Amyschmamey

Avery Claire 2 Month Photobomb

2012-02-03T14:48:00.000-06:00

Photo Bomb time. First, I thought I would update you and let you know that I am doing much better emotionally. A friend of mine gave me a ton of supplements. One of the main ones was something called SamE... or Cell Food. It has helped me tremendously. No more crying spells and I feel so much closer to Avery. Thank goodness. I still have some turmoil in my life, but I'm handling everything a lot better.

Anyway. Moving on. Avery is 8 weeks today, but turns 2 months on February 9. I have a butt load of tests the week of the 9th so I thought I would get her pictures out of the way now. She was pretty good throughout then she had her melt down. So here you go. Avery Claire... 2 months (8 weeks) PHOTO BOMB!!!

Sad Schmamey

2012-01-29T20:35:00.002-06:00

Putting off studying for Anatomy right now. Not for long though. I am going to make a 2-3 hour run of it here in a bit.

First off, I thought I would share with you a collage of Avery's bath time. She likes bath time. She will just lay there and move around ever so slightly and be content. Often times I use it to gently keep her awake. Here she is fast asleep... all the pokes, prods, and yelling couldn't even startle her, ha. Put her in the bath and she is awake and happy. Can't beat that.

I actually got to have some Bubble Tea recently. It was nice.

I have had some major turmoil in my life as of late. I don't really want to go into detail. I am trying to look for the bright spots though. Trying to focus on school. As stressful as it is, it's an escape and a release. So, not much for schmamey to be smiling about...

On top of all of this I have been struggling with Postpartum Depression. I have never experienced anything like it. It's like my thoughts are covered with a black sludgy oil coating. Silly as that sounds. I am struggling mainly with feelings of hopelessness and disconnection from Avery. With a lot of the negative things going on in my life, it contributes to the overall sadness I feel.

I am going to be starting a regimen of natrual remedies for depression and hormonal imbalance thanks to a couple friend of mine. I look forward to seeing if it helps.

Not much weight loss to speak of to go toward my "40 Weeks to Put it on 40 Weeks to Lose it". I have until August 17. Right now I am tipping the scales at 150...

I hope all of you are doing well... I will do my best to make the time to comment back to all you wonderful people. I miss blogging. I miss a lot of things.

On Second Thought

2012-01-19T10:18:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh!

I knew I was going to have a lot less time once school started but I REALLY have a lot less time.

So. I am not going to say that I won't blog at all in the next 4 months, but there will be no set times for blogging for sure. I don't want to add to my schedule unnecessarily and stress myself out.

I will try to blog as much as I can, but for now that is looking like it won't be very often. Homework and School stuff in general will always take precedence over blogging.

If you want to keep up with me in between that time I do update the quick and easier social networks quite often.

iPhone users: I am on Instagram as Amyschmamey. I update Instagram on the regular so please add me. Seriously... anyone of you who read this blog can add me on there and I will add you back... There isn't one person I can think of that I wouldn't add... unless you are one of those people who just like to amass followers and not really care about those that follow you...

I am on facebook and Path as well. Look me up. I update facebook and Instagram the most though.

You may get a surprise blog here and there within the next 4 months but I am not promising anything.

See you on the regular after May 17th.

With Love,
the overworked housewife, mommy, and student. :)

Avery Claire One Month Photo Bomb

2012-01-10T20:37:00.001-06:00

*Hat in first picture courtesy of Christa of Sugarfoot Speaks
*Blanket in last picture knitted by my friend Adrianne.

Adjusting, Baby Blues, and Roller Skates

2012-01-09T13:02:00.000-06:00

It's been a rough last few days. Avery has been fussing a lot. If she's not sleeping she's fussing. Even when she is fed, changed, and being held. It's been daunting. It doesn't help that I have a bout of the baby blues. I'm watching it to make sure it doesn't get worse. I had the baby blues with Lindsey, but it went away at 4 weeks postpartum. I am heading into week 5 postpartum and I am still crying at the drop of a hat, stressing, getting anxiety, experiencing insomnia, hyperventilating, feeling hopeless. It's all overwhelming.

She is cute though, isn't she? ha. She really didn't want me to take her picture. She would have liked to have been sleeping as you can tell from the top right photo. She is one month old... 4 weeks and 3 days.

I have been doing a lot of hanging out with my good friend Becca from Life in Technicolor. We went roller skating. I hadn't been since I got pregnant, so that puts my last roller skating stint sometime in late February or early March. It was nice to be back... we will be going as often as possible. It's important to still do things for yourself when you have a lot going on in life.

REALLY bad picture alert! ha... but still had to post it. We'll work on getting better pics of us up.

I will be starting my weight loss journey Friday January 20... Mainly because I will be able to start working out again because I will be 6 weeks postpartum. Sneak peek, this is what I am starting with... (excuse the chipping toe nail polish)

I should be able to start my "Tubal Experience" posts next month sometime. That won't be a regular feature... probably every 2 or 3 months.

I may add in some school features too. I am so nervous and scared to start school. If anyone has anything encouraging to say about Anatomy and Physiology, please speak up now. I'm really freaking out about it.

Wishing you all a happy week.

The Plan

2012-01-03T11:58:00.001-06:00

Plans are good. Plans are great. In the long run, they are just that, plans. Who knows if they will happen or not. However, I do have plans for this blog this year. It may interest you, may not. Only time will tell.

1st. Avery Updates... and kid updates in general.
I plan to have an update everytime Avery has a well baby... and maybe monthly pictures when she turns a month old. Then of course if anything happens of interest with the other kiddos, you will hear about that as well.

2nd. A feature that I am going to call "41 Weeks to Put it on 41 Weeks to Lose it!" Which will be HOPEFULLY a weekly photo and brief update on my baby weight loss. I have 17 lbs to lose to be pre-pregnancy weight... but in the long run I would like to lose 30 lbs... possibly more... but I will be really happy with a 30 lb loss.

3rd and final feature will be called "My Tubal Experience". I tried to be witty with the title. I failed. Many of you know that I had a tubal ligation after my delivery of Avery Claire. A tubal ligation is more commonly known as "Getting your tubes tied"... Now. After I got home from the hospital I was having some pain in my side... kinda like the pain you get when you exercise too soon after eating... so I googled a lot about that and came to realize that there is a LOT of negative feedback about tubal ligations. At first I got scared and mad at myself for not researching it more before getting it done, but then I thought, it would be a cool thing for me to update you all on how my body adjusts to this change and if I have the negative side effects that so many people claim to have. That feature will likely start after my girly cycle resumes, because I won't really know until then if anything is different. That will definitely be a feature for the girls and especially the girls of child bearing age... but I feel with how much negative feedback is out there, if I can add some positive or confirm the negative it may help some of you out who would consider it

Looking forward to the New Year with Amyschmamey the blog and looking forward to your adventures in the coming year as well.

Another NEW YEAR.

2012-01-01T13:34:00.001-06:00

This is my 2011 Recap post. I already posted my Resolutions... so this is where I remember some highlights from last year and also revisit my resolutions I made for 2011 and see how I did... probably not so good. ha. Lets see.

Well. Here is my list for 2011!

1. Still weight. I want to really work hard to get down to at least 120 and even better 115. We will see. I know it's attainable. :)
ha ha ha. Well. Since I got pregnant, this one was a definite fail. Instead of ending the year at 120, I ended it at 152. Which is why this resolution made 2012's list as well. Let's hope for a better outcome on this one.

2. Be healthy. I want to go back to eating 100% organic and natural. Eat at home more and out less. Also eliminate things that are counterproductive to my health.
BAH HA HA HA! Another fail. Pregnancy throws all reason out the window in regards to food.

3. I want to master the art of keeping a clean house. I know that it is insane, with young kids, to expect everyday to have a clean house, but I sure want to have it be clean more often than not. That includes the laundry.
I actually did really good on this one. By the end of the year I have a routine and I really do great at keeping up with my house! Let's see if this continues into 2012 with a new baby and school.

4. Sing more. Whether it's in church, or just in the car. Sing more.
Nope. Another Fail.

5. Keep growing my hair. I have been so tempted to chop it off lately, but I am resisting. I want to grow my hair to mid back.
YES! I am still growing my hair! It's actually quite long now :) YIPPEE!

6. Amass some pen pals... if you are interested shoot me an email. martin.amyrenee@gmail.com
Nope. Fail. With getting pregnant, I ended up not really having this as a priority.

7. Use my camera solely for myself and my family... a session here and there would be ok, but I want to have fun with it. So much stress comes with shooting for others and pay. It also takes away from the time I can devote to being a mom. So. This year will be a major pull back with my photography business.
YAY! Another success! Definitely used my camera for all personal, with some free sessions here and there.

8. Do a lot more mommy daughter things. I want to spend more time with Lindsey. She isn't a cute cuddly baby anymore. She is a smart pretty little girl and sometimes cute cuddly Brendan walks off with more of the hugs and kisses because he is still cuddly and small. I want to make Lindsey feel special too.
I did do some mommy daughter things with her, but I should have done better so this was a fail.

9. Keep trying to be a happier person. 2010 was a happy year for me... unlike 2009. I hope that 2011 is better than 2010...
Oh gosh! This one, I didn't do horrible, but for crying out loud! I was in the pregnant condition for nearly all of 2011 and that doesn't always allow for an emotionally stable happy Amy. ha. We'll do better in 2012

10. Really. Seriously. Get control of this money thing. There is no reason that I should be in debt. Most debt is unnecessary. It's wants, not needs. So. I am going to conquer this whole money/debt thing. :)
Did pretty decent with the debt thing this year. So I'm going to call this success. We have a little debt but NOTHING like it usually is.

Now for the Highlights of 2011
I Read several new books... in January I read "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. "The Stand" by Stephen King in February as well as "The Hunger Games" series. Started the "Fallen" series in August...which I didn't finish because pretty much the books sucked ha... August was the month for sucky books because I also started "The Mortal Instruments" which was a HORRID read... I got through the first book and decided right then, this wasn't going to be a series that I could enjoy. September wasn't too bad I started the "Hush Hush" saga. I REALLY like these books. The most recent book in the saga was "Silence" and I read that in October. Loved it. So. Overall a great reading year for me.

I enrolled in college in 2011! HUGE deal.

Took a trip to Texas for the weekend and week after the 4th of July!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 Midnight show!

Going to Oklahoma to visit my cousin Kyle and Seana and getting to see an OU game.

Of course we had the pregnancy... definitely a big surprise and highlight to my 2011

(missing week 32 in the belly progression collages because it was the week that I sold my camera... I was waiting for my less expensive SLR to arrive in the mail that week)

The biggest highlight being the birth of Avery Claire on December 9...

One of the last highlights to happen this year was the engagement of my brother to Liz of the blog Liz Lemon. My brother was really secretive about this so there are no photos because NO ONE was prepared ha ha ha. Oh well. It was a magical proposal that you can read about on Liz's blog and I cannot wait for the wedding and my kids are so happy to officially have her as their Aunt Leez really soon. I am happy to call her SEEEESTER! ha ha ha.

And that, my friends, was my 2011. Hoping for a wonderful AMAZING 2012.

Avery is 3 Weeks Old!

2011-12-31T00:22:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that these 3 weeks have gone faster than that 1 week that I went past my due date! ha. I can't believe she is already 3 weeks old! This time last year I never ever thought I would have another baby EVER... 3 months later this time last year I got the shock of my life when Aunt Flo missed her visit and I had a positive pregnancy test staring me in the face.

At 3 weeks Avery is 10 lbs 6 oz. 21 1/2 inches long with a head circumference of 15 inches. 90 percentile in weight. 75 percentile in height. 90 percentile in head circumference. She's a big girl, but the pediatrician is happy with her growth because she is "following her curve well."

We are slowly getting in a routine. She likes to eat... a lot. She wakes up every 2 hours most of the time. OCCASIONALLY she will wake up every 3 or 4 hours, but more than likely every 2. Looking forward to the longer sleep cycles and hopefully they will occur at night.

I am really starting to stress out about school starting because right now, I am definitely not getting enough sleep. On a good night I get 6 hours and on a not so good night about 3-4 hours. Right now the bad are out weighing the good, but it's been nice that Dave has been on vacation. He has taken "baby duty" for 2 nights... and tonight will make 3 nights. He is sweet, but I am going to be sad when he starts work again.

Well. Here is my chunk of a 3 week old. She's sweet. Sorry it's with my phone. Somedays I just don't have the time to take pics with my good camera and edit them up... so on those days, the phone will have to do.

The Resolution Post

2011-12-29T11:54:00.001-06:00

The New Year is almost here. 2012. It is sobering to get to my age and realize just how quickly life can pass you by. I remember being in high school thinking I would never ever graduate, but 1997 rolled around and I did. I remember thinking it would be FOR EH VER before I would be 21... But the year 2000 came and turned 21. A marriage, 3 kids, and what seems like a brief blip of time later and here I am wondering why I wished those years by so quickly. Don't wish your life away. Now at the age of 32, I look at my 8 year old and shake my head... how could I have been so silly as to say that "I can't wait until she is old enough to do this and that" How could I? Now she is 8 and I am wanting time to slow down. I didn't learn my lesson. I did the same thing with Brendan... and with my pregnancy with Avery. I just couldn't wait to not be pregnant anymore. Why would I want my life to go by any faster than it already is?

I am starting school January 17. I am scared. I also find myself wishing that this time in school would go very quickly. WHY? Why would I do that? I will be 35 or 36 by the time I am finished with school. Why do I want to wish those years to go any faster?

2012 Resolutions

1. To apply myself and do awesome in school

2. Not let impatience take over. Take time to enjoy the journey.

3. Manage to parent, take classes and keep my house clean! ha.

4. Find a church and get involved... this particular resolution has been on my list for the past 2 years. Hopefully this time I can knock this one off.

5. Lose all of my unwanted weight that I have gained with all 3 pregnancies. I am hovering between 152 and 155 right now... so hopefully by the end of the year I can get down to at least 125, which is still heavier than I would like, but I will take it.
EDIT: I don't want to offend anyone. I think I end up doing this when I post weight centered ideas on my blog... I think because I am so candid about the numbers and numbers are relate-able. I need to learn to just say I want to lose 30 lbs... rather than saying what weight I want to be at. This is in NO WAY insinuating that 125 lbs is "heavy" but rather 125 lbs is "heavier" than the weight that I eventually want to end with. Right now I would be happy just to be at my pre-pregnancy Avery weight which was 135... but really I'd like to lose more. To feel good about myself and to be healthier. Ya know? I really am sorry if I offended anyone. I really didn't mean it to come across that I think 125 is heavy. It's all relative anyway. A short girl can weigh 130 and look a little bit on the fluffy side, where as a taller girl can weigh the same and look way too skinny. It's all relative. Anyway. Long story short. No offense meant.

6. Cherish my husband more.

7. Love on my kids more.

8. Embrace my friends.

9. Make it through 2012 without drastically cutting my hair.

10. Get Silver Dollar City Season Passes ;)

I hope to get to read a lot of your resolutions. HERE IS TO 2012!!! Let's make it a good year. Savor every moment, as cheesey as that sounds! Don't take life for granted.

Christmas Portraits 2011 - Spur of the Moment

2011-12-23T21:12:00.003-06:00

Today, I took a bunch of family portraits in front of the Christmas Tree. In light of being on the brink of Christmas Eve, I wanted to post them here. Thanks for following along with my personal blog this year. Looking forward to great things in 2012.

I think on New Years Eve I will share my New Years Resolution post.

Christmas Cookies and the "other kids"

2011-12-22T11:23:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting at my computer with Avery in my lap on the boppy. She goes back and forth between fussiness, so I'm hoping she cooperates long enough for me to post this.

Last night I got to bake Christmas cookies with my older kids. We made some cake sugar cookies, colored them green, put some glaze frosting on them and then embellished them with red hot candies. They are pretty good. Then I made a batch of Orange Drop Cookies and they are fantastic. The recipe didn't call for a glaze on top but I did one anyway and they are so GOOD. We had such a good time listening and singing along to the Christmas songs on the Christmas Pandora radio station.

I really hope you all are taking the time to enjoy this time of year. It's the best!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

School... Feeding Woes... and MORE PICS!

2011-12-21T10:21:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! Ok. Sometime soon I will be going through all of YOUR blogs and commenting. I really have to budget time for this kind of thing, so don't think I have forgotten you, I haven't.

I was supposed to shut this thing down for a while, but blogging is such therapy for me, I don't know if I could ever. So I guess as long as I have something to say and time to say it, there will be new posts. You will know that if things get silent on here, I am VERY VERY busy.

I scheduled my classes for school. YIKES! I am getting so freaked out. I am taking a remedial math course (I suck at math), a nutrition course, and dun dun dun... Anatomy Physiology. Groan. ha. I am so nervous. I don't even know what I need anymore. Do people just work off laptops now? Or do I need notebook paper and pencils and pens still??? GAH. I don't know!

Anyway. Avery is doing good. WARNING: BREAST FEEDING TALK. We had a little breastfeeding flub up so I have watched my milk supply slowly dwindle away. She is primarily formula fed now. This didn't matter to me with Lindsey or Brendan who were formula fed. For some reason I am taking it harder with this one. Probably because it is my last baby FOR EH VER and I really had high hopes. Lindsey was primarily formula fed after 1 month. Brendan was formula fed as soon as we got him home from the hospital.

I know a lot of women give the excuse of poor supply... but I think mine is hereditary. My mom had issues breastfeeding too. With Avery, I would feed her nearly an hour and she was still acting ravenously hungry afterward, so I would supplement her with an ounce of formula. I have NEVER made an over abundance of milk, and my supply is sensitive. For some reason pumps don't do the trick. So. I am bummed about it but what can I do?

So how did I lose my supply? Well. My nipples started bleeding... just from normal breastfeeding. Avery's latch was fine, I think she was just too eager and with an overbite it probably didn't help matters. Anyway. I told my ped that my nipples were bleeding and she told me I needed to pump until the blood was gone. She told me that babies can't digest blood and it makes them throw up their feedings. I had noticed that Avery had been spitting up a bit. So I started pumping. Well. My supply just dwindled. By the next day I could tell that my breasts weren't filling up with milk the same way. Since she was already having a hard enough time being satisfied by my milk alone, this was worrisome to me. I finally decided with school coming up, it might be better to just pump a few times a day and breastfeed and formula feed. Supplement. Well. I just wasn't pumping enough to make it worth it so I thought I should just dry up. However, I just couldn't let myself completely dry up.

Yesterday I decided to try and see if Avery would cooperate and help me get my supply back, but after days of being used to the bottle... she really doesn't want anything to do with the breast. I tried at 3 feedings and it just got worse. She would start fussing after 1 minute... and only even stay there for 4 more.

I have decided that I don't have the time to work my supply back up to a reasonable level... with school starting in January and taking a full load (12 credit hours) I am just looking at the big picture. Maybe it's good to have her already used to formula... since I won't be able to breastfeed her. UGH. So there is my failing moment. I know I don't owe anyone an explanation as to why I am not breastfeeding, but it helps for me to at least vent out that I am frustrated by it.

I wish I was one of those women who could produce milk with ease or have the time and patience to stick with it. If Lindsey and Brendan were to have exhibited bad side effects from being formula fed, I think I would be even more torn up about it, but Lindsey is so smart and loves to learn and rarely ever gets sick. Brendan is so smart too and he never gets sick either... so... I know I am not giving Avery the short end of the stick. I know she will be fine. END OF BREAST FEEDING TALK

Well, here are some more pictures that I took of my pretty girl.

