A rainy miscellany monday



~one~

I know I kinda disappeared off the face of 'blogland' last week after wednesday's post.  I spent last wednesday traveling w/my parents to Kentucky to see my grandma in the hospital.  She had a heart attack and was still being kept for some testing.  We got to see her for about 2 hours was all..but I was grateful for that time!  She seemed in really good spirits despite the circumstances.  However I found traveling that far (to and from) in one day when your 26 weeks pregnant isn't the easiest!  Needless to say..I was pretty pooped after the trip and spent the next day recouping.  Overall it was a good trip though and I'm glad I went!

~two~

Friday was a rather rough day around here.  My hubby's 17 year old Beagle/Curr mix "Blaze" passed away.  Sure, she was 'our' dog..but I counted her more his than ours because he had her before we ever started dating.  It hurt me to see him hurt..but thankfully he's ok now.  In fact, we're looking for another dog already!  Will be exciting to see what we end up getting!  Oh and in case your wondering..Blaze passed away from breast cancer if you can believe that.  I never knew dogs could get such a thing..but apparently so.  We found out last year thats what she had (one breast was MUCH bigger than the other) though she had been that way for quite some time.  In the end..the cancer got worse VERY quickly.

~three~

Onto some happier news!!  Last week I got Makayla's bedding and tree wall decal thru the mail..woohoo!  I was especially excited to get in the bedding to see how it looks..since I bought it off of ebay.  Gotta say..I am happy with what I got and have no regrets.  The tree decal is awesome and just what I expected.  I cannot WAIT to see how her little nursery is going to come together in about a months time!!  We have painting to do in the month of march and of course after we paint, the decal will go up.  Can't wait!!!

(the bedding!)

(the tree decal)

~four~

Any of you preggo ladies out there had any problems with gas bubbles in your belly?  Saturday night I felt terrible.  First, my legs were cramping..like restless legs.  Then later on it felt like I had a huge gas bubble on the left side of my belly!  Ugh!  Sleep didn't come easy that night but thankfully by morning (and spending half the night on the couch) it was gone.  I hope that never happens again!

~five~

Its a rainy monday here today.  The weatherman was calling for strong storms in our area, and after hearing the thunder crack so hard this morning before I got up, I believe it!  It sounded like the windows were going to shatter at one point it was so loud!  Just hopefully we don't loose power and nobody gets hurt during this storm.  It does make for a rather cozy day though, I might add.  Ravey is enjoying it..sitting in her cat treehouse in front of the bay window..sleeping.  Sounds like a good idea......

My Handwriting

I got this idea for a blog post from Leslie the other day and thought..what a neat idea!  The idea is...to write down your answers to the questions below on a piece of paper and post it to your blog.  Its so neat to see how everyone's handwriting differs and I don't know about you..but I'm always curious to see what different people's writing looks like!  So anyways..here are the questions....

1.  What's your name/blogger name?
2.  What's your blogs URL?
3.  Write "The quick fox jumps over the lazy dog."
4.  Favorite quote?
5.  Your favorite song?
6.  Your favorite band/singers?
7.  Anything else you want to say?
8.  Tag 3-5 other people.

And here are my answers, in my own handwriting!

26 Weeks..Wow!

Hey everyone!  Can you believe I'm now 26 weeks along into this pregnancy?!  Seems unreal to me at times..and whats even more unreal..is how much my belly has grown in the past couple of weeks!  Whoa baby!  Here is an update for y'all...



How far along? I'm now 26 weeks and 1 day (technically)..6 1/2 months?  Though one of my baby books puts me at 7 1/2 months.  Does anyone out there know how your suppost to figure out the month(s) thing? Its rather confusing to me!

Weight Gain?  14 pounds total as of the last doctors appointment

Movements?  ALL the time!  I love it too..she is still shy around Damon and won't move for him a whole lot..but she is getting better and he has seen my belly move a couple of times.  He's not seen a "big" kick yet though..I can't wait to see his eyes when he does get that opportunity!  Oh and she is now kicking (sometimes) quite a bit higher than my belly button!

