27 Week Baby Bump

27 Weeks, 1 Day

Yay!! I have made it another week.  This past few days have flown by.  Good news is I haven't been able to take as many naps as I usually do, maybe helping me progress into being more active.  I have been super busy helping decorate the church building for a birthday party, running errands with my future SIL and my CousinIL, going to estate auctions and planning a meal for my BIL Birthday/Tim's father's day.  Busy.

Happy 1st Father's Day Tim!!

Pregnancy symptoms: *drum roll*  blood sugar, more back pain, trouble standing for a while, moodiness, loss of appetite (getting sick while eating), and extra sensitive lady parts.  I also feel super strong baby movement, have awesome hair and don't crave much of anything besides ice.

Now, even though I don't crave many foods at all, well, more like I am following the same pattern as before where I find a food that I like and learn how to make it and basically eat only that for a week, I have been wanting some real mashed potatoes.  I am not talking about the kind where you boil potatoes, add milk and butter and call it a dish.  I want some think, southern style potatoes and I wasn't too convinced that there was anyone capable of teaching me.  Leave it to my SIL, Amanda (A.K.A Aunt Cupcake) to say "hey, I can show you!".  Oh girly, you better!!  And she did!! She used basically a whole bag of russet potatoes, peeled & boiled them.  Put them in her kitchen aid with 2 or more sticks of butter and some sour cream.  That's it!! I am LOVING this and they were sooooo delicious. :)
Tim enjoyed his first father's day.  He got a tie from Sehara that he picked out and a nice full lunch with an ice cream bar that included all of his favorite toppings.

things I want to learn to do

!.) Make homemade ice cream
2.) Sew-- a little more than that though, be able to make some things of my own for babies. Like, cloth diaper inserts, cute little bows, tutus, blankets & quilts. I see a lot of things for older kids and adults and I'm not impressed, so I'll stay away from those.
3.) Make bread
4.) Learn how to be an extreme coupon-er...maybe not so much extreme but at least know what I am doing. Stores have coupon policies and reward systems.  Tim and I do the Kroger thing.  We love being able to get almost a dollar off gas every month.

Mom Blogs & Blogs in General

Since I am 13 ish weeks away from starting a new round of piglets, I thought I would share that I am absolutely addicted to looking at blogs.  I love a lot of different kinds.  My favorites are my friend's blogs, then I love looking at the blogs they are subscribed to.  That's how I started really getting involved with the blogging world.  Just in the past few days I have found several that I love and a few that I want to look more into. 

According to Babble, these blogs were rated the top 50 mom blogs of 2010.  This is one of those that I want to look into some more. The biggest problem I foresee going into these blogs is that they are probably really big! I have started disliking blogs that have tabs... I don't know why.  Just put all your stuff right there on that main page.  I guess it's more for the owner to be better organized?  Because, goodness knows that I get SO confused when I start having to go through tabs.

I really like finding cloth diaper blogs too.  I haven't subscribed to any yet, just because I want to keep monitoring the posts to see if it is something I really want appearing on my feed all the time.  I already had to take a few off because their posts were suffocating me.

Anyway, this is probably something I'll start sharing more about because it's what I do ALL day long.  Like I said, I am addicted.  I cannot get enough information!!!

26 Week Baby Bump!!

26 Weeks!

Here I am, a few days into my 26th week.  Time is ticking by...  There are a few things I am experiencing lately: back pain, a ton a baby movement, getting fat (j/k).
I don't usually have back pain.  I always have hip and neck pain, but this back stuff is getting really uncomfortable.  Tim is constantly rubbing me. :)
My little  baby moves sooooo much.  I love it so much that it almost cancels out that back crap.  Aunt Cupcake got to experience some serious acrobats last night at Grammy and Pa's house.  She was like "wow, omg, omg, wow".  My little baby is a mover!! I am a little concerned that he will never sleep and always move once he is born.  Surely, that can't be the case?  Sehara was and continues to be such an excellent sleeper.  Each kid is different...  I gained 10 lbs at my last OB appointment.  That was unnecessary weight, so I cut my portions and got rid of some of that weight.  No, I didn't lose weight, but I just didn't gain it, if that makes any sense.  Well, I guess my body lost some weight, and the baby gained some.  We'll stick to that.
I really want to get back into baking, but maybe that will have to wait.  Goodness knows that when we finally have our own place I will be cooking a ton.  We're trying to go the more home-made route.

24 Week Baby Bump

I meant to take a 23 week picture because 23 weeks is a milestone into the 6th month and the last month of the second trimester (yay!!) but I never felt like doing it.  It was a rough and depressing week.

