My brain at 2 a.m.

Something that I've thought about in the middle of the night feeding a baby when my thoughts are all over the place...

This year I will turn 29. My husband will soon be 33. My husband has a for real job (as opposed to a fake one), we have a house, 2 cars, 2 kids. According to most, we are considered adults, as are our acquaintances. So why is it that I still have a hard time referring to ourselves and others as a man or a woman? Boy and girl still come to mind, and every time I'm talking to someone I so badly want to say "This girl that I know..." and I really have to make a conscience effort to say "woman".

Maybe I'll be over this by the time I'm 50.

I couldn't even make this stuff up

I will admit that I am a huge fan of reality TV. HUGE!

But everyone has to draw the line somewhere, right? And some people clearly just don't know where to draw the line.

Did you know that there is a show called "Bridalplasty"? And the name truly says it all. It's a competition based show where brides compete to win plastic surgery so that they will look "perfect" for their wedding.

I kid you not, people!

Each episode there is a competition, and the winner of the competition gets to choose a procedure to get done, and then gets to spend 2 weeks recovering until they have to start competing again.

Which means they get to compete and do interviews looking like this (Yes, these are actual pictures from the show!):

What is happening to our world today???

No really, I want to know. Because something is clearly wrong.

***images from Google images

jC thinks three's a crowd

I've decided that either I'm the only one who has struggled with having a second baby, OR everyone struggles but no one talks about it. If the latter is the case, then I will be the odd one out and actually talk about it.

It feels very similar to when I was pregnant with jC and people would say "Being a parent is hard." and I'd say "I know." I knew it would be hard, but the reality of dealing with it was a lot different than just knowing it would be hard.

I knew having 2 would be hard, but the reality now of living it is much more difficult than I expected. The funny thing is when jC was a baby, I cried a lot with the struggles I had with him. Now luC is here, and I'm crying a lot...because of the struggles with jC. He, unfortunately, is not too fond of playing on his own. He also, unfortunately, is not too fond of not having all the attention.

Other things he's not fond of: luC crying, having to eat a meal with out me sitting with him, turning the TV off, getting a snack that he doesn't want, making him pick up the snacks he doesn't want after he throws it on the floor...and the list goes on and on....which equals a whoooole lot of frustration, screaming, and crying all around.

On the plus side, luC is a lovely baby. She will actually nap, which means I do get to spend some one on one time with Judson and I'm able to see his happy side, too.

I absolutely love my children (Woah...saying I have CHILDREN is weird!!) They are great, and I just can't wait for everyone to be adjusted to our new family so we can really enjoy it.

She's here!!

Our little luC has arrived.



And call me crazy...



But I love reading about peoples birth experiences. So I thought I'd share my own. Of course if you have no interest in hearing about it, I won't be offended if you just skip down to the end and look at the pictures.


So luC's due date was Dec. 16. However, at the beginning of my pregnancy(when ultrasound dating is most accurate), every time I got an ultrasound they said it was 4 or 5 days later. But they don't change the due date unless it's more than a weeks difference. Dec. 16 came and went, and even though I always said she'd be late, it was SOOOO hard to see the due date pass with out a baby to show for it. But according to those calculations in the beginning, she came just on time...


On Dec. 21 I had an appointment with the midwives in the morning. The midwife talked of stripping membranes, but basically said if the baby is ready, it would speed things up and if the baby wasn't ready it would make no difference. So I opted to not go that route. They did an ultrasound to make sure there was enough fluid, they set up an appointment for the 23rd for a nonstress test, and set up an appointment for me to be induced on the 27th. I really thought all of those appointments would occur.


After I got home from the midwives, juC had to go back to work and little jC was so upset. I ended up taking him for a drive to calm him down. I thought I would take the opportunity to go by a friends house and drop something off for her and hang out a bit. The whole time I was there she joked about my water breaking on her carpet, and it better not because it was new carpet. I assured her we were safe.



At about 11:30am little Judson and I were about to leave. He asked me to hold him, so I was standing there in her kitchen holding him in front of me when all of a sudden I felt something. I thought that with the way I was holding jC and the position of the baby I must have had a little accident....oops! That had never happened before! But I didn't want to ask to use her bathroom because I knew Judson would freak out. So with out saying anything, jC and I left her house and I got home as quickly as possible. My water breaking before labor started had never crossed my mind because I always assumed it would happen exactly the way it did with jC. After I got home I realized that there was a good chance that my water did break.

