Big plans

Big plans to learn to cook. That's right. It's time I bite the bullet and become the housewife I always wanted to be ..... with a job. (That was never part of the grand plan) 

Mark and I need to save money. In order to do that I have big plans to meal plan. If I'm going to meal plan I actually have to cook something, I don't think : Monday - McDonald's; Tuesday - Long John Silver's .... ect. will cut it. So starting January I plan to pull out the crockpot and dust off the pans.

This will be a tricky feat. Mark and I are second shifters. We don't eat dinner together. We seldom eat lunch together since he's getting up as I'm leaving for work. SO the meals I plan must be something that warms up well. I'll be making use of that GIANT Tupperware stash I've collected. (If you want a GIANT Tupperware stash then become a consultant for a few years. Pretty soon you'll have more Tupperware than your cabinets will hold, or your dad's garage :) )

So I'm collecting recipes. Yes I have a whole cookbook collection but I need real recipes. I need  practical, easy recipes that won't cause me to go back on my ppd meds after a week of this plan. I want to use my crockpot. I want them to be semi healthy (I still have 15 pounds of baby weight to shed) and I want my picky eating self to actually eat them. So send me a recipe or a link to your favorite cooking blog. simplynesting@gmail.com

And let the planning begin :)

Congrats! You've made it to the list ...

Steak and Shake, eastside.

That's right, add another restaurant to my 'list'. What did they do to get on it you ask? No they didn't wave about a pee stick (Subway) or over charge me for my hot dog and fries with their 'deal', THEY added ONIONS to my milkshake! That's right: peppermint, chocolate AND ONIONS!!!

The first Friday in December my mother and I like to celebrate by taking the day off work and shopping all day. We end that day with a milkshake. We wanted milkshakes from an establishment that had already closed so we decided to hit up steak and shake instead. BIG mistake.

We ordered two peppermint and chocolate chip milkshakes. So first drink...good, not bad. Second drink....that tastes odd. Third drink....definitely weird and what was that odd chocolate piece? Fourth drink...OMG that tastes like dirty arm pit. OMG is that ....... onion?????? Upon further investigation I fish out a piece of onion.

Now, peppermint, chocolate and ONION is a HORRIBLE combination in your mouth.

Mother promptly turns the car around as I hold said onion on my pointer finger.

In to steak and shake I storm.

I plop the milkshakes down onto the counter. Girl says 'Can I cash you out?' I say 'NO I want my money back. There is ONION in my milkshake.' ::shakes finger with onion on the end at counter girl::

'What !?' How did that happen?' Says counter girl. 'That's weird because the onions are over here and the milkshakes are over there.'

Over walks another girl. Counter girl tells her what happens all while calling the manager. Other girl 'Well bless your heart.' All while I hold out finger with onion and glare.

Manager comes up. 'What's wrong?'

'There is ONION in my milkshake!' ::Angrily shakes finger with onion on the end at him::

Manager: 'Do you want us to make you some more? Me: 'NO I want my money back.'

Manager goes to the back, returns and then says .....'You had a peppermint and .......chocolate?' 'AND ONION,' I add.

So I get my money back and wipe onion off my pointer finger. When I get back into the car my mother confirms I in fact have onion breath. I DON"T EVEN LIKE ONIONS!!!!

So Eastside Steak and Shake, YOU are on my list.

This year I'm thankful

This time last year I was emotionally drained. This time last year I was depressed. This time last year I was angry. This time last year life sucked.

Why you ask? I was on cycle 11 of trying to get pregnant. Mark was ready to give up for awhile and take a break because it was making me crazy. He gave me this last cycle and if we weren't pregnant he wanted to take a break for awhile. After months of waking at 7 a.m. to take my temperature and record it in my fertilityfriend.com account I couldn't imagine putting this on hold.

So here we were in Thanksgiving week, a time to be thankful and all I could be was bitter. I just knew I wasn't pregnant this cycle. I had no 'phantom' symptoms. Those evil little things that lifted my hopes every cycle making me FOR SURE I was pregnant. (One cycle, maybe 6, I had increased salvia. Well upon googling I found many people have increased salvia with pregnancy. First thought: OMG I'm pregnant. Nope, not at all.)

Since I had no 'phantom' symptoms I didn't even want to take a test this cycle. I figured, What's the point. The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the first day I could test. I wasn't going to do it. Mark made me. I written about this before so I won't go back through the dramatics except to say.....it was positive. 

So this year I'm a year out from finding out I was pregnant. I have a beautiful, happy 3-month 0ld. I have SO much to be thankful for. Mark and I are truly blessed and thankful this Thanksgiving. So much has changed for me over the course of a year.

Recycled Crayons

At 1 a.m. the other night I decided to start an art project. I made recycled crayons!! I imagine this being a great project to do with your kids or even a simple Christmas gift, just add a stack of copy paper :)

I used a mini muffin tin and an assortment of crayons. I preheated the oven to 275 degrees. While it was heating, I broke the crayons into pieces and removed the paper. Then I sprayed the tin with vegetable oil and filled them with crayons. Just put whatever colors you like together. Either colors in the same color family or just whatever you think goes together.

Then put the tin in the oven for about 10 minutes or until all the crayons are melted. It may take longer if you use a cupcake pan.

Once the crayons are melted remove them from the oven and let them cool. When they are cool just remove them from the pan. They should just pop out.

Things I've learned in 3 months

My baby is fast approaching three months. In those three months I've learned many lessons I never thought I would need to succeed in life.

1) Mother's should keep their fingernails as short as possible. Why you say? Because poop will find it's way under them no matter how hard you try to avoid that scenario. And your baby will laugh as you gag.

2) The books tell you you can 'bite off your baby's long fingernails.' Tried this, impossible. You will also have visions of clipping off your baby's finger every time you use those little baby nail clippers. It will induce a panic attack.

3) You will have NO memory of the first two weeks at home. None.

4) You will spend a good amount of time giving your baby a bath, putting lotion on him, picking out the cutest outfit, wiggling him into it and then you'll sit your baby up in his carseat ready to leave on your trip. He will then throw up all down the front and when you pick him up to see if you can salvage the outfit you'll realize he's pooped all over himself too. The process starts all over again.

