Feeling blessed!

I don't know if any other person or profession understands the excitement of a Friday afternoon more than a teacher, specifically, one that is pregnant. This Friday afternoon hasn't let me down.

Not only did I have a wonderful day to begin with, but it just keeps getting better!

My school is trying to win an NFL scholarship in which we earn money for things like a playground. We've been doing all sorts of fun things, including an assembly, jersey day, and a door decorating contest. Each teacher was assigned an NFL team and we were asked to decorate our door with our class.

Now, those of you that know me....know that I am NOT a fan of football. I love the social aspect of tailgating, going to the games, and Superbowl parties, but that's where my love ends (much to my husband's dismay). 

Anyhow, we were assigned the New York Giants. I honestly didn't know a thing about them other than their NY symbol. I asked the number 1 NFL fan for some advice. . . My Husband. He told me they won the Superbowl last year - who knew?! From there we came up with a champion theme of some sort and I knew I wanted to use lots of glitter. The rest of the ideas and all the work was done by my kiddos, other than the NY part (I will admit, I did that part myself).

So...WE WON!

The kids were screaming and cheering when they made the announcement. There were so many creative and doors well done, I truly wasn't expecting us to win. However, my kiddos collaborated and worked so well together on thinking of ideas and taking charge of each aspect of the door, so they totally deserved it.

Super proud - even if I'm not a fan of the NFL.

 Then, not 5 minutes later, in came this beautiful delivery!

Back up real quick....

So this delivery came in a long box (first time). It didn't say who it was from on the outside. I was beyond confused. Back in the day JP use to send or bring home flowers at least once a month. I'll admit it, I was spoiled! He still brings home flowers and sends them to work, but only occasionally. However, he usually only sends them to work if it's a special day or he's in trouble.

So, in walks the lady with the flowers.

In a box.

No name on the outside.

Overnight delivery.

It's not my birthday.

Today isn't a major holiday.

It's not the first day of school.

There is nothing special about today in particular.

I'm not mad at my husband.

"Oh my gosh. How am I going to explain this to JP?! Who in the world sent me flowers?!" 

I kid you not, these were the exact thoughts that went through my head.

I open the box..and they ARE from my sweet husband.

My next thought, "Uh oh, what did he do? What am I in for tonight?" 

Just kidding (kind of).

So, that was my afternoon. It was fabulous and I'm feeling so blessed right now.

I love my husband.

I adore my class.

My sweet Baby Girl is a kicking machine and I love every second 

(even when it's 11 pm and I'm trying to sleep).

I made it out of work by 4:00 on a Friday.

My house is clean.

I'm getting my hair done tomorrow.

I have a date planned tonight with my sexy man.

Happy Friday, Lovelies. Make this weekend a good one!

21 weeks

Baby Girl is keeping busy in there! She's about to go through a growth spurt, packing on all sorts of ounces (not pounds!), meaning I'll continue to expand every .025 seconds. Most babies are about 10.5 inches now, although our little overachiever is probably bigger. She's definitely showing off her moves, although I'm still debating whether or not she's practicing her high kicks or for her black belt in karate. One of the two.

She is now capable of dreaming (probably about her wonderful mommy!). Her eyebrows and lids are fully developed as well. Baby Girl can now taste what I'm eating since she's now swallowing amniotic fluid. I guess this means I should start eating more veggies! She spends her days sucking on her thumb and jabbing mama's precious vital organs. I am of course that mom that loves every. single. second. (for now).

How far along? 21 weeks

Baby's size? pomegranate (side note, last week she was not the size of a cantaloupe - The Bump was playing mind games! She was actually the size (length) of a banana).

Total weight gain: 10 pounds (insert major freakout moment here)
Maternity clothes? Yeah, but I still wear more non-maternity than maternity clothing.
Sleep: I'm getting really sick of sleeping on my sides, so it's definitely getting harder. I usually fall asleep on my back, but I go back and forth between each side throughout the rest of the night. The 129 trips to the bathroom don't help either.
Best moment this past week: JP and I both feeling Baby Girl from the outside definitely tops the list. We're also able to see her move now. I've spent an embarrassing amount of time staring at my belly the past 3 or 4 days.

Miss Anything? sushi!!! :(
Movement: Baby Girl is crazy, folks! She moves all. the. time. (definitely MY child). This past week we were able to feel her from the outside for the first time. I was laying in bed, on my back when I first felt it. JP was able to feel her right away as well. We're even able to see little mini jabs on the outside of my belly. It truly is amazing. While I feel her moving all throughout the tday, we're only able to feel and see the movement from the outside when I'm laying down. JP is already teasing me about how often I lay down with my hands on my stomach! lol

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, unless you count eating too many pieces of candy corn. I had one too many on Saturday and I don't think Baby Girl was happy. That's what I get. I shouldn't be eating that much sugar. No mas, I promise.
Labor Signs:  nope

Gender: GIRL!
Symptoms: Just a whole lot of baby girl movement!

