Into the Homestretch.....

WOW, the ticker says 42 days! HOLY MOLY, our little man will be here soon! This post isn't as much for my faithful readers out there (LOL), but more as a reminder for this pregnant brain of the things we need to do!!

1. Buy car...I think we will do this at the very latest by Dec 31st! Then I can get the car seat in there and out of the house! :)
2. Pack hospital bag..ok, weird to even be THINKING about...
3. Furniture- need to check on when it will be in. Soon I hope, I am ready to nest and organize!
4. Wash clothes...little man doesn't want any irritants on his skin!
5. Finalize daycare
6. Drive alternate routes to hospital
7. Find pet care for Esther and Max while we are in the hospital!
8. Pediatrician...

I think those are the big ones. Can anyone else think of things I need to be doing or should have already done? AI YI YI!!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas.....

And all through the house....well, that's about as far as we get into that story! My house has sounds of animal claws clickickty clackety across the wood floors and Christmas music playing! Getting ready to head out to the grocery store for some last minute food for tonight and tomorrow. This evening it will just be Matt and I and my parents, tomorrow we think Matt's dad and step mom should be coming too so that will be super nice! All the shopping is done....all the presents are wrapped......all we need is Santa's to fill the stockings tonight!

I must admit we have done a lot of day dreaming these last few days...
(looking at the stockings hung)
Matt: next year we will need a new one to hang for Zach!
Me: I cant wait...we are getting all new ones with our names on them!
(shopping with mom and seeing Santa)
Mom: Next year we will be standing in line for Zach to meet Santa!
Me: But not on Dec 23rd! :)
(discussing Christmas plans)
Me: next year we will be in a new home with our newest addition! I can't wait to have our first FAMILY Christmas at home!
(looking at the presents under the tree)
Matt: that's a lot of stuff
Me: Just wait until NEXT year!!!!

There is so much to look forward to with the thoughts of having a child around for Christmas next year. Children see Christmas through a different set of eyes and I cannot wait to share in that magic and wonderment!

So from our house to yours...We send you much love to all and wish you a very merry Christmas as we anxiously prepare for the blessing of our own child and the celebrate the birth of baby Jesus tomorrow. What a wonderful time of year! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I need a detachable arm, counting sheep and the power of TUMS!

OK...I have avoided the pregnancy complaining as long as I could....but I AM officially TIRED! This sleeping thing just ain't working these days. For starters....I have developed INSOMNIA!!!!!!!! It's weird. Before, I would be ready for bed sometime between 10-11pm. Now, I am lucky if I sleepy by 1am. Well I take that back. I am lucky if I can fall ASLEEP by 1am! UGH. And counting sheep will not cut it. Doctor said I can take Tylenol PM but I have not tried it yet. I think I am getting to the point where I may have to bite the bullet and give it a go.

The other issue is this whole "side sleeping" thing. Sleeping on your left side is the preferred position for pregnant women as you have the most blood flow, etc. Well, I sleep on my tummy which OBVIOUSLY is not possible now. And the back is a NO-NO too. So..side it is. My issue is, WHAT DO you do with your arm that's on the bottom? Under the pillow, over the pillow, along your side? I try under the pillow but now my wrist has carpal tunnel I think from this! WAH! It hurts! I am just so not comfy that I am waking up every couple hours either do to ...INSOMNIA, SIDE SLEEPING issues...or....

REFLUX!!!!!!!!! That's the topper. So on top of can't sleep and can't get comfortable, I have acid creeping up my throat at night. Sometimes SO bad it actually wakes me up with the burning. TUMS are my new best friend.

So anyway, that's it in a nutshell. Its extremely frustrating because I do feel so good during the daytime...and it all goes down the tubes at night. Oh tummy sleeping...how I miss you!!

I have my 32 week appointment tomorrow. I will check in and let you know how it goes! Maybe she will have some new remedy for me that doesn't involve a pill!

Class, party, shopping...oh my!

So we had a really good weekend! Got a lot of things accomplished and fun along the way too!

