Just trying to catch up!

I have been thinking for weeks now about something good to blog about, and I am sure there have been many things in that time that were blog worthy, but I often would forget about them by the time I was able to sit down at my computer long enough to blog until tonight! I just realized what was top of the list. TIME MANAGEMENT!

When I was pregnant with Jacob I dreamed that I would be able to stay at home with him once he was born. I often dreamed about how clean I would be able to keep my house and have everything organized and immaculate. Thankfully, I was able to stay home, but my fairytale as a homemaker was just that, a fairytale!

I look at my days and wonder, where has the time gone? I have such big hopes of what I might be able to get done and I always fall short of those goals! Mainly because on any given day I have no idea what I may be called to do by my parents (I help them when needed at our family business) or my husband.  This adds to the difficulty of trying to keep Jacob on as consistent a schedule as possible.

I have come to realize that I need to be more creative on how to manage my time so everything gets done that needs to be done and I feel more productive as a stay at home mom. I do tend to wander from one thing to another as I get called away or care for my baby boy. I know all moms out there will attest to the juggling act of being a parent. So now I have to learn this skill for myself. It aint easy and it don't come natural! At least not for me. Not sure what strategy will work best for me just yet, but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions anyone has that maybe has worked for you.

I think for tomorrow, I will make a list of things I would like to get done and scratch them off as they get accomplished. This worked for me great when I worked as a teacher so maybe it will work well here at home too! Also, I have to stop with all the projects! I love decorating and creating things. I have so many unfinished projects right now it is sad! So, I am putting myself on project probation, at least until I get all the unfinished ones done first. 

Finally, for whoever is reading this, thanks for listening, or reading I guess I should say,  to all my babble. I plan to write about more exciting things very soon. Sometimes it's just good to get what's bothering you off your chest and out on paper to make ya feel a little better.

Bye for now!

I'm Back

It has been over a year since my last post and a lot has happened! Here is the short story to catch everyone up.

First, after what seemed like the longest pregnancy ever! haha  I finally gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy! Jacob Matthew. 

I know too cute right! He has been such a blessing. I never could have imagined how much I could love someone until he was born. That is not to say it has not been the hardest thing I have ever done.

Not long after bringing Jacob home from the hospital we found out that he was dealing with colic. If you have never had a child with this consider yourself VERY luck! If you have, then you know what I mean when I say, I did not think I was going to make it! For the first three months of Jacob's life it was constant crying! Accept for when he went to bed at night, I was lucky enough to have a good sleeper. I think I cried as much as he did during the day! I thought I was a horrible mother for being so frustrated with him. Michael would no more that walk through the door and I would hand Jacob over to him just to get a quick break. We had to switch to a very expensive formula, which did help a little, but it was just hard to enjoy by beautiful baby that I have been longing for for so long. Finally, at three months it all went away and a new baby emerged! It was a wonderful relief for me!

Now he is 7 1/2 months old and I just now feel like I am figuring it all out. I knew being a mom would be hard, but not until I became one did I know how hard. Not to mention the fact that I have chosen to stay home with him, that has opened up its own challenges. I have had to learn how to be more creative, manage my time more effectively, and most importantly how to stretch a dollar to its max. Although I must admit, I am still working on the last one!

One of the reasons I decided to start this blog back up again was beacuse I wanted to share what I learn or create with others. I hope I can be helpful to others and make some new friends along the way.

So with that said, I AM BACK! and better than ever. Keep in touch!

It's a BOY!

On Saturday we finally got an answer to the big question I have had for the last 15 weeks. The official answer. Boy. I have to admit I was not to happy with that answer in the beginning. 

See from the beginning I tried to stay open minded about everything, however as time went on and with lots of help, I slowly convinced myself this is was a girl. No other option. It was a girl. So, I had everything ready. I had her room all ready to decorate with paint samples and fabric swatches that I carried with me everywhere. I had the perfect name picked out and even referred to it as I talked about the baby. I know now how premature all this was, but at the time my mind and my heart did not care. 

Then came Saturday. I was officially 15 week finally and it was time. I had found a place in Franklin that would do an ultrasound at 15 weeks to determine the sex and that is what I did. I could not wait any longer. I had to confirm what I thought I already knew. So we made a day of it. Did some shopping. Had a great lunch. Gabe was with us because we really wanted him to be a part of it all. 

