A Year In Pictures

2011 - how to create a free slideshow

Please excuse the dumb music, but I didn't want to pay to add it and the website I used was going to make me.

Christmas Survey

I can't believe Daniel has slept long enough for me to actually do a Christmas Survey!

1. Does your family send out Christmas cards?


I've actually be pretty good at it the past few years! This year especially because I made a photo card with our new little family. Plus it doubled as a birth announcement.

2. How soon do you start shopping?

Every year I think I'll do it early. This year I told myself I WOULD start early because of being pregnant. Alas, before I had Daniel I had picked his gifts and ordered 1 measly gift online. I finished all of my shopping yesterday and UPS and FedEx have been at our house almost every day this week!

3. Who do you shop for?

Jacob, Daniel, the parents and siblings.

4. Do you put up a Christmas tree?

Yep! It wouldn't be Christmas without the tree! This year my parents put it up for us!


5. If so, is it fake or real?

Fake


6. Do you like tinsel?

I'm not a fan.


7. Do you use homemade or store bought ornaments?

I use both. The homemade ones are ones that people either made for me or ones that came from craft shows. My mom loves to pick those up for us!


8. Do you put Christmas lights outside your house?

No. I like them, but it's not Jacob's cup of tea and I have no desire to figure out how to do it. It's not one of those things that bothers me enough to care.


9. Do you put lights on the tree?

I made sure that we picked a prelit tree. I have "fond" (ha!) memories of mom trying to string up lights on the tree every year.


10. How about popcorn and cranberries?

Never done that before.


11. Is there a wreath hanging on your door?

I have a jingle bell wreath on the outside of our bedroom door because there's a big window on our front door, so it won't work well there.


12. Do you celebrate Christmas Eve?

It depends on the year. Sometimes we go to Christmas Eve services and other years not so much. I always loved Valley View's, but I remember one year I didn't like it. It didn't feel Christmasey and we only sang 1 or 2 Christmas songs along with regular worship songs. I begged mom and Erica to go to a 2nd service with me that night. We went to a midnight service at another church...and they sang lots of Christmas songs. Haha!




13. Do you hang up your stocking?

Yep...I have a mantel so of course I hang them!


14. Does your family read "Twas the Night Before Christmas?"

No...but maybe that will become a tradition with Daniel. Who knows!


15. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Hands down.


16. What is your favorite character from any Christmas movie?

Gotta go with Clark W. Griswold.


17. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Hmm...I have SO many! I'll go with Rudolph sung by Gene Autry as a secular song and O Holy Night as my favorite religious song.


18. What is your favorite Christmas memory?

Oh gosh. There are way too many. I have to say, one that stands out in my mind is the year that the macaroni bowl blew up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Glass EVERYWHERE!


19. Would you rather give or receive?

I like to give...the problem is I worry that people won't like what I pick so I spend hours debating what to buy. It is nice to receive at times too though. :)


20. Would you rather drink eggnog or cider?

I don't really like either, but I'd drink cider any day over eggnog. Ew!


21. Do you prefer red or green?

Red. Green in general , but red for Christmas.



22. Do you prefer ham or turkey for Christmas dinner?

Ham...but I'm making pot roast because I like that over ham and turkey!


23. Do you prefer a star or angel tree topper?

Star



24. Do you prefer white lights or colored lights?

Love colored!


25. Do you prefer blinking lights or still lights?

Still inside. Outside I like blinking and still. If I had blinking lights on my tree I'd go insane.


26. Were you Naughty or Nice this year?


I'll say nice...but I've had my not so nice moments. Probably deserve a small lump of coal with my other gifts.


27. What do you want for Christmas this year?

A new GPS and a bathroom scale. Yup. I am awesome. Although, I would also like Erica, Jim and Logan to be here!


28. When do you open your gifts?

On Christmas Day. (Or on different days when celebrating at different family's houses). As kids we always got to open 2 or 3 little gifts like a calendar and socks on Christmas Eve. I hope to make that a tradition for Daniel too, but I probably won't start that until at least next year.


29. What's the best gift you've ever gotten?

Um...I really don't know. I've gotten a lot of very nice gifts though.



30. What's the worst gift you've ever gotten?

It's a cross between an old lady giraffe dress from my grandma when I was like 13 or 14 or a hideous hoodie that I couldn't bring myself  to wear.


31. Who gives you the most gifts?

It's a toss-up between our moms I think.


32. Have you ever had a secret Santa?

Yes...I've done them at work in the past.


33. Do you like wrapping gifts?

No. I am a terrible wrapper. Thank God for gift bags!


34. Do you put change in those red buckets?

Sometimes.



35. Do you burn a yule log?

No



36. Can you name all the reindeer?

“You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer…”



37. Do you bake cookies?

This year my hubby baked cookies and I frosted and decorated them. I forgot to tell him where my stash of Christmas cookie cutters are so he only had 2. We have lots of Christmas trees and stars. I ran out of green frosting at the end so I made red, blue and yellow trees too!! I could've mixed the yellow and blue but where's the fun in that?


38. Have you ever seen your mommy kissing Santa Clause?

Haha! No.



39. Have you ever gotten a kiss under the mistletoe?

I don't know that I've ever stood under mistletoe.


40. Do you go caroling?

I've gone with youth groups to nursing homes before.


41. Do you drive around and look at the Christmas lights?

We always did with our family...haven't done it in several years though.


42. Have you ever left Santa cookies?

Heck yeah! And he would always leave us a note thanking us for them. He was quite polite.



43. Have you ever sat on Santa's lap?

Yes!


44. Who do you celebrate Christmas with?

Family


45. Where do you celebrate Christmas?

Usually Cedar Rapids and Villa Grove, but this year we're celebrating at home!


46. Have you ever had a white Christmas?
Quite a few. This year will not be white. It's supposed to be almost 45 degrees.


47. What part of Christmas do you look most forward to?

This year I'm just looking forward to seeing family!


48. Have you ever had your picture taken with Santa?

Yes


49. Does your family always take a picture at Christmas?

Not a family picture really, but I usually take tons of pictures to document the day.


50. Have you ever heard the song "Thank God For Kids" by The Oakridge Boys?

Maybe? What a stupid last question.

Well...MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. I doubt I'll be blogging tomorrow, so I hope you all enjoy time with your families!

The Star of Mommy's Blog

Once again I have NO idea where to start. My life is a complete blur. How can it be that it's been nearly a month already since Daniel was born?

I took him for his 4 week check up yesterday and he did such a great job. The first time we took him at 5 days old, he was not a happy camper! I couldn't believe it yesterday when they weighed him and announced that he was exactly 10 pounds! Wow! He's also 22 1/4 inches long now too. He's already growing too quickly.

I have days that are easy and other days that are challenging. He still prefers to be held a lot...and most of the time I don't mind. There are other times he just cries and cries and nothing I can do will make him happy. But those moments where he's content to just sit there and stare contently is just about the sweetest thing in the world.

I think he's getting closer to smiling. I did capture this one last week.



And he always smiles in his sleep.



Sleep is also one of those things that differs from day to day still. One night this week we were up for half the night. Then last night he slept great! In fact, he was out for the night at 9:30 instead of 11:00 last night (WOO HOO!) and slept until almost 1:00. I was hoping he'd drift peacefully back to sleep, but instead he projectile puked everywhere. Dang. Fortunately he was back to sleep by 2:00.

He's been a big napper today (hopefully he'll still sleep tonight!), so I've gotten a lot done. 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed (that I did while he was awake and he rather enjoyed it), cleaned the bathroom and even snuck in a cat nap with him.

I cannot believe that Christmas is only 5 days away. I finally did my Christmas shopping on Sunday and I didn't even leave the house. Thank you Amazon and WalMart. Now hopefully everything actually shows up. Fingers crossed! Now all I need to do is get to WalMart to pick up a few stocking stuffers for Jacob.

