25 Weeks

Well, we have finally hit 25 weeks. Getting close to the 3rd trimester. I have been soooo busy throughout this pregnancy that it has gone by so fast. But now, the anticipation is starting to get to me- the whole pregnancy is starting to slooooooow down and feel like it's taking forever. Too bad because I still have 15 weeks. Gah! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and will find out if they are going to move the due date up a few days.
Best story of the month- my son hitting the terrible twos and the 18 month stage. Now that he is 20 months, he is all over the place throwing out defiance left and right. This includes, but not limited to, saying "no" to everything and everybody. My current favorite was when I ran the bath water while he was in his room playing. I went to get a towel and come back to this....

He got into the bath by himself with all of his clothes on, including diaper and rain boots. At least he was prepared for the water?

39 weeks and a Big MOVE

Hello to all! Sorry for the lack of posting lately. You would think that among the extreme boredom of playing the waiting game I would have some time- but it's a little more depressing to not have any noteworthy news. And sorry for my computer not spacing everything the way I want it to- it seems to have a mind of its own today. I promise I do know how to form a paragraph.

38 weeks

39 weeks 3 days

The red and sweaty face is from my "get out of my belly" walk with MJ this morning. A combination of sunburn and 50 lbs overweight-out-of-shape-ness.

Last Friday we went to the Dr. and I was a "good" 3 cm and 80% effaced. Then she proceeded to ask me "how are you still pregnant??" Well, that's a good question. She thought for sure Saturday or Sunday I would go into labor. After we left, I said- I am not getting my hopes up. Good thing cause there is still a baby in my belly. So now we just wait some more....

We do have some noteworthy news though that has nothing to do with the baby. Zach and I are moving back to Atlanta within the month. I know we are crazy for attempting this with a newborn- but so far we just really like to do things the most difficult way possible! haha. I have accepted the head vball coaching job and a history teaching position at Heritage High School in Conyers, GA and Zach is going to be the asst. varsity and head JV bball coach at Dunwoody High School. We are super excited to get back to Georgia with all the relatives. And, even though it was a hard decision, we know it is what's best for our family. So, we could potentially be moving with a 2 week old if he decides to cook for that long. Awesome!! Since our parents are super-amazing we will be staying with them in July so that we don't have to rush into making a decision on where to live and what place to live in. God has really put everything out on the table for us and has really answered our prayers so we couldn't say no to the opportunity.

The doctor has been "delayed".....

No picture again- sorry for slacking. Maybe tomorrow....

Well, on Monday I got a call at about 4:55 pm from the docotor's office (we had an appt. on Tues.) We were informed that our doctor has been "delayed" in California and will have to cancel all of her Tues. appointments. "Delayed"...hmmmm... extended vacation??

So I asked when is the next time we could get in. She answered with "umm, Friday. Friday the 21st."

"The 21st?? almost two weeks from now? I am supposed to be seeing her weekly at this point." What I should have said, but I didn't- Don't I get some sort of priority here? I'm about to pop a baby out.

She told me to call on Wednesday and see if the Doctor had opened up any more appointment time because "surely" she would.

Well I called back and low and behold she had NOT opened up any more appointments and was still going to take a half-day on Thursday. Really?? The front desk lady did get me an appointment on Friday and apparently that time is triple booked so I will expect a looong wait time.

So hopefully I will have good news tomorrow and that good news will balance out the anger that I will have from waiting for hours in the waiting room.

As of right now, I am having plenty of painLESS contractions which serve no purpose. I keep saying I just want some pain with these things!!! I know I might regret that statement, but I figure it is going to happen anyway, so why not today right?

36 Weeks 5 days!

No picture today- sorry. I'm still huge-hasn't changed!

Went to the Dr. this afternoon at 36 weeks 5 days. I have been getting more and more contractions lately (nothing painful at all, I really don't even feel them except for the tightness in my stomach so I wasn't worried). But, because he has dropped and because I wanted to know, I asked the nurse if the Dr. was going to check me today. She said "no, the Dr. probably won't check you until about 39 weeks." So I asked the Dr. if she could check me today because of all of the contractions I have been having and she said sure.

