You look so small

Sometimes I read forums on babycenter and whattoexpect.com where other December 2012 Moms posts topics, questions, photos, etc. You find a lot of stupid crap, but one day I read a post about things people say to you when you're pregnant that bother you. There were a lot of silly ones, like people hating being called "preggers" which reminded me how mad my friend got when I called her baby "nubs" when she became obsessed about the "nub theory" of determining the baby's sex in early ultrasounds...my point is we all have things that may seem silly to others, but they really bother us.

There are two things that people say to me that I really with wish they wouldn't. One is the title of this post "wow you look so small!" now don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my self control through this pregnancy in fighting my cravings and gaining only the recommended weight. But when your doctor is telling you your baby is growth restricted and not getting the nutrient it needs, and people keep telling you (however innocently) how "small" your belly looks for your gestational age, it really makes you want to cry and second guess everything you eat (or don't eat) and everything you do with your body. To be perfectly honest, I don't think I look small. I met a lady today at the deli that was ) weeks ahead of me and we were sporting the same size bellies! I also want to point out that I forced myself to eat my entire grilled cheese and salad, even though I was full after half out of guilt and anxiety over this whole growth restricted thing.

The second thing that gets to me is when people (including my own mother) like to remark how "hard this pregnancy has been" for me when
I fill them in on what's going on. I know this pregnancy hasn't been perfect, but I try so hard to stay focused on positive things surrounding my pregnancy and that is really hard when people keep reminding me of all the bad stuff! So I have Hypertension, so my baby is
Growth restricted, so I failed mg blood glucose test, so I have a BAZILLION doctor apts... You know what? So far this baby is doing ok, I'm still up
And mobile, and I have great doctors an insurance to cover them. I am able to conceive and carry my own babies. I have a loving husband who takes care of me and a little bright three year-old gearing up to be one darn good big sister.

Life is good.

Obligatory Pumpkin Patch Trip

I didn't know if I'd make it to the pumpkin patch today as planned.  I've been pretty sick all week and the weather was looking pretty iffy...

Alas, we made our way out to Elgin today for our annual trip to the "Elgin Christmas Tree Farm" pumpkin festival.  It actually worked out perfectly.  My husband was working from home and needed some quiet, and the overcast clouds kept the weather cooler and offered a nice breeze.

If you live in Austin (or near Elgin for that matter), please take your kids to this place.  It's $5 per person, but if you sign up for their newsletter via email you can get a buy one get one free admission, and I think kids under two are free.

We packed our lunches, put on our "festive" orange colored clothing, and made the 45-minute trip out to Elgin.  This place has farm animals (that bite so watch out), pumpkin decorating, hayrides, playgrounds, picnic areas (all free) and a train ride for $2 per person.  We easily spend 3 hours there playing and riding.

I have to laugh, where I grew up, in mid-october I'd be wearing some sort of jacket, and certainly not shorts!  Mimi and I actually could have used some sunscreen, and more water.  I'll have to take Mimi up to my Mom's place in upstate NY some fall so she can see what fall really is like.

Enjoy some photos!

Instant Anxiety

So far this pregnancy, I've been really "comfortable" yet cautious with how things were going.  When I  had my first apt with my new OB practice and they told me I'd need to see a fetal maternal specialist because of my chronic hypertension, I felt scared.  As I progressed from 8 weeks past 20 weeks, visiting both the OB and the specialist on a regular basis, along with monthly growth scans, I started to feel really comfortable, even confident that I'd carry to term with no real problems.

I was blind sided this week (week 28) by not only failing my glucose test, which is surprising to me after following a pretty strict primal eating plan since last January, BUT I also had some disheartening news at our most recent growth scan.  At 25 week, my growth scan showed Gummy Bear being in the 43rd percentile for growth, not too shabby.  Alas, this week they show Gummy being only in the 10th percentile.  I'm not upset with the specific numbers, because I know ultrasounds are not 100% accurate.  I'm more concerned that the numbers dropped so much in just 3 weeks.  If the doctor told me Gummy was in the 20 or 30's for weight/size percentile I don't think I'd be as anxious.