24 weeks, 2 days

 SO here I am, halfway into my 24th week and I'm ready to talk about it. :)  I am experiencing a lot of anxiety and sadness lately.  Really, when you think about it, it's probably to be expected with being in a new town, finding completely new doctors, getting Sehara's schedule set, meeting my new family and becoming friends with them.  Oh, and going to church on Wednesdays and twice on Sundays, getting to know those folks.  Mostly, the biggest problem I am having is keeping my blood sugar up.  It's a balance and I can't figure it out.  I know that I do very well if I eat eggs, turkey bacon, and a slice or two of toast and then wait until 11:30 to eat anything sweet.  After that I can't figure it out, or it all gets screwed up if I don't eat the eggs.  I don't get it.  I can't have sugar too early, but then if I wait I get so sick.  Really, if that's it, if that is the worst thing about being pregnant, then I will take it.  Because think about all those who can't even eat without medicine every day.  That would stink.  The one other thing that just popped up the day before yesterday is... *drum roll*... back pain.  My back doesn't really ever hurt.  I do have hip and neck problems and occasionally feel the need to pop my back, but I'm getting uncomfortable. 
The best(est) thing about pregnancy is feeling my little baby boy move.  In one of the books I am reading it shows a picture of what he looks like in the uterus, and he's already running out of room.  I can tell too, his movements are STRONG.  Sehara wasn't this hardcore about kicking me around. When I sit down, he is all in my ribs.  It is definitely a different feeling, and like I just said, Sehara didn't go near my ribs at all, that I can remember.  I feel like I am getting to know him.  I know that will all change when he's here, but it's nice to know that I have a head start before I have to share him with the world.
Okay, so I am reading out of three books.  The first is "What To Expect When You're Expecting", the second is "Mayo Clinic: Guide To A Healthy Pregnancy", and the third is "Your Pregnancy week by week".  The last two I am borrowing from my cousin Melanie.  Whenever I refer to what I have read, it's come from these books.  Well, and maybe some websites...
I have my first OB/GYN appointment with my new OB this Friday.  I'm secretly wishing that he does a get-to-know-you ultrasound, but I will not hold my breath on that.  He said he will have to examine me this visit and I welcome that.  I interviewed him a few weeks ago and I think I really like him.  Time shall tell.  This is not going to be our last baby, so... I'll be needing him in the future.

Tim's Graduation

How Handsome!!

Tim's Graduation went great!  Here are a few photos from that event!  All went well, mostly the whole family came, and the ceremony wasn't too boring.  I didn't like the guest speaker, but I think I'm too young at this point to appreciate the speakers just yet.  His accent was too strong for me.  Just didn't understand him... though I did hear a few people say they really enjoyed his speech, which is great!
We followed the graduation with a large dinner at Carrabba's.  I loved the food, but I will not go back there.  I called ahead two weeks before and said 20-30 people would eat there from our family, and they put down 20+, and that works, but then they only had 20 seats ready... excuse me??  To top that off, we called for directions, and FOUR times, got the wrong directions.  I seriously had an anxiety attack and had to sit out in the bathroom for a good while to calm down. Not my idea of fun. 

While we are both extremely excited to have Bachelor degrees, we probably won't support, or give back, to Berea College. Yes, we did get a great education for much less $$ than any other school, but we have both faced too many hardships at the school to even consider (at this point) to support them.  The icing on the cake was yesterday, matter-of-factly... well, besides them forgetting to order Tim's degree in time for graduation.  He turned in the application 2 years ago, when he declared his major, but this last semester, they kept nagging him to turn it in.  He didn't understand because he had already done it.  So, he turns in another one and they STILL get on him for not submitting it.  Finally, he just emails this guy and told him he had already done it twice.  They find it, but don't have it ready for him.  Anyway, for that icing, Tim forgot, along with not having the money, to buy Windows 7 for his laptop through the bookstore.  They offer it and another disc for an extremely low price.  Well, he realized this only yesterday and called up there to see if he could give his money information over the phone and have them mail it.  The Bookstore told him that they were sorry, but since he graduated on Sunday he was no longer a student and they will not sell it to non-students.  Umm, really??  How about since he still does not have his degree, you can hand it over?  I don't understand the politics behind that but it sure doesn't seem that they are building good alumni-relations.  Bummer for you guys because we hope to be successful in life and we won't be sharing it with you!

Melted Wires

Here I am on a Thursday, not quite as bored as I should be.  I'm keeping Gabriel a few times a week for now.  Gabriel is my new cousin's son, making him my cousin as well, but we have decided that we will  make it uniform and all be aunts and uncles.  It is going to get too confusing with having to differentiate and it builds better bonding!!  He is such a joy.  He has a double ear infection right now which makes him a fussy baby but it's nothing I can't handle.  Plus, as he gets better, his spirit improves. :)

As more times passes since Tim's graduation (and a number of other friend's graduation) I have noticed a lot of people are joining the Berea College Black Alumni page.  I just wonder what would happen if someone made a Berea College White Alumni group.  It would probably be called blasphemous and racist.  I have nothing against young black people making a stand in their odds (statistically speaking).  It was just a thought and now that I have expressed that thought, I will let it go.

