Exercising and Keeping Fit While Pregnant

When I was pregnant with Liliana I did a horrible job at keeping fit. I felt so sick until I was 20 weeks along that I RARELY exercised. When I got pregnant wiht Liliana, I was doing home workout DVDs about 4 times a week and was pretty fit so it was a huge hit to my happiness that I had to cut out those workouts. Once I started feeling better, I started doing some pregnant workout DVDs (although I must admit, I don't care much for any of them) and before you knew it, I was put on "exercise bedrest" at around 30 weeks because I was having contractions when working out. Moral of the story: not much exercising happened while pregnant with Liliana.

For this pregnancy, I promised myself it would be different. I was adamant my exercising would continue being a big part of my life.

Weeks 6 - 10, I was a shameful act. I rarely made it to our gym and the daycare at the gym looked shocked when they would see Liliana. I was just too sick to get the energy to do anything other than being a Mom, a wife, and having a full-time job. Some days, I barely managed to be honest.

But things turned around and about 5 weeks ago, I started regularly attending the gym once again.

Now that I have the experience with this, I felt compelled to write this post because let me tell you ...

exercise for a pregnant woman is absolutely AMAZING.

I leave feeling SO much better, so rejuvenated, and believe it or not, even though it sounds silly because no matter what your belly is growing ... IT BOOSTS YOUR CONFIDENCE!

Even though I know my belly is bigger this time around at 15 weeks than it was with Liliana, I feel sexier than I did with Liliana. I embrace it more because I know I'm staying physically fit.  You feel proud of yourself and that's something a pregnant woman struggles with.  Seeing our belly growing is beautiful yes, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard to see the changes.

Now, I should say that they recommend to not start exercising if you didn't really exercise prior to getting pregnant. However, I don't see anything wrong with trying to stay fit.  you don't have to train to be in a marathon all of the sudden, but even if you weren't in to working out prior to getting pregnant, I highly doubt that occasionally getting your body moving is going to be bad for it!  In my case, I was working out about 4 - 5 times a week when we got pregnant this go around so it hasn't been a big adjustment for my body.

During this post I'm going to try and recommend workouts for each stage of pregnancy because I know I search Google on a regular basis asking what kind of workouts are recommended and don't find real life experiences easily.

I would LOVE to swim since that is probably the best workout for a pregnant belly, but our gym doesn't have a pool. The only gym with a pool in town is $100 more a month and it's just not in the budget. My husband does go every now and then and pays $5 for a good swim. Evan is a swimmer though. An All-American swimmer at that. I am not. I was on student council. So instead I make my workouts apply at the gym.

For starters, I should add that being pregnant at the gym isn't nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I was scared I would get looks like "why is she walking so slowly?" or "why is she here? She's a big pregnant lady!" Instead, you got comments OFTEN saying "that is so awesome that you're staying fit while pregnant!  Good for you!"  Other Moms tell me it will be a breeze to take the weight off if I keep exercising throughout. Others have told me the delivery will be easier.

As for recommended workout regimens, here are my experiences so far:

First trimester exercise tips:

- Goal: do what you can do without vomitting. I personally did sit-ups until I was about 12 weeks along and then my belly started growing and it felt like I was pinching some nerves so I stopped. I definitely toned down my workouts from the beginning, both because I am pregnant, because they say to keep your heart rate at 140 or lower (which I never adhere to because all I would be permitted to do at that rate is walk), and because it's what my body could do. I should note about the blood pressure.  I spoke to my OB about this and he said "your body will talk to you."  And it does.  Certain days, I could run all day and feel fine and certain days it just feels exhausted. I listen to it and tweek accordingly.

- First trimester motto: DO WHAT YOUR BODY IS CAPABLE OF.

- Example of a first trimester workout for me: walk/ run 2.5 miles (I would walk half a mile at 4.2 with an incline and then run half a mile around 5.7). This is SIGNIFICANTLY slower than what I do when not pregnant, but it's what I felt comfortable with. After the treadmill, I go lift weights for 2 body parts and do a cardio interval between each. Since I'm pregnant and since your joints are much more sensitive while pregnant, do less weight and add more reps. In other words, when doing biceps, I'll do 10 pounds each arm and do 30 reps straight. After that, I do 40 jumping jacks. Once I work out the biceps and triceps (as an example), if there is time left, I go to the elliptical. The elliptical is a pregnant woman's FRIEND. It's much easier on the belly and on the round ligament pains than the treadmill. I have a feeling I will start switching my time on the treadmill and elliptical as I get further along. I do about 10 minutes on the elliptical after that, varying intensity, and that's it!

- Two ESSENTIAL tips: DRINK LOTS OF WATER!  When I don't, I feel incredibly dehydrated the next day which is dangerous when you have fainting spells when pregnant (like I do).  ALSO, don't be scared to invest a little money in a bigger sports bra (helped immensely with growing boobs) and maternity t-shirts so that your belly isn't suffocating.  I bought both at Target and didn't break the bank.  Plus I use them 4 times a week so the way I see it, it's not a waste by any means.

This is exactly the one I have, in this color even.  Evan went out and bought it for me because he thinks I'm hurting my boobs when I squish them in to the old ones.  He acts seriously concerned for them.  I told him the boobs would survive, but men are funny like that.  Invest in a good quality one (well, good quality for Target).  The boobs will thank you when you're running on the treadmill.

Second trimester exercise tips:

- Side note: I don't feel too confident giving recommendations on this just yet since I've only been in the "second trimester" category for 3 weeks, HOWEVER, at the 12 - 15 week range I can say I've actually done MORE intensity since I've been feeling better. I still do the same routine (treadmill, weights, elliptical), but I walk less and run more. I also run faster. It feels wonderful cutting a couple minutes off my time with a nearly 4 month belly.

- as I continue more in to the second trimester, I will update this and give more advice.

I hope this helps some pregnant women out there! Stay fit if you can! It can only do good!

PLUS, another point of incentive: the men notice! My husband always liked my belly, even with Liliana, but this go around he is even more complimentary and keeps saying "you look so stinking hot!" While I think he's crazy (I am by no means hot people ... but it's kinda the husband's job to think we are right?) it sure does put a smile on my face every time I hear something sweet.

HECK, if that kind of compliment doesn't get a woman to the gym, I don't know what will! : )

Living Room Transformation for $32.50!

You might remember that I found myself in a home funk on Friday.  I went home and the funk continued.  I walked through the home feeling unhappy with it.  Some sweet blog readers hit the nail on the head:

I AM NESTING. 

