12 weeks 5 days

So I am almost officially 13 weeks and time is inching by so slow! I cannot wait to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. I really want a girl but will love whatever God blesses us with none the less. Hopefully this won't be our last baby so we can still hold out hope for one before we are done. Otherwise when we do finally adopt it will be a girl. Anyhow, I got a call from my Dr's office this morning stating that he was sick and would be out today. I was sent to a midwife in Prattville for my check up and it was an experience. My appt was at 1 and when i got there the door was locked...apparently they were still enjoying their Mexican food since they didn't open up til almost 10 after. I was called right back and the did the necessary leave your sample, which i might add was a nasty dirty bathroom, and take my weight. Which i was surprised to only be up about a pound or so. My BP looked good it was 112/60. It was high when i was sick so I was told to make sure it was good when i went back. The nurse was super nice and told me to not be alarmed if we can't hear the heartbeat. She found it right away but this baby is a mover and a shaker so she lost it as soon as she found out. It took a few minutes but she found it again and told me the heart rate was set at 156. She was also shocked at how strong and loud it was. She said that typically at 12 weeks its hard to find and often very light. Its good to know this baby has a strong heart. That sweet lub dub noise i could listen to all day long! The midwife came in and she was very nice but i felt like i was being rushed and that I was a nuisance for having to be squeezed in. I told her that my doc called in sick today and she said yeah that's what they told you he will be out for a couple days..which i thought was kind of rude and strange. She never checked my hands and feet for swelling and didn't press on my abdomen to check the height of the fundus. I know its not a big deal but I am a routine person and Dr. D always checks me. It was kind of a wasted appt. Oh well at least i got to hear that sweet babies heartbeat! That's all that matters.

I got back to the doctor on January 28th at 1015 so we will see what he says then. I am hoping that he goes ahead and lets me schedule my gender US then. I am trying to convince Robert to let me go to Virginia College in Bham to find out earlier. We will see if he finally gives in.

7 weeks 2 days

So I finally had my doctors appt this morning and was sooo nervous! I don't know why since i knew what to expect! I guess since I had told Robert that I didn't need him to come with me I was just afraid we would get bad news. Got there and got into a room and waited for the Dr. He came in and we chit chatted for a while about Preston and how we cannot believe its been two years since he was born. By my calculations and Dr Desautel's calculations we determined that the baby will be due July 9, 2011 and that I am 7 weeks and 2 days pregnant. So exciting! He told me that he likes to have an ultra sound done at around 8 weeks so on December 3rd at 10:40 am we will get our first little peek at this sweet sprinkle in my tummy. I will be almost 9 weeks by then so hopefully it will look more like a baby and less like a bean. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts during this special time in our lives. We are truly blessed!

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

I don't come across a cookie recipe often that is worth sharing. However, recently my mom gave me a little cheap cookbook on cookies and the above cookie recipe caught my eye. I couldn't resist I had to make them. I don't normally bake from scratch but I had all the ingredients so I thought why not. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as we have!!!

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 T milk
1 T melted butter
1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease Baking sheets. ( I used nonstick and didn't grease and they came off fine).

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl and mix together dry ingredients.

Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually add and beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until edges are firm. (We like ours a little gooier so I took the second batch out while they were still a light orange color. Both taste just as good though.) Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

For Glaze: Combine two cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 T milk, 1T melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla extract in small bowl. Mix until smooth.

They have lots of ingredients but were not hard to make. And they are really yummy! Kind of like a pumpkin pie in a cookie! I hope you enjoy as much as we have!!!

recipe courtesy of Toll House Nestle Holiday Recipe book.

So far this pregnancy...

People have been asking me how far along I thought I was and I would say 4-5 weeks but I totally forgot that the end of the week is one week. Does that make sense? Any who by my calculations I think I am 4 weeks and 4 days. Saturday will be the beginning of week 5. I thought I was a week ahead and I still may be off but at least I have almost two weeks before the morning sickness typically shows up. Praying that it doesn't show up at all!!!

As for symptoms so far I feel pretty good. I am tired some days but not all the time. I have horrible heartburn already and am already munching on Tums to relieve the pain. I have preggo nose and can smell Preston's dirty diaper from across the room and possible even from another room lol Its Super Sonic I tell ya! I also have started having stuffy noses at night so I bought me some saline spray and breathe right strips so I can sleep with my mouth closed.

