Daddy got the pea out!

"Daddy got the pea out," is all we've been hearing lately at our house!  Why?  You guessed it!  Kensie and I were eating lunch the other day when she thought it'd be funny to put a pea up her nose!  I should have seen it coming.  She's quite the jokster these days, so just minutes before, she was testing me by pretending to put a pea up her nose.  No sooner had I just finished telling her that it wasn't funny and that peas don't go in our nose, do I hear "it's all gone mama."

"What's all gone?"  I ask.
"Da pea.  It's gooooone.  Upa my nose," as she tilts her head backwards to show me her handy work.
"Kensie!  Are you kidding me?  I just told you that peas don't belong in our nose.  Aye aye aye."
"Ha ha ha Aye aye aye, mama!" She repeated.

Oh lordy.  How am I supposed to get this thing out?!  Then I remembered the story I've heard countless times about when I was little and put a fish weight up my nose.  (It's true what they say.  Paybacks are a B!)  I remember my mom telling me that they plugged one nostril and blew in my mouth and the weight popped out.

"Alright, I'll give this a shot," I thought.  It didn't work.  Kensie was less than impressed and I bet that when I had the fish weight up my nose, I wasn't also covered in snot!  I swear, she was producing it faster than I could wipe it away.  And have you ever tried to blow in someones mouth, simultaneously covering their nostril, while they're covered in goo and in hysterical tears? Well... It's no easy task!  I'm fairly certain that wrestling an alligator would have been easier. 

At this point, I started to freak out a little bit.  The pea was going further and further up her nose.  I could barely see it anymore.  Do I call the fire department?  It's not really an emergency but what if she keeps sniffing it up further and it gets lodged in her brain?!  Yes, I know that can't really happen but you try reasoning with a pregnant mom of a hysterical toddler.  I was hot, sweaty and my nerves were shot.  I just experienced a workout the equivalent of running a marathon and the pea was still in her nose.  "Okay, it's time to call in Daddy reinforcements!"

By the time my husband got to the house the pea was barely visible.  He tried to blow it out, which was about as successful as my attempts, and then he grabbed the tweezers.  Between the two of us, and about ten minutes later, we finally retrieved that blasted pea! I think it's safe to say that peas are no longer on the menu at our house anytime in the foreseeable future.

WEEK 24

Yet again I'm behind on my post.  Finding the energy to put on a cute outfit, and do my hair and make-up to take a picture is Just. Not. Happening!  So I put it off for a day, and then another day, and then another day, until I realize that I'm another week along.  Oops.  Good thing I'm not attempting to take pictures each week!

The temperatures haven't been as hot lately but they're still brutal so we limit our outdoor activities on the days above 95.  We got a membership to a children's museum here in Medford, so that has helped keep Kensie busy, and me comfortable, on the really hot days.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good.  I typically have low blood pressure (Yay me!) but unfortunately I've been experiencing really low blood pressure with this pregnancy.  Like really low.  My last reading was 90 over 55.  More and more I'm experiencing an hour or two a day where my heart starts racing, I get really lightheaded, short of breath, and nauseous. Annnnd it's completely out of nowhere, which is fun!  Once I sit or lie down for a while it subsides and I feel better.  They say that your blood pressure is lowest during the latter part of your second trimester so hopefully it will get better in the coming weeks.  I don't remember experiencing this last time. 

Picture is at 25 Weeks

Any Cravings?  Sadly, Junk!  All I want lately are sweets. Like constantly!  Mainly s'mores or cake.  I'm really trying to eat natural sugars, like fruit, as much as I can instead of the processed ones, but I allow myself a little dessert on the daily.  It just tastes sooooo good!  Like 10 times better than usual.  And with all of the uncomforts (yes that's a word) of pregnancy, a little comfort food goes a loooong way!

Weight Gain?  Even with all of the junk cravings, I'm only up 15lbs.  At this point with Kens, I was up a good 25, soooo WIN!

Maternity Clothes?  Uhhhh huhhh!  My Medium maternity shorts are starting to get a little snug around the tush and thigh area.  Lovely.  I've taken a few weeks off from the gym due to the whole blood pressure/passing out thing, but I need to get back!

Movement? YES!!! Finally!!!  I feel baby girl all the time now.  I can even see my stomach move once in a while.  She still gets shy when people try to feel her move but she cooperated just long enough that even daddy felt her move the other day! 