And apparently, it's a big time kind of nesting.

I didn't go through this with Liliana so I'm really weirded out by this feeling of panic and "I'm not prepared to bring another life in to the world in a few short months when my whole house feels out of place!"

I realize I'm being ENTIRELY overdramatic.  Really and truly, our house is gorgeous and most would be happy with it.  But apparently this nesting bug takes over you and makes you see CRAZY things.

Fortunately for me, instead of Evan saying "woman, you're crazy!" he was just patient.  PATIENT.  That is Evan's word.  He is the most patient husband you could imagine.

This weekend we started the "One Room at a Time Lacefield Home Renovation Project."  This will be done on OUR budget (which equals CHEAP) and in OUR time frame (which equals, probably over a couple years). 

I want to have a PLAN for each area instead of just jumping in to it.  It's easy to get sucked in to the renovating bug and not really thinking "what do I want out of this space."

We started on the living room ... and our living room, while no means done, is in the "in progress" stage and looks SO much better for just $30 dollars!

In July, after we had lived in the home for about 6 weeks, the livingroom looked like this:

BEFORE

Truly, this isn't a BEFORE picture like it says.  I had already made some changes by this point: those cushions were new and I absolutely love them (still do).  The rug is also new from Overstock (not my favorite purchase b/c it's not very soft and we like laying on the floor in our home). 

The wall color still got to me.  It looked like mud.  The ENTIRE house was this color when we moved in.  I wish I was kidding.  The ENTIRE thing.  Ugh.

So on Father's Day, Evan and I worked (sorry honey!).

We lightened up the walls.  You don't realize how dark your walls are until you take a picture like this.  The color we chose is "Oat Straw" from Behr.  It's a pretty safe neutral and goes really well with the red couches.

Once those walls were painted the living room stayed in that state until, oh, Friday night when my "nesting" commenced.

Before you knew it, I was up off the couches and moving them.  Moving the couches, moving the media console, moving the rug, etc.  Fortunately, the husband NEVER laughed at me or called me crazy.  He just helped me move things!  And we tried one thing, and then tried another until we got ...

SEMI-AFTER

Here is the living room today.  We moved the couches out and realized that we had things to tightly spaced in the room.  This freed up room for a chair, table, and lamp which looks like it's own reading nook.  LOVELY.

How did this all cost $30 you ask?

Well the paint was $30. 

The chair?  Do you see it in this picture?

I took the chair from our master bedroom, I took the lamp from our study, I took the table from the future baby nursery because it has been sitting in that room all by itself for over 6 months.  I took the little decor from shelves I had in the living room but took down once the reading nook area was made.  As for that gorgeous mirro above the fire place?  Our realtor got us a giftcard to a store called IO Metro and we bought it with that.  FREE mirror?  Yes please!

We are still in PROGRESS though...our next plans for the room?

When I zoom out you can see that the trim looks well ... unfinished.  That's another one of the kicks I got on this weekend.  Our trim needed to look like, well, a trim!  So off we went to Home Depot.  We spent $2.50 buying a sample and I started trying out how it would look.  The verdict is in and we LOVE it.

Slowly and surely, over time, we are going to pain this trim.  Sure it will take time since I'm pregnant and Evan doesn't like the idea of my standing on a ladder.  And since Evan's always working, the two of us don't exactly have time on our hands.  But it will get done.

We also plan on putting up curtains to the side of the big window.  They'll be light to help brighten the room even more.  I don't want to cover the windows AT ALL because the best part of our house is the view in to our backyard (tons of TALL and GORGEOUS trees).  We would still like to do something on the fireplace wall, but we're not too sure where to move with that just yet.  For now, our plan for this room is aobut 33% achieved, and 75% planned.  But, I'm happy with that. 

This nesting pregnant Momma is more than happy with that. For $32.50, I think we're doing pretty darn good!

Linking to:

http://evolutionofstyleblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Room%20Evolutions

Unhappy Home

This post is what started the entire "Home Renovation Project: One Room at a Time" .....

I made a big mistake today.

I found betterafter.blogspot.com. 

BIG mistake.

I now feel like my house looks like crap, like I'm the most unproductive and uncreative person on earth, and worst of all, I have officially confirmed to myself that our home is flat out uninspiring.

I don't know what it was about the old home, but I liked it.  I thought it had our personality.  I think it's because I bought EVERYTHING for that home.  Evan and I didn't have a darn thing before we moved to Lubbock and I surely wasn't keeping things from college, so I worked through college and saved up to buy things for it.  The things that I didn't save up for, we got PLENTY and MORE for wedding gifts (my family is full of the most generous people you've ever met).  And, I have lots of family so it worked in our favor.

But ever since we've moved here, I've been unhappy with how the home looks.  I TRULY would say EVERY SINGLE NOOK of the house is "in progress."  I HATE that feeling.

That feeling of "ehh."

And I know we can't really afford to change much.  I know Evan and I don't have the budget to do major renovations.  Although, if I had my way, some major renovations would happen in a couple areas ... mainly our master bath.  The tiny tiny master bath.  It actually isn't the SIZE that bothers me.  It's the UGLY puke green colored tile ALL OVER the tiny bath. 

I just can't shake the feeling of disliking the home though. And it's not the HOME I dislike, it's just the way that I haven't put my spin on it.  I don't have any of our personality in it just yet.  I think that's what it boils down to.  It looks like we just moved our stuff in to the old owners home.  7 months ago.  I want it to look like OUR home.

 And it sounds silly to say it, but it brings me down nearly every day when I get home.  Having our home looking the way I don't want it makes me feel like a failure of a wife and more importantly, failure as a person!  I want to be PROUD of this home that Evan and I purchased together.  And right now, I'm simply not.

I think I'm going to try and tackle an affordable project each month to try and get me out of this funk.  This upcoming weekend we were going to tackle some curtain issues in the master bedroom, but I think that might be a mistake.  I think we quite literally need to start from SQUARE ONE in each room.  What vision do I have for each room?  What could we realistically do to change the room? etc.

Oh boy, my husband is sure going to wish he was working more this weekend! ; )

14 Weeks Pregnant - T-Shirt Project

I am 14 weeks pregnant with BITO today!  This week had some tough days as I blogged about earlier this week, but now that the medicine is in my system once again, we're right as rain. 

