A Wonderful 1st Christmas

Madison has got to be one of the luckiest little girls, aside from her cousins I don't think anyone could have been more loved this christmas. What a special 1st Christmas!

That morning Jeff came in the room like a kid in a candy store..its Christmas its Christmas!! wake up, lets go!! So we all piled downstairs to see what Santa had brought us. It was a fabulous morning and we all must have been very good this year...even Zeus and Renegade were not left out. They had an entire stocking of toys that took all of 5 minutes to destroy. :) But they loved doing it!

Then off to Evie beans place to see what exciting things Santa delivered there..oh boy oh boy...Evie and Chloe are two very special girls indeed. Santa was really good to them as well.

We had the whole family over (minus Zeus and Renegade)....Christmas included the 1st timers Evie and Madison, Chloe, Gabriella, Brian, Joe, Rosalie, James, Lyndsey, Jeff, Jamie, Nana Sue, Papa Joe and we can't leave out Honey, Coco and Duke too.

There was a fabulous feast for all to enjoy from nursing to turkeys and stuffing we ALL left the table STUFFED like a jolly old elf!

Presents were presented, paper and bows filled the air for gifts were abundant for all to share. There were racing cars, video games, pillow pets, musical toys, and fabulous steve madden boots. :) There was so much fun and joy being spread I couldn't imagine a better Christmas for all. The most special gifts were given a few months early with the arrival of Madison and her beautiful baby cousin Evie. These two enjoyed the 30 minutes they were awake I'm certain of it.

Madison has a few favorites since Christmas. Her Baby Einstein DVD's are a big hit, she LOVES LOVES LOVES her very first build a bear smallfry, she's a kittie and is appropriately named smallfry, her star stacker, her rattle and her very first Christmas story recorded by Nana and Papa.

What a blessing to share such a joyous occasion with the family. Our day together ended with us all enjoying a wonderful slice of Happy Birthday Jesus birthday cake. YUMMY!






Here are some after Christmas images:Madison asleep on daddy playing wii ...this has happened now 3 times!!
Her new arm position every time she watches baby einstien and her big brother protecting her from Renegade while she watches her baby einstein. TOO CUTE!

A Christmas Carol

Last night Madison went to her 1st play to celebrate Papa's birthday and the coming of her first christmas. A Christmas Carol at the Glendale Theater

Daddy and I took turns with her in the upstairs lobby area because the noises where to much for her BUT she had the luxury of meeting most of the actors and actresses and they just adored her. They loved her outfit and even more they loved her smiles. We even had patrons attending the show comment on just how wonderful she is and how awesome it was that we were getting her started at such a young age. One guy said "This is the age you gotta start them, then they fall in love!" Sounds like a plan! I've always wanted to go to more plays or ballets and just never did, now I have the perfect reason!

The whole cast was singing on the way out the door and they all waved and said by to her as we left. So sweet! She may not remember it but I sure will.

Don't worry mommy and daddy enjoyed the show too...Daddy got to watch it on a monitor in the kids dressing room and Mommy was able to hear all the wonderful music. And we took turns and got to see the play while the other one was enjoying baby time.

The lord sent us an angel in the form of a fussy baby about 12 minutes down the road, when we got back on there was a very bad accident. So we are glad we had to get off the highway even if it meant sitting in some traffic...I'll take that any day over being the one in the accident.

Thanks Nana and Happy Birthday Papa!

Weights

At less than a quarter of a mile today my knee said..."NO WAY!" to 3 miles so I decided to see my 1 mile time..even though I had basically jogged my first lap at a speed of 5.3 I decided to see what kind of time I could get out of the next 3 laps. 1 mile completed in 10:15. I was hoping for 10 but what did make me happy was I finished at a speed of 7.6 without completely gasping for breath at the end and my heart rate was not through the roof! That made me happy.

I decided to add some weights to my workout. I've always struggled with weights in that I tend to lift heavy and try for heavier and heavier. This is something I CAN NOT do right now. I need to lift lighter and slim this "baby body" down before putting the muscle back on. So today was a upper body re-introduction with some simple exercises..one per muscle group. Then I did some abs and away I went.

My body felt my previous run, again not something I would call sore but I definitely felt it. As to be expected.

All in all, its feeling good to be back.

Reason for the Season

With all the plays, concerts, errands, cooking, shopping and running around its easy to forget the reason for the season.....and why this is called the "Most Wonderful time of year"

Today in church we discussed the stresses of the holiday season and where given a good reminder of what the season is really all about.

This year its hard not to let financial stresses make us forget what its all about...I think we are guilty of thinking about the best gift for that person or this person, the most unique toy for the kids or the "MUST HAVE" of the season OH and don't forget the neighbors, the co-workers, the pets and the distant cousins.

The financial stress hit home and it hit hard this year...but we are very happy to have been able wrap presents and put them under the tree AND we were also able to wrap presents for each family member on Christmas day. The sacrifices we made to our personal needs to make this happen are something I know we would do again to see smiles on the faces of the ones we love and each other.

Thankfully we are blessed to not feel some of the other stresses they talked about in church today.....we have a great relationship, we are both healthy, and we are emotionally strong and happy. All things said we have every reason to take time and remember the reason for the season.

We are very blessed to have each other, our favorite lil girl Madison and a growing family!!

maybe next year secret santa..LOL!

God Bless and enjoy this youtube link to help bring humble you for a moment in this chaotic yet wonderful time of year...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRSSsNbF29I

Forward Progress

Day 3 update

My goal today was to make it 2.5 miles in somewhat of a decent time. GOAL CRUSHED! I did 3 miles today in 33 minutes. Happy with the distance the time needs work, but I'm only on run 3 since starting.

I improved my speed on my first two miles and after a short walk and some water completed my last mile. Mentally this is all still a huge challenge and humiliating but I'm coming along. When my first two miles felt decent I decided to make it 3, at 2.5 my knee starting popping but I wasn't ready to stop so after a 1/4 of a mile the popping stopped and I was able to finish 3 miles.

Speed update: I was jogging regularly on the treadmill at a speed of 6.3 - 6.8 finishing at 7.2 - 7.8. Today I ran 5.3-5.8 and finished at 6.3 then sprinted the end at 6.8.

All I can say is I'm making forward progress and that made me feel good after the gym today...I needed that!

Across the Miles

Madison has now traveled almost 5,000 miles at the ripe old age of 3 months. She and I flew to Nashville, TN then drove down to Milton, FL and did it all in reverse a week later.

Her first flight was picture perfect, not a whimper. A guy sitting behind us even stated at the end of the flight, "I'll fly next to that baby any day!". Proud mommy! :)

We then went to visit Auntie Jennifer, Ann and then to Chris and Mandy's house where they so graciously (last minute) let us stay before our long road trip.

Road Trip: So I was very nervous about the road trip, Madison doesn't sleep long in her carseat and she doesn't like being in it. She likes to kick and play, lie flat on her back and be held..you can do none of these in a car seat. Another proud mommy! She did great..4 stops and we made it in 8 hours. I did spend the entire time with my hand helping keep her pacifier in her mouth but thats OK.

