DIY CRAFT- Baby shower Invitations

I love making things myself. Sometimes I get it into my mind, that if I don't do it, then it's not done right. I know that's not true...until it comes to my crafts.
Anyway.....
So my and Mom's good friend Rebecca and mom's boss, are throwing her a ggrandma shower this Month (Or next month if you want to get technical about it, since it is the last day in December...but whatever. )
I begged Rebecca to let me make the Invitations and she said yes!
So while at Hobby Lobby I let mom pick out the color paper and ribbon she liked, and she picked my favorite paper!!! and she picked a pretty cream ribbon with blue, brown, green and yellow dots on it. I get me good taste from her lol

The packet of paper came with envelopes and cards, so since I am completely dumb when it comes to printing, Dad printed all the invitations up, I stamped the envelopes and cards, added ribbon, and came up with this cute and simple invitation:

cute and simple : )

Since I loved the paper so much, I decided to make more invitations out of it.
Mom and Grandma are throwing a shower too.

Let me take a moment to explain the shower situation. Ben and I have a lot of friends. One thing I wanted was to not invite the same people to more than one shower. So i decided to invite only my high school friends and women from my family to the shower being thrown by Amy and Morgan. (which by the way, Amy ordered super cute owl invitations for it).
Then all of my work people will be invited to the shower that's thrown for me at work. Well that left Ben's friends and family, so Mom and Grandma are doing a "drop in" shower for them. It's gonna be at our apartment and the guests can stop by between certain hours. There's a few more from and for specific groups of people, but nobody gets invited twice, so I don't feel like I'm being greedy or anything. Now some people that are invited to to Mom's grandma shower are invited to the drop in shower, but that's only because they've all known Ben and I for a few years and actually some of then even came to our wedding.

So since they are throwing that one, I told them I would also like to do those invitations.

I used my nest stamp that I bought months ago and never had a reason for it, until now. I love it!!!
I am also using the nest stamp on my handmade thank you notes!

DONE! the pile on the left is Ben's Friends and Family and the pile on the Right is the Grandma shower. I was extremely proud of myself for getting them done in 4 hours. haha

3 Christmases

Well, my favorite holiday is over..... so sad.
But we had a wonderful time with both families, and I cant wait for next Christmas!lol
We had Christmas Eve Dinner at my grandparents house with my family. We used to do traditional Christmas Food on Christmas Eve, and then again on Christmas morning at my great-grandparents house, but since my Great grandmother moved, we started a new tradition of spaghetti on Christmas eve. It's easy for Grandma to make and it's yummy too!
This year we drew a name and filled a stocking for that person. Any Size, Any price range. So Ben and I pulled my Dad and my Grandma.
For Dad we got fishing stuff. A new tackle box filled with some new accessories and a fishing tool, and also a shirt.
And for my Grandmother, I just picked out some random stuff she wanted. Like a new food processor, waffle maker, cute kitchen stuff and some cute photo frames.
Ben and I also received really good gifts too! Ben got some Georgia Paci's : )

Then we came home and opened our gifts from each other. we were supposed to just do stockings for each other and one for Finn and a gift for Jasper. So I filled his and Finn's stockings and got Jas some treats and toys. Ben got me a pregnancy massage in my stocking and then he got me a huge pregnancy pillow.

This pillow. Heaven on earth.
seriously.
I started using it Sunday night. I  haven't once had back pain this week. It's amazing. I will be putting a picture on here of me being cradled by it. 
Back pain and hip and butt pain are the only symptoms I have had lately, but this week i have been exhausted when I get home from work. But I guess it could have something to do with the fact I'm working full time this week. I've slept every afternoon so far. Yesterday I slept three hours. It reminds me of early pregnancy.

But anyways, back to Christmas...

Saturday we went to Ben's Aunt's house for Christmas Lunch. I actually hadn't been there in 4 years...since we were only engaged. the last few years, we've had Christmas dinner party at my house and I've had to get everything ready. Last year I was sick. That was the year I took some meds, fell asleep with a candle burning in our room and woke up with black soot stuff all over every surface in my room. even in my nose. horrible.

So we went there and ate lunch and exchanged gifts. Ben got a welder from his brother, which he wanted but I had convinced him that Barry got him something else. and I got a gift card, which I bought another pair of maternity jeans and some Christmas baby stuff for next year. I am saving the rest to add to something we need later.
After everyone left, Ben's family ( immediate family) sat around the table and talked and then I got an aunt to take a picture of us:

and then we went home.

Well, I went home. Ben and my brother Avery went to shoot guns with Ben's brother while I cooked a few things for dinner with my parents. After a few hours, the guys came back adn we went to dinner at Mom's and it was yummy.
I brought my pillow for everyone to try. lol
So I never told you all what Finn got in his stocking. I bought him 2 pairs of shorts, 2 books for the bath, a pair of puppy booties, and Ben bought him a blue onsie that reads "chick magnet" It was cute.

Mom, Grandma and I went shopping on Monday for day after Christmas sales, and I got a great wrapping paper organizer, a reindeer outfit for Finn, and a few other Christmas goodies. We went to Hobby Lobby ti get a few invitation supplies and I got some stuff for nursery crafts. I stilllllllll haven't made up my mind about crib bedding, but that's ok....
We have the cradle and someone is supposed to be giving us a crib soon. So if we don't have the crib for the nursery when he's born, it's ok, because the cradle will do for awhile. and it's completely ready.

More later

Family Photo DIY CRAFT

This is my last Christmas project I did. I also happen to have a great job, and had less than 10 kids in my room yesterday with three adults, so I was able to do this at work instead of making a mess in my home hehe.

So, a few weeks ago my family took a family picture.

I was reading around learning about MOD PODGE and stumbled upon a tutorial on how to make your own 'canvas photos'. Websites can take your photos and make canvas's out of them. It's beautiful, but ridiculously expensive. The tutorial basically showed how to use wood and make it yourself. So it's technically not canvas.
So I'll Start with my supplies:
8x10 photo
8 x 10 block of wood. Mine was 1 and 1/2 inches thick, but I think next time I will do 1 inch.
Acrylic paint-I used brown
Mod Podge- I used glossy finish
some kind of soft fabric
paintbrush or sponge brush

First, I took the wood and painted all of the edges and one side brown and let it dry.

Then I took my photo and cut it down to a little but smaller than 8 x 10, not much, just a hair. then I covered the brown painted side of the wood with mod podge.

I lined up the photo on the block, and pressed down, starting in the middle and smoothed out any possible air bubbles. I let it dry for about 30 minutes.

When it was good and stuck on there, I applied my first layer of mod podge. Now, I went one way. I did up and down brush strokes, not making it thick. Then that dried for about an hour. If you want it to dry faster, use the cool setting on your blow dryer, hint hint.

Then I applied a second layer over the first layer of mod podge. This time, instead of going up and down, I did brush strokes side to side. It dried and then I had a canvas look on my photo. I haven't done the sides yet, but it will look really great. Since this is a gift, I am going to wait and see if they want the ribbon attached to hang it, or if they want to stand it up since it's so thick.

