Kalahari - Friday

Our weekend at Kalahari was awesome.  We need to go back!  This place wasn't a hotel or a resort - it was a compound.  Thank God everything is connected and you don't have to go outside because I think we walked like 2 miles between our room and the water park!  I was terribly tired all weekend and cramping up from walking so much.  Evidently I'm a little out of shape!

Friday night was low-key.  We went bowling and it was Asher's first bowling experience and he LOVED it!

I was so proud of my little man.  Every time it was his turn I would try to carry his 7 lb ball up to the lane and he would yell at me and tell me that he could do it. 

And he could - what a big boy! 

I'm glad he had a good time. 

Although they might not look like it I think the "adults" did too.

I was exhausted and turned in early that night.  I had woke up that morning with a terrible migraine.  As I was throwing up Asher was singing me Happy Birthday, over and over and over again.

We stopped about halfway there and grabbed lunch at McDonalds.  As we were eating Asher noticed a little boy with cancer.  He kept pointing to him and asking me about his hair and asking me if he was old.  I  told him that that little boy had a very special haircut.  That seemed to answer his question.  How do you explain cancer to an almost 3 year old?

A Visit with the Welborns

Last weekend we packed up and went and stayed the night at Ryan and Milissa's.  I know it had been a while since we spent the night because last time we were there we hit Wal-Mart on the way home and bought Asher a bike - he loved riding Ashlyn's!

The kiddos enjoyed a snack.  Trust me - they did not sit this well for most of the day!

Awww Asher and Brody had matching bruises on their foreheads!

Asher and Ashlyn crack me up.  He would follow her anywhere.

While Mili and I sat and talked and chased the kiddos the guys spent their afternoon racing each other on their IPads.

We had stopped at Hobby Lobby that afternoon and Ashlyn wanted an "art project" to take home.  This was a real treat for Asher because this Mommy doesn't let him paint at home!  Now I know why :)

They made a mess but they sure had fun.

We set up the pull out couch for them to lay on.  I think they thought that meant to jump on it.

3 Silly Monkeys!

Tid Bits and Its my Birthday

Its Friday - And My Birthday - And I'm not working!

I turn 26 today.  For some reason this seems old even though I know its not.

• Sometimes when Brudder gets in a really hard kick I stop and think :: Wow, Ohmigod.  There is a little person growing in my belly ::  So weird when you really stop and think about it. 
• On the other hand I have never stopped and thought ::Wow.  I have a penis growing in my belly::  My cousin Addie asked me this shortly after I found out I was pregnant this time.  She asked me if when I was pregnant with Asher if I ever thought about the fact that I was a woman with a penis growing inside me.  No, I hadn't - until then.
• We're on our way up to Kalahari for the weekend.  Asher is either going to love the water park or hate it.  For my sake I hope he loves it.
•  Asher has now gone one full week of sleeping in underwears!  He hated wearing pull-ups at bedtime so I gave him the option of wearing his underwears if he would give up his nighttime "widdle bit of water."  So far we've done great!  I can't believe how grown up he's getting!
• I'm really hating clothes right now.  The dress code at work is kind of out the window right now and I just wear what fits.  Yesterday morning I came in (in jeans again) and was complaining on how nothing fits and I hate clothes.  I sat down at my desk and there were flowers and a card with a gift card to Motherhood.  I love my co-workers!
• Barb and Nikki also took me out for lunch yesterday!  Then in the afternoon everyone's favorite Coroner Mike Burke came in and sang me all 5 verses of Happy Birthday - it was a pretty good day.
• But it got even better last night when Leah from Marital Bless left a comment on my little blog.  I LOVE her and her little family :)

And this week in pictures...

Monday night we went to Grandma Jane's.  She is re-doing her livingroom so Dustin ran the wiring to hang her TV above her fireplace.  Asher thought he was a big help and enjoyed a sucker (or 2) with Papa.

DIY Peppermint Mocha

I had one of these Sunday morning at Milissa's and it was yummy.  I had to run out to the grocery store on my lunch this week to buy the stuff to make it!

Check out Dustin and Ella hanging out last weekend. 

I think they had some great cuddle time!

Milissa and I ran to Hobby Lobby last Saturday afternoon.  I've almost finished her bag and can't wait to send it to her!

24 Weeks

Is it just me or are the weeks flying by?!?!

Can you tell my belly button popped? 

