Tons O' Topics Day 14

Day 14: What is the wackiest advice you've ever received? Wow, this is tough, haha! I'm sitting here trying to rack my brain thinking of the WACKIEST advice I've ever received.... give me a few minutes. Usually if it's ridiculous advice, I put it outside of my mind and never think of it again, haha! I think the wackiest advice I've ever received was....  "Don't get married." I know, sounds crazy right? But you wouldn't believe the amount of cynical people out there. I always heard "Don't get married too young..." "Divorce rates are high..." "Love doesn't last..." but truth be told, I couldn't imagine my life without Ethan in it :) I WANTED to marry him. December 28th, 2010 was an incredible day that we will never forget. I think taking that advice and tossing it out the window has made all the difference in my life, hehe :) 
   

Day 480: March 25th- Baby Care Packages and Stuffed Shells!

First off, lets start with a lovely motivational quote taken from Quotemeal: "God has a history of using the insignificant to accomplish the impossible." [Richard Exley] Thought this was a good quote for today :) Don't EVER think you aren't good enough! And now for our FRIDAY update! I've gotten into a routine in the mornings here lately. With labor being possible ANY day now, I want to be absolutely prepared, so every morning I find myself getting up, getting a shower, getting dressed, cleaning the house, and making sure everything looks good JUST IN CASE Tayler decides today should be her birthday. I know, do I sound like a complete weirdo that I'm worried about what people think when they come over to my house directly after she's born? I'd be embarrassed if there were messes everywhere! haha! So, I find myself making sure everything looks spic and span... then I relax :) But there was no relaxing involved today. After getting ready, I met my mom at the mall and walked around with her for about an hour. With it being so cold outside right now, walking seems like a chore outdoors, haha! So the mall was perfect! We had a great time even if my mom does walk EXTREMELY fast.... especially when walking with a 38week pregnant woman ;) haha!!  Once I got home, there were 2 packages waiting for me! (Well, TAYLER... haha! The girl gets more mail than we do and she's not even here yet LOL)  My sweet friend Amanda sent us a Wipe Warmer :) Thank you so much, Amanda, we appreciate it more than you can imagine! 

And we had a baby care package from another dear friend of mine, Morgan! :) She bought Tayler tons of things! I figured I would share, hehe :)

 [Diapers and wipes.. you can never have enough of these!] 

[Lotion... Body Wash.. and Pacis! :)]

[A few shirts, hehe! "Mommy's Lil Shopper," "Surf Beach Patrol," and "America's Sweet Heart"]

[A few summer onesies :) Yes, Tayler is spoiled, haha! Aren't they adorable?]

[And how CUTE are these little shorts? haha! Ethan and I were freaking out about how adorable they are! hehe! :)]

Thank you so much Morgan and Amanda! Tayler will appreciate these soooo much :)

After opening the packages, I got started on dinner. Ethan and I were having stuffed shells tonight (and since I was running out of time... and forgot to buy garlic bread, haha, I ordered garlic bread and a salad for us to split from our local italian restaurant and had that delievered :))

I cut some corners on the stuffed shells today, but they still tasted good... at least I thought so, haha :) I cooked the pasta shells according to the instructions on the box, drained those, and let them cool. I browned a pound of hamburger and loaded it with garlic and pepper and added cheese. I stuffed the peppers and covered them in Preggo Spaghetti Sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cook those at 350 degrees for one hour and voila! :) It was a yummy dinner.. and we had cinnamon flat bread for dessert. Mmm! :)

And I had to share. My phone beeped this morning and it said it had to do an update, so of course, I did the update and my phone like completely changed around! Any Samsung Epic users out there? Did your phone do the same? I think the neatest change was the 'texting conversations.' Check this out:

The yellow is the person I'm texting, the blue is my texting. This was NOT how texting looked on my phone on Thursday, haha! But I really like it :)

Alright, well... I think that sums up our Friday. Still no baby, but maybe this weekend? *Fingers crossed*

Cheers to Project 365!

  

Tons O' Topics Day 13

Day 13: If you had a time machine that only let you spend one hour in a different time, what date would you go to?

That's a tough one. There have been some amazing days in my life. But, and I'm going to get sappy here.... I would probably just go back to one day where my brother and I still lived at home with my parents.
 
