10 Things Moms wish their kids knew

So I read this hilarious article earlier today, I thought I'd share it.  It somewhat applies to mother's of boys, but none-the-less, very funny.  Enjoy!


10 Things Parents Wish Kids Knew

1.  Whining generally has the opposite affect as intended.  It seems that my kids like to whine to get me to do their bidding.  Or possibly to gain some sympathy.  But, what they need to realize is that I will never go to the dark side their whining tends to produce the opposite effect of that which they desire.  I seriously stop listening the moment their whiny voices appear and, the only thing that invokes sympathy around here is blood, and sometimes that doesn’t even work.
2.  Silence is golden.  Unless someone is asking you a direct question that requires your response, and then?  It’s just weird.  The Dudes seem to have perfected the art of producing a blank stare when someone is attempting to engage you in a conversation that requires your input.  I’m pretty sure people think my kids are deaf (okay, one sorta is) or just not all that bright (they all are, I swear).  Really, they are just really socially awkward, something they probably get from their mom dad.  Thankfully I know the ability to not creep people out can be learned over time.
3.  Flushing is NOT optional.  It is a requirement.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a ONE or a TWO it needs to be completely disposed of shortly after it makes its appearance.
4.  Wiping is NOT optional either.  See above.  And, don’t bother trying to deny, I’ve got proof!  I wish I didn’t, believe me, I wish I didn’t, but I do.
5.  Shouting is unnecessary.  Myself and everyone else in the vicinity can hear, despite our best efforts not to.
6.  I’m smarter than you are.  Sure you’re probably faster, and before long we all know you’re gonna be bigger and stronger, but I am always gonna be smarter.  I’m a girl, it’s a given.
7.  I know when you’re faking.  Faking sleep.  Faking sick.  And, most importantly, faking the truth.
8.  I don’t care about at least 50% of the things you think I care about.  Like, if your room is clean.  Or, if you wear your flip flops to school when you have gym.  Or, if you like to go commando on the days you have gymnastic practice.  I make a big deal about that junk because I care about YOU.  I care that you know about good hygiene.  I care about you wearing safe footwear so you don’t break your face on the pavement.  And, I care that you don’t flash your junk man bits to a room full of tween girls while you jump on the trampoline.
9.  I’m not made of money.  And, even if I was, I wouldn’t buy you 50 packs of gum or a Big Gulp, or that whatever-majig you are asking for at the check out stand.  I would build a big house, with a pool so I could wear my swimsuit in peace.  And then I’d have a huge Mariah-Carey-style closet put in so I could play dress up all day while the nanny drove you to soccer practice and helped you with that bloody homework.
10.  I freakin love you.  Not like a little either.  Like a whole, whole lot.  Like more than your little brain can even begin to understand.  And one day, I know that you will know it and thank me.  I’ll be here when you’re ready



Hope you laughed as much as I did :-)  I also wanted to share a favorite photo from our vacation last week.  I'll be trying to get an album up on Facebook for most of the pics later this week depending on how our evenings pan out.  But here's a preview.  I believe this was in "China" in Epcot's World Showcase.  There was a budha statue with his belly hanging out.  We felt the resemblence was remarkable.

6 months!

So I'm actually 6 months pregnant.  Of course, I get really confused with this whole month numbering system...because pregnancy is 40 weeks--and that is really more like 10 months.  Whoever started that 9 month rumor didn't know what they were talking about.  or maybe they were counting from when you "conceived" rather than the date when they actually turn on "the clock"--cause those aren't the same dates either.  Or maybe it's like 9 FULL months...not "you have the baby when you're 9 months".  Very confusing.  Luckily--it doesn't really matter EXACTLY how far along I am.  I am 24 weeks--and when you divide that by 4 weeks--that makes 6!  6 months means another belly picture--and since I can now take these with my phone, I can present month 6 picture to you today.  Oh--and by the way, if you skipped my last post because it looked boring and the picture was uninteresting, you're missing some surprise pics at the bottom of the post.  I didn't want them showing up on people's Google Reader summary screens, but if you actually read this blog, you are welcome to view them.

We have been taking a monthly picture in the same clothes since 2 mths, and will put them all together for a collage when we're all through this.  I saw the idea on Pinterest...where else?  I'm also adding the first two - because they were passed on to me.  Hopefully I'll be able to put all of them on here at some point together--makes for a better slide show :-)

6 months

3 months

2 months

After seeing these three together, I am going to go ahead and make the call that I like the ones from Adam's phone more.  I will retake the 6 month tonight and that way they'll all be consistant. 

Ps.  Mylan's Turkey Noodle Soup is really good.

Labor Day

I'm not really sure what Labor Day is for.  What it stands for, anyway.  All I know is that it means I get a day off.  And that is exactly what I used it for.  Now, keep in mind, that a day off for me consists of organizing my life.  Not exactly doing nothing, but that is what I enjoy doing in my free time.  Organizing stuff to make life easier.  Yesterday's task--get our finances in order.  I have become some lazy about keeping up with everything that I'm constantly struggling to get things done at this last minute.  Not that anything has gone unpaid, or any deadlines missed, but I'm doing things last minute and on the fly.  Not my preferred way of functioning.  I know what my parents are thinking..."How did she become this when she was intent on studying the night before tests because she said that's how she learned the best??"  I know....I know.  I'm just a different person now.  I can't explain it.  Does this constant need to prepare for things means that I am always prepared and organized??  Hardly.  I'm just saying that when I get to spend time preparing or organizing, it has a calming effect on me.  It's something I enjoy doing when I have time to do it--and yesterday, I did.

I even made time to go on a walk last night.  I enjoy walking.  Gives me time to think.  I am not a huge fan of walking by myself in my neighborhood, but sometimes that is my only option.   Unfortunately, I am finding that when I walk a lot, say..20 minutes or so, I begin cramping.  My stomach begins cramping.  It's the feeling I had last week that sent me to the Dr's office.  They checked everything out.  I'm not having contractions--or at least, wasn't at the time I was in the office.  It seems whatever kidney issues I'm having likes to spread from my whole lower to mid back around my right side and all the way to under my belly.  It's not pleasant, but not entirely painful.  Just uncomfortable enough to make me stop to bring my knee to my chest.  That seems to help.  I'm just now realizing that we have a trip to Disney planned for next week.  I'm going to be walking for miles and miles everyday.  This could be an issue.  Oh wait!  They have wheelchairs!  Hello, comfortable seat!  This could be fun.  And when I'm doing ok and want to walk, I can push Adam around and he can pretend to have some ailement.  He'll like that.  Maybe I should take an Ace Bandage or something to make it more obvious for him.  Hmmm...

I am looking forward to the vacation.  I really enjoy the drive there.  We get to talk about what we want to do, eat litle snacks the whole way down, and I get some much needed down time to just read whatever I want and zone out.  We leave Saturday morning for that.  Maybe during that week, I can blog one funny picture a day with a little note about it.  Short and sweet.  That will be my goal.  Can't wait!

Ok--now, the moment you've all been waiting for.  A belly picture.  This is the picture I'm taking every Wednesday (this was last wednesday)  This is not for facebook.  It's the only one I have on my phone to transfer in.  The lighting is horrible, but it's the only one we took during the day, so the window light is shining through.  I must say, I look much bigger than this picture shows...I think, anyway.  Today I feel like I'm trying to smuggle a watermelon through my work day.  How much bigger can I get, really??

This is the "distraction" picture I am putting on here so my bare belly doesn't end up on everyone's Google Reader summary screen.  I asked it if the baby was really a girl....it said "Indications say Yes".  Glad it's finally official.

23 weeks.

