Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and New Year. I don't know how much I will be around until after the New Year begins, so I wanted to get one last post in and hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. I plan on it and can't wait to have some egg salad sandwiches with spinach on them for Christmas. No this is not a tradition, a pregnancy craving and my mom makes the best egg salad sandwiches. I add the fresh spinach for health reason!!

Next to last

Today is my next to last day to work this year!! I know, mouth full. I am just excited to have nearly 2 weeks off of work to spend with family and friends. I am really excited to go see my parents. I am just about over not being able to visit my family in Indiana. I figure we will be going after April and then everyone can see the newest littlest monkey in the family and it will be even better. I will make sure that works out!
I still have a few things on my desk that need to go out before I take off tomorrow afternoon. They are not nearly as bad as the horrible project I had last week.
Okay, so I have one little gripe about gifts this year. Why is it that I keep getting gifts to me to use for the baby?!!? Am I the only one who is selfish and would like my gifts to be FOR ME?!?! And NOT the sweet littlest monkey in my belly? Two people have done this so far. One was an office exchange and we pick the people we buy a gift for and it is a secret until the exchange. I put a lot of thought into my person's gifts. I received a Babies R Us gift certificate so "the baby won't only have hand me downs"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice thought, bad idea. I hope I don't sound ungrateful, I will put the card to good use. But DANG I would have like something for ME!!
Anyway, I guess I can buy some bra shields and that would technically be for me.

I am trying to figure out if I should still give the nanny a bonus for Christmas. We have a few small gifts for her and I had planned on giving her a bonus all along. But she is going to be getting paid for the 2 weeks she does not have my kids. Granted, she will be coming over to my house to check on my insane cats for the few days we are visiting my parents. Maybe I will just give a smaller bonus?! What do you think?

I have been reading the books by Dave Ramsey. I am hooked and have already started setting up my financial goals 2009. I hope to maybe post a generic version of them on my side bar to help keep motivated. I am going to try to get us completely out of debt without going insane trying. Of course all last week I was stressed about my financial goals! I know I need some help with my type A personality. I just need to relax and stick to the plan and if it all is successfully completed, great. If not, so be it. I will plan on for 2010! Anybody else follow Dave Ramsey?

The terrible 4's

Okay, so I always heard that the two's were terrible. I had heard that in all actuality the three's were worse than the two's. Well nobody told me how horrible the four's would be!!
Big monkey has been giving me fits for a while now. His mouth is going to be the death of me. He has the same problem that I do, he thinks he has to get the last word in. It is not a good thing.
He thinks that when he is in trouble he needs to say something to hurt your feelings or tell you he is going to do something if you punish him. Like last night for instance, he told me if I did not let him watch a show, he was going to put me on fire! Well he did, and I put him in the corner. He said he was not going to stay in the corner and he was going to wipe the pasta sauce all over the walls. So I took him to the bathroom and washed his hands and face and then sent him to bed. I am finished arguing and listening to that mouth. He had a bad report from the nanny that day too. Apparently he told her he was going to bite her if she made him do circle time. I don't really understand where this is coming from. I am VERY strict with the tv. They don't get to watch any kind of transformer or super hero type shows yet. I get that they are boys and will instinctively know fighting. I just don't have to like it!
I have found a new way of "training" the little ones and am currently reading up on it and trying to put it to good use. We had an excellent week last week and I think it was because of the new no warning type of obedience. I am hoping he is testing me this week to see if I am going to get lazy again or stick with it. I have news for that monkey, mommy is sticking to it and will have two (soon three) monkeys that listen and obey first time go around and will do it nicely!

Needs and wants

I read a post by Connie this morning and just had to copy. I went to google and searched "Shanna needs". Here is what popped up, thanks mostly to the moron Shanna Moakler (whom I might add says her name wrong)!

Shanna needs:
1. more time, it is running out - yeah the pre baby planning panic has started up already.
2. to kick Kim Kardashian's bootie.
3. to get over herself - I must say this is sometimes true.
4. to stay home with her kids - this made me a bit sad, I wish I could.
5. to spend less time gold digging - umm, maybe I could start this and stay home with my kids?!
6. to take the gum out of her mouth before posing for photos - funny considering I loathe gum with this pregnancy!

And now Shanna wants:
1. Ice cream - sure, who wouldn't?!
2. him. - who?!
3. to avoid Kim - only when I am chasing her darn dog out of my yard when the flea bag is pooping in it.
4. the last word - this is a necessity and something I most usually get.
5. more kids - absolutely.
6. her children to understand and appreciate diversity - this should be a breeze in ALABAMA HA HA HA!
7. to weigh her options on a c-section - eerily close to home.

That was fun, you should all try it. I was amazed at how many Shanna girls there are out there now. I did not meet my first Shanna until high school, and did not meet my first Shanna who pronounces it the same until Grad school.

