Random but True

10/31/10

Last night I took Jake trick-or-treating - the real deal, door-to-door, like my sister and I used to do when we were his age, trick-or-treating. We decided this year to skip the annual Sorority Row event and the Fall Festival at my parent's church, and we went old school, Baby. So!Much!Fun - I seriously can't even put it into words right now (Actually, I'm just waiting to show you pictures of Jake dressed in his red and yellow Fireman costume and tell you all about it it later!)

I'm still getting over a cold that I've had all week (Thank you, Jake.). It's the pits! I have no recollection of a time when I've been so sore from coughing (I think I've even thought about crying over this one at times) and so tired of the smell and look of an 83 year old instead of a 33 year old (meaning the smell of vapor rub on my chest and extra padding in my underwear to catch...well, I don't think I have to go there...you get the idea).

During my ultrasound this past Thursday, Julie noticed that my placenta is low lying (but not over my cervix). Dr. W. said I shouldn't make any major changes in my routine for now, but he'll really be looking out for Parker and I both as we get closer to his due date. His goal for now is to get us through eight more weeks safe and sound, and then take each day from there one at a time.

I'm officially $112 richer today than I was yesterday...thanks to my mom and sister for their amazing help with the yard sale I mentioned earlier last week.

Actually, come to think of it, that money has already been spent. Yeah, I was already forgetting the trip Jim and I made to Birmingham on Thursday and all the things I bought while we were there.

The bumpers for Parker's bedding are officially done! And I swear to you, his crib seriously just went from a seven to a ten! Of course, the velour crib sheet, kicked it up a notch too - the one and only he may ever own since Jim saw the price tag and is still wondering how just one sheet for a tiny infant can cost almost as much as an entire set of sheets to go on our queen-sized bed.

I still have no idea what stores have opened at the new outlet mall in Leeds. Jim and I tried to go on Thursday, but we literally could not even get on to I-20 because of the amount of traffic - unless, of course, we wanted to sit it in for at least an hour (or longer).

I've been writing this blog post off and on all day as thoughts come to mind.  At nearly 10, the only thought on my mind is getting some sleep, so I think that's it for this one!

Goodnight!

Parker...

10/29/10

has his photos taken in 4D yesterday...

has his head under my right rib cage and his hiney above my left leg...

weighs 2 pounds and 3 ounces...

is in the 30th percentile for his gestational age...

isn't quite the twin of his big brother, Jake, in more ways than one - He not only looks somewhat different than Jake but definitely shares some of his features (at this point anyway - and we actually have a pretty close age comparison since a few of Jake's 4D ultrasound photos were taken at 30 weeks), but he is waaaay more lively than Jake and is "much more difficult to scan" (per the best ultrasound tech in the world, Julie, who did almost every one of Jake's scans and has done two of Parker's)...

is getting the bumpers made for his crib today (Yes, I'm still working on his nursery.  I know, I know, I'm super slow.  These things just take time, you know?!)...

is very waited upon, and we can't wait to meet him skin-to-skin, hug-to-hug, and kiss-to-kiss really, really soon!

Pumpkin Carving

10/24/10


was the perfect thing for us to do on a Saturday afternoon!

This week has been full of _____________...

10/22/10

doctor's appointments (but not for me...for Jim). His usual neck pain has become "not so usual" over the last few weeks. In fact, his left index finger and part of his middle finger are completely numb from whatever is causing pain to shoot straight down his arm. He's been referred to a neurosurgeon in Birmingham, and she's decided it's one of four things (which only an updated MRI will tell that he'll have hopefully by the first of next week): a muscle spasm, a bone spur, a ruptured disc, or a combination of those three.  Yikes!

good TV. On Jerseylicious, Tracey lost part of her hair extensions in a cat fight with Olivia, Michael and Kevin are still in it to win it on The Amazing Race, on Survivor it was a double elimination night, and Florence danced her last dance on Dancing With the Stars.