Friday night we just chilled at home and finally watched "Knocked Up". While I wouldn't say it was anywhere near as funny as "40 Year Old Virgin", it was a good flick all and all. We laughed at some of the pregnant moments and pointed out a bunch of stuff that was just dumb. And I found some parts like the guys going on the "shroom fest" in Vegas to just be plain stupid and unnecessary part of the story. But anyway, all and all it was a funny flick. Oh, and I cried when she had the baby. It was so odd! It's not an emotional flick at all, but man, when she had that final push and out came her baby girl, the water works just started! I looked over at Matt and I think he had a tear in the eye too ;-) I guess its a sign of things to come!

On to Saturday........we had our childbirth class! It was an all day class at the Motherhood Center and it was really good. Learned about the basic process of labor and delivery, as well as some relaxation techniques and explanation of all the major different meds and interventions. I think armed with all the knowledge, Matt and I will be informed enough to make decisions on what we do and don't want if we have any kind of choice. I really liked the birthing ball (which basically is a yoga ball) and we went ahead and bought one of those. We learned some techniques to soothe Zach on the ball too. The best part of the class is that I actually feel a little less apprehensive about labor now. I know it's not going to be easy, but that I can do it! I think I've decided I want to take the breast-feeding class they offer too. I chatted with a woman who had taken it and she thought it was a good class. So we will see if I can fit that in too before Zach arrives!

Saturday night we went to the annual Sherertz Christmas party. It was great to see some old friends and visit with everyone. Seeing Miranda and Peyton was wonderful too. Peyton is such a cutie! I'm glad we were able to attend this year!

Today is the 3rd Sunday of the month so we were greeters at church. Such a simple task but we both actually enjoy it. The older folks love seeing us "kids"! ;-) We had a really great sermon today too on Angels. Dr Steve talked about how we need to remember that angels are among us always, both at the good times (like at our Savior's birth, Luke 2:8-14) and times of despair (Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before his death, an angel appeared and "strengthened him"). Of course I cannot even begin to share the message the way Dr Steve did, but the sermon was so good I thought about getting it on tape! It made me think a lot about our angel, Rachel! It hit more too because on the car ride to church, Matt was telling me about his dream last night...we were in the waiting room for a doctor's appointment for Zach, and Rachel showed up! I think she was checking in on us! Angels are among us, that I know is true!

And to end the day....shopping! I think I have almost every on, Now to get things mailed off!

All in all it was a really good weekend. I have a super busy but fun week ahead of me though! Tomorrow night is my dinner with Duke girls (minus Erika...move back to Houston, heffer!) Tuesday night is Eggnog and Sushi with some good friends. Wednesday is my work dinner with the all the schedulers at the Rainbow Lodge (yum!). And Thursday is Christmas Book club! WHEW! I am tired and full already! HA! I am off work Wednesday and Thursday which will be nice though. I have a Dr appt Wednesday (32 weeks!) and Thursday Matt is off too and we may get massages and do some car shopping.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season so far. I myself am trying to remain as unstressed as possible and to focus on the reason for the season....which is Jesus and the gift of Life that is given to us through His birth! With the end of the year coming too, I am concentrating on reflecting on the blessings I have encountered this year...most of which is centered around the upcoming birth of our son, Zachary. I am amazed but the sheer joy I feel when thinking about him and just how blessed we are to be receiving this MIRACLE in a few short weeks. And all though I am not a huge complainer and doing my best to enjoy every moment....in the words of Erma Bombeck, "Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle." That's my goal for now and I am thankful every day to be assisting in this miracle!!!

Airway, Breathe, Call.....

Tonight we attended an Infant CPR class per Matthew's request and I am quite glad we did! It took about 2 hours since it's less complex than adult CPR, but very worthwhile. Would I have known what to do otherwise? Perhaps I could have guessed and done some good but now I know in the event of an emergency that I will actually know what to do! Anyway, I would highly recommend it to any parent!

Today we also filled out all the paperwork to list the house. Gotta finish up a few things with that but we should have it on the market on Monday. Then we will just see where things go! My hope it that it at least sells while I am still on maternity leave. That would be cool.

Other than that, things are going well! We are taking our childbirth class on Saturday. Crash course of what to expect in labor! HA! I have a doctor's appointment next Wednesday too and hopefully will start to get a better idea of when to expect little Zach's arrival! I can't wait to meet him!!! :-)

Clean house...time to list!

