My Late Night Surprise

Vince works until about 10 or 11 on most week nights. Last night around 9pm he texted me and said that he would be a couple of hours later than normal because a truck with one of their shipments had an accident and they had to wait for it to get there. This has happened before so I really didn't think too much of it. Well around 12:30am I got too tired to continue to wait up so I went to lay down and about 30 minutes later he finally came home... but the SURPRISE was that he had my mom with him! I literally jumped out of bed when I saw her walk through the door :)

My parents live in Missouri and I had talked to my dad yesterday and just mentioned that I wished my mom could come visit even if the baby doesn't come while she's here it would be nice to spend time with her. Well apparently he then called my mom and Vince and set it up so Vince could pick her up at the airport on his way home from work last night. (her flight ended up being delayed which is why they got home so late) I was really surprised and SO excited! My mom and I are really close and ever since they moved a few years ago I miss her a ton.

Obviously, it would be PERFECT if Kaylee would decide to come sometime this weekend since my mom goes back home on Monday, but even if she doesn't I'm really just looking forward to spending time with her.... and of course we started our weekend off with getting up at 4am (after only 2 hours of sleep) to watch the royal wedding ;) Let me just say Kate looked AMAZINGGGG <3

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!

My LAST Bump Update

 Tomorrow (April 29th) is my due date, so I am officially 40 weeks pregnant. Obviously, I am still pregnant... but if nothing happens over the next week then on Friday May 6th I will be induced. (OMG! Still can't believe only 1 more week left at the most!) SO, I am happy to say that this will be my very last bump update :)

I took this right after work today. Please excuse the messy bed.. I'm 9 months pregnant I don't feel like making it anymore (Might as well still use that excuse while I can..)

How far along:40 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Well last week I was 25lbs (eek!).. but then at this weeks appointment I lost 4lbs. So somewhere between 21-25lbs total. My appts are always the same day and same time each week.. so this just goes to show how easily my weight goes up and down depending on my swelling is at the time.

Maternity clothes: This is getting harder now that it's getting hot.. I don't have any maternity shorts so I wear a lot of dresses right now

Stretch marks: Not sure how, but I have managed to not get any yet.. but I still have another week so you never know..

Sleep:I sleep ok.. it kind of changes on a nightly basis.

Best moment this week: I was off on Tuesday and Vince took a half day and we spent the afternoon going to my Dr's appointment, walking around the mall, and then going out to dinner. It was a very simple day, but it was nice to just spend a little time together just the two of us <3

Movement:All day long. Even though I am SO ready to have her actually here.. I am definitely going to miss feeling those little kicks.

Food Cravings: Nothing Really.

What I miss: my summer clothes.. hopefully I will be fitting back into them shortly ;)

Anything making you queasy or sick: no

Gender: girl

Labor Signs: Not as many as I wish there were.

Belly Button in or out? In, but oh so close to becoming an outie...

Wedding rings on or off? On.(my feet swell some every now and then, but my hands haven't been too bad at all)

Weekly Wisdom: No sense getting impatient and worrying about when she will decide to come.. she will be here whenever she is ready.

Milestones: Knowing that at some point in the next 7 days I am FINALLY going to meet my little girl is a HUGE milestone ;)

 

Exciting News :)

We FINALLY have a house!

(no baby yet, but hopefully she will be coming SOON!)

If you have followed my blog then you know all about the drama we have been through this past year with building our house. If not then the quick recap is that we sold our previous home in March 2010 and bought a new home that was supposed to be finished being built in Nov or Dec of 2010. Well, long story short the builder has had a LOT of financial issues (that might be the understatement of the year) and our house is still not even close to being finished.

So, Vince and I have been back and forth for months deciding between continuing to wait it out and see if it gets done or getting a lawyer to get us out of the contract and trying to get our money back. Well this past month we decided enough was enough and we wanted completely out of the deal. Our lawyer and the builder went back and forth and we finally terminated the contract last week. (there are still things to sort out involving the money we paid him, but that could take a very long time to figure out in court)

So ANYWAYS... Also during the past month we started our house search again. Last time around I wasn't even pregnant yet when we were looking and my first priority was getting a house of a certain size. However this time around my number one priority was school district (amazing how quickly things change when you start planning around a baby haha) and finding something new but already built (because I was not going to risk going through the same crap we just dealt with).

