the holidays are coming!

Oh goodness it has been a crazy week so far. The holiday season is definitely underway. I am still up 17 pounds and that makes me sad. I thought that a pound or two would come off pretty quickly after the weekend, but maybe not. And today is the first "Christmas party" of the year. The school's staff get-together is today after school. I think tonight we are going out for Whit's birthday which will be fun. Sometime I will have to find time to exercise to make up for all of this eating! :)

We got a Christmas tree Monday night. Actually, Jonathan went and got it and Whit and I decorated it. It is SO PRETTY! With all of the lights in the windows the house actually looks decent. I guess I will try to work on the nursery some more this weekend. We don't have a lot going on except the Sunday School Christmas party on Saturday night.

I have slept so much better the past two nights. Yesterday mom brought me Whit's old body pillow to borrow. I slept with it last night and I really think it helps. I put it in between my arms, under my belly, and between my legs and it helps with the back pain. I told Jonathan the other day that I am now ready for Julianna to be here. I don't know how my poor body can wait another 16 weeks! But I guess since all of these people have gone before me and had to deal with it then I can too.

random musings

It's going to be a long week! It was so hard to get up this morning even though I went to bed at 8:30 last night. I was just so tired and I couldn't hold my eyes open after I laid down. I really didn't sleep very well any night at the beach and I thought that I could make up for it last night in my own bed, but it just didn't work that way. I tossed and turned all night long. Anyway, I had a great Thanksgiving. Lots of good food and family. I gained a LOT of weight though! I shopped on Friday and Saturday and walked on the beach with Whit and Dad on Saturday for a little over 30 minutes so that was good. At least I didn't sit the whole weekend. I have got to do better this week though. I have now gained 17 pounds as of this morning and Julianna only weighs a little over a pound now! So I am starting to count the days until Christmas break - only 3 1/2 weeks. I got quite a bit of the shopping done early which should make the next few weeks easier. We couldn't buy a Christmas tree last night because it was raining so hopefully after work at Curves tonight we can get one and start decorating it. Jonathan and I moved the twin bed into Julianna's room last night. With the chest of drawers in there it might actually start looking like a bedroom soon. Well, that's about all I know today.

life is good

Last night I was home by myself while Mom, Dad, and Whit were at the beach and Jonathan was helping his mom with some ebay stuff. I got most of the Christmas decorations put out (with the exception of the tree and ornaments of course). When Jonathan came home he said, "Am I at the right house?" and it made me feel really good. I know the house isn't that clean and everything but I at least felt like I accomplished something and that's a feeling that I needed.

Now for thebad news of the morning. I was up to 14 pounds gained this morning. YIKES! That adds up to 2 pounds for the 1st trimester and a pound a week for each week after that which is what is recommended. Unfortunately, the doctor told me to only gain 20 pounds total which would be less than the 25 pounds that are recommended. After the baby's born I'm going to HAVE to get this weight off! I am going to try to start walking this weekend and work at least three days of walking into my already jam-packed weekly routine. Ugh. I also watched The Biggest Loser on NBC last night (my favorite show) and it was so good. Those people motivate me so much. At least the weather will be warmer after Julianna is born and I can stroll her around outside.

Well, I don't know what else besides the fact that I am counting the hours until Turkey Day begins! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have lots to be thankful for!

belly buttons and such

Jonathan and I examined my Chinese belly button last night. It is so tight that you can hardly get your finger in it without prying it open a little bit. The sad thing is that the baby websites say that it may pop out over the next few weeks. I don't want it to! I've always been an "innie" and I don't want an "outie" even if they do say that it will return to normal after giving birth!

I am getting really excited about Thanksgiving now. Only one day of work left since Wednesday is a half day. I can't wait to go to the beach and just relax. It is getting so hard to move around like normal now. It takes effort to get in and out of the car and also to walk up stairs, not to mention just pulling up my pants and tying my tennis shoes when I have to change clothes at Curves. But my counter says only 121 days left!

another weekend re-cap

Whew! I had a busy - but great - weekend! We ran and ran all weekend and somehow managed to get everything done. Friday I was a little piggy and I ate a lot. Then Saturday I wasn't feeling too well so I didn't eat too much but i did get a drink and popcorn at the movies which I never do. Anyway, it serves me right, but I was SO sick Saturday night around dinner and afterwards with indigestion that I almost went to the doctor. I was in such pain that I just cried. When we got home around 10:30 Jonathan looked up on the internet what pregnant women could take for indigestion and luckily I was feeling somewhat better after 2 Tums and within the next 30 minutes or so. I slept propped up on pillows and started it all again on Sunday. I got a great night's rest last night though and I am glad to have the weekend behind me.

