Friday's Letters

Dear Pierce: I'm loving your crazy activity, it's really amusing to watch my belly wiggle from one side to the other.  However, could you politely refrain from using my bladder as your dance floor?  Kthanks

Dear Self: How did you miss J's paycheck in the budget?  Just skipped right over the fact that he was paid today.  It was written down in the calendar you used to make the budget, but you just skipped it completely. Oh, you also skipped the same paycheck in November's budget...now to figure out if you fix this or just let it be another happy accident.  I will say, it was really nice to realize there are NO bills coming out of this paycheck and we can save a HUGE portion of it...

Dear World: I am not a morning person, do not try to strike up a conversation with me before I have my coffee...I'm going to enjoy my next 9 weeks before Pierce becomes that person trying to "strike up a conversation" prior to coffee.  After my coffee, I'm a perfectly pleasant person...well, as pleasant as I get LOL

Dear Work: I'm SO glad to have a 4 day weekend from you, I need a break.  We have seen way too much of each other since I got pregnant and started saving every paid hour off I could get.  I'm glad I figured out that if I took off July 4th, I'd get paid to be off and had I worked it I would have only been paid time and a half and have to deal with the craziness I knew the day would bring.  So, I use one day of leave in conjunction with my off days and July 4th, and I get FOUR DAYS OFF!  Thank GOODNESS, I so need it

Dear Planner: You get more and more full every day, kinda scary.  And this planner isn't the one I keep my bill due dates in!  We're just getting busier and busier!

30 Weeks...REALLY?!

30 Weeks

10 weeks left?  Are you kidding?!  OMG

The shirt is starting to strain lol

How far along are you? 

30 Weeks

Total weight gain: 

I'm not loving it, but not too much I'm told

How big is baby?:

What to Expect says a head of lettuce (18" 3.2lbs...that's one HUGE head of lettuce)

source

source

Maternity clothes: 

always...the closer it gets to my due date the less I want to spend any more money on anything new

Stretch marks?:  

So far, only on my hiney

I've been applying Palmers Cocoa Butter religiously...hoping that helps matters

Ten more weeks to see lol

Sleep?: 

I slept 10 hours last night with one potty break...making up for the nights that I wake up 5 times to potty

Best moment this week?:

My baby shower!! 

Movement?: 

He's crazy active...I think he's going to be a break dancer out straight out of the womb!

Food cravings?:

It was Lucky Charms, after going through 2 boxes in 3 days I think I lost that craving!

mostly: COLD

ice, ice water mostly

I just want anything COLD

Food aversions?:

Not too bad, kind of depends on the day

Labor signs?: 

NO!  Stay put Baby!

Some Braxton-Hicks

Belly button in or out?: 

Still in, but I can see the bottom of it...which is a new thing in my life lol

What I miss: 

sleeping WELL, and not being tired all of the time and congested...

I'm constantly congested

Not feeling like a huge whale...a huge out of shape whale lol  I got winded walking through Target! HA

What I'm looking forward to: 

My first baby shower, Sunday!!  

What I'm not looking forward to: 

Our forecast this weekend...tomorrow 109, Saturday 106, Sunday 105

Milestone: 

J feeling Pierce's breakdancing yesterday morning

BABY SHOWER!

My wonderful friend, Emily, threw me a baby shower Sunday.  It was great!  I really felt loved, cared for, and blessed by the people that came and the wonderful gifts they gave!!
We all had a great time, talking, laughing, and eating!

Emily made cute, delicious cupcakes, and had quite the spread!  I stuffed my face!  LOL
Speaking of my face, I can't get over how much my face shape has changed since getting pregnant!  Nuts!  I hope it goes back to normal after Pierce is born!!

Anyway: Photo dump!

I insisted on helping her set up, my piggies became puffy!

The hostess and I!
I'm so much taller than she is, I have to squat lol

HA, not sure why I was giving her this face!!

The punch was YUM! The cupcakes were delicious, the diaper cake was inedible LOL, and the food was amazing!

