What a week

Well this week started off wonderful with my babyshower and then went quickly down hill from there. My husband and I both ended up in the hospital on Tuesday as we came down with either the stomach flu or food poisoning (the hospital couldn't say which it was). Let me tell you being pregnant and getting sick is absolutely horrible, I mean it's horrible when you're not pregnant but pregnancy tends to make it twice as bad. I ended up getting 3 bags of IV fluid I was so dehydrated and am still trying to get caught back up. Luckily my husband is feeling much better only a little tired now. I am feeling better but I just can't seem to get all of my energy back. I am just glad that we are able to eat food now (I still have to watch what I eat as I am dealing with really bad heartburn). Oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing, our little girl is doing wonderfully. They had me hooked up to a monitor while in the hospital and her heartbeat was perfect and she was squirming all around, still is actually. :-) I really hope that we don't get this again.

Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower on Sunday, feels weird that I have already had a baby shower. All went well. I was a little nervous as to who would show and if we would get any of the items off of our registry but everything was great. There were actually about 25 people that showed, a couple of which I didn't even know (how nice of them to come and give us a gift). We got two of the big items off our registry (the pack-n-play and the high chair), several outfits, 3 activity mats, misc bath stuff and general items that we will need for our little girl. Overall it was a great shower and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Found the nursery bedding

I was able to find bedding that both me and my husband liked and goes perfectly with the nursery colors, YAY!!!! I ended up going to babiesrus and just buying the bedding set. There are a few items that I won't use but at least our little girl has bedding now. The bedding is lavender and white with pink and lavender butterflies. I will have to take some pics of the nursery and get them posted shortly. Sorry I have been really bad about taking pics.

Change in bedding

Well, we received the bedding that I had ordered for our little girl's room and ended up sending it back. It really didn't look how the pictures portrayed it. The colors were actually pretty dull and there was a stain on the quilt (looked like someone accidently marked it with a black magic marker). Oh and they sent me a basket liner instead of the sheet that I had purchased. Needless to say I won't be ordering from that site again.

So we are now on the lookout for some new bedding. We have a set in mind but I was hoping to be able to purchase the items separately as I don't want/need 3 of the items that come in the bedding sets that you can purchase. I haven't been able to find a place that sells anything other than the 6 piece set though. I may have to break down and just order the 6 piece set.

If anyone has suggestions on places to go for crib bedding please let me know.

Hope all is well with everyone, pics of the nursery will be coming soon.

Basement progress

We (well Steve) has now completed the insulation in the basement and has started on drywall. The drywall is complete in the bathroom (just need to tape and mud) and the landing/foyer is almost complete. We are planning on competely finishing the bathroom and then finishing the rest of the basement. This way Steve will have a place to clean up after working in the basement and won't track the mess through the rest of the house.

Completed Boppy

As promised here are the pics of the Boppy that I sewed. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, doesn't look store bought or anything but I can say I made it. The next thing will be to sew the cover for it.

Here's the front of the boppy:


Here's the back of the boppy, the center seam is where I had to hand sew after stuffing:

Boppy sewing project

I spent yesterday sewing my very own boppy (pillow that has become very popular for new moms and babies). I am pretty impressed with how well it turned out, it actually looks like a boppy. I have the fabric all sewn together I just need to wash it now and do some final trimming and then I will stuff it. I have the material to make a cover for it as well but I am going to wait to sew that for a little bit, I want to make a quilt first. I will post a pic as soon as I have the boppy stuffed. I really thought it would be a breeze to sew the boppy but figuring out how to sew the inner and outer parts together took some ingenuity. Once I had that figured out though it really didn't take that long to sew. Pics to come soon
:-)

And the basement progress continues

We had our first inspection of the basement the other day and passed with no issues, YAY! We (well actually Steve with some help from our friend Nate) is now working on insulation, he really has gotten alot done in 2 days. All the insulation is complete except for the home theatre, once that is done it will be time for drywall. I will have to get some more pictures taken right before the drywall starts going up.