The good news of the weekend is that at Tgiving dinner with the Tuckers we talked to Mike and Kelly about getting a new sofa. He said that he had no problem getting whatever we wanted and we will pick up the fabric swatch book sometime this week. He just told us to go on the website and pick out the sectional style that we liked. So last night we measured the living room and Jonathan designed how the sectional would fit in the room in AutoCAD and we emailed Mike. Here's the best part though - they are wanting to sell their house and they have Marsh cabinets in it that are getting pretty beat up. They want to re-do their cabinets before they sell the house and he mentioned a possibility of us trading cabinets for the new couch. What's awesome is that Jonathan can get $25 tax free taken out of his paycheck each week to pay for any cabinets that he buys. I'm trying hard not to get my hopes up but I think we might have a new couch in the next few months and I'm super excited because I've been wanting one for SO LONG! Who cares if Julianna is going to puke on it! :)

Thank goodness it's a short week. We are headed to the beach on Thursday for a long weekend with the family. Lots of eating yummy food and shopping. I can't wait! We are going to watch movies, play cards, walk on the beach, knit, and play bocce ball! Whoo-hooo! Next Thanksgiving we will have a baby to take with us and I can say to the people, "The baby's in the car." He, he!

AGHHHH!

I should never have talked about how well I was handling stress because all of a sudden it hit this morning. I left the house early to go to the ATM to make a much needed deposit and got in major traffic. People were flying so crazy around Forsyth Tech near the ATM machine that three people almost hit me - all at different times! Anyway, we're having more car trouble and with all of the stuff that's going on this weekend that is the last thing that I want to worry about. Plus, we really don't need the financial strain that having car trouble causes. So I just called Jonathan and cried for a little bit. I feel better now and I will feel much better when this student council pizza junk that I gotta do today is over with...

Anyway, this weekend is a busy one. I have to volunteer after school for the babsketball tournament security. Then I have to get home and wrap a gift and be ready to go to a surprise birthday dinner in Lexington. Tomorrow morning I have to worry about getting the car to the shop (AGAIN) and picking up mom and dad's van and then pick up the food for tomorrow night. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to see the Harry Potter matinee - fun! Tomorrow night we are going to a dinner party with Jonathan's work people and Sunday we have Thanksgiving at the Tucker's. Somehow I have to find time to fix something for that.

So last night Julianna was performing her usual acrobatics when I laid down to sleep except this time she was alternating a period of kicking with a period of some weird sliding/scraping. It was fascinating to feel. It felt like her foot or head was sliding along like she was trying to turn around or something. Anyway, it was cool and I just laid there mesmerized for a while. I can't wait to meet her!

the most boring post ever

I went to the doctor yesterday and saw Dr. Thompson. He was a really nice looking young doctor and I was very happy to meet him. :) Both he and the nurse said everything was looking great. I have gained a total of 10.5 lbs and I will be five months tomorrow. My blood pressure was good and my belly was measuring normal. I also got to hear Julianna's heart beat again and she commented on how strong and loud it was. She told me to go to Build-A-Bear and get one of the recordable devices to put inside and bring it back to their office and that they would record her heart beat for me. Funny. Whoever thought of that? My next appointment is on December 13th and then I have to go back on December 22nd to take the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Ugh.

Tonight Jonathan is not going to be home because he is going to Greenville for the Ben Folds concert. I think that mom, whit and I are going to make cards together. Hopefully I will get a good start on Julianna's birth announcements. We'll see. Whit also got the rest of the ribbon to hang the letters on the wall in the nursery so maybe I can work on that too. Fun times.

128 and counting...

I feel like I'm accomplishing so much but yet it keeps coming at me. I'm working so hard and running so much, but things just keep saying, "You forgot to do me!" Oh well. At least I am managing my stress well. Julianna's acrobatics at night have gotten worse and I'm having some pretty decent back pain, but at least the one poor night of sleep can usually make me sleep fairly well the next night. My counter says only 128 days to go.

I have my next doctor's appointment today. It's a nothing appointment so Jonathan is not going with me. All they are going to do is tell me that my belly is getting bigger and that I should try to watch the weight gain. (In other words, "You're getting fat too fast.") Samantha saw me after being gone a week on vacation and her eyes bulged and she said, "Well, there's your belly! I knew you'd get one!" :) And yes, it's there. Well, that's about all I know today. More tomorrow.

weekend re-cap

I had a great weekend. It was jam packed, but good. Of course the cheesecake was yummy and I got a lot done. I'm also glad I got to spend at least a little time with Rebecca, Emily, Mom, Whit and Jonathan. I'm glad it's over though. It was non-stop and now I need some rest! This week will probably be the same. I want to try to get a Christmas tree and start decorating. I also have to work at Curves today and Thursday night and Thursday night I have to be at a meeting at school from 7 - 8:30 pm. I guess it's just that busy time of year, but it does seem like I'm saying that more and more often these days. We did move the crib up to the baby's room on Saturday and we put on the bedding. It looks really good in my opinion. I am going to try to work on birth announcements this week sometime so that they are all ready to just be filled in when she is born. How fun!

good eats and miracle babies

Yum Yum Yum tomorrow I get to eat chocolate cheesecake. I can't wait. Why do I get so excited about food? Oh well. Today is Veteran's Day and I wish we were out of school like the public schools. I could use the extra time. I have so much to do. Anyway, last night I painted and painted. I got home from work at 7:30 and started immediately. I gave all the trim it's 2nd coat. Now all that's left to do it paint two of the doors. Maybe if I get home early enough this afternoon I can paint the doors and start putting the room back together. I also made a dent on the house cleaning last night and started some laundry this morning. I should be able to get everything done tonight. I have to work at Curves tomorrow morning though.