Basically the fetal maternal specialist told me that I'm not diagnosed as having Inter Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) yet, but if Gummy drops below 10 they want to talk early c-section. Scary.  I spent the day trying not to get upset.  I tried to be optimistic and positive.  I even reassured my husband that it doesn't mean anything yet.  We will have weekly growth scans from here on out.  Regardless of whether I make it term or not, this baby will be smaller than expected.

I of course ran out to Carters and bought some newborn sleepers, using consumer therapy to soothe my fears.  Then I went home and opened up the bin of clothes I saved from Mimi's infancy, sorted, organized and made piles to wash.  Really Jen? At 28 weeks you're washing onesies?  Shit I even contemplated packing a hospital bag.  Then I saw how irrational I was acting.  I stopped.

I woke up today feeling crampy and not noticing any of my normal "good morning" kicks from Gummy.  Of course I panicked, ate a huge croissant (figured carbs can't hurt my poor lean baby), and a fruit smoothly and laid on my couch poking at my poor belly hoping for reassuring kicks.  I was able to elucidate a fairly week response from gummy.  I spent the day worrying, fretting, daydreaming of bad outcomes, second guessing my diet and weight gain, all things any mom would do.

Luckily, as I sit here tonight on the couch relaxing with my husband I have been slammed by one huge kick after another from Gummy.  Big enough kicks to move my body around.  Gummy may be small, but he/she is in there still kickin'.

I'm going to try and relax and have faith in my doctors that all will be okay.  Hopefully Gummy's numbers improve next week and I can at least stop daydreaming of having my poor baby in a NICU for two months before I can bring him/her home.

Here I am in all my bump showing glory at 28 weeks pregnant.

Holy 3rd Trimester

I can't believe this. I'm in the THIRD trimester?!

Leggings as Pants

Today I had to restrain myself from dropping Mimi off at Preschool in leggings, or pajamas pants.  Both I feel can be equally inappropriate for such occasions.  I love leggings, but very few of us can pull of "leggings as pants."  Some of you lucky ladies have the butt and legs to do it, this lady does not....

I really want to find more maternity tunic tops that cover my butt but allow me to wear leggings.  I"m seriously feeling like a house these days, and maternity jeans are just not comfortable to me this time around.  First off, when I got pregnant I was a size 12, so most of maternity jeans (Gap brand) are 12's. Well, what fit up to 5 months pregnant, does not fit anymore.  Well, they "fit" as in they go over my large ass robust figure, but I feel really uncomfortable.   I ordered another pair size 14 (gasp, it hurt my feelings to do it...) and they're too long and need to be hemmed, so I haven't worn them yet.  But to be perfectly honest, trying them on even after washing them, I wasn't as impressed as I am with leggings.  Maybe I'll just live in yoga pants the rest of this pregnancy, the perfect twist of pajamas and pants.

I am also restraining myself from cleaning and/or sleeping while Mimi is at preschool today.  I put her in Mother's Day Out/Preschool two 1/2 days a week to have time to finish writing my dissertation.  Some days I feel awesome, I can sit at my computer and crank out the work, but today I feel as though I have no writin' mojo.  I desperately want to put fresh sheets on my bed and crawl in it and set an alarm for lunchtime.  God, I hate this feeling.  I know I'm pregnant and I need rest blah blah blah, but these days I seriously feel unbelievably drained.

Please send some mojo my way....

Rainy Texas Weekend

Holy rain Batman.  In the entire first year we lived here in Austin I think it sprinkled 2 or 3 times--for less than 10 minutes, no joke.  It has been non-stop rain since Thursday night and we are LOVING it.  Is it sad when you're blessed with such hot sunny weather so consistently that you celebrate overcast rainy days like it's Christmas?  We shut off the AC, opened the windows, welcomed the humidity and snuggled all weekend.