Still running

I just got back from a really nice run, even though it was on a treadmill staring at myself in the mirror. I kept wondering how long I will be able to keep this up. I wore my belly brace and felt no pain/discomfort in my belly. I felt some fatigue in my right leg and think it might be getting time for some new shoes, afterall these two pair got me through the half training and are well worn by now. I hope I can keep going for some time. Even if it is only a couple miles here and there, it keeps me sane and makes me happy. I really do feel my mood shift about a mile into the run and it seems to last the rest of the day.
I am hoping to get out on the road with my running buddy this weekend and get some "therapy" in before the holidays.
I really hope my great friend who just ran her first 5K is still on the C25K bandwagon. I would love to run/walk one with her in January.. hint hint.

Brotherly Love

Just look at these two gorgeous monkeys! I did my best at taking some photos for my Christmas cards this weekend. We had some good ones, and some that make it obvious I don't know how to use my camera very well yet! But this one just makes my heart happy! I love it and I am now trying to find a card to do it justice!
Can you tell which one is the youngest?! He looks so grown up with his big boy haircut.

Motivation

Okay, I need some motivation. I should be cleaning some of my house right now but just can't get myself in gear. I have sprayed the bathroom down and could easily get it finished in 20 minutes if I get my rear in gear. Instead, I found myself upstairs in the office checking out the blogs! Husband is at work, monkeys are in bed, Sammy kitty is keeping my left arm warm. I have the SEC football championship game on just hoping the Gators win. Not because I am a fan of theirs, but I sure do admire what Tim Tebow stands for.
I got to watch the second half of the Hoosiers getting beat by Gonzaga. I was not in the least bit angry, I was impressed by the hardwork this mostly freshman team put forth against a 5th ranked team. I look forward to future years of Hoosier basketball if they keep this attitude. I also really want a "B-Town" t-shirt. I should use this team as my hardworking motivation! HA HA. I think I might just need a nap. Afterall, I did take a 3 year old and two 4 year olds to a Christmas parade, bath and body works, and Santa's wonderland at the Bass Pro Shop (I will try to post pictures later). We ate lunch at the restaurant at the store and everyone was pretty darn good. I even got my regular compliments about how well the little monkeys were behaved.
Alright, time to get the bathroom done before the soap dries and I have to start over again!

Spoiled rotten

I slept in this morning. I thought that if I was going to drag my happy self into work that I was going to sleep past 4:30 am and come in at the time everyone else does. It was great, only man does the traffic suck at that time! I am spoiled and am used to flashing lights in the morning. This morning I had to actually stop at the lights. And every mini van (I love mine by the way) was on its way to drop kids off at school.
I also decided that I was going to treat myself to an overly expensive hot chocolate from Starbucks. I have been craving hot chocolate this pregnancy (and spicy chips) and have actually been indulging in my cravings a bit. It was tasty.

I can feel the anticipation in the air over the possibility of getting our bonuses today. I am really excited to be getting one, especially after listening to Glen Beck this morning. He has nearly put me in a panic over the economy and his predictions for this time next year. I am trying so hard to get our budget/finances worked out so I can get that 6 months salary in savings and bills paid off. We have been doing pretty well considering I just started a couple of months ago. Of course my Starbucks trip this morning was not preplanned. I started using PearBudget and really like it so far. What was really great was using it for the first month free to see if I would stick to it. It is something I could easily set up on excel, but I found it worth my few dollars a month not to have to think, just enter and read.

I am going to meet the nanny at the monkeys' haircut place at noon and then bring them back to the office where I am hoping they will eat lunch and I can get another hour or so of work done. I may download a movie for them on one of my computers to keep them occupied. I wonder which one will spill the beans to my husband about the leather recliner sitting in my office?

Work, work, work

This week has been really busy and I am probably going to be swamped until right before Christmas with actual work stuff. Of course Monday I get back from Thanksgiving and everybody is in my office (or inbox) letting me know they need something right away for their projects. I have a HUGE project on my desk right now and I don't have time for this other junk. My deadline is the week after next and it will probably take that long, or longer, to get it done. So I will be working tomorrow (my day off) just to try to get caught up. I thought it might suck, and it probably will anyway, but there is a rumor that we will be getting our holiday bonuses tomorrow (early). That will make the day look a bit brighter!

I did take time at lunch to go to Target. I made out like a bandit. I got 20 2-packs of batteries, 9 ham steaks, 2 yoplait kids yogurt packs, 16 oz american cheese, and some santa stocking chocolate for $3.19. It was fantastic. I made a beeline for the door, afraid I was going to be called back and made to give it all back! I really love getting good deals!

