Advice for my 20ish year old self....

I saw this on Bridget's blog and I thought it was such a great idea!  There are plenty of things that I would love to tell my high school/college self.  Here are just a few....

1.  Listen to your mother.  She knows what she is talking about.  She has ALWAYS been right and your life will be easier if you just accept that fact and do what she says :)  There are so many examples of this I can't even count them.  Most of them are related to boys but she has plenty of advice about life in general as well.  When she tells you you can do better...believe her.  When she tells you that you are beautiful...believe her.  When she tells you he is the one after your first date...believe her.  :)

2.  It is ok to be picky when it comes to boys.  In college my friends gave me such a hard time because I never wanted to date anyone.  Or I would go on a date....they would be nice enough...but I didn't want to go out with them again.  For a while I thought maybe something was wrong with me.  But, it turns out, I just didn't like "college" boys.  I wanted someone who was more mature.  I guess that is why I married someone who is 9 years older than me :)

3.  You will have a great relationship with your dad.  I would have never believed it....in a million years!  My dad is an alcoholic.....an alcoholic that has been sober for 7 1/2 years!  When he was drinking we did not get along AT ALL.  I could do an entire post on that situation and all the HELL he put me through.  I hated him for a long time.  But, he got really, really, really sick....like they told me he was going to die any minute and I needed to just prepare myself for that.  Then, miraculously, he slowly started getting better.  No one could believe it.  He hasn't had a drop to drink since then.  I can't even explain how unbelievable this is.  Most people do not stop drinking....most people go back to it.  Especially people like my dad.  Anyway, it took a long time to repair our relationship but we did.  And now things are great!  He is very excited about having a grand daughter.  I still can't believe it sometimes...

4.  You will want to live near your family someday.  I wanted to get away from my family when I went to college.  See above for the reason.  But, that all changed when I got married and thought about starting a family.  They aren't so bad after all ;)

5.  You don;t have to be so shy!!  People are going to like you for who you are...stop worrying about it so much.  Who cares what they think?


6.  You have the best friends a girl could ask for....and they will all still be around when you are almost 30.  Cherish them even more for this fact.  


7.  One day you will LOVE your small boobs.  I don't think I would have believed this one either.  But it is totally true!  My husband is the one who made me start liking them...I guess because he liked them.  But anyhow, if I had known this it would have saved my mom a lot of money.  Padded bras, water bras (seriously had this at one point), push-up bathing suits, you get the point...


8.  The awesome CHI (or croc in my case) will be invented and your hair straightening time will be cut in half...I know...SQUEAL!!!


9.  Have a little confidence in yourself.  Confidence is very attractive and will get you far.


10.  You don't have to worry about getting pregnant....your eggs have a super thick shell around them (like a fortress)...so no worries!!!!   Ok...maybe I wouldn't say that to her but ya know...I would want to :)


Now, if Kelly that is holding a newborn baby girl in her arms would come and tell 22 weeks pregnant Kelly that everything was going to be ok....I would really appreciate that!


What are some of the things you would like to tell your younger self?  

Kelly Belly-22 weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks!

Size of Baby: she is the size of a spaghetti squash...it would help if I had a clue what that even was :)

Maternity Clothes:  Yes....pretty much all maternity shirts.  I still wear a couple of non-maternity T's from Old Navy but they are starting to get pretty short.  I need to get some more shorts because I only have one pair and I wear them everyday!  I know my husband is getting tired of seeing me in them....

Weight Gain:  + 10 pounds overall

Stretch Marks:  nothing new

Belly Button:  still the same but it is feeling really tight around the edges...



Sleep:   sleep is pretty good.  I wake up every time I want to turn over and my hips hurt.  I am getting used to this though and trying to sleep on top of my body pillow to help.  I am still peeing at least 3 times a night.  



Best Moment of the Week:  Lonnie being able to feel her move again.  I swear he is like a calming influence on her.  Every time he would put his hand on my belly she would be totally still.  


I also put my iPod ear buds on my tummy and let her listen to a little Bob Marley and she seemed to like it.  Lots of rolling around!


I also loved spending time with my honey while he was off this week. Lots of lake time and lots of afternoon naps :)

Movement:  all the time.  She is such a wiggle worm!