Cravings?  Nothing really..but I have noticed I've been getting a little more hungrier (is that a word?) at times..to the point of stomach growling!  Still love cold water, oh and after reading a post by Rachel about making homemade frappe's..I have gotten addicted to making my own now!  Ice, milk, ice cream, and chocolate syrup blended up..yummmmmmm!

Sleep?  Still really good (knock on wood) though sometimes I wake up and can't get comfortable for a little bit..but eventually fall back asleep.  For some reason this morning, I woke up wide awake really early and had a hard time getting back to sleep.  Not sure what that was about..

Name?   Makayla Giuliana

Nursery?   Got some things to report on the nursery!  The tree wall decal I ordered is on its way!  I look for it to be down at the post office either today or tomorrow..yah!!  I'm excited to see how its going to look.  AND..I ordered her bedding as well!  I got both (the decal and bedding) from ebay if you can believe that!  I look for the bedding to be in hopefully by the end of this week and am SO excited to share it with you guys when I do!!  Look for pictures to come on those..

Last but not least..here is a picture of me taken last week, at 25 weeks.  I LOVE this outfit..its super comfy..but it makes me look REALLY big!  Speaking of which..I took a picture of myself on sunday after church in a maternity dress I've worn alot in the past couple of months.  Whoa..scary..I looked like I was 9 months preggo in that shot!



Miscellany Monday

~one~

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope y'all had a great weekend!  I can't remember if I mentioned it in my last post on friday or not..but my gestational diabetes test I had to re-take last week came back normal!!  Woohoo!  Talk about one happy lady...that was definately me!  My next appointment isn't until March 11th..then after that I start going every 2 weeks.  Its gonna start getting busy around here!

~two~

After getting the great news about my lab results, about 30 minutes later I discovered a note on my front door.  My mom had left it stating her and my dad had to make a trip out of state..my grandma had a heart attack that morning.  Talk about panic!  I didn't know what to think..I didn't know how bad the situation was.  After a few attemps..I finally reached a family member that was down there in the hospital with her (and then minutes later..a call from my mom followed).  Thankfully..it wasn't a major heart attack and she's doing ok.  Please keep her in your prayers.

 

~three~

Saturday was spent in the lovely town of Beckley..I LOVE going there!  Its so much easier than going to Charleston..where everything is more 'spread out'.  We had a great time..ate some mexican food for dinner (chicken burritos anyone?!)..got myself a couple new maternity tshirts at JcPenney's and a pair of new black tennis shoes at The Shoe Dept. (one of my fav's).  Oh and Makayla did good too..I found her the cutest little purple jacket and a red, white, and blue dress!  We're (fingers crossed) going to head back over there soon and register for baby stuff at Walmart!


(my new shoes!  well..not 'exactly' but they are very similar to this pair!)

~four~

Sunday was spent going to church and watching the Daytona 500!!!  Two of my favorite things..church and racing!  It was so good to see our dear friend, Lucy, back in church again.  She's one special lady and I love her dearly!  The race yesterday was pretty awesome as well..how a 20 year old rookie driver wins one of the most prestegious races in NASCAR is beyond me..but it happened!  Congrats to Trevor Bayne!  The poor kid..it got out that his favorite tv show is the "Rugrats"..I have a feeling he'll have a hard time living that down!!



~five~

 

Speaking of tv shows..has any of y'all watched the show "Strange Addictions"?  I tuned in briefly last night..and saw a lady eating comet.  COMET..like the cleaning solution!!  Oh my..unreal.  I know we all have maybe some strange habits and the like..but some things they show on that tv show is unbelieveable!  I guess one strange thing about myself I can think of is that I have a fear of having my (or me and Damon as a family) picture taken professionally.  Its not that I'm scared of the photographer..we've just had bad things happen in the past after we've had pictures made and after about the 4th time..I kinda wrote it off and said I'd never have them done again!  Guess you could call it more of a 'phobia' perhaps..or 'superstitious'..which I KNOW I shouldn't be.  I dunno..its hard to explain.  Anybody out there have any strange fears, phobias, habits and/or the like you'd like to share?