I'm pretty excited because this is the first year that we will actually be celebrating Christmas in our own home! It'll just be the 3 of us Christmas morning and then Jacob's family will be coming after church. Daniel will get to meet his Aunt Rachel and Uncle Micah and his Great Grandma Beverly too! They were all going to come after lunch, but I volunteered to host Christmas dinner. Going to have a roast, potatoes, rolls and whatever else I can think of. Brenda is going to bring a green bean casserole and the pies! Mmm. This is the first time that I'll have ever hosted anything. :)

Then next Tuesday my parent's and Kendra are coming. I'm excited for them to see Daniel again...he's grown a lot since they saw him last. He was only 4 days old the last time they left to go home.

Anyway...I need to go feed the little guy so I can make supper and hopefully eat supper without him wanting to eat.

I leave you with a few pictures...although most of you have Facebook and have seen them all already!

Time Flies

I cannot believe how fast the days fly by! Daniel and I are starting to get into a bit of a groove. Of course, some days go better than others, but I'm not feeling completely lost or overwhelmed anymore. It's funny how even after caring for other people's babies, how different it is with my own.

The hardest part of my day is actually the night. Usually once the sun goes down, he gets fussy. He cries a lot during the evening and wears me down. If I'm lucky I have him down for the "night" around 10:30, although some nights it's closer to 11:00 or later. For the most part we're down to 2 middle of the night feedings. My biggest problem is getting him to go back to sleep. He'll drift off while nursing, but will almost always poop, which means I have to get up and change his diaper. Diaper changes wake him up completely and all of a sudden it's party time. Last night he and I were up from just before 2:00 until 3:30. Then back up at 5 to eat again. I try to not stimulate him at all in hopes that he'll drift off. Sometimes I get lucky. Other times, not so much. This will eventually end though...we just have to get over the hump! Although, just thinking of him sleeping longer stretches makes me sad at the same time because it means he'll be getting bigger!

I admit too that it's hard to get up at night while Jacob is snoring through it all. I kid you not, he doesn't even flinch when Daniel is crying right next to him! But, I'm the one feeding him and I don't have to get up and go to work, so I understand. This is my job. :)

My life is crazy. There are days I don't do much of anything except care for the munchkin and try to nap. Then there are others where I'm running around trying to get things done before he wakes back up. I swear he can sniff me out. If he knows I'm eating or cooking, he goes off and will wail until I can give him attention. Little stinker!

I love watching Jacob and Daniel interact with each other. Sometimes that is the highlight of my day. I know Jacob was worried about bonding, but I'd say that they're bonding just fine now!

On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa Elam came for a visit in the afternoon. It was great for me because I was able to go grocery shopping. Jacob was willing to go, but I was dying to get out of the house and have a little "Rachel time". Even though Wal-Mart was a zoo and I almost got hit by a lady who ran a red light...it was nice to get out for a bit. I think as Jacob gets more comfortable with caring for Daniel, I'll be able to do more grocery shopping alone.

And on that note, I have to wrap this up. I feel like this post was all over the place, but my brain isn't functioning very well. Blame those late night feedings/parties!

Confessions of a New Mommy

I thought it would be fun to make a list of my confessions of being a new parent.

* I always thought it was lame when people got induced and didn't wait to go naturally. I also thought getting an epidural was a cop out because my mom had all 3 of us without pain meds. I was wrong on both counts. I had a great induction experience and once my epidural worked I had absolutely no regrets.

*I always thought that breastfeeding would be easy. I LOVE being able to feed my little boy and bond. He drinks like a champ, but I had no clue how painful and messy it could be! Not to mention I have a hungry little boy, so there are times that I feel like I am constantly feeding.

*On the other hand I am proud that I can breastfeed him and know that I am helping him grow. His birth weight was 8 lbs, 4 oz. 5 days after birth his weight was 7 lbs. 11.5 oz. Yesterday at 2 weeks old he weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz! He even graduated out of his Newborn diapers and is wearing Size 1! Now if only I could get him to stop spitting up!

*I always said my babies would sleep in their own crib from day one. I did attempt it the first night, but by 3:00AM I gave up and he's been in a bouncy seat next to me all night long. He hates his crib, but I'm working on slowly trying to get him to nap in there sometimes, although our longest stretch has been 15 minutes. I don't want him in our room forever, but at the same time I like knowing he's right there next to me and I can hear him breathing.

*We agreed no pacifiers. I almost caved twice. Thankfully Jacob held me back. There are times that Daniel is wailing and it would be nice to "plug it up", but I'm glad that we've stuck to our choice.

*I dread bedtime. I dread it more for me because it's hard to wake up after I've only been asleep for an hour and a half or two hours. Daniel is a little night owl. Once he's up to eat I have a very hard time getting him back to sleep. Sometimes it takes almost an hour and I know he'll be back up to eat again soon.

*At the same time...once I'm actually awake, I enjoy those feedings. Not in a, "Oh yay!!! I'm so happy that I'm awake to feed the little guy again", kind of way, but I want to cherish these moments. My baby is already 2 weeks old. I love those bonding moments. I love when he's finally drifting off to sleep in my arms. He rolls his little eyes all over the place and he ALWAYS smiles involuntarily every time he's falling asleep. It seriously melts my heart.

*Watching Jacob and Daniel bond is seriously just about the cutest thing ever. Daniel loves when daddy sings to him and it makes me love both of them even more than I already do.

*I could sit and watch Daniel all day long. I've memorized all of his little features and mannerisms. I'm learning when he wiggles and fusses that he has a burp trapped in him. I love when he wrinkles up his forehead because he looks like a little old man. He loves to play with his fingers and try to eat them.  He turns his head when he hears one of our voices. And even though he technically can't smile yet...I swear he does sometimes. I can see it in his eyes.

*I can finally be one of those biased mommies and say that I have the cutest baby in the world.

*I would give up anything for my little boy. He means the world to me.

*I love him more than I ever knew that I could love.

Whirlwind

Wow! My life has become a whirlwind. There was a time I'd sit at the computer for hours. Now I'm lucky to sit here for 20 minutes during the day! I'm usually busy nursing and changing the million and one poopy diapers that our kiddo produces each day.

There's no way that I can catch up on everything that has gone on in the past 10 days, but I'll try to recap a little bit.

We spent Thanksgiving Day in the hospital. We watched the parade. Watched football. Then Grandma and Grandpa Thatcher and Aunt Kendra came to visit! They fell in love right away.







Our first family photo. I got a rockin' pink hospital gown.



On Friday we were discharged to go home. We could have stayed until the evening , but we asked to leave as soon as possible. We got to leave around 10:30. Daniel was not thrilled about getting his clothes changed. (He hates to be naked!)



He also was not a fan of his car seat. The car seat was on my lap as they wheeled me down to the car. He screamed from our room, down the hallway, down the elevator, through the lobby and then promptly fell asleep until we got home.

Home sweet home!



Mom, dad and Kendra stayed until Sunday morning. They brought our Christmas gifts and were nice enough to put the tree up so the gifts had a place to go. One week later and my tree is still not decorated and I haven't had the energy to get out any decorations yet.

Mom made Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night. So glad I didn't miss out on turkey and apple pie!





It was great having them visit!



Jacob took off of work through Wednesday so we flew solo on Sunday and Monday. On Monday he went to his first doctor's appointment. Remember how I said he doesn't like to be naked? Well...



Daddy loves his baby boy!



Tuesday Grandma and Grandpa Elam came. They also immediately fell in love!





Grandpa went home that evening and Grandma stayed until Thursday morning. It was nice having an extra set of hands on Wednesday. We ate pizza the night before and I don't think Daniel enjoyed the pepperoni. I won't be eating that again! He cried in pain almost the entire day with the exception of a nap in the middle of the day on my lap.