Finished Product:

I think the gift receiver will be pleased with her their handmade gift : )

You're Welcome.

This blog post is completely pointless. I'm really just bored and waiting on Ben to get home from work. So if you like my ramblings in previous posts thus far...keep reading. It you could care less about what makes my mind tick, or are easily offended, then stop. Talk to you later homeskillet.
This weekend is Christmas. And after this weekend, I am booked for every weekend until the cutoff date. The cutoff date is a specific date where no more plans are made. It's halfway through February. There will be no plans made with anyone in advance: if you wanna hang out, it will solely depend on how I feel. So needless to say, I have quite a few things to get done before CD-cutoff date.
It all starts with the first weekend in January. The nursery plans will still be being executed, and it will be Avery's 18th birthday. I don't want to make any other plans than to do stuff around my house and celebrate with my family.
The second weekend in January we have an ultrasound. It's on the 14th. There's a place in Tallahassee that specializes in 4D ultrasounds, so as a Christmas gift to my family, we are taking Mom, Dad, Avery, Grandma and Grandaddy. Apparently theres like a big screen and couches and we get everything on DVD and a few picture printouts. We're excited about it, but mostly excited for them. When Grandma and Mom had babies, there were no 4D ultrasounds, and I've never seen one live, so it's going to be cool. Then the rest of the weekend will be spent still getting things ready. I know I will be putting this on every weekend, but that just shows how much we haven't done. and maybe it will motivate me to do more in the nursery tonight when I'm done entertaining you readers!
Every weekend after that I have either a shower, or a family birthday, including Ben's. So I have alot to cram into  two months starting this weekend. I absolutely refuse to make plans after the CD, to ensure that I'm stress free and relaxing before the big day!

I'm a planner.
That's just something I have to do. I make lists after lists of things, and rewrite lists because I like to. I've probably killed at least 5 trees so far with baby related lists. So the fact that I know everything that I have planned out in memory isn't weird. It's normal.
Along with the plans for the months leading up to birth, I have plans for the hospital, hospital stay, and our coming home.
And because I feel like restating my plans, i will include them in my blog.

I'm just gonna say that I don't give two craps about anyone but Myself, Ben, and Finn during the hospital scene, but mostly me.  Before you decide to hate me, or hate me more, let me explain.

First off, I am going to be the person that haunts dreams if I don't get what I want as far as a general plan goes. I know these plans can and probably will change, due to natural occurrences, but it's better to have something in mind than nothing. So when you get to a ridiculous part, like the one about having a pony ride outside the hospital, just keep on reading.
LABOR-When I go into labor at home, or work, or wherever I am, I am telling Ben and Mom right away. Those are the people who I want to help me in case something goes wrong or I just need help if I'm by myself. I'm not going to be rushing to the hospital right away until the contractions are at that distance apart that says I have to. I, if able, want to be sure everything is packed, and I possibly shower, and someone puts fresh sheets on my bed, feeds jasper, and all that last minute stuff. then when I go to the hospital, I want it to be Me and Ben only. And I want it to be that way until a little before I go into active labor. I need that time with Ben alone. We will then notify Team Finn. When Team Finn (Dad, Mom, and Avery) get there, then Ben can watch all the ooey gooey fun of birth...while I have my support system near me.
When I am laboring, which I understand to be HORRIBLE, it is all about me. Nobody else in that room is having contractions. Nobody else in that room will be having back pain. Nobody else in that room (except Mom) has experienced, or is about to experience an excruciating destruction of her woman parts. So actually I don't even want anyone else trying to comfort me by saying, "I know it hurts", or "It's gonna be ok" except mom. So since I am planning on making this situation an uncensored one, I have chosen people that have seen me at my worst already. Mom, Dad, Avery, and Ben have seen me at my stomach-bug, and drunken-night-sickest and emotionally worst in my life, so that's nothing new to them. That's why I chose them. I will feel like I have nothing to hide and feel ashamed about. So say I poop during pregnancy, first they'll gag, then they'll make jokes. And when I get mad and threaten them with whatever, they'll brush it off. I want the delivery room to be an environment where I feel comfortable, because honestly, It's all about me at that point. Now I understand that things don't always go as planned, so If for some reason I have to have a C-section, the plan stays the same. But hopefully i wont have to have one.
When Finn comes out, it switches to Ben and Finn and I. Because all the nights we talked to him and wondered what he looked like and how we couldn't wait to hold him, will be a reality. He's something that we made out of our love for each other. This is going to be my favorite part!

When Finn and I get cleaned up and moved to a room, I have to have time with my 3 person family. I don't know how much time it will be. Could be 3 hours, could be the first 24 hours. Whatever we feel comfortable with. Also because I don't want to worry about the way I look or worrying about someone visiting while I'm attempting breastfeeding. So when we decide we are ready for visitors, we will call them or send them a text. I think that's going to be cool because up until that point, nobody is even going to know that we had him, till they get a picture message of his sweet face saying come meet me! A total surprise. Hospital visits to Ben and Finn and I are strictly invitation only. invitation by text, that is. You know who you are ; )

Coming home and the first few weeks that follow are kind of the same. Many people have offered to help me when we come home and I really appreciate them, and will definitely take them up on their offers when I'm ready. I feel comfortable with a handful of people helping me out those first few days, but everyone else: There will be a sign on my front door that reads something like "you knock, you die."
kidding. kind of. No, It will say something about how we are sleeping and spending time with our baby boy, blah blah, please do not disturb. And If  you weren't invited over, or we haven't made a plan for you to come help or drop something off, and you knock on the door, prepare to feel like poo. Because that's how I'm gonna make you feel. Worst case scenario, I am going to feel like my girl parts are dying, and I'm going to have a screaming baby, and I don't want anyone over to see me or Finn like that. Best case scenario, I feel adequate and Finn is a great baby. In that case, I will probably be sleeping and still wont want to see you. So that's why I have a phone, and unless you talk to Me, you aren't coming in my house.
I know it's a little extreme, buttttt, I have never been a Mom before. I may really suck at it. I may get stressed out and break down a few times, and I may have postpartum depression, who knows? If I need help, believe you me, I will ask for it. Anyway, to build Finn's immunity and also to let us learn how to be a family,and attempt at establishing a routine,  no visitors will be allowed unless we ask for them. And because I don't want to feel like I have to entertain guests while they hold him. Then, after we feel comfortable with ourselves, we plan on having a meet the baby day.
We will invite extended family and our good friends to meet and pass around Finn. That is going to be a great day, because by then I will have a gazillion pictures on facebook, sorry FB friends, and everyone will be real excited to hold him and stuff.
******Mental note to myself- include those invites with the birth announcements.*******

Speaking of birth announcements, I am going to attempt to design my own! I have a general idea, but I haven't actually tried to make one yet. I am also making my thank you notes. If you know me, then you know it involves a birds nest and his initials. (no I didn't put his initials in a nest...)

