Prospects

Well, I got a call yesterday from a woman who wants to come preview my house on Friday. She has a girl who is 8 months older than Caitlyn and they both sound really nice. Since I’m only allowed to have two infants at any time, it’ll all work out perfectly because the new girl (Morgan) will turn 2 before the new baby is born and won’t make me go over my infant limit.  They made me plan out all this menu crap so I’ll be USDA approved. Do you know how tedious that becomes? The answer is VERY tedious. There are so many fruits a day, so many  veggies a day and very specific requirements on all the rest. Meanwhile, if I follow this three ring circus properly, I’ll be reimbursed handsomly each month for all the kids I have in my care, plus anything Caity eats. (sweet!) I mean…. I’m doing this.. for the kids’ health sake…. riiiiiiight….

  Hooray for my Mommy coming in less than 44 hours! WOOT! I’m really looking forward to having someone around all the time that I usually spend all day on the phone with. Plus, all the obnoxious shows I watch at night are all coming down to their season finales and Mom’s into them all too. We can squeal at the television while Derek sits on his computer rolling his eyes at the dorkiness of Mom and I. (We’re dorks but he spends all day playing WoW….)

 What’s cool  is Derek gets almost two weeks vacation so he’ll be off for Caity’s birthday and Chelsea’s (his sister) graduation. Meaning he’ll be off for most of the time Mom is visiting. This means more opportunity for Mom and I to drive him nuts. (it’s my life’s mission.)

I know I’m not techincally 14 weeks until tomorrow, but I have nothing more interesting to post, so here ya go a day in advance. It says I can’t feel the baby’s movements yet, but I swear last night I felt something moving. Just a teeney tiny little movement. Whatever:

14 Weeks (second trimester)

 Head to bottom, your baby is  3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body’s growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She’s starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo).

  Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it’s already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She’s also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she’ll keep up until birth. You still can’t feel your baby’s movements, but her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

 Belly picture coming soon!

Kids In Da’ House

  I officially have a kid to take car of, one sweet little boy.  The only problem is, the little boy is *gross* to me. Not because he’s uncleanly, his mother always keeps him in cute clean clothes and bathes him often and he’s really cute…

  He sneezes all over Caitlyn’s face and toys, shoves his whole hand in his mouth and then touches things. When he eats, no matter how hard I fight it, everything gets wiped on his pants and there are *always* boogers coming out of his nose. He pushes and shoves and his.. diapers…

Oh. My. GOD.

I seriously, honest to goodness started to vomit in my mouth a little when I changed his poop diapers. Maybe it’s just because he’s a boy? I’m starting to have second thoughts on being pregnant with a male. Maybe I should stick to girls? I like boys and I consider myself a tomboy when it comes to climbing trees, classic cars and hanging out with the guys while drinking a beer.   However, I’m kinda the neurotic germ-a-phobic.  I hide it well because I usually wait until everyone leaves to bleach the crap out of everything. (that’s why my hands are always so dry.) But I have to clean up after this boy so my sweet little angel doesn’t get snotty sneeze juice all over her toys while she’s playing with them.
 Me = freak.
So now you know my deep dark secret. I wash dishes twice in the machine both times on extra high heat and I bleach after people have been in my house. Don’t think you’re any different. If you’ve ever been to my house, you’ve been post-bleached and all the cushions you sat on were Febreezed.

 Still wanna be friends?

 Something New

We’re 13 weeks along as of today. That puts us in the first week of our second trimester. (4 months) Here’s what babycenter.com sent to me:

  Your belly may soon be noticeably bigger,(Amanda note* it is!) but your baby is still tiny. He’s about 3 inches long — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs about an ounce. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he’s starting to excrete the amniotic fluid he’s been swallowing. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby’s critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably.

The next baby doctor’s appointment is in two weeks. I’ll give ya’ll a better baby update and belly picture then. Lately I’ve been grossing Derek out with videos of birth. I had no idea that babies were all blue and purple when they came out… We’re also reading about “pro vs con” in epidurals.Some women actually get to sleep while going through all that. Can you imagine taking a nap, wake up, push a couple times, instant baby! I’m digging the “pros”.  Yeah, I know this is all gross to those of you who aren’t Mommies and Daddies but someday you will be and you’ll remember the wise words of Amanda. Love to all!