Tim found a temporary job, just a week after graduating! Go him!! I feel bad now, in his first full week because I encouraged him to take it.  It's a sales jobs based on commission for the first few weeks then he will be promoted to a manager position.  He has not had any consistent hours so far and the ones that they said he would have were 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m (and we don't think he'll be paid for his loooong hours).  Today is the first time he has been given those hours.  But one of his coworkers said that they don't even pick them up from their site until after 8 usually!  We'll give it a few more days then I'm going to affirm his quitting idea.  He needs to focus all that energy on getting a great job and not waste it on an idiot company.  What really happened was the guy who pitched him the job is a top notch salesman himself and I panicked (and I think Tim did as well) because how often does that happen?  It sounded really nice at first and I hate being broke all the time. *sigh*  We're just putting money into with gas, and all of his time and energy too.  It's not worth it unless he gets paid what he deserves, and we're talking a lot of $$$ here.

Bertha is working again...not.  Turns out, the battery that we bought specifically for her ACCORDING to the "book" is the wrong one and all the wires were melted together, probably causing the short.  Probably didn't even need to get a new starter either... My dad and brother replaced the wires and I guess my mom will buy the new battery, because, goodness knows, we can't afford it or a new car.  Battery wins.  Then, when it is test driven, I'll go get it.  It has to be able to withstand the long drive though or I'm not even going to do it.  Maybe if I can get it to my sister's house, which is 40 minutes from my parent's to Tim's cousin's house in Cincinnati, then here, maybe that will work.  I'll talk to Tim about it.  Baby Steps for my fat cow.  Haha, when I describe Bertha to my new family, I don't think they realize that this car is literally a cow.  Even with the front bumper finally fixed (*cough* no more duct tape on it), she still is the ugliest, fattest, thing to roam the streets and with my Kentucky plates on it, I'm sure they'll all agree.  I'm considering painting daisies on her. 

A Little Update

The first week in Fairborn has gone by smoothly. I have gotten upset about a few things, such as having to take a written drivers test on Ohio driving laws in order to change my license (I have not done this and don't plan on it for a while) and something else that I can't remember right now.  The theater prices are substantially higher than any other movie theater I have EVER been to and things like getting a cup of ice aren't as convenient as they once were. A lot of some problems I am having has everything to do with me not knowing the area yet and having lack of freedom because of that.  I can't even trust myself to drive to a gas station!  It will change.... I've asked Tim to let me drive some places, like to church by following his passenger directions, but that is a challenge because he forgets that I don't know where I am going and neglects to tell me the next turn. 
I love where we are staying and I love my new grandparents!  We are staying in their huge guest bedroom and Sehara has the room right across the hallway.  This place is so much better than where we were staying last.  We have complete freedom, but are encouraged to dive right into family time whenever possible.  Grandmama makes like every meal for us (!!!!) and LOVES to do it.  I have found it is easier to eat when I don't have the stress of cooking as well.  I think I may have gained a pound in this week.  Not bad considering the make-up my body has to do for my little baby boy and Tim is delighted that my appetite has increased.  We are in walking distance of my mother-in-law and new brothers, my new cousin Melanie and her little family, and her parents.  Sehara's bus stop is right in the middle of all of us so we usually walk to Melanie's house everyday after we get her off.  I have kept Melanie's 11 month old son, Gabriel, a few times this week so she can get some school work done.  He is a delight!! I love that boy so much.  I sometimes just keep him a little longer than she needs me to so I can get some more practice in.  Gabriel adores Tim, and Tim adores him right back (so does Sehara but she makes me nervous).

22 Weeks!!

So today, I was thinking that I hadn't yet taken my 21 week picture and thought maybe I would just take it really quickly and post it... then I thought, hold on, today I am 22 weeks!!!  How exciting.  This week has gone by so fast.  As you can see, I have that little baby bump.  Actually, depending on my clothes, I do sometimes just look like a chubby person, or one of those nasty hill-billy swollen belly-skinny-legs people.  I have gotten belly rubs already, and I don't mind (yet).  I do have my strategies when I start getting annoyed and I think if people don't pick up on them, I'll classify them as "stupid" and avoid them.  Family is different though!

