Phone Dump

I was swiping through my photos yesterday and realized they pretty much sum up what's been going on lately (besides my ER visit. no photos, please!)  side note: 10 years ago if I would have said "swiping through my photos" it would have made it sound like I was manically spreading them out all over the place, or possibly "making it rain" with my pictures. Sorry. Tangent.

So here's my phone dump, and not in exact chronological order.


I discovered that my house had a mouse. And that made me INSANE.

yeah. that's mouse crap.

So naturally, I assumed mice made a home in my dishtowel basket. I chucked it outside and ran.

No, I'm not trapped under a rug. That's my view above rotund belly at 22 weeks. 

Have you heard of this? Best invention ever. Darby traveled three hours without panting or pacing (a problem she developed since we got the mini van) and was calmer than normal during the thunder storm we had over the weekend.

SO WORTH IT

 She sort of looked like a helper dog.

So chill. So chill I might just pee in your bed this weekend instead of telling you it's time to go out.

Yeah. She peed on our bed in the middle of the night. It was unrelated to the thundershirt. It was the night I was given morphine and I think I slept a little deeper than normal. She also had a chill pill before bed (she also doesn't sleep during the night while we're up north.) I'm sort of relieved it was her and not me.

Dad. Your jokes are lame.

Completely fascinated with the storm sewer grate. 

She looks so smart ever since her auto accident. 

 I picked up a potty to get Charlotte familiar with it.

Just testing the waters

Off to the hives to collect honey

I must get my power seller status back!!

Yes! Another positive rating! 

Eyes on the water, Captain Charlotte

She tells us she knows how to swim, but we don't trust her.

Ruby. Your face is squashed in.

And that?  is hilarious.

                                       

                                                      Watchin Elmo with my baby sister

We came back from my not so great weekend (everyone else had a nice time...) and fortunately caught that bastard mouse, but I'm not sure he was working alone. I need to set out more traps. 

I've also been feeling much better and have moved forward eating regular food. My doctor is hesitant to do much testing while I'm pregnant, so hopefully whatever that flare up was, it doesn't happen again. 

That's all for now, folks. 

23 weeks already?

I can't believe I'm already over half way through this pregnancy!
It's been an adventure.
Here's what's been going on...(as I copy my friends' blogs with my own answers)

How far along? 23 weeks. That means I'm in my 5th month for those of you who dislike those of us who use weeks to measure. :)

Baby's size? I have an ultrasound later this week, maybe I'll find out for sure, but baby should be about 12 inches and 1 lb!! I can distinctly remember how scary it was knowing the size of a baby at like 5 weeks pregnant (when we found out). A sesame seed. Seriously! Obviously 1 pound is still very vulnerable, but she has organs and everything now! A teeny baby!

Weight Gain? This one has been tough to deal with lately. I've been feeling very sorry for myself. Let's just say I'm right on track according to the charts. I say I'm on the fast track to obesity. I know, I'll shut up. One thing I'm not understanding lately is how I may mention that I feel like a cow or something, and the response I get is "at least you have a reason!" Now is not the time to agree with me. mmmmmmmmmKAY?!

Maternity clothes? Yes! Most of my clothes are maternity, a few tops and dresses are regular size, but not fitting as well. I should mention that I recently won $100 to motherhood maternity! I am not completely sure how I won it. I do not care. It said I could spend it at Pea in the Pod as well...which I favor over motherhood. However, the pea in the pod at macy's doesn't count! So I skipped on over to motherhood and still spent it easily! Woohoo!

Stretch marks? Not that anyone should notice. If I am examining myself closely, I could imagine some. I'm doing my best to not pay attention.

Belly button in or out? It's in, but I can tell it's going to make it's outie debut very soon. It's hilarious! What a strange phenomenon.


Sleep? Mmmm sleep! I've been sleeping great ever since I got my crazy boppy pregnancy pillow. I use it whenever I'm reading in bed, and I sleep all night with it. It's miraculous. I also still squeeze in naps whenever possible.


