11 Week Appointment

Our 11 week appointment was on September 22nd. My mom went to this appointment with me- she was dying to see the baby on the ultrasound. I was just amazed at how much our baby had grown in three short weeks! This time we were actually able to see a small arm, profile, and little legs. The baby kept moving and bouncing around! I would giggle and then he/she would get really still for a moment before starting up again.

Everything looked great and the heartbeat was 160 bpm. This time we were actually able to hear the heartbeat using the Doppler, rather than just seeing it on the ultrasound.  It sounded like a train going over the train tracks. I could sit and listen to that for hours!

At my first appointment I just knew I'd have to do lab work. I loathe needles! Luck was on my side that time. I wasn't so lucky this time around. But seeing my sweet baby made it all worth it!

In the top picture, you can see a little arm sticking up. I dreamed about sweet baby arms and fingers for several nights afterward :)

These Days

These days the only things on my mind are 1)sleeping and 2) when I'm not sleeping I think about food.

So far I've had a wonderful pregnancy, with little to no nausea. Well, except for today when I was set off by brushing my teeth (makes me gag like crazy these days). Oh, and then again when one of my students was sick in the hall. I normally can somewhat deal with that, but just the sight of it today sent me running to the restroom.

Anywho, due to little nausea, I've been able to eat just about anything I want. Well, these days I would love to chow down on some sushi, but it's off limits for me during the next several months.

Really the only big complaint, or symptom, is exhaustion. I sleep all the time. Let me say it again. I sleep all the time. I have zero energy, and to top it off I was sick with a cold most of last week and the weekend. So needless to say I was doing good to roll over in bed every few hours. All is better now in the cold department, and I'm quite proud of myself for actually blogging!

Due to this exhaustion, I've let some things lag.  Mainly housework. But before I go into that I must give a very big THANK YOU to my amazing husband who has stepped up and cleaned for me. Still, our home just feels grungy. To try and motivate myself, I stopped after work to pick up some cleaning supplies- including some great apples and cinnamon candles (don't you love Fall?), rubber gloves, and a mask (just to be safe from the fumes). I was actually excited while stocking my buggy, but that excitement quickly vanished when I had to lug my loot up my back steps and into my house. Funny how that happens, isn't it?

Everything I hear and read says that my energy will come back during my 2nd trimester and that I'll feel more like myself again. These days I'm living for my 2nd trimester. We will be 10 weeks on Thursday, so not too much longer.

Okay, enough distraction. Yes, this is a distraction. I thought I'd feel better about not cleaning if I blogged rather than sitting and watching TV. At least this does qualify as being productive ;) I'm off to tackle our house. And dinner. Ugh, I forgot I have to cook dinner. I don't have it in me to do both, so I'm off to clean and call my sweet husband (maybe I can convince him to pick something up on his way home).

Sharing the News

We found out our sweet baby was on the way August 5th, but decided to wait a bit before sharing our news. There were two main reasons for this: 1) We wanted to tell our parents in person, and 2) we wanted to have our first doctor's appointment first.

It's rare that all of our parents are in town at the same time, so finding a way to get them together without them growing suspicious was a feat in itself. My husband was set to be baptized on September 4th, so our family members would all be in town. The only family member we told early was my brother. He called one Saturday from Afghanistan and we shared our news with him. I so wanted to tell him in person, but didn't think I'd have the chance before he eventually found out through someone else. Telling him via phone is a bit ironic seeing as how things turned out.

We gave our parents a framed ultrasound photo with a sweet poem attached. We told my father-in-law first, and then went to tell my dad. Right after my dad opened his framed ultrasound picture, I turned and saw my brother standing in the doorway! He had surprised everyone by coming home on leave for a few days. See the irony here? It was a great day for surprises!

We then went to see my grandparents before meeting my mom for dinner. She did not know that my sneaky brother was home, so we decided to do a double-whamy on her. We went on into the resturant and was seated at a table, then my brother comes in behind her and sits down- I thought she would die of a heart attack! Then, he gives her a wrapped gift (her framed ultrasound photo). Looking back, it may have been a bit too much for her! We captured it all on video, and I'm hoping to get my tech savvy husband to upload it onto here.

Our last stop of the night was at my mother-in-laws house. She had absolutely no idea! I think she was the most surprised out of everyone! I will always remember the sweet look on her face and how excited she was for us! We then went to tell my husband's Grandmother, who was also very excited for us. By the end of the day, we were both exhausted. The next day was topped off by my husband's baptism, then our pastor sharing our special news with our amazing church family.

We mailed out pregnancy announcements to our family and friends. They turned out super cute- if I do say so myself.

I'm not really sure what's up with the colors

300th Post

My last post makes number 300 for this blog!

Oh, Baby!

 We are thrilled to announce we are expecting our first child in April. We found out we were expecting on August 5th. We are 2 days shy of 9 weeks along and so far everything has been great. Our sweet bundle of joy is due on April 12th.

We told our family and friends this weekend. (Check back later in the week for a post on this). We have been so touched by all the sweet comments and well wishes! Baby James is blessed to have such a wonderful family, loving church family, and sweet friends.

We had our first doctor's appointment on August 31st. Seeing our sweet gift from God, and watching the tiny heart beat, brought us both to tears. We are just in awe of the miracle of life that God is creating.

