NOT For the Weak of Stomach

Today was my first morning to sleep in during my two week vacay from teaching, and the day started off just lovely. Ellie woke me up just a smidge before 8 a.m. so I got a fabulous 8 hours of sleep and we came down stairs to bum around for a bit. Ellie had already eaten breakfast (thanks to Jay feeding her before he left for work) and I had a bowl of cereal. Not long after I finished my cereal, Jay called to check in (or see if I was awake yet, I'm sure!) and just as I hung up with him, I noticed Ellie had just puked up her entire breakfast (still in LARGE chunks) on the family room carpet. Well, this lovely, low-key morning just got interesting! I've never really had a weak stomach, but since I've been pregnant, I really haven't been able to stomach much at all. Tough luck! I needed to clean up this vom ASAP before Ellie ate it up. (Which is oh-so gross.) So I shoved my nose down into my t-shirt, grabbed a dustpan (to use as a make-shift shovel to shovel up the chunky vom), yellow rubber gloves, grocery bags, Spot Shot and got ready to work. No sooner had I stooped down and shoveled up the first chunk, then I gagged, and gagged, and gagged again. I stood up to make my way to the kitchen (as I've learned what this gagging precursors thanks to other scenarios), and projectile vomitted onto the kitchen floor! As I finished throwing up my entire bowl of cereal into the kitchen sink, Ellie chose to help her momma clean up her vom and licked up most of what she had previously thrown up. By the time I finished heaving into the sink, all that was left to do was Spot Shot the now wet areas where Ellie's puke had once been.

And as I sit here typing this, I realize I'm still hungry because I have nothing in my tummy any more! Guess I need to find something else to eat before breakfast....cereal doesn't sound so great anymore...

6 Months?!?!?!

How--how--is it possible that I'm 6 months pregnant?? That's right folks...as of Friday, I am 23 weeks pregnant--officially in my 6th month. So here's a mini-update. Pics of the bump and of the first clothes that Nugget's mommy and daddy bought him!

Shopping

Whoever thought shopping for someone else could be this much fun!?!?

Recently, I've begun to panic that (a) we don't know Nugget's name and Jay doesn't seem to have much of an opinion yet, (b) he doesn't have a nursery to sleep in nor have I really decided on a theme/design for his nursery, (c) we haven't even started creating our registry or buying things for him! And did I mention I'm 22 weeks along?!!? Time is running out!

So...I went internet crazy this week. My friend and I are both due within a week of each other and spent a better part of this past week on http://www.etsy.com/ searching for items for our respective nurseries. Ironically enough, we are both pretty settled on similar things. (Surprise, surprise. Our entire pregnancies have been eerily similar.) She's thinking owls, I'm thinking birds/nest. Here are a few items/ideas I found this week:

The photo I love. It's 8.5 x 11. Think big white matting and a pretty frame:

Color palette options for the custom crib bedding I'm hoping we can afford:

Then, on Sunday, Jay and I ventured in to Babies R Us--scary!!! I was so overwhelmed with the idea of shopping/registering there, but it actually went smoothly. We both had the right mindset:  This is an initial visit. We do not have to decide on anything today. We will only look at the BIG items. (In other words, no breast pumps, bottles, or pacifiers, yet.) And, lo and behold, I think we may have decided on a car seat and we found a few crib options that we both agreed on!!

The SnugRide35 (the Babies R Us option):

The SnugRide35 (the one I really want):

#1 crib we both like:

#2 crib we both like:

Jay is pretty adamant on not having a white crib for his strapping young son, so I think we're going to go with the convertble crib option so he'll have this bed for years and years to come. That way if we have a girl with Round #2, I can buy her a pretty white or iron (or white iron!) crib.

Oh! And we bought He-Nugget some clothes! We have been so blessed with outfits for the little guy already thanks to gifts from friends and his grandparents and especially his Aunt Kari and her boys' hand-me-downs, but Mommy and Daddy finally bought him a couple outfits. It was so much fun.

Needless, to say, I'm feeling much better about the whole situation. Not to mention, my sweet Momma came over Monday night for some chicken noodle soup and baby planning--Yay!

I'm Carrying a Weenie Around! in My Belly!!

It's a He-Nugget!!!

