INTRODUCING... the big, fat belly!

6 months pregnant
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

Yay! Yesterday my belly turned 6 months old. I'm 60% of the way there! I've had 3 people (who knew I was pregnant) comment on how my belly is now noticable (a.k.a. big, fat). It's great! :) On Tuesday it occured to me that the husband probably hadn't seen my belly in a week or so so I lifted up my shirt. His exact words: "What's up, pork chop?". Now that's just not nice. His penalty: I'm making him eat mexican tonight (the latest craving - and his least favorite food).
So my belly button is the ugliest thing in the entire world. And the long black hairs surrounding it aren't the prettiest, either. Where did you come from? Maybe I'll get brave one of these days and take a picture. Or not.
My heartburn is very odd. Some days there is none at all and some days I feel like I've digested acid and it's corroding it's way back up my esophagus.
Also... I knew that women tended to lose, um, bladder control once they've had children. So what is going on with me?? It doesn't help that I'm allergic to EVERYTHING so I sneeze approximately every 30 seconds. The other day as I was changing my underwear for the second time in, oh, an hour, Shawn came in and exclaimed "YOU PEED YOUR PANTS AGAIN!?!". IT'S NOT PEEING... IT'S JUST, UM, MINOR LEAKAGE? It's rare when I'm embarassed around the man I've spent the last 10 years with but this was one of those moments.
Oh, the joys or pregnancy. I need to scrapbook them all! :)

Diary of a Mad Pregnant Woman

I have been easily grouchified (YES, THAT'S A WORD, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!) lately. I think it's because I'm so tired. What happened to the "energy boost" and "on top of the world" feeling that is supposed to come along with the second trimester?? I watched "A Diary of a Mad Black Woman" on Wednesday and I SOOOOOOOOOOO wish I could comment on it. My comments would certainly give away the ending so I'll keep my mouth (er... hands) shut. She's lucky. That's all I have to say. (I was ready to write a letter).

I have some great news to report! The hubby passed his test yesterday. Let's just say two straight months of studying has put him a little on edge. Speaking of grouches, I can never "remember" that I'm not allowed to talk to him when he's studying, so I have been on the receiving end of a lot of snapping the past few weeks. C'mon... I can't remember to eat breakfast in the morning - you think I'm going to remember that I can't interrupt you when I realize I haven't told you yet that Manny pooped TWICE today??? A good example of his "edginess" would be the other night when he totally yelled at me because I am a slob. HUH? I was actually LAUGHING AT HIM as he yelled at me. It was just hysterical to think that HE was giving ME a hard time about cleaning. To fully get the irony behind this, you would have to realize that the husband spent many many years bitching about how psycho I was about cleaning (OCD) until I finally broke down and recruited the help of Dr. Zoloft. Now that Dr. Zoloft has come to live with me, things are different (although I still think I'm far from messy... I'm just not like before). Now it's "mess? what mess?". Life is good.

So I would like to fill you all in on the latest paranoia. I've somewhat put the "they're going to leave a pair of scissors inside me" thought to rest to make room for the "i definitely have gestational diabetes" obsession. One would think that if I was paranoid about having gestation diabetes, I might cut down on the GIANT amounts of sugar I consume. I have all the symptoms... fatigue, excessive thirst (I feel like a CAMEL these days!), excessive hunger (so what if I already had dinner... twice), increased urination (I pee every 10 minutes... although haven't I always?). Only a few more weeks until I drink the thick syrup (which I hear is a delight) that will tell me one way or the other. Joy.

So I am just going to post this now so that I can look back when it happens and say with absolutely certainty "i told you so!". My husband WILL get into an accident on our street. You see - although it's hard to explain unless you know the street - there is a gradual "C" shaped curve in the road. The "C" is so gradual that if you don't follow the road and instead bolt straight ahead, you come around the corner in the oncoming lane and then continue out the other side in your own lane. There are tons of trees lining the road on both sides of the street - so when you come around that corner from either side, you can't see the oncoming traffic. Well every single time he drives down the street, he refuses to follow the curve of the road and instead just drives straight. This puts him COMPLETELY in the lane of oncoming traffic. (Which, granted, there is very little "traffic" on our dead-end street but STILL...) I can *maybe* see at night when he can see lights to tell him if a car is coming, but no, he does it every time. It is only a matter of time before there is a car coming. And when there is, I am going to have to go to the neighbor that he smashes into and apologize for how stupid my husband is. He KNOWS this drives me nuts... so why can't he atleast PRETEND that he's not too lazy to turn his wheel in an attempt to NOT cause a head-on accident that is entirely his fault and could've been prevented. This, every time, sparks a ginormous (YES... ALSO A WORD... HAVE YOU SEEN ELF?) fight. Grrr. Does anyone want to volunteer to be that person who teaches him a lesson? Better now than later... when my baby is in that car!!!!!!