In TWO short weeks we will try to see if BITO is a he or a she! I put a poll on the sidebar (left) for people to vote and take a guess!  Should be fun to see what you guys are thinking and who ends up being right!  For the record: my parents think boy and so does Evan.  I think girl.  But the woman is always right, so ... my vote should count times a million at this stage. ; )

How Far Along: 14 weeks today

Total Weight Gain: about 1.5 to 2 pounds I think.  I think it's all belly and boobs so far.  But we know that will change soon!

Maternity Clothes:  I am unbuttoning my pants and using my bella band so use normal pants still.  However, I need most maternity tops!  This belly is VERY different from my last one shape wise b/c with Liliana it was the bottoms that changed drastically first. 

Stretch Marks:  NO, but I can see my veins more in the breast area.  It's strange and quite unattratctive if you ask me. 

Sleep:  The pregnancy pillow found its way in to our bed 2 times this week and it really helps.  I like it especially when Evan is out of the door and I still have some sleeping left to do.  It's like my sleeping buddy.

Best Moment this Week:  EVAN FELT BITO MOVE LAST NIGHT!  Isn't that CRAZY?  I was psyched out of my mind that I felt some movements around week 12 or so, but last night BITO was going to town and I thought "maybe, just maybe" even though I truly thought it woulnd't be until I was at least 16 weeks for Evan to feel it.  I told Evan to try and within seconds he said "I felt one there!  and there!"  and they were EXACTLY when I was feeling kicks so I know we were right on page.  We've got another big and strong baby in there it seems!

Miss Anything: I'm pretty sick of constantly having to eat something to make me feel good.  I carry snacks around just in case and I miss the days of not worrying about nausea.  Hopefully those will come again soon.

Movement:  Look at "best moment this week."  We seem to make babies that kick early and hard b/c Liliana was a constant mover.  I don't tend to feel BITO move too much during the day but at night I feel it lots more.  I'm chalking this up to the fact that I feel more when I'm lying down and relaxed for the first time in the day.  Also I'm only 14 stinking weeks! haha.

Food Cravings:  FRUIT!  I love oranges, cantaloupes, &grapes.  This is an awesome craving considering with Liliana it was candy.  I fully expect this will change soon, but for now, I'll take it.

Food aversions:  Anything that has a strong odor.  I don't like seafood, but I can't imagine being around somebody that would want to be eating it.  No thank you!

Gender: Only the man upstairs knows for now!  My gut says girl, but it's hard to tell.  This pregnancy has been different in a lot of ways, but we'll just have to see.

Labor Signs: I've had some round ligament pains, especially while working out.  I've also had a couple braxton hicks already, but nothing too painful or out of the ordinary.  They're very short lived.

Wedding rings on or off:  they're still on!  YAY for that.  With Liliana they did come off, but later.  I'm thinking the same will happen this go around.  YAY for getting swollen.  NOT.

Looking Forward To:  Finding out the gender in 2 weeks!  I know there's a chance we won't see and then I'll just have to be even more patient.  However, patience IS NOT my biggest strength so here's hoping! ; )

Top 10 Pins

A few months weeks ago I said I would post my favorite 10 pins that I had seen on pinterest that month. I did one lame post and never did it again.  But today, I felt like revisiting some pins.  I think pinterest is a great website.  Yes, I rarely do the "crafts" or "home renovations" that I pin.  But one day darn it, when we have the money and time to do it, I'll get on that handy dandy website and make it happen!  Just like Tim Gunn.

In no particular order then, here are the top 10 things that have been on my mind lately:

1. Banana Pudding: The baby made me put this one.  I think some banana pudding sounds out of this world right now.  YUM.  And this it the good 'ol classic Nabisco recipe.  I think I'll have to make this this weekend.

Recipe found HERE.

2. Boy Bedding: IF we have a boy (Mommy's gut tells her another girl), Evan said he wanted a space theme.  And guys, we have the bedding already picked out and have since BEFORE we even started trying.  It's freaking CHEAP at Target and totally cute.  I'll be ordering it the same day if we find out it's a boy b/c it's been on the website forever and I'm scared they're going to discontinue it.  



Out of this world bedding found HERE.

3. Funfetti Cupcakes:  I already posted this recipe on my blog, but these cupcakes are probably in my top 2 pinterest finds.  I make them regularly and they are so very delicious so I wanted to remind others to make them!  Your heart will be happy you did.

I posted the recipe HERE.

4. Master Bedroom Curtains:  Right now we have ugly blinds in our master bedroom and it's quite uninspiring.  I think adding these bamboo shades and the curtains to the side looks so classy and adds SO much to the room.  And I think it would be a room changer without breaking the bank.

5. Feminine Nails: In the good 'ol days (college) I used to get my nails painted once a month.  I did it as a treat to myself and it was a great way to spend the paychecks I made at the law firm I clerked for.  It was $20 (not $25 or $30 like most now) and it made me feel great.  Now, I don't go b/c I use paychecks for my mortgage (boo) and to save up to pay the 6 figure student loan debt that we have accrued through medical school and law school.  BUT, if I were to go get a manicure tomorrow, I'd get it this color.

6. The Pottery Barn Knock Off:  I saw this desk on Pottery Barn for $1,000 and thought "MAN that's nice but GOOD GOLLY it's pricey."  And then on another blog, I saw someone that did the same looks BY HERSELF for CHEAP.  I think we'll be doing this in our study some time within the next year (maybe not before baby but I think this one will actually get done and that's  a start!).

Here is the pricey one:

And the knock-off:

Brilliant way to save money found HERE.

7. For my Texas wall:  We have a "Texas" wall in our home.  Even though we live in Arkansas and love it, we're still Texans at heart and don't want to leave our roots too far behind.  For Christmas, I had Evan's Mom buy him this Texas print.  The nice people on Etsy even added College Station to the print, b/c you can't have Texas without the home of Texas A&M University! WHOOP!  It looks WONDERFUL on our wall.

Cute (and VERY affordable print) found HERE.

8. He and She:  Like I said, our master bedroom decor is very uninspiring.  The room just isn't quite there yet.  I think making these and hanging them above, or next to our nightstands would be so unique.  Each spouse puts 20 things that they love about each other and that's what scrolls in the background. 

9. Guest Bedroom possibility: Our guest bedroom is also uninspired.  I don't know what it is about the bedrooms in our new home, but I can't get them where I'd like them. I also haven't put much effort and definitely ZERO cash in to doing so, so I can only complain SO much! ; )  BUT, these wall decals are pretty and look perfect for a guest bedroom.  I like the grey/ yellow theme for a guest bedroom.

Wall decals found HERE.