Everything from the shower...blessed I tell you!!

After looking at all of Pierce's gifts, I decided I needed to organize his clothes.  So, I laid out all of his clothes in the floor and organized them by size.  Our boy does NOT need anything newborn, diapers or clothes, nothing0-3mo either!  I guess you could say I had a bit of a nesting spell!!
Here's some of the mess I made, but, if you could have seen it in person you'd see that it was stacks and stacks of clothes in size order!

This doesn't show ALL of it, there was a huge pile on the other side of the bed too!

So, I was amazed to find out just how blessed and loved Pierce, J, and I are!!

29 Weeks!

29 Weeks!

11 to go!  Oh dear!

He's starting to come up more than out, I think

How far along are you? 

29 Weeks

Total weight gain: 

I'm not loving it, but not too much I'm told

How big is baby?:

What to Expect says a butternut squash (17" 3.1 pounds)

source

source

Maternity clothes: 

always...the closer it gets to my due date the less I want to spend any more money on anything new

Stretch marks?:  

So far, only on my hiney

I've been applying Palmers Cocoa Butter religiously...hoping that helps matters

Ten more weeks to see lol

Sleep?: 

getting less and less easy to sleep through the night

More tossing and turning, which is growing increasingly difficult to do as the belly grows

I wake up at least once on a good night to use the bathroom...I'm sure I could help that if I'd stop drinking water a few hours before bed, but I love water and can't get enough of it

Best moment this week?:

His movement! 

Monday started this crazy movement, almost nonstop.  He seems to stop moving for a nap, for about 2 hours then starts back up. 

Movement?: 

see above lol

Food cravings?:

Last night I had a crazy craving for Lucky Charms!

source

I'm not ashamed to say that in less than 12 hours I ate the whole box...It was at least the smallest box lol

mostly: COLD

ice, ice water mostly

I just want anything COLD

Food aversions?:

Not too bad, kind of depends on the day

Labor signs?: 

NO!  Stay put Baby!

Some Braxton-Hicks

Belly button in or out?: 

Still in, but I can see the bottom of it...which is a new thing in my life lol

What I miss: 

sleeping WELL, and not being tired all of the time and congested...

I'm constantly congested

Not feeling like a huge whale...a huge out of shape whale lol  I got winded walking through Target! HA

What I'm looking forward to: 

My first baby shower, Sunday!!  

What I'm not looking forward to: 

Getting bigger lol

Any more kidney issues, I've started having some back discomfort again like I did a few days leading up to my last hospital visit 

Milestone: 

Passing my 3-hour glucose test...

after failing the one hour!

lol

Some good news!

Wednesday of last week I had to take my one hour glucose tolerance test that all pregnant women take around 28 weeks.  Drank the nasty fruit punch flavored hummingbird nectar and off we went to the Dr's office where my blood was drawn and we were sent on our merry way.  

All done, gulped it down in 3 minutes...gross

Friday morning the nurse called and said, "I have bad news" Oh boy.  I was NOT prepared for this.  Why?  I generally have LOW blood sugar and have to eat to maintain a good walking around/functioning blood sugar.  I don't eat many sweets, sure I have my days, but who doesn't.  Yes, I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to diabetes of any type.

"You failed your glucose test, only by 8 points.  But, you still have to come in for the 3 hour test on Monday.  Oh, and your iron is low, you'll need to pick some up and start taking that"  The iron thing isn't a huge deal, I mean, I made it 28 weeks without needing an iron supplement.  

Little did I know, and no one told me ahead of time, that you don't need to eat any sweets the day before, no extra sugar, nothing that turns into sugars in your body. 

So, what does that mean that I did to likely cause myself to bomb this one hour test?

You got it, I got home after working my usual shift 3-11pm, I came home and found that there was a small piece of chocolate/chocolate cake left for me.  YUM!  You guessed it, I gobbled it down.  

I had been instructed to fast after midnight, I could drink all the water I wanted, but no food.  Of course I enjoyed that cake!! 