Oh how I wish you could hear Asher screaming!

"No, No, No Mommy!  Put your shirt down!  Don't take pictures of the baby!" as he was pulling my shirt back down.

24 Weeks With Asher.  Boy I looked like crap.

How far along?: 24 Weeks

How big is baby?: Just over a pound and a foot long!

Weight gain/loss?:  21 pounds... touchy subject.

Stretch marks?: Nope

Maternity clothes?: For sure.  I'm huge.  My belly is huge, my butt is huge - even my arms are huge.  I need all the help I can get from maternity clothes.

Sleep?:  Good!  I stopped giving Asher a drink at night and now he sleeps through the night without having to get up and go potty!

Food cravings?:  Pioneer Woman's Salsa.  Not only is this incredibly easy to make but sosososos good.  As Asher says "we don't like chunky salsa!"  I made a batch of this last week.  It says it serves 12.  I ate the whole thing in about 3 sittings.  After I got home from my last doctors appointment (where I learned I gained another 9 pounds) I dumped the rest down the disposal.  I had been coming home from work and devouring this all week.

Gender?: Another Brudder!

Movement?: TONS.  Dustin finally got to feel him move on Monday night.  It isn't really kicks yet but more like doing somersaults - they are really big movements!

Belly button?: Out.  Can't believe how early it happened this time!

January Favorites

Its that time again - here are some of my favorite things from January.

The crazy weather.

I took this picture one day (it was 55 the last time I had looked) and the very next day it snowed, a lot.  I love that we're getting the good weather along with the bad.

Short Potty's

Nothing makes this Mama happier than when we walk into a public restroom and they have short potty's.  That means I don't have to try to hold Asher up to pee and he can just stand there and do his thing without having to touch anything!

My Bobs.

No, not Toms.  By the time I finally decided I wanted a pair of Toms the fabric that I wanted was no where to be found.  So I found these Bobs in a similar color/fabric and ordered them.  I must say I'm in love!  Dustin hates these things but they are super comfy :)

My Sewing Machine

This whole sewing thing is new to me but I like it because its a challenge!  If only I had more time to do it.

If you haven't heard of Dustin Lynch I'm hoping you will soon!  I saw him open for Justin Moore in July and was totally impressed.  The only problem is when I got home there was NOTHING available for download and even the videos on YouTube were ones that people had recorded on their phones.  So I'm so excited that his first single came out on Jan 17th!  I bought the single that day and can't wait for more.

24 Week Dr Appt

Weight Gain This Month: 9 lbs

Total so Far: 21 since my first appt!

Belly Measurement: 25-26 cm

Brudder's Heart Rate: 140's

Today was a good appointment.  I actually made sure I asked my questions.  Dr A put me on a "preventative" for my headaches.  Although I'm only having 1-2 migraines per month I have a headache EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

I also noticed when I was looking at one of the papers that they had my due date down as May 21st.  So I asked her about it and she said that they had adjusted it after my October ultrasound - I guess I never knew that!  She also said that my 20 week anatomy scan came back good.  No major defects and all the limbs were intact!  She said they didn't mention the band in the report so she was going to call over to the hospital this week to double check with the Dr there to make sure everything still looked good. 

Lastly we talked about me having a VBAC vs. C-Section.  This is something I've really been contemplating the last several weeks and I wanted her opinion.  She told me that since I never even went into labor with Asher (he was under stress) that she thought I would be a good canidate for a VBAC and told me that she was on board for me to try.  She also told me that the chances of rupturing my cesarian scar was about 1 in 10,000.  So that made me feel better.  She told me that she would not induce me if I decided to do a VBAC - which is good because I wouldn't want to be induced anyway (you may be laughing thinking that I'm saying that now...).  If at any time I decide to go with the C-Section she said we could do that.  So I'm happy with where we are right now.  I like that nothing is set in stone!

Brudder's Room

I can't believe I'm going to show you the disorganized mess that is Brudder's room.  Since I found out I was pregnant there has been a shift in rooms at our house that has caused me to freak out because the walls are closing in on me.  Our whole house is finished so we have NO storage space.  I'm planning on shipping some stuff to Mom and Dad's basement soon but their basement looks like this right now:

More on this in the next couple of weeks.

The room Asher is in now was kind of a catch-all computer room.  When we decided to move Asher in there I had to put all the stuff from that room somewhere so some went into Brudder's room and some into the spare bedroom.  That spare room has been taken over by storage totes and a Christmas tree.  It's kind of depressing to look in there. 