Goodbye flat stomach.  It was fun while it lasted :-)

Have a lovely day...and you're welcome ;-)

Blessings vs Struggles

So I'm at a point in this whole pregnancy journey that I'm becoming quite overwhelmed.  This week, in particular, has been especially challenging.  It seems that all areas of my life are colliding and there's nothing I feel qualified to do about it.  I've had several unrelated events happened this week that are keeping me from sleeping at night-one right after the other-which I'm sure is just making my reasoning skills worse from lack of sleep.  I spent the entire morning and afternoon yesterday crying, so I tried to stay away from everyone at work to avoid anyone seeing me break down.  "Just focus on the computer moniter and don't look away" I keep telling myself.  All of these events/things, I must admit, I have no solution for.  I have no plan as to how to improve or change the situations.  I'm just not sure what to do about them, or, honestly, how to even pray about them.  (Holy Spirit, feel free to jump in any time now.. :-).I am truly helpless at this point.  To add insult to injury, I also have all of the other regular life things to deal with--mainly, not enough time to deal with basic life things.  Not enough time to spend on chores to keep some kind of order in my life. Not enough time to keep in touch with people.  Not enough time to plan or prepare appropriately for this upcoming life change, or not enough time to even exercise-which makes me feel even more guilty, not to mention unhealthy. 

With all of these things happening, I am constantly reminded that God has truly blessed my life.  I have no reason to get down in the dumps and really just need to try my best to continue to roll with the punches, right?  I mean--that's what everyone else is doing.  What makes me so pitiful that I can't get through some rough waters?  Everybody is busy.  Everybody has struggles in their life that they are battling.  Who I am to say that mine are more detrimental.  Because in all reality, they're not.  All of my physical needs are met.  I am healthy.  My baby is healthy.  Our bills are paid.  We have a place to live.  We even have the funds to go on a vacation every year.  Not very many people get to do that.  I go to a church that finds my strengths and allows me to serve in those areas.  I have a church family that is super supportive of mine and Adam's lives.  I have a husband that loves me and wants me to be happy.  I have a loving family- mine, and in-laws.  I have many friends that are excited for this next chapter in our lives and try to support us in any way they can.  I have a job with generous pay and a great boss/mentor/friend.  I even have a cat that I can force to cuddle with me if I hold her close and don't let her jump down for 5-10 seconds :-)  Oh--and a free pass to not have to change the litter....Now there's the silver lining, huh? 

All of these things I am completely aware of.  All of these blessings are a constant reminder that there's no reason for me to be down.  But it doesn't change the fact that I am.  And I don't know how to move forward gracefully accept to keep living life, acting like nothing is wrong so I can make it through the day. 

This, by the way, is the extent of my venting.  I haven't talked to anyone about it.  I don't want to talk about it.  I don't want to complain to anyone that it's too hard.  I'm tired of crying and don't want to do it anymore.  I just want to take action to get things going in the right direction.  If I spend time talking out all of the details to someone, I'll just be having my own little pity party and get myself worked up about it, and that's not something I am wanting to do.  I just need to focus on remaining calm.  So--what to do, really?  Pray.  Right now, I can only claim verses that I feel apply to my life:

"The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."  John 16:24

That's enough of that!  I feel better already.

On some brighter notes--here are some pictures that I have snatched with my handy dandy new (refurbished) iPhone, which makes it much easier for me to add to my posts.

I bought these clothes at a Kohl's on clearance.  I couldn't help myself!  They were between $3 and $5 so I couldn't pass up the deal.  They all have matching bottoms attached behind the tops as well.  Those will be first to go into the closet....that is once is it "de-officed" and able to have clothes in it.

Also, one of my co-workers knits--in competitions and stuff.  She's very talented and knits a lot of the sweaters she wears to work--and you would never know they're home made.  She's very good.  She decided to knit a little jacket for the baby!  It was very nice of her to do this, and she was even as thoughful as to knit the buttons right into the jacket, rather than going back afterwards and sewing them on.  She said it makes it more safe because it would be harder for the baby to rip one off and swallow it.  I would have never even thought it of this!  Anyway--here's a pic of that.  You can't tell from the picture, but there are portions that are raised to create some texture in the jacket.  How nice :-)

I've got to wrap this puppy up, as I've spent my entire lunch break typing away.  Good bye ---and here's to a better week and weekend ahead.  I look forward to relaxing on Labor Day, Monday.  That will help, I'm sure!

Movin and a shakin!

I just realized how long it's been since I posted.  I'll say that I have been busy collecting material...and not doing anything with it.  Oh well.  I'm doing the best I can :-)

So let's see--what's gone on since my last post.  I had my follow up Dr visit on the 17th after the ultrasound.  Everything went well.  The doc said she reviewed the ultrasound and all of the body parts were there, in the right place, and the right size.  So that's a good sign of good health.  I asked her about this pain I'm still having, and she said that all signs point to kidney stone.  Baby is fine, just uncomfortable for me.  But I don't think it's a kidney stone because I've been having the pain for so long.  As long as it's not affecting the baby, I guess I'll just have to deal with it.  I also asked her about determining if I'm "on schedule" as far as due date is concerned.  She said everything looks perfectly fine to her right now. She said not to plan on being early, as far as she can tell now.  You know what that means....Merry Christmas!  I figure, if I do happen to go into labor during one of the Christmas Eve service (that Adam I'm sure will be singing in), I can just hold her in for a little bit, right?  (Right, Ashley???)  Ashley didn't want to have Eli on April Fool's day...so she refused to start pushing until after midnight.  How's that for stubborn!  Of course, I'm in the same boat--I REALLY don't want to have the baby on Christmas Eve or Christmas...so we'll see how tight I can keep my legs crossed when the time comes!!  My next appt is Sept 24th.

We got to sing at an outdoor wedding that weekend, which was really fun.  We got tagged during the practice that morning on Facebook.  Thanks to Ashley for letting me borrow a maternity dress that went perfectly with my light blue converse sneakers!  And yes, you can see my baby bump developing.

We also celebrated Adam's 31st birthday that weekend!  What did he want to do on his actual birthday, might you ask??  Shop for clothes, of course!  And eat out...which we do a lot of lately anyway, so no big change there!  We went up to Pittsburgh to a mall that he likes, ate at one of favorite places, Chipotle, for lunch, and then headed down to Washington, PA to the outlet mall to spend the rest of the afternoon.  There's no tax on clothing in Pennsylvania, so it always helps our clothing budget stretch a little further.  With the money that I have saved from my birthday (yes, I'm still spending that money) and from my clothes money that is budgeted each money, I had a nice little chunk of change to get clothes as well.  Of course, my "trying on stuff" stamina is much less than Adam's, so I got tired before he was done.  I still ended up with a good amount of stuff for myself--so I'm feeling better about my maternity clothes situation.  It should hold me until I fit into some of the larger things I was handed down from some friends of mine. 

Last week, I traveled to Restin, Virginia for a work training seminar.  It was a fun time.  It started off a little stressful because it's an almost 4 hour drive (with potty breaks that I HAVE to take), and I left work late Tuesday night.  So I was pushing to get on the road before it was too late, which always makes me feel unprepared, and then my car started acting up.  I did some trouble shooting with Adam on the phone before I got too far away from Morgantown, and we finally decided that it was ok for me to continue on.  It will be going to the shpo this week to make sure it's safe.  Seems like we can't get away from pouring money into cars.  boo.  After that it was a great time.  I was able to relax in the evenings (mostly) just trying to mark things off of my to do list for the week.  I did get a new (refurbished) iPhone right before I left, so I spent a lot of time configuring it and reading the manual. I've got a long way to go on the manual, but am very excited about the new capabilities I have!  I had such a good time, I treated myself to a nice filet dinner with apple pie dessert.  Both were AMAZING--on Mylan's dime--and I sat by myself in a public restaurant.  That was weird, but the food was well worth it.  Here's a pic of the apple pie with a crushed walnut crust with side of cinnamon ice cream with caramel topping.  So good!

 

 

The first night, after my class, I went ahead and took a picture with my handy dandy new iPhone.  Some of you have seen it.  Here's my fast version of a belly picture!

 

 

 

And last but not least, on Saturday afternoon, I was working on bills on my laptop and Lexi was sleeping on our black chair in the living room.  She was sleeping on the edge of the chair, looking like she was going to roll off.  She woke up and decided to stretch and I snapped her picture.  Good stretch, I would say.

Well, that's all for me tonight.  Off to bed.  I'll try to keep posting :-)

Interesting Day today...

So...fun weekend..followed by interesting week days. 

