unbelieveable

Has it really been 3 months since I posted last? Where has the time gone? And is it really possible that I only have 4 more weeks before my life is changed completely? It seems like its all happened in the blink of an eye.

We're all still here, Lulu, Jax, Mr. Football, myself and little bean (although he's not so little anymore). Things have changed and things have stayed the same. We just celebrated our 1 year anniversary and are getting ready for our big arrival.

Being pregnant really hasn't been that bad. I guess I always imagined that everything that could go wrong would, so imagine my surprise when my only issue so far has been some high blood sugars. Don't get me wrong, being a gestational diabetic is a serious issue and can cause significant health issues for the baby and I, but just watching what I eat and checking my sugars several times a day has been enough to keep me on tract. I will say it has helped me to not gain the 97 lbs I would have if I didn't have to be on this diet. Especially now, when I feel huge and want to eat everything under the sun. I know that an hour later I'll have to check my sugar and I feel really bad when they're high...guilt, its the best motivation.

Other than waiting for little one's arrival, things are definitely changing around our household. Mr. Football just recieved his orders and will be going back to an air craft carrier so our little family will be relocating in a few months. I'm not so big on change so adjusting to having a baby was stressful enough, now we're also trying to sell our house and find a new place to live in an unfamiliar city...(anyone interested in a 3 BR house, its in a cute neighborhood and has new appliances???)

With that I will leave you with a few new pics...I can't believe I thought I was big in my last posts...and I never would have imagined how big I could get...and he just keeps growing!

And now...introducing

Baby

Surprise

I remember sayin' I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm ok
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said " Ya see that thing right there well ya know what that means"

And I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me
He'll probably climb a tree to tall and ride he's bike to fast
End up every summer wearin something in a cast
He's gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street
He's gonna get in trouble oh he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if he's anything like me

I can see him right now knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass tryin to melt the Tonka truck
Wont he be a sight with his football helmet on
That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if he's anything like me

He'll probably stay out to late and drive his car to fast
Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skippin class and be ground for a week
He's gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if he's anything like me

He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day
He's gonna hug he's momma he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he can't wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry he's eyes out
If he's anything like me (cant understand)
Aw he'll be alright if he's anything like me

Brad Paisley-Anything Like Me

Mr. Football and I bought this CD last week and I fell in love with this song. Don't get me wrong, I love Brad Paisley in general but I kept listening to this song over and over. This entire pregnancy I've really been impartial to what we were having, Mr. Football on the other hand has made it quite clear that he wants a boy (imagine that). But after listening to the lyrics of this song it kind of made me want a boy too. I can totally picture Mr. Football playing with our little boy, taking him fishing, watching football, all that good stuff...

Well we found out today.... It's a BOY

weekend fun

I can't believe the weekend is over already...it feels like it was just Friday! Friday night we went and played games over at Mama Cookie's and Mr. T's. Apparently I suck at board games.

Saturday we drove to my parents and had lunch with them. In the afternoon Mr. Football and Mr. T played golf while I napped with all the dogs. I very much enjoy naps these days.

The bachelorette party was great, we all had a good time and it was really great seeing everyone. It makes me really sad that we can't go to the wedding...unless anyone wants to fund a 4 day trip to Vegas for Mr. Football and I...anyone??

Love these girls, I've known most of them since 7th grade. We've had some pretty great times together...

Sunday was spent swimming at Mama Cookie's parents house, then driving back home. Like I said, I can't believe the weekend is over already.

Boo...is it almost Friday yet?

keeping busy

Hey all, sorry its been so long between updates. Sometimes life and exhaustion just don't allow time to get basic necessities done let alone anything else.

Went to the doctor this week for a checkup and everything is looking good. Baby is growing and the heartbeat sounds good. I'm finally staring to look pregnant and not just fat...it makes me feel a little better. Last night we went to the baseball game, the local AAA team and survived through the rain. At one point my bestest Cookie and I went for some ice cream and a beer for Mr. Football and I'm not going to lie, it was a little awkward buying it. I made her carry it...she's a great best friend.