5) You will vow to yourself that you won't let the baby lay there and cry. The whole first few weeks you do everything with one hand while your baby cries in the other. You'll do your best to quiet him while you make his bottle one-handed. Then your baby will become almost three months old and at 4 a.m. while you're holding a thrashing 12 pound, 2 foot long, screaming infant you'll say to yourself 'This is ridiculous.' Then you'll take that thrashing creature and lay him in his bed so you can prepare said bottle quickly and efficiently and think to yourself 'That was so much easier and quicker!'

6) Your most favorite thing in the world will be when you go in to either put your baby to bed or get them up in the morning and they look up at you with the biggest, toothless grin ever. Then you forget all the spit up, poop and thrashing.

Reflecting on my journey

How long did it take to conceive your LO(s)? 11 (long) cycles

What was the first thing you did or your first reaction when you got your BFP? After testing, I crawled back into bed for sure I was moving onto cycle 12, so with the covers on my head I hear Mark yell out that I HAVE to come in there and check out this test because 'There is totally something on here!' After multiple positive tests (and some consulting with some internet friends) we couldn't believe our eyes.

Describe your pregnancy in two adjectives. awesome, happiness

Did you know ahead of time if it was a boy or girl? What was your reaction when you found out? Yes, as soon as the picture flashed on the screen the word BOY popped into my head. I immediately looked at Mark and I think we both had a tear.  Pure joy.

What made you decide on their name? We were right up until the last week finalizing the name. The whole time we were trying for a baby we said his name would be Merrick (or Marek) and Mark wanted to honor his father, so Kenneth Merrick.

What was the name going to be if it was the opposite sex? Lillian

What week were you when your LO was born? 40 week 2 days pregnant (Friday the 13th)

Was your delivery how you envisioned it? Nope

Who was in the delivery room? Mark was the only one in there for the delivery

Who cut the cord? Doctor Merrick was in distress.

Did you enjoy your maternity leave? After the first two weeks and some good drugs....I enjoyed every minute of it :)

Favorite time of year

Christmas shopping season!!!


Christmas shopping becomes my hobby in the winter. No joke. I treat it like my hardcore hobby. It might as well be my second job. I start early and do my research. I'll look at every ad between now and when I buy my last present. I have a long list. A big family. I have to make my dollars count.

I start by making a detailed list of who to shop for. Then I write possible gift ideas next to each person's name. I'll go through a couple lists a season because I like my lists up to date.

This list is very important. Why you ask? Because this is where I admit my budget. We (or I) spend an average of $10 per person. That's an average. So some gifts cost a bit more and some a bit less but on the average $10. This is why my shopping is treated like a hobby. My goal is to spend $10 but it can't look like $10. So I start early and shop often.


I actually start the day after Christmas. I like to put ornaments or cookie cutters on everyone's package. The BEST time to stock up on this is the day after Christmas. I know how many I need and I buy accordingly. So I already have this year's stash.


I will also admit sometimes I go over budget. Like last year our niece HAD to have a pair of pjs even though we had already bought her gift. And then her uncle had to add something else to it also. But as a rule we do well sticking to our plan.

This new hobby of mine came about out of necessity when Mark was laid off a few years ago. Our income was cut by over half and I refused to cut out Christmas. But now it's fun. When you have a budget of ten dollars you have to get creative. You have to get out there and SHOP. You can't wait until the last minute to shop or you'll get junk. I think each gift I get now is more meaningful than when we had no budget. I put a lot of effort into making sure I get the perfect gift. I feel good about each gift I wrap and put under my tree.

So I start cutting coupons early and I horde ads like it's my job.


I also take a day off work so I can shop the day after Thanksgiving. I'll get up early (or not go to bed at all :) ) and hit the sales running! I'll have my stash of coupons and my handful of ads that will be marked with bright colored sticky notes as to what I'm looking for at each stop. I'll brief those in my car about what to search for and we'll divide and conquer. I have a job to do and crowds WON'T get in my way. I'll have granola bars in my purse and a mug of hot chocolate in my cup holder. There is NO stopping a girl and her budgeted Christmas list.

I'm already stalking the Black Friday web sites in anticipation. My first draft of my list is made and in my purse. I have four gifts already bought and I'm itching to buy more.


Let the shopping begin!!

Dairy Queen is on 'the list'

Here is my receipt from my trip to DQ last night. Notice anything unusual? If you look closely you will see I was charged 12 cents for the 'Sweet Deal'. Seriously. For $3 you could get two items. I picked a hot dog and fries. Upon viewing my receipt I noticed the total of a hot dog and fries is less than $3 so DQ ADDED 12 cents to make it the $3 'Sweet Deal'. There is nothing sweet about that. So while there was no waving pee stick.....check out my Subway post for those details....DQ is going on 'the list' because of the ridiculousness of their 'Sweet Deal.'

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times part 4

Still trying not to be too graphic

So the baby is out and I can tell something isn't right because they don't hand him to me like the nurse told me they would. They hold him up and show him to me and then take him out.

I leaned up and asked the doctor if I was ok. I didn't get an answer so I knew that meant.....Not really. Finally he stops and explains that I tore pretty badly but not horribly and he's going to fix me up. I say 'good thing I had that epi' and he replies 'yes it is.' So he's working and all of a sudden I hear him tell the nurse 'Change that 3 to a 4.' I know exactly what that means....I have a fourth degree tear....the worst level. Just awesome. Nothing that I can do now. He works forever. Finally I say....Are you sure you can fix it! He assures me he can.

After it's all done he then tells me that next time I should have a csection because he can repair the damage once but if it were to happen again it would be more difficult. Basically I ended up with a csection of the vagina anyway. Awesome. Basically the baby was bigger than anticipated and caught his shoulder on me and there was nothing the doctor could do. He said he tried to stop it but just couldn't.

