Man, I feel like a (new) woman!!

Friday, I broke down and went shopping??? Yes! Crazy, I know... especially for those of you who know me and my beef with shopping. Granted, it was an all day affair of disappointment and discouragement at most times, but there were a few bright moments where I actually bought something! I needed something for a wedding we were attending the next day, so that was my main priority. Nate took me back the next day and encouraged me to get the other things that were on the maybe list. So Saturday we went back and got a few more things that will totally make life SO much easier!

It's crazy how bad you can feel about yourself and your well-being when you don't have clothes that fit. It's not just that they don't fit, because I'm still able to make some things "work", but it doesn't flatter anything and it just looks bad. On top of that, I needed a new bra in a horrible way, which was wreaking havoc on my shoulders. So, the pain associated with that was causing lots of trouble. So we fixed that problem as well!

Added with the new clothes, I got a haircut!! Whew, a much needed one, too.

I think my main problem with fashion is my inability to spend money. I absolutely hate it and feel much better about being frugal and making due with the clothes that are already hanging in my closet. Same goes with the hair situation. I can always "make do" rather than having the guilt associated with spending money. I'll take looking less "fashionable" over spending the money to do so. But all the while, I'm more and more frustrated with my options, eventually leading to a massive meltdown. heh heh.. yeah, not usually my finest moments.

I have the most amazing husband. How many ppl have husbands who actually encourage them to spend money on themselves?? I do! I never talked to him about it, until I broke down in tears Saturday morning over all of this nonsense. He gently talked me down and encouraged me to spend the money on the things I SO needed. So, he took me to the store and helped me pick out more clothes. He's now my very own personal shopper, btw!! (little does he know..hehe)

All in all, MAN I feel so much better! I'm thankful to be able to do that when we need to. We had a great time at the wedding, and I didn't feel one bit self-conscious or frumpy! yay!!

Another week down...

Tomorrow I will have completed 22 weeks, starting my 23rd. Going fast!!! I can feel Luke moving around a lot more these days. I'm also getting extremely uncomfortable in non-maternity clothes. My main problem is church clothes. This past week, I got so sick of wearing jeans (the only thing I have that fit) to church and decided to go for it with a pair of regular slacks I had in the closet. And yes, I did wear them... much to my dismay. It was uncomfortable to say the least, and I had them unbuttoned AND unzipped..lol. The tank top I had on underneath was super long, so it covered all the weirdness.. no worries ;)

Anyway, I think it's time I broke down and bought some clothes. I just absolutely hate shopping... definitely not a girl in that way. It ALWAYS turns out that I walk away in a horrible mood, because I can't find things I like that are also long, AND maternity, for a reasonable price.

Can we say whiney right now?? On a great note... my blood pressure has been fantastic! I just checked it and it was 110/72. Yipee! We also painted our front guest bathroom as well, since we had all the painting supplies out from last weekend. It was in much need of a change, so it looks a lot better!

Nate has an office shower on Friday that his coworkers are giving him. I'm excited and thankful to have people who care for us in that way. We're SO completely blessed!!

21 Weeks!

Tomorrow I'll be 21 weeks, entering my 22nd week... and only 134 days left?? For some reason that doesn't sound so long away.. little man will be here before we know it! I absolutely love feeling him move. I'm constantly placing Nate's hand on my belly, and Luke likes it, too! He seems to become just a little more active and squirmy when daddy is rubbing my tummy. I'm looking forward to feeling him more often :)

And finally, I took some pictures of myself via the Iphone, so sorry for the poor quality, and of the fact that i'm taking them myself! haha.. The things you do at home while your hubby is at work! So here's the halfway point pictures...





Stats as of yesterday's appointment:

So far I've gained between 9-10 lbs, total.

Luke weighs 15 oz! My "What to Expect" App says about 11 oz. at this point, so we're looking at a big baby?? Praise the Lord he is healthy! This should be interesting ;)

I have no real cravings. I just get hungry easily, and anything that I have my eye on sounds pretty yummy at the moment.