I LOVE my life right now! I love being married to the love of my life. I love our house. I love being pregnant with our sweetheart. I love how things are, but...
 
I do miss being around my family all of the time. It's hard to believe that we all live a distance away from one another and we have to 'plan' visiting each other. I see my parents when I plan on going somewhere with them, or we invite them to dinner. I see my brother about 2 times a month because of his work/school schedule.
 
Life is a beautiful gift, but boy oh boy, did it go by quick. Sometimes, I just miss staying up late watching movies with all of them. I miss my mom popping pop corn at night. I miss the smell of my dad's coffee in the morning. I miss my brother stomping his feet thanks to an Xbox game he was playing. Sometimes, I just miss the 'old days.' hehe :)
 
 

Day 479- March 24th: 38 Weeks Pregnant, BBQ Chicken & American Idol Thoughts

And I'm going to use a different motivational quote page for a little while:   Our quote for the day is:   "Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" [Frank Scully]   And now for our THURSDAY update :)   Today marks being 38 WEEKS PREGNANT. We've got 14 days until our due-date... and let me tell you. This momma is getting tired, haha! I'm seriously SO ready to see my sweet, baby girl. It's KILLING me inside... and it kills me every single day that passes, haha! I just keep wondering when her birthday will be! It makes me so anxious. I have everyone telling me their theories... calling and checking on me... and I just keep saying 'No progress, still dilated 1' LOL :) But I just have to keep remembering-- she will come when she feels prepared and ready. Mommy just needs to remind herself of that.   Alright, and now for some belly shots. Here's a side of me facing the right.  

But I think me facing the left shows the REAL view of this belly I'm carrying around. Huge, right? haha!

But I think upclose, it looks a little tinier, haha

And my bare belly, haha!

Drop, drop, drop my little lady! :)

And I figured I'd show you what it looks like when I look down LOL

That's one big belly, isn't it?? haha!! :) I LOVE it and although I'm going to be STOKED to have Tayler here, I will definitely miss feeling her kick and sitting down, rubbing my tummy :)

And since I'm pregnant and all.. I get these cravings. And well, Wednesday night I kept talking about how I had a craving for barbeque chicken, so I went to the store and bought barbeque sauce and set out to make some chicken in the crock pot today. When I got up at 4:45AM with Ethan to eat some breakfast and send him off to work, I thawed out chicken so it was ready at 10AM to put in the crock pot :) I covered it with 2 bottles of barbeque sauce and turned the crock pot on 'Low.' It smelled good all day long...

my daddy even agreed :) It came over to visit today! I think my parents get a little worried about me being so close to labor and being a good bit of distance from them, lol. But it was a fun visit! We talked.. he napped.. we watched the 'Game Show Network' hehe! He even brought me a milkshake. YUMMY :) The mail man came today and even brought Ethan's punching bag.... so, once Ethan got home, he had to pose with the punching bag and my dad got in there with him, hehe :)

Ethan was so proud, haha!

Thank you so much for the visit today, Dad! It meant SO much to me :)

Dad even stuck around for the BBQ Chicken. I think he liked the smell of it a little too much ;) haha! Dad had a bowl of BBQ Chicken and Ethan and I had baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream... and of course, the BBQ Chicken I'd been craving :) Here's my plate:

Oh yes, it TOTALLY hit the spot :)

And of course it was AMERICAN IDOL night in this household!

Now, if you'll remember, I predicted the bottom 3 as: Thia, Paul, & Haley and Haley was going home. (My PERSONAL prediction -- because I'm not a fan of Naima--- was bottom 3 as: Naima, Stefano, and Thia and Naima was going home...)

Oh how wrong I was!

CASEY ABRAMS got voted off. Holy crap! I seriously don't think ANYONE saw that coming, but America-- this is why you cannot just THINK someone is safe. You have to vote, vote, vote!!

Fortunately, the judges saved Casey Abrams. Thank God! I had him pegged from the beginning as the winner of the competition and my heart broke that there was a possibility of him going home :(

The bottom 3 ended up being: Thia, Stefano, and Casey. (The other two I completely agree with...) My heart broke when Casey got voted off and it broke as well when Ryan Seacreast told James Durbin and Paul McDonald they weren't safe (of course, it just meant they weren't safe from Hulk Hogan!)

