Monday's got you down?

Ugh, yesterday I was not in the mood to work (seriously, when are you ever ready to work?).  It was loud and noisy and tons of people were not being considerate of those who were working in their offices....You may have seen this yesterday on my instagram:

I almost NEVER close my door unless I have an important phone call to make or have an interview.  Yesterday was the exception though.  I am thankful for a door though.  My husband has a cubical and can't just shut a door.

I will say, the plus of yesterday, getting to see Baby Boy at his ultrasound appointment!!!!  They said the appointment was going to be about an hour long and yes it was!  It's still surreal to me that I am carrying a baby in my body.  That's probably because my placenta is at the front of my cervix and am not able to feel much movement still (I am almost 22 weeks pregnant).  He was being stubborn just like his dad yesterday in trying to get that profile photo.  We were never able to get one because he liked to face my back.  The ultrasound tech tried several times to get a face photo also in 3D but he just would not cooperate.  I will say, Baby Boy is DEFINITELY a BOY!  That was the first shot we got and there was no question on his gender.  LOL!  He was moving lots and the tech didn't see anything that was concerning.  Cue taking a weight off of my shoulder.  Heartbeat was at 132 beats per minute.  Right on track.  Also, his growth is right on track to where we thought it would be.  I am not sure if my due date is going to be moved up or down, but am waiting on the doctor to call about the ultrasound.  I would assume he would call just to say all good.  I didn't take any photos of the ultrasound photos...Ill try to get some of those uploaded for the Bump Date on Thursday for you all!

We "celebrated" (I will say, celebrated loosely) Cinco de Mayo by eating nachos at home.  I just browned some ground beef, added some taco seasoning, made some Mrs. Wages Pepper Jack Queso for Andy (he LOVES queso cheese), added some mexican shredded cheese and lettuce for me and ate away at the nachos.  I also had some salsa on top.  Dinner turned out SOOOOOO GOOD!!  This baby boy loves him some mexican food (which is so funny since Andy isn't a fan....LOL!)

Nachos and sweet tea for dinner, YUM!

Keeley got to spend a good amount of time outside with us last night.  Andy and Ryan were working on a new fish tank stand and a ton of our neighbors came out last night and we all got together to talk about whats going on in our lives.  It's nice when we all are finally no longer hermit crabs being inside 24/7!

My sweet puppy!!  We all know at least one photo of the animals must be on the blog!  :) 

Perfect Weekend!

We in St. Louis had an AMAZING weather for the first weekend in May.  In fact, why can't the weather always be like it was over the weekend??

Friday night

I went out with Ali to go register at Babies R Us!  I was so excited to go register and having a friend who has experience in this registering process was of significant help!  We spent a good 2 hours in the store scanning and playing with the gadgets.  I plan on posting on another day about what we registered for.

Ali took this photo of me.  We should have gotten a photo together too!  Dang it!

Fun Fact about me: I am a lefty!  (only writing and eating though)

I spy a silly kitty who thinks he deserves homemade pizza for dinner....LOL!!

Andy's new term of endearment for me is now, "Stinky".  I have no idea why or where he even got it from because I shower on a daily basis and use deodorant...it doesn't bother me at all, in fact I think it's funny.  I found this book while registering at Babies R Us and had to take a photo for Andy since he calls me Stinky.  LOL!

Saturday

I had every intention on sleeping as much as possible.....annnnnnnnd I woke up at 8:30 am.  Oh well, at least it's better than my Monday thru Friday wake up time of 5:15 am!  I was really hungry anyways, so breakfast it is!  Is anyone else addicted to the Pillsbury "Orange Rolls" like I am?  Seriously, I LOVE those things!!  I then got ready to meet my mom at her house.  We were off to get me registered at Target!!  I'm a scanning fool!  :)  We had a great time, but I wish that Target carried more baby things to choose from.  We even went out of our way to register at a bigger Target in the St. Louis area and I felt like I wasn't able to choose everything that I wanted. That evening it was just me and Andy.  Dinner was at Red Robin and we watched a movie, "XXX" with Vin Diesel.  It's an older movie and I thought I was going to like it more, but that's OK! We had a good time together and that's all that matters!  Andy spend a good portion of the day sanding down the crib in order to get it ready to be painted!  I cannot wait to see how it looks painted!!