Symptoms:   still peeing a ton.  Still lactating, which I am sure will continue to the end.  My muscles are feeling crampy all the time.  You know when you wake up in the morning and stretch out?  Well my legs go into complete cramps when I do that.  

Food Cravings/Aversions:  My sweet tooth has definitely kicked in.  This week I made these pretzel/rolo/pecans thingies.  Basically you put mini pretzels on a baking sheet and put a rolo on top.  Bake them for a minute or two and then take them out.  Press a pecan on top of them.  YUMMY!!

Gender: precious little princess :)

What I Miss: nothing really...maybe sleeping on my back....

What I'm Looking Forward to: I honestly look forward to every day being pregnant.  
  
Weekly Wisdom: no wisdom from me this week...

Milestones:  making it to 22 weeks and feeling her move all the time!


And here is the 22 week belly!

Lazy summer days

The past few days have just been awesome summer days.  My husband was off the past part of the week and so was I.  We’ve just been hanging out with each other and spending time on the lake.  

It is quite hot here...high 90’s to be exact.  Sitting out in the sun all day in this heat is just not an option.  Thankfully, we have a boat.  Every day we take the boat out, find a shady spot near the shore and anchor there.  Then we eat our little lunch that we have packed and read or just talk for a few hours.  When we get tired we come home and take a nap.  Amazing!!

On Friday, my mother in law came down (she lives about an hour away).  We took her on the boat and she, of course, loved it.  My husband’s brother, his wife, and their two kids were supposed to come and stay with us this weekend but plans fell through at the last minute.  Hopefully they will come down soon and enjoy the lake with us.

Saturday morning my husband and my friend, Keisha, ran in a 5K.  They had a one mile run/walk for kids and I decided to do that one.  It was early in the morning but IT WAS HOT!!!  It was a nice little walk I had though...it was mostly in the shade and near a creek.  Lonnie and Keisha did good....the humidity is killer for running though.  

After the 5K and after my little nap, I went shopping with my mom and Jenni (aunt).  We were looking for a rug for Lonnie’s office.  His office now is going to be the baby room.  He is moving into a room that has tile floor so I wanted to get a huge rug to make it feel more cozy.  We found one at Lowe’s at a great price!  He loves it so I am excited to set up his little area.  

I may have mentioned this before but my husband has a zillion books.  Not even kidding....  The room his office is moving into has a huge closet.  On Thursday, I had some people come out a measure to put bookshelves throughout that entire closet...wall to wall, floor to ceiling.  It should only take them a couple of days to build them and install them.  Then after I get them painted we will be able to move all of his stuff into that room...which means baby room will finally be empty!  Hooray!  I have taken some before pictures of the rooms that I will post later.  

This morning we had my family reunion for my dad’s side of the family.  It was nice.  Lots of talk about our baby girl which I love :)  We came home after that and took a nap, which I just woke up from.  We have no plans tonight except to watch the NBA game.  Not sure if any of you are watching but it has been pretty good.  We may take an evening boat ride because it has cooled off a little bit today and they are so romantic.  

Sorry this post is so random.  Hope everyone else has had a fabulous weekend!

Kelly Belly-21 weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks!!!

please ignore the sweat ring around my belly button...I had just finished walking two miles...in the insane heat..not sure what got in to me...

Size of Baby: she is the size of a large banana

Maternity Clothes:  pretty much all maternity stuff unless I am wearing a dress.  I am still fitting into my non-maternity Old Navy shorts so I wear them all the time.



The article of clothing that is giving me the hardest time is scrub pants!  You would thing that would be easy but OH NO.  I normally wear a small tall and I get the kind that has elastic and a drawstring.  Well they were starting to get really tight and dig into me when I sat down.  So I decided it was time to get some medium pants.  I washed them and then put them on the other morning to go to work and I am not kidding you they were like parachute pants!  HUGE!!  You would think they sent me and extra large.  I couldn't believe the difference in the small and the medium.  I wore the medium anyway and was uncomfortable all day long...pulling them up, rolling them down....terrible.  So today I went back to the smalls that dig in.  I just have to adjust and put the drawstring under my belly every time I sit down....let's all pray that I don't rip them at work please :)

Weight Gain:  +4 pounds at the doctor today...so that is +10 pounds total.

Stretch Marks:  no new ones....but my belly is stretching out big time now.

