Cankle's, Hands, what's next??!?

This might be TMI but I just had to share.  I got out of the bath tub a minute ago and walked into the living room when RJ starting yelling, "OH MY GOSH" and pointing and LAUGHING at my right ankle!  Not funny Urge.  It's really swollen as you can tell.  It's been swollen for a little over a month now.  Dr. Irwin said the Baby Girl is sitting on a vein on my right side that is limiting circulation to my right leg.  He's not alarmed (like I was!!).  The left leg isn't swollen, my hands aren't swollen, just my stupid right leg thanks to the way she has positioned herself.  Ugh.  I can't wait to get my old self back and get rid of this cankle! 

On another note, I'm about to cut both my arms off (especially my left!). I can't take it anymore! I have this "numbness" in my hands.  It feels like my hand is in a bucket of ice cold water all the freakin' time!!  I'm really serious, 24-7.  I'm having a hard time holding on to things because I can't feel the grasp. Of course I called the Dr immediately (by the way-- I definitely win the "Most Frantic Calls Made To The Dr During Your 1st Pregnancy Award") and the nurse said it's absolutely normal this late in the game but of course I brought it up to Dr. Irwin also.  He said it was carpal tunnel and recommended a brace.  That lasted until 3a.m. the first night and I threw it off.  It wasn't doing anything but being annoying.  It's definitely the worst at night.  I can't sleep at all.  I'm waking up about 6 or 7 times a night because my hands are tingling. It's stupid.  There's nothing really I can do either.  Has anyone else had this?? I'm desperate here!!! HELP! Between my stupid left hand hurting and my even stupider (yes, that is going to be a word today--I'm tired, remember?!) right cankle swelling-- I'm so ready for my old body back.  Where are you old body? I miss you. This new one is falling apart at the seams!

Ultrasound Pictures & Dr. Update

Here are some pictures from our ultrasound today.  They aren't the best, RJ and I were kind of disappointed but I thought I would post at least one or two.  I guess we will just have to wait another couple of weeks to see her ourselves.

Side profile of Baby Girl.  You can see her nose and lips.

This picture is of her forearm.  She's making a fist-- I don't think she liked the technician waking her up at 7:30 this morning (she must take after me!! Oops!)

Just a quick update on Baby Girl Moses. She weighs 5 pounds 4 ounces right now.  She's a little under weight for 36 weeks 3 days but Dr. Irwin said it was fine.  All her measurements are proportional and he said I wasn't the biggest person on the block so he wasn't worried... ha ha.. He is gestimating she will weigh about 6 1/2 pounds at delivery. He didn't check to see if I was dilated yet (I wasn't last week) but she has already "dropped" and I'm a little over 50% effaced.  Looks like we are on schedule for the week of January 22nd.

Happy 30th Birthday RJ!!!

RJ has officially joined the 30's club as of today! I can't believe he (and I do say he not WE) is that old.  I remember in high school thinking thirty was ancient... lol.  Just kidding. No honestly, I don't think it's any big deal I just like to give him a hard time.  I don't think I will be sad when I leave my twenties in 2 years.  I mean, I'm having a kid for gosh sakes! I'm feeling old right now.  Anyway, here are some pictures from RJ's birthday party this past Saturday.  It was so great seeing everyone again.  We all meet for dinner at Guadalajara downtown and then went to Pete's Piano Bar.  My how times have changed! Most of us stayed out until 1:00 in the morning-- we couldn't believe we were still up at this time!! As I'm writing this right now (Sunday morning to be posted tomorrow morning) I'm dragging! SOOOO TIRED. This DD can't hang. I can't help but to smile at the different stages of life everyone is at and how we were still able to get together and celebrate-- a rare treat for some of us... I mean, Marcel and Laura have QUADS!?!, Lane and Jonathan are on baby #2, Lizzy and Brian are newlyweds,  JP and his girlfriend are still in the "giddy can't get enough of you" part of the relationship, Donnie and David are still having fun being single, and then there's the Urge and I.  We are all spread so thin and don't get to see each other much anymore so it was a treat catching up. 