irritable moments. I truly have no idea what got hold of me at the beginning of the week, but each and every day, I just wanted to stay in bed. I honestly would have given almost anything to just remain tired and crabby all by my lonesome. But instead, I got myself up, dressed and ready and chanted over and over in my mind "This too shall pass" as I listened to my backseat driver tell me I was going too fast (or too slow), ask me why I wasn't going because the light had been green for point five seconds, and yelling at me to sloooow doooown because the light was yellow (even though I was already under it and had no other choice but to punch the gas).  Thankfully it did pass, and by yesterday, I was reunited with my normal persona.

projects, projects, projects.  First of all, I'm making a huge (and I mean, huge) pile in our spare bedroom of stuff to put in a yard sale that my mom and sister are doing with my Aunt Mary back home next weekend.  I'm literally cleaning out every closet, cabinet, and drawer I can open to see what I can part with.  I'm also putting the finishing touches on the wreath I've been working on off and on for weeks (and I mean weeks because it's made of tied ribbons...can we say very.long.process?) that will hang on my hospital room door announcing Parker's birth.  And last but not least, I found an awesome idea today thanks to Kelly's blog for some super cute canvases that I want to try painting for Parker's room.

good food.  Pizza...not just once, but twice (a craving I'm definitely paying for on the scales - which I'm not at all excited about standing on next Thursday), Jack's for breakfast (just once, though, I promise), and Mexican for lunch today with some of the best girls I've ever worked with.

indecision - about Parker's room. I wake up at 3:30 in the morning, munch on a granola bar and drink what feels like another gallon of water (but really it's only a twenty ounce bottle) and wonder if I've chosen the right artwork, or whether or not I really need that toy chest to match his baskets, or if the rocking giraffe will really be practical (or safe) in the long run (because it serioualy could be an accident waiting to happen with two little boys playing on it). Jim has rearranged the furniture once since Wednesday (my mom sighed when I told her - she knows this is nothing new for me), and I'm sure he's pretty much terrified of what I might ask him to do over the weekend.

"ready for the weekend" moments. And I'm so glad it's here!

And Here's One of the Reasons Why

10/19/10

(He makes me smile, that is).

This past Saturday, I took him shopping with me.

I decided it was high time I added a few articles of clothing to my wardrobe to get me through the next few months (but in a thrifty kind of way...because after all...it's just for a few months), so we trekked to at least four different stores before I found exactly what I was looking for (in more ways than one...meaning jeans and a half off sale).

I grabbed several pairs to try on, and we made our way to the dressing room. Once inside, I got undressed from the waist down, and here's the conversation that took place...

Jake: "Mommy! Your tummy's gettin' big!"

Me: You're right! Parker is really growing, isn't he?

Jake: "He is, Mommy! (while nodding his head in agreement). Mommy, I just love Parker! I really do!"

Me: Awww...what a sweet big brother you are, Jake!

And then...then...he did it...he kissed my belly in the sweetest way you could ever imagine!

And I nearly picked myself up off of the dressing room floor from being melted into a puddle of moosh  (I also told the dressing room attendant that, "Yes, everything is fine.")...

and, of course,...

I smiled.

And I still do every time I think about it.

Smile

10/14/10

He

makes

me


Smile!

Some Things Never Change

10/13/10

And one of those things is Jake's passion and love for some Alabama Football.

Nope!

He isn't affected by this past Saturday's loss.

35?

21?

Yeah, those are just numbers that he can't count to yet.

And 7 and 8?

He's still capable of getting those backwards at times, so those don't mean squat either.

Oh definitely! 

He's still bleeding crimson...and white (He's also still quoting the 23rd Psalm more times than I can count on one hand every.single.afternoon.). 

He still asks every day if it's "Jersey Day" (which is what he calls Game Day).

And Parker will now make his entrance into the world "after Santa Claus brings him his helmet" (meaning an Alabama football helmet that he spotted from outside the store at Hibbett's in the mall - Dude has got some majorly good eyesight, let me tell you).

Yep!  Some things just never change!

"They are winners, Mommy!"

Absolutely...they sure are, Buddy! 

Once a champion, always a champion!


Which is exactly what you are...to me!