Just a little Friday morning post.

I woke up about 8:00, took my reflux meds, and ate some strawberry oatmeal. Now, I am sitting in bed watching House of Payne and supporting the anti-Obama protest on Facebook. LOL. Perfectly good morning! I have one more hour of lazy before I get ready to go eat lunch with my mom and my brother. More goodness! This is a nice, non-eventful break after last week's hellacious events: 1. Joey in ICU with a vent for MRSA abscess, went home Tuesday. 2. Tim in bed for 3 days passing a kidney stone from Tuesday to Thursday. 3. My mother in law fell at work on Friday (she is doing okay now :)  We were all glad to see that week go!

Not much has gone on to write about this week, so I thought I'd just post a few pregnant randoms.
1. I brush my teeth with Landon's sparkle fun, Kid's Crest toothpaste, because the "adult" kind makes me gag. Landon thinks this is the funniest thing ever! It kind of is.
2. I wake up in the morning with a nose full of boogers and dried blood. I don't even know what that's all about.
3. I had a conversation about breastfeeding with a mom of 4 from church and felt not 100% grossed out. That somehow made me hopeful that some mommy instincs are coming out. It was actually a very helpful conversation.
4. I am SICK of taking pills and meds: A HUGE prenatal vitamin, reflux meds or 8 digestive enzymes per day, depending on the day, and a teaspoon of liquid DHA I got from our psychiatrist at work. It feels like I am drinking fish oil. Perhaps because I am. This baby better know I love him/her!
5. I went to a baby shower for little miss Karsyn last Sunday. I think if I can crash a few more of those maybe I will have an idea what I will actually need for a baby!
6. My mom is keeping me clothed in pregnant gear. So thankful!! I am still trying to stretch a few of my "regular" clothes, but it is getting harder every day. Getting dressed is a challenge. And, I've started thinking.... There's pre-pregnant clothes, maternity clothes, and then what? What happens in the pre-getting back to pre-pregnant clothes stage?
7. I saw an article about mayonnaise and feta cheese during pregnancy....both of which I've eaten in the past week. You can really drive yourself crazy trying to balance the dos and do nots of pregnancy. And then there are the mayos and feta cheeses that you don't even know are do nots. I just try to do my best and pray that my body delivers nothing but perfection to the little bundle growing inside.
8. Mom got us a prenatal monitor so that we can hear hiccups and heart beats! So cool!! We should be able to try it out toward the end of the 2nd trimester.
9. I haven't worried a lot about pregnancy and baby, but the things I do worry think about are epidural vs. natural, vaccinate vs. no vaccinate, and where will our baby stay when I go back to work? I know a lot of people have very strong opinions on these....none of which I am interested in hearing....but doing what is right for us and our baby can be a heavy weighing process.
10. 10 More days until we know the gender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some non-pregnancy randoms:
1. Our big boy lost his first tooth on Wednesday and he is ADORABLE!!! We slipped a "fairy dust" (aka glittery eye shadow) covered dollar under his pillow and heard about it at 6:30 the next morning. He was so excited! And we have another one coming out soon.
2. Anyone need a house? Ours is still on the market. Praying for a sale before the baby comes in December! We REALLY want to bring him/her home to our new house.
3. I have the VERY best husband in the world! I feel so very lucky to have him in my life and to have a marriage that is so enjoyable! Even a shopping trip to Sam's is fun with him :) Just thought that was worth mentioning.
4. 15 days until VACATION!!!!!!!!! Looking forward to relaxation, beach time and yummy grub with some great friends!!!

