This & That

• I *love* my new job, but I hate not having a budget. Which means I have to go begging for money from someone else's budget. It's kinda frustrating when your asked to do something and get all the information, then that department says they don't have the money for it. And then your boss says to find the money, so you aren't really sure where to go, especially when you're already raising funds for said event.
• I have a 1-year-old's birthday party to attend tomorrow. And she is seriously spoiled. What do you give the child who has everything - toys, cute clothes and love?
• I'm also walking in a 1.5-2 mile parade tomorrow. I find it hilarious that everyone is concerned about me walking in it, where walking is one of the best things I can do for myself right now. In fact, that was pretty much the one thing doctor told me to do at our appointment earlier this week.
• After our walk, I was very swollen. I had to struggle to get my wedding rings off, and you couldn't tell I had ankles. Will a wide width shoe help this? Luckily, it went down while sleeping. But I told hubby he can start calling me Princess Fiona whenever.
• Carpal tunnel has been bothering me again too.
• I can feel baby growing so quick! Yesterday, I had THREE morning snacks - a banana, a piece of string cheese, and a couple handfulls of Chex Mix. Yikes.
• I was at the local police department this morning for work and a detective told me congratulations and asked how far along I was. He was a bit shocked when I told him I only lack about eight weeks. Funny thing is, I talked to him (standing up) twice last week and he didn't notice anything. Some detective work, haha.
• All of the paint is on the walls in the nursery now! Now on to the trim and the special little flair we are adding :)
• The carpets are also getting cleaned this weekend. Have I mentioned I want an extra-clean house to bring Tuffy home to?
• Weekends are filling up so quickly. We have a parade this weekend, a work event I am coordinating next weekend, then childbirth/infant care class the next. I'm ready to just sit at home and prop my feet up.
• I was at the local carnival the other night during the little kids' pageant. Some of those girls (and I'm told their moms) seriously belong on Toddlers and Tiaras. I think pageants are great in terms of self-esteem, but these girls were wearing so much makeup, and I don't like teaching them life is about being pretty when they are 4 or 5. If I were a judge, I would vote for the girl who actually looked like a 5-year-old. And if my daughter ever wants to do pageants she will, but I refuse to put makeup on her face.
• Have a good weekend

What I'm Loving

This is going to be a quick and dirty post today because I have several things on my plate, but I am also loving a lot!

{1} I'm LOVING that we had another great dr appointment yesterday! Heartbeat remains in the 140s. Doctor guessed Baby weighs about 4.5 lbs (a pound more than the average right now) and said he/she is "very tall" - wonder where that came from?!?! I'm also measuring two weeks ahead. So I'm guessing I will give birth to a toddler? She said if baby continues to grow so quickly, I'll get another ultrasound around 37 weeks. Which is only about a month away. EEEK!

{2} I'm LOVING my new DSLR camera. I took the plunge and bought the Nikon D3100 and LOVE it so far. More coming on this soon :)

{3} I'm loving that I have friends/family who are good at graphics :) So I find quotes I like or designs and give them my edits, then they create for me. My cousin just finished something for the nursery and I'm *dying* to see it.

{4} I'm LOVING that it's carnival time in town. I'm so tempted to run out there during lunch break and get a famous fish sandwich and some nachos ...

{5} I'm LOVING the nursery progress. I'm hoping to polish it off during my fall break in a couple weeks.

{6} I'm LOVING my sweet husband and baby daddy :) He's going to be the best!

Bumpdate - 32 weeks

I'm eight months pregnant people! Even though I did double check the number of weeks I am, haha. With eight weeks to go until my due date! Craziness, let me tell you. It seems like just yesterday I was thinking I'd never have a big preggo belly, and now I'm quite visibly pregnant and wondering how this babe will put on another four or so pounds while inside me.

Anyhow, during his/her 31st week, Tuff measured about 16 inches long and weighed just over 3 pounds. Baby is now able to turn his/her head from side to side and the arms, legs and body are beginning to plump out, as fat accumulates under the skin.

I can tell baby is running out of room, because I feel more pushes than kicks/punches at this point.

Mama is getting very tired. I feel like I need a nap every afternoon, much like I did in the beginning. He/she is also a pain in the ribs. Ha! Yesterday I had to leave the office early and finish working from home, as I was practically in tears.

