaten by an animal a quarter of your size. Cruel but amusing.

My parent's in return were also spoiled. I cooked for my dad as always - muffins, cookies and a pizza he was allowed to eat. He quickly put together an entire list of other things I should make for him. I took my mom to World Market for the first time. She managed to spend an entire gift card there in her first visit. I think she may now be addicted. I will wholeheartedly support that addiction!

As for me and Jellybean - we didn't sleep well all weekend so Joey and I headed home early on Sunday where I took a well deserved and LONG nap. Then I finished a book and did nothing else that night. Jellybean has been extremely active. I need to start on my registry. Book a visit at the daycare I want to use. Start looking for a pediatrician. Stop laughing at the way the fabric on my maternity pants causes static electricity on my stomach hair. Go grocery shopping. Make a to do list and actually cross something off of it. Win the lottery - a scratch off ticket or some sort of money....

Friday, August 27, 2010

Break out the Crime Scene Tape!

Back up folks, back up. Nothing to see here. Wait - what is this?

I wandered into the kitchen this morning AFTER the hubby had left for work and realized a crime had taken place in there. Don't worry though - the burglar left a trail and I'm pretty sure I will be able to apprehend the perp pretty quickly. Take note of the evidence first -
After reviewing the evidence there was no doubt in my mind that a crime had indeed taken place. I decided to interview the suspects that were in the home with me first -

Blue
Dog - 50 lbs, 2.5 ft tall
IQ - 5
Blue stated that although he does indeed look guilty it is not because he in fact ate the Starbucks Vanilla Frappucino Ice Cream. He looked guilty because he had just been licking his nether regions prior to my snapping this picture. He also needed to pee since Mom had not taken him out yet. He stated that last night after Mom had gone to bed he was sleeping in his chair until Dad went to bed. Besides - what in the world would he need a spoon for. His story checked out.
Cadillac
Cat - 17 ish lbs, pudding like consistency - unable to measure height and length
IQ - qualified for Mensa

Cadillac stated that although he appears to be in a sugar coma he is in fact just ignoring me and my stupid questions. Cadillac was in bed with me last night sleeping in Daddy's spot. When Daddy came to get in bed and tried to move him he bit Daddy. (Giggles!) Solid alibi.


Phebes
Bunny - 5-6 lbs, 18 inches
IQ - too rude to submit to testing
Lady - are you stupid? I live in this box. I can't even jump that high and wtf would I do with ice cream? Was the lid chewed off since you know its not like I have opposable thumbs or anything? Besides I'm lactose intolerant. All true.

Given that all the present suspects stories checked out that left me with one logical culprit -
The hubby

Human - 185 lbs, 5' 7"
IQ - questionable when caught finishing a pregnant woman's ice cream!

On to the pregnancy update - We are 17 weeks along now.

We are starting to feel Jellybean move around a little and are finally narrowing down our name choices.

Total weight gain/loss? + 8 or 9 lbs now

Waist measurement? No idea

Do you have the BIG APPT scheduled? When? Already had one - It's a boy! Ob appt on the 8th of next month then another big scan on Oct 6 that I'm getting a 4D DVD of.

How are you sleeping? This week has actually been better for the most part.

How is your energy? It comes and go's. I noticed that I start to feel drained in the afternoon and will usually rest for a bit when I get home from work.

Wedding rings - on or off? On and its still sliding and turning so I'm safe for now.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Do you still have M/S? Yep. I gag in the mornings still and feel really sick if I go too long between meals.

What body part is the most sore? My bbs and my back. Noticing sneezes are a little painful now too!

Do you think you have that pregnancy glow? I'm starting to notice it some..

Weekly BOOO HOOOO? We got our property tax bill. Ouch...

Weekly WHOO HOOO? Felt little man kick last night and so did hubby. We're also starting to narrow down those names.


My Little Life


Mama M over at My  Little Life hosts 5QF so go visit her and join in the fun!

1. How many pets do you have?

Wait - am I counting the hubby? If not - we have 4. Our dog, Blue, he's a doof but we love him anyway. Cadillac - a ridiculously obese cat that is demanding to boot! Phebes - my bunny that just won't croak. He's like a crotchety old man in attitude too. And Aragon - the hubby's bearded dragon.

