Wowsers!!

Wow…

That’s the only word I can think of to describe these past few weeks.

First was my birthday dinner at Oscars…mmmm. I was able to get a $75 gift card that was supposed to cost $30 for $6!! The only catch was you had to spend $150…between 5 people at Oscar’s that’s not that hard. At the end we each picked out our own dessert just to make sure we had spent enough!!!

     The Tuesday after my birthday I treated myself to seeing my most favoritest band in the whole wide world, Emery, play at the Music Farm!! I love them!! Most of the members are actually from Charleston or Rock Hill, SC. They don’t exactly label themselves a “Christian” band but that’s pretty much what they are with a heavier sound. They moved to Seattle some time ago for the better music scene and have being doing awesome every since… Anytime they come to town I try to catch them. The last time I saw them was in Myrtle Beach at the house of blues with Underoath. My opinion- they were better than the headliners!!

So yes, I took my pregnant behind to the music show for a rock concert! I made sure to stay away from any possible mosh pits but because it was on a Tue night I had no trouble being plenty close enough while staying well out of harms way. I LOVED IT!!! I think the baby did too, lol!!

Next up, I had tickets to see PRINCE!!!! This was another birthday present to myself! I was able to get $50 tickets before they sold out and even though they were nose bleeds I figured when would I ever get to see Prince again? As it is I missed Michael Jackson : (

3/30/11

A friend of mine called me a few hours before the concert to tell me she didn’t realize me and my brother were going but that she was now going as well because someone at work gave her floor seats for free!!! These bad boys were $200 tickets!! Unfortunately she had already asked our other friends to go sit on the floor with her  : ( I was a little bummed at first but was just glad we were going! About halfway through the concert my girlfriend appeared out of nowhere, giving me her ticket and told me go down to the floor to see Prince!!!! I was ESTATIC!!!! I think we were literally 10 feet from him!! I stayed down there for awhile with our other friends then went back up so my brother could go down to the floor also…it was only fair!! So we were all able to see him from two different views, which was awesome!!! I loved seeing him up close but it was also great to get to see the bigger picture!! Let me tell you....even after all these years that man still HAS IT!!! Me and my girlfriend left shortly after that since we were both tried and had had our fill…From what I heard he played until 11:30!!! Since I had to be up at 5:15am I’m glad we left early!!

Of course I couldn’t stop there…I also ended up going to the Rockfest put on by our local radio station 98 rock. This was totally unplanned but my husband was out of town that weekend and I figured why not!! It started during the day and there were a ton of people there. Thankfully the group I went with had set up on the side of all the chaos and had a blanket with plenty of room for me to sit my pregnant behind down when I needed to rest.

The line up included Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Halestorm, Memphis-based Christian rock band Skillet, Art of Dying, and local rock band Madam Adam. Everyone stayed outside the gates tailgating for awhile (and I was running late) so I missed Madam Adam and Halestorm although I could still hear them even outside the gates. I’ve seen Theory and Stone Sour before. They were all good but I will say I was most impressed with Skillet. They use more string instruments in most of their songs so they had some awesome musicians playing the violin on stage with them. It was amazing and at one point the stage lifted just  the string players up. They truly put on a great show!!

 4/3/11

 Pictures from 98 Rock

            I even made time to take Taylor and her friend to the Flowertown festival. I go every year and I LOVE seeing all the azaleas in bloom. The place was packed!! We walked around for a few hours but Taylor wasn’t really feeling well so we didn’t stay too long.

OHHH also that weekend I bought a new car!!! I’ve been busy girl ;-)

I got a 2009 Kia Spectra!!! I was WAY overdue for something new and this fits me perfect!!

4/2/11

            This past weekend I had maternity/Easter pics with Jason and Taylor. Beforehand I took Taylor with me to go get her makeup done. We had so much fun! She’s only 11yrs old so she doesn’t normally wear any make up (she’s way too young for all that) but I figured it would be a fun girly thing for us to do together! I haven’t seen the pictures yet but I took a few at home of me and her and she looked BEAUTIFUL!!! I’m gonna be in BIG trouble in just a few year, yikes!!!

