I'm still here! Barely...

Hello all! I'm back! Well for the moment at least. I finally got a moment to breath and catch up on my blogging and I'm going to make a significant effort to keep it up! Does it feel like anyone else is just barely surviving, behind on everything they do, can't keep up with everything that is asked of them? I hope I am not alone! Ahh...the holidays are just beginning.

Here are some updates on what's been going on in my crazy world.
-I hosted my side of the family's Thanksgiving this last Saturday...it was probably one of my favorite family get together's I have had in years. My family has just been my on call support system lately and so it just felt good to get to see them in person, give some hugs, have some laughs, and say some thank you's. I really NEEDED some family time! Plus the FOOD...ohhh the food. Thanksgiving dinner is sooo my favorite meal! On top of it all...I can't think of anything that made my heart more happy than having my nieces and nephew running around my house. It was a beautiful day outside so the girls were out gathering sticks, and my nephew was occupied by my husband (who also can be considered a kid when my nephew is around)...they are always playing catch, shooting baskets, or even playing board games. Yes I have seen it all...Robby is and always was definitely meant to have a son.

-We attempted putting up our Christmas lights on the outside of the house...and got about half way done. My neighbor that we usually borrow the ladder from was gone so regardless of my anxiety my husband just crawled around on the roof to get all them all hung!

-We did as much as we could with the supplies that we already had from last year...but of course a few of the strands of lights have gone out...and since Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday's we had to save the rest of the job for this coming weekend. Here is the work in progress...

-I went inside and pulled out all the indoor Christmas decorations directly afterward...but the outside work had pretty much worn me out so I barely have my tree up... but not quite decorated. Thank goodness its a prelit tree so it looks good from the outside at least. I have a mountain of decorations in crates all over the living room waiting to be put out. They sat there unmoved last night though...so I really need to get motivated soon and get the rest of the decorating done before someone stops by and witnesses my mess. :)

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-One of the biggest things I did this weekend was going to see NEW MOON with Stacy!! OMG!! Loved it so much! Can't wait to go back and see it again. I am sure plenty of you are equally as obsessed as I am...so let me hear your thoughts? Did you LOVE it?!?!

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Now I know this is a long entry...but its overdue...so that's how I am justifying it. :) Anyway on to baby Bobby news. He is doing great! Every time I go in for a ultrasound the tech's always tell me without me even asking...how busy he is in there! Last time I got to see his hand move up and he put it in his mouth...I wonder if he was sucking his thumb? hmmm. I am waiting patiently to feel him move...and maybe JUST MAYBE I felt it this morning. But being the inexperienced mother I am I have no idea whether it was or not for sure. It was all on the right side of my belly button and over and over again...BUT I am not sure it wasn't just liquid moving through. You know how sometimes liquid gurgles through your stomach...well maybe it was just that...but on the other hand I heard people say it feels like bubbles or gas...well that was pretty similar...SOOO MAYBE IT WAS BOBBY! Either way I can't wait to feel him!

Sleeping arrangements...

Here I am a day shy of 16 weeks...and the sleeping is officially getting uncomfortable. I can't really lay on my stomach anymore...and this is very bad news because it was my old standard position. If I tilt a little with my leg out that helps so I am not completely flattening out my stomach but its still just not quite the same. The most dramatic trouble I am having though is that my book says that I shouldn't be sleeping on my back anymore. That my uterus is slightly mobile and it settling back there on my spine can cut off circulation not only to me but to the baby. Ok got it...not doing that anymore.

...Until last night....

For the first time I realized how much I end up sleeping on my back. Never noticed it before! But yes, it happens several times a night. UGH! What to do...what to do. More than once last night I woke up already laying in that position causing complete panic in my brain as to how long I had been laying like that without knowing. I think its officially time for a body pillow. Or actually maybe just one of our King sized pillows will do the trick...maybe as long as I am tilted a little it will be enough to do the trick. Hopefully! Because the reality of it is...I have a LONG way to go...and its going to get a LOT worse before it gets better.

Drumroll please....

So I must start out again by apologizing for my lack of communication. As I finished off the longest month of work in my life last week AND THEN we finished off the week by getting the BEST news of our lives!

Wednesday: My 2nd prenatal appt...yah! I had been looking forward to this. Everything went fine...I met with my actual OB doctor for the first time instead of just the nurse practitioner. I liked her, she gave me the vibe of very smart, very comfortable in her position...been doing it for 30 plus years (yes I asked). :-) Just very comforting. All the normal little things they do went fine...my blood pressure, my weight...everything right on schedule. She said his heartbeat was 140...at that very second the old wise tale popped in my mind WHAT did it say if the heartbeat was below it would be a boy or a girl? hmmm. Then she asked if I wanted to do the down syndrome test...and Robby and I looked at each other and thought...well why not. She says ok well it has to be done between 16-19 weeks...or your test will come back abnormal. Was your last period a normal one? I answer with a yes, but that it was 12 or so days late...to which she says ohhhh...hmm...well in that case I think we'd better do an ultrasound to verify that you are just 15 weeks....and not further along because that will skew the test results. YAH! Sooo excited! I get an ultrasound! Seems like everyone else I know gets an ultrasound every time they go to their doctor, and here I was probably only going to get the one at 20 weeks.

So they call and schedule the ultrasound for the next morning (Thursday) at noon. Robby and I are SOO excited! We get in there and it is EVERYTHING I hoped it would be. We could see the little baby bouncing around and moving its little legs up and down, we could see its face, its feet, its everything! I exactly 15 weeks like we had suspected, and it weighed a whopping 4 oz. How CUTE!! LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!! And the tech says....well I think I can already tell what it is...do you want to know??! Before I can even say anything Robby practically screams YES! we want to know. I look over at him...and then I look back at the tech and agree with Robby...yes we would like to know.

