No Energy & Too Many Things to do

I am cooking dinner for our church's missionaries tonight. Normally I get excited about cooking for people, but today I just want to crawl in bed and sleep. My ENTIRE house needs to be cleaned. Leaning over and picking things up off the floor is a 36 week pregnant lady's worst nightmare. It's miserable. I want to hire a maid. Oh and my good friend and her boyfriend are coming over, too. I feel completely overwhelmed and plain exhausted. And there's a 2 year old running around tossing things all over the place as I pick them up, dipping the broom in the toilet, spraying the water bottle all over his clothes, and taking apart the vacuum. Life.

I am doing a mostly "green" theme with the food since it's ST. Patty's Day. I should be cleaning/cooking now but I just can't do it. All my body wants me to do is SIT DOWN. I'm making green kool-aid, cheesy bread, lima beans w/ ham over rice, krista's bringing a green salad, and for dessert I'm doing individual fruit pizzas with kiwi (green), strawberries, and bananas. Sounds yummy, right? I am sure it will all be great. As long as I can get up off this chair and start cooking. They'll be here in 3 hours. ARGH!!!!

This weekend is also my birthday. Of course I have NO PLANS, what's new. I can't even narrow down what I want to do. Ideally I think I'd like to just hang out with my cute hubby (sans Jase), but that means I need a sitter. And then what will we do? I am not in the mood to plan anything, but I know if I don't then I'll be all bummed out we didn't do anything special or fun. Not to mention the next time the 2 of us get any alone time will be about 5 years from now--new baby coming soon, ya know. Sigh. Any ideas?

Wow, what a whiny post.

Winter non-Wonderland

This morning Jase woke up before me. I was up at 3 in the morning with horrible heartburn due to eating spaghetti the night before and not taking a heartburn pill. OOPS. Anyways, I heard him playing in his room so I went in there to go get him (we've taught him not to come out of his room until mom or dad comes in there to get him). When I opened the door, at first I didn't see him. He had climbed on top of the changing table and was laying there on his back playing with the powder and said, "Hey mom, can you change my poo poos?" Ha. Funny. Ok, so I did. I'm still not exactly sure how he got on top of that changing table, though. It's pretty high off the ground, so that's not good. Anyways, being as pregnant as I am, about halfway through the diaper change I had to go pee really bad. I finished him up and left for about 1 minute.

Upon returning, half of his room and everything in it was COVERED in a blanket of powder. ARGH!!!!!! He had shaken powder from up on top of the changing table and it was in EVERY nook and cranny you can imagine. GRRRREAT way to start off the day, right? I'm so pregnant that it is just uncomfy to get on my hands and knees and try to use all the mini vac attachments to suck up powder from the furniture. I was beyond irritated (but this time I tried really hard not to fuss too much at Jase like I did the other day--heh heh). Oh, and for those of you who don't know, his room has black furniture in it--so you can imagine having a white powder snowfall in there was just awesome.

At least it forced me to dust. :)

This Woman's Work.

How have I lived almost 35 years and not heard this song before? Last night on American Idol Michael Lynch sang this at the end of the show. I wasn't really sure what the song was all about, but after everyone was raving over it I had to do a bit of googling on it. Apparently, it was originally written for a movie called, "She's Having a Baby." I watched a clip (click HERE for movie clip) from the movie where the song is played, and it's basically about this young couple having their first child but the child is breeched and she ends up having surgery. The song is playing during the surgery scene (they won't let the husband come in and he panics) and the husband is reflecting back on their life, and all the things he shoulda woulda coulda done better, etc. I was crying like a hormonal pregnant woman watching it! Wait, I am! So back on AI, I really liked how Kara cried and said that she could relate since she didn't have a child (that made me sad). For some reason I really like her--she is my favorite judge. And then it was so sweet how Simon was with her (y'all know he's usually so grumpy). So overall it was a good moment on AI and I thought I'd post the link here if you wanted to see the performance. I love gospel, I love soul--so I really liked his rendition of this song. CLICK HERE for the american idol clip.

Here's the lyrics to the song, I think they can be interpreted in a few different ways--which is always cool with songwriting...

Pray God you can cope.
I stand outside this woman's work,
This woman's world.
Ooh, it's hard on the man,
Now his part is over.
Now starts the craft of the father.

I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things I should've said,
That I never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go,
Make it go away.

Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.

(I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.)

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things we should've said,
That were never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.