Getting things done..

Sorry I have been an absentee for the past couple of days.  Just been getting some things done that I had to do!  On wednesday I had my lovely follow-up doctors appointment to have blood drawn..AGAIN!   In case ya missed the info..my labs that were done last week came back and my gestational diabetes came back a little bit high..but not horrible either.  They thought I might of ate/drank something sweet the evening before that could have affected it (didnt mention to the lady I had drank grape juice at about 1130 the night before!).  Anyways..I had to do the test all over again..but this time I had to stay for 3 HOURS and have my blood drawn 4 TIMES!  Can we say 'not fun'?  The time went by pretty quick though for 3 hours and my mom went with me..so that helped alot.  I didn't get sick or anything..which was good..was just really tired when we left out of there.  No phone calls yet..as long as I don't hear from them today I'm good!!  I got that done with..and went looking at mirrors at Homegoods (the best store EVER!), Target, and Walmart for lil' miss Makayla's room.  I saw one at Homegoods but I was hoping to find something round in shape..and this one was rectangular.  So I'm not sure about it yet.  My mom had a good idea..I could re-do the one I already have in there..but there is the question of 'who' will do it since I can't exactly be around and doing painting projects.  And I'd like to have it done before Makayla arrives obviously.  So we'll see on that one. 

Thursday was filled with more getting things done!  I had another appointment..only this time it was for my car!  Needed some new front tires (in a seriously bad way) and an alignment...so I got that taken care of.  Wow..what a difference..my car now drives like she's brand new!  And yes..I just called my car a 'she'.  Her name is Big Mama actually..and no..I'm not kidding!  I also made a pit stop by Kroger's and picked up some cat treats for Zippy..which is mine and my mom's cat (she lives w/my mom..but she was my baby before I got married and moved out).  It was her birthday and she had to know that mama didn't forget about her!  Her face lite up like a Christmas tree..I only wished I had my camera to of captured that moment!  Ha!

Damon has also been getting things done.  Like our apple tree in the front yard.  He pruned it while I was at the doctor's on wednesday.  Alot of people in our neighborhood thinks he killed it.  We'll see!  It needed a prune BAD..so I'm hoping we'll 'show everyone' and have softball sized apples either this fall or next!!  He took a hint from our Amish friends in Ohio and pruned the tree like they do theirs..to basically look like an umbrella.  I need to take pictures so y'all can see..but it literally is shaped like an umbrella now!  And our friends'..you should see the apples they pick from their trees!!!  Looks like apples you get from the store..so big and pretty!  The Amish..they know what they are doin'! 



What have you been getting accomplished lately?

Valentine's Day Recap

So how was everyone's Valentine's Day yesterday?  Hope it was a fabulous day for all!  Here at the Country Roads household..well..it was far from what it usually is on one of the most romantic holidays of the year.  If you read yesterday's post..I was literally in the middle of the post when I got the phone call from my doctor saying I need to come in on wednesday to repeat my bloodwork for gestational diabetes.  It was a little bit over what they'd like for it to be (but thankfully not a whole lot)..so they gotta recheck me.  Ugh.  That kinda set me up for a not-so-romantic-mood as you can imagine.  After a few tears shed and some comfort from family and friends..I felt better.  Still anxious today, mind you, but I just have to take each day as it comes, right?  So I'm just watching what I eat (need to do that anyways!) and saying lots of prayers that everything comes back normal this time around.  If not..its not the end of the world and it'll be ok too.  God always has a way of working things out.  :-)  Sooo..since yesterday was a flop..I'm determined that TODAY will be a little more romantic than yesterday was!!  After all..I do have the greatest hubby in the world..he takes such good care of me..treats me like a queen..provides wonderfully for our little growing family..and is a good Christian man.  I can't really ask for anything more.  I *heart* you bear!! 

