Chinese Cabbage & Baby Showers **UPDATED**

In case you're wondering what that is a picture of.... It's apparently the approximate size of Peanut @ 28 weeks. That's right. Our baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage!

According to baby.center.com:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

So does this mean if I shine a flashlight on my belly, she'll turn her head and "see the light?" This seems quite funny to me. But I guess since you can shine a light "through" your fingers and "see" through them, so I would guess you can "see" through the belly too?

Apparently a symptom starting this trimester is RLS. I don't have this. As a matter of fact, since the Giraffe has moved into my bed, I have been sleeping like a rock and not moving at all. I have also not been drinking as much right before bed and for the past 2 nights, haven't even got up to pee once. Not even ONCE!!! YEAH! So back to RLS...is it possible that my husband has sympathy RLS? Because he sure is a movin' and a shakin' while he's sleepin'. UGH - gets on my nerves!

So my first baby shower is in 9 days! It is being hosted by 3 of my neighbors. The invitees are my "neighborhood" friends i.e. that live near me and/or in my Bunco groups. I am so very excited to start hoarding collecting receiving lots of fun baby stuff. Not that I am expecting tons of gifts, but well...you know...that is the POINT of baby showers, right? :0) Like I said yesterday, I am very nervous that we don't have A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. ready...well we have furniture but that's about it! It freaks me out to think that if this baby comes early we would be so screwed! No car seat to take him home in, no clothes to wear, no diapers...EEK!

The 2nd baby shower will be on 2/21 and hosted by my sister and 3 friends. It is actually going to be held at my house. We wanted to do a co-ed shower so Deano and his buds could participate as well so we needed lots of space. And being the gracious guest of honor that I am (and not wanting my hostesses to have to pay a rental fee for a place) offered up our house. Plus..hello...BONUS - we don't have to pack our loot up in a truck, take it home, unload it again. It can just be taken upstairs! I am so looking forward to all the baby "showering!"

**I am also having an online-virtual baby shower hosted by Martha. Please see the shower blog here. It has all the info like when the shower is and how to particpate. I hope all my bloggy friends sign up! It would be awesome to hear you on the phone and enjoy this special day with us.

OH - and I almost forgot - the bedding and nursery decor have arrived...well to my Mom's house at least. Grammy and Grampy bought all the bedding and coordinating other items we had selected (even though they know this was too much for them to get!) Love you Grammy and Grampy!

We didn't order these because I am feeling crafty and wanted to add at least one homemade item in the room. (Dean - still thinking of what I can come up with for you to use your new router for!) I am going to purchase 3 square canvases and have me, my mom, and my sister each paint one. This way they can each add a special something to Peanut's room as well.

I also want to decorate wooden letters that spell out P.E.A.N.U.T. ok, not Peanut, but the baby's real name. Kind of can't do that until said baby arrives though...bein's (HA I used your word Dean) that I wouldn't know which letters to buy! Then again...I am not sure if I will have the time to be crafty so soon after the baby is born....we shall see.

Also - man I feel like this is a long winded post - I have signed up for IComLeavWe (see pink button on top left of page). It stands for International Comment Leaving Week. Sign up here at Mel's blog. She has all the info and rules and what not. Basically it's a way to get traffic on your bloggy blogs. You comment on 5 blogs, plus return a comment from someone who posted to you. I haven't done it in a few months, but long ago, this is how some of my "regulars" found me!

And last but not least...my dear friend LaRay has finally succumbed to the Land Of Blogs. I guess she had heard enough from me, AJsDad, and AJsMom talking about bloggy stuff and bloggy friends that she has joined the ranks! Please go visit her and give her some new blogger support!

Happy 1st Blogoversary and Goodbye 2nd Tri! **UPDATED**

Today my bloggy blog turns 1! I can't believe I have been posting the goings on of my life to all you internets for 1 whole year. Wow. That means a year ago is when we started seeing Dr. H and began this wonderful journey towards mommyhood! I thank each and every one of you for being there for me through all of the ups and downs of the cruel infertility world. Without you, I don't know what I would have done!

