26 Week Pregnancy Bumpdate! {Baby 2}

So, I don't feel like doing the questions and answers this week.

I'm currently 26 weeks along in my second pregnancy - which means we've got 14 weeks (give or take) until we meet Molly!

And this week has been a VERY big week for our family for a couple reasons:

1. We moved into our first HOME this week!

2. One of my best friends (Katie) had her little boy - Hunter Joseph - very early on the morning of April Fool's Day.  If my memory serves me correctly, he was 8 pounds 13 ounces.

3. And then, my sister (Amanda) went into labor and had her little boy - Matthew Alan - on her due date, which was also April Fool's Day!  My nephew weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces on his birthday!

Anne Marie meeting her brother, Matthew!!!

4. We also bought some new furniture to furnish our new home.  It won't be delivered until next week, but I am SO EXCITED.

We had SO much help from some friends and family when it came to moving - and we needed every last bit of it.  It was seriously the fastest move I've ever witnessed.  Most everything is still in our garage (we weren't able to move everything into the house because our carpets were getting cleaned and stretched the following morning) and we are SLOWLY moving things in.

I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed by the unpacking and moving process as well as the feeling of anxiety from all the responsibility that comes with owning a home.  My Gramma Myers gave some good advice about not rushing into owning a home and now I can see why she said that!  It is a lot to take in.  Overall, we are all adjusting well and I think it was the right move for our family but I suppose only time will tell!

We planned on moving Presley into her toddler bed upon moving in but we have yet to get her room set up and completely childproofed - and her safety is NOT something I'm willing to gamble with - so Tony set up her crib and tonight is the first night in over 100 days she gets to sleep in a real bed... or crib!  In that time she has been sleeping in her pack & play.  About a month into her sleeping in the pack & play we purchased a thicker mattress for her to sleep on as well.  Even still, it couldn't have been as comfortable and yet Presley handled it all like such a champ.  Bedtime almost always went smoothly and she slept regularly through the night.  I really do think she was excited to get into her crib tonight and bedtime went very smoothly (after the first few nights of bedtime in our new house NOT going very smoothly)!!!

Another ironic thing that happened to us since I last wrote - all three of us got a stomach virus!  If you remember, Presley got a stomach bug just a few days before we moved from Illinois to Tennessee.  A few days after that, I got it - literally the day before we left.  And then I infected Tony a few days later on the very day he was leaving Tennessee for Illinois to move everything out of our old house.  It was awful, awful timing.  This time?  Presley got sick at 2am on Friday - the day we closed on our house.  Tony got sick Sunday - the morning we moved.  And me?  I got sick on Tuesday a few days later.  AWFUL!  I hope it is a long time before we do that again.

We're looking forward to next week - getting our new furniture, my first prenatal appointment since the beginning of December, and having a new window installed in our bedroom in addition to some rotten wood being replaced outside of that window.  We are hoping to go see Amanda, John, Anne Marie & new baby Matthew sometime soon - maybe as soon as next weekend?  And this weekend, lots and lots of unpacking!!!

Also, get excited, because this weekend I will be posting a fun product review and hosting my first GIVEAWAY for one awesome reader!  So stay tuned!!

Playing Catch Up!

Good googly moogly!  I can't believe it has been so long since I last signed on here and checked in and dumped out what's been on my brain!!!!  As always... no one is going to be more sorry than myself for my lack of cataloging here lately.