She is a very lucky lil girl and got to meet her Great Grandma..not many get to have that luxury. We visited her grandma's grave, hung out with lil Chloe (my dads dog), visited a friend and went and got pictures made with Great Granny. Upon arrival I heard from Granny...Did you feed that baby?, you need to feed that baby, I bet that baby is hungry, AND Is that baby wet?, do you need to change that baby, I bet that baby needs to be changed..OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER. But the morning i left I got the best compliment out of my toughest and most honest critic ever.."You are a really great mother." That put a TON of pep in my step and makes me smile as I type it! It also made up for her "So when do you get to start working on your midsection again?" comment. :) LOVE HER!

On the return drive we made 7 stops and made it in 6 hours (not sure how that happened, but it did). She met a TON of her Nashville family this time..Chera got a nice long visit and Andrea, Judy, Boogle, Katherine, Candace, DeMonty, the donelson pike Shoney's and Sarah all came out to give her good loving at lunch! :)


The return flight was a little rough in the beginning...she was sound asleep and had an explod-a-poop. yep entire outfit needed to be changed, blanket and boppy pillow were not spared either. :) After a brief (maybe 30 second) screaming session she slept the entire flight back to Cali. WHOOHOO!

As a mommy this was exhausting but she made it so easy and so wonderful! Thank heavens for an easy child with a melt your heart smile!

P.S....the planes don't give infants their flight wings...but she deserved them for sure!

Back to the Races

I'm back to the gym. After not being able to get my heart rate up at all due to Madison's lil heart in utero and not having a pump to get milk for the hubby while I went to the gym it has now been 6 months since I worked out or went on a run. Its been hard but I'm back to the Races! I plan to document on this blog my return to the run and hopefully returning to my next half or full marathon by spring. Knee surgery didn't stop me, pregnancy won't either.

The first day was HUMILIATING!! Mentally I'm still the fit runner I've always been but time away tells a different story. It was a painful realization that I am starting at a new bottom! I've never been this out of shape EVER!!

I completed my 1 mile goal in 11:45..UGH! Then I did 100 or so ab exercises and away I went. Resulted in my entire body feeling it the next day but I wouldn't say I was sore..just more of a wake up call.

My weight is currently 7 lbs less than when I found out I was pregnant last december but you would never guess it looking at my body! It also tells a different story. I have no goal of weight loss just to tone up and see what happens. But I currently weigh in at 143-ish. I would HATE to know my bodyfat percentage..something else humiliating I will probably admit on this blog later. Do you realize that I once weighed 136 with a body fat percentage of 7..NOT A TYPO..7% bodyfat..I rocked it too! I may never see 7% again, nor do I want to...but I MUST get it down from where it is now!

Workout number two (still concentrating solely on running and some core exercises)
2 miles 24 minutes..UGH UGH UGH! Then a couple hundred ab exercises. I have doubled what I did only 2 days ago, but saying it that way is just making me feel better! Still didn't accomplish much mentally.

Cheers!

Xmas card 2010

Keep Believing Christmas Card

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Month 2 and growing

Well I've managed to be so busy with Madison that I've not updated on her 2nd month! We are going for her week 10 check up tomorrow...OOPS! :)

In the last month Madison has:
filled our world with wonderful smiles

thoroughly enjoys mat time

the cutest baby noises

started to talk back to you

been growing and growing..we are in some 3mo clothes now (momma makes buttermilk I think!)

become much better as a momma's helper when running errands

started to sleep ALL night with one or two feeds (more for momma's comfort!)

visited her cousin Evie

spent lots of time with Nana and Papa and LOVES every minute of it

hung out with big brother Zeus and even napped with him

slept through every church service since birth! HAHA!

We love her smiles and cute faces, they are so animated and just light up our souls. She is definitely a drama queen in the making...but hopefully she's getting that out of her system now...for all our sanity! :)

Idle Hands

So our church service kind of hit home for me today. We are in a series talking about the supernatural and how it affects us. Some examples given were have you ever had an addiction you couldn't kick, a force holding you back from believing in God, a child that just always seemed to get in trouble, etc, etc, etc.

Well as service continued the saying "Idle Hands are the Devils Workshop" kept entering my mind...THAT my friends was my issue.

Back before marriage and a family I spent many a minute at the bar enjoying cocktails, friends, and sports. Well I must say that it was more than just enjoyment. It was a habit. When I had idle time it seemed there was this force that drove me to make a habit of spending sunday at the bar watching football...well it wasn't this force that was "the devil" persay. BUT this force got me to open the doors to let the devil in and push me to make bad decisions such as leaving the bar and driving home or spending more money than I needed to, etc, etc.

I always just thought it was me and thats what I did...but now I know it was me easily opening a door for the devil and allowing him to sit back and clap as I continued to make bad decisions.

Now that I have a fabulous husband and an amazing daughter I no longer have "Idle Hands" nor do I ever want to spend my time the way I did before. I am blessed that nothing stupid happened to me and I have been given the wonderful gift of love despite my repetitive stupidity.

No longer will I allow the devil in..I am closing my doors and keeping my "house" safe!

A melting heart

Returning home from date night to pick Madison up, saying hi to her and getting an adorable "hi mommy" smile back in return.

Melt your heart moment!

You Learn As They Grow

Part One of new mommy moments cause I'm sure there will be MULTIPLE parts to come...

So we are at church one Sunday morning and near the end of service Madison wakes up to feed, she then on our way to the restroom to change her decides to projectile spit her recent meal all over herself and me. So I get her in the bathroom, wipe her down, go back out to get her extra outfit...back into the restroom we go to change outfits. UH OH....the onesie in there is NB size. Its a bigger NB size so maybe it'll work...I get her changed...needless to say the poor girl looked like she had a spandex onsie on. I felt like the worst mom.
NOTE TO SELF: when they grow you have to update the diaper bags too!

While heading out for a day of errand running I decide to use the Baby Bjorn instead of stroller. She likes it better anyway. I'm in target and decide to try something on, I get us and the outfit into the dressing room and then bust out laughing at myself...WHERE AM I GONNA PUT THE BABY WHILE I CHANGE CLOTHES?!?!?!? I finally figured something out and then sat in the dressing room for a feeding as well.
NOTE TO SELF: if you plan on undressing while shopping you need a place to put the baby!


You learn as they grow I guess!

Baby Talk

Jeff said something to me the other day that got me to thinking....

Madison had a rough day and when he got home she was stilling having a rough one. Just unhappy unless nursing and not getting much sleep. While he was holding her and trying to soothe her I said "its been like this all day, poor girl." He said "how do you keep your sanity?"

Here is the answer to that and maybe my view is much different than that of many mommies out there...Its not about me, its about her.

Imagine if your only form of communication was to cry and no one could figure out what you were saying. You would be insanely irritated and even fussier. Babies can have up to 90 different cries. My job as a mom is to learn these cries and calm baby as best I can...luckily for her current cries and fussies nursing fixes them both, the hungry and the gassy.

Baby talk may not be easy to understand or easy to deal with, but its all they can do. So for now I'll listen to my baby talk and do all I can to understand and act as quickly as possible.

We are lucky and do not have a fussy baby so my point of view may be different if we did. But, I'd like to think I would still put her first and continue to listen to her talk to me, whether its oohs and aahs or cries and screams.

Magnificent Madison

I'll let the pictures do the talking here....THANKS to Faith In Focus Photography!