What better way for me to celebrate my blogoversary than with a cake. Virtual as it may be, I still made it! And obviously my mouse writing letters are as bad as my hand writing letters! Click the pic to make a cake for yourself or someone you love!

Goodbye 2nd Tri - Welcome to the World 3rd Trimester! Why don't you put on something more comfortable...like an XL pair of Men's pajama pants, perhaps? And how about another full box of chocolate pudding with a side of applesauce and a glass of chocolate milk? The party has definitely started! WHOOP! WHOOP!

28 weeks and 10 pounds. (At least that's where the poundage stood last week.) I am pretty sure that pudding the other day put me over that. HOLY MOLY! My appetite sure has picked up in the past week or two. I am trying to watch it, but man my tummy is hungry! So far today I have eaten a Fiber.One bar - chocolate of course. Hey - don't turn your nose up at me. It's better than a regular old granola.bar. It at least has more fiber! That was my "snack" on the way to work in the vanpool. Then I had a sausage biscuit with some Orange Pineapple juice, followed by a giant glass of ice water. (If they don't fix that blasted ice machine in the break room soon, I'm gonna hurt someone. There is nothing grosser (is that a word?) than luke warm water.)

Here's the belly pic. 27 weeks, 6 days. Only TWELVE WEEKS TO GO!! We took it a day earlier than normal because Deano had band practice and I was visiting a friend. Also, not in the "standard shirt" I have been using, but you get the drift, right? It's poking out quite a bit these days. I think it would look more pronounced if I didn't have gi-normous b00bies all in the way! The little one is kicking me constantly all day long. At first I thought it was because I hadn't eaten yet, but even after eating, the kicking continues! It is sometimes distracting when she is moving so much. Like I can't keep a conversation going because...huh? wait. what? Oh sorry - I can't focus because THERE'S A BABY MOVING AROUND IN MY BODY! (Sporting part of my new velour jogging suit I got last weekend at BRU. It is SO COMFY! They just got a maternity section full of clothes from the beast store - Motherhood.Maternity!)

And without further adieu....the cutest onesie ON EARTH! A shout out to Simply.Colors where I ordered its loveliness from. I came across the website via Baby.Center. They sell onesies, and kids' t-shirts. You can print whatever you want on them - front and back. They have tons of colors and fonts to choose from. I initially was going to put:

40% Dean
40% Kim
20% Dr. H
100% ME

But decided against it. Some people don't know of our IF journey so that would only bring up questions. Plus when Peanut is older and knows about the birds and the bees and sees a photo of himself wearing this, I don't want him asking what Dr. H was doing in the boudoir anyways!



***Updated to Add: I do not like the Beast of a store Motherhood.Maternity either. That is why I was glad to see their clothes in a BRU. So I don't have to step foot in one of their stores!***

Bloggy Updates...

• At the appointment last week, Dr. S said that I (and anyone with close contact to baby) would have to get a tetanus.shot right after delivery to protect against Pertussis. Yesterday I got some random notice in the mail discussing that Pertussis is the only disease that is currently being vaccinated for, that is on the rise. We will definitely be getting those shots - like it or not Deano - Mr. Needle-Phobe!
• When I got home from work yesterday, I needed a snack. I had bought some chocolate pudding mix (sugar free, fat free) the other day. It sounded so good. So I mixed the pack with the 2 cups milk....and proceeded to eat ALL OF IT!!!!
• Dear, sweet Martha has decided to host a virtual, online baby shower for me! How 21st century is that? You can read her post about it here. It will probably be the first weekend in March around 11AM CST. She has created a separate blog about it here so click on over and get all the details. I would love to "see" you there!
• Ashley is doing her first giveaway! She makes these awesome hand painted, personalized signs. Read the latest post to get the details on how you can get more than 1 entry into the drawing. So click on over and sign up. You'll be glad you did - not only if you win, but also she's a great blogger!
• Tomorrow....28 week pic, the cutest onesie ON EARTH that I just bought, and my 1 year blogoversary!