Sunday I didn't eat any sweets, enjoyed my morning coffee, and watched my food intake the rest of the day.  Monday morning, I woke up at 715, roll out of bed and head to the Dr's office laptop in hand prepared to sit there for 3 full hours.  They called me back, took my blood prior to handing me another bottle of that liquid nectar and telling me to drink up.  And off I went to the lobby to sit.  Sit.  Sit.

Sit

Sit

Sit

And sit

I had my blood drawn at 845, 945, 1045, and 1145.  Exhausting, annoying, but thank God the nurse was a miracle worker and I did not feel the 1st, or 3rd stick, at all  No exaggeration.  The 2nd stung, and the 4th was uncomfortable.  

I got the phone call yesterday afternoon that.....

I PASSED!  No gestational diabetes for me!  I learned my lesson about fasting!  LOL!!

So, Pierce and I are good to go!  I go back to the doctor the middle of July, then start going every 2 weeks, and then, ACK we're on to weekly until Pierce makes his grand arrival!!

The best $15 I ever spent...RIP friends

Yesterday afternoon something tragic occurred....the sunglasses I've had since 2007 broke.  For no real reason.  I took them off of my head after swimming and the part over my ear was snapped and only held on by the rubbery decoration.  I nearly cried.

Below you will find a memorial montage of my beloved sunglasses....may they rest in peace

When they were in their original color, blue

Yes, originally they were a nice dark shade of blue, with dark unscratched lenses.  Dark enough I could wear them on calls when I was an Animal Services Officer (aka: dog catcher...little known blog fact about me!) and no one could see me sizing up everything around me...they thought I was talking to them.

Last year...look closely, you can see the fade happening

I think the pool bleached them the most, but they still held up for me.  Supported me, protected my eyeballs whenever they started to squint.  Helped J give me the nickname "Mole"

Last photos of my beloved sunglasses

They had fun with me...went antique browsing in Kentucky...and the last picture I have of J and I while I'm wearing them...
And...the very last picture of me wearing dear Old Blues, and I'm sure they were broken in this picture I was just blissfully unaware:

Forgive the hair...it was a no style/ponytail day

So, I finally did what J has been bugging me to do for months now...buy new sunglasses.

Here's my moment of silence for my poor beloved sunglasses......


LOL  Thanks for letting me be silly!!  I did love those sunglasses, and I'm not completely satisfied with the new ones.  Too girlie, as Old Blues were mens lol, and they're not dark enough.  I like my shades DARK!

Friday's Letters

• Dear Kia: Thank you for the adventures in driving while the gear shift is locked.  All of a sudden Wednesday, we couldn't get the car out of neutral into reverse (and park)...and then out of park into any other gear.  How do you remedy this?  Pop the cover off of the Shift Lock Release, and shove a screwdriver into the Shift Lock just to get the car parked or moving.  Lovely huh? 
• Dear Kia Dealership: Thank you for getting that taken care of ASAP...other than the bummer of having to get up at 6am to meet J at the dealership so we could both go back home and go to sleep.
• Dear Sully: Your limp is pathetic, however I can see right through you.  Funny that you only limp when you think someone's watching, when you want attention.  Funny how the limp magically heals itself when you are running full speed around the house playing.  Funny it also heals itself when you go outside to potty and stand on that leg to pee.  
• Dear Weekend: I want warm weather!  Hot even.  Seeing as how I have Saturday-Monday off, I'd love nothing more than to spend at least half of that time in the pool.  No rain, and heat.  Got it?  It is summer after all, so this gloomy cloudy 80s mess can go on any time.
• Dear Phone: It would be nice for you to deliver my husband's text messages to me, all of them and not just every 4th or 5th one.  Because by the time I get those, he's pissed because I haven't been answering the rest of them.  (I realize that sounds controlling, but it isn't.  I'm someone who responds to texts quickly, so it's totally abnormal for me to not respond to several texts)
• Dear Braxton-Hicks: Not a huge fan of your's...I realize that you haven't shown me all of your wrath, not even hardly, but it's still no fun.  You can also take your friend Puffy Ankles with you.