Tomorrow we're heading back to my hometown for the bachelorette party of a dear friend. She went away to college and recently moved back and started a relationship with someone else we went to school with. They're getting married next month in Vegas and since funding and size issues are limiting me from going I'm not missing her bachelorette party...but believe me, I still have that lingering adolescent self conciousness of seeing all of these girls from high school and being the fat one.

Some of the girls and I at the wedding

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

home

We're back! We had a wonderful time in lovely Charleston, but now I have the after vacation blues...

I always love the anticipation of going somewhere, especially when it's somewhere fun...but coming home is always bittersweet. I'm glad to be back home with the pups and I definitely miss my bed when we're gone but now its back to the real world and everything that comes with it.

Today's battle, laundry.

So nothing all that exciting going on...I'll leave you with some pictures. Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to.

The dock near the Bluff house
Baby bump at the beach-15 weeks
The beach
A dolphin swimming in front of the boat
The wedding party, all of the groomsmen are serving or have served in the military
The bride and groomMr. Football and I

one more day...

Tomorrow we'll be in lovely Charleston SC...I can't wait! We're going for Mr. Football's best man's wedding but we'll also be vacationing as well. In the meantime I still have tons to do...

-Laundry
-Shopping for last minute vacation items
-Buy this weeks Baby book
-Cook out with Mama Cookie and Mr. T
-Get doggies packed up and sent home with Mama Cookie and Mr. T
-Pack
-Clean the house ( I hate coming home to a messy house)

I guess I should get off my growing booty and get some stuff done! I'm not sure how much posting I'll be able to do while we're away, but you never know!

Have a Wonderful Week!

happy happy happy

I'm still a little hesitant to say it but it feels like summer is finally on its way! We've had beautiful weather lately, and today it's supposed to be in the 80's! Thats absolutely considered summer weather in my part of the world. I can't believe it's almost Memorial Day weekend, it seems like spring flew by. It never fails, spring, summer and fall seem to pass in the blink of an eye, while winter drags on and on and on...

Regardless, I'm looking forward to summer and all that it includes! This weekend Mr. Loves Football and I are heading the 2 hours east to my parents for a wedding. A family friend who was a life saver during my wedding planning is getting married Saturday and we're so excited to share the day with them. Since nursing never takes a break, we'll be back home Sunday so that I can work Sunday night (gotta love holiday requirements).

Tuesday the hubby and I depart for a mini-vaca/wedding in beautiful Charleston, SC. I'm so excited! Mr. Football's old Navy roommate and best man in our wedding will be getting married next weekend, so we're taking the week to spend some time with him and his fiance before the big day. I've never been to Charleston so I'm looking forward to checking out the area as well as vegging out on the beach.

Other summer activities include: weddings, weddings, camping, cookouts, beach days, etc...

I just have to make it through the rest of this work week first...wish me luck!

relief

Yay! Bryson's benefit dinner was a huge success! After all of the planning and stress the day was everything we could have hoped for...I'm not saying there weren't issues here and there but no one knew any differently, and that's all that matters. We were able to raise an amazing amount of money to help our dear friends and their sweet baby boy. He just has a little more to endure and hopefull we'll be home free!

Today I had a doctors appointment and everything is going well. Baby beanie has a strong heartbeat and is definitely taking up more and more space. My baby bump keeps protruding further and further but I still don't think its big enough to be a "baby bump", to me it just looks like I've had a few too many on Saturday night...

And since we've been having such nice weather lately, the puppies have been playing outside, as much as possible.

Because all of the outside playing leads to this...

And that makes me very happy...

updates

So as promised, here are some pictures from our trip to Mr. Footballs family. Like I said we went for his sisters wedding...and a lovely wedding it was.

The plan was to have the wedding at a pond on the Groom's farm, but since there was so much rain the event was moved into the barn instead.

