I don't have much to post right now, but here's an adorable picture of my baby boy Jett who was refusing to sleep earlier tonight!!

Felt stockings

Crafting: clothespin Christmas card wreath

Every Thursday since August, Jett and I spend the day with my sister, Kelly, and my mom, "Grammy". For 16 weeks, Kelly and I took cake decorating classes at Michael's craft store. Since December started, we've been doing shopping and crafting while Jett hangs out with his Grammy and Grampy. It's a nice time for me to get adult time with my sister (debatable on how adult we are, lol), and get a moment or two away from Jett! (I know I'm not a bad mom here...every mom needs a moment or two away...I like that I start to miss my baby boy after an hour or two, and that I got to be with an adult for a little bit minus a baby. It's healthy!)
Today we did a small amount of shopping (mostly household needs and our parents lay-away gift...shhh!), then went home with some craft beers for some crafting! Kelly stained a rocking chair for Jett, then we did some "v" shaped footprint pages of Jett's feet. It took three of us to accomplish this--me, Kelly, and my mom--but it got done...and no one else knew exactly what it was for...so neither of them knew they were helping with a future-finished-christmas-present! Woohoo! While there, I got Kelly to help me with a Pinterest project: a clothespin Christmas card wreath. We used an old clothes hanger, 50 clothespins, 25 beads, 2 bells, and a gold bow I had left over from a wreath. I spray painted the clothespins--26 green, 24 silver--and alternated them on the straightened hanger (threaded through the spring on the clothespin) by 2 green, one bead, 2 silver, one bead, 2 green, etc...until all were hung upon the hanger. Then I found the middle (counted out 25 clothespins) and hung the bells in the bottom middle of the wreath, secured the top by entwining the ends of the hanger, and attached the bow over the top where the hanger ends were entwined. Now I can hang it on the wall and hang up all the lovely Christmas cards that find their ways to our home! I think it's cute, practical, and lovely!!
I will post a picture tomorrow once it gets hung up with a few cards! :)

Productivity showed her face!

What a productive day here! I'm so thankful for Jett growing up happy and healthy and so inquisitive and curious and eager to learn! He's such a little morning person, which I definitely am NOT. However, I am quickly learning to grasp his happiness and turn it into productiveness on my end! He loves to sit in his exersaucer now and play with his toys for up to half an hour at a time with no outside interaction...and that makes for a happy and productive mama!

Today I finally finished up our family Christmas stockings. My mother had a pattern and cut them out for me, Josh and I came up with a design, I found some templates and felt and cut it all out. Over the course of maybe two weeks, I hand-stitched the cut-outs onto the stockings and gave them back to my mother for assembly and attaching the cuffs and hanging loops. I got them back last weekend, and yesterday sewed on some holly leaves and red button "berries". Today was the finishing touches: iron-on names outlined with gold glitter puffy paint. If I do say so myself, they are kinda awesome! I absolutely love how they turned out! :)

Other than that, I also got some cleaning done, ordered my final Christmas presents (shopping is DONE!), read through a magazine (in its entirety!), and got dinner started! (Dinner duty is shared around here...and Josh often does it much better than I!) As I was finishing up dinner, with Jett watching me in his Bumbo chair and "talking" up a storm, I also got breakfast omelet muffins made for Josh for the next 5 work days. They look and smell awesome! My new favorite thing: muffin tin recipes. So easy and practical to make!

It's not everyday around here that I get to feel accomplished and go to bed feeling on top of things...so I'm enjoying this feeling for a minute. A relaxing minute while every other living being in this house is soundly asleep. :)

Here's to tomorrow...and hoping it's as nice a day as today was!

I'm back!

So I have done a *terrible* job of keeping this blog updated! To start with: I gave birth to my perfect, amazing little man, Jett Eugene, on May 23, 2012 at 12:11pm via c-section! He is doing so well now, growing up so quickly, I can hardly believe it! He is not crawling just yet, but he did discover rocking back and forth on his hands and knees just this past Saturday, so any minute now!!

