Pics of the week 4

Its time for my pictures of the week!  

Have any of you ever had these?  I just discovered them and they are fantastic!  There is no added sugar and they have so much good stuff in them.  I really like having one mid morning because they really fill me up and then I can make it until lunch time to eat a meal.  I highly recommend them!  Oh and they have plenty of other flavors these are just the two I had left.  

 This is Greek Chicken that I made the other night.  (I promise there is some chicken under all of that!)  Jessica from The Southern Belle Baby posted a recipe for Greek potatoes and I wanted to try them...they are great by the way!  I wanted to make some chicken to go along with it and I found this recipe.  It is yummy and pretty healthy....chickpeas are always good for ya!  If you want to check out the recipe, here's the link.  The only thing that I did different was instead of diced tomatoes I used sun dried tomatoes.  It also makes for great leftovers....

This is our baby...before our real baby!  We live on a lake and this is the 4th summer we have had this boat.  We absolutely love it.  We just recently got it out of storage so our first boat ride was this week.  Oh so relaxing!  

My friend, Keisha, got me these little Arkansas Razorback booties.  Baby will be born during football season so these will be put to good use!  This is the very first baby item that I own.  Kinda crazy.  Can we just reflect for a minute on how stinkin' cute they are?  I mean......

I am trying to drink enough water every day but it has been hard because I don't really know how much I am drinking.  I bought this water bottle (jug?) at Walgreen's.  It holds the amount of water I am supposed to drink every day.  I can't really drink out of it BUT I can fill it up with  my filtered water from home.  Then I can take it with me to work and just fill up my regular cup out of the jug.  Then I know how much water I drink!  The cup on the left is the cup I carry around all day every day.  It has a lid and a straw if I need it.  

I have been like obsessed with painting my nails this week.  If you know me in real life you know how weird this is.  I think it is because my nails are so awesome right now!  I bought these three colors...all very similar, I know.  I think bright colors make my hands look funny.  Also, I am not supposed to wear any polish at work but I feel like I can get away with it if it is really light.  My fave so far is the one on the right.  It is just barely pink so it almost looks like you have a French manicure.  Fun!

And this is me trying to get some sun on our deck.  Please notice how unbelievably pale I am. Must...get...tan...soon....

Hope everyone had a stress-free Monday!

Doctor's Appointment and Facebook

I had a doctors appointment yesterday.  I got to keep my pants on for the first time in like three years!!!  Now that is exciting people.  I had to go by myself because my husband was working at the hospital across town (his practice covers multiple different hospitals but he is usually at the hospital that I work in).  The nurse listened to the heartbeat and it was 164.  What a sweet sound that is....  She asked me a few questions and then left and said the Dr. C would be in in a minute.  A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and in walks my hubby!!!!!  I was shocked!  It made me cry....I was so happy to see him.  He had one case that he needed to do at this hospital so after he was done he just surprised me.  Brownie points for him :)


Then Dr. C came in and asked us some questions and I asked him the couple of questions that I had.  Then he started talking about the blood work that can be done at the next appointment....to check for your risk of Down's, Trisomy 18, and other stuff.  He wanted us to decide if we wanted to do it or not.  He said that if you know 100% that you would not get an amniocentesis then you might not want to get the lab done because then you would just worry and probably for no reason.  I always thought that I would for sure get all of this done no matter what because I would want to know.  Now that it is real I am not so sure....


When we were checking out the girl at the counter was so damn rude!  She made my appointment for next month, handed me the card and then just started working on her computer.  


Me: "Do I need to pay anything?"


Mean Girl: "I don't know...do you?"


Me: "Well I didn't pay anything last time sooooo...."


Mean Girl: "Do you not remember anything that we talked about last time?"


Me: After looking at my husband like WTF?  "Yes, I think it was like one eighty something per month if I didn't pay in a lump sum"


Mean Girl: "Do you want me to look it up?  I'll print you off another one so you will know next time."


I mean what the hell?  Is she just not ever going to ask me if I want to pay?  At the first appointment I asked her if I needed to pay and she said no.  Isn't this her job?  Are you telling me that if I had told her that I wanted to pay my $100 that she would have just believed that is how much I owe and not look it up?   I wanted to smack her!  She has never been very friendly but I felt like this was downright RUDE!  


Anyhoo.....appointment went well and I go back in a month.  I'll be 17 weeks then....WOW...