Thursday I was on my own for the first time and then again on Friday. The days flew by quickly. Yesterday I had to go to the hospital for a lab test and we made our first trip, just the 2 of us. Of course it's only a couple of miles away, but he did great!

Today he was kind enough to take and nap and let Jacob have a bit of quality time that we've been lacking. It felt SO nice to snuggle up with him on the couch. I ended up napping on him while he watched basketball. It was lovely.

I have so much more to write...but Daniel is crying and probably wants to eat AGAIN! This kiddo is like his daddy. Always hungry, and I know he's getting plenty!

I will say that I LOVE being a mommy and I am so completely in love with both of the boys in my life!

Daniel's Birth Story

I love reading and hearing about other's experiences, so I've been looking forward to sharing my own. I'll try to leave out most of the icky details, but a few make sneak in there, so consider yourselves warned.

November 23, 2011

Jacob and I got up around 5:00 that morning. I was a ball of nerves as I was running around finishing packing the suitcase. I was able to make myself sit down and eat breakfast since they had told me that I was allowed to do that. I had a bowl of cereal and toast in hopes that it would help hold me over until Daniel was born.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30am and got checked in. We were then sent up to the Labor and Delivery floor to the room where I would deliver. I got changed into my hospital gown and hopped in bed anxiously awaiting my induction. I was feeling pretty nervous and still couldn't fully grasp the fact that I was actually got to be having a baby that day.



We just hung out until almost 8:00 waiting for the induction to get started. I got an IV hooked up to be for fluids, but had to wait to get checked before starting the Pitocin. Just after 8:00 I was checked and they said I was around 2 cm. The Pitocin was started around 8:15. I expected contractions to be bad right off the bat, but I was still barely feeling them.

Just after 10:00 my doctor came in  to break my water. That was not pleasant because my cervix was still posterior, which means it was clear back there! The resident doctor who was working with my doctor tried it first, but she couldn't get it. I was in quite a bit of pain and Jacob came over to hold my hand through it. My own doctor took over and broke it pretty quickly. It feels exactly as people described. Just like you peed all over yourself! At that point I was still only 2 cm.

The nurse came back in a little bit later to see if I wanted to be put on the list for an epidural because there was a line in front of me and it could be awhile before I might get one. I had decided with the pain from getting my water broken, that I was going to have the epidural, so she got me on the list. I'm glad too, because right after that my contractions started picking up. They were painful, but more like really bad cramps and I could still talk through them.

Around 11:30 an anesthesiologist came in to do the epidural. Jacob had to leave the room for it, which worked out fine because he ate lunch and I didn't have to smell it's deliciousness. I was scared about getting the epi, but sucked it up. I sat up cross legged on the bed all hunched over as she tried to locate a spot to place it. (With my scoliosis, it made it a bit harder to locate a place). She stuck me with the numbing needle, but I kept feeling pains shoot down my hips and into my legs. She tried to reposition, but in the end, had to take it out and redo it in another spot. I was told it could take up to 45 minutes to really take effect though.

Jacob came back in and we were watching TV. Next thing I knew I was feeling contraction after contraction. The nurse came in and I told her that I was still in a lot of pain. She told me it was normal to feel pressure. I was like, "No...I feel like a knife is stabbing me from the inside!" She did a cold test on me and discovered that I wasn't numb anywhere. She called for the anesthesiologist again and this time I got another guy. I got stuck for the 3rd time, but this time I started feeling my toes and legs start to tingle so I knew it was working.

Jacob came back in and I told him I thought it was working. A few minutes later the pain of contractions hit again and they were bad! The nurse called once more and the anesthesiologist came back in and injected more meds into the IV. By just after 1:00 I was pain free! A med student came in and told me that I had had 20 contractions in 30 minutes! No kidding...I could feel them all up until the epidural finally worked!

Jacob decided to take a nap at 2:00 and I decided to just close my eyes and rest. Up until this point I hadn't been checked since my water broke, but I didn't think much of it. Just before 3:00 I noticed I was bleeding was feeling more pressure. I called the nurse in. She and the resident both came in. The resident decided to check me and she looks at the nurse and says, "I think she's complete!" I was like, "What?? I am!?" Jacob sat straight up when he heard that! The nurse checked too and she agreed that they needed to page my doctor.

She was delivering at the other hospital so I was told to wait until she got there. Thankfully I didn't have the urge to push because she didn't get there until 4:45, which is when I was allowed to start pushing. I was scared I wouldn't know what I was doing, but it turns out that it comes naturally.

There was my Dr., the resident, the med student and my nurse in the room and Jacob of course. Everyone kept the mood light. The nurse held one leg for me and Jacob held the other. Since I couldn't feel the contractions the nurse would tell me when to push. Call me crazy, but pushing was my favorite part of labor.  Everyone was so encouraging. Jacob was an amazing coach and was whispering in my ear, counting and giving me so much encouragement to keep me going.

As his head started to come out everyone was talking about his hair! They asked if I wanted to watch in the mirror. I looked quickly, but I didn't want to watch it all. I did much better concentrating with my eyes closed. Jacob, however watched it all and said it was amazing. At one point  the nurse told me to push. They started counting, "1, 2...." then "Stop pushing!" He just came shooting out!

It was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. Seconds later I heard his first cry and I lost it. I was bawling! They suctioned him out and place him onto my chest. They actually let me hold him the whole time they worked on delivering the placenta and making some repairs. A great distraction. I couldn't believe I was holding the little boy who spent months kicking me like crazy from the inside! He was perfect.

The doctor was amazed at how fast my labor went. From start of induction until delivery it was about 9.5 hours...and really I was 10 cm after 7 hours!

8 pounds 4 ounces and 20.5 inches long.









There you have it. The story of Daniel's birth. I'll share more of our experiences when I get a chance!

Someone's Finally Gonna Have A Birth Day!!!

It's official. Tomorrow morning at 6:30 I'm going in for an induction! If everything goes well, I'll be holding my baby boy at some point tomorrow!

I ended up being at my doctor's appointment for almost 2 hours today. They did an ultrasound to make sure everything looked okay. They wanted to see him do certain things. Funny how even kids who haven't been born already have to pass tests in life. She said it could take up to 30 minutes, but he was a show off and did everything she needed to see in 10 minutes. I finally got to see his face again. I'm mean, nothing too clear, but most of the time his head is buried in my back. Today he looked right at me. He also waved his little pinky around. (I'm guessing he was trying to tell me that he knew he'd be on his way soon.)

Next I was given a non-stress test where they hooked me up to a monitor to see if I was having any contractions and to watch his movement and heart rate for about 20 minutes. That was amazingly relaxing. I got to see in a leather recliner and drink a cold bottle of water. That is WAY better than sitting on an exam table with a drape over you.

It was busy today since they're closed Thursday and Friday so I had to go back out to the waiting room and wait until an exam room opened up. Then I had to wait another 30 minutes or so for my doctor to come in. She checked me and I'm dilated almost to a 3 now and she could feel my bag of water bulging. I had pretty much assumed that I wouldn't be getting induced until next week. Then she said I could do it tomorrow if I wanted to! She said at this point a couple of days isn't going to make that much of a difference and the best part is that out of the 12 OB's who work at my office, she's the one on call tomorrow. She knew I was stressed about getting the Dr. I didn't like, so she had already looked ahead to make sure she wasn't on call this weekend.

She made it sound like she will break my water pretty early on, so hopefully that will help me fully dilate. Again with the TMI, but because Daniel dropped so early it didn't give my cervix a chance to move forward like it was supposed to, so until we can get contractions going and my water broken it's probably not going to move. She said once that starts, it'll naturally move forward. Thank goodness. I've been concerned about that thinking it would increase my risk of C-Section, but she promised me it doesn't. I'm still praying I don't need one. The national average for c-sections is just over 30% and she told me her average is just below 20%.