Onto something a little more 'fun'.  Baby Makayla has been kicking up a storm!!!  I'm just waiting until she gets to the point where she's not so 'shy' about letting people see her moving around in my belly (she literally stops anytime she knows someone is watching..sweet) and take a video so you guys can see some of her daily activity!  I LOVE it..even more than I ever thought I would.  Its so amazing to know there is life growing inside of me..life that me and Damon have created.  Its just purely amazing to me.  What a blessed gift from God!!  I can't wait to meet her in May!

Miscellany Monday ~ Happy V-Day!

~one~

First I want to say Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there!  A day filled with pink hearts, pretty flowers, sappy cards..whats not to love?  Hope everyone has a wonderful day with their significant other whether its your hubby or boyfriend!  And if your single..I know this isn't the greatest of holidays to want to celebrate..but you can find the good in what you love most about your life and celebrate that!!

~two~

Did everyone have a good weekend?  Sure hope so..mine was filled with getting things done (like taxes and cleaning..lovely!)..being with my guy (awesome!)..and spending some time OUTSIDE!  Yes..I said outside!!  We had some great weather yesterday for the first time this year..temps were in the 60s and it felt great!  Getting outside and walking the dog..visiting w/neighbors..and seeing some of the first signs of spring was a great break from being couped up in the house.  I do love winter..but everyone needs a breath of fresh air now and again!  Was very thankful for that yesterday!

~three~

Another thing I'm thankful for (this is turning into a 'thankfulness post' isnt it?)..Damon fired up the grill yesterday and made some of his HUGE burgers he's known for!  Oh yummy day!!  He comes up with some great ideas of things to stuff into the burgers.  Case in point, yesterdays burgers had mushrooms and olives mixed in!  They were REALLY good too!  Here is a picture I took of my burger..after a couple of bites, of course!  ;-)

~four~

One of the things we accomplished over the weekend was buying and putting together a wardrobe closet for Damon's clothes!  We needed to get the closet cleared out in Makayla's room so that was the solution.  Got to say..the wardrobe looks pretty great in my sewing room too!  Here is Damon putting the finishing touches on it...

~five~

Today I'm 25 weeks pregnant!  Time is really going by fast!  Here is a picture of me from the other day...

And last but not least..while in the middle of doing this blog post (which btw is my 200th post!) I got the dreaded phone call from my doctor's office.  I really need y'alls prayers.  They said my blood glucose test came back slightly elevated and they want me to come back in for some more tests on wednesday of this week.  She said it was only slightly elevated and could have been caused by something sweet I had the evening before my test (it was 7 points higher than what they would have liked)..so no sweets for me until I get this done.  Pray my results come back normal this time!!! 

Until tomorrow, happy Monday to everyone!

 

Doctor Appointment!