Basically there are two choices around here (at least that fall in our price range), either buy a big house in a not so good school district, or buy something smaller but in a much better school district. Luckily we found a place that we really like that is brand new (but was just finished by the builder so we don't have to worry about going through the same thing again), has everything we need in it, and is in the good school district (the same school that Vince and I went to).

It's weird because even though it's not the large single family home we had planned on a year ago, we are even happier with this. (and I am making this place sound small which it's not. It's actually still the same square footage as the other house we were building, it's just not a single family home) I truly believe everything happens for a reason and having the opportunity to get a place that was better for Kaylee (and any future kids) turned out to be most important.

We settle on June 10th (which is also my birthday.. Not a bad bday present ;)) and are having someone come in that weekend to paint before we move our furniture in, so once that's done I will post some pictures! 

For now it's just so nice to finally have this all sorted out after a very long (and stressful) year of waiting.

 

 

A Very Relaxing Easter

 (pic from here)

So far Vince and I are having a really nice quiet Easter. We got up and went to the early service at church and then went out for brunch. Now we are spending the rest of the day enjoying the GORGEOUS weather before going to dinner at his parent's tonight.. he's golfing with his brother and I'm taking Ty out for a long walk (and hopefully trying to move things along with this baby! haha).

Hope you are all having a good day with your family and friends! Happy Easter :)

So What Wednesday


Today I decided to join in the "So What Wednesday" posts today. Make sure to link up over at Shannon's page!

So what if I haven't been a good blogger this week. I'll admit that I've just been lazy and just didn't have anything overly interesting to talk about.

So what if I laid out meat to cook yesterday and then Vince ended up having the night off so we ordered take out and played wii instead. I can always cook tonight.. if I feel like it..

So what if I have cried at least once a day for the past week. It's usually over something random like a tv show I'm watching, talking about meeting my little girl, or yesterday I literally had tears down my face just from laughing so hard. What can I say, these hormones are crazyyy.

So what if I spend a ridiculous amount of time each day reading the boards on TheBump.com. Apparently I find it extremely addicting to read questions from other pregnant people.

So what if I'm not excited for the big Easter family dinner at my MIL's house. I know all I am going to hear the whole time is everyone saying how they can't believe I'm still pregnant. If I was past my due date I would understand it more, but seriously people I'm not even late yet!

So what if I walk across the hall to my office managers office multiple times a day to get something out of her candy jar.

So what if all I think about during the day at work is going home, putting on sweats, and lounging with Ty. It's my favorite part of the day.

4 Years Ago..

April 16, 2007

4 years ago tomorrow was one of the worst days that I could have ever imagined. I wrote a whole post about it last year and I don’t want to just rewrite it, but I do want to take a minute to remind everyone to always live for the 32 people who lost their lives on that awful day.

“We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.” – Nikki Giovanni

Even though it makes me extremely sad to think back about that time, I also remember how proud I was (and still am) to be a HOKIE. That time even though hard and unbelievably heartbreaking was also a time that made the Virginia Tech community stronger and closer together. I still every year on that day talk to the 3 girls who I spent the next month before graduation practically inseparable from. We were already as close as could be, but somehow being there together at that time made us even closer.

Sitting in the gym the following day and listening to Nikki Giovanni’s speech gave me chills then and still does today. I will listen to it again every year on April 16th and will remember to live for 32 <3

******


On a happier note… It’s FINALLY Friday. For some reason this week has just seemed SO long. I am so tired today and really looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend.

We have no big plans and I like it that way. (We don’t make too many weekend plans lately since we have no idea when this little lady will decide to show up lol) It’s supposed to be nice here today, rain tomorrow (ugh), but then nice again Sunday so we were thinking about packing a picnic and going to a local park and renting a boat for the afternoon so Vince can fish and I can relax in the boat ;) Sounds nice, right?

