Life's Hard Enough Without Someone Kicking You From Inside

In the past week I have begun to experience my first real pregnancy complaint. My body definitely feels the extra weight that I am carrying around. My thighs and back are so achy and the muscles right under my belly feel like they have a medicine ball sitting, kicking and rolling around right on top of them. They're sore constantly. It's getting harder and harder to do simple tasks like putting clothes on and getting up two hundred times a night to use the bathroom.  The good news is that I only have thirteen weeks left. The bad news is that within those thirteen weeks things will get progressively more uncomfortable. She is around two pounds now and about twelve inches long. I was ten pounds when I was born and probably around eighteen inches. I can't imagine how my organs and other body parts are going to feel!

27 weeks pregnant

Nursery Art Work

I hope everyone had a great weekend. One out of four of my flower pots got knocked over from the hurricane but that seemed to be the only damage. It was worth it though because Sunday the weather was so gorgeous. We decided to take a drive to Ikea to browse cribs which my mother so kindly said she would purchase for her fifth grandchild (yikes!). Once we got there we walked around the entire store looking for cribs to no avail. We asked a sales associate where they were and she let us know that they all had been recalled since they weren't up to standards and wouldn't be back until December. At least we had a nice drive out there. I really wanted to get a crib so I can start decorating more so we headed to Babies R Us. They had a simple white one in stock that was perfect! We purchased it and set it up after we finished touching up the rest of the paint on the walls. I still have yet to pick fabrics/bedding but am confident it will all come together. For art work I wanted something whimsical (and purple) but was having a hard time finding anything. I though I could find a few pictures online and print them out but it proved harder than I thought to have had someone else read my mind on what I was looking for. So I created my own. I used a photo editing program and had these three photos printed. This is as crafty as I will ever get so don't judge how lazy my DIY artwork is. My mother in law is going to make curtains once I find a nice fabric. I look forward to everything coming together!

Feel free to save and have these printed if you like them. Works best on an 8x10 print.

Rainy Day Rant

I am so bored at work right now. Everyone freaked out about hurricane Irene so it's such a quiet day! While I have nothing better to do I thought I would answer some random, pointless questions that have no significance to anyone, myself included. If you're stuck inside too feel free to borrow these and post on your blog. You'll be amazed at how dumb some of the questions are.

What is your best friend's Mom's name?
I guess Matt is my best friend (is that really  cute or really sad?) and her name is Linda. And "mom" doesn't need to be capitalized.

Where is the weirdest place you have a mole?
I don't know... my collarbone?

Who was the hottest teacher you ever had?
Haha, in fifth grade I had a hot teacher name Mr. Guerra. Oh to be young again...
 
Have you ever made out in a movie theater?
Yes

What body part do you wash first?
I never really pay attention but I guess when I think of it I start with the belly and work my way around

Do you have any piercings?
Yes. I don't wear anything other than my ears but I have my nose double pierced, lip, and I used to have whatever it's called with the big fat bar through your cartilage but that's closed up. So badass.

What's the strangest talent you have?
Being talentless

Do you have an innie or an outtie?
I used to have a deep innie but since my baby is pushing everything outward I now have a distinct outtie that you can see through my clothes. It's a little creepy.

What's your favorite flavored Pringles?
Sour Cream

Have you ever been tied up?
Talk about creepy. No.

Have you ever had two dates in one night?
At the same time in the same restaurant. What could go wrong with that scenario?

Just kidding.

How many times have you been cussed out?
I'm not sure exactly what that means but I've been cussed at a lot. Too many to count.

Have you ever been to a gay bar?
No. There is nothing for me at a gay bar.


Have you ever been cow-tipping or snipe-hunting?
No, I live in a society with computers and television.

Who is the last person you think about before you fall asleep?
My baby girl. Then when I wake up several times during the night I can't stop thinking about her.

Have you ever had a poem or a song written about you?
Maybe by a stalker

Have you ever found anything gross in your parent's bedroom?
Do their undergarments count as gross?

What was your childhood nickname?
I didn't have one specifically but people called me cute variations of my name.

When is the last time you played the air guitar?
Whenever I thought it was okay to act like a jackass.

