My Desk Guide 43/61

I am working on my desk guide today; I realized I have only a little over a month of work time left. I will have a replacement for the time I will be on maternity leave, so everything has to be wrote down & simplified. Not very much fun, but it reminds me that I am even closer to meeting my little boy & I will have a little bit more piece of mind leaving my desk to a stranger who doesn’t know my job at all & will only be here for 6-8 weeks. I think being gone will help the people I take care of appreciate me more – not that they don’t now, but I hope I will be missed.

Monsters vs. Aliens 44/61

The weather was beautiful after the dreary day Saturday and all night storms. The skies were beautiful, it wasn’t too hot & there was a great breeze. After Steven wrapped up a few things at work, we went to lunch, stopped by a pet store to check out their new animals. I wanted to go to the zoo, so this was our compromise. They had a new monkey I wanted to see, the 2 lb thing was so cute & busy. Then we headed to a movie – Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, it is a Disney animation & very good. The 3D effects were good & the movie was funny for all ages. It was a very nice day!

New Toy 45/61

I went out with Steven today & got him a new gun. He is like a kid in a candy store – always appreciative too.

Saying Goodbye 46/61

Today is the last day for me to wear my well known flip flops to work. We are being made to convert to steel toe safety shoes. Most of us are not too thrilled about it, but it is a small sacrifice to make to keep our job & us safe. So today I bid my flip flops farewell (until weekends at least).

I'm Thankful 47/61

Do you ever sit back & take 10 minutes to be thankful & remember how lucky you really are? I am not a negative person by any means & usually look for the good in a situation & try to never forget that I am blessed for many, many things in life. With the hustle & bustle of life sometimes I think we all forget to truly be thankful for the things we usually don’t give two thoughts about.

I am thankful that I was born in America, even though we are going through a rough patch & I may not agree with everything going on, at least I have the option to disagree & our country is still a float My life has been & still is full of many opportunities to achieve & become the best person I can, though I may not always take advantage of them all. I am blessed to have loving parents & a supporting family; even though my childhood wasn’t perfect I was always taken good care of, steered in the right direction and loved. I have had major heartaches and experienced let downs throughout life but I have learnt something from each of them. I am thankful I have a job, even though it may not be my dream job, I still have it & it helps me put food on the table, keep a roof over my head and even enjoy a few pleasures in life. I have a wonderful husband, who thinks of me as a dear friend, an equal partner and an adored lover. We had a long struggle getting pregnant that was full of fixable complications, it didn’t last longer than a lifetime & we were blessed with a very healthy pregnancy and baby thus far. And of course I am thankful for the most common things we often never thinks twice able – I am healthy, able to run, walk & hop, able to see, hear, smell, feel, I am emotionally stable and happy!

Breaking Out 48/61

My little boy feels like he is trying to escape, or that he doesn’t like being so cramped. I am pretty sure he is either sitting facing my right side or facing my back, so as he pushes & kicks the front of my belly feels like he is going to burst out any minute now. He still has a little more time that he needs to stay put & I haven’t broken the news to him yet that within those weeks of staying put he will get a lot more cramped. I’m not really looking forward to it.

We Forget He Can Hear 49/61

I thought to stop this weekend & pick up a few new dogs toys for the rats, one which was a squeaky toy, which they LOVE. I didn’t give the toys to them until yesterday evening though. Steven thought it would be fun to play around with the toys a little before we actually surrendered them for shredding. He realized that the dogs were trying very hard to find the squeak they heard & didn’t see, as he kept the squeaking toy hid on the counter. So as I approached him, with my back facing the now very intrigued dogs Steven placed the toy on top my belly to use my body as a new hiding spot. With only a squeak or two we were quickly reminded that our little one has ears too, & I don’t think he was as willing to play our little hide & seek game. Steven decided to surrender the toy to the dogs & enjoyed feeling the baby, who was now wide awake, move & kick. Yea, more fun for Steven!

A Hit! In a World of More Misses 50/61

I, I’m sure like anyone else who has ever been through a third trimester or pregnancy, am having trouble comfortable to get some sleep. I have tried more pillows to assist my comfort, sleeping on a folded up thick mink blanket, I even tried stacking the couch pillows to make a little more comfy & cushiony bed. Hauling in the couch cushions last night, trying to stay a quiet as possible as Steven was already sound asleep, I start stacking them, to look over & see Steven staring at me – to make sure he wasn’t dreaming he said. Now chuckling, I climb on top of this long mountain I have made & tried to get comfy. It worked for about 20 minutes, and then I was back at square one. I knew that I usually had no trouble sleeping on the couch when I nap there, so I figured why would nighttime be any different? Though I really didn’t want to sleep by myself on the couch, despite the knowing it is more comfy, not having to listen to my dear husband snore, not having to lay there jealous that he was fast asleep and not have to deal with him sleeping in the middle of the bed, I grabbed a few blankets and my pillows & headed out there. After being able to get to sleep in what seemed like record timing, I was able to stay asleep a longer & sleep better, all with exceptions of getting up to use the bathroom multiple times, getting sore & needing a huge production every time I needed to flip over. It was a HIT, in a world of more misses than hits!