10.  What if Mommy's instinct is right?  Don't worry, if it's a girl, I don't have the bedding, but I'm pretty settled on a color scheme.  I LOVE the blue and pink combo and have for a while.  I think that's maybe why I keep saying "gut says girl" because I want an excuse to make a bedroom these colors ... so feminine, fun, and relaxing.  LOVE.

FOUND: Liliana's 2nd birthday party theme!

I wrote a post a few months ago about desparately needing to find a party theme for Liliana's 2nd birthday.  They were all cute ideas, but even as I hit publish on that post, I knew I hadn't found "the one."  For Liliana's first birthday party, we had a "cupcake" themed party and it was a total hit.   

This year, we will be celebrating her birthday party a week early in San Antonio because we'll be there to see her Padrino graduate from college.  While we'll miss her celebrating with our family here in Little Rock too, I figure the Little Rock family gets to see her a couple times every month while the San Antonio family misses her moments more often due to distance.

I have been seriously FREAKING OUT because I haven't had this birthday party theme resolved. 

The other night, I was complaining about this to Evan for about the 90th time that hour and he said something that for some reason my apparently closed-minded brain hadn't thought about: "why not have a Liliana and friends birthday party?  That way her two favorite people (Elmo and Dora) can attend!"

It was BRILLIANT!  This whole time I couldn't decide what to do theme wise because I couldn't come up with one theme, so instead I was inventing other themes.  When the reality is, you can do whatever the heck you want for them! ; )

THEREFORE, it is official:

The theme for Liliana's 2nd birthday party:  LILIANA AND FRIENDS!

I've already been finding some inspiration.  I think I will try to have a "Dora" station and an "Elmo" station to appease both sides of the crazy sides of Liliana ... she likes some girly things (mainly bracelets), she LOVES food (so that will be involved in every regard), and she's definitely not a girly girl, so we'll have to have things for her to play with and have a good time with. 

So here, in a HUGE nutshell is what I have in mind:

Definitely BRIGHT and FUN colors.  Liliana isn't a girly girl.  Maybe baby #2 will be, but that's not Liliana, so I don't want to conform to that.

I love this idea of having the bracelets, b/c this is the ONE thing that Liliana does that's girly and she LOVES having bracelets on.  She holds her hands straight up in the air so that they won't fall off.

I like the idea of printing off Elmo and Dora printables and having crayons for the kiddos to play with.  Liliana likes coloring, enough that I thought of having an Art themed party for her, so at least this way I get to involve that a little bit.  Maybe we can do the art theme in a later year when I won't have to be so scared of her also eating the crayons ...

LOVE the decor here!  The 2's on the back of the chairs nad the lanterns!  OMG!  My parents have the same kind of trellis above their deck so we could TOTALLY make it work! (Evan might have to do that since I'll be a bajillion weeks pregnant when this party is happening)

At the Dora station, we can easily have some animal crackers since Dora is always teaming up with her cousin Diego to save animals.

Dora's always catching "estrellas" (or as Liliana calls them "strela").  These brownies would be easy to make and add a cute pop of color.

These printables are free off of nickjr.com and the older kiddos (if Liliana doesn't get it) would have fun pinning the tail on Swiper.

Gotta have "we did it" and Dora's greatest hits playing in the background right?  Wouldn't be a party without her tunes!

So those are my thoughts for now!  I will probably buy little things here and there and will do all of it on a budget like I did Liliana's 1st birthday. 

But oh, the possibilities!!! ; )

A LAME Couple

Since Evan started residency and since I got pregnant, we have become the definition of LAME on Friday nights.  This last Friday was no exception.  Evan RARELY gets a Saturday morning off.  In fact, this was the first Saturday morning he has had off since ... geesh ... early December?  At least 6 weeks.  You would think that as a result, we would party it up on Friday nights, since they're a rare gem in our household.

We always have FUN plans.  Sometimes it involves getting a babysitter, but more often than not (since we want to spend time with Liliana since Evan doesn't usually get to see her as much as he'd like and since we want to save on money and dates cost money), we end up planning something to stay at home.  This Friday, I got off work, ran to Kroger, rented a movie (Hangover Part II for silly laughs), and bought some popcorn.  The evening was set.

After we had dinner and played with Liliana for a good while, we put her to bed around nine (something we often do on weekends to ensure we get to sleep in the next day and like always, she delivered and didn't wake up until 9:40 on Saturday morning.  We are lucky parents I know).  Anyway, after we put her to bed around nine, we went to our bedroom to change in to PJs and get comfy to watch the movie.

After spending some time together talking about our day, next thing I know, SERIOUSLY it is 5 am in the morning.  We fell asleep around 9:45!  Like total LAME-O's!  Evan got up to put the dogs in the garage (poor babies, we NEVER do this to them).  Then, he came back upstairs and I slept until 8:30.  Yes I slept nearly 11 hours.  I'm pregnant.  Sue me.  Evan didn't wake up until Liliana did.  He slept 12 hours.  He's a surgery resident.  Don't sue him, please. 

This makes for an entertaining story (NOT) but one part of this set the precedent for the ENTIRE weekend.  Since we feel asleep without intentionally doing so, this means I didn't take my anti-nausea medications at night.  One of my anti-nausea meds is a sleeping aid so I couldn't take this at 5 am when we woke up.  Instead, I was HOPING that I wouldn't need it anymore.

WRONG.

SO WRONG.

Saturday I didn't feel TOO bad during the day.  We spent time together, went out with family, went to Cold Stone, and came back home.  We finally did watch the Hangover Part II (NOT recommended, but you're probably saying DUH!) ... and by we, I mean I watched the first hour then fell asleep and Evan finished it all.  He says it only got worse after I fell asleep.  When we went upstairs, I really started dreading not having that anti-nausea medication in my system.

Evan gets these barf bags from the hospital that we have in every room in the home just in case pregnancy gets the better of me.  Suddenly I told him "I need one of those."  Within a minute, I was throwing up ALL my dinner and ice cream.  12 oz. to be exact (these barf bags measure it, just in case I wanted to be even more grossed out).  My AMAZING husband cleaned me all up (I was pretty unconscious and miserable at this point), he cleaned up all the throw up, he told me I looked beautiful and how much he loved me, and we fell asleep.

I've noticed it takes TWO days of the anti-nausea medications to be in my system so Sunday was kinda a blur.  It was throw-up free but I was quite out of it, took a 45 minute nap in the evening and slept like a baby last night.