OK my next thing is this.  I haven't announced that I am pregnant on Facebook.  I don't think that I am going to.  Here is why....  Dealing with infertility for the past....forever it seems...I have seen many a pregnancy announcement on FB.  They don't all hurt....but most of them do.  I think it is just the surprise factor.  I mean one minute you are reading about someone's day at work or their husband and then SLAM!  it just slaps you in the face.  I know for a fact that there is one girl that is my friend that is struggling with IF....because I ran into her at the clinic.  I am sure there are some more because it is just so common.  I don't want to be the one to cause that hurt.  


And I haven't been able to figure out a way to say it that wouldn't hurt.  So I decided that I wasn't going to make a big announcement.  I told all of my friends and family that they could put whatever they wanted about it and that was fine.  I mean I plan to talk about it eventually on FB.  I thought this would actually help....because then there wouldn't be an announcement but people would figure it out.  Problem is...none of them will do it!  They are all scared to be the first to say something.  So it has been 2 1/2 weeks and not a word on FB...Is that not amazing?  I am totally shocked...I just figured it would get out there without me saying anything.


And there is this....  I kinda want to make an announcement!  I mean it is finally my turn.  I am the one who gets to say something cute about making my husband a daddy and get all the comments and all the excitement.  Totally selfish, right?  But there is a part of me that wants to say screw it and just do it.  I know there would be idiot comments as well but that is just part of the FB monster.  


So I am torn.  I thought my plan would work....but FB is totally silent about my pregnancy.  


How did you girls do it?  Or did you?  Any suggestions on a way to do it that might not hurt someone still struggling?  Am I totally overreacting?  UGH!  I really hate Facebook sometimes.....

Mommy time and Revenue Office HELL!

My mom and I spent the day together yesterday.  Bless her!  She loves me so much that she will run my errands with me on her day off.  How great is that.  Now in my defense I did not plan on us doing that all day.  We were going to go back to her house and play some games and just hang out.  I was going to teach her how to play Rummikub.  Yeah, that didn't happen...

First we went to the Revenue office which I freaking HATE!  I get super anxious there and feel like I am going to throw up, pass out, or strangle the person helping me.  I needed to register our 1982 CJ5 (which is a Jeep for those that don't know) and our little fishing boat (that has been used about three times).  All went smoothly until the end.  I thought I was going to get out of there unscathed.  


Wrong.  


I always end up having to go back there, usually because they need some more paperwork that I didn't bring.  This was our little convo...


Lady:  "Your husband needs to sign here, here, and here and then bring all of this back in".  


Me:  "Yeah, I'm just going to sign that for him right now"


Lady:  "I can't let you do that"  


Me:  "Well then run to the bathroom or something real quick!"  Ok I didn't say that but looking back I really wish I would have!  Really I said, "I am going to go out to the car and sign it then."


Lady:  "If your husband is in the car that is fine....but when you come back in you will have to take a number and wait in line again"


UGH!!!  I hate that place!

So we left to do some other errands and decided to come back later.  

We went to Shultz's, a garden center, to buy some flowers.  Highlight of the day!  I love those places.  I got some stuff to put in the big pot my mom got me for my birthday.  I also got some rosemary, basil, and two green pepper plants.  Last year I killed our pepper plants so I am hoping to do better this year.  We will see :)  I'll have pictures in my pics of the week post.  

Then we went and had lunch and ran a few other errands.  We had some other stuff to do but I was about ready for a nap and some games so we decided to "run back by the revenue office" to drop off these things that my husband signed.  


Wrong again!


We were there for almost 2 hours!!


The line was so long...when we got there the number they were calling was like 75 and my number was 95.  I was not leaving though...I was getting this done.  After a little over an hour of listening to this girl next to me totally flirt with every new guy that walked in, I finally got called.  Well it turns out that Lady mentioned above was a total idiot and did ALL of my stuff wrong so new nice lady had to do everything over again!  I was so shut down after leaving there.  If I never have to go there again I would be so happy.  I don't know how those people work there......all the customers are always so ticked off...me included!


After we left we were both just exhausted so we both went home.  I took a nap and I feel sure my mom did too.  Next mommy/daughter day will consist of no errands and only fun and games....promise mom!


On a good note...the Jeep qualified for an antique car tag WHICH NEVER HAS TO BE RENEWED!  Excitement!  