I will say I felt like everyone last night was wondering why the 2 preggo girls were at the bar.... ha ha... (yes Leah-- Lane and I were barefoot and pregnant like white trash in the bar... JK! We weren't, I promise!) I will say I'm still in shock over how many people wanted to feel my big belly last night--- random strangers! I felt like the freaky entertainment for the night.  RJ had a great time though and again thank you all for coming out-- I know it meant the world to him! 

P.S. I want to give a "Shout Out" to all my faithful blog followers... that's you Laura and Lane! At dinner my blog got brought up because I was telling JP about it.  Well, of course we pulled it up and couldn't figure out the title to one of my posts (didn't show up on the iphone).... too funny, Trivia Queen Laura spit out the title and what I had written about on that day in record time! Her and Lane said they check it everyday--- thanks girls! I thought I was just writing to cyberspace.  You crack me up! :)

Merry Late Christmas From The Moses'

Merry Christmas! I meant to post this Christmas day but forgot with all the excitment.  I've attached some pictures of our old Christmas Card's just for fun :)

Christmas '09

Christmas '08

Christmas '07

Christmas '06

Christmas '05

Dr. Appointment Update

RJ and I went to see Dr. Irwin today for our 36 week check up and found out some interesting information about our little (or shall I say BIG) girl.  I'm actually not going to be 36 weeks until this Saturday but when the Dr. measured my tummy Baby Girl Moses was measuring 38 weeks! That's 2 1/2 weeks bigger than normal.  What?!?! I also asked Dr. Irwin how much she weighed right now and he said about 6 1/2 pounds.  What?!?! Are you kidding me? No wonder I feel like she is about to fall out! He recommended an ultrasound which we scheduled for Monday (RJ's 30th b-day) to get a better estimate on her size.  We haven't had an ultrasound since week 17 so I'm super excited to see her!!  We will know more on the 28th but right now the Dr. is concerned that the Baby Girl will be too large for me to deliver naturally.  I know what your are thinking-- why doesn't he induce me earlier? Well, he's really old fashion and doesn't like to induce.  Plus, he said if she's a big baby like he thinks she is, then I will be laboring for hours and getting nowhere only to end up with a C-Section. From the beginning he has wanted to deliver her naturally so I don't feel like he's money hungry or anything like that.  I really respect him as a Dr.  I guess we will just have to wait and see on the 28th.  I will tell everyone that RJ weighed 10 1/2 pounds when he was born!!! Seriously?? What was Joan on?? j/k... I only weighed 7 pounds.  I hope this baby isn't taking after RJ's side... I'm going to hurt him! :)

Buh Hum Bug!!

Okay, so my hormones MUST be raging.  I just have to tell everyone about my experience today.  Elizabeth (my sister-in-law) and I went to Best Buy to get a present for my mother-in-law. Well, we had one of those awkard moments in the parking lot where we and another car were waiting for the same parking spot.  The other car of course zipped into the spot and took it.  That's fine we thought. It's Christmas, we will just find another spot-- no big deal UNTIL we drove by the car and saw the spot that they parked in.  A big sign read RESERVED FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS ONLY. We then proceeded to see a car full of people pile out of this itty bitty black Scorn.  THERE WAS NO ONE PREGNANT IN THAT CAR! Oh no they didn't!!!!!! I immediately told Lizzy to stop and roll down her window (what comes next out of my mouth I am not ashamed of although I might have embarrassed my sister-in-law!!).  I said to the driver, "Excuse me... are you expecting a baby?? (I knew they weren't because I saw them pile out).... are you 9 months pregnant with swollen ankles and can barely walk?? Because I AM and that's rude to park there if you aren't!" He said in his accent (I'm trying really hard not to be racist right now!), "yes, she's expecting" and pointed to what must have been his teenage daughter who was skinner than a rail.  LIAR.  I was livid.  So rude. We just drove off and parked at the back of the parking lot.

This happened hours ago and I'm still pissed.  Yes, I'm getting over it, but really, really?? People please don't lie and park in an expecting mother parking.  There probably is some poor fat cow pregnant women with swollen ankles that needs that spot instead of your lazy butt.  Okay... thanks for letting me vent.

Did the ticker say only 33 days???

Holy Cow! Did the little baby "Lilypie" ticker really saw only 33 days left???? She could come early too so that means it could be sooner.  If you don't know what I'm talking about look up (top of this blog page).  The baby is almost to the nest! 35 weeks and 3 days! Oh my gosh.... I hope RJ and I are ready!  Can I please start freaking out yet?!?!?