Ralph Nader is my Baby Daddy

I found this on a pregnancy board I follow. It's a Free Online Pregnancy Test, called the Pregnancy Tester. Feel free to do a test whether you're pregnant or not. It uses special software to "read" your hormone levels. LOL!

It determines:
1. if you are pregnant
2. the sex of your baby
3. the weight of your baby
4. hair and eye color
5. and your Baby Daddy's name!

Apparently we are having a 6 lb., 9 oz. baby boy with brown hair and green eyes. And my baby daddy is Ralph Nader! HA!

27 Weeks

All went well at the 27 week appointment. Well....all except for the timeliness of the doctor. Our appt was at 9:50 and Dr. S didn't come in until 11:40! Almost 2 hours behind schedule. She was upset with her scheduling person for having set so many patients for the morning, including new patient appointments, which for her take an hour to complete!

Belly measuring on target
Heartbeat was a steady 146

And can I just say how much I LOVE Dr. S! I think I've said before how some people in my neighborhood don't like her because she is straight forward and to the point. But that's exactly WHY we like her. Why wouldn't you want a doctor, who is in control of your health and well being, to be open and honest with you?

Dean went to this appointment. He hasn't been to the past 2. He needed to hear the heartbeat again. So while she's looking over my chart, she asks what the gender is. I say, "Surprise!" And Dean says, "Well it'll be a boy or a girl we hope." She says, "No kidding? I never would have known!" I was cracking up. Then we talked a little about pain management and I said "We want an epidural." She says, "Well technically HE can't have one since he won't be in labor." Then went on to talk about possible side affects and/or what could go wrong with one. I said we have 2 CRNA friends (Shout out to T&D!) who have put our minds at ease in regards to what could happen. She says, "Ok then, but it's MY JOB to tell you about it!" I also asked if we needed to prepare a Birth Plan...you know since all the books and what not tell you to. She says, "There is no need for that. Also what you read about having to be 5 cm to get an epi? Nonsense. We just roll with it and play it by ear. If you need something at only 3 cm, then here comes the Demerol or whatever. If you want to wait to get something, that's fine too. It's all about your pain tolerance."

LOVE IT! I was stressing about what do when and where and how and she was just like whatever you need at the time. Also, we have decided that only Dean will be in the room with me and that he will be cutting the cord. But remember I said he was squeamish? When we were talking about it (during the 2 hour wait this morning) he was like....uh, only if you really want me to. It was obvious he didn't want to at all. I'm like I need you there with your eyes open and standing up - not passed out, eyes closed, laying on the floor (Like AJ's mom did today. I am sure she has yet to post about it though!!!) to help me and take pictures and cut the cord! I think he's in, but he's not looking forward to it. Me thinks it gives him the heebie jeebies!

27 week photo coming soon...

Happy Inauguration Day!

It's Obama Day, so eat Obama cake!

**Please note this is not one of my creations. The pic is linked back to its original source.***

Belly Pic & Mom's BDay

26 weeks, 2 days (01/16/09)

A little delayed in posting...sorry

Mom's BDay cake - I used a giant cupcake pan.

Mom with her cake

Mom and the sister feeling Peanut kick around!

The baby moves more when I'm lying down.

And from this angle, MAN, can you tell Righty is SO much bigger than Lefty!

And did you see my new super cool signature?

Always Wash Your Hands

So last week was the Wellness Fair at work put on by our Health Center aka Nurse's Clinic. All kinds of vendors were there promoting this or that - our insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, adoption, Lowe's, Sun & Ski Sports, The Green Team (my boss and I worked this booth as Green Team members), etc.

There was one booth (and for the life of me I can't remember who it was. L - do you?) That had several types of hand cleaner and lotions and a blue light. The idea was that you really aren't getting your hands as clean as you think you are when you are washing them or using the antibacterial stuff on them. No one wanted to test it out - too nervous I suppose - so I did. She gave me this lotiony stuff and I rubbed it all over. Then I stuck my hands under the light and it looked nasty. You could tell everywhere I had put the lotion - even some fingerprints on the back of my hand, caked under my nails, and just spotty on my palms. I am guessing that's what it looks like when you half-ass wash your hands. She said to see the full effect, go wash the lotion off and come back under the light again. Well I forgot that part, but it still freaked me out a little.