The rehearsal and wedding that we went to on Friday and Saturday were a great time!  Adam did a great job singing and everything went well.  The families were so sweet and we got to spend a great deal of time with them and another couple that goes to CRC that we didn't really know very well before. We had a very good time.

We got to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday!!  I can't even remember the last time I got to sleep in!  It felt wonderful!  We got to go to the 11:00am service on Sunday, and I for sure can't remember when the last time Adam and I got to go to a service together without one of us serving that weekend.  Again--it was a great time!  After church, we met with up with a guitar player to practice for a wedding we're singing at this coming Saturday.  It has some fun songs, will be outdoors, and I get to wear my light blue converses with my dress!  How fun is that?!  We're singing "Lucky" - a duet, I am singing "Arms" by Christina Perri, and then the couple will do their first dance to us singing "To Be With You" by Mr Big.  Fun stuff!  It will just be us and an aucustic guitar with no sound system, so I'll have to sing much louder than I am used to so that I am heard.  It will be a fun time.  Our rehearsal for this one will be tomorrow night-Wednesday, so I'm looking forward some good fellowship and good food at the dinner! 

Sunday after church, we went up to the mall to try to do some clothes shopping for me.  We walked in and saw the movie theater...and cracked.  We decided to see a movie!  These spur of the moment decisions won't be happening anymore come next year, so we decided to just go ahead and watch the movie.  We got out with 40 minutes to shop left before stores closed....and guess what....I found two pairs of work pants!  Yay!  I still need a brown pair and a grey pair would be nice, but I'll just keep looking.   I really do like to two that I found though, so I'm very happy. 

Today was an interesting day.  I was very busy, and went mid-day after some meetings to the post office to mail mom's rx's to her.  I thought I needed to use the restroom on my way out, but didn't think I'd be out long, so figured I could hold it.  Well....it took a while longer than I expected and I was in so much pain, I could barely move my foot from the gas to the break.  I was really struggling getting in and out of the car.  The pain was so severe that I could hardly breathe.  So, obviously...this was a problem.  I remembered at that time that this had been happening to me each night.  I will wake up in the middle of the night in severe pain, needing to go pee.  I have been stuggling to roll over and get out of bed, and waddle down the hall to get to the bathroom.  After I pee, I'm SO much better, and just have a little achy leftover pain afterwards, but 10 times better than before.  I hadn't thought anything about this until it happened to me in the day time.  Then I remembered that I felt this pain when I went in for my ultrasound last week.  Remember I told you that I felt like I was going to pass out because I was in so much pain.  Same thing.  So--what did I do?  I finished what I was doing and got my butt back to work as quickly as possible so I could use the restroom!  I was fine after that, but decided that it might be a good idea to call my doctor just to let them know what was going on, and make sure I was fine until my regular appointment on Friday.  I talked to the nurse and she told me to leave work immediately and go to the Emergency Room.  Now--let me go ahead and point out before I explain what happened.  I am fine and healthy.  The baby is fine a healthy.  We're good. 

Ok--so she told me to go straight to the emergency room, she would call ahead and let them know I was on my way.  Probably just a precaution, but she wanted me to be checked out immediately.  Needless to say, that freaked me out a little bit, but I told a friend at work that I had to leave for the ER, just a precaution, but I needed to go right then.  I got in the car, called Adam to let him know to meet me there, and on to the hospital I went.  I got there and they quickly took me up to labor and delivery.  It's weird being pushed around in a wheelchair by someone.  Very strange.  They asked a million questions, hooked me up to a few different monitoring devices--first of all, checked the baby's heart beat--and it was totally fine.  She was even in a playful mood and thought she would kick the monitor thing everytime they started pressing it in.  It sounded very funny :-)  Everything was fine as far as pregnancy went.  A few different people came in and out--I got to listen to a lady screaming her way through delivery across the hall--oh yeah.  It was a really busy day, so they didn't have a room for me--they stuck me in the Recovery Room nook on the side of a hallway, so I was watching babies come out of doors ever so often.  Pretty neat.  So, after that, they said it was possible that I had a kidney stone, though very strange that I was only hurting when I had to pee, and relieved of the pain soon after doing so.  They wanted an ultrasound of my kidneys to check things out.  Well, Adam had to leave for a softball game, and since I was perfectly fine, we knew he was fine to not be there.  Off he went, and I waited in that room for 2 more hours without anyone coming in.  Just a blood pressure cuff automatically taking my blood pressure every 15 minutes, and a contraction monitor wrapped around my belly for precaution.  Adam was able to finish up and then bring me some dinner back to the hospital.  I was pretty hungry.  We ate, I decided to try to nap because my butt was tired of sitting in the same spot for 4 hours, and just waited.  Finally, someone came, took me to get the kidney ultrasound, and then brought me back.  I think it was after 9 at that point.  The doctor came in and said the radiologist that reads the ultrasound is busy with another patient right now and it could be hours before he gets to mine.  She took and look and said nothing seemed strange...except one thing.  My bladder was REALLY BIG! 

That's a weird thing to hear.  I did have to use the restroom, but wasn't in pain or anything.  I had just had some lemonade from Chick-fil-a.  Evidentally it made my bladdar expand a lot and she said something about my kidney being something....like surrounded by liquid or something.  I'm not sure. Nothing to fret about, it just looks like I am unaware of when I need to pee!  How weird is that!  So, instead of waiting around for the actual results, she said we could leave as long as I let them know if I was having problems again.  Oh..and one more thing.  I have to set my alarm and make myself pee AT LEAST every 2 hours.  Day and night.  Night and day.  That's right.  I am a kindergardener that needs to be reminded to go pee.  How embarassing :-)  She's afraid that I'm not fullying "voiding" and then I can't tell when I have to go again, get busy, and forget, and it's causing a lot of strain on my bladder.  Surely, there is not a technical term for this...

So--solution.  Pee more.  Hopefully this will solve any problems I have in the future.  Sorry to all of the meetings that I will have to leave early/be late for...or leave in the middle of.  My doctor said I have to pee.  So there. 

So--we got home around 9:30 or so and I will definitely be going to bed now.  I've set my alarm for my potty breaks and I'm ready to go!  Hopefully for a night free of bladder pain :-)  Wish me luck!

It's a girl!

So, you all know by know, but yes--we are having a girl!  The ultrasound was an interesting experience :-)  We'll find out more about the health and everything at our next Dr appt once the Dr has a chance to review all of the pictures the ultrasound technition took.  From the date of the early ultrasound we had done, which they say is the more accurate date, we were 19 weeks, 3 days along.  The technition yesterday said that the growth currently puts her at 20 weeks, 1 day--but says that they are less reliable for age the further along since babies grow at different rates.  So who knows.  Here's the only profile picture they gave us:

Preparing for the ultrasound was interesting.  I had to drink so much liquid within an hour of the test, and not "void" any of it...that kind of thing.  By the time I made it to the Dr's office, I was about to explode.  As if my belly didn't feel tight enough!  Then, we sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes before being taken back.  Ouch.  I hop on the table and of course, the rubbing and pushing began.  I must have been holding my breath or something to buffer the pain because about 15 minutes in, I felt like I was going to pass out!  After a few minutes of feeling like that, I mentioned it to the technition, who had me sit up...and she said..."yeah--i thought you looked a little pale all of a sudden..."  Then--she gave me permission to go to the bathroom.  What a weakling I am.  Can't even hold my bladder for three hours....  So, after that, I was able to enjoy the pictures of floating body parts magically appearing on the screen.  It is a baffling experience.  I really don't understand one bit how she can have that device in the same place and see so many different angles and different things.  Really strange.  I'm pretty sure that the baby kicked the device twice, but I hadn't felt anything before that time, so I wasn't sure exactly what was happening.  The technition didn't seemed amused with any of mine or Adam's strange comments.  When she finished taking a million pictures for the dr to review, she wiped me off and said "All done, have a good day!".  We looked at her like....and the baby is...what?  So I asked if she was able to tell us the sex of the baby--which is what we were expecting.  And she was like, "oh--you want to know??".  Like it's not all over my chart--I've told them every time I go in that we want to know!  She said that she saw what it was, but she would go ahead and show us since we wanted to know.  She jellied up my belly again and started digging in.  We got a very unlady-like view and all agreed--that's a chick!  She didn't give me a picture though.  Oh well.  At least we got this nice one.  And one of the foot...which looks like we have long toes in our future...but at least it was five toes on a foot. 