Preston was taking baby news well. When you would ask him where the baby was he would say Tummy and point to my tummy. Well Monday night when you asked he would state that the baby is in the pumpkin...and now if you ask he makes this horrible screeching noise like how dare you ask me about the baby lol. I still talk to him about the baby like its the best thing that ever happened to him so we will see how well it works when the new baby gets here.

I also started back on a modified C25K program today. I found I couldn't run the full time so I walked the first 10 minutes and then jogged off and on the last 15-20 minutes. I am so out of shape since I haven't done it in three weeks so I am having to pace myself to get back into it. I am determined to try to exercise this pregnancy at least 5 days a week!

How I told Robert

I had come across the idea a couple months ago on the Internet to make a shirt to share with your spouse the news of your pregnancy! I wanted to do it so bad so it worked out that I found out I was pregnant while Robert was at work. Preston and I showered and got ready to go Wednesday morning not long after I took my test. We ran to Wal-mart got all the stuff and came home. My plan was to show up at Roberts work and surprise him there, then visit our parents and maybe grandparents if I had time. Little did I know that it would take me over an hour to iron on letters to a tiny size 2T shirt lol. So plans changed and I called Robert and asked that he be home no later than 5 so we could go meet our family and take P to a fall festival at my aunt and uncles church. I had told him that P would be ready to go when he got home and i needed him home early so that we could take pictures of him in his costume and head to Prattville to be there by 5:30. Preston was sitting on the pumpkin waiting for Robert when he pulled into the drive way!

The front of Preston's shirt read "Big Brother in Training" and the back said "Due in July!!"

This is how the convo went when Robert came in:

R: Hey buddy how was your day!

J: Did you read his new shirt he got today???

R: Big brother in training...

J: Read the back ( all while holding a pregnancy test)

R: Due in July..::bending down and reading the front and back again::

J:umm so I'm pregnant that's not his costume!

R: OH!!! Are you really?!?! I was confused!!! ( in his defense I had told him P would be dressed and ready to go when he got home).

J: Are you excited??? Do you want to see the test?!?

R: YEAH!!!

Here are a couple pics from after we told Robert...I totally forgot to take pics while he was reading P's shirt!

It was sooo cute!!! I am so glad I came up with a creative way to tell him! It worked so well I used it on my mom today at her work! I went in and told her that I knew we were coming to dinner tonight but that Preston couldn't wait to show her his new shirt. She read the front then the back then looked at me and said are you.....I said yes and she hugged me I am pretty sure we both teared up! It was great!!!

Surprise Surprise baby #2 is inside!!!

So my last post was a little pre-mature! I discovered yesterday morning at a little after 9 am that we indeed having another baby!!! How crazy! The one month I talk myself into thinking I am not pregnant it happens! I noticed Saturday that I was feeling a little tired but I didn't think much about it. Sunday night at MIT I kept yawning and was having a hard time staying awake! Monday I felt fine and Tuesday I realized i was getting tired throughout the day from cleaning and would have to take a break. I laid on the couch Tuesday night and almost went to sleep at 7 I was so tired. When I woke up Wednesday morning I decided that it was strange that I was so tired the night before and so I thought to myself I will take a test see that its negative and just wait for AF to show up around Saturday. Did the test, took the dogs up, went and got P up (which was strange because when i went in his first word to me was baby? baby?), started coffee and then realized i needed to check the test. When I got up there I had to look at it twice to make sure I was reading it right!!! Sure enough it said:

If my estimated due date by my workings is right it will be July 9, 2011. Which it probably is since I nailed Preston's dead on. We are so excited!!!!

The Waiting Game...and Other Ramblings!

Don't ya just hate waiting for something?!?! How come when you don't look forward to something it comes really really fast? And how come when you look forward to something it seems to stop time!?!?! As most of you know we have been trying to have another baby for 4 months and this month seems sooo slow! I don't have this overwhelming feeling that I am pregnant, like I did with Preston, but I am still talking to God and asking for Him to will us to get pregnant this month! I have decided that I am not going to get my hopes up and I think its working. However, there is that tiny tiny voice in my head telling me that it will be positive this month. Only time will tell and to save me some stress and some money I have decided to not test as early as humanly possible. I mean we all know First Response makes all its money off the girls that test 5 times a month to get that early result that never comes!

