21 week check-in

How far along? 21 Weeks
Total weight gain: 12 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Pants: 100%   Tops: Some, but some of my regular tops are still fitting
Stretch marks? No, thank god
Best moment this week: Feeling regular, daily kicks
Sleep: Has been ok. I have been having some crazy dreams!
Missing Anything? Margaritas. Especially when we go out for Mexican.
Movement: Yes. It's the best feeling ever!
Food cravings: Drumstick ice cream cones
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only when I ate too many jelly beans at once
Gender: It's a boy!
Labor Signs: Just a few Braxton Hicks here and there
Symptoms: Fatigue, soar back, heartburn
Belly Button in or out? In, but very shallow
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: My appointment next week!

Ready For The Beach

         At least one of will be ready for the beach this summer. Since Quinten is due in early July I knew I needed to get him a bathing suit in at least a 0-3 month size. The problem? They seem to start most suits in 6 months size in all the kids stores I know of. I looked high and low for a swim suit for little man. Baby Gap, Carters, Gymboree, and Children's Place all had nothing. I wanted trunks and a shirt, so that my sweet babies skin is well protected. I searched online and in stores to no avail, and what do you know...? As soon as I stopped looking I stopped in a Crazy 8 store on a whim and found the cutest 0-3 month size swim suit ever! It is 2 pieces, trunks and a SPF 50 shirt. And to make it even cuter, the shirt has a hood with eyes. I could go on and on about this, but I will just show you instead!

Isn't it cute? I just love the frogs! Now if only mommy will be ready to brave putting on a swim suit any time this summer. I think shorts and a tank top may be my beach wear of choice. It is one downfall to having your little one smack dab in the middle of swim suit season. Mental note... only fall or winter babies from now on!

Labor Playlist

   I know it is really early, but I have started compositing a playlist on my Iphone for while I am in labor. With Madison I didn't have any music, and I remember wishing I had something to listen to, so time would pass faster. I have enlisted the help of my hubby, and the list we have so far is pretty humorous. Songs tend to take on whole new meanings when you are going through something like giving birth. We like a wide variety of music so the list includes everything from rock to country to rap. Here is a small taste of what we have. Maybe as my due date gets closer I will post the whole list.

1. Let's Get It Started- Black Eyed Peas
2. If You're Going Through Hell- Rodney Atkins
3. Push It- Salt N Peppa
4. You Shook Me All Night Long- AC/DC
5. Halo- Beyonce
6. Your Song- Elton John
7. Don't Stop Believing- Glee Cast

Weekly Checkin

       This has been a tough week end for our little family! Daddy has bronchitis, mommy has the flu, and sissy dislocated her arm. After two days in the ER though, we are all home and on the mend. Thank god for good doctors. Has anyone else ever realized that people only seem to get sick on the weekends when doctor's offices are closed? This seems to always be the case for our family.
      Anyways, I can't believe that as of this Tuesday little guy will be "half-baked". I don't know where the past 20 weeks of my pregnancy have gone. I really hope that the next 20 weeks fly by just as fast. Here is a check-in on mama and little man for the past week.

How far along? 19 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain: 11 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Pants: 100%   Tops: Some, but some of my regular tops are still fitting
Stretch marks? No new ones after my pregnancy with sissy
Best moment this week: Daddy feeling little man kick
Sleep: Hasn't been great. Mostly due to being sick
Missing Anything? Margaritas
Movement: Some, until yesterday, when little guy started moving around like crazy.
Food cravings: Fresh fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: I have the flu, so almost everything.
Gender: Male!
Labor Signs: None
Symptoms: Fatigue, soar back, heartburn
Belly Button in or out? In, but very shallow
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Our birthing classes and hospital tour

Pregnancy Must Haves

    We are almost to the half way mark! It is hard to believe that we will be meeting our little guy in 20 weeks or so. I decided that I would share some of the things that have helped me through this pregnancy so far!

Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee: It is even better if it is vanilla! This is my go to drink in the mornings. Going to school while pregnant is very stressful at times and picking up coffee on my way there is the only thing that motivates me to go some mornings.

Island Margarita Candle: This candle from Bath and Body Works is my all time favorite! It smells amazing, and reminds me of summer during these cold, dull, winter months. Both mommy and Quinten love taking warm baths with candles after a long day. He is always active when I am relaxed in the tub.

OPI Nail Polish: Especially in bright colors! Once again, this is something that lifts my moods in these winter months. Some of my favorite colors right now are Need Sunglasses, No Room For The Blues, Strawberry Margarita, Excuse Moi, and Gargantuan Green Grape.

Vasaline Cocoa Butter: This is what I am using to prevent my skin from drying out, especially on my belly. I love the smell of it, and it leaves me soft, but not greasy.

I am also in love with my body pillow, Smart Water, and Qdoba's burritos. I think that finding things that make your pregnancy fun is really important! All of these things are small but they make me happy, and being happy makes the pregnancy go faster.

