Merry Christmas to ALL....

This year I thought I was so on top of my game. We shopped early for all our neices and began piling presents in the babies room ready for the wrapping party to begin. A few weeks ago I smartly started wrapping and piling things under the tree. But now here I sit on the 23rd - with tons of stuff to wrap and no motivation at ALL to do so. We're still waiting for some items to arrive from online orders and I have a sneaking suspician that they won't show up before Christmas. Hubs is in bed sleeping and trying to catch up from the hellish week he had at work...and I'm still in my pajamas trying to motivate myself to get out of the house and grab those "last minute" items that I still need.
This year we are staying home and heading to my parents house Christmas morning. In my family, we decided to keep the cost and amount of STUFF down and just do stocking stuffers for the adults...and keep the actual presents for the kids. That will be nice because sometimes the present opening in my family can take ALL day...and I'm not sure this pregnant body of mine could handle it. Also - to keep things more simple, we've decided to go to the Madonna Inn for dinner. Which is awesome because we'll be able to do the present thing in the morning...go home and sleep or do whatever and then get all fancy for dinner...no cooking, no preparing, and NO DISHES. Normally I don't mind all that stuff - but this year it's about all I can muster to grunt through getting my shoes on every morning. So I appreciate the whole "keeping it simple" aspect of this year.
Next weekend, hub's parents are coming - which is awesome because they rarely come here to visit...and it's nice to not have to pile all the gifts in the car and find pet sitters. We're not sure about his sister and all of her clan. I suspect it will be a last minute decision on their part whether or not to come....if not then we will still potentially be traveling - but it'll be nice to avoid the holiday traffic and just go sometime in January.
Speaking of January - hubs and I have an anniversary coming up, and we really want to get away for the weekend. We figure it'll be kind of like a "babymoon" of sorts...but we haven't decided where to go yet. Any suggestions? It's only for a weekend so we can't rush off to Maui or anything much as I'd love that....hehehe. Gotta save that vacation time of his for when the baby comes!

Merry Christmas to everyone - or whatever holiday you do or don't celebrate. Whatever you do - someone PLEASE drink a few glasses of champagne for me mmmkay??

Belly pic

*disclaimer*

with me being as picky as I am these days about pictures - you all who've requested belly pics are damn lucky that I'm putting this huge lumbering body of mine in front of a camera at all. I know, I know - later on in life I'll be GLAD I took pregnant pictures...but today, I'm having one of those days where I don't feel at all cute and pregnant, but more like a hippo stuck in the mud.

That being said - here I am at 24 weeks:

One of these days I need to figure out how to make a seperate page for these pictures so I can gradually see myself grow bigger, all at once...ha!

I'm feeling tons of kicks lately - and hubs has yet to feel any of them. I'm going with the theory that he has a "calming affect" on this baby...and so when our kid has a temper tantrum in the future, I'll be passing him/her right on over to hubs so he can take care of things with his soothing/calming nature. Course maybe I can then dangle cookies and candy in front of our kid and sabatoge him, hahaha...kidding! I would never do that...nooooooooooo

****

So remember how I said we were going through things and sorting and organizing and getting rid of crap? Well, I stumbled upon a bin of childhood stuff...and made a discovery that I have COMPLETELY forgotten about for oh...17 years or so?

Now this might sound crazy to some of you - but back when I was about 13, I remember being at what was called Thrifty's Drug Store. Now it's a Rite Aide - which we seem to have every 3 blocks (hate). I remember I came across what I thought were the coolest baby bottles ever - and since they were limited edition, I decided to buy them and store them away for that wonderous time in my life when I had a baby of my very own.

I must have stuck them into a box along with other childhood belongings and just ended up moving them from house to house where they would get shoved under a bed until I finally rediscovered them almost 20 years later.

I was SO stoked when I found them because I still think they're super cool...and I will definately be using them for my critter...check em out - old school soda bottles!

This pic came out crappy - but it's a welch's grape juice bottle...
The SPOT! You never see the Spot anymore...