Friday night I had a girl's night over at my friends house.  We all agreed to wear pajama pants, which made this pregnant lady pretty happy.  We ate dip and chatted until 1:30am, which is late for me.  I spent a large chunk of Saturday afternoon napping on the couch recovering from staying up past my usual bedtime of 11:30.  The rest of Saturday was kind of a blur.  I remember going out for coffee and coming home afterwards with a pretty wicked headache and nausea (thank you pregnancy hormones) and ended up watching Vanilla Sky on my Iphone in the bathtub.  Exciting right?

Today is my "work" day, where my husband and Mimi go off on an adventure from 10-1 and then I work during that time and her nap.  I was amazed at the work I was able to get done today.  Last night I went to bed with a positive attitude towards spending Sunday at the computer.  I find that is I psyche myself up like that, it really isn't' that bad.

I had been craving spaghetti, but with my husband's gluten allergy and our low-carb lifestyle, we don't eat pasta anymore.  Luckily I've found a brand of gluten free (and corn-free) pasta that doesn't taste like crap.  I whipped up some sauce during Mimi's nap with fresh basil, carrots, onion, garlic, tomatos, and mushrooms and we feasted on gluten free (yet not low-carb) brown rice pasta piled high with freshly grated parmesan.  It really was a treat!

I hit the grocery store after dinner in an outfit that would appall my friend Kim, the friend who actually tells you when you look in appropriate.  I squished my pregnant tree-trunk legs into some gray leggings with a maternity shirt and cardigan and drove my fat pregnant but to HEB.  Is it sad that going to the grocery store alone (sans toddler and annoying husband who gives me the evil eye for buying granola) is like a mini vacation at a spa? I roamed the aisles putting things in my cart that would get me the stink eye from my husband, like spiced cider and pudding cups for Mimi's lunch.

Now it's time for a new week to start.  I am 26 weeks pregnant tomorrow.  Whoa.  This whole birth of our next baby thing is really creeping up on me! I kind of want things to slow down a little.

Here's some photos of Mimi hanging out in her Pjs Saturday morning, it's all I got! I need to get my camera out more....

 

Is it tacky?

I avoided doing this for months...literally.  For some reason it felt awkward sharing about this pregnancy on facebook.  It almost felt tacky.  Here on my blog, only a few of my followers know me in real life, so sharing with you guys has been effortless and fun.  I think that I put it off for so long because I knew I'd get comments like "wow, what about your dissertation?!" that would painfully remind me of the weight I carry on my shoulders to finish writing before baby #2 comes, because I'd have even less time and energy.

I need to point out that we planned for, wanted, and are excited for this baby.  Not wanting to share the news was in my mind I guess a way to avoid the guilt I felt when people did bring up my dissertation, because I am angry and frustrated that I haven't finished writing.

Today when I dropped off Mimi at Mother's Day Out/Preschool, I mentioned to the lady about the baby coming in December and she looked straight at me and was shocked I was pregnant.  I was like Whoa lady, do you not see my giant belly? I'm 6 months along now!  Then I thought, sh*t people just think I've packed on the pounds I guess.  Maybe I should tell people instead of letting them wonder if it's too many snowcones or a baby.

I was talking to my dear friend Emily about not "sharing the news" and she said to not care about the comments of others, or what they think.  She said not to let them steal my joy over this pregnancy.  My husband and I (and Mimi) are excited about our Christmas baby coming soon.  No my facebook world can be excited for us too I guess.  One nasty dissertation comment and they're blocked though!

Baby at 24 weeks 3 days, measuring in at 1 lb 9oz

Confessions

I'm not the best at following all these pregnancy "rules."

Confession 1.  I'm laying on my bed, on my belly, typing this blog.  What?! Almost 23 weeks pregnant with a uterus the size of a cantaloup (or bigger) and I still lay on my belly sometimes? Yup.  Gummy bear doesn't like it, Gummy squirms a lot. ]

Confession 2.  I ate raw sushi tonight. What!? Yup. It was delicious too.  I think if you eat sushi from a reputable place, raw or cooked, your risk of parasite and bacterial infection is the same pregnant or not.  Trust me.  I'm a fisheries biologist.  Go ahead, argue with me.  While we're on this subject, I eat my yokes runny, my lunchmeat cold, and I think I even ate some brie this pregnancy, let's throw in some feta for good measure....I have women who stuff their face with processed carbs, genetically modified foods and sugar and point a finger at me for eating sushi and runny eggs.  This makes no sense to me.

