weekend recap

Better late than never right? Since I use this as my “journal” I want to try and always recap our weekends and am just getting to it for this past weekend. Since Eureka Springs we’ve intentionally left our weekends open in cause we need to do some house hunting sometime soon! So we enjoyed another weekend of bumming around our house.

Friday night we were going to head out but decided to order wings and stay put for the night instead, I even twisted his arm into renting SecretariatJ

Saturday we slept in. Man I will miss that when baby girl gets here! Actually, funny story, Jimmy told me he woke up and got out of bed about 7am or so to do some things, then quickly realized he’s not going to have the option of staying in bed late much longer so he came back to bed for a few more hoursJ I used Saturday to do some things around the house and started thinking about a baby shower I’m throwing my bf in a month or so. That afternoon Jimmy and I took a long walk and spent some time outside doing some yard clean up and cleaning our vehicles, much needed! Once again we debated heading out on Saturday but opted for ordering a pizza, watching UNI basketball on TV, and snuggling on the couch instead.

Sunday we headed to church, grabbed some lunch, and then I was off for some shopping. I wanted to get the things I needed for my friend’s baby shower as well as do a little browsing. I was able to get everything I needed for the shower, a few things for myself, a skirt for baby, and grocery shop. The rest of that afternoon I put together decorations, games and prizes for the shower and felt I had accomplished quite a bit.

It’s funny how during weekends like these I tend to get “bored” and don’t like to just bum around but, when I look back I think about how much I enjoy the calm in our lives right now. I think for so many years I’ve been used to the hustle and bustle of weekend plans and trips, traveling here or there, that it’s the normalcy that seems exceptional to me. Jimmy and I keep reminding ourselves that this may be the calm before the storm and that we need to truly enjoy every moment we have together, just the 2 of us, while it’s still just the 2 of us. So, again I remind myself after weekends like these to just enjoy Jimmy, even if we are just going for a walk through the neighborhood or laying on the couch watching basketball because it’s moments like these that I will be longing for 10 years from now, heck, probably 2 years from nowJ

serena

I’ve been meaning to write this post since last week and am just getting around to it. This is such a random but cool story, if I do say so myselfJ

So last week I decided I had had it with my boring all brown hair. However, being the hair snob that I am I have a lot of trouble going to just anyone and so when moving to a new place my hair stylist is usually the one thing I hold on to for much too long. Since moving to Springfield I have continued to go to my stylist in Cedar Falls (in IA), trying to squeeze in hair appointments during work or weekend trips back. Well I hadn’t been home since Christmas so my hair was starting to drive me crazy and I needed something done. Which leads me to last week.

I hopped online and did some google searching for good hair salons in Springfield and decided to give W3 salon a shot based on the reviews I had read. So I called on Monday hoping to get in to whoever was available within a few weeks. To my surprise and excitement they had just gotten a cancellation for one of their Tuesday afternoon appointments with Serena. So I took it.

I always get nervous when going to a new salon – will they listen to what I want? Will they chop my hair? Will the color be awful, etc etc? So I brought in a few pictures of what I was after in terms of color and for the length I knew I just wanted a trim because I’ve been growing it out for quite some time. So, I met Serena, she seemed super sweet – just a little bitty thing that honestly didn’t look much older than 20 years old.

We got to talking after I described what I was looking for and she got to work on the highlights. I quickly learned that she was a mother of 4 – which I couldn’t believe she was old enough to have 1, much less 4 - she assured me she just had good genesJ Our conversation proceeded and somewhere along the lines I asked her how long she had been doing hair, she responded with 13 years but that she had just recently taken a year or so off to publish and promote a book she had written. Since I really enjoy reading this of course perked my interest and I started to ask her more about her book. She replied that it was a religious book about grace. I told her I was a Christian also and our conversation evolved. She told me a little more about her book and tid bits of her challenging life. She said that the book was about being on the other side of the church, the one being judged, and needing grace. Each of her responses to my questions intrigued me and I knew I had to dig into getting a copy of her book.

