Where...

I stole this from a clever gal named jenny over at stickyfeathers.
WHERE...
is your cell phone? in my car
is your significant other? in the school somewhere, probably BSing with his buddies
is your hair? flipping out doing its own thing
is your mother? at the hospital, working
is your father? at work
is one of your favorite things? in my tummy :) growing like a weed!
was your dream last night? whatever it was, it was CRAZY- pregnancy dreams are wild
can you get your favorite drink? at a wine cellar
are you right now? in my classroom, grading papers
is your ex? thankfully, across the country
is your fear? I'm not afraid of anything really
do you want to be in 6 years? With my family, living the dream!
were you last night? at a softball game, then home watching AI!
was the last place you drove? to work from home, but I'm about ready to drive to my 24 week appointment!
did you grow up? in Post Falls, Idaho
was the last place you ate? in the staff lounge at school
is (are) your TV(s)? one in the living room & one in our bedroom
are your pets? probably sleeping on my couch..grrr
is your computer? on my kitchen table-annoying
is your mood? just good
is your oldest friend? across town
is your car? in the parking lot
is your wedding ring? on my left ring finger.
is your favorite store? thankfully, only 1.5 miles from my home and work!
is your favorite place to be in the summer? at my parents' house on the river
was the last place you laughed? in my classroom, talking to my students
was the last place you cried? last night at senior night- hearing the girls thank their families
are five places you go on the internet on a regular basis? my email, google reader, ebay, epregnancy.com, weather.com

Another round of germs

I can't decide if I have yet another cold, or I am experiencing my first case (in my life) of allergies. Is there a way to tell? Here are my symptoms:

• going on 4 days of phlegmy cough
• 2 days of stuffy nose: today the left nostril is plugged, but runny

And the nightly groaning has returned. Ever since I have been preggo, I do this weird thing when I have a cold/allergy, which since this pregnancy has been for the third time, anyway, I do this weird thing when I'm am experiencing a cold/allergy: I groan in my sleep. It's kind of like clearing your throat but not quite the follow through. Apparently it is so loud that my husband, who is a light sleeper to begin with, has moved first to the guest bedroom down the hall with the door shut to the couch downstairs as of last night. He was not a happy camper this morning, apparently I am grunting/groaning LOUDLY and the couch is not a comfy place to sleep.

And I feel horrible- the man looks haggard people! I have no idea what to do to solve this problem, and who knows how long it will last... it's not like he is mad at me specifically, just pissed at the groaning really. I think tonight I will offer myself to the guest room, maybe he just needs a night in our o-so-comfy bed to help him get in some ZZZs. Oh the sacrifices!

23 weeks!

Well here I am at 23 weeks preggo... am I turning into a huge monster or what!? Yikes! I find myself in this pregnancy constantly worrying about my weight and gaining too much- my worst fear is that next week my doctor is going to tell me I'm exploding and that I need to see a nutrionist or stop eating period. On the other hand, my belly is hard- so does that mean it's all baby, or do I just have hard fat???

My very first bloggie award!

I got a blog award!!! My very first one!! Thanks to my girl Rachel for the recognition- I feel so cool !

I miss God

I've really been struggling with getting myself to church. My relationship with God is an important part of who I am. I wouldn't classify myself as a "Bible-thumper" or anything of that extreme: I don't judge people based on religion, and I know my example of christ-like is lacking. But for myself personally, I know God has an important role in the pathes of my life and I acknowledge Him as my Savior. With that said, I have not spent enough time in my life making time for God. I know that you don't have to go to church to have a relationship, but for me, it helps to pause a moment from my busy life to just spend some time with Him and other believers. It is also important to me that I am bringing my baby girl into a world where she is aware of Christ's presence in my life. Kris does not believe in organized religion, and therefore I have fallen from my routine (but that is simply an excuse).
Therefore, I am making an effort to get my booty to church, starting this Sunday. I don't have a home church, but I do live less than a mile from a community church, as well as a Methodist Church. I grew up Lutheran, and tend to stray away from how traditional services can be, but went to a non-denominational Christian school for 10 or so years, so I have experienced a couple different approaches to a relationship with God.
I have made a commitmenet that this Sunday I will go to the community church--God, and myself willing.

Way to start off a Monday

Here's a funny conversation between my dear husband KK and I this morning, in the bathroom, getting ready, ***WITH NEW SNOW ON THE GROUND, IN APRIL!!!!