Confession 3.  I don't want to gain weight, and actually get disappointed when I do.  My fetal maternal specialist actually said to me at my last apt that as long as the baby measures fine (which Gummy is in the 68th percentile at 20 weeks) I could gain nothing and still have a healthy baby and he wasn't worried.  So to those friends who lecture me when I say i'm happy i've only gained 7 lbs in 22 1/2 weeks, call my doctor.  I assure you he knows what's he's talking about.  I'm not a preggorexic or anything, I just know that because I started off this pregnancy at the heavier end of my suggested weight, I dont' need to pack on 35 lbs.

Confession 4.  I don't tell people i'm pregnant because I dont' want to talk about it.  I'm not hiding it, but I don't advertise it.  No facebook updates, no formal announcement, nothing.  If you see me and you say "gee are you pregnant" I'll gladly say "why yes I am."  This is weird because with Mimi's pregnancy I would shout it from the rooftop if someone let me.  If you showed the slightest interest in talking about it, I'd talk you ear off about it.  This time I just feel way more quiet and private.  Like this is something for me, my husband, and Mimi.

Ok, there, now that I have that off my chest, I'm going to go eat some watermelon.

Finished Year 3

The other night I finished Mimi's 3 year photo book.  I have used IPhoto each year to make hardbound photobooks for her to look back on (and me too) as she gets older.  I wished my parents had kept better photo books of me as a child, although I guess with most photography being digital, it is easier and less expensive these days to create photo books.

As I "flipped" through the pages (it's still in digital form), I shed a few tears.  Maybe hormones, maybe sadness as my "baby" has grown up so quickly.  I feel so blessed everyday that we chose for me to be a stay at home mom.  It's such a privilege to watch her grow everyday.  I never take it for granted.

Today Mimi and I unwrapped her old bouncer and infant carseat from plastic we sealed them in for "baby 2."  I watched her strap her baby dolls in the seats and my heart began to melt at the thought of her being a big sister in a few short months.

I'll leave you with a few photos from the end of her book...her third birthday party.

Dreamt of Running

I've been having some pretty "real" feeling dreams lately.   I'm not sure if it's pregnancy craziness or just the fact that my sleep is constantly interrupted by tossing, turning, peeing, blowing my nose, getting water, etc.

Last night I dreamt of running.  I think I actually ran a 5K in my dreams.  I can remember the terrain of the run, the cool breeze in my face (obviously I wasn't home in TX in my dream)....I could even remember the clothes I had on.  I didn't look like a husky pregnant lady in my dream.  I felt awesome.  Then I woke up, rolled over the heavy belly and remembered I'm pregnant and had to quit running at 9 weeks along.

I don't think I could run now if I was being chased by a rabid dog.  I feel so run down, queasy, and just heavy almost everyday.  My legs and feet have begun to swell (already) at only 21 weeks along.  Now I shouldn't feel too terribly heavy, I've only gained 3 lbs! One of those pounds in the baby, and god knows there's at least another two in my boobs!  Not to mention the extra blood volume, fluids, etc.  So I shouldn't feel so husky right?

I'm really having one of those weeks where I just don't feel comfortable in my body.  I am excited about this baby.  I am feeling happy and blessed to be pregnant, I just yearn to have my happy, active life back.  I want to wake up feeling refreshed, satisfied when I eat (not sick feeling), and run with the cool breeze hot Texas air in my face.

I'm due to have this baby mid December, so hopefully by the beginning of March I'll be back on the road in my Asics feeling like my old self again (but with two sports bras probably).

