They're here!

I'm mildly obsessed with these shoes. They look so comfy on her cute little feet and she was struttin' around... for real.

Score one for this mama.

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Baby #2 Update - 33 weeks

How far along: 33 Weeks

How big is baby: Durian Fruit

Average size: 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 lb.

Durian Fruit

Weight gain/loss: 33 lbs... +6 in the last two weeks! (more about this later)

Maternity clothes: Mixed with regular clothes, but always at least a little bit everyday

Stretch marks: No new ones!

Sleep: Surprisingly well as long as I'm comfortably positioned

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Sugary goodies are out of control, ice water

Exercise: Not so much since I'm in a lot of pain from mole removal surgery that happened on Tuesday. I'm supposed to take it easy for a while.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: Like crazy, I felt a foot for sure and she's not afraid to let me know she's in there.

The belly: I feel like it's gotten more pointy... judge for yourself in the picture below

What I'm loving: We've got a tentative name that we're trying out... won't share until we're 100% sure though! It's a relief to not be thinking about it all the time.

What I miss: Bending over without losing my breath, picking up my baby girl whenever I want, having shirts long enough to cover my belly

Symptoms: Some slight swelling in the feet, the "too full" feeling every time I eat

The nursery: No big changes this week, just keep adding clothes purchased or found for baby girl

What's different/the same this time: See "Last appointment details"

Best moment of the week: Trying to get Josie to say her sister's name... she gets close once in a while!

Last appointment details: So... I had my appointment today and was completely shocked to see that I had gained six pounds in just two weeks. That just seemed impossible to me! Yes I've been eating more sugary foods, but six pounds is a lot. To really add to the craziness, though, is that the last time I weighed in was just Tuesday (two days ago) and I have gained four pounds since then. Obviously, something is up and it's not just overeating, but I'm still worried about it. Plus now I'm at a higher weight than I was ever with Josie (I started about 5-8 lbs higher anyways) and that is just depressing... I was hoping to just stay under that number.

Anyways, weight gain aside, my blood pressure was also out of whack. It was super high (higher than ever in my life) at 151/82 and didn't go down all three times they tried. Finally they had me lay on my left side to help with circulation, and it dropped back down to normal. This is a problem because even though my resting b.p. is low, that isn't as important as my average b.p. because if that gets too high, I could go into preterm labor and obviously that is bad bad bad.

Preeclampsia is what they are worried about. I have two big symptoms but there are a bunch more that I don't have. Hopefully it is a fluke and everything is fine, but she asked me to check my blood pressure every other day or so and be weary of the other symptoms like headaches and dizziness or extreme swelling.

If it doesn't get under control I'll be put on bed rest. She said its really hard for women with these symptoms to be on bed rest because they feel fine but can't tell when their blood pressure is getting higher... hence the reason to be so cautious. I DO NOT want to be on bed rest for seven weeks.

Next appointment: 2 weeks with my midwife whom I have yet to meet. I am going to miss my OBGYN so much...she's been so great. I'm thankful that I had her as long as I did and am excited to meet the midwife and get some more questions answered. AND then after that appointment they'll be every week. Time is going so fast!

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Master bedroom Makeover. The beginning.

It's no secret that our master bedroom leaves much to be desired. It's a small room with a small walk-in closet and we share the bathroom with the rest of the upper level of our house. Neither of us mind sharing the bathroom although we both admit we'd love to have a master bathroom, but the closet and room size really fit the word "quaint" a little too well.

When we got our king-size bed, hubby planned on building a bed frame that would match our taste more. It was and is important to us because so many pieces of furniture in our house were given to us or found super cheap so they don't necessarily fit our tastes but definitely work for function-ability. We'd love to incorporate more of our style and thought that him making a one-of-a-kind bed frame would really help. This seems like a great dream, right? Because of course, as life goes, he has had no time to even remotely start this project. His business has been doing great and he's left with little to no time and a to-do list that keeps growing. Our bed frame project is close to the bottom of that list, so we figured we needed something in the meantime. It's been over a year since we got the bed, after all. It's time.

So hubby picked up a cheap metal frame from Menards and put it together last night (after Josie went to bed right across the hall. We're smart like that). We also took the opportunity to rearrange our room a little completely and see if there was a better way to cram fit in all of our very necessary furniture. Why didn't I take before pictures?? I never remember to do that. 

Previously, the bedroom layout was similar to this.

See? Crowded, awkward, wasted space (although not much since there just isn't that much space). We have always had our bed right there, it's just gotten bigger. It didn't look so crowded when we had a tiny little full-size bed, but come on. King-size is worth the floor space take over.

