A little trip down Memory Lane

This could get kinda long so bear with me :)

I practically grew up in an amazing house on 5 acres here in AR. While I lived in TX with my parents throughout the year, I spent my summers in this house and made a lot of awesome memories there. It was my Mamaw and Papaw's house.

When my Papaw died in '05, Mamaw sold the house and most of her possessions because it was just too hard for her to deal with everything without Papaw. Well, in the months that past, she came to regret her decision and has since. I've said for the last 6 years that if the house ever came available again, I would do anything to have it back.

Well, yesterday when we were coming back from our little Father's Day fishing trip, we drove past the house and there just so happened to be a For Sale signed outside. I think my heart literally tried to jump out of my chest. I cried. It was like a dream come true. After talking to Curtis and my aunt and uncle, I thought "what the hell?" and called the number.

The lady I talked to sounded very nice on the phone and said they were eager to sell but in no hurry and said we could come look at it tonight. She also told me that I probably wouldn't recognize it because of all the changes they had made. She also mentioned the asking price... $40K over what she paid for it 6 years ago but I thought "Eh, it just might be worth it if they've done a lot of renovating..." I knew the house needed it but I was not prepared for the change.

So Curtis and I decided we would just go check it out and we would talk finances later. I really thought I was going to throw up on the way there. I haven't been on this property in 6 years... the last time was when we sold all my grandpa's possessions.

They did make a lot of changes... landscaped the yard, took out a couple walls in the house, tiled the floor, sheet-rocked the walls (they used to be paneled), painted. The only rooms that looked the same were the bathrooms. Oh and she (the owner) managed to throw in a few jabs at my grandparents, knowing they were my grandparents and I might be interested in buying the house. Who does that?! Apparently, Papaw getting sick and dying interfered with their buying process 6 years ago. Well, excuse the hell out of us. She also didn't like the way he "landscaped" or the fact that he had burned trash on the property (in barrels) or a few other things he had done in the 15 years him and Mamaw owned it.

Needless to say, I was not impressed and we won't be trying to buy the house. It was great to see it and I definitely miss it. But I miss Mamaw & Papaw's house... this one just isn't the same. I just don't see how what they have done to the house can jack the price up that much in 6 years in this market.

It was a nice trip down Memory Lane.

Almost baby time!

I know I've been a bit of a slacker again but it has been INSANE around here! My family was in from Texas all last week, we had my baby shower last Sunday (6/5) and my great-uncle passed away on 6/5.

It was great getting to spend time with my family and I'm happy to say they are MOVING up here right around the time that Zachary is due! I'm so excited that he will get to see them more than 3-4 times a year!

My shower was wonderful... there were a ton of people here and everyone was VERY generous! We got our travel system, pack 'n play, 2 swings, a ton of clothes, diapers plus a lot of other stuff. I was very overwhelmed. And it was the ONLY time in my entire life that all 5 of my siblings were together in one house. I am the oldest of 6 - 4 of my siblings share the same father and 1 (a brother) shares the same "mother" (if you can call her that). It was amazing and I was thrilled to have us all together!

As I mentioned, my great-uncle passed away after a 15 year battle with heart problems. His death was really unexpected though... we thought the doctors had everything under control with medication and his pace-maker but I guess his body had just had all it could take. Uncle Archie, you will be VERY missed and I am extremely sad that Zachary will never get to meet you.

I am SICK of being pregnant! Thank goodness I only have 4.5 weeks to go!!

As usual, I will leave you with new pictures!

Me & my best friend (& shower hostess)

Zachary's bed is finally made!!

I think someone is a little jealous! lol

All of my brothers & sisters - ranging in age from 5-24 (me)

shower decorations.... Tasha did an amazing job!!!

Baby survey!

How far along?: 35w, 4d
How big is baby?: large canteloupe (19-22in, 6ish pounds)

Weight gain/loss?: +30 punds
Stretch marks?: I look like a wild animal got a hold of my belly :(
Maternity clothes?: Definitely

Sleep?: eh... not so much
Food cravings?: Fruit!

Gender?: Still a boy.
Movement?: this kid is going to be the death of me! He keeps sticking his little feet out on my side and it's really painful!
Belly button?: looking rather strange these days but still in
What are you looking forward to this week?: spending time with my stepsons and Father's Day on Friday

Sickly Mama

That has been me this week.

What started out as an annoying sore throat turned into a full-fledged, please kill me now cough/cold. And when I say cough, I mean coughing so hard that I was having contractions, dry-heaving and peeing on myself. Sexy, right?

Tuesday night I had my first visit to L&D, which was pretty uneventful. They determined that I was having quite a few contractions but they weren't progressive at all so, after about an hour of listening to Zachary's heartrate and being "checked" twice, I got to go home. But did they give me anything for the contraction-causing cough? Hell no. Told me to call the OB the next morning.

So I did. Only then did I learn that my OB AND nurse are off until next Wednesday! So I left a message for the on-call nurse at 8:30am. When no one had called me back at noon, I went up there, only for the receptionist to tell me the nurse was busy and would get back to me. Guess who still hasn't heard from the doctor's office (and all this happened yesterday)?! Yup, that would be me. I am not happy and I will be letting my dr know when I see him next Friday.