I can still wear my pre-pregnancy jeans if the top button is undone, so I'm not wearing a whole lot of maternity stuff. Plus, I'm just being stubborn and don't want to go buy anything.

I truly don't feel pregnant, if that makes sense. Other than the fact that my tummy is growing and I feel him move, I can't really tell much difference in what my normal is. I'm completely ok with that and am thankful for an easy pregnancy so far. It's more than I deserve. :)

Weekend Results!!

So we painted Luke's room Saturday. It was pretty hilarious, because Friday night prepping the room, we needed to touch up edges the previous home owners had smeared with paint on the ceiling and baseboards. We already had the original paint from when the home was built, so we all along planned on using that... no big deal. So we started touching up the ceiling with this paint and it was definitely not a matching color. Who knows if the paint being 5 years old was the problem or not, but it definitely looked like a gross yellow color. So off we went to Wal-Mart at 12:30 a.m. for an impromptu ceiling paint purchase. So we started with the ceiling Saturday morning, painted the color on Saturday afternoon and set up the crib Saturday night. Let's just say Sunday we were more than tired. More like totally WIPED OUT! But it looks super cute!!

The green color is hard to tell on the computer, but it's pretty close to the picture:





We also had our appointment today, and Luke is perfect!! My ankle swelling is gone, and my blood pressure has been much better at home. At the doctor's office it wasn't too great, but I was pretty nervous about them taking it. My doctor isn't too worried, and definitely doesn't want me worrying about preeclampsia right now. She said it's way too early for that to happen, and to just relax and keep an eye on my BP at home. I can always begin meds again if need be. Nate and I got a kick out of him. He's SO not shy about his modesty in the least..hehe. And yes, he's definitely a BOY! No question about it! His arms and legs are measuring in a week ahead of schedule (long legs and arms), and everything else is perfectly on schedule with my due date. Praise the Lord he is developing as he should. He was so cute to watch on the screen, flipping and moving around. He definitely couldn't keep his hands away from his face, as you can see in one of the pics below. Here he is!!



Profile shot with his hand by his face



Blurry little foot :D

Busy Weekend

What awesome weather we've had lately. I couldn't be more ready for spring-like weather. There's just something about the freshness of everything, the leaves poking out of branches and little flowers popping up. Knowing Texas though, we may get 1 last little cold snap before winter officially goes to sleep. We'll see??

Nate and I plan on enjoying our 3 day weekend together...

First, we're painting the nursery this weekend! We decided to go against all our original plans of painting the room a nice shade of blue. Not too baby blue, but not too dark, either. We picked out a ton of blue paint samples Tuesday night. Kinda hard to do when you don't have the bedding. Well, Nate surprised me with it Wednesday night and also took me to dinner to sort of celebrate our half way mark! He's such a sweetheart. Not to mention it would make our lives a lot easier having the bedding in our hands to actually pick the color. Good thing, too!! We hated all the blue colors! Nate decided to put a green color next to it for kicks (we also got samples to paint our guest bathroom at the same time). And THAT was it!! We had no questions. So it's Celery Powder from Behr. Can't WAIT to get it on the walls this weekend. It goes so nicely with our bedding!

We also have a conference happening at our church that will have several sessions throughout the weekend, starting tonight. So somehow we'll fit all this in!

Then the big appointment Monday!! I'm anxious for happy reasons and some apprehensive reasons, as well. I tend to be a worrier, and I'm nervous underneath about them finding something wrong with him during this all-inclusive ultrasound. Stupid, I know, but it's true. The only thing I can do is leave it in the Lord's hands and know He is the perfect creator, and no matter WHAT Luke looks like, God created Him the way He wanted and for a specific purpose. I've also noticed my ankles getting puffy. Can you say TOTALLY freaked out yesterday at work. I barely got through the day I was so anxious over it. I noticed right before getting pregnant that my legs had some fluid in them. I chalked it up to poor lower extremity circulation that kinda runs in our family. I'm hoping this is the same thing, and not the beginnings of preeclampsia. My blood pressure has been good, although it was high yesterday at work with me freaking out. Preeclampsia has been one of my biggest fears and then to think about it happening early in pregnancy putting me on bedrest or something?? Then my thoughts go to not being able to work, not having enough in our savings or my PTO to cover it all AND the recovery after having him.. how will we pay our bills, blah, blah, blah, and then the world blows up!!