I called the nurse at the midwives office and told her what happened. She told me what to do to "test" it out and see if my water broke. When I called her back to tell her the results of the "test", she said "REALLY!?" Apparently she didn't expect it to have actually happened. But, my water broke for sure!

I immediately called juC. No answer. I called the babysitter who was supposed to come. No answer. I called juC again. No answer. I called the other babysitter. No answer. I called juC again. No answer.

Seriously...NOW?!?! Now is the time no one picks up?? I called the cell phone of the other babysitter. She finally answered and said she'd come as soon as she could. Called juC's work phone. No answer. Called his cell phone again. No answer. FINALLY got him and told him my water broke.

I quickly finished getting things together that I needed to. juC got home and a few minutes later the babysitter came. We headed to the midwives office because they said they had to do a test to be 100% sure my water broke and it was easier to do it at their office. Of course as soon as the midwife checked, she said we could go ahead to the hospital. When she told me that Margie was the midwife on call, I was excited because that was who delivered Judson and I liked her and it was familiar.

We got to the hospital around 1pm and I fully expected to be there for a looong time before luC was born. I was about 3 cm dilated and luC was still high. They hooked me up to the antibiotics I needed and did a round. After it was done and I could get up, I did. Up to that point my contractions weren't very painful and weren't regular. After I got up they started getting really painful.

The whole pregnancy I had planned to have a natural birth, but the whole time I was never convinced I could do it. As the contractions got more painful, I really started to doubt myself. I asked if I could sit in the tub, so the nurse and midwife got it ready for me. Before I got in, she checked to see how far along I was, but said she wouldn't tell me. It is most definitely a good thing she didn't. I was only 5 cm, and I'm pretty sure if she had told me that I would have asked for an epidural.

I was in the tub for about 20 minutes when things really started getting painful and uncomfortable. And I started feeling a lot of pressure and like I needed to push. juC went and got the midwife. Back in the room she checked me again. As she was checking I went from 8 to 9 cm. Soon after I was at 10 cm and it was time.

I'm not going to lie people. I was in PAIN. I was screaming. (I always said I wouldn't be one of those people screaming, but...) My body took over and I honestly felt like I had no control over what was happening. I pushed through 3 contractions and at 5:24pm....way earlier than I expected, luC arrived.

She was 7 lbs and 20 1/4 inches, and she, of course, was perfect. It's hard to believe it was two weeks ago tomorrow. She's a sweet baby and we are so happy to have her!!

It WAS my birthday, and now it's almost Halloween!

Nearly two months ago, on August 9, the whole world celebrated the anniversary of my birth. Some people didn't even know that's what they were celebrating, but that's beside the point.

Nearly a month after that, using the money my mother and mother-in-law so generously gave me, I bought one of the best birthday presents ever.

You see, back at the beginning of the year I was out shopping for some antiques (I know, shocking!) and I came across a fabulous brown wool coat. I wanted it. Ohhhh how I wanted it. But I knew my husband wouldn't be very happy with me for spending the money on it when I already have plenty of coats.

Every.single.time. I went back to that antique store, I would go see if that coat was there. And every.single.time. it was still there and I thought "This must be a sign that I should have this coat." But my husbands voice kept popping into my head: "You don't need that coat!"

But when I went, equipped with my birthday money...there was NOTHING to stop me. And miracle of miracles...about 8 months after first spotting the coat, it was still there! (I'm so glad other people weren't cool enough to realize how great this coat was!)(No offense.)

And not only was it still there, but the lady working there called the owner of the coat and let her know that I had been eyeing it for 8 months, and she knocked 20% off the price! So for only sixty bucks I have this:

Check out those buttons!

It's from Woodward and Lothrop. Which, according to the lovely lady at the antique store was THE place to shop in Washington D.C. back in the day. It was like D.C.s own version of NY's Macys. Her dad would take her there around Christmas to see the huge window display they'd do. And the sentimental part of me thinks it's even more awesome that it's from right here in this area.

But, back to the coat.

I love it. And I almost don't even look pregnant when I wear it. Almost.

Now on to a completely different subject, have I mentioned the best part about my antique mantle?

Decorating for holidays!!And thanks to my favorite antique spot it Buckeystown, MD, I have these cute blocks someone made using vintage Halloween pictures to decorate it with.