Once she was done with my hair I told her I was interested in reading her book and asked how I could get a copy. She said they are sold in Barnes and Noble, some Christian book stores, and online at Amazon. She then jotted down a website on her business card for me to check out and said I could read an excerpt of the first chapter online.

So of course I rushed home and hopped right on the computer to check out her site. I was intrigued, amazed, speechless, cried, and just couldn’t stop reading. Serena has had an unbelievable life. Circumstances of her childhood and mistakes of her own as an adult have transformed and shaped her into a unique and remarkable person. She writes so beautifully and I absolutely cannot wait to get her book. I ordered a copy online that night and have yet to get it but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of posts to follow regarding it.

So you are probably wondering what the website is, huh?! Serena’s website is www.graceisforsinners.com. This should bring you directly to her blog portion of the webpage but also give you the option of clicking on different topics along the top. Be sure to check out the “Excerpt” to read part of her book as well as the “About” section to watch a video of Serena talking about her childhood and mistakes as an adult.

Situations like this help me understand the depth of our God. Once you read more about Serena and hear about some of things she has had to overcome in her life it is so remarkable that she is a Christian today and relied on God to bring her through things even before she knew who God was. I know people with similar stories, stories of brokenness and circumstances that are truly unfathomable to me. I have such a hard time truly understanding what some people have been through because I recognize that I was incredibly blessed with the childhood I had and the family I have today. But I also know in my heart that people do not just get through these things and break the vicious cycles of abuse, sexual sin, drug addictions, etc. on their own. It is God, and only God, that heals people that have experienced such tragic, disgusting, and heart breaking experiences. It is God that makes these people remarkable woman, wives, mothers, children of God. Only God can do that.

PS – she did a great job on my hair too!

head down

Well our stubborn little Miss decided to turn at some point during these past 2 weeks. We had an appointment yesterday and our doctor did a position check and thinks that she is now head down! We were super surprised and of course excited as a natural birth would be our first choice. All the movement I continue to feel very low must just be her little hands instead of feetJ

So thanks for those of you that prayed, now we just have to pray that she will stay this wayJ

Everything else at the appointment went well, everything continues to measure on track and no issues. We are so thankful for a rather uneventful pregnancy and pray that the birth will be the same. For those of you praying with us please start praying now that God will calm my anxious heart about the whole giving birth thing as it still scares me a whole lot!

30 weeks

It’s been a rather uneventful week on the pregnancy front. I am feeling about the same as before in terms of comfort, maybe a little bit better, but I have noticed some swelling starting to set in. My wedding ring is getting tight and most of my shoes feel like they are squishing my feet! I made the mistake of doing a little shopping yesterday and after a few hours of walking around I don’t think my feet had ever hurt that bad – even after my marathon!

My Braxton Hick contractions continue and I usually feel them on a daily basis now. I can’t believe how hard my stomach gets when they are happening!

We have also noticed that little girl seems to be most active late at night and throughout the night – this better not mean that’s when she plans to be awakeJ

A new “experience” for us this past week was the breast pump. I had ordered mine and received it so one night I thought I should get it out, took at look at it, and see what I needed to figure out. Lets just say the whole pumping thing is going to be an interesting experience and one I’m not quite sure about yetJ………

We continue to read to her most every night. We finished up a bedtime Bible stories book last week so I started reading her Charlotte’s Web last night. That was my favorite book when I was little and I remember my Grandma Dieken giving it to me for a birthday gift one year – I must have read that book 100 times growing up. I’ve always saved that book, hoping that one day I would read it to my little girl and she could have it for her own, and now she willJ

When looking at a calendar this weekend I couldn’t believe how soon she will be here and all the things that may occur between now and then. We are still waiting to hear on Jimmy’s job and each week that passes I can’t help but think that’s one less week of house hunting, moving preparations, visits with the new doctor we will have, etc. However, I also know that this is nothing we can change and my stress and impatience won’t change anything about the circumstance. So, while it’s easier said than done I am trying to remain calm and do everything I can on our end in preparation for a possible move!

That’s all for this week. Little girl remains about the size of a squash.