A Better Day 51/61

Trigger is not limping anymore, but is still suffering from allergies, nothing that a little more Benadryl can’t fix, Steven is finally home for a day off & I spent the day working on the CO’s scrapbook, I only had a few pages to go & boy was I ready to be done with it. Indeed though, did I finish it. We enjoyed the movie Role Models over dinner, which was great! Very funny. Then headed off to bed a little early for some extra shuteye.

Not Triggers Day 52/61

It started out as a quiet day; Steven went off to work again - 14th day in a row (the Navy doesn’t understand the concept of weekends or time off)! I woke at a decent time just to lay around the house until lunch time, so I could go fetch lunch, head to base to Steven & I could enjoy lunch together, as we always try to do on weekends. Then I went running around to finish up some errands. I had a scrapbook that needed to have some work done on it for Stevens CO, in hopes of finishing it up. I finally got home just in time to notice that my Trigger was limping. It was his front left leg that he was favoring, though it was not stopping him from doing anything, just slowing him down a bit. As I carefully examined it he yelped, which is not his nature, so off to the store again to get something to help ease his pain. It took me a few hours to realize that it was just the aftermath of the shots he received the day before, even still though, I felt for him. Later that evening around time to give him another dose of pain medicine so he could sleep a little easier I noticed another problem – allergies. This was just not Trigger’s day; he was still limping & now trying to deal with this new case of allergies. So on came the Benadryl, for Trigger & Dad, as his allergies have been bothering him worse than years before. I now had a dog that could breath better & wasn’t in as much pain but boy was he spaced out!

Proof 53/61

I have proof that hours & hours of structured attention does wonders for a dog (as I'm sure the same for a child). Today I had to bring Trigger to the vet, never a looked forward to thing as shots are never ever fun. But that time of the year had rolled around for him again, so off we went. He rode so quietly to base & we even took a little walk when we arrive as we were a little early, then sitting inside he sat so contently on my lap without making a peep at the other dogs. When back in the exam room he was so nice & calm even though he was not thrilled about being there & made it so easy for me & my protruding belly to try to hold him on the table for 3 shots & one nasal injection (not a shot, just a liquid up his nose). To finish this up we got his weight & just like a well behaved little boy he hopped up on the scale, sat & stayed perfectly until instructed otherwise. I was SO thrilled with how well behaved he was for our whole trip! I couldn't have asked for a better dog, I am so proud of him!!!

No nap for you 54/61

I actually made a full day of work, only my second this week. It has been a very relaxing & stress free week, when the boss is on vacation we all seem to be on vacation even if we are at work. I made it home about 3, fed the dogs, got a quick snack, set my alarm to take a 1.5 hour nap, turn on the fan & crawl into bed. Peacefullness. No more than 20 miutes into my nap did Steven call to anounce he was coming home (just from a days work, nothing exciting), then another 20 minutes later I have this over sized, smelly child (Steven) crawling into bed with me asking me if I have thought of anything for dinner. No! I have been trying to sleep, I havent been thinking about dinner. As I am now wishing I could get even just 15 more minutes do I hear Steven, who is still in the middle of the bed still bothering me, start to whine that he is hungry as I then get a full list of everything he has ate that day, I guess to try help prove his point that he is really hungry. Maybe he is just trying to get me prepped for the little boy we have coming - either way, I was forced out of bed and into getting the hungry one something to eat (I decided going out to dinner was effort enough for me).

No Adult Supervision 55/61

I woke up feeling much better! It is amazing how feeling cruddy one day & feeling better the next can make you feel like a whole new person. I made it to work just in time to get a pleasant surprise that all our ‘adult’ supervision will be out for the day, so I was able to take ½ a day and enjoy the weather. I went to Michael’s & Joann’s to look for letters for our little boys room (to spell out his name on the wall), I happened to find some on sale that are adhesive, and they had all the letter I needed. So, for all of you putting two & two together, yes we have finally decided on a first name for our little one, his middle name is still up in the air yet. We are still not letting the cat out of the bag quite yet, nor are we putting the letters up in his room (so no need to try & peek at them – they wont be there).

I will though share what were some of the names we crossed off our list working to get to our decided name:

Connor
Rylan
Logan
Tristen
Brendon

Not the Best of Days 56/61

I spent Monday evening & all of Tuesday worshiping our porcelain throne, I didn’t even get green beer out of the whole deal. Uck!

Stevens Novel Concept 57/61

I seem to be headed to the bathroom more now than ever in my life. I am starting to kind of feel like a little one that is potty training, needing to head to the bathroom every hour or so. My brilliant husband came up with a novel concept to counteract this problem while I am at work – “Move your desk down to the bathroom! Your efficiency should increase by 200%”. I don’t know about the whole working in the bathroom thing or even that my efficiency being increased at all. He thought it was a good idea though. Do you ever think what would happen or where would we be if we left the world to be run solely by men! That’s scary!!!

