blog column help (I know i'm really needy!)

Okay I know, I know, shut up about my blog already! Well, it's either that or baby posts cuz I'm spending today in bed (people say to rest up now right?) and therefore I'm trying to do blog things and watch Oprah while Aiden is kicking the crap out of my left side. I think he's trying to escape the wrong way.

SOO... I like my new header for now (I'll switch out a maternity pic for a baby pic once Aiden is here), and I am almost done with a button to match, but my problem is I want 3 SEPARATE COLUMNS. I know I have a 3 column layout now, but I want THE COLUMNS SEPARATED AND HAVE DIFFERENT COLORS (text and background colors) FROM EACH OTHER. Perhaps I'm google stupid, but I don't think so because I figured out how to do the 3-column thing and making a button by googling, but I can't figure out the right phrases to google to do this by myself.

SOO if you know what I should google to figure this out by myself that'd be nice. Or if there is a blog help site that you use and could share with me. I don't expect others to do this for me (as I can't pay people for blog design) but I need help to figure it out myself!

I just want my blog to look nice. I want to be a more serious blogger (ha, I know) and I figure I can't do more of my writing until I have a site i'm somewhat content and proud of. Until that day I will continue with my pointless blogging.

Wishful Wednesday!

I wish my pet could talk, because I've been dying to know...

I wish Aurora could talk because I have a list of things I'd like to ask her...

1. Why are you soo afraid of other people?

2. Why did it take you almost 4 years to learn to meow and why do you hardly do it now, it's soo stinkin' cute to finally hear a noise out of you!

3. Are you planning to pee on things when the baby gets here? Could you just tell me where now please?

4. Do you know I'm pregnant? You started laying by my tummy before I even knew, and now that i'm almost due you are doing it again. It creeps me out.

5. Why can't you lick your daddy's arm at 3am and wake him up? Do I taste better or something?

6. Where did you put your green mouse? I know he's your favorite, but I can't seem to find him.

7. Is it funny for you to eat balloon strings and then throw them up right where I will step into it barefooted? Do you sit somewhere and laugh every time you do this? It seems to happen every time there is a balloon string I forgot to put up, like you are punishing me for leaving such a danger around for you to find. *sigh* at least you know well enough to throw it up.

*Pics are of Aurora stealing my string cheese the other day*

I HATE MY BLOG LAYOUT!

Oh my goodness I don't know what is wrong with me, but I can NOT commit to a blog layout. I did this blue one cuz I was tired of the awesome one my brother made me. Now I'm super tired of this one! I have been looking online and just can't find one I LOVE. Yet I can't afford all those awesome sites where you pay someone to make you a custom blog. *sigh* it's going to drive me insane. I NEED BLOG HELP!!

38 Weeks - 8 days!!

Wow, 8, i'm scared!

38 weeks:

Maternity Clothes: I don't know why I bother with these questions, yes, of course I'm in maternity clothes... or I'd be nekkid!

Stretch Marks: Yeppers, they seem to be on hold though, they now reach from my low stomach up to under my boobs. Really pretty.

Total Weight: Well, I know what the scale today said, which puts me at like 48lbs total gained. Now, in my defense this week I have gone back to being a bit constipated (dad I know you will eventually read this and no I don't need more prune juice!) but I hadn't gone when I weighed in today. I say I should get a break for that. lol

Aiden's Measurement: Well he's somewhere nearing 7lbs, and between 18-21inces long. I asked the Dr. what she would guess he'll be and she said around 8. This is about what I'd guess him to be too, so we will see.

Movement: His movements actually hurt me these days. He moves his butt and feet plenty still for being out of room and it hurts me because there is just NO ROOM for him to move. I have been playing his Glow Seahorse and it puts him to sleep, then he doesn't wiggle!

Sleep: Well I had a few good days, and it was making me nervous, now I am back to sore hips and rolling back and forth all night.

Cravings: Well the last few days I've ate like CRAP. Everything and nothing sounds good at once. The other night I had cantaloupe and popcorn for dinner. Nice huh? I am really looking forward to mom's homemade chili for dinner tonight though.

Belly Button: Still in, it may just make it to the end folks.

What I Look Forward To: Well this is the LAST WEEK i will be have him in me. I'm just looking forward to seeing his sweet face and holding him.

What I Will Miss: Having him all to myself. The last 38 weeks he has been just mine, and I feel every wiggle and hiccup and I love it. I don't want to share everything with others. He's mine and I i'm not ready to give that up yet.

Highlights: Umm, no new progress this week, still at 1cm. I had my Filipino family shower this week which I wrote about, that was wonderful.

Maternity Pics - taken at 37 weeks

So I'm up super early today. I will be back in bed shortly. We got a text at 11pm (after we'd crawled in bed for the night) that some of our Maternity pics taken by our friend Matt (for free thank the lord for him or we would have had none) were up online. Matt normally does scenic pics and he works around planes and has amazing pics of things like that and cars, so asking him to take our pics was out of his comfort zone. We had fun though. So of course I wanted to climb out of bed right then, but the hubs convinced me it could wait. So here it is 6:40 in the morning I made his lunch and sent him off to work and NOW I'm online.

Anyway, just a few pics (okay maybe more than that...) there were a few he didn't post on his page but I asked if I could have (he took some in flowers and of my belly on a brick wall I'm hoping turned out) so I may post more at a later time. Of course with 9 days or LESS left I may never get to it. I'm sure you'd rather see baby pics anyway! So enjoy these.

Oh Goodness - a blog of ramblings.

It's soo sad, but true. I made coffee this morning, and it's weak. And it doesn't taste very good. I'm soo sad. I blame it on my mascara crust that prevented me from fully seeing what I was doing. I always make such great coffee (even the hubs makes me get up and make his every morning, it's that good!). I have no idea what happened. I'm sitting here eating left over baby shower cake for breakfast with my disappointing coffee. *sigh*.

