Oh the joys!

So I know I've been a bit lax in the writing once again.

I just haven't been feeling all that swell, but I'll try to do better this week. It's not sickness, it's just tiredness. Which is evident by my dirty, dirty house and laundry that is piled up.

This weekend, per usual, was filled with activities. Although I did manage to have some cute little niece bonding time as well as some quality Zelda playing time that did make the weekend that much better.

One crazy story that did occur happened while my 2 nieces spent the night with me. The next morning we woke up and decided to go get donuts and chocolate milk. Like good girls they put their chocolate milk on the table and were sitting on the floor in front of the tv watching cartoons. I walked into the kitchen, only to walk back right in time to see my daughter attempt to grab the chocolate milk off the table, and manage to pour the entire thing on her head.
She immediately starts crying as the milk is cold and she is surprised, but of course, due to the exorbitant amount of milk on the floor, she immediately slips, tries to stand up, slips again, hits her head on the corner of the table, stands, slips and I grab her right when she is about to slip again. She is SCREAMING so I grab her and run to the bathroom and put her in the bath tub. I manage to get her clothes stripped off and diaper off (thank GOD there was no poop) and all the while she is still having a panic attack. Then I quickly turn on the water, however, I didn't make sure that it would come out the faucet, and it was still on the overhead shower, so freezing cold water from the shower head shoots out and lands on her which made her jump 3 feet in the air and scream all the louder. I fix it quickly, but this time I couldn't get her calmed down. I couldn't even get her to sit down in the bath after I got it fixed and she loves baths. So Maddy is standing next to me and I'm like "TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND GET IN THE BATH" thinking that she would calm down if her cousin was in there, but oh no. She just kept screaming. Somehow I manage to get her washed and cleaned and out of the tub. All this happened in a matter of less than 5 minutes, so it was a bit of a panic time.

Oh the joys!

But we did have a great time with the girls. We went and saw Wall-E, which I really enjoyed! As we were driving home, a storm was rolling in and Ashlyn HATES storms. So she is sitting in the back seat of the car, shaking like a chihuahua. It was pretty funny! :)

OK, back to the grind.

"NO"

Picking up a cue from the always hilarious Missie, I need to write a blog about this wonderful new world of "NO" is.

In the last 2 days, Lyric now says the word NO for everything that possibly might have an answer to it. She says it so wonderfully well, too. Perfectly pronounced. Do you want that Lyric "no", did you go poo-poo "no", Can you bring me that "No" (as she brings it to me) "NO" is her favorite word. She even yells it at the dog when he is barking. Even right now she is standing by me holding her baby doll looking at it and telling it no (she also gave it a spanking- so it must have been up to no good).

Her learning how to talk is so freaking hilarious! She just will randomly come out with a new word and shock Jon and I.

Currently she can say (I may be forgetting something):
Hi
Bye-Bye
DaDa
Mama
No
DoDo (which is suposed to be Coco- my sis)
Ass (Ash her cousin)
ssss (yes)
oowww (ouch)
edi (Jedi)
psss (please)
a'mmm (yes mam)

And a variety of consistent grunts.

I'm trying to teach her thank you and drink but we aren't really doing so swell with those. Even though every now and then I can get a "tata" for thank you out of her

Even as annoying as the "NO" stage is, it's still pretty stinkin' cute.

Other recent fave things. To sit on the potty chair. Her cousin and Saeler are doing it now, so why can't she. She runs into me making grunt noises and pointing at the bathroom. So I take her in there and put her on the toilet (fully clothed mind you). She sits there for a second and I say, "Are you done?" she nods and then we get off the potty. Good times.

Ok, well we are having dinner tonight with the Smiths so I need to skidaddle. I just wanted to blog about it before I forgot!

Well Lyric is trying to put these bloomers on herself and is getting really mad that she can't get her feet through them and is yelling no at them as they keep slipping off, so I better go help her.

Relapse

(hold on while I stem off the feeling of vomiting up my lunch... okay, better)

SO ya. Today has been a day of relapse. Maybe I just had a hormone SURGE or what, but I woke up today and puked and have felt PUKEY ever since. Even eating hasn't squelched the rolling of my stomach nor the icky feeling in my gut.
YUCK!

Then to top it off, for like 20 minutes last night I was so ridiculously dizzy that I thought I was going to pass out. Like my face drained of all color, I started getting tunnel vision and when I talked I sounded to myself like I was at the bottom of a well. I just sat still, trying to will myself back into the land of the living. Jon doesn't know what to do in situations like this. So he immediately stands up and starts cleaning the living room. I know, strange. But he would rather make himself busy then stand there and watch his wife pass out. To each his own, but he at least cleaned up all our dinner mess :)

Hopefully this is just a relapse day and I will be back to feeling good tomorrow. Ick. I hate feeling nauseous. Though I am craving me some pickles like something fierce! I remember I went through a pickle phase around this time with Lyric too. They are just glorious. I could eat an entire jar!

Zelda Update. I'm rockin that game out. I am the most awesome Zelda Nintendo DS player to ever rock out a planet. Go me!

Ok, my head hurts and I need pickles and so I need to skidaddle.

