October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Fall is one of my favorite season because it includes:

  • College Football Season (Go Jackets, Beat Vandy!)
  • The changing of leaves - I love the beautiful shades of red, orange, and gold.
  • Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin
  • And 2 of my favorite holidays - Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I have been very busy this week celebrating Halloween. On Wednesday night, our church had a fall festival complete with candy apples, games, and 2 hayrides. M and I enjoyed the hayride with all of our nieces and nephews (that would be Lacey (5), London (2.5), Treveor (4), Trenton (2.5) and Kaitlyn (1 month). Yesterday, the daycare that is part of the health system I work for, brought the kids over to trick or treat. I had a blast handing out hershey kisses to a myriad of pirates, pumpkins, princesses, and other cuties. (I got lots of good ideas for next year). Today I am burning my pumpkin scented candle and preparing for tonight's activities, which include:

  • A neighborhood hayride w/ trick or treating
  • A cookout at my sister-in-law's.

I have made a pumpkin cheesecake to take and hope to make some Goblin cheeseball's to enjoy as well. M and I still need to finish our costumes. Needless to say, it is going to be busy around here. What are each of you doing for Halloween?

October 29, 2009

21 Weeks





What's Happening with Joycelen?

  • She weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is rougly 10.5 inches long.
  • Her flutters are starting to turn into distinct punches and kicks.
  • Our baby girl now has her eyebrows (hope they are like Mama's, not Daddy's) and eyelids.

What's Happening with Mama?

  • Total weight gain/loss: 15pounds
  • Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively.
  • Best moment this week: Feeling what I think was Joycelen's first real kick.
  • Food cravings: Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, Omlets, Greek Yogurt
  • Belly button in or out? In.
  • Stretch Marks? None so far
  • What I miss: Sleeping thru an entire night. I am either awake because my position is uncomfortable or because I need to answer nature's call.
  • What I am looking forward to: Halloween Party on Saturday Night

What's Happening with Daddy?

  • Daddy's bad tooth had him down for several days - he mostly slept on the couch as he waited for pain medication to work.
  • On Tuesday, Mama took Daddy to the dentist for part one of his root canal. The dentist had to drill a hole to let all the infection drain out of the tooth. This made Daddy very sick.
  • But by Wednesday when the dentist put on the temporary cap, Daddy was feeling 100% better.

October 27, 2009

A Year Ago Today....

Here's how my life was forever changed one year ago:
10/27/2008

October 24, 2009

Active Saturday

During the first few weeks of my pregnancy, I suffered with horrible fatigue. All I wanted to do was sleep - and usually on Saturday I did just that.... I'd sleep in late, take an afternoon nap, doze while watching t.v. in the evenings, and go to bed early. Thankfully, my fatigue disappeared around week 10 and has shown no signs of reappearing in my 2nd trimester. In fact, I seem to have an abundance of energy. Here's what I've done today:

7:30 - Wake up and dress for workout
8:00 - Level 1 of The Shred DVD ( I skipped the ab exercises)
8:30-9:00 - Dusted the living room, the master bedroom, wiped down the counter tops in the master bath, scrubbed the tub, started a load of laundry, and changed the bed linens
9:00 - Breakfast
10:00 - Cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast and switched laundry
11:00 - Shower time
12:00 - 4:00 - Watched the Georgia Tech Football game with hubby. Made a Subway run at half-time
4:15 - Folded a load of laundry and put it away
5:30 - Second workout of the day - Cardio intervals thanks to SparkPeople

Up next is a quick shower and dinner with my in-laws who just got home for their week long cruise. What have you been up to today?

October 20, 2009

20 Weeks



What's Happening with Joycelen?
  • She weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now.
  • She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel .
  • Joycelen is swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system.

What's Happening with Mama?

  • Total weight gain/loss: 13 pounds
  • Maternity clothes? Almost exclusively.
  • Best moment this week: Taking Joycelen to her first Georgia Tech Homecoming game.
  • Food cravings: Oatmeal, Greek yogurt
  • Belly button in or out? In.
  • What I miss: Sleeping on my side. For the past few nights, side sleeping has been impossible thanks to a sharp pain in my ribs.
  • What I am looking forward to: Date night with Daddy on Friday night and sleeping in on Saturday!

What's Happening with Daddy?

  • Daddy has a severe toothache and will need a root canal next week.