 4/17/11- Isn't she GORGEOUS!!!

27/28 Weeks

 This weekend is mine and Jason’s anniversary AND Easter weekend. I can’t believe we have been together for two years already!!! We are going on of town this weekend but I’ll blog all about that later.

            My little miss is doing well and makes herself known on a daily basis!! She seems to be awake during the day A LOT!! I’m hoping that’s a trend that will continue once she’s out in the real world! I enjoy getting to feel her ALL the time and recently both my mom and grandmother got to feel her for the first time.

            We are still kicking around a few names…I have it narrowed down to two but I still need some time to think about it… 3 more months and I’ll have to decide one way or another!!

Baby News Update

     I think around the first Sunday in March I started feeling the baby kick from the outside!! I was soooo excited!! I have been waiting what seems like FOREVER to feel this!! A week later my husband was able to feel her too!! Then the other night I was taking a nice relaxing bath and was reading a book. I just happened to look down and my tummy was a jumpin!! It made me laugh! Since then I can feel her ALL THE TIME!!! She must know I’m writing about her because she is making her presence known now as I type!! It is the most wonderful sensation in the world being able to feel a little life inside you!!

     I had my 24 week check up yesterday and everything is going well. My doc said since my last ultrasound went so well she isn’t worried about anything right now and they are going to treat me like normal from here on out instead of high risk. I have one more appointment a month from now and then I go to two week appointments! That seems crazy to me that I’m about to be at that point already!!

     I finally got around to taking a few pictures of the baby belly and man…do I look HUGE!!! I stopped checking the scales and try not to look when they weigh me at the doctors. What is important is that she comes out healthy so from here on out I’m not gonna worry about the weight.

     I have a lot of things going on this month and next including my birthday!! We had a party this past weekend and I had a lot of fun. I didn’t even miss not being able to drink! Other than that, I’ll try to write about all the other things going on as they happen!

I think this pic was around 22 weeks

Babies and puppies, puppies and babies!!

   Still working on a name, I think we have it narrowed down to two but I'm having a really hard time deciding. It HAS to be perfect. After all she's gonna have to live with it for the rest of her life!!
But while the name hunt is still on, I think I've found the nursery I want!! Or at least a combination of things I really like!
   With Taylor I didn’t get to have a nursery. Her crib was in my room with me…and it wasn’t a very big room to begin with. For me, I’m getting to do a lot of things for the very first time and I have enjoyed this process and getting to pick out a nursery!

Here is what I’m going for

Pink Walls and Gray Accents

Gray Walls and Purple Accents

Gray Walls and Pink Accents

 I really like the gray walls I think it makes the rooms look more elegant and not SO girly girly pink. I'm pretty sure that's what color I'm going to pain the room. At first I was leaning more toward the middle picture with the purple, but now i think i might accent the room with pink instead and just add a little purple with some pictures or something. Either way i think these rooms are a combination of exactly what i want!!

I haven’t bought anything yet and I think I am going to have to buy a few things and then repaint them to have them match what I want. I’ll post pics whenever I get it done but since I haven’t even begun it may be awhile. 

Here are some new pics of the pups!! The weather here has be BEAUTIFUL lately so on the weekends I have been enjoying sitting outside with Taylor and playing with them! 

 Can you spot the puppy? She's blending in this one!!!

 Tug-o-War!! Taylor vs. pups!!

   I STILL havent taken any more baby belly pictures so I really need to get on it! I want to be able to look back at all the changes I have been going through! I'll try to work on that this weekend even if its a humpty frumpty picture taken in my pj's!! Till then I hope everyone has a wonderful and beautiful March!! 

It's a.......

21 weeks!!

Ok, someone pull out the ruler and slap my wrists. I have been bad about posting blogs as of late. I’ve just been REALLY busy at work and when I’m not super busy I have been scouring every available source for baby names and nurseries.

