Dr. Appt.

Today we went to our weekly Dr. appt. and were told that there is still no change, DARN IT!(*wink wink). We were laughing because it will be interesting to see if Monday nights game will set me into labor! So far no real progress but as the Dr. says that may mean absolutely nothing and I could go at any time. I don't have much else to report, everything looks good so now it is just a waiting game. :) Here's to having a pumpkin baby!

Latest Pregnancy Update

I don't have a lot to say and I will probably know more after the Dr. appt on Tuesday. I thought this was the easiest way to update everyone on my progress.

How far along? 38 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I have gained approx. 12 lbs which I am pretty happy about

How's Mommy been feeling? On most days I feel pretty good but things are definitely getting a lot more difficult. Things

Maternity clothes? I can wear my reg. jeans but I am opting out of that and going for "semi" comfort and sticking with maternity clothes.

Sleep: I am up every 2-3 hours now either repositioning or using the bathroom.... ahh the luxuries of a smooshed bladder.

Best moment this week: I have my appetite back. That is an AWESOME feeling

Food cravings: Really don't have any except I do love cereal these days.

What I can't stand: Peppers, BBQ sauce

Gender: Still unsure

Thoughts on Names: Got 'em decided FINALLY!

Belly Button in or out? No change really

Due Date: 10/10/09

What I miss: Not being attached to a bathroom at all times! :)

Weekly Wisdom: Everyone has opinions about what you should do as a parent but only Justin and I can do what we feel is best.

Milestones: Peanut is just baking for a few more days/weeks and weighs about 6-7 lbs by now.

Missing Out

Since we don't dare travel too far these days we are unfortunately missing out on some fun events. My cousin is getting married today in Orange City, Justin has some friends in CF getting married, and Ellie's benefit are all happening today. I hate not being able to attend but know it is all for a good reason. Today we officially hit the 38 week mark so we are definitely counting down the days. Sorry we can't attend these events but we hope that everyone has a great day!!!

Pregnancy Pause

A few months back I was attending a meeting where a presenter came in and spoke about Fetal Alcohol Disorder. I was rather intrigued and really learned a lot about the disorder. During this presentation she spoke about an event that has been held annually for the past 3-5 years here in Mankato where pregnant women can go and have a fun night out. Part of the event is a competition between local bartenders to see who can make the best non-alcoholic drink. Now THAT was definitely a highlight for me!

Tonight happened to be the night for the event so JR and I made an appearance. I had a really good time and picked up some helpful information. It was fun to finally have a night out where I didn't totally feel out of place. :) Justin even put on an empathy belly and got his picture taken with me comparing our big bellies....now I just have to figure out a way to get that scanned so I can get it online. Oh how I love BLACKMAIL!

Counting Down the Days!

Today was my 37.5 week appt. (can you believe it?!)! I have been feeling good for the most part but I am starting to get regular contractions which gets rather annoying at times because I honestly don't know what is "normal prep" and what isn't. ***I know that nothing is necessarily normal during pregnancy but the control freak in me is having difficulty with that!***

The Dr. says that everything is going the way it should be and that the baby's head is down. I figured as much because I have been feeling feet/legs around my ribs for awhile now so I guess the confirmation was nice. He also said that I had "Dr's orders" to do whatever makes me happy from here on out! I appreciated that one but I am not sure JR will like to hear that! He also gave me a few hints, if you can call it that, for things I should look for when I am debating whether the labor is real or not so this definitely helped!

I am feeling a little like a mad woman right now trying to tie up as many loose ends as I can. I want to be as "ahead" of the game as I can be when I go out on maternity leave but I can't find much motivation these days! :) Last night I spent the majority of the evening either lying on the couch or pacing the house wondering what I should do next. I am not sure which is the better route to go...... :)

Tough Days at Work

Over the weekend LEEP lost a wonderful staff member.... Betty had been fighting stage 4 lung cancer for the past 4 years and had put up one heck of a fight. Our office will never be the same without her and she will be sorely missed by each of us on LEEP's staff. After working with her every day she became like another member of my family. I wish I knew what else to say but I really don't feel that I can find the words that really fit.....

We will miss you Betty!

