Tomorrow is the big day!

Ok… tomorrow… FINALLY!!  I probably won’t post anything until I get home later in the week, so wish us all luck!

One week left…

not that I’m counting down or anything.

Almost NOT pregnant… yippy!

Things I’m looking forward to after having the baby (besides having a new bundle of joy, of course):

• Sleeping on my stomach again
• Eating any kind of cheese I want without checking to see if it’s pasteurized
• Getting rid of all these maternity clothes (I got some secondhand for free, for which I can’t complain, BUT most of them were not my style or WAY too large for me) and getting back into my ‘old’ stuff.
• The strawberry daiquiri that has been calling my name
• No more heartburn (besides the kind that comes with the occasional Mexican food)
• Going on the rides at Knotts instead of sitting them out.  (Just once on the Log Ride would be nice!)
• Putting the steering wheel back to it’s normal place
• Seeing my feet

26 more days!!!

35 days and counting!

I’m down to 5 weeks left of this pregnancy. Thank God! I have to say it’s been the easiest of all three… I didn’t have all of the crazy side effects like last time, which I am VERY happy about.

I’ve already told you about the amazing deals we got in regards to baby stuff. I just have a few more things to get and we will have everything but the baby. My husband keeps telling me he’s going to laugh if it’s a boy. I keep telling him I’m going to punch him if he laughs. I went with that ’70% chance’ that it’s a girl and ran with it. Everything I bought is pink & brown. All of the clothing I have is pink. (all secondhand)

We will be scheduling the c-section for the week of March 30th. While I thought it would be fun to go with April 1st, I’ve since vetoed it. Knowing my luck, it WOULD be a boy and the joke would be on me. LOL So there you go. I’ve been doing some nesting (if you call doing my regular chores nesting), have moved Grant into Katie’s room, and have all of the new baby’s things all set up.

So… if you don’t hear from me too much, it’s not for lack of love – I’m either running after these two rugrats (Grant RUNS now!), on Facebook, OR taking a nap.

Oh yeah!

What is better than going to Target and picking up a double stroller for $39.00 (regular price $139.99)? 

Getting THIS

for $5.04!  Brand new in box… clearance… normally $89.99!  Whoo hoooooooooooooooo!

We are definitely counting our blessings this evening!

It’s a…

Girl?? 

No boy parts could be found, so they gave me a probability of 70% chance it’s a girl.  Katie is thrilled and is still pushing for Majesty to be the name.  Though on the way home, she also suggested McDonalds as an alternate.  Suffice to say, she will have no hand in naming this baby.

Two hours…

In about two hours I have an appointment for my second ultrasound.  I will be drinking plenty of water between now and then, and hoping & praying that this time the little one will be more cooperative and show off his/her ‘parts’.

Cross your fingers with me.

And, of course, I will let you know what happens.

Inconclusive?? Inconceivable!!

Well, this squirt is giving us a hard time already.  The ultrasound tech was unable to tell us the gender of the baby!  She told us throughout the appointment that the baby was not cooperating and they weren’t able to get all of the measurements for the doctor.  More than likely, my dr will make me wait a month and then send me back for another one.

Grrrr!  I was so looking forward to finding out!  I’m not leaning either way, but my curiosity is getting the best of me!! I tell you, if I could afford one of those 3 or 4D ultrasounds, I’d be out there right now getting one.

Girl? Boy? Girl? Boy?

Tomorrow we find out!

Dear Mr. Trans Am…

Today, I ran to the grocery store for some weekly shopping.  I parked right next to a handicapped spot and it was empty when I returned to the car.  I emptied out the cart, then pulled it over to the passenger side, so I could get my kid out of the cart.  As I’m opening the door, some guy in a Trans Am pulls around the corner and is sitting there waiting.  I assumed he wanted my spot.  He sat there revving his engine as I put my purse & crap in the front seat, then struggled to get my moose of a 3 year old out of the cart (she usually walks, but today wanted to sit… who was I to argue… less running around!! LOL).  As I’m getting her out, he backs up then starts to park in the handicapped spot.  My doors were wide open, so there was no way he was getting into that spot.  I really didn’t know what he was doing as he didn’t have a special plate or anything hanging from the rearview mirror.  He started getting all frustrated and I said, “I’m moving my cart right now!”  He stopped pulled back and started to park again.  What an idiot.  He had an elderly woman with him, but without the plates, how was I to know he was trying to park there?  He throws a handicapped sign up on the mirror then got out of the car all huffy.  I just smiled.

Had he just motioned that he wanted that spot, I would have known what was going on.  Don’t get all pissy on me… I’ll just go even slower next time.  I’m pregnant, remember!?

Happy Halloween by the way.  I’ll have some pix to post tomorrow.

Sick Mama

Everyday.  At least 2x. 

Nauseous.

All

Day

Long

Another work of art

Remember my daughter’s crazy drawings? 

Well today, she brought this one to me and said, “Mommy, I drew a picture of you and the baby in your tummy.”

Mommy & Majesty

How sweet is that?

It ain’t easy being queasy!

