Thanksgiving- Imperfect Style

Mr. Perfect and I spent Thanksgiving with his parents and extended family in Smalltown, SC this year. We alternate holidays, Thanksgiving with one family, Christmas with the other, right now and it's always worked well for us. Not sure how it will play out next year with the little one here, but I'll worry about that tomorrow.

We both had to work a half day on the Wednesday before T-day. Complete wast of time as I did nothing for 4 hours. We wanted to get out of here about 12:30 and head north, but of course, we didn't make that. We will be late to our own funerals for sure.

The ride up there of course took longer than planned since duh, we didn't factor in traffic. Mr. Perfect's mom wanted to go look at cribs when we got there, but it didn't look like we were going to make it in time.

Thanks to Mr. Perfect's lead foot, we still got there in great time. We spent Wednesday night walking around Target with Mr.'s family and looking at baby stuff. Overwhelming. I have no idea what this little one needs. I know what I want though.. Maybe those will mesh.

Thanksgiving Day dawned cold and wet. Nice. The Mr. and his little cousin decided to go do some shooting before everyone got to the house for dinner.




Yours truly observing. I don't do guns.


While I was out with the boys, Mr. Perfect got a phone call from his Dad that one of their family cats had been run over. He didn't want Mr.'s Mom to find out so we quickly went to get it taken care of. Mr. Perfect sent me in to "distract" his mom so she wouldn't see them burying the cat. I'm ashamed to admit I had to use our daughter to distract her. Poor girl. Already involved in schemes and hasn't even made it here yet...

We got that taken care of and less than an hour later, Mr.'s Mom gets a phone call from her sister telling her that their other cat has been hit on the highway.

Are you kiddin' me?!?

This was not funny at all, but do you see the irony?! Who has two pets killed in one hour on a holiday!?

Fortunately, the holiday got a little less exciting after that. Tons of family, tons of food, and lots of fun with Mr. Perfect's humongous family.

Us with most of his cousins.



Mr. Perfect had to be at work at 4 the next morning, so we packed up and left right after dinner. It's always fun to spend time with family, but I'm not going to lie; it makes me really cherish our nice quiet existence we have here in Georgia.

Before dinner.


After dinner. Yes I changed into more comfortable clothes for the ride home, although the all black ensemble was definitely a fitting choice for that day.


Not funny, I know.

All in all, very nice holiday. Besides the fact that traveling stinks when you have to stop for bathroom breaks every hours, it was a nice little trip. Hopefully you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

21 weeks

How Far Along? 21 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? up a total of 12 pounds. Yikes. From where I initially started, I'm up only 6. I can handle it. Although I swear the doctor's scale is wrong because no other scale tells me I weigh that much!

Maternity Clothes: still no. And I never went and bought those jeans. I really should seeing as how judging by my current picture, the clothes I can fit into right now make me resemble a hobo.

Sleep? Sleep sucks. Every time I wake up, I'm on my back, so then I convince myself I need to be on my side and I simply can't sleep on my side. I really want a recliner...

Best Moment of the Week? seeing our baby girl on the ultrasound!! Gah I just love her!!

Movement- Yes, although there's no rhyme or reason to it. She moves when she wants to and only when she wants to. Our ultrasound tech told me that my placenta is on the back side of my uterus and since I'm on the thin side (?! her words), we should feel her sooner rather than later. Couple days late. She's already let her Daddy feel her.

Food Craving- food! I've rediscovered my love for it! Here's where I become a blimp, I can feel it.

Food aversions- meat is still pretty gross, everything else is a-ok!

Morning sickness?- nope.

Gender- girl! It sure would be nice if we could name her...

Labor Signs- none.

Belly Button- still in, but shallow.

What I miss- my waist.

What I'm looking forward to- anytime she moves makes me smile.

Weekly Wisdom- Procrastinators should not have children... I'm afraid we'll never be ready for her to get here!

Milestones- It's a girl!!

Thankful.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Because my brain is still muddled with turkey, family, and football, a list will have to do. I can't quit grinning. I am beyond blessed!!

1. My amazing husband. He truly is my best friend. He makes me smile even when I'm mad. He makes me laugh constantly. He works so hard to build a great life for me and now for his little girl on the way. He's amazing. I have no idea how I got lucky enough for him to love me, but I thank God for him everyday.



2. Our little girl. She's what we've been praying for and longing for for years. In an instant, she put a permanent smile on our faces, and changed our lives forever. She made us a complete family and we can't wait to meet her.



3. Our pets. They bring a ridiculous amount of joy to our lives and even though they may be just "animals" (shh... don't tell them!), they are a huge part of our family. We seriously love them a sick amount.



4. Our families. We are both so fortunate that we both come from very supportive families who have been there for us through everything.