10 Weeks

So I've officially entered the realm of 2 digits. Never will I go back to single digits in this pregnancy!
I always like it when I get to 10 weeks. The baby is basically all formed and just gets down to the business of growing. It's actually using the umbilical cord now for its nutrients, which means it really does eat/drink what I eat/drink... uh oh!

Speaking of, I had a dream last night that I was at dinner and I was pregnant, but I kept having vodka and tonics (which I don't even like) and no one said anything to me till I had drank 4 of them. And then when they told me that I should probably stop, I told them that doctor's who say alcohol harms a baby are lying. Then I tried to go find my car and it was at UTA and there was a Michelle Branch concert going on, except Michelle Branch was really Stephanie Gagne. There were people everywhere and I couldn't find my car. Tiffani was with me and she wouldn't stop talking and the her sisters Abigail and Amanda were there, but wouldn't stop laughing. And I was getting so frustrated because I couldn't find my car.

Okay, that's it. I know. Strange.

Anyways, back to the pregnancy.

Still not sick anymore, which has been great. Except of course when I don't eat consistently (like today) I get pretty nauseous, which is no fun. My knee is hurting the last few days, which doesn't have anything to do with pregnancy since I haven't gained any weight (thank God), but still. It hurts.

I have also decided to officially say I am no longer carrying twins. Yes, I spoke it into existence, and was indeed carrying twins for a few weeks. But as of yesterday I decided they needed to fuse back together so I wouldn't be stressed out, so they did and now i am just carrying one baby. Just thought you all needed the update! :)

I will indeed get pregnant a 3rd time since I said I would if I wasn't as sick in this pregnancy, which I'm not, so good times had by all.

Well I think that does it for my 10 week update. Nothing has changed, but the baby is definitely growing!

Here is the ten week description:
Your baby is now almost two inches (4.5 centimeters) tall and weighs 5 grams. It's not much, but he is complete! In your belly sits a miniature person who in no way resembles the tadpole of a few weeks ago. You can recognize his little face and the eyelids are clearly visible. The vocal cords are forming and the inner ear and auricle have been formed, too. The first downy hairs are becoming visible. The process of ossification is in full progress; the fingertips are hardening and soon they will get minuscule nails. A bit later the toes will follow, because the development of an embryo (and of a baby as well) takes place from top to bottom.

Although the gender already has been determined, you can't see whether it will be a boy or girl yet. At this stage, the umbilical cord between the embryo and the wall of the uterus starts to function and a lot of work is done on creating the placenta. That's because from now on your baby-to-be will grow rapidly and that's only possible when he's provided with a sufficient amount of nutrients via the placenta and the umbilical cord.

Smoke Break

Give me a T-A-Q-U-I-T-O

So this morning after I dug into my wallet and realized that my husband STOLE MY DIET COKE MONEY I sat there in stunned silence. How was I going to get through the morning with no diet coke?

I quickly call Jonathan to inform him that due to his theft, he has to drop whatever he was doing and drive to the nearest store and buy me a diet coke. He gave his Belgian giggle, called me crazy and told me he was in downtown Dallas at a client. Well who cares! There are consequences I tell him. So he gave me his Belgian sarcasm and told me he was on his way.
ya. right.

So then I decided I was just going to have to leave and make a Whataburger run for not only a large diet coke, but while I was out, let's throw in a taquito too, cuz I mean, why the heck not! And I knew it would take me only about 5 minutes or so, as the Whataburger is just right up the street. So I grabbed my purse and walked out and informed the receptionist that I was going to pretend like I was taking a smoke break and I would be back in 10 minutes. If anyone asked for me, I was smoking.

Because seriously, smokers get way more breaks than non-smokers. So I was just doing my part to bring equality back into the work place.

So here I am, eating the last part of my tasty taquito and slurping on my large diet coke.

It's been a good morning so far.

Jolly Ranchers

I enjoy them a lot. Especially the green ones.

So this weekend really kicked my butt. I got to bed REALLY late on Friday, then didn't sleep that well Saturday night and by Sunday night, I was so exhausted that I think I tossed and turned in my sleep so I don't feel rested. I actually woke up ridiculously tired. So now, I think due to the exhaustion, I feel sick to my stomach (though vomit free am I).

I mean seriously. Right now, I can hardly keep my eyes open.

I have been having trouble sending some documents to our ABQ affiliates and it is driving me crazy. I also helped video tape one of our pilot grads follow up interview for The Bachelor. He is one of 20 finalist to be the next Bachelor. It was pretty funny and I had to stop myself from laughing out loud quite a few times. Some of the questions he had to answer were about past relationships and why he is should be the next Bachelor.... :)

So I think Jon is going to buy an Xbox 360 this week. He has an old Xbox and he sold it at a pawn shop and then is taking his father's day money (which should have bought new shoes that he has been wanting.) and some extra money he made and is buying it. I think it's a waste of $300, but whatever makes him happy. I'll play my DS and he can play his Xbox and we will both be happy :)

On another note, one of the greatest (and almost a sister-in-law) friends Jennifer Nickerson just put out her first album called Girl Next Door. I was really impressed by her song writing abilities and her desire to just go for the gold and push for her dreams! You go Jennifer! Everyone go check out her music on her MySpace Music page http://www.myspace.com/jennifernickersonmusic. I am so proud of her :) I think my favorite song is "Girl Next Door" or "Dear Prince Charming", but go check them ALL out!