Well, I hope I bored you to death here with this post. you're welcome.

Cradle Bumper Pads-DIY Craft

About 2 years ago Mom and I were driving somewhere and we passed a yard sale and there it was... the most perfect wooden cradle I had ever seen. And It was also a very nice price ($20 bucks) so even before we made Finn, I had a bed for him. lol

So the cradle didn't have a mattress or bedding, so Ben and I recently bought memory foam type material and made a mattress pad. This cradle isn't very big at all, so a standard size pillowcase actually covers the pad. I just have to modify the open end. Also missing were bumper pads. So I decided to make my own instead of buying them, because 1)anytime I saw some I liked, I started planning how I could alter it to make it cuter. and 2) They were expensive. So I made mine for the cradle the way I liked, and only spent $20 in supplies!

First off, remember that material that I couldn't make my mind up about? The one that Mom made me get and not change my mind about? Well there it is, brown microfiber. Suuuper soft. Amy says she wants her coffin lined with it so she can be comfy forever. Little morbid, but that should tell you how soft it is...good enough for the afterlife. Anyway, I bought two yards.
Then instead of buying foam inserts or another kind of filling, Mom had these Winnie the Pooh pads that were Avery's when he was little in the baby chest of our old baby stuff. they were shorter in height than crib pads, so they were PERFECT. Also, it's kind of special that they were Finn's uncles'.

Next I measured the length and height of the pads and sewed up the side and basically made a big tube. I turned it inside out and inserted the Pooh bumper pads, and sealed the end. That whole process took about an hour and a half. By the way, prepare to be dusted my little bits of microfiber when you cut this stuff. Made an awful mess. I lint rolled myself multiple times.

Then I added ribbon at the ends and other cradle corner spots and voila! I had brown pads with blue and brown ribbon. I have a picture of the pads, but not on the cradle. There are a few little things I need to finish, but the Picture is coming soon.

Horrible picture of the finished product.

Since the cradle is going to be in our bedroom, I chose brown because our bed frame (also a DIY project-used to be puke green, probably lead paint with rusted legs) is a dark brown color:

It will look very nice in the room : )

I plan on doing something similar to some Crib bumper pads that were given to us, for the crib, but I haven't quite decided what I want yet.

New Blog

So when I started this blog I wanted to write and tell about our pregnancy. Well there have been many times when I realize I'm talking about more than Finn. And there are times when I want to put some of my crafts on the blog too. So since the pregnancy only lasts 9 months, I have decided to make this blog go on after birth. I can put family happenings and also Finn's development. I will also put my crafts on here. When you visit my blog, if you look on the right hand side, there should be an option for CRAFTS and a separate option for Family Happenings, If I can figure out how to do this right. So anyway, that's about to happen :)

Weird twitches and pains

So naturally Finn is moving more nowadays. today my grandparents could see him nudging and moving from accross the room. Ben and I have seen him lopsided too.
I dont really let people other than Ben, my parents and amy see my tummy, but there are stretch marks, I have been religioulsy putting special lotion on it, and it has helped tremendously so far. But when I showed this picture to Avery he was like oh, you have stretch marks?! Mom said, they were a woman's "battle scars". But anyway, in this picture you can definitely see which side he favors.

The books say this week he is 15 inches long from head to toe. At night when I lay on my side, I can feel twitches and hard kicks on both sides of my stomach. some kicks suprise me and almost hurt. Sometimes it feels like he kicked so hard downwards, that his foots gonna come out. Yesterday and today it feels like he is tickling my ribs. But what is most uncomfortable is when he kicks my badder and I feel like peeing everywhere.

Ben and I enjoy watching my tummy. Seems like we watch it about half an hour every night before bed while Ben talks to him.We have my tummy moving on video, so i will try to upload that soon. 

"Ummmmm...A BABY!"

I've heard of pregnancy brain before and didn't really think anything of it. But my goodness, I have it.
Not only do I forget what I'm doing, thinking, supposed to do. But now I'm not ccomprehending and not remembering people.

At my most recent Shaw Center appointment (doctor), the new midwife was feeling my stomach and measuring and stuff and she asked,
"So, do we know what we have in here?"
I was quiet for a few seconds then Ben said, "A baby boy"
In my head I was dying of laughter because I almost said ,
"UMMM, A BABY!"
Like what else is in there? a soccer ball? really....
So I'm not thinking straight.

Then a few nights ago we went to the grocery store, and Ben went one way and I another, and when I met up with him, he was talking to a woman. It's really not unusual for Ben, since he often sees coworkers, and classmates. He's a popular guy. lol
So I walk up and I'm just gonna walk on by and get something off the aisle and he stops me and says something like, oh here's Kim.
Am I supposed to know Kim?
I didn't recognize her from the hospital and I didn't recognize her from school, so I sort of muttered, Hey, nice to meet you...
Turns out, I know Kim. She's Ben's cousin or aunt. I cant even remember right now. She then she Leans in to give me a hug and I just wanted to smack myself 20 times. I felt like such an idiot. So Kim, if your reading this, I am so sorry. This baby is sucking my brain out!

Who grows Big Mac trees??

This month has been so hectic so far. I guess I will start with doctor appointments.
I'm 27 weeks now :) My November appointment was in the week of Thanksgiving and Stephanie went with me. Then my next appointment was scheduled for three weeks later. Also the doctor gave me the "glucola" to drink and made an appointment for my glucose tolerance test.
This glucola stuff wasn't that bad. I've heard awful things about it, but to me, it was just a bad tasting Hawaiian punch. I had the red one which was fruit punch. So the morning of that appointment, I drank it and went to the office. I was supposed to fast a certain amount of hours...well I didn't follow the directions, anyways... so the girl in the lab stuck my finger and did the blood sugar test and I FAILED :(  -by TWO POINTS. So I'm thinking great, I probably threw the dang test off with not fasting right. So I go to the checkout counter to leave and the girl tells me I have to come back  and stay for three hours. so I went ahead and made an appointment for two days later, a Friday.
This time I fasted correctly, and woke up, went to office, got my first finger stick and the results were normal, drank the glucola-orange this time (much better), and sat in my car for an hour. Now about this time, I'm getting kind of hungry and bored. I took Ben's Ipod, but there was no network to connect to, so I just sat there.
An hour later, I went back to the lab and got my finger pricked again. This time I failed. So she told me that out of the four pricks, if I failed two, then I would have GD-gestational diabetes. Anyway, I sat in my car another hour, got another prick and it was normal, sat another hour, got another prick and it was normal too. So the good news is that I dOnt have GD. Bad news is, because I failed at two different appointments, I have to "watch my sugar intake" psshh. It's Christmas! and these kids at the daycare are bringing my coworker and I lots of goodies. I have tasted every one of them. I have thrown a lot away, but my coworker makes comments sometimes about me not eating anymore sugar, and then I look at her and reach for a cookie, and say "just one mooooore" haha. I am doing better though.
We started changing our diets, Ben and I. We are eating more healthy at home and out. I have been craving salads, so that's great!
One thing a midwife told me was if it looks like it did when it came off the plant or the animal, then its ok. In my mind I was thinking, where's this big mac tree?