How are you feeling?  Some days good.  Some days meh.  And some days Gahhhhh!  I think the "Gah" days are mainly the days where Kensie is a bit of a stinker so I'm completely exhausted.  She's been cutting her two year molars (for real this time!) so the past few weeks have been DRAINING!  It's been like fighting with a bag of cats while trying to smuggle a watermelon at the same time.  Have you ever tried doing that?  Let me tell ya, it's no piece of cake!  Mmmmm 

Stretch marks?  No new ones yet! But based on how pointy my stomach is (on account of my placenta being in the front, right underneath my belly button) I anticipate a whole new brigade of them moving in any time now.  My stomach is so incredibly hard.  I really don't know how the next 14 weeks (Yes 14! Whoa!) are going to play out. 

Best moment of the week? There have been two.  The first is when Ian felt the baby kick.  We were laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep when she started kicking like crazy.  He put is hand on my left side and she tried to kick his hand away.  I love his reaction when he can feel her move.  It's so wonderful finally being able to share that with him!

The second best moment this week was......wait for it........Kensie went pee pee in the potty!!!  Hallelujah!!!  She loves to tell us that she has to go but when we have her sit there she laughs and runs away.  I think she loves messing with us!  Well this time, she told her Mei Mei that she had to go and she actually went!  She was so proud of herself and all of the excitement that she received.  Hopefully she'll keep it up!

Sleep? Ugh, don't get me started.  If I actually fall asleep in our bed, I wake up in pain.  Back pain, neck pain, just pain in general.  I'm pretty sure it's mattress related and not pregnancy related.  We're considering a new bed but ughhhh.  We just bought this one two years ago so I'm having trouble pulling the trigger.  In the meantime, we have a really comfortable guest bed/future Kensie's big girl bed, and couch so I've been spending a lot of my time in other rooms.  I miss sleeping with the hubs though.  I don't know how some married couples have separate bedrooms.  I really miss him when I'm gone!

Miss anything?  I should be missing lunch meat, but I eat that almost daily.  Still microwaved of course!  


Belly button in or out?  Almost all the way out!

Wedding rings on or off?  On! 

Current mood?  Currently, as in right now?  Very happy!  But Kens has been back to herself the past few days so that makes me very happy!  Ask me again next week. ;p

WEEK 20! We're having a........

GIRL!!!  We're having another baby girl!!  I'm so excited for Kensie to have a sister! (and a little terrified for the teenage years, if I'm being honest)! Although, I think she might be slightly disappointed.  Every time I ask her who's in mommy's tummy she responds "baby boy in mama's tummy".  I'm not sure where that came from but we're working on "baby sister in mama's tummy".  Its now starting to catch on.

Again, I'm behind on my posts. Sigh......While writing this I am currently 21 weeks along, and we found out our gender news at 19 weeks.  It's taken me this long to post a picture because honestly.....I keep forgetting to have Ian take one.  It was my goal to do a picture every two weeks but at 19 weeks I realized that I'd forgotten to take an 18 week picture and then at 20.5 weeks I realized that I still hadn't taken a 20 week picture!  I wanted to have my hair all cute with a cute outfit and my make-up done, but by the time I would think about having my picture taken I'd be a hot mess.  Between my forgetfulness and my desire to look presentable in the photo, I've come to the conclusion that a picture was never going to meet my requirements.  So here you go folks!  No make-up, hair's a mess, and I'm wearing blue when it would have been a better picture in pink, but at least I took a shower!   WIN!!!  Oh well, at least it's being documented, right?

I spy a little helper

Any Cravings?  The salsa craving has kind of subsided the past few weeks and I've moved on to Cream of Wheat with fresh berries in it.  Can you say YUM?!?!  And also weird!!  I wake up every morning needing a big bowl of it.  And it's so delicious!!  Being pregnant in the summer does have its perks.  All the fresh berries I could want!!!  To offset all of this healthy eating, I of course, want ice cream ALL. THE. TIME! 

Maternity Clothes?  I went and bought a few more tank tops this week and two more pairs of shorts so hopefully I'll be set for the summer.  I thought I could make due with two pairs of shorts but having a toddler around makes this impossible!  I constantly have peanut butter, or strawberries, or some questionable substance on me, so more shorts were a necessity!