And the drum roll please
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..
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...........ITS a BOY!!!!!!!! Little Bobby Reed!!!

I can't describe the excitement that went on in that room. Robby jumped out of his chair with his arm shooting straight up in the charge position and yelled YES!!!!!!!! I KNEW IT!! I started laughing so hard that tears were coming down. I was SO excited...seeing him sooo happy meant the WORLD to me. This was it...the moment we had been waiting for. Who knew we would find out this early!?! We were thrilled. We got our sonogram pics and headed back to work beaming...and bursting at the seams to spread the news. I can honestly say it was the best moment of my life!!

Daddy, momma and baby...pumpkins that is...

First off I need to cover something...I am so sorry I have been MIA! I know I have been slacking on posting, emailing, and just reading everyone else's blog entries. I can honestly say I am in the midst of the most frustrating (slam your head in your desk) month of work I have endured since I started this career back in 2005. Suddenly without warning the perfect storm was created on my desk making it difficult to even make it through the day let alone survive endless amounts of meetings on how to handle all the changes that need to be implemented over the next couple of months. What a time to have a heavy work load huh? No wonder I can even stay awake through a TV show that starts at 8:30 anymore...I already drained before I even get home from work. In summary...life has been busy!
So with that covered...we can move on. It was a great weekend...I felt pretty good and since the game was away this week I wasn't drained from traveling. I got a lot done around the house, got my mind off work, and spoiled my myself with lots of good food and rest. Like I mentioned up above I have been going to bed so early it's actually not even been a problem getting up early. Maybe I will handle that part of having kids better than I thought...who would have ever thought the trick was as easy as go to bed as early as you do on week nights? haha.
On a cute holiday note...I dragged Robby to take me to get pumpkins yesterday. And cheerfully came out of the store to show him the prized choices I made. Even the former grump about the pumpkins couldn't resist smiling about this.

Daddy, Momma and Baby pumpkins

Note: You might notice Momma pumpkin is almost as big as Daddy pumpkin these days. :-)

Flu season....

So....is anyone else freaking out about this flu going around? I mean I find myself slathering hand sanitizer ten plus times a day. Which normally wouldn't be so bad except for my sense of smell is so amplified that the already strong aroma of the sanitizer nearly knocks my knees out from under me. Better safe than sorry...I am already miserable a random times of the day, I definitely don't want to add actual flu symptoms to the list. My sister said there were like 207 kids home sick last week from my niece's school. Oh my goodness...I would say it has officially effected our area. Thank goodness my company is providing flu shots tomorrow...although of course that doesn't include the H1N1 shot...but its better than nothing. Hope you guys are taking precautions as well...

Weekend updates...

Is anyone else just in the BEST mood about fall coming? This weekend was filled with comfy sweats and house-shoes (that's right no flip flops), chili simmering, and snuggling on the couch for football. Now till Christmas is my F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E time of year. I get a rush of warm fussy feelings just thinking about holidays coming...and now that I am baking something special inside of me, its only going to make enjoying the season that much better! I can NOT wait! I can indulge in every peanut butter ball, turkey and stuffing serving, rolls, mashed potatoes, I want it ALL!!

Yes, the cravings are in full force still. Robby died laughing at me the other night for commenting on how good the salad looked on tv...the funny thing was we were watching King of the Hill...a cartoon that was having salad!!! That gives a little idea how easily my cravings come on. I did fulfill and lingering craving this weekend. We went to the fair and I finally got my fried pickles! I can hardly even talk about them now without wanting them again! They were amazing!!...everything I remembered and more. I also had a deliciously fattening baked potato that could have stopped hearts with the amount of butter that was on it. Ahhh I love fair food. I was so stuffed I didn't even have room for the funnel cake. Oh well, next time. All this wonderful food talk and I wonder why my pants felt even tighter this morning than they did when I wore them last week? hmm.

In actual pregnancy news...I had a rough weekend sickness wise. I was nauseated Friday night, all afternoon Saturday and threw up before church yesterday morning. I couldn't believe I was having so much trouble...I mean I am half way through my 11th week and kinda thought I might be out of the woods with all this morning sickness. I guess I jinked it. Also, my back has really been hurting...I had Robby trying to rub out the spot and he thinks it's just a knot...but I have been in enough pain that I had to take Tylenol every night this weekend for it. Speaking of Robby...his lot in life has been increasingly difficult lately...I complain often, he is having to pick up alot more of my slack in household duties, and there is no telling when he has to duck and hide from my next explosion. He handles it well though...most of the time just trying to keep from laughing. Cause lets just be honest here...most of my madness is for ridiculous reasons. ;-) He rubs my feet, rubs my back, and helps with the cleaning...I can't really ask for more. Its just his share of this baby building process....right? haha

11 weeks along

Sorry I feel like I have been out of pocket...its been a BUSY week! I don't have much to report...I did kind of throw up on Tuesday...but it was so little that I really don't even think I should fully count it. I think I could have avoided it but my body just kept saying it would just feel so much better, and it did! Other updates, I feel like I have gained more control of my crazy hunger with more consistent snacks. I had a couple of nights where I had an hour or two randomly in the night where I couldn't sleep. And my lower back has been aching today. But otherwise pregnancy is just moving right along. I have moments here and there but for the most part I have been feeling better daily...so I am thinking maybe I am almost out of the woods! I took another belly progress picture. Keep in mind this probably has nothing to do with "baby" and more to do with my current diet but here's the lastest.

11 weeks and counting...