Well, the list of TO-DOs is finally complete and the house is as ready as it will ever be! We had a maid service come today and do a super duty moving type clean! Its probably stuff we could have done ourselves....if we ever had an entire day or two to devote to it as well as the energy, maybe we could have done it, but man, it feels good to have it done!! Its nice coming home to a sparkly house! :) (I could have a whole other entry on maids...its funny to see how other people reorganize your stuff!)

So now what you ask? Our realtor is coming by tomorrow I hope to take pictures. I must admit, I think our hold house looks pretty good! Since we have been here in the last 3.5 years...we have *painted the whole inside of the house* installed new carpet * changed all faucets * installed new stove * installed all new faux wood blinds *installed a new front door *installed all new light fixtures (fans, vanity lighting, exterior lights, entryway, etc) and I'm sure some other things along the way. Now I just hope someone else will recognize our efforts!

Who knows how long it will take to sell. My guess is maybe 3-5 months? That would put us moving sometime during my maternity leave which really wouldn't be too bad. Plus I will be home all the time for showings so I can just pick up Zachie and Esther and be more flexible with showing times. If you know anyone looking for a town home in the area...send them my way! Let the bidding begin!!! :)

2 MONTHS TO GO!!

Yep, that's right. We are definitely in the home stretch now...only 2 more months until we hold our little man. I am feeling completely unready and yet, so ready to meet little Zachary! Things are going pretty good. I start going to the doctor more frequently now, next appointment is Dec 19th. I will be 32.5 weeks. Then back again a couple of weeks later. Sometime around 34-36 weeks doc wants to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of just how big Mr Z is. If she thinks he is too big, I guess we will discuss induction. Although I really do not want to go that route, I will do whatever is best for Zach and me. And I guess it would be nice to plan?? I don't know, not going to worry about it until we know anything.

So what all is going on in the World of Wittliffs? Well....
*we took a short trip to Corpus on Friday for cousin Kim and Phil's wedding. It was beautiful and nice to see the whole Wittliff clan. They are all excited for Zach's big arrival. Grandma Sally has pulled something in her back and had to miss the wedding but we were able to stop over and visit for a bit before heading back to Houston. It was good to see her and she and Matt had a good time reminiscing about Grandpa Joe, too. Funny aside, Sally mentioned something about strawberry ice cream and it being Joe's favorite...Matt got a sweet grin. It is his favorite too. Maybe it will be Zach's too?
*Saturday was my company Christmas party at The Tasting Room. It was fun but there was a serious lack of food and at sometimes seating. Which for a pregnant lady........those are the 2 things I needed, FOOD and SEATING! Anyway, it was nice to get dressed up and see everyone but I hope next year we are back to the hotel setting!
*This week I am taking off Tuesday and Thursday. We have a plumber coming on Tuesday to finish installing the faucets and hopefully a maid service coming one of those 2 days. Then after that, we will be LISTING THE TOWNHOUSE! Hoping it sells fast!
*Saturday we are taking the all day Childbirth class. We were hoping to do classes spread out but that just wasn't possible with our schedules. So we are doing the all day thingie! And then that night is the Sherertz Christmas party!

So that's a quick update on the next couple of weeks. Ill post more as things come up! Hope the holidays are treating you all well!

Thanksgiving...

And a couple of pics from Turkey Day. We had an awesome time in Dallas. I had not seen my relatives in almost a year so it was quite a treat. Not to mention that Chris and KA drove up too and I cannot remember the last time the Hill family was all together! It was great to be with the whole family and grammy too. It had been a long time. Next year maybe we can have Zach's 1st Thanksgiving at our house and I will remember to take more pics! Snapped a couple of pics while we were there too...if only we had more!!! We were too busy catching up that we forgot to take one of us all! I need a professional photographer around always!

THANK YOU!!!!

So the shower was a huge delight! I had such a wonderful time and received so many fabulous things, my only wish was that I had more time to visit with all my friends who were there and that I would have taken more pictures!!! There were so many gifts, I was truly overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family. Matt's mom Donna came in for the weekend and stayed with us. She gave us so many neat things, many of which were actually Matt's as a baby. Family heirlooms they will become! My Aunt Peggy also come in from Longview...she is a labor & delivery nurse and will be our doula if the timing works out. And a surprise appearance by Grammy and Aunt Jan in from Dallas was more than I could have asked for. My Grammy is 93 years old and last I heard she wasn't going to be able to come into town. But thanks to Aunt Jan and Uncle Jeff, they drove her in so she could be there. What a gift!