So anyway - while it's kind of embarrassing to admit that I bought BABY BOTTLES when I was 13 years old...and now I'm 30 years old and kind of freaking out about this whole baby thing....I'm quite stoked that I had such forethought as a kid. I can almost guarantee if you'd asked me back when I was 13, how old I thought I'd be when I had my first child - I sure as hell wouldn't have said 30. 30 probably seemed OLD to me at 13. How wrong I was eh? Course I was wrong about pretty much EVERYTHING at 13...just don't tell my mother that I actually admit to that :)

And the winner is...

ME

Thank you everyone...with emails and comments included - I won, six to zero. Course, I pointed this out to the hubs - and lo and behold, I get online this morning and there is a mysterious comment added:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Opinions Needed":

I say the hubster wins. tecnically the cat in the background is looking at the grey cat. SO THE HUBSTER WINS!!!!!! ps. HE's one hot looking man. you're sOOOOOO lucky

Bwaaaahahaha! I think we can all agree he's still trying to sabotage me :)

*new belly pics will be posted later today*

Opinions Needed

Allrighty...I need some opinions please.
Here's the story:
Last night, hubs and I were talking about Christmas pictures - and while we know it's impossible to get all the pets together, I toyed with the idea of doing a type of collage with us in one picture, Georgia in another, and the cats in another.


Hubs said there was NO WAY that I could get a picture of all 3 cats looking at the camera at once. Well, being my incredibly stubborn self...I got defiant and said YES I CAN! Aaaand that's when it all began.
I jumped up - grabbed the camera and proceeded to gather cat after cat and put them into the laundry room so they were confined to a small space. There is a door between our kitchen and our laundry room with a window on the top half....so I had all the "kids" gathered on top of the washer and dryer, and of course a bag of treats - and I proceeded to try and get their attention and make them look my way. In the midst of this process, hubs decided to try and FOIL my plan and stood in the window with a can opener and a can of cat food. Course they all looked HIS way instead of mine...especially when he busted out the catnip and tried to shove it under the door - and even went so far as to get out the milk and pour it into a bowl while they all watched and went crazy in the laundry room.


He laughed his evil laugh while I was shouting "KNOCK IT OFF! Quit sabatoging me!" and doing anything I could to get them to face ME..."Kitties! here kitties!"
We must have looked utterly ridiculous - but I wanted to WIN dammit.
So...after much trial and error - and picture after picture of two cats looking, but one not looking, or all three of them climbing on each other and trying to jump off the counter or walking away from each other (dogs are SO much easier) and just being a total crapshoot...I FINALLY got my shot! Observe:

Now - hubs says this doesn't count because they're not looking AT the camera. I say it counts because they're all facing the camera and looking in my general direction. Besides, they're CATS...I can't even get my neices to look right at the camera half the time - and granted, they're all squinty eyed - but I did the best I could with the felines.

SOOOOO - this is where you come in. Opinions please?? Who wins...ME? or HUBS?