Foods I am loving? uhh, most foods, unfortunately. Which is better than the first 16 weeks...where very few things were acceptable. Arby's sounds good A LOT, I don't have it that often. And if presented with pickles, I'm psyched! I've totally lost it though..what are those little slices called? Chips? Medallions? Discs? Not spears. I love those little zippy crunch buddies.

Foods I am hating? Depends on the moment. Not too picky anymore, but I have my moments.

Best moment this week? This week? How about the last two weeks...Feeling baby move BIG time on the outside! I can see my hand move or my belly shift. It's indescribable. Sometimes I can't help but let out a little squeal when it happens. It's brought tears a couple of times(I know...I'm a softie.) Marcus has gotten to feel it just a couple of times. As excited as I am for him to feel her move, I just look forward to the day where he get's to hold her for real. Oh boy. Hormones. Next question!!


Movement? Oh oops. I didn't read ahead. Um...disregard.

Symptoms? There are lots of funny things that I want to share, but I may need to leave an anonymous post somewhere because if you're not into the whole pregnancy thing and you're reading this, you will not be intrigued. But I can't wait to hear about your pregnancy symptoms! :) One of the new things I've noticed is my feet and lower legs have gotten puffy at the end of the day. Time for some JOBST! Do they make jobst for the face? What can I do for my puffy face? I've also started to get some pretty crazy heartburn. It's rough!

Gender? 85% girl! I hesitate to say 15% boy, because that's totally weird. I guess I should say the dr is 85% certain it's a girl. I am having another ultrasound this week, hopefully they can double check.

What I miss? Do NOT make me feel guilty for this. I miss wine. There. I said it!
I also miss my tough work outs. Had I felt better during the first several weeks, I could have kept up and tapered a little bit, but I didn't. I go for walks and attempt yoga. But I miss weights and punching and jump rope. I can't even imagine jumping rope right now. HA!

What I'm looking forward to? Getting the nursery started...we bought a crib today!

Weekly Wisdom: This is for myself, you can use it if you'd like. Do not worry about the scale. This is temporary. There is a lot of vanity involved with being a girl, few people can deny it. Get over yourself and accept your growing body!

Milestone: Feeling baby and not feeling crappy!

Emotions: All over the place! Oh, poor everyone. In general, I'm feeling pretty happy. I've always been pretty moody. (Oh, poor Marcus!!) Mostly I'm bubbling over with joy, but it's still a complicated time. I am having a second ultrasound this week to double check baby's heart. They told me 100 times not to worry. And had they been concerned, I do not think they would have waited 4 weeks to check. This is the first time I've actually mentioned it...and I realize how scared I actually am. So there's one big emotion: fear.

So there's the update, friends!
I'm surprised at how ready I am to meet this little girl, even though technically nothing else is ready, including her! So I will be patient and keep growing her.

Thanks for checking in. :)


edit after re-reading post: I'm not that concerned about food, weight, working out as I made it seem!! Gosh, I sound lame! I think that's today talking. Tomorrow I could have a completely different approach! :)

Belly Expansion

Hi Friends!
It's been over a week since my last post...nothing real exciting going on in Emily World.

The family is anxiously awaiting to hear when the newest addition will arrive! My sister in law is due (well, technically overdue) to have her first any day now. First baby on the in-law side! A little boy is on his way, and we can't wait to meet him.

Since I don't have a lot of time at the moment, I leave with you these: A photographic journey of my growing belly (and legs, butt, face, boobs & arms...but let's look at the belly, shall we?)

12 weeks along..showing early. Lots of people asking "Are you sure it's not twins?!?!??!?!?!?! LOL ROTFLMAO OMG"

16 Weeks

18 weeks...I've determined that this dress makes me look large.

21 weeks. Less large looking...strange. I should not eat so much salt.

Okay, obviously do not understand how to format pictures on here yet. Give me time, bloggees.

That's all for now, check back soon. I'm sure I'll have something interesting to whine about in the next day or so.

Peace out, homies.

A Time Like No Other

My plan was not to talk about babies and pregnancy all the time. Since we're in Emily World though, this is what is going on.
Pregnancy is really a time like no other.
In what other phase of life is it completely normal to comment on the way people look on a regular basis?
Okay, I got it.
Infancy.
Infancy and Pregnancy are kind of the same.

