Exhausted.

I have pushed myself to the brink of sheer exhaustion this week. With working extra time, dinner with my favorite, birthday celebrations, and a four hour fantasy football draft - I'm worn out. Tonight I will go home, bathe, don my pajamas and hopefully not move until about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

I am a whopping four months preggers today! Still doing well - and this time next week, we'll know if it's a boy or girl!!! Our appointment is next Friday at 8:30 a.m.! I am so very excited. After that will come the real planning, registering, thinking about showers, wall colors, bedding - oh! I'm so excited!

I'm mostly just excited to finally see my peanut! Everyone and their mother's aunt's sister's girlfriend has told me I should have seen it by now, but damn it, I've asked - and my doctor told me it's their policy that if I'm healthy and the baby is healthy there is no reason to do one until past 17 weeks. Of course I WANT to see him/her, but I can't make a hospital change their policy over night. PLUS, I can't be the only one because I have heard multiple stories about women that didn't find out they were having twins until they went to find out the sex of the baby and I hate to break it to ya, but they are at least 17 weeks along when they go for that. Ugh! I feel better.

Annnd I'm officially ready for fall. Even though we're headed to the beach with the in-laws the whole week of labor day - when I get home I'm ready to wear a hoodie and snuggle up with a blanket. Though I'm totally sure that I'll be wishing this warmth back in about January - I'm tired of the heat. Football games. Fall leaves. Crisp Air. Can't wait.

A big thanks to my blogger friends who weighed in on my weight/healthy eating dilemma. I am happy to report that I came out of my box at the grocery store and bought new things! This is a major feat for me. I have eaten 3 different kinds of fruit and haven't gotten sick as of yet...so woo hoo - I can be healthier now! I also just made some ahhhhmazing chicken salad and lawsy I could eat the whole thing right now.

I started cleaning out "the baby's room" this weekend - that is surreal to say! That room has basically served as storage for the past year and some change that we've been here. I've also started looking at cribs, bedding and carseats. It's all a little overwhelming, but luckily I have quite a few friends who just recently had babies, so it'll be nice to have some veteran help.

I do have one question for Mama's (or anyone else who has an opinion) - would you go for the crib that is a 3 in 1 - and by that I mean the ones that go from crib to day bed to full size bed, or should we just start with the crib and work our way up on our own. I'm afraid my taste will change, but the crib I like is cherry and is classy so I don't think I could go wrong.

I guess I just worry that this looks a little too harsh for a baby being dark and all - lighter colors scream baby so I don't want to regret the darkness. The bedding I've picked out for both is light and breezy so I think it would lighten the mood. I just don't want to spend X amount of dollars on this bed and be stuck with it for many many years and regret it - ya know?

And now back to the Harry Potter weekend on ABC! :)

Time to Vent.

Today has been one of those I-just-need-to-cry-because-I-freaking-can days. I have two pairs of pants that I can comfortably wear to work. Two - and one of them I can't button. Much to my dismay, my husband did laundry last night and both of them had been put in the wash. Nothing to really get upset about. I am very fortunate to have a husband that is willing to do the chores for a while because I would live in a pig stye and have absolutely no clothes to wear. So thank you, Nate.

I know that gaining weight in pregnancy is normal - and well, encouraged, but when I stepped on the scale a few days ago it kinda punched me right in the face. I have no plans to diet or anything crazy like that so nobody freak out (I like to eat SO much that I'm pretty sure you may never have to worry about me dieting) BUT it got me thinking about my eating habits since my pregnancy began.

From week 6 - 12 I pretty much needed to eat what I could when I could because of the nausea and vomiting that would come at all hours of the day, and the things I grabbed to eat were always quick: fast food, spaghetti-o's, etc. anything that I could have in my hands and eat faster then the nausea could come back. My doctor told me this was totally fine - eating anything at all was my main goal and to focus on the nutrition part when I felt better.

Now that I'm much better - I haven't fixed my habits. I really need help from Moms and healthy people alike. What the frick am I supposed to eat?! The thought of this this morning while squeezing on my pants brought me to tears. I literally could not think of anything in this world that I could eat that was a) feasible in the short amount of time I had to get to work and b) was healthy. Crying just makes you feel better sometimes, but I still haven't solved my dilemma.

I have eaten a pop tart for the past 10 weeks it feels like every single morning. I am over the pop tart. Nate suggested granola bars, but they last me about 30 minutes and then I'm hungry again so unless I eat like 16 granola bars that won't work either. I, for some reason, have had issues with keeping fruit down. Cereal is out because I can't eat until I get to work anyway because my stomach isn't settled until then and oh my gosh I'm rambling. Suggestions?