Dogs do it too...

We have proven that dogs also eat to soothe their pain and suffering. Case in Point...Zeus Kapone Brandenburg-Pacula.

He's officially a chunky monkey. He is hiding his sorrows in his dog bowl and the proof is in the fat accumulating on his neck, chest and back. If you notice in the much needed mommy laptime picture you can see just from him sitting the fat rolls going down his neck and back.

Poor guy!

Baby Body

So.....I've only got 1lb to go to be at my pre-preggers weight. Which is about 8-10lbs over my reg weight cause it was december ( I always put on about 5 in december, this december I got carried away I guess). However, I look nothing like I did in December :(! Because all my muscles went away at month 3 so I am all chunky monkey fatty boombalatty at the same weight I was tight n fit before. THIS DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY!

I know by breastfeeding I will continue to drop weight, and in just 3-4 more weeks I'll be cleared for the much awaited "GO" to workout again. I can't believe its been about 4 months since I've worked out (I mean really worked out).

If it was a math calculation I think it would go like this:

Pre-preggers weight - loss of muscle mass + Baby weight = Baby Body

Total weight - Baby Weight = Jiggly Wiggly Post Baby Body

The goal:
Total weight - (Baby Weight+10lbs) + muscle mass = ROCKIN MILF BODY!!

There's a first time for everything!

Especially when a baby is first born...everything is a first. The first breath, the first touch, the first cry, the first feeding, TONS AND TONS of firsts.

We've been doing our best to capture our firsts on film, but some we just enjoy being a part of.

We've had our first trip to the hair dresser, first trip to the dr's office, first trip to the mall, first trip to Auntie Lyndsey's, first dinner out, first day of worship, first day at the park and our first full bath experience.

She's does great in the car rides as long as mommy doesn't take too long or leaves just after a feeding. Same with most every other trip out the door, no matter where we are going. I've been very lucky but some days we just can't make it happen and right when we get where we are going we need to eat.

She enjoys bathtime, luckily for daddy, no screams or cries. Daddy does all of the baths and he enjoys it too.

Here are a few "first" pics

The best two weeks

Today Madison is two weeks old!!

The past two weeks have been absolutely wonderful. She has so many amazing facial expressions that I swear i could just stare at her all day long. I'm sure many mommies feel this way but its overwhelming to me just how much I am truly in awe of her.

She is an eating machine and is gaining weight wonderfully, we have her 2 week appt tomorrow but at our last weigh on Friday she was up to 7lbs 5oz. Which is very good according to the lactation consultant. Strictly breastfeeding with no bottle these first few weeks, we will start to introduce the bottle this coming week I think, that way daddy can assist with feeding. We will take it slowly in case she doesn't transition back and forth real well.

She has been doing a good job of sleeping at night, we've had a few rough nights but not at all what I expected so I'm very thankful.

As for mommy...if it weren't for Jeff I'd never eat. I still have no appetite and I don't get hungry. I just start to feel weak and realize I haven't eaten in forever. Jeff started back to work yesterday and at 3pm I realized I needed to eat...this is odd to me, but it'll work itself out and I'll be the food loving big eater i always was! :) I'm still sore if I go all day without a pain pill so I'm currently taking a half a pill a day and that takes the edge and throbbing away. I have lost 25 lbs of the 33 I gained, but my body shape is completely different than pre-baby. I can't wait to get out more and walk more and start the gym again. In due time I will get all of these luxuries back, right now my main life goal is to feed my baby so that is what I do...all day long...the days fly by because it seems every 1-1.5 hours I'm feeding her which leaves me only about 30-45 minutes of free time to do stuff. The next thing I know its night time and we are getting ready for bed. :)

Here are some pics of her first two weeks.

Boobs

Well this isn't the first time I've been wanted only for my boobs. LOL!

She eats a lot, which is very good and makes momma happy. My boobs will tell ya another story in the way of soreness but its so very worth it!!

Madison's Birth Story

Our day started out very early with nervous energy running through the house..did we pack everything, what are we forgetting, did you get your phone?, what about the camera?, etc, etc, etc. I guess these are luxuries for those of us that knew what day they were headed to the hospital, everyone else kind of does it in a big rush out the door.

Hospital arrival and check in 6am, wheeled back to labor and delivery at 6:20am, get put into temporary labor room (curtain) at 6:30am, answer a ton of questions like birthdate, address and do you have electricty and plumbing? (yes, that was asked)....Dr stops by and orders the Petocin....7am HERE WE GO!

Upgrade!! YEAH~!! (ok so the upgrade is actually the standard, but it made us feel good) Upgraded to a private labor room (shared bathroom) at 7:30am. This was much nicer and more comfortable and where I spent the next 13.5 hours.

What a long day in bed. With Petocin (PET) you can't walk any farther than your IV's will reach and you can not walk up and down the hallways while on PET. So we sat, we chatted, the nurses continue to increase the PET, we had visitors, my hubby surprised me with a great little stereo that hooks up to my iphone so we jammed out, i shook my booty a little in the bed...we were having fun just letting the time pass. Then we started to ask, well how much PET is usually needed to get this thing going, what else can be done, etc, etc. The nurse said "The max we can give you on the PET is 20, but I haven't seen anyone get that high yet." There are other options but we will stick wtih the PET per your Dr and see what happens. At 12:30pm I was at 20 PET..LOL! Nothing like a good jinx from the nurse HAHA! At 3:30 I was still on the PET, contractions getting more intense but again, nothing too bad. At 4:30 my water broke..YAY!!!!! Contractions rapidly increase from tolerable to pretty damn intense (of course being on the highest dosage of PET for half the day is a good reason for this...PET multiplies the intensity of the contractions sometimes by up to 10x's worse than natural contractions). By 6pm contractions were so intense and so close together I wasn't sure i'd ever get a break to breath.

Knowing all along I was going to get an epidural I decided to order it at about 7pm. NOTE: I WILL NOT WAIT SO LONG NEXT TIME!!! The dr came in and got me all set up...here is the hard part. I'm having very intense contractions but while you get an epidural you have to stay COMPLETELY STILL and sit in a very uncomfortable position...this was probably the hardest thing I had to do ALL DAY LONG...but I'd do it again in a heart beat...it was the difference between night and day!!

Post epidural my contractions were the same but I COULDN'T FEEL THEM! My hubby was happy cause he had his joking, smiling, fun wife back. :) AND, it made my labor progess so much faster cause I was able to relax and let the body do its thing. At 8:10pm I was still only dillated 4cm (yep 13 hours later), I just knew it was gonna be another 12 before we met our baby girl...well surprise surprise..15 minutes later I was at 7cm!! YAHOO!!!

At 9:15 I was transferred to a labor room, by then I was dillated 10cm and ready to start to push. The great thing was I pushed through the contractions but didn't have the pain too! I pushed through my contractions for about an hour, we had a little problem getting her over the bone (she has a bruise on the back of her head)
:(....The Dr came in to check at 10:15 and we still had a little bit to go, he left and with 2 more pushes he had to be called back in. Then the room had 3 techs, nurses and my Dr. A few final pushes with the Dr and Madison Olivia was born at 10:31pm. I only had to get 2 stitches for a small tear. She weighed 6lbs 15oz (which I rounded to 7lbs for ease of typing to everyone) and scored a 9.9 on her apgar test! :)

It was a long long day but the last part of it went by so fast that I guess all in all I was very lucky. I had intense contractions for a few hours, an epidural that progressed me along super fast, a tough hour of pushing and an ANGEL to embrace at the end.