So begins the waiting game...again...among this time of waiting I have discovered that while I am experiencing this trial others seem to be thriving with fertility and are getting pregnant from just looking at their husbands. I mean my mom said the other day that her friend who is almost 40 and on birth control got pregnant and it was such a surprise to her. I mean really?!?! I know they say that when you are trying too hard it won't happen and that you don't need to stress about it. Well whoever said that never took longer than a couple months to get pregnant, like me the first time getting pregnant. I know that I shouldn't complain as God has blessed us with one child and I know deep down He will bless us with more when the time is right. I mean we may think we are ready but God obviously knows otherwise.

Also why do people always feel the need to ask when you plan on having the next baby??? I was this person until I was on this side of the trying and I promise I won't ask again! I was first hit with this realization a few weeks ago after finding out about a sister in law's pregnancy. While I am SO excited for her and can't wait to have another niece or finally have a nephew my heart sank. I was confronted with it the first time and the question that so often never bothered me started to tug at my heart. When are you going to have another baby??!?! A simple question right. Should be no problem to answer...but for me for some reason it was! The first time I laughed and joked it off. All the while saying times tables in my head to stop the tears from forming. The second time I made a complete fool of myself and stated I did not really want to talk about it while the tears started to drop (didn't help that the room went silent when the question was asked and I was at a bridal shower). I am sure I looked like a crazy person and am TOTALLY embarrassed about it! I surprised myself this last go round when asked as I just said hopefully soon and thankfully there were no tears.

I know this is a long boring and overly personal blog post but I felt like I needed to get it off my chest and since this is kinda like therapy I thought it might help. I promise to not bog down my blog with lots of these so I am cramming it into this one post. Hopefully my next one will be happier and I will have good news. If not it's okay. I know that God will provide.

Reflections of Motherhood

Myfriend Margaret posted this on her blog and it touched me! No matter how yucky the day is or how "bad" of a mother I feel I am sometimes I know that I am not alone. We all make mistakes and we all wish we could go back and change things. I do know one thing I definately took time to fall in love with my baby ;o)

Puhnkin Patch

So I am a terrible blogger and cannot believe it has taken me so long to get these pictures up from our trip to Dreamfield Farms in beautiful Hector Al. Myself, Preston and my wonderful mom made the 1 hour drive to the country to enjoy some time with sweet friends. Preston was so excited and jibber jabbered all the way for the full hour we were in the car. I don't think he truly understood what we were about to do! When we got there we took a family pic:

Preston is not a fan of taking pics these days so he pretty much refused to look at the camera! After we got there Preston checked out the Cow Train ride and the tractors! After watching it leave without him a few times ( he literally pitched a fit when it would leave and he wasn't on it) we decided it was time to ride!

He had a blast! Myself on the other hand could not wait for it to be over for numerous reasons:

1. The guy drove so fast I thought we might tip over.

2. I may have a big behind but unfortunately its wide and not really that padded so the wood seat was sooo uncomfortable.

3. the stuff they put on the back as cushion was coming apart so the cut part of the barrel was digging into my back as I held on for dear life! lol P enjoyed it though so I guess that is all that matters.

We tried the bouncy house stuff but P isn't a big fan yet and I am OK with that since bigger kids don't typically watch out for the little ones. We then grabbed some lunch ( which is waaayyy over priced and not very good). Then it was time for the hayride to the Pumpkin Patch! P was very excited that the trailer was being pulled by a tractor!

Once we arrived and saw these:

Preston stood so still and took it all in!

And then promptly found a Puhnkin and sat his tail down! I think he was overwhelmed with all the Pumpkins because he kept saying "Puhnkins! Puhnkins! Lots of Puhnkin! Grammy, puhnkins! Mommy, Puhnkins!"

We picked out our pumpkins, Preston a baby one and me a normal sized one for carving and headed back on our tractor ride. We stopped by the petting zoo where we bravely fed goats and donkeys. Poor Preston got his finger bit by a donkey in which he proclaimed bad donkey! He loved the baby pygmy goats though! The guy let two of them out and he ran up to it hugged it and called it a dog lol. After that P did a little more playing in the corn box and riding the tractor toys we headed home. He napped and we stopped by Nancy's Italian Ice for some Cherry Italian Ice. All in all it was a great day!!!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Fall is in the Air!!!