After the nurse left I looked at Zach and said - "39 weeks? I might have already had the baby by the time she gets around to checking me!"

Sure enough- 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. The Dr. seemed so surprised that I was that far along. Um, yeah I have been trying to tell you people that this is what I'm feeling! He is trying to escape! She said if he starts bearing down on the cervix I could go into labor any time. But, some people sit at 2 cm for a few weeks- so who knows! Either way she was pretty sure that I won't make it until my due date.

She did tell me that I am not allowed to have him this weekend because she will be out of town. To which I said, I have an exam on Friday so I at least need to make it until then.

Soooo- starting Saturday I will do lots more walking and eating lots more spicy food and might hit up the Olive Garden for Eggplant Parmesan.

But, now I'm stressed with getting everything ready! Geez- I'm not even full term yet. The baby clothes have been washed and put away and I will be pissed if he is a big baby (not only because I want to go natural- but because he has so many cute newborn clothes that I don't want him to skip to the next size up!). The car is in the process of being cleaned out completely (we still need to install the car seat). Baby D's bag is packed, Zach's bag is packed, and mine is packed (except I need some pants- but waiting on the laundry to be done to finish that up). The room is ready. The house is relatively clean (good enough). So now we wait.....

April Showers Bring May Babies! Not June Babies,...take the hint Baby D

Sunday April 11th was Shower Day!

The first shower was thrown by Bri for the team. Favorite moment: Watching them all taste baby food...haha! They got into it though and we had a winner get 6/8 correct. Nasty. I'm not a fan so Baby D will be eating his own food and won't have to worry about mommy stealing any from him. And we did the "guess how hiege I am" with toilet paper (Zach's word pronounced hidge- ee. The word has multiple meanings, but the most popular is "fat" or "eats a lot"- it's a fun word and I pretty much use it daily mostly for making fun of others) - which could have turned out to be a disaster, but good thing we have some smart girls on the team because no one was more than two toilet paper squares off.

My lovely team. These are all of our returners for next year.

After the team shower, I had a "big girl" shower- I prefer to not call it the older people shower- cause that would mean that I'm old, no thank you. Bri, Katrina, and Gina all helped throw this one. I learned lots of new things... like there has been a baby born who was 23 lbs (geez....).... and that I don't know any nursery rhymes. I didn't know there was actually more to rub-a-dub-dub three men in a tub. Yeah, it keeps going, I had no idea. Apparently my mom did not teach us proper nursery rhymes.

The awesome diaper cake that I did NOT want to take apart when I got home. it was too pretty!

Love them!
Dana is due April 27th-I'm pretty sure that I am going to be super jealous when she gets to be done with pregnancy and I am just starting the miserable phase.

I had so much fun at all the showers- thank you to everyone who came! Now I have no excuse to not finish the nursery- so I guess pictures will be up soon if I get motivated!

P.S.- hopefully Baby D gets the hint about the title- Please no post due-date arrivals. Thank you!

32 weeks 5 days

Right now I am almost 33 weeks. I am exactly 1 month away from being full-term (which even though the baby probably won't come then- it will be a much needed relief to know that he can come whenever he wants and he will be healthy!)

As you can see the belly is getting a bit more round- I used to feel like it was a torpedo coming straight out!

32 weeks 5 days
(51 days to go!)

I have a whole list of things to do before May 7th gets here- including studying for all my exams (can't wait until that's over!)- but things like pack our hospital bags, get the car seat installed by someone who actually knows what they're doing (like the fire dpt.), finish the nursery (yikes), wash all the clothes and sheets (oh and buy detergent so that I can actually do that), etc, etc, etc.