In all, I'm up about 17 pounds from my starting weight. If I keep at about a pound a week, like they advise these final eight weeks, I'll be right at 25 pounds, which is ideal for a woman built like me.

I've learned that grocery shopping alone isn't smart. I spent entirely too much at Walmart yesterday. But then again, I ended up with lunches to have at work, string cheese, bananas and apple slices, so it could be worse. Right now, I feel like I'm on a kick for salads and down-home cookin', like potatoes and gravy, meatbells, chicken and dressing, dumplings, etc. Maybe I should talk hubby into going to Lamberts before the baby is born?

Tuff is just the best baby. This morning around 7:30, I realized I hadn't felt much, if any, movement, which is odd, because I usually feel him/her start moving around 7 a.m. I looked down and said "Tuffy, would you please move? You are worrying mommy." Less than a minute later, I felt him/her! It was quite amazing. Hopefully the baby will listen that well when he/she is out in the real world.

We head back to the doctor today. Going every two weeks sure speeds this thing along.

Here we are this morning. Gotta love office bathroom pictures, ha! I'm including the straight on shot because I think in this shirt, you can barely tell I'm preggo if you look from the front. The side is a much different story. I'm also wondering what happened to my butt, haha!

Have a great Tuesday! And don't forget to vote to guess the gender in the poll at the top left of my page!

Weekend wrapup

Happy Monday, friends! The weeks sure are flying by - I can't believe this is the last week of September already!

We had a very full weekend. Work actually feels like a break, haha!

{Friday}

MY WEDDING BAND WAS IN!!! Yay :) So, we went to look at it and have it soldered. It was totally worth waiting to have this custom-made beauty.

My engagement band, which J designed, has four stones (emerald-princess-emerald-princess cut) on each side of the solitaire. So, we had the band made to match the first ring in size/mount, and just had two princess stones inserted where the solitaire is on the engagement band. I haven't seen the appraisal yet, but it's scary knowing the value of this bling - and what I could buy with that money! But I totally love this ring and will never want to upgrade, so I'd say it's an investment for a piece I can hand down someday.

Later that night, J drilled some grass seed in the pasture while I cleaned house. Exciting, I know.

{Saturday}

We drove into town to have doughnuts for breakfast. Yes, I like giving my baby a sugar high, ha! We also stopped at the farmer's market for some honey. After my ranting about fall allergies on Friday, my blog friend April suggested I try taking a teaspoon of local honey as a natural medicine. We found some from a town about 20 minutes away and decided it was worth a shot. Today, I'm still kinda stopped up, but it's only my third day AND I feel much better than I did on Friday (even though it rained all weekend and that tends to make my allergies even worse) so I think we have a keeper.
We picked up some painting supplies on Saturday (!) then went home so J could finish drilling seed while I napped and did laundry. That night we went to a fundraiser event, and scored a great little gift for Tuff in the auction. I bought baby a quilt, too, and I'll try and remember to share it. The other one is a surprise :)

{Sunday}

We woke up to rain and it continued pretty much all day. So after breakfast, we got to work on the baby's room. We decided to go ahead and paint the closet too, so first we had to pull out everything. While J painted, I wiped down the trim in the bedroom. Then I got busy on repainting trim. Our trim is a sort of beige/tan right now and while it would look OK with the color we are painting the walls, we think white would like 10x better. I sure hope so, because it is hard work! All I did was a closet and my back is pretty sore!

Don't worry, I wore a mask to keep Tuffy from inhaling any of the fumes ...

 By about 7 p.m., we were worn out so we threw in the towel. And watch "The Amazing Race" :) In addition to the trim being very detailed work, we're doing a few other things, so I'd say we'll be lucky to be done painting by the end of the week. But I hope to get all the prep work done soon - I can't wait to have furniture in there!

You Challenge - Week 4 :)

Is the weekend seriously almost over? Crazy!!! I'll be back with a weekend recap tomorrow - ours was certainly busy!


Seven wants ...


{1} More down time. I feel like we're always on the run.


{2} A healthy, happy (and easy!) baby. Ditto for any future children.


{3} To have enough money to not worry. (Probably impossible!) 


{4} For Hank Dog to live forever.


{5} Losing weight to be as easy as gaining it!


{6} My house to someday be totally complete and pulled together.