Here I am in the last 5K I ran, well correction, I ran one when I was 7 weeks pregnant, but this was the last one I ran when I was really rockin' the running.  Can you believe this girl used to be 250 lbs!?

Home Again

After 3 1/2 weeks away from home, we are back.  We got back late Wednesday night, well technically Thursday morning as JetBlue lost our carseat so we had to wait around until 1am to get a loaner until they found ours the next day....anyway....

It feels AMAZING to be home.  Don't get me wrong, it felt right to take time to help my mom, I enjoyed the pleasant cool weather of upstate NY, but there's nothing like coming home.  Home to a place we only moved into a week before I left!

My husband of course lived like a bachelor while I was away. There was sausage and beer in the fridge, dingy sheets he was too lazy to change (gross) and we won't even talk about the bathrooms.  After two days of cleaning, we were back in business.

Friday we had Mimi's birthday party with her little friends at a local bounce house place and my dear friend Courtney drove up for the night and helped me out bigtime.  The party was a success, despite rude people who RSVPed "not attending" the morning of (how horribly inconsiderate).  I was a little frazzled, I even forgot my camera, but luckily Courtney had hers so the occasion will not be lost in Mimi's photobook this year!

We're all just relaxing this weekend after a month of being apart as a family.  My husband fixed Mimi's trike and my jog stroller, and I tidied the garage and we're all just bumming around in the AC now.  I have this crazy overwhelming urge to organize stuff....

Lord help me it is hot in Texas.  I dont' know if it makes me especially miserable because I just spent a month is cool Upstate NY, or because I'm 20 weeks pregnant and a human furnace.  Either way, I am crabby outside in this heat!

Pregnancy wise, I'm only up 3 lbs so far this pregnancy, but you wouldn't have guessed that by the belly! (see photo at left!) I'm feeling tired, but otherwise pretty good.  Monday morning I have my 20 week "big" anatomy scan, where we'll try not to find out with baby #2 is.  If it's a boy, I imagine in the hour long ultrasound, at some point he will show the goods and we might see...we'll see what  happens!

Alas, some photos of our trip for you...

updating from the sticks

So we've been here in rural upstate NY for just over a week.  It is pretty crazy to go from our high-paced play-date/wifi-filled life to the sticks, where my mom had dialup, my cell phone doesn't work at all (except 10 miles away in town), and I'm pretty isolated!

I actually have really enjoyed this last week.  I've been helping my mom with cooking, cleaning, and general care as she just had double foot surgery a little over 2 weeks ago.  I've been relaxing and watching movies with her at night after Mimi goes to sleep and just enjoying the cool fresh air.

I've just now gotten to a state of boredom and isolation lol.  Luckily my mom can make longer outings now that she has orthodic boots to help with walking and isn't so drugged on pain meds.  Also she can be left for a little longer periods so I've been able to take Mimi out to the lake to swim, or to library story hour, etc.

Pregnancy wise, I feel pretty exhausted and have had a lot of headaches.  Otherwise I feel pretty good. When I wake in the morning, I can feel a hard lump on one side of uterus, and it changes position throughout the day.  I never felt this with Mimi, maybe because I was heavier.  I still haven't gained any weight, but the bell is rounding out nicely!  I let Mimi tatoo my belly with washable markers the other morning to help curve her boredom, I think she did a great job!

Her birthday is this weekend.  We're having a big family picnic at one of the parks on the lake.  My husband will be travelling up this weekend too.  I miss him so much and can't wait to be together as a family for awhile!

Belly Pics - Week 16 & Fourth of July

I'm coming up on 16 weeks here folks, and man, it gets harder everyday to conceal "the belly."  Obviously I wore a pretty tight tank top this day (4th of July) because the people I was with all knew I was pregnant.  Can you believe how big it looks?!  And do you like my festive outfit? I'm pretty wardrobe challenged right now.

I should see if I have a photo of me 16 weeks along with Mimi's pregnancy, because I don't *think* I looked this big, even though I weighed a good 30-40 lbs more!  Tomorrow I go for another anatomy/growth scan of "Gummy Bear" as we affectionately call this baby.  Then I have my traditional 16 week OB apt.  Hopefully all is well.