All that being said, my life turned into a whirlwind at 4:00 this afternoon. The phone calls started to let people know what was going on. Now my body is spazzing out with adrenaline. I think I've cried 3 times tonight already over stupid things. We got Wendy's for supper as our last night of just the 2 of us because we're classy like that. I showered and cleaned the bathroom. I need to make sure I have everything ready for the hospital soon.

I have butterflies and yet feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm trying to push my worries aside, but they're still there. All of the "What ifs", but I have to remember I can't control all of those things. I'm more excited than anything though. I know there will be moments of extreme pain like I have never felt before. I've been told there will be times that I will think that I can't do it. I have to be brave and push through it (literally too!), because in the end I will be holding my little Daniel in my arms.

Here come the tears again!

So...please be thinking of us and praying for all 3 of us tomorrow. Pray for strength for me. Patience for Jacob. And a good health report for Daniel. I'm also praying that my recovery goes well because it's another thing that scares me!

T-Minus 11 hours! Here's hoping for a good night of sleep because I'm going to need energy tomorrow!

Hello Due Date

It looks like my due date is passing me by. I shouldn't be surprised since not a large percentage of babies are born on their due dates, but it's hard not to get your hopes up when your doctor told you a month ago that you would probably go early. So much for that!

I tried a lots of things to induce naturally yesterday. Clearly they didn't work! Today I went out on a walk in the cold and mist. I rode my bike. And I did some squats. He's sitting so dang low that I go to the bathroom every hour of the day I think...yet he's content to stay there. He and I had a little chat today about how he needs to come very soon. I know Grandma Brenda is rooting for Wednesday so she'll have a birthday buddy. I actually had a dream last night that he was born on the 23rd. Usually my dreams mean nothing though.

Tomorrow I head back to Springfield again for my last OB appointment. Getting another ultrasound to check his fluid levels and then she wants to talk about induction next week. I'd prefer Daniel just decide to come to I only have to make 1 trip to Springfield in this coming week and not 2!

Oh well, pretty soon my world will be turned upside down and nothing will ever be the same again. I think I've heard all the warnings in the book from people with kids. I know that it's different when it's your own, but I'm so used to having 8 or more babies in my care in the past 8 years that one kind of seems like it should be easy. We shall see!

Bye Bye Childhood Home.

Word is officially out. My parents bought a new house and sold their current house today! They started looking not too long ago and weren't even sure if they were really going to do it, but they did. I shall let my mom share her own story about it all though.

They've always talked about moving when my dad retires, but ended up deciding that now was the time. They're still saying in the Cedar Rapids area. Somewhere out in Marion...of course they couldn't move just a little closer to us, instead they choose a house an extra 10-15 away. Ha ha!

I have to admit, when mom told me that they were starting the search process, a part of me didn't think they would really do it. I've always been sad thinking of them selling my childhood home. We moved there when I was six and a half. Now after listening to my mom talk about how everything has fallen into place, I'm really excited for them!

I can't believe I'll never set foot in my old house again though. Their moving process will be a fast one. They have to be moved by December 18th! I told my mom I was kind of sad about it, but at the same time it's a good thing. I get highly emotional and it's probably better for me not to see the house empty. I mean...I still cry when I see Monica's empty apartment on the last episode of FRIENDS, and I've seen it a million times! I told her she could say goodbye and cry for me. She promised that she would.

There are lots of memories in that house. Maybe I'll write a post about some of them soon when I have time. I'll miss it though!



Tomorrow is my official due date...come on little man!

Nope. Not Yet.

Well, judging by signs yesterday, I really thought today was going to be the big day. Turns out I was wrong. Daniel apparently finds me comfortable, but I would think he's running out of room. I think he's going to be long! He is WAY head down and yet he still gets his feet under my ribcage...and I have a pretty long torso!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is coming up this week! I've kinda of spaced it because I've been slightly preoccupied. Plus usually I'm either planning a trip to Iowa or heading to V.G. If the little guy would show up by Tuesday, we'll be home in time for Thanksgiving as long as no c-section is needed. My parents and Kendra are planning to come Wednesday or Thursday if Daniel has arrived and my mom will cook us Thanksgiving dinner! Even if he hasn't come, hopefully when he does, and they do come over, she'll still make it for us! I'm really wanting some turkey, mashed potatoes and Dutch apple pie right about now.

Since we have a pretty small house, Kendra is going to stay with us (I think anyway!) and my parents are going to stay at a motel in town. Seems to be the best plan. I hate making them stay in a motel, but mom volunteered and really it makes the most sense, especially with 5 adults and 1 baby in a house with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

They're also bringing our Christmas presents over now since they aren't sure when they'll make it back. I think Jacob wants to open them, and I want to save them until Christmas. We'll have to figure it out. I'm for sure not opening gifts if all of my Christmas decorations aren't up yet though! Really, there's a certain gift Jacob wants to open from them...so he may get to open one early! Ha ha!

Well...that's about all. Here's hoping you won't see any more blogs from me for awhile, but at this rate I'll be blogging for another week!

A Day Of Nothingness

Not a whole lot to say tonight because I really didn't do a whole lot today.

I didn't sleep well last night. I was waking up almost every hour and then was awake from 3-5. Jacob's alarm goes off at 5 so I was planning to get up and read when he got up, but at that point I was feeling myself drift back to sleep. Thankfully I got another 3.5 hours of sleep after that. I tried to nap again this afternoon, but I wasn't successful.

I have a gut instinct telling me that Daniel will be coming very soon. Even though I feel that way, I know it could be a few days, but I really don't think so. We'll see if I'm right soon enough. Thankfully Jacob has been given permission to stay home tomorrow from IMEA, and I'm glad because I really feel like he needs to be close by.

I wish I could have walked today, but it was cold and it's been extremely windy so I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I did however pace the house. Ha ha!

Think I'll go spend more time with Netflix now and relax.

Oh Baby. Where Art Thee?

I was so thankful to have my own doctor back today!

I was having a hard time waiting for my appointment today so I vacuumed, mopped and did the dishes to pass the time. I was just feeling antsy and on edge.

When I finally got there, they were of course running behind again. I sat in the waiting room for quite awhile before being called back. I gained yet another pound...probably the chocolate chip cookies that I cannot stop eating!

Then I had another wait in the exam room waiting for the doctor. Thankfully someone put a new magazine in there so I had something to read that I haven't read 500 other times!

When my doctor came in I told her I was very happy to see her! I also let her know of my experience last week and she felt really bad that I had to deal with that. She promised me in the future that if I come in and she isn't there I will be given a different one. I like that she'll listen to my concerns and actually empathize.

She checked Daniel's heartbeat. It was up at 142 today! He was being quite active.

Next was my cervical check. I warn this could be TMI (although it's really not that bad), so read ahead at your own risk, but I figure almost everyone who reads this is a woman anyway.

She said I'm 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced! Then she stripped my membranes. For those who don't know what that is, she basically separated the bag of water from the uterine wall. The purpose of it is to try and stimulate labor by realeasing hormones that dilate the cervix and get things going. She told me that if it works, usually women go into labor within 24-48 hours. If not, it just means my body isn't quite ready yet. I was immediately crampy after she did it (which I won't lie...it was not a comfortable thing to have my membranes stripped!). I'm still cramping, my back hurts and hoping maybe something will get going. She said my water bag was starting to buldge, so maybe that's a good sign.

If there's no baby still by early next week I have to go back for an ultrasound and then we talk induction.

So, now we sit and wait some more.