{7} To live a long, happy life full of love.

No 'fall'ing in love here

I know this is likely to put me on a few hate lists, but I don't care.

*I'm not happy fall is here.*

Sorry y'all. I mean yes, there is great fall fashion and the leaves will look quite beautiful in the coming weeks.

But it also marks the beginning of allergy season. At 2 a.m., I was up with the sandpaper-like throat already. I've had allergy problems brewing all week, but of course, today was the day that they went haywire.

Typically I could handle this, with a little help from Claritan D. But seeing as I am trying to stay away from meds if at all possible right now (and Claritan D isn't even an option) that doesn't work. And I'm already tired and achy enough, I don't need the lovely headaches and exhaustion that accompanies allergies, too.

Also, my limited wardrobe doesn't do much for fall. It seems to be all short sleeves or long sleeves, with no in between.

So I believe that I'll be spending this fall much like I did the summer - on the inside looking out. And hoping for late spring again. Because I don't like allergies. And I would take those 100-degree temps over allergies or slippery roads any day.

What I'm Loving

{1} I'm LOVING that it's already Wednesday. I need the weekend ... bad. I sorta wonder how I ever worked on Saturdays now that I haven't for more than two months :)

{2} I'm still LOVING on all my sweet friends and family for throwing such an amazing shower on Sunday. I'm patiently waiting for photos, but here's one hubby snapped on his phone :)

Speaking of Baby, don't forget to guess the gender! Poll is in the top of the left column, and recent pictures of me and the bump are here.
{3} I'm LOVING the beautiful flowers my sweet friends sent home from the shower. And the cake, although I'm afraid some of its yumminess will be wasted.

{4} I'm LOVING this weather - I think highs in the low 80s are perfect! Now if my allergies would only ease away ... although I'm afraid I'll be stopped up for at least another nine weeks.

{5} I'm LOVING that Baby R's room is *almost* cleaned out. Last night, I wanted to get the room itself cleared. Once we got the heavy stuff moved, J decided to swap over the closet (he currently uses it for his work uniforms). We didn't completely finish the room or the closet (Tuff was hungry!) but I think one more night would get it done.

{6} I'm LOVING all the fall premieres on TV right now. I was kinda disappointed by HIMYM and although I loved Ashton, not sure about 2.5 Men. Tonight, I'm really looking forward to Criminal Minds (it's my fave) and I also can't wait to see what unfolds on The Mentalist tomorrow. We watched Unforgettable last night and I couldn't get into it. What are your thoughts on all the new shows?

{7} I'm LOVING my sweet Hanky Poo, even though I am covered with scratches from where he's jumped on me. I think I should have him declawed ... but we did play with the bird last night and he had lots of fun!

{8} I'm LOVING my sweet husband ... and kinda bummed I don't seem to have many recent pictures of us. Oh wait, they're on my wedding CD that I still need to upload.



Baby R is a ...

No, we didn't slip and find out.

Instead, I want to know what YOU think! I've added a poll to the upper left corner of the blog. I think it's fun to guess the baby's gender, and my thoughts on it change every day. Especially now that I can feel the booty shaking - daddy definitely isn't a dancer, so that could mean we have a sweet little girl in there, who will totally melt daddy's heart and probably get him to do things like play with dolls.

The poll is open until my due date. And if you want to tell me why you voted a certain way, leave it in the comments or send me an email - I love hearing all the reasonings and these old wives tales.

Bumpdate - 31 weeks

Holy cow. It's crazy how quickly time is flying by!

Baby Tuff has been growing a lot these past couple of weeks. During Week 29, he/she weighed about 2.5 lbs. and was around 15 inches from head to toe, with muscles and lungs continuing to mature, and the head growing to make room for the developing brain.

Over the past week, he/she grew to about 15.7 inches and weighed in around 3 lbs. Eyesight continued to develop as well.

At the doctor last week, I was measuring a bit larger than normal. All along, I've been measuring right on schedule with one centimeter per week - for example, a 20-week pregnant woman's uterus should measure at 20 centimeters. Well last week I was 30 weeks 3 days and measuring 31.5 centimeters. I knew I had really popped out in the last couple of weeks! According to the scale at home, I hadn't gained much, if any in those two weeks though ... and I forgot to weigh myself this morning. I'm using the scale at home as my guide, because I wear the same thing and do it at the same time, which I think makes a big difference.