5. That the Marine is safe. He may not be where I want him, but at least he's safe.

6. That we have a home and jobs and a car.

7. That we have a Savior that loves us and watches over us everyday.

8. For my amazing friends and blog friends. When I started this blog a year ago, I had no idea what would come of it, but I adore my friendships that I've formed with this thing. You ladies are wonderful!!

It's been such an awesome year and I'm looking forward to the next one. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! We're decorating our tree tonight and starting the Christmas season strong!

my cup runneth over...

I had, hands down, one of the best days of my life yesterday.

I hardly slept a wink Monday night I was so excited (and a bit nervous) about our ultrasound Tuesday. I was dying to find out what Shim was, but also, I just really, really, wanted a healthy baby.

We've got a healthy baby.

Our ultrasound technician was AMAZING. This pregnancy has been a miracle in itself, but one of the greatest gifts God has given us is the people He keeps putting in our baby's life. Dr. O, who is our little miracle worker, and now this lady who made us smile, laugh, and cry yesterday. Who let us watch our little one bounce around for over 45 minutes. Who talked us through every body part because she completely understood the road we'd been down to get to this point.

The first thing she said to us was she was so happy for us that we were finally getting to see a 20 weeks ultrasound with our history. I loved her. Putty in her hands. I laid back and pulled up my shirt. She gasped when she saw the bruises all over my belly (from my heparin- it's why I don't do bare belly shots, it's so not pretty!). We talked a little more about my medications and what all we were doing to keep this baby healthy.

"That sounds like a Dr. O cocktail".

"It is" we said.

"Isn't he just great. He sure is a miracle worker".

Clearly we agree.

Then we got to see our babe. At first it was just laying there and she was talking to us about something, so I had to interrupt her and ask if there was a heartbeat.

There was.

Next she asked if we wanted to know the gender. I said duh immediately. Mr. Perfect hemmed and hawed. He didn't have to know if he didn't want to, but this girl was dying! We let her tell us.

She flipped to the other side of the baby and there it was. I couldn't tell what it was, but Mr. Perfect knew immediately. He asked if that was it. She said "yep. There's her little girl parts!!"

OHMYGOSH. WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I busted into tears immediately. I kept saying over and over, "It's a girl?!?". Mr. Perfect asked her to check again. Thankfully our little princess decided to keep her legs wide open (we're going to have to talk about that when she gets here!) and we got a great view.

She spent the rest of the time showing us individual body parts; her perfect little nose, her lips, her pointy little chin (my side), her fingers, her feet (monkey feet- mine as well!), her adorable little belly, her head, and her perfect heart.

She's perfect. She's gorgeous. And I'm completely head over heels in love.

A few months before I even got pregnant, I sat in church during the invitation and prayed for our family. All of a sudden I knew that the next time we did this, the next time we tried, it would work. I just knew it. That peace came over me in a way I can't even describe. It didn't stop me from freaking out when I found out, but I still knew.

That same peace has been with me this whole time. Somehow I've known at every appointment that this baby would be fine. That this one would be the one that stuck with us. That this one would be our miracle. Oh God I can never thank You enough.

Early on I had a gut feeling this was little girl. Then it changed and I was convinced it was a little boy. I felt as my belly got bigger that it looked like a boy belly and somewhere inside I just felt like it was our son. It was odd though, every time I actually dreamed of the baby, it was a girl. Then this past week, every time I mentioned the baby I said "her". Even the bestest who also has sworn the whole time it was a boy, started saying "her". I think my little girl was getting tired of being called a boy. I honestly would have been happy with either a boy or a girl. Thrilled actually, but I've always wanted a little girl at some point and now I'm being blessed with a daughter.

I can't stop saying that. My little girl.

Oh my gosh, we're going to have a daughter!!! We're going to be so broke!!!

20 weeks!!!

* I SWEAR I didn't go out in public like this! The weather is sucking here in Coastal Town, GA so we didn't leave the house all weekend. Including these poor underfoot dogs who had a bit of cabin fever!

How Far Along? 20 weeks.. we're halfway baby!

Total Weight Gained/Loss? I'll find out tomorrow.. gulp.

Maternity Clothes: not yet. But I'm going to get some jeans tomorrow.. tear..

Sleep? I still wake up a lot, but seem to be sleeping a bit better. I just need a break from these crazy dreams I keep having.

Best Moment of the Week? Shim is moving enough now that you can occasionally feel it from the outside, and last night Mr. Perfect got to feel it once!

Movement- see above =) I think feeling Shim, might have made it a bit more real...

Food Craving- my appetite showed up this week. I am hungry about every 2 hours.

Food aversions- Still not a huge fan of meat, everything else is fair game.

Morning sickness?- nope.

Gender- TOMORROW!!! Take your last guesses as to what we're having tonight!

Labor Signs- none.

Belly Button- still in.