Fall Elegance

Tomorrow night is LEEP's Annual Fall Elegance Dance so I spent the majority of my day today helping get things organized and ready. This event is HUGE among our participants and we are expecting approx. 700 people! The theme is "A World of Difference" which I find very fitting. I am really excited to see everyone in their formal attire because they all come so beautifully dressed. :) It should be an amazing night!

Cell Phone Etiquette

To Whom This May Concern~

I am writing to ask that as a fellow cell phone user you consider the other people in your meetings when you leave your cell phone ringer ON! It is very distracting to have extremely loud and obnoxious ringers going off every 5 minutes through out the meeting. (honestly the genius that came up with the vibrate option put them in phones for a reason!) :)

Is it really that difficult to remember to silence them as you stroll into the meeting? Not to mention that when we are actually trying to learn something and when our instructor is interrupted we lose out on what information may have been most useful to us. (just saying)

And on a side note, may I just add that of late, the age group that has been the most responsible for these outbursts is the over 40 club? Those of us in the 20-30 something age groups get a bad wrap for being inconsiderate but I have to strongly disagree. I am not sure why the older age groups can't figure this out but I know it would be most helpful if they would soon!

And finally, the surprised/annoyed looks shot across the room while we all can clearly hear it is coming from your bag needs to stop. It is frustrating to see you scan the room for the culprit while we can clearly hear that it is in fact, your stuff that is blowing up. Also, the embarrassed "I’m sorrys" just don't cut it anymore. I appreciate your candor however, this could all be avoided if we just pushed the silencer on our little trusty friends.

Please take my opinion into consideration for the next meeting of the minds. I am sure your colleagues will appreciate it!

Sincerely,
Annoyed Meeting Attendee

PS: This annoys me even when I am not pregnant- just thought I had better put that disclaimer out there! :)

Officially in the 9th Month

And here we are..... we have officially entered the final month of pregnancy!!!! I can't believe that we are on the verge of being parents. 26 days and counting!!!

Today I went to my 36 week appt. where I was told that I was "a little dilated" and "softening". When I asked what that meant exactly the Dr just shrugged and said "nothing". So I am still a clueless first time mom but apparently that is just fine according to all you mommies out there. :) (doesn't make it any less annoying to me but again this is me being a control freak and wanting to know everything) We will begin to see the Dr every week now so we are headed back next Tuesday for our next adventure.

Peanut is rolling and moving like crazy still but it is definitely getting much more painful every time s/he does. I love the feeling and I know I will miss it but the rib jabs I can do without. I do enjoy watching all the crazy moves that my belly makes when the little one starts moving around!

My sleep hasn't been overly great. I am waking up 3-4 times a night but thankfully I am not having to get up every time to use the restroom. Usually I just need to reposition myself to and I can fall back asleep. Work is getting difficult though, my concentration has gotten really sporadic so I have to work really hard at staying on task. I think I just know there are so many things that I should be doing to make my impending absence easier that I can't decide what I should get done first.

I am guessing my concentration, etc. will only get worse as the days go by but I am trying to roll with the punches. I have a list of to do's every night so I am trying to somewhat stay ahead of the curve..... I am doing what I can for now cuz I don't want to be sitting in Labor and Delivery making my lists of thingsI didn't get finished.... This is getting interesting! More to come next week!

Coming Home Outfit

Here are the 2 outfits we have set aside for the big "coming home" event. I bought them awhile back (like in June?! And yes I know, most people would call me crazy) but didn't figure it was something that was all that interesting till now. :) Gotta stick with the yellow since we don't know if we have a baby boy or girl coming home with us.

The Nursery is Finished!

Here is Peanut's nursery finally finished! I love it and I think the border is super cute! Enjoy the photos.

Flu Shot

I know I probably shouldn't be so upset about this (I blame the hormones!) but I was"forced" to get a flu shot today. I realize that everyone says that "as a pregnant woman you are at higher risk" but I have never had the flu shot before and honestly, I never get sick. (except for the first 26 weeks of pregnancy apparently) I hear more people talk about being sicker the winters they have had the shot than the ones where they didn't....

Anyway, when I checked into the Dr. today I was asked if I wanted one and I said no. Well, during my exam he proceeds to tell me that I need one blah, blah, blah but his main reason was that it takes 4 weeks for your body to become immune and pass it on to the baby....