2. If you could switch places with anyone in the world for one day, who would it be?

I would love to be my cat for a day right now. Being pregnant I can't imagine anything better than a day of eating, sleeping and being massaged.

3. What is your favorite money saving tip?

Ha! Money saving tip. DON'T GET MARRIED! I swear I not only had money but a savings account before I got married. Now the human ATM that my husband is has taken care of that!

4. What do you want your kids to be when they grow up?

Happy, successful and independent.

5. What is your favorite quote?

Whatever happens is supposed to be - its all predetermined can't change your destiny.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Pour Your Heart Out - The mom I want to be

Once again - If you are here for ICLW, my story is here.

Secondly - Glad everyone got a kick out of yesterday's post, the general consensus seemed to be that I need a wife. Nice thought and I'm sure Joey would love it but such an awkward thing to have to explain to Jellybean. I'll keep working on the hubby instead, I guess!

Oh and a quick shout out to Alexis for being my 100th follower - yay! How exciting for me!




Shell over at Things I Can't Say hosts - Pour Your Heart Out. It is a place to just get whatever is weighing on your heart out. Please be kind to all of the posters.

I think one of the main things that pregnancy does is it really makes you ponder what type of parent you would like to be. One of the benefits of going through this at 27 is my perspective is different then it would have been even 5 years ago - when I was no doubt no where near ready to parent a child. I am also lucky enough to have great examples of the right way to do it thanks to my amazing parents.

One of the main things that my parents made sure of when raising us was that we were independent - in our thinking, our actions and as people. They didn't raise needy children who couldn't stand on their own and weren't capable of taking care of themselves. My sister and I like to say we are independent to a fault now. We would have to be buried in quicksand up to our noses before we would shout for help. That though is what has equipped us to be successful in life. I'm 27 - a college graduate, happily married, home owner, 2 cars, pets and the strongest family bonds you will ever come across. If Jellybean can say the same when he is 27 - than I have done my job well.

So my goals as a parent are first and foremost to raise my child with freedom. I want him to not only have the freedom to succeed but also the freedom to fail. I won't ever be the type of parent to do his homework for him or solve his problems for him. By understanding failure and overcoming it he will be more resilient and appreciate his successes that much more. You can not be a successful adult having never been disappointed or worked your own way out of a difficult situation. My job as a parent will be to equip Jellybean with the skills to be able to do it himself.

I also want Jellybean to be a hard worker and to appreciate the value of money. I began babysitting at 11 years old and have worked ever since. I understood how much my gymnastics cost my parents and the sacrifices they had to make because of it. That means I also knew not to ask for extras - I earned those myself. In college I was attending school full time, working full time and still managed to pull off straight A's - without that work ethic my parents had instilled in me that never would have happened. So Jellybean will work - chores, helping dad, babysitting and at 16 paying for his car insurance. I can't expect a child to be able to take care of himself if he doesn't know how to work.

I will not be overprotective. The world is without a doubt a scary place. Guess what so is TV, the internet and your own mind. I am going to have faith in the fact that I am raising my child with the morals and values that we respect and hope that in turn he make decisions that we agree with. That means he will choose his own friends and take on new opportunities whether they be sports, summer camps or traveling abroad. This will be my child's life to lead. Not my own. I can not hold him back from living his life for the fear of the what if. That's not fair to either one of us.

My hope is that if I do all this at 18 Jellybean will no longer need us. Not that I will be kicking him out the door and throwing a party at the thought. He is precious to us now and will be even more so then. I just want to know that when I drop him off at college one day that he can spread his wings and fly without looking back.

Monday, August 23, 2010

PINT - I'm doing something wrong...















Nesting already?

If you are here for ICLW, my story is here - not that I don't want you reading all of my other scintillating posts!

I'm afraid we may be nesting already. I say we since it appears I have succeeded in dragging my husband into it with me. I will say that Saturday's events involved no coercion from me whatsoever. I was completely innocent! We stopped at Target on our way to a friends house to pick up some flip flops for Joey. He still has a hobbit foot due to the sprain and tennis shoes were killing him from all the pressure. So we stroll around, find some flip flops and then suddenly - AMAZINGLY - he asks me - "Where's the baby stuff? I swear to you - I heard angels singing when he asked me that - music to a pregnant woman's ears! So we hit the baby section and fell in love. Currently we are coveting this crib -



but, we already have someone giving us a crib.
This changing table -

and this high chair -

Don't you worry though - that's just a few things off the list! I have a feeling our registry is going to be quite long.

