Mothership Confessional

I'm living life a day at a time these days. We had a busy weekend. Well, to me it was busy, even though we did our fair share of sitting around the house! We went to the Renaissance Festival south of Nashville on Sunday. It was a hot day in the sun, but pretty pleasant in the shade. A castle that a man has been working on for 44 years. Built by hand! It pretty much exhausted me!  I had a hard time getting out of bed the next day. And then I took a nap just 2 hours after being awake to catch up some more. I had my first dip in the pool this pregnancy! I wore a pre-pregnancy swim suit with a tank top over it. I am thankful to have no stretch marks  up to this point in pregnancy, but I decided I didn't want all eyes on me during opening weekend at the pool! I definitely had to use the ladder to get in and out of the pool, or I would hold onto Chris's hand to sit down on the edge and then slide in. It felt nice to be weightless in the water! I did

I am tired. My brain thinks I have energy, but my body knows better! Here's a scenario that makes me tired: pull off all sheets and bedding from the bed. Carry it downstairs to the laundry room. Start the load. Walk upstairs and prepare for shower. Laying down on the bed was my shower prep!  Taking a shower has now become more of a chore, mainly when I have to shave my legs. It's a whole lotta work! And then once I get out of the shower, I have to cover myself in Bio Oil and lotion. That's more work! Sometimes I have to sit down and rest before I can continue to get myself ready for the day. Bending and reaching really takes it out of me! I cut my toenails the other day. That  was really hard! It was probably the last time I will do that until after Ava arrives. ...and I have the bladder of a small child. I still only wake once during the night to go (sometimes   I can sleep through the whole night), but during the day; I am going about every hour o

I knew for awhile that creating a freezer meal stash was something I wanted to do for my husband and I. Then, I got pregnant, and I knew  that making freezer meals was something that I had to do for our survival! But the thought of dropping an extra 100 bucks or so at the grocery store and slaving away in the kitchen for a whole day  just did not sound like fun to me. Especially once I got into my third trimester. So here are some useful ideas (that I found helpful) in case you don't want to turn your kitchen into a disaster zone and pass out from exhaustion! Buy Some Supplies I purchased a bunch of square aluminum baking pans from Walmart. They were like 97 cents for a 2-pack. I bought the entire stack on the shelf! I am just cooking for 2 adults, so if your family is larger, you will probably want to pick out a larger size. You will also want to have some aluminum foi l on hand (the heavy-duty variety is best). I also used plastic wrap to wrap around each pan be

Today we had our maternity photo shoot, graciously taken by our friend! It was a perfect day! Lots of sunshine and shade, a perfect breeze, and a pleasantly cool temperature! We took pictures at an area right outside of Ft. Campbell and at Dunbar Cave State Park . Love them! Now I'm going to have to choose which ones to frame!!

33 weeks...that puts the countdown at 6 weeks, 6 days. Well, not exactly...!!!! I had my ultrasound and 32 week appointment this week. The ultrasound revealed her amazing  growth! She went from being in the 45th percentile at my 20 week scan, to the 53rd percentile at 28 weeks,, to the 63rd percentile at 32 weeks! She's doing great!! That dang kidney of hers is still slightly  inflamed, but my doctor said it's barely noticeable, but still present. It has improved! And...Ava is now breech. So we talked a bit about her position and both of us think the likelihood of her turning for delivery is slim. It's possible, but not likely considering the fact that I have a bicornuate uterus, she has been in one (transverse) position the whole time, and now she is breech. So I was asking if a c-section for me would be done at the full 40 weeks, and she said we would schedule at 39. So the next thing I knew, we were scheduling her c-section! My doctor was totally fine with

This post sprung up from my last weekly update. I realized my post had taken a turn and really needed to be it's own post. It's not as happy-go-lucky as my weekly posts are. It's about infertility. ***** (Ava will be here in 6 short weeks. And these are some thoughts I've been having lately.) All these "just you wait" statements are about to end. Yes, we've done our fair share of waiting, thank you very much. Babies cry a lot. We will want more sleep. They make a mess. Blah, blah, blah. Yes, parenthood is not always rainbows and butterflies...I already knew that. I don't need a lecture. We are just ready for our lives to feel more  complete. To feel like we have more of a purpose. To have more  joy . To grow our family. Don't squash that with your attempts at horror stories. People who have tried to conceive for a long time have a different perspective and don't want to hear your crap.

I'm officially in my 8th month of pregnancy!! It's hard to believe! I have only imagined being 8 months pregnant... and now I get to be here . And it's just about everything I thought it would be! I feel big. I eat frequently. I am emptying my bladder very frequently.  I can't reach things as well or fit through narrow spaces. And "sucking it in" is no longer cutting it. I have back aches. I have noticed tiny bit of swelling in my feet. I waddle. Just a little. My wedding ring doesn't fit.  Well, it does, it is just really hard to get on and off. So I leave it off. My hands are really stiff in the morning and feel very swollen. It goes away after getting up for awhile. My husband is pretending to have "fat pregnancy fingers" too because he forgets to put his ring on a lot. When we are in public together without our rings on, we joke that I am his girlfriend and that someday we should get married.  And

Let me just go ahead and tell you how to kill all the ants in and around your house.  It will only take you two steps. First step: buy this stuff. Second step: spray the ants. That's it!! This stuff is magic! It's EcoSmart Organic Home Pest Control for Indoor and Outdoor Use...and it kills and  repels over 100 types of crawling insects! It is safe to use around children and pets. I first noticed ants in my house this season after dry mopping our dining room, which is the same room in which our dog has his food and water bowl. After dry mopping the floor, I (mistakenly) left the debris I had swept up on the floor in a little pile by the patio door. The next morning, I found that ants had come in through the threshold of the patio door and were feasting on a piece of dog food that was in that pile. The subsequent times I have found ants in our house, they have come in through the garbage disposal switch and were enjoying a small pool of wate

I'm 31 weeks! A little blurry...the "photographer" and I were being silly. :) And pregnancy brain is real, people! The "science" behind it is that so much blood is being rerouted to your growing baby that there is less than normal blood flow to the brain, which can lead to forgetfulness and overall diminished brainpower. I have experienced a bit of that. I will often get up and walk into another room only to realize I have no idea why I got up. I walk around for a second, and then return to the couch, confused. Hmm. And it often never comes to me what I wanted to do in that room. I was at Macy's the other week trying to find the maternity section (yay! They had one!) and I decided I should go to the bathroom. Well I was walking towards it, only to realize it was the men's dressing room. Don't know how I messed that one up. I was pumping gas awhile back and could not understand  why the pump wasn't working. I wa