No, I'm not going to turn into a 5 gallon totin' Hand Sanitizer freak when Peanut is here, but still. Gives you something to think about. And then after that experience, I get sent this today in an email... WTH?!

Not for the squeamish - Dean: don't open it!

http://media2.foxnews.com/112008/worm_tumor_700.wmv

Moral of the story: ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES YOU TO SING "HAPPY BIRTHDAY."

Just testing out the msg

Just testing out the msg texting from my phone per nikki. Could come in handy to keep u internets updated when having peanut!

PS forgot to take a belly pic again last night. was busy working on Mom's cake. Tonight, I promise!

Some Friday Funnies...

And then the fight started...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was
flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?'

I said, 'Dust.'


And then the fight started...


------------------------------------------------------------------------



My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our
upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny
that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.'

I bought her a new bathroom scale.


And then the fight started...


------------------------------------------------------------------------



When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take
her someplace expensive... so, I took her to a service
station.

And then the fight started...



------------------------------------------------------------------------


After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to
apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter
asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I
looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at
home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would
have to go home and come back later.

The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.



So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She
said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough
for me' and she processed my Social
Security application.

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my
experience at the Social Security office.

She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You
might have gotten disability, too.'

And then the fight started...


------------------------------------------------------------------------


My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school
reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her
drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'

'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend.
I understand she took to drinking right after we split up
those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober
since.'

'My God!' says my wife, 'who would think a
person could go on celebrating that long?'


And then the fight started...


------------------------------------------------------------------------

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some

reason, took my order first.

"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare,
please."

He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad
cow?""

"Nah, she can order for herself."

And then the fight started...

---------------------------------

A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her
husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly.
I really need you to pay me a compliment.'

The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near
perfect.'

And then the fight started.....

------------------------------------


I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Light beer
for $19.95.

Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.

I told her the beer would make her look better at night
than the cold cream.

And then the fight started....

--------------------------------------------


My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big.




I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday




and then the fight started.....

---------------------------------------------

A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent
babies. Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning, a loud
noise came from outside.

The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at
the man 'Holy crap. That must be my husband!'

So the man jumped out of the bed; scared and naked jumped
out the window. He smashed himself on the ground, ran
through a thorn bush and to his car as fast as he could
go.

A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom
and screamed at the woman, 'I AM your
husband!'

The woman yelled back, 'Yeah, then why were you
running?'

And then the fight started.....


----------------------------------------------------

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my
lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the
garage.


I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back
out into a torrential downpour.

The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the
garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the
weather
would be bad all day.

I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped
back into bed.

I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a
different anticipation, and whispered, 'The weather
out
there is terrible.'

My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my
stupid husband is out fishing in that?'

And then the fight started ...

----------------------------------------------------

I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our
anniversary?"

It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet

appreciation. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long
time!" she said.

So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"

And that's when the fight started....


----------------------------------------------------

My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
while we were in bed.

I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have
sex?"

"No," she answered.

I then said, "Is that your final answer?"

She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying
"Yes."

So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a
friend."

And that's when the fight started....

Sleep...**Updated**

I've started having issues sleeping well through the night. Well for several reasons. One is that I am getting up to potty more and the other is I just can't get comfortable. I am a tummy sleeper and being 26 weeks pregnant...well, that just isn't an option anymore. I have been sleeping on my side using a pregnancy wedge pillow and when coming back from the bathroom, switching sides. Last week I had to start using a pillow between my knees because my hips were hurting. I couldn't get comfortable like that either. I tried small throw pillows, but couldn't sleep because I kept thinking it was falling out. Then I tried regular pillows but those seemed too big. I read in Baby.Trends and Baby.Bargains that you shouldn't spend $50 on a "maternity.pillow" when a regular body pillow will work just as good for about $40 cheaper.