Disappointment sucks

My husband called this afternoon to let me know that the guy who was trying to buy our business had an issue with financing and it is a no go. This is very disappointing. My husband pretty much hates his business (long story about being roped into it by my wonderful in laws) and wants to go back to school to get his degree finished. He has been taking night classes but was really hoping to get into it full time and over with in a year or so. We do have a back up offer on the business which is fantastic. Unfortunately it means more time running the business and no trip to Indiana to see family at Christmas time. I am pretty sad and think the monkeys will be too. We will still go to my parents' house for Christmas, that is great. It has been 2 years since we visited Indiana and I was really looking forward to it. I guess we can always try during my time off after having the baby. I hope this other offer goes through and everything works out. I am ready for the husband to start doing something he likes and not hating most of his day. Any positive thoughts would be much appreciated! I am thankful for the underlying results of this business, he has an immense amount of experience now and it brought us to a place we really enjoy living and raising our children. It has been a rough time though and we are ready to move forward.
I am going to try my best to shake this off and not let it make me sad.

An update on my dad, he broke his leg in 3 places. Two at ankle level and one about 3 inches below the knee. He has to stay in bed on his back until Friday to get the swelling down enough to put it in a cast. My mom has called twice wanting to send him down to me already!!

Back in the saddle

Well, back to work for me today. Eww. I can't believe how fast 5 days off of work can go. I had a good rest, though I did fight a headache for two days that turned into a mini migraine for a day and now have a sore throat. Hubby was sick and little monkey ended up sick so I am sure it is leftovers from them.
I don't want to be here. I had one heck of a time getting out of bed this morning. I was wide awake from 3:30 on, just could not get my lazy self out of the bed. Big monkey has been begging me to let him wear underwear to bed instead of a pull up. I told him he had to go 5 nights without accidents, he did. So Saturday night I let him wear underwear, he was dry and we were all excited. Last night, not so great. He woke up at 3:30 and had wet himself. He was very upset and I tried to console him without giving off the idea it was perfectly okay to wet the bed so we decided he would try 5 more nights in pull ups before we try again... that should put me to the weekend again. I really am not pushing this, I would rather he stay in pull ups at night until 5 or so!

On another note, I know I am going to have to listen to the Alabama Auburn game commentary from co workers all damn day today. I am not looking forward to it. It has already started and well before 7 am!! I am a Hoosier, I don't care about football nearly as much as these people do. I don't care about either team. My husband is an Auburn fan and so are my monkeys by default. I am happy for the Alabama fans that the team is doing so well, really I am. I just wish they weren't the worst fans I have ever come across. And I have seen some nutty fans (275 pound Ohio State fan who tried to get into a fight with three 19 year old IU coeds during a game that was never going to be close considering how bad the IU football team is, I am talking about you). But I have never seen such obnoxious fans before I came to Alabama. I think they really think they are on the team themselves, playing every play. They are not nice, and have no clue about good sportsmanship. It is disheartening to hear how mean they can be and how much hate they harbor for other teams. And now that they finally have a winning team, they are really coming out of the woodwork. I genuinely hope they get their crimson elephant heinies beat by some team like Texas Tech or Oklahoma, or anyone soon. I am glad the season is nearly over. And now onto basketball!!

We got our Christmas tree yesterday. A bootipul (as little monkey goes on and on about it) specimen it is. I put the lights up and am waiting until tonight to put the popcorn up and ornaments on. I hope there is enough popcorn, but I imagine I will be stringing some more tonight! The monkeys are so incredibly excited about the season and I am having so much fun watching their excitement. It is going to be a Christmas to remember.

On a somber note, my dad broke his ankle in two places over the holiday, playing ping pong. Now, for those of you who know this man, you will immediately chuckle and realize that he was probably having a few holiday warming concoctions and doing a few fancy movements to show off make sure he hit the game point. Anyway, cross your fingers and say a prayer for a speedy recovery. I can't imagine this is going to be easy to deal with the next time he and the monkeys get together.. they are rough!

Well I better get some cyber shopping work done.

Still Lazy

Well I have managed not to put real clothes on yet. I feel I might need to today. I have been in "lounge" pants since I got home Tuesday evening. I had all four kids Wednesday morning and stayed in lounge pants. I went to work to get my paycheck Wednesday afternoon and stayed in lounge pants. I went out in the craziness that is called Black Friday to get $10 diapers from Babies R Us (I bought 6 boxes for the new baby) and $16 maternity jeans from Old Navy in lounge pants. I am loving it. I even ate Thanksgiving dinner in my lounge pants and went to see Bolt with the Family in a fresh pair of lounge pants!
I have gotten a few things done. I had my husband take the living room and dining room curtains down so I could wash them. We got the Christmas decorations out yesterday and pretty much have them up. I started stringing the popcorn and cranberries lastnight for the tree we will hopefully purchase tonight if the dang rain will stop. I think the monkeys are enjoying their time. Big monkey was so excited to put Christmas stuff out he offered to mop and vacuum for me... I let him try!
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner. I made homemade baked macaroni and cheese, the new green bean casserole I had at work, sweet potato casserole, rolls, and the turkey for the monkeys of course. Turns out the monkeys are not big Thanksgiving dinner eaters either.
Well I am off to shower and put on a new pair of stretchy inexpensive jeans.. the best kind. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and shopping weekend. Safe travels.