The following Friday I had a regular appointment with a different midwife than the one I've been seeing. Ben went with me and we heard his little heartbeat and also heard whoever was in the room next to us's baby's heartbeat too. :)
Everything went fine with that appointment. I got to ask some of the questions I had recently like about my leg cramps. I don't think I've written on here about charlie horses. Mostly in the mornings when I wake up, I get horrrrrrrrible cramps in my calves. And they leave my legs sore all day. So i just need to keep myself hydrated and also eat more potassium. Easy.

My next appointment was made for two weeks later, so I'm assuming that means I will go every two weeks now..?


Another issue is my back. Now I know that it's supposed to hurt from all the extra changes and weight in weird spots, but I have to have help getting out of bed sometimes because it feels like someone twisting a knife down there. It was only really a problem when I layed down for a little while and then tried to get back up. Mom and Ben have helped me numerous times in the past two months. This week though, it not only hurts when I get up, but when I'm laying down flat. So, Mom made me an appointment with a chiropractor. I went today and I don't think I've ever heard my back pop so much. It's been hard for me to pop it on my own, so it felt good. The Chiro said, "whens the last time you laid on your stomach?"
I almost cried when I asked him if I was going to get to. I used to sleep on my tummy every night. I miss it so much. But there was this adjustment table that the middle part let out to support Finn. I almost asked if I could just lay there for the duration.
So after adjusting what he could, Ben and I went to my grandparents house and I laid on a heat pad for awhile.

Think I might take a tylenol before bed tonight....

two or three weeks...

Goodness! Two or three weeks without a computer seems like a lifetime! kidding.
Ben accidentally opened an infected email, and we got two nice viruses on our computer. Luckily my father owns a store that specializes in virus removal, so BAM! I'm back!
To keep myself straight, and to provide you all with anticipation, I will once again make a list of the blog posts I will be catching up on:
-Will
-Christmas projects
-pregnancy brain
-glucose tolerance test
-Dr. appointments
-nursery furniture
-buying
-ultrasound
-the aunts
-nesting early?
-chiropractor
-fetal movement
-delivery plan
-avery and thomas
-showers and registries
-crafts

That should be all :)

obviously bored right now

I've had a lot of friends and family ask me what I want for Christmas. My mind is so in baby mode that I can't really think of anything I NEED. Pajama pants...but I would have to see what fit me...So, that being said, I would be absolutely fine with stuff from our baby registries. We are registered at target and babies r us. I'm also registering at DDP here in town, but I'm going to wait until the cute spring stuff comes out in January/February.

The next order of business is baby showers. There's a date set for Mom's Grandmother Shower. Other than my house, the only house Finn will be spending the majority of his time or the only place he will be overnight is Mom's house (and my Grandma's if I decide to work a little) so she'll get stuff for her house to make it easier to not have to pack all my junk for Finn to take a bath or something there.  And I'm not really sure what goes on at a Grandma shower, but it will be funnn.

Speaking of Mom's house, Mom has three cats and I wonder how they are going to like a baby coming over and disrupting them...?

Another shower that is in the works is being thrown by two of my best friends. This is the one where I'm inviting high school friends and such.
There are more showers, but I am trying to get a list of addresses for all these showers. Then Ben gives me his list and I don't even know how to get in contact with some of the people on his list. It's a task, but it's a task I want to keep me busy.

I mentioned work. I am so thankful that Ben encourages me to stay home with Finn after he's born, because that's what I want to do. But with Ben not being done with school till August, that's 6 months where he would be responsible for all existing bills, plus new bills like things for Finn, and medical bills. And one stipulation of the scholarship he took from the hospital was he cant work more than 32 hours a week. So things are tight. and I have options as far as if I needed to work a few days out of the week. It's stressful to think about but everything will be OK! :)

New topic: Christmas.
I FREAKING LOVE CHRISTMAS.
Let me just talk about my Christmas plans for a moment.
If you don't want to be bored by my ramblings, then this is a perfect spot to stop reading. I will talk to you all later :)
If you're bored and don't have anything else to do, continue:


Ben and I have started on a little bit of shopping, and I have some stuff I am making for his extended family, but I haven't finished it all yet. I at least have a list of what everyone is getting. Ben takes his last class test Monday, and HESI tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I was waiting until after all that stress to go do something fun like dragging him around from store to store.

Ben and I really don't go all out on each other ever. We usually just fill a stocking for each other. So this year, we have a stocking for Finn too. I will upload pictures on here of my Christmas decorations and where we hung the stockings ( as our apartment does not come with a fireplace...) this year. Thomas helped me hang some wreaths and other things while he was here, because he's so tall.

We drew names at work, and I got a super nice lady that I don't ever get to talk to, but I bought her a cuuuuute thing she will like. I highly doubt she reads this, so i can say I got her a bag with her initial on it.
We are having dinner at work and exchanging gifts. Its fun to see what everyone gets.

Then on Christmas Eve, my family does their thing at my Grandma's house. We usually have yummy spaghetti and open presents. We drew names this year, and Ben and I have my Dad and my Grandmother. My dad is getting some pretty good stuff that he likes. And I will go ahead and give Ben the credit for thinking of it all. My grandmother is getting some stuff from me that she will like too. She doesn't even know what a blog is, so I can say that one thing I bought her was a set of acorn salt and pepper shakers that I wanted fro myself... but there are other things to go with it. She will like her presents. My parents got Ben's name and I know he's going to love the stuff he's getting.

Then usually on Christmas Day, we bum around and maybe see a movie. But this year we plan on going to Ben's Mom's Family's Christmas. I haven't been in a few years, so we will go there for lunch and exchange gifts too. Last year I etched plates for everyone and this year it's another cute diy project I found. Not sure if they know about this blog, so I'm keeping it a secret. We also have his parents to buy for and we know what we're getting them. And Ben's brother and Lacey are getting their present before Christmas to use on their vacation in a few days.

I think that night we will have My parents over to exchange gifts with them and Avery because we are only supposed to get gifts for the person we draw names for at Grandma's house. lol Oh, and we will send Thomas his!
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
LOVE IT!!!!!!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Friday Ben layed in bed pretty much all day getting over the last of our cold. I really wanted to get some stuff for the nursery and also Christmas, so since my Dad and brothers were out playing laser tag all day, Mom and I went to Tallahassee to go shopping. We went to Michael's Craft store  and I got some stuff for DIY X-mas presents. We ventured into Old Navy, where I bought Finn a cute striped onesie for next winter. We made our way back to Hobby Lobby where I got extremely frustrated with myself. I was going to get fabric for cradle bedding but when I got there, I was overwhelmed with sewing ideas that I wanted to leave the fabric section. But Mom helped me decide what I wanted. Thank goodness, too, because it would have been put off another month.  It's a really soft solid brown microfiber with raised polka dots. The ribbon to tie it to the cradle is brown on one side and blue on the other. I usually hate the cliche brown and blue for boys, but it was pretty. And since the cradle is going in our bedroom, the brown will match our bed nicely.