I read some stories yesterday at Curves in the most recent Woman's Day magazine. They were sappy stories about miracle babies that were born last Christmas. I boo hooed when I read them. Most all of the stories involved a mother who had either had several miscarriages before and then was trying one last time for a baby or a mother who became deathly ill during her pregnancy and almost lost the child. One mother was even advised by several doctors to end the pregnancy but she didn't and all of the babies were born prematurely right around last Christmas. The mothers considered them miracle babies. Anyway, I got to crying and crying about it (thanks to the hormones) and I'm sitting in Curves looking silly, but I did get to thinking about how much of a miracle birth alone is. I said a lot of prayers after reading those articles that God would protect Julianna (and me!) before and during her birth and that we would be able to give her the best life possible. He does work miracles!

priorities

Today is going to be an exciting day. I can tell already. It's 9 am and I've already gone to pee 5 times since 2 am. Wow. Life is eventful. :)

Jonathan helped me paint trim last night and we made some progress. We're still not finished though. It even looks like some spots may need a 3rd coat. Ugh. If I work hard after Curves tonight and then get home early on Friday to work on it I might have it done by the weekend. I also need to clean the house though and go pick up a triple chocolate cheesecake. :) Priorities.

more complaining

I wonder if leg cramps are a "side effect" of pregnancy. I woke up with three last night. They are so painful. Maybe it's just my lack of routine in my exercising or just a potassium deficiency. Anyway, I hope they go away. My right leg is still sore this morning.
I worked on the trim in the baby room last night. It is coming along. I think one more coat might be enough and hopefully I'll finish that tonight. At least I don't have to work at Curves until tomorrow night. But Rebecca and Emily are coming this weekend so I have a lot of house cleaning to do. I can't only imagine how difficult these things are going to be with a little one to look after too...

i am a giant marshmallow

OK so I feel like an elephant. I keep saying that but it's true. This morning I was up to 10.5 lb gain. That made me sad. I know I ate lots over the weekend though (wedding cake, On the Border, fast food, etc.). Anyway, what makes it worse is that I feel so HUGE. Then I log on to check the daily things listed on babycenter.com to read about how I should be feeling and things I should be experiencing this week and it says, "You're probably feeling pretty comfortable these days. You're not too big yet, and the usual aches and pains associated with early pregnancy are, for the most part, gone. Relax and enjoy it while you can — the third trimester will bring some mild discomfort from carrying a baby who is nearly full-term." Yeah, right. That makes me feel a lot smaller. :)

Anyway, we didn't get any trim painted last night so we are really going to try to work on it tonight. We probably won't finish, but it will be closer to done than it is now.

At Lauren's wedding this past weekend the Miller's surprised Amy and I with a baby shower! It was fun and I was certainly not expecting it. I got some cute gifts and now I can start writing thank you notes. I also posted pictures on the picture page of my first baby shower. How fun!

blah, blah, blah

Today we are headed to Atlanta for Lauren's wedding. I am excited about eating cake and possibly Checkers. How sad is that? :) Oh well. Jonathan started painting the trim in the nursery last night but I didn't do any. We decided that we'd try to finish up when we get home on Sunday. I just had a headache last night and felt crummy when I got home from work so late. Julianna's kicks are certainly getting stronger though. I hardly notice them anymore because I am so used to them. Mom bought me a cute maternity sweater too. It is fun being pregnant, but I know that in a month or so I will be very sick of it. It definately has it's ups and downs. Well, I better get back to work. I can't think of anything else to ramble about. More on Monday...

the nursery's coming together

Well, we got the crib last night. It is really pretty and I think it will be perfect with the new white trim in the nusrery. We haven't gotten a chance to finish the painting yet, but we might tonight. It is a white sleigh crib with paneling on the short ends. It adjusts to four heights to accomodate the baby as she grows. It doesn't convert into a full size bed but that's OK because we already have a twin bed that will do for a while.

Also, Jonathan talked to his friend Kelly yesterday about getting prices on couches so I am very excited about that. We talked about getting new carpet in the den and painting the walls. Maybe our house will slowly come together after all. Besides, I still want to save up for that nice glider...

we're getting the crib!

This afternoon I am meeting Jonathan at the Mommy & Me place to pick up the crib. I am very excited! I hope it is in great condition and that we can fit it into the van! Maybe after that we will have time to paint the trim in the nursery. We'll have to see how much time we have. I really want to get it done though because we are going to Altanta this weekend and won't have time then.

more on baby furniture

Basically the things that are going on today include Jonathan going to look at the crib we found at Mommy & Me and then call me to let me know what he thinks. Other than that, there's nothing new. We might have decided to go with that white crib and get a new glider and possibly wait for a toddler bedroom suit or a new couch instead of one of the more expensive nursery suits that we saw at USA Baby. It took me a long time to get to this, but I've decided that you can't beat $150 for a pretty crib in good condition plus some other new furniture. We'll see!