Stanley Steamer Gets Carpets Cleaner

"Stanley Steamer gets carpets cleaner" 

This little jingle has been stuck in my head for about three weeks now. The reason? My poor little dudes is sick. She is back to throwing up this week all over our house, and we cannot figure out what is wrong with her. After three days of cleaning up puke from our carpets, we decided to take her to the vet. You are probably wondering why we didn't take her earlier. She doesn't act sick and she did get better when we gave her a bland diet of chicken and rice. However, her little upset belly came back so off to the vet we went. 

We took her on Wednesday night. A bad night for a vet visit because I saw two things that brought me to tears...a man leaving the vet in tears with only a leash and a women in tears sitting with her elderly cat. At that point, I was ready to scoop Lexi up and run like the wind. My emotions couldn't handle it. At that point, our visit seemed very insignificant.

I stayed, and I am glad I did because Lexi was really dehydrated from all of her throwing up. She had to get fluids and a shot. Then, we left the vet with special food and antibiotics for her to take during the week. Getting Lexi to eat is hard enough. She is not really interested in food at all so I knew this would be a nightmare.

We tried giving her the special diet food on Thursday night, and she wouldn't even go near it. I felt so bad. I knew she was starving and I couldn't give her ANYTHING! I felt horrible. She just kept staring at me. She was sitting in front of the refrigerator (I keep her treats on top of the fridge) and she was just begging me, pleading with me to give her a treat. I didn't and I felt really, really bad about it. 

Yesterday, I got home from work and she still hadn't eaten anything. I felt so bad so I gave her a little bit of her regular food and she woofed it down. The poor girl was starving. I did manage to give her the antibiotic with that food so I didn't feel that all was lost. 

Dobbie and I were ready to relax and watch a week's worth of DVR when all of a sudden, my poor dudes pulled the trigger. She puked right in our bedroom on the floor. What is wrong with my little girl? The vet said if our special diet doesn't work, we will have to get her an x-ray and do some more tests...so keep your fingers crossed that she eats this "special" food gets better. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that I have the will power to not give her anything besides her "new" suggested diet.

31 Weeks

I am a day late, but I am 31 weeks pregnant! 9 weeks to go...can you believe we are in the single digits?!? 9 weeks is nothing! We will be holding and cuddling our baby girl in no time! Just in two days of being 31 weeks pregnant, I am noticing some significant changes!

At 31 weeks, I ...
* am starting to get itchy skin because it is really starting to stretch to the limit. It is very, very tight, and my "inny" belly button is almost gone. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't pop out, but that might be my path. I am still lubing it up with belly lotion every day and night. I hope it is helping.

* know that my baby girl's head is already down! Her butt and legs are up by ribs and she is moving all around. I think she is starting to run out of room to move because I can really feel & notice when she is trying to stretch out. I can't "see" her little limbs yet, but I feel them. They are rock solid and it feels like she is pushing out for longer periods at a time. Dobbie can feel it too when he puts his hand on my belly, and he loves it. It feels amazing because I am starting to recognize her movements. I can picture how she is moving when I feel it!

* am not wearing my wedding rings anymore. I can still fit them, but at certain times during the day if I eat something really salty, they get uncomfortable and tight. I thought it would be best not to mess with that so I took them off. Although, I am still wearing them for special occasions. I just don't wear them to work everyday.

*still crave cereal. I love sugary cereals like fruity pebbles, trix, cocoa puffs, and lucky charms. I also really crave pasta. In the beginning, I craved mostly fruit like grapes and watermelon, but not too much any more.

*look like this

* survived my first full week of work with the kids. I jumped around, sat on the carpet, laid on the science lab floor, stood on chairs, and I am doing it all with a smile. I wonder how much longer my body will let me do these things with the first graders!

The books say our little girl is around 16 inches long and she weighs about 3.5 pounds. She can move her head from side to side and she is in there sucking her thumb! I cannot put into words how much I want to meet this little girl.

