EDITED*** First Trimester Belly Pics

So I decided to have a little bit of fun with picnik.com as you can see. I thought that it was a little odd that I look much bigger in week 8 and week 10, but then I remembered that the placenta and everything raised around 12 weeks, so I guess that makes since to me? Anyone else? Anyway, on to the blessed 2nd Trimester!

EDIT**** I know it's weird I look so much bigger. All of a sudden I can buttom up my pants that I couldn't before too. Weirdo baby.

PS I really appreciate how picnik apps make me look tan.

Mystery Baby appt #2

Yesterday was my second appointment for Mystery Baby. I really love Dr. Schultz's office because everyone there is really nice. I didn't wait for 3 minutes. So I went in and got weighed. I'm up to 123! That means I'm up 5 pounds, which is more than you're supposed to gain your first trimester. I'm consoling myself by saying I was too skinny before and my MIL told me she gained more the first trimester with her second baby too, but didn't gain more overall. AND I still weight 5 pounds less than I did when I started out with P. And I can still button up my pants.

That was a long explanation about my weight, but let's face it. For most pregnant mothers, the first little while the baby is doesn't feel real. You don't feel any little kicks, you're usually not buying a lot of baby stuff and except for nausea, you don't feel pregnant. You just feel like you're gaining weight.

Anyway, they took my BP and it was good. They didn't tell me how much it was but that doesn't matter anyway because I wouldn't know if it was good or bad. Then I waited another 3 minutes and the nurse came in. She was SO nice. She introduced herself and sat and talked to me for 10 minutes about my little boy, being pregnant, any concerns, and stuff in general. And it wasn't polite talking where they're waiting to leave the second they get a break. It's such a relief from the last place. I never knew who my appointment was with, if they were a nurse, doctor or tech. They were always in and out and nice but curt. They never explained ANYTHING ever which is bad for a first timer. Especially when you're expecting your first ultrasound to rub jelly on your cute little belly and see your baby.

So the heartbeat was 166 which is what it was with P's. Jolene was really happy we could hear it b/c I guess sometimes it's harder at 12 weeks. And that was it. It was a short appointment but I'm good, there really is a baby in there who's alive and well and I'm not just gaining chub :)

Mommy Musings

Why is it that I can pull a crazy awesome James Bond move to save my baby from falling down the stairs, but I hit his head on the car everytime I go to put him in his seat? Anyone?

And
Why do I feel guilty if my baby goes out without his hair done and adorable outfits on, but I go out with mystery goo all over my clothes and am just grateful so long as it's clear?

And

Why does my boy think it's cool to stick his apple slices on the back of the sofa and eat them from there instead of his bowl? Anyone?

Babies are a mystery. But I think sometimes, so are mommies.

How Doctors can be WRONG

www.carleighmckenna.blogspot.com
www.babyfaithhope.blogspot.com

Both these women had the doctors tell them to abort their baby due to anencephaly. Both decided to play no part in the death of their child. Both of them inspired more people in a too short amount of time than I could ever have dreamed of doing myself.
Myah's baby Faith unfortunately just passed away. She lived 93 days. UNHEARD OF. Look at your baby and imagine what you would do to have 93 more days with him.
Holly's baby was born still, but she got to hold her and see her face and touch her. I would give anything to have that blessing and Holly doesn't regret it for a second. In fact, she's an advocate. Check out her blog for her charity events. It's really amazing.
So what I really mean to get at here is, doctors don't always know. God can get you through anything and just LOOK at those amazing blessings. No matter how dark it looks, there's light. A lot of light. A sun full.

Backhanded

A lot of my friends have had babies recently and many, including myself, in the last couple of years. People try to be nice, but sometimes, their "compliments" just don't quite work out:

"You look good...............................for just having a baby."

Why can't we just look good? Or glowing from motherhood? Or healthy? Or just bite your tongue and compliment our beautiful baby.