My hubby was an amazing coach and support the whole day, I couldn't have made it through the day so calm and content without him.

Post birth daddy followed her to the nursery for a bath and other check up requirements, before heading home to let out the dogs and get some rest. When they came back from the nursery daddy handed me a ring box (the one my engagment ring came in) and inside was a beautiful heart shaped Peridot (august birthstone) ring with 2 small diamonds on the side...this was a gift that Madison bought with her first allowance (wink wink). How sweet is he?!?! Mommy got some rest with Madison, she slept on my chest most of the night..we attempted some breast feeding and tried hard to get some rest. I was in awe all night and still am. What an amazing day and experience!

RECAP:
Hardest parts: 1. waiting to long for epidural and having to sit still during intense contractions, 2. eating nothing but ice chips ALL DAY LONG!

Best parts (besides hearing her first cry and holding her for the first time): 1. getting an epidural cause it allowed me to enjoy the pushing process and be that much more aware of everything except pain

Happy Birthday Madison!

What I can feel....

I couldn't feel my contractions today but I'd like you to imagine this feeling...

Your pelvic bone feeling so bruised with every step and movement that you think it had to have been punched and kicked all night long.

This is NOT fun for me, I'd like to go back to the pain free contractions please!

Contractions

While sitting at her heart monitoring session today the nurse goes..."oooh theres a contraction, did you feel it?" I answered "No"

This happened a few times during the monitoring and this made me very very happy! Not that I was having contractions but that I COULDN'T FEEL THEM!! YAHOO!!

Drama

Drama is for teenagers not adults.

Quote of the Year

"This pregnancy thing is really easy." - Jeff Pacula

Birthing Class Outbursts

As you all know, I tend to say exactly what I'm thinking...I have no filter. Sometimes its simply funny, sometimes its simply rude and people get all hurt (truth hurts sometimes anyway), and sometimes its totally inappropriate and I bow my head afterwards wondering where to hide.....

Most of you have experienced these "outbursts" with me and know first hand what I'm talking about.

Here's one more for the books:

While our gingerbread fairy birthing instructor is telling us about recovery, etc. She says the books tell you you can return to normal a normal sex life in 6 weeks, the reality is more like 10-12 weeks.

Enter stage left: "ARE YOU FREAGING KIDDING ME, THAT REALLY REALLY SUCKS!"

Audience: complete silence, glaring eyes from the females in the room and I think the instructors jaw dropped a little I def know her eyes got big.

Supporting hubby (with a tad lil bit of embarrasment I'm sure): "Thanks babe, you just said what all the guys in the room were thinking."

We both laugh...no one else does. NICE, REALLY NICE!

Good thing I didn't keep going and say I thought 6 weeks was the LONG estimate, not the early estimate and that 6 weeks was WAY WAY WAY too long as it is. Regardless, I managed to do it again...good job Brandenburg! (i revert back to my maiden name when these moments occur, no need to taint another name! LOL)

But hey, thats me, raw and real....take it or leave it!

Rotten Egg

As we leave our Labor and Birth Preparation class last night and are nearing the car, Jeff spontaneously says "Last one to the car is a Rotten Egg!"

So I decide to start shuffling my feet faster, so does he, so I take off on a full on pregnancy sprint (def NOT a sprint) towards the car and slam my hand (to help me stop more than anything) on it first. Whew...I'm not the rotten egg.

Neither one of us actually expected me to run and it was definitely a slow motion process from shuffle to pregnancy sprint. By the time we got to the car (which wasn't far at all...maybe 3 spaces away) we were laughing so hard!! I was laughing so hard I was crying. If only Jeff would have had a video camera with him, it was absolutely hilarious. He said it looked more like gliding than running but I sure was pumping those arms to get me there...oh what good times. Needless to say I am NOT the rotten egg. Even pregnant I'm as competitive as ever, Jeff was kind enough not rob me of my win cause he saw how hard I was trying.

We haven't laughed so hard and so completely for a very long time!!

The aftermath of my preggers sprint is not any fun... my pelvic bone is super bruised and my ligaments are super strained from the bouncing, but it was all worth it. That is a memory we will have forever!!

The last one to the car is a rotten egg game is one I'm sure we will always play, especially now!!

Goals

I'm setting goals today for post baby athletic abilities and figure achievements.

Here are a few:
obviously start running as soon as physically and medically possible!
Sunday Mar 2011 Half OR Full Marathon
4-30-11 Country music marathon Nashville if I can make the trip
6-5-11 Rock N Roll San Diego Half Marathon
Next Sept Lake Tahoe Half OR Full Marathon (if we've decided to wait on baby number 2)
The hard part is I can barely walk now so any amount of cardio kills me! Its crazy!

Get my muscles back!!!!
This will take months of hardcore gym training but with the running and the breastfeeding and a healthy diet I'm hoping I surprise myself and my muscle memory shocks me and I'm back quicker than I think! :) I LOVE exceeding goals! :)

If we don't have plans for baby number 2 right away then I plan to get a trainer (after I've done my part) and get show ready for a competition in the fall of 2011 or spring of 2012 this is a BIG goal and will take lots of support of every single person in my life! If we do plan on baby number 2 right away then this will move to POST baby number 2.

So the goals are in place, gotta write out the path to get there but mentally I'm so very ready!!

Here's to achieving goals!!

Well Hello 31!

31 came quickly but I guess thats to be expected because 30 was filled with our wedding, a BIG move across the U.S. and making a baby!

Well I must say if my birthday this year is an example of how wonderful 31 will be, I will be one very satisfied and happy girl!

Nothing in our house is done small or without some sort of flare...my birthday was not exempt from this rule. I was told what to pack and given a few small hints of what we could be doing. Wednesday afternoon we hit the road.....heading south.

Just before arriving at stop number 1 I start asking tons of questions (ok so I was doing this for days...bless him)....the closer we get I say "Are we going to Joe and Rosalies?" (his brothers in San Diego) He says well yeah but just for a minute and proceeds to tell me we are going to be staying the weekend on Coronado Island in a condo by the water. SWEET!! We stop in at J&R's, say hi to the kids, play with Duke (their German Shepard pup), get the keys to the condo and off we go.

Surprise to both of us...the condo is actually now a 5Br/4.5Ba home on the water!! SUPER SWEET!! We unpack, relax in the amazing jacuzzi (don't worry we set it low for me and Madison per dr's orders) and eat bday dinner...of course it was steak! YAY for birthdays!!

OK....morning of the big 3-1...bfast is had overlooking the water and there are a couple more presents to be opened (I got to open 2 prior to my bday). The total of my presents that I unwrapped included the new Eminem CD aka lyrical badass (love it!), 1,2,3,4 new shirts for this big belly, and a swiffer wetjet (I was sooo totally excited about this one cause I can't clean the tile the way my momma taught me at my size, getting on all 4's on hard tile at my size is NO GOOD! Then he tells me that I need to be ready to leave the house by 1130am and that we have a BIG day ahead of us.

