Thirty one weeks... and one day!

We had a doctor's appointment today and they told us that all of these weird things that I'm experiencing are normal... like HOT FLASHES and my ribs being sore. (Jenn, I now COMPLETELY understand what you were going through a few months ago!!) The doctor measured my belly and said that we're right on track for being thirty one weeks. Oh, and me going to the bathroom more than once an hour is apparently normal too.

Holy cow, let me tell ya, she's getting big. Right now, she's weighing in at around 3lbs. I can't believe that when most babies are born, they're 6-8lbs. That means that her weight is going to double within the next NINE WEEKS!! Where the heck is she going to go? There isn't anymore room for her in there!! She's gotta be smushed!! It's already getting hard for me to breathe, to bend down, even talking on the phone is tough!! I'm not complaining, I just didn't realize that being prego would be so exhausting!!

I think Brynn had her first case of the hiccups tonight, that was weird!! I went to show Chad, and of course, they went away. ;o( It's really noticeable now when she moves, you can see my whole belly move!!

Tonight Chad and I FINALLY went to Olive Garden for dinner(after like two weeks of me asking if we could go) and it was soooo good!! I had way too many breadsticks but I couldn't help it. I don't know when I'll get them again, Chad is burnt out on that place... and italian food in general. Plus, we're still trying to save money. Bread is pretty much my only craving right now. I'm safe eating it, it doesn't give me heartburn. Want to know something crazy? I don't think I've had a popsicle for about a month!!

Happy Mothers Day!! (lots of pictures inside...)

To all of you moms out there that are reading this (including mine) Happy Mothers Day!! Even though technically I'm not a mom yet, we still celebrated. ;o) I had a pretty good day today, here's why:

1. Chad got out of school at 10:00 this morning!!

2. He got me a pretty heart necklace with three rubies and a diamond on it!! (My birthstone and Brynn's... as long as she's born in July!!)

3. I couldn't wait to give Chad this daddy-to-be shirt... so he wore it today. ;o)

4. I ran to the mall and used a coupon that my friend Sam sent me from Ohio at Gymboree... and bought Brynn a cute dress (Thanks Sam - here's a picture!)

5. We went to our friends TJ and Jenn's house for lunch with her family (who we consider our "Arizona Family") here are some pictures that I took...

Ben and Matt:
Matt going up the ladder for the water slide:
Ben going down:
Amy putting sunscreen on Garrett before he joins the boys:
From left to right - Jenn, Steph, Amy and Amy's son Connor after the girls had their hair styled by Steph's daughter Morgan (Sorry guys, had to do it!!):
Morgan:
TJ after he got shot while he was playing with Ben and Matt:
Chad tickling Matt (while Matt's screaming!!):
Chad and I (in a not-so-flattering picture):
Brad relaxing in the chair with the massager:
And here's a regular prego picture of me that Chad took this morning - My belly is getting big!!! I'm 29 weeks and 5 days.
I've been getting out of breath doing the smallest things, it's hard for me to bend down to pick stuff up or even put my tennis shoes on... somehow I'm still managing to shave my legs though!! Whew. So far, I've gained 9lbs total. She's moving around A LOT, especially when I'm getting ready to go to bed. You can see my belly move!!

I can't believe we have less than 11 weeks to go, time is starting to fly by, which is ok with me... especially because it's getting hot outside. It's been over 100 for the last few days and I can't seem to cool off. Dang hormones!!

Stressed out.

We had our second 4-D ultrasound today... remember our first one she had one of her hands in front of her face so they let us go back today for free? Well, she definately takes after me, she's extremely stubborn and doesn't like to listen to her parents (or anyone else) already!! Apparently she was taking a nap when we went today, we actually saw her yawn, so that was really cool but she wouldn't wake up and move her hands or arms!! It wasn't just one arm or hand either, it was both of them. She sleeps like I do but she'll be a sound sleeper like her daddy. It's weird how you can already tell these things. Let me tell ya... she's got some cute elbows and fingers - that's about all we got to see!! The tech even told us that we were the first ones ever that she couldn't even get a picture of the baby in a session. Geesh.

So, I was really bummed. Yeah, I cried. I haven't done that for a while and I think I needed to do it anyway. I'm just getting stressed about everything and it's all adding up. I'm sure everyone goes through this and I know it will be fine but in the meantime, I'm an emotional mess. Just ask Chad... ok, you really don't need to ask him... I was just saying that.

Anyway, enough being sad. They're letting us come back a THIRD time on June 23rd, it's a Saturday at 12:15. She tends to move around right after I eat so we'll eat right before we go. That will be the weekend after Chad finishes his classes, so it should be good timing. I'll be 36 (holy cow - 36!!) weeks then. 4 weeks before she's due. How crazy is that? Hopefully she won't be all smushed up in there.

There are a few positives going on though... Chad took his permit tests for his CDL yesterday and passed ALL of them!! (not just the ones required for the training... ALL of them!!) So, he officially hits the road on Saturday. YAY Babe!! While he's hitting the road, I'm getting my hair done so maybe that will de-stress me a little. ;o) I'm sure I'll post another blog this weekend... stay tuned.

Sorry, no pictures this time...

Saving money and new pictures

We are realizing that we're needing to manage our budget to finagle the cost of daycare in there. So, we have decided that we're going to be packing our lunches and cooking at home more often, which is good because we're both kind of tired of eating out and we're going to start thinking of it more as a reward than an every day thing.

Chad filled up the truck earlier in the week and put $50 worth of gas in it. Guess how far that got him? 1/2 a tank. He goes through a whole tank of gas a week. So, that would mean we're spending $400 a month just to fill up the truck so that he can get to work. How crazy is that?! So, we broke down and bought him a '95 Saturn. It only costs $25 to fill it up. MUCH better than the truck. In about four months, with the cost of gas the way that it is (just a little over $3/gallon), the car will have paid for itself. Plus, I didn't really want Chad to drive the Bug back and forth to work, it's so tiny and I don't know what I'd do if he got into an accident in that thing and something happened to him. You know, he's going to be a DAD soon!! ;o)

Here's the Saturn... not too bad for $1700!!

It's been nice enough outside lately that the pool is starting to hold its temperature at around 80 degrees or so, which is warm enough that we'll actually get in and swim!! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to yet... I'm not going to attempt to fit into my normal (not so flattering anyway) swimsuit, I had to break down and order a maternity one!! (and YES, I found it on sale online!!) Don't worry, you will NEVER see pictures of me posted in it on here!! However, here's a cute one of Chad and Mel from a couple days ago. I love this picture!! Typical Mel, one ear up and one ear down. ;o)

She LOVES to swim. She always swims up to Chad and stays right by him. She knows where the steps are in the pool now and she knows that she's only allowed in there when one of us are in there with her. She keeps trying to bite at the water when she's swimming though and that worries us so Chad's been working with her on trying to stop doing that.

That's all for now!!