Having a mantle to decorate truly makes this time of year so much better. Let the holidays begin!!

pearing up

In an effort to keep my mind off of my BIG appointment tomorrow morning (I'm getting my ultrasound and should be finding out if we are having a boy or girl) I'm going to finally blog about something I've been meaning to blog about FOREVER!

Back in April, my sweet, loving, and kind husband, juC, let me have an entire day to myself to do as I wish. My plan was to drive around and take pictures of old barns, because I DO love me some old barns. But, I also do love me some antiques, and my love of antiques mostly outweighed my love of barns that day.

That love brought me to a lovely little town that is dear to my heart, called Funkstown (isn't it obvious by the name why it's so dear to my heart??) I ended up in the oddest old house that is a flower shop....with lots of old...stuff...for sale. And all the way in the back, on top of a big huge pile of junk and randomness, I saw it. I kept my eyes on it, and I knew I had to have it.

And for $10, it was mine!!! I love it just as much as my mantel and my vanity!!

This big pear canister has a hold of my heart. Now if I can just figure out where to put it!

Giveaway

There is nothing I love more than a great giveaway, and this is definitely a great giveaway!!

Milan Maternity is having a giveaway where you could win:

A $100 E-Gift Card to Milan Maternity for Mommy
A $100 E-Gift Card to Babies 'R' Us for Baby
A $50 Gift Card to Applebee's and 2 movie tickets to Regal Entertainment theaters for Daddy

How great is that??

Now go make some entries...so that if you win, you can give it to me :)

Two much

I've been so busy posting on my private blog lately, I've been neglecting this one. Mostly because there are so many things I want to write about, that they are piling up and I feel too overwhelmed to do it. But, in the mean time, while I get my overwhelmingness under control, get a load of this overwhelmingness...

Baby #2 is due around Dec 16.

It's your birthday, shout HOORAY!

I LOVE celebrating birthdays! Truly. Not just my own birthdays, but I love celebrating other peoples birthdays too. Probably because it means I get to go shopping for gifts.

juC's birthday was Saturday, and I have to admit, one of the reasons I was so excited about his birthday was that I'd finally get to use the Happy Birthday banner my favorite Canadian friend, Shelley, made us!!

Isn't it great?? Thanks again, Shelley!!

Being the impatient person that I am, juC got to open his presents in the morning. How could I possibly wait all day long before giving him his presents??

I went all out for juC this year.A super fancy alarm clock. It shows the inside and outside temperature, has soothing sounds, and even projects the time onto the wall if you so choose. Only the best for my man.

And no birthday is complete with out some kind of new apparel. And since it's only the best for my man, he didn't get one new pair of shorts, he got TWO!!

The best gift juC got was a new suit. Which I unfortunately don't have a picture of him wearing. It's a shame too, cause he looks goooOOOOoooood in his new suit. Just ask him, he'll tell you.

And I have a feeling that with his new suit, juC's 32nd year will be his best.

Bring on the cheese!

Yesterday I planned to do a nice woah-mantic post for our wedding anniversary. But all of my plans for the day were ruined when I ended up spending most of the day at the ER. Everything is fine now, but I can't not do a post about our anniversary.

Every day my husband reminds me what a great husband he is and what a great choice I made. He doesn't just love me, but his actions show me that he loves me. I can't help but feel unbelievably blessed for the opportunity to spend eternity with such an amazing husband!

I couldn't ask for a better best friend, provider, father of my children, nurse, or handy man. Our wedding day was truely the most woah-mantic day of my life!

it ain't no lie

My husband is amazing for many reasons. But there is one reason in particular that has reminded me of how amazing he is recently. His ability to read my mind when it comes to food. (The most important thing if you ask me.)

Over the last several weeks it has happened probably once a week. It all started one day when he called when he was about to leave work to ask if he needed to pick anything up. I told him it would be great if he'd pick up dinner. I'd been craving a particular place ALL DAY and was waiting for him to call so I could ask him to get it.

He calls, I tell him I want him to pick up...ummm....ummmm...ummm....How is it that I was thinking of the place ALL DAY and now that he's on the phone I can't think of it. But no worries. "Boston Market?" he asks.

YES!

