Saturday, October 31, 2009

My Halloween costume

I know, it's just a construction paper pumpkin that I made in like 5 minutes, but it's SOMETHING. lol

Wow... the camera on my phone sucks. lol

Here's a closer picture:

Happy Halloween! (and Fame's Halloween costume!)




I had every intention of carving a pumpkin this year, but never got around to it. I also planned on buying or making a witty Halloween-themed maternity shirt, but didn't get around to doing that, etither. lol

The picture is my pumpkin from 2006 (the last time I carved one. lol) I took a photograph of Malcolm X and turned it into a stencil. Why Malcolm X? I don't know. It's was the first good black & white photograph of a prominent, recognizable individual I could find. And it beats the hell out of all the George Bush pumpkins that were out at that time.

I found Fame's Halloween costume in the closet! He hates it. He gets so embarrassed when I put it on him, but damn! he's so cute!!!






Hope everyone has a safe, happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2009

25 weeks

Today marks 25 weeks, which means I am 63% of the way there!

Well, there's not a whole lot to report around here. My last OB appointment was October 21. They just measured my belly (I was 23w5d then, and I was measuring 24 weeks. There's that consistent 3 days ahead thing again.) They gave me a Similac travel bag, which was awesome. I love free stuff, and the package it came in had it labeled as the "3rd Trimester Gift", which was awesome, and made me realize that, holy crap, I'm almost in the 3rd trimester! I have been pregnant since May 8, so November 8 will mark my 6th month of being pregnant! Whoa! Crazy how time flies.

They gave me a script for blood work, and I have to go for my glucose tolerance test between November 13 and November 21. They want me to go before my next appointment, which is scheduled for November 18. I met Dr. Clark for the first time, and he seems really cool. He even said "Let's do an ultrasound next time, just to check the growth." I'm pretty excited about that, since they said I wouldn't get another one til 34 weeks. I can't wait til my next appointment!

What else has been going on.... hmmm...

I've gotten some sewing done. I made... well, something, that I can't say yet, because it's a gift for a friend of mine and I'm not telling her what it is. I'll post pictures of it after I send it to her and I know she's received it. (Lexie has seen it, so she better not squeal!) My mom's best friend Susie let me use her serger, and I made some burp cloths out of some funky flannel prints. I'm keeping 2 for myself, and I'll probably sell the others on Etsy when I get around to taking pictures of them. My mom already bought 2 for two new grandmas that she works with, and they love them! Hopefully they'll spread the word, because I can definitely use a few extra bucks to put away!

I have some more sewing to do tomorrow morning and next week. I have something else to make for that same friend of mine, which I'll probably do tomorrow so I can send them out to her. I have to start on some rompers for Marius. And I have to make another one of the "mystery items" for myself.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with my friend Jackie from high school who I haven't seen in at least a year. She's going to college in Baltimore and came home for a visit. We went to Bombers and it was delicious. In fact, I'm heating my leftover cheese fries in the oven right now! (Bombers has like 8 different varieties of fries. One is the tofu fries, which is bbq tofu nuggets, rice and cheese over their delicious, crisp fries. I don't like the texture of tofu, so I just order the cheese fries with rice and bbq sauce on them and they're soooooooooooooooooo good!)

I haven't been sleeping well the last couple nights, even though I've been really tired. I toss and turn, and if I do manage to fall asleep, it's a really light sleep that I wake from very easily. *sigh* Hopefully tonight will be better. I keep getting tired headaches and I'm getting cranky from being so tired.

Off to eat my bbq cheese fries!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

23 weeks, 6 days- belly shots!

I seriously wish I could clone myself so I can take artistic pictures of myself to document my pregnancy. That's what I hate about being the photographer- I have a certain eye for photography and I can envision what I want a photo to look like and make it happen. I want photos that are taken of me to be like the photos I take of others. Grrrr! And I am convinced that my mother is the worst photographer in the world. I asked her to take some pictures of me (I put the camera on rapid fire mode so it took 3 frames/second. I needed the best chance of getting SOMETHING I could use), and in like 10 of 'em she pulled a Grandma and chopped the very top of my head off. lol

Anyway- here are a couple pictures from today!





Apparently Fame didn't want his picture taken. lol

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Some sewing projects lined up!

So lately, I've been in a mood to do some crafting, which is rare. Don't get me wrong- I love making things, but if I'm not in the mood to do it, it feels very tedious and I hate the way the project turns out. Last week, I made a greeting card for my cousin Matt and his wife Julie, who found out they're expecting their first child in May. I was definitely happy with the way the card turned out, and I sat there cutting out the paper and stuff while hubby and I were watching Ong Bak.

Anyway, I've had the urge to sew and make some baby stuff in the last week. Hubby took me to get some flannel to make burp cloths and receiving blankets, and we picked out these 2 cute prints to start out with:

I found some University of North Carolina fleece on sale on the Jo-Ann Fabrics website (they didn't have any in the store when we went there, but they had like 5 bolts of the same Brigham Young and University of Michigan fleece there. Go figure. I mean, I understand U of M is a pretty popular team even in Upstate NY, but I've NEVER met a BYU fan in my life). I was gonna make a baby blanket out of the UNC fleece, but for some stupid reason I only ordered a yard (36x60") and would prefer to have at least 1.75 yds to make a bigger blanket (I wanted something a little bigger than 3-feet-square. So I think I'll incorporate this into a travel changing pad instead.