On Sunday - I think the nesting kicked in for both of us. The first task at hand was shampooing all the carpets in the house. I'm not going to lie or sugarcoat it. They were all just plain nasty. Once we got started on it though we kept on going. Since we ended up moving all of the furniture out of the living room to shampoo the carpet in there - (Note to self - never put a drink down where the dog can knock it over again. Dr. Pepper is a b*!@# to get out of your carpeting) I decided to go ahead and rearrange the furniture in there to a more logical setting. If you remember the room use to look something like this -








Now the room is setup like this -





Don't ask me why it took me almost a year to arrange the furniture so that you can actually see the TV but now that we did - we love it! The room also seems alot more spacious then it did before!

Jellybean's room also has a slow start to it. The carpets are shiny, Joey has drawn the line for the chair rail/mural divider. We have printed out the pictures he will be using to paint the mural too. He should be picking up the crib today or tomorrow and we will start painting/assembling. This is where we are so far in there -






I still have a bunch of cleaning and purging to do in the closet in there but I feel like we got so much accomplished yesterday that if we can keep it we'll be in good shape by the time Jellybean comes. Yup...still Jellybean. We have not agreed on a name yet. But we did veto many many choices that one or the other brought up. That's progress in a way - right?

Menu Plan Monday - Clearing out and getting ahead

You can find out more about Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

It has been ages since I have participated in Menu Plan Monday. My checking account can reflect it since when I don't plan - I overbuy and my freezer reflects it too as it was bursting with meals and/or the fixings to make a meal. I do have one request to throw out there though. I have a ton of frozen beans - lima, butter, kidney. We bought them when my stepson was down and now I don't know what to do with them. Does anyone have some great recipes they would like to share with me so I can use them up next week?

My Menu Plan is going to go Sunday through Saturday since that is usually how I plan. I like to do my shopping on Sundays. Most of this weeks meals are being pulled from the freezer since it really needs to get purged and then replenished. I'll go into some quick breakfast and lunch plans below my dinner menu too.

Sunday
Pasta Bake (Rotini, ground beef and turkey, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and spaghetti sauce)
Garlic Bread
Salad (I am addicted to salad's now that I'm pregnant)

Monday
Cajun Shrimp
Brown Rice w/pimentos
Asparagus (We buy most of our veggies frozen now so they won't spoil before we get a chance to use them)

Tuesday
Applegate Farms Uncured Hot Dogs (safe for preggos and they taste great)
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Salad (Yes again!)

Wednesday
Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
Grilled Cheese

Thursday
Beef Tips in gravy
Whole Grain Noodles
Broccoli

Friday
Fried Mahi ( I use this recipe but omit the sandwich part)
French Fries
Cole slaw
Mixed Veggies

Saturday
Chicken and Dumplings
Cornbread

After all that my freezer should be due for a restock. I'll probably make extra on our meals again for a week or two and be good to repeat the process. I'm making breakfast sandwiches for this week too. Hubby like his on toast, I prefer a bagel. So he will have turkey bacon, egg and cheese, or sausage egg and cheese and I'll have the same - hold the cheese. (yuck - can't do cheese with my breakfast!)

Lunches - I need to use up these Sandwich Pockets -


I bought last week so I'm going to cook up some chicken breasts and probably do a few Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwiches for hubby with that and maybe a roast beef sandwich or two for him in addition. We also picked up a couple of the microwaveable Campbell's Soup bowls since they were on sale at Target so the hubby can have those. His only other request is fruit. I'm going to take the rest of the frozen pierogies I have at least a day or two. Leftover salad is a big hit with me too.  I also have a few freezer dinners I need to use up so all in all I should be good to go.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Did I step into a soap opera?

So yesterday was supposed to be an awesome day for the hubby and I and for the most part it was. We spent the day with some good friends - fellow preggos - celebrating a birthday. Joey was doing a tattoo and I was just chilling, hanging out, etc. That night we were heading to an improv for a comedy show. More about that later...