Lunch - what the heck is healthy for lunch?! I have been advised against eating cold turkey and ham. My doc said if I make the sandwich, it's fine - if the sandwich meat is heated, it's fine - but eating a club is not fine. If you haven't heard of this new pregnancy rule and you really like cold cuts close your ears because I would have been JUST fine living the "ignorance is bliss" way of life had a friend not told me about this - if you contract a certain bacteria that can be found in cold cuts (as well as poorly prepared or undercooked meat) you basically will miscarry. The M word is enough to keep me making my turkey sandwiches in the safety of my own home (so to speak) but seriously, what the HECK am I supposed to eat?! Prior to pregnancy I ate turkey sandwiches, clubs etc. on a regular basis and now I'm just screwed. No wonder America is fat - they don't have a CHOICE.

I think I've rambled enough, but seriously I'm frustrated.

And if that's not enough - I moved my baby brother to college yesterday.

Jake and Zane (his roommate) in their new dorm. They refused to smile.

I'm very proud of him - and super happy he's going to college - it just hurts that he's not going to be at my parents house every time I go down there. At least he has Zane and his beautiful girlfriend Alexa there to keep him company :)

I'll shut up now.

Baby Bump.

Soo...everyone has requested "baby bump" pictures - and while I'm not entirely happy about showing them just yet because right now I just look like I've gained weight instead of a child...I will post them because one day it'll really look like a baby belly and not an extra 5ish pounds.

Okay, this is what we started with: 6/5 - day I had the positive pregnancy test

(4 weeks)

On my birthday - 7/12
9 weeks

And me today...lawsy
Almost 14 weeks - first second trimester pic

Ahh that was painful. Please be gentle.

Some days I look HUGE and some days you can't even tell I'm pregnant - they tell me that's according to "bowel movements" haha but I will not share that information with you.

The Best Sound Ever.

I got to hear my little one's heartbeat today! It was a long time coming so I anxiously crawled up on the table and lay flat anticipating the dishwasher swishing sound. The nurse started on the left and slowly started moving to the right across my low belly. For some reason I just knew peanut was on the right side all along! It started off quiet, and then she found it right on and oh! it was so loud and so strong. 160 beats per minute - I'm just so proud.

The doctor came in (one I've never met since I have to meet all of them in case they're on call in February!) and looked over my charts and said everything was great! He said we're both right where we need to be and that he was at a loss because he didn't have anything to yell at me about. haha. Nate immediately approved this doctor because he was wearing cowboy boots. Oh the standards of a man.

Even more exciting news - I get to have my first ultrasound and find out what my peanut is on September 4th! My "mother's instinct" on the sex of the baby is severely lacking. One minute I'll swear it's a boy and the next minute it's totally a girl. The Chinese Calendar says it's a boy, but the Chinese needle gender test screamed that it was a girl.

Nate thinks it's a boy AND a girl. Twins do run in both of our families. Bless. Guess we'll just have to wait 4 more weeks to know!

Things I've Learned

..since finding out I was pregnant.

1. Always eat every 3 hours - even if you don't want to. This, believe it or not, has kept me from full days of nausea. Took me about 2 weeks to figure this out.

2. Everyone is a pregnancy/child expert - though I have not had anyone be rude (yet!) everyone likes to tell me (especially MEN!!) what I can and can't do while I'm pregnant. I laugh at it now, but I'm sure it will get old.

3. Throwing up isn't fun sober either - the first few times I got sick I would sit in the floor and cry for like 15 minutes. Nate can testify. While I don't enjoy it now, I have learned to cope and maybe only feel like crying.

4. Always ask what's in the lemonade - at week 4 I went to a child's birthday party where no one knew I was pregnant. After skimming through all the beer and wine (my friends really like to drink, okay) I settled for a nice refreshing glass of lemonade. After consuming about an 6oz glass someone said, "boy that vodka lemonade was delicious!" Shoot me now. I know, I know I'm fine - and I didn't even worry because clearly there wasn't that much in it if I didn't taste it - it just taught me a lesson. Always know what you're sippin' on!

5. If you choose to wait and tell everyone, tell a friend at work if possible- I told my cubemate at work at 6 weeks and it was the best decision ever. (Most trustworthy person ever, lucky me!) This was my best decision because she was able to cover for me while I died in the other room.

6. Don't worry what others will say - the anticipation of waiting until week 12 got my mind wandering, "oh how will she react" "what will he say" "will they talk about me being only 24" etc. When I broke the news to everyone I got nothing but congratulations and happiness and love - and those that told me previously "to WAIT to have kids" were the most encouraging about how great parenthood really is. (Pretty sure I predicted that one in a previous blog, too).

7. Babymoons are a pretty cool story - though we didn't plan it this way, Baby Edwards has about 98% possibility of having been conceived in London. We hope to get peanut a "Made in London" onesie!