In other news my 2nd shower was much more than I expected. I was soo excited. I love love love my husbands family. First there is the food, it's AMAZING. It's no wonder I've gained near 50lbs. I was on weight watchers before baby and have indulged a bit too much on my Filipino favs these last 9 months. One more gorge session can't hurt now!

More people showed up than I ever expected. His family is touch and go, sometimes you get EVERYONE, like big holidays, and sometimes you get half that, which is usually his aunts and lola and maybe a cousin or two. Well we got nearly EVERYONE. The only ones that I didn't see were Paul and Arnell and they were at the coast. We even got to see family we hadn't seen since our Oct wedding.

The gifts. You've got to be kidding me, we are soo frickin' spoiled. Perhaps this is because everyone loves my husband, and I was excepted to his family immediately and they love me even more for the baby on the way. We got much more than I expected but I am soo thankful. My first shower was mostly clothes and some blankets. This shower I got my breast pump, the baby tub, a safety and grooming set (clippers, medicine dropper, sucky up snot bulby thing etc), a few outfits and blankets, my sleep positioner for the crib, the Ocean Wonders Seahorse everyone swears by. Point is, it was much more practical things that I needed and am soo glad to a lot more off my list.

Now really I just want a swing and we need a monitor. However I'm not worried about either right away. He will be sleeping in his bassinet in our room for the first couple weeks until we get used to his feeding schedule and what his crys mean etc. His room is visible from our bed when you sit up so I'd like to get him used to his crib early on but I don't think I will need a monitor right away since our apartment is only about 1,000sq. And the swing I know will be helpful but isn't a MUST when I bring him home, we can get that in a few weeks. So I think this means I'm all set.... I still don't feel prepared.

We are at 10 days OR LESS and I'm scared. I'm getting paranoid. I mean I know this is what we wanted, I know I will be a good mommy, I know Kris will be a wonderful father, but I'm still scared. What am I going to do with a newborn?? I think I forgot about this part, you know, bringing home a real life little baby. lol I know this is normal and will fade as soon as I see him, but I sit here in disbelief, especially when I sit in his room, that I will have my son here soo soon. Every time I get a contraction I start to panic and look at the clock. So far we've only had a few sessions of 3 or 4 an hour then they stop. It's just scary knowing that next time I have one it could be the start of IT. I think I'll make it another week, but you never know. I've also been sleeping a lot better at night and I fear this is my body's way of saying "this is the home stretch, sleep now or else...". Only time will tell.

Six on Saturday

Okay here is my weekly 6 on Saturday. Join in at MOMDOT.

“6 things you love or hate about your neighbors.”

1. I HATE how they slam their front door every time they come in and out. I mentioned it once and they were soo apologetic, they really had no idea. We think it's because they leave their sliding door open and the draft slams it harder than they mean for it to. I just deal with it now, but that is something I HATE!

2. I LOVE how considerate they are. Okay, other than the door thing they are quite. They have 4 boys (all probably 15 and younger?) 2 dogs (1 big and 1 small) and cats and a bird. We never really hear ANY of it. You can tell they really try to keep their kids under control, more than any other neighbors around here!

3. I HATE that they smoke. They usually smoke on their patio and if we have our slider open the scent comes right in. To each their own but there were a few days this summer it was crappy to smell it if I wanted the door open.

4. I LOVE the man of the house. He is a maintenance worker in the complex and he knows my grandpa and mom and is really nice. He looks out for us all. For example, his neighbor (on his side) is an older woman and the kids above her were playing music really loud. He went and complained to them for her and asked them to keep it down. 5 minutes later they got loud again and it was the middle of the night, like 2am. So he went and cut off their power for about 5 minutes on the breaker box and then turned it back on. They weren't loud again. lol AND he is going to load up our porch with free firewood from his parents so we can keep a fire going in the winter for the baby. See... nice guy huh?

5. I HATE that our OTHER neighbor (the kids that live above the old woman mentioned above). They our on our side wall and we sometimes hear their weird loud music late at night too. They also don't pay for parking but they use 2, not 1, but 2, covered parking spots. It's only 15 bucks a month just pay like everyone else. It pisses me off, I feel like such a parking nazi, but we are all pinching pennies around here and they just get away with cheating. Stupid!

Mama Kat's Writers Workshop. Superhero!

Okay, here we are again, Thursday. You know what that means, homework! This week is all kind travel and superhero themed, I wasn't sure I'd find something to write about, but I finally decided on a prompt. Click HERE to join Mama Kat and see what other's have said!

4) If you were a super hero, what would your super power be and why?

I would be Mrs. Money Bags.

I would have the power to solve financial problems. Wouldn't I be popular?? I could solve our own financial stress, and my families of course, but I would love to be able to provide relief for my friends and fellow bloggers and random strangers from their financial woes. I would feel soo wonderful if I had the funds (or superhero ability to make money just appear) and could just hand money out to people in need. I always want to be the awesome person who pays for someone elses's coffee as a surprise in line, or who leaves a huge tip at dinner to make the waitresses day. I'd love to have that chance, I love giving to people and know that right now this economy is taking from EVERYONE!

So, that would be my power. I would be Mrs. Money Bags, I would get to look all super cute and fly around with my big preggo belly and just hand out money or pay for things like bills or bus fair. I'd be soo happy and would feel super awesome. I mean it would be nice to see the future and find out what day this kids gonna pop out of me, but I'll just find another superhero friend to tell me that. :)

An Award? For Me??

Wow, I feel honored. So Crystal over at My So Called Life gave me this little award/meme, obviously she thinks my blog is fabulous. I was shocked. I had to laugh though because when she got the award for herself she said it looked like this high fashioned lady had toilet paper stuck to her shoe and didn't know it. Crystal said that would be here, thinking she looked all hot and had no idea... I must agree, now that's all I see when I look at the award, and it would be my luck too. Anyway, THANK YOU to Crystal, I am excited to take my turn and pass this award on....
What I gather is that with this award/meme I am to write about 5 things I'm obsessed with. Just 5 huh? I'll do my best to entertain.