As for me, I'm doing pretty well! I got back into running this summer, even completing three 5k races. I was running and walking a lot almost every day with Jett riding along in the jogging stroller. For the winter months, when that's impractical and not healthy for us to be out in the harsh cold weather, Josh bought me an exercise bike to use, so hopefully I can keep up my healthy kick! :)

Our house is coming along. Not done yet, but closer every day, so I'll take it! Josh has worked so hard at it, and I'm so proud of him...but I cannot WAIT to be over in the house!!! Soon... :)

That's about it for now...i need to get some sleep while the munchkin sleeps too! I'm going to do my best to keep this updated daily, and get some pictures posted on here too!

Pregnant Workout 5.09.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 15 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

The weather was PERFECT for walking today! When I stepped outside I thought I could almost use a sweatshirt right now...and that is the perfect temperature for going for a walk or a run! :)
I had some issues at the beginning of my second lap--I got some cramping in my lower abdomen on the left side. I really felt like a stitch or cramp from running a prolonged amount of time. I thought it would be a perfect time to practice my breathing techniques....in through the nose 4 counts, out through the mouth 4 counts, breathe breathe breathe...and it worked! The cramp went away and the rest of my walk went along without any issues. :)
I'm about to head out for a Breastfeeding Basics class now. Hoping that it's enlightening and very informative...because I have no clue what's going on!!! :)

Pregnant Workout 5.08.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 08 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

Today was a little painful. I think I spent a lot of energy and muscle power organizing a spare room last night. (It's full of my clothes and craft and sewing supplies...it's not even remotely feasible to make this into a nursery at this point...I'm just trying to make room for all the baby stuff to be stored in here as well.) My feet ache a bit, as does my lower back. I know it's due to the extra weight I'm carrying around and the huge bump I'm sporting on my front side...but the walking must happen so long as I can walk! The end is nearing...and there's so much left to do...sigh.

Pregnant Workout 5.07.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 04 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

The rain passed after I got into work today, and held off to allow me to get my walk in! In fact, the sun is peaking out now. Weird...we were supposed to have storms all day long, getting stronger tonight. Oh well, I am not complaining. I spent all weekend mowing most of my 4.5 acre lawn...the rain makes the grass grow all too quickly! Tomorrow I'm sure it'll look like I didn't do a darn thing. *Sigh*
The walk today felt great! I'm feeling pretty good for a woman carrying around a watermelon inside her abdomen! :) (according to my baby bump app, Baby Boy is officially watermelon sized now!) Other than that, I notice more and more that my walk is more of a waddle. I must look funny...oh well. I feel healthy, so the heck with how I look. :)

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.  My bedtime routine includes putting all the dogs out "to go potty" and then putting them to bed in their crates, taking my vitamins with a large glass of water, washing my face, taking out contacts, brushing my teeth and flossing, climbing into bed with Josh and the spoiled dog Cash, watching the evening news while checking up on Facebook, kissing Josh goodnight, and finally situating myself amongst my nest of 12 pillows. :)

2.   I am feeling fat and panicked! My status is "watermelon" right now (the size of Baby J in the womb), and my house is a disaster area. I'm in the midst of cleaning and organizing everything and trying to find everything a place. If only that stupid house had been done in time...sigh. 

3.  I can't stand liars because I think everyone deserves the truth all of the time, no matter what. Sooner or later the truth will come out anyhow, so it's best to say it from the start. 

4. My idea of relaxation would be a soak in a hot tub, followed by an hour-long massage, manicure and pedicure with a glass of wine, and a nap on a hammock in the shade on a sunny day. OR sitting on a beach chair on a white-sand beach with my toes in the water and a bottomless fruity drink in my hand. 