Here is what it looks like now.

Yes, we still have some homeless items (see the hallway? and the closet dresser? Full of "stuff" that needs homes). But did you see how much more room there is right when you walk in? It's wonderful! I'm thinking we'll put the bassinet in front of the dresser with the mirror. We don't use that dresser as much as the other one, so it won't be a big deal if some of the drawers are blocked off temporarily. I won't have much room to get into bed, but there will be just enough to slip by, and baby girl will be close enough that I shouldn't have to completely get up out of bed to grab her. We'll see... hopefully I'll remember to post pictures of that too.

Mostly I just want to remember this "before" picture because I want to dress it up a bunch more and make it more personal. This room has always been plain Jane since hardly anyone sees it and I have never felt any inspiration for it. What do you put on the big side walls?? I can imagine putting pictures on either side of the windows, but those side walls are huge and bare (except for our engagement pictures which will be moved).

Feel free to share your thoughts if you have any inspiration from the poorly taken photos above. 

Work in progress... always in progress and never finished!


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What we've been up to

1. We moved our furniture around in our bedroom now that we finally got a bed frame. Hubby wants to make one, but there is no time so bought a cheap one that will lift up the bed off the ground and called it good. The new layout means I'll definitely need to redecorate the walls. Sister - I'm calling out for your help!! 

2. I'm dreading moving the bassinet in to our bedroom because it looks bigger and more roomy now but will look crowded and awkward when baby girl joins us. At least it's temporary...

3. I had surgery to remove some skin around a few moles that were removed. The results had come back "abnormal" which is scary but thankfully not cancerous at this point. I'm going to start going to a dermatologist soon which will hopefully reassure me.

4. I decided not to fill my prescription for the pain meds after the surgery and surprisingly the pain isn't as bad as I was expecting. Yes I'm still uncomfortable with three huge incisions (two on my upper stomach and one on my left thigh) but I was expecting it to hurt a lot more. Granted, I am still limping around awkwardly and grimacing when I bend over, but what 33 week pregnant lady doesn't?

5. Josie cut another tooth this week and was all over the place dealing with the pain. She's up to six teeth now and her smile is so different now that you can see those pretty little pearly whites.

6. I've been working on my cupcake techniques and had made a "practice batch" today to share with my in-laws since they've helped out a lot lately with watching Josie as I am am constantly at the doctor (or so it seems). I spent all of Jo's nap making them and was walking out the door with them pleased that they turned out great when the cover flipped off causing me to drop all 12 cupcakes frosting side down. Let's just say that I threw the pan down and just stood there with my mouth open for too long while Jo tried to figure out what had just happened. It was not pretty. I'm glad that happened on the "practice batch".

7. I thought that I was not addicted to evening TV but there are a lot of shows I'm excited about this Fall. Grey's Anatomy (sucked me back in at the end of last season), Parenthood, Go On, Scandal, Dancing with the Stars, Private Practice... and there is more but I am blanking out. Thankfully I'm not addicted like "can't leave my house" addicted, so I think I'll be okay.

8. I have an appointment tomorrow so I'll have a baby #2 update after. Time's flying by now...



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Flying time and some weekend updates

I had a "take my breath away" moment (or ten) this weekend and whoa. not ready. I can no longer claim that  baby girl #2 will be here in two months because it's less than that. No no no how did this happen so fast? On one hand I'm so excited and it's getting so real but on the other hand, we're going to have two kids, another newborn with a ton of needs and a crazy schedule, and a totally different lifestyle to get used to. 

I've slowly (so so slowly) been prepping here and there. I sorted Jo's old clothes (mentioned in a previous post) and finally put them away. I've ordered a car seat cover for those cold winter months which I cannot wait to show you because it's adorable. We've started trying out the tentative name we've settled on. I've even been trying to get Jo to say it and have been mildly successful. The biggest thing though? I've been trying to imagine how life will change.

Part of my problem is that I just picture another Josie. I know that isn't accurate but it's hard for my brain to imagine anything different. Yet I know she'll be so unique and probably nothing like Jo... I still tend to picture the same little baby that we had 15 months ago. And then I picture Jo now running around like a mad woman all the time and start to panic. How will I do this mother-of-two thing? 

I have so many more thoughts on this, but for now let's focus on some proof that I've been productive.

Ok well, my mom and hubby have been productive... 

Mom and Dad came to keep me company last Thursday night while hubby finished up a job out of town, and they helped me get some little but huge jobs for me done like cleaning out the veggies that were ripe from the garden. It's not all of them, but aren't they pretty? I'm currently roasting the tomatoes in the oven to freeze for this winter. Smells delicious.