Man, how my idea of a fun weekend has changed over the past year.. I looked at my old calendar and last year on this weekend Vince and I were going out drinking with friends lol.. but you know what even though we always had a lot of fun, I think I like these new low key weekends just as much ;) (which is a good thing since pretty soon I won't have a choice but to stay home on weekends with the little one haha)

Hope you all have a great weekend! :)

Weekly Bump Update

Not too much has changed since last week, but since I only have a couple more weeks to be doing this I figured I might as well ;)

Belly pic from our maternity shoot with katie! :)

How far along: 38 weeks... how is that even possible?!

Total weight gain/loss: At this weeks appointment I was at a total of 21lbs... not fabulous, but is what it is. (but on a good note.. Kaylee was measuring more on track this week.. at my past 2 appts she was measuring really small but now she is measuring only a couple weeks behind so that made the dr feel better about it) 

Maternity clothes: Same as always.. I wear maternity pants, but try to make my other clothes work without having to buy a bunch of maternity stuff

Stretch marks: none as of now... that could easily change at the rate at which I feel I am growing haha

Sleep: This week has actually been a little better. I fall asleep pretty fast and don't wake up for about 4-5 hours before having to get up to pee (at one point I swear I was up every 2-3 hours all night long).

Best moment this week: Not baby related, but talking to one of my best friends from college for over an hour the other night. We are both so busy it's hard to really catch up, but when we do it always puts a smile on my face.

Movement: All of the time.

Food cravings: Same as usual, nothing crazy.. still eating apples all of the time.

What I miss: being able to paint my own toes without them looking like a child did them... but plus side to that is I now have an excuse to get pedicures more often ;)

Anything making you queasy or sick: no

Gender: girl

Labor Signs: A couple, but nothing that has me racing to the hospital yet.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Weekly Wisdom: There's no point stressing about things that you can't control. Not really baby related, but lately the drama with the builder for our house is just really getting to me and I have to keep reminding myself to step back and let our lawyer deal with it (which is definitely easier said than done).

Milestones: Right now I kind of feel like every day is a milestone... just one day less until I finally get to my little girl <3

Maternity Portraits (part 2)

As I mentioned the other day, my friend Katie was so sweet and came to our place to take some maternity pictures for us. Well, she just sent me some more of the awesome pictures and I am obsessed with them so I had to share :)

Make sure to stop by her photography blog and let her know what you think of her work! 

(www.katenealphotography.blogspot.com)

This and That.. a very random blog post

I have been slacking in getting ready for Easter this year. And by slacking I mean I would normally have decorations out, a new outfit for church, and a basket already made for Vince... but this year? Nothing. I have done nothing for Easter. ( Maybe because part of me is wondering if I will even be home for Easter or maybe I will get lucky and be in the hospital having my baby girl a few days early ;) I doubt it, but I can dream. haha. )

Yesterday was 80 degrees and GORGEOUS outside. Today it's in the 50's and pouring down rain. When is the weather going to start staying consistently warm??

I want to go on a vacation. My mom and sister just got back from the Dominican Republic a couple of weeks ago and ever since seeing their pictures I have been daydreaming about going somewhere tropical. Clearly, with a baby coming in a matter of weeks (17 days till my due date to be exact).. that won't be happening anytime soon.

I have an amazing husband. I am very lucky and I don't say that enough to myself or to him... but really he would (and does) do anything for me and I can't imagine what I would do without him. (especially recently when I was having a few major freak outs (thank you hormones!).. he is the only person who knows what to say to make my worries go away)

Saturday is my sister's senior prom. I am clearly too far along in this pregnancy to travel out to Missouri right now and she completely understands that, but it still makes me so sad that I have to miss it. I have never missed any of her proms or homecomings in the past and I really wish I could be there to spend the day getting ready with her (BUT I did get to go dress shopping with her and help her pick out her dress). Plus, I will be out there at the end of May for her graduation and I can't wait to be able to introduce her to her very first niece :)

I went the entire pregnancy without ever getting on any of the baby boards.. until now. This past month for some reason I decided to log on to The Bump and start reading the 3rd Trimester and April Mom boards, and now I am addicted to them. I have never posted anything, but I do read almost all of the other questions and such that other people post about. The thing is I think it does more to confuse me than it does to actually help. All of the comments and "advice" just have me over analyzing every single feeling or labor sign.. I really need to just stop reading it. It will happen when it happens, no point worry about it.

