Mitchell Madness

Welcome Isabella Rose Mitchell

2011-08-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well as I had been saying since about 33 weeks, I just knew my baby girl would come a few weeks early. And she did. My body had been showing the signs that labor was near and finally my constant cries of "I feel like this baby is going to show up any second" were answered. Wednesday it was 101 degrees out and I came home feeling a bit weathered. Then Carter was sleeping on the couch and he rolled over and I ran across the room to catch him and I strained my pelvic area. I was in a lot of pain all evening and the pain just got worse throughout the night. I had a doctor appt. scheduled for the following afternoon, but I had decided I would call my doctor first thing in the morning cause I could barely walk. But at about 4:45 in the morning I was laying on my back when I felt a pop in my stomach and a gush of fluid followed right after. I knew exactly what it was of course. I alerted Brett that my water had broke and told him to get me a towel as fast as he could. Before I moved an inch we had a towel underneath me and we successfully managed to not get a drop of fluid on our bed. Yes, I'm that good! I can't say the same for our floors. Apparently I carry around a lot of fluid.

At that point I called my parents' house and like I predicted, they didn't answer any of their phones, so I called my brother who still lives with them. Thank goodness he answered his phone. He then went in and woke up my dad and told him my water busted, in which my dad in his sleepy haze thought that meant the water pipes in my house burst. So his response was, why is she calling me? Why doesn't she tell Brett to fix it? Haha. Gotta love men. After a few seconds I think he realized what my brother was telling him and he woke my mom up.

While we waited for my dad to show up at my house, Brett and I got showered and finished packing for the hospital. I took the time to do my hair and makeup, because I know people get camera happy when babies are born and I didn't want to look like a pile of crap. After my dad arrived, we loaded up and headed to McDonalds. Yes, that's right, I said McDonalds not the hospital. I knew I wouldn't be allowed to eat for the entire duration of my labor, so I was going to get something in my stomach while I still had a chance. Obviously McDonalds was not the healthiest choice, but it was the closest and fastest. And while we sat in the drive through, I had a contraction which pushed a heck of a lot of fluid out and soaked everything in site. So I decided since we were so close to our house still, we would return so I could change clothes, because I didn't want to waddle into the hospital looking like I had peed all over myself.

For this reason, my mom actually beat us to the hospital and she got us checked in. By the time we got there, we were able to go right back. I actually got the last available room, so I didn't end up laboring in the hallway. Can you believe they just built a brand new hospital and they don't have enough labor and delivery rooms and they actually have women lined up in the hallways at times? Must have been a man that designed the labor and delivery floor. I got a tiny observation room, but was upgraded to a bigger room once one became available. My contractions were not starting off very strong or consistent, so I was put on petocin. Once I reached about 3-4 cm, they allowed me to get my epidural. My thought was that the pain wasn't that bad, but if I was planning on getting an epidural, I might as well do it before I was miserable. I was pretty nervous about getting one, because when I got mine with Carter, the guy putting it in was extremely mean because he had a hard time getting it in the right spot and my back muscle spasm when they're poked. And when someone is threading a wire in your spine, being still is very necessary. Well my nerves were not calmed when he couldn't find the spot with the first try and he had to pull out the wire and try again. The second time he got it in the right spot, but hit a blood vessel and a nerve and pain started shooting down my right leg. Need I mention every time he fished that dang thing down my back, it would cause more amniotic fluid to come rushing out? Gross. After he pulled the epidural out for the second time, I got really nervous and almost told him to forget it. But he tried for a third time and got it. I guess third time really is the charm.

So long story short, my labor lasted all day and I wasn't progressing very much. My contractions were off the chart, but it wasn't making me dilate much. The doctor actually manually progressed me from 5 cm to 7 cm at a time my epidural had worn off and as you can imagine, it was pretty painful. I don't think he realized I could feel it. They checked me again in a couple of hours and I was still at 7 cm. I was getting nervous at that point, because the talk of a C-section was being brought up. The nurse measured my contractions and they were way stronger than what they consider sufficient, so she talked to the doctor about a C-section. He told her he'd give me plenty of time to dilate, so that really calmed my nerves. After that, I progressed and was almost fully dilated shortly there after. It was then time to call the doctor and he was about 25 mins out. The nurse checked and it appeared that baby Bella was not going to wait for the doctor. She actually crowned on her own without a single push from me. So we called in the house doctor and got the show on the road. Unlike my delivery with Carter in which they had turned my epidural completely off for delivery, they allowed me to keep it turned up and I felt absolutely nothing. I was thrilled. I took about 2 contractions and 4 or 5 pushes and girlfriend made her entrance into the world. I couldn't believe it! Was it really that easy?! It was the polar opposite of my delivery with Carter. I took me almost an hour to push Carter out and by the time I was done with him, my eyes were swelled shut, I had to have a 2 to 3 degree episiotomy, and some other very unwelcome things showed up. None of that happened with this one. I didn't even break a sweat.

She made her arrival on August 4 at 7:04 p.m. She weighed in at 7lbs. 6oz. and was 20 inches long. Not baby for a baby that was actually considered a preemie. She was born 2 days shy of 37 weeks. Can you imagine how large she would have been if I had to wait until 40 weeks? Glad that didn't happen.

She was completely healthy and suffered no birth injuries. We are adjusting very well to having 2 children in our house and she has proven to be a very good sleeper so far. She sleeps for 3 to 4 hour stretches, eats, and goes right back to sleep without even needing to be rocked. Love her!!! I'm back in bed within 20 mins of her waking up.

Carter is adjusting to his little sister and is doing a pretty good job. Of course he's a rough and tough boy and doesn't understand why he can't squeeze her little hands and feet off or why he can't lay on top of her, but he's learning.

So here is a snapshot of our newest addition.

Another Bowling Ball In My Future

2011-08-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well I'm 36 1/2 weeks pregnant today and I had my latest ultrasound last Thursday. The purpose of this was to determine the size of the baby and start talking about inducing around 38 weeks if it looked like I was gonna have another Carter sized baby. Now folks, it's not that I'm afraid of delivering another 9+lb baby for myself, but after Carter got all jacked up from it, I'm not doing it again!! So as of 35 weeks, 5 days my petite little Bella was already 7lbs. Yes, that's right, 4 weeks shy of my due date and my baby was already bigger than most are at birth! And the real kicker is I've only gained just shy of 30 lbs with this one where I gained 52 lbs with Carter.

So I planned on having another serious talk with the doctor after my ultrasound, but he sent in the nurse practioner instead. Need I mention I've never met this woman and she was not the one I wanted to talk to. When she went on and on about my baby being so big and then said "we'll do another weight check in 3 weeks", that's when I had to restrain myself from karate kicking her in the face. Are you serious lady?!?! I politely asked her to go get the doctor, because we had discussed other plans she wasn't aware of. So she went and talked to him, but I guess he was too busy to come in the room.

They scheduled me for my weekly visits and a final ultrasound on Aug 11 to do another weight check. I understand if they need to see her again before making the decision to induce at 38 weeks, but it's a little irritating that they call it a "weight check". Ummmm...hello!!! The girl is already 7 lbs, do you think she's going to shrink in 2 weeks time??

Anyway, I was already 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced at my last visit, so I've been hoping that she'll just show up on her own before I even need to be induced. Although, I've done a lot of walking, a lot of eating eggplant parmesan, and a few other things to try and coax her out with in the next week or so, but so far no luck.

The good thing is my PUPP rash went away before it had a chance to spread to my arms and legs. Now let's hope it's gone for good. Now if I can only tolerate being at work for the next week or so, it'll be amazing. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but something about being 9 months pregnant and haggling over truck deals makes me a little cranky at times. And I've given up all together waddling out on the lot to talk to customers, because there's just no way I'm standing out in 100 degree heat when I feel like I'm wearing my winter parka. Would someone please turn off the furnace down here?! It's killing me!

Anyway, no baby yet, which is just fine as long as she's here in about a week and a half. I'll keep you all posted. Later!!

I've got the PUPP

2011-07-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

If you're unfamiliar with what the PUPP is, it's best described as a red, itchy rash that a small percentage of pregnant ladies develop. Technically it's only supposed to happen when you're actually pregnant and go away within a couple of weeks of delivery, but I know I developed it about a week after I had Carter. It was HORRIBLE! It spread all over my tummy, arms, and legs and the only thing that could stop the itch was freezing cold water.

Well the last few days my belly has really began to itch and I blamed it on my newly developed stretch marks (yes, I didn't think it was possible to get anymore, but it is). I tried my hardest not to itch them because that only makes the stretch marks worse. Well this morning I woke up with a definite rash on my belly that itched like hell. I read more about PUPP and it says it starts in your stretch marks and spreads and can soon cover my arms and legs. LOVELY.

So now, not only am I waddling around uncomfortably like an over stuffed turkey at Thanksgiving, but I have a very irritating rash. Awesome. Honestly, this only puts my doctor in more danger of losing his life. Because if this rash sticks around until after I give birth, he better say he's inducing me at 38 weeks or I might just kill him.

Also he severly crushed my hopes of possibly entering labor naturally in a couple of weeks, when I told him I lost my mucuos plug. He told me it could regenerate and that it didn't mean I would go into labor within a couple of weeks. Love ya doc!

So if it sounds like I'm a really crouchy, irritable pregnant lady; it's because I am. I can't help it. I've reached that point in my pregnancy where time seems to stand still and it's just not fair. I've never been one of those girls that loves being pregnant (not even close), but I think I've tolerated it a lot better this time around, but enough is enough. I'm ready to have this baby!!!! So come on already!!!

The End May Be Near

2011-07-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

No, not the end of the world; I'm talking about the end of my pregnancy. I will be 34 weeks in 2 days and I'm already showing possible signs that labor could be here within the next couple of weeks. For one, my baby girl is sitting so incredibly low I feel like she could fall out at any point. With Carter, I carried just right, not too high, not too low. With Bella, I'm really feeling the need to cross my legs. And with a low riding baby comes extra pressure on my bladder and if you read my last post, you know the results of that.

But just cause she's riding low, doesn't mean she will arrive any earlier than normal. Although, I did have a conversation with my doctor about not wanting to deliver another 9+lb baby and at about 36 weeks he will do another ultrasound to check her size and at that point we will decide what we're going to do. He has given me the option of a C-section or possibly inducing at 38 weeks. I'd rather go with the induction.

Well the last few days I've been feeling pretty crummy and not just any kind of crummy. The kind of crummy you feel when you're body is getting ready for labor. And to top it off, this morning I lost a good chunk of my mucous plug. I know that's not a lovely topic, but it's a sign that labor could be starting with in days or weeks. I lost my plug with Carter at 38 weeks, so I'm thinking I'm not going to make it another 4-6 weeks with this girl if I'm already losing it.

Of course, if she arrives before 37 weeks, we're talking pre-term labor. I'm really trying not to worry about that and with each day that I get a little bit further along, I feel better. She's almost to 34 weeks and based on her size at 29 weeks, I don't think we'll have to worry about too many complications.

So I guess I'll just sit back and wait. See if this plug business means anything. In the meantime, I've got Bella's bag packed, Carter's bag packed, and I'm still working on Brett and I's bag. But at least the kiddos are taken care of. I'll keep you guys updated. Later!!

Leaky pipes

2011-06-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

So last Friday afternoon around 3:30, I had a bit of a liquid spill in the baby region. It came out of nowhere and I thought to myself "Did I just...?" or "maybe it was my water leaking?" Well it seemed like my pipes were still leaking a little bit, so I left the office a little red faced and called my doctor. The girl that answered the phone told me the doc was out and that I should go to labor and delivery right away. Great....

So I made the appropriate calls to my husband, childcare provider, and parents to ensure Carter would get picked up from daycare and that there was someone to watch him. My parents were actually out of town so Brett picked him up and took him to our neighbor's house. As I drove to the hospital, it seemed everyone else was panicing and I was keeping it cool. I figured if it was my water leaking, they could put me on bed rest and monitor it.

Apparently the girl at labor and delivery registration didn't think it was urgent because she took about 30 mins to get me checked in. Once I got back to my room everyone kept texting me (and by that I mean my mom mostly) freaking out and asking me what was going on. Hello! I didn't know yet cause even though I had been there 45 mins, I hadn't seen a nurse yet! Finally when a nurse did come in, she did the strip test to see if it were amniotic fluid and that test came out negative. So then she did another test and sent it off to the lab. In the mean time, Brett showed up with sheer panic on his face. I told him to calm down and not look like he was going to fall over dead, because I may have just peed on myself afterall!!

Well about an hour after the nurse took the second test, she came back with the results. In her very polite, shy voice she said, "well, it's not amniotic fluid". That's when Brett chimed in, "so she just peed on herself?" Gotta love my husband. The nurse wouldn't say that for sure, because she didn't want to embarrass me, but I've already give birth in front of a room full of strangers, peeing on myself isn't the most embarrassing thing I've ever experienced. So we packed it up and went home. Thankful that my baby girl was not trying to make her entrance at 30 weeks. That would have been terrible. Now if she wants to kick a hole in her bag of waters at about 37 weeks, I won't argue with her. That is if my doctor doesn't induce me at that point anyway.

On a side note, my in-laws have already given me 3 points in time that I can not have my baby because of their schedules. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Both were people that have never been/will be pregnant so I guess their ignorance on the matter is understandable. Because anyone that's ever been pregnant knows you don't tell a pregnant lady when she can and can't have her child. Sons of bitches!

P.S. I am trying to figure out what's going on with this stupid blogger thing. I can't seem to leave comments for anyone anymore and it's making me made. Poop on that!

Nervous

2011-06-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

So as I approach 30 weeks of my pregnancy, I'm getting a tad nervous. I'm not really nervous about the whole labor thing as far as contractions, pain, etc. go...but I'm nervous about possible birth trauma with this child. I know it sounds weird, but once you've had a baby that has suffered quite a bit of birth trauma that led to the majority of their first year in and out of specialists, it's something you'll never get over.

I was really praying and hoping that this little girl would be just that...little. Well it doesn't look like she's going to be that. In fact, I'm starting to worry she may be bigger than her brother. It makes no sense. I gained 52 lbs with Carter and with this one I've gained only 20 lbs so far and I'm really trying hard not to gain more than another 5 lbs or so. But when I had an ultrasound done the other day to check her size, she was estimated at 3 lbs 9 0z give or take 5 oz either way. She measured in the 76th percentile with the 50th percentile being average. Are you kidding me?! From here on out an average baby gains about 1/2 lb a week. If you do the math based on my ultrasound at 29 weeks, that's another 5 1/2 lbs. And that's an AVERAGE baby. So there is quite a good possibility that I'm looking at having another 9 pounder.

With that said, I now have to go into my OBs office and beg and plead for him to induce me at 37 or 38 weeks if the baby is looking healthy and all that. I was induced at 39 weeks with Carter and he was still 9 lbs 6 oz. It's not that I'm impatient, it's just that I think it's much healthier for me and the baby to induce a couple weeks early (and it's really not considered early once they're term) than take the chance of birth trauma or a c-section. I know women have birthed bigger babies than Carter, but apparently my body was not designed for a baby that big. Because aside from his trauma, my eyes swelled shut from pushing so hard and let's just say I was in A LOT of pain for a few weeks afterward.

On another note, I'm nervous about my maternity leave. Most women get to take their maternity leave from their jobs and not have to think about anything other than getting adjusted to their new baby. Well that's not the case here. I work for family and I play a huge role in running our semi truck dealership. A lot of people think I just sell trucks, but that is far from reality. On top of being a sales person, I manage our mechanic and have to instruct him on his daily duties, I have to order parts for trucks, I have to arrange moving trucks, I have to arrange getting trucks in and out of our detail shop, I arrange getting trucks in and out of the tire and body shop, I take care of listing our trucks for sale on the internet and making all changes to our ad, and basically anything that is involved in getting our trucks from the place we bought them to our front line. It's A LOT of responsibility. And it's not just something that can be shrugged off on someone else. To put the icing on the cake, we just agreed to purchase 150 trucks from a dealer in WI and we'll be getting in about 25 trucks a month from now until the end of the year. And that's just on that one package of trucks.

It was hard for me to detach from my job when I had Carter and my responsibilities are about 10 fold from what they were then to what they are now. I just don't know how I'm going to do it. I'm nervous. Really nervous. How do I just pass that kind of responsibility off on someone else?

Oh yeah and did I mention I'm a tad nervous about having 2 kids?! Carter isn't exactly to the stage that he's very independent considering he'll be 21 months old when his sister is born. He still wants my full attention every second that he's awake and if I don't give it to him, he gets upset. This may be a problem when it's not just him anymore. Hopefully he'll make a radical change in the next 2 months and he'll become understanding and be able to self entertain better. Ha! Fat chance!!

Anyway, that's my sob story for the week. Maybe now that I got it out, I'll be able to relax a bit.

Carter's Hearing & Prego

2011-06-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Carter went for his appt. with the Audiologist and she did a couple of tests on his ears and everything showed that his hearing is just fine. So he's only hard of hearing when he chooses to be. He does have a little fluid built up behind his right ear which may cause chronic ear infections for a while, but he should grow out of that. She didn't even recommend tubes for that ear. So praise the Lord!! Nothing to worry about in that department.

As far as his talking goes, I think it's just his personality that keeps him quite. Sometimes he babbles on, but for the most part he's a really quite kid. We did take a trip to Chattanooga over the weekend and he proved he could learn new words. As we went to the Aquarium, Railroad Museum, and the Riverboat Cruise; he learned to say train, choo choo, fish, and boat. I think it really helped to see an actual object that we were teaching him about. He has identified pictures before, but does much better with the "hands on" experience.

So I'm just going to continue to read to him and work with him on his speech, but not worry too much until he's at least 2 if he's not talking more by then. He's very smart and picks up on a lot of things, I just think he knows he can get his point across without talking much at this point.

Thanks for the prayers!! They really helped ease our minds.

Now onto a blog about me. haha! I will be 28 weeks prego on Saturday and so far it has flown by. That may be in part to the unusually cool spring we've had here in TN, but that has changed. The temps hit the mid 90s a few days ago and there is no relief in the near forecast. So hopefully the next 3 months don't drag by. I went from hardly a couple lbs. gained by 20 weeks, to a total of 20 lbs. gained by almost 28 weeks. Of course I'm still doing better than I did with Carter, but I was 15 lbs. heavier when I got pregnant with Bella than when I got pregnant with Carter. So not only do I not want to get near the 52 lbs. I gained with him, but I really don't even want to get up to the same weight I was when I had him so I can't gain much more here!!

Since I started packing on the pounds, I have been trying to eat healthier. I have been staying pretty active with yard projects, but I've also been trying to get out of my office chair more often and do lunges and things like that when no one is looking.

So here's to a healthy pregnancy and not gaining anymore weight!!

18 months

2011-05-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Carter turned 18 months old on May 19th and he had his checkup this morning. He's still growing like a weed and weighed in at 26 lbs and 33 inches tall. He's just slightly above average in that dept. He's also up to par on most of his developmental skills. Even the ability to walk backwards. lol. Checkups are always a little nerve wrecking for me, because it seems everytime I take him in, we end up visiting a new specialist. My two biggest concerns today were his feet being a little turned in and him not being able to say more than about 5 words.

The doctor said his toes did turn in a little, but that research has showed some of the world's best athletes have turned in toes and they stopped putting braces on children to correct it. So that was a relief. Maybe he'll be an amazing track star or something.

As far as me telling the doctor that he was not able to say at least 15 words, that raised a red flag for him. He said that it could be normal and until he's 2 we didn't really need to worry, but the more we talked about it, he decided to do a hearing test on Carter. When he was a newborn, he passed his hearing test but today he did not. Both ears came back "referred", whatever that means. So the doctor is sending him to an Audiologist for further testing. I took the news in stride like I always do. In the back of my mind, it worries me, but until we know something for sure, there is no sense in freaking about it. I'll just put it in God's hands and we'll do whatever is neccessary to get Carter on track.

I really do try to keep these things in perspective, because we've never yet faced anything we can't handle and weren't able to correct. And I always say to myself "at least he's healthy and happy". We're not sitting in a Children's hospital getting the news that he's sick with cancer or anything like that, so if there is something wrong with his hearing, we can deal with it.

As for now, I just ask for all your prayers that there is nothing seriously wrong with Carter's hearing and that he'll be talking up a storm in no time.

Tornadoes

2011-04-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night the weather forecasters began to warn us about a large storm heading for the south and to prepare ourselves for possible severe weather. I am always a sceptic when it comes to this, because they seem to cry wolf a whole lot, but when I looked at the radar and saw the storm stretching from Nashville to Tulsa, I figured it may get pretty bad. So Carter slept in his pack n play in our room and I kept an eye on the radar on and off all night. We don't have a weather radio, so this was my only way of knowing what was going on. The storm was extremely slow moving and I finally gave up checking it at about 3:30, because I thought it was bunk. At about 5:59 a.m. our house began to shake and the wind sounded extremely nasty. I jumped up and told Brett to take Carter to the bathroom right away because it sounded like our house may come down. I have to say in all the bad weather we've had, this was the first time we ran to our "safe place" and we were actually concerned we may be in danger. Even two years ago when an EF-4 tornado came past our house, we weren't home when it happened.