Movement has definitely changed! Instead of feeling kicks and punches, I just feel squirming now - I'm guessing baby is already running out of room? The doctor pointed out where all the body parts are right now, so it's funny to know that he/she is stretching out the feet or shaking a booty just like mama. Ha! It is SO FUN to feel all the movements these days, even though I sometimes have to get onto Tuff for not being gentle or ask the baby to get out of my ribs.

My pregnancy app indicates that baby is in for a growth spurt. Umm, where is it going? Because let me tell you, Tuff loves to stretch out!

The nursery is *almost* cleaned out, and I plan to make my husband help me finish it tonight, since most of what's left is his or too heavy for me. I also shouldn't lift above my head, so he has to wipe down all the walls. Tomorrow, I think we will buy the paint so he can get started on that Thursday night and hopefully finish by Saturday or Sunday. We have so many boxes sitting around the house just waiting to be opened and assembled (I'm super excited about the glider that was delivered yesterday. And the dresser is in, just waiting for us to come pick it up. I'd love to have a lot of the things put together and in place by mid-next week, but that will also depend on when the carpet cleaning is scheduled.

Here's the best picture I got last week (out of focus, but hey, work was crazy!). I was 30 weeks, 2 days:

And the text message that followed :)

What the "dead corner" of our living room looks like after Sunday's shower (can I please have a baby to put in that carrier SOON ... just not before 37 weeks and the nursery is done) 

Here I am last night, at 30 weeks, six days. Big bump! But still no water retention, thank goodness.

And just for fun, here is a picture of my new license plates that I got yesterday. This was totally random, the girl just pulling the next plates off the stack ... but I totally had to laugh at it :)

That's it for this week! I have about 63 more days to go, give or take, and items are slowly but surely being marked off the to do list :)

SURPRISE!!!

So yesterday afternoon we had a housewarming party to attend.... or so I thought.

It turned out that my friends and family decided to surprise Baby R and I with a baby shower! And hubby was in on it! The stinkers.

The best surprise? My friend Bel drove all the way from Alexandria, Va (almost 14 hours one way!) for the shower. Unfortunately, she was in town since Thursday and having to sneak around and I only got to see her during the shower and maybe an hour afterwards because she had to get on the road at about 5 a.m. today.

I'm going to wait for the big recap until I get some pictures sent to me. But I'm sure my face was priceless when I saw Bel. I could also kill my husband for not making sure I washed my hair (it was third day, usually second day looks best) and letting me believe it was a garden party so I wore a summery hat, flattening my hair. Ha!

Also, a couple of people almost ruined the surprise, but these girls did so good (even my mom didn't let it slip) that it really was the best surprise ever. It actually left me speechless.

Seriously though, it was amazing. I can pretty much count on one hand the essentials we still need for baby and a few people who were unable to come have already told me that they are sending/bringing something by to welcome baby Tuff into the world. My bestest friends all got together to buy us the stroller/car seat, and one of their husbands even put it together for us, for which hubby was *very* appreciative.

One of the games was guessing whether Baby R is a boy or girl ... and girl actually won! My mom, bless her heart, voted for "a healthy baby" and other than that, I think girl won by two or three. Even Tuff's daddy guessed girl ... and his note to the baby had me in tears. I think I'll share it, too. 

Tomorrow, I'll post a poll on the blog so you all can guess the gender. Now I'm incredibly confused as to whether I have a stinky boy or sweet girl growing inside me ...

You Challenge - Week Three :)



Oh gosh, I seriously should not be talking about my fears right now. Because I have a lot of them and they are kinda out there, haha. Let's just say with a baby on board (although he/she is protected from the outside world so much better than me) I have the smallest fears, like getting shot when I'm driving by a suspicious car just parked on the side of the road, my car blowing up and more.

But anyhow, let's get on to the serious, non-hormone induced fears:

{1} Losing the millions of photos I have. I've always been afraid of this, but when my camera got stolen on the way back from our honeymoon, including thousands of pictures and more than 300 of us from that weekend, it's gotten even worse. I totally wish I could have that memory card back. So when baby comes, I plan to burn CDs of photos weekly and save them in a binder that I keep by the bed, just in case.