Well anyways, I need to sleep. I'm SO exhausted (I don't know if I've mentioned that enough lately), but I'm finally 10 weeks pregnant. So that's nice. I always like when I finally get into double digits! I can't wait till next Wednesday where I finally get a picture of the little peanut! :) I'm almost out of my 1st trimester, this pregnancy thankfully is passing pretty quickly and has been so much more of a pleasant experience than with Lyric. I still don't think the difference in pregnancies mean I'm having a boy though, I'm still pulling for that 2nd girl! :) Though a boy would be nice, don't get me wrong. I guess only another 8 weeks or so and we'll find out! :)

Ok, enough interlude, back to the grind.

Oh Zelda

So I need a new game for my DS and I want Zelda. My silly husband has a $50 certificate from Best Buy and doesn't know what to buy (I know, a shocker) so I am trying to talk him into buying me Zelda. He tries to tell me that he can't spend it on me, because that would be an equivalent to an IT sin, but it expires soon and he needs to just freaking buy me a present because I am awesome and I deserve it for my stop puke present.

Because, yes, you heard me right. I am vomit free once again. Not only vomit free but nausea free. This is so freaking glorious. I just don't even know what to do with myself.

But let's talk about something that is not good. Weight gain in the 1st trimester. Yup. Not good at all. I'm already beginning this pregnancy 6 pounds over my pre-Lyric weight and so this is so no bueno for me. But I swear I can hardly button my pants. Thankfully the scale as far as a few days ago, still showed that I hadn't gained any weight, but I think that may have changed this week. I just feel heavier if that makes any sense. I need to get my bella band back from Courtney. I know, I know, I'm not even 10 weeks, but I swear my waste has thickened. I'm not "showing" but I've definitely already thickened around the waste and it's uncomfortable to wear these pants all day long. I've heard you start showing faster with your 2nd, which I think I might enjoy more. I genuinely enjoy maternity clothes as they are SO comfortable. Plus with the clothes I bought, Abby's clothes, Courtney's clothes and Morgan's clothes, I am hooked up for all occasions as far as maternity goes. I am definitely not a maternity clothes resister! :)

Well anyways, I am so happy it's Friday as I'm ready for the weekend. My new schedule of working 30 hours a week starts on July 7th and I am pumped about it!! Yippee! I know that is going to help out SO much as far as my extra energy thing goes. I won't know what to do with myself having a long weekend, EVERY weekend! It's going to be glorious!

Lyric is feeling better and only woke up once or twice last night, but went straight back to sleep. I hope that phantom fever stays far away from us. It sucks!

Well anyways, I think that is it. I don't really have anything else to talk about. So I'm out.

Feeling GREAT!

Ok, so besides the EXTREME lack of sleep I've been getting due to a sick baby... I am feeling TOTALLY VOMIT FREE TODAY!

I haven't felt this good since I've been pregnant. I haven't been nauseous all day, nor have I had even the slightest inkling to throw up. Case in point, I didn't feel sick this morning and was late for work so I didn't grab breakfast at home. I start getting busy and lo and behold it's 12pm and I still haven't eaten anything... and guess what? I wasn't sick! That's almost a miracle!

Now if only I could get the bottom half of my body jump started so I can get on the poop train and I would be one happy pregnant lady!

I seriously can't believe that I only had about 3 weeks of nausea and only a week or so of throwing up. This must be a freaking miracle... I guess I will be having that 3rd baby alright... maybe even a 4th! :)

Hopefully I won't be retracting all of these statements in my blog tomorrow (knock on wood).

I have been craving me some tuna- and although it's "not allowed" for pregnant women, I decided one measley tuna fish sandwich from Subway couldn't hurt me. So I partook of the glory of that sandwich and after eating that and my bag of nacho cheese dorritos, I was still freaking hungry. To this moment, I am still freaking hungry. That sandwich was so good, I may do it again tomorrow... how much is too much tuna? Anyone want to let me know?

So Lyric is still not feeling that snazzy. She had a rough night last night, but apparently is doing better today according to Christina.

She and I both are not riding consistently on the poop train and so I think she was just having some stomach issues last night.
But please note the adorableness of her though sleeping next to daddy:


Also, I finally took a picture of my pooch. Obviously at 9 weeks, I can't say that I'm "showing", but I like to pretend that I am. So together we will all pretend that my pooch is all baby, and not leftover fat and skin from my pregnancy with Lyric over a year ago, okay? Okay. Thanks.



And here is my daughter really happy that I am her mom.


Ok, I need to leave you now. Go eat some tuna fish and think of me.