Then we ventured into the basket section. Again I got frustrated and Mom found the nicest ones, I wavered, put them in the buggy, and told her if we didn't walk away, I was going to change my mind again.

That was the end of Hobby Lobby, even though Mom did get a really cute organizer and a cool shelf.

We then went to Target where I got my first pair of maternity jeans! I am still using the belle band, but sometimes it just gets a little uncomfortable, so I got a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a pair of brown flats. Also, I got Finn a lime green fleece jacket with navy trim for next winter.

We came home and went to Mom's house for supper. I made lasagna over there and we all ate together and played a game of scattergories. It was fun, but we were all extremely tired!

Saturday, Everyone came over to my house, including Jonny, for supper. We had yummmy food and played another game of Apples to Apples. That night Thomas and Avery spent the night, so when everyone else left, we looked up funny videos and played phase ten. Avery won!
The next morning ( more like afternoon) we woke up and went to Mom's for lunch with all of us and my grandparents. We watched the walking dead with Avery and Thomas, said goodbye to Thomas, and that was the end of our weekend. whew!
It was really nice to get spend time with Thomas. I want Finn to know him as well as he knows Avery and the rest of the family. So I'm hoping we can work something out on skype or something. I think everyone had a good holiday.Ben and I did. And Ben and I are finally COLD FREE!!!

Foooood, glorious Fooooood!

Let me start this post off by saying that Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. That and Christmas. The food doesn't taste right on any other day of the year. In a previous post I stated that I wanted to go into a "food coma". MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
My facebook status for the day was "My midwife told me she tells all of her pregnant patients not to overdo it on the holidays. I say shut up and pass me the everything."

We do Lunch every year with my family at my Grandma's house, So here's some of my favorite dishes from that day.

Just looking at the pictures makes me want to do it all over again this weekend. and We just might do a smaller version. Ben told me last night that he really couldn't taste anything because he had my cold, and he wants to cook some of the same stuff this weekend. I was like, I love you!
The turkey was so good!
So after one and a half plate fulls, I was miserable.

The guys played outside with guns for awhile and my grandparents tried to set up the wii. I layed on the couch while my lovely mother took pictures of me in my food coma, with a smile on my face:

After awhile we took a family photo followed by other photos. I must say, with all the bitching I did about getting everyone to smile and look this or that way, we got a pretty cute photo:

And here's the other ones for you all to look at:

This one Thomas made the "face"

and in this one, Avery made the "face"

and finally, I made the "face"

The "face" is something that my family does when we want to make fun of Thomas.
Thomas used to tell lies, a lot. and not big lies either, just simple little lies like, "Thomas, did you go outside today and see how blue the sky was??"
"no"-insert face here.
I guess you have to know it and us to get it, but it's super funny.

We relaxed the rest of the day and Ben took a nap until it was time to go over to his parents house for supper. I didn't eat anything there in fear of exploding, but Ben ate some dinner.

The whole day we had been contemplating Black Friday. The only place that had anything we really needed was walmart. There were some towels and sheets that Ben and I wanted and Thomas wanted to get a game or something. So Ben, Thomas, Avery and I went there about an hour before it started  at 10 and got in place in our stations. I was sheets, Ben was towels, Avery left Thomas at appliances and Avery walked around. when it was time, I reached in and grabbed a twin set for the nursery bed, and a set for our bed. Ben got about 12 towels and we met in the chip aisle. Avery said meet him on aisle 5, we checked out, and Bam. 5 minutes after 10 we were out of the store.
Thomas went back for the game, and swears he jumped over a child to get it... -insert "face" here-
But the funniest part was when Thomas got such a natural high from shopping that he swiped his card, grabbed his bag, and was allll the way at the door when the lady yelled, "Hey! you forgot to pay!" he didn't enter his pin or anything. It was SO funny!!!

Then we came home, and got nestled, all snug in our bed, while visions of pecan pies danced in our heads.

November Appointment

So I had my November appointment Wednesday. I had the day off of work, and there were a few things that I had to do before my appointment. 

I had an appointment with my representative from Our life insurance company to basically update some of our information. First off, let me just take a moment to vent.
I have never met someone so annoying in my whole entire life than this life insurance lady. And I KNOW some annoying people. I don't want it to be my responsibility to make sure this person "gives you a call". And it really sucks that Ben's extended ffamily and my extended family both have policies with this company because she had to ask me about each person specifically. I really don't care about any one's policies but our own, and frankly, it's none of my business. Let's just say I rolled my eyes a few times and made at least one face. It was hot as heck in there. And I don't think Finn needs $200,000 worth of Life insurance as a baby. SO, needless to say, We'll Find some other company to have life insurance for Finn.

So still hot from my first appointment, I went to the high school Avery attends to listen to him play some music for Thomas and Stephanie. The band Director was nice enough to let us come up there for awhile while he was there.

And here's a video I'm going to try to upload. Hope it works:

He's good.
Then the guys played around a bit while I was leaving with Stephanie.

As I said, I left with Stephanie to go to my appointment. My grandmother was supposed to go with me, but this was the only time Stephanie was going to be here, so Grandma gets to go another time.

We got there and I peed in the cup weighed (gained 5 pounds total so far with the pregnancy, but I lost 20 in the beginning, so not sure how this works) and all that good stuff. Then Steph and the midwife came back and everything seems normal with the heartbeat and size. So she talked to me about the glucose test (I got the red juice) which happens in a few weeks, and just general things I should be doing. She explained that it may be harder to do things like I used to: like move. haha  and just some stuff to look out for like cramps and kick counts. We were pretty worried the other day when he didn't kick at all in a span of like 8 hours. Finally after poking and talking loudly to him for an hour, he punched so hard we left him alone after that.
Then she told me how to go ahead and register for an epidural if I wanted one. I do want one just in case :)
And then She sent me to the Lab to get a flu shot. That was the first flu shot I've ever had, by the way.
And the girl in the Lab that gave it to me, was so good, I didn't even feel it.

So that was my November appointment :) she scheduled me for my next one and I was outta there!

Then Stephanie went home and the rest of the day was pretty chill. I went to mom's to hang out and then Ben came over late after work. It was about this time that he caught my cold. :(  To me, when guys are sick, they just want to be babied, so The baby-ing began then :)

Baby Swaaaaggggg

Thomas is here!!!
Thomas is my middle brother that recently moved to Michigan. I found I was pregnant a few days before he was set to leave, so I was able to tell him about Finn in person. Now when we find out stuff or anything big news, Thomas is pretty much the first or second person we tell.

He got here Monday and he goes back this Monday. I worked all day Monday, but that evening we ate Roast at Mom's house with Grandma and Grandaddy and had a good time catching up. Tuesday, I went to work, still not feeling well from my cold thing I had. Right when I woke up, I had morning sickness and threw up my breakfast. I haven't had morning sickness in AWHILE, but I went to work anyway, and when a coworker sat next to me with coffee, that's all I could smell and ran to the bathroom to throw up again. So after an hour of being there, I left. I went to My Granddaddy's house and layed down for a little while.