Hungry?!?!

I thought I would share some of my "new loves" these pregnant days... FOOD! Here are a couple of food choices that I prefer and a couple of things I don't think I can ever eat again.

WARNING: If you are pregnant you might want to "skip" this post.  Not responsible for the outcome after you read it or the sudden urge to jump in your car and dive into a double cheese baconator or BBQ sandwich and potato salad!

I love pickles, pickles, pickles (can't get enough of them!!!), Chick-Fil-A (always loved this place but especially love it pregnant), fruit (any and all!!), french fries, Baconator at Wendy's (ha ha), Blue Bell No Sugar Added Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and caramel sauce, and of course dipping sauces (weird I know, but I love to dip my fries in Ketchup and/or mustard). Last week I couldn't get enough BBQ. Funny how certain cravings just take over and I can't get them out of my head until I finally give in.

Here are a list of foods I don't like anymore and probably won't be able to eat for a LONG long time because it brings back bad memories. Here are a few... lettuce (you don't want to know!), salad dressing, baby back ribs and milk.

In case you are wondering what will be my first meal post pregnancy it will be SUSHI and a huge Dr. Pepper (if allowed). I've waited almost 9 long months for both and I know I deserve it :)

Days of Our Lives Hope Brady

I came across this picture just now and forgot that I was going to post it back in November.  Sorry! The days just seem to get away from me.  Anyway, as you can see, Kristian Alfonso aka Hope Brady was at the Nutcracker Market here in Houston selling her jewelry line.  My mom, sister and I got some of her pieces.  They are actually really really pretty.  You will see after Christmas when Santa brings me mine :)

In case you are wondering, she is just as beautiful in real life as she is on Days of Our Lives and really down to Earth and sweet. Too bad her eyes are closed in this picture!

Christmas Cookies

Last Thursday Lane and I decided we wanted to bake cookies for all our friends and then surprise deliver them (I was craving cookies!!).  Well, let's just say the thought was there :) We went and bought all of the ingredients, icing, sprinkles, cookie cutters, gift boxes...etc.  We met Jenn and Katelyn over at Lane's house around 10 and baked sugar and gingerbread cookies until almost 5.  We made sooooooooo many cookies and took our sweet time decorating each and everyone perfectly. They all looked really cute. 

Lane's mother-in-law is the "Martha Stewart Sugar Cookie Icing Queen" and told Lane we need to put them in the oven (not turned on-- just storing purposes) for 24 hours to let the icing set. Welllllllllll, let's just say that might not have been the best idea on our part.  The next day I got this text from Lane concerning our cookie adventure.  LOL. Jonathan had come home and turned the oven on and burned all the cookies to a crisp!! So sorry girls... we really had good intentions, we promise!

p.s. I'm still trying to recover from how tired I felt after we baked all of those dozen cookies- I was pooped!

34 Weeks and Hicups

Sorry I'm been a little slow posting the last couple of weeks.  My days have suddenly gotten a lot shorter thanks to the baby :)  I'm pretty much done for the day around 2 (just like the 1st trimester).  I don't know how to explain it, I feel like I am running around in circles and not accomplishing anything.  I'm exhausted all the time... LOL 

Now on to the little one.... she weighs 5 pounds right now and is about 18 inches long!!!! Can you believe that? She weighs as much a bag of sugar.  It blows my mind that I have a 5 pound baby that is about to drop out of me.  This last week I felt her "drop".  She's getting really low and pretty much taken over my bladder.  It feels like I go the bathroom about every 30 minutes.  When I went to the doctor last week he said she's already in the correct position (head down). Yeah!