This is where I promised I won't be graphic. Let's just say recovery sucks and leave it with that. And let's just say I'm keeping up on my pain meds so I don't feel anything. :) :)

Now back to the baby :) Merrick was born at 6:49 a.m. Weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long. I didn't get to hold him until after 11 a.m. It was not what I imagined it to be. After 11 months of trying to get pregnant and 40 weeks of being pregnant that wait to hold him was an eternity. When they finally wheeled him into my room I couldn't stop crying. He was beautiful. All I imagined. Worth the tearing and pain and stress.

So now I'm on the road to recovery. It's hard work but when I hold him I remember it will get better. I will heal. I will be OK again. I couldn't ask for anything more.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times part 3

Again.....trying not to be too graphic.

So the doctor comes in and suits up. He has me push a few times. Says....It's going to be another 30 minutes, takes off his gear and walks out. Mark and I just looked at each other.

So now the nurses have me push. Which I must interject without my two labor nurses I would NOT have been able to get this baby out! No joke. So they have me push or teach me how to push. Let me tell you...that's hard work especially when you are numb from the waist down. I don't know how many times my nurse yelled 'Pretend like you're pooping! Use those same muscles!' Well who thinks about what muscles they use to poop??

So I push with them for awhile. And I cry. I felt like I was frustrating them. They inform me that by no means am I frustrating they just can't be nice at this point or I won't get the job done.

So I pull it together and back comes the doctor. Time to get to business. Real pushing begins again. Doctor informs us that I have a protruding pelvic bone or something like that and the baby is basically stuck behind it and I have to push him past it. Great.

Let me describe the instructions I was receiving at this point. Push like you are pooping. Get mad. Pretend you are doing a crunch. Hold the back of your knees. Keep your butt down. Chin down. Relax your thighs. Relax your face. Hold it for a count of 10 (a slow count) Take a quick breath. Now do it again. Quick!! All these instructions were yelled from my bedside by my short nurse who was standing on a stool and holding my leg.

By the end Mark was basically holding me into a crunch position every time I would start the process. I just couldn't' support myself anymore. I still wasn't getting him out though. So the doctor had to resort to the dreaded vacuum. He said he would only do it for a minute or so at a time and then we would have to resort to something else. I knew that meant csection. So with all I had and all Mark had he pushed. Me pushing and him holding my back up into that crunch position. I knew it was now or never. I pushed him past that bone!! One more and out he came.

And then I flopped back. Exhausted. They told me to lean up and look at him. OMG that just came out of me. The doctor took him over to his nurses and began to put me back together.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times part 2

Again, I'll try not to make this too graphic or gross but it is a labor story :)

So water possibly breaks at Walmart and we head home. I call the oncall doctor who before I even get my story out says 'If you think your water has broken then go to the hospital.' But don't you want to hear what happened!!?? Nope go to the hospital.

So off we go. My mom, dad and me. My brother and sister in law close behind us. I'm still in denial but take my stuff with me just in case. I keep saying but I tested negative this morning!

So we check into the hospital and they send me up to labor and delivery. I have to ride in a wheelchair. I'm embarrassed because I'm sure this is another false alarm. My dad takes my picture in a wheelchair and sends it to Mark. (Mark's at work and can't leave unless I'm seriously in labor because he doesn't have many days to take)

I get to my room and the nurses tell me to go in the bathroom, take off my clothes, pee in a cup and put on a gown. 'ALL of my clothes??' I say. Yep. Can't even leave on my sports bra. I should have known right then I wouldn't be happy about all things to come. So I get the gown on and start to pee in cup. Now this is very hard when you are 40 weeks pregnant and leaking something. I kept bending over to wipe whatever I was leaking off the floor. I didn't want to leave a mess!! Little did I know.....

So finally ready and come out and climb on the bed. Nurse checks and says 'Yep it's your water.' WHAT!! Seriously this is happening!!

It's now 9:30 p.m. I debate on what to do about Mark. Nurse tells me she doesn't think the baby will come before 11 a.m. And she'll let me know if she thinks I need to call Mark and get him there ASAP. I talk to Mark at 10 p.m. on his dinner break and tell him I'm fine and he can probably work until 2:45 a.m. no problem. (I'm in NO pain at this point) So he decides to tough it out at work so he doesn't have to use a day just to watch me sit there.

At midnight they start my pitocin. By 1 a.m. I'm telling the room.....this isn't comfortable anymore. By 1;30 I'm telling the room I don't really like my nurse anymore because she keeps coming in and turning up my pitocin. By 2 I'm in some pain. By 2:30 I'm miserable. By 2:50 I'm telling my mom to call Mark and find out where he is. He's getting in his car. It all goes down hill from there. They gave me some Demerol in my IV to take the edge off because like the dummy I am I decided Mark HAD to be there before I could have an epi. I was afraid it would hurt and I needed him there for support. Stupid idea.

The Demerol did NOTHING. We're talking took my pain from a level 8-ish to a 5-ish for one contraction and then right back up to a 8 or 9. By the time Mark got to the hospital at 3:30 I was thrashing in pain, gripping the rail and sobbing. I was two contractions from screaming and I'm not a screamer. My mom and sister in law were with me. I don't think my sister in law said a word the whole hour and I kept tell my mom not to talk to me.

Mark came in VERY happy and excited right as a contraction was starting and all I said was 'DON'T. SAY.A.WORD.' Then we got the epi which wasn't bad at all. Compared to the pain of the contractions it was awesome. It seemed like it took forever to finish. Once I got it I was checked again. I was already at 7 1/2 which explains all the intense pain I was having. Lucky I got the epi when I did. The nurse had already told me at an 8 I couldn't have it.

Things got much better. I was able to talk with Mark now and be excited again. At 4:30 ish I was checked again. I was at a 9 or so and they started talking about calling the doctor. At 5 they decided after calling another nurse in that I was complete and they called the doctor. Mark and I were so nervous. It was happening. One nurse predicted I would have him by 5:30.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Labor that is. Following will be my birth story. I'll break it up into a few posts so it's easier to read. I'll try not to make it too graphic or gross! :)

It all started on Aug. 12. The day after my due date. I woke up at 9:30 a.m. to what I thought was my water breaking, either that or I was peeing on myself. So I scurried into the bathroom for further investigation. So I inspect. Clear: check. No smell: check. (Yes I smelled it to make sure it wasn't pee....that's what the book says to do!!) Then I called a friend to discuss if it could be my water. After deciding that yes I could possibly have sprung a leak, I made the decision to wake Mark.