8. Dogs are smarter than we are - Looking back, there is absolutely no question that Bailey knew I was pregnant before I did. From the second we got back from our trip she treated me differently. Bailey LOVES Nate - he is her best friend, but since June she sits in front of me at night, waits patiently for me to get out of the shower and even waits outside the bathroom door when I'm dealing with nausea. Nevermind that she sniffs my belly, too. She is going to be the best big sister ever.

Well look at all I've learned in my first trimester! I'm sure that I will learn more than one thing new everyday, and now I'm just excited for our little one to get here!

Too Cute Not to Share.

I made these cakes for a friend at work's daughter over the weekend and I am just so happy with how they turned out that I had to share (and do a little advertising!) You can see all of my cakes at http://thecakeboutiquecharlotte.blogspot.com/

Thank you for all of the sweet comments about my news! I can't tell you how happy we are - and how much of a relief it is to be able to talk about it and not worry who is listening! I am due February 13th - sorry I left that out on the last post!

Show and Tell.

You may have noticed that over the course of the past two months I haven't been blogging much. In fact, I would be surprised if I have posted over ten entries since June. Well that's because I have been hiding a really, really big secret...a secret I can not hide for much longer because, well - my pants are getting snug.

Yes, you read right! I'm going to be a mommy!!! I am 12 weeks and doing just fine. I have struggled with the morning (more like all day) sickness, but luckily that's beginning to subside. My books and websites tell me that peanut [which is what we call the baby] is about the size of a plum or a lime, has all functioning systems, and basically looks like a really tiny baby with a really big head.

Nate and I are so very excited. I have wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but my neighbors may have thought I was insane.

I have suffered from writer's block because every time I would go to write a blog I would want to say something about being "the crazy pregnant lady who cries over commercials" or "the crazy preggers chick that makes her boss leave his office so she can throw up in his trash can" - oh yeah, been there - done that.

I promise not to make this a totally baby related blog, but I'm sure it will come up from time to time :) Having that huge elephant sitting in my room while writing was causing some serious issues - it should be free flowing henceforth.

Yay blogger friends, you now share my secret!

I just wanted to take a second to remember my good friend Joey Houck. Some of you may or may not have known him, but he was killed in a car accident the summer after we graduated high school. Six years ago today.

He was just one of those special people that could make anyone smile for just about no reason. He had the goofiest grin and was about as thugged out as a white boy can be - but he had a heart of gold.

Not to mention him today would be a disgrace, so whether you knew him or not, please say a prayer for his family and friends today who are still dealing with the loss of their son, brother, cousin, boyfriend, or best friend. Thanks.

Obsessed Much?

Yesterday, Nate and I made the seemingly short trip home from a great weekend in Charleston with friends (pictures to come later). Having had a few too many drinks and a little too much sun the day before (thanks to a wife who apparently doesn't know how to apply sunscreen evenly,) Nate asked that we switch right around Columbia and I drive the rest of the way home.

He promptly fell asleep in all of about 4.2 seconds and I was left to my thoughts. Driving long distance is calming to me, I don't mind it at all - heck I don't even mind riding in the car long distance. As I came up I-26 I people watched, or should I say car-watched, and found travelers from Ontario, Florida, Texas and all over the States. Almost every car I passed had some sort of memorabilia on it, whether it be a college sticker or license plate frame (saw about 4,000 for Clemson) or a random sticker from somewhere they like to vacation.

Along the drive I started to notice that there are just a few obsessions that I don't get.

Betty Boop - Okay she was a cute cartoony pinup girl, but WTF do you really need 3 stickers a license plate and a steering wheel cover that display your love for Miss Boop? I don't think so.

Flip Flops - what the heck man. There are flip flops on bags, shirts, earrings, stickers on cars and about any beachy item you can think of. I think I am going to start putting pictures of belts on things...same concept, right?

Stick People - You know the ones. Nate jokingly asked me if I wanted to get a Dad, a Mom and a dog to put on the back of my car. Heck to the N-O. Someone is making millions off of these things because every yuppy in Charlotte has them, and I'll admit that some of them are cute - but I don't really need to know your family tree. Thanks.

Tweety Bird - Of all the fantastic Looney Toons characters, you're going to pick one that's only line was "I tawt I taw a puddy tat?" I love cartoons...love.love.love. cartoons, but I'm not going to plaster a ginormous Spongebob on the back of the car. No thank you.

Now, I think with all this one point can be kept in mind: moderation is key. If you like Clemson, or flip flops or even Tweety Bird that's fine - one little sticker on the back of your car and I won't make fun of you (too much) but when your whole car is decked out in a shrine to an old cartoon, I'm going to make a lot of fun of you.

p.s. if any of my readers happen to have one of these things on your car, I'm sorry. I don't think you're a loser - I would just like to know why?