Hey y'all!!  So I had my 24 week (6 month) doctor appointment yesterday along with the dreaded blood glucose test.  Fun!  I'm happy to report that all went really well..my blood pressure was GREAT (thank you welch's grape juice..did you know grape juice is good for lowering BP?!)..my belly was measuring on target, growth wise..I've gained a little weight (3 pounds in 2 weeks..ugh!)..Makayla's heartbeat was sounding nice and strong..and the bloodwork wasn't as bad as it was when I had it done at 11 weeks!!  All around it was a good visit (except for the extremely young med student that tags along with my mid-wife..he looks like a child!  Thankfully I think she said he won't be coming in w/her anymore after this time!) and I was able to talk to my midwife about more delivery stuff this time than I did at my 20 week visit (which was the first time I met her..yeah..I changed doc's for those of you who might not of known by now or if your a new follower).  Thats the one thing so far I've liked MORE about her than my previous doctor (who I still miss BADLY..she was so great!!)..she's more open to what I want when delivery time comes..as opposed to what she 'thinks' I should do..while pushing me in that direction.  But anyways..hopefully all my bloodwork comes back good and I won't hear from them (that'll be a good sign).  It was all alright last time..so I feel pretty confident all is still well in that area.  My next appointment isn't until March 11th and then after that..I'll start going every 2 weeks!  Wow!!!  Time is really starting to go quickly w/this pregnancy!  Did you know..on monday I'll officially be in my third trimester?!?!!  Oh and a side note..we stopped by Target and have started on our baby registry!!  I plan on adding more items to it once we're totally sure of some bigger items we want (like stroller/car seat/etc)..but we got some of the more 'fun' things on the list today..like crib sheets, blankets, hats, bathtub, carriers, etc.  And a free gift bag filled with goodies just for registering!  I totally wasn't expecting that!  And..the best part?  Another free $20 gift card to Shutterfly!!!  Will probably use that one for either thank you notes or birth announcements!!  Yay me!! 

Now..off for the weekend........

New haircut and good news!

Happy wednesday to y'all!!  If you saw in my miscellany monday post..I mentioned that I got my haircut.  It was extremely overdue and I was so thrilled to have my hair back to where I like it!!  Here are a couple of pictures I took the other night..

Ahh..my layers!!  I do miss them when they grow out!!  I love the people who cut hair over at Master Cuts in Beckley..so when we were out on saturday I went there first thing.  They do an awesome job and I've never had a bad cut from them (knock on wood).  I have been to a couple of places in the past and gotten bush-wacked..it was HORRIBLE!  Literally..one time I told the lady I wanted my layers to start at my chin/jaw line area and go down from there.  She started my layers at the level of my BANGS and went down from there!  I didn't get my hair cut for about a year after that!!!! 

24 weeks!!

I hit the 24 week mark yesterday (monday)!  So hard to believe..but I'm very grateful for each passing week.  :-)  Here are a few tidbits of info for all you guys following out there..

Cravings:  I've really been into Yoo-Hoos lately...so that is a new one.  Still loving icy cold water, fruit, steak.

Discomforts:  Heartburn with a capital "H"!!!  Tums is my best friend!  Sometimes I feel like 'puff the magic dragon'..LOL!

Doctors Appt.:  Have one coming up on thursday.  Please be praying for me..the big bloodwork and blood glucose test.  Yuck.  I did it earlier in my pregnancy (I guess cause I'm high risk?  It runs in my family big time..diabetes that is) and everything was a-ok.  Praying it still is..as well as my blood pressure..which I've been monitoring.  Its been good too!  I have a terrible case of white-coat syndrome.  :-P

Movements:  All the time..and I absolutely LOVE it!!  I love feeling her move around and sitting and watching my belly move.  Its..so..amazing.

Weight Gain:  We'll see when I go to the dr..it was around 10-11 pounds total at the last visit 2 weeks ago.

Nursery:  Still way behind on this one..but I am making strides on what I want.  I'm getting pretty close to picking out a crib.  I have her tree wall decal ordered.  Need to order the bedding still..but know exactly what I want in that department.  Walls will get painted next month.  We still need to move all of Damons stuff out and get the room cleared.  Wow..lots to do!  But I know it'll come along in the right time.  :-)

Check out my cutie maternity top I finally got around to getting a couple weeks ago at Motherhood Maternity (the best maternity clothing store, imo!)

Sorry for the bad picture quality..my camera doesn't always 'agree' with the lighting.  But I love this shirt and think its hilarious!!

And here I am at 23 weeks....

