Poopy Days Get Better When I Think About Holding Miss Bailey on Chrismas...

I couldn't think of a title for this post: so the title is courtesy of Matt. :)

It has been one of those days. You know the ones. I woke up this morning and couldn’t find a single attractive thing that fit. (And everything is clean!) I got stuck behind an accident on 195 and was 10 minutes late to work. I ran out of change and had to get an IOU from the toll booth. I forgot my umbrella and got caught in the rain. I had a 30-minute heart attack when we thought Matt might have an infection at his surgery site. I didn’t have time to toast my toast this morning. I couldn’t find my keys. I got to work- had 65 files waiting for me and a lovely email: “Here are 15 more files you’ll get tomorrow- can you please get them off of my books by Thursday?” Thursday... right. AND to top it all off... I think I may have found a stretch mark. You get the picture... it was one of those Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days.

Then I got to talk to my sweet husband.
He listened to me moan and whine about how cranky I was and how horrible my day had gone. Then he simply said, "Well sweetheart... just think, in a few months, you'll have our sweet little bundle of joy in your arms and will forget about all the yucky stuff. That makes you smile, Right?"

He's right. It did put a smile on my face. Then, because it was that kind of day, I started to worry. I have so much to do before Christmas. What are we going to do for Thanksgiving? Will I even be able to fit anything in my shrunken tummy by then? What do you get a newborn for Christmas? Will I be home from the hospital by then? Will I be able to go Black Friday Shopping?

Yep... you get the picture. Worry worry worry. Natural for a first time Mommy, right?

Three deep breaths... it will all be okay. I think part of why I worry about the holidays so much is because of all the amazing memories I have from my childhood.

My mother made the Holidays magical. I'll give my dad some credit too. He helped (LOTS). I'll never forget the story about both of them staying up until 5am on Christmas Eve to put together my Barbie Dream House. (Naturally I woke up at 5:45!)

The list of things I'll never forget is as long as Santa's Naughty & Nice list!

-Feeling so proud when Mommy let me hang the homemade Toy Soldier ornaments on the tree for the first time.
-Staying up on Christmas Eve to help make "Christmas Morning Coffee Cake".
-Dad holding his hand up the chimney to ring Jingle Bells early in the morning so we thought it was reindeer.
-The little apple-shaped dish of pickles that was always on the Thanksgiving dinner table.
-Cornbread Sausage Stuffing- Yummm!
-Standing on a kitchen chair with Mom in our matching aprons while she taught me how to flute a pie crust.
-Decorating cookies on Christmas Eve, and giggling with Catie over the note Santa left.
-Reindeer tracks in the snow (the years we had snow).
-Mom and Aunt Wanda using my talking Barbie to prank call their brothers.
-Bundling up tight to go pick out the tree with Daddy. And Mommy staying home to make Hot Chocolate with candy canes in it to warm us up when we got home with red noses.
-Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in our PJ's.

The list goes on and on and on. Every holiday was magical.
I can't wait to make these memories with our Little Bailey. I hope that her Holiday Memories will be everything mine are- and more.



There's nothing like seeing a child's happy smile on Christmas morning.



See- priceless!

Dad liked to hide and snap our picture as we came in the room to see the tree and the presents underneath. He even did it when I was 17!



I just have to take deep breaths and start gearing up for the Holidays. Truthfully... I'm so excited. I just have to not let the stress get to me.

Impossible Task

Finding a cute, affordable, MODEST maternity dress is IMPOSSIBLE!!
We're going to a wedding in 2 weeks and I have no idea what on earth I'm going to wear. I really don't like ordering things online unless I've tried on the brand before and know how it fits, if it even does. **Sigh** I was supposed to be IN the wedding, but due to the bride and groom having a bit of family drama and budget cuts, I didn't have to order a maternity bridesmaids dress. It almost would have been a relief to have someone say, "Here wear this!" Geesh.

So far I'm thinking this is the best option I've got.
It's semi-cute-ish. Would look cute with silver sandals and clutch.
And the price tag isn't too bad, $39.98. Yeesh. Still not what I want to spend.



But when my other options end up being these:
$98 & $106



OR
$119 & $195 (OH MY GOSH!!!! $195 ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!)

Somehow I suppose I'll have to manage to spring the $40 and buy the dress. Ugh. $40 would buy a lot of diapers.

Maybe a miracle will happen and I can scrounge something up in my closet to wear. Who doesn't have 'normal' clothing hiding somewhere that can comfortably fit a watermelon underneath?