I am sure that I am not the only one that is in love with this weather right now! I am almost afraid to call it fall as I am afraid if I say that it is that the 100 degree weather will come back. I cannot believe it is finally October! Where has 2010 gone?!? With the cooler weather all I can think about is Thanksgiving! It will be here before we know it and I hope it brings some good food and fellowship with family. Now that it is getting cooler all I can think about it making one of these:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a sweet potato pie in the fall and winter!!! I made one last year that was to die for and sadly have lost my recipe so now I have to find a new one to take the place. If anyone has any please pass them on to me!

I am also thinking about Pumpkins and saw the coolest thing at Hobby Lobby! Its a fake carvable pumpkin! They were kind of pricey...I believe they were like 35 bucks for one medium sized pumpkin, but they were so neat!!! No guts to clean out and you just carve it and it then when the season is over you pack it up and pull it out next year! Although I have to admit I look forward to doing a real pumpkin with Preston so I guess we will stick with the real thing. Besides you can't roast fake pumpkin seeds!

TTC Update

So I know I mentioned a few months ago that we were starting to try for baby number 2. Upon quitting my job we came to the realization that 610.00 for insurance is outrageous and while we could do it on Roberts salary now money would be extremely tight. So we looked for different options which lead us to an individual policy. Unfortunately, it will not cover a pregnancy for 365 consecutive days so we would have to pay out of pocket for everything if we got pregnant. While we weren't so worried about it in the beginning we began to worry about the what ifs..such as what if I have a complicated pregnancy this go round or what if we require a c section this time...or worse what if the baby has to stay in the hospital for a long time. I think you get the idea. We worked really hard to become debt free and the thought of having hospital bills or credit card bills for a baby scares me! We have put baby number 2 on hold for a month or two and are weighing our options. I am not getting back on birth control though as we are putting it into God's hands. I told Robert, after hours of hysterical crying at the thought of us not having baby 2 soon, that I totally felt a calm after the storm. I know that if we do get pregnant that everything will work out and all will be OK. God has always given me peace when i am worried and this situation was no different. I trust Him with all my heart and soul and know that he will provide even when we feel we can't. Hopefully we will resume trying again in September. For only God knows what he has planned for us. xoxo

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

Did I mention...

I am totally addicted to this product??? Its a little pricey at Wal-mart but oh so worth it for my dry senstive skin! I highly suggest you try it! Its Fig and Shea butter smell is wonderful but not over powering. I am in love!

Things to get done

So I have been lazy today since we got back from our week long vacation yesterday and have tons of stuff to do now that I am a stay at home mommy and have no excuses to keep me from doing them. Here are somethings i would like to do now that i work in my house!

1. Get Organized!!! My house is so cluttered I need to do something to straighten it up.

2. Get P organized! He has way too many toys so i need to go through them and put up stuff he is too old for.

3. finally upload beach pictures and write a blog about our trip...other than discussing coke :o)

4. clean out my drawers and closet! I have TONS of pre-baby clothes that i will never fit into ever again! If you need some clothes ( some with tags still attached I am sure) let me know I might have something that will fit you ( sizes 6 and below).

5. Actually use the treadmill I begged Robert to buy me...and for longer than 10 minutes.

6. Learn to paint and actually use it. I have brushes and paints but just don't take the time to paint anything.

7. COUPON!

8. take more video of Preston.

9. Start MIT at Morningview and attend more regularly on Sunday nights.

10. spend more time with my nana and pawpaw.

11. come up with a schedule for cleaning house.

Thats all I can think of at the moment...although i am sure there are tons more that i will think of later...