The Happy Couple

Mr. Football and I...the baby bump is slightly making an appearance

Last week was Mr. Football's week to pick a book. He chose...

He was a big fan of Curious George growing up, so he chose that as his first pick.

This weekend is Baby Bryson's Benefit dinner so we've all been working hard at getting the last minute details together. We're planning raffles and a silent auction and are hoping for a good turnout. He's doing pretty well at this point. He's going to have one more round of chemo then they plan to redo all of his tests to find out if his tumor has gotten any smaller. If it has they will remove it and he will then have a stem cell transplant. The family has definitely had its ups and downs throughout all of this and we're hoping to stay on the down course at this point.

Mr. Handsome last week when I babysat...

Finally Home!

After such a crazy week it feels wonderful to be home. I'm slowly catching up on my blogs as I sit on the couch with the pups. I'm pretty sure they missed me since they keep getting up and circling to get a closer spot to me.

Our trip to see Mr. Football's family went well. The wedding was lovely and I plan to post pictures sometime this week.

We had our 12 week ultrasound done last Wednesday and little beanie was moving and shaking everywhere again. It's so odd to see this squirming thing on the monitor and have no feeling of it what so ever. Strange...

I'm off to catch up on laundry and get some sleep since I've been on a normal schedule lately... but first I wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Mother's Day.

We had breakfast with Mr. Football's mama this morning, then flew 800 miles to have dinner with my mama, then drove another 100 miles home. Needless to say, we're all exhausted.

Us with Mama Football at our Wedding

My Mama and I

working, sleeping, shopping, working...

I really really love my job, I do. I love the babies, I love the nursing aspect, I love most of the families...I hate going and staying up all night. I think it would be really great to work 1 day a week. That sounds like the perfect schedule. But I have to work to afford all the great things I want to buy!

Since my expanding waistline as made it difficult to wear most of my regular pants, Mr. Football agreed that I needed to go shopping. Which doesn't happen very often...so I jumped at the opportunity. I bought my first pair of maternity pants yesterday. Now I'm a little annoyed that I have to already adjust my wardrobe this early in the game, breathing I've decided is a necessity. I got the basics, a pair of capri's, a pair of white cargo capri's, a few tops. I was a little shocked however at the price of everything. I didn't help the situation that I also needed to purchase an outfit for my SIL's upcoming wedding. So while Mr. Football approved said shopping trip, I don't think he realizes the amount that was spent. So let's just keep it a secret.

With that being said, I wanted to share our book of the week...
This week was my pick, and I decided that I really liked this book when I was little. And it is a cardboard book which I was told is very important in those early reading days when the little one's like to help.

I'll be working the next few days, then it's off to the in-law's for the wedding. Have a great weekend!

rain rain go away

I'm glad spring is here, I'm loving the mild temperatures...but really, could it stop raining at some point?!? Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather sleep during a cloudy gloomy day than a beautiful sunny one but I don't work everynight so the rain gods can stop at any time.

Also Lulu is having some intestinal issues since she will not go out in the rain...and my rugs are paying for it.

On another note, I posted last week about my bff Cookie's engagement. Well she's decided to start a wedding planning blog and you all should head over and leave her some love and encouragement. Most of us know how stressfull wedding planning was, and she will need all the support possible. http://acookiekindofday.blogspot.com/

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day... (or not)

beautiful weekend

I don't know about you but we've had such gorgeous weather here over the last few days. I'm finding it hard to stay inside...in fact I'm sitting out on the deck right now typing this post. I've got the ghetto fence up and the doggies and I are enjoying the nice weather...until the rain comes that is.

Mr. Football and I had a pretty relaxing weekend. I worked Friday night so I slept half the day Saturday. Cookie, Mr. T and Reverend X came over Saturday night for dinner. We played some Mad Gab...we're pretty cool I know. Sunday was our local March for Babies which went pretty well. We had about 20 people on our team which is double of what we had last year so I felt like I accomplished something. It was a 3 mile walk which would have been just lovely except that it was 80+ degrees, which I'm not complaining about but they ran out of water...at every station. So unless you were part of the front of the group, you didn't get any water for the entire walk. I saw a few of our NICU grads which is always fun. Its always a good feeling when a parent remembers you and shows off their miracle. That's the reason why we're there afterall.