Many of you have asked how I am sleeping these days. I have been sleeping pretty well up until this week. I've gotten used to sleeping on my side which was a challenge since I was a tummy sleeper before :)  This week has been a little bit different.  I am having back pain and have been waking RJ up to rub my back (he loves me right now, won't you??... ha ha).  This week especially (between bathroom breaks) I have been worrying about all the things on my "to do list".  Is this normal?? The nursery isn't finished completely and it seems like there is so much on the "list" that I can't get it all done especially with Christmas holidays coming up and us going out to the Moses' for a couple of days. I'm afraid I am going to be completely exhausted and stressed before she even gets here!!! RJ just doesn't understand.  People keep telling me that this is the time to relax and enjoy time with my family and RJ before she gets here but I can't do that because I still have too much to do.  I'm just hoping she waits until her due date to get here (I'm going to need all that time to get ready... ha ha).  So many of my friends have delivered around 36-37 weeks.  Hopefully that won't be us because that's only 2 weeks away, RJ's Big 30th birthday party and CHRISTMAS... yikes!

On a happy note, she is kicking and moving around like crazy.  My stomach feels like a popcorn machine :)  I think she's trying to turn around but obviously there is not enough room to do that anymore.  As Lane would say, "Her hotel stay at Mama's House of Love" is coming to an end and she's about to be evited soon... LOL"  In the meantime, I'm going to soak in the little moments while they are here.  She has had the hicups lately and it's too cute.  This is what I want to remember about my pregnancy :)

Now Booking for Holiday Parties! :)

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

County Jail

What a day! No, neither RJ nor myself were arrested today but we did spend the day at the county courthouse. You see, RJ had some business downtown  and I decided to tag along. What an eye opening experience. I saw people of all kinds. For some reason, I kept "beeping" as I went through the security check point. I got patted down twice and still don't know why I kept setting it off. I couldn't take off my rings because my fingers were swollen but the lady didn't think it was that.  

Now on to the interesting part. So I decided to sit for a while and take a load off when all of the studden 3 armed guards and a really mean looking tatooed guy in an orange jump suit (big black letters that read COUNTY JAIL on his back) and handcuffs passed within one foot of me. I about jumped out of my skin!!! I was talking to Ashley Rhodes on the phone at the time. I was scared to death and there was no place for me to hide. When he finally passed, I called RJ to come sit with me and told him about the "colorful" person I had just saw. Just about that time, 5 new Harris County orange jumpsuit prison mates walked in chained together and surrounded by guards started walking towards us. It was straight out of a scene of Shaw Shank Redemption!! I ran! Literally!! I left RJ in the dust.. Lol (sorry RJ- but every woman/man for themself!!) the good news about all of this is none of the inmates were murderers or anything (or so says the security guards). We
were in the family court building and all the inmates were there for not paying child support.

As usual and right on the dot, the baby girl and I got hungry at 11 so RJ and I walked down to this mall downtown (I didn't even know there was an indoor mall downtown called The Park) and ate Chick-Fil-A. So yummy!! On our 10 block hike back to the courthouse we noticed all these police cars SURROUNDING my car!! It was such a crazy day full of 1st!! We still don't know what was going on but there was a guy being arrested and put in the backseat of a police car.

As we speak, I'm sitting here at the courthouse just waiting for the next crazy thing to happen. What a wild day!

Sent from my iPhone

Thanksgiving 2009

10 Things I Am Thankful For:

(in no particular order)

1. I am thankful that God died for our sins.
2. I am thankful we will be blessed soon with a precious baby girl.
3. I am thankful I have a wonderful and supportive husband.
4. I am thankful I have an unconditional and loving family.
5. I am thankful for my thoughtful friends.
6. I am thankful I have a cuddling Addy.
7. I am thankful for my health and my family and friends' health.
8. I am thankful that God has blessed me with the life I have and that I will be able to stay home with our kids.
9. I am thankful I don't have to go hungry at night.
10.  I am thankful that I don't have to worry about where I am going to sleep or how I'm going to stay warm.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with their families and can take the time and remember what they are thankful for. Happy Turkey Day :)

Future Dad-to-be

As you all know, RJ doesn't read my blog (EVER!).  Why? He thinks its dumb and I agree sometimes.  Hopefully someone out there enjoys it :) Anyway, I just wanted to write a short little post about RJ.  A couple of nights ago I asked him to lock up and put Addy in her bed for the night.  He did and for some reason I came back into the kitchen after he had done this.  Addy has been sleeping in the laundry room lately because she was walking the bed at night and keeping us up.  Anyway (he would be embarrassed if he knew I was telling everyone this on my blog but since he doesn't read it I guess I will go ahead)....