Movement?  I think I mentioned that I've been a little nervous because I haven't been feeling as much movement as I remembered feeling with Kensie around this time.  Well it turns out that there's a reason!!  At our gender ultrasound I was told that the placenta is in the front so it will make it more difficult to feel her wiggles.  The doctor said it's like having a thick wool blanket between me and the baby so no wonder the movement has been subdued!  The movement I have felt has also been a very odd sensation.  It's much deeper and less on the surface of my stomach than I felt with Kensie.  And I'm pretty sure this kid gets a good chuckle from kicking what I can only imagine is my colon....And on a pretty regular basis.  Talk about a bizarre butt-puckering experience!!!   I'm sure I look like a lunatic when this happens as I have an uncontrollable reflex that makes me jump and and say "woooo" like I'm being goosed by the invisible man!  I can safely say that this didn't happen in my first pregnancy, and I'd be okay if it didn't continue for very long.

How are you feeling?  HOT!!!  Like really hot!  And we're supposed to hit 108 this week!  Gahhhhh!  Thank goodness for air conditioning!!  And ice cream!! 

Stretch marks?  No new ones yet! 

Best moment of the week?  I'd like to say our gender appointment but that would be a lie!  Unfortunately we had an overly excitable doctor at the appointment who had terrible bedside manor.  Long story short, he scared me to death by telling me that with my previous c-section and my placenta being in the front, that I was at risk for a life threatening condition.  Then he continued to tell me that if I had this condition then "it would be disastrous" and I "would have to have my uterus removed or I would bleed out and die on the table".  Needless to say, I was a basket case for two days!  Once I got in to see my actual OB he assured us that I don't have this condition and he even requested that another neo-natologist take a look at my scans to be sure.   Luckily all is well with the baby and myself!!  So fast forward three days to the best moment of the week.  We had a few family members over for a small gender reveal celebration.  It wasn't anything crazy like I did the last time around, but it was nice!  We had a backyard bbq, a little cake and ice cream, and we sprayed the fam with pink silly string when they weren't expecting it!  It was fabulous!! Although I forgot to get pictures of the silly string surprise.  Fail! 

Sleep? It's been great!

Miss anything?  Nah, not really.  

Belly button in or out?  It's pretty flush.  It's as far out right now as it was at the very end with Kensie.  I'm a little scared.....

Wedding rings on or off?  On! 

Current mood?  So happy!  And HOT!

I happened to run across this Coke that said "Share a Coke with your Sis" and had to get a picture.  Kens insisted her baby be in the picture too!

WEEK 16

Well....I'm only slightly behind on my pregnancy updates.  Since we found out a bit later this time around than we did with Kensie, it's taken me a tad longer to get my tush in gear and do a belly picture.  So here you go!  My 16 week update....Even though I'm currently 18 weeks already.....CRAZY!

My little helper wasn't too thrilled that I made her stay inside

Any Cravings?  Oh yeah!  I want salsa!  Like ALL. THE. TIME!!!  I could drink it, and between you and me, I may have done just that last week. But it can't be just any salsa.  "Organic Valley" salsa has been my "go to" salsa to satisfy my cravings.  But who am I kidding.  I'm sure I'd guzzle down any salsa I could get my hands on.  I also want fresh fruit with pretty much every meal.  Mango's especially.  Mmmm I think I may go buy some mango salsa!

Maternity Clothes?  Pshhhhh yeah!  I've been in maternity clothes since I hit the 12 week mark.  Hellooooooo stretchy waste bands!  Oh how I've missed you! 

Movement?  Not yet.  I swear I felt the baby right around 13 weeks.  There were two nights in a row that I felt a slight "bump bump bump"  in my lower abdomen, but nothing since then.  Maybe it was just gas.....Sigh. :(

How are you feeling? Pretty good overall.  The sickness is getting better and only certain random smells set me off.  I still can't do any caffeine or I get sick, and I can't prepare chicken and then still want to eat it.  The weird thing is that my stomach is sensitive to certain sights.  I walked through the meat isle at Winco the other day and I immediately got sick when I looked at the raw meat.  That was weird, and something that didn't happen when I was pregnant with Kensie. 

Stretch marks? Puh!  I have so many stretch marks from Kensie that I wouldn't be able to tell if a new one popped up or not.

Best moment of the week? I have no idea!  My memory has been non-existent this pregnancy.  Like seriously!  Someone will tell me their name and I will immediately forget it.  This is new for me.  I have always had a really good memory so this has been an adjustment.  My husband's memory has always been...lets just say, not the best, and he has been reminding me of things.  So bizarre to have switched places with him in the memory department.

Sleep?  Sleep has gotten better this week. I've been really uncomfortable so I went around the house gathering spare pillows and now sleep has been glorious!  It only took 6 pillows!  The hubs' calls it my pillow fortress.