So I bought one at Target the other night. That and a fuzzy giraffe looking print pillow case. Dean was like WHAT? We are not having animal print in the bedroom. Well, the furniture is black and the bedding is a brown and light brown with an accent wall in red...the only other colors of cases were pale blue and pale green...so giraffe it is! I have slept so much better the past 2 nights with the giraffe - both under my belly and between my knees!

I'm making my mom a birthday cake tonight for her birthday tomorrow. Will post a pic when I'm done.

Happy Thursday Everyone!

**Got home late last night and forgot to take a belly shot. Will do tonight!**

Ladies' Restrooms

Does anyone else have issues with the ladies' restrooms at the work place?

Currently, 2 of the 4 stalls are G.R.O.S.S. One is totally stopped up with poo and paper and the water level is dangerously close to the top and the other has pee all over the seat and floor. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? How can a woman pee on the seat and floor? Maybe we have a trans-gender we are unaware of.

Monday, Monday

The weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday we spent catching up on Y&R (yes, you do like it Dean otherwise you wouldn't ask questions!) and had a good old chili dog for dinner. Saturday we cleaned the house (it hadn't been done since Christmas) and then we went with my parents and sister to see BodyWorlds at the Houston.Museum.
For any of you in the Houston area or there 'bouts, you should definitely check it out. It's in its last weeks here now. It displays plasticized bodies and body parts. You can see all the muscles, nerves, organs. You name it. There is also a fetus-embryo development section. It has tiny, tiny babies from 4 weeks through 25 weeks, including a woman who died while pregnant and they have opened her womb to see the baby. Believe me, if you are the least bit squeamish, then this exhibit is NOT for you. But if you are at all interested in the goings on of our bodies, you have to check it out.
Sunday we chilled - I finally loaded pics on my digital photo frame I got for Christmas, opened up the bag o'baby goodies we got from Dr. H months ago and put the "toiletries" in the bathroom aka baby shampoo, lotion, etc. and read a couple of magazines that came in the bag. Then Dean's niece, husband, their daughter-in-law (basically), Dean's son and friend came over for a good old fashioned chicken and dumplings and collard greens dinner! Mainly because we left 2 of their presents at home when we went to visit for Christmas and they brought us gifts from Dean's sister who didn't come down this year. We had a nice time chatting with them. They left around 8:40 and by then we were so tired...well the dishes..they are still a'waitin. Guess we'll get to that tonight.

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday!

Test Results..

YEAH! I passed my 1 hour glucose.test! I don't have the 'Beetus and I don't have to take the 3 hour test! WHOOPEE! The rest of my b/w is back too, and I do have an iron deficiency.

This is probably because I'm not eating enough good for me foods. According to some sites, these foods include:

Red meat - CHECK

beans - CHECK

tofu - DENIED

raisins - DENIED - ate too many as a kid and now dislike them A-LOT

dates - DENIED

prunes - DENIED

figs - DENIED

apricots - DENIED

potatoes (leave the skins on) - CHECK - without the skins. What am I, a rabbit?

broccoli - SOMETIMES, with soy sauce is best!

beets - DENIED

leafy green vegetables - MUCHO DENIED

whole-grain breads - CHECK

blackstrap molasses - WHAT?

iron-fortified cereals - CHECK - my Cinnamon.Toast.Crunch is iron fortified, baby!

And I think I found my real problem - too much calcium. Remember that hell fire heartburn I was talking about? Well I have been taking T.U.M.S. all day and all night. I was leery of taking an over the counter med. Plus T.U.M.S. have calcium which the baby needs, right? Well, according to Dr. S and baby.center.com....

Calcium interferes with your body's ability to absorb iron. So if you're taking calcium supplements, or an antacid that contains calcium, don't take either one while you're eating iron-rich foods or at the same time as your iron supplement. For the same reason, don't take your supplement with milk, which is rich in calcium. Drink milk between meals, instead. The same goes for tea and coffee, which contain polyphenols that interfere with the absorption of iron from supplements and plant sources.