Like I was saying, it was so cute I just had to tell everyone.  I went into the kitchen and happened to look over at Addison.  RJ had tucked Addy into her bed.  It was adorable!  He had put her little blanket on her and tucked in all the sides and her head was resting on the pillow.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of it. It just made me realize how wonderful of a father RJ is going to be.  He is so caring and has been so intuitive during our pregnancy.  He has made all but one doctor's appointment and he didn't go to that one so that my mom could go with me.  He also reads our pregnancy book every week to know what's going on.  I've heard this only happens during the 1st pregnancy but I am so proud of him for putting out the effort!  He's really had to put up with a lot from me.  He's so cute, when he comes home at night he loves to look at my belly.  He's fascinated with it and swears that he can tell when I grow a little each day.  I can feel how excited he is about the baby and it makes me so happy and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful and loving husband. Thank you God for RJ:)

Fun Baby Times!

Last weekend my closest girlfriends threw me a baby shower and it was SO MUCH FUN! We painted cute little onesies, ate some amazing food, and got to sit around and visit with long time friends. It was one of the best baby showers I have ever been to (I think I'm partial!). THANK YOU SO MUCH GIRLS! They made sure every little detail was perfect for me-- from the delicious Ohh La La cupcakes to the melt in your mouth chocolate bon bons everything was perfect. I can't begin to express how blessed I feel!!!! We took pictures but of course I forgot my camera so hopefully one of the girls will email me some pictures from the shower. In the meantime I'm going to post some "older" pictures I have of some of my bestest friends that were there!

I'll Be Nutcrackin' It!!!

It's that time of year again-- NUTCRACKER MARKET! I'm super excited if you can't tell :)  RJ laughs at me because I have been looking forward to it for months (literally)! Anyway, that's where I am today.  If you are headed there too, give me a ring :) Happy Shopping!!!!

Happy Birthday (Soon-To-Be) Uncle Will!!

We love you!!!

THANKFUL!

I'm feeling very blessed today and wanted to write something "positive"! :) The baby girl is kicking up a storm and I love it (it let's me know she's okay in there)!  I am also thankful for our many troops that are fighting everyday away from their families for our safety and freedom.  God has blessed me with a loving husband, wonderful family, and the sweetest friends a girl could ask for.  Thanks for letting me vent yesterday. Life is good!

Oh Baby Baby!!

I'm going to go ahead and apologize now to everyone who reads today's blog and also to those lucky people that I will run into in the next couple of weeks......

Lately I have had many eventful experiences. One is I can't catch my breathe. When you are around me, you will know what I'm talking about it! It's like I'm going to kill over at any minute! The baby is sitting so high that she is pushing all my organs up and pretty soon I won't have any room in my body for my lungs. The worst part is I have another 10 weeks of growing before her due date (YES, only 10 weeks until she's here-- I'm freaking out!!). I will hang in there though because I want her to be healthy and go full term but "lordy lordy honey child momma has to breathe!"

While I'm "venting" alittle (sorry-- I've been trying to be good) I want to mention that I feel (and look) like a big fat huge mama duck these days... LOL. I waddle around the house, I waddle around the mall and I waddle around the grocery store, I waddle waddle waddle. I feel like I have a target on my belly (or butt) because people just stare at me. I know what they are thinking-- it's all over their faces. Everyone is the same, "Poor girl, she looks so uncomfortable."

I just don't know how she is going to grow anymore in my belly. I mean, I am stretched to the max!! My stomach feels so tight and RJ swears that I am going to tip over at any minute... The crazy thing is my appetite has increased. The problem with that is I don't have anywhere to store any food because she's taken up all the room.

RJ came home from work last week and proceeded to tell me what "he thought" was the funniest story ever. He said his dad had eaten lunch with Brian (Lizzy's husband) and Brian had told Bob that he couldn't believe how BIG I had gotten! Bob responded with "I know!" RJ thought it was hiliarous!! Just hiliarous!!! He couldn't stop laughing..... let's just say I didn't find it as funny as RJ. Once RJ finally caught on to what was happening he quickly back tracked and said they thought it was all in my belly. Good one Urge!

