To All The Mommies and Mommies To Be

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "Normal," is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct.
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring ......
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "! turn out good."
Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices .
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother.
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with her math.

Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first.
Somebody doesn't have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books.
Somebody never had a child stuff playdoh up his nose.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery.
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten...
or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.
Somebody never organized four giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married.
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home.
Somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her
Somebody isn't a mother.

The One Where I Get All Sappy and Stuff

Do you ever feel like you want to shout your love for someone from the rooftops?

I've been feeling that way about Husby lately. I don't really know why, and I in no way mean to brag on here about how great he is, I just feel like giving him a shout-out for being such a wonderful husband.

I guess I feel bad because I'm not always as appreciative of him and all he does for me as much as I should be. Sometimes I let all the crap that goes on crowd out all the good that goes on. Not that there's a lot of crap, but let's face it, every marriage has their share of stuff that you couldn't have possibly prepared for when you were dating. The good thing about all the crap though, is how much you learn about each other--and yourselves--in the process. It really does make your marriage strong, and it creates a sense of a true "partnership".

I love to look at Jeff across a crowded room and just watch him. Very stalker-like. But as I watch him, I love knowing that he chose me out of all the girls in the world, that I am the lucky one who gets to spend her life learning him inside and out.

I don't really know where to begin. Maybe I'll just make a list of some of the things I love about him.

1) I love that he calls me Preg-Pig, Pig, Haggy, The Hag, Bunny-Hop, etc.
2) I love that he's a cop, because cops are sexy, and I feel safe with him.
3) I love that he shares the same dreams that I do: To own a house and have little babies.
4) I love that he wanted to buy me a car that's nicer than his--and did.
5) I love that he kisses me goodbye at 5 am on the mornings he works, and tells me I'm beautiful, even though I'm all bed-head and sleepy-eyed.
6) I love that he doesn't get mad at me when I buy something I shouldn't have.
7) I love to chase him around the house.
8) I love when he told me, "No matter how old our kids are, boys or girls or both, they won't be allowed to leave the house until they've given me a hug goodbye. Even if we have a son and he's just home visiting from college. I won't let him leave without a hug."
9) I love that he has a strong need to support me, make sure I'm taken care of, and have all the things that I not only need, but want, too.
10) I love that he likes to lay in bed with me and watch Law and Order every night.
11) I love that he will watch A Baby Story on TLC with me.
12) I love that I got him hooked on coffee.
13) I love that he has a funny nickname for almost every person I know.
14) I love when he makes up words.
15) I love when he motivates me to go to the gym with him, even when I don't feel like it.
16) I love that other people like him--a lot.
17) I love that he is very respected at his job, and is told frequently that he'll go very far because of how dedicated he is.
18) I love that he when he met my ex-boyfriend, he shook his hand, looked at him in the eye, and was friendly.
19) I love when he scratches me or massages me without my asking.
20) I love that he's a big goofball with me.
21) I love when he says, "I can't wait for Sweetie Pie to be born, so I can hang out and just play with him/her."
22) I love when he surprises me by coming to my work just to say hi.
23) I love that he has an awesome singing voice but is modest about it.
24) I love that he wrote me song and played it for me on his guitar.
25) I love that he loves our kitties.

I could go on, but I won't. I'll just tell you all, that I am seriously, the luckiest girl in the universe!!

I believe I have entered my first pregnancy-related food crisis.

I think I live in the only house on planet earth that has NO Peanut Butter.

Yes, I said "no" and "peanut butter" in the same sentence.

There is no peanut butter in any mild form whatsoever, in any semblance of existence in this household.

Have you caught my drift yet?

I want a peanut butter fluff sandwich, and I want it now, Darnit.

And no, this crazy lady is not going to the store. Any other evening, I would happily run to the store or at least send Jeff. However this evening is special, because I am lazy and Jeff is working overtime.

I'm settling for strawberry rhubarb and butter on toast and some Smart Start cereal for dinner instead. Yeah, I know, how unhealthy. But I almost dipped a Reese's Peanut Butter cup in some marshmallow fluff, but stopped myself. So don't press your luck.

Failed to Launch

Ummm, the chemistry between Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McCaughnahey is about as sizzling as... this wet March weather.
Jeff and I went to see Failure to Launch last night, and I have to say it was thoroughly disappointing. The only fun I had was seeing Sarah Jessica Parker's cute outfits. I honestly think I could have done a better job with the writing myself, and the acting was pretty bad. Matthew needs a new agent, or at least some help in picking out scripts. This one was frighteningly similar to How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, with the lying, the token 2 guy friends, etc. Now How to Lose a Guy...THAT was a good movie. Kate Hudson and Matt had incredible chemistry (I have to ask SJP, how is it possible to not have chemistry with MATTHEW MCCAUGHNAHEY???).
Anyway, hope I didn't burst anyone's bubble... I just had to share my disappointment.