'Mark. Ummmm Mark. Wake up. My water might be leaking but I'm not for sure can you smell this??'

That's how I woke him up. He declined to take the smell test. Told me I was probably over-reacting, reminded me we had a doctor's appointment in a few hours and told me to go back to bed.

WHAT?? Go back to bed?? My water may have just broken!!!.

But since I wasn't for sure I laid back down. Then I got back up. Then I walked around. Then I laid back down. Where are my contractions I wondered??

So finally it was time to go to the doctor. I was FOR SURE they were going to send me to the hospital. Doctor checks and says 'It's negative.' Meaning my water had not broken and the fluid could just be where I was dilating more.

I was crushed. And that test hurt to check my fluid. And great not only am I leaking but now I'm bleeding. AND I'm late for work. So I called and took a personal day to recover. It's a good thing I did.

My mom took me to Golden Corral to eat that evening with my brother and sister in law. Then we all heading to Walmart so I could walk the story. This whole time I was still leaking something but since the doctor said it wasn't my water I just went with it and wore a big overnight pad. (Sorry male readers you may want to stop now...it only gets worse :) )

So we start walking around Walmart. I'm not really in pain but I'm not comfortable and still leaking!! I talk with a friend about work the next day and if I should just take that day off too or not. And I stop to go to the bathroom twice. Then we get to the baby section. All of a sudden I feel a small gush and I say 'Oh no.' I'm sure the look on my face said it all. My brother was like 'What's wrong!?' I said 'I have to go to the bathroom. RIGHT NOW.' And off I waddle while trying to hold my legs together to the back bathroom. I hear my mom say 'I'm going with her!'

I make it to the bathroom and realize I've completely filled that overnight pad. But did my water break?? It's not puddling at my feet and it's not continuously leaking so I just don't know. I make my mom call my aunt from the Walmart bathroom and ask her what she thinks. After much debate and tears from me I decide we must leave Walmart right now and go home.

Oh happy day

I've been thinking about the topic 'happiest day' for a few weeks now. I consider my wedding day to be the 'happiest day of my life.' Some may say that's cliche but I don't think so.

My wedding day was truly the happiest day of my life. I married my best friend. The man to become the father of my child. The man to see me through horrible labor recovery. The man who loves me know matter how crazy, emotional I can get. The man I plan on being with for the rest of my life through all the other 'happiest days.'

Even though I view my wedding day as the happiest day of my life, that doesn't mean I can't have other 'happiest days' or even 'happiest moments.' I recently had another happy day. The birth of our child.

When he was finally wheeled into my room and placed in my arms I can't even explain the feelings of happiness that overcame me. I just swore I wouldn't be that weeping mother but that weeping mother I became. Crying tears of joy and happiness over the life that I was about to begin. This was a happiest moment.

So while I think that someone can have many 'happiest days' and the birth of my new child is right up there on the list, I still stand by that the happiest day of my life was the day I married Mark, the father of my child. Without that happy day my most recent happiest day would never have happened.

I'm officially ...

... overdue. It's 12:45 a.m. I was due yesterday. Mark and I are normally 15 minutes (at least) late to every event we attend. So that should mean the child should make an appearance tomorrow. Right?

I've been telling him if he doesn't come out on his own he will be forceably removed and he DOESN'T want that to happen. That's not the way to come into any situation, especially your new life. He's not listening so far.

So today I am 40 week 1 day pregnant and am having a hard time sitting up there is so much baby in my belly.

39 weeks 4 days: Awesome

The hardest wait ever

37 weeks 3 days

The room is complete. The bags are packed. Everything is ready. Now we wait. Will he come tonight? Will he come tomorrow? Or will he make us wait until Aug. 11? Or even later? Hardest wait of our lives.

I was pretty sure I would never be ready for labor. Ever. I was pretty sure I would never be ready to push a giant, living being out of my body. Well....I'm ready. I'm ready for it all to begin. I've never been more ready to experience pain in my life. How did I get to this point?? Me the girl who cries over a splinter is ready to give birth.

I'll tell you how this happened and it's not because my feet don't even fit into flip flops anymore it's because of this ......

This is what I see every time I go to the bathroom, our cabinet full of baby bath supplies! It's pure torture. And yes I realize I have way more baby soap than I can ever use.....people like to give baby soap as gifts!

I also wanted to share my favorite part of the baby's room. His iPod dock!!! It changes color. So now we're able to download his music (Baby Einstien :)) or white noise straight to our iPods and hook it right up in his room. Mark's even got lullaby versions of some of his favorite rock bands ready to go. And those in front are his baby legs :) Love them too.

So now I sit here on the couch with our bags packed, hair washed, belly full and wonders......when's it going to be ???

Things I took for granted

After waiting 11 months to see that 'pregnant' on a test I thought everything would be wonderful and remain wonderful for the next 9 months. I was mistaken. First I realized 9 months is misleading.....the due date is set at 40 weeks, divide that by 4 weeks to a month and that's actually 10 months of pregnancy.

I was OK with that. I mean it took me longer to get pregnant than it will take me to incubate the little creature.

Pregnancy was great for me. Sickness? NONE! Well unless you count the few times I ended up dry heaving or the one time I actually threw up. The cause? Hunger. That's fine, I can fix that...I'll just eat. And eat I did. First trimester = eat whenever, whatever, where ever I wanted. Chips and salsa, in bed, at midnight? Of course! I ate a LOT of chips and dip. A LOT! Others were battling nausea. Not me. I was eating, eating and eating. The only time I had to worry about feeling sick was when I wasn't eating.

Then I made a mistake. I bragged about how great pregnancy was. "I just LOVE being pregnant. I don't know what everyone talks about!" What kind of karma was I wishing upon myself???