I loved all my gifts but there were some favorites of course that were special to me. Lots of personalized goodies such as burp clothes, linens, frames, onesies (especially my giraffe onesie from Auntie Sue), a fabulous already made scrapbook from Auntie Kelly for Zach's first year, a big hippo stuffed animal from Auntie Gin, a cool plane from cousin Sarah, Children's Book Treasury from Aunt Jan, the giraffe rocking and stick horse from my mom, and Bert & Ernie dolls from Claude...just to name a few! And of course all the other essentials and goodies I received!!

My hostesses also asked that each guest bring a children's book. I am a huge reader and lover of all things related to reading and literature and this was such an awesome gift. Zach now has about 50+ books for his library! Many people added inscriptions inside them either about why they chose the book or just a note to Zach and sometimes me, I will treasure them always! That evening after the hustle and bustle had ended and I finally had some alone time...I snuck back into the nursery and went through each and every book. Reading the inscriptions, reminiscing about reading these stories as a child, and dreaming and imagining about reading them all to Zach through the years!

It was a fantastic day and thank you to all my "sisters" for making it happen! You are my best friends and I am grateful to each and every one of you! And if you have any pics, please forward to me!! Thank you so much!

Tomorrow....Tomorrow!!!!!!

In the words of Joey Russo from "Blossom"..."WHOA!" My shower is tomorrow! Holy crap, am I far enough along to be having a baby shower??? Yes folks, I guess I am! I am 30 weeks today....10 weeks to go! So excited for tomorrow. I have waited a long time it seems for this day! You all know me, I am sure I will cry at least once. I know seeing all these goodies just for Zachary will not only get the water works going, but also make this pregnancy once again seem even more real. Even with the growing belly and tap dancing from within going on...there are days when I still have to pinch myself and wonder if this is really real? Are we actually going to be PARENTS?? I just feel extremely blessed every single day. Becky and I were chatting yesterday and laughed because I said I have loved being pregnant SO much that I think I will be ready to do this again very soon...this coming from the woman who has not gone through labor or the sleepless nights yet! HA! But I digress, point being, I am still loving being pregnant. Knowing Zach is safe and comfy in my womb just gives me an unexplainable kind of peace. Although I am sure Matt will be glad to have his not so emotional and sappy wife back! :-)

Anyway, thanks in advance to all my "sisters" for hostessing the shower tomorrow. You guys are my rock, where would I be without each and every one of you!? I know I couldn't make it without you all!!

Updates!

Hello world!

Today I had my monthly appointment...I will be 30 weeks on Friday! Holy moly! Now I will start going in every 2 weeks until 36 weeks and then I will go weekly. I can't believe how quickly time is passing! With Christmas in the mix, time is just flying by! Everything looked good today. Only gained a few pounds which I thought was pretty good considering its been less than a week since Thanksgiving! Still measuring a little bit ahead so we will do another ultrasound around 35 weeks to get a better idea of Zach's size. If he is too big, I guess we talk about inducing early? We shall see! I am excited to get a peek at him again though in a few weeks! I cant wait to meet him!

In other updates...I didn't get to properly post last week, it is confirmed that Ginny is having a So excited for Ginny and Jeff! I know mini Ginny and Zach are going to be the best of friends just like their mommies! :-) Or perhaps more than that one day! Ginny and I will make great MIL!

And lastly...my shower is on Saturday! So excited! I know that will really make things even MORE real! Not sure where we will put everything as the hutch is not due in until the end of the month still. But I guess we will find somewhere. Just feeling so blessed and excited and ready to be at this point! I am loving the ride!

It's me!

A couple of pics from me after church on Sunday. I love this top too (thanks Kerri!) It accentuates the belly nicely! So yep, this is what I look like entering the 3rd trimester. I think I look pretty normal, but a couple of people have commented like, "You are ONLY 7 months!" Sheesh, I wasn't a small woman to begin with but c'mon people! I am not huge either! Just right.....although I can't sleep for crud these days and apparently I snore now. I even asked my doctor about it. She assured me about 95% of women start snoring when they get later into their pregnancies but it will go away after Zach is here. I know Matt will be happy!