Guilty Pleasures

My house is a wreck. Laundry is piled up in every room of our house (as usual). We ate out tonight (again). All the clothes I tried on this morning that didn't work out are still strolled all over my bed (that is not even close to being made). My oatmeal bowl from this morning is on the kitchen table. And shamefully, I am currently glued to The Bachelorette. Every season I say I will stop watching it, but I never do. It's just so dang enticing. And while we're talking about guilty pleasures, I totally inhaled a fried peach pie and vanilla ice cream today. Yum! All my fabulous coworkers were disgusted and jealous. I shared one bite.
Now, let's see if I can justify myself somehow.
It has been a long weekend. Not that I am the most effected one at all, because that would totally be my poor little brother and my exhausted parents. However, it has been a long three days. Joey was admitted to St. Vincent on Friday night because he had an abscess in his throat that was cutting off his airways. He had surgery immediately. The abscess turned out to be MRSA staph infection. He spent 3 days in SICU and 2 days on a ventilator because his throat was so swollen that he wasn't able to breathe on his own. They took the vent off yesterday and he moved to a regular room today. Most all of the awful looking tubes have been removed. He got to take a shower and eat some real food today. So, he is looking and feeling much better! The calls, texts, and visits from our family and friends have been overwhelming. You guys are amazing! Times like these are so humbling because they remind you of things like how many and how deeply people care for your family, how incredibly loyal and selfless your parents are, and how awesome it is that the creator of the universe cares to be in the ICU in Little Rock, AR watching over your family. I think I didn't realize the severity of it all until everything was already okay, which I am super thankful for. It is so cool how God works out things like that.
Also, the friend I had you all pray for last week has a HEALTHY, precious little baby boy on the way! Coincidence? I don't think so. :)
In other pregnant news, my friend, Christen, is joining me on this pregnant journey (#3)! I could not be more excited for her! And, Mandy and John are having their shower for Karsyn next Sunday! Lots of fun baby stuff going on! It is really cool to have friends to share the journey with.
I have had a pretty good week pregnancy-wise. I started my acid reflux meds and went a whole week without throwing up! So, I celebrated my vomit-free anniversary by..... vomiting!! So fitting isn't it? It was my fault. I indulged on some wing stop fries that did not agree with this little baby. My chiropractor is against the reflux meds and wants me to take the digestive enzymes he gave me. I truly trust the man, but really? I found a way to stop puking my guts up every day and honestly, I am just too scared to not take it for a day to even try the other stuff!
In other news, I am very confused about prenatal vitamins. I bought the GNC prenatals with iron and got DHA separately. Since then, I've been having this constant, disgusting, taste in my mouth. Everything I read says it probably means my body isn't absorbing it right. Nevermind I am supposed to take 8 pills per day which I am so not okay with. Today Tim was at Wal-Mart so I had him pick up some new vitamins, one pill per day. And they are about 12 feet long. So frustrating. Plus, they only have like 200 mg of DHA and I really think I'm supposed to have something like 1,000 mg????? HEEELLLLPPP!!!!!!!!!
I have had some pretty crazy pregnant dreams lately. I have dreamed our little angel was a boy. I have dreamed it was a girl. I have dreamed that we had to share her/him with another couple. This weekend I dreamed that our baby had the absolute, most unbelievable, ears I have ever seen!! They were massive!!!! I told mom today that I guess if that dream came true I would finally know the answer to a question I have wondered about for so long. "Do parents of ugly babies really think their babies are adorable?" I mean, surely they have got to know their kid is not that attractive. That's not very nice. But it is very honest.
Oh, I am almost forgetting the biggest preggo news I have! I bought my first pair of maternity pants! They are acutally not too bad and I got them for $14 at JC Penney. I was driving home Friday and I reached to unbutton my pants because they were cutting off my circulation. So, I reached down, only to realize that my pants were ALREADY unbuttoned. Straight to the mall. Straight to the maternity section. Bought some new pants. Now I can breathe again.
We have been thinking about fun gender announcements. There are so many neat ideas out there. EVERYONE says it is a girl. BUT, I keep trying to remind myself, that it may not be a girl. LOL. We'll see on July 9th!

1 down, 2 to go!