Irrational worry, anyone else???

Okay, do any of you ever worry even though you know you shouldn't and that even if you do worry it's not going to help anything but you just can't stop yourself from worrying. I have really been fighting this here lately. I know that a lot of it goes back to the miscarriage that I had last year but I really don't want to worry, I want to feel like everything is going to be perfect, I want my ignorant bliss back. I keep telling myself that I am 22 weeks, we had a wonderful u/s and everything looked good so stop worrying but it's just so hard. Of course right when I start to feel better something happens and I worry all over again, for example: My little girl has been quite active here lately and then yesterday not so much, she was moving every now and then but not a whole lot, so of course I am freaking out. I keep telling myself that there is still lots of room for her to move around in and that she is probably just resting or has turned so that I don't feel her as much but I just can't help but worry (my poor darling husband of course has to deal with all of this, I am so glad that is such a wonderful guy or I think he would have killed me by now) . I really wish there was a Pregnancy after loss class that I could go to or something (I should research this), I know there are lots of regular maternity classes but I would like to go to one that deals with all the psychological issues that women who have had a loss have to deal with. Okay so now I am just blabbering.

Anyhow I really want to not worry and am working very hard on it so if any of you have encouraging words or anything that you think will help me, please let me know.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Crib bedding

I ordered our little girls bedding set today. I didn't order all of the items shown in the pic, just the quilt, sheet and wall hangings. I can't wait til it comes in. Here's a pic:


Now I just need to figure out how to decorate the room. I am thinking about painting the walls in a really light pink with one wall (the one the crib will be on) an accent color, maybe a light green. What do you think, any suggestions?

Barb, I updated my blog....are you happy now ;-)

Basement progress

We are almost ready for our first inspection, YAY!!!!! All that's left is getting the recessed lighting cans wired and the bathroom fan/light wired and then we call the inspector. After the inspection it's on to drywall and all the finishing touches. After the drywall goes up it really shouldn't take us that long and the basement will be complete. My poor husband has been killing himself down there trying to get it done before our baby girl gets here, I really think he is stressing that he won't have it done by Feb. He would have been much farther along but when you are sent to London for 3 weeks it's kind of hard to work on your basement.

Round ligament Pain

Who knew that something called a round ligament could make you feel like you were going to split apart. I had my first experience with a true round ligament pain the other day and let me tell ya it was no fun and actually is still no fun. I actually called my doctor it had me so worried. She thinks that along with the round ligament pain I also pulled a muscle, lucky me. I just need to take it easy for the next few days and then I should be back to normal. I am actually feeling much better now (1 day later). Really hope that I don't have another experience with round ligament pain like that, but if I have to in order to have a healthy, beautiful, baby girl, then bring it on I can take it.

We have a..................

Little girl! We are so excited. The u/s went very well except for our little girl being very stubborn. She didn't want any head measurements taken so she kept her head down almost the whole time. The ultrasound technician had me do everything but stand on my head to get her to move. It was quite funny. Everytime the technician would ask her to move and wiggle the u/s wand around we would see her shake her head as if she was saying no. Luckily we were finally able to get head measurements and everything looks great. Here are some profile pic's:






Now we just have to decide on a name. I can't believe I am going to have a precious little girl.

Hope all is well with everyone!

18 weeks

Wow, I can't believe that I am 18 weeks already! There were times when I thought it was taking forever to get to the 2nd tri and now here I am at about the middle of the 2nd tri. I have started to feel the baby moving every now and then, makes me very happy! Can't wait until I can feel the movement all the time and Steve can too.

We have our next appt Oct. 5, just a couple more weeks, and we will find out the gender of the baby (well if he or she cooperates that is).

God Bless!

Quiz Day

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a giving soul. Way too giving in fact. You often get stuck doing the dirty work that no one else will do. You spend a lot on clothes, and you tend to be a very dresser. However, it's hard for you to throw away trendy clothes when they go out of style. You are a very outgoing person. You are true to yourself, and you never hold back. In relationships, you tend to be very romantic and demanding. You'll treat your partner like gold, but you expect a lot in return.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Eagle Animal You Were in a Past Life: Whale You are active, a challenger, and optimistic. Hard-working, you are always working towards a set goal.