Turkey Day

In about 2 1/2 hours, I get 5 whole entire days off of work! I am so excited. I plan on getting a few things done around the house that I have wanted to do for ages. I am really looking forward to staying in my pajamas all day long Thursday.. or at least staying in lounge wear all day long.
It will be nice.
Happy Turkey Day to everyone! I may or may not be around the bloggy world this weekend, we will see how much relaxing I really allow my self to do!

Holiday feeding commences

Let the feeding frenzy begin! We had our Thanksgiving luncheon today at the office and I am feeling quite miserably stuffed. The unfortunate thing is that I really did not care for any of the food! I have to admit that I am not a Thanksgiving dinner kind of gal. I am a vegetarian, so turkey and ham are out and usually dressing (which I can't stand anyway) because it is made with chicken broth or whatever. I don't like pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, pecan pie, or any of those "salads" or casseroles with weird stuff in them and noodles that are meant to be warm and not cold, at least in my world. I like sweet potato casserole, but only if it is made with fresh sweet potatoes and it does not make your teeth feel like they are going to rot out. I know, I am picky. I was looking forward to the macaroni and cheese someone had signed up to make. Only, she decided to bring corn instead because someone had written macaroni casserole down later and they thought it would be the same. WRONG! It was one of those weird casseroles with strange things included. I was disappointed.
Why is it that people can not follow the sign up sheet? We must have had 4 different people bring green bean casserole and only one signed up for it. She made a good one though that had sour cream instead of cream of mushroom soup. I will be getting that recipe for sure.
I made cinnamon rolls, homemade thanks to Rachael posting her recipe for rolls/bread/cinnamon rolls. There was some hard work put into those things, but they are so yummy! I used a cream cheese icing and it really went over well.
So here I sit, miserable and happy to be in expandable pants!! It has not kept me from nibbling on this piece of chocolate cake sitting next to me!

Leap Frog Tag

I am getting the monkeys a tag system for Christmas. I think that big monkey will especially love it since it reads the book for you. I got them the boys adventure pack that comes with two extra books. It is on sale right now and I received an email from Leapfrog with a 30% off $50 or more purchase plus free shipping. This made it MUCH cheaper than at Target. The code is HY8NFF if anyone is interested.

Race Photo

Here is my race photo. I have two others but they make me look quite chunky so I tried to pick the best. I learned to smile when I see a camera after previous terrible pictures! I love my headband, it says "Marathon Mom" and is a bondi band. You can check them out at www.bondiband.com, it was so awesome I got another with 13.1 on it!

That is my running pal next to me in the pink tank. She was cracking me up at the end. Doesn't it look like that girl behind us is casually running?!? WTF? I hope she was just cooling down after putting full effort into running! HA HA

19 Weeks, yesterday

Here is my belly at 19 weeks. I am getting bigger fast! I really thought my run might slow me down in growth HA HA!! I may be gassy too (sorry, but it has been a constant struggle this pregnancy!). I do have my bella band on, and still love it.

I went for my first post run exercise today, a walk in the park. No, literally I went for a walk in the park. It was a nice walk, little chilly. I wore my new long sleeve race shirt and it barely covered my belly, I had to wear my bella band.
There was a woman who made a comment about even the pregnant lady passing her. I was just glad she thought I was pregnant and not chunky, I am still at the maybe/maybe not stage to look at unless I wear fitted clothing.
I went for my costume fitting for Mardi Gras yesterday. It is going to be bad!! Pretty cute costume, but I am going to look like a turquoise whale!! Don't worry, I will post pictures when February rolls around. Made me excited for Mardi Gras though, even though I won't be able to ride. Anyone know where I can find maternity fishnet stockings?!?

Holy Moly..