Tim bought the movie "The Business of Being Born" from Amazon about a week ago.  We just wanted to see different aspects of birth so we can prepare ourselves for what WE want and how we want this baby to come into the world...if we can.  I understand things happen beyond our control and we'll prepare for those options as well (i.e., I've been reading articles from moms who had emergency C-sections, and how they could have prepared themselves if they could go back...what to take, how to rearrange your bedroom...) but what we want isn't so far off.  It's just what my body should be able to do and we'll see if it does.  Anyway, the movie was pretty good.  It was more of a movie advocating midwifery usage.  My only problem with it was the 5 or 6 curse words it had, which means that Sehara can't watch it (if she wanted to and I don't think she would).
I think this blog is long enough! There is still more I would like to write about, but the time will come for that soon enough. :)

Half-Way There!

I stuffed my last taco yesterday!! I also cleaned my last tray, refilled napkins, sauces and took charge of my last register (hopefully)!!  I am just so excited.  It was good timing too because my previously mean, but now-nice manager told me that I was no longer allowed to sit down during the day... I'll leave that one alone.

Tim graduates in exactly a week from today.  He's been waiting a long 4 years for it and has deserved his degree and I am so proud of him.  All he needs now is a job, well, and a haircut.

We went out last night with Tim's friends to Logan's Roadhouse and had some much needed fun.  It was a night full of laughter!  We asked Suzanna and Fred to keep Sehara because we love the way they parent their children and trust them with her personality.  It takes a lot of patience to keep up with her.  We'll be going back to see them this Thursday around 5:30 for a cookout. :)

There was a pretty scary storm last night. Sheesh.  It woke me up around 2:00 a.m., and I cuddled very close to Tim fearing my life would surely end soon and he slept right through it...  I didn't have the heart to wake him up.  I eventually fell back to sleep but woke up exhausted and I don't cringe about that exhaustion because I'll be able to sleep as much as I want next week.  There are just a few things I need to get accomplished... call Sehara's new school up and get her papers faxed, go through our bins and just sort through things we won't need for a while (like our winter clothes, tools...), close my bank account, etc.  It's not too big.

This is crazy!  For the longest time, I didn't want to show with this baby, but now that everyone knows, I'm like, "come on.... get bigger".  I don't need to gain a bunch of weight now, but I do want my belly to stick out.  As it is now, people only barely have a hint that I'm pregnant if I wear tight shirts, but any other shirt and I just look chubby.   Here's my 20 week picture:

Enjoy!

..a little bit of everything..

I got to hang out with my Dreama Bean today.  Actually, I was supposed to hang out with my friend Josh, but I totally forgot and when Dreama called to say she'd be close, I jumped on it!  I don't get to see her enough. It was a great visit.  We went to Steak 'N Shake and chowed down on the best burgers and topped it off with an excellent milkshake.  In the process I accidentally skipped out on Josh, but we'll meet up tomorrow and Tim will hang out too. In the end, it all works out!  That's good though, because Josh just got accepted to the University of Hawaii (wooo-hooo) and we need to get some time in with him.  Golly, he and I have so much to catch up on.  Dreama and I got a little over a hour to fill in all the blanks. 

Here's my lovely Dreama Bean!  I think I posted a year ago about her graduation.
 
Jim and Valerie, Tim's friends first, came over last night to bring us a loot of baby items.  It was a great visit!  They got us a Jungle Baby Bath that came with a few bath toys, Jim apparently picked this bad boy out... he went bananas over it, a ton of clothes, the coolest pacifier (ever), a stain stick (it's supposed to work wonders and I hope it does), baby shampoo, the softest blanket with cute polka dots around the edges and a brochure on cloth diapers!  The brochure was cool because the diapers listed held our interest in the beginning but gDiapers won because of their overall pros versus cons.

I haven't posted belly pictures because I stink at taking them, but here are a few:

17 weeks

19 weeks, 3 days

I really do need to pick one top, probably a white one to show the belly better. I can say that I am super excited that it's getting bigger and I'm starting to look pregnant, boy do I feel it!  I think that since I am able to feel pregnant, I should look it too so people can sympathize. I will try to be more punctual with the photos though.  I need to document all about this pregnancy and the ones that will follow.

Tim had his big Senior Capstone presentation last night and invited Sehara and I to go.  Okay, he insisted that his immediate family be there.  We supported him fully, and he totally did an excellent job, and I'm not just saying that because I am his wife.  He had a clear objective and went about to explain it.  Just excellent.  He was able to answer every question that was asked by his professors during question/answer time, and sounded intelligent doing it.  To be honest, only about 3 other presentations were good.  Jim's was great (and relevant), and their friend Brenton's was funny (but didn't target anyone there due to it being about surfing).  I didn't know the other girl and already forgot what it was about-- oh, grocery bags!  These are Technology majors, so their interests range from here to waaaay over there.