Miss anything? Not really.  But I haven't been as good about not eating the "forbidden" lunch meat this time around.  During my first trimester I really wanted sub sandwiches, for like every meal!  It's the only thing that sounded good so I broke the rule and had myself some Subway. Mmmm. Don't worry, it was only like 8 times.  LOL.  No seriously, don't worry.  I had them microwave the meat so no listeria for this girl!

Belly button in or out? I'm pretty sure my belly button has muscle memory from my last pregnancy?!  It's already starting to turn inside out.  It's a half inny, half outty.

Wedding rings on or off? On!  And fitting just fine at the moment!

Current mood?   Happy!  Although slightly annoyed.  Not for any reason in particular. I've just had a shorter fuse for annoyances lately.  Hopefully that will pass soon.


And......Since I've slacked on updates prior to 16 weeks (mainly because I can't remember anything) here is a peak at our 12 week ultrasound!!!  I think he/she has my nose!

 

So this happened....

Surprise!  We're expecting baby #2 October 28, 2015!

It's true what they say.  Things happen when they're supposed to! After the long and emotional journey we endured while trying to conceive Kensie, we recently decided that we were ready to start the journey for baby #2.  We figured it would take a while, so with Kensie turning two in March, the time felt right.   

I just knew that I was pregnant in early January.  I was convinced! So when day 60 of no "visitor" arrived, I took a pregnancy test.....But it was negative. Negative?!  I was shocked!  I honestly thought I was pregnant, but it was a true negative.  I wasn't pregnant.  My body was just being.....my body.  Fast forward to March.  Day 60 of no "visitor" rolled around again.  After last month's negative result I didn't suspect pregnancy at all.  Not one bit.  This is my normal.  I decided that I better call the doctor to figure out how to regulate my cycles if we were serious about trying for a second baby.  But I thought I should just take a test first to be sure.......

"Two pink lines?  Two pink lines?  Whaaaaaaat?!  Doesn't two pink lines mean positive?"  I ran upstairs to get the instruction insert for the tests.  "Maybe two pink lines on these tests mean it's negative?  I mean, I did buy them online, and they were pretty cheap. So maybe the results are backwards? I read through the instructions.....Nooooope!  Two pink lines means POSITIVE!!!
 
POSITIVE!!!??? But we weren't even "trying" yet.  We only just had the conversation that we were ready to start trying.  It was supposed to take us a long time and a lot of money at a fertility clinic!  Making babies doesn't come this easy to us.  There's no way that it's positive!"  Two more tests later.....All three were POSITIVE!  Shaking and crying with happiness and disbelief, I called my husband and asked him if he could come home for lunch.  I left all three tests on the bathroom counter and asked him if he could check the "leaky faucet" in the bathroom.  He walked in and froze immediately while staring at the counter.  "WHAT?!  Are you serious right now?!"  His eyes filled with water and his breathing became short and quick.  "But how...how, wha, buuuuu.  Are you serious?  I can't believe this!"  We both started crying and hugging each other in disbelief.  

Cautiously optimistic, I took a pregnancy test twice a day for the next two days.  To my surprise, they were all coming back positive.  "Maybe this is actually happening!"  I called the doctor and they got me in within the week to do an ultrasound to see how far along the baby was and to check viability.  After doing the math and trying to figure out when this could have possibly happened, I figured I was only going to be about 4 weeks along with a due date around the end of November.  We probably wouldn't even get to hear a heartbeat at this visit.  We were prepared for anything and trying to prepare ourselves for disappointment.  

As soon as I could see the ultrasound on the screen I saw a little flicker.  "Gasp! That's a heart beating," I said.  "There's actually a baby in there!"  I immediately began to cry.  My husband grabbed my hand and leaned over and kissed me. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.  We could hear the heart beating.  "Oh my gosh, that's our baby!" he said.  

It turns out that I was wrong about everything.  I AM for sure pregnant and I am further along than I thought.  The baby measured 8 weeks exactly at this appointment, with an official due date of November 2, 2015.  However, this little bug will be here on October 28th via c-section unless he/she decides to come earlier.  

Words can't describe how excited and blessed we feel!  We can't wait to meet this little munchkin and for Kensie to become a big sister!

Just a mom?

A good friend of mine called me up the other day to ask if I'd be interested in joining her multi-level marketing business.  She was so excited about the potential income she could make while working from home.  While I politely declined to join, I listened to the excitement in her voice as she explained her new business venture. What caught my attention the most however, is when she said "I wanted something that would allow me to stay home with the kids while earning money so I can still feel like I am contributing, and not just be a mom".  The minute she said this, it was all I could think about.  Still, days later I'm pondering this statement.  So many mom's share this same sentiment, myself included.  Why do we think that raising our children isn't enough?  When did it become socially unacceptable to "just" be a mom?