We head across the bridge to the Gaslamp district (if I wasn't preggers we would have been out dancing and drinking one night, but thats for the next trip down!). I'm told we are meeting someone and later that day seeing an old friend...CURIOUS GEORGE HERE, yep more questions. Ok so we get parked and start walking downtown and finally after walking and looking he says ok close your eyes and he turns me towards the AT&T store!!!!!! YAHOOOOOO I'm getting a new phone, I'm getting a new phone, I'm getting the new 4G iphone!!!! (my 3G has been kicked and dropped and thrown across bars and well beat up pretty bad). HOW COOL IS THIS!!!!! OK next...we leave our parking spot and head out, now its time to meet an old friend, we drive by Petco Park (if you don't know thats where the Padres play)and he points over and says we are here...YIPPEE!!! I get to go see my old friend from Knoxville, Chase, play!!!! He plays 3rd base for the Padres and I haven't seen him play live since he left UT and was signed. HOW COOL IS THIS!!!!! So now I send a text to Chases' older brother Nate, my very very very close friend from Knoxville to brag about going to the game for my bday.....well HELLS BELLS...GUESS WHO IS IN TOWN FOR THE GAME TOO!! YEP...my NATEDAWG is here! So we meet up with Nate, shoot the shit and all go to the game. Jeff had no idea Nate was in town, but without him thinking of such an amazing bday present I would have missed an amazing buddy that I do miss a lot! He's just good like that! It was so perfect that it couldn't have been planned! Jeff had one very happy and giddy girl on his hands. At the game which was UBER hot I made it to the 7th inning before having to leave, it was super hot, we were right in the sun and I walked a good bit downtown so I was pretty drained (its sad I know!). So we head back to the island for dinner. On the way I get blessed with my first taste of contractions, more than the silly little braxton hicks things that I've gotten, those things are a joke.... (thanks madison, just what I always wanted for my bday!) But I made it through a very relaxing (minus contractions) dinner outside in the cool night air. We headed back to the house and I continued with the contractions for another hour and then they were done. We relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening.
WHAT A FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

The next morning we wake up, hang outside, relax in the jacuzzi and since the sun decided to hide this day we went to see SALT at the movies (loved it!!) and then over to J&R's for a bday dinner with them. It was really great!! Gabriella (my neice) made me a red velvet cake MY FAVORITE and I received even more gifts! HOW COOL!

The last morning we relaxed in the jacuzzi one last time, cleaned and headed back home for work that night.

Tonight we are having dinner with the fam up here and my bday will officially be over (except when I get my new phone in the mail...in about 7ish days!)

I don't know how he always does it but he knows how to make me feel extra special and 31 has been absolutely fabulous thanks to my amazing hubby!

Hello 31....BRING ON ONE OF THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!! I know you can do it and I'm ready!!

Nursery Update

Still working on simple things, furniture additions but here are some pics of the nursery....

Awesome Hubby!

The card front cover:

My belly hangs over my jeans.
My boobs hang over my bell.

Inside of the card:

These are NOT the kind of hangovers I want to have.

This card makes me giggle so I keep it on my desk. He got it for m just as a thank you for all my body and mind have been going through the last few months with the pregnancy..how sweet!!

All Things Madison (clothes, nursery and fun baby things)

Pictures and painting and preparing OH MY!

Nursery is Choc brown and Honeydew Green and its PERFECT!! The crib bedding set is light green, dark green, orange, brown and yellow circles with a whittish cream background and I'm in love with it!

There are fun things to put up like turtles, frogs and other decor items. I get to play arts and crafts (not my favorite thing in the world but its for my little girl) and paint all the letters of her name the same choc brown as the bottom wall so the letters match.

I'm having a saying designed at some point (hopefully before she's here but if it takes a while no worries) to have in large script on the wall across from her crib it was what I used to tell my mom "I love you all the grains of sand in the world"

Pictures came in so we've got some framing to do, we have some additional organizing of things and of course will have to work on a lot more to get it all ready, but for the most part (except the crib and a few essential registry items like stroller and carseat) if she came today we could manage. She has more clothes than any newborn should need so pretty much we are baby ready. But we hope she gives us enough time to do all the things we want to do before she gets here.

We have 8 weeks to go and a lot can happen in 8 weeks so it will all get done and it will all be MAGICALLY MADISON!

All things Madison (drs and classes)

I've been doing a poor job of keeping my blog and the baby website up to date so here goes.....

A few weeks ago at our regular appt there were signs of a heart problem so I was rushed off to a clinic by the hospital to monitor her heart. The monitoring showed signs of a slight arythmia and they wanted to ship me off to a specialist that afternoon or the next day, but since I've already been seeing a specialist due to the calcium deposit in her left ventricle they decided that I would just keep that appt and monitor her daily.

The specialist appt proved that there is a slight arythmia and its too early to do much about except watch and hope it works itself out. Regardless I was given some rules to follow: No caffeine at all, no chocolate (no worries there), stay away from sugary foods, keep my heart rate down and most of all DO NOT STRESS AT ALL!!

She is a very active baby so its pretty obvious when she's not moving correctly and one night/morning she had me worried cause she was super sluggish and it took a long time to "count her kicks" vs the norm. That afternoon all was well again and I was happy.

This weeks reg drs checkup we scored all A's: no sign of the arythmia at that moment, weight gain looked good, measurements were good, bp good, etc, etc. YAY FOR MADISON, YAY FOR MOMMY!!!

Baby class #3: Parenting for your Upcoming Newborn
Class 1 of 3: we practiced holds, swaddling, changing the diaper, and learned a lot about the 5 S's to calm a crying baby and learned a lot about what to expect a far as what the baby will look like for the first 10 days or so...not as cute as the magazines thats for sure! NOTE: Jeff's hands are the size of the entire babydoll it was really quite interesting to watch him change that little diaper! :)

Cramps, cramps, cramps....yep they are back. very random but def back. Last night I was giggling for about 30 minutes cause I couldn't stand up and turning over was to say the least NOT pleasant. (if you don't know, I laugh when I'm in a ton of pain, moan and complain and say I'M FINE when its tolerable and if it ever goes beyond laughing...I'll have to let ya know, I've not reached that amount of pain yet). So last night I had really really bad cramping WORSE than any period I've ever had, they never made me laugh. But since my dr and I just talked about cramping and if it was random not to worry, I didn't and am not! :)

There is the recap of the last 3 weeks of All Things Madison by way of Drs and Classes

Sweet Southern Comfort....

I miss that sweet southern comfort something crazy!! I've been missing it more and more lately but today MOST definitely.

Today was pretty intense at work and hotter than HAITIS!!!! Traffic was typical, which for out here typical = sucks! Got home 2 hours after I left work and the hubby had had a few drinks, not that its bad and not that he shouldn't, just the smell of alcohol absolutely repulses me preggers so it wasn't the warm welcome I expected after a tough day. Again, not his fault, just a preggers chick thing.

BUT THEN>>>> I arrive to find a big box on my front porch and come to find its a gift from my BFF Melissa in Korea...its Madison's crib bedding set and it just made the world right again. I don't need presents to fix crappy days but TODAY'S was absolutely perfect!!

Melissa - I love you, you are fantabulous and I miss your hugs something crazy!!!