Turkey and Jingle Bells

Is it really Thanksgiving week already? Where has the year gone? After Thanksgiving, I think time is going to be flying by and we will be that much closer to holding little Zachary in our arms! We have our shower in 2 weeks and I cannot wait! I am blessed by a bunch of wonderful friends for making it all happen. I think that is when things will be really be real! Can you believe that at 28 weeks I still have issues believing this could be true?

Anyway, I have a list of things to get done, none of which I have completed yet. Christmas shopping, nursery preparation, childbirth classes, etc etc etc!

But I am loving this time of year (minus the 80 degree heat). Enjoying Christmas music, getting excited to decorate (or delegate, Matt may be doing some more of the actual decorating this year), and all the general merriment that goes along with Christmas. Especially I love church at this time of the year. Looking through the bulletin on Sunday had me excited and reflecting. As we approach the celebration of our Lord and Savior's birth, I am all the more humbled by the miracle of God's son, and the miracle of our own son that He created! He is wonderful!

Ok, need to make dinner. Tonight we are having a Company's Comin casserole. Delish and so tasty if you ever want a quick and easy dinner! They are great!

THIRD TRIMESTER!

Wow. It kinda snuck up on me. I am two thirds of the way through this pregnancy, maybe even a little more if little Zach decides to come early! 28 weeks complete, 12 to go. WOW! Did I already say that? I cannot believe how quickly time is passing.

I passed my 3 hour glucose test too, thank goodness. I am relieved to say the least. I am still watching what I eat but at least I am not on a super strict diet. And Zach is moving a lot these days, enough to where I can see it on the outside!! I haven't seen a foot imprint or anything like that yet, but I have been staring at my belly to watch it move, so cool!

My shower is coming up in 2 weeks too. I cannot wait! I know that will make things even more real. Beware, I will probably cry at least once!

My glider is in too but I think I will wait until the hutch arrives to have it all delivered.

Hmmm, not too much else going on. My whirlwind month is practically over, thank goodness!! I missed my hubby and furbabies. Birmingham was lovely though. Fall foliage. I wish I had my camera, something we don't get to see! Have a busy weekend planned and then turkey day next week! Where has the year gone??????????

Weekend in Abilene!

Nonna turned 90 this past week so we made the trek out to Abilene to celebrate! Uncle Jack Key came in from San Fran too, but unfortunately Karen and Rebeca couldn't join him too. Julie also come in late last night from Lubbock to visit too! We had a good weekend just visiting and relaxing. Donna gave me some of Matt's baby clothes that she had saved as well as his Beatrice Potter china, so cute!! Its a plate, bowl, cup, mug, and bank. The clothes are little outfits as well as some shoes/booties. I cant wait to put Zach in them all and compare to pics of Matthew! Aunt Julie gave Zach some bath time things too! All in all, a nice weekend with the family!

I had my second glucose test on Friday. It sucked way more than the first as it was on an empty stomach and the orange stuff was double the size and concentration! Plus I had to give blood four times. Ouchie. I did talk to my nurse practitioner while I was there and she said I "barely failed" the first one, whatever that's worth, so I am hoping maybe I will pass this one! I should find out Monday or Tuesday....will let you know.

Well, we ordered pizza....the guy just called, he is lost. Man, I am ready for a house that can always be found by the delivery people! SHEEESH!

Here are a couple of pics with the fam from before we headed out....

Hump Day!

Not much going on here...just a midweek post to let you know what's going on my life this week.

Well, Monday I found out I flunked my glucose test. So........I have to go back in Friday morning for the 3 hour more intensive test. Fasting Thursday night, and then Friday morning, drink the sugar drink and they will take blood every 3 hours. fun fun. I just pray I pass! I just want me and Zach to be healthy!