And then I did it.....on came the heartburn. Middle of second trimester my late night food fest were over :( No more salsa for me. We're talking waking up in the middle of the night dying kind of pain. Running to the bathroom begging myself to throw up just to relieve whatever was burning my throat. Tums didn't even touch it. Pepcid didn't work either. I seriously exclaimed to my doctor "There's a burning ball of death in my throat! Fix it!" So here came the miracle drug.....Prilosec. Relief. I could sleep again. Of course I had to cut out my late night snacking too :( Boy did I take that for granted during first trimester.

Then third trimester started. My thoughts of "This is going to be awesome! Pregnancy during the summer!" My dreams of cute summer dresses, days at the pool and lemonade were gone. Normally a VERY cold natured girl by January I was already burning up. Spring just brought hot flashes. Seriously hot flashes. I'm talking draping myself over my desk chair with a fan blowing on me and I'm still burning up kind of hot flash. Laying on my bed right by the air vent with Mark holding a hand-held fan over me kind of hot flash. The end of second trimester (OK the WHOLE second trimester) and beginning of third trimester were awful!! I've never been so hot in my life. I recommend all pregnant women get a hand-held fan AND a desk fan at the beginning of their pregnancies. I wouldn't have survived without mine.

Pregnancy in the summer was definitely not as great as I had imagined it to be. It was this very romantic, Hollywood kind of picture in my head. In reality it's been one big hot sweaty mess.

Thank goodness my mother-in-law has a pool because now I get to watch my feet swell to twice their size. The only footwear I can wear to work would be flip flops. I have one grey pair and one bright blue pair. And now I'm to the point where when I take them off I still have the imprint to show where they should go when I put them back on.

And on top of all this hot sticky joy? The return of heartburn. I can no longer eat my favorite food....pizza. If I do I can guarantee my heartburn is going to be bad enough to make my ears burn. Basically sleeping is out now too. Reflux likes to make surprise showings too.

Some days I'm just down right miserable. It's hard for me to get out of bed. It's hard for me to roll over in bed. It's hard for me to stand up from my desk and walk. It's hard for me to sit up.

But then I sit down, lay back and feel my little guy snuggled into my ribcage and I think back to the joy we felt Nov. 30, 2009, when we passed the biggest test of our lives....a pregnancy test and I know I would deal with all these little annoyances (OK big annoyances :) ) for 40 extra weeks if I had to do it.

After 11 months of waiting for him and 40 weeks of growing him I can not wait to hold him and finally give him his name. I know I speak for Mark when I say we are more than ready to start this next leg of our life.

Heartburn cure

I was walking around Wal-Mart this weekend when I spied this pillow and immediately the thought that popped into my head was "OMG this may stop my heartburn/reflux!" So I bought it. And guess what....no reflux last night :) We''ll see how tonight goes but maybe I'll actually be able to sleep through these last 3 weeks of pregnancy. And when I'm done with it it will be the perfect reading pillow for our little boy :) I'm a happy soon-to-be momma today.

Organizing twigs

Well I made the jump. I started washing baby clothes. I hit 35 weeks today and just couldn't wait any longer. I didn't want to start washing and organizing too early because I was just too nervous. But something clicked tonight when I got off work and I just HAD to wash something. So I started ripping off tags and making piles. I know I should be writing out my thank you notes but when weighed against playing with my little onsies and pants there was no way I could pick up a pen.

Now I just have to figure out where to put everything!! And what do I put him in first...it's all so cute!!! :)

So excited

And I have the tow truck!! After emailing Mark a picture of this I found on ebay I never imagined he would actually bid on it. A couple days ago I checked ebay again and couldn't find it on there. I was a little disappointed but was ok because a friend had offered me her tow truck. Well much to my surprise Mark had bid on it and won it on ebay! Granted he paid much more than the 25 cent truck I got at the last rummage sale but he still was paying attention to me. I was so surprised when it came in the mail yesterday. Baby Mortis is going to love it. :) I just love Little Tikes cars!!

Must have one

I found this on ebay. I totally need it for the baby! I'm going to be on the lookout the rest of the summer when I go rummaging for this truck. :) Or maybe I'll just break down and order it from ebay....

Maternity session

I had so great friends agree to take me around town this week and snap a few pictures of my giant belly. I was expecting them to take me to the park and snap a few and that would be all. Well little did I know my friends were taking this task SERIOUSLY. Evidently they researched maternity pictures so they knew what to do! As I was making us a big pitcher of ice water to take with us (It's VERY hot in Kentucky this time of year) I could hear them in the baby's room. They were raiding his room for props! Now the pressure was on. These girls were taking my simple little photo session into serious hard core business!

Off to the park we went. As expected it was HOT!! So we did some pictures and then one of them had the brilliant idea I stick my feet in the fountain! AMAZING! I could have stayed in the fountain the rest of the time. After the fountain we headed to a train depot. I had to nix the idea of me walking on the actual track. One look at the gravel leading up to the track and thinking about my bare feet on the track I had to say 'I don't think so.' I don't question the pictures would have been cute. Just no one wants to see a giant pregnant girl running from a train.

After that session we HAD to stop for lunch. Even though it was only 10:45 a.m. these girls was with an 8 month pregnant girl. Lunch was inevitable. To McDonald's we went. Once I was recharged we headed to our state park. It was HOT and HUMID! But we got some great pictures. And THEN I discovered the AIR CONDITIONED bathroom! Who would have thought a state park would have a public air conditioned bathroom!? They almost had to send a search party for me. I was in Heaven.

Food: It's all I think about

This is what I came home from work to last night. ICE CREAM. I just stuck my spoon right in and got to work. Then I spied the pancakes....then I found bologna and cheese. Sometimes my memories of heartburn and indigestion get thrown to the side and the want for food out weighs the desire to sleep soundly.

I seriously think about food constantly. Seriously. It's a MAJOR part of my day. My favorite things these days : Eating at Los Bravos (fav. Mexican restaurant), Wendy's baked potatoes and cheeseburgers, Happy Meals, Sonic milkshakes, donuts and Coca Cola. I would have a little of all that in one day and be a happy camper.