I need some new recipes. When we first got married I tried all kinds of new meals, now I feel like I am getting into a rut with my cooking. Partially because it's easier to just make something I already know how to make, but mainly because I have just been lazy about it. I need to start looking for some new things to make (but they have to be quick meals since I won't have lots of time for cooking once the little one is here).. if anyone has any good ones please pass them on ;)

Maternity Portraits (Part 1)

Yesterday afternoon a friend of mine from high school who is starting her own photography business came over to our place and took some BEAUTIFUL maternity pictures for us. We had SO much fun working with her and are so happy with the way the pictures turned out!

Here are just a few of them for now.. I will post more later on :) 

(and please make sure to check out Kate's photography blog HERE!)

A HUGE thank you to Katie for these pictures.. I absolutely LOVE them! <3

Waiting Patiently...

Since getting pregnant (and even before then) I have heard so many people tell horror stories about how miserable they were at the end of their pregnancies. They were tired, swollen, uncomfortable, and just completely ready to be done with the whole process. Basically just sick of being pregnant.

So I had prepared myself that I would be that way too and have been waiting for that feeling of being so "done" to come.. but it hasn't.

Of course I am tired and my back hurts, but to be honest.. it's not that bad.

 I'm sure if I was 9 months pregnant in August in 100 degree weather I would be singing a different tune... but for now I am actually still enjoying being pregnant and feeling the hiccups and kicks (which do hurt a little lately haha) and taking the time to finalize little things here and there while I wait for her arrival.

 I absolutely 100% cannot wait to hold my little girl in my arms, but for today at least I am ok waiting these last few weeks until she decides to come. (if she is much later than her due date I may not be so patient about it lol) 

So to all of the co-workers, family, friends (and complete strangers too) who are constantly asking "OMG aren't you SO over being pregnant??" or commenting that I "look so tired, I hope she comes really soon so you aren't so uncomfortable".. I appreciate the concern, really I do.. and YES I am READY for her to be here, but right now I am ok just waiting patiently.

******

Side note: even though I am not sick of being pregnant yet, I am officially SO OVER working right now. I would gladly stop working tomorrow if I could rather than waiting until she is here to be off. Next time around I am definitely planning on starting maternity leave at least a little early.. haha

ABC's

I saw this over on Kelly's blog and thought I would copy and join in ;)

A. Age: 25 (26 in June)

B. Bed size: Currently a queen, but we already have a new king bedroom set on layaway for as soon as we get into our new place and I can't wait.. Vince and I both definitely need our own space when we sleep lol

C. Chore you dislike: I'm going to have to agree with Kelly on this one and saying ironing dress shirts for Vince (so I no longer even try, he takes it all to the dry cleaner instead haha)

D. Dogs: I LOVE dogs. I have had a dog around since the day I was born and couldn't imagine a house without one. Currently our little Maltese Ty is our one and only (and we love him like crazy, he is like our child), but we would like a golden retriever at some point too.

E. Essential start to your day: I lay in bed playing with my phone while Vince showers every morning.. I need that extra 20 minutes to really wake-up before I start getting ready.

 

F. Favorite color: hmm.. I normally say blue, but with all of the pink baby stuff around lately I think I may be leaning more towards that ;)

 

G. Gold or silver: Silver

 

H. Height: 5'6"

 

I. Instruments you play(ed): In elementary school I played violin for like 3 months. Instruments just weren't my thing and I was horrible... but I would love to be able to play the piano.

 

J. Job title: Event planning and Account Receivables. Odd combo I know, but it's what I do. I started as a marketing rep and event planner for the company, but when they needed someone to help in accounting recently I switched into that and stopped the marketing part. I actually really like it.