We had a good time this year for the 4th.  I took Mimi to a parade and festival in the morning while my husband slept in and enjoyed his first day off in months.  Later that night we went to a BBQ at a friends house and lit some fireworks and saw some nice fireworks.  I was so spent by the end of the day!

Saturday I leave for 3 weeks for my Mom's in upstate NY.  I'm excited about the trip but a little stressed about tying up loose ends before I go.

I hope you all had a great Holiday (for those of you in the States)!

Feeling Very Drained

I have been the world's worst blogger lately.  I used to have all sorts of ideas of things to blog about.  I would get excited when I had a few minutes to sit down and put up a post.  I hate to be one of those women who gets pregnant and falls off the grid, but man am I drained.

I can't tell if it's because I'm older this time around (30 instead of 26), or if it's because I have high blood pressure (an added stress on my body), or if it's because I'm chasing around an almost 3 year-old and setting up the new house.  For whatever reason, I feel so drained.   I wake up feeling pretty rested usually.   Now that I'm over the first trimester sickness, I have a lot of energy from about 7 am to 1pm.  By the time I get Mimi home for lunch from one of our outings, I feel as though I'll collapse by 2pm.  Maybe it's because it's over 100 degrees here?  I have been taking naps with Mimi in the afternoons and I wake up around 5pm with sweaty Mimi snoring next to me, and I feel worse.  Have you ever woken up from a nap and felt worse!?  It's such a crappy feeling.  I wake up feeling shaky, dehydrated, headachy, etc.  

Between 5 and 6:30 (when my husband gets home) I try to muster together the energy to make him (and us) for dinner.  At least food actually sounds appetizing now.  Infact, I dream of food at night, and wake up desiring all sorts of random things.  I find myself craving things like fresh cut up vegetables, yogurt, pickles, and fruit.  Not bad right?

As far as my (and the baby's) health goes, everything seems fine.  My appointments are a lot closer together than when I was pregnant with Mimi.  I see a normal OB office every 4 weeks for your normal pee in cup/weight/bp type stuff.  I usually bring Mimi to those apts, I figure it's good for her to get used to it now, and also the office seems to really accomodate children, with toys, coloring sheets, letting her "help" with the doppler, etc.  I also go see a Maternal Fetal Specialist every 4 weeks for more "advanced" care I guess?  I get anatomy/growth scans every 4 weeks, then at 32 weeks, weekly.  I get additional blood and urine tests at those appointments, usually for stuff I dont' understand!    Oddly enough, I feel more supported and "taken care" of by the doctors and staff at the Maternal specialist, which I did not expect.   My normal OB office rotates me around 6 doctors, so each time I go, I see a perfect stranger.  Hopefully it gets better.

So far the growth scans have gone well, and baby seems to be growing fine.  It's odd because when I was pregnant with Mimi, she routinely measured days ahead on the ultrasound, whereas this baby measure dead on each time, to the day.  Is it crazy that I actually worry that this baby isn't' even a day ahead?

I've resolved myself to only keep my maternity clothes in my closet after the move to the new house since I had to reorganize the closet anyway.  It still feels weird to think I'm having another baby in December.  I still forget sometimes that I'm pregnant.  I've definitely started looking a little rounder these days.  I'm still a few pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I eat when I'm hungry and try all day to keep my fluids going in, so I'm not really too worried.  The numbers will go up eventually.  I am now back to eating primal again after some first trimester buttered toast binges.

I'm had to stop my workouts.  I stopped running at about 8 or 9 weeks along because I would get spotting after each run, but no spotting when I wouldn't run.  Both my doctor and I agreed that it was best to stop.   It breaks my heart, running is something I really enjoy (and now miss).  I just keep getting excited to train again after the baby is born.  I picked up swimming laps when I discontinued running, but soon realized I was too exhausted and couldn't make it through the day watching Mimi on the days I swam, and her happiness is important too.  Now I just do 1-2 mile walks with her and the dog.