My husband better start driving the crap out of that Jeep and fishing like crazy out of that damn fishing boat....

Kelly Belly-13 weeks

How Far Along: 13 weeks

Size of Baby: size of a peach..how cute  :)


Maternity Clothes: No but, again, my belly looks completely different.  

Weight Gain: By my scale I have gained 3 lbs...I go back to the doctor tomorrow and we will see what his scale says.

Stretch Marks: same as before the pregnancy

Sleep: not too great this week.  I keep waking up with a stiff neck....

Best Moment of the Week: I made my first maternity purchase!  My mom and I went to a maternity store and I got a little black dress and another shirt that can be worn with jeans or leggings.  The best part is that I can wear the shirt now.  The owner said that that brand (I can't remember which brand) makes all of their stuff so you can wear it throughout pregnancy and even after pregnancy.  

Movement: not yet

Symptoms: still peeing all the time....at least 3 times a night and just 2 on a good night.  The nausea seems to be gone (fingers crossed) but I did throw up Monday morning at work.  I didn't feel bad I just all of the sudden had to run to the bathroom...kinda weird but I love it!  My boobs are still sore and bigger than they have ever been.  A sports bra is so comfy!

Food Cravings/Aversions: I am loving the pina colada shaved ice.  I also bought some ice cream sandwiches this week.  I haven't had them in forever and they are great.  I love all fruit....this week Granny Smith apples seem to be my fave.  I haven't really had any aversions this week. 

Gender: who knows?  But I will know next week hopefully!

What I Miss: Nothing...I really am enjoying being pregnant!

What I'm Looking Forward to: my doctor's appointment tomorrow and finding out the sex soon!

Weekly Wisdom: Embrace your chubby little belly and sleep while you can!

Milestones: Second trimester!  Some of my books say it starts at the beginning of the 13th week and some say at the end but whatever...I'm saying I've made it!!!!


Dreams: All you IF girls will totally understand this week's dream and how stressed out I was during it!  In the dream I woke up to my phone ringing early one morning and it was my fertility doctor's nurse asking me why I missed my 10 week ultrasound this morning.  I was all confused and telling her that I thought they released me at 6 weeks.  She said oh no honey you have to have a 10 week ultrasound!  She then proceeds to tell me to continue taking my Lupron and come in in the morning.  I told her I wasn't taking any meds!  Then I hear her and Dr. M talking in the background about how bad it is that I haven't been on the Lupron and how they can't believe I thought I was released at 6 weeks!  This was about the time I woke up.....STRESSED OUT.  UGH!  The stress from that place will always haunt me I guess....


Here is my 13 week picture.  I had to take this one myself so not the greatest but you get the idea.  Notice I am in my workout pants....again!

Happy Tuesday to all!

Cemetery tradition

My mom and I have a tradition every year on or very near April 3rd.  We go to the cemetery and place flowers for our relatives that have passed away.  My Grandot's birthday is April 3rd so we always try to go on that day.  


I really love doing this.  It always makes me feel so good and gives us a little time to reflect on each person.  It probably sounds morbid or sad....but I never leave feeling sad.  I always leave feeling happy.  


We went this year on April 5th.  


We do the same thing every year.  We meet at Hobby Lobby and buy all the flowers.  We love going in April because we can get spring flowers for everyone.  The year I got married we put blue hydrangeas and white roses out because those were my wedding flowers.  I told my mom that next year everyone was getting either pink or blue, depending on the sex of our little one!  


We always start with Grandot (my dad's mom) and her husband, my grandfather, Elza.  I never met him...he passed away before I was born.  I was really close with my Grandot when I was younger.  I always stayed with her and I have so many memories of being at her house.  Number one was that she had a Pit Bull named Chester that was mean as hell to everyone but her.  No one was messing with Grandot while Chester was around....my dad was scared to death of him!  She always had white cheddar popcorn and I think of her every time I see it at the gas station or grocery store.  She would make me chicken and stars soup and let me melt sliced American cheese in it.  I still eat this sometimes.  I loved playing with the Lincoln Logs she had at her house.  I remember always getting into laughing fits with her.  I would laugh at something, then she would laugh at me laughing and then neither one of us could stop...makes me laugh just thinking about it!  The best memory I have of Grandot was of her "shows".  She LOVED Matlock, Perry Mason, Murder She Wrote, and MacGyver.  We watched them every single day.  We also watched game shows together.  Our favorite one was Press Your Luck.  These are the things that I think about when we "visit" her and it makes me happy inside.  