We are so stinking excited!!! Of course, we would have been happy with a boy or a girl, but I'd always said I wanted to have a boy first, and obviously Jay's thrilled to carry on the Blevins name and have a sports buddy. I'm so excited to start planning his nursery....I promise I'll post pics. As for his name....Jay and I have a handful of names that we're pondering, but we're considering waiting on naming him until he's born. My mom and dad did that with Linds and I and I think it's great idea to make sure he gets a name that fits him. Not to mention, I know you all would give me nothing but positive comments, but there are plenty of people out there who might tell me what an awful name Oliver is, when that might be my favorite name! (And yes, this did happen to me today. Luckily, Oliver is not in the running, but I have always liked the name.) :)

Me, at 21 weeks. Getting nice and big! (And looking a little rough at the end of the day.)

His dresser/changing table. My mom found this for me at Scott's Antique Market and it's going to be my inspiration. I'm still thinking about the nest theme with neutrals, aqua and chocolate brown.

(And yes, currently we're using it in the dining room because I love it so much, I want to enjoy it!)

P.S. For my few faithful readers...we found  Baby Blev's gender last Tuesday, November 24...sorry it's taken so long to post it!! AND...as soon as I get to a scanner, I'll post his pics!

I'm a Bad, Bad, Blogger

***Note: this was written 3 weeks ago and then never posted. See....I told you I was a bad blogger!

First of all, to my few readers out there, I'm so sorry! I have been feeling really good lately, but have been so busy with grad school, grading projects and essays, and coaching that I haven't been telling all my good stories lately. :)

A couple weeks ago, mom and I went baby shopping just to get an idea of what's out there. What a day! The first store we went to is in Vinings, called Precious Cargo. At first, I was completely overwhelmed, but at the end of our visit, we were approached by an extremely helpful woman who turned out to be the owner. She taught us more than we could have ever thought to learn about cribs: conversion cribs that turn in to a toddler bed, conversion cribs that turn in to a full eventually, drop side cribs (which are good for short mommas like me, but congress is outlawing them soon), iron cribs, wood cribs, etc. etc. Based on her teachings, and my limited research, this is my fave so far:

How far along? 18 weeks today!
Total weight gain: none....as of a couple weeks ago. I've been avoiding the scale. :)
Maternity clothes? just started....have an awesome pair of maternity jeans from GAP that I heart. I can still wear most of my shirts and sweaters, but have a few long shirts for the growing belly.
Sleep: starting to get uncomfortable on my back...but I'm not comfy on my side, either
Best moment this week: peeing in my pants a little when I sneezed (sensing some sarcasm?)
Movement: I think....but I'm still not sure, but I want to believe it was the baby and not gas.
Gender: will know on 11/24...most people are guessing boy, but the "ring test" predicted a girl.
Labor Signs: ha--not even close
Belly Button in or out? in, but starting to look like an Asian eye (as my sis-in-law calls it) meaning it's a bit hooded and stretched out. sounds cute, huh?
What I miss: nothing really...I'm still too excited about being pregnant
What I am looking forward to: knowing if we're having a He-Nugget or She-Nugget!!!
Weekly Wisdom: keep the news from your teenaged students for as long as you can. I'm so tired of them sneaking up on me to touch my belly (eew!) or exclaiming, "Mrs. Blevins! You're showing!" or "I can see your baby bump!" Uh, no duh....it's been there for weeks. Can we talk about something relevant to Language Arts now?
Milestones: feeling Nugget move around....if I did....I'm still not sure....it seems to good to be true

14 Weeks

Does anybody else think my "bump" is way high?!?! Actually, I think my true baby bump is lower, but everything is being shoved up so I have all this swelling above the bump too. Nice. My stomach is gross. I'm so ready to have a cute baby bump and not a fat, I-eat-too-much-and-never-work-out belly.

I can't believe I've lived my entire teenage (yes, I was thinking about mommy-hood even then) and adult life thinking I wouldn't want to know the sex of my baby when I got pregnant some day. Boy, was I wrong! It's all I can think about now! I feel like I can't do anything until I know if Nugget is a He-Nugget or She-Nugget. So I browse online at strollers, cribs, car seats, clothes, etc. feeling like I can't connect to any of it until I know if my son or daughter will be using it. I'm sure Jay is just loving this because he has said all along that he'd want to find out when we got pregnant some day, and I would just roll my eyes as if to say, "tough luck, buddy, if I don't want to know, then you ain't gonna know" and now here I am dying to know and I still have 6 more weeks before my next ultrasound!!