Last night I went to Lake Charles for business. My company has an LNG terminal there. We had a record breaking summer, so some of us were able to go up there for a celebration today. We stayed at the La Berg du Lac Casino last night. I have to say, it was pretty nice! We ate at Snake River Grill which was delish! I cant seem to get enough of steak these days! The casino was PACKED! I find it bizarre since it was a Tuesday night, but I guess people could be there on vacation? It was weird! I'm not a big gambler to begin with, but I must say with the heightened senses...the smoke really got to me. So I went to bed early and left the boys to the gambling and drinking! It was one of the best nights sleep I have had in awhile. Without dog and cat in the bed, and I knew I wasn't bothering hubby with my sprawling or snoring, I SLEPT!!! It was divine. Although I missed hubby, waking up without him by my side always makes me sad :-(

Today we had a tour of the terminal which is quite impressive. Last time I was down there, we had a vessel in and I was able to tour that. So seeing the terminal kinda completed the picture! For those of you that are wondering what a LNG terminal looks like, here you go!

Its more impressive even in person. These are some massive structures. The record was we brought in 17 cargoes in the month of June here. That's a vessel about every 1.5 days. There were lots of other really impressive statistics but I would have to be able to remember them. The lunch was neat though. Employees of both BG and Trunkline were there, as well as members of the Coast Guard, Pilots Association, and even a couple of Louisiana senators and a congressman! Pretty neat! This second pic is one I got off Panhandle's website, but shows 2 vessels docked and an ariel view of the terminal. If you ever have questions, feel free to ask! :-)

So anyway.......that was today!

Other news, The Martin family was coming home from the hospital today! I got text from Amy this afternoon so hopefully all went well and they are home safely tonight!

Tomorrow is the big Nutcracker Market! Mom and I have been going for like the past 5 years and always have fun. Since I didn't spend hardly anything at all in Fredericksbeg, Mom and I are ready to shop!

And then Friday........after the glucose test, we are heading to Abilene for Nonna's 90th Birthday! So, that's my life in a nutshell this week. very busy! Next week I head out Tuesday night to Birmingham for the Sonat shipper meeting. Looking forward to that but not being away from home again!

So anyway......its late now, time for bed. Must be well rested for shopping!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Caroline!!

We welcomed another new addition to the crew this morning! Right in between Halloween and her daddy and uncle Jack's birthday...Caroline Norene made her appearance this Sunday morning! Mom and I were shopping in Fredericksberg this morning and I got a text from Thomas about 6:15am saying Amy was going in for a c-section shortly. We didn't even know she was in the hospital...I had chatted with her Saturday night around 7pm before she and T went out for his birthday dinner! But anyway.....Caroline is here safe and sound, born at 7:12am, weighing 4lbs 9oz and 18 inches long. She is tiny but perfect in every way! So alert too, I think its a girl thing. Katie was like that too! Amy was doing well when Matt and I saw them tonight but getting tired and starting to feel a little pain. We wished them well and were on our way!

I managed to snap a few pics, but didn't get any of the family as a whole! Drats! Someone will have to get one for me. Caroline is adorable!

On another note...wow, my ticker. 96 days to go. Where is the time going?!?! I have an insane schedule these next 3 weeks, praying I don't have a mental breakdown. Between work obligations and house crap, it's going to be STRESSFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully we all survive without too many injuries. We keep getting SO close to getting the house on the market when something else decides to rear its head. Any prayers for our sanity and getting the house on the market would be greatly appreciated!!

My friend Rach

My friend Rach..............is an amazing woman! She had the best sense of humor, a fabulous smile, and EVERYONE wanted to be her friend. She had the certain something that just made you want to be around her. I wouldnt say she was the Life of a Party, but she could make a party out of anything! That was just her way, she made everyone feel special!



Some of my most favorite moments were just me and Rach...driving of course...us talking, singing, and lovin life! It was our special time, those drives. Catching up in a way we didnt usually get to. Dont get me wrong, I loved all the times we were ALL together, but those car trips, that was our time! Passing out cards, crazy detours, it was a blast. Telling people half the stuff that was funny to us....most of the time it didn't even make sense to others!



Ive known Rachel since the sixth grade. Like most of my friends, I have known them since elementary or Jr High school. Pretty cool. We experienced almost everything together! Strack Speech & Drama, first day of high school, first crush, drivers license, parties, going to college, first love, first heartbreak, true love....When Rach left us, we had known each other for almost 20 years!