Even when I've just eaten lunch, I'm already starting to think about 'That may not be enough, I better take a snack.' I've called Mark from work and said 'You MUST bring me food RIGHT now.'

The only drawback I've found to this constantly thinking of food business is it leads to indigestion. I HATE indigestion. HATE IT. EVERYTHING causes it. So some nights I just go with it. My need to eat is overshadowed by my fear of the dreaded indigestion.

The only think that I feel guilty about is that all I want is stuff that's bad for me and nothing that's good. And that's why I've gained 27-ish pounds already :) Oh well I'll worry about it come October and by then it will be sweater season :)

Here's a picture to show you what all those donuts are doing to me.

More Little Tikes!

Remember me blogging about these guys?? :) Well look at what I found today at a sale for 25 cents to go with my collection.......

The truck!!!! I'm so excited. I LOVE it. I just imagine taking our baby to the park next summer and have him sitting on a blanket playing with his toys. I was really excited when I spotted it today and even more excited when they told my friend it was only a quarter. I can't wait to clean it up and get it on his shelf.

My new pasttime

I scored these cute feathered friends last weekend for 10 cents for the pair!! I LOVE them. I can just imagine them on a future Thanksgiving table. Mark hates them and said that there was a reason they were put out for 10 cents. What can I say? He has more modern taste and I have more 80-year-old lady living in a retirement community taste. :)



Rummaging has become my new favorite hobby. Every Thursday I start checking the paper for sales. Then on Friday I snag the classifieds and circling in red all the ones I hope to stop by, usually the ones I know how to get there. I've learned to avoid county sales because usually it takes too long to get out there, losing precious, prime saling hours and once you actually find the sale there's never anything to make it work going out there for. So I stick to the city neighborhoods. Neighborhood sales tend to offer the best selection.



While I've been rummaging for the past few weekends I've come to make a few observations. I consider myself an expert rummage sale host. I price EVERY single item. I group like items. I make sure everything is displayed in a pleasing manner. If there is dust or dead bugs collecting on something I make sure to wipe or clean item off.



However, everyone does not possess my expert talents for turning a profit.



If your sale has NOTHING priced. I will leave. Usually this means that the asking price is too much anyway. I want to quickly be able to scan the sale and see what I like and exactly how much it costs. I do NOT want to waste time negotiating with you or asking you 10 times how much something costs. I recently stopped at a moving sale that had tons of cute holiday decorations (Fact 1: I look for holiday decorations while I'm out rummaging. Cute Halloween pumpkin for 25 cents? Yes please) Not a single decoration was priced. AND the one track suit I saw with a price tag was priced so high it might as well have been on the Macy's clearance rack. I moved on. So price your items.



If I look over your glassware and EVERYTHING is dirty. Not water spotted or old. I mean filled with dead bugs or dirt. I won't buy anything from your sale. If this makes me a snob so be it. Yes I could take it home myself and wash it but seriously turn said item and dump out contents. I might be rummaging but I don't want actual junk. NOW if said item is SUPER cheap I could be persuaded to do the cleaning myself. But if it's filthy you better mark it cheap.

Now if I walk up to your sell and there's an odd old odor coming from your items then I will turn my butt around and get back into the car. Yes this has happened. No I don't know what said odor was but I didn't stick around to find out. And that goes for the sale that definitely smelled like adult poop. I couldn't even bring myself to purchase a book that I had REALLY been wanting because the smell of human feces was so bad.



Another thing. Just because I'm obviously pregnant doesn't mean I want to buy your old baby bedding, stained onsies or expired car seat. And I definitely don't want your Doppler with ear buds that were stuck in your ears. I don't care if you will 'Make me a good deal.' I have a baby theme picked out and it's NOT sports related. I've started telling people I don't know the sex of the baby so I can't buy their gender specific items. I'm not rummaging for baby items just because I'm pregnant. If I happen to find something I want in good condition I'll buy it but please don't bark at me like you are a carnival worker.




So what you may ask does a rummage sale snob like me look for when out rummaging? Lots of things. Cheap things. I mainly only take a few dollars and a bunch of quarters, nickels and dimes. As noted above.....holiday decor. I've gotten the above turkeys, a few Frankensteins and other misc. items. I look for good condition children's books at a cheap, cheap price. I've been buying really good hardback ones for 25 cents. Sorry if your child has scribbled in it, torn off the cover or stuck stickers on it then it's out, even if it's one that I've been searching for. I don't shop for clothing. But I have broken down and bought some maternity shorts because have you seen the price of decent maternity clothing??? CRAZY!! But they have to be cheap. :) I mainly just buy housewares. Last summer I was on a planter kick and bought a bunch of those so I'm trying not to do that this year.



So yes I'll fully admit I'm a rummage sale snob but I still LOVE going and seeing what's out there. Who knows what's waiting out there this weekend. But it better be priced!

Gathering twigs

Well the baby's room is painted and now I'm starting to gather things for him. It's so much fun. We knew from the beginning if we had a boy we would use Mark's old toy box. If we had a girl we would have used mine. I had the Little Tikes Strawberry box and Mark had the very boyish Little Tikes football and luckily both our mom's had saved them. So we hauled his box out of his mom's attic and now it sits in baby's room waiting for treasure to go inside.

I started searching rummage sales a few weekends ago looking for great 'finds' for the baby. I came across an old Little Tikes elephant! I scored the cute little thing for 10 cents! It was pretty dirty but I think with a good washing and a magic eraser I'm sure it will look great and be the perfect outside toy to take for a day in the park. I'm really excited about it and found on ebay that it's part of a set so I'm on the lookout for the other animals that go with it.

THEN I scored the other weekend when my mom and dad were cleaning out their attic. We found a Little Tikes car in the same style as the elephant. It's in perfect condition and my brother agreed to loan it to his new nephew :) So it will go on the shelf in baby's room just waiting to be played with once he gets big enough.

I can't wait to get out there and start rummaging and searching again! It's my summer hobby.

We have a ...

BOY!!!! We found out Monday and we couldn't be happier. 