The wind died down in about 10 seconds and all seemed clear. After I stopped shaking, I went to make coffee and looked out the kitchen window to see one of our large trees completely uprooted and laying in the neighbors' yard. It actually looked like it was laying on their garage, but it turned out one of their own trees was laying on their garage. Either way, it destroyed their fence, took down some of their trees and clipped their house. Whoops!!

All day long storms kept coming through our area, but the worst of them hit just south of us on the TN/AL stateline as all of you probably already know. I believe 33 people died in TN and much more in AL, MS, and GA. It's really sad. We surveyed our neighborhood and surrounding areas and although it looked really bad, it was mostly just trees down. There wasn't much structural damage. We had minor damage on our house and just have a lot of yard work ahead of us now. Here are some pics that Brett and I snapped.

*Our Backyard*

*The next door neighbor's yard*

*Around Murfreesboro*

Feel Accomplished

2011-04-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Remember that T0-Do list I posted a few weeks ago? At the time I was feeling very overwhelmed with how much Brett and I had to do now that Spring was rolling around. Well, we've managed to knock some big projects off that list and I'm feeling much better. The first project we accomplished was having a garage sale. I really didn't want to mess with it, but am glad I did. We got rid of just about everything we put up for sale and we managed to rake in a good amount of money. Of course we spent most of the money buying the 24 new screening trees we planted in hopes they would grow 15 ft tall and block out our creepy neighbor. My dad planted over 100 trees at his house, so he rented a power auger to dig the holes. After Brett got done helping plant my dad's trees, my dad brought the auger over to our house and dug our holes. Then the next weekend my brother came and helped Brett put in our trees. I had to work that day, so I wasn't able to help. (Not that I would've anyway, since I'm conveniently pregnant). Here's the beginning of the trees going in. I have yet to post an after picture.The next project that got crossed off the list was finishing Carter's big boy room. I buckled down and painted (with plenty of ventilation I might add), put together all his new furniture, and put up his Dr. Seuss decals that I made through UpperCaseLiving.com. Here are some pics of his room. If I can manage to find my regular camera, I'll take better pictures.

I am so glad that project is done. It was a big one. Carter loves playing in his new room, but I have yet to decide if he loves sleeping in it. The last couple nights have been really horrible when it comes to getting him to go to sleep, but I'm not sure if it's the new room or the new teeth he's been getting in. Poor kiddo. I just love the fact that his new room is big enough to hold a lot of his toys, so they don't have to be in my living room anymore.

Now the next project we have tackled is staining our deck. That's something we hadn't done since we moved in and it was in bad shape. Fortunately I didn't have much work for my mechanic at the dealership the past couple days and while I was trying to scrounge things up for him to do, a light bulb went off in my head. Why not pay him to stain your deck? It would definitely be worth it. So Brett prepped the deck by bleaching it and Jack was there this morning to start staining it. So by the time I get home tonight, I will have a newly stained deck. So excited. And for a couple hours this morning while Jack got started on the deck, I installed the new skimmer on our pool and got the new filter and pump pretty close to operational. I just have to get sand for the filter and we'll be in business.

The only major projects we have left this Spring is to rock part of our backyard and put together Carter's swing set. I guess we can accomplish at least one of those things this upcoming weekend. Did I mention I've only gained 5 lbs during this pregnancy so far? It's no wonder, right?

So what are some of your DIY projects?

Drum Roll Please....

2011-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

It's that time. 20 weeks and an ultrasound. We went in this morning with my bladder full of way too much water and the tech was once again running an hour behind. Lovely, right? After I had gone to the bathroom twice and still felt like I was going to flood the waiting room, they finally called me back. That's when the tech told me that I didn't need a full bladder and I could go empty it. Are you serious?!?!?! So why have I always been told otherwise? Or better yet, why didn't the nurse tell me that when she knew I was about to pee my pants? Anyway, enough about that. The baby appeared to be completely healthy and also quite stubborn. He/she kept his/her legs crossed for 30 mins. Finally he/she revealed she was just being a lady, because SHE's a GIRL!!! We are so excited!!!! One, because we wanted a girl, two, because this may mean I never have to be pregnant again!!! One boy, one girl. Sounds good enough for me. Now it's time to hit up Target and Old Navy, because I'm in need of some dresses. Anybody need boy clothes? I have boxes and boxes that it doesn't look like I'll be needing!!

Spring Projects

2011-03-31T06:31:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again, when it seems as though all weekends from here until June will be filled with projects. Part of that is the glory of home ownership. Unfortunately it seems as though I always seem to be pregnant when we have the most to do. I guess that will just keep me in shape, right? Well here is what is on Brett and I's to-do list for the near future:

Get our pool cleaned and ready for the summer (just an above ground, so it shouldn't be too much work).

Assemble Carter's swingset.

Kill off half of our backyard, lay weed fabric, and spread rock in the area that won't grow grass real well. As well as replacing all of our mulch with rock.

Plant 12 screening trees to block out our sex offender neighbor who likes to call the fire dept. on us for having small fires in our fire bowl.

Power wash and stain our deck. Brett wants to also do the fence, but I don't know about that.

Have a garage sale (I hate this idea, but it's a must to clear out Carter's new big boy room).

Paint and decorate Carter's new Dr. Seuss themed room. Assemble the new crib, dresser, and storage shelf.

And just keep up with the typical weeding and yard work that comes along with owning a house.

This may not seem like anymore than a couple of labor intensive weekends, but when we both work every or every other Saturday and have a 16 month old that requires constant supervision; it's very tough to get some of these things done. Oh yeah and we need a new roof, but that's a subject for another day. My neighbor who owns his own construction business likes to remind us on a constant basis that we need a new roof and my thought is "yeah just add that to the list buddy". So anyway, that's what we'll be up to for the next several weekends. Oh and we'll also be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl next Thursday. I'm stoked! Praying for pink!! haha. But I sure wouldn't mind another boy.

15 months-Full Steam Ahead

2011-02-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

Carter just turned 15 months old on the 19th and I figured it was time to share with you what's been going on in his life. He finally started walking at about 14 months and although I kept urging him to do it for a long time, I'm now wishing I hadn't rushed him into it. Needless to say, we have 5 baby gates up now, including one on our bedroom door, because he has learned how to turned the handle and open the door. And we don't have round knobs, so the gate was our only way of keeping him out. He has also become quite the climbing machine and I can't seem to keep him off of anything. He climbs on everything!! He climbs on his play table, he stands up in his rocking chair, and he even climbs on the shelves of our built in media center. He's a little monkey, I tell ya. With all this climbing, he's also done some falling, but that doesn't seem to stop him. Anyone got any suggestions on how to stop all the climbing? It's rather nerve wrecking.The only time I get him to sit down and give myself a break from chasing him around is when it's bathtime. He loves the bath! I swear I could leave him in there for hours and he'd be pefectly happy. He has even gotten used to me tipping him back in the water to rinse out his hair. His daddy also helps with baths and likes to give him bubbly mohawks.
Carter is quite the social butterfly as well. He has never suffered from separation anxiety and he definitely isn't shy. I credit this to him being exposed to lots and lots of people since he was born. He loves daycare and gets along with the kids great. He is quite the ladies man if I do say so myself (but that might have something do with the fact that there is only one other boy there).
He went to work with me a couple of days last week, because his daycare provider was sick, so needless to say I got zero done and ended up leaving early. Here he is sitting in his seat next to me.
So I have to say, this past month our lives have really changed. We can go outside and play more, we are wearing shoes all the time (except in the house), we have gotten our first moler, we are ordering off the kid's menu, we have been expressing our strong will more and more each day, and we have kissed the paci good-bye for good. Although some nights I wish we still had the paci, but I refuse to cave after he's been without it for a few weeks. Brett and I feel more worn out at the end of the day, but we are loving every second with our little man more and more each day. All the chasing Carter around has kept my pregnancy weight down. I'm 13 weeks along and have yet to really gain any weight. The doctor's scale said 1 lb, but that was right after lunch and my scale says none. By this point in my first pregnancy I had already gained like 5 - 10 lbs (yeah I know, shut up!). So we love you little man and we are looking forward to watching you grow up!!
*Note the obnoxious look on his face. I'd say that describes his personality well; he's a very strong willed individual. Kind of like his momma.*

Ticker's a Tickin'

2011-02-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow I will be 12 weeks pregnant and I went for my second checkup today. They weighed me in (always my favorite part....barf) and I only gained 1 lb. I guess I can live with that. According to my scale I hadn't gained anything (and actually lost a couple since I was so sick the last couple of days), but I blame it on eating a pretty hefty lunch right before my visit.

The doc went to listen to the heartbeat and picked it up right away. Success!! I guess since I haven't had most of the terrible pregnancy symptoms I had with Carter part of me has been thinking "knock knock, you still in there baby?" I'll take today's visit as a yes.

So we're just plugging away. My mom has already been gracious enough to purchase new bedding and a new convertable crib for Carter. We have decided to do his bed in the Dr. Suess theme and found some really great bedding at Pottery Barn. My plans for his room look a little like this:

Except he's getting a Chocolate finish crib, because I just couldn't bring myself to putting him in a white crib. White would be great for a girl, I'm just not sure about it for a boy. We're going to keep the nursery just the way it is. Except I will definitely need to buy a new sheet for the mattress. Carter has been pretty rough on it.

The only thing I'm finding that I'm dealing with a lot more than I did when I was pregnant with Carter is that I'm sick a lot more often. Partly because they say having a kid, a miscarriage, and another pregnancy all in 14 months is a lot for your body to handle. So I guess I'm pretty depleted, but then I have Carter in daycare and the kids in there are constantly sick. So he's constantly sick, so I'm constantly sick. He actually managed to not catch a stomach bug that was going around daycare, while I did catch it. Out of nowhere, I became violently ill on Wednesday morning and pretty much didn't get out of bed for the next two days. It was miserable.

So I guess that about wraps it up. We've got a healthy baby so far and now I just need to worry about keeping him/her healthy and keeping myself as healthy as possible. Here's to hoping winter comes to an end very soon!! (please don't remind me of this when i'm bitching about the heat in August).

25 and already having EKGs run

2011-02-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday proved to be a kind of scary day for me. It started off like any other day, but around 11:00am I started to feel pretty weak, so I decided to eat lunch early in hopes that would make me feel better. Well it didn't. I found myself struggling to catch my breath and feeling worse by the minute. I then started to feel a flutting in my chest and after about an hour, it dawned on me to take my pulse. That's when I noticed every time I felt the flutter in my chest, my heart was skipping a beat. It wouldn't have bothered me, except that it was skipping a beat about every 5 seconds or so. I called my dad and told him what was going on and he said he'd be back to the office in a few minutes.

Once my parents got back to the office, I let my mom feel my pulse and within just a few seconds she felt my heart skip two times. So we decided it was best that I go to the walk-in clinic to have them take my vitals. Well, we went to 2 different clinics and they were really backed up, so my mom just told the nurse practitioner what was going on and that's when she referred me to the E.R.

So it was off to the E.R. we went. It's amazing how when you tell them you're having heart problems, you get rushed right in without even having to wait 5 mins. It wasn't long after I was there that they ran an EKG to see if my heart was okay. That came back normal, so they hooked me up to a monitor to watch my heart beat for a while and they took some urine and blood. They also tried to listen for the baby's heartbeat, but it wasn't loud enough to get a good count. I also went for a chest X-Ray and that came back normal as well. After a couple of hours, my heart went back to normal and the doctor said he saw it skipping beats, but couldn't watch it long enough to see if anything was abnormal. My blood work did show that my potassium level was low and that could have very well caused the irregular heartbeat. So they gave me 4 big potassium pills, a referral to a cardiologist, and sent me on my way.

They also recommended that I drink Gatorade and eat a banana everyday. I just hate when things like this happen. I leave feeling like I just spent a whole lot of money to be told "we don't know what's wrong with you". Awesome. I also feel very frustrated because I feel like I'm falling apart. Two visits to the E.R. within 6 months. Really? I mean, my OBGYN did express concern that 2 good pregnancies, and a miscarriage all within 14 months is a lot for my body to handle. But I never expected this. I just feel like my body has been completely drained of all the "good stuff".

Anyhow, I guess I will make a follow up appointment with the cardiologist and she if that leads anywhere. My guess is my heart will act completely normal and he will not see anything like what was going on yesterday. I guess that'd be a good thing though.

Goodbye Suck Suck

2011-01-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

Well Carter is 14 months old and I have finally tested my will power and took away his "suck suck". We got back from dinner Friday night and he was about 45 mins past his bedtime, so as I was changing him into his PJs, he kept laying down. I thought to myself, I will embrace his super tiredness and see if he'll go to sleep without the paci. Well it worked, he went right to sleep without any crying.

So for the rest of the weekend (except when my mom was babysitting him on Saturday morning), he didn't get his paci. At times he put up a little fight, but at other times he would just go to sleep. During his afternoon nap yesterday, he really fought it and after about a good 45 mins of hearing him cry, I went to rock him back to sleep. That's when I smelled a poopy diaper and figured he may have been crying about that rather than not having his "suck suck". I changed his diaper and put him back down, but had no luck on getting him to sleep. So we just skipped the afternoon nap.

By the time bedtime rolled around, he went to sleep without any fussing. I felt somewhat successful. Now, I had to pass my responsibilities onto our daycare provider. She said she'd not give it to him and I was just praying he wouldn't give her too much of a fight. Well, I checked in after his morning nap and she said he went to sleep without any crying. Success!!! Now let's just hope the same goes for his afternoon nap.

People keep telling me "he's still young, you know", but I just figured I found an opportunity to start getting him off the paci and I jumped on it. I also figured, the longer he has it, the more attached he will get. Plus, with the new baby coming in August, I want the paci to be long in his past, so he may not have such a hard time seeing the new baby with one. Of course, it doesn't help that my husband put a paci in the cupholder of his carseat before we left for church yesterday. I looked back and saw him grab it and almost put it in his mouth. I asked Brett why he would do that when we're trying so hard to break him of the paci during sleeptime and he hasn't gotten it during "awake" hours in a long time. There's no explaination for some of the things men do.

Anyhow, I'm really hoping we are successful on this one, because I will feel like I accomplished something big. Plus I will be extremely proud of my little guy. Well, wish us luck!!

Birth Plan

2011-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Carter I kept hearing ladies talk about birth plans. At the time, I didn't even know what the heck a birth plan was, but when I figured it out, I laughed. Birth plan...really?? I mean I'm a control freak, but when it came to giving birth (especially for the first time) I figured the nurses and doctor had it figured out better than I did and didn't need any instructions from me. So needless to say, I went in to have Carter and had absolutely no list of expectations.

Well after having Carter, there were several things that really upset me and I'd definitely want to make sure they didn't happen again. So this time around, I will definitely be having a birth plan. No I'm not one of those extremely brave women that wants to do things naturally, I'd just like to be a little bit more in control in what happens in my labor and delivery room.

The first thing is, I want to make sure of is that I never get asked again "how do you feel about students?" Are you kidding me lady?! I'm exposing my most sensitive parts to two family members, 4 nurses, and one doctor...I don't need any students getting a peak too!!

Also I do plan on getting another epidural, but I will make sure that only nice anesthesiologists apply. I will list that I have a very sensitive back and my muscles spasm on their own and that I need not to be yelled at when it happens.

One of the most important things will be restriction on who comes in and out of my room. The one thing that bothered me the most was that I didn't get my "hour" with Carter before family was barging in. I was literally still throwing up in puke buckets when my dad, MIL, and SIL started knocking on the door to come see the baby. I hadn't even really got to hold him yet!! Of course the stupid nurses thought nothing of keeping people from coming into my room.

Finally, there will be no lactation consultants allowed. I can not even describe my disgust for those people. They say they are trying to help, but I believe they had a lot to do with me not being able to breast feed. They would come in at the most inopportune times, they were pushy, and they practically made me starve my child, because they refused to let me supplement him with a bottle when he wouldn't latch on. They stressed me out and they made me feel inadequate when I couldn't feed my baby naturally. So for that reason, I will personally slam the door in their faces if they even think about entering my room this next time.

But for real, the very most important part of my birth plan is serious discussion about a C-Section. After Carter coming out so large for my body and having so much trauma that lead to so many medical problems, I'd rather have gone through a C-Section. If he had been born that way, he wouldn't have had a broken collar bone, which means he wouldn't have had Torticollis, and probably wouldn't have developed that flat spot, and never would have needed a helmet. For a first time mom to take her newborn for repeated X-rays, physical therapy, CAT scans, to see bone doctors, plastic surgeons, and orthopedic specialists was a little much. So with that said, I will have a serious discussion that if the next one is close to the same size, I'd like to consider a C-Section.

So I guess birth plans aren't just for the tree-hugging naturalists. I can definitely see how they ease the stress of the situation. The nurses won't have to bother me with their stupid questions if they know the answers ahead of time. Not such a bad idea afterall.

What about you ladies? Have any of you used birth plans and if so, did you find them to be helpful?

The Cat Is Out Of The Bag

2011-01-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well for those of you who don't already know via Facebook, I'm pregnant again!! Yep, I waisted no time after losing my last pregnancy to start trying again. Brett and I found out about a week before Christmas and we kept it to ourselves until Christmas day to surprise our families with the news. We did also decided to keep it quiet until we felt that we were in a safer stage in the pregnancy to announce it to the world. After announcing the last one and then having to go back with the bad news that we lost it, I just didn't want to have to do that with this one.

As it happens, I did have some more than normal spotting/bleeding issues a few weeks ago and I was terrified that I was losing this pregnancy as well. But the bleeding stopped and I was still pregnant according to E.P.T., so I went ahead and scheduled a doctors appointment. I met with my new doctor and he said everything looked normal, but he went ahead and scheduled an early ultrasound to make sure anyway. Last Tuesday I went in for the ultrasound and beside the fact that my bladder was full of water and the tech was running an hour behind, everything looked great. They could see the baby's heartbeat and it was beating at 170 bpm. I was thrilled!!

So at this point, I'm 9 weeks pregnant and my due date is August 27. Yes, I said August 27. That means I will be at my absolute biggest when it is often times averaging 100 degrees here in Nashville. I may be crazy and I will probably wish I had chosen a better time to be pregnant, but right now it's feeling pretty good. I am actually having a much easier pregnancy thus far than I did with Carter. With him, I threw up every morning and stayed sick and tired all day long, everyday. With this pregnancy, I've had little to no morning sickness. Really, I've had a couple of times that I've gotten a little sick feeling, but nothing that I'm really going to complain about. As long as my head stays out of the toilet this pregnancy, I'll be satisfied.

I'm watching my weight extremely close this pregnancy and will not allow myself to gain the 52 lbs that I gained with Carter. Not to mention, I still had a good 15 lbs that I never lost, so I definitely can't gain that much again. This time around I actually have a scale and weigh myself every morning. So far I haven't gained any weight, but I am definitely growing in size already. Of course they say you start showing sooner with your second pregnancy, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset that my jeans are already almost not fitting at this point. I actually think I will be digging out my bella band soon. Oh gosh.

So anyway, Brett and I are very excited and are hoping for a girl this time around. Of course, if we have a boy we will be equally excited. A girl would just be something different. Carter is also getting upgraded to the big room on the other end of the hallway. His room now is really only good for a nursery, because it's so tiny, but his new room is as big as our master bedroom and there will be plenty of room for a lot of his toys.

I guess that about sums it up right there. I'll keep ya'll updated and am very excited to bring this next child into our lives.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2010-12-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's less than 2 weeks from Christmas and it's actually starting to feel like it around here. By that I mean, it was 10 degrees out during my drive to work this morning. Brrrrrr...so not used to that. Really 10 degrees is pretty much as cold as it gets here in TN on its very coldest day and it usually doesn't happen until January or February. So with that said, we are replacing our upstairs heating unit. We replaced the downstairs unit when we bought our house, but held off on the upstairs. Well after I went up to wake up Carter a couple days in a row and his room felt like Antartica (not really, it was like 65 degrees), we decided to buy a new unit. Our current unit is entirely electrical and our electric bill can nearly reach $300 during the winter and summer months, so by switching it out we should be able to cut that down by a 2/3. It's not exactly the time we want to be dropping the money on it, but luckily we had set aside some money to put towards a new roof, so it doesn't hurt as bad. Although we won't be replacing the roof for a while now.

Speaking of cold, it actually snowed here on Sunday. We also usually don't see any snow until January or February, but we got some this weekend. I think we got about an inch at my house and it shut the entire mid state down. I'm not kidding. Every school in Middle TN was closed. It's just different here, that's all. I think they have like 15 plow trucks for the entire state of TN. We're not used to it. And actually I haven't had a white Christmas since my last Christmas spent in South Bend 6 years ago. So Santa, all I want for Christmas is snow! Seriously!!

