hey baby

Little girl, you sure are growing good in there!

This past Monday marked 28 weeks/7 months, and boy does it feel good to get to this point. Everything I read in my books says that a baby born this early has a very good chance of surviving with medical intervention, so a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm more relaxed and feeling great.

With Sidney, I felt like I got good and fat all over during pregnancy - but with Nugget, I feel like she's all belly! She's a million times more active than Sidney was, and it's so strange to have a baby that actually moves. Like, a lot. Sidney never moved. She hiccuped. But that was about it. Nugget is definitely a mover and a shaker (just like her Daddy was, god help us all).

I passed my 3-hour sugar test, so no gestastional diabetes for me! Since I failed the inital test a few weeks ago, I've been trying to cut out my sodas (my biggest sugar source), and I've definitely upped my water intake. I'm always thirsty, it feels like, and I've always got a bottle of water with me nowadays. I can't get enough of the stuff! I've done good with my weight so far; I lost about fifteen pounds when I first got pregnant, and I've only gained ten of those pounds back so far - I'm still in the clear of not gaining more than 20 pounds total for a gal my size!

This pregnancy has definitely flown by; I feel so unprepared thinking she could make her big debut in just eight weeks. We don't have her crib up, none of her furniture is up actually - with the exception of her swing in the living room. We've bought a few packs of diapers and some onesies. And that's about it! I feel so behind on everything, I know I'm going to get a crazy case of nesting syndrome and try to do it all at once if we don't get started on it soon. It's hard to believe I'm less than 90 days away from meeting my little girl!

a girl who loves puppies

Sidney is definitely my child; she loves animals, dogs in particular. This weekend she got to spend some quality time with Stephanie's pups, Lulu (black and white) and Lily (brown and white). Lily was definitely loving Sidney as much as Sidney was loving her! It's so sweet to see babies, human and animal alike, playing together. There's just something so peaceful and innocent about the whole picture. It helps to remind me we all start out whole and pure, it's up to us to keep that feeling our whole lives.

damaged film

One of my goals this summer (besides having this baby) is to get outside with my trusty old Canon Rebel 35mm and experiment with film photography. I'm also thinking about investing in some Lomography cameras to play with, but we'll see.

Before I buy the camera that is made to manipulate the film, I thought it'd be fun to learn how to "damage" the film myself to create some really amazing shots. I've been browsing around on flickr (god bless flickr) and some of the photos people have been able to create are simply amazing. I think damaged film is my new favorite obsession!

Here are some of my absolute favorites:








It's pretty amazing what some people can do - I've always wanted to learn how to process and develop my own film. Most people probably dream of having their own in-home theater or six-car garage - I just want a darkroom in the basement!

If you'd like to learn how to do more creative things with your film, read up on this fun article here. Hopefully you'll see some creative shots from me this summer, especially seeing as how I'll have an adorable new little face to practice on!

bloglovin

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Are you on Bloglovin? I have been for a while, I've just never done much with it!

But I'm putting an end to my non-participating ways and joining in on the (easy to use and awesome) fun - so come follow me and let me know if you're available on Bloglovin, too!

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

Just yesterday I was reading something about how there's a potential "Cleopatra" remake in the works & so far, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the front-runners to take over the roles Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton made famous. And I thought to myself, "why would they even go there?"

Who could ever try to out-do Elizabeth Taylor?

Who would ever want to? RIP, Elizabeth Taylor - you were the last of your kind.

who is Nugget?

A lot of people have been asking me lately about this little gal's name - I've called her "Nugget" from the moment we found out I was pregnant. When we found out she was a girl, we knew almost immediately what her first name was. Her middle name came not long after that - Justin & I had a little ephinany together in the car one night. Her name is perfect, girly and sweet and a nice nod to some of our dearest family members.

I want to tell everyone her name, just like I did with Sidney - but something holds me back. I want to find the right way to tell the world, a personalized and sweet way. I've got a few ideas to kind of "announce" her name, but I may just hold off until she's here. I'd like to incorporate her name reveal into my maternity shoot in May, but we'll see.

I know it's got to annoy people - I'm sure there are some out there that think it's silly to keep something like a secret. But there are some people out there who feel the opposite, and for whatever reason, that's just how I feel this pregnancy. She'll be here soon enough (I'm 27 weeks already!) and I've managed to keep my mouth shut this long, so I'm just going to keep on keeping on.

[Then again, I may spill the beans tomorrow! Who knows with me!]

eek! so cute!

Organic Teething Wood Toy from Little Alouette

I just bought Nugget this adorable teether & I couldn't be more excited about it - I love Amy's work (almost as much as I love her blog) and I've loved this particular little piece for what feels like two years!