This face is too cute!!  This is how she sits next to me in the mornings while I eat breakfast.  She is totally using her "Cute Face" to get some Orange rolls....guess what, it worked!  SPOILED!

They both decided to try and get some of my orange sherbert push pop, this time it didn't work!  But this photo is still too cute!  :)  It's not the greatest photo, but it get's the point across!

These two are tired!  I love how where ever we are in the house, they are both with us!  LOVE!

Sunday

I did finally get my sleep (9:30am wake up) and got ready to leave.  We had plans on lunch and Buy Buy Baby with Andy's parents.  (Yes, I was a registering fool over the weekend!)  Lunch was at Bandana's BBQ (so good!) and then we headed over to Buy Buy Baby for some more scanning action!  Andy's parents purchased us a new rocker/recliner for the baby room, which we are so greatful for the gift, and now to be patient for our new chair to be delivered.  8-10 weeks they said it could take, which I am OK with!  If you think about it, if it takes 10 weeks, then I will be 31 weeks pregnant, WOW!!  I cannot believe how fast time is flying!!  Dinner that night was us grilling at home (pork tenderloin, corn on the cobb and potatoes).  I'll be honest, I wasn't crazy over dinner one bit....I hate it when that happens.  I ended up being hungry about 2 hours later.  So my snack consisted of this new ice cream I found (coffee toffee chip!) and a small bowl full of trail mix.  Our neighbors purchased 2 new lounge chairs for their patio and I LOVED them!  I jokingly said they might find me on their patio one day with them not being home....LOL! I am ready for us to get our own patio and purchase some lounge chairs!  Here's hoping soon!! I ended my day with cutting more squares for the blanket I am making for Baby Boy's room and laundry.  Thrilling, I know!

Me sitting in our new chair (well the store model...)

We chose the "Buckwheat" color for the chair.  I loved the grey color of that chair, but it had a swirly print in the fabric and I thought it would look outdated in several years.  I really wanted a grey color chair, but we couldn't find a fabric color of grey that we liked.  The buckwheat will look nice for years to come!  :) 

I'm telling you guys, these chairs are fantastic!!  LOVED THEM!

Smokey really is a mama's boy!

He is so NOT helpful, but at least he's cute!!

My other side kick and mama's girl!  

(I promise you all, both animals love Andy, but both are very glued to me right now)

Obsessed with the Pandora station, "90's Pop Radio"  This is my go-to internet radio station anytime I want to listen to some music at home!  I still love the Bluetooth speaker Andy got me for Christmas.  It works great, it rarely needs to be charged and it sounds fantastic!

How was your weekend?

Was the weather in your neck of the woods as great as it is here??

I need sleep!

I can't even begin to explain how much I need sleep....but I am looking at it as I might as well get use to no sleep since little one will be here sometime in September.  Tomorrow morning I am sleeping in and I CANT WAIT!!!!

Let's get to one of my favorite link-ups with Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha!

{ONE}

 It's SO hard to get a photo of me, Smokey and Keeley together and at a rare moment I got one last Friday night!  LOVE this photo!  In fact, this photo is my background on my phone right now!  

{TWO}

My puppy girl on the couch!  I love how this photo came out!

{THREE}

How cute is this river otter that I got Baby K for his room and him obviously?!?!  We visited Shedd's Aquarium in Chicago last weekend and I wanted to get him a cute animal for him.  I am thinking I might try and do monthly photos with him and his river otter too.  :)  

{FOUR}

I LOVE this man!  On Sunday we went to a fish swap and here he is checking out a new fish he just purchased.  He was so excited!

{FIVE}

Photo one - my doggie living the life!  Here she is wanting belly rubs because she is spoiled.  

Photo two - me and the Mokes!  When we got home Sunday night he was SOOOO happy (and not that my mom didn't take good care of him), but that he loves his mama so!

21 Weeks - Bump Date

(sorry for once again another bathroom photo!  I had every intention on Andy taking a photo in the living room of me and the bump, but we ran out of time last night and I really wanted to change, wash my face and take my contacts out.  I am hoping for a living room photo for next week!)