After the appt, we called all of you people (because let's face it, no one else reads this blog), to update you on the situation while we grabbed some quick dinner and then headed off to Adam's softball games for the evening.  They won both games, and Adam didn't get hit with a ball--win, win, win.  After that--it was off to "Smitty's" with some couples for some local ice cream treats.  After that --groceries that we desperately needed, and then I made cookies to bring into work today.  It was a long night :-) 

I had put up a list that people could guess whether it was a boy or a girl at work.  Winners got goodies.  Well, I'm too nice, and they all got goodies, but the people that guessed girl got theirs first--baggies with chocolate cake mix cookies tied up with a pink ribbon.  You're welcome, Mylan employees....

Work was definitely stressful Monday--which ended with an afternoon of crying, which I can only blame on the fact that I'm carrying around another chick inside of me.  Double the estrogen.  But I kept from crying in front of anyone, which is what I really care about.  Life if tough, sometimes you just have to cry it out.

We had a successful experience with "Craig's List" online.  We needed space in our bedrooms upstairs, so we had to get rid of my futon from college.  I really didn't want to, but Adam convinced me that we need the space and if we need another futon once we move into a bigger house, we'll just buy one then.  So, with no Craig's List experience, we took pictures and put in an add to see if anyone wanted to buy it.  We have already had a few offers in two days--we just have to get someone to agree to pick it up--because we have no way of transporting it.

Tonight we went over to Kathy and Tony's house for dinner to celebrate Tony's birthday (which is Friday).  Liz and Tyler surprised us with a small gift for the baby--pink disney socks!  They are so cute!  Here's a pic:

Aren't they cute?!  We thought they were shoes at first because they have little plastic forms inside, but they are socks.  I'm sure more disney things will be coming soon since we're headed to Disney World in a month.  Kathy is really excited that she'll finally be able to buy little girl stuff at disney.  Having two boys doesn't exactly give you the opportunity to take care of the "disney princess" cravings that her and Tony have been having all of these years! 

Tomorrow we will be going to a wedding rehearsal for a wedding Saturday.  Adam is singing in it.  It was supposed to be both of us, but once they settled on the songs, we thought it would be best if only Adam sang them.  No need for me to stand up there for a few humms and ahhs.  It should be a fun time on Saturday.  Hopefully we can find some time to make it to the mall to get dress pants this weekend!  I'm still needing them and it's getting more and more challenging to fit into regular dress pants every day.  Oh--by the way, I really will try to get some belly pics on here soon!  We're taking them every wednesday, but with my camera, which means I have to have the time to open up the slow kodak program on our home computer, plug ion my camaera, dump them into the library, label them so I can find them, and then get them onto here somehow.  I'll do my best to get them on soon!

Going to bed in a few.  I'm starting to get really tired a lot again...not cool with that, but I probably need to try to slow down a bit.  Listen to my body.  ....or the little girl kicking me from the inside.  Oh yeah--she's been kicking me yesterday and today.  So either I am having a multitude of random gas (which is totally possible), or this little chick is having a tantrum.  I don't mind it now.  It reminds me that someone is in there.  Hopefully it won't get too annoying when it gets harder :-)

Good night!

Another busy week!

Another busy week in the books! 

I had a great time in Columbus last weekend at the Pampered Chef Fall Launch.  Friday night we ate at a great local resteraunt in German Village--The Old Mohawk.  I had a suprisingly great sandwich called the Mother Mohawk.  Grill roast beef and homemade chicken salad, topped with swiss cheese on marbled rye bread.  It was served with a carraway horseradish sauce.  Sounds really strange, right??  It was AMAZING!  I should have taken a picture, but once I tasted it, it was gone within minutes!  We finished up the evening with the Olympic opening ceremonies.  Saturday was a full day learning the new fall products waiting to come out.  I only saw a few new items that I'll just have to have--but unfortunately, it was the expensive ones!  Oh well, all in good time!  I also got to see all of the free products that will be coming in the mail that I earned from my July shows.  All of my hosts did REALLY well this past month, and in turn, I did really well.  Not only will I have a rockin commission check next week for July sales, but I earned around $600 worth of the new products on top of that.  Can't wait to get them and start playing with them!

Sunday, Adam and I loaded up and went to Kennywood--an amusement park in the Pittsburgh area.  No...I didn't ride anything :-)  Adam only rode one thing.  The radio station gave us free tickets and Adam did a quick spot on the show when we got there and we spent the rest of the time walking around or eating.  I was able to stand in line with Adam so he didn't have to wait to ride alone.  It was a fun time--but hot!  We were ready to be out of there when we left.

We stopped by a mall in Pittsburgh to do some maternity shopping on our way home.  I didn't fine anything there, but was able to load up on some other things at Target right next to the mall using some gift cards I still had from my birthday.  It was nice to be able to get what I needed.  Last thing on my list--Dress Pants!  I just can't find ones that fit well!  I'll just have to keep searching.  That is definitely the worst part of my week day---standing in front of my closet trying to decide which pair of dress pants I want to try to squeeze into for the day.  I'll make it to the Morgantown Mall soon--just need to make the time. 

Monday and Tuesday evening, I spent closing out the July Pampered Chef shows.  That was nice to get all of that taken care of.  Wednesday, we were able to go to a "welcome home" party for Jenn and Corey Smith who have been in Africa since around Christmas for Jenn's work/school.  Jenn is also pregnant--about a month behind me, so we had lots to talk about :-)  It was great getting to catch up some with them, as well as hang out with everyone else that was able to join us--making the Smith's favorite dishes to welcome them back. 

I don't really remember what we did on Thursday and Friday--though I know the Olympics were involved :-)  They're really addictive, and have been effecting my sleep this week.  Self Control Nicki!!!  They always put the interesting stuff around 10pm here, so we end up staying up way past when we should.  It's not helping my tired level every morning. 

Saturday we helped the Smith's get moved into the new place during the morning, and then Adam had to be at the church early afternoon to direct the weekend services.  I was able to use the afternoon to do some much needed weeding, cleaning the house, and finally get my hair dyed!  I've been putting it off for weeks and just hating my hair!  It is done....for now!

Today--I was the host in kidZONE, so I only had a page a script to memorize.  We had a fun time learning about the 39 kings of Israel and Judah--and which ones were good or bad!  Let me give you a hint....most of them were bad!

This week, we have been preparing ourselves for our ultrasound coming up on Tuesday.  Can't wait to see an actual baby in this belly.  I still haven't felt any movement myself, so I am really wanting to just make sure everything is ok in there--that there is plenty of room--and of course, if it's a boy a girl!  And no--I don't care what it is!  We're obviously trying to figure out what names we think will work, so I've been reading a few articles that suggest "picking methods".  Here's my favorite tip from what I've read:

"Consider your child's initials as well, so you don't inadvertently saddle him/her with a doozy like Z.I.T. or P.E.E."

Ha!  Does that actually happen??  I'll tell you it DEFINITELY won't happen to us!  I'll be trying to make the phone call rounds Tuesday night if they are able to tell us, so I won't keep you guys in the dark for long!

So, needless to say, I'm spending more and more time in the bathroom lately.  It's almost like, as I'm walking back to my desk, I'm thinking....should I go to the other bathroom, because I feel like I could go again.....How crazy is that?  Maybe I drink too much water?  Who knows.  Well--one time, I wandered into the restroom and this is what I found:

Ok--what you're looking at is a close up of the toilet.  What is that in there?  I think it has a WP on the card, which makes me think it's someone's hotel entry card for the Waterfront Place Hotel down the road.  I let out a little giggle and moved to another stall.  Should I be a good samaritan and fish it out, clean it off, and leave it on the bathroom counter?  I mean--I don't even know whose this is............In most situations...I would go the extra mile and do what needs to be done.  This.....is not most situations.  I left it....stalled until someone else came out of the restroom, went back in, and snapped this picture of it.  Yeah....no good samaratin here :-)  Hopefully it staying in there long enough for the right person to find it.  It was gone the next time I went in....so maybe someone got brave.  Or they called maintainance.  One or the other.