The Animal Personality Test

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

And one more makes four (had to include Mowzer of course)

Well, it's about time I blogged about this. We are expecting a little bundle of JOY! I am so excited, scared, happy..........and so many other emotions. I am now 16 weeks and the baby is doing great. I got to hear the hb again yesterday at my appt (it was in the 150's, which the dr. said was great). We get to find out if the baby is a boy or girl at our next appt, can't wait for that!

I am starting to get hungry more often now, but really only in the mornings. I am also starting to show a little bit, will have to post a pic sometime soon.

Well, that's about it for now......must get back to work.

iRobot Roomba

I am now a proud owner of a Roomba! Steve bought me one off of Woot.com, isn't he sweet. He even got the scheduler accessory for me so that I can schedule the roomba to clean...even when I'm not home! I have been really impressed with it so far. My carpet is actually staying clean and I am not picking up fur balls all the time now. I really like the fact that it goes from the carpet to the hardwood floors and adjusts itself so that I don't have to worry about damage to my hardwood. There's just something satisfying about being able to cook supper, wash laundry, and vacuum all at the same time. :-)

Back to blogging

Things have been so busy around here that I haven't had a chance to blog for a while, sorry to all of my readers...I know there are at least a couple of you out there :-)

June and July were the traveling months for me. I started June off with going on a Leadership retreat with our church youth group and ended July with a trip to Mississippi to help the hurricane Katrina victims.

The leadership retreat was great, I got to spend some time relaxing and swimming (in a spring fed lake....brrrrrr). After returning from that trip Steve and I were on vacation. We stayed around the house and went camping with some friends. The camping was amazing as we got to stay in there camper (man those things are homes on wheels). I got their daughter her first fishing pole and their son caught his first fish while out on our canoe with Steve and his dad. It was a great time.

The Mississippi trip was such a blessing. I got to spend some time with the locals and hear their stories. The people I met were amazing, even though they had lost everything their spirits were still high. I can't tell you how many times I heard one of them say, What are you gonna do, you just have to keep going....you cry and are sad but then you just have to go on. I was completely amazed by how much damage there still is a year later, some places look like the hurricane just went through yesterday. We were in one of the hardest hit parts of Mississippi too. We were in the Gulfport, DeLisle, Pass Christian area basically where the eye of the storm hit. It really makes you thankful for what you have.

Well, that's a quick glance at what's been going on....more blogging to come.

What Kind of American English do You Speak?

Your Linguistic Profile::

75% General American English

20% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

It's pretty funny that I don't speak any Midwestern as I have spent most of my life in the Midwest, I guess Alabama had more of an impact on my speaking.

What happened to the other 5%, I guess Michelle and I just speak another language for the other 5%.

Thanks to Cindy for making me aware of this.

Does anyone have Manners?

My best friend Amy and me went to see "The Breakup" last night, a good movie if not for all of the ill mannered people that were in the theatre. I know I missed some important parts because of all the distractions. There was a group of teenage girls in front of us (actually they were probably pre-teen) that walked in and out of the theatre at least 4 times. They were also playing with their phone so the light from the phone kept shining in our eyes all of this along with their talking and giggling. There was another group of kids that were doing the same thing but luckily they were in the back of the theatre. Here's the thing that really angered me though, a lady (probably about 40 or so) got on her phone in the middle of the movie and was talking...not quietly either she was holding a normal volume conversation. I can almost understand the kids goofing off (I was once a teenager myself...really hope I had better manners than that though) but a 40 something year old should definitely know better.

We at least got a free movie pass for putting up with all of the commotion.

Okay, that's my rant for this week.

Basement Pics

The home theatre, this view is from the foyer/landing area (I guess it's actually a landing since it's at the bottom of the stairs.