What I miss- not having a monster headache everyday.

What I'm looking forward to- tomorrow!

Weekly Wisdom- Talk to your husband. He doesn't know what to say when it seems his formerly perfectly rational wife is all of a sudden a constant basketcase. Tell him what you need.

Milestones- We find out tomorrow!!

Just as a fun little game, and to look back and see if they're right, I took two gender prediction quizzes to see what we were having. According to old wives' tales on two different sights, we're having a girl. According to the Chinese gender predictor, we're having a boy. I guess we'll see!!

kitchen disaster #25,345,896

The other day I cleaned out the fridge at work and realized I had two Tupperware containers of food in there that had been in there for months days. I decided to go ahead and take them home and get rid of them.

Now normally I would have just thrown them away, containers and all, to avoid the smell of what was surely rotten inside.

Or I would have left them on the kitchen counter for Mr. Perfect to deal with later.

Seriously, why did he marry me?!?

But this time, I decided to put my big girl pants on and take care of it myself.

I headed to the garbage disposal, handy scarf wrapped around my face, to take care of some business. I turned the water on, poured the food in the sink, and turned it on.

You would have thought I just shattered a million pieces of glass. All of sudden there's this horrendous noise, water, pieces of broccoli and cheese, and some unidentified substance are flying everywhere. All over the wall and my face. In between gags I managed to turn off the disposal.

I peered down in there, but couldn't see anything and there was NO WAY I was putting my hand in there. Y'all seen the movies, it doesn't work out well. I do not want a nub.

So I gave it another shot. Didn't go well. There is now rotten broccoli and cheese all over me and my kitchen. I was furious.

I finally found a pair of tongs (duh tongs!) and pulled out the culprit. Stupid spoon. I tossed the spoon in the dishwasher and finished my chore. Then I had to clean up the kitchen.

When the Mr. was unloading the dishwasher that night, he came upon said spoon.

"Someone had a disagreement with the disposal huh?" he asked me.

What?!? You can tell that.

So busted.

I really should just stay out of that cursed room.

KP's baby shower

So a couple weekends again, my friend KW and I hosted a shower at my place for our dearest friend, KP. KP is expecting a little girl in January and it's her first so we're all super excited for her. She never expected to have children, but now her and her hubs are expecting and it's just the happiest little surprise. We had a great time, I managed to make some edible food, and KP scored some awesome loot. Successful shower in my book!

The mama to be-


Diaper cake, somehow I got almost no pictures of the decorations and food, but trust, they were cute!! I was pretty proud of myself as this is the first shower I have EVER hosted at my house! Stressful much?!










KW, KP, & I. KW had her daughter in September. Think our trio is going 3 for 3 with the girls?!


Oh bellies...


It is honestly the coolest thing ever to be going through this pregnancy with some of my best friends. I can't wait til our children are all here and we can do family vacations and birthdays and such. It's like a baby boom going on here lately, but just think of all the built in bff's my kid will already have when it gets here! Because I'm totally choosing Shim's friends. I mean, duh.

19 weeks

How Far Along? 19 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? Haven't been back to the doc. I'm not weighing myself at home. I'm an ostrich that way.

Maternity Clothes: not yet. I can still wear most of my jeans with the bella band or a rubber band instead of a button.

Sleep? right... This past week introduced me to a little darling called the Charlie Horse. Not a fan. Somehow Mr. Perfect slept right through my version of being exorcised when I thought my leg was being ripped off.

Best Moment of the Week? Shim has officially started moving!! At first I just thought I had a bad case of the bubble guts, but then realized that that butterfly sensation in my belly was Shim. Occasionally it feels like something is playing drums on my abdominal wall. Love it!

Movement- see above =) It starts any time I sit down or lay down. I'm afraid my child will never sit still..

Food Craving- chocolate. But only occasionally.

Food aversions- I still don't get along with food very well....

Morning sickness?- nope.

Gender- 1 more week. Oh give me patience...

Labor Signs- none.

Belly Button- in but more shallow and my laproscopy scar is showing up big time now.

What I miss- a good sleep!

What I'm looking forward to- next Tuesday

Weekly Wisdom- I don't have any. I'm too tired to be wise!!

Milestones- Shim's moving!!!

signs i'm growing up...

I have a bad habit of getting an item in my head that I want and not being able to think about anything else until I get it.

In college I wanted clothes, clothes, and more clothes. So I bought them.

Then I wanted shoes. I bought a new pair weekly. Every pay check yielded a new fancy to make my size 9 feet scream with joy (and sometimes pain but hey..).

It doesn't matter what it is, if I get something in my mind, I have to have it. I will find a way to get it.

Well I've got a new obsession, but this time it's not for me.


the Bumbleride Indie
Baby Shim needs this stroller. I can't stop drooling over it. Any Bumbleride fans out there? Is it as great as I believe it's going to be? How good is it for running? How portable?