Another late night for me, but I got a lot accomplished tonight.  My office has been stocked with piles of paper that needed filing.  I got a majority of it done tonight with plans to do the rest this week.  I have got to get organized!  It will definitely help me feel more prepared to take care of another person.  I've also got to get going on other preparations for the baby.  Furniture, room stuff, birth classes--lots to do and I'm already half way through this pregnancy.  Wish me luck!



So this week has been eventful.  I had two Pampered Chef shows this week, bought a car, took care of a sick cat, had a head cold, and kept up with 4 open shows all together.  Good job, Nicki (patting myself on the back).

We got Lexi to the vet Tuesday.  They didn't know what was causing the sores on her.  They said it didn't look like fleas in any way, so maybe it was just her allergies again.  The solution--give her a shot to help with itching for about a week (which makes her throw up the whole next day...yay....) and then we had to give her some liquid meds twice a day until it runs out--antibiotics or something.  I was a little disappointed she didn't get the "cone", but at least it's an "easy" fix.  Of course, the vet bill wasn't easy....how can that stuff be so expensive??  Is there pet insurance we can get or something?  It wasn't fun to pay knowing that we just dropped our emergency fund as a down payment on a car and we've got baby costs quickly approaching.  You know what.....God always provides.  I have seen it time and time again, so I know that if we end up being in real "need", He will take care of it.  The other stuff we might not be able to afford--we don't really need.  Thanks for the reminder, God!

So Wednesday was spent cleaning up cat vomit and trying to shove an eye dropper into Lexi's mouth to get her to take her medicine.  Not fun.  Luckily, I got to leave for the evening to do another Pampered Chef show.  It was an outdoor show at this beautiful oudoor area built by the home owner in their back yard.  Amazing.  After talking with the husband-I found out that he is a contractor.  He actually built someone's house that I know, and put in a bid on another friend's house.  They go to our church--so I'll definitely be calling him up in a few years when we're ready to start building.  Any help or advice anyone is willing to give us, I will gladly accept.  Plus, they're big fans of our singing, so they actually like us :-)  Bonus.  The show was a lot of fun-using the grill during the show was a new challenge, and a successful one at that.  We had Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza and then Caramel-Banana Ravioli for dessert.  I'm going to say that this ravioli is my favorite dessert that we make at my shows.  Always yummy and pretty easy to make! 

Thursday, we finally had an evening at home.  There was a big storm that was making our electricity kinf of surge off and on.  It was very strange.  So--we took the opportunity to get out as many candles as possible and save on lighting costs :-)  I got a lot of Pampered Chef paperwork done and then we attacked our disaster dining room together.  We had a build up of Yard Sale leftovers that needed to be stored until Adam's dad decides to do his yard sale (and hopefully we can unload some more before heading to Goodwill).  On top of that, with me being so busy lately, having more frequent PC Shows, the dining room table kind of became my "load em up" place that had lots of PC papers and products and bags and boxes all over it.  Definitely a nightmare and it's been a bother to Adam and myself for the whole month it seems like.  Again--another example of my laziness.  But-hey, we almost completely finished the room last night before we had to switch gears.  He had to prep for the radio and I had to pack for this weekend.

I'm heading out to Columbus, Ohio in a couple of hours.  There is the Pampered Chef Fall Launch meeting tomorrow and I'm headed there with my director and I think only one other consultant.  This seems to have been a very Pampered Chef focused post, but it's a big part of my life lately...so get over it!  Anyway--the Spring Launch meeting that I went to in January was lots of fun so I am expecting a great time again tomorrow.  We'll get to see what new products are coming out in the fall and then we'll get a little goodie bag with some smaller free products inside, along with a sneak peek of new recipes to showcase them and lots of fun and inspirational videos and speakers.  It always pumps me up!  And the best part--the free stuff.  I'm a sucker for free stuff  (as Capital One Visa knows--I signed up for the credit card my first week of college to get a t-shirt and a frisbee....SUCKER!  It's actually the only credit card that I still have open now.  Good for me for not ruining my credit with that impulse decision!).  I will do almost whatever PC asks me to do to get free products.  I LOVE them.  Now that Adam has rearranged the kitchen cabinets, I should have a good space to devote to storing all of this stuff. 

I'm excited and will be on the road to Ohio around 3pm.  Pray for safe travels!  I'll also be trying to get the 4 shows I have open closed either over the weekend or early next week.  Can't wait for that commission check!  It will be a doosy. 

Here's the only picture I have available to post today.  It's from this past week's church service.  Adam was singing "Danger Zone" from Top Gun.  The summer series is Blockbusters that never made the big screen--or, less popular Bible stories that were actually really interesting.  This summer we've already sang "Eye of the Tiger", "Up Where We Belong", "Power of Love", and few other classics from epic movies.  Adam rocked out Danger Zone.  Wish they would start posting the recordings again, but we're inbetween sound people so no one is assigned the task.  Maybe they'll turn up one day :-)

Laziness

So--maybe you're picked up on this, but I don't post when I have had a tiring day.  That's just the fact of the matter.  Sometimes, I'll try to get ahead and type a little during the day, but we've been so busy lately, that it's just not happening.  My apologies.

I have been so lazy, that I have not unpacked a suitcase from our weekend in Beckley.  There's not that much in it.  But I just can't make myself do it.  Any time I actually make it up to the bedroom where it is, I am so tired that I collapse on the bed and can't move.  This morning, Lexi hopped into the suitcase and seemed to be unzipping things so that I would get my act together.  She was like, "Mom!
Get it together!!"

This past weekend was particularly hard as I seemed to have gotten sicker, rather than better.  Boo for germs.  It didn't help that I sang all weekend--a pretty demanding song--and had to just sing through the sore throat to get it out.  That left me with a feeling of swallowing razor blades any time I could actually get down a swallow.  Oh--did I mention I had two Pampered Chef shows during this time?  I've got to figure out how to slow down.  I know that I won't be doing the crazy amount of shows for future months, so that gives me some peace of mind, but we also do so many other things in the evenings.  I'm definitely not taking the rest that I'm supposed so far.  It evidentally is effecting my immune system and my ability to get better.  I was telling Adam last night as my fever approached 100 degrees, that I thought 2nd trimester was supposed to be the fun one....why can't I have that?  I do have my appetite back, though I can't taste any food lately.  Hopefully that will return soon.  I didn't have a fever this morning, and had more energy, and could swallow without feeling the pain--so hopefully I'm on the upswing!  I woke Adam up with a coughing fit last night around 2:30--to which I had to get out of bed, drink water, eat Halls Breezers, and stay verticle as long as possible.  I think that I spent the beginning of my time dreaming that I was still at the Pampered Chef show I did earlier in the evening and apologizing after not being able to stop coughing.  Luckily, it was just a dream--I didn't cough but maybe once or twice at the show :-)  These Breezers have been a life saver here at work today.  I'm trying to keep my throat coated in them so i don't freak everyone out around me.  Coughing in tight quarters makes people nervous.  Don't want to be spreadin my germs around the office. 

In the middle of everything else going on this weekend, we had to get me a new car.  Well--a new used car.  Mine had just pooped out.  We were dumping thousands of dollars in repairs into it every year with repair after repair, and after Adam took it into the shop last week and they hit us with an $1100 bill--we said--no way we're putting that much MORE money into this heap of metal, and decided to try to get a different car.  Newer, safer, more reliable.  This is not the time we wanted to be spending extra money since we'll have to be purchasing baby furniture and an extra freezer, and so many other things in the near future, not to mention medical costs and then vacation that is coming up in September--but we just felt like it was wise to move away from this vehicle.  This is me saying goodbye--

So in exhange, after many hours battling with car sales people, we got something with a monthly payment we could afford.  It's a white Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.  4-Wheel Drive, excellent interior and exterior.  I think we made a good decision.  It's hard to go further in debt while we were trying to get out of debt, but it would have been unsafe to stay with the ole' "Silver Bullet".  It's done now, so we'll be enjoying a newer car for a while.  Only thing--I have to keep it clean, cause it's white! Wish me luck!

