It's been a while....

So yeah it has been a few weeks since I last posted. Things were busy with Christmas approaching, traveling to NJ, celebrating Christmas and all the festivities with family, finally feeling better pregnancy wise, and a stupid cold that has lingered for a week now.

So, I'll do my best to recap the past few weeks for you. It may be a long one...with lots of pictures. =)

So on December 22, Mady woke up to an early Santa visit since we were leaving for New Jersey the following morning. She was so excited! I loved her reaction. She walked into the living room and exclaimed, "YES! Santa presents!" So we had a busy morning opening and playing with every present Santa brought her. 

 Christmas Tree

 One happy girl with her light up Minnie high heels.

Shaking the present

The following morning we packed up and headed to NJ. Nice 5 1/2 hour ride. We were all excited and anxious to get there. We spent the day just hanging out, going for walks, and enjoying each others company. I love and cherish those days. It makes me so happy to see how much Mady enjoys my parents. 

Getting ready to go on a walk with Nana. Love this pictures of her!

The next day was Christmas Eve. I woke up not feeling the best but I chalked it up to dry heat and a bad night sleep. It was time to go get rolls with my dad! My mom hosts Christmas Eve and usually has meatball sandwiches and lunch meat so rolls are a must. It has become a tradition for us. The roll place we go to used to be packed, and so busy you would literally have to fight to get some rolls and stand in a forever long line to check out. We loved it! The past few years it hasn't been so busy but we still enjoy going together. We haven't missed a year yet!

Me and my Daddy!

The rest of the day we just relaxed, played, and got ready for my family to come over that night. We had delicious food and great company. I still wasn't feeling well and I think fell asleep on the couch around 8:30, watching none other than A Christmas Story. Family tradition.

 Helping Nana get ready....or really just being sneaky...

 Mady and Uncle T!

 It snowed on Christmas Eve!!! I was so beyond excited. It didn't last long but it was so magical to me.

 Mady was in awe of the snow. So beyond precious.

 Christmas Eve with my family.

Mady and Daddy in the snow. =)

Christmas Morning was early. Haha. Mady doesn't sleep the best when we are other places so she was up bright and early. I think we started opening presents at 6:10ish. Haha. I know my brothers loved that. Mady loved opening the presents but then she wanted to play with everything she opened. So, she took a little break to play some play dough while we opened some of our presents.

Mady finally finished opening her presents and everyone was spoiled. I think my mom had the best Christmas though. She got a new iPod from my brother and the Kindle Fire from my dad! She was so excited! 

 Very excited!

Shocked!

We played the rest of the morning with Mady and all her toys. Took a nap, got ready, and then headed to Matt's parents house for Christmas number 2 and some dinner. Same deal again. Opening presents, spending time with family, and yummy food. 

 Pretty Girl

 Opening some presents

 Helping Pop with his present

 Mady and her new friend, Mr. Gorilla. Thanks to Uncle Jake and Aunt April. 

 Love this picture...and hello baby bump!!

Kisses!!

Overall, it was a great Christmas. We had a wonderful time spent with people we love. We did miss Matt's two sister who were in FL. Aunt Megs and Aunt Melissa!!! We love you!

Hubby had to head home on Wednesday for work and Mady and I stayed behind for the week. I am so beyond thankful that we stayed, not only to hang out with family but because I got a horrible cold and being pregnant we cannot take any medicine besides Tylenol. Ugh. My momma was a rockstar, like usual. She took care of Mady and myself. I really couldn't have done it without her because I was down and out. So thankful for her and her selflessness. 

We had a fun week though shopping, playing, and eating my mom's wonderful cooking. We were sad to leave but excited to come home and see daddy! We missed him so much. 

As always, such a wonderful week with wonderful people.

And.

I can't believe next Christmas we will have two kiddos to spoil and love on!

Finally! and an update

Blogger finally is letting me upload pictures. Stupid blogger.

Anyways... It has been a busy past few weeks around here and I am ready for it all to slow down. I am also ready for December 23rd....because...we are heading to Jersey for the holidays!!!!!! Mady and I will be staying the week with my mom and dad while hubby has to head home the day after Christmas. But I am thankful he even has Christmas off because for the longest time they told him "no" when he put in his annual leave. There may have been some tears shed over that one but it all worked out in the end!