Speaking of Christmas, my family and I went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular this past Saturday and aside from the major parking issues (Opry Mills parking lot is all blocked off since the flood in May), it was spectacular! (pun intended) Brett and I arrived at 5:00, thinking the show started at 5:30, so we patiently waited for the rest of my family to show up. They got stuck in all the parking mess and didn't arrive until 5:30. That's when my mom informed me the show started at 5:00. Dang it!! We couldn't get in since they had our tickets, so we missed 30 mins of the show and walked in during the Toy Soldier performance. Even though we missed 30 mins of the the 2 hour show, it was still way better than I expected. I'm not much for singing and dancing but this show was great! I was especially impressed by the ending. They performed the Nativity Scene and really explained the true meaning of Christmas and that it's about Christ's birth, not Santa and presents. They didn't shy away from it at all and it was really amazing. I LOVED IT! Definitely worth going to if you ever have the opportunity.

Other than that, we have just been busy trying to work, chase Carter around, and get Christmas shopping done. We recently lost our other salesman at work, so it's been just me trying to hold the fort down lately and it's been a little hectic. Thankfully, we just got another guy hired and he starts Monday. This means I will no longer have to work every Saturday as well as Mon-Fri.

That's all for now folks.

Carter's 1st Birthday

2010-11-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

Did I really just say that? Is my baby a year old already? And I guess he's no longer a baby either. Toddler.....wow that's different. Anyway we had an amazing birthday weekend (except for him getting 4 new teeth in all at the same time). We headed towards South Bend Thursday night and got up there about noon on Friday. We went to Brett's grandma's house where Carter got his first birthday/Christmas present and then we stopped by the Pop Shop on 31 to see Brett's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. For those of you familiar with the Pop Shop or Michiana Archery, Brett's Uncle owns that, we weren't just randomly meeting them at the Pop Shop. After a couple hours of visiting with Brett's family, we headed to our hotel in attempt for me and Carter to both get a nap. Wrongo! No nap was had.

Later on we met my BFF, Casey and her husband Phil, for dinner at Hacienda. I've been craving their Mexican pizza for about 3 years now and I just had to have it. I was disappointed, they most definitely shrunk in size. Should've gotten a wet burrito. Oh well. After dinner we took Carter back to the hotel to play with some of the birthday toys he got. Like I mentioned early, he was getting 4 teeth in and had no afternoon nap, so the playing didn't last long. He soon turned into quite the grumpy little guy and it was time for bed. For those of you that have kids and have friends without kids, you can probably relate to the whole situation about trying to kick your friends out nicely so you can get your baby to bed. Kidless people sometimes don't catch on that quick. Anyway, once we got everyone out, Carter fussed for a bit but then went to sleep like a good little boy. At some point in the night he decided since it was his birthday, he wanted to sleep in bed with mom and dad, and that's exactly what he did. Here's Carter and daddy enjoying their ZZZZs. The next morning we got up and headed out to meet my former boss and his family for breakfast. I used to babysit his kids and I learned a lot about babies after watching his daughter, Ava, when she was little. I tell ya what, seeing those kids now makes me feel really old. Ava was 1 and Aaron was 9 when I started watching them. Now Ava is 10 and Aaron is 18. Crazy!! So anyway, breakfast was great and I'm so glad they finally got to meet Carter.

After that we headed to my Uncle's memorial service. It was a very touching service and just made me wish I had gotten back to see my Uncle before he passed away. I guess it's true, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. It was really nice seeing some of my family, but just wish it was under different circumstances. I wish my uncle had gotten to meet Carter, but I know he's in a much better place now and that's good.

Once the service was over, we cut out and headed back home. We had Carter's birthday party the next morning and lots to do to get ready for it. We hosted it at my parents' house and it turned out really nice. Our closest friends came and we had a blast. Carter loved all of his toys.

Nana got him a wagon. What's better than a little boy and a puppy in a wagon?

And last but not least, the smash cake. Need I mention we forgot to feed Carter dinner before we let him dig into his cake? Yeah, he would have eaten the whole thing had we not stopped him.

My Way Back Home

2010-11-16T07:38:00.000-08:00

It's been 2 1/2 years since I've been back to my hometown of South Bend, IN and the last time I was there it was for my best friend's wedding and I was in and out of there so fast, I barely knew what happened. Actually over the last 4 years, I've only been back 2 times and it's been for quick weddings. But this Friday I will once again be heading back to SB for a quick trip, even quicker than all the rest. My uncle passed away this past weekend and his memorial service is on Saturday. It's sad that it takes this kind of event to get me back up north, but it's true. I need to be there. Unfortunately life and death doesn't plan itself around our schedules and Carter's 1st bday is on Friday and his party was planned for Saturday. So we moved the party to Sunday and will have a dinner for him in South Bend on Friday night. Due to the schedule change in his party, I feel it's given a lot of people excuses not to come to his party, but we will have fun anyway!!

Anyway, back to our trip. I am mixed with sadness and joy all at the same time. I am sad, because we will be saying goodbye to a great man and joy because I will spend my son's 1st birthday with a very small intimate group of friends that don't normally get to see him. So we will put our warm boots and coats on (must get carter a winter coat) and travel almost 500 miles north for an overnight stay. This shall be our 2nd family trip together. Let's hope everyone leaves their cranky pants at home.

Dinner for 4

2010-11-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

Brett and I decided to host Thanksgiving at our house this year, because he was on-call for work and my dad likes to host Christmas, so I wanted one of the holidays at least. Once that decision was made, we were given the motivation we needed to hurry up and finish updating our kitchen and dining room. My parents bought us a brand new SS glass top range for our 2 year anniversary, which was an amazing gift!! So we then decided to paint our cabinets and update all the hardware from brass to brushed nickel. Then it was onto the dining room. It was a very boring beige with an ugly brass light fixture, so that had to change as well. I painted the room Posh Red and white and hung a new light fixture that will coordinate with the other light fixtures I'm going to change out in the kitchen and foyer. I wanted this all done for Thanksgiving, so we busted our butts and finished it up this past weekend. I'm a perfectionist so it takes me extra long to go back and make sure every little line is perfect and there are no 'oops' spots anywhere. It looks great!!

P.S. I do not recommend Valspar Signature Series HD paint that you see all the commercials about and it being able to cover really well. Wrong!! This is dark red over a skin tone beige and it took 3 coats (4 coats on the largest wall) to cover it completely. Next time I will stick with my Sherwin Williams paint like I'm used to.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. We were planning on having my family, Brett's family, and my parents' neighbors over at our house for the big meal. But Brett's family decided they'd rather stay at their house, because his dad likes to cook. Okay. So it's just my family and their neighbors. Then my dad called and asked me if I'd be upset if my mom and him went to Colorado for Thanksgiving to spend it with my grandma. No. Go ahead, I'd do the same if I could. So since my parents weren't coming, their neighbors won't be coming either. That makes it just me, Brett, Carter, and my brother. Instead of being bummed about it, I am still very excited. Just because there will only be 4 people instead of 14 won't stop me from making a meal to feed 30. I will be in all my glory from breakfast to dinner. I really enjoy being able to spend the day cooking. I used to really enjoy making great meals for Brett, but since I work so much nowadays, I really don't have the time anymore.

I can not wait for Carter to be able to enjoy his first turkey dinner. Last year he was only a week old and I was still in major pain from giving birth to him. Also I was dealing with the baby blues that I swore I'd never suffer from and was an emotional mess. blah.

So those are my plans for Turkey day, what are everyone elses?

Justice Shall Prevail

2010-10-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

My father just received a call from Lieutenant Kyle Norrod of the LaVergne Police Department informing him that no charges will be filled against him regarding the incident on Tuesday. It was determined that my dad acted well within his rights of the law to protect himself from grave bodily injury or death. Duuuuuuuhhh!!! We already knew that! But thank God the police figured that out.

I never feared my dad having to face prosecution from all of this, because I knew for a fact he acted within the legal guidelines, but I was seriously disturbed at how some of the media outlets spun it. And even more saddened how the police treated him during this process. Rather than investigating where more of his stolen property had gone, they pursued trying to bring charges against him. Had they done their job and called around to the local scrap yards on Tuesday, like they should have, they would have found about $4,000 worth of his stuff at Clark Iron & Metal in Murfreesboro. But it's too late, because once the owner of the scrap yard saw the story on the news, the metal had already been scrapped. He had to call Chief Boyd at the LaVergne Police Dept. 4 times before the jackass would take his call. Someone needs to fire that prissy bitch.

Now, I have contacted all 3 news stations that ran their first stories in hopes they will run a follow up. We'll be watching!

Protecting The Criminals

2010-10-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago my father found himself in a very scary situation that we as humans hope that we never have to face. He interrupted a robbery on the property he owns in which he has plans to move his business to. He was on his way to early vote and he drove past a couple of guys on his property stealing some contruction equipment. He pulled in to assess the situation and that's when things went south. He stepped out of his vehicle to confront the theives and they jumped into their pickup and attempted to run him down. Every member of our family is a gun carry permit holder and we all carry personal firearms in case we are ever faced with a life or death situation. As the men were charging their truck towards my dad, who was next to his and didn't have the option of jumping out of the way, he had a split second to make a decision to try and save his life or keep him from grave bodily injury. That's when he pulled out his gun and attempted to shoot out their rear tire to put a stop to their threat, rather than shooting the men themselves. It worked. They didn't run him down and they turned and fled the lot. My dad called 911 and the men were caught and arrested as they were trying to get on the highway.

My dad came back to the office and was obviously worked up over the entire ordeal, but felt as though he had done the right thing. He then went back to the contruction lot to see what all had been stolen. That's when the situation turned on him. The police were there to question him and they soon turned to him as the criminal. Long story, short the police are pursuing a case against my father in which they are investigating whether or not he lawfully fired a shot in self defense. I understand that they have to look at every angle, but they went on the news saying that he was only trying to protect his property. I am infuriated!! The story aired on 3 news channels here in Nashville and only Fox 17 got the story right. The other 2 channels chopped it and twisted to make it look as though my father saw them stealing his stuff and he shot at them. Words out of one news reporters mouth were "Clark saw the men stealing his property and that's when he got a gun". Are you kidding me?! Are you seriously kidding me?! First off, he didn't just get a gun, he carries it, and second of all he wasn't shooting at the vehicle because the douche bags were stealing his stuff!! His life was being endangered and he took action rather than being a sitting duck like most people in society!

What Channel 5 news failed to mention was that one of the men was listed as a dangerous gang member as well as being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded gun. Yes, that's right, they had a loaded gun with them as well. They were complete scum bag, dangers to society and to my father, but my father is the one that's being made out to be a criminal. Somethings wrong with society and it's comes down from our leaders. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Here is the news clip from Fox 17, who happened to portray the story in the most accurate light.

WZTV FOX 17 :: Newsroom - Top Stories - Police Question Whether Shooting Was Self-Defense

Going To The Shows

2010-10-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

I think I must bridge this blog from my last one somehow, but not sure how. So in regards to the recent events in my life, I have given them up to God and put my trust fully in him. He knows his plan for my life and I will be satisfied with whatever that is. I am now choosing to focus on the positive things in my life, so please don't take it as blowing "it" off. Thanks. Here we go.

I know it's a little early, but the Christmas buzz is really starting to pick up around Nashville. Of course this being Music City and all, there are some really great shows and concerts going on. There is no better time in Nashville than Christmas time. Opryland Hotel always decorates their entire hotel in Christmas decor and people from all over the country come to see it. This year it will be extra special, because the hotel was flooded back in May and won't reopen until around Thanksgiving. Most of their decorations were destroyed, so everything will be new. It should be quite the sight to see.

One show I have been really wanting to see the last few years but haven't gone to yet is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular held at the Grand Ole Opry house. Well that's gonna change this year. My mom just bought tickets for us all to go see it on Dec. 11. It's a bit pricey, but I think it will totally be worth it. And Carter gets in for free!! Let's just hope he'll sit still and there will be no kicking and screaming. He's usually a very well behaved baby, so my fears aren't too great, but you never know. Whatever the situation, it will be a great time! I can't wait!

I also wanted to get tickets to see Michael Buble on Dec. 5, but it's 8:00pm on a Sunday and seeing as how Brett and I both get up at 5:15 to go to work on Monday morning, I'm not really sure that's the best idea. I'm still debating it though.

Michael W. Smith is also having a Christmas concert at Brentwood Baptist Church and I think that would be really great to check out. The tickets go on sale Friday, so we'll see about that.

The Opry also puts on a huge display/exhibit made out of ice every Christmas season. It's called "ICE" (pretty fitting) and the themes over the past couple of years have consisted of The Grinch, Charlie Brown and some other famous characters. I have also failed to check this one out, so that is definitely on my To-Do list this year. Carter is sort of big enough to enjoy it too.

And to finish the season out, our church, World Outreach Church, puts on a mean Christmas Eve service. This area doesn't lack in the department of musical talent, so if they don't manage to get a famous singer in to perform, their own talent is pretty darn good. I'm already getting so excited! And yes, I'm one of those freaks that likes to play Christmas music from Halloween - on. Don't roll your eyes.

So cheers to the upcoming holiday season!!

Not Worthy Of A Title

2010-09-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

This blog is not worthy of a title, because I don't what I could really title it. I'm sad, angry, crushed, and the list goes on...but I just don't want to put a title on it. What I have to say really sucks and is far from the happy joy filled blogs I normally write.

This morning I was at work when the office phone rang and the name of my doctor's office came across the screen. They called me at work. At work. This could only mean one thing in my mind. I picked up and the nurse practioner that checked me out was on the line, she informed me that my HGC levels had continued to drop, but slowly rather than rapidly. This in their minds would indicate a ectopic pregnancy rather than a miscarriage. This would also explain the pain I felt last Friday. They said they would recheck my levels once again on Monday, but that they would most likely be terminating the pregnancy at that point. All the hope that I was still holding onto at that point was crushed. This baby is not going to make it and there is nothing I can do about it. What filled my heart with joy a few days ago has now filled it with sadness. I know that lots of women go through things like this everyday, but I never thought it would happen to me.

So with that said, I wish I could at least have a day to mourn my loss, but I can't because I'm at work and someone already called off sick, so I'm stuck here to just suck it up. It's pretty hard putting on a smile and talking to customers when I feel so crummy inside. But I guess I will do what I have to do. Brett and I will get through this and we'll try again some day. Thank you everyone for all of your support. It's been more of a help than you probably realize.

This Is What Faith Is For

2010-09-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Let me just start this off by saying one thing. I am a completely open book when it comes to my life and I don't keep much to myself. I believe in sharing the good with the bad and letting people know when life doesn't always treat you fairly. With that said, I hope that gives some kind of explanation to those that may think I shouldn't be sharing this. Now, here we go.

When I went to the hospital on Friday night and found out I was pregnant, I was completely shocked but have come to really embrace the idea of having another baby. I have actually become very excited. The blood work they did on Friday showed my hCG level (pregnancy hormone) at 89. In a healthy, normal pregnancy this count should double every 48 hours. So I had another count done on Monday and am going back today to have yet another count done to see what the levels look like.

This afternoon I got the call to make sure I was coming in for more blood work and I grilled the girl about what my count was on Monday and that's when she informed me it was 64. Devastating. My faith tells me to keep holding onto hope that everything will work out the way God wants it to. But what God and I want, may be two different things. A drop or lack of increase in the hCG count could indicate an ectopic pregnancy or be a sign that I should anticipate a miscarriage. I am trying to think positive, that maybe the count was wrong on Friday, but I will know something more tomorrow. Please keep me and my family in your prayers as we were not anticipating any of this.

Why Waste Any Time?

2010-09-27T08:55:00.001-07:00

So this past Friday was one for the record books. It was a very stressful day due to me having to let someone at work go and overall just wasn't that great. So my stomach was in knots the entire day and when I got home it didn't ease up much. But at about 7:15 pm as I was just getting done with dinner, I had a horrible pain in my left kidney area. I ran to the bathroom and fell to my knees in pain and then noticed some blood. So I immediately thought it was a kidney stone and after making a call to my mom, decided I should go to the hospital. This pain was like no other pain I've ever felt. It was worse then labor pain!! We dropped Carter at the neighbors' house and booked it to the hospital.

I went to the hospital by my work, because they are known for their fast ER and I was checked right in. Of course they had me take a urine sample and hooked me up to an IV to get some pain meds in me. They had decided they needed to do a CAT scan, but were going to do some blood work first. About 30 mins later, the nurse comes back in, pulls up a seat and just stares at me. Her expression said "I've got some news for you", I just had no idea what it was. That's when she informed us that my pregnancy test came back positive. Whaaaaaaaaaa?! That's impossible! I just had my period a week ago! And TRUST ME, that's impossible! Well I guess it's not, cause I was definitely pregnant. Note to all...conception can happen the VERY day right before your period. I am proof.

So they cancelled the CAT scan and looked closer at my blood work. My pregnancy count was only 89, which either means they had caught the pregnancy very early on (ummmm...yes, i think that's the case) or the pregnancy may be abnormal. It was too soon to do an ultrasound, but they urged me to go to the OBGYN as soon as I could and have them check me out. The kidney pain I was feeling subsided with the pain meds and never returned all weekend.

So now I am left wondering what happened. Did I really have a kidney stone and it possibly stopped moving, so the pain went away? Or is there something wrong with the pregnancy? I guess we'll find out when I go to the doctor this afternoon. At this point, I'm just praying everything is okay. I'm also praying that God gives me the strength and patience to take care of two babies!! Oh my gosh!!! I mean, Brett and I weren't exactly being the most careful, but we had just decided we were going to get back on BC and wait a while. Haha! I guess God had other plans. Even though we weren't expecting this, we are very excited! I'm excited about staying healthier and in better shape this pregnancy. No more gaining 50 lbs!!

Let's hope for a girl!!!

If I Die Young

2010-09-11T11:01:00.001-07:00

The Band Perry - If I Die Young
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Pancake Head - No Longer

2010-09-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

That's right, my son used to be somewhat of a pancake head, but as of today he is not that any longer. He went for his 4th helmet check (about 5 months) today and the doctor gave us the great news that he doesn't have to wear it anymore. He said he looked great and will continue to round out a little more on his own, but the helmet has done its job. YAY!!! We were so excited. Except now I have to actually watch him real close to make sure he doesn't whack that little noggin on everything. It's been a little journey and now we're finished with it.

I know that sometimes it's a little hard on my heart when Carter has these tiny little battles in his life, but it's nothing compared to what he could be facing. Over the weekend my high school youth pastor's niece passed away from cancer at the age of 5, when just 10 weeks ago she was a normal, happy, healthy little girl. It's things like that, that make you really check yourself about what you're complaining about. Maybe Carter has had to go to several specialists for various issues since his birth, but nothing we have faced has been something that wasn't fixable. The doctors that Ava went to couldn't fix her, so God took her home. I can't even imagine going through that with my child. I may never understand why things like that happen, but I know that I will shut my mouth about the little stuff and give Carter lots and lots of hugs and kisses everyday, because you never know when life can be torn away from you.

As for now we will celebrate Carter's helmet coming off and pray for a family that has had to face the unthinkable. God Bless all the little children and the people that love them.

9 months

2010-08-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well Carter has officially been out of the womb as long as he was in it. Today marks his 9 month birthday. To celebrate, daddy and I sang him happy birthday this morning. If it's possible for a 9 month old to be confused, I definitely think he was. Okay, so it's not really your birthday, but every month counts these days! He is now crawling, standing (while only hanging onto something with one hand I might add), jabbering a whole lot (mostly consisting of dadda dadda daddy dadda da), and eating some whole foods with the two teeth that he has. I predict he will be walking in a month. He went to the doctor for his 9 month checkup yesterday and weighed in at 22 lbs 8 oz. and was 29" tall. His growth spurt has slowed a little bit, but the doctor just said "well he used to be quite the chunker, but he seems to be slimming out a little". He's still above average on his height and weight though. I talked to the doctor about his acid reflux and told him that the 2 prescribed anti-acids didn't work, so I quite giving them to him. I said it has gotten a little better since he's sitting up on his own, but he still spits up now and then. He said if it didn't completely go away once he was about a year, that he would send him to a specialist. That's when he asked "have I sent you guys to a specialist before?" Now keep in mind that Carter had his helmet off, so the obviousness of that wasn't staring him in the face, but here's what I really wanted to say. Ummmmmm......YES!!!! Are you kidding me?!! We've only been to a bone doctor at Vanderbilt for his broken collar bone, a physical therapist for his tortacollis, a plastic surgeon for his head, an orthotics specialists to make his helmet, a gastroenterologist for his acid reflux, and that doesn't include the places we've gone to have CAT scans and X-Rays done. So needless to say, I just looked at him with a blank stare on my face.

Anyway, on a different note, Carter had his 9 month shoot with Master Creations Photography, http://www.mastercreationsphoto.com/, and we decided to do a big rig shoot. Since our family owns a semi truck dealership and he's been around trucks his entire 9 months on this earth, it seemed fitting. Plus we tried to incorporate a semi truck tire in his newborn shoot, but something about him getting his little winky stuck between tire tread didn't make him too cooperative. So we tried it again and he enjoyed it so much more this time. Here are some of the pictures.
So now that we've done a baby-on-a-truck shoot, I'm not sure what we'll come up with next. Hmmmm....gotta get creative here. Anyway, I'll go think about it and get back to you. Until then, enjoy these pics!