This upcoming weekend Mimi and I head to upstate NY to help take care of my Mom after she had double foot surgery.  I'm both excited and apprehensive about the trip.  I haven't been back to my hometown in many years.  I also have a lot of loose ends to tie up here in Austin before I go.  Mimi and I will be gone 3 weeks, but I think it will fly by.  My husband will travel up for Mimi's birthday weekend in the middle, which will be really fun.

Hopefully I'll have some photos soon, sorry for the long update!

World's Worst Blogger

So I was reading this post from one of my fellow blogger/youtube friends (Gee Sarah I hope it's okay to call you my friend lol), and she mentioned the phenomenon where young woman become mothers and seem to make this transition into frumpy moms, not finding the time to wash their hair and put on mascara, or heck even shower.  I had friends that before I had Mimi told me the horror stories of how they never even had time to shower.   I'll admit that when I first had Mimi,  I always made time to shower, mostly because my kid was the world's most frequent puker, but I hardly ever put on clothes that fit me properly, or makeup.  I just tried to be clean and look awake.  After a few months (sadly yes, months), I managed to pull myself back together, and look like a young woman again.

I think there is this other phenomenon that occurs, but not to you, but to your house.   Before I had Mimi, my laundry never piled up, the floors were always lemon fresh and spotless, my bed was made, the dishes were put away, and mail never piled up on my table.  After 3 years, I feel like my house/home has slowly become completely chaotic around me.  I can sit here on my bed, which I happened to make today, and I see a desk piled with papers, receipts, a blood pressure machine, a pair of Mimi's underwear, you name it. I can see Mimi's daypack on my kitchen counter overflowing with our stuff from today's outing, surrounded by unopened mail and empty juice glasses from this morning.  My living room is covered in blankets and toys Mimi had dragged out of her room while she was watching a show.  Let's not even talk about the bathrooms.  Or worse, my closet.

Today my husband came home from lunch and something snapped inside him and he started on this rant about mess and clutter.  He was frustrated at the mess and warned me how he felt this was unacceptable.  I couldn't help but laugh.  I laugh because even if I clean EVERYDAY my home looks and feels like this.  Luckily we are moving to a bigger place soon with more space and storage.  Moving is a great opportunity to get rid of stuff, and believe me I will take advantage!

I hate how my home has transitioned to an acceptable level of mess.  Now, I am going to cut myself a little slack here, being in my first trimester of pregnancy, I've been pretty tired and sick.  The last thing I want to do is clean.  But our life was kind of getting "messy" before the pregnancy too.

With the move, and the new baby coming this year, I really want to de-clutter my home, and find a cleaning schedule that works for me and actually keep up with it.

In Other News....

So I've been a little busy with life lately. Travelling, doing the SAHM thing, trying to finish my dissertation, growing a human life... you know all in a days work...

So okay, right now the human life resembles a gummy bear more than a human baby.  Gummy bear measured right on target at my first apt, and had a heartbeat of a whopping 175 bpm!  Mimi's little heartbeat wasn't ever that high I don't think.

So we're excited to welcome gummy bear (God willing) on or near December 24, 2012.  Awesome due date right?  I imagine when people ask me when I'm due I get to say "oh well Christmas Eve..."

If you're religious, say a little prayer that our gummy bear keeps growing strong.  I've been really anxious and uneasy about gummy bear's future for some reason this time around.  There have been a lot of losses among my family and friends lately, and I guess i'm just paranoid.  So far, all is well and we're just excited for every day that passes and I'm still healthy and pregnant!

More to come later on gummy bear....

Sweaty Berry Picking

Nice title right?  Some friends and have been meaning to go out to Sweet Berry Farms for awhile now to pick strawberries with the kids.  My friend Melissa had her baby in mid-April, then there were a plethora of birthdays to plan--so we finally made it out there today!  I'm glad we did, because berry picking season ends at the end of May.  It was over 90 today and sunny as heck.  The kids definitely were feeling the heat. They picked berries for about 20 minutes, then went to play under the shaded pavilion.  Those little buggers left us to finish the job.   I picked a few pounds of deliciously sweet and amazing smelling berries to make some freezer jam this week.  We had a nice picnic and then the kids napped as we drove home in the air conditioning.