I feel like a total "blah" this Christmas season. Usually I am all about making crafts, baking, seeing lights, shopping, wrapping, all the good stuff but this year....eh. Most likely has to do with the fact that I am still not feeling the best but definitely better than I had been. Thank you Jesus! My nausea is pretty good all day until about 5:30. Like.on.the.dot. Everyday. Poor hubby...dinner around here has been sparse. I am currently 10 weeks and I think 5 days...but I'm not sure. Poor second baby.

Let's see....We had Matt's unit Christmas Party on Sunday. Mady was the only kiddo there and stole the spotlight as usual. We were there, at Texas Roadhouse, for about 2 hours before the meltdowns started and we had to leave a little early. That is pretty good for her. She was pretty well behaved.

This kept her busy for a little while. She transferred peanuts from one bucket to the other. A few of them may have been licked....just sayin'

What else...

We have watched some Christmas movies, Elf, in particular because my child is slightly obsessed. Like she may know what part is coming next. The other day we were playing with her kitchen which is out of sight of the TV, Elf was on in the background, and she heard the school bell ding and she turns to me and says, "Boys momma, throw snow" and sure enough they have a snow ball fight after school in the movie. 

We also have been baking some cookies. Mady loves, loves, loves to bake. She talks about it all the time and I truly love having her help me even if that means more of a mess. We made cut-out sugar cookies the other night and even Daddy helped. It was such a fun time...again...even if my child licked half of the cookie dough cut outs. 

We finally had Mady's 2 year old well visit. I know only a month late. She is doing awesome! The doctor was super impressed with her. Makes my momma heart smile. She weighs 25 lbs and is 33 inches long. She is a peanut but the cutest one out there. Funny Mady story. They had to take her in the hall way to weigh and measure her. When they were finished, she ran back into the room and yelled "DONE!" It was so funny. She makes herself at home most places we go.

I still have to finish my Christmas shopping which I am hoping to finish this weekend with the hubby's help. Mady is all bought for and wrapped. The kitchen we got her was both a birthday and Christmas gift so she has just some small presents but more than enough. I am excited to see her and how she reacts on Christmas morning. I know she is going to love it! 

It's a rainy and chilly day here and I love it! Mady and I are still in our jammies and currently enjoying Beauty and the Beast. Time to go enjoy the movie with her. 

Happy Wednesday!!!

Much about nothing

*Not a whole lot going on around these parts. Still feeling pretty sick and my lack of sleep have left me in a pretty cranky mood lately. Poor hubby. I hope things start on the upward trend soon because I am over this part of the pregnancy. I am not one who really enjoys the whole being pregnant thing. And I already have a belly...what?! I'm only 9 and 1/2 weeks. 

*When Mady wakes up every morning we have to plug in the Christmas tree lights. I think those darn lights aren't going to make it until Christmas. We have them on all the time. 

*Speaking of Christmas Tree's, funny story about our old one. Matt and I bought it when we first got married so we have to used it every year besides last year when it sat in storage so when we went to put it together this year we were missing 2 of the 4 pieces for the bottom. Well, we already told Mady we were going to put it up and she was so excited so we tried to put the tree up just on the 2 legs. Kinda lopsided but my mom found the last 2 pieces at her house so she sent them to us but the stupid tree was still not standing right. Then one morning Mady decided to try to move an ornament and the whole darn tree fell over and broke...at 6 in the morning. Tree pieces everywhere, lights, ornaments...ugh. Mady cried. She was so sad. So what did momma do? We headed to Target in our pj's to get another tree! Thank goodness they were still having their black Friday sale so we got a decent price. Win-Win.

*Stupid blogger is telling my I am out of storage for pictures hence the lack of pictures in this post. I'll have to look into it later. Grrr

*I love when Mady refers to herself as "me mady" So cute.

*My house needs a major, desperate deep cleaning. I have felt so crummy lately that nothing has gotten done. I need to clean the bathroom, wash the kitchen floor, do laundry, vacuum, and dust to name a few. Ugh. I need my energy to come back asap!

*Mady and I were watching Elf the other night and my poor child cried when Buddy the Elf floated away on the iceburg to go to NYC. I felt so bad! She was seriously so sad he left. She kept saying "Don't cry, don't cry" and had tears streaming down her face. Poor girl. However, we have now watched Elf about 5 times since the other day. She has not been scared for life!