50 Things

1.I love my family something fierce
2.I'm not always very positive
3.I'm good with making conversation with people I don't know, but I hate it! Awkard conversation is the worst!
4.I'm really loyal to a select group of people
5.I'm the best aunt who ever walked this planet
6. I'm head over heals in love with my daughter
7. I really enjoy popping my toes
8. My husband hates when I pop my toes
9. I love to write, about anything and everything
10. I have no style in my clothes. I just wear things extremely mainstream
11. I tend to be the leader of the pack
12. I think I am hilarious
13. I get over things REALLY fast unless they hurt the people I love most in life, then you are in trouble
14. I always say my eyes are blue, but really they are green/blue
15. I have a pudgy stomach now, even though my daughter is a year old
16. I resist change, but once it happens I embrace it
17. I am terrible at folding clothes
18. People who don't know me very well think I'm upbeat
19. I can tell in 5 minutes of meeting whether you should break up with your new boyfriend/girlfriend
20. I only confront as a last case scenario, I prefer non confrontation because I don't trust my temper
21. Reading is my favorite hobby
22. I can read fast due to my dad teaching me how to "chunk" in jr. high
23. I keep up with the finances in our little family
24. When I start laughing really hard, my laugh goes really high pitch and I can't breathe
25. I'm organized in all business aspects of my life, just not personal
26. I really enjoy working, but love being a mom more
27. I'm excited and passionate about my future
28. I can't wait to see where I am when I turn 30
29. I am forever grateful to Yeshua for his unconditional love
30. I'm horrible at fixing my own hair
31. I wish I had a better reason to not vaccinate my kids other than, "I don't feel good about it"
32. I used to think dancing consisted of dropping it like it's hot. Like for reals.
33. I don't really like kids unless they are related to me.
34. I love to throw parties- showers, dinners, you name it, I love it
35. I used to be the life of the party, now I sleep through the party
36. I never marvel at sunsets or how pretty the moon looks
37. I love politics and keeping up with politics
38. I'm a great sister
39. I'm a great daughter
40. I try to always give thoughtful gifts
41. I NEVER enjoy working out.
42. I love when Abby does my hair
43. My husband is my best friend and the most amazing man I have ever met and I literally thank God daily for bringing him into my life
44. I'm always up for an adventure
45. I absolutely LOVE to travel
46. I hated planning my wedding
47. I have a high pain tolerance, unless it's child labor
48. I love to make memory books, though they are never that snazzy
49. My husband and I argue almost nightly about when I should stop reading and turn off my light
50.I love my life. My family. My husband. My daughter. My baby in my belly. My friends. My smelly dog. I am truly blessed.

Wow! This was really hard for me. I got stuck like a million times... try to think of 50 things about yourself, it's HARD!
Ok, I was tagged so now I tag Carrie B.

Return of the Phantom Fever

Lyric came down with a fever again yesterday. Once again, no other symptoms besides a 102.5 fever.

This is SO strange. She's not acting that sick. A little more lethargic than normal, not eating as much as normal, but other than that, she's fine. Not super fussy, not super clingy. Just feverish.

It's SO strange!

Christina went ahead and kept her today because both Jon and I had to work, but it's still crazy that she just randomly comes down with high fevers with no other symptoms.

I am having some major back pains. It started yesterday and just got worse throughout the day and evening.

Today is no better. It just feels like a whole lot of pressure on my lower back... could this be pregnancy related? I don't think so as this 9 week old baby can not be big enough to create any real pressure in my body, right? But I didn't do anything strenuous yesterday, bottom line I'm not feeling that snazzy today.

But what day am I?

On a good note, I haven't thrown up in 2 days! Yippee! I still feel nauseous most of the day, but not nearly as bad as last week. I guess this is God telling me that he won't give me twins, but he will make it easier for me so I'll go through another pregnancy :)

So pray for my little girl and my back.

9 weeks

My baby doesn't have a tail! My baby doesn't have a tail!!

Yippee!!!

I love it when the tail is gone and my baby starts looking like an actual baby. The gecko is gone! :)

This week has started off a lot better. I'm still pretty nauseous, but not as bad as last week. How awesome is that? If I can get through this pregnancy with only like a month of nausea, I may just get pregnant again :) There goes the reason for willing twins into being! :)
ALSO, I was able to get a prescription for Zofran which is that kick butt anti-nausea pill that I couldn't get last time with Lyric because it was $500 for 15 pills without insurance. But now thanks to my lovely insurance, I paid $10 :) Unfortunately it make me SO constipated... ick.

I am still SO RIDICULOUSLY TIRED! I'm more tired this week than last week. I mean seriously, walking across the room, taking a shower, walking upstairs to the galley to get a diet coke... it WEARS ME OUT! Today I had a big lunch that I was in charge of for work, and just dealing with all of that and cleaning up KICKED MY BUTT. My back is hurting, my legs feel like stumps.... I'm just so tired. I can't wait for the 2nd trimester energy boost where I get spurts of nesting and love a clean house. Right now I'm doing good if I can just get my butt off the couch to start a load of laundry, let's not even talk about folding it.... I'm tired. Have I mentioned that yet?

Here is my 9 week Info:
Lots of things are going on now with your baby-to-be. A human being has many double body parts and organs that originate at the same time and develop into a right and left counterpart. A beautiful symmetry. Every cell knows exactly where it has to be and what it has to develop into, without anyone telling it what to do. A 'little person' is almost complete, measuring about an inch in length and weighing some 2 grams, happily splashing around in its membrane filled with fluids.