It's Always About The Boy :)

I'm rather enjoying my time at home, although I'm ready to be spending it hanging out with my little munchkin! I know what I'm getting myself into. I know that there will be days where I want to pull my hair out, but I'm just so excited right now! There will be lots of challenging moments, but lots of rewarding moments to make up for it!

I've been watching a lot of the baby shows on TLC during the day. I cry every time a baby starts to cry for the first time. Each day it sinks in more that I will be hearing Daniel's cry very soon. Although watching those shows helps me prepare in some ways, it's been making me nervous too. It seems like they show so many women who aren't dilating fast enough for the doctor's so they take them in for a c-section. I am SO hoping to avoid that! Although, it'll come down to whatever is safest for him.

I went and picked up some groceries this afternoon and continued with the Braxton Hicks.

Tomorrow is my 40 week appointment. I'm looking forward to seeing my own doctor again this week and finding out if I've progressed in the past 2 weeks, since the stupid Dr. last week wouldn't tell me anything. I'm sure we'll be discussing induction. I still haven't decided on what I want to do, but talking with her usually helps me weigh my options a little better. It's great actually having a Dr. that I trust. I know she won't let me go past 41 weeks which means that no matter what, he'll be here in a week and a half!

I'd love to go tomorrow or Friday. I'm nervous about Saturday because Jacob will be out of town for a music event if I'm not in labor. He's taking his own car, but I'm getting to that point where I'm a little nervous to have him too far away!

Here's hoping for a little munchkin very very soon! My prediction was tomorrow, but I don't know if that'll happen or not.

Randomness From My Day.

Still here. Still pregnant. :)

I made the mistake of not posting a status on Facebook all morning and then the calls, texts and Facebook messages started. Apparently when you're this far along in your pregnancy it's expected of you to keep people completely current. Believe me...when I go into labor it'll be on Facebook and all of the extra important people will get texts!

I didn't do much this morning. I really didn't feel that great, so I ended up just watching TV and eating the first of my daily TUMS.

I finally decided to take a shower and then balanced the checkbook. When I say I balance the checkbook that's not really all that I do. I have a budget that I follow and have to enter everything into the right category. It can get tricky, but it's worth it because it helps me see where our money is going. I was frustrated today because I came up short. I hate when that happens! I never did find my error either.

Plus I had a slight moment of panic and anxiety come over me again. It's going to be extremely tight with only Jacob's income. In fact, I still haven't quite figured out how we're going to do it because when I look at our spending, I know we need more income. There are a few places where I can cut back, so hopefully that will help a little bit.

I have enough saved up that we'll be okay for awhile, but after that I just don't know how we'll do it. I've been looking up ways to make extra cash, but don't know that any of it is for me. I might try to make some crafty things to sell. Some people suggest things like selling Scentsy, Avon etc. , but I think that unless I knew more people and was really willing to dedicate a lot of time toward it that I wouldn't make a profit. I do have a family that I will possibly be baby-sitting for in the future. That will really be what helps the most I think...as long as Jacob doesn't mind an extra kiddo running around the house.  I've also thought of working in the summer when Jacob is home or him finding a job in the summer. Or me working part time at night, but I really hope it doesn't come to that one because I want to have family time all together.

I've never been one to just scrape by. I always have extra money to squirrel away, so it makes me nervous knowing that won't happen for awhile. So...if anyone has any awesome money saving tips just throw 'em out there. I've read tons, but it's nice to know what works for other people. Or, if you have any thoughts on making a little extra income from home, that would be great too!

Anyway...didn't realize I was going to go off on that tangent. After I did that I went and met Ashely at a Mexican restaurant for her birthday and we had lunch together. Love that chica and thankful to have her as a friend!

I stopped at Walgreens on my way home for milk. It annoys me that if I really want to save money on things like groceries (which is a place I need to cutback), I have to shop at several stores. Walgreens milk (name brand) is always cheaper than Wal-Mart's generic brand. Sigh.

Jacob and I did our walk to the end of the street and back. Once again I was in pain while walking. Glad we didn't go further!

Now it's just after 6:00 and pitch black out. I hate when it's dark this early. It makes me want to go to bed right now!

Gonna Walk This Baby Out

I slept terribly last night. Amazingly that has not affected me at all today.

This morning I did a few things around the house and finally got the baby monitor hooked up. I bought an Angel Care monitor, and had to figure out all the settings on it and see if I could get the sensor pad all hooked up under the mattress. It's gotten great reviews and it's something I learned about from Sandy. There's a sensor the goes under the mattress and when baby is in the crib in continuously checks for movement. It basically detects if your baby is breathing or not. If it doesn't detect movement within 20 seconds an alarm starts going off. I tested it as best as I could by very lightly patting the mattress and it seemed to work. I've read reviews of people having lots of false alarms and others who never have had any. I'd rather have a false alarm though than the alternative. I've also read reviews from people who said that it actually saved their child's life. I think I made the right choice in buying it since I am an excessive worrier.

It was 70 degrees here today, so I decided to go for a walk to try and help make some progress on getting Daniel here. I walked for 25 minutes and had some very strong Braxton Hicks contractions. When Jacob got home he went on another walk with me. This time we just walked to the very end of our street and back. About a street down I got the worst cramp and my whole stomach got hard. I don't know if it was a contraction or not because it lasted for a long time and then I had several BH again after the pain went away. Walking anywhere tends to give them to me I've noticed.

Both grandmas checked in on me today. Now I don't know if we're more anxious, or if they are?!

Jacob treated us to Pizza Hut tonight and now I shall go relax and watch some TV.

More Baby Ramblings

It seems like all I have to talk about right now is how we are anxiously awaiting our newest family member. I apologize, but I also know that from here on out all of my posts will probably be about Daniel. I do like that it's a way to document things I wouldn't normally write down though, and I can keep family and friends who are far away informed of what's going on.

It finally really hit Jacob tonight. It's been a joke for months now that I had to stay pregnant until after the musical was over. Well, as of 4:00 this afternoon it's over! I held my end of the bargain. (I suppose really God and Daniel held that end of the bargain, but I'd like to think I had something to do with it.)

I went to the 2nd performance and then came home while Jacob stayed to do clean up and the cast party. When he got home we were talking and he said now that it's over it actually dawned on him that he's going to be a daddy very soon! I think for me, even though that reality has always been there (at least since I started feeling movement), that it sunk in a week or two ago.

I also told Jacob how it drives me crazy that people always comment on how small I look. It's so stupid, I know! I'm glad I'm not huge, but I told him I feel like people don't believe me when I say that I'm in pain and feel like I'm ready to burst! He told me they're just jealous that I still look really skinny. Ha ha! I've for sure gained plenty of weight, and I'm really hoping that I shed it fairly quickly.

But yes, I do feel ready to burst. My child is probably a black belt in karate already. He kicks and kicks and kicks while I'm sitting and lying down. His little body parts protrude out of my stomach! He also doesn't seem to like to be confined. I say that he hates seat belts and he really hates me wearing jeans too. I'm over it. Sweatpants it is for this girl! It will be very interesting to see what he is like outside of the womb. It makes me wonder if he'll hate being swaddled?

Anyway...fingers crossed for a baby this week! I know. I know. He'll come when he's ready. A girl can hope though.

Short and Sweet

Not gonna lie. I don't feel like blogging tonight. My body aches too much to sit in the chair and type.

My day consisted of sleeping in, watching the Hawks and Illini lose their games, making homemade chocolate chip cookies,



and going to watch Central A&M Middle School's production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!! The kids did a great job! One more performance tomorrow. We'll see how I feel, and I just may go watch it again!

Getting Antsy.

I almost forgot to blog today!

I've been enjoying my time at home. I find myself getting more accomplished, yet I find myself being lazy as well. I have a hard time being lazy, because I always have the thought in the back of my mind that I should be doing something productive.