{2} Failure. I know, this is a typical one. But seriously, I am such a perfectionist at some things, and my work is definitely one of them. We had low turnout at some of the events I planned this week and I took it kinda hard. But then the consultant I was working with assured me there was nothing I could have done differently and told me what that indicates and how I can correct it.

{3} My foot getting bigger. Y'all, I have worn a size 11 since fifth grade. I refuse to get to a 12, which is why I get pretty scared every time my legs/feet start to swell. My mom went from a 10 to 11 after her third kid - so that's why I say I'm drawing the line at two munchkins.

{4} Spending money and then needing it. I HATE having payments. Ideally, I'd like for us to be in a place in the next five years where all we owe on is our house. We'd still make a car payment "to ourselves" every month and be able to buy for things in cash. I guess I just am afraid of using up savings for something and then having an emergency and having to borrow the money.

{5} Dying young. I wanna be that old woman, warm in her bed, surrounded by at least four generations of family. And I can only think of one couple that J and I would allow to raise our kids. Please, let me live until they are at least 18.

{6} Spiders. They freak me out. I start screaming and yelling like a little girl.

{7} My hubby getting hurt at work. He's on the road so much - and I'm terrified when it's icy or other conditions that lead to slippery roads.

{8} Spoiling my kid too much. Yes, I want to give him/her everything in the world. But I also want them to know the value of a dollar and that they have to work for things, and know the difference between needs and wants. Unfortunately I give in way too easily (puppy dog eyes totally work on me and hubby knows it) so enforcing the discipline will probably be up to him.

Tidbits

• It has been one crazy week. I've been coordinating some big group meetings and such this week and it actually began with some small preps on Sunday. By the end of the day yesterday, I was at 30 hours for the week. EEEK!!!
• I know I missed my bumpdate for the week, and to be honest, I was so busy we didn't get a picture - other than one on my iPhone this morning. But I'll be back next week with weeks 30 and 31 :)
• I'm getting huge. At least I think so. But don't think I've put on any weight in the last two weeks. Running ragged will do that to you, I suppose. I've been so busy I haven't wanted to snack!
• Hubby cuts and bales hay. Well, last week he bought the last piece of equipment he needs, a rake. It's used, so he's been working on getting it in good working condition. So, last night was the first night we'd been able to spend together since last Thursday. It was great to just curl up on the couch and to be together, watch TV, and the ripples in my belly.
• The photographer I had lined up to do my maternity photos got injured and had to cancel. So now I need a new one ASAP. I really want these pictures on a CD or something because I don't want a ton of prints, just want to have them to remember. So that's a big problem, as most won't do that.
• My parents gifted me with my car and I'm having to deal with changing over the title, etc. It's a lot of fun, let me tell you.
• I'm taking some junk treasures to a garage sale this weekend and I just want to get rid of it! Seriously, I am really looking at what we have and whether we need to keep it while cleaning the house to prepare for Tuff. There is no reason why we should have our two spare bedrooms full of crap, as well as a basement storage room. So I've got a lot of household items that we haven't used since moving almost 2 years ago and furniture that was in the nursery we no longer need, and I'm pricing it super cheap in hopes it will all find a great home.
• The dresser is in and the glider is on its way. So we need to finish cleaning out the room and have J paint before we set it all up! I know we still need to buy a bookshelf and then we're going to sit back and relax until after my shower to see what else we need.
• My family shower is Oct. 1 :) I can't believe that's just over two weeks away! And then my friends are throwing a surprise on for me at some point.
• Last night I washed dishes for the first time since Sunday. I'm gross.
• I also made hubby bring me an anti-fatigue mat to put by the sink until baby is here. Standing that long on ceramic tile makes my legs start to swell.
• At least that's all that's swelling. I don't think my face is getting puffed up (knock on wood) and several others agree.
• I'm extremely scatterbrained, and I'm not sure if it's pregnancy or all that's going on at work. But on Saturday, I decided I needed a day of pampering and set out to get a mani/pedi and spray tan. As I was backing out of the garage, I didn't notice how close I was to the section between the doors and clipped my mirror. Luckily hubby, who is a route salesman for a uniform/mat company, has an account with used auto parts and they had one that fit and gave it to him. So sweet!
• This is the perfect weather to walk with Hank. But we live on a busy highway, so I'm afraid to go without hubby. So I'm hoping we get on a good walking after work schedule soon. Tuffy likes it :)

You Challenge - Week 2 :)

Nine loves ...

