Gooooooo Tech !!!!!!! (Oh yea, Happy Birthday Mike too!!)

I have nothing to wear!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I am fully aware of my curvy new figure that seems to change on a daily basis.
Especially the past month or so has been drastic! Luckily I didn't have to go out and max out any credit cards on maternity clothes, I was fortunate enough to get preggo about a year after many of friends and family members, as a result I got the "hook up" on new clothes.
It's funny to think that in the early weeks of my pregnancy I couldn't wait to wear the panel pants, belly bands and over sized cute tops. With that being said, I wasn't too worried about running out of outfits or options. I was content with wearing my scrubs during the day, sweats and t's at night and occasionally having to sift through the "nice" clothes for a wedding, dinner or whatever required more than my trusty ol' PJ bottoms. The problem with sweats and scrubs is that they stretch and can be VERY deceiving!

Well, over the weekend I had been planning on going to a 1 yr. old's birthday who is the son of a dear friend of mine. I never thought twice about what to wear. I knew that I had a couple of pair of jeans, khaki's and cute tops that fit just great last week and I need not worry. I could have never predicted what happened when I tried to get dressed. NOTHING fit, and when I say "Nothing".....I mean not even the stretchy pants fit! I tried to squat, bend and stretch my way into every piece of clothing I could find, no luck. Time was ticking, I had to be at the birthday party within a half hour, I went into panic mode. I called Mom to let her know that I was running late, trying to hold back the tears. However, Mom's don't have to see the tears to know that they're there. All she had to do was ask "What's wrong?" I broke down. "I have NOTHING TO WEAR! I'M FAAAAT!!!" She reminded me that I was pregnant and that she would take me shopping the next day. I managed to dry my tears and pour myself into a pair of jeans and finally found a cute shirt that fit (and covered the love handles that the pants wouldn't fit over).

We went to the birthday party and had a great time.
My belly got rubbed, the usual pregnancy questions were asked and I left there feeling better than I had before I arrived. In this case, it REALLY IS what's on the "inside" that matters.
However, one party guest did make a point to say that she didn't recognize me when I arrived..hmmmm.....still not sure exactly what she meant by that. I'll put it this way, I still have the same hair color, haircut and not else has changed except for the scale!

Ironically, when we arrived home from the party I opened a box from my Aunt Patti and to my surprise she had sent me a new coat, maternity tops (that fit!!), new panties and 2 new nursing bras! Whoa! These things are something else! I can flash a boob in an instant!

So, just as promised Mom took me to JCPenney's for a shopping spree! We really lucked up and stumbled upon a 75% off rack with oh-so cute tops for $4.97 and nearly all of the pants were up to 50% off! Pregnancy must be a "seasonal" thing, according to JCPenney's! The pregnancy gods were looking after me that day!! I tried not to look at the tags, many of them were XL or XXL....I just smiled and enjoyed the experience. Mom assured me that I would been the larger sizes to last until February and that they would probably shrink and she didn't want to hear me crying again! I got several pairs of pants and matching tops that would work with all of them. Kinda like "Garanimals" for pregnant gals! I even got new house shoes too! I guess that's for when my feet start to swell!

Shopping for new clothes was such a relief and I can now get dressed for the holidays and baby showers without the fearing the closet! What made the day even better was simply spending it with my mommy. She even got to feel the baby move!
He's already got her wrapped around his little finger : )

Amanda & Mike as babies.....

Who do you think our baby is going to look like?

Belly News

I just had to post an update, my big ol' belly is no longer my own! I am now reminded nearly every 30 minutes of the little man who has taken up house in it. He's been a great tennant, except for waking me up every night and giving me a quick kick in the ribs as if to remind me not to drink that cold milk so fast. Yep, he has made a nest and is clearly getting adjusted to his surrondings.

My what to expect book is now book marked at week 27 and remains a permanent fixture in our hall bathroom. This week the chapter highlights "Sexual Positions" that are "approved" for your 6 month of pregnancy. Hmm....got a feeling a man put his two cents into this chapter by offering the many ways and options for us big bellied, hairy legged, under slept, over worked, swollen ankled momma's please our men. Wow! Thanks, "What to Expect" book for informing our men that we capeable and still should be expected to "put out" at this stage in our pregnancy. (Warning: TMI information about to be revealed, Mom and Wanda be warned)
My dear husband has clearly read this chapter, after all he spends enough time in the bathroom, he oughta be an expert. I'm sure he flipped through all the others just to find the "sex" chapter of the book! He seems to have no problem with the extra "padding" so to speak that now covers my once slim figure. I won't go into any further details, I'll simply say that fortunately he still loves me and finds all of these extra curves desirable, even when I'm feeling like a fat ol' cow, he reminds me of how sexy he still thinks I am. It's definitely brought out our creative side :) Our belly's are about the same size at this point and pose quite a challenge, however we've managed to work around it.

Well, it's time for my pre bed time glass of cold milk........let the games begin (In my belly that is).