We had a Dr's appointment this past Friday.  We were hoping to get an ultrasound.  It didn't happen.  She did have us go ahead and schedule an ultrasound for August 7th--so that is the official afternoon that we will be finding out if our baby rubber ducky is a boy or girl.  I really don't have a preference at this point.  I would be happy with either.  If I got to choose such things, I would prefer to have two kiddos--one boy and one girl.  You know, get the full experience.  But, since those things aren't really in my hands, I will be happy with a healthy child of either gender.  Some people have asked me if I feel like it's one or the other...I don't really know what I'm supposed to "feel", but if I had to take a stab at it--I would guess that it's a girl.  And plus--it would add irony to our lives--because we cannot agree on ANY girl names, so I could see God giving us a nice little "relationship challenge" before we actually get to impact another human being's life.  But either way, it would fit into my "one of each" hopes.  Doesn't matter what order.  We'll keep everyone posted on the outcome.

Today--Lexi has to go to the vet.  She has these soars on her face that she is scratching and keep fresh.  We're not sure what caused them, or if they're going to go away.  She also has several bumps on her body and neck.  We'll see what the ole' vet has to say, and how much we'll get charged for them to say it.  Might as well pile it on, right?  I'm thinking they're going to make her wear a cone so she stops scratching her face with her back claws.  That will be hilarious!  She hated the cone when she had to wear it for something else--always fun to torture our little "daughter" as long as it's for her own good...of course....I'm sure they'll be able to fix her up like new-and pass on some horrific treatment that we are supposed to do to her at home--just to make sure the torture is shared by the entire family--like applying an ointment somewhere or making her take a medicine.  That would be LOADS of fun...

Now--I don't feel AS lazy as I did before I wrote this.  At least I accomplished one thing I was supposed to today.  We'll see what else I can force myself to do :-)

Ahcoo!

So....yes.  I am sick.  again....boo.  I had several long and important meetings today so I couldn't take a sick day.  And plus, it would just make things worse since I've been so busy lately.  My first meeting of the morning, I walked in and the guys were like "What is wrong with you? You look horrible"...great....and I was thinking as I was getting ready that I did a pretty good job with hair and makeup to try to not look sick.  Oh well.  They're always honest with me.  Rod tried to send me home after a few meetings but I said I could either feel bad at home or I could feel bad at work-might as well knock some things off my list if I'm up to it.  I'll be fine.  Just a head cold or something like that. 

We got to go out to dinner with some friends tonight, Brittani and Joey.  We used to be in their home group but haven't been able to spend time with them since we moved out of the group.  It was good time getting to catch up with them, and you know I'm always in for some good food!  Well, at least since my appetite has come back :-)  I'll have to be careful to keep my meals small though, because I am hungry often, and have to eat when I'm hungry.  Small nutritious meal...that's the hope.  But they're not always available.  It's definitely a struggle with self control.  I give in some times.  Oh well.  No one is perfect!

So tomorrow is my next Dr appt.  I'm REALLY hoping that they'll do an ultrasound.  I would love to go ahead and find out the sex of the baby, but I'll settle for just an ultrasound if they think it's too soon to make that call.  I just want to make sure there's enough room in there!

No picture today, sorry :-) 

Rough Week so far

So we had a good time in Beckley this past week.  Monday, Adam had a later tee time so we helped out watching the kiddos at the Griffiths' house during the morning.  I assigned Adam a poopy diaper duty...to which I walked in on to find someone else had taken over to "show him how to do it"....sneaky Adam... We decided that since there would be a 3 to 3 1/2 hr drive home after Adam's round of golf, that I would join him on the course to watch and then we could immediately leave form there to go home.  So I was that creepy person standing in the trees on the course.  I walked the 18 holes and would walk ahead of them to find their balls that had wandered into the tree line.  At some point, I'm pretty sure they were aiming for me because the balls would come directly towards the tree I was standing behind.  I was very strategic in finding a "back tree" so that I wouldn't get any bounce off from another tree.  Your welcome, gentlemen, for keeping you from loosing your balls.  Here's a picture of Adam Monday morning.  He happened to have been wearing the same outfit as Eli (Ashley and Chad's son) that day.  How embaressing that they wore the same outfit :-)

I don't think Eli was comfortable for this picture...

As I was walking through the woods, I was not only reminded of God's beautiful handy work in the environment around me, but also of how clumsy I am.  I forgot that I can't walk straight when I am looking to the side.  I caught myself looking around in awe and then stumbling off of the path I was on.  Silly me. 

In the midde of Adam's round on Monday, there was about an hour rain delay.  This stopped all action on the course and caused a huge back up.  His tee time was at 1pm, but we didn't leave the course until 7:45.  Needless to say, it was pretty late when we got home.  After 11pm.  I collapsed in bed and was startled awake by Adam Tuesday morning telling me it was time to get up.  I rolled over to check the clock because I could have sworn I had just closed my eyes and there was no way it was already morning.  I felt like I got hit by a truck.  Boo for mornings.  After dragging myself to get ready for the day, I went out to my car to find my battery had died.  I apparently left some sort of light on over the weekend.  My bad.  A neighbor overheard my conversations trying to find a solution and came out to give me a jump.  So--I was almost 2 hrs late for work.  Rough start back.

Work didn't help the issues because things have gotten really busy all of a sudden.  Lots to do and not enough time to do it.  We are also in the position of hiring 4 new team members with our recent lossses.  Hopefully we can do this quickly before any one else gets burned out.  I'm trying really hard to leave work on time and leave work at work, but that rule might be bending for a little while. 

After work--the fun stuff.  Ashley had a Pampered Chef party in her brand new kitchen in her amazing adult house.  It was a nice relief to a stressful day.  I do enjoy doing the shows-luckily-so it was a nice way to end the day.  Poor Eli seemed to have picked up some germies from his cousins.  I'm pretty sure I did too, as I am feeling a little under the weather today too.  I do specifically remember one of the kids wiping snotty fingers all over my blackberry...and then I had an hour long interview call that I sat in on Monday afternoon....with the blackberry stuck to the side of my face.  Yay.  I will not be taking any meds for whatever creeps up there though.  Learned my lesson there.  I do have an OB appointment this Friday though, so at least they'll know I'm sick...I guess?  blah.  I'm also hoping they do an ultrasound while I'm there.  I would love to see a baby--although one of my email newsletters says it's the size of a rubber ducky right now...so that would be a fun sight to see as well.  That, or a tiny unicorn.  Who knows...

Today was full full full of meetings.  And it seemed a theme of, what do you mean you haven't had time to do this item from the list of 100 action items you were assigned last week??  Why not??  We're all a little down as a team with everything moving so quickly, so it's been a depressing work sight.  Tonight I am on a 9pm call with some SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) in Japan, New Zealand and Australia.  I'm not leading it, thank goodness, but have to be there to facilitate the Web Conference and phone conference that we're running for it.  It will be another long night. :-)

Lightening+Golf = no fun

Ok--so recap of the week that I did not blog....It wasn't that great.  Work got real stressful all of a sudden.  Some of the issues that were causing stress at the beginning of the year came back to haunt us.  Details not important, but I sure didn't feel like blogging about it.  Adam went golfing one evening and I had the house to myself for the evening...so I cried a lot.  I figure I was due a good crying.  I mean, everybody says pregnant women have raging hormones and cry all the time--so I could have my night. 

We left for Beckley Friday after work to come for the golf tournement the Adam is taking part of.  The BNI.  We come and stay with the Griffith family-Mom and Dad, an older son, two identical twins, all of the boys' wives, and their children, and some dogs.  It's a packed house for the weekend, but we all have a fun time hanging out.  There is yummy food, crafts, shopping, and lots of laughs.  All in all, a successful weekend that I'm in the middle of right now.  I'm trying to get some Pampered Chef stuff done while I'm here.  I have four more shows this month.  No--actually 4 cooking shows and one catalog show that is open.  Lots to do!  The host special is awesome, and the reward for consultant sales is totally rockin' as well--so it's really a win win.