Oh I lust....

the baby's (?) room.

Honestly, I can't even believe I'm about to show y'all this. This is our current office. Since I found out I was pregnant, I have not touched it. I still throw stuff in there occasionally, literally opening the door, tossing something in, and closing the door, but as for actually entering the room and cleaning it? Has not happened in months. Don't judge me! The rest of my house is immaculate. This is my *"Monica's closet".

*Friends fans you know...

I've been telling myself we're going to have to completely redo it for the nursery anyway, so I'm not worrying about it today.

Yea, apparently I'm Scarlett O'Hara.

So now I have about 4 months to make this...



into my dream nursery.

Ay yi yi.

18 weeks

How Far Along? 18 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? Haven't been back to the doc. My scale at home says I'm down 1 from the docs scale. I knew that Mexican I ate before my appointment totally screwed my weight up!

Maternity Clothes: still no. But honestly if I didn't work in scrubs I think I would have had to give in by now.

Sleep? Not so great. I wake up all the time. My feet keep going numb on me. I guess I'm not doing so great at the not sleeping on my back thing or something. Mr. Perfect is going to run out of room to sleep if I keep adding in pillows to our bed!

Best Moment of the Week? ? Nothing big this week.

Movement- not yet

Food Craving- Chocolate chip cookies. There's nutrients in those right?!

Food aversions- I'm having a really hard time with food. Nothing tastes the same way it did and honestly? I don't want much of anything. I'm having to force myself to eat stuff and it's getting hard to do.

Morning sickness?- nope. But I'm super tired again.

Gender- 2 more weeks...

Labor Signs- none.

Belly Button- in.

What I miss- sleeping on my back. Oh it was nice...

What I'm looking forward to- movement. Come on little one.. your crazy mom is dying here!

Weekly Wisdom- Sleep. Whenever you can. If it's not at night, then take naps.

Milestones- We're in month 5!

Pumpkin Carving = fun for everyone!

So a couple weeks ago (yes I suck at posting on time), the bff, Mr. Perfect, and I got together for dinner and some good 'ol pumpkin carving. Dinner was delish (thanks AP!) and carving was awesome. Until my dog had to go rustle up a rattlesnake and creep me out for the rest of the night. Thanks Duke.

But I digress.

Mr. Perfect and I make sure we carve a pumpkin every year. It's one of those sappy little traditions that I love and can't wait to do long term with my little family. Of course having Mr. Perfect and AP together gave me perfect opportunity to practice for little children.

Super excited about our carving kit.


The pumpkins.



Mr. Perfect decided he needed to take off the top of ours with a samurai sword. You can see how excited I am about it.

It didn't work.

Scooping out the seeds. Apparently Mr. Perfect thought it was a smelly job.

I think I was the only one taking this seriously....



Some serious carving...



Finished products!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is my beloved father's birthday. I can't say enough about how special he is to me. You know that father/daughter bond that's all hyped about?

Yea. We got that.

He is a constant support, a great friend, and an amazing father. He makes me long for the day I have a daughter so Mr. Perfect can experience this sort of relationship. He cracks me up. He always knows just what to say. On my wedding day, when I was so nervous I didn't know how I would walk, he gave me a pocket knife.. you know, just in case. Yea it was weird, but it made me laugh hysterically and forget all about the millions (it felt like) of people that were about to be staring at me.

And I still have that knife.

I love my Daddy. I'm so glad I am his "Daddy's little girl"....

17 weeks

How Far Along? 17 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? I don't even want to talk about it. According to my doc, I gained 7. Just now at 2 pounds over where I started. Gah. My doc seriously looked at my weight and said "Guess we're feeling better huh?!". Yea toolbag, I am. I might be having a hard time with this weight gain thing....

Maternity Clothes: still no. But can no longer button my pants. Thank you Bella Band.

Sleep? Getting a little awkward. Stomach is poking a bit too much to sleep on my stomach, and I LOVE to sleep on my stomach. Trying to figure that one out.

Best Moment of the Week? Tuesday appointment. Heart is beating away at 151 bpm. Big difference from the 170's where it was.

Movement- not yet

Food Craving- I don't know. I'm still having a hard time finding stuff I like to eat. Sweets are slowly becoming something I must have.

Food aversions- most things that I liked before pregnancy, I'm not such a fan of now. It's getting hard to find something I want to eat.

Morning sickness?- No more and the nausea I was feeling from the migraines seems to be under control.

Gender- 3 more weeks...

Labor Signs- none.

Belly Button- in.

What I miss- sleeping on my stomach.

What I'm looking forward to- I just want to feel it move already!

Weekly Wisdom- This is for the boys.. do not blame everything on your wife's "hormones". It will piss her off more.

Milestones- Almost in the 5th month!