{1} My family and friends. 

{2} Hank dog.

{3} My beautiful home.

{4} A fridge and a pantry that are full.

{5} A job that I enjoy that enables me to live a good lifestyle.

{6} Ice cream. I could eat it every day. But I try to keep it to 3-4 times a week.

{7} My Shark mop. It's changed my life.

{8} DVR. How did I live before we could record shows and fast-forward during commercials?

{9} Living in a great place like America! I'm feeling a bit patriotic and sappy, as we are watching 9/11 coverage right now. 

HAPPY SUNDAY!!!

It's OK

Linking up again this week :)

It's OK

... to wear white pants after Labor Day. Yup, I wore mine yesterday, just to make a point! I think as long as you aren't super-summery (like wearing a light-colored shirt as well) it's totally fine to wear them until you need a jacket. I typically pair mine with a dark shirt or cardigan.

... to consider de-friending people on Facebook because they post Big Brother spoilers

... to curse your Internet for an hour because it's so slow you can't make a simple online purchase. Downside of living out in the country - only one crappy choice for Internet, and it costs 40 bucks a month :(

... to, instead of saving money for your babe, decide to blow money this weekend on a spray tan and mani/pedi. I have some important meetings next week that I want to look good for!

... to spend an hour outside playing with your dog when you have a million or so house projects to do.

... to have the morning sun streaming into your kitchen and see just how bad you need to dust the cabinets. I have a fall break in about a month during which my mom is going to help me tackle some pre-baby projects, so I think I'll put that on our list :)

HAPPY THURSDAY! One day closer to the weekend :)

What I'm Loving

{1} I'm LOVING that this is a four-day work week! Thank you Labor Day!

{2} I'm LOVING the cooler temperatures. But I'd like to ease into fall with highs more in the low 80s than these 70s. Although my pocketbook will certainly like the lower electric bill this next month or two!

{3} I'm LOVING Dove chocolates. I bought a couple bags last week when I was having a bad day and needed an escape. I grabbed a handful for J and I to share the other night and ended up with an uneven number. We decided to share the last one. And this was the ever-so-fitting message in the wrapper:

I can't get it to flip, but it says "share a chocolate moment with a friend." :)  

{4} I'm LOVING our new kitchen faucet! Our old one leaked and had ugly wooden handles so we've been wanting one for awhile but couldn't justify spending over $100 for something we already had. I spotted one of the styles with the pull-down nozzle on the clearance rack at Lowe's, but no sticker. It rang up regular price when I asked the cashier to check, but a manager was sitting closeby and said she thought they should be clearanced (it was the last one in the store!) and gave it to us for 75% off. So we bought this beauty for $27, and J had it installed the next day! LOVE.



 {5} I'm LOVING that I have such a handy hubby who can tackle all the projects I dream up.

{6} I'm LOVING that my sinuses have eased somewhat. Enough for me to function without meds, which is good, because Tuff didn't move near as much when I was taking the Tylenol and it scared me.

{7} I'm LOVING that today is payday at my old job! Between using up my accumulated vacation hours and a couple of freelance jobs, it will be a very nice paycheck. So the "extra" will go toward my camera fund.

{8} I'm LOVING this sweet guy, who took great care of Tuff and I while I was sick. And who massages my belly with tummy butter every night. While hubby is already a daddy, I can't wait to see him with a physical baby to love on!

What are you loving today? Link up with Jamie to share!

Bumpdate - 29 weeks

As of today, I have about 77 days to go!

Baby R continued to make big changes during his/her 28th week. Then, he weighed around 2 1/4 pounds - about that of a Chinese cabbage - and measured just under 15 inches from the top of the head to the heels.

He can also now blink his eyes, which sport lashes, and with the continued development in eyesight, could be able to see light that filters in through the womb.

Body fat continues to be added, while Baby R is also developing billions of neurons in his/her brain.

I had my blood drawn last week for my glucose test, and passed with flying colors! However, I am slightly anemic (low on iron) so I take a daily supplement for that.