*I think I might attempt to bake some Christmas cookies today. Usually, by now, I have made at least a few. I have falling behind this year but it could be because I cannot stand the sight of food or standing for a long period of time. I have some energy to day so I will see what we can get accomplished!

*I cannot wait for my Old Navy order to get here so I have some maternity jeans to wear! It is kind of hard to dress yourself when all you can wear is sweatpants or leggings and when those said pieces are in the laundry basket to be washed...dilemma. Good thing Mady and I have no plans today.

*I think every bullet in this post is about pregnancy or Christmas. I guess those are the only two exciting things going on in my life right now. Haha!

It was a good morning

I needed yesterday morning. I needed it really badly. 

Mady and I had a mommy daughter date to Panera. 

Things have been really tough with Madelyn lately. To the point the other day I was crying to Matt that I didn't like my child right now. She doesn't listen to me. Runs away from me and laughs when I am trying to get her dressed or change her diaper. On top of the fact that I have been feeling horrible so my patience level has been at a zero.

So yesterday I got myself ready, actually put on make-up, blow dried by hair, and put on clothes other than my husband's sweatpants.

We headed to Panera because bagels right now are my go to meal if I'm really hungry (which I am almost all the time...ugh!) and recently I found out how much Mady loves bagels too.

Oh and she had to bring her own purse into Panera with us and I cannot tell you the amount of comments we received. It was seriously so cute.

We both ordered plain bagels with cream cheese, water for me, and apple juice for goobie girl.
And we sat and ate and chatted about all the Christmas stuff she saw in the restaurant. It made my heart smile.

It was such a fun morning. She was so well-behaved and had all the cute old ladies just giddy over her. It was a morning I definitely needed. Fun times. Good food. My awesome daughter. Actually feeling human. Special memories.

*I would upload pictures right now but stupid blogger isn't letting me*

Special day

I had every intention of writing yesterday after our doctors appointment but needless to say that didn't happen. Feeling so sick, major headache, and in bed by 8:30 definitely contributed to no post yesterday.

But....BABY LOOKS WONDERFUL!

My appointment was at 1 yesterday afternoon and my stomach was in knots all day waiting for the appointment. I could not relax for the life of me. I tried laying down, reading a book, watching TV. I let my hubby take care of Mady yesterday. We took a trip to Target...anything to get my mind off the appointment. Ugh. 

Finally it was time to leave and a complete sense of peace came over me. I knew people were praying because I could feel it. I got to the doctors and just knew everything was going to be ok. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long and the ultrasound tech came to get us. As soon as she put that wand on my belly and I saw my baby, I just smiled. Then I saw the little flicker on the screen...there was his/her heart beat. Everything measured exactly accurate to my due date and the little peanut looked great! I held Matts hand the whole time and just kept squeezing it because I was just so excited and relieved. 

Then we had to wait a little while to see the doctor which was amazing! My experience with Mady's doctors were horrible. No personality, no bed side manner, nothing. I felt stupid asking questions and this time around I had no problem voicing my concerns and she was wonderful in answering all my questions. 

Matt and I decided to have a repeat C-section for a few reasons and the doctor agreed completely. I was thankful we were on the same page. They take repeat C-section patients at 39 weeks so this little babe will be born at the end of June which to be honest I am very thankful for. Because this little ones due date is our wedding anniversary and I really did not want to share that day. Just being real....haha.

So all in all yesterday was a great day! Of course, they printed us out about 10 pictures but I am too lazy to post them this morning. They are hanging nicely on our refrigerator where Mady's little curious hands cannot get to them.

So thank you to everyone who prayed for Matt, I and the baby yesterday. Your prayers were definitely felt. 

Now today can be a great day celebrating my birthday!

Anxious Thoughts

I am an anxious person by nature. I think about all possible scenarios in a certain circumstance and always believe the worst is going to happen. It is really hard for me to control. I let my mind wander way too much some days. 