Baby Belly @ 34 Weeks

Nothing like trying to take a sidewards pic of yourself in the dark in a tiny bathroom and hoping the camera doesn't fall off the shelf above the toilet and into the toilet! LOL. Didn't happen, by the way. :) But you should have seen how many pics I took that had my head cut out of them! Ha ha ha.A scary shot from the front...hello basketball!
Figured I better stay consistent and take another one (like I did at 29 weeks) standing in the living room.
Not sure my belly can stretch any farther! I am paranoid about getting even more stretch marks so I make sure to lotion up with this vitamin E stuff I found at Sam's. I have 5 more weeks to go, so I hope my skin can take it! I found these jeans online from Gap. When I first ordered them they were too big and saggy (hate that), so I took a risk and ordered a size smaller. Score! They fit MUCH better and stay up pretty good when I'm walking around. However, sitting down can be a problem bc they only have a small demi stretch panel on them, so it tends to hurt if I'm sitting for too long. Oh well, they are the best fitting pants I have at the moment!

Baby #2 update

Hi. I feel rather guilty for how LITTLE I've documented my 2nd pregnancy. For my 1st one, I had a pregnancy diary and everything! I was all over it! I guess the "novelty" has worn off or something--or maybe it's just because my life is much more hectic with a toddler in it. Yeah, I'll take that last excuse.

I have a doctor's appointment in just a little while. We are supposed to be scheduling the C-section today! I am so anxious about the entire thing! Yet at the same time, the belly is becoming a bit cumbersome, so it will be nice to get this little (or big) guy outta me. This pregnancy overall hasn't been too bad--I was less sick during my 1st trimester than I was with Jase. My 2nd trimester is what really gave me a run for my money. My sciatic joint problems were oh, so painful. From what I researched online, that is typically the time frame where it will be a problem if it's going to be. For me, it sure was! I remember days I could barely walk, much less sit on the ground, lean over, etc. It was awful. Then one day, it was gone! Woo hoo! So now really I have been feeling pretty good overall...the heartburn was getting a bit ridiculous so I finally gave in to the Zantac (hallelujah!). That has helped a TON. I try to take only one/day at the most. So far that seems to be plenty sufficient. I haven't really had any major cravings except for 2 things: cold cereal with milk, and Coke. Yes, Coke. It's nuts. I know it isn't good for the baby so I try to avoid it--but wow, is the craving ever strong. And McDonald's has the BEST fountain Coke around. So if I see those golden arches and my car starts pulling into the parking lot...well...heh heh.

Update: Ok I'm back from the doctor's appointment! Baby is growing well! According to the ultrasound he's about 5 pounds 11 oz. I still have 5 weeks to go, and they estimate the baby growing about a half pound per week...so that puts him at roughly 8 pounds when he will be born. My doctor will be scheduling the c-section for April 8th. I have to be there at 6am. This is so strange to have like a "D-day!" Ha ha ha. But it's nice, too, bc it will make it so much easier to make arrangements for Jasey. Anyways, I am all sorts of anxious and nervous--ugh. I just hope he's healthy and strong. Oh and by the way, at my previous 2 appointments I've managed to stay the same weight. However, at this one I've gained 4 lbs in just 2 weeks! Eeks! But I can't complain--throughout this pregnancy I've lost more weight than I've gained, and for that I am super thankful!

One more thing. Forgot to say a couple nights ago while laying in bed, I felt the baby hiccuping! I have never noticed that before, so it was kind of cute.

Dance-o-rama

Jase was dancing around tonight and making us laugh, as usual. As soon as I got the camera out, however, he didn't do it quite the same (of course) but it's still cute to see him bouncing around. Take a peek!

That'll be Stupid

So Jase is starting to pick up "less desirable" words for kids to say--but it sure is pretty funny. Here's what he said to me yesterday.

"Mom! Mom! I gonna turn off the light (just the one in my room)! That'll be stupid!"
"Mom! Mom! I gonna put the lid back on! That'll be stupid!"

I tried not to let him see me laugh. I just said, "Oh ok! That'll be fun!"

Then later as I was driving to hang out with my friends, I put on my Carrie Underwood CD since the radio reception is pretty much static until you get into "town." I listen to the CD pretty frequently. Anyways, I was singing along (of course, car karaoke all the time) and all of a sudden I realized a small voice from the back seat was totally singing along with me!! What?! SO CUTE! He knew tons of words to a few of the songs. He even said, "Mom I like this song!" Adorable. I love it.

Noodle Fun

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd up load a couple pics of Jase eating noodles (and a video clip, too). Roob showed him how to "suck up" noodles into your mouth. It's cute how impressionable kids are! He's getting pretty good at doing it!
Enjoy the short video clip! (sorry can't figure out why it gets cropped weird)

I Heart Surprises!