Be My Valentine

       Tom and I decided to celebrate V-day a day early since I was supposed to work last night, and he doesn't like crowds anyways. We went to my OB appointment, which was just a super quick in and out, then took Maddie to McDonalds for breakfast. Next we went to Babies R Us and added a few things to our registry. One being the bedding I finally decided could work for the theme I want in the nursery.

        Next we went to the mall where my hubby kept asking me what I wanted for Valentines Day. I told him all the things I didn't want instead. No flowers because they die, no candy because I'm not a big sweets person, no clothes because I don't like maternity stuff for the most part, and no shoes (my obsession) because I can't even think about wearing heels right now. He decided to go with a Vera Bradley wallet, which matches the diaper bag he has put away for my b-day. 

       At this point Maddie was ready to go, so we dropped her off at Grandma's and went to my favorite place for dinner. Joe's Crab Shack! Not very romantic, but they just opened one close to us about a month ago, and I have been dying to go there. It is the one place I always insist on going on our Myrtle Beach vacations.

     Yesterday I wound up in the ER again. I passed out at work, and my co-workers forced me to go. My blood pressure was low, and they are sending me to a Cardiologist to make sure it isn't a more serious heart problem. Quinten is fine though, and had a strong heart beat of 150. I am so happy we got to have a nice V-day, and our night in the ER didn't throw off any plans. Today I plan on taking it easy, and trying to clean the house a bit. The Dr. told me not to over do it, but my house could really use some cleaning. If only my hubby and daughter knew how to pick up after themselves. LOL. I love my family but they make the biggest messes of anyone I have ever known.  

Fun Pregnancy Buys

      Today I got super motivated and cleaned out the closet in Madison's room to make room for some of brother's things. I got super emotional as I put aside her 24 month sized clothes to donate. They are so big! Where did my tiny baby girl go? *Sniff, sniff* After this I looked at her old infant car seat and low and behold, it expires in March. Boo! This lead me to start researching infant car seats with the hubby. After a lot of reading, we decided on the Graco Snugride 30. Thankfully Babies R Us is having their trade in event, so we can take the old car seat in and get 25% off of our new one. (See car seat below)

     After we get our tax money back Tom has promised to get me a present from him to me (not baby). He told me I can get whatever diaper bag I want! Woo hoo! I was going between a Vera Bradley and a Petunia Pickle Bottom bag. I finally chose the Vera Bradley since the outside of it is more neutral. Isn't it pretty? I thought it was sweet of him to want me to have something really nice that is baby related, but still just for me. Much more appreciated then the breast pump he was going to try to pass off as a gift.

      Not baby related at all, but don't you just love tax time? I know I do! It gives us a chance to pay off any debts we may have (this year is our wedding bands and my engagement rings), fix anything we need to on Tom's car (mine is a 2012 so it doesn't need any work), pay all our regular bills, and get to go on a "grown up" date. You know, where you leave the kids with grandma, go out to eat at a nice restaurant where you get to dress up, and don't have to worry about ordering a meal you know won't get eaten off the kids menu. Yea for tax time!

Day Dreams of Nursery Spaces

      The minute I found out I was pregnant I started to imagine what I may do for the nursery. I thought about nautical themes, and gardens, paisley, and all sorts of animals. Once we found out we were having a boy that narrowed down the choices, but I still wasn't sure what to do. Pintrest became my best friend! I looked at tons of nurseries and finally decided on a subdued savanna theme. The colors are sage green, and chocolate brown with animal print elements. I plan to buy him one of those big giraffe stuffed animals to go in the room. The picture below has been my main inspiration, but instead of a tree on the wall I like the decal in the other picture. I am still trying to decide if white furniture is masculine enough. I think it will work. Plus it will keep the room lighter then dark cherry furniture like Maddie has in her room.

           I can not wait to start on little man's nursery! But alas, we are looking to buy a house before he comes so I must hold off. I am super excited to be getting a house though! Not an apartment, or a town house that we will rent, but our own house! Tom and I have looked around our area and found 10 or so houses we think we may like, so now we just have to go see them with a realtor.

Pregnant girl on campus

   What was I thinking when I signed up for classes this semester? Let alone going to school full time! Right now it isn't too bad, but I know by May getting to class will be a major challenge. It seems like no matter how early I get to school the same parking spots, what seems like half a mile away, are left. Not to mention all my classes are pretty intense. I keep telling myself that when I am graduated and working as a medical laboratory technician it will all be worth it. I am doing this for my family, so that I can give my kids a better life. I am still not sure if I will take a semester off after little man is here, but just in case I decide to I didn't want to take this semester off as well. A year out of school is just too long! So, I will press on. I will do my best to stick it out. After all, I am almost half way there!

Future Soccer Star?