I can thankfully say the LAME weekend of the century is over and I'm feeling much better and back to normal today.  I feel horrible that on Evan's RARE weekends off, he ended up doing everything throughout the house. Moral of the story: NO MATTER WHAT don't forget my pills!  It makes me a totally different person!  Evan, of course, did it all with a smile on his face, but I tell you what: I won't mind it ONE BIT when I'm through, completely (pills or no pills) with this stage of pregnancy. 

NOW, I can't complain TOO much.  With Liliana, whether I was on medications or not, I felt sick.  If the medications (and these 2 that do the trick are natural ones so not harmful in the slightest to the baby) do the trick, I shouldn't complain.  But when I do forget them?  I think I earn the right to complain, at least for 12 minutes ... 1 minute for each ounce.

YUCK.

A Romantic Blast from the Past

Back in the day I used to have a hotmail account that I used on a regular basis.  I've been a gmail girl for years now, but hotmail used to be my domain. 

Yesterday I started browsing some of these emails (that thanks to junk mail have accumulated to thousands).  On the left I saw a tab entitled "My Evan."


I had completely forgotten about it.  And I pressed it.  And the tears flowed.

My husband and I have been together for 10 years.  We still occasionally email each other sweet nothings or "I love you because" emails.

Yesterday, I found the FIRST email he ever sent me.  We had started dating FIVE DAYS  before he wrote this.  We were SEVENTEEN, so excuse the use of "u" instead of "you" and the awkward parts where he acted ... well ... 17. 

But seeing what he wrote?   Seeing that he KNEW we were meant to be together only five days in to our relationship, and at 17? (a junior in high school)  I think we give a new meaning to the word soulmates.  Behold:

ok, i'm not sure u understand how i feel about u, and it's my fault because i'm awful at these kinds of things.  . honestly(this probably sounds cliched) i've never felt so strongly about anyone before.  i know this is right for me, i've finally found the girl of my dreams. i've always thought teenage relationships were just something u did because u might as well, they didn't mean anything. .. well that has changed, this means soo much to me. i would give every moment to u if u would let me.

remember saturday i got "dressed up" and combed my hair to go see u? well my friends were wondering what the occasion was when i got to the swim meet, and i told them i just went to sit with u at work, u should have seen their faces, they were asking me if i was alright, it was pretty funny... anyways

sorry it was so jumbled, i just typed as things came in to my head, i didn't come close to describing how special u r to me

Isn't this one of the most adorable things you've ever read?  The beautiful part of it?  I have PAGES of these love notes ... PAGES and PAGES. 

Fast forward to when we were a long distance couple while he lived in Ohio and I was already at Texas A&M (mind you, we were only EIGHTEEN when he wrote this one):

You alone hold the key to my heart. You have opened it up and now all I feel is our love. We are truly meant for eachother. Nothing else will suffice. We are stronger than ever now and more in love. But just wait until next semester. Then we will come to understand what it is to be true companions.

Yours always and forever,

Evan (your future husband)

 study well my scholar, hold me in your heart always.

He always calls me his scholar because he says I'm the most studious person he knows.  He ended up transfering that semester, just as his email suggested.  But even when we lived one building away from each other, the emails didn't stop ...  He wrote me this after my Grandmother (Tata) passed away and I couldn't go to the funeral because I had 3 midterms that day.  My Grandma was a very special woman to the two of us (that's why if we have a girl, her name will be Gloria after my Grandma):

I know today will be tough for you, but try to remember that as soon
as I'm out of lab I will be by your side to hold you and comfort you.
I miss Tata too, she was a very special woman to me and she always
treated me with such love. I know she loved you and continues to do
so and she would only want you to be happy. I love you and don't
hesitate to ask me for anything.

Could he have texted me this?  Could he have waited an hour to tell me this in person?  Of course.  But that's not my husband.  My husband always wants me smiling.  And, this email?  It made me smile on a tough day.  While we were engaged, the romantic emails flowed even more!

It's hard to believe, but I have spent the last four years falling in love with you and yet I continue to be amazed by the depth of my love for you every day. It is such an incredible feeling to look at you and see what a beautiful woman you are and what a beautiful person you are. I love every last thing about you. From your toes to your hair, I find all of you wondrous. Beyond your physical beauty though I have come to find your strength and intelligence a crutch to lean on when I'm not as strong as I'd like to be.  I love you more than ever. 

 Happy First Anniversary as an engaged couple,

Your Fiancee, Evan

And finally, as a married couple I still get emails that make me smile.  He always lets me know how much our love means to him.  And although I try to do the same, I don't think I'll ever catch up with him.  He is my true, one and only, and reading through these old emails?  It's just about the best hour I've spent in a LONG LONG time.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Wreath Recipe

On Monday since I was off work I had these ideas to cook a nice gourmet meal.  The last few weeks I  haven't felt like cooking much since I usually felt like vomiting quickly after.  However, since I actually had the desire to get up and move around versus making macaroni and sausage like I've been doing more often than I'd like to admit lately, I was psyched.

Then, Liliana dropped my phone in the toilet and I thought we had wasted $200 on another phone.

So instead of making a 5 course decadent meal for the husband, I searched pinterest with three criteria: FAST, CHEAP, and YUMMY.

And this recipe DELIVERED.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls (8 count)
5 large eggs
2 cups cheese of your choice (I used colby jack)
8 slices cooked bacon

(1) Preheat your oven to 375 (I did 360 b/c I have a dark coated pan).  Arrange the crescent rolls as shown in the picture below.  I have a Silpat (BEST cooking/ baking gadget ever), but if you don't, parchment paper does the trick too to put underneath this cheesy goodness.

(2) Add the bacon (as shown above) and then 1/3 of the cheese on top of the bacon.

(3) Put the cooked scrambled eggs on top of that as shown below.

(4) Looks good already right?  Well now, since it's too healthy, add ANOTHER few handfuls of cheese.

(5)  Fold up all the crescent rolls to make a wreath.  It should look something like this:

(6) If you have time and the patience (which I didn't) try to stretch out the crescent rolls so that it will cover more of the eggs.  Add ANOTHER handful of cheese (in other words, you used 1/3 each time).

(7) Bake for approximately 17 minutes (mine took 16) until it's golden brown.

(8) Marvel after taking out of oven and enjoy! We had a couple crescents as leftovers, so it would definitely be enough for a family of 4 if you had a little side of fruit to go along with it.

The T-Shirt Project

With Liliana, I took a picture of my belly every week and then for Christmas Evan made a video of my progressing belly. 

It was definitely a success.