Home theatre, looking from the side/front back to the seating area (and into the bathroom).


Home theatre, looking from the seating area to the front of the room where the projection screen will go.


Rec Room, this is where the pool table and foose ball table will go.


Bathroom, not really much to say about that.


Office, looking from door to right side of room.


Office, looking from door at closet.


Office, looking from door to left of room (where the desk will be).














We still have some framing to do for the ceiling in the home theatre but that shouldn't take too long. We are getting ready to install the electrical and low voltage wiring now. I will post more pics as we progress.

My New Sewing Machine

Here's a picture of my new sewing machine



It's a Husqvarna Viking Rose. From what I can tell this is going to be one awesome sewing/embroidery machine.

Fertility

I have been debating for a while about whether I should blog about my fertility issues and have finally decided that this topic is probably the biggest thing I am dealing with in my life right now so why not blog about it here. So here goes nothing.

Here's a little background info for those that don't know what has been going on. We decided about 2 years ago that we were ready to increase the size of our family from 2 + cat to 3 + cat. So I went to the doctor, stopped taking my birthcontrol pills and waited to see what would happen. About a year later we were pregnant, it was such a joyous time....unfortunately that joyous time turned into one of the sadest times in my life , when I was about 9 weeks we lost the baby.

Fast forward a year and here I am still not pregnant. It's amazing to me all the different emotions you can feel at one time and how strong each emotion can be. Am I mad, sad, tired, scared....you bet I am. I am mad that I lost my baby, sad that I lost my baby, mad that I am not pregnant yet, scared that I won't be able to get pregnant again and tired from all of this. I never realized how all encompassing this process could be, it's something that is with me everyday, I think about it all the time. Well, we decided that it was time to call the dr and schedule an appt (my dr doesn't want to start infertility counseling until you have been trying for 2 years). We met with the dr and she decided to start testing me right away. I will be having regular blood draws to test different hormone levels and to see if there is something wrong with my eggs or thyroid. They are also testing to see if I have PCOS. After all of the tests come back we will have another appt with the dr to discuss the results and treatment plan if any. If the results come back normal then I will have and HSG to make sure that my tubes are open, if that is normal then I will have to undergo laproscopy to determine if I have endometriosis or problems with scar tissue.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go down this path. I am hopefull that we will not be on this path for long and that we will see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon.

New Sewing machine

I am getting a new sewing machine. Actually it's not just a sewing machine it's also an embroidery machine. I will be able to make my own placemats, curtains, monogrammed towels, sheets, etc. I can even embroider baby blankets and stuff for gifts.

I was looking for a new machine as the one I have is pretty old and they are not making/selling the parts for it anymore. Anyhow I mentioned this to a co-worker and he told me that his wife was wanting to sell a machine, he then went on to tell me that it also embroidered. I was thinking to myself, "there is no way I am going to be able to afford a sewing/embroidery machine" but I went ahead and called his wife to see what she wanted for it and lo and behold I can afford it. I am getting this machine at a steal, I'm paying much less than you can buy this machine for at a store (a little over half less). She is also giving me the software that will allow me to download embroidery designs off of the internet.

Here's what it looks like:

Running

I have officially decided to start running. My old workout routine just wasn't cutting it anymore. I have been working out pretty hard on the eliptical machine and it just doesn't seem to be as hard as it used to be and I am not losing any weight. My heart rate has gotten much better, above average, but I want to keep it healthy so I figure I have to push myself a litle more and what better way to do that than to run. Hopefully by changing things up it will put my body in to fat burning mode as well, I mean I have been working out for 3-4 months (solid workouts 3-4x per week) have changed my eating habits and still haven't lost any weight....What's up with that!!!!!!!

I have friends that are runners (they actually run marathons) so I figure they will keep me motivated and who knows maybe one of these days I will be able to run a marathon with them, you never know.

Have a great day!!!!

The Purse is Done!