I asked Dave what his favorite Avery feature was. He told me her eyes. MY favorite Avery feature is this little wrinkle she gets on her forehead when she looks up! I love her hairline. I don't know where she gets it, but I love it. I have a 4 finger forehead and so does Dave... so we don't know where she gets her cute little 3 finger forehead from.

Dave had a hand holding shot with her in the hospital pics so I needed one too.

Hope you all have a fantastic Wednesday. I will be by your blogs soon... as soon as I can scrounge some time.

Avery is 1 Week Old... What's happened in that week?

2011-12-17T20:14:00.000-06:00

The exodus of pregnancy hormones. That's what's happening. ha. Losing swelling, which is a good thing... and the shedding of many tears. It never fails I get REALLY weepy the 1st and 2nd weeks. I am bracing myself because I haven't cried yesterday or today, but I don't by any means take it for granted that I am in the clear. ha.

Avery is great. She is proving to be a daddy's girl. I haven't had that extreme connecting bonding moment with her yet... it makes me sound like a horrible mom. I think it has a lot to do with so many changes in my life right now. For the longest time it has been just Bren and I at home. Now it's Avery and Bren... and as horrible as it sounds, I struggle with missing it being just him and me. Some of you may think that sounds horrible... then maybe some of you with more than one child will get exactly what I am saying. I don't get the time to spend with him like I used to. Every waking moment goes to Avery. So far Bren has handled it quite well.

My recovery has been a bit much. You may remember me saying that I was going to get a tubal after Avery came. I followed through on that, and it added a bit of recovery time. I JUST started feeling a bit like my old self 3 days ago. Women who get these during a C section don't tend to notice the recovery from a tubal... but when you have a typical delivery it's an added incision and some added pain and discomfort. It's been a challenge, but I am better... I was actually able to clean my house today. Dave took the kids to see his grandpa and I stayed home and got so much done. I feel so good about it.

Weight. I was really sad because Avery weighed 8lbs 8oz at birth... the rest of the junk that comes out with her weighs about 5 lbs total... I weighed 173 when I went in to deliver her... Got home on the following Sunday made the mistake of weighing myself... 167... yeah... how do you figure that? UGH! However... in between Sunday and today I have shed a lot of water weight because I am currently at 155. Not bad. My stomach is slowly looking less and less pregnant and I hopefully can keep losing. Goal weight is 125. So. Let's see if I can get there. If I have the time between school and baby I will post some on it.

I registered my classes and I am scared out of my wits to start school January 17!

That's about all. Here are some 1 week pictures of my Avery girl.

OH. MY. GOSH! My World is Spinning!

2011-12-11T18:04:00.002-06:00

No matter how many children you have, this never gets to be old hat! The birth of a child still has this crazy life changing, world flipping effect on you as it does with any children. Avery Claire has captured all of our hearts. We are completely in love right now.

The abbreviated birth story is that I went in the morning of Decemeber 9th to be induced since I was a week and 1 day past my due date. We got there, got into a room at about 10. My amazing nurse got me hooked up to the monitors and got my IV put in. As she walked in the room with the bag of pitocin... MY WATER BROKE! ha ha ha. Ironic. I was so in shock. I convinced them to let me wait to see if labor would begin on it's own. It didn't so we did end up using pitocin. They gave me a small dose and increased it gradually, but baby wasn't handling the pitocin very well even in small doses, so we ended up having to shut it off, but it didn't matter. Labor had picked up. There was a brief scare where things got really painful for me and could have ended in a C-section... Avery tried to flip transverse breech on us during labor ha. She ended up re-engaging and everything turned out alright in the end. Labor started at about 2pm I delivered my healthy 8 lb 8 oz baby girl at 7:44pm. 20.5 inches long... she was my biggest baby yet. I love her to pieces and can't get enough of looking at her. She has stolen my heart. It's amazing to me how even though I have been there done that, the birth of a new baby is still so wondrous and evokes the strongest emotions we are capable of feeling. This part of having a baby is something I will always treasure. I know I complain about the rest, but this part... you will get no complaints from me.

So without further ado... I give you the photos that mainly Dave took of our day in Labor and Delivery on the birthday of Avery Claire.

updating the masses of the progress...

looking a little worse for wear ha. Contractions had picked up and the ordeal with trying to figure out if she was transverse or not was PAINFUL... so I may or may not have cried... even sobbed a little... I was making it though.

My AMAZING nurse. She seriously was awesome! All of my nurses were!

Thinking "really Dave, you are taking a picture now?" ha.

Fresh out of the oven... and I am completely in love.

The best Dr. in the WHOLE UNIVERSE! So glad Dave snapped this! :)

Now for the CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!! Dave took all of these too and I LOVE them so much. I need to get some of them framed. So awesome!

This concludes my pregnancy journey. It's been quite the experience, and I'm so glad to be in the next phase.

40 Weeks + 6 days (basically 41 weeks)

2011-12-07T21:45:00.001-06:00

STILL HERE and pregnant! ha. Today was an ok day for my temperament. I cried twice. ha. I know that I said I wouldn't take anymore pregnancy pictures, but I was just emotional and grumpy. Here is my 41 week belly.

These are the jeans that I spilled bacon grease on. FINALLY got the stain out. I should have figured it would take hot water and stain remover...dur.

Anyway. I took a 41 week picture because I knew I would be sad if I didn't have a weekly photo to tell the story of how I was pregnant a week longer than I should have been.

I have 32 hours from now to go into labor on my own. If not I will be induced on Friday. I don't know if I will update tomorrow or not. I might... especially if I am really nervous about the induction and if I am wanting to pass the time...

Have a happy Wednesday night and Thursday day. I will try.

40 Weeks + 5 days Still here in the Pregnant Condition

2011-12-06T19:22:00.002-06:00

Yes. I'm still pregnant. Emotions are in check today. Yesterday wasn't such a great day for me.

Today, I took it easy. I sat on the couch for a lot of it and watched Vampire Diaries... I know, I'm a dork... but it's actually a good show.

Anyway. I got a phone call from my Ob's office. They scheduled my induction for Friday morning at 6am. So I'm prettty certain I will no longer be pregnant by the days end on the 9th. I am still holding out hope that she comes on her own. I would love for my last experience with childbirth to be as natural as possible. I can't make my body go into labor though. Someone mentioned wanting to know what all I have tried... well, let me see if I can make a list of it... WARNING some may be TMI! But they are all actual suggested methods so just cover your eyes and sing "la la la la" if you really don't want to know... ha.
Pineapple (fresh with pieces of the core)
spicey food
chinese food
water break cookies
sex
expressing milk (nipple stimulation)
pressure point massage (accupressure)
walking
bouncing
swaying
hot showers
eggplant parmeseana (2x)
raspberry leaf tea
chai tea

I'm not sure if I am missing anything, but seriously, I have tried everything except Castor Oil and Evening Primrose Oil. The EPO my doctor nixed. He said it wasn't proven to work and has only given some of his patients infections so he said no to that. I never asked him about Castor oil, but if I know my Dr. he wouldn't be for it... So. There you have it. My self induction methods failed and TMI for the day.

Oh well. This will all be over on Friday. Not the way I intended but I trust my Dr. and I trust that everything will be ok.

I am getting really excited to meet her! Seriously you all. It's starting to become reality that I will have another child in my arms.

Thank you all again for going along with me on this. I know sometimes I could be "debbie downer" and I never want to discourage anyone... I just wanted this account of this pregnancy to be accurate. I think you all understand that. I could have pretended everything was awesome and happy all the time, but that just isn't me. I like a good candy coating, but only on Peanut Butter M&M's... :)

Keep your eye out. Next update will be baby and birth story, then this blog will be getting a break.

Thanks for the support and encouragment,
Love,
Amy

40 Weeks + 4 days

2011-12-05T12:38:00.002-06:00

Oh my GOOOOOOOSH! ha. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be here 4 days past my due date STILL PREGNANT!!! It just never crossed my mind!

I'm going to attempt to be as positve as possible about this. Had my Non Stress Test today. For those who have never been pregnant or who may have never had to have a NST, it's basically where they put this tight belt around your belly to monitor contractions and baby's heart beat and you have to press a button everytime you feel baby move. The NST went well. Baby scored perfectly. Way to go Avery. I was contracting regularly... duh. The tech was all excited about this, but I know the difference between productive and not productive contractions... those were all braxton hicks. Regular braxton hicks, but nothing that will get baby out.

Then I had a diagnostic ultrasound. They took the baby's measurements to see how big she is averaging... she is looking to be 8lbs 6oz right now. Although ultrasound measurements can be off, I tend to believe this one. ha. She feels bigger than my other two. My fluid levels are GREAT which means my placenta is healthy which also means I could go another week or two ha. I HOPE NOT!!!

I am VERY thankful that all is healthy with her. So thankful you have no idea... Wanted to get that out there before anyone jumped on my case about "I should just be happy she's healthy" because I am, it's a huge relief... but keep in mind, the longer she stays in, the likeliness of her passing meconium in the sac increases... and that has it's dangers. Even though my placenta is healthy now, doesn't mean it will be in a few days or next week. So. Yes, I am thankful, but on the same thought, I am very much ready to have her safely out.

We are scheduling an induction for Friday or Saturday if baby doesn't come on her own before then. My doctor is only on call until 5pm tomorrow, then he will be out Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday. As much as I want my doctor to deliver, at this point I really just want to have baby so I could care less who gets her out of me.

I don't think I am going to be taking anymore weekly photos. I might take one with my phone, but I am just over this whole pregnancy. It's not exciting to me anymore. The top of my belly feels like it could rip open, my pubic bone feels like it will break in two with the slightest movement... my heartburn is out of control, I'm swelling... It's just past the point of being any kind of fun. I cry anytime anyone gives me sympathy or talks about me still being pregnant... I am seriously overly emotional right now. If I have down time, I sit there and shake my head at this whole situation.

Well. Sorry if anyone is offended by any of this. It's just my feelings. I am a pretty honest gal. I know no other way to be.

I know that some of you women out there have gone more overdue than I currently am, but trust me, once you go past that due date... it's just all overdue.

Well. I am going to get back to doing some housework... hopefully I get some REAL contractions going.

Love.
Amy

40 weeks + 3 days

2011-12-04T13:33:00.000-06:00

Still here and very much pregnant. No contractions. Everything is feeling snug and tight. I am getting a little down about it, because there is NOTHING absloutely nothing that I can do to make baby come out. I have exhausted all of the silly self induction methods to no avail.

Before you overload me with "baby will come when baby is ready" comments... just know that unless you are in my shoes you have NO IDEA how frustrating this is. Even those who have been in my shoes... a lot of them have forgotten how they felt being over due. I am not unhappy at still being pregnant. I promise. I am fine with that. What I am not fine with is that everyday over my due date I go, my placenta is aging and baby is growing bigger. I am running out of space and I am stressing out over every span of non movement from baby. I am also stressing because I don't want a medical induction. I want to go into labor on my own. I am upset because I have a mandatory STAR meeting to attend to schedule my classes for January on December 15. Everyday I go over due, it is making that meeting much more difficult to attend.

I am not trying to be downer, but this is just how it is for me right now. I am trapped and have no control over anything. My emotions are up and down. One minute I am content and fine, but the next I'm pleading with the baby to come out already.

I know complaining does no good, but neither does pretending that everything is wonderful and great.

At least they decreased the snow prediction for tomorrow. I love a good snow, but I'd like to be able to get to the hospital. For one, I have an ultrasound early in the morning. For two, if I go into labor tonight, I'd like the driving conditions to not be dangerous.

Well. I think that is all for my complaining. Right now, I am feeling no contractions. Occasional braxton hicks, but nothing regular. Even after walking all day yesterday, I feel no different. If I go into labor tonight, it will be a Christmas Miracle.

Sorry if these posts are annoying. They are more for me than anyone else... just to get out what I'm feeling. I like to know that I can look back on this and see exactly what was going on in my head. I am discouraged, frustrated, and worried. That is how I am feeling on this 3rd day past my EDD.

Still Pregnant. 40 weeks +2 days.

2011-12-03T08:42:00.002-06:00

I'm still with child ha ha ha. I'm in a stage of pregnancy that I lovingly refer to as "Pregnancy Overtime" :)

Last night Dave and I got the kids watched. We were going to go out to eat but I started having painful contractions that were 4-5 minutes apart. I thought that we might be having a baby. HA. NOT! After timing them for about an hour, they fizzled out. Again. So I am still pregnant. We did go eat thought... at Wendy's. Then we went grocery shopping, and went home and watched Thor... WHICH I REALLY LIKED... surprisingly.

I am not too upset about this, I promise. The only tough part is the waiting and not knowing. Is labor beginning? Is it not? It's also rough when the baby has bouts of not moving. This happened last night. I drank some orange juice though and she started pretty much dancing around in there. ha.

My clothes situation is fixed for now. I am using the larger jeans I got for me to wear post baby and just putting my tight cammies over the top. I really wish I would have thought of this earlier. They have these things called Bella Bands at Target and other stores, but I never bought one because I couldn't imagine spending thirty some odd dollars on a stretchy tube of fabric to put over the top of my jeans during pregnancy. This solution is much cheaper and it works fairly well. I am now more optimistic that I can make it a few more days or another whole week if I have to.

Not sure how often I will be updating. So far it's been daily since going into overtime... it helps pass a little bit of time. I guess I just want to remember my frame of mind. Most pregnant women are doing everything in their power by week 37 to evict baby. I did a few things that were supposed to help, like eating a whole fresh pineapple, eating spicey food, eating eggplant, and a couple of other things that aren't appropriate for blogging ha... but never castor oil. Castor oil tends to have the highest rate of success, but I seriously don't feel like putting myself or my baby through that, so I have steered clear.

Self induction methods are really just a way to pass the time for me. You know they won't work, but there's always that "what if"... so it adds some fun to this not so fun time. If you go into it knowing it won't send you into labor, it won't frustrate you either. The bottom line is, the only way to truly force your body into labor, and even occassionally this won't work, is to be medically induced. I do NOT want to be induced... so I am really hoping my body gets it's act straight.

Well. Here's to hoping Saturday doesn't DRAG on.

P.S. Every now and then I like to plug blogs. I really like this one. She is expecting a baby and she loves animals! She has some wicked cool tattoos and she is really nice! So stop by her blog and check her out...

Aaaaand Today is Going to be Rough.

2011-12-02T08:23:00.001-06:00

One step forward two steps back. That seems to be true to me at least. Yesterday I was a bit more optimistic. I even had fun. My friend Becca from Life in Technicolor brought over these crazy cookies called "Break My Water Cookies" ha ha ha. They are like spicey gingerbread cookies. I knew they would do nothing to get labor going but it was a fun idea and I ate like 5 of them, and they were really good. Then we walked around Walmart and talked a lot. She is an awesome person.

While at Walmart we found PEPPERMINT MARSHMALLOWS!!! Pretty much the best invention ever. So I had hot chocolate and peppermint marshmallows last night. Yum.

This morning... woke up not feeling so happy and optimistic. It wasn't truly horrible until I remembered that last night I had to fold down the panel on my maternity jeans because it was cutting into my belly too much... then I remembered how they kept rolling down and not staying up. Then realization hit... I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR ANYMORE! I have one pair of maternity jeans... they aren't working anymore... and my shirts are starting to climb up my belly. So what do I do? I cry...

Then I remember "everything's not lost" and I get out my "big jeans" that I bought at the thrift store for after I have the baby... I get innovative and use one of my lycra cammies... I don't put the shoulder straps on and pull it down over the top of my unbuttoned/unzipped jeans and I think I have a solution worked out...

(ignore my messy mirror, my kids sometimes don't know how to spit their toothpaste in the sink... as for the counter mess, that's all me, ha!)

Then I am cleaning the kitchen and spill bacon grease all over the jeans... solution ruined and I'm back to the "depths of dispair"...

40 Weeks 1 Day...

waiting on you Avery.

Doing Better Today

2011-12-01T14:10:00.001-06:00

I am feeling better about everything today. Yesterday I was completely bummed out, but I had a time to reason it out with myself. I am coming to terms with the fact that my doctor might not deliver my baby. I am ok with going over my due date if that happens (which is looking likely since there is only 10 more hours left in today). I have never actively tried to evict baby. I have only ever done really cheesey self induction myths. The only real reason I was doing any of those was to pass the time and have a little "what if" fun. At first I was really upset about making it to my due date still pregnant, but I know that she has to come out sometime, and how exciting is it to wait for your body to do it's thing naturally? I am scared of medical induction anyway after my experience with Brendan. His birth story can be found here.

Did you know that Doctors STILL don't know what triggers labor to begin? There is speculation and theories but nobody really knows what starts that process of progesterone drop to trigger a sequence of events and hormone releases in your body for baby to make his/her way out? I find that interesting. They know the hormones, they know how to mimic it, but they don't know what NATURALLY triggers a woman's body to go into labor. I thought that was neat.

So. While I sit and wait for baby to come I did my belly growth progression photo.

It's really neat to me how you can see how she moved to different positions in my belly on different days, just by how my belly is shaped or how high and low it is. I was really glad that I took weekly photos to document this. I regret not doing this with my other two. I am thankful I have one pregnancy photo documented though. I love that I can look back at my blog and remember all the cravings, weight gain, excitedness, grumpiness, irrational thought, happiness, discontentment... it's all here and I can read back on it and remember these moments that are so quickly forgotten.

Anyway. Signing out... a more positive thinking, but VERY pregnant, Amy.

40 Weeks

2011-11-30T16:11:00.001-06:00

Well, I am completely 100% bummed out. I am crying blubbering mess right now. It's actually really embarrassing. First off let's get the belly photo up... Here I am Full Term... 40 Weeks.

I don't think this picture shows how big I am very well, but oh well. I have very few clothes that fit me currently so this will have to do.

Anyway. My appointment was very discouraging. First of all, by not going into labor Monday, Tuesday, or even today... I missed my chance this week of having MY doctor deliver my baby. This is such a huge disappointment for me. This doctor has been my OB/gyn for nearly 11 years... since before I was having babies. He delivered both Lindsey and Brendan. I am an emotional wreck that he isn't on call for the rest of this week. The doctor that is on call, I am not so sure about, but maybe he will surprise me and not be that bad, if I do go into labor this weekend. I have heard conflicting reviews on him, but the people who like him REALLY like him. So I should probably just relax.

My due date is tomorrow. I am 100% sure of this because I am 100% sure of when my LMP was. (if you don't know what LMP is... google it)... If this little girl is anything like her big sis, she will come tomorrow sometime. If not... I am really... for once in my life, hoping that I make it through the weekend until my doctor is back on call.

So. Not much else to tell. Weight was 172... I am holding steady in that department. I am feeling LOTS of pressure in my pelvic region. Baby is getting into position I am sure.

I wanted to leave you with some positivity even if I am not feeling very positive right now.

If you are trying to start a family or even thinking about having a baby, please don't let anything that I have said discourage you! OK... every pregnancy is different and everybody handles pregnancy different. Some women love it, some hate it... I hate it... for the most part... but you could very well love it, so please... go forth and multiply. Have babies. It's so worth it. My kids bring so much light to my world and it makes every bit of this worth it. I hope to be able to follow along with some of your pregnancy blog posts soon.

As much as I claim to hate being pregnant, I want you all to know, I am over the moon excited about meeting this little girl... and I feel extremely blessed to have been able to carry three lives inside me! It's been magical as well as annoying. ha.