To the baby: "How big is Emily?" "Soooooo big!!!!!" "I just wanna squeeze those chubby cheeks!" "Let me see that buddha belly!" "Oops, did you just spit up?"

To the baby mama: "Wow! You're really getting big!" "Imma touch your Buddha belly!" "Have you been throwing up?"

Yes, these are the two times in life where it seems to be perfectly acceptable to do & ask these things.
I will say that I have one rule that should be followed by everyone who is ever in contact with a pregnant woman. COMPLIMENTS ONLY! Now is not the time to verbalize your observations, unless you happen to be observing how absolutely stunning and goddess-like she is.
Things like, "I thought you might be expecting, your face is much fuller." or "Looks like you're taking advantage of 'eating for two'." or "Are you sure you're not having twins??"
Perhaps these aren't actual insults...but don't even bother with something that could come off that way.
COMPLIMENTS ONLY!!
Oh, one last thing. I really don't want to hear "oh, you don't even know what's its like..." (being uncomfortable, going through labor, raising children, having teenagers, etc...) You know what? You're right! But what I do know is what it's like right now. So stop. Unless I ask you what it's like, zip it.
This got mean. I'm sorry. One too many non-compliments may do that to a girl.
:)

Consider this blog to have training wheels.

I decided it's high time I start my own blog instead of just creepin around on yours. So...here is a little background:


Marcus and I got married in November 2006. The past 3 and a half years have gone quickly and wonderfully. We always knew we'd start a family someday, and "5 years" seemed to be the answer we'd give when people would ask when. But 5 years in Emily-talk is different than 5 years in Marcus-talk. When Marcus says he'll be done with a project in 20 minutes, it usually is at least another hour. When Emily gives herself an hour to do something, she'll usually wrap it up in 20 minutes. SO...are you catching on here?

I enjoyed thinking ahead to the days where we'd have a little one, but was loving my time and freedom with my husband. We love taking long weekends away, throwing parties at our place, and being spontaneous in general. But after a few years of wedded bliss, we mutually agreed that 2010 could be our year. We started to make the most out of our time going on vacations and being "selfish". We had it in mind that everything changes when you have a baby, and we may not be able to maintain our current lifestyle. In my mind, I'd get pregnant the moment we'd start trying. Marcus planned on it taking a while...or perhaps he just hoped it would. But after "a few" (5 or 6, depending on who you ask...) months, it happened!! Bun successfully in oven!

People love to ask how I found out. I never realized what a personal question it really is. I mean, really...how do you think I found out? I suppose there are a lot of people who weren't "trying" to get pregnant and end up on TLC's "I didn't know I was pregnant". Wait, no. There really shouldn't be that many people.
Basically, folks, I had been hoping for a few months, didn't want to wait another couple of days to take a home pregnancy test, so I peed on a stick. When all you've ever seen is one pink line every time you've tried a test, it's all you expect to see. On this particular day, Mother's Day '10, I saw two lines. My first thought was "oh well, not this month either...." and then....WAIT, WHAAA?? So I ran downstairs, forgot about any cute way I ever thought about telling Marcus and showed him the test. Since he's not overly familiar with the concept, I pretty much had to explain it to him. We were both THRILLED! Couldn't believe it!

So now, at 19 weeks pregnant, I start this blog. I have had a text book, every-symptom possible pregnancy. You name it, I've probably experienced it. Maybe not worse than anyone else, but I've been there! At almost 5 months pregnant, I am feeling much better, and am feeling far less gross than I did for the first several weeks.
Whoever came up with the pregnant woman glow thing is delusional. Unless "glow" is grease, dark circles and blotchy skin. In which case, yes, thank you, I am glowing.

This Friday, we're having the "big" ultrasound. Our plan is to find out the sex. I can't wait. I have ants in my stretchy waist pants. So if you hang tight, you can find out if it's xx or xy.
Needless to say, I am over the moon for this little baby. I know Marcus is too, but I'll do my best not to speak for him. I am looking forward to documenting the next 20+ weeks right here, and hoping for some good advice and fun stories.

Thanks for visiting! :)