And now tomorrow, it will be a year since she left. Truly, not a day goes by that I don't think about her in some way at least once. Some days it feels like just yesterday that I got that call for Al. We went up to her apartment to get some of her things. I kept waiting for her to walk through the front door and yell at us for messing with her stuff! But she wasn't coming back. This week has been hard. I have been moody and emotional. Even a year later, I am still angry. I am mad for what she missed in life, and in turn her parents too! I wonder what would have been going on as she would be approaching her 1 year wedding anniversary...would we be pregnant together? Would she and Rodney have bought a house together and had a goat in the yard for Kari? Could we ever convince her to move back to Houston to raise our kids together?? And then I get sad selfishly for what my life misses without her here...our phone talks, our weekends together-reliving memories, her being here for the birth of my first child...I feel cheated.

Bu life goes on. That's the hard part. I was in a tough place last year at this time, still struggling to get pregnant, frustrated. And now, a year later, I have my miracle growing inside me (which I truly think she helped me out on, our gaurdian angel). We have had 2 babies born, another due any day now, a wedding., and a couple more babies on the way and hopefully a few more soon...There are so many things to be thankful for!! My only wish is that she was here to experience these things with us. I know she is in spirit though, which I guess has to be enough for now...

Rach, I miss you. Know we are always thinking of you...I know you are gone, but you are never forgotten. Come visit me sometime in dreamland, we need to catch up! I love you sister!!

Bedding...take 2!!

So I bought some spare pieces to mix and match the bedding...which do you like best?

Here was the original all gingham!


Gingham skirt/white sheet




Blue skirt/white sheet




Blue skirt/gingham sheet


So.......what do you think? Obviously no matter what, the bedskirts need ironing, but you get the point! Which do you like best or is there another option out there I should try? (solid green skirt, blue gingham skirt, white skirt, etc)

BTW, had doc appointment today. Zach's HB still 140 (as usual), only gained 2lbs, and blood pressure looks good! I also took my glucose test. If I don't hear back from them tomorrow or Thursday, looks like we are okay. I hope I pass!

The nursery has begun!!

Another busy weekend preparing for little Zach's arrival. A couple of shout outs to mom and dad and Becky for their help this weekend! Dad helped up clear out the nursery of the old bedroom furniture and load up the storage room, pick up the crib, return a bunch of lumber from the door installation (we got $125 back!!), and today hang blinds with Matt! Mom was my partner for the crib set-up, we work well together and got it done without any major hiccups! And Becky met me today to register. Wow, what a great help! There is so much to chose from, it's overwhelming so it was wonderful to have an experienced mommy with me guiding me on the way!

So, what I KNOW you all have been waiting for...pics of the room! I'll do a before too. Things are moving along now. Walking up the stairs and seeing the crib in that room, it makes my heart swell with joy! I just cannot wait until our little man is in there waiting for us to hold him!

BEFORE






That's my Grammy in the background, she was supervising and doesn't remember cribs being this elaborate in her day! ;-)


All together, we did it!! (Pardon my appearence, long day!)


With bedding!






So there it is! What do you think? Overrall I love it! Mom and I are unsure of the gingham sheet and dust ruffle. Is it too ginghamy?? Perhaps a solid sheet or a different color or pattern would break it up some.



One side note, in the before pic you will see Max cat walking out of the room. He is totally unsure of all this as that was basically his room before (best hiding spots, littler box, and food in there). Now his stuff will be in the other room. Poor guy, I think he feels very displaced right now!!

The Fetus Whisper's reign continues!

Yes folks, that's correct, she is 7 for 7! :-)



Congrats to Mike, Roxy, and Alex on adding a LITTLE GIRL to the clan!

How does she do it, no one knows? I think we need to try her out on strangers and get her on Oprah or something! Who needs the genetic blood test when we have Rox! Next test case will be the Ginster. A few more weeks and we will know. The fetus whisper says another girl. I have to agree on this one too. Then we will be 4 boys and 4 girls! One for each! I can't wait for the next big reveal!!

It's IN!

The crib is in! OK, so I know I should wait until it all comes in to have it delivered now to save on delivery and set up costs, but in Veruca Salt fashion, "I WANT IT NOW!" Now to convince the husband of this.........

1) It will get the furniture cleared out of the nursery and moving now wont be too unpleasant as it is not hot or cold.
2) The crib will make the room appear to be larger (good selling point)
3) I am pregnant and I want it. If momma ain't happy, ain't NO body happy!