SO, let's back-track a wee bit.  It has been over a month since I last wrote.  Mostly I have to thank the fact that Presley and I got the KILLER stomach virus that had been going around right before Christmas!!!  I was writing about wanting to catch the holiday spirit, not the holiday sickness!  It was awful.  Presley was puking every 15-20 minutes and at first it was all over her crib.  ALL over.  And then after several bedding changes for her, I just threw her in my bed with me.  And after several more bedding changes in my room, I finally got her to throw up into a mixing bowl (somewhat).  It was really very sad for me to watch her get down to throwing up nothing but dark green stomach bile... that was very hard to watch.  And then the next day or so... I got the virus FULL swing.  Thank GOD my mother was willing and able to take Presley for a few hours that day because I was just not capable of anything.  It was seriously awful.  And doing it all by myself without a spouse was scary.  And then the next morning we had to wake up and catch a flight from Moline to Chicago and from Chicago to Memphis.  I didn't think I could do it but I kept telling myself it is 3-4 hours of suffering in this way and then we will be with Tony.  Thankfully, I was feeling leaps and bounds better than I had been the night before but it still wasn't easy.  Consider the fact that I am pregnant on top of all that and it was just awful.  I don't think I ate anything for 24 hours and not only did I feel terrible but I felt guilty on top of it. 

We made it to Memphis, though, on Christmas Day!  We spent a few days with Tony and then said goodbye to him, Chris, and Kristen (two of our wonderful friends) and they traveled back up to Moline to pack up the house into the U-Haul trailer and head back down to Memphis.  They did all this in one weekend all by themselves.  I am in awe of all they accomplished and we will be forever indebted to them and so beyond grateful for their kindness and compassion.  Not to mention... they then proceeded to unpack the U-Haul into a storage unit along with the help of my in-laws.  I felt very unproductive those days when they were so busy and that is not a good feeling for someone who wanted to be in charge of it all.  But, we all survived.  And Chris & Kristen declared their independence from ever having to help us move again!  :)

Since we've been in town, we have been living with Chris and Kristen in their 2 bedroom rental home.  When I said they were wonderful friends, did you take my word for it?  I mean, incredible.  We are in the process of looking at homes and getting approved for a loan, etc.  It has been a somewhat sticky process... it often feels like one step forward and then we take ten or so back.  Though, finally, it feels like we are coming up with a game plan alongside our lender and realtor.  I thank God for their patience because I know I am not the easiest person to work with - I have realized I am very sensitive when it comes to this big decision.  We started out by looking in Olive Branch, Mississippi which is just outside of Memphis.  (For you QCA folks, it's equivalent to Moline/Davenport.)   That didn't pan out well for us so we are shifting our focus to look at homes in the Cordova/Bartlett area.  I am feeling VERY hopeful about out prospects here.  Plus, it cuts Tony's daily commute way down and I am a huge huge HUGE fan of that!

Presley has been adjusting well.  She is sleeping in a pack-and-play and we just ordered a thicker mattress for that and it's seemed to help her sleep sounder.  We've also been watching a disgusting amount of TV lately and I hate it!  I feel like I have forgotten how to be a stay at home parent for some odd reason... and to be honest?  I love Presley but I seem to enjoy it less these days.  I know I wasn't always a huge fan of it but after having gone back to work for a few months before we moved, it really caused me to realize how much I enjoy working outside the home.

Now, onto this whole pregnancy deal!  I am always forgetting I'm pregnant because this one just feels so vastly different from the last one. Your first time around EVERY little and big thing is just so monumental and I feel terrible but this time around, pregnancy is the last thing on my mind.  Presley requires a LOT of attention (point in case: she got SO close to sticking a screw driver in an electrical outlet today...) and when it's not her that I'm focused on it is mealtime, naptime, bedtime, time to focus on home buying, etc!  I'm currently 16 weeks pregnant and for the last few days I have been craving nothing more than a McDonald's cheeseburger (or two), their delicious fries, and a huge coke!  SO BAD!!!  I have yet to indulge... mostly because I just keep forgetting until around this time of night.  I had also been hankering for Mexican food for several weeks in a row but that seems to have subsided after our trip to El Porton last week with Megan, Chris, Kristen, Presley & Tony!  We got guacamole dip (HEAVENLY!!!!) and Presley tossed it on the floor... I nearly cried.  But instead, I sucked it up and ordered another one!  For a while there I was really loving the frozen cheesy garlic bread you could stick in the oven for a couple minutes.  Now?  I just eat what I can when I have the time.  I feel the need to find a Chinese restaurant we really fall in love with because I am missing Ming Wah and our friends there like crazy.  I know that sounds silly, but it's true.  This restaurant (in Moline) is really something special to us!  Not to mention the food is just delicious.  I really need to stop talking about FOOD!!!!