Did I mention that my aunt Stephanie was there?! She was there to spend time with us while Thomas was here. So after I rested, I felt loads better. We went to Zaxby's for lunch. The whole gang minus Grandma who was working.

Then the guys and others went shoe shopping for Thomas, and I went home and slept for a little while.

Stephanie came over later to see my apartment and to give Finn his Christmas presents :)

I've decided to call Finn's presents "Baby Swag"
So Finn scored some Baby Swag from his Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Steve. lol

Listening to Pandora Kids Disney station...for Finn... ;)

Ok, So here's the first blog post catching up on recent events.
I got sick.
It was pretty much the same thing I had exactly one month ago on my birthday. It's a mixture of  a sinus infection and a chest cold. It sucks. but what sucks worse is not being able to take regular medicine for it.
So I got it on Wednesday last week. By Friday It was in full swing.
Amy spent the night because we had a CPR certification class at 7:30 am.
We had spaghetti for supper:

And we woke up and got certified!
I came home and slept two or three hours.
And then Ben and I decided to embark on the perilous journey of picking a nursery paint. The goal was a bright blue. What we ended up with on the first was straight up lavender. The second try was more of a periwinkle. The third try was so awful, I don't even remember what it was. while we were at Lowes for the third time that day, Godfather Jonny called to hang out. Sooo, Ben and Jonny painted the nursery the color of the rest of our apartment: light tan. Easy Peasy. I will post all nursery decorating pictures in one big post.
I worked on paining the highchair white. It was sanded down by Grandaddy, and it is too cute painted white.

Here's the before picture. It's not quite finished yet.
And then by the end of the day I was exhausted. I overdid it that day, so I cried awhile (from being sick, feeling huge, and hurting) and then I conked out and slept like 12 hours :)

Future Topics

This isnt a blog post neccessarily. It's more of a reminder to me about future blog topics I have to write about. But, maybe I can provide you some anticipation with this list:

-Amy's slumber party
-CPR certification
-Sickness
-Thomas is home
-Random morning sickness
-Stephanie visits
-Presents
-Annoying life insurance lady
-Discussion of Will
-Dr. Appt
-Birth plan
-Black Friday
-Baby bedding
-Christmas gifts
-Thanksgiving

Sounds good, huh?

"Baby Phil"

Our lights are flickering and it's fixing to storm outside, so I figured pj's and chilling in bed would be relaxing.
This morning when I woke up, My stomach felt strange, so I lifted up the blankets and my tummy was lopsided! There was a lump on the right side, so I shook Ben awake, and when he put his hand on the lump, it moved and disappeared :) Its just awesome to actually see him in there. It's way different than the twitches we can see when he kicks or has hiccups.

I usually don't keep up with TV reality shows, but I heard the other day that the Duggar's are expecting their 20TH CHILD. I mean, I get that it's a religious thing, ya know," if God blesses us with another then it's meant to be". And in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with having a ton of kids if you can support them, and they are all given proper attention and love. But 20?!?! Michelle Duggar had a lot of complications with number 19,  I personally would be scared to have another one. But hey, they seem happy and mentally ok, so I guess there's nothing wrong with it. Not my cup o' tea. I know for a fact I don't want any more than three kids. Ben keeps saying he wants this many or maybe this  many. I'm like, lets see how the first one turns out, k? Also, Ben doesn't have to carry them and deliver them.  There are so many kids that need to be adopted, and we discussed If we ever had the extra funds we would adopt.  The duggars could have looked into that....... I'm sure TLC would be just as happy with a family that adopted 20 kids. What I want to know is: Why hasn't the lower half of Mrs. Duggar's body died yet?

Well, in one week it will be my second favorite holiday! Thanksgiving food just isn't the same on any other day. And this year I am super excited because I'm gonna pig out and no one can say ANYTHING. I'm eating for two! I've got my beband, and my plans, so Finn just doesn't even know!

We are eating Lunch with my family at my Grandmother's house. My brother is going to be home :) And then we were going to take family pictures, but it's supposed to rain, so I guess we'll schedule that on another day. So then I plan on falling into a food coma, and then who knows what we'll do the rest of the day.

So as most of you know, I work at a daycare. I work with 5 year olds who could care less about the fact that I have a baby in my belly, but I also spend alot of time with 3 and 4 year olds.  There's one child in particular that asks me just about every other day, "Hey, Hey, you still got dat baby in der?" Today Amy was talking to Finn trying to wake him up so she could feel him moving. So she called Jenna (3) over to help. "Wake up baby Phil!"-Jenna
I cracked up, but she was really trying to get him awake :)
-Lauren

Hug Hug

Ben talks to my belly multiple times a day. Before he leaves for work or school, on his lunch break, when he gets home, and always before we go to sleep. Well this week, Finn's talking back!...well...kicking back! Sunday night we ended up having a question game, for fun of course, but we asked Finn questions like,
"Do you love Mommy?"
"Do you love Daddy more?"
"Did you have fun at Mimi and Poppy's house?"
"Do you like the Walking Dead?"
"Do you want Daddy to make more brownies??"
Anyway, he responded to about half of them.
So we figured it was time to start reading to him, now that he's kicking anytime Ben talks close to him.

This past summer when we went to see Avery performing in Atlanta, Mom, Dad, Ben, and I stopped at a store called GardenRidge. There was a big selection of children's books, So Ben and I bought Finn's first book, 'Hug Hug'. Tonight Ben read it to him. It was so sweet! I definitely like story time :) We have about five books so far, and I plan on getting some from Mom's house that my brothers and I read. I know there's some Dr. Seuss somewhere!

Sunday, my grandparents dropped off some stuff we were keeping in their shed for the nursery. -
-I got the cradle out a few months ago and it's been at our house. I got it at a yard sale before Ben and I were even engaged. Mom and I were going somewhere and passed by a yard sale and I spotted it and snatched it up for $20!!! It needs bedding, which I am going to try and make myself. This will go in our bedroom.
-Another day (after I was married) we were headed to get groceries and passed another yard sale. I made Mom stop and go back because I saw the cutest antique wooden highchair. It was NOTHING fancy and needed a lot of work, but i just couldn't resist it! Even better, the price: $5. Probably the cutest $5 I've ever spent. Grandaddy did some repairs and sanded it down, and now all it needs is some paint and a tray made for it.
-One thing I've always wanted in a nursery was one of the armchair glider chairs. Pottery Barn has them for around $600....And that is simply not in my budget. We've seen them at Babies R Us for $300, but I'm still not going to spend that much for a chair, so we thought about having a used one reupholstered, but in the midst of all this chair planning, Grandaddy says, "Oh, I've got two wooden rocking chairs in my workshop if your interested in one, or both"  Welllllll suuuure! So we've chosen one that is a traditional wooden nursery rocking chair. It's already white, so I don't have to paint it, and it took another item off our list of needs/wants...And the Price: $0.
-The dresser, another $0 project, I will elaborate on later. That's a huge job.
-There's more projects in the works in my brain that haven't been executed on paper yet, but I'm excited about them.