Always An Adventure

Who would have thought that it was possible to marry someone more accident prone than myself? Nope? Me either. I suppose I should have known, since Matt got stitches removed from his hand the day before we met. But I was blissfully unaware.

Flash forward a few years, and I can't even begin to count the number of doctor's appointments, Patient First and ER trips we've logged between the two of us. We are a mess. Remember this? Or this? Or how about this one?

Yep... it's always something!

So apparently when Matt tore cartilage in his knee back in May, it didn't heal completely. So I get a phone call on Monday morning from Matt at work (Everything always seems to happen on a Monday.) that he had hurt his knee again and it felt about 100x worse than the last injury. Oh boy. His dad came and picked him up and his brother took him to the same orthopedic office he went to last time.

Luckily he got to see a different doctor. This one said he should have had the original tear replaced months ago and he wouldn't have had this happen again. -Good to know now!- So big surprise... around 4pm Monday after seeing his MRI results, they schedule him for surgery at 10:30am the NEXT MORNING!!!

At least I didn't have too much time to freak out. I'm such a worry wart. So bright and early Tuesday morning we headed down to the surgery center in Colonial Heights. Poor Matt couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight! And let me tell you, he gets grumpy!!! I would too if I couldn't eat for that long. We had to be there at 8:30 am.

By 9am they took him back and by 9:30 he looked like this!

Ready to get this show on the road! They were pumping him full of IV fluids so as we proceeded to wait forever. I got to follow him as he hobbled to the bathroom about four times. It was pretty cute actually to see his bum flapping in the wind haha. Give it a few months and I probably won't care if my butt is hanging out either. Gotta love the combination of pain and pain meds!

The surgery was supposed to start at 10:30. This was somewhere around noon.

We waited and waited and waited. Lots of time for me to worry and be anxious!

Gotta make sure they opperate on the right leg!!

Finally they took him back around 1:20. At that point we were all starving and grumpy and just ready to get it over with!

And post-surgery! This was after they doped him up. Poor thing had a rough time coming out from under the anesthetic. He teared up a couple of times, and asked out three of the nurses. :) -While I was standing there!- I was really glad I could be back there when he woke up.

It was quite the ordeal. I have to say, it made me pretty happy that the first thing he said (before asking the 60-year-old nurse what she was doing at 5 o'clock), was "I love you and Bailey" to me. What a cutie.

Aaand the end result:

I must say, I'd like to avoid any kind of surgery in the near future. He's recovering great. And the doctor was wonderful and called last night to check on him! Of course our ice-maker breaks right when he's supposed to be icing his knee for 72 hours. So our freezer is full of ice trays! Yay for the Dollar Store. :)

Whew, that's all I can think of right now. I'll spare you the grisly details of the surgery and aftermath. But let me tell you, this mama is exhausted. Lets pray he heals quickly!!!

26 Weeks!

Whoa. I can hardly believe it! I think pregnancy is definitely one of those times were life crawls by yet flies at the same time. It feels like I've been big and huge FOREVER, but it feels like yesterday when we saw that second little pink line.


Miss Bailey Bean is the size of an eggplant! She is growing so big and is so active! Last night she got one of her little feet stuck in between two of my ribs. OH MY GOSH OWWWW!!!! I'll take her playing tetherball with my bladder any day over that. Quite painful.


Her nursery is slowly coming together. I think nesting is FINALLY starting to kick in! Haha. I've been waiting for it so I can have the motivation to clean lol. I've washed all of Miss B's clothes and am getting them put away. She is going to be one fabulously dressed little girl! :)


I'm feeling alright myself. All of the not-so-fun end of pregnancy symptoms are starting to show up. Swelling, achiness, trouble bending over haha. But it is OH SO WORTH IT!


Matt and I are getting so excited for fall and winter! We were even listening to Christmas music the other night. :) We can't wait to meet our little girl!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

NO STRETCH MARKS!!!!!!

(Yet- knock on wood.)

My belly button is quickly disappearing. I'm wondering if it will 'pop', we'll see! Don't mind the gnarly scar. That's what happens when you have cute piercings and then your skin expands out of control lol.

I decided to try my hand at making another hat last night. Quite the improvement over the first one (in my opinion). Ready for our little Christmas present!

And simply because it's nice to remind myself that I haven't always resembled Shamu...

This was last summer.

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't eat those Oreo's for breakfast! :)

I'm a Granny...

I can now knit. Did you hear that??

Me... knit!!!