About halfway through the day my sister alerted me to a situation that was occurring out in cyberworld that concerned our family. I won't get into details as I don't want to propagate the drama any further. Suffice it to say that it was highly illegal, based on delusions and potentially damaging all the way around. It basically cemented our feelings on a particular situation and I think we will all be much happier with the drama causers out of our life. I had to go one step further due to my blog - which I love. One of the people involved in all this must either not have a life or be obsessed with me. They have been cyberstalking me for almost a year now. I went ahead and deleted this person from my Facebook,  blocked their ip address and still they have been visiting my site multiple times in a day through a proxy. We deduced that this person must be behind a lot of the misinformation that was swirling out there too. Because I didn't feel it was fair to me or my readers to pull my blog down because of a few psychotic people out there - I took a much bigger step. I have contacted this parties ISP provider, their local authorities, and the proxy service. This turned into a situation where I needed to legally protect myself and my family. I won't let a few crazies take away something I enjoy. If this still continues though I may have to make the blog by invitation only - I hope you understand if I do.

Back to our night - my sister and I hashed it out and decided not to say anything to our parents about everything that was taking place. We didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize our dad's health and land him back in the hospital or God forbid even worse. So then it was off to SAK Comedy Lab for a night of laughs and entertainment. Tickets were only $12 a person and well worth it. They also validate parking so that was only $4 - if there hadn't been a ravenous pregnant woman involved we would have made out on just spending $30 for the night. (Darn it Jellybean - curb your appetite! Momma's on a budget!) The actors were amazing. Jellybean got quite a workout with all the bouncing around our baby boy did in there! Our show was a two for one of sorts as there was a drunk guy in the audience who was kicked out. The actors ended up incorporating reenactments of him into their scenes throughout the show - HYSTERICAL. The best thing is that the entire show is very family friendly. No cursing or overt sexual references. They keep the scum out as they say. Even if you are just going to be vacationing in Orlando - you should go! Joey and I talked about it the whole way home. Seriously one of our best dates ever.

Now on to a drama free Sunday of clearing out the nursery and other chores...if I can ever get sleeping beauty out of bed that is...

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Welcome ICLW

If you are visiting from ICLW - Welcome and thank you for coming by. Here is our story in a nutshell. I married my wonderful hubby in May of 08 - became a stepmom in the process. I went off birth control in July of 08 - I figured it would take me a while to regulate and then we could start trying. I had three regular cycles and then they went wacky - 30 days here, 43 there. Right after Easter in 09 I had horrible abdominal pain. More about that here and it goes on from a while there. Long story short  - I tried an RE for a bit and realized that the office I had chosen really only wanted my money - not to help us get pregnant. You can browse through last July to November to read more about that.

We took a few cycles off to try naturally then decided to give Clomid another shot through my new amazing Ob Gyn. In February of this year he started me at 50 mg and waited and tried. Nothing. My second cycle at the end of March was a bust from the start. My dad ended up in the hospital in ICU during the beginning of the cycle and I couldn't take the pills correctly. The stress also didn't help since it was very touch and go for awhile there. So needless to say - it was a BFN.

For the next cycle the doctor bumped me up to 100mg. Hubby and I were starting to think we would need something stronger. I researched RE's and made an appointment with a new one for May 26. I just knew the Clomid hadn't worked. On our way to Mississippi to pick up Joey's son I had the worst heartburn ever - out of the ordinary for me but I wrote it off to the tabasco slim jims and fast food. When we got back I decide to take a test on a whim Monday after work. I honestly thought I was seeing things when the second pale pink line came up. I don't even know how many tests I ended up doing in total. It was SHOCKING to see that positive.

So here we are after almost two years of trying - 16 weeks pregnant with a little boy. We are due February 3. I hope those of you still struggling to conceive see that BFP soon and that you share this journey with me!

Friday, August 20, 2010

What I wish I had known then and 5 Question Friday

First things first - Did you miss the big announcement yesterday? Yep - Baby Jellybean showed off the goods on Wednesday so head on over to see if we are Team Pink or Team Blue! I'm continuing to expand and still sleeping like crap. My back pain is intensifying so I will be making a trip to the chiropractor next week - otherwise the tears may be a daily occurrence. Yikes. Here's the 16 weeks bellyshot!


Cadillac looked to cute chilling in this picture for me to crop the big guy out! You see me in my last pair of prepregnancy pants that fit me other than sweats and cheerleading shorts. I'm about a week away from fitting in the maternity pants I've been gifted so it looks like skirts and dresses for me for another week!