Needless to say after the walk, I crashed on the couch for a few hours. The hubby then made dinner and I laid on the couch all night after that. I have to give credit to all of the dad's out there supporting their pregnant wives...I know it can't be easy. I don't think Mr. Football had any idea what he was getting himself into. Hopefully this first trimester exhaustion will pass soon and I'll be back to normal...as domesticated as I can be that is...

Well I'm off to keep the dogs from attacking the neighbor dogs. Have a lovely day!!

Hump Day

Happy Hump Day everyone! Well I guess its almost over, which is wonderful because we're over half way to the weekend! Weather forcasts say we're supposed to see 80 degree's this Saturday, we'll see if it truly happens.

Today was a pretty busy day. I worked last night so obviously I came home and crashed. I had an ultrasound appointment at 1:30 so I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed to be there and it was amazing! Every time I've seen this little bean its changed so much. Today it actually looked like a little person, head, body, arms, legs...and it was moving all over the place! I've read that they can move around already but it was crazy to see it firsthand. The ultrasound tech was trying to measure it and it was waving and kicking and turning its entire body. I was blown away. I can't believe this is happening inside me. Weird.

my munchkin waving hello (apparently it's left handed)

I spent a lazy afternoon lounging with the puppies. They are always pretty clingy when I've worked a few days in a row...and as for the lounging, that really means I passed out drooling on the couch. Apparently its allowed now that I'm pregnant, at least that's what I've Mr. Football.

After I emerged from my laziness Mr. Football and I went and ran some errands. We decided that every week we're going to buy a book for the baby. We'll take turns picking it out. So our first book is...
Mr. Football suggested this one and I love it. It was one of my favorites growing up so it was definitely a must have. I guess that means its my turn next week...any suggestions?

Tonight we went to a fundraising dinner for Bryson at a local restaurant. A portion of the proceeds of the night will go to the family. The food was yummy, especially their famous cookies and hopefully The P family will get a nice check out of it. Bryson is doing better, this round of chemo was pretty rough on him but he's starting to come around. He can't go out in public so we stopped over to see him. He was wearing only a diaper since he had just thrown up on his clothes and was happy as a clam. (I think he just throws up because he doesn't want to wear clothes...) It was good to see him happy again.

And finally on a serious note, I got a few messages that a co-worker of mine collapsed on her way into work tonight. They think that she had a heart attack and isn't doing very well. We are all shocked and scared. Please think of her and her family during this horrible time.

please pray

This little boy is the reason I started blogging...

Last spring I happened to find this world of blogging which I never knew existed. One of the families we had in the NICU had a blog they decided to share with us once their baby went home. After looking at it and clicking on other blogs I happened to see a "Praying for Stellan" button on someones site. I was immediately drawn to it as it was an ultrasound picture. I just had to know why we were already praying for someone who wasn't even born yet.

It took less than a minute for me to be hooked. I had never met Mckmama and I knew nothing of her life or family, but I just knew I had to find out what would happen with this little boy. I became a regular reader of mycharmingkids.net. Like I said, I've never met this family but I grew attached to them like they were my friends or neighbors.

They said this little boy would not live. His heart was either working too hard or completely failing, and he wasn't even born yet.

On my honeymoon I paid $2.50 for 15 minutes of internet so I could find out how his delivery went...it was definitely worth it.

Stellan is now almost 6 months old and he will be having heart surgery today. After 5 months of having a "normal" rhythm this heart suddenly flipped back into SVT (an irregular fast heartrate). After an entire month of going back and forth between rhythms and failing all other treatments, surgery is his only option...and it still may not be a cure.

So please pray for this sweet boy and his wonderful family today...I know I will.

Exciting day...