1. Finding a good bargain! Lately this is all about baby things, like going to consignment stores and finding brand new clothes with the tags still on and getting them for like 3 bucks. Love it! As I blogged about long ago my best find yet was a $94 suede jacket from Gymboree for only $2!! Yep, what a thrill I got from that! I am a bargain shopper all around though. I am a coupon cutter, I will go to multiple stores if one has something on sale the other doesn't. I love seeing the bottom of my Walmart receipt saying "You saved XX". I get this trait from my mom.

2. Farm Town & Farkle. Yup, that's right, facebook applications. It's sad, but oh so true. I spend half my day playing Farm Town (which reminds me, I have crops to harvest!) and playing Farkle. I'm not a gambler, so playing Farkle is awesome to me, I can "gamble" but not lose anything. Love it.

3. Reality TV & DOOL. Dool is Days of Our Lives for those of you who don't know. I have watched DOOL since like 4th or 5th grade. I'm soo caught up in it that I have even got my husband and my dad trained to watch it when I can't so they can fill me in. As of this year full episodes are online too! Reality tv... oh my, where do I even start with this list. I have watched everything from Biggest Loser, Big Brother, Bachelor/ette, Girls Next Door, The Surreal Life, Amazing Race and the list could go on and on. I love them all and I have no idea why. It's pathetic but it's my passion on tv. Such a waste of time, but when you combine this with playing Farkle I'm in my "zone".

4. Coach. I love me some Coach purses. I have 3 purses, black was my first purchase, a gift of sorts for my college graduation from my mom. Then I bought myself a brown purse and a denim blue one. I also have 2 black wallets, one cloth, one leather. I need a brown wallet next. It will be 2 years at Christmas since I bought my last purse, and I'm getting a real big itch for a new one. I even have my eye on one. I want one that is a bit bigger, and I want this one to be the tan color. Oh I love them. I notice everyone who has one and I always have to "stop in" and just "look" when we pass stores or go places like Macy's. I even make our monthly Macy's payment in person just so I can do it at the purse counter. OH and I even have a pair of black Coach tennis shoes. My mommy bought them for me last year and I adore them.

5. All things pregnancy for the last 9 months. Now, I haven't been the type who every symptom I get scares me, or I feel the need to call the dr. or nurse all the time, or takes trips to Labor and Delivery because I felt "crampy". Sure those women have their reasons, but for me it's really silly to be paranoid. God gave us this baby and God can take him away, I felt my job was to remain stress free and love my baby as he grew, not to be all panicky and deprive myself of things. My dr. said I can have 2 cups of coffee a day, she said I can eat sushi in moderation from good places, hot dogs and cold lunch meat are a-ok. I can take baths and Tylenol whenever I want. Not gonna lie, I even had a few doses of Pepto on really bad days. I stopped taking my prenatal because they made me really sick and my dr. said it was fine. Oh and I'm gonna be induced 6 days early. For personal, not medical reasons - so shoot me. If all this makes me a horrible mommy-to-be, than so be it, but my son is growing strong and very healthy and will be here any day now, I've had absolutely no complications since day one and I've been very healthy. My dr. is super pleased with my pregnancy.

HOWEVER, I have been completely obsessed with reading about my pregnancy and learning all the random stuff. Like did you know that your cervix changes from pink to purple when you are pregnant? I got books immediately, I joined online communities (which for the most part I abandoned when I hit 3rd tri because of the caddy and judgy women). I noticed my nipples were dark before I even got a positive test and was soo fascinated by this. Books say they *should* go back to normal color and size, but I look like one of those aboriginal ladies with my freak show nipples. I kept wondering "is this a kick?" "was that a hiccup?" And now it's turned into "is that a contraction?" "is THIS part of my mucus plug?". Lol THOSE are the things I obsess about and am fascinated with. They don't concern me, I just have enjoyed getting to know more about my body and how it changes. I still can't fathom that I have a real little human in me and that all my organs will go right back to their original place once he is here. Crazy isn't it? I'm anxious, but sad to see this miracle end. It's been a good obsession.

Okay there you have it - my 5 obsessions. In true Kerri fashion they were all long winded answers, I just can't help myself. Now, I get to pass this award on...

I could have picked soo many other bloggers to pass this award onto, but I tried to pick just a couple who stood out in my mind recently for making my day with their posts. Also, since I'm new to this blog thing and this is only my 2nd award I wanted to pass this on to some of my less followed blog friends.

And the winners are....

Jessica over at Mommy Needs Coffee - she just had her 2nd little boy and they are both adorable, I love the pics she posts and the stories she tells.

Mama4Real - she is a real life Mama, and I love it.

The Domestication of a (once) Single Girl - she has a cute little girl and I am still laughing about her story (which I couldn't find the link to share) about how her other half clogged the toilet and they didn't have a plunger.

37 weeks - 14 days!! WE HAVE PROGRESS!