It was nice to come home to a little sweet southern comfort, even though a hug would've been AWESOME ;)!!

On another note I think California should be more like Tennessee......but then again it wouldn't be California. Not real sure why people live out here, but one thing I know...if they knew what that sweet southern comfort was and how great it can make your world...they'd all move to the south! :)

BOOBS

Jeff and I learned a lot about boobs and their functionality at our 2.5 hour class on breastfeeding. He is super intrigued, I am still grossed out. But its the best thing for Madison so I will endure and be FINE!

In addition to the extra 5lbs I put on since my last dr's visit I apparently grew upstairs too.

Yep I was laying in bed the other day and my boob was in my neck...weird......YES!

Got my first sleep nursing bra yesterday (thank you granny) which resulted in my finding out that I am right at a DD...... WHAT!?!?! And they are supposed to get bigger after birth WOW!!! I'm too little for a huge belly and DD boobs, its just not right! :) Anyway, Jeff and I were pretty shocked at knowing I have grown from a full C to DD in no time at all!

Boobs, boobs, boobs. Thats all I can say!

BABY BLOG

http://sites.bundleofjoys.com/babypacula/

updated Madison's blog!

continuation of pregnancy as a blessing

So you know how they do the commercials for medications and talk about all the risks of taking the medication...

They should do the same thing for middle school and high school health class for young girls to hear all the possible side effects of pregnancy. I think it would be a big help cause until you are actually pregnant you don't know about a lot of the side effects that can happen (atleast I didn't)


LUCKILY.....in the side effects list I only (so far) have dealt with head colds in the beginning, lack of energy in the beginning, of course weight gain (which has been the hardest for me), backaches and now recently leg cramps and swollen feet. Oh and I hate the smell of my favorite beer. :)

Pregnancy is a blessing?

Side effects could include:
Nausea, vomiting, gestational diabetes, weight gain, headaches, backaches, facial redness, dry skin, head colds, constipation, leakage, lack of energy, swelling, stretch marks, tenderness in the breasts, chloasma, difficulty breathing, skin rashes, changed center of gravity, clumsiness, forgetfulness, round ligament pain, internal pain from movement and kicking, vericose veins, diarrhea, odd food cravings, lack of sexual desire, cramping of organs, increased urination, enlarged areola, swollen glands, hemorrhoids, vaginal infections, leg cramps, carpel tunnel syndrome.

That does not include the additional pains and issue from labor nor does it include the entire list (i ran out of commercial time....lol).

So can someone please tell me why women are "blessed" to be pregnant. I mean think about it...... the dad has all the same benefits after pregnancy and birth as the mom does and doesn't have to deal the side effects OR the labor OR the recovery.

Just a thought....

Pregnancy Dreams

Well after months of being pregnant I am starting to consistently dream about different stages of baby. Here are just a few recaps of the many I have enjoyed lately:

Protective Mommy:
Jeff and I are walking up our street for our morning exercise when a woman asks us to help her in her garage. We both walk up to help and from her table she pulls out a gun (in my mind whe was trying to kidnap me to have my baby). She pulls the gun out and I leap across the table at her, grab the gun and shoot her right in the middle of the forehead. :)
Version 2 - She lives because I only shoot her in her lower abdomen (where a baby could be) and her kneecap. That way she had to suffer in jail.

DON'T MESS WITH MY BABY! :)

Saleswoman in labor:
Jeff and I are in the hospital bed and I'm all ready to push for baby and all the nurses are running about and I'm handing them all Mary Kay gift bags with a look book and I'm telling them to make sure they come back in about 10 minutes so we can then book their facials. I think my exact words in the dream were "If you could just give me 10 minutes to get this over with, then we can book those wonderful free facials for each of you!"

BIG BABY!:
Last night I dreamt that Madison was born and she was a BIG OLE BABY! She had bright blue eyes, bright red hair and was just big and thick and heavy and she immediately started breastfeeding correctly...no issues there (we jut did a 2.5 hr class on breastfeeding). When I say big and thick and heavy I MEAN IT, she was a solid hardcore thick girl, ready to knock zeus down she seemed so strong. :) My other girlfriend (unnamed) was there with me and she had her baby too and her baby was itty bitty, I mean premie size. Needless to say I wanted a small baby and she wanted a big ole plump baby so we were talking about what we ate and stuff so next time we did it right. LOL!

In most of my dreams I now acknowledge I'm pregnant, some I'm a spy doing all these hardcore spy stunts but I'm preggers, I've had one or two where I'm carrying an empty beer bottle around and everyone is staring and whispering LOL!, and a few other versions of the protective mommy dream (all end up with the other person dead).

So apparently I'll kill without a thought if there is a threat to me or Madison, I think that mentally I'm still in the same shape that I was pre baby, I apparently want an adult beverage and Madison is going to be a thick and heavy, blue eyed, red headed child (she'll take after Zeus). :)

Please feel free to laugh at my pain......

So today is Monday and its almost over, YAHOO!

Here is just a brief recap of the high points of my day today:

5am - take Zeus and Renegade outside cause they are awake and I'm not sleeping anymore either. NOTE: picture the following section with big pregnant woman only wearing thongs........
Realize somehow the ants found a way inside at night and have taken over the dog food bowls and water bowls so I immediately grab up the food throw it in the trash, run water over the bowls, take the trash to the trash bin in the garage, grab a towel and wet it, start killing ants before the dogs can nab any food with an ant on it. Then I slow down, look around and find the trail to RAID. The trail goes inside the sliding door to somewhere outside...so as I move outside to RAID the little buggers my GIGANTIC left boob catches the door frame at the nipple and almost removes the whole damn thing..YES there was blood running down the boob and pregnant belly. CUTE! BTW nipples bleed....I had no idea! I lived, so lets move on...

OK - ants are dead and I'm Starving...but NO i can't eat because i'm fasting for my really cool glucose test at 8am. So off to shower and get dressed.

8am - test time. I drink the drink (it tastes like thick, flat sprite...so better than I expected) then wait oh so patiently ....HUNGRY PREGNANT CHICK>>HELLO!!!....1 hr later the nurse calls me in, they draw my blood FINALLY I get to devour the apple sitting in my purse I was eyeing all morning! YUMMY! Except I take a nice chunk outta my tongue when excitedly chomping down! AWESOME! NOTE: work went late by 4 hours the night before so instead of having a good dinner before my fast all I had eaten was 2 small apples and a sandwich. But I lived, so lets move on...

1130am - baby brain gallore today!! I forgot everything I was supposed to grab from the house to take with me today to do marketing, errands, etc. So I decided to get a big lunch, take a nap and start over.

2pm - I finally get all the errand crap together and go on my way to complete the list. Check, Check, Check...headed home.

4pm - i decided to vaccuum downstairs because Jeff has been out of town and he did most of the cleaning this weekend because I was working. As I vaccuum the handle portion disconnects from the base portion and out flies something very HARD and very FAST...BAM! I get hit straight in the eye by this hard flying object. Luckily pain and I get along so its very tolerable, after the eye stops running I go take a look and WOWZERS...there is a HUGE blood hyphema but I can see just fine so I finish vaccuuming...this time in circles so I don't have to pull back in case it comes apart again.
BTW - R U KIDDING ME MORE DAMN BLOOD TODAY!! SERIOUSLY!?