How far along: 21 Weeks!

Baby Size: The size of a small cantaloupe or the length of a carrot, 12 oz. or three quarters of a pound, and is 10 1/2 inches long.
Weight gain:  3 pounds
Maternity clothes: all maternity pants

Stretch marks: None!   Sleep: Some nights good, other nights not so good.  Depends on the day.   Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: Still nothing consistent, just trying to be patient.... I am told that my placenta is more than likely at the front of the uterus and that's why I am not feeling him move.
Best moment this week: Our doctor's appointment yesterday (Wednesday, April 30th)!  I was anxious to go to a new doctor since our last doctor's office was not so pleasant.  After the appointment Andy and I walked out with smiles on our face and were so impressed with the office staff, the nurse AND the doctor!  What a sense of relief this is!!   Looking forward to: Monday for our 21 weeks ultrasound!!!  We haven't seen baby boy since 7 weeks and 4 days and I cannot wait to see him again!  Also so excited to go register with my best friend Ali tomorrow (Friday) night!!!

Food cravings: slushies, fresh veggie sticks with ranch, mexican food and BBQ (nothing new)     Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell that was outside our hotel on Sunday morning.....wow that was horrible and I got sick...not fun!   Labor Signs: None, let's keep it this way for another 17+ weeks!   What I miss: just not craving things that I cannot have....I am not a big sandwich fan and now that all I want is a Jimmy John's sub....ugh!  Also diet soda...   Symptoms: sometimes nerve pain, using the restroom more, bigger belly, HORMONES!
Nursery: The furniture has begun a sanding down and I cannot WAIT to see how it turns out painted white!  We also picked up a white side table to have next to the rocker/glider for nursing and a white bookshelf for baby boys room!
Belly Button in or out? In but I can tell that it starting to stretch
Wedding rings on or off? On!  Hoping they stay on the entire time

Mood: Hormones!  Enough said!

Hormones are no joke!

Sorry for being M.I.A. yesterday.  I was super slammed at work and am still exhausted from my quick weekend trip to Chicago last weekend.  I still fully plan on updating you all about my weekend, it's just going to take me time to write it all out and get the photos off of the DSLR!

My post title is so accurate though, hormones are seriously no joke!  In fact, I hate you hormones.  Well I like the fact the hormones are helping in the growth of this pregnancy, but the other side of hormones are super annoying!

Lately I've been feeling pretty down and kinda alone and to be honest and it's not even Andy's fault! We respect each other enough to just ask, "Hey, what did you have planned for this day or tonight, etc."  If we don't have anything planned, then we normally don't care what the other does.  Last night though, I said I didn't care and then an hour later while watching TV I got lonely and sad.  I had little tears in my eyes too.....  What is the deal with me!?!

This second trimester "energy" they say you will get....I am still waiting for it.  I am not a bump on a log all day long either.  Yes at work I have to sit a majority of the time, but when I am home I feel like I need to do a lot of things.  The weekends I am non stop and then Sunday night hits and I am so sore and tired and feel like I can't move.  

This morning, with the help of my best friend Ali, I come to realize that everyone feels this way during pregnancy.  Thank goodness I am normal because I was really starting to wonder if I wasn't normal....

I apologize for my rambling and hope that if anyone reading is pregnant and feels the same way as me but has no idea why they feel the way that they do, that they are not alone!  

First Trimester Essentials

Since I am taking the day off work today, I thought I'd go ahead and pre-schedule this post for today!  I am currently 20 weeks pregnant, but wanted to get something out there of what helped me through my first trimester. 

1. Jolly Ranchers  - sucking on hard candy really helped with the nausea.  Every time I felt like I was going to get sick, I would pop a Jolly Rancher in my mouth and the nausea would instantly go away.

2. Camelbak water bottle - another thing that helped with the nausea, WATER!!!  Lots and lots of water!  If I didn't have a Jolly Rancher on hand, I would take a sip of water and most times than not, it would help me.

3. Body Pillow  - I started sleeping with a body pillow once I found out I was pregnant.  Why? Because I am a stomach sleeper and in order for me to get use to not sleeping on my stomach, I got a body pillow to help me from sleeping on my stomach so much.