I am in this weird middle stage of not fitting into my normal clothes, but not really being big enough for most maternity clothes yet...so I'm just trying to mix things up and make it work.  I'm thinking if I can get some maternity pants, I can use looser blousey tops and make it for a while.  I have tons of maternity tops now from friends, but after trying a few on as I was putting them into my closet, I decided I was a little too early to look like a house!  It's amazing how clothes can make you look so different. 

We have been taking a weekly belly picture that I was planning on putting on this blog, so as soon as I have a moment, I'll load them in so far. 

Oh--I just read the title.  Guess I should explain that!  The guys had their first round of golf today and they had an hour delay in the middle of the round because of lightening.  We didn't really notice it back at the house.  After they all came home, Adam and I went with Eric (one of the brothers) to a driving range to practice a bit.  When we got there, a strange looking cloud was growing and circulating over a mountain right next to the driving range.  We watched it for 30 minutes because the driving range man said we shouldn't be standing out with all of the lightening.  Good tip.  It was really freaky.  We gave up and came back because we knew dinner was going to be ready soon.  Evidentally it's dangerous to swing a metal rod/club around in the middle of grassy areas during a lightening storm....who knew....When we got back, the heavens opened up and it let loose some powerful rain.  A nice evening in my opinion, of fellowship.  The guys played poker at the neighbor's house and the girls made these crafty owls for someone's baby shower.  It was a fun time.  Now we are all telling funny stories in the main room.  There are twelve of us, and two dogs.  Everyone else is asleep.  This will soon be me, as my eyes are slowly drooping. 
Good night for now.  We'll see what adventures are waiting for us during the rest of the weekend.

It's been a busy week!  Monday, I was having some minor health issues that I called my doctor about.  They said--you definitely need to be seen today, but we can't fit you in.  So--that meant another trip to the Urgent Care place.  Boo.  Once there, after two hours of waiting, they realized that the medicine that they put me on last week caused another problem.  For real?!  The NP that saw me left the room twice so she could look up what to do and what I could take.  She told me she had to look it up...very reassuring.  Needless to say, after that experience, I was moody for the rest of the day.  Things that I could normally just brush off and not let bother me just really got on my nerves.  I know that I'm more easily aggrevated at this point, so I have this internal battle with myself before I react to things.  Monday was definitely a day for crazy thoughts.  When I got home from work, I had to search Morgantown for the medicine that they prescribed to fix the problem.  Strike out.  No one had it, so I had to call back for further instructions.  Very aggrevating.  Oh, and yesterday, they called me to give me lab results as to what exactly the problem was and if the meds they gave me were the correct ones or not (awesome, right?)--the girl that I talked to said, "Looks like your labs are normal.  You don't have any of the things we thought, so you can stop the meds"--I said---whatever!  I definitely have something going on.  So she put me on hold for 20 minutes while she consulted the physician on call.  They came back on the phone to say, ok-yes, the labs show I have what they are giving me medicine for--keep taking the medicine.  And oh, by the way, they forgot to test for something, so I'm going to have to go back in so they can take some more labs.  Ridiculous.  I can't trust them, and I can't go to my regular doctor.  I give up.  As my pharmacist friend, Ashley, always tells me....drugs are bad, don't take them.  Lesson learned...lesson learned....  Today my sinus infection symptoms are back--ear pain, sore jaw and neck.  Boo.  I'm not going to the doctor, or even calling them.  I can stick it out.
 
Tuesday night, I got a random phone call.  This girl calls and says, "do you remember applying to be on the game show Minute to Win It a couple years ago?"  Um....yes.  "Well, though we didn't call you for an audition, we kept your application and have a new game show coming out that we'd like for you to audition for.  Are you still interested?"  Um...yes.  I'm pregnant...so I can't do anything crazy.  "No problem.  It's a Skype based game show that is kind of like family feud in that you just guess what America's opinion was"  Ok....random.  So I talked with her a little bit more and set up a skype interview with a casting person for Thursday.  Yesterday I did that--she just asked me to talk about myself for about a minute.  That's easy.  I could talk about myself for an hour if you asked me to.  After that, she set up another audition that will be more lengthy with some producers.  I'll do that Tuesday night so they can see if my personality is what they're looking for.  They said I have to be energetic and opinionated.  Well--I can be those things if I really try hard.... ;-)   So we'll see how that goes.  Evidentally they keep applications from games shows until they can use them for something.  Interesting.

I think I mentioned that someone gave us free tickets to the Greenbrier Classic.  It was for Wednesday--practice rounds basically.  I definitely think I would prefer to do that again, because you get real close to the players, can get autographs and pictures, and even talk with some of them if they're in a good mood.  Wednesday was the Pro-Am so it would be one Pro playing with 3 amateurs (i.e. really rich old men that donated a lot of money to the tournement to do that).  It was STEAMING hot outside, but after watching the first two people slide by (including Tiger Woods), I started getting bottles of water to hydrate and it wasn't too bad after that.  Baby needs water...and turns out I do too.  We watched Tiger walk up to the green we were standing around talking to Jerry West (the NBA logo, from Morgantown, WV in case you don't know), watched him take some practice puts around the green after his team had finished the hole, and he walked a foot or two away from us to the next tee box.  I could have touched him....and then went to jail...but I could've....He doesn't give autographs until the end (they say...i doubt he ever gives autographs).  Most of the other players give autographs between every hole, which was super fun.  Here's a pic of Tiger as he walked to the next tee box right next to us.  He's shorter than he looks on tv.



We kind of wandered around the course that day.  The big crowds followed Tiger, so we were the only people on some holes watching.  It was great.  I am now a big fan of Charles Howell III.  He was super nice and stopped and talked with us for a minute about West Virginia.  I like him a lot.  Jonathon Byrd was also really nice, but he seemed to be sick.  He's playing well this week though.  Jon Daily was weird, but of course had some nice patriotic pants on.  Jim Furyk was a trooper hanging out to sign as many autographs as he did.  We got a total of 13 autographs.  Very fun time.  They were very organized at the Greenbrier as well.  I was very impressed with the transportation shuttles, parking, and everything.  Very well done.  We even went into the hotel to walk around and eat a meal.  It's like a mall in that place.  Very nice. 

After that, we got back to our car, decided we didn't have the energy or patience to wait for the 9pm concert that night, so we drove to the downtown area, walked around for a bit, and then met up at the Griffiths' grandmother's house in Beckley.  They were having a cook out so we joined them for a bit.  We head back to Harold and Di's house (Chad's parents) to collapse for the night, and were able to leave whenever we felt like it the next day after they left for the tournement as a giant family group.  We are blessed to have the Griffith family in our lives.  They treat us like we're they're own! 

We talked on our drive back about what we SHOULD HAVE said to some of them as they were signing our stuff.  There's a popular song out now, "Call me maybe", that's really catchy, so we were replacing the lyrics with different combinations.  This is what we came up with..."Hey, I just met you....and this is crazy.....my wife is pregnant.....will you name our baby?"  It works with the chorus...we're not crazy :-)  Oh well--maybe next year.  Of course...I won'tbe pregnant then.  Oh well.

On our way back to Morgantown, we stopped in Bridgeport to return the pack and play my mom got us.  It's an AWESOME pack and play, but unfortunately--it turned out to be really pink.  Since we don't know what the baby is yet, and we would like to be able to use it for whatever babies are to come, we thought it best to get a gender neuteral color so we could get the most use out of it.  We returned it to the store, and they gave us a gift card for the entire amount as a refund.  I ordered the other color that night and it should be here next week!  Yay!  I'm excited to take it out and out it together.  Of course, Adam will kill me since we're already pushed for space, but I just want to see what it looks like and play with it for a little bit!  I'll pack it away in the travel bag when I'm done, but it's got some really neat features and I'm very excited to play with it.  Thank you, Mom, for getting it for us.  It's a really awesome pack and play.