I’ve been feeling really crappy lately.  Surprised?  I actually am.  With the last two pregnancies, I threw up every day.  But as soon as I did, I felt fine and could carry on with my day.  This time? Not so much.  I am nauseous all.day.long. 

The NP I saw last week told me to try keeping food in my stomach, which if you’ve seen any pictures of me, you’d think that would not be a problem.  I’m a big girl, it’s true.  But this is harder to do than you’d think.  Even with the constant eating, I still feel like I’ve been hit by an 18 wheeler.

I’ve had just a few cravings, if you could call them that.  Chinese food the other night.  Chocolate with almonds the week before.  When I was prego with Katie it was pineapple.  Yum.  With Grant, it was Sausage Cheese McMuffins (no egg… yuck) and frozen burritos.  I’m just hoping I won’t be one of those women who crave dirt and clay.  I think it’s called pica – some sort of iron deficiency.  Yowza!

Netiquette?

I have several emails in my inbox that I have yet to respond to.  Between a messy house, two kids and throwing up, I find I don’t have much time to sit and write back to people!  Do I write a half-@ss response or wait until I actually have the time and let them think I am ignoring them in the meantime?  What are the netiquette rules in my case?

Majesty or Ted?

Katie seems to think the new baby will be a girl.  I asked her what we should name it, and she said ‘Majesty’.  I asked ‘what if it is a boy?’ 

Her answer? 

‘Ted.’

The Rules

Dear Pregnancy:

As we start our third round, I think it’s fair that we establish some ground rules this time around.

1. I don’t mind the morning sickness so much, considering the fact that I didn’t gain any weight the last two times.  Let’s agree that if I’m going to puke every day for the next nine months, that not only will I NOT gain any weight, but that I will lose some.
2. I understand you like to hit me with the sudden urge to pee just as I get comfortable in bed.  I’ll accept that.  But maybe you can forgo the hemorrhoids – those I can definitely do without.
3. Each time you like to throw me a curveball and give me some strange ailment like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Restless Leg Syndrome.  Maybe this time you can be nice and give me Beautiful Skin Syndrome or Eat All the Ranch Dip You Want Syndrome.
4. I’ll try to lay off the chili cheese fries and you be nice with the Acid Reflux.
5. I’m all about the scheduled c-section.  Try not to let my water break and put me into labor before the scheduled date.  I’ve gone 2 pregnancies without one iota of labor, I’m ready to make it 3 for 3.
6. I know last pregnancy we had a lot going on.  I’m trying to avoid the stress this year for both of us.  I’ll do what I can to ensure we don’t have any cancer scares or have to move again.

I think that sounds fair.  Don’t you?  And I think this is the last time we’ll have to go through all of this, so let’s make it a pleasant affair.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

Maternity Clothes

So, of course a few months back I gave away ALL of my maternity clothes!  And now I’m prego again.  I certainly don’t have it in my budget to buy all new clothes!  I was lucky enought the second time around to get a huge bag from a friend of mine. 

This time, I found someone on craigslist.com who wanted to sell some of her clothes for $75.  We emailed back and forth and I asked if maybe I could do it in trade (scrapbooking/stamping items), since I was low on funds.   She ended up just giving them to me.  Whoo hoo! They are moving cross country this week and we made the switch yesterday.  I offered to make her a scrapbook album for her kids and she said not to worry, that she’d rather see the clothes go to someone who needs them than have someone buy them for cheap and re-sell them (apparently someone offered her only $30 and was going to re-sell on ebay).  She also said maybe if I have the time, I could make her a book and she would pay me.  Awesome. 

The Big Guy Upstairs is clearly looking out for us.

ps… Major tip of the day for parents on a budget… if you have a service to offer in lieu of money, it doesn’t hurt to ask to buy something in trade!

Oops, I did it again…

As if we didn’t have our hands full enough with Katie and Grant, God has blessed us with a third pregnancy!  Looks like we will be having Baby #3 in late March, early April.  

This should complete our little family, and we are looking forward to the many years of raising these wonderful children.

The Shape of a Mother

I just found an interesting site called The Shape of a Mother*, where you can send in pictures of your post-pregnancy body to show what a real mom looks like after having a child.  No air-brushing here, ladies.  The author says this of her site:

It is my dream, then, to create this website where women of all ages, shapes, sizes and nationalities can share images of their bodies so it will no longer be secret. So we can finally see what women really look like sans airbrushes and plastic surgery. I think it would be nothing short of amazing if a few of our hearts are healed, or if we begin to cherish our new bodies which have done so much for the human race. What if the next generation grows up knowing how normal our bodies are? How truly awesome would that be?

Let’s celebrate our bodies… not be ashamed of them. 

*Warning, there are some full n*ked body shots before you open the site at work or somewhere else questionable.

One Month

Well, the squirt is officially one month old as of yesterday.  Though he has only gained 3 ounces, he is a champion eater.  He is getting about half and half breast and formula.  And here is a good question… why is it that the Newborn sizes say 5-7 pounds and my kid is 9 pounds and swims in these outfits?  It will be nice when he finally fits into something. His baby acne seems to be getting a little better – which is a good thing, because I don’t know how long I can hold back and NOT pop those little suckers.  So tempting.