Our “big” 20 week appointment was last Tuesday and we finally found out what we are having!! Ready???................IT’S A GIRL!!!  We are both very excited!! I will admit that I had my heart set on a boy buuuut….I do happen to think girl clothes are so much cuter and I thought girl names would be easier. Ha…was I wrong. I think I am having a hard time because my husband insists we name the baby after his best friend who past away 2 years ago. When I was still hoping upon hope that it was a boy I was fine with that because his friends name was Jack. I told my husband I don’t think jack would come back to haunt us if we didn’t name a girl after him but I have to say I do admire my husband’s loyalty to his lost friend.

 For a girl you turn it into Jacklyn and there’s where the trouble begins. I think that will be her middle name but I’m having a hard time finding something I like that flows with it. and to tell the truth I’m having a hard time finding names I like regardless of what the middle name is. I have a name in mind but won’t announce it until I’m positive of what her name will be. We still have awhile to go so for now the hunt continues!!

It’s now obvious that I’m pregnant although some people still miss it. I had three people tell me at work last week they didn’t know I was pregnant, but I feel like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Although to their credit, scrubs are not the most form fitting or flattering things to wear, however they are comfortable!! In my regular clothes I feel like I’m already 6 months plus!!

 She is pointing to her self in this one...like "yea, it's me!"

 This is a 4D image of her with her hand at her face (probably with thumb in her mouth)

She is stretching out in this one...oh what a hard life ;-)

         I’m still waiting to feel her kick. So far I can only feel her on the inside. I know it’s her because of how my tummy tightens. It’s sooo cute.

            In other news, my husband bought a new puppy!! I know, what the hell he was thinking!! I have learned to support him instead of nagging him about things and so I support him on this. He has wanted one for a long time and the opportunity presented itself. Her name is Jazelle and she is fitting right in! In a short amount of time Capone has opened up to her and I think he realizes that it’s his job to be big brother. It’s too stinking sweet. By the time the baby get’s here she will be potty trained and I think it will be good for Capone to have someone to spend his time with since we will have our hands full with baby.

 6wks old

Lazy Bones!!

            Other than that things are going extremely well. My doctors are happy with everything and are keeping a watchful eye on me.

            I do need to get better at taking pictures but it’s hard to get excited about someone taking your picture when you feel like a whale.

Maternity Wear!!

Last week after taking my mother-in-law’s car for an oil change, I decided to go shopping since I was already in West Ashley.  When I was looking up where the dealership was on Savannah hwy, I noticed the map said there was a maternity boutique right around the corner so I decided to stop into that one. I walked in and saw a CUTE pair of jean. I looked at the price tag and was ready to walk right back out!! The jeans were $195!!! I wouldn’t spend on pre pregnancy jeans!! There was no way I was going to pay that for a pair of jean I’m only going to wear for a few months!!! I kept browsing anway so I didn’t seem rude (and also hoping I might find something closer to my price range) but after seeing a onesie for $40 and a stroller set for $900 I decided this wasn’t the store for me.

Next I decided to try the Citadel mall. I knew there was a maternity store there and although I am not as familiar with that I was determined to find this store.

All day at work my scrub pants were digging into my stomach. Not because they are too tight but because to hold them up I had to tie them tight to keep them on my waist. This was causing me (and baby) major discomfort. If they weren’t tied tight then my bottom was hanging out the back everytime I sat down or bent over, not very attractive.  I decided I needed a new pair of work pants. This was my intentions upon walking into the store.

Immediately after walking in a sales woman approached me and asked if I needed any help. I told her I was just browsing but thank you, she said no problem she would come back and check on me a little later. I always brush the sales people off, usually I know what I want and would rather not have them help. I noticed right off that these prices where more in my range so I started looking around at black pants. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to find any maternity scrub pants but I knew I should be able to find a pair of pants not too dressy and at the right price. I found a few but didn’t grab any to try on yet so I kept looking around. When the sales lady came back to check on me I explained what I was looking for and things took off from there!

