Halloween Preview, etc..

Yesterday, Grant's MDO program had all of their Halloween festivities. All of the kids wore their costumes first thing in the morning and then they were changed into their regular clothes for the remainder of the day. I cannot imagine being the teacher of a bunch of preschoolers and having this task assigned to me, hence the reason I will never be a preschool teacher! Anyway, Grant was very excited to show off his dragon costume to his teacher, Mrs. Mary Anne, whom he adores. The picture below is of he and his cousin Ella, aka Minnie Mouse. They were too cute together. I mentioned before that they got put into different classes this year even though they're the same age school-wise. It really upset me at first, but I guess they've adjusted. He just misses getting to spend time with her two days a week. Can you believe she's only 4 months older than him??! Look at how tall she is!



On a totally separate note, I cannot believe that 3/4ths of this pregnancy has passed. As I have mentioned before, it's gone soooo fast this time. I can't help but be a little sad that it seems to be slipping away. More than likely, it will be my last one, and every little kick, etc. is one that I'll never feel again. Never say never though! My wonderful friends from church are giving me a baby shower on Saturday, and I'm sure that will make it all that much more real! I told them I didn't need a shower, and they insisted that I need girl stuff, soo.... I guess I should just be thankful to have them! We finally hung the pictures that I've had for months in her room on Saturday night. We actually tried earlier last week, and it was a bit of a disaster that led to giant holes in the wall, patching, and painting. They're up now, and they look great. Pics to come later!

Tommorow is Dr. day and Grant is looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat. We will also be making our rounds to friends and family's places of business to show off my little man. Last year, that was a disaster of sorts that resulted in lots of crying. He's changed alot since then, and is quite the showboat, so I doubt it will be a problem. I'm sure I'll have many more pictures to post on Thursday....that is if I get my memory card burned onto a CD and cleared in time!

29 1/2 weeks

We've been taking pics of the belly's progress on the 25th of each month, so last night was the monthly pic. Last month, I mentioned that I think my rear had grown as much, if not more, than my stomach. This month, I think the front side is definitely starting to outshine the back side! I did decide though to ditch the skinny tank top and workout pants like I mentioned I wore for every picture when I was pregnant with Grant. At that time, I didn't post any of them on the internet, so who really cared what I wore? Last night, I decided to just do the pic in what I had on, which I tell you must have made my stomach look HUGE! When I walked in to drop Grant off at MDO yesterday, several people were like Whoa! look at you. I'm not sure how to feel about that. Someone else said they didn't even know I was pregnant a couple of weeks ago, and now there's no denying that is there?! I just kind of smile and go on with my life, there are really more important things to worry about. Anyway, here is the picture. I go back to the dr. next week, and I'm going to take Grant with me so he can hear the baby's heartbeat. It oughta be fun!

Leg Cramps

I keep getting these stinkin' leg cramps in my right calf in the middle of the night. I never had one with Grant and I'd only had one in my life before this pregnancy. They hurt sooo bad! It's like a contraction in my leg. What is up with these things? Any advice on how to prevent them? The only thing that seems to get rid of them is getting up and trying to walk/limp around for a little while. That's after it awakens me out of a dead sleep and I sit up screaming. I am still sleeping pretty well, but when I wake up, I have a hard time going back to sleep. These leg things are no exception. It takes FOREVER for my body to settle back down and go to sleep after one of these episodes! I love being pregnant for the most part, but these are just torture!

Weekend Fun

We had a pretty relaxing weekend, which is a rare at our house. Friday night, I played Bunco for the first time with the girls from our our Sunday School class. We did it to raise money for the family we're helping this year for Christmas. It was so much fun! Now, I know why all these women do it all of the time. I think I enjoyed the gummy bears, Skittles, and rum cake about as much as the dice, but what can I say.