 

K. Kids: One on the way :)

L. Live: Currently in Exton, PA (about 30 mins outside Philly)

M. Mom’s name: Debra

N. Nicknames: let's see.. mom calls me Ladybug, Vince calls me Jennifer or BG, and friends from college call me JT 

O. Overnight hospital stays: One in high school.. and once this baby decides to come I guess I will get another overnight hospital stay ;)

P. Pet peeves: food smacking and chomping on gum. Ugh seriously makes me so annoyed, I can't stand it.

Q. Quote from a movie: hmm.. this is a hard one... I like a lot of movie quotes, but the first thing that comes to my mind are all of the good sappy love quotes from the notebook like..

"They didn't agree on much, in fact they rarely agreed on anything. They fought all the time, and they challenged each other every day, but despite their differences they had one important thing in common, they were crazy about each other"

ooh I love really do love that movie.

S. Siblings: I have a sister Samantha, who is 8 years younger than me, and is one of my absolute favorite people and best friend ever.. love her to piece ;)

(picture from her prom last April.. I have newer photos but this is all I had on my phone haha)

I also have another half sister Brittnee (18) and step brother Sean (26), who I unfortunately don't get to see very often.

 

T. Time you wake up: 7am during the week and we are usually up around 8 on the weekends.

 

U. Underwear: yes I wear them..

 

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Brussel sprouts are really one of the only vegetables I can think of that I don't eat.

W. What makes you run late: hopefully nothing, I absolutely hate being late anywhere.

X. X-rays you’ve had: way too many to list

Y. Yummy food you make: hmm.. I like to cook full meals, but I would say my favorite things to make (and probably some of the best things I make) are appetizers. I love having people over and just doing a bunch of different appetizers.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Pandas. Not sure why, but they have always been my favorite animal to see at the zoo.

Well that's all for now! Hope you are having a good week.. Happy Hump Day! :)

Bump Update

I haven't done a bump update the past couple of weeks because I felt like I didn't have any new answers.. so I thought spacing them out a bit would help a little.

(vince took this on his phone after work yesterday.. I didn't realize he was ready to take it otherwise I would have at least smiled haha) 
 

How far along: I will be 37 weeks this week

Total weight gain/loss: do I have to answer this still? ughh... 19lbs as of last week, so that means I'm probably around 20lbs this week...

Maternity clothes: I wear maternity pants.. but now that it's starting to get warmer I can start wearing my normal summer flowy dresses instead (which is SO much cuter and more comfortable!)

Stretch marks: none so far.. fingers crossed it stays that way..

Sleep: what sleep? haha.. not sure the last time that I woke up feeling like I got a good nights sleep.. oh well, not complaining I know it's just part of the process.

Best moment this week: hasn't actually happened yet.. but this weekend Katie, a friend of mine from high school, is coming to take maternity pictures for me! I am really excited.. I haven't been good at taking bump pics and Vince and I don't have a single picture of him and I that shows my belly. The last one we took was at Christmas and I wasn't really showing then.. so I am really looking forward to having some of us together too.

Movement: all day long :)

Food cravings: nothing crazy

What I miss: being able to clean the house without getting out of breath. I was scrubbing the tub the other day and thought I was going to pass out hahaha

Anything making you queasy or sick: not really

Gender: girl <3

Labor Signs: a couple contractions, but nothing that has made me call the doctor or anything like that yet.

Belly Button in or out? Still in as of now..

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Weekly Wisdom: Really making sure to just enjoy the time I get to spend with just Vince. It won't be long until we won't be able to just sit around the two of us doing nothing that often anymore ;)

Milestones: officially making it to full term this week! There was a time the Dr's didn't think I would get this far, so it's such a nice relief to finally be at this point.

Happy Birthday to My Hubby

I am not one to write sappy love letters online (nothing against them! I just prefer to write them in cards for him only), but I did want to at least wish a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband, my best friend, and the soon to be daddy to our little girl <3

(image from here)

I love you and I hope you have a great day.

******

On a completely random note.. today I smiled when I got to work and opened up my planner (yes and I still have a planner, I keep everything in my calendar on my phone too.. but something about having it written out I can't seem to give up lol) and saw at the top of the month for April I had written "Baby Month" back when I first got the planner at the beginning of the year. I can't believe it's already April and my little one will be here SO soon... crazy how fast these 9 months flew by!

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and has a good week!