Insane

2010-08-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yes I must be insane, because I've signed myself up for Insanity. The workout program that is. I've been hearing sooooooooo much about P90X from so many of my friends, but didn't think I had the time for any workouts that last over an hour considering I work so much, so I was told about Insanity. A couple of people I know have done this program and said it's just as intense, but a little shorter and doesn't involve buying weights. So I went ahead and ordered it. I've told my husband that he has to do it with me, but considering he works outside in the 95+ degree heat all day, I doubt I will get his full commitment. I'm so on board for this, it's not even funny. My problem is that I tend to get into a workout routine for a couple months and don't see the results I want, so I quit. This program promises great results after 60 days.

I'm so ready to be in good shape again. I was a little chunky in high school and during my sophomore year of college I decided to change that. I started working out and lost 30 lbs. and was in the best shape of my life for a few years. I ran about 3 miles a day, boxed, and did weight training. I actually had a 4 pack (not quite a 6 pack, but close). Then I got married, started working full time, and quit working out. I then packed on 15 lbs.....and then I got pregnant. And as bad as I don't want to admit this, I gained like 52 lbs during my pregnancy. Out of control!!!!! So I've lost 37 of those 52 pregnancy pounds, but want to lost another 30 to get back to my slim figure.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand and when I'm working out so hard to lose the weight, I don't allow myself to eat all the junk because it's like throwing my hard work away. So if I can really commit to this Insanity program, I think I can lose the weight. Cross your fingers folks!! It'll be here in a few days. My only question is....do you do the 60 days straight? or is it like 5 days on 2 days off, until you hit 60 days?

August Update

2010-08-02T12:30:00.001-07:00

And you probably won't get another one until September. I know I'm lame, but between working 50 hours a week, loving on my child the other part of my week, and squeezing in household duties in the little bit of free time I do have, I just don't have time to blog. Or I just don't have the desire anymore. I start an entry many times and then just get tired and delete it; but I promise to finish and publish this one. So here we go.

I took Friday off work to celebrate and enjoy my 25th birthday and spend a little time with my baby Carter. Just spending a couple of uninterrupted days with him has proven to me that if I blink, he'll be graduating college. He has now gotten 2 teeth in, is crawling with full force (belly off the ground and everything), and is now pulling up on things and standing on his own 2 feet. I left him in the family room for less than 30 seconds the other day and when I came back, he was standing up and holding onto our ottoman. I almost died. or cried. whatever. I was excited but so terrified at the same time. I then made it a priority to get all the baby proofing essentials from Toys R Us this weekend. I put soft corner pads on my coffee table but have since decided to remove it from the room all together. That way Carter will have more room to play and I won't feel the need to rap my table in bubble tape. Like I stated previously, Friday was my birthday and my wonderful husband woke me up early to give me my first gift. It's sheer proof that he does listen. I had told him I wanted a bike trailer to pull Carter around in and that's exactly what he got me! I was thrilled! So thrilled that once the temps dropped to around 90 at about 8:00 at night, I hooked him up and we went for a sweltering bike ride. I enjoyed it very much, but will enjoy it much more when I don't feel like I'm going to die of heat stroke. Carter will be 9 months old on the 19th and about a week after that we will be taking him on our first family vacation. We've booked a loft in Savannah, GA and we're going to spend a week down there at the end of the month. I hope it's not boiling hot, but I'm afraid it will be. Oh well, that's what the beach is for, right? And I do miss the beach. Tennessee has some of the prettiest lakes I've ever seen, but no beaches so if you don't have a boat, you can't really take advantage of them. But besides the beach, I'm really looking forward to the Paula Deen tour! I think it may involve eating a stick of butter and drinking mayonnaise, but I'm totally up for it.

Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow night I'm dragging my husband to a Hanson concert at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Yep, you heard me right....Hanson. I'm still a teeny bopper at heart, so every time they come to Nashville, I go see them. Don't be jealous.

Anywho, that's all for now folks. See ya again in another 6 months. Just kidding.........I think.

Yes, I'm Still Alive.

2010-07-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yep, still alive, just been far too busy to think much about blogging. And I sorta, kinda lost my passion for typing out everything that was on my mind. Buuuuuuuuut...none the less, I have an update for ya'll. So here goes it.

Carter will be 8 months old on the 19th (let's not talk about the fact that I still haven't lost all the baby weight). I just can't believe he's growing up so fast. Before you know it, we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday. Apparently he has saved up a lot of new tricks and has waited until this past week to start showing them off. In the past week he has learned how to sit up on his own, crawl (army style) and he's even cutting his first tooth. It doesn't help my fear of him growing up too fast when he meets these milestones all at once. He's also eating more solid foods, like puffs, baby cookies, mashed tater tots, and anything I think he won't choke on. Oh and even started eating jarred meats!! Let's just say, he wasn't exactly happy about it.

So here is some proof of Carter's advancement in life.

Despite 4 out of 5 pictures showing Carter without his helmet, he still wears it 23 hours a day. I just usually snap a picture of him in the morning or while he's eating and that's when he gets his breaks. His head is rounding out nicely, but he's still got some progress to make. He'll probably have it for another 4 months or so. But I actually love it, because I don't have to worry about him smacking his head on the hardwood floor or the tables, or walls, or any hard surface for that matter.

He was diagnosed with reflux recently and has been put on 2 different medicines to try and help it, but nothing has worked. So I'm taking him off of it and seeing if this "sitting independently" thing will do the trick. I've heard that once babies can sit up on their own, the spitting up stops. So we'll see!!

Anywho, that's all I have time for now. Later.

Big Boy, Big Trucks

2010-06-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

Carter had a helmet appointment today, so he skipped daycare and came to work. Living like a rebel. Sittin' on the big trucks and not caring about wearing his helmet!

6 Months

2010-05-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing up so fast I can't even believe it. Tomorrow my, not-so-little, Carter will be 6 months old. He is really beginning to become a little person instead of a baby that can't do anything but lay there and stare at you. He went for his 6 month check up yesterday and came in at 20 lbs. 3 oz. and 28 1/8 inches long. He's destined to be a line backer. My hope is that he will be bulky enough when he enters school that no one will pick on him for fear of him opening a can of whoop ass up on them. Is that wrong? I don't think so.

He has had his helmet for a month now and has accepted as part of his daily attire. He wears it 23 hours a day and doesn't mind it at all. Brett and I have actually been tossing around the idea of buzzing his hair off so he stays cooler under there. Trust me, when it gets hot and sweaty it's really nasty, so as much as I love his beautiful hair I think he'd be better off with a buzz cut for the summer. Plus, it's not like we even get to see his hair most of them time anyway.

He has matered rolling over from belly-to-back and back-to-belly, so his prefered form of transportation is rolling everywhere. He is on the verge of crawling, but most of the time just does donuts. He just spins in circles or goes backward instead of moving forward. I think in a couple of weeks there will be no stopping him.

His sleeping has also became something straight from Heaven. He now sleeps from about 8:00 or 8:30 until 6:00am when we wake him up. This is probably due to the fact that he sleeps on his belly now. He ignores his momma's concerns about sleeping on his belly and does it anyway. But since I really don't want to stand over his crib all night and turn him back over when he rolls to his belly, he's gonna continue to do this. Honestly, I think the helmet really prevents him from being able to smash his face straight into the mattress even if he wanted to.

Carter has also made the transition to solid foods and is a great eater. The doctor told me to go ahead and upgrade him to the 2nd stage foods and switch him to only eating 3 times a day. He told me to back off the formula and feed him more solids. My only concern is about keeping him hydrated. I guess there is enough water in the fruits and veggies, but I think I will give him a bottle of water or juice about once a day.

And the biggest transition of all for the both of us will be the fact that he goes to daycare next Monday. Yep, I found a great lady that has a little in-home daycare and Carter will be her 4th and last child that she will watch. I'm more excited about this than I am sad. No, I won't get to spend the day with my son anymore, but it will be better for him. He will be able to crawl around on the floor and interact with the other babies, instead of being confined to his bouncy seat all day like he is at work. Plus he will get endless amounts of attention, something else I am not able to give him at work. I think he'll be much happier.

So that's what we've been up to lately. I'm sure he'll be riding a motorcycle before I know it.

Nashville Flood 2010

2010-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Sadness and frustration both fill my heart right now. Last weekend while I was in Texas with Carter and my mom, rain started to fall on middle Tennessee in record amounts. By Saturday afternoon my parents' farm began flooding like I've never seen it flood. Their property is bordered by the Harpeth river that runs through Franklin and Starnes creek. After several hours of non stop down pour, their fields looked more like lakes. By the end of the day, the water was so close to the house, we just knew it would flood it. Thankfully the rain stopped over night and the creek receded back into its banks. Then Sunday came and the rain started again. The water crept right back up to where it was and my dad feared it was going to reach the house. But when it finally stopped for good, their house was dry. They couldn't say that much for everything else though. One of their big hay bails even picked up and floated across the field and a river Otter came swimming into their back yard. Strang I tell ya. Keep in mind these are hay fields, not lakes.

Below is a picture of the river otter swimming through the backyard. Crazy!!
Although my parents and I were lucky enough to not have our houses flooded, so many people out there were not as lucky. Thousands of homes were consumed by the waters and hundreds of people had to be rescued by boats. Any town that bordered the Cumberland River was pretty much devastated. Opryland Hotel, Opry Mills Mall, and the famous Grand Ole Opry House were all sitting in 10 feet or more of water. The Opryland Hotel is estimated to be close for about 6 months while they fix everything. The Nashville symphany, Country Music Hall of Fame, and all the honky tonks were flooded as well. Also Sound Check, a place where all the country music stars store their equipment was completely flooded and everything in there was expected to be a loss. This flood not only took everything from orndinary people, but it didn't discrimate and several country music artists lost everything as well. Julie Roberts being one of them. Her house went under and she and her family had to be rescued by boat. She broke her foot climbing in the boat to top it all off.

The flood was far reaching and well beyond the city limits of Nashville. It even hit my hometown of Murfreesboro, which is about 30 miles south of Nashville. Here are just a few pictures I took while driving around.

I think the part that stings the worst for the people of middle Tennessee is the lack of national media coverage on this flood. We all watched the floods that hit New Orleans for months upon months, yet this flood is nearly as bad as what Katrina caused and if we get 5 mins worth of coverage on the nightly news, we're doing pretty good. I flew over the Nashville area on Monday and it nearly took my breath away. The flooding is something you couldn't imagine in your worst nightmare, yet most of the country doesn't even realize how bad it is, because the media is more focused on a failed bombing attempt in NYC than focusing on the people that truly deserve it!

Despite not having the support from the rest of the country, Tennesseans have band together to help each other as much as they can. On Tuesday Clear Channel hosted a radiothon and raised $250,000 for the flood relief. Brett and I felt as though God had blessed us in keeping us safe from the flood waters, so we reached in our pockets and gave without hesitation. It's funny how God speaks to you and you just can't ignore it. He put a dollar figure in my head and at first I thought "that's too much", but I ignored those thoughts and picked up the phone and donated the money without thinking twice about it.

Last night Channel 4 hosted a telethon and once again Tennesseans gave without hesitation. In 4 hours, they raised $1.6 million dollars. Imagine what they could have raised if more Americans were aware of the crisis down here. It really broke my heart watching it as they flashed video images of people being pulled from the water, a home burning down in the midst of the water, horses trying to escape, a mobile school trailer floating across the highway, and seeing Opryland submerged. I just sat there in shock thinking to myself, how could I be so lucky? How? These people have lost everything and most of them don't have flood insurance. Can you even imagine that?

Here are just a few images of the flooding. I couldn't possibly post all of the pictures I've seen, but if you want to get a better idea of how things look go to: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/flooding_in_tennessee.html

If you feel so compelled to help these poor people out, you can do so at http://www.hon.org/. That's Hands On Nashville and they are aiding in the flood relief.

Now....I will get on my soap box for just a second and then I'll get off. I have been fortunate enough to have survived 2 major natural disasters in the past year untouched. The first being the F-4 tornado that ripped through Murfreesboro last April and now this flood. During both storms, not a single one of my friends from back home took the time to pick up the phone to check and make sure me and my family were all right. Not a single one. This breaks my heart. I had customers and vendors take the time to call me and make sure I was all right and these are people that barely know me, yet my lifelong friends can't bother to do the same. I can't even describe the disappointment that I have in my heart. I think that's why Tennesseans have come together so strongly, because it's as if the whole world has forgotten us.

I'm Baaaaaaaack.

2010-04-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I know it's been a while since I've blogged; about a month I think. Life has been a whirlwind the past month and it's completely drained every last ounce of energy out of me. So needless to say, I haven't felt like typing. So in attempt to keep this short (impossible) and get you all updated on what's been going on, I will make a list w/pictures.

1) March 24-26 I ventured up to Louisville, KY for the Mid America Truck Show all by myself. Yes folks, this little lady (figuratively speaking) explored the largest truck show in America all by her lonesome. I talked to vendors, looked at lots of pretty trucks, and got some major blisters on my feet. Never wear high heels to things like this. Here is some evidence I have from the show.

It was fun. A lot of fun. But on my way home I got stuck in traffic on I-65 in KY. This was the reason: 11 people were killed when a tractor trailer crossed the median and collided with a van. You may have seen it on the news.

2) My best friend, Casey, came to visit along with her husband, Phil. We spent Easter together and had a blast. Carter enjoyed his first Easter and we all enjoyed Josh Turner performing at our church.

3) Last week I closed my first big truck deal. My co-worker, Tom, and I sold 10 trucks to a guy that owned a local trucking company. It was a deal straight from God and we all needed it. 2 days after we got the trucks in, he called up and wanted to come look at them. They weren't even cleaned up yet, but I had him come by anyway. I showed him the trucks and got the ball rolling, then Tom took over getting the guy committed to buying all 10 trucks. I took care of running the trucks through our reconditioning shop and Tom and I both worked on getting the guy financed. In less than two weeks, we had all 10 trucks sold and delivered to the guy. We were all very happy. Here is Tommy Hoge with 9 of the 10 trucks we sold him: 4) This past Monday, Carter finally got his helmet. It has been a stressful situation, mostly because insurance doesn't cover the cost of the helmet or his visits to the plastic surgeon. It comes to a total of $3,000 that I'd rather not be paying, but I'd do anything for my son. He has surprisingly adjusted very well and it doesn't seem to bother his sleep. It's a good thing, because he has to wear it for 6 months 24/7. Here's my little helmet head:

5) Last Saturday I attended a Small Arms Training class with my dad and brother and got certified so I can get my handgun carry permit. That was fun and educational. And despite what my in-laws think of it, I don't think people that carry personal firearms are gun toting lunatics. I pray I'll never have to use it, but I want it to be there if the situation ever rises that I'm looking death down the barrel.

**Just 2 days after I went through my class to get my permit and my in-laws gave me such a hard time about it, my mother-in-law had the banked she worked at robbed by a man that passed HER a note telling her he had a gun and that she needed to empty her drawer. I find that to be incredibly sad, but ironic.

6) I think that's what number I'm on. Anyway, I spent most of this week in Kansas City, MO for the Truck Blue Book Conference and a truck auction. Once again, I went by myself. To say it was a bit intimidating to be forced to mingle with men from dealerships all over the country is an understatement. But I did it anyway. Then I attended my very first big truck auction all by myself. I've been to auctions before with my dad, but never have I gone by myself and had to bid on trucks myself. Not as bad as I thought. I figured I'd be a nervous wreck spending my dad's money, but turns out, I didn't spend any money at all. All the trucks went for crazy money. So I flew back to Nashville and celebrated my husband's 28th birthday last night by going out to dinner and then called it a night.

7) I told you it was impossible to keep this short. But to keep you updated in advance, my mom, Carter, and I will board a plane in a week and head to Houston to visit her parents. I'm very excited about it and I'm sure Carter will do just fine on the plane. I'm definitely not one of those nervous moms that worries about if her kid throws a fit. I guess having him at work has helped that a lot. Plus he's turned into a very happy baby, much different from what he was like the first 3 months of his life.

So that's it. That's what I've been up to. Hope that satisfies those that were wondering.

Should've had my camera

2010-03-20T07:47:00.001-07:00

Last night my mom watched Carter overnight and Brett and I got a chance to relax a bit. When I got home from work at 6:00 it was still light out and the weather was amazing. Brett was already outside shooting some hoops and to my surprise the whole neighborhood wasn't over at our house like they usually are. All the little kids loooooooooooooove my husband and lately they've been flooding our driveway to shoot hoops with him, but not last night. We started shooting some hoops (I was in high heals) and we were enjoying ourselves, when I heard our neighbor's motorcycle from like a mile away. Uh oh, Craig's home, things are gonna get crazy now. He comes ripping up on his bike and parked it and headed over to our house. You just have to know this guy to understand the enjoyment he brings to our lives. He's loud, obnoxious and totally funny. He's from California originally and totally has that kind of personality. He immediately asked where his cocktail was, so I went and made him one.

Then we all started shooting hoops and the boys were getting a little crazy. I feel really bad for our next door neighbor, because Craig throws the the ball at his house as hard as he possibly can and yells "Come out and play ball!!!" It literally left white marks on the ball. When I say that we will be buying Jeremy new siding soon, Craig just says, "ah no...they're good people." Ummm, okay. Then the ball got thrown over Jeremy's fence and instead of walking around and going through the gate, Craig climbs the fence. Mind you, this guy is like 6'1" and probably 230lbs; so I'm just waiting for the fence to break. Then as he's climbing back over, he decides to start shooting hoops while on top of the fence. He kept saying, "just one more and then I'm done." Well with every shot he kept getting closer and closer to making it, so stayed up there for like 5 or 10 mins. Meanwhile, our other neighbor came home and was blasting her music and when she gets out of her car, Craig yells at her (while straddling the fence) to turn her music down when she enters the subdivision. Of course, he was just being obnoxious. But I wish I would have gotten this all on video. It doesn't seem like something worth taping, but it's the little moments like this that make me really enjoy my life. I've got great neighbors, a great husband, and a great child and I couldn't ask for anything more. When I get down on life and start wondering if it's all really worth it, this is God's answer to my question. Of course it's worth it!!!!

Helmet Head

2010-03-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

I've debating even writing this blog, because I didn't want to seem like I was crying over spilled milk, but I feel like I want to let this out. As a result of Carter's Torticollis (which is now healed and no more physical therapy), he has a severe flat spot on the right side of his head. It's like the entire back, right side of his head is flat and letting it correct itself is no longer an option. He is now going to have to wear a helmet to correct it. The therapist pretty much told me he'd have to wear it for a few months. She broke the news to me easily, because she wasn't sure how I'd react, but I was okay with it. I was just relieved that there was something we could actually do to fix his head rather than waiting to see if it fixed itself. So, I put things in perspective and told myself that if wearing a helmet for a few months was the worst thing he's have to go through, then we're pretty blessed. Afterall, there are children out there that are battling cancer and I'm just glad we aren't facing that.

He is scheduled for a CT Scan on his head on Monday morning. I have to take him to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital again. That place really wigs me out. It does a good job of putting things into perspective when you see kids with serious illnesses all around you, but it's hard to swallow the fact that I have to take my newborn up there. After he gets his scan done, he will have his first consultation with a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon will then take a mold of his head at some point to get him fitted for a helmet. I know this will all be over with before I know it, but it still bothers me a little bit. I'm worried the helmet will upset him and he once again will be a fussy baby. Or what if he has to sleep with it on? Will he sleep crappy again? Oh gosh.

Also, all of this doesn't come cheap. The therapist told me that it is extremely expensive and I'm just praying my insurance covers it. If you knew the battles I've had with them ever since Carter was born, you would understand my concern. But even if they do pay their part, we are still looking at another couple thousand dollars out-of-pocket probably. We've already paid so much towards medical bills that it makes me cringe to think we will be spending even more.

I know I shouldn't be complaining about this, but it all gets to be a little overwhelming sometimes. Let's not forget that I work 50 hours a week and already have so much on my plate as it is. My mom has been sooooooooooo helpful with Carter with watching him 5 -6 days a week while I work, so we don't have to pay for daycare right now, but I still feel really stressed out some days. It's like a weight on my chest that I just can't manage to get lifted off. I try to give it up to God, but I don't think I'm doing a very good job of that. Just please keep my little one in your prayers and we'll be hoping for a really quick recovery.

Did I Mention How Serious I Am?

2010-03-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

In case I didn't mention it already, I'm very serious about keeping my New Years Resolution and dropping all my baby weight and then some. To prove it, I bought this:
Yes folks, I bought a new treadmill and parked it right next to my bed. So there is no possible way of me forgetting that I have this nice piece of workout machinery. I will be a runner again and I will once again be in shapel. No more excuses!!!

Imma box you up.