Here is the exciting post that I promised...

My bestest friends Cookie and Mr. T got engaged last night!!! He had orginally planned to propose this October in Disney World since that is where they met but plans change and he couldn't wait any longer. So this week he called me and told me he had a plan. He decided that since he couldn't actually take her to Disney he'd take her to the closest Disney place here...the Disney Store of course! She was so surprised. We are so excited for them and can't wait for their wedding!!! (maybe that will be at Disney World...)

Also today is Mr. football and I's 6 month anniversary! It seems like our wedding was just yesterday... 6 months has just flown by. I'd love to say that being married has changed our lives but really it hasn't been that different. We're still the same people, living in the same house who enjoy the same things. But I guess thats a good thing, we don't feel like we need to change ourselves in any way.



We're having a great time being married and we have something else to share...

We're having a baby!

I'm a little over 9 weeks along and we're expecting our little one to arrive in November. Surprise! It definitely was for us at least but we couldn't be happier or more excited.

Have a great weekend!

busy busy busy

Sorry for the absence again...its been quite chaotic around here. Easter with the family was lovely, well except the psycho child who liked to antagonize my poor puppies to the point that they wanted to eat him (both dogs, Jax and Lulu).

sweet babies, they wouldn't hurt a fly...

With working every night this week and March of Dimes planning I've had little time to eat/sleep/shower let alone blog. But believe me friends, I'd much rather be blogging.

I did get a chance to visit with little Bryson this week. He's in the hospital getting another round of chemo and as you can see his spirits are up. He's an amazing boy.

I'm off to bed now but I promise to post something more exciting tomorrow...

One more day

I just have to get through one more night of work, then it's off to my mom and dad's for the weekend...Yay!

Saturday my mother and I are lunching, shopping, and stopping by to visit my grandma's grave. My grandma passed away while I was in nursing school and it was probably the biggest heartache of my life. I spent almost all of my childhood life with her. Both of my parents worked all day so my grandma lived with us and raised me. She was an amazing woman and I still miss her everyday.

Sunday we are having a picnic with the family. I'm so excited! Once the weather gets nice we like to go out to my parents country house. They have a large piece of property with a pond so I'm sure the puppies will be swimming all day. I can't wait!

What are your plans for this weekend?

decisions

So after this horrendous winter, I've vowed to get a better car. While I love my car I have now, its jut not practical for the snow. If you remember from a few months ago, I got stuck then my car was acting funny, I thought it was broken completely but once the snow melted it seemed to be ok...anyways...

It was a semi-decent day today and Mr. Football happened to get off work early so car-shopping we went. They keep advertising "great deals" and "lowest financing" so we figured why not. It can't hurt to look right?

Well what do I know.

I've decided that I want to go bigger obviously, but how much bigger? And then it comes down to money. One company will give us such and such deal, but the price is higher. The other company only offers a little bit of a discount but their price is lower....decisions decisions.

So I've narrowed it down...

Do I want this one?

2009 Toyota Highlander

Or that one?

2009 Chevy Traverse

And I thought buying jeans was difficult.

grrrr

So after having lovely weather last week...it snowed this weekend. Big fat puffy snow that stuck to the ground. Today is like -50 degrees, ok maybe not but it sure feels like it. It's gloomy and cold and I hate it. I'm so annoyed. Doesn't Mother Nature know that its April???

What a sick joke.

Spring!!!

The last two days have been wonderful...and by wonderful I mean its been in the 50's so yay! Close enough to summer for me, well almost.

Yesterday Mama P, Bryson and I hit up the outdoor mall for the afternoon. It was such a nice day, besides the wind. We walked around most of the afternoon (in flip flops of course) and did pretty good purchases wise. Bryson enjoyed his day with the girls I think. He was too cute, just jabbering away all afternoon. He even ate pretty well at lunch, because of the chemo he doesn't have much of an appetite so even getting him to take 3-4 ounces by bottle is good (most 6 months old take double to triple that in a sitting). He's such a doll baby.