Baby's now the size of a squash!
As baby's skin smoothes out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

vday recap - eureka springs

My hubby once again showered me with love for Valentine’s day. This was our 3^rd Valentine’s day together and our 1^st one as a married couple. Jimmy was out of town last week for work and got home before me on Friday. So not only did I get home excited to see my hubby but I also walked into a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers…..awww. He was there and of course after lots of hugs and kisses after being away for a week he told me the plans he had made for the weekend.

my lovely flowers

Our weekend started with a date night on Friday – we went out for a nice dinner and hit up a movie (one of the favorite things to do). We saw “Just Go With It” and it was hilarious – we both laughed a lot and enjoyed it, I would definitely recommend it.

Then Saturday morning we got up at a decent time, packed our bags and hit the road to Eureka Springs, AR. Eureka Springs is a place we’ve talked about going to for a weekend away for a long time and had never gotten around to it. We were told it was a lot like the town of Asheville, NC that we both love (and where we got engaged) – and it was. We enjoyed breakfast on the road and the beautiful views along the hour and a half or so trip to Eureka Springs. Once we got there we drove around downtown a little bit to see what it had to offer before locating our hotel, which was also downtown, and getting checked in. We checked into our hotel and ventured out to do some shopping and grab lunch. It was an awesome day, about 55 degrees, but they had just recently got a bunch of snow so it made things a little slippery and very wet. Of course I didn’t wear the right shoesJ so Jimmy was holding onto me the whole time afraid I was going to fall. We popped into a few stores and hit up a local pizza place for lunch before heading back to our hotel to get ready for our couples massages! I absolutely LOVE getting massages and hadn’t had a prenatal massage yet so it was definitely a treat. Our hotel had a spa in it and Jimmy had made us afternoon appointments. After our massages we went back to our room, relaxed for a while, then got ready for our dinner date. Dinner was included in our weekend package so we were able to head upstairs to the hotel restaurant for a yummy dinner and dessert to go. We spent the rest of the night hanging out in our room, enjoying being together, and remember our previous Valentine’s day datesJ

after our massages - enjoying a yummy chocolate strawberry



enjoying the sunshine before heading home

Then Sunday we got home, grabbed some breakfast and headed home. It was nice to get home at a decent time on Sunday and be able to get some things done around the house as well. So, we had a great Valentine’s day weekend enjoying each other’s company and realizing that it will be our last one as a family of 2. Which means next year we will have to twist the grandparents arm to take her for the weekend or haul her around with usJ

working out & pregnant

Pre warning – this is an opinionated post so if you are offended by others opinions do not readJ

I find it comical that every major life change merits people voicing their opinion on how they did or didn’t do things. When you get engaged everyone tells you about their wedding - what you should and shouldn’t do and what they did and didn’t do for their own. Now that I’m pregnant it’s the same thing - everyone seems to tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat, what you should and shouldn’t be wearing, how you should sleep, how hot you can and can’t let your body get, if you should or shouldn’t have an epidural, breastfeed, vaccinate your child, use cloth diapers, make your own baby food – it really is exhausting! While I value experience and advice, when asked, I do not value strong opinions forced upon others because someone else goggled it and read a bunch of other people’s opinions on it or didn’t trust their doctor.

So, my general rule of thumb throughout this pregnancy has been to ask our doctor questions and trust her opinion. After all, she had to go to how many years of school and has delivered how many babies safe and healthy? I’d like to think she has some idea of what she’s doingJ

One of the biggest points of contention for me was how much I could continue to work out and what I should and shouldn’t be doing in terms of a workout routine. Since becoming pregnant I have definitely altered my workouts and cut back in their frequency. While I used to work out 5-6 times a week I now hope to squeeze in 3. My primary pre-pregnancy routine was to go for a run, occasionally do some weights, and utilize my Biggest Loser DVDs – those babies are intense. My primary pregnancy routine is now to go for a walk/run – which is definitely more heavily weighted to the walk at month 7 - or do a modified Jillian Michaels workout DVD, and a prenatal yoga DVD I got for Christmas.