5. If I had an extra $50, I would buy something we still need for Baby J. Or a bottle of nice wine. Depends on what store I'm closer to. :)

6. The best thing about a bloggy friend is hmm...the fact that I'm writing my life on here, no holds barred, the best and the worst, and someone out there knows exactly how I'm feeling and what I'm going through, and doesn't judge me like some of my real-life "friends" do. 

7.  A recipe I've been dying to try is Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. I have a Girl's Night that I am planning to attend on Friday night...so this is definitely a good opportunity to try out this recipe! I'd have to double it, of course...Josh would absolutely love them!! :)

Pregnant Workout 5.03.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 14 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

Today was even hotter than yesterday. And so stinkin' muggy. UGH. But I made it around all 3 laps, and in good time too! It was not comfortable though. Not at all. Between the mugginess and my pelvic pains, I think I just walked faster to get it all over with! The pelvic pains, I am assured, are normal and not at all unusual or anything to worry about. It's caused by Baby J's head putting pressure on my pelvic cavity and stretching out all the ligaments and making room down in there for his (ginormous) head. Sometimes the pains are pretty severe, like doubling me over in pain and taking my breath away, other times it's just a nagging dull pain, and still other times I don't feel anything at all! I suppose it's all just getting me ready for labor one way or another. Just about 4 weeks till he makes his debut...if not less! But I'm going to keep up the walking until I can't anymore. For my health and for the sake of making it back to a reasonable weight in a decent amount of time post-partum! :)

Pregnant Workout 5.02.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 27 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

Felt great! It was a little warm today, but the walk went well! No pains! :)

Pregnant Workout 5.01.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 46 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles


Today I had the company of two little girls (ages 6 and 8) on my walk. They rode their bikes around the loop while I walked. I felt better today than I did yesterday, so that's a plus. And the weather held off long enough for me to get the entire walk in...I wasn't entirely sure that it was going to when I started out!
I'm dreadfully tired today...maybe more so than yesterday. The lack of sleep is killing me right now...I was hoping to catch up on as much sleep in this last month as humanly possible in preparation for the sleeplessness that will be my life once Baby J arrives...but no such luck. :( *sigh*  Exercise is supposed to help, right?? Here's hoping...

Pregnant Workout 4.30.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 26 minutes 28 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles


It's time to get this back on track, as in more than just once a week. Three times a would be ideal, if not four. So, let's do this!!
Today I felt very slow and sluggish. The lack of sleep is quickly catching up to me in all aspects of my life, and I just feel like the life has been sucked out of me. However, it does not seem to be affecting Baby J at all--he's kicking up a storm and rolling around in his own little jungle gym in my belly. :)
I had the company of 3 of the young kids on my walk today. I was 2/3 of the way done, and the kids were hanging out on my library stoop waiting for me to answer the door. I laughed and said I had 10 more minutes till I opened the library again, and one more lap to walk, and they could join me if they wanted to. I told them if they finished they would receive a star and a snack (they collect stars for various activities and actions which translates into a monetary amount for them to spend at Wal-Mart at the end of a school quarter). So they gladly joined. They ran ahead of me, ran back to walk with me, ran on ahead again, and seemed to have fun. (A different staff member ran a "Running Club" with the kids this spring, but she was doing an internship and has since left, so the kids missed doing that.) If I could have run with them, I would have. :) I miss running.
My time was a bit slower than I'd like, but it has been a while since I walked...and I haven't been doing it very regularly either. Hopefully this week will get me back into a regular pattern of walking! :)

Pregnant Workout 4.25.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 00 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

It's been a few days since my last romp around the circle. Life happens. But it was nice to get a walk in today, even if my walks are getting ever-longer timewise---in complete corelation to my ever-growing belly. :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. Today is a great day because, I got to see my Baby Boy's heartbeat and face again today. :)

2. Tomorrow I will bake 8 dozen cupcakes, frost 8 dozen cupcakes and 10 dozen cookies. I shouldn't procrastinate like I do.

3. My favorite time of day is late afternoon and early evening. I get out of work and go home and play with my dogs outside and prepare dinner and get to spend some QT with my hubby.