After that we move on to my aunt Cheryl (my dad's brother's wife).  My best memory of her is that she would always let me stay up late and watch Saturday Night Live when I stayed with them.  Needless to say, I always wanted to spend Saturday night at Pat and Cheryl's!  


My uncle Carl is next and he could ALWAYS guess his Christmas present before he opened it.  He would shake it around, sniff it, put his ear to it and then BAM he knew what it was.  This always fascinated me and my brother.  


My great-grandmother Mooney always wanted me to sit in her lap and read to her.  She was a 2nd grade teacher so she would teach me the proper way to say things.  I was very young!


My grandmother's (my mom's mom) husband John is next.  I remember him always reading.  When me and my brother were little we would try to tickle his feet while he was reading and then he would flick us on the head!  Lightly of course.  Looking back I can see how annoying we must have been.....


We then go to another cemetery in town to my mom's grandmother, Becie.  We actually could not go this year because they are doing lots of construction on the road and we couldn't get in!  


This past year my uncle Robyn died in October.  I was very close with him.  He was like a father figure to me when I was growing up.  He taught me how to play basketball, how to throw a softball, drive a car, and how to bet on the horses at the racetrack!  My dad was not always around back then....totally another post for another day...we are very close now.  Robyn was cremated and it just felt weird not getting flowers for him.  So we decided that we would and would put them on a grave that did not have any flowers.  I think he would have liked that.


Of course this year I am a little sad knowing that none of these great people will get to meet my little one.  But I am just thankful for the time I got to spend with them and all of the wonderful memories that I have of each person.  I think one of the reasons I like having this tradition so much is that it gives me time to remember these memories.  

Pics of the week 3

First picture is obviously not one that I took but I feel it is important!

I am sure all of you have heard about their campaign and I am not going to waste much time weighing in.  I 100% agree with what all the bloggers have been saying.  I think they are assholes but I thought this before their newest stunt.  They do things like this to get attention.  I feel like this was summed up best here.  They have taken down all references to NIAW and I feel that is a victory for the infertiles!  You can read the response Christa got here.  

Oh and I am an animal lover whose dogs are neutered....just so ya know....

OK!  Enough about that crap!  Here are my pics of the week....

The first one is a picture I tried to take of Darwin while my husband was out of town.  These are the steps leading to the downstairs part of our house.  Our bedroom, kitchen and living room is all upstairs so we don't go down there much (that will all change in October).  He stayed sprawled out on the top step the entire time my husband was gone.  It was like he was trying to protect me from anything that tried to come up.  It was pretty cute.  Of course I couldn't get a picture of him lying there because the second I even look at him he wants to play....so this is kind of an action shot.

These are the automatic toilet seat covers at the Chicago airport.  I mean.....I'm just not sure I can trust this thing.  It could very well just be rotating the same two covers ALL DAY.  I'm suspicious.....

Like I said in this post, we stayed at Trump Tower in Chicago and it was AHHHHH-mazing!  The mini bar was huge and there was a selection of about 6 different types of water you can try.  This water was called Tasmanian Rain.  It says that is it made of pure rainwater collected before it even hits the ground.  We had to try it right?  You don't wanna know the price....  We tried it and it was ok....it had a little bit of a honeysuckle aftertaste...kinda bitter.  

This was what I got for room service one night and I just had to take a picture.  If you know me in real life then you  know that my comfort food when I am sick, sad, angry, or whatever is macaroni & cheese mixed with peas.  Everyone thinks that this is disgusting, especially my husband.  But he knows when to come home with the stuff to make it!  Apparently Trump agrees that it is a match made in heaven.  Of course, his is a little more on the gourmet side than mine.  

I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw that the shaved ice place on my side of town had opened this week.  I love these things.  They remind me of when I was growing up.  Me and my friends have shared many laughs and tears while chowing down on these.  This was my first one of the year and I have had to force myself not to get one everyday on the way home.  This one is pina colada with cream.....

 And we are going to end with the best picture yet!  This is my sweet little baby at 12 weeks 1 day.  Look how big!  We took my mom up to the hospital so she could see the baby in real time instead of just pictures.  He/she was just moving all over the place....amazing!