The things I did get accomplished were: dusting and vacuuming the house, cleaning the bathroom, doing dishes, cooking supper (I already had chicken thawed so even though Jacob wasn't home I cooked it and we'll eat it tomorrow!). Deposited some checks at the bank and finally wrote the "Thank You" cards from my Villa Grove shower. I had really been procrastinating on that one.

When I woke up today I was in pain. Actually, I was in pain last night before I went to bed. The left side of my body from my hips down hurt really bad. Even though it hurts to move at times, I've found that if I keep moving, the pain eventually fades away for awhile.

I am at the point where I find myself constantly wondering when Daniel will make his appearance. I'm 10 days off from my due date and could potentially still have up to 17 days before he arrives because my doctor will induce sometime during the 40th week. In some ways it seems so far off and in others it seems so close!

I think after this weekend I may start trying a few of the old wives tales to induce labor. I know they're old wives tales for a reason, but I want to go into labor naturally. At the same time I can't stop thinking about Thanksgiving. I'm due 3 days before Turkey Day and my family is planning to come that week. If my doctor suggests inducing that week, I may be tempted to do it. The only reason I don't want to get induced is because of the Pitocin. Lots of women say it made their contractions far worse and a lot of people I know that have been induced have ended up either with a C-Section or been in labor for an excessive amount of time. I'm praying he makes his debut by next week sometime and then I won't even have to worry about it!

I am thankful that in 2 hours and 15 minutes I will have accomplished my goal of NOT having an 11/11/11 baby. There's been WAY too much hype over this date and apparently tons of crazy women scheduled inductions and c-sections on this date. I imagine next year everyone will be trying for a 12/12/12 baby. Haha!

I'm missing Jacob. I haven't actually seen him since last night before bed. He's been at school all day. They have dress rehearsal tonight for the musical. Tomorrow night and Sunday are the performances! I'm looking forward to the show!

The Substitute Doctor

This morning I woke up around 6 and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I got up and watched some Boy Meets World. Ah...the good ol' days. By 7:00 I already had a load of bedding in the wash and some apple cinnamon muffins in the oven for breakfast. Heck, I was even showered and dressed by 9:00!

Daniel's bouncy seat was delivered last night, so I decided to put it together. I figured it had to be easier than the swing and the stroller and I did those by myself. While it did indeed take less time, it still took me awhile and I had to yell at it a few times. I'm getting better at deciphering the random pictures that instruction manuals draw. I eventually got it together though. Of course online it said that it takes C batteries. I went to put them in and find out it takes a D battery. The one kind that we don't have. Oh well, I'll remember to pick some up eventually.

I had my 39 week appointment today. I knew that my doctor would be gone today, and that I had been scheduled to see a different OB. I jokingly had been saying that I hoped she was good and that I liked her...assuming that I would. I got called back and did all of the normal stuff before being taken to the exam room.

I knew the instant she walked in the room I wasn't going to like her. Sometimes people and the way they act or talk just rub me the wrong way. I could tell that she was skimming my chart, but hadn't read anything really and she was talking to me like I was 5. "I see you got your flu shot. Good girl!" Then she asked me if I wanted the pertussis vaccine. When I declined, she lectured me and stuck a pamphlet on top of my purse and told me she was disappointed and wanted me to get one. Um...this is not something that my own doctor has expressed any concern over at all and I would much rather discuss it with her next week.

Next she measured my stomach and informed me that I'm measuring small. If you read my chart, you would know that I've measured small and that my doctor is not concerned.

She "checked my cervix". Let's just say she A: Was not gentle. and B: Didn't really check anything. She just said she couldn't tell and I'm probably the same as before...which is bull in my opinion. How would you know if you just told me you couldn't tell?

Then she informed me that she was sending me for an ultrasound because I'm small and to see if baby is head down. I told her I already had an ultrasound at 30 weeks because I was small and he looked fine. I also told her he's been head down for awhile now. My OB just feels for his position. I was so ticked off that I wanted to walk out because I was on the brink of tears.

Instead I went to Ultrasound and saw my little man. Not much of him since his head was turned into me. Guess what? His head is super low (DUH!) and he looked perfect and measured perfectly. (DUH, again!). The weight prediction right now is 7lbs 11oz, but at this stage the predictions can be off by a pound or more. Just in case anyone is wondering...he's still a boy. :) He gave her a clear shot of that. Oh...and it was funny too because one foot was up under my ribcage and the other one was smashed into his head and he was apparently kicking himself. Haha! How do they move like that?!

I talked to both moms on the way home and then Jacob as he was driving home. I lost it while I was talking to Jacob. I was just so frustrated with my experience and I'm praying that she is not on call when the baby comes because I will freak out if she walks in. I'm for sure letting my own Dr. know about my experience next week.

Watched Bridesmaids with Jacob and then just hung out for the rest of the night. Daniel has been practicing his ninja skills since I got home. I think he was annoyed today too. That or he's trying to figure out how to escape. I'm hoping he figures it out soon. Just not until Sunday night, because the musical is this weekend!

Another Day

I'm going with another bullet post tonight.

*Got up around 6:45 and lounged around for most of the morning.

*Found a few new recipes to try out.

*Made a grocery list.

*Went to Aldi and WalMart. Didn't realize how cold it was outside and the wind just about blew me over!

*Came home and unloaded everything.

*Made a ham and cheese pita pocket for lunch. Mmm.

*Watched some TV

*Talked to Jacob as he drove home from school.

*Took an hour nap after he got home.

*Woke up with a headache which I still have.

*Cooked supper. I made one of my new recipes. A Mexican casserole. It was pretty good!

*Returned a call to my grandma who called while I was sleeping. She just wanted to check on me. I love her!

*Watched Arrested Development and Survivor.

*Ate some ice cream.

*Typed my blog and all the while my little guy has had the hiccups. :)

First Day At Home

Not a whole lot to write about again tonight.

I enjoyed my first day at home by being lazy. I figured I deserved it. There were errands that I could have run, but it was a rainy day anyway, so it was perfect to lounge.

My body of course woke me up at my normal work time, but instead of getting up I laid in bed for another 45 minutes.

I pretty much watched TV all day, but I did take the time to shower and I even cut my toenails. I was proud of that one. I have a hard time getting my socks on, so I hadn't even attempted to cut my toes in over a month! It took some effort and extra maneuvering, but I did it. I would love to get a pedicure, but the frugal side of me isn't going to let that happen. I can't see wasting money on something like that, even though I know I would enjoy it.

Ashely came over to hang out on her break. I'm pretty sure we're going to go to go through with drawl without working together every day. I'm glad the daycare is only a few minutes from our house so she can come over and visit.

I'm a little bit bored now. I haven't seen Jacob all day. He had musical practice after school and then had to stay for a basketball game and another rehearsal. I'm missing him, and he'll be exhausted and ready for bed when he gets home!

Never mind...he's home and he called as I was typing this so we got to talk and now it's time for us to go to bed!

New Job Title

Tomorrow I begin my newest journey in life.

This Friday was to be my last day of work, but due to some circumstances that I won't go into right now, I will not be returning to work at all. I'm frustrated and yet at the same time I feel so free. I think that this will work out for the best and I hope to enjoy the next few days or weeks before Daniel arrives. I should probably work on that whole relaxing thing, before it disappears from my life!

It's been an emotional day for me. When I got home from work I found a package for Daniel on our porch from Erica, Jim and Logan. Some Sleep 'n Plays, matching hats and slippers with cars on them! So cute! There was a card with it too. Erica simply wrote, "We love and miss you guys!" That's all it took for me to totally break down and cry. I miss both of my sisters and miss spending time with them. Although, it makes me cherish the times when we do see each other.