I have an appointment Monday if I make it through the weekend still pregnant. I will be getting an ultrasound to keep tabs on baby and make sure she is still doing ok. If not... I will have a baby update for you soon.

Thank you all for following along on this journey and if I remain pregnant a bit longer, thanks for going through overtime with me.

Much Love.

Just Don't - A Comprehensive List for the Non-Pregnant

2011-11-28T13:34:00.001-06:00

The "Just Don't" list:

1. Don't tell me I'm either "fat or pregnant" in front of a bunch of Thanksgiving guests that I don't know very well.

2. Don't tell me you will be mad if I don't text or call the moment I head out to the hospital. I assure you it will be the last thing on my mind... I'm sure my parents or husband will notify who needs to be notified.

3. Don't tell me when is a good time for YOU for me to have MY baby. If I could make this baby come out on a whim, believe me, it would be at MY convenience... not yours. Since I can't do that, just know it frustrates me, and just don't say it.

4. Don't wish me past my due date so that you can be there for the baby's birth. I've been pregnant for nearly 40 weeks, I don't like the thought of carrying this on any longer than necessary. People go over their due dates all the time. If I am one of those people, so be it... but I don't want people wishing it on me. It's not very nice.

5. Don't stare at me! Yes, I'm short. Yes, my belly is large... but seriously... I'm not the first pregnant short person ever. If you're that in shock, take my picture... but for the love of all that is good and right... STOP STARING AT ME!

6. Don't ask me if I'm ready to pop! You see my belly, you see it's largeness. If you want to ask an acceptable question just ask me when I'm due and we'll go from there.

7. Don't tell me that I have a built in table. All it does is make the f bomb swim around in my head and I don't know if I am capable of keeping it from pouring out of my mouth directed at you.

8. Don't freak out when I walk into your establishment thinking my water is going to break. Good grief. People know NOTHING about pregnancy. Did you know that fewer than 15% of women have their water break prior to labor beginning? Believe me, if I was in labor, I'm NOT going to be walking around your store.

9. Don't bring up the fact that I'm still pregnant. Let me do that. I'm highly emotional, grumpy, and frustrated. I mean, I'm capable of being happy... just not when people are constantly reminding me that... yup, I'm still pregnant.

10. Don't take me too seriously right now if I get snippy. I'm not my typical self. A lot of the times I just want to run away or cry. I love my friends and family very much, so if you have done something on this list. No big. I'll get over it. Happy in the same shoes. I promise.

________________________________________

Sorry, I know that was all really negative. My unicorns flew away yesterday and my puffy clouds were replaced with thick gray ones this morning. These sort of things have been bugging me during this last stretch of pregnancy. I realize I am really emotional and grumpy right now so I may be overreacting a bit, but I want to remember feeling this way. I don't remember a lot about my pregnancies with my other two and I want to remember the good and the bad.

Moving on. Thanksgiving was conflicted. We went to my Mother in law's house. It was actually nice and relaxing. She made the best food. It was all excellent. I ate one full plate and a 2nd helping of sweet potatoes because they were AWESOME. Then I had a slice of pumpkin roll and piece of apple pie. Not too bad though. Then we went to my brother's house to say hi to everyone over there. At that point I had started feeling a little queasy. I thought because I had too much to eat. That's when my dad lovingly proclaimed that I was fat... either fat or pregnant... which was highly embarassing. Most of you know from previous postings that I am very realistic about my weight, but jeeze, don't loudly proclaim to a room full of people that I am fat.

At that point, I wanted to cry and sleep off the rest of the day. Then we got home and I was still feeling yucky so I slept. When I woke up I still didn't want to eat anything so I didn't. Then about 2am I woke up and upchucked all of my Thanksgiving meal. Nice weight-loss program for the "fat preggo" though. I would do this 3 more times in mass quantities and then I was just miserable on the couch praying that I wouldn't throw up again. Not how I wanted to spend the day after Thanksgiving. At least I lost 3 lbs though ha.

We spent the weekend watching football and it was nice. We got to hang out with a couple of our friends that moved away but came back for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Nate and Hannah, it was AWESOME getting to hang with you!

That's about it. Hope you aren't too put off by my bout of negativity up at the top. It's just that time in my pregnancy. I'm super moody and ready for things to get going. I hate not having any control over something. When it comes to labor starting... I have ZERO control. ha. So frustrating. It's almost over. 39.4 weeks. I'm hoping that tonight is it though. MY due date is tomorrow. According to my cycle length. According to the calculation the dr. does, it's December 1. Either way. I am DAYS away... and just praying hard that I don't go over my due date. What will be will be... but that is my Christmas wish. ha. PLEASE DON'T LET ME GO OVER MY DUE DATE!

39 Weeks

2011-11-23T13:16:00.001-06:00

ONE MORE WEEK LEFT!!! Holy moly! I say one more week left because with Lindsey I delivered on my due date, and with my son, the day before... so I have a history of going to the day. We'll see.

Here is my 39 week belly... and I do believe we have dropped a little!!! ha.

Almost finished! I can't believe it! This pregnancy was so unexpected and when I found out, I was really disappointed. Funny how time will change our minds. I have come to be happy that I got to experience this insane journey one last time. I have come to accept my weight gain. I have come to accept that sometimes what we think is best for ourselves in life isn't always what IS best. This pregnancy and baby were meant to be and I am so excited to see what is in store for little Avery. I am excited at seeing her grow and the person she will be come. Who will she look like, who will she act like? I love watching the lives of my kids unfold.

Anyway. My doctor appointment was today. I am close to 2 cm dilated now with 85-90% effacement. YIKES! It's getting close. My fundal height is measuring about 37-38 cm (weeks). Nope, the baby didn't shrink... she dropped. I was right. So labor is right around the corner. My bet is that I will go into labor early November 29th and have her the same day. That is my prediction. Feel free to make your own. :)

My weight gain wasn't bad. 172.4. I always expect the worst and it's never that bad really ha.

So now I am just waiting for her to be ready to make her appearance. Waiting for her to decide that mommy's torso is abnormally short and that she needs more space for wiggling around ha. I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait for you all to meet her.

Hopefully next time I blog, it will be with the birth story! Woo hoo!

P.S. I am getting a Keurig!!! What what!!! Yeah, I'm excited. My Aunt Karen is giving me one she bought to use while she was in Arkansas taking care of her dad, my Uncle David... who had a really bad stroke. She has since gone back to her home and she left me the Keurig... GAH! So happy! Crazy how something that makes hot beverages can make someone so giddy.

Hope you all have the BEST Thanksgiving!

It's my favorite and I am so excited for tomorrow!

38 Weeks! What! What!

2011-11-16T19:34:00.001-06:00

I can hardly believe this journey is almost over. As far as I know, this will be the last time EVER in my entire life that I will carry a baby inside my body. Baby Factory is closed. Going to get a tubal straight after delivery. If history is any indication, I will have a new baby in my arms by December 1.

Here is the 38 week belly.
I think this might be one of my favorite maternity shots yet. :)

Anyway. Doctor appointment was fun. Have I mentioned I love my Dr? Seriously, if you live in Springfield, Ozark, or Nixa, and you need a rec for an OB/Gyn, I have one for you... just hit me up.

I joked around with him that my hopes aren't high for any progress to have been made. He told me to stop being pessimistic ha. I told him that I'm not pessimistic, I'm a realist. It's half a glass of water, none of the half full half empty stuff. ha. He laughed. I told him, with both of my previous babies, when he would check for dilation and effacement it was the same story "fingertip dilated and 60% effaced." He was like "well let's see." ha ha ha. He asked me my guess again so I told him and he said... 1 cm and 70% effaced. HA! So while I wasn't exactly right, I was pretty darn close ha. Anyway. Basically that means baby could come anytime... or baby could stay in there for 3 or 4 more weeks. ha ha ha. So essentially, it means NADA! NOTHING! ha ha ha. So funny. Oh well, it's nice to know if you are progressing or not. 1 cm and 70% effaced is better than being long and closed. Even though, in the grand scheme of things, they mean the same darn thing, which is "nah nah nah nah nah nah, you don't know when labor will star." Just sayin.

My doctor keeps telling me when I can go into labor because he will be on call. I'm like, "I'm trying to tell her to come out!" ha.

Well. That's the news.

Weight was another shocker. I stepped on the scale, pointed at the scale and said "I hate you." It rewarded me with a .6 lb loss ha ha ha. Thank you scale. So currently the weight stands at 171.6. That might have gone up since leaving the dr. I have consumed 1/4 of a pineapple, 1 BBQ beef sandwich, a bowl of baked beans, and some jalepeno chips... as well as 10 oz Coke, 3 chocolate chip cookies, and a small glass of milk. FATTY! ha.

And that's about all I have for you. I am happy, I am good. Just waiting for Avery to decide to make her appearance. Whenever that may be.

37 Weeks: I can just SEE the Finish Line!

2011-11-09T20:49:00.003-06:00

Here I am in all my 37 week glory. Full term BABY!
I am so ready for this to be done with, I am not going to lie. ha. Then again, I think I was ready for this to all be over with the moment I took a positive pregnancy test. I can barely turn myself over in bed. My pelvic region hurts something viscious. I cannot WAIT to be able to sleep normally. Not that I will be getting much sleep once baby comes... ha ha ha. So maybe I should just suck it up.

Doctor appointment was today: Not much to speak of. I gained 4 lbs ha ha ha. 170.6 lbs ha ha ha! All I can do is laugh and just remember, I put it on, I can take it off. ha ha ha. Weight aside, my doctor told me jokingly to go into labor this weekend because he is on call. I WISH! I am such a 40 weeker though, it's highly unlikely. Oh well. Avery will come out when she is ready, but I am full term.

I have also started natural induction methods ha ha ha. You know, the induction methods that don't work unless your body is ready to labor ha. Like, I went and bought a container of fresh cut up pineapple from the grocery store and ate the whole thing. I am going to have spicy chinese food tomorrow night. It's all in good fun. It also helps pass the time in these last few weeks. I plan on trying a few other things... don't worry, I have my limits. I am not a Castor Oil type girl. I would rather go to 40 weeks than drink that stuff. BLECH! I also can't use Evening Primrose Oil because my doctor doesn't like it. At 39 weeks, I am going to have Dave massage some pressure points that are said to induce labor. This baby is big though. No doubt. Anyway... that's the pregnancy update.

One thing that is making me suspicious that MAYBE labor is close is the fact that out of nowhere my feet and hands have swollen and I have started sweating a lot at night (TMI)... This happened shortly before I went into labor with Lindsey. We will see. I want her to come when she is good and ready and can do everything on her own and come home with me. Matter of fact, that is my prayer "Dear God, as soon as Avery is able to make it and function on her own, then please let me go into labor!" ha ha ha. If that's 40 weeks... so be it.

Update on starting school back up: Bet you thought I wasn't really going to go through with it ha! Ok. I have ALWAYS struggled with math... but if I have the right teacher I can usually pull off a decent grade. I took the compass test this past Saturday and I scored REALLY high in English. I know a lot of people probably read my blog and think, with all the grammar mistakes she makes on her blog, I don't know how that happened. Actually, I am quite proficient at English and Grammar. I do get lazy with my blog. Most of the time I really don't feel like going through my posts to make sure I am not being redundant or putting punctuation where it should be. A lot of the time I will be satisfied with the extremely lazy "..."

Math... well, no shock here, I pretty much suck at it. I can't do an algebra equation to save my life... LITERALLY! If my life were on the line and the only way I could save it would be to do an algebra problem and get it correct, I really wouldn't be able to save my own life. ha ha ha. Hopefully I can pick it up quick and do well though.

All I have left is to get some financial aid things squared away and then schedule my classes. I am a crazy ball of mixed emotions. I am an immediate results type person so the fact that I am embarking on a 4 year journey of bettering myself... it's going to drive me crazy, but I'm excited.

36 Weeks

2011-11-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

Things are going good. We are down to 4 weeks left. Like I have said before, I am NOTORIOUS for going all the way to the end, so I don't expect this one to be any different. Before I got pregnant my cycle was 26 days... according to that my due date is November 29th. If I calculate by a typical 28 day cycle my due date is December 1... so we will see what Avery decides to do, but my bet is November 29th.

Here is my 36 week belly...
...aaand and artsy fartsy one of me being all solemn (laughing at myself).
I had an appointment yesterday. I was sad because my OB had a delivery and couldn't make my appointment, so I saw the nurse practitioner which isn't a bad thing, I just prefer my dr. We did the test for Group B Strep. YUCK! My dr. was going to check for dilation and effacement, but the nurse didn't... so that is still a mystery.

Weight gain is GREAT! I have actually been staying the same or losing a lb! ha. Last appointment I was 167... this appointment I was 166!!! I might actually make it to the end of this thing not exceeding my the weight I was at the end of my pregnancy with Lindsey, which was 169. Now wouldn't that be nice? ha.

I put my Christmas tree up just as I promised.

As you can see there is a stray blue ornament in there... that would be one of the 3 handmade ornaments on the tree. Otherwise it is decorated in all red and gold.

I know there are a lot of what I call the "Christmas Patrol" out there to ridicule anyone who decorates before Thanksgiving, but you don't scare me. I am glad to have my tree up and I'm getting into the Holiday Spirit! Next is Christmas music... DO YOU HEAR ME DAVE! Christmas music! (insert maniacal laugh here)

Our Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:24:00.002-05:00

Halloween was so great this year. I met up with an amazing friend and we both took our kids door to door. It was actually a great time. I thought I would be miserable being that I was 35.4 weeks pregnant, but I actually lasted a long time. I think the kids trick or treated for one and a half hours. They got a good load of candy.

I dressed Lindsey up as a Renaissance princess. Bren's costume was easy peasey. I bought a plain yellow t-shirt from the thrift store for $2 and put zig zags on the bottom... he was Charlie Brown. He LOVES Charlie Brown. He wanted to wear black shorts like Charlie Brown... So I took a pair of Bren's jersey shorts that had stripes down the side and colored the stripes in with black sharpie. HEY! It was a last minute fix ha. Anyway, I thought the kids looked adorable.

Lindsey only gets to wear make-up once a year... Halloween... so when she gets make-up on she makes odd facial expressions. She can't stop puckering her lips because she likes the lipstick. I must say... she does have pretty lips :)

Towards the end of trick-or-treating, the top of my belly started hurting really bad. It usually does if I have a really active day. The kids were ready to quit so we called it good. It was really humorous that they were ready to quit before I was. They kept asking "how many more houses." I told them "You'll thank me later when you get home and see how much candy you have!" ha ha ha.

Tiffany thought that I should have a picture to remember how pregnant I was taking the kids door to door ha. I look like a hot mess. I had a rough day of contractions. Some of them were pretty painful, but not regular so I didn't go to labor and delivery... but it took it's toll on me. I am still contracting off and on... HOPEFULLY it's doing something! ha. My appointment is tomorrow so we will soon know. Anyway... here is the pic that Tiff took...

I feel like a horrible friend because I didn't even THINK to offer to take her picture with her daughter Bella! SORRY TIFF!

One thing that I always do after trick-or-treating is go through the kid's bags. I always check for candy that I don't want my kids eating and now I will be checking for these...

When I first saw these in the kid's bags, I laughed because I knew immediately it was a Christian Tract... but as I began to read I was laughing out of SHOCK! They are HORRIBLE! The stories are horrifying! Why would ANYONE put these in a young trick or treater's bag? I get it if you think Halloween is evil. I understand, FINE, but these are ridiculous, and if you hate Halloween so much then keep your porch light off! I would NEVER want my young children to read these tracts. They aren't doing ANYTHING for the Christian cause. They are a waste of tree. Save yourself the money next year and just keep your porch light off. Easy.

If you are curious as to what the tracts say you can visit this website.

Moving right along. Tonight I am having Becca from Life in Technicolor over for dessert and coffee (or cider). I am really excited to actually hang out with her. We have met once before, but have never gotten the chance to hang out. I can't wait to meet her darling Selah and her hubs Caleb. Should be a fun night. I am making an Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake.

I love Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, but I have never made the pumpkin kind. I hope it's yum!

Pending Break from Blogging.

2011-10-29T20:13:00.001-05:00

Amyschmamey is going to be taking a blogging break. I really haven't been putting a whole lot of time and effort into this thing... so here is what I am thinking. I plan to keep posting my weekly pregnancy updates and letting you all meet Avery when she finally arrives but beyond that I have no firm plans.

I am finding that I really just don't have the time anymore to blog like I need to. Visiting and commenting on YOUR blogs and even posting on my own. I am finding that Instagram and Facebook are my main places of online interaction, so if you would like to keep in touch send me a friend invite or look me up on Instagram if you are an iPhone user. My handle name is Amyschmamey on Instagram. I have a twitter, but believe me when I say I am NEVER on it ha.

I am not deleting this blog. It will stay up, but if the time comes that you don't see anymore posts from Amyschmamey, this is your explanation for why. BESIDES, I am going to be starting school in January and I have a feeling that with a new baby and school, I will have even less time to blog like I should... so.

Thank you all so much for following. Thank you all so much for caring. I have loved getting to know a lot of you. Please Please Please stay in touch with me through the other social networking tools listed above. I would hate to lose touch with any of you.

35 Weeks

2011-10-27T12:57:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe it's my 35th week, but at the same time this last 5 weeks is going to drag by EXTREMELY slowly ha.

Here it is... 35 week belly

No fatty front view this time. ha.

Yesterday was my 35 week check up. I was supposed to have the test for Group B Strep, but my Dr. changed his mind and decided that would be next week. I was ok with that. BELIEVE ME, I am not fond of these last few appointments.

Weight: 167 lbs. I have gained 32 lbs so far. Triple UGH... mainly because I still have 5 weeks to go and wouldn't put it past myself to pack on another 10 lbs.

My appointment was short and sweet. Nothing major to relay except that I asked my Dr. if he thought this baby was bigger than my other two. He didn't say "maybe"... he didn't say "I don't know"... without hesitation, he said yes. ha ha ha. Nice. How much bigger remains to be seen... however, I am blaming this all on Dave. I was a 6 pounder when I was born so it's not my fault ha. My other two were a few ounces shy of 8 lbs. If this one is going to be in the 9-10 lb range, CUT ME OPEN... ha ha ha. I kid... no, but SERIOUSLY! ha. I really am kidding though. I would rather push out a big baby than have a c-section. Not too fond of the idea of being sliced open.

I am having TONS of contractions! Mostly Braxton Hicks, but with Brendan I didn't experience these until 36 weeks. So to have been contracting basically since week 32, it's been crazy. Sometimes they get to where they feel crampy like real contractions but they aren't time-able and they aren't close enough together to cause any concern. What will be highly irritating is to have things go like Brendan did... which is having all these contractions, but NOTHING to show for it by way of effacement and dilation. I am hoping next week I will get the news that these contractions aren't in vain and that they are actually doing something worth while besides making me uncomfortable ha.

Some things to share. I have been getting some of the main baby items in. I set up the play yard. It's super cute. It is one with a bassinet... do they even make these things without bassinets anymore? It also has a changing station which I think is AWESOME!

I got my electric breast pump. I got the Phillips Avent Twin Electric Pump. On my way to become a full fledged dairy cow. HA! I have always felt like that with nursing. Some moms can focus on the cuddly, lovey, mommy/baby bonding of it, but me, I just feel like a dairy cow.

We still need to install the car seat. I got a 3 in one, so I am hoping it fits. We don't have long to figure this out...