I finally finished sewing my purse, overall I am very happy with how it turned out. Here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like:

Funny Cats

Check out this video, it shows several different clips of cats doing funny things. There were a couple where I was actually laughing out loud and then realized I was at work and should probably not be laughing that much. Even if you're not a cat lover I think you will like this.

Please note: you may have to re-start the video once on the page, it seems to start on the second or third scene when using the link.

My Life, Rated

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.1
Mind:	6.3
Body:	7.2
Spirit:	8.4
Friends/Family:	5.6
Love:	9.1
Finance:	9.1
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Thanks to Cindy for the above quiz. This is pretty cool.

Finishing the Basement

We have almost completed the framing in our basement, woohooo! I haven't taken any pictures yet as there really isn't anything to see. We are now trying to decide what we want to do for the home theatre ceiling. We think we know what we are going to do it's just figuring out how to accomplish it in our home theatre. We want to do something similar to this:

I do like the color of the walls too. I have always wanted to paint a room in my house red but have never had the courage to do it. I figure the home theatre would be a great place to try it since you want the room to be dark. The rest of the basement is going to be pretty easy to finish. We are just going to do drop ceiling in the rec room, office, and bathroom. I really can't wait until we are done, it will be so nice to be able to watch movies in a theatre setting w/out the hassle of the theatre. I will also be very happy to have my pool table back (it's currently in storage until we finish the basement).

Music Player Shuffle

How to play: Put your music player on shuffle.Press forward for each question.Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense.

1. How am I feeling today? "Just like a Pill," Pink - (lol :-)

2. Will I get far in life? "Far Away," Nickelback - (Hmmmm, where am I going?)

3. How do my friends see me? "As Long As I Can Dream," Expose - (not sure what that's supposed to mean)

4. Where will I get married? "Simple Design," Breaking Benjamin - (my wedding was simple in a little town)

5. What is my best friend? "This Time," Bryan Adams

6. What is the story of my life? "All in a Day," The Corrs

7. What was high school like? "Nothing Else Matters,"Metallica - (not accurate for me, I couldn't
wait to get out of high school)

8. How can I get ahead in life? "Killing Loneliness," H.I.M.

9. What is the best thing about me? "The Journey Home," Sarah Brightman

10. What is today going to be like? "Be Yourself," AudioSlave

11. What is in store for this weekend? "Miss Independent," Kelly Clarkson

12. What song describes my parents? "Livin' on a Prayer," Bon Jovi

13. To describe my grandparents? "Champagne High," Sister Hazel

14. How is my life going? "Touch the Hand," Bryan Adams

15. What song will they play at my funeral? "Concrete Angel," Martina McBride

16. How does the world see me? "Dirty Little Secret," All American Rejects - (Ouch)

17. Will I have a happy life? Don't Let Me Get Me," Pink - (evidently if I don't get in the way I will have a happy life)

18. What do my friends really think of me? "Set Me Free," Velvet Revolver (just how I want to be thought of...couldn't it have given me something better)

19. Do people secretly lust after me? "Satellite," Collective Soul - (Huh?)

20. How can I make myself happy? "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", Bryan Adams

21. What should I do with my life? "How can I keep from Singing?," Herndons - (funny as I love
music and sing all the time)

22. Will I ever have children? "Sooner or Later," Breaking Benjamin - (Geez, how accurate is that right now)

23. What is some good advice for me? "I Feel You," 3 Doors Down

24. How will I be remembered? "Headspace," Velvet Revolver - (Oh, that's nice)

25. What is my signature dancing song? "In the Still of the Night," The Five Satins

26. What is my current theme song? "Never Leave," Seether

27. What does everyone else think my current theme song is? "Save Me," Shinedown - (Geez, I'm just on a crash course with my friends aren't I)

28. What type of man do I like? "In Memory," Shinedown

New to Blogger

Well, after much debate I have decided to start blogging using blogger. I have been using Yahoo 360 which is pretty cool but I feel it is time to move up. I know several people that are now using blogger to blog and I love their blogs so I figured it was time to join the ranks.

Have a great day!