With this pregnancy, I wanted to do something a little different.  After all, each baby is different!  I haven't taken a picture every week like I did with Liliana, but I do think I got a little more creative.

I saw a t-shirt project on pinterest that was really adorable. So, I decided to be a copy-cat and to take matters in to my own hands a little as well:

Pretty soon, I want to order either a chalk board or dry erase board where I can make notes in the background.  I was waiting until I was showing more to do that and since I started showing earlier this time, it's time to order that sucker!

To make the t-shirt, I took a piece of cardboard and put it underneath one of Evan's old t-shirts. Then I just started writing with permanent marker!

So far, I've only taken two pictures with it, but as you can see, I was pretty happy to take this first one:

funny side note: That belly video has nearly 1,000 hits.  You would think that would be the most popular video I've posted to youtube.  You'd be wrong.  When Liliana was about 4 1/2 months, we took a video of her when we played with the nasal aspirator.  She LOVED the thing.  NEVER fussed when we used it (most babies detest it).  Watch for a fun time if you'd like:

My Scary, "Not Again!", and Exciting Morning

The second the alarm went off this morning (my OLD SCHOOL alarm clock b/c my cell phone was in the crappers after the daughter dropped it in the toilet yesterday) I felt kinda weird.  I felt quite nauseated, which is rare for me these days.  I've been feeling significantly better the last few weeks and a little pop of Zofran makes me feel good for the VAST majority of the day. 

I took a shower and got ready without noticing too much being strange.  I woke Liliana up and after we said good bye to Elmo 8 times and after she sang row row row your boat (well, in her words it goes ROW ROW ROW ... BOAT ... MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY! YAY!!!! and she gives herself a huge clapping and scream ovation after that) we went downstairs.  I decided, hey let's see if this stupid phone works (knowing full well that after sitting in a toilet for 20 minutes it wouldn't).

And ... guess what ...

The stupid thing works! 

The husband came home and told me to dry it out over nigh and I guess it did the trick! Don't you just HATE when they're right?

Amazon already told me I could return the one I ordered yesterday for full price, so YAY!  $200 back in the bank account!

As soon as it started working though, I started feeling 'weird' again.

Then I realized I was BURNING up.  I immediately took my jacket off (note: it wasn't warm in the house).  I started sweating a ton, felt EXTREMELY light headed, and sat down.  While sitting down, my vision and hearing slowly went away for what I'm guessing was about 45 seconds (hard to tell since I was so out of it).

This isn't the first time this has ever happened to me.  This happened to me while I was pregnant with Liliana.  That time I was about 19 weeks pregnant and in the grocery store.  This time, I'm only 13 weeks along.

I immediately called my favorite sexy doctor (aka Evan) and told him what happened.  After he got over the fact that my phone was working, he told me to stay seated and drink gatorade.  He said I have to stay hydrated.  Here's the problem: I drank 72 oz of water the previous day!  I've been staying quite hyrdated this pregnancy!  I did tell my husband that I only peed twice yesterday after drinking all that, so I'm thinking I wasn't well hydrated before then and maybe that's what did this again.

I called my OB just to talk with another doctor about it and they repeated the same things to me.

SO for now, I'm sitting here at work with a huge water jug and a gatorade next to me.  I don't know necessarily WHY this happens to me when I'm pregnant and as long as I stay prepared, it isn't too much of a pain.  But when I feel like I'm passing out, and when my vision is slowly going away, it's a really terrifying helpless feeling ... especially since Liliana was around today and I wouldn't want her to see Mommy fall down or something like that.

Needless to say, it wasn't even 7:30 and we had quite a morning: a possible freak out moment, a phone that miraculously came back from the dead, and a feeling of "gosh darn it, not THIS again!"

Sometimes you can't help what happens to the budget ...

So I'm sitting here watching the Ellen show.  I'm pretty obsessed with her show.  She's SO kind.  I think she sends such a wonderful message.  At the end of each episode she says "be kind to one another."  That's about the #1 thing I would want others to try and do and it's something that I've been trying to get BETTER and BETTER at everyday: just being KIND to people.  It's even something as small as saying "hello, how are you?" to someone if they look lonely, or complimenting a student that I can tell is having a rough day.

Anyway, I'm sitting here watching the show while Liliana takes a nap because truth be told, i needed a BREAK.

I got a great workout in this morning and rushed home to shower so that Liliana and I could bring Daddy lunch while he was at the hospital. 

While in the shower, I noticed Liliana messing around the bathroom, like she usually does.

And when I got out, I was going to text Evan that we were nearly leaving the home.  I couldn't find my phone!  I asked Liliana if she had been playing with it and she said "yes."  I asked her where it was and she said "I don't know."  Hmmm ...

I emailed Evan (from the computer) and told him to call so I could find it.

10 minutes later, I couldn't hear it and couldn't find it.

Suddenly I thought "oooo dear ... no .... "

I lift up the toilet seat.  Lo and behold, there is the phone.  Sitting in the toilet.

I rushed to Sprint.  I don't have insurance on the phone.  Turns out, i'm screwed.

SO, $200 later I ordered a refurbished one on Amazon. 

Sometime's you just can't control what happens to the budget!!!

I decided I was done spending money for weeks.  We'll eat PBJ for 2 weeks to make up the difference of my Mommy stupid moment.

But, like I said ... I was watching the ellen show.

And she had on these guests that slid in to a frozen river and the Dad got out and was trying to get his children out of the car.  10 STRANGERS ended up saving 3 lives!  THREE children!  It had me in tears (c'mon, I'm 13 weeks pregnant, I cry lots). 

SO, not 5 minutes after I had promised not to spend money, I spent $30 buying two of these:

Here is the link.  I STRONGLY encourage others to buy this!  Even if you dont' regularly drive over water.  You NEVER know what might happen and it's worth $14.95 to save your life and anyone elses. 

This is a hammer to break the window of the car and a knife to break your seat belt off.  In two days, these will be in our glove boxes and god forbid we ever have to use them, but at least it will let me know that we did what we could BEFOREHAND.

Like I said ... sometimes you just can't help what happens to the budget.

The Road of TTC #2

On my "private blog" I had about 30 posts over TTC #2.  Truth be told, they're just too darn personal to put on this blog.  They were very detailed and like I said, personal! However, since the private blog will soon be no more, I wanted to write a post to summarize it all so I can have a place to collect my memories.

I want to start this post off by saying I know Evan and I are VERY VERY fortunate that we have been able to conceive our children so easily (both were conceived first month off the pill).  We REALIZE we are blessed and we know that people struggle with infertility.  I do not want to come off sounding selfish.  I am just rejoicing in the fortune and blessings we've been given.