Anyway. Looking forward to Monday. HALLOWEEN! woo hoo. Still have no clue what I will dress the kids up as or where I will take them trick or treating, but it's always a fun time.

Also looking forward to Tuesday. Why? Well. Because I am not getting any smaller and I have NO CLUE for sure when Avery will decide to make her appearance, I am setting my Christmas tree up the day after Halloween. :) I am excited.

Well. That's it, that's all.Happy Thursday and Happy Weekend!

The Weekend that is still Rocking my World and Blowing my Mind.

2011-10-25T10:41:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was one of the most busy, yet uplifting weekends I have had in quite a while.

Friday we began our move to the 3 bedroom Townhome.

We got everything moved over by 9pm. It was nice.

Saturday I attended a wedding. I also photographed some of it. I have known this family for several years by attending the same church. Brent Upton is the father of the groom and he and I were part of the choir, worship team, and soloists at a church called James River Assembly for SEVERAL years. This is how I got to know him. He is one of the nicest most genuine people you will ever meet. His wife Noelle is awesome, she too was in the choir. One thing can be said of Noelle for certain is that she is so strong in her faith in God and just strong in general. I love these people. Their kids are all amazing too. A super family.

They faced one of the most dire weeks of their life this past week. This story I am about to relay to you has made me soberingly aware of how much we take those that we should love the most for granted. What is here one day could be gone tomorrow. Life is too fleeting to bicker and fight over the mundane things of life. Too fleeting to hold grudges and not live out each moment we have with each other to the fullest! Hold tight to those you love. Don't take them for granted... I am realizing this more and more.

The story begins like this... Friday, October 14, Brent had a massive heart attack. When I say massive, I mean he shouldn't still be living and breathing. (Noelle updated her status this morning and I wanted to include it because it's amazing: Found out some crazy news the other day and felt impressed to share it.....It turns out that when Brent went down at work God had people and things set in motion for it. Some friends of ours had friends in the store and when Brent went down they instantly began to pray for this man, who they didn't even know, who needed God's help. So before any of us were aware to pray God already had people praying! Then this customer ran straight towards him calling 911 and began CPR till the paramedics arrived and then didn't stay around. I'm a firm believer in God sending angels as he did in the gospels. This morning as I prayed I was overwhelmed with the knowledge that such a miracle had indeed been given to Brent in that moment. It was his hour of need and God intended from the start to save him and made sure it would happen! Never doublt God's love for you...we are but dust, as the Psalms say, but He died for that dust and loves us more than you could ever wrap your mind around!)

Anyway... Brent had to have a quintuple bypass. After the surgery they were certain that he would still have a tough time surviving and that if he did survive he would likely have brain damage. He had a hard time waking up. That was the first big hurdle of many that he would overcome...

I know my blog readers consist of people of all different beliefs. I respect everyone's right to believe or not believe and I am not pushing anything on anyone, but I can see no other way but to say it is complete miracle and there is some higher purpose for all that has happened because God has taken care of Brent and he is on the mend. The scripture verse Romans 5:3-5 comes to mind. "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us."

His heart is functioning at 30% and the doctors are still cautious to give Noelle and the family hope beyond what they know textually and through their experience with situations like this, but the proof is in the pudding as they say. 6 days after having a quintuple bypass, Brent got to go home to continue his rehabilitation. AMAZING!

Before the wedding of their son Noah, before the heart attack, I offered to photograph this wedding for them if they didn't already have a photographer. They did, but they wanted someone to concentrate on their side of the family. I didn't want to intrude on the paid photographer so I told her I would photograph as long as I wasn't in the way. After the heart attack though, I ended up with a bigger responsibility... You see, Brent wasn't able to attend the wedding in person. He attended via facetime thanks to iPhone technology. I teared up a couple of times. Noelle literally carried Brent around with her everywhere... allowing him to watch the wedding, hear the wedding, see the guests, talk with the guests. I snapped a picture of it with my iPhone ha ha ha...

I have never appreciated technology so much in my life. However, he couldn't be there for the pictures... so after the wedding... I came to their home and I got the privlegde of photographing their family photos. So with just a flash to bounce and a 50mm lens, I went and took the family pictures that Brent wanted to be apart of so badly. I got to see Brent, the living breathing walking miracle and it was overwhelming.

Seeing this whole ordeal unfold has uplifted me spiritually and personally. Noelle has been so diligent in keeping us all up to date via facebook. Getting to witness Noelle carry the weight of this situation with such faith and grace... to see the love outpouring and support they are receiving from so many people who love them... to see Brent recovering how he is. I can't describe it. I am thankful, humbled, amazed, and completely overwhelmed by it emotionally. I love this family and I love seeing Brent's miracle unfold.

After Saturday we spent all of Sunday getting upacked, and I am happy to say that we are completely unpacked and in our new place and I am glad to finally be sitting down in front of my computer typing this HUGE monster of a blog post.

Be back on Wednesday for my pregnancy update.

Love.

34 Weeks! (ok... 33.6...)

2011-10-19T12:52:00.001-05:00

I have to post this early because this is moving week. I won't have time to post it tomorrow. Tomorrow I will likely be too busy getting last minute packing done. Besides that, I needed to get my picture taken so I can pack up my camera gear and get it ready to transfer to the new place :) Yippee.

So here is my 34 week belly...

and what I like to refer to as the "fatty front view" ha ha ha. It keeps me grounded.

I am doing well. Just dealing with the emotional roller coaster that is pregnancy. I am extremely uncomfortable. My belly gets in the way of everything which is difficult because we are moving ha. POOR DAVE! He is doing the bulk of the packing. I am contracting quite a bit. Some braxton hicks (practice contractions) and some real ones that can be pretty intense. I am hoping they are changing my cervix a little bit. I am easy to make cry, make grumpy, or just plain irritate... which is probably annoying to my friends and family... but I love them anyway, so they better do the same for me! I am hungry all the time it seems. Last night I wanted chocolate so bad I almost cried because we just don't have the money to go out and take care of my cravings on a whim. I decided to make myself a glass of chocolate milk and some toast at 9pm. HA HA HA. So. Yeah, this weight I am putting on is well earned. I hope Avery is satisfied! ha.

This weekend is going to be so busy.
Friday is moving day. Friday night will be spent getting all the stuff switched over from this place to the next. It's going to be a tough day but it has to happen.
I have a partial wedding to photograph on Saturday. Some long time friends of mine are marrying off their first born. It's been a while since I have photographed any part of a wedding so I am looking forward to it.

That's about it. I hope you all are having a great week so far. Hope that you all are getting in the Holiday spirit. Halloween and Thanksgiving are my two faves. I am a happy girl during fall.

Photo Therapy

2011-10-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

Dave had drill this weekend, so I decided to hang out with my parents while he did his Army thing. His unit happens to be based in the same town that my parents live in, so it's very convenient.

Saturday was a good day. I ended up with some GREAT finds at garage sales. My mom bought me some fun stuff since I am out of cash this week. I got a Christmas tree for $1. It isn't pre-lit, but still, it's a Christmas tree, and we didn't have one up last year, so I'm just excited to have one to put up. Being that I am going to be VERY pregnant around Thanksgiving, the tree is going up after Halloween!

Then I found a vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It had brochures from 1970 and a card from the late 60's tucked inside, so I know it's pretty old. I think 1968.

I also found these cute coffee mugs. I am thrilled about them!

I also got a load of onsies for Avery. All thanks to my Mom and Grandma.

It was a good day yesterday. My mom took my kids to the park, so I decided to take a walk around the property and get some photo therapy.

all images ©Amy Renee Martin : please do not use without my expressed permission and please link back to my blog.

I'm getting really frustrated with myself lately. The end of pregnancy really gets to me. I don't know why. I don't mind so much when the baby is here and I am getting up at all hours of the night, I don't mind that. I just get so depressed and emotional during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. I get impatient for the end. I am so ready for this baby to be out. I am getting frustrated with the hormones that make me feel so out of control. I mean, I am not blaming everything I do and say on hormones, but you don't know until you've been here. Rational thought is very difficult to achieve. I get upset quick, I get grumpy quick. I am tired a lot. I am hungry a lot. I am going to be honest and say that I can't wait for these last few weeks to be over. I feel misunderstood a lot of the times. I feel like a freak show because of my height and belly size ratio. Overall, I would say I feel trapped... confined by pregnancy. I am so happy to be having Avery. Please don't think I'm not. Pregnancy is such a magical time for a woman... but it's also not fun in a lot of aspects. So. On that note 6.4 weeks left.

33 Weeks and Feeling HUUUUUUGE!

2011-10-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here it is, my 33 week belly pic... Glad to have a good camera to take the pics.Doctor appointment was yesterday. It was pretty much a filler appointment. Nothing major. My fundal height is measuring 35 cm. For those of you who have no clue what that info means, basically your fundal height in cm should match your weeks pregnant. I am 33 weeks FYI. Does this mean anything about anything??? I doubt it. I am trying not to get my hopes up that it may mean that I will have the baby 2 weeks sooner ha. That would be LOVELY though. ha. I will say that Bren and Lindsey always measured spot on with fundal height and weeks pregnant.

Well. It is official that I did not make my weight goals this pregnancy. I am tipping the scales at 164 lbs. That's a 29 lb gain so far, 5 more lbs and I will be at the weight that I delivered Lindsey at. I HIGHLY doubt that I will be able to only gain 5 more lbs for the rest of this pregnancy, so I am resigning myself to at least end this at 175. UGH. Oh well. Still less than my ending weight with Bren, so I'm trying to look at the bright side. I've lost it before I can lose it again.

I made Avery a baby blanket. It is really thick and heavy and made from scrap yarn so it looks CRAZY

Have a happy rest of the week. Eat something yummy.

The Big Birthday Weekend

2011-10-10T14:07:00.001-05:00

This weekend was just one big celebration of my kiddo's birthdays. Lindsey turned 8 on Sunday and Brendan turned 5 today. Here is a recap of the weekend.First my sister sent the kids some money and also me some money to buy Avery some stuff so I got Avery a couple of outfits, some onsies, and a set of two footie pajamas.(I'm still waiting on my camera to come in, so again. 100% all iPhone images)

Lindsey used her money to get a LaLaLoopsy Doll. She was tired, but look how cute! She is holding her doll's hand!!! ha.

I don't have a picture of Bren's gift that he chose, but he got this neat basketball net that hangs on a door and it keeps score like an arcade game. So cool. He loves it.
We went to the circus. Grandma Valla wanted to treat the kids to a day at the circus so she got us all tickets and we all had a great time. Before we left, I took advantage of my Mother in Law's full length mirror and got some shots of my belly ha. 32.3 weeks at the time... I was mainly showing the fact that with my other two pregnancies my belly button NEVER popped out, but with this one... well, see for yourself.

Ok... so you can't see it very well, but I assure you, it's popped! ha.
Aaaaand then I took a side preggo profile.

Then while waiting for the circus to start Dave snapped this one of us together :)

...and I snapped this of Lindsey and myself...

( I guess I sent myself a smaller file size. boooooo!)
My and Lindsey's favorite was the clown act. I usually don't like clowns, but this one was excellent and funny. Bren went crazy over the motor bikes. He was sitting too far down from me so I didn't get any pictures. Anyway, here are some of the shots I took with my phone at the circus.

After the circus I went by Kaleidoscope where I got my nose piercing done, and got a stud to replace the ring. I needed something easy to remove for when I went into labor because the nurse told me that I can't have it in when I have my Tubal. ANYWAY.

(Yup... I think I sent a batch of pictures to myself at a small file size. I'm lame and also too lazy to resend them at a proper file size... sorry ha.)
Then I worked on a baby blanket for Avery... but it is on hold for now, because I ran out of thick green yarn.

The next day we got up early, and I started getting stuff around for the kiddo's party at their grandma Valla's house. I made pumpkin cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting...

When we got to their Grandma and Grandpa's house, the kids played, then we lit candles and they opened presents: As you can see, Bren blew his candle out a little too quick and I missed it ha ha ha.

I didn't get any pictures of the kids opening presents... I was on trash duty ha. Lindsey got 2 more LaLaLoopsy Dolls, some miniature Tinker Bell figurines, an apron and cooking stuff, and some crayola drawing stuff. Brendan got some Halo Reach Megablocks which he was STINKING excited about it! ha, some Cars Legos, a Nerf gun and bullets, and some 3D sidewalk chalk. Here is the one picture I got of the crazy kid since he was all over the place being a typical boy having a birthday party ha.

We ate cupcakes, drank yummy punch, and carved pumpkins too!

Today is Bren's actual birthday. I made him donuts for breakfast

He has been playing Halo Reach, Kinect Adventures, and watching Sponge Bob all day. Basically getting to do whatever his little heart desires.

That is about it for the birthday weekend. Hope all of you had a great weekend! Catch ya here on Thursday when I update on my pregnancy (p.s. I am swelling and gaining a lot of weight! ha)

Less Information Overload...

2011-10-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

Since my last post was rather heavy on the information side, I thought I would post something lighter... What is up with these dolls and the obsession with them? Am I the only one that thinks they are a little on the odd side?

My daughter is crazy about them, and it's all she wanted for her birthday... They are selling out EVERYWHERE! The only dolls left are the boy ones and the ethnic ones and that is probably due to the demographic of the area I live in. Anyway. I guess if your child is talking about wanting one of these for Christmas or whatever, it would be a good idea to hunt them down now.

Maryam from Pamplemousse1983 brought my attention to these:

I'm so hunting these suckers down and getting some for my breakfasts. I know they aren't terribly healthy for you, but hey! They have 7 Vitamins and Minerals! More than I can say for a donut! AM I RIGHT?! ha.

Lookie what I got:

I started reading the Hush Hush Saga a couple months ago thanks to Mandy from the Miss Indie blog. The 3rd book came out a few days ago and I got it. I am only to Chapter 2 right now, but I am so excited about it already. It's a pretty good YAF series. I really hope that in the end it doesn't disappoint.

Ok mama's of babies. I need advice on an easy to wear wrap carrier for baby! Give me some suggestions!
AHEM! Becca, Maryam, Christa! ?????? I just don't know!!! I've never had much luck with baby carriers!

Well, I can't think of anything else to talk about so we'll leave it at this. Have a great Friday. I'll be back on Monday with pictures from the kid's birthday party. :)

So Much to Tell You: 32 Weeks.

2011-10-06T12:21:00.001-05:00

The CRAZY MONTH has started. I love October, don't get me wrong, but there are going to be some crazy busy days ahead.

Some news: (Probably won't interest you if you aren't into SLR cameras, so if you aren't interested just skip this paragraph and the next two)We had a bunch of expenses arise, so this photog had to do some equipment purging and downgrading to make ends meet this month. Sold my wide angle and my 100mm which I loved, but hey, it got us a new windshield and new tags on our car for 2 years. It also replaced Dave's dying phone. We kinda expected the windshield to be covered under warranty but we couldn't find the receipt and the company couldn't find us in their system so we had to pay for it.

This led to the selling of my 7D. I bought the 7D on a whim. Camera companies are always coming out with the bigger and better SLR and it's hard to not be tempted by all of the "candy" out there... which is EXPENSIVE "candy" by the way. I loved this camera, but always felt like I was waisting it's capabilities. I don't use the video feature, which is the main sell of this camera. The less expensive sibling to the 5D Mk II but supposedly quality to rival. Still a $1600 camera body for a girl who isn't even doing photography as a business anymore, didn't make much sense to me. We needed a couple hundred to make the kid's birthday happen this weekend so I sold my camera for most of what I paid for it YAY.

I am really excited to say that I won't be camera-less for long. I found and purchased a used Canon 50D at a great price with a 90 day warranty! The 50D is the camera that I shot with before the 7D. It was perfect for me. Now that I think about it, it was very silly of me to upgrade in the first place. 15 megapixel, expandable ISO capabilities, high max shutter speed... NO VIDEO which I LOVE! I am kinda snobby as it pertains to video on SLR's... I think that it's cool to have the option on some of the models, but I wish they would make models without video for us that STRICTLY do still photography. I am not a cinematographer, I am a PHOTOgrapher. To sum it up for you, I am excited to have this baby back next week.

Moving on. Pregnancy. I am 32 weeks! I had my epidural interview on Tuesday which was LOADS of fun (sense the sarcasm). I am doing well. Walks have slowed down. Not enough hours in the day anymore and when I do walk, my body yells at me for it. I am finding it very difficult to do things, though. Between my lack of energy, the distractions of money issues, the big belly that I find obstructing my every move, and the aches and pains that go along with a growing expanding body... I'm just ready for these last 8 weeks to fly by.

I have been busy! Making baby shoes! I bought THIS pattern off of Etsy. To make shoes like these:

and while those are cute, I put my own twist on them and here is what I came up with:

I'm so excited about them!!! The cute factor was almost overwhelming while I was crocheting them! ha.

Anyway. Due to the selling of my camera and waiting for my 50D to arrive, I am forced to do my 32 week belly picture the "old fashioned" way... with my iPhone. ha. So here is my belly!

My facial expression is funny because the whole time I am taking this picture I am thinking "OH MY GOSH! MY BELLY IS HUGE!!! AND SO AM I!!!" ha ha ha. I'm ok with it though, because I know there is nothing I can do about this fact. I can only just laugh and hope that I can shed it once I am through with this crazy journey. Did I mention I only have approximately 8 more weeks!?

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and a GREAT weekend.

31 Weeks

2011-09-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Had my 31 week appointment Wednesday and final ultrasound. Everything went great! Here is my 31 week belly...

My weight is 159.7 ha ha ha. STILL UNDER 160!!! ha. I Have 9 weeks left so I imagine I'll end this thing somewhere around where I ended pregnancy with Lindsey. Which isn't terrible, but wasn't my goal either. Well. Nothing I can do about it now. I can't lose it until I'm not pregnant anymore so I'm not going to fret too much over it.The ultrasound went awesome. She is looking perfect and measuring a week ahead ha ha ha. Here are some of the shots from the ultrasound... SHE IS SO CUTE! Look at her cute little nose and mouth!

I'm getting so excited for her to be here! At the time of the ultrasound I was 30.6 weeks pregnant... she was measuring 31.6 weeks. She is estimated to weigh around 3 lbs 14 oz. right now. When my Doctor came into the examination room to talk to me his first words were "well, it looks like you're growing a big one in there." Ha ha ha. I love my Dr. He's awesome. My other babies I guess were much smaller. Lindsey was 7 lbs 14 oz. at birth and Bren was 7 lbs 13 oz. So I guess I didn't expect her to be bigger. ha. We'll see though, their estimations aren't always spot on.

Signed the papers to get the tubal ligation... kinda scary since it will be my first surgery EVER. Also kinda sad because I really wanted to attempt to do this birth without pain meds but because of the tubal, I will need to already have an epidural going because the plan is to go directly from birth and bonding with the baby to the surgery. So it looks like another epidural birth... which isn't horrible, just not what I had wanted.

I had a really good appointment... got my flu shot too. Things are moving right along. Headed into a very busy month though. October is looking to be crazy! So. I am going to get some rest in before this weekend when we will begin getting our house ready for the move.

Well. That's that. Have a happy Thursday and a happy weekend.

OH! And it's time for another Belly Progression Collage. :)

On My Soapbox: Credit Cards are Ruining America!

2011-09-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

We paid off one of our credit cards back in February or March of this year. After paying it off we wanted to close it because we already have a few credit cards and would like to keep the temptation to spend on credit to a minimum. We really didn't need the card either. It is just a liability. First because it is not going to be used by us so it could get lost and used by someone else... second because if we did use it, we wouldn't be able to pay it back!