So far our pregnancy has been wonderful. The only big symptom I've had is a lack of energy. I'm tired all the time and can sleep for hours. I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt bad or been sick, so I'm hoping I'll dodge the dreaded morning sickness.

We mailed out pregnancy announcements to our family and friends.Please excuse the dark and blurry picture.

 

It reads:

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:19

We are thrilled to announce 

we are expecting our first child.

Baby James is due

April 2012.

Bobby and Sylvia.

Our First Appointment

Our first doctor's appointment was on August 31st. We were 7 weeks, 6days along. This was the day I fell in love with ultrasounds. I just love having that magic window into my baby's little world! One of the first things I saw was my sweet baby's heartbeat just flickering away!

Everything looked great and our due date was set for April 12th. The heartbeat was 166 bpm.

My husband made a copy and put it in his wallet. I carried one around with me for days! I would just sit and look at my sweet blessing from above!

My Child

Before you were conceived I wanted you

Before you were born I loved you

Before you were here an hour I would die for you

This is the miracle of life

6 Years

Today marks 6 years of marriage for us. Today I'm looking back on all that we've done in the last 6 years, and I'm wondering where the time went. It seems like just yesterday that I walked down the isle. After six years I can still say that I'm madly in love with my husband. He is the perfect man for me, the Lord's greatest gift in my life. 

 I added the song Marry Me to my playlist- it's one of my favorites.

Our Home: The Master Bath

For an update on how we finally arrived at a decision on tile, grout, colors, etc... click HERE to read about our conclusion to work with an interior designer.

Before...

• Wall Color: Some funky shade of blue
• Tile: The shower and floor were marble. It was originally laid crooked, and thus when we bought the home we had to redo everything. 
• When we purchased our home, the shower was unfinished and could not be used, and there were not any sinks.

My husband picked out the sinks and faucets.

 The doors, moldings, and baseboards were not even primed.

 This part of the bathroom was just primed sheet rock.

 No shower heads.

During the renovation.....

As you can see, all the marble had to be torn out. The entire shower was gutted down to the studs and then built back up in order to install backer board etc to prevent leaks... (which was not placed behind the marble originally). We also had two partial walls built up to give some privacy to the shower.

 Inside the shower.

 The day they started laying tile.

 We painted the room before all the flooring was put down. This is the day they began working on the boarder that goes around the bathroom.

After.....

• Wall Color: Woodlawn Colonial Gray
• Trim Color: Du Jour
•  Tile: 3x6 subway tile in shower, 6x6 on floor, 3x6 border around floor
• We had to paint all the doors, moldings, and baseboards.

His side of the shower and closet door.

 My side of the shower and my closet.

 Rain shower Heads

My husband picked out the sinks and faucets when we first moved in. I wasn't so sure about them, but this was the easiest thing to do, otherwise we would have had to cut the granite. Now that everything is finished, I think they look good.

Looking in from our bedroom

 His side....

 My side...

There are still things I want to hang on the wall, and decorative accents I need to put up, and I want to change out the vanity mirrors.. I've come to the conclusion that you're never completely finished decorating a room.

Adventures in Canning

I have discovered that canning can be a real pickle.

I decided to try my hand at canning pickles. My grandmother made some using an easy 3 step ready-made packet so I figured I'd go the same route. Being as this was my first time ever canning, I wanted a simple recipe.

I skimped on the nice canning equipment because this was my first time and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, or if I'd even survive. First mistake. I purchased a cheap starter kit, borrowed large pots from my dad, and set out to make my own pickles.

I planned to make 12 quarts of Kosher Dills. I ended up with 11 quarts (one jar busted, see notes below) that consisted of 4 jars of dill slices and 7 jars of spears. I was surprised they all sealed and turned out great. We've already consumed 2 jars of spears.

Lessons Learned:

1. Invest in one of these: 

2. The jar picker-upper-thingy has 2 black plastic handles. This is not the end that grasps the jars (figured that one out a little to late). I wondered why the black handle thingy broke so easily. I lost one jar and my favorite spoon rest  due to this mistake. The only reason I'm sharing this embarrassing tidbit is in the hopes that someone else might not make the same mistake as me.

3. Your home will smell like a pickle for at least 2 days. Any attempts to rid your home of the smell are futile. 

More Coupon Deals

7-1-11

Picked up 2 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste.

On sale for $2.79 with $2 back in ECBs.
Purchased 2 and used 2  .75 cent off coupons, which meant I purchased them for $4.08.
Received $4 in ECB's = I paid 8 cents + tax

7-3-11

Purchased all items below (and 5 2-liter Coca-Colas, not pictured)  for a total of  $11.88 by using coupons and splitting it into 2 transactions to use ECBs. The toothbrushes were free because of coupons and the green deodorants were purchased from another store.

On the first transaction we purchased 9 items and paid .62 cents after coupons.

On the second transaction, we purchsed 5 items for $11.26

 

 

Our stockpile is getting bigger every week!

Happy Independence Day

July 4th means more to me this year than any before. Today I'm thankful for my freedom that cost the lives of so many. I woke up with my brother on my mind. I am thankful for him and all of the other soldiers who sacrifice in order to serve our country.

When it comes to freedom though, I think of my sweet Savior who died so that I can have the ultimate freedom.