Daddy actually got Grant to sleep all on his own before I got home that night. I'm not sure if he's ever done this before, so it was a nice treat. Although, I was secretly hoping he'd be awake so I could snuggle with him when I got home. Sometimes, I complain about having to lay in bed with him until he goes to sleep, but it's really one of my favorite times with him. He has his nights that are so much fun, but mostly it's a really sweet time together.

Saturday, Nana and Papa spent the day at our house watching football, eating, and then watching a movie. Mid-afternoon, someone made mention of Maggie Moo's and Grant just couldn't forget it. Nana and Papa offered to take Grant to get ice cream, and they took him in their Mustang convertible. I'm not sure that Grant knew what was happening as the top of the car rolled back. He'll want to ride with them from now on. They also let him get the blue ice cream (cotton candy flavor) that I never let him get because it sounds sooo horrible to me, so I'm sure he loved that.

Saturday night, Grant and I carved his pumpkins. He's been telling me that he was ready to put a face on his pumpkins, but I've been putting it off. All of the goop inside kind of grosses me out, and I'm no artist when it comes to this. If I'm doing something that I'm putting outside my house, I like it to look good, but this, well let's just say good isn't the word I'd use to describe them. We actually cut teeth in the larger pumpkin, but when I went to push out the mouth, all of the teeth broke off too. Oh well! Grant still loves them, only now he has to pick them up every time we go outside. Smashed pumpkin on our driveway is probably in the near future.

Yesterday, mom, Grant and I took a trip to Babies R Us to buy some things for baby girl.. actually to buy some things for other people to give me at a shower.. funny, huh?! I have to admit that I'd rather do it that way though, so I'm certainly not complaining. I didn't register there since the stores in our area are quite a hike, but there were a couple of items that I really wanted from there, so it all worked out. I'm so overwhelmed with the amount of baby stuff that there is, and how much of it is different from just 2 1/2 years ago. I'm also really in want/need of a double stroller, but dang those things are expensive. I know that Grant will be close to 3 when this baby is born, and lots of people keep saying let him walk, but you see he doesn't know that is an option. Ever since he was born, I've taken him walking at the park, to the mall, and anywhere else in his stroller. Because of this, he rides really, really well, and I actually enjoy shopping with him. Do I really want to ruin that over a couple hundred dollars?! I should think not!

Funny Stuff

I've said many times how hilarious our little guy is, but I don't know if you can fully appreciate him if you haven't experienced it first hand. Church is a struggle for us every week, not church really, but the worship service. They have children's church for Grant's age group, but he doesn't like it. The girls that are in there are as sweet as they can be, but they're young, and I'm not sure that they know what to do with my 2 year old that does not want to sit still (that's why we take them in there.. remember). I watched for awhile a couple of weeks ago as they tried to coerce him into sitting in a seat while they read a book, but that's not what he was looking for. Playing was the name of the game. Anyway, so most Sunday mornings, we really try our best to make it through service with Grant. I bring lots of activities and our Quiet Bags at church are filled with all sorts of things to keep him busy. Don't forget the snacks, we have a whole bag of those too. Usually, he's been through the whole bag in a matter of 20 minutes and then we've still got an hour left to try to keep him quiet. The funny thing is that he's really starting to be aware of everything that is going on around him. He hears the things that the men are saying and repeats alot of it. Yesterday, he made one very loud statement about Jesus' blood. He is also very into names right now. He wants to know what everyone's name is, and would ask whenever someone new would go up to the podium. Then, he would yell that's Mr. whoever. He does the same for all those around us that he might know. He sees them, waves, then says what's Mrs. so and so doin? This is usually in the middle of a prayer. I'm sure the people that sit around us stay entertained, and I feel like I've been working out by the time the service is over. So when do they actually start sitting quietly??

This morning I was getting ready and Pookie was in the shower, and I heard Grant scream out over the monitor, so I went into his room. He was crying so hard. I kept asking what's wrong and he said, "I need my Tennessee hat!" So we went and found his UT hat put it on and he laid down in my bed and watched Disney. I asked him if he was dreaming about his hat, and he said my daddy take it! Don't know what all of that was about! Just another day in the life.. lovin it!