Speaking of, just checked my BP and it's now 134/79.

So for anyone reading this... i need prayer. Prayer that I can just let God be in control. Prayer that everything is indeed fine, and I don't end up having massive amounts of protein in my urine or something. Prayer that I can not let fear paralyze me, and ultimately let me have a nice and relaxing weekend with my man, and an enjoyable appointment Monday!

So all in all, everything is good! I just need to chill. I'll post pics Monday!!

Twenty Weeks!

So, tomorrow I can officially say we made it to the half-way point!! I'll be 20 weeks, starting my 21st week!! I have an app on my i-phone that I've been keeping track of a few dates with, so I'll share them on here as well.

February 21, I was able to feel the first movement! It was more like fluttering, but it was definitely more than my intestines making a bunch of racket (which is something they often do). And, this past Sunday, March 6, Nate was able to feel it on my tummy for the first time!! We were thinking it was pretty early to do so, but considering we could see the gender at 13.5 weeks, our little man is progressing nicely! I'm wondering how big this kid is going to be, and if his size has anything to do with the amount of movement that even Nate can feel on my tummy, just at 19 weeks. We'll see! Our next appointment is this coming Monday, so we're DYING to see him again. I'm assuming this will be the last ultrasound, since it's the big mid-pregnancy one? I'll be nearly 21 weeks by that time... should get some good pictures!

It's been fun to hear friends and family mention showers! I would count all things a gift and a blessing, and would never expect a cent, but it's fun to hear the excitement for this baby! The showers will be lots of fun.

We also decided to go back to our original decision for the bedding, which you can see a few posts down below. We can't contain our excitement! I'll have pictures for my next weekly post, so stay tuned!

19 weeks?!

Whoa! My mom asked me yesterday if I was going to be 17 weeks this week. Tomorrow I will have finished my 19th week and beginning the 20th! Hehe, i think it's going by fast for everyone! I'm so ready for our big ultrasound on March 14.

Nate and I were able to get a lot accomplished this weekend! We nailed down child care for Luke when he gets here. We're so thankful my mom will be watching him the 2 days a week that I work. We also found this great place that has cheap day rates if we ever needed a place for him to go. It's a Christian daycare, and while the word daycare is hard for me to swallow, I'm thankful to know we have a back up place that will also let him make some other friends and develop some social skills at the same time! Right now, we don't even have to think about that, so we're happy and thankful.

We registered at Babies R Us and Target. While I knew it would be easy to get overwhelmed and prepared myself for that, I still got overwhelmed! SO many options! But we got most everything we need on there i believe with the exception of a few things I'm sure we'll add along the way.

We also bought our crib! We've been searching for quite awhile to find the right crib that we want without going overboard on the price, right color, conversion crib, sturdy and not going to fall apart in 1 year! Believe it or not, it's hard to find all of those desires without going over budget. But we did! We were also afraid, because most of the options we were looking at were online only. So we would be buying blind, based only on customer reviews. While registering, we saw one on display that we were able to look at in person and feel. We fell in love with it, but not for the price! So we were wondering about going over on our intended budget. Well, on Sunday, we were looking at cribs online, comparing to the one we wanted some others that were cheaper and when visiting the website on the one we wanted, it was suddenly on sale...for $70 cheaper than the original price which bumped it under our intended budget! We thought it was meant to be and jumped on it! So we went out and bought it and I also had several gift cards as well to apply to this final cost. We were so excited that we only had to pay less than half of the original price!! Praise the Lord!