SO ... this post might be long ... and there is DEFINITELY TMI, but here goes:

I remember sometime in October, Evan and I went on a date night to our favorite burger joint in town. While we were sitting there, I looked up at him and said, "you know, i've been thinking."  I really wouldn't have had to say more.  I think Evan wanted to start trying that day!  Evan LOVES being a Dad and I could convince him to have 5 kiddos without a problem.  But, we did talk it through.  A LOT.  I told him Liliana was getting to an age where I was handling her without issues even without his help because he works so much.  I told him that if we had one THEN, I would be due at the end of June (that ends up changing, but read more to discover why).  that would be WONDERFUL for my job because we wouldn't have to lose out on 6 weeks of pay!  Another factor: if we had the second before September they would be 2 school years apart which is GREAT.  That way, we only have MIDDLE SCHOOL games to go to while they're in 6th and 8th instead of dealing with middle school AND upper school events. Sure, the next year it won't be as easy, but this way, we give ourselves one more year of less activities.  Being in the school environment this year has taught me that a parent can literally live at the school with all the crap your kids get in to, so I'm just trying to think about making life more manageable.  We agreed, however, we didn't go off the pill until a week later (after we had given each other more time to mull it over).

If you recall, conceiving the daughter wasn't intentional.  We were told I had PCOS and would need fertility to conceive so we thought we'd just save the birth control pill money and deal with that when the time was right.  Turns out, I could conceive just fine and we were pregnant a month later.  However, I have historically had VERY long cycles in my life (we're talking about 100 day cycles).  With Liliana, I ovulated it turns out, on day 23.  This time, since we KNEW we were TTC, I started charting AND I bought OPKs (stands for ovulation predictor kits).

I peed on those dumb things every darn day.  And sure enough, 28 days in to my cycle, no positive.  I thought it was another of those 100 day cycles.

I saw an OB/GYN and he reconfirmed the PCOS diagnosis.  He told us the chances of conceiving with this are MUCH more difficult and it takes couples on average 18 months. 

I left the office DEFEATED thinking we got our lucky break with Liliana and this time wouldn't be lucky.

that night, as I cried and peed on to the OPK at the same time, a miraculous thing happened: it was positive!  I was ovulating!

I sent Evan a picture (b/c he was at the hospital of course) and we were excited to let the baby making begin!  Since we didn't know we were making Liliana, Evan was quite adamant about not timing everything and making it stressful.  He said "it worked with Liliana so we know we're ok."

9 days later, I took a pregnancy test with one that was supposed to tell me 6 days past ovulation.

It was negative.

I remained defeated.

But, the saving grace?  My boobs.

They hurt so much that I actually SCREAMED a few times.  SCREAMED I tell you.

Evan was CONVINCED I was pregnant.

And, damn it if he wasn't right.

11 days past ovulation, I tested and the rest is history!

I do want to add a story that I will NEVER forget.  At our first appointment, the nurse and doctor were in the room and the nurse turned around and told me "I have to tell you something.  I think you're the first patient I've ever heard of with PCOS that gets pregnant on the first month two times in a row.  You are SO lucky."  And at that moment, I felt SO incredibly blessed.  SO SO blessed.  We are so fortunate to have Liliana and are SO fortunate to have BITO in our lives. 

It was a happy day and I've been smiling (aside from the puking of course) ever since.

12 Weeks Pregnant!

Today, I am 12 weeks pregnant with BITO.  I can't believe it's already nearing the 2nd semester.  This pregnancy has FLOWN FLOWN FLOWN by!  While many parts of me are sad that it's flying by, I'm also looking forward to the more glorious weeks that usually follow in the 2nd trimester.  In my first pregnancy, weeks 20 - 30 were the best.  They were AWESOME and fun.  Let's see which weeks I like now.  In my first pregnancy weeks 4 - 20 were HORRIBLE, and while this one has had it's fair share of me puking in to a toilet (or on the floor like last week because I didn't make it in time!), it has been MUCH better overall.  Instead of CONSTANTLY feeling sick, I just feel sick for a few hours at a time.  One thing I've noticed: SLEEP HELPS!  Over Christmas break I thought my morning sickness was done for the most part.  Now that I'm back at work all the time, I've felt significantly worse.  I think it's because I'm not sleeping as much.  I was sleeping in until 9 every day over the break (so lucky to have a baby that sleeps in!).  Now, I wake up at 6:00 for work and losing those 3 hours = puking.  It's a very strong correlation for me.  I just need a job that would let me nap some time during the day!  Do those exist?  Any body wanna hook me up with one of those? ; )

SO, I probably won't do these surveys every week during this pregnancy like I did with my first, but since 12 weeks is a big milestone, I'll do it today.  I've attached a couple poorly taken belly pics.  I've taken them myself, sorry.  And, the lighting sucks.  But, the point is: I AM HUUUUGE for 12 weeks!!  It's almost embarassing.

How far along are you? 12 weeks today.

Total weight gain: Haven't weighed myself in a while but the Doctor said I had lost a few pounds at my visit last week.  He wasn't too concerned but said I better gain it all back PLUS some by next visit.

How big is baby: Dude, I NEVER know these.  I am horrible about keeping up with this. Most pregnant women get emails telling them this information.  I get emails ALL DAY at work so I don't like adding to them.  Let me look it up (this is what I will do EVERY TIME, I promise):  the size of a lime! 

Maternity clothes: I still haven't worn any, but I did already tell my sister-in-law that I need ALL my clothes back.  She's 30 weeks and I feel bad asking for my clothes back, but my sweaters are TIGHT and I'm using the bella band FULL TIME now.  I got SO much bigger SO much faster this time!  It amazes me.

Stretch  marks: None.  None from Liliana either.  Lucky lady right here!  HOWEVER, my boobs have grown SIGNIFICANTLY this pregnancy so I wouldn't be surprised if I had some because of that.

Sleep:  I get up EVERY MORNING between 3:50 and 4:20 to pee.  It is SO weird.  It's like my body has an alarm for that time period.  The problem with this is that it takes me FOREVER to fall back asleep.  It almost feels like I wake up at 4 every morning as a result because by the time I fall back asleep it's basically 6 and I have to wake up to head to work.  Considering I'm getting to sleep around 11, I doubt that is enough sleep for a pregnant lady.