2010-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

So I have really been trying to stick with my healthier diet and exercise and I'm still seeing results. The weight drop has slowed, but I'm slowly but surely getting my old body back. I've lost another 3 lbs since I started tracking my weight loss, bringing the total to 10 lbs. And I'm down 37 lbs from my heaviest while pregnant. So I have another 14 lbs to get back to what I weighed at my first Dr's appt and then another 16 lbs on top of that to get back to my pre pre-baby weight.

I've really been getting serious about the workout and have gotten back into boxing. Boxing is a serious workout and unless my mind is right, I just can't do it. I usually have to think about something that makes me mad or sad in order to get a really good workout. For the past week I have been doing the elliptical for about 30 mins and then doing about 25 mins on the bag. I think what forces me to really go hard on the bag is when I actually take the time to wrap my wrists. It's a hassle and takes several minutes, but if I do it, I know I'll box for longer than 5 minutes. Not to mention, this really does prevent injury. I can not tell you how bad it hurts to bend your wrist up while swinging as hard as you can. Not fun!!

So here's to keeping up the healthier way of life and to looking good in a swimsuit again!

Final Some Results

2010-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

As I posted previously, my resolution for this year was to lose 35 to 40lbs. I started working out again and was really feeling back on track as far as excercise goes. But, unfortunately the scale was just not agreeing with me. It wasn't moving at all. This depressed me. So I stopped working out for a couple of weeks (partly due lack of motivation from not losing any weight and partly due to lack of sleep and no energy). So I figured if I wasn't working out, I should at least start eating healthier again. God knows I do not diet and portion control is not in my vocabulary, but I was determined to find food that was way healthier for me and I didn't have to feel guilty about filling up on. So I made a trip to the grocery store and got lots of fresh veggies, lots of chicken, fresh meats, and veggie crisps instead of regular chips. I also refused to pick up any sweets. My moto is, if it's not in the house it can't tempt me.

So after a couple of weeks of eating a bit healthier, I have dropped 7 lbs. It's really weird, it just seems to be falling off now. Not that I can really notice anything with my eyes (I'm still a fat ass), but the scale can't lie. Can it?? So this was just the motivation I needed to start working out again. I've been getting more sleep lately (Carter is sleeping for 6 hours straight at night) and I have no excuse not to be doing something. I would really like to feel comfortable getting back into a swim suit, and that season is just around the corner. I might add that it will no longer be a two piece, because no matter how much weight I lose, stretch marks are here to stay.

So here's to losing 7 lbs!!! Yay!!

12 Weeks Old

2010-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Carter will be 12 weeks old. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? I just wish my pregnancy would have flown by that fast. Carter boy is making so much progress each and every day I hardly want to blink in fear I will miss something. As you all know he started rolling over from belly to back when he was 6 weeks old (which he continues to do) and now he's getting really close to rolling from his back to his belly. I'm afraid I might miss that event someday while I'm at work. My mom got this really great play mat for him that has toys dangling down and he likes to kick and grab at them and it really works him up to almost rolling over.

He started his physical therapy the other day and the therapist was so impressed with his strength and development. She couldn't believe how long he could hold his head up while on his belly and the fact that he was holding objects already. She gave him a rattle to hold and he held it for several minutes and even tried to put it in his mouth. She said he thinks he's a 4 month old. Yay! But the most important part was that she saw major improvement in his torticollis and said the stretches I had been doing with him were working well. She gave me one extra stretch to do with him (which he hates I might add) and she wants to see him back in a month. She believes he is continuing to sleep on one side of his head now, because his flat spot is so bad not because his neck is still so tight. This is good and bad. I'm glad his neck is getting better, but wish I would've gotten the problem fixed before he developed such a bad flat spot. I mean it is really bad!!! I'm afraid he's gonna be a pancake head forever. Why didn't anyone ever tell me about flat spots?! Out of all the crap they warm you about with a baby, no one ever mentioned flat spots. Does anyone know when the soft spot closes up? The therapist says his flat spot will correct itself as long as he still has his soft spot.

Anyway, Carter was scheduled to be dedicated at my church on Jan. 31, but it was postponed due to bad weather. So they rescheduled it for Feb. 28. We're looking forward to that. Not only do we get to dedicate his life to the Lord, we also get to show him off to the whole church and you know how us parents like to show off our babies.

So here is the little guy (or big guy rather).

A Sad Good-Bye

2010-02-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow our newest family member, Chubs, will go to the animal shelter. For the first few days, he was the absolute gentlest, sweetest dog you've ever met (he wouldn't even barely take food out of your hand), but he has begun to show signs of aggression and he must go. The first sign was a couple of days ago when he peed on a box in our bonus room and I grabbed him up by his collar and put his nose in it and he started growling at me. My heart began to pound at that point, but I didn't show him any fear and had Brett take him outside immediately. At that point I decided he was not going to be a permanent member of our family. I hadn't gone as far as deciding to take him to the shelter, but I had decided I would find a family to adopt him. Most likely, one that didn't have little kids.

I had him an appointment set up for today to get his shots and I was going to hang a flyer up in the Vet's office with info about him, in hopes someone would adopt him. Then last night happened. I was in the kitchen and I had just given Chubs some food (I had to mix treats in it to get him to eat dog food), when Patsy came near him and he snapped. He growled and opened up his mouth and beared down on her neck. She immediately begun yelping and I screamed "Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!" and jumped at him. He let go right away and hit the floor on his back. I was just sure Patsy was going to have blood gushing from her neck, but my first priority was to get that dog out of the house. Thank goodness, Carter was spending the night at Nana's so he was not in any danger.

I had to scoot Chubs all the way out the door, because he wouldn't get up and was just laying on his back in a submissive position. Brett had heard Patsy yelp and me scream and he came rushing in the house. He was outside cleaning his truck and when he heard us, he ran as fast as he could and slammed the truck door into his knee cap in the process. Ouch!!!!! Once he realized we were okay, he fell on the floor in pain. He did come over finally and help me get Chubs out the door. Once he was outside, I went over to Patsy and checked for injuries. I could see a little bit of blood in her fur, but couldn't find the bite mark. So she was okay, just a little scared. I felt terrible. How could I let this happen? How could I let this strange dog into my house, not truly knowing his upbringing? I knew what I had to do now and that was to take him to the shelter.

I called first thing this morning to see if I could bring Chubs in and to find out if they were a "no kill" shelter. They are not. They said if the dog shows any signs of aggression, they have to put them down or if they run out of room. The lady told me they euthanize on a daily basis. This really upset me. Here I rescued this dog so he wouldn't be sent to the pound and be put down, and now that's exactly what I'm doing to him. I couldn't make myself take him today, but I have decided I have to do it tomorrow. As much as I am already attached to him, there is nothing more important to me than my baby and I will not put that child in danger, even if that means the possibility of Chubs being put to sleep.

So Chubs, I'm sorry I couldn't save you for good, but I hope that a family without little dogs and little kids adopts you soon. I'll pray for you my friend.

Citation for being an idiot.

2010-02-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

So I was coming back from the store where I had grabbed some Sushi for lunch and I pulled out in front of a cop. Of course, I wasn't speeding but I still felt uneasy about it. Well he passed me and I pulled into the turn lane to turn right and head back to work. That's when I saw him pull out of his lane into mine and I was just waiting for the lights to come on. Of course, he waited until I turned and he turned them on. I knew I had a brake light out, so I figured he give me a warning and let me go.

When he walked up to the car he had a little black box in his hand and he asked me if I knew why he pulled me over. I thought I did, but then it looked like he had a breathalizer in his hand and I thought to myself, "man, I really didn't think I was driving that wreckless". That's when he told me he pulled me over for a brake light that was out and my tint was too dark. The little machine he had in his hand slips over the window and tells him how dark my tint is. It registered 17% and you can only go as low as 35%. Then he asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. I then told him my address was outdated on my license, I didn't have my new insurance card with me, and I couldn't find my registration!!! What an idiot, I felt like.

So needless to say, I got a ticket for my tint, my incorrect driver's license, and no proof of insurance. He let me slide on the brake light and registration. What a day. I wonder how much this is going to cost me?

Full On Insanity

2010-02-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

I must be crazy, because I adopted another dog!!! This time the dog is much larger and older than my others. My dad called me last week asking me if I wanted a big dog and I told him no, but asked about it anyway. He explained to me that there was a dog up by where he buys his wheels for his cars that had been roaming around and the business owners up there were telling him they were going to call the pound, because the owner neglected him. He thought it was a boxer/lab mix and he said it was a really sweet dog. So after rejecting the idea for a good 4 -5 hours, I gave in and said I would foster it so it didn't have to go to the pound and risk being put to sleep.

So the next day we went up there to pick him up. When we got there we began trying to load him up and he wasn't cooperating. Several guys from the surrounding businesses said they all really liked him and they were the ones that fed him everyday and even kept up with his heartworm medicine. One of the guys said he tried to take him home a couple weeks prior, but he couldn't get him in the car. They explained that he had been around there for about 5 years and his owner never cared for him. He never let him inside, never did anything to care for him, and didn't even feed him. So the guys up there all fed him people food.

We finally got him loaded up and headed to the house. We took him to my house and let him in the back yard. He was a little freaked out, but after about 30 mins and a warm piece of pizza, he eventually came around. Of course, he would smash up against whoever was closest and didn't want to leave their side. That night we left him in his kennel in the garage to sleep and let him process the big move.

A couple of the guys that had been watching after him had mentioned that they thought he had a little pitbull in him and that instantly got me wondering. So after doing some research and looking at pictures online, I've pretty much determined he's a pit bull/lab mix instead of boxer/lab. For so long I have said how I thought pit bulls should be exterminated and now here I had one in my house. He is such a sweet dog and shows absolutely no signs of agression, but I just wasn't sure about him with having a baby in the house.

But regardless, I cleaned him up (loading all 80 lbs or so of him into the bathtub by myself), de-wormed him and got him a bed, toys and some real dog food. My heart was already growing attached to him, but my head was saying "he's a freaking pit bull!!!!!!!!!!!". Then my heart would jump back in and say "but he's also a lab and he's so sweet". So I gave him a trial run to determine whether or not he would become a permanent part of our family. After doing much research on pit/lab mixes and talking to lots of people that have owned pit mixes and observing how he plays with my dogs and my dad's dogs....I have decided to keep him. I think he will make a super great guard dog and he needs us as much as we need him. He already acts protective of us and I like the idea of having a gentle giant in our house in case anyone gets stupid enough to break in.

So allow me to introduce you to the newest member of our family:

Chubs

Big Boy

2010-01-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well I'm a little late on this, because Carter turned 2 months old a week ago, but better late than never. We went for his 2 month check up last Thursday and he proved to be a growing boy. He was 13 lbs. 10 oz. and 24 1/4 inches long!!! His weight and length are above average, but his head has finally caught up some and is up to just average (it was a bit undersized at birth). This wasn't a surprise because he is now wearing 3-6 month size clothes and some of those are even snug on him. Don't tell anyone, but a PJ set he got from Brett's mom at Christmas that is a 6-9 month size fits him very well and is NOT too big. I think he's destined to be a linebacker.

The Dr. gave me a new formula to try and help with his spitting up, but it didn't help and it cost twice as much as any other formula, so I grabbed some Enfamil Gentlease and that's what I'm sticking with. I think he's tried about a hundred formulas and I'm sick of switching. I've come to terms with the fact that he will spit up no matter what and I'm just going to have to deal with it. It's obviously not hurting his growth any.

He will be starting physical therapy next Tuesday to try and correct his Torticollis, because we've done everything to fix it ourselves and it's just not getting well. It has improved drastically, but he's still favoring one side to turn his head and his he's got a serious case of mishaped skull. I try to think positive about the fact that his head will reshape its self once we get his neck better, but it's hard to imagine when I look at the craziness that is his noggin.

Sleepover at Nana's

2010-01-22T12:09:00.001-08:00

Carter is having his second sleepover at Nana Clark's tonight. My mom has once again been gracious enough to offer to keep him for the night so Brett and I can get some good sleep. The last time Carter spent the night over there, I was in the middle of enjoying a wonderful night's sleep when Brett woke up with horrible heartburn and he started gagging and coughing and woke me up. Instead of being a concerned wife and asking if he was okay, I yelled at him for ruining what was supposed to be a night full of uninterrupted sleep. He thought I was being a jerk (and I was) but I hadn't had a solid night's sleep without waking for months and months. Let's see how he'd feel if he were in my shoes. So tonight I think I'll make sure he doesn't eat anything that will give him heartburn and I'll force like 10 Pepcid Completes down his throat before bed. Sounds like a good plan to me. Now most people our age would take advantage of a night without the baby by going out to the bar or a late movie, but instead, we celebrate the occasion by going to bed at like 8:00pm. There is nothing more attractive sounding to me than at least 8 hours of sleep (all in one night, I might add). There for a few days Carter was having some bad tummy issues and he was only sleeping for about 2 hours at a time and I was only getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. When he doesn't go to bed until 11 and wakes up several times and I have to get up at 5:30, it doesn't make for a good morning. But....the other night he slept from 10-5 making it the longest stretch he's ever done and I was so happy I could have cried. But he was back to 4 hours last night. So anyway, I am telling you all this to say...don't call my house tonight or in the morning unless you want me to hunt you down and hurt you. Does that sound too harsh? I think all the new moms out there understand where I'm coming from........right?

Gripe Water

2010-01-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

Gripe water is a miracle drug - or miracle non-drug. It's all natural. Carter has proved to be a rather fussy baby and has had tummy issues since he was about 3 or 4 weeks old. After trying every formula under the sun to keep him from spitting up, I have gone back to Enfamil Lipil with 2 scoops of rice cereal to thicken it up. A lot of people and doctors suggest not feeding rice cereal to a baby so young because it can cause bowel problems and food allergies, but it's that or Carter will never keep his food down. I switched to this combination after trying Soy formula and Enfamil A.R. The A.R. stopped the spitting up, but it constipated him so bad because it was too thick. This combo that he's on now was really working well at first, but it started to constipate him again and I thought I was going to pull my hair out. I thought I had finally found something that would keep my baby's food moving in only one direction, but now he was getting plugged up again!!! Thursday night after an entire evening of crying and fussing I told Brett to run to the store to get some Gripe Water. I had seen it on the shelves, but had never tried it with Carter. Well, after I gave it to him it took about 15 mins and he was comfortable and no longer fussy. Then the following morning he had a REALLY large dirty diaper and I almost jumped for joy. You never think you'd be so happy about changing such a nasty diaper until your baby stops having them for a while. Then the entire next day he didn't fuss at all.

The bottle says I can give him 6 doses a day, but I've only been doing about 2 to 3 doses and it's keeping him regular. It's really great because it's made up of Ginger and Fennel extract along with other natural extracts, so I don't feel as though I'm medicating my baby all the time. The only kicker is that it's not exactly cheap (as if any baby stuff is cheap). For a 4 oz. bottle it's about $13 (another reason I'm only giving him 2 to 3 doses a day). But I think at this point I would pay $50 a bottle to make the fussing stop. It's the best pacifier money can buy.

Speaking of the pacifier. Let me just say...I hate it!!! I thought pacifiers were supposed to be mom and baby's best friend, but so far it has proven to be nothing but a pain in my rear. Carter has yet to learn how to keep it in his mouth for long periods of time and when it falls out, he gets all fussy. I know he's only 8 1/2 weeks old, but I'm considering taking that stupid thing away already. It doesn't seem to help him too much and if he's being fussy about something else, the pacifier isn't going to change that. Plus I'm really not looking forward to the day he gets super attached to it and the fight we will have when I take it away. And the last couple of weeks I've seen a handful of toddlers running around with them in their mouths (while trying to speak, I might add) and it makes me just want to yank it out of their mouths. Now, I say it's fair to give each mother their own amount of time to take it away from their child (especially if it's actually working like it should), but I think once they are nearing 2 years old, it no longer needs to be in their mouths; especially if they are needing it during the day and not just at bedtime. But as for Carter and I, it hasn't ever seemed to help much, so I'm really starting to wonder what the point of it is. He doesn't even need it to go to sleep....so what's the point? I'm just trying to find a good couple of days that I don't have to work the next morning where I can afford to lose my mind and some sleep.

Do You Hear The Baby Crying?

2010-01-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't last night. My alarm went off this morning at 5:30 and I realized that I had slept through the night. I was astonished, had Carter actually slept through the night? It was too good to be true...and it was. I glanced over at the monitor and saw that the light bar on it was going crazy indicating that my baby was screaming, but I heard nothing. I flipped it over to on rather than voice activated and I still heard nothing. Then I realized the volume was turned down. Oh no!!!! Had I really let my baby cry for God knows how many hours without even knowing? I felt terrible and bolted to his nursery. I got to his crib and he was still nestled nicely in his swaddle, but he was crying and his eyes were puffy. It broke my heart to know he may have been up there crying for several hours with a hungry tummy and dirty diaper and I did nothing about it. I grabbed him up and comforted him and then laid him on the changing table to change his diaper while Brett got a bottle ready. Carter instantly stopped crying and just laid there looking pretty worn out. I quickly changed him and Brett fed him. Then he was out like a light bulb.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that has ever done this. I swear I'm going to make sure that monitor is on blast every night before I go to sleep. This is not something I want to put my baby through again. Poor little guy...

I popped my exercise ball.

2010-01-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't exactly pop my exercise ball but it did deflate. I've been trying to get back on the working out band wagon and have been doing pretty well with it, but I swear some force is trying to stop me. I haven't put any new air in it since I bought the thing like 4 years ago and it was in need of a refill. So as I stuck the pump nozzle in it and began to blow it up, the nozzle end broke off in it and the ball deflated. I'm not sure if that's some kind of sign, but I won't let it stop me. I've been feeling like a big fat pile of mashed potatoes ever since I had Carter and I'd really like to shake that feeling and all this fat. I used to be in really really good shape and worked out like a maniac, but I'm tired of saying "I used to..." and I'm ready to say "I am...". So I've been working out on the elliptical and WAS doing at least 100 crunches on my ball every evening, plus doing some weight lifting. Despite the scale not showing any progress, my legs and arms are beginning to feel firmer. Now I'll have you know I was born with legs of steel and in high school (when I was in really bad shape) I could still leg press 500 lbs. and do 120 lbs. on leg extensions. I may have been a puff ball, but I had lots of muscle under all my puffiness. Then in college I decided to get in shape and I dropped tons of weight and got in super good shape. I added boxing to my routine and my arms became firmer than they had ever been and I was confident in being able to defend my self with my swift upper cut.

Then.......I had a baby and was unable to do any major lifting or straining and I turned into a cream puff again...but worse. For the first time in my whole life I couldn't lift heavy objects and strain my body like I was so used to doing my whole life. My legs had never been so soft, but with a little workout they are starting to feel hard again. I just gotta get rid of this jelly belly. Good God!!!

So here is my New Year's resolution...I need to get healthy again and lose 35 - 40 lbs and I plan on doing it! There ya go...I put it out there.

I want to go from this:

To this:

The Rollover

2010-01-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

So I was pretty sure babies were at least 3 or 4 months before they tried rolling over, but Carter dispelled that theory last night when he rolled over from tummy to back at a whopping 6 weeks old. At first I thought he may have done it by accident and was upset I didn't get it on camera, but the he kept doing it and I was able to get it on camera a couple of times. Brett and I were so excited the first time he did it that we yelled and I think we startled him. Brett called his mom right away to tell her and then we realized it was 10:30p.m. and she didn't answer, so I decided to wait until this morning to tell my parents! Should I be this excited about something so little? Well, I am! So here's the video.

A Night Off

2010-01-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

My husband and I are in serious need of a day off. Here's proof:

I think even the dogs are going a little nutty lately. Can't you tell Patsy looks a little stressed? I haven't had a solid nights rest in about 3 or 4 or 5 months. Maybe even longer. You think by now I'd have gotten used to being tired, but I don't think you ever get used to it. So my mom has offered to take Carter tomorrow night and let him spend the night at her house so I can get one solid nights rest before returning to work on Saturday. She offered a couple of weeks ago and I was having some serious seperation anxiety and couldn't stand to leave him for the entire night. It's not like I didn't think my mom was capable of taking care of him, I was just not emotionally ready to let him go. But my fatigue has pushed me to forget all about that and just let her have him. I can't wait!! My dad is going to feed us left over Prime Rib and then Brett and I are off to see New Moon for the second time. Yes, I love that freaking movie and can't wait until it's out on DVD. I'm what you call a Twihard. I've read the first 2 books and am almost done with the 3rd (I was slowed up quite a bit by the baby) and I own Twilight on regular DVD and Blue Ray and have watched it about 6 times. Needless to say, I can't wait to see New Moon again.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my joy about having a night off! I'll be sure to blog about it later.

Stretch It Out

2009-12-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

The neck stretches that we've been doing with Carter for the last week have helped out tremendously. He is already straightening up his head and I was even able to lay him down tonight with his head facing the other direction for once! I was kinda worried that he'd be stuck like this for a while, but it's looking like a speedy recovery. He was also having a serious problem with spitting up, but I switched him to Enfimil A.R. formula and his spitting up has gotten a lot less.