Crazy American Idol night tonight. I'm so excited for next Wednesday already.

Cheers to Project 365!

Tons O' Topics Day 12

 Day 12: What made you start blogging?

Honestly, in December 2009, a bunch of my friends were on Plurk chit-chatting and one of them brought up the idea of a 'Project 365.' She said she had seen one of her friends writing about it on Facebook. So, we all get really curious about it. I started looking up other Project 365s and I FELL IN LOVE with the idea! So, I got started...
 
I started off just posting 1 picture a day, but soon, I started realizing I wanted to talk about my whole day, so I did that :) And soon, I branched off and started writing about other topics when the mood hit me.
 
I LOVE blogging. I LOVE documenting life. I enjoy looking back at March 24th, 2010 and see what I was doing then and see how my life has changed. I can't wait to take tons of pictures of Tayler and document her sweet, beautiful life :) I am a blogging advocate and I find myself encouraging a lot of others to blog as well!

Day 478- March 23rd: Casseroles and an American Idol Analysis

 Our daily quote from Quotemeal: "If God be your partner, make your plans large." [Dwight L. Moody] And now for WEDNESDAY update :) I had a good bit of contractions Tuesday evening. Yes, one of those false alarms type-deals! The contractions were close for an hour, but after laying down, they started to not be quite so intense OR frequent. I know, I was devastated, haha. I'm so ready to meet this little girl. But because of this long evening and long night that I had (not to mention the rain and storms that passed through here all day...), I spent most of my day RELAXING. I figured I should anyways since I'm sure labor is only days/weeks away... and sleep will inevitably be a thing of the past ;) HAHA!  So, here's where I relaxed today: 

 My favorite spot in our living room :) Ethan has the recliner chair. I have the couch recliner :) I did however get my booty in gear in the afternoon so I could make breakfast casserole before Ethan went to work. I had to actually cut up the sausage today (usually I buy frozen crumbled sausage but not this week), plus I had to scramble eggs AND cook 10 slices of bacon to crumble up. Oh, and make sausage gravy. Usually I purchase the frozen kind of that too, but I had to make my own this week (which was MUCH better if I do say so myself, haha)  Once all of that is cooked up, put down a layer of hashbrowns, throw in the scrambled eggs, add the sausage, crumble the bacon and pour over that, then add the sausage gravy, and a layer of shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.. and BAM.. you have this: 

And Ethan went to work his 2nd job this evening, so I talked to my mom for a little while on the phone, then got all set and cozy to watch 'American Idol.' It was MOTOWN week this week. I was pretty excited to see how they would do things this week (especially who was going to change things up-- like Scotty!) Soo, as usual on Wednesdays, here is my American Idol break down, who I think is safe, who I think will be in the bottom 3, and who I think is going home.

As you all remember, I was wrong last week. I predicted Naima going home and sadly, Karen left us. We'll see if I can get it a little more accurate this week.

First of all, I think ALL contestants did much better this week than they have in previous weeks. It just seemed like they were all on the money and enjoyed themselves. I love seeing FUN performances and that's what I saw tonight, but I suppose that's because that's what Motown was all about! :)

First off-- Casey Abrams. AMAZING. I seriously don't know if I could think of another word for this guy. Our favorite. Definitely safe. Without a doubt. Part of me thinks he already has this competition in the bag.

Thia- It was nice to see her step out of the box. I think she did a good job, but she doesn't have stage performance like the others. That might end up hurting her in the long run.

Jacob Lusk- I have a feeling when they announced that it was Motown week to all of the American Idol contestants, there was a little 'crap' out of all of them because they knew this would be Jacob's week to shine and boy oh boy, HE DID. Amazing performance by him tonight.

Lauren- She's always been one of my favorites. She has an amazing voice, she looked just gorgeous, and she has stage performance. She works the crowd and I love that!

Stefano- I just can't get into his music or his vocal performance. He gets raving reviews on his voice and it just doesn't do much to me. I guess I just don't connect with him. He keeps getting critiques about not connecting with the audience and I think this will eventually hurt him in the long run...