Have you ever peeked in the opposite sexes locker room?
I'm just so damn curious...

Have you ever bitten your toenails?
Um...

Do you eat chicken with your hands or with a fork?
I eat chicken with my mouth.

When working out at the gym, do you wear a belt?
Who said I go to the gym?

How many drinks does it take before you get drunk?
Not a lot. Maybe four beers. I'm a lightweight.

Have you ever sniffed an animal's butt?
What. The. Fuck.

How often do you clean out your ears?
I've noticed I have to do it more often than usual lately. Is there a hormone your body produces to create more earwax when pregnant?

Do you have any strange phobias?
I think all my phobias are justified.

Have you ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?
When I was little I'm sure.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done at a bar?
I've never gotten on tables and danced or anything, just have said stupid stuff to random strangers.

Have you ever been dared to do something you totally regretted?
No

Have you ever gotten caught farting while on a date?
He didn't catch me, no.

Have you ever been drunk at work?
I've been so hungover that I felt a little drunk


Do you want to bring sexy back?
Who said it left?

Baby Fashion

Whenever I shop at Target I intentionally try to avoid the baby aisle because I know I will go ape-sh*t crazy buying all the cute, tiny items I can get my hands on. Yesterday I was with my sister in Target and she had to grab some diapers. The diapers so happened to be right passed  the newborn girl clothes.  Most the clothes they have for infants now is for summer so it's not all that hard to turn down since she isn't due until November 30th and clearly has no need for shorts and tank tops in the winter. My eye caught the one item that's for fall and I found it too precious to turn down. One of my sisters has two daughters, ages 5 and 2 so there are plenty hand me downs in the apparel department. I think this will be her "coming home" outfit. It's nothing too fancy but the little jacket and onesy just melted my heart. Plus she will only be coming from the hospital to our home which is about a 15 minute drive but I like the idea of her having a special outfit anyway. Plus, I am sure to take tons of photo's of her in this little number.

All Shook Up

Yesterday around 2:00 I was at work in the salon where I’m employed, sitting at the front desk when I felt someone quite large in the offices above us discovered they still had half a Twinkie left. Apparently this made them overjoyed because they jumped so hard I felt the ground beneath me shake. I looked at my co-worker/friend Zalina and we both question the movement. She then seemed delighted herself as she informed me, “It’s earthquake! Look at window shaking!” She’s from Uzbekistan and was excited because this was the first occurrence with an earthquake she’s had in years and I guess it gave her a feeling of nostalgia. She also forgets to use grammatical articles when speaking and her sentences can be a bit short. I don’t remember much from when I was in elementary school and they showed everyone instructional videos on what to do when disaster strikes but I’m pretty sure freezing up with fear was not on the list. I really didn’t know what to do. Luckily someone made a run for the door and I followed suit, probably shoving them out of the way once the door opened and we made it safely outside. Good thing we did too- there were some bottles of shampoo and conditioner that thrashed to the floor and who knows the damage it could have caused had someone been standing right beneath them, deliberately trying to get hit.

I’ve learned from this experience that my mind does not adapt well to sudden unexpected situations. This is a problem because I was so sure that the building was going to come crumbling down, crushing me and all I could do was stand there and try to piece things together as time passed. I don't care how minor things were I was scared as shi*t. Granted, the east coast is the laughing stock around the water cooler to the rest of the country (we apologize that there were no fatalities so we could be taken seriously) but in the midst of everything I didn’t care if I overreacted with panic and fear. I really had no idea what was taking place and how horrific things could get, so in doubt I did what I do best which is think of the worst possible scenario. Demons being summoned from Hell to steal my unborn childs soul? Doesn't seem so far-fetched in my mind.

Complete mayhem.

Baby Let's Cruise

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was lazy, of course. We spent most of our time cruising in the car to unexplored areas of Virginia (unexplored by us- not mankind) and just enjoying each others company. It was so peaceful driving down country roads, listening to mixed CD's and not having anything to stress about. All that's come to an end as Tuesday is upon us. Matt's en route right now to Mobile, Alabama for work and I'm back to the daily grind. On the up side though the weather is so beautiful! It makes me really look forward to the season change. Fall is definitely my favorite season. I love the colors, fashions, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, cool temperatures, long drives up to Skyline drive to see the beautiful trees change, and we will be that much closer to meeting our baby!