Little Boosts

In my last post I wrote about how my doctor was very surprised at my weight gain in the 4 weeks between visits. Ever since then, I have been feeling very self conscious and pretty down in the dumps about this body of mine. I didn't have so much of that problem with my first pregnancy. Granted, we had only been married a month and I was probably the smallest I'd ever been when I got pregnant, so when I delivered Grant I still didn't weigh as much as I had before I lost all of the weight before my wedding. Anyway, having been pretty heavy and never wanting to be back there, the comment my doc made has really really been bothering me. Apparently, God knew I needed a boost. Today at Target, while looking at maternity clothes (you know when you're feeling bad about yourself, buy new clothes!) a lady that was not pregnant said is it just me or are all of the maternity clothes out there kind of blah right now? I told her I couldn't agree more. She then asked me when I was due, and when I told her January 8th, she said wow. Then she told me I was so small and that her daughter, who is not due until March was alot bigger than me. Her daughter could weigh 400 lbs for all I know, but it sure did make me feel better. I'm not small, and I'm not ashamed of my belly (more like my rear), but regardless, it's funny how you find just what you need in unsuspecting places.

Time is Flying By!

This seems to be a common phrase said in our house lately. It seems that the days/weeks are just flying by. We have been pretty busy lately, with nothing in particular, just life. We have so much left to do to get ready for the baby.. not that she'll realize if I've hung her pictures or not, but still. I am a little anal when it comes to matters "house-related," but I've really been slacking in the arena of cleaning out the extra bedroom. On Sunday, I took the liberty of cleaning out my husband's closet and then moved all of his clothes, shoes, etc. into my closet. I had to remove the majority of my summer wardrobe in order to fit them in. We have never shared a closet before.. hopefully I'll be able to deal with it. I'm really weird about the way things are hanging in the closet, and he's really not so weird about it, so it might be interesting!


I went to the Dr. this morning and let me just say that it's absolutely amazing how much weight you can gain in 4 weeks! Never before have I been so shocked to step on the scale. My doctor even said, "Did you really gain - lbs?!" How do you answer a question like that? She then said, "Are you sure they didn't make a mistake?" I've told y'all about my sugar cravings, but I cannot imagine how much sugar made up all of these lbs. Anyway, I'm committing anew to eating better, walking more now that the weather is bearable, and not gaining much more weight. I also had to do my glucose tolerance test, get a rhogam shot, and a flu shot. I had two moles removed on Monday, so it has really been a week full of shots and sticks. I am soo not fond of needles and/or blood, but I've handled it all like a champ this week. I felt pretty yuck when I left the Dr., but I think that was because it was after 10 am and I hadn't eaten a bite yet.



On another note.. with all that we've had going on I feel like I'm missing out on precious moments with Grant every morning when I drop him off. I've always felt that to an extent, but realizing that there will be another baby that will require lots of attention soon is really making me think about it. My little guy is at such a fun age right now. Don't get me wrong, he is a handful, and he can also be a bit of pain, but for the most part he's a blast to be around. You never know what he is going to say and/or do. I just wish there were more hours in the day to spend with him. I have said many times that I don't know if I'm cut out to be a SAHM. I'm not sure that I have the patience to do it, but other days I really wish I had time to just hang out with Grant. On the weekends, it's rare that we're at home, and even if we are, there's so much to do around the house that I don't feel like I get much, if any, downtime. I feel like I would not be fully satisfied staying at home full time, nor am I fully satisfied working full time. Maybe a part time job would be my best bet emotionally, however, part time childcare that is affordable is much more difficult to come by. It almost negates the part time paycheck usually. I'll just have to wait and see where God leads me once baby girl gets here. I hope it will be pretty clear cut. Sorry for rambling!!

Fishing!

This was the 1st fish of the night. Grant couldn't take his eyes off of it to look at me. It was really really small!