Miscellany Monday

~One~

Hope everyone out there had a great weekend!  Ours went pretty good..the most exciting thing was we got to visit the town of Beckley, WV for the first time in probably 2 months!!  Yay!  The winter weather usually keeps us from getting over that way because its technically considered part of the 'mountains' of WV..and believe me..the 'mountains' ALWAYS gets way more snow than we do!!  So it was great getting over that way.  Plus..I got my hair trimmed! Pictures to come in tomorrow's post!  :-)

~Two~

My sweet hubby bought me a Valentine's gift while we were out on the town as well!  Its so gorgeous..here take a look...

Only instead of the blue stones..it has opals (the website doesn't have the exact one he got for me)

Aren't I a lucky gal?!?!!

~Three~

Yesterday, my hubby was inducted into the union at the mines he now works at!  Such an exciting day for him and us as a family!!  I only wished that women were allowed so I could have gotten a picture of him getting sworn in.  Of course..thats probably why they don't let wives attend....

~Four~

Dinner yesterday was a total disaster with a capital "D".  Ugh..I hate it when a new recipe isn't what you think it's going to be!  I tried a new one from one of my magazines called "Garam Chicken Masala".  It was a slow cooker meal with chicken, sweet potatoes, some spices..cooked in coconut milk and a little bit of chicken broth.  Sounds good..right?  I couldn't have been more wrong!  At least our dog liked it!

~Five~

Since I'm not a football fan..I'm not going to comment on the Super Bowl that was on so many people's minds and agendas over the weekend.  I did however look at some of the commercials on You Tube and loved these:

Bridgestone: Beaver

http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=156f2dfc-2c36-482f-89a0-29dd93f89893&from=foxsports_en-us_videocentral

McDonalds: Bears Love Fries

http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=3f19150f-4c46-419f-95d1-6972c5a9a3aa&from=foxsports_en-us_videocentral

Doritos Pug

http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=3b21037b-24c0-4748-b056-a8d6c24e0d7d&from=foxsports_en-us_videocentral

Pepsi Max: Love Hurts

http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=39b3ad68-31a7-48d2-b10d-61598ee40fc4&from=foxsports_en-us_videocentral

Passing of a loved one

Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair.  We went to a wake this evening..a dear friend of ours passed away earlier this week that we went to church with.  He was everything a Christian can and should be.  He made such an impact in SO many lives and I know church will no longer seem the same without him there.  But I know he's there in spirit.  His legacy will live on..for many, many years.  Thats what is truely important in life..how we live it and what type of legacy we leave behind.  I only hope that when my day comes..I can leave behind half the legacy our dear friend has.  There are just no words to express the feelings I have right now..maybe these pictures can say more than I ever could.  I'll leave you with that.







An award!



The sweet Callie Nicole gave me this lovely award over the weekend!  Thanks again, Callie!!  I love getting awards (this is only my 2nd since I began my blog)..so I'm always a happy recipient and love passing them on as well!  So the rule is..I have to tell you guys 7-10 random facts about myself and then pass the award on to 5 bloggers.  Here goes!! 

• My first vlog was in yesterdays post!  Gotta admit..I enjoyed it more than I thought and am looking forward to doing another!  In case you missed it..you can click here.
• I'm a total purse FANATIC!  I have quite the collection..and proud of it!  :-)
• I chew gum, all day, everyday.  Its my security 'blanket'..if you will.
• I'm a sucker for "Coach" reruns.
• I LOVE being pregnant.
• The best friends I have are the ones I've made online.
• I was in the top "10" of my graduating high school class.
• I could totally live in Amish Country in Ohio.  The simplicity of their life really appeals to me.
• If I could visit anywhere in the world, it would be Italy.  Gimme some pasta anyday!!
• I love to cook (no suprise there!).

Now..to pass this award onto some fellow bloggers!  Here is who I've chosen!

Miranda at Our Nesting Place
Emily at Live a Charmed Life
Leslie at Life in its Ordinary Form
Venessa at My Crazy Blessed Life
Meghan at fumbling grace...

Happy wednesday to everyone!