Yesterday we opened our mail and I expected a credit card OFFER, but NO! It's two "replacement" cards for our "closed" account. I was furious! Mainly because the first call to close the account was pretty heated, and we expected things to have been resolved.

Called them today. First Rep I talked to I let him know that I closed an account back in February of this year and just received replacement cards, I would like the account CLOSED. The liar said "I am so sorry that your first request was ignored let me process your request and take care of it right now." So I'm like, "ok, thank you." Not even 2 seconds later, "ma'am we would like to encourage you to keep your card because you have 0% interest until such an such date and blah blah blah blah." I said "Sir, I would like to close the account, we do not need the temptation lying around to spend on credit." He laughed and said "I understand." LIIIIIIAAAAAAR! Then he said "your request is going to require a specialist to complete, so please hold." (translation: I am going to get someone a little better at sales to try and convince you to keep your card)

Enter 2nd rep. A lady that seemed a little more assertive. Told her what I wanted. She says, "Well, we would like to try and get you to keep your card for emergencies." I said, "Ma'am, I do not understand why credit card companies insist on trying to get people to keep a line of credit with them that they have blatantly stated they cannot afford to pay back if it is spent on, it makes no sense!" She said "Well ma'am, there are certain emergencies that arise that only accept credit cards such as flights and booking hotels." I said, "We don't travel"... then she tried to go onto another spill and I cut her off... "I DO NOT WANT THIS ACCOUNT! I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY IT BACK IF IT WERE TO BE SPENT ON! I WANT TO CLOSE THE ACCOUNT!" That's when she said "We will process your request." and then ended the call. Why do I get the feeling that my account will still be open in a couple months?

Seriously Credit companies! You are the reason America is in the predicament it is in right now! Loan to people who want it and can afford to pay it back, don't harass the poor into spending outside their income! My goodness. My husband and I have MAYBE $1,500 of debt right now, and I think that is bad! You credit card companies encourage people to live even further outside their means... some people have credit card debt that would drive me to depression. I have NO DOUBT that some people have been driven to depression and even worse to take their own lives because of the prison that debt puts you in. If someone says they can't afford to pay you back, then close the darn account! OH MY GAH!

Rant Over.

First Cousin Once Removed

2011-09-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

My Weekend was BRILLIANT! Dave, Lindsey, and I went to go see my cousin Kyle and Seana to attend the OU vs. Mizzou game. They live near Oklahoma City, so we had a little road trip. It was so much fun. Brendan stayed the weekend with my mom and has his own fun.

Kyle and Seana are pretty awesome. We had the time of our lives with them and my daughter just loves their kids. I didn't take my good camera. It would have just been a hassle, so all pictures are Instagram, but you all have to be used to that by now. I rarely post any other type of picture anymore.

Saturday started out with a trip to Starbucks for a pick me up. I realize how pregnancy makes me a complicated Starbucks customer.

If you remember I visited Corpus Christy, TX over the summer... Corpus happens to be the home of Whataburger... I REALLY wanted to go there but didn't get the chance. When I was little little and I would go to visit my grandma in El Paso, TX we would ALWAYS eat at Whataburger, so I hadn't eaten there since I was like 13. Well. In Tulsa, we corrected that, and I loved it.

Yum! Next we arrived at my cousin's house and just relaxed a bit before heading off to Norman to see the game. Kyle and Seana are seriously two of the coolest people ever! They have a great sense of humor and they were awesome even though they are Oklahoma fans and Dave is Mizzou all the way. So many hilarious moments and just plain ol' fun.

ha ha ha. Dave looks like he is crying! ha. Mizzou had just scored for the 2nd time. He was a happy camper. Mizzou, of course, ended up losing, but they made it a lot tighter than expected. It was a good game... It was a great day.

I am usually quick to say that OU fans are not the nicest fans... but we actually got to meet some of the "good ones." The section we sat in was full of OU fans who just love College Football. Period. It was nice. We got back to their house at about 12:30am or so and stayed up and chatted for a little while. Then the next morning we went to Jimmy's Egg and ate breakfast, had some more laughs, figured out through google EXACTLY what our cousin status was (we all didn't know... but after looking it up confirmed we were 1st cousins once removed ha ha ha) and said our goodbyes. I also snapped a picture of Lindsey with their kids Ainsley and Kellen.

Then it was time to head home.

We are definitely going to make plans to visit again and more often. Such good times. There is nothing better or more important than family. I am so thankful that my family is full of such amazing people. Life was REAL good this weekend.

I've Been Known to Dabble in the Kitchen

2011-09-23T10:47:00.001-05:00

First off!

After the heaviness of my last post, it's time for something lighter... and by lighter I mean HEAVIER... and by heavier I mean, if you eat this, you could gain a lb or two by this post.

I spent all day yesterday, practically, in the kitchen. My brother is missing his girly friend LEEEZ, so we had him over for dinner. Two things in regards to my brother and food. He really likes my Chicken and Dumplings and he loves anything made with pumpkin. SO! I decide to put this pie pumpkin that I bought during my last grocery shopping trip to good use. For those who do not know how to make your own mashed pumpkin for a pie... here is how you do it.

You get a good pie pumpkin... NOT a carving pumpkin, unless your oven is HUGE! ha.
Preheat your oven to 350°.
You cut the pumpkin in half, which is no easy task, so BE CAREFUL!
Then you scoop out the insides... even the stringy pieces.

Then you put the halves, inside facing down, on a cookie sheet. I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper, because the pumpkin is VERY difficult to clean off of your pan. Place in the oven for about an hour. Once you pull the pumkin halves out, be VERY careful and scoop all the "meat" out of the pumpkin skin. Place it in a bowl or a food processor. I use a hand mixer so I place mine in a bowl. Once all of your pumpkin is in the bowl mix it up good on medium to high speed. Place whatever pumpkin you aren't using in a storage container. I put mine in some canning jars and put them in the fridge.

Now for the pie. The most difficult pumpkin pie recipe ever! This is a far cry from opening up a can of pumpkin adding a few things and baking... but it's so worth the effort in my opinion.

First: make your pie crust according to your recipe, or buy one already made at the store. I usually buy one, but I didn't have a way to, so I took it on... even though I HATE MAKING PIE CRUST! ha. The things I do for my brother.

Next: Get the pie going. Here is the recipe.

OLD FASHIONED PUMPKIN PIE

(preheat oven to 350°)

1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin... (use fresh! trust me!)
1 egg yolk (keep the white in a separate bowl)
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch or flour (I used flour because I didn't have any starch and it turned out fine)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk (you can use reduced fat, I used 1% milk)

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly together.

1 egg white, stiffly beaten

Fold into the above mixture.
Pour into pie crust.
Dust the top of the pie with nutmeg.
Bake for about 45 minutes.
Eat warm or cool with a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip.

So yummy! You have no idea! Seriously, the best pumpkin pie that I have ever eaten.

My kitchen adventures didn't stop here. A month ago, I asked my mom what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. She HAD to pick a difficult cake ha. She chose Italian Cream Cake. I spent 2 hours in the kitchen last night just baking the cake... then about an hour this morning making the frosting and frosting the cake and applying even MORE coconut and pecans. It should be YUM! I'll let you know!

I think I should start a bakery called "Ugly but GOOD!" ha ha ha.
Have a great weekend everyone... I will be back with pictures from my mom's birthday and the OU game. More bloggy goodness to come. Now... off I go to comment on some of your fantasticness.

A Little Heart to Heart... Me and My Body Image...

2011-09-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

Weight. I am a call it like I see it type person. I know that NO BODY sees themselves clearly or how others see them. Some people are destined to have a bad image of their own body. I have always had a bad body image. I have always struggled to see myself as thin. HOWEVER... I am going to be talking about pregnancy and weight and how I feel like I am alone in the world... even as it pertains to other pregnant women.
I have never been the skinny pregnant lady. When I get pregnant my body just has to see food and it's like OOOOOH I need to store some fat in my thighs! Seriously! I know this about myself. I know my body. I know that when I'm pregnant I look puffy. You want to know how I know? Check this out...(I'm not going to take the time to make sure all the pics are the same width... sorry if this bugs you, but I have a birthday cake to bake after I finish typing this)

Yup... I was small once. This was me in 2001 (pre marriage)

This is me with Dave. He is 6'4 and here he weighed 155... he could fit in MY jeans... they were snug of course, but still. ha. Anyway, just more proof that hey, I was small once.

Then I got pregnant with Lindsey. This is me at like 32 weeks with Lindsey in belly.

Then this is me after giving birth to my baby girl... nice and full of swelling and saline. Lovely.

Then along comes Brendan. Here, I am 26 weeks pregnant.

Then at 32 weeks after quite a few smores and hot dogs ;)

AND here I am 39.6 weeks pregnant, ready for the big show... ready for Brendan to light up my life.

And here I am with Lindsey... Brendan is probably about 9 months old or so... and I have only managed to get down to 155 lbs. Please keep in mind, I am 5'1... While 155 lbs may seem like a WONDERFUL weight to be at for someone a few inches taller than me, for my height it is just chubby. (AND GOSH, if you are my height and in this weight range and are happy with your weight, then PLEASE keep being happy about it, this is my body image I am discussing)

A couple years later and a change of diet I managed to get down to this... While not my smallest, it was still an accomplishment.

Pictures can be really evil... but they are truth tellers. If you ever want to know how you truly look, look at a picture ha. Now. When I say I am getting fat... I am not saying I AM fat... or even saying that you are fat if you are heavier than me. All I am saying is that I am on the journey, on my way, heading that direction... getting fat. I don't say this to get a bunch of "NO YOU'RE NOT!" comments. I am not even saying it to get the "You look great! You're pregnant" comments. Although, I don't hate those comments, I am just saying it to make light of it and to vent it out. It's kind of me acknowledging before anyone else does, that "look, I know I am not a skinny pregnant lady."

I don't delude myself into thinking anything other than what is real. I don't think I am ugly. I don't think I am morbidly obese. I am pregnant. I don't need a news flash to tell me that being pregnant means weight gain. Pregnant or not, putting on weight is stressful to me! I think because my track record has shown losing weight to be a pretty difficult thing to do!

Yes, I realize I am pregnant! Yes, I realize I am NOT FAT! I am not over here depressed and wallowing about my weight either, but it is in the forefront of my mind because if you'll remember, I never wanted to be pregnant in the first place. ha. For very selfish reasons too. HEY! I'm just being honest here! I had ended my pregnancy with Brendan at 179 lbs, I was only able to shed 24 lbs of that. After overhauling the way I ate FINALLY I had gone from 155 lbs to 128 lbs over the course of about a year... I gained 7 lbs back shortly before I got pregnant with this one, but still, even at 135 lbs I was at one of the lowest weights I had been at since before getting pregnant with Brendan. I didn't want to put this weight back on! I was also happy with my 2 kiddos. I felt like our family was complete.

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID! I just want to be able to vent my weight frustrations without people getting upset with me. I'm not putting myself down, I'm just SAYIN'... and I try to keep it light hearted and funny, and not so serious... case in point... my facebook status a couple hours ago read...

Just took the 30 week picture... Dear Avery... I am so glad that I am having you and can't wait to meet you, but please stop making your momma fat! ha. :) ♥

I want to be able to acknowledge that I am looking a little fluffy, without people trying to tell me that I am all belly or that I don't look like I have gained anything... because you know what? That isn't the truth. The truth may be that you think pregnancy suits me, or that I look great, or that I'm a cute preggo... that's fine, I'll say thank you and move on. :) I don't need sunshine blown up my you know where. I'm putting on weight... am I depressed? no. It's just what I do when I'm pregnant...

I guess I am just hoping you can see it how I see it. Yes, I am happy to be having Avery... I can't wait to meet her. Yes, I am ok with being pregnant and even enjoying it at times. YET... even with that, I am still stuck here undoing all of my hard work waiting as pound by pound, all that weight comes back on... and I just have to cross my fingers that I can find the motivation and the where with all to lose it after Avery is here.

Maybe this is something I will always be alone in. I don't expect people who have never been pregnant to understand... and I am finding that even some women who have been pregnant won't ever understand... but this is me. I'm not hunting for sympathy, or a thick candy shell... I'm just calling it how I see it. I really am sorry if it upsets anyone. I really am, but maybe this blog post will help you understand better... ok. I think I'll save the pie post for later.

If you read this whole thing Kudos to you! I might send you a prize! No promises, I'm a busy girl lately. ha.

30 Weeks and Bravery

2011-09-22T16:47:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the week again. I am 30 weeks pregnant! Woo Hoo! Here is the 30 week belly... and you're getting a treat... or a shock! ha. I am giving you a side view and a semi front view! The front view is taking a bit of bravery on my part, because you can see my thighs are getting very "thunder-ish" and my chin is threatening to go "double-ish" ha ha ha. Oh well. I can't undo it right now so I'm trying not to worry about it. Trying to just make fun of it. So here we go...

That's the 30 week belly.Not much to update you on. I have still been feeling that crazy light headed pass out type feeling and it seems to be quite bad right now. The top of my belly is starting to hurt like it did with Brendan. I have noticed a few new little stretchy marky friends. Other than that... not much to speak of.Next week is my last ultrasound. Should be a fun update. I know this particular update isn't full of fluffy clouds and unicorns, but on the same token I am not trying to be all gripey either... just telling it how it is. I guess I'll leave you with some happy things...*Avery is quite the night owl... my belly goes CRAZY at night.*I am generally pretty happy lately.*I have gotten her car seat and play yard.*At least I still fit in my maternity jeans... Barely.*Going to church again, and it's actually been something I look forward to... not dread.*The Office starts tonight!*My mom's birthday is tomorrow!*I get to see the OU vs. Mizzou game LIVE on Saturday with my cousin Kyle and his awesome wife Seana... oh and of course Dave!And that's it.Happy Thursday and Friday you all.P.S. If this pumpkin pie that I made today is any good, you will have a recipe post coming up.

Looking Ahead

2011-09-20T15:43:00.001-05:00

October is going to be one of the craziest months. I am really hoping it won't be the most stressful. Dave has 2 drills with his reserve unit, Lindsey and Bren's birthday is the 9th and 10th, of course there is getting ready for Halloween, I am going to be helping photograph a wedding, and then throughout the entire month we will be getting ready for a move. It's nothing exciting or major... we just had to find a 3 bedroom place because of Avery. We aren't even moving far enough for Lindsey to change school districts so see how uneventful that news is!? ha. This is going to be a tough time of adjustment because our rent will be $225.00 more than what we are used to. I did our budget though, and I know we can afford it.

Speaking of budget, it is SHOCKING how much of our paycheck we EAT! I mean literally! So much money is spent on food. Gas station snacks and eating out here and there. It just had me floored.

We move on October 22nd.. I will be 34 weeks pregnant! ha. I've done this before though. When I was pregnant with Lindsey we moved when I was 37 weeks pregnant. ha. I was really hoping that it would send me into labor... NOPE ha. So funny. Delivered exactly on my due date with her. At least I didn't go OVER, right? I am NOT wanting this move to send me into labor... but since I will be out photographing a wedding, I won't be doing much of the work anyway. :)

HEY... Do any of you shoot with a Canon SLR? I have 2 lenses that I am trying to sell... here are the lenses...

And here is the link to the craigslist ads: ~~Canon 14-70mm f4 L~~ SOLD and Canon 100mm f2 USM. If you respond to the craigslist ad, just make sure to tell me you saw this on my blog and if you buy it, I will ship it to you no cost after I receive your payment via paypal. Ok. That's enough shameless advertising.

Have a great rest of Tuesday and a wonderful Wednesday! I will catch ya back here on Thursday for my 30 week pregnancy update. :)

A-Z All About ME!

2011-09-16T00:17:00.000-05:00

Saw thisawesomeness on Mandy's blog. I loved filling these sorts of things out on myspace and facebook when they were all the rage, but it's been a while. I have done a couple of survey type things on my blog before, but this one was just extra cool... so I am passing it on to you. Copy it and fill it out on your own blog. Let me know and I'll come check it out!

A. Age: 32

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore that you hate: Oh gosh. Just one? Definitely Cleaning the bathroom.

D. Dogs: are ok, if they don't lick, drool, or jump all over you.

E. Essential start to your day: Usually checking for communications on my iPhone ha.

F. Favorite color: I tend to be drawn to shades of Blue. I love any autumn colors though.

G. Gold or Silver: I don't have a preference. I like them both.

H. Height: 5 ft 1 in. I'm a shorty.

I. Instruments you play: Does voice count? I don't play an actual instrument!

J. Job title: Stay at Home Mom. Homemaker. Housewife. Whatever.

K. Kids: 2 and 1 on the way.

L. Live: Near Springfield, MO

M. Mother’s name: Glenda

N. Nicknames: Ames, Schmamey, Schmames

O. Overnight hospital stays: After giving birth to my son and daughter.

P. Pet peeves: Irresponsibility, Dishonesty, Disloyalty. Those things tend to get under my skin pretty good.

Q. Quote from a movie: "Hold on tight spider monkey..." Twilight. ;) WHAT!? I don't really pay attention to movie quotes and this was the first thing that came to mind. Brilliant right?

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: An older sister and a younger brother... both of whom I love dearly.

U. Underwear: Comfort trumps pretty and frilly, but sometimes a girl just has to feel sexy. Thongs are OUT though. Especially in my current condition. Preggo... in a thong...? You're welcome for the mental picture
.
V. Vegetable you hate: Raw? Celery and Broccoli... but I can eat ANY vegetable cooked.

W. What makes you run late: Unavoidable circumstances... otherwise, I am RARELY EVER late. I think it is a complete lack of respect for others and their time when you run late.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Arm, knee. teeth.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Oh gosh... ummm. Pumpkin Cheesecake, Key Lime Cheesecake, Chocolate Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Cookies, Apple Crisp, Chili, Greek Pasta, Cheesey Biscuits, Chicken and Dumplings... If I have a recipe, I can make just about anything good, except for pies. The only pies I can make well are pumpkin and pecan.

Z. Zoo animal: Giraffes. They are so pretty and They eat funny. I also love elephants.

29 Weeks and I FAIL at Blogging.

2011-09-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have been so horrible at this whole blogging scene. I haven't been blogging much on my own blog and I haven't been visiting and commenting on other blogs except what pops up in my facebook feed. I am so sorry. I have always thought it important to visit blogs and comment, it has just been so low on my priority list right now. I don't know if/when that will change... with a new baby coming and school... I do believe this is only going to get worse not better. I am going to try though. I do care about what you all have to say and I am interested, it's just that life is really different for me right now.

Enough of the excuse and disclaimer. 29 weeks is here. Next week will be week 30... yes, I am captain OBVIOUS! ha. Week 30 is so important because it means 10 more weeks left... HOPEFULLY LESS! I would love it if Avery made her entry into the world during November. I would especially love it if she came before Thanksgiving. I am full term on the 11th of November. I know I am doing a lot of looking ahead, but I can't help it. Between this hypoglycemia, weight gain, and typical annoyances of pregnancy... it cheers me up to look at the light at the end of the tunnel.

So here is the 29 week belly...

Still taking my walks. I am trying to take them everyday, but I have missed a couple days. Usually the days that I miss I am busy and active already anyway, so I am still getting exercise. At this point I don't know how much it is doing for my weight. My appetite is so big right now. It's a struggle to not over eat. I have laid off the juice though. Drinking primarily water and 1% milk.