Haley- She has SUCH  a unique voice and I think she could go far in this competition, but the fact that she's been in the bottom 3 the past 2 weeks could hurt her. She has a great stage performance however and really shines! I sure hope she does make it past this round...

Scotty- Pulled off changing a Motown song into a country song. I was a nervous wreck for him, but he did it! He already has such a fan base however, I don't think he has ANYTHING to worry about. (Especially since I bet about a million 13 year old girls voted for him last night LOL)

Pia- She has a beautiful voice, but I'm getting BORED with her. She sings soft songs every single week. I'd like to see a different side of her if at all possible. I think the rest of American might just agree.

Paul- He was my favorite at the beginning because of his unique voice. I love how different he is and he really had such a spark on stage last night with his guitar in his hands.

Naima- Ugh. I don't know what it is about her, but I literally cannot stand watching her perform. I know, I know... that's terrible. But I just feel like she's super cocky and I just don't know.. I can't put my finger on it. I'm just not a fan as I've been repeating.. and repeating...

James- AMAZING as usual. I have no doubt he'll make it through this round... and the next round.. and the next round. He has crazy vocals and an amazing stage performance!

So, who is my pick for the bottom 3? UGH, it's so tough... I'm trying to keep my personal feelings out of it and vote how America would vote...

1. Haley Rinehart. I love her, but I think the past 2 weeks has shown she doesn't have much of a fan base and will be there again this week.

2. Paul McDonald-- As much as I hate saying it, I have this little feeling that he'll be in the bottom 3 this week. I could be wrong (it has happened before, hahaha!)

3. Thia Megia- As happy as I was to see her step out of her shell last night, I think when you look at all other contestants, she's not as strong (at least stage performance wise.) She doesn't seem as comfortable up there...

And who is going home??

Haley Rinehart.

HOWEVER, I will say this--

If it were my choice, bottom 3 would be: Stefano, Naima, & Thia. And NAIMA would be going home, haha!

What are your thoughts fellow American Idol watchers??

Cheers to Project 365!

Tons O' Topics Day 11

 Day 11: What are you looking forward to most in 2011?  Oh did you even have to THINK about this question? LOL  It's OF COURSE the arrival of this beautiful baby girl (that could happen at any time....) and boy oh boy, are we all anxious, haha!  I'm so ready to see what she looks like! As I've said before, I literally go to bed every night dreaming about what she will look like when she first comes out.... when the doctor holds her up for me to see! Is she going to have chubby cheeks? How much hair will she have? What color will it be? What color will her eyes be? Will she have my nose? How much will she weigh? How long will she be? I get so teary-eyed and anxious just thinking about it. I am so in love with this precious sweetheart already and just so so so ready to meet her!
 

Project 365: Day 477- March 22nd

And let's start our day off with a quote from Quotemeal:  "Our faith should be our steering wheel, not our spare tire." [C.L Wheeler] And now for Tuesday's update! :) Early this morning, I heard a knock at the door and there was our sweet FedEx man (it's the same one that delivers EVERY package hehe!) He carried in 2 packages for us. I was quite shocked because I hadn't ordered anything.. (I know, my husband was shocked too, haha!) So, I started opening up the package and lo and behold my Aunt had purchased us a high chair for our sweet Tayler! And since hubby was at work, I took it upon myself to put it together. Since getting pregnant and purchasing things, I've started putting A LOT together. Quite frustrating at times, but I feel amazing when something finally comes together and I did it ALONE :) Well.... I started on the high chair and I was so excited that I thought I'd finally put it together, but... something didn't look quite right HAHAHAHAH. 

I don't think Tayler can eat out of that? HAHAHA! Oh goodness. But I soon realized that I'd just put the legs on backwards. Nothing I couldn't fix. And now look at our gorgeous high chair...

MUCH BETTER :)

And this high chair is amazing because it folds up!

 Yes, it's the little things that just amaze me :) And well, that wore me out, haha! So, Ethan brought home dinner..... 

CHIPOTLE.

I stole this from a website, but I obviously downed mine so quickly, the camera didn't even have time to come out LOL! :) Oh nom, nom, nom! I wanted some spicey and yummy, haha! :)

And after chowing down on all of those calories, we went on 2 walks. Yes, people... we are TRYING to have a baby LOL Everyone says it's creepy to live next door to a cemetery... it is (at night LOL) but it makes for a GREAT place to walk! Tons of roads and tons of circles you can go in, hehe! I LOVE it.