Playing Nurse

On Sundy, M started complaining that he had a mild toothache. He took a few Tylenol and the problem seemed to alleviate itself. Fast forward to Monday morning, and the tiny toothache had returned with a vengeance. M has hurting so bad that he scheduled a dentist appointment for the same afternoon.

A quick consult with the dentist led to the conclusion that M needs a root canal. But before he can undergo the procedure, he needs to complete a 7 day round of antibiotics. Needless to say, poor M is quite a bit of pain (he slept so fitfully last night that he called into work today).

When I checked on him at lunch time, his face was swollen, he was still hurting and the antibiotics/pain meds that he had taken on an empty stomach were making him feel even worse. I made him a bowl of chicken noodle soup and left him dozing on the couch.

Hopefully the antibiotics and the pain meds will begin working their magic soon, until then I will be playing nurse.

October 14, 2009

Wordless Wednesday




Our niece Kaitlynn and M enjoy an afternoon nap!


October 13, 2009

19 Weeks



What's Happening with Joycelen?
  • Joycelen now weighs around 8.5 ounces and measures around 6 inches head to bottom.
  • Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now.
  • Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting.
  • Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.

What's Happening with Mama?

  • Total weight gain/loss: 13 pounds
  • Maternity clothes? Mama is wearing lots of maternity dresses - that are comfortable and stylish.
  • Best moment this week: Finding out that our Peanut is our Joycelen.
  • Food cravings: English Muffins with Peanut butter and peach yogurt.
  • Belly button in or out? In.
  • What I miss: Being able to lie flat on my back. The position is just not as comfortable as it used to be.
  • What I am looking forward to: A weekend trip to Atlanta with M for Georgia Tech's Homecoming. We are planning on buying Joycelen her first Yellow Jackets outfit!

What's Happening with Daddy?

  • The school that Daddy is building is pouring concrete this week which means he has been up and out the door at 4:15 every single morning.
  • Daddy likes talking to Joycelen at night, telling her silly jokes, and telling her how much he loves her.
    Daddy has become a pro at rubbing Mama's back/feet/legs or anywhere else she seems to get cramps these days......he takes good care of Mama.


October 09, 2009

It's a girl!

Yesterday, M, my Mama, my Daddy, my Aunt Gail and my MIL Becki all piled into the ultrasound room for Peanut's "big reveal". Within mere moments, the technician was able to get a clear shot of the baby's butt. Yep, my child's first picture to the world was mooning us. A few moments later we heard the words "It's a girl!".

Over the next 15 minutes, we were able to get shots of her feet (which are long), her long legs which she kicked and fluttered and then promptly crossed at her ankles (so lady-like already), and her arms and hands. I had to laugh as she had her hands in front of her face and was punching away. M commented that she looked like she was in one of my aerobics classes (maybe Mama will have a little workout buddy). The technician took measurements of her weight, her head circumference, her heart rate, and the blood flow. Afterwards Dr. H came in and said that everything was going fantastic with our pregnancy.....measurements are on target, quad screen results were normal, and the ultrasound looks fantastic.

M and I were quite happy to hear the good news. And as soon as we left the doctor's office, we were texting/e-mails friends and family to let them know to prepare for the arrival of Joycelen Rebecca in about a little over 20 weeks.


** As soon as I can I will scan in the images for ya'll to enjoy!

October 06, 2009

18 Weeks



What's Happening with Peanut?
  • Peanut is about 5.5 inches long and weighs around 7 ounces.
  • Peanut is busy flexing his arms/legs - which Mama is beginning to feel.
  • If Peanut is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If Peanut is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, although he may hide them during an ultrasound.

What's Happening with Mama?

  • Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds
  • Maternity clothes? Yes - almost exclusively. Motherhood Maternity is now my new favorite store.
  • Best moment this week: Finding lots of cute maternity clothes at Motherhood Maternity. It is amazing how much better I feel now that I am comfortable.
  • Food cravings: Bagels
  • Belly button in or out? In.
  • What I miss: Having a stronger bladder. This week it seems if I even think about water I need to visit the restroom.
  • What I am looking forward to: Finding out what Peanut is at our ultrasound on Thursday.

What's Happening with Daddy?

  • Daddy is now finished with the State Patrol office and can now devote all of his work time to the new elementary school he is building.
  • Daddy has to open his office this week -- which means he is waking up (well, technically Mama is waking him up) at 4:30 a.m.
  • Daddy loves to rub Mama's tummy and talk to Peanut while they are drifting off to sleep.