I'm going wedding dress shopping with my BFF from highschool tomorrow. I'm so excited! It's going to be WEIRD seeing her in a wedding dress. It's probably going to be just as weird for her too see me with a baby in my belly, as I haven't seen her since last summer. Anyway, I'm writing about this because she most likely has already picked out our bridesmaids dresses, and I'm thrilled because they're from JCREW (where was JCREW when I got married??) and less than $100. Here's a picture:

Isn't it cute?? The wedding is outside on 10/1/06 and I'm SO hoping that I'll have lost the baby weight by then. But still have big boobs and a great tan! Oh, and apparently, the shoes are really cute flip flops. I love this! It's like what I'd wear to the wedding anyway! There's nothing worse than being stuck with having to pay like $400 for shoes and a dress you'll never wear again.

So HAPPY SAINT PATTIES DAY, everyone! Will one of you non-preggies please chug a green beer for me?

Baby names

Okay, time for...


BABY NAMES!!!


Here's what we've decided on (To get the full effect, you might want to know that our last name starts with an S and is 2 syllables. So make up your own, like Selton or something, and say it after the name):

Boy name:

Coleman Rowe S...

Meaningfulness:
Coleman is my dad and grandpa's middle name, and I like Cole for short.
Rowe is Husby's grandpa's last name, with whom he was very close.

Girl name:

Addison Rowe S...

Meaningfulness:
Addison just sounds cool.

These are pretty much decided on. It's weird to know that there is a little Cole or Addy just chillin' in my office with me right now...

Belly Pic

My 19.5 weeks belly shot
(Hot slippers, huh!)

Ultrasound Follow up

So you may be wondering if my baby has a stomach or not.... (Thank you, Avorie, for asking!)

The first 10 minutes of the U/S were pretty stressful. The technician was searching and searching, still to avail no baby tummy. So he decided to measure my amniotic fluid first then go back to stomach-searching. It measured fine, which suggested there must be a stomach somewhere in there. So he went back to searching, and after a couple minutes, he practically shouted, "Aha! There it is! That's the stomach!" And proceeded to take like 8 pictures of it. If you ever want a picture of a 19 week old fetus' stomach, please call me, I have a few on hand.

So we are thrilled. And so unbelievably relieved. It was a LONG 8 days. But during the course of those 8 days I received many encouraging stories and lots of prayer, which was so great.

We found out that our baby is super-active (I already knew that from the 30+ times a day I feel some sort of jab/roll/kick) and likes to hang out straight up and down. It's head is to the right of my bellybutton, and its butt is several inches directly below. And it was really weird, we saw it "climb" backwards into a different area of the womb during the ultrasound. Like it was hiding from us or something! Such a funny little baby. I can't wait to officially meet him/her.

Oh, and stay tuned, I'll post our boy and girl name selections next post!

New Position

So my new job position is absolutely CRAZY and absolutely FUN. My days fly by, and I'm no longer stuck on the phone 24/7 doing sales. Have I ever mentioned how much I did not enjoy doing that? I stuck w/it because it was a temporary position. The ad agency I work for is very new (The company was founded 5 years ago, but I was only 1 of 2 people starting up this West Coast office). Lucky for me and everyone else who has believed in us, we've been doing very well for ourselves. So now instead of doing sales, I'm doing a million other things. Account coordination and PR. I love PR. It's the creative side. I get to plan parties and events, and put ads in newspapers, and blah blah blah, it's fun. Although I'm doing all this just in time to "semi-retire" when Sweetie Pie is born. But I will always keep my foot in the door, and always do a little here and there because A) I'm always up for making some extra cash, and B) I believe this company is going to go far, and I want to be a part of it.

Okay, that was my lunch break. Now I have to go shove a sandwich down my throat while I type 11 emails.

Wow!

Thanks for caring, guys! I feel really special. Sorry if I've worried you, my excuse is nothing exciting, I've been so absent because I've changed positions at my company, and now have ZERO extra time at work...I'm the "eating in front of the computer" busy. So I can't take long to post this, but I will try to do something tonight. You should definitely see my stomach, Sweetie Pie's growing like a weed.
One quick update:
We had an 18 week ultrasound this Monday, and the tech couldn't find the baby's stomach, which means it wasn't full, which means Sweetie Pie wasn't swallowing. We went back 2 more times that same day, and the tech still couldn't find it, and that is not normal. Everything else is perfectly normal, though, so we're going back next Tuesday for a follow up to see if we can find the stomach. If not, I don't know what's going to happen, probably a million tests, etc... So if any of you are the praying type, please keep my little one in your prayers! It's all I can do to not freak out at this point. Tuesday is a long way away!