28 Weeks!

28 Weeks!

12 to go!

It's been crazy here, between an early doctor's appointment yesterday morning and the car messing up and having to go to the shop/dealership today at 7am I forgot to take a picture!  Maybe I'll add it in later in an edit!  Likely I'll forget that too! lol

How far along are you? 

28 Weeks

Total weight gain: 

I was not pleased with the number on the scale yesterday...however Dr C didn't say anything about it and said everything looked great.  So, I guess I shall not fret.  

How big is baby?:

What to Expect says a small cabbage (17" 2.9 pounds)

source

source

Maternity clothes: 

always...the closer it gets to my due date the less I want to spend any more money on anything new

Stretch marks?:  

On my hiney!!  I was NOT a happy camper to find those!  

Still applying Palmers religiously

But I've started getting spider veins on my belly?!  

I guess because I'm so white and just don't tan

Sleep?: 

getting less and less easy to sleep through the night

More tossing and turning, which is growing increasingly difficult to do as the belly grows

Best moment this week?:

watching him move and make my belly turn funny shapes on Sunday night.  He hasn't done it since, it's like he has one BIG day of moving ALL DAY LONG and then he doesn't move a whole lot for several more days.  Must wear him out

Movement?: 

see above lol

Food cravings?:

The past two days Sonic watermelon slushes...

COLD

ice, ice water mostly

I just want anything COLD

Food aversions?:

Not too bad, kind of depends on the day

Labor signs?: 

NO!  Stay put Baby!

Some Braxton-Hicks

Belly button in or out?: 

Still in, but I can see the bottom of it...which is a new thing in my life lol

What I miss: 

sleeping WELL, and not being tired all of the time and congested...

I'm constantly congested

What I'm looking forward to: 

getting our place so I can set up Pierce's nursery

What I'm not looking forward to: 

Summer, I'm already hot! 

Milestone: 

Not sure it's a milestone really, but I had my glucose tolerance test yesterday

waiting on those results...with my craving for slushes lately, let's hope it's a good result!  lol

Blog Star Link Up!

Jumping on the Bandwagon with Mrs Monologues 


I'm Amanda, a late 20s fairly newlywed expecting her first child.  As of today, I'm 28 weeks 1 day; expecting a little bundle of blue!
My husband is J, as I call him, and we both work in law enforcement each in a different capacity.  Thankfully, right now, I don't have to be concerned with his well being, as he's not on the road as an officer.  We're both firmly seated indoors (in the same building...)

We met while working at the same agency/same job, as he was leaving this agency we started dating...a whopping 4 days later we moved in together into an apartment that was new to both of us.  Talk about some trying times.  We made it through them alive, and stronger!
Engaged 3 months after moving in together, married just over a month later.  Here we are a year and a half later, waiting for September to welcome our boy, Pierce.

We also have one little dogson, Sully (formally Sullivan Peabody).  An almost 9 year old Miniature Schnauzer who has been with me since he was 6 weeks old.  Sully and I have been through thick and thin...and as soon as J came along, Sully said, "Mommie who?"
He is a TOTAL Daddy's boy!

I'd love to have you join me on this wild ride that will be brand new parenthood...and the silly missteps of life.

27 Weeks!

27 Weeks!

3rd Trimester!

Que holy freak out

Why do I feel better about myself in my weekly photos than I do in person? lol

How far along are you? 

27 Weeks

Total weight gain: 

More than I wanted to gain, but not too much  

How big is baby?:

What to Expect says a head of cauliflower! (16 inches head to toe) and 2.5 pounds!

source

source

Maternity clothes: 

always...the closer it gets to my due date the less I want to spend any more money on anything new

Stretch marks?:  

On my hiney!!  I was NOT a happy camper to find those!  

Still applying Palmers religiously

But I've started getting spider veins on my belly?!  

I guess because I'm so white and just don't tan

Sleep?: 

pretty ok, some nights I get so hot I can't sleep and I toss and turn.