4. Sometimes you just have to Let Go and Let God.

5. A song that I just can't get enough of lately is "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Not entirely by choice, but I've been hearing it daily, sometimes twice a day, on the radio...and it has a lot of meaning to me, Josh, and all of our close friends. Such a good song, such a good message, so much feeling and emotion.

6. My favorite accessory is my engagement and wedding bands. Aside from that? A huge mother-of-pearl ring I wear on my right middle finger. Love it.


7. My favorite thing about this week was spending so many evenings with Josh. This is double edged: it means he didn't get much work done on the house at all. We had a great dinner on Monday at Texas Roadhouse with Brenda and Dave (love me some good steak and good company!), and a Dogs and Babies class on Tuesday night, then last night we spent a lot of the evening outside playing with our dogs until it was dark and time for dinner, and tonight we are going grocery shopping and to a bar for Chad's birthday celebration...but the house still sits, unfinished...sigh. I'm looking at #4 above... :)

Baby J Update 4.20.12

Today I had a sonogram, Doctor's appointment, and non-stress test all scheduled for early afternoon. The sonogram is usually quite easy--the tech measures all the parts necessary two times (head size, belly size, femur length, and humerus length), then measures the fluid in the uterus surrounding the baby in all 4 quadrants, then she gets a 4D image for me to take home, then watches for the baby to move, and I'm outta there. Today it went as it usually does, until the 4D image and baby movement parts. Today Baby J has his face smooshed up against my uterus, completely distorting his face. The picture wasn't any good, so I left the appointment without any pictures. That's ok. But then the bugger didn't want to move. He was perfectly content in his position, his heart a beating away, and practicing breathing. I could see his hand moving--almost clenching and unclenching a fist--and his lips would open and close with his breathing motion. It was so cool to see all that! And to see the heart beating while his chest moved up and down with each practice breath. But, he needed to move! I laid on the table, rolling from side to side hoping to get him to move, but nothing. I tried coughing and tensing my ab muscles, and nothing. The tech kept pushing on my stomach with the sonogram wand, and finally, after about 10 minutes of prodding from different angles, he moved enough to satisfy the tech and I could get up. He's usually not that difficult when it comes to moving--he's constantly having his own dance party or kickboxing match in there!
Next was the Doctor appointment. I had two questions for him, which he answered right away. A. Why do my fingers feel like all the knuckles are broken when I wake up in the morning? It's due to carpal tunnel and the way all humans naturally curl in our wrists while sleeping. I can wear splints to sleep in if I want to, but other than that there's nothing else to do and it won't go away until the baby is born. B. Why am I getting a terrible shooting and debilitating pain below my belly between my two pelvic bones that doubles me over in pain? Because your baby's head is pushing down, moving down into birth position, and it's pushing on your pelvis and stretching out all the muscles, ligaments, and pelvic bones to make way for his head to come through. Oh, and PS your baby's head is humongous.
So last time, Baby J was big for his gestational age. This week, he's still a little big, but he's in the 72nd percentile for his belly, leg, and arm size...while his head is another story. His head, as the doctor said, is humongous--92nd percentile. The doctor just laughed and said "Your poor va-jay-jay" and laughed again. I should have expected as much: Josh had to be born via c-section because his head was too large for a vaginal birth. So, lucky me, he gave our kid a giant dome too. Just fabulous. But there's absolutely no doubt that it's his child! (As though there was any doubt before) :)
Then I was on to my Non-Stress Test, hoping that it didn't end up being as stressful as the last one I took, and hoping that he felt like moving at this point and I didn't have a repeat of the sonogram! I got hooked up and he immediately started kicking. I drank some juice, then snacked on some pretzels, and he kept on moving. Off to a good start at least! Then, he must have fallen asleep, because nothing for a while (but I could see my belly moving from his practice breathing...it was so cool! but didn't count for movement). I was given some ice water, and drank that and chewed the ice up, and it must have woken him up because he gave two more bursts of movement, and luckily that was enough to finish off the test!
Unfortunately, all this ended up taking far longer than I expected, and I didn't get to visit Meghan and Kasen at the women's hospital. :( I was so looking forward to seeing them! But Meghan texted me right when I was done with the NST and said she was lying down for a while and that she didn't feel so well, so I didn't go visit so she could rest and hopefully get to feeling better. Soon though...very soon. :)

