Pregnancy Blog!

Well, I decided it was time I do a pregnancy blog. Having been in such a state for almost 7.5 months now, I just feel like I have so much to contribute to the subject!

I feel GREAT now that I am not sick. I really hate to complain about anything now because nothing will compare to those first 5 months. I know I haven't made it to the miserable end yet- but I am convinced there could not be misery so bad as the beginning. So here is my take on this whole pregnancy thing so far--

1. It is hardly fun until around month 5.

Not only because one might be puking all day, every day for the first 5 months, but also because you don't really feel pregnant! I mean, you feel different- for sure- just not pregnant. Instantly, the chest area will grow and be INSANELY sore, probably your face will start breaking out, you are tired even though you've only been up for 2 hours, and your emotions were always on high alert. Other than that, you can't SEE that you are pregnant- you are hardly showing- but definitely looking and feeling fatter. Your regular clothes start to look a little worse on you, but you are no where near needing maternity clothes. And the very worst (now that I know the preciousness of it) is you can't feel your baby move.

2. Welcome month 5!

You feel that little flutter- you probably start wearing maternity clothes- you aren't so sick anymore- you are less tired- you start to see that sweet baby bump- your skin starts improving- you get to find out what you are having- emotions still crazy- but everything is MUCH better! You start to actually look and feel pregnant! And with that comes all the wonderful attention you receive as a pregnant lady. I love this part of it, and I will milk it for all it's worth. It only lasts a short time!

3. Movement is the BEST

Feeling this baby girl move is the best part of my day, everyday. It is definitely a wonderful way I get to bond with her before she makes her appearance into this world. Sometimes, only I can feel it, and sometimes she gives a huge kick that makes me literally laugh out loud every time she does it! I can't help but thank my God every time I feel it. It is a reminder to me of the precious miracle that He has given us.

4. No matter how many times I have to do it, I will never be good at peeing in a cup.

I do need to know-- Am I the only one with this problem?! I mean, you would think that after MONTHS of doing this at every Dr. visit, I could do it like a pro. But nope. Not me. I hate that part of the visit.

5. While I'm on that subject- the nastiest place has to be the obgyn's bathroom.

All I can think of when I am in there is that people are coming in DIRECT contact with their urine every time this bathroom is used. And I doubt everyone is as sanitary as me. Enough said. Yuck.

6. I LOVE hearing that sweet heartbeat.

I look forward to the Dr. visit every month (and now every two weeks!). Her heartbeat is the sweetest sound to me- and I pray for her little heart daily.

7. I've already mentioned it-- but the attention is nice- for the most part.

I enjoy people being extra courteous. I am feeling less and less attractive these days (even though I do have a goal to keep my hair looking good over the next few months), so I love all the sweet comments/compliments. I haven't had any crazy people tell me weird things yet- although I am sure that is coming. I have heard some funny/insane stories from others.

8. Um... My back hurts!

I have some lower back pain like no other! And there is NO relief! I can't seem to pop it. There is a place on my back when I bend over that KILLS. And it just hurts pretty much always. I also don't like having to sleep on my side. I am not normally a side sleeper, and it is the only way I can now. My back hurts, and now my hips hurt from sleeping on them.

9. Surely all this weight gain is from fluid, right?

Seriously though, I am swollen. I'm out of my wedding ring, and my socks leave a WEIRD, huge ring around my legs every night. My cute feet are not as cute anymore. My toes kind of look like sausages. NOT cute!

10. Every day that passes is one day closer to seeing her precious face! This second phase of pregnancy has been fun- but I CANNOT WAIT for the end! Since the beginning, I have been so ready to meet her! If I love her this much already, I can't wait to know the connection we will have when she is here. I also can't wait to see Nathan with his little girl! He is going to be the best!

Last one- I can't wait for my showers!!!!!! I'm all about the baby stuff now!

Five years!?!

