Crunch Time Squared

4 weeks til baby gets here and 3 weeks til tax season is over- enough said?

I have been dying the last few days! The last two nights I have been up past 2 am and up before 9 am so that I can get work done for clients, and it is definitely taking a toll on my health, I keep asking Scott, "Am I a bad mother already?" I have been super bad about taking my stinky fish smelling pre-natals, I don't sleep nearly as much as I should, and I should probably be eating more as well, but my schedule just does not allow it. I sit down at the computer and six hours later find that I haven't eaten a thing all day yet. No baby in my arms and I already feel inadequate.

On the bright side, Grayson still manages to be perfectly healthy at my appointments, and despite my terrible malnourishment issue everything is weighing in fine, so I guess if anyone is starving it is me, not him, so that makes me feel a little bit better.  I have had all the showers I am going to have until he gets here, my mom's family will throw one after he arrives and get me the last few things I need, but that shower isn't until 3 weeks after he is born, so I couldn't stop myself from buying a few items at TJ Maxx yesterday :)

Due to my hectic schedule I have not been able to write my thank you cards yet- the inadequacies just keep piling up, and we haven't even gotten to my church calling, my house work or my puppy. We are going to send Harley to California for the Summer to be with my parents and with her best friend- Miss Roxie. I know she will have a good time, and it will be best for everyone all around, but she is just starting to be a really good puppy, so it will be hard to see her go as well. It is easier knowing she will be very very happy there, and we will pick her up in August, so only a few months while we adjust to Grayson.

Getting Harley was one of the best things Scott and I did this year, I hope no one with kids gets offended when we tell them their toddlers are "Just like Harley!" but it is so true, Scott and I laugh and laugh at these kids because they literally have about 90% compatibility when it comes to mannerisms and attitude as our 6 month old puppy. I babysat a friends one year old the other day and she got into everything, just like Harley, wanted to destroy a few things, just like Harley, wanted to eat everything off the floor, just like Harley, I had to clean up her poop, just like Harley- I mean c'mon people, dogs are perfect training for children, particularly puppies. I have really come to develop a laid back manner about my stuff, I have had several shoes, socks, a rug, etc destroyed by my dog, and I have gotten to the point where I just don't care about many things, and if she has a cardboard box and is working on tearing it to shreds, I just let her go to town because it is a worthless item and if it keeps her occupied for 2 hours while causing me only 5 minutes of clean up later then the trade off is totally worth it.

Wish me luck the next few weeks, I still feel pretty good, despite my lack of sleep, I having gained a total of 25 pounds, so still mobile and still able to bend over, although I prefer more of a squat position these days to pick things up. It is scary and awesome at the same time that in a month at most I am going to be an official mommy- I try not to think about the delivery process and just remind myself that there is this tiny little human inside me who has to get out somehow, and how excited I am to see what he looks like, kiss those tiny feet that have been kicking me persistently the last few months, and marvel at what my best friend and I have created to love and nurture, and tease in Scott's case.

Rambling, Gambling and Vegas

Lets get the rambling out of the way, these are things that have been on my mind:

• Realistically in as little as 7 weeks I could be a mother- kind of scary. 
• I never appreciated how skinny I was until I got pregnant, my goal is to get back to relatively the same size and love myself even more.
• Something to be proud of though, I have been able to rock pretty much the same size small pregnancy clothes through my entire pregnancy, have not made any purchases since the first trimester- yeah me.
• Next week I go to more frequent Dr.'s visits, so definitely getting close
• Last night I had a dream that I had Grayson, and it went just fine, didn't even hurt that much- was this a prophetic vision or wishful thinking?
• Just purchased a baby sling, love it, a little girly, but what baby items aren't a little girly? Plus, I want as many unisex items as I can get my hands on so that I can use the same things with all my babies.

Okay ramblings are done. Today Scott and I head to Vegas, very excited to get away, I really need this vacation. We got a groupon to stay at Treasure Island, also purchase a buffet/show combo so we are going to Mystere Sunday night. Neither of us has ever been to a Cirque de Soleil show, so very much looking forward to this.

I also did a lot of research for this trip reading the 2012 travel guides for Vegas, and while the TI buffet is still not the talk of the town, it seems they have made some improvements, so my pregnant self is very excited for a night of gluttony.

We also got a $50 dining credit with our gift card, so we have to decide between the other TI restaurants where we want to go but I think we narrowed it down to either a steak house or mexican food.

Other than that we plan on relaxing relaxing relaxing. Oh and $50 each to gamble as we please. Since I lose my money no matter what I play, I am going to head to the place with the most excitement and the place where my money will last the longest- the cheap slots! I always look at that $50 as an additional hotel fee, and then I don't feel so bad losing my money, but when in Vegas, you have to do a little Vegas, and you never know when you might actually win something, and that prospect makes it exciting. I figure if I get up to $100 I will take my winnings and call things good.

Getting bigger in my middle areas, but nowhere else, I think my butt may be sagging a little these days but Scott denies any such thing.  For Valentines day the stake had a dinner and dance, and I danced for 1.5 hours straight, which made me really proud because I have not had much exercise this pregnancy, and I was still able to shake it pretty decently without getting winded, so maybe things wont be so bad for me after all.