(7 days till Mom gets here!)

Nothing New

I finally got our guest bedroom completely organzied and set up in a “bedroom” way. It’s liveable and no longer is the holder of all junk.  Perfect timing since Mom is coming in 10 days. (HOORAY!) I’d take pictures of my organizational accomplishments but I left my memory card at the inlaws’ house. I called Salvation Army and basically had them take half the crap out of our garage. So I actually have an extra bedroom  and a garage that can hold a car.  What’s wrong with me? This is more than just spring cleaning. I guess it’s pregnant nesting.

 I officially am licensed with FCC now howver I have *NO* clients. I do have a once a month drop-in little boy but $30 a month isn’t going to get Derek his big screen TV any time soon. I did get a phone call when I was in Indy with the inlaws last week. I called them back as soon as I got home less than 24 hours later… They’d already found care. *Sadness* I know it’ll happen, I’m just ready to stop being broke.  Plus, Caity had such a great time  the last time our little client boy stayed with us.

   My baby belly is starting to poke out!  Some little boy ran up to me the other day and said “Are you pregnant?”. It kinda blew me away but Mom says you show earlier with your second child than your  first. Again, I’d take pictures, but no memory card. I’ll have it back in a few weeks and show you then. I was reviewing old pictures of my baby belly from my 9th month with Caity and realized “HOLY LORD, I was HUGE!”

Can somebody just leave the next few babies on my door step?  I like fitting in my clothes…..

Like the title says, there’s nothing new going on.

Enjoy!

By the way, I know someone out there is having a rough time coping with stuff right now.  I want you to know that when it seems like life is it’s darkest and you can’t see your way out, it’s just God turning out the lights. He wants you to find your path to Him.

Even in the darkness, you walk by faith, not by sight.

We Are Born Innocent

 Didn’t I just have Caitlyn yesterday? How has it already been a year? Why is my tiny funny looking angel already so big and able to crawl?  I remember she looked asian in her day-old photos…. Now she plays peek-a-boo with just one hand over one of her eyes because she’s afraid of being alone when she closes both eyes. My mom will be here two weeks from today. (YAY!) and Caity will be a year old three weeks from today.  She’s going through some super-clingy phase right now where I can’t be more than two feet away from her at all times. Dad won’t do, she *has* to have Mom at all times. (this explains why my floor didn’t get swept this week.)

 I know it sounds ridiculous but I… I kinda miss Montana. I miss the few friends I had there. They were quality ladies. I suppose I just miss having friends in general. Today I went to a church function hoping to make some new friends and spent all day with second graders. (at least the company was cute!) Unbeknownst to me, all the older ladies who were in charge weren’t looking for friends, they were looking for young blood so they could retire from such events. I was the only young blood in attendance. =) I’ve made one nice older gentleman friend at my Faith group named Herb and he reminds me of my Pepaw. (He gives the best hugs. ^_^)

I finally got a call from the FCC office saying that my license had come in. I got a call last week from a lady who wanted care for her two children. She called while we were in Indianapolis on Wednesday. I called her back first thing on Thursday morning and she’d already found care. *sadness* That’s okay, I know I’ll get some great clients. I have a comfortable home with lots of toys and a safe environment for learning. Plus, I’m 10 dollars cheaper than all my competitors! Hooray for smart marketing. I make sure to speak up about my proffession at every church event. Word of mouth is the best advertising. =)

Derek had been on the edge until now but he’s finally decided that he most definitely wants to be an elementary school teacher when we get out of the military. He likes the age group that hasn’t become hardened to the world yet and doesn’t want to be tied down to teaching just one field. I read online that male teachers are getting hired at a faster rate than female teachers due to the lack of male influence in children’s lives these days… So we’re going down to the education office on Monday or Tuesday to officially declare a different major and see how many more credit hours he’ll need for this degree.

Love to all!

PS, CONGRATULATIONS WENDEHO! You’re married and your pictures are beautiful. I love the one where your new husband and mother-in-law are licking upside your face. At least they’re taking care of you the way I would’ve. Wish I could’ve been there but I’ll see you in July.

Look at what I did!

I baked a peach pie  and I made it super cutie! Okay, okay, Derek called me lame, but *I* think I’m super cutie. Plus, it was delicious!