Manny
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

I'm in trouble...

Naughty boy
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

See this guilty face? I leave him unattended for like 30 seconds and come around the corner of my desk to find "Mr. I-didn't-shred-the-basket...i've-never-seen-that-basket-in-my-life" looking all sweet and innocent. This a day after he got into his bag and found the "travel bag" of food... the food he HATES... and shredded it to pieces. The food somehow tasted better when it ill-gotten.
I've always joked that I'll have no problem disciplining my child - as long as they're ugly. (yes, I know how terribly wrong that sounds, and really i'm just kidding... really... ) Seriously... how the heck do you discipline something so cute? Instead of scolding him for dumping every toy (only like 1/2 of them are shown in this picture) out of his basket and then eating said basket, I instead grabbed the camera and laughed at him. I can see this happening A LOT with Rylee. I'm telling ya... if the girl is cute, I'm screwed. ;) (And, well, being the baby lover that I am I pretty much think every baby is cute...)

Late yesterday afternoon Rylee started kicking again! I was SOOO relieved! The hubby convinced me that I didn't need to call the doctor since I had an appt anyway so once she started kicking again I was glad I hadn't. She kicked a bunch more last night and then again this morning. At my appointment today, the doctor said everything looks good, the heartbeat is great and I am measuring right on target! It's always such a relief to hear! I can't believe in a week I will be taking my "6 month belly picture"!! It seems so unbelievable. Time is flying by... but yet seems to be standing still. I can't wait for Halloween... I always love seeing the kids dressed up (I wish I got more than 6 of them at my doorstep (I already bought Rylee's halloween costume for next year... it's the cutest big, fat chicken I've ever seen!). I can't wait for Thanksgiving b/c I will be able to eat A LOT! I can't wait for Christmas because I can never wait for Christmas... it means I get to give presents!! Then there is Shawn's big "surprise" 30th party. I have so much going on in the next 4 months - I can't believe my parents will miss it all by being in Florida. But... I am hoping having all this on the agenda will make time fly by and it will seem like tomorrow that I get to meet my little girl...

Congratulations, Mandy and Tim!

Congratulations, Mandy and Tim!
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

Saturday we attended Mandy and Tim's wedding... and it was GREAT! She was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen (I knew she would be), the ceremony was short and sweet, the food and music were great. It was a beautiful wedding all around. Congratulations to an adorable couple!!
Saturday was also the last time I felt my baby kick. :( I'm not one to NOT freak out at everything (my latest fear is that I am going to have a C-section and they are going to leave a sponge or scissors in there) so I'm trying not to hyperventilate as I sit here. I mean - it's not like I would feel her move one day and not the next. I felt her move every day for the last few weeks - until now. She was happily kicking her mom during the ceremony on Saturday and I haven't felt those sweet little movements since. I'm so worried that something is wrong and that I caused it - was it cuz I've been eating donuts? I know it's the donuts. Was it cuz I exceeded my lifting capacity by about a zillion pounds on Sunday when we cleaned out the garage? I was just slightly concerned - until today. But today is the 3rd day. Is this normal? I am going to call the doctor just to be sure - but I have a routine 23 week appointment tomorrow, THANK GOD. So, everyone keep your fingers crossed for me that my baby just likes to sleep - a lot - for days at a time.

Well whatta ya know?!