So I said, "well if that is the case, why do I need one since I have less than 4 weeks to go!?"

He just kind of laughed at but never answered me.

I think what pisses me off the most is the fact that I feel like I was kind of bullied into it. ARGH I will get over it but I am just really annoyed about it at the moment. Don't get me wrong I want to protect the baby but I am going to be super pissed if I get the flu this winter! :P

Diva Weekend

Friday evening was a night for deals! My mom and I headed to Lakeville to hit up a HUGE consignment/garage sale held at a hockey arena. Let me just say that it was awesome! We both left there with some great buys that we couldn't have been happier with! I walked away with lots of great kids books, some sweet "older" kids toys, a Baby Bjorn carrier, and so much more. My mom found some awesome things for her house and is now a well geared Nana! Let's just say when we left the sale my mom's trailblazer was packed full of goodies!

That evening we met my mom's biological family for a nice dinner. It was nice to see everyone and get to chat for a little while. Everyone did their guessing on what the baby is and when it will be born so we shall see who gets the closest!

Saturday I did NOTHING and LOVED every minute of it. (I guess I am lying a little bit, my mom and I did finish the border in the babies room so I can finally take nursery pics with the finished product!! Thanks mom!) Justin was working this weekend so I just kind of laid around and took my time enjoying having a day off! I am not thinking I will have many more of those days left before the babes is born. It was nice to just relax with my feet up and have no where I needed to be. My biggest let down though was the fact that I couldn't watch the Iowa vs. IA State game.... Darn MN channels! There weren't even highlights that I could find! I had to get updates on the net which I guess wasn't terrible, just disappointing!

And finally Sunday..... I got up this morning and did a few things around the house before heading down to my parents for the afternoon. Unfortunately I wasn't going to visit, I was going to attend a funeral wake for a childhood friend's mom. She had been sick for quite some time and had been fighting breast cancer for 23+ years. Elsie is finally at peace but it was definitely tough to be there.

And rounding out my weekend was the season opener of GREEN BAY PACKER FOOTBALL!!!! Can I just say I LOVE this time of year! I am so pumped about this season I can hardly stand it. I had to eat my words from last season already but I can honestly say I am ok with that! Thank you Aaron Rogers for showing me that you have what it takes!!

So with that said, I completely enjoyed my diva filled weekend where I did whatever I wanted, whenever I felt like it! Gotta love it!

Shopping

My mom and I are off to Lakeville this afternoon/evening for what sounds like a HUGE consignment/garage sale in one of the hockey arenas. My boss had mentioned a few weeks ago that new moms and first time moms could sign up to shop early so that is exactly what we are doing. The sale doesn't actually start until tomorrow but we are lucky enough to pre-shop. :) I am pumped... not sure what I need really but it is always fun to look!! I think my mom is most excited because she has some "Nana needs" that must be met and the clock is ticking- ha ha!

Justin is working the next 5 days straight SO that means I won't see much of him which stinks. We have a Dr. appt. Monday and they start every week after that. Wowza that came up fast! Today actually marks 29 days till d-day so look out, major nesting is about to begin!

Celebrating 4 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Four years ago today I married my best friend. I love reminiscing about all of the things we did that day (still sorry about it being the Iowa vs. Iowa State game). I will never forget the way it felt to stand in front of God and everyone and commit to one another. That moment was the best moment thus far in my life... We've been through a lot over those past 4 years (and 8 1/2 years of dating) but I wouldn't trade any of it. Justin has taught me more about myself than I could have ever learned on my own. I am lucky to be able to share my life with him! Happy anniversary hun!

This is by far my one of my top 3 favorite pictures from our wedding day

We look so young here but I love this picture

Night Golfing

Let me just say I had NO idea what to expect when we signed up for night golf with everyone. I hadn't even heard of it before but it was AWESOME! I am not a huge golfer (I think I have been out about 7-8 times total in my life) but Justin loves it so I figured I could give it a shot.

As I mentioned in the earlier post the group went around and did 9 holes in the daylight to "work out the kinks" and get ready for the competition. I sat out and took pictures of everyone which was perfectly fine with me! I thought everyone was doing very well and I especially enjoyed Jamie's outbursts when she and/or Aaron made a good shot!