We went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch on Friday and met up with hubby who had just got back in town. Can we just discuss briefly how amazing Chinese food is? We haven't had it since Father's Day and I quite frankly enjoyed myself. So did Jo since she was able to people watch to her heart's content.

Then, THEN, my hubby forced me to watch the show DC Cupcakes. Bad news, let me tell you. I now have a desperate desire to work (or own?) a cupcake shop because it looks so!much!fun! and I want to master the signature swirl. 

With this new inspiration, I made cupcakes with good friend/cousin-in-law Missy, and they tasted wonderful. Lookwise? They'd have been thrown out of Georgetown Cupcakes for sure. I probably would have gotten a stern talking to also. We have some work to do before they are perfected, but I'm excited to keep trying. Now I just need an excuse to make so many cupcakes since just making them and then eating them is not so good for this sugar-induced practically all the time preggo lady. 

I was desperate to entertain Jo this morning because she was happy and I didn't want to lose that, so Buckley had to deal with it and this is what I came up with. 

Why was I so desperate? She had a fever and was miserable all day yesterday, not eating, but sleeping a ton as the day dragged on. I felt so bad for her, but thankfully it was short lived (and pretty obviously teething related only) so life goes on as normal today.

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Shoe woes

Toddlers must not be meant to wear shoes.

Is it so strange that my 14 month old needs some hard-soled shoes? I didn't think so, but apparently everyone else does. 

I was all about shopping online, until I realized I had no idea what size she currently is. I thought to myself, "Oh I'll just run to the mall and try some on, maybe even buy some in store (a phenomenon 'round here) and be done with it". Silly me, didn't know what I was asking for.

I did figure out what size she was by trying on some boys high top Nike's. (excuse me no way am I putting my girly girl in those). Then every store proceeded to tell me that they don't carry shoes that small. At all.

What?!

So back to online shopping once I got home, and the discouragement set in. Everything I found new was at least $40 and everything used was overpriced just because they were name brand. I was about to admit defeat and just pay more for the shoes I wanted, when I found a wonderful, fabulous, amazing promo code. 40% off!! I didn't think it could be true, but all of a sudden I went from paying $40 to only $28 with shipping. Much easier to stomach knowing that she's only going to wear them for a few months. Thankfully, I know that these shoes can be worn by both girls, so they'll go farther.

Here is what I ordered.

 

Are you dying right now? I have been since I pushed "Confirm Payment". I cannot wait for these to come. If your remember, I got hubby some black and white Pumas for his birthday last year and they are still practically new so these two are going to be all matchy matchy soon and my heart can hardly take it.

It's so much more acceptable for a baby to be matchy matchy with daddy than it is with mommy. I'm okay with it. 


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Funny faces of Jo plus an update on the little things

We've been pleasantly busy over here.

My back pain has all but left me. Woo hoo! Seriously though, the combination of chiropractic visits and the baby stretching out and moving around more has me feeling great and I didn't think I'd be feeling this good until after baby girl made her appearance. These next eight weeks may not be so bad afterall.

We moved Josie back to her crib. Each sleep session (nap/bedtime) got worse and worse until she wasn't even sleeping or staying near her bed let alone in it. I think the freedom was too much and she was a bit overwhelmed, because as soon as we put her back in her crib (now lowered to the lowest level) she slept great and didn't fight it even a little. She still sleeps (I say that lightly) in a toddler bed at Grandma's, but mostly that nap time is spent walking around and playing which is not great for her general mood during the rest of the day. Girl needs her sleep but just won't let herself fall asleep with that much freedom. I really hope that improves... its tough on all of us. But thankfully, she is able to catch up from her lack of sleep those days fairly well. 

I went through and "put away" Josie's summer clothes. I couldn't get it together enough to truly put it away, so it's all sitting in a laundry basket in her room with easy viewing and grabbing access in case I panic and need to revert to summer clothes. It's hard to put away all of these sweet sundresses knowing that they may not get worn by my kids again! Remember, baby girl #2 will be this age in the winter, so she will need appropriate clothing and sundresses is notquiteappropriate for winter in this frozen tundra.

I also took out all of Josie's 0-3 month clothes and figured out what we needed for baby girl #2 since not all of it is seasonally appropriate at this age either. Mostly we have a ton of short sleeved onesies and pj's. I'm fine with her wearing short sleeves in Nov/Dec/Jan as long as she also gets some pants but let me tell you. It's hard to find pants sold without the onesie with it! I started with Amazon.com and got nowhere, so I switched over to trusty Target and of course they had just what I needed. I'm planning on ordering at least 6 pairs of pants in various shades to match what we already have all for just around $23. Fabulous. Thank you, Target, for always being there for me. 