Remind Me...

...of the kind of parent I don't want to be when needed m'kay? What kind of parent is that? you ask. The kind of parent so many children today seem to have. The kind of parent who makes excuses for their child rather than encouraging him/her to be a better student. The kind of parent who questions every. little. thing. their child's teacher assigns. The kind of parent who allows their child to manipulate them. The kind of parent who has given or allowed their child to grow in to a sense of entitlement. The kind of parent who "rescues" their child at every opportunity rather than letting them learn from their mistakes. The kind of parent who lets their child walk all over them.
Dear God, please teach me how to be a good parent. And please help me remember that none of us are perfect, and that these parents are just doing what they think is best. Even if the rest of us can see just how wrong it is. Love, Chelsea

**Speaking of those kind of parents....listen to this clip from a school in Australia. This is their "new and improved" voice mail. LOVE IT!!!

(Ok, so I'm having technical difficulties and can't figure out how to post it. Have patience, or in the meantime, go to http://www.q100atlanta.com/ and find it on their site.)

Baby Blev's Baby Room

I am surrounded by incredibly talented people in my life. One of whom is my best friend Natalie, an interior designer in Nashville. She was in town last weekend and I got to spend a few precious moments with her and our families at dinner. While at dinner, I mentioned that I'd recently become obsessed with nests and birds (see the post "Sharing the News or Birdies" below) and was thinking it'd be great inspiration for Nugget's nursery. Naturally, Natalie has gone above and beyond and has created a more beautiful nursery than I could have imagined. Mom, you've got some competition! :)

The Good News Is....I Can Still Suck In!!! (Sorta)

12 weeks, 5 days

At the end of the day...obviously!

Sucking in...

Letting it all hang out...

Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight yet! Or at least that's what they told me yesterday at the doctor. Maybe I gained my first few pounds today?!?!

P.S. Got to hear the heartbeat yesterday. Fast and strong!

My First Taste

of parenting, that is. Last night, a woman from Bark Busters came to our house to give us a lesson on "parenting" Ellie. Though I highly doubt she'd call it that. We were educated in all the ways of a dog pack and taught that Ellie is testing us to see if we are still deserving to be the leaders of the pack. When we fail (i.e. allow her to pull on her leash, or walk through the door first), Ellie begins to question our abilities as leaders. Sounds a bit like what teenagers do to their parents, no? :) So now we have homework this week. We're supposed to work with her on Sit-Stay and we go about our businees until we Free her. Wish us luck tonight!

Lemon Drops or Ultra-Screen

I think I had my first true craving yesterday. I had to have Lemon Drops. (Not that I've eaten them since I was like 10, but all of a sudden I could taste them in my mouth and had. to. have. one.) Luckily, I realized this as Jay and I were headed to Pops and Gaga's house (Jay's parents) so we stopped at Publix. They were out of Lemon Drops. Grrr. Not to worry! There's a CVS right across the road. They didn't have them either. I was incredulous. Who stocks these candy shelves?!?!? I settled for Mike and Ikes (of which I finished off the box in one night) only to decide on the way home that I still wasn't satisfied. So I made Jay stop at the Walgreen's on the way home. Lo and behold, Walgreen's was my savior-of-the-night. They had Lemonheads. Though looking back on it now, I still feel like I settled.

This is what I got.

And this is what I wanted. I think I'll have to go on another run today.

On a more serious note, I'm scheduled to have an Ultra-Screen tomorrow at my 2nd OB appointment which screens for Down Syndrome and Trisomies 18 and 13. I'm having a really difficult time deciding whether or not to have the screening. There's only 1 pro: Jay missed the first ultra-sound and I would love for him to get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat (and I wouldn't mind another peek!). The con is just that I think it might cause more anxiety than is necessary. Of course there's going to be some chance that Birdie could have a birth defect; but it's not going to change my mind about anything and I've heard horror stories about parents preparing and planning for a baby with a birth defect for months, only to give birth and find out it's perfectly healthy. So today I'm calling our insurance to find out if the Ultra-Screen is 100% covered. If it's not, then that'll make my decision not to do it. If it is, then I have to go from there...