Now for the what I wish I had known part of this post. As I was walking the dog this morning I noticed all the high schoolers chilling at the bus stop by our house. That got me thinking back to high school - and how I would grumble and complain about getting up at 6am for school. How when I was an adult I'd be able to sleep in and do whatever I wanted. If only I had known! Here I am 10 years later. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning so I can squeeze in all the morning chores before I leave for work. You know laundry, dishes, walking the dog, feeding the cat, fixing breakfasts, lunches, etc. Then I drive to work and whittle away 9 hours there. I come back home and do it all over again - dinner, pets, hubby, bills, etc.  If an hour of my day allows for relaxing - its been a good day. As a teenager I didn't have to worry about bills, responsibilities or anything. My laundry was done, meals were cooked and I had a chauffeur. What in the world was I complaining about?




My Little Life


Mama M over at My  Little Life hosts 5QF so go visit her and join in the fun!

1. Do you have any nicknames and if so how did it come about?

Di is obviously one of my nicknames - self explanatory. Or if you are my friend Scott it turns into Di-Di or in a sing song voice on messages - Di, Di DDDDi, Di Di, DDDD Di. A polish one from my family is Tuptus - it means to walk on your toes - since I did that pretty much from birth until  I quit gymnastics at 17. Oh and there was Princess - the story behind that depends on who you ask. My middle sister will swear its because I'm a spoiled brat (which I was) and at gymnastics it was because I chose to ignore the time limit on beam and just do the routine as I saw fit. I was not going to be rushed! 

2. What is your birth order amongst your siblings?

I'm the baby and I took full advantage of all the perks that went with it. I wouldn't change it for the world!

3. In a movie of your life, who would play your significant other?

Oh man- I have no idea. he'd have to be able to pull off a pretty convincing Southern accent and be rough around the edges. Hmmm. Any one have any suggestions?

4. What is currently your favorite song?

Rodney Atkins - Farmers Daughter or Luke Bryan - Rain is a Good Thing

5. Are you saving your money for anything right now? Big or small purchase?

I'm saving for lots of things very slowly with Jellybean on the way. We need a new laptop desperately. Day care, brakes for my car, a new sliding glass door, living room furniture, maternity leave. I suppose its a mix of big and small. The first step would be sticking to a darn budget though...


New Friend Fridays

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Team Pink, Team Blue or Team Green?

First off let me say that I am amazed that I actually managed to get any work done yesterday. I mean my appointment wasn't until 3 in the afternoon which was just TORTURE!!! I do think that Joey may have been even more excited then I was - he beat me to the doctor's office by 15 minutes. Then we settled in for an hour and a half wait. Grrrrr..... One of the tech's had to leave so they were backed up. The upside was - she spent half an hour on the scan and gave us a ton of freebie 3D shots.

Well baby was being a bit stubborn at first. Upside down on the head. Keeping the legs tightly shut. Then with some careful poking we got the $$$Money Shot$$$. In fact the tech's actual words were -"Wow - That's impressive and big!" Joey lit up like a Christmas Tree when she said that! Yup we are having a little boy! We are very excited and ready to start arguing about the name! (I'm pushing for Nathaniel! Joey has nothing picked out. This should be a quick battle) The tech was also surprised when I said right there on the table - well we'll go for a girl next time! Apparently most women are not already thinking of their next pregnancy while pregnant. the men usually are up for it while the woman isn't so sure. It's been inconvenient at times but I'm enjoying being pregnant and want to experience it a few more times for sure!

Jellybean is actually impressive all the way around. He is measuring 2 days ahead at 16 weeks 1 day. His brain was very well developed (must take after his mom!) as well as his heart was. He weighs 5 ounces and all of his measurements were great. All of my family is over the moon and ready to start shopping. I also need to start shopping since I just outgrew my bras....again. I think its time to go ahead and get the nursing bras since they will last me through the pregnancy and beyond. We are lucky enough to get another scan in October so they can get a better look at his heart and face. That scan I will be getting the 4D dvd made since the only extra cost is $10 for the DVD itself. I found a daycare that I really like on paper. I still need to check it out but they are open to cloth diapering which is a huge plus in my book. Now I need to start the pediatrician search too.

Here is Jellybean's photoshoot -



Anyone have any other name ideas I can run by hubby?

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