I've been a stay at home mom for over two years now and periodically I still feel guilty for not contributing monetarily.  My husband and I have pretty traditional roles.  Sometimes I think we live in the 1940's.  He handles the outside chores, and I handle the inside.  He brings home the bacon and I cook it.  This is what works for us and we wouldn't have it any other way.  I have the best job in the world, and might I say, the hardest job I've ever had.  Raising kids isn't always a walk in the park.  Sometimes it's a full on sprint while trying to pull up your toddlers pants at the same time.  But it's SO rewarding!  I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, and what is the best for our family.  I'm a mom and a wife.  But why do I, and so many other stay at home mom's, still feel like sometimes it isn't enough? 

I'm not going to lie.  Before I became one, I was seriously delusional about what stay at home mom's do all day.  In my head, a typical day of my future life went something like this:

Wake up and feed the baby.  Sit and watch "The Price is Right" while I leisurely feed myself.  Take a shower and get myself primped while the baby is sleeping.  Clean the house.  Go grocery shopping.  Get in a workout.  Prepare dinner and have it on the table by the time the hubs comes home from work.  Clean up dinner and do dishes while husband plays with the baby.  Give the baby a bath and put her to bed.  Have several hours of "me" time to work on arts and crafts. 

See!?!  I was DELUSIONAL!! I thought all of that was possible to accomplish in one day! As do most people who haven't had the opportunity of being "just a mom".  The expectations we set for ourselves are ridiculous.   In reality, a day where both my child and myself are dressed in something other than pajamas, or an outfit resembling a hobo, is a win!  A day where I get a shower, is a win!  A day where I go to the bathroom by myself at least once, is a win! A day where we make it to the grocery store and dinner consists of something other than nuggets or hot dogs, is a win!

The truth is, every minute of every day is consumed by the tiny person tugging at our legs saying "mama, mama, mama"! After feeding, bathing, the war of wearing clothing, the war of brushing teeth, calming the meltdown about the Cheerio that fell on the floor, the battle of wills about nap time, the boo-boo kissing, searching for their missing favorite stuffed animal of the week, the snuggling, and maybe even a little learning time, there's no time, and no energy left.  Our days are spent taking care of this tiny person and molding them into a caring, smart, empathetic, and sincere member of society.  This is our job as mothers.  And it's the most important job there is.  My heart aches for people who don't have the luxury of being "just a mom".  So many women yearn for this opportunity but it's just not possible.  And on the flip side, many mom's recognize that they don't want to be a stay at home mom, and that's okay too.  Whatever our choice or situation is, we all have one thing in common.  We are moms.  And we shouldn't feel guilty for being "just" that. It IS important!  What we do IS important!  And I will never apologize to my children for "just" being their mom.

I'm Baaaaack!

Have you missed me?  I've missed you!  As you can imagine, having a toddler around hasn't left me much time to sit and blog very often.....Or ever.  Okay, that's not completely true.  I've had time at night, but I've chosen to work on my crafts sit on my rear and watch the boob tube.  It's been glorious!

I just realized that my last "blog," if you can even call it that, was about Kensie's first birthday!  Can you believe that she recently turned TWO?!?! Crazy!!! And even that entry, as well as the year prior, were only pictures.  No narrative.  So with that being said, I really want to get back into blogging again.  I want to get back to putting my thoughts, feelings, and opinions onto paper er the screen, and to keep family and friends updated on our lives.  Ya know, since we moved to Medford and you don't get to see our faces on a daily basis.  Oh yes, in case you didn't know, we moved to Medford last July.  No biggie. :) Something I would've blogged about had I not been so caught up in my crafts t.v. shows.  Anyways, getting back into blogging.......I sometimes feel that by spending all of my time with a two year old, I'm getting dumber by the day.  Like seriously! As she gets smarter, I can literally feel the knowledge being sucked out of my brain and into hers.  It's really amazing to watch how smart she's getting.  But as I watch her struggling to find the words to form a sentence, I've started noticing that I'm doing the same! So yes, this is my spring resolution.  To get my brain some exercise and start blogging again!  There, I said it!  It is out in the universe and I hope to follow through.  This is my intention but I'm not making any promises.

Confession:  Do you want the real truth of why I haven't blogged in over a year?.....I may have forgotten my password.  And I may have also forgotten the email in which this account is under.  And I may have tried so many combinations that I may have gotten locked out of my account.....A LOT!  Oops!