Being pregnant just adds to those anxious tendencies. I have such a fear of miscarrying. Some days it can consume my thoughts and the craziest thing can bring those thoughts on. I had a great pregnancy with Mady but that does not guarantee that this one will be the same. I feel like I know so much more this time around and I long for the naive, 1st time mom thoughts. Sure, last time, I was just as nervous until I saw my little baby on that ultrasound machine. I remember not being able to hear her heartbeat because my own heartbeat was so loud in my ears. 

Tuesday at 1 pm cannot come soon enough. I am so anxious to see my baby. To see it growing. To see/hear its heart beating. 

But the thing is I have had no signs of possible miscarriage. No loss of pregnancy symptoms(more like the opposite), no bleeding, no cramping...nothing but still my mind plays game with itself. 

My greatest fear is that the ultrasound tech will measure the baby and it will be significantly behind or have no heart beat. Just being honest here. I have a hard time getting excited for this baby until I see that he or she is ok. That they are alive in there and growing.

My husband and mom probably want to kill me with the amount of time I talk about my fears because honestly it can get out of control. I need to trust that the Lord has a plan for this baby, whatever that may be. I pray for this baby daily that it is growing healthy and safe. It is all I can do besides take care of myself which I must admit is difficult this time around while chasing a very energetic 2 year old around.

So if you think of Matt and I on Tuesday, the 27th, specifically at 1 pm would you just say a quick prayer for us. For peace and that everything would be ok with the precious little one growing inside of me. 

I promise to report back after the ultrasound...whatever the outcome is.

Positive thoughts, Positive thoughts...

Gobble til you Wobble

This years Thanksgiving was very different from previous years. It was the first time it was not spent with family but instead friends. I did miss my family a lot yesterday but I was thankful we had such a great day with fun people.

It was a low key Thanksgiving and I was truly thankful for that. With the way I have been feeling lately and my lack of clothes that currently fit, I was grateful for some leggings, sneakers, and a zip up sweat shirt. We all brought a few side dishes and/or a dessert and lovely Linda made the turkey. It was delicious! I was actually hungry and able to eat some of the deliciousness food so I was thankful for that.

Of course, I have no pictures of this thanksgiving because some little girl, who's name I will not mention, broke my camera a few weeks ago and we have not replaced it yet. Ugh! Anyways...we had a buffet style and all sat around to eat while the kids ran around like crazy people...oh wait that was just my child. 

After dinner, the guys went into the other room to watch football and the girls sat at the dinner table and talked for the next 2 hours while the little ones played and went outside. 

Mady was somewhat of a terror. She gets so excited to play with toys she doesn't have and to play with Linda's kids that she would not eat or listen to really anything Matt or I told her to do. By 4:30, I had had enough and we packed up and headed home all the while Mady is crying because she is so sad to leave. She finally crashed in the car. Praise Jesus! 

When we got home, I was beyond ready to put her to bed. She was so cranky! She made it until 6:30 until Matt and I both had enough of the constant whining and crying for no reason. Matt and I watched some football before I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30 and the hubby was getting ready to go to work because he is awesome like that. 

I was in bed by 8:20. Exciting night I tell ya! I tried so hard to, at least, stay awake until 9 so I was not up at 5 but no such luck last night. My body was exhausted and I was so nauseous, I figured sleep was the only way to help with that. 

This is the first year also Matt and I did not head out Black Friday shopping and with the way I am feeling right now, that is fine and dandy with me. I did some shopping online at Kohls and that's about it. However, if I am feeling better later, I might try to convince the hubby to go out later. We shall see.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving!

7 weeks and this baby is kicking my butt!

7 week and 2 days...

and...

I am feeling awful!

Man I thought I had it bad with Mady girl well this Baby # 2 is proving me wrong. Very wrong.

So beyond tired that I go to bed at 8 pm and usually sleep when Mady takes a nap.

Then I am awake at 5:30 am...vicious cycle I tell you.

Nauseous all day long (although the worst is into the afternoon and dinner time..yuck!)

Something sounds so yummy one day and then if I think about it the next day it makes me want to throw up.

My sense of smell is out of control.

I cannot tell you how many times I ask Matt if he smells that and he looks at me like I am a crazy pregnant lady and usually the answer is "nooooo...."

Right now I will never eat waffles or gold fish again....you can guess why. 

Water is the only drink that sounds good. 

The only craving I really have is anything potato. Fries, chips, mashed. Different from Mady because I LOVED chocolate chip cookies and milk. 