Jelli: So I had this weird dream last night that I was nursing Ali (who, remember, isn't even born yet ) and when I woke up, my nipples hurt really bad. Weird, huh?

KK: What would have been weird was if my nipples were sore.

HaHa - man that guy makes me laugh- no wonder I keep him around!

Validated

THANK YOU to all of you out there who left comments and support on my last post: you've reassured the purpose of my blog. I feel validated- that this blog does have a point- if not for other people, but for me!!

Thoughts on my blog

Sometimes I think "Why do I even have a blog?" I compare my blogging to other people's cool blogs, and I feel so lacking. I don't think my writing is witty or even that interesting, and I sometimes question what the point of even having a blog is. Not really anyone in my real life world knows about my blog- I don't tell my close friends about it, and it is a guarded secret from my husband, simply because I think he will not agree with it- as he is old-fashioned with the "Internet age" way of thinking anyway.

I feel sad when I blog and I don't get any comments- but then, is that what I'm blogging for? I guess I need to find my blogging purpose. I think it is a place I can share my life and feel good about bragging or complaining, because none of the readers of this blog really can judge me, rather judge the snippets of my life that I do post about in a non-objective manner.
I started this blog to vent frustrations with not getting pregnant, now that I am blessed with a life growing inside me, it has become an outlet to share about that journey.

My hope is that people out there enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy reading theirs, and that I can continue to have a place to scribe my inner-ponderings without fear of bias.

Week 22 for Mommy!

I love the website epregnancy.com. They always have realistic descriptions of what is happening to me, and baby in real life, so I know I'm not a freaky preggo lady!

Here is MY FORECAST for Week 22: For past month or so, you’ve been in your pregnancy honeymoon phase, where everything is all rainbows and unicorns -- no nausea, your sex drive is back, and you get to eat cookies! But this week things might start to kick up again (and not just those tiny toes in your belly). If constipation and heartburn are your constant companions right now, we recommend lots of water and staying away from foods that aggravate heartburn: tomatoes, spices, etc. If you are having trouble with leg cramps, it might be due to a lack of calcium and potassium. Add some sliced banana to your yogurt at snack time and you may get some relief. And, because your belly is so swollen and full o’ baby, you might even be having some trouble breathing. You can alleviate this by maintaining Poppins-perfect posture and sleeping semi-upright (which will help the heartburn, too). Just be sure not to take any over-the-counter or prescription medicines before consulting your doctor.
This is also about the time your doctor may tell you to stop sleeping on your back. As your baby grows, and your uterus with it, all that weight is placed on your spine, intestines, back muscles and vena cava, the large vein that transports blood from your legs back to your heart. In your second and third trimesters, lying on your back can actually cause changes in blood pressure, so it's best to avoid it altogether. Some experts even recommend sleeping on your left side as opposed to your right. There's nothing actually wrong with sleeping on your right side, but sleeping on your left side does take pressure off of your liver. It also increases the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta, which is hard at work nourishing your baby. Tuck a pillow between your legs to take some of the stress off your back, and try to have some sweet rainbow-filled dreams.

Just this morning, my sweet teacher friend Kara brought me a SNOOGLE, which is this long snake-like pillow that is supposed to support a chubby pregnant lady's body in all the right spots and make it easier to sleep. That, to me, sounds like a miracle!! I am been sleeping alright, but I am a belly sleeper, which has posed a problem with this ever-growing entity in my tum-tum. However, today brings hope for tonight. I cannot wait to see if I have found my sleeping savior!

A poor person's solution to a new couch

This afternoon I decided to find a solution to my gross couch. We have tan microfiber furniture in our living room, which is normally a nice choice, except that my dog Jack (see photo) must love the texture of microfiber on his tongue.

Reason #1 that the couch needed help: Jack has proceeded over the past couple of years to lick the couch to the extent that there are actually patches of the microfiber completely gone.

Reason #2 that the couch sucks: Also, last summer a friend came over and sat on our couch, as friends do. The problem with this particular situation was that the friend must have rubbed up against some motor oil during her day, because when she left our couch, she left a streak of motor oil across the back cushion. And that stuff just doesn't rub out.