Ain’t Texas a great place?

FRIENDS: Never ask for food.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Always bring the food.

FRIENDS: Will say “hello”.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.

FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Cry with you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing and just being together, and then clean up.

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that’s what the crowd is doing.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds’ ass’s that left you.

FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, “I’m home!”

FRIENDS: Are for a while.

TEXAS FRIENDS: Are for life.

Something’s in There

Well, today was my first baby doctor appointment with my new midwife, Joann. She’s a crackpot like me and made me laugh even while she was digging around in uncomfortable places. (and that’s saying something!)

 So we decided to try and listen for the baby’s heartbeat even though it might be hard to hear this early on. (still at 10-11 weeks ish.)  Remember, it’s been beating for several weeks now, it’s just still really tiny. =)  So Caitlyn is sitting in her carseat just two feet away from us on the floor talking to her rubber duckie and trying to stuff her graham cracker in it’s mouth. We’ve got my shirt pulled back and the sonogram machine on my stomache along with the world’s *coldest* acoustical jelly looking for the tiny little  peanut’s heartbeat. After about a minute of searching, we finally start to hear a faint “tump,tump,tump,tump” “YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!” shouts Caitlyn to break the silence. Joann and I fall apart in laughter  and I giggle so hard the little sonogram piece bounces right out of her hand. Needless to say, we weren’t able to find it again. However, it’s a comfort to know  that at least *something’s* in there. I was still kinda hoping for twins but I got a feeling while I was sitting there in the waiting room that only one tiny peanut was inside. Then this lady who just gave birth a few weeks ago walked in with beautiful twin girls.  My heart sighed. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to baby snatching…

 Here’s something that you didn’t want to know about: This brown headed lady on my block was pregnant and used to walk the block every night trying to speed herself into contractions.  I noticed she hadn’t been out for a few nights and I happened to be on an afternoon walk with Caity and there was the brown headed lady, standing in the middle of the street,talking to a friend and  holding her new baby boy.  As we got within arms length while passing them, I glanced over to get a better look at the precious new life she was holding and noticed her shirt was hiked up and she was breast feeding him right there in the middle of the street. She then shot me a dirty look and turned away from me! Oh my.. If you don’t feel comfortable with people looking at you or your son while you’re breast feeding him, wear a blanket or… *novel idea* don’t do it in the middle of the street!!!!!! I’ve got no problem with women feeding in public, but cover up with a blanket or your shirt or SOMETHING. Otherwise you have no right to glare when people look. Chances are, they don’t want to see your cash and prizes, they’re just looking at the new baby.  That’s been bugging me and I feel better now. But you don’t. Ew, gross. =)

 The song I posted is the one my bubba Nate always sings to me. It makes me miss him. And Texas.

 Before I forget, I need to mention to all of you in San Angelo: The police department is in DESPERATE need of dispatchers.  They have 8 open positions and have had that many for well over a month now.Starting salary is $1600 a month  and instant benefits. (plus you can talk your way out of most any ticket you get) PLEASE go apply. What could it hurt? The worst they could say is that you aren’t what they’re looking for.   

Pregnant glow or just a really bright flash?

Pregnant Lady Midnight Wrath! (insider exclusive)                  

  First of all is the baby update: It turns out I was off by a week so I’m actually 10 weeks along.  They’re currently looking at a due date of November the 9th. (ish) I have an appointment with a midwife next Tuesday and can hear the baby’s heartbeat then. (come on twins!!!) Today was just a nurses visit with tons of paperwork. The nurse spoke about a billion miles per hour and I continually had to ask her to repeat things. I told her I was hard of hearing and so she wrote a memo on her chart to remember to speak slower to me. (which is normal speed for most people.)