So last weekend was supposed to be my 10-year high school reunion (I know... i know... i'm a youngin'). It was cancelled due to "lack of interest". What a pain for those flying in like Bryan. Those of us who were still interested were planning to still get together and that fell through as well. So instead my bestest "ferend" (inside joke) came up from NH to visit anyway. We went to Olive Garden for the Never Ending Pasta Bowl (AGAIN), we attempted to make smoothies (mine were non-alcoholic, of course), and just hung out and caught up. It was a great night!! I also learned some things about myself that night.

• I do like chocolate and mint. At OG at the end of our meal, I gave Sonya my Andies Candy and told her that I didn't like chocolate and mint together. I had a pretty lengthy case against the chocolate and mint - since she tried telling me that everyone likes Andies Candies. Later, as I dished out some ice-cream - my favorite - mint chocolate chip - she said "Ummm... You like mint chocolate chip ice-cream?" "Yes, it's my favorite". "Ummm... you know you DO like chocolate and mint then???". Hrmmm.
• I AM having cravings. When Sonya asked if I was having any cravings I told her that "no, I'm not having any!". Then I explained that I was very surprised about not having cravings, but that any time I see something, smell something, or think I taste something - I want that particular food until I eat it. I told her how I was browsing ebay for scrapbook stuff and saw some candy apple embelishments and have wanted a candy apple ever since. She pointed out to me that I basically just defined "craving" and that yes, I was having cravings. Hrmmm.

My ultrasound went well yesterday but I was bummed to not get any new pictures. I was also bummed that Shawn couldn't go with me (although my mom was nice enough to spend the night on Sunday and go with me for my crack-of-dawn appointment so I didn't have to go by myself!) This time around she was all business and going right for the kidney and ventricles of the heart so there was nothing on the screen that even somewhat resembled a baby. I did get a good view of one of her hands and I got to see her little backbone (my mother thought she looked like a dinosaur) but no sight of her face. I was a little worried when the doctor had to come in and look at the heart herself. She told me that Rylee was being stubborn again and that neither the u/s tech or her could see what they needed to in her heart. She had me lay on my belly for a bit and luckily the baby did turn. She was REALLY active yesterday!! When I went in I told her that she had been kicking like crazy for a good hour and of course I got the "yeah, yeah, what do you know - you're only 21 weeks with your first baby" look from the u/s tech. When she got her on the screen, she was surprised and said "WOW!! She IS moving a lot!". Yeah, told you so. ;)

Most people still can't tell that I'm pregnant when I am fully dressed. What's with that? Where is my big fat belly? I've never been one to look in the mirror much but I'm sure once I am huge, I won't be able to stop looking. Even with the kicking, it still doesn't seem real! People are always talking about "when the baby comes" (mostly in reference to the puppy) and every time I think it's so strange that they're talking to me. It's hard to describe but each month that went by that I didn't get pregnant, I guess I started to think I would NEVER get pregnant. (Although I wondered how if deep down I knew that I wasn't going to get pregnant, why the heck was I so upset when my period confirmed it?) I think back and it's all a blur. When did this happen?!? 24 months in the making and yet it still seems like it happened "all of a sudden". The whole thing is very surreal. How did I get so lucky?!? I'm gonna have a baby...

The big (and I do mean big) transformation lately has been my belly button - er, hole. I've always had this big, ugly belly button anyway. My husband (and old roommates) used to joke that people could just go for a swim in my belly button when they complained that it was hot. Now that giant hole has turned into an abyss. :) It's the grand canyon of belly buttons. Anyone wanna go for a swim - my above-ground-pool has turned into a lake. ;)

S.H.I.T. is right!!!

30th party wrappers
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So, leave it to me... only I would do this. I was telling my friend via email (someone I used to work with) about how i was throwing Shawn this huge 30th surprise party on the day after his birthday (which is 11 days before my due date!) and totally forgot about that part when I FORWARDED HER RESPONSE TO HIM. She was telling me Congratulations about the baby, how cute the name we chose was, how cute the nursery was, etc. so I thought it would be nice to forward on to Shawn. I had totally forgotten that that email was attached to the one she replied to and that I wrote about his birthday to begin with!
POUT.
So... SURPRISE! YOU'RE HAVING A SURPRISE PARTY!
:( POUT.
How did I manage to ruin something I've been working on for a year now? I might as well take home these Hershey's miniatures candy bar wrappers that I had made for him months ago, too. (Aren't they cute! You can get some yourself - with a bunch of different designs - not all saying "shit" on them...lol... - on ebay under seller "Kevin's Custom Candy Wraps ko2154").
My sister says "well atleast now you won't be as stressed planning it in the end", which I guess is true. It will be much easier in the end since how it is right after the holidays AND I will be 9 months pregnant. I was also able to confess that the sports bar we're having it in is going to cost us $350. (So now I don't have to worry anymore that he'll kill me after). ;)

Such a Jaime thing to do!