What am I enjoying right now? Avery's movements and rolls for sure. She isn't a kicker like my other two, she seems to like to roll around in there. It's fun and reassuring to feel. I am enjoying the cooler temps coming our way. A few days are predicted to be in the low 80's, but throwing some mid 60's and low 70 degree days in there is making me happy and ready for fall.

I have some events to look forward to. My mom's birthday is September 23! Isn't that possibly the BEST day to have a birthday ever??? I mean right at the Autumn Equinox. It's pretty awesome that my mom's birth is at the beginning of my favorite season. I am making her an Italian Wedding Cream cake and canning her some mashed sweet potatoes for her sweet potato pies that she makes. I am also going to attempt apple butter for her... we'll see how that goes.

Then, on the 24th, Dave and I are traveling to Oklahoma to see OU vs. Mizzou! We are meeting up with my cousin Kyle and Seana. Our kids are going to play and hang out with their two wonderful kids while we go to the game, it should be an awesome fun time.

Finally the 28th is my last ultrasound of this pregnancy. We are checking out baby's position and growth. I am really looking forward to it.

After this month, things should speed right up as far as the pregnancy is concerned. October is a fun month full of birthdays, candy, pumpkins, and Halloween. It should go by pretty fast. Lindsey and Brendan's birthday is on the 9th and 10th of October... then I am photographing a wedding on the 22nd... then Halloween... then October is over! Do you realize how fast this is going to go? I will be 35 weeks by the end of October!

November is the home stretch and will probably be the longest draggiest month... but hey! There is Thanksgiving. If I haven't mentioned it before Halloween and Thanksgiving are my very favorite holiday's EVER. I love them even more than Christmas. I mean, I love Christmas, but it's kind of a sad Holiday because once it's over, it is really the end of the best Holiday's all year. I prefer the weeks leading up to Christmas. The cool thing is that Avery will be here, at the latest, during December and no more pregnancy! Now that is a GREAT Christmas present! ha.

Ok, I seriously am rambling on. Just know that we are coming up on some happy days for me. :) I hope you all are equally excited about the Holidays.

I am going to try to make time to visit your blogs and also to blog a couple times other than my weekly pregnancy update.

28 Weeks

2011-09-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello there 3rd Trimester! I am ready for the home stretch! I can't BELIEVE I am already this far! In 3 weeks I get my 2nd ultrasound which is mainly to see what position baby is in. I get the feeling she is taking after her brother and will be breech at the ultrasound. Her brother was transverse until week 36 nearly 37... scared me a little... thinking I was going to have a c-section. Thankfully he turned... so I won't worry about this one until I have to.

Well. Here is my 28 week belly... Another SLR picture. My buddy Brad, who I used to do photography with, had my tripod stowed away and he was kind enough to hunt it down for me and get it to me, so it is likely that you will be getting much nicer pictures for my belly updates from here on out. :)Wednesday was my appointment with my OB... well, my OB is on a MUCH deserved vacation, so I met with the nurse practitioner. We talked about my visit to Labor and Delivery a couple weeks ago. She enlightened me further on why I could be having these weird episodes of extreme light-headedness and feelings of my heart racing. She said when this happens I need to evaluate what I have eaten recently. She said that pregnancy can induce hypoglycemia and if I haven't eaten anything my blood sugar is low... on the same token, if I have eaten anything high in sugar that my blood sugar will be low as well because my body will send out a mass of insuline to take care of the mass of sugar and often times this results in a drastic drop in blood sugar (probably what we refer to as the sugar crash). This made SO much more sense than what Labor and Delivery told me was the culprit. I then confessed that I like to drink juice... a lot... she then proceeded to tell me BAD GIRL and that I might as well be drinking soda. I felt properly chastised. ha. I imagine my pancake breakfasts twice a week don't help either. ;) I didn't tell her about that though.

Then we talked about Tubal Ligation. Yes. I am thinking about getting myself permanently sterilized. No more babies for this momma! I'm getting too old for this crap. ha. I am leaning toward doing this because I am terrible at remembering to take a pill and because I know that I do not want anymore children. My three will be good enough for me! Family of 5 seems like just the right size. Hopefully this doesn't offend any of you "Let God close the womb" people out there. I believe the Good Lord gives us common sense to know when we are done... I'm done.

Finally we talked about allergies. Oh my WORDY DIRD! My allergies are kicking me in the FACE! The Goldenrod is waving it's big yellow pedally flag saying "I bring with me ragweed! There will be great suffering and rubbing of eyes!" So... she gave me the GREAT news that I can take Zyrtec. Benadryl SUCKS! Sorry if you hate that word, but it does. All it does is make me want to sleep and it also puts me in a downright grumpy mood. I guess that makes sense because it's a depressant. I have this little trick, usually, where I take my allergy pill with a Monster to counter act each other... I can't drink Monster while pregnant, so I just have to deal with the sleepies. BAH.

Weight. I don't think I have talked about this in a while. Ok. So we are looking at 156.8... I started this whole thing out at 135... so 21.8 lb gain at 28 weeks... not too shabby. I am going to start cracking down on my eating habits now to hopefully only gain 10 more lbs at the most. WE WILL SEE. I have 12 weeks left. That is slightly less than a lb a week... This is a tall order, but I think as long as I stay away from the sweets and the juice I should be ok.

So, like I said. Final ultrasound is in 3 weeks. September 28. After that my appointments will be every 2 weeks... it is going to be INSANE how quickly this last bit will go. I love it when the appointments move closer together.

That's it. I got a little winded... Kudos to you if you read it all. You are a champ!
Catch ya later.

Let's Talk Athlete

2011-09-07T10:33:00.006-05:00

I have loved this band since my husband introduced me to them back in 2005 or so. At the time the album they had out was called Tourist. What I love about this band most is their lyrics... Joel Pott is an amazing lyricist. I love how personal his songs can be and how they appeal to people like me who are very family oriented. A lot of his songs are about his kids or his wife. One in particular off of Tourist, really tugged at the heart strings, and that was "Wires"... which was written when his newborn child was in the hospital struggling for life. I also love the song "Chances" off of that album. Really... I love the whole darn thing. it's great.

image source

Now they have an album called Black Swan out. My ultimate favorite song on that album is called "Don't Hold Your Breath" which is another song about a near scare with one of his children. His wife was in the hospital for a possible miscarriage while Joel was in Florida to support Switchfoot while they were on tour. The first time I really listened to the lyrics of this song, I wasn't for sure what he was singing about, I came to the conclusion that he was singing about/to an unborn child... and after working my master googling abilities, I found out the above story, which made me love the song even more.

So I leave you with "Don't Hold Your Breath"... I hope you like it as much as I do.

Don't hold your breath cause we're running in circles
Silence runs along phone lines
I feel like I am swimming through pavements
And then the dark throws me a lifeline

I'll be the sky that lights up with fireworks
Whenever November comes
And you could be the greatest thing that has happened to me
Though I don't know you now

Don't hold your breath
cause we've already been here
There are trees to remember you by
These trees are cold but they're anticipating
The sun is gonna give the kiss of life

I'll be the sky that lights up with fireworks
Whenever November comes
And you could be the greatest thing that has happened to me
Though I don't know you now

I'm blowing breath on the windowpane
Sketching your name with my finger
I'm blowing breath on the windowpane
Sketching your face with my finger

I'll be the sky that lights up with fireworks
Whenever November comes
And you could be the greatest thing that has happened to me
Though I don't know you now

I'll be the sky that lights up with fireworks
Whenever November comes
And you could be the greatest thing that has happened to me
Though I don't know you now

27 Weeks

2011-09-01T12:01:00.000-05:00

Hi there!
Well. I am 27 weeks along today. Here is my 27 week belly...

What's going on? Well, not a whole heck of a lot. She is getting bigger. I am getting bigger. I am still taking my walks but I have skipped a couple days lately. As I get bigger my aches and pains get bigger too. I am still walking though so don't worry!

I am still experiencing that weird light headed, heart racing, overwhelming sensation that I mentioned last week. It mainly happens in the morning. I am going to talk to my doctor at my next appointment about possibly being anemic since those are symptoms of it. I have never been anemic, but if I am going to experience it for the first time, it makes sense for it to be during pregnancy when the baby is taking all of my nutrition from me ha.

No special cravings. Really it's life as usual except with a bigger belly and butt. ha. I'm already wishing for December to be here, but then again, I'm not because I have SO MUCH to do to get ready for this baby. I still need to get a breast pump, a car seat, and a pack n play... among other things.

I did a couple of maternity shots with my SLR. I like them, but you can REALLY see my weight gain in them. I think it's the angle, because I don't have a tripod, I can't get the camera at a typical eye level. It's also difficult to get a good focus. Here they are though...
Other than this... I am still in the process of getting enrolled in classes. I think I really like the blogger changes... for about 5 minutes I hated them, but after fiddling around with them for a bit, I like them (what changes? click the link at the top of your blogger home page). That is all! Hope you all have a fantastic Friday and Weekend! It's September! Woo hoo!

Penmanship

2011-08-31T13:27:00.000-05:00

I have never really liked my hand writing... I don't think that many people do like their own hand writing. I have a cross between cursive and print. I usually change size of my hand writing half way through whatever it is I am writing. ha. BUUUUUUT... I got tagged by Mariel from More Than... to do this penmanship thing... so here is mine. :)

Guidelines:

1.) name and blog title 2.) blog url 3.) “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” a standard font preview phrase 4.) favorite quote 5.) favorite song(s), current and all-time 6.) favorite artist(s) 7.) a phrase i often say 8.) people i tag to play

Just in case there is any question about who got tagged... I will link up the blogs... CaL, Larissa, Mars, Brooke, Carol Anne, Kinsey French, and Suzy. If you participate... cool... if not, you won't hurt my feelings any. If you didn't get tagged, please don't feel left out, I was picking people by random. If you want to do this too, don't feel like you have to be tagged to do it.

Becoming a Big Girl

2011-08-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

I have NO CLUE what the above picture has to do with any of this post, except that to me it looks kinda super hero-ish, and I'm feeling kinda super hero-ish. I don't know why it took me 32 years to decide what I want to be when I "grow up" but it did. Now here I am, submitting a college application and a FAFSA, which was a pain in the royal patootis. I have never liked school. My two attempts at college were HORRIBLE. If I have any advice for you young ones getting out of highschool, don't go to college until you know what you want to be. At least, that's my advice if you are someone like me who needs to have a clear goal and direction.

My ultimate goal is to become a nurse. Specifically an RN and I would love to work in Pediatrics or Labor and Delivery. I am so crazy excited to begin this journey, but I am also scared and worried at the same time. Knowing how I have done in school in the past, I am so nervous about succeeding, but I know that I can't worry about that, I just have to DO IT!

I have my application submitted, I have my FAFSA submitted... now I wait. Unless something goes dreadfully wrong and I get denied, I should be starting school in January 2012... new baby and all. Which means I will more than likely have to change some of my plans as far as the baby is concerned to make it easier on me to do school work... like cloth diapering. I really wanted to do that, but I don't think I will be able to keep up with the extra loads of laundry and do school. We will have to see and take a it one day at a time.

There is the big news on the Schmamey front. I will hopefully be going back to school. I will hopefully do good and I will hopefully be an RN in 4 years resulting in me either working Labor and Delivery or Pediatrics. GAH! I'm really feeling a lot of anxiety and excitement, but there you have it. I also hope that I won't be recanting any of this later... I just wanted to tell you all what is going on with me right now.

Another Canning Adventure with Leez.

2011-08-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

Liz and I got together again, just like I told you we would, to do MORE canning. Again, we had so much fun, and we got done so much quicker because we actually knew what we were doing this time. ha.

My choice for canning today was Carrot Cake Jam... I am not going to lie, it makes your house smell HOLY GOOD and I couldn't keep myself from tasting a little bit after we filled all our jars... It tastes HOLY GOOD too. ha.

I had a couple people ask for the recipe. If you haven't canned before, this might look overwhelming, but if you google canning you can get a good idea of what you will need and how to go about all of this. Here is the recipe...

Carrot Cake Jam

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped pears
1 can (14 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 package Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin
6 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups chopped toasted pecans

Combine carrots, pears, pineapple (including the juice), lemon juice and spices in a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil; cover and reduce heat. Boil gently 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Measure sugar; set aside.
Whisk pectin into carrot mixture until dissolved. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil over high heat. Add sugar. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full rolling boil; boil hard 1 minute. Stir in pecans. Remove from heat; skim foam. Ladle into hot jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim. Hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Yield about 6 250 ml (half pint) jars

(I would source this recipe, but I found this exact recipe on so many different sites that I don't know who the originator was. NOT ME though ha. All I changed was the original recipe called for bottled lemon juice, I used fresh squeezed and I also used sure-jell for the pectin, since it's all natural)

The jalepeno jelly ended up looking like this...

If you have ever seen Jurassic Park, you know, the part where the Brachiosaurus sneezes on the girl... Yeah, that's about what this jelly looks like. ha.

This is my new favorite thing to do. I love canning. It's so much fun. I'm not sure what we are going to can next, but it won't be jam or jelly and it will be exciting.

Week 26

2011-08-25T09:55:00.004-05:00

Hi there. I'm 26 weeks, and HERE is my 26 week belly.

Belly looks a bit bigger than last week but for some reason week 24 I looked HUGE. I think at week 24 she must have been a little more scrunched up. I get the feeling by where I am feeling kicks that she is stretched out and just having a great time in my belly ha. Last appointment my fundal height was right on with my weeks of pregnancy so I am not worried about growth. I just think she is maxin and relaxin in there. ha.

Things are going well. My only complaint right now is I get sensations of overwhelming lightheadedness. Not even dizzy. Just like I'm going to pass out. I get it when I sit down as well... matter of fact as I type this I am having one of these episodes. My heart feels like it's working overtime and I want nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep. I did go to the Dr. to get my blood pressure checked among other things... everything seems normal... so I just try not to worry about it too much.

Still taking my walks although I will be honest and say it is becoming a huge struggle. Not to get out to take the walk, but while I am taking the walk I run into "the wall." Have you seen the movie Run, Fatboy, Run? If you have, you know about "the wall." ha. I've been able to move past it, but I am worried as my pregnancy progresses that I won't have the will power. Meh, I won't worry about that now. One day at a time.

The fun stuff is when Avery gets really active and my belly is bumping all over the place. I can't help but giggle.

P.S. Yes, my hair is darker. Yes, I did color it. Don't worry, it is no longer a concern to dye your hair while pregnant. They tell you to be in a well ventilated room and to wait till you are in your 2nd trimester... check and check. So. Gray is covered and hair is darker. :)

And THAT my friends is pregnancy week 26 for the Schmames. Have a great Thursday!

New Look.

2011-08-23T16:52:00.004-05:00

Not much going on in my world. Getting ready to take my walk and cook dinner for the kiddos.

This is really just a blog post to state the obvious. I changed my blog look.

Right now I am addicted to:

The Temper Trap

image source

Have a great rest of Tuesday and a wonderful Wednesday.

I'm Turning into a Grandma with Each New Hobby

2011-08-21T21:47:00.003-05:00

Canning! Who knew it was so much fun!? It can be a bit daunting at first but once you figure out the process of it all, it's so simple really! It is a lot of work but when you do something like this with a friend, it's awesome! Liz and I teamed up and I thought we did pretty good. Our projects were Orange Marmalade, which is a LOT of work... and Strawberry Jam, which isn't as much work... comparatively speaking.

We decided to try out the Orange Marmalade by making some homemade buttermilk biscuits, and let me tell you, it is delicious! I absolutely love it! I think I may replace my syrup on pancakes in the morning, with this stuff. Not that it's runny like syrup, because it's not, but it is so much more yummy than syrup!

I think I can speak for Liz that we will definitely be doing this more often as a fun little hobby and hang out time for us. It's also nice to have fresh jam and marmalade that we know doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it and that we made with our own two hands! I kept saying to Liz, I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED! ha ha. I am so excited to use the strawberry jam tomorrow. :)

In the future we are going to be making a Carrot Cake Jam and some Peach Jam! I LOVE CANNING!

Week 25 and my Baby Girl is a 2nd Grader!

2011-08-18T12:56:00.004-05:00

First off. The pregnancy update. Today was a weird morning. I have been feeling light headed... almost to the point of passing out, sweaty, weak, racing heart, a light pain in my chest... It's really weird. I called the nurse and she instructed me to go to Labor and Delivery if my symptoms come back. I am feeling ok now, the symptoms are still there, but not as overwhelming, I can at least function.

Other than that, I think I am doing good. Here is my 25 week belly picture...

I think it actually looks smaller than last week! ha. I think it's the shirt and the angle that the photograph was taken. Oh well. Fear not. Baby is growing, I assure you... Nothing really exciting to speak of. She is moving. I am still taking my 2 mile walks. No new cravings... except I wanted a coca cola classic really bad the other day so I had one yesterday :)

My daughter Lindsey started 2nd grade today! She's growing up too fast. I took some pictures of her and her good friend Bella while they waited for the bus. I am so glad school has started. Maybe Bren and Lindsey will get along better now that they won't see each other so much.

I'm really hoping that this year doesn't go as fast as last year! How is it that my girl is ALREADY IN 2ND GRADE!!!??? Oh dear.

Want to See the First Photosession I Ever Did?

2011-08-16T00:00:00.005-05:00

I have been organizing my hard drives. One of my hard drives has been showing signs of wanting to crash, so I am transferring all of my pictures over to another. It has been quite the task, but ya know, it's also allowed me to go through pictures I haven't seen in a while.

When I first started taking pictures for people I had a Canon Rebel 2000 SLR with a kit lens... that's film folks. ha. I also had a Canon SD1000 Point and Shoot for back up. I know... I was really sporting the amazing camera equipment. We all have to start somewhere! ha.

I was just learning how to use my light meter and to shoot in manual at this time.

My first session ever was a family session that I did back in February of 2008. Most of the pictures were shot with film that I got developed onto a CD... the only one shot with the point and shoot was the vertical family portrait.

I remember getting these developed and being so proud of myself that I shot in manual and they all came out. :) it was a huge accomplishment! Anyway. There you have it. The beginning of my journey into portrait photography.

Should've Stopped at One

2011-08-15T08:00:00.023-05:00

Finished Torment... The 2nd book in the Fallen Series. This book gets a rating of BLAH.

There is so much wrong with this book, I don't even know where to begin... and it's a real shame, since I really liked the first book. Fallen wasn't the best or even the most memorable YAF book I've ever read, not by far, but even with it's predictability and "duh" moments, I liked it. Because of this, I really had high hopes for the series as a whole, but here I am getting very frustrated and wondering if maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I am too old for YAF. I am debating on whether or not to read Passion: the 3rd installment, as user reviews are indicating that I will face the same frustrations that I faced while reading this book. Torment was torment. Lauren Kate REALLY dropped the proverbial ball, which is very bad because book one was shakey. Good but shakey.

I am going to try and keep this spoiler free, while still giving you the list of reasons this book is a disappointment. First of all, like the first book, the author is STILL terrible at carrying an idea through to the end and giving an idea the impact it needs to give the story the WOW factor. When you arrive at the book's supposed twists and turns, they are either underwhelming or it's what I call a "duh" moment. "Duh" moments are the moments where the author treats something as a big reveal... but the reader figures it out after 30 pages... okay, maybe not 30 pages, but you get my meaning.