The main thing my doctor told me was to monitor my heart rate. I had heard so much about “you can do anything you were doing before”, “I ran until I was 9 months pregnant”, or “I ran a marathon at 6 months.” But for me, I listened to my doctor and continue to wear my trusty Garmin watch that monitors my heart rate and use that as my primary guideline. My intensity is totally dependent on what my heart rate is and as I get bigger it definitely elevates quicker and with less strenuous activities. So, I’ve modified along the way.

I’m not sure if there are any benefits to exercising while pregnant – I’d like to believe there are in terms of getting back in shape quicker after the baby, to help with endurance during pregnancy, and if nothing else in attempt to maintain a healthy lifestyle during these 9 months. But have I read lots of articles about it and conducted my own research? No because I’ve trusted my doctor to tell me what’s ok and not ok and gone from there.

I have a huge post pregnancy fear that I will just continue to expand and will have a hard time getting the extra weight off. The extra weight has definitely been the hardest thing for me about being pregnant. I hate the feeling of being heavy, even though I know it’s for a good reason and that I need to be gaining weight, it’s still hard.

So my post pregnancy plan is to run the Des Moines half marathon next fall which means I’d have to start training 8 weeks or so after little girl is born. I know that training will kick my butt as running 3 miles will seem like a huge undertaking when I first start back but I honestly can’t wait. While I’ve enjoyed this time of less intense and less frequent workouts I can’t wait to load up my baby girl and head out on a long run – hope she likes the stroller or I’m in troubleJ

29 weeks

11 weeks to go! I meant to pop back on after our appointment last week for an update on our ultrasound and glucola test but forgot so we will start there.

We had another ultrasound last week in hopes of getting a good picture of her full spine and it was finally a success. The tech was able to get the pictures our doctor was looking for and everything looked great. It was so fun to see her once again and I can’t get over how big she looks! Her position was still breech(ish). It looked like she’s moved a little bit but her head is still towards the top. The plan is to not do anything until week 34 (only 5 weeks away), at that point our doctor will check her position during my appointment and determine if she is breech or not. If she is our plan is to try an acupuncture treatment in hopes of getting her to turn, but if not, go ahead with a scheduled c-section. We talked to my doctor quite a bit about a manual adjustment or other options for turning her; we value her experience and advice and came to that plan based on her thoughts as well as ours. I am totally at peace with whatever happens. While I would love to experience a natural child birth I am not going to be discouraged if it doesn’t happen that way this time around. Our desire is for her to get here safely no matter how that happens.

We also had my glucola test and man that stuff is nasty! I really didn’t think it would be that bad but I think their attempt to make it a flavor is what makes it so nasty. I had to drink the sugar drink, wait an hour, and then have my blood drawn. They told me I’d hear within 2 days if things were abnormal and that if we didn’t hear anything then everything was ok. Our appointment as Tuesday and I have not heard from the doctor so I’m assuming everything was normal. I had no reason to believe otherwise but am glad this is the case as it makes the remainder of my pregnancy less complicated, so I hear. So, we are thankful for a good test result.

On another note we determined a name for our little peanut over the weekend and we both LOVE it. We’ve had a laundry list of names we liked for quite a while and have favored a few, but we settled in on one and a middle name as well. We also have decided we will leave that to be a surprise upon her arrival for everyone else. So family, you can stop asking, we aren’t telling until she’s hereJ We have to leave something a surprise, right?!

Aside from that I don’t have much to update on the pregnancy front. I think it’s crazy that we are going to appointments every 2 weeks now, I just now that will make the time between visits go even faster!

And she has now moved on to the size of a squash……

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

vday

The dreaded, or beloved, day of love is upon us. What are your plans? I’m not sure if we have any as that was left up to the hub this year but I’ve spent a lot of time the last few days brainstorming, and googling, clever valentine’s day gifts and date ideas for my man. Although we decided not to do “gifts” and just do something fun together I still thought about finding him something special just to say “I love you.” However, I’m feeling left empty handed this year with only a card to express my love. So I started thinking about things I’ve done in past years for him, and others, and thought I’d pass along some of those ideas as I thought they were pretty good ones. I did find some good date ideas online too that I thought were clever and different than the usual dinner and a movie night.