Happy Friday! 

Kelly Belly-12 weeks

Wow!  12 weeks!  I feel like this is such a huge accomplishment!

I think I will start doing the surveys now.  I think it is the easiest most comprehensive way to talk about what is going on this week.  Otherwise my post would be all over the place!

How far along: 12 weeks



Total weight gain/loss: no weight gain yet....although my stomach looks totally different and it looks like I have put on a few pounds!


Maternity clothes: not yet.  My regular clothes are totally uncomfortable and I did wear the Belly band while I was in Chicago.  It was so comfortable not to button my pants.  I knew I would be unbuttoning them anyway because of all the sitting (at the game, on the plane, etc).  I wear workout pants everyday if possible.  I want some yoga pants that will grow with me for the next two months or so.  


I did have a tiny breakdown while we were in Chicago about my belly.  I mean I just look chubby!  I think I was stressed because it looked like I had gained like 10 lbs....ALL in my stomach.  I know it is not my uterus so I was just frustrated.  I weighed and it was the same.  And then Lonnie told me that my uterus was taking up my whole pelvis so any bowel that was down there has been pushed up and that is why I look so different without it being a "baby belly".  I felt better....like I said it was a tiny meltdown.  Believe me, I am very happy to look chubby right now for this baby.  I was just worried that I had gained a ton of weight and I think I have read that is not good in the first trimester.  I have fully embraced my chubby belly and couldn't be happier about it!



Small Disclaimer:  I am not complaining about my belly or being pregnant at all.  I am just being real and honest.  This is my blog and my journal of my life and my pregnancy and I am not going to sugar coat anything.  These are my feelings.....


Sleep: It is ok.  I wake up about 3 times a night to pee.  A few weeks ago it was really hard to fall back asleep but not anymore.  I hit a wall at about 2 in the afternoon and need a nap.  Since I have been off a few days I have been able to take a two hour nap....two hours on the dot. 


Best moment of the week: well just being 12 weeks!  But the massage I had in Chicago was excellent and totally relaxed this pregnant mama!


Food cravings/aversions: I was really craving chicken spaghetti all week and I finally had some last night....it rocked!  I also can't get enough cereal....any kind really.  At first it was Lucky Charms and now it is Fruity Pebbles.  I am also noticing that I really want sweets.  UGH!  Trying to steer clear of that....

While I was in Chicago I would get sick after I ate.  For example, I had a cheese burger after the Cubs game.  Right after I ate it the thought of hamburger disgusted me and I threw it all up.    It was like I got a major aversion to whatever it was that I just ate.  That only happened for a few days so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it was just a weird phase.....


Belly button in or out: oh so in....


Stretch marks: nothing new.  I just have the ones that I have always had.  I had a massive growth spurt between 8th and 9th grades and I have a few stretch marks on my hips and thighs


What I miss:  wine.  I am just kidding.  I love being pregnant and I can totally do without my glass of wine!


What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender in the next couple of weeks.  I would love to not find out and be surprised when the baby is born BUT that is just not possible.  I do ultrasound so I would have to not watch ALL of our ultrasounds from here on out....there is no way I can do that.  SOOOO we will be finding out pretty soon.  You can start to tell around 13 weeks.  Of course it is easier to see sooner (like now!) if it is a boy but if it is a girl then it is hard to be 100% until about 14-15 weeks.  I still have a feeling it is a boy but who knows.  


Weekly wisdom: Enjoy every second!!!!!


Weirdest Dream:  I just wanted to add this little section because my dreams are all over the place.  I can't always remember them but some of the time I do and they are wacky!  I have two dreams this week.
1) I was at my boss' daughter's wedding shower.  My boss, D, was trying to give me a miniature alligator to take home as a gift.  The thing was mean and she wouldn't take no for an answer.  Weird..
2) Me and my friends play fantasy football every year.  In my dream they weren't going to let me play because my baby was about to be born.  They said that I wouldn't pay enough attention.  I was begging and about to cry.  Mean girls....


OK so here is my 12 week pic.  If you compare to my week 8 picture you can see a difference.  I honestly CANNOT believe there is that much difference.  Apparently, my body (belly) knows what it is supposed to do and is DOING IT!

  

Please notice the bruise on my arm.  Very cute....I ran into part of our boat on our boat ride Sunday!

Happy 12 weeks to me!!!