Productive Sunday 58/61

Sunday was productive & I didn’t hurt the next day! Steven had to work, so he was up & out the door a little earlier than I, but once I did get up & moving I decided to change my hair just a bit. I brought back my bangs, they are not a huge difference, but difference enough to give me a new bounce. I then brought Steven some lunch & enjoyed that with him for a bit then headed off to check out the new Babies’r’us in the St. John’s Town Center. It is a Babies’r’us combined with a Toy’r’us. I guess it is a good idea if you have a one to shop for a each store but if not both stores seem to suffer by being smaller and with less options to choose from. I will just save the gas & stick to the Babies’r’us by me from now on. I did manage to get a few more things crossed off of my ‘need for baby’ list. I made it home to get some things done around the house. I managed to get a lot of our clothes done, dishes done & a few things in the baby room done. I did remember to sit down & relax when I started hurting – so I am starting to learn. Over all it was a good & productive day.

Back Dating 59/61

Well, it is a good thing that I am trying to start this habit early, as I have not been the most faithful to it. I need to try a little more to be better. I am going to back date a few blogs, as I am sure it wont be the first time I get caught up in a busy week & need to do this.

Time sure does fly when I’m having fun! Saturday was a very busy day. I managed to do a little bit of yard saleing I wanted to. I was mainly looking for a few baby things that would be acceptable for second hand use, like toys and blankets. I managed to find a few small toys, a tummy time mat, a bouncer, a few cloth items, a wipe warmer & a few books all for $25! At noon I met Steven to drop his truck off to get the tint fixed & then headed to Hooters for a Hail & Farewell for such a wonderful friend that we hate to see go. We then snuck home so I could grab a quick nap & then headed out again to a friends house for another get together. By the time we finally got home 14 hours after my day started, I was sore & tired & Steven was toasty & tired as well.

What happened? 60/61

I was waiting for breakfast today & one of the older gentlemen that works in the building walks by & pointed to my belly asking “what happened?” Hmmmm…now being in my third trimester I am look undoubtedly pregnant. I just looked at him a little puzzled & quickly responded “I don’t really need to explain that to you, do I?” We both just laughed as he continued to ask a few more questions pertaining to my unborn child, these being a little bit more intelligently thought out before they were asked. I got back to my desk & just chuckled at some of the dumb & funny things people say when they don’t really think about what they are asking or how they are asking it before they actually open their mouth.

Do aliens get headaches too??? 61/61

Sometimes I think I have an alien inside me instead of a sweet little baby boy! I’m sure it is not a new thought though to any woman who has ever been pregnant. Well my little alien is on a very slow & undeceive decent to flipping head down, as he has been sitting breach for 2/3 of this pregnancy. I have had a little big head testing the stretching capacity of the left side of my stomach the past week & ½ or so. For the past week I can usually feel exact position of his head. The first time I thought it was going to pop right through my belly was this past weekend; I was waiting on Steven & Michael to get their lunch from a new favorite taco stand of Steven’s. I eagerly had Steven & Michael feel how prominent his head was, not really considering that it was his head! The only thing that really crossed my mind was ‘push it back in, push it back in!’ trying to gently yet firmly compel the baby to switch positions, as a concerned dad declares “that’s his head!”

Attempting to start a new habit

A brilliant friend has decided to post one post & picture a day for a whole year, which I think it such a neat idea. I have really enjoyed reading her post every few days & getting a glimpse into someone else’s life. Not only that but at the end of the year how neat will it be to look back at a years worth of events in pictures & words.

I think I am going to attempt to do kind of the same. I am not waiting until the first of a new year though & don’t know if I will be good at keeping up with it, but I am sure going to try.

My plan is to post everyday of my little boys first year. I think this will help dad feel like he is staying connected with us while on deployment and what fun will it be to look back on in a little over a year from now. I am going to start posting daily now so I can try to create a new habit before the new one arrives. My track keeper now will be the final countdown until he reaches full term (38 weeks) as we are going to try to get this little one to come as soon to that day as we (Steven, I & our doctor) can due to Steven’s upcoming deployment. Then I will start with the first 365 day of my little boy.

Maybe One Day...

Maybe one day before this pregnancy is over I will learn to stop when it hurts. Mostly it is that I am not use to my back or hip hurting me. I have been very fortunate throughout my pregnancy to not have many back aches or many aches of any kind. If I spend too much time (which is not very much) on my feet my hips start to hurt me & if I sit too long or do too much bending then my back starts to hurt. Even doing a simple sewing or scrapbook project seems to take a toll on me now. I guess it is the Smith in me that seems to think the pain will just vanish once I am done that keeps me pushing on. When the Smith part of me & reality collide I tend to hurt, usually pretty badly. Walking is not an essential part of life, is it??? It does really feel nice to have everything I need to accomplish done & my list checked off.

I will have to take it really easy for the next day or so, which is fine…I am fortunate enough to be able to take time to recover.

On the other hand I have the baby room is put together & looks great! The carpets are cleaned, the walls are painted & finished, all the furniture is bought & moved in and it all seems to match. The shelves and walls still need a few decorations but in time we will get those things done. With only a little over 10 weeks left I am very happy with the amount we have completed. I plan to get the camera out this week & snap a few shot to post them on Facebook & bring to the baby shower this weekend (which I am SO excited for).