Yep, we are 37 weeks (yesterday really). At my appointment today Dr. said things are great, I'm 1cm dilated and my cervix is low and easy to reach. It really could be any day now, such a scary thought! I just hope he stays in past Saturday, I want to enjoy my Filipino food baby shower first! :)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and I bought one last top, it's a tank top for $4.48 the other day. How exciting, I love it.
Stretch Marks: Yeah whatever. They are there and I don't care. There won't be bare belly pics this week have no fear.
Total Weight: 43lb total. I gained just 1lb again this week.
Aiden's Measurements: He should be around 6.5lbs this week and somewhere around 20inches in length. He's full term and could continue to gain .5lb each week until he is here.
Movement: Yes he moves around all day, but it's kinda like a popping feeling. Hard to explain, but he's certainly out of room.
Sleep: It's still here or there, I've had a hard time sleeping the first half the night, then it gets better the second half the night once I've peed as much as I could.
Cravings: Not really. I haven't had much of an appetite for the last month. Perhaps because I'm all out of room too.
Belly Button: It's staying in for now, no new signs of that changing.
What I Look Forward To: Can't wait to meet baby Aiden. Today we are doing some maternity pics and then Saturday is my last baby shower.
What I Miss: A lot - being comfortable, bending over, my hips not feeling like they are being ripped apart. I'm leaving last weeks answer.... it's worse. I broke down and cried hysterically this week because I feel soo helpless. I hate that feeling.
Highlights: 2 weeks from today he will be here. If not sooner that is! Dr. today said that I am 1cm dilated and that my cervix is easy to reach and nice and low - whatever that means. I said "see you next week" when she was leaving and she smiled and said "if not before!". Umm, way to scare me lol. I mean I know we are full term and he can come any day now, but when the dr. says it, it makes it real! Plus I think I may be losing part of my mucus plug? Sorry if that's TMI but well, it's not pretty.

It's Tuesday??

Wow, where the crap did Monday go? I completely missed it, matter of fact, I think i missed out on Sunday too! I don't even remember doing anything on Sunday to be honest, my days are running together now. Oh wait, it JUST hit me... Sunday was my mom's birthday! That's what I did, she wanted her free Red Robin burger, so me, my brother, my papa (her dad of course) and my momma (kris was working) went to lunch. That's all I did.

Monday I went to Target. I returned a few things and decided to buy myself one last Maternity shirt. I have a small photo session tomorrow with Kris' friend who plays around with photography, and then my last baby shower is on Saturday. I decided I wanted to look nice so I needed a new shirt. Boy did I find a bargain! I found a cute pinkish (more like pink-purple?) tank top on sale for $4.48. I was super excited, I didn't really like the idea of spending 20 bucks on a shirt I will technically be able to 2 more weeks. Of course the reality is that the last 5 or 6 shirts I have bought I have purposely picked shirts that will work well for post baby too until I get my shape back. I'm smart like that. Anyway, I painted my nails to match and am all excited for pictures tomorrow. Now I just gotta figure out what Kris will wear that will compliment my new shirt! It may take a few days for his friend to put the pictures online, they won't be professional, but anything is better than belly shots taken in a mirror like I normally do! Plus they will be outside on a nice sunny day and will have my hubs in them! I hope I love them enough to share them with you all!

Tomorrow is also my first internal. Our usual Tuesday appointment had to be moved to Wednesday this week so I will post the weekly update, with hopefully some progress listed, tomorrow. Cross your fingers! I've been having more and more contractions, false, braxton hicks, who knows, but they don't feel good! A few days ago my back hurt all day, like a dull ache all over my back, it made me feel really sick. Ugh. I became hysterical last night. I could barely get to the phone before it was done ringing without being short of breath, I dropped my car keys in the parking lot at Target and took 3 tries to pick them up (and of course no one was walking by to help!), I couldn't get into half my kitchen cupboards while trying to make dinner and by the time I was finished making boxed pasta and canned sauce with a homemade Caesar salad I was in a lot of discomfort and felt awful. I could hardly even eat for a bit until the contractions cooled off. Oh and I can't do laundry because I can start it but can't get the wet clothes out from the bottom of the washer to dry them!

I ended up just sobbing to Kris last night about how I was helpless and couldn't do ANYTHING these days. He just told me that I am supposed to be helpless, that I just need to walk and rest until this baby gets here. I thought I was better today, but then when we went to get out of bed I had to use his arm to sit myself up. Oh it's bad. I think I'm done now. Baby is baked and I can't move. Thankfully we are at 15 days or less... come on Aiden! I walked my brother's dog this morning for about 15 minutes and then played inside for another 15 and by the time I walked the 2 minutes back to my place I felt sick to my stomach. I had to put my nightgown back on and am now laying down resting. Thank God for dad's because mine is off work at noon and said he would do the afternoon dog walk and then pick my brother up from school so I could just stay home all day and rest. This means a lot of Farkle and Farm Town on facebook and probably a few more blog posts today. *Sigh* At least tonight is Biggest Loser.

Six on Saturday

Okay so I'm going to cheat this week. I already did a post on Tuesday about my Fall Favorites. As much as I love Fall, which I do, I don't really want to take the time to make up the same list. So I'm going to send you HERE to read the post I already did. Now, it is a bit longer than 6 items, but most are pictures anyway, so no complaining. You can leave a comment there, or here if you want, doesn't matter. Enjoy my list!

As usual you can go to MomDot to join in on the Six on Saturday fun!! (Link on my right sidebar as well. I'd put it here but their clicky isn't working and I'm feeling very lazy in late pregnancy)

again CLICK HERE to read my Fall Favorites list.

Shout out to MOMS WITH PETS??

So to those of you who are moms, and also have pets, I have some questions.

Question 1. Did you animals start acting differently, more protective mostly, when you first were pregnant?


I ask because mine did. My cat started sleeping by my tummy before we even got the positive test. She NEVER did this before and she continued to do it EVERY NIGHT for the first month or two. Then she went on this kick where she sat with me as I got sick during morning sickness. I knew she was trying to be comforting. After the first few months she went back to normal and was just my cute kitty.


Now, Question 2...


Did your pets act differently when you got close to going into labor?


Now that I'm only 19 days away, and feeling more uncomfortable, getting more contractions etc, she is acting all weird again. I feel like my husband gave her a stern "don't leave mommy alone" talk. When I wake up she is half the time trying to lay near my tummy again, although now this doesn't work for her. She follows me from room to room and when I sit I often find her circling my feet or laying next to me or behind my head on the sofa. She just doesn't leave me alone. When I leave the room she will follow. She has been sleeping in the nursery (she loves the window ledge cuz there is a tree outside it and she watches squirrels and birds), but I have noticed the last 2 nights in a row that when I wake up in the night to go pee she comes running from her window and sits in the hall until I get back in bed. I took a bath a few nights ago and she, who hates water being a cat and all, sat on the side of the tub and waited for me to get out.