I've always enjoyed crafting, it's something my mother planted a love for deep down in my heart. There's nothing quite like spending time creating something and then loving the results and knowing that your hard work went into it. Occasionally (ha) I have the bad habit of picking up a project -or buying all of the materials for said project- and not actually finishing (or even starting) it. Thus, the lovely sense of accomplishment doesn't happen. But that was not the case today my friends.

I marched into Ben Franklin on a mission. **To get the letters to spell Bailey's name on her wall, but that's beside the point- that mission was also accomplished.** I ran into an old friend in the yarn aisle and kept thinking about how much I want to get this in red for Miss B's newborn pictures. So guess what I did?! I decided to just do it myself! Yep, that's right. I wondered around the aisle for about a half hour, until a very sweet woman saw the clueless look on my face and decided to take pity on me. She helped me pick out the right yarn, pattern, etc.

Two hours, one episode of Vampire Diaries and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich later...

TAAA-DAAAAH!!!!




That's right. I can knit. One darling baby hat down, goodness knows what else to go. Hmm, do I dare chance a pair of booties? Or a diaper cover? I got the cheapie yarn, so it's 'fuzzier' than I'd prefer. But that can be easily fixed. If you're looking for me, you can probably find me in the yarn aisle at a craft store, more than likely getting patterns and opinions about afghans from your granny! :) :)

24 Weeks!

I know, I know... it's Tuesday, and on Thursday I'll be 25 weeks. Cut a girl some slack! I'm trying to stay up to date.

Your Pregnancy: Week 24

At about this time the reality of having a baby is definitely setting in (maybe it's the fact that you can't see your toes). Be sure to talk about how you're feeling with your significant other, girlfriends, siblings, parents, doctor, hairdresser, the person sitting next to you on the bus ... whomever! It's totally natural to be freaking out. Voicing your concerns about mommyhood will help you actually get used to the idea.

Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...

What You're Thinking:
"OK, seriously, where are my toes?"

Your Body
Hair growth during pregnancy is another one of those wacky symptoms you didn't expect. And though you may be wondering who's slipping Rogaine into your shampoo bottle, if you're among the lucky ones, you're relishing your new, flowing locks. It's the hair everywhere else that's a little troublesome.

You can thank your pregnancy hormones for your suddenly thick crowning glory. During pregnancy your hair's natural grow-shed cycle slows, leaving you with more hairs on your head at any given time. Now might be a good time to try out for one of those orgasm-in-the-shower shampoo commercials.

Unfortunately, all that hair growth isn't limited to your head. You may start to notice a random hair (or 47) anywhere from your cheeks, back, and belly to your upper lip and chin. If anyone dares to call you Black Beard, they'll totally deserve whatever's coming to them.

The good news is, tweezing, waxing and electrolysis are all generally accepted as safe during pregnancy. The bad news? All of them can hurt like, um ... like waxing. So feel free to skip the Brazilian right now. We promise, your OB isn't going to judge you.

Your Baby
Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. So that's where the extra poundage is coming from! Other highlights this week:

Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger (or blueberry pie) and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!

Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.

Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds.

Your Life
It's time to find and sign up for a child-birthing class. You'll discover the wonders of labor, C-sections, cradle cap, breastfeeding, umbilical care, and all sorts of breathing and pushing techniques. (It's a good thing that your bio and sex-ed classes didn't go into this much detail, or you might never have gotten pregnant in the first place.) Basically, you find out the answers to all your questions and more (yeah, there are some you might not have wanted to know about just yet).
(Thanks babycenter.com!)

**PS. This is my 100th blog post!!!! Yipee!!!!**

Bella Bug Is TWO!!!

I can't believe it! Was it really a year ago that we watched this princess celebrate her first birthday?!

She has gotten so big and grown up in the last year! She is talking (and babbling) up a storm! She is in nursery now and loves playing with the other kids. She is great a sharing, coloring, puzzles and loves snacktime! I love spending time with this sweet little girl.

We had so much fun celebrating her birthday! I spent hours on the decorations (all homade) and totally forgot to take pictures of all of them. I may have to steal them from Jen.

Yummmm! Funfetti & Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing.

The yummy spread.

She didn't know what on earth to do with the candles, but she figured it out!

Yumm, CHOCOLATE!



I think she likes it!

Presents...

Presents...

And more PRESENTS!!!! This girl is going to be one fabulously dressed toddler!!!

I must say... I am looking forward to these hand-me-downs for Bailey!

Thanks to everyone who is a part of Miss Isabelle's life and who shared her special day with us.

Lots of love for Bella Bug!!! xo