So I called Linda at Baby's 1st. We shall find out how much this costs. I am off 1/2 day Monday for plumber to come anyway...........so I think they should come then too! :-)

Ridiculous.........

I wish I was technically savvy enough to figure out how to put a calendar on here. I about cried last night realizing we could BARELY fit a childbirth class into our schedules! That is insane....and I am not quite sure how it happened either? I am going to attempt to write it all down just to see what it looks like!

First off...standing plans. Mondays nights for I think 4 more weeks....we have Bible Study. Every 3rd Thursday, Book Club. Every 3rd Sunday-Greeters at church Then here we go, starting on Sunday!
10/28-Avenue Q
10/30- Dr Apt (big glucose test)
11/1- Rachel's anniversary (spending time with PS & Claude and friends) :-(
11/2-11/4- Fredricksberg with Mom
11/6-Dinner with Duke gals
11/7- Going to Lake Charles for work
11/8- Nutcracker Market
11/9-11/11- Abilene *that Sun is PEO Auction but I don't think I will be back...
11/13-11/15- Birmingham for work
11/15-Book Club
11/17- 9am-Hair; 2:30-RENT, 7pm-Tgiving
11/18- Greeting at church
11/20- Children's ART Project
11/22-11/24- Thanksgiving *In Austin Thurs-Fri, maybe Dallas end of w/e?
12/1- MY SHOWER! :-)
12/7- Wedding in Corpus
12/8- BG Christmas Party
12/15- childbirth class (the only one we can make!!) :-( Followed by a wedding the same night!
12/16- Greeting
12/20- Book Club
12/25- Christmas
12/31- NYE
By the end of the year, I will be 35 weeks. And ready for Zach to make his BIG ARRIVAL! But between all this other stuff, I sure hope I have time to prepare!!! Not to mention hopefully having the house on the market in the next week too. My oh my, this is going to be a busy end of the year!!!

24 weeks and a busy weekend!

Whew, I think we just finally sat down about 30 minutes ago. We have been go, go, go!! We are trying our best to get this house in shape to put on the market!!

So Saturday morning the repair guy flaked. We were supposed to meet him Friday night for a quote, he cancelled only after Matt called him to confirm the time. Then he was supposed to come Saturday morning. Matt went to go meet him, he never showed, so he called and the guy cancelled again. ARGH. Sooo...Matthew and I decided to give things a go on our own.

I know it may not be a big deal to most of you, but we replaced a faucet. Now, as you all know, Matt and I are NOT handy. We hire painters, plumbers, etc. But, with the dude flaking on us, we decided to try! Well, the main thing we learned is, we can do it! Takes awhile but it can be done. The other thing we learned is, this house is old! Replacing a faucet in a newer house would be easier because the parts are all the same. But with this house, all the parts are old and its like a puzzle making old and new meet! But I am proud of Matt, he did it! He had issues along the way but figured it out and we now have one new bathroom faucet! One down, two to go! Now that he has done one though, we think the next two will be easier!

Here is a pic of the old one (this is Matt's bathroom but looked the same)


And here is the NEW one! How shiny and pretty!


While all this was going, I went on a cleaning RAMPAGE! Zach's room is now cleared out and ready for nursery furniture! We will leave the regular furniture in there until his stuff comes in but closet and dresser are now all cleared out! WOOHOO! I have also gotten rid of mounds of clothes. It is ridiculous. I had so much stuff, some of which hasn't been worn in years, all in varying sizes of course. Insane. Needs to be bagged up. Also got rid of shoes. And you know how I love my shoes. But it was time. My feet probably won't fit into some of them anyway so it was time to let go of those I wasn't totally in love with.

I also shredded about 3 bags worth of old bills, pay stubs, etc. It was liberating!

But one question for you faithful readers out there. CD jewel cases! In the world of MP3 players, what do you do with the dang jewel cases? Do you keep them? Throw them away? Put them in storage? We seriously probably have like 1000 empty CD cases. I say throw, Matt says store. Any input from you readers out there??

Oh, and we ordered faux blinds. Any tips for hanging? We didn't quite get to that yet....Is this something that we can do on our own??

And last but not least, what does a 24 week pregnant lady look like you ask? Well, took a couple shots before church this morning and here is the answer!