[WAIT-HERE IS MY FAVORITE PART:]

Did you know that at 9 weeks, your baby already has a tiny anus

[HAHA- OK, I'M IMATURE.]

and that little bones are beginning to be formed? From now on the baby will develop hips, shoulders, elbows, hands and fingers. The 'lower stumps' will get knees, ankles and feet and the fingers and toes will eventually lose their webbing. He can wiggle them, too! With small twitches, he squiggles with his little arms and legs. He can move his thumb to his mouth, which opens and has a tongue. Soon he will start sucking his thumb yet and develop a preference for his right or left hand which will last throughout his life. He even has a tiny little nose. In short, your baby is becoming a real minuscule human being with a face.

So here's to 9 weeks, my little one getting an anus and losing his/her tail! :)

Measuring Big??

So I had a doctor's appointment this past Friday.

First off, I love my doctor. I feel so comfortable with Doctor Moseley and I feel so blessed to have a doctor like her taking care of me and my babies. She delivered Lyric, as well as Kadyn and Judah.

Anyways, so I've been telling her my theory that I can will myself into having twins so I never have to be pregnant again. This is all a big joke, as I have absolutely NO inclination that I'm having twins besides the fact that I say that I am because it would mean this is my last pregnancy. As she was getting ready to do my exam, I told her to not be surprised that I am measuring big because obviously, I will be because I'm having twins.

And to my surprise, I am measuring big! :) I never measured big with Lyric even one time. She said maybe I did will myself to have twins :) Of course we all know that I didn't, but I now have fodder for the next 2 weeks till I get my sonogram (that's the soonest I could get in with the sonographer as she just comes in a few times a week). So until then, I am still every day willing myself to have twins. I wonder if the baby's cells can still split at 9 weeks???? hmmmm???? :)

Obviously I know that people measure big ALL the time without carrying twins, and I really don't think I'm carrying twins, I honestly don't. I just think it's funny that I kept saying that I was going to measure big and lo and behold I was (even though I never did with Lyric).

So ya, give it up for speaking things into being :)

Happy Father's Day Jonathan!

So it's Father's Day and I must say that I am beyond blessed to be surrounded by the most amazing father's on this planet.

I am so proud to say that the best one by far is the one I am married to! :)

Jonathan really does go above and beyond the call of duty. When most mothers have to beg their husbands to get up in the middle of the night with a fussy baby, Jonathan is the first one to jump out of bed, without even a word from me.

He rarely balks at changing a poopy diapers or giving her a bath. It comes from a different place. Not out of forced responsibility, but out of a genuine love for Lyric.

He loves to be with his baby girl. He loves to hold her and play with her, read her books. He is such a hands on father. He loves hugs and kisses and every new thing she does is like a magic trick to him. His world revolves around our little girl and I love that.

Jon has a big responsibility in the morning. I have to be at work before Lyric wakes up. So that means, Jonathan gets her up in the morning, feeds her breakfast, picks out her clothes, dresses her, gets the diaper bag together and drops her off at Christina's house every single work morning. And the thing is I have never heard him complain once about it.
He looks at it different than most father's. He knows that the times he spends with her goes by quickly, and that these memories he makes with just her and him first thing in the morning are going to be with him the rest of his life. He cherishes the mornings with her, and I think that is just about the sweetest thing ever.

He is such a tender and loving father. Strong in discipline, but very gentle and kind. He is patient with her. Much more than I am.

I'm not in the least bit nervous about having two kids, and the reason is because I know I am not alone. It's not me raising the kids and Jon doing his own thing. We are both together in this. Parenting is equal and he tries to never makes me feel like it's all up to me.

He just the most amazing dad and husband ever! I am so beyond blessed to have him in my life.

So Happy Father's Day Jonathan! I love you so much!

RyTy Shower

So on Saturday we had the first major event of the Mauldin-Frederick wedding.
The wedding shower and Tiff's Bachelorette Party.
Fun times!
The shower was beautiful and elegant from the Breadwinner's catering to the mamosa's, it was just lovely. Everyone brought great gifts and Ry and Tiff were so blessed.
Here are a few pics:
The beautiful girls of the party:


My princess (note Ashlyn's sad face because Courtney was making them stay put and Ash wanted to mingle):


Mr. Mauldin giving a speech


Opening Presents










And of course the stud at the party was my nephew Judah (with the Dunns)


Then the "Bridesmaids" and Pseudo-Bridesmaids went out to eat at Ferrings and had a DELICIOUS meal that was Tiffani's treat. OMG it was delicious! I'm now obsessed with lobster nachos! :) I had the lamb and it was amazing... we had a blast! :)



Then we went back to Tiff's dad's house to open presents













Then we went to Uptown Pub and had the best time singing at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs! :)


Abby was on a roll that night and I laughed more last night than I can remember for awhile. I mean, I had no more makeup on because I cried it off I was laughing so hard! I have more hilarious pics of Abby doing her "so you think you can dance" hair flip moves and a great booty dance, but we won't embarrass her :)

The only bad thing was the shoes I was wearing MURDERED my feet and I got big ol'blisters and even a bruise across my toes from the straps. OUCH! (You can't really see the true damage, but trust me, they still hurt!)


So the whole day was a success! Congrats to RyTy- it won't be long now and it will be 08-08-08!