Confessions of a Pregnant Woman

Pregnancy is a privilege. A tiny miracle. I know how truly lucky and blessed I am to experience being pregnant. I have been blessed with a healthy pregnancy, and I have been all smiles. BUT I think it is time for me to tell the truth. I have some confessions to make. There have been some things, minor things, but still some things that I have not been able to get off of my mind for the past 30 weeks.

I confess... I lie to perfect strangers. I lie about my due date when I am asked by a stranger because I am so self conscious about my weight and how big I look. I usually say "Oh, the end of October or Oh, the beginning of November." A little white lie won't hurt anyone will it?

I confess...I pee my pants when I sneeze. It doesn't happen every time, but it has happened more than once. It happened suddenly one day when I was having another one of my wonderful allergy attacks. Anyone need a gift idea...how about Depends? How embarrassing!

I confess...I drink caffeine. Every day. I know people say a little caffeine is okay, but I feel like a bad mommy. I feel guilty yet every morning I still have a cup of coffee, and as I write this, I am thinking about how maybe I will get Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee on my way to work tomorrow.

I confess...I have eaten lunch meat on a handful of occasions. Am I some kind of food addict that I can't give up a hoagie for 9 months? What is wrong with me?

I confess...I get terribly annoyed by people who ask me how I am feeling every day. I feel great now leave me alone. Do you really want to know that I have been constipated or that I am depressed about how much weight I have gained? No, you don't so please stop asking.

I confess...I get EVEN more annoyed by people who ask me if we have picked out names yet? Yes, I have picked out a name, and I probably won't tell you because I don't want to know your opinion on the name that I plan on calling my daughter. I am not interested in your trying to change my mind or tell me if you like it or not because she is my daughter and not yours. So there.

I confess...I have been an emotional wreck! I can go from being sweet to the wicked witch of the west in five seconds flat. It is like I am on some kind of mood altering drug that causes me to flip at the drop of a hat. Dobbie, I hate to break it to you, but I have heard it gets worse right after I have the baby. Uh Oh.

I am glad to have gotten that off my chest. Thanks for listening. Now, my ears are open. Do you have any confessions that you need to get off of your chest?

A Lovely Day for a Lovely Friend

Yesterday, I helped a friend celebrate an exciting day. My friend, S, had her baby shower. Her due date is a few weeks before mine, and she is having a baby girl too! I met S this year, and she quickly became a great friend as we went through our pregnancies together. It was so great having another first time mom to share the experience with. We go to the same doctor, we will deliver at the same place, we registered together, and we went to baby classes together! She even helped me with the worst task ... buying maternity clothes in .... wait for it....... size LARGE! :)

Yesterday was a lovely day, and I am so happy I was there to help celebrate her baby girl. Congratulations S&B! You will be the best parents to one lucky little girl.

Here I am with my big belly before leaving! This is 30 weeks pregnant!

I love the way her gift turned out. Everyone loves a goody basket.

I got to the restaurant right on time. It was an exciting day because on my way I found out some great news!  I was so excited! After I got off the phone, I rushed inside!

My friend S looked wonderful, and we had a great time. The food was delicious and it never stopped coming. They served us so much food...I was stuffed to the brim! There were gifts galore, and they were all decked out in pink, pink, pink! The gift table was filled with beautiful gifts. 

With all of the beautiful things, there was one gift that stole my heart.

This little elephant won me over. I couldn't stop touching it. Isn't he so sweet? I have to find out where I can get one of them for my baby girl. I think every girl should have an elephant as cute and soft as this.

My friend S is so clever. She had the cutest idea, and she asked that everyone write advice or a wish for her and baby in this scrapbook. I love the idea! 

I had such a nice day, and I am so over the moon happy for my friend S. She was beaming all day, and I look forward to sharing my special day with all of the special people in my life. 

Here I am with S and our future BFFs inside!

Baby Basics & Breastfeeding

A ball of stress, a worry wart, a nervous nelly. These are all names that I have been called at some point of my life. These traits are starting to manifest as we get closer to the delivery date. I am realizing that 10 weeks will fly by...then what?