So between my T.U.M.S. addiction and my sweet tea addiction.... I have been blocking my own iron absorption! The tea will stay, but the T.U.M.S. are going. Doc said to take Prilo.sec. I have taken them since the appointment at night and I haven't had to wake up every 3 hours to pop a T.U.M.S!!!

25 Week Update

The appointment went well yesterday. Baby's HB was 148 and my baby bump is measuring on schedule too. My OB does the glucose test for gestational.diabetes between 26 & 28 weeks and this week I am only 25. The nurse said we could do it so I wouldn't have to come in again next week.

So the orange/syrupy/Sunkist-ish drink was delightful! They also took another vial of blood to test for iron deficiency. Should get all of that b/w results back today. Cross your fingers I don't have to do the 3 hour test!

Appointments are now every 2 weeks.

P.S. TMI - I have gas so bad right now. I know my cube mate can hear it! I am getting embarrassed just sitting here. I know if i try to get up and go to the bathroom it will be poot, poot, poot as I walk like a granny!!!!

25 week belly pics posted here and there ----------------------------->

D-D-D

So technically today is Wordless Wednesday (which I haven't done in a long time), so I will post a picture, however I have a few words I would like to share, so I can't really call it "wordless." It's just Wednesday.

• I have a neighbor friend who still hasn't got her BFP she wants so badly and just found out her precious doggy may have cancer. Please keep her in your prayers. He is scheduled to go in for surgery on Friday to remove the tumor and biopsy results will be ready next week. HUGS to H.E.!
• Today is 25 weeks. Holy Moly! According to my little tickers, there's only 105 days to go. That seems so soon. I have so much to do!
• I determined yesterday after fixing my boob 1200 times in my bra, that it was time to breakdown and get a bigger one. Seriously, it was overflowing out the top and coming out the bottom. Yes, but only ONE. I know, I know...all women have 2 different sizes. Mine have always been that way. I did think that when I got pg, that they would "even out" some. Seems that ol' Lefty wants to stay just the same as she's always been, but Righty is on a growth spurt! Are you kidding me? Anyways, I went to my favorite big booby bra place - Lane Bryant. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their bras. Not the fancy, schmancy ones. Just the regular Caci.que, "full coverage" (sounds so like a Grandma bra, doesn't it?) ones. Yeah for me - they were having a sale. Buy 2, get 2 free. I know some of you little ladies out there spend, what? $12.99 on a bra? No sister. Not me. My girls require $34.00 worth of coverage. So that's $17 PER.BOOB!!! So yes, I did get 2 for free, but I paid $73 including tax for 2 BRAS!!! That is an insane amount of money for underwear for crying out loud. I did score though as the bra measuring lady told me (after I told her I was pg) that I could get 2 of them in a bigger cup size in case I grew into them. But in the event that I didn't, I could bring them back and exchange them for my regular size. Do you know how many letters of the alphabet are in my "grow into" size? D-D-D. That stands for Dadgum, Darn, Damn TOO MUCH BOOBAGE!! (this is really the pic I wanted to post today, but really I cannot bring myself to photograph my own undergarments for all you internets to view!)

Dean, me, and Maddie NYE 2008

Apparently this is how men celebrate NYE when their wives can't drink (one is pg and one is BF) Yes, you are seeing that correctly. They have their own bottle of champagne.....EACH.

Nursery Update! And other photos...

We have registered for a Babi.Italia - dropside, convert only to a toddler bed - crib at WBB. It lists for $299. The dresser which has little drawer space is like $500, which we did not register for. We have been hunting various furniture stores looking for a decent dresser that matched the crib. No such luck... So we talked over the weekend and decided to look at Craigs.list (CL) for one.