Belly Button:  still looking the same...getting kinda tighter around the edges.  



Sleep:  I have been sleeping ok....I get up about every hour and a half to pee.  When I wake up to do this, the hip that I have been lying on hurts and is cramped up.  It is a weird feeling....  I love my body pillows and I have noticed this week that I have started almost laying on top of them.  


I have also started having a tiny amount of reflux this week.  Before I got pregnant I had awful reflux.  I mean it was really bad.  I would get contractions in my esophagus!  I slept in the recliner many nights.  I have been so thankful that once I got pregnant it went away.  I am so scared for it to come back.  The second I realized I was started to have a little bit of reflux I started propping my head up on more pillows.  I am hoping it just stays minor....


Best Moment of the Week:  seeing our little cutie on the ultrasound!

Movement:   Yes!  It was still pretty on and off until about 3 days ago but now I can feel her moving throughout the day.  I love it so much.  I think I am starting to feel her do some rolls now instead of just little punches and kicks.  


Me and some friends went to see the movie Bridesmaids and she rolled around in there through the whole movie.  She could either hear the movie and liked it or she liked that I was laughing.  Either way....it was great!

Symptoms:   peeing all the time still.  People said this got better in the second trimester and they lied.  I pee constantly.  I can pee....walk out of the bathroom...and turn right back around and pee again.  I don't mind it so much because I am just so happy to be pregnant but I just didn't expect it.  I think maybe from the pressure of my uterus I am not emptying all the way.  So when I pee, I sit there for a bit and concentrate and usually I can pee a little more.  I am sure y'all love hearing about this but ya know?!?


I haven't had any headaches this week...WOO HOO!!!!


Ok so now onto the weirdest symptom...MY NIPPLES STARTED LEAKING!!!  I'm sorry but no one told me that this could happen this early.  I mean I knew that it could happen towards the end....but 21 weeks????  I had no clue....and none of the books say a thing about this happening this early.  I feel like I need to explain how I discovered this.  I was adjusting my boobs in my bra because they are beginning to spill out.  When I pulled my hand out there was a little wet spot on it.  I thought that was weird so I looked down at my nipple...in order to do this I had to lift my boob up and out came some clear stuff!!!  I yelled for Lonnie and he came and looked....kinda freaked him out.  He may not ever touch them again :(  Anyway, it is just a little throughout the day and the right one more than the left one.  I actually wore a nursing pad today because my nipple was getting stuck to my bra and then ripping off did not feel good at all....AT ALL!


*Dr. said this was totally normal and some women have it starting at 12 weeks!  He also said that it was a good sign for breastfeeding...that made me happy.


I am having some Braxton Hicks contractions...I am assuming that is what they are.  My uterus just gets really hard for a few seconds and then it goes away.  I usually only have about one or two a day.  I will be asking the dr about this tomorrow.


*Dr. said this was ok and I might feel them more when the baby is moving around a lot..which I have.  He said to only worry if they become regular or I have 4-6 in one hour.


And then there is the left side pain.  I have been having that for about a week now.  It hurts all the way through to my back.  I have no clue what it is...maybe bowel?  When it first started I couldn't even stand up straight....it is better than that now.  It just aches all the time.  I actually think it is better today. 


*Dr. thinks this is related to my muscles stretching.  Since I have to do a lot of bending and twisting with my job, I will probably get this more.  It feels back to normal today.  

Food Cravings/Aversions:  still loving fruit...I'm guessing that I am going to like that the whole time.  I made some ritz crackers with peanut butter in between covered in melted chocolate....they rocked!  I am still drinking crazy amounts of lemonade.

Gender: sweet little princess :)  I am so in love with her......

What I Miss:   nothing at all...I am so glad to be here

What I'm Looking Forward to: I am going to decide on the fabric for the nursery in the next week or two.  We are also starting to clean out her room which makes me happy.  I can't wait to have her room totally empty and then start filling it up with her stuff.  Right now she has a few shelves in the closet.  
  
Weekly Wisdom: calm down Kelly.  Baby girl wants you to be calm....

Milestones: having our big ultrasound and being over halfway there feels huge!  It is starting to become obvious that I am pregnant so I find that people look at my belly a lot.  I really love this :)


I hope everyone is having a great week!