She probably grabbed every black pant in the store!! She also gave me a belly band to try. As I have mentioned before I have never tried one of these and wasn’t sure I was going to like it but after she explained how to use it and that it could be used to hold up the pants I already had… I was in love!!!

With Taylor I was already wearing big baggy jeans and was trying to hide that I was pregnant. There were no shows like “16 and Pregnant” and I didn’t want everyone to know I was pregnant until I couldn’t hide it anymore. The point is, I never even went into a maternity store when I was pregnant with Taylor. I really didn’t know what to expect.

The sales lady was so nice and helpful! Of course I have been to plenty of others stores before but this was a more one on one experience! There was only one other person in the store and a different sales lady was helping her, so I had my sales lady all to myself!! It was like having a girlfriend there to tell me what looked good!! I was actually kind of sad that I didn’t bring my mom with me because I know she would have enjoyed it too! I ended up buying about $100 worth of stuff, which really isn’t a lot, but I didn’t want to go overboard and I knew I wanted to bring my mom with me next time so she can join in the fun!

All in all it was a great experience, I got a few great outfits and I cant wait to do it again!!

            This week I am 16 weeks. I am enjoying the crazy bursts of emotions. A week or so ago Jason and I went to the store. When we got home I took his food (it was packaged in a box) and set it on top trash. I was cheesing the whole time he was asking me where his food was so he knew something was up. When he found it he laughed and told me how silly I was. I literally laughed until I cried. I don’t mean just a few tears either, I was crying so hard my whole face was red and I needed a tissue! I was crying crying!! I had to walk away just so I would stop. Then, of course, he had something new to make fun of me for!

            Also today is Taylor’s birthday!!! I can’t believe she is 11yrs old!! She’s not my little baby anymore!! She is such a beautiful young girl! Her party isn’t until this weekend but we are all going out for her dinner tonight. She picked Wasabi’s (yummy!!) I am really excited to go spend her birthday with her! I am trying to do more things with her lately so she doesn’t feel left out when the baby comes! She is at such a wonderful age (those teenage hormones haven’t kicked in yet!) and I know she is going to be such a great big sister!

        I have another appointment tomorrow and I'm really hoping we find out what we are having!! I’ll try to post pictures soon. Both of Taylor and the new ultrasound we get tomorrow!!! Til then!

15 Weeks

This week we are at 15 weeks!! Next week we'll be 4 months!! Now we are the size of an orange! Last week we were the size of a lemon! I am still amazed at how fast this little one grows! Next week I have another doctor’s appt and hope to find out what if we are decorating with pinks or blues!! It might still be too early to tell but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Not a lot has happened in the last two weeks. I can still hide the baby belly if I want to, but gone are the days of no weight gain. Some days I feel super big and other days I don’t feel pregnant at all.  I haven’t gained much but every pound I gain now is a pound that’s going to have to come off later!!! In the next few weeks I am going to have to start looking into some new clothes, mostly jeans. 

 I’m also really anxious to start to feel the baby move. That should be happening in the next few weeks. Sometimes when I’m running around at work I’ll feel my stomach tighten and I know it’s the baby or I’ll be at home and get a weird feeling in my stomach and I’m sure it the little one but I’m ready to actually FEEL the baby moving! You know, when you put your hand on your belly and you feel that little kick underneath! I can still remember what it was like with Taylor and have even been having dreams of feeling the baby move!! I can’t wait!!

Also at my next appointment they’ll be checking me again to make sure my cervix is not thinning out or shortening. Since I had two procedures, one of which was the LEEP that took out pieces of my cervix to try to remove any cancer that may have been present, it has left me with a much thinner cervix than I had to start with. Sometimes with pregnancy (and bc of the procedures) the cervix will start thinning out or shortening much sooner than it should. If it does this and goes untreated then my cervix may not be able to hold the baby in, not good. Thankfully I have an awesome team of doctors looking after me and they’re on top of things. If they see my cervix thinning more than it should then I’ll have a cerclage done. Basically this is where they go in and sew the cervix shut so that baby doesn’t come out until the right time. At my last appointment I was measuring fine and was nowhere near the danger zone so hopefully things will stay that way. If not I’m confident that the doctors taking care of me and the little one will do what’s best to keep us safe!