It doesn't end there folks. A couple of weeks ago he went to a church meeting in the evening. From the moment he left I was thinking "I sure would love a hot fudge sundae from McDonalds." I sat and waited, and waited, and waited. For two whole hours I hoped he'd know. Or if he didn't know, that he'd call to ask me if I wanted something before he came home. 20 minutes after his meeting was scheduled to end, he walked through the door. I heard the rustling of a paper bag, and I knew immediately what it was. My beloved hot fudge sundae!

YES!

But it doesn't even end there! For most of the day today I was planning on having left overs for dinner. But the last few hours, I was thinking about the left overs we have and for some reason it just didn't sound appealing to me in any way. But I was thinking of something that sounded SO good!

Like the great husband juC is, he called when he was leaving work to ask if he needed to pick anything up. I quietly asked if he'd get dinner. If I ask quietly, it makes it ok. To which he said "What would you like from Pei Wei?"

HOW!? How does he do it??

He claims that it's because he's my soul mate. I can live with that answer. But I still think it's due to the fact that he's amazing!

My most favorite thing to see in the whole entire world

Spring it on!

There are some things I'm really good at. Like eating. I'm excellent at eating. And watching tv. I can watch tv with the best of them! Sleeping is another thing I could win a trophy for. Give me a place to lay my head and I sleep like a pro.

But of course there are things I'm not so good at. Like gardening. But perhaps it's not so much that I'm not good at gardening as much is that it's I'm not good at wanting to garden. Shortly after moving into our house, I decided to spruce up or front yard.

I took it from this:

To this:

I was proud of myself, but because of the 17 million hours it took me to do it while being about 5 months pregnant, I vowed to never plant anything AGAIN! Digging in our yard is about like digging through cement. It's so hard. "Never ever ever again!" I said.

...That was until last spring, when I complimented my neighbor on the beautiful flowers in her front yard and she said "Oh, those? I just planted bulbs several years ago and they just keep coming back."

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. I'd be willing to plant anything once as long as it took no further work after that and they kept coming back!

So last fall I planted some bulbs. A whole SIX of them. I had already forgotten how cement-y our yard is and how hard it is to dig. 6 was all I could do before I was too tired to continue.

But I looked forward to spring, and now it's here and all of the bulbs sprouted, and now we have pretty flowers!

I love spring!

I also love how pretty our tree is in the spring...

I'm just not a fan of the poopy diaper smell these flowers have. Trust me on this one!

today

I never realized how hard it is to be a mother until becoming a mother myself. I have a whole new respect for my mom.





All those times she was cooking dinner and I would get in her way. Every time she'd get something for herself to eat, I'd just have to try some. Every time she'd lay down for a little rest and I'd come in a bug her. All things that I've gotten a small glimpse of and I'm just starting out as a mother.





She had an after school snack waiting for me when I'd come home from school. She made birthdays and holidays special for everyone in the family. She also taught me how to drive. Thanks to her I'm a safe driver who always uses my blinker. Even if I go a little too fast every now and again thanks to my dad's influence.

Because of all the things she put up with and for all of the things she did for me and all of my siblings, today I have to wish her

THE HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!

April Fools!!

I'm not one for April Fools jokes. It's kind of like Valentines day. Why should we limit love, or fooling, to one day a year?

But this year I made an exception. First I needed to find an easy target. One that would be easily tricked. Little JT seemed like the most gullible, so I set my sights on him and put my plan in motion.

We woke up that morning, had some breakfast. And then I said "Let's go to the park!" And I didn't mean just any old park. I meant Clemyjontri!

So we got dressed, and I loaded us up in the car. We had a 30 minute voyage ahead of us!

I got on the toll road, which cost me $4.15 to get on, and then another $1.00 to get off. Then we drove to the park and it was completely crowded. Nary a parking space to be found, unless we parked down the road and hiked up to the park. I told little JT to worry not, we'll go to another park.

I pulled out my GPS and looked up parks. I picked a random park and my trusty GPS guided me there....to a little patch of grass the size of my half bathroom on a dead end in a random neighborhood. Sweet! By this time he was done with being in the car, and I was done with him being done being in the car. After over an hour of driving, it was just time for us to head home.

So back home we go. Another few dollars to get us home on the toll road, we arrived at home just in time for lunch.

"APRIL FOOLS!" I said! I totally tricked him. He totally thought we were going to the park!

Or was it the universe playing an April Fools Day joke on me!?