Is she doing this because the baby and me are releasing new hormones (the ones that signal the end is near) or am I just going crazy? Did any of you notice changes like this in your pets? I feel like she acted protective at the start because of all the new hormones and she just knew to nurture me. I am starting to think all the changes at the end are telling her to watch out for me again, and I know she is catching on to the change of the baby coming soon.


Lastly, here she is sitting on my lap today. She is NOT a lap cat, she will sit next to you and let you pet her a bit, but she will NOT be held, and doesn't like to be in your lap or lay on you. Yet, she jumped up on her own onto my lap today and laid there for 20 minutes purring....

uh oh - I'm a hypocrite!

So I totally realized today I'm a hypocrite. I don't think I really AM in real life, but I guess I do tend to judge celebrities differently than non-celebs. I read this morning, here, that Khloe Kardashian is planning to getting married to her boyfriend of 1 month. Wow. 1 month was my first thought followed quickly by "Good Luck". <--- said very sarcastically in my head of course.

Then it hit me... umm, reality check Kerri, you and Kris were talking about getting married after a month, and were officially engaged with a ring by 3 months and umm, married on your 9 month anniversary. "GOOD LUCK". Ouch... I'm sure, matter of fact, I KNOW, some people (mostly coworkers, not real friends or family) thought we were a bit crazy and didn't think we were making the best choice. Look at us though, sure it's been almost a year of marriage, but we have been blissfully happy and have really become a better couple each day that passes and have more than proven to the nay-sayers that we were right and they were wrong. Now we are even 19 days (or less!!) away from having our first child. We are soo happy and blessed. I should have been wishing this for Khloe.

I guess it's just soo different in my mind when they are celebs and live in different states and her 2 sisters have a lovely track of bad relationships (Kim with a quick hitch in Vegas gone bad and Kourtney preggo with what WAS her ex), and she JUST got out of another short relationship with a different athlete.... Wow - sorry, just got judgy again. I know that those things can be blessings too, just saying, celebs seem to be so carefree with their choices. "Hey, why not get married, I have fame, money and well, can do what I want!" That's my opinion on it anyway. *sigh* So yes, good luck to Khloe, but I'm betting it isn't true love that will last over the years....I have more faith in Jillian and Ed (from Bachelorette if you live under a rock) and that they will last. Time will tell...

Fall Favorites! (Mama Kat's)

Mama Kat is at it again. I'm posting this today because well, I got it done early and well, I can. I'll edit it tomorrow with a link to Mama's page so you can all join in. This week I picked prompt #3.) Your Fall favorites. I love this topic. Last week I was all serious and sweet about my hubby, now I can just sit here with my coffee and relax thinking about fall coming... Yay! Here you go... enjoy my fall favorites. EDIT: Go HERE to join in!

Fall Leaves

Crisp Weather
Sweaters/Hoodies/Puffy Vests

College Football/UW campus in Fall

My Wedding Day/Anniversary - 10.25.08

Baby Aiden's Birthday will be in fall

Rain

Apple Cider

Pumpkin Pie/Pecan Pie/Apple Pie

Picking Out A Pumpkin at the Patch/Carving Pumpkins

Scarves

Warm socks

TV shows returning

Fires - Bonfires smell, or a fireplace

Curling Up in Blankets

36 weeks.... 22 days?!?

That's right folks, the math doesn't add up, but that's the way it's gonna go down! We had our weekly appointment today and we set the date! If Aiden isn't out on his own before, then on Wed. Oct 7th at 7:30pm we will be going to the hospital to induce the little guy out! Yay! I'm soo very excited.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, of course, my poor jeans are starting to fray and fall apart a bit, but they will make it 22 more days! Brock's new puppy Gema tends to snag them a little bit.
Stretch Marks: Yeah whatever. They are there and I don't care. There won't be bare belly pics this week have no fear.
Total Weight: 42lb total. I gained 1lb this week. Doing pretty well really, even though the number sounds really scary. Other than my 1 month of a 9lb gain (which they swear is normal around 20 weeks...) I've been pretty consistent. And I've only gained 4lbs since August. Woot.
Aiden's Measurements: Well the dr. didn't mention anything about his size when he felt my tummy, but according to stats he should be around 6lbs and 20 inches long. At .5lb a week I'm guessing a birth weight of around 7.3lbs.
Movement: He moves a lot but it's all just big rolling movements. He has been getting hiccups a lot more though, last time it lasted 7 mins, it doesn't seem like a long time, but it made me feel soo helpless.
Sleep: Well I don't want to jinx myself, but the last few nights haven't been THAT bad.
Cravings: None really. I mean I mentioned chocolate dipped churros in an earlier blog and well that still sounds good but I'm not rushing how to find one.
Belly Button: It's staying in for now, no new signs of that changing.
What I Look Forward To: Well tonight it's non-baby related, no lie. I can't wait for the Big Brother Finale and then to start watching Biggest Loser. Sad isn't it? I am looking forward to meeting my little man, it's scary he could be here soo soon!
What I Miss: A lot - being comfortable, bending over, my hips not feeling like they are being ripped apart.
Highlights: We set a date! It's great to be able to countdown and really plan. I mean he could be here before that, but at least now Kris and Mom can arrange for work off and we can try our best to be prepared for parenthood. Scary!!

The Secret Life of Bees!

So, you must be wondering how do I spend a lonely Sunday, well let me tell you. I go to HBO on demand and see what is new. TV is always bad on Sundays, and I know there is football, but I only interested in college games on Saturday. So HBO it is.