Last night we took Grant fishing for the first time. He and his daddy went and bought a fishing pole several weeks ago, and Grant has been practicing his casting every night in the backyard. He comes home, hops out of the car, and says I need my fishing pole. They stay outside just casting and reeling it in usually until dinner is ready or it's dark, whichever comes first. For the past few days, he's been saying that he wants to go fishing "in the water". Daddy decided that last night was the night.

Grant was so excited. We stopped and got some red jigglers (wigglers?) or something.... I just know they were worms to use for bait. We went to a boat dock not too far from home that has lots of flat bank where he could walk around. It was pretty deserted, which was perfect for us. There were lots of ducks and geese, and I think Grant was just as interested in those as he was the fish. He also really liked the worms. We all had a good time, and caught several fish. Actually daddy caught several little fish and momma caught the big one. That's right, I only caught one, but it was a bass and it was by far the biggest of the day. I got Andy to take a picture, but I think he was nervous or something and he was shaking, and the picture is just one big blur. I really need to teach this man how to hold a camera steady before our next child is born. It never fails that when I ask him to take a picture, it ends up being a blur : (!! I did get a picture of the first fish of the day and several of Grant casting and reeling his line in/out. I'm sure it will become one of daddy and his favorite things to do together. I'll just go every now and then to show them who the real pro is. The funny thing is the first thing Grant said to me this morning is, "mommy, you catch a big fish?" He knows who's the best!!

This is my favorite pic from the night... love those profiles!

I will say that fishing will probably not last more than an hour, at least for a little while. The little guy's interest in the fish turned to rocks, water, hooks in the tackle box, etc. shortly after the one hour mark, and it was more of a keep Grant away from everything job for me. (Daddy was still trying to get a bigger fish... to no avail!) Today, daddy is home sick with some sort of bug.. hopefully not from the fishing.

Grant fishing after dark!

A Little Freaked Out

Ok, so I'm a little freaked out that my little counter up there at the top said 98 days left! When it was over 100, I was pretty ok with it, but that number just keeps getting smaller yet I still have way too much to do. I was saying over the weekend how much faster this pregnancy seems to be going by because we're so much busier with Grant and everything else in our lives. Last time, even though we had just gotten married, bought a house, etc. it seemed like our whole focus was getting ready for baby Grant. So, this time, I've painted the bedroom, but nothing else. I might need to get my husband's clothes out of her closet and possibly get some of my baby stuff out of the attic. It would probably be better to do that sooner rather than later while I can still maneuver myself up and down the attic staircase, since hubby has NO IDEA what we'll need. Sometimes I think he just says that kind of stuff to get out of doing it, can anyone relate? Like, oh I didn't put the dishes in the dishwasher because I thought maybe the ones in it were clean. Hello... they have food all over them. A quick glance could've confirmed whether they were clean or dirty! Anyway

The holidays are also coming, and I'm thinking that Christmas shopping needs to begin soon so I'm not an elephant trying to get through a crowded mall! I absolutely love Christmas shopping, so I'm a little bummed about all of that. I think it's so much fun to get out in all of the crowds, as long as you're not one of those crazed lunatics that is dead set on getting some stupid toy for your kid. Really.. they'll have it the week after Christmas, just wait. I fell victim to one of those toys last year.. I was not the crazed lunatic at the store, but I paid way too much for a TMX Elmo on ebay, and Grant almost never plays with it. Never again, at least not until he's begging for something. He was 19 months old last Christmas, and could've cared less what I got for him.
I just want to get done with everything as early as possible this year just in case our little girl decides to arrive early. I've already said that given that I'm still good to go on Christmas, all of the holiday decorations are coming down December 26th this year. They'll be no leaving the tree up until New Year's. I do not want to come home from the hospital to Christmas decorations!

Anyway, not a lot going on in our world this week that's worth rambling about, these are just the thoughts that are filling my head as I sit here doing nothing.. too bad I can't be home doing something to my house.