Happy 2nd Trimester to me!!! 13 weeks and 4 days, today. I'd like to say something like "Hooray, I survived the 1st trimester!" But, it wasn't all that bad. And, the only really, super, terrible part of it....the acid reflux....shows no signs of letting up. However, I have been VERY consistent with my Pepcid this week, and that has helped a lot! It's still kind of unruly at night, but much better. Plus, the doc gave me a perscription for it yesterday, so hopefully that will work a miracle in my esophagus.
I have noticed the passing of food aversions and would, if my body allowed, be eating just about anything I was before I was pregnant. But, I have still been trying to avoid acidic food and drinks. As awful as it is, I am a tad thankful, because I think it may be helping me to manage my weight. Not only do I have to be careful of what I eat and drink, but I also have to eat small meals, very slowly. I have only gained something like 3-4 lbs, so I'm very glad of that. I have seriously tried not to take the "free for all buffet" approach, so maybe that will pay off. Or, maybe it will turn into that in a few months. lol who knows!
I started a new prenatal vitamin this week. I'm taking the prenatal with iron from GNC and adding DHA. The pills are huge and apparently you are supposed to take two at a time. I've only been taking one. My thought process says better to take one than to dread taking two so bad that I don't take any. Anyone have any suggestions/comments about that? Seriously, I'm open to them.
In other really great news, I went for my 2nd appointment yesterday! I left work about 3:00 and could not get to Conway fast enough! Tim wasn't able to get off work, unfortunately, but my mom did get to go with me and that was really nice! I was absolutely blown away by how much our little baby has grown! He/she is almost 8 cm! That's 5 more than last time!! The cute little thing was wiggling like crazy in there! It was the coolest thing ever! We could see arms and legs moving, a tiny little spine, his/her jaw bone, eyes, nose.....goodness, it was incredible! Dr. Lawrence tried to look for gender-telling parts, but the little swimmer was too busy lol. She said for sure next time we would be able to tell! YAAAYY!!! I really don't understand how people don't want to know the gender lol, but to each his own! WE are finding out! :) The heartbeat was still going strong and everything looked great, so we are overjoyed! However, I did learn that my blood type is B-. Maybe that makes sense to some of you, but it didn't to me. It was explained to me like this ..... B- is a rare blood type. If my baby has a + blood type, my blood may try to destroy my baby's blood. Maybe not this pregnancy, but probably the next. Anyway, I was reassured that it's not a huge deal. But, I will have to get the RhoGAM shot at 7 months and at any other time there is a chance of my blood mixing with the baby's. Mom says my dad's sister and niece both had this shot and it was truly not a big deal. That was reassuring. Moms are so good for reassurance! :) I posted the ultrasound pics on facebook, so hopefully you all saw them. I looked at them until I fell asleep last night, and reached for them first thing this morning. So amazing. To this point, I had not gotten teary, mostly just really huge smiles. But, on one of those pictures my mom pointed out our baby's little toes that I hadn't noticed before. I stared at those sweet toes and just cried. There really is no describing how amazing it really is. I'm sure this is something many first time mothers have said, but there is truly, truly no making sense of how someone could willingly abort a child. HOW can anyone say that is NOT a baby???? I heard your heart beating with my own ears. I see your little nose, your eyes, your mouth. Dumbfounds me. People are willing to fight to save trees, but willingly kill babies. Sad. No excuses.
Well, let's brighten this blog up for a moment! After I picked up Landon today I got to show him the pictures of our baby! His reactions when talking about the baby are priceless!!! He is all smiles!! I showed him these pictures compared to the last and he said "WHOA WEENIE!! He is growing so big!" I helped him find all the body parts and layed him in the position the baby was in. He thought it was really funny that the baby's leg was bent up to it's stomach. I'm hoping to be able to take him to the next appointment. I think he would really love that. Though, he is still stuck on naming the baby Bruce.....after the Hulk, of course. Boys will be boys.
I feel like there is more to talk about, but I'm drawing a blank. I am exhausted tonight after a full day of work, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, and doing progress notes. Better rest up huh, morning will be here far too soon! Hump day tomorrow! Friday is on the way!
Oh, I did want to ask you guys to pray for a special friend of mine. She is one month ahead of me and some test results showed elevated blood levels. She goes back to the doctor on Monday. Please pray for peace, reassurance, and a perfectly healthy baby! She will be the greatest mom!