*** If after reading this, please resist the urge to inform Mike that I "blogged" about our "relations" in the bedroom. He may never touch me again in fear that I may create a post about it. : )

My belly turned out to make a great pillow for Grady. We were the only two at the party who couldn't drink so we quickly bonded and got cozy on the couch.

Nursery Update

Here is an updated picture of the nursery....

Big Cheese and Buzz came by today to measure the wall for shelves. Mom helped to finish up the trim and touch up the paint on the walls. Our next step is to have Aunt Patti come down to paint the little chickens and farm scene throughout the room. I can't wait! It's going to be so sweet!! I will continue to post the progress.

Big Cheese and Buzz

Most of you may know that my nephew has tagged mom with the title of "Big Cheese".

Yep...no Grama,Nanny or Grandmother's around here. I have had to accept the fact that my child too will follow Carter's lead and refer to mom as Big Cheese too.

Earl has been given the name of "Buzz" which is absoultly perfect since he is the biggest and most devoted GT fan on earth!!

I hope that everyone is as lucky as we are to have a Big Cheese and Buzz. I know I am.

25 weeks....

Here is picture from my cousin's wedding last weekend. Here we are with little Jackson who was tuckered out! Notice I'm holding the baby and Mike's holding a beer.......hmmm.

I can't wait to hold my own little sleepy boy!!

25 weeks down......15 to go. Not much has changed this week. Little man is still pretty active, especially at 3 am. No heartburn, no constipation (Thank you Lord!), no leg cramps,......however, I have noticed that pregnancy has really made me quite a joy to be around! (Did you notice the sarcasm?). Don't get me wrong, I am not a complete monster but I have noticed that I am a bit more snappy to things that aggravate me and to anyone else that's not pregnant I'm sure these things wouldn't bother them at all. Just ask my husband, poor thing, I nearly strangled him for breathing too loudly and also for having the windshield wipers wiping too fast in the truck. There is nothing that makes me more angry than to see him peacefully sleeping while our little bundle of joy is drop kicking my liver : ) I don't think I have been as cranky as he claims and in all reality I catch myself smiling at 3am just to know that our baby is moving and I cherish the quiet time Mike and I have together for soon they will be a thing of the past. He has reminded me on more than one occasion that our baby is going to come out ill and screaming because that's how I have been since I found out I was pregnant. Bless his heart, he has been a patient man these past 25 weeks and has learned not to ask "What are you eating now?". Speaking of eating, which I looooooove to do these days, one of my sweet heart patients brought me a feast to work on Thursday. Homemade red velvet cake, brunswick stew and fried green tomatoes. And yes, JUST FOR ME & BABY! He made sure to tell the other staff not to touch my food without asking me first! Did I share?

What do you think : )

What a great day to paint!

Today's weather was a perfect day to be stuck indoors and mom and I definantly made the best of it! I began by making a quick stop at Rugged Warehouse to buy some stretchy pants for work....I knew it was time to hang up the medium scrub pants when even the elastic wouldn't stretch any further and the girls at work were taking up a collection for me to buy new pants! And trust me, my patients are more than eager to let me know how much weight I have gained....don't you just love old folks! They don't hold anything back! Once I left the store I was in route to meet up with Big Cheese (Carter has tagged mom with that name) at Home Depot, however we failed to specify exactly which Home Depot to meet at. So there I was waddeling my big self down the aisles of Home Depot scanning for mom. She is normally easy to spot in a crowd, however I didn't see her anywhere! I called her cell phone only to find out that she was in Peachtree City and I was in Newnan! Once we finally met up we picked out the paint. "Water Chestnut" and "Pacific Pearl". The theme is going to be Barn Yard and with the help of my Aunt Patti's decorating skills and Granddaddy Buzz's craftsman skills it should turn out to be a little boy's farm yard dream! I was so thrilled to spend the day with mom and to get the painting done. I will post more pictures of our progress. While I was thrilled, Trigger wasn't so much! The new baby room is currently Trigger's lair. Since he was a puppy he has been crate trained in that room and has claimed it as his. We ended up having to shut him out of the room because he just had to lay right in the middle of all of the chaos. He didn't escape without a big patch of Pacific Blue paint across his back! I can't wait to see the final outcome of the room! Stay tuned for more pics!!

I must also make a note for all of you mommies out there that feel the need to share your labor horror stories........DON'T! I must a stamp on my forehead that says "Please scare the sh*t out of me!" I have promised my self that I will not be one of those women who feel the need to share every ripping and tearing detail of my labor with any poor unsupecting first time mother-to-be.

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest! (Speaking of chest...I finally have cleavage!!) Yay for prego boobs!!

Check out more pics at www.picasa.com
I'm working on adding more pics to the gallery.