And finally, I found some AWESOME cotton knits on eBay that I'm going to make into rompers, hats, and booties. I know, they aren't very babyish prints (especially the red one), but they're definitely our style. Luckily, I was smart enough to get 2 yds of each of these:

Saturday, October 17, 2009

23 weeks (and 100th post!)

Tonight, hubby and I went to see Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, and it was pretty good. Then we headed to Wal-Mart (which is like 1000 feet away from the movie theater), almost got in an accident (the other driver was coming up the MIDDLE of the lane when we turned into it, and instead of moving over to the right, he sped up and swerved to the LEFT, right in front of our car. I don't know what the hell goes through these people's minds. I swear... luckily hubby braked fast, and the other guy realized how utterly retarded he was and turned his wheel to the right.) We went to Dunkin' Donuts so I could get a Dunkaccino (it was super cold out!), and then came home and sat next to each other on the bed, with our laptops, and played a game together. I know, cute, right?

Anyway, now that I've hit another week, I decided to do an update of my pregnancy thus far.

- Marius is always punching & kicking up a storm. I wonder what it's gonna feel like in another month or two...

- It's getting increasingly harder to bend over, and shaving my legs is becoming more and more difficult. I told DH that I'm gonna end up having to enlist his help in that department, and when he leaves in January I'll just let 'em grow wild (since I won't have anyone to impress), and then get 'em waxed before my due date. lol

- Heartburn is getting worse and worse. It feels like there's jet fuel expanding up into my esophagus.

- I'm between 1-2 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight. Not too shabby.

- I notice my feet have been swelling a little if I'm standing or on the go for too long during the day.

And I still have 17 weeks to go! :-D

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Marius' new friend

So since hubby is such a tough guy, he was always talking about how everyone better not be buying our son all kinds of stuffed animals. Remember Pillow People? The only stuffed anything Tucker had as a kid was the Pillow Fighter that he used to jump and land on and kick the crap out of on a daily basis.

Well, as you know, hubby is in the Air Force. When he was in basic training, his training sqadron were the Bulldogs, so a few weeks ago Lexie was talking about how she wanted to bring Anthony to Build-A-Bear so he could get his bear a new outfit (she had the damn thing crammed in a preemie sleeper and it looked like the little kid in A Christmas Story in the snowsuit). I looked on the Build-A-Bear website and saw that one of the carcasses you could stuff was a bulldog. I called my local store to make sure they had it in stock before we went there. Of course, they didn't carry it, so I had to order the carcass online to bring into the store and stuff. We finally got around to getting there today, and here's what I made:



I figured DH couldn't argue with a bulldog in dress blues. I even put one of the sound things in it's paw that plays one of the Air Force jodies.

He didn't argue. lol

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Yay! An award!



Thank you to Sumer at Our Journey for Baby Lajeunesse! You're on your way to a BFP!!!


Rules
1. You can only use one word!
2. Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers.
3. Alert them that you have given them this award!
4. Have Fun!

The Survey

1. Where is your cell phone? Endtable.
2. Your hair? Dirty.
3. Your mother? Working.
4. Your father? Underground.
5. Your favorite food? Carbohydrates!
6. Your dream last night? Remodeling.
7. Your favorite drink? Water.
8. Your dream/goal? Baby.
9. What room are you in? Living.
10. Your hobby? Cars.
11. Your fear? Miscarriage.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy.
13. Where were you last night? Home.
14. Something that you aren’t? Skinny!
15. Muffins? Pumpkin.
16. Wish list item? Money?
17. Where did you grow up? Here.
18. Last thing you did? Gasoline.
19. What are you wearing? Clothes.
20. Your TV? Dusty.
21. Your pets? Fame!
22. Friends? Awesome.
23. Your life? Good.
24. Your mood? Blahhhh.
25. Missing someone? No.
26. Vehicle? Subaru.
27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes.
28. Your favorite store? Marshalls.
29. Your favorite color? Purple.
30. When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday?
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday.
32. Your best friend? Alexis.
33. One place that I go to over and over? Wal-Mart.
34. One person who e-mails me regularly? Hubby.
35. Favorite place to eat? Anywhere.

I pass this award to:

1. Lexie!
2. Sherry at If I Could Set My Soul Free
3. Lindsey at Here I Am.
4. Sue at A Good Egg
5. Melissa at The Infertility Journey to Motherhood
6. Abbi at The Schmidt Family Baby Blog

Thursday, October 8, 2009

We felt him move!!