Finally 2:30 came and here we go. The place was great. I was able to have Michael, Gabe, my mom and my dad there with me for the big moment. The lady was very nice and began the ultrasound which projected on a big wall for all to see easily. She put the gel on my belly and I started to get nervous. All of the sudden doubt began to creep in my mind. She moved around for a minute or so and then she made a comment that I have been playing over and over in my mind a million times. She said "he looks great." I looked at her with a crazy look and she said. "It's a boy." I could not believe it! I started to cry. Gabe was very excited! But I think everyone else was as stunned as me.  That was not the plan. It was a girl to me. That was all I wanted was a girl and now my idea of this perfect little girl with all the plans that I had made for her instantly went up in smoke. 

The lady finished the ultrasound and said the baby was very healthy and looked great. That was good to hear, but I had not yet really processed the news she had just given me. To be honest it really took me until the next day to really wrap my brain around it all. 

Now I am ok. I am warming up to him and most of all glad that he is doing great. I have already began making the big plans for him.

His name is going to be Jacob Alex. His room is going to be done in a safari theme. I have already started working on paint samples and fabric for his bedding. I really think it's going to be cute. 

Although this may not have been my plan, I am so thankful. I am finally pregnant with a healthy baby. This is what I have always dreamed about and I know he is going to be perfect. Also, I know there is always next time. Until then I am going to take in every second of my baby boy.

11 weeks and counting

I feel like I have been to hell and am slowly making my way back! As of Friday I am now 11 weeks pregnant. It has been the worst and best 11 weeks of my life! I have been through so many illnesses and issues even I could not have imagined. As of this past week however, I think things may be starting to make a change. I have not had to take any nausea medication in the past 3-4 days! That's big! Also, I started back to work this week at my dad's shop after taking the past 2 1/2 months off because I was so sick! With both of these big milestones happening this week I feel like things might start getting better, except for the nasty cold I have picked up this week. I hope that too will pass in the next few days.

Michael has been so great through everything. He has been cooking dinner and "attempting" to clean the house when needed. I am very grateful to have such a wonderful man to take care of me when I need him, but I have to admit that I can not wait to be able to have the energy to totally clean this house from top to bottom. It is awful! Well to my standards anyways.  I guess I will have to wait and see what this next week will bring me!

  

Long road to 9 weeks

The past two months really seem like a blur. I have been very sick since about May 15. First, I got over stimulated from all the medications. Then I felt better for about two day, and then I started getting swollen again that lasted about 3 more weeks. Next, after finding out I was in fact pregnant (with only one baby by the way) all the symptoms of early pregnancy kicked in and I have been in bed almost everyday ever since. I have been sick and had horrible fatigue. Like getting up to go to the bathroom was all the energy I had. It has been such a hard time, there were days that I actually thought I am not going to make it. Luckily I think I am starting to feel a little better. Who knows though tomorrow I could go right back to feeling awful. I hope not.

With all that negative stuff I wanted to share  some happy stuff. Yesterday I graduated from my fertility doctor to my regular OB. It was my last appointment and it was the best by far. My mom went with me and we got to see the baby on the ultrasound again and hear the heartbeat. It is truly amazing how fast this little thing is growing. The best part was as we took one last look and the baby started wiggling around and moving. It was the most amazing thing I have seen yet! I just wish Michael had been there to see it. 

Hopefully now that things may start getting more back to normal I will be able to blog on a more regular basis. If anyone reads this to begin with...  

Finally I am PREGNANT!

I am so happy to announce that after all the craziness of this journey it has come to a happy ending and we are finally expecting! We are over the moon excited. I think I am still in shock that I can actually say that I am pregnant! 

Although we are very excited it is kinda hard to celebrate too much because I have been in so much pain. Because I was taking so much medication trying to get pregnant, it is now coming back to bit me in the butt. I am very swollen. I have so much fluid built up in my belly that I look 5 or 6 months pregnant already. It is so painful! I have not been able to hardly move for the past several days and my doctor tells me that it could last another week. I am trying to be strong, but another week of this just seem awful. Don't get me wrong I am so happy to be pregnant but I really want this part to go away.

Now we have to sit and wait another week or so to find out how many babies we are having. Sooo excited!

Almost there

I have been feeling awful! I have had some swelling in my belly and have been very sore. I was told that for the most part this was normal. However, it sucks! Ever since my egg retrieval last Friday I have not been feeling so great. I was finally able to get out of the house for a while on Sunday. Michael and I had a lot of fun. Anything was better than being home anymore. Anyways, I was able to go back to work yesterday and today. It has been tough but I have been trying to be strong. 

We are very excited that tomorrow is our embryo transfer day! We have 13 beautiful embryos growing and tomorrow two of them will finally be put back were they belong. I just hope and pray everything works out of. After that I will be on bed rest for the rest of the week. Right now that sounds great, but I am sure by Thursday I will be feeling much differently. I guess we will just have to wait and see!