Needless to say, we have suffered around 7 months sitting on our ugly ass couch. Every time we have company over, I pray they do not look close at its true grossness. Today, the suffering ends. As a poor person would, I marched my ass to Ross this afternoon and bought a slipcover. The slipcover was called SureFit, but I am not sure whether any slipcover, cheap or expensive, really does surely fit. Whatever, I needed a solution that did not require the purchasing of a new sofa. After getting the blasted thing home, I ironed it out to the best of my patience and ability (which isn't much). Then, I proceeded to tuck, tuck, tuck! Until I got this finished product:

Whaddya think? Minus the wrinkles (hey, I've got no patience with the iron), it looks much better and less white-trashy then the pre-couch product, believe me! ** sorry for no pre-cover pic- I didn't think of it and there is no way I'm peeling that baby back off- that took me an hour!

MEME Friday

On of my favorite bloggers, Andrea tagged me to write a 6 word memoir about myself. Considering that I am having a horrible start to an otherwise beautiful morning (man I hate husbands some days), this is what I've come up with:

Life brings (me) new lessons every day.

I know, I know- there are seven words, but I wanted to make it personal. Sorry my meme is lacking, but it's what I've got at 7:20 with 20 minutes until I have to deal with high school age children after crying all morning over your husband being a dumb ass. And the cycle continues.

So, I'm tagging Ann, Sara, cougchick, and stickyfeathers

Rules:

1. Write your own six word story.

2. Post it on your blog

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post (me) and to the original post if possible

4. Tag at least five others with links

5. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Chubby Mommy

I am feeling fat these days. Having been a person who is subconscious about her weight almost my entire teenage to adult life, I am having a really hard time accepting the fact that I have completely lost my waistline.
My other problem is that I feel like my belly is growing too much too fast. I find myself constantly trying to compare with friends I know who have recently given birth or are at different stages of their pregnancies. I think about their belly size and wonder if mine really is baby + placenta + uterus + umbilical chord, etc.... or if I'm just storing up some fat in there.

I am even ashamed to let my belly hang out sometimes at work: I don't want people to gossip hush hush behind my back that I am getting so big for only being 5 months along. See, the problem for me is I'm not necessarily gaining anywhere else except a tiny bit in my face and all the rest in my tummy. In reality, I should be happy that is where all the weight is going, and not spreading itself out across all fat cells as it could very easily do.
The older ladies at work say to relax and enjoy the time when you can eat whatever you want- but I don't eat whatever I want- I eat pretty much the same as before I was preggo- I wish I could just let this go and enjoy my growing baby belly a little more- but it's so hard to grow and grow!

Depressing weather

Here is the current weather forecast for the North west:
Considering that I coach softball, which is an outside sport, and we are supposed to have 3 games this week, it's not looking too good. I also don't really like the way our head coach runs practice, so that cranks up the annoyance meter for the week.

Plus, it's just plain depressing to wake up every morning to a dusting of snow, then watch it melt off when the dribbling rains come and go all day long. I have already sacrificed my spring break to this crap: What do I have to do to get a little sunshine to perk things up in my life!? I know you say the weekend looks promising, but don't hold your breath: last week we had 58 degrees forecasted for Thursday: what we really got was 43 degrees and, you guessed it, rain/snow mix. Geez people, it's April already!!!!!

5 months !

Now that we know that I'm carrying a baby girl, and that we are going to call her Ali, I am learning more and more about this little gal and just how much she is like her momma.
For example, Ali and me both love cookies and ice cream! We also love to tease daddy about being such a man's man, and having to live in a house with two girlies! He already put a veto on any sort of nail polish whatsoever....

And the most ironic part of my doctor's appointment on Wednesday- Ali weighs in at around 1 lb: and I was sure she was a 15 lb baby, scales don't lie!

It's A...

Sorry to keep everyone in suspense.... we're having a SWEET BABY GIRL!!!

Alison Elizabeth will join our family around August 21st: We are going to call her Ali :)

All her body parts and inner workings where function right up to par and she is right where she should be for growth at this point. She was, however, being shy (what the?) and wouldn't come towards the front of my tummy for a 3d profile picture. Oh well, we can wait 4 months to see what our baby angel looks like.
I feel so blessed to have a little girl.. it's amazing how much more bonded I feel now that I know what I'm carrying with me all the time. I find myself thinking about her all the time- I hope she has dark hair like her daddy- and I really hope she likes to be outside and play sports! Poor gal is gonna be a tom boy whether she knows it yet or not!

The BIG day!!!

Tomorrow is the day! We get to find out (baby willing) whether we will be raising a beautiful baby boy or girl- I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!