So yeah this baby is kicking my butt but I am so thankful for this little blessing inside of me. I cannot wait until the 27th of Nov (the day before my birthday) to see this little baby on the ultrasound machine. I am super anxious about it. I just wan to see its little heart beating and then I can breathe a sigh of relief. 

7 weeks 2 day down....many, many, many more to go.

Extra thankful this year...

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I have been thinking about all the things I am thankful for this year. Sometimes it is so easy for me to focus on the negatives about this holiday season compared to previous ones but I am determined to look at the positives because oh my goodness, there are so many!

1. Although we aren't traveling home for Thanksgiving, we are having Thanksgiving with some fabolous and wonderful people in our community group. We are so excited to be able to spend the day together and enjoy some yummy food and company. I am truly thankful for the people in our community group. I finally feel like I have some real friends in this area. 

2. Of course for my Matt and Mady. They are my world and I am so thankful I get to be their wife and mommy. 

3. For our cozy apartment. After everything we have been through with the apartment from hell this year, I am extra thankful for an apartment that is CLEAN and does not smell and is a perfect fit for our family right now.

4. I am thankful for special memories I can create with Mady with I am a stay at home mom right now. Some days it is so beyond frustrating but I would not change it for the world. I am thankful for a husband who does and is doing everything he can to provide for our family even when it is difficult.

5. I am thankful that I have food in my fridge and pantry, clean clothes in our closets and dressers, warm sheets on our beds, and the ability to turn on and pay for the heat when we need it on a cold night. I really have been thinking about this lately. I am truly blessed. We may not have a lot but we have everything we could ever need. The Lord continues to provide for our family.

6. I am thankful for my family and in-laws. I do not know what I do without my momma. She is my best friend (besides Matt) and I don't know if she realizes how much she truly means to me. I hope Mady and I one day share the same bond me and my momma have because it is so special.

7. Most importantly this year I am thankful for the new life growing inside of me. Yes, we are expecting baby A # 2 due July 6, 2013(which is the day after our anniversary.) This puts me at 7 weeks today. I know this baby is going to bring our family so much more love and happiness.

busy weekend

This past weekend we headed up to New Jersey to celebrate Mady's birthday with our families. We drove up on Saturday morning. Nice and early at 6 am since Mady likes to get up before the sun. I was glad we left so early though so we were able to spend most of the day there. She was so excited to see my parents and brothers. You can tell she truly loves them. 

My mom and dad took her to birthday party for my cousins while Matt and I went through our Christmas decorations that are stored at my parents. We don't have a lot of room in our car so we had to take a minimal amount but that's ok. It's just for one year...

The rest of the day Mom and I spent making all the desserts for the party the following day. We decided to do just desserts so we made apple cider donut holes, mini apple and pumpkin pies, cupcakes, pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting and apples/pears with caramel dip. Yeah...we like to go all out. Then we wonder why in the world did we say we were going to make everything?! Honestly because we would not have it any other way. It is the way I grew up having birthday parties. It's the best!

Later we headed to the mall to visit my brother and walk around. Matt and my dad were on goob duty and watching college football. I miss those times with my mom so much. I treasure them so much more now. It was a great but tiring day. Needless to say I was in bed by 9.

Sunday was party day! We spent the morning getting the rest of the food ready and setting everything up. I didn't have any decorations because honestly I had no time or energy and Mady had no idea.

 Dessert Table

 Mady girl enjoying her ice cream and cream!

 Opening presents. She got a George!

 She was funny with opening presents because she was into it but not too much. I think she just wanted to play with everything she got. 

 Princess story book!

 So serious...

 Finally, I let her "paint" as she says. She was excited!

 Mady and her Nana. Something was on my camera lens making the pictures look blurry or foggy. ugh

 Pop Pop, Nana, and Mady. I love the way she is looking at my dad. =)

Not my favorite pictures of me...at all but it is a cute family picture

It was such a fun day and she was spoiled with the awesome presents she got. Thank you to everyone who made it such a special day for our special little girl.

Monday and Tuesday were more of the same. Hanging out. Playing. Going for walks. The usual.

Except Mady dropped my camera on Monday while we were visiting my in laws and broke the lens so therefore I have no camera! Worst timing ever. 