Best Moment this Week:  I have had THE WORST eye pains for the last 6 weeks and I went to this Optometrist (that I THOUGHT was an Opthamologist but was wrong).  Today, the Opthmalogist called me and said she's concerned that the Optometrist hasn't figured out what's going on and she wants to see me TODAY.  So honestly, that is the best part of my day ... just trying to fix this eye pain that WILL NOT go away!

Movement:  I felt some last week!  Isn't that INSANE?  At 11 weeks?  But I know they were flutters.  I felt Liliana around 16 weeks and I know they say you feel it sooner with the second, but this is EARLY.  I haven't felt any this week so maybe baby has moved, but that's ok ... I'm looking forward to feeling them again in a few weeks.

Food Cravings:  I've enjoyed bagels this pregnancy.  Other than that, I haven't had cravings, just mainly aversions.  I am still at the "force yourself to eat" stage.  I've noticed that water, and a good amount of it, helps with nausea so I'm trying to convince myself to crave that.

Labor Signs:  No, but I have had some round ligament pains!  Dr. said that since I'm popping out already that's to be expected.

Belly button in or out:  In still, but I swear it's becoming less of an innie already.

What I Miss: I miss not feeling sick.  Whether it has been a cold, or nausea, or my eye pain, SOMETHING has been nagging at me for 6 weeks.  I just want to feel HEALTHY!  I guess I just have to give it time (and sleep).

What I'm Looking Forward To: I have a FUN weekend planned: girl night on Friday (those are always a BLAST), hubby time on Saturday, and family time Saturday night.

Milestone:  hitting the 12 week mark with NO scares!  With Liliana, we had already had 2 ultrasounds, a few times that I spotted, etc.  This pregnancy, aside from having some cysts that hurt at first, has been DRAMA FREE!  LOVING IT!  Hoping that doesn't change! (knocking on wood as I type)

Belly Pic?  Sure, why not:

Here I am this morning before work!  Belly is where I was at 16 weeks the first time! EEK!

Here is Liliana's reaction when you say "Liliana do you love the baby?"  She LOVES pointing at my belly and saying baby over and over again.  I think she's understanding that I'm looking bigger lately, and she knows what a baby is, but I don't think she can even BEGIN to comprehend how much her life is going to change in about 25 weeks! : )

The Name Game for Baby #2!

Originally Written: December 20th, 2011

I know I'm only 8 weeks 5 days pregnant. I know that I still have a TON of time to think of a name. In fact, I know that I don't even NEED a name until some time in July. But it is driving me absolutely NUTTY that we don't have a name for baby #2!

I have the EXACT same dilemma that I had with baby #1. We are pretty set with a girl name, have NO boy name, and know the boy bedding but have no clue about the girl bedding. What to do what to do?

I think we're pretty set on the name GLORIA if it is a girl. This DEFINITELY fits within my "no top 100 rule" because it's something like #400, but there are a few things we like about the name. (1) My grandma, whom I was VERY VERY VERY close to was named Gloria. Evan adored her as well. (2) It it a Spanish name that people who speak English won't mess up. (3) It's unique. (4) It's the only name that Evan and I can truly agree on. SO, for now (and that's TOTALLY subjec to change), I think we're set on Gloria.

If it's a boy? Well this is where it gets tricky. We still like the names Marshall and Graham, but for some reason, I'm not yet 100% sold on them. Our favorite boy name is GABRIEL. BUT ... here's the ONLY issue with it ... it's in the top 100. NOOOOOOOO!!! I know this is the STUPIDEST thing to hold me back, but for some reason, I don't want a name in the top 100. If it was number 103, I swear we'd be set on Gabriel. SO, what do to what do to? I'm guessing the boy name we settle on will be one of these 3, but in the mean time, I find myself SO uninspired by boy names. None of them "wow" me. Well, other than Gabriel. Our boy could TOTALLY look like a Gabriel. Or a Graham. Or a Marshall. I would LIKE the idea of something Hispanic for the first name of all our children since they get the English last name, but I'm not 100% set on that happening. It's simply a preference.

I thought typing out my thoughts would relax me. I think I'm just more stressed. GRRR.

Update on January 11th: we are NO WHERE closer to a name.  I am thinking EXACTLY what I was thinking when I wrote this 3 weeks ago.  Any thoughts on these names are greatly appreciated!

Pregnancy #2: Chapter 3: "Oh Christmas Puke"

Originally Written: December 14th

When I got home from work the husband was already there (he took his USLME Step 3 the last 2 days so got off early! It was glorious!). He asked me how my day had gone and I told him "I felt off all day ... just not as good as I have been feeling." So I did my typical lounging and ate dinner even though it didn't settle too well with my stomach.

That isn't surprising. Very little settles well with my stomach these days so I didn't think much of it.

Around 7 the husband suggested that we go drive around with the baby girl looking at Christmas lights. This sounded so fun and the husband is rarely home in time to do this so even though I didn't feel very good, I said yes.

When we got there, I started feeling pretty ... bad.

The husband suggested we drive back home but I am SICK of doing that (we drove back home after having put our name down at a restaurant and I proceeded to throw up RIGHT as we got back home on Friday). I thought this time I could stomach it.

We drove around and found the street where we will buy our next house if we stay here in Arkansas for longer than 5 years. But after about 15 minutes, I told the husband, "we have to get back home. I just feel like shit."

As he got closer to the house, I really felt it coming up. I told him to give me the little throw up bags he stole from the hospital.

I thought I could make it to the toilet. I really thought I could.

But as the tires went OVER our driveway, it came out. ALL OF IT. In the car.

Twenty more seconds and I would have made it to the house, but instead, in our driveway, I puked my guts out.

So instead of singing "Oh Christmas Tree" we were singing "Oh Christmas puke"

UGH. I can't wait to feel better!

This pregnancy has been more severe than my last one for sure by this stage. I have thrown up 6 times in the last 17 days.

I went to bed and took about 10 pills: anti-nausea, fiber pills (because I haven't taken a good poop in who knows how long due to the anti-nausea pills), etc etc. I slept and didn't set my alarm intentionally. I can't miss work right now, and one of the BAD parts of working at a school is that you only get TWO personal days the ENTIRE school year. YEAH, talk about tough. So, these days are precious cargo that I can't go using up. I finally rolled out of bed around 7:30 and got to work at 9 (so about an hour and a half late).

I feel better for now. But who knows by now? Night time car rides and I don't mix. Or rather, I should say, night time car rides and BITO don't mix. Maybe he/ she'll get car sick as a baby? Hope I'm wrong.