I DID IT!! I did the ZOOMA half marathon Sunday morning. Not only did I finish, but I ran the ENTIRE way! And I was not last, in fact, I finished in the middle somewhere.
The morning started out a bit crazy. We ended up leaving later than I had hoped and panic started within my guts. I don't do well with being late, no matter what. I really don't do well when I am supposed to be meeting someone and warming up and peeing before a huge race. I got there with about 7 minutes to spare and really did not need the warm up since my adrenilin was pumping so much from being late, plus you just get caught up in the excitement.
It was 37 degrees people, yes and that is without the wind chill factor. My legs were frozen but I had the good sense to wear gloves which were fantastic. The first mile or so I had a pain in my right shin and thought it was going to be an awful run, but that eventually subsided or got numb. My running partner did a great job of pulling me back when I would get excited and get going too fast. I brought sports jelly beans to keep my glucose levels up and they are actually quite good. I could easily eat a couple every few miles and not break stride or worry about puking up the gu stuff people eat.
The HILLS were torturous! There was a hill in the first half mile and I was cursing about not even being warmed up yet and having to scale the mountain. Little did I know about what was awaiting me. There were two hills that really made me pray the entire time up them. One was so steep that they had to make it into a "double" hill with a slightly leveled part in the middle to break it up. My heart rate was creeping up quickly during that hill so we had to slow down for a couple of minutes at the top so I could get it under control.
We had to stop and pee at the 10 mile potty stop and that actually took a few minutes. I was anxious to get going before I stiffened up and had to get stern with my running partner who was enjoying sitting on the porta-potty.
The littlest monkey woke up around mile 12. We were so excited to see that mile marker and he must have felt the excitement, it was also here that the sun went into hiding and it started spitting ice at us. I had one more good sized hill to go up and littlest monkey seemed to be pushing me up the hill from the inside. No kicks, just those pushes that seem to push your entire uterus around! It was uncomfortable, but I had a small conversation with him and that helped that last mile pass by quicker.
The most amazing was coming around the corner with my last good sprinting push and hearing my name yelled out as I crossed the finish line with a really great friend and my mom watching and cheering for me. It was like a cloud around me and I don't even remember feeling the rest of my body, just hearing and seeing! I made the poor girl cutting my timing chip off bend down to get it, pretty sure my legs were like bricks at that moment and I could not get it to bend at the knee for her. I hugged my friend, grabbed my awesome finisher's necklace, and found my mom right about the time that the tears started flowing. They were good tears of course. Tears of joy, relief, pride, excitement, exhaustion all bundled up into one big snotty and frozen face!
I can't begin to explain the pride I have in myself and my friend for finishing 13.1 miles and finishing with what I consider a great time of 2 hours 27 minutes 04 seconds. That includes our pee break, the slowing down for killer hills, the slower pace when wiping orange gatorade off of my face and out of my nose (I just can't seem to get the drinking while running thing down!), and the slowing for a picture at the end where we are smiling (and hopefully with eyes open). 5 months pregnant at that! I can't wait to see this beautiful baby boy and tell him the story over and over again, we already have a very special bond.

I am also very proud of my new to running friend who finished her first 5K with a great time she should really be proud of! She joined the C25K program after I suckered her into this race and has been doing an AMAZING job. I am so excited for her and hope she thinks about running the half with me next year! I hope to have a few pictures to post soon.

3 Days

Okay, panic has set in. Only 3 days and the half marathon is here. I have been taking it REALLY easy this week, probably too easy on the training front. I found out it is supposed to be really cold Sunday morning in Atlanta. I have to find my ear warmer headband thingy. I hope it is sunny at least, it makes all the difference.
I am ready, I am not ready. I just want to get there, run, not pee my pants, and get my necklace and massage for finishing!

I let myself have a day of disappointment after finding out the baby is another boy! I am not going to feel guilty about that, or at least I am going to try really really hard not to feel guilty about that. I woke up yesterday and was just fine, excited about another baby boy to love his mommy. My husband was wonderful, he was excited and talked it up with the monkeys and said maybe next time is meant to be the girl time! Maybe not, but I guess we will find out then. I told him I like the names Isaac and Adrian. He likes Carter. We will probably use Carter as a middle name. He likes Isaac best. I like Adrian the best, but love Isaac too. The monkeys like Isaac best.

Conversation with Big monkey during ultrasound:
Big Monkey: What kind of baby is it?
Tech: A boy baby.
Big Monkey (after frowning): No. I am having a sister.
Mommy: No sweetie, you are having another little brother, look, there is his winkie.
Big Monkey: That must be a girl winkie.
Mommy: Girls don't have winkies, you are having a little baby brother.
Big Monkey: Well, I am going to have a brother girl then!

Relentless! I think it is sinking in finally, though he said he was going to call the baby Isaac Katherynn. Silly monkey!

So, I have Big Monkey and Little Monkey and now Littlest Monkey. I think I will have to keep it this way even though it might be confusing. I refuse to make Little Monkey the Monkey in the middle!!

Littlest Monkey...

Is most certainly ANOTHER BOY!!
I have to take a nap right now to get ready for this one!