The days are just flying by now. I cannot believe my baby shower is on Sunday. It seemed so far in the distance only yesterday it seems! Only 6 weeks left until my due date...probably less in all reality until Baby J comes into this world! I feel so unprepared, so nervous, and at the same time it's all so surreal...like is this really happening to me?? *Sigh* Nothing I can do about it at this point...he'll be here when he's ready to be here, and all I can do is love him and feed him and protect him and hope it's enough. :)

Pregnant Workout 4.19.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 24 minutes 50 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

Such a beautiful day for a walk! I was feeling really great today, and wished I had more time to walk another few laps! Sadly, my usual 3 laps takes up a majority of my break time. Probably just as well, so that I don't overdo it. I'm good at doing things like that. :)

And, a big Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Jake! :)

Pregnant Workout 4.18.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 25 minutes 03 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

Man, my time keeps increasing for the same distance traveled! Oy!
But, it was a beautiful day out so I'm glad I got the opportunity to get outside and walk! It has been a few days since I have been able to get my daily walk in (5 days missed, to be exact), and the baby is ever-growing, so a decline in pace is to be expected around now. Hopefully I can keep up with the walks for a few more weeks, even if they take a bit longer!! :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. Today is a good day because I got to see Baby J's precious face again today via sonogram! And both the sono and the Non-Stress Test went very well, so we're good for another week. Also I got to visit with a dear friend I haven't seen in a while and though the visit was too brief, it was very nice to see her!

2. The best thing I did all week was clean out and reorganize 3 food cupboards with air-tight storage containers while simultaniously starting to destroying a colony of ants that has been plaguing our kitchen. Terro liquid ant bait to the rescue! I found a good spot to put the bait and they've been coming all week and taking it back to their home nest...each day there are fewer and fewer of them, and sometimes they wander the wrong way and end up writhing and dying on the counter and it makes me SO HAPPY to see them suffering! If only they had just left my cereal and baking goods alone...but noooo...so DIE!

3. The current weather is sunny and mild and it makes me feel very happy and warm and energetic.

4. The best thing about spring is seeing more color in the world: the grass turns green again, green showing as the trees leaf out, the multiple hues of the bulb flowers blooming and the flowering trees, and all the wide range of colorful birds making their way back to their nesting areas.

5. A fashion trend that I'm dying to try out for spring is color blocking. I'm not really in tune with the "fashion trends", but I do know that color blocking is "in" now, and it looks fun. Perhaps a new dress for my upcoming baby shower! :)

6. A person who made me smile this week was aside from my hubby, who makes me smile each and every day in one way or another...I'd have to say Eileen...see #1 above.

7. The most delicious thing I ate all week was stuffed mushroom caps from Olive Garden. They were amazing! Along with their salad and breadsticks...mmm, salivating over this! :)

Pregnant Workout 4.12.12

Walked at work on my half hour break.

Time: 23 minutes 53 seconds
Dist: 1.56 miles

I didn't walk yesterday. The wind was too much and it was raining a bit too heavily at my break time, and I just plain didn't feel like it. I have a wicked ear ache that I didn't want to get any worse by being out in the cold rain. It feels full, I can barely hear out of it, it feels like it should pop but it won't, and there's nothing I can take for it. Unsure if it's really infected or just filled with fluid...but it is causing me jaw pain, and it's worst when I wake up in the morning. SIGH. Dr. Feel Good has told me to try Benadryl, chew gum, and massage under and behind my ear...I'm trying it all, but nothing. Such is life. Stupid ear.