8 Weeks

8 weeks... how can only one tiny little baby cause this much sickness? I have no idea, but I'm exhausted and ridiculously sick. This has been the worst week by far. Mornings are like one long trip to the restroom while I put my head into a nasty public toilet and upchuck basically nothing by this point, because I can't eat or drink anything. So all it is is yellow bile from my stomach that is absolutely disgusting. Normally by noon I am feeling a little better. I eat, and have a few hours of rest. Then the afternoon hits and although normally I don't get to the point where I am puking, I still feel absolutely awful. I'm sure my office mate Brenda is tired of hearing the words, "I feel like I'm about to throw up", but I can't help it! It's terrible!
I get home from work and lay comatose on the couch, hoping to just slip into sleep or some place that doesn't leave me feeling on the brink of despair. Dinner comes with a short break, but by the time I get back into bed, I once again want to crawl into a ball and fade away.

Good thing is I swear I can already feel my uterus, which I think is awesome. I know you're not supposed to be able to feel it till 11 or 12 weeks, but I swear I can feel it, which for some reason makes it feel SO much more real!

As horrible as I'm feeling right now, I know it will pass and soon I'll be showing and feeling this little one move. That is my favorite part about pregnancy, feeling the baby move. Even at the very end, when it's PAINFUL, I still love it.

8 Week Info:
By now your baby is approximately three-quarters of an inch (2 centimeters) long and weighs about a gram. He keeps on developing at a rapid speed: the beginnings of a skeleton are being created, with cartilage prior to the actual formation of bones. The little heart has started beating at about 60 times a minute, the stomach produces gastric juices, the liver makes blood cells and the brain starts working. Now the resemblance to a tadpole is quite clear, because webbed fingers and toes appear on the hands and feet! In the meantime, your little bean is growing pretty fast: less than two weeks ago he was the size of a grain of rice, now he's as big as your thumbnail.

Only 32 more weeks to go :)

A Blogging Rut

I'm just SO tired.

I know that's the anthem of every pregnant woman, but I seriously dont' remember the first trimester with Lyric being THIS tiring (though I'm sure it was).
I have no energy and no strength to do anything. Like seriously, just standing up for a period of time wears me out beyond belief.
Then to add the yucky nauseau into the mix is really kicking my butt.
I don't even know what to blog about because everything I blog or Twitter is just a series of complaints and woes.

We had a big training proposal due this week at work so I have been working non-stop to get it done. Which it did! yippee! That has left precious little time to stay connected with all of my peeps.

But I have wonderful things to be thankful for and so I'm going to grateful for:

1. An AWESOME husband who goes beyond the call of duty. Taking care of both of his girls, cooking dinner, doing the dishes and all of the other million things he's been doing to help me relax and get some rest. I'm so beyond blessed!

2. A super cute little girl who loves me so much and whom I ADORE!

3. Amazing family and friends who keep me plugged into reality.

4. A cool supervisor who hasn't gotten on to me for being late EVERY day this week due to puking factors.

5. The fact that I normally only get super sick in the morning- which is a HUGE step up from with Lily.

6. An awesome doctor!

7. It's Father's Day and I am surrounded by the best father's in the world!

Dangit! I need to be more grateful, I just can't think of anything else! Unfortunately, I'm busy at work and don't have time to

Ok, lastly, I was contacted with a cool promotion from a PR friend of mine. Outback Steakhouse is having a Father's Day special. If you bring your dad, husband,
etc. to Outback on June 15, you'll receive a $10 certificate valid on
your next visit. After you receive the certificate, you can activate it
online at http://outback.com/dadsday (link won't be live until after
Father's Day) where you will automatically be entered in an online
sweepstakes to win a $100 gift card.
The $10 certificate can be used at any Outback location from June 18th– July 20th with the minimum purchase of $25.

Pretty cool huh? So go on to Outback this Sunday to celebrate and eat a bloomin' onion for me! :) That sounds so good right now.... mmmmm......

So that might be a great idea for one of you

Back from Internet Silence

Wow. This is really unusual of me, but I haven't even so much as LOOKED at a computer since Friday. I'm so not joking, like I have no idea where my laptop even is (though it's somewhere in the house- I haven't actually looked for it yet).
But you know what I was all weekend?? SICK!
OMG, I'm never getting pregnant again! I know I said this with Lyric, but I just can't do it! I told Jon he needed to run off and get a vasectomy while I still remembered the AWFULNESS of morning sickness! All I want to do all day long is throw up! And this weekend, I puked each morning. Even this morning. I puked. I even puked at work, and that is AWFUL to puke in a public restroom. I swear someone had just done their business in that toilet that I had my head in. Which of course only made me puke more.
However, one semi-cute thing has come out of this. Now my daughter Lyric comes with me into the restroom and while I am up-chucking, she puts her hand over her mouth and makes gagging noises. It's quite adorable and I even manage a smile between heaves! Even after I'm done, she keeps up her performance. She wants to be just like mommy! :)
The one thing I need to keep reminding myself is that it's not NEAR as bad as it was with Lyric. My worst time this pregnancy is when I wake up and when I'm going to bed, but the day is semi-manageable. I've only thrown up in the morning so far.
Which brings me to my 2nd point. I've decided that I'm pregnant with twins. Why, you may ask? Well let me tell you. I don't think I can do this whole nausea thing again, so if I am pregnant with twins I am going to bet that we wouldn't have anymore, as long as at least one of those twins are a boy. SO yes. I am putting the thoughts out there that I am pregnant with twins so as to not have to go through this again. Hey, it could happen, My grandmother was a twin and I have twins on both sides of my family (though none on Jon's) I know, that's a HUGE stretch, but until my doctor tells me otherwise, I am going to keep on believing that I am having twins, thus this is the last time I will ever feel evil morning sickness again. Whatever gets me through the moment :)

Well as you can imagine, I didn't really do a lot this weekend. We had a great family shabbat on Friday though. It was SO good to get the family all back together. We had a really awesome time of prayer over eachother which was really encouraging.
My camera was running out of batteries, so here's all I got, and some of these are from the iPhone.