Since we were already at the mall there, we couldn't resist doing a little shopping while we were there.  I suprisingly had some energy to walk around even more, so I got to get a good amount of maternity clothes I've been needing.  Jeans, shorts, and a couple of tops that I can just wear over a tank top top and can get as big as I need to.  I went to Motherhood Maternity to try on a bunch of things because they have a fake belly you can try on to see if it will work when you're bigger.  I wanted Adam to take a picture and post it on facebook, but I think it was freaking him out a little bit!  He wouldn't take a picture :-)  Oh well.  You guys will just have to wait to see the real thing :-)  The baby is the size of a naval orange now, I think, is what one of the sites said.  Maybe a little bigger.  My next appointment is a week from today, so I'm hoping we'll get an ultrasound picture.  Not sure we will though.  I just really want to see that it's a baby in there....not a unicorn...or an orange.  It would be really nice.  We'll see.

Today, since NO ONE was at the office at work, I decided to work from home.  I got a lot done, and it was nice to stay in sweat pants all day.  Very relaxing day.  I am also feeling like I can do more, so I went ahead and gave my closet another go through to get out clothes that I can't wear anymore to make room for all of the maternity stuff.  I'm really loving maternity jeans, so I'll probably try to get one more pair of those, and then I really need to get work pants.  I've been unsuccessful in finding any that I like so far, but I still have some places I can go to give it a try.  And I would like to get a pair or two of capris.  Oh--and I would like to find some cute summer dresses.  Once I get those few things, I think I'll be set for a while!   I'll start attacking the rest of the house soon--making room for another person will be a challenge.  One thing I have to keep reminding myself of is that my body can't do as much as it used to, so I need to take it easy sometimes.  It's frustrating, but I definitely pay for it when I over do it. 

This should be a fun weekend coming up, filled with Blueberry picking, singing, and Pampered Chef.  We'll see how long it takes me to collapse :-)

Randomness

Friday was a full day!  At work, it was one of my developers last day.  He put in his notice about a month ago, but I was still sad to see him go.  Very nice guy, very talented.  Unfortunately, the rough beginning of the year that I had at work was shared by everyone on the team.  It kind of tore some of us down.  He decided he was ready to move on after those trying times.  I got the team to sign a going away car and got a cookie cake for the guys to share for the day, and then walked him out at the end of the day to get his badge.  We have seen quite a few people rotate through our team since I've been at Mylan.  It's a tough team to be on, because there's a lot of pressure for the only custom software team at a company of over 17,000 employees.  I've collected several name plates and badges over the years.  I keep them in a drawer and we take them out and tell funny stories every once in a while. 

I got to go up to Sweet Frog for some yogart at lunch time with a coworker.  It was a nice break in the middle of the day.  After work, we head over to Kathy and Tony's house to celebrate kathy's birthday from this past week, and Father's Day since we were out of town on the 17th.  Tony made some excellent pasta and saugsage, and a salad to feed an army!  After we finished eating, we went into the back yard to play a game similar to Corn Hole (don't worry, Memphis folk, I'll explain what that is one day...it's a fun and easy game that any age person can play).  As the guys were playing, the sky was getting strangely dark, and with a combination of the hot, moist air, we knew a storm was brewing.  After a few large lightening bolts came down, we quickly moved inside and went ahead and started gathering candles.  Something big was headed our way and we were sure we were going to loose power.  We gathered candles and then started setting up to play Scattegories and sure enough--the power went out!  So we spread out the candle stash (some still left over from our wedding 7 years ago!) and played some fun rounds of Scattegories.  After some fun times, we packed up some leftovers and headed home.  It was a late night, but luckily our electricty was not off when we got home, so we had air conditioning and a comfortable night!

Tonight, we'll be joining some friends for dinner at Oliverio's for Angie Meadow's birthday.  It should be a really fun time, and great food.  I really just want their bread sticks and ranch dressing....

Oh--today, I might try to actually exercise.  How's that for surprising?  I'm going to use P90x because I like the format, but I will adjust the activities and of course take it easy.  I just can't be so lazy anymore.  I have more energy now, so I need to take advantage of that and accomplish some things. 

On a random note, I saw a really strange gift bag at Old Navy a week or so ago.  It's a little shocking.  Enjoy!

It's Christmas!

So I had a fun time when I got home from work today.  Lauren Byrer stopped by to bring me 2 tubs full of maternity clothes!  It was like Christmas morning but with WAY more presents!  I only got 3/4 of the way through one of them before I got too tired to continue :-)  I'm trying to track all of the clothes people let me borrow so it takes a while to get through them.  It was mostly tops, but a great amount jeans.  I went ahead and wore a pair out tonight because they were so comfy.  It is much better than bustin out over the top of my regular pants.  Of course, she even had a few bella bands in there, so I'll be able to wear my regular pants unbuttoned for a while.  That's really cool.

So, we had to go to Target tonight.  I am quickly growing out of the maternity bras that Ashley let me borrow, so I had to find some solutions.  Luckily, I have a good amount of Target gift cards from my birthday that I was able to use.  Very nice to have those.  I also picked up a registry gift while at Target.  I went ahead and created a registry.  Nothing on it yet, but I'm going to have to have an expert with me to do that.....enter...Ashley Griffith.  We'll worry about that in a couple months!

Oh--great thing happened at work today!  One of my developers gave me two passes to the Greenbrier Classic for next week!  It's for Wednesday-July 4th--so it's just practice rounds, but we're really excited to get to go AND there's a concert that night, with Lionel Richie--so Adam is super stoked.  He loves his music.  It will be a super long and tiring day--but we might get to see Tiger Woods, or Phil, or any of the other super stars that will be there.  We can ask for autographs on practice days, so who knows what we'll run into!

I'm pooped, so I am going to bed.  Night!

Wedding Bells

So everyone knows that the summer is a popular time to get married.  That was always our busiest season when we were in the cover band.  Well, Adam and I do still sing in weddings.  I think it's really fun because people are inviting you to be a part of their special day.  They trust us enough to be a part of that day.  So when people ask me, I always say yes--because it's great!  And--because it's usually people we don't know very well--we get paid, so extra $$ is always welcome in this household.  Of course, now we're not paying down our debt, we're saving for baby furniture and needs and medical bills just in case.  Well...turns out all of yes's have come back to haunt me :-)  We have three weddings in August! 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm still super excited.  But that's three weekends in a row that we'll be doing a rehearsal Friday night, and then ceremony some time Saturday afternoon.  Fun times.  We met tonight with one of the couples and their parents to talk about the ceremony-which will be in their back yard with reception in the house--think "Father of the Bride" style :-)  It will be really fun.  Oh--AND--I get to wear chuck taylors with whatever dress I can find to fit me (I'm sure I'll have a nice little belly on me by that time)!  Luckily, the wedding colors are light blue and green, and my chuck taylors happen to be light blue!  Meant to be!  We'll be singing at least two really cool songs and the third they still haven't picked yet.  I'm sure it will be cool too. 

The house that the wedding is at is amazing, too.  They gave us a tour of all three floors and Adam was drooling by the time we left.  The main selling point for Adam--balcony off the Master Bathroom....he's a sucker for balconies and porches.  It was definitely a beautiful house.  I now have a new goal when looking at floor plans, though I happened to have pinned a house with a Master balcony earlier this week.  I mean...am I a good wife or what??

Ok--no belly pictures today. I mean, how much can I grow in one day...seriously!  But I do have a picture.  I've mentioned before how the cafe at Mylan has great soups that I often end up eating for lunch.  Well, today they had my all time favorite....anyone??  anyone??      ............that's right, they had French Onion Soup!  Mylan makes probably the best french onion in town.  Especially since my favorite place, Damon's, closed down.  Second on the list, Archie's Lakehouse, which I shared earlier this week.  So--as non-glamorous as my picture looks---it was amazing!  Bravo Mylan Cafe...you complete me. 

Oh, and just in case you're wondering....I had already had some when I took the picture.  You KNOW I tried to fill up that cup as full as I possibly could....YUM!

Happy Hump day all....now for Thursday.  Can't wait.