Over all, no complaints

Best moment this week?:

His Daddy getting to feel him move several times this week

Movement?: 

A TON!

Food cravings?:

COLD

ice, ice water mostly

I just want anything COLD

Food aversions?:

Not too bad, kind of depends on the day

Labor signs?: 

NO!  Stay put Baby!

Belly button in or out?: 

Still in, but I can see the bottom of it...which is a new thing in my life lol

What I miss: 

sleeping WELL, and not being tired all of the time and congested...

I'm constantly congested

What I'm looking forward to: 

getting our place so I can set up Pierce's nursery

What I'm not looking forward to: 

Summer, I'm already hot! 

We've already hit 91 degrees!

Another round of pain from the hydronephrosis

Milestone: 

Hiccups!  I realized he was having hiccups yesterday afternoon.

Sweet Husband!

I really have the sweetest husband.  He loves me more than I think I have ever deserved, and thinks of the sweetest little things that just make me smile.
We woke up today around 10, and for some reason two hours later were just TIRED!  So, we did what anyone would do on a lazy day off and went back to sleep lol!  We napped for two and a half hours!!  When we woke up, I told him we really needed to go to the grocery store.  He suggested we go to the shopping center where the grocery store is, pick up Subway to go, go over to the nearby greenway/trails and have a picnic.  So, that's just what we did.  It was the sweetest gesture.  It doesn't take much to make me happy.

I remembered to take a picture! First pic of us since Easter!

We got our grocery shopping done, thank goodness for BOGO groceries!  We got $80 worth of groceries for less than $50!!  I'm working on getting a lot of basics for our apartment so we don't have to run out and spend a ton of money on that first grocery trip.  I've been stocking up on cleaning supplies for a while, because you can't beat BOGO cleaning stuff!
We then went to my in-laws and ate steak and I got to see our garden for the first time since it was planted.  It looks great, and is already sprouting!  I'm psyched, and ready to freeze foods for Pierce and our little family.

Other than that...it's been a lazy Sunday.  J and I are both at work for a few hours of overtime.  I'm ready for my bed!  Hope ya'll have had a great weekend!

The mighty blow to my ego

Monday starts 3rd timester, I've gotten through the second with literally 5 shirts that I cycle through.  I just have not seen the need in spending a ton of money on clothes I will wear less than one year; and at this point, doubt I'll ever wear again (J wants 2, I laugh at him).  So, a friend told me that Burlington Coat Factory has maternity, and for cheap.  Oooh, ok, I'm game!
So, today on my lunch, I headed on over.  Figured I could get a dress and a top and be set.  I took 3 tops and 2 dresses into the dressing room. First off, HOLY BOOBIES BATMAN.  I knew they had gotten bigger, but come on...to not be able to fit them into a size large dress?  I knew it was down hill from there.

source
This is the Large that wouldn't accommodate the girls

Now, remembering the fact that the girls wouldn't fit into the Large dress, at all...tell me how in the world the medium shirt fit?  LOL.  It fit, and looked ok but I couldn't get past the pattern.  Made me look about 50 pounds heavier.  Twiggy girls can handle that pattern, or maybe it's just me and I am so plain Jane simple that my brain wouldn't handle it.
And, whose idea was it to put a band at the bottom of maternity tops?  It's not flattering!

source
Tried this one in blue

And then, the piece that sent me over the edge into full on Moo-Cow-mode?

source

Tried it on in a different color/pattern, but you get the idea.
First off, who makes a maternity dress that low cut?  Second, who puts that much pattern in a horizontal manner across a belly?!  Third, and this may be the largest point to make...WHY DID I EVEN TRY IT ON?!  This is something I wouldn't try on at my thinnest!  Must be the hormones making me crazy...take a peek at this...if your eyes dare.  Warning, the girls are out there!

I mean...wth?!

See what I mean?!  I realize if I had better posture it might help matters, but come on.  And, I had to cut my head off because I was making a serious WTH face to send this to J!  LOL.


Guess I'll be sticking to Old Navy and Target!!