Now, after spending way too much time staring at it on her etsy page, I am finally the proud owner of one. I'll be frantically checking the mail 'til this little sweetheart arrives. I'm already thinking about maybe buying another one so I'll have a pair of "birdie teethers"! They're so stinking cute, who could blame me?

lately

Life's been all about babies and money - you can/can't have one without the other!

not a race fan

It's race weekend once again in Bristol, TN and for thousands of fans that means fast cars, semi-naked young girls and endless cans of beer strewing from the back of motor homes and pick up trucks. No matter how much the Bristol Motor Speedway PR team try to dress it up and class it out, Bristol is still redneck as ever. Fancy redneck, with its big stadium and press boxes and costly advertisement stunts. But still redneck and true to the spirit of a Southern racing fan.

I've never been to the race, never really had much of a desire to. I don't really see the fun in watching a bunch of overpaid drivers race around and around in circles for 400 laps driving over-amped cars that don't resemble a single thing the original NASCAR stood for (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing - those definitely aren't stock cars you see on the track today)!

The one thing I hate most about race weekend is the traffic - I live about 50 miles outside of Bristol thankfully, but that doesn't mean I'm free and clear when it comes to dealing with idiotic out-of-town drivers. Whether they're in a bus, RV, truck or mini-car they somehow manage to hog the road, speed like demons, and drive ONLY in the left lane (you know that lane meant for passing only)! You would think they'd learn a thing or two after coming to Bristol year after year, but no, they're just as dumb as always. If you're from out of state this weekend, you better be driving the limit and following every state law to the "T". Troopers sit and pick them off the roads like fish in a barrel - and yet they don't learn!

Obviously, I have zero tolerance or compassion for these race fan enthusiasts. To me, the race is just boring, over-priced and aggravating. I get plenty of satisfaction spending my weekend doing other fun things: like taking out the trash, clipping my toenails or organizing the socks in my drawer.

Like Dale Jr. once said, "It's Bristol, baby..." Yee-freaking-haw.

kind of lonely

My dear husband is working seven day shifts right now, and to say that I'm starting to "miss" him would be an understatement. He's always busy and always tired because he's so busy - there's so many conflicting emotions bouncing around within me right now, I just feel frustrated and confused.

I'm grateful he has a job. I can remember all too well being in that fog of unemployment and not knowing where things were headed. I so glad he has a steady paycheck and job security right now, it's an all-comforting feeling. I feel guilty for missing him while he works when I know there are plenty of spouses out there missing their loves for big chunks of time, for example deployment or jobs on the road. At least my husband is home every night - sure he's dog dead tired and collapses into bed before it's dark outside most nights. But he's home, and I can see him. I can smell him and hold him and stare at him for hours while he sleeps if I want to. I feel selfish and juvenile for feeling bad in the first place - this is life, this is the real world. We're grown-ups now, and this isn't eleventh grade anymore. This is just how it works, and I've got to get over the school-girl feelings.

But I mostly I feel kind of lonely. I do love my husband and even though people like to question our marriage sometimes (before he was working this shift, people would say we didn't spend any time together and that made us weird), this is my marriage and I treasure it. It just doesn't feel right right now - it's all funked up. And I really don't like it.

there's some sweetness going around

I've watched this movie with SidMo (and sometimes without) for about 15 days straight. Every single day. And I cry every single time.

I think it's safe to say the ever-wonderful "pregnancy hormones" are driving me crazy. (Don't even get me started on what happens when we watch this movie.)

Oh, and I might have gestastional diabetes. I go back Wednesday for more testing, so wish me luck!

back to blogspot

I let my domain expire (oops!) last month, which was a total suprise to me. I always forget to check my gmail account. I mean, hello, I've had the same hotmail account for 10+ years now. Who needs gmail?

And apparently there's this big complicated process, involving at least $89 and hours on the phone with GoDaddy in order for me to get my ".com" status back - and in this economy? It just ain't happening, baby. I'll gladly go back to my ".blogspot" beginnings.

I'm just grateful all my content is still here - I was worried when I switched back, I'd lose everything I had as ".com" blog. But luckily, everything seems to still be here! And I'm here, which is all that matters, right?

Right.

lately

Life's been good lately, what can I say?

regret

I miss this blog and I think I acted too quickly - I jumped the gun as they say. This is my "home", my dear old blog. And any feelings of hate I had towards it just two weeks ago are gone: I miss it and can't stop thinking about it.

I want to buy it a nice facelift (anyone good with html?) and love it and nourish it and just keep on keepin' on. I may keep Toastess just because - but then again I may delete it. No rush on either hand here. Not anymore.

I've got nothing but time.

sick of the poop-talk

Potty training should not be this hard. Period. I know it shouldn't.

I'm feeling really discouraged, frustrated and just plain awful about the whole experience - and I know that's translating into how Sidney feels, too. She's been doing the easy part of potty-ing for a while now (the peeing part), it's just the hard part (the pooping) that we're stuck. She doesn't want to, and she goes for days without pooping because she's being so stubborn. I know it hurts, I've been there - I'm still there sometimes. I can understand, to a degree, the freak-out value of pooping in the potty.

But why is it so hard to get her there - what more can I do? How many days do I let her go without using the potty? Why is this so stinking hard?!

Talking about my kid's pottying habits is probably embarassing (to me and to her) but it's where I'm at. Aggravated and defeated. And sick of talking about sh*t like this.