I settled into the ultrasound table and was waiting to catch the first glimpse of baby. I was a little nervous. It was like waiting on the heartbeat all over again. What if it was gone!? I was a ball of nerves. As soon as I glanced over at the screen I saw it...boy parts. I KNEW we had a boy but I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong. But it was OBVIOUS....to everyone in the room but Mark. 

She asked us if we wanted to know or wait a few minutes. Mark was chomping at the bit...he wanted to know NOW. She said BOY. And Mark said How do you know? And then Mark got an anatomy lesson ending with her putting an arrow pointing to his little boy parts. She printed Mark out a special picture with the arrow included :) 

I'll admit...there were a few tears of happiness leaking out at this point. I think I even saw a few come from Mark :) So now we are left with the big decision...What do we name him!!!???

Favorite project to date

I'm working on the very first thing that I'm making specifically for MY baby. It's a play mat that can be folded up and taken with me for when I change the baby or just want a place to put baby. It's just like all the other baby quilts I've made except it's smaller. I finished quilting it last night and am just waiting to put the border on it maybe this weekend. When I look at it laying in the floor of the baby's room I just want to squeal with excitement!

A few thoughts on pregnancy

Now that I'm 19 weeks in I feel it's time to reflect back over some personal observations I've made. Overall this pregnancy has been fairly easy. I've been lucky. I've really not suffered any morning sickness. I have gotten sick a few times but I've noticed it happens when I first get up or when I wait too long to eat. So I think all sickness is related to lack of food in my stomach.

Observation number 1: Sometimes I'm crazy. I find my moods are going from slightly annoyed to severely irate in like 2.5 seconds. This prompts me to take it out on whoever or whatever is around. Yes if I could have gotten my leg up there I would have kicked the crap out of the work restroom towel rack. It's completely unacceptable to be without paper towels after washing ones hands. I'm also finding I have an uncontrollable urge to throw things at people when they annoy me. I feel if I could just chuck my cell at them the problem would magically disappear......or I would be labeled Naomi Campbell. Some days I'm willing to take that risk.

Observation number 2: Pregnancy finally turns flat chested women into under ware models! :) By far the best part of pregnancy. I noticed that more (OK I'll be honest, actually cleavage) cleavage was popping out of my shirt and so that meant it was time to make a trip to Victoria's Secret and give it further investigation. I took a variety of sizes into the dressing room to just 'see' what was going on. As I kept trying on the next larger size it hit me....Little Miss A Cup is now a C....Oh happy day!! While I was doing my best 13 year old girl squeal in my head, I was freaking out on the outside. What does one do with giant boobs (OK when you've never made it out of the puberty bras a C cup is GIGANTIC.) So I came to the conclusion....You push them up! And push them up is what I did!!! :) If they are going to get even bigger and turn into nasty, giant baby feeders I'm going to get as much enjoyment out of these second trimester blessings as I can!! The only draw back I've found so far is getting crumbs stuck down in there. Donut and chip crumbs don't stand a chance! No one warned me of this boob hazard.

Observation number 3: When I say it's time to eat. It's time to eat! I don't mean I can wait 10 more minutes. And yes I must lie on the living room floor while you scurry around and find me a granola bar. I don't have the energy to hunt one down myself. Toss me my purse I have like 10 in there. Don't spend 10 minutes telling me I'm faking it because when you come near with said granola I might bite your hand off.

Observation number 4: Time flies so fast! Waiting for confirmation that there was an extra heartbeat inside of me took forever! Waiting for confirmation that the spotting was perfectly fine and my baby was growing took forever! I never thought 8 weeks would get here. Especially when I got a positive test at 3 weeks pregnant! Those 5 weeks were agonizing!!! But once that heartbeat was confirmed my time has flown by and soon we are going to find out what this little parasite taking all my nourishment and causing me to become a crazy psycho granola bar hunting woman is going to be! In a few short days I'm going to be half way through this pregnancy. And before you know it I'm going to be at the hospital completely overwhelmed by the task in front of me. And yes dear that's why we have to get this nursery together now! Because one short day from now I'm going to look at you and so 'OH MY GOSH WE ARE HAVING OUR BABY!!' So when that happens Mark you are going to be so thankful that I had the foresight to plan ahead for once and make you organize all those random X-Box parts and get them out of the floor of our baby's room! :)

So today I am 19 weeks and 2 days pregnant and counting down the days until I am 20 weeks and 5 days pregnant and finding out if we will be decorating the room in dinosaurs or flowers.

Baby flutters

Last night the most amazing thing happened to me. I felt the baby. 

I was sitting there watching random TV when I realized what felt like little bubbles were popping in my belly. It hit me......it was baby. I'm not for sure if baby was trying to tell me that my pants were way too tight (which they were) or if baby just wanted me to know it was there, right under the surface just waiting. 

Whatever baby was trying to tell me, it was the most amazing 60-ish seconds of my life to date. I didn't think there would be a moment more amazing than watching that digital pregnancy test turn to pregnant but I was wrong. Last night sitting alone on my couch feeling little bubbles of happiness in my belly was the single most greatest moment of my life :) 

All I could do was gather Mack on the couch and cry over the joys that are to come.

Sexting: Government intervention?

I feel I must weigh in on this hot topic. Sexting. The act of sending a sexy text sometimes containing nudity or suggested nudity to a friend or significant other. Approriate? Probably not. Something the government should step into? Definitely not.

Teens aren't the only ones guilty of this trend. I'm aware of a story where a grown man was fired for sharing a nude picture with a coworker. The wrong person walked by and saw the cell pic and reported him. He was fired on the spot.

I do agree that this has become a problem with the teenage crowd but to that I say what do parents expect when they give their teens or even younger that kind of freedom. Hand your 11 year old a cell phone and never check back in on him? or her? That's like giving your teen a computer in their room and not monitoring what they are looking at. You are asking for trouble. When I was a teen the only freedom I had in my room was a cable TV and yes I did sneak and watch shows I wasn't allowed to watch. Many times I was dropped in on and told to change the channel.