Beach Trip 10

So we went to the beach last Monday and enjoyed 5 days of wonderful weather! We stayed at the Breakers East condos in Destin and could not have enjoyed it more! When we first arrived we were delighted that our condo looked just like the pictures and there were no bad surprises. Our view was just as beautiful as promised! WE did have a minor toilet issue but it was fixed within 30 minutes of calling Carolyn about it. The water pressure was also pretty terrible the first two days so baths were a must as showers were out. We took P down to the water when we got there Monday and unfortunately what he loved last year he really didn't want to take part in this year :o( This makes me sad but think that maybe it was just a little overwhelming for him and that next year will be better. I think the waves scared him this year and bless his heart he doesn't like to get his hands dirty so really playing in the sand was out of the question. We did find out however that little man is a true southerner as every carbonated drink he saw ( and tasted for that matter) became coke. We have created a monster this weekend and now i have to break the coke habit. A little coke apparently goes a long way :o) I know some of you are reading this going wow she gave her kid coke! Yes we did as we became desperate to finish a dinner with out him screaming and crying and trying to throw himself out of his highchair. Now don't get me wrong he typically does very well at dinner time but for some reason he did not enjoy his dinner experiences at the beach (except at The Crab Trap) its the only time he sat still and ate while we enjoyed our dinner as well (Tequila Lime Grouper is pretty great!). needless to say when we came home today and our son tried to grab my can of diet Sunkist while proclaiming coke coke coke over again I am pretty sure that he needs some form of rehab ;o) There will be no more coke for him for a while.
Anywho, sorry for the coke ramblings i do that a lot on here. The beach was great! I got way to much sun and ate too much. I promise i will get pics on here tomorrow while P naps. Love to all!

The Bittersweet part :o)

So today has been bittersweet for me. I officially ended my 4 year job at Aliant Bank and my oh my how sad yet happy it has made me. I picked Preston up today from Mrs. Peggy and Mr. Keith's (or as P calls them Eggy and Keef) and I have to admit it was the first time during the day that i teared up. They have been such a blessing to my little family. Preston stayed with my Nana and Pawpaw on the days my mom was not working when he was a baby. My Pawpaw was diagnosed with beginnings of Alzheimer's around August of last year( I think that is roughly the time). P was getting big and harder to handle and it became apparent that my sweet Nana did not need to be watching him anymore as he was getting heavy and she needed the break. God intervined as I cried to Robert about not knowing what to do and sent me sweet loving people to take care of my baby boy when I couldn't. I don't think they knew they would get themselves into keeping him for longer than 6 months but they have been soo sweet and such a blessing from day one! Here are all the things i wanted to say but never did about keeping Preston.

Mrs. Peggy and Mr. Keith,
I am so thankful that you were there to take care of my sweet baby boy for me so I did not have to put him into Daycare at 11 mths old. I am thankful that you gave up new found retirement to babysit a toddler four days a week for next to nothing. I am thankful that you fell as much in love with him as he did with you. I am thankful that we have reconnected with people I can always trust and can call on in times of need or friendship. I am thankful that you taught him where his fingers and toes were when I couldn't and you helped him learn his colors (especially pink he told me about pink yesterday). He is so smart and I am so thankful that he learned so much while he was with you and that ya'll took the time to teach him and play with him. I am thankful that you took him outside and allowed Moxie to hang out because he so loves to play with her. I am thankful for everything you have ever done for our sweet boy! Words can not begin to express how thankful Robert and I are that you took time out of your life for ours. We are forever grateful and don't know how we will ever be able to repay you for your kindness and generosity!
xoxo
Jennifer, Robert and Preston

I thought I would make it the whole day without crying ;o)

There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel!

WOO HOO! One 2 more days of work til I start my new job. Check out the pic of my new boss below! He is soooo cute!

TTC #2

So its been a while since I have posted anything so I thought I should journal through our trying to conceive baby 2 would be a great place to pick up and journal. We have always wanted a large family with about 4 biological kids and maybe 2 adopted children. So when we had Preston we knew we needed to keep them close in age. My brother and I were 4 years apart so there where times when it was great and times when it was not so great. I always looked up to the people that had siblings a little closer to their own age so when we decided on a large family i thought 2 years between each child would be great! So begins our plan for baby number 2. When we got preggers with Preston everything went sooo smooth we said lets not really try and just see what happens in January and February. When nothing happened I decided that i was going to figure out when i was supposed to ovulate so i could plan better. Well it worked the first week of April we produced our 1st of probably 15 positive pregnancy tests ( I kept taking them like it was magically going to change). I assumed this time would be just as quick as long as i knew when i was ovulating. Needless to say it was a big disappointment when I realized I was not pregnant and was in fact very not pregnant. I know its just the first month we tried but deep down I really thought it would happen like it did last time. So i was a little bummed for about a day but I know that its in God's will and that He is in control not me so we are leaving it up to Him.