But I'm not a patient person. I finally got sick of waiting for them to call and just went to the pharmacy and talked to the pharmacist, who was very helpful. Now armed with Robitussin-DM, Tylenol Cold & Sinus Night & Day, Vicks nasal spray and vapo-rub, a bag of cough drops and a roll of toilet paper, I am feeling a little better. I have not coughed myself into contractions in over 12 hours and I got some sleep last night. But OMG does my whole body hurt from coughing!

After all that, I'm sure it is safe for you to assume that I don't have a 32 week bump pic. No way am I sharing pictures of my sickly self with the world! lol Stay tuned for my 33 week pics and survey... hopefully I will have those by the end of the weekend.

Where has my energy gone?!

Seriously... if you find it, I'd like it back please. Along with my feet.

My house is a mess, there is laundry to be done (as always) but do I care? Absolutely not. I will get around to it in the next day or so, I'm sure, because I'm just anal like that but for today, I'm having fun just sitting here playing on the computer and feeling Zachary practice his aerobics.

I did have an amazing 45 minute massage this morning though, thanks to my Gramme! It was heaven and I wish I could do that every week... it is just not in the budget.

I also have a confession on this nasty, rainy Friday afternoon. I am about tired of being pregnant. I know I should be grateful and all that, considering how long it took us to get here (and don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for this blessing) but seriously... I'm ready to have my baby in my arms and my body back. Every part of me hurts and I haven't had a decent nights sleep in weeks.

Yes, I'm well aware that my sleep will be broken, at best, when he gets here but it's one thing to get up in the middle of the night to take care of my child. It's another to be up all night because I just can't get comfortable or my legs are restless.

Well, I suppose that's all the whining I've got for today. Hopefully, next time I will be in a better mood.

31 week ultrasound

I had my 31 week (supposed to be 32 but the dr is going out of town) appointment yesterday. Everything is great... little man is still measuring a little small (about a week behind) but they aren't really concerned. Dr. C said we are right on track.

Zachary had his feet in his mouth for most of the ultrasound... my poor little guy is running out of room in there! He weighs approx. 3lbs5oz and has some crazy long legs and big feet. I think we might have a future basketball player on our hands!

I am so in love!

Back to working order!

PHEW! My stupid computer died so I haven't been able to blog (or anything) in a couple weeks. Luckily, my aunt let me borrow her extra monitor so I am back! The life of a SAHW gets a little boring without my computer!

So we are up to 31 weeks now... only 8.5 to go. How did this happen?! Although, I do have to admit, I am excited (and nervous) because I'm starting to get tired of being pregnant. Between the killer RLS I've developed and the discomfort of the summer heat looming, I am starting to get miserable.

We are making progress in being prepared for little man's arrival... we finally bought and assembled the crib, we have completed 2 of 4 Childbirth classes and my shower is in 3 weeks! It's all starting to seem very real!

We have our last ultrasound on Monday to check his growth and I start bi-weekly appointments for the next 5 weeks.

Now for some pictures...

The birthday boy! I can't believe he is 7!!

My honey putting Zachary's crib together!

All done... minus the mattress

How far along: 31 weeks, 2 days
Total Weight Gain: 26 pounds
Stretchmarks: yup.. the faded ones I had pre-preg are back full force plus a couple new ones
Sleep: sucks thanks to the RLS
Best Moment This Week: getting the crib put together
Movement: ALL.THE.TIME! His favorite thing to do it to ball up in one spot and push. That's a little painful!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: BH contractions here and there
Belly Button: looks very odd these days... still in but it's shallow and looks more oval than the cute little circle it used to be
What I Miss: my body and sleep... but I wouldn't change it for the world!
What I am Looking Forward to: my shower and him being here
Milestones: baby is now the size of a head of lettuce (19in, 3.9 lbs) and is accumulating fat

29 weeks (and other stuff)

What a week! I am now 29 weeks (YAY!) and getting ready for little man's arrival, little by little. We are ordering his nursery furniture tomorrow!

My parents were here from TX last weekend, which was awesome but very exhausting! It was so good to see them, since it had been October since I had seen them last. We have also had some hellacious weather this week, from tornadoes to flooding. It has been ugly but thankfully everyone is safe and we didn't get any damage (though, my FIL was without power for nearly a week!). Now, it won't stop raining and we are having flash flooding all over the state... YUCK!!!

29 weeks!

Flooding from the creek next to my house

My back yard... AKA "Lake Poulnott"

How far along?: 29w3d
How big is baby?: Butternut squash; 17in, 3.1 lbs

Weight gain/loss?: not sure where I'm at now
Stretch marks?: they are making their appearance
Maternity clothes?: Definitely

Sleep?: much better than before
Food cravings?: Banana popsicles... I miss my Papaw!!

Gender?: Still a boy.
Movement?: he has been very active... his new thing is to curl up in one spot so I have lumps of baby lol
Belly button?: it looks really weird but still in
What are you looking forward to this week?: our first childbirth class is Thursday then I finally get to see my stepsons on Friday and a birthday party for Alex on Saturday!