Buying a House 201

So the first house we looked at we want to buy. I know, we're such shoppers. We did go to a couple of open houses and looked at 6 more with a realtor just to be sure. AND WE ARE. We feel like we're getting a great deal and we know that our Father has blessed us b/c there's no way we could have fallen into this alone.

We're not going through a realtor so the owner showed us the house. It's much nicer than other homes in that price range, PLUS I got him to go about $16,500 down on the price. I told him there was no way I would pay what he wanted and I'd only pay a certain amount. I'm glad I did that b/c D would have offered a little more. And, as much as I hate to admit it, the owner really only talked to D and didn't pay any attention to me until I started talking money. So anyway, reluctantly, he agreed to our price.

We decided to get the house appraised and we just got that back. It came back $10,000 more than what we offered! BUT, we bartered with her and she said that she would appraise the house for an extra $5000. THEN, we talked to our loan guy about borrowing a couple extra thousand dollars to do our bathroom. It's not a lot, but we get a good advantage doing it. See, since we're borrowing the money from the bank, the appraiser will do what's called a ProForma appraisal. Meaning she'll appraise the house at what it will be worth once the bathroom's done. She said that she'll make the appraisal and even extra $5000 on top of that!

So this means our house as appraised $20,000 MORE than what we're paying for it. We'll already have equity. This also means that with the Government's $8000 you get for purchasing this year, we'll have 80% into our home. Which means D and I don't have to put forth any of our own cash. All we have to do is give the extra govt money as downpayment. AND we don't have to pay PMI. AND we get a better interest rate- so lower monthly payments. AND we get an extra bathroom AND a remodeled one.

It seems like we're getting a lot for free! Oh, AND the goverment pays $1500 to you if you make your home more energy efficient. So D and I will put in a new hot water heater and hopefully will have an extra grand or so.

The home owner is having his lawyer draw up our contract which D and I will look over and have looked over. So all that will be left is to sign, do our bank paperwork (we're already approved), put down cash and have home inspected. Uh, not in that order.

PS. Our little guy has taken to lifting up my shirt and poking me yelling BABY! Of course at inopportune times. Like at the grocery store...

P's first ER trip

So I realize I'm a pretty protective mother. So I make a valiant effort to be laid back or else I can't enjoy my son and will spend all our time together worrying. So when this first happened: I thought, "Oh, that looks pretty bad. But he's acting normally with no fever so I'll just keep an eye on it." It's a bad picture but you get the general idea of this weird rash. Anyway, he was sitting in a high chair at a restaurant so I thought maybe they washed it with a harsh chemical and it was bothering him so I washed off his arm and it seemed to go away pretty well.

So we got home and I put my little guy to bed for a nap and when he woke up the rash had spread all over his arms and legs and on his face in full force. I definitely did not like that it spread so fast so I called Dustin and told him we were taking P to the ER. Just in case. P wasn't acting funny and still didn't have a fever, but it didn't sit right with me that these huge welts were wreaking havoc on his perfect skin. So I washed his skin again with a wet wipe and off we went.

You know that little booger was a charming and sweet and smiley and of course the rash went away waiting for the doctor. All of it. Turns out though that the doctor thought that it was HIVES. I've never seen them before so who knew? Better safe than sorry I guess. And NO, I did not change laundry detergent, use a new soap, etc etc. All that I can think of is maybe cleaners from the high chair. It was one of the old ones with plastic backing. I don't use harsh cleaners so it would be new. Anyway, the doctor had a horrible bedside manner with children, but P didn't cry and he got stickers and a stuffed dog (which he mimicked barking until the nurse came in and he switched to it mooing. I think he does it on purpose to get me.) And he ate crackers the whole time. So all is well, they haven't returned, and we all had a little adventure.

Waiting with his book. Pretending to be Afflicted
Trying to wrestle with Daddy (who looks so handsome)

I've hit the double digits!