I'm very picky and since I like to consider myself "curvy" I don't like stretch or skinny jeans, so I was pretty excited to find my favorite pair of jeans available, in my size, and on sale! It was a good day. I also picked up a few cute T's since they were on sale too...How could I resist?

Yesterday night Mr. Football and I met up with Cookie and Mr. T for some frisbee golf. We made it through 9 holes before the wind became too much. I'm already "challenged" enough in the sport I don't need anymore obstacles.

Today ended up being another beautiful day, despite the forecast of rain. So I put up our "ghetto" fence and let the dogs play outside. (Sidenote: We bought our house because we loved the layout and it had a pretty good sized yard with a deck. Our garage however is detached, which is pretty common in our area and set behind the house. The entire backyard is fenced in, except the driveway since you have to drive behind the house to access the garage. We thought we'd figure out how to fence it in later....Well almost 2 years later we still don't have one. I just don't know if I'm willing to block the driveway permanently with a fence and no longer have access to the garage. So on the days I let the dog's play outside I have to take Jax's pen, which is a Petyard, open it up and block the driveway...hence Ghetto Fence)

*Note* This is not Jax and this is not my house. But this is the pen I have for him.

They had a lovely time running circles around the yard, barking at neighbor dogs and playing fetch, so much so that during a much needed water break Jax had to lie down to finish drinking. Seriously, I think I have the laziest dogs ever.

Tonight they're both passed out on the couch. Bring on the warm weather!

Lazy Days

So last week didn't go as planned. In fact I think I actually did worse...with blogging that is. I've decided to blame it on work. Not that I'm working, I'm very thankful that I have a job, especially one that I love...No I'm blaming it on the fact that they've blocked Blogger, so I can't check the blogs I love or update my own. Its extremely irritating. Now, don't get me wrong. I would never sit on the computer all night and stalk periodically check blogs, and I would absolutely never write posts to pass the time...but what else is there to do in the middle of the night? I can only shop online read nursing journals for so many hours. Seriously.

With that being said...besides working, we've been pretty lazy around here. We rented a few movies last week that were pretty good. Role Models was hysterical and Australia was a beautiful movie. I highly recommend them. Hugh Jackman...need I say more?

Last Saturday we drove to my parents house (two hours away) to pick up their dogs for the week since they were planning on going out of town. Well plans changed, we drove back home Saturday evening without dogs and my parents drove here late Saturday night. Sunday Mr. Football and I spend the day with my mom and dad at the casino...I know, random! I ended up winning a little on 2 cent slots (yay Deal or No Deal) but the dear hubby lost his share at blackjack. It was an interesting day.

Today, being the wonderful housewife I am, we went out to dinner at Abuelo's. Yum. After dinner we stopped for ice cream and picked up doggie sundaes for the pups. We're such good doggy parents.

Other than that, we're pretty boring.

Not Me Monday!

Thanks to MckMama, I finally have something to look forward to Monday mornings...Not Me Monday where we get to confess all the things we did NOT do. Make sure to check her out for more laughs!

I have NOT totally been in a funk lately, causing me to become the laziest person on earth. I have NOT neglected my wifely duties, doggy mama duties and blogging duties leading to me becoming not a very interesting person to be around.

I am NOT coming out of my funk, starting yesterday.

I did NOT break a major rule of our marriage this week...going to Target unattended. I would NEVER spend an obscene amount of money just because I found cute things. I would then NOT try to sweet talk the hubby into thinking that I needed those things...he didn't buy it.

I did NOT really really really want to go out at midnight Friday night to be one of the first to buy Twilight the movie. I am NOT that childish and it did NOT make me feel like I was in junior high again waiting for the newest Backstreet Boys CD to come out...yes I confess, I was one of those girls. Don't judge me.

The hubby and I did NOT go looking for new cars the other day. I did NOT fall in love with the Chevy Traverse and I'm not dying to get one now. Hopefully soon!

So tell me, what did you NOT do this week??