Idea #1

Homemade Card & Cookie Box - filled with nothing other than homemade cards and cookies. Remember the valentine’s card boxes we used to have to make in elementary to put all your valentines in? Well this is sort of a spinoff of that. If I remember correctly I used different colored tissue and wrapping paper to cover a shoe box, I then bought several different kiddie valentine cards and made some of my own, made homemade sugar cookies with frosting, decorated them, and filled the box with all these homemade goodies. Creative, fun, and tasty. However, the now practical side of me says, what am I gonna do with the box after I give it to him – throw it away, what a wasteJ

Idea #2

Dinner In & a Thoughtful Note – my first Valentine’s day with Jimmy is still one of my favorite memories of us. 2 years ago while I was living in North Carolina Jimmy came for a visit over Valentine’s Day(ish) and I planned a special evening in for just the 2 of us. I dressed up and got ready quickly then told him to take his time relaxing and getting ready while I prepared dinner. I then served him a 4 course candle lit dinner all dressed up. I remember our dinner conversation being all about our future together and our love for each other; I remember feeling total contentment and just genuinely enjoying each other’s company. After dinner we laid out a blanket and candles in front of the fireplace and I read him something I had written– “50 reasons why I love you”. After we got married and moved in together I found that “letter” amongst his things which made me realize how much it meant to him, even as a guyJ So, my best Valentine’s Day memory is my first one with Jimmy spent as an evening in together enjoying a candlelit dinner and the fireplace. Idea #2 = huge success.

Idea #3

Concert or Show Tickets – I’ve done this as a gift on several different occasions and it’s always a success. Doing something fun together that’s not an every day event is a fun way to say I love you.

Idea #4

Shopping & An Evening Out – last year for Valentine’s day Jimmy took me shopping to pick out any outfit I wanted and then we had reservations at a yummy Italian restaurant. It was lots of fun going together to pick out an outfit with no limitsJ and then hit the town. Probably more of a guy to girl gift idea but I loved it.

Idea #5

Stargazing – this is one I read about and thought it was a fun and creative idea. Since it’s cold in most states this month it may need a little variation but nonetheless I liked it. The idea was to pack a small picnic complete with a thermos of hot chocolate, or beverage of choice, candles, and a blanket, and head outside of town for an evening under the stars. While it may be cold it could be fun to bundle and cuddle up while enjoying a little picnic and drinks outdoors.

So – that’s about all I have for your Valentine’s Day date and/or gift ideas. I know I will enjoy this day with my love and be thankful that I have such an amazing person to share my life with. I also love to think about all the other people in my life that I love so much – my parents, siblings, niece and nephews, grandparents, friends and so on.

Whatever you do and whether you’re single, married, dating, engaged, or otherwise be sure to tell those that you love Happy Valentine’s Day and that you love them come MondayJ

And let me know if you have any other great gift or date ideas, I’d love to hear them!

28 weeks - 7 months - 3rd trimester

The home stretch! The countdown is on! I know I say it all the time but I really can’t believe how close it’s getting now. In just 8 weeks I’ll be full term and in 12 weeks (or less) she will be here!

The two words that best describe the way I’m feeling right now is uncomfortable and unprepared.

Uncomfortable because literally it seems like overnight I went from feeling relatively no to little change from my pre pregnancy self to everything feeling like such a feat to accomplish. Tying my shoes, drying off my bottom half after a shower, standing up from sitting, bending over, working out, or even walking seems difficult! This weekend while I was working out I really noticed a difference – one of my workouts is the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred which is strength, cardio, and abs – well while going to attempt pushups my belly kept hitting the ground before I had barely exerted my arm muscles, and then while moving into the abs portion of the workout I decided I’d just march in place instead – march in place, really?! I’m I 80 – haha! I just had to chuckle to myself and pat myself on the back for at least doing something, right?!