Sharing the News or Birdies

I wanted this post to have two titles so I just named it both. One of the shows I watch (I can't think of which one right now....is it too early to have "pregnancy brain"?!?!) always titles their episodes like that and I think it's so creative. Speaking of creative, I wish I was more creative. I see all these cute pregnancy blogs, or pictures of pregnant women, or nurseries, and think, now why didn't I think of that?!?!? I'm just creative enough to wish I was more creative.

Anyway, I'm out of the pregnancy closet. Officially official. I posted it on Facebook and it doesn't get more "out" or official than that. It's starting to feel much more real. Maybe the fact that I can't button my pants anymore has something to do with that too. Shout out to my sis-in-law for loaning me a bella band so I don't have to wear maternity pants yet! I told my students on Friday which was super-fun...they were so cute about it. I'm so lucky to teach such awesome kids!!!

Oh, and as for the Birdies part of the title...that's just because I'm obsessed with all things aviary right now. I was already headed down Jay Bird lane before I got pregnant, but now that there's a little nugget inside me (which is supposedly the size of a plum this week!), I think birds and nests and such are just adorable. Do you think the nursery could have a bit of a bird-theme whether it's a boy or girl?!? And, while I love the nickname Nugget, I'm kinda wanting to call Baby Blev, Birdie or something like that too. Some of my students came up with the nickname Doodle from a story we read. I love 'em all! Tell me what you think.

Rough Night

I'll try to spare you the details.

Background Info: 

• A friend at work ate spaghetti for lunch.
• It smelled delicious.
• After school, the volleyball team (which hangs out in the classroom across the hall from mine on gamedays) ate spaghetti before their game. Again, my stomach growled.
• At cheerleading practice I called Jay to see if he could pick up supplies for spaghetti so we could have it for dinner.

The Facts: 

• We ate spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner with green beans on the side.
• It was delicious!!! (I've had a bit of an aversion to chicken lately, but I'm loving hambuger meat.)
• After dinner, I was certain I had room leftover for dessert. (This fact is very important because I've quickly found that the only feeling worse than feeling hungry pangs when pregnant, is feeling too full. It's miserable.)
• For dessert I ate leftover chocolate fudge coca~cola cake with a large ice-cold glass of milk. Mmm...
• 5 minutes later I had that awful hunger pang feeling I get if I don't eat every hour.
• It was almost bedtime, so I decided to ignore the pain thinking my food would settle soon, I'd be asleep, and I'd wake up feeling fine.

The Bad News:

• While brushing my teeth, I lost it. The spaghetti, the green beans, the chocolate cake, the milk.
• IN THE SINK.
• Then the toilet.

The Worst News:

• My sink has not been draining properly for quite some time.

Naturally, Jay and I took this opportunity to argue about who should have unclogged the sink before this disaster occured. Luckily, he was a dream and helped me clean it up. (With yellow scrubbing gloves on his hands and a t-shirt tied around his nose and mouth.)

I thought towards the end of the first trimester the nausea should be getting better???

I'm pregnant!!!

I've been waiting to create this blog until I was "fully out" with the pregnancy, but then I realized that I could make it private. So if you're reading this blog, then I've invited you to join in on this crazy journey that I've begun! By the end of this week, I plan to have told work and my students and the remainder of my close friends who don't know yet.

Today, I am officially 11 weeks, 4 days pregnant. According to some of the websites I now read daily, Baby Blev (or Nugget, as Linds aptly named it) is starting to grow fingernail beds and hair follicles! Though I've now been to the doctor, saw the ultrasound and heard the heartbeat, it's still hard to believe. :)

While I am experiencing nausea, I haven't had a bad bout of morning sickness. And hopefully the nausea I am experiencing will be gone in another couple of weeks! Linds told me yesterday that she's ready for me to start showing....part of me feels the same way. At least if I look pregnant, then maybe I'll feel pregnant! But so far, the only "bump" I get is bloating at the end of the day. The good news there is....I haven't gained any weight yet....yay!

Here's the proof of the pregnancy. Yes, I took 3 tests because I just couldn't seem to believe the first....or the second.... :)  I know, eww, I peed on these! Also, you can't see the (+) sign very well. Sorry!

And here's my first "bump" picture taken at 10 weeks....obviously at the end of the day. (The kangaroo pouch on the dress probably doesn't help, either.) As soon as I can get to a scanner, I'll scan in the pics of Nugget from the ultrasound.