Another funny site is me trying to get up off the ground or out of bed. Hiliarious! I don't have any tummy muscles anymore so I have to have help getting up. I've learned rolling over on my side to get out of bed works best. You never know how much of a chore this could be until you have to go to the bathroom about 3 or 4 times a night. This past weekend I sat down on the kitchen floor of my parents' house to get something down low and flashed my mom as I was trying to get up! I had rolled over on all fours like a dog to try and brace myself and help myself up. I thought I was doing a pretty good job until my mom starts screaming and said she was scared for life-- thanks Mom!

Have I mentioned I have one foot (good 'ole right ankle) that is still swollen? It's great. Makes it really fun to walk these days or try and wear shoes. Nothing else is swollen. The doctor said it's because my veins are weaker for some reason in that foot but it's nothing to worry about.

Speaking of worrying that brings me to the "best of the worst"-- my wonderful anxiety attacks!
Now that's been fun! This past week I worked myself up so well, that I had to go for an emergency doctor's appointment because I thought I was having a heart attack. The anxiety attacks started last weekend after our Childbirth Class (go figure!). I watched enough videos on natural childbirth, episiodomies, cathedars, C-sections, stitches where stiches should never be!, IV's, and Epidurals to throw me into overload! That night is when the first one started. Then the worrying hit of not having the nursery finished in time. This whole time my blood pressure had evaluated and my pulse rate was very rapid. Then came the delivery of her crib. What a disaster-- this was the final straw. I had only been waiting on it for over 5 months when it finally got here and was the wrong color! I had to send it back after I had paid $150 to get it here. I lost it! LOST IT! RJ couldn't calm me down and we were stressed for time anyway because we were supposed to be on the road already headed to Coleman for my grandmother's bday/family reunion. What a great end to a crappy week. Friday morning resulted in an unexpected visit to Dr. Irwin's office before we could leave for Coleman. He said everyone was fine but it took me a while to settle down and stop crying. Then we got in the car for 6 hours and headed West. Poor Addy got into some candy or chocolate while we were in Coleman and was up all night both nights with tummy problems. It was like having a child sick without it being an actual child. RJ and I didn't get any sleep. We finally got home last night late after driving 8 hours through one of the worst rainstorms ever (the WHOLE 8 hours!), stand still traffic in Austin and then again on I-10, and a sick puppy with severe tummy problems. Needless to say, RJ and I are exhausted.

Everyone has crappy weeks now and then-- it's normal and human. Not everyone blogs about it like my dumb butt, but hey... whatever makes you feel better, right?? And I do feel alot better already! This week is going to be better I just know it!! I'm trying the positive thinking route... hope it works!

My Sweet Baby!

Addison loves laying on coats!

Sweet little Addy when she was a baby. I think she was about 6 weeks old in this picture.

I waited almost a YEAR to get Addy. I wanted a dog soooo bad! RJ wouldn't let me get her until we had bought a house.

Above are some pictures of my "other" sweet baby girl! :) Little Addy! She will be 4 years old on January 29th. Isn't she cute?? She is one of the sweetest and most loving dogs I know. In this picture she had curled up on the chair in my mink and I couldn't resist snapping a picture! (and yes-- her hair was in a ponytail!). I know I'm ridiculous! :)

Ashley Moses Designs

bracelets

one of my favorites--- my ball necklace

brown topaz earrings (the 1st pair I ever made)

bracelets

So I've decided to blog about something other than the baby and RJ for once!! Yeah! I'm sure some of you are tired of hearing about them :) I was looking through some old pictures on my computer and came across these pictures. I don't know where my other jewelry pictures are but when I find them I will post them also. I've made a TON of stuff and usually wear most of it also! I planned on selling stuff but I can't seem to part with any of it yet.

You might be wondering how my hobby started... Well it went down like this... Before we found out about the baby back in April, I went out looking for a really cute necklace to go with this really cute jacket I had just bought. Of course, I couldn't find anything I liked so I decided that I should just make what I really wanted. Was I crazy?? I went to Dallas to the World Trade Center that next weekend and bought some 14 carat gold filled wire and started it up! I really enjoy it. The problem is as soon as I "got into it" the morning sickness kicked in (ugh!) Now that I feel better I'm hoping to start it up again-- I just want to get the nursery and some other major baby projects out of the way first.

Our little family!