Cheers to Project 365!

  

I'm Pregnant. Now What?

In 2 days, I will be 38 weeks pregnant. We are dilated a little over 1, we are effaced, Tayler is head down and locked and loaded...  This journey is SLOWLY (and yes, I stress slowly haha) coming to an end. (When pregnant women tell you the last few weeks drag on and you're thinking 'Oh, my pregnancy flew...' please... remember.. the last few weeks DO drag on... and on... haha!) It's not a bad 'drag on'... it's just that 'Gosh-I-want-to-see-my-child-plus-I-want-to-sleep-on-my-belly-and-wear-a-bikini' drag on haha!  I am so anxious to see Tayler. Looking back, it seems like I've been pregnant forever. To put it in simple terms, I got pregnant before all of you kiddos out there started school last fall.... and yes, I'm STILL pregnant as some of you are preparing to graduate. 9 months... is a long 9 months, haha! But let me tell you something--- it has been an INCREDIBLE journey. I figured since I'm 37 weeks pregnant, officially considered full term, and able to go into labor at any time, I'd do a little run-down of how life has changed since July 29th, 2010 (the day I knew for sure I was pregnant.) This is where it all started. The third pregnancy test I took: (I took one July 26th-- 3 days before my missed period-- but it was so faint, you could hardly see it on camera, haha) 

And this was my first belly picture taken on July 29th, 2010-- exactly 4 weeks pregnant :)

Telling the Family

Now, first let me tell you about telling my family. I was scared to death. Seriously. You would have thought I was a 15 year old girl that was pregnant (and I was 23 at at the time!) But I just knew that they would think I was ill-prepared (which I was...) I struggled with going to doctors for myself, let alone going monthly then weekly for myself AND another person. I had been dating my now husband for about 5 months... we lived in a one-bedroom apartment... I didn't have a job. Perfect situation, right? haha! :) But I finally told them. The dust settled and I have NEVER seen two people so excited to be grandparents in my life! (And surpisingly enough-- I've battled through these doctor appointments pretty well thanks to God and my sweet momma. I've had blood drawn more times than I count, 2 glucose tests, strep test, cervix checks, a pap smear.... whoo! Lots to do, but it's well worth it, I promise!)

Symptoms

A lot of people ask me if I had any symptoms before I found out I was pregnant. I usually answer 'Not really..' but after looking at my Project 365 and the week of July 21st-27th, I noticed that I had been complaining a lot about not feeling good. The Sunday before testing, I noted that I could not even lift my head off the couch. I don't know why I didn't think about that, but now that I look back--- nausea should have been my first clue! (But being a woman that has battled with lactose intolerance all my life, I figured it was normal, haha) Tender nipples was another clue too, now that I look back.

Morning Sickness

And since I battled with nausea SO early on in this pregnancy, I should have known that morning sickness would PLAGUE me. And boy oh boy, did it! Once everything had finally settled down, I had lost about 20 pounds. I started out my pregnancy at 136 pounds and was down to 119 pounds starting my 20th week. I battled with morning sickness until about 21-23 weeks (and I still suffer with it if I don't eat AS SOON as I get up!) I couldn't keep anything down. I lived off of pretzels and lemonade... and sometimes Sprite. I remember crying and calling my mom telling her I just couldn't do this. However, as time progressed, I got the hang of it... I started eating immediately and never letting myself get TOO hungry (because that's when I'd throw up!) I kept snacks on hand constantly. (If you're struggling with m/s, this is definitely something to remember!) It will pass though. This is something to remember :) Also, something that got me through-- I read once that morning sickness was a GREAT sign of a healthy baby and this website said 'If you're still getting sick, you're baby is typically still alright.' This eased my worried mind when I couldn't feel Tayler yet. I figure as long as I was still throwing up, Tayler-Bug was still okay! :)

Bloatedness

I went through the pregnancy anxious to watch my belly grow! (And I documented EVERY week :)) Here is the 2 month belly shot:

That was what bloated looked like! HAHA! This is the point when the skirts/pants started getting a little snug. I felt like I was a blimp (oh if I only knew how this belly would eventually stretch, haha!!)