24 Weeks Appointment

I had my 24 week visit with Dr. Cook this week. Unfortunately there was no Ultrasound : (
I was so eager to see my little man, but all I had done at this appt was to be weighed and to check the heartbeat.
I weighed in at 190 lbs. Not to proud of that number, but.......it is what it is. Dr. Cook didn't have anything to say about it, so I guess my weight gain is in range. Don't get me wrong, I am not at all happy about being a measly 10 lbs away from the big 200, but it's worth! I've got a growing boy to feed! Besides, being only 4 miles from mom's house definitely has added on the pounds....pregnancy or not !! I told Dr. Cook that the baby has been quite active here lately, especially at night after a glass of cold milk and also in the morning when I'm at work at 5:30am! In fact, I felt him "jump" last week while I was sitting in the recliner. Apparently the sound of Trigger barking scared him! I look forward to feeling him move around and get a bit nervous if a few hours have gone by and I haven't felt him wiggle. I have to admit that I am a bit guilty of shaking my belly just to wake him up!
Overall the appointment went well, however I did get a bit of a scare when it took Dr. Cook a few minutes to find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. What seemed like hours was only an extra minute or two. I couldn't help but hold my breath! He said that the baby may had been turned, but was still making a concerned expression while rolling the Doppler all over my belly. Finally....swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.........!!!!! Music to my ears! He informed me that next visit I would be taking the glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I've been warned that this sugary drink is not very pleasant. My next visit will be on December 2nd (The day after Mike's 30th B day). I also scheduled the 3D/4D ultrasound picture session. I can't wait to see who the baby looks like!

Snakes and snails......

........and puppy dog tails!!!!!!! IT'S A BOY!!
Well, after waiting a day after our 20 wk appointment we gathered with a few family and friends to announce the news! We met at Franks on Ava's B day and let her have the honors of opening up the envelope. I could hardly wait! Everyone was told to wear either pink or blue, depending on what their guess was. I wore pink, only because I knew everyone else was hoping for a boy and we would all be in blue otherwise. However, I did wear a little blue baby diaper pin on my shirt :)
After placing our dinner orders we had Ava stand on a chair and open it up. The suspense was killing me!
I saw the little piece of paper fall to the floor (the one I had clipped out of the magazine). Ava jumped down, grabbed it and started to smile. She had been requesting a little "brother-cousin" ever since she found out that I was prego. I just knew by her reaction that my gut feeling was right. She turned around the picture to reveal the big news! IT'S A BOY! We all cheered with delight as we passed around the ultrasound picture that clearly displayed all of the appropriate boy parts! Mike was so proud! At that time the cell phones came out!
We were all making phone calls to share the news! The soon-to-be Grandmother's were so thoughtful to bring us baby gifts! My mom had one pink bag and one blue bag and Mike's mom only had a gift for a little boy. She said that she "just knew" it was going to be a boy. We couldn't have asked for a better night! I am working on posting some pictures from that night. I am still waiting for AUNT TIFFANY to send me some : ) Hee Hee.
Stay tuned.........

Ultrasound Appt: Week 20

I know, I know.......it's been over a month since I have posted any news. Don't worry, all has been well and thanks to a few folks I was reminded that I hadn't "blogged" in quite a while I am finally getting caught back up. I have been quite busy with transferring jobs (I'm back in Newnan. Yay!) and it's seems like the days are shorter and shorter! I'm sure everyone is aware by now that Michael and I are having a BOY! I knew it all along and just had a "gut" feeling, however it was confirmed at my 20 wk. appt that was on October 8th. Well, actually we didn't find out until the following night over dinner at Franks. On the day of my appt. Michael was able to get off work and come with me. We agreed that we would have the ultrasound done, however would not peek at the screen. It took a bit of arm twisting and threats to convince Mike of this plan, however I'm still not 100% sure that he didn't sneak a peek during the ultrasound. The technician was able to examine the baby and we were relieved to know that everything appeared normal. They were able to rule out chances of a cleft pallet, the head was in normal proportion, his legs and arms are developing normally and they were also able to confirm that there were no signs of dwarfism. After all of the "important" screenings were performed it was then time to find out the gender. I spoke up quickly to inform our technician that WE did not want to know the gender and instead we wanted her to place the ultrasound picture in a red envelope that I had brought with me. I had also clipped out 2 pictures from a magazine, one of a baby girl and one of a baby boy. I did this because Ava (Mike's 5 yr old niece) was assigned the job of announcing the news over dinner. I figured it would be easier for her to see an actual picture as opposed to an ultrasound. So, there we were inches from the ultrasound screen. I turned my head and Mike had his eyes covered by his hands........and mine. I swears that he didn't peek, even if he had I'm not sure if he would know what he was looking for! I can say that at that point it didn't make a difference to me what the gender was. It was simply amazing to know that our baby was healthy (and not a dwarf ) :)
Before we left we met with Dr. Cook who said that everything looked great. Our ultrasound technician handed us our sealed and taped envelope and had written "Congratulations" on the front. We were also given a few more ultrasound pictures, one of his foot and the other of his profile. He looked perfect : )
The car ride home was definitely an anxious one! We made our usual phone calls to moms, sisters and brothers to let them know that all went well. Now, all we had to do wait 1 more day..........easy enough. YEA RIGHT!
Mike and I fought over who would hold on to the envelope until then. It was passed from hand to hand all night. Mike even took it to work with him, but not before I re-sealed it with tape and stickers to ensure that he wouldn't open it up!