4. Snoogle  - I have one of these and have tried it many times, but I love the body pillow so much more which is such a shame.  My problem with it is that you also use it as a head pillow and it really hurts my neck at night.  I have heard lots of mom's rave about the Snoogle, but it just wasn't for me in the beginning.  Now that I am getting bigger, I plan on trying the Snoogle once more to see if it works better for me.

5. Prenatal vitamins or Gummy Vitamins - obviously these are a MUST, but I LOVE Target and their selection of prenatal vitamins.  I have been lucky with not getting sick with the vitamins and highly suggest these!  The gummy vitamins are so good and they kind of make you want to eat more than the recommend 2 a day...LOL!  My tip for taking the vitamins, is to take them at night before you go to bed.  Taking them on an empty stomach in the morning was not an option for me.

6. Fiber Supplements - These I also suggest.  They say constipation is common in pregnancy and these help things keep flowing.  Haha!  I talked to my doctor about it and he suggested them also.

7. Cheese and Peanut Butter Crackers  - I didn't have many cravings in the first trimester, but these helped keep me full at night.  Andy would get me a package to eat before I went to bed and it would help me out since I couldn't eat much.  These have been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and ONLY this brand, Austin Crackers.  No one else makes the crackers the way Austin makes their crackers.

8. Golden Grahams -  I kept a tupper wear bowl of Golden Grahams cereal in my nightstand that I would munch on while getting ready in the morning to help keep the nausea down. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't.  I was just trying to keep the nausea at bay as best as possible....

9. Carrots and Celery - this sounds so weird, however; I craved fresh veggie sticks with ranch to dip in.  It was one of the few things that sounded and tasted good so I went with it!  When you're always sick and not feeling well, all you want to eat is something that sounds good and this was it for me.  Many a lunches included carrots and celery sticks.

What helped get you through your first trimester?

20 Weeks - Bump Date!

How far along: 20 Weeks!!!!  (HALF WAY THERE!)

Baby Size: The size of a small cantaloupe or the length of a banana, 10 1/2 oz. and is 10 inches long from head to heel!
Weight gain:  +2 pounds
Maternity clothes: all maternity pants and some maternity shirts, just depends on the shirt.  I tried a pair of my regular jeans which fit perfectly fine until I sit down and they dig in my stomach really bad, so those are out until baby comes.

Stretch marks: None so far! I've been using my belly balm after my bath's at night.  Don't worry my bath's are not hot and I take one to help with the aching feet.   Sleep: Not too bad at all!  The body pillow is being used a lot now and stomach sleeping is getting pretty tough.  Sometimes I wake up on my stomach, but I know I am not there long.  Also, I am dreaming like CRAZY lately!  Such weird, weird dreams and they cause me to not have a really restful nights sleep.   Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: Still nothing consistent, just trying to be patient....
Best moment this week: Easter at our house this year with all of our family!  We had a great time and all I could think about is how next year we will have baby Boy with us celebrating Easter and I am so excited!  :)    Looking forward to: Friday specifically since Andy and I both took the day off work!  We really needed a day off to get us mentally back.  We are so exhausted and needed an extra day off.  I am also looking forward to the weekend and you all will find out why on Monday!

Food cravings: still loving those Cola slushies....I don't think that this craving is going to go away!  Andy and my mom know how much I love them that if they run to the gas station, they will surprise me with one!  I try to limit 2 slushies a week though which I think is really good!     Anything making you queasy or sick: Tried ham again this weekend and it's still a no-go for this girl.  I am just not a fan of ham.   Labor Signs: None, let's keep it this way for another 18+ weeks.   What I miss: getting up from the couch or bed without being in pain.  The minute I lie down is the minute my sciatic nerve starts to hurt.  I have been doing lots of stretching and trying to keep the pain at bay.  I've also starting a prenatal yoga series on YouTube to help with the aches and pains!  I will blog more about this next week.   Symptoms: still that sciatic nerve pain, sometimes hard to breathe, exhausted from hosting Easter, some swelling in the feet from being on them all weekend long
Nursery: We should be starting on the furniture any day now!!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On!

Mood: Pretty good actually!  The hormones decided to take the week off, which I am sure Andy is glad about!  I can also cry at a drop of a hat....