Five sweet years ago today, I found out I was going to be a mommy! I cannot believe it has been that long since I first saw those two little pink lines. That moment was such a special time that I will never forget. I squealed, jumped up and down, cried, and rejoiced. And that was just a small glimpse of all the joy that my precious baby would bring to my life. And then I got to experience the excitement again two and half years later! Sometimes when I look at my family, I think "why me, God?" Why did You choose to bless me so richly? I have done nothing to deserve any of it. And yet, I am blessed beyond measure. It is so humbling and overwhelming at times. The first moment I held my babies was such a powerful reminder of how much my heavenly father loves me. When they were born, they had done nothing to "deserve" my love. They were helpless, needed everything from me, and had not much to offer in return. In fact, they had kinda made me quite sick at times for the last nine months. Yet when I held those girls, I loved them more intensely and quickly than I had ever loved anyone. I loved them because they were mine. And to think...God loves me even more than that...just because I am His! Isn't that amazing?


Besides showing me love on a whole new level, being a mom has taught me and changed me more than anything else. It has been such a fun and full five years! (yes, I am counting from the time I found out I was pregnant...) I thought I would share ten things I've learned or discovered about motherhood as I reflect back today.


1. There is pretty much nothing sweeter in the world than rocking a clean, lotioned up baby in their little pajamas. I love singing and rocking my girls nightly. I still rock Lily. She's four. I plan to continue this until high school. Patrick and I have to take turns, or we would argue about it. :)


2. When I first held Lily and Evie, I thought "there is nothing they can ever do that will frustrate me or make me mad" and "I'll never lose my patience with this precious baby." ....um, wrong.


3. If I don't depend upon the Lord, I will lose my patience all.of.the.time. I pray about this a lot. And He gives me many, many chances to work on it ;) Basically, to be the mom I want to be, my focus cannot be on my children. It must be on God. The rest will come naturally. And this is an everyday thing/struggle on which I need to work.


4. My kids poop really doesn't smell as bad as other kids'. I have the weakest stomach ever. So either my gag reflex has been fortified, or my children smell like roses.


5. I know not everyone is cut out to be a stay at home mom, but I really feel like I was born to do it. I love it. I am SO thankful that I am able to, and I love, love spending all day, every day with my children. That's not to say everyday is "wonderful" or even close, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.


6. Having a cookie or a piece of candy will NOT, in fact, kill my children.


7. It's best if their daddy never dresses them unless I lay out the clothes. This has been proven time and time again. He's amazing at just about every aspect of parenting but not this one. :)


8. Having two kids is not double the trouble. It's like...quadruple. Something about going from one to two ROCKED MY WORLD.


9. Just like having two is wayyyy more trouble, it is has been four times the fun. There is no sweeter sound than that of my girls laughing and playing together. Watching them become best friends brings me endless joy!


10. It all goes too fast. Do I really have a four year old? Is my baby really almost two?? It seems like yesterday I was rocking them to sleep....wait, it was yesterday. But you know what I mean. They are little for such a short, short time. I don't want to waste a second of it. I cherish everyday that I get to spend with them. I know a day is coming when they would probably rather be with friends. Until then, I want to live each day to the fullest...just being their mommy. Their playmate. Their teacher. Their friend. Their cuddle-bug. Their boo boo kisser. And yes, even their little booty wiper:) This stage of their life (and of mine) will be over in the blink of an eye.


Thank you, Lord, for trusting me with your two precious little girls. Thank you for the gift of motherhood. Thank you for each day I get to spend with them. I truly love it...

Happy Halloween!!!

In honor of this crazy fun holiday- I felt the need to write a blog.. Finally! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Maybe because I feel like it is the kick start to the whole holiday season-- the best time of the year! Maybe because it is in the middle of the fall-my favorite season. Or maybe I am still too much of a kid and I LOVE the fun decor, parties, and candy. Yeah, probably that.

Anyway, it is a wonder I even like this holiday. I am somewhat surprised I don't despise it based on Halloweens past! You see, most youngsters put much thought into their costume... some even think on it all year long. Then, finally the day comes where they get to actually BE their heroes. Cinderella, Robin Hood, Spiderman, cheerleaders, football players, rock stars, etc...

Growing up in my house, it was different story. All of the "cool" costumes were no where near original enough for my eccentric mother. Never did we wear a store-bought costume! Every other kid would be wearing those. Mom spent many hours picking out and putting together our costumes every year. It didn't matter if we were cute as long as we were the funniest little ones walking around. Actually, it didn't matter if I was cute so long as I was funny. Somehow, every year, Corrie got to be the cute one and me- the funny one (for the most part).