Mama continues to do well, just starting to get tired and swollen a lot more easily. A nasty head cold was going around last week and I ended up catching it and absolutely having to take some medicine (which I haven't done at all since learning I was preggo) to operate. Daddy bought some Tylenol Cold and it has been working wonders! Although I did have a panic attack last night when I realized I hadn't felt her move for awhile. So I shook my belly and got a jab. I guess she was just sleeping :)

I either lost a pound or stayed about the same. I don't remember, ha! I can't remember if I've mentioned it yet, but I did find a stretch mark about three weeks ago :( Since then, I've been practically religious in applying tummy butter morning and night, so it's the only one, and seems to be fading a bit?

The doctor said she is very pleased with my weight gain and everything appears to be right on track. Baby's heart beat is still in the 140s (little stinker!) so no more guesses on the gender. We now go to the dr. every two weeks until I hit 36 weeks, then every week. So I'm sure that will really make time fly.

We've made really good progress on getting the nursery cleaned out over the past week, and could finish it in one night if we really set our minds to it. No big rush though, as I believe it will be J's project in a couple of weekends. We also ordered a dresser for the room. So once it's painted, we just need to have the carpets cleaned and then can assemble the crib and dresser. And I can finally begin washing all the little clothes I've bought Tuff and have a place to put them.

So, here we are this week (taken this morning so I look somewhat presentable, ha!) And I know I've got to get a better camera --- hopefully next week, I just need to decide between Nikon and Canon and if I want an awesome point and shoot or a DSLR. If you love your camera or have any suggestions, please let me know!



You Challenge - Week 1 :)

I've seen this challenge floating around on a few blogs but known that I would *never* be able to keep up with it for 10 consecutive days.


But then I saw where my friend Elizabeth made it a 10-week challenge, and I figured I can *totally* do that! I'm gonna try to do it every Sunday (love scheduling posts!) but we'll see. 


So ... 10 secrets:

1. I was born with jet black hair and such a dark complexion that they had to look at the name on the bassinet to tell me apart from the Asian baby. And now I have a fair complexion and dirty blonde hair.
2. There are some shows/movies that I watch every time I catch them on TV, even though I can recite them by now. For instance: Sex and the City, HIMYM, anything Julia Roberts ...
3. I am one of the most wishy-washy people out there. But once I *know* something is right, I stick with it. 
4. I remember the smallest details (like license plate numbers) but forget big things, like paying a bill on time. 
5. I wear a size 11 shoe. And I'm terrified that my feet swelling with make my shoe size go up. I can't have that. 
6. As excited as I am to be a momma, I'm a little scared of babies. They are SO TINY! Sometimes looking at/buying newborn clothes freaks me out, because they are so tiny.
7. I love buying new things for the house, myself, etc., but would rather bank the money. Always afraid something will come up and we'll be in a bad spot.
8. Sometimes I feel like the above causes me to miss out on enjoying life
9. I'm scared that J and/or I will die early and never get to meet our grandkids. And although he's almost 11 and I know the day will come, I can't imagine anything ever happening to our Hank dog.
10. I'm scared of the dark. If I'm outside in the dark, I have to have a flashlight and Hank dog or hubby 

It's OK ...

Linking up again!

It's OK

... to think your hubby is a wuss for needing meds to fight his sinus infection when you did it totally natural a week ago. And think of the irony, considering you used to take meds at the first sign of a head cold.

... to love summer but be ready for highs in the 80s, not near 100, in September!

... to lock your dog in the garage all day (minus bathroom breaks) until he eats! Hank has probably lost 10 lbs and we aren't sure why, but we think there must be a dog within a five mile radius in heat! GRRRR!

... to be pissed that Big Brother won't come on until 1 a.m. tonight due to football. And even though you're exhausted, try to think of a way to wake up and watch it.

... to feel like you're awesome at life one week, only to feel like you such at it the next.

... to have weird pregnancy fears. Like a feeling someone is going to roll down their window and shoot you while you drive by. No joke. But then ride around with officers during a warrant roundup while 7 months pregnant and feel perfectly at ease.

... to get hamburger meat out of the freezer in the morning and figure out what to make with it when you get home from work.

... to not leave your office all day, then comment to yourself when walking outside how bright and warm it's gotten since 8 a.m. Ha!

... to be completely exhausted and wonder how you'll survive when waking up to a crying baby.

... to want to lie and tell everyone you know that you're going camping for the Labor Day weekend, then just hide out at home and do absolutely nothing.