I hope to have more pictures to post next week!!

Inbetween

This week I am 13 weeks and we are the size of a peach or a nutter butter depending on what site you look at. That seems like a big difference, the peach seems so big and nutter butters just makes me hungry!!  Oh I also got another ultrasound right after Christmas!! It is SO amazing seeing the changes just from the last time!! My next appointment is right after Taylor’s birthday at the end of the month.

In this one it looks like the baby is sucking 'his' thumb!!! Too stinkin cute!!!

This one is a 3D image which is why the baby looks like a little alien!! 'He' has one hand up by his eye (which is how I sleep) and the other at his mouth!! Love it!!!

*Jason and I say 'he' until we know for sure. My oh so funny husband drew an arrow pointing to the umbilical cord and wrote "its a boy" on the ultrasound...I was about to strangle him but couldn't stop laughing*

I love the pregnancy sites and counters!! Its actually very comforting being able to read what other women in the same stage of their pregnancy are going through and most of the time I feel the same way! I'm not the only one who feels bloated and wants to be in sweats all day!!

I am sooo happy to be moving into my second trimester. The first one was filled with a constant sick feeling. I actually never got sick, except the one time I ate a bad brownie, but the constant nausea is almost worse! I would have rather gotten sick and been done with it than feel that way all day long. With Taylor I was only sick for the first hour after I woke up. If I ate anything in that first hour it would come back up but after that I was fine for the rest of the day. This time around I was just miserable ALL the time.

Some people lose weight due to morning sickness, that defiantly hasn’t happened to me but I’m still not really gaining yet either, I’m not sure how that’s even possible considering how big I feel!!

I was at an ugly Christmas sweater party a few weekends ago and when we told people everyone I was pregnant they all said I didn’t look it yet… I sure did feel it though especially that day since my sweater felt tight!! Most days I feel like I’m already six months instead of a measly 3. Thankfully my clothes still fit but I am defiantly in the in between stage!! Things are starting to feel tighter and my mom said she noticed I was starting to have a little pooch on Christmas.

On most sites people suggests the belly band but with Taylor I went the rubber band route, (you know where you put a rubber band around your pant button and loop it back around lol the cheap way), and then went with maternity clothes when I was big enough. I haven’t started maternity shopping yet but I did treat myself to a pair of express jeans that were a size big. I figure I can wear them now and then again afterwards before I get the weight off. I also got a few tops too!!

I have noticed I am short of breath doing simple tasks but that’s another thing I’ve read that other women are also experiencing.. I find myself out of breath at work more often. I keep telling myself I’m going to work out but other than playing Taylor’s Just Dance game she got for Christmas I haven’t really been sticking to that (although that game will kick your butt)

The girls are certainly enjoying this pregnancy so far!!!!!! I’m going to have to make a stop in to VS soon if we keep up this pace!!!! Normally this would be great but I was already right where I wanted to be in that department. However that’s defiantly not something worth complaining about!! I know my husband has no complaints!!!!  

My friends (and husband) thoroughly enjoyed having a designated driver for New Year’s Eve. It was fun watching all the drunkos being the only one sober, I didn’t even do the champagne toast, everyone tells me one glass of wine wont hurt but I really don’t see the point nor want to risk them being wrong. We had a good time New Year ’s Eve but I’m not going to lie, I will be happy when I can have a glass of red wine again!

Things are coming along great and I am super excited to see what 2011 is going to bring!! I know there will be a lot of changes this year and I welcome them all!!

Hope everyone had fun and safe holidays and HAPPY 2011!!