I've been feeling a lot of movement from Marius, but only on the inside. Every day, I feel a good number of taps above my pubic bone, right in the center. In recent days, I've felt a couple bigger taps up by my ribs. I always figured the taps I felt down low were kicks, but after thinking about it more, I'm gonna say that they're actually punches. Since he's always head down or laying across my belly whenever I have an ultrasound, it would make more sense that his fists would be in that location, and his feet would be farther out to the side, or farther up. And now that I've felt what I think are kicks near my ribcage, I'm pretty sure that he's still head down.

Anyway, tonight, hubby and I FINALLY we able to feel our son punching us on the outside!!! Most of the other pregnant women I know have already felt this, but they also started out with a lot less belly fat! lol I thought it would take a lot longer for us to feel it, but I guess not! We're so excited!!!

Ooh! Another award!



Thanks to Sherry for this award!!! She is the absolute most creative person I know, and I envy her her craft room!!! (Not to mention she's like, my second mother!)

Here are the rules of this award:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. link to the person who nominated you.
4. name seven things about yourself no one would really know.

Now I have to think of some things about myself that no one would really know. Hmmmmm.....

1. Even though I'm barely 5'2", I wear a size 9.5 sneaker and a size 9 heel. Crazy, right?? At least I have something to keep me grounded so I never tip over!

2. I love rats. I've had well over 20 pet rats in my lifetime, and I used to breed them when I had the space to do so. I don't have any at the moment, but I plan on getting one (maybe 2) when hubby and I get a house of our own.

3. I'm fascinated with genetics. It amazes me how an offspring can inherit certain traits from its parents, especially those strange recessive genes that pop up and surprise you!!

(I guess I should explain #3 a little more. That's why I got so into breeding rats. There are 3 types of rat coats (hair): standard, which is plain, staright hair, not overly shiny; satin, which is a nice, softer, glossy straight hair; and rex, which is wiry, curly hair. Then there are hairless varieties. Hairlessness is a straight up recessive trait- I had a doe (female) named Loretta with a satin coat that I bred on two separate occasions with 2 different standard-coat bucks (males). The first time, she surprised us with 2 hairless pups and 10 pups with standard and satin coats. The first pup, Camilla, would have looked like your standard, pink-eyed white rat, except that her hair wasn't there. If she HAD hair, it would have been curly (rex), because her whiskers were curly! Her brother Duncan would have been white with a dark brown or black head and stripe down his back. He too, had curly whiskers. Then I bred Loretta with a different male, and this time she had 8 hairless pups and 6 pups with standard or satin coats. Just crazy! Ok.. I know I'm a nerd. I'll continue what I was doing....)

4. I'm full of useless trivia about pretty much everything.

5. I absolutely cannot touch velvet or velour. I CAN'T STAND how they feel. It creeps me out. (And knowing this, Lexie tries to trick me into touching something with these types of materials every time we're in a store! lol)

6. I'm a total grease monkey. I'm just as comfortable under the hood of a car as I am in a kitchen.

7. I love to draw, sew, do papercrafts, and other creative endeavors, but I go through spurts of creativity. I have to be in the mood for it. If I try to make something when I'm not feeling it, I get so frustrated and everything I try to make comes out terrible!

Ok... I'm gonna pass this on to....

1. My crafty and creative friend Lindsey.
2. My BFF Lexie, who is also crafty and creative but doesn't think she is.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Anthony is so freakin cute.

Jake, Lexie, and Anthony stopped over so they could pick up the apple crisp I made for them. Anthony always runs down the hall to our bedroom to see my hubby, but this time hubby was downstairs playing Xbox. Everyone calls hubby by his last name (Tucker), and Lexie said to Anthony "Tucker's not down there." Now, Anthony just turned 2 in July and has never attempted to say "Tucker" before, but he decided he was gonna try tonight. He ran through the house yelling "TOUCHERRRRR!!!! TOUCHERRRRR!!!!" We all almost died laughing!

I can't imagine what it's gonna look like when we see them at Walmart or the mall, and Anthony starts yelling "Toucher!" hahaha

Blahhh

I know, I know- I haven't posted anything in a while. It's because I've felt like total crap lately. The day after hubby and I went apple picking, I woke up with a crazy, unexplained rash all over my body. I tried Benadryl & hydrocortisone cream for 2 days and they did absolutely nothing. I went to see my primary doctor, and he diagnosed it as PUPP, which is a rash that develops in pregnancy (usually later on in the 3rd trimester) and doesn't go away until after the baby is delivered. He sent me to a dermatologist for a second opinion. The dermatologist wasn't convinced that it was PUPP, especially since I was only 20 weeks, so he gave me some cream and told me to continue the Benadryl. After using the cream for a week, the rash is pretty much gone, which is awesome. I'm glad it wasn't PUPP.

And then this morning I woke up and my chest hurts and my body feels heavy and a little achy. Uggggghhhhh! I really hope this gonna be some form of the common cold and not the flu. The first flu shot appointment my doctor could get me is next week. My hips hurt and I'm crampy, which is making me really paranoid, especially since 2 women on the forums lost their babies this past week (one at 23 weeks, one at 18). That's my biggest fear in life. So I'm off to bed. Lots of fluids, rest, and vitamin C are in the cards for me this week. :(