Here are some photos....

We're Moving!

After a month of chasing down craigslist ads and scouring sites like Trulia, along with tons of neighborhood drive-throughs, we have found a rental house!  Renting a house in Austin is tricky.  The housing market didn't suffer here as much as Florida, and the rental market is brutally competitive.  The city has a 97% occupancy rate--this means only 3% of the available housing in the city limits is open for rent.

We wanted to stay on budget with what we're spending now, since we still have the same financial burdens and didn't want to cinch our budget too tight.  We wanted no carpeting, and at least 900 sq ft with basic amenities (no window ac units etc).  My husband and I had two or three main neighborhoods in central Austin we liked, so we looked and looked and looked.  Houses would go up on Trulia or Craigslist and be gone in a flash, or they didn't allow pets, or it was only a 10 month lease, or they wanted you to move in TODAY, not at the end of the month or next month.  Our lease here isn't up until June 23, so we expected to cover double rent for the month in order to secure a place we liked.

I run with two mom's at 6:30am twice a week, and one of the mom's mentioned that her and her husband bought a house and were moving out of their rental home. She raved about the landlords' good qualities and the quaintness of the house.  Turns our she's moving out June 10th, so she put us in touch with the landlord and were were able to secure the house for rent before the guy even put the "for rent" sign up! No one to compete against, no pressure to lease a month ahead.  The landlord was super friendly and chill and is letting us move in anytime after June 10th that we want.  He didn't even charge a full months' rent as deposit, which is nice.

Not having to cover double rent for the entire month helps out a ton!  It allows us to hire movers for the big furniture, and buy some new furniture to fill the additional sq footage!

So about the house....
It's 1200 sq ft (we live in 968 now)
Has a one car detached garage with built in shelving and cupboards
fenced backyard (yeah for our dog buddy!)
all hardwood floors and tile! (Yeah no carpeting!)
attic converted for storgage (can you say no more clutter!?)
3 bedrooms (yeah for having a separate office again!)
1.5 baths (not ideal, but i'm not complaining!)
washer dryer hookups in a HUGE laundry room!
big bright open kitchen with a vintage feel with eat-in area
dining room (yes! we can finally have friends over for dinner!)
TONS of closet space for a 50s house
Cute brick fire pit in the backyard
adorable front porch are with built-in flower boxes

the list goes on.....

I am beyond excited to have a home again--one with a driveway, and storage, and an eating area!  Mimi is really excited to have a new room (even though her room now is pretty swank) and we are excited to leave apt life!  About the only thing I'll miss is the amazing pool here!

Wish us luck! I'll share photos when we move in!

ttyl!

Trip to FL

A friendly message from a follower reminded me I haven't blogged in ages!  I'm sorry I've left you all hangin'!  Mimi and I went on a roadtrip to FL to tie up some loose ends. I presented my dissertation work at a conference, we re-leased our house, I met up with my advisor and edited a manuscript, and we visited with some great friends.

I think I could do an entire blog post about the do's and don'ts of taking a 17 hour roadtrip with your toddler....I don't want to relive it right now though lol.

I am so happy to be back in TX with my husband.  We have a busy two months ahead of us though.  We have decided to not renew our apt lease and to find a rental home instead.  This is stressful, as Austin has a 97% occupancy rate--rentals go fast and we're kind of picky now--we'll see how picky we get as time ticks away to our move-out date here at our apt.  Mimi is finishing the last weeks of her dance class and preschool, leaving me no time without her to get important errands done.

I'll keep you guys posted on those events and some others soon!

Enjoy some pics from our trip to FL.  I took Mimi to an environmental festival at a state park while I was in the panhandle of FL. There were touch tanks, fish painting and shirt making, scavenger hunts, and more! She had so much fun.