Two of the most adorable girls on the planet


We continued the head shaving trend with my little brother Preston






We kept Preston's hair like this to freak out Abby


Little Lyric


Family Shabbat- it doesn't get better than this:


Lyric and I


Family fun








Preston shaving off his Jewish curls/Mohawk


At one point in the evening the two year olds (Kadyn, Korbin and Saeler) decided to all sit on the piano bench together and play. It was SO cute as they were dancing and laughing. Of course, I didn't get the cutest part on camera... it always works like that doesn't it. By the time you get the camera, the cute-ness is all but gone. But I did get a video:


The two year olds playing the piano:



Then on Saturday we went bridesmaid dress shopping with Tiff and Sunday I did NOTHING all day. Like seriously nothing. Only getting off the couch to pee. I laid there like a dead fish as I felt HORRIBLE all day. But Jon and I ended the night by watching Dexter Season 1. which was fun.

Well anyways, I've been working on FAA compliance stuff all day, and need to get back to it.

Later people.

Shabbat Shalom!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and peaceful Shabbat tonight!

We will finally be celebrating it as a WHOLE family again for the fist time in 5 weeks! I'm SO thrilled!

I've been wanting some challah like none other!!! Yippee!!!!

Eating Alone

So it's taken me almost 25 years to finally get comfortable eating alone at a restaurant.
I never liked it, I felt like everyone was staring at me wondering why I didn't have friends who would go to lunch with me.
But then when I started working, and dealing with the demands of a fast paced job, I found that sometimes your only sanity lies in taking a break from everyone, for just one measley hour.
And that's how I discovered that at least once a week, it is good for me to go to a restaurant, by myself and eat.
I normally bring a book, or some papers I need to go over. It's nice to just relax and not to talk to anyone. Just chill and eat at my own leisure.
It's realy nice and I've actually come to enjoy it and even somewhat prefer it during lunch breaks. (Although nothing can take the place of Jon and I's last minute lunches to Bennigans).

So Lyric is still sick. Her fever has gone down and is intermitten, but she is still not up to par. Jon said she walked around the house all morning calling, "mama". Awww! She loves me!!! She slept ok last night. After a few times of waking up, she went down for the night around 1am. I just feel so sorry for her when she is like this... she's just so helpless and she needs her mommy.

Speaking of mommy, my mother-in-law's visit has been great! I wish I was able to spend more than just the evenings with her, but alas, it's not going to happen. However, I'm doing it so I can spend a lot of time with her in October... gotta save up that vacation time!

Jon on the other hand has been able to work his minimum hours which has left him a lot of time with his mom. He normally just has to be gone a few hours a day, which is SO nice! My MIL leaves on Saturday and she's been a lot of help. She's the laundry queen and I've only done one load of dishes in a week!
SUCH a big help! Especially since I've been so nauesaus and all I want to do is lay down and pray that the sick feeling in my stomach will pass!
I'm afraid she thinks I'm lazy and that I make Jon do everything... if only that was true and I could actually get away with it!
It will be sad to see her go, but I've really enjoyed having her here!

Well back to the grind. I'm waiting to be relieved up at the front so I can go back to work on an FAA project!
Fun, fun!

My Baby Is Sick!

Lyric got sick last night. I have no idea what's up with her, but after dinner/bath she seemed kind of listless. I kept thinking she felt hot and I took her temp and sure enough, it was almost 102. Then it got higher and she was like delerious. She tossed and turned and cried and fussed... all in a haze of sleep. I don't think she knew what she was doing half the night. Finally around 6 I asked Jon if I could go to the couch to catch a few hours of sleep before I had to be at work. So he held her while she screamed and called Mama till she got tired and passed out.
Unfortunately, I overslept and got in late anyways, which SUCKS and I'm SO dragging today!
She still had almost 103 this morning, but Jon said it finally broke around 11. So she has a doctor's appointment today at 2 and if her fever comes back he is going to take her.
My poor little girl. I HATE it when she's sick and I hate it even more when I have to leave my crying, feverish baby because of work. Talk about mom guilt. I feel like a terrible mother, but i know it can't be helped. I really have to save all my vacation time for my trip to Belgium in October or I'll have to take time off without pay which wouldn't be fun at all. But that doesn't make me feel any better about leaving my princess when she is sick (or when she is well for that matter).

So this pregnancy has been a little different so far. We've now breached the 7 week mark and I still haven't thrown up. I feel nauseaus ALL the time, but no throwing up. I don't know what's worse though... well I do. The throwing up is worse because when I throw up it always comes out of my nose so I have to smell throw up for like 30 minutes after I puke, which makes me puke more!
So ya, yeah for no puking, but BLAH to constant nausea that doesn't let up, like EVER!