  Anyhow, the baby is an average 1.22 inches long. My uterus has doubled in size and is now the size of a grapefruit as compared to a pear when we first started. By the end of this pregnancy I’ll have a whole damn fruit salad. =)

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 So here’s my really freakin funny story:

    Derek was at work last night and doesn’t come home until 7 in the morning.  The dog and I were sleeping in the bedroom with the door closed when sometime around 1am she hops up and starts growling at the door. I figure she’s probably just heard the house beginning to settle. But she insists and starts to bark. To appease her, I pull the baseball bat out from under the bed (just for a precautionary measure) and put on my glasses.  By chance I happened to glance over to the window (our bedroom is on the second floor) and saw flashlight beams going across the yard…. Okay, freaky. Now I’m officially weilding the bat as a weapon and open the door from the bedroom into the stairwell. The dog hauls tail down the stairs and I creep in the dark after her. I’m waiting… Listening…  She’s not barking.. now she’s…. whining? A flash light beams across my living room and my heart is racing, lights outside, lights inside, at least two of them. What have they done to my dog, why is she whimpering?

 In the darkness I hear, “Hey dog.”  I swing around the first floor landing of the staircase ready to swing my bat at whatever is the nearest and a flashlight blinds me. Just before I land my first swing, Derek’s voice says, “What are you DOING!?!??!” I stop the swing just in time not to clock my hubby’s head, my heart almost jumps out of my chest.

“Trying to KILL the intruders! What the HELL are you doing home at this hour?”

Derek turns on a light and pushes the bat out of his face.

“We had a lot of guys get back  from deployment so we were overstaffed tonight. They sent my flight home tonight. What are you doing awake?”

“I wasn’t awake. I was *awakened* by the dog who was about to chew you a new hole and was on my way down to take care of whatever the dog didn’t finish off.  Why didn’t you turn on a light until just now? You scared the crap out of me down here in the dark.”

“The freakin hallway light burned out.”

“Why were you shining your flashlight on the yard like that? “

“I saw an animal  in our yard… Geez. Are you mad at me?”

“Well, I only tried to kill you. That would’ve been fun explaining to the authorities. Newspaper headlines would read, “Pregnant Lady Midnight Wrath!”

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So yeah, husbands and future husbands: Moral of the story- come home with your hands in the air or take a bat to your face. If your wife is pregnant and you wake her up at this time in the morning, you’d better be sporting a Krispy Kreme bat-proof vest as a peace offering. (preferably jelly filled.)

New Baby

  I have my first meeting at the doctor’s office this Friday afternoon. I’m not sure if it’s just a paperwork meeting or if they’re actually going to let me see a doctor. Aside from the morning sickness and chronic sleepies I don’t feel pregnant. This is the worst part of pregnancy. I’m exhausted all the time and the smell of my own house makes me sick. I’ve had to open all the doors and windows to get fresh air just so I can feel normal…. Unfortunately for my family, it’s been thirty degrees outside lately… =) I think they’d rather have me barf.  I know once my belly starts getting bigger I’ll feel a little more satisfied knowing that all this sickness isn’t in vain.  I’ve been going on 1-2 mile walks a day to keep in shape so the only thing growing is my calf muscles, no baby bump yet. Derek and I got a baby name book but we’re still running low on ideas.  (By the way Bobby, in the baby names book, Brunhilda and Caitlyn are on the same page. Thought you’d find that interesting.)

Here’s the nine week baby update:

Your new resident is barely the size of a grape and weighs just a fraction of an ounce.  His embryonic “tail” is now completely gone and his body parts including organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. He has earlobes, and by week’s end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop although it’s already been beating for several weeks now.

Derek has discovered a new band that he’s quite fond of, Kutless. We’d heard their music on Scrubs and looked them up online. As it turns out, their a Christian rock group. Derek and I always kinda felt that most Christian music was too sappy for our tastes and listened to rare groups. This band however has decent music plus kick butt lyrics. So when I looked them up on youtube.com I fell in love with this video. It’s got clips from The Passion so if you have a sensitive heart, be aware in advance.

Within my mind’s eye, flickering from the past come images that terrify and calm. A paradox in me.

Nail pierced hands they run with blood, a splitting brow forced by the thorns. His face is writhing with the pain yet it’s comforting to me.

He chose to give it all, Jesus endured the pain paying a debt I owed and created a paradox in me

Nail pierced hands they run with blood, a splitting brow forced by the thorns. His face is writhing with the pain yet it’s comforting to me.

And in my heart I know that you’re the only one who could of came and died, a sacrifice as you’re God’s only son.

Nail pierced hands they run with blood, a splitting brow forced by the thorns. His face is writhing with the pain yet it’s comforting to me.