Yesterday while perusing CL, I came across an entry for a baby furniture set - crib, armoire, and dresser, AND mattress. All of the pieces were in very good condition. It was just posted late Sunday afternoon. I had D call, since sometimes a man can have more sway. The guy said he'd only had a couple calls, but all of them wanted to split up the set and he wanted it all gone together. (His wife has been on his case to get it out of the house for a month so their daughter can get something new.) We planned to drive over and look at it when I got home from work yesterday.

It was in God's plan for us to find this set. A friend was supposed to come over last night, whom we haven't seen in a while, but had a change of plans at the last minute and had to cancel. D tried to "squeeze" the trail.blazer into a u-turn lane without the cars in the next lane being out of the way on Friday (he is forever doing this and I am forever yelling "You're not going to fit!" Well, this time I was right and we tapped some Acur.a's bumper, causing more damage to Blazy than to him.) So he had dropped Blazy off at the dealership yesterday to have it repaired. Meanwhile, they gave him a rental truck to use. A TRUCK. Normally we don't have a truck in our reach to use to haul stuff...you see where I'm going here?

So the furniture was AWESOME! Yes, it is 8 years old, but it is made of solid maple and made by Mori.geau. So much sturdier than those POS cribs from WBB. Google them. They are a top of the line Canadian furniture maker. Sadly, I also found out that they recently closed their doors and filed for bankruptcy....but STILL! There was only 1 "ding" and he said both his daughters used the crib and his sister - with twins - borrowed the crib. It was in pristine condition to have gone through that many moves and babies! The mattress was very new as the original used for baby #1 crapped out near the end of baby #2 using it. So this was the second mattress they had and she only used it for like 8 months!! He was asking $325 for the entire set - the crib alone at a boutique is $600, retail from the now defunct manufacturer....$1100... Suffice it to say, we came home with the furniture! Oh, after he pulled all of his daughter's clothes out of them and piled them on her bed!

I am SO, SO, SO excited! Registering and nursery furniture all within 4 days!!

Here is Daddy building the crib...

The armoire...

The dresser...

The crib...(converts to toddler daybed) WITH dropside! YEAH!

This is a lovely photo of moi while registering Friday at We B Babies. Too bad they don't make this bib in adult size, because it is P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for me!! (No, we don't know if it's a girl, I just liked the bib!)

TAG!

I have been tagged by AJsMom.

The rules are as follows:

1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more people.

This pic is from my evacuee's baby's nursery...His name in blocks on his dresser.


You're IT!

1. Martha
2. Nikki
3. PJ
4. BrandiH2007

Good-Bye 2008, HELLO 2009!

Good-Bye 2008, HELLO 2009!!

We did get to experience lots of new things in 2008: Texas Wine Country, making our own wine, visiting Alaska, a very first BFP, and of course PEANUT!!

2008 was awesome just for the fact that we finally found an RE and a protocol that worked for us and has blessed us with a little one growing (and currently kicking) inside my belly.

It feels almost impossible to top 2008. And...I'm a little intimidated by 2009.

Why you ask? Because of the M word of course.

MOTHERHOOD

I barely know what to do know while Peanut is just in my belly. What to do during birth and after is a bit scary. Yes, lots of books have given me tips upon tips and tools upon tools. Millions of women have given birth and raised children without having ever read "What.To.Expect.When.You're.Expecting" and "What.To.Expect.The.First.Year."

I am sure I will do fine. It will be both amazing and harder than I can imagine. But I've been dreaming of and wanting this for so long, I know only good can come of it. I promise to be every bit of a blessing to him as he already is to me.

And for those good ol' NY Resolutions? Well phooey on them. I am considering myself 100 % resolved for 2009!

Anyone else giving those resolutions the boot?

**UPDATED: removed that gi-normous 2009 image I had because it formatted the text too weird to read.

**UPDATED AGAIN: forgot to show you these 2 fabulous items I purchased yesterday from OneStepAhead.Com - a stool for us to sit on while giving Peanut a bath that she can later use as a step stool. The seat comes off for extra storage. And this float for all those lake trips on the boat. It has toys attached to the front of it, along with a UV indicator so we'll know if its too hot for our little one!