So look what the UPS man surprised me with today? FRESH ROSES! Ah, so pretty and so sweet! I love flowers--I wish they would stay this pretty for months! :) I also got a box of yummy chocolates with it! I am so excited! Thanks babe! I love surprises! Your present is coming!!!

Baby Bronson Update

Hooray! If you saw read my post a few days ago about that little boy who had drowned, but then his heart started beating--here's a update for ya: Today I read that their little baby boy is doing GREAT! He's alert and responsive! I'm soooo excited to hear this since I was soooooo super saddened by the whole story just a few short days ago. See new updates HERE. I needed some good news today!

Baby Room Decor Stuff

So I finally hung up Jase's name in his room, along with a couple of tin stars. You can't really tell from the picture, but the big one is red and the little one is a rusty orange color. On the opposite side of the window, I hung 2 more identical stars and left room for the upcoming baby's name to go underneath them. (Those other spherical things you see hanging from the ceiling are Jase's glow in the dark planets. Heh.)I think it will be cute when it's all said and done. Except that there's only so much room on the other side of the wall...so hopefully I don't pick a name with more than 5 letters in it! And, hopefully Michael's Craft Store still sells these same letters or I'm in trouble! Right now I think the top name contenders (for me anyways) are Ian or Cody. I'm just diggin' those names for some reason.

Baby Bronson

I don't know how I come across these things, but I do. And being highly emotional and pregnant does not make it any easier for me to hear this kind of stuff. My friend Emery had a post on her blog about this little boy named Bronson who drowned in his parent's jetted tub. But now he's alive...barely. Of course I was so fascinated with this story I had to go and click on the link to his mom's blog and read all about it. I have never cried so hard, truly. My kitchen table is sopping wet. It's a heartbreaking story and every mother's worst nightmare--ironically, I related somewhat to her pain about feeling guilty--like it was her fault he drowned. I felt the same way when Jase burned his hand so badly at only 10 months. I should have been watching him better, I should have known, etc etc. All those awful thoughts come back to me from time to time when I see his burn scar and think, "It's probably only a matter of time before he'll need a skin graf," or "How will this affect him later in life?" Sigh. Heartbreaking. However, Jase's poor burn is nothing compared to what this woman has gone through with her youngest son. It's incredible. It's a lesson in life to me that stuff happens. It happens. There's only so much a human being can do to protect their children from every day mishaps. I hope this young mother can forgive herself somehow for what has happened to her little boy. I try to let this sink into my brain, but it just makes me a more paranoid mother. So my prayers and love reach out to this mom. If you want to read the story, you can see her blog HERE. The post that explains what happened the day he drowned is at the bottom of the page (I believe it's dated February 1st). May God be with this family during this extremely difficult time.

The Truck's Stuck!

So we were in town the other day and making our way back home. Reuben was ahead of me in his truck and I followed with Jase in the Explorer. About 20 minutes into my drive I got a phone call:

Reuben: "Amiee, are you almost home?"
Me: "Yes. Why?"
Reuben: "I need you to tow me out of the snow in the yard."
Me: "What??!! (laughing) How did that happen?"
Reuben: "Well I knew you were behind me and I thought it would be fun to try it out."
Me: "Niiice."
Keep in mind we've got at least 2 feet of snow in our yard that has been sitting there for months...so it's nice and icy hard-packed snow.
Towing him out (even with my sweet 4x4) proved to be a bit challenging since our driveway is covered in about 2" of solid ice. It looked like my car was "ice skating" while trying to get him out!
After a few tries, we were successful! But we (ok, he) did have to dig out his back tires.
The damage...

Update on Big Boy Bed

I have to say that Jase has utterly surprised me. It's been at least 2 weeks (maybe 3?) since we took the side railing off of his crib and started letting him sleep in a daybed. He's done the best for naps (has NEVER come out of the room and goes right to sleep), but quite a few times in the morning he wakes up early and comes into our room (normally he sleeps till 8am). So what I've been doing in the mornings is saying, "It's not time to get up yet. Go back to your bed until Mommy comes to get you." We walk back there together and he's been very good about laying there until I come get him at 8am (anywhere from 15-30 min). Awesome.