There really isn't anything you can do for bloatedness. Look at yourself in the mirror and embrace it. It means there's a little one growing in your tummy and it's all worth it, as I keep saying!

But it soon subsided... here's my 3 month belly shot:

You can see that she started protruding out a little bit there, but we still didn't know what we were having yet, obviously :)

The One Bedroom Apartment Drama

As of 14 weeks pregnant, we still lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. Because of all of the JUNK (haha) we had, we slept in the living room and the bedroom was full of a desk, printer, computer, piano, punching bag... well, you get the picture. We had nooo room for a baby and every place we tried to rent fell through :( It was terrible. I remember going to bed at night wondering how we were going to manage... how were we going to be able to live with a baby in this tiny area? It was so stressful. And then October 8th, we drove past a trailer down the street for us that said '3 Bedroom, 1 bathroom for rent.' Yes, we heard the hallelujah chorus! We called and were told that someone was in front of us asking about it, but they had to get a credit check! So, we still applied for the place, applied for a credit check.. and we waited. Well, apparently God really had His hands on us.. and the other people backed out and WE GOT THE PLACE! Here's a picture of me on the front steps holding the key :) We moved in on October 11th... we were so thankful! It was SUCH a blessing.

Finding Out The Gender

I've never been a person to wait for anything. And this goes for finding out WHAT we were having, haha! We were so anxious, so we called and scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound where they do early predictions. On October 23rd, 2010 I was 16 weeks pregnant (4months) and we found out we were expecting a precious little girl! I was SURPRISED. I thought it was a little boy. I had dreams about holding a little guy... and there was nothing between those legs, haha!

Here was my 4 month belly shot:

And here was our ultrasound finding out Tayler was indeed our Tayler!  

And these are some 3D ultrasound shots :)



 Chloroplexus Cysts I thought everyone got 4-5 ultrasound before they were 27 weeks pregnant. I guess I'd never looked up what was normal... but at our 19/20 week check-up, we were told that the fluid levels around Tayler were too high and they were testing her for chloroplexus cysts. They believed they had seen 3 on her brain. Of course, to any new mother (any mother at all really..) this makes you SICK. I couldn't sleep. I could hardly eat. I was constantly worried. Constantly talking to her. Constantly praying. We went for ultrasound after ultrasound with no change, so they sent us to our state medical center for testing when I was 27 weeks pregnant. We had SO many people praying for us, praying for Tayler, praying that everything would come back clear. And then one night while praying, God told me that my mom was going to have a dream about Tayler and that I needed to TRUST that dream. Well, that day passed and I did not hear anything from my mom. Then, wouldn't you know it the very next day, my mom texted me and the first words I saw were 'I had a dream last night....' What a blessing! She said she had a dream about Tayler and me after giving birth and that Tayler looked HEALTHY and was BEAUTIFUL. She said God gave her a peace that everything was okay! I still felt like I needed a little more confirmation... and God told me 'Pray that when you walk through that door, the doctors will be shocked and will say- I don't see anything on her brain!' We went to the doctor on January 7th for our testing... the ultrasound technician started checking everything. She checked Tayler's face, she checked Tayler's feet, she checked Tayler's kidneys, her lungs, and her heart. And then, she started looking at her head... she showed us where the chloroplexus was and then she said those amazing words--- "I DON'T SEE ANYTHING THERE!" She said Tayler looked amazing and was growing right on schedule! Let me tell you how GOOD our God is! :) If you are facing something like this during your pregnancy, trust Him, trust Him, trust Him! Here was our princess at our 27 week screening: 

Pap Smears, Cervix Checks... You and Your Vagina

Once you get pregnant, please note that modesty is no longer a priority on your list. There will be people you've never met in your life touching you... touching you... roughly, haha. I'll never forget my first pap smear. It is really scary, but please believe me-- it really isn't that bad! I think I cried from embarrassment more than I did from pain! Some lady was down at my vagina.... poking and proding. Good lord! I kept praying I'd just never run into her in the deli aisle at the grocery store.