We went to stay with Ryan and Milissa this past weekend (I forgot my camera!) and brought home the baby clothes I had given her to use for Brody.  This got me excited when I got home yesterday so Asher and I washed up all of his clothes while Mommy bawled like a baby. 

Your baby's tiny clothes + the smell of Dreft= a Mommy mess.

We washed up the Newborn - 6 Month clothes and got them hung up.

We're gonna need more hangers.  I'm starting to not feel so bad for Brudder having all of Asher's hand me downs.

Someday I'll get Dustin to help me turn the bed back into a crib.  I already have lil guys name and can't wait until we put it up!  Too bad we have to wait until he comes home..... :) 

Just look at all this crap.  Makes me a nervous wreck just walking in there.  We brought the bassinet back from Milissa's.  That thing has seen some miles between Ashlyn, Kane, Asher and Brody - Lil guy will get his use out of it too.  I don't think I'll really be changing anything in his room.  I do need to get Asher's bookcase put together so I can finish getting the rest of Asher's stuff off of the one in Brudder's room.  So we're slowly getting there.  I know we have plenty of time but I just feel like I should be doing something.

I have my 24 week doctor's appointment today so I'll be sure to post those stats tomorrow.  Can't wait to see how much weight I've gained again.

Big Brother

Sitting here tonight with my Big Boy listening to my Little Man :)

Tid Bits

It's Friday again - yay!  I'm ready for the weekend so here are a few tid bits from the last week.

• My belly button popped out.  WTH?  It didn't do this until about 35 weeks with Asher.  I showed it to The Sister Tuesday night and she said "Ewwwwwwwww you have a third nipple."  Thanks Sister.
• Brantley will be in Bloomington on April 28th!  This is BEYOND exciting.  I'm going to be huge and pregnant but cannot wait to go :)
• We are going to Pekin this weekend to spend some time with Milissa, Ryan and the kiddos and to meet their new puppy Ella!  She looks so sweet and I think Asher is going to love her.
• And finally my heart is breaking this week for The Grieder Family.  Brooke and Blake lost their sweet baby girl Charlotte on Monday.  I've been a long time follower of Brooke's blog because I've always thought her lil guy Clayton reminded me of Asher.  Isn't that the amazing thing about blogs?  You get a glimpse into other peoples lives and feel that you truly know them.  The last 6 months I've watched her be the strongest Mama while her sweet baby girl fought for her life.  Charlotte was lucky to have been born into a family with so much love to give her.

And finally, some pictures from the last week.

Here is my sweet boy faking sleep.  Faking sleep but still screaming at Meme to play "Bwantley Yogurt LOUD"  He's funny. 

Very dark but here is Dan at the Popejoy Chirstmas party at Conklin's.  Him and Hippie brought 3 mason jars full of homemade Baileys and they were gone in no time.  I've had it before and its yummy! 

My Bubby trying on his new PJ's from Dustin's Mom.  Although he doesn't look it he was excited to have monkeys on his feet! 

I made myself another purse.  A bigger one.  Thank God cuz I carry a lot of crap. 

And finally I made Brudder his crib sheets!  Can you believe that?  Mom asked me if I was gonna start churning butter next.  I found this tutorial on pinterest and it was pretty easy.  I had been looking for crib sheets for the last few weeks but couldn't find anything that matched and they no longer sell the ones that go with his bedding.  I was able to find the exact color I needed in a really soft jersey fabric.  I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Skin Care Products I Love

Last week I saw where Bri was talking about some of the skin care products that she loves.  She was wondering what other people use and love so I thought I would share.

I have used Cetaphil since High School.  I go back and forth between face washes but I always come back to this one.  I like to use this first in the shower to get any make-up off (yes, I sleep in my make-up).  Its great to use around your eyes because it is so gentle.

Then I follow with the Mario Badescu cleanser using my Clarisonic Mia!

I love this thing - you feel like you really get a deep clean.

For a moisturizer I use American Beauty (available at Kohls).  I also use their eye cream which I love!

And finally Bare Minerals Prime Time.  This is an awesome foundation primer and feels like silk!  I use Bare Minerals make-up and it always seems to set better when I use my primer.

Maybe next time I'll show you what I use in my hair - you wouldn't believe all the gunk I put in it every day :)