Nervous Nelly

Well this is the morning, the day we go for the ultrasound. Because I screwed up, my poor husband does not get to go, unless by some miracle he can get his appointments worked out this morning.
My doctor's office called yesterday to confirm my appointment, I had to laugh a little. I found out that I do get a cd burned with the littlest monkey on it, I am so excited to post it on youtube. Hope the baby goes crazy for the camera!
I had nightmares all night about this. I am nervous, for my own neurotic reasons. I am also feeling the guilt of wanting a girl and nervous about my reaction. I guess it is only natural and it REALLY will be wonderful either way as long as everything is good (I know that is very cliche).
I have to drink 32 ounces an hour before my appointment and NOT use the restroom. This is just cruel and unusual punishment for a pregnant woman. I don't know if I have enough room for 32 ounces!!
It is going to be fun trying not to pee my pants while keeping the monkeys out of trouble in the waiting room! They are convinced that the doctor is going to take the baby out of my belly today and take a picture and then put the baby back in my belly, so cute.

Pregnancy Brain

So I messed up. I wrote on all of my calendars that today was my ultrasound appointment. Well yesterday I got to thinking about how my doctor did not call to confirm my appointment. That is unusual so I went out to the car to find my instructions and it turns out my appointment is tomorrow morning. It really throws a wrench in everything since my husband took the morning off and has appointments scheduled for tomorrow morning. I am going to call and see if by chance she had a cancellation for this morning and we can get in, cross your fingers! Wow, this was a big screwy brain morning. I just can't figure out what I was thinking. I even called my husband from the last appointment and told him the 10th!!

On another note, my cat got out Saturday night (they are both solely inside cats) and he was waiting at the back door to get back in probably a couple of hours after being out. Well, the other cat has been trying to kill him ever since. Not a good thing! There was blood this war. They usually get along very well, I guess he just smells like outside cats now?! I am ready to rub something they think stinks all over them both and be done with it!

Happy Birthday Mommy

Today is my mom's birthday. I am so happy to say that the monkeys and I will be spending the evening with her to help her celebrate. She is in Mississippi this week for work and it is only 2 hours away so we are going to pack it up and go this afternoon to take her out to dinner. Then we are going to wait for her tomorrow and bring her back to our house to spend the weekend. I am so excited and the monkeys are so excited, and I know my mom is.
My mom is one of my best friends. We talk at least every other day, if not a couple of times a day. She is the one I turn to for any advice I need with my monkeys. She is an amazing mother, woman, friend, and someone I strive to be like every day.
My mom was married to my dad at 17, left for Korea a few months later and came back stateside pregnant with me. She lived as an ARMY wife for the 30 years my dad was active duty. Moving, working, raising kids, going to college part time were all part of her daily routine. Now she has worked her way through college and is an accountant for the ARMY. I am so proud of her, she is so smart and strong.
She puts me in check, calls me neurotic when necessary, calms me down when I am threatening to sell my monkeys on ebay, and gently reminds me that I don't have to be the perfect mommy (she claims she was not but I don't see it). The biggest compliment I have ever gotten was a few weeks ago when she told a friend of mine how great my monkeys are, and she knew it was because their mommy works so hard to make them good people.
I love to watch her with the monkeys. She loves them so much and would do anything for them - and they know it. When she (and my dad) come to visit or when I go there to visit, I just hand the monkeys off and I so appreciate that. I often daydream about them living closer. I know they do too. And maybe one day they will be able to move down here.
So Happy Birthday mom, hope the monkeys behave during dinner tonight (not that you would mind)!

Holy Christmas

Do you all realize that there are 50 days until Christmas?!?! Wow. I really ought to take my Halloween decorations down tonight!
I have a bunch of presents bought already, but now on to the ones for the hard to buy for people! I still need to get the pictures taken of the boys for the Christmas cards, eek!
Anybody else on the ball this season? I am trying to make it a well prepared and stress free time since it should be so fun with the age the monkeys are at this year. I can't wait. I love Christmas!

17 weeks

Yep, 17 weeks must have been my pop out week! I can't suck it in anymore and the skin has started to get tighter!
My next appointment is Monday, I am excited to take the monkeys to the ultrasound.

Vote

I went first thing this morning and voted. Quite a turn out at the ghetto youth recreation center I have to go to in order to cast my ballot. It actually only took 30 minutes to get my vote in, I was surprised due to the length of the line. Things were running fairly smoothly. I could not help but wonder as each person walked up to the line who they were going to cast their vote. Was I voter profiling?!? I know, I am just being silly. It was just something to do while I passed my time. I had already read the rules for the recreation center which included 1. If we can see your underwear, do not enter these doors, 2. No flashing of gang colors in the building, and 3. Anyone with drugs or alcohol on the premises will be prosecuted.
Interesting!

13 days...