Scott and I are narrowing down our choices on treadmills and should have one picked out by the end of the month, so once we get that I am going to try to walk an hour each day as they say it helps with labor and helps the baby come sooner rather than later, and since he is due during finals/graduation time, I figure the more help I can give him to come sooner, the better. As long as he doesn't come too soon, that is. Grayson, this is your mommy, please just come around 37-38 weeks, that would rock.

Worst Blogger Ever- it is official

Well, I did warn you when I started this new blog I would be completely awful, and I am.

We are having a boy, named Grayson, incase you are very much out of the loop. Lately I have been getting the nursery all sorted, and I have made a blanket, three pillows, a name sign and am halfway through crocheting a grey and white rug. I purchase a rocking chair that I love and an orange ottoman that opens up for extra storage.

Ashli moved home to California, so if we can get a new basement tenant during the summer, Scott and I will move upstairs and occupy the two rooms with the shared Jack and Jill bath and Grayson will officially have his own room. We will keep him by our bed in a little bassinet or something of the sort for the first few months when feeding comes every three hours, but after that he can have his own space (Lucky).

Feeling good, have my next appointment on Thursday- so far so good, no hiccups or concerns, baby boy has been healthy so keep your fingers crossed for another good appointment.

A few stats:

We are 27 weeks pregnant and Grayson weighs roughly 2 lbs and is over one foot long.
Mommy looks about the same as she did at Christmas time, but apparently has a uterus the size of a basketball....

To date I have gained 15 lbs, so still have lots of room to grow, but right on target for a healthy pregnancy. My back is starting to hurt a little bit more and it is getting harder to get in and out of bed, but for what some people go through I really cannot complain.

Scott and I head on our babymoon over Presidents Break, after the crazy month of January I am very much looking forward to a break :)

Creepy Dream

It wasn't a nightmare because I didn't wake up in a panic with beads of sweat dripping down my face, but as I am starting to remember it, it was quite creepy. I dreamt that my child had been replaced with a demonic entity that was pretending to be my child- how is that for a creepy halloween weekend dream? Are my hormones in the spirit or what?

Not much has changed in the last few weeks. Still taking my B6 and Unisom every evening, went one day without it and learned my lesson. Not feeling any bigger or any different, some days I even still wonder if there is something really in there. Everyone says that the changes will come quicker than I expect but they really aren't. I don't have a bump yet, I don't even feel like my clothes fit differently, I guess I have a tiny little itty bitty bump but it is not significant at all. I have started to get more regular cramps as the uterus is expanding and getting ready for a rapidly growing baby, but other than that I don't really feel any different than I normally do.

This weekend is moving weekend, I have been packing as I can all week, and today will be the big push- cleaning the current apartment, then driving to logan to clean the new place- I also need to do laundry, get all the linens packed up, finish loading my car with kitchen stuff since I am taking up a load of all those loose awkward appliances that never pack well, and am also taking up all the fridge food so I can get that out of here and clean the fridge.

I wish I had excited news or better things to say, but this is what it is. Have a safe and happy halloween, I am sure I will enjoy the holiday more next year!

Our baby the golfer

My dad has always loved golfing. I used to go play Caddy for my dad and grandpa when I was a child and loved putting around the course. I even took a golf class in high school, and enjoy going to the range to hit a bucket of balls.

In the last year my in-laws have really gotten into golfing too. They bought a net that they set up in their garage and bought a turf mat to drive from, and practice all the time. My father in law is even going to refurbish an old set of clubs for my husband, as he has started practicing with his dad and really enjoys the sport. So, because of the many wonderful ties to golf in our family, and because I think baby golf clothes are the cutest, Scott and I decided our baby will be on the golf course from a young age. Scott and I still think the baby is a boy so when we told Rod, my father-in-law that this was the plan, his response was, "If its a girl she will be a golfer too."

So that settles it. Baby Kirby, the cutest thing to ever hit the green.

First Trimester Check-up and Ultrasound

I went to my first appointment yesterday afternoon with Scott. I was nervous, but only for the blood draw, which would come at the very end of the appointment, and I ended up being just fine (last time I had a blood draw I had to do a 24 hr fast and I get sick when I don't eat, so I threw up and practically fainted- not fun) this time I told Scott I wasn't going to look, he just needed to hold my hand and talk to me and it wasn't the worst. I still prefer a finger prick any day.

My doctor, Kristen F. Craig (Initials KFC, I got a chuckle out of that) was so nice, very laidback and down to earth, she even told me that I could eat sushi if I wanted and so Scott and I went to Takara right after for Dinner and I had a little tuna roll.

We got to see our baby for the first time, and it was amazing how clear the ultrasound was. The photos below really don't do it justice, we could see things so clearly, it really looked like a tiny little baby- and it was moving up a storm! Kicking and rubbing its eyes, its funny that I probably won't feel any of those kicks until the baby is almost one foot long! Right now the baby measures 4.2 cm and is very healthy. Everything looked to be just fine so we were really pleased with the appointment.

The first picture baby is kicking at the "cramp" in its space, and the second picture, the 4D image, baby is rubbing its eyes- so cute!

Birthday Designs- got bored :)