I was very excited to see that the movie The Secret Life of Bees was new for the viewing! I had read the book years ago after my mom did. I remember thinking it was a good book and was excited to see that it was turned into a movie. Mom and I kept saying we had to go see it, but we aren't very good at making it to the theater. I decided today was the day...

I started the movie and couldn't remember all of it at first, but as the movie went on it all came back to me and I started to cry. Then laugh. Then cry again. By the end of the movie I had that happy warm feeling and was crying. If you haven't seen it, or read the book, I highly recommend that you do so. I don't think you have to read the book to enjoy the movie though, but I thought it was really true to the book which makes me happy. And I think that the cast was excellent! For a bunch of singers they sure did a wonderful job acting.

There you have it, how I spent my Sunday afternoon. Take the suggestion or leave it. :)

Six on Saturday.

“6 things you think would be yummy if they were covered in chocolate.”

Head over to Saturday's at MomDot to join in. I have a button on my right sidebar as well!


1. Dill Pickles. Like the big fatty ones that come on a stick at theme parks. (I see you all gagging - don't judge me I'm pregnant!)

2. Churros. Now seriously, how good would THAT be? Warm cinnamon crispy churros dunked in milk chocolate. Oh my mouth is watering!

3. Apple Pies from McDonalds. Those ones that are all breaded and warm.

4. Ruffles with Ridges the original flavor. They are soo salty that would have to be good.

5. Nature Valley Nut Clusters - Nut Lovers. Remember I raved about this just 2 days ago? Yeah well those would be awesome covered in chocolate. Take note they aren't sold like that now so if they come up with this I deserve credit!

6. Lemons. Now I'm not sure how this would work out, but I just think the really sour would be yummy.

*PS* I'm not gonna lie when I read the topic I immediately went to an inappropriate train of thought. Perhaps that too should be blamed on baby. I kept it clean though. :)

Complaint of the Day - Oatmeal

Why are oatmeal packets so small? Seriously, 1 packet is great for a kid I'm sure, but for my hungry pregnant (or non-pregnant for that matter) self I need much more! 2 packets is nice, but it won't last long. I've recently increased to 3 Quaker packets in order to actually feel like the oatmeal filled me up. So let's see 10 packets in a box... I get 2 hearty meals and 2 so-so meals. What a let down. Sad story is I love me some oatmeal and will continue to go through boxes as usual. Today was Peaches and Cream - yum.

Oh wait! So this is my other complaint about oatmeal. I really like blueberry & cream but they don't sell it in boxes by itself like they do strawberry and peach. So sometimes I buy the multi fruit & cream box just for the blueberry. And I get like 1 meal of it and then I'm stuck with bananas & cream. Not okay.

Ha - i just realized my last 2 posts have been about food - can you tell what's been on my mind?

Just wanted to say

I love my husband more today than I did yesterday when I wrote the "what is marriage to me" post. I won't bother explaining, because it's personal, but I just wanted to share with everyone that he is soo special to me and it amazes me what things makes me love him more. That is all.

A Very Yummy Snack!

Now, I don't know anything about promoting on my blog. I know some women, whose blogs I read, always have a random promotion blog where they say they love some item or store and it's obvious that they either got paid for their kind words, or they got the product free and now have to tell me about it. I'm still iffy on if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, what if you get something free and you didn't like it? Like you would really have the courage to say that you didn't like the product. I doubt I would. I mean shoot, I love free stuff, I wouldn't want to give a bad review of some stain remover and then never get free stuff again!

Okay, so my point here is this, I didn't get this free, I bought it on my own, with a $0.55 off coupon. I didn't even get the coupon in the mail from someone. I stole it from my mother-in-loves Sunday newspaper ads. I will not be getting paid for this, but wouldn't complain if someone at Nature Valley, by some random luck (which my luck sucks), read this blog and sent me some or more coupons. I know, it won't happen, but I'm just saying can't you promote something and then that company says "hey, here you go - have more for FREE". Yeah, that'd be awesome. I'd love to promote things I actually use and enjoy, i'm just not sure about this whole promote something new that you are obligated to try. So here is something I want to promote....

I LOVE THESE!

Seriously, they are the PERFECT snack! I just grab a few clusters and it's just the right amount of sweet and protein to keep me going for a bit. I have only tried the one pictured above, the Nut Lovers, because frankly, that's me. I love me some nuts (yep, take that how you want folks, I'll admit it!). Anyway, I'm not trying to promote for teh company, or get free goodies, I really was just snacking on some while watching Ellen and decided I just had to share with you ladies that I enjoy these and you should give them a try yourself. There, I'm done.

Your Assignment... *Marriage Means to Me*

This week I am IN LOVE, literally, with Mama Kat's first prompt. What does marriage mean to you? Sure I have only been married for 10-11 months now, but I treasure my marriage more than life itself. I think it is the most sacred thing ever and I love being Kris' wife and learn more about how God wanted marriage to be all the time. I just started typing a list as things came to mind while watching my husband across the room. I figure this is the best way to tell you just what...



Marriage means to me...

- Friendship
- Faithfulness/Loyalty
- Being able to be completely normal around each other without worrying that your husband/wife will judge you or be grossed out. Examples of this include but are not limited to:

• farting


• burping


• puking


• picking zits and scabs on yourself or each other, or peeling sun burnt skin *yes I like this stuff call me crazy, but I'm a zit picker on my hubs*