My anxieties are starting to keep me up at night (along with my heavy weight boxing champion of the world rocking my belly). My life is about to change, and I don't think I have fully understood that. I am so excited for the change, but I am nervous. Will I be a good mommy? Will I know what decisions to make? Will my baby girl sleep and eat? Will she be healthy? Will I nurse and for how long? What about right after she is born?

I have so many questions running through my head all day long. We decided to take a few classes to ease our worries. The first class we went to was Baby Basics. This was like infant care 101. There was a lot of information given, but most of it seemed like common sense. The most useful part was the information about the car seat, but I won't feel better about that until I figure out how to install the car seat safely!

The next class we went to was a breastfeeding class.

I don't even know what to say about this class. Remember how I said we went to these classes to feel better and ease our worries....ummm yea... well this class made it worse!

I left worrying about breast infections, mastitis, bloody nipples, blocked milk ducts, need I say more. Dobbie kept reminding me that those things are uncommon, but they have to give us all of the information. I felt like crying! What am I getting myself into?!?!?

How about the pressure to make sure the baby breastfeeds in the first hour after birth?!?! LIKE WHAT???

Being a first time mom is one of the scariest things I will do in my life. At the same time, it is one of the most exciting. I am terrified of the details, but I am not terrified of being a mom. I am excited beyond words. I already feel like I know my baby girl so well. I know her movements. I know that she likes when I have some sugary snack. I know that she doesn't like really loud noises!

Do you think she knows me? Do you think she knows how much I love her already?

A Day Off

Yesterday, I had a much needed day off. It was so wonderful to have some time to myself, and I had plans. I had BIG plans. I wanted to go to my classroom and finish up some projects. My goal is to get ahead of the game. I had every intention of going to school for a few hours then hitting up Destination Maternity. I have been talking about going shopping all week. I think I am secretly putting it off because I am dreading trying on clothes and looking at myself in the mirror. I had every intention of cleaning my house and finally tackling this dreadful job.

Instead, I had an impromptu day of cooking and hanging out with Lexi! I have always made homemade pesto. However, I always just "guestimated" the ingredients. I would usually end of with pesto that was too wet or pesto that was a little too garlicky. It still tasted delicious though! I decided to try again with a little help from MckMama. You can find her homemade pesto recipe here.

I started with a beautiful bunch of home grown basil that I picked up at Duffield's Farm Market yesterday on my way home from work.

I am practicing with my 50mm f/1.8 lens. I love the blurry background.

I put it on Barilla spinach and ricotta tortellini and it was delicious! I have leftovers for lunch at work today too!

Mmm Mmm Good!

Other than that, I threw the frisbee for Lexi and just relaxed and hung out around the house. There is nothing better than a day off like that. One thing is for sure...Lexi loved it (not that you could tell from the pictures!)

Too busy looking for squirrels to chase.

Poor Dudes...my only muse. My little girl is 3 already and look at how her face is turning gray!

30 Weeks

30!!!! I love that I am 30 weeks pregnant. I am shocked at how quickly this time has flown by. With 10 weeks to go, I am giddy with excitement to meet this little girl. I am At 30 weeks, I...

* am grateful to my honey. He has really stepped up to the plate. He gives me a much needed nightly foot rub. He is sensitive to the changes my body is going through and the emotional roller coaster that this has created in me. He takes care of all things that fall under the umbrella of "housekeeping." I love you Dobbie. Thank you.

* am in the beginning stages of not being able to sleep through the night. This baby wakes up slamming me around 3am, and it lasts for about an hour.

* still haven't ordered the tree decal for the nursery. I can't commit to one! I want her room to be perfect! Now, I am debating between a tree decal for the nursery or just ordering hand painted wooden wall letters to match her bedding.


* STILL have not put my house back together after cleaning out the nursery! I should make that a goal for this weekend. I have kept the spare bedroom door closed for 3 weeks now just hoping that the mess will go away.

* cannot bend over! Today, Dobbie had to help me strap my sandals :( 


* have NOTHING to wear! Going back to work this week was hard because I have no clothes that I can wear to work that are comfortable and look professional. A trip to Destination Maternity is in my future.

* realize it is all worth it! I love my baby girl so much that it hurts!