So Saturday, we are painting the nursery for sure. Mom and a few other people might come over and help with some of the other small projects. :)

-Lauren

say cheeeeese!

Just felt like uploading some recent pics:

the day we found out it was a B-O-Y.

Finn's Aunt Amy gave him his first gift!

Some of the clothes that we bought and some that were given to us, washed and stored in boxes :) Oh yes..I'm on a rolllll.

20 weeks-ben's expressions always crack me up. My hubby is so excited!

cute bump

Momma and Daddy
and We made an attempt at taking pics this weekend, so here they are, but we are gonna try again. Wasnt what I wanted exactly.. theyre still cute tho:

anyway, just a few pics from our life lately :)
-Lauren

Let me take a gander in my anger bank...

Well, we are officially in the second half of the pregnancy :)
I am making moves with the nursery...and by moves, I mean I bought a lampshade... big plans for this lamp shade though...lol


Saturday Ben and I ran errands and then that night we hung out with Jonny. We actually went to target so I could get a few more shirts and we started Christmas shopping.

Let me just take a moment to give a shout out to the two guys. I personally don't know of any guys who would be okay with going maternity shopping. I mean, I understand Ben going. He is actually really interested in maternity clothes, and I think it's cute. But given the opportunity to stay and hang out with his friend or taking his friend with us....I just don't get it. And Jonny... this guy's not even in this pregnancy with us, and he was totally fine with it. On the way into the store he said, "Man, a Saturday night and we're going shopping..that's when you know you are friends."  Anyway, it got hot in the store and the guys got the tail end of a hormone rage in the men's department and I sent them away and found them looking at toys in the baby department when I calmed down. So my point is, Ben and I have some pretty chill people in our life. My other point is, the Bradfordville Target gets kinda stuffy.

Then, Ben and I introduced Jonny to the AMC series "The Walking Dead"

We are addicted to this show, which is weird for me, as I don't like suspense or gore. But its so good that I dream about it at least once a week. Mom records it for us on Sunday night and then we watch it on Tuesday night after Ben's done with clinicals and class for the week. We've discussed the fact that we want Finn to watch the episodes when he's older, but there's bound to be way cooler shows out by then.

One thing that I've been wanting to blog about was how frustrating it is sometimes when my hormones get going and I have alot of anger. I wouldn't call it anger, I would call it frustration. I tend to even get frustrated at myself. I've never really wanted to hit anyone in my life, but sometimes when I get frustrated, I just wanna punch someone in the face. Usually I go to my anger bank.
The anger bank is where I store things. Say, you told me something that rubbed me the wrong way..I deposit it in my anger bank. Then you do something nice, I withdraw it from the anger bank and it usually never comes back. But, if you never give me the chance to withdraw from your account at my anger bank, your account keeps growing and growing. Unlike a real bank, that's not a great thing. SOOO, when I get frustrated, I take a look in the bank and usually the person with the highest amount is my mental punching target. Even if that person wasn't what made me mad. I hope this makes sense. and I hope it also amuses you. because to me, it is kind of entertaining.

Another thing Ive been contemplating is making this blog private. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but I know there's a way to add only the emails of the people I'm ok with reading it. and If anyone I personally know, wants to be added to this list, then they just need ask. I just want to put more personal information on here and more pictures without worrying about who I don't know reading it. I'm not sure this is going to happen though.

-Lauren

Busy Finn, Not-so-busy Momma.

We're halfway through the pregnancy now at 20 weeks, and Finn's busy working up a sweat in there. He is kicking pretty much nonstop from the time I wake up to the time I fall asleep. Kicks (that are sometimes visible from the outside) and flips and rolls are the order of the day for him. I love it! Ben has really felt him kick now, and yesterday Mom and Dad both felt him.  Amy also felt him at work. Amy keeps saying "I gotta start talking to this baby so he'll know who I am when he gets here!"

I, on the other hand have been exhausted come 8 o'clock everyday. I've been getting stuff done, but just at a slower pace. One thing this week that I did was make mine and Finn's Halloween shirt.

We had our October appointment last week, and thank goodness Ben got to come with me. We got to hear his heartbeat again, and talk to the midwife about some things. She also said that I need to make appointments for childbirth classes with Ben. They scheduled my next appointment for over Thanksgiving break, and my grandmother is going with me to that one! She's really excited.
The other day Ben and I were thinking of all the 2012 events that little Finn will get to attend. The first possible, but highly unlikely event that he will attend is his Auntie Amy and Tucker's Wedding. It will probably be just Ben and I, but we'll see. Then in May, Finn will get to see his Uncle Avery graduate from high school! then in the late summer, we will probably have Finn's first beach trip, followed by seeing his daddy get his degree in Nursing. Ben and I think it will bes sweet picture of Avery and Ben holding Finn in Their caps and gowns. Then of course will be Finn's first Halloween, which I have the CUTEST Halloween costume idea, and then Thanksgiving and Christmas! Somewhere in there, Finn will get to meet his Uncle Thomas too!

Saturday, Ben and I looked at paint colors for the nursery. Ben doesn't really care about paint colors as long as there's some blue. Soooo, I found 2 colors I love. Bird Song Blue, and Gecko. I will keep all of the furniture white, except maybe the wooden rocking chair. Might do something fun with that... overall tho, I am going with the bird and tree theme.

We have decided on who the last person in the delivery room will be :) I will be doing a post soon all about her.
I will be uploading some more pictures soon too!

It's a super cute BOY!!!

Our gender revealing ultrasound was last Thursday and we couldn't have asked for more! We had the normal ultrasoundd with the Tech. She measured Finn's organs and head and stuff, and she was able to tell that Finn is a boy! And if that wasn't enough excitement, there was a student who needed ultrasound experience, so we got extra time to just look at him :) He was very active and she said it was a game of chase the baby. Here's his little body:

Of course we cant tell what he looks like, but everyone says he looks like me. lol I don't know if that's a compliment.....? Anyway, we were really happy that day. I called my brother Thomas-woke him up actually-to tell him the good news, and also my Aunt Stephanie at work, since they wouldn't be there when we told everyone else. I also shared it with a couple of really close friends, who I honestly think I couldn't keep a secret THAT happy from.
So then, we had the bday reveal party, and hid a plastic baby in my grandmothers yard and My friends twins found it....with a little help from me... and then they yelled it out and everyone knew. After cupcakes we got pictures with pretty much everyone grouped into categories.

That's just a few...

So a good time was had by all, I assume :)

It feels so good to know what to look at in stores now. I am going to try not to buy too much and wait and see what I get at showers. But if something is too cute, I will get it. lol

While Ben and I would have been happy with either gender, I am happy to know that Ben will have a little boy to teach all his car knowledge and plenty of guy stuff to. I'm also glad that Ben will be able to teach him how to be a good husband and friend, because those are the things I love about my Ben. I think there are so many crappy people in this world, and If Ben and I can ensure one less crappy person, then our job is done.