We got a jogging stroller from daddy for Christmas, so now it's time for mommy to get back in shape. So far I've gone on two walks with it. I'm not quite up to the jogging yet, but have been doing some serious power walking. It helps that I live in Tennessee and there is nothing but hills in my neighborhood, so I should be forming buns of steel soon.

Anyway, I'm making this quick because Carter man just went to bed (11:30) and I'm headed that way right now. Later.

Birth Trauma

2009-12-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

Birth trauma has defined Carter's life ever since...well...birth. As you may already know, due to Carter's large size ( 9 lbs. 6 oz. ) his collar bone was broken as he was making his way into this world. As tramatizing as that was for me, he finally got better and I thought he could finally be a normal baby. Well I was wrong. I had noticed that he always slept with his head turned to the same side and when he was in his swing or car seat it was the same way. He was starting to develop a flat spot on the one side of his head, so I told the doctor about it at his 1 month check up today. He looked at him and determined he had Torticollis. This is a condition that is caused by the over tightening of his neck muscle and it pulls his head to one side. This was also a result of birth trauma. The doctor said it could be fixed by stretching his head to the opposite side everytime we change his diaper, but if that doesn't fix it then physical therapy may be necessary.

I'm usually not one to get too worked up about things like this, but it's really starting to wear on me. I just want my baby to be healthy and happy and I feel like he's been suffering his entire life so far. I just hope that the neck stretches will correct this problem, because I really don't want to have my newborn in physical therapy. He's already been through so much.

All I have to say about this situation is that if I know I'm going to have a large baby next time, I'm going to have a C-section. I'd rather have my belly cut open then have my baby injured. But we have to deal with what we were dealt right now and all I can do is pray for a speedy recovery. I just gotta have faith that God will take care of this child and he'll be okay eventually.

Fatsy Patsy

2009-12-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

So ever since Carter came home from the hospital our dogs haven't gotten quite the same kind of attention that they used to get. Let's face it, they went from being our "babies" that got pushed around in strollers for entertainment to being just our dogs. So in their depression I have noticed that they had been eating a lot more than usual; especially Patsy. They went from sharing 2 1/2 scoops of food a day to eating about 4 -5 scoops of food a day. They would scarf the first 2 1/2 scoops down in the morning and then at night they would sit by the bowl and beg for more. How could I turn them down?

Well, I walked into my bedroom the other night to see Patsy laying on my nice pillows from my bed and I noticed that she looked a lot fatter than usual. She's a very tiny Pug and only weighed 14 lbs the last time she was at the Vet. This is very tiny compared to my first Pug, Otis, who weighed 32 lbs. Since I thought she looked bigger than usual, I decided to put her on our scale. It's a cheap scale and may not be that accurate, but none the less it said she weighed around 19 or 20 lbs!!!! Holy cow, dog! How did you gain 5 lbs?! Now that I pay more attention, she does look like a swollen sausage. I wish it wasn't so cold or I would take her on a walk, but I can't take the baby out in this.

So for now, she will be going by the alias Fatsy Patsy. So fitting.

Strong Baby

2009-12-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Carter seems to be pretty strong for a 3 week old. I don't know, you be the judge.

Carter on Camera

2009-12-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a little clip of our baby in action.

Labor Pains

2009-12-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Warning: This blog will describe my labor in detail and unless you want to hear about fluids and cervixes, you may want to close it out right now.

I checked into the hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. After getting me hooked up to an IV, blood pressure cuff, and 2 belly monitors, the nurse slipped a small pill into my vagina to help ripen my cervix. I must admit this pill felt like a football, but I'm sure it was much smaller. At that point I was 1 cm dialated and 70% effaced. She said she would be back in 4 hours to insert another pill and that I should try and get some sleep. What a joke! First off, as if the monitors on my belly weren't uncomfortable enough, the blood pressure cuff would squeeze my harm very tightly once every hour. Needless to say, 4 hours went by and I got no sleep at all. She inserted the 2nd pill at about 1 a.m. and at that point I was 2 cm dialated and 80% effaced. I once again tried to get some shut eye, but had no luck. At 2 a.m. my contractions started. I was watching the monitor and they were peaking out at the very top and I was astonished that they didn't hurt that bad. I could feel that my uterus was getting extremely tight, but the pain just wasn't that bad. I couldn't figure it out. Then at 3:00 a.m. I decided to call my mom, because I needed someone there that could understand what I was going through. I think she got there at about 4:30 a.m., just in time for my water to break at 4:45 a.m. I was attempting to get out of bed and move around a little bit before the pain got too bad and as I was doing that the flood gates burst. The doctor told me I had a lot of fluid in there and she wasn't lying. To my surprise the nurse acted a little upset about me messing up part of the bed as if something like this had never happened before.

Once my water broke I decided to get back in bed. At that point the nurse asked me if I wanted to get in line for my epidural, because the guy was there to do it and he had 2 ladies in front of me. I didn't really want to do it that early, but decided to get in line while I had the chance. Good thing I did. After my water broke, the pain set in. My contractions were only about half as strong as they were in the beginning but they hurt about 4 times as bad. You can never begin to understand the pain that goes along with labor contractions until you experience them. I've experienced a lot of pain in my life, but this was by far the worst. None of my menstrual cramps, broken bones, or tattoos could ever match the pain I felt with these contractions. Keep in mind I've had to take heavy pain killers for my cramps, I have a very large tattoo on my back (along with two other tattoos), and I've broken two fingers and my tailbone. This was a new kind of pain and that epidural couldn't come soon enough.

At about 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. I got my epidural and I was about 3 cms dialated if I remember correctly. I hated the guy that gave it to me because he was a major jerk and was yelling at me because my muscle would spasm when he put the needle in my back. I couldn't help it!! I had no control over what my muscle decided to do. He also told my husband how he was glad Notre Dame was doing poorly because he didn't like big colleges like that. Ass! Once he got the epidural set he asked me to tell him if I tasted metal in my mouth or had ringing in my ears. I was praying neither of these things would happen, but after a few seconds I could feel my heart rate jump through the roof and I heard it pounding in my ears. I hesitated to tell him, but thought I'd better go ahead because I didn't know what was going on. He then said in an angry tone that he was going to have to start all over because he had his a blood vessel. *Keep in mind this guy was very pessimistic and kept telling me the entire time how it may not work and he doesn't garauntee anything*. He started over and explained that he basically had no idea where he was placing it because he couldn't see inside my spine. The second time around I heard nothing and tasted nothing, so it seemed as though he had placed it correctly this time. I got back in bed and in about 15 to 20 mins my legs went numb. This made me very happy, but at the same time was a little unnerving. The epidural was so heavy that I couldn't move or control my left leg at all. It kept wanting to slip off the side of the bed and I couldn't do anything about it. Kinda weird.

The nurse checked me once again and I was at 4 cms. It was at this point that I finally felt like I could get some rest. Brett's mom and my dad were called and they both were planning on arriving at the hospital at about 11:00 or maybe a little later. At some point my epidural began to wear off on the left side and I was feeling some pretty terrible pain once again. I told the nurse and she hit the red button to give me a second dose and that seemed to make all the pain go away. I had a little more feeling in my legs this time around which I felt much better about.

Once 10:30 rolled around the nurse checked me again and I was at 9 1/2 cms. She couldn't believe I was already so far along and it was going to be time to push. She made a call to the doctor and began to get everything ready to get this baby out. My mom got on the phone with my dad, who was still at work, and told him to hurry up because the baby was on the way. At about 11:00 am or so the doctor checked me and said the baby had already moved down through the birth canal and his head was knocking at the door. She said my body had already done the hardest part and that all I had to do was finish pushing him out. So I began pushing and was making a little progress with every push. To make a long story a little shorter, they turned off my epidural so I could feel my contractions, the doctor gave me a shot of numbing agent towards the end so I couldn't feel the burning sensation down there, then she gave me a 2nd degree episiotomy, and Carter Joseph Mitchell entered this world at 11:45 a.m. on November 19, 2009. As he was making his grand entrance about 10 gallons of amniotic fluid shot across the room. It was like Niagra Falls in there. I felt a ton lighter, but they needed a mop to clean it up. Due to Carter's large size the doctor and another nurse had to tug on him pretty hard to get his shoulders out and he ended up with a broken collar bone. Poor baby. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 in. long.

It's been 12 days and we're adjusting to life with this new baby in it. I find the biggest struggle we have is getting his pacifier to stay in his mouth. Really, I've debated putting tape on it to keep it in. He fusses to have it, but then spits it out every 30 seconds. This has led to 2 sleepless nights, but the rest have been good. I didn't have any luck getting him to nurse, but have been able to pump and feed him with the bottle. It may be double the work, but it's totally worth it. He's the best early Christmas present God could have ever given me. Me and his daddy love him sooooooooo much. We look forward to watching him grow up and raising him in the ways of the Lord.

Within Reach

2009-11-17T19:35:00.001-08:00

The arrival of my baby boy is finally within reach. I went to my OB appointment this afternoon and she scheduled me for an induction on Thursday morning. I have to go into the hospital tomorrow night at 8, so they can start medicating my cervix and about 8 hours after that, they'll start me on the Petocin. Not that I'm real excited about being induced, because I've heard it's a harder labor, but I am very excited to meet this little boy. I'm also excited to get this watermelon out of my belly.

Today I was 1cm dialated and 70% effaced, so she was also able to scrape my membranes in hopes to kick start labor on it's own. All I know now is that after that little experience, I know I am way too big of a wuss for natural labor. Bring on the epidural!!! Anyway, I'm hurting a lot in my lower back tonight, so I don't know if that means anything or not. Maybe I'll end up going in tonight. Who knows? All I do know is that my little guy will be here within a couple days!! I guess this means no New Moon for me. Maybe when he's a month old I'll leave him with my mom for a couple hours so I can still catch that movie while it's in the theater. But I'll definitely take a baby over a movie anyday.

So here's to given birth! Should be quite the experience. I'll let ya'll know when he's here.

Tears work

2009-11-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

So I have to update the status of my work situation, because it's easy to bitch but sometimes I forget to comment on the positive things. After having a very "pregnant" day the other day and getting really upset about my "boss" making suggestions about my maternity leave again, I lost it and called my mom while crying to ask for her help. Well she had a talk with the boss and the next day he called me into his office to apologize for putting pressure on me about my time off. He just explained that he's gonna miss me while I'm gone because I've become such a good salesperson. Nothing like a good compliment to make all my hormonal moodiness fade away. He agreed to leave me alone about it and he's now being very flexible with my schedule during my last week or so of work. For instance, today I felt like I got run over by a freight train (I came down with an even worse cold than I've had for the last month) and he let me go home after just a couple hours of work. It might have something to do with my non-stop coughing and nose blowing. Or maybe the fact that I sound like Pee Wee Herman when I'm on the phone with customers. Either way, I'm at home now trying to rest up before this baby comes and that makes me very happy.

Speaking of coughing...I managed to cough my mucus plug out. Hopefully the baby is soon to follow.

P.S. For those of you who haven't caught on yet, my "boss" is also my dad. Gotta love him!!

So Close I Can Taste It

2009-11-13T08:52:00.000-08:00

38 1/2 weeks

Well I'm at 38 1/2 weeks right now and my due date/induction date are so close I can almost taste them. I still have to wait until Tuesday to meet with the Dr. to schedule my induction, but her nurse did call me back and tell me she's not on-call again until the 23rd and that's most likely when she'll induce me. My due date is on the 24th. So if I don't go into labor before then (and I doubt I will) I'm most likely looking at only 10 more days of being pregnant. I can not believe I'm already to this point. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant and now the baby will be here any day. I will definitely have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Another good thing is that if I induce on the 23rd, I can still see New Moon before I have the baby. Woo hoo!!

Control Freak

2009-11-11T07:47:00.001-08:00

For those of you who know me well and even for those that don't know me very well, but read my blog on a regular basis, probably know that I'm a control freak. Yes, that's right, I have no problem admitting it because I have no intention on changing it either. I try to control every aspect of my life and want to plan every last event no matter how unpredictable the event. This of course includes the birth of my child. You have no idea how crazy it drives a control freak like myself to not know when my child is going to be born and be able to plan accordingly. Even worse, is that my baby is due 2 days before Thanksgiving, so the thought of not knowing how to plan my holiday has been driving me nuts. BUT, I've managed to find a way to control even the most unpredictable of events.

Back in September when I took my child birthing class that was offered by my hospital, the labor nurse teaching the class gave us all a golden nugget of information. She let us all know that our hospital allows women to induce at 39 weeks if necessary. At first I wasn't that interested in doing that, but as I got larger and more uncomfortable I began thinking more seriously about inducing early. I had mentioned it to a few of the doctors I was seeing in my practice, but my suggestions kept getting shot down. Well finally at my last appointment the Dr. I saw told me I was measuring big and she wanted to get an ultrasound. Well when the ultrasound estimated my baby at already being 8lbs. 3oz., I was determined to induce early. So as I was on my way out of the office, I grabbed my nurse and asked her about inducing early because of the size of the baby. She said she'd talk to my Dr. and get back to me later that evening.

At around 5:30 last night, I got a call from my nurse letting me know that she had discussed my ultrasound with my Dr. and my Dr. had decided that when I come in on Tuesday she would schedule me for an induction. It would have to be on a day that she was on call, but she said my Dr. was on call that Thursday. So I was super excited. But then she mentioned Nov. 12 being the date that my Dr. was on call and due to all my excitement I didn't realize until I hung up that she was looking at the wrong week. So now I'm not sure when my Dr. is on call next week, but I will soon find out. Either way, she indicated without being able to tell me 100% for sure, that I would be induced next week. I just about went through the roof with excitement!!!!! Seriously, did I really get my way once again? Most women have to wait at least a week after their due date to be induced and I'm getting to induce several days before my due date. I guess my gross weight gain has paid off after all and has given me a big enough baby that they want to get him out of there.

So now let's just pray that my Dr. doesn't change her mind when I go into see her on Tuesday. God knows I have little patience and won't be able to handle waiting much longer. Here's to being a control freak even in an uncontrollable situation!

Future Linebacker

2009-11-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

I went in for my ultrasound this morning to see how big this little boy is getting and boy did I get a surprise. Well, actually I wasn't that surprised considering how huge I'm getting. The technician gave me a current estimated weight of 8lbs. 3oz. I almost hit the floor. No, just kidding, I was actually happy about this because maybe it will encourage my Dr. to let me induce on the 20th. I'm praying so hard!!!! I really don't want to wait another 2 to 3 weeks for him to arrive, because he could be 10lbs by then. I have absolutely no desire to give birth to something that large.

I was hoping to get a really good look at this baby since the last time he was so small I couldn't tell much, but this time he was too big to see much. I did get to see the cute little foot that is always kicking me in the side and one of his eyes, because the other one is facing my back. But the best thing of all was seeing all that hair on his head!! Yep, they could identify hair on his little dome and I was very pleased. Now I know all the heartburn was worth it.

My question is, do newborns this big actually fit into the newborn size clothes? I know the tags always say 5 - 8 lbs, but I was wondering how accurate that is. He's got some pretty cute newborn outfits that I would hate for him to miss out on.

Anyway, I will keep everyone updated on my little linebacker. Hopefully it won't be much longer!

Walking Zombie

2009-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

A zombie...that's what I've become in the last week or so. I think I'm getting a total of 30 mins of sleep at night and it's beginning to wear on me a bit. This wouldn't be so bad, but I'm still working full time and will be doing so until I go to the hospital and have this child. I don't mind working, because it's better than sitting at home all day with nothing to do, but some sympathy about my situation would be nice! My "boss" doesn't seem to understand the whole maternity leave thing. I can't count all the times over the last month or so that I've been asked to come back before Carter is 6 weeks old. I'm already working up to my due date, what more do you want?! Also my remarks about most women quiting a couple weeks before their due date or taking off more than 6 weeks once their baby is born are bashed as if I'm making it up! So the latest suggestion was that I take 2 of my 6 weeks off before the baby is born. If you do the math, that means going back to work when Carter is 4 weeks old. So needless to say, I am running on no sleep and I totally lost it after that remark. I don't think I'm asking for anything extraordinary by expecting some flexibility in my schedule these last couple of weeks and wanting to stay home for 6 weeks after the baby is born. But I want to know what other moms have done. Because all the ones that I have talked to have left work a couple weeks early or have taken a little longer than 6 weeks off after their child was born. So moms out there, what did you do?

On another, less annoyed note, I had my 38 week check up today. I'm still not dilating or thinning, but my belly is measuring a couple of weeks ahead. So the doctor scheduled me for an ultrasound tomorrow to see how big this baby is getting. I'm hoping he's big enough that they suggest inducing me early. I just don't see the point in doing it if that wasn't their intention. But I won't be seeing the Dr. to discuss it until next Tuesday anyway.

Anyway, I'm going to try and scrape up my remaining sanity off the floor and do something productive now. I'll keep ya'll updated on what I find out from the ultrasound. Later!

Warning: Girl Stuff

2009-11-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

If you're a guy and you still chose to open up this blog and read it, don't say I didn't warn you first.

I went for my 37 week check up yesterday and was hoping and praying the Dr. would say I was 100% effaced and 4 cms dialated and would send me over to the hospital. But, that didn't happen. Instead I got the news that no pregnant lady this close to her due date wants to hear. "You haven't changed a whole lot from last week." There was absolutely no dialating going on, but she did tell me my cervix was beginning to soften. I'm not sure if that's very significant, but at least it's some progress. I guess this still doesn't surprise me a whole lot, because I've only had a handful of contractions, but it's still disappointing. I really don't want to go into labor right now, but I would like to know that I was making some progress and if my baby came by the 20th, I'd be very happy. My Dr. got called into a delivery yesterday, so I didn't get to see her and had to ask her nurse about possibly inducing early. My hospital allows women to induce at 39 weeks, but all the doctors at the place I go to seem to be against it. I keep throwing dates out there and they keep getting shot down. My nurse said we could talk about it with Dr. Moss if everything seems to be progessing well by then. Once again, not what I wanted to hear. What I wanted her to say is "Sure! What date would you like for us to schedule you for? Do you have any special requests? Would you like a mint on your pillow when you arrive?" I did throw Nov. 20th out there for suggestion and she just said, "well we'd like for it to be a day that we're gonna be there to get you started." At this point I wanted to throw myself on the floor and say "No! It's my body and my baby and I want to deliver him when I'm ready!! He's big enough already! Come on lady, look at me!" But I acted like a coward once again and just said, "okay".

When the nurse practioner came into check me, I excessively complained about my back pain like it was the worst thing in the world, once again hoping she'd say, "Well that's not gonna work, we better just go ahead and get that baby out of there then." But instead she told me to take Tylenol (as if that works for any kind of pain) and if the pain continues or gets worse to let them know. I wanted to say, "And if the pain does get worse, what are you gonna actually do about it? Because I'm telling you right now that it makes me sick at my stomach at times because it hurts so bad and you're not doing anything about it." But once again I just said, "okay."

So now I will continue to impatiently wait for some kind of progress or for this baby to decide to just show up. Let's cross our fingers and hope it's not much longer.

21 days

2009-11-03T06:38:00.001-08:00

That's all I have left...21 days. At least that's all I have until my due date and I'm not even considering the thought that I would go past my due date. Actually, that's because I'm seriously considering inducing on the 20th. My hospital is fantastic enough to allow women to induce at any point after 39 weeks, so why not take advantage of that? I've discussed it with Brett and I think I've got him on the same page. Even though he is scheduled to take his vacation starting the 30th, if I induce on Friday the 20th he can just take some unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave law and ride it out until Thanksgiving in which he gets paid holiday time. So it would give him a couple weeks off, some paid, some not and since we already filed his family medical leave paperwork with his company, they can't tell him no.

Anyhow, just please pray that my Dr. doesn't try and talk me out of inducing on the 20th. Even though they say you can do it, I know that they like to talk you out of everything you want to do most times. So I will try and be firm about it, because I really don't want to be pregnant any longer than I have to be. It's been an amazing journey, but let's face it, pregnancy is not fun and it really gets hard during the last month. In fact I find my attitude turning from "I can't wait to meet my baby" to "I can't wait until I'm not pregnant anymore!" I know it will all be worth it in the end, but when you're in constant discomfort, it's sometimes hard to remember why you're going through what you are.

On a more positive note, I did start having some contractions yesterday afternoon (I think). It's hard to determine what a contraction feels like when you've never experienced them before, but I think I was having them. Over the course of the last few days I've been having some pretty bad back pain along with some cramping that feels like period cramps. I didn't think the cramps were contractions, until yesterday. I could feel a cramp coming on and then my stomach would feel a bit tighter and then it would ease up after a minute or so. I think the contractions (if that's what they were) were so weak, that it was hard for me to determine for sure that's what was going on. I had several of them in a row, a few minutes apart, but then they went away after I drank some water and laid down. I wasn't expecting to be rushing to the hospital last night, but I'm at least hoping for some progress in my dilation when the Dr. checks me tomorrow. Cross your fingers!!!