Lauren Kate has also proven herself to be... well... not very clever. For instance, she has a girl character dye her hair blonde, has another girl character look exactly like this character before she dyes her hair blonde... but they both look very similar... "could have been sisters" the book says. The author has a bad guy capture the look alike in mistake for the newly blonde girl... problem is, the bad guy is blind, so how could the bad guy know whether her hair was blonde or black??? In the book, the bad guy is able to see a persons life aura, or something like that, but is still essentially blind. These types of story flaws are annoying, because the author should be more clever than that. Maybe J.K. Rowling has spoiled me. I don't think there will be a more clever modern day writer. Clever is stopping short too... she really is brilliant.

Furthermore... Lauren Kate took the lead character on a turn for the worse. Eclipse was my least favorite of The Twilight Saga because Bella Swan was so dang annoying. To put it in perspective for you... this character, Luce, gave Bella Swan a run for her money and that is saying something, because Bella's lack of concern for Edward's concerns for her and her shameless chasing after Jacob DROVE ME NUTS! In Torment, Luce's attitude, the wish washiness of her "love" for her Daniel, her inability to see past her own self pity, and petty irrational feelings... GAH! All I can do is sit here and slap my forehead. Come on YAF authors... teens aren't really like this? Are they? I don't remember being like this. Completely unrelatable.

However, the story IS strangely compelling and this has part of me wanting to finish the books... it's just that the good feelings are gone. I am officially frustrated with this series.

Next on my reading list is: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. The Wise Man's Fear is the follow up to a book I read last winter called The Name of the Wind. VERY good book. It's going to be nice to read some adult fiction after all the fickle, horomonal, teenage muckety muck I have been reading.

I will also be venturing into the Hush Hush series, per suggestion by Miss Indie. Don't lead me a stray girl! You know how I felt about The Mortal Instruments ha ha ha.

Guess What I did for $1

2011-08-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

My brother called me ~~this~~ yesterday morning and asked me to go to the Zoo with him and Liz. At first I was like NO WAY. Even the 87 degree temps, as cool as they feel compared to 100+ degrees, feels miserable when you are preggo... that and Zoo's stink... do they not? ha. BUUUUUT, I decided to go. For one, it's not often that you can get into the Zoo for $1... for two, the kids really need to enjoy their last few days of summer vacation since Lindsey starts 2nd grade on Thursday of next week. We ended up having a great time. Bren loved the reptile exhibits and both of them loved the Hippo. I am so thankful that Liz and Anthony invited us along for their day at the Zoo.

There's No Excuse

2011-08-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Taking my walk today, I was listening to Eisley "The Valley". I bought the album a few months ago, but this was the first real listen I gave it. It really is a heavy album, lyrically. Most of the songs seem to be dealing with a relationship gone bad. One song indicating that there was some unfaithfulness involved. I love the ablility to release emotions through music and relate to others on so many levels. I was finding myself relating to a lot of the feelings being expressed in the album, I'm sure many of you could... and it got me to thinking about betrayal in general. All of us will experience it and quite possibly all of us will be the betrayer at some point.

One thing I have learned is that no matter what the betrayal, there is no excuse for it. There is no reason that a person can give, that makes betraying someone ok, because betrayal comes from the most selfish of places within us. The hurt that is caused from it runs deeper than any cut and always leaves a scar. To cause that sort of pain in someone else... you can't come up with ANY excuse good enough to wash away your guilt.

To the betrayer, the only thing to do is to own up. Fess up. Don't offer excuses, because they will never work... simply admit you were wrong, and hope that the hurt you caused will heal enough to where the scar from it will eventually fade enough to be forgotten. We all will betray someone at some point in our lives. The human nature is often times an ugly thing, and our worst enemy. The only redemption for betrayal, though, is to take responsibility, confess, and hope for forgiveness. Then you have to adopt patience, because more than likely forgiveness will not come immediately and sometimes not at all. It's not your right to get frustrated with someone because they have a hard time getting past your betrayal. You caused the hurt, so you need to accept the healing time that comes along with that. Sometimes old wounds flair up again, too, and you will need to have patience during that as well. Most importantly... don't lie or try to cover up your betrayal, because it ALWAYS comes to light in the end. All of it does. The damage of betrayal is always worse for you and the person you betrayed when you try to cover it up... so own up.

To the betrayed, let it make you stronger, not a victim. Don't carry it around. It will only wear you down and make you weak and weary. We are all capable of the worst, but sometimes the worst can bring about the best in all of us. Some hurts run too deep, and there will never be reconciliation, but forgiveness is essential. Carrying around hurt for all to see will only end up hurting you worse. Hate and anger are a prison. It's a cage you put yourself in and it will imprison you as long as you allow it to.

Summation of thoughts: Betrayer, take responsibility for your betrayal. Betrayed, it's ok to be hurt, but it's essential to forgive. Forgiveness doesn't mean you have to open yourself back up to a person that has betrayed you... it is simply the key to freeing yourself from the imprisonment of hate and anger.

Sometimes I feel like my blog is very surface level. I long to write posts when I am thinking "deeply" but often times I end up not. So, here, you get a peace of deep thinking Amy. ha.

Fallen - A Review

2011-08-11T21:39:00.006-05:00

Image Source

The first book in this series has taught me a lesson. You can't always go off of other people's reviews. One man's trash is another man's treasure so to speak. I saw some girls reading this in line for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2. I did what any curious bored book reader would do. I googled them. The reviews on the particular website that I went to were less than stellar. A lot of people giving the books 1 or 2 stars only. The reviews flat out trashed the books, the author and anyone who reads them. Bad review after bad review, I decided these books would probably only frustrate me and decided not to read them. Besides... I have never really felt comfortable with a skewed view of religion being that I was raised in church, and these books are obviously about Angels. However, after being sorely disappointed in The Mortal Instruments, whose reviews were dominantly positive, I was really craving some Young Adult Fiction. So, I decided why not give this book a try.

I finished reading Fallen (the first book in the series) and... I really liked it! Far from perfect, I think she tends to leave some ideas unfinished, while focusing on ideas that are easily figured out. She has the main character figure out things that the reader figures out way in advance. In spite of that, I found the book interesting still. I don't expect much from Young Adult Fiction. I definitely don't expect the level of writing that you see in adult fiction... I figure that's a no brainer. I have a lot of respect for writers, creating such detalied and intricate imaginary worlds for us to escape in. You have to know it's hard work. Unlike Stephanie Meyers' Twilight Saga (which I love even with it's faults), I didn't find Lauren Kate's writing style to be annoying, the story line was interesting, it flowed, and I couldn't put the book down.

In Fallen you are following the life of a girl named Lucinda but everyone calls her Luce. She is sent to a reform school where she finds herself captivated by a boy named Daniel, who she can't help but feel a strange and deep connection to. From beginning to end, this story held my interest. Understanding that it IS young adult fiction you have to put up with a little cheese here and there and kissy kissiness. ha. Still it's a great read. Every chance I got... while kids were napping, sleeping, or watching PBS kids... I was reading. This book was addicting. I am now on chapter 3 of Torment, the 2nd book in the series... I will report back when that one is finished.

I would also like to say that if you are easily offended by people putting a fictional spin on religion, you will not like these books. While I don't think it is too far off base, you may take offense to the way she portrays angels and their roles with Heaven and Hell. On that same token, if you are someone who doesn't like to read books that are religious in nature... have no fear, this book doesn't seem to advocate one way or the other and is not "Christian" in nature, but does deal with the ideas of religion and Angels. If you are able to put fiction and reality in their proper places, you may find this to be a thrilling and fantastical read.

Week 24 TOO MUCH SUGAR!!!

2011-08-10T21:53:00.002-05:00

Today was the glucose test. For all you non-preggos, this is a test to make sure that I am not developing Gestational Diabetes. Most pregnant women fear this test. I never have. It's not a horrible thing really. So many people make it sound horrible. I will admit that it used to be better than it is now. With Lindsey, the drink was carbonated... so my orange drink tasted like Sunkist. mmmmm. Nothing wrong with that. Now it is just REALLY sweet with a hint of fake orange flavor, no carbonation. Not that yummy, but not too horrible. If I am showing signs of developing GD, I will get a call from my Dr's office. If not... No news is good news.

See the straw all crumpled up inside? I'm telling you, straws make drinking ANYTHING easier ;).

Weight wasn't horrible, but I honestly was hoping for less of a gain. Last visit I gained 6 lbs in 3 weeks. This visit I packed on 5 lbs in 4 weeks... at first I was upset, but I just looked it up and it says that during the 2nd trimester the normal gain is about 1 - 2 lbs per week. I gained BARELY over a lb a week, so I guess I shouldn't be hard on myself. I am currently tipping the scales at 151 lbs. If you remember I began at 135. This is definitely my LEAST favorite part about pregnancy. I am really hoping to end this pregnancy no higher than 160, but with 16 weeks left, I have no doubt that I will more than likely end closer to 165. I am not going to do anything rash to make sure I stay below a certain weight, so don't worry about me. This isn't my first rodeo. I eat when I'm hungry and I take my walks. I am doing everything as smart and healthy as I can.

Here I am 24 weeks pregnant.

Moving right along. Next visit will be with a nurse practitioner. I am discussing Tubal Ligation, so if anyone has any experience, advice, or thoughts on that subject, let me know.

I would like to apologize to all of you who typically get blog comments from me. I have been so out of it in the blogging world. I plan on catching up tomorrow. :)

P.S. Almost forgot. For those who don't know! I am excited to tell you that.... my sister and I are both pregnant at the same time... she is nearly 18 weeks pregnant. She just found out she is having a girl too. I couldn't be more excited. Both of us are pregnant with unplanned pregnancies. It is the funniest situation, but we are both really excited... and I am so happy that my sister is getting her little girl, since she already has an awesome little boy!

Meh. Not That Great.

2011-08-06T00:03:00.002-05:00

I love me some Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy Fiction is the best. After reading about "The Mortal Instruments" from a couple other blogs and having it recommended by other people, I was like, ok, I'll give it a shot. Without giving too much away, I will not be reading the remaining books in this series. I think I will stop at one, this book was not for me... I love Wikipedia because in instances like these, I can just google the books, and read the plot summary, which I did. I don't regret it either because it only proved that the books are predictable and the author is disturbing. I really can't tell you why without spoiling some of the plot for you so, if you plan on reading these books do not read any further it is not safe. ha.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER:

You were warned right? Yes.

This book is tragic... not the story, the book itself. Why? Because the story line is GREAT. The idea behind the whole thing is captivating to say the least. I loved the author's take on demons and demon hunters and the different types of demons and half demons and such. The Journey that Clary is on is fascinating and you are really gripped nearly from the beginning.

The love triangle was a bit annoying. You hate Jace because he is so cocky and self centered... you hate Simon because he is... well, he's annoying. So the author does a good job, for me in making me root for Jace. She makes him cocky, but yet he is still likable and vulnerable, and I don't know... I like a tough guy that's vulnerable. Am I alone in this? It's just kinda sexy.

So all is going well... I mean, it's predictable to a lot of degrees, but still enjoyable. Theeeeeeeeeeen, she throws the incest in there. If you read on in the series you find out it's not really incest which I was able to figure out having not read any further than City of Bones, but still... there is a line that shouldn't be crossed in creating that love dilemma, if you will. Couldn't the author have thought of some other way to make a love conflict... without the suggestion of incest? I probably would have continued reading this series if she would have.

I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around how she could think that would make a good twist in the story. I also can't wrap my mind around the fact that she had the characters kiss when they didn't know they were brother and sister and then kiss when they thought they were brother and sister. EWE! Am I alone in this? Even if, at the end of book 3 she reveals that it was a mistake... that OH NO, they aren't brother and sister... is that supposed to make it ok that when they thought they were brother and sister they still had ROMANTIC feelings for each other and still had kissy moments? I mean. I'm glad that I was right and they turned out NOT to be blood related... but still, the insinuation of it ruined these books for me.

Maybe I am just too old. Maybe this book was just not for me. I mean, I know a lot of people LOVED IT. Maybe I should have given it a better chance like I did Twilight, which to me was a gripping story with very sub-par writing, annoying love triangle, and disturbing situations in the final book... I almost didn't finish Twilight, but I did and loved it... but for some reason, I just can't bring myself to read the remaining books in The Mortal Instruments.

If you loved these books, good on you. I'm glad. I am also sorry for this review... I really wanted to love this book and give it a raving review after I was finished. If you would have asked me 8 chapters in... heck, even up to the last 1/4 of the book, I would have told you this book was really great... but incest as a love conflict, doesn't work for me. Feel free to disagree with me. I can handle it, I'm a big girl.

That's that. My review of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Brilliant concept, decent writing, extremely uncomfortable love story.

23 weeks: 17 more to go.

2011-08-04T12:52:00.002-05:00

Here it is, week 23... just trucking right along in this pregnancy.

(ooopse... forgot to shut the shower door... please ignore ;)

I haven't missed a day of walking since getting back from Texas. Unfortunately, that will change on Saturday. I'm going to a family reunion at my Grandma's house so I won't be able to get my walk in. :(

Cravings are getting less and less specific, I am just hungry a lot. I have gotten up a couple times this past week to make myself a midnight snack, ha. I am just glad that I don't keep a lot of junk food in the house.

Starting to feel movements all around the belly rather than just at the bottom. I feel her moving at the top and sides and still the bottom. Never in the middle. It's always a relief to me when I feel the movements, it lets me know she is doing ok in there.

Aaaaaaand that's it for the weekly update. :)

Have a happy Thursday.

FYI - Just in case I'm NOT the last one on Earth to Enter this Giveaway.

2011-08-03T09:12:00.000-05:00

Head over to the blog Miss Indie and enter THIS giveaway.

Lonely August

2011-08-02T11:02:00.000-05:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to do this or not. I went back and forth and just wasn't sure but I decided to add my blog to Top Baby Blogs. If you have a second or two, click the little square link and vote for my blog. :)

Other than that, what has been going on? Once again, not a whole heckuva lot. I had to drop Dave off yesterday at his Unit, because he has a month of training to do. Which means, I am Daveless. Sad face. I'll survive though.

I got to spend the day with my Grandma and my parents. My Grandma brought my daughter back a TON of clothes from my Aunt Janell who lives in Texas. Her daughter has grown out of a lot of her clothes (and some toys too) and lucky for Lindsey she can fit a lot of it! So YAY! Lindsey is practically set up for fall as far as clothes are concerned. It's so exciting. Hand me downs are the BEST!

I started reading The Mortal Instruments. I am on chapter 9 or so of the first book... I'm really liking it so far. Very interesting story line. I'll let you know what I think as I finish each book.

Aaaaaaaand. That's about it. Happy August you all. We're getting closer to my favorite season of all time. I am hoping to throw a party! Woo hoo!

22 Weeks

2011-07-28T14:09:00.005-05:00

I tried to do some self portraits with my big dog camera, but I failed so you get phone camera pictures again and probably till the end of the pregnancy. ha. I don't have a tripod (lost it at a wedding a while back) so I just couldn't get the camera at a good angle. It was frustrating.

Here I am at 22 weeks. Not much change from last week.

I am feeling tons of movements and they are getting stronger each week. I have had tons of energy! This I am excited about. I have a clean organized house and it has been that way for almost a week now. Those with kids understand that keeping a clean house can be quite a feat. I have a system going now to keep up with my laundry and dishes and I just repeat this system like clock work and this all results in a happy Amy.

Cravings are getting less specific. I really want juice, specifically orange juice... anything sweet, like fruit and pastries. I don't give into my cravings all the time. Last night I had a moment of weakness. My stomach was hurting so bad from what seemed like hunger pains. We don't have much in the house right now because our week is up and we are supposed to go grocery shopping tonight... so I LITERALLY scrounged. I ended up eating a slice of medium cheddar cheese, about 6 bread and butter pickle slices, I lucked out and found a Hershey's bar on top of the fridge but it was warm so I got a spoon and ate a couple bites with crunchy peanut butter... then I drank some water and went to bed. How's that for a midnight snack? ha ha ha.

My pubic bone is feeling worse. I have what is called Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction. I am not letting it stop me from my walks though. I take them everyday. It doesn't hurt while I walk as bad as it hurts once I start relaxing. Turning over in bed is KILLER! Not complaining, I'm just stating what I am experiencing this pregnancy. Pregnancy is a wonderful experience, but I would be lying if I said it was all ultrasounds and baby movements. Your body is in constant preparation for evacuating the baby. This preparation can be painful... but the end result is beautiful. Pain is temporary. :)

Yesterday's walk was tough, though. Not because of my SPD but because I am SEVERELY bugaphobic. I mean. I DESPISE beetles, cicadas, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, bees, and the like... I can force myself to function in spite, but when there are dragonflies out in plague proportions, that's when I can't bust through that mental wall. I literally get goosebumps, and start hyperventilating. I walked about a mile before it got to me too bad. At least I walked though.

I think that's about all for this week's update. I don't think I left anything out. My next appointment is mid August. CAN YOU BELIEVE JULY IS ALMOST OVER???

Also wanted to add this... My pregnant belly progression... so far.

Summer Time Blog Blues.

2011-07-26T23:06:00.000-05:00

I really haven't had much to blog about you all. I have been in a blog funk lately. I keep getting tempted to make over my blog, that way maybe it will spark my interest again. Maybe I will...

So what have I been up to? Well. Not a whole lot. We have been really tight financially so we haven't been getting out and travelling much or going that many places. So I have been a homebody. I did have a burst of energy and motivation about 5 days ago. It was nice. I caught up on all my housework and have a routine going so my laundry is caught up, my dishes are done, my living room and kitchen look nice. When my house is clean, I am happy person, anyone else like that?

One of my only costly outings lately was to go with my good friend and neighbor Tiffany to eat at Bambu... one of my favorite restaurants. I had Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli, some fresh spring rolls (love), and a Taro Bubble Tea (mmmm). It was nice to get out and just have some girl talk time.

Still taking my walks everyday, in case you were wondering. Today I took my walk while listening to The Killers Sawdust album and I guess listening to music really helps in keeping a fast steady pace... I finished my walk in 38 minutes and it normally takes me an hour.

My good friend Liz took my walk with me on Monday, we had consumed a TON of calories! ha. It was my brother's birthday and I made Chicken and Dumplings and a Pumpkin Cheesecake... My brother's favorite meal that I cook. He was really chipper so I could tell that Liz succeeded in making this birthday one of his best ever. Good job Liz.

I have been craving coffee lately. Not sure, maybe the antioxidants... So I made some decaf this morning and it was heaven. YUM.

I am so ready for Fall. There is this tree on the trail I walk and for some reason it is starting to change yellow and drop it's leaves... Strange because our temps have been so high lately.

I like that the leaves were heart shaped. I love fall. My favorite holidays are in the Fall time. Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love everything about the fall. I think I have said this before. It's a feeling in the air, the smells, the treats that go along with that time of year. I love pumpkins, I love bright orange leaves from sugar maples, I love that time of year. I hate the summer. It's my most loathed season. I will take 20 degree snowy days over 100+ degree temps and no rain for weeks. So. I am counting down the days for it to end.

I may have bored you to death with this post. I am being honest when I say my life hasn't been the most exciting.

A bloggy friend that works at the same place that my hubs does made Avery something special recently... I plan to blog about it soon. I just have to get around to taking pics.

Hope you all have a brilliant Wednesday!

Week 21

2011-07-21T12:40:00.002-05:00

HEART BUUUUUURN!!! Oh my gosh. Main complaint right now. ha. I had it bad with both of my previous pregnancies, so really, I am not surprised to have it strong again.