Let me just give you some examples to back my argument up:

Corrie- Dorthy

Me- Auntie Em

Corrie- Scarlet

Mom- Rhett Butler

Me- Ms. Prissy (Scarlet's maid)... also, I must add, I had to go to every door and say, "Oh Ms. Scarlet, I don't know nothin bout birthin no babies"-- I was five.

My best friend- Raggedy Ann

Me- Andy

My best friend- a pumpkin

Me- Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

Me- The Wrinkle Fairy... dressed up like a really old lady with gray hair, a pillow butt, and bags of "crows feet" and "cellulite" (I didn't even know what those things were at that age!)

Corrie- Al from Home Improvement

Me- Wilson from Home Improvement

Despite all of the crazy costumes- I never did mind it. Okay-- when I had to wear panty hose on my head for a wig and then someone took off my wig and I was just a panty hose-head, I did cry. But other than that... I still loved it all.

And now as an adult, I'm not scared to just be "the funny one" and not the popular "sexy one"

(as I have recently been Michael Phelp's mom and Meredith from The Office).

Whatever character you may be this year, I hope you have a fun, safe, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Oh, Baby!

I haven't blogged in so long... I have thought about it many times, but just couldn't do it. For the past 5 months (well, ok really 4) I have been very sick. As most of you are aware- I have been sick for good reason! I am expecting a little one on February 17, 2011. Nathan and I weren't even trying to have a baby, but through God's graciousness, He saw it fit to bless us with a wonderful surprise! We weren't even sure of our chances of conceiving. I have had "issues" since puberty- but more so- Nathan was diganosed with and treated for testicular cancer 3 years ago. GOD IS SO GOOD! And even though this came as a complete shock- and even though it took a minute to get used to the fact that I am pregnant... I couldn't be happier! I will be 20 weeks this Thursday, and we find out the sex of the baby TOMORROW (Tuesday)!!!!! I probably won't even be able to sleep tonight, I am so excited! And even though I am just ready to know what we are having, I am more anxious to hear that the baby is wonderfully perfect!

As I mentioned before, I have been very sick. This has been the hardest 4 months of my life! I started throwing up the day I turned 6 weeks, and I am still getting sick! In the beginning, I lost 8 lbs. due to how sick I was. I have made that weight up though- haha! I am not nearly as sick as I was just a few short weeks ago, and I am so very thankful for that! I have hyperemesis gravidarum, and unless you have been there and have been that sick (which many of you have), you just have no idea of the level of suffering. I know there are a lot of people in this world that have truly debilitating diseases that cause a lot of suffering, and I am not at all trying to say what I have is worse. Completely separate from that- I'm just saying- it has been rough! But at least I have a wondeful bright light at the end of the tunnel! Now, I am not bringing all of this up to have a pity party.. and I am quite sick of complaining about it (haha), but I am just wanting to bring you up to date.

On a brighter note, I have been feeling a little bit of movement for about two weeks now. It is not all of the time- but occasionally it will happen. Every time it does, I am amazed that there is something alive inside of me! It makes me feel like I am the only perosn on earth that has ever experienced something that special!

Don't worry fellow blog readers, this blog is not about to become a pregnancy/baby/family blog- we plan to write as usual (except hopefully a little more often!), but I will share any funny/special stories that this experience may bring to my life!

I will ask now for a special prayer tonight for my little one. First and foremost, please pray for a healthy baby to be shown on the ultrasound tomorrow. Secondly, pray that this baby will cooperate, and we will be able to catch a glimpse between those sweet little baby legs!

Disney!!

I need help, advice, tips...whatever you call it. Patrick and I are going to Disney World in two and a half weeks. We have been SO excited about this trip! We are actually going without our kids...I know, I know. Who goes to Disney World without their kids? Isn't it made for kids?? Well, we are basically twelve years old at heart, so it's actually quite fitting. We've been wanting to get away (just the two of us) and take a little mini-vacation. Everything we came up with just paled in comparison to the glorious fun that is Disney. So...we booked it and haven't regretted our decision on the place at all. I would like to add that we are planning on taking the kids in a year for a big, huge vacation with my whole family. Can't wait!! We are telling ourselves that we're just going to "check it out" for everyone. haha:)