Let's end this blog with a picture of the cutest little nephew on the planet!

Bald Baby

So my daughter is almost 14 months old and she is still bald.
When I was pregnant with her I would pray almost daily that my daughter would be born with a head full of red hair. I did this in hopes that God would some how counteract the genes of bald babies in both mine and Jon's families and give us a baby that I could immediately start putting multi-colored bows in her hair.
Well unfortunately that didn't happen. However, the hair that is growing in is a distinct strawberry blonde, just like her daddy/aunt Catherine so maybe I will get my red head after all.
Sunday I decided to just stick a bow in her 4 to 5 hairs on the top of her head and she looked so cute! Well at least to me.

Today was my first doctor's appointment. Well sort of. I didn't get to see the doctor, but I did get my blood work done... (cue scary music).
I seem to always pass out when I get blood taken... I don't really know why, I know for sure it's because I don't do well with the sight of blood, but I also think the feeling of getting pierced and then feeling the blood seep from my body... I'm getting whoozy just thinking about it.

Well I also have super tiny veins so it is always a struggle to get blood out of me. They poked me once in the arm and just couldn't get enough blood, so then they poked me in the hand... ouch!

If I hadn't been laying down, it would have been all over and I would have been OUT! I felt the whoozy tingle feeling in my head... ick. I had to drink some orange juice to get the color back in my face and to stop shaking... oh good times!

Other than that, life was good.

I go back next Friday to actually see Doc Moseley.

So with the doc appointment over, I proceeded to tell my Supervisor that I was pregnant! So now the cat is out of the bag at work. She was really excited for me, so that was nice.

Ummm... my baby is now 7 weeks and still has a tail. It kind of freaks me out that it has a tail... I feel like I'm incubating a lizard... at 9 weeks the tail goes away and I can once again feel like I'm pregnant with baby fetus instead of baby gecko.

I am supposed to hear today whether the request for me to go down to 30 hours a week has been approved... say a quick prayer for me.

Last night Tiff came over and after dinner we went to get Lyric some new shoes. That girl has gone from a size 3 to a size 4 in just one month!
So she needed new sandals and of Tiff went a little crazy and bought her some Nike tennis shoes and some cute clothes at Target. They are SO cute! Especially her "workout outfit".

Well anyways, I'm feeling like I might go throw up, so I better end this.

Girl Power

Okay, if you haven't seen SATC the Movie, and you were a fan of the series, drop EVERYTHING you are doing right now and run to the theater with a group of your cloest girls. A word of warning only to those who have 1. never seen the show or 2. only watched it on TBS. It is rated R for a reason and stays very true to the HBO series.
But it sure makes you love the fact that you have girl friends. I mean don't get me wrong, husbands/boyfriends are great and not to be replaced, but there is something about the bond women share throughout the years. It's beautiful, it's complicated, it's emotional, it's real love.
I have been privileged to have a few of these relationships throughout my life and every day relish in the love between all my besties.
I know many women talk about the cattiness of women, how we back stab, but those women weren't bonded. The women that I'm friends with today, we've all been through a lot. Each of us brings a unique aspect and viewpoint that the other doesn't have. Each of our backgrounds are different, our love lives distinctly different... yet we all come together and share and learn from eachother.
My friends and I have evolved out of the "dating sphere" of girl talks and entered into an entirely new realm of motherhood, being a wife, a working mom, a partner, a lover and more. If it wasn't for my friends, I don't know where I would be. I could never count the number of fears they've calmed, fights they've helped me work through, depression they've helped me rise out of and more. I know that they make me a better sister/wife/mother and of course friend.
We may not be like our favorites from SATC, as we don't have the designer shoes to prove it, but one thing we do have is our love for eachother and our desire to see the others exceed past their wildest dreams. We are so lucky to have eachother. I love you girls!
Well enough of the loves fest!
Friday night we had a delightful (if not slightly rushed) evening with the girls.
Abby, Courtney, Christina and I met up with Mabrie, Mercedes, Kathleen, Mary and Micah to see the SATC movie.
The only requirement of the night was cute shoes:

Being that the evening started after work, and the movie began at 7pm in uptown Dallas, you can imagine the rush we were all in to get there. Only to find that we were only allowed enough time to get one drink (mine of the non-alcohol persuasion) and some chip and dips before we skidaddled to the theater.
Here we are at the restaurant:

My sister Courtney and I:

Abby and Christina


In true Christina fashion she was drinking her drink too slowly and the movie deadline was fast approaching, so Abby had to help her drain it:


Then at the theater


Abby and Court drinking their Cosmos


It was so great to see my Mabes! I love that lady!
Group Shot:


The crazy thing is we also sat right next to Britten and Courtney Mills and Bethany Obert! They were our great friends like when we were all in homeschool drama together during elementary school. So it was like almost all generations of our lives, we were just missing either a Jennifer/Stephanie/Katie in the mix and it would have been like our entire lives of best friends to date. SO crazy, but great to see them all!

SO that was our fantastic night! We sped off after the movie to drop off Abby/Christina so we could skidaddle to the airport to pick up my parents!! Yippee! They are home!

Well that's all I have for now, but I just wanted to talk about how much fun we had Friday.
Though we did miss you Tiffani :)