Cuter than Cute continued some more

Picture_4854
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So this is the fan that my dad installed. I LOVE it! I think that under the suggestion of my husband (who doesn't want to take the thing apart again so I can paint it) it will stay white. It looks so great and I'm so excited that it's up and running.
So this dog (previously referred to as the ball of cuteness) is killing me. I love him so much - but it is so exhausting having a puppy for the first time. I worry about everything and worrying all the time is tiring. I HATE crating him b/c I can't stand knowing that he's sad. He's learned how to jump the gate in the bathroom so we don't know what else to do when we have to leave other than to crate him. So far in the month we've had him, we've only left him twice for a total of two hours. It seems wierd to get a babysitter for a dog. I just hate leaving him alone! He's doing great with potty training... but he's making up for it by barking incessantly, running off (a million miles an hour) every time I take him outside without a leash, and biting (HARD!) everything he sees - especially body parts. The other morning he was up at 3:30 barking like crazy. He wanted to get out and play and apparently thought it was morning. All I could think was: "If this was January, I'd have a barking dog AND a crying baby". Eeek... just the thought kept me up all night. Can I really handle this? But can I really not? We're totally in love. Sigh.

Cuter than Cute

Picture_4851
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So over the long weekend we did some work on the nursery. (And by we, sadly, I mean Shawn and my dad). My dad installed a ceiling fan (way over my head - literally), Shawn sanded and put polyurethane on the inside of the bureau/ drawers of the changing table dresser (bad fumes) and Shawn put up a shelf over the dresser. I also received this ADORABLE valance from ebay. I love EVERYTHING. I can't stay out of that room. I wish I could just keep the door open (dog) so that I could just get my fix when I walk by instead of making a special trip there every oh, 30 seconds.
I also did some laundry and took inventory on what I have for onesies, socks, towels, washcloths, etc. My friend, Pam, gave me a ton of stuff so I am SOOOOOOO lucky!

Yay... halfway there! :)

5 month belly
Originally uploaded by Jaimemjfan.

So yesterday I hit the 20 week mark. Very exciting. I also managed to get myself a new blogging ticker, courtesy of Sweety's site, since my old one stopped working.
I forced my husband to take my "belly picture" this morning. It's like pulling teeth. The man cannot work a camera. And he's not patient enough to learn. Most of them were completely crooked (or blurry) and the rest I have a retarded look on my face because it's hard to fake a smile when you're ready to eat your husband. I can TOTALLY see it now... dozens of scrapbooks of the baby and daddy... and not one picture of her mom. Hrmph. Seriously... it's just pushing a button - it's really not that hard!
Last night we went to Old Navy while we were waiting for Olive Garden. (Never ending pasta bowl is back - $7.95 all you can eat - best thing EVER!!) Well, anyway, my mom bought me a couple of maternity t's that I LOVE and I wanted to go back and get more. They only had sizes that would fit people that shouldn't be old enough to have babies, so I got a couple of long-sleeved ones instead, which I also love. Usually getting Shawn into a store is like pulling teeth. Getting him into the baby department is like pulling the teeth of a rabid, fully-awake mountain lion. Last night he actually willingly wandered over there. I was quite shocked. I joined him and he kept picking up outfits telling me how cute they were. I told him about Chris over at RudeCactus and how he loves buying his little bean clothes (hoping he'd hear stories of other MEN buying BABY GIRL clothes and decide that it wasn't as taboo as he previously thought). It was very sweet watching this refuses-to-go-shopping, beer-drinking, doesn't-acknowledge-that-pink-is-a-color, sports star manly man perusing the infant section for his baby girl. Maybe there is hope afterall... :)