As for getting your cervix checked, the doctor reaches 'up there' to feel around... and it can be VERY uncomfortable. The first time my doctor did it, I found myself staring at the ceiling (face beat red of course) whistling. 'Okay, he isn't looking at your va-jay-jay, he isn't looking at it...' (Of course, they aren't STARING at it, they are FEELING, but still... it can be embarrassing haha!) Just know that it's all something that you HAVE to do and once it's over..... it's over! Yes, it will feel like they're grabbing your tonsils from your crotch, but don't let that get to you. Trust me, haha!

The Dreaded Glucose Test

This picture was taken from a medical site, but I wanted to give you a good idea as to what the stuff you have to drink looks like:

It might not be the same every where, but where I'm from-- this is what you have to drink in less than 5 minutes. It's a lot of sugar (especially if you aren't used to it) but seriously-- it isn't that bad! It tasted like flat Sunkist (which I love!) I got my test done when I was about 26 weeks pregnant.. and I failed! Bummer, right? I shouldn't have ate a little bit before it. They told me they wouldn't give it to me on an empty stomach, so I had to eat something. I ate scrambled eggs... and I was 4 points over. Darn! The 3-hour one SUCKS. I won't even try and lie to you here, haha! You get poked 5 times. You drink that stuff on a VERY empty stomach... this could be why I threw it up. Oops!

Decorating a Baby Girl's Room

Personally, I was never a fan of the 'cute-sy' nursery decorations. There isn't ANYTHING wrong with them, I just wanted something......... different. So, we decided that we wanted black and white polka dots with a hot pink accent! :) We worked hard on painting the letters for above her bed. We ordered a black crib (that can change into 4 other beds. Sweet, right?) and a changing table that matched! My sweet mom made a ruffle for under her crib and made her gorgeous curtains. Ethan and I painted her polka dots and hung all of those up around her room. We had friends make us blankets... we made a blanket... we got tons of stuffed animals. My mom gave us a shelf. My sweet friend Kat made her a picture frame that matched... and eventually we had a BEDROOM  for Tayler! It wasn't a quick process, so if it feels like your baby's room is taking forever, have no fear! Eventually it will get done!

Here is what the bedroom looked like when we first moved in (and still had no idea what we were having...):

And her bedroom as of today:

What a change right? :)

Trust me-- it will ALL come together!

More Belly Shots

I left off sharing my 4 month belly shot, so I figured I'd share my 5 month, 6 month, and 7 month belly shots for you :)

A lot of belly changing from that 1 month photo, huh? Enjoy it!

Stretchmarks

A lot of people ask me about stretchmarks. I have been LUCKY not to get them thus far. I'm hoping that these last few weeks don't take that luck away from me, but we'll see, haha! I do have 2 on my boobs, but I guess that comes with the territory (yes, ladies-- you will grow... and grow.. and just when you think your boobs can't grow anymore... they'll grow again haha!) but as far as my belly goes, so far, so good! I have used Vitamin E lotion the entire pregnancy. I bought this kind at the store:

I definitely recommend it! :)

We'll see if it continues paying off as these last few weeks continue to pass us... or maybe my daughter will be here soon?? Who knows!

Baby Shower Time!

8 months pregnant brought about BABY SHOWER TIME! :) My mom was the brains behind this operation and she did a theme that matched Tayler's bedroom! Tons of black, white, and hot pink polka dots!

Here's my 8 month belly shot:

And here are a few shots of the baby shower decorations:

And our cupcakes-

What did we do at our baby shower?

Well, first off-- we had a game where the ladies read a poem that they passed around so that they could meet one another. It was a great ice breaker and definintely livened up the room! I definitely recommend using it :)

We also had Tayler's name down the side of a page and the ladies had to find items in there purse that went with each letter T-A-Y-L-E-R.

The last game we played, we video-recorded Ethan (Tayler's Daddy) answering questions about women and pregnancy. (Questions such as: What is afterbirth? To which he replied-- When you're done being born. I'm an afterbirth, hahaha) Prior to his answering, the ladies would guess whether they thought he would get it right or wrong. It was a GREAT way to include Ethan (who still doesn't understand why he wasn't allowed to come, haha!)

You will get TONS of stuff at your baby shower. Remember that. Don't spend all your money on things like I did, hahaha!

This Will Happen

Now, I'm going to break it down for you here.