Yay! So we're 10 weeks into this baby-ness. I'm no longer crazy (phew!) and I'm not as nauseous as I was. I really just have brief moments so I'll either eat or go to sleep and all is well. Mystery Brooks is around the size of your shift key, so every time you capitalize you can think about her (or him).
I'm fast growing. I don't really enjoy that because I feel like I had just lost my Baby P weight even though he's 18 months old. I still look like I'm growing through that "is-she-chunky-or-is-she-prego" stage. Another month or so and I think I can pull off 100% pregnant.
There isn't a whole lot to do at this stage of the game. I can't buy anything because we don't know what gender Mystery Brooks is and I'm not pregant enough to buy myself clothes.
Anyway, we're having our potential home appraised tomorrow. We have not put in our application with the bank yet so we'll have a fair appraisal. Although, the person appraising it is the same person who works with the bank, so they won't be able to go back after we put in our application and say it's worth less. Very sly Brooks family...
Oh, and the man who took our pre-approval application at the bank called us to say that interest rates have really gone done so when we do decide to put in our official app, we'll get the lower rate. Which means we can get more money for lower payments to help fix things up. Really, all that needs done is a new tub downstairs. Plus we want to put in a bathroom upstairs and repaint. Not bad for a new house!
Little man is learning a word a minute and out of no where remembered who Elmo is. Except it comes out Melmo. And I love it. This does not mean, however, that I want Elmo clothes, hats, bedding and pictures in his room. I just love hearing his little voice.
PS I fixed my link from yesterday. I don't know what I did, as usual. But please check out my friends site and if you can donate $5 towards their adoption you could win an iPod.

For a Friend - Edited!

My friends are going through the process of adoption which is EXPENSIVE! Their story is truly amazing so you should check it out.

http://fromthetrenchesofmotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/05/wanna-know-secret.html

Then click on the "Secret".

it's not easy being green

Cheesy, I know. But it's not cheap either. So many people go so far out of their way to be "green". It seems like it's the newest of the Hollywood trends. But rolling my eyes at these trends and celebrities aside, it's good for us to do what we can. So what do you do when you're on a budget?

A few of my friends swear by cloth diapers. People who've never used them say it's such hard work. People who have LOVE it. For mystery baby, I'm definitely planning on using cloth. The Trick is: buy them gradually before you need them. You need about 24. They are expensive if you buy them all at once. But it would also be expensive if you bought all the diapers you would ever need for your little one at once. Even if you went Wal-Mart brand with a coupon, the cost would be staggering. I'm sure there's a stat somewhere out there for that.

Cleaning Supplies: I like to try them. I hate HATE cleaning my bathtub. It's my cleaning BAIN. Over the course of the last several years, I've spent a small fortune on different products. You know what has worked the very best every single time? My .55 cent package of baking soda. No kidding. Baking soda and a steel wool scrubbie. I can clean my bathtub more efficiently 8 times for less than a dollar.

For dusting, I've never seen anything work better than a little bit of lemon juice mixed with olive oil. I really like these methods because my baby takes baths in that tub and I don't want him sitting in water with residue chemicals. You can eat baking soda and lemon juice and olive oil. Plus they won't hurt his skin. Or mine, which seems more sensitive.

I've also stopped buying papertowels and napkins. Instead we bought kitchen towels for a $1. If I bought the cheap papertowels, I'd go through a roll a week. Instead, I have towels 4evr! I'm planning on buying Table Towels which you put on a roll and are washable. They're a tiny bit more money than my kitchen towels, but they're super cute. PS. This was a friend of mine's idea and I jumped on the bandwagon. Thanks Holly!
I also stopped buying disposable kitchen sponges. For cheaper, I bought washable ones with a velour side and a scrubbie side. The velour works great for washing my windows and walls and dusting. The otherside cleans all my counters and dishes easily.

A lot of places now offer Eco-Friendly dish soap and dishwasher detergent, etc etc etc. Most of these are cheaper than the normal products which is how I stumbled across them. I'm pretty dang cheap.

So I've saved money. I don't think it's feasible for most of us to go out and only buy organic or spend a fortune on so called 'green' products. But the little things are really what makes the biggest difference.