Oh yeah, and deal with the worst insurance company in the history of mankind. To fill everyone in: I kept getting bills for things that they should have been paying for- so late Feb. I called and ever so sweetly asked what was going on- oh yeah, they lost my claim of pregnancy form so according to them I wasn't pregnant and they didn't have to pay for pregnancy stuff. Right.... So I had to fill out another form, which is still being processed because they are totally on top of things. In the meantime I got an angry letter from the business dept. at Comanche County Memorial Hospital saying that they have not heard anything from my insurance company and if it is not cleared up then they will start billing me directly. So, I'm off to call them again and try to get them to speed up the process. At this point in time, they have not done ONE thing right- so this should be a fun couple of months :-)

Proof that My Husband Lives Here + a PregPic

I came home the other day to the house looking like a bachelor pad and it made me laugh. Zach recently got a projector and apparently the wall is just not good enough. So, he found two coat hangers and a sheet out of the closet (it was news to me that he even knew how to use a hanger!)

At least he is creative right?

Xbox controller and headset. Blanket and pillow. And, somehow a flip-flop on the coffee table? Hey, at least it is clean! He vacuumed the other day and took out all the trash and boxes so I can't complain.

31 weeks 3 days
I feel like the energizer bunny in stomach size- not in energy. It just keeps going and going.

Georgia Baby Shower!

Proof that Ally is skinnier than me!

Alright, let's rub it in some more!

My favorite girls! Taylor, Ashley, Ally (and Tracy taking the pictures)

How cute is that?!
We might not let him wear it out though- we don't want him pickin' up the ladies too early

Thank you JoJo!

This kid will never run out of clothes! No, seriously....

All things sports! Yay!

The best hostesses!

Ally, Me, and Mom

"I want to feel him kick" - Mom in an annoyed voice. "Sorry, I will make sure to schedule that for you next time"- Me in a sarcastic voice :-)


Thank you to everyone who came or gave Baby Darling a gift- we truly appreciate it! It is so generous of everyone to want to help and we cannot thank you guys enough. And, it was great to see everyone again!!

More Pregnancy Pictures!

Here are 4 more pictures taken by the lovely Tracy Alene (tracyalene.com)

Pregnancy Pictures!

Monday when Zach and I were back in Georgia, my cousin Tracy took some pregnancy pics of me- they turned out sooooo beautiful! All of you should hire her for weddings/portraits/etc cause she is amazing! Here are just 5 of the pictures that she took. Her website is http://www.tracyalene.com/

I was 29 weeks 3 days in all of these pics.

More Georgia pictures and shower pictures coming soon......

Pic Update and Sneaky Dogs that Can't be Trusted!

28 weeks 5 days

Well as of lately, we have been returning home to some "wet spots" on our couch. Not sure if anyone else's dog does this- but ours likes to pick one spot on his bed, on the floor, or apparently on the couch and lick it over and over and over and over again. Weirdo. This is the only evidence that we have of him getting on the couches while we are gone- because when we come home he is always sitting like he is in the picture below.....

Who me?
I've been here the whole time....

Then he gets yelled at and gives me the evil eye. Typical of the terrible two's. Or I guess in dog years, typical of the terrible teens! aahh! What I have to look forward to with baby darling- awesome.

So- I have given in.
I can't keep him off the couches but I sure as heck can protect them from his slobber.

So- please.... if you want to come to my house. Either do not judge me for the mess or give me a few minutes to clean up before you come!

I have gotten used to the idea of not having a perfectly clean house. I'm not exactly a neat freak anyway, but I would rather have the joy of having my terrible teen puppy than have a spotless house. Zach might disagree with me on that one though!

I always remember the stories my mom would tell about going to visit her grandmothers. One was very high-maintenance with knick-knacks all over her spotless house. My mom would talk about how they didn't enjoy going because they were always in trouble for being too loud and wild. She never wanted her things to be in jeopardy of being ruined by young kids. Her other grandmother lived on a farm in the middle-of-nowhere Mississippi with no running water or central air/heat. They always loved going to visit her because they could just be kids and run around and have fun without worrying about ruining anything.

I guess it's the same- I would rather have the joy of having my dogs and later my kids have fun (with certain limitations of course!) than have a spotless house. I've given up the battle of keeping it clean!

2 Days till 3rd Trimester!

Nothing much exciting has happened lately- but I figure a picture update is blog-worthy. Our upcoming news is MUCH more exciting!

We have a John Mayer concert coming up, Dr.'s appointment, a recruiting trip in Dallas, working with the insurance company, and coming back to Atlanta next week!