Aches and Pains

The nesting is in full force people!
Yesterday, hubs and I got up and got dressed - he started laundry and decided to tackle the baby's room himself (what a great little "Coco the houseboy" he would be eh?) - and I headed outdoors to tackle all the yardwork that's been staring me in the face for the last few months.
My brother decided to take our mower and see if he could fix it...he also was nice enough to bring HIS mower over and mow my lawn for me - how awesome is he???
We have this brick area in the front of our house where I had several barrels of tomatoes and squash growing over the summer. That whole area had become completely overrun with weeds and just STUFF that somehow gets piled out there. Well, the veggies were pretty much done for the season, so I yanked those suckers out and weeded the heck out of that side of the house. I also pruned this massive bush of daisy's that had become huge and mostly dead. I then weed wacked along the side of the house and along the fence line.
With all the bending and pulling and sweeping and raking I did...I was HUUUUUURTING last night. Thank GOD for hubs because I sat on my balance ball and he massaged my back until his fingers gave up.
I have to say though, our yard looks so much better. I didn't get everything done - but it definately made a noticable difference. I actually really love to work out in the yard, but I just don't have the time needed to keep it up...especially now that it gets dark so early.
At around 1pm yesterday - my 2 year old neice Gracie was dropped off, along with Jasper the dog, who is always good for Georgia to play with. The first thing Gracie wanted was "piggies" - (which means pigtails), and then we headed back outside and she "helped" me in the yard and also kept the dogs busy with balls and toys. All in all, a great day - and since Gracie was so good, we headed for her favorite thing...Jamba Juice where I got to slam some fruit and satisfy my craving all at the same time.
Georgia was so exhausted after running around the yard all day, she came in the house at about 5pm and passed out. She got up to eat dinner, but then turned around and went right back to bed until 7:30am this morning. Gotta love a worn out puppy!
This morning I felt like an 80 year old woman between the stiff back and the sore legs, and what's with all this PELVIS PAIN?? My doctor says it's normal, and I know I shouldn't complain because it's only downhill from here....but DAMN this kid gives me some aches and pains I never knew I would have. I keep forgetting that I can't just go out and weed the yard without paying for it later...

Hubs and I have gone through almost ALL our clothes and blankets and sheets and we have tons of stuff to take to Goodwill. I'm in this mode where I just want to get rid of stuff. I feel a sudden need to be as organized and clutter free as possible before this baby comes. We've been going through drawers and boxes and closets trying to PURGE (ha) ourselves of too much crap. Since we don't have a garage where we live now, this is ultra important because our storage shed is very small - and it's reserved for things like tools and camping equipment, so everything else is either in bins in closets, or in bins under the beds. One would think that a 3 bedroom house would be plenty big enough for 2 adults and a baby, and yet we kinda feel like we're bursting at the seems a little bit. The clothing situation has been interesting for me because I now have multiple sets of clothes:
Pre-pregnancy clothes
Pre-pregnancy clothes that I don't fit into, but swear I will someday
Maternity clothes
Maternity clothes that I've already grown out of, but need to store somewhere
Maternity clothes that don't fit yet - but will in the coming months

Thank goodness I've been given hand me down maternity clothes and only had to buy a few things because that can get seriously expensive. Especially since I'm not one of those itty bitty types who can just wear big stretch pants and a giant t-shirt. I need that extra material to cover this belly!

This morning at work, my boss noticed how huge I'm getting and so we had a good long chat about what will be happening when this baby comes.
Something in my mind says that I'm just not cut out to be a stay at home mom. Alot of people tell me I'll change my mind once I hold this baby in my arms - and who knows, I've never done this before, they might be right. But knowing myself...I just never saw myself as the type to let my husband be the sole provider while I stay home and take care of things. I've always thought I'd be a better mom if I at least worked part time, so I had something else to focus on...something that's just mine...not to mention contributing to our finances.
So when we found out we were pregnant - I really wasn't sure what was going to happen with my job. I knew I didn't want to work full time and put my baby in daycare all day every day - mainly because the cost would most likely cancel out my paycheck. I had hoped that I could work part time and do part time daycare. Granted, it would mean we'd have to pinch our pennies and be more careful - but at least I'd be working AND staying home for the most part.
I kind of dreaded having "the discussion" with my boss about this whole subject - but one day he sat down and asked me straight up what would be ideal for me. I told him that IDEALLY - I'd love to be able to work from home and come into the office a couple days a week...and still make my full time wages. I kind of laughed because I honestly didn't think that would be possible - I just KNEW we'd have to hire someone to cover for me and I'd have to train and go through that whole process.
But I was wrong.
I honestly am not sure how I could have lucked out anymore than I have as far as a job situation goes.
Basically - my ideal situation - is going to be my reality after this kid shows up.
I'll be taking some maternity leave, but then I'll be working from home...and going into the office twice a week - and BRINGING THE BABY WITH ME.
How insane is that? They're even going to make room for a playpen and whatever else I need so I can be working in the office and doing my stuff and have the baby right there with me the whole time.
I realize this is not going to work forever, and at some point I'll most likely have to pay for daycare or a sitter on those days...but in the meantime, I don't have to worry about it.
I don't think I can fully express how grateful I am that my boss is doing everything he can to make this a managable situation for me. He thinks it's important that I have my "mommy and baby time" as well as being able to continue with my job...which is what I really want to do so our finances will stay relatively the same.
I know it's going to be hard to work full time and be a full time mom...but I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to do both and have full support of not only my boss, but all my coworkers as well. My boss is very in tune with the fact that babies are unpredictable and he keeps telling me that I can't expect for my days to all go smoothly - so he's making arrangements so I can work around my unpredictable days and not be stuck in my normal 8 to 5 schedule.
Seriously - do I have the best boss ever???? I'm flabbergasted by the whole thing - and yet I'm filled with an overwhelming sense of calm as far as the whole thing goes. I just know that it's all going to work out, and I'm determined not to slack off and take advantage of this opportunity.