Oranges. Yum. It's what I have been wanting lately. Oranges, orange juice, anything made with orange... give it to me. ha. I have also wanted chocolate. Dave was awesome yesterday and he brought me home a can of orange juice to mix up and 2 bars of my favorite chocolate, which happens to be Cadbury Fruit and Nut Chocolate Bar. DEEEELISH... so cravings are satisfied.

Here I am at 21 weeks. (I'm really working on this smiling while I take my picture thing, ha)

This is where it slows down a bit because I really have nothing to look forward to for another 10 weeks or so... This little stretch of pregnancy will be very slow... but not as slow as the last 3 weeks, which are sheer torture.

I am carrying this little baby SO LOW! Both of my other ones were higher. Lindsey being the one I carried the highest. I carried her so high that after I gave birth to her, my ribs SERIOUSLY felt broken for like 3 months after. Bren wasn't nearly as high, but he was high... my ribs didn't get as stretched with him. This one... is doing a number on my pelvic bone, so I am experiencing a whole new world of pregnancy discomfort with this one. No big. I can handle it.

Thought I would add that baby Avery has been kicking and moving around and it has been so fun to feel her movements. Not only does it give me peace of mind, but it is also one of the coolest things about pregnancy.

STILL WALKING :) Yup. Matter of fact... here are some of the instagrams I took this week during my walks...

I thought I would share a story of Bren and naming the baby. Before I had the ultrasound I asked him again what he hoped mommy was having. He told me a boy. I asked him why since he had previously said girl. He said "So I can name him Lightening McQueen." ha ha ha. I laughed and said, I'm not going to name a boy Lightening McQueen. He said "How about Dynaco?" ha ha ha... I laughed again and said I am not going to name a boy Dynaco either. SO FUNNY. So right before the ultrasound I asked him again and he said girl this time, I asked him why the change of heart, he said "because you won't let me name him Dynaco." I thought it was so funny. My Cars Obsessed little boy. He is my daily entertainment.

That is all from me on this week's pregnancy updates. Hope you all are enjoying your summer. With August approaching, fall will be here before we know it, and I couldn't be happier. I can't express to you how much I love the fall.

Am I The Only One??? (SPOILER ALERT)

2011-07-18T14:31:00.001-05:00

Ok. Now that it's been a few days and I know a lot of you have seen the movie by now... this is my last major post on the last movie installment of Harry Potter.
PLEASE: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET OR READ THE BOOK PLEASE SKIP THIS POST AND COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.
I do not want to be responsible for spoiling anything for you.

image source

Ok. When I said there were parts I didn't like about the new Harry Potter film, I should clarify. There really was only one major part that really irked me. Seriously, it bugged me so bad, I left the film really questioning whether I liked the movie or not. Even though I was emotionally moved in all aspects... This one thing was threatening to undo it all for me! I have since come to the conclusion that I loved the movie but hated this one scene...

At the end... instead of Harry using the Elder wand to fix his wand that got broken in Godric's Hollow... he just snaps it in two... when in the book, he uses the Elder wand, being that it is unbeatable, to fix his wand and then he returns the wand to Dumbledore's tomb. When the snapping scene took place, I turned to Dave and said "I guess he doesn't NEED a wand, he's Harry effing Potter" ha ha ha. I was just really grumpy about it. The thing is, it really wouldn't have taken much time or effort to have kept that in step with the book. They showed that his wand got broken in DH pt 1...

...so to have him pull his broken wand out of a pocket or bag and repair it with the Elder wand would have been easy peasey... then if the movie wanted him to snap the wand in half so bad, do it then... but for goodness sake... Repair his fracken wand. That wouldn't have been too difficult of a scene, now would it have? Am I the only one that this bugged???

So that's my gripe with the last installment. I loved it... cried like a baby... there was some BRILLIANT acting done by my favorite Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon (who I initially HATED as Dumbledore but came to adore him after HBP), etc... It was all great. Except for... the wand. Grrrrrr.

Attending a Movie Midnight Showing 101

2011-07-16T20:47:00.001-05:00

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 out of the way, I thought I'd share a little list of tips for those crazies that buy the tickets to see a popular movie at midnight. The reason for this post? Oh. Let's just say I witnessed some very disappointed people because they didn't know what to expect and didn't plan ahead. Having been to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, New Moon, Eclipse, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2... I'd say I have some experience in this area, and I wanted to impart to you some of the things I have learned along the way.

1. Get your tickets a month before the midnight show: Midnight show tickets generally sell out quick, especially dealing with things such as Harry Potter (which there won't be anymore midnight showings for that *tear) The Twilight Saga, and soon to come The Hunger Games. Plan to purchase your tickets as early as a month before but no less than 20 days out from the event or risk not being able to purchase a ticket.

2. Get to the Cinema as early as possible: When I say early I mean no less than 10 hours before your showing starts, and earlier than that is preferred. I like to get to the Cinema at LEAST 14 hours before showtime. Why? Odds are, a midnight showing indicates a HIGHLY popular film. This means a packed theater. This also means that you are dealing with fanatics. Fanatics will camp out overnight to insure that they get their desired seat. This means, for you showing up an hour 1/2 before the show starts, you will be in the front of the theater with a cricked neck by the time the showing is over. My advice: Find out when the release date is... (you can generally find this information out a year in advance) ask off of work and make the proper preparations ahead of time to clear your schedule to be at the the theater early in the morning to reserve your place in line and get the seat you want.

3. Take friends: Make sure you invite your awesome friends to keep you company and make sure that they have taken care of steps 1 and 2. Nothing is worse than waiting in line all day all by yourself. Midnight showings should be a group thing. The more the merrier. However, make sure that your friends come close to the time you get there because nothing is more annoying to a person who has put in the long grueling waiting time for a good seat, to have 19 people come 4 hours before the movie starts and just step into line... so invite your friends, but if they can't do the waiting time, limit your line cutting to no more than 4 people out of courtesy.

4. Bring snacks: Cinemas will usually allow outside food in these circumstances... you can always call and ask to be sure... it's pretty certain that if you are waiting outside you can have your own food. So, pack up a cooler full of sodas and snacks and make a fun day out of it.

5. Bring camping chairs, pillows, blankets etc: It hurts sitting on a floor for 10+ hours... bring stuff to make yourself comfortable.

6. Be prepared for the weather: You never know if you will be waiting outside or inside... so bundle up if it's a cold day, or break out the tank tops and shorts if it's warmer. Also bring umbrellas to sheild from sun, mini fans, sunscreen, deoderant, and perfume if it's during the spring and summer. If it's cold, bring those hand warmer things, gloves, hats, scarves... BE PREPARED! You also need to prepare for temperature changes... Example. Breaking Dawn is gong to be released in November. In the midwest Odds are the day will be in the high 50's maybe low 60's, but that doesn't mean you should leave the blankets, scarves and hats at home... If you are waiting outside into the night time hours, it cools off considerably and you will be left shivering.

7. Bring games: You have a lot of time on your hands... bring anything that will keep you entertained... Nintendo DS's (they hold a charge longer than a phone), cards, board games... etc.

8. Be sharing and caring: if you notice someone by you that maybe didn't prepare like you did, offer to share if you have extra.

9. Have a clear idea of where you want to sit: When the line is let into the auditorium... have a game plan. Tell your friends that are with you... get it organized and then execute it. You don't want to not have a plan of action, get to the auditorium then discuss where you are going to sit... No... this needs to be discussed in advance... example stadium seats, middle row, middle section aaaaaaand GO!

10. Sit back relax and enjoy the movie: You waited long and hard and you got the seats you wanted... now reap the benefits of your long day. :)

Harry Potter Harry Potter (said in a British accent really fast)

2011-07-15T12:11:00.006-05:00

Don't you crazy heads worry, I'm not a spoiler. I will tell you, in a careful way my feelings though. Yesterday, from 9:30am on Thursday until 2:30am on Friday, was waiting in line and talking and laughing and waiting and laughing and finally getting to see the FINAL installment of Harry Potter.

my feet did end up swelling a little bit but not too bad. I'm not going to lie... being 20 weeks preggo and sitting on concrete or lobby floors wasn't the most comfortable of situations, but Harry Potter is worth it.

crowd photo taken by my hubs.

Ignore my looks. Being in the heat from 9:30am until 5:30pm does NOTHING for my looks obviously, but I had to get some pics with Tiff and Dave. I have ONE pic of Leez and my bro, and since I don't think Liz or Anthony would really like the picture being posted I will refrain, but they were there and I was very glad. Tiffany took the above two pics btw, with her handy dandy iPhone. :) THANKS TIFFANY! I may have her guest blog someday. She's awesome.

Like I said. I am not a spoiler... and I will not give away any specific details of the movie... but just in case I do spoil something for you... you can skip over this paragraph. To sum up my feelings about it: the parts I loved... I LOVED. The parts I hated were really sucky. So there. I will tell you that Snape is my most favorite character of the books and for you amazing book readers out there... while movies shorten and take away... I adored seeing Chapter 32 & 33 come to life even in a condensed way. I BAWLED like a baby. LIKE A FREAKING BABY! ha. Alan Rickman is amazing and he REALLY nails his role in this last installment. That being said, I did NOT love this movie (EDIT: wanted to clarify that I didn't hate it either... email me if you want to know more). It was fantastic and it was great and I don't expect movies to "get it right"... but as a reader of the books there are some things that I found pivotal to the WHOLE STORY, that either got messed up or left out... so go see it and make your own decision.

Harry Potter has been such a fantastic world for me to escape in. I am so heartbroken that there are no more movies or books to look forward to. When I bought the last book at Walmart, at 12am in the morning in 2007, I was excited and so very sad to know that my favorite story of all time was coming to a conclusion. I took comfort in the fact that there were still a few movies to come out... I think at the time Order of the Phoenix was about to be released. Now, with this last movie... it's the end of a wonderfully magical era. I'm so glad that I can revisit the books as often as I like and that if I need a quick fix, there the movies are... but this is a very bitter sweet time for Harry Potter fans.

To all of you who may have not read the books, or who maybe won't read the books for religious reasons. I have to tell you, you are missing out. For the religious ones who are worried about the books being evil... these books are not evil. These books contain amazing stories of love, strength, the bond of friendship, the triumph of good over evil. These books are good to the core. They show the importance of love and loving, persevering, and overcoming. Good moral lessons, and a brilliant writer at her best. Parents, at least read the first 3 or 4 books and... don't be afraid to let your children read these books. To the people who have only watched the movies... READ THESE BOOKS.

To all my fellow Harry Potter fans. HIGH FIVE! and YAY for being a fan of one of the most AWESOME AMAZING FANTASTIC MAGICAL stories to ever be written.

Week 20 WOOOOOH We're Half Way Theeeeeere!

2011-07-13T18:53:00.003-05:00

Ok. If you didn't catch that my title is a song... it is. I thought about, for a half second, posting the video of "Living on a Prayer" but I thought the wiser of it. Google it if you must. ha.

I'm not going to keep you in suspense so that hopefully you will read the rest of the post and not just skip over to the gender reveal ha... So here it is... Belly Pic and Gender Reveal...

Ignore the toothpaste and dirty mirror! ha ha ha. Ooopse. Sorry.

This is how my Dr. visit went... Got the ultrasound done. My tech was awesome. She allowed me to view in 4D and I was so excited. I didn't even ask, she just flipped it over and it was so awesome. She talked the whole time letting me know what she was checking for and what she was measuring. An old trick is to drink orange juice if you want baby to move and kick, so I did JUST to insure that baby would be moving to get that money shot. Well. The ultrasound tech told me I am banned from the juices because baby was moving so fast that the computer could barely keep up ha ha ha. So funny. Baby is definitely a girl :) Which I am happy about for 2 reasons... 1. Because I want Brendan to at least be the only boy if he is going to have to be a middle child and 2. Because I didn't want to have to deal with the whole circumcision thing. So. AVERY CLAIRE is the name. :) According to the Ultrasound, baby is measuring 4 days behind my due date, but since it isn't a week, we are sticking with the December 1 due date. I could have sworn that I was a little bit ahead of my due date, but nope. Ultrasound measurements put baby at 19.2 weeks. So. Because of this, I will be updating my pregnancy posts on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays now. That's that. Here are some of the pics from the ultrasound.

Aaaaand I have a shot of the girl parts, but not sure if I should post my daughter's genitalia in sound wave form on the internets for the whole world to see, so just trust me. It's a girl. ha.

I am back into my walking routine after having not been able to take my walks for a full week due to vacation. Because of that and my very lax eating habits over the past week, I tipped the scales at 146.5!!! ha ha ha. NOT GOOD. So. Getting back to being super careful with my eating and super diligent with my walks. No crazy cravings, but my emotions have been crazy. I have been having a lot of Round Ligament Pain, which I didn't really experience with my previous two pregnancies. Baby has been moving. Right now it feels like muscle twitches... Wait until later... it's creepy. I will likely post videos of the insane way the belly looks when baby rolls around in there. :)

All that being said, I have a FUN rest of the week coming up. Going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 midnight showing. :) I am really excited about this... and sad... and emotional. ha.

Hope you all have a Brilliantly Wicked rest of the week.

I Love Vacation... Just Sayin. [PHOTO HEAVY] + week 19

2011-07-10T15:08:00.004-05:00

I had such a wonderful time in Texas. I feel like that is a slight understatement. I love my Aunts and Uncles so much and spending time with them, my sis, my cousins, and my grandma was just the escape and relaxation that I needed. It began with an overnight stay in Harrison... I took my last "exercise" walk for what would be a weeks time. I snapped a few shots with my iPhone and thought I would share them here since I liked them so much.

It's because of these types of pictures that I get upset when people make fun of Arkansas. It's such a beautiful state.

Then we hit the road the next day to make our way alllllllll the way down south in Texas. Once there the fun began and didn't stop... This will be a mix of Instagram pictures and SLR pictures...

I got my first yellow jacket sting... those things are viscious. In Missouri yellow jackets are smaller than bees and are little whimpy things, but nooooooo, everything has to be BIG in Texas! Their Yellow Jackets are the size of wasps and look like them too, only they have the yellow and black striped body. Dude that sting hurt. Leez helped me by getting my ice and baking soda. Let me tell you, baking soda is magic on a sting. Keep that in mind.

After we spent a couple days at the Lakehouse, Amanda and I, along with the kids, spent 5 more days at our Uncle Jeff and Aunt Liz's house. We had so much fun playing Apples to Apples and swimming... if you haven't played Apples to Apples, you must, it's a really fun game.

I also got introduced to Julio's chips and salsa... SOOOOOOO good... you can only get it at H.E.B.

I LOVE palm trees. For some reason, they make me happy...

I am so excited I got this picture. This is my cousin Courtney, isn't she beautiful? Next to her is my Grandma. She NEVER lets me snap her picture, but I got this one and was so happy. They both look beautiful.

And that is all for my vacation pictures. I took so many more than this, but I didn't want to overwhelm you with tons of pictures... I had an unbelievably good time. I cannot WAIT to do this again next year.

Last! I wanted to give you my pregnancy/belly update from Week 19.

I actually smiled, are you proud? ha. I am feeling baby movements. Nice and low on the belly. Started really feeling the baby move during my 19th week. I will have another belly pic for you on Wednesday, as well as the verdict of the ultrasound! Yippee! Can't believe it is already time for my ultrasound.

Thanks for hanging out to the end of this post. Hope everyone has a brilliant week.

Unexpected Vacation.

2011-06-28T23:45:00.001-05:00

Looks like I will be in Texas for a week. It was back and forth on whether or not I was going to go, at the detriment of mine and my brother's sanity (he's going too but separately with Leez and my daughter Lindsey), but finally have things worked out and I am going to be traveling with my sister, Grandma, and our boys to go visit all of my wonderful Aunts and Uncles in Southern Texas. I am really excited. The original trip was only supposed to be 3 days, but now I am basically getting a vacation and I couldn't be more thrilled. This also means that you will be getting a nice few photo blogs coming up soon. It also means that by the time I return from said vacation it will only be 4 more days until my ultrasound to see how baby is doing and to see what gender baby is. Some exciting things coming up. Sadly, it also means that from Thursday until Saturday the 9th, it is likely I will not have the ability to post blogs. I will have my phone, but I highly doubt I will post from my phone ha. So, just know, I will make it up to you all.

If you are a praying person, please add me and my family traveling to your prayer list. Road trips are skerry.

Week 18

2011-06-28T00:00:00.003-05:00

This is just flying by isn't it? Pregnancy is usually annoyingly slow! ha. I feel like this is progressing at a nice pace though.

Week 18... let's see. Heartburn is the dominant symptom. That and a growing belly. I have been wanting lemony things this past week. I didn't realize it until today when I was looking up recipes for Lemon bars and Lemon cupcakes ha ha ha. I didn't make them, but I am tempted. I have the stuff to if I decide I can't stand it any longer. ha.

So here I am at 18 weeks. Hello belly.

It's surely growing. I'm just glad that it seems that my belly is the only thing growing :) I think I have gained a little bit in my legs, but not much thankfully.

Keeping my walks going everyday. I actually look forward to them because they are a huge stress relief and help me to deal with a lot of the crazy hormones flying through my body right now. My walk today was a tad traumatic. I walked into a spider web with a HUGE spider on it. I ended up having to walk home and have Dave check me over to make sure the spider was gone. YUCKY! I am not arachnophobic, but I don't like the buggers I tell you.

Cry It Out.

2011-06-27T11:20:00.002-05:00

Those who know me well, know that I RARELY cry. It takes major emotional distress to induce tears out of me. Yet here I am... in hysterics... tears streaming down my face... for no good reason at all except that I am OBVIOUSLY hormonal. I feel trapped by my emotions right now. The normal for me, is to assess most situations with logic and common sense. Not the case as of late. The littlest thing that goes off plan is a huge deal. The littlest thing sets me off. It really sucks to know that there is something wrong with the way I am behaving, but feeling so trapped within myself that I can't do anything about it. I feel sorry for Dave because he doesn't know how to handle this Amy. He is probably wanting the less emotional Amy back. I want me back too, so I understand. This isn't for a pity party. I kinda just wanted to write this out to get it out, ya know? Since I am having a hard time thinking, I thought writing it all out would help. I am much calmer now and the tears have stopped so I think it did help. Sorry to be a downer. I get so envious of people who can take all situations in stride and have a generally happy take on everything in life. Hopefully I'll be able to reign this in and end this day well.

All in a Weekend

2011-06-27T00:03:00.003-05:00

How eventful was my weekend? Well. Not very to be honest. Not in a bad way, but just a non-eventful way. What did I do this weekend? I walked. Stocked up on as many maternity clothes as my limited budget would allow. Splurged on probably our most exciting event this summer... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 tickets MID NIGHT SHOW! Watched fireworks shot off by the city of Ozark. Hung out with Leez. Hung out with Dave. Met my mom in Branson to pick my son up, he spent the weekend with her. Hung out with Tiffany. Oh, and MORE WALKING. ha.

One last thing I did this weekend was I watched a documentary called "The Business of Being Born" and I really liked it. I started out with the attitude that I was going to hate it and disagree with everything, but I actually ended up thinking a lot of it actually made sense. It has me really confirming some ideas and plans that I have in mind for this delivery. I would blog more in depth about this, but I don't know if you all would be interested in a detailed blog post of my thoughts on this documentary... if you are interested then speak up... however, I do recommend that you all at least watch it. The cool thing about documentaries is that you can watch them and still enjoy them even if you don't agree with them. You may end up like me, thinking you won't agree, but find that you actually do. It's on instant queue in Netflix if you do want to watch.