27 weeks 5 days
He is up very high right now. I'm ready for him to start dropping a little since I feel like he is a part of my rib cage :-)

Dr. Appointment- set for this Friday. I get to do all of my fun testing like drinking the nasty glucose stuff. I have been warned to hold my nose and turn off the taste buds (wish that was possible!)

I have been working with Western Claims on getting everything settled. We have sent them pictures and the estimate and are in the process of getting a rental car for next Friday when we make the long trek back to Atlanta. We had originally planned to take the truck- but as you all know that won't be possible because it will be in the shop for weeks. We will be taking it in to B&M Friday March 12 and plan on leaving for Atlanta that same day after school. SO- we need a rental car and good news- we don't have to pay for it! I love free stuff- a rental car with better gas mileage and putting miles on someone else's car? Too good to be true.

Zach is starting to not feel very well- that's what you get for not getting your flu shots! So hopefully he will be able to turn it around in the next couple of days and start feeling better!

Beginnings of a New Nursery and a New Outlook on Life

Update on everything!

Truck: Well, it turns out it is about 4,000 dollars worth of damages (or worth of fixing really). The labor and parts cost more than the damage done to the truck! Waiting to hear back from the guy's insurance company- a local Lawton insurance company. Hopefully, that is not going to be a bad thing.

26 weeks 5 days

Goodbye arms- my cut college athlete arms have been replaced by mom arms- sweet! The goal is to get them back along with a smaller waste-line and then try to get rid of my toddler-like chubby cheeks (courtesy of the pregnancy fat face) once Baby Darling gets here. I plan on going through our summer work-outs that we give our team and come back in (having had a baby) and still kick all of our players' butts. Stay tuned...

Goodbye feet. Getting to the point where vision of my feet has become a little bit harder.

But- most importantly! The beginnings of a nursery...... I know I have a baby shower coming up, and some people are visual people (allyson!) So, here are the nursery plans....

This is what it looks like as you enter the doorway
A glider will go in the far corner in between the swing and the small side table.
We both know that the swing will migrate out into the living room once our addition arrives, but for now it can stay in the baby room.

The gorgeous dresser that my poppy fixed up for me and ally when we were babies (and now repainted by my mom to match the baby furniture) is where all of the newborn clothes will go. Zach and I got a few little things at babies r us (my valentine's present was a baby shopping spree- woohoo! I had so much fun! :-)


Eventually the car seat will be moved into our cars and so the corner between the changing table and the dresser will be for the diaper genie (which better work its genie magic!) and perhaps the hamper.

The changing pad cover and diaper stacker are so cute! Underneath the changing table will be some storage bins for all things baby and then up top will either be pictures or more storage bins because mom has already taken over the baby closet. (I have too many clothes and shoes to share a closet with Zach- sue me!)

As you can see, the crib is totally functional. It holds lots of things- we will just have to move those things out once the baby gets here or he can just sleep on the floor with MJ. Totally kidding, don't turn me in to child services yet! The little hamper by the door is either going to be for dirty clothes or for toys.

Thank you Ally for the cute little picture frame- Baby Darling's pic has been put in the frame (although I probably could have left the other one in there- it looked like the exact same picture!...weird)

Grammy, the license plate matches the colors of the room perfectly and we are definitely going to put it up on the wall so Baby Darling will remember Papa. Now all we need is a big FORD sign!

With all of the money that goes along with all things baby, it is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed- "how are we going to pay for this" or potential job stress for next year (I will not be able to work in the fitness center because of the hours- so we will lose that section of money). So to ease our fears and stress, God called us out on Sunday.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This was part of our Sunday school lesson and God totally called us out- especially me- by saying "seriously? you don't control anything, I do, remember? I will provide- you just need to sit back and chill out." I'm sure he said it just like that :-)

So, a new outlook on life: I will stop worrying. Everything will work out just how God wants it, whether that's the way we want it or not. He will provide, and my efforts to control every aspect of everything are futile anyway- so stop worrying!!! Easier said than done- but that is my goal- especially over the next few months.