The storm before the calm

Where to begin.....
Well, we are 12 weeks and 1 day today. Everyone keeps telling me the 2nd trimester is muuuuch better...and I believe them, I really do. However, I think my pregnant body is attempting to take one more good run at me before it comes. My pregnancy really hasn't been much to complain about. But, this past week I have been more exhausted than I ever was in the first 11 weeks. And, indigestion continues to be my arch enemy (more on that later). Needless to say, this has been a challenging week, in more ways than one.
No thanks to pregnancy and all thanks to clients who don't consider our services a priority and who instead no show because they "don't feel well," or had [ANOTHER] "flat tire," I had the worst billing week I've had in the 15 months I've been working at Families, Inc. With a reminder from my sweet momma that this sweet baby feels everything I do, I have tried not to stress about it, and hope for the best in the last 3 weeks of this billing cycle. I have even tried to look on the bright side and been thankful for less work since I was already so exhausted.
So, yesterday I decided to de-stress a little and spend the day with my favorite 5 year old in the whole world. We were going to "paint our own pottery," and go to the pool! We drove to Cabot with intentions of painting daddy something cool for Father's Day, only to see a "For Rent" sign in the window. Boo for that plan. And, it was 65 degrees. Pool weather? I think not. We went anyway. Annnnd.....it definitely warmed up. In fact, it warmed up so much that my pregnant skin burnt like a lobster. I am not use to sunburns! Typically, if I get a sunburn at all, it is a nice, smooth, mocha color by morning. This morning, I continued to look rather lobster-ish. At least it doesn't really hurt.
This morning my best friend, who also happens to be my husband, and me enjoyed our routine, Saturday morning Cracker Barrel breakfast. It was more like brunch, so I had the chicken and rice. YUM! Afterwards, we went to the mall, something else we do a lot of on Saturdays. (Ladies, I will NEVER be able to complain about taking my man shopping! He wears ME out at the mall! Seriously!) We found Landon some shorts for summer since he has outgrown his. Tim also found a few summer pieces. And...... we ventured to the maternity store for the first time. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous! Not because I am opposed to maternity clothes, but because I am clueless about them, and a little unsure if I should be wearing them yet or not. But, something's gotta' give because the usuals just aren't cutting it anymore! (Well, actually they are cutting it. That's the problem.) We went to Motherhood Maternity, and the saleswoman was the sweetest, most helpful person in the world! Yes, I am going to put in a plug for her. So, if you need some maternity gear, go see Ms. Velma! She saved my life today. There was a fun velcro bump in the dressing room to try on with the clothes. We had a lot of fun with that! And, my sweet, compassionate, supportive husband was right outside the dressing room the entire time.......with lots of laughs and a camera phone! PUNK! Ha! Really though, it was a good laugh. I tried on several pairs of maternity jeans and decided I wasn't ready yet. But, I did get a really cute maxi dress (that I would wear even if I wasn't pregnant). Oh, speaking of maternity clothes, I went over to my brother's to get a pair of sandals that were still in my old closet, and while I was there, I found a dress that I love that was always too big. Perfect timing! Also while I was there I got to reminisce for a short bit, about the year I lived with him. We had a lot of fun, mostly watching Golden Girls marathons and going to Applebee's for happy hour! Living with him was one of the best decisions I ever made. :)
Now to the good (well, really bad) part.....
This afternoon, Tim and I visited happy hour at Sonic on the way to the last Tball game. I try to be so careful with this acid/indigestion junk, so I avoided caffeine AND citrus, and opted for a cranberry juice instead. Apparently everyone knows cranberry juice is incredibly acidic, except me. Dang. Went to the game. It was very hot. We played a great game, but lost. I started to feel the indigestion creeping up and that nasty burning sensation, all the while thinking, "but I've been so careful today!" We went to Olive Garden wtih the fam and as soon as we got there, I was dry heaving in the parking lot. When we got inside Landon announced that "Weenie trowed up!" (That is exactly how he says it.) I thought I was ok. I wasn't. I went to the bathroom to endure the dreaded acid. IT. WAS. AWFUL. By far, the worst pregnant experience to date. After dry heaving for a good 5 minutes and trying not to sound incredibly gross.....because I am in a public bathroom, and well aware that I am a VERY ugly vomiter, like worse than the average vomiter.... I proceeded to throw up a gallon of fire. At least, that's what it felt like. And if that wasn't bad enough, I totally peed all over myself mid-vomit. Not just a trinkle, I mean PEED ALL OVER MYSELF! So, there I was...a throwing up fire, peed on, and now bawling...mess. Thank goodness for my sweet momma right outside the stall with a wet towel, reminding me that this will pass and I will have a sweet baby girl, or boy, instead. Also, I have a great family who was still willing to eat dinner with my mess of self! I am feeling better tonight. Thanks for asking. :)
On a good note, we only have 8 more days until our next doctor's appointment. I am really glad for a few reasons. 1. Hopefully Dr. Lawrence will have a better suggestion for managing the indigestion. 2. We will see our little 2 inch sweetheart! 3. I'm hoping that she will tell me I, in fact, don't have the kidney infection that I suspect. Here's to hoping for the best!