Here is a picture of me & Presley.  I was just around 15 weeks along here and Presley was nice enough to help hold my belly up for the photo. ;)

This is an older one... but we got to spend Christmas with my family before the sickness and move. It was so nice!

Just after we landed in Memphis.  Walking to the cars with her Grandmommy & Papa.

We've also been lucky enough to hang out with my sister & her husband & my niece, Anne Marie, several times since we've moved.  Here is Presley & Annie holding hands in the back seat!!!

Had a very sister Christmas after the holidays and it was very much needed... although it went by in a flash!  Here is Aunt Ashie & Uncle Jojo with Annie & Presley.

One of my favorites of Tony & Presley :)

And here we are earlier this week right around 16 weeks along.

I've been catching up on Parenthood (the TV show) the past few weeks and goodness... I have really been missing out!!!  I've just started with the most recent season and things are getting good.  Anyways, what has been up with all of you?!  I look forward to catching up on everyone's blogs!  Take care.

What's New Wednesday!

Man oh man, has it been a while since I have been sick!  Usually, I am the person who gets sick every few weeks.  In college, I blamed it on lack of sleep.  While working at a video store, I blamed it on handling germy money.  When I worked at the kids gym, I blamed it on the sweet hugs I got from the germy kids.  And now?  I am a stay-at-home hermit mommy!  We typically leave the house every day, most days just so we can get out of the house, so it's not that we live in a bubble.  I'm honestly not sure what has kept me so healthy but I really hadn't caught anything throughout my pregnancy or since becoming a mama - I'd say that's my longest streak perhaps EVER. 

So when I had Presley, I thought she would be sick all the time.  I'm not sure if it's been breastfeeding or the fact that she's not in direct contact with others on a regular basis, but she hasn't really been sick up until now either.  {I know just how lucky we are!}  Another thought that has crossed my mind was that maybe Presley inherited her dad's awesome immune system.  I promise you, this guy dodges illness with skill.

Well anyways, Presley and I just dealt with the stomach virus and it was not fun.  She had it and then passed it to me.  While she had the virus a lot longer than I did, I would say hers seemed more mild, thank God!  Me on the other hand?  I couldn't function for a little over 24 hours.  It's like my body just went into an automatic shutdown mode and all I could do was sleep (among other unpleasant things that I won't say here).  Thankfully, Tony loves us SO much that he stayed home from work to watch Presley as I was shutting down.  What an awesome man I am blessed with!  And after a full week of illness in our house - at the moment - we are doing fine!  Though, I am honestly just waiting for the other shoe to drop... whether that means Tony gets it or Presley and I begin to pass our germs back and forth again... I hope I'm wrong!

Here are some photos of what we've been up to recently...

Presley's most beloved toy at the current moment... ladies and gentlemen, a Starbucks straw.

Giving the baby on the screen a kiss!

Presley's Palm Sunday outfit (we went to evening mass on Saturday... so technically was Palm Saturday if you ask my hubby - hehe!)... don't you just love her crazy hair?  Baldy up front and hair in the back ;)

Some photos of Presley that Tony took while he took over as the full-time parent while I was sick!  She is saying "cheese" in the bottom too - such a sweet little goofball!

In other super-duper-big-girl-exciting-news... we finally switched Presley to a BIG GIRL toddler car seat!  She's still in a rear-facing seat, but it was time to get her out of the infant seat.  By the height & weight, she was still okay in the other seat... but her head was starting to get too high and if we had gotten into a wreck, she might not have been as protected as she would be in her new seat!  {I can't believe I don't have a picture of her in her new seat yet!!!}  I thought she would LOVE her new seat... and she did for the first maybe 15 minutes... but now that she realizes she can't turn her head to see us anymore - she hates it!  Hopefully this will get better once we put up a little mirror for her back there... but I don't know.  As long as she's safe, though, I am a-okay!