Just less than two weeks before I run my first half marathon. I am starting to freak out a little bit, which is weird because I would normally be freaking out A LOT! I just really am ready to get it over with and feel that high after finishing. I want to go back to just running my regular 3-5 mile runs and be finished with the long runs. We ran 10 1/2 miles yesterday and it was a good run. We took our time but still made good time and ran several hills. I do believe at the end I could have gone the extra 3 miles to finish up a half marathon. That is good considering I have 13 days until I will be doing so. My running partner is REALLY freaking out. I think that maybe I am not so worried because I know that since I am pregnant, I can not really push myself. It will be just a matter of finishing the run while running the entire time. I know that is enough. I don't think I could be so calm if I was my regular not pregnant competitive self. I would be setting all kinds of time goals and probably over doing it.
I actually wore my bella band during the run and feel like it really gave me some support. I am going to go ahead and get the back/belly brace before my long run this weekend. I was incredibly sore after the 10 1/2 miles. My legs are a bit sore/tight, but the worst is my pelvic area (at least I think this is what it would be called). Basically I felt like you do at the end of your pregnancy in the "nether regions". Just achy. Another reason I will be glad to cut out the long runs! I will also be purchasing some body glide, there was some major chaffing of the bewbies going on that can not be tolerated!

Happy Halloween!

Our nanny brought the monkeys by my office this morning, along with the other two children she takes care of. They insisted on putting their halloween costumes on and were just the cutest while they were here. We had to take some computer pictures of course:
My Mr. Incredible

My Superman

We had a theme apparently. I am planning on slicking Superman's hair back tomorrow. They expected candy from everyone at work!
I can't wait until tomorrow, my mom is coming to surprise them. She is dressing up in a costume and coming to trick or treat at our door. They will love it.

Funny Random Photos

Here is a silly picture of big monkey when he came to work with me last week. He had leftover swollen pink eyes.


Here I am (my belly anyway) just now after my not so successful run (it would really be TMI if I told you). I am 16 weeks and 1 day.

Budget out the window

I just spent the morning doing some Christmas shopping. A major purchase that I probably should not have made without letting my husband know, but it is for my husband and something he really has wanted for some time, and I got a good deal. I ordered this from overstock.com. I hope it turns out as great as the dining room table and chairs I ordered from them a few months ago.

I think he will be so happy. I am having it delivered to work so I can bring it home and surprise him closer to Christmas.

I ordered the Bella Band a couple of weeks ago and am wearing it today for the first time. I love it and recommend it to any pregnant mommy. I am still too small for my maternity pants (I am quite a bit smaller than I was with little monkey with all of the running I have been doing) so I am having a hard time keeping them up. But I am limited in my non maternity pants. So I put the band on with my too big pants and they fit wonderfully. It holds them up and I feel some support from the band as well. I got the one with the lace at the bottom so it looks like a cute little cami underneath my sweater.

I am really looking forward to using it after the baby is born. I am not very modest when it comes to a slippage of bewbie when breast feeding, but I absolutely hated having my "rolls" showing when my shirt was lifted to feed the monkeys. So this will solve that problem. I may have to break down and get a couple more!

Birthing wish

Being that I am pregnant, everyday at some point I think about how I would like to deliver this baby.
I should give some background to my birthing history. Big monkey was born via c-section after laboring for days (not too bad) and then the doctor breaking my water at an early point and increasing the pitocin so she could get home in time for Sunday dinner (we overheard this for real). I pushed for nearly 4 hours and the little guy would not come out. He was high in the pelvis and sunnyside up which is not condusive to delivery, at least not for my body. I had the epidural turned off after 30 minutes of pushing but they would not allow me to stand or squat (I really felt the need to do this with all of the back labor). Anyway, things did not go as planned and I was finally so exhausted I begged for the c-section.
I was incredibly depressed after this. Weird, so excited to have big monkey, but I just could not get the series of events that led to my c-section out of my head. Finally I had a break down and seemed better afterwards. I ended up pregnant with little monkey when big monkey was barely 6 months old. I switched doctors and immediately discussed a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). My doctor was on board with a few stipulations 1. no induction, 2. no pitocin, 3. no waiting after due date, 4. if she felt something was going wrong we would immediately be swept into surgery. I got her to push the repeat c-section date to one day after the due date. And I tried hard to get the little guy to come on, but with no such luck. I had to show up for the scheduled surgery and was a bit sad. Then all of a sudden, I went into labor, very early labor. I should probably have put a stop to the scheduled surgery, but I just kept thinking about all of those people out in the waiting room. I should have thought about my wishes and what was best for the baby and me. Oh well, it probably turned out for the best considering he was nearly 2 pounds heavier than big monkey at birth and had his cord wrapped around his neck several times. Chances are that I would have ended up with an emergency c-section. It was so hard after going home, not to be able to pick big monkey up when he was crying, or vacuum, or any of the other stuff I wanted to do to feel normal.
So now to the littlest monkey. I immediately addressed the idea of a VBA2C with my doctor. She was very hesitant to say much. She said it usually does not get done (law suits, etc.), but she did not say no. She said we could talk about it as we got closer to the end of the pregnancy. I just would really like to try. I know it sounds insane, but I just can't shake the first birthing experience and still look at it as a failure. I know, I had a healthy baby boy and was just fine afterwards. That really is the most important, but it is just something in my head. I don't think I am the only one who has felt this way, they have support groups for women about this topic.
I have a big plan in my head for this birth. I plan on using no drugs and am thinking I may need a third party in the room with me (well really 5th party since my mom and husband would be in there). I need someone there for me that would not be so emotionally involved. Someone would know my wishes and help me stick to them without seeing their wife or daughter in pain and thinking immediately of how to stop the pain. I am thinking of a doula. Or I have this old college friend I met up with recently who has no children, is in the mental health field, lives a couple of blocks away, and can tell it to anyone straight. I am thinking about asking her to be my advocate.
Of course all of this is going purely on the idea that my doctor will go along with my grand plans. It will be something I pray about and probably stress about until it comes time or I figure a way to get it out of my head.