         I have been feeling Quinten's little flutters from inside my tummy for a while now! There is nothing better then feeling your little one move around for peace of mind that they are all right in there. Tom even got to feel one, good, strong kick on the night we find out little man was a boy! (You want to talk about icing on the cake.) After that one kick though, Quinten hasn't really been letting daddy feel him too much. Much to my husbands annoyance of course.
       Last night little man decided to tease us a bit! We were laying in bed, and as I was waiting to fall asleep I felt from the outside of my belly, where I had my hands resting, one good, strong kick, It was enough to really surprise me! I told Tom and he put his hands on my belly, trying to get his son to move. After about 2 minutes he didn't feel anything, so he took his hands off. Next thing you know, BAM, there was that same little jab I had felt before. I told daddy, and again he put his hands there. This time as he was about to take them off, he put them back down quickly. Little man felt the pressure of daddy's hands release and jabbed again, but this time daddy caught it. My husband is convinced our son is conspiring against him. Lol!
     Quinten dear, daddy just wants to feel you move so he knows you are ok in there. We have our hands full with this little guy already!

Elective Ultrasound

      For and early Valentine's Day present hubby and I decided to go get an early ultrasound done. This was the best present anyone has ever gotten me! Seeing our baby was amazing, and knowing he was a HE made it even better! He wasn't shy at all and had no problem showing off to mommy, daddy, and sissy. Maddie kept telling the tech "see my sissy" so the tech told her, "No, that is your brother." It was a great moment! I cried and Tom had the best look on his face ever.
       We are really wanting to go back for a 3D ultrasound when it is time. This will be our anniversary present to each other.

      I have been spoiled this pregnancy. I have already had 2 ultrasounds and know I will get 1-2 more. With Maddie I only had 1 done at 21 weeks. It has been really amazing to watch Quinten grow. Plus having lots of pictures of him is nice.

Here is Quinten at 17 weeks

Little guy waiving "Hi" to everyone

Showing off his "stuff"

Crafty Mama

      I don't normally dive head first into crafts but ever since I have found out we are expecting I have been dying to try this DIY project! Have you looked at crib mobiles lately? They are super pricey, and it can be hard to find one that goes with the nursery theme that is evolving in your head (this will be shared in detail in a later post). After failing to find anything that made me happy online I took a trip to AC Moore and got all the things I thought it would take to make my own mobile.

             I bought 6 sheets of scrap booking paper, a bottle of mog-podge, a embroidery hoop, and 2 spools of ribbon.

First I painted the inside circle of the hoop green and set it out to dry. 

After cutting about 100 circles out of the paper I cut ribbon into long strips for the hanging part of the mobile. You sandwich the ribbon between two circles that have been coated in mod-podge on the inside to make them stick together.

 I did 10 ribbons that were staggared about every 2 inches around the circle.

 Each ribbon either had 5 or 6 circles.

Next you hot glue each ribbon to the hoop.

The last step was to take 4 pieces of ribbon and hot glue them to the top of the ring to be hung from the ceiling.

   And that was all there was to it. You can see my finished project below. I am very proud of it!

Another perk to this mobile, it only took about $20 to buy everything I needed! The most time consuming part was cutting the circles, but I did that after Maddie was in bed while I watched The Bachelor.

Almost half way there

     Well, almost half way into my pregnancy I have found the energy to begin the blog I have been meaning to start throughout my entire pregnancy.
I guess I will begin with a quick overview of my pregnancy. I am due July 9th with our second child. It's a boy this time! After going back and forth for a while we have decided that his name will be Quinten. Daddy and sissy are both over the moon excited to have another boy around the house. Daddy was becoming sadly outnumbered.
       We are trying lots of things I didn't get to do when I was pregnant with my daughter. We did an elective ultrasound at 17 weeks to find out the sex of our baby. We were all impatient to see what our little one was. We also signed up for child birthing classes, which I didn't bother to do the first time around. I am entertaining the thought of a med free birth for our little man unlike my medicated birth with my daughter. I didn't like the lack of mobility I had with an epidural. We also may go back for a 3D ultrasound at 34 weeks. I guess it all depends on if we have the money at the time. Lol.
      I am 18 weeks and 2 days today. I keep telling myself that this is almost half way there. It seems that my pregnancy, which was flying by over the holidays, has come to a screeching halt. My morning sickness still isn't completely gone, but has gotten a little better. I feel so different then the last time I was pregnant. I have no energy, and my back is always sore. With my daughter I felt great during my second trimester. That is why I had a feeling this little one was a boy.
        Who is this daughter that I keep referring to you ask? Why it is little, princess Madison! She is two years old and thrilled to be a big sister. She loves to talk to her "brudder" and sing him songs. It is precious. Really she is just like any other two year old. Loves pizza, Dora, Blues Clues, and Bubbles. Hates veggies, bed time, medicine, and having her hair brushed. I just know she is going to be the best big sister ever!
         I promise I will keep this blog up to date with all my pregnancy happenings! This is as much a promise to myself as anyone who happens to be reading. I wish I had written down what happened while I was pregnant with Madison, because I really didn't remember half of the stuff that happened early on in this pregnancy. I guess once our baby is in our arms we block out all the unpleasantness of the past 9 month of pregnancy. This time I won't forget! All the little things that make pregnancy what it is, these are what I want to remember!

Here is our gender announcement for little man.