Belly Button in or out? It hasn't changed since last week. It's definitely more flat and wide than anything. The inner part is still slightly popping out inside. Weird, I know.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Usually very happy, but I'll be honest, this weekend was not great and I'm not happy about it.
Looking forward to: Working on Baby Girl's nursery. As many of you know, we're in the process of buying a new house. Since we can't be sure when we'll actually be in the house and we are sure of when Baby Girl will be here (4 months!), we've decided to work on her temporary nursery. It's really important to me for us to have a nursery to bring her home to. So, we've decided to start cleaning out the guest bedroom and make that her room. We'll basically do everything we'd do in the new house, minus the paint. We don't want our renters to have to deal with pink and/or grey walls. So, we'll add the paint when we move into the new house, which will likely happen within the first couple of months of her being here anyway. The nursery, by the way, is going to be so freaking adorable. I can't wait. Think light pink/blush, grey, and ivory and vintage Paris. It's going to be girly and elegant. I'm excited!

21 weeks

 Please ignore the awful hair; I'm getting it done on Saturday!
I also hate this picture, so please, no judging.

..and for your viewing pleasure. :)

SMILE! :)

Rough week? Need a little pick-me-up?

Long rainy day schedule on a Friday with 27 3rd graders in your classroom and a glass of wine isn't good for Baby?

Don't worry. I've got the answer. It can be found HERE. 

25 Ways to Instantly Make Your Day Better

My favorites are 9, 10, 14, and 23.
In fact, I think I may attempt to recreate number 23 tomorrow.

Happy Friday, Friends! :)   

6 Months of Bliss

Just in case you forgot to add mine and JP's 6 month wedding anniversary to your calendars or perhaps you forgot to slip the card in the mail on time, I have another reminder. Lucky you! :)

I made a guest post on Whitney's blog, The Married Me, reflecting on the past 6 months of marriage. Whitney and I met while planning our weddings and have continued to stay in touch through facebook. We've spent the past 6 months chatting about our (most of the time) amazing husbands and our marriages. Since I'm so awesome, she asked me to make a guest post reflecting on the past 6 months. If you happen to make it through my post (which I highly recommend you do!), you can browse through various topics on her blog which include recipes, product reviews, marriage, and a variety of other topics. Definitely head on over to check it out! :)

Half Baked!

20 weeks. Four and a half months. Halfway there. 139 days to go. While 3 digits may appear as if I still have a long time to share my body (and everything that goes into it!) with Baby Girl, I really don't. This time is flying bye, which is 100% bittersweet.

It feels like just yesterday that we found out we were expecting a baby and now here we are, half way done. While I've been so excited this entire time, this past week something sort of changed. I want this little girl here. Now. I'm not sick of being pregnant, in fact, I LOVE being pregnant now that the headaches are gone and I look pregnant instead of looking like I ate one too many donuts. Although I ironically have had 5 or 6 donuts since being pregnant, which is more than I think I've had in my entire life.

So, it's not that I want the pregnancy to be over. I'm truly loving it. I'm just so unbelievably eager to hold our little girl in my arms! I'm one of those instant gratification type people and this trait is definitely coming out in full force. I find myself admiring women with little babies while I'm out. I watch (or obsessively stare at) them and I just can't help myself. I tear up thinking about how God has blessed and trusted me enough to grant ME (and my sweet husband) with a baby. I too will get to have a baby in my arms in 20 short weeks (possibly less since she's measuring a week ahead). I freaking tear up watching a mother and baby. Pregnancy hormones, much?!

Alright, how about some more on Baby Girl. Which by the way, we have decided on a name. We're 99.9% sure. While we have been telling family and friends, I want to hold on to it a bit longer before I share on the blog or facebook. Anyhow, back to Baby Girl! (sorry the pregnancy lack of attention span is also in FULL force). Baby Girl weighs at least 10.5 ounces and is about 10-10.5 inches from head to heel, which is about the length of a banana (I'm not even kidding when I say that I just went to check out some of the bananas in our kitchen!). She's officially producing meconium (think black, sticky poop) that she'll so graciously share with us upon her first diaper change or two. Her little finger prints are here to stay. Her teeth buds are also beginning to form under her gums. Finally, she's beginning to form little eyelashes and eyebrows. Yesss! Baby Girl is looking less and less like an alien every day! :)

How far along? 20 weeks

Baby's size? cantaloupe!

Total weight gain: 8 pounds (normal by week 20 is 10 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Sometimes!
Sleep: Still just okay, not wonderful, but not bad. I haven't had a GOOD night's sleep in a while though. I'm highly contemplating ordering THIS. JP's Pillowina (long story) will have to move on over! There may not be enough room in our bed for all four of us. I've also been having nightmares about stretch marks. This can't be good.
Best moment this past week: The 3-day weekend, hands down, has been the best part about this week. After teaching for four straight weeks after a long restful summer, this weekend is by far one of the best of the school year. I was able to relax, take naps, go shopping, spend quality time with my love and best friends, swim, and clean my house from top to bottom!