But I lived, so lets move on.......

5pm - hubby gets home and suggests that I sit still, do not run up and down the stairs and maybe he should build padding around me until I can be supervised. LOL!

Its now after dinner. I did not use any sharp objects and stayed away from the gas burners.

I've researched the eye issue and it states "This is a medical emergency, make an appt or go to the emergency room!" WHAT?!?! i can see, it hurts a little, I'm FINE!
But then after reading that in 3-5 days the bleeding can get worse and without a dr checking it out eye issues could present themselves... I guess I'm off to the damn eye dr tomorrow. UGH!

Lets all just hope for my safety throughout the evening and that tomorrow will bring a bright n happy injury free day!

I am going to live and I am going to move on, even if I'm down one nipple, half my tongue and one eyeball! :) Please feel free to laugh at my pain...I am!

Pregnancy workouts

So back in my gym routine until the end of pregnancy, unless the DR kicks me out of the gym too. I am obviously NOT killing it like normal but I'm atleast in there with a plan of action and I'm doing it.

Today....I had a laughing session when doing my last excercise. In between reps of my leg curls with the ball I was sitting up with the ball resting while I stretched a little. I looked up and just LAUGHED AND LAUGHED...good thing it was really early and the room was not crowded. I must say it was a great example of just how BIG i feel so I had to snap a pic!







WHAT I LOOK LIKE WORKING OUT


WHAT I FEEL LIKE!!! HAHAHAHA!!

Hmmmm

I never though my belly would ever actually touch my boobs and my boobs touch my chin...but in my current sitting position on the couch, that's what Im experiencing!

WEIRD!!!

All the grains of sand in the world....

When I was 3 or 4 and my mom was giving me a bath I said to her "I love you!" and she said "How much" after minutes of pondering I said "I love you all the grains of sand in the world!"

My mom told me this story when I was older and it stuck from then on. This became a saying that was written on every card, sometimes it would be the only thing I would write in a letter to her from college and the last thing I whispered in her ear the moment she died as well as my last words to her when we buried her and everytime I have the opportunity to visit her grave.

This is a saying I will say to my little Madison in hopes it becomes something special to her as well.

Mothers Day's have always been hit or miss for me emotionally....some are very easy some are very hard and some are middle of the road. Yesterday was somewhere from easy to middle of the road. I wish that she was here to share her wisdom, her smile and her never ending, always emitted positive energy and vibe with our much bigger family here in California and our little Madison Olivia when she says embraces us in her heart on the day she is born.

My mother passed of lung cancer the semester I was graduating college, just after her birthday in February. Its incomprehensable to fathom how something so small, a cigarette or second hand smoke, can take away something so amazing and beautiful as fast as it can. Not even all the grains of sand in the world can put up a fight!

Sissy aka Olivia Diane - I will always love you all the grains of sand in the world and I miss you terribly at this time in my life!!! Your forever grateful little girl - Jamie

Soul Rejuvenation

So today I had my first real depressed moment about being pregnant. Yes, tears were there, not many, but they were there. On a daily basis (once the belly popped) I go through a mental battle to put that smile on my face. It usually only lasts a minute or two and my mind over matter strengths kick in and I kick that frown upside down. Easy breezy.

Today was not easy breezy. I was driving to Target to get Zeus some more dog food and my hubby some cold medicine when this lady, that I see all the time doing her normal run, was booking it down the sidewalk. Every light I sat at, there she went just a booking it by me while I sat idle in the car. Sitting idly knowing it'll be a long time before I can get out there and book it like her. Today it put me in a poopy mood that I just could not shake. So here come some tears, probably more because I couldn't shake it outta my head (this is something I pride myself in being able to do, mind over matter is a great strenght of mine) than the fact that I really miss the soul rejuvenation and natural high I get out of running. It takes one good run and I'm rejuvenated for days!!

Too bad none of the pregnancy books talk about a natural high or complete soul rejuvenation that you get at month or week X of your pregnancy. Instead you get a lot of OMG I hope that doesn't happen to me or really I can't do that or I can't eat that or COME ON DOC...PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE CAN I????? The answer is usually no. I hate NO.

So I'm doing other things to rejuvenate my soul and hopefully these coming days my attempts at replacing running with work, projects, trips and friends will pay off. Hopefully I won't go to poopy face again cause after that I gotta say my daily mental struggle is A-OK with me.

Soul rejuvenation I will find a way to get you, pregnant or NOT!

Tipping the Scale

So when you are told you are pregnant a ton of things go through your mind and I mean A TON! My first questions were, can I workout, can I run, how much weight will I gain all that personal stuff that for me is a big deal. I work hard at staying in shape and trying to be healthy.

I know you are supposed to gain weight and I've luckily only gained a couple pounds and am 20 weeks but my muscles are completely GONE and I have belly of course. I can no longer see my top ab muscles and my last appointment I weighed the most I've EVER weighed and I'm only half way there.

This struggle to get outside or in the gym and just kill it is ridiculous! I told Jeff before our ultrasound started and after they weighed me, I need to go to the gym NOW!! He laughed and joked about people calling and saying "where is Jamie?" and answering "well 3 days ago she went to the gym and I haven't seen her." LOL!

I'm only going to get bigger and weigh more but MAN this part is hard!! I don't handle weight gain well no matter the reason. I just keep reminding myself that I have the strength to handle the gain and I definitely have the strength to get it off and get my muscle back once the baby is here. But that is a long ways away so I keep having to have those little mental talks!

Tipping scale upwards is the hardest part of this pregnancy for me!!!

Mental Toughness

Tiger Woods dad Earl said this to him and I agree with it myself. "Tiger, I promise you that you will never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your life. He never has. He never will."

My dad never said these words to me, but it applies to me and I am very proud of that!

Glad I heard this today!

Guilty Pleasure

So I have a guilty pleasure of watching Intervention. Yes it makes me feel great about my life, and yes at some part of your core you know that its just wrong....therefore guilty pleasure.

Its funny that these dr's get paid all this money to preach what I've preached to friends my whole life. Mind over matter, if you really want it, nothing will stop you from reaching your goal. The people on intervention are SOOOO far gone that yes they need help from others to get them on the right track, but once they are there its all them and their mind keeping them on the right track and not falling off.


Goals can include diet, fitness, substances or even professional. If you want something no matter how tough it may be or how hard some days are you can do it, its mind over matter and if you have friends and family to support you, there is no room for failure.

So whatever your goals are, lose 30 pounds, gain 15 pounds, eat healthy, workout 4-5 days a week EVERY week, quit drinking, get a promotion, make $X additional per year. Whatever your current self-challenging life goals are, remember, if the train wrecks on intervention can do it....YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING IN LIFE AS LONG AS YOU REALLY WANT IT!! Mind over matter!

Now go enjoy your guilty pleasure as long as it isn't keeping you from your goal!

My cure for sleep

After years of sleep issues, long nights staring at the clock tick by..I found my cure.....get a cold.

Only problem is, when I'm not pregnant, I RARELY get colds. So I guess my cure is pregnant with a cold. That could make for a very interesting life. :)

HAHA! Anyway I enjoyed my 5 hours last night and cause I'm sick will probably get to tack on another hour or so nap. YIPPEE for SLEEPY TIME!