I'll let it be known that I am not really short. Matt is 6'7" so comparatively anyone looks ridiculous next to him. :)

Yep, There's Definitely a Baby in There

There's no question left in anyone's mind that I'm pregnant. I'm at 25 weeks and only have 15 more to go. That's crazy! I know it will start to slow down the closer I get to my due date and I hear the last few weeks are the most difficult. The waiting is going to drive me nuts. I'm finding it harder to get into a comfortable position when I try to sleep and once I do my baby girl likes to kick her mama. It doesn't hurt me but it makes me feel like she might not like the way I'm laying and that I might be squishing her or something so I turn over and find a new way to sleep. I'm pretty tired all the time, my back aches a lot and trips to the restroom have become ridiculously frequent. I'm still feeling pretty good though, all things considered. I think the biggest annoyance has to be my "mommy brain". I forget everything. From where I put things to if I took my vitamin to adjectives and verbs. I don't know if there's been any scientific study about memory loss during pregnancy but I can tell you that it has happened to me and I had an awesome memory (when sober) before I got pregnant.

25 weeks pregnant belly

Two Pink Lines

Today I thought I would share the details with everyone of when I found out I was pregnant since I never really got a chance to do so. (Ya know, with all the righteousness of being an unwed mother to be busy planning her wedding.) I was so confident that getting pregnant was going to be a struggle that Matt and I started trying to conceive in January even though our wedding was set for May 28th. I don't know why but my outlook was a bit pessimistic. I guess I just wanted a baby so bad and wanted to err on the side of caution and not get my hopes up. I thought that I was PMS'ing as that time of the month crept closer and closer. I was super moody, having awful cramps and my breasts were so sore. There was no way that those were early pregnancy symptoms. March 23rd, 2011 I was hanging out with my sister and just got the urge to take a pregnancy test. (Yes, I remember the exact date that I found out. It was Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 to be anally precise.) My sis and I checked the expiration date on the box of pregnancy tests left over from her second child. We were good to go. I took the test and right away saw a line form on the stick. I didn't think anything of it. Then the second line. Hmm... Feeling a little confused I took my urine soaked test to my sister. "Does this mean pregnant?"  I said shoving it in her face. "Yes! You're pregnant!" We proceeded to stand there, both a bit in shock and of course excited. I decided to hold off on telling Matt until he got off of work that evening. Even when I saw him the words didn't spill out of my mouth. I didn't say "Honey, I'm pregnant!" or "We're going to be parents!" the moment we were together. Instead I opted for the more casual and completely nonchalant, "So I took a pregnancy test and it was positive." approach. I don't remember his exact words but he may have just said "Really?!" We both just wanted to be sure and didn't want to celebrate too soon. So we thought taking another test would be a good idea. I'm sure everyone can fill in the rest of the history using their own creative imaginations. (Was the second test positive? Are we having a baby? Stay tuned to find out!)

Blogger Award

I received a blog award from Gina over at Handprints on the Wall. I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure what a blog award is but I assume it means I’m awesome. :p 

The rules after accepting this award are:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post (Thanks, Gina!)

Share 7 things about yourself

Pass this award on to 15 recently discovered blogs. 

Okay, I didn't choose 15 blogs and most of them are not recently discovered. It's not that I'm too lazy to do it, I just like breaking the rules. ;-)

Here are the bloggers I chose:

Baby Loves

As We Grown

Kristen’s Day 2 Day

Life As I know It

Life’s Little Lessons

Sitting In A Tree

The Young and The Married

Seven things about me:

1. When I was a little kid I ate a robin’s egg. It was right around Easter and I guess the egg fell out of the nest and was lying right by the drainage pipe on the side of a neighbor’s house (just as if someone had planted it there). I was a super fat little kid who loved sweets and thought it was a chocolate egg so I popped that bad boy in my mouth and got a nice surprise. I apparently wasn’t a super cautious or wise child either.