I pulled out the Fall decorations this last weekend and oh is my house grand right now. Everything that I pulled out was just candy to my eyes and once it was all up, I was eager to add more to it. I cruised around the local thrift store and was able to find a table cloth, a few hanging leaves (like the string of them?) and a few more decorative things to hang up. Question though: what else can I use to decorate besides pumpkins and leaves? It seems that's as creative as I can get. What else is there?

My pumpkin spice creamer is pretty wonderful. I'd change a few things since it's kind of weak in strength and more milky than anything, but it is great and I'm experimenting adding more of this and that to make it better. Oh, you don't care about my creamer experiments? Come on, what is more exciting than that?

Another little blog update, I added a signature to my posts down below. Like it?  I feel like it's kind of close to my true handwriting even. Gotta keep it real you know.

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Baby #2 Update

How far along: 31 weeks

How big is baby: Pineapple, Average size: 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lb

Weight gain/loss: I gained about 2 more lbs since my last appointment putting me right at 25 lbs for total weight gain.

Maternity clothes: Most definitely!

Stretch marks: No new ones.

Sleep: When I'm in my bed at home, I sleep pretty great, just waking up to go to the bathroom once. When I'm not at home? MISERABLE. I love my king size bed! My hubby would agree.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I've been loving cereal this week and I can't get enough for whatever reason. I'm also loving ice water.

Exercise: Doing my Pilates stretches and chasing after Josie all.the.time.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: There has been an explosion of movement this week. There are parts of the day where she's so active I have to stop what I am doing and reposition, just to avoid the discomfort from her legs in my ribs or stomach or liver. I'm thinking that soon I will be able see her foot and grab it once in a while too. I love that part.

The belly: Getting BIG.

What I'm loving: I can start to picture how different life will be as the weeks go by and am starting to get my mind ready to unpack all the baby stuff. It seems overwhelming, but I'm also excited to do it.

What I miss: Caffeine, not being super full after eating a normal amount, moving around without pain

Symptoms: This week I really started feeling the underbelly muscle pain. Those stretches I've been doing are so very important now more than ever.

The nursery: Nothing's changed, but I will need to make it more baby friendly and not just Josie friendly soon.

What's different/the same this time: She's in a different position for sure. Thankfully she hasn't stretched out from bladder to ribs like Josie did but there is still plenty of time for that.

Best moment of the week: 

Last appointment details: I decided to go with a midwife for delivery and I will meet her on Oct 5th. I'm nervous about it, but excited too. My chiropractor said that once she drops down, the pressure on my back will be relieved and I shouldn't have so much back pain. Can't wait for that!

Next appointment: Two weeks from yesterday, last one with my OBGYN before starting with the midwife!

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Nose dive

Last week as I was waking up, I heard a huge thump followed by a pause and then a loud scream. I ran to Josie's room to see what had happened although I kind of already had my suspicions. You see, not too long ago I walked in to find Josie hanging halfway out of her crib. I grabbed her just in time and she never had a clue that she was about to fall. I've been paranoid ever since, and just had a feeling that she would eventually fall out for real. Unfortunately, that did happen, and she hit her nose on the way. 

I was terrified that she had broken it but thankfully it just appeared to be a surface wound. Now we're struggling with the toddler bed that was in the room at the time but not being used. 

The problem is that this girl is not quite ready for a big girl bed. She rolls everywhere and falls out all the time. Thankfully it is only about a foot from the floor and it jars her awake without causing any injury. So what do we do now? Do we try to cage her in so she can't fall out in her sleep? I'm not worried about her getting up when she's awake. She's fine with that, but when she is sleeping it's a free for all with limbs everywhere.

Last night, I checked on her before we went to bed and she was sleeping on the floor. Just laying there, sound asleep. I picked her up and put her back in bed, but I know she fell out/got out numerous times and didn't sleep that great when she really was sleeping. 

Naptimes? That's another story. The girl knows that it's not bedtime. She knows the difference. At this point, the only way I can be sure she sleeps at all is if I stay in her room until she is completely asleep. I'm not ok with this! What happens when Baby #2 is here? I cannot just hang out with her for a half hour before every single nap. I'm really at a loss here. Any ideas? 

When I leave, she screams, gets up, and cries by the door. I've tried to wait it out but she gets hysterical and doesn't return to bed. It's a vicious cycle of this with me putting her back to bed over and over again until I just sit on the floor with her until she's asleep. I don't want to put her back in her crib now that we've put in the time to switch beds either. I could use some help or suggestions...