So on to the night golf portion of the story.... All of us were given glowing necklaces and glow in the dark golf balls to head out on to the course. Justin and I did not have a flashlight (SCARY!) but we did have our IPod and speakers for all to enjoy.

When we took off on to the course we were weaving through trees, etc and we could not see a thing! It was pitch black since the moon wasn't actually up so this was rather interesting. We were laughing like little school kids out of pure fear for what we could hit. Finally we made it to the first tee box safely and I thought all was going to be good after this. Everyone tee'd off and we were on our way! Justin was driving our cart and when we headed down the fare way to our ball when he "locked up" the brakes and we started doing 360's, in the dark, on wet grass, and with no clue what we were headed for. Luckily we slid right up to our ball so it all worked out in the end! After doing it once he thought it was funny to keep doing it the rest of the night!

The night was a ton of fun and it was really cool to see nothing but glowing necklaces and glowing balls flying through the air. Everyone seemed to be impressed by my game but I really don't think I did that good. Justin says that it was unfair because in fact I was playing with 2 people and not just one. (why he was complaining I am not sure cuz we did pretty well as a team). I really had a great time and I know that Justin did too so we can't wait to do it again next year!

If you check out Jamie and Aaron's Blog you will see some of the pics from the daylight portion of the event and here are some I took with my camera:

This is part of the crew without MIA Aaron and Jay taking the picture

Here is Jay getting ready to Tee off. Jamie is watching in suspense!

Aaron and Justin sporting their glow necklaces

Here you can kind of get an idea for just how wet the grass was. Not sure what Justin is doing though!

Labor Day Weekend

Friday afternoon Justin, Bear, and I headed down to State Center, IA for a weekend full of fun with family! We took our time getting down there and made a stop in Mason City to try and find some Hawkeye apparel. We were on the hunt for little Hawkeye booties/socks for our "belly pics" on Saturday morning but weren't able to find any. Justin did score a pretty sweet Iowa Flag though so that was pretty cool.

Saturday morning we went to the photography studio that Jamie (Justin's sister) works at and had our belly shots taken. I had a lot of fun and I think Justin did too. We got to take a look before we left town and they turned out really cool, I am excited to show them off! We headed back to Jamie and Aaron's to catch what was left of the Iowa vs. UNI game. That was a tough one for me because though I ultimately wanted Iowa to win, I couldn't cheer against my alma mater! For those of you that watched, I still can't believe that Iowa blocked 2 field goal attempts- yikes!

That night we headed out to take part in a golf tournament. Jamie, Aaron, Jess, Mitch, Justin, and Jamie & Aaron's friend Jay all played the back 9 before we headed in to play night golf. There is a long story that goes a long with this so I will be posting about it at a later time, with a few pictures I took. We all had a great time and it is something that we definitely want to do again!

Sunday we got up and headed up to Ringsted to celebrate my sister's 20th birthday. We got to see lots of family we hadn't seen in awhile so that was nice. Justin's mom even stopped and we were glad we got to chat with her for awhile.

I think everyone is pretty excited about the baby coming. I love hearing what everyone thinks it is going to be and why they think it. We did a due date/sex poll which turned out pretty interesting. Some people even named the baby which was kind of funny to hear as well. We don't have prizes figured out but I am sure we can come up with something! If you are interested in getting involved leave a comment with your guess. The due date is 10/10/09 and the Dr. won't let me go over the 16th.

And finally Monday, we got home and pretty much just crashed. JR and I were both pretty exhausted so we just hung out at home for most of the afternoon and then headed out to do a little shopping. After the busy weekend we had though it was nice to just relax! Hopefully everyone had a good weekend!

Volunteers Galore!

I know I am not a super exciting blogger these days, sorry but to be fair, work has been REALLY crazy busy. When the new school year starts my Volunteer Coordinator hat is put back on in full force. Part of my position here at LEEP is recruiting and implementing volunteers. I really do enjoy doing the recruiting part but the orientations/trainings can get a bit long. I typically do 3-5 orientations during this first week out and they usually have on average 10 people partaking in all the fun. Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself over and over again but I suppose it comes with the territory. Let me just say I am really excited/ready for this week to be over and to have a 3 day weekend to look forward to. These 11-13 hour days are getting old quick! :)