• pooping/leftover floaters in the toilet


• saying stupid things


• admitting you don't understand something
  
• smelly feet
  

- Unconditional Love. Above all it's about LOVE LOVE LOVE. I love him more everyday!
- Security/Safety. As in, I feel safer when he is around, I know he will protect me if something bad, God forbid, happens. He puts himself on the street side when we walk in public or puts my purse on the arm between us.
- Wanting to take a scary step together in order to move forward. Like having a baby, or buying a home...
- Looking forward to growing old together and talking about the future
- Being able to sit in silence and still feel comfortable.
- Accepting and loving each other's flaws (I whine, he's messy...)
- If you are lucky like us, having both your families become one giant unit and enjoy each other's company and friendship.
- Taking turns and compromising.
- Amazing love life. (Even when it's bad it's good, you want to please the other more, understanding when your very pregnant wife just can't do it anymore)
- Trusting each other completely. He is the first person I can 110% say I trust with my heart, my life, our child, our finances, to drive, to take care of me when he says he will FOREVER.
- Holding hands without realizing it, kisses on the forehead, foot massages
- Babying each other when you are sick and knowing how to make each other feel better without even asking
- Needing each other
- Being proud of each other and being encouraging.
- Not trying to change each other, but just better each other
- Taking on each other's hardships and making them something to work on together, not saying "well, that was your debt before we got married" etc. It's now OURS for US to take care of.
- Peace, Serenity
- Laughter

This is MY picture of marriage. Not my wedding, which I love those pics too, but this is Love, the kind you need in a marriage.

35 week 1 day belly pics

Okay so if you look back at older pics you can see that I have dropped in these pics. And just look at those stretch marks and my navel ring scar. Pretty scary stuff right there, but I don't care. I still think it's beautiful and my hubby does too! Anyone tried Mederma for scars though? I've heard it will help to heal the stretch marks after the baby is here.

35 Weeks!

So it's my 35/35. However, I of course will not be making it 35 more days, more like 28 or 29. SCARY! Almost there. Oh and sorry for no pic last week, i'll get a good one tomorrow to make up for it.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and some of my shirts are getting shorter on me.
Stretch Marks: I think they have stopped growing, but they are more than noticeable.
Total Weight: Well, this appointment I gained 3lbs. That's great, only 3 pounds the month of August. (Recall, 2 weeks ago I gained 0lbs!). So this takes me to 41lbs total with 4 weeks to go.
Aiden's Measurements: He is about 19/20inches long now, he won't get much longer. And he is about 5.5lbs.
Sleep: I just give up. I have a few good nights sleep, some bad. Some nights I can't fall asleep for hours, I just lay there thinking.
Cravings: Nothing really. Umm, I wanted a chicken cup of noodle earlier this week, and I got one today so I can eat it tomorrow. Exciting isn't it?
Belly Button: I think it just may stay in. I asked Kris the other night if he thought it would pop out. After sticking his finger in it he said "probably". lol I'll be sure to make a big announcement if it shows up.
What I Look Forward To: Hmm, I have to go spend some of our gift cards at Target this week. I need to get the rest of what I need to pack my hospital bag! Oh and my second baby shower is only a few weeks away.
What I Miss: Being able to get off the floor on my own. Bending over to pick things up. Being comfortable. My hips not feeling bruised because they are soo sore.
Highlights: Well it's always good to hear Aiden's heartbeat. Getting the chance to go to a movie this week and just spending time with Kris.

Labor Day!

Well we have nothing too exciting going on for the weekend. We went to Kris' cousin Daniel's wedding on Saturday. It was a small backyard wedding, and the rain held out. It was much different from our own wedding, but it seemed to fit them so that is what matters. They had a port-a-potty set up behind a shed (creepy!), they had karaoke, it was a potluck meal and everyone except Kris' family was walking around smoking and drinking beer from the cans. Very down home. The colors were pretty I thought, white, burgundy and a chocolate brown, very fall like. Oh and I ran into a groomsmen right away who was the roommate of this loser I dated 2 years ago. That was awkward. I mean he was nice and all and actually helped me ditch the loser, but still weird to run into someone like that. I did enjoy introducing him to my husband and telling him I was due in 4 weeks. :) We learned that he is related to my husband, he is a cousin on the other side of the family. Small world... I just enjoyed being able to dress up a little and go somewhere with my handsome husband.

Yesterday Kris had to work and I stayed home and got some stuff accomplished. I got a load of baby laundry done, all his baby shower clothes and blankets and his coming home outfit. Got his coming home and hospital stuff packed up too. I cried a bit while folding it all. It's all soo tiny and it just hit me how quickly this pregnancy has gone and how soon he will be wearing those tiny clothes. I just got a bit overwhelmed I guess with all sorts of emotions. I am going to do his bedding and the few dark pieces of clothes today and then I will be all done and will have all the clothes organized! Yay!

Today Kris started working on his car, it for some reason wouldn't start when we tried the other day, and he had no luck. He doesn't have his tools here so it's gonna be towed today to his parents where he can properly fix it. AAA was super confused when Kris was telling them he didn't want it towed to a shop he was gonna fix it himself. It makes me laugh. We seriously will never have to go to a mechanic again, I love having a husband who can fix all things cars and can do our monthly checks. He even rotates my tires with the electric thingy that race car pits use. It's fun to time him. It was however very sad to see "Scoobie" on a flat bed tow truck.

This afternoon Kris, dad and I are going to the cheap theater (only $3ea) to see Night at the Museum 2. I'm kinda excited, I enjoyed the first one and at least it will get us out of the house. After the movie we are going to just grill some hot dogs and polish dogs. I made this very yummy pasta salad too. It was raditore pasta, black beans, garbanzo beans, corn and this Mediterranean dressing I made. The dressing was one of those dry packet mixes I have had in my cupboard for honestly a few years. I mixed it up with mayo, water, olive oil, lemon juice and some salt and pepper. It turned out much better than I thought. I hope the salad is a hit, I may even take a picture of it because it looks so pretty. I really just needed a side dish that used up stuff I had sitting around! Who knew throw it together would turn out so well!

That's about all for now. Nothing too exciting going on, just life.

Let the Poll Begin....