2.I was born in a military hospital in Aurora, Colorado. My dad was in the Army. He was born in that same hospital yeeeaaarrrssss before me. John Kerry was born there too. 

3. I have a paralyzing fear of flying and won't get on an airplane for any reason.

4. I have a scar on my forehead right between my eyes where I scratched the hell out of the chicken pox when I was little. 

5. I'm stubborn beyond reason.

6. I don't have a drivers license because I don't drive.

7. I have a problem with swearing but try to keep it classy on my blog. Also, I might want to work on that before my daughter comes.

All I'm Dreaming Of

 "Precious one,
So small,
So sweet

Dancing in
on angel feet
Straight from Heaven's
brightest star

What a miracle
you are!"

Last night I was up until one in the morning reading a book a colleague gave me.The character, Cannie, is seven and a half months pregnant in the story and due to complications has to deliver her baby (a girl) early. I sobbed so much fearing for the fictional little baby, really hoping the author had a heart and let her pull through. I made myself put the book down at a neutral point and go to bed but not before thinking about all the families who endure this very real life battle. I can't imagine how stressful and difficult it would be to go through this. The thought alone breaks my heart. There are so many things I want for my little one, things someone might find unnecessary. For her to be smart, happy, ambitious, patient and of course, beautiful. To posses qualities I feel would make for a better life. Her being physically and mentally strong and capable is the utmost important element though. It's amazing and a true blessing to have a healthy, full term baby and I wouldn't ever take that for granted. I'm at 24 weeks and she's getting stronger everyday. As much as I want to meet her I am happy with where she is for now. I feel so fortunate to have made it this far.

On a less emotional note, I hope everyone has a great weekend! I don't have much planned other than work and the usual routine but let's see if I can do something or get something done.

24 weeks pregnant

Nursery Inspiration

We began painting the nursery a few weeks ago and haven't managed to finish. I would seriously rather watch paint dry than actually paint. It's so tedious! I wanted to keep the color palette calming and not use any bright colors just because of personal taste. I thought about keeping it pretty gender neutral before I found out we're having a girl but once I knew I changed my mind and thought purple and gray would make an elegant and feminine choice. I'm not too thrilled with the paint color I chose but there is no changing my mind now. I went with a gray paint but once I put it on the wall it looked much darker and seemed somewhat blue. I have yet to choose fabrics and accents (or even get a crib!) so right now things look pretty bleak. I'm sure once it's all put together though it will be great.We have an itty bitty home and her room won't be nearly as fabulous as my inspiration but I will try my best... once I get off my butt! For the first few months she will definitely sleep in our room in a bassinet because I will admit I am going to be so cautious and paranoid and check on her constantly. I know it's not healthy but I tend to let my mind wander into scenarios that make me anxious and can turn me into a crackpot. I'm sure every mom or mom to be can relate to that feeling!

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I love these white, whimsical tree decals. This second one made me a little teary eyed. It's so sweet and reminded me of our love for baby girl. I love the heart in the nest! <3

There's Never a Wish Better Than This

Nothing terribly eventful has been going on lately, at least not socially. My whole life is now consumed with being pregnant and thinking about my future and baby. I can't think of anything I want more than to be in this point in life, this state of mind. I feel so different, so good and so hopeful. I love carrying this tiny one whose name I don't know and face I've only seen in a black and white image on the ultrasound machine. I love daydreaming about the changes that are going to take place but know that it will be here soon enough. My baby will be growing up right before my eyes and I know she'll grow up all too quickly! I cherish her being safe in my belly and love this phase of her development. It feels like this is all passing by so fast and I just want to live in the moment and enjoy life. I'm 23 weeks pregnant and getting closer to the third trimester everyday! Other than being super tired at times (which I don't mind at night since I used to be an insomniac) I have nothing to complain about. Her kicks are getting stronger and I still get so excited feeling it. Along with the growth of our daughter is the strengthening of my relationship with my husband. Every day we get closer and closer and I know that our relationship is a great foundation to start a family. He is going to be such an amazing father, even if he doesn't know the first thing about changing a diaper or making a bottle. He is the most patient and affectionate man and cares so much about us. This is the happiest I've ever been and I couldn't ask for anything more.

My point of view of my growing tummy