My Darling Clementine

As you know, my craving all throughout this pregnancy so far has been fruit. I seem to go through phases, and while my last phase was apples - I am now obsessed with all things Tangerine. Our local store sells these little tiny clementine tangerines and I am so not kidding when I say that I can eat an entire bag in one sitting if I'm not careful.

The other day I mentioned to a friend that I had eaten 8 tangerines, and she freaked out thinking that I was going to OD on vitamin C or something...so in the interest of not freaking anyone else out...let me just show you all how tiny these things actually are. This is in comparison to a lemon.and actually - since my craving these little bastards doesn't help AT ALL with my heartburn issues, here is a better example:

I also recently learned that not only real tangerines are necessary...but tangerine popsicles are just as craving worthy these days. I know..popsicles in December - who would have thought - but hey, I'm blaming all this weirdness on the BABY.

****

My sweet hubby - works as a courier for a certain popular delivery service (not sure if he'd want me to say WHICH company...but think arch rival of the brown clad folks) and the one part of his job that he really loves is his customers.
He has his favorites of course - and apparantly he must talk alot about impending fatherhood because we've gotten GIFTS from people...isn't that just crazy? Complete strangers have bought things for my baby - I don't even know how to express how cool that is. Gotta love small towns!

Some of his customers bought us our first sleeper outfit, appropriately neutral so I can put either a wee baby boy or a wee baby girl into this cozy little item:

I just realized what an awful picture I took of that thing...in actuality, the outfit is light green and soooo snuggly - this picture doesn't do it much justice I'm afraid.

(Note to self: Still need to write thank you note for this item)

Also - another one of his customers was nice enough to knit our baby's first blanket!

(Note to self: must also write thank you note for this item - get on it girl!)
I just can't get over how neat it is that hubby's customers have gone out of their way to do this for us...it's one of those warm fuzzy type things that if I really thought hard about - I'd probably cry. Course I cry at the drop of a hat these days, so that's nothing new.

Also - while cleaning the baby's room last weekend, I stumbled upon our very first purchase for this kid. We bought these only a couple weeks after getting the positive result...or 6 positives as it may be. I really wanted red ones, but black will have to do for now :)

so tiny! Lord help me when it comes to itty bitty shoes...I just can't help myself. And in my house, high top converse are a must (and quite comfortable for pregnant people who are supposed to wear relatively flat shoes...even if they do make me look like I'm 15 years old).





And now I must boast about my hubby because while downloading these pictures - I found some from Thanksgiving that I forgot to share. I like to cook, but baking just isn't my thing. LUCKILY the hubs likes to do the baking...so much so in fact that his parents were nice enough to buy us a red kitchen aide mixer for our last anniversary. So my mom put us in charge of a few things for the holiday meal, and one of them was PIE. She wanted typical pumpkin pie which he gladly made...but hubs decided to up his game and make a homemade apple cranberry pie as well. So on Thanksgiving day - he created his masterpiece...and I walked into the kitchen to find this...

VOILA - he did all that lattice work himself...and I must say, I'm so impressed!