Mystery Baby is a BIG Deal

but I didn't think it would be. I mean, D and I are so excited. So when I couldn't button my jeans (ALREADY!) we thought we'd just casually tell our friends and family. Except my dad. I had to tease him a little bit since it was his birthday.
We put P in his Big Brother t-shirt and went to meet my Dad, Grandma and my nieces and nephew for ice cream. My dad didn't notice there. So we went to my dad's house and an hour later my dad walked into the living room where I was talking to my grandma with this funny look on his face. "Uhhh, is there something you want to tell me?" "What's that Daddy?" "Well, there's this song on your blog about some baby, and P is wearing a big brother t-shirt." So I laughed. Then he got all excited. I think I could have told him I just happend to like the song (real reason its up there) and that the shirt was a hand me down and he would have believed me. But you can't mess with my dad too long.
I was really unprepared for how excited my family was! I thought they'd be more like, "Oh cool. Can't wait." But it was more like, "AWESOME, I bet it's a girl, when are you due are you sick what do you need, AWESOME".
And D's family didnt' believe us. So that was funny too. Surprise!
I haven't really had time to think about this baby since I babysit, write for the paper and work for my father in-law. AND I have my own little P. AND D. So it's funny when it comes up a lot when we're out. So at any rate, Mystery Baby #2 is definitely a big deal.

I blame my ranting on being knocked up

Not that I really have too much to complain about. Yesterday my MIL took my SIL and me down to the mall for pedicures and fun. It was awesome! I have pretty purple toes. We also passed by one of those Dead Sea Minerals shiny nail guys. Yes, if you have been to a big mall you've seen them asking if your nails are real. Anyway, my sweet mother in law treated us again, but she got a great deal! I had so much fun with those two!
Today was back to the grind. Don't get me wrong, I have a pretty great "grind". P woke up too early but I remind myself as I'm dragging my butt out of bed that I love cuddle time. Baby came a bit later and I had a rough morning. P is very sweet but is starting the "terrible two's" phase. He's testing his boundaries BIG TIME. He poked baby in the eye and I was so frustrated and so tired of telling him "no" that I smacked his hand and grabbed it. And of course I've never actually hit my child before so I just started sobbing. And I started crying like a mad woman later when he bit me. Yes, my child bit me. I yelled too loud and felt guilty but still put that baby in time out. And called D who was at work and felt really bad he couldn't come home to me.
Then baby, who is normally pretty even-tempered, got really tired and decided to scream himself to sleep. He had just been fed and burped and changed so I knew he was fine, and he'll often cry a little while he tries to sleep. But it was too much for me so I put him in the swing and shut the door. He was out two minutes later, but AUGH!
Now that I'm winding down from my day and my sweet husband is home (which instantly makes me feel better), I'm amazed at how different this pregnancy is. I'm usually pretty calm and laid back and it's so weird to be all cry-y and sensitive. It makes me feel really frail which is not me at all. So INSIDE ME knows what's up. OUTSIDE ME has minor freak outs. I just have to keep reminding BOTH ME's that I'm an awesomely good momma and this baby has my hormones way out of whack.
Let's all give a sympathy "aww" for my good husband.
Oh, and anyone asking about my discipline methods? I never yell. I never hit. I warn him and say "NO" strongly then put him in time-out and keep him there if need be. That's why smacking his hand like I did threw me off. WHOA what a ride. PS P looked at me more like I was playing a game rather than disciplining him. Time Out works waaaaay better.

Why he'll be a good big brother

So this morning I was babysitting and he started to get sleepy. So I put him in his carrier (which he loves). Well, me being EXHAUSTED, P and I cuddled up on the couch and watched Handy Manny so I could rest my eyes. Anyway, baby started to cry so P hopped up off the couch, put a blanket on his lap and started rocking the carrier. Who taught him how to do that? I have such an amazing little guy. By the way, a few minutes later baby was passed out and so was I. Until P tried to shove some Chex mix in my mouth...