7 Things

Anna tagged me in this fun game to reveal seven things about me you might not know. This took some thinking, do I really want 7 things known about me?! Here we go....

1. I met my husband in Walmart. We both worked there over a summer I was home from college. There was no Target in town!
2. I am a vegetarian (have been for 19 years) and have been craving big fat juicy steaks, bacon and fried chicken this entire pregnancy.
3. When I was growing up, I wanted to have 10 kids but only give birth to one... channeling my inner Angelina Jolie?!
4. My feet sweat profusely in black shoes and black socks (I have both on today).
5. I CANNOT stand for a throw rug to be crooked, and now big monkey can't either.
6. I went to Indiana University and loved it, can't wait for basketball season to start back up.
7. I like to bake, especially for other people.

Okay, I am tagging anyone who reads this and wants to participate!

Another good weekend

We have finally cooled off a bit here on the Gulf Coast. It was a gorgeous weekend and I even got to wear long pants without sweating to death.
Unfortunately, I was in the WORST mood ever on Saturday, and for no particular reason. Incredibly hormonal is all I can figure. I wanted to scream, or kick, or cry, or run away all day. My poor monkeys. They were so good. I was very aware of my bad mood so I tried to explain to the monkeys that I was cranky and sorry if I yelled or snapped at them. They seemed to get it and tried their best to behave and be sweet to their cranky mommy. We did well, until I had the bright idea of taking them to mass Saturday evening when they had no nap and I was a royal witch. We ended up leaving during communion (I never do this) and they lost their trains for a day and tv for a week - this sounds bad but they only watch tv a couple of hours a week, if that.
Big monkey played his little heart out at his last soccer game of the season. I was so proud, he very nearly scored a goal. He was very sad afterwards when he realized he was not going to see his team mates again for a long time, if ever. He is such a softy.
We went to the county fair Sunday evening. The monkeys had a blast and it was so fun seeing them in awe over the big rides and all of the lights and people and food! I was so tired at the end of the day, I just wanted to crawl back to the van!
I ran 9 miles Sunday morning and part of that was a hill that was nearly a mile long! It was awful but we did it and did not stop once. I am eager to get the half marathon over with. I want my finisher's shirt and necklace and massage!!
We are going to carve pumpkins tonight or tomorrow night. It is supposed to drop off cold here, really cold for here with lows in the mid 30's. I can't wait. I just need to get the gas turned back on for the heat!

I like to move it, move it!

Birthday pictures that I promised at the beginning of the week. He had a ball. We all had a ball. Yes, this giant shark was in my back yard and I am sure they could see it from the moon! We had it all weekend and got our bounce out of it, worth the money the minute I went into the monkeys' room and they were standing at their window (instead of taking a nap) squealing with delight as their daddy put the air in it!

Big monkey was so excited about all of his presents, but really loves the geotrax set up that he got, he is studying the airplane here.

They actually wore the hats, we have come a long way from the screaming 1 and 2 year old parties. We even played games.

Big monkey danced a little jig when we were singing happy birthday to him. It was so cute. He was SO into the birthday. I hope to keep it that way. I still love my birthdays, they are meant to be special days that are celebrated.

Little monkey was into wearing the lion mask, we had a madagascar theme including the "Move It" song. He went around roaring at everyone and making a few little ones scream!

So my baby is 4. I still can't get over it. He ended up with pink eye Monday, not sure where that came from, but it reminded me he is still my little one - especially when he is sickly and needs to cuddle.