Belly Brain

Yes, the crib is in the house...no it's not out of the box...and yes, I'm ignoring it altogether.
I'm not quite sure what my malfunction is - but when my mom found out about my reaction, she laughed and laughed. She keeps calling me and saying "have you recovered yet?" and then have to wait until she's done laughing herself silly. Obviously, she's getting a huge kick out of this whole thing. She recently told me she'd never even HELD a baby before she had my brother and that just blows my mind. I mean, I know how to take care of a baby - I worked at a daycare for 4 years! I have neices coming out of my ears who I have spent hours and hours babysitting! I'm no stranger to diaper leaks and teething and crying for no reason and why there items like "peepee teepee's" that actually exist. But still - this whole baby thing weirds me out. Here my mom had no experience whatsoever and I have a feeling she probably didn't freak out when the crib showed up. I can only think it must be that whole Life Changing part that makes me frown with worry. Either that or the whole "watermelon coming out of your nostril" example that has been brought up to me on more than one occasion.

The yard is still only half weedwacked, mainly because when I was finished silencing the voices, I looked down and realized that pretty much everything I'd just hacked away at was now stuck to the front of my pants and that just gave a whole new meaning to business casual. I am now at my brother's mercy...hopefully he can fix our sick lawn mower so I can finish the job the RIGHT WAY instead of using my overgrown yard as an emotional crutch.

I have been unnaturally forgetful and clumsy lately. People around me call this "Placenta Brain"...but I prefer to avoid the word Placenta if I can help it - so in my house, it's Belly Brain.
The following occurances are evidence of this tragic condition, so I feel I must warn my family and friends or anyone who will be in my general vicinity anytime soon:

1 - I am on a constant hunt for my car keys, my cell phone, my sunglasses, and my SHOES.

2 - I have forgotten to put gas into my car on so many occassions that I'm becoming a pro at coasting into gas stations on fumes.

3 - I drop or fumble something at least twice a day...it's like I all of a sudden have the inability to actually GRASP something.

4 - My boss will sometimes ask me a question and I'll stare at him dumbfounded trying to figure out what in the hell he's talking about, and then it'll hit me like a mack truck and I'll go "OH!" and he just laughs and shakes his head.

5 - Several times a day I'll answer the phone at work and forget the name of our company - so there will be moments of "dead air" until I figure it out.

6 - I've locked myself out of my office twice.

7 - I've also gone all the way down to my car to leave for lunch or to go home and either not had my keys - or not had my purse...more times than I care to admit.

8 - I FORGOT to feed my dog.

9 - I have had mornings where I will try on clothes and I swear OVERNIGHT they suddenly don't fit and I get so frustrated about my ever-growing girth that I will stand there in my skivvies and cry. Not that I know WHY exactly I'm crying, but there it is.

10 - Last night - I had a cat fully stretched across my belly sleeping, and after a few minutes I forgot he was there and I rolled over which made him promptly slide off me and land right on top of the dog's bed, who proceeded to bark and scare my poor cat half to death. Hubs slept through the whole thing.

11 - I have gone to the store twice with the intent of getting certain items...but walked out without them. Hubs finally had to go for me so we could actually have MILK in our fridge instead of Nutter Butters in our cupboard.

12 - Yesterday, my 2 year old neice had to remind me 3 times that she'd asked for juice.

13 - I have found myself mindlessly watching the Spanish channel more than once.

14 - I have forgotten to lock the doors, close windows, turn of lights. My husband considers this a "breach of security" and ends up following me around the house before bed, checking doors and making sure I've turned off the oven before we're either murdered or burned to a crisp in our bed. I've assured him on many occasions that I'd probably be up peeing or popping Tums anyway so I could interfere, no problem.

15 - about 594281 times a day, I have to remind myself that the thumping and jumping in my belly is an actual BABY and not an alien creature that's about to burst through my stomach.

I think that about sums up the Belly Brain so far - I have a feeling it's going to get much more interesting as time goes on.