Turns out, Tony had a picture of Presley in her car seat on his phone.  Too bad it was taken by Presley herself and the only thing you can see is her forehead and the head/neck protector.  :)

And that's what's been up with us lately!  Hope Spring shows it's beautiful face here for us all very soon... fingers are crossed!

The Parent I Want to Be.

Have you ever felt so empowered by the positivity passed on from someone else that you could cry?  Okay, maybe this is coming from a place filled with pregnancy hormones... but really, have you ever felt like that, pregnancy or no pregnancy?  You guessed it, I totally feel like that right now.  Every week I go to prenatal and parenting classes at a local place called "Pregnancy Resources."  They offer pregnant women a chance to learn more about what they embarking on as well as giving free diapers for the classes you attend with chances to earn things like a free crib, car seat, as well as free maternity and baby clothes.  At the class today we discussed ways to be an affirming, attentive, and connected parent as mapped out in the Parrott's book "The Parent You Want to Be" and it filled me full of great ideas.  And for the first time in a LONG time, I am starting to feel at peace with becoming a parent;  knowledge really is power.  I'm starting to feel like I am one of those people who really was made for this, not just something I am accidentally stumbling into because I am biologically able to have children.  Instead, I am feeling capable of loving a little person and making them feel like they belong to someone in this world.  Ahh, I love it.

So, more about feeling empowered....

Tonight in class the instructor asked everyone some of their fears in parenting, specifically, what are you afraid will influence your child in a negative way?  People said things like the media, peers, etc. and for one reason or another illness popped into my head.  Like many first time parents, I am terrified at the possibilities of mental and physical ailments burdening my baby, especially illnesses that run in the family (mood disorders, diabetes, etc).  Not to mention, I am also afraid of the possibility of other mental and physical illnesses that would deeply change our lives.  I'm thankful our instructor addressed each and every fear addressed because her observation is the reason I feel so at peace tonight.  She suggested that instead of asking God for a perfect, healthy child, we should instead be asking for the capability to love our child, no matter what may come.  And in that instant, the part of my brain filled with those worries released them and turned into a place of understanding and love.  In addition, my prayers are going to change drastically as well.  Like I said, this has already brought me so much peace.  I realized that asking God for what I want to be done is really doing me injustice... I've been asking God for a healthy child to love -- as if I couldn't or wouldn't be able to love one who isn't.  (Of course, that is not what I feel inside or what I was asking for, but essentially that is where my fears obviously lie.) 

And afterall, isn't that what we promise to do for our spouses when we say our vows when we dedicate that we will love them no matter what may come...

"I take you for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part."  

Why should that be any shock or any different for someone else we are bringing into this world?  It shouldn't be and really, it isn't shocking -- it just surprises me that I was looking at these things from a different angle than what I am seeing now.  It is a great feeling.

Anyways, if you think you'd be even the least bit interested, you should give that book I linked above a look or two.  It is full of practical ways to be an affirming, attentive, connected, patient, authentic, insightful parent everyday and is written by a pair of married doctors with two little boys of their own.  It doesn't just follow their philosophies, but the philosophies of many parents they talked to and surveyed.  I will definitely be ordering myself a copy after tonight's wonderful class!



Peacefully,

God, I ask you to give us the ability to be loving parents to whomever we are greeted with in February.  This child has already been such a blessing to each of us personally, to our marriage and our extended families as well.  I ask that You continue to soothe my worries with the peace You've given me today;  there is a definite amount of peace in switching from my will filled with selfish ways to Your will that is full of selflessness and humility.  I pray I never forget that I am called to be Your servant in every way.   
Thank you for today.

"But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul."

                               Deuteronomy 4:29