Belly/Doggie Seat

2009-10-30T09:06:00.001-07:00

My dog, Bentley has made himself comfortable a couple of times on top of my belly. He doesn't seem to understand he's sitting on my baby, he just thinks I grew him a comfy seat. Good thing he's not very heavy.

Patsy decided she wanted in the picture.

Swine Flu

2009-10-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well I contacted the Rutherford County Health Dept. about getting the H1N1 vaccine and even though they were telling the public they were all out, they had a few doses stashed away and they said I could come down and get one. I have had my doubts about getting the vaccine and would rather not have to deal with this kind of thing during my 1st pregnancy, but I decided the right decision for myself and my baby was to get the vaccine. I think the chance of getting anything bad from the vaccine is a lot less risky than if I were to actually come down with the H1N1 flu. I don't want to think about the possibility of getting sick and then going into labor or having to have a C-Section. So we'll see if I suffer any side affects, but I'm not too worried about it. If anything, I may have caught a disease from all the nasty people in the health dept. waiting room. Gross! I hate that place! Now, I just need to have my husband vaccinated so he doesn't get sick and pass it to the baby once he's here.

He's Dropping

2009-10-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

I went to my OB appointment yesterday and found out that I am not dialated at all (no surprise), but as I had guessed Carter's head is bumped right against my cervix and that baby is riding low. If you don't believe me, just look at these two pictures taken just a week apart:

35 weeks

36 weeks

I think it's fair to say he's dropped a bit. Hopefully this will mean I'll have a quick and easy delivery. HAHAHAHA!

Coughing and Pre Term Labor

2009-10-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Is it possible for coughing to lead to pre-term labor? Because if it is, this kid is going to pop out of me any second. I've hit the 36 week mark today and I'm sicker than a dog. Well maybe not that sick, but I've got a pretty nasty cold-bug-thing going on. I have coughed so much in the last couple days I'm surprised this kid hasn't gotten tired of it and made his exit. Needless to say, being 8 months pregnant (or 9 depending on how you look at it) and having a cold is not fun! My joints were already starting to get achy from carrying my big butt around, but now they're really achy. On top of it all, I'm not sleeping well at all and I wake up about 8 - 10 times a night, so my body refuses to heal itself. I start my weekly OB appointments today, so I'm hoping they just tell me I'm already dialating and this baby will be here in a week or two. That'd be nice! I also wouldn't mind putting an end to the weight gain, so delivering early has another bonus.

Anyway, with that aside; I can't believe I will be a mommy in 4 weeks (give or take a few days)!!! That's just an amazing thing to take in. It seems like it was just yesterday that I read the positive sign on the pregnancy test and now my baby is almost here. As miserable as pregnancy is, it has flown by. I think the first trimester goes by fast, because you're usually half way through it before you even realize you're pregnant and the second trimester flies by, because it's so easy. The third trimester is where time begins to slow down a bit. Even then, it seems like I just hit the 28 week mark and now I'm already to 36 weeks. The car seats are in both cars and our hospital bags are packed. I have like 3 outfits packed for Carter even though I know he'll probably only wear one of them, but I couldn't help myself. I think I have everything I will need, but if anyone out there has some advice as to what to bring, please let me know. Thanks!

The Countdown Begins

2009-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

So today marks 35 weeks into my pregnancy, which means I only have 5 weeks left until my due date. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by and the fact that I'll be a mommy in 5 weeks!!! (Give or take a few days) I'm really really excited about becoming a mom, but also still feel so unprepared. Everytime I say that I've got everything I need, I think of something else I've forgotten to pick up. For instance, I have a few pacifiers, but I do not have a single newborn pacifier. I think the ones that I do have are for 2 & 3+ months. Lord knows I am not going 2 months without putting a pacifier in that child's mouth.

I did finally purchase a little swing for Carter's sanity and mine. I've been reading "The Happiest Baby On The Block," and according to Dr. Karp "swinging" is a crutial part of the 5 S's that will make your baby happy. I still need to get some kind of noise machine that replicates the mother's womb and I've found a couple stuffed animals that do that, but I just haven't made a decision on which one to get yet.

Other than the last few things I still need to get, I guess I am as prepared for this little guy's arrival as I can be. I even put the carseat in Brett's truck already. I hung a little toy from each of the 2 carseats we have, but after thinking about that for a minute, I may just remove them. I don't think a fresh newborn is going to care anything about his little jitter pal, seeing how he's been in a dark whole for the past 9 months. It might actually upset him.

As far as having fears that I won't be a good mom or Brett won't be a good dad, I don't have any of those. I know I won't do everything perfect and I'll make a lot of mistakes, but that's just part of life. I really feel like Brett is embracing the fact that he's going to be a father and head of the household and is really stepping it up big time. Over the last few months his faith in God has grown stronger than I've ever seen it. For a long time I felt he just went along with what I believed because I had the more dominate personality and he just did what made me happy. Lately he has become so passionate and outspoken about his faith and what he believes in, he puts me to shame. He even bought an Ann Coulter book and loves sounding off about it and politics. I thought I was pretty bold about my conservative views, but he's really getting bold about it. But I just say all of this, because I am so impressed that he has chosen to stand strongly for what he believes in and has chosen a path for his family. I have no doubt that he's going to be a great dad.

So here we go. The countdown is on and I couldn't be any more excited about it. I just hope the next 5 weeks fly by rather than drag on.

1 year down, 74 more to go

2009-10-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it!! Brett and I celebrated our 1st year of marriage on Sunday and I must say I can't believe how the time has flown by. We have been together for almost 6 years now and I have to say that the first year of marriage is the one year that flew by the fastest. We've had our fair share of bumps in the road along the way, but this past year has been amazing. We've never gotten along as well as we have since we got married. I have to say, we've accomplished a lot since last October and we've done a lot more growing up.

We had plans to hit up a pumpkin patch on Saturday, so we made our way to Walter Hill, TN (which is just a few minutes from our house) and found the smallest, most pathetic excuse for a pumpkin patch I've ever seen. They had awesome pumpkins though! But they didn't except debit cards and we didn't have cash, so they directed us to where we could find an ATM. We stopped at a little country store and when I say country, I mean COUNTRY! I thought we were in an episode of the Andy Griffith show. We stepped in and there were 2 old men sitting in the corner to the left of the door and there was another old man behind the cash register to the right of the door. We asked them if they had an ATM (I was embarrassed to even ask the question) and the guy says, "a what?!" An ATM, you know the machine that dispenses cash. He then told us to go down to Smokies and they've got one, but wasn't sure if it would have anything in it. So we ventured down to Smokies and sure enough they had an ATM, but there was no money in it. Go figure. Traveling to some of these little towns is like stepping back in to 1945. Not something I'm used to due to growing up in northern Indiana. So needless to say, we didn't get any pumpkins.

So Sunday, we went to church and then we were going ring shopping to buy me a replacement engagement band. My grandfather had sold us the stone for my engagement ring when we got engaged and we bought a band for it here in town. Well the band which was supposed to be white gold, turned yellow a month after we got it and the head didn't fit the stone, so they cut it down and in the process mangled it. Well we didn't have any luck finding a band or a jeweler that wanted to work on my ring, so we went baby shopping instead. We got a swing, pacifiers, bottle nipples, newborn chew toys, and some last minute items that we still needed. As Brett was unloading the stuff out of the cart onto the register, I had to laugh as he grabbed my nursing pads and just stared at them in confusion. He was a little embarrassed once he realized what he had been staring at for several moments. So now I can officially say, "we are set". I think. At this point in time I can not imagine anything else that we "need" for this baby. If he comes tonight, I am completely prepared for his arrival. I even have his diaper bag packed. So I will sit back and impatiently wait for his arrival in 6 weeks, give or take a day or two.

Anyway, we ended our night with a nice dinner at Red Lobster. My parents loaded us up with gift cards to Red Lobster, PF Changs, and Cold Stone, but we chose Red Lobster for dinner last night, because it was the closest to us. It was very nice. We also ate some of our cake top from the wedding earlier in the afternoon and I must say, it was better the first time around. I can't quite describe the flavor of a year old, frozen cake, but 'plastic' would probably be the best label for it. So here's to 1 year down and 74 more to go! Cheers!

Is growing more even possible?

2009-10-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am amazed every week by the fact that I'm not done growing yet. Believe it or not this is me at 33 weeks and I still have 7 weeks to GROW. To say my eating habits have been not the best since I got pregnant would be an understatement. When you continue to gain weight regardless of what you do, it's hard to pass on the french fries and ice cream. This is what gaining 35lbs thus far looks like. Ain't it pretty?
P.S. My tummy is a little red do to the extreme scratching I did right before this pic was taken. Brett told me to stop before I started bleeding; but I think I'd rather bleed than itch this bad.

Oxymoron

2009-10-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't it kind of an oxymoron to drive onto a semi-truck sales lot in a Smart car? Yeah, I thought so too.

32 weeks

2009-09-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

You wouldn't think much changes in a week, but I swear my belly is getting larger and larger by the second. When I took this picture I thought the weight of my belly was going to pull me over. I'm def. going to make an investment in a belly bra/belt or whatever those things are called. I find myself constantly holding the bottom of my stomach in order to give it some support so it's not pulling on my back so much. It doesn't seem to help much.

I find it very upsetting that when I drop something on the floor I can't really bend down and get it anymore. I pretty much have to sit on the floor or put one knee down in order to get low enough to scoop something up. Pathetic, I know. As we speak there is some trash on the floor under my desk that missed the trash can that I haven't bothered to maneuver myself down to pick up yet. Don't judge.

I Think Someone's A Little Excited

2009-09-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

To say that my mom is a little excited for her grandson to show up might be a slight understand. If it could be put into words how excited I think she is, it would go a little something like this: Yes! Yippie! Horray! Super! Can't Wait! Hurry up November and get here already!!!!! That's just my guess though. But I that's an educated guess based on the following information; this child has already received from my parents the following items:

Crib
Mattress
Pooh and all his stuffed animal friends
A Harley Davidson wardrobe
A MTSU outfit
A John Deere outfit and socks
A Loveless Cafe outfit
Some diapers
Diaper Genie
4 wheeler
Changing table pad & cover
Health and Grooming Kit
Christmas PJs (purchased but still a secret)
2 Christmas outfits
Socks that will go with the Christmas outfits
Really adorable blanket

And I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but that's all that my little brain can remember for right now. The gifts are starting to become more frequent and I think that's my mom's way of expressing her excitement, which in turn gives me a really warm fuzzy excited feeling. It's not the gifts that I like so much (don't get me wrong, those are nice too), but what really makes me happy is the support I'm getting from my parents. Seeing them so excited really makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I'm really doing the right thing here. I can't say the support from the other side of the family has been the same, which is disappointing, but having my parents pour so much love into this child already makes up for any lack of support on anybody else's part. I thought I was a spoiled child, but I have a feeling Carter is going to be waaaaaaaay more spoiled than I ever thought about being. Nana Clark says she has even gotten him a Christmas present already!! Man, she's way ahead of me. By the way, what do you get a newborn for Christmas? He'll be roughly a month old by then.

Anyway...it's tough to keep telling myself we have 8 more weeks, buuuuuut...WE HAVE 8 MORE WEEKS PEOPLE!!!!

31 1/2 down, 8 1/2 to go.

2009-09-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

Okay so on Tuesday I reached 31 weeks and up until then I had been feeling great. I was actually thinking I was getting pretty lucky by not suffering too badly with back pain, pelvic pressure, or ansomnia. Well that has all changed this week. Well most of it has. I have reached a point where I don't know how my stomach could stretch anymore to make room for this kid to grow for another 2 months. I'm ready to give birth now!!! The last two days (especially today) have been horrific. My back hurts sooooooooooo bad! I mean, I'm pretty tough when it comes to pain, but this is such a nagging pain it makes me want to flop down on the floor and cry. I have a non-stop pinch in the upper left side of my back and nothing I do will make it go away. It's days like today that I wish I could take my maternity leave now. I can't even make myself sound happy over the phone to customers when I hurt so bad. Isn't there anything I can do to stop the pain?!

Anyway, this may be the reason why my back hurts. Look at that belly!!!

On a more positive note, I've gone from seeing my Dr. once a month to every two weeks, which in my mind will only make the time fly by faster. I also met with a Peditrician yesterday and really liked how thoughtful him and his staff were. I was 45 mins early to my consultation and they brought me back into a room to see me early because they didn't want me sitting in the waiting room with a bunch of sick kids. How many times does that happen? Usually you get to see the Dr. after your appointment time and never before. I liked him a lot and he said he would be flexible about how I wanted my child treated with such things as vaccines. If I wanted to do a different vaccine schedule, he's okay with that.

Oh and my plan of inducing on a Saturday morning got shot down, because the hospital won't induce on the weekends. So I asked about the Friday after Thanksgiving and they said no to that as well, because they still consider that the holiday. So I am planning on going to this local Italian restaurant on Friday Nov. 27 and having all I can eat of the Eggplant Parmesan that is known to make women go into labor. That is if I haven't already gone into labor by that point. I had being so out of control!

Free Books From Dolly

2009-09-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

My mom took me to lunch today and we had a really great waitress that filled me in on something awesome. She asked if I had started signing up for free baby stuff yet and I said no. That's when she told me about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and how you can sign your child up to receive a free book every month until they're 5 years old. So as soon as I got back to the office, I got on the website www.imaginationlibrary.com and looked over it for a few minutes. I guess your city or county has to have a local sponsor in order for you to be able to participate, but luckily Murfreesboro did!! I took the waitress's advice and entered a false birthdate for Carter to make it seem like he was already born. I'm not sure if it matters, but I didn't want to miss out just because he's not here yet. But anyway, it was super simple and I just had to give them my name, address, Carter's name and birthdate, and email address and then hit submit. They sent me an email saying my info. was being reviewed and then about 1 or 2 hours later I got another email that said we had been approved and Carter would receive his first book in about 6 to 9 weeks and then every month after that until he's 5!!!

So I would definitely recommend anyone with a child under 5 or those expecting mommas to check this website out. I don't know how vast this program is and seeing how I live in Dolly's home state, I may have just gotten lucky...but it's worth a shot!! You don't even have to give your phone number. That's 12 books a year you don't have to pay for yourself.

Distracting myself from the heartburn.

2009-09-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well I've just spent the last day and a half at a truck dealer forum that was hosted by Truck Paper, the nation's largest heavy duty truck advertiser. It was interesting to say the least. First off, there were a handful of women there amongst probably 150 or more men. Then I stuck out like a sore thumb, because I was the only woman under 30 and I was definitely the only pregnant one. I felt awkward. But, it was a good experience to be able to meet dealers from all over the country (most of which my dad already knows). They served great food and the finest booze (all for free, but I couldn't partake for obvious reasons). I got up at 5:30 this morning so I could leave my house a little before 7, hoping to make it there by 7:45 to 8:00, but that didn't go according to plan. It was raining and that means people like to drive 20 mph on the highway, so it took me an hour and a half to make it from my house to Nashville. I was late to the first discussion and missed breakfast. Oh well, at least I got lunch.

But now I feel like someone slammed me into a brick wall. It's funny I feel that way considering I didn't join the people that went out partying until 2 a.m. Maybe it's the fact that I got up at 5:30, but I usually get up before 6 anyway, so that shouldn't matter. It has also been a constant down pour for the last couple of days, so maybe that's making me feel bad. Or it could be the ever growing human that is taking up so much room in my belly. Does it sound weird when I say it like that? Yeah...that's what I thought. Anyway...if I can just make it through the next couple of months without getting the swine flu or something, I'll be extremely happy.

On a really positive note...lately, every person that I have told I'm 7 months pregnant to, has told me "wow, you really don't look that big at all!" Thank you, you just made my year, but you don't have to lie to me. No, seriously, at least 3 people said that to me at the forum and I couldn't believe it. I wanted to ask them how many pregnant ladies they've been hanging around because I've already gained 30 lbs and I'm not done yet!! But I'll take the compliment anyway. It makes up for my husband making me feel like a whale. It's not his fault, he's just not good at lying. Anyway, that's enough of my rambling for today. I'll finish with a few questions because I like comments.

To the pregnant ladies out there or moms with babies or toddlers...

What is/was your worst pregnancy symptom and how did you deal with it?

I'd have to say mine is the heartburn. If I have an esophagus left after this, I'll be surprised.

I Was Right

2009-09-14T07:18:00.001-07:00

My assumption that my belly itching like crazy meant that those horrid little stretch marks would show their face pretty soon was in fact rather accurate. I don't know if the two are related, but I have noticed the 3 tiniest little purple marks on my lower belly and I assume they are the beginning of what will soon be zebra stripes. Plus I could feel a little groove when I ran my finger over them and that just made my fears even more real. In the back of my mind I was thinking I may be one of those lucky girls that doesn't get stretch marks, but considering my size...I didn't really think that was going to be possible. So now we'll just wait and see how bad they get. At least I made it to nearly 30 weeks before they showed up. I will consider myself lucky for that.

On a positive note, I went through my child birthing class this weekend and got lots of great information. The best little piece of info. I was given, was that my hospital will induce women at their request as soon as they hit 39 weeks!! Of course this is great, because I am obsessed with having everything planned. But I have pretty much decided to not induce until the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving (that's if the kid hasn't showed up on his own already, because my due date is Tuesday, the 24th). This would mean we had to check in Friday night and spend the night before they started to induce me the following morning. One thing that does bother me is that once you have the baby, they want to keep you another 48 hrs on top of it. 48 hours!! I'm going to try my hardest to get myself out of that one. This would mean spending at least 3 nights in a hospital bed and I'm not digging on that. But I'm just really excited about everything now. I know it's over two months away, but I'm hoping the time will fly by.

Until then...I'll be inpatiently waiting.

Belly Itch

2009-09-11T12:48:00.001-07:00

My belly itches!!! I mean really really itches!! And I can't seem to find any relief. I'm guessing this has something to do with my skin stretching beyond what it should. Does this mean those horrible little monsters will be showing up soon? So far I've resorted to pulling up my shirt at work and scrathing my belly with a pen. Is that wrong?

Getting Closer

2009-09-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

So it's Sept. 10, which means several things. Brett and I are a month and a day away from celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary, it's on Oct. 11. I can't believe it's been almost a year already! Where has the time gone? I still remember the amazing celebration like it was yesterday. Don't tell him this (and I should be safe by posting this because he doesn't get online), but I'm going to buy him a PS3 for his anniversary gift. I'm usually not that generous, but he has been begging for one and I've been shooting him down for so long, it's about time I just give in. Plus is has a built in Blue Ray dvd player and I would really like one of those. Shhhh...

September also means it is officially fall in my mind and if you don't agree, that's okay because Starbucks does and they have started carrying their Pumpkin Spice Latte once again. I had my first one of the season yesterday and it was thoroughly enjoyable. But it's not an everyday thing, because they sure do pack in the calories in a single cup of that stuff. I have also started setting up a few fall decorations around the inside and outside of my house and plan on going nuts with it this year. Thank goodness for Old Time Pottery and their super cheap decorations! If you don't have one of these stores in your hometown, I'm very sorry because it is second only to Heaven. It's a HUGE warehouse packed full of every home decor item you could ever imagine and for super super cheap. They also have really cheap dishes and cookware and I love it! For instance I bought a really nice white serving dish (perfect for big meals) for like $3. Awesome! So you can only imagine the great fall decorations they have to offer.

But most of all, September means our baby will be here in just over 2 months!! I can not wait! Not only because my back hurts and tummy itches more and more with every inch it gets stretched out, but I can't wait to hold the little guy for the first time. I just can't even imagine how that's going to feel. Also my due date couldn't be set at a better time, because that means my 6 weeks of maternity leave will cover the entire holiday season! Sweeeeeeeeet! I don't think I've had 6 weeks off work since I started working at the age of 15....crazy I know, so I'm really looking forward to it. But I also know babies are a lot of work and the time will surely fly by without feeling like much of a break.

Today I'm going for my 29 week checkup and I will now start seeing the Dr. every 2 weeks. I'm excited about this, because I think it will make the time fly by, but it'll be hard on my work schedule. They never seem to have early morning or late afternoon appointments available and I end up going in the middle of the day. This wouldn't be so bad, except that it has already interrupted 2 truck deliveries for me and Tom has been left finishing up my deals. Thank goodness my boss/dad is very patient with me and my crazy appointments. I can't say the same for Brett's boss. The same guy who barely let Brett off work to go to our first ultrasound is not giving him Saturday off to allow him to go to Lamaze class with me. Yep, that's right, he works for the devil himself. So my mom will be filling in. Now we're trying desparately to make it so Brett is able to take his weeks paid vacation when the baby comes, but his boss won't say yes or no about it. Just that, they need an exact date to make a decision. Ummmm...hello stupid, babies don't come on a precise schedule! Grrr....anyway I didn't mean to get on that subject.

On a lighter note, no stretch marks yet!! I guess the longer my tummy can hold out, the better off I am. I'm not expecting to not get any, just thankful that they haven't showed up yet. **knock on wood** Maybe it's luck or maybe the belly butter is actually working. Who knows?