GO SEMINOLES!

I made the very big mistake today to go online in search of baby seminole stuff. Thank goodness the webpage had an error and all the items I put in the cart weren't there when I went to see the damage. :)

There are cute seminole things everything:
daddy diaper bags
pacifiers
outfits for infants to 1 year then they get more sex based (I love Mommy, Daddy and the Seminoles....have to have it!)
bibs ( I drool Garnet and Gold..love it)
towels
strollers
socks
blankies
little infant jerseys... AWE!!!!
soft baby books
mobiles for over the crib

The only thing I missed that I'd like is a seminole baby carrier but if I look hard enough I bet there is one. :)

Girl or Boy this baby will be dressed in Garnet and Gold as long as Jeff and I have something to say about it. See we plan on starting em young with hopefully our first game this season, if not def next season and then hopefully most years to come after that.

GO BABY SEMINOLES!
&
GO NOLES!

Commitment or Lack there of.....

OK so I've noticed over the years and its even a statistic now that a lot of people have issues with committing to things. What really got me thinking was a commercial on tv that states 80% of people don't keep promises or resolutions, etc. A commitment is a promise, a vow...not something to be taken lightly. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what it is that makes people think its ok to say they will do something then just not do it.

My Theory is based on a story I was told by a friend of mine that coached baseball and how annoying it was that the parents didn't make the kids that signed play every game, come to practice, etc.

So....I think that when parents allow kids to half-ass commitments when they are younger it lays the groundwork for them thinking its ok to do so as adults. I was not allowed such a laxidasical raising and maybe that is why when I say I am going to do something, I do it. So thanks Mom and Dad!

So if you have committed to something, find it deep in yourself to stay committed and reach your goals. Its not always easy, but its time to overcome what you were taught as a kid and be an adult. I'm not generally one to favor bad parenting for issues in people (abuse is a different case) cause I think we all, at some point, have a choice and we choose either the right path or the wrong path. However in this instance lack of discipline in children is the only basis I have on why people just don't care if they reach their goals or not.

So..stay focused, choose the right path for you and reach your goals!

The First 8 weeks recap

Week 1: Body getting ready
Week 2: Still working on eggs and things
Week 3: Daddies swimmers work we have implantation
Week 4: Cells are multiplying like crazy but we don't know for sure yet if we are pregnant
Week 5: No period, hmm?
Week 6: OK take a test? But everytime I take a test I start within a few hours. Wait a day or two. OK take a test. TEST POSITIVE! AHHHH!! WHOOHOO!! YAY!! Wow am I tired and why do I only want to eat fruit!

Week 7:
Baby: lots of growth has happened kidneys, spinal cord starting, brain, eyes, ears, arms, legs, heart all while the size of blueberry...this week mostly arms and legs start to form. None of the above are fully formed but the cells are starting and getting ready.

Momma: Buy books, read, join every online website for mommies to be and baby updates. Tired a lot,still want fruit..... oh pineapple, apples, grapes, clementines, grapefruit and oranges how wonderful you are! oops I didn't eat, I feel nauseous oh no NEED FOOD NOW! Oh yay food, now where's my bed I need a nap! New bras, yep the old ones decided to self unsnap in public, time to go up a size.

Week 8:
Baby: Making fingers and toes, lungs, nerve cells are forming in the brain.
Momma: Still tired, a little more in tune to eating constantly but small bits, I should have stock in pineapple and yogurt, bloating like crazy!!! (i swear some days I look 4-5 months pregnant), new bras getting tighter already...uh oh, Official pregnancy weight gain 3-5lbs (it varies daily).

Our Little Peanut

Can't wait to hold this precious baby growing like a weed in my belly. He is 8 weeks old and has a perfect heartbeat of 150beats per minute. The pic shows L to R Head, body with arm buds, leg buds and yolk sac.

We are just so darn excited!

List of OBGYN ?'s and answers from visit number 1

Listed in the exact order asked: (priorities..haha)

1.) Can I still run the half marathon in April?
NO

2.)Can I ride roller coasters?
Dr rolls her eyes and says GEEZ...
Yes, but only til you fit in them. HEHE!

3.) I run a lot is that ok?
DR: How much do you run?
ME: Well I run about 6-9 miles 3 days a week and then less on the other days then I go to spin class and workout with weights.
DR:No more long days...max should be about 5miles or less, NO spin class, and weights are ok maybe stick with light weights and high reps.

4.)I get no tanning bed but what about spray tan?
NO

5.) When can I get my hair colored?
You can't, wait it out.
****There are multiple views on this and since my hair is basically black naturally the amount of time I have to go would not be kosher for my job so I will be doing a natural treatment, avoiding the scalp with my SIL after my first trimester. Headed back to my natural color, there is no time for treatments now anyway.

6.) What medicine can I take?
Tylenol and sudafed

(sudafed...really?)

7.)I'll have more next time doc. Thanks!

Pick one..Pink or Blue

So I pee on a stick just like the box says and there they are 2 lines, but one is lighter so being nervous to interpret the wrong answer I hightail it to Target. I gotta get a digital one, its easy to read. So I rush down the aisle, heartbeating like crazy with a huge grin on my face. I can't wait to get home so I run over the mall walk into the restroom at the foodcourt and once again pee on a stick.

I'm leaving the mall and look down and there it is in digital leaving no questions behind...YES

Okay so what now, before I actually was pregnant I had a whole variety of ways to tell Jeff....now that its real...I have absolutely none in my head. So I call Judi share the news with her, she screams, I scream, everyone screams then we talk about ways to tell him. I wanted to wait a week or so but knew I couldn't hold it in. Especially since one year ago to the day he asked me to marry him. So he surprised me, my turn to surprise him.

He comes home I suggest a restaurant for an appetizer before we both have to go to work. He says "Why are you so giddy?" ...I just couldn't contain myself.

So here we go off to lunch and I tell I have to run to target to get something i'll be right back. So I run off, back to target, while he's waiting at the restaurant. I run up and down the card aisle trying to find something to fit congratulations your gonna be a daddy...found something and made it work...then off to the baby section (which I have never been in EVER before). I was hoping to find some cute something to give him with the card. I finally find a Onesie that says "Wild About Daddy" and off I go to the restaurant.

We sit at the bar, order, eat and by now he has usually left to have a cigarette. well he takes his sweet time this day and I didn't think he would ever go outside. He finally goes outside and run to the back of the restaurant hunting our bt/server. I say I need you to make a pink drink and a blue drink before he gets back inside please. Bartender obliges and makes the drinks. I cover them up with a napkin and place the card in front of the covered drinks.

Jeff comes in, I uncover the drinks hand him the card and say...Pick one Jeff "pink or blue?" He says "What?" I say "PICK ONE...PINK OR BLUE?" The lightbulb goes off and he says "Umm..Blue." & "No way, are you for real?" I say " Yes I'm for real" He read the card, everything sunk in and he hugged me, cried and I handed him the onesie. We went through waves of emotions from laughing to acting like toddlers with rattlers shaking our hands around. Then he says "Whoo hoo! My boys can swim!" HAHA!

We walked around the area and let it all sink in, then off to work we went.

It was a great day of many and we are blessed to be so lucky!