Well, today we have hit a bump in the road. I went into town earlier to get some groceries. I didn't realize that for some crazy reason he fell asleep for about 10 minutes in the car (shoot). However, it was such an early and short nap, I did not think this would affect him. So when we got home (about 2pm) I put him straight down for a nap. He was out the door and down the stairs within 10 minutes (argh!) but he had a poo diaper so I figured that was why he came down. So I put him back in his bed. I think I have put him back in his bed now about 15 times in the last hour. WHAT!? The annoying thing is that during his "nap" today I had to work on some real estate stuff so it was stressing me out having to deal with him getting out of his room every 10 minutes and interrupting my focus (hang on he just came out of his room again)! So what would have normally taken me 20 minutes to do, took me almost an hour! Lovely.

Anyways--they say to have as minimal of a conversation with your toddler as possible, and to keep your temperament calm. Calm. Riiight. Well I'm doing fairly well at "acting" calm bc at this point I am super aggravated. The only thing that is different about today's "nap" is that he already fell asleep in the car for a little bit. I swear that is the problem. Oh and he snuck in a few "Rolos" candies, so that's not helping at all. I know he is testing me so I am trying to be as consistant as possible. The ironic thing is that I was just about to go get him and let him play (since it's been almost an hour and a half of this "game"), but in the last 20 minutes he's come out of the room WAY more times and is REALLY making me nuts. So now I don't want to "reward" him for doing that, ya know? ARGH. I hate when he doesn't sleep and I don't get Amiee time bc it makes me just go insane!!! NOT cool.

And I can't go downstairs bc it is too hard for me to run up and down the stairs to keep putting him back in his room every 5 minutes...so I am stuck up here in my bedroom so I can "monitor" him. So much fun. Not.

One funny thing did happen, however. At one point when I told him to get back in his bed, he crawled into it, sat down, looked at me, and in a stern voice said "YOU LISTEN TO ME!" (I had to cover my mouth to hide the hugest smile that swept across my face. Omg that was hilarious). Other than that moment, not funny. Just total annoyance! Calgon, take me away!

Jase in Dad's Hoodie

Thought this was pretty funny!

Brunch with the Girlfriends

So the other day I got a text out of nowhere inviting me to a brunch at my friend Erinn's house. Y'all know this is right up my alley! Food and friends--can't be better. So we each got our assignments and showed up for a little food party earlier today. I brought my camera to document it all...but I forgot to take pictures of the attendees (duh)! Oh well. I'm not sure which was more fun--eating all the food or chatting! You can find the recipes we used on my food blog, Roll Me Outta Here. Here's the spread--fresh fruit toppings, homemade whipped cream, crepes, sweet coconut syrup, and savory breakfast casserole: Crepes (I ate way too many of these):
Homemade coconut syrup for the crepes (a must try, seriously):
Breakfast casserole (sausage, eggs, milk, hashbrowns, cheese, green onions):

Arriving Soon...

Look what's coming to my house! So exciting! How cute is this Graco Pack n' Play? My sister and my dad went in 50/50 on this. She called me the other day asking me questions about what I did/didn't like. I felt too guilty letting them buy me one bc many of these are $200+ (especially with the higher changing tables). Well, I was online browsing with her and we found this one for about HALF that price! Half! It was such a steal I went ahead and gave them the green light to buy it for me (well, ahem...the baby). I should get it any day now...I can't wait! Isn't it stinkin' cute? And oddly enough, it matches my highchair! Ha! Thanks Dad & sis!!!

29 Weeks Complete!

It's been at least a month since I took a pregnant picture of myself--so I thought it was about time to do it again. Let me tell you how fun it is to try to take a picture of yourself in poor lighting with a self timer and no tripod. Ha ha ha! Then when I was uploading these I realized I had my camera set to the lowest possible resolution setting. Niiiice. So what you get to see is a lovely pixelated version of myself (well if you click on it anyways--so don't).
It was either post these or post nothing, bc I know the next time I remember to take pics of myself it will be another month from now! So for memory's sake--here ya go! Besides all this picture stuff, I've been feeling pretty good these days. My sciatic joint problem is long gone (hooray) and my heartburn isn't terribly bad (well sometimes it is). Every now and then I'm short of breath--and turning over in bed is starting to require considerable effort. I still can't believe I will have another baby in about 10 weeks. It's sooo not real. At all. But soon enough it will be! :)