I wish I had more to write, but the things I'd like to say aren't the nicest, so I shall leave it at that and call it a night.

I'm Not Ready!

You know that extra hour of sleep we were supposedly supposed to get last night? Yeah. That didn't happen for me. Instead I was up from 2:30 to 4:30. I was thinking Jacob and I may need to go to the hospital, but we didn't. I let him sleep while I was up. The funny thing is, when I woke up, my first thought was, "Oh my gosh. I'm not ready for this!" Um, hello! I was born to do this! I'm thinking that's more of a natural instinct or fear of the unknown, because I really am super excited!

My fear is more the labor, delivery and recovery for myself. I'm scared of the pain, and the more I think on it, the less opposed I am to the idea of an epidural. I'm thankful that Jacob will support whatever I decide to do.

Here's another question for all you moms... did you and your spouse get bored in the hospital? Jacob is going to be bored through my labor I think! But, after baby is born I doubt we'll have that many visitors. What the heck do you do for 48 hours all couped up in a little room? Obviously I will try to sleep as much as possible and we'll be taking care of our little man. I just hate feeling stir crazy and wonder if the time will pass quickly or slowly before we're released to go home?

Anyway...back to today. All of Jacob's hard work in the yard was a bust. Then we went out even though it was windy. We got half of the front raked and gave up. Just left a pile sitting there. It's a lost cause and so frustrating. Neither of our neighbor's have raked their yards and they're FILLED with leaves that blow into our yard.  We have 1 small tree and yet have filled around 12, 30 gallon bags with leaves. Talk about frustration. Although, I did have some contractions while we were out there. Not sure if they were real or Braxton Hicks, but the ones I feel today are a bit stronger and slightly painful at times. Nothing I can time though.

I took a nice hot shower and discovered my very first stretch mark. It's pretty tiny, but it's there. Oh well. I made it a long time without any!

Watched some TV and made another trip to Wal-Mart with Jacob because I forgot bread yesterday. We also picked up a few snack items for the hospital. I'm slowly starting to get a bag ready!!

Time to go make some chili and cornbread and then relax for the rest of the night.

Just Another Day

More bullets again today.

*Chilled out around the house this morning. Did some vacuuming and organizing. Just feel like I can't keep up!

*Put away all of my summer maternity clothes. Won't be needing those for a couple more years or so!

*Watched the Iowa game while snuggling with Jacob. My Hawkeyes upset Michigan! Booya! Oh and Nebraska lost today, which made me feel a little bit happy inside. :)

*Went to WalMart for the billionth time. I had a couple of things I needed to pick up and then grabbed some more stuff to add to my stockpile.

*Almost died of a hot flash waiting in line to check out. My hormones are so messed up. I'm always sweating. This is quite strange for this time of year.

*Found out that Ashley is officially engaged! Congrats my friend!!

*Came home to find Jacob raking the yard! We had planned to do that together tomorrow, but he wanted to surprise me and got a head start on it! Now there's less to do tomorrow and I appreciate his hard work! You literally could not see the grass at all because of all of the leaves from our neighbor's giant tree. Now we can see half of the yard.

*Having lots of Braxton Hicks (lets just get this show on the road already!)

*Don't know what to eat for supper.

*Going to hang out with Jacob and watch some Arrested Development.

*Daylight Saving Time ends tonight. Boo for getting dark even earlier. I think I'm the only human that likes to lose an hour to gain daylight.

My Day In A Nutshell

*Went into work until 1:00.

*Came home and put away baby stuff from yesterday.

*Got a package from Aunt Jeanne in the mail. (Actually it was addressed to Daniel). He got a Winnie the Pooh Christmas stocking! So glad that I didn't find a stocking while I was looking yesterday. Thank you Aunt J!

*Went to the Police Station to get a free car seat safety inspection. I've heard that lots of car seats are not properly installed. Jacob put it in last weekend and the officer said it looked great at gave it an "A".

*Came back home and watched Parks and Rec for the 2nd time since last night...this time with Jacob.

*Began our date night!

*Used an Olive Garden gift card and enjoyed yet another yummy meal almost completely for free!

*Went to the movie "Tower Heist". Used the money we got for doing the Nielson Survey. Um..since when did movie tickets cost $10.50? Holy moly!

*Sprung for popcorn. YUM!

*Went to Best Buy to look around and ended up buying "A Christmas Story" on Blu-Ray because it was on sale.

*Headed to Target to make a return. The guy who did the return called me, "Ma Lady"...I was amused.

*Walked around and checked out the movies. My feet started killing me. Ugh.

*Drove back home. A very fun time with just me and my hubby!

*Getting sleepy.

*So happy it's the weekend. (After next week, every day will be the weekend. Yay.)

Baby Update and More Showers!

Today went a little bit faster, but that was probably because I was off work at 1:00.

The morning went by pretty quickly. We had another picture day for Christmas pictures. I hate picture day and I'm pretty glad that this was my last one!

I was making good time to my appointment this afternoon until I got to Springfield. I hit every red light. I got stuck in construction and I had to park in China and walk through the wind and rain to get inside. I was almost 10 minutes late, but happy to learn that my doctor was also running behind, so I didn't mess anything up. Thankfully in the past 2 weeks I've barely gained anything, because 3 weeks ago I somehow managed to gain 4 pounds in 1 week. That was a shocker!

Unfortunately the nurse wasn't kidding when she said my doctor was behind, so I sat in the exam room waiting, and waiting and waiting. I almost always end up in the same room, so I've read all of the magazines. They really need to rotate those things!

My doctor finally came in and we talked about baby. She asked if I had been feeling any cramps, had spotting or Braxton Hicks. I told her I was super crampy this morning and also that I was sure I had been having some pretty big Braxton Hicks. In fact I've been awake since 4:50 this morning because of them. She measured me and listened to Daniel. While she was checking his head position I started having more Braxton Hicks. I didn't even feel it at first until she said something!

He is VERY VERY low. I'm 1.5 cm dilated and still 30% effaced. She told me that with as low as his head is (and believe me I know how low it is because I feel like he might just fall out of me!), most moms don't make it to 40 weeks. There's no guarantee. I mean, I could easily go over my due date still, but I have a pretty good feeling he's itching to come out sooner rather than later.

After my appointment I texted the mom's and Jacob (and Ashley. lol!) to let them know the stats from today. Jacob called me as I was pulling into Kohl's. He told me that Peter, the band director, told him to tell me to turn around and go get myself induced! I think he's a bit worried about me having the little guy next weekend when they need Jacob for the musical!

Backing up a little...on my way to my appointment, Jacob called to say that the elementary teachers had given him a surprise shower! He told me a couple of things we got and said that it was a little embarrassing because he didn't know what some of the things were when he opened them. I love him! He also said they did a Cardinals theme.

Then when he called me at Kohl's he told me to get onto Facebook. It turns out the middle school staff also gave him a shower today! Peter posted a couple of pictures for me! I am so excited about the diapers!





I'm very thankful for the staff at these schools! What a blessing.

I had to make a return at Kohl's and I had some Kohl's cash to use. I picked up a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament and then a few Christmas gifts.

Headed to Babies R Us and used a gift card there as well.

Now I'm finally home and ready to relax. Just wish my hubby were home to relax with me. Darn parent/teacher conference night!

The Day Time Slowed Down

This day was probably one of the slowest days ever. It wasn't even that bad for the most part, but it just felt like it was never going to end. I imagine part of it is because I know that next Friday is my last day of work and I see the end in sight. Other than that though, it was just plain ol' slow.

I'm pretty sure the highlight of the day was when we had all the kiddos down napping. Ashley and I were talking about another girl we work with not knowing the song, "Ironic", which then led us to start singing it. As we're belting it out a parent walks up to the gate to pick up her little boy. Of course Ashley sees her first and stops singing, and I just keep going! We were dying with laughter. The 2 of us always find some incredible ways to embarrass ourselves. I will really miss working with her every day!