Anyway, back to needing advice. You see, the closer we get to leaving, the more anxious I am getting about leaving the girls. I have been ridiculously looking forward to this, and now all I can think about is how much I am going to miss them. We will be gone four nights, and I've never ever been away from them for more than a night. (Well, Lily went to Alabama with my mom for two nights, and that was tough!) So...I need some words of wisdom from my friends who have been on a mini-vacation without their kids. Will I have fun?? Or will I miss them terribly and be miserable?? Is there anything I can do to help me NOT sob the whole time? Does it get easier each time? I know this probably all sounds silly. I mean, it is only four nights. But...it's our first time. And I really love my girls:) So, please...give this nervous mother some encouragement!! If you read this and do not have kids, any tips on Disney World would be appreciated too. Favorite restaurants? Best rides? Skip this? Don't miss that? I'm desperate for some sort of feedback.


Thanks for reading, and thank you for the words of wisdom that I just KNOW you will leave me:) And now I leave you with these two adorable little faces: Can you see why I'm not looking forward to leaving these babies?? Oh, I love them so!!

I love my first friend!!

Due to how very sick I have been, I am late on a very important blog! I will be blogging about all that goodness in a later post (no promises to when because it is REALLY hard for me to even look at a computer these days).

I missed Corrie's birthday blog.. a while ago. It was not forgotten about. In fact, I had been excited all year to write her birthday blog. But I missed it :( Not on purpose, but I still missed it. Before I can write another single blog about anything, and although it is not her birthday anymore, I still want to say a word about my first friend. I knew it would kind of be a hard one for me to write because it is hard to say how much I love her- and the reasons why.

She is my best friend. All of my life (even when we were fighting like crazy as teens) I have looked up to Corrie. To me, she, almost always, knows best. She has, almost always, done what is right. She truly was my first friend. We have always been very close, but there were a few years (those preteen and teenage years) that I highly doubted we would ever be best friends. But as the years went by and as we both matured, we became super close. I can't even remember the last time we argued. And now, there is not a day that goes by that I don't talk to her at least 3 times. Most days, I even get to see her! I have so much fun with her every time we are together- even if we are just sitting on her couch talking. It never gets old or boring. And it is our dream to live next to each other... hopefully that dream will come true sooner rather than later :)

She is so wise. I know that I can go to her for the best, most God-centered advice- always with my best interest at heart. She isn't scared to tell me things she knows I will not want to hear. She is the best mediator when I am upset in situations involving others.

She is the best mom. I adore watching her with her girls. Luckily, we had a wonderful mom growing up that taught us well. But now that Nathan and I are so close to parenthood, I pay close attention to the details of parenting. Corrie (and Patrick) are such awesome role models in that area. I ask Corrie all the time if she cares if I copy an idea. I am literally writing them down. I am constantly impressed with her.

She is a godly woman. Again, in every aspect of her life: marriage, motherhood, friendships, etc.. she shows God's love in an awesome way. There is no doubt who comes first in their household! I love that we can talk about all that stuff together! -- it is so encouraging and it keeps me held accountable! I love it!

She is so fun. She is crazy and so funny and a little nerdy. haha. She always makes me laugh. Sometimes, I am laughing at her... but laughing nonetheless!

So.. in a nutshell. I love my first friend! I just wanted to post a short little note about her greatness :) I think she is great- and anyone privileged enough to know her loves her too! You just can't not.

Sorry...but it's my blog, so I can

Hey blog readers! Okay, so we decided to sale our house. We're going to try the FSBO route for a few weeks before actually listing it. So...yes, I am about to post a link for all of you to view a few pics of my house. I realize that probably no one that reads this is going to buy our home, but I'm going to give this "for sale by owner" thing my best effort. Besides, if someone comes soon...we can certainly negotiate a little more if we don't have to pay a realtor a large chunk of our cash. So people, if ANYONE you know is interested, please give me a call or send me a message!! Okay, that's all of the soliciting I will ever do on this blog. I promise. I think. Unless I need to again... Oh, and if anyone brings me a buyer without a realtor involved, I promise you I will literally give you a thousand dollars. We are willing to co-op with a realtor if necessary, though. However, I cannot guarantee $1000 at that time. :) Okay, I'm shutting up.

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/RRGWT

Check us out! Have a GREAT labor day weekend! I know I will as we make small, but necessary, improvements to our house :/