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New look?

Notice anything different? I gave my bloggy a little makeover. I was so tired of the old look but didn't have a clue what direction to go. It's a work in progress and will probably change again once the season is over. It's pretty seasonal, isn't it? What do you think? Be honest... I saved the code for my old layout so I can always change it back...

We had a long weekend of hard work for the hubby and running around for the Josienator. I have to admit that my back pain really hindered any fun that I should have had, and would say that it at least doubled since I last wrote about it. It's so hard to be positive and enjoy the little thing with this pregnancy when all I can think about is make it feel better make it feel better. I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to constant pain with no (relative) end in sight, so it's going to be a long nine weeks if it doesn't get better before baby girl is born.

Thankfully my chiropractor said that once the baby drops, my hips and lower back muscles should relax and adjust appropriately and the pressure will ease up a bunch. So really instead of nine weeks, it could be less than that. So thankful to hear this!

So you want some pictures? I know, it's not so fun to just read my thoughts and have no visual entertainment.

My tired self with my sweet nephew

Hanging with Grandpa

Grandparents had both kids up there for at least a minute before Jo squirmed her way outta there.

There was a lot of time spent playing.

We visited more family and apparently spent some time with one shoe on and one shoe off.

Best part? Jo brings out Grandpa's soft side and gets him to feed her babies (that he went and found for her from his sister's old toys). He's got a big heart for this girl.

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It's here!

It's September 1st. I'm giving in to the autumn feeling and letting out my fall-like energy. A few things I'm looking forward to (in no particular order):


1. This pumpkin creamer recipe that I am going to make as soon as possible. I'm planning to make or tweak it for the next two months so you can rest assured that it will be perfect by the time I'm done with it.


2. Decorating my home with oranges and browns.


3. Getting Josie's Halloween costume (have it ready but waiting for Paypal to get it's act together so I can pay for it...)


4. Wearing sweaters, boots (if they fit with these slowly swelling feet), scarves, and hats. LOOOVE ME SOME FALL CLOTHES. 

5. Picking up my crochet needle again now that I've had a solid 8 months to recuperate from my crocheting burn out that happened last year. For some reason it just seems like an autumn/winter activity. Picture being stuck inside when it's cold and dark out with a warm blanket and cup of hot chocolate (and my crochet project in hand of course).

6. Picking pumpkins and decorating them with Josie for the first time. BTW, did you know that I've never actually picked pumpkins from a pumpkin patch? Only from Walmart's selections... this year is gonna be real.

7. Having a baby girl and then being able to enjoy her guilt free inside all cozy like because it's too cold to be outside a lot. I guess we'll just have to hang out together all snuggled up.... 

I'm sure there are more but I'm blanking now. What are you looking forward to?


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Happy Anniversary to Us

On August 22nd, last Wednesday, my hubby and I celebrated three years of being married! It may not seem like a lot, but that time has flied by. It's crazy. We've bought a house, gotten a dog, had a baby, am about to have another baby, and have kept his business afloat and thriving all the while. I know for sure that things have only gotten better and that we love each other more now than we did then. How could we not? We thought we knew each other years ago, but it's nothing compared to now. I can only imagine how that will change and grow in the years to come.

Since it was the middle of the week, we just wanted to make it special but keep it relatively low key. We don't really do date nights all that often, so just the fact that Josie was hanging out with her grandparents and not with us was "date like" enough. We drove around for a while before deciding that we just weren't in the mood for fancy food and creative ideas. We ended up at Red Lobster for their "all you can eat shrimp" special. It was delicious and we were happy.

After, instead of hitting up the town, we just got our baby girl (hey, we missed her!) and headed home to watch a movie after putting her to bed. I fell asleep while we were watching it, and that was the end of our official anniversary. 

Oh so blurry. Oops.

And just to keep it real, did you notice our photo bomber? He's classy.

We got a bunch of not so good shots so I'll just post them all... 

On Sunday afternoon, we left Josie with her other grandparents and hit the town water for a boat ride for a couple of hours of absolute sunny heaven. Seriously, it was so relaxing. We drove around and looked at all of the gorgeous lake homes (say what? that'll never be us but it is fun to window shop) and then spent some time fishing aka sleeping while the hubby had a line in the water. 

We brought Buckley with on our little date. He didn't spoil it too much.

One last shot to show you my hubby's skills. The man knows how to drive a trailer. Is that the right way to say that? He'd know. Anyways, he's pretty much great. I'm glad he's all mine.

Happy Anniversary week, hubby. Love you.

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