Your boobs WILL leak. I haven't even had my daughter yet... and my bras already have crust on the inside from where my boobs leak after a shower or while I'm sleeping. Gross, right? Eh! It's gotta happen :) I love it because I'm planning on nursing, so this makes me SUPER excited to know that things are already working 'in there' haha.

You will get gas. Grossssssssssssssssssss. It's true! I don't know what it is about pregnancy, but it brings out the worst in your digestive system. Prior to getting pregnant, I had honestly never stinkered in front of Ethan before.... and then once I got pregnant, ahhh, it just started happening! (And no, I'm not embarrassed to talk about this, haha! Trust me, once you get pregnant, you'll talk about anything including farting and leaking boobs!)

Discharge happens. It is gross. It is icky. But it happens. Don't be alarmed.

You get all too familiar with peeing in a cup while you're pregnant. I can't even count the number of times I've peed in a cup... (and when I say cup, I mean something like this...)

I stole that from a medical site too, but I wanted to give you a picture of what you're aiming for. Literally, haha! I have to pee in one of those EVERY time I go to the doctors office (and now that I'm going every week, it's even MORE fun, haha) But it's all for the health of your baby, you know? :)

Cravings

Everyone asks me, "What are you craving" or "What did you crave?"

At the beginning of my pregnancy, I craved ALL things sour! Anything that made me pucker up! And that included indulging in these two things just about every day:

Pickles annnnnnnnnnnnnd....

Warheads! The Warheads took us FOREVER to find, but thankfully-- the candy store in our mall sold them and Ethan bought them for me! :)

I didn't want ANYTHING sweet at the beginning of the pregnancy. Taking a bite of a cup cake made me want to throw up. I can now eat sweets (as long as I'm in the mood for them), but I still CRAVE salty/sour things... like Salt and Vinegar chips :) MY FAVORITE!!!

I also craved fries. Lots and lots of fries. (See that salty kick)

Movements

I started feeling Tayler at around 15-16 weeks, but they were just simple flutters. It literally felt like something was flapping it's wings in my stomach. It kind of took my breath away.

As time progresses however, you'll start feeling subtle kicks. Mine usually were strongest when I was laying down. You'd start seeing her on the outside and others would start feeling her (about 21-25 weeks) Here's where she started shifting and you could see it outside of my stomach:

This was taken when I was 23 weeks pregnant.

And the alien belly only continued....

This was taken when I was 29 weeks pregnant.

Now, we get SHIFTS that you can see on the outside of my body. I have tons of videos throughout other blogs if you ever want to see those! :)

Moving is incredible. Enjoy it. Don't complain about it :)   Sure, they'll get in your ribs. They'll sit on your bladder. But wouldn't you rather feel them than not?

Rumors..

The rumors are true... you will pee a lot during pregnancy. Sleep will flee once you get so big that it hurts you to sleep. (My back will ache if I lay on one side for too long...) Your blood sugar will drop faster than you're used to. (That little person inside takes a lot of your good stuff haha!) Vitamins are a necessity so make sure you are taking them! You will be hormonal. I've never had TV shows like Deal or No Deal make me cry... til now. Just trust that those around you WILL understand when you break down for no reason... And don't think you're crazy. It's just your body and all the changes it's going through. You will feel the need to sleep more often....... DO IT. Because once you get to the point where it's uncomfortable to sleep, you'll wish you took advantage of it when you were smaller. You will get hot. Hotter than normal. Dress in layers. Carry something to fan yourself. Bring water. Anything to keep yourself going good :) Avoid caffiene. Avoid pop.

Pregnancy Thoughts From Me

It's a tough journey, but please believe me when I say... IT'S BREATHTAKING. (And no, I'm not talking about when you get winded from just getting up off that couch ;) haha) Pregnancy is an incredible journey and I feel blessed to have been given the chance to take it. Enjoy it for what it is because it does go by quickly. Take in all of the moments (even the ones that don't seem 'good' at the moment.) Take lots and lots of pictures. Remember everything!

And last... my most recent belly shot (a little over 9 months pregnant)

You can definitely see how she's dropped :)

And that's my pregnancy journey thus far! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write me! I would love to hear from you! Pregnancy is a beautiful thing-- enjoy it!