I texted Jacob to see what he wanted for supper and we decided just to make it a "fend" night...which means we just make our own suppers. I was happy because I was craving grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was quite tasty! We've been enjoying watching Arrested Development on Netflix. He had already watched it and I never had, but when I found out that they're going to bring it back for 12 episodes and a movie I decided to check it out. Yep. I'm in love with it. Now I get what all the hype was about when it was announced that it was coming back!

Jacob showed me his students guesses of when Daniel will be born. I had people guess on Facebook yesterday too. Although Jacob promised his kids that if they guessed on the right day they'll get a prize. Here's hoping little man doesn't show up on his due date, because Mr Elam's going to be handing out lots of prizes. There's even one guess for tomorrow. My guess is November 17th and Jacob's is the 12th. He picked the 12th because it's the day of the musical and he's hoping by guessing that, he'll decide not to come that day! Although just a little while ago he asked when I was gonna have this baby? Yeah...we're getting excited!

Tomorrow is my 38 week appointment. 38 weeks! Holy moly! Hopefully I'll have made more progress. As of last week I was 1 cm dilated and 30% effaced. Hoping maybe I'm 2, but we'll see!

Happy National Blog Month!

November is National Blog Month. For the past 2 years I have managed to blog every day during November. I won't make it this year due to a certain little boy who will be arriving shortly! I will blog as many days as I am able to though!

This past Sunday was my baby shower in Villa Grove that Jacob's mom was throwing for me. My friend Ashely and I had been wanting to check out the outlet mall in Tuscola, so we decided to shop first and then she would come to V.G with me for the shower!

We set out around 9:30 that morning with my not-so-trusty GPS. It's been crapping out a lot lately. Its newest trick is to either freeze or enter in numbers and letters that I didn't push! Anyway, we got there as they opened and shopped for a couple of hours. We pretty much stuck to the kids clothing stores, but checked out a few others as well. I'm pretty sure the most entertaining thing we witnessed was a lady (probably around 50) in Old Navy sitting at a table they had set up for kids, very intently coloring a picture. Umm...say what?

Around 1:15 we grabbed some McDonald's and headed over to Brenda's for the shower. We were the first ones to arrive and the others arrived shortly after. Several people had been invited, but it turned out to be a super busy weekend, so only a handful were actually able to make the shower. It was a very good time though!

Ashley's daughter, Charleigh who is 2 was with it. She enjoyed showing off for everyone. She took to Jacob's, Grandma Karin and when it was time to leave she was saying, "I wanna go with her!" Too cute.

Daniel got even more loot. Here's some of it:

Yay! His own Pujols shirt! Now Albert had better stay with the Cards!!





HAHA!



Love "Goodnight Moon"



A toy for the future!



So happy to get my diaper bag!



Charleigh loved helping me organize the bags!



We had lots of tasty treats!



Me and the proud Grandma!



Me with my partner in crime.



I think we left around 4:30 and as we were driving away Charleigh was saying, "I wanna go back to Brenna's! (Brenda's). Not much longer after that and some whining, this happened:



I'm so very thankful for all of the showers that were thrown for us. We're pretty much all set with "stuff" for now. And as much as I've loved the showers, I'm glad it's over now! No more giant messes as I try to sort through it all! Finger crossed, I've done the last load of Daniel's clothes, blankets etc. until after he arrives!

20ish more days!

Living the Dream

I finally feel like I can put the word out there, as I gave my boss the news last week.

On November 11th I will be leaving my current job to begin my new one. It has always been a dream of mine to be a stay at home mom and that dream is going to come true! I'm leaving about 10 days before my due date just to have a little last "me time" and to finish getting ready for Daniel's arrival. (Unless he decides to crash the party early!)

I can't even  begin to express how excited I am to do this! I've always done well with budgeting money and while I know that money is going to get tight and we're going to have to cutback on things, I can't imagine not being at home with him. I've had my moments of panic and wondering how we're going to do this, but somewhere deep down I know it can work.

There are so many kiddos in daycare...and if there weren't then I wouldn't have had the jobs that I've had in the past 10 years or so. I've always had the thought in mind though that I just couldn't put my child in daycare. Not if I could find a way to make it work. Jacob has been very supportive of me staying home and is happy that I am. Sure, I'd have the perk of being with my child still (especially that first year that he'd be in my room), but there are pros and cons to that. Then he'd move along to other rooms and I would have to accept or respect the way that other teachers felt was the right way to teach and discipline my child. To me, that's my job (well mine and Jacob's). I can't listen to my child call for me from another room without it breaking my heart. It's just not for me and the cons clearly outweighed the pros.

My mom stayed at home with us and I'm so glad that she did. I have lots of memories of doing things with her. We weren't poor by any means, but we wore a lot of 2nd hand clothes or "cheap" clothes and it never really bothered us. That's the way I plan to shop. Who cares if clothes have to come 2nd hand if it means being at home?

Eventually I may take a child in to babysit as a little bit of extra income, but to start with it'll just be Daniel and I!

I'm excited to be able to watch him learn and grow and know that I did a huge part to help shape him into what he becomes.

Showers, and Nesting and Sickness. Oh My!

So...I for sure hit the "Nesting" stage of pregnancy. I had cleaned the kitchen and living room. By cleaned I mean scrubbed top to bottom. Saturday afternoon I did the dining room, Daniel's room and our bedroom. Yesterday I tackled the bathroom. I saved it for last because who really likes to clean a bathroom? That was the deepest cleaning I think I've even done. I'm pretty sure it's cleaner than when we first moved in. Just wish it would stay spic and span without any effort!

The beginning of the weekend wasn't too exciting. Jacob came home from work Friday not feeling well. I wasn't feeling good either, but mine had more to do with forgetting to take Lactaid for our potluck at work! He ended up sleeping from the time he got home until 7:00 that night and was back in bed by 9:00! He did lots of sleeping on Saturday too. Poor guy!

Yesterday was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. I won't really go into why, but it was. Oh well, I was still happy with the fact that I had a clean house! My work was throwing me a baby shower yesterday at 2:00. I finally decided that I should get ready at 1:00. Since the weather was so beautiful I was able to wear a dress! The first one I put on made me look like a whale (seriously...haha!), so I had to change again.

I had a little issue of getting to the house where the shower was due to a road closure. Oh man, was I ever frustrated! Thankfully my GPS decided to not go all crazy on me like it has been and got me looped back around on another route. Needless to say, I was late to my own shower.

About half of the people weren't able to make it, but I'm thankful that the others were.

This picture was at home. Ashely wasn't able to make it, so she dropped my gift off. She swears by this tub and I'm thinking of taking my bulkier one back now. This one even folds up after use!



At the shower. The pregnant lady wanted food! (Especially because I didn't have time to eat lunch!)





My friend Jenny did a devotional that had little gifts to go along with it!



Opening gifts.





Hawkeye shoes!



The awesome letters that Jamie made for Daniel's room. They'll be going above his crib!



When I got home I unloaded everything and showed Jacob. I got everything put away or thrown into his hamper to be washed. He got a cute Christmas onesie that says: "All mommy wants for Christmas is a Silent Night!" Haha! So cute.

Jacob also took my 36 week pictures!



This is my favorite pregnancy picture I think.



I have one more shower coming up this weekend. Jacob's mom is throwing it for me in Villa Grove! After that I think we'll be pretty well set. I'll still need to buy a few things I'm sure, but we're doing pretty well.

I didn't feel like cooking last night, so we had Pizza Hut and then hung out watching the Cardinal game.

I worked a full day today and Jacob ended up leaving school early with a fever. Hopefully this sickness passes soon! I feel bad for him!