Baby Preparations

I feel like I am living in a fantasy world. It doesn't seem one bit real that in about 10 weeks I will have another baby. It hasn't hit me at all! So I am trying to force myself to go through the motions and figure out what I still need to do and/or get before that happens. I went to the Children's Place the other day and bought a few things that are cute. Before that I had been to a few other stores but just wasn't inspired to buy anything. How can someone (especially a female) see lots of baby stuff and buy NOTHING? I guess me, that's who. And of course it seems no matter where I shop all the baby girl stuff is 100x cuter than the boy stuff. Why is that? It's so unfair to these boys! Ugh. Anyways, I still have most of the "big" things I need from Jasey. But one thing I never had was a bouncy seat and I've decided I need one this time around :) I've looked around and found one that happens to be not only the cheapest on the market, but has a pretty cute color scheme (see pic). Only problem is Target doesn't carry it in store anymore, so I'll have to get it online if I want it. I've seen cuter ones, but they are like triple the price which is just crazy for what it is you're getting. I don't want a super big/bulky one anyways. The other thing that I'd love is a new playpen. I made the mistake the first time around buying a fancy european model that you'd have thought was awesome--however it is a nightmare to take it down and put it up. AND the changing table on it is super low, so it's an awkward height to stand up and change diapers on (especially since that is all you do for the first few weeks). BUT I am still going to use the one I already have upstairs for a temporary baby crib next to our bed. Since the bedrooms are upstairs and I'm downstairs for the majority of the time, I am planning on getting a new Graco Playpen (Pack n' Play) for the living room. The kind with the higher changing table. Maybe like this one:The only problem is this model is an older model and is getting hard to find. Some of Graco's newer models are almost too fancy and too pricey (over $200), which is ridiculous! I could buy a new crib for $200. Anyways...we'll see. My grandpa purchased one similar to this for us (Nathan & I) to share when we both had our boys at the same time. It's been at my mom's ever since. She might offer it up for me to use at home, but then I'd have to pack it up and bring it to her house anytime we go to visit--but that might be worth it cuz it'd save us like $160! So I'm kind of entertaining that option. Plus the one she has is really cute, too. It's brown and teal, I think. The other thing I think I am going to need is some sort of double stroller/sit n' stand stoller. Since my kids will be 2.5 years apart, most friends are telling me to get a sit n' stand version. They are good for 2 reasons--1.) they are less bulky than traditional double strollers 2.) your older toddler has the choice to either stand and ride or sit on a little platform thingy in the back. My friend Sarah recommended the Joovy brand stroller (pictured below). I still need to do more research on these, though. My only concern is that Jase could basically just stand up and walk away if he wanted (well they have a seatbelt for him). But the thing I like about it is that it also accomodates an infant carrier in the front seat. And we'll be using that for almost a year. Unless this next boy is a big one! :)So what are some of your must-haves for new babies? I know I've done this before, but it's always fun to see what people can't live without...cuz maybe it's something I couldn't live without, either! :)

Gimme a Break

So today for the first time in months, I was able to do something without Jase by my side. My Realtor license is up for renewal in a couple of months, so I have Continuing Education requirements I must complete by then. My friend Jenny offered to watch Jase for me while I was gone. She is usually home during the day like me, but what's even better is she has a little 5 yr old boy who's still at home (so Jase would have a playmate). Jase had only been over to her house once before (with me) to visit, so I was unsure whether or not he'd be comfortable in her house. We barely even walked in the door and Jase was off! Ha ha ha! He took right to her little boy and they started having such a good time playing. Too cute! The cool thing about Jenny's house is they have a flight of stairs going from one family room down to another. Somehow they rigged a slide down the right-hand side of the stairs--so you can just slide down instead of climbing the steps! I think Jase must've gone down the slide 500 times! I chatted with Jenny for a bit, then I had to sneak out. Jase didn't even notice I left. Hee hee. She said he did so well and had such a good time. He even went down well for his nap--but instead of sleeping he just chatted and sang for 45 minutes (we both think he was just too excited being in a new place and having so many fun things to do). Anyways, when I came to pick him up he was sitting at the table eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and some other snacks. He was so cute when he saw me (awww). I stayed for a while and talked to Jenny while I watched the boys play. Jase was so hyped up and excited, it was cute for me to see this. I am soooooo happy it went well! I don't know how to explain my happiness about this.

Even though I just went to what would typically be a "boring" real estate class, I loved every second of it. I learned a ton about FHA loans, the teacher was great and it was just nice to be able to have some "Amiee" time...so it does a mom's heart good to know that her son was having just as much fun (probably more) without her :) Yesterday was such a TERRIBLE day. One of those days where everything seemed highly annoying and I felt like I was just going to flip out at any second (may have done that once or twice anyways). Today was the opposite. It was the BEST day!!! I think my favorite part was that tonight during dinner I looked up at Jase in his highchair and he was falling asleep! Ha! He never does that! I knew he had so much fun and played so hard. Speaking of, I am going to go put him to bed early so I have to go! Heh heh. Thanks again, Jenny. I am so hooking your family up with a yummy dinner!!!!