Something Similar To Fat Man In A Little Coat

2009-09-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

You remember "fat man in a little coat" or whatever it was that Chris Farley said in the movie? Well the picture below is very similar in that sense, except it's fat girl on a little 4 wheeler. If you ever want to feel huge, sit on a baby 4 wheeler and it's bound to fulfill your needs. This is the 4 wheeler Grandpa Clark bought for his yet-to-be-born grandson, Carter. I'm taking opinions/guesses on how old the child might have to be before he can ride this. I was hoping 3 or 4, but now I'm not so sure of that. Any guesses?

Persistance Pays Off

2009-09-04T07:04:00.000-07:00

When I made the decision to make a fuss about our neighbors and their zoo a little while back, I knew that I was going to have to make a big enough fuss to actually get something done or we were just going to tick our neighbors off and have to live with them. So I exhausted every last option to get the animals or the people themselves removed and when all hope seemed lost, I drove by their house yesterday to see 2 moving trucks in front of their house. Yes, that's right folks, their landlord evicted them and they were moving out!!! I know it probably sounds bad to be happy about getting a family evicted, but you would just have to know these people to understand. They have been so horrible to live behind ever since we moved in. And the last couple of weeks the woman that lives there has been flicking Brett off and cussing him out everytime he drives by. Not pleasant. The property owner told us about a month ago that he told them to get rid of their animals and start taking care of things (such as the green pool), but nothing had changed. In the last couple of days their pool had turned a new shade of green and I was just waiting to see what happened. Well I was very delighted to see that they were leaving.

So now Carter can play in our backyard (once he's actually born) and we don't have to worry about the neighbors screaming and cussing all the time. Praise Jesus for that one!!!

C.J.'s Nursery

2009-09-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the very monotone voice (which is not far from normal); it was a long day, my tummy was sore and I was tired. But here is your first look at the almost complete nursery. Enjoy!

Belly Weeks 25 - 28

2009-09-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Here is evidence of my explosive progress as I enter my third trimester today. The thought of my stomach having 12 more weeks to expand even more makes me cringe.

25 Weeks

26 Weeks27 Weeks28 Weeks

Baby Stuff

2009-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

So I got a shipment from Target today containing all the baby goodies I ordered last Thursday. It contained C.J.'s high chair, pack 'n play, Pooh bedding, Pooh wall decor, and my bobby cover. I think that's it. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up quickly. We just purchased his travel system about a week ago too, so he's almost set. Sorta...we still have to buy the changing table, changing table pad, a swing and/or bouncer, jogging stroller, diaper genie, a few more toys, diapers, bath stuff and lotions, and nick nack stuff like a thermometer and baby grooming kit. But I didn't have the guts to put that all on one bill. Maybe next week...

Thank goodness my parents bought us the crib and mattress and my grandma Phyl bought us the glider/rocker!!!

So tonight I will go home and make Brett some quick spaghetti with jar sauce instead of homemade and then it's off to the nursery to set up this kid's room the right way. Pictures coming soon!

New Toys

2009-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

I don't think I mentioned the fact that I sold Brett's car this past weekend, so we were free to buy something different. Of course I was going to take advantage of one of the biggest perks of working for an auto dealer and that is the fact that I can shop at the dealer only car auction. Which in turn means....saving thousands of dollars on a vehicle. So my dad took me up to the Manheim auction and we got to pick and choose from the almost 2,000 cars they had running yesterday. Of course, Brett and I had already decided on a 06-07 Chevy Trailblazer, so I just had to narrow our choices down once we got up there. Well 3 of my top choices were pulled out of the auction, but my very top choice was still there. We waited patiently for it to run through one of the lanes and I was ready to bid on it. Unfortunately it went well over wholesale value within seconds and I didn't bother submitting a single bid. Disappointing, yes, but there was an '06 right behind it that I hadn't had a chance to really look at it. It had a few more miles but had the leather package and everything we were looking for. The bids started so low on it, I just found myself raising my hand for it. I was a little nervous about bidding on something I hadn't looked over real well, but I couldn't help it because it was going so cheap. Well long story short, I won the bid and bought the truck for about $1,000 or so under wholesale and several thousand under retail. Woo hoo!!! It turns out the truck was really nice too. Best thing of all is that we came out $2,000 ahead from selling Brett's car to buying this Trailblazer. So here is what we got (stock photo of course, not actual vehicle).Oh and let me not forget to mention that my dad made a couple purchases as well. He bought a golf cart to ride around on at his farm, because he didn't have enough toys. No, the 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, Harleys, side-by-side, boat, and John-Deere tractor would not be complete without a golf cart. Now don't assume it has no use around the farm, of course my parents need something to drive down the 1/4 mile long driveway to the mailbox.

So if you think that's bad, get a load of this. Grandpa bought his yet-to-be-born grandson, Carter, a brand new 4 wheeler!! No, I don't think that's silly because I plan on putting him on it at about age 3. Plus it was only a few hundred dollars, so it was a pretty good deal. I will be sure to post pictures of it as soon as I get some. If it helps build a mental image, no one over 145lbs is supposed to ride on it. I broke that rule once we got it back to my parents' house. My dad told me to "punch it" and I had to remind him that I was "punching it", but I'm also almost 7 months pregnant and over the weight limit. All I have to say is, this little boy is already spoiled rotten and he's not even here yet. Geez....

Baby Shower

2009-08-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

So as I promised yesterday, I will resume the topic of my baby shower. Moving on from stolen trucks to cute, adorable baby stuff.

My mom was gracious enough to throw me a baby shower this past Saturday and I must say it was a delight. I didn't have a bridal shower and I've never been to a baby shower, so I really didn't know what to expect. I was just a little nervous about sitting in front of everyone and opening gifts; but it turns out it wasn't that awkward afterall. My mom hosted it at her house and she did a really great job of planning fun games and great food. She even got me a Baby Einstein cake from Publix which was sooooooo delicious!! My friend, Christine, also made a really cute blue and white cake that said "It's a Boy" on it and I loved it as well. Here is a little snapshot of me and the cakes.

Once everyone got there, we started in on some games. The first game we started was the pacifier game that went on throughout the whole shower. Everyone got a pacifier and whoever crossed their arms or legs, got theirs taken away and given to the person that called them out on it. I tried to hold out, but I was wearing a dress and trying to hold my legs together with this big ol' belly just got painful so I gave up and Christine got my pacifier. She ended up winning that game and got a nice bottle of wine as a prize.

We also played the Ultrasound game. This is where you pass around various ultrasound pictures and try to identify what body part is in the image. I ended up getting 10 out of 12 correct and won the game. I was pretty surprised, because some of the images are really hard to tell what they are. But they looked a lot like the ones I have of Carter, so I had an advantage I think. We then played a baby trivia game, which I didn't participate a whole lot in because Brett's mom was standing right next to me with the answer cards where I could see them and I thought it would be unfair of me to answer many of the questions. Natalie won that game, of course. She has an 18 month old afterall. Did you know the average newborn goes through 7,500 diapers in the first year? Crazy!!!

Then after the games were done, it was on to gifts. Just so you know, I didn't read the card out loud. Instead I said who the gift was from and then passed them around for everyone to see. I got some cute stuff and now I have to better organize Carter's closet to fit everything. This boy has enough clothes to last him a year without ever wearing anything twice. And he has 3 of the same exact ND outfit with slight differences. I bought him a 3-6 mos size of the outfit, Sarah (Brett's sister) gave us the same one that was 6-9mos and then our great friends Gary and Kasey gave us the same outfit but in Blue and Green instead of Blue and Gold like we already had. Needless to say, Brett is thrilled!! He can't wait to dress his little guy up and turn him into a Domer. Anyway, here are some pics from the gift opening.

And this one is for my grandma. What's better than pregnant ladies and tomato plants?

What A Day!!

2009-08-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well I was going to get on here and blog about the baby shower my mom threw me on Saturday, but something a little more interesting has come up in the meantime. I promise though, I will return to the baby shower topic.

This morning as I was flying off the exit ramp of I-24 right by my work, I turned my head to the right and noticed cop cars sitting outside our truck lot with their lights on. At first I just thought someone had been pulled over, but I noticed our gate was still closed and Tom was parked outside of it. This was strange and I almost didn't want to ask what was going on. Well I parked in the middle lane in front of the lot and turned on my 4 ways and got out to ask what was going on. That's when Tom turned around and told me when he got there this morning, that he couldn't get his key in the lock (because someone had changed it) and that our 2006 Pete 379EXHD flattop was gone. I said "WHAT?!?!" Inside my head I was really saying, "What the @&%*?! Who the !@#$? How the *$&#?!...oh @#$%!" But good thing I have some self control and didn't let any of that nasty language flow out of my mouth. I then got back in my car and drove it to the business next door and parked it and walked back. The CSI lady was dusting for finger prints, but had no luck of finding any. She also took pictures of the tire tracks in the gravel, but that's not gonna do much, considering we have trucks in and out of our place all day long.

After the initial shock wore off, I figured I'd better post a stolen truck listing on our advertisers website ASAP if we wanted any chance of getting it back. We racked our brains to think of any suspects that may want to take this truck, but we couldn't think of any. Not that it's not a desirable truck, it's just that we couldn't think of any suspicious characters that have called on it or come by and looked at it. I've said a prayer about it and I just asked God to help us find this truck in one piece and find the people that are responsible for stealing it. More than anything, I just want to see somebody do some time for this crime.

Now, you would think a semi truck would be a pretty hard vehicle to steal, but i guess it's really not for someone that knows what they're doing. These people cut our gate lock, came and hot wired the truck, and drove out with it and replaced the gate lock with a new one. Had they left the gate open, we may have been aware of it sooner, but no one is going to suspect anything with the gate closed back up. Since this is a family business, my parents are the ones that have to take this loss and it just makes it even more bitter tasting. It was a $75,000 truck and now it's nothing but lost profit and increased insurance expense. Not to mention the huge deductible to make a claim on it. If someone had stolen this truck for a trailer load that was attached to it, they probably would have dumped the truck somewhere nearby, but since this was just a tractor sitting for sale, the chances are they're gonna hide it good and we'll never see it again.

Anyway, here's a pic for your curiosity. Can you imagine stealing one of these?

This is Starting to Hurt

2009-08-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

So as I draw nearer to the third trimester of my pregnancy (I'm at 26 weeks today), I'm starting to feel the aches and pains that one usually associates with the third trimester. While I look back at the last 26 weeks and think about how fast it has flown by, I am also beginning to wonder how I am going to be able to handle another 14. Sleeping is beginning to get a little more uncomfortable as well as sitting, walking, standing, etc. One may think that the most comfortable sleeping position would be on your back, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I feel like my uterus is weighing down on everything else and I have to roll to my side to get some relief. I try to tuck a pillow between my legs and underneath my belly, but that has seemed to become bothersome recently as well. I have never been a stomach sleeper, but all of a sudden I have the urge to roll over on my belly and sleep, which we all know is a big no no. So what should I do? I mean I have 3 more months of this and I know it's only going to get worse. At my last checkup I had only gained 1 lb. in a 4 week duration, but the last two visits before that were horrible as far as the scale is concerned. So now I'm wishing I hadn't gained so much weight so fast, because I don't think that's helping my situation any. Everything is just beginning to ache!!! And let's not even talk about my poor little feet. I'll have to make it up to them once this baby arrives.

Anywho...I took my glucose tolerance test last week and passed it with flying colors! Score! Now I don't have to go back for the 3 hours test. I also asked my doctor about her thoughts on epidurals and she made it pretty obvious to me that she was a fan. She had one with all 3 of her children, so that was re-assuring to know. She also mentioned the words "larger tearing" with natural births and I just knew what I was going to do. I'll go as far along as possible naturally, but when it comes to the point that I'm nearly passing out from pain, I'll be getting myself an epidural.

My baby shower is this Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it. Some of my neighbor ladies and other friends of mine will be there, so it should be lots of fun. I'm just nervous about the whole idea of sitting in front of everyone and opening presents. How awkward. My question to the ladies that have been through baby showers before is, do I have to read each and every card out loud?

Okay, well I know this blog is pretty boring, but that's my life lately. The most entertainment I've had in a while is from reading the book "Twilight". I'm sure you've all heard of the movie. I saw the movie and liked it so much that I decided to read the 500 page book. If you know anything about me, you know that I'm not a reader, but this book is excellent! I'm about 250 pages in and it hasn't gotten boring yet. I'm definitely going to read the other 3 books and I recommend you read them too. Anyway, I'll catch ya later! Have a good one.

Why I like the Irish

2009-08-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

The kick off to Notre Dame football is just about a month away and as much as I don't really care for that school, I'm looking forward to the football season. Why, you ask. Because it means several things. First and for most, it means there will be a solid 3 to 4 hours each Saturday in which my husband will be stuck to the television and I have a great excuse to not do any work around the house or the yard. Lately we both have been refusing to relax on our weekends and we always seem to spend the entire weekend cleaning the house or doing some type of yard work. It stinks!! Of course, I will still have to work every other Saturday and he will too, but it gives us a little relax time on the weekends we don't work.

Second, once September rolls around that means it's fall and November 24 will be right around the corner. I don't think I have ever wanted a summer to go by so fast as I have this summer. I can not wait for a little cooler weather and for this baby boy to show his face. When I mention the fact that the ND football season will probably be over by the time our baby arrives, Brett gets upset because I'm cutting out their chances at a bowl game.

Like previously stated in another blog, I purchased a really cute ND creeper set for Carter and I can't wait to dress him in it. As cute as I think that will be, I just hope Brett's family doesn't drown my child in ND apparel. An outfit or two is okay, but they will be sadly disappointed if they buy him loads and loads of ND stuff, because he won't be wearing it. How do you tell your in-laws to refrain from waisting there money on tons of ND clothing? I'll make Brett do it! But I won't feel too bad if they buy it and I don't dress him in it all the time, because when Natalie (my sis-in-law) had her baby boy, her family drowned him in ND stuff and I don't think I ever saw him wear a single outfit. Natalie and her husband Craig aren't big fans of ND either and probably found it unneccessary to dress Leland in all the apparel.

Anyway, I know it doesn't sound like it, but I really am looking forward to the football season. Last year was a blast because we watched every game with our apartment neighbors, Gary and Kasey, while munching down on some pretty tasty treats that Kasey and I would whip up. We have a bigger TV this year and a cool bonus room, so I'm hoping they'll come back to watch with us again this year. I just wish some of our new neighbors were into ND football so Brett had a guy to watch it with all the time. Anyway I'll wrap this up by saying, Let's Go Irish!!!! I don't like my husband's attitude when you lose, so please win every game!

Baby Wanted

2009-08-04T11:23:00.001-07:00

Brett and I are in serious need of a child. Carter needs to hurry up and get here, before our dogs lose all patience with us.

Car for sale

2009-08-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

So this car is for sale if anybody wants to buy it. Brett bought this lovely 2006 Honda Accord Coupe a few years ago and it has now become impractical for us. As you may notice, it's a 2 door which in turn means, not very easy to get a baby in and out of the back seat. We aren't looking to upgrade, down grade, just looking to even grade if that's a term. We just need two more doors!!! The great thing about our situation is that with my dad being a vehicle dealer, I have access to the dealer auctions in the area. Manheim is a huge car auction here in Nashville and has a great Nissan auction just about every Wednesday. So our hope is that we can sell this car quickly and get over to the auction and buy something like a 2006 Nissan Maxima with 4 doors!! I have listed Brett's car on Craigslist and am hoping I have the same luck I did when I sold my motorcycle. I sold my bike rather quickly and got every penny I was asking for it. The advantage we do have is that his car only has 29,000 miles on it, because he drives that beautiful looking truck you see in the background to and from work everyday. So cross your fingers folks, because we need a different car!!! Better yet, start praying because I don't believe crossing your fingers does anything. Prayer works much better!!! My lovely 2003 VW Jetta has 4 doors, but it also has 112,000 miles on it and is a stick shift (Brett's no good at driving stick). I love my car and it is super reliable and has never had any major problems, but I don't want that to be our main family car. So I guess now we'll sit back and wait for the first call and hopefully my great sales skills will get this thing gone!

Wow, my neck doesn't hurt anymore!

2009-07-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday by cutting off my long blonde locks that I've had for the past 6 or 7 years. In high school I had really short hair and then by the time my junior year rolled around I realized how fat my face looked, so I started growing out my hair. I've had it at lengths almost to my waiste at some points, but yesterday morning it was to the middle of my back. Not only was my hair long, but it was also the thickest hair ever imaginable. If it gives you any indication of how much hair I had, the last couple of times I've gotten my hair colored/highlighted it has taken the professionals 3 to 4 hours to do it. Yep, that much hair!!

So when I walked into the salon and told my hairstylist Tony, that I wanted to cut it off, he said, "Don't let the summer heat make you cut all your hair off!" I assured him, it wasn't the heat, it was the fact that I no longer did anything with it and therefore had no need to have it long anymore. I tried to tell him how short I wanted it, but he was nervous about cutting that much hair off, so he didn't go as short as I wanted. Right before he made the first big snip he asked me once again if I was sure. Yes!!!! I'm sure!! By the time it was all said and done, I think I had about 10 inches and 3 lbs of hair laying on the floor. He said he'd never seen that much hair on the floor while still having this much hair left on my head.

He cut it a little shorter in the back than it is in the front. And put lots of layers in it. So here is what the front looks like. You can't tell by the picture, but my neck feels so much better with 3 lbs less of hair on my head! lol.

23 weeks.

2009-07-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm almost to the 6 month mark, if you consider a month 4 weeks long like most people. But I think OB doctors do the math a little different, considering you're pregnant for 40 weeks and that's supposed to be 9 months instead of 10. So anyway, here is my big belly at 23 weeks. Enjoy.
Does anyone know when stretch marks usually begin to show up? I haven't seen any signs of them yet, but I'm sure my stomach will grow another 3 feet before Nov. 24 and I just want to be prepared for that day when I will see tire tracks on my stomach. At this point I'm just praying and hoping my Mama Bee Belly Butter is actually working.

The News Clip

2009-07-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Okay this is the best I can do. I'm media challenged and don't know how to get the actual video on here, so here is the link to watch it. Enjoy.

http://www.wsmv.com/video/20154012/

We're Semi-Famous

2009-07-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Well Brett and I finally took our story and complaints about our wild animal owning neighbors to Channel 4 News in Nashville and were successful in doing one thing at least. We really really ticked off our neighbors. But only the ones that own the crazy animals and maybe one lady that forgot to put a bra on before appearing on TV. I'm trying to figure out how to get the video clip on here, but they haven't posted it on the news website and the one that is on Facebook I can't get, because my sister-in-law posted it.

But here is how everything went down. The reporter and camera man showed up at our house and then we went in the backyard to do the interview. As we were getting ready to shoot it, all of our friendly neighbors showed up to watch. They wired me up with a mic and we were ready to start being interviewed. I started the interview and Brett interjected here and there. I think they talked to us for about 15 minutes or so. Then they wrapped it up and just wanted to get a few more shots around the yard and of my belly. Yes, that's right, they put the camera on the tri-pod and shot a video of my belly. Too bad no on told me I had a huge piece of lint on my black shirt! Or that I was slouching during the interview.

Anyway, as they were wrapping things up our crazy neighbor lady started screaming and cussing about us being perverts and we need to put the camera away before she calls the cops. I was thinking to myself, "Go ahead and call them, I'd love to put this on record in case you nutcases try to pull anything." Then the reporter said he was going to go over to their house and try to get their side of the story. I just told him, "If you think that lady was friendly, just wait until you meet her husband." And I rolled my eyes. When it was all said and done and we were through talking to all of our lovely neighbors, we went inside to get some dinner. As I was passing the front window I noticed a police car sitting out front. Yep, they really did call the cops. Which I had no problem with at all, seeing as we didn't do anything wrong.

The cop asked us what was going on and we explained to him the mess. He even said his grandparents live down the street and they knew there was a goat in the neighborhood, because they could hear it at night. Then he told us that our neighbors are seeking a lawyer to sue us for harassment. I almost had to stop myself from laughing at that point. But wait...it gets better. Then he proceeded to explain that they were calling us peeping Toms and that we stare out our windows all the time at their children. Are you kidding me?! Brett works about 12 hours everyday and I work 9, so when do we have time to stare at their children. They told the cop that we know their children's behavior patterns and all this and that. Seriously, could you people get any crazier? Nope, I don't think so.

Anyway, I was completely disappointed in the news story, because it didn't convey the message I was trying to get across. It basically made us just look like we were complaining about the wild animals for the sake of complaining. They cut out the part of me explaining how the goat charged through our fence, destroyed part of my garden, and destroyed other things in our yard. Nope, we just looked like complainers. But now my next step is to find out who the property owner is and try to get these people evicted. Having a rental property in the neighborhood already hurts property values, but when you have people like this renting a house, it hurts them even more. I am committed to having the animals or even the people kicked out of the neighborhood and I won't stop until it gets done.

I hope these idiots do try and sue us, because then I won't feel bad about counter-suing for defamation of character and property damage. Fools!