We are in the homestretch now and the baby poll has begun. We are keeping it to family and close friends, and yes, we are putting $5ea on it because my hubby and his family are gamblers! We are setting an induction date in the next 2 weeks or so, so guesses must be in before that. Here are the important dates to consider:

- LMP was Dec 25th (yep, got my period Christmas day)
- Neg home tests Jan 22nd - Jan 30th (no signs of period AT ALL and I had pg symptoms)
- Neg blood test Jan 30th
- Positive home test Feb 17th
- Original due date was Sept 30th
- Current due date Oct 13th (changed after 2nd ultrasound)
- Induction WILL BE SET for BEFORE OCT 9th (long story short we bought a big cruise to Morocco leaving April 9th and baby must be 6 months to the day. We did this before baby - judge us if you will, I don't care, my dr says a few days is just fine and she is willing to induce after I hit 39 weeks)

Poll Dates:
Mom - Sept 30th
Me - Oct 3rd
Kris - Oct 5th
Brock (bro) - Oct 8th
Dad - Oct 6th (5th if he gets two votes)
Kris' Mom - Oct 5th
Jeff (bro in law) - Oct 5th
Kris' Dad - Oct 7th
Papa - Oct 11th (my granny's bday, we didn't have the heart to tell him it won't be that late, but we also won't be taking money from him)

I'm an AWFUL blogger!

Goodness me. I can't believe I missed my 2nd week in a row of Mama Kat's writing assignment. I blame her (sorry, but I must pass the buck onto SOMEONE, plus she never posted my boob pic! lol) She was a day late with the prompts and then I thought it was Tuesday and well, I just got behind and here it is Friday and I didn't realize I missed my little weekly homework until this morning. Sad Story!

I feel like my brain is on overload. And my body is drained! My hips ache soo badly and it takes me forever to roll over in bed, so even with Tylenol and a heating pad I have not been getting much sleep. Oh and yes, I do sleep with a thousand pillows - still no help! So then when I'm finally up I just have no energy, I feel bad for Kris who is adding more duties to his list when he comes home daily. Also I've had awful sinus pressure for over a week now, stupid swollen nose!

My little guy is doing good, we are almost at 35 weeks and I just realized it's crunch time. My hubs wants to pack our hospital bag now, but I haven't gotten anything together for it except the new nursing nightie I bought for after he is born. I have his coming home outfit and blanket and such but they still need to be washed. My hubs though did pack himself clothes. So now it's up to me, I must find a good list online I get to work before he panics on me! Also I need to wash the bedding and the second batch of clothes I have for him. I also need to buy just a few more essentials. I have one more shower on Sept 26th which is close to my due date, so I need to pick up a few things just in case I don't make it to that date. I'm getting panicked now. He's been head down for weeks now, he moves around a bit less, I mean right now he is doing his "stick my butt up and down in the air" move but that's all he really can do these days. I've had just a few braxton hicks contractions that hurt a bit and I'm starting to watch for the scary mucus plug event.

Speaking of mucus plugs... my hubs is getting scared. I told him about the mucus plug and how I will eventually lose it and that I have started looking for it now. He started gagging out loud in the car. It was wayy too funny. Poor guy. He thought he was having an anxiety attack the other day when he realized we only have like 4 weeks left.

We are going to a wedding tomorrow, I'm gonna get my hair trimmed and get my long swoopy bangs back, i'm excited. It's supposed to be rainy though, and it's an outdoor backyard event. I sure hope it goes well, I feel awful for the bride who must be worried by now!

Lastly on my random update my mom and brother got a random puppy yesterday. It was a complete spur of the moment event and here I sit puppy sitting. She is a 10 week old rat terrier. Her previous owners had named her Gema (like a Gem) I like to call her Gema Paige. Not sure why, I think it was the name of the ditzy girl from Fool's Gold. Anyway, since this is only day 2 with our family and she is soo young I am sitting here keeping an eye on her and taking her out for a walk. She came to our house yesterday and promptly peed on our floor, the hubs wasn't pleased, and neither was our kitty Aurora, but well even he admits she is super cute. Here is a post of the little thing. She tried to nap on my lap/tummy in the car yesterday, but she finds it hard to stay on the roundness that is my growing son. The weird part to me is that she is like half of Aiden's size and he is still in me! That's crazy!

Wishful Wednesday!

This is the first installment of Wishful Wednesday. I was getting tired of the other Wednesday Meme's since I post soo many pics anyway, so I am excited to participate in something different! Here you go - join in the fun at The Seattle Smith's.

The first Wishful Wednesday is:


'I wish' .... I could go back in time and change one decision I made,
and it would be ____!

I wish I could go back in time and change one decision I made, and it would be.... buying the Hazelnut creamer instead of this Cinnamon Vanilla I got. Last week I had Vanilla Carmel and it was okay, but not what my taste buds wanted. We ALWAYS get Hazelnut and I wanted to try something new. Well, this week I picked up this lovely Cinnamon Vanilla business and got all excited to try it with my morning coffee. I am disappointed! I'm hardly drinking my coffee and I feel like it's such a waste. I love Coffeemate and just can't believe I am not enjoying this at all. I'm going to blame it on the baby hormones, my taste buds must be off. *sigh*

My Baby Shower!

So I could go and write this really long blog about it all, or I could add pics and small snipits. I have opted for pics and snipits! So here it goes.

The baby shower was thrown by my mommy at her place. We had cute decorations, a sock monkey cake, we had veggies and some grapes out and then after we did presents mom grilled up some burgers and hot dogs. Very simple, but yummy. It was a good size I thought, 12 people I believe? We didn't really play any silly games, there was a baby word scramble out that people did while they ate, but nothing organized. We opened gifts, and mostly just all hung out. I have great friends who all get along, there is no need to put a schedule on things, we all just hung out and celebrated baby Aiden arriving soon! I got some great gifts and some adorable clothes. I think that is about all that is important. Now, onto the pictures....

My Sock Monkey cake! It was marble inside and that is his butt that looks a bit inappropriate!

Andrea Ross

Sierra

Amanda "Shyflea"

Tori

Tiffany

Tori, My Hubs, and myself

My Aunt Jean