As far as what I can teach Finn....well lets just say that Finn's future wife wont have to worry about her husband knowing his way around a kitchen and how to cook a ten course meal, and also knowing how to do laundry. lol

The next post will probably be about nursery planning, as I have  many thoughts a'brewin.

-Lauren, <3

He, She, Who cares?!

This week is super exciting!! Mom's Birthday is Today, So last night I had her, Dad and Avery over for supper when they got back from their beach weekend. Thursday morning we have our 18 week ultrasound where we will get to see all the changes in Finn! AAAAAnnnnnd we will hopefully find out it's gender. One of Mom's birthday presents is that she gets to go with us that morning. She and Ben have been there to listen to me gripe and complain about every cramp, poop question, uterus question, and every person to piss me off, and every emotional thing I've cried about-especially lately.
Last night I cried because the prenatal pill bottle was half empty. I don't know... 
So then, Friday and Saturday are the busiest days of all. I have to try to keep my big mouth shut until Saturday evening. Saturday is my birthday, so Mom, Ben, Grandma and I are going to Tallahassee for a few reasons. One was to see about some pants for me to wear.
I was trying so hard to wait to go shopping, but I am pretty much down to 2 pairs that fit comfortably. so yeah. My pants that I wore pre-pregnancy are size A. So since Ive lost weight, my size A pants fit in the belly, but are extremely loose in the legs and butt. So I dug out some of my pre-pre-pregnancy pants I wore the year after I got married. They are Size B.They fit PERFECTLY in the legs, but they don't button in the belly. So Ben and I went a few days ago to see what was what in maternity pants, and I'm just not large enough yet to wear them, soooo, I bought a BeBand. Basically you wear it over your unbuttoned pants and it holds them up so you wont bust a sag. I have about 4 pairs of size B jeans that I took out of a Rubbermaid box from the closet, which is good since last week we had a few days that required jeans. So now, all my too-big-in-the-legs pants will fit when I gain some weight back in those places and I can still use the BeBand with them.
This BeBand thing is too cool. I don't know why they don't advertise these things for women in general. For days when you're bloated and stuff. Or Thanksgiving. haha.
Anyway back to Saturday, we may or may not have a late lunch in Tallahassee at olive garden. :) The realllll fun begins after Tallahassee. BIRTHDAY BONANZA!!!!. Well, actually just cupcakes and ice cream for Me and Mom's bdays, but we are going to tell the guests Finn's Gender.
Thing is...they are going to have to work for it. A little competition never hurt anyone. But for the ones that don't know the party plans,  they will find out when they get there.
What? What's that? Be nice and just tell them? HECK NO!
I had too many people complain about "I cant wait that long!" and "That's not fair!" My plans of waiting to tell everyone when my brother and aunt were home for Thanksgiving are pretty much dashed because it made me upset. So, let's just think of this as a tiny tiny payback. I will text my brother and Aunt, who cant be there for my birthday, the sex before the party. Let's just say I'm looking forward to this. My Grandmother is already trying to find loopholes in my plans, saying "but when you bring the cupcakes and supplies to my house for the party, wont i see the color of the icing, and then know the gender?!" or "but if you have balloons, wont I have to know, because they'll be blue or pink" No, Grandma, No.
Everyone, except a handful of people, don't care what it is as long as it's healthy and happy. Ben and I don't care if we have all girls and no boys, or all boys and no girls.
Finn's Amy will be there Saturday. This is the same Amy that says she doesn't want to be in the delivery room with me because she doesn't even want to be in her own delivery room. I just love that girl. But Amy and I have been discussing shower ideas, since she wants to throw me one, and it got me thinking how excited I am about showers. They are so fun! The main thing I love about showers (wedding or baby) is that all your friends from different places and points in your life get to come together and be in the same room. I just love that concept.
Well enough of the sentimental stuff.

-Lauren, <3

A Great Birthday Present!!

I had my September appointment yesterday and it was fabulous! I met with the midwife, Rita, and she pretty much told me exactly what i was looking for. So i made my next appointment with her. Ben will go to that one with me. And he will also go to the ultrasound in 9 days too-a great birthday present for myself! I REALLY REALLY REALLY missed him going with me for the last two. The ultrasound will hopefully reveal to us Finn's gender, if he/she cooperates.  :) Ben and I have absolutely no preference. And most of our friends and family don't have a preference either, as long as it's a healthy baby.
In about week 12, my nausea came back, and so I've started taking B6, and I can see a great difference in my toilet bonding time.
I am trying to clean out the spare room. I had it mostly done a few weeks ago but somehow it got cluttered again. So I moved a dresser out and everything else can go into our storage unit. Pretty sure our twin bed that we are re-doing will go in there. There's enough room to have it in there and it will be useful when Ben needs to not be disturbed when he's on call, or if Mom wants to spend the night while she's helping out in the first few days. Also, it might be nice when I'm huge and feel cramped in bed with Ben towards the end. My Grandfather took the dresser that Mom and I brought him and remodeled it for baskets to fit in the shelves. He also has 2 rocking chairs for me to choose from for the nursery, a wooden rocking horse, a child size table  and chair, and Probably a few more things in the works. Its all stuff he made or fixed up.
My 24th birthday is almost October 15th and as a gift from my Mom, the two of us went and saw Drallion-by Cirque de Soleil! It was so good and I would definitely go again.
Saturday I went to a baby shower for an old friend from middle school. She is having a girl. I went to DDP and bought some cute socks and bows off of her registry. I can't wait to register there!

Le bump.

Cheers to a happy and healthy-ish first trimester! We are 15 weeks now, and I have an appointment tomorrow morning. Ben's mom is going with me to this one.
Up until the last week it's been pretty boring here. Then the bump happened. The BUMP.made an appearance on Wednesday. I don't wear tight clothes aver. most of my stuff doesn't show my shape, but i wore some yoga pants and a maternity shirt and va voom! People could really tell, especially my coworkers.
Le Bump:

The picture is a little squished short-ways, so the bump is actually smaller than this, but still there!!



Ben and I started a registry at Target last week. We added some basic stuff and when we find out the sex, and tell everyone on Thanksgiving, we will add a few more gender specific items. People may wonder, why is there so much blue stuff on there now? well, folks, I like the color blue, and YOU don't know the plans I have in my head for nursery stuff, so keep wondering. :)

Ben had the scan gun:

He had fun.
Saturday we had MORE scan gun fun at Babies R US. Ben and Mom and I went and added more items. I'm glad we took Mom because she thought of things we needed that I didn't even realize, and we have pretty similar tastes, so didn't have to shut her down when she handed me a pink carseat or a Winnie the pooh bed set. Yuck. (I like Winnie the pooh, only on TV.)
Also this week, I felt movement! It happens mostly at night and its not regular, just every now and then, except today, Finn was apparently having fun in there. :)
More later!
Lauren, <3