And unprepared because I feel like we are just in limbo. While we have all of the stuff for her room we are not putting it together because we don’t know where we may be living! While this could be a very good thing for us, because we may be moving closer to family before the baby gets here, it’s a bit nerve racking as well! I am definitely a planner; I love to-do lists, agendas, and plans to be in place. So, this in between time is definitely challenging my patience and my “go with the flow” attributes, or lack thereof! While the thought of physically moving doesn’t stress me out much because we work for a company that takes care of all that it’s the other stuff that makes me nervous. Finding and switching to a new doctor, selling our house, finding and buying a new one, and getting things in place prior to little miss arrives. A bit overwhelming – huh?! But, as I write this and the anxious feelings arise I trust that God knows better than us what He is planning and if that means we move, we move. After all, baby girl won’t know the difference between coming home to a beautiful nursery or a hotel room – rightJ?! So for now we will continue to pray as we wait for a response on a job and enjoy the calm before the stormJ

Other than those biggies not much else has been on my mind. I love to feel her move every day and I’m getting better at talking to her throughout the day. I was having a hard time with this at first, just feeling weird, not knowing if she actually heard my voice, or better yet, knew what the heck I was saying. But, I’ve read that communicating with your child for both parents is an important thing – so I’m working on itJ

We also have our last 4 week appointment tomorrow before they switch to every 2 weeks. We will have another ultrasound to see if our doctor can get an image of her spine as well as check her position – my guess is she is still breech! She’s already disobeying daddy as he tells her every night during their little “chats” that she needs to turn aroundJ I also have my glucola test, which tests for gestational diabetes, tomorrow. Lets hope I can choke the sugary drink down without any problems and that my test comes back normal! I’ve been encouraged to read that your sugar intake doesn’t really have anything to do with the results of the test – it’s more how your body processes it. Which is good because lets be honest, I like my sugarJ

Alrighty – that’s all for today. I’ll keep you posted on the glucola test and her ultrasound.

My weekly email tell me she’s still the size of an eggplant, here’s the description and my 7 month photo – enjoy and happy MondayJ

Baby's now the size of an eggplant!
Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, she has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit.

28 weeks, 7 months - taken Feb 6, 2011

housewives & a purpose

So we’ve been snowed in the last few days and forced to work from home. We got an ice storm late Monday night followed by snow all day yesterday and blowing today, coupled with cold cold temperatures. Which means, while working away on my laptop I’ve had the pleasure of viewing some daytime television. Seriously what has happened to TV? It is filled with reality TV, shows of glamorous housewives who do absolutely nothing but primp themselves and go to fancy lunch and dinner parties. It really is quite comical if you think about it. These women married or date rich men which allows them to have no job, spend their time working out, getting Botox, their hair and nails done, meeting each other for a nice lunch of salad and wine, and then going to each other’s fancy dinner parties – awww that’s the life huh?! Which is what I originally thought but when I thought about it a little more I thought about the lack of purpose they must feel and how boring that would actually be. Now don’t get me wrong – I love getting my nails and hair done, and enjoy having lunch with friends - but every day? Imagine what that would be like to actually wake up and not have anywhere you really need to be or anything to do that really matters.

I have always wanted to do something that fulfills me and feeds my passions. While looking at my job description I may have to argue a bit to prove how it does that but for me it goes further than a job title. I work for a company that literally feeds the world. Farmers all over the world utilize our products to grow and build things that feed the world. It took me a while to fully understand that but it truly is an amazing thing when you think about it. I have had the opportunity to work in several of our office, and hopefully, in one way or another, I have influenced the lives of those I have worked with, in a positive way. And beyond my work I think about my role in life as a wife, sister, a best friend, a daughter, a niece, a granddaughter. There are so many roles we are asked to take on and fulfill to our very best ability, so when I think about my purpose and fulfillment in life it comes from those things in addition to the role I play at work in an office every day. As I’ve thought about my options when it comes to work after the baby I’ve thought a lot about the bigger picture in life and where my true purpose lies. While I think it will be very healthy and good for me to stay in the working world, I know my biggest purpose will be to fulfill my role as a mom and a wife, a daughter, a sister,  a friend, niece, granddaughter, and child of God.

So when I watch shows like “The Real Housewives of …..” and find myself thinking about how glamorous and lovely that lifestyle would be, I bring myself back to reality and think about all the purpose my life has and how fulfilled I feel every day because I am surrounded by those I love and that love me.