But...

My birthday is in 2 weeks so ya never know

....hint, hint.

Mish Mash

*I have been awake since 4:45 am....and this has been happening for over a week now. Mady's internal clock is all messed up. She didn't go to bed last night until almost 9 (we had small group and got home later than normal) and STILL...she was awake at 4:45. Ah!

*We are headed to NJ tomorrow for the weekend and to celebrate Mady girl's birthday. I am so excited, as usual. Hopefully today and tomorrow go quickly bc I am ready to spend time with family and see my momma!

*Speaking of NJ, my parents got snow yesterday and I was so jealous. Mady would have loved to see it and play in it. However, poor NJ cannot seem to catch a break. I know a lot of people could have done without the nor'easter that hit yesterday. =(

*Mady and I haven't left the house much lately. She has been sick and I have been not feeling the best either. But, we went for a walk the other day which I haven't done with her in forever and it was so nice. Then it rained yesterday and we were stuck inside. Hopefully it's not too chilly today so we can head out and get some fresh air.

*It really annoys me when the Navy and my husband's civilian job both mess up his pay in the same week! It has been a frustrating week regarding that. And ya know, it's never an easy, "yeah no problem I'll take care of that right now" fix. You have to harass people to get the money you are owed. Can you tell I am annoyed?

*My birthday is on Thanksgiving next year. Random fact. 

*Mady and I watched Once Upon A Mickey Christmas yesterday.  She actually sat still for an hour and ate her lunch and watched the movie. It was really cute. Puts me in the Christmas spirit. Christmas is going to be so fun with her this year!

*I am so glad this election is over. However, I am really tired of seeing people posting nasty, and hateful status. I understand the person who many people voted for did not get elected but I still feel, especially as Christian, that you need to respect the President, whomever he is, and pray for him daily. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to be president so I am thankful that there are people out there willing to do the job and he deserves to be covered in prayer daily. It makes me laugh when people post status that the world is ending. End.of.Rant.

*We have to sing Jesus Loves Me after we pray at dinner time. Per Mady's request and I love it.

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Life Lately

Figured it was time for another photo dump kind of post.

Mostly of Mady...of course.

 This was taken the day of the Hurricane. I had put on my boots to go check on our cars so when I got back upstairs someone else had to have a try. This picture just makes me laugh because the boot literally takes up her whole leg.

 Cuddling with Daddy watching something.

 My precious cupcake...picking her nose. Gotta love it. =)

 Mommy took the front of her crib off to convert it into a big girl bed. Mady decided she needed to bring all her toys in there. Thankfully she has transitioned really well! The first night was rough more so because she was afraid of the dark but once we got her a night light she has had no issues. She hasn't fallen out or really gotten out of her bed by herself. When she wakes up she still calls one of us to come get her. We just need to work on the 4:30 am wake up time. Ugh.

 Love driving the beep beep. 

 I decorated a little bit for her birthday. So this is what she woke up to and her response was "Happy Party!"

This picture was from our sickie day. She had just thrown up so I made her sit on a towel just in case she had to throw up again. Lots of cuddles and TV watching happened this day. SO glad she is feeling better.

The Sickies have invaded!

Poor Mady girl has had some kind of stomach bug for the past 2 days. Today she finally seems back to her old crazy, playing, out of control self. 

The past 2 days all we did was cuddle, cry (her not me) and watch T.D (TV) or moodies (movies). She basically laid on the floor or on the couch with me. I could totally tell she was not feeling good when she fell asleep on the floor and on me sitting up. 

Saturday she didn't get out of her pj's all day. We had to make a quick trip to Target to get some diapers, gatorade, and medicine and my poor baby just sat in the cart totally uninterested. She usually is fighting me to get down and walk. 

 

Basically this is what my weekend looked like...

Yesterday I could tell she had really bad gas pains and kept crying and wiggling all around to try to get comfortable. I felt so bad because there was nothing I could for her. I asked her if she wanted to get a hot bath and she just cried even harder so needless to say that didn't happen.

Hopefully today I can get something in her belly. She took two licks of that Popsicle above and was done. She did have 3 or 4 bits of a pancake last night and some gatorade but she has not been too interested in any food of any kind.

Now I am just praying Matt and I don't get this lovely stomach bug she had.