So I say, Shame on you parents for giving your child freedom with no guidelines. Teens need guidelines. Teens are full of curiosity and they are just finding themselves sexually. Of course they are going to be curious and push the limit. It's the parents job to pull that back in and teach their child what's appropriate and what's not. If they aren't acting right with their cell phone then take it away! A cell phone is a privilege no

And I do feel bad for the girls who send a nudey pic of themselves to their boyfriend only to break up and have the picture spread across school. But at the same time I say....you put yourself into that position. You let a teenage boy snap your picture or YOU sent that picture to a teenage boy. This should be common knowledge that it it's a good idea.

Reading about law enforcement or government passing legislation about sexting just makes me annoyed. I feel this is a parenting issue and people just need to step up and parent. Monitor what you teen is doing. Make sure they are using the gifts they have been given appropriately or take them away! Cell phones and computers are not rights! They are privileges.

Public apologies

Let's talk about Tiger Woods. The strong opinions expressed below are mine and mine alone. If you don't agree with me sorry I'm not changing my mind. :)

I feel that private life should remain private, Tiger has put his on display and therefore opened his life to public comment (just like the Duggars but I won't open that can again.....in this post at least :) )  and so I must comment on it.

Tiger is a douche. I think his apology was just a publicity move to appease his sponsors and managers. If he were really sorry he wouldn't have had MULTIPLE affairs with strippers and hookers! These weren't just the desperate housewives next door some of these people were professionals!  MAYBE you could make an excuse for an affair or two (My husband couldn't but maybe some could) but you definitely can't make a good excuse for double digit affairs. That's doesn't happen by accident. 

If he were apologetic he would have admitted his affair (not plural) to his wife and they (if she chose) could have worked through it BUT once you commit double digit affairs with hookers and strippers it's time to hand over your millions and move out. 

His wife is not only entitled to his millions but she should also be allowed to smack him a good time with his golf club. Good for her for chasing him out of the house with a club. (No Tiger we don't buy that she didn't hit you with it) I think if she had run him over with the car he was driving I would still be thinking 'That's what you get.' 

And as for the former exotic dancer who now wants an apology from Mr. Tiger for  the public embarrassment she's suffered I say ..... Deal with it. You slept with a married man. This wasn't just a married man you met at a bar with no wedding band. This was Tiger freaking Woods. His wedding was national news. The birth of his children was national news.  If I were Tiger's wife after I beat him with the club I would be hunting you down too. You don't get to cry on national TV over the embarrassment that has come to you. If anyone should be crying over embarrassment it should be Tiger's WIFE..... Her husband just slept with all the hookers and strippers in the Tri-county area while she was at home raising two babies!

And for those that suggest sex addiction......I call foul. That's just a cop out for selfish men who were caught.

So Tiger......I as a representative of America, whom you were addressing, do not accept your apology. You are still a douche. Admit your mistakes and go back to your golf course.

Elin if you were my friend I would carry the golf clubs for you while you went to beat him with them.

Super bowl fun

I love hosting theme parties. Any excuse to buy fun decorations and dress my house of for the occasion, I'm ready. Each year we throw a small super bowl party for my husband's friends. This year we just so happened to find really cheap Colts shirts at Old Navy. We live right across the river from Indiana and they love their Colts. Mark and I aren't necessarily Colts fans but I feel the T-shirts help make the party. Every year we try to have one theme item. One year Mark made football shaped brownies. Last year he made a football shaped cake. This year we had no time for theme food so it was the matching shirts (I'm all about matching shirts.) I don't know what next year will bring as far as party decor or themes but I do know our baby will be right in on the action! I can't wait to start finding the perfect party attire for our little one.

Bring on the snow

Today I woke up to whiteness. Mack and I went out for a romp.

I LOVE the snow. I HATE to drive in it. I knew in advance that it would be snowy today so I prepared my ride to work in advance. I CAN NOT drive in the snow. I can't. Panic attacks, tears and yelling is involved when I venture out on my own in the snow.

It all started when I was attending the local community college. Before the college I was a fearless driver......or my twin drove me about in the bad weather. One faithful day it was snowing and I had to get to my morning class. So I started out for school. I made it most of the way without incident UNTIL I got to some kind of parts store. This is where it took a turn for the worse. I slid off the road.

I didn't just slide off the road, I slid in slow motion. I thought I was never going to stop sliding. Then I looked up and what did I see? A pole. I was sliding right into a telephone pole! Right as I was about to plow (in slow motion) into the pole my car stopped. I was within an inch of that pole and crying. My life had come to a stand still. As I tried to regain my composure and was frantically calling my husband (then boyfriend) to come pick my butt up I looked up to see an old man in that parts store. Was he coming to check on me in my time of need? NO he was standing in the window laughing hysterically at me!!

To make matters worse Mark wouldn't come get me! He had already spun around in a complete circle and told me I could make it to the college where he was. I made it to that college alright and parked my car there until my reliable father and brother would come get pick it up for me.

And from that point on I can't drive in the snow.

Later that year I remember sitting in the college parking lot with snow flurries falling around me and me on the phone with my mother begging her to leave work and come get my butt! But no she wouldn't she just yelled at me to 'Get a grip on myself and be an adult!' The nerve! It pretty soon became known to my fellow classmates that if it was snowing, Hayley wasn't coming to class.

So today I enjoyed the snow from the passenger seat of my dad's truck. Tomorrow I may have to drive myself, tears and all.

First appointment success

Well we made it. We made it to that first appointment. I was immediately taken back to the ultrasound room where I was promptly settled onto the chair/table. Almost immediately our little blob showed up. I think I had my eyes closed. I just wanted to make sure there was something there and I wasn't dreaming this whole experience before I opened my eyes. I was trying not to really look at the monitor until I heard Mark say 'Is that the heartbeat?' It was confirmed that in fact it was and I immediately began searching for it. Pure relief flooded over me. It was official.....our blob has a heartbeat!

I didn't need to see anything else. I had all the confirmation that I needed. We are growing a living being. I (We) couldn't be happier. Granted our 'baby' does look more like a blob right now but we're confident that that blob will soon take shape.

So to summarize.....We have a heartbeat! And it's strong....176. Now we just have to make it to the end of January to meet the doctor and get to the second trimester.