Miss Anything? sushi!!! I'm dying here, folks. I neeeeeed some sushi.
Movement: Baby Girl is still moving away! She didn't move as often this week, but I do still feel her moving at least once or twice a day. However, she did seem a little extra active this weekend. I absolutely love it, but I can't wait for JP to be able to share in this with me. Come on, Baby Girl, move a little bit more..Daddy is dying to feel you!

Anything making you queasy or sick: In general, I'm still struggling with all meat other than fish. I was able to eat chicken enchiladas on Saturday and even a few bites of chicken mixed with rice and way too much sriracha during our  Teppanyaki dinner Friday night. Baby steps! :)
Labor Signs:  nope

Gender: GIRL!
Symptoms: Just a whole lot of baby girl movement!

Belly Button in or out? Guys! My belly button is officially ca-razy! It's wider, a bit flatter, and definitely still in, but the inner part is sort of popping out inside (if that makes ANY sense at all). I'm not going to lie, I'm struggling a tiny bit with this change. I'm only 20 weeks! I wasn't prepared for it to change this much so soon!
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very, very happy all the time. Like almost too happy. I'd probably be annoyed by me if I were my friends. ;)
Looking forward to: Anyone and everyone that knows me, knows that saying I love fall is actually an understatement. I'm obsessed with everything fall and it's always my favorite time of year. I'm very happy to see that it is quickly approaching! The Pumpkin Spice Latte (sans the whip) from Starbucks is officially back, which I fully enjoyed yesterday morning. Oh, and I'm well aware that it's still 100 degrees outside. Get excited!

The Half Baked Baby Bump :)

*Please note that there is definitely a bit of a shadow enhancing this bump!

Happy Labor Day, my lovelies!

My Love

Happy 6 months, Pumpkin!!

 

I love you like a fat kid (or pregnant woman!) loves cake!!

19 weeks :)

Baby Girl is 19 weeks today! Although she's probably measuring a little closer to 20 weeks since she's measuring a week ahead. According to her 19 week stats she should weigh about 8.5 ounces. However, if you read my last post, you noticed Baby Girl was already 9 ounces. My guess is she's probably a little closer to 10 by this point. If measuring head to bottom, she should be about 6 inches. Although if measured head to toe, I believe she's supposed to be about 10 inches. Almost a complete foot, the length of a ruler!

There are quite a few other amazing changes our little girl is going through. All of her body parts are now proportionate to each other. Hair (hopefully lots of it!) on her scalp is beginning to form. Her brain is designating special areas for each of her senses. Baby Girl's kidneys and intestines are working full force to digest, create, and pass fluids. I believe all of the major developments have occurred. Now, her main goal is to simply fatten up and grow!

How far along? 19 weeks

Baby's size? a large mango (19 weeks)

Total weight gain:  apparently zero since last week - I'm still up 7 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Sometimes!
Sleep: Okay - not bad, but not wonderful. My favorite way to sleep is on my stomach, which I can no longer do. Let's just say sleep has been more difficult. Baby Girl also doesn't like me laying on my stomach!
Best moment this past week: There were a few extra great moments this week. Finding out we're having a baby girl with our families at the gender reveal celebration tops the list though, which may be equally tied with feeling baby girl move all. week. long.

Miss Anything? sushi!!!
Movement: Baby Girl is officially moving like craaazy! She's pretty much moving on and off all day long and I've loved every moment. However, on Saturday she was doing one of two things - she was either participating in a tumbling contest or pushing up against my rib cage. Either way, this mama was not loving it. It was painful. It continued on like this for about two hours and then she went back to her sweet little movements. :) We can't see or feel her moving from the outside yet, but JP (is sort of) patiently waiting. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: chicken! Which reminds me of another crazy moment I had this past week. First and foremost, I basically never eat red meat. I don't eat burgers or steak. I'll eat something like lasagna if someone else makes it, but that's about as far as I've gone on the red meat train in I can't even remember how long. I only cook with ground turkey. Anyway, JP and I went out to dinner on Friday. Out of NO WHERE, I decided I needed to eat a cheeseburger. JP was beyond shocked. I did it though; I ordered and ate (about half) of a cheeseburger. That's definitely a once in a lifetime moment, so I made sure JP cherished every moment. That will probably never happen again.
Labor Signs:  nope

Gender: GIRL!
Symptoms: Just a whole lot of baby girl movement!

Belly Button in or out? in - although it feels different these days, it's WEIRD.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very, very happy!!
Looking forward to: Laying by the pool and spending time with friends next weekend - 3 day weekend!

19 week baby